Pippa did have the sense to hold her tongue, to bite back what was sure to be a brilliant and scathing retort that would live on in the annals of Hogwarts' history. Frankly, the Gryffindor thought herself charitable to do so. Nonetheless, she did not leap forward to join the first years in their quest for stupidity the affection of a man, in this case the professor blind obedience.

(Miss Shacklebolt, she thought, was exactly the sort of girl who was far too uppity and would see herself on the bad side of a dark wizard. Miss Wallace was likely too boring to need to worry about it.)

Instead she quite pointedly took a small step backwards, arms crossed stubbornly across her chest.