His stance remained tense, fingers curled into a tight fist that was waiting for any aggressive move on the other's part to make contact. Except the voice from the Hufflepuff was small, and the words were not what he expected. His mind reeled, taking a few steps back for distance. It was a good reminder he wasn't supposed to be getting in trouble, and hallway fights would be a bad start.
"Then why the fuck did you grab me?" James challenged, clearly on edge and barely holding back the urge to either smash in all of the other student's teeth or run away. Violence was all he really knew how to solve any conflicts, but it was the second time in less than half an hour that he found himself wanting to take it out on somebody that clearly didn't deserve it.
Taking in how upset the other seemed, James felt a sharp stab of disgust at himself. He didn't belong here, didn't know how he was supposed to make any of this right.