| Details for For Evil to Succeed |
| Summary: | Asking for help looking for a book, Angelus leads Gabriel into the stacks and they have a chat. |
| Date: | September 27, 1939 |
| Location: | Library, Hogwarts |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Across the library Gabriel is back at his latest hobby: Studying animagi. He's got a couple of books on Transfiguration at his table, including the text book he would have been studying if it wasn't for SCUM classes. But the book he's actively reading is a book on the theory and practice of transfiguring oneself from a human into an animal and back.
Angelus is dressed neatly in uniform as he steps into the library. Pausing briefly at the front desk to offer a respectable bow and a greeting to Madam Patil, he carries on towards one of the desks. As his eyes scan the library and he catches sight of Gabriel, a little grin tugs across his face as he lifts his head in greeting. “Hey Ward, not breaking any rules, right?” His tone doesn’t seem to be taking the question all that seriously.
Gabriel looks up and peers at Angelus as he tries to switch his brain from his studies to the sudden calling of his name. After a second or two he smiles, "Not today, I don't think. What brings you to the library?" He keeps his voice low enough to make sure that he's not annoying anyone else in the library.
“That’s too bad,” Angelus murmurs out a sigh, escaping a soft snicker. “Could use a little entertainment,” he states, winking. Considering as he hums, Gel glances around the tables and rolls his eyes. Tilting his head as he glances back to Gabriel, he gestures mildly towards the bookshelves. “I’m looking for a History book for one of my assignments. Can you help me find it?”
Gabriel takes a moment to consider Angelus' request then nods and gets up after placing a book mark in the book he was studying. "Sure thing. Which book where you looking for, specifically? Or, alternatively, what's your assignment?" He starts walking towards the shelves that hold the library's History books.
Angelus drops his book strap on a table before he heads for the stacks, shrugging coolly. He simply explains to Gabriel about a distinctive wizard in the witch hunts. “…I’ve to write something on him,” he finishes. His eyes are drawn upward to the stacks of books, letting his gaze drag over the spines. “So that was pretty nice cast of a remordeo. Is that some of what you do with the pirates? Practice spells and such?” asks the boy with a genuine interest.
Gabriel guides Angelus down the aisle and after a moment of searching pulls out a few books dealing with the witch hunts and offers them to the older boy, "These should work." Then he shakes his head, "And no, it really has nothing to do with the Pirates. I found it when I was looking for useful spells for dueling and thought it would make for a good prank. Or a good distraction during a duel. So I taught it to myself during some of the open dueling practices…"
Angelus follows along, nodding slowly and saying his thanks when he offers out the books. A grin crosses his face as he tilts his head. “Clever thinking, Ward,” Gel offers with a flicker of a smirk. “Yea, brilliant prank. It’s just too bad you got /caught/.” He winks at Gabriel. “Sorry,” he adds in with a snicker. “In the moment curiosity has a way of creeping up. I didn’t even think about you getting in trouble when I spotted you.” The youth is apologetic, offering out a warm smile. Then a sigh escapes him. “You guys have fun though, that’s important. I’d have thought the pirates would be all for that, teaching spells.” He releases another sigh. “It’s a real shame no one is working on anything like that. It can’t just be Evans who’s unhappy with the Headmaster’s new rules.”
Gabriel raises an eyebrow at Angelus which slowly lowers as his smile grows, accompanied with a shrug, "Well, Madeline can get a little carried away. Most of us have realized that the best thing we can do is let the adults take care of the situation. If the Headmaster is doing this with the permission of the Ministry then there isn't much we'll be able to do. If he's doing it without the Ministry's permission then they will do something about it. Trying to retaliate or get around the rules is just going to make things even more difficult. Do you think?"
Angelus lets out a quiet hum, nodding his head slowly as he gathers up the books. “It will most certainly make things more difficult,” Gel agrees on a sigh. His eyes lower to watch the floor as he walks, but they lift to look ahead of him. “Not everyone has your good sense though.” The youth grimaces, casting a glance at Gabriel in which he quickly looks back ahead. “I would hate for the Headmaster to decide to make things worse,” he says, frowning down at the floor.
Gabriel nods and his smile fades as he says, "He's wrong. Completely wrong. Which is why I don't understand how anyone that's not just a power grubbing, brown noser. But that's just my opinion and doesn't change the practical aspects of the whole situation." After walking a few steps in silence he adds, "Now, if /everyone/ would speak out and refuse to support him or follow his new rules there is /nothing/ he could do about it. But sadly, there are people among both the students and the faculty that care more about staying in power than about doing the right thing."
Angelus tips his head a little as he glances along the particular aisle. A hum escapes him as he stops, lifting a foot to rest it lightly on one of the lower shelves and rest the books on top his knee which he leans his arms on top comfortably. He releases a sigh as he locks his blue eyes on the younger boy. “But you just said trying to retaliate would make things more difficult. So…” He trails off for a second, arching a brow before he sighs. “Who’s going to be the first to stand up for things? If no one does, you can’t expect people to follow.”
Gabriel slowly grins as Angelus mentions that little detail, "/That/ is a classic logic problem. How do you make it so that one person is willing to sacrifice a big reward to get a smaller, or a different, reward in exchange for benefiting others instead of just him or herself." Leaning a bit against the opposite shelving unit Angelus has propped his foot on he examines the older boy for a moment, actually looking sad, "The sad part of it is this: too often, out of fear or out of selfishness, many people out there will choose their own benefit over that of their community at large." Then he winks as the smile returns to his face, "But the fact that many of us are willing to give the Ministry the opportunity to fix things does /not/ mean that we will passively sit by and let Flint and the Magidunderheads treat us like second class citizens forever."
Angelus’ blue eyes remain focused on Gabriel as he regards the boy quietly. He lets him speak without interrupting, simply humming quietly to himself and slowly nodding his head as he acknowledges. Propping his elbow on top of the books, he brings his fingers to his mouth, arching a brow. Letting out a hum, his eyebrows twitch as they lower and he cocks his head a little. He slides out a hand in gesture towards the younger boy. “And of course you’re demonstrating that just fine, aren’t you, Ward?” A low, amused chuckle escapes the fourth year. “Fear to stand up, selfishness to let the Ministry deal with it.” A brow lifts with interest as he lets out an, “Oh?” at his last statement. “Yea, but what are you planning on doing about it? You’re saying two different things here.”
Gabriel shakes his head, his smile still on his lips, "Different perspectives provide different views I guess. Waiting for the Ministry to help isn't selfishness. It just shows the trust a civilized human being should show in the structures set in place to keep us all safe from the abuse of those in power. Not standing up, yet, isn't fear, its allowing reason to trump emotions when appropriate." Then his smile grows wider as he shrugs, one shoulder rubbing along the book spines in the shelves he's leaning against, "As the saying goes, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it. Once we've decided enough is enough we will start making plans. But right now? We're just seeing if the Ministry will recognize that what is going on here is unfair, bad for all of the Wizarding community, and in need of fixing."
Humming out, Angelus taps his fingers against his lips. He’s trying to play cool here, a relaxed, not bothered, amused position. His eyes briefly slide away from the Ravenclaw, glancing along the aisle before he returns his gaze to him. A heavy sigh escapes him as his shoulders lift. “What I think you’re trying to say, Ward, sounds a lot selfish too me.” He pauses, lowering his hand and tapping it casually against the books, humming. He considers for a second before he continues. “You want us,” he says, pointing at himself, “to sacrifice ourselves while you guys sit back and wait for the Ministry? That doesn’t sound very honourable to me. Hey! If the people we hate hurts themselves we don’t have to worry about it,” he adds in, mimicking before he releases a heavy sigh. “Right. We lose our support so that we can get trampled by everyone? Do you not see the problem here?”
Gabriel blinks in confusion for a few moments. Clearly he didn't expect that particular interpretation of the situation. Then he frowns for a moment followed by a chuckle, "The Prisoner's Dilemma. I should have guessed it might be seen like that… But no. That's not what any of us would expect. If we don't /all/ stand up for what's right it wouldn't work. For Flint to be fully helpless we /all/ have to ignore his rules, not just the Pureblood, or the Half-blood, or the Muggleborn. A leader is not a leader when they have /no one/ to lead. If even one person follows his example and his rules and gets preferential treatment because of it then everything would fall apart."
Angelus lifts a brow and lets a heavy sigh escape him, lowering his head to touch his fingers to his forehead. “Unfortunately,” he states, shaking his head slowly and looking back up, “you’re looking for an ideal situation. That is /never/ going to happen. You can’t change the way someone thinks, or feels, to make everyone stand on the side you want them too.” Gel sighs again, inhaling before he continues, “There are people who believe in the opposite side you do. How can you expect people to give up what they feel? All we can hope for, Ward, is that people will accept each other somewhere in the near future. Without that? Well…” His shoulders roll back, both palms down on her the books with his fingers curved over their edge. “I’m afraid I can’t see any way to help out.”
Gabriel lets out a very similar sigh to Angelus' "Oh. I am aware, believe me. But just because it’s improbable it doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it. So, what if instead we try to sell people on the axiom that "The only thing that is necessary for evil men to succeed is for good men to do nothing"?" He smiles at Angelus as he lets himself slide down to the floor, sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees. "Honestly, I don't think a lot of the Magijugend are bad. I just think that they have been misled. By their families, by Flint, by society. So instead of valuing people for who they are and for how they act they value people by the family they were born in. I mean, it’s not even about who the strongest magical talents are. Have you noticed that? That even as they speak about making Wizarding society stronger they focus on family trees instead of on strength of talent or level of skill or level of intelligence? They're just parroting what others tell them. And parroting conflicting messages at that."
Poised in his relaxed, casual position, Angelus regards the younger boy. With a slow shake of his head, he removes his foot from the shelf and lowers to Gabriel’s level, setting the books down on the floor beside him. He sits back on the heel of one leg while the foot of the other leg remains against the floor, resting his arm casually against his knee. Angelus hums, tilting his head. As a smirk flicks against his lips, he bobs his head. “No, of course we aren’t bad.” His chin lifts with pride, smiling smugly. “We stand up for one another, show each other honour, watch each other’s back,” he ticks off. “My own House doesn’t even do that. If it weren’t for the Magijugend,” he shakes his head, “if it weren’t for /Black/, who takes care of all of us, I’m afraid of what might have happened in the House. He’s the one showing decency.”
Angelus draws out a heavy sigh, lifting his other hand briefly as he drops his head. “It’s not about value. For one thing, I think /you’re/ rather talented with spells if you can cast the Remordeo the way you did. If we could sort people in classes due to skill level, that would be perfect. It’s about protecting our culture. Would it really be all that exciting if you left the Muggle world only to enter another Muggle world, except with magic? And then certain people get angry because we want to keep our world the way it is which angers people like the Headmaster who retaliates…” He flails a single hand in the air. “Well, like that.”
Gabriel rests his chin on his knees, eyes half-lidded in thought. After a few moments he smiles slightly, "Well, thank you. But how are Muggle born a threat to wizarding society? A big part of the Hogwarts experience is adjusting to Wizarding culture. And, how does limiting the amount of magic we learn help that goal? The intelligent way to protect Wizarding society would be to show us as much as possible about it, get us excited about it. Not treat us like second class citizens. Don't you think?"
Angelus lets out as short chuckle, leaning his weight a little more on his knee. “That’s why we need to sort everyone into classes based on skill level,” he repeats with an arch of his brow.” Gel sighs and shrugs lightly. “I have no idea what’s going on in the Headmaster’s head, but he must be angry. Who knows,” he says, lifting his head, “maybe he lost someone important to him in the terrorist attack against pure-bloods.”
OK, /that/ pulls a look of confusion from Gabriel. "Wait… So you think the headmaster is wrong? So… Why are you helping him? Why side with the Magijugend then?"
Angelus arches a brow, studying Gabriel. He lifts a hand to wave it dismissively in the air in front of him. “I’ve told you,” he murmurs out, rolling his eyes. “It’s about protecting our /culture/. We support one another and keep us safe. If I didn’t have Black there watching my back, I’d have no one.”
Gabriel takes his chin off his knees and puts his right cheek down on them, looking at Angelus with an expression that borders on pity, "You would have us. And you would have the knowledge that you did the /right/ thing. Your idea of classes based on skill are good. And you can add the idea of a preparatory school for Muggle born. Have them spend a year in a school meant to teach nothing but Wizarding traditions and history. That would fix the problems without unfairly restricting us."
“I’ve suggested that,” murmurs Angelus with a smirk. An amused smile grows over his lips as he tilts his head. “Evans and I agreed, actually, about having a pre-school to teach Muggle-born to better help them fit in.” His smile slants lopsidedly. “In exchange that we learn Muggle culture to better understand it.” He shrugs simply. “It could work.” But then he releases a sigh and shakes his head. “Oh, I doubt that, Ward. You’ve said yourself that none of you are standing up for anything. So how would I have /you/?”
Gabriel holds up a finger then shakes it side to side, "Wait, wait, wait. I didn't say we were not standing for anything. I said we were giving the Ministry a chance to do the right thing and not actively antagonize Flint… Yet. But we are most definitely standing for equality of all Wizards and Witches. And if need be we /will/ take action."
As Angelus lifts his shoulders, the hand that doesn’t rest on his knee lifts. “How can you be standing up, but still be waiting on the Ministry who may not even come?” He rolls his eyes, shaking his head slowly. “But lying down and waiting for adults - who I might add seem to be dilly dallying and can’t come to an agreement of their own - doesn’t seem like that is standing up.” A smirk touches his lips as he pushes against his knee, pushing himself up to his feet after grabbing the books. “It doesn’t matter,” he says as he holds up a hand. “I don’t believe for a second that the Mud Club is just sitting around letting the Headmaster dish out his rules.”
Gabriel grins a secretive little grin and says, "Well, at least now I know you're not as bad as people like to make you seem. Misguided, either incredibly brave by trying to change things from the inside or too afraid to do what you know is the right thing. But not bad." Looking up at the older by he takes one arm from around his legs and waves a little bit, "I hope the books help. And don't forget; "The only thing that is necessary for evil men to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
Angelus smirks, tilting his head a little as he watches the Ravenclaw. A quiet chuckle escapes him and a grin flashes out over his face. “Oh, I’m sure I’m a terrible person, Ward,” he says teasingly, shaking his head, “to anyone who doesn’t like to preserve history.” He shrugs simply and turns, though his gaze lingers over the younger boy. “Yea, thanks for the help,” he says, lifting his books in gesture as he smiles warmly. Then as he begins walking along the aisle, he lifts a hand above his shoulder in a little flick. “Let me know when you’re ready to do more than wait. Then maybe I’ll be more willing to stick my neck out.”