| Details for It Just Won't Work |
| Summary: | Celes and Angelus are playing a game of Exploding Snaps when Mischief is startled. Abraxas passes through after sending off a letter, exchanging a few words. Celes leaves, upset with Angelus, and Gel and Maddie once again can't get along. |
| Date: | November 4, 1939 |
| Location: | Central Castle Roof, Hogwarts |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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After morning class and upon finding Celes, Angelus has come up to the roof. It is apparently a pretty common spot to choose for the boy, and he sits up here with his book strap lying, ignored, on the floor next to him. He grins at the girl sitting across from him as he flips a card, a cocky little smile flickering around his lips as his eyes twinkle. But in that moment the card explodes and Gel lets out an ‘ack!’ as he draws his hand quickly away, only to lean over onto a single hand as he laughs heartily. “Oh, sparks, I’m apparently not having much luck at this.”
As the card explodes, there's a squawk, and a black bird is seen flying out of sight. "Mischief!" comes a familiar-sounding voice. "Mischief, we're not done yet!" she calls. "Mischief, come!" Madeline hurries in from the east parapet - but the bird isn't stopping. "Well… phooey."
Abraxas is returning from the Owlry, as it happens, green and black robes flapping behind him. He's sent his mail off to wherever it needs to go, and as he returns towards the stairs he spies the other students. "Evening." he says, in curt generality.
Celes jumps slightly. Every time! Well, at least it wasn't her hand this time. "Who ever thought of this and managed to get it popular is a genius. You have to buy a new pack practically every game." She's about to reach for a card when she notices the calling girl. Thankful for the excuse to avoid the torture of selecting another card she calls back, "No mischief, exploding snap, sorry."
Once Angelus’ laughter dies down, letting out a breath, Angelus flashes a grin. “It doesn’t hurt to keep extras,” he responds with a nod. The raven flying through causes him to start, lifting his head abruptly as his gaze trails after. A mischievous grin stretches across his face, snickering, glancing towards Celes before looking towards the voice calling out to the bird. “I thought you had better control over him?” he pipes up as though it wasn’t the games fault. Then Abraxas shows up and Angelus glances towards him, considering before he offers he older boy a nod. “Malfoy. Brilliant costume you had.”
"I do when things aren't… exploding!" Madeline protests, letting out a sigh. "And she's a girl, apparently." She looks towards Celes, nodding her head in the direction of her bird. "That's Mischief. It's her name. You didn't know?"
"Thank you, Eibon. And a few points to Slytherin didn't hurt, either." Abraxas says, with a small nod to Angelus. "I'm sure it will come back, Evans. If she doesn't, you'll have learned an important lesson about why to rely on owls instead of some other bird."
Celes jumps again as a card turned over earlier that they failed to match explodes. "What? Oh, right, the bird. Sorry, I guess it was a failing of expectation. I'd think people would equate explosions to mischief." She gives her a sheepish grin. She really doesn't like this game. Standing up, she brushes herself off and puts a little distance between herself and the cards. "It was impressive. I got a chill every time I got too close." Not wanting to be rude she adds, "I liked yours too Madeline, very… festive."
A snort escapes the boy as he flicks his gaze to the cards, and then back towards Madeline as he rolls his eyes. “Oh, sure, blame the card game,” he says, forcing himself to sound more playful than sarcastic. He grins over to Abraxas as he nods his head. “Loads better than my costume last year,” he admits. “Giving of a chill? That was fantastic.” And then he can’t help himself but start to snicker at Abraxas’ remark about sticking with owls, which he clears his throat and tries to resist any further snickers even as he snorts out, “I’ve tried to tell her that a raven is subpar…” A glance is shot towards Madeline, his lips curling as he looks away, down to the cards to gather the rest up.
"Mischief is brilliant. She talks and I'd love to see any of your owls do that," Madeline says rather defensively. "And of course she'll come back - she was only startled. I just wish we'd finished the lesson." She looks between the two boys with a hint of aggravation, but Celes gets a smile. "All the costumes were just cracking, weren't they? Your angel get-up was brilliant. But the fireworks were really fun. Still - it's better Colton won than me. He's the one got me the fireworks anyways!"
"Oh, come off it, Evans. Who ever heard of sending messages by /raven/. What kind of castle do you think this is, anyway?" Abraxas remarks, with a shake of his head, "Though I guess I should be gratified that you chose a wizarding figure to portray with your costume." Abraxas heads towards the stairs and says, "Don't stay up here too late. It's starting to get cold. Winter is coming."
"It was originally just a knight costume, then Angelus wanted to do a pair thing so It became an arch angel." And the rather basic costume got some upgrade beyond her price range. "Oh, I thought only parrots could talk, what have you taught it?" Celes just nods politely to the Slytherin. "Yes sir. I think we're going to be heading inside shortly."
“Someone who can’t afford anything better would probably think something less is brilliant,” murmurs the youth as he shrugs carelessly. Angelus doesn’t bother glancing back towards Madeline, keeping his focus on gathering up the cards, neatly slipping them into their bag, and into his robes. His royal blue eyes follow Abraxas as he departs, his lips twitching lightly as he considers, smirking. He barely looks at Madeline when his brow flickers and he frowns, settling his gaze on Celes. “You don’t have to talk to her, Celes. Just a whisper on the wind,” he says, reaching out to rest a hand on his friend’s back. A hum escapes the youth and he lets out a sigh. “Do you think Malfoy deserves to know who helped Auror Odori out with Flint?”
"Mischief does a great job with her messages. I trust her more than any owl," Madeline says staunchly. Of course, she does sometimes cause a little trouble once she arrives at her destination - but she delivers the message first! Her attention shifts to Celes next as she adds, "Oh. Couldn't tell you changed your idea at all! It worked really well. And Mischief can say loads of things - her name, and hello, and no, and stop, and 'Gooooooo Gryffindor!' I had to work at that one for a while but she's really good at it now."
Her eyes narrow as she frowns at Angelus next. "She wasn't cheap, you know. I couldda got an owl for less. But I wanted Mischief, she suits me." She presses her lips together - her expression momentarily freezing before she asks, "Who helped Rena with Flint? Someone in the MLE, you mean? Or you mean Colton - helping with that door? He was brilliant!" Angelus may have caught her flat footed last time - but not this time.
Celes smiles at the compliment but then looks at Angelus, a bit stung by his words, "Why would you say that Angelus? Are you turning into Gabriel now, saying things just to upset people?" Celes shakes her head, and starts walking away, "I don't want to be any part of this. You can play silly buggers without me."
In response to Madeline about her bird not being cheap, he simply snorts, rolling back his shoulders and keeping his gaze away from Madeline. His head raised and tilted with a superior air, he snubs the second year, shaking his head slowly. His lips twitch, parting as though he were going to say something more, but then closes his mouth as his blue eyes lock on Celes, taken aback. “What?” He spins around when she begins walking away, stretching out arm and swiping at air after her as he stares, letting out a gasp, as she departs. “Wait, Celes.” Angelus frowns, shooting a cold look at Madeline. “She’s just trying to turn everyone against me and I’m done playing nice with her. Look, I’ll try to act nicer to her just for you.” Angelus swirls around and steps back over to pick up his book strap, flinging it over his shoulder to start to follow Celes out.
As Celes gets up to leave, Madeline's expression goes to surprise - and then pleased gratitude. Celes may just have raised herself up a few notches in Madeline's estimation. "I… I am not trying to turn anyone against anyone," Madeline insists. "I'd really like it if we all could get on. Please, umm… stay a second, Eibon?" she asks, shifting uncomfortably.
Angelus stops before he reaches the door and drops his head into his hand, fingers lifting to his forehead. “Sparks,” he mutters out against the heel of his hand. With Celes leaving and Gel’s attempt to catch up with her, he’s forgotten for a moment that Madeline was still there. So when she speaks his head lifts abruptly and he turns to settle an icy stare on her as he tips his chin lightly. His lips curl a little as a smirk touches his lips, lifting a single brow as her regards her. “And why should I stay for you? I’ve got class, sorry.”
"Why are you doing this?" Madeline asks, meeting Angelus' gaze for a moment, then looking away. "It is because- You heard what I said about the bracelet, didn't you?" She’s embarrassed - and absolutely miserable about that fact. She really wishes he hadn't.
A single eyebrow arched, head tilted, Angelus regards Madeline with a smug smile on his face. He starts to turn back to the door with a disinterested sweep, but then snorts and rolls his head back to glance at her. “Oh, get over yourself, I could care less whether you keep the bracelet or not.” He lifts a hand as he turns, flicking his fingers against his blonde curls. “I was told I should show kindness.” A dry laugh escapes him as he steps towards the door. As he pushes it open, his hand holding it open slightly, he glances back towards Madeline. “It turns out that I might have misinterpreted that. It’s just far more kind if I leave you alone altogether. I mean, no one can really trust me, right? I couldn’t possibly want to make amends because of regret.” He rolls his eyes, lifting a hand to flick it in a dismissive wave, and pushes through the door.
Madeline lets out a frustrated sound. "I was trying to be kind. That's why I took it! And… and it is pretty but every time I look at it I just think about… about all the horrible things, 'n I can't wear it!" Angelus doesn't need to be looking at her to hear the pain that leaks into her voice. It just sounds like she's crying. "I'm sorry."
Reaching up one hand, she rubs it across her eyes. "You ain't shown anyone a reason to trust you," she adds more quietly. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone. Rena said I should give you a chance - but you said you wouldn't tell anyone." And there he was - ready to tell Celes at least. And threatening to tell Malfoy.
Angelus is barely through the door when he halts, dropping his head as he lets out a hiss. Turning back, he steps once again through the door back onto the roof, letting the door close as he lowers the book strap to the floor. He flicks his gaze over Madeline before he walks towards her. “I don’t care what you do with it, it was a cheap thing.” At least to what the youth finds cheap. “How incredibly thoughtless of me. Here,” he says as he extends a hand to her, “let me make it easier on you.”
“What wasn’t I going to tell anyone?” Angelus adds as he quirks a brow questionably. The boy rolls his eyes as his head lifts high, giving his head an airy tilt. “Really, I could care less what you do or did. And I certainly don’t give a care if you trust-“ But she mentions Rena and Gel cuts off with a frown. His eyes slide away from Madeline, turning his head and looking down to the ground. He hesitates, shifting uncomfortably on his feet, his hand held out for the bracelet starting to lower. His lips flicker lightly when he brings his gaze back to the girl, sweeping a hand out in a dismissive gesture. “Don’t let me detain you.”
Madeline looks at his hand uncertainly, then up at his features. "It's in my room," she offers uncertainly. "'n it wasn't thoughtless. It's just…" She's trying not to cry - really she is - but she fails as a few more tears roll down her cheeks and she takes a shaky breath. "What 'm I supposed to do? What do you want from me? I'm just supposed to… to forget everything? Pretend it none of it ever happened? 'cuz you went out and bought me some 'cheap thing' with your daddy's money?" she asks. "You hurt me," she says accusingly, and then points towards the parapet where he'd called her 'less than a witch' and dragged her off to Dumbledore. "Right there! When I wasn't doing nothing to you! And… and I wanna put it all behind us. But you can't 'spect me to act like nothing never happened 'n we're all buddies now. You can't 'spect that."
Her eyes go back to his hand as it lowers, and she adds quietly, "Rena's giving you a chance. Don't blow it. Please don't blow it. Housemates're s'pposed to look out fer each other. I- I already told ya I'd help if… if any of my friends're giving you a hard time…"
Angelus’ eyes narrow as they watch Madeline, tilting back his chin as he regards her as she speaks. His lips curl in contempt as he cocks his head to the side, quietly considering as a glint flickers in his eyes. A snort escapes him as he turns from Madeline, flicking a hand over his shoulder in disregard as he takes a few steps away, and then turns to face her again. His head lifts proudly as he speaks, “I am from a noble house, an Eibon, whatever gave you the impression that I fancy us,” he says with a gesture between Madeline and himself, “to be buddies?” He snorts and rolls his eyes. “That doesn’t work. As far as I’m concerned…” He falters, tilting his head as he stares at her, shifting on his feet before he ends up looking away quickly. To add a cool, unconcerned air he spins with a flourish of his robes, and finishes quietly, “As far as I’m concerned you don’t exist.” And he starts to stalk back towards the door. Once there, he shoots a look at the second year and sneers. “Why would I care if a Muggle-born Auror is giving me chances. Silly girl,” he hisses out, quickly turning his head away.
"I dunno," Madeline answers quietly, her shoulders hunching, and turning so her shoulder is angled towards him and her face turned away. "I guess it doesn' matter." She hugs her arms across her middle. "Do whatcha wanna."
Paused for a minute by the door, Angelus’ fingers tap against the edge as he draws out a sigh. He hangs his head to stare down at the floor, and then shoots a look over at Madeline again. Sucking in a breath, he turns his head away without another word and dashes out.