(1939-11-07) No, You're a Stubborn Idiot!
Details for No, You're a Stubborn Idiot!
Summary: Once again, Madeline and Gabriel fail to get along - and an unexpected peacemaker arrives to help.
Date: Friday November 7th, 1939
Location: Entry Hall
Related:
Characters
AngelusGabrielMadeline

Gabriel is sitting on a bench lined up along the wall across from the house point counters, simply gazing at all the colored marbles and not doing much more of anything else. Next to the end of his bench his bookbag rests on the floor, stuffed as usual.

Madeline careens in from outside - her shoes skidding slightly on the stone as she tries to abruptly change direction at the sight of Gabriel on the bench - somehow the girl manages to keep her feet however. She plunks herself down beside him, slinging her own bookbag up to sit next to her. "Hi," she greets her friend unceremoniously.

Gabriel glances over at Madeline for a second before turning his eyes back to the counters. "Hi".

Madeline looks up at the points counter, then towards Gabriel, kicking her feet idly and nibbling on her lip. She's silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Ummm. So why'd you do that thing on Halloween, anyways? It's just gonna get kids mad - yeah?"

Gabriel's eyes flick sideways for another quick second before he goes back to gazing at the colored jewels in the counters. After a long pause he shrugs and says, "Because what happened was wrong. And because the things the Magijugend now and Slytherin before them believe in are abusive and demeaning. We should not let people forget them or ignore them in the interest of 'peace'". And once again he repeats a phrase he's been repeating since the start of term feast, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

"Yeah, but… that's just gonna make people mad and start more fights," Madeline answers. "Ain't you tired of fighting with everyone? I got enough on my plate just making sure I don't fail Transfiguration now."

Gabriel shrugs again. "I'm not fighting anyone. I'm defending myself and the people I care about. If /other/ people start fights that's not my problem. Just like its not my problem if people get mad when the truth is brought to light." As he talks his eyes bounce from counter to counter and his voice comes out lacking emotion, just stating the facts. At least the facts as he sees them.

"Gabe, that was starting a fight!" Madeline counters with a laugh, giving her friend a nudge. "We can't do that. Please? We can try to make things better - make folks see they were wrong - but not like that."

Gabriel finally stops looking at the counters to fix Madeline with a steady look. He holds the look for a long moment before asking, "Really? Then how? Because all I'm seeing around me is people asking for 'peace' and pretty much ignoring everything else that happened over the last two months. So tell me, what's your plan?"

Madeline shrugs her shoulders. "Not by making fun of people. I mean…" She goes silent, thoughtful, as she tries to think of an example before saying, "Biscuits! If I was trying to show you that I'd found these great biscuits from… Australia or something, it'd be dumb to try to show you how great they were by making fun of Oreos. It'd just make you mad. Right? That's all making fun of the Slytherins 'n Magijugends is gonna do. It just makes 'em mad. Who listens when they're mad? That's why we need peace."

Gabriel snorts, "I don't care if they get mad. I /want/ them to get mad. I want them to really show people who they are and what they stand for. I am /done/ trying to get them to see logic, trying to teach them how their actions affect the people around them. They clearly are unwilling to see how they hurt others so maybe if other see them /really/ hurting people it will lead to changes." His eyes flash with anger for a moment before he returns to gazing at the points counter and when he speaks again his voice is back to 'matter-of-fact', "Besides, making fun of people with the purpose of bringing truth to light is called satire and its a time honored tradition."

"Things are changed! We have our classes back," Madeline insists. "This is dumb, Gabriel. It's just gonna get you hurt. You're smarter 'n that, I thought." She scuffs her toes at the floor before she adds, "You know what I think we oughtta do to really fix things? I think we should get Professor Dumbledore to add new classes next year - for the first years and second years. Wizard born kids should be studying Muggle culture, and Muggle-raised kids should be studying wizarding culture. I think if we that… stuff like what happened wouldn't happen anymore. That's what I think."

Gabriel is sitting with Madeline of a bench lined up against the wall facing the House Counters. Gabriel's eyes are on the counters as he speaks with Madeline, "The all well and good. But its still glossing over the main problem. Which is that Pureblood think that anyone that's not part of a family with wizarding blood back to the dark ages should be nothing but servants and pets."

"And we're gonna fix that by being mean?" Madeline asks. "Instead of trying to teach them? You sound more like Angelus Eibon than Gabriel Ward," she asserts. "So cut it out and use your brain. I thought you were supposed to be the Ravenclaw and I was supposed to be the Gryffindor!"

Gabriel asks one simple question, "What's one of the ways of defining insanity, Madeline?"

"Ooo! I know this one. Ummm… err…." Madeline gets a thoughtful look on her features as she tries to remember. "Definition of insanity…" It occurs to her to offer 'Angelus Eibon' as a 'definition' but that's just mean-spirited! She squelches the thought. "…okay. I can't remember," she finally relents.

Angelus makes his way down the last flight of stairs at a hurrying pace. In fact, he's fleeing, his robes flapping out behind him as he all but flies downward, his hand sliding over the handrail. There's a gleeful laughter from somewhere further up, which sounds a lot like Peeves, as the youth jumps from the staircases two steps up. He blows out an exasperated breath, his hand coming up to rub his hair vigorously as he walks across the hall. Sandy dust falls from his hair to the ground, shaking his head wildly as he lets out a 'gah' sound. As he lifts his head in his approach of the hourglasses, he suddenly freezes a few paces back from Gabriel and Madeline, shifting on his feet.

"Oh hi Eibon!" Madeline greets Angelus cheerfully as the boy appears abruptly in the Entry Hall. She lets out a quiet giggle. "Peeves?" she asks - not without a note of sympathy in her voice.

Gabriel turns back to look at Madeline again and says, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result." And there was clearly something more coming behind that but Angelus interrupts that with his 'grand' entrance, distracting Gabriel, "So what'd he dump on you?"

"Yea," Angelus lets out on an exasperated sigh. He gives his hair another shake with his hand, another wordless sound escaping him. Combing his fingers through his hair determinedly, rolling his eyes, trying to get some order back to the ash blonde curls. "How do you kick a poltergeist from the school?" A mournful sigh escapes him, flicking his eyes towards the stairs and then towards Gabriel. "I don't know," he answers, rather perturbed by the answer. His gaze slides onto the hourglasses with a tilt of his head. "It's good to see ours filled finally." He glances towards Madeline with a soft smile. "Isn't it?"

"Oh, you're right! It is insane to think being mean to people will do anything different," Madeline answers Gabriel, sticking out her tongue at him, before turning back and Angelus with a shrug of her shoulders. "I dunno. It was pretty funny seeing it empty all that time. But I guess it's nice - now that everything's settled."

Gabriel shakes his head sadly ,"insanity is to continue trying to make the Pureblood see that they are oppressors trying to stay in control through fear and abuse. Insanity, apparently, is also trying to get you to consider that anyone other than you might be right about things. Or that there is more than one way to approach a problem." Standing up he grabs his backpack and starts heading for the stairs, "I think in the future we should avoid talking about this specific topic. We clearly don't see things the same way and I don't like fighting with you." And in passing, "Eibon."

Angelus arches a brow as he tilts his head with a glance at Gryffindor's hourglass. "I thought of it as embarrassing," he remarks. His smile twitches lightly with amusement, rolling his shoulders coolly. "But if you found it funny…" He smirks, giving a wink to Madeline. "At least we can keep it full from now on?" A curious hum escapes the boy as he glances between Gabriel and Madeline, head tilting as he considers. "Hey, Ward, one moment?"

Something Gabriel says seems to strike a nerve as Madeline scowls at his retreating back. "I'm not in the habit of letting my friends be idiots, Gabriel Ward!" she calls after him, angling her body slightly away from him now, so her shoulder is turned towards him.

"I was proud of it," Madeline answers Angelus in a subdued voice - certainly subdued compared to the annoyed shout she just let out. "Showed we Gryffindors weren't putting up with what was going on. And most of the points losses weren't coming from the Muggleborns, either. But now we can fill it up, yeah."

Making good on his word Gabriel ignores Madeline's shout since it relates to the topic he's decided not to talk to her about. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, off to the side so he's not in the way of people using them he turns to Angelus, "Yes?"

"Er-" Angelus starts out, lifting his fingers to rub lightly over his. A sigh escapes him, glancing towards Madeline as he lifts a brow, and then back to Gabriel. "Well I wanted to apologise for shoving your generous offer in your face," he informs as he follows Gabe. "I'm sorry that I offended you," he states, dipping his chin in a nod. He extends a hand out to Gabe. His royal blue eyes flick toward his housemate and back to the Ravenclaw, frowning, letting out a hum. "Whatever it is that might be the issue right now, is it worth being upset at each other?" Gel shifts lightly on his feet, drawing in a breath before adding in, "If there's something I can do to help?"

"I'm not gonna put up with Gabriel picking fights anymore 'n I put up with you doing it," Madeline answers Angelus in a stubborn tone. "And… and I do too listen to other people's ideas! But starting fights is a bad one." Still keeping her shoulder angled towards them, she crosses her arms over her chest.

Gabriel apparently is not as stubborn as Madeline because that last comment manages to make him respond, "I'll tell you what, /Evans/. You go right on ahead and try to stop me from doing whatever the hell I want to do. See what happens. You're not the boss of this school and /definitely/ not the boss of me and I'll be more than happy to prove that to you the hard way if you'd like me to." And then he turns back to Angelus, slings his bookbag a little more firmly over his shoulder, and takes a few steps over to the older boy taking the offered hand, "Water under the bridge, Angelus. Thank you for apologizing." After pumping his hand up and down a time or two he turns around and starts walking away again.

Another hum escapes the youth, tilting his head and glancing again towards Madeline and to Gabriel. Heaving another sigh as he frowns deeper, when his hand is released he uses that arm to extend it in front of Gabe to keep him from walking. "Hang on, Ward, don't you think you're being a little harsh on Evans? It sounds to me she's only concerned for her friend." Angelus hums thoughtfully, and a smirk flicks against his lips. His gaze slides towards Madeline again as she looks between the two. "You don't really want to take out your anger on Evans, do you? Evans?" he raises his voice as he glances towards the girl. "Why don't you ease it down a little, too. Heh," Gel lets out easily as he moves his hand to tap Gabriel's shoulder. "You could probably take out your anger on me, if you want, but not Evans. Not for trying to be helpful."

When Gabriel calls her Evans, Madeline's arms tighten across herself, and she shifts so her back is now angled towards the two boys with her shoulders hunched and chin drooped. Angelus playing peacemaker, though, brings her head partway around in surprise. "I just… I don't want anymore fighting. We shouldn't pick anymore fights with them!" she insists. "We're better'n that."

Gabriel's eyes flick to Madeline but when he speaks he speak to Angelus, "I'm not angry . I'm just making sure its clear that my choices are my own. And good intentions don't mean that /anyone/ has the right to impose their ideas or opinions on someone else." A pointed look at Angelus' arm is accompanied with, "Now, if you please, like the rest of the mudbloods I have plenty of work to catch up on thanks to being behind by two months."

Angelus frowns with a regretful look as he glances between the two again. He thinks for a moment before he offers a reassuring smile to Madeline, lifting his chin. "She is right. We all should quit picking fights with one another." Angelus lets out a hum as he quirks a brow, his gaze fixing on Gabe. "Not angry?" He nods his head slowly. "All right, if you say so," he says, stepping away from the younger boy. He winces at the term 'Mudblood,' and it brings back regrets for the two times he's said it while he was angry. Sighing, he nods his head to the Ravenclaw for his departure, but he also adds in, "Ward, if you'd like help while you catch up, I can offer it. I mean, if you want- want my help." He shifts on his feet, his arm falling down to tap his hand lightly on a leg, blowing out a sigh.

Madeline stays silent for now - her face turned away again, and her back tense. This is all just… stupid and wrong why can't Gabriel just see that, and how come she can get through to Eibon and not Gabriel?

Gabriel nods his thanks to Angelus and starts making his way up the stairs, "Thank you. I will keep the offer in mind."

Nodding his head to Gabriel, Angelus watches him climb the stairs before he lets out sigh and turns to glance at Madeline. He hesitates, glancing to the floor and around the hall, and then decides to approach. "You all right, Evans?" he asks.

"I'm fine," Madeline answers - despite the fact that she's clearly not. "Gabriel's an idiot, but I'm fine." He called her Evans! And then says he's not mad at her? "I should probably go study, too."

Angelus frowns, halting a few paces back and clasping his hands behind him. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more," he states quietly. He nods his head slowly, sliding his gaze onto the hourglasses, but sighs as he glances back to Madeline, inclining his head back. "Just, don't lose sight of your friends, Evans. It sounds like Ward has some things to sort out." A sigh escapes him quietly as he shrugs lightly. "He probably didn't mean to sound so harsh. Maybe once things are better on track, he'll calm down a little?" A proud 'heh' escapes him. "Dumbledore is Headmaster now, remember. He will get things on track." His smile flutters softly against his lips. "Do you need any help with your studies?"

"Yeah, well, I probably shouldn't be calling him an idiot to his face," Madeline answers wryly - then winces and adds, "or maybe not behind his back, either. But he's being so stupid about it!" She lets out a sigh, and turns her head towards Angelus, watching him with a slightly uncertain look. It's still weird to have him acting… nice. But it is good, she supposes. "Umm. Are you any good at avifors? I'm still having trouble with it, a little bit. I'm really worried I'm gonna flunk Transfiguration this year."

A short chuckle escapes the youth as he shifts on his feet. "No, you probably don't want to be calling him an idiot," Gel agrees, winking at Madeline. "For someone who wasn't acting any better," he says as he gestures at himself, smirking, "well, insults don't make it easy to come out and apologize." He lowers his chin barely an inch. "I really hope you can work it out." He turns his head as a saddened look crosses his face, looking to the stairs before simply drooping his head. "It feels terrible when you're friends are upset with you." He lifts his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. But how is he going to fix things with Lucretia? And Angus? Angelus grimaces at the girl's question, letting out a pained, "Ooh." A laugh escapes him, lifting his fingers to scratch at the back of his neck. "Evans, what you did in the commons looked far better than any Avifors I've cast. Mine? I've gotten the object to produce wings with the general shape of a bird, but still of the material." A hum escapes him as he tips his head. "Though if you're worried about failing why not try my brother? He's a good at transfigurations."

"Still?" Madeline asks. "I mean, I know you're not good at Transfiguration, but…" It's a second year spell! "Noalan?" she asks. "Well. I'll ask him. Megan's been helping too, of course, but I shouldda been working on my Transfiguration stuff more the last two months instead of working on all those- umm… charms." The ones she used against the Magijugend, of course.

Angelus winces, biting his tongue as he glances away again. Not good at transfigurations, but he sighs, shifting uneasily on his feet as he glances back to her. "Yea," he sighs out softly, trying to replace shame with amusement. "I've never been able to transfigure a perfect bird." Gel nods his head in answer to his brother's name. "Yes, he's a prefect." The mention of that has a little bit of jealously leaking out into his tone, but he tries to bite it back. "Don't let the way he acts scare you off. He'll help you. He just…" Angelus shifts on his feet. "He can sound rude." He rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, well… I think I'm used to rude," Madeline admits, giving Angelus a wry smile - before a look of horrified regret takes over her features. "I don't mean you. I wasn't saying you," she says hastily. "Really. I just meant…you know. Everything. All that happened. Not you."

A flicker of amusement twitches against Angelus' lips. He shifts lightly, fingers still clasped behind him as he watches Madeline. He inclines his head lightly. "Well I was impolite to you, I was terrible, so even if you didn't intentionally mean me…" Gel trails off, floating a hand out in front of him in dismissal. "I can officially introduce you to him."

Madeline nods, looking relieved when Angelus doesn't look offended by her words. "Umm. I'd like that," she agrees. "That's be really nice of you."

Angelus smiles faintly as he dips his head with that settled. He hesitates a moment, and then steps closer to the bench. "Now I can definitely lend a hand with any potions help you might like," he offers. He sucks in a breath as he freezes for a moment, considering as he cranes his head, and then adds, "Actually, I could help you out when my club meets. If- If you want, that is. I mean…" He clears his throat. "There's so few who come into work on potions work together now." He glances to the ground as he frowns.

"I'm doing alright in potions. I mean - it's my best subject, really, and that's one of the things I was doing at my uncle's new cottage… I'd do all the chopping and juicing and grinding and such - and he'd do the brewing parts…" Madeline explains, but when she sees him glancing down at the floor, she bites her lower lip before offering, "Umm, but I'm always happy ta have another chance to practice. And, you know, try little variations like pounding versus grinding. It's fun."

Lifting his head, Angelus arches a brow with interest. "Oh?" A grin crosses over his face as he tilts his head, letting out a short chuckle. "That's brilliant, Evans. Oh, please, you don't need to feel forced into coming by." Both brows spring upwards as his eyes glimmer with an eagerness. "I didn't realise it was your best subject. Have you read ahead at all? You know, I could lend you my book from last year if you want."

"Well, no, not to next year yet," Madeline admits. "With everything that's been going on. But of course in this year's book. I wanted to see what we would be making, and what will be fun, or useful, and which ones'll be a challenge to make… I'm just glad to be getting proper brewing time again. I mean, I could find little places to practice spells - especially in my room - but where was I to practice brewing potions? It was torture! And it's just not the same when uncle Perry's doing part of the work. Though it was still nice, of course."

Angelus grins as he nods, his eyes glimmering. "We've got a workshop in the basement at home." His head lifts, quite proud. As he lifts his fingers to flick at his curls, he suddenly remembers Peeves' prank and causes him to let out an exasperated sound. But he shakes his head, and grins at Madeline. "It's just on the opposite side of where my bedroom is." He nods his head in agreement.

"I wish I could do that," Madeline says with a sigh. "But even if I was allowed to do magic at home," which she's obviously not, "I've got to worry about Asher, Saul and Miriam - I hate having to keep all this a secret from them. You can't know how hard that is. I hate secrets."

Angelus cocks his head lightly to the side, considering as he hums out quietly. Amusement flicks in his smile, twisting at his lips as he nods slowly. "I'm good with secrets," he murmurs, though it isn't really said to her so much as musing out loud to himself. His mind wanders elsewhere, thinking about one particular secret he would never, ever tell. Who knows what would happen to his father if that ever got out. With a shake of his head, he steps up closer to examine the hourglass with the rubies in it. A 'heh' escapes him as he looks to Madeline. "Yea, I probably don't know how it's like for you. You have, er, had, Muggle school before this?" He makes a grand gesture around him and continues, "Did you have a hard time leaving?"

Madeline doesn't comment about Angelus' ability to keep secrets - she just hopes he'll keep to that. "I did," she confirms. "And… it was. I mean, I have some really good friends back home. Sarah 'n Mary 'n Robert. They think I've gone off to some boarding school on account of winning a story writing competition." She shrugs her shoulders, then adds quietly, "It was really hard - last year. Not knowing anyone, and not knowing anything about magic, and being so far away from my mum and my da' for the first time ever. It got a lot better, of course, but I was just desperate to go home by Christmas last year."

Angelus turns back to examine the hourglass a moment longer, as if staring at it would will more points to fall, before he shakes his head. He grins as he glances to Madeline. "If we play as well as I heard we did for the next games, we'll be taking the cups for sure this year," he says proudly, lifting his head. He nods his head as he regards Madeline, humming softly. Her explanation has his expression falling, and he glances down to the floor briefly, shifting on his feet. He approaches the bench, his gaze lifting to focus on Madeline. "I was impatient, you know. My first year. Especially with potions. I wanted to learn and start my classes, but we had to wait and take it slow, for Muggle-born?" He dips his head and lifts his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose as he sighs. "I could have helped, but instead I was impatient." He sighs and drops his hand. "It didn't help that I wasn't sorted as expected."

"You thought you'd be Slytherin?" Madeline asks. Enough students in their house had wished him to be, this year! …herself included. "It was scary - but I was excited about learning magic, and I was lucky. I had uncle Perry, so he told me what to expect. And it was nice having someone to write to who understood. I really like it at Hogwarts. I wouldn't ever go back to my Muggle school." Well. Not now that SCUMS is gone, anyways, she thinks a bit uncomfortably - shifting on the bench.

Angelus nods his head slowly in answer. "Yea," he lets on a breath. "After my pa, and my grandpa. I guess my uncle had been in Slytherin, too." He shrugs lightly, lifting his fingers to his mouth as he takes on a thoughtful look. "I think my grandmother had been in Gryffindor." He shakes his head a little. "I could have sworn my sister would have been sorted into Hufflepuff." He laughs, smiling as he shakes his head. "I don't know, can't argue with the hat, right?" He tilts his head as he watches her, and then asks with a light grin, "You knew about the Houses then? Were you happy with Gryffindor?"

"Uncle Perry wanted me to be a Ravenclaw," Maddie answers. "But I'm happy in Gryffindor. None of them sounded bad to me - though I knew I wasn't gonna be a Slytherin, of course." She smiles before adding, "I'm glad Megan's a Gryffindor. She helped a lot this year."

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