| Details for Or Worse, Expelled |
| Summary: | Before breakfast on Wednesday, Gareth has a chat with Angelus with Madeline responses thrown in. |
| Date: | January 21, 1940 |
| Location: | Library, Hogwarts |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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The library has been one of his first stops during the start of a new day. Once again before breakfast on Wednesday morning, Angelus makes a stop. He’s seated at one of tables with a sheet of parchment and a book opened in front of him, his arm outstretched on the table as he leans against it, his head slanted lazily to the side as his blue eyes focus on the text.
Gareth is bustling around the library, returning books he borrowed last night to their places on the shelves. He's down to only two large tomes when he comes upon Angelus, and his steps falter. His brows draw together, a look of intense concentration on his face, as he tries to decide how to proceed. Finally, he throws caution to the wind and sits across the table from his cousin, thunking the massive books down somewhat loudly. "What were you thinking?" he asks in a low, hissing voice. "Have you gone completely mental?"
Madeline is talking animatedly with Madame Patil - going over some insane notion of recreating a 'ray gun' using magic. Nothing harmful, mind, just light and sound (which she demonstrates with a few sound effects). The patient librarian soon sends the girl on her way with a list of books she should check, and she bounces her way between the aisles to search the volumes out.
The thud of Gareth’s books brings Angelus’ attention abruptly out of his book, drawing in a breath and opening his mouth in a reflexive reply. “That I’m tired of-“ He cuts off when he realizes who it is, frowning and shrugging lightly. With his head up, his eyes flick off toward Madeline when she passes by, his eyes narrowing briefly as he eyes the girl. With a snort, Gel brushes his hand out through the air. He starts his answer again to Gareth, “I was thinking that I can be more productive at home than I can here.” He smirks. “Less people disrupting me with their petty issues.”
Gareth lets out an exasperated sigh, brows drawn together in frustration. "You want to be expelled? And just what do you plan to do with your life without an education? What if they snap your wand? Refuse to let you practice magic at all? Do you have any idea what your life will be like as a Muggle? Angelus, think! Haven't you heard anything I've been saying to you these last couple of months? You can't go around making a scene like that, drawing negative attention to yourself. You need to let me help you, Cousin. You need to learn to control your actions, to guard your words. There's a war coming, you and I both know it, and we need to be ready to face it. To fight it."
Madeline is just pulling a book down from a nearby shelf when Gareth goes on his little rant. She pauses to blink at him, book in hand, before remarking, "Well, that's patently ridiculous. Whether he has a wand or not, he won't turn into a Muggle. He has magic, and he'll always be a wizard," she remarks. This bit of pedantry out of the way, she starts looking for the next book. She should write a wizarding book about practical ray guns. It'd be great.
Angelus blinks, staring at Gareth rather intently as the seventh year speaks. He suddenly gains a rather pensive look as his tongue pushes against his teeth thoughtfully. “Expelled? No. I just want a week off.” His brows lower as the twitch in bewilderment, and then he lets out a deep sigh. He’s about to reply further when his blue eyes flick towards Madeline, his lips curling with contempt. “I’m going to surpass Merlin, so obviously I’m going to be a powerful wizard.” He rolls his eyes before looking bitterly to Gareth. “I think I’ve got enough negative attention thanks to the lies and wild stories of little Miss Evans.”
Gareth frowns deeply, looking over to Madeline. "Snapping the wand is a symbolic act," he says rather plainly. "It is within the Ministry's power to permanently forbid the use of magic for certain transgressions. Surely a Junior Auror knows about such matters." With an indignant sniff, he turns back to Angelus. "You're not going to surpass Peeves if you get yourself kicked out of school. At this rate, you're not even going to make it to your OWLs. Now if you want to continue to take advantage of the finest magical education available, you need to start now. You can begin by letting go of your resentment toward people like Evans. It's a poison, Angelus, eating away at you from the inside. Let it go. Let. It. Go. You're Angelus Eibon, not some snivelling child crying into his nanny's skirt. Stand up and be a man. Be an example to others on how to behave like a proper wizard of breeding. If someone says something unkind, ignore them. Retaliation is beneath your dignity. If someone lies about you…." He casts another dark glance toward Madeline. "…ignore it. Be a shining example of civility and breeding.
"Only telling your lies, then, Eibon," Madeline answers brightly - before rolling her eyes at Gareth. "Still don't make him a Muggle. Wand or no, permission to use magic or no, he'll always be a wizard. You'd think a wizard-born'd know something as basic as that. What have they been teaching you instead? Ooo! Found it!" She pulls a second book down from the shelf, then turns to move towards another table.
Angelus rolls his eyes as he rolls his head to the side, looking over to Madeline with a lazy blink. “You only ever misunderstand me, Evans. That’s the main problem.” He flips the cover of the book he was reading closed, letting out an impatient sigh as he rests his elbow on the table, leaning his head on top. “I’d only get expelled if Pettigrew’s biased views have anything to do with it.” He waves out a dismissive hand in the general direction Madeline is in with a lazy sound escaping him. “It’s not her I care about. Blimey, if she wants to be blind and stubborn, that’s her problem. Her opinion of me matters less than zero.” A smirk touches his lips. “I just want Malfoy and my father to stop this waste of energy and start working together. Only together will we achieve great victory.”
Gareth reaches across the table and grabs Angelus' hands in his own. "That's not going to happen if you keep getting yourself into trouble," he says, his eyes pleading. "Promise me you'll stop doing things like jumping onto the table during dinner and saying unkind things about the school's professors. Promise me, Angelus. Be a paragon of virtue and good behavior. Give no one a reason to discipline or despise you. I can't help you if you keep working against me, Angelus." He releases Eibon's hands and sits back, shooting another look toward Madeline. "I said he'd have to live as a Muggle, not that he'd be a Muggle. Honestly, Evans. If you have any hope of being a real Auror one day, you need to start paying attention to what people actually say, rather than what you want to hear. I sense great potential in you, Evans. But like my dear cousin here, you need to learn how to control your baser instincts."
"Oh, I never intend to be an Auror," Madeline answers. "Being a Junior one was quite frightening enough. And he'll never live as a Muggle, either. He'll still have brooms, and the floo, and potions, and fizzing whizbees, and wizard chess, and all those things. You obviously know nothing about what Muggle life is about, and that's a shame. You ought know both worlds." Waving one of her books at the two boys she adds, I'm going to go make a ray gun now. Good day!" And off she goes to sit at a quieter table.
An irked ‘gah’ escapes the youth as his head rolls off his hand - lifting it with a jolt - as Gareth seizes his hands. Gel blinks, slightly annoyed by the gesture - he was comfortable - and frowns as he regards the seventh year. When the boy is able to pull his hands back, he crosses them in front of him as he leans forward, turning his head to look away as he lets out a sigh. “Yes, I do admit it was probably a daft thing to do.” He lifts a hand to wave it front of him at the discussion between Madeline and Gareth. “Just let her be. You can’t make her understand. Besides that, she’s young and been denied learning for almost two months. You can’t expect her to know everything in year two. …What’s a ray gun?” Gel’s words drift out as he watches her walk off. With a shake of his head, he leans back in the chair and, placing his feet against the edge of the table, tips the chair back onto two legs. After pondering for a second, he reaches into his robes and tugs up the silver pendant around his neck, pulling it over his head and dropping his chair back onto all fours to drop the Eye of Truth onto the table. “Also, here, me having this upsets Malfoy.” He glances away sulkily.
Gareth scowls as Madeline wanders off, shaking his head. Turning back to Angelus, he lowers his voice. "A ray-gun is a sort of Muggle magic wand used by absurd characters in Muggle funny pages. Which, I might add, aren't very humorous." He reaches for the pendant, closing his hand around the silver. "I'll keep this safe for you," he whispers. "One day, you'll be able to wear it openly and proudly…if you survive the next few months. Your situation is becoming grave, Angelus, and annoying Malfoy isn't the greatest of your troubles." He glances around to see if anyone is close enough to hear him whispering, then leans closer over the table. "I'll try and get you…something. Something you can use to speak with me any time, day or night. It's rather rare and very expensive, but I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, watch your back, and if you feel as if you're in any real danger, come find me immediately. Don't draw any more attention to yourself. The time will come when you will be front and center in everyone's mind, and for all the right reasons, but that time is not now. Do you understand?"
The explanation of the ray gun only bewilders Angelus further, but he gives a shake of his head. He frowns as he stands up from the chair, leaving the book on the table. “I haven’t felt safe in my dorms since I returned to school in September.” He frowns as he looks down to the floor. “I know how to hang back and keep quiet, Carrow,” Gel says flatly. Lifting his head, he sighs. “And I was told by Malfoy that I was being snivelling. So I decided to show my superior brilliance and apparently I’m still wrong. He isn’t making any sense. He’s the one that keeps changing what he’s saying.” He turns and looks towards the door. “I don’t want to miss breakfast.”
Gareth slips the pendant into his pocket and rises as well, gathering his two remaining books. "Yes, breakfast, good idea. As for Malfoy, remember: you're better than he is. He's beneath you, and he should be beneath your notice. Ignore him and all his lackeys. We'll get through this, Angelus. Just keep your head down for now, all right? Our time will come very soon." He looks around again, then gives Angelus a quick nod, before moving toward one of the bookshelves to replace a giant tome.