Gryffindor and Slytherin.... the classic rivals pv Reopened

Rose was feeling jittery about duels. This next stage, they were up against the Slytherins, which was a little scary. Not that she would ever admit it out loud. But it was just... daunting. The team that had won all of their duels last stage? Either their captains pushed them really hard or they had some mad skills. Or both. She was, however, on even ground with whichever Slytherins they ended up dueling, at least for this year, anyway. Rose had won her most recent duel, though she was convinced it had nothing to do with her. It was either luck or Alec that had won that duel. Definitely not her.

Anyway. Rose had frequented the Dueling Club, and sometimes even made the trek out on the Hogwarts grounds to practice her dueling spells. She knew that she had to keep her skills sharp, and couldn't let the success of her last duel distract her now. She had to focus if she was going to have a chance at beating the Slytherins.

It was that kind of day where she had gone through her classes without thinking about them very much. Her mind had been focused on strategies, on ways they could beat their opponents, whoever that happened to be. Rose came in the Great Hall thinking about this and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. She didn't serve herself much to eat and picked at it absentmindedly, taking some bites but mostly lost in thought.

It was not long after that she was joined by Henry Knight. "Hey, Henry," she said, smiling and making room for him next to her. Loki was with him, following close behind. Rose barely ever saw Henry without Loki these days. It was like their presence gave each other comfort. Rose knew Chaska was around here somewhere, and almost always joined her for meals, though she hadn't shown up yet. Chaska had grown to be more independent of Rose. She still loved the redhead and was affectionate, but she had matured so that she didn't feel the need to spend every waking moment with the redhead any more, like she had in the past. The first few months with Chaska had been tough because of that. She knew the cat would join her soon. "What's up?" she asked him.

Rose had come to realize that Henry was not your typical Slytherin. Yes, he belonged in the house. There was no doubt in Rose's mind that he was ambitious and cunning. But though he was a pureblood, he wasn't rich. Rose barely ever saw him with other Slytherins. The most house pride he had ever displayed was through dueling, and Rose was fairly sure if he could be on another house's dueling team, he would be with his friends.

There was a sterotype around each of the houses and the relationships between each house. It was rumored that Gryffindor and Slytherin hated each other. Rose knew that was just wrong- Henry was one of the people closest to her. They didn't hate each other. Maybe it was because, on average, both houses were very headstrong and their house pride sometimes led to rivalries. Rose knew that there was barely anything that could come between Henry and herself and keep them apart for too long.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Rose brought up the upcoming duels. "Are you excited for duels? You did really well last time." Yes, Rose had no doubt that Henry was going to do brilliantly on his next duel.

Little did she know that what seemed like a casual conversation was about to take an interesting turn.

Hex color:#A0A9B8
Interacting with: @Rose Moon@Henry Knight

Alec was late... He'd planned to arrive sooner and just distract himself by the chaos that was hogwarts students. However, after finishing up his usual routine, something was different. He headed to his dorm to give himself some time to cool off, half an hour later then planned Alec would find himself arriving at the great hall. His mind was whizzing, and he couldn't get himself to stay focused. Thoughts rushing at him by the hundreds.

As he entered the great hall, it was clear there was something off about the Gryffindor. Perhaps it was the way he walked in so slowly his eyes trained on his shoes, the way his hands were so shaky, maybe the odd open envelope he was clutching onto had something to do with it. It was the envelope it wasn't that hard to figure it out.

Realizing Alec had forgotten to put the envelope and it's encased letter away Alec resolved to put it in his bag once he'd take a seat. He just needed to sit and not think, forget about it because it is not worth it. It doesn't matter how- Warm smile, freckles, ginger hair. Rose... Alec shifted his gaze, it was weird to be looking at her, he wasn't even going to go say hi. Tall, darker hair that stands out, the way that kid is sitting.

Alec walked closer. Before he could think about anything he was about to say he spoke. “Is my life some sick joke to you?” Alec's clutch on the envelope he was holding tightened. He could feel his heart racing. The in and out of his chest and the pace of his breathing quickened. His gaze was a piercing stare on Henry. He didn't plan to notice Rose, he didn't plan to see Henry. He didn't plan to walk up and start airing everything out in the open. Here it was. He'd already started, he wasn't going to stop now. “Why can't you just leave me alone?” Those words were ironic considering he was the one walking up to Henry but he didn't care. Henry did it just fine otherwise. There was no need to notice anybody unless he decided they were doing something wrong. It shouldn't have been hard to curb the habit completely.

Alec took a deep breath, “If you go to Rose's duels support her, then support her.” He didn't see Henry shouting about how well she was doing, maybe it was time he began focusing on that. Alec's eyebrows furrowed, “don't use that as an excuse to badger me.” Henry could have very well gone to the duel, supported Rose and left it at that but he didn't. Henry never knew when to stop, he never knew where to draw the line. Alec folded his arms across his chest. “None of what I do is your business, and when you start shouting from the stands what was once Rose's business becomes mine.” It was true that Henry attending wasn't any of Alec's business, until it became his... Alec couldn't tell Henry to go away or leave when Henry was doing nothing. Alec wanted to keep space between them, sure, but there were certain boundaries and rules he had to follow. Societal expectations.

“You act, you never once consider the fact that you don't know the situation. Or the fact that the moderator who could have very well handled the situation without you needing to step in.” Henry had undermined Jake's authority. Alec wasn't sure how truthful the whole sentence was, but Jake had been able to get it somewhat under control at certain points. “It wasn't your place to get involved and never will there be a day where it was.” Alec took a step back, away from Henry, he didn't know how Henry would react, it was best to put some distance in between them.

“I walk away each time you say or you do something, acting as if it were nothing. I let you punch me, I-I let you get away with it.” Alec's voice was suddenly quiet. Still, it was loud enough to be hard by both Henry and Rose. If Alec hadn't looked visibly distressed before, it had to have been showing by now. The way he had started to straighten his posture, or that stupid stutter. Alec took another deep breath, this time it sounded shaky and shallow. “I thought a person with any self-respect wouldn't use their firsts. I was wrong, I lacked the self-respect to defend myself.” Alec's arms fell to his sides. He had regretted ever walking over and saying anything, up until the point to where he got here. It was a bad idea, but he acted on impulse, and finally it felt like he wasn't going to regret it.

“-and if you can't figure it out. If you don't leave me alone going forward. Henry, I won't hesitate to fight you.”

Alec's looked back from Henry to Rose. When he looked back at Rose he looked less tough, a small frown edged at his lips and he was clearly apologetic about the whole situation. “I'm- I'm sorry... You're a good person, I'm not.” He looked away, “I won't be able to make it to any future practices before the duel is scheduled, I'll see you the day of the duel.” Really it was just a nice way of admitting to now choosing to avoid her so she doesn't waste her time waiting for him.

Alec hadn't let either of the two get in any words in between his. Now that he'd said all that, he wasn't going to stay to listen either. Alec turned around and on that note began to walk away.

Alec is entering the thread, and will be leaving unless he is stopped

Reducio

Apologies! I thought this thread was going to turn out a lot longer but this seems to be
the only in-character action for Alec. He can be stopped and it will be longer, otherwise this is where he disappears.

Also for anybody who ends up skimming and just reading where Alec talks(cause he doesn't do a ton much else): Alec has not let either Rose or Henry get a word in between him appearing there and him now trying to leave.

Interacting: @Alec Mason | @Rose Moon | Loki
Mentioning: N/A

Duels. "Um, a little bit. I hope they go well," she answered, with a small smile back. She brushed her amber hair over her shoulder, pushing the locks out of her face. "I- what?" Rose asked, confused. What was that even supposed to mean? She guessed that Alec had been pretty mean during their first duel to the other team, but he hadn't been to her. Just because he wasn't a good sportsman and had some very pointed and insulting comments about the other team didn't mean he was a bully, at least not in Rose's eyes. But before the redhead could figure out whether to say thank you or to ask about what exactly Henry meant or if he knew Alec, Alec was soon next to them.

Alec's words were fiery and impulsive, while Henry's were calm and calculated. Rose's attention was caught by Henry tapping her and signing to her under the table. Rose didn't like Bridget at all, and had fought with her on a day that Rose was having a bad day. To Bridget's credit, Rose shouldn't have reacted so harshly, but Bridget could have just walked away, instead of making a big deal about all of it. Anyway. Rose couldn't get a word in edgewise between Alec and Henry, anyway, so she doubted she would be able to sign anything back. Plus, she really didn't have an answer for that.

Rose hated conflict. All kinds of conflict, but especially between two people that she cared about. Rose barely knew Alec, but she was apprehensively optimistic about him as a person. She loved Henry as a brother, probably more than anyone else at Hogwarts. But now they were fighting and she hated it.

Henry's words made sense, but so did Alec's. Rose would always want to side with Henry, but how was she supposed to support him if she couldn't even talk between the two of them. But she couldn't remember Alec disrespecting Jake, and he had always been nice to her. Rose was becoming more and more confused by the second.

Alec then said that Henry had punched him. Punched him. Rose's brow furrowed. "What-" Henry had punched somebody? Rose didn't know that Henry was even morally capable of hurting somebody with his fists, but apparently he could cast aside ethics for Alec.

She turned a confused gaze towards Henry. Was that true?

Then Rose's bewildered gaze turned from Henry to Alec. Alec had blamed Henry for the loss of... who? Rose didn't know the whole story with Amara, but the one person that Rose did know that he lost was... his mother. Alec had blamed Henry for the loss of his own mother? How did Alec even know about Henry's mother? Rose was sure she was jumping to conclusions, but who else could it be?

"I..." Rose started, as Henry told her not to listen to Alec, as he was lying to her. Rose didn't even know what to believe any more.

“I'm- I'm sorry... You're a good person, I'm not," Alec told her.

Her heart sank. What was that supposed to mean? Alec gave her information about the duel, but she didn't care about that now. "Wait-" she started, but her voice broke, making her words virtually silent.

Henry stood up, and sent an Exploding Charm straight towards Alec. Rose's mouth dropped open, and she jumped to her feet. His wand clattered to the floor. "Henry-" The werewolf ran from the Great Hall, Loki on his heels. "Henry!" she said, louder, watching him leave.

What had just happened?

And why hadn't she stopped it?