Now We've Got a Problem PV George Henry Finished

Even with all the fanfare of the Hexwizard, a boy still had things to do and places to be. Few had more places to be than George Henry, whose stacked class schedule was spilling electives out into his free time, leaving him with little room for study, socialization, and broom racing. Having consoled Alan on his loss or congratulated him on his win, George was extra exhausted. For some reason, being around Alan just used up all of his emotional energy... he couldn't stand how much he liked him.

As usual, George was marching through the hallway with a confident stride, his head full of thoughts of boys, homework, and international conspiracy. The doe-eyed boy was quickly reduced to a deer in headlights when the strong grip of a stranger took him and threw him up against the wall, prompting a grunt from George. At first, he made a move to reach for his wand... but this was only one of the other students, not a hag, or some other monster out for his blood. It was just some puffed-up Durmstrang kid who was upset about something that George had not even said. (Well, maybe he said it. But he didn't say it first.)

The big, silver-haired bruiser sure swore a lot. He was obviously easy to wind up, if he felt it necessary to lie in wait and ambush everyone who told him he sucked as queen. If there was going to be an international incident today, it was going to be Durmstrang's doing, not his, and he would happily be the sacrificial lamb if it meant getting at least one of the awful other schools out of Hogwarts hair.

"Mouse? Who are you calling mouse?" George said, with an attempt at wriggling away from his adversary. It was fortunate that Jack and Jake were off doing their own thing at this point - else the caretaker would have to come and mop the blood and tears up after they left. "Are you deaf, then? What I said was... BOO! Durmstrang's Queen SUCKS! Least she could pull off the dress - shame I can't say the same about your muggle clothes."

Was it weird for a muggle-born to use muggle clothes as an insult? Undoubtedly. But all the same, whether he was pureblood or not, nobody wanted to look like a muggle on the international stage. "Now, if you'll excuse me, jerk, I've got to go to the library, if your tantrum is quite done."

𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙵𝙸𝚃: Reducio

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▪ 𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈 ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ FOURTH YEAR ▪

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𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂: Reducio @George Henry

“Small stature, wide eyes, twitchy features…” The fingers on the Swede’s free hand would grip the Hufflepuff’s cheeks unless he pulled away, “Cute little nose. You’re nothing but a fucking Mouse.”

Cute? Why the hell had he included that? Shit, it suddenly dawned on him just how much this guy looked like an animal. “What’s your name, Mouse?”

Felix’s upper lip twitched into a thin smirk when the Hogwarts student actually repeated what he had about at him. “… That’s better.” His fingers released the scruff of the heckler’s robes, although his arm propped up against the wall to deter the brunette from attempting to leave. “Is that your only issue with me? My wardrobe? Because that’s fucking hilarious coming from someone whose entire school looks like the only thing they have in their closet is a black bed sheet.”

That smirk quickly disappeared when he mentioned his awesome leather jacket. Muggle clothes? Who the hell did this guy think he was? “It’s called style, I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Muggles wish they could look this good. Besides, there’s not a drop of muggle in my blood… 100% Swedish pureblood.” The last part of his monologue was accompanied by a roll of his eyes. Not that his mother ever let him forget it, but he was always reminded of his duties, the pressure to of being the family’s heir, and their extreme expectations. He had tried to tell them all to fuck off last year by dating a muggleborn, but Ret had shattered his heart and even worse; left his mother smug. ‘Muggles don’t care about you. You need someone of your own status.’ Was among the bullshit she had rambled on about that day.

Speaking of romance, Felix didn’t believe for a second that this guy just hated his clothes. It had to have something to do with brick lips. “ That guy you were sitting with. Your boyfriend? Is he still bitter because I’m a better kisser than he is? It was over a year ago, he needs to move on.” This was rich coming from someone who fumed like a teapot at the mere mention of Arjan’s name. “I guess he’s insecure because his little Mouse could do better.”

He didn’t really had a reason to keep the boy pinned, but his responses were amusing and he wasn’t quite ready to stop playing. “Jerk has a nice ring to it, but my name is Felix.”

George puffed out his cheeks as the Swede's unwelcome hand was laid on his face, glaring at him and turning his head away... though he stopped as he thought he heard the words "cute little nose" come out of the strange Durmstrang Queen's mouth. He cocked an eyebrow and looked up at the other boy, expecting an explanation. By now, George had compiled enough evidence to confirm that every boy his age was completely nuts (including him, excepting Julian), but it was still a shock for that little comment to be dropped on him out of nowhere. It brought the rest of the insults into question. Maybe he just really liked mice?

"George Henry, Captain of the Hufflepuff Broom Racing Team, pleasure to meet you," George said, moving his head down to try and slide away along the wall before being cut off by Felix's hand. "I think you could probably stand to admire my cute little nose from a few feet away, my charming European friend."

The snark simply could not be turned off. He did not mind if it got him hit - he could take a punch, and if anything broke or got knocked off, the school nurse could glue him back together with little issue. That was one of the downsides of medical magic - someone knocking your teeth out was more of a temporary embarrassment than any serious orthodontic ordeal.

"I don't have an issue with your wardrobe. It might have an issue with you, though," he offered, with a pointed look up and down over the boy's clothes. In all honesty, he looked fine, if a bit out of place at Hogwarts. There weren't many leather jacket wearing hooligans in Hufflepuff, at least. "I didn't design the uniforms. And I don't think you have any room to talk about dressing in black..."

George resigned himself to his place on the wall, folding his arms across his chest. It would be very easy to hit him, if one so desired. "Alec? My boyfriend? Ew, no. We're just friends. No need to be so jealous. Wait... did you have a kissing competition with Alec?

It was very flattering that Felix seemed to think he could do better than Alec. But with the comments all about what a cute little mouse he was, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd misread the whole interaction. "More of a badger than a mouse, usually... um... so, is this... are you angry with me, or is this some sort of Swedish compliment? You hit me off a wall."

𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙵𝙸𝚃: Reducio

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▪ 𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈 ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ FOURTH YEAR ▪

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𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂: Reducio @George Henry

The way the guy puffed out his cheeks like a damn hamster really only increased his resemblance to an adorable little rodent, it took a lot of self restraint for Felix not to just poke him. "You're not helping yourself when you make a face like that." Why did he have to resemble an animal? It was kind of pissing Felix off. Then again, the guy hadn't bothered to back away so... That earned him points. Fuck, why were people so complicated?

"Title drop too, huh? George Henry." He repeated. "Gotta admit, I like 'Mouse' better. What the fuck is a Huffenpuff?" Someone had likely told the Swede before, but he hadn't bothered to pay attention. He vaguely remembered something about Serena being one too. Maybe that was where they put all the cute people? Was Cain one? "I had to get a closer look at my number one fan." He wasn't going to move; this mouse wasn't going to scurry away just yet; Felix was looking for a lab rat.

What the hell? Was he judging his clothing? This jacket was perfect, clearly the guy was wrong. Cute, but clearly wrong. "This jacket is worth 500 galleons. You're just used to seeing me in a gown. Unfortunately that was a one time show. Have you ever worn leather? Spikes? Try it next time you don't want to bother socializing; it can be a real deterrent." This was partly why he started wearing his now 'signature' style, but admittedly he had gotten hooked. "They make us wear red at Durmstrang. So I wear black whenever I get the chance." He liked it, found the colour relaxing even.

"Good." Why was that good? Right, because brick wall was... Well, he was brick wall. Apparently Alec was his name, that did ring a bell. "Kissing competition? Hell no. We kissed last year during spin the bottle. Then he fucking freaked out at me... I am still pretty confused about it, to be honest." That was not an uncommon occurrence for Felix, but this time it was all Alec's fault... Or, at least, that's what the told himself. Self reflection, what was that?

"No. This is how I pick up cute boys. Is it working? Are you ready to skip out on studying and go make out in the library?" He was joking, of course... Unless George said yes. Then he would gladly slip beneath the bookshelves with the 'Huffenpuff'.

"Captain of the Hufflepuff Broom Racing Team," George added, when the other boy repeated his name back to him. He still hadn't heard the boy's last name, but he was hardly fussed about that. It wasn't like he was easy to mix up. George swung his foot forward to scuff one of the boy's million-Galleon shoes, sneering at him in a way that really accentuating his cute little nose. He also had big round ears, just like a mouse. He'd normally be offended by the implication, but he too could see the resemblance, even if he was quite brave for a mouse. "Hufflepuff. Loyal yellow house, not to be confused with the red and brave, the blue and smart, or the green and snotty."

George's eyebrows were getting their exercise, every sentence from Felix's mouth causing George's incredulous expression to expand. "Number one fan? So sorry to hear that," he said, though he wasn't as confident in his snark now. Would it provoke Felix to punch him or kiss him? The interaction had taken an entirely unexpected turn, and George was now glancing around hoping that no one would witness it. Durmstrang wouldn't be the butt of the joke if someone saw George making out with one of their students in the hallways at their first meeting.

"My good robes are yellow too," George admitted, biting his tongue as he struggled to resist sharing every facet of his wardrobe with anyone who seemed even vaguely interested in fashion. George's cute nose wrinkled in disgust as Felix mentioned kissing Alec. Thankfully it was last year, long before Alec's cooties became contagious. "Yeah, he's a bit cagey on kissing. Maybe you turned him off of it."

Okay - clearly the interaction had ceased to be bullying, as George found himself relaxing against the wall and letting his arms slip down to his sides again as Felix straight up called him a 'cute boy.' George was blushing a bit now, though he turned his head away in disgust as Felix suggested skipping on studying to go make out in the library. For one, that was irresponsible. And for two, the idea of kissing in the library was sickening. The library? You could hear a pin drop in there. He did not want to be at the mercy of the librarian if she caught him snogging some random Durmstranger in there.

Besides, this hardly met the standard George had set for the fairy-tale meet cute and courtship that he wanted from a boy. "Unfortunately us non-Hexwizard contestants still have exams, so no, I can't skip studying. Besides, if this is your idea of asking me out, I'm not sure it would be worth the sacrifice..." George sighed, looking down at his nails casually. They were painted dark purple, the Huffenpuff having adopted the shade after using it in his Sea Witch costume. He was trying his very best to seem indifferent - the only thing better than getting attention was rejecting it! "I suggest you try picking out a romance from the library and studying that. It might help you revise your tactics."

𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙵𝙸𝚃: Reducio

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▪ 𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈 ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ FOURTH YEAR ▪

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𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂: Reducio @George Henry

"Right. Should I formally interduce myself as well? Felix Kolbeck, Duelist and Queen of the Durmstrang team." That part wasn't really a part of his title, but after George had dropped that he was a captain Felix wanted to keep up. He barely flinched when his leather boots were scuffed, an eyebrow quirking upwards in amusement. They meant nothing to him; he could buy a new pair tomorrow. "Do all Hufflepuffs enjoy destroying clothes or do you just really have something against leather?" Loyalty was something Felix could appreciate. The other houses just sounded confusing. Who sorted people by intelligence and bravery?

"Fans are tiring. Who the fuck needs 'em?" The Durmstrang team cheered each other on enough. It made sense they were getting booed when only a small portion of their school was attending the event. That was the problem with playing a game away from home.

"I'm sure you look good in yellow, but it's not exactly a fitting colour for leather. We could try brown." He was curious what sort of style the guy had when he wasn't forced to wear bland robes. Uniforms fucking sucked. Why the hell couldn't everyone just wear what they wanted? It was just another way authority tried to control them.

Fuck. He definitely wasn't into the idea. WHATEVER. It's not like Felix really cared. He'd probably never see George Henry again. ... Stupid cute heckling jerk. "Is that why you're blushing so much? Because you're not interested?" Where the hell was this coming from? Usually he would call someone a fucking idiot and then leave, but for some reason he couldn't stop poking at the mouse. It was probably the Yefim thing. Having unrequited feelings for one of your best friends fucking sucked. The guy was apparently straight and apparently into Erin Ryan. Obviously Felix was trying to bury those feelings and move on with someone else.

... Someone who he happened to think was cute. FUCK. The Swede rolled his eyes as he pushed himself back from the Hufflepuff, finally offering him the chance to run away. "Apologies for not offering you a fucking fairytale date, but the ball was the other week and I don't do sequels. I think my offer scares you, I might be too much for you right now anyways. Have you even had your first kiss?"

"Here." He slid the leather jacket he was wearing off of his shoulders, unhooked the chains, and dropped it on top of George's head. "My school leaves today so I can't exactly invite you out for some fancy dinner. Keep this until you're ready to say yes. Or, you know... Burn it since you hate leather so much." Why bother with the jacket? Because he had already told him it's value, and since he'd be leaving soon placing it in George's care would force him to think of Felix. Unless he really did just end up yeeting it into a fireplace.

"The pleasure is... someone's, surely," George mused at Felix's forced introduction. Queen of the Durmstrang Team was a smirkworthy title - George only wished he could match it, but the broom racing team was not yet a monarchy. The badger boy looked down at his handiwork, seeing the scuff mark on the boot and then looking back up at his face. If his clothes were really so expensive, how could he not care? Nobody was that rich. "Just me," he offered, regarding the destruction of clothes.

"I mean, clearly you like them," George teased. If he was his number one fan and this was the treatment he was getting for it, Felix must've minded the attention at least a little bit. A bit more fashion talk seemed to be slipping in, easing past the awkward half-fight half-flirtations. "I do look good in brown, too. Autumn colors..."

Despite George blushing often, it still took him off guard whenever someone mentioned the red in his cheeks. He'd hoped that stoically holding a stern look on his face would stop the blood rushing to his face, but it was no use. He just looked like a scowling little mouse, and that wasn't intimidating. It was cute. The rude Swede had the audacity to ask him if he'd had his first kiss, and the shorter boy folded his arms again, turning his face away from Felix. "If you're not willing to put in the effort, I don't know why I'd waste my first kiss on you..."

There was often a secret to getting people to like you, and it seemed that he'd discovered Felix's by mistake. Just being infuriatingly snarky seemed to be the ticket to getting the Durmstrang Queen all wound up about him. Looking at Felix again with a smarmy smirk on his face, George opened his mouth to speak... but was suddenly rendered speechless as the expensive jacket was dropped over his head. He reached up to sort it out, slipping into it... bit too big for him, but that was to be expected. It felt... expensive. George was wide-eyed and starstruck as he felt the weight of the leather, looking up at Felix with his mouth agape.

"Huh- uh- what? But- you- this is worth- how many galleons?" George's blush disappeared, his face blanched instead. He certainly wouldn't burn it. Who knows what he could get for it second hand? Or better yet, who would guess what people would say if they saw him in the genuine article, 500 galleon Swedish leather? He tried to find the words to refuse, but he could only stammer and scoff. "I...- but-..."

𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙵𝙸𝚃: Reducio

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▪ 𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈 ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ FOURTH YEAR ▪

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𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂: Reducio @George Henry

"It's yours. No need to be shy." What was it about their introduction that George had an issue with? The fact that Felix was better dressed? Or was it because he pushed him into a wall? Merlin, that felt like a minor detail. "You're fucking weird, George Henry, but I don't hate it."

"No. I usually find people too loud." He admitted. Honestly being heckled was a bit easier for him than if someone had been cheering him on. He was used to insults, not so much support unless it was from his team mates. He could have explained to George why this whole thing felt like too much, but he had just met the boy; there was no need to spill his life story. "Need a penpal? I'm sure I can find some nice Autumn shades to send your way."

"So you haven't." All Felix heard was that confirmation, not the Hufflepuff's second denial. The guy was lucky; Felix usually would have insulted him and left by now. "First kisses aren't worth shit, George. They're terrible if you don't know what you're doing, and then that's all you'll remember; bumping your nose against some other guy's while you sloppily jolt your tongue forward. Still think that sounds magical?" He had to admit that George's desire to have a perfect first kiss was oddly endearing. "A kiss with me wouldn't be a fucking waste, because I know what I'm doing and could show you how so next time you don't make an idiot of yourself."

He had to bite down on his tongue to stop himself from laughing at the stunned expression. The jacket at least somewhat fit, although it did look out of place over those robes. "Looks good on you." Of course it did. Everyone looked good in a leather jacket.

"Yeah...? Because that's how much a good leather jacket costs." Felix responded with a quirk of his brow, as if this should be common knowledge. Who the hell paid less than that for a jacket? Paupers? "What's wrong? Not ready to be parted from me just yet? Well, unless you want to go for a walk by the lake later, I'll see you next time, Mouse." The now leatherless Felix winked down at the Hufflepuff as he started to walk away.

"Thanks," said a blank-faced George, his starstruck expression somewhat flattened by the backhanded compliment. Many people found him unusual, but that was the sort of thing that drew people in. That's why he always populated his Headliner stories with complete fabrications - the feeling of discovery is what drove people to read newspapers.

Several people found George too loud, but that was only because he was comfortable around them, and he'd learned to be more quiet around people who he really cared about impressive. Timid people like Hugh and Alec needed you to shut up every once in a while so they could stare into the middle distance and stir the thoughts around in their cauldron-like heads. It was strange, though, as sometimes timid people like Jake needed him to step up to fill in the silence. People were so picky about loudness. George was never so particular. People could talk all they wanted and he would stop listening whenever he was ready.

Speaking of, George was still hanging onto every one of Felix's words, especially as he offered to send letters and gifts. "...Like... clothes?" No, George, like fallen leaves. "I- you'd send me clothes? For nothin'?" This was the man of his dreams, and it was the Hexwizard that had brought him. That made all the associated threats slightly more worth it.

He stared at Felix, getting a sort of distant look in his eyes as he thought of bumping his nose against some other guy's and sloppily jolting his tongue forward. "Mmmm... yeah," George mused, in a blissful reverie. So what if his first kiss was awful? He certainly wouldn't be wasting it on taking lessons from some entitled rich boy who seemed to think he could court George just by walking up and asking to make out. "You're awful worked up over a bad kiss from an idiot."

Still, George hugged the expensive jacket around himself, feeling the leather under his hands. It matched with his dark nails, at least, though it clashed slightly with the strawberry red that had been conjured into his cheeks at all the kissing talk. "I-... don't wait up for me - you'll get cold without your jacket," George said with a shrug, breaking into a grin. "Get some sleep for your trip home - I'll send an owl after you if I care to."

He would wait just enough time to ensure that any witnesses had cleared away and Felix was gone down the hallway before George practically skipped off to his common room, ready to stow the jacket away for safe keeping... but he'd wear it at least until he'd updated his diary on this exciting new development.