PV George Henry Apologies Over Breakfast Closed

George normally did like spending his Saturday mornings asleep, but this did not feel like the time for relaxation at all. Examinations loomed. Papers needed writing. And on top of everything, there was an ever-growing tension between him and his closest friends. Well, except Jack, who seemed to be oblivious to pretty much all of George's life drama even as he regurgitated it over breakfast. It wasn't his fault - George had a habit of ranting over meal time, and many had learned to tune him out.

Today, he was quiet. He shuffled an egg around his plate before stabbing it in the yolk with his fork, watching the yellow spill out over the rest of it. It felt familiar. Last time he was sulking over breakfast, Aaron had come to apologize and been given a punch in the face in exchange for forgiveness. George wasn't sure if he would be able to do that if Alan came to apologize, even if the fifth-year might deserve it. Opeila? Maybe a slap...

The girl who interrupted his breakfast was a most unexpected apologizer. He couldn't remember her name, but he did remember what she had said. Told him to wise up, stop acting like a ten year old, and demonstrate the mending charm. Oh, what a clever little bird she was to come up with all that right off the bat. Or was she a friend of June's, working with her to drag him through the mud like she had?

He glanced suspiciously at the other Hufflepuffs at his table. They were the ones who knew about the floor thing. They were how June found out, and now how this Ravenclaw girl found out. Blabbermouths. Traitors. They all wanted to see him suffer for what he'd done... Didn't they know he was only trying to help?

His expression remained unchanged as he looked up from his egg and then to Adelaide. A sort of contemptuous indifference, just a sprinkle of a sneer. "Do you feel bad about your funny joke?" George asked. "Are you going to apologize, miss... what's your name?"

Interacting with: @George Henry Mentioning:

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Date: 11th June 2022 Outfit: x

Her jaw clenched at George's remark, and she had to restrain herself from saying something back because she was meant to be here to apologize for what she had said. Plus, she supposed she did kind of deserve George's harsh demeanor. "It's Adelaide Barlowe," she reminded him, "and it wasn't actually meant to be a funny joke. I came here to explain and apologize," she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at him, just slightly.

Yes, she did come over here to explain and apologize to George. Yes, she did feel guilty about yesterday. But that didn't mean she still couldn't be just a bit annoyed, especially because she wasn't sure how George was actually going to take her apology. And also, because she was saying this in front of the entire table of Hufflepuffs. A public apology was never really fun for anyone, especially when it was being witnessed by preteens and teens that just longed for their fill of drama to start their day. For all she knew, George could tell her to wise up, take the words right out of her mouth, and not forgive her. Which would be very aggravating, but she also didn't really expect George to forgive her, if she was being completely honest with herself. She hoped he did, but he seemed like the type of person to hold a grudge and not be very forgiving. At least, that was Adelaide's assumption of him. Either way, she had to explain that she didn't mean anything rude by it, she hadn't even intended for it to be rude. Merlin, she was actually trying to help. Sometimes she really hated how her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.

"I was trying to help," she started slowly, trying to organize her thoughts so she didn't slip up and say something even more rude, "I felt bad because you...," she took a pause as her gaze strayed to the other Hufflepuffs eating their breakfast, wondering if she should mention George's reaction to what June had said yesterday. She decided not to, wanting to save him from further embarrassment, "I was trying to help because it was starting to get really awkward in there. So, I decided to suggest for you to demonstrate a spell in an effort to make everyone move on and... it was the first spell that came to my mind, okay? I realized as soon as it came out of my mouth, and I regretted it. So, I'm sorry."

That was a good enough apology, right? She had explained, and she had actually taken her time so nothing rude or nothing that could make George hate her even more accidentally slipped out. It did feel like a weight off her shoulders now though, the guilt that had kept her tossing and turning all night had now evaporated because she had finally explained herself and apologized. All that was left to do was for George to forgive her. Or not, but she was hoping for the former so that she could go on with her life without this boy holding a grudge against her for something she didn't even mean to do.

"Hi Adelaide," he said, with a little wave of his fork in greeting. He waited to hear more from her before he continued, his fork swooping down to grab a piece of sausage and bring it up to his mouth, where he chewed it loudly as she spoke. There was a brief pause when she seemed ready to mention what had been spoken about in the detention, his grip on the fork tightening... but then he finished chewing and swallowed when Adelaide explained the thought process leading up to her funny joke.

George clenched his jaw and stared up at the young girl, trying to discern her motive. This didn't seem like the set up to any punchline he'd ever heard of, and he made a point to memorize them. Nothing funny could come of this. By all metrics, it was a genuine apology for something that was really little more than an awkward misstatement.

"That's quite funny," George said, picking up another piece of sausage with his fork and biting off half of it as he looked at her. It was true. Without the context, he might have laughed, but even within it - it was a point in her favor. Being awkward and bumbling was quite charming, and usually meant it was easier to tell when they were being genuine.

However, dismissing her from the table was hardly the most entertaining way to resolve their little dispute. Instead, he looked around, wondering what he could demand of her as penance for her slight. To be honest, it was mid-June, and the only real schemes he had brewing were study plans with a few of his friends. It was far too late to plant the seeds of any mischief, as there was no preparations he could set in place now that wouldn't be forgotten by September.

"Good intentions don't quite work out every time, do they, eh?" George said bitterly, as her explanation brought to mind the story of heroism that Alan had shared during their detention. Adelaide had a talent for saying the most unfortunate things. A drawn-out sigh escaped George and his shoulders slouched as he looked pensively upon the remaining half of the sausage on his plate. "Guess that's the moral of the story..."

He was really just trying to take the wind out of her sails, now. Really, what Adelaide had said was far from the worst thing that had happened during detention. But still, a simple apology would hardly do for forgiveness. But what would do? It didn't come to mind. But eventually, it would. A good scheme always appeared when it was needed most - allies, however, needed to be sourced in advance.

"I suppose I'll forgive you, but you owe me a favor. You've got to promise." He extended a pinky, so that a deal could be made. The only way to make a contract more binding than a pinky swear was to sign it in blood. "And I'll demonstrate the mending charm, if you actually need someone to do that..."

Interacting with: @George Henry Mentioning:

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Date: 11th June 2022 Outfit: x

Merlin, did he really have to chew that loudly? His insufferable chewing was making Adelaide half tempted to walk away and not bother apologizing because apparently George knew next to nothing about basic manners. She powered through though, determined to do at least one good thing today, even if his insufferable chewing made her nose wrinkle in disgust.

Well, at least he found it funny. He didn't seem to be finding anything about the situation funny yesterday though, but that was neither here nor there. Maybe he was just trying to laugh it off. She shrugged, "I suppose it would've been funny if I'd said it intentionally." Honestly, maybe she should've just acted as if she had intended to make the joke, maybe she should've just laughed it off yesterday and forget about it because it really wasn't that significant. But the poor boy had looked close to tears during that detention, and Adelaide wasn't that mean. Sure, maybe if she had hated George she would've poked fun at him even when he was already feeling low, but the Hufflepuff had never actually done anything to her and she had no real reason to dislike him, even if he did seem quite insufferable. So, she had felt guilty for it all day yesterday, and had decided to do something good today and apologize. Which she had done, so maybe she should just take her leave now and let George continue eating his breakfast really loudly, but at least she wouldn't need to hear his chewing.

The bitterness in George's tone took her by surprise slightly. Apparently he didn't actually find yesterday that funny, then. "No, they don't," she agreed softly, "that's the last time I ever try and do something helpful in my life. Really, the one time I decide to help someone, and it comes back to bite me in the ass," she rolls her in eyes before softening her gaze as George let out a sigh. "Well, again, I'm sorry," she said cautiously, confused as to why his mood had shifted and now he was looking at his half-eaten sausage as if he had no will left to live, "if it helps any, Alan's story did paint you out to be quite heroic, and it was very brave what you done."

Hold on, a favor? Why did she owe him a favor? All she had wanted to do was apologize, she though that would be enough. She didn't expect to have to do something else for his forgiveness. She didn't know what George was getting at, but maybe she should've made it clear that she wasn't going to grovel for his forgiveness. All she had wanted to do was apologize. She was way too tired right now to deal with this. She stared down at George's extended pinky suspiciously but made no move to connect hers with his. "Depends what the favor is," she says slowly, "wasn't an apology enough? I'm not exactly going to beg on my knees for your forgiveness, you know. But no, I don't actually need someone to demonstrate the Mending Charm, that's a simple spell and I'm very competent in my spellcasting, thank you very much."

"I know how you feel," George commiserated as he stabbed a sausage with his fork, letting out a bit of the aggression that was building. At least she could see now, in some mild way, that it was better to really think things through before she blurted them out. Maybe he looked heroic in hindsight, but it only seemed that way because Alan wanted to make George look good. He was too nice to people who absolutely did not deserve it, that was certain. "Thanks."

But, of course, forgiveness did not some so easily when you caught George in a bad mood at breakfast. This price was mild compared to the others he had charged! At least, it seemed that way to him, knowing as he did that he'd just use the favor to get her to embarrass herself.

The boy narrowed his eyes and slowly lowered his pinky, laying his hand down on the table and shaking his head solemnly. "Suit yourself," he said, heaving a dramatic sigh and shoveling a piece of sausage into his mouth so he had something to chew on while he was speaking. "But just know that one day, you'll wish that you'd given a proper apology, favor and all... I don't know why, but you will!"

This would have been a good time to dramatically storm off, but instead George just looked back up at her, down at his plate, back up at her, and then back to his plate as he resumed eating. While the interaction may not have gone as she planned, it did actually make George feel a bit better. Plus, now he had an excuse to pull some mischief later.

Interacting with: @George Henry Mentioning:

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Date: 11th June 2022 Outfit: x

"Yeah, no problem." Well, at least that was out of the way. Now that she had actually apologized and even called George heroic, she wasn't entirely sure why she had felt so guilty in the first place. In retrospect, it wasn't even that bad, what she had done. It was only a slip of the tongue, something that was meant to be helpful and had backfired immensely. There really was no dire need to apologize, it wasn't as if she was the main cause of the entire situation. If anything, June was the one who had started it. She should probably be in Adelaide's place right now, apologizing. But hey, at least she had done a good deed today.

Adelaide raised an eyebrow at George's overly dramatic act, "I did give you a proper apology actually, I said sorry, and explained what I had originally intended to do. That's a proper apology, is it not? Never did I realize that I had to do you a favor too." She crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at the older boy, "What were you going to ask me to do anyway? Feed you for a week? Do your homework? Carry your books around the school? Scrub your shoes? Yeah, no, whatever it was, it's not going to happen. I'm not your slave."

Did this mean she had to watch her back from now on? From what she knew about George, he was the mischievous type, and apparently there would be consequences for not accepting to do a favor for him. Well, there would also be consequences for messing with Adelaide. She had apologized, and that was what she came here to do. She definitely did not need to do him a favor.

"Also, for Merlin's sake, stop chewing so bloody loud. The entire Scottish Highlands can hear you." There really was no reason for her to say that, but his chewing had aggravated her, and no one needs to chew that loudly. Although he probably was doing it on purpose to annoy her, now that she thought about it. Either way, she wouldn't be Adelaide if she didn't say something sarcastic every 5 minutes.