Interfaced with: @George Henry
Mentions: @Jack Warren

Gideon had a concerning 'power' some might say -- he was adorable, angelic even. It was his bright eyes, his round cheeks and his head or golden hair. He was small, dressed like one might a wizarding doll. His appearance and demeanor delayed an aura of innocence that his actions and intentions often betrayed.

He had learned early on that wizards in particular were 'theatrical.' They seemed to seek drama. They would never admit it, the masochists that they were... toiling and fighting, the wretched circumstances of their own making and the failure to make decisions that would help them climb free of these pit of perdition. So when his eyes burned, he did nothing but endure it. To tolerate the decadent anguish with nary a complaint, just a statement that there is pain.

How curious one George Henry.

He should be running for water, a mistake. Milk would be better, something to slake this anguish. Instead he suffered through gracious social rituals, like warning him that his 'friend' was 'trouble' or rather troubled. He had this stereotypical look to him, of some sort of meathead. No vestige of fashion, his hair barely more than the fuzz of a kiwifruit.

"Trouble seems scary," Gideon ceded. He might try to hold him up for his milk money or say mean words about Giddy's mom. She was a wench on her good days and a bitch in general, she was probably underselling her. He would attempt to snatch Henry's arm, the bad one. "He" meaning Jack Warren, "is scary," he complained. The boy was not too prideful to shy away from theatrics. "Why is he so scary," he wailed and yes the crocodile tears would start to flow. Large and round, quavering, yet they escaped with a sluggish pace from eyes perhaps a bit unnatural in their brightness.

Fear was so easy to feign. White knights abound, and Giddy had found his first friend.

The gift of a snake to the boy, it certain did possess within its charming confines a sort of contraband. George might notice that something was off, the snake being weightier than expected. The plush, velveteen surface gave something hard a softer shape. It was wrong, whatever was within the confined of that stuffed snake. Not of cotton balls or downy feathers. A rattle, a shift with his movement, this strange weighty accessory that was draped over his shoulders.

He clutched Bully in his free hand, a charming, likely 'normal' stuffed animal. It could hold so many bottles of chloroform or other delightful concoction. It was a nice Bully, he hugged it with a free hand but was not letting go of George's if he had gotten hold of the boy. He never did answer George's question, a 'name' for the anaconda. "Mister Apopis," he sniffled.

Gideon had a way of disarming people. Of continuing this charade of innocence that came easy to him because it was only in part an act. Henry gave him something he wanted besides his suffering, despite the fact that he gave such willingly even if not particularly satisfactory in his anguish. He made the terrible mistake of being perhaps his friend. His only friend.

The main problem was that sometimes it's better to spend some time and fetch your wand just to make your spell a bit more powerful than Galton's mouth. Wandless casting to save some time was proven useless, if the result was still unchanged. Galton enjoyed the cookie until the very end. She should have bet that it was cursed, but there was no time now... If Galton would face her, she'd probably see the bloody Candy King unleashing the power of chewing already. She would have seen it in his eyes. But he was in his sweet process of chewing just a cookie. Maybe she was exaggerating? What if Ms. Davenport really just made cookies for everyone?

"It might not be her in the end, who knows whether anyone put a curse on them."
"Maybe it's not cursed, you idiots."

Her eyes would go really wide in a strange torrent of anxiety, silent waiting for some inevitable catastrophe, but everything was sucked into a black hole of a simple offer from Jurgen as if nothing had happened-

"Nothing had happened," the Slytherin eyes rolling.

Interacting with @Jürgen Hess

"I-", she looked at Jürgen, then the cookie, then Galton, then at her — who brought a whole box of them.

Of course, George's comments on her and Galton dating would go ignored, even though she heard them. There might be hell unleashing just seconds away from now.

And Jürgen was offering her a potentially dangerous and overly cursed cookie. Really. Just like that.

"Oh, you've got issues, Meenauh," the Slytherin kept the skeptisim, while everyone else was keeping silence.

"I'm not hungry, thanks," she answered absent-mindedly, panic going slowly (really slowly) down to null values, letting a sigh out, "I prefer... not to have snacks."

Whatever was going on in Galton's head at the moment, she didn't know. But her hand grabbed the wand, anyway.

Interacts with: @Meenauh Silmataurea
Mentions: @Galton Lansdale

There was a pattern to the work of the hag, a pattern that remained unnoticed even now. Something that might throw Meenauh off in fact when she saw what Marion did next. "Seriously?" There was a tone of annoyance in her voice, mostly a lie but in truth teens are damn annoying. Not that she was much older than any of them, but she was hardly a teen at this point, at least not a human teen.

Whilst Gideon howled and made a scene and Hess, her loyal protector for now in any case rebuked the girl Marion did not truly know but she seemed to know her she did something to 'prove' her innocence or at the very least confuse the clever girl. "Well, I love snacks," Marion huffed as she extended her arm and hand and made a 'gimme' motion. "We can all be a bit of a glutton sometimes," she claimed and if she was given a cookie she would take a large bite with her overly white teeth and chew the confection before she swallowed. Seemingly unaffected unlike Galton (if he posts) if she was able to get that far.

There is a trick, a special something that needs to be in place perhaps for that terrible curse to take hold. Something that lacked in Marion. "Try one, they're pretty great," she complimented herself of course and took another bite. Meenauh was not going to, and who could blame her. It was the right decision even if it was doubtful that she had 'it' to worry about. Jürgen had other issues that were far more profound, "you're nothing but bone anyways Jürgen." Far too skinny to worry about a few extra calories. Perhaps it was a trick, one that would result in a disastrous consequence or perhaps it was something else. A play to confuse her opposition, to appear 'safe' and perhaps even misunderstood.

Little did she know, the dynamics here were about to get incredibly complicated.

Action: Eating a cookie unless stopped (if successful there is no visible effect), trying to convince Hess to eat one. Galton knows what Galton must/might do.

A hunger took hold of Galton that no amount of magic could save him from. The moment that delectable chocolate and baked confection touched his tongue the boy was hooked. He would not be letting go, certainly not for some little cantrip of a trick meant to separate him from his beloved. The hunger that was growing inside him at a rapid place had not visited for some time. So long in fact that Galton couldn’t remember it. A douse of mental trauma may had helped to erase the memory of its last visit, but it was still familiar.

Familiar like that ache in his gut an hour before dinner. Familiar like the saliva that Honeydukes conjured upon first sight. A familiarity of a feeling that was all too familiar for the Candy King who’d hung up his crown. He wanted nothing more than to finish the cookie in his hand. And then another, and another. Not stopping until the world’s (or at least the tent’s) supply went dry. The thought of the favors that awaited him lulled him into a trace for a time. There was only the rich, delicious sugar that awaited him.

When he came to, he did not see the gingerbread people that had inhabited the Candy Kingdom he had reigned over. But the same hunger clawed at his stomach. He saw only his tent mates and friends. Friends and mates that held his precious desserts. Desserts he desperately needed. A trove laid on some bed, unguarded and uncontested, but one was in the hands of another. One most unworthy. Anyone but Galton was unworthy.

Whatever remained of the cookie since his first bite would be long gone. Remnant crumbs left on his sticky hands the only clue that it had ever existed. Those sticky hands would move out towards the sole cookie help by the evil girl. ”ITS MINE!” he shouted towards the cookie holder.

As he lurched forward he knocked over his own bag. In his haste he would abandon his own snacks and belongings for the time. A few of those precious snacks curated by yours truly would spill out. Any other day the gleam of such would snap Galton to attention. Today? Not even so much as a glance.

He led with his mouth. His sticky hands would follow just behind. ”Don’t eat it. You can’t handle the flavors. Its my ROYAL right!” somewhere the Candy King slipped out. Some closer to him would surely recognize it. His actions were as rude as you got, but he cared not for manners now. He aimed to bite the cookie - to consume. And if not stopped, consume he would.

Interacting with: @Jürgen Hess, @Meenauh Silmataurea and @M J Davenport

Mentions: @Jake Morris, @Winnie Harper
Interacted with: @George Henry

The disaster that would be Galton Lansdale would not happen quietly. Nothing was ever 'quiet' when it came to the duelling captain. Little did some know, there was something very wrong with Galton. Not the vague non-conformist statement of an outsider that sees how Galton colors outside of the lines and rarely keeps things within their intended box. No, it was something deeper and stranger than the 'hairless' cat he maintained or the oddity that was knowing him as a friend, as a colleague or as a classmate.

Gideon would know none of this, of what had broken inside of the boy. He lacked the psychic promise of his siblings and his cousins, but he did have a sixth sense about things. he knew enough to step back, to get out of the way and to not intervene in whatever it was that had come over Galton. He was not about to intervene or intercede in whatever it was that Galton was on about when he referenced his 'royal right'. If anything he would make a quiet exit stage left or rather tent flaps north.

He had come upon a few interesting articles that he wanted to make sure of this summer. So, a small muggle bottle of Nair would be slid into his pants pocket. A fine replacement for a shampoo bottle in one of the girls tents he reasoned. He did not have much use for it yet himself, thankfully puberty had not yet destroyed the angelic boy's façade of innocence. His mom had charms for taking care of her caveman legs and upper lip, he could only hope that he did not have his mother's Neolith genes.

He also needed to escape the hormonal influences of this tent. His half-brother Pride was seemingly enamored by the frilly redhead. She looked like a porcelain doll in almost every way that mattered in terms of aesthetic, it was weird that his brother 'liked' that sort of thing when there were way better girls with cooler toys and less kissy-action that he could have developed something with. Someone who could take care of themselves and not be a risk to his aspirations, ones he had forfeited in that embarrassment of a Champion Ceremony. All the dramatics and theatrics aside, he was one wasted opportunity after another. Something he would rebuke the Slytherin for had he cared. Something he would have used as an opportunity had he wanted the seat of their father, the one that their elder brother Vladimir was supposed to fill.

No, he did not have goals. At least not goals like Pride or Athanatos had. He was a different beast entirely. So he would slink away, far from the romance, the weirdness and whatever the hell was going on between Hess and Marion. She was pretty in the thin, blonde sort of way he supposed but like Winnie, he really did not see the appeal.

And with that, Giddy would slink off. George imperiled by the mere fact that he had found interest even if only in passing for the younger Hufflepuff that resembled Jake Morris in so many ways. Only, Gideon was not Jake in the least. beneath this veneer or adorableness was a hellion, a sadist really that relished in the suffering of others. There was no want, no yearning for power, prestige or money. He just wanted to see others (not him, heavens no) languish.

Interacts with: @Galton Lansdale, @Meenauh Silmataurea
Mentions: @Winnie Harper

There was so much that they did not know. Even more that he thought he understood when in truth he had barely scratched the surface. When a family brokers information, it is true that one such as he would happen upon more than they should. He knew in part that the tragedies that befell Hogwarts were not a product of chance or happenstance and that some victims were not victims at all. What he did not know however was how many people were playing both sides and how many did not subscribe to the same ideals that they professed.

He felt interminable guilt over Galton's worrisome mental state brought on by Vladimir's recklessness. He understood why and if he was in Vladimir's place, he would have done the same, but there was a difference between hurting someone he knew and some stranger. For living and accepting the consequences of the terrible, cruel choices that were made. His friends were dying and he made a deal, and like every deal there was a heavy cost. What he did not understand was why that was ever the price those years ago -- that madness imbued in that candy that left Galton dangerous and delirious. It took months to recover him under the care of the best physicians in one of the world's greatest wizarding hospitals and he wondered if they ever got it right. In the end, it either 'wore off' or was simply 'psychosomatic,' that was the vague, non-comital answer he was given while he watched his friend languish in silent guilt.

He knew Vladimir gave something. He was told to. he had to. Only, Galton's reaction was unique for a reason to this day Jürgen Hess would not understand. There were variables left misunderstood, it was certainly not unique biology nor was it a "different" treat consumed by the duelling captain, but rather the synergistic activity of several pieces of candy masticated
at the same time. An abhorrent concoction that unleashed a madness, a fragility of the mind and heart that Galton always had. It could be said that some are prone to the sin of avarice while others the sin of wrath, it was simply their nature constrained by social order, by will and by a sense of humanity. When stripped away we are hardly better than beasts.

He would recognize the change in Galton, the delusion of grandeur coupled with gluttonous intentions. "Galton!" Jürgen would shout uselessly, a part of him knew that it would not snap the Candy King out of whatever spell he just fell under. "What sort of stuff was in those cookies!" He barked in Marion's direction. He would immediately regret the words he said, the instinct to blame. The nervous, cautious, perhaps even cocksure youth would regrettably snap. He saw her eat a cookie and she was fine. It was Galton, Galton was slipping yet again. He had seen it at times, minor glimpses. In truth he was rather confident it never truly left the wizard, but he had it, for the most part, under control.

"Don't let him have his snacks," a dangerous statement perhaps. "I-I need to get Galton taken down," he stammered, failing to explain why but there was no time for a lengthy explanation. It was unlikely Galton's friend were going to spring into action because the Candy king had reared his sticky head once again. Did they even know? Did they remember? Were they spared the experience, the madness. "And keep choking hazards away from him," like a dangerous, oversized toddler. A possible overreaction, Hess was about to make one hell of a mistake in front of Galton's girlfriend as he drew his wand and pointed it in his friend's direction without hesitation.

"Flippendo" he incanted as he placed himself at the far point from Galton, one of the beds (any really) and attempted to send Galton flying back. If he recalled, Galton a duellist now so he probably did not stand a chance against the house captain. In a serious fight, he would be eating dirt within seconds but Galton did not think with his head when it was full of images of candy and kingdoms.

"Marion, get back before he hurts you," he warned. A white knight, blinded by the fact that there was a pretty girl in the room. No, he did not notice Winnie or Meenauh in the same way and give them the same warning. They could probably handle themselves, not that he went as far as to reason it in his head. "And Pride, if you are behind this," it could not be Marion, poor, sweet, often victimized Marion. "I am going to make you rue your first instance of magic!" he actually believed it was probably him, somehow. He knew what Pride did to Winnie. Not that he understood the use of the sick game that turned into one of laziness and convenience as time went on.

Did he hit? Did his miss? Was he going to have to defend himself from a second, pissed off and capable Captain?

Action: Jürgen cast Flippendo at Galton, he is going to try to subdue him before he goes on a rampage.

Whatever Meenauh was thinking, Galton was becoming something that resembled what had happened a long time ago. Something that had to be... treated away? But the curse (Meenauh was sure it was a curse) was strong. It could have seen just like a regular lust for a cookie, but everything got out of hand as soon as something inside him slipped with 'royal' right.

Meenauh's eyes widened in horror, wand still grasped firmly in her hand, probably too firmly that it seemed to be turning into stone. And then the Hess boy started chaotically shouting around. But honestly, she could do a bit of shouting as well. If only she wasn't trained to be a killing machine rational thinker first, and only human child after that.

It seemed the boy also started to suspect Marion wasn't just a beauty around the place, but was hiding something else — not easily seen by a mere passer-by. It was a pity that the target of his sudden anger switch to some Pride, who was a complete stranger to Meenauh by that moment. But it seemed he might have already had some reputation of a ill-doer. Again, what a party to share the tent with. Maybe they could still cooperate to find out more about the Marion girl first? Who got the cookies in?

It followed by a call-to-action, which involved taking Galton down — why, a decent thought that required quite a lot of effort. Being his duelling partner and spending countless hours practising, Galton was some kind of glitch of nature. Despite his roundy and clumsy looks, he was surprisingly lucky to evade a lot of spells sent his way. Sometimes she had to stop him in motion in order to land a hit. A Knockback Jinx sent his would probably not be any different.

But the chances to 'take down' the Candy King would be increased, if more impact would be applied.

"Petrificus Totalus!" she stated in quite a loud tone to make sure the ringing incantation would get to Galton's foggy mind even if the spell itself won't reach the designated target.

Action: Meenauh cast Full Body-Bind Curse at Galton

George probably wouldn't have gone as far as 'angelic' to describe Gideon, but he was still cute, even if he had some disconcerting habits. Not everyone could mature as fast as George did when he arrived at Hogwarts, it seemed, and he was making an effort to be less judgemental of weird kids.

"He's not scary," George insisted, though he might change his tune later in the month when there was a shovel involved. For now, he was just Jack - intimidating to strangers, but mostly harmless to anyone but himself. When Gideon grabbed his arm, George would reflexively tug away before giving in, not wanting to upset the poor crybaby. This reaction was... strange. Even Jake didn't cry at the sight of Jack Warren, although perhaps he would have, if first-year Jake could have met now Jack. He was a lot burlier and a lot balder. "He's not so scary, relax. It's okay."

Still, he couldn't help but give a little sympathy to the little crybaby. George reached out to pat Gideon on the back, rolling his shoulders as the odd, uneven weight of the stuffed snake on his shoulders. He grabbed Mister Apopis by the neck and gave the snake's head a waggle toward Gideon, trying to distract him from the scary Jack. Bully was soft and free of any burdens like the ones hidden away in Mister Apopis.

Though unaware of the evil intention behind Marion's innocent facade, he still mistrusted her by virtue of her being substantially prettier than most other students. As if she loved snacks. You couldn't gobble down cookies all the time and keep such smooth skin and a trim figure, you'd be breaking out and ballooning up. They did look like good cookies... but before hunger could wear away at his pride, Galton started being Galton, which was enough to ruin anybody's appetite.

"Hmm," George said, upon Galton's sudden rush for cookies and claiming of the candy throne. Gideon wisely chose to slink off, and George did not stop him. Things in the tent were about to get a lot messier, so George stood up and tried rubbing his eyes again. It was difficult to see through the peppery blur, but things did not look good. Jurgen started slinging spells, and George put his hand up and made for the exit of the tent. He'd come back when the dust had settled to get some sleep, but for now, things were going south. "Okay, wow! I'm just going to get out of here and you guys can let me know when you're finished being insane."

Would he go find help? A teacher, maybe? No, not a chance. This was summer camp, and it was the one opportunity for all the students of Hogwarts to go full Lord of the Flies self-governance. Besides, they were only teenagers. Not like anyone was going to hurt anyone for real, right? George moved to the tent exit unless hit by a stray spell or something, hesitating near the door... he did kind of want to see if Galton was going to eat anybody before he left.