You Need to Calm Down (A'dam)

[felix valentin fortescue]

March 22, 2025

It was late March, and Felix was well aware that he should have been studying for his NEWT exams, though he was more concerned with planning the next meeting of the Hogwarts Gay-Straight Alliance. As the club’s captain for the year, that sort of took precedence over schoolwork that was still months away from being completely necessary. And, thus, he had found himself in an empty classroom, art supplies and various notebooks spread out across the desk as he scribbled down ideas for activities that they could do. They needed something to keep things positive, he felt, and getting everyone excited with some brightly-colored posters would definitely help.

Continuing to write down ideas as they came to him, Felix was on the fence about whether or not some glitter was necessary. Was it too stereotypical of him to consider it? It would just get everywhere, unfortunately, though at least it wouldn’t take as long to clean up with a little bit of magic… Okay, it was probably worth it.

Hearing someone else enter the classroom, however, distracted him from his thought process, and he turned around to see who it was.

@amsterdam

[Deleted]

A'dam had one of those days where she was feeling extremely uneasy and bad in her skin. She'd been feeling itchy and locked up most of the day. She'd been off to the kitchen but nothing there could put his mind at ease. It was one of those days. He sighed impatiently as he turned a corner, fretting with his clothes. Nothing seemed right. His hands were itching to do something. Maybe it was something about Quidditch. He hadn't played in far too long. Yet it had been yesterday. The team had played yesterday and the training had been difficult for the players as he'd been on top of his game back then. Nothing like now. A storm was probably coming, it only made sense. Yet at the same time it didn't.

He turned a corner then and as she continued on her way, she fidgetted with the hem of her sleeves again. She wasn't feeling very well. Like a sickness had taken over her mind. Maybe it was because her dreams had been filled with fire lately. That always got her to feel shifty. As she walked into a classroom she presumed to be empty her eyes fell upon another soul. She narrowed her eyes for half a second but the man seemed harmless at first glance. She wasn't sure what it was but she liked seeing people with the same hair colour as she had. It made her feel like home wasn't too far off. "Sorry I just burst in like that." She said. "I'm feeling rather fidgetty right now. Something feels off." She wasn't sure why she said that but a part of her was ready to jump into defensive mode. It was that sort of a day.

felix valentin fortescue

[felix valentin fortescue]

March 22, 2025

"Sorry I just burst in like that," the other student—younger than he was but ginger like himself—apologized. "I'm feeling rather fidgety right now. Something feels off."

Felix immediately raised an eyebrow. "'Off' how?" he asked, for the sake of clarification. "I haven't seen any Boggarts around for a bit…" he mentioned, though he wasn't sure that that the recent infestation was the younger student's problem. He paused and stood, offering the younger student a smile. "Do you need someone to talk to?" he offered, hoping that the assortment of rainbow paint colors around him was enough of an indicator that he wasn't exactly vicious.

@amsterdam

[Deleted]

It was a very good question thag she hax no answers to. Off how exactly? It was impossible to say. She walked closer and her eyes saw the rainbow colours bug they barely registered. "I don't exactly know." She said honestly. "Just... off." She concluded rather lamely.

When he offered her somebody to talk to, setting himself up as non-threatening as possible she instantly felt her defences go up,but at the same time he wanted nothing more than to trust the older boy. His face went blank for a moment as he considered the various implications of what it all could mean. "I can't seem to settle down." He started somewhat guarded, giving the door a glance. "Some days mh mind can't seem to decide what I am that day. It makes me very uneasy and uncomfortable."

It was at that point that several things clicked in his mind and he suddenly smiled. This was the leader of the club trying to promote kinship between gay and straght people. "I identify as gender fluid. My identity just seems to a little too fluid today." He said with a shrug als he plopped down on a random char nearby. It was sort of nice to have it out in the open.

felix valentin fortescue

[felix valentin fortescue]

March 22, 2025

"I don't exactly know," replied the other student. "Just… off."

Felix nodded along, trying to remain a listening ear. Once the younger student realized that he wasn't going to hold anything against them, they seemed to open up a bit more, saying that they couldn't seem to settle down and that their mind couldn't decide what they were that day. While that might have come across as a riddle to some people, Felix—aside from having become an expert in riddles because he had had to solve his fair share to get into his common room—understood.

So, too, did the other student, who smiled. "I identify as gender fluid. My identity just seems to a little too fluid today," the shrugged, quickly relaxing.

"I'm trans," Felix informed them casually, "so I know that gender stuff can get… confusing sometimes." He had spent years trying to figure out exactly how he identified himself in relation to the rest of the world, and it wasn't always fun. "I'm Felix Fortescue, by the way. And this is… sort of the right place." He motioned towards all of the supplies he'd dragged in. "I'm the captain of the Gay-Straight Alliance."

@amsterdam

[Deleted]

Amsterdam nodded as they confessed their own gender struggles. She instantly worried she had misgendered them in her head. She frowned ever as o slightly. "Which pronouns do you prefer? Before I presume your gender and all." She had done so but it had been fully unintentional. She hoped they'd understand.

She nodded when they mentioned captain. "I've been trained to make myself aware of the ranks and titles of those around me. I don't always get the faces instantly yet but I'm improving." She said, feeling slightly proud her skills were improving. She'd need them later. "Thank you, by the way, for listening. I'm Amsterdam or A'dam. Both work. Pleasure to meet you."

felix valentin fortescue

[felix valentin fortescue]

March 22, 2025

"Which pronouns do you prefer? Before I presume your gender and all."

Felix grinned. He had only just met this other student, but he appreciated their consideration. "My pronouns are 'he' and 'him'," he nodded. He knew that he didn't always match what other people thought of as "masculine". He was tall and skinny with relatively short hair, so at least that helped more than when his hair had been considerably longer a few years prior, before he'd begun transitioning.

"I've been trained to make myself aware of the ranks and titles of those around me. I don't always get the faces instantly yet but I'm improving."

That sounded slightly strange to Felix, who didn't really know what to say to that. He didn't understand what the other student meant by it, other than perhaps a respect for authority? He didn't know. Regardless, it didn't really matter to him.

"Thank you, by the way, for listening. I'm Amsterdam or A'dam. Both work. Pleasure to meet you."

"Amsterdam? Like the city?" Felix asked with a smile as he pulled out the chair in which he had been sitting to face Amsterdam so that the two of them could continue to converse. "That's wicked," he complimented and then continued. "What pronouns do you use, A'dam?"

@amsterdam