Just Somewhere Quiet...

[Seth Silver]

Furious with Cecil for answering correctly, Seth burst, 'You're such a fecking sod, Marzel!'

He put no energy behind his insults tonight. They were little more than childish games. 'You're a wanker,' or, 'Stop being such a batty, you sod.' Scoffing, Seth watched with interest as his queen burst diagonal from the ranks, marching toward the bishop and ending his pathetic life by smashing his head off. Clapping his hands, he laughed loudly, 'Take that, fecker!' It was, of course, aimed at the now decapitated bishop lying in a heap on the side of the table. He loved Wizard's Chess. The violence in itself was a glorious thing to watch. Beautiful, really.

'Anyway,' he continued, sounding more than half cocky, 'I think I've got healing spells down fairly well by now, Marzel. Been practising with Oione now and then. I could be a Healer right now if I wanted to, I reckon. And of course I deserved it. Anyone stupid enough to open a no --- get caught between torture spells is a bleeding eejit, you arse. Always deserve what I get, don't I?' Smiling vaguely, he plucked the bishop's tiny head from off the table, placing it in the centre. No, it didn't look right. Where, then? Ah, there. Dropping it exactly where it had come from originally on the sidelines, and after several long seconds of deliberation, mind you, Seth returned his attention to Marzel. He was completely unaware of how odd he might look, picking up objects and placing them down at random.

[Cecil Marzel]

<sup>Cecil put his hands up to the sudden outburst, caught unawares by the sudden volume. The room hadn't exactly complied with his wishes after all, letting a great, noisy boy like this inside.

"Yikes, Silver, tone it down a notch. I was kidding. I didn't think that was actually the answer..." It was actually such a stupid joke, it was almost funny. He was amazed at how violent things had suddenly become after just that reply.

Never a dull moment when Seth Silver was in the room. He watched his poor bishop be slaughtered, only tipping his head slightly to the side, amused at the opportunity he'd been presented with.
"I wonder if the Queen of England ever murdered a Bishop in such a brutal manner..." Cecil watched his opponent move the remains of his piece about, and uttered something under his breath, somewhere along the lines of 'crazy bugger'.

Very smoothly, he watched as his pawn shifted diagonally (this was sure to cause a ruckus from Seth, but it was worth it), and took the White Queen, decapitating her with his double swords.
Glancing up at the other boy Cecil allowed himself to murmur a

"Pity, that."</sup>

[Seth Silver]

'Bollocks.'

Now he'd lost his queen and his knight, and the king was left with only half his guard. Swearing under his breath, Seth pushed his second knight out, the one that had been replaced after he broke the first. He examined the board, came up with nothing, and turned his attention to more important things. Like his fingernails, and the good inch or so of exposed ankle where his trousers ought to have been hanging. He'd have to extend those once he got back to the dormitory. They were far too short, almost laughably so.

'Queen of England's murdered tons of people. Used to have Catholic priests beheaded, didn't she? Maybe that was some other bloke . . . . Dunno. Don't really talk about British queens over in Ireland, except to curse 'em of course. May she find her way into heaven an hour before the devil knows she's dead. She's old enough by now, innit?'

Flicking the hair from his face, Seth tapped his feet on the floor. He wished they made more noise. More than that dull, only nearly audible thud. He flicked his knight, and several pawns, and then finally the king, unable to sit completely still while he waited for Cecil's move.

[Cecil Marzel]

<sup>Damn, but this kid was fidgety. Cecil actually took a moment to watching him fiddle with the chess pieces, looking mildly interested, like someone watching a rather stupid hamster fall off of its running wheel repeatedly.

"Maybe I should put a body-binding spell on you." he commented absently, nudging another pawn forward, to free his rook. "You're awfully crazy this evening, Mister Silver. More so than usual, I mean." Heck, the kid was just spouting random-assed tangeants now. Maybe he really had been in a fight, and had suffered some brain damage. He was twitchy. Cecil was beginning to wonder what would happen if he did try a spell.

"A body bind plus something to mute you with would make it quiet in here again, at least." He made no move to try anything, though, wand still in his pocket.

(Mm. Such a bad post.)</sup>

[Seth Silver]

'Ye can try it, Batty Boy. I've already been in one fight tonight. Doubt I'd come away from this one without at least a suspension, and I don't fancy another three weeks back in Limerick, if you don't mind.'

Watching the brutal murder of a quivering pawn, Seth grinned half - heartedly. There wasn't nearly as much fun in it when he was only killing pawns, and he'd already lost his queen. What would the king look like without a head? It was almost tempting to stick the damn thing out, just to see what Cecil's pieces would do to it. He held back, however, telling himself that he could always just break the head of and have the room give him another one. He loved magic.

'Ye ever have yeer mum do that to ye when ye were a kid or something? Put the bodybind on ye cos ye've been driving her barmy with yeer fidgetin? Torture that, havin itches and yeer not even able to scratch, and she's just sittin there with her 'jasus, by, I told ye to stay still, didn't I? Drive me to an early grave is what ye'll be doin! And ye'd go to shops and such and it's always, 'mind ye only look, don't touch, or it'll be the body bind on ye again.' He shook his head, exasperated, although talking helped him to stay still for a few minutes at least. 'Jasus, that's bollocks, innit?'

Seth had experienced this many a time with his mother, and each and every time, Augustus would walk off to Knocturn Alley 'for a quick drink, love' and come back hours later. Not drunk, but buzzed enough to have a short temper and an even shorter attention span. The mater said things in a more dignified way then he had just now, though, what with the English accent she fought so hard to keep.

[Cecil Marzel]

<sup>Cecil could see the disinterest over the slaughtering of his pawns in the other boy's face. So, to make things a bit more interesting, and to help satisfy his opponent's bloodlust, the Gryffindor nudged his knight forward.


"Actually... No. Not that I remember anyway. Cosima lost interest in me shortly after she adopted me. I was usually left to my own excursions more often than naught. The worst thing she ever did to me was the lessons..." There was a rueful smile on his face, which quickly vanished as he realizd who he was speaking to, and just what he'd been saying. There was a sharp expression behind his eyes as he glanced up at Seth. This also faded.

Why was he so off-guard tonight? He was never this loose-tongued with ANYONE, let alone Seth Silver. Cecil bristled some, then shrugged it off.

"She thought I should get ahead of other students I'd be "competing against", so she tried to teach me something valuable before Hogwarts got me, you know?" He didn't really want to elaborate, and would probably lie if asked anything more.

If he absolutely had to deal with Silver, and talk to him like he was a real person... It really wasn't as bad as he had suspected. Not when both of them were too stupid or too stubborn to leave. It was ironic.




He still intensely disliked the boy, of course.</sup>

[Seth Silver]

Raising his eyebrows, he nudged his second bishop out, capturing the knight and watching as it was literally smashed into dust with the bishop's staff. What in the world was Marzel waffling on about? Cosima? Who the hell was Cosima? Well, obviously, she was of some relation to Cecil, and didn't seem to be very interested in him at that. It was comforting for Seth, hearing this. Cecil's life had gone pear shaped just as much as his own had. That was a nice thought, although he wished the other would elaborate a bit more. Was he tragically unhappy? That would be good. What had happened to his real parents? Was it gory and awful? It should have been.

'Lessons? Sounds wicked boring. Then again, this coming from the lad who still has to go shopping with his mum wherever and whenever she feels like it.'

Shite. Why the hell was he telling this to Cecil Marzel? Only Oione ever heard Seth's complaining. Marzel did not need to hear any of this, nor, Seth was certain, did he want to. He frowned, drumming his fingers on the table. This was definitely turning into an interesting night, and, surprisingly, it wa staking his mind off of his throbbing fingers, as well as Augustus's letter. 'The mater taught me stuff before I came, of course, but the most you learn in Limerick is to stay out of the rain, avoid pious - looking old men, and don't drink to many bottles of stout.'

[Cecil Marzel]

<sup>Ah-ha. With a somewhat satisfied smile, Cecil watched his rook launch an attack on the pawn-killing bishop. He really did like this game, chess. It was a lovely, lovely thing, laying such devious traps for people, and watching it all work out.

Unwittingly, Cecil chuckled deeply at the 'pious old men' comment, turning it into a cough and and smirk into his hand. Oh, boy. He didn't even want to ask about that one, for fear of what he might hear. Instead, he shrugged, waiting for Seth's next move, and chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully.
"Nah, I wouldn't really call it boring. Tedious and unwanted, maybe, but it wasn't really boring. Now, shopping with your mum would probably qualify under that category. I don't suppose she makes you hold her purse?" What a lovely image it was all piling up to be. Fidgety Seth, shuffling around a curio shop, with a nice, fashionable clutch purse in hand.

He propped his chin in his hand, smiling pleasantly, even slightly mockingly, waiting for a response.


In truth, Cecil was uncertain over his parents. He knew for positive that Cosima had been acquainted with them, but not what had happened to them. It was bound to be juicy, and Cecil was curious, but there were more direct matters to be dealt with in the meantime.</sup>

[Seth Silver]

'No,' answered Seth thoughtfully, his eyes resting on the castle. How to kill this one? 'But I've got to carry her bags. Thousands of them, I swear. And Jaysus, she don't like to see me sitting down neither. Proper man's got to be the house - elf, I guess.' Ah, yes. He moved oneof his pawns diagonally, capturing the castle with a satisfying crack of the pawn's helmet being whipped off and smashed into the castle, successfully snapping it in half. 'Anyway, lessons sound boring, batty. Pity you, I guess. I mean,' he put on a breazy, nonchalant air, 'shopping's alright so long as no one sees you, and I can always sneak off to the pub for a quick bit of something, if I want to. But lessons --- I mean, what the hell do you do there?'

For some reason unknown to Seth, he was actually able to speak with Marzel tonight wihtout wanting to jump down the other boy's throat. It was odd, unexpected, even. He shook his head, trying to clear it, ans consoled himself with the thought that he could always hate Marzel tomorrow. After all, it was late, and his brain probably wasn't functioning properly was all. Tomorrow, things would be back to normal. Tomorrow, he could comfort himself the knowledge that he would like nothing better than to see Cecil Marzel fall off a cliff.

'So . . . adopted, were you? Who's your real parents, then?'

[Cecil Marzel]

<sup>"Ah, but of course, Mister Silver. To be a gentlement, one needs to be made of stone." As he said this, Cecil rolled his eyes, grinning lightly. He really did do his best to be chivalrous, just because it was easier to uphold oneself and look a bit less suspicious if one wasn't an asshole. To put it bluntly, of course.

"Thing was, though, so long as I payed enough attention in whatever outside lessons she was giving me, Cosima gave me sort of free reign otherwise. She was always off and busy, and I took opportune moments to do whatever suited me at the time." He hadn't had a... well not an unpleasant childhood, exactly. Just a very solitary one. It probably explained his odd mannerisms in the present, to be honest. Or, some of them, anyway.

The rest of it might have been the lessons themselves. She'd trained him rigorously and completely against any law. He had hated those lessons, just because it was so much work for something he didn't find valuable at the time, but Cecil certainly didn't regret it now. Not when it was so useful for his hobbies of peoplewatching. After all, in a school full of witchcraft and wizardry with pets of all sorts...
Who suspected a small black cat?

"Yeh. I was adopted when I was very young, so I don't remember much before. I've found out about my parents, though. Mum was an Egyptian lady, and my dad was French. Both from good wizarding families. Not sure how they got involved with Cosima, though I know they were."</sup>

[Seth Silver]

Seth snorted in derision, wrinkling his nose. 'Gentleman, my arse. She's given up on me a long time ago. Something about me being 'incorrigable'. Dunno, but it's not like it matters anyway.'

The mater was always sighing that her useless son was a helpless case. He had his manners when he needed them, but he was everything an heir should not have been. Illegitimate, loud, crude, rude, and reckless to boot. 'Broke his poor mother's heart, he has,' she would sometimes say. Augustus was less sympathetic. He raged drunkenly about his lack of a proper heir, and Seth found it to be in his best interest to stay on one side of the manor at all times --- the side Augustus was not on. The mere sight of his face could set the man off. It was no wonder Amerelia was growing spare, what with her obesessions with food and health and appearance.

'Wish I was adopted,' Seth grumbled, reaching into his pocket. His fingers wrapped around the gold galleon he'd found in the common room a few nights ago.

His childhood, while unconventional in every sense of the word, had not been entirely without joy. Watching his mother throw plates at the house - elves was always amusing, until she turned her aim on him, in which case he usually ran off to some abandoned corner somewhere. The mater always provided some sort of entertainment, her being mental at times. She could be perfectly normal one day, sobbing her eyes out the next, and then decide she was supreme ruler of the universe and refurnish the entire mansion, dragging Seth along with her to buy furniture. Augustus always had friends over, and most of them didn't mind showing Seth a trick or two, especially Wilkes and Nott. For the most part, Seth had remained in solitude. He met people at dinner parties or when they came to call, but it was rare that he found someone his own age to talk to. The exception, of course, being Oione.

[Cecil Marzel]

<sup>"Aaacht." Cecil shook his head, scratching the back of his neck as he examined the chessboard, finally choosing the free he queen. After careful contemplation, he moved her diagonally, fairly certain she was out of reach from any of Silver's pieces. The tiny figurine pouted prettily, drumming her nails on a scepter in her hand.
"Not by this woman, you don't. Cosima has no sense. She's gotten herself into some goddamn hole this time... Wants me to come and tunnel her out of it. Stupid old bag..." The last bit of this was a mutter-- it was dead clear the Cecil wanted nothing to do with the situation. He simply couldn't risk it. Some irritability was leaking back into his demeanor, and he pulled the letter he'd been reading out of his pocket, opening it to glance at the words once again.

Shaking his head, he tucked it back away, going back to brooding over the chess pieces.
"She's honestly not worth the trouble."</sup>

[Seth Silver]

'Oh, good,' Seth said brightly, nudging out a trembling pawn. 'Mine aren't either, so that works brilliantly, doesn't it? For a minute I was afraid you'd say you were actually happy with Cosa - whatshername. I'd have hated you even more fer that, mate.'

In the morning, he reminded himself, wiping the grin from his face. In the morning, they could still hate one another and none of this would have happened.

'So, seems we're both here to think about letters, eh?' He pulled out his own, waving them in front of Cecil. 'Only, don't touch mine, because they're cursed or whatever. But, I say we burn them. No better use, right?'

[Cecil Marzel]

<sup>"Happy with her?" Cecil snorted, shaking his head once again. Cripes-- It was completely as though they'd entered an alternate reality, where people were decent to one another. He really didn't mind so much at the moment. It was good to be able to voice his thoughts out loud, even if it was to the goddamn Silver boy. But he knew it wasn't as though there was going to be a change. As soon as they left the room, any friendliness would dissappear.

He was also perfectly fine with that, as well.

"Nope. She's the kind of person who thinks everyone is," His second bishop moved in for a kill, promptly beheading the piece Seth had just moved out. "...A pawn. Even me."


He smirked some, listening to Silver's suggestion with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle.
"Ha. Knew your story with the fight was bosh. Nasty trick, cursing letters..." His own was withdrawn from his pocket again, the pale parchment with Cosima's neat scrawl across it. "And I agree in full." He drew his wand, holding it under the paper, flashing a quick grin.</sup>

[Seth Silver]

'Oh, aye,' Seth agreed, drawing his own wand. 'Nasty enough trick, but it goes away after a fortnight, or so.' He grinned wickedly at his Cecil, glancing around for some sort of table upon which to set the parchment once it was aflame. The room, useful as always, had supplied a round stone table, which he promptly dropped his two letter on, not bothering to flip them so as to hide their content. Better to let the words be hit first, after all. He had completely forgotten his fight story, as was often with Seth. He told lies or committed small acts of mischief that were usually forgotten as soon as something new came along. As a boy, his punishments had always been doubled because Augustus and the mater were sure he was lying, even when he tried explaining that he simply could not remember melting his mother's prized brooch, or setting the house elve's on fire. After years of this, Seth developed a new way to deal with his memory problem. He simply accepted the blame for everything, even when it truly had not been him that had done it, because he never knew when he had forgotten something.

'Let's see,' Seth glanced at his letters, throwing a filthy look at the mater's, her elegant calligraphy practically shouting outrage and disappointment at what she would have called 'barbaric antics, most likely learned from those filthy Irishmen.' 'Augustus's first, I should think, unless you'd like to torch yours first, Marzel. I'm saving the mater's for last. A torturous, slow sort of burning.' He cackled darkly, ruffling the parchment with pale hands. 'Hope she feels it all the way back in Limerick, the twat.'