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Post by ...Really Bad Eggs... on May 29, 2006 13:25:03 GMT -5
Damien was sat in his usual spot in the Slytherin common room, a chessboard in front of him. He was sat in a comfy armchair, not directly in front of the fire, but near enough to it to be warm. He moved black bishop to F5 and then looked up at a noise by the common room entrance. Noticing it was some boys from the year above he quickly looked back down at the chessboard, although he tried his best to ignore them, no one liked being pushed around. However, the boy’s didn’t seem to have anything to say to him, as they passed one did however kick his chessboard over, scattering the pieces over the floor. The same boy ran his hand roughly through Damien’s hair as he passed, making his head jerk back and then forward when he let go. Damien straightened his glasses and then flattened his hair. Sighing to himself he got down on his hands and knees and began to pick up the chess pieces – those guys were pathetic.
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Post by ring_junkie on May 29, 2006 13:50:27 GMT -5
Salvador had just been fencing for two hours - it was, really, the only way he kept fit; flying around on a broomstick was too undignified for him, plus the wind destroyed his hair, blowing it all out of place; swimming... well, the same: the chlorine in the water dried out his hair, and he felt too self-conscious in swimming trunks; running... no; fencing, however, was a 'gentleman's sport' at which he was very accomplished. He would go to an unused classroom down in the Slytherins' dungeon domain, conjure two foils from mid-air and bewitch one of them to attack him. He was wearing neither a waistcoat nor a jacket, in contrast from usual, because he got too hot when practising sword-play.
On entering the common-room just after two boys in fourth-year, Salvador watched as they up-ended Damien Riddle's chess-board and walked on by, grinning to each other. He decided not to say anything to them, because - from his experience - it would only cause them to behave worse towards Damien. With a flick of his wand, he did, however, right the chess-board and replace the few pieces that Damien had not yet managed to pick up. That done, he pulled another chair over towards the opposite side of the chess-board and sat down in it, proceeding to set the pieces out on their appropriate sides of the board, ready for a new game. Acting as if the boys did not exist and nothing had just happened, Salvador looked over at Damien.
"So... Which would you rather? Red or white," he asked, meaning that he was going to play Damien at chess.
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Post by ...Really Bad Eggs... on May 29, 2006 15:15:03 GMT -5
Damien looked up at Salvador, he knew the older boy, and so felt slightly relaxed in his company, “Red,” he replied, setting up the board and then spinning it around so he had the darker side in front of himself. Waiting for Salvador to begin the match, his grey eyes flickered from the chessboard, up to him and then down to the board again. When he knew some one he could actually think of things to talk about and so he didn’t mind Salvador, “…How are things with Contessa?” he asked, carefully, still looking at the chessboard in case anything bad had happened between the couple or he wasn’t supposed to know and Salvador was going to get angry at him for mentioning it. He tucked his legs up onto the chair, with his knees bent up to his chest, resting his chin on them.
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Post by ring_junkie on May 29, 2006 16:02:56 GMT -5
Salvador gave Damien a small smile, then crossed his legs and rested his left elbow on the arm of the chair, the fingers of the same hand playing sub-consciously with the corner of his moustache as he watched the board being turned around so that the white pieces were now directly opposite him. If nothing else, the boy reminded him of himself - Damien was obviously different in many ways, but it was that he often seemed to be on his own, reading, that started the comparison. After a moment, Salvador leant forwards and moved the pawn in front of his king-side rook two spaces towards Damien before sitting back again. He gave a small, slightly amused smirk at the third-year's question, having not expected him to ask that, or really to know that he and Contessa were together; though he couldn't see why. "Things are going very well, actually, thank you," he replied softly, watching Damien's move with his stormy-grey eyes, briefly looking up at the boy. "Is there anyone you're interested in at the moment?" he inquired gently. He was shy, and Salvador wasn't quite sure how Damien would react to talking about his love-life.
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Post by ...Really Bad Eggs... on May 29, 2006 16:35:43 GMT -5
Damien looked up from the board to Salvador when he spoke, lifting his head off his knees. However, he shook his head at the older boy’s question, and let his head flop forward onto his knees again, “All the other house girls seem to hate Slytherins and the ones in this house seem to hate me,” he said, displaying no emotion about it, he didn’t really mind, after all although he was in the third year he hadn’t really started to think about girls yet, his voice hadn’t broken and his growth spurt, well any sign of getting taller hadn’t happened for him, he was five foot tall, which was precisely two inches bigger since this time in his first year. He sighed, no one seemed to take him seriously because he came over as so little. Reaching forward with his left hand he moved a pawn forward, he was setting up a move which would check mate Salvador within the next five turns.
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Post by ring_junkie on May 29, 2006 16:55:06 GMT -5
Though he could play the game of chess, rather well in fact, he did not profess to be brilliant at it - as Damien was - and therefore had no idea what the boy was planning. Salvador liked Damien, and knew already that he was better at the game than he was, so wouldn't take it too badly when he lost, as he - truthfully - was already really expecting to do.
"Well, I'm sure that will change over the next few years," he replied lightly. Damien didn't seem all that bothered about the subject, really, so he wouldn't press him any further. Salvador found it awfully annoying when some people simply would not let a subject drop and you ended up voicing the same opinion several times throughout the conversation. Leaning forwards again, he jumped his queen-side knight - knights were his favourite pieces - over the row of pawns in front of it and one space to the left. "...Read any good books lately?" he asked, knowing that both he and Damien enjoyed literature - the number of times he had seen him accompanied with a book, or two...
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Post by ...Really Bad Eggs... on May 29, 2006 17:19:19 GMT -5
Damien shook his head, “Not really, I read the Count of Monte Cristo again,” he said, Alexandre Dumas was one of his favourite fiction authors, his favourite book by the author was The Man in the Iron Mask but he liked the others as well, “You?” he asked whilst moving another chess piece, he wasn’t really bothering about Salvador’s knights, he always made sure to cover his own and so they were not a threat to him.
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Post by ring_junkie on May 29, 2006 17:32:12 GMT -5
Watching Damien's move, Salvador nodded. "I enjoyed that book," he said, referring to The Count of Monte Cristo, "though it's been a while since I read it." He didn't say that to show off, only to imply that he had forgotten most about it except a vague knowledge of the plot. "I'm almost finished Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, myself," he continued in answer to Damien's question, moving his king-side rook forwards two spaces. "I think I might invest in a similar portrait," he said, half seriously. That had been something that he had been thinking about for a while, ever since he had started reading the book.
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Post by ...Really Bad Eggs... on May 29, 2006 18:01:35 GMT -5
Damien nodded, and then smiled at Salvador’s comment, “I quite liked that book, I thought Dorian was a bit… dreary, it could have been better,” he replied, moving his bishop to cover his next move.
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Post by ring_junkie on May 29, 2006 18:32:36 GMT -5
"Mm... well, it was the man's only novel, so..." Salvador trailed off, moving his knight again whilst making sure that it was protected by a pawn, diagonally behind it by one square. Though that wouldn't necessarily mean that Damien wouldn't take it. "The last book I read was Homer's Odyssey - the epithets and stock phrases in that do get irritating after a while, and although an epic, I don't find it the best of books."
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Post by ...Really Bad Eggs... on May 31, 2006 9:01:19 GMT -5
Damien nodded, “Mm,” he’d never read any of really old books and stories by people such as Homer, so he didn’t have much to say on the topic. So concentrating on the game in front of him he moved his Queen forward, now only one move away from checkmating Salvador. Then, completely out of the blue he said, “Salvador, why did Macaria burn down the old grounds keeper’s hut?”
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Post by ring_junkie on May 31, 2006 10:02:16 GMT -5
Salvador's grey eyes flicked briefly up to Damien then back to the board, and he gave a small, wry smile. Taking a breath, about to reply, he paused, moved one of his bishops diagonally to the left four spaces, and his smile grew as he let out a small sigh. "Truthfully," he began, glancing up at Damien once more, "...I don't know." He hadn't really known Macaria when that event had passed, and certainly hadn't known of any plans of that kind, but he did know what his own suspicions were. "Perhaps to warn people of... the Dark Lord's imminent return." To tell the truth, Salvador felt a little awkward discussing Lord Voldemort with Damien - after all, he was the boy's father.
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Post by ...Really Bad Eggs... on Jun 9, 2006 11:50:59 GMT -5
Damien looked down at the chess board again. Trying to concerntrate on the game again, his cousins and his sisters all seemed so up for Lord Voldemort's return, but he, even though he was a Riddle, was not looking forward to the ordeal... dreading it even. He moved a piece and checkmated Salvador, "How is he returning - he's dead."
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Post by ring_junkie on Jun 9, 2006 15:26:41 GMT -5
Salvador looked down at the board, trying to find an escape route for his king, but he knew he had been beaten. He didn't glance up at Damien this time, but cleared his throat lightly, giving a defeated smile. How ironic... defeated at the game in the same moment he was defeated by the boy's words. After a reasonably long pause, he spoke. "...Well. One can never give up hope." Finally, he raised his eyes briefly to Damien's face, flicking the white king gently so that he teetered on the edge of his base, and then toppled over. He didn't know how the Dark Lord was going to return. He didn't know if He really was even dead... Didn't know if He was going to return... But the magic Contessa could perform - the veil portals... she could speak to Him. And if He could talk back, then that meant that, somewhere out there, there was a part of the Dark Lord that was alive. "Well played," Salvador said softly, referring to the game of chess. And the conversation.
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