After practise on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Sylvia Mordue

January 22, 2021 8:49 PM

After practise by Sylvia Mordue

Sylvia sat in the MARS foyer, flicking through the latest edition of ‘Society Witch.’ It was not unheard of for her to wander down to the pitch after practises in order to have the pleasure of wandering back with Nate (which also gave her the chance to pull him away from undesirable people and bad influences just a few precious minutes earlier), and Jeremy had mentioned that they were meeting in MARS instead today. That usually meant adverse weather conditions of some sort, or even if it didn’t, a hot beverage after a tough work out never went amiss. If it turned out they’d been in scorching sun, she could easily make the drinks iced with a quick wave of her wand.

She turned a page, smiling as she found herself in the culture section, with its beautiful glittering costumes and moving images of ballerinas flying through the air. She was just reading the review of the ballet (which was described as unnecessarily messing with a classic, attempting to provoke comment for comment’s sake rather than engaging with the tradition of the art form) when the door opened, and a rather windswept Quidditch team bundled out of the door.

“Well, at least you’re not soaked to the skin,” she smiled at Nate. “Good practise? Here, I figured you were getting put through something,” she added, holding out a coffee to him. And, because it would have been terribly rude and obvious to leave Jeremy out in front of everyone, even people who didn’t really matter, she handed him a hot chocolate. Although it was notably accompanied by “See you later,” and her linking arms with Nate.

“I could fancy a quiet game of checkers or something?” she suggested once enough number of the Quidditch players had drifted away that it seemed safe to say they weren't also hanging around the area. "Unless you have any other ideas," she offered.

13 Sylvia Mordue After practise 1413 1 5

Nathaniel Mordue

January 26, 2021 7:29 PM

Your move. by Nathaniel Mordue

Nathaniel always appreciated Sylvia, and he would never say that he didn’t want to see her. When he saw her waiting for him outside of the sports room, though, he was surprised, and when he realized she had Plans to go with her kind gestures, he couldn’t entirely deny a degree of consternation as well.

“We’ll have supper together, all right, Jeremy?” he said, hoping to soften any blow that Jeremy felt about being openly dismissed.

He had known from the beginning that his plan – to the extent one could even call it that – was not good, but he had at least thought it was simple. He had not, however, considered what to do with Sylvia – whether to focus on his brother himself, or whether to pull Sylvia in and make it a full-family affair. On one hand, in addition to adding to the sense of family – something he thought Jeremy needed – Sylvia would probably also be a civilizing influence on interactions. On the other hand, though, he wasn’t sure that a civilizing influence would actually be a good thing (they had been so very civilized all these years…and from what Jeremy had snapped at him about everything being ‘fine’ before Nathaniel had so dramatically demonstrated that he was not fine at all, it seemed increasingly possible that Dr. Greene was right about their excessive civility doing more harm than good), and….

It felt somehow disloyal to admit it, but it was ultimately impossible to deny: Jeremy and Sylvia had never been the most compatible of people. Even when they had been small, when he and Jeremy had been less damaged, he could remember it too well: Jeremy wanting to play, and Sylvia wanting Nathaniel all to herself….

For now, he thought, it would be better to continue dealing with them separately, even if that involved a lot more effort on his part.

Checkers, at least, wasn’t too strenuous. “I don’t see why not,” he said after a brief, slightly surprised pause when Sylvia suggested the game, a moment he thought was helpfully concealed by the coffee she had so thoughtfully provided. “I have a little time before I’m on to the next job,” he added with a smile, thinking wistfully back to the previous term, when he had just thought he felt like he had too much to do…. “Black or red?” he asked, focusing on the present again.

16 Nathaniel Mordue Your move. 1412 0 5

Sylvia Mordue

January 27, 2021 9:02 PM

I have plenty up my sleeve by Sylvia Mordue

Sylvia kept a polite smile up, not voicing the 'if we must' that was her instinctual reaction to the thought of having supper with Jeremy. They had all played a very good game of pretending not to be worried over Christmas, even though some of the sounds that had carried back to the living room had suggested a physical altercation. It had resolved itself without her father having to interfere though, which probably meant she should not bring it up. She could, after all, think of no polite way to ask Nate 'Did you get beaten up by someone your junior?' or 'Has Jeremy come unhinged?' so it was probably best to just ignore it...

"I'll take black," she stated. She had always preferred the colour that allowed her first move when she was younger, seizing at any glimmer of power that the world offered her. Though over the years she had also tried to learn how to play well when starting from second. Partly to keep her opponents on their toes, and partly because she liked the idea of starting from a weaker position and still working her way to victory.

She considered casting a quick 'muffliato.' The MARS foyer was a semi-public place after all. However, she found that spell almost useless for matters of delicacy and privacy. If anyone came within range their ears would be filled with a soft buzzing sound, which was surely irritating enough that they would immediately notice and thus realise that a private conversation was occurring. What she really needed was the auditory equivalent of a disillusionment charm, something that made people by-pass them without even noticing that they hadn't really noticed their conversation, but without it being any more remarkable than the way one simply tuned things out sometimes...

For now, no one else was around. She could keep her voice confidential, and they had the game to fall back on discussing or giving their quiet focus to if they needed to suspend their conversation.

"I notice a certain someone is still being overly familiar," she stated, as they set up the board and pieces. "Are you having trouble getting the message across? I can't say I'm surprised. She didn't seem at all receptive to sublety when we spoke."

13 Sylvia Mordue I have plenty up my sleeve 1413 0 5

Nathaniel Mordue

January 28, 2021 4:25 PM

I'm not sure how well supplied I am with aces... by Nathaniel Mordue

Nathaniel was occupied with arranging his pieces, but not occupied enough for that to account for his failure to understand what his cousin meant. His hands slowed their progress in arranging the red pieces as he glanced up warily at her, looking for some hint of what she meant in her face.

No such hint appeared, which wasn't altogether surprising - how was he supposed to divine names and situations from a facial expression when the words hadn't helped and there weren't any other people around for her to delicately nod toward? He shrugged, and said, "I'm afraid I must not be subtle enough, either," he said. "Because I'm not sure what you mean - familiar with me?"

He felt justified in regarding the idea of someone being overly familiar with him as strange. Very few people at all, after all, in or out of school. Unless one counted the use of his first name as an excess of familiarity - which, at school, he was pretty sure it really wasn't - he thought he had, if anything, gone too far in the other direction from excessive familiarity. He was pretty sure that everyone but her regarded him as rather aloof at best, too much so in some cases. He was polite to all, helpful to those who asked, but familiar...not so much.

He twisted a spare tile between his fingers as a thought occurred to him. It seemed impossible, but...his mother's last couple of letters had been of the petulant, pleading varieties. If Sylvia was somehow accessing his incoming mail...but how would she accomplish that? And even if she somehow had, and had then made so bold as to contact his mother, surely the latter would have mentioned that to him? And surely Sylvia would regard that all as something much worse than merely 'familiarity'? But what else could she mean...?

16 Nathaniel Mordue I'm not sure how well supplied I am with aces... 1412 0 5

Sylvia Mordue

January 28, 2021 7:19 PM

That's why you have me by Sylvia Mordue

Obviously, Nate was tired from practise. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with him or that he was incapable of keeping up. Sylvia quickly performed the mental gymnastics that allowed her to not lower Nate at all in her own estimations for his failure to catch on, whilst also feeling a little self-satisfied at yet again being the smarter one.

She considered finding ways to say what she was saying without saying it, as that was always a useful skill to practise, but it was one that she was already quite adept at. The benefit of Nate was that she usually didn’t have to resort to those kinds of linguistic games, and - as he was tired - he would probably be frustrated if she tried.

“The Stones girl,” she pointed out quietly. “I know you have prefect duties together, but we both agreed that any familiarity you’d offered her outside of that was purely political. For a purpose which is done now, and which she failed to serve,” she added as a side note. She supposed she might have been more kindly inclined to Evelyn had their moves paid off, but she didn’t think she would ever tolerate the idea that Evelyn seemed to think she and Nathaniel could be dinner companions. “You really ought to establish a bit more distance, don’t you think? Next thing you know, she’ll be thinking she can write you letters once you graduate.”

13 Sylvia Mordue That's why you have me 1413 0 5

Nathaniel Mordue

January 29, 2021 5:06 PM

But where do you get them from? by Nathaniel Mordue

Evelyn? Her problem was with Evelyn?

For a moment, Nathaniel was relieved by this revelation – but only for a moment. After that, he realized that although this was not the absolute worst-case scenario, it was still….

He actually didn’t know. He had not, after all, done anything that was improper by any measure in this area. He had nothing to hide or to apologize before. His conduct had been perfectly honorable and correct at all times. And yet, he still felt as if this could go very bad very fast, if he didn’t handle it just so. Despite not knowing what ‘just so’ would be. Because of course he didn’t.

“I think that’s pretty unlikely,” he said, directly addressing the hypothetical she had ended on in order to give himself a moment to think. Evelyn had said things about teaching him to play games with her friends in the future, but he was fairly sure that had been a joke, not a serious intention. Either way, though, he was definitely not mentioning that to Sylvia. “Certainly it’s not enough of a threat to justify being rude over,” he added with a tiny frown; he didn’t like it when Sylvia talked about people in general like that, which she knew. Or at least, he thought she did…had he ever said as much? It just seemed like something she should know – rather as she seemed to think he should have divined her thoughts on all this… “Plus – well, it’s a long story, but one of my Teppenpaws is her half-brother, and the boy sort of – looks up to me, I guess you’d say. And that’s resulted in me and Evelyn landing in situations together a few times. I’d rather not risk creating myself a headache there sometime between now and the end of the year. Everything will drift apart naturally after that, I'm sure.”

16 Nathaniel Mordue But where do you get them from? 1412 0 5

Sylvia Mordue

January 30, 2021 4:08 AM

It's just how it is by Sylvia Mordue

Nate had some faith that Evelyn would know what a boundary was once he graduated. Sylvia had very little faith in the other girl’s ability to read social signals based on the abundant evidence to the contrary. She wanted to trust that Nate knew best, but it did also feel like this kind of generous over-estimation could be one of those things that had landed him in Teppenpaw and with this level of over-familiarity in the first place. He seemed to believe people understood the world and did the right thing. She was fairly sure that the realisation that they did not had been what led to all his… ‘Difficulties’ back in fourth year, but for some reason he seemed to have retained just enough belief in humanity, rules, and systems to believe that someone like Evelyn Stones would know her place. She seemed an odd example to have honed in on for a show of faith in the world.

As Nate continued, Sylvia tilted her head, eyes boring into him as if she could summon up the power of legilimency through sheer will. Naturally, the small Teppenpaws should admire him. That sounded rather good on the face of it. But...

“What does ‘landing in situations’ mean?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. And what sort of person had a half-brother? A very vulgar person from a cheap, crass family, that was who. She firmly shuttered her thoughts against the fact that broken families produced such opportunities, and that Nate’s parents- well. That was why families like hers made people like them ex-parents. Even if they did have the nerve to reproduce, the resultant spawn would not be associated in any way with Nate. It was impossible to have a half sibling from a dead parent. It surprised her though that he would fly so close to the sun. That he would associate with people who could remind others of all the things he didn’t want said about him.

“No one’s asking you to be outright rude, Nate,” she stated, looking utterly perplexed at the notion. Obviously that wouldn’t work. The Stones girl would probably kick up some hooha about supposed racism, or whatever other nasty thing she could think to say. “But too much attention from such people does start to look odd. That’s not my opinion, it’s just how it works and you know it as well as I do. You might not want to create a headache with her, but what if it starts reflecting badly on you with the types of people you will see after graduation?”

13 Sylvia Mordue It's just how it is 1413 0 5

Nathaniel Mordue

February 01, 2021 4:36 PM

There's a lot of things like that. by Nathaniel Mordue

Nathaniel grimaced a bit, both at memories and at the prospect of trying to recount them to Sylvia. For one thing, it wasn’t his story to tell, really. For another….

He loved Sylvia, perhaps more than anyone else on Earth. Through all the things that had happened, she’d always, in the end, been the one who was ultimately there for him, to at least help him pick up the pieces afterward. He’d do anything for her, knew she would do almost the same for him. And yet, the fact remained: there were some things that Sylvia simply couldn’t understand.

“It’s a long story,” he repeated. “The boy – he happened to sit down across from me the night he was Sorted. His mother had abandoned him among the Muggles when he was born, and I suppose I was the first person he saw here, so he latched onto me – wanted to know how he might go about finding out if his parents were also wizards. I gave him some advice. He found out some names. Including that his father’s name was Stones. I agreed to ask Evelyn if she’d ever heard of the man, since we were in the same class. It turned out he was her father, too.” He shrugged, not wishing to dwell any further on that subject. Sylvia simply couldn’t understand. “So I arranged introductions. – everyone has a right to know who his family is,” he added, his tone briefly becoming hard, not wishing to brook any argument on this subject. “Plus, I’m a prefect, and he’s a Teppenpaw who isn’t a prefect. It’s my job. So I helped them. That’s all.”

It wasn’t, of course, but the fact remained: there were some things that Sylvia simply couldn’t understand. Better not to burden her mind with them.

And then, she kept pressing – and giving him a lecture. He frowned again, this time sharply, even severely, openly annoyed.

“You don’t need to tell me how people are, Sylvia,” he said curtly. “I think I might know more about how people are than you do. They whisper behind your back no matter what you do, and even if they know it’s something bad, everyone’s too polite to say anything unless there’s actually a scandal. I haven’t done anything wrong, and I don’t plan to do anything wrong, so let them mumble behind my back like the gutless slugs most of them are, if they want to. It doesn’t matter. Darkest color moves first,” he reminded her, nodding to the forgotten checkers.

16 Nathaniel Mordue There's a lot of things like that. 1412 0 5

Sylvia Mordue

February 03, 2021 5:38 AM

I think it works out very nicely, on the whole by Sylvia Mordue

Whatever these ‘situations’ were, they making Nate pull an awful face. Clearly it was something inconvenient to him at best and downright awful at worst, and he didn’t want to be tangled up in it any more than she wanted him to be tangled in it. And sure enough, as he related it, it sounded like a veritable soap opera.

“I didn’t say otherwise,” she said coolly, raising an eyebrow at him as he got rather heated over one of his points. Interesting. What did it mean that he was so passionate over that particular argument? She certainly hoped that, if his ex-mother dared to reproduce again, he did not feel it necessary or entitled of her creations to go digging around and regarding Nate as family. No, presumably he just meant ‘even Muggleborns’ or ‘even the sorts of people with families who sound like an afternoon melodrama from the wireless.’

“It sounds very noble from your version of events,” she commented. And so it was. It was unfortunate that Nate was duty bound to help such catastrophically screwed up people, but she understood Nate well enough to know that sense of duty was something he absolutely would not shift on. She also hoped it was nothing anyone else would fault him for. “Put in terms of duty, and responsibilities, it all sounds perfectly proper,” she backed him up.

The trouble was, people like that didn’t understand such grand ideas. They also didn’t know how to be grateful for help like that when it was extended, and took it to be an indicator of familiarity. The best thanks Evelyn and the stray Teppenpaw could have given Nate would have been to never mention it to anyone, and to act like it hadn’t happened – or, if they couldn’t manage that, to at least offer respect and admiration for Nate’s professionalism. But Evelyn had to go and ruin Nate’s gracious deeds by getting thoroughly the wrong end of the stick. And now they were in a predicament because Nate was both too sensible and too modest to draw any of the right kind of attention to what he’d done, and Evelyn was too stupid to know what the right kind of attention was.

“And you don’t need to tell me how to play chequers, Nate,” she snapped back, surprised at his tone, “I’ve beaten you often enough at it,” she added, jabbing one of her pieces forward.

“I happen to agree with you, as if I would ever be any other way,” she reminded him, crossing her arms. She did not go so far as to pout because she was not a little child, but her lower lip certainly looked a little more prominent than usual. “But she doesn’t seem to see it the way you do at all,” she stated, tossing her hair back with a little flick of her head. If Nate resumed being properly polite to her, she would explain the situation as she saw it.

13 Sylvia Mordue I think it works out very nicely, on the whole 1413 0 5

Nathaniel Mordue

February 06, 2021 6:26 PM

I'm not so sure. by Nathaniel Mordue

He shouldn’t have said that. He knew, even as the words left his mouth, that he was saying the wrong thing. Looking at his hands, he could see that they were still steady on the outside, but he felt as if every muscle fiber beneath the skin was trembling, vibrating at a high frequency, a mix of fear and horror and…almost expectation, as if he were about to get a fight that he had been trying to start….

He tried to suppress that thought as fast as possible. He did not want to have a fight with Sylvia. He did not want to have fights at all. He did not want to be angry. He could still remember the sick pleasures of sinking into that frame of mind, of allowing himself to lash out, back in fourth year…He did not want to go back there, and so he forced away any feeling leading toward it.

Dr. Greene, of course, did not approve of him trying to erase wrong thoughts and feelings. She said he needed to acknowledge them and find healthy ways to express them, but he couldn’t see how that could happen. When he was angry, it absorbed him completely if he gave it the slightest degree of quarter, and he knew from experience that once he gave up any control, it would get harder and harder after that to reassert it and stop allowing himself to indulge. He had come close to spending half a year giving full vent to his feelings, and the relief that came from playing them out had never lasted – the black thoughts had always immediately started building up and up again, until he had finally collapsed altogether. It was only exhaustion and a gesture from Professor Xavier which had allowed him the time to relearn the art of self-correction. He might not have that kind of opportunity a second time.

In accordance with Definitely Not Feeling That Way, he forced himself to relax his shoulders as far as he could. “I’m sorry I snapped at you,” he said finally, pushing one of his own tokens forward on the board as well. “It’s just…you’ve said yourself that you can’t even imagine what it would be like, going through certain things. I get frustrated, sometimes. But that’s no excuse for snapping at you.”

16 Nathaniel Mordue I'm not so sure. 1412 0 5