Closed Chess is Something to Do

[Cyzarine Haden]

Cyzarine was enjoying the classes, she was still a bit nervous about the upcoming Charms lesson, it was odd really, she had never been a particularly nervous person before, she got a little nervous before big events like coming to school or spending time with people she didn’t know all that well, by Cyzarine’s standards this level of prolonged nervousness was beyond her usual levels of nervousness. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to her but she was trying her best to keep herself distracted and for some reason had decided that the best way to do that on the evening before the charms lesson was to play chess. She knew a little how to play it, but she wasn’t all that good at it, and she was of course playing alone in a mostly empty hall, on a mostly empty gryffindor table. She glanced up from what she was doing and spotted someone she knew, from that cake tasting in the dinette, ”Mihail,” she waved excitedly at him, motioning for him to walk over and join her, she couldn’t maybe entice him into the game but it would probably still be nice to spend the time with someone rather than just sitting alone and having nothing to do. ​

 

[Mihail Styx]

Mihail Styx was bored, especially when he heard that his grandfather was seeing another professor, and how he didn't want to do anything that involved with the family name and reputation. He just wanted to have fun and be a kid. His father encouraged him to do so. Mihail felt excited about going to school and being in Hufflepuff. He broke that tradition since his father and grandfather were Slytherins. His mother went to another school, so he couldn't say it ran on her side of the family. He heard his name while he studied to see a familiar girl. He beamed when he recognized her. Cyzarine! He shut his book and went over to sit down in front of her at the table. He looked down to see that she was playing a game of chess. He had no idea how to play. "Hey! Need someone to play with you?" He gestured toward the chess. "I can't play a bit though, but I can try!"

 

[Cyzarine Haden]

Cyzarine was glad when the boy came over to her and sat down in front of her. She was very pleased that he had taken the time to come and sit with her. They could enjoy looking at this game, ”I’m also not that good at it,” the girl replied with an excited giggle. She’d played bits and pieces with other people but never really enjoy on her own to be able to get it, but with him they could at least have fun with it. ”I don’t really know how to play, i’ve always played with people that did know how to play, so i’m a bit at a loss here on my own, or well, now with you!” she grinned easily at Mihail, very glad to have seen him and to flag him down to play. She began putting out the pieces and placing them where they needed to go before then glancing back up at him, "Maybe we can just play however we want, they’re magical but they still should do what we say, at least then it’ll be fun!” the girl offered to him, if they both didn’t know how to play and were playing with a magical set there was nothing against them having a bit of fun with the chess set.​

 

[Mihail Styx]

Mihail looked down at the pieces, not sure how they were going to actually play if neither knew how. He knew that the first ones could go up. And one that was the queen could go anywhere almost. “As long as they don’t try to argue! Wait, can they actually talk? I’ve never had one before. My dad was more into ‘you should play sports, son’ type of dad.” Mihail liked sports anyway but he did not want to be shoved into it. Mihail glanced up at Cyzarine and decided to ask the question, “Did you talk to Professor Haden any? I know my grandfather absolutely hates him for some reason.”

 

[Cyzarine Haden]

Cyzarine looked excited at Mihail as he looked at the pieces. The girl was smiling with ease, Mihail was fun! She half shook her head, half nodded, ”I think they talk, but I also think they have to do what we say,” the Gryffindor was not certain about this, she had never played before, ”That so dumb of your dad, you can do both,” the girl told him, even if she was maybe insulting Mihail’s dad a bit and even Cyzarine was aware of the fact that Mihail came from a good family, Styx was quite the giveaway. Cyzarine looked at the board and smiled, ”You go first!” the girl suggested, as the boy asked about her dad, ”All the time! He’s my dad!” the girl told the boy, ”Your grandfather is Professor Styx right?” Cyzarine asked him with a wide expression, from what her father had said Professor Styx was his best friend, reluctantly but his best friend nonetheless. ”My father swears down that Professor Styx is his friend, but even if they aren’t, we can be right?” Cyzarine was sure that some people’s families could dictate who they were friends with, but she like Mihail, she wanted to be friends with him.​

 

[Mihail Styx]

Mihail wondered if the chess pieces would actually listen to them anyway. "Then you move first so I can follow suit! Well, not the same move, but you know." Mihail wanted to see how it was done, so that they could get to playing. Though talking sounded just as good. "I know right? I think he wants a guarantee future for me, but I'm not my daddy. At least, not just my daddy. My momma liked to cook and duel. But she left a long time ago." Mihail shrugged his shoulders, since he didn't want to really see her. He watched as she moved a first piece. He did the same with one on the other side, and it moved one space. She was glad that she got to talk to Professor Haden. He nodded at the question. "He also rules over the family too. Like a dictator or something. That's what my dad said. And of course we can! My momma was part-Veela so they can't really say anything! At least I hope not!" Mihail laughed softly at the end of that. He was joking about it anyway. He was never told who he could and could not befriend anyway.

 

[Cyzarine Haden]

Cyzarine smiled at him and nodded, ”Pawn forward,” the girl said with a smile, and the pawn moved forward, not yet close to anything for her to be able to smash anything but it had gotten just that little bit closer. It was good. The gryffindor looked eagerly at Mihail, hoping he would move his piece towards her so that they’d be one step closer to a bit of smashing. She looked up at the boy as he agreed with her. She thought it was a little silly that someone would restrict themselves so just because that was what they were supposed to do because of gender. He did not agree with that in the slightest. The gryffindor gave a warm smile to him, ”I’m sorry about your mom,” the girl had a little sad expression, ”We could cook together in the future if you want! I’m not very good but I can learn, we could learn together!” the girl suggested to him. It was an easy thing to suggest really, she didn’t know what his relationship with his mother had been, but if he wanted to just had a bit of fun, and do something he wasn’t meant to then she would be there along side him. She smiled as he moved a piece and she then did the same, getting it one step closer. She hadn’t realised that Professor Styx held that much family power. ”is he mean and stuff? My grandparents were lovely, they always made me cake,” the girl only knew dictators from the history she learned at her last school. She didn’t know what his mother being part veela had to do with the family, ”That’s why you’re so pretty!” the girl couldn’t help but say, and it was true, Mihail was pretty, she blushed a little at that, not intending it much in the way it had likely come out, ”Honestly, I just met my dad this year, so he can’t dictate anything but, also he loves Styx so I don’t think he would have an issue with us being friends at all!”​

 

[Mihail Styx]

Mihail smiled a little bit when Cyzarine moved a pawn closer to his. He ordered the one closest to move closer to hers. Just one more move and they would smash each other to bits. Or maybe his would be the one that was smashed in the end... Mihail shrugged his shoulders when she offered to learn to cook with him. “That sounds cool. I might be talented at it for all I know! One of my uncles used to own a restaurant until he lost his leg. Never knew how...” Cooking was in his blood, but he had no idea how close. His grandfather never cooked. “Kinda. In the school, my family know better than to cross him. My dad said that whatever punishment he can dish in school was nothing compared to what he could do outside of school. I don’t know what that means though. Daddy never really explained.” Or maybe he was just too young to know. When she said that he was pretty, a bright red color flushed over his cheeks. He opened his mouth to respond but the tiniest of squeaks came out, and no words. He shut it immediately, happy to move on from that. “I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you and your dad one day. Your dad seems like a pretty cool dude. I just met him too so you aren’t alone!” Though that was different. Mihail was not even related. His friend was!

 

[Cyzarine Haden]

Cyzarine couldn’t help the widening of her eyes as the boy said his uncle had owned a restaurant and had lost a leg, ”Wow!” the girl exclaimed, she did think it would be a good thing for them to do. If they were looking to cook a few things in the kitchens she would be happy to. Not only would it be something to do, but it would be good to do it with someone like Mihail who liked it and was apparently good at it too. She moved the pawn piece forward and smiled happily, giggling easily as hers smashed his. That was pretty satisfying. She had heard a lot about this boy’s grandfather, it was difficult to not hear about what sort of person he was, he sounded like a very harsh man. Although that was different from what she’d heard from her father but she was a little more likely in this case to believe this boy, the rest of the school and her own opinions on the man from when she’d be in his class. Cyzarine was also pleased that he would want to remain friends regards of what either parent, or grandparent of theirs said. ”Do you like having him at the school?” the girl hadn’t spoken to too many about what it was like to have parents in the school, she hadn’t met too many in their situations, and while she was very happy to have her dad at school, if only for the occasion to get to know him, but perhaps not everyone would be as thankful as she was. ​

 

[Mihail Styx]

Mihail grinned a little bit. After all, impressing people did make him swell with some sort of happiness. Maybe pride. Mihail knew that it was wrong to be too prideful though. It could be bad. “I should take you there one day! The food is supposedly great!” What Mihail did not know was that his relative, Chaos, was the head chef there and cooked as well. He just thought that it was Axel because he owned it. Thinking about how he felt about having Professor Styx at school made him shrug his shoulders. “I’m not too bothered. He’s not the Head of my house. My cousin Theodore was sorted with us. He’s the one with the grumpy face. I have a few other relatives here actually, so it is nice to know if I don’t have any friends to talk to, then I can go to one of them.” Although, he was not sure if Viktor or Theodore would listen to him moan and complain, or any sad feelings about his mom. They would likely tell him to bugger off.

 

[Cyzarine Haden]

Cyzarine nodded excitedly, ”I would LOVE that!” which of course Cyzarine would, she would want nothing more than to spend a little bit of time in a fancy and nice restaurant, she loved the idea of going to such a place, and since he made it sound so cool, like a place that would be absolutely worth going to. She also thought that it would maybe be a way for him to be encouraged towards cooking, if that was what he liked to do anyway. The girl listened intently too as he described how he found having his family around, it turned out that he had more than she did, a whole bunch more so she wasn’t sure how much that changed about how a person would feel about family being at the school. She agreed with the last sentence, it was nice to know she had someone in the school she could turn to without any friends, but as she moved another pawn she gave the boy a smile, ”You can talk to me, we’re friends and I’ll always listen!” the girl assured him, she knew it could maybe be a bit lonely and by the sounds of it, Mihail’s family was no where need as good or fun as hers, ”You can send an owl to me any time, I’ll always come listen!” She liked this boy, he was nice and cute and friendly.​

 

[Mihail Styx]

“Awesome! As soon as we are allowed to go to Brightstone, I’ll take you! I think that is third year,” Mihail was sure about that. It was one of the things he was sure of. He looked down to see another one of his pawns destroyed. He casually pointed another pawn forward, and it was in perfect position to get struck down, unbeknown to him. Mihail felt really warm when Cyzarine said that she would always listen to him, whenever he needed. Even outside of the home. Mihail brushed the hair out of his face, blushing a little bit. “That’s super sweet. I can be around for you to listen to, but hopefully, you won’t have any bad news. So, maybe just talking about your day would be nice. Just don’t brag about beating me in chess.” So far, she was killing him from what it looked like. And how would the pieces repair themselves?

 

[Cyzarine Haden]

Cyzarine smiled at her new friend, ”It’s a date!” the gryffindor was both being serious about them having decided on something to do in the future, but it was certainly not a date. Even if this boy was cute, she didn’t think she’d ever want to date anyone. Why date when being friends was just oh so cool! The gryffindor was pleased that she was friends with Mihail and that he was friends with her. She liked him, he seemed fun and chill, Cyzarine certainly wanted to be there for him and she felt nicely warmed when he said the same back to her. ”I’m really glad we’re friends Mihail!” That was nice. She looked down at the board in front of them and shrugged, ”Maybe we should go do something else? Chess seems a bit boring anyway,” The girl had wanted to learn the chess but she would happily spend time with mihail, having a whole load of fun. Maybe they could go outside, ”Maybe we could go outside, or play something else,” the girl was more than willing to play anything with him. Cyzarine was sure that anything they did would be fun. Mihail was nice and he definitely seemed like he knew how to have fun. ”Is there anything you want to do?”​

 

[Mihail Styx]

Mihail blushed slightly, while thinking, 'Wow, I just made my first date, two years in advance.' The Hufflepuff was rather excited with it. He was a little nervous about it, wondering in what way that would be taken, and what would become of them in the future. He liked girls and all, but still. Maybe it was just a friendly date. He would see in the future. Mihail did like Cyzarine though. She was interesting, funny, and friendly. "Me too, really am glad! You are like the best chess player too." Mihail just knew that he was really bad at it. But, he agreed to quit chess since he found it boring too. "Yeah! Let's go outside! Maybe to the lake or something and see if we can see some mermaids?"