Open Discussing Strategies

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus had finished his homework and for once, didn't feel like reading. He had grabbed his set of wizarding chess pieces and moved to the student lounge. The odds of finding anyone there to play with was slim, but that was alright. He had the pieces to keep him company, as well as his pet golem. His golem Beaufort was perched on his shoulder as Augustus found a table he could sit at by himself He took all the chess pieces out of the case, then lined them all up in half a circle facing him on the table. He grabbed the little notebook he had carried with him, and started discussing chess strategies with them quietly, listening as they tried to convince him to sacrifice other pieces instead of them, taking a few notes.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

The school was always chaos the first few weeks back with new clueless students mixed in with all the usual idiots that made up most of the student body. Sydney had retreated up to the student lounge, curious to see what sort of things her so called peers were getting up to for fun now that the break had ended. She was pleasantly surprised to spot a younger Ravenclaw set up with a wizard chess set, though it quickly became apparently he was in dire need of some help if he was resorting to taking advise from the pieces themselves. "You shouldn't ask them for advice, they have no concept of the bigger picture," She told him, giving the chess pieces a pointed look as if they should know better. "You should base your strategy off of your opponent anyway," She added, already grabbing a chair to sit down next to the kid since he clearly needed someone who actually knew what they were talking about to help him.

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus was busy scribbling down notes, which were as much on the different personalities the chess pieces seemed to have as on actual advice, when he heard a girl's voice. His gaze moved from the paper up to look at her, and he blinked. "It's interesting." He said after a pause. "They have thoughts and opinions, it's nice to talk to them." He mumbled, scooting back a bit as the girl came to sit with him. He couldn't help thinking she looked pretty intimidating. "And... maybe they get lonely." He added, glancing at the pieces again.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney watched blankly as the kid seemed to need a few moments to process her advice, staring at her for a few moments before responding. His eyes were massive and a little creepy and Sydney rolled her eyes as an excuse to break the extended eye contact. "Yeah and I bet their opinions are all about why you should sacrifice the other pieces even if it means you lose the game," She said, giving the rook a frown as it shook its tiny fist at her. "There's no such thing as chess game without losing pieces so suck it up," She told the gathered pieces sternly. She did have to laugh a little at the boy's concern about them getting lonely, it was almost sweet. "I guess you can't discount the important of a good rapport with your set," Sydney said magnanimously. "But they don't really have feelings, you know. They're just enchanted bits of wood and rock."

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus shrugged as the girl said they had opinions about who to sacrifice. "Maybe. But wouldn't you?" He asked her quietly, picking up one of the pieces and carefully examining it in his hand. "I bet it's scary. " He mumbled a little sadly. Despite this, it made him smile a little that the girl spoke to the pieces too, even if it was just to tell them to suck it up. He nodded at her next words, glad she wasn't simply dismissing him or making fun of him. "Well, how do we know the enchantment didn't give them feelings?" He asked her with a slight tilt of his head, his large eyes fixing on her again. "I have a pet golem. He's also just an enchanted piece of clay... but he's still my pet." He said quietly.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney could appreciate the younger boy's compassion, in any other situation it might even be admirable, but it would do him no good if ever wanted to play chess seriously. "If I'm ever in a situation to fight for my life, sure," She said simply. "But they're just game pieces and getting too attached to them will cause you to lose," She said, pausing at his next question. Sydney tried to remember her previous Transfiguration lessons, wondering what year the boy was in and if he maybe hadn't covered that part yet. "Magic's just not capable of conjuring up sentience of that level that easily. It might be possible, but it'd have to be done by a very powerful witch I suppose. And I highly doubt your set is one such exception. And besides, why would you want to give your chess pieces, you know how the game's played right?" Sydney said, quite enjoying getting to discuss an angle on chess she hadn't really considered before. "Seems counter-productive to make yourself a set that would get upset when you have to do what you need to win."

 

[Augustus Westwick]

Augustus nodded as the girl said getting too attached to his pieces would cause him to lose, as he agreed. But while he liked playing chess and enjoyed winning because of a clever strategy or play, he wasn't upset when he lost. This girl seemed to think losing was the worst thing in the world. "I don't always mind losing." He said softly. The girl went on to talk about sentience and how only a strong witch would be able to do it. "Or wizard?" He asked her, though she kept on talking. "I know how the game is played, yes." He said slowly. "I have played it a lot." He shrugged a little at her words. She was right, but also wasn't quite understanding him. "You sound like you have played a lot as well." He told her, meeting her gaze for a brief moment before lowering his eyes.