Closed Heard You Moved

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus hadn't been too surprised that the head girl was Celia. He could only imagine the force of nature that would've been if she hadn't gotten it. Seamus knew she was the right choice, and maybe it helped that he didn't pay that much attention to the gossip around the school. Gossip was boring and beneath him. But he was seeking Celia out, she'd left the quidditch pitch after the try-outs too quickly for him to speak to her, but that wasn't the only avenue to speak to her. However, pinning her down was a little difficult. Howevr from the grape vine he had found out the head people had a common room, so he was outside that door. It wasn't like the prefect's room, and he couldn't just send Hamish in to scout, so he was at the door and after taking a moment to make sure he didn't look terrible he chapped on the door.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Quidditch tryouts had been a mild disaster. Half of the people who had shown up were barely teenagers, and though Celia of all people knew skill and age weren't necessarily correlated, she still wasn't sure how she felt about having a first year on the team. Or a pair of twins named Terror and Horror. While Celia was glad she at least had a solid slate of beaters and seekers, she had always taken pride in having the best all-around team at Hogwarts. And she wasn't completely sure she'd be able to say that this year.

After spending some time puzzling over the lineup in her new private lounge, Celia had left to take a break. She was on her way back when she spotted Seamus waiting outside. She hesitated, a little tempted to turn back around. It wasn't that she didn't like him — on the contrary, he was one of the few people she could stand — but rather that she didn't want to confront the possibility that his opinion of her had changed after last year. However, Celia also knew she couldn't avoid him forever, especially considering his position on the team. Plus all her stuff was still inside the lounge. So after taking a moment to compose herself, she made her way to the door. "Looking for someone?" she asked wryly.

 

[Seamus Reid]

As it turned out, the room was empty. No one came to the door, and it didn't sound like anyone was inside. But he was right to think Celia would be here rather than the common room, as she appeared, walking back towards the very room he'd been trying to get into. ”Yeah, I was looking for you,” he replied to her with a little almost smile. He liked Celia, she could be intense, but she was good for the team, and she was pretty, though he wasn't sure he could tell her as much. ”I wanted to congratulate you on the new title, and the new living conditions. What's it like being above ground?” he joked.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia nodded, resisting the urge to make a snarky remark. She'd figured that Seamus had been looking for her — probably to ask about something Quidditch-related. She couldn't really imagine what he might want from Eugene, unless he wanted his yearbook photo redone or something. So the message of congratulations caught her off guard. "Oh," she said, blinking before offering him a cautious half-smile. "Thank you." There weren't exactly a lot of people lining up to congratulate her on her new badge — quite the opposite, actually — so the fact that Seamus had sought her out to do so meant, well, it meant something.

At his joke, Celia's smile widened. "Oh god, it's so nice. I feel like I've escaped the Underworld." Perhaps a dramatic statement, but going back to Hogwarts every year always had Celia feeling a little like Persephone. The dreary dungeons definitely did not help. "There are windows and light and I can actually see my surroundings. And no annoying first years anywhere." The privacy was by far the best part. Slytherin didn't necessarily have the loudest students — she assumed Gryffindor held that distinction — but there were still a lot of people who Celia found obnoxious, if not downright unpleasant. "I'd invite you in," she said, knowing that was the polite thing to do, "but I'm pretty sure there are magical wards in place." That, and she didn't want to share the room with anyone else.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus wondered if it was almost surprise which crossed Celia's face as he congratulated her. He was sure others would have too, out of politeness or something. But he just gave a little shrug. "You deserved it," he said with a shrug after she'd thanked him, before laughing lightly at her dramatic statement. Seamus did not mind the dungeons, sure, they weren't where he would always want to live but they also weren't the worst things in the world. At least to him.

"Good thing, too, that I can't go in. It would give me a taste of a life I'll never have" he joked back with a surprisingly easy smile, that it seemed only really she, his brother and Dusk could draw out. "Plus I love it in the underworld, I love never seeing the sun, hate the outdoors, and simply love being asked stupid questions by those young excitable first years." he replied, though he did find other students, especially those newly sorted one, annoying. ​

 

[Celia Vuong]

"I think most people might disagree with that," Celia said, hiding any sadness she might have felt at the thought behind a smirk. For the most part, she had genuinely enjoyed her infamy. There was something strangely satisfying about knowing that she took up so much free rent in people's heads. But notoriety was only bearable as long as you had allies, and she'd lost most of hers last year. Now she was mostly just lonely. "But thanks," Celia said, not wanting Seamus to feel sorry for her. She didn't need any reassurances. She knew she deserved the badge, no matter what other people thought.

Celia returned the smile. "That's true, the last thing I want to do is ruin the dungeons for you." Even though she knew Seamus was joking, she sometimes couldn't help wondering if the reason everyone at Hogwarts accepted the school's miserable accommodations and subpar education was because they didn't know that there were better alternatives out there. She snorted at his next comment. "Right, I forgot," she said, playing along. "Next time a first year asks me for the thousandth time what time curfew is or whether there really are live snakes in the common room, I'll be sure to send them to you." She wondered if the Ravenclaw prefects got less stupid questions.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus shrugged, ”So what if they disagree, doesn't make it untrue,” he told her. He knew that perhaps people didn't have the highest opinion of others, but it didn't matter, Celia had deserved it and clearly the headmaster had thought so too. Thought so enough to give her the badge.

”Yeah, please don't. The dungeons are all I've got,” he joked easily. Before laughing lightly. ”Do you think you could get me out of trouble if I then 'accidentally' turn one of those first years into a snake, or tell them 'accidentally' the wrong time for curfew?” He was obviously still joking with her, but also really didn't expect Celia to ever help get him out of trouble like that. Considering he'd already gone into the forest this year with Avery, it wasn't looking good for him behaving himself.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia hadn't needed Seamus to reassure her, but it was nice to hear anyways. However, part of her wondered if she should be wary of the fact that he was being so nice to her. To be fair, it wasn't like this had come out of nowhere, and he had never given off the impression of being particularly deceptive. But the events of the last year had set her on edge.

Even though Celia knew Seamus was joking, she raised her eyebrows a little. "Honestly? I probably could." She viewed her new badge as a vote of confidence by the professors, a signal that they trusted her. It made her wonder how she could exploit that trust for her benefit. "I'll just tell Professor Castillo that he can't give you detention because you've got Quidditch practice, and we need you if we want any shot at the cup." She'd noticed that Castillo always seemed excessively proud whenever Slytherin won a house or Quidditch cup — even though those accomplishments had absolutely nothing to do with him. "I'm sure he'd agree that the championship title is worth a few transfigured first years," she said with a smirk.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus raised an eyebrow when she said she could get him out of trouble, he'd been joking, but it seemed that she thought it was definitely possible. Which…was something. He wasn't sure that Professor Castillo would allow him that, but perhaps it would depend on what he'd done. "Well, he'd certainly be mad to think it wasn't," Seamus said with a little smirk. "He's always seemed very proud when we win things," Seamus added, musing slightly. "I'll be sure to only use you to get me out of a little trouble, little trips into the forest when I need respite from the mould and damp," he said, and he was only partly joking.​

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia was glad she wasn't the only one who had noticed Professor Castillo's behavior. "The way he acts, you'd think that he was the one who won," she said with an eyeroll. It was perhaps a petty thing to be annoyed by, but Celia had always held a grudge against Castillo. She still hadn't forgiven him for the condescending lecture he'd given her after she'd gotten her prefect badge. But in the end, she'd proven him wrong. She was the one with the head girl badge, not Ivelisse.

"So that's why you were looking for me," Celia said, smirking a little. "You need someone to help you out of trouble." She was joking, but she also wondered if maybe Seamus had gotten caught breaking a rule or two and was working his way up to asking her for help. "Though I'd think the forest is a bad choice if you're trying to escape the damp." She'd only been in there a couple times, mostly for class, and had found it to be rather humid. "The cliffs seem drier."

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus gave a little smirk, "Not yet," he assured her with a little smile. He wouldn't likely actually try to use her to get out of it. Seamus didn't really care enough about getting into trouble to ever really utilize an out that he might get by being friendly enough with the head girl. "Drier, sure, more boring, also sure," he said, it wasn't like the forest which was different any time he in. Where the air and the creatures could change. "The forest is peaceful and most first years don't really dare go in," He said with a shrug. "But don't worry, if I need help getting out of that trouble I'll be apologetic and make up a lie about seeing something I had to save. Slytherins can be heroic right?"

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia wouldn't have minded using whatever newfound trust and authority she had gained to help Seamus out of trouble (especially if it meant him not missing Quidditch practice). But she would have been a little disappointed to learn that was why he had sought her out. "At least the cliffs have a view. The forest's just trees." She couldn't say she'd ever understood the allure. "I thought it was mostly first years who went in." That's when she'd first gone into the forest though her purposes had admittedly been very different from most students. Celia was pretty sure fewer first years would go in if Professor Alcott-Ward stopped making such a big deal about it at the welcome feasts. She raised her eyebrows slightly. "Does this mean you're confessing to entering the forest?" she asked with a smirk, noting how his statements seemed to have gone from the hypothetical to the real. At Seamus' question, Celia snorted a little. The thought of any of the Slytherins she knew acting as a stereotypical hero figure was comical. "Hmmm," she said, pretending to consider the question before giving him a slight smile. "I'd say for the most part, no. But I suppose you could pull it off." He did have the looks for it.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus knew she was right, the cliffs did have a view, he just preferred a good forest. ”I like trees,” he explained, both in part to be joking but it also being what he did like. ”First years go two steps in and call it 'going into the forest'” Seamus said, almost boasting. Before giving a little laugh and shaking his head. ”No, I would never. I'm an exemplary student. So exemplary that Professor Castillo thought it would be unfair of me to also be prefect” he replied. Seamus did not really expect the slight compliment. He gave a little wink to joke with her a little. ”I think I definitely could, just need to smile more,”

 

[Celia Vuong]

It almost sounded like Seamus was bragging, and Celia wondered if she was supposed to be impressed by the fact that he'd taken more than two steps into a forest that was basically forbidden in name only. She kept this opinion to herself, however, and just laughed a little. "God, I wish that were true. I came across one fifteen feet up in a tree there the other day." It never ceased to amaze Celia just how awful first years could be. At his joke, she teased, "And here I thought it was because he was afraid you'd scare all the first years." Seamus had always come across as aloof, which Celia generally didn't mind (though it did make him more difficult to read). She could appreciate his seriousness, especially when it came to Quidditch. But it was nice to see this more relaxed side of Seamus, even if some of it — like his wink — took her by surprise. "Careful, I'm pretty sure you can get kicked out of Slytherin for smiling too much," she said with her own smile. "You'll be banished to live with all the other happy-go-lucky Gryffindors."

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus laughed lightly at what she said, imagining a first year fifteen feet up a tree. "Did you help them down, or encourage a little jumping?" he asked, though obviously he would never do the latter. He didn't like first years sure, he didn't necessarily want them dead. "That is what you'd think in the first instance," Seamus replied, "But it's not, it's just how I have to act to give Professor Castillo more cover," he added jokingly. But it was nice to joke with her, nice to speak with her outside of the frame of quidditch. He gave an exaggerated shudder. "I think I'd rather the damp than happy-go-lucky gryffindors," He said. "Imagine having to be friendly all the time,” Seamus added.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia snorted at his question and shook her head. "He wasn't stuck. He wanted to be up there and refused to come down. I swear, the first years get worse every year." She had already decided she would be limiting her interactions with them as much as possible. The satisfaction of taking points simply wasn't worth it. "So kind of you to do that for him," she joked. At Seamus's comment about preferring the dungeons to the Gryffindors, Celia nodded. "Oh, absolutely. And imagine having to be around friendly people all the time. I'd jump from the tower." While Celia did think most Slytherins could stand to be nicer, she knew she'd go insane if she had to live with a bunch of relentlessly cheerful Gryffindors.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus laughed lightly, and nodded. "I think you should've left him up there," Seamus replied with a little smirk. Knowing he absolutely would've. But then again that was why he wasn't a prefect and she was head girl. "Thankfully this'll be your last year with them," he said to her. He had another year but it wasn't like he'd have done more years with them, and really he didn't need to interact with first years at all. Seamus couldn't really imagine having to be nice all the time, though he knew his brother tended to be. "I do love wiping the smile off the face of a gryffindor," he said.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia nodded. "I really should have. I'd have done the whole school a favor." Normally Celia did ignore rulebreakers who seemed like they would be more trouble than they were worth. But she'd gone into that interaction assuming that she'd be able to assert her authority, take a few points, and be done with it. She had been very wrong. "Thank god for that, I can't wait to get out of here." Though her year had started off on a promising note, thanks to her new badge, Celia couldn't wait for graduation. After six long years, the end to her suffering was finally in sight. She laughed a little at Seamus' comment. "I can't imagine that's too difficult, given their fragile egos." Whoever had thought that putting a bunch of people with hero-complexes in the same dorm and telling them that they were noble and courageous and chivalrous was an idiot.