life is more than your routine

[Rhiannon Archer]

It was not an unusual thing that Rhiannon spent her evenings in the library, in fact the evenings when she was not on prefect duties, or taking part of activities in another club she was usually here or in the club academia room studying. however what had started off as an abnormally few weeks ago was starting to become a little bit of a norm. She had started to spend the evenings studying with Perseas stratis. It was funny in parts how the boy who had been so free and rebellious in the early years had finally started to get his head down in the books. she was quite happy about it. She enjoyed spending time with Perseas, and having his presence there made the study sessions more fun, and, as surprising as it was to admit it, studying together actually helped her remember things too.
This evening she was the first to arrive, she found a desk, in a nice well lit but not to busy part of the library before sitting down and taking out her notes. making a start on her muggle maths problems before Perseas arrived and they moved onto potions, transfiguration or DADA.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

"Aha! Finally!" exclaimed Perseas when his fingers bumped into something solid. He was down on the floor with his right arm blindly searching under his bed for his Transfiguration textbook. He pulled the object from beneath and his heart sunk when he saw it was actually a long forgotten chessboard. Perseas sat on his bed and sighed defeated as he looked at the mess he had caused in the fifth years' dormitory. His trunk at the feet of his bed, looked like it had thrown up all of its content on the floor. Some of them, like Perseas' broom, had even managed to end up on the chandelier. He examined the chessboard and realized it was a Christmas present he had received from his friend Rafael, a couple of years ago. He opened it to reveal the chess pieces, depicting magical creatures. Then his eyes fell on his wristwatch and he cursed as he was running late. The last thing he wanted was Rhiannon McGowan rubbing in his face the fact that he was late...again. He picked his backpack and shoved in the chessboard before storming out of the messy room.

To pass his OWL's with decent grades, Perseas had to pair up with Rhiannon and form a study group, helping each other. While he was insisting that he was attending their meetings out of vested interest, that desperate times called for desperate measures and several other jests, he was secretly enjoying the time he was spending with her in the library. It was something that Rhiannon was never going to hear from his lips but the fact that he was always there, even though mostly late, could have hinted his keenness. Regardless, what he could really admit was that she had helped him a lot with theory, the part he was never good. He thought they had both worked hard the past few months and they deserved a break. The chessboard was in his backpack for that reason but first he had to persuade strait-laced Rhiannon.

Perseas rushed into the library to receive the stern look of the librarian. He responded with an apologetic grin and a shrug before starting searching through the rows of bookcases, checking the desks. It didn't took him long to locate it. She was already absorbed in a book which upon a closer look it turned to be one of those muggle books she was insisting reading. "I know, I know. I'm late." he admitted and immediately had a seat opposite to her. This admission had turned out be his greet as he was always late. "Algebra won't help you pass Transfiguration you know." he commented after cocking his head to have a better look of what had captured her attention on those pages. He still hadn't found his textbook which he needed for their revision. They had agreed to work or the theory of animate transfiguration but without both having their textbooks to ask each other questions, this wasn't going to work. As he took of his backpack to place it at the chair's foot, he remembered that he had actually forgotten the textbook in the classroom. He really didn't want to hear her lecturing him about his irresponsibility so he drew out of his backpack and placed it on the desk in front of him. He looked at her with that poker face but his grey eyes were radiating mischief already. He just waited for her to start telling him they weren't there to play games but study the theory of animate transfiguration. He had a good answer and maybe a slight chance to convince her play instead of study that evening.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon was pretty absorbed in the problems, so much so she didn't even notice perseas approaching. it wasn't actually until he ws right next to her and talking to her that she looked up a little surprised. you're late?" she said almost a question, before looking at her watch, Oh right you are" she said not really that bothered. right now the OWLS were stil la while away, so she wasn't that stressed, and she was trying to be a little more relaxed. she rolled her eyes as perseas said maths wouldn't help her with her transfiguration OWL. "Of course it won't but it will help me with the maths test i have next week" she said as she packed away that work and reached into her bag which was on the floor to take out her transfiguration textbook and notes.
when her head was back above the table she saw that perseas had already taken something out of his bag. at first she thought it was his book, covered in checkered paper like many people did back some to identify their books at theirs and protect them, however a moment later she realised two things, firstly perseas was not the type to cover his books, to be honest she didn't like covering hers either, except maybe in clear wrap, and secondly it was the wrong size and shape for a transfiguration book. she looked op at Perseas and saw that although his expression was neutral, there was a twinkle of his mischievous nature in his eyes, a twinkle that she couldn't help but like. "A chess set" she said deciding to take the bate. "so we are covering inanimate to animate transfiguration tonight?" she asked maybe if they managed to get everything done they could possibly start a game. "so what do you need to concentrate on when turning an inanimate object to an animate one?" she asked, determined to at least get something done.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas drummed impatiently his fingers on the wood surface of the chessboard. "Are you planning to become a math teacher? That would be as boring as flobberworm." he expressed his object about her persistence of keeping up with both her muggle and wizarding studies. She was constantly studying and Perseas thought she had to have some fun now and then for her own good. "Yeah! You like it?" he said and opened the chess board to reveal the animated pieces of magical creatures. He placed the checkered side of the board between them and started setting the pieces. A soft smirk was prominent on his face as she asked him what he needed to concentrate on when casting inanimate on animate transfiguration. "Win the game and keep your king animated." he replied as he was arranging the pawns depicted by noisy red caps. "Thestrals are the knights, trolls the bishops." he gestured at each of the pieces, almost having a finger slammed by the troll's club. "The Hungarian horntails wrapped around these towers are the rooks, chimaeras are the queens and most important, basilisks' the kings." he finished and his pieces erupted into roars, growls and hisses, ready for the game. "You know the rules? You play first." he nodded at the lighter colored pieces in front of her which responded with their own round of roars, accepting the challenge. Perseas was expecting Rhiannon to react but he was determined to have this game with her this evening. They had been revising a lot. They deserved some time off. He raised an eyebrow at her, beckoning her to do the first move and rubbed his arms in anticipation of the havoc that was going to take place on the chessboard.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon rolled her eyes as perseas asked if she wanted to be a maths teacher. "of course not. how uninteresting would that be. I want to be a doctor" she said though she was sure she had said this several times in the past.
She watched as perseas startred o set up the chess set. picking up one of the peaces a thestral to be exact. "that is a very cool chess set, the peaces are so detailed" she said putting it on its spot. not that she was encouraging playing but because she liked it to be in an order. "I gathered the thestrals and the dragon towers which left the others rather self explanatory. she could feel the resolution of studying starting to drift, she would have to do more this evening, the temptation of chess was too great, she hadn't played a good game in ages. "Of course i know the rules, i used to practically run the chess club in my primary school. you are a bad influence on me." she said raising her eyebrows at the past phrase. but go on, one game. as the last peace was put in place it seemed perseas had set her up for playing white shame she usually played black. not that it was an issue. She reached over and was about to move a peace when she remembered it was wizard chess and that meant no touching. h2 to h4 she said looking back at her friend to gauge his reaction.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

Perseas rolled his eyes as well when the girl expressed her aspiration to become a doctor one day. Having only be treated by healers in the past, Perseas was just aware that doctors were the muggle counterpart, using some much more painful and time-consuming methods to treat their patients.
"Now that is uninteresting." he started saying, never missing the chance to argue with her in a friendly way. "Why not become a healer instead of butching and sewing poor muggles?" he asked as she ordered her first pawn to move a couple of squares forwards. Her comment about him being a bad influence over her, evoked the most impish of smirks on his face but he focused on his own first move. "G8 to F6!" he commanded and his thestral-knight flapped its webbed wings to soar above the pawn before it and land on the indicated square. Perseas always started with a knight. Red caps pawns were so dull and irritating with their constant snarls. He just couldn't wait to sacrifice them and see them turn into pieces. "See? Isn't it a nice change from our regular revisions?" he said, hoping to cause a stir for playing rather than following their usual routine. "Chess is nice and all but we need to do something even more fun." his grey eyes hinted that he had something already in mind despite the unspecificity of his statement.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

"and who said i didn't want to become a healer too? she said when he said that being a doctor was dull. she wanted to be both. she already had it planned out. she would graduate HNZ and go to muggle school for the last semester. then she would study both medicine and healership before becoming qualified. she could then treat anyone she needed working part time at both st mungoes and a magic hospital.
he watched perseas make his move, it was pretty impressive how the thestral actually flew over the other pieces. "rook to H3" she said watching the dragon guarded tower move forward two spaces. she liked getting the rooks out early. "the point of regular revision is that it is done regularly. but as a one off, or a time exchange it is a nice break" she said watching perseas decide o his move. but as perseas suggested that they should do something more fun she closed her eyes briefly. "what do we need to do that is more fun" she asked the hint of a sigh in her voice indicating that she was mainly asking to humour him, and wasn't really intending to take much heed of the answer.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

His face acquired a baffled expression as she revealed that she was planning to becoming a healer as well. "Okay, you're going to die from over exhaustion." he commented as he watched her rook moving from the corner of the board. "Do you own a time-turner or something?" he asked and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Of course he was joking but it seemed to much stuff for someone to muster at the same time. Healers were having a really tough training until they reached certification, it shouldn't be different for doctors either. He didn't argue further as he could tell she had everything scheduled in her head. Who was to tell her after all that she couldn't do both?

Perseas smirked when it seemed to had piqued her curiosity, despite her attempt to act dismissive. "You have to win this first." he nodded at the chess. "I'll tell if you win. If you don't then, you'll do my DaDa homework for a week." he grinned as it was hardly a fair deal but he gave her no other option but to go with it. Perseas ordered his first pawn to move two squares and the game rolled a bit slowly in the beginning as they both kept moving their red-caps/pawns.
It was until later when Perseas decided to sacrifice one of them, just for the fun of watching it being crushed by Rhiannon's troll/bishop club. "You're ruthless!" he tried to plant a few guilt seeds in Rhiannon for causing the poor pawn end up in pieces but it was actually his doing.</SIZE>

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The game went on for more than half an hour. Pieces were annihilated from both sides. Perseas did a good job with his thestrals/knights which kicked off the majority of Rhiannon's pawns. He even performed some sort of victory dance on his seat for knocking down one of her rooks. The game was for some time to his favor when Rhiannon's bishop slammed with its club his chimera's/queen's face, before knocking it out of the chess board. The frown on his face didn't leave for the rest of the game as Rhiannon thrashed most of his pieces until her own queen cornered his king. The chimera breathed fire and his basilisk screeched in pain as it turned into ashes. Perseas watched with a grimace the remaining embers until they all died out. "Alright, you're good." he admitted as an automated repairing charm brought every piece to life again. Perseas collected them all back into the board and closed it still trying to accept his defeat. He let her exult her victory if she had do and even rub it on his face for doing the same earlier before the game was over. "Fine. You win, I tell you what else we are going to do for fun." he made a prologue. The truth was that he was going to say this regardless who was going to turn out as the winner of the game. "Would you like to be my date for the Yule Ball?" he asked plainly even though he felt his heart pounding behind his chest.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon chuckled when Perseas said she would die for over exhaustion. "I have done okay so far haven't i?" she said thinking on the whole and not on the fact she had basically burnt out last semester.
of course when perseas was in town there was no straight forward answer to what he was saying. in order to find out what he had in mind she would have to beat him in chess, and if she lost she would have to do his defence against the dark arts homework for a week. "That's unfair. if styx finds out he will hang me. and there is no point me doing your homework. the whole point of it is to help you learn." she said pointing out how unfair the bet was. "but i do have more confidence in my chess playing abilities so i guess i will take it." she said looking at the board and gesturing one of the other parns to move forward.

-~-~-~-​

The game passed. both of them concentrating extreamly hard on the pieces. rhiannon was playing using a technique her brother had shown her. where the miss matched movement of pieces makes the opponent seem like they are getting the upper hand when in reality they are being moved strategicly so you can go from practically lost to check mate in a few moves. "queen to B6. Check, Mate" she said smiling an almost malicious smile as the chimera set perseas's basalisk on fire. she waited for the dustto settle before she looked up at perseas "so what was it you were planning on being more fun?" she asked.
perseas' sugestion made her breath stop. the ball with him.she had not expected that. she had sort of expected him to say a nightime adventure or something, that was more his thing. she thought for a minute tryingto come p with the best way to answer until the quiet started to become awkwward. "you know your brother. she started not sure why she wanted to drag things on this way. "he has hardly spoken to me for two years. she continued, beating around the bush a little more. "you had better promise not to do that. you are too important to loose as a friend in exchange for an evening" she said. he was one of her closest friends and someone she was very close to. "If you can promice that i would love to go to the ball with you" she ended looking to see perseas' reaction.

 

[Perseas Stratis]

An apparent gleam of expectant was reflected on his pale eyes as he waited for her reply. She remained quite for a disturbingly long time and he was ready to prompt her say something or interrupt silent with one of his typical banters he always had on ice. Thankfully, Rhiannon responded but it was not what Perseas had expected to here. Just by mentioning his twin brother, his high spirits were for a free fall. "What with my brother again?" he broke in, tired of hearing about his twin all the time. Perseas had got used to the comparison between him and Theseas but he wasn't used to Rhiannon bringing him up into their conversation. He let her finish what she had to say and his devious half smile returned to state that he wasn't offended after all. "I'm flattered. I didn't realize how much you liked me until now." he started saying smugly. That's what you got for stroking Perseas Stratis' ego. "Don't be so blue about my brother. He's not the most social guy out there so don't take it personally." he told her, knowing that she was a thing for taking everything too seriously. "As for me, well, you won't get rid of me easily. I promise I'll annoy you forever." he let a genuine smile after promising to her, in his own way of course. "Any other requests, m'lady?" he joked and bowed slightly his head.

 

[Rhiannon Archer]

Rhiannon Smiled when Perseas asked what it was with his brother. but she continued on with what she was saying watching his expression change from nervous to disappointed to some kind of realisation and a smile. she listened to what he sad to say and smiled in return. "I don't feel sad about him, I know, Theseas is a lot quieter, and more reserved" she said smiling wider, this time almost a little mischievously, maybe she had been spending too much time with willow and Perseas and picked up their expressions. "but i couldn't give you a straight forward answer could i? not after you made me win chess before even suggesting it". she said ending the statement with an eyeroll. "at least some things never change." she responded when he said that she would never be able to shake him off.
As Perseas queried if she had any other requests she giggled then briefly frowned as she thought about any more. "I can't think of any just now. she paused "except, after the break today we are back to OWL revision tomorrow" she said winking slightly. not wanting to do any more this evening, or at least for a while. though she would probably get going, and studying hard later back in the common room.