Finding Silver (Dare/Silver)

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare hadn't seen his brother since they'd parted their ways for their respective Common Rooms that first night. It hadn't really been that long, but they'd been together, in close proximity at least, so much since Mom died that two days seemed like a lot longer. So Dare had headed to the library to find Silver.

He had his sketchbook with him, and his box open at his side, working on a perspective down the hallway, the occasional blurred shape representing the students that came and went. He wasn't just going to wait, but if he wanted to catch his brother, this was the best place to do it. The only other option, since he had no clue where the Ravenclaw Common Room was, would be scouring the grounds or the forest. Staying put was a much better chance.

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver hadn't actually been to the library yet. In two days, he'd spent most of his free time exploring the grounds, and surprisingly, meeting people. People who didn't know he was the Invisible Man, who actually saw him, for some bizarre, unexplainable reason. Yes, he was new, so he was bound to get a passing glance or two, but he'd been approached and drawn into conversation more than once, and that, for him, was unusual.

But he'd decided he wanted to read more about the school, more about the area and the Shrieking Shack in particular, and he figured he'd get the best information from the Hogwarts library itself. Silver saw his brother as he approached, propping up the wall and working in his sketchbook. "What're you doing here?" he asked, stopping beside Dare and looking over his shoulder at the drawing.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare didn't stop the motion of his hand, but kept up what he was doing. He'd have a devil of a time getting the same perspective if he got up, and Silver knew him well enough not to be offended. "I was looking for you. Sit down, you're screwing up the light." Dare worked on another corner of the page while he waited for his brother to have a seat.

"I hear you've been busy," Dare said, his lips twisting into a teasing grin. "Turned into a ladies' man all of a sudden, eh? You got a girlfriend yet?" Doubtful. It was difficult to imagine his brother stringing more than a sentence or two together in front of a girl he knew, let alone the ones they'd just met.

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver frowned, more out of habit than actual offense. "No," he said, a little more testily than he'd meant. "I don't have a girlfriend, so you can shut up about that." He wanted one, though. Unfortunately, he didn't think any of the girls he'd met was really available, or even interested.

"I think they just came up because I'm new, you know?" He looked up from Dare's drawing to his face, obscured as usual by a fall of hair. "So don't worry, you're not gonna lose me," Silver teased, giving his brother an obscenely sweet smile.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare glanced up in plenty of time to see the stupid grin on his brother's face. He smiled back. "What about that girl Dru, huh? I hear you've gone all club kid on me, what've you got to say to that one?" Dare didn't go back to his drawing just yet. He wanted to see the look on Silver's face as he answered the question. Or avoided answering it. There was no telling sometimes.

[Silver Blackwood]

"I...well...she's not my girlfriend, so just shut it," Silver stammered, turning his gaze away from Dare. He was far less offended than he was embarrassed; was he that transparent, or was it Dare's usual perceptive guessing? "And I'm just going to see her, I'm not like, cutting my hair or anything," he grumbled. He hoped it would be more than a brief visit, in fact he'd daydreamed a few things that he hadn't even written down, but still, there was no reason to get his hopes up or start talking about things that weren't going to happen. "Besides, she's practically got a boyfriend, she's not that into me." Not that he could be sure of, anyway.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Oh, yeah, practically," Dare said with a melodramatic roll of eyes. She hadn't so much as mentioned a boyfriend in her conversation with Dare. He wondered if this alleged near-boyfriend was just a product of Silver's overactive imagination. Not that Dare didn't have the same imagination, but he didn't apply it to people the way Silver did. He kept his visual, took visual cues from people and interpreted them without that sense of nerves his brother possessed.

"Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. If she's as nice as she seems--and shut it, I'll tell you later--you don't have to worry about luring her away unless she's not really with the guy anyway. So chill, Silver." He could see the question in his brother's eyes, so he went on. "I talked to her in the entrance hall. She really seems to like you. Didn't say a thing about another guy."

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver's lips parted in surprise, and it took a moment for him to realize and clamp them shut again. He eyed Dare, trying to find any kind of tease in his eyes or the set of his mouth, but there wasn't one. She really seems to like you. Silver exhaled a long breath and turned to sit, propped against the wall beside his brother. Somehow, rather than making things easier, Dare's assurance only made things more difficult. Silver didn't know how to pursue a girl, and had she really not mentioned her not-boyfriend? What did that mean? Why had she told him?

There were so many possibilities, and Silver's overactive imagination went through all of them. Maybe she'd been trying to put up a distance because she liked him so much, maybe she was a pathological liar; neither of those seemed at all possible. Silver forgot to say anything further to his brother, he was so absorbed in his thoughts.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare watched his brother; he could almost see the thoughts whirling around in his head, trying to sort everything into their proper places. He'd seen it a thousand times and more, and he knew to just let it settle for now. Dare went back to his drawing for a few minutes, giving Silver time to get to the point he always got to, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do with the information he'd just gotten. "Just go to the club," Dare said at last. "Talk to her, have fun with her, and see what happens. Don't worry about the other guy unless she brings him up again. That's all you can do."

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver blinked as he looked aside at Dare. "Yeah, I know." Well, he hadn't specifically thought of it that way, but it made sense; he knew now. Silver watched Dare draw for a short time, and let his brother's advice sink in. Finally, he pushed to his feet. "I'm gonna take off now," he said. "I'll see you around." He lifted his hand in farewell, then headed down the corridor. He could visit the library later, when he had less to think about.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare just nodded his head to let Silver know he'd heard, then continued on with his drawing. When he was satisfied with it, he packed up his things and headed off into the school.