Room for Thought

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Somehow, they'd wound their way through the school and gravitated toward the Room of Requirement. Dare just wanted someplace where he could relax with Michael and let go of everything that had happened. The past day felt like it had been a week long, and he was exhausted from it.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael only realized they had walked through the school with their hands linked together when they walked into the Room of Requirement. He didn't know which one of them had told the room what they wanted, but when he looked around he was satisfied. It was simple, just a room with a couch and a couple of chairs, why the extra chairs Michael didn't know, but he didn't dwell on it as he sank down into the couch. "It's nice for someone to know," he said, thinking back to Silver.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare breathed a sigh of relief at the quiet simplicity of the room. "It is," he agreed, dropping his sketchbook onto one of the chairs. He slipped the quill out of his back pocket so it wouldn't get crushed against the back of the couch, but paused, then sat beside Michael with it still in his hand. He twirled it between his fingers, watching the light glitter off the silver strands.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael smiled to himself and brought his feet up on the couch, letting his knees stick up in the air. "It'd be nice if him and Dru ended up together," he said, bringing Dare's hand to his lap and tracing light patterns absently on the back with his other hand. He watched Dare twirling the quill, remembering with another smile how it had distracted him at the lake.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare looked up from the quill to see Michael's smile, and his own lips curved. He let his eyes trace the lines of Michael's face, the natural peace that he hadn't gotten to see the first time they'd met. Then he thought of Silver and Dru again and looked down at their hands. "So you...really liked Dru?" he asked, trying to sound casual. It wasn't a big deal, really. If Michael hoped she'd get with Silver, there was nothing there for him to even think about. "Never mind, you don't have to answer that." He was just tormenting himself, relating it back to his Anna worries.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Nah, it's fine," he said, looking at Dare. "Back when I first came here, couple of years ago, we dated. She didn't know that I was a follower and...well...." Michael's hand stopped tracing the back of Dare's and rubbed the back of his neck and looking down at his knees. "I ended up attacking her at this party, there was an attack.... But we ended up being friends," he said, moving on from that night. "I haven't wanted to get back with her since." He felt like Dare should know that he didn't feel anything for Dru like he once had.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Oh. Wow," Dare said, though he knew he probably sounded like Silver for it. Still, he'd gotten an answer to his question. He thought for a moment, then asked, "So she's like a sister or something?" A stupidly hopeful question, but hopefully close enough to the truth that Dare didn't sound like the moron he felt like.

He'd hardly wished for the distraction of something to draw on when a bottle of ink materialized on the arm of the couch beside him. He glanced at Michael, and his lips curved. He dipped the quill into the black ink, and brought the tip lightly to the back of Michael's hand, beginning a light, swirling design that the quill turned silver.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Yeah, a sister that wishes I'd leave her relationship with Chase alone." Michael watched Dare, faintly thinking that Dare wouldn't stop at just the back of his hand if given the chance. It was his left arm, however, and, unless he were very distracted, he wouldn't let the drawing go up too much farther. Though he would offer his other arm. "I pretty much gave up a couple of months ago, though, had a bit of a fight with Chase."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare glanced up at Michael, worry evident in his eyes before he lowered them back to the design forming against Michael's skin. "Is he that bad?" Dare asked. "I don't want to think I've sent Silver to his eminent demise or anything." He'd just hope that by fight, Michael had meant argument, but the tone of his voice said that he was waiting for a response. Aside from his brother's safety, he wondered about Michael's.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"He's bad, but I think Silver will be fine. I pretty much deserved it. He'll fight, though I've not seen him fight with someone that wasn't willing to hold their own against him. It wasn't the first time, either, we almost got into it in the common room when I found out he had cheated on her, he shot back at me saying well at least I didn't try to kill her and I momentarily lost control of my fist." Michael realized he had rambled just a bit and threw Dare an apologetic smile, then turned his eyes back to the marks on his hand.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's brows rose at that, and his gaze lifted to Michael's just in time to catch that smile. He smiled back, then returned to the design he was making. "I don't see you as the violent type," he said. "Not that I don't think you have it in you--it sounds like he deserved it--but it's hard to picture." Had he ever seen Michael angry? Yes, he reminded himself. The night of the masquerade, when his father had come into the conversation. It was strange to think of, as they sat together so comfortably.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael shrugged with his right shoulder, keeping his hand still so he didn't mess up Dare. "I used to be pretty bad, still can be when someone rubs me the wrong way. Like this girl, Gabby, we were sitting there talking and she kept going on about how she had pulled her wand on these girls, couldn't understand why they were so mad at her, then pulled it on me." His eyebrows came together at the memory, "I was so pissed I actually showed her my mark and I still don't think she got it." He had only pulled up his sleeve as a last resort, to try and make her understand that she didn't know who it was that she was pulling her wand on.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare raised his eyes incredulously. "Why would someone even do that? That's just stupid. Even if you're in the group that celebrates Voldemort's--sorry," Dare said quickly, "but even if you celebrate his death, still the Dark Mark means something, at the very least a warning." Dare shook his head in disbelief. "I'd have backed the hell off, but then, I've got a decent sense of self-preservation." Dare smiled again and turned back to his design.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"She was convinced that because they were innocent spells from some old book her grandmother got her it was safe to pull her wand on whoever she chose." Michael shook his head as he thought about it, "Half the people here are so on edge that they flip at the sight of a wand. I've heard she's been in the hospital wing more than a couple of times because of it." He supposed that it served her right for not learning.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare shook his head again at that. "If it's who I think it is, only met her once in the Common Room. She didn't get a chance to pull that on me, though. Some guy showed up, and they started talking. I don't even know what happened." It was like time had just stopped, and then it was over. "I've been here two months now and haven't had anyone pull a wand on me," Dare said casually. "I guess I'm just that intimidating." He raised laughing eyes to Michael.