Chapter 29 - 1st Week of School Ⅴ (1/2)

The 1st year Slytherin's trail into the common room quietly lest they disturb the 5th and 7th years. Rowan stifles a yawn and takes a seat at a table with gobstones. ”Want to play?” Rowan asked as Severus stiffens recalling that their mother had once been the captain of the gobstones team. Sadly enough, just this morning, Severus had already been told that their mother would not be returning via a private letter sent to the head of house, Professor Slughorn, who passed the unopened letter to Severus from their grandfather, Reginald Prince.

Rowan sees Severus's dark face and hastily gets up. ”What about wizarding chess?” Rowan hastily said as she pointed to another table.

Severus purses his lips as if in thought, before reluctantly moving over to the other table with a wizarding chessboard. They both carefully set their bags on the floor under their seats lest anyone trip over them and scatter the more dangerous contents such as their ink and quills all over their books. ”Black or white?” Rowan asked as Severus takes the white for himself.

Rowan grins knowingly as they wait for their pieces to properly line up all on their own. ”So, have you made any friends yet?”

”Yeah, Sirius isn't too bad,” Severus muttered as he thoughtfully gazed at the board trying to think of his first move.

”I meant in Slytherin,” Rowan snorted as she waited for Severus to make the first move.

Severus orders his pawn to move up two spaces as Rowan takes out her knight in response. ”There's Terry Greengrass, he's quite the amiable fellow and my roommate.”

”Well, that's good,” Rowan grumbled as Severus made his next move and has his bishop slide diagonally onto the middle of the board.

”I'm just glad you've made friends in our age group all on your own.” Rowan furrowed her brow as she instructed a pawn forward in the bishop's path.

”I'm not that unsociable,” Severus growled as he brutally moved his bishop forward to take Rowan's pawn.

”No, what I meant is that I'm surprised that you actually became friends with Sirius Black,” Rowan truthfully stated as she ordered her knight to take Severus's bishop.

Severus lets out a soft curse as he moves his rook forward. ”Though you can certainly call him arrogant and mischievous, he's alright,” Severus finally concluded.

Rowan smiles at the board and says, ”Well, that good.” And then ruthlessly sends out her bishop to take Severus's rook. They both cease their soft talk as they solely concentrate on the violent chess game. The moving chess pieces attack and crush each other until the bloody victor emerges as Rowan.

Defeated, Severus falls back into his seat to sulk. ”Well, what about you? Have you made any friends yet?” Severus taunted.

”Well, excluding Lily, I'm on friendly terms with three other girls,” Rowan snickered at Severus's unhappy glare. ”The girls are sweet and quirky in their own way.”

Before their conversation can continue a sudden exclamation causes them to look up at a couple of first-years gathered around the common area board. Severus and Rowan glance at each other with curiosity before getting up to take a closer look. ”What's going on?” Severus asked, a delicate-looking boy with floppy hair and hazel colored eyes, who coincidentally was one of his roommates as well.

Terry Greengrass turns and says, ”We have flying lessons this Thursday meaning, we're stuck with the Gryffindors.”