freedom -open-

[silas]

Silas left the Hufflepuff commons, intent on doing his usual wandering without a set destination in mind. As school was nearly over he didn't have any homework or exams to study for, leaving him quite free to do as he pleased. He smiled a bit, maybe he would head outside, the weather had been pleasant lately, of course the basements were underground, so he had no idea what the weather was like that moment. Of course, walking in the rain didn't really bother Silas, as long as it wasn't much heavier than a drizzle. Deciding that he would take his ambling outside, Silas took a left at the end of the corridor from the Hufflepuff commons to go the way back to the entrance hall.

Silas took his time walking, he didn't have any rush to get anywhere, that afternoon was his entirely. It felt odd to have this much freedom, he was nearly always doing homework, at his part time job, or practicing Quidditch. But with two of the three things that kept him busy out of the way Silas literally had nothing to do. It was liberating, but in a way that was almost overwhelming. He wasn't used to having spare time, it was like summer had come a week early.

Though he wasn't exactly complaining, it was nice to not have to be doing something for someone else. Silas had gotten about halfway down the corridor before he noticed the familiar sound of footsteps. He wondered who it might be, perhaps someone who might go on a walk with him to save him from complete boredom. Silas looked over his shoulder to see...

[samara]

Samara was reapplying her lipstick in a handy mirror she had floating in front of her. A little escapade at the end of the corridor in a broom closet had left all her previous coat on the lips of a seventh year Gryffindor. Though they normally avoided her like the plaque, the Gryffindor boy that night had actually initiated the snogging session himself, luring her downstairs to the kitchens and pulling her into the broom closet. He wasn't too attractive, but Samara hadn't had any Gryffindor in a while, and it was thrilling at the very least. It'd be something the poor boy would tell his children.

Pursing her lips, she snatched the mirror from the air in time to see her twin brother glancing over his shoulder at her. The pair didn't really get along, seeing as Samara and Silas were polar opposites. Still, he was her twin, and the pair were civil at the very least. Nodding her head slightly at Silas, she fluffed her red hair. "Silas," she greeted curtly, straightening her robes, half unbuttoned to reveal her fiery red dress, also partially unbuttoned. Samara quickly buttoned both as she waited for a reply from her brother as she walked closer.

[silas]

Of all people Silas had not been expecting to see Samara down here, it had been a while since they had actually spoken with one another. They didn't always see eye-to-eye, bickered a lot, but deep down Silas loved his sister just like the rest of his family. Though at times she got under his skin like none other, how she always seemed to take without a second thought, without working for it. Silas was fine with working for his own spending money, contributing to help out his family when they needed, but Samara hadn't worked a day in her life. That was what bothered him most about her.

"Hi Samara," said Silas, just as he would say to any of his friends. He never saw reason to be curt with her, or perhaps he was just too nice a guy to act toward his sister at times the way he felt she deserved to be treated. Silas narrowed his eyebrows a bit when he saw a glimpse of the dress beneath Samara's robes before she buttoned it up, but decided not to push it. Silas knew better than to get involved in the things that his sister decided to wear.

[samara]

Samara hid a small smirk as she witnessed Silas' disapproving gaze. Another reason the pair hardly spoke, she reckoned. Samara saw it as a bit of a good thing, the less contact she had with her siblings, the less likely they were to care about her rebelliousness, thus keeping Mum and Dad from finding out. That would be nothing short of disaster in Samara's mind, considering the fact that she was regularly stealing from her father's wallet. Samara was only the slightest bit ashamed of her misdeeds, but only because Silas was such a good soul. Truthfully, what Samara admired the most in her brother was also the thing that most annoyed her.

Silas was too good. He worked, was always kind and gentle to everyone, even if they annoyed him to no end, whereas Samara was bitchy, to say the least. She'd much rather grind someone's reputation to the floor than boost them up to a higher status. Making people feel good about themselves was a waste of time in her opinion. Still, around Silas, she would play nice until he did something aggravating. "How are you?" Samara asked, catching up to Silas and finishing fastening the clasps on her dress and robes.

[silas]

Silas wasn't sure what to say, he had heard the rumours of course, of what Samara tended to do with her... spare time. Getting involved with boys, he only hoped that she knew what she was getting into, Silas would hate to see her get taken advantage of. Though he also knew better than to get involved with that, Samara would hate him for it, and with things already strained between them... He didn't want to make things any worse. For not the first time, Silas wondered where they had gone wrong, they had gotten along fine when they were children. Well, as fine as any set of siblings could.

"Fine," said Silas, "a bit bored actually, now that I haven't much to keep me busy." He messed with his hair momentarily to get it out of his eyes, it needed a trim, and then realized that his sentence could quickly turn into some sort of crack about how he didn't have a girlfriend, so he opened his mouth to speak again quickly. "What about you? We haven't spoken in a while," Silas added, hopefully to not allow a window of opportunity for his lacking a girlfriend sorts of jokes. Silas would go out with a girl he felt strongly about, and he had yet to feel particularly attracted to anyone.

[samara]

Samara opened her mouth to reply, but Silas had quickly finished his sentence. Samara hid yet another smirk. She knew that Silas was afraid she'd make a crack at him not having a girlfriend. Truthfully, people teased her brother about it, some even going so far as to try to call him out as gay. Samara, though she would never admit it aloud, especially to her twin, would defend Silas whenever those rumors would spout. If anyone was going to antagonize her brother, it was going to be her and only her. Though the pair didn't get along well, he was her twin.

Samara may have been cruel, but she wasn't so with her siblings. Though none of them were too fond of her, and they all kept their distance, they were still family. Besides, Samara didn't ever want to be alone in the world. Her siblings were the only thing she had to fall back on. So, if the time ever came for the pair to be friends and loving, Samara wanted it to be able to happen... "I'm well," she replied simply, taking a strand of her red curls between her fingers, twirling it between them absently.

[silas]

Silas was glad that the window of opportunity for poking fun at his being single had been closed by his quickly turning the question around to his twin. Her answer, it seemed, was very vague, leading Silas to believe that Samara might be hiding something, but what that might be he had no idea. Though in a split second he decided that it was rude of him to think that, Samara might not fit the classic mould of being a Weasley, but that didn't automatically make her up to no good. He stuck his hands in his pockets, wondering what to make of the conversation now.

"That's good," said Silas with a nod of his head, mentally kicking himself for not being able to come up with something better to say. He was generally more of a listener than a talker anyways, many of his friends had told him this. Silas was just content to hear what other people had to say, he would contribute to keep the conversation going, or if he had something meaningful to say, but other than that he was usually quiet. "What brings you to this part of the castle?" Silas said after a moment, only then realizing that it was a little off to see a Slytherin in the basements.

[samara]

Samara smiled a rather mysterious smile, but quickly concealed it with a flip of her hair. It was a rather odd thing, a Weasley who actually loved their red hair. But, Samara found it unique, and genuinely lovely. That confidence showed, apparently, because boys were starting to love red-heads... particularly fiery ones named Samara. "Went to the kitchens for a snack. It's nice to be on good terms with the house elves," she replied. Truthfully, she'd been lured down their by a boy and had a very different snack, but she wasn't about to tell Silas that.

Samara licked her lips, smiling softly. At least the Gryffindor boy had used some sort of lip balm to make his lips taste good. For such a messy kisser, he needed something to fall back on. She supposed that he was attractive enough, though he wasn't her average toy. Samara liked them gorgeous, cute or handsome would simply not suffice. If they ever wanted her to come back, which wasn't very likely in the first place, they needed to try very hard to maintain their appearances. "And why, may I ask, are you wandering about aimlessly?" she asked, blue eyes sliding over to glance at her brother.

[silas]

Silas nodded, though something in his sister's tone told him that what she had went to the kitchens for didn't necessarily involve the house elves. It was wrong of him to be so suspicious, but as kindhearted as he was, Silas wasn't stupid. He had heard boys in their year bragging about snogging her, some of them had even gotten the nerve to ask him to set them up with his sister. Silas, of course, never agreed to that. He had no business in his sister's love life, and definitely would not go about setting her up.

"I thought that I might go outside," said Silas, "provided that it's not raining." He didn't think that it would be, but he had been in the basements all day, except earlier in the morning when he had eaten breakfast. Then the ceiling in the Great Hall hadn't shown any signs of rain, but one never really could tell. Silas wondered whether or not he should invite Samara to come with him, though he figured that she would just follow along if she wanted to go outside too.