(1938-10-13) Questioned by the Queen
Details for Questioned by the Queen
Summary: After his chancy meeting with Niko outside the Great Hall, the Queen seeks out Silas' true motives.
Date: Evening, 13 October, 1938
Location: Slytherin Common Room, Hogwarts
Related: Unlikely Alliance
Characters
MedusaSilas

Slytherin Common Room


The Slytherin commons room is a low-ceilinged, dungeon-like affair illuminated during the day by a multitude of greenish lamps and a roaring fire which also works to partially ward of the perpetual chill of the dungeons. The common room is filled with low-backed, black and dark green leather sofas and armchairs accented with buttons that create dimples deep in the upholstery. For the decorative carvings of the dark wood cupboards, the columns, the mantelpiece, and other architectural details of the room run strongly towards snakes and skulls motif. All these details combine to create a quite grand atmosphere with a touch of spooky and cold.
Day or night the enchanted windows are filled with an eerie green glow from the water on the other side. Occasionally the Giant Squid and other residents of the Black Lake will swim by the portals. Over all the common room has a sunken ship feel, though is oddly enough also gives a strange cozy sense as well.


After dinner on a Sunday, there are some students studying in the Common Room, but other Slytherin are just chatting, playing games or reading books. Medusa is, as wont to do, holding court. She has commandeered her favourite of the green leather sofas and has her booted feet up on the small table in front of it as she speaks with a red-haired girl. "No, look Beatrice, I helped you get Alphard now it is up to you." The girl leans in to whisper into Medusa's ear causing the Malfoy girl to roll her eyes. "Ugh, no. No go…do something with yourself you are annoying me." Readily dismissed Beatrice flounces off, giving Medusa a pained look before she heads out of the common room.

The boy Silas is known to be punctual, almost to a fault, and so at this time of day it's no uncommon to see his familiar, a smallish, white ferret, slither her way out of the boys dormitories to go wait by the entrance for him to arrive. Today is no different, the little thing dancing and chuckling by the door, her favorite sock clenched desperately between her teeth and lying beneath her as plays sentry.
Silas doesn't disappoint, as only a few moment later he arrives, a small satchel in hand. A practiced scoop and lift later, and the ferret is firmly ensconced in her own private pocket of said satchel, proudly putting her sock to death once again.
Silas' eyes scan the room for a moment, just in time to witness Beatrice's dismissal, and nods to her in passing. He then sees Medusa, nods to her slightly, and makes as if to take possession of one of the solo chairs on the other side of the room.

"Silas Meliflua." Just his name, that is all Medusa, the self-proclaimed Queen of Slytherin, says at first. A simple name. Or rather not simple if say, someone was to have been seen behaving in an unusual manner in a public place. "Come and sit with me Silas." She pats the spot Beatrice recently vacated. "Bring your lovely pet. What is her name again?"

There is a pause in Silas' step as he hears his name. This is certainly different. A summons, by the "queen" no less. His ever-present half-smile turns in Medusa's direction as the 'command' is made clear. He offers another nod as he changes course, a hand slipping into his bag to tickle at the stomach of the still-thrashing warrior inside, eliciting another series of chuckles from her.
"Adelaide," is the answer he provides as he sits down, setting the bag next to him, at the side opposite Medusa, perhaps offering himself as shielding for the pet. Once settled, he looks over, "I trust your weekend went well?"

Medusa lowers her feet and crosses her legs, her over robe falling away to reveal her too short skirt. She plays all the angles, our Medusa. "Adelaide is a pretty name. Some city in Australia too isn't it?" With a dismissive wave of the hand, because who cares about geography it isn't even taught at Hogwarts, Medusa turns her attention to other things. "My weekend has gone very well thank you. How about your's? Manage to spend any time with friends…from say, Gryffindor?"

"Actually," Silas responds with another grin, leaning back against the sofa, offering only a flicker of a glance at the move and reveal before continuing, "she's named after an old friend of mine. She's been a stalwart companion of mine since she was weaned away from her mother." An absent hand reaches over to the ferret again, who abandons the sock to wrap herself around the digits playfully. He doesn't even seem to notice the raking of teeth and claws although this must be normal, as she doesn't seem to mark him at all during the play.
"As to friends, I'm not certain that I have anyone in that house that I could call such. You couldn't possibly be referring to my rather public display of pointed peace-making after a decidedly nasty occurrence with a prefect and upperclassmen, could you?" His pale, blue gaze goes back to Medusa for a moment, and the spark within them is almost palpable.

"You do not need to apologize for the House of Slytherin, Silas. And you certainly should not feel the need to make peace with a boy who thinks he is better than everyone else — especially of those with pure blood." Medusa glances over at the bag, curious…she had never considered the possibility of a ferret for a pet but one would look nice draped around her. "Are they good companions? I have a cat at home. I -" she pulls a bit of a face, "had a transfiguration accident with him some years back so he stays home."

At this, Silas laughs; an odd sound coming from him, if only in light that truly few interact with him, "Apologize? Who apologized? I simply made certain that the right people saw me showing that I, for one, wasn't above showing a litle kindness to his kind. The contrast alone will resonate with those who agree with him, and will allow me greater ease of movement despite my own beliefs. A stark contrast to those who would show themselves willing to fight like Muggles over a rock to see whom will get to throw it at the other."
He looks down again at his pet, smiling as he answers the other question, "They make excellent companions, but they require much attention. She must be bathed daily, as well as be treated daily to reduce the oils in her skin, otherwise she can become quite… piquant. they are also social animals, and thus require much attention if you don't wish them to become bored. A bored ferret… can be a terror."

You don't get to the top without being sharp, well unless you are a physical bully but Medusa is not one to use brute force. A sly grin curls up one corner of her mouth. "Silas Meliflua," this time when she says his name it is with pleasant and coy surprise. "You might just be the one to take my throne next year if you keep things like that up." Medusa slides closer, curious about the ferret. "She is very pretty. I bet I know someone who would look after one for me — do all those things — not the socializing. I would do that. I am very good at socializing." Besides, how awesome would a white ferret accessory look on a Malfoy?

The grin that has been teasing its way to his face this entire time finally makes its showing… all full of perfect teeth and just the slightest suggestion of a shark's sincerity, "Ah… but why be on the throne, and take all the blame and sorrow that come with it, when you can just as easily control the one who sits on it, am I right?"
With that, he offers the ferret a slight double-tap on the snout, to which she responds by going perfectly limp, before quietly running up his arm to drape herself across the back of his neck. A moment later, contented-sounding clucks emanate from her, "Bathing time is perhaps one of the most special of the socializing times to have with her. I wouldn't give that up for an instant."
He then looks back at Medusa, returning to the matter at hand, "Medusa, are you worried, perhaps, that I was muddying myself with a half-blood? We cannot avoid associating with them in this world. It's illogical, and impossible. I don't have to marry one… but I'd just assume not throw away a working tool just because it isn't perfect."

Distracted a bit by the ferret it takes Medusa a moment to respond. "Well that fool does seem to have a habit of turning Slytherin heads. Just look at stupid Abbot. I tried to help her and she refused, look where it got her." She flicks her hair over her shoulder, "I also asked him to leave Janette alone so she wouldn't end up being ridiculed but he ignored that too. Maybe he is trying to get her hexed by her housemates for being a blood traitor." Medusa turns her body so that she is properly facing Silas. "I rarely take blame, but then what I do is…different to others. Somehow though I think you might grasp that. Working with them, brokering deals — this is normal life as you say. But tread carefully. I am gone in mere months. I think Flint will be tightening his hold more and more." She leans over, flicking his tie aside to check and see if Silas has a Magijugend pendant or not.

"The boy may have his pride placed in the wrong part of his heritage," Silas counters, "but pride itself is nothing for us to judge him for. He was right in that of late, many of us upperclassmen have been offering a poor example to our younger charges. In all of the houses."
He takes in the rest of what she says, and the smile falters at the flick of his tie. No pendant there. He looks up at her again, "Let them mock her. She'll make her decisions one way or another. She comes from a weak branch of the Abbot line as it is… does it really come as a shock to you? I've always said, worry about your own purity… it's all that you can control."

Seeing no pendant Medusa leans back and nods slowly. "True. Were she properly bred she'd be stronger. Even so, at least I tried." With a faint sigh she says, "People always think I am mean but you know, I am not cruel. I am calculating. I consider the odds and take what steps are necessary. I do not hate people like Denholm. He cannot help what he is. I pity him because the real world will eat him alive; him and his naivety. It is easier for them to think of me as some kind of monster. The Gorgon. Everyone needs fear, it makes them understand what the lack of fear feels like." Lifting a slender shoulder she shrugs, "So what does it matter if they fear me. I have three times as many people coming to me for help as I do running in fear." Medusa looks back at the ferret, but her question is for Silas, "What things have upperclassmen been doing that Niko was complaining about?"

"Those of a more obstinate nature," Silas points out, folding his hands in his lap, "will always move in the opposite direction that in which you push them. If she'd come to the opinion that you were meddling, she may very well have rushed into his arms just to defy you. That can be a falling of being the source of fear for some — a need to do exactly what the monster in your head doesn't wish of you." He leans back again, eliciting a grunt and a nuzzle from the ferret, "What happens, however, when they neither fear not respect you?"
The second question leads to a bit longer of a pause, "I am not privy to all of the details outside of our house, and frankly could care less… but with these open confrontations we've had, do you need any other examples? Fights, actual fights. It's an embarrassment. No subtlety, no manipulation, no intrigue at all. It is ill-befitting our house, and says to the little ones that we're as brutish as Gryffindors."

"The fight Janette started?" Medusa's lips twitch. "I love the idea of you making peace with the boyfriend of the girl who started the fight. Still it was an interesting opening gambit." Medusa stretches her long legs out in front of her and crosses them at the ankle. "There is not that much ill will between us and other houses. Lillian is dating a Hufflepuff. I am dating Douglas and am good friends with Gerald, as is Alphard. There are Magijugend in all the houses, not just Slytherin."

"Wheels within wheels," is Silas' response to the first statement, another chuckle leaving him. "It allowed me to guage his perception of events, of course. And I've made an ally, which may be to my advantage at a later date."
The outright mention of the Magijugend stops him, however, and the grin falters a bit. Silas knows his own opinions of the mindset… but also knows it often enough best not to speak outright of his own beliefs there, "Dating across lines to procure peace, then?" This he punctuates with another, almost evil grin. There, perhaps the topic is avoided.

"Pure-bloods." Of course. "Inner breeding is what gets you weaknesses that can be exploited." Medusa reaches over holding her hand near the ferret. "I think next year will prove to be very interesting for you Silas. It is almost a shame I will not be here to see it."

The ferret initially sniffs at the offered hand, before slowly, playfully nipping at the hand with a practiced bite that would never break even the fairest skin, followed by a quick, tasting lick.
"You have just outlined part of the reason I've not inserted myself into this dating queue," Silas offers as a response, "Few enough actually last to see the end of the school year, much less graduation, and outside these halls… such things have far less import."

Medusa laughs softly as the ferret nips her. She is liking this ferret idea more and more. "Dating is whatever you make of it Silas. Whether you like men or women, the potential is the same. Some take it seriously and are seeking love. Some seek to satisfy their lust. Others for political alliances." Her gaze flits up to his face and she smiles a slow kind of smile, "The best relationships fulfill all three."

Silas taps his chin at that one, nodding, and not for a moment flinching away from the gaze placed on him, "This may well be true, but more often than not is seems ore a fertile landscape for distraction, drama, and destruction. At least for now. My attitude may change with proper incentive… no one knows."
At this moment, the ferret looks back up at Silas, at Medusa's hand near her, and decides she's clearly not the center of attention. This must be remedied. A slight nip goes to Silas' ear, before she slithers down off of his shoulder and walks over toward Medusa, looking up and clucking, back slightly arched, and bouncing on all four legs. "Oh my. I think you're bring challenged," Silas explains with a chuckle.

"They can be, but then that is life. Not everyone is suited to the life of a monk." Medusa laughs as the ferret becomes more anxious. "I don't think I can truly compete with Adelaide for your affections, Silas. I will concede victory to her." Medusa pulls her hand back and leans away, giving the ferret her victory. "Perhaps you don't need anyone else, Adelaide can clearly be enough for you."

To that, Silas can only chuckle and nod, grabbing the white ball of ferocity by the scruff before cradling her in an arm. "Perhaps now… but allies and friends I do need… and as I'm sure you can see I'm already making a point of expanding that circle."

Sliding up off the sofa Medusa gets to her feet. "I have to go see to some things. Take care Silas." She adjusts her robes and adds with a grin, "And if I get a ferret I will know who to come to for tips and guidance."

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