A/N Don't own them, yada yada yada.
No price is too great forthe scalp of the enemy King. - Koblentz
The black knight jutted out in a wide "L" shape across the board, claiming a pawn in it's wake. The old man frowned, stroking his beard. It was only a pawn, but it was a pawn that could have, potentially won the game for him, if he had played it just a little more carefully, if he hadn't let his bravery and bravado get in the way, to recklessly claim a bishop that served very little purpose. He had regretted the move almost as soon as he had made it, it had been tempting him, taunting him, knowing that he could not resist it.
But sometimes, there were causalities caused by rash decisions. He couldn't always prevent them. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, a bad decision is made, and it costs a pawn. Or a life. Sirius Black, for instance, had been a rash decision. One that he regretted, but it was too late to regret it now, just as it was too late to regret the missing pawn. The best he could do was tailor his strategy to no longer involve the pawn, to no longer include Sirius. He hadn't been vital, important, yes, but crucial, no.
He moved his queen away from the dangerous reach of the knight. Just one space to sidestep it. The same way the man across from him had sidestepped danger many a time before. Yes, in terms of strategy, Severus was most definitely the queen, the most powerful piece, the second most crucial, second most necessary piece to the game, sidestepping out of danger, slipping away in another direction that the opponent never considered when attempting to pin him into a corner.
A rook slid down the board, into the same rank as his king. "Check." The word was quietly uttered, but yet rung out in the small study. The only other sound was the occasional gulp, and the slight sucking noise that a mouth wrapped around a lemon drop makes. He studied the board. He could move his king, but it would mean sacrificing his bishop. But sometimes, sacrifices were necessary, sometimes it was needed to give up one piece for the greater good, to rationally choose to do so. The only other option was to back the queen up, and sacrifice that instead.
It was the reason why they were playing this game after all. It was all about sacrifice. Sometimes, sacrifices were necessary. He could sacrifice himself for the good of the order. He had known about the unbreakable vow from before the start of term, but now was the first time that Severus had dared mention it to him. Severus had known that he knew though, after all, he did give the appearance of omnipotence. Carefully placed spies in certain places was all his omnipotence was, but he'd never let anyone know that everything he learned, he learned from the ghosts and portraits.
Sacrifice was necessary, in order to win this. And he was going to win this. Better a bishop than a queen, to protect the king. And that's all this was. Protecting the king, protecting Harry. If Harry were to fall, the game would be over, it would all be for naught, and Voldemort would win. And he'd be damned if he let that happen. No, better to sacrifice one piece for the greater good, to keep the king alive.
And so, he moved the king out of the way, letting the other man take his bishop, unscathed. It was his turn to move a rook, pinning the king to the back row, trapping him. Backing him into a corner. That was the strategy he had for defeating Voldemort as well. Never give him a chance to escape, back him into a corner and flank him. It was an old military tactic that had worked for muggle armies for thousands of years, it would be no different this time around.
They say that the greatest warlords and strategists were master chess players, and he was inclined to believe it. Chess was a game of calculated risk, which was all war was as well. Figuring out what you could afford to loose rashly, what you could sacrifice, and how to pin your opponent into the corner to strike in for the kill.
He allowed himself to loose a rook as well, it was the endgame, he wouldn't be needing it. He advanced a pawn forward, watching as the knight encroached on his king again. But he saw the resignation in the other man's eyes. He had won, he had trapped the king to that rank, and as he moved his pawn forward again, promoting it to queen, the other man sighed, if a little over dramatically. "Checkmate" He said simply, and Severus sat, staring at the board, tipping his king over, signalling his defeat.
"Headmaster-Albus-"
"I won, Severus. You are a man of your word are you not?"
"What you're asking me to do-"
"I'm asking you to make a move. Sacrifice a bishop for the good of the king. You can't go through a chess game without loosing a piece, nor can you win a war without a sacrifice. Save the boy, Severus."
"Bloody Gryffindor." The words were barely audible, but he chuckled at them nonetheless.
"Believe what you wish about my willingness to die for the cause, Severus, but you are far more useful. Everything I could do is already on paper. Everything is outlined, Minerva can give orders just as well as I can. But we need inside information." He paused slightly, both for effect and to let his previous words sink in. "Besides, would you like to see an innocent boy, corrupted? Because of external pressure, even though he doesn't have it in him to be evil?" He could see the words hit home by the look of carefully hidden disgust that flickered across the younger man's face. "I won Severus, that was the agreement of the game. If I won, you were to follow through with the unbreakable vow."
"And I will." The words were spat out with hatred, a certain special type of self loathing that takes years to master.
"Thank you, Severus. You might want to work on advancing your king a little more often, saves it from running the risk of getting pinned." The words had a tone of dismissal about them, and the younger man stood, heading for the door. "Lemon drop before you go?" The only response he got was a swirl of black, and the door closing. Severus may not like doing what he had to do, but he would do it, he would do whatever was necessary to win, to get the checkmate.