A/N:
House: Ravenclaw
Year: 2
Category: Short
Prompt: [Speech] "You have no power over me." "you sure about that?"
w/c: 562
Ron looked at the other boy, who was sitting across from him and sweating nervously.
"How? Seamus cried in disbelief. "How do you do it?"
Ron just sat back in his chair, nonchalant. "I believe that's checkmate."
For the fourth time that night, he had won the game of Wizard Chess against his Irish friend.
"Don't get any ideas, Weasley," Seamus muttered. "You have no power over me."
Ron just smirked. "You sure about that? Cause it sure looks like you're writing my charms essay, which is what you bet, after all."
Seamus let out a frustrated sigh and walked off, throwing a black knight to the common room floor in protest. "I'll get you next time, Weasley."
Ron had always loved chess, it was something he had always beaten everyone at - even the Weasley know-it-all, Percy. Coming from a family with six other children, it was difficult to be the best at anything. He often found himself feeling not necessarily invisible but overlooked by his parents because he was just kind of... average.
It had been his uncle that first introduced him to wizard chess, and Ron had fallen in love with it instantly, The strategy behind it was excellent, and each piece had its own important role. Even the most undervalued piece, the pawn, could be one of your most valuable pieces. If it managed to successfully reach enemy lines, it could transform into a queen, the most destructive piece. Ron felt that he, on some level, related to the pawn in that way.
The crackle of the warm common room fire pulled Ron from his thoughts. Laughter came from a group of first years sitting on the opposite side of the room. It was late so only few were about; those with deadlines for essays due tomorrow, or a few groups of friends, too enraptured in their conversations to realise the time. He assumed Hermione was probably still at the library, and Harry… He had decided to go to bed early.
Ron was slightly worried for his friend. They had shared a fair amount of adventures in their short friendship so far. Harry probably felt a lot of pressure, what with He Who Must Not Be Named being back, and Harry being the Chosen One.
Not to mention, the Minister of Magic was refusing to accept that he really was back. And the endless detentions given to his best friend by the Devil in pink disguise, Dolores Umbridge. Harry was understandably stressed.
But Ron was determined to be there for him.
He thought about what Seamus had said earlier, "you have no power over me", and thought that it might be true. It might be true for a lot of people, Ron concluded. He might not have power over people like Seamus or… V… Voldemort. But it didn't stop Ron from beating them.
Ron tightened his jaw resolutely. He knew Harry wouldn't leave the issue concerning Voldemort alone, so that probably meant he would probably be in a lot of danger very soon. Strangely, he didn't feel as scared as he would have done even a few months ago; he had people to look after, and he would do so, even if it meant sacrificing his own future.
"Maybe this is what being a Gryffindor is about after all," he uttered to himself quietly before going upstairs to check on his friend.