"Really, Hermione, it's enough that we have to write the essay. I don't see why we have to talk about it afterward, too," Ron said, setting up his chess set.
"Well, I'm just a little nervous about my third paragraph..."
"We all know you'll do brilliantly." Ron rolled his eyes. Sometimes he just wished he could be the best at something. Eyeing the chessman he was setting up, however, he had an idea. "Sit down and relax some, Hermione. Ever played chess?"
She looked down at her feet. "Well, I've played some, but I don't think I'm very good at it."
"No matter. It's just a game, anyway." She cautiously sat by the white chess pieces she'd borrowed from Percy and took her first move. Ron quickly countered her and the game was over in less than ten minutes.
Hermione slumped off to a corner to read and Ron looked out the window at the pouring rain. He felt a little bad for not taking it easy on Hermione for the first game she'd played with them. Harry came down to sit by him. "Don't worry about it," Harry said. "Losing is probably doing her some good." A/N: For the Drabble Collection Challenge. Prompt: chessman. I'm not JKR and don't own the characters. Word Count: 197.
