The Sapphire

Grimmauld Place

Ron hated chores, always had. Lifting his wand to tidy up his room or help clean the house, even that was a burden to the lazy Gryffindor, that hasn't improved with age either. And now he hasn't a working wand to help him, a living nightmare as far as he was concerned. His mum firmly refused flat out to do his washing for him, and for his backchat he lost the help of her assistance too. So Ron found himself standing in front of the old, beaten-up, barely functioning washing machine they had dug up from a tip somewhere. A large pile of his stinky clothes that he took to Mexico with him overfilling in his arms. He continued staring at the cube-shaped appliance as if wishing it to tell him what to do, of course it did nothing.

He took a large breath and stepped towards it. "Let's get this over with."

He let the pile drop to the floor and tentatively tugged on the door. When he tried to tug harder and it still didn't budge, he slammed his hand against the front in frustration more than anything. With a strong ulmighty heave he dislodged the door mechanism and it flung open, propelling him onto his behind. "Bloody hell."

He began collecting his clothes again and bunged them into the large hole carelessly, when the final sock went in he took a relieved breath and swung it closed. The door just rebounded back, he did it again yet the same result. "What kind of door doesn't-" He swung again "-open-" and again "-and close-" again "-when you want it to?" He finishes with another unsuccessful swing to close it.

A chuckle was heard over his shoulder and he took a glance at a casual-looking Tonks leaning against the door frame, unsuccessfully stifling another bout of laughter.

With a scowl he turned his reddish ears away from Tonks "How long have you been standing there?"

"Half-way between your staring competition with an inanimate object that has no eyes to compete with." Tonks looked round him to his pile. "Ron Weasley does laundry. I suppose I will go to Hogwarts and see Hagrid doing yoga as well."

"If you're just gonna stand there and mock me then you can shove off." Ron groaned successfully closing the door finally.

Tonks acted offended and took a step out the room. "Be that way grumpy, do remember to put a tablet in won't you?"

'Tablet? Nobody mentioned a tablet. What even is a tablet?' Ron looked worringly at the clothes and all the panels. With a panicky tone he called out "Tonks wait!"

Almost immediately after he called, Tonks popped her head back round the door. Clearly she hadn't got far in her journey from the room.

Ron attempted a casual tone. "You know I wouldn't mind your company for a few seconds more, if you can help me with this lot."

Tonks sarcastically replied. "Wait, don't tell me you can't work a washing machine?"

"If you're such an expert at it you wouldn't have a problem helping me would you?"

Tonks laughed. "It's a washing machine, they don't exactly come up in a NEWT exam."

"Please. Just help me out this one time." Ron pleaded.

"What's in it for me?"

Ron glared for a few seconds but seeing no backing down from Tonks, he began to ponder.

"I'll let you have a three piece head start at chess. I will surrender my knight, a bishop and a pawn...no a castle."

"Chess? Do I look like that interests me?"

Ron gets an idea. "Tonks turns down a challenge, that is a surprise."

Tonks' eye twitched signalling that his ploy was working. "Ridiculous. I'm just concerned I'll whip your arse too severely, especially with a three piece head start that I don't need."

"I'm calling you out Tonks, where's your dignity? If you help me operate this I will sacrifice my knight, bishop and QUEEN in our chess match afterwards. Unless you're scared, you're not scared are you Tonks?"

With narrowed eyes she vehemently answered. "NO."

"Prove it. I'm undefeated and I'm giving you a perfect opportunity to rub my face in the fact it was you to be the first to beat me. People will never want to challenge the mighty Tonks who slayed the unbeaten Ron Weasley at chess." Ron told her, announcing the stakes with a trademark Weasley smirk. Then with a duck he added. "Or you could decline and I somehow end up working out how to do this, it won't be enjoyable but I suppose being called a chicken everyday would be worse right?"

Tonks didn't reply verbally, instead she purposefully stepped over to the machine and opened the door. Ron triumphantly smirked at her.

...

Liverpool Marina, three days aboard the Sapphire

Larry took a sip of his morning coffee, staring at the bankside of the River Mersey as The Sapphire bobbled along the relatively calm waters. The smell of breakfast from down below tempting the skipper but he knew they needed to anchor down somewhere before he can give into his hunger desires. He battled through his stomach growling as he began to direct the boat towards a jetty.

Footsteps on the deck stairs below bought his attention and he was welcomed by a still groggy-looking Ashley. "Hello stranger, you two getting used to the hammocks?"

"Are you kidding, I was in the sea cadets remember, I can easily cope with a hammock?" Sort of true, the hammock part not the sea cadets.

"And your lovely lady-friend?"

"Seaweed green as usual."

He chuckled. "Yeah, but her body will eventually tolerate it all. Trust me."

Ashley looked around and takes it in. "I've never been to Liverpool. Is it as bad as they make out?"

Another hearty laugh was his response. "Don't worry, nobody is going to steal our Sapphire, not with you two on it."

That does not fill Ashley with much confidence.

"What got you into sailing?" Ashley asked him curiously.

"A chance to escape. Our jobs, the neighbours, the strenuous bills. It all just got too much, so we took a holiday. We were given the chance to go onboard a yacht with this couple we met and we fell in love with the idea, kinda like you two girls except not the falling off a cliff part." He smiled at the end part.

Ashley smiled back. "And the idea just stuck?"

"Pretty much. That was a year ago, this is our third and biggest sailing trip so far. The next one we plan to go even further, international waters. The Med maybe."

"That sounds wonderful. Completely stress free." Ashley said, a slight tone of disappointment in her voice.

Larry looked sideways at her. "What about you? Where are you heading after all this?"

Ashley lets a little bit of truth indulge him. "Anywhere really? Who knows, I might follow your example and test my luck on the water."

"Who needs land anyway?" Larry rhetorically asks.

"Who indeed."

...

Grimmauld Place, fifteen minutes later

Ron dramatically prowled his way to his side of the table and slowly bent to sit down, his hands clenched on his knees. Tonks pulled out the opposite chair and swivelled it, she sat astride it with the back facing the table.

Ron quickly set up his pieces whilst Tonks set up hers. When they are set, Ron asks seriously. "You absolutely sure you know how to play, i've never seen you play before? I know I challenged you but if you can't play then I call it off now."

Tonks raised her eyebrow. "You think I was bluffing when I talked the talk earlier?"

"Well...I can understand why you would refuse to admit it if you never played, Gryffindor's know a lot about pride."

Tonks laid her hands flat on the table. "I'm no Gryffindor, I'm a Hufflepuff. You can trust a Hufflepuff, so you can trust that your arse is getting whipped."

Ron regained his competitive streak and said. "Big talk indeed, but can you walk the walk."

Ron looks down at his pieces and said. "A deal's a deal, I will surrender my knight, bishop and queen."

His fingers touched the large black piece but Tonks laid her hand out to stop him. "No. I'm whipping your arse the proper way, you can keep your knight, bishop and queen. You're gonna need them."

Ron sucked in a large breath of anticipation, his confidence peaking even more. "You are making a big mistake."

Tonks laced her fingers together and replied. "I don't think so, in fact let's up the stakes a bit. The winner has to wash their opponents clothes everyday for a month."

"You don't know when to stop pushing do you?"

"I stop when you take this competition seriously, after all your beloved streak may not last much longer."

Ron had every reason to feel confident, but Tonks forwardness in competing against him made him slightly concerned. Tonks would not be so confident if she genuinely was a novice, talking a good game was one thing but piling more and more unnecessary pressure on yourself, you either aren't very bright, or you believe yourself to be good enough to beat your opponent. Tonks had seen Ron in action, always spectating a game rather than competing in one. She never once asked to play, and when the invitation was offered she always waved it off. Who wouldn't think that was the attitude of a novice? Ron did, and he had more than a sneaking suspicion that Tonks wanted it that way. Always spectating, never playing. Also to a non-player, chess is extremely boring; just ask Hermione. Hermione for instance would read, or write, practice spells, speak to the other non-players until the game ended and she congratulated the winner, Ron, and commiserated the loser. Even Ginny, Harry and other players eventually got bored of watching if Ron was once again dominating. Ron has never recalled Tonks ever look away from the board, and not only that she also seemed to lean forward ever so slightly every time Ron made a move. Those were not the actions of a bored, non-chess player.

Then it struck home. Tonks had not just been spectating him, she had been scouting him. No wonder she felt confident, she thought she had Ron's game plan sussed. But this just brought a wider smile to his face. To win, ninety percent of the time Ron barely had to go above second gear tops, Ron had more gears to go to. Tonks may have been underestimated, but so had Ron.

Indeed, Ron was right, Tonks had scouted Ron. She was quite surprised that Ron hadn't at least suspected that she was paying more attention than any non-player should, but then again nobody had noticed and Tonks loved that. Tonks never accepted an invitation for a game because she hadn't quite read every part of Ron's game, to be honest she still didn't know all of Ron's capabilities and she could sense more to his game than what Ron showed. But there was no way she was letting Ron think she was a person who backed away from danger. Tonks had been a great champion in her own right, although her unbeaten record latest only seven years. The culmination of that loss came at the end of her seventh year, a fourth year from Ravenclaw heard about her record and challenged Tonks who was as cocky then as she is now. Tonks had been taken down a peg that day, but she drew comfort from one major fact: That Ravenclaw became the five time wizard chess champion of the world.

Finally, Tonks broke the silence that had come over them both. "I'll start."

"You are whites, or did you forget that?"

"Just wanted to know if you're ready, no backing out now Weasley."

"I wouldn't dream of it Nymphadora."

Seven pawns, two bishops, three knights, one queen and two castles later...

Ron sat in his chair twiddling his growing facial hair. Tonks was awaiting his next move. The secret to Ron's game wasn't the important pieces, even though he utilized his queen very effectively. The use of his pawns were the trick; he positioned his knights, bishops and queens so well that when you realised they were not the threat you had already lost a couple of pieces. But Tonks had scouted this well and knew that the more pawns she took the harder it was for Ron to conceal what his other pieces were doing. The most concerning thing though for her was the lack of castle usage on his part. In fact since the start of the game the two black castles had remained in their corners, and her castles were long gone.

Tonks had very little left in fact. A single bishop, a knight, and her king mostly. Although she had six pawns still on the board.

Ron had both his castles, a bishop, his queen, his king and three pawns left.

In the eyes of a normal chess player, Tonks was losing. Ron and Tonks both knew differently though, because Ron is still failing to get a check on Tonk's king with all her pawns still on the board. The instant he tried to take out a few of them the more vulnerable his pieces became to her knight and her bishop. That's how he found himself without both his own knights. But Tonks was having severe problems with Ron's queen, no wonder it was his best piece. It swooped at pieces Tonks thought were impossible to be taken and always avoided being taken in return. Tonks knew that if she didn't take his queen she was not going to win.

Ron moved one pawn to the right, almost taunting Tonks to take it, but the time for taking his pawns were over, she had done enough damage on that side of his game, she was not sacrificing her two most dangerous pieces on a single pawn.

Tonks immediately moved her knight to the centre of a triangle formation of pawns.

Ron scoffed. "You think that knight is safe in there?"

"If you think otherwise, try and take it."

"In due course."

Ron moves his bishop three squares diagonally towards the centre of the board.

"Luring out my knight won't work." Tonks told him.

"Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"You can't be doing anything else."

"Maybe, maybe not. Question is what are you going to do about it?"

Tonks uses her bishop to take another black pawn. "I'll wait to see what you do next."

If Ron's passion wasn't for chess, he'd be just as great at poker. He simply couldn't be read, a smirk that never wavered could be a huge bluff for all she knew. But she did know he had something planned.

He moved his bishop one more space and left it there. Was he waiting for Tonks to make a mistake, or building up a big manoeuvre?

Tonks knew she wasn't going to wait around to find out. In a swooping move her knight took Ron's bishop. Immediately Ron grinned and his facial expression quickly became a gloating one. "Easy pickings."

His queen sored right across the table and took neither her pawn or her knight. It took the pawn that was situated closest to her king. Now Tonks knew why he was holding back on his castle, in one move time one of them will close around the side of the king and the game would be over. None of her pieces could take out the castles in time before the checkmate was complete.

"Check."

Tonks buried her face in her hands and drew a big sigh, Ron knew he had her.

"Oh crap, what a disaster" Tonks voiced out loud.

"I know, you bit of more than you could chew didn't you?" Ron mocked. "What a disaster this has been for you?"

"Not my disaster." Tonks said looking up, with a quirk of the lips. "It's your poor Queen's"

Tonks' forgotten bishop then swooped in and took Ron's queen out of the game, officially ending the check situation indefinitely.

For the first time in the match Ron's smirk dropped. "But..."

"Foolish Ron, your attempt at a trap wasMY trap." Tonks now harboured a smirk of her own as she motioned for Ron to continue. "Your move."

After checkmate

"Are you sure all these clothes need washing, some of them still have the smell of sunflower on them?"

"Why thank you Ron, but I assure you they do need half an hour or so." Tonks patted the top of the pile that Ron held in his arms. "Now get to it chop chop."

"If I had just done my washing myself none of this would be happening right now." Ron complained as he turned towards the battered machine.

"Well, a valuable lesson has been learned then hasn't it? Don't leave your washing to other people to do." Tonks replied.

Ron grunted his reply before Tonks left the room with a satisfied smile on her face. Secretly though besides losing, Ron was smiling too. Tonks was becoming something different to the Tonks he knew from before all this, and Ron liked this Tonks better.

...

Liverpool Marina

Ashley cautiously encouraged out a miserable and ill-looking Hermione, who turned down every offering of food and drink immediately upon request. Ashley eventually made her battle her way through a slice of toast and a comforting cup of coffee. Breakfast was officially over when Larry returned from tying the boat to the jetty.

"This beauty ain't going anywhere, who's up for sight-seeing?"

Jessie intercepts before Ashley can answer an affirmative. "Actually sweetheart, we're running low on supplies so might we do a bit of shopping first?"

Larry scratched his head and gave her a wry smile. "Whoops, of course. Then sight-seeing afterwards."

Jessie turned to the two girls and told them "I don't think watching us squabble our way around a supermarket, buying everyday ordinary family stuff is what you girls want to be doing on this trip. You wouldn't be against waiting here on the boat until we get back, would you?"

Ashley swatted away the apologetic tone. "Don't worry about it, it's a relief really. We need to start organising what to do after all this, we should've had this done days ago but our little buttercup here got a taste of the sea, and her stomach doesn't like it."

Hermione frowned at her and thumped her shoulder.

With a grin Jessie grabbed her coat and Larry's as she made her way to the side of the boat. Larry followed like a lap dog. "Don't go anywhere until we get back, if I can't have any fun neither can you." Larry told them over his shoulder good-naturedly.

When the married couple made their way onto the jetty and waved their goodbyes before they were out of sight, Ashley turned to Hermione immediately about to question her on the tracking charm and what to do about it all. She was distracted by a slight frown on Hermione's face.

"What? I was just kidding when I called you a buttercup. It's not even accurate, buttercups are yellow not brown." Ashley defended with a bit of a tease.

Hermione shook her head absently. "It's not that."

"What is it then? You ain't got a headache now have you, I'm sure I can find Paracetamol somewhere to help you if you need it?"

Hermione patted Ashley's hands warmly. "Stop fretting you big, paranoid sweetie. I'm OK, just something on my mind."

"Come on then, don't keep me waiting."

"Well...it's probably nothing, just me being too nosey"

Ashley looked at the jetty where the two Helmsworths disappeared, then met their eyes again. "You don't mean you're concerned about Larry and Jess do you?"

"Not concerned, more confused."

"What about?"

"Their...relationship."

Ashley's eyebrows raised high on her face upon hearing that. "I did not expect that. Their relationship is perfectly healthy."

"I agree, a perfectly healthy relationship. But not exactly a passionate one." Hermione explained.

Ashley was getting a bit annoyed now. "I don't believe we're discussing whether a newly-married couple are having a decent love life together."

Hermione shrunk away as she sensed Ashley's irritation. "In my opinion...I don't think they are. But like I said I've probably got it all wrong."

"Yeah. I can definitely say you have, and I'm disappointed that at a time like this where we need to focus on more important things, like staying alive, all you can think about is nosing in on other people's relationships, coming to wrong conclusions about them. I never expected that sort of behaviour from you Hermione." Ashley heatedly lectured.

Hermione turned bright red from shame, but she tried to defend herself anyway. "You asked! This is why I didn't just come out and tell you!"

"That is completely beside the point. It's so...bitchy, what you are doing."

Hermione wilted under her companion's gaze. "I'm sorry." Ashley took a deep breath to calm her temper down, she was about to go on a more calmer tirade about respecting our hospitable hosts who seemed like decent people, more decent than many magic folk they have at the moment. Hermione continued on though. "But something does not sit right with me."

"Then tell me Miss Relationship-Guru, what doesn't sit right with you about Jess and Larry Helmsworth?"

Hermione didn't back down under Ashley's demeanour. "Well, have you ever seen them kiss at all in the past three days that we've been on this boat, of any kind, on the lips or cheeks or anything?"

Ashley thought back, clearly feeling quite confident that she wouldn't have to look through her memory bank for very long. In actual fact she soon realised she hadn't witnessed a single peck on the cheek or lingering kiss in their presence. "What, just because they don't kiss in front of people you think something is up, would you like me to ask if we watch them make love on the deck or something when they get back, to convince you?"

"No, obviously not." Hermione replied, but then another cog turned in her head. "But that's another point you've brought up. This is their honeymoon, where's all the...you know..."

"The sex?"

"I certainly hear nothing of a night time, do you? Their beds are only next to our little compartment."

Ashley folded her arms "Hasn't it occurred to you that that is probably why they aren't having sex, so they're not broadcasting the fact they are having sex next door to where their guests sleep?"

Hermione conceded that point. "Ok, I guess that makes sense. But-"

"No enough. So they aren't exactly Romeo and Juliet with their relationship, so what? Why is that such a hard thing for you to accept? Why is that affecting you? These people took us under their wing when they could've simply made us get off three stops back, or worse not picked us up at all. They have treated us like decent human beings, fed us, gave us comfort and shelter, they even aided you in your sickness. All that time you've overlooked all that and thought 'Gee, I wonder why Jess and Larry aren't romping their socks off next door?' I have bucket loads of respect for these two life-savers, and just now I've lost a tonne of respect for you." Ashley finished her furious outburst and made her own way off the boat.

Hermione sat chastised and overwhelmingly guilty. In a small voice she asked "Where are you going?"

"Away from you! I need to cool off." Ashley replied, not looking back to address her.

"But Larry told us not to leave the boat."

Ashley never responded

...

Ashley never ventured to far from the marina, she had to get back before the Helmsworth's so that they wouldn't get worried about her. Ashley would love to have marvelled at everything around her. There wasn't much difference here than there was in any other town or city, but the fact that this place was different and new because she had never experienced it before, it strangely enthralled her. Or it would've if she wasn't in the mood from hell.

Honestly, the gall of Hermione. Who did she think she is? Talk about a lack of gratitude. Ashley was observant in her own right, probably more so than Hermione, and Ashley saw nothing untoward with the couple. 'They never kiss. They don't have sex', what childishness. And from Hermione Granger.

Secretly, in that moment, Ashley was thinking how she missed such a flaw in Hermione when she built this troublesome attraction towards her. It was out of character entirely. She was attracted to a judgemental, ungrateful girl who desecrated the kindness of people going beyond the norm to make them welcome. Ashley was physically doting on this girl, hand on foot, something she hasn't done since she started dating Brie. Her affection meant nothing if the person she was affectionate for doesn't deserve it.

But Ashley adored Hermione, and knew her well. In their entire journeys together this bitchiness was never discovered. Surely then, this was just a blip. Surely, it's just stress or something, or the sickness. Hermione could not be thinking straight, or she wouldn't have been thinking all that at all. Ashley hoped that when she got back one of those excuses would be sent her way, and she would except it and move on, forgetting all about it.

A niggling thing however kept asking 'What if this wasn't a one off?'

Ashley couldn't deal with that voice and made her way to a cafe for a drink to keep her mind off it. She sat down at a table out in front of a Greggs. She looked around at people hurrying for their lunches in suits, teenagers laughing and joking as they scoffed down a toasted sandwich, an elderly lady choosing from a selection of tea cakes and scones. Decent human beings.

Ashley's gaze took a detour across the road, watching hundreds of people filter in and out a busy Sainsbury's. Amongst the crowd about to enter were Jess and Larry, Ashley was going to call out to them when she realised they thought she was back on the boat. Best that they not see her now.

Ashley instead watched them approach the entrance to go inside. But they never did.

And something wasn't right. They weren't wearing the same clothes that they left the boat in. Instead they had burgundy shirts with orange trim and black trousers. Matching outfits, but what for?

A man stepped out the shop wearing exactly the same attire, he began attending to the trolleys and that's when Ashley knew. They were wearing Sainsbury's staff uniform.

Alarm bells are up now. And as the couple walk around the corner of the building, Ashley knew she had to follow.

...

An: DUN DUN DUN

What are the Helmsworths up to? You'll find out in the next update.

Sorry for using a negative stereotype at Liverpool's expense in this chapter, I'm sure Liverpool is lovely. Also I'm a huge Reds fan and have been since 2005. Never been to Liverpool though sadly.

Also so I don't get reviews saying "Why hasn't Kingsley apparated to them now they are back on dry land?" Given time he could, but as there is such a distance between them and him (who's currently back in London at the Ministry) it takes him time to trace the spell and this visit to Liverpool is just a pit stop really.

And I don't really do chess, I understand the rules and the aim of the game but I can never really achieve the objective, I sort of go with it and do what I think is right. So it was hard for me to describe a chess match to you from the position of a non-player. I hope I did well.

Anyway time to go. Favourite and follow if you haven't already. Reviews too.

TBC...The Uncovering