Nott moved his knight away from the valuable center of the board. At first the move looked like a mistake but as Tamblin concentrated he thought he could see the gambit unfolding.
"A couple of Hufflepuff boys in our year were circulating a petition to get the Slytherin house removed from campus." Nott's eyes were on the board. "Naturally I asked to sign it."
Tamblin looked up from the board.
"Why?"
"To see how they'd react." Nott's soft features only had to flex just slightly to smile. "Are you sure you want to put your rook there?"
Tamblin looked back at the board.
"Yes."
"Good move."
"They may have a point," Tamblin said.
Nott was focused on the board.
"How's that?"
"Well it is reasonable to suppose the Heir of Slytherin would be a Slytherin. By kicking them all out you are likely to stop the attacks."
Nott smiled and looked up at Tamblin as his pawn ambled forward.
"And it's not like it'd be a big loss, right?" Nott's eyes were glittering.
"Some might say that the Slytherins brought it on themselves," Tamblin said.
Nott cocked his head. "Why do you think Salazar Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets?"
"You think it exists?"
"Oh, surely."
"Madness," Tamblin said.
"Excuse me?"
Tamblin said, "He built it out of madness. Insanity."
Nott smirked.
"Well I suppose that is one possibility. I was thinking something a bit more pedestrian. Remember the time when Hogwarts was founded. This was long before we had the benevolent Ministry of Magic to keep us hidden from Muggles. For our own good of course."
Nott smiled.
"Where was I? Oh yes. So when the school was founded wizards and witches were busy being persecuted by muggles, who always have and always will outnumber us. The school was designed to be a safe haven. It is a castle after all. A fortification. What do you think they were building walls to protect against? Other wizards? Sure to some extent, but mostly it was to protect against muggles. They knew that there were plenty of superstitious peasants in those days that, if they found a school full of wizards and witches, would have burned every child in the place."
Nott sat back, the game apparently forgotten.
"So they build a castle to protect their school. And then three of the four founders seriously suggest letting those same violent muggles into the school. One can forgive Salazar a bit of paranoia at the thought that the same people anxious to tie us to stakes were going to be at the PTA meetings."
Tamblin interjected, "and the Chamber?"
"A fail safe. A means to protect the school from the ravages of the muggles. Or a way to take vengeance if the worst occurred."
Tamblin shook his head, "the world is different now."
"Of course it is, which is why the Chamber should have been kept sealed. But during Salazar's time the Chamber was reasonable and prudent. He didn't foresee the future integration that would come. He only saw the threat to his people and acted to guard against it."
Nott leaned forward again.
"Now if you want madness you should look for who has opened the chamber now. I would say they are grossly misnamed as the 'Heir of Slytherin.'"
"You know who it is don't you?"
"By name? No, not at all. But in a way, yes." Nott was looking at the feeble sunlight coming through the high window.
"Meaning?"
Nott pointed at the chess board.
"It's a gambit. Slytherin's fail safe isn't needed any more for its original purpose. So why has someone opened it? To suit their agenda, not Salazaar's."
"Their agenda being..."
"To drive out the muggles, to close the school, to harm Dumbledore... all point toward the same conclusion."
"Voldemort is dead," Tamblin said.
"Don't be so narrow. You think the ideas he championed began or ended with him? Of course not. There are poles around which people array themselves."
He started to reset the board.
"Look here. A white side and a black side. Kings, queens, bishops, rooks, knights and pawns. Most especially pawns. Unlike chess, in real life if the king is captured a new king simply is promoted. The black pawns stay black and the white pawns stay white.
Nott held up a black pawn.
"Call these the Death Eaters."
He picked up a white one.
"And these Aurors."
He put both pawns back in place.
"Each is just so proud of his color that they forget that they remain pawns."
Nott picked up the white king.
"Dumbledore?"
Next the black king.
"Voldemort?"
"Now is the game any different..."
He placed the white king back in the black king's place and vice versa.
"...if we swap their places?"
He surveyed the board carefully.
"Nope everything stays the same. The respective groups just align to the opposite pole. The pawns remain pawns and the two sides still inevitably clash."
Tamblin thought of Cascata.
"And innocents suffer."
Nott frowned. "Everyone suffers, Tamblin. Do you imagine that kings really care for their pawns or hesitate to sacrifice them when it will bring them closer to victory?"
Nott stood up.
"I should be going. I have a substantial amount of homework. Thank you for the game."
Before he could leave, though, he turned back.
"By the way, do you think the most powerful wizard in the world really had no idea what would happen when Voldemort went to kill the Potters?" He seemed to consider this for a moment and then shrugged. "See you tomorrow, Tamblin."