Chapter Two – Deadly Boundaries
Black spots rose in his vision, as the hand holding him tightened.
Draco's movements slowed, as the Gryffindors watched appalled. Finally shaking himself out of his stupefaction, Harry glanced wildly around. Spotting some pieces of broken rock rather close to the board, he bent down and reached for it, careful to remain in his square. Standing up, Harry forcefully banged the bit of granite against the fingers of the bishop holding Malfoy. Eventually the smaller digits crumbled and the blonde collapsed to the ground, fortunately in his own square.
"Is he alive?!" Hermione gasped, her hand over her mouth as she looked at the downed figure.
Harry reached over and grabbed the Slytherin's shoulder, shaking him. Draco groaned, swatting the hand away and sitting shakily up.
"What in the nine levels of hell is going on?" Draco asked in a raspy voice, as he gently ran his fingers over his neck. His eyes finally focused on Harry, who stood watching him. "I should have known you'd be involved. What is happening?"
Harry blinked at his rival, as the boy finally got up and gazed around the chessboard. Slowly awareness returned to Malfoy's eyes and Harry could see just when the blonde recalled what was occurring.
"Damn. Thought it might have been some odd nightmare," Draco muttered to himself, before once again glancing towards Harry. "What did you help me for, Potter? I had that stone thing right where I wanted it!"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Sure you did, Malfoy. Yeah." He looked over to his friends across the board. "Looks like he's alive."
"Too bad," Ron said loudly, clearly not trying to conceal his words from the Slytherin.
As Draco's eyes narrowed, Harry rolled his eyes. "Let's just get going on this game, or we'll never get out of here. Come on."
Hermione nodded. "Harry's right . . ."
"Of course, Potter's always right, isn't he?" Draco drawled sarcastically.
Ignoring him, Hermione went on. "We need to do this. Now Ron, you're the best, so you should do as we did first year, telling us how to move."
"Oh no, no, no! I'm not letting Weasel-bee risk my life playing at general!" declared Draco, shaking his head.
Uttering a long-suffering sigh, Hermione explained, "He is the best player, and of course he would make sure none of us was injured, no matter who wins." She elbowed Ron into nodding.
"No way, Mudblood," replied Draco, with a scathing glare. "Like I actually think he would try to help me. And how do you know he's the best player. I'll have you know I was taught by the best, and . . ."
"LET'S PLAY!" yelled Harry, effectively cutting off Malfoy.
Turning another angry look on the Gryffindor beside him, Draco answered, "Fine. But I control our side."
Before Harry could object, Ron shouted out his side's first move. The stone pawn glided forward its two spaces. Malfoy followed suit with his own direction. Still uncomfortable with being under Malfoy's control, Harry nonetheless remained quiet as the game commenced, seeing that the Slytherin was issuing good moves, at least at the moment. For a while all that was heard was the commands, the movement of the pieces, and the crash as certain ones were taken by others. Thus far, none of the humans had been moved on the board.
As the play moved back to the black side once again, Malfoy looked around. Apparently seeing a move, his eyes narrowed slightly. He turned to Harry and Harry glanced first at him, then at the direction the boy had been looking. Suddenly he realized just what the Slytherin was planning.
"I am not doing that." Harry shook his head.
Draco growled low in his throat. "That is the best move, Potter. And that spot is just as safe as the one you're on now. Really, never would have taken you for a coward."
Ron glanced between them, then abruptly saw what was going on. He angrily called out, "Leave him alone, you bleach blonde ferret."
Draco sneered, his lip curling, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh come on. All it is, is moving. I'm not endangering anyone. And what, you thought we'd play a whole game with out the Queens and Kings moving? I thought you said you knew how to play."
"Of course he does, Malfoy," replied Hermione, turning her own sneer on the blonde. "He just isn't interested in killing anybody."
"And I am? Do you honestly think that I would risk being stuck here because of someone dying? As I don't want to not be able to leave, all because of maybe some charm that all that go in, have to come out, I will take care of your precious little Golden Boy."
Before Harry could cut in, as the flashing of his eyes showed he was about to, a low growl cut through the silence. The four unwilling companions glanced around nervously.
"Er, Ron?" asked Hermione.
"What?" Ron replied sharply.
"Tell me that was you."
"I can't."
"Oh." Hermione suddenly went silent, and her eyes widened. "Um, I think I found the noise."
Draco clapped his hands. "Goodie for you," he drawled sardonically. "Now do you think you would like to tell us what it is, sometime this year?"
When she didn't say anything, and merely pointed, Harry asked her, "Hermione, what is it? We can't see anything here."
"Er, I believe it's a, well, I think, from the pictures I've seen, but I can't be sure . . . They're not supposed to be around here. But we don't really know where here is, so maybe they could be . . ."
"What the hell is it?!" exclaimed Draco impatiently.
"A Quintaped."
Draco paled as much as was possible for him, and Harry's eyes widened. Ron blinked at Hermione, clearly not knowing what she was talking about.
"What is a Quine-Apped?" Ron asked.
"That is a Quintaped," she answered, gesturing more forcefully toward where she had been pointing.
Slowly a monstrous creature came out of the shadows surrounding the board. Walking on five legs, the thing was barely up to the students' waists, but the brutal teeth it was showing more than made up for that in intimidation.
"I don't think I like Quine-Appeds," Ron declared, edging away.
Hermione grabbed his arm, halting him. "Don't move off your space, remember?! And it's Quintaped, not Quine-Apped. Also known as a Hairy MacBoon."
"Well, I don't like those either!" he said, pulling at the arm holding him. "And what are we going to do, wait here for it to chomp us?!"
"In order to make it happy," Hermione explained, carefully watching the creature, "I think we'll have to play the game."
"WHAT?" Draco yelled from across the board. The Quintaped's eyes focused on Draco and started heading towards him, a hungry look in its eyes. Draco squeaked in fear and took one step forward. The Quintaped stopped only a mere four feet away from him. Draco breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your turn, Mudblood and Weasel," Draco said to Hermione and Ron. Harry couldn't take it anymore.
"Malfoy, do us all a favour, and SHUT UP!" Harry told the Slytherin. Draco cast Harry an evil look as he watched Hermione and Ron from across the board. Hermione walked diagonally, and before Harry realized what she was doing, she took their bishop.
"Damn," Draco muttered.
The Quintaped licked its lips as it watched the game in front of it.
The game progressed calmly for a bit, all the human players now taking turns giving commands. Both sides were playing well, taking as many pieces as they lost. After a few plays, though, the white side was at a significant disadvantage. Hermione looked at the board, then turned to Ron, deciding to see what he wanted to do. Ron studied the layout of their remaining pawns, trying to figure out if he needed to sacrifice one or not.
A few moments passed, neither side saying anything, though Malfoy huffed impatiently. Suddenly the Quintaped moved toward Ron, growling. Ron's face paled, and he took a step backwards, nearly stepping outside the borders of the board before remembering himself.
"Ron, you need to make a move, now," Hermione implored, her eyes glued to the monster's progress.
Ron nodded, but couldn't seem to say anything. So intent was he on the creature, that he failed to notice a dark shadow unwind itself from the base of one of the black rooks. Stammering, he attempted to say something, still watching the slowly moving Quintaped, but abruptly the dark essence slithered up and over his body.
With a scream, Ron started struggling. Harry made to move to him, but as his foot neared the next square, the Quintaped turned to him. The creature increased its pace towards him, only slowing once Harry backed fully into his square.
"Damn! What the hell?! Damn!" Harry exclaimed, frustrated.
"It's a Lethifold! It supposedly only attacks sleeping victims!" Hermione stated desperately.
Ron continued struggling against the creature, now unable to make noise as the Lethifold covered his face.
"That doesn't help anything, Hermione!" yelled Harry, now glancing around in a panic. "How do we stop it?!"
"I . . . Hell! I don't remember!" Hermione wailed.
As Ron fell to his knees, Draco finally spoke up. "I think only a Patronus charm repels them."
Hermione and Harry turned to him briefly in surprise. Harry let out a hissed breath. "That doesn't help! We don't have any wands!"
Glancing around, Draco suddenly said, "Hermione, move your knight!"
Turning around, Hermione yelled out, "Knight to E7!"
As the piece started gliding along, the shadow creature abruptly pulled away from Ron, who gasped heavily. Both the Quintaped and the Lethifold retreated back to their sentry positions near the edge of the board. For a moment the only thing heard was Ron's panting breath, as he knelt in his square. Slowly, his respiration mellowed out and he looked up.
"Ron, are you all right?" questioned Harry worriedly.
Ron nodded slightly, struggling to his feet. "Yeah, I'm okay. I think," he said in a choked voice.
Sighing, Hermione closed her eyes. Then they suddenly flew open and she turned towards Draco. "Did you just call me Hermione?!" she asked incredulously.