Summary: In which Hermione Granger is a master at chess. With a post-War, school-wide chess tournament scheduled at the end of the year, Hermione is stuck between her pride and beating Ron at chess. She somehow winds up practicing with Draco Malfoy, of all people, and getting closer to him all the while.
Mature themes and explicit language.
Disclaimer: I'm ready and waiting for Rowling to sign over all HP rights to me. So far, though, she hasn't.
The Hogwarts' Annual Championship Tournament of Chess: 1
Ronald Weasley was a master at chess. Everyone at Hogwarts knew it.
His chess skills were that of Hogwarts legend. He had beaten McGonagall's giant chess set in their first year, and rumors of the match had only grown since then.
And despite that, the current Prefects, when deciding which few school-wide activities would be held through the year, thought a chess tournament would be fun.
Ron had been swaggering throughout the halls of Hogwarts ever since he heard about the tournament, which would be held in May to give students enough time to enter and practice before the tournament.
Hermione didn't understand his confidence. Just because he won one - albeit large - game a few years ago didn't mean he would win the tournament, and his constant gloating was getting on her nerves. And she still had months to go before he would be put to the test.
"Look," Hermione sighed in the Prefects meeting, her Head Girl badge feeling heavy from its place where it was pinned on her robes, "is a wizard's chess tournament really what we need this year? Most of us are in our seventh or eighth years," she gestured to the Prefects who had returned to complete their education, "and we'll be too busy studying for our exams to focus on a tournament-"
"I agree," a strange voice cut in, and Hermione jumped. Draco Malfoy hadn't spoken in any of the meetings, even though he was Head Boy, a decision that shocked Hermione when she first saw the badge glinting on his chest but made sense as time went on. Malfoy contributing to the discussion was strange, but she was glad he was on the same page as her. "A chess tournament sounds like a little too much work with exams and other activities we've planned."
Hermione glanced over at her unexpected partner warily. Malfoy had kept to himself all year, rarely talking except for when he was called on in class. She hadn't meant to be watching him for the few months they had gone back to school, but she couldn't help it. Something about the way he carried himself this year fascinated her. He sat by himself at the end of the Slytherin table during meals and was always in the library whenever she walked in, which was a considerable feat. He also didn't put in much effort when they were making Head decisions, leaving her to deal with the Prefects schedule on her own and only stepping in when he had a comment. Granted, the few tips he had given her did help a lot, which grated on her nerves, so she had learned to trust that he knew what he was doing whenever he opened her mouth.
But the strangest thing about him was that he would always leave the library whenever she ventured in to study or browse the shelves. At first, she assumed it was a strange coincidence, but once she had started watching him, she noticed that he would always pack his books and notes and be gone by the time she managed to get her quill out of her bag.
With a firm shake of her head, Hermione forced herself back into the discussion. "Can't we just schedule another dance?" She groaned, and Victoria Wilson, a seventh-year Hufflepuff, rolled her eyes with a scoff.
"Hermione, you hate dances, I think you'd prefer the tournament, honestly."
"Nah, she knows she'd lose to Ron, so she'd rather do anything but the tournament," Ernie Macmillan chimed in with a smirk, and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
She wanted to hex whoever thought Hufflepuffs weren't a major pain in the arse.
The school knew Ronald Weasley was a master at chess. What they didn't know was that Hermione Granger was also a master at chess. She just… hadn't beaten Ron yet.
"While that does sound like a valid reason Granger would be so against the tournament, it feels like the whole idea is catered to a specific weasel who isn't even in the room right now," Malfoy snarked, tilting his head a fraction. Hermione slightly hated herself for noticing his shift.
"C'mon, Hermione," Parvati Patil coaxed, "it'll be fun. And it won't be mandatory participation, either. You can just be a spectator."
"Prefects and the Heads are expected to follow through with whatever activities they decide on. That's why for Yule, Malfoy and I will have to start the dance and the rest of you need to join in for the second song before the floor fully opens up for the rest of the school." Hermione crossed her arms and leaned against her desk, the wood digging into her tailbone.
"Who's to say we even get a lot of takers for the tournament," Ravenclaw's Noah Wright cut in. "We all know Ron's going to win." Hermione clenched her hands into fists from where they were crossed and then noticed Malfoy eyeing her carefully. He stiffened as he caught her gaze and focused his attention on Noah. "We probably won't have a lot of students sign up. It won't be as fun that way."
"Then we need a prize!" Astoria Greengrass jumped to her feet. "Something that will make people want to sign up. That's how the Headmasters managed to have so many students put their names in for the Triwizard Tournament. Everyone wanted the gold and the glory."
"We won't have any gold and the glory will only last until they're out of Hogwarts," Hermione pointed out.
Ernie shrugged. "We could try and pitch this as an annual tournament. You can get your name on a tapestry and a bunch of prizes from Hogsmeade that we can all pitch in for. Or maybe every person who signs up has to add something of their own."
"That's not a bad idea," Edward Harper mused, fiddling with his green tie. "If students are motivated to win what everyone else donated, we'll have a lot of signups."
Hermione glanced around the room, noting her only ally was one who bullied her mercilessly for years. With a sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand. "Fine," she grumbled, "I guess we're having the chess tournament."
And that was how Hermione was roped into setting up a school-wide chess tournament. It also led to a very, very bad judgment call.
Her day had started out relatively normal. She had posted October's Prefect patrol schedule, ate breakfast in the Great Hall with Harry and Ron while keeping an eye on Malfoy, who picked at his plate, and went to classes. She went to the library in between lunch and her next class and watched Malfoy practically run away from her as she entered.
After dinner, she had been laughing with Ginny about some band the red-headed witch was in love with in the Common Room when the subject of the chess tournament popped up. Hermione did her best to avoid the conversation, but Ron was clearly trying to antagonize everyone into facing him at one point in the tournament.
"I'll go easy on you, Harry, but Gin, you'd better watch out," he laughed boisterously, the sound grating on Hermione's nerves.
"That's not how the tournament works, Ronald," she finally snapped when he continued to heckle everyone in the Common Room.
"What?" He paused, and the buzz of conversations around them faded as they watched the upcoming conflict.
"The tournament," she said angrily, crossing her arms, "odds are you won't face everyone. You'll be pit against someone of every House and then it varies depending on who wins and continues on in the tournament."
"Even if I have to beat the other Houses, I still have the win in my pocket," he chuckled, stretching his arms above his head. "It won't matter if I have to beat Harry now or later, then."
"There's no guarantee that you'll win," she muttered lowly, "there are sure to be others who are better than you."
"Like who?" Nigel Wolpert cut in, amused.
"We're sure the win would go to Ron, Hermione, he beat McGonagall's giant chess set, remember?" Dennis Creevey asked, and Hermione narrowed her eyes at the boy.
"Yes, I know, I was there."
"Ooh, I think 'Mione's a little jealous she isn't the best at something," Ginny teased at her side, and Hermione huffed under her breath.
"That's not true," she protested, temper sparking and threatening a fate close to death if the - stupidly - loyal Gryffindors didn't stop pushing her.
"Of course it is, Hermione," Seamus Finnegan plopped onto a nearby sofa. "We know how you are."
"How I am, excuse me-"
"C'mon, 'Mione, don't worry so much about it. Sorry you'll lose, but I'm curious how far you'll get!" Ron laughed, getting playful jabs on his sides from some of the nearby Gryffindors.
"I could beat you at the tournament if I truly wanted to," Hermione finally snapped, her extremely fragile patience vanishing.
The Gryffindors made a collective 'oooh' noise as they pressed into a closer circle to see how Ron would react.
"You heard it here, folks," Seamus laughed as if he were an announcer and the conversation mattered, "Hermione Granger thinks she could beat Ron at the chess tournament!" The room burst into chatter as everyone jokingly placed their bets, all of them in Ron's favor.
"Don't worry, that's just all talk," Ron raised his hands to placate the room but only incensed Hermione further. He was playing her off as a joke! Of course, she didn't know for sure if she'd beat Ron, she had watched him play for years and he was admittedly very good, but he didn't have to make it sound like she was just trying to make up for a lack in talent. "She has to compete since she's Head Girl, but she won't put in the effort to make it to the top."
"Because she's scared she'll lose," someone from the back snorted.
"That's enough," Hermione snapped. "I don't like any of your insinuations!"
"Then play the tournament for real," Dean Thomas said, leaning forward, and the room went silent. "And then we can see if you're all talk or not."
Hermione was backed into an impossible corner. On the one hand, if she backed down, they would never let her forget it. But if she played…
She went against her better judgment. "Fine. I'll play for real." Immediately, there was a high dose of regret in the situation and her response, but there was no correct answer. At least, not to satisfy both her pride and the Gryffindors who might love to gamble too much, considering how often she caught Galleons exchanging hands during Quidditch matches or even class periods.
Muttering under her breath, Hermione stayed in the Common Room solely because if she ran out immediately, they would know she was panicking. Instead, she had to wait an hour, smiling through clenched teeth the entire time, before she could bolt into her dorm room and close the curtains surrounding her bed.
She was fucking doomed. If this wasn't the worst mistake she made in her life - barring Obliviating her parents, that one would continuously haunt her - she was afraid to see what else she would do.
a/n: I'm still trying to figure out how many chapters I can get out of my draft, but I'm almost done editing the full thing and then I can divide it into sections. Looking at the word count, I'm aiming for less than 10. I sort of regret letting the title be extremely long, but I think it's mostly worth it for the jokes in later chapters.
Hope you enjoyed it! Please read and review.
Next chapter: 7/4
- Meg
