Sole Survivor
Day Thirty-One
I'm awakened this morning by an irritating breeze in my ear. Keeping my eyes shut, I wrap my arms around my pillow and try to ignore the breeze, but it seems to be persistent and aimed straight at my head.
I open one eye and turn my head to find the source. Malfoy's leaning over me, blowing on me. He sees my open eye and grins.
"Please tell me you're not always this cheerful in the morning."
"Only when I get to wake you up." I put my pillow over my face, but he pulls it away. "How'd you sleep?"
I realize this was, quite possibly, the best night's sleep I've had out here on the island. "Really great, actually."
"Good. Because we already have news of the next reward challenge."
I sit up and stretch luxuriously. "You're kidding, right? This seems really early."
"Apparently they felt we need practice."
Now my curiosity is piqued. Malfoy helps me up, and we exit the shelter into the bright sunlight. I shield my eyes with one hand and spot the rest of the group gathered in a circle. Malfoy and I join the circle. Pete glowers up at the both of us, but Kiki graces me with a broad smile.
"Have a good sleep, princess?" She bats her eyes at me.
"Sure did. Barely felt the pea. What's the challenge?"
Ellen opens up a bag and pulls out a deck of cards, along with a tattered copy of Poker for Dummies. There's the usual rhyming message on the side of the bag, this time encouraging us to "gather our chips to take exotic trips on pirate ships."
"Obviously," Sheryl ruminates, "we're going to play poker. I guess we should practice. What should we use for chips?"
After casting around the camp, Sheryl volunteers to take the rhyming bag and fill it with pebbles from the rocky area down the beach. As she heads out to gather the rocks, we smooth out an area of sand for a playing surface. I pick up the poker book and riffle through the pages.
"Hey, guys." I open the book to the section on Hold'em poker. "I think I found a clue." There's a skull and crossbones drawn next to the explanation of the game of Texas Hold'em.
Ellen looks pensive. "I've never even heard of that game. Isn't poker just the five cards?"
Oh, this is glorious. If everyone is as clueless as Ellen, I may have this challenge in the bag. Not only have I played poker, I've played Hold'em. It was, in fact, the game we played every Friday night in the Gryffindor common room my sixth and seventh years. Harry brought the game to us, and both Ron and I quickly took to it. Other students would come in, learn the game, and quickly be relieved of their sickles and knuts. Even after school, Ron would host monthly poker games out at the Burrow, and I would occasionally join in. Though I haven't played in the last three years, since the war and the subsequent drifting apart of friends.
I decide to play innocent during this practice session. "Well, aren't there other versions, like a seven-card-something?" Ellen shrugs at me.
Sheryl returns with the so-called chips, and I paraphrase the introduction to Hold'em poker out loud.
"Each player is dealt two cards, called the 'pocket cards.' These cards are yours and only yours. A round of betting commences. Then three community cards, called the 'flop,' are dealt to the center of the table. The community cards are cards that everyone can use. Another round of betting, followed by a fourth community card, called the 'turn.' More betting, then a fifth and final community card, called the 'river.' There's one final round of betting, then whoever has the best five-card poker hand out of their seven combined cards wins."
"I don't know if I can keep all that straight," murmurs Ellen.
I open the book to a different page. "Here's a list of poker hands. You see, it goes from high card to pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush. Whoever has the best hand wins."
She looks at me, amazed. I'm worried she's picked up on my poker expertise, but that's not the case. "So … if you had three twos, that would be a better hand than a pair of aces? Even though they're aces?"
Malfoy cuts in. "It's all math and odds, Ellen. It's harder to get three of any given card than two of any given card. The ranking of hands is merely a chart of the difficulty of being dealt any of those combinations."
Ah, so Malfoy knows something about poker. Not surprising, since his mysterious Best Friend Harry is quite the poker player himself. I try to picture Malfoy and Harry playing a friendly game of cards, but I'm entirely unsuccessful. However, it's the only way I can imagine a pureblood wizard becoming familiar with a Muggle game like poker.
Sheryl divides up the pebbles as evenly as possible, giving us each a pile of around a hundred. Since this is just a practice round, I'm not overly concerned with playing well. Instead, I want to get a feel for everyone's playing style.
We explain to Ellen about how after each hand the next person to the left becomes the dealer. Malfoy suggests that, instead of trying to explain the concept of betting blinds, where the two players after the dealer are forced to bet, we just each ante in one pebble at the beginning of every hand. Malfoy shuffles and deals two cards to everyone, and we're off.
The game runs surprisingly smooth, with only a few small questions from Ellen before she begins to get the hang of it. She's not playing terribly well, and she smiles to herself whenever she gets good cards. I'm not about to point this out to her, though. It's a valuable piece of information to hold on to in the actual game.
I let myself lose some hands intentionally, just so I don't seem that good. Most of my concentration is on the other players. Sheryl tends to wrinkle her nose at bad cards; Kiki plays with her pile of rocks when she's excited about a hand. Pete's harder to read, but I think I finally figure out that he holds his cards differently depending on the strength of his hand, as if to keep better hands closer to him and push lesser cards as far away as possible, even when bluffing.
Malfoy is unreadable. His poker face is even better than Harry's was, though his playing style is very similar to Harry's. No matter what his hand, good or bad, his expression remains placid and his manner stays cool. He's going to be the one to beat, and it might be difficult.
After several hours of play, divided with short breaks, we take a longer break for a late lunch. After lunch, just as we're about to resume practice, we find out it's time to go to the challenge.
Ellen's face is panic-stricken. "I thought we'd be practicing today, and playing tomorrow!"
"Apparently not." Pete brusquely ignores her panic and strides off toward the trees. He gets to the edge of the jungle, turns back to us, and holds out his hands. "Coming, people?"
Kiki bends down to tie the shoelace on her sneaker next to me. "I swear," she mutters, "one of these days I'm going to kick that man in a place he definitely won't like."
I stifle my giggles, stand up, and walk toward the trees with the others. On the way, Malfoy taps my shoulder.
"Nice playing. You must have had a good teacher."
I grin at him. "Probably no better than yours."
"No tricks?" He has enough faith in his poker abilities that he wants no use of magic.
"You're on," I whisper back.
It's a short trek to one of the nearer challenge sites. When we arrive, I'm amazed to see an actual tournament-style poker table set up on the beach, surrounded by six very comfortable-looking chairs and manned by an actual dealer, one of the only outsiders we've seen since the game began.
Marcus is there waiting for us, of course. He gives us a broad, toothy grin. "I hope you've all had enough practice, because now it's time to play for real." He pulls out six racks of casino quality clay poker chips, all identical. "I have two thousand dollars here for each of you, in the form of two hundred ten-dollar chips."
He hands us each a rack of chips and we take our seats at the table. I'm seated on the dealer's right, with Ellen on the dealer's left. Malfoy is next to Ellen on the end of the table, and Kiki is on the end next to me. Across the table on the long side are Pete and Sheryl. I pull my chips out of the rack and arrange them next to me in ten stacks of twenty. Malfoy has already set up his area of the table the same way. Pete and Kiki follow suit, but Sheryl and Ellen seem content to keep their chips in the plastic racks.
"This island was once a haven for pirates," begins Marcus. "Cutthroat scoundrels of the seas. Quite likely they met and drank and gambled to pass the time. Just as you will be drinking and gambling to win today's reward. Part of the reward is the drinking." He pauses for a moment, then brings out a chest full of ice. I want to bury myself in all that coldness; it's been a month since I've seen an ice cube.
He reaches down into the ice with both hands, pulling out a can of Coke in one hand and a can of Diet Coke in the other. I've never been much of a cola drinker, but the thought of drinking one of those ice-cold soft drinks has me salivating like Pavlov's dog.
"You'll have these cold beverages to keep you refreshed while you play. But of course, that's not the only reward. The winner will get to enjoy an actual pirate experience." Marcus points down the beach toward the water. We all turn and see an amazing triple-masted schooner anchored far out in the lagoon. We'd all been so shocked by the poker table, nobody bothered to look out into the water.
"Tomorrow, the winner will be able to spend part of the day out at sea on that ship. You'll be taken out in time to be served lunch, and will stay until after a gourmet dinner." He pauses, and we know there's more to come.
"In between lunch and dinner, you'll be free to swim, sunbathe, read, whatever you want. There will be a fresh water shower available, as well as a fresh set of clothes waiting for you from the luggage you left with us." We're all grinning like idiots, anticipating the reward.
"Oh, and one more thing," he adds almost as an afterthought. Marcus pauses for what feels like an eternity. "For three hours of that time between lunch and dinner, you will not be on camera."
I'm staring at him as if he just announced that Jupiter is his home planet. I'm pretty sure everyone else is doing the same.
"There will be no cameras, no microphones, no crew members. A three-hour reprieve from the game." Marcus gives us the toothy grin again. "So, are we ready to play?"
Marcus passes the cold cans of Coke around the table. I grab a Diet Coke, crack it open and take a long drink. Everyone else is doing the same. The dealer shuffles the cards, and the game begins.
* * * * * * * * * *
After the first hour, only four of us are left in the game. Ellen fell by the wayside after only twenty minutes, foolishly betting all of her remaining chips on the strength of two pair when there were four diamonds in the community cards. She showed her hand with a smile, then her expression darkened when Pete, the only other player left in the hand, flipped over the King of diamonds from his pocket cards. Sheryl finished playing after putting her chips behind a very decent hand, a straight from seven to Jack. Unfortunately, I had a Queen in my hand, and beat her with a slightly higher straight.
I'm folding most hands, only playing a few strong combinations of cards, which seems to be working. Kiki and Pete are much looser players, and it shows in their shorter stacks of chips. Malfoy is slightly ahead of me in chips, but the two of us are the clear chip leaders in this game.
Another hour puts Kiki out of the game. She went all-in with a pair of Aces, one on the table and one in her hand. But Malfoy had two Jacks in his hand, matching a third on the table. Kiki sighs as she gets up from the seat next to me.
"Nice playing, guys." She ruffles my hair with her hand and moves over to the shade with the other two women.
Now it's down to three. I'm on the right of the dealer. Pete's straight across from me on the long side of the table, and Malfoy is down on the end to my left. We play for another hour before we get a break to stretch our legs. I count my chips. Out of the $12,000 we started with, split evenly amongst six players, I now have a little over $5,000. Malfoy's stack is only slightly smaller than mine, leaving Pete with roughly $2,000.
Our dealer switches out. We actually have two, taking turns to deal for an hour and then rest for an hour. We sit back down and begin the fourth hour of play.
The cards slide across the table. Pete picks his up, studies them carefully, then sets them face down on the table as far away from himself as possible without actually folding the hand. He reaches for his chips and bets $500. I keep my face expressionless, but in my head I'm turning somersaults. From the way he set his cards down, I know he's bluffing.
The play comes to me, and I pull my cards toward me and turn up the corners, checking my hand. The Ace of clubs and Queen of clubs.
I make a show of considering my cards. I toy with some chips as if I'm trying to make a decision. Then I pick up several stacks of chips and move them to the center of the table. "I raise you to a thousand."
The dealer turns to Malfoy. After a quick check of his cards, he tosses them to the dealer, folding his hand. The action returns to Pete, who has to decide whether to throw away his cards, and his initial bet of $500, or to add another $500 to the pot. A redness starts to rise in his cheeks, and from the tightness of his lips, I can tell that he's very angry. Obviously I should have given in to his bluff like a good little girl.
I keep my face serene and expressionless. He glances at me, pulls his cards toward him, looks at them again, then puts them back down. He spends a few moments fiddling with his very short stack of chips. If he calls me, he'll have a thousand dollars in the pot, roughly half of his chips. If he folds, he will have lost a full quarter of his stack. Or, he could push his entire two thousand into the center of the table, hoping to intimidate me into throwing away the hand.
Pete grinds his teeth together as he thinks. Even though he hates Malfoy, I suspect it would hurt him even more to be beaten by me, simply because I'm female. He doesn't want to back down.
He mutters, "I'm all in." With a sweep of his hands, he knocks his chips over to the center of the table.
He barely has the words out of his mouth before I declare, "I call." I count out another thousand in chips and toss them into the center of the table. I turn over my cards, showing Pete my suited Ace and Queen, before standing up from the table and stretching.
He sits there quietly for a moment, then turns over his cards. Eight of diamonds, six of spades. Not the worst pocket cards in the world, but certainly nothing to go all-in for. Pete stands up as well and starts pacing back and forth across the table from me. The dealer gathers all of the chips into an untidy pile, then deals the first three community cards.
Four of clubs, eight of hearts, two of spades.
"Hell yeah!" Pete shouts. He now has a pair of eights. No matter how lovely my Ace and Queen, I'm no longer the odds-on favorite hand.
The dealer places the turn card on the table. Jack of clubs.
It doesn't help Pete at all, but I'm now on a flush draw. Between my cards and the community cards, there are four clubs. All I need is a club, an Ace or a Queen, and the hand is mine.
Pete is now standing still, staring intently at the dealer. I glance at Malfoy, sitting calmly at the other end of the table. His face is completely impassive, but I can see that his hands, resting on the table, are balled into fists. His eyes catch mine, and I can tell he's just as tense as Pete and I.
The dealer places the river card on the table. Pete sees that it's an eight and emits a barking laugh, since it's given him three of a kind. I sit down quietly at the table and wait for him to notice.
His laugh cuts short with a sound like a man being strangled. The river card is the eight of clubs, giving me my flush.
Marcus announces Pete's elimination, and the dealer shoves the pile of chips toward me. I calmly stack them up while Pete storms away, kicking at the sand and cursing a blue streak.
I move one seat to the right so that I'm straight across from Malfoy, the whole length of the table between us. With Pete's chips, I'm ahead by about two thousand dollars. As the dealer shuffles the cards, I look across the table at Malfoy. He has his impassive poker face on. Which makes it look very strange when he drops a wink. I put on my own expressionless expression, then raise one eyebrow at him.
The next hour of play is very repetitive. For every hand Malfoy wins, I win a similar hand. At the end of the fourth hour of play, we're roughly equal in chips. The rest of the team is growing restless and bored. The shade from the trees has stretched across the beach and the sun is sinking lower in the sky, staining the horizon a bright orange. Our dealer stands up and stretches, ready to be replaced. Marcus saunters over to the table.
"I see this game isn't going to be over anytime soon, so I'm here to offer a deal."
Malfoy and I both look up at him, waiting for him to continue.
"You can either continue to play until one of you wins, or you can call the game a draw right now and share the reward. You'll both get to spend the day out on the ship, and you'll both be able to enjoy the three hours off-camera."
Oh, this is better than being dealt pocket Aces.
I look at Malfoy, who looks back at me. His eyes are twinkling with amusement. I give him an almost imperceptible nod, letting him know I'm completely up for taking the offer.
Malfoy clears his throat. "I'd be willing to accept that, Marcus, if Hermione is."
I look up at Marcus. "I'll accept the offer, but only on one condition." Marcus raises one eyebrow at me. "One last hand, we both go all-in, so Draco and I both know who the winner is."
Marcus smiles at me. "You have a deal." Malfoy and I both stand up from the table as our dealer returns. He shuffles the cards and deals two to each of us. I pick up my cards and look at them briefly before placing them face-up on the table. Nine and Jack of diamonds. Malfoy likewise checks his cards, then places them on the table. Seven of clubs, Jack of hearts. We both have a Jack high, but I have the better side card. All other things being equal, I will win this hand.
The dealer places the first three cards, the flop, in the center of the table. A ten, a two and a seven. Malfoy grins, seeing his pair. But I have an inside straight draw – all I need is an eight. The turn card is placed on the table.
Eight of spades.
Malfoy's face falls. I've been given my straight, seven through Jack. Malfoy can't win, and there are only three cards in the deck – the remaining nines – that can give him a tie. The dealer places the final card on the table.
It's the nine of clubs.
Malfoy and I have tied on this last hand. We both have the same straight, seven through Jack. We stare silently across the table at each other. He has a dreamy half-smile on his face. The evening sunlight is striking his hair, making it shine like gold. I've never seen him look more beautiful.
Marcus clears his throat. "Well, I don't think anyone expected that to happen." He glances to Malfoy, then to me. "Do you two want to play another hand?"
Malfoy shakes his head. "I'd like to leave the results exactly how they are." I nod my head in agreement.
"Well then." Marcus shakes both of our hands. "Congratulations on winning the reward. We'll send for you shortly before lunchtime tomorrow. You can all head back to camp now."
I'm practically floating on air for the rest of the evening. A whole half-day with Malfoy, three hours of which will be completely without intrusion. I can finally find out everything about him.
Not that it matters, I think to myself as we wrap our arms around each other that night in our customary way before falling asleep. I've seen enough magic in my life to know that when something magical happens, I need to pay attention. Even if I didn't know anything about where he's been or what he's done, the Fates have spoken in the form of one hand of Hold'em poker.