Chapter 9: The King
21 November 1991
It was Thursday.
Harry woke up and went to the Great Hall for breakfast. He noticed that the other Slytherin first-years were already eating.
Harry had some toast. Draco and Pansy were both eating eggs.
"Ready for herbology, Harry?", Pansy asked.
"Absolutely", Harry said. "The more points Slytherin earns, the better."
"The eating habits of those Gryffindors are just disgusting", Draco said. "Such atrocities. Look at Weasley eating all that bacon."
Ron Weasley was wolfing down the bacon at the Gryffindor table. His avarice and greed clearly seemed appalling and nauseating to Draco and Pansy.
"I could vomit after seeing that", Pansy said.
"Doesn't he realize how mortifying that looks?", Daphne asked.
"Well, I have to acknowledge that bacon does taste pretty good, so I have to give Weasley credit for that", Harry said. "Don't get me wrong, he's still a prat, but I can kind of understand the mentality of wanting to eat more bacon."
After breakfast, Harry headed to herbology with the other Slytherin first-years.
"Wotcher, Slytherins!", Terry Boot said when the Slytherins passed him and the other Ravenclaw first-years.
"Likewise, Terry!", Theodore said. "Wotcher!"
At least the Ravenclaws didn't try to act as righteous as the Gryffindors did. At least they were self-aware to an extent. The Ravenclaws at least were willing to give the Slytherins credit rather than just make assumptions based on bullshit and old prejudices and stereotypes.
"You know, we should definitely socialize more often, when we're free", Terry said. Ravenclaw first-years Mandy Brocklehurst, Michael Corner, and Anthony Goldstein seemed to be feeling the same way.
"Well, we'll see", Draco said. "We're kind of occupied, with our studies and shit."
"Our schedules are hectic too", Michael said.
"Don't Ravenclaws love studying though?", Tracey asked jokingly.
"Hey, come on. We take pride in studying, but even us Ravenclaws can get exhausted occasionally", Terry said.
"Well, we'll be seeing you", Harry said. They all resumed walking to their respective classes.
Harry was sitting in Herbology, hoping to glorify his house even more. This stuff wasn't rocket science or something too difficult to understand. Granger would have answered Professor Sprout's questions in a heartbeat.
"Can anyone tell me the purpose of the Fire-Making Spell?", Professor Sprout asked.
Harry then raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"The objective of the Fire-Making Spell is to be of usage during combat, destroy any unnecessary objects, and to eliminate dangerous plants, the Devil's snare being one of them." Harry had remembered Crabbe telling him about using that spell on Quirrell during the Quidditch match against Gryffindor.
"Correct, Mr. Potter. Ten points to Slytherin."
Harry tried not to smile. He didn't want to look arrogant or conceited. Still, the Slytherins would only admire him more after points were being given to them.
"Another question. What three potions are produced with the infusion of Wormwood?"
Harry raised his hand again.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"Those three potions are the Draught of Living Death, Elixir to Induce Euphoria, and the Shrinking Solution", Harry answered.
"Correct. Another ten points to Slytherin."
Draco and Pansy grinned at Harry.
"So, I'll have all of you paired in groups of two. You'll all be given a chance to burn some devil's snare, and then afterwards try to get rid of some spiky bushes."
Draco paired with Theo. Blaise paired with Millicent. Crabbe and Goyle always stuck together.
"Hey, Pansy, you want to work together?", Harry asked.
"Sure", Pansy said with a smile on her face. She seemed pleased with this.
"Okay, first the devil's snare", Harry said. "Pansy, you want to give it a try?"
"Sure", Pansy said, seemingly with hesitation.
Pansy looked at the Devil's Snare in front of her, looking terrified.
"Don't worry, Pansy. Give it your best shot. Just cast Incendio."
Pansy took a deep breath, then cast.
"Incendio!", she said in fierce tone of voice. Some of the devil's snare burned away. The rest of it still remained.
"I'll take care of the rest", Harry said. "Incendio! Incendio!", he commanded as determined as he possibly could be.
The Devil's snare in front of Harry and Pansy disappeared.
"Well done, Potter and Parkinson", Professor Sprout said. "Twenty points each to Slytherin."
Pansy smiled at Harry and squealed with delight.
"Now to focus on the spiky bushes", Professor Sprout said. "The best option regarding these nasty things is to eradicate them from a distance."
One of the bushes shot a spike in Pansy's direction.
"Protego!", Harry yelled, blocking the spike from hitting Pansy by using the shield charm.
Harry then pointed his wand at the bushes and yelled, "Incendio!"
The bushes withered away from existence.
"Excellently done, Potter! Ten more points to Slytherin!"
After classes ended, the Slytherin first-years decided to head back to the common room.
When they arrived at the common room, Draco pulled out his Wizard's Chess set.
"Harry, I've noticed you've been struggling lately when playing Wizard's Chess. So, we'll go over the fundamentals."
"We'll start with the king", Draco said.
"Harry, you should pull out your quill and a piece of parchment", Theodore said.
Harry nodded and pulled out a quill.
"What square is the white king at during the beginning of the game?", Draco asked.
Harry wrote down on the parchment e1.
"Now write down the square the black king starts at when the game begins."
Harry wrote down on the parchment e8.
"All right, I will now command the white king to move to the d5 square", Draco said.
The white king walked to d5.
"Now write down all the squares the white king is able to move to", Draco said.
Harry wrote down on the parchment c6, d6, e6, c5, e5, c4, d4, and e4.
"Now, I'll have the white king move to e5", Draco said.
The white king walked to e5.
"Write down the squares that the king can move to from this position", Draco said.
Harry wrote down on the parchment d6, e6, f6, d5, f5, d4, e4, and f4.
"I'll re-position the white king to e1", Draco said.
The white king walked to e1.
"Write down the squares the white king can move to from this square", Draco said.
Harry wrote down on the parchment d2, e2, f2, d1, and f1.
"I'll have the white king move to a1", Draco said. "Now, which squares can the king move to from here?"
Harry wrote down on the parchment a2, b2, and b1.
"So, Harry, what can you conclude from these findings?", Draco asked.
"The white king had more squares to move to when it was in the center, but fewer squares on the edge or in the corner", Harry said, trying to explain. "This shows that the white king must be in the center during the endgame when most of the pieces have been captured. The side whose king is the most active during a king and pawn endgame should be dominant."
"Correct", Blaise said.
"Now I'll try something different", Draco said. "I'll put the white king on e4 and the black queen on d8. Now, write down the available squares for the white king."
Harry wrote down on the parchment e5, f5, f4, e3, and f3.
"Can you explain why the king had less squares to move to in this position?", Theodore asked.
"The black queen was attacking the squares d5, d4, and d3. The white king was not allowed to move to those squares because it is not allowed to move into check", Harry said.
"That's right", Draco said.
"Let's try moving the white king to the edge of the board", Draco said. "We'll place the white king on a1 and the black queen on d2. Now, which squares can the white king move to?"
Harry wrote down on the parchment b1.
"Now, Harry, do you want to explain why the white king had only one square to move to?"
"The black queen was controlling all the other squares around a1. This shows that the queen can easily trap a lone king during the endgame. This is the type of position the superior side should go for if they have a king and queen against a lone king. They should, of course, be careful not to produce stalemate in the process."
"Correct, Harry!", Draco exclaimed. "I think you're gaining more understanding and insight about this."