Chapter 19: Legal Trap

23 December 1991

The next few weeks seemed to pass by in what felt like minutes. Harry and Draco continued attending classes and Quidditch practices. They studied as hard as they could for their midterm exams. They had revised many nights with the other Slytherin first-years.

Jocasta Mulciber had recovered and seemed to be happier and more joyful. On 9 December 1991, Harry and Draco both went to the hospital wing to see how Jocasta was feeling.

"Jocasta, are you feeling all right?", Harry asked.

Jocasta hugged both Harry and Draco when they approached her bed in the hospital wing.

"I'm feeling much better. I'll be allowed to leave the hospital wing tomorrow."

"I'm so sorry this happened to you", Harry said. "I feel responsible…"

"It's not your fault, Harry", Jocasta said. "There is no need for you to feel guilty."

"We'll see you around, then", Draco said.

Harry and Draco brewed their potions successfully for the rest of the potion lessons in December. Ronald Weasley, thankfully, was leaving them alone and not bothering them. Of course, he could always resume his ignorant and petty behavior at any time. Still, it was nice not to be bothered.

Finally, the midterm grades for the Slytherins came in.

"I got an O in all my midterm exams, except for History of Magic, in which I got an E. Even in Transfiguration I got an O. I can't believe it", Harry said.

"Well, that's good to hear. I got an O in all of my midterm exams except for Transfiguration, Herbology, and History of Magic, in which I got Es", Draco said.

"I got an E in charms", Pansy said.

"I can't believe Crabbe and I both got Es in Potions", Goyle said. "All the other midterms we barely managed to get As."

"I'm sure Granger has Os on all her midterms", Blaise said.

"So, you and Harry are both going to Malfoy Manor for Christmas?", Theodore asked Draco.

"Yes, indeed", Draco said.

The ten Slytherin first-years then boarded the Hogwarts express when it was time to leave. Harry shared a compartment with Draco, Theodore, Pansy, and Blaise. The five of them played exploding snap until the train reached London.

"Well, see you all after the break", Harry said when they were at King's cross station.

Pansy hugged Draco and Harry tightly.

"Stay safe", she whispered in Harry's ear.

"You too", Harry said.

Theodore pointed to a man with a boy that Harry assumed was Theodore's younger brother, Hiram Nott.

"There's my father and brother", Theodore said. "See you all later."

Eventually, Harry and Draco were the only two Slytherin first-years left at the station.

Just then, a man and a woman approached the two boys. Draco ran to them and hugged them tightly.

"Hello, Mother", Draco said. "Hello, Father."

"How did you enjoy your first semester at Hogwarts?", Lucius Malfoy asked.

"It was swell", Draco said. "I was bonding quite well with my fellow Slytherins."

"I told you Draco would do well at Hogwarts", Narcissa Malfoy said. "Clearly a better choice than Durmstrang."

Harry then decided to introduce himself to Lucius and Narcissa.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mister Malfoy", Harry said, offering his hand to Lucius.

Lucius shook Harry's hand firmly.

"Harry Potter", Lucius said. "It is an honor to meet you for the first time as well. And it is wonderful that you were sorted into Slytherin as well."

"Thank you for the Nimbus 2000", Harry said.

"It is not a problem, Harry", Lucius said. "I am more than willing to help my son's allies in Slytherin. We can truly take on the world together and make a difference."

Harry then turned to Narcissa and offered his hand.

"It is an honor to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy."

Harry expected Narcissa to accept his handshake. But instead, she hugged him tightly. Harry didn't know what to say for a brief second. He let Narcissa embrace him, feeling so emotional. No one had ever hugged him, except for Pansy. The Dursleys certainly hadn't done that.

"It is a pleasure to see that you were sorted into Slytherin, Harry", Narcissa said when she finally let him go. "I'm glad that you became best friends with my son."

Narcissa then turned to Draco. "It is clear that you have taught Harry well when he returned to the Wizarding World."

"That is true", Draco admitted. "But Harry had learned a lot by himself. He's a pretty fast learner, I must say."

"Well, we better head back to our manor", Lucius said. "We will use apparition to get there. Draco, grab my hand."

Lucius and Draco then vanished.

Harry then turned to Narcissa. She extended her hand to him, and he grabbed it. Harry felt himself being forced through some kind of black hole. When they finally stopped moving, Harry saw that the four of them were at Malfoy Manor.

"Wow", Harry said, speechless for a few seconds. Draco's house looked amazing.

The four of them walked towards the manor.

"Dobby!", Lucius called out.

Harry was shocked when a house-elf appeared in front of them.

"Yes, Master?"

"Bring my son's belongings and Mister Potter's things into the manor. And be quick about it!"

"Yes, Master!"

Dobby grabbed the bags Draco and Harry had brought with them and apparated with the bags inside the manor.

When the four of them arrived into the manor, Harry was impressed by what he saw. The manor looked amazing and exquisite.

Lucius asked them if they wanted to eat a small meal together. Harry and Draco agreed. Harry felt slightly hungry, but he didn't want to appear impolite and discourteous in front of the Malfoys. He had to be as respectful as possible. These were the parents of his best friend, after all.

As the four of them were eating, Lucius began asking them questions about school.

"School is fine", Draco said.

"How is Professor Snape teaching your class?", Lucius asked.

"He's doing an excellent job. Clearly better than all the other professors, especially McGonagall."

"How are your lessons in potions?", Narcissa asked.

"Potions is fine", Harry said. "Draco and I have both been doing well, I would say. With the help of some of our fellow Slytherins, of course."

"Harry's done the best of all the Slytherins in the first-year form in potions", Draco said. "His potions are superb, even better than mine."

"Are the two of you enjoying Quidditch?", Lucius asked.

"Yes", Harry said. "It is quite entertaining."

"That match was quite fun", Draco said. "It was amusing scoring all of those goals against Wood. The only bad part of the game was Quirrell jinxing Harry's broom."

"He should get fired", Harry said. "Unfortunately, we have no proof he was doing anything suspicious."

"I would advise the two of you to keep an eye on him", Lucius said.

"I've also been teaching Harry how to play Wizard's Chess", Draco said.

"Really?", Narcissa asked.

"Yes. I think Harry has been grasping basic chess concepts. He's played several games, and I think his skill is improving. He's certainly learned a lot."

"Harry, we should play a game", Narcissa said.

"Really?", Harry asked.

"Yes. That way we can see how much progress you've made."

Harry nodded his head in agreement.

Harry and Narcissa walked over to the chessboard and started a game as Lucius and Draco watched. Narcissa had the white pieces and Harry had the black pieces.

"Pawn to e4", Narcissa said. The white pawn on e2 moved to e4.

"Pawn to e5", Harry said. The black pawn on e7 moved to e5.

"Knight to f3", Narcissa said. The white knight on g1 moved to f3.

"Knight to c6", Harry said. The black knight on b8 moved to c6.

"Bishop to c4", Narcissa said. The white bishop on f1 moved to c4.

"Pawn to d6", Harry said. The black pawn on d7 moved to d6.

"Knight to c3", Narcissa said. The white knight on b1 moved to c3.

"Bishop to g4", Harry said. The black bishop on c8 moved to g4.

"Pawn to h3", Narcissa said. The white pawn on h2 moved to h3. This move attacked the black bishop on g4.

"Bishop to h5", Harry said. The black bishop on g4 moved to h5.

"Knight to e5", Narcissa said. The white knight on f3 moved to e5, capturing the black pawn that occupied the e5 square. Harry was surprised by this move, as it exposed the white queen to capture by the black bishop on h5. Should Harry capture the queen? It seemed so tempting.

"Bishop to d1", Harry said. The black bishop on h5 moved to d1 and struck the white queen on d1 numerous times with its sword before occupying the d1 square.

"Bishop to f7", Narcissa said. The white bishop on c4 moved to f7, capturing the black pawn on the f7 square. This move also put the black king on e8 in check.

"King to e7", Harry said. The black king moved to e7. Harry noticed it was the only square the black king could move to in this position. Still, he wasn't worried.

"Knight to d5", Narcissa said. The white knight on c3 moved to d5.

"Checkmate", Mrs. Malfoy said.

Harry looked at the position, seemingly stunned. It was true. The black king on e7 had no squares to flee to. The three white minor pieces in the center of the board all worked together to trap the black king.

Harry sighed. "I feel like an idiot."

Mrs. Malfoy ruffled Harry's hair and lightly squeezed his cheek.

"You're not. You have potential to be a great Wizard's chess player."

"It's true", Draco said. "Don't let one bad game make you feel down, Harry. The trap you fell into is known as the Legal Trap. This game was first played in 1750 by the French chess player Sire de Legal. The trap is named after him."

"You learn something new every day, I guess", Harry said.