Chapter 21: King's Gambit Accepted Trap, Part 1

25 December 1991

Harry had thoroughly enjoyed that entire Christmas day.

He felt so blissful and ecstatic. At Malfoy Manor, he was having the time of his life. He couldn't even think about comparing it to Privet Drive. Absolutely not. In Malfoy Manor, he wasn't locked away in some cupboard. He was treated decently and with respect, since he was the best friend of Draco Malfoy.

Harry was so happy that he hadn't given any further thought on who could have sent him the invisibility cloak. It just didn't seem important. Maybe it didn't matter. The important thing was that he had the cloak and he could use it for his own benefit.

So, Harry went to sleep after a tasteful dinner. He could hardly wait to see how the rest of Christmas break turned out…

31 December 1991

It was New Year's Eve.

Harry and Draco were both tossing the Quaffle around on that day. It was cold, but there wasn't much snow outside, to their astonishment.

The boys had sent letters to Theodore, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle, wishing them all a happy new year celebration. They hadn't gotten any responses yet, but neither of them was worried. It wouldn't matter much, anyway, they would all see each other within a few days as they headed back to Hogwarts.

Harry was feeling like he was in a way, part of the Malfoy family. True, they were not actually his own family, but he knew that if he had to choose between the Malfoys and the Dursleys, he would have picked the Malfoys in a heartbeat. He wished he didn't have to return to the Dursleys at all. No one deserved to suffer that much. Anything else had to be better.

Harry would do his best not to dwell on that at the moment. For now, he was in the presence of his own kind. Other wizards. No muggles would ruin this for him, least of all the Dursleys.

He did his best to enjoy that New Year's celebration. 1991 was certainly a better year for him that most of the other ones in his life, that was for sure.

3 January 1992

It was time to return to Hogwarts.

Lucius and Narcissa had apparated Draco and Harry to King's Cross Station. It was such an amazing holiday break.

Lucius hugged Draco. "Good luck, both of you. Stay out of trouble."

Harry was surprised when Narcissa suddenly kissed him on his right cheek. "Enjoy the rest of your first year, Harry."

Harry blushed. "Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"See you, Mom and Dad", Draco said. "Harry, we'd better get going. Pansy and Theodore will be on the train, for sure."

"I agree. Thanks, Mister and Missus Malfoy."

Lucius and Narcissa both said good-bye as Harry and Draco boarded the Hogwarts Express. The two friends walked through some of the compartments before they recognized one of their fellow Slytherins.

Linus Urquhart waved at Harry and Draco. He motioned for them to sit down with him.

"Harry, Draco, did you enjoy the holidays?"

"Yes, we did", Harry said. "And what about you?"

"Certainly. Have you two practiced playing Quidditch?"

"Yeah", Harry said. "I'm looking forward to playing against Ravenclaw in February. It should be a fun match."

"Flint definitely seems determined", Urquhart said. "He'll make practice even more challenging. But in the end, it is for our own benefit."

"Exactly", Draco said.

Just then Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Theodore walked into their compartment.

Pansy hugged Draco and Harry tightly.

"Hope you two enjoyed your Christmas Vacation together", Pansy said.

"Yes, we did", Harry said. "And did you?"

"Absolutely."

"I had a lot of food to eat", Crabbe said. This provoked a snigger from Draco.

"Crabbe, you're always eating. You need to channel that energy into something productive."

"I can't help it, Draco", Crabbe said. "Some of the food I had during the holidays tasted so good. I couldn't resist."

Just then Flint, Warrington, and Bletchley walked into the compartment.

"How is the star seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch Team?", Flint asked.

"I'm doing just fine, Flint", Harry said. "It feels good to be back."

"Well, we're going to be completing some interesting strategies during our practices before our match in February", Flint said. "I hope you can handle them."

"Certainly. Why wouldn't I handle them?"

"Good. I like that attitude."

Warrington patted Harry on the back. "Harry will be fine. He caught the snitch just fine during our match against Gryffindor. He clearly is capable of winning for us."

"Your optimism is encouraging as always, Cassius", Harry said.

Cleo Rowle and Jeff Dolohov walked inside the compartment, holding hands.

"How are the lovebirds?", Flint asked jokingly.

"Knock it off, Marcus", Cleo said. "Jeff and I both feel committed."

"If that's how you feel, more power to you", Flint said. "But you can't act completely sensitive."

Cleo nodded reluctantly. "I guess that's true."

Gaius Avery walked inside the compartment. "Marcus, Cleo, we have prefect duties to take care of at the moment."

"Right", Flint said. "We'll see you blokes later."

Cleo kissed Jeff on the cheek.

Harry motioned to Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Theodore. "I think we should find the rest of the Slytherin first-year form. We'll talk to you later."

Warrington waved as the Slytherin first-years left that compartment.

Harry wanted to find Blaise, Daphne, Tracey, and Millicent. He wanted to ask them how everything was going with them. Harry had learned from his fellow Slytherins that talking about his problems with his fellow peers would certainly be helpful. He also wanted to see what Daphne and Tracey had planned before classes resumed.

Three compartment doors down, Harry found Blaise, Daphne, Tracey, and Millicent. The four of them were seemingly talking in a low tone of voice.

"Wotcher, Slytherins!", Harry said to greet them.

"Wotcher, Harry!", Blaise said.

"How was your Christmas vacation?"

"Nothing much. I was with my mother. What about you and Draco?"

"We had quite the break. It was an amazing vacation."

"That's great."

The ten Slytherin first-years continued talking as the train headed to Hogwarts. When they arrived at the school, they immediately headed towards the Slytherin Common Room.

Draco then asked Harry if he wanted to play a game of Wizard's Chess.

"Sure", Harry said. He and Draco then walked to the Wizard's chess set as the other Slytherin first-years watched. Draco had the white pieces and Harry had the black pieces.

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

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

"Pawn to f4", Draco said. The white pawn on f2 moved to f4.

"Pawn to e5", Harry said. The black pawn on e5 yanked out its sword and stabbed the white pawn on f4 into numerous tiny particles.

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

Harry thought the best course of action would be to defend the black pawn on f4.

"Pawn to g5", Harry said. The black pawn on g7 moved to g5.

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

"Pawn to f6", Harry said. He thought this move would help defend the pawn on f4 even further. The black pawn on f7 moved to f6.

But Harry did not expect the move Draco would play next.

"Knight to g5", Draco said. The white knight on f3 jumped on the black pawn on g5 and stomped on it numerous times, crushing it. Harry was stunned. Draco had sacrificed one of his knights for a pawn.

"Pawn to g5", Harry said. The black pawn on f6 pulled out its sword and split the knight on g5 into numerous pieces before taking its place.

"Queen to h5", Draco said. The white queen on d1 moved to h5. This move put the black king on e8 into check. There was only one square for the king to move to.

"King to e7", Harry said. The black king on e8 moved to e7.

"Queen to f7", Draco said. The white queen on h5 moved to f7. The black king was in check again.

"King to d6", Harry said. The black king on e7 moved to d6. Harry realized at this point that something went wrong.

"Queen to d5", Draco said. The white queen on f7 moved to d5.

"Check", Draco said.

"King to e7", Harry said. The black king on d6 moved to e7.

"Queen to e5", Draco said. The white queen on d5 moved to e5.

"Checkmate", Draco said.

Harry looked at the position. It was true. The black king had no squares to flee to and none of the other black pieces could block the check or capture the white queen.

"That was a good game, Draco", Harry said, feeling slightly disappointed in himself.

Draco then decided to explain what had happened.

"The opening I just played is the King's Gambit. When you captured the white pawn on f4 on your second move, you accepted the gambit. However, it is usually a mistake to hold on to the extra pawn after accepting the gambit. Sometimes, in a gambit, the goal is to give back the pawn. By holding on to the pawn, you can run into trouble. That is what we saw here."

"Thanks for the advice, Draco", Harry said.

"No problem, Harry. I think we should write a letter to my mom, now. She will be pleased to know that we returned to Hogwarts safely."

Author's Note

IN LOVING MEMORY

Helen McCrory (17 August 1968-16 April 2021). You will be deeply missed by your fans, especially fans of the Harry Potter franchise.