Chapter 26: King and Rook versus King

19 April 1992

It was Sunday.

Harry woke up and studied his Potions homework. Harry was one of Snape's best students, but he knew that as long as he studied, he would never have to worry too much about his performance in the class.

Harry was busy looking over his notes on the proper way to brew a forgetfulness potion when all of a sudden, Draco stirred from his sleep.

"Morning, Harry."

"Good morning, Draco."

"What do you want to do today?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe we could do something with the other Slytherin first-years to pass time. We could practice our defensive spells in that room Mia Wright showed us."

"Sounds like a good plan", Draco said.

A few minutes later, Theodore, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise woke up. They headed towards the main room in the Slytherin Common Room. There, they saw Miles Bletchley laughing and talking with Cassius Warrington and Caleb Holland.

"What's going on?", Harry asked.

"Nothing much", Bletchley said, smirking. "I just found out from Warrington about how the practice session for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team turned out. Leo Dalton apparently zoomed into the Weasley twins when trying to catch the snitch. Man, if that's the best the Gryffindor Quidditch Team has to offer in the Seeker position, I don't see how Ravenclaw can possibly lose to them."

"Ravenclaw won't lose", Draco said. "Their team is very good. Not as good as us Slytherins, of course, but they are definitely second best. We almost lost to them. The chances of me becoming friendly with the Gryffindors are much higher than the Gryffindor Quidditch Team beating Ravenclaw."

"Exactly", Warrington said, laughing.

"Yes, Dalton is pretty hopeless", Harry said. He knew that Gryffindor were in last place for the Quidditch cup and would have no chance of winning it, even if Slytherin somehow lost against Hufflepuff.

Harry and the other Slytherin first-years headed to breakfast. There, Harry had an idea.

"I was thinking maybe I should visit Hagrid", Harry said. "It's been a while since I last talked to him."

The other Slytherin first-years looked hesitant.

"If you want to go, that's fine", Draco said. "I better warn you, though, he's not that fond of me or my family."

"The past is the past, Draco. People can change. You were only a baby when the first war ended. Surely Hagrid knows that."

"I guess", Draco said. "But it wouldn't be smart if all ten of us came to Hagrid's hut. It would look suspicious to other people. I think only a handful of us should go. Maybe you, me, Pansy, and Theodore."

"Fair enough", Harry said. "We'll see the rest of you back in the Slytherin Common Room."

So, Harry headed towards Hagrid's hut with Draco, Pansy, and Theodore. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to Hagrid. Hagrid didn't seem very pleased with the fact that Harry, of all people, had been sorted into Slytherin. It seemed clear that Hagrid had expected Harry to become a Gryffindor.

Being a Slytherin does not mean junior death eater, Harry thought. You-know-who killed my parents. I would obviously never join his side. Hagrid will have to accept the fact that I truly belong in Slytherin, not Gryffindor. I would never want to be a Gryffindor after the harsh way Weasley and his friends have treated us.

Finally, Harry and his three friends reached the hut. Harry took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.

"Come in", Hagrid's voice called out.

Harry walked in, along with Draco, Theodore, and Pansy.

"How are you doing, 'Arry?", Hagrid asked. He glanced at Draco and said, "Malfoy."

"I'm doing well, actually, Hagrid", Harry said.

"I got to be honest, I was surprised you were sorted into Slytherin", Hagrid said. "I thought you would be a Gryffindor."

This provoked a scowl from Draco.

"Thanks for your concern, Hagrid, but I'm happy in Slytherin", Harry said. "I met a lot of people and I'm been helping Slytherin for the house cup."

"Well, as long as you're safe and happy, that's the important thing", Hagrid said. He poured himself a cup of tea.

"Want some tea?"

"Um, sure", Harry said.

"What about you, Malfoy? Parkinson? Nott?"

"Yeah, I'll take some", Draco said.

Pansy and Theodore hesitated, before also taking tea.

"I'm still shocked by what happened in the Quidditch match against Gryffindor", Hagrid said. "I was worried when you were hanging off of your broom."

"Blame Quirrell for that", Harry said.

"You don't know that…"

"Actually, we do know", Draco said. "We saw Quirrell was jinxing Harry's broom. He was muttering a curse. We saw the whole incident go down."

"I'd be careful if I were you", Hagrid said. "You shouldn't be poking your nose into things that aren't your business."

"If Harry's safety is involved, then it is our business", Pansy said. "Quirrell could have killed him if Crabbe hadn't intervened. Honestly, Quirrell should have been fired on the spot. No scratch that, he should have been sent to Azkaban."

"Well, I can't say that…"

Just then a Harry head a squeal.

"What was that?", Harry asked.

"Nothing", Hagrid quickly said.

Harry stood up and peered to see what Hagrid was hiding. He saw a giant egg had been slightly cracked open.

"If that is what I think it is…", Pansy said.

"It is", Theodore said. "A dragon's egg."

"How were you able to hide that thing on school grounds?", Harry said.

"I got lucky, I guess", Hagrid said. "I named him Norbert last week. This dragon needs a lot of love."

"The Hogwarts staff will never allow you to keep that egg here", Draco said. "This is ludicrous. If they catch you with that egg, you could wind up in a lot of trouble. You'd better think of something."

"You're not going to turn me in, are you?"

"Of course not, Hagrid, you rescued me from the Dursleys", Harry said. "We won't report you, but we also can't help you dispose of the egg. We'd be breaking the rules if we did that."

"Well, I appreciate that", Hagrid said.

"We'd better get going", Theodore said. "See you around, Hagrid."

The four Slytherin first-years left the hut, not knowing a pair of eyes had been watching them.

Later, the ten Slytherin first-years were in the Slytherin Common Room when Harry had an idea.

"Let's go to that secret room and continue practicing our defensive spells."

"Sure, Harry", Draco said. "Let's go, Slytherins."

"Up Slytherin!", Theodore exclaimed.

"Up Slytherin!", the other Slytherin first-years repeated.

Harry and the other Slytherin first-years headed through the dungeons towards the room. When they reached the room, they immediately got to work. They took their defensive skills seriously.

"Let's continue to try to work on our defensive spells", Harry said. "Tracey, why don't you start? Let's practice the Verdimillious charm."

Tracey hesitated, then pointed her wand.

"Verdimillous!"

Green sparks emitted from Tracey's wand.

"Brilliant, Tracey", Harry exclaimed. "Daphne, why don't you give it a try?"

"Verdimillous!", Daphne shouted.

Daphne's wand emitted green sparks.

"Good work, Daphne! Give it a try, Crabbe."

Crabbe hesitated, then pointed his wand.

"Verdimilluz!", he shouted. Red sparks flew out of his wand instead of green sparks.

"Try again, Crabbe", Harry said.

"Verdimillous!", Crabbe shouted.

This time, red sparks flew out of Crabbe's wand.

"Nice job, Crabbe! Better."

Goyle lifted his wand, then shouted, "Verdimillous!"

Red sparks flew out of his wand.

"Good job, Goyle!"

Draco lifted his wand, then shouted, "Verdimillous!"

Red sparks flew out of Draco's wand.

"Excellent, Draco!", Harry shouted.

Theodore lifted his wand and exclaimed, "Verdimillous!"

"Great job, Theodore!"

Blaise and Millicent successfully cast the Verdimillious charm without any difficulty.

Finally, it was Pansy's turn.

"Verdimillous!", she shouted.

"Great job, Pansy!", Harry exclaimed. "I knew you could do it."

"What spell should we try next, Harry?", Draco asked.

"Let's try the Smokescreen spell", Harry said. "Theodore, why don't you try?"

Theodore pointed his wand and shouted, "Fumos!"

A cloud of smoke then emitted around Theodore, forming a protective shield of smoke around him.

"Well done, Theodore!", Harry said. "Blaise, you go."

Blaise pointed his wand and shouted, "Fumos!"

Just like with Theodore, a cloud of smoke formed around Blaise and shielded him.

Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne, Tracey, and Millicent each managed to cast the Smokescreen spell at least once. Finally, it was Pansy's turn.

"Fumos!", Pansy shouted.

A cloud of smoke formed around Pansy.

Draco then said, "Okay, Harry. I brought my Wizard's Chess set with me. You know, Harry, it is possible for a king and rook to force checkmate against a lone king."

"Really?", Harry asked. "Show me."

Draco then pulled out his Wizard's Chess set.

"I'll have the white king be on e1, the white rook on a1, and the black king on d5. White is to move, in this position."

Draco then said, "Rook to a4."

The white rook moved from a1 to a4.

The black king moved from d5 to e5.

Draco then said, "King to e2."

The white king moved from e1 to e2.

The black king then moved from e5 to d5.

Draco then said, "King to d3."

The white king moved from e2 to d3.

The black king moved from d5 to e5.

Draco then said, "Rook to d4."

The white rook moved from a4 to d4.

The black king moved from e5 to f5.

Draco then said, "Rook to e4."

The white rook moved from d4 to e4.

The black king moved from f5 to f6.

Draco then said, "King to d4."

The white king moved from d3 to d4.

The black king moved from f6 to f5.

Draco then said, "King to d5."

The white king moved from d4 to d5.

The black king moved from f5 to f6.

Draco then said, "Rook to e5."

The white rook moved from e4 to e5.

The black king moved from f6 to g6.

Draco then said, "King to e6."

The white king moved from d5 to e6.

The black king moved from g6 to g7.

Draco then said, "Rook to f5."

The white rook moved from e5 to f5.

The black king moved from g7 to g6.

Draco then said, "King to e5."

The white king moved from e6 to e5.

The black king moved from g6 to g7.

Draco then said, "Rook to f6."

The white rook moved from f5 to f6.

The black king then moved from g7 to g8.

Draco then said, "King to e6."

The white king then moved from e5 to e6.

The black king moved from g8 to g7.

Draco then said, "King to e7."

The white king moved from e6 to e7.

The black king then moved from g7 to g8.

Draco then said, "Rook to f7."

The white rook moved from f6 to f7.

The black king moved from g8 to h8.

Draco then said, "King to f6."

The white king moved from e7 to f6.

The black king moved from h8 to g8.

Draco then said, "King to g6."

The black king moved from g8 to h8.

Draco then said, "Rook to f8."

The white rook moved from f7 to f8.

"Checkmate", Draco said.

Harry looked at the position. Draco was right. The black king was attacked by the white rook and had no squares to escape to. The white king and the white rook had successfully worked together to deliver this checkmate.

"That's very impressive", Harry said.

"Harry, I want you to try by yourself. You have a king and rook against a lone king. It shouldn't be a problem to deliver checkmate."

"Okay, then", Harry said.

Draco ordered the white king to stand on b2, the black king to stand on d4, and the white rook to stand on h7. White was to move.

"Rook to e7", Harry said. The white rook on h7 moved to e7.

The black king on d4 moved to d5.

"King to c3", Harry said. The white king on b2 moved to c3.

The black king on d5 moved to d6. This move attacked the white rook on e7.

"Rook to e4", Harry said. The white rook on e7 moved to e4.

The black king on d6 moved to d5, attacking the white rook again.

"King to d3", Harry said. The white king on c3 moved to d3. This move defended the white rook on e4.

The black king moved from d5 to c5.

"Rook to d4", Harry said. The white rook moved from e4 to d4, under the protection of the white king. This move cut off the black king from the d-file and forced the black king to concede ground.

The black king then moved from c5 to c6.

"King to c4", Harry said. The white king moved from d3 to c4.

The black king moved from c6 to b6.

"Rook to d5", Harry said. The white rook moved from d4 to d5.

The black king on b6 moved to c6.

"King to d4", Harry said. The white king on c4 moved to d4.

The black king moved from c6 to b6.

"Rook to c5", Harry said. The white rook on d5 moved to c5.

The black king moved from b6 to b7.

"King to d5", Harry said. The white king moved from d4 to d5.

The black king moved from b7 to b6.

"King to d6", Harry said. The white king moved from d5 to d6.

The black king moved from b6 to b7.

"Rook to c6", Harry said. The white rook moved from c5 to c6.

The black king moved from b7 to b8.

"Rook to c7", Harry said. The white rook moved from c6 to c7. Now the black king was trapped on the squares a8 and b8.

The black king moved from b8 to a8.

"King to c6", Harry said. The white king on d6 moved to c6.

The black king moved from a8 to b8.

"King to b6", Harry said. The white king moved from c6 to b6.

The black king moved from b8 to a8. It was the only square it could move to.

"Rook to c8", Harry said. The white rook moved from c7 to c8.

"Checkmate", Harry said.

"Good job, Harry", Draco said. "Now let's try another example. Let's see, we'll put the white king on g5, the black king on g7, and the white rook on e6. White is to move."

Harry said, "Rook to f6."

The white rook moved from e6 to f6.

The black king moved from g7 to h7.

Harry said, "Rook to g6."

The white rook moved from f6 to g6.

The black king moved from h7 to h8.

Harry said, "King to f6."

The black king moved from h8 to h7.

Harry said, "King to f7."

The white king moved from f6 to f7.

The black king moved from h7 to h8.

Harry then said, "Rook to h6."

The white rook moved from g6 to h6.

"Checkmate", Harry said.

"So, Harry, what can you conclude after all of this?", Draco asked.

"A king and rook can force a checkmate against a lone king. It's longer than a king and queen forcing mate against a lone king because the rook isn't as powerful as the queen. The black king can try to harass the other side's rook diagonally to stall the game, but the rook can always find a safe square or be defended from capture by the white king. The side with the rook just has to be careful to avoid stalemate while cutting off squares from the defending king."

"Well said, Harry. It's clear you are gaining insight from this."