IWSC Summer Camp 4- Don't get angry. Write about a family game night
Word count: 1387
Cabin: Weasley
Author's Note: This was written with the amazing support of the rest of the Weasley cabin (Charbo2567, DrarryMadhatter, and Hummus and Peeta). We each focused on one specific game for this round and mine was Scrabble! With a sneaky appearance of something else at the end
Games night was a new concept for Hogwarts. It might have been the first time in living memory that all the professors would get together on a regular basis and get along for something not academic.
Of course it was Hermione who set it up.
Hermione also got to choose the first game- Scrabble.
"C'mon, Mione, this isn't fair." Ron moaned as he looked at the instructions on the box. "I've never played this before, it's a muggle game, you have an unfair advantage."
"Really, Ronald, it's just a game about making words. It hardly involves any skill."
"Yeah, not like that's an advantage for Hermione." Ron muttered to Harry who quickly ducked his head to hide his grin. Hermione rolled her eyes and opened the door to her sitting room.
"Just put the game down there and go find the others, Ron." Hermione started pulling tea cups out of the cupboard. "And don't think I don't see you grinning, Harry, make yourself useful and start making the tea."
"Yes, 'mione." Harry blushed.
"If you and Ron picked up a book that wasn't about Quidditch once in a while you might not be so worried about this game."
"Hey! Knowing about Quidditch is kind of my job."
"It's only a part of your job, the other is knowing defense but I never see you reading a book about that."
"Yes well I don't want to be Umbridge, do I?"
"Not all theory is bad."
"Bad time?" Neville asked when he popped his head through the door.
"Perfect timing, Neville." Hermione smiled and levitated a cup of tea to him. "You can tell Harry that reading the occasional book on defense will not make him like Umbridge and he can't keep skating by on defeating Voldemort when he was a teenager."
"I do not skate by on defeating Voldemort!" Harry dropped himself onto a sofa.
"Have you seen the way the students stare at you? They're either crushing so hard that they can't say a word against you or they're in so much awe that they get completely tongue tied. You couldn't give them a bad lesson if you tried." Harry looked pleadingly at Neville for some kind of denial but he saw that Neville was suddenly incredibly interested in his tea. Harry scowled at him and pouted.
Luna came next, and shortly after Ginny arrived with her broom in hand and only half listened to Hermione's lecture on broom safety and how she shouldn't be flying it cross country. Instead she threw herself into the space next to Harry and started debating the next Quidditch season. Ron returned with George and a reluctant looking Draco Malfoy in tow to complete their little mismatched family.
"Ok, so everyone needs to take their letter tiles. No, not like that, Ronald, wait your turn." Hermione said when Ron reached out to snatch the bag. Harry, Ginny and George all sniggered at the scolding.
"Yes, mother."
"I don't appreciate that tone." Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Anyway, the aim of the game is to make the highest scoring word you can with your letters and it has to connect to one or more letters on the board. Words can go up to down or left to right and you have to play words that are in the dictionary, which, yes, before anyone asks, I have expanded to include wizarding words as well. Let's begin."
"That is not a word." Ron said when Hermione laid down 'qat'.
"I assure you, it is."
"Does anyone else think that's a word?" Ron asked the room. Everyone suddenly avoided making eye contact with him. No one was sure, except Draco and Luna, but they didn't want to question Hermione either. "Fine."
"No need to be a sore loser, Ronniekins." George smiled.
"Ok who decided to invite George? Worst idea ever."
"Don't be like that, little brother."
"Yeah, Ronniekins, don't be like that." Ginny chimed in.
"We should play a new game." Ron said. "This one is getting boring."
"No!" Hermione nearly shouted. Draco quirked his eyebrow at her and she blushed. "I mean, we should finish this one and then move on. No one likes a quitter."
"I think Hermione's right." Luna said. "I think the words are going to make a pattern." She smiled serenely at Draco where he was perched on the arm next to Harry. Draco in turn glared at his cousin for being so perceptive but she just carried on innocently even though Draco knew she was anything but.
The rounds went on and Hermione did not admit that she had expanded the board or the number of letter tiles in the game to make it last longer with so many people.
"I only have consonants!" Harry cried. "What the bloody hell can I spell with only consonants?"
"Spell something or foreit, love." Draco grinned impishly at Harry's shoulder. He was staring at the letters in Harry's hand and did feel a small amount of pity for him. But then again, the words 'marry me love' were on the board at this point and Harry hadn't noticed a thing. "Maybe check the board again, just to make sure there's absolutely nothing you can see." Harry studied the words again.
"Nothing!" Harry made a frustrated sound and threw himself back on the sofa. "The game is rigged!"
"No it's not. Harry forfeits, let's move on." Ginny clapped her hands together. "I got a triple scored word to spell." The room let out a groan as Ginny placed down 'magizoology' and gained 60 points.
"This game is absolutely rigged." Ron mumbled.
Three rounds later and Draco was waiting very impatiently for Harry to catch onto the words on the board. He had told Hermione that this wouldn't work, Harry was too oblivious for this to work, and that he would just embarrass himself because everyone but Harry would notice and did Hermione really want him to embarrass himself because that was what it looked like. Hermione had told him to give Harry some credit, he wasn't that bad, and that had been the end of the conversation. Draco has taken to giving Hermione a very significant look that clearly said 'I was right I can't believe I let you make me think Harry would notice this proposal' which Hermione was returning with her own look that was meant to say 'Give him time he probably doesn't want to interrupt the game'. Of course that's not what either of them read the looks as.
In Hermione's mind Draco's look was telling her 'I'm anxious I think he's just ignoring it'. And in Draco's mind Hermione's look was saying 'yes you're right he's being oblivious'. So really no one was communicating very well on family game night.
"So… is that it?" Neville asked when everyone had run out of words to spell.
"I, um, yeah. I guess it is." Hermione started clearing away the game.
"How about a round of charades?" Harry suggested. "I'll go first."
"Sure, why not." Neville shrugged.
"Great. Uh, Ginny I need you to move to the other sofa please." He whispered to Ginny as he got up. "I'm not as blind as people think."
"What are you planning?" Ginny asked.
"You'll see." Harry stood in the middle of the room. "Everyone ready?"
"Two words." Hermione said when Harry held up two fingers. "First word? Harry we don't even know if it's a book or a film or anything yet!"
"I don't think we're the ones that need to know." Luna smiled. Harry returned her smile and turned to Draco as realisation dawned on him
"No! You're not stealing my moment this isn't fair!" Harry laughed and held up two fingers again and sank down on one knee. "Hermione, stop him! Put that ring back in your pocket, Potter, I'm warning you."
"Two words." Harry said. "Marry me?"
"I bloody hate every bit of you."
"So that's a yes?"
"Yes that's a yes but let it be known that I tried to ask first and he's just too oblivious to notice."
"Oh I noticed." Harry laughed. "But it was too subtle and easy for me to pretend like I didn't notice it"
"You're a menace to society."
"I love you." Harry kissed him.
"I love you too. Now, let's win some games."