A White Elephant party is always full of surprises. Will a Chess Club party be any different?
Song: Presents for Christmas by Solomon Burke
A/N: Bughouse is a chess game played with two boards and four players in two teams. Each team has one player with black pieces and with white pieces so that when an opponent's piece is captured it can be passed to your teammate. On any move, instead of making a move, you may place any piece your teammate has given you anywhere (legally allowed) on your board.
Theo: Do you have it?
Neville: Yes. They wrapped it at the store.
Theo: Is is obvious?
Neville: No. It looks just like the one I'm bringing
Theo: I'm going to be sick
Neville: No you are not
Theo: What if she says no?
Neville: Breathe, Theo
Theo: Later
Neville: Everything is going to go fine. She loves you
Theo: I can't imagine this life without her
Neville: I completely understand
Daphne opened the door to let Harry and Ginny in. "Where's James? We grabbed a few little things for him to play with and open in case you brought him."
"Molly is having a party for the little ones so their parents can have some fun, too." Harry hugged Daphne and carried their bags into the living room. "I have party mix and a couple of presents of questionable taste. Where do I put them?"
Ginny laughed as she followed Harry. "The food goes in the kitchen and the presents go under the tree."
"Theo, Harry's here." Daphne tugged Ginny toward the back of the house. "There is an intense chess tournament being held in the office. Someone missed you all Friday night."
"Go have fun, honey." Ginny continued to laugh as Daphne dragged her away. "I think we girls have something to do in the back."
Daphne: Love you
Theo: Miss you
Daphne: I am just on the other side of the house
Theo: You are not in the room with me
Daphne: You have gotten spoiled this week
Theo: Sorry if I have been a grump
Daphne: You had reason
Theo: Love you
Daphne: Miss you
Theo: See you soon?
Harry followed the sounds of laughter to Theo's office. "So, what is this I hear about an intense chess tournament?'
Ron patted the chair beside him. "Two on one bughouse is not my idea of fun. Come join me so we can teach these two a lesson in how to play."
"Should I put one hand behind my back to even the odds?" Harry asked as he settled into the chaos that was any game of bughouse. "It seems as if we have the advantage of four hands instead of three."
"Up to you, Potter," Theo challenged as he reached across the board to capture a rook with a bishop. "No clock means no rules."
"There are still rules, Nott." Ron chuckled as he used a knight to take the bishop Theo had just moved. "Just like a White Elephant exchange has rules that you are breaking."
"Not breaking, just bending." Theo watched Harry make a move on the other board. "I just need to end up with a particular gift and I need to go last."
"Sounds like someone is trying to more than bend the rules." Neville smiled as he pushed a piece across his board. "Checkmate, gentlemen. The crippled one and I win again."
"Set it up again." Ron chuckled as he reached for the pieces that were scattered around the table. "Harry wasn't here for the whole game. We need one fair game to decide the champ."
Ron: So we are telling them tonight?
Hermione: We have already told our parents
Ron: Are you sure you want to do it this way?
Hermione: Do you remember how Harry and Ginny told us?
Ron: Yes, they just put it out there and waited for everyone to realize what they were looking at
Hermione: We are just carrying on the tradition
Ron: Okay, how long do you think it will take?
Hermione: Don't hold your breath
The girls were waiting for them in the living room when the boys finished their last game of bughouse. "There are snacks in the kitchen. Fill a plate and come join us." Daphne waved a hand towards the kitchen and returned to her conversation with the girls.
"Mione, why did you change? I loved the jumper you had on?" Luna asked as she looked closer at Hermione.
"I got something on it. I think I dropped a meatball down it earlier." Hermione laughed and held her plate closed to her lips as she ate another meatball.
"You look like a giant red and green present with that jumper and the bow in your hair." Ginny smirked. "What does that tag say?"
"Don't open until …" Daphne started to read the tag that Hermione had attached to her jumper. "Move your plate so I can see the rest, Mione. Don't open until JULY?"
"July? Ron's birthday isn't in July." Luna's eyes opened wide as she looked closer at Hermione.
Luna's thought was interrupted by an excited cluster of male giddiness pushing Ron into the living room.
"You sly fellow." Theo was holding Ron's suit jacket open and staring at the shirt he was wearing.
"Don't keep it to yourself, Chess Man," Daphne was having a hard time talking through her laughter. "Let us see. What have these two been hiding?"
Harry whistled to get the attention of the group. "As the lead detective on this mystery, I think we need a line up to solve this fashion tragedy. Nev, take his coat. Ginny, help her up here."
"I cannot believe you are doing this, Potter," Hermione hissed at Ginny as she tried not to laugh along with the rest of the Chess Club.
Once Ron and Hermione were properly positioned in front of the Christmas tree and Harry had retrieved his mobile to "properly record the lineup and questioning", Ginny directed the couple to turn slowly so their outfits could be investigated thoroughly.
"So, Ron, when did you decide to by your beautiful wife that hideous jumper that is not even a Christmas jumper?" Harry had trouble asking the question through his tears. "We know no one with a birthday in July."
"So, Hermione, how do you feel about your husband wearing a "Who's your daddy? Ask me in July" shirt to this Christmas event?" Theo fell onto the sofa in a fit of tears and laughter.
"What is so special about July?" Neville asked, looking between Hermione and Ron.
"Who's your daddy? Open in July? Wait a minute." Luna jumped up from the floor and rushed the couple being questioned. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
"A NEW BABY!?" Daphne's shout of joy started another round of laughter. "You are going to have a baby? Theo, they're pregnant."
Neville: Are you okay?
Luna: I'm okay.
Neville: Why are you in the kitchen?
Luna: I just needed a break from the noise
Neville: Do you need me?
Luna: Always, but this is enough for now
Neville: Are you coming back soon
Luna: I'm just loading up a tray of snacks for the next round
Neville: We can go home if you are tired. You stayed up late finishing the cupcakes
Luna: I'm fine. I just needed a few minutes of quiet
Neville: Do you need help with the snacks?
Luna: Could you carry a tray for me?
Neville: Always
By the time Neville got to the kitchen, Luna had arranged a variety of snacks and drinks on two trays. "Are you ready for the next piece of chaos?"
Neville picked up the larger of the two trays and turned toward the door. "This is what Christmas is about. Family, friends, laughter, love. All of it. Including the noise."
"Lead on. Sunshine." Luna smiled, following Neville into the living room. "Let's see what other surprises tonight can bring.
Daphne was explaining the rules of the White Elephant exchange to the group as Neville and Luna set down their trays. "Each person brought a gift and placed it under the tree. When it's your turn, you have two choices - take a gift from under the tree or take a gift from someone in the room. No one opens their gift until everyone has a gift. We will go in alphabetical order, by first name. Any questions?"
"No fair, Brown Eyes," Theo chimed in from his spot on the sofa. "You get to go first and I have to go last."
"Just think of all the options you will have," Ron muttered as he elbowed Theo on his uninjured side. "Quit complaining and let her pick."
Daphne walked over to the tree and chose a package covered in striped paper and a large bow Walking back to her place at Theo's feet, she hugged her choice tightly. "Ginny, I saw you bring this one in so I know you won't steal it. You're up next."
The next twenty minutes was a flurry of laughter, insults, and present swapping. Theo had watched the package with a big white bow pass between all the guys. They were messing with him and he could do nothing about it. Thanks to alphabetical order, he was going to be the last person to make a grab for a gift, and he know which one he had to have. Ron was going LOVE what he ended up with after the swap.
"Brown Eyes, take my seat while I rescue my gift from Weasley," Theo whispered in Daphne's ear as he stood to walk across the room for his turn. "Ron, I do believe you have the package I want. Be a good man and hand it over. It looks like you get the last one under the tree."
Ron laughed as he handed over the small box with the big bow. "Because you asked so nicely. Here. Have fun with it, whatever it is."
Daphne waited for Theo to sit in the floor in front of her before she spoke. "On the count of three, everyone can open their presents… One...Two...Three…"
As she said "three", Daphne felt Theo turn at her feet. "What are you doing? Why is your present unwrapped?"
Theo swallowed and grabbed Daphne's hand. "I might have cheated just a bit." Getting on one knee and holding out the now open jewelry box, Theo whispered, "Marry me? I love you."
Daphne stared at the scene in front of her, Theo, on one knee, her left hand in his uninjured on, carefully holding a box with a ring in the other. All she could do was nod.
"So is that a yes?" Theo's whispered question broke the spell that had been holding her.
"Yes. Forever, yes."
Ginny: We need to do this every year
Neville: Maybe with not so much excitement
Luna: It was the most fun I have ever had at a holiday party
Harry: I thought Ron was going to burst into flames during the fashion show
Ron: I thought Theo was going to fall apart watching that little box go around the room
Theo: Who is your fashion designer, Ron?
Hermione: The same one that will design one for you … eventually
Daphne: I love you all… but I have had a long day. I need a nap
Ginny: I want brownies
Luna: I'm not going there
Hermione: Thank you dear. Night all.
Harry: Good night. I'm spending my holidays with crazy people
Ron: Night. Not all of us are crazy
Theo: Until tomorrow. I'm all for naps
Neville: Sleep well… when you get to it