Note: Another chapter. :D We hope you will enjoy it. We do. :)
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Chess
Arbiter
As Hermione was still feeling a bit down after hearing about Crookshanks' fate, Harry and Ron spent those few hours before the match in front of their common-room fireplace, sharing detailed visions of how bad they were going to beat those stupid Slytherins, and how thoroughly humiliated they would be after the game.
"Don't worry — I will revenge Crookshanks," Ron patted his girlfriend on the back.
Hermione, however, didn't find it one bit comforting.
"Revenge!" she cried out instead. "You talk as if he is already dead!"
"No, I was just... I mean... you said you wanted me to thrash them..." Ron tried to explain himself, surprised and confused by her sudden outburst.
But Hermione was not done yet.
"You never liked Crookshanks," she accused. "You wish he really was dead."
"No! Of course not, Herms..."
"You are a heartless bastard, Ronald Weasley!" she poked him with her finger, then stood up and ran to the Portrait Hole.
"And don't you dare call me 'Herms'," she said threateningly before slipping out of the common-room.
Ron stared after her for a while longer.
"What the hell is wrong with her?" he demanded at last.
"I think," Harry spoke, carefully considering his next words. "She is just a bit nervous about the game."
"Why should she be nervous?" he questioned. "I'm the one playing. And it's just Malfoy. Does she think I can't win?"
"No, no," Harry said quickly. "It's just... you should be careful... I mean, it's Malfoy you are playing against."
"Exactly. And he only got this far thanks to bribe."
"Exactly," Harry concurred.
"So what's the problem," Ron didn't understand.
"If he got this far by bribe and dirty tricks, he might use them today as well."
Ron was silent for a while, letting this new information sink in.
"No," he said at last. "He wouldn't dare. Not with Dumbledore refereeing the match."
"That's true," his friend nodded. "But Dumbledore is not refereeing today's match."
"What? Where did you get that?"
"I heard him speaking to McGonagall the other day. She asked whether they should already move his portrait into Ravenclaw common-room, or perhaps he could share a canvas with Rowena for the match. But he said that there would be no need for it, since there was going to be someone from outside to be the arbiter."
"Oh. Well, I suppose we have to hope that person, whoever he is, won't take bribe."
"You mean an honest person? Where on earth will they be able to find one of those," Harry half-joked.
---
"Albus, please tell me you asked me here with a reason."
"Of course, old friend," the portrait of Dumbledore twinkled. "Whenever have I asked you here without one?"
"There was this time you wanted to have a chat over tea and lemon-drops. Then you wanted my opinion on that rumour of Bloody Baron and Grey Lady going out together. Then once you wondered whether you should refurnish your office. Oh, and of course the mystery of the room filled with chamber-pots..."
"Ah, wasn't that fun!" Dumbledore sighed with nostalgia.
"If you think it's fun to roam around the castle at night with a very full bladder hoping to stumble upon your delusional room once again."
"Ah, those were times, those were times..."
"Albus," he growled. "Why did you ask me here? I don't have time for all this silly reminiscence business. I have work to do."
"You really should take a vacation, you know. Go away to some nice place for a couple of weeks. Bermuda, for example. Have a bit of sun, try diving or water-skiing, enjoy fancy drinks — all the fun stuff!"
"Even if I wanted that," he said with a voice that very clearly stated he wouldn't do it even at wandpoint. "I can't with my current workload. Too many Death Eaters are still on the loose. There is no rest for the wicked."
"Oh, but I didn't suggest the Death Eaters take a vacation, although I probably wouldn't mind that either. I told you to have a break — really, you're wearing yourself out."
"Easy for you to say — you just sit here and twinkle at people!"
"Want to switch? Twinkling isn't that easy of a job as you might think."
"Albus..."
"All right, dear Alastor, you win. I called you here because of... chess."
Moody stared at the portrait for a few moments.
"I swear, Albus, if you weren't already dead, I would personally wring your neck for luring me away from my very important cases just for a friendly game of chess."
"But as I'm here already," he added. "One game would not hurt, I think."
"I knew I could count on you, old friend," Dumbledore chuckled.
"But it's not playing chess that I am asking of you — it is refereeing the match," he explained.
"I thought I heard something about a Hogwarts Chess Championship from Arthur. So, which houses made it to the final?"
"Three guesses, my friend."
"Ah," Moody gave an amused look, his equivalent to Dumbledore's twinkling. "Ronald Weasley from Gryffindor then — more than once did we play at Grimmauld Place – that boy is great in strategy. And from Slytherin... the Malfoy kid, I suppose?"
"Correct with all three," Albus smiled. "So, will you take up the place of the arbiter of the game?"
Moody chuckled.
"That's a game destined to be interesting."
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"Where the bloody hell is she?" Ron demanded, looking around Ravenclaw common-room in frustration. There was still some time left till the start of the match, but both players and their seconds had been summoned already, or in this case, both players and only one second.
Malfoy's second, to Ron's great amusement, was Bloody Baron. Down in the Slytherin dungeons meeting that ghost might have been rather scary, but here in Ravenclaw Tower in broad daylight he looked so out of place that it was actually rather funny.
Ron would have chuckled at it had he not been annoyed over the absence of his own second. The fact that they were now all standing in the empty room waiting in a most uncomfortable silence — him, Malfoy, McGonagall, Snape, and Bloody Baron, did not improve things at all. Neither was the contemptuous sneer Snape was giving him very helpful, or the nervous breathing of McGonagall at the nape of his neck. No, not helpful or relaxing at all.
When the doorway finally opened to admit a bit frazzled Hermione, Ron felt like he had aged a couple of decades. Momentarily forgetting the other people (and ghost) in the room, he opened his mouth to yell at her for her tardiness, but someone beat him to it.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for being late," Snape barked. "Now that our precious Head Girl has finally decided to grace us with her presence, perhaps we can continue with the important things."
Hermione flushed, and she wasn't the only one. McGonagall's eyes had turned to narrow slits, full of indignant anger, and with her lips pressed together into the thinnest line, she took a heavy breath, trying and failing to calm herself down. But when she opened her mouth to give Snape a piece of her mind, another voice boomed into the silent room.
"I would not be so quick to start throwing accusations if I were you, Severus," Moody slowly made his way up to the five people and one ghost.
Snape's sneer slipped for a second, but he managed to get it back to his face almost immediately.
"Here for the entertainment, Alastor? I didn't know you have so much free time on your hands these days. But I suppose all the Death Eaters still left can be caught and sent to prison all by themselves."
"If I wanted to see a Death Eater, I wouldn't have to look too far, would I?" Moody sneered right back at him.
Now it was Snape's time to draw a sharp breath in the attempt to calm himself.
"What are you here for, Mad-Eye?" he demanded.
"What am I here for?" Moody chuckled. "I tell you what I'm here for.
"I've a duty as the referee
At the start of the match
On behalf of old Albus
I must welcome you
Which I do — there's a catch
"I don't care if you're a champion
No-one messes with me
I am ruthless in upholding
What I know is right
Black or white — as you'll see
"I'm on the case
Can't be fooled
Any objection
Is overruled
Yes I'm the Arbiter and I know best."
"You're the Arbiter?" Snape scowled. "What kind of fool would ask you to referee the game!"
"If you call Albus fool one more time I will introduce, or should I say re-introduce you to the business end of my wand," the old Auror growled.
Snape got the message and fell silent, although that didn't keep him from sending out killer glares.
"He's impartial, don't push him, he's unimpressed," Ron muttered under his breath, happy with the chosen referee.
"Minerva," Moody turned now to McGonagall. "You should give those twenty points back to Miss Granger. She was late only because I asked her to accompany me here."
"Twenty points to Gryffindor," McGonagall beamed, sending Snape a victorious look.
"Well, now that we are all here," Moody continued. "Let me say something to our young champions, and not only to them."
Both Snape and McGonagall took it personally, just as it was meant, and were about to protest, when Moody went on.
"You got your tricks
Good for you
But there's no gambit
I don't see through
Oh I'm the Arbiter, I know the score
"From square one I'll be watching all 64."
"From square one he'll be watching all 64," Ron repeated silently, glancing surreptitiously at Malfoy, who in turn was glancing surreptitiously at Moody, looking a bit pale.
"If you're thinking of the kind of thing
That we've seen in the past
Helping spells, potions, jinxes,
Walkouts, crystal balls,
Tempers, fists - not so fast
"This is not some war of Red and Green
No such enmities
I think both your Houses are wonderful so
Now you know, be good boys
"I'm on the case
Can't be fooled
Any objection
Is overruled
Yes I'm the Arbiter and I know best."
"He's impartial, don't push him, he's unimpressed," Ron mouthed to Malfoy with a smirk.
"You got your tricks
Good for you
But there's no gambit
I don't see through
Oh I'm the Arbiter, I know the score
"From square one I'll be watching all 64."
"From square one he'll be watching all 64," Hermione repeated loudly, then blushed and quickly looked away when all eyes suddenly turned to her.
But Moody only chuckled at the interruption.
"I'm on the case — can't be fooled!
You've got your tricks — good for you!
"I'm on the case
Can't be fooled
Any objection
Is overruled
"Yes I'm the Arbiter and I know best."
"He's impartial, don't push him, he's unimpressed," Bloody Baron chanted, definitely feeling so much out of his element to start singing, even though he managed to keep his voice dark and threatening.
"You got your tricks
Good for you
But there's no gambit
I don't see through
Oh I'm the Arbiter, I know the score
"From square one I'll be watching all 64."
"From square one he'll be watching all 64," McGonagall warned Snape.
"Oh I'm the Arbiter, I know the score
From square one I'll be watching all 64."
"From square one he'll be watching all 64," repeated everyone in the room together.
"And remember," Moody added after a moment of silence. "I don't take cheating lightly. Instead, I'll take care of it personally."
The look on Malfoy's face made Ron smile.
"As for you two," Moody nodded at the finalists. "It's time to get ready for your game."
With a warning glance to their player, the two Professors walked towards their seats, best in the room. Moody took a special chair close to the central table, in order to have a good view of the game.
"Good luck," Hermione turned to Ron, and kissed him on his cheek.
"I'll show him who the real champions are," Ron smiled back, their past fight in the common-room and Hermione's tardiness completely wiped from his mind. For now, at least.
Carefully observing the sight in front of him, Bloody Baron turned to Malfoy. He had never done this chess second business before, and therefore wasn't very sure what was expected from him.
"Same from me, although I'd rather not kiss you," he announced, and hovered away.
With a little wave Hermione moved away towards her seat as well, leaving Ron and Draco alone at the central table.
"Good luck, I suppose," Malfoy drawled after a while.
"Good luck," Ron repeated. "With dealing with the humiliation of being a loser."
Malfoy narrowed his eyes, but kept his silence.
"Oh, and one more thing," Ron could not hold himself back. "If you're worrying about Moody for this little incident back in Fourth Year, don't. That was not the real Moody, but an imposter Death Eater. You know, one of your side. The genuine Moody is very much on our side, and he would just love to take revenge for his good old friend."
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