Note: Sorry for the longer than usual wait. I could explain, but since it would have quite a lot to do with my laziness, I better not. ;) Instead, let me say that I adore, love, and worship this chapter. In my opinion, it's one of the funniest and greatest chapters of this story. And since it's not my chapter, I can praise it all I want. :D Happy reading!
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Chess
Quartet — A Model of Decorum and Tranquillity
The door closed with a click and Moody took his time to turn around ever so slowly, his magic eye fixed on his companions even when he was with his back towards them. He could almost feel the fear the others had for him, and he liked that feeling.
"Now… I feel I need to tell you a thing or two that might have been left unclear originally," Moody said, almost cackling. He wasn't doing this because he was truly angry, he was doing it just to let them all see that no one should mess with him, and that all rules were made up for the lesser people to abide by them.
"Actually," he continued, "I suppose we all have a thing or two to say." His uneven gaze stopped on Snape whose green facial hue had almost faded already, but now returned in full force.
"There is nothing between me and professor McGonagall!" Snape declared icily.
"Oh, getting formal again, aren't we?" Moody smirked. "So you have nothing to say? Good, let's move on," and he turned towards Hermione.
Hermione had opened her mouth already, when Snape decided to interfere.
"Of course I have something to say! Mr. Weasley acted no better than a clown today! So I'm sure I'm not wrong when I say the following on behalf of all the Slytherins, or actually all those who care about the noble game of chess!
"We
wish, no must, make our disgust at this abuse perfectly clear.
We're
here for chess. Are those bitches?"
"Hey!" Hermione shouted at that when Snape motioned towards her.
"If so, why foul the atmosphere?" Snape finished, glaring at the Head Girl.
"I
must protest – our delegation has a host of valid points to raise!
Our
player's sporting attitude's beyond all praise
As
any neutral would attest."
"Yeah, sure," Snape whispered under breath.
"But we concede the fact his masters bend the rules is not a player's fault—"
Malfoy smirked to Hermione at that, giving her a mock bow and a swift sardonic, "Thanks!"
"We'll overlook their crude political assault and under protest will proceed."
This seemed to be too much for Snape because he crabbed hold of Hermione's arm and yanked it, making her turn to him. Moody, at the same time, did his best to step between them, but didn't manage to do anything but get entangled in his robes and almost fall over. Malfoy, simultaneously, receded into a corner of the room, hoping nobody would notice him.
"Let go of me," Hermione screeched to Snape while Moody regained his balance.
"If
your man's so sweet
Then
why his fighting talk?
If
he's not a cheat
Then
why on earth
Did
he go take a walk?
"Why
let him loose?
He'll
soon reduce
This
great event
To
a brawl!" Snape hissed to Hermione.
Moody was doing his best to get the situation under his control again.
"I
call this tune
No
one's immune
To
my power
In
that hall!" he shouted, thumping his wooden leg at the same time.
Hermione was not listening to Moody. She would have given anything to not be listening to Snape, either, but the latter was standing too close to her and hissing his words in her ear so that bits of his spit hit her in the face now and then, and there was no hope of escaping the meaning behind his words.
But Hermione had her answer ready.
"I
am not surprised
He
wanted fresher air
Once
he realized
There
was no hope
Of
your lot playing fair!"
"What? Us, not playing fair?" Malfoy asked in surprise from where he was sitting on a desk at the far corner of the room, completely forgetting why he had gone there in the first place. Now the three other people turned their eyes to him, every single one of them angry at him.
"Right, Draco," Snape said after a moment of staring at him, deciding that being angry at his own champion would be a waste of absolutely perfect anger. "I personally think it was your player that was cheating!"
"But I saw how you wanted to give him instructions on his moves!" Hermione pointed her finger accusingly at Snape. When she realised it was a professor she was attacking, it was already too late, and she decided it wouldn't change anything anyhow if she backed out at that point.
"You're completely demolishing the point behind this Chess Tournament!" Moody bellowed, and as they didn't know him very closely, it sounded to them as if he really was close to devastation.
"It's
very sad
To
see the ancient and
Distinguished
game
That
used to be
A
model of decorum and tranquillity
Become
like any other sport
A
battleground for rival ideologies
To
slug it out with glee," Snape and Hermione commented dryly.
They were too distracted to notice they were saying the same words at the same time about the same thing, both doing their best to fill every syllable with as much sarcasm as they managed. When they finished they found both Moody and Malfoy looking at them, surprise evident in both the face that was smoothed to perfection, and the one that would make mothers want to hide their children in cupboards when met in a shadowy street.
"Miss Granger," Snape hissed, getting his speech back quicker than Hermione, "you have absolutely no right to steal my words and ideas. Twenty points from Gryffindor!"
"Take that!" Malfoy added from where he was perched on a desk.
"Mr. Malfoy, thirty points from Slytherin for unsuitable behaviour in a classroom!" Hermione shouted quickly.
"Miss Granger, fifty points from Gryffindor for shouting on school premises," Snape retorted.
This time Malfoy refrained from commenting, choosing to turn his face away from the others and look out of the window into the swirling snow, joggling his legs.
"Mr. Malfoy, fifty points from Slytherin for continuous unsuitable behaviour in a classroom," Hermione said in a level voice after a moment of thought.
"Miss Granger, seventy points from Gryffindor for breaking the Head Girl codex and wearing House colours," Snape said, finding finally something to take points for, referring to the thin red ribbon Hermione had used to tie her hair back.
Hermione quickly turned towards Malfoy who was still sitting on the desk. But this time Snape beat her to that.
"And get off the bloody desk, you dolt," he almost screamed, stomping to Malfoy in a rapid stride. Malfoy bleached in his face, then jumped quickly off the table, but he landed unfortunately at the same place a chair was standing, therefore lost his balance and, hands flying wildly around him collapsed on the floor, one of his fists bumping heavily into Snape's leg.
"Malfoy, that's a hundred house points from Slytherin for physically attacking a professor!" Hermione said before either the student or his Head of House realised what was going on.
"ENOUGH!" someone suddenly bellowed, and everyone turned to Moody whose presence in the room they seemed to have momentarily forgotten. "It's nice to see you bicker," he said, internally adding that he really had enjoyed watching the tennis match between Hermione and Snape, and added, "but I personally am here because of the Chess Championship. If none of you has anything further to say about that—"
"I have," Malfoy said, hoisting himself up from the floor.
"I
would say with regard to
Him
it is hard to rebut
Ever-growing
suspicions
My
opposition's a nut."
Snape nodded quickly, the unintentional punch he had just received from his champion forgotten already.
"We
wish, no must, make our disgust
At
this abuse perfectly clear
We're
here for chess, are those bitches?
If
so, why foul the atmosphere?" he repeated his words from the
earlier, sending hopeful glances to Hermione to see whether she would
react the same way this time.
But Hermione kept her cool, or at least managed to control herself better this time. The look in her eyes, though, when she opened her mouth, was fierce enough to make Moody start reprimanding them.
"I
must insist
That
you desist
If
you value
Your
livelihood!" Moody said, but unfortunately no one heard him, for
Hermione's voice was louder.
"I
don't suppose
You'd
understand the strain
And
pressure getting where he's got
For
then you'd simply call him highly strung and not
Imply
that he was one of those," Hermione jumped to the defence of his
boyfriend.
Up until this point she actually hadn't let her brain notice the fact that Ron was valuing chess more than her, but now it hit her like a Muggle brick at Hogwarts dungeons. She sent one disoriented look around, briefly wondering if Ron actually would be more insulted about what had been said there about playing chess or what Snape had called her. She let her mind decide that she was still more important to her boyfriend, mentally filing away a complaint, a promise to think it thoroughly over once she was not in that particular company.
Malfoy seemed to have noticed her indecision because, having made sure that Moody and Snape were engaged in a shouting match of their own, he rounded up on Hermione with a superior look on his face.
"But
how can you
Work
for one who
Treats
you like dirt?
Pay
must be good," he said.
"Or rather, I can't see where he'd get the money for that… I suppose there's something else he gives you that no one else is low enough to give," he hinted with a sneer.
Hermione fumed.
"I'm
not getting rich
My
only interest
Is
in something which
Gives
me the chance
Of
working with the best," Hermione retorted quickly, choosing to
ignore the last comment.
"I
can only say
I
hope your dream comes true
Till
that far-off day
I
hope you cope
With
helping number two."
Malfoy had now bowed so close to Hermione that she could feel his breath on her cheeks as he insulted her. She looked in his eyes, cold and calculating, a new burst of anger rising in her chest.
At the same time Moody had cornered Snape almost as thoroughly as Malfoy had cornered Hermione.
"It
seems to us
There's
little point in waiting here
All
night for his return
And
since a peaceful match is our sole concern
We
won't make an official fuss
In
short we rise
Above
that guy's
Tantrums,
dramas,
Dirty
tricks," Snape said, his voice shivering a bit, trying to move away
from the piercing blue gaze Moody was giving him.
But Moody wasn't so easily distracted.
"Get
this straight, I
Will
not stand by
While
you play at
Politics,"
he said, his look forcing Snape to nod.
"How
sad to see
What
used to be
A
model of decorum and tranquillity
Become
like any other sport
A
battleground for rival ideologies
To
slug it out with glee!" they all repeated
Moody stepped away from Snape, letting a quick smile move over his face, and the professor leaned on a wall, panting a little. Malfoy turned his back to Hermione and walked over to his Head of House, stopping next to him and standing there like a post. Hermione stood up straight as well, now on the other side of the aisle from the others.
"Bitch!" Malfoy mouthed to Hermione, not a sound escaping from between his lips.
"Boy!" Hermione retorted just as silently.
"Second!" Malfoy mouthed, growing red in his face.
"Ferret!"
"Golden Girl!"
"Snake!" Hermione didn't give in.
"Enough of this biased waffle!" Moody bellowed. He was standing so that it was clear he had seen every word that had not been said, and it was just as clear he didn't like the turn the things had taken. "You, both, listen up! If the players do not return to the Ravenclaw common room within 24 hours, the match is null and void — the game is greater than its players."
With that he turned, opened the door, showed Malfoy, who was looking as if he was about to start a Muggle duel with Hermione, out of the room, and left after him, leaving the door open for others to follow.
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