Chapter 5 - Chess

'You there. Hey, wake up!' Harry poked the knight lightly.

'Wh-what? Who called?' The knight asked in a posh voice, waking up from his doze.

'I did.' Harry said exasperatedly. 'I want you to move to G4.'

'Oh alright.' The knight said snootily, gliding across the board. 'The things I have to do. What's the point when you're against the Dark Master over there? We Whites may as well just give up now and fall down dead to save ourselves the trouble. It would be a lot easier then being shoved all around the board just to be… Mmph!'

The knight was taken, quite brutally, by Snape's Queen.

'That shut him up at least.' Snape said almost gleefully.

Harry looked glumly at the depleted board.

'Um, deary.' He heard a female voice call. He looked down to find one of his pawns talking to him. 'I'm going to be taken by that big boulder thing if you don't move me.'

'That big boulder thing is a castle.' Snape said with disdain. 'And it's technical name—'

'Bit small for a castle, isn't it? Where is the moat? There isn't even a door. How do you get in?'

'Please leave her there.' Snape said to Harry.

Harry looked down at the pawn. 'I'm afraid you're not really that important, you're just a pawn.'

'I'm not pink.' The pawn said.

Now Harry was very confused. 'Why would you be? We only have black or white.'

'You're a pawn not a prawn.' Snape said in irritation.

Harry laughed. 'No, I meant you're just a pawn in the game of chess. Like me, but it's no game of chess I'm in.'

'Why are you a pawn?' The pawn asked. 'You're too big to fit on the board.'

'It depends which board you're talking about.' Harry said dryly.

'#Why am I waiting, I am dehydrating#' That came from one of Snape's Bishop's.

'You don't drink anyway?' Harry told him.

'I am partial to a bit of firewhiskey.' The bishop said.

Harry made a face of disgust.

'You still haven't told me why you're a pawn.' The pawn reminded him.

'Because of this scar.' Harry showed her the scar on his forehead. 'I'm a pawn in this war, I only exist to defeat Voldemort and after that I'll be nothing. I can't defeat him anyway but people think I can or pretend I can. They don't treat me like a real person or care about what happens to me in the process as long as the outcome is how they want it to be.

'They turn me into a hero but still turn on me at any opportunity. They just expect me to do their dirty work for them and have expected that since I was one year old for Merlin's sake. I'm not even supposed to survive this, just help everyone else win. It's all political bullshit.'

'Ooh, he just said a naughty word.' Said another of his pawns in a high, girly voice.

'Now that you've finished with the "lets all feel sorry for Harry" speech shall we continue with the game?' Snape asked.

'Move me please.' Said the first pawn. 'We don't have to be pawns, we don't have to lie down and take it.'

'Hey! Scarbloke.' Harry turned to one of his bishops with a raised eyebrow. 'If you move me to H12 I can take his horsey thing.'

'It's a knight.' Snape said haughtily.

'Whatever. I can take it.'

'But then you will get taken by the queen.' Harry said, looking carefully round the board.

'I'm prepared to sacrifice myself for the greater good of the team.' He said nobly.

'Why would it be for the greater good of the team? It's like for like, the knight is nothing.'

'And he smells.' Said one of Harry's pawns.

'I certainly do not.' Replied the knight, looking very put out. 'Now my horse, that's a different matter.'

'Move me, please.' Said the pawn again. 'I don't want to be taken by a castle that doesn't even have a door.'

'The technical name is a rook.' Snape said.

'Doesn't look like a bird to me.' Replied the pawn. 'I don't want to be taken by a bird either.'

'This is not helping my strategy.' Harry said.

'Send me to H12, I say.' Said the bishop.

Harry sighed. 'What do you think?' He asked his king.

'I don't think this is even a real crown.' The king replied.

Harry sighed again loudly.

'Hey, do that swap thing.' His castle spoke up. 'You know, where I change places with his highness. What's it called? Hey, that bloke would know.' He said pointing at Snape.

'Would everyone just SHUT UP!' Harry shouted, tugging on his hair in frustration. 'I can't do this anymore. Can we use my chess set because at least the pieces don't answer back.'

'That's because you got your chess set from a Christmas cracker.' Snape replied. 'I don't suppose your pieces know one side of the board from another.'

'Well you probably got your set from the middle-ages and at least my pieces do not call the knight "that horsey thing" or the rook "that big boulder thing."'

Snape laughed but Harry had heard this a few times now and so was no longer surprised at it.

'And at least my knight doesn't smell.' Harry carried on.

'I don't smell I tell you.' Replied the knight. 'I don't.'

'There they go again.' Harry said. 'How exactly is this supposed to help my strategy?'

'It helps me get some sleep.' Snape said. 'You haven't moved in ten minutes.'

'That's not my fault. I have a bishop willing to sacrifice himself for nothing and a pawn who wants me to save her and damn the consequences.'

'Don't listen to them, do what you think. The whole point of this is to keep your mind amid distractions.'

'I thought it was to learn strategy.' Harry said challengingly.

'That too.' Snape shrugged.

'But how can I ignore her?' He said pointing at the pawn. 'Look at her, she's crying.' And she was. Her whole form was shaking on the board.

Snape looked down dispassionately. 'Attention seeker.' She stopped shaking immediately. 'You'd think she'd be used to it, the amount of times they have all been smashed up. Most pieces find it fun.'

'Fun!?' Both Harry and the pawn said at the same time.

'It's certainly fun smashing people.' Said Snape's queen.'

'She never gets taken.' Said Harry's castle in a low gloomy voice. 'Hey are you going to do that swap thing? I'm getting cold on the outside here.'

'No, I'm not.' Said Harry, losing his temper. 'Just shut up a moment and let me think.'

'That's going to be hard for you.' Snape said with a sneer.

'You took the words right out of my mouth.' Said a new voice. Harry looked down at the chessboard but then realised that the voice hadn't come from there, it had come from the doorway.

'Lucuis.' Snape said silkily. 'What an unexpected … pleasure.'