Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Harry Potter and all the characters that inhabit it belong to J.K. Rowling, I own nothing.
Hugo was bored. He was sitting in an uncomfortable chair, swinging his legs, and pretending to read over his notes. The holidays were fast approaching so naturally Rose had dragged him to the library in a futile effort to prevent him from slacking off. He let out a small sigh. It's not that he didn't appreciate her help, but she had the tendency to go overboard. Hugo glanced at his sister and saw she was so absorbed in her studies that she failed to notice he hadn't turned a page for the last 10 minutes. Instead he had been sneaking covert glances at the muggle chessboard in the corner.
He had initially noticed it when Rose hauled him to the library on his very first weekend at Hogwarts. Having very little to do, he finished his assignments quickly and began to take in his surroundings. Rose had managed to find the most secluded section in the library. They were in a far back corner, their long table pushed flush against the castle wall. A towering bookshelf flanked their right side, muffling any noise that may swell over from the busier sections of the library. Behind them were rows upon rows of wide bookshelves that ran haphazardly creating a tiny maze towards their nook.
He could tell why Rose liked it here. For one, they were surrounded by thick historical reference books that nobody ever needed, judging by the blanket of dust he suspected that they hadn't been moved from the shelf since they were first placed there, and while a couple other tables were visible from their spot, he had yet to see anyone to occupy them.
As isolated and quiet as this section was, Hugo knew the real reason Rose chose to study here was because of the giant window that ran nearly floor to ceiling and offered a stunning view of the lake and grounds. He felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lips. Rose may seem relentless in her educational pursuits but even she wasn't above taking tiny study breaks to gaze outside. He had looked away from the window over to the adjacent wall where he noticed a chess set. It was on a small table wedged into the shadowy corner. Hugo initially thought someone must have forgotten their wizard chess set, but upon closer inspection he saw it was a muggle board like the one he played with Grandpa Granger during holiday visits.
That first weekend he had stood up, ignoring Rose's curious gaze and walked over to get a better look. The chess pieces were very old and a thick layer of dust covered the board. Hugo blew on it sending a grey cloud into the air.
"Don't play with things that don't belong to you." Rose chided him, her voice practically an echo of their mother's.
Hugo rolled his eyes, "It clearly hasn't been touched in ages, probably belongs to the library anyway."
"Well that still doesn't mean you should touch it, if you're really done studying then why don't you write a letter to Mum or go visit Hagrid rather than playing with old dirty things and distracting me."
Hugo grinned. Defiantly he picked up a white pawn and moved it to e4 then collected his things and bounded out of the library, free at last.
Given the endless adventures to be had in Hogwarts, Hugo hadn't given the chessboard a second thought until the next time Rose managed to drag him into the library a few weeks later. After half an hour of mind numbing boredom, Hugo again turned his attention away from his books over to the chessboard. He let out a gasp of surprise that was quickly shushed by Rose. Hugo leapt from the chair and scurried over to the board. A black piece had been moved, and not just any move, black pawn to c5, the Sicilian defense! His mystery opponent knew their stuff.
"Rose, Rose, come look!" Hugo exclaimed.
Rose reluctantly got up from the table and approached the board. She eyed it with apprehension and grabbed Hugo's wrist as he went to pick up a piece. "Stop Hugo, what does Granddad Weasley always say? 'Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.'"
"Come on Rose," Hugo groaned pulling his arm out of her grasp, "It's a muggle chessboard, I doubt it's capable of thinking. Someone probably came in here and moved it by hand like I did."
"Well I haven't seen anyone else and I'm in here nearly every day."
"That's depressing," Hugo muttered under his breath, "But really it's just a chessboard. What's the worst that could happen?"
Rose rolled her eyes, "Apparently you've never listened to a word Granddad Weasley's ever said. His whole job at the ministry was dealing with disasters caused by muggle items that had been bewitched."
"But we don't even know if it has been bewitched," Hugo whined.
"Well fine, mum taught me a revealing charm, it should tell us if it's hiding something. Aparecium," she pointed her wand at the chessboard.
Nothing happened.
Rose frowned, "Well, I'm not entirely sure if that spell works in this situation, it just reveals if a concealing charm has been used, I'll have to see if there is another spell that can—"
"Oh come on Rose, it's just a dusty old chessboard," Hugo interrupted and before Rose had the chance to respond he reached out and moved his knight to f3.
"Hugo!" Rose gasped.
Hugo stuck out his tongue and returned to the table, picking up his book to resume his studies.
Ever since that day a trip to the library had included a new move in the chess game, much to Rose's chagrin.
Today would be no different.
Not being able to hide his curiosity any longer, Hugo gave one last look at Rose then pushed back his chair and made his way to the chessboard.
Rose frowned, "Are you sure it's not bewitched?" she asked for what had to be the 100th time, disapproval clear in her voice.
"You're the one that inspected it," Hugo said dismissively. Rose was a real worrier sometimes, or maybe she just couldn't handle a little mystery in her life.
"Well have you ever seen anyone in here move it? I've never noticed anyone even remotely go near the board."
"Well it's not like you notice much when you're studying, you have your face so close to the parchment I'm surprised you don't get ink all over it," Hugo teased.
Rose sniffed disdainfully at her brother, before asking haughtily, "Aren't you the least bit curious whom you've been playing against?"
"Not really," Hugo muttered offhandedly. He didn't really care as long as he could continue playing. Plus half the fun was watching Rose get worked up about it. She hated not knowing the answer to something and since that was a rare occurrence, Hugo was going to enjoy her frustration for as long as he could. Though he had to admit, his opponent was quite good whoever they were; they'd managed to check him again. After a few minutes of careful consideration Hugo managed to remove his king from danger, though he had the sinking suspicion that any chance of victory was quickly slipping from his grasp.
Hugo flopped back into his chair with a thud making no effort to resume studying. It was nearly dinner time and he was unable to think of anything else.
"How much longer are you going to take?" Hugo asked.
"Not too much longer, I've just started a new chapter and I'd really like to finish it before leaving, and maybe also reread my essay just to make sure I didn't—"
A loud gurgle erupted from Hugo's stomach in protest.
Rose looked over at her brother and sighed, "Fine, we can go now." Truth be told, once she took a moment from studying she realized she was rather hungry as well.
Rose and Hugo packed up their things and started to make their way out of the library. They had nearly reached the exit when Rose stopped abruptly and began searching through her bag frantically.
"Oh no," Rose exclaimed, "I think I must have left my quill back on the table, you go on ahead." She quickly turned and dashed down the narrow aisles between the bookshelves, careful not to make too much noise lest she incur the wrath of the ancient Madam Pinz. She had nearly burst out from behind the bookshelves when she froze in her tracks. There was someone's bag sitting on the far end of her table! Her eyes swept the area searching for the interloper and she was momentarily stunned at the sight of Scorpius Malfoy standing over the chessboard with his hand to his mouth, deep in concentration.
"What are you doing?!" Rose exclaimed in a stage whisper.
Scorpius looked up in surprise. Upon seeing Rose he turned his attention back to the board and lazily answered her, "What does it look like I'm doing? Playing chess."
"What? You? Really? How? Since when?"
Scorpius looked at Rose blankly for a beat then asked, "Which of those questions would you like me to answer first?"
Rose focused in on the one she considered to be of greatest importance, "Did you find the board just now? If so, don't mess up the pieces, there's a game in progress."
Scorpius smirked, "I'm quite aware; I've been playing it for the last 3 months." He cast her a curious glance as if sizing her up, "Am I to assume that you are my opponent?"
"What? No. Not me, my little brother Hugo. I bring him along to study with me sometimes."
"Ah that explains it." Scorpius' smirk returned, "No offense, but you don't seem to have the patience for chess. Though I imagine the game would have progressed quite a bit quicker if it was you, considering you're in here practically every day."
Rose was still trying to wrap her head around the revelation of Hugo's opponent, "How do you even know how to play muggle chess? I don't imagine it's a part of your typical Malfoy etiquette training."
Malfoy shot her a withering glare, "Chess is chess. You really think I couldn't work out how to move the pieces with my hands?"
Well no, she knew he definitely wasn't stupid or else he wouldn't be giving her a run for her money at being top of their class, "Well if it's been you all this time, how come I've never seen you here before?" She asked in an accusatory manner, though even she was uncertain what exactly she was accusing him of.
"Probably because you're not paying attention? I try to get this table every opportunity I can but most of the time you've already occupied it. The only time I'm ever able to snag it is right at the start of dinner. I guess it's true what they say about Weasleys and their appetites."
Rose flushed, "Well I guess it's true what they say about Malfoys and their manners."
"What? That they are quite large and impressive?" Malfoy replied slyly, purposely misinterpreting her words.
"I imagine they'd have to be in order to accommodate their occupants' overly inflated egos," Rose replied without missing a beat.
A moment passed as Rose and Scorpius quietly evaluated each other.
"Well, let your brother know I'm game if he ever wants to play a match in real time." Before Rose had chance to reply he made a move on the board, turned his back to her, and sat down at the table effectively signaling the end of the conversation.
Rose had a terrible habit of needing to get the last word in which led her to haughtily exclaim, "You know, it's creepy to know you've been watching me from behind the bookshelves while I'm completely unaware. It's a large table, if you want to use it go right ahead. So long as you aren't noisy I don't see why we can't both be civil and share it. "
Scorpius' face registered the faintest modicum of surprise but he quickly hid it with a smirk before turning in his chair to face her, "Little vain aren't you? You're making it sound like I'm some peeping Tom. I'd hardly consider glancing to see if a table is occupied as 'watching you' but seeing as this is my favorite table I'll take you up on your offer. Just don't expect me to help you with your homework," Scorpius finished with a devilish smirk.
"Oh honestly," Rose said in exasperation, she snatched her quill off the table and turned on her heel, making a huffy retreat out of the library.
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After that encounter Rose would occasionally come across Scorpius at the table. Usually he was just arriving as she was leaving for dinner, or he would be leaving just as she was arriving after breakfast. Considering Rose was an early riser she had to assume he got up at the crack of dawn. Neither one spoke to each other, usually they just exchanged a perfunctory look and a polite nod but the pleasantries did not extend beyond that. They were civil but distant, as they felt was appropriate for students with their family's history.
Scorpius, however, could not help but notice that on the increasingly rare occasions Hugo attended the library with Rose, the boy frequently shot covert glances his way. Clearly he was curious about the interloper but he was mindful of Rose's reproachful look and shushes anytime Hugo made a move to engage Scorpius in conversation.
Rose had not explicitly told Hugo that Malfoy was his chess opponent, but Hugo was not dumb (unmotivated perhaps, but not dumb). As Rose herself said, no one else ever came to this section of the library. On several occasions Hugo could have sworn he caught Malfoy glancing away when Hugo looked up after making a move on the chessboard, as if Malfoy had just been observing him. When Hugo asked Rose what she thought about it she simply replied, "I thought you didn't care."
Hugo studied Rose's face and knew she was holding something back. She was the absolute worst liar, her body betraying her almost as if it was physically incapable of holding back an answer when posed a question. He didn't push it and silently wondered why she felt the need to keep it from him. Normally she loved lording information over him, but this time she hadn't even teased him once. You'd think she would be happy that she knew definitively that the chessboard wasn't enchanted in some way. But Hugo had the sinking suspicion it had more to do with the dinner table conversations about the Malfoy family that came up when Ron and Harry had drank liberal amounts of firewhiskey during the holidays. Maybe Rose felt if she didn't tell Hugo he wouldn't feel that he was obligated to stop playing chess with Malfoy.
Hugo surveyed the board and groaned in defeat. Checkmate. He knocked his king over and looked at Scorpius, who he was certain was watching him from the corner of his eye. "What do you say Malfoy, best two out of three?"
Scorpius smirked at the boy, "Given the pace you play that could take years."
"Well, take it or leave it, you won't be seeing me in here any more than is necessary. Too bad for you that Rose is rubbish at chess," Hugo retorted jovially, ignoring Rose's narrow eyed glare.
"I suppose we have a deal then," Scorpius replied with the ghost of an honest to goodness smile on his face.
Rose had been observing their exchange with pursed lips, but rolled her eyes and returned to her notes.
At the end of the day Hugo really didn't care who his opponent was. The Malfoys may have an unsavory reputation but as far as he could tell this guy wasn't so bad, and in real life Hugo was finding that not everything was as black and white as it was in chess.
A/N This is my first time ever writing a story let alone sharing it. Please leave a comment or review to let me know who you liked or how I could improve. Thanks for reading!