Wizard Chess

Lunch was made up of simple sandwiches and a salad. Everyone ate hungrily after their Quidditch game, and even George had an entire sandwich. Hermione was glad because she really thought that her plan was going to work, since George seemed to come out of his shell to stop Ginny and Ron fighting. What would he be able to do if they actually got him to come out of his room?

When lunch was done Ron asked, a little jokingly, "How about some more Quidditch?"

Ginny glared at him. "You're mental." She got up from the table. "Come on, Harry. Let's go do something."

Harry looked a little startled. "But Ron and I were going to play wizard chess."

Ginny scoffed. "Fine. Hermione?"

"Sure." She glanced at Ron, who was still eating, before she got up from the table and followed Ginny to her room. Crookshanks was perched on the windowsill. "Crookshanks! Where have you been?!" She hadn't seen the cat in days. She scooped him up into her arms. She looked him over to make sure that he hadn't hurt himself. She narrowed her eyes. "What did you do to yourself?" It looked like there was something on his fur. "Ginny come here a minute, would you?"

Ginny came over and said, "What?"

"Look, right there, at his fur. Do you see that?" Hermione asked.

Ginny squinted. "Yeah… Yeah, is that a W?"

Crookshanks meowed. "If only he could talk," Hermione said.

"…Hermione, I think George did that!" Ginny said brightly.

"What?" Hermione was puzzled.

"Well yeah, Crookshanks has been missing for days and George has been in his room for days! He's probably been experimenting on the poor thing." She scratched behind Crookshanks ears, causing him to purr.

"You really think so?" Hermione asked, dropping Crookshanks on her bed.

"Well maybe. He does hate that cat. Wrecked one of his and Fred's first products." Hermione remembered that day. They were at Grimmauld Place, and all of them were trying to listen in on the Order's meeting with Fred and George's creation of the Extendable Ear. Then Crookshanks destroyed it.

"Do you think we should go ask him?"

"No." Ginny said quickly.

"All right." Hermione said. "So what did you want to do?"

"Did you really just sleep in Ron's bed last night with him?"

"Yes!"

"That's it? You didn't even snog?" Ginny asked, shocked.

"Ginny, please, I really don't feel like talking about it."

"Well too bad." Ginny sat down on her bed and crossed her arms, waiting for a real answer.

Hermione sighed dramatically. "I had a nightmare about my torture last night so I went to Ron for some comfort. He held me and then I fell asleep after I told him-" She broke off, her eyes widening.

"What?" Ginny asked. "What did you say?!"

Hermione looked at her with slight horror. "I told him I loved him!"

Ginny's jaw dropped. "HERMIONE YOU DID NOT!"

"I did." Hermione said sheepishly.

"Oh my god. YOU SAID IT. Did he say it back?"

"I don't know; I fell asleep." Hermione said, getting flustered.

"Has he said it before?!" Hermione just shook her head. "Oh, Hermione. You're supposed to let the guy say it first!"

Hermione was getting slightly annoyed. Ginny was being very nosy and irritating about this whole thing. She clenched her hands into fists. "Oh, I'm supposed to let him say it first. Is there some sort of rule book that I'm not aware of?"

Ginny looked a little taken aback. "Well of course not-"

"I'm sorry if I'm not following the rules. I'm sorry I haven't had as much practise as you with dating."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ginny demanded.

"Well, how many relationships have you had? You had a little thing with Neville, then you went with Ernie Macmillan, and then there was Dean, and now Harry?"

"You've got no right to talk to me like that." Ginny said darkly.

"And you can't tell me I'm doing wrong in my relationship. Plus, my relationship with Ron really isn't any of your business so why don't you just quit pestering me about it and keep your nose in your own business?" Hermione regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. "Ginny, I didn't mean any-"

"No that's fine." Ginny said, even though it clearly wasn't. "Your relationship with my brother is none of my business. I'm just some whore whose advice isn't worth listening to. You don't have to talk to me about anything. I thought it would be nice to have a little conversation with you because you're my friend and I thought you'd want to. But no, forgive me, I guess not." She got off her bed and grabbed her wand from her nightstand. "You won't have to worry about me pestering you anymore, Hermione, because I am just done."

"Ginny wait!" Hermione called but Ginny had left the room and slammed the door behind her. Crookshanks hissed and ran under her bed. "Oh, what have I done?" Hermione asked to no one in particular, hiding her face in her hands.

Hermione stayed in the room for a while until she could no longer stand it. She didn't want to face Ginny but she knew she had to. What she said was out of line and she had to apologize. She went downstairs but there was no sign of Ginny. Ron was sitting alone at a chess board. "Where's Harry?" She asked.

"He went after Ginny. She came downstairs fuming and he said 'Oh looks like you win, Ron' and he tried to catch up to her."

"Where did they go?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know. I think he caught her just before she Disapparated."

"Oh no." Hermione said sadly, sitting down on the sofa.

"What's the matter?" Ron asked concernedly, getting off the floor to sit beside her. Hermione told him what happened, leaving out certain details.

"I shouldn't have said any of those things." Hermione said with her face in her hands.

"Well why did you? That's very unlike you, Hermione."

"I was just getting annoyed about her asking about me and you."

"She talks about us with you?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione nodded. "But that can't be the reason why. I know you, Mione. It would have to have been something bigger than that."

Hermione really didn't want to say, but she did anyway. "After I told her that I said that to you last night, she told me that you were supposed to say you loved me before I told you. I just got mad."

"Hermione there's no rule about that stuff," he said laughing softly.

"I know that but I don't want to mess up our relationship!"

"Is that what you're scared of?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked down and nodded. Ron pulled her against him and she buried her face in his chest. "Hermione there's nothing you could possibly do that will ever make me stop loving you."

"You love me?" Hermione asked, her voice muffled in his shirt.

"I love you very much. I'm not going to leave you Hermione. You don't ever have to worry about that." He pulled away from her then put his hand on her face. He inclined his head closer to hers. She closed her eyes and thought, He's going to kiss me! She moved towards him and felt the soft pressure of his lips against hers. It lasted about two seconds but it made Hermione's head swim. She rested her head against his shoulder and they sat like that for a while.

Someone came down the stairs. "Eww, if I had known I'd be walking into snuggle town I wouldn't have left my room!" Ron and Hermione both looked over their shoulders and saw George.

"Sorry, George." Ron said, releasing Hermione.

"I'm forever scarred." He said, staggering with his hand over his heart into the kitchen.

Hermione laughed. "Oh, George, did you do something to Crookshanks?"

"You mean the devil cat? I may or may not have tried out a new product on him."

Hermione perked up. "A new product?"

"Yeah," George called hesitantly. "Stick 'Em Anywhere Tattoos. Don't worry, it will wear off in a day or two."

"Oh that's fine." Hermione called back.

"He experimented on your precious cat and all you have to say is, 'Oh that's fine'?" Ron asked. "I remember if I looked at the thing wrong you'd be all over my case."

"Well this is different. If it has something to do with the joke shop I don't mind at all. Plus Crookshanks deserved it, in a way."

"He'll always deserve something bad." Hermione slapped Ron in the shoulder.

"Hey, now kids. No fighting." George had reappeared with a bowl of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "What is it with today? I keep having to come and break apart all these fights!"

"Well you've missed one," Hermione said sadly.

"What happened?" George said, his face going serious.

"Hermione and Ginny had a bit of a fight." Ron said for her.

"Well I'm sure you didn't mean it. Gin will come around sooner or later; she always does. She's stubborn, that one, but you're her best friend, Hermione. Things will get better."

"I hope so. Same for you, George." Hermione said. Ron shot her a look, but she ignored him. George didn't say anything. "Would you like to play on a team with me against Ron in wizard chess? I'm not very good and Harry left with Ginny so he's got no one to play with."

George hesitated but finally nodded. "All right." They moved to the floor at the chess board. George set the bowl of candy on the table and helped Ron re set the chess pieces.

"Ok, so how do we play?" Hermione asked.