Chapter 14: King's Gambit

23 December 1992

It was time for Christmas break.

Harry looked forward to returning to Malfoy Manor once again for Christmas vacation. He genuinely liked Lucius and Narcissa, and he was glad they allowed him to stay with them last Christmas. Harry also knew that Hogwarts had gotten dangerous during that school year, so it would be best to stay with the Malfoys during winter break. Better than being near some creature trying to attack students and petrify them.

Harry and the other second-year Slytherins gathered in the Slytherin common room with the rest of the house. Obviously no one wanted to stay at Hogwarts with the attacks that were taking place. Snape spoke to the Slytherins briefly, words of encouragement to keep their decorum and tranquility preserved.

Harry and his fellow Slytherins got on the Hogwarts Express. Ginny Weasley expressed disdain about having to spend the holidays with her brothers.

"Being in Slytherin is exciting and adventurous, make no mistake, but my brothers have not spoken to me much since I became a Slytherin. Ron has been especially annoying, warning me to stay away from all you dark and evil Slytherins."

"He's being irrational", Theodore said. "We are just children. It is not right for him to think that all of us have nefarious intentions."

"Well, good luck Ginny", Harry said. "Stay safe."

Eventually, the Slytherin second-years arrived in London. They briefly bid Harry and Draco goodbye before heading to their respective homes with their families.

Eventually, Mr. Malfoy and Mrs. Malfoy arrived. They both hugged Draco tightly. Then, they apparated Draco and Harry to Malfoy Manor.

When they arrived, Dobby brought their belongings into the house. They ate dinner, and Lucius asked Draco and Harry about how the school year was going for them.

"It's been scary", Harry admitted. "There was the bludger that attacked me at the Quidditch match, you obviously know about that. And there have been numerous attacks on Muggleborn students at Hogwarts. A lot of people think I'm guilty."

"That's absurd!", Mrs. Malfoy exclaimed.

"I know!", Harry said. "Snape said he didn't personally believe I was responsible, but some Hufflepuffs apparently think I'm guilty. They were saying that I could be a dark wizard of some sort."

"It is an unfortunate situation", Lucius said. "There is little we can do to squash and eliminate the rumors that others may spread around. But gossip is merely gossip. I don't think you or the other Slytherins will be in serious trouble because of it. It's just not practical."

Lucius's eyes flickered to the Wizard's Chess set in the living room.

"Harry, we should play a game of Wizard's Chess right now", Mr. Malfoy said. "Just to see how much you've learned."

"Okay, then", Harry said.

So Mr. Malfoy and Harry headed to the chessboard while Draco and Narcissa watched. Mr. Malfoy had the white pieces and Harry had the black pieces.

"Pawn to e4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white pawn on e2 moved to e4.

"Pawn to e5", Harry said. The black pawn on e7 moved to e5.

"Pawn to f4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white pawn on f2 moved to f4. The white f-pawn was undefended. Should Harry capture it?

Harry decided the answer was yes.

"Pawn to f4", Harry said. The black pawn on e5 pulled out its sword and obliterated the white pawn on f4 into numerous pieces before replacing it.

"Bishop to c4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white bishop on f1 moved to c4.

"Knight to f6", Harry said. The black knight on g8 moved to f6.

"Knight to c3", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on b1 moved to c3.

"Knight to c6", Harry said. The black knight on b8 moved to c6.

"Knight to f3", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on g1 moved to f3.

"Bishop to b4", Harry said. The black bishop on f8 moved to b4.

"Castle Kingside," Mr. Malfoy said. The white king castled kingside.

"Castle Kingside", Harry said. The black king castled kingside.

"Knight to d5", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on c3 moved to d5.

"Knight to d5", Harry said. The black knight on f6 moved to d5, capturing the white knight that was on that square by demolishing it with its sword.

"Pawn to d5", Mr. Malfoy said. The white pawn on e4 moved to d5, splitting open the black knight on the d5 square with its sword.

"Knight to e7", Harry said. The black knight on c6 moved to e7.

"Pawn to d4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white pawn on d2 moved to d4.

"Bishop to d6", Harry said. The black bishop on b4 moved to d6.

"Knight to g5", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on f3 moved to g5.

"Pawn to f6", Harry said. The black pawn on f7 moved to f6.

Mr. Malfoy was resting his chin in his hand, seemingly thinking, and concentrating. It was clear he was deep in thought.

"Knight to e4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on g5 moved to e4.

"Knight to f5", Harry said. The black knight on e7 moved to f5.

"Bishop to f4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white bishop on c1 moved to f4, capturing the black pawn that was on the f4 square.

"Bishop to f4", Harry said. The black bishop on d6 moved to f4, capturing the white bishop that was on the f4 square.

"Pawn to d6", Mr. Malfoy said. The white pawn on d5 moved to d6. This move unveiled a discovered check on the black king on g8 from the white bishop on c4.

"King to h8", Harry said. The black king on g8 moved to h8.

"Rook to f4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white rook on f1 moved to f4, capturing the black bishop on the f4 square.

"Knight to e3", Harry said. The black knight on f5 moved to e3. This move attacked the white queen on d1.

"Queen to d3", Mr. Malfoy said. The white queen on d1 moved to d3.

"Knight to c4", Harry said. The black knight on e3 moved to c4, attacking, and destroying the white bishop on the c4 square.

"Queen to c4", Mr. Malfoy said. The white queen on d3 moved to c4, capturing the black knight on the c4 square.

"Pawn to d6", Harry said. The black pawn on c7 moved to d6, capturing the white pawn that was on the d6 square.

"Knight to d6", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on e4 moved to d6, capturing the black pawn that was on the d6 square.

"Queen to b6", Harry said. The black queen on d8 moved to b6.

"Knight to f7", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on d6 moved to f7. This move gave check to the black king on h8.

"King to g8", Harry said. The black king on h8 moved to g8.

"Knight to h6", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on f7 moved to h6, giving a double check from the white knight on h6 and the white queen on c4.

"King to h8", Harry said. The black king on g8 moved to h8.

"Queen to g8", Mr. Malfoy said. This move gave check to the black king on h8. The black king couldn't capture the white queen, as it was defended by the white knight on h6. However, the black rook could capture the white queen.

"Rook to g8", Harry said. The black rook on f8 moved to g8, capturing the white queen on the g8 square.

"Knight to f7", Mr. Malfoy said. The white knight on h6 moved to f7.

"Checkmate", Mr. Malfoy said.

Harry looked at the position. It was true. Mr. Malfoy had managed to deliver a smothered mate. The black king was attacked and couldn't move because his own rook and pawns were in the way.

The game had lasted 21 moves.

Harry shook hands with Mr. Malfoy, slightly disappointed that he had lost.

Draco then decided to share his thoughts.

"The opening you played is known as the King's Gambit. There were several mistakes that you made during the game. The first inaccuracy was on your tenth move, when you played the black pawn on f7 to f6. A better move would have been to play the black pawn on b7 to b5. The next mistake you made was on your seventeenth move, when you played the black queen on d8 to b6. A better move would have been to play the black queen to e7 instead. The final blunder you made during the game which made checkmate unavoidable was moving your king on h8 to g8 on your eighteenth move. The best move you could have played was to capture the white knight on f7 with the black rook on f8."

Harry nodded. "Thanks for your insight, Draco. I appreciate it."

"The more you learn, the better", Mr. Malfoy said. "There are numerous possibilities in the game of chess."