Chapter 4
Round 2: Home Court Advantage
Dumbledore heard a knock at the door and opened it. "Ah, Mr. Graves, welcome back! You've brought your own chess set I see. How marvelous." He said without a trace of irony. He held the door open so Graves could enter.
Graves came in looking confident. He was wearing his usual color scheme, a black and white pin-striped suit but it was a simpler cut than the ones he used to wear, much less fussy. Dumbledore thought he looked rugged and sophisticated this way.
"My, you always were a snappy dresser. And I see you kept the long hair!"
"It was time for something else. The old cut brought back unpleasant memories."
Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Well, you look fantastic. How do you feel?"
"Physically, I feel mostly back to normal. Using magic again took some getting used to. I blew up a lot of stuff by accident. There was a lot of pent-up energy. I felt like a kid again." He said with a laugh.
"Well, we all need a release sometime." Dumbledore said before quickly averting his gaze and changing the subject. "So, what have you been up to in America?" He chose not to mention the media circus that had ensued upon Graves' return.
"Mostly getting my home and papers in order. It was a nightmare getting a new wand permit. If it wasn't for Picquery I probably wouldn't have been allowed back in the country. She really saved me."
As someone who actually saved Graves, Dumbledore felt a slight stab at this.
"If you need me to testify or anything on your behalf I would be happy to."
"Thank you but I don't think that will be necessary. Picquery took care of everything. She has friends in high places and her word still holds a lot of weight. And once the 100th round of Revelio failed to turn me into Grindelwald, I think they were finally convinced."
"Well, it's always nice to see justice prevail." Dumbledore tried to hide his disappointment at the good news. "Did you get to see Picquery at all when you returned? I know you two used to be close. At least, that's what the papers said." Dumbledore asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Yes, she was one of the only people from my former life still willing to speak to me. Not being in office anymore probably helps but even so, she was always someone who was willing to stand up for what she believes in."
This saddened Dumbledore somewhat. "That must be difficult to deal with. It's good to have a friend like that."
"It is what it is. When a dark wizard uses your likeness to wreak havoc on the world, people have a hard time seeing that you're not him. You figure out who your real friends are, and Picquery is an excellent one."
"Well, I do hope you consider me part of those ranks as well."
"I don't know, that depends."
"Depends on what?" Dumbledore looked taken aback.
"How this game goes." Graves said as he held up his chess set.
Dumbledore looked relieved. "Oh, well then let's not put it off any longer." He magicked away his scarlet and gold set and Graves set his up in its place.
"Ah, black and white. I'm sensing a bit of a pattern with you."
"I always was a purist." Graves took off his jacket and put himself on the side of the black pieces while Dumbledore whisked up some tea.
"You better not let your adversaries hear you say that. Some resemblances can't be fixed by growing out your hair."
"I'll trust you not to tell them then." Graves said with the hint of a smile. "You're white this time."
Dumbledore sat down on the white side as Graves made his customary adjustments. With a discreet flick of his wand, Dumbledore centered his pieces and sipped his tea while he waited for the other man to finish. When Graves looked up he asked, "Ready?" Graves nodded and Dumbledore reached his hand out to shake. They both said "good luck" and with that the game began.
"Pawn to e4." The fact that Dumbledore had to say his move out loud was already an encouraging sign for Graves. Without his personal chess set maybe the pieces weren't sufficiently trained to do his bidding.
"Am I seeing things or did you just advance your pawn two squares?"
"I have to keep you on your toes."
"I don't know if I should be worried or relieved. C5." The black pawn slid to c5, keeping the white pawn in its periphery.
"Knight to f3." Dumbledore's knight vaulted over the pawn line to land on the f3 square.
Graves responded with his own knight going to c6.
"D4."
Graves glanced up at his opponent as Dumbledore serenely sipped his tea. Graves licked his lips before he gave his command. "Pawn to d4. Takes."
This was the moment of truth. His black pawn advanced on the d4 square. Graves' eyes were burning a hole in the white pawn, willing it to be taken. Even though it was his chess set, he wasn't altogether sure Dumbledore hadn't somehow managed to turn his own pieces against him.
The black pawn took out its spear and brought it sidelong into the white pawn's flank. To Graves' relief, it went clean through and the white pawn collapsed in a heap.
Graves looked at Dumbledore, who appeared unfazed by the whole scene. "What, you couldn't find a way to sabotage that?" He asked, somewhat antagonistically but feeling more apprehensive than anything.
"What you call sabotage, I call good defense." Dumbledore said before making his next move. "Knight takes on d4."
With an impressive leap, the knight came down heavily upon the d-pawn, who faced its demise unflinchingly.
"See, that's how a piece should accept defeat."
"I never saw the point in accepting defeat." Typical Dumbledore response.
"A lot of peace can be gained by coming to terms with the inevitable."
"I don't seek peace."
This intrigued Graves. "What do you seek?"
"Victory."
Graves just laughed and shook his head. "You would say something like that. E5." The pawn strode up to the e5 square, eyeing the white knight situated in its kill zone greedily.
"Knight c6." The knight continued its rampage by charging full blast at its counterpart, trampling the black knight out of existence.
Graves looked faintly pleased by this and ordered his next move. "B-pawn takes on c6." And with a swift spear to the underbelly, the white knight ended its run.
Dumbledore responded aggressively by bringing both his bishops out. The light-squared bishop went first going to c4, which Graves met by moving his remaining knight out to f6. The dark-squared bishop followed by going to g5, pinning the black knight to its queen along the diagonal.
Now that Graves could see he had a real game on his hands he rubbed his palms together. "Now this is more like it."
The game heated up rather quickly after this. White infiltrated the enemy lines, creating all kinds of problems from attacking black's major pieces to a possible pawn promotion. While its back rank appeared to be burning, black calmly pushed its three central pawns forward, advancing up the board with all the speed of an inch worm. White nabbed a rook and after a bishop exchange, it brought its queen to the back rank, threatening a checkmate and supporting the white pawn in its quest to promote. Black was able to neutralize this threat in one move by blocking the promotion square with its remaining bishop. If the queen took it she would fall to the rook. Seeing that her efforts were futile she abandoned the pawn and retreated back to the white camp, but not before offering a check to the black king who simply slid out of the way.
The black pawns continued their march. The closer they got to the first rank, the less they resembled an inch worm and the more they resembled a boa constrictor tightening its grip on its prey. The black queen gave a check of her own, showing how much sharper her teeth were than the white queen's, who could only jump around the board ineffectually, causing little more than a temporary distraction. The real problems began when the black queen moved to the first row, with only one rook between her and the white king. If the rook took her, the eager pawn on f2 would take the rook, earning the queen promotion and checkmating the king in a single move.
White had no choice but to bring the other rook down to the first rank, putting more pressure on the black queen. This was met by another pawn push, as the d-pawn joined its friend on the second row. The white queen made another empty threat by targeting the rook protecting the black king which easily stepped aside. White decided that the best course of action now was to block the d-pawn's promotion square, sandwiching the black queen between the two rooks. Black responded with another pawn push to e3, reinforcing the other two pawns. The white queen moved to c3, hitting both the d-pawn and the e-pawn at the same time. The black queen showed up her white counterpart yet again by taking the rook on d1 and offering herself up as a sacrifice. The remaining rook had no choice but to take her or else all would be lost.
The e-pawn brought the hammer down by joining its brothers on the second rank, creating an unstoppable pawn line, all three chomping at the bit to promote. This was too much even for a queen and a rook. The white queen hacked away at the line by taking the d2 pawn, but black just moved the f-pawn to the first rank, earning its queenhood. This was short-lived as she was immediately taken by the rook but then the final killing blow came when the e-pawn, avenging its friend, took the rook on f1, giving it the chance to promote. To add a bit of chess humor, Graves decided to underpromote the pawn to a rook, since that was all that was necessary to finish the game.
"Checkmate." That word had never felt so good coming out of his mouth. Consummate professional that he was, Graves contained his triumphant glee and opted for a more reserved, almost solemn tone. Part of him couldn't believe Dumbledore had actually let this happen. Graves was very confident in his chess skills and believed himself to be the superior player but Dumbledore always had a trick up his sleeve.
"Not yet."
"I'm sorry? The king can't move anywhere. He's trapped."
"Exactly right." Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "But now you have to take him."
Graves stared at him for a moment.
"Go on then, take him." Dumbledore urged him along.
Graves opened his mouth to argue but decided to take the high road. After all the game had already been won so he may as well take his victory lap. With a deep breath, he just said, "Whatever you want, Dumbledore." Graves played along and commanded his rook to take the king on h1. The rook slid towards the corner and stood imposingly at the border of the king's square. Slowly one of its stones opened up and a tiny cannon poked out pointing directly at the king. It went off with a mini bang and just when it should've decapitated the hapless king, he swung his sword like a bat, sending the cannonball careening back towards the rook. What followed sounded like a thunderclap and once the smoke cleared there was nothing left of the castle but a pile of rubble. In all his years playing wizard's chess, Graves had never seen anything like this.
"Now it's my turn." Dumbledore said cheerfully.
"Excuse me?"
"You moved, now it's my turn." Dumbledore said matter of factly.
Graves watched incredulously as Dumbledore called king to g1. The king brazenly strode over the castle ruins, planting his sword in the smoking remains like a conquering hero. His queen looked at him like she had never respected him more.
Suddenly the tides had turned as white had the queen and pawn majority. This would've been enough for white to crush black but the white king, with his newfound strength, wanted to join the fray. Graves spent the next 70 moves or so being hunted down by the entire royal family. The queen, no longer concerned about her king's safety, was free to run around offering checks, attacks and ushering pawns to their promotion squares. Any threat to the white king was met with fierce resistance and no piece could go near him without being systematically destroyed.
Over the course of the game, Graves' entire demeanor changed. He went from leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed and taking frequent sips of tea, to hunching over the board with his head in his hands. His state of undress also evolved as he started out looking pristine and buttoned-up and by the end his sleeves were rolled up, his vest was undone, his tie was loosened and the top of his shirt was unbuttoned. When black was completely out of material, Graves was forced to resign in humiliating fashion.
"I've never seen anyone play like this in my entire life!"
Showing no appreciation for how crushing and demoralizing a defeat this was, Dumbledore stated amiably, "A strong king can raise legions."
Graves scoffed. "Oh, what an honor to be bestowed with yet another one of your invaluable life lessons."
"Learning is always optional, as I like to tell my students." He said with a good-natured grin.
Graves' frustration was palpable and the fact that Dumbledore was totally unaffected by it was making it worse. He pointed at Dumbledore, trying to find his words but too angry to think clearly. "I'm... a better chess player than you!"
Graves' anger bounced off Dumbledore as easily as he would deflect a spell. He looked positively beaming as he held up his finger. "Ah, but this is wizard's chess."
This only served to further infuriate Graves. He pushed out of his chair and grabbed his jacket, not bothering to put it on.
Finally reading the room in the midst of his post-win high, Dumbledore caught on to the fact that Graves was actually upset. "Oh, Percy, come on. I was only having a bit of fun."
"I don't know why I play with you! You just toy with me and tease me mercilessly. I feel like a damn school boy when I'm around you!"
"I am a professor. Maybe that has something to do with-"
"Well, I'm sick of it." Graves cut him off before he could finish. He magically collected his chess set and opened the door. "It's no wonder you can't get people to play with you!"
"Percy, you know I didn't mean anything by it. Please don't leave like this." Dumbledore looked hurt.
"Thank you for the tea. Good day, sir." Graves said and then slammed the door shut behind him before Dumbledore could stop him.
