White Lies // Drarry

Chapter 12: Third Floor Corridor II

Probably the only time when Harry saw Ron and Draco not insulting each other and actually talking like civilized wizards was when they were strategizing. It was a familiar sight, one that happened many times in Grimmauld Place before the climax of the war, but it still never ceased to amaze Harry. And okay, make him chuckle.

He looked around him. They almost took the entire row up, with the exception of the rooks. They were playing white. In order, Ron was playing as a Knight, Blaise as a Bishop, Hermione as the Queen, Pansy as the King, Harry as the other Bishop and Draco as the other Knight.

Harry tried rotating his ankle, and idly wondered who would have to be sacrificed this time.

Draco Malfoy was a coward. Everyone knew that. Draco knew that, and he wasn't even going to pretend he wasn't. Sure, he'd risked his life by spying on You-Know-Who and had fought against Death Eaters that were older than him and much more experienced with battle in the war. He may have also faced a Dark Lord, though Harry did most of the fighting and fancy wand waving.

Still, those feats of his (if you could call them that) were done under pressure.

He wasn't a Gryffindor after all, brave and courageous.

So the first time a piece was taken, Draco's eyes widened and he stared as the black pawn was pulverized by the white pawn. At the back of his mind, he vaguely heard Pansy's shriek through the clatter of broken pieces of stone that fell heavily on the chessboard, and remembered Hermione's words from earlier.

"This isn't your normal Wizard's chess. Well, it is, but that's the bad part about it. It gets rather... violent."

He knew that it was going to be like real Wizard's chess, but really...

These chess pieces were huge!

"I see what you mean now, Granger," he muttered, shakily running a hand through his hair. "Alright," he said, trying to sound calm. He caught Weasley's eye. "Pawn to E4!"

Ron did not look happy, Draco noted. He kept on glancing at Hermione, who looked relaxed as if it was just another day to perfect that Herbology quiz.

"Pawn to F5!" Ron bellowed, and all of them instinctively ducked as the opponent's Rook was destroyed.

Harry, Blaise, Pansy, and Hermione all had cuts on their arms, which they had been using for shielding their faces from the stray rocks that flew past them. Ron and Draco had no problems, since they were above ground on their horses. Their cuts weren't on their arms, but on their fingers and hands.

"Bloody fuckers," Pansy muttered, angrily flipping her bangs away from her eyes.

All of them agreed.

The next time Ron glanced over, it wasn't towards Hermione.

He caught Draco's eye, and Draco blanched, gripping the reins of his horse tighter that his knuckles turned white, as he looked around the chessboard and saw the same move that Ron was probably thinking of.

Draco Malfoy was a coward, yes.

But he liked to think that living with Harry Potter for a few days in Grimmauld Place and helping him defeat Dark Lords gave him at least somecourage.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Weasley?" he snapped, and made the call himself. "Knight to H3!"

His heart dropped when his horse started to move, but he told himself to suck it in, be a man, and take away the black side's pawn.

He just hoped that there wasn't another piece waiting to take his head off.

There wasn't.

His head remained on his shoulders.