Blame it on the Nargles | George Weasley x Fem Reader

16

The room was dimly lit, but I could still make out looming figures in front of us. We took another cautious step forward and torches erupted around the room, filling it with a flickering glow. I gasped aloud. The looming figures were now illuminated and the flames were reflected in the towering marble forms.

"... Chess?" my voice was not alone. Ron met my gaze, and realization dawned on our faces at the same time. I looked around at the rest who didn't appear to have come to the same conclusion.

"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" I asked.

"We've got to play our way across the room," Ron grinned. The others still looked puzzled.

"We'll each take the place of a piece and play it that way," I elaborated, and understanding crossed the faces.

"Right," Ron nodded. "Now that we're all on the same page, Harry, you'll be the Bishop on c8, Hermione can be the Rook on h8. Luna, you can be the other Rook on a8,"

"I'll take the place of the other Bishop," I looked at Ron. "And you?"

"I'll be a knight," Ron had a look of determination in his eyes. We stepped into place, but I noticed the hesitance in the eyes of the others.

"Leave this one to us," I assured them. "Ron and I will make sure that you get out of here alive," and with that, the game began. It was soon revealed that getting out of there alive might be easier said than done. The capturing of a piece was a brutal affair; the captured victim was usually broken quite severely and watching the chunks of marble skid across the floor made me flinch. But it soon became apparent that these teams were very evenly matched. Ron and I were capturing as many pieces as were being taken from us, and with some tricky pawn work, we had managed to keep our friends safe. But the game was slowing down as the pieces began to dwindle. I stood, studying the board when a sudden, horrifying thought surfaced.

"Ron," I said warily. "Do you see what I see?" I glanced over at him, saw him scan the board, and the same shock crossed his face.

"No, there's got to be something else,"

"What is it?" Luna asked from her square.

"Wait! But if I do that," I gestured with my arm, "then-"

"Then I'll have to do that," Ron concluded and a look of dejectedness crossed his face. I scoured the room with my eyes, determined to find another solution, any other solution.

"It- it's the only way," I realized our fate and the weight of it crushed itself onto me.

"Can someone please tell me what's bloody happening?" Harry was standing a few squares away.

"Ron and I-"

"We've got to be taken," he finished.

"What! No! No, no, no!" Hermione shrilled. "Absolutely not!"

"Look," I said. "Do we want the stone? Or would you rather Voldemort become wealthy and immortal?"

"But-" Luna's voice had a touch of urgency

"Ron and I, we'll be okay,"

"Yeah, the worst that'll happen is that we'll be knocked out, and we won't feel any pain then anyways," Ron reasoned.

"You could die," Luna said matter-of-factly.

"Not the time for that, Luna," Ron grimaced.

"Right. Sorry," Luna looked at her feet.

"Well," I steeled my mind. "Here we go," I set my shoulders and raised my chin, trying to feign collected confidence. I stepped forward on unstable legs as I neared my towering opponents. My eyes were burning with tears of fear, but I kept my legs moving and blinked furiously to try to clear them.

"Y/n," Luna called out. Just my name. No intention behind it. I was one step away, just one. Without turning, I spoke.

"Don't move off your square once I'm..." I didn't want to think about what I would be. "Once Ron moves, Harry can checkmate the king. And, er, good luck, you all," I took the final step. I looked up into the blank face of my stone opponent before a flash of white marble obscured my vision. I felt my feet leave the ground as the unforgiving rock met the side of my head. There was a flash of splitting pain and a scream that might have been mine, and then a comfortable darkness settled around me and everything was gone.