A Summer to Our Own

Part I: God-Forsaken Storm

Author's note: Sorry for the late update! You guys are in for a treat since I added Ominis POV and will be adding more of his perspective in future chapters/stories since it was fun to write. Enjoy! :)

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"Wait. You mean the chess pieces move across the board on their own!?!"

Andromeda sat up from leaning across the accent table and pressed her back into the cushion behind her due to sitting on the floor. Her gaze landed on Ominis, who was lounging on the sofa right next to her and fiddling with a chess piece. Andromeda found it this morning while she and Ominis were going through her father's trunk. She noticed his immediate interest in it and insisted he should have it. He told her it wasn't necessary but finally gave in after she claimed to have little interest in chess.

Ominis nodded and softly chuckled. "Darling, I'm honestly surprised that you were not aware of this. There are so many chess boards throughout Hogwarts! How did you not notice it?"

"I thought my mind was playing tricks on me due to lack of sleep."

"Well, each chess board in the wizarding world is enchanted so that chess pieces move just by the player's command. The pieces will hit each other once captured and disappear from the board until the game comes to an end."

"Oh." Andromeda tilted her head to the side and asked, "Do you enjoy wizards chess?"

"I quite like it. I have been playing for as long as I can remember. It's one of the few hobbies I could participate in that doesn't require vision, unlike riding a broom."

"How did you learn how to play?"

Ominis spun the chess piece around in his hand. "At first, I memorized the board and how each chess piece would move across it. I did this by holding each chess piece in my hand to differentiate them from each other. Then, I learned about all the different strategies used to get to checkmate. It became a bit easier once I got my wand since it helps to alert me where each chess piece moves across the board."

"I'm absolutely rubbish at chess."

"I'll teach you once we get back to Hogwarts. I'm certain that you just need some practice and fortunately for you, I'm a great teacher."

Andromeda snorted to herself and returned her attention back to her book. She thought about questioning his hobbies further when Ominis changed the subject by saying, "I've noticed that your mother leaves for a few days at a time. Does she do that quite often for her line of work?"

Her mother had to leave this morning for a few days to travel to a village to do monthly checkups on some newborns along with attending to a mother who was past her due date. It wasn't uncommon for her to be gone for a day or two, which meant Andromeda was left on her own to take care of herself.

"My father would look after me when I was younger, but after he passed, I would go with her if she planned to be gone for a few days. Sometimes I would help out, but usually, I was in another room with a book until Mum was done. Or if the birth was going to be longer than expected I would explore the village. Maybe that's why she agreed for you to stay with us for the summer, that way she didn't feel guilty leaving me by my lonesome."

Andromeda felt Ominis threading his fingers through her hair as she glanced over to see him giving her a small smile. She was curious if his parents ever had to do some sort of work due to their pureblood status in the wizarding world. Maybe now was her opportunity to finally get some answers to the questions that had been brewing in her mind.

She has told herself to be patient, but it was starting to wear thin.

"Do...What do your parents do for a living?"