Tickling the Giant Squid and other Grand Adventures

48. Avila

The next few months passed quickly. We did our work on time, Karou and I played chess at least once a day (often more) and we pulled as many pranks as we could get away with. We unleashed slugs on the stairs one morning, which wouldn't have been all that eventful if Karou hadn't had the idea of enlarging them and pouring water down the stairs as well. We then made a big deal of coming out of the library and slipping down the stairs before making ourselves scarce to get out of punishment.

We spent one night turning as many paintings as we could in the more used parts of the castle upside down (much to the paintings' displeasure. After the first one threatened to go to McGonagall, we hid our faces with masks and split up.)

The next week Karou and I (Farid wouldn't hear of it) pulled every book off the shelves in the library and left them teetering on the tables in the front. We mostly got out of that by claiming we thought they put themselves away at midnight, and McGonagall looked as though she might actually enchant them to do just that before banning us from the library for two weeks since we kind of needed access to it to do our homework. (Farid wouldn't get us any books from the library during those two weeks, and we fell back on Aaron, who would do anything for Karou.)

I found myself having a particularly bad bout of insomnia after that, and spent most nights puzzling away at my chess set, just moving the pieces around trying to beat myself. It was around two in the morning in late March that things clicked.

I'd been moving pieces around for hours and was sort of sitting there moving two pieces in a pattern when I saw an opening. If I moved that piece there... "Queen to B4" I whispered. My pieces moved, without complaint, and then I whispered, "Checkmate?"

The black king dropped his sword and my pieces started cheering. I sat in shock, replaying the moves I'd made in my head. "Oh my god!" I screamed. Then, I immediately shoved my hands over my mouth and looked around to see if I'd woken anyone. When I was sure I hadn't, I reset my pieces and played again.

I won again. This time, I reset my pieces and played as black, since White always goes first, and once again, I won.

At breakfast time, I changed as fast as I could, grabbed my bag, and my chess set, and hurried down to the great hall. I set up the board and ate as I waited for Karou.

When she finally sauntered in, with all of her memorized strategies, I suddenly wasn't so sure I could beat her. But I had to try. She saw the chessboard ready and waiting, and sat down across from me, looking over a transfiguration essay. She made her opening move, pawn to C3, without looking up from her homework, and the game began.

Ten minutes later, Karou, who was only just paying attention to the game, moved a piece that cleared the way for me. Immediately, I made my move, and before she could say anything, I said, "Checkmate."

Karou looked up. She looked at the board, then at me, and back at the board again. At this point, I feel it pertinent to point out, Breakfast was in full swing, and the Great Hall was as loud as it ever was. Farid and Jaxer, who were sitting on my right, had turned to look at us when I'd said 'Checkmate' but other than that, no one had noticed what had just happened.

Karou looked back and forth between the board and me a few more times before slamming her hands on the table and screeching, louder than the Great Hall, "WHAT? THAT'S NOT... THAT'S NOT A STRATEGY." The Great Hall fell quiet here, and most still weren't quite sure what had happened. "YOU CAN'T JUST MAKE UP A STRATEGY, AVILA."

I looked at her and shrugged, "Why not? That's the point of Chess, is it not?" When I said this, the entirety of Karou's Hufflepuff housemates stood up and peered at our table. There were some muffled gasps, and I vaguely remembered Karou bragging about being unbeatable in her House's monthly Chess Tournament. Oops.

Karou sputtered for a moment, her face going a little red, before she slammed her hands on the table again, spilling her pumpkin juice, and shouting, "REMATCH."

There was a loud shuffling of benches, and we were soon surrounded by Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, a few Slytherin's interspersed. I noticed a few notepads pulled out during this second game, and nodding in appreciation of my moves, or complete shock drawn across the faces of those nearest us, and my housemates cheered every time it was my turn, which was kind of annoying.

And once again, ten minutes later, I was saying, "Checkmate."

Karou didn't have a reaction this time and I couldn't tell if she was more upset or impressed. The watchers had broken out into shocked or excited babbling, and someone shouted "Rematch!" again. Soon enough, it was being chanted around us, and I looked at my friend to see if she wanted to. Karou nodded stiffly, and the pieces reset themselves.

Throughout this last game, Karou got stonier, and stonier, her face showed less and less emotion, and when I beat her once again, the room was silent.

Karou threw her hands up, yelled, "FINE THEN!" stood up. She swung her bag over her shoulder and pushed her way through the crowd, who made way for her, and stormed out of the Great Hall. I looked back at Farid and noticed Karou's essay and a couple other pieces of her homework still lying on the table.

I glanced at Farid, who'd been watching us every morning, as I packed away my chess set. "Do you think she's okay?" I asked quietly.

"I... I don't know," Farid mumbled back to me. I wouldn't have heard her if she hadn't been sitting right next to me.

I picked up my own bag, and Karou's homework, before looking at the teachers. McGonagall looked impressed, though she was the only one. The emotions displayed on the rest of the teachers ranged from shock to annoyance, and I took this in as I looked Professor Love dead in the eye. I held up the work, which, ironically, was for her class, and said, "You cannot mark me late for giving someone else their homework."

With that, I made my own way out of the Great Hall, and down to the Potions classroom.