Checkmate

Checkmate.

'It is said that God created man before he/she created woman. Well, everyone's entitled to one mistake.'

Anon.

Ginny sauntered into the common room and reclined in a large, crimson chair by the fire. Harry and Ron were standing on the other side of the room with Hermione, arguing over a huge piece of parchment stretched across the table in front of them. Harry was sending exasperated looks at Ron and Ron was sending exasperated looks at Hermione. Hermione was standing her ground, shaking her head; a firm look on her face.

When Ron picked up the parchment and started gesturing wildly, she shrieked. Harry grabbed the other half of the parchment and started talking quickly to Ron in a low tone. Hermione shrieked again.

This was when Ginny realised that half of Gryffindor house were now watching the display with a mixture of amusement and apprehension. These kinds of arguments always ended one of two ways. Either Hermione would give in and let them copy her homework and all would be well, or she wouldn't. Ron would sulk and Harry would spend the next few days trying to make them speak again.

Without her realising, Ginny's lip had curled into a sneer. It had never occurred to her how predictable and dull the whole thing was. She would never fully understand why she used to idolise the boy. Or why her brother and Hermione seemed to like him so much. Both were intelligent, kind, and loving people, why would they want to spend their time with someone so uninteresting and so staggeringly unkind?

Her thoughts were shoved in an ungainly mess to a corner of her head as a tremendous ripping sound tore through the common room and mingled with a roar of fury from Hermione.

Ginny fought the urge to laugh as Ron and Harry paled to an incredibly handsome snow white and a deathly silence fell in the busy room.

"Four hours," Hermione said slowly, her voice scarily calm and even. "Four hours on that piece of work. Do you know what it's like to spend four hours on homework, Ron?" she asked, sounding like she was enquiring about the weather.

He shook his head, still quivering in her gaze; obviously shocked that she hadn't hexed him to oblivion by now.

"No, you wouldn't." Her voice wasn't changing from its single, calm note. "Particularly," she continued, voice wavering slightly. "Since any minute now," her voice rose into the spectrum of dangerously loud, "I am going to kill you!"

Her wand appeared in her hand from inside her robes and she pointed it at the cowering redhead. "This is the last straw, Ronald Weasley. I'm not going to stand for these childish little games of yours anymore. I most certainly shall never be letting you use my homework to copy or even breathe near it, and I will never, and I mean never, be talking to you ever, ever, again."

With that, she muttered something and Ron's hair changed to a violent and sickly green. She smiled grimly. "Something to remember me by."

Stalking out of the common room with her remnants of work, Hermione ignored everyone staring at her and there was complete silence as she stamped up the stairs until her bedroom door was heard to slam.

The entire room let out their breath as one.

"Nice one, Ron." Harry's voice was weary but amused as he looked pointedly at Ron's new hair colour. "I'll go get her." He disappeared up the stairs, flashing Ginny his affectionate grin as he passed her, and she smiled sweetly back, killing her urge to flip him the finger.

*^*

It was three quarters of an hour later when Harry finally emerged from the stairway with a very unhappy Hermione, her face unforgiving as she took a seat and looked stonily at Ron as he bent his head over the chess game he was playing with Ginny.

"Well," Harry said cheerily, "who's playing the winner?" No one said anything. He twigged why. "Okay, who's playing the loser?"

"I'm playing Ginny."

"Hey!" Ginny's head shot up from the game and she glared at Emma. "I can beat Ron you know!" Everyone made noises of disbelief and she narrowed her eyes. "Well, that's just charming! Even my friends think I'm crap at this."

"No, Ginny, we don't think you're crap, sweetheart." Andrew smiled at her and leaned back in his chair. "We just think Ron's much better."

"Yeah, Gin, no one's beaten Ron in a long while." Harry's voice was gratingly patronising but she smiled and looked up at him as he stroked her shoulder gently. He laughed. "Well, except me, of course. But then no one's beaten me for a few months either." Ginny tried to control her nose curling up at his irritating voice, his laugh, his tone, his arrogance, his...take your pick.

She pretended to have an itch and straightened out her nose, taking a deep, calming breath as she did. Her eyes met Andrew's as she looked up and he smiled in a conspiratorial way, his eyes bright with laughter.

"Right. Well, when I've played, I mean succumbed to, Ron; you can play him. And I'll play Emma." She grinned. "At least then I'll be sure to win."

"Hey!"

*^*

Ginny settled herself in her chair and reached backwards in a long, languorous stretch. Closing her eyes, she smiled as her arms went way up into the air behind her and all the vertebrae in her back clicked into place.

"Better?" She opened her eyes and resumed her normal sitting position. Harry smiled at her across the chessboard and placed the pieces back onto their correct squares with a wave of his wand.

"Ready to play?" she asked, in her best innocent girlfriend voice.

"Ready to lose?" he replied in his best 'let's make our girlfriend swoon at our manliness' voice.

Thoughts flew round her head. All the replies that she could think of ran through her mind. Oh, I'm ready to lose this game, baby, but do you know what you're going to lose?

Ginny nodded and flicked her pawn forward with her wand.

*^*

Harry told his bishop to move forward and capture Ginny's knight, and a vicious fight ensued in the middle of the board. Ginny took a deep breath and surveyed the pattern of her pieces, trying to ignore the two figures rolling around in the middle of the board, often using language she knew her mother would not approve of. She glanced up at Harry and saw him looking at her as she pondered.

"What are you looking at?"

"The most beautiful girl in the room."

"Oh, you're so sweet." Someone get me a bucket.

"Well, can I help it if I can't control the way I feel around you?"

"I can see how this would be a problem," she laughed. Don't worry, Harry, soon you won't have to control those feelings in my presence, because after tonight I will go out of my way to make sure I'm never in your presence again.

"I just want to look at you forever, you're mesmerising."

"Oh, Harry." Take a good long look, boy, you may not get a chance like this again.

"I want to take you in my arms, Ginny, and show you how much I love you. I can't wait to show you again."

"I can't either." I'd rather go head to head with Snape when he's in a bad mood.

"When, Ginny? What about tonight?"

"Oh, Harry, I don't know." Give me a break, I'm ruining your life tonight, how much time do you think I have?

"Please, Ginny, I want you."

"Harry, no." Fuck off, you horny bastard, I never want to see you even vaguely naked ever again.

"No?"

"No." She looked back down at the board. "I'm tired, I was up late last night."

"You went to bed about an hour earlier than everyone else last night."

"Well, maybe I didn't sleep well." She tapped her fingers on the edge of the table as she thought. "Maybe I was busy." Her brain moved as fast as she could make it as she thought about how to get out of his block. She shifted her queen, and looked up at him.

"What were you doing last night?"

"What?"

"Why were you busy? Why didn't you sleep?"

"I went out, around the castle. To see a friend."

"Who?" Harry was completely involved now; he slid a pawn carelessly across the board as Ginny smiled softly at his move. "Who did you see?"

"A friend, Harry. Do I need to tell you everything?"

"Yes. I'm your boyfriend, Ginny, you can't have secrets from me."

"Wrong, Harry. I can have friends who have nothing to do with you. I can have a life that has nothing to do with you. We've been going out for what? Barely three months? I have a right to a life that has absolutely nothing to do with you. Hell, if I wanted to run around naked covered in custard and have rampant sex with the entire of Slytherin house, I could do just that!"

Despite their fierce words, they were barely going above a murmur, and no one had noticed their almost-argument yet. Ginny glanced at Harry's shocked face and went back to her chess game.

"Ginny! What the hell has gotten into you today?"

"Maybe it isn't just today, Harry. Maybe it's every day. Maybe you just haven't noticed that I've changed a lot, that I've grown up a lot," she hissed.

"What is wrong with you?" He frowned. "Is this those friends of yours? Emma and Katie and that lot? You've been spending too much time with them and, frankly, I'm getting worried. You need more steady friends, more sensible ones. Why you've started spending time with them at all is beyond me. They just spend their entire time playing about and they don't respect the seventh years."

He spoke like it was the end of the matter and Ginny smiled agreeably at him, clenching her teeth to avoid letting out the scream that was building at the back of her throat.

"Oh no, you're wrong, Harry. They respect the seventh years they like." His look of shock was priceless and she looked down to hide her smile. The chess pieces were her focus as she tried not to sneak another look at Harry's dumbfounded face.

"Ginny, I don't know what this is about, but I think we should both calm down. And I think you should just stop this game and tell me who you met last night."

It took her half a second to make up her mind. So he wanted to discuss it now, did he? That was fine with her, the sooner the better.

"Draco Malfoy."

"What?"

"Draco Malfoy. He's blond, weaselly-looking, kind of evil, and in Slytherin." Ginny made a hand motion. "About so high?" Harry just stared.

"What the fuck were you doing with him at night, out of bed, where anyone could have seen you? You might have got in trouble! You might have been in danger! Did he threaten you at all?"

"Don't be a twat. We were having sex," she said, not looking up from the chessboard.

"You were what? Sorry, I think I misheard that."

"Did you?" Ginny looked up, acting surprised. " I said 'we were having sex'." She enunciated each word carefully for him and then went back to the chessboard.

There was silence for about a minute. When Harry did speak, it was only to say one word.

"Why?"

Ginny saw what she had been looking for and smiled.

"Because you thought you could dump me for some Quidditch-playing tart, get dumped yourself, and then come crawling back to my arms for help? For sympathy? For sex? Do you really think I have that low an opinion of myself?" She stood up. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Harry, haven't been for a while now. I can think for myself and I can do whatever, or whoever, I want. You weren't my first, and you certainly weren't my best." She smiled down at him.

"How could you?"

"I could ask you the same question. Now, cheer up, I know it's hard but I 'just can't bring myself to love you like that anymore'." She smiled crookedly, her eyes narrowing cruelly. "Sound familiar?" she said with a laugh. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack. See you in the morning, Harry, enjoy the rest of your evening if you can."

She turned to go, then swung back round to the board. "Oh, and by the way," she leaned over towards him with a smile and moved a piece across to his side of the board. "Checkmate, Harry."

*^*

Ginny strolled in through the double doors of the Great Hall and headed for Gryffindor table. Andrew was sitting on his own at one end of the table, as she had known he would be, and she sat down next to him, helping herself to pumpkin juice and bacon. Andrew was always up early and when Ginny had woken up an hour before she had to, she had figured that she might as well go down to breakfast early, she knew she'd have someone to sit with.

Andrew waved and remained silent. Although he was an early riser, his conversation skills were limited until he'd eaten and had at least two cups of black coffee. This morning Ginny didn't mind, she was still thinking about what to do next anyway.

By now, Ron and Hermione would have been informed of her speech to Harry, and they would not be happy. Ron would be disbelieving, possibly angry, and may not be talking to Harry. Hermione, meanwhile, would be angry with Ginny, trying to comfort Harry, trying to placate Ron, and trying to think of something suitable to say to Ginny the next time she saw her.

Ginny was wondering whether she should consider a career as a psychologist, because she knew human psychological patterns like the back of her hand. Years of being reclusively quiet and simply watching people had provided her with a veritable mine of knowledge about human nature and reactions.

"Well done for last night." Andrew's voice broke through her thoughts of how she would break it to Draco and she looked up at him. He smiled. "Very courageous. I know you're worried about what Ron and Hermione are going to think, but just keep what he did to you at the forefront of your mind. You're worth ten times more than what he treated you like."

"Thank you." Ginny smiled at him and swept her red hair back off her face. This morning she had taken the trouble to use a curling charm, and it swayed down her back in loose ginger waves.

"Your hair looks good today, by the way." Andrew went back to his coffee and Ginny smiled appreciatively.

Ginny had known Andrew since a few months after she had become friends with Emma and Katie, when they had found her, soaking wet and sobbing, on the floor of their dormitory after her break-up with Harry. They had soothed her and told her all the right things. How he was bad for her, she was too good for him, and how all men were scum.

Andrew had appeared on the scene a while afterwards, coming back from the Easter holidays with a new look that was giving the best-looking men in school a run for their money. Katie and Emma, then, in turn, Ginny, had immediately latched onto him and discovered that he was their ultimate friend. He was rebellious, fun, interesting, intelligent, kind, and infinitely cynical. The best kind of person to go out partying with.

Ginny resumed her thoughts of Draco and Harry but was, again, shocked out of them by a huge commotion at the doors to the Great Hall. She looked up, and laughed impulsively at the sight.

Katie and Emma were having another 'discussion' about gossip they had heard. Both being incredibly nosy and incredible blabbermouths, they lived for the gossip that circulated Hogwarts and, occasionally, would hear stories that somewhat clashed. This would provoke a huge, steaming row that would continue for about ten minutes, and then promptly be forgotten.

Now was obviously one of those times.

Ginny watched as they argued fiercely all the way through the doors and down to where Andrew and her were sitting. Still talking angrily to each other, they took their seats and started helping themselves to food.

"Hey, Gin, Andrew, sleep well?" Katie's sweet smile turned quickly into a frown. "I tell you Emma, he said 'Millicent' when they were right in the middle. She almost died, and then she told Becky, who told Lavender, and then I overheard Parvati discussing it with Padma."

"Morning, you two! But Lavender told me herself he said 'Hermione' and then went on to mention a guy's name as well, but she hadn't been told which guy. Lavender told me herself, Katie!"

"You hate Lavender! And she hates you! Why would she talk to you about something like this?"

"Well, if she's going to discuss it in such a loud voice in her dorm, she might as well say she wanted me to know."

"Our room's two floors down from hers, what the hell were you doing up there?"

"Listening to Lavender's conversation, what else? She does have a voice like a foghorn, and I heard her talking about it as she walked up to her room with someone."

"Ooo, who was she walking up there with?"

"A guy. That dark-haired boy...Oliver, I think it might have been."

"But he's dating Parvati!"

"Oh my God, I forgot." A beatific smile broke out on Emma's face and she tipped her head to one side. "Wow, so this is what it's like to be truly happy." She turned to Ginny and Andrew. "Guess what I just found out?"

"Oliver is cheating on Parvati with her best friend?" Andrew answered, perfectly deadpan. Ginny sniggered.

"You are no fun sometimes."

"Hmm, how awful for me. So, anyway, how's the gossip about Ginny and Harry going?" Emma and Katie immediately looked thrilled at having someone else to talk about.

"Well, there are, of course, various different stories going round. But the major one is actually almost the truth. That Ginny cheated and told Harry last night over chess. We are, naturally, putting it round that Harry deserved it because of the whole Cho escapade, and the girls seem to be quite sympathetic. The men are mostly weighing up Cho against Ginny and coming to their own conclusions." Emma smiled at Ginny and Katie had to add something onto the end.

"By the way, you're winning." Ginny laughed.

Checkmate, Harry.

*^*

Later on, Ginny lay on her bed pondering about how to tell Draco what was going on. It needed to be someplace where he could be taken down a few pegs. She wanted to make him feel as small as she had felt all those times he had insulted her, the mere memories made her face screw up into a frown. What about the hallway between lessons? In front of all his stupid Neanderthal Slytherin friends? She smiled.

The knock on her door interrupted an amazing daydream about her telling Draco in front of everyone and him breaking down into tears and begging her to take him back. She practically bounced over to the door and almost flung it open.

Andrew looked shocked. "You going to burst into the chorus of 'My Favourite Things' next?"

"Ha ha. No, I was just thinking about Draco Malfoy."

"He can't have been that good."

"You know what I mean." He smiled at her. "Come in, sweetie." She closed the door behind him and he flopped onto her unmade bed, beginning to play with the edge of her pyjamas, flung haphazardly across the covers.

"I'm bored. Potions homework has reached a new state of dullness."

"Good, you can help me decide how I'm going to let Malfoy know. And I'll do your Potions homework later, but you have to do my Charms."

"Deal. And I think your plan may have been foiled. I think Malfoy will already know by the time you get to him."

"How?"

"How?" Andrew pretended to think. "Let's ponder. Well, you've told Harry, so Herm and Ron now know, and it's more or less round the whole school. He may have found out like that."

"He won't listen to gossip."

"Okay, second theory. Who is Harry's greatest enemy?"

"Voldemort."

"Second greatest enemy?"

"Snape."

"You're not playing the game right, Ginny. Who does Harry hate more than anyone else, who goes to this school as a student?"

"Malfoy." Ginny could tell where this was going.

"You think he's going to let Malfoy get away with screwing his girlfriend? If I were you, I'd just get ready to face an irate Malfoy tomorrow."

"Goody. More fun." She grinned. "Now, enough of dull talk about the bastards in my life." She climbed onto the bed next to Andrew and lay down next to him. "Let's talk about my birthday. It's in a month, and I want a really nice present. So you'd better get planning."

"I don't need to plan anything. Material goods are not important." Ginny snorted. "And, anyway, I know what I can give you that no one else can."

"Oh, really? And what's that?" She knew the answer, even before his hand slid up her leg and settled on her hip. He turned around so that he was kneeling above her and smiled. The look on his face was so familiar; she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

His lips pressed hard against hers and she ran her hands up his back, pulling him down on top of her. His hands slid up under her top and she gasped from the pleasure of his hands touching her bare skin.

This was it. This was where she belonged, in this embrace. In such a strong relationship, based entirely on friendship, so that she felt like she belonged to someone. She had done ever since they had become close friends, and the feeling had continued through everything they had been through together, and through her losing her virginity to him.

It was this stability that convinced her that what she was doing to Harry and Draco was right. They couldn't treat people so badly and think they deserved this kind of love. They would learn, and quickly, when Ginny was done with them.

She smiled as Andrew's lips trailed from her lips to her neck and down to her chest.

Yes, they would learn. A laugh bubbled out of her mouth and she ran her hands up Andrew's back.

Checkmate, boys.