Checkmate

"Checkmate, Harry!"

Harry groaned gloomily. He had lost. Again.

Ron Weasley stretched his arms high above his head. He was smiling quite arrogantly, as well. He had beaten his best friend at chess for probably the 4000^th time, and keeping up his undefeated reputation.

"So, who will be my next victim?" Ron asked confidently, giving the Gryffindor common room a sweep with his eyes. The spectators surrounding him rolled their eyes or chuckled light-heartedly.

Except Hermione. She slammed her Arithmancy book roughly together, and leapt up from her warm seat by the fire. She stomped over huffily, and plopped down across from where Ron sat, eyes blazing. "Ron Weasley, I can't believe you! Your arrogance almost makes Draco Malfoy seem humble! It makes me sick to my stomach. I am going to beat you, once and for all, and put you in your place!"

Ron roared with laughter. "Hermione, you would beat me at Quidditch before you could beat me in chess," he said, still smiling smugly, leaning back on his chair.

"You aren't that great, you know," Hermione warned, glaring at him angrily.

Ron grunted amusedly. "Oh, yea? Then how come I have never lost? Answer that!"

Hermione sighed aggravatedly, as the chess pieces scurried to their respected places. "Honestly, I have no clue. But I am going to beat you, or my name isn't Hermione Jane Granger."

"What did you say, Clem?" Harry asked, grinning broadly.

"Whose side are you on, Harry?" Ginny exclaimed in shock, as she whipped her head around to look at him.

"C'mon, Ginny. Hermione couldn't possibly beat Ron in chess. It would be the greatest upset in all of Wizard kind. It won't happen," Harry replied firmly, as Ron and Hermione began the game.

Ginny scowled at Harry. "Wanna bet?"

Harry crossed his arms and gave her a skeptical expression. "You're on, Ginny."

"All right! When Hermione wins," Ginny paused, and bit her lip as she concentrated on conceiving a brilliant wager, "You--"

"Nothing too ridiculous, now Ginny..." Harry warned.

"Why? Scared Ron might actually lose?" Ginny taunted, smirking satisfiedly.

"Not at all, I'm just...laying down the rules so you aren't mortified that much," he replied.

"Then, you have to...be my slave? Nah, something better...How about, I get to be Quidditch Captain until the next match? Whatever I say, goes."

Harry and Ron laughed uproariously.

"Fine, if that is what you want. But, when Hermione loses, which she will, no offense Hermione," Harry added quickly. Hermione replied with a sarcastic smile. "You will...pretend to be in love with..." He glanced around the room, and racked his brain.

"You?" Hermione suggested playfully, as she burst out giggling, along with the other Gryffindors crowded around them. Ron attempted to stifle a chuckle, but failed miserably.

"Are you kidding me? I want to humiliate her, not please her!" Harry reminded in mock egotism as Ginny flung a seat cushion straight for his head, which hit him in the square in the face. "How about... Malfoy?"

Ginny scoffed. "Fine. Not that I have to worry about that, right Hermione?"

Hermione grinned proudly as her pawn asphyxiated one of Ron's bishops.

Ron eyed Hermione suspiciously. Not that he would admit it to anyone, but he was just a slight bit nervous. He ordered his rook to take Hermione's pawn, military style.

Hermione rolled her eyes and frowned at Ron. "Do you have to do that? Direct them as if this were a battle in a war, or something?"

Ron raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong with that?"

"It bothers me. A lot," Hermione said.

"Why would it bother you?"

"I don't know. I guess it is just one of your hundreds of annoying habits that bother me," Hermione said casually.

"Because you have no annoying habits at all," Ron retorted sarcastically, as his knight strangled one of Hermione's pawns.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "What do you mean? I don't have any annoying habits!" Hermione replied, outraged.

Harry and Ginny were watching the two argue with much amusement. After all, seeing Ron and Hermione fight was as normal as eating through your mouth. But this, time, it was funny than aggravating and annoying, oddly enough. It must have been the subject of pet peeves that was causing Harry and Ginny to smirk in that entertained manner.

"I wish I had popcorn," Ginny muttered slyly out of the corner of her mouth so only Harry could hear, who smiled guiltily in reply.

"Ha! Hermione, you have more little annoying habits than there are books in the library. But only you would know that," Ron responded, ears reddening threateningly.

"Like what?"

"Where do I begin? You preach endlessly about not cheating and about always doing your homework--"

Hermione looked up from the chess table, and sighed, as if she was bored. "So? I care about my schoolwork, big deal! When you fail all of your N.E.W.T.S. and the only job offer you will have is to be a troll security guard, don't come crying to me."

He ignored this comment. "Then, how you always have to be right, or perfect as everything," Ron mentioned, rolling his eyes emphatically on the last word.

Hermione didn't look up from the table. She was trying extremely hard to keep a strong focus on the game. But, inside her veins were still boiling with anger and resentment. "I have no idea where you came up with that one," she denied absentmindedly.

Harry, Ginny, and the other observing Gryffindors continued watching the pair as if it was a rather close tennis match: Ron was all over the court, whacking the ball as hard as he could, and Hermione didn't have to move at all, and effortlessly returned the ball, calm and cool.

"And, you are always talking about books. What you learned in this book, the author of this book, what this book said, what this book didn't say, how many times you read this book..." Ron remarked exasperatedly, looking up from the table and glaring at her.

"Ron, I have to talk about books all the time to drown out you talking about Quidditch all the time," Hermione replied nonchalantly.

"That's funny, because the only reason that I talk about Quidditch is to drown you out!" Ron said, practically shouting, oblivious to the chess match he was involved in.

Hermione kindly ordered her queen several spaces forward, and analyzed the chessboard.

Ron frowned angrily at her. The fact that she wasn't yelling and screaming as loudly and passionately as he was really put him off. He glowered at her, just waiting for a response.

"Er, Hermione? It's your serve," Harry informed seriously about Hermione's silence, as Ginny burst out laughing hysterically, even though she knew nothing about tennis terms.

"Ron, its your turn. Okay, sure. Besides your chess-piece-directing tactics, it also bothers me when you criticize S.P.E.W., shirk both your homework and prefect duties," Hermione mentioned, cringing noticeably as she uttered the last phrase, "And especially when you--"

"--savagely attack every guy that lays his eyes on you?" Ginny input questioningly.

"What? Oh, no. Actually, I--I think he's wonderful when he does that," Hermione replied, flushing just noticeably, and slightly taken aback by Ginny's comment. Hermione eyed her suspiciously.

"You--You think I'm what?" Ron asked, in shock as well.

Hermione paused shyly. "I said I think you are wonderful. It flatters me that someone would be so protective of me, like you are. You know I could take Malfoy easily, but still you defend me. I think its very sweet," Hermione concluded softly, her eyes on her queen, who seemed to be in mortal peril. But Ron was too blown away to notice this.

"Well, continue," Ginny said, eyes ablaze with uncertainty and pleasant expectation.

"Ron, it's your turn," Hermione reminded him. "Ron? Ron!"

"Hmm?" Ron replied, abruptly halting his reverie. He was gazing at her intensely, drinking in her every move.

She raised her eyebrows suspiciously; "It's your turn."

He nodded understandingly, and directed his pawn, unknowingly sparing the queen.

"Hermione, you didn't finish--"

"I'm getting to that, Ginny," Hermione assured firmly. She nervously glanced up to Ron, who was still gazing at her distractedly. "I especially don't like it when he belittles my constant and reliable assurances that there is nothing going on between me and," Hermione closed her eyes tight, bracing herself, "Viktor Krum, or any other guy for that matter."

Just as she had predicted, Ron did not take this very well. His admiring gaze transformed to an angry one, and he took a deep breath, preparing to fire a fierce retort.

"You don't like it? How else am I supposed to react when you go prancing around with some foreign Quidditch player?" Ron exclaimed in a rage, standing up and leaning on the chess table again, growing red.

Hermione forced herself, with much restraint, to keep her cool. They had fought this fight practically daily, and he still didn't understand. But she needed him like this, distracted and boiling, just for a minute.

"He was from Durmstrang, Hermione! Karkaroff could've been using him to get to Harry! What in the name of Merlin is so...appealing? He's grumpy, cranky, and clumsy..." Ron continued to rattle off negative adjectives, while Hermione continued to study the board.

As he unleashed his anger and every horrible and vile word he could think of, he subconsciously noticed the ends of Hermione's mouth twitch.

"And I can't believe that you actually went with him, and you still write to him! Hermione, that is just--Hermione?"

Her tiny twitch had blossomed into a full-blown grin. Hermione was looking like she was actually enjoying Ron's emotional outburst. She placed her elbows on the table, interlocked her fingers and leaned her head on them, watching him enthusiastically.

"What are you smiling at?"

She hesitated before she replying, grin wide and magnificent, "Checkmate."

"What!?"

Harry, Ginny, and especially Ron shrieked, leaping forward to examine the play.

Hermione's smile continued to grow, which was more like a smirk than anything.

"There is no way. No way at all!" Harry said, as if his remark would make it untrue.

Ginny, being the quick girl that she is, confirmed the statement. "Yes! Yes, she did, she did it!" She screamed happily, and threw her hands up in triumph.

The realization of his first and ever lost hit Ron like a rock. His eyes were bugged out, and his jaw had dropped. Dislocated, most likely.

Hermione didn't take her eyes off of him. To stop grinning at that moment would be an impossible task. He couldn't take his eyes off hers either.

Harry watched his two best friends in awe. He turned to Ginny and said, "So, Ginny--"

"That's Captain Ginny, to you, Harry," Ginny corrected cheerfully. Harry reluctantly sighed in reply. He couldn't help smiling at her. There was something absolutely irresistible about her at times. Well, all the time.

The tense eye contact had not been broken between Ron and Hermione. Their eyes had locked, and it seemed that neither of them wanted to blink.

Hermione was beaming. At him. Ron had no idea what to think of her at times like this. A small, puzzled lopsided smile crept onto his face, as he tried to understand her complexities, as well as simplicities. He was constantly learning something new about her, and her wonders never ceased.

As Ginny cheered and pretending she was the supreme world being, Harry groaned, the common room moved on, and Ron and Hermione grinned pleasantly at each other. The sharp reality of his first loss gradually ebbed into oblivion.

Hermione was blushing slightly. Softly, she stood up.

"Well, I guess that's enough excitement for one day, I'm calling it a night."

She still hadn't broken the solid line of sight constructed between her and Ron, even though it sounded like she had spoken to all of the common room.

She slowly leaned across the table, and kissed Ron gently on the cheek.

And nobody noticed.

About a minute later, Ron breathed.

"I should lose to you more often," Ron muttered. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to speak for, on the average, at least a half an hour after Hermione had kissed him. But it had seemed that he was become immune to surprises, for the time being, and was unusually reactive.

She chuckled in embarrassment. "Anytime."

He grinned in anticipation. Losing does have its perks.

Ron just figured he should be very careful next time he was on the Quidditch pitch.