Chapters 141-150

Check and Mate

Percy watched how another of his pawns crumpled next to the board. He stared at it with a strange pang of sympathy. Just a little pawn in a game that went on way above his head.

When he took another look at the small black figure, his stomach twisted, and he almost gulped audibly. That pawn would never play another game. Percy inhaled deeply and observed Umbridge as she made her next move.

oooOooo

‘Damn, damn, damn,’ Draco cursed under his breath, thinking of the few times he’d heard his Head of House utter the threefold damnation to great effect in that smooth voice of his.

He’d been over everything twice. He’d cast every fucking spell of revelation and discovery he knew. The advanced, even Dark spells that Severus had taught in preparation of this very night, down to different version of ‘Revelio’ and even the lowly ‘Alohomora’.

Nothing.

Bloody hell. He’d have bet his left leg that Umbridge was involved in this mess. But there was nothing, really nothing out of the ordinary in the office. For the third time he passed around her desk, scowling at the stack of papers detailing the visit of the delegation from the Church.

Draco shook his head. He couldn’t for the life of him imagine that any Muggle delegation would have enjoyed a ‘friendly reception’ in Umbridge’s office. At least not while she was present.

He scowled at the pink wand holder that was attached to the desk, and the charming and cleaning implements that were meticulously stashed beneath it. The thought of what she was doing to her wand made him shudder. To obscure the essential symbol of one’s magic…and with a lurid, candy-floss pink to boot…it was simply wrong.

oooOooo

Percy’s eyes were virtually glued to the board now. Sweat beaded on his forehead. The growing heap of unmoving figures on the one side and the cowering anxiousness of the others did nothing to support his equilibrium.

He didn’t have his little brother’s experience, but he was fairly sure that within five to ten moves, everything would be over, this way or that. Where in Merlin’s and Nimue’s names was Draco? Percy knew that it didn’t really matter if he won or lost this game—he would only fail if he hadn’t given Draco enough time to search Umbridge’s office.

Draco, he thought frantically, what in the Hallows are you doing up there?

oooOooo

That was incidentally the question that Draco was asking himself at this point.

I’m a loser, Draco thought. I have more than an hour to search a room, and all I find is a letter from those Muggles in robes—which is sitting right in the middle of the bloody desk, the just as openly displayed notes for pink-charming a wand…

…and that fucking fish.

Draco had always disliked magical creatures. But his aversion had reached new heights since Umbridge had acquired an aquarium to adorn her office. Now the fish tank occupied a large section of the shelf next to her desk. And of course she didn’t just keep any kind of ordinary fish, like a goldfish or a rainbow-fish. No: Umbridge kept a full-grown Lobalug in her office. It was poisonous (deadly, in fact; the ‘XXX’ MoM rating was due only to the exceptional value of Lobalug poison for potions-exports in Asia and the Americas, and due to diplomatic difficulties concerning the use of Lobalug poison by the Merpeople) and uglier than a Blast-Ended Skrewt. It stayed mainly inside what looked like a miniature gate made of strange, gleaming black stone. At the moment only its long, rubbery spout was visible. The rest of the animal was hidden inside its ‘castle’. It looked almost like a fishy guard dog, the way it lurked inside its murky abode.

Another round of the room.

Still nothing.

Damn. There has to be something here! Probably right in front of my eyes. Only I’m too stupid to see it.

oooOooo

Percy was staring at the doors at the end of the hall, pretending to be deep in thought regarding his next move. That was a ruse. There were two options for the next move, and they were quite simple. One option would have him defeated within seven moves, the other would make him win in three. He personally preferred the second option, but where in Merlin’s name was Draco?

As if the man in question had heard his thoughts, the doors opened, and a slim, blond figure slipped into the hall, keeping to the back.

Draco. At last.

Percy almost moaned with relief. He turned his attention back to the board.

A short time later, he smiled at his boss.

‘Madam, I’m very sorry. But I am afraid that I have no choice…Check.’

‘To yield to such a charming young man is no sacrifice,’ Umbridge simpered. But her fingers curled so tightly around her wand that her knuckles stood out. Strangely enough, when she prodded her last figure to remove itself from the board, it was the first that didn’t drop dead next to the board.

‘In that case,’ Percy’s smile tightened, ‘there’s only one thing left for me to do, Madam:mate.’

‘Bravo,’ Umbridge applauded, but to Percy it seemed that her smiling façade was cracking at the corners.

oooOooo

An hour after the tournament, Shacklebolt was walking down the hallway. His steps created an insecure, irregular echo of his customary forceful stride.

In his mind he heard Minerva’s voice. ‘The spell is draining their magic…all of them will die…already ten deaths at least…Someone at the Ministry has to be involved…Necromancers…very powerful…Is there anything you can tell me?’

He suspected that Draco had searched Umbridge’s office tonight. But that wouldn’t be enough. Not if his suspicions were correct.