Black Knight, White Queen

A/N: Thank you to everyone for your support and patience while I got this chapter up. I've had all but the last two sentences written for days, I just wasn't quite happy with how I could think of to end it. At the moment I'm thinking the story will be done in one more chapter, possibly two.



margaritama -- Thanks. :) Ugh... now if only I could figure out how to best write the ending. lol.



angeles -- I will keep that in mind, maybe I'll be able to find a way to fit in some Voldie butt kicking in the next chapter. ;)



goldiducks -- Thank you!



Draco_Lover -- Hope you continue enjoying it!

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Black Knight, White Queen

Chapter 4: Check


Check: Placing your opponent's king in a vulnerable

position where he would be taken in the next

turn if he failed to move.



The silence became uncomfortable after awhile, but Hermione made no effort to fill it. She merely waited, hoping that Draco would offer some sort of explanation rather than refusing once more to answer her questions.



"Ah," he said finally. By his tone, you would think that single syllable was enough to make everything clear. Hermione was nearly about to point out that it did not when he spoke once more. "The things I haven't told you, well, most of them were because I didn't want to get your hopes up. That particular one was because I didn't think you'd take too kindly to hear that the ferret was in love with you."



"I wouldn't have believed it," said Hermione, looking him in the eyes once more. "I'm not sure I believe it now."



Draco grinned and shook his head. "What spoiled little boy wouldn't fall head over heels for the girl who wasn't impressed in the slightest?"



"That's not love," Hermione pointed out rather bluntly.



"True," he continued, "but it is enough to make that little boy take notice. It made him realize how much of a prat he was. Still am, I guess. It's just that I didn't know how else to act, and as I got older that act was one of necessity. That didn't prevent me from being envious when you came to the Yule ball on someone else's arm, or not minding the loss of the house cup when it meant seeing a smile on your face. If I thought I could talk to you without getting hexed, and be with you without it putting you in danger, I would have tried years ago to get your attention. As it was, the only way I could safely get you to look at me was by being cruel."



"I wish you could have found another way," said Hermione. "Besides, that doesn't change where we are now."



Draco winced. He looked around the room for a moment and then went to retrieve the muggle chess set. He brought it back to the bed, holding up the pieces one by one. "This game fits us so perfectly, you have no idea. These pawns... they are all the wizards and witches who have been forced to choose sides in this war. But they are just pawns, unimportant, and so as long as they go unnoticed then their danger is minimal. I've been a pawn in my own way, but never unnoticed. It's more like I'm one of the knights. I can take a step in one direction, but as soon as I do so I have to go in another direction at the same time. It's frustrating, feeling like for every little bit that I achieve, the next step I have to take half undoes it."



She picked up one of the black knights and studied it with a smile. "I can see you as a black knight. So what am I?"



"You're the white queen," he said without hesitation. "So solidly against dark magic, and constantly running all over the board trying to protect everyone. You put yourself in danger, showing your strengths and weaknesses to the world, all because your Gryffindor traits compel you to do the right thing at every opportunity. It makes me envious, I think, because your path forward is so predictable. You know what you will do, even if it means sacrificing yourself."



His words were so sweet, so heartfelt, that Hermione couldn't help being affected. She wanted to be closer to him, to wrap her arms around him for the comfort she knew he'd provide her. He was right though, she would sacrifice herself and her happiness, and because of that she couldn't ignore what was bothering her in the back of her mind. "So why did you betray us?"



Draco reached over, taking her hands in his. "I didn't," he said, his voice pleading for her to believe him. "What I'm doing now... it was the backup plan. Something devised at the last minute when everything went wrong. I went with Potter, planning to destroy Nagini just like I was told. But then, everything went wrong... we didn't find what we'd expected. So Snape devised a plan, and told us the details quickly. Potter is still alive, Hermione, and we are trying to fix how terribly things have gone wrong. But to fix it I have to pretend that I'm still a loyal Death Eater. I just... I didn't want you to get your hopes up when it could still go horribly. Especially since your hands are tied. As much as you want to keep running around, protecting everyone, now is the time when we have to do it on our own and I have to protect you."



The last pieces clicked in place in Hermione's mind, and she began to see the truth. Their lives really were like the chess game. "I really don't like not being able to help," she said. "But... when you say you are in love with me. What does that mean exactly?"



"It means," he began with a smirk, "that I want you all to myself. I want to protect you, to hold you and kiss you. I think about the day that this is all over. I think about marrying you, having children with you, and spending the rest of my life trying to deserve you."



The words made Hermione uncomfortable. The past few days she had realized she cared what happened to him, and now knowing the truth she felt able to care without guilt. He was beautiful, and when he held her at night it made her heart race. When he spoke of kissing her, all she wanted to do was invite him closer. But it was so much, so fast. Marriage? Children? She was having a difficult time reconciling this Draco with the Malfoy git she knew.



He seemed to understand her discomfort, even if he didn't fully comprehend the cause. It made an awkward end to a serious conversation, but Draco didn't seem angry at her lack of response. He just took the chess pieces and set them up for a new game, giving her a questioning look and moving a black pawn two squares forward.



"I know I failed you before," he said softly, "but I will do everything within my power to protect you in the future."



Hermione grinned and quickly chose her move. "You didn't fail. Voldemort made his move, you made yours. So far this white queen is unharmed."



The game wasn't serious, with few of the moves well thought out. Both Hermione and Draco were lost in thought, trying to decide how they felt about the current situation. She was sorting through her emotions while he worried that he'd said too much.



By the time her king was cornered, Hermione had her answers. "You win," she said good-naturedly. "What should be your prize?"



Draco raised an eyebrow and grinned, pushing the chess board to the side and crawling up the bed until his body was over top of hers. He was careful, their bodies barely touching, as he lowered his head and claimed a kiss. She gave it eagerly, one hand playing with his long blonde hair and the other attempting to pull his body closer to her.



Each felt compelled to draw closer to the other, as if their close proximity would be enough to protect the other from harm. Had things gone differently, Hermione might have wondered if it was just that she was his prisoner and he was the only halfway decent looking male she'd seen in weeks. She vaguely remembered reading an article in a muggle magazine about something called Stockholm syndrome, where over time a captive began to feel loyalty towards those who held them hostage. If she wanted, she knew she could make a pretty good case stating that that's what all of this was.



Except that she knew better. She knew that what had upset her the most about his teasing at Hogwarts was how attracted she was to him, and it was what had helped her find the strength to hide how it bothered her. She knew that she believed he was telling the truth before this whole ordeal, just like she believed him now. And really, whether he believed it or not, she knew that he had genuinely tried to protect her. The thoughts were not trauma induced, they were fact, and she wasn't going to hide from them.



She wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting the temporary reprieve that feeling him against her would provide, and aching to feel more than that. He responded enthusiastically, his hands wandering their way under her clothing. Soon enough the layers of clothing began stifling, and one by one they were removed. Neither thought of what they were doing, rather choosing to for once in their lives let go. When finally he thrust inside her, Hermione felt for the first time in a long time like everything was going to be okay.