For Ash via GGE. Happy birthday, lovely.

By the time they reach dessert, Ron decides that Scorpius Malfoy is an okay bloke. It surprises him that Draco could raise anyone so good, and he assumes that Astoria must have done most of the parenting.

"I'm actually pretty rubbish at keeping my focus," Scorpius admits between bites of cake. "Rose has to keep me straight."

"She always did take after her mother," Ron muses.

"School is fun and all, but I'd rather just play chess with Albus and Hugo," Scorpius laughs.

"He's great, Dad!" Hugo says, nearly knocking his dessert to the floor as he claps his hands together in excitement. "Maybe even better than you!"

"No one's better than Dad, Hu," Rose says.

Ron nods, offering his daughter a smile. "You're too kind, Rosie," he says, trying his best to appear modest, but his thrilled grin betrays him. "I'm not that great."

"I'd like to see who's better!" Hugo urges. "Can you play, Dad? Please?"

"I don't see why not. Unless Scorpius isn't up for it."

Scorpius leans in, grinning. "Always up for a challenge, Mr. Weasley."

…

"It's like watching a war," Rose muses as her dad captures one of Scorpius' pieces. "A slow, boring war."

Her mother chuckles. "You know how men can be," she says. "Always have to show whose wand is bigger."

Rose covers her mouth to muffle a giggle.

"Check," Scorpius says, his eyes bright.

Rose sighs, relieved. She's never cared for chess, no matter how much her father has encouraged her to try it. She doesn't like having to focus on smaller details to find the bigger picture.

Her father frowns, examining his pieces. "Oh dear," her mother whispers.

"What?"

"His king is unprotected. He has at least two moves left before Scorpius can take it."

"That's good, right? I'm tired," Rose says.

"Not good for your father. He doesn't lose gracefully," her mother says, shaking her head. "And he doesn't know how to let go of grudges."

Rose rolls her eyes. "It's a game, Mum. Who holds grudges over a game?"

"Remember what happened with Uncle Percy?" her mother asks, and Rose understands.

As predicted, two moves later, Scorpius calls, "Checkmate."

Her father doesn't say anything, but Rose notices the change immediately. His confident grin fades. His eyes flicker from the board to Scorpius, and back again, his expression a cross between disbelief and annoyance. He swallows.

"Well," her mother says with an exaggerated yawn. "I'm exhausted. Time for bed, I think."

Rose moves behind Scorpius, pulling him to his feet. "Bed sounds good, doesn't it? I'll show you to the guest room."

"Come on, Ron."

"I told you, Dad!" Hugo pipes in, oblivious. "Scorpius is great!"

"Good game, Mr. Weasley," Scorpius says, extending his hand.

Rose watches as her father takes it, looking as though he doesn't know what a handshake is. "Well, goodnight, then," he says after several tense seconds.

…

"Don't start, Ronald," Hermione says patiently as she climbs into bed.

"How?" her husband asks, tapping his foot rapidly. "I don't understand. I was so close."

"Hush. Come to bed."

"I invented chess, Hermione! And he has the audacity-"

"You did not invent chess," she interrupts.

"It's because he's a Malfoy. He wants to humiliate our family. I'll bet Draco talked him into it."

Hermione sighs. Most days, she would let Ron rant, no matter how silly the subject. But this is their daughter's boyfriend. If Ron doesn't let go, Rose's happiness could be at stake.

She climbs out of bed again and wraps her arms around him. "Don't you think you're being unreasonable?"

"Hermione, I-"

"You're amazing, Ron. We all know that. Scorpius might be better, or he might have gotten lucky," she says. "Don't stay in a foul mood and take it out on him. Think of Rosie."

Ron slumps with a sighing groan. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Rose knows that you're upset about losing. Don't cause tension over something so insignificant."

"Insignificant? Hermione, he beat me in chess. No one does that!"

She silences him with a kiss. "So, tomorrow, you will challenge Scorpius to a rematch. You will lose deliberately, and you will do it gracefully. Show Rose that there's nothing to worry about, that it's just a game, and you can accept Scorpius as a worthy rival."

Her husband is silent for several moments, no doubt trying to find a way out of Hermione's request. At last, he sighs, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Fine. For Rose."

…

"Your dad seems like a nice bloke," Scorpius says, searching through his things for an outfit to wear in the morning.

When Rose doesn't reply, he frowns, setting his socks to the side and turning to look at her. "What? Is there something wrong?"

Rose glances down the hallway quickly before shutting the door and crossing to the bed. She takes a deep breath, twirling a bit of hair with her finger- a nervous habit that Scorpius has always found incredibly endearing. "My dad is a tremendous chess player."

"I noticed," Scorpius says, letting out an impressed whistle. "Man, if he hadn't moved his knight, he could have taken my king two rounds before I got his!"

Rose shrugs. He knows that she doesn't care for chess, that she only tolerates it because it's his hobby. Really, Scorpius doesn't mind. At least she tries.

"He doesn't like losing, and Mum reckons he's going to hold a grudge."

"A… grudge?" he repeats, blinking in confusion. To his knowledge, no one has ever had a grudge against him. "Because I beat him in chess?"

"It's silly, I know, but Dad has apparently always been the best chess player. Uncle Percy beat him once, before I was born. Mum said that Dad didn't talk to him for weeks. You still can't mention chess whenever he and Uncle Percy are in the same room."

Scorpius nods. He understands. Chess might not seem exciting to most people, but those who love it can be competitive. He's lost a few matches, and he's always beat himself up over it, wondering how his strategy could be so flawed. "I see…"

"I know you're amazing at chess, Scor. But maybe… Could you play him again and, well, lose?"

"You want me to lose on purpose? Isn't that cheating?"

"Merlin's beard, Scorpius! You're a Slytherin! Aren't you supposed to do whatever it takes to get what you want? Besides, it's not really cheating…"

"Why would I want to lose?"

"Because Dad might hold a grudge, and I really want him to like you. He seems to, but, well, he takes things to heart. If you lose to him this time, maybe he'll think you were just lucky the first time, and everything will be okay."

Scorpius frowns. He's never tried to lose in chess. It seems ridiculous. But if Rose is so passionate about it… "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

…

"Say, Scorpius?" Ron ventures after breakfast. "How about a rematch? I wasn't up to par last night. Too many sweets messed with the old thinker." He taps a finger to his temple with a wink.

"Another game of chess?" Scorpius asks. "That sounds like a good idea."

Ron waves his wand, summoning the board. He takes a deep breath as the pieces move to their starting positions. Behind him, Hermione squeezes his shoulder encouragingly.

He can do this. He doesn't know how, but he can.

Scorpius moves his pawn, and Ron follows.

He's never tried to play badly. Even as a kid, before he really knew about strategy, he had tried his best and put everything into the game. He makes move after move, trying his best to play like an amateur.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Ron says a few turns later after sending his knight to capture a pawn.

"Haven't gotten the sleep out of my brain," Scorpius says, moving his rook and failing to take Ron's knight.

Ron nods, wondering what to do next. He could easily take another of the boy's pieces, but Hermione is watching, and he doesn't want to let her down. He moves a pawn, an amateur, safe move.

…

Rose frowns as she watches them. She doesn't know much about the game, but she's seen several ideal moves that her father should have taken. Scorpius, of course, isn't even trying, but it's almost as if her dad is playing for the first time.

She turns to her mother, and she understands. Her mother is watching just as intently, scowling whenever her father takes a piece.

Rose leans in. "Mum, did you ask Dad to throw the game?" she whispers.

The blush is answer enough. Her mother takes several steps back, and Rose follows. "I told him that he needs to show Scorpius that he won't be hurt if he loses," she admits.

"What are you doing?" Hugo demands from the table. "His bishop was right bloody there!"

"Language, Hu!" their mother calls before turning her full attention back to Rose. "You asked Scorpius to do the same, didn't you?"

Rose tries not to laugh as she nods. "I think we've created the most disastrous game of chess in all of history," she says, checking her watch. "It's been an hour, and they're still trying so hard to lose. What do we do?"

"Do you two think you could pause the game?" her mother asks. "It's such a lovely day outside. Maybe we could go for ice cream."

"Not now, Hermione. I've almost got him!"

"In your dreams, Mr. Weasley! I'm about to crush you."

Rose shakes her head. "I wouldn't mind some ice cream. It would be better than watching them."

Her mother laughs, nodding. "Somehow, I don't think they'll even notice if we leave."

Rose starts for the door just as Hugo groans, "Dad! Take the queen!"