***

“I play winner,” Hermione said to the two competitors from a large armchair, her legs curled beneath her.

“Which will be me,” Ron said with a laugh as he checked one of Harry’s pawns.

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry grumbled, shoving some of his thick hair out of his face.

Hermione merely glanced up from the large book cradled in her arms and shook her head with a small smile.

Harry managed to avoid being attacked by Ron’s chess pieces once more before his bishop was obliterated. At that moment, Crookshanks, who had earlier jumped up onto the table, took the bishop in his mouth and bounded across the common room.

Ron laughed yet again. “Even the cat seems to know that Hermione’s playing next.”

Sighing, Hermione took Ron’s apple flavored sugar quill from the side table and lazily chucked it at his head. It bounced off and shattered on the ground, powder spilling everywhere.

Ron’s mouth fell open. He looked down, and then up at Hermione. “What’d you do that for?”

“You were being a prat. Thought that’d bring you down a few notches,” she replied nonchalantly.

“That’s my favorite flavor,” Ron said incredulously.

Harry laughed and checked one of Ron’s pawns. “Your turn.”

Ron gave Hermione a slight glare and returned to his game. Within three moves he had won. “You’ll regret breaking my sugar quill,” he warned her.

Hermione put her book down and switched seats with Harry. “I didn’t break it. It bounced off of that big head of yours and fell on the floor,” she pointed to his forehead.

Harry laughed as Ron’s ears tinged pink and he set up his pieces. She walked over to the other side of the room and apprehended the bishop from Crookshanks’ mouth.

By the time they began the game, Ron was thoroughly fired up. “I’ll show you…big head,” he muttered. Hermione just grinned.

Halfway through the game, Ginny came and sat down next to Hermione. “Ooh, Ron, not looking so good for you, is it?”

Ron glared up at her, not moving his head, and returned his eyes to the chessboard. Hermione turned to Ginny and whispered something into her ear for a long second. They both laughed and Hermione contemplated her next move.

“I’d stop laughing if I were you,” Ron grumbled. “You’re not going to win.”

“We’ll see, Ron. We’ll see,” Hermione said evasively. The game seemed to go in Hermione’s favor. That is until…

“Checkmate,” Ron said, grinning triumphantly.

Hermione glared at him through squinted eyes.

“Sorry that didn’t work, Hermione. Maybe next time,” Ginny said. Hermione shook her head.

“What do you mean?” Ron asked, turning his attention to his little sister.

“Hermione was trying a new approach to this game,” she grinned. “And it almost worked.”

“It did, didn’t it?” said Harry, having noticed her tactic right from the start.

“Yeah. You got so riled up, that you almost lost.”

“Well, now there won’t be a next time,” Hermione huffed, standing up and gathering her books. “Now that you just told him…”

“Oh, so that’s what you were doing,” Ron said. “Yeah, guess you still couldn’t beat me,” he smirked.

Hermione scowled and turned to leave, unable to stand Ron’s gloating, though it wouldn’t last long.

“Oh, and Hermione?” Ron called as she began to retreat.

She pivoted back around.

“You owe me a new sugar quill,” Ron grinned and laughed.

This comment was followed by an orange flavored sugar quill hitting him square on the nose.