Come from Behind and a Victory Declined

Ron's POV

I moved the spaces needed and won the game, the white king took off his crown and threw it at my feet. We had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, the pieces retreated to their spaces and the door to the next room opened.

Hermione rushed forward to (Y/N) who was lying flat on his back surrounded by discarded pieces, she knelt down beside him and shook his arm, there was no response, fearing the worst she checked his pulse and let out a sigh of relief.

"He's alive, just unconscious" she said, "We need to get him to the hospital wing" her voice sounded frantic. My heart was pounding, why had I let him do it, why had I not moved even though I really wanted to take the hit in his place.

When he spoke to me, it was like I was suddenly convinced of everything he said, and for a moment, barely a second  I had a very selfish thought, I was relieved, relieved that my friend had taken my place.

Looking down at him, blood stained in his mouth where the idiot had bit his tongue from sticking it out, and his ankle was bent out at an odd angle. I couldn't imagine going through that.

I took a breath and remembered what he said, this was important, we had to hurry. "I'll look after (Y/N) you go forward" I said, he did this for me, it was the least I could do now. Hermione tried to protest but I cut her off.

"You heard what he said, you two go forward and get the Stone, that was the whole bloody point!" She nodded and stood up, wiping her tears and looking at Harry, they both took off as I sat beside him, trying to help.. 

With one last desperate look back at (Y/N), Harry and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway. I waited for ages with (Y/N), he still didn't move, I was starting to get worried when I heard footsteps.

In shock because of the sudden noise, I pointed my wand at the door, if it was Snape I would blast him with a knockback jinx, for (Y/N). It wasn't, Hermione came rushing out the door, panting for breath.

She explained the next few doors, a troll that was already dealt with, and a potion challenge, now she was here we could finally move (Y/N) safely, so  after that we headed for the exit, we had to get an owl to Dumbledore. "Is (Y/N)-" Hermione began, I didn't want to think about it, so I cut her off.

"He'll be fine if we hurry. Let's go." I pulled (Y/N) by the arm and carried him over my shoulder, we were just reaching the exit when we saw Dumbledore. "Professor, its Snape he's-" was all we could get out. "Not to worry, now if you would, please escort Mr (L/N) to the hospital wing."

He walked past us and kept going, now Snape was in trouble, even if he was mental, Dumbledore was the strongest wizard in the world. Me and Hermione shared a smile, the git was done for now.

When we got up to the exit, McGonagall was waiting, she looked worried, really worried, her lips pursed and her foot tapping. Weirdly, Bones, (Y/N)'s cat, was at her heels, McGonagall took (Y/N) from us and headed to Pomfrey, we followed in silence.

(Y/N)s POV

I awoke with a thumping headache, my ankle, tongue and back were killing me, I heard voices over me. "Told you he'd be fine" said Ron. "Still, I wish I could do something" Said Hermione in a quiet voice.

"Well, I could use a back rub" I said, opening my eyes. "(Y/N)" they said in unison. "Did anyone get the number of that piece? I got H3, the rest is a bit foggy" I joked, giggling to myself, Hermione was smiling, Ron just looked confused.

Hermione wrapped her arms around me, I welcomed it, despite the cracking sound my back made, it was nice, I gave Ron a one-armed hug and a pat on the back. "You need to teach me how to play chess, I suck at it" I grinned.

"I noticed." He retorted. It was at this moment we received two more visitors, Bones scurried to the bed and jumped on my chest, nuzzling my face and mewling "Hello princess" I said, stroking her.

I was then almost savaged by the tiny kitten, who in her concern, was headbutting, clawing, and biting me, though never breaking skin, "I'm fine princess, just fine, I'm not going anywhere just yet." I said as I scratched her chin. Bones yelled angrily at me, which was just squeaking really..  

My major concern was her companion. Professor McGonagall followed her; she had her signature stern look on her face. "It seems someone was worried about you" she gestured to Bones.

"After she delivered your message to me she began eating an absurd amount of cat food, scratching my furniture, and pawing at and knocking down my possessions until I let her see you, damaging a number of expensive items, I might add."

"Yeah, that sounds like her. Clever girl" I said rubbing Bones' ears, she basically turned to mush and was purring loudly. "Message?" questioned Hermione. "What you really thought I would fight a dark wizard without a contingency plan?" I asked, she just looked at me confused.

"Before we left, I had Bones deliver a message to Professor McGonagall telling her to contact Professor Dumbledore" they both looked dumbfounded "Just in case." "So that's how he got here so quickly" she reasoned, I put a thumbs up.

"After all, trouble seems to find me wherever I go" I said, smirking at my head of house, she just smiled. This perfect moment was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey. "I have other patients, if you are going to have visitors, keep your voices down." 

This was the first time I had seen Harry, who was in the bed next to mine. "Is he ok? What happened?" I asked, sitting up. "Yes, he will be fine with some peace and quiet" she put a finger to her lips.

"Long story." Ron said to answer my other question, Madam Pomfrey turned her head to me "You are free to go if you feel up to it" her eyes focused on Bones. "No pets!" she whispers shouted. I just hugged Bones closer to me.

Ron was right, it was a long story. As it turned out. It was Quirrell with the mad harp skills, not Snape. Oh, and he was Voldemort, so that was something, and of course I missed it. I sighed, "None of this would have happened if you just let me take my nap." I said as the story was retold.

The next few days went by fast, the Weasley twins delivered Harry a toilet seat, with some help from yours truly, he woke up and told us all about his run in with Quirrell first hand, "Guess I owe Snape an apology" I added.

After a few hours passed we were sat in the Great Hall for the House Cup results, honestly it had completely slipped my mind, but now I was dreading it. What was I at now? About negative two million?

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. The hall was silenced almost instantly, he looked around the room and continued. "Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus:" 

"In fourth place, Gryffindor, with two hundred and sixty two points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

Not as bad a loss as I expected all in all, until I heard the Slytherins began to cheer, I heard Malfoy whooping, I turned my head and saw a sly grin on his face as he caught my eye. . "Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account." 

This confused me, "Did something happen when I was out?" I nudged Ron, he shrugged. The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little. "Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes..."

"First -- to Mr. Ronald Weasley..." Ron went purple in the face; I stared at him in disbelief and shook him a little "... for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

At last there was silence again. "Second -- to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." Hermione buried her face in her arms; She was crying, I knew it, I leaned over the table and rustled her hair, she looked up briefly and I grinned at her, she smiled at me.

"Third -- to Mr. (Y/N) (L/N)... " said Dumbledore. I was in shock, I hoped it would happen after hearing Ron and Hermione get points, but it still blew me away. "... for self-sacrifice and calm under immense pressure, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." 

Dumbledore's eyes flicked to me, I smiled at him and I could have sworn I saw him smile along with me. "Fourth -- to Mr. Harry Potter... " said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "... for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

Wait. If my math is right, we are tied with Slytherin. I looked over at Malfoy and smirked, he scowled at me Dumbledore raised his hand. So, I couldn't gloat for as long as I liked "There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. 

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom." 

There was a single beat of silence, realisation dawned on everyone, then there was a cheer so loud I felt like going up to Madam Pomfrey again to get my ears checked. Neville was in shock, I looked over at him and for a second I thought Hermione had cursed him again.

I couldn't contain myself, I stood on the table, I bounded over Ron and sat beside Neville, despite some odd looks and disapproving teachers, when I got to him, I started shaking him.

"Neville..." I realised he couldn't hear me over the cheering "YOU DID IT, YOU WON US THE HOUSE CUP, HAHAHA!" was all I could manage. This seemed to shake him out of his disbelief because he had the largest grin I had ever seen.

Tears were in his eyes, and if I'm honest they were in mine as well. "I TOLD YOU, BRAVE IN YOUR OWN WAY" I rustled his hair as he giggled. I was the first to hug him. we were then swarmed by the rest of the Gryffindors.

The high lasted what felt like hours but was probably only second, as overjoyed as I felt, something else hit me, once I was over the initial shock, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach. I could almost feel it brewing.

 I looked over at the Slytherin table, the Slytherins looked defeated I even saw some of them in tears, I looked over to Malfoy, he was doing an excellent Neville impression and was still as a statue, it was funny, but something didn't sit right.

"NO this isn't right" I tried to yell; it was drowned out by the cheers. "That's not fair!" I said again. Unfortunately, I had said this, as loud as I could, at the exact moment when there was a brief pause in cheering, so now all eyes were on me. 

Part of me wanted to die, to be swallowed up by the floor to avoid the stares, but my sense of fair competition and my upbringing told me to act, so I did, taking a moment to prepare myself for what was probably the stupidest thing I had done all year...well, in terms of school.

It was time to commit social suicide, "Well, in for a sickle" I thought. I stormed up to the main table. My plan was a simple one, but I was almost shocked my body decided to go through with it.

"The Slytherins worked just as hard as the rest of us for those points, it's not fair that they get tripped at the final hurdle!" I said, glaring up at the main table. There was a resounding number of boos that followed.

I turned to face the hall, I looked over at my friends, all of them were in shock, Harry especially. For a second I regretted coming up here, but my courage was restored when I heard a first year Slytherin whimpering.

"SHUT UP!" I bellowed, my voice filling the hall almost as much as Dumbledore's had. "This isn't right, its favouritism and you all know it, you just want to win so badly you don't care." A wave of murmurs flooded the room, some sounding guilty. Others calling me a traitor.

"Look, of course I want Gryffindor to win, but Slytherin don't deserve to lose on a whim" There was another loud murmur and some cheers from Slytherins. I turned back to Dumbledore, who was looking at me very curiously, I could almost feel him trying to see how I ticked.

That didn't stop me from spouting out my next sentence though, as much as I wish it had. The first thing that came into my head. "Take ten points from me you old fart" I said pointing at him, trying to goad him into punishing me, my hands shaking.

This had the opposite effect, there was tense silence, making me wish I could get swallowed up by the floor again, it seemed the whole hall was waiting to see how Dumbledore would react, personally I was just hoping he didn't vaporise me or put me in detention until I was forty six.

To the hall's surprise and my terror, he laughed, which then meant that Fred and George Weasley laughed, then Lee Jordan, then Seamus, then just about the whole school. I could of sworn I saw Flitwick and McGonagall chortling for a moment. 

But I was distracted from that when the hall died down as the headmaster raised a hand. "Alas, I cannot let your actions go unpunished, I would remind you not to raise your voice at a member of the staff" he looked at me sadly "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor."

Suddenly I felt a wave of anger curl up my back, and soon found myself shouting again. "That's not right, take ten, take ten!" I demanded, he just looked at me sadly, as if he wanted to say, "I wish I could." 

The hall was dead silent for a moment as I took another breath, about to rattle off a few curse words. Until I heard a loud sound of footsteps, probably a teacher to stop me, I was about to protest kicking and screaming.

I only stopped when a girl I recognised as a Slytherin prefect came up behind me, patted me on the back and said, "Let it be. You have done enough. Cheers." She then motioned me back to my house table.

It wasn't until much later during the summer that I realised why the headmaster hadn't taken ten from me, if he had, Neville wouldn't have made his mark on Gryffindor, and that wouldn't be fair, a rock and a hard place.

I turned and walked back to my table, my tail between my legs, I expected to be greeted with glares, but surprisingly I wasn't, the table greeted me with smiles and some pats on the back. I sat beside Hermione.

She caught my eye first, so I just plonked down next to her, she immediately squeezed my hand, I looked up at her and she smiled. "It was worth a shot" I said dejectedly, "Of course." She said, though I could tell she was a little bit put off by the thought of drawing, or losing the house cup.

"Good try mate" said Ron, trying to cheer me up. Fred and George thought me calling Dumbledore old fart was hilarious and this swayed the rest of the table, the Ravenclaws were a bit bitter at first but they understood my reason so they took my side.

So I was met by a lot more claps then I thought. "Brilliant!" the twins said in unison. Even Neville, who I imagined would be the most upset about my outburst, greeted me with a smile, "That as brave. Mad, but brave." He added.

I looked over at Draco Malfoy, he looked at me as if I had grown another head, and then quickly turned away from me. "With that done," Dumbledore took a breath, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green decorations became scarlet and silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand; his face was contorted into a forced smile.

He looked over at me, I swore he smiled at me for a second, no, probably a trick of the light, I looked at Professor McGonagall she just smiled and nodded. Harry looked over at me with a sad smile, I'm sure I made him feel guilty but hopefully he would get over it.

"A few more stunts like this, I'm going to end up more famous then you Potter" I said laughing. He let out a genuine chuckle and I hoped all was forgiven, Hermione didn't look too pleased at the thought of "More stunts."

And suddenly, after learning I got full marks in my charms and Transfiguration exams and some excellent scores on my others, we were boarding the Hogwarts Express. Which was not as hectic this time. I didn't even oversleep.

After a few hours trying to see if Ron could in fact turn Scabbers yellow with is new and improved magical mastery, which was a bust, unfortunately, and fighting over who gets the last liquorice wand, a fight I won gracefully despite Hermione's complaints.

Soon we were pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station. Not as bad a loss as I expected all in all, until I heard an offer that I didn't think I'd be able to refuse, even if it wasn't one made for me.

"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "I'll send you an owl-" "-If I must, I was planning on staying with the Dursleys, they seem very welcoming," I scoffed, "Oh yeah, more wizards, they'd love that." Harry said. 

"You reckon they could squeeze me in the cupboard under the stairs? Maybe under the kitchen sink?" I asked sarcastically waving to the muggle family who pretended not to see me. "If not, I guess I could suffer staying at the...what do you call it?"

"The Burrow. And I wasn't talking to you" Ron pointed at me "You're banned" "Like that will stop me." I cackled. "Thanks," said Harry, cutting in, "I'll need something to look forward to." "Bye, Harry!" "See you, Potter!" I said, hugging him once more. Heads turned at that name.

"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him. I for one kept getting stopped and thanked by grateful Slytherin students so for once I knew how he felt. It was exhausting. "Not where I'm going, I promise you" said Harry.

"There he is, Mum, there he is, look!" It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but pointing in our direction. "Your sister is looking for you Ron" I said nudging him, he waved. "Must have missed me."

"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mum! I can see--" her mother shushed her. I was in fits of laughter at this, Ron went bright red, as did Harry, Hermione even let out a laugh. Mrs. Weasley smiled down at us, well them, she had to look up to smile at me, not by much though.

"Busy year?" she said. "Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley." "Thank you very much Mrs. Weasley, I loved my present, I will get you something next year" I added. "Oh, it was nothing, dear, you don't need to." She said looking embarrassed

The fat muggle man that I had been waving to earlier plodded up to us. This must be Uncle Vernon, just as purple-faced as Harry had described, though admittedly he had a cool moustache. He didn't look very happy. "Ready, are you?"

"You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs. Weasley. "In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon. "Nice to meet you mate!" I said going for a handshake, he just blanked me. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day" He walked away. "He seems nice" I said sarcastically.

"See you over the summer, then" Ron said awkwardly. "I expect an owl from each of you at least twice a month" I said. "Hope you have -- er -- a good holiday," said Hermione to Harry as he dashed off, he called back "Oh, I will" he smirked "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."

With Harry gone, the Weasleys soon dispersed, Mrs Weasley giving me a bone crushing hug as she left, I said goodbye to Ron with a promise to visit later in the summer, I had a quick goodbye from Fred and George and a formal goodbye from Percy, even little Ginny let out a quick "Bye (Y/N)" as they left.

Hermione left next, her parents looked a bit shell shocked when she began to tell them of our adventures although after they met me briefly they seemed to calm down as I was a "Normal" person, I was used to this with my dad so I took it in stride, as they walked away Hermione turned on her heels and ran at me.

She pulled me into a hug and said, "Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone." "No promises" she beamed at me and with that she disappeared into the crowd. I sat down on a nearby bench and let Bones out of her cage, she let out a long meow and stretched.

I pet her as I waited. A minute passed and I saw my mum, looking around frantically until she saw me and sprinting down the platform. "Sorry I'm late sweetie, the floo network was murder, some poor witch dropped the pot" she said.

"Don't worry about it, I've got so much to tell you." "Let's start with the mountain troll" she said sternly crossing her arms. "That wasn't even the best bit" I said smiling, Bones meowing in agreement. I think it's fair to say my mum got bored of me telling my stories after the tenth time, but she listened intently anyway.

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