Grand Fair and the Chess Tournament! (I)

Wednesday, 31st January 1986

Diagon Alley

From Leaky Cauldron to the end of Diagon Alley, from Carkitt Market and Horizont Alley to Knockturn Alley, thousands of wizards and witches could be seen, buzzing like bees.

People had come from all over Britain, and the very morning of the Grand Fair had already surpassed both the ministry and the other organizers' expectations.

It seemed they had truly underestimated the craving of ordinary wizardkind for something like this.

Owls were soaring overhead, accompanied by paper dragons and birds, bringing letters from one shop to another. Children were awing, mooning, and drooling everywhere, seeing one wonderful and mysterious thing after another.

Custom broomsticks were on display, special objects of all kinds were being sold and bartered, sparks were exploding here and there, and the very air smelled of magic.

A few wizards could be heard talking among themselves this time, if one cared enough to listen.

"The only time I ever saw so many people was during the World Cup…"

"Aye… Blimey! Get away you rascal…"

"What is this sticky substance?"

"Did you hear? Someone is auctioning an Invisibility Cloak…"

A clamor was everywhere and hushed discussion ran rampant like never before in the Alley.

However, even among these discussions, few were almost inaudible; afraid, and alert.

These few belonged to a different kind of people; from an unknown world.

…

"Damn! This timeline is too different, man…"

"All the Mission Credits we used to buy some info are now gone down the drain…"

"You don't understand. Whichever timeline has Characters, who are not part of the main storyline, cause major divergences. We were just too unlucky to get teleported here…"

"Darcie Malfoy! This girl is something, no? It is almost like those mysterious transmigration and rebirth tales. Don't you think she is just too outstanding?"

"What do you know? It does sound unbelievable, but it's still possible. I heard she had some kind of accident on her birthday. God knows what kind of freak accidents can happen in the world of Magic…"

"Heavenly Sage, weren't you a world-renowned Doctor in your previous life? What do you think?"

"My name is Earthly Sage! You fuck… Sigh! Anyway, it could be a rare case of Savant Syndrome. But Magic is involved, so who knows?"

"I went to Flourish and Blotts some days ago…"

"You did? Did you meet her? Was there any senior protecting her?"

"…"

"Speak bastard! Why bring it up if you meant to go mute?"

"Scary! She was too scary, man… I couldn't breathe in her presence."

"That powerful?! She's just what? 6-year-old?"

"I felt like she could look into my soul… I ran out after having one look at her…"

"Good." An old man, who had said nothing so far, finally barked. "So what if you have ascended to the 2nd Set? You all are still newbies. Worms. Our Sect Leader is from the 12th floor. I never met him, but there's a great quote from him engraved in all the disciples' hearts."

"Please guide us…"

"Yes…"

The old man sighed. "All storyline Characters have a stupendous amount of Luck. The moment Contestants like us were to think of harming them, a series of terrible events would happen to us. So don't mess with them, unless the Order has given a mission related to a Character specifically."

The group of Contestants looked at each other, their pupils trembling.

Another group of Contestants was also having a similar discussion at some corner.

…

"This Grand Fair is truly great for us Contestants. We can get many unique Milestones and Titles…"

"I am going to register for the Chess Tournament in U17 group… "

"Squandering money for that?! Gone insane, are you?!"

"Tch-Tch! You don't understand. Children from British Wizardkind will be there. It's CHESS… Doesn't that ring a bell in your goat-like ears?"

"This?!"

A family name boiled in their mind.

"They will come then? Let's go… Interacting with all of them according to the Lord's guidance gives super, unique Titles…"

…

Flourish and Blotts was the center of the world today.

Parents and children were going in and out, carrying a slip in their hands.

The players had started to come by 5 in the morning, even the winter's great chill failing to hide the enthusiasm on their faces.

The ministry had arranged a great number of staff members for the knockout round, which would last till the afternoon. There were so many people that it became too hard to monitor one person before losing them the next moment.

In this great hubbub, Darcie, Daphne, and Dobby were eating cupcakes, eying the distant entrance of the bookshop from afar.

To maintain the impartiality of the Tournament, Darcie had been relieved of her Page duties for the next three days.

Both she and Daphne had already gone through their Chess problems and were quite confident in becoming two of the ultimate 20 players.

"Did Astoria come?" Darcie asked, taking another cupcake off Dobby's hands.

Daphne pressed her brows, remembering the commotion her little sister had caused this morning. She nodded.

"She is with mum," Daphne told her. "They have gone to the bookshop to let her have a go at the problem."

The trio was standing near the Florist Witch by the entrance to the Horizont Alley.

Both girls were buried under rich clothes, their hair falling down their shoulders like silken threads. Over their heads were woolen hats, and their hands were gloved and warm.

And it was Dobby's responsibility to look after the girls for the next three days.

Dobby clenched his tiny hands into a fist and punched at the sky, imagining an enemy.

Darcie observed her house-elf and raised an eyebrow as she saw this inexplicable scene.

"Dobby, would you like to participate in the Tournament?" she asked.

His eyes became misty as Dobby's entire figure shook.

"Dobby…" he choked, rubbing his eyes. "Dobby doesn't know how to play, Ms. Darcie."

Daphne scowled. "Rubbish!" she reprimanded. "We tried to teach you so many times. You never show interest. Don't hide behind tears."

With the time these three had been spending with each other, it wasn't a surprise for them to become closer than friends.

One girl belonged to a family whose history could be summed up with one word — Shady.

She was a genius not seen even in a hundred years. People feared her as much as they loathed her because of the rumors about her.

Those who were too simple and naive to not give thought to those rumors were too ordinary to interact with her, finding themselves unworthy and unwanted, even if that wasn't the case.

The other girl belonged to a family which belonged nowhere.

The Pure Blood families disliked the Greengrasses, and the non-pure blood supremacist families wanted nothing to do with them, either.

None wanted to befriend her because of her inherent taciturn nature.

No wonder Darcie and Daphne became friends when they disliked the very notion of this word.

Then there was Dobby. His fault and adversity didn't lie in him being a House-elf, but a house-elf of the Malfoy family.

All his life, he had only known punishments, beatings, and scars, whose phantom pain never vanished, no matter how much he loathed his life.

These girls had brought gifts of hope and love for him, and Dobby would cherish them forever.

Especially Darcie, who was the kindest person he had met in his life; a brilliant lotus floating above the mud.

Not much time had passed for these three to come together.

But the bond between them had already taken root in the deepest part of their hearts.

***************

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