The Rise And Fall Of The Stag And The Doe

Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

Lily had this knack, which applied to pretty much everything, where she could always look like she knew exactly what she was doing. But the one thing she couldn't pretend to be good at was chess. And yet she still had the audacity to play Mary. Marlene and Alice were rubbish at chess and never much cared for it anyway. The real competitors were Dorcas, Peter, Mary, and James. Once every school year, when the weather outside was too ghastly and there wasn't much else to do, they would have an all out tournament in the Gryffindor Common Room. This year Lily wanted to make to the finals. It killed her that a boy that couldn't pass potions and waddled after James and Sirius like they were gods had knocked her out in the first round.

Mary agreed to help her after she saw how genuinely frustrated Lily was with the whole thing. But after sitting with her in the dirt by the lake for over an hour, her small patience was beyond its capacity.

"Lillian," she snapped, "the reason this isn't working is because you refuse to see what's right in front of you." She pointed the Lily's king. "You are so worried about protecting the king, that you barely play your pawns. You are supposed to use your pawns, Lily."

"I don't know why you aren't in Ravenclaw," Lily sighed in disappointment as she eyed the chessboard.

Mary frowned, "The hat offered for me to be in Ravenclaw. I opted not to be in a house where they valued knowledge above all else."

"I didn't know that."

"You never asked," she said simply. "Look, there's no point in playing chess unless you are willing to take a risk. You should protect your queen and king, but the point of the game is to slaughter the other team, not square even. It's a game of risk. That's why McKinnon hates the game and why Potter and Black are so good at it."

"Then why is Peter so good?" Lily exclaimed, her pale face reddening with anger.

"Because he plays his opponent's weakness against them. They all expect that he will stumble and that they can just sweep him. But I have a feeling Pettigrew knows exactly how to get by," Mary said darkly, her large, pale blue eyes widening for emphasis.

Lily frowned, her thin eyebrows furrowing together as she did.

"I still don't see what I'm doing wrong…"

"That's your problem, Lily," Mary murmured as she leaned back on the tree behind her. She closed her eyes softly and let out a soft sigh as the sun darkened her already warm brown skin. "You always see the little things, but miss the bigger picture."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lily admitted, throwing her hands up in aggravation.

A small bright white appeared on Mary's face. It was remarkable, but it was a startling contrast from her skin tone.

"Exactly."

Not in the mood for Mary's psychological mind games, Lily put away the Wizard's chessboard and headed back to the castle. Mary didn't open her eyes, or say anything to stop Lily; she just let her go, knowing what Lily was annoyed at most wasn't Mary, but herself.

She and Mary were the only ones that weren't going to Hogsmeade, so she had no one else to spend time with. Mary wasn't going because she hated shopping and would much rather sit outside and get a darker tan. If Lily were honest with herself, she would admit the reason she wasn't going was because she didn't want to see James and his girlfriend…but Lily Evans wasn't the type to be honest with herself. She couldn't understand where these feelings were coming from, and wished more than anything they'd stop. But until they did, Lily couldn't be around James at all. Just one look at his arrogant smirk would make her positively boiling with rage.