#7 | Gobstones [OPEN]

"Awww, man!" Harris laughed as Gerald landed another 2 pointer. So far their game had been pretty evenly matched with an enjoyable back and forth. Harris cast his gaze up and let his eyes take in the Alcove Courtyard, relishing the weather of this Halloween afternoon.

"Guess I never answered your question, did I? I'm a 5th year," Harris told Gerald as he flicked his fourth gobstone into the air. He needed to get at least two points, or better yet, knock off one of Gerald's pieces.

"Oy, this is Hogwarts, mate," Harris said to the first year with a smile. "I'd say magic would be a pretty good bet at the Halloween feast."

Hmm, it looked like Harris was ahead by one point right now. Since Herald only had two stones left, it would make sense that Harris would have only one. He had to get a three in order to win. Or at least a Pair of twos, that was unless he could take one of his pieces.

Pausing his analyis, he looked up at Harris. "I mean magic in the sense that this school is freaky, with lots of untold secrets. Maybe a chamber in the dungeons would open at midnight?"

Flicking a Piece in, he hoped to take one of the twos, hopefully that of Harris's.

Harris had to appreciate the kid's imagination. "Were you raised around Muggles, too?" Harris thought he detected the same kind of wide-eyed wonder in Gerald that he had exhibited himself when he'd first come to Hogwarts.

"A chamber might open, a few ghosts might organize a sing-along, a dark wizard might swoop in and transfigure a pumpkin into a landmine..." if Gerald was raised in the Muggle world he would understand the joke.

Harris realized he was one point ahead with only one piece left, so he had to land on a 3 to win... assuming Gerald wasn't able to knock off one of his own pieces. Knowing that there was no strategy that could help him now, he flicked his piece and smiled, having enjoyed the game no matter the outcome.

"Uh, somewhat. I'm a Halfblood if that's what you're asking"

Listening to Harris, he wondered if he was serious, or if that was actually what happens on the Halloween Feast. Harris seemed like the guy to make lots of jokes, but maybe that was just how he spoke in general? "Isn't a Landmine Kinda dangerous?"

Watching the Board, he realised that Harris had a total of 8 points to his 7. Realising that he was either going to draw or win, he flicked his piece onto the board with Wild Abandon. "I guess this is how the Game ends then?"

His final piece landing on the board, Gerald took a moment to count the points he had, then he double-checked because this couldn't be right. "Did I just win?"

It appears he had. Drinking a Pumpkin Juice, he tried to stop himself from being too excited. He knew that Harris had to be going easy on him.