The Rebirth of Harry Potter

After returning to the castle, Harry found the Great Hall and the common room too noisy, so he headed to the library instead.

The library was vast, with thousands of bookshelves and hundreds of narrow aisles crisscrossing the space.

Before entering the main library, there was a large hall with high ceilings and spacious seating, filled with long tables and benches, much like the Great Hall—except even bigger, as this was where students studied and completed assignments.

But right now, it was nearly empty.

Harry and Hermione chose a spot and sat down. Harry opened the chess set and arranged the pieces.

They looked like real, living people, shifting slightly in their positions as they settled into place.

The moment the board was set, both sides stood at attention.

Harry's general suddenly drew his sword with a loud clang and roared,

"My blade has been thirsting for battle!"

Boom!

His five pawns raised their spears high before slamming them down, their combined force shaking the chessboard.

All at once, they bellowed:

"War!"

The intensity was overwhelming.

On the opposing side, the enemy commander was no less imposing—his face contorted with rage, beard bristling as he pointed his sword at Harry's general, his voice filled with killing intent:

"I shall cleanse my throne with your blood!"

A pawn took a bold step forward, dropping into a lunging stance, his spear angled upward.

"Kill!"

A warhorse reared up on its hind legs, letting out a piercing neigh.

"Hiiiiiiyahhh!!"

...

Harry: (⊙o⊙)...…

Hermione: (⊙o⊙)...…

To be honest, from the moment the general shouted, Harry had been completely stunned.

What the hell is this?

He knew Wizard's Chess could talk, but this was on another level.

Hermione was just as bewildered. While she wasn't as interested in Wizard's Chess as most boys, she had played quite a few times before. But never had she seen a chess set like this—where the moment the pieces were arranged, they launched into a full-on war declaration.

Is this… normal for Chinese Chess?

Harry twitched slightly before saying,

"Alright… so let me teach you how to play. Chess rules are much simpler than Wizard's Chess—you'll get the hang of it after one game…"

Harry quickly explained the rules of Chinese Chess to Hermione in just a few simple sentences.

…

"Alright, let's begin!" Harry rubbed his hands together, excitement clear on his face.

It had been years since he last played chess, and now, with this enchanted wizard chess set, it felt like he was commanding a real battlefield!

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "Horse, move left one space and forward two!"

The knight on her right pawed at the ground a few times before suddenly leaping into the position she had designated.

Hermione gasped in amazement, her face lighting up with excitement.

Harry grinned. "Pawn, advance one step!"

One of his pawns moved forward, stepping up to the river boundary on the board.

…

"Chariot, retreat five spaces!" Hermione's war chariot rumbled forward, slamming into Harry's knight and knocking it off the board.

Studying the board, Hermione declared, "Cannon, jump over the pawn and attack the elephant!"

One of her cannons swiveled around, aiming at one of Harry's elephants.

The cannon shook, releasing a burst of fire, and blasted the elephant piece off the board, rolling into its previous position.

The two of them went back and forth, engaging in an all-out battle.

Harry took Hermione's elephant, Hermione attacked his pawn.

Harry captured her horse, Hermione advanced her cannon.

Since it was Hermione's first time playing, Harry occasionally gave her tips, making the first game last longer.

But after just one round, Hermione had already picked up the strategy.

They played two more matches, and this time, the games were much quicker.

Hermione got more and more skilled as they played, but unfortunately, she lost all three games.

Still, that outcome was to be expected.

Puffing up her cheeks in frustration, Hermione huffed, "One more game! I'll definitely beat you this time!"

Harry laughed. "I'd love to keep going, but we have class soon. Or could it be that our dear Hermione Granger is planning to skip class?"

Hermione froze.

She looked up at the stone clock and realized—they had been playing for over an hour!

And class was starting in just thirty minutes!