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dance of the knights
He isn't aware of it, but Ronald Weasley and Juniper Sokolova are bitter rivals.
Her enmity began in their first year when Dumbledore humiliated the Slytherins by pretending they had won the House Cup—complete with green and silver initially decorating the Great Hall—only to then offer highly questionable last-minute points to the Gryffindors. The banners became scarlet and gold as the Slytherins protested and Juniper fumed quietly.
She didn't even care that Harry Potter's points were for breaking school rules. What she cared about were Ronald Weasley's particular fifty points. According to Dumbledore, they'd been bestowed upon him for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts had seen in many years.
She strongly doubted that.
Juniper spent her first few years at Hogwarts with resentment simmering in the back of her mind. There was no way the idiot she had in her Potions class was any good at chess, let alone better than her.
But, it's her fifth-year, and her one-sided rivalry finally becomes two-sided after Juniper gets to play a few games with Weasley. Shocked, she must admit to herself that she was mistaken.
Partially mistaken, that is.
The lanky Gryffindor is untrained and a bit rough around the edges, but Juniper would be delusional to deny Weasley's natural talent. She may find him exasperating (and still rather daft), but her grandad, a legendary chess grandmaster, would be gravely disappointed if she didn't at least try to make something out of his underdeveloped skill.
And, he might have something to offer her too. Juniper's five-year ban from chess tournaments ends that summer, and he's the only one at Hogwarts she's found who's worthy enough to help her prepare for her comeback.
So, she figures they'll have to put aside their distaste for one another (just for now) and keep their focus on the game.
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juniper sokolova // julia ratner
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and
ron weasley // as described
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content warnings!
discussions of drug abuse and depictions of alcohol use
other notes...
i started writing this primarily because i feel like ron's chess skills are a severely under-explored aspect of his character. however, i want to warn everyone that i do not know how to play chess. i tried to teach myself for the sake of writing this, but i still essentially know nothing. sorry if there are inaccuracies, and you're welcome to correct me in the comments if i mess something up.
