24 July, 1891 — HWI Wizards Chess Tournament, Hogsmeade Hall
Ford was mostly here in solidarity with his sisters. Both Verity and Grace had shown an interest in competing (but not Clementine, which was almost a little suspicious given what he knew of her generally competitive nature — was she still pouting about not being able to summer in France?) and it seemed strange to send them into the fray without signing up to play a few matches himself. And he wasn't bad at chess, by any means, but neither did he expect to go more than one or two rounds before he ceded the floor to more skilled players and spent the rest of the afternoon eating jellied candies with his mother in the area that had been reserved for the audience.
At least his first competitor was probably someone with whom he'd be able to find something to talk about during the match. Ford was good at finding things to talk about with almost anyone, of course. It was a skill that served him very well in the spirit division. He had the impression that the older someone was, however, the more seriously they probably took chess matches. Someone like that ancient Professor or a wizened member of the Wizengamot might not take very kindly to his attempts at conversation, which would make the match dull indeed. The person sitting across from him was his age or perhaps a little younger, with a name that was familiar though he didn't immediately remember why.
"Were you in my brother Noble's year?" he asked as they took their seats. "Sorry, I'm trying to figure out where I know your name from. Ford Greengrass," he said by way of introduction, though presumably the other gentleman would have already known that from seeing his name on the competition roster for this round.
At least his first competitor was probably someone with whom he'd be able to find something to talk about during the match. Ford was good at finding things to talk about with almost anyone, of course. It was a skill that served him very well in the spirit division. He had the impression that the older someone was, however, the more seriously they probably took chess matches. Someone like that ancient Professor or a wizened member of the Wizengamot might not take very kindly to his attempts at conversation, which would make the match dull indeed. The person sitting across from him was his age or perhaps a little younger, with a name that was familiar though he didn't immediately remember why.
"Were you in my brother Noble's year?" he asked as they took their seats. "Sorry, I'm trying to figure out where I know your name from. Ford Greengrass," he said by way of introduction, though presumably the other gentleman would have already known that from seeing his name on the competition roster for this round.
Set by Lady!