Closed Checkmate

[Nova Valtoria]

Spring was far too cold to be outside, in Nova's opinion. America was definitely warmer than New Zealand, and the cold weather was just one of the many reasons why the blonde didn't like the country she was living in. It had it's pros, of course, but she definitely missed her home country, something her mother didn't. It was nice, to see her mother so happy and so relaxed. For once, her mother actually took her out for dinner at a nice restaurant. Neither of them actually had anything nice to wear, but the food was divine, just as good as she got at Hogwarts. Nova could gladly live going to restaurants for dinner every night, if she could. She wondered how her mother ate during the year, but after seeing how good her mother was going during the holidays, made Nova feel more at ease at Hogwarts.
Nova knew Eric wouldn't be interested in playing Wizards Chess with her, which was disappointing as he was her only friend. She wasn't lonely by any means, she generally didn't get along with most of the people there, but it sucked having to play the game by yourself. Still, Nova set it up in the library, knowing that she was only going to get better if she knew how to beat herself. Her last move, however, had thrown her. She sat, staring at her chess board, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

 

[Nikola Raven]

The library had been exactly where his father suggested he start things off whilst at Hogwarts, But Nikola had wanted to find a space for himself, by himself, and had procrastinated on going to the one location he was positive he would enjoy. He was unnecessarily annoyed by the fact that his father was right, likely because he seemed to know him so well, but then kept forcing him to do things he just didn't want to do. Such as, remaining at school. He's letters had seemed to fall on blind eyes, because his father had yet to write him back and it had certainly been well after what would be considered a polite waiting period. How annoying did one have to be before their own parent decided it was best to ignore them? What a confidence boost.​

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The First Year walked through the shelves, glancing at the books available and clocking the fact that there was an entrance to the restricted section. That could become interesting in the future. He did, after all, have a few questions he wasn't sure could be answered in he usual library resources, but he had not had a chance to properly look. What he did eventually find of interest, however, was a chess game, and what appeared to be a puzzled Ravenclaw staring at the board. He liked the game, though whilst he knew the rules, he didn't imagine himself to be a particularly good player yet. He often played with his father, who did not believe in going easy on him, but it meant he could spot an interesting game in progress.​

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"If you moved the Black Knight to F6, it'll block the Bishop, and they'll be at risk of the Rook if they take the Black Knight on their next go," he advised, sitting down opposite her. He hadn't been invited, but Nikola shirked social norms whenever it suited him.​

 

[Nova Valtoria]

A voice made Nova look up from her game, her eyes flicking to a young boy that sat opposite her. She scowled for a minute, wondering what the heck he thought he was doing, before looking back down at her game. Her scowl was quickly replaced by a frown as she saw he was right. So, she moved her Black Knight to F6, and then looked at the boy, realizing he was a Ravenclaw. Of course he was. "Go on then." She said, gesturing to the game for him to continue playing with her.