Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

[3houseswatson]

WHO: John Watson and Sherlock Holmes
TONE: Was meant to be friendly and fun... but now tinged with concern.
RATING: PG-13 for potential language
WHEN: Friday, November 30th, after dinner.
WHERE: The Dining Hall
WHAT: Sherlock suggested meeting up to play a friendly game of Wizard's Chess, which John agreed to. But thanks to a tense conversation with a certain Slytherin, John's got a bit more to think about than a simple chess game.
STATUS: Ongoing



[To say that John had a lot on his mind would be an understatement.

Originally, this was just going to be him and Sherlock meeting up so the Ravenclaw could obliterate him in a game of Wizard's Chess. John had no problems with the notion of imminent defeat on the chessboard; he always seemed to have a good time when he and Sherlock were together, putting aside moments of occasional awkwardness when they didn't quite see eye-to-eye on certain matters. He fully expected that as long as he was in Sherlock's company, he wouldn't mind losing.

But then he had words with Jim Moriarty and between that and what he'd gleaned from Sherlock about the situation, a bit of suspicion and worry seemed all too rational. He wasn't sure if he could convince Sherlock of anything, but he could damn well express his concern.

Now that dinner had been cleared away and the other students had gone off to do other things, the Dining Hall was mostly empty. John scanned the room, wondering if Sherlock had already arrived.]

Comments

[3potionproblem]

[Bishop to c3]

You are a facinating example of the Hufflepuff/Gryphindor divide.

[3houseswatson]

[Queen to H4.]

Check.

It's a far narrower divide than many people give Hufflepuff credit for. I'll never understand why my house is the butt of so many jokes.

[3potionproblem]

[King to d6]

Because Hufflepuff is the least discriminating and therefor seems to have lesser standards.

[3houseswatson]

[Rook to pawn at C4.]

Load of bollocks, that. I prefer to think we're more versatile and decent at more than one thing. No getting stuck in a specialized rut.

[3potionproblem]

[Bishop to d2]

There's a bit more to it if you ask me. Slytherin and Ravenclaw are very selfish houses. Gryphindor as well has it's more self serving attributes. Only Hufflepuff values the whole above the individual.

[3houseswatson]

[King to E4.]

Well, if your theory's correct, it's a wonder more of us Hufflepuffs don't go mad, surrounded as we are by all these other selfish houses.

[3potionproblem]

[Pawn to e2]

Well, every house has its components of slightly-Hufflepuff-but-sorted-elsewhere types. They create a balance in-house while Hufflepuffs help balance the school in general.

[3houseswatson]

[Rook to B4.]

Hm, maybe. Hufflepuffs can't be unique in that regard, though. If anything, I'd say finding someone who could only ever end up in one house and one house alone is much rarer.

[3potionproblem]

[Bishop to Rook at b4]

Agreed. My family is traditionally Slytherin.

[3houseswatson]

[Queen to H3.]

Really? Are you the first one to break from that tradition?

[3potionproblem]

[Knight to f6]

In several generations, yes.

Check.

[3houseswatson]

[King to E3.]

Sherlock Holmes: iconoclast.

How'd they take it?

[3potionproblem]

[Rook to g3]

My insubordination and inability to conform was already legendary by that time.

Check.

[3houseswatson]

[Queen to G3.]

Check right back at you.

[John gave a small snort of laughter.]

Well, at least they knew what they were getting into. Besides, maybe they were just relieved you didn't somehow end up in Gryffindor.

[3potionproblem]

[King to d5]

It's funnier to pretend they would care but honestly so long as I'm well, they keep their prejudices to themselves in these things.

[3houseswatson]

[King to F4.]

Well, that's good at least. I've gathered that a lot of Pureblood kids tend to live under a shadow of high, particular expectations.

[3potionproblem]

[pawn to f1 - Queened.]

My family is closer to the intellectual side of things than that of tradition. They know there is cognitively no difference and that often you can sort yourself with enough force of will. So they know I am Ravenclaw on purpose. Had it meant anything to me, I could have told the hat to put me in Slytherin like my brother and all before me.

[3houseswatson]

[Pawn to E3.]

I suppose that's an advantage to being Half- or Pureblood - knowing what all the house stuff means and maybe getting a bit of a say in it. I was too busy trying to figure out all the odd stuff getting thrown at me to focus on the houses. So when the hat had a hard time picking Hufflepuff or Gryffindor with me, I was still too culture shocked to know what was going on.

[3potionproblem]

[Bishop to d6]

So the hat gave you to the house that would set the least amount of expectations for you outside your baser instinct to be a good person. You chose in your own way.

Check.

[3houseswatson]

[King to G5.]

The least amount of expectations and the highest number of baseless jokes. What a double-edged sword.

[3potionproblem]

[Sherlock smiles at him and slides the last peice into his trap: Queen to h6.]

Nothing you can't handle.

Check mate.

[3houseswatson]

[And John is absolutely 100% not shocked by this outcome at all.]

Good game! You sure you didn't go easy on me? Because, frankly, I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did.

[3potionproblem]

[Sherlock shrugged, leaning back in pride.]

I rather wanted to weed it down to just our kings and queens but that would probably have taken another twenty moves or so. Thought I’d take pity on you.

[Proud almost doesn't cover his self-satisfied expression. He's very pleased with himself but more than that, he's happy to have gotten to show off a bit for John and have kept his company for so long.]

[3houseswatson]

While normally I'd give you some sass for that pity remark, just this once - thank God. I was starting to think we'd graduate before that game would end.

[He gave Sherlock a challenging grin.]

Like I said, though, as much as you talk big, I think I'm far more likely to give you a run for your money with things like boxing.

[3potionproblem]

Anytime, anyplace.

[He continued smiling as he put his pieces away.]

For now, I hope the time and concentration spent wasn’t dreadful.