Being a passerby in HP female protagonist fanfiction

Ron Weasley.

A child who is often perceived as having a low profile.

That's obviously biased. Ron has his own strengths, a fun and loving family, he's brave, and he has the decisiveness a chess player should have. Although his results aren't ideal, that doesn't mean anything. People are always more willing to put their energy into things they like, and Ron just happens to not like dry theoretical knowledge.

But then again, why must Ron follow the outstanding?

He has a group of good friends, but that also causes him trouble. Friends and understanding are not the same thing, and there will always be frictions of one kind or another. They argue about studying, about breaking rules, about the points of conflict in their personalities, and so on. After a while, it's hard to be happy.

Ron knew Hermione's excellence and Harry's decisiveness, and most of the time he was proud of them for having such friends. But when these things affected him, his pride would turn into pain.

The adjustment period is a long process.

"Poor Ronnie." George and Fred always grinned. With such a pair of mischievous older brothers, Ron was naturally destined to be teased.

However, in the words of the Weasley twins, teasing him occasionally is fun, but it can't be done all the time. They feel that they still love their younger brother to some extent, and Ron has a lot of patience. He may be loud and boisterous, but if they tease him a few times at the same time, he will become a couch potato. They know that the best thing for them to do is to ignore their unreliable older brothers.

Oh right, Claire was the one who told George and Fred about the term "salted fish."

Claire.

Ron murmured the name to himself, his mind blank, filled only with vague confusion and a sense of instinctive fear. Almost all of his friends were close to Claire, and if asked to think of someone who disliked her, Ron couldn't quite imagine it.

Claire is a role model, meticulous in her work. After being taken care of by her a few times, Ginny wanted to spend all her time engrossed in books. It is said that after being encouraged by Claire, she became enthusiastic and wanted to become as excellent as her senior. So she resolutely tried to enter the world of the Book King.

Once you enter the gates of this world, there's no turning back; from then on, giving up is a thing of the past.

Ron was incredulous. He didn't want to be the only underachiever in his family, but he couldn't defy fate, so he could only sigh in frustration.

His brother and sister were either outstanding and hardworking, or had distinct personalities and clear goals. Only Ron was always compared to Molly, and compared to the others, he was indeed not so ambitious.

There are always exceptions. Compared to Hermione, Harry... Ron didn't like Claire as much.

However, this dislike was not the same as hatred; it was something else that needed to be explored more deeply… Ron didn’t know if others had noticed, but he himself had realized a long time ago that Claire was like an adult.

“Claire is indeed very mature.” Others agreed with this assessment.

No, no, no, not that kind of maturity… Ron opened his mouth, thought for a long time, but still didn’t know how to describe it.

He had lived in a family with a huge age gap for so long. Before he went to school, Bill and Charlie had already entered society, and his brothers were very mature. At first, Ron thought Claire was a lot like Molly, and her behavior was completely like that of an adult. Claire was more stable and more... reserved.

Ron scratched his head, unable to come up with the right adjective.

Her reserved nature even frightened him somewhat, and this was by no means a bad thing; it meant that Claire could see through Ron Harry—all the problems around her.

Hey, let's go for a night stroll—if you say something like that to Claire, she won't stop you, but just by looking at Claire, you'll understand that her lack of objection is a wonderful kind of tolerance.

Harry would say to get ready, grab the Invisibility Cloak, and then go for a night stroll; Hermione would angrily emphasize not to lose points for the house; and Claire—her eyes clearly said: youth is wonderful.

Ron shuddered and quickly stopped his strange associations.

Merlin's beard... for a fleeting moment just now, he actually thought Claire looked like Dumbledore!

"Playing chess?"

Bringing his thoughts back, Ron heard Claire's question.

The person who made him uneasy just stared at Ron, as if confirming something.

With Scabbers missing, Ron felt utterly dejected. He felt incredibly overwhelmed, his heart filled with negative emotions. He wanted nothing more than to have a huge fight with Hermione or anyone else to vent his frustration. If Malfoy and his cronies were to show up here and start mocking him, Ron might just grab his wand and challenge them to a duel.

A silent anger and helplessness welled up inside him, and he remained mostly silent.

Ron probably just wanted someone to argue with him; the best way to release stress is to argue and then make up.

However, if he really starts making a scene, the situation will probably get worse. He is sad, but not sad enough. He is stuck at that point and it would be awkward to make a scene. Even if no one comforts him, Banban will probably calm himself down after a while.

Ron's friends almost all thought so, and Ron himself thought so too.

But the person who invited her was Claire.

“Okay,” Ron muttered.

And so a game of Wizard's Chess began. The competitive nature of the game really got both players excited. Claire was very serious, her eyes completely focused on the chessboard.

Unfortunately, this seriousness did not bring her any advantage. She played very steadily and cautiously, considering the cause and effect of each move. On the chessboard, such a mindset can easily lead to hesitation and hindrance. The inexperienced Claire obviously could not escape this trap. She couldn't help but protect her pieces, which was not conducive to winning the game.

Ron's eyes widened; he was completely absorbed in the game from the very first move.

The sensory experience of playing chess varies greatly depending on the person you play with. When playing chess with the Gryffindor students, the atmosphere is always lively and energetic. They make moves to win and capture the opponent's pieces. The onlookers often gasp in surprise, or someone presumptuously tries to give advice, only to be met with eye-rolls.

Playing chess with Ravenclaw will shock you with their cunning and shrewdness, full of tricks and all-encompassing wisdom. So what if they use tricks? Ravenclaw says he has no problem with them.

Claire's style is one that Ron rarely encounters. The entire game is as steady as her own style. She frowns when her pieces are broken. Wizard Chess mocks every bad player equally. Claire doesn't dawdle. Despite Wizard Chess's complaints, she can still move forward steadily and won't think for too long without making a move.

Ron gradually focused his attention, pressing forward relentlessly, ordering his pieces to advance, and achieving victory with unstoppable momentum.

"I won!" Ron, who had been holding back his emotions throughout the entire game, finally let out a long breath and eagerly announced the fact.

"Wow, that's amazing! I've never seen anyone as good at chess as Ron," Claire exclaimed sincerely, her brow relaxing and her smile returning. "May I ask why you made that move?"

Being praised.

The sentence flashed through Ron's mind in a daze.

Since he was asked, he decided to answer. Ron didn't mind instructing others on this subject, especially since the questioner was Claire. Because of her strange maturity and the pride she felt from being praised, her question seemed to inflate Ron's ego even more. So, his blood boiled and Ron began to talk at length about how he played the game.

Where to play, when to abandon a piece, when to decisively attack the opponent's piece, how to predict the opponent's moves and how to respond... These skills can actually be found in some books about Wizard Chess, and Ron was able to apply them in practice. He commanded his pieces as if he were a real king and knight.

The annoyance of the disappearance of the spots was also squeezed out of his mind by the passion above. At least for now, Ron was in a very radiant and passionate state.

“Don’t cling to your own soldiers. Charge when you need to, and yield when you need to.” Ron was very confident. “In Wizard Chess, nothing is more important than winning.”

“I see…” Claire did her duty as a listener.

The conversation was supposed to focus on Wizard Chess, but conversations without a specific goal are prone to straying from the original idea. Ron's words gradually spread from Wizard Chess to all aspects of life. He became more and more excited as he talked, until his throat was dry.

This unexpected conversation lasted a long time, and in the end, he couldn't even remember what he had said.

Ron thought his relationship with Claire wasn't as close as others', but when they actually started talking, he realized that wasn't the case.

It's not that familiarity guarantees good communication. He and Harry and Hermione have had so many adventures, but that doesn't stop them from having minor arguments every three days and major ones every five. After arguing and apologizing, their relationship continues to be good.

Claire and he were different in many ways—personality, hobbies, and ways of thinking. However, when they chatted, Ron didn't have any of these conflicting thoughts that might arise from their differences. It was as if they had all been blown away by the wind, leaving no trace.

Hmm, it seems like something has been forgotten.

Ron thought.

Oh right, we still haven't found Banban!

“Speaking of Scabbers,” Claire looked up, a glint in her eyes, “I have to apologize to you; it’s with me.”

"Huh?" Ron's eyes widened.

“I know you might be surprised, but please let me finish. Here’s what happened: Heiser—my owl discovered that it was actually a person.”

Ron's mouth gradually opened wide, and he froze completely.