[Ron Week]: Extended

[arabella at sugarquill.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 16250

> The chess-playing, intellectual Ron seems to
> have vanished.  He seems much more jumpy and physical in the late
> volumes.

Well, I don't think he's vanished.  It's definitely true that the 
references to chess have been much subtler ever since his shining 
moment on McGonagall's chess set - but they've been there. And when 
he's "jumpy and physical" I tend to attribute it to his being an 
early-teenaged boy with a lot of growing going on.

> Can anyone find a reference to Ron playing chess or doing something
> otherwise intellectually stimulating in the last two books, at 
> least?

Sure.  I don't have PoA with me, but I know that after his fight with 
Hermione, Ron steps up to the plate and offers her his help with 
Buckbeak's case.  He follows through on that offer, is visibly shaken 
when Hagrid loses the appeal, and says something about it being 
unfair when they'd put in so much work on the defense. Also, during 
the time between trials, I believe there's one instance when Ron is so 
absorbed in reading up on Hippogriffs that he doesn't notice 
Crookshanks jumping up next to him.  Then, in GoF, he's up as late as 
the rest of them in the library, looking up possible spells for the 
second task.  He also helps to drill Harry on hexes, etc., for the 
third task. 

As for chess, I know there are more references than this and I wish I 
had time to check through for all of them: "He liked it best when he 
was with Ron and Hermione and they were talking about other things, or 
else letting him sit in silence while they played chess." - GoF 

~Arabella