Chessmasters
Chapter 14
Image credits: top, Cragg, Oapley, Piles, and Stump
This portrait of wizards playing wizard chess hangs in the Gryffindor Tower. All four of the players present within the painting were Gryffindor Heads of House during a twenty-five year period from 1762 to 1787. This portrait is a depiction of these close colleagues gathering and playing quite possibly the longest game of wizard chess. This gathering took place in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when the past three Heads of Gryffindor House (Muldoon Cragg, Podric Piles, and Uric Oapley) met up with the current Head of House, Tobias Stump, for a reunion. The reunion began with Stump giving the past heads a general tour around the castle on what had changed since their departure. At some point they returned to Gryffindor Tower and during their banter, Piles spotted a wizard chessboard and suggested playing a round of the game. Oapley, who was known to be quite competitive, agreed and sat down to play with Piles. Stump watched over the game out of interest and halfway officiated it, while Cragg didn’t necessarily care for the game at all. Instead of participating, Cragg is depicted standing against a windowsill, reading a book. The past professors can still be seen playing their eternal game of wizard chess. Piles and Oapley are either deep in thought or bickering with each other as Stump attempts to dissolve the situation, while Cragg continues reading and stays out of it.
