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Really Great Match So Far (Daniel)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 06-04-10 17:41
Daniel's been enjoying this match a great deal, even if he did let the quaffle get by him before Ronan did. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor have been playing aggressively with both teams making numerous goal attempts. For Daniel, and he thinks it's probably the same for Ronan, having more involvement as keeper almost always makes the game more fun. It's easy to get complacent and sluggish when all the action's away from a keeper. Even though it does mean that Gryffindor has the quaffle a lot, it's excellent being able to use the skills he's put in countless hours of practice for. With the fast pace of this match and with the Ravenclaw chasers having made a goodly number of goal attempts, his own team has had the ball just as much, which in turns makes the game even more exciting.
Wiggy has the quaffle but is getting ready to pass it off to Marjani. Mistiming combined with Wiggy taking a bluger just as he is releasing the ball and Marjani getting hit with the other just as she's trying to get to the quaffle allows Hadrian to grab it in mid-flight. Daniel's cousin races back the relatively short way to where Ronan's grimace from pain after his own recent bludger hit is clear even to Daniel all the way at the other end of the pitch. Daniel's thinking that Hadrian's going to try to capitalize on Ronan maybe being slow to react thanks to relatively fresh pain from a hit that was enough to have a short time out called.
Ronan's a trooper though, with a determined set to his jaw as Hadrian approaches. Hadrian lets the quaffle go and it nearly makes it through the hoop. Nearly. Ronan is able to tip the quaffle back the other way and by that time, Etta's there to scoop it up before Hadrian's able to grab it again.
Hadrian's reaching for the ball and from where Daniel sits his broom it looks as though Etta literaly flips her broom up and back while turning all at the same time. From where he is, it looks impressive though closer up or from a different angle, maybe that's not how it was at all and wasn't such a fancy move. After the match, if that's something that gets talked about a lot, Daniel will know it was indeed a bit of fancy flying.
Etta sprints away from Hadrian but he's close on her heels. There's also Deak and Jack closing in. Marjani and Wiggy aren't idly sitting by while this is going on. Marjani shoots under Jack then climbs back up in front of him, then immediately brings her broom back around to point the other way, putting herself in a position to take a hand off from Etta as Etta goes by.
Marjani takes the quaffle with rapidly moving in. She arcs around wide, flying close to some of the stands, giving the spectators a close up view of Jack persistently reaching to grab the quaffle away with Marjani deflecting him time and again. Somehow Wiggy wedges himself between Jack and Marjani, giving her some breathing room as she closes the gap down to where Daniel is tensed and ready.
The beaters have been busy this whole time with Fritz hitting his bat against one of the hard black balls with a ringing crack that reaches Daniel's ears. Wiggy gets in front of Marjani and takes the bludger hit meant for her even as Blake raced to get there. He wasn't fast enough to stop it from hitting a Gryffindor chaser but now that he's there, Blake doesn't hesistate to send that very bludger on target to hit Jack, who is still dogging Marjani.
Daniel's view of Coco is blocked by some of the other chasers but he's got a clear line of sight to Ella who's just reaching the second bludger and sends it after Deak, who by now has reached the hoops and is ready to assist in hindering Marjani from making a goal.
Undaunted by the obstacles of bludgers and opposing chasers, Marjani reaches Daniel. Wiggy is right there as well, staying to one side while Etta comes up on the other. The three Ravenclaw chasers are jockeying to block and both bludgers are coming this way, though at the moment Daniel can't really tell which one is aimed at who, including himself. His focus goes to the globe of red clutched by Marjani and where she might send it.
His eyes follow the quaffle as it moves to his right, reflexively and unconsciously moving his broom that direction. Daniel's able to block by slapping the quaffle away. It goes back into play. There's a scrabbling around for it with Etta emerging victorious, the quaffle already sailing back towards the hoops. Daniel gets a hand on it again, but this time, the way his fingers hit it, the quaffle goes up then back. Before he can reach it again, the quaffle bounces on the rim of the hoop then falls through the other side.
Daniel frowns at having let a second goal get past him, putting Gryffindor back in the lead 20 to 10.
Hanging Around (Hadrian)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 06-04-10 19:05
Hadrian takes the ball from Daniel after Gryffindor's second goal. The upshot of a close game such as this is that usually that means a more thrilling, action packed match. The downside is that whichever side gets the snitch, in this case he sincerely hopes it's his teammate Christopher, wins the match thanks to the 150 point value of the snitch. When a match is a runaway for one team, the upshot is that even if the opposing team gets the snitch, the team doing all the scoring could still very well win. The downside is that sometimes such matches aren't all the thrilling to watch, one team dominating with goal after goal.
As a spectator, Hadrian much prefers the more thrilling, closer matches. As a player, he prefers them as well. When the teams are playing equally well, Hadrian finds the game more challenging and he also finds it more fun to participate in and unless a team has a bloody awful seeker, each team has the hope and confidence to win. In Hadrian's opinion, that makes a match even more exciting.
Hadrian makes an easy pass to Deak, who in turn passes to Jack. Flying in a much practiced formation, the three Ravenclaw chasers work the quaffle down the pitch. Etta, Marjani, and Wiggy try to stymie their progress. Ella and Blake attempt to hinder their movements and passing while Coco and Fritz put just as much energy into stopping Ella's and Blake's efforts and interfering with the Gryffindor chasers.
Hadrian's leaning over to grab a pass from Jack, a pass which is falling short thanks to a bludger from Ella, when he misjudges the distance to reach and overbalannces. Next thing Hadrian knows, he's hanging one handed from his broom and trying desperately to reach up and grab hold with his other. A referee whistle blows loudly and he can clearly hear Coach Batuti yelling, "I've got you, Hadrian."
About that same time, Hadrian has the sensation of being lighter. Hands are reaching to pull him back onto his broom, the work made easier by his lightened state. Once he's seated, Hadrian thanks Ella and Jack for their help then thanks both Coach Batuti and visiting ref Hilda Ruiz-Márquez, even though he doesn't know if Ruiz-Márquez did anything other than blow her whistle to stop the match. Coach Batuti takes off the charm she's put on him in case he totally lost his grip on his broom. She checks to make sure he didn't dislocate his shoulder from having his full body weight put on it in mid-air.
Once she's satisfied, Coach Batuti collects the quaffle from Wiggy, who'd retrieved it once they knew Hadrian was safe. She has Hadrian flies to the equivalent of the sidelines, hands him the quaffle, then blows her whistle to signal the match starting again. Hadrian puts the quaffle into play with a pass to Deak. Deak takes it and makes a beeline for Ronan with Hadrian speeding along almost parallel.
Deak's hold on the quaffle doesn't last as Ella gets him with a bludger on the hand holding the ball. He drops it with Wiggy coming up from under and behind to grab it. Wiggy veers sharply around to rocket back the other way with everyone else moving in either to help him or to hinder him. Currently not a target of the bludgers and since he doesn't have the quaffle at the moment, Hadrian's able to pass Wiggy up and get in front of the Gryffindor. He watches for an opening then quick as a heartbeat, Hadrian's snatched the quaffle from Wiggy as Wiggy flies by him. A grin on his lips, Hadrian jets back the other direction.
Exhilaration
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 06-04-10 19:43
Disappointed that Ravenclaw has fallen behind again, but feeling exhilarated at the same time, Fritz puts all his effort into chasing after the nearest bludger and using it to his team's advantage. He's already done some damage today, not that he means to hurt anybody, but it is all part of the game. He hopes that Ronan isn't hurting too badly, though.
Right now the Ravenclaw chasers have the quaffle and work it all the way across the Pitch, before Wiggy manages to intercept it. The Gryffindor chasers pass it from one person to the other, bringing it all the way back to where Daniel awaits them. He doesn't have to worry about blocking any goal attempt because a perfectly timed bludger courtesy of Fritz strikes the quaffle out of Marjani's hand. The mad scramble for the red ball lasts only a second, with Deak emerging victorious.
The game play goes back and forth for quite a while with not a single goal or even goal attempt made. Then Deak, with the quaffle in hand again, breaks the mold and gets within scoring range. Fritz tries to land a bludger at Ronan again, but he gets to the black ball a hair too late and by then Ronan has caught the quaffle with both hands. He winces as he puts it back into play. Clearly, his collar bone is still bothering him.
Fritz takes a moment to realize that this is his last Quidditch match at Hogwarts. He hasn't yet decided if he'll go out for one of the teams at St. Emrys but if he finds he's missing the game, then he probably will try out. Before he can even think about that, though, he's got the upcoming N.E.W.T.s to worry over. He's been studying his butt off for them, but what if it hasn't been enough? What if the exams are just too difficult for him? After all, he basically sat out a whole year of school last year and maybe it'll affect his performance in the exams, even though he's managed to catch up just fine over the course of the current school year.
He realizes he's totally spacing out and immediately puts his head back in the game. Etta has the quaffle and hands it off nicely to Wiggy when Jack gets too close. Wiggy throws it to Marjani a second later, the same time Fritz spots one of the bludgers. He makes a beeline to it, reaching it just seconds before Blake. Their close proximity to one another causes him to swing the bat a bit too high. The bludger makes contact, but it hits the bat at the base where Fritz's fingers are.
His first reaction is to howl with pain, but he doesn't. He keeps it in like the tough young guy he is and instead grimaces. The bludger does bounce off Fritz's bat, but it doesn't go where he wanted and doesn't have much force behind it. It's such that Blake can easily use it to his own advantage.
Fritz isn't ambidexterous by any stretch of the imagination, but for now, he puts the bat in his other hand. It feels a bit foreign, but it'll have to do until his fingers stop throbbing so much!
Another Attempt (Marjani)
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 06-05-10 23:19
Marjani's got a bludger on her tail so she cuts to the left, weaves around Ravenclaw Seeker Christopher Chant, then accidently ends up buzzing her own team's Seeker Charisma Stone, eliciting a yelled, "Sorry," over her shoulder at the younger girl. Marjani would also love nothing more than to tell Charisma to hurry up grabbing that Snitch because despite the sweating she's been doing during the game, this match has gone on a long while and Marjani's could stand to visit the loo. She doesn't have to go badly, not yet, but if things get drawn out for much longer, Marjani has no trouble envisioning herself wiggling about uncomfortably on her broom as the need increases.
Cutting back to the right, Marjani slightly shifts her hold on the Quaffle. It would be great to score again, increasing the Gryffindor lead over Ravenclaw. It would grand to score so many times that even if Christopher were to get the Snitch, it wouldn't matter; but before she, or the other two Gryffindor Chasers can score again, Marjani's got to get the Quaffle past Hadrian. He's coming at her practically head on, but Marjani has no intention of swerving. If Hadrian crashes into her, the foul is on him and she'd get to take a goal shot without any interference from Chasers or from Beaters with either of the two Bludgers. Of course, crash like that could result in one or both of them more seriously hurt than the usual bumps and bruises that go with playing Quidditch. It could also mean her broom would be ruined but Marjani's been trying to convince Dosie it's time for a new broom anyway.
In the end, it doesn't matter because while neither swerves, Hadrian's flight path actually takes him not crashing horrifically head on with Marjani but instead passing very close, one hand snatching at the Quaffle as he's zips by at top speed. He nearly gets it from her but Marjani's able to jerk it out of the way in time.
Another Chaser comes up from behind on her other side, but this time it's her teammate Etta. She literally plops the Quaffle into Etta's hand before barrel rolling away and climbing over Deak. Coco's got a bludger coursing towards Etta but Ella get in its way, sending it at Deak. The bludger connects, stopping him just as he's causing interference for Etta.
Etta moves to pass to Wiggy, who then speeds up to make throw for a goal. Coco wasn't able to hit Etta moments before but now a bludger she's hit takes Wiggy on the arm. He was in the process of mid-throw. He isn't able to pull the throw and the Quaffle is on its way but thanks to the arm hit he took, it's now on an off kilter course. Daniel's easily able to stop it though that wouldn't have matter since the Quaffle was going to pass between hoops instead of through one.
Daniel throws to Jack, who accelerates away. Denied yet another goal, the Gryffindor Chasers and Beaters react quickly to make sure that Ravenclaw doesn't make another one either.
Soldiering On
Author: Christopher Chant
Date: 06-06-10 09:10
Christopher is slowly flying about five feet above the grass on the pitch, leaning slightly over his broom as his eyes scan below him for any signs of the snitch nearer to the ground. He's also leaning because he has little energy left and would like nothing more than to fly straight to the castle, to Ravenclaw Tower, through a window, and then straight to his bed where he'd position his broom so that all he had to do was lean to one side and let go of the broom to be on the bed. Not a drop of any sort. Just let go and the bed be right there. His head is pounding too much to contemplate anything as jarring as even a short fall into a soft bed.
Last yesterday afternoon in the middle of the last Ravenclaw practice before the House Cup match, Christopher's throat had started hurting. The the time he'd crawled into bed last night, his throat hurt so badly it took a great force of will to swallow even a little bit. He didn't want to talk. His head had started pounding so badly that even blinking hurt. Christopher had not gone to see Madam Pomfrey out of worry that she'd tell him there is no potion to fix him up, or that it would make him so groggy sitting a broom would not be safe, or that there is a potion but he needs a few days of rest and recuperation.
There will be time for that after the match. No way was Christopher going to leave Ravenclaw in the lurch for a Seeker when there was no way for a back-up Seeker to get in any real practice for the championship today. Christopher self medicated last night and again this morning when had to pry himself out of bed, and then right before leaving the locker room, making quadruply sure before he took the first swallow of poion that it isn't one that causes drowsiness. It's hard enough to keep his eyes open and concentrate on locating the snitch without having something that would have him unable to stay awake.
Christopher dodges a bludger, trying not to visibly wince at the extra pain in his head the movement caused. His teammates know he's not feeling 100% but he thinks he's done a good job of covering just how bad off he really is. He especially doesn't want Hilda Ruiz-Márquez or Theodosia Batuti to suspect he's running a fever and try to get him to leave the match. If he can play with badly bruised and cracked or broken bones, he can play a little while with fever.
He really hopes whatever is making him sick isn't contagious whether it is or not, that it's more of a 24 hour thing.
The Quaffle falling almost directly in front of Christopher startles him, as does Etta swooping in half a second later to grab it before it makes it the rest of the short distance to the ground. Jack's behind her on a similar flight path but he's just enough behind that he doesn't have a chance of getting the quaffle unless Etta fumbles her hold as she goes into a sharp climb.
Christopher's well below the level of much of the current action and with looking down to the ground in search of the snitch, he'd not been at all aware of the tussle over the quaffle between Etta and Jack and that the bludger he'd just dodged had first hit Jack. Etta hadn't been able to hang on to the quaffle and the ball dropped. She'd dived after it with Jack following a pace behind.
Christopher looks up now, watching as Etta levels off, passes to Wiggy, who passes to Marjani who throws forward to the now ahead Etta, who tosses it to Wiggy who has gotten ahead of Etta... That goes on as they work the quaffle in Daniel's direction. They're stopped by a combination of a bludger from Coco, followed closely by the other from Fritz, allowing Deak to intercept a pass.
Deak streaks back the other direction and as he watches that part of the match, Christopher hopes the Ravenclaw chasers can score more goals. He'd even be content to be made to leave the game is Ronan could somehow also be taken out of the match, giving Ravenclaw increased opportunities to make goal after goal. Of course, they would have to keep doing that until the Ravenclaw lead increased enough so that they'd win even when the snitch is caught by Gryffindor.
There are too many factors in that equation that could go wrong so Christopher chooses to keep pretending he's fine enough to see this match to the end. He returns his eyes to the ground, looking for the winged ball. As yet, Christopher has not caught sight of it. The only gold shiny things he's seen are the occassional glint of the sun off jewelry of someone in the stands and once he spotted a crisps packet that was as bright red as it was gold, blowing in moment of gentle breeze following by someone grabbing at it before it got carried off as litter.
Deciding it's time to change altitude, Christopher begins a shallow climb, wondering if he can find a spot that's more directly in the sun than others spots over the pitch so he can go sit in it a little while to help warm him up from the chill that's decided to spread over his entire body.
Pop Goes The Quaffle (Wiggy)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 06-06-10 11:27
Wiggy pulls away from the pack to circle around to get in front. Ella's done much the same only she's rapidly closing in on a bludger. Wiggy's hoping that if he can position himself right, he'll be able to snatch the ball right out of Deak's hand when Deak attempts to sidestep, so to speak, Ella's bludger. Before that can happen though, Deak's passing to Hadrian and Ella, who's just readed the bludger, is hastily altering the swing of her bat in hopes of readjusting the hit enough to take out Hadrian instead of Deak.
Hadrian's on the far side of Deak, which puts Deak between Wiggy and him. Unfazed, Wiggy accelerates forward then starts turning his broom. Once he's come around, Wiggy flies pell mell towards the space between Deak and Hadrian. As he passes Hadrian by, Wiggy reaches out and instead of grabbing at the quaffle, which is what Hadrian's expecting, Wiggy makes a fist and, coming up from underneath, gives the quaffle a pop while at the same time trying not to get his hand and arm tangled up with Hadrian's. That would most likely be called a foul plus, with their speeds going in opposite directions, getting tangled could unseat one or both of them. One of the adults was able to keep Hadrian from falling earlier but that doesn't mean either would be quick enough to be able to stop anyone else from falling given a bad circumstance.
Hitting the quaffle while jerking his fist away almost before it had touched the ball did what Wiggy was hoping it would do. The quaffle pops up and, thanks to the way Wiggy had hit it, back from the direction Hadrian's going. Hadrian's already braking, twisting in his body on his broom, and swiveling the broom around as sharply as he can. Deak's jerking his broom into a turn as well. It's already too late for either of them to get hold of the quaffle though because Etta and Marjani, who had been behind them, are there with Etta effectively blocking Jack from being able to grab it up before Marjani does.
Marjani hurls it at Wiggy, who had slowed his acceleration but now picks up the speed again. His momentum is slowed when he takes a bludger sent by Fritz to the top and front of his shoulder. When the other bludger crosses directly in front of him, passing so close to the hand grasping the broom handle that it grazes his fingers, he's slowed once more. If he hadn't, he would have taken the bludger to the torso instead. By that time, the others have caught up with him but Wiggy's ready to shoot the quaffle.
Daniel's ready too and yet again blocks the Gryffindor's throw. It's Jack who gets the quaffle on the rebound and though the match has been going on for quite awhile now, Jack sprints forward with as much energy and determination as he'd had at the start of the match with everyone else going after him with just as vigorously.
Too Long
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 06-06-10 12:03
With the quaffle once again in Ravenclaw possession, Ronan forced himself to concentrate. As exciting as the match appeared with the constant back and forth and attempted but mostly unsuccessful goals, the length was beginning to drive Ronan to boredom. He found more than once that his mind wandered to other things, mainly the events of last weekend.
After Professor Dumbledore had sent him and Illyria to his office, they'd waited there for who-knew-how long before being joined by him, Professors Snape and Somerset, and a pair of aurors from the Ministry of Magic. By then, Ronan had started to feel a bit better about what he'd very nearly done, but he'd still been quite shaken by the whole ordeal. What if Dumbledore hadn't stopped Marcus Hubbs from crashing to the ground? Then Ronan would have had blood on his hands, just like his mother. He knew, of course, that there was a difference between what she'd done and what he could have done, but it still bothered him greatly.
Illyria hadn't been entirely calm in Dumbledore's office either, but Ronan had sensed that she'd already begun to relax since it had appeared that her grave situation might have ended with the confrontation on top of the Astronomy Tower. The wizard behind her troubles had gotten caught at long last.
They'd spent quite some time in Professor Dumbledore's office, explaining everything that had happened and how they had come to be involved in the situation. Illyria had spoken at length, repeating much of what she'd already told aurors when she'd first come forward with her case some time ago. The only new information she truly had for them was a detailed description of the incident on the observation deck. Dumbledore added what he knew, from when he and Ronan had joined Illyria and Marcus on top of the Astronomy Tower. Then it had been Ronan's turn.
His part had been small, of course, but integral to the capture of Marcus Hubbs. Speaking of very nearly killing Marcus hadn't been easy for Ronan, and had brought back the nerves he'd only just started to suppress. It had been accidental, however, and besides, Dumbledore had prevented anything from happening to Marcus, other than his arrest.
Currently, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic was conducting pretrial investigations in preparation for when Marcus Hubbs would eventually stand trial. Ronan was expected to testify at some point. He hoped that it wouldn't conflict with his N.E.W.T. schedule, but he really wasn't sure what would happen.
Then there was the matter of Artemis. By participating in the events on top of the Astronomy Tower, he'd missed his date. Artemis hadn't been happy at first, especially to learn that Ronan had been with Illyria. Artemis knew, of course, that there wasn't anything between the two, but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. It was only when Ronan told her what had happened that her anger and disappointment faded. Nonetheless, there seemed to be a noticeable shift in their friendship, one Ronan wasn't sure could be repaired. He hoped so, though.
It wasn't long at all before the Ravenclaw chasers had reached Ronan. He tried to anticipate where they would throw the quaffle, and while he guessed correctly, his movements were still a bit slow. The injury he'd sustained from a bludger earlier in the match still stung, though not nearly as badly as in the beginning. Still, it had caused his shoulder to stiffen, and it made it difficult for him to do his job sometimes.
Jack's quaffle sailed right past his fingers and went through one of the hoops, without touching any rim.
Now the match was tied, 20-20.
Winded
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 06-06-10 13:17
Fritz's spirits lift when Ravenclaw scores another ten points, bringing the tally to an even 20-20. Despite his renewed enthusiasm, however, he's feeling a bit winded. The game has been nothing but drives from one end of the Pitch to the other, which is all well and good but by now it's left Fritz weary, and from the looks of it, he's not the only one feeling that way. Not everyone is dragging, but several players look a bit worn out.
He briefly wonders how he and the others would feel if they were playing a footy match and not Quidditch. Flying definitely takes less effort than running back and forth on a field, but it can be challenging too, especially after several hours.
The fingers that were crushed when Fritz awkwardly tried to hit a bludger within close proxmity of another player still ache, but not so much that he can't go back to using the hand. It feels more natural to him, makes his aiming much more accurate, and puts more force behind each hit. He'd done decently with the other arm, just not as well as he would have with the one he favors.
Marjani gets the quaffle after Jack's goal, and slaloms through the various obstacles put in her path. A bludger sent courtesy of Fritz is one of them that she manages to avoid with her fancy flying. Blake gets to the same bludger before Fritz can use it again. He aims it for Hadrian but Coco easily deflects it elsewhere.
Marjani fakes a pass to Etta, but it doesn't take long for the opposing chasers to catch on to what happened. Marjani finally feels closed in and does what she thinks is best. She drops the quaffle just as Wiggy is flying beneath her. His catch isn't firm, though, and when Fritz utilizes another bludger to knock it free from Wiggy's grasp, it lands straight into Jack's waiting arms.
As one, the pack shifts back in the other direction. Jack weaves this way and that and then hands the ball off to Deak. Fritz swoops in to defend Deak when Ella tries to unseat him. The bludger hits Fritz's bat with an ear-splitting crack and actually splinters it a little bit. It's not badly damaged, however, and still perfectly useable.
A few more hits and it might not be, though!