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(Conrad) Rematch
Author: Ellis
Date: 07-08-16 14:13
Conrad stood in the locker room with his fellow Hufflepuff teammates and listened as Jasper gave an impassioned speech about the championship match against Slytherin. It was a rematch from two weeks ago when Slytherin beat Hufflepuff, 200-30. It had been both a loss and a victory for the badgers, because they'd narrowly squeaked past Ravenclaw to clinch a spot in the championship match. Now was Hufflepuff's chance to rectify any of the mistakes they'd made in the previous match. Slytherin was a mighty adversary, but Jasper believed they could win if only they put their minds to it.
Conrad felt incredibly pumped up when the doors to the locker room were thrown open. Willow's voice rang out all of their names. She sounded so excited, and little wonder since her own team was the favorite to win the championship match. Conrad executed a circle around the Pitch with his bat raised high in the air. He grinned wide when he spotted various members of his family seated together in the stands. They were all wearing Hufflepuff colors or waving yellow and black flags in the air.
Jasper and Mason, both seventh years playing their final Hogwarts match, gave each other a warm handshake at center field and then took to the skies, falling into position for the start of the gameplay. Coach Krum released the balls in succession, and the players immediately sprang into action.
Belinda was the quickest in getting her hands on the quaffle. She drew the ball close to her body and attempted to zip away towards the Hufflepuff hoops, only to find Marlow and Jasper barring her way. Marlow ended up dodging a bludger sent by Asher, giving Belinda the opportunity to throw the ball to Mason. Duncan came out of nowhere, though, to make the interception and quickly zoomed in the opposite direction.
When Conrad noticed Baron angling a bludger Duncan's way, he sped up to get in between it and his teammate and redirected it at Malden, who was nearest to Duncan. Sylvestor, who happened to be scanning for the snitch near where Malden was flying, saw the bludger coming and called out a warning to him. Malden swerved to avoid getting hit.
Duncan drove forward with Conrad flying close by, deciding he had a better chance at protecting Duncan than attempting to chase after one of the bludgers. Tessa was attempting to control one, but Asher kept getting in the way, while Baron had a monopoly on the other one at the moment. Baron again aimed for Duncan, but Conrad was on the spot to deflect it. This time he sent it towards Boris, hoping to distract him since Duncan was now within scoring range.
(Tessa) First Championship Match
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 07-08-16 16:26
Boris dodged one way to avoid getting hit by Conrad's bludger and then immediately dove the other way to stop Duncan's quaffle from entering the intended hoop. He knocked the ball back with the flat of his hand and watched as Duncan and Malden both vied for the rebound. It was Malden who got a better hold on the quaffle. He yanked it hard towards him, spun his broomstick forcefully around, and flew as fast as he could away from the Slytherin goal hoops.
Tessa, meanwhile, gave up on trying to fight Asher for control of one of the bludgers. He was bigger and much meaner than she was, though she could be pretty feisty when she wanted to be. She instead set her sights on the other bludger, which Baron had just sent after Marlow. It missed Marlow when she changed course without realizing she was in the bludger's way. It sailed straight for Tessa. She couldn't have planned it better.
Tessa gave it a mighty whack in Belinda's direction, since the lone female chaser on the Slytherin team had just accepted a pass from Malden. The bludger got Belinda in the elbow, but that didn't do any good because it wasn't the arm carrying the quaffle. The expression on Belinda's face was comical, however. Getting hit in the funny bone felt strange, and besides, bludgers weren't exactly soft.
Belinda looked for an opening and passed the ball to Mason, who threw it quickly to Malden. Malden raced ahead with it for a few seconds before pitching the quaffle back to Mason. Mason drove towards the hoops and propelled his arm forward, letting the quaffle go at a fast speed. Glori was ready for it and caught the ball in her arms.
She handed it to Duncan, but his possession of the quaffle was short-lived because Asher knocked a bludger into his side. He didn't drop the ball, but Mason was there to steal it away and try for another goal. Glori kicked the ball when it came at her. Malden scrambled for the rebound and tried for another goal.
Tessa and Conrad both tried to hinder Malden from scoring, but they were too late. He got walloped from both sides by the bludgers, but after he had already thrown the ball. Glori turned the ball back once more, only for Mason to scoop up the ball again. Asher and Baron were both on hand to control the bludgers, and being so close to Glori, they had no trouble distracting her from her duty as keeper.
Mason threw the ball and scored the first points of the championship match.
Glori's Last Match
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 07-08-16 17:41
Only after Marlow has the quaffle and is moving it to the opposite end of the pitch does Glori pulls one hand to her chest, cradling hand and wrist with her other hand. When she'd caught the quaffle earlier the ball hit the one hand just right to cause some pain to shoot through the palm down into the wrist. Whatever it was that happened wasn't obvious, even Glori couldn't specify if asked, because catching the ball had happened so fast. She doesn't even remember it smacking her hand or hands. One moment she was reaching for it to catch and the next it was in her arms, pulled to her body.
One of the double bludgers, though she has no idea whether it was the one hit by Asher or the one by Baron, hit that same hand and wrist. If not for the adrenaline of the moment, the singlemindedness of wanting, needing to stop Mason's goal attempt, Glori knows she would have cried out. Now that that rush is over and the action is heading away from her, she's having a mini-crash. Unlike the chaser and beaters who are constantly in motion, constantly in action, a keeper has a downtime of a sort, just sitting in front of the three hoops, or gliding along back and forth, waiting for the action to reach that end of the pitch. She's had rushes of adrenaline before and the tiny crashes afterwards. Nothing serious or major and usually her gameplay isn't affected. This time though with the rush of adrenaline gone, the pain is increasing. Throbbing. It's so bad she can't block it out. By the time she's having to fend off additional Slytherin goal attempts she doubts the surge of adrenaline will make much of a difference.
Still holding her hand against her and cupping it with her other hand, Glori watches as Marlow, Jasper, and Duncan execute a series of short, quick passes designed to rapidly move the quaffle towards the opponent's hoops while making it more difficult for the other chasers to know from whom to try and steal and the beaters from effectively targeting the one in possession of the quaffle. Duncan has just passed to Jasper who flies a short distance and makes as if to pass to Marlow only he throws the ball back to Duncan. Asher chose correctly in sending a bludger at Duncan not Marlow. Duncan catches the quaffle but with the bludger hit fumbles his grip. Malden surges in close to grab the quaffle away.
Malden tightens his grip on the ball while pivoting his broom around, flying fast paced in Glori's direction. Almost as one the five other chasers follow suit, turning their brooms to return to this end of the pitch. Glori sucks in air, teeth so tightly clenched her jaw is aching by the time the three Slytherin chasers, the ball in Belinda's possession, reach her.
Glori knows that as much pain as she in, as useless as that one hand and wrist most likely will be in fending off quaffle shots, she could flag Coach Krum and leave the match. Glori also knows that in doing so she would leave her hoops unguarded, forcing her teammates to do double duty. Not only that, but this is her last ever house match at Hogwarts. If she leaves the game Hufflepuff's chances of winning not only the match but the cup decrease, though she has no idea the statistics on how much of a decrease those odds would be. With her out of the match, even if Sophie catches the snitch, Slytherin might be able to rack up enough goals to overcame the 150 point catching the snitch obstacle.
Sucking in more air and clenching her teeth even more tightly, if that's possible, Glori steals herself to remain. She won't let her team down. If Coach Krum forces her out, that would be bad enough. She's not quitting on her team. Not today. Glori just has to tough it out a little while and can be glad that as a keeper she's not constantly in action.
Belinda takes aim, avoiding a bludger from Tessa. Glori whops it away with her good hand, trying not to let show she's in pain and that even a small movement jostles the injured hand. Jasper grabs the quaffle only to be hit by a bludger from Baron, allowing Malden to snatch away the ball. He too throws and his shot is also blocked, Glori able to slap it away with part of her broom. This time the quaffle goes straight to Malden and he throws a second time.
Glori has to shoot forward on her broom while diving across the handle at the same time to reach the quaffle. Her good hand is outstretched but with the position she's, she has to use the injured hand some. This serves to hinder her movement, allowing the quaffle to squeak by her reaching fingers.
Slytherin now has a twenty point lead.
Forcing a smile as she hands over the quaffle, no one says anything to her or asks if she's okay. She takes it to mean that so far no one's realized she's hurting and that it's one of her hands. That's a good thing.
Jasper throws to Duncan putting the quaffle back into action. Once more Glori sits back on her broom, careful of the injured hand, relieved that for the time being she's got a moment of not having to do anything but watch the others play.
(Belinda) Getting Closer
Author: Sophie McCourt
Date: 07-09-16 03:39
Slytherin was in the good path to win the championship match. They had twenty points now, while Hufflepuff had none. Duncan flew away from Glori's hoops. Malden, who had scored a minute ago, went after him. Feeling the pressure Duncan offered the quaffle to Marlow who was free. Marlow zig zagged across the pitch, avoiding not only a bludger sent by Baron, but also Mason who was trying to steal the quaffle right from her arms. Marlow threw the quaffle to Jasper. Belinda tried to steal it in the air, but she was hit on arm by a bludger. It had been Tessa.
Jasper passed the quaffle back at Marlow. She tried to score, aiming the red ball to the right hoop. But Boris grabbed it with firml hands.
"Samson defends," Willow declared. "And he passes the quaffle to Jeffers."
Mason moved away from the critical scoring area before any of the Hufflepuff chasers could get the quaffle back. Belinda tried to get some space between her and Duncan, so Mason could pass her the quaffle. She was starting to feel the pain in her arm, which was quite annoying. If Tessa had hit her leg or her back it wouldn't matter as much. But she needed her arm to play. Finally, Mason threw her the quaffle. Belinda grabbed it holding it with her sane arm. Another bludger passed by her, but Asher came to her rescue and he was able to throw it away from her figure. He aimed it at Jasper. The beaters were quite aggressive compared to the last match, two weeks ago. But everyone wanted to win and they were going to use everything in their power to do so.
Belinda managed to cover some distance, getting closer to Glori again. Malden was free and she passed him the quaffle. The hoops were now at a good scoring range. Malden offered the quaffle to the Slytherin captain, Mason. Jasper, the Hufflepuff captain, blocked his way. He tried to steal the quaffle from Mason.
"It is a duel between the two captains!" Willow exclaimed to the audience. "Jenkins is pressuring Jeffers. What will he do?"
The key was Belinda. She flied closer to Mason and called him, announcing her position. He threw her the quaffle. Belinda stretched her arm, and shot. It was not a good shot, because she used her injured arm and the quaffle was not flying at a good speed. It would be an easy defense for Glori. But Malden was attentive. He dived and used his hand, to deflect the slow quaffle from Glori. The quaffle changed its route, gained some speed and passed over another hoop.
"McGonagall scores again! Slytherin increases the advantage. Thirty to nothing."
Belinda smiled. The three Slytherin chasers greeted each others on the back, celebrating their good work. They were getting closer to victory. Belinda could already see herself holding the cup. Sophie hat not been able to beat Sylvestor last time and she wouldn't stand a chance now as well. Glori passed the quaffle to Marlow and the match continued.
(Willow) Super Excited
Author: Rowan Westwick
Date: 07-09-16 10:17
Willow was on cloud nine. Slytherin was ahead in the race for the Quidditch Cup, and unless Hufflepuff totally destroyed Slytherin in today's match, Slytherin would still come out on top in the rankings. Willow, of course, was hoping Slytherin would win and prove themselves to be the ultimate champions.
She had to tamp down her true feelings, since as Quidditch commentator, she had to be neutral. It wasn't easy for Willow, especially with Slytherin in the lead. She tried her very best, though.
"It's Dippet with the quaffle," she announced. "He passes to Jenkins… Jenkins passes to MacDougal… MacDougal passes… oh! INTERCEPTION by Jeffers!"
Mason snatched the ball out of the air and turned the nose of his broomstick sharply around before rocketing away.
"Jeffers passes to McCourt! McCourt fumbles… but McGonagall recovers the ball!"
Malden flattened himself over the shaft of his broomstick to reduce wind resistance and moved faster and faster towards the Hufflepuff goal hoops. Before reaching scoring range, he quickly handed the ball off to Mason, who had caught up to him, and Mason attempted for a goal. Glori threw herself in front of the quaffle and knocked it back into the fray. Duncan was there to scoop it up and hurry away to the opposite end of the Pitch.
Willow felt Professor McGonagall shift in the seat next to her and thought about what Rowan had told her last week. There were no more Smart Crystals, due to Beatrix getting caught selling some to a girl in Hogsmeade last weekend. Moreover, Beatrix was caught by Professor McGonagall herself.
Surprisingly, Rowan, Lon and Pablo had yet to get in trouble. Beatrix wasn't giving up their names, and anybody Professor McGonagall may have talked to about Smart Crystals, if she'd talked to anybody else, that was, had also remained quiet. Being Rowan's sister, Willow half-expected Professor McGonagall to question her, but so far the Headmistress hadn't. Maybe she really had no clue about Rowan's involvement, but Willow couldn't imagine that to be true. Everybody knew that Beatrix and Rowan were best friends.
"Dippet passes to MacDougal…" Willow continued, eyeing the pack of chasers as they came upon the Slytherin hoops. "MacDougal shoots…!"
(Asher) Championship Match
Author: Jolyon
Date: 07-09-16 12:22
The exact moment Marlow let go of the ball, Tessa hit a bludger at Boris. Before the ball could get anywhere near the Slytherin keeper, though, Asher hurtled for it and struck it. Without intending to, the bludger knocked into the quaffle and sent it sideways. All of the chasers abruptly turned to follow after it, with Belinda being the quickest. She grabbed the quaffle before it could fall to the ground and hightailed it away from the Slytherin goal hoops.
Asher raced for a bludger, getting to it before Conrad could. He hit it towards Marlow, who was practically on top of Belinda. Belinda held on firmly to the quaffle, but Marlow was definitely making it hard for her to concentrate on anything else. Mason and Malden were both free to accept a pass, but Belinda didn't dare let go. When Asher's bludger caught Marlow in the back of the leg, Marlow slowed enough to give Belinda the break she needed. Belinda threw the ball to Mason.
Mason pitched it to Malden. Malden pulled the quaffle to his side and dashed forward, only to find himself the target of Conrad's bludger. For half a second, Asher considered allowing Malden to take the hit, but then he thought of how far Slytherin had come as a team and what was on the line today. Better to protect Malden, then to let his emotions guide his decisions.
With the decision made, Asher swooped in to defend Malden from Conrad's bludger. Malden surged forward with the quaffle, and then he threw it to Mason. Asher, meanwhile, redirected the bludger to Sophie, who appeared to be focused intently on something. Whether or not she had really seen the snitch wasn't entirely certain, since all she did was draw back to avoid getting hit.
Mason came at the hoops from an angle and let the quaffle fly with spin. Glori slapped the ball away from the intended hoop and smiled when Jasper caught the rebound. Jasper whirled around and flew off, only to stop short when Asher's bludger cut sideways across his path. Had he kept forward, it might have clipped him in the nose.
Marlow came up beside him and lifted the quaffle from his arms. Asher turned his attention to the nearest available bludger, found there were none, and decided to join the pack rather than go out of his way to reach a bludger. When Baron knocked one towards him, Asher gave it a good whack in Marlow's direction. He had high hopes it would hit her and force the quaffle back into Slytherin's hands.
(Malden) Crash
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 07-10-16 12:36
Asher's bludger caught Marlow between the shoulders. She fell forward, loosening her grip on the quaffle, which gave Malden the perfect opportunity to steal the ball. He scooped it up and quickly switched hands when Marlow recovered fast enough from the bludger hit to attempt to grab the ball back. Marlow swiped at air, though, and Malden turned his broomstick away and took off like a torpedo. He barreled ahead as swiftly as his broomstick could go.
After traversing about a quarter of the Pitch, Malden faced his first obstacle. It was Tessa, who had put herself in position to receive a bludger batted along by Conrad. She had every intention of using it to unseat Malden, or at the very least cause a turnover with the ball. Conrad, unfortunately, lost control of the bludger when Baron came out of nowhere to knock it in a completely different direction.
Malden, meanwhile, kept speeding towards Tessa. He thought for sure she would move out of his way rather than get into a wreck with him. By the time she realized Conrad wasn't sending the bludger over, it was too late. Malden couldn't brake or swerve, and Tessa didn't have enough time to move either. It was like watching a joust, only the two broomstick noses never collided. Malden caught Tessa in the ribs, and Tessa's broom got him in the thigh. Tessa flew backwards off of her broomstick. Malden stayed on his but watched, dismayed, as the quaffle popped out of his arms.
Everything happened quickly after that. Coach Krum suspended Tessa in midair so she couldn't fall to the ground and break all her bones. A wicked bruise was starting to bloom on the left side of Tessa's ribcage. She was hauled off the field and sent to the Hospital Wing. Malden's leg stung, and he guessed he probably had a bad bruise too, but he didn't think he needed to exit the game and get medical attention right away. Luckily for him, Coach Krum agreed and allowed him to continue playing, with the caveat that he go to the Hospital Wing immediately following the match.
Unfortunately, when the game resumed, Hufflepuff had possession of the quaffle and got to take a foul shot, since Malden had effectively committed Blatching when he flew into Tessa. Marlow weighed her options, eyed Boris to see how he might move, and then threw the quaffle. Boris stopped it easily and handed the red ball to Malden.