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Flacking
Author: Sage Porter
Date: 02-06-08 15:25
Somewhere between a half hour to forty-five minutes after Hufflepuff brought its score to 30 points versus Gryffindor's 40 points, another foul is called. This time it's called against Sage. As Gryffindor decides which of its chasers will take the foul shot Sage goes over in his head what exactly happened.
Etta had come in for a goal attempt. Sage was set up for a perfect block. A bludger came tearing by and Sage just bearly dodged having his entired head hit. Instead he ended up getting his jaw clipped. The force of that blow along with another of those annoying strong gusts of wind and Sage wasn't in good blocking position. He was already in motion though and before he could stop the momentum, Sage had gone partially through a hoop. He did block the quaffle but it was with part of his thigh. Not exactly how he'd first envisioned doing it.
Wiggy had taken the quaffle as it bounced off Sage but Coach Batuti was blowing her whistle. Taking the ball from Wiggy she'd announced, "Flacking!"
Sage doesn't feel as though he committed a flacking foul but he can see where what happened does fit into the category of the keeper putting his body through a hoop to prevent a goal from taking place, even if his actions were not intended.
Jared settles on having Wiggy take the foul shot. Sage is set to do the block, a legal one unless the wind decides to get nasty again. Wiggy flies back and forth, the quaffle changing hands as he deliberates on how to take the shot. Sage moves a little but for the most part stays stationary trying to determine where Wiggy will throw.
Wiggy picks up speed as he flies, making sharp turns to stay within a certain distance of the hoops. The quaffle is suddenly a red blur streaking across the gap. Sage shoots to his left, throwing his body into the dive. The quaffle touches his fingertips but continues on without even a little bit of a wobble of disturbance. Sage groans and Wiggy cheers. The score is now 50 to 30, Gryffindor's favor.
Brooding
Author: Alice Cullen
Date: 02-06-08 16:01
Alice sat alone in a dark restaurant some where deep in the heart of London. She had no idea were she was. She didn’t really care either. She was brooding over the fact that Jasper had broken up with her officially. She had expected things to come to this, but she had still hoped that maybe things would work out. After all, they had known each other since they were kids. Perhaps that was what the problem was, the fact that they had been together since their first week at Hogwarts 12 years ago.
A little sigh escaped Alice’s lips as she toyed with her salad she was attempting to eat. There was some strange song playing on the radio of the restaurant. One she had never heard before, and made her realize that she wasn’t in the wizarding world at all, but in a Muggle restaurant. She dropped her fork and looked around, trying to remember how she got to the restaurant; but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember anything, other then Jasper breaking up with her.
Alice sat up a little straighter and dried the tears that had been freely flowing down her cheeks. She was just going to have to show him that she could live without him. He had said that this was for the best. That it would give them a chance to live without each other, that it would give them a chance to see other people, to explore their chances. He had promised to still be her friend and when her tears dried up; that he would stop in a see how she was doing. So it showed that he wasn’t completely going to give her up. This had made her feel a little better.
For the first time since ordering her food, Alice looked around the restaurant. She noticed a few handsome looking men and a few older men, single men and a few other men with their wives. Most were older some were younger. She scanned her choices, did she really want a Muggle though with all the fuss that the ministry of magic was making over muggles and nons and pures? She frowned; no she didn’t really want a Muggle. Though she supposed she didn’t really care either way. If she loved the person, who cared what they were.
Her lips curved up into a small smile, and she laughed a little. This could be fun. Picking out the right man was like picking out the right fish in the sea. Yes she wouldn’t feel sorry for herself. Why cry over a man anyway? It got you no where.
Hitting Is Good
Author: Bailey
Date: 02-06-08 17:13
Bailey's desire to smash things hasn't abated. He'd really hoped it would but every time he catches sight in the stands of either Jewel or Snider, anger for Jewel and anger at Snider and his parents returns full force. Bailey thinks he might get a punching bag and the thought makes him grin at how it's such a Muggle thing. Yes, definately will get one if only to annoy the Snide and Yaxley.
Bailey gives the bludger he's just reached a two-fisted backhand, sending the ball whistling towards a Hufflepuff. Bailey doesn't pay enough attention as to which Hufflepuff it is, which is wrong he knows, but it's hard to focus on anything but this boiling emotion thats steadily flowing out as more than anger. It's a hot rage that threatens to grow.
Bailey ducks under Wiggy then dodges around Eithne only to have to zig the other way to avoid Alanna. Bailey pulls up quickly and does a 90 degree pivot to chase after the bludger he'd been in pursuit of. The black ball had changed direction on its own. Bailey hopes it's not developing a problem or that someone in the stands - or worse, someone in the game - is toying with it.
Bailey reaches the bludger but stops short of actually hitting it because a whistle's been blown. Sage Porter called for flacking. Bailey hovers, waiting for the foul shot to be made, his hand itching on his bat to hit something again.
The second the ball starts to pass through the hoop, Bailey's off again after that same bludger. Hearing the score announced, it occurs to him that he's been so focused on hitting, hitting, hitting that this he's not been overly aware of what the score's been.
Bailey takes the time to look around to pick his target, reaching the bludger and sending it at Katharina. Adrenaline courses through him and Bailey's off to find another bludger to hit, thinking he wouldn't mind at all if he didn't have to keep in mind that he needs to pay attention to not purposely hitting a bludger with the aim of hurting someone.
Watching and Waiting
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 02-06-08 17:44
From well across the Pitch, Ronan noticed Sage toss the quaffle to Eithne. Eithne shot off like a rocket towards the Gryffindor hoops, weaving between every obstacle presented in her path. Her every intention was for nothing to prevent her from reaching the three hoops guarded by Ronan, but it wasn't meant to be. A bludger via Jared hit her right between the shoulder blades, forcing her to loosen her grip on the ball and making it possible for Julietta to swoop in for the steal.
Etta tucked the ball close to her side and pressed herself against the shaft of her broomstick to reduce wind resistance. Suddenly, both bludgers came at her. Etta searched fleetingly for someone to pass to and saw Francis soaring directly below her. She dropped the ball and quickly maneuvered out of harm's way, but Alanna appeared out of no where and intercepted the ball before it could land safely in the Gryffindor chaser's arms.
Alanna turned around in one fluid movement and raced towards Ronan, who steeled himself for her arrival. Eithne and Katharina flanked Alanna, providing both support and protection should she need it. When she got within scoring range, Alanna moved as if to score, but then lofted the ball to Katharina, who fired the ball straight into the right-most hoop.
Ronan cursed himself silently as he retrieved the ball and threw it to Wiggy. He felt he should have anticipated the fake out, but even then, Alanna could have passed to Eithne and not Katharina, and Ronan might have lunged the wrong way. He knew he really shouldn't beat himself up too much, since the game was still very much in play and he needed to be alert and confident of his abilities as the Gryffindor keeper. But still... he didn't like letting the quaffle get passed him!
Paige Amelia Night
Author: Cailyn Spicer
Date: 02-06-08 19:17
Cailyn pushed her way up to the Gryffindor stands on the Quidditch grounds, just in time to watch the Gryffindor team win another goal. She shouted her glees and then sat down next to a girl around her age. She couldn’t remember the girl’s name even though they had been in the Gryffindor house all year. She frowned. Had she really felt that sorry for herself all year that she didn’t know her fellow house members names? That wasn’t usually like her. Usually, Cailyn was a very bright and chipper person. She usually didn’t care at all what people thought of her, but she was generally very alert too. This year for some reason, she had not been alert at all and she was slightly disappointed in herself. Well now, was as good a time as any to try and make new friends. Wasn’t that one of her goals when she moved to England, to make new friends?
The girl had thick curly red hair that was cut to her shoulders. She was little and so small she looked like she was twelve, though Cailyn remembered hearing somewhere that the girl was sixteen and not twelve. She had bright, shinning blue eyes, and fair skin. She smiled at Cailyn, as Cailyn smiled at her.
“Hello.” The girl said in a bright, cheery, Yorkshire accent.
“Hello.” Cailyn replied in her very American accent. “I’m Cailyn Spicer. I don’t think we’ve ever met.” Cailyn added kicking her herself for not making friends with this girl sooner. The girl laughed a bubbly laugh of someone who laughed often.
“Of course we’ve met. We’re in the same house. We just have never formally met. I’m Paige Amelia Night.” Paige said holding out her hand for Cailyn to shake. Cailyn stared at the girl, she wasn’t used to shaking someone’s hand, but she took it and shook it a little timidly.
“Where are you from?” Cailyn asked, now that they had formally met. She wanted to know all about her new friend.
“Hornsea. It’s in Yorkshire on the ocean. You’re from America. I know that much. Doesn’t your father work for the ministry?” Paige asked.
Cailyn nodded. She wasn’t to surprise that Paige knew this. It was pretty well known that Cailyn was an American. She was a little surprised that Paige knew her father worked for the Ministry.
“How did you know my father worked for the Ministry?” She asked.
“I overheard someone mention it.” Paige said looking out at the Quidditch field. “Is this your first Quidditch Match?” Paige asked.
“Yeah, I don’t know why I haven’t been to the others this year. I was really excited about Quidditch. We never had matches in America. Though a bunch of us used to get to get together and play it for sport.” Cailyn said leaving out the fact that she was always the best in the group. She watched the game and once again toyed with the idea of trying out for Quidditch next year. She pushed the idea back though. Next year was a way off.
“I’ve never really been good at playing Quidditch, but I am a good flyer. I do Ballet mostly when I am not at school. In the summer.”
“Ballet?” Cailyn asked looking at Paige.
“Yeah you know, tutu’s, lace, ballerina shoes and classical music?” Cailyn shook her head no. She had no idea what Paige was talking about. She had never heard of Ballet before.” “ You gotta be kidding me!” Paige said in shock. Cailyn shook her head and felt the color rising in her cheeks.
“I never heard of Ballet before.” She said. “Is it a common thing?”
“Of course it is! It’s a very old form of dance. Well not that old. Maybe this summer you can come and watch me perform?” Cailyn smiled did Paige just invite her over during the summer? She was sure they were going to be good friends by then.
“I would love that!” Cailyn said happily going back to watching the game.
Great Game (Wiggy)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 02-06-08 21:20
So far the match against Hufflepuff has been a good game. The score is tight, fifty for Gryffindor at the moment to Hufflepuff's forty. Two fouls have been called but from what Wiggy could tell neither foul was intentional. He thinks that especially about Etta Wynbourne. Wiggy can't see Etta deliberately flying into someone else.
Wiggy does a mental recant on that thought. There are a few people he can think of that Etta might deliberately collide with if she could do it without injuring herself. One of them is an overly large, extremely hirsute, faux woman with a unibrow and a line of fur futher down on her face, running almost perfectly parallel with the unibrow. Flying past Hairy the Snide, Wiggy wouldn't mind being a beater instead of a chaser just so he could accidently send a bludger - or two, or three - at the fat cow.
Fat cow. "Ha ha ha," runs through Wiggy's mind as he think that someone should have a few of the statues mooing at the woman whenever she walks by. Maybe he'll do it. Wiggy's lips curl into a devious grin. He'll definately do it. Maybe Deak and Jack want in on the joke and would help.
Wiggy dips down just below Katharina, her hand closing on nothing but air as she made a grab for the quaffle. He's forced to climb again almost immediately thanks to a bludger coming from one direction and Eithne from another. Now, where is Alanna?
Alanna is practically on top of Wiggy, deftly snatching the quaffle from where he's got it against his chest. Wiggy frowns, practically flipping over on his broom to get turned around to go in pursuit. Bailey sends a bludger to help and Etta is doing her usual excellent job of harassing the opposition. Francis is keeping Katharina from closing in to give Alanna aid.
Wiggy puts his broom into high speed, darting in front of Eithne and cutting her off for the moment. He swerves around a bludger hit by Jet and that allows Eithne to pull even with him. In the meantime Alanna's reached Ronan and manages to get a shot off around Etta. Ronan blocks, sending the quaffle right into Etta's hands. She takes off in a wide arcing curve then shoots across the pitch in a nearly perfect straight line.
Jared moves in to assist his sister, protecting her from any bludgers. Wiggy and Francis are doing their best to slow the three Hufflepuff chasers down. Jet's making an effort to get a bludger past Jared to Etta. Alanna and Bailey are vying for the other bludger, each hoping to get in a good shot to an opposing team's chaser.
Etta reaches Sage and with a quick flick of her wrist, volleys the quaffle at the same time that Jared intercepts a Jet hit bludger and sends it at Sage. Sage touches the quaffle but the bludger hits him squarely in the shoulder with just enough of a oomph that Sage's center of balance is disrupted and he can't fully block the quaffle.
Wiggy's frown becomes a grin again now that Gryffindor's brought the score to 60-40.
That Smarts
Author: Jet
Date: 02-07-08 07:17
After Gryffindor made its sixth goal, the quaffle went to Alanna. Having seen Alanna in both practice and in games, Jet's never surprised that she's usually the go to chaser for Hufflepuff. Positioning himself right behind Alanna, Jet easily swoops around her to bat a Jared sent bludger. It's a not very well kept secret that Jared Wynbourne has long had a crush on Alanna Beck but one thing that can't be said about Jared is that he lets his feelings get in the way of Gryffindor's performance during a match.
The quaffle Jet's deflected hits Wiggy on the back, to the side, just below his shoulder. Jet's following that quaffle so clearly sees Wiggy wince at the hit. It's too bad there can't be bludgers in the game that don't also cause bruising and breaks. Some beaters do hit a bludger with intent to injure, or even maim, but most beaters simply want to use the bludgers to aid their teams, not to intentionally do that kind of harm. Nonetheless, seeing Wiggy in discomfort doesn't slow Jet down.
Circling around behind the bludger that bounced off Wiggy, Jet gives it a good crack with his bat, this time aiming at Etta. She and Francis have stolen the quaffle mid-pass between Alanna and Katharina. The bludger connects but Etta resolutely hangs onto the quaffle. Jet's tracking the bludger with his eyes then shoots off in pursuit again.
Bailey gets there first this time and Jet ends up whooshing at high speed to try and get it before it hits Eithne. Miscalculating slightly, Jet does get in front of the bludger before it reaches the Hufflepuff chaser but the bludger hits him before he can hit it.
One side of his collarbone doesn't feel exactly right after that and there's a constant enough pain and discomfort of movement that Jet's fairly certain the bone is either cracked or slightly dislocated. Gritting his teeth, Jet tries to find anything to think about, like reaching the bludger again, to get his mind off the growing pain at his clavicle. He finds it helps if he thinks of the bludger as a certain headmistress's head or of a certain deputy headmaster's head.
Reaching one of the bludgers again, Jet grits his teeth more as he swings his bat then connects with the bludger, sending the hard ball at Ronan as the three Hufflepuff chasers jockey around the Gryffindor chasers with the hope of scoring another Hufflepuff goal.
Close Match
Author: Jared
Date: 02-07-08 15:52
Jared dives at a steep angle, stopping the bludger from reaching Ronan. The Gryffindor keeper is able to use his broom tail to swat the quaffle back into play. Etta catches the quaffle, does as close to a 180 as she can with five other chasers still clustered around, three of whom are trying to grab the quaffle from her, and flies toward the other end of the pitch.
Etta rolls to her right, avoiding a bludger, and at the same time dropping the quaffle into Francis's hands. For a brief few seconds Alanna, Katharina nor Eithne realize Etta no longer has the quaffle. When it sinks in that it's Francis in possession, two streak off after him while the third Hufflepuff chaser does tries to keep Etta from catching up to Francis for another pass.
Jared meets the bludger Etta's just dodged and hits it with a resounding thwack at Katharina, forcing the girl to momentarily let up on Etta. Etta charges forward, zipping away from Katharina but the other girl recovers quickly from the bludger smacking into her broom handle, causing stinging vibrations to run and up down the broom's length.
Jared's already off in search of one of the two bludgers to hit again. Etta, with Katharina close behind now, catches up to Frances just as he passes to Wiggy but a bludger sent by Ariella has Francis's aim off. Alanna intercepts, diving past Etta who's already turning to go in pursuit.
Etta, still slightly above Alanna, catches up, leans over and snatches the quaffle away. Before she can even turn, however, Eithne's snatched it right back. The Hufflepuff chasers move into a tight formation. Etta keeps trying to wedge between Alanna and Eithne and Wiggy does the same between Eithne and Katharina. Francis keeps circling around, looking for an opening.
Jared goes after a bludger, sending it into the pack, thinking to help break the formation. Bailey's flying after the second bludger to do the same. Jet is in a sprint to get to that bludger first while Ariella keeps knocking away the bludger Jared keeps sending.
Etta finally finds a crack big enough to shoot into, messing up a pass from Eithne to Alanna. Her smile at the success as breaking the formation turns to a scowl when Alanna stubbornly hangs onto the quaffle. Jared gets a bludger past Ariella, hitting Alanna. Etta makes a grab for the quaffle at the same time but Alanna's not having any of that and jerks away. Etta's leaning over just enough that when Alanna jerks away, Etta's little bit more of a lean nearly unseats her from her broom.
Etta quickly rights herself, very glad not to have taken a facer to the ground. Wiggy's the one now trying to make the steal, but Katharina and Eithne are keeping him from getting close enough. A quick look around for Francis and Etta sees he's taken a bludger to the broom and the handle now has a noticeable crack in it.
Jared beats out Ariella for the bludger that've both been batting around and sends it on a course that would hit Alanna squarely in the back. Ariella moves quickly to block her sister from the bludger hit and gains Alanna the time she needs to set up to shoot the quaffle.
Ronan's ready for Alanna but she fakes him out last second with a fast pass to Katharina who doesn't grab the quaffle. Instead she smacks it with one hand, lofting it up and out, sending it through one of the hoops, bringing Hufflepuff's score to 50, but still trailing Gryffindor by 10.
Getting Closer
Author: Ariella Beck
Date: 02-07-08 17:56
Ariella pumped her fist into the air when Alanna scored, but she quickly put her game face back on and sped after one of the black bludgers, which also drew the interest of Bailey. Bailey's attention waned suddenly when he shot towards the group of chasers to protect Wiggy, who currently had possession of the quaffle, from the other bludger. Bailey slammed it hard with his bat before it could make contact with its target.
Meanwhile, Ariella reached the other bludger and hit it with all her might towards Wiggy's back. Bailey had redirected his attention to Ariella and the black ball and turned just as abruptly to redefend Wiggy. Unfortunately, he fell short of his mark when the bludger grazed his ear and shoulder and then collided with Wiggy's back. Wiggy buckled forwards and dropped the quaffle. There was a mad scramble for the quaffle, and Katharina emerged victorious. She shot through the sky as if nothing could stop her, barreling through anything and anyone that got in her way.
Ariella quickly became aware that both of the Gryffindor beaters were determined to bring Katharina down. Alanna took off after Katharina and aligned herself near her so that she could protect her from the coming onslaught of bludgers. Jet, meanwhile, raced Jared for one of the balls, while Bailey had the other all for himself. Jared got to the ball first and shot it at Katharina at the exact same time as Bailey. The two black balls careened towards the chaser, who passed the quaffle quickly to Alanna to avoid losing the quaffle to Gryffindor.
Ariella hit the first black ball towards Wiggy and hardly had time to think where to aim the second one, since it'd arrived at nearly the same time as the first. She hit it hard over the heads of everyone clustered together and spotted Jet once again racing Jared for it. Alanna was so close to the hoops now. Ariella held her breath, watching for a split second to see whether or not Alanna would meet her mark. Just as Alanna threw back her arm, one of the bludgers sailed over her head, right at Ronan. Ronan didn't fancy getting his face smashed in and tried to duck, but not too much to allow Alanna to score. His instinct to duck won out, though, and Alanna easily sent the quaffle sailing through the hoop.
Now the match was tied, 60-60.
Two Seekers... One Gets the Snitch... and An Injury or Two
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 02-07-08 18:44
Orei and Sophia both hovered up over the pitch, watching the action as much as they were watching for that ever elusive glimmering, glittering golden ball that would declare one of the teams victorious. Each was of course determined to get it for their own house team, but that is never the case in a Quidditch match...ever.
Sophia has seen something, and quickly darted, but was veered off course by a stray bludger that would have seriously hurt if it had hit her. Yeah, those things are pretty nasty. She was just glad that no one on either of the teams had gotten taken off the field and to the hospital wing with a serious injury. Orei kept hovering, because that divergence in Sophia's path had made her lose track of the thing she saw.
The score was tied, 60-60, which means that it would be 210-60, the seeker who caught the snitch obviously bringing that team to victory as the little golden ball, the hardest to find, was worth the most points...150.
Wait!
There it is! Orei zipped forward, the glimmering golden snitch had hovered just in front of her, right at eye level, taunting her horribly...well, because it could. Sophia was looking in the other direction, and by the time she realized that Orei was hot on the trail of something major, she was already half the pitch away from Orei.
Reaching as far forward as she could, she would continue to stretch. Grip slipping on her broom, but she was so close, so very close. Fingertips touched the surface of the snitch, just as she officially lost the grip on her broom and went tumbling toward the bottom of the pitch. She wasn't terribly high up, but enough to make a bone make a sickening "crunch" when she hit the ground.
Everyone hovered around her, to see if she was alright. Her good hand opened and there was the golden snitch. Gryffindor had won the match, 210-60. Orei cast a glance upwards to Brett, Aussie and Yuri, before she was carried to the hospital wing. Broken leg and sprained wrist join the end to a very well played quidditch game.