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Gryffindor vs Slytherin
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 10-01-09 08:50
Of his Gryffindor teammates, Ronan was the first to arrive in the locker room and get changed into his Quidditch uniform. This year, he was captain of the team, which was a big responsibility. He and his fellow team members had worked hard at every practice, during which he'd done his best to lead them. Hopefully, he could lead them to victory today!
The other Gryffindor Quidditch players trickled into the locker room soon after Ronan's arrival. They quickly got dressed and mentally went over some of the plays and maneuvers they'd practiced together. When everyone was present and ready, and with minutes until the start of the game, Ronan stepped forward to give a speech. The others fanned around him in a semi circle.
"Well, this is it. Our first real match of the season. Let's do what we can to get a lot of points on the board and to prevent Slytherin from scoring. Remember what we practiced, and we should do all right. Charisma, if you can catch that snitch..." He let the rest of the thought hang and smiled.
"You bet," Charisma replied confidently.
"Let's win, all right?" Ronan announced to everyone. He put his hand in the center, and one by one, other hands fell on top of his.
"One, two, three, Gryffindor!" he shouted, and everyone shouted Gryffindor with him.
They gathered their brooms and got ready to make their grand entrance.
The doors to the locker room flew open, and one by one they emerged, taking flight and making several circuits around the Pitch to the jubilant cheers of the spectators. Ronan and Slytherin captain Griet Vanderbilt touched down to meet at the center where Theodosia Batuti waited for them with the trunk of Quidditch balls at her feet.
"Let's have a fair game, okay?" she said to them both.
Ronan shook Griet's hand. "Good luck."
"Thanks, you too," she said.
They mounted their brooms again and took position. Ronan and fellow keeper Zuberi went to the goals, while the rest hovered at center field. Theodosia released the snitch, the two black bludgers, and then tossed the red quaffle into the air.
Griet was the first to lay hands on it. She tucked it against her body and took off towards Ronan's goals, determined to score. When the opportunity struck, she tossed the quaffle to Alexa, who tossed it to Olive and on and on and on, the red ball moving at so quick a speed, it was difficult to follow. Ronan trained his eyes on it hard, determined to stop it from flying through one of the hoops.
Alexa had it when she came within scoring range and threw it hard to Ronan's left. He reacted quickly and stopped it with the palm of his hand. He passed it off to Julietta, who did her best to move it as far away from Gryffindor's goal hoops as possible.
(Mark) Beater
Author: Isolde
Date: 10-01-09 11:15
When the game started with Griet grabbing hold of the quaffle before anyone from Gryffindor could, Mark felt confident that Slytherin would be the first team to score. Unfortunately, the drive to the Gryffindor hoops proofed fruitless, and Slytherin no longer had possession of the quaffle.
Mark hoped to change that. He drove all his energy into aiming a bludger at Julietta, hoping to either strike her or the quaffle in her hands, or at the very least to catch her off guard so that one of the Slytherin chasers could steal the quaffle right from her arms. He reached the same bludger Ella Harville was heading for half a second earlier, but because of her promixity to the bludger Mark had to reevaluate what he wanted to do with it. In a game like Quidditch, everything a player did had to be done quickly. Mark used the half second to redirect the bludger toward Basil, who might have a better chance of using it to Slytherin's advantage.
Basil, wide open and aware of Mark's intent, timed the blow perfectly so that it went straight for where Julietta would be in the next few seconds. The bludger struck Basil's cousin in the shoulder, causing her to lose hold of the quaffle. For the briefest of moments, the quaffle fell freely, only to be recovered by Marjani Batuti of Gryffindor. Marjani pulled ahead, but only briefly, finding herself soon surrounded by the Slytherin chasers.
Mark, meanwhile, went in search for the nearest bludger. He had to stop Marjani or one of the other Gryffindor chasers from scoring. He just had to. He spotted one and tore after it, reaching it well before the Gryffindor beaters could. This one he aimed at the quaffle, just as Marjani let it fly from her hand. It struck the red ball dead center and knocked it off of its intended trajectory.
This time a Slytherin chaser quickly swept in and claimed the quaffle. Grinning from ear to ear, Mark hurried off to assist his teammates however he could.
A Good Start Quickly Sours (Theodosia & Zuberi)
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 10-01-09 18:34
In the days leading to this Saturday, Theodosia had worried that the weather would turn nasty enough that she would be forced to consider postponing the match. It practically takes a typhoon to cancel a professional match, and sometimes not even then, but Theodosia is among those who thing that school age children should not be subjected to playing in dicey weather. Quidditch is a dangerous enough sport as it is without throwing students these ages into the midst of an ice storm, which is the direction the weather might have gone today.
With the frigid ambient air temperature at the heights the players would be, the periodic wind, and the overcast sky, Theodosia's kids would still be playing in uncomfortable conditions. Theodosia will also have the same discomfort as will Raawiya Dafina, a friend of Theodosia's from back home who is also a professional player for the Sumbawanga Sunrays. With both her sister Marjani and brother Zuberi playing in today's match, and on opposing teams, Theodosia is glad to have another referee on hand so that even if one of them later tries to claim she was biased in the other's favor, she can point to Raawiya having been there to help call the match.
The introduction of players went smoothly, the two captains were sincerely cordial, and the Quaffle tip-off to start the match went well. The three Slytherin Chasers - Alexa Wenlock, Griet Vanderbilt, and Olive Green - have been steadily working the Quaffle towards Gryffindor Keeper Ronan Eastwick. They've nearly gotten it into a decent range for a goal attempt with Wiggersmythe Hodfuffer seemingly swoops in from nowhere, grabs the Quaffle from Olive as she's in the process of moving her arm back to throw the red ball to one of her teammates, and takes off at high speed to the opposite end of the pitch.
Zuberi, who is the Slytherin Keeper even though it's a position he actually loathes with a passion, has his eyes fixed on Wiggy and the Quaffle. Much as he hates hovering in front of goals, guarding the hoops, no matter what position he's playing, Zuberi hates even more having the other team score.
He tenses, both glad to have some action coming his way and hating the fact that neither Mark Farnon nor Basil Wynbourne seem capable of slamming a Bludger into Hodfuffer's back or head. The Slytherin Chasers have also chosen this moment to be incompetently incapable of catching Hodfuffer up and stealing the Quaffle back. Hell, they shouldn't have let him nick it in the first place.
Hodfuffer closes in fast, coming to such a sudden stop Zuberi wouldn't have been at all shocked if Hodfuffer had done a header over the front of his broom handle. The Gryffindor lets go of the red ball, giving it a hard throw to Zuberi's right. Zuberi backs up at the same time he goes right, determined to stop the Quaffle. He's centered himself perfectly so that the ball comes straight to him. Easily catching it, and thus blocking the shot, Zuberi triumphantly holds it up, ready to do a hand off to whichever Slytherin Chaser gets within range first.
Instead, Zuberi is met with a whistle and Raawiya Dafina loudly calling, "Flacking! Zuberi Batuti of Slytherin!"
"What??? No!" Zuberi yells.
Flacking is when a Keeper blocks the Quaffle by putting his or her own body through the hoops. The only thing that's supposed to pass through the goal hoops in Quadditch during a scoring attempt is the Quaffle. Zuberi is certain no part of him went through the hoop just then, therefore he DID NOT commit the foul of flacking.
Raawiya Dafina has flown close enough to take the Quaffle from Zuberi to give to one of the Gryffindor Chasers. As she turns with the red ball to fly where Wiggy Hodfuffer, Julietta Wynbourne, and Zuberi's sister Marjani have gathered, Zuberi utters, "Fucking bitch."
Two things happen at once. Raawiya Dafina whirls on her broom to glare at Zuberi and Theodosia, whom he hadn't realized had flown up from the other direction, barks, "Gryffindor will take two foul shots. Also, ten points from Slytherin House."
"Two shots?" Zuberi screeches. "You can't do that, Dosie! There's no rule!"
"Two shots for Gryffindor. That's final."
Zuberi opens his mouth to protest more but she cuts him off. "Say another word and Slytherin will play the rest of his match without a Keeper."
With his teammates' glares joining those of Theodosia's and Raawiya Dafina, and with all the spectators fixing him with stares, wondering what the drama taking place is all about, Zuberi clamps his mouth shut and prepares to block two back to back foul shots by Gryffindor.
Not Good
Author: Griet
Date: 10-02-09 10:11
So far neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin managed to score, though both teams had come close several times. Griet feared that things were about to change, and not in Slytherin's favor. Thanks to Zuberi's inappropriate comment directed toward visiting referee Raawiya Dafina, Gryffindor now had two opportunities to score.
Wiggy took the quaffle and flew into position at the foul line. The only thing standing in his way and the goal hoops was the seething Zuberi, whom Griet felt she could kill for allowing the two foul shots to even happen. She worried that Zuberi was too distracted by his anger against Dafina and his sister Theodosia that he wouldn't play his very best from this point forward.
Her fears cemented when Wiggy's foul shot went straight through the right-most hoop. Now Gryffindor had 10 points on the board, while Slytherin had none.
Griet groaned inwardly. She knew a thing or two about being distracted today, because Cornelia still wasn't talking to her. The new animosity between them had made practices difficult, but since Cornelia played seeker and often didn't interact with the chasers, it hadn't proved too disastrous so far.
Wiggy lined up for the second foul shot. Griet studied Zuberi's face and felt her hopes sink even more. He looked even more angry. She worried that he would have another outburst, which Slytherin just couldn't afford right now. She knew it was only 10 points, maybe 20, on the line and that Slytherin could easily catch up, but still. She would rather be ahead the entire time than having to play catch up, even only a little bit.
This time, Zuberi managed to get his fingers on the ball, but Wiggy's aim was true and solid. It hit the side of the hoop but still went through, earning Gryffindor another 10 points.
Griet very nearly cursed under her breath, but she bit her tongue instead. It was only 20 points. Slytherin could catch up, starting now. She accepted the quaffle from Zuberi and shot off towards the Gryffindor hoops.
(Cornelia) Anger
Author: Griet
Date: 10-02-09 10:26
If there was one thing Cornelia didn't like, it was losing. She didn't like the fact that Gryffindor had already scored twice, while Slytherin had no points to show for themselves. Hopefully, she could remedy that soon by catching the snitch.
Cornelia gave her opponent Charisma Stone a quick glance over. Charisma was new to playing seeker and it showed, in Cornelia's opinion. The Gryffindor seeker didn't seem to have a strategy to finding the snitch and would probably only find it by luck. Catching it would be an entirely different story, though. For that one needed skill.
Cornelia smirked, but the corners of her lips quickly turned down when her sister flew into her line of sight. Ever since Halloween night, Cornelia couldn't look at Griet without growing angry. She wasn't upset that Griet had carried on a relationship with Oberon all this time without telling her. Griet was allowed her secrets, just like Cornelia was allowed hers. What bothered her was the fact that Gervaise like Griet more than her.
Cornelia knew deep down that she shouldn't blame Griet for how Gervaise felt, especially since Griet had had no idea about his feelings. Jealousy overruled common sense in Cornelia's world, however. She would blame Griet for Gervaise's lack of interest in her until the end of time.
She glanced at the Slytherin stands. Gervaise was no where to be found, but Oberon was there. His eyes were following Griet around the Pitch. Right now, the quaffle traveled from Slytherin chaser to Slytherin chaser. A Gryffindor chaser suddenly intercepted the ball from mid-air, but shortly after the drive in the opposite direction started, Slytherin recovered it. Griet, with determination etched over every inch of her face, darted ahead with the quaffle tucked tightly against her side.
A well-time bludger via Mark Farnon distracted Ronan Eastwick enough for Griet to get the ball through the right-most hoop. Cornelia found that she could hardly feel happy that Griet had scored, narrowing Gryffindor's lead.
Dagger Filled Glares (Basil)
Author: Jared
Date: 10-02-09 18:07
With Gryffindor on the board with 20 points and Slytherin with nothing and with the potential for Slytherin to lose its keeper if Zuberi Batuti can't keep his bloody mouth shut, Basil starts thinking of ways a bludger he hits would accidently smack into Zuberi's head. Or better yet, how to have it look as though Gryffindor were responsible for a smashing blow to the Slytherin keeper's face. If Zuberi's going to get taken out of the match, then at least let it be Gryffindor's doing. Maybe then Gryffindor would be equally penalized, which would mean both teams would be equally impaired.
If Zuberi Batuti's going to jeoparize Slytherin chances like this, maybe Griet will kick the effing idiot off the team.
Shooting a dagger filled glare at Zuberi, Basil can only hope.
Basil's anger at Zuberi didn't diminish in the slightest when a very short time later Griet scores for Slytherin. If anything, Basil got madder. That should have been that first goal of the match. Not two bloody stupid foul shots by Gryffindor. The first foul Basil can understand. Zuberi didn't realize he'd gone back through the goal when blocking the quaffle. If he'd kept his mouth shut, Gryffindor would have had only one foul attempt and Zuberi wouldn't have been so enraged that he was sloppy.
Basil directs his own anger into slamming the bat into one of the hard, black balls, sending the bludger screaming at his cousin Etta. Basil smirks when the ball connects, clipping Etta's leg and her broom handle with a satisfying crack. Basil gives a harsh, short, snorting laugh at the thought of possibly having done damage to Etta's broom. Stupid chit. It's because of goody goodies like Etta and her brother Jared that the comfy life of privelage Basil was enjoying was snatched away.
Coming up again on the same bludger he'd just hit Etta with, Basil sights on Marjani Batuti. It's such a shame that a cute, semi-intelligent, Quidditch playing girl would have the unfortunate luck to have been sorted into Gryffindor and to have been born into the same family as that blood arse Zuberi.
Basil bats the bludger at Marjani, giving it a good, solid thwack, though not quite as hard as the hit that got Etta a moment ago. The other bludger is on a collision course with Alexa so Basil races to intercept, wondering as he does how Alexa stands being friends with Etta. Olive Green for that matter. Olive is not, unfortunately, a pureblood, but at least she is a Slytherin. Why would two Slytherin girls want to hang out with his reject of a Gryffindor cousin Etta?
Reaching the bludger just in time to keep it from Alexa, Basil doesn't have the room to maneuver for a real hit without risking batting Alexa as well as Griet and Olive who've moved in to assist the Quaffle carrying Alexa. Basil's not as concerned about getting one of the Gryffindors with his bat but he doesn't want to risk getting one of his own chasers. Knowing he wouldn't have the room to hit the bludger like he would want to even before he reached it, Basil got there prepared to simply tap the bludger to change its course then go after it to get a better hit on it.
The black ball arcs slightly then drops, allowing Basil to angle down after it. Gryffindor's Blake Holloway reaches it first much to Basil's chagrin. Eyes narrowed, Basil gives one of Blake his dagger filled glares then shoots off after the bludger in hopes of interfering with it before it reaches Blake's target.
Watching The Match
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 10-03-09 02:09
The match didn’t start very well for the Slytherin house. No one at the bleachers managed to understand what had happen between the Slytherin keeper Zuberi Batuti and the referee. Still it was clear that he had crossed the line and for that the Gryffindors got the chance to score and they used it.
Some of the Slytherins at the bleachers started to blame Zuberi and his incompetence, there was even a 7th year student that promise to curse him once he arrived to the common room. All those feelings quickly disappeared when Griet Vanderbilt scored reducing Gryffindor’s advantage. One more goal and the game would be tied.
Johanna clapped her hands when Basil Wynbourne‘s bludger hits Julietta Wynbourne’s broom.
“It’s a pity she didn’t hurt herself.” Gus commented.
Now Alexa Wenlock is carrying the quaffle and it was just by some inches that the bludger thrown by that idiot of Blake Holloway, who Johanna had some classes with, didn’t touched her.
Alexa speeds up a bit, passes the quaffle to Olive Green who then passes it to Griet. Unfortunately while the quaffle is on the air Wiggersmythe Hodfuffer catches it and flies in the direction of the Slythrerin hoops. Like a pro he avoids a bludger from Mark Farnon. He wanted to score but since Olive is ready to block him as well as Alexa he throws the quaffle to Marjani Batuti. She’s now face to face with her brother Zuberi. Marjani gets ready to shoot.
The Slyhterins at the bleachers, including Johanna, hold their breath.
Still in the Lead
Author: Ella
Date: 10-03-09 10:04
When Wiggy intercepted the quaffle during the Slytherin push toward the Gryffindor hoops, Ella redirected her efforts from trying to stop the opposing team from scoring to trying to protect the Gryffindor chasers so that they could have another opportunity to score. Marjani accepted the pass from Wiggy and cleared the space from Gryffindor territory to Slytherin easily, thanks to Ella and fellow Gryffindor beater Blake who kept her path free from obstacles.
Everyone seemed to hold their breaths when Marjani lined up in front of her brother Zuberi. If looks could kill, Marjani would no doubt be dead. Zuberi's eyes were so narrowed it was amazing he could see anything at all. He bared his teeth like a wild animal, and the knuckles of his hands were so white, so tightly did he clutch onto the handle of his broomstick.
It all happened in a second. Marjani, seemingly unfazed by her brother's deep-seated hatred for everything and anything, flew into scoring range and threw back her throwing arm. She propelled it forward, lauching the quaffle from her palm, straight for the center hoop.
At the same time, Ella spotted a bludger courtesy Basil aimed Marjani's way. She intercepted it swiftly and redirected it in an arc over Marjani and at Zuberi, so that he would have to move or risk getting hit in the face. Zuberi tilted his body out of the bludger's path but stuck out his arm in an attempt to stop Marjani's quaffle. The bludger grazed his arm and hit the pole of the hoop, where it ricocheted and struck Zuberi from behind.
Marjani's initial goal attempt didn't meet its mark, but in the half second Zuberi found himself distracted from the bludger, she tried again and scored.
Once again, Gryffindor was leading Slytherin by twenty points.
So Far, So Good
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 10-03-09 10:39
So far, so good, Ronan thought to himself. Gryffindor had managed to score three times, the first two times thanks to Zuberi Batuti's foul and subsequent behavior. Marjani just got the quaffle through the hoop herself, bringing the score to Gryffindor 30, Slytherin 10.
Smarting from being hit by a bludger and still seething all around, Zuberi hurled the quaffle at Griet, who bounded off in the opposite direction. She ducked and dodged to avoid the bludgers Ella and Blake aimed her way, and managed to swerve over and around the Gryffindor chasers who tried to block her path. When Etta got too close for comfort, Griet quickly passed the quaffle to Alexa. Alexa dashed ahead, buffeted by a sudden wind that seemingly came out of nowhere.
Ronan tensed at the goal hoops, increasingly aware that the Slytherin chasers were nearly upon him. He not only had to look out for them and the goal attempt that would surely come but also the beaters Basil and Mark and the bludgers they would no doubt aim his way. He really didn't want to allow Slytherin to score again and narrow the gap between them.
At this juncture, it probably didn't matter if Slytherin scored again because neither team had at least a 150 point lead. What mattered was who caught the snitch, and Ronan was hoping and praying it would be Charisma.
Alexa tossed the quaffle to Olive when a bludger came at her. Olive rolled suddenly to avoid crashing into Wiggy. She let the quaffle fly when Griet came up nearby. Griet held on to it for only a second but quickly found herself boxed in by the Gryffindor chasers. She hastily searched for an opening and found it when Alexa sailed directly below her. Griet dropped the quaffle into Alexa's arms.
Alexa pulled up before Ronan. He anticipated that she would throw left but she threw right. Ronan readjusted a moment too slowly, and Alexa scored.
Disappointed but not too down, Ronan collected the quaffle and threw it to Julietta.