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Moving On Up
Author: Griet
Date: 10-04-09 12:43
The quaffle changed hands quickly after Griet accepted it from Zuberi following Wiggy's goal attempt. She passed it to Alexa, who passed it to Olive, who passed it back to Alexa, who passed it to Griet and so on and so forth. The ball went overhand, underhand, and sideways, always lightning fast and never staying with one person for longer than a moment.
All of a sudden, Etta intercepted the quaffle. She passed it to Wiggy, who passed it to Marjani, etc. The ball zig zagged back to the other side of the field, when Griet swooped in for another interception. She made herself as flat as possible and torpedoed forward, gripping the quaffle so hard it very nearly popped out of her grasp. She readjusted her hold on it and continued her onset for the Gryffindor goal hoops, until she came face to face with Ella and then Ella's black bludger.
Griet veered suddenly to the left and almost crashed into Olive, who was flying right along side her. Olive's reaction was to jerk to the left, as well, and she almost bumped into Marjani. Marjani's broom shook unsteadily, as a gust of wind swept through the stadium. The bristles of her broom brushed up hard against Olive's leg and pushed her back towards Griet. By that point, the bludger had already sailed past but Blake was right behind to send it back.
It collided with Griet's shoulder blade, and if she weren't already leaning over her broom, she would have pitched forward. As it was, the quaffle fell out of her hand and plummeted to the ground. Despite the ache in her shoulder, she dove down, along with the other chasers, each scrambling to grab the quaffle first. Alexa emerged victorious and shot ahead.
Griet, her shoulder still aching, spurted after Alexa. As she did so, her eyes glanced upon Cornelia, who was doing a systematic search for the golden snitch. A hint of a smile touched Cornelia's lips, as if Griet's injury had caused her pleasure. Griet didn't doubt it. She figured if they were on opposite teams, Cornelia would have long tried to jinx her broom. Her saving grace was that they both played for Slytherin, and no matter what, Cornelia wanted to win.
Griet concentrated on catching up to Alexa. Alexa was nearly upon Ronan and looked ready to throw the quaffle at the hoop. At the last second, she shifted her arm and pitched it to Griet, who accepted it swiftly and shot the quaffle through a different hoop.
Ronan frowned and retrieved the quaffle, handing it off to one of the Gryffindor chasers.
Now the score was Slytherin 50, Gryffindor 30.
Shimmy (Olive)
Author: Emerald Green
Date: 10-04-09 19:00
Just after the fifth Slytherin goal is scored, Coach Batuti stops the match to look at Olive's broom. She'd taken a couple of Bludger hits to the same spot just above where the bristles begin. Her broom was developing a shimmy and Coach Batuti wanted to make sure it was still safe to fly. While waiting for Batitu and the other woman, Dafina, to make a decision about the broom, Olive takes a moment to scan the stands for her family.
Seeing her looking, Hunter and Jade start jumping up and down, waving banners and pom poms. Spotting them, Olive cheerily waves and looks on longingly as Uncle Woody takes a drink of something that has steam rising from it. Olive would LOVE something hot to drink right now.
Olive also notices the way Emerald is slumped down, head on Phin's shoulder. It almost looks as though Emmie's asleep. That's when Olive remembers last night before supper running into her sister and Em sounding really hoarse. Olive fleetingly feels bad that Emerald game to the game because of her. Fleetingly because Coach Batuti pronounces her broom okay to continue with, though warns Olive the shimmy will still be there and to consider getting it fixed.
Olive can't dwell on Em and whether her sister is sick or not because not a half second into resumed play and she's taking a Bludger to the hip. Muggle moms back home in America would have a herd of cows if they knew how violent Quidditch was compared to football. Real football. Not soccar or footie as those of her Brit friends familiar with the game call it.
Those thoughts too fall quickly away when Olive lurches forward to intercept a pass between Marjani and Etta. Her grip isn't very good though so the Quaffle slips from her hand. She goes after it but so do all five other chasers, with Marjani and Etta the ones nearest to Olive.
She reachers it before they do, getting a firm grasp on it this time only to lose it again when a Bludger skims against it. At least it didn't get her fingers as well.
Out of nowhere Wiggy shoots in and grabs the Quaffle before Olive can retrieve it a second time. He takes off with Olive hard on his broom tail. Griet cuts in perpendicular to Wiggy, forcing him to either climb or dive. He climbs, which is what it turns out Griet was hoping as that places Wiggy just where a Mark hit Bludger is soaring past. It connects with Wiggy and though he doesn't lose the Quaffle, it does allow the three Slytherin Chasers to catch him up.
Alexa says something to Wiggy that Olive can't hear but she can see his already ruddy from the wind complexion darken more. With a laugh that does reach Olive's ears, Alexa peels away from Wiggy just in time for another Bludger to connect. It's enough of a distraction that Griet's able to grab the Quaffle right out of Wiggy's hand and sprint back the other direction.
Olive moves in to provide some cover for Griet to get the Quaffle down the pitch, prepared to intercept Bludgers if needed or to be there if Griet wants to hand off the ball. That was the plan anyway until Olive had to swerve to avoid sideswiping the Gryffindor Seeker who was so fixed on searching for the Snitch, she never saw Olive coming right at her.
Olive tries to move back into a position to help Griet but Etta has other ideas as does Ella Harville and her bat. Turns out not to matter as much right then anyway because Griet throws the Quaffle for a goal only to have Ronan do a full body block on it. As Wiggy flies over to accept the Quaffle from Ronan, Olive jockeys around to keep Etta from being in the clear to for a pass.
Just as quickly, the game shifts again when Alexa plucks the Quaffle from Wiggy's hand as he's cocking his arm back to throw to Marjani. She grins cheekily at him, zipping away to cover the short distance back to where Ronan tends the three hoops.
Behind, but Catching Up
Author: Ella
Date: 10-05-09 06:56
Ella's bat connected with one of the bludgers and sent it careening towards Alexa. The Slytherin chaser danced out of the way and lobbed the quaffle at Griet. Griet quickly found unexpected obstacles in her path and dropped the quaffle into Olive's waiting arms as the younger Slytherin girl flew directly underneath her captain's broomstick.
When Basil attempted to prevent Wiggy from moving in for a steal, Ella swooped in and struck the black ball with her bat. Closer to the pack of chasers now, Ella had a better chance of hitting her target. She'd aimed for Olive, but managed to hit the quaffle in her arms. The red ball came loose, only to be snatched from the air by Julietta.
Julietta spun around and charged towards Zuberi and the Slytherin hoops. Ella followed, batting away the bludgers that seened intent on preventing Julietta from getting very far. The quaffle started to exchange hands, traveling farther and quicker down the Pitch with each Gryffindor chaser. When Marjani reached the goals, Ella changed tactics and aimed an oncoming bludger at Zuberi, hoping to distract him so that his sister could score.
As luck would have it, everything happened perfectly timed. Mark batted a bludger at Marjani, Ella pounced on it and redirected it at Zuberi, just as Marjani catapulted the quaffle at one of the hoops. The bludger would have taken Zuberi in the gut, if he hadn't moved out of the way. Marjani's score narrowed Slytherin's lead. Now Gryffindor only trailed by ten.
Disgruntled, as he'd been the entire game, Zuberi launched the ball at Olive. It hit her chest with a thump that took the air out of her lungs. She and a few of the other Slytherin players nearby all shot Zuberi dirty looks, but the moment was fleeting since the game was still underway. Olive sucked in the fresh, cold air and then took off in the opposite direction.
Ella didn't let her get very far. She knocked a bludger in Olive's path, causing her to stop short. Etta tried to steal the ball but Olive's grip was firmer. When she had the opportunity, she threw it at Griet.
Ella didn't let Griet get far either. The same bludger that very nearly hit Olive smashed into Griet's collar bone. Griet's arm turned to jelly and she let the quaffle go. It plummeted only a foot before Marjani caught it and took off for Zuberi's hoops again.
Give And Take (Wiggy)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 10-05-09 07:39
Wiggy grimaces in sympathy for Griet, thinking she's probably got at the very least a dislocation, possibly even a break. He hopes he's wrong and that it's just going to be a severe bruise. No matter what, a bad hit to the collarbone is some serious pain and can affect how much the arm is used, the set of the shoulders and head. Even if she is the opposition, that doesn't mean Wiggy can't have empathy for that kind of pain during a match.
Marjani tries for another goal but this time a bludger gets her instead of Zuberi, throwing off her aim just as she's realizing the quaffle. Not only that, but Zuberi easily blocks using the tail of his broom to bat the off kilter quaffle further off its course.
Alexa races in to snatch it up before a Gryffindor can retrieve it for yet another scoring attempt. She reaches it at the same time as Wiggy. Both have hands on the quaffle, Wiggy's larger palm and longer fingers giving him the better grip, allowing him to easily pull the ball from Alexa. She takes the momentary quaffle loss with an impish puckering of her lips and a mock blowing of a kiss. Once more Wiggy feels a full body blush blossoming outward from his cheeks.
How long is Alexa going to torment him over an accident?
Probably a good, long time.
Wiggy shall have to think of some way to return the teasing.
The brainstorming on that will have to wait because this second he's careening around to better set up for a goal attempt, with Alexa, Olive, and Griet doing their darnedest to get the quaffle from him. He's hardly caught sight of either seeker this match but now not only does he have to dodge Charisma, in the process of it he nearly collides with Cornelia.
A bludger connects with his broom handle in the exact spot he'd just been grasping the handle as he went into a sharp turn to veer around Basil and Basil's bat. Etta appears in Wiggy's side vision, close enough for him to hand the quaffle off to without a Slytherin chaser shoving up between them to prevent it.
Etta, with quaffle now in hand, peels away, like Wiggy trying to jockey into a shooting position that would have some modicum of success at getting the quaffle through one of the hoops. A bludger soars past her head, missing her, but gets Marjani in the back of the shoulder, then ricochets off and gets Etta in the leg.
Etta wobbles, steadies herself, then shoots. Zuberi bats the quaffle away with the back of one hand, which means the ball is still in play and up for grabs. This time, when the chaotic mass of six chasers breaks apart, it's Griet with the quaffle. She accelerates away, going nearly prone over her broom handle to cut down wind resistance as much as possible, thereby allowing her to go even faster.
The other five chasers go in pursuit, with Alexa and Olive determined to work with Griet to get the quaffle to the other end of the pitch and score a goal and with Wiggy, Marjani, and Etta equally determined to stop them. With the four beaters and two bludgers right there in the mix, the quaffle changes hands and sides many times before Wiggy has it in hand once more, flying at full tilt toward Zuberi.
Tied Again (Alexa)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 10-05-09 15:03
A wind gust stronger than any they've had so far buffets the players hard enough that Alexa's broom knocks into Theodosia Batuti's. Usually, anyone refereeing is able to stay clear enough of the action, yet somehow on top of it closely enough to watch for fouls. In the past Alexa's hardly noticed Coach Batuti or any other referee so the mini-collision comes as a shock. Alexa hastily apologizes only to stop mid-sentence with the realization that Coach Batuti is saying nearly the identical thing to Alexa. They grin at each other before Coach Batuti goes back to intently watching the match for all the things she must keep track of and Alexa peels off just in time to witness Wiggy missing his shot.
The quaffle had hit the rim of the hoop, bounced back then dropped down. Alexa is already diving for it before she has time to think about needing to dive for it. She ducks to avoid someone's foot, leans left to avoid another's elbow, reaches for the quaffle but only ends up with a long scrape where Etta's fingernails gets her as Etta too makes a grab for the ball.
It is Olive, however, who emerges from the scrambled dive victorious. She levels out, pulling away from the others before climbing again, angling gradually upward in the direction of the Gryffindor kept goal posts. Alexa has to cut around Blake, Wiggy, and Basil, both Blake and Basil charging after the same bludger. She more or less ignores them, intent as she is on catching up with Olive to accept a pass if needed or help Olive in some other way. With Wiggy right there though Alexa finds she can't pass up the opportunity to once again give him a hard time about the earlier, accidental grope.
As she zips around him, Alexa calls out, "Remind me I owe you a slap on the cheek once the match is over."
Wiggy makes a strangled noise. Past him now and near to catching up with Olive, Alexa can't stop a giggle even though by this point in the game, the cold air is so dry that laughing, talking, breathing through the mouth or anything else along those lines increases the need for something to drink. It's enough to make Alexa wish she'd stashed a water bottle in her uniform somewhere.
Olive has passed to Griet by then so Alexa climbs slightly then drops back down on Griet's other side. Griet then hands off to Alexa who veers around a bludger, quickly climbs over Ella who hit that bludger, then drops the quaffle back down to Griet. Griet lines up for a throw and has good form but Ronan leans over, both arms extended and bats the quaffle back away.
Marjani scoops it up, immediately passing to Wiggy. Marjani, Etta, and he start the quaffle back the other direction. Griet, Olive, and Alexa give them fits, hindering their progress. A chunk of time, what feels to Alexa to be at least half an hour, is spent with the quaffle exchanging hands so many times that the announcer has trouble following along to voice aloud what's taking place.
A break comes at last when Alexa intercepts a pass between Etta and Marjani only to get a bludger in the face. It all happened so quickly she truly didn't see it coming. Eyes streaming and wondering if her nose is broken, Alexa loses track of everything else for a few seconds. Rapidly blinking, her sleeve pressed tightly to her tilted forward nose, Alexa becomes aware that something is missing and then that the something is the quaffle.
She waves a hand at Referee Dafina to indicate she's all right but with the other chaser steadily moving away, with Wiggy once again holding the quaffle, Dafina insists on checking Alexa's nose and tapping it with her wand. "This should do it be off to the hospital wing with you at match's end," she instructs.
"Yes, miss," Alexa agrees, "and thank you. It's much better."
And it was. The pain was completely gone and the bleeding stopped. With Dafina's leave to continue, Alexa races after Wiggy and the quaffle. She's too late to do any good for Slytherin though because before she gets there to assist Griet and Olive in getting the ball back, Wiggy's shooting for another goal.
Zuberi can't quite reach the quaffle. His fingers slap at it and make contact, sending the quaffle off its intended course. It hits the outside of one hoop but the quaffle rebounds weirdly, going straight through another of the hoops, barely grazing that hoop's rim.
Alexa moves in to accept the quaffle to put it back into play as the announcement is made that the game is once more tied at 50 points each.
(Cornelia) What the %$#@!
Author: Griet
Date: 10-05-09 20:07
Right around the time Wiggy scored and tied the game for the second time, Cornelia saw a flash of gold out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head fully to affirm her suspicions and then shot a fleeting glance at Charisma. The Gryffindor seeker had her back to the snitch and was as far from it as Cornelia herself.
Cornelia debated on how to go after the snitch. If she moved suddenly, Charisma would likely notice, or the blasted announcer would make a comment like "Vanderbilt has spotted the snitch!", which would also alert Charisma. The other option was to gradually move closer to the golden snitch and hope that it wouldn't dart away or move closer to where Charisma hovered on her broomstick.
Cornelia decided on the slow and steady approach and kept one eye on the snitch and the other on Charisma. Cornelia knew that if Charisma turned around, she'd likely see it, and then the chase would be on. So far, no one seemed to pay Cornelia any attention, and if anyone saw the snitch and saw her inching towards it, no one made any comment.
Cornelia moved closer and closer under the illusion of performing a systematic search of that particular stretch of the Quidditch Pitch. The golden orb flittered back and forth in the same general area. Hopefully it would stay put until she got there. The nearer she drew to it, the more confident she felt about catching it and winning the game for Slytherin.
As much as she'd liked witnessing Griet's latest injury during the match, Cornelia was ready for it to be over. It was miserably cold and she was still pretty messed up over Gervaise to want to play for much longer.
She was nearly upon it now, and Charisma still hadn't turned. The snitch's wings beat rapidly, and Cornelia was near enough now to hear the flapping over the din of the spectators. She reached out her hand, when suddenly, the snitch darted away. The darn thing moved right over to Charisma, just past her head, where she caught sight of it and made a quick grab for it.
"Stone's caught the snitch!" the announcer cried out jubilantly. "Gryffindor wins, 200-50!"
Cornelia hovered in place, positively boiling with anger. She felt it start at her toes and creep all the way up to her curly hair. She began to shake, and as much as she knew she should hold it in, she couldn't help herself. She took a page out of Zuberi's book and shouted, "What the FUCK?!!!"