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Sneaky (Alexa)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 05-25-10 16:29
Sitting a broom and flying at high speed with five other chasers, four beaters, two bludgers, and somewhere out there two seekers in the mix tends to make it more difficult to effectively hide a ball the size of the quaffle. Thankfully, Quidditch uniforms are a variation on Wizarding robes and are, therefore, slightly more voluminous than many modern sports uniforms. The Quidditch robes make it easier to hide the quaffle though there's still the problem of making sure it doesn't slip out while not making a show of gripping anything other than the broom. Alexa has found that by leaning over the broom handle she can make it appear as though she's using both hands to steer at such top speeds when really one hand is on the quaffle to ensure it doesn't slip and fall free.
So far it's working well. She's nearly within range of the hoops to take a good shot and as yet, no one's realized she's got the quaffle. Everyone's still focused on Griet after Olive faked a pass to their team captain. Alexa deccelerates as she approaches the hoops, manuevering in a way that she hopes looks as though she's setting up to assist Griet if needed or to grab a rebound if Griet shoots and the quaffle is bounced back.
Sophia's attention appears to be mostly on Griet and Olive and both the Slytherin beaters Mark and Basil making a show of protecting Griet, the three Hufflepuff chasers are swarming around Griet in the hopes of stealing the ball, intercepting it, or at the very least blocking the quaffle if Griet shoots for a goal rather than passes. Hufflepuff beater Caerwyn Valentine is further back down the pitch, getting ready to hit a bludger but from what Alexa can tell, Mark's more than ready to get it before it reaches any of his teammates. Basil has just hit the other bludger at Emerald, who dodges it, and Gus has gone scrambling after it before Basil can get it again.
It's a really excellent time for Alexa to take a shot.
Slightly shifting position on her broom to better allow her a good grip on the quaffle she's hiding, Alexa's arm goes back, readying a throw. She lets go of the ball, sending it soaring towards the nearest hoop. By the time Sophia or the Hufflepuff chasers and beaters have realized what's happened, the quaffle is almost to the hoop. Sophia makes an insanely frantic dive for it but by then the quaffle is through. Slytherin has finally scored a goal!
Hufflepuff still leads 20 points to 10 but Alexa is hopeful that her team can get more shots past Sophia and that Hufflepuff will get fewer past Zuberi.
Sophia has the quaffle now and puts it back into play with a pass to Milo. Alexa moves to cover him as Hufflepuff starts working the red ball back down the pitch.
Argument
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 05-25-10 19:14
Because Julian wanted to attend the Quidditch match and watch his son Caerwyn play, Lysander volunteered to stay behind in Hogsmeade and mind the store. With Caerwyn being a Hufflepuff and the match being against Slytherin, Lysander couldn't help but wonder if Julian was having difficulty deciding on which team to support. He guessed that Julian would be 100% behind his son and therefore would cheer for Hufflepuff over his old house Slytherin. Besides, it was going on fifteen years that Julian and Lysander graduated from Hogwarts.
Lysander whistled when he thought about it. Although it didn't exactly feel like yesterday was the last time he rode on the Hogwarts Express for home, it also didn't feel like fifteen whole years! So much had changed in the meantime. He'd gotten married, opened a business, become a widower, and had a child.
Twice Told Tales was quiet. An elderly witch perused the cookbooks but seemed to know what she was looking for and where to find it and didn't require Lysander's assistance. Other than her, Lysander was the only other person in the store.
When the bell over the door tinkled and signaled the arrival of another customer, Lysander turned his attention there. His face lit up when Astrid entered the room. She immediately went over to the counter and leaned over it to give him a chaste kiss on the lips.
Lysander had half a mind to pull her up and onto the counter, but there was that elderly witch in the shop, and Astrid looked like she had something on her mind.
"What's troubling you?" he asked.
Astrid shook her head, not because she didn't want to answer him but because she didn't know how to start. Although she didn't have incontrovertible proof, she was certain that she knew what had caused Aralyn Fox to lose certain memories and she had a very good guess who was behind it. If someone knew about it, then it made perfect sense that Lysander had gotten those threatening notes.
Lysander reached over and put a hand on her arm. "Hey. You can tell me anything." Although he was slightly concerned about the look on her face, he didn't beiieve that she was there to dump him or something like that since she had just initated the kiss between them, however tame it had been.
Astrid looked over her shoulder. The old witch still had her nose buried in a cookbook, and she didn't appear to be paying attention to anything else going on in the store. Astrid turned back to Lysander and lowered her voice to a near whisper.
"There's something I must ask you."
"Ask me anything," Lysander said in an equally low tone.
Astrid sucked in a deep breath and then exhaled. "Have you ever obliviated someone before?"
Lysander was taken aback. He figured Astrid might ask him more about the threatening letters he'd gotten since he knew she didn't approve of him keeping them to himself, but he definitely didn't expect her to ask about that. The surprise he felt made it difficult to shield his thoughts, and he knew that his face showed an expression that would make it impossible for him to lie. Still, he didn't confess to anything.
Instead he asked, "Why do you ask?"
Astrid furrowed her brow. "You're not supposed to answer my question with a question. All I want is a simple yes or no."
Lysander shook his head. "And I want to know what reason you have for asking me something like that," he shot back, his tone still on the quiet side but no longer calm.
Astrid placed her hands flat on the counter and leaned forward, so that her face was inches from Lysander's. "Because I talked to Aralyn Fox. Funny, how she doesn't know that Charlotte is her own daughter!"
"You did what?" Lysander blurted out.
The elderly witch in the cookbook section looked up.
Lysander and Astrid both ignored her.
"Why the hell did you talk to her, and how the hell did you even find her?" Lysander furiously went on.
"Since you weren't making any effort to find out who sent you those notes, I decided to do something about it. Your ex was my best guess!" Astrid hissed.
"Aralyn is NOT my ex!" Lysander shouted. He shook his head and threw his hands in the air before slamming them against the counter top in a mirror image of Astrid's own. "Damn it, Chyler! Do you even know what you've done?"
Astrid's eyes narrowed. She pulled her hands away and straightened up. "My name is Astrid. You best remember that."
The doorbell tinkled again, but neither Lysander or Astrid looked in the door's direction. It was only the elderly witch leaving, having decided to get away from the drama in the store.
Lysander turned away from Astrid and raised his hands to his face. Of course he knew that Astrid wasn't Chyler. Other than their physical resemblance and shared blood, he'd always seen Astrid as her own person, not as a replacement for whom he'd always thought of as his one true love.
Astrid was the first to speak. "I didn't tell her anything. She thinks Chyler is still alive and that Charlotte is a product of your marriage."
Lysander turned around, only a little bit relieved to hear that all probably wasn't lost. He had gone through a great amount of effort to cut Aralyn from his and his daughter's life. He really didn't want to think that Astrid's attempt to help him had really hurt the family in the end.
Astrid still looked upset, but she was no longer shouting. "Why, Lysander? Why would you do it?"
Lysander sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He knew that he should be honest with Astrid, not only because she'd stumbled on the truth herself but because he owed it to her. If he wanted things to work between them, to really work, they shouldn't have secrets.
Not that he planned on telling her about the murders he'd committed... but everything else was probably fair game.
He reached over the counter and took her hand. "It's a long story."
"I've got the time."
Lysander nodded and indicated that she should go with him to the comfortable reading chairs in the middle of the room. As long as there weren't any customers to help, they might as well get comfortable and have their serious talk.
(Anthony) From Coast to Coast
Author: Beck
Date: 05-26-10 18:06
During their time in New York, which wasn't just a continuous visit but several trips back and forth between there and London, Anthony and Desi had explored every possible avenue in their search for the missing Arlington J. Montgomery. With the aid of the New York Dark Arts Intelligence Agency, they'd searched his loft, checked out some of the other residents in his building, and visited every place Arley usually went to according to Sebastian. Although they knew with certainty that it wasn't some random individual who held Arley captive, they nonetheless pursued all options, just in case there was something to be found. Who knew if the clerk at Diesel or the barista at Dean and DeLuca knew something about Arley's current whereabouts?
When it seemed as if they'd left no stone unturned in New York City and still come up empty-handed, Anthony and Desi agreed that it was time to move on. They thanked Reuben Brodeway and the other specialists they'd worked with while in the Big Apple and returned to their own office to plan out the next leg of their investigation, which brought them to Seattle, where Desi had been born and raised.
Their first stop in Seattle brought them inevitably to Desi's childhood home, where she spent a good deal of time with her baby brother. Magical travel like long-distance apparition and international floo made it easy for her to see Wolfie often, but since she didn't live with him, she still felt like she missed out on things sometimes.
Anthony also got to formally meet Desi's identical twin sister. It amazed him how alike and different they seemed. One could totally tell they were twins, but it was also obvious that they wanted to look nothing alike. Bianca was very fashionable in a Bronwyn kind of way. Desi had a completely different style that was all her own.
After the pleasantries of catching up with family for Desi ended, it was time to get back to business. Anthony and Desi made their way to the home where Arley had moved to after leaving his home state of Texas.
It was while they were en route––being driven by Desi's old driver and good friend Rich––that Anthony said, "I forgot you have a Muggle parent."
"Yeah?" Desi asked, turning to him with a half smile and an arched brow.
"Yeah. When we first got to New York, I kept thinking you were a pureblood witch who just happened to have a great interest in all things Muggle. I don't know why I forgot that your dad is a Muggle."
Desi shrugged. "I guess we don't really talk about personal things that much. I know we're quasi family, your brother being married to my non-blood-related sister, but I guess it makes sense that we don't always remember things about each other or really, really know each other, you know?"
Anthony nodded. "I didn't know you think of Bron as your sister."
"Well, yeah. We share a brother now, so it's a solid deal. I think of Toby as my brother, too, and I guess by default that means you're my brother too." She shot him a grin. "Can you live with that?"
"I guess I can." Anthony grinned back and turned to look out the windshield. "How much farther?"
Desi looked, and the smile that had been on her face slowly faded. Her time with Bianca and Arley in Seattle had been somewhat turbulent, and being back at Arley's old place brought back all sorts of old memories. "That's it right there," she said, pointing at the house in front of which Rich had just parked.
Anthony opened the car door. "Let's go check it out."
With some reluctance, but only a tiny bit, Desi stepped out on her side and moved toward the house.
My Aching Head (Zuberi)
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 05-27-10 15:10
Zuberi gingerly touches a knot on the side of his head and wonder if it's going to swell even more. It was the third hit to the head he's taken this match. His already aching head now throbs to the point that he swears he sees pulses with his eyes. He's not about to let on to Dosie or Viktor though as they might decide to pull him from the match. Viktor's been behind a push to allow some substituting of players at this level of play but so far the rules are the same. If Zuberi gets pulled then a Slytherin Chaser would have to try and protect the three hoops, which in turn means three Hufflepuff Chasers against the two not goal tending.
Keeper is still Zuberi's least favorite position. He still hates that it's the spot he was given on the Slythering team. There was a time when Zuberi wouldn't have cared if he got taken from the match or not, other than not wanting whatever team Slytherin was playing to win. Zuberi still doesn't feel any loyalty to Slytherin as a die hard Slytherin. To him, one Hogwarts house is pretty much the same as the next. Zuberi is competitive though so in the past he did care that his team, which just happens to be Slytherin, won.
Zuberi's not exactly sure when he started caring about putting on a good showing and it being just as important as winning. That it means even though he HATES being Keeper, he'll try his damnedest to do a good job. He's finding it somewhat ironic that here is a match in which he actually cares... CARES about doing a really good job and he's doing a piss poor job of it. Of course, taking three Bludgers to the head does account for some of his poor showing, including one of those hits being combined with a hit from the second bludger at practically the same moment. At least he has blocked a fair number of shots. That knowledge makes Zuberi feel slightly better.
Zuberi's attention gets pulled fully back into the game as Milo Martin comes charging straight for him, the Quaffle visible in one hand. Zuberi watches closely for any tells Milo might have that will give away which way he's going to throw for the goal. Milo flight has him going more to Zuberi's right but just before the Hufflepuff Chaser lets the Quaffle go, Zuberi clearly sees Milo's eyes darting off to Zuberi's left. That's the direction Zuberi urges his broom and he feels momentarily jubilent at having made the right judgement call when the Quaffle comes straight to him.
Zuberi easily blocks, plucking the Quaffle mid-flight from the air. He tosses it to Alexa who curves around to go back the other direction but she's barely made headway when Timothy snatches the ball from Alexa's grasps, whips around and zips straight back the direction from which they'd just come. Once more Zuberi feels confident he'll be able to block the goal attempt, no problem. Tim takes the shot and the Quaffle is going right where Zuberi thought it might. He's set to catch it when the familiar aching thud of a bludger knocks him off balance. He'd been so focused on tracking the Quaffle that he'd never seen the Bludger coming even though it was only slightly off to the side as it approached.
The Quaffle goes right by the off-kilter Zuberi even as he frenetically cluthes at it, fingers scrabbling across its red surface. The Quaffle isn't slowed, though his hand does alter its course a little. It's not enough, however, and Hufflepuff scores another 10 points to bring their total score 40 to Slytherin's 10.
The Quaffle goes back into play with Griet. Zuberi rubs the goose egg on the side of his head again even though it hurts like hell to touch. He just can't seem to stop reaching up every few seconds to feel if it's grown more. At least this most recent Bludger hit wasn't his head again. His shoulder aches a little but the sting is already fading. Sure, it knocked him off balance but that's only because he didn't know it was coming. It wasn't that bad of a hit really and as far as Bludger hits go for a match, this one was about average and if it leaves a bruise it won't be much of one.
Griet, Alexa, and Olive make short work of moving the Quaffle to the end of the pitch directly opposite Zuberi. His vision is pretty good but sometimes he wishes he had some omniocculars or something to help him better see everything going when the Chasers and Beaters are congregated at the other set of goal posts. From what he can tell, Olive takes a shot but Sophia blocks, batting the Quaffle back into play with her broom. Griet grabs it next and immediately shoots but it bounces off the rim of the hoop it was thrown towards and rebounds back towards the Chasers. Emerald is the one who snatches it up this time and once again Hufflepuff is thundering across the pitch in Zuberi's direction, intent on adding 10 more points to the team's score.
Things stall out just past mid-pitch when Griet intercepts a pass between Emerald and Tim then Milo grabs it right back before Griet has a good hold on the Quaffle. This sort of back and forth lasts several minutes, ending finally when Emerald once more takes possession and manages to break away from the pack. She, Tim, and Milo work the Quaffle ever closer to Zuberi with a series of quick, well timed passes that Olive, Griet, and Alexa do their best to stymie. It's Emerald in possession yet again when Hufflepuff is ready to try for another goal.
Zuberi is ready to dart his broom and throw his body whichever way is needed to best block the shot. Emerald lines up her throw and lets the Quaffle go. At that same moment, Caerwyn hits a Bludger that's going to reach Zuberi at about the same time. Basil rockets around to try and stop the Bludger but isn't in time.
Zuberi's hands go on the Quaffle and at that moment the Bludger hits his left upper arm. The arm jerks reflexively and in the process knocks up to smash into his face, bloodying but not breaking his nose. Zuberi throws the Quaffle to Olive who goes ot throw it to Alexa but Emerald grabs it and immediately launches it at one of the hoops.
Zuberi dives for it but for what feels like the millionth time this match gets walloped by another Bludger. The Quaffle gets passed him bringing the score to Hufflepuff 40, Slytherin 10.
Griet once again takes possession of the Quaffle and together with the other two Slytherin Chasers begins moving the red ball back to where Sophia is guarding the other set of hoops. Viktor's come over by then to double check Zuberi's nose and to make sure none of those earlier blows to the head are having adverse effects showing up. Once satisfied, Viktor flies off to help Dosie keep an eye on the action, being watchful for any infractions to call as fouls.
With that hit to the nose technically making for four blows to the head, Zuberi's head is hurting more than ever and his nose is feeling puffy and stopped up now. He seriously hopes Cornelia gets that snitch soon before he ends up concussed and in hospital.
In The Knick (Gus)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 05-27-10 16:36
Having seen Zuberi Batuti accidently knock himself in the face with the quaffle and getting a bloody nose as a result, Augustus Hodfuffer felt a little guilty that between Caerwyn and him, Zuberi had been hit in the head three times this match with bludgers. But only a little. Neither Caerwyn nor Gus aim for a player's head. It's just bad luck or poor timing or a bad hit or a combination of a bunch of variables that results in a bludger hitting someone in the head. Gus isn't so naive as to think no one would ever do that on purpose. He just knows that Caerwyn's not like that and neither is he.
At the moment, his best friend is racing against Mark Farnon to be first to a bludger. Gus has just hit the other one at Olive, who had been in the process of accepting a pass from Griet. Basil, knowing he couldn't get to the bludger before Gus did had tried to figure out who Gus would target. He chose to cover Griet, only seeing his error when it was too late to get the short distance to Olive in time.
Olive fumbles the pass and the quaffle is in free fall for all of a whole second. In a fast moving game, a whole lot can happen in a full second. In that second, Mark edged out Caerwyn to get to the other bludger and hit it on a course to connect with Tim, if he doesn't deviate from his current path. Emerald got in front of Alexa, effectively blocking her every effort to get over and assist Olive. Milo dives under Griet to come up below Olive to snatch up the quaffle before it falls further.
Milo jerks his broom to angle around in a sprint to reach the Slytherin goals. Olive drops down, nearly knocking Milo in the head in the process as he wasn't quite clear of her yet. She's low over her broom, one arm reaching down to grab the quaffle back from Milo but when he ducked to dodge her feet, he simultanously pulled the quaffle in closer, blocking her steal attempt with his body.
Tim meanwhile did a half barrel roll to avoid the bludger Mark's sent. Gus sees a good opportunity to get to that bludger and bat it at Olive to assist Milo. He ratchets up the speed, zooming to get to the bludger before anyone else. Reaching it, Gus swivels his broom around to better line up his shot, brings his bat back then gives a mighty swing.
Olive's moved off the course she was on but the bludger but Alexa has flown into practically the same spot, unknowingly making her the target of Gus's bludger. She too moves though so the bludger ends up going past the chasers without hitting any a single Slytherin on the way. That's the trouble with playing a game on brooms where everyone's moving around so quickly and then trying to hit those moving targets. Sometimes even the best aimed bludgers end up hitting nothing for that very reason.
Gus simply sprints after it to hit it again, pulling up only when he sees Basil already reaching it. A quick search and he sees Mark hitting the other. Judging from the angle, Mark's target is Emerald, who at some point took a pass from Milo, but Gus was so busy with doing his job as beater that he never saw the pass. He thinks he can block the hit so leans low over his broom, pulls his bat in close to his body to help streamline his form more and takes off. He only straightens and readies his bat as he closes in, but then has to reign back his bat because he would have smacked Griet in the knee with it. Gus does the next best thing. He uses his body to block the bludger even though the hit stings quite a bit and takes his breath slightly, then when the chasers are clear of his bat, he swings, sending the bludger at Alexa who's getting in the way of Emerald's effort to set up for a goal shot.
Basil stops it before it gets Alexa, but can't send it at Emerald without causing a foul or seriously doing damage with this bat in close quarters. Like Gus had just done, Basil has to improvise. After stopping it much as Gus had done a very short time ago, Basil lets the bludger drop then goes after it, swinging his bat in a way to send the bludger back up towards the chasers.
By that time, however, Emerald's shooting the quaffle. Caerywn's gotten to the second bludger and sent it at Zuberi. The Slytherin keeper flinches and ducks at the same time swinging his broom to bat the quaffle with the tail. The ball is caught by Tim who doesn't hesitate to throw it again. Caerwyn's gone after the bludger Zuberi just dodged but Mark's already there. It wouldn't have mattered though because even if Caerwyn had reached it first, there wouldn't have been time to get it over to hit Zuberi in time to make stop him from blocking Tim's shot.
Gus couldn't quite get to bludger Basil just had either. He still goes for it, and then does hit it at Zuberi because although Zuberi has rebuffed Tim's quaffle shot, the quaffle once more rebounded with Tim getting his hands on it again. Third time goal attempt this go around is the charm as Tim hurls the red ball at the central hoop. The bludger Gus just batted at the Slytherin keeper reaches Zuberi and looks like it's going to be another hit to the head. Zuberi ducks just in the knick of time but in so doing, it throws off his body position for the quaffle block.
The quaffle gets past Zuberi and goes cleanly through the middle goal, bringing the score to 50 Hufflepuff, 10 Slytherin.
(Cornelia) What a Catch
Author: Griet
Date: 05-27-10 19:24
Cornelia was mad. Since the very beginning of the match, Slytherin had only managed to put ten points on the scoreboard, while Hufflepuff had already scored FIVE times! How could that even be possible? Why was Slytherin sucking so damn much this year? It was bad enough that Slytherin had lost every single match this season, but Cornelia would be damned if she let her little Hufflepuff sister catch the snitch before she could get her own hands on it!
With fierce determination, Cornelia systematically searched the Pitch from one end to the other and from top to bottom while regularly throwing her gaze over to where her sister also searched for the elusive, golden ball. If Aleydis spotted it first, Cornelia wanted to know about it before it was too late. Hopefully, it would be Cornelia laying eyes on it first. And if only Cornelia saw it, then all the better.
She swept her gaze from side to side, growing more and more impatient with each passing second. To hell with trying to secure a place in the championships. She would much rather catch the snitch now and win the game, than risk allowing Hufflepuff to build up even more points. Cornelia felt humiliated that they weren't doing better and wanted to put a quick end to a very disappointing situation. And if she caught the snitch–-which she most definitely would, damn it––then at least the game would end on a high note for Slytherin.
Cornelia renewed her efforts to find the snitch and very nearly gave a start when it fluttered just inches away from her face. Before she could sweep it up with her hand, it darted away, forcing her to give chase. She made herself be one with her broomstick and soared through the air after it. Whether Aleydis noticed before or after the announcer loudly yelled "Vanderbilt, that's Cornelia Vanderbilt, has spotted the snitch!", Cornelia didn't know and didn't care. She just knew that she had to be quick about it, or Aleydis just might catch it before she could.
There was also the matter of dodging the bludgers that were mostly definitely focused on her now. Mark and Basil did a good job of protecting her though. She never saw either of the black balls heading her way, so focused was she on the snitch and the snitch alone. She didn't even see Aleydis fall into place right beside her, her arm stretched out as she urged herself just a little bit faster.
Before Aleydis could overtake Cornelia, though, the snitch stopped racing ahead and cut sideways instead, moving right in front of Cornelia. The unexpected movement caught Cornelia by surprise and she skidded to a stop, but not before the snitch slipped through the neck of her uniform. She stopped it from fluttering against her chest by clapping both hands over it.
Beside her, Aleydis was laughing.
Cornelia shot her the dirtiest of looks. So she did it. She caught the snitch, but catching it between her breasts wasn't exactly how she planned on doing it!!!
Final score: Hufflepuff 50, Slytherin 160