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Searching High and Low
Author: Abdul Hazrat AlGunud
Date: 11-20-10 19:46
Glancing about blearily, Abdul saw that he had the table mostly to himself. There were only two other Ravenclaw students at breakfast this early. Many of the students and staff had left for Sydney. Those who remained were almost uniformly distracted by the Quidditch match taking place in Australia. This distraction had proven useful. It prevented anyone from noticing his effort to ransack the library collection, in an attempt to find further information about the Nakotic Manuscripts. His efforts had born little fruit thus far.
Looking into his coffee mug, Abdul considered what little he had learned. He was sure that he had first heard the phrase “Nakotic Manuscripts” from his father. It must have occurred before or after one of those secretive meetings held in the family study. Occasionally, the participants had talked as they were entering or leaving the study. In this fashion, Abdul had managed to eavesdrop on some of the conversations. Unfortunately, this only allowed one to overhear a fragment of a conversation. So the context in which the conversation took place was often unknown. This was proving to be the case in this instance.
None of the references he had run across in the library had contained much of substance. They merely referred to some event or other that was written in the Nakotic Manuscripts. The references themselves were cryptic but hinted at murders and dark rites of sorcery that were chronicled in the manuscripts. It was not even clear if the manuscripts were a series of scrolls, a single book or an inscribed tablet. Abdul had not dared to ask Professor Flitwick about the manuscripts. The professor might very well speak to Abdul’s father about his son’s odd request. Given the subject matter, any such enquiry would probably provoke an investigation by school staff or perhaps even the Ministry of Magic. Clearly Abdul would have to find another source of information, someone outside the school and with no connection to the Ministry of Magic.
Chasing (Deak & Jack)
Author: Kody
Date: 11-21-10 09:33
Since the score became tied at 30-30 the teams' chasers have gone back and forth with the quaffle. Sydney's has made four goal attempts and Hogwarts has made seven. In that same time Sydney's has also made several substitutions. Itya Gungaroo and Christine Ridgeway came in as chasers, replacing Gillian Vostokovich and Walter Wolowitz. Both beaters were switched out as well, with Vincent Kimmerly and Invar Ostojic leaving the match with Parnan Seeng and Chelsea Blackstone coming in.
Christine Ridgeway currently has the quaffle but Deak is determined to get it from her and try not to foul her in the process. She's all over the place in her flying, trying to shake Deak who's pretty much staying neck and neck with her. Christine isn't making it easy with her frequent course changes and an almost haphazard style. Several times she's suddenly veered at Deak, forcing him to move or get hit. He's extremely tempted to just let her hit him next time. Would probably hurt like hell but such a deliberate manuever on Christine's part would result in a foul being called.
Getting in close enough again to reach over in an effort to snatch the quaffle away from her, allowing her to actually ram him next time she veers at him again crosses Deak's mind once more. Then, in one of those think it and it will happen moments, in looking for an opening to pass off to either Itya or the other Sydney's chaser Guiseppe Favazza, Christine deliberately jerks her broom to the side Deak is on, moving at a sharp angle. With Deak still in close, reaching for the quaffle, even if he had wanted to alter course along with her as he had been doing, there's no time for it this time.
Christine's rams into Deak who finds himself windmilling the arm that had been reaching for the quaffle while the other reflexively closes around his broom handle to steady the broom. Christine hits with enough force that she's jolted to the point she's also teetering on her broom. Referee Feodor Yatchenko blows his whistle, calling a foul on Christine just as Deak thought would happen.
Sydney's not only has to turn over possession of the quaffle to Hogwarts but Hogwarts gets to make a goal attempt. It's Deak with the quaffle, looking for any chinks in keeper Layla McKenna's defense. She's got a grim expression and her eyes never leave the quaffle so it's really no surprise that she blocks Deak's shot. She doesn't catch it and throw it to one of her own teammates though. The quaffle instead bounces off Layla's hands. Wiggy grabs it on the rebound and immediately throws again to the further hoop from him. Layla can't recover quickly enough and the quaffle sails through. Hogwarts leads again with the score now 40 to 30.
Itya Gungaroo brings the quaffle back into play. He flies at a slow pace, ducking a bludger and flying around Hogwarts seeker Charisma Stone before deciding to pass to Guiseppe. Guiseppe accelerates, trying to get past the Hogwarts chasers and trying not to get hit by a bludger courtesy of Ella Harville. Guiseppe is looking to pass and it's to Christine he throws but Jack gets in between for an interception.
Jack swerves around to head back the other direction but takes a bludger from Parnan Seeng. It's not a hard hit but it's enough of a slow down that it allows Itya to get in close and grab the quaffle away from Jack. Jack goes in pursuit only to have to slow when he sees a bludger on his path. The way he's flying and the way the bludger is coming at him, Jack's best course of action is to slow a little while also climbing. This allos Itya to widen the gap. Clear of that particular bludger hit, Jack increases speed again, playing catch-up.
The Hogwarts chasers and beaters work had to stop Sydney's from moving the quaffle all the way within goal range of where Hunter is guarding the Hogwarts hoops. The Sydney's chasers end up bunching into a tight formation, with Itya carrying the quaffle to the inside, making it difficult for the Hogwarts chasers to get at it. The tight formation also means there's no need for making passes that could possibly be intercepted. In this manner they Itya, Christine, and Guiseppe get the quaffle down the pitch.
Jack, Deak, and Wiggy get into positions that they hope will allow them to block the quaffle when it's thrown for a goal and that will also put them in good standing (or is that good flying?) to catch the quaffle on a rebound should any rebounding occur. It's Itya who throws for the goal with Hunter ready to stop the quaffle and get it back into his own team's hands. His plan is thwarted though when he takes a bludger to the hip, making him somewhat off kilter as he goes in for the block. The quaffle brushes by his fingers but Hunter can't stop the ball's forward momentum.
The Sydney's supporters roar with gless as the score once again becomes tied, this time at 40 all.
False Snitches
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 11-21-10 15:48
For much of the match, Professor McGonagall found herself up on her feet, cheering on Hogwarts to certain (hopefully) victory against Sydney's School of Wizardry. With her were Professor Dumbledore, who had arrived with much of Hogwarts a few hours earlier, and Professor McMasters, the headmaster of the Australian school of magic.
Currently, the score was tied 40-40, which both excited and alarmed Minerva. She really didn't want to leave Sydney without a win, even though the match was really all in good fun and that if Hogwarts left the loser, then it wouldn't be the end of the world. But Professor McGonagall was such the Quidditch fan, that losing just wasn't an option.
It seemed like shortly after Sydney's latest goal that the Hogwarts seeker caught sight of the snitch. Miss Stone swiftly chased the golden ball and eventually caught the eye of the Australian seeker, Dillane Darling. After having sat down for a moment to exchange friendly banter with Professor McMasters, Professor McGonagall once again threw herself onto her feet and yelled loudly for Charisma to catch the snitch already.
All at once, Miss Stone was upon it. She swept out her hand and caught it up, only to scowl when it crunched in her hand. She threw it down, where it drifted, slowly, to the ground. Dillane wasted only a second on the sweet wrapper before dashing off to continue searching for the real snitch.
Disappointed, Professor McGonagall sank back onto her seat. False sightings of snitches seemed all too common at school matches, where sometimes it was the glint of a shiny watch or piece of jewelry but most times was debris in the form of sweet wrappers. Professor McGonagall had been meaning to post a notice on each common room board regarding littering on the Hogwarts grounds and at the Quidditch Pitch, but had never gotten around to doing so. She wondered if littering was also a problem at Sydney's School of Wizardry, and turned to Professor McMasters to inquire about it.
Concussions Do Not Find Snitches
Author: Charisma Stone
Date: 11-21-10 17:26
Isma shifted on her broom - there had so far been a total of fifteen glittering sweet wrappers, and four watches that had been masquerading as the glimmering golden ball from the vantage point of both seekers. The score was currently tied at 40 for both schools, one sure way to end teh game now with a Hogwarts victory was for Charisma to lay hands on the glimmering, winged ball known as the Snitch.
She currently worked in a pattern over the pitch, avoiding bludgers being lobbed back and forth from the beaters on both sides, which at the current time were: Gus Hodfuffer and Ella Harville for Hogwarts and Chelsea Blackstone and Parnan Seeng for Sydney.
It seriously seemed like half, if not all of Hogwarts was in the stands, watching this game. Isma caught sight of Eric and waved, before turning her attention back to finding the snitch.
Dillane Darling was soon blasting past her at almost breakneck speeds, and Charisma was soon enough on her tail, trying to catch up to the other seeker who had surely caught sight of the snitch. Isma caught sight of it after a moment, and was laying low on her broom to try and catch it before Dillane managed to wrap her gloved hand around the glimmering ball.
Isma was so focused on the glittering ball that she hadn't realized Dillane had veered off to avoid an incoming bludger that had gone arry when Ella had hit it to try and knock the quaffle off its intended trajectory in a pass from Sydney Chaser Ridgeway to Favazza. Isma had barely heard the warning, before the bludger slammed hard into the side of her head.
She saw stars, and lifted a hand to her head, touching fingertip where the bludger had collided with her skull with a loud crack. She fought to push herself up from her lowered position, however that proved to be a very, very bad idea.
The moment she was upright the world started spinning and soon went dark. Once she was off the pitch, Cornelia Vanderbilt was in the air hunting for the snitch while Charisma was being examined by one of the nurses. Unfortunately she would be out for the rest of the match. Blake slipped away briefly with Coach Batuti's permission to check on her, and reported back that Charisma was indeed going to be out for the rest of the match as she had only just woken up when Blake had gotten there.
(Cornelia) It's About Time
Author: Griet
Date: 11-21-10 18:48
The longer Cornelia stood on the sidelines, the more pissed she became at the thought of leaving Sydney without having played a single second in the match. The fact that she hadn't been in the starting line-up didn't sit well with her, though with the way some substitutions occurred, she probably wouldn't have gotten to play the whole match anyway.
When Charisma got smacked in the head by a bludger, Cornelia couldn't help but feel glad because it finally removed her from the sidelines. She kicked off and soared up into the sky at level with most of the other players. While they did their thing, she did hers.
Already, she'd seen a lot of distractions, like the golden candy wrappers drifting along in the wind and the metallic accessories glittering in the stands. She tried hard not to let herself be fooled, and for the most part she succeeded.
Meanwhile, the Sydney chasers currently have possession of the quaffle. Guiseppe Favazza, Itya Gungaroo, and Christine Ridgeway zipped from one end of the Pitch to the other, passing the ball from hand to hand so quick it was almost too difficult to follow with the naked eye. At one critical pass, Deak jumped in and intercepted the quaffle. He lobbed it to Wiggy, who dropped it into the hands of Jack as he swiftly passed underneath his teammate.
Jack got about halfway across the Pitch when Guiseppe came up beside him and attempted to steal the quaffle from the crook of his arm. Jack shifted it to his other side, only to have a bludger sent courtesy of Chelsea Blackstone knock it clear from his grasp. In the free-for-all that followed, Christine of Sydney's School of Wizardry proved victorious.
She turned tail immediately and rocketed all the way to where Hunter waited. He readied for her approach, but at the last second she tossed it not towards the hoop but to Itya, who instantly hurled it into the right-most hoop.
Now Sydney had pulled itself ahead again, for the first time since the beginning of the match.
Cornelia, meanwhile, searched harder than ever for the snitch. It was when Hunter handed the ball to Wiggy that Cornelia saw the golden ball hovering in the very center of the Pitch. She darted ahead, hoping that Dillane hadn't seen it too. Unfortunately, the whole pack of players seemed to be heading that way as the Hogwarts chasers moved the quaffle closer and closer to the opposing goals.
Cornelia forced her broomstick to move faster, so that the others wouldn't overtake her and perhaps scare off the snitch. Her flight ahead of the pack didn't go unnoticed by Dillane, who was quick to pursue.
Cornelia held out her hand and stretched out her fingers, eager to feel the fluttering wings against them. She was nearly upon it, when something slammed between her shoulder blades. Although intense pain blossomed there, the hit gave her the push she needed to wrap her hand around the snitch.
Gritting her teeth from the throbbing of her back, Cornelia raised her hand high in the air, where the winged, golden snitch lowered its wings in defeat.
She had done it. She had won the match for Hogwarts, final score: 190, 50.
Moving Things Along
Author: Harry Potter
Date: 11-21-10 18:56
**This takes place Saturday afternoon. The Hogwarts-Sydney's Quidditch match has been over for hours and those from Hogwarts have returned to the school.**
Arms crossed, standing in the middle of one of the doorways leading into the large kitchen at the St. John's Wood house, Harry informs Perry Heath, "We're cutting you loose."
Perry Heath, in the middle of taking a bite of an enourmous sandwich, stops what he's doing, his jaw going slack, and stares at Harry as if Harry were speaking Parseltongue instead of English. He drops the sandwich and stands, hands both flat on theh table, leaning on it as though for support. "Cutting me loose?"
"Yes."
"Blimey! Why in hell would you do that?"
"Oh, I don't know, perhaps because a massively high percentage of information you've given us has not been very helpful."
"That's a load of shite! I've helped. I've cooperated."
"You've whined. You've been a diva. You've given us tidbits that looked good on the surface but turned out not to be worth much."
"I'm dead you put me out."
"Why? You've not had anything damning to give us. Like I said, on the surface, we thought you had give us some great information but turns out you gave us nothing worthwhile. Why would Rufus Henshaw want you dead if you have nothing notable for us to use against him?"
Perry straightens and folds his arm tightly against his chest almost as if hugging himself. "Because... it's like this... you see... "
"Something you aren't telling us, Perry?"
"I've told you things."
"Yes, you've told us a great deal. You've had us running around following the leads you gave us, all the while you have been fed and given a place to stay, a bloody nice place to stay at that."
"No entertainment other than the WWN though," Perry mutters.
"What was that? A complaint about our care? Then you should be happy to be cut loose, hadn't you?"
"I'm dead then. You're looking at a dead man!" he shrilly and loudly informs Harry.
"Again, why is that?"
"Because."
"I never thought I would parrot something my Uncle Vernon used to say but here goes. Because is not an answer."
"Rufus will think I've helped the Ministry against them."
"And I ask yet again, why is that? If the only information you have to give is really nothing once you get down to it, then why would he think you've helped us?"
"Just agreeing to talk to you could have gotten me killed if he'd found out."
"We need real information. You've not provided that. If you have nothing more, nothing real, we have no further use of you and are not going to keep paying to have you in protective custody. Finish your sandwich if you wish but then we're getting your things and you're going."
"No, no, no. I can't. Rufus's methods are excrutiating!" Perry wails.
"Oh? Do tell."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
"I... Please don't make me go!"
"Then tell us something."
Perry sort of wilts down until he's flopped on the chair he'd been using when Harry walked in. "Fine."
Harry approaches the table and sits, taking out a notebook, quill, and small stoppered bottle of ink. "Start talking and, Perry, if this looks good on the surface but ends up being a waste of time, I will personally deliver you to Rufus Henshaw's doorstep."
Perry gulps loudly enough to echo in the otherwise silent kitchen then opens his mouth to start talking.