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Time For The Match (Theodosia)
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 12-17-10 17:25
Theodosia found it diffult to just fly and walk along the sidelines during the first IQT match. She much prefers being in the middle of the match, being the one making the calls. With these IQT matches Hogwarts versus another school, she very much sees the point of the teams' coaches not being the ones calling each match. In fact, she's the one who raised the issue during the planning meetings. That doesn't mean she enjoys sitting out. Theodosia hopes she'll find being sidelined easier as the tournament progresses. One thing is has done on a positive note is to give her a very good idea of how those playing sitting out are feeling. Still, knowing they will get to play in several of the matches has got to be better for them than the team being restricted to having only seven members total.
If each team were limited to only seven members for the tournament, for Hogwarts that would mean twenty-one students who would be sitting out. Twenty-one students who might not be so in love with this tournament as to overshadow the fact that there are no house teams this term and no House Quidditch Cup. As it is, Theodosia thinks there are probably some students who hate the idea of this tournament anyway even though those students would most likely have not made their resepective house teams if this were a regular Quidditch season for Hogwarts.
She looks across the pitch to where the Escola Mágica de Brasil team is in the special stand section. Each team has one, located on either side of mid-pitch and slightly lower than the regular spectator stands. It's height still gives a good view of the match and helps to keep players from flying back and forth along the sidelines, potentially causing chaos. It also helps the coaches when it comes to locating a player to send in for substitution. Sydney's had planned to have them for its match against Hogwarts, but there had been some sort of problem and they did without. Hogwarts will have them for the match it hosts against Beauxbatons in April.
The Escola Mágica de Brasil team has thirty-five players versus Hogwarts's twenty-eight. That's because the host school has five dorms, similar to the houses at Hogwarts. Each school participating in the IQT had the choice of fielding teams of fourteen up to thirty-five. This range is based on the number of students the IQT schools would have on teams in normal Quidditch years. Those schools that would only have fourteen students in a regular year are allowed to field larger teams for the tournament. Instead of twenty-eight players, Hogwarts could have gone with fourteen, twenty-one, or thirty-five. Theodosia felt that having the same number of students on the team as would have been playing for the four house teams was best and Professor Dumbledore agreed.
The match's announcer, speaking first in Portugeuse and then in English, welcomes everyone to the match. Theodosia walks to the locker room door where she'd left the team a short time ago. "Ready?" she asks.
Twenty-eight voices eagerly answer. They all stand waiting for the teams to be announced. That comes after several minutes of pre-game chitchat and with a signal from the head referee, Edmond Cloudwalker, for the teams to be introduced. As all the players are introduced on each team, this takes longer than usual but soon enough all the Hogwarts players and Theodosia have been introduced and the host team and coach are announced.
Before long, with a roaring crowd, the fourteen starters are in the air over the pitch. Edmond Cloudwalker puts the quaffle into play and its...
Brazil's Yadiris Habib taking first possession.
(Mark) Starter
Author: Isolde
Date: 12-17-10 19:07
As soon as the quaffle was put into play by Edmond Cloudwalker, Mark shot off after one of the bludgers. He'd watched both of the black balls as they'd been set free from the confinement of the trunk in which they'd been housed and quickly determined which one he could reach first. One of the beaters from the Escola Mágica de Brasil appeared to have the same idea. Mark reached it just a hair before Ezperanza Lima, and because of her close proximity, had difficulty aiming it in the direction he wanted.
Luckily, Basil was able to intercept the bludger and direct it at the Brazilian chasers, who moved at lightning speed down the Pitch. The bludger struck Luciana Grãos in the shoulder, but the impact occurred moments after she released the quaffle in a pass to fellow chaser Inacio Matsumoto.
Meanwhile, Mark already set his sights on what he would do next. Ezperanza had given up on the one bludger for the other and aided beater Conceicao Direitinho in sending it at Wiggy as he tried to swipe the quaffle from the arms of Inacio. Mark swooped in at the last second and whacked the ball with an ear-splitting crack. It caused his whole arm to vibrate and sent the ball on a wide trajectory away from the pack of chasers.
Mark knew that he needed to try to stop the Brazilian chasers from reaching the goals. They were close, and unless Hogwarts intercepted a pass or stole the quaffle away, there was a good chance that Brazil would score first. Not that Mark didn't have any confidence in Daniel's abilities as keeper, but he'd would much rather not give the Brazilians a chance at scoring.
He quickly targeted the nearest bludger and went after it in a hurry. As he reached it and took aim, Mark thought about how glad he was to be playing in one of the IQT matches at last, and in the startling line-up to boot!
Formation Flying (Marjani)
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 12-18-10 10:14
Brazil nearly had the first goal of the match when Yadiris Habib took possession of the quaffle and drove at Daniel in at a blurring speed. Mark was able to get a bludger there on time to throw Yadiris's aim off and then Daniel stopped the quaffle with a full body block. The Hogwarts keeper put the ball back into play with a pass to Mason. He, Wiggy, and Marjani chose to move the quaffle down the pitch using a formation all the Hogwarts chasers have practiced many times.
Just after the mid-pitch line, it's Wiggy with the ball but he takes a quaffle to the shoulder courtesy of Conceicao Direitinho. It's the shoulder of the arm gripping the quaffle in preparation to hand off the ball and the hit is hard enough Wiggy's arm jerks and he nearly lets go of the quaffle early. He's able to hang on, barely, and gets the quaffle passed over to Marjani.
Marjani tucks the quaffle in close and leans over her broom handle all while accelerating. The three Hogwarts chasers attempt to maintain their formation longer but Yadiris and the other two Brazil chasers Luciana Grãos and Inacio Matsumoto (whom Marjani thinks is very exotically handsome with his mix of Brazilian and Japanese heritage) get in between them with the help of the other beater from Brazil, Ezperanza Lima.
The Mark and Basil are working hard to keep those two Escola Mágica de Brasil beaters from doing any harm to their chasers but Ezperanza and Conceicao are working just as hard to help their own team. As the chasers approach keeper Bertollameu Matos, Marjani is all set to pass back to Wiggy but another bludger in his path along with chaser Luciana getting in the way has Marjani passing to Mason instead.
The younger boy darts around Basil who's just stopped the other bludger from reaching him then rockets forward, throwing the ball. Marjani finds herself holding her breath as she watches the quaffle soar from Mason towards the center hoop. Bartollameu had thought the quaffle would go to his right so has to desperately backtrack to block Mason's shot. His fingers graze the quaffle but don't stop it.
A roar goes up, Marjani's voice cheering along, as the announcer says first in Portugeuse and then in English, "Jeffers scores for Hogwarts! Hogwarts takes the early lead with a score of 10-0!"
Time For Change?
Author: Desdemona Diamond
Date: 12-18-10 10:44
Talking with Bronwyn yesterday about that vision thing didn’t seem to help a whole lot. I know I didn’t tell her exactly how I knew it was a vision so she had her doubts, but she didn’t need to know about the case that was solved. She didn’t really know what to make of it. I mean she had an idea of what it may mean, but I wasn’t sure how it could happen.
Bron didn’t notice that I was actually starting to look at the clothing she was going through. I didn’t actually flip through anything, but, I was starting to look. Had she seen me interested in the clothing I would have had to answer for it. Would have had to have lots more serious conversation. I never did get to the part about the doubts that had formed because of that stupid vision.
Back then, I had managed to hide what had happened from everyone. It was hard, but since it happened after school, I just didn’t come home right away and made sure no one saw me once I got in. I managed to wash most of the paint out, but couldn’t get all of it. So, after cutting the chunks of paint that were still there, I just told my mom that some kid cut my hair.
The next day, after I had my hair cut to make it even again, the kids that had attacked me never said anything. They realized that they had screwed up, but never apologized for it. I knew that since my sister and I looked different enough now, it wouldn’t happen again, but, my hair would grow out and we’d look similar again.
That was when I started to look for ways to change my appearance. My sister grew jealous of my ‘rebellious’ look. She didn’t think that our parents would let her do anything so radical. Granted, she didn’t ask them, but neither did I. They just supported the change, mostly because my attitude didn’t change to match.
But, maybe it was time to return to ‘normal.’ Stop with the hair colors and dark clothing. My younger self may have been telling me that I can let the past go. That it’s not a bad thing to look like my sister. But, then, why tell me that in a blizzard? There were too many random pieces still.
“HEY!” followed by banging on the door, “Are you still alive in there?”
“Yes…” I responded. I turned away from the mirror and opened the bathroom door, “What?”
“Oh my god,” Bianca said, “You seriously are not going to meet his parents looking like that are you?”
“No, I still have to change,” I told her.
“Into something nice, I hope.”
“I’ll find something,” I said, pushing past her and towards my room. She just turned and followed.
“His parents are going to think you’re a mental case.”
“He’s already told them what I look like.”
“Are you sure you don’t want some help?” She asked. My answer was to close the bedroom door on her face. Through the door she added, “Just trying to help!” I didn’t respond, just sat down on the bed. She wouldn’t know that I had seriously thought about taking her up on her offer.
In The Thick Of It (Mason)
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 12-18-10 13:57
When the quaffle went through the hoop, scoring the first goal of the game, Mason pumped his fist in the air, jubilant that he's the one who scored the goal. Matos of Brazil put the ball back into the game with a pass to Grãos passed off to Habib who caught it badly. The ball started falling from his grasp with Wiggy on the spot to grab it up. Wiggy wasn't in a very good position to throw for another goal though and with the opposiing chasers all right there, he had trouble manuevering around. Wiggy ended up going in a wide arc, behind the three hoops, passing off to Mason who in turn threw to Marjani.
Marjani took the shot but Matos easily blocked it with Habib catching it on the rebound. Habib rockets away, dodging a bludger from Basil then climbing to avoid the other bludger sent by Mark. All the chasers race to where Daniel is waiting to - hopefully - block any shot made by the other team. Habib slows only because the three Hogwarts chasers have all raced ahead, directly in his current path. Habib weighs his options of climbing, diving, shoving on through, or passing the quaffle nad letting one of his teammates figure out what to do next.
Habib passes to Grãos who in turn throws to Matsumoto. The throw is a really good one but Matsumoto ends up dodging a bludger in the face and though he recovers quickly he misses catching the quaffle. Marjani retrieves it only to have Habib grab it away. Marjani moves to take it right back but pulls back when it's clear she could foul. Mason isn't so hindered and snatches the red ball before Habib even realized Mason was upon him.
Mason wheels around to head the other way down the pitch only to be slowed when Lima gets him with a bludger. Mason snaps off a pass to Wiggy but Grãos intercepts. The Hogwarts chasers try to slow the other three but Grãos, Matsumoto, and Habib relentlessly push forward. It's Grãos who ultimately takes the shot when in goal range. Daniel looks as though he's got the block only to have the quaffle slip by his finger. The shot is good, bringing the game to the tied score of 10 points each.
Since getting hit with that bludger a few moments ago, Mason's found it increasingly difficult to get his hand to close properly. With substitutions allowed, though Mason would love to stay in longer, his hand is swollen enough that he's not going to be able to use it well for at least a little while so there's no point in staying. He breaks away from flying alongside Marjani who's got the quaffle, going in the direction of where Coach Batuti is on the sidelines. He raises the now visibly englarged hand to her and she nods, turning to speak to another player.
As Mason reaches the sidelines, Jill Prewitt enters the match in his place.
Angry With Himself (Daniel)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 12-18-10 19:36
Daniel is greatly chagrined that the Brazilians got their first goal. He feels he should have been able to block it. He'd still be peeved if something had caused him to miss the shot, like being hit with a bludger, but when the miss was largely because he hadn't moved quite enough to get his hands where they needed to be, he's going to be angry with himself. And he is.
One thing that weighs on his mind is that with subbing, he could be taken out at any moment simply because of the perception that he's not performing well. Daniel knows that, really, in such cases, that's best for the team. It just doesn't make the player being pulled for playing badly feel any better. Based on things he knows about other sports, especially Muggle ones he's been exposed to because of his cousin Aaron, such is the nature of many team sports.
Daniel can't let the thought of playing bad get to him because that will probably make him play bad. He watches intently as his cousin Jill, fresh to the match, Wiggy and Marjani work the quaffle away from him, towards the mirror image of the three hoops he guards. From his vantage point and with the action moving away from him at the moment, Daniel is also able to see what the two seekers, Herminia de Vielmond and Aleydis Vanderbilt are up to. From what Daniel can tell Aleydis is searching for signs of the snitch while Herminia is flying in that way seekers sometimes do when on the trail of something. Daniel would love to yell at Aleydis and let her know that Herminia may be on to the snitch but they are both far enough away that with the cheering of the crowd and the sounds of the other players and balls, she'd never hear him.
Brightly colored birds erupt from the surrounding jungle canopy. Herminia doesn't turn her head to look from what Daniel can see but she must have cut her eyes in the direction of the flashes of scarlet plummage because she gets a look of consternation on her face and stops flying. She hovers in place for several seconds, head swiveling back and forth. Daniel can't help but grin when she frowns and resumes flying in what looks more like search mode than on the trail of something flying she'd been doing.
Pulling his attention from the other team's seeker, Daniel looks back to what the chasers are doing just in time to see a pass from Marjani to Jill intercepted. That's when he also realizes that Luciana Grãos isn't in the game. Alfred Jensen
is playing. Daniel only remembers Alfred's full name because compared to the other Escola Mágica de Brasil team members, he can easily say Alfred Jensen. He distractedly wonders if they have a hard a time with the English names as they have with the mainly Portugeuse names.
Realizing he's distracted, Daniel curses under his breath and focuses on the action rapidly coming his way. Alfred's got the quaffle and is flanked by Inacio and Yadiris. Jill's trying to wedge in between Inacio and Alfred but they're able to keep her from moving up in that manner. The bludgers are flying fast and furious in such a way that it would be easy to be fooled into thinking there are more than two bludgers.
One of those bludgers comes at Daniel but he shifts position to avoid it. Inacio has the quaffle now and he uses that opportunity to throw the ball. Daniel dives back at the quaffle and bats it away. Afred grabs it up and throws again, going the other side of Daniel. He can't shift back again so quickly, try as he might, and the quaffle goes by just out of reach.
Daniel scowls, angry with himself again and retrieves the ball as the new score, 20 for Escola Mágica de Brasil and 10 for Hogwarts. Tossing the quaffle to Wiggy, Daniel can do nothing but watch again as the Hogwarts chasers begin once more working the ball along the length of the pitch.
Giddy (Jill)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 12-18-10 20:50
Wiggy zig zags to avoid both bludgers and to go around Aleydis. Jill's gone ahead hoping to get herself in a good position to accept a pass should Wiggy need or want to hand off the quaffle. She is so excited to be in the match here in such a beautiful setting that she feels positively giddy. There is one drawback to the location of the pitch, at least in Jilly's opinion. The pitch sits in a clearing with Amazonia rainforest all around except for the swath that's cleared as the walkway from the rest of the school to here. Having flashes of bright colors and the sounds of the wildlife - Jill swears in one lull of the stadium noise earlier she heard a jaguar or whatever large cat it is that lives in the forests here - can be distracting though maybe if she played this pitch regularly the amount of distraction would be greatly reduced.
Wiggy throws the ball, but the pass is to Marjani. Jill navigates around to fly alongside Marjani, helping protect her from the side. No sooner has Jill flown up alongside Marjani then a bludger comes in from that same side. Jill calls a warning to Jill while laying close over her broomstick. She does a half-roll for good measure, easily avoiding being hit by the bludger. Marjani avoids it as well but has two opposing chasers harassing her from the other side so she tosses the quaffle to Jill.
Jill pulls away, curving to go around Mark swinging at the other bludger. She takes stock of where she is versus Brazil's hoops. Next thing Jill knows, she's spinning around and around, her brain processing the fact that someone just flew into her. Jill gets her broom under control while referee Viveka Edquist blows her whistle with the call of, "Habib, Escola Mágica de Brasil, Blatching."
Jill doesn't think that Yadiris purposely collided with her but intentionally colliding with another player is the call that best fits. Jill's allowed to take the quaffle and try for a goal but though the throw is a really good one Bertollameu blocks with no problem. That's too bad as Jill would have loved to have brought the score to 20 apiece.
The quaffle goes back into play with it meant to go to Alfred but Marjani intercepts. She goes for the goal but it's blocked. Jill grabs it on the rebound and throws again but once more the shot is blocked. Inacio catches it this time and jets away with the other five chasers right behind.
(Gus) Wrong Attitude
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 12-19-10 04:41
Gus, who had been watching the game from the sidelines, couldn’t avoid putting his hands on his head once Alfred Jensen scored the second goal. He stood up from the bench where he and the rest of the Hogwarts team were sat trying to take a good look to the Hogwarts’ hoops wondering to where Daniel Gelson had been looking at.
Coach Batuti doesn’t seem in a hurry to make a substitution which makes Gus impatient. He wanted to go to the pitch and play. He already spotted the group of girls supporting him and he didn’t want to let them down by not playing.
Plus he was determinate not to let another goal enter into the Hogwarts’ hoops. His hoops like he liked to call them.
“Something wrong Mr. Van Tassel?” Coach Batuti asked, noticing how impatient Gus was, and the annoyed glances he sent at Daniel.
“Nothing, Coach Batuti.” He assured her sitting once again on the bench. He started to tap his fingers on his knee, wondering if he should ask her to play. Gus wanted it so badly.
“You think you can do a better performance than Daniel?” Coach Batuti then asked, reading his thoughts. Gus nodded.
“I’m not convinced Mr. Van Tassel.” She told him.
Then she called Glori Hodfuffer who had been sick during the match against Sidney and told her to get ready, because she was going to enter next, taking Daniel’s place as keeper.
Everyone clapped their hands when she entered the pitch and Coach Batituti patted Daniel’s back, saying he had done a good job.
Annoyed, Gus crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, wondering if his attitude had just cost him a place on today’s match.
Tying It Up (Wiggy)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 12-19-10 09:38
A bludger has Inacio Matsumoto losing the quaffle before he's gotten very far. The ball goes into free fall with most of the chasers converging on it. Wiggy, Marjani, and Yadiris all have hands on it when a whistle blows. Heads turn to Avi Moshe, one of the game officials. He has Wiggy and Yadiris facing off over the quaffle, throwing it up between them. Yadiris is quick but Wiggy is quicker. He's also closer to the Brazilian guarded hoops so it only takes a quick flick around on his broom and a hard throw to make another goal attempt. Unfortunately, seeker Herminia de Vielmond flies across the path, not even aware the quaffle is there. It hits the tail of her broom and is caught on the rebound by Jill. Though there are hundreds of fouls in Quidditch, either there's not one regarding the quaffle accidently hitting theh seeker's broom or it's not one any of the three officials decided to call. Wiggy knows more of the possible fouls than the average person but there are still a number of them he's not committed to memory so has no idea if Hogwarts missed out on a potential free goal attempt or not.
Jill manuevers around with the quaffle, going for a clear shot at one of the hoops but just as she cocks her arm back to let the quaffle fly, Alfred snatches it away. He zooms away, going in the direction of the Hogwarts hoops, now guarded by Wiggy's sister Glori. In the meantime, Yadiris Habib and Inacio Matsumoto came out of the match with Heitor Rabaça and Xuxu Quiaios joining Alfred Jensen as the in-game chasers.
Alfred passes to Xuxu who moves the quaffle further away from where Hogwarts would like it to be. She and Heitor work the quaffle ever closer to Glori, with Alfred doing his best to provide interference to the bldugers. Xuxu is the one with possession when Brazil makes another goal attempt. Though Mark and Basil try to get to the bludgers in time the opposing beaters, Conceicao Direitinho and Ezperanza Lima have each gotten to one and sent the two hard black balls at Glori. Glori ducks on, bats one away with her broomtail, and still manages to get one hand on the quaffle, effectively stopping it.
Wiggy takes the pass from Glori and shoots away. With Marjani and Jill alongside him, they get the quaffle back down the pitch with Xuxu, Alfred, and Heitor nearly causing several collisions along the way as they try in vain to stop the other three chasers. It's Jill with the quaffle as they close in on Bertollameu Matos, the Escola Mágica de Brasil keeper. She shoots but Bartollameu is able to get fingers on the ball. He can't get hold of it but it does go off kilter, hitting the rim of the hoop and bouncing back into the fray. Wiggy is first on it and no sooner has he grabbed it then he's throwing it. Bartollameu gets fingers on it again and the quaffle wobbles off its path but this time still makes it through the hoop.
Wiggy whoops aloud as Jill and Marjani exchange high fives. The score is now tied at 20 all.