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Quidditch Match In Lynn's Wood
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 07-12-11 12:59
It's a gorgeous day here in the States and the area where the Salem Witches' Institute pitch is located is particularly nice. The Lynn's Wood location is shady with a pleasantly cool breeze against the warmth of the May sun. Theodosia hadn't been familiar with a Muggle called Henry David Thoreau who lived in the 1800s but as part of learning some of the history of the area she now knows about him making famous a body of water located in these same woods, Walden Pond.
Head officiate Ingrid Schwart indicates she and the other two referees are ready. The door to the locker room Hogwarts is using opens and Theodosia is announced as the team coach. She exits the locker room and makes for the sideline podium where her team will be. Right behind her the team itself is announced. The entire team is introduced but emphasis is put on the starters for this match.
The starters for Hogwarts this afternoon are Daniel Gelson as Keeper, Mark Farnon and Blake are the Beaters, Mason Jeffers, Hadrian Rabnott, and Jack Emerson will start off the Chasers, and Aleydis is up as Seeker. There's a massive amount of cheering for the squad and a number of the players pump their fists and whoop as each one is introduced.
The announcer makes a brief pause to allow some of the noise to die down then it's time for the home team introductions. The coach Elias Bitfield is a man that Theodosia has come to like a great deal both professionally and personally over the course of the IQT planning and these last few days here at Salem. The nois over the pitch increases in volume to an approving roar as the Salem team comes onto the pitch.
The Salem starters are Emily Frost for Keeper, Ian Whitfield and Zelda Picolli as Beaters, Tucker Standich, Irma Lassiter, and Antonio Torres are the Chasers, and Seeker is a girl called Rhea Flint.
Hogwarts team captain Griet, glad to be able to participate this go around, and Salem captain Danny Wignall meet with head ref Schwartz to shake hands and to promise for their respective teams to play a clean match. Then it's places for everyone, starters up in the air and those waiting their turns to play off to the team platforms.
The starting whistle blows, balls are released, and the red one known as the quaffle is tossed high into the air. From her position on the sidelines, Theodosia doesn't realize she's holding her breath as she waits to see who gets the opening tip off.
Let The Games Begin (Mason)
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 07-12-11 15:29
As on the other IQT trips, Mason has had a great time this go around. Even though museums aren't something he usually goes in for, he did like the pirate and the witch museums. He's bought so great stuff to take home and even got his t-shirt loving mum some cool ones he knows she'll like a lot.
As fun as this trip has been, just as with each of the others Mason was more than ready for the match to begin. With Quidditch not being the huge sport in America as it is elsewhere in the world, sort of like football is big internationally but soccer as it's called over here isn't as popular, Mason arrived thinking Hogwarts should handily win this match. No one from Hogwarts got to see overly much of the Salem team in practice but what little they did see had Mason reassessing what a pushover match this would be for Hogwarts.
On the pitch now, eager for the game to begin, as one of the starters for Hogwarts Mason takes his position, waiting for the quaffle to be released. Jack's handling the tip off for Hogwarts as is Antonio Torres for Salem. Mason's eyes follow the quaffle as it goes up, up, up. Antonio is the first to touch it but it's only the palm of his hand, with the effect being that he ends up slapping it in the direction of Mason and Salem chaser Irma Lassiter.
Salem Witches' Institute students begin at age 10 and go through eight years of formal schooling. Irma is either a seventh or eighth year, Mason can't remember, and she's got long arms and long fingers. She thinks this gives her an advantage over younger, Hogwarts second year Mason but he's quicker than she is. With a triumhant grin, he whisks the quaffle away, charging straight down the pitch towards Salem keeper Emily Frost.
Beaters Zelda Piccoli and Ian Whitfield each have the bludgers, beating Mark and Blake to each. Zelda targets Mason but Blake intercepts, sending the bludger in the direction of Salem chaser Tucker Standish who's coming in on one side of Mason. Ian also bats a bludger at Mason but before it gets to him, he's thrown a pass to Hadrian.
A yelled, "Duck!" has Mason doing just that as Mark zooms up, bat at the ready, connecting with the Ian sent bludger. The bat swishes the air so closely above Mason he can hear it make a whistling sound but that's far better than having been hit by that bludger.
Hadrian works the quaffle even closer to keeper Emily before hnding off to Jack. Tucker, Irma and Antonio are working closely together in an effort to intercept one of the passes between the three Hogwarts chasers but Mark interferes with another bludger hit, catching Irma in the shoulder before she can steal a pass Jack's just made over to Mason.
Mason drives in close to keeper Emily, getting off the first goal attempt of the match. Emily blocks, the tail of her broom sweeping the quaffle back into play. Mason dives for the rebound only to jerk back when he nearly cracks heads with Antonio. Thankfully, it's Hadrian who does get the rebound and even now he's moving into a position for a second goal attempt by Hogwarts.
Off To A Good Start (Jack)
Author: Kody
Date: 07-12-11 16:15
Just as Hadrian is releasing the quaffle, sending it to the hoop on his right, a bludger meant to hit Hadrian before he released the ball, thumps across the top of the quaffle, altering its course. Jack snatches it before a Salem chaser is able only to immediately release the red ball again, sending it towards the same hoop that Hadrian had. Salem keeper Emily Frost hadn't expected Jack to be able to get off the throw that quickly and also didn't seem to expect him to try for the same hoop. She falls short of getting any part of her body or broom to either outright stop the quaffle's progress or at the very least alter its direction.
The Hogwarts supporters cheer with delight as the British team makes the first goal of the match. Even as the score of Hogwarts 10, Salem 0 is being announced the quaffle is going back into play with Antonio Torres in possession. Torres hurls it hard at Tucker Standish who sprints down the pitch, quaffle in the crook of his arm.
Mason gets right up on Standish and despite having there being a firm hold on the ball, he's able to knock the quaffle from the green, gold, and white clad player. It falls away from Mason and there's a scramble to get it with Mason coming up triumphant only to take a bludger from Zelda Piccoli, losing the quaffle in the process. Standish regains possession and pours on the speed.
Jack darts across Standish's path, forcing the other player to react. He does what Jack has hoped, which was to slow instead of diving, climbing or even swerving without changing speed. Hadrian's come up parallel to Standish in the meantime, harassing the Salem player though being careful with trying not to cause a foul.
Standish ends up going for a pass to Irma Lassiter but Jack's able to intercept. He goes low over his broom, quaffle pulled in tight against his body, accelerating back in the direction of Emily Frost. Torres is hot on his tail and first one bludger then the other scream across Jack's path. He spots Mason catching up below him and drops the quaffle to him then immediately slows, forcing directly behind him Torres to also slow or risk colliding with Jack.
Mason zooms forward, quaffle ready to throw. He aims and shoots with just enough spin on the quaffle that it curves away from Frost who is expecting to easily catch the ball. When she realizes its trajectory isn't what she thought it was, she throws herself forward but it's too late.
Jack whoops with glee as Mason scores ten more points for Hogwarts bringing the score to 20 Hogwarts, 0 Salem.
(Mark) Most Excellent
Author: Isolde
Date: 07-12-11 18:02
Hogwarts was off to an amazing start. It was already 20-0, Hogwarts favor, and the game had only just begun.
Adrenalin surged through Mark's veins, making him play all that much harder. He wanted a big upset for Salem. How great would it be if Hogwarts had hundreds of points on the board, and all Salem got in the end was a giant goose egg?
After Mason's fantastic goal, Emily put the quaffle into play via Irma, who did not look happy with her team's situation. Mark imagined her thinking something along the lines of What happened to home field advantage? Then again, Hogwarts had beat every team they'd played away, as well as the one they'd played at home. Obviously, Hogwarts was simply the best in the league.
Mark didn't waste any time going after one of the bludgers. He reached it well before Zelda did, who'd also been targeting it. He gave it a powerful whack and sent it spiraling towards Antonio, who had just received the quaffle from Irma. Antonio saw the bludger before it was upon him and swiftly dodged it, but he very nearly ran into Jack. Jack adjusted his flying with ease and attempted to swipe the ball from Antonio's grasp, but Antonio managed to dodge the other way to avoid losing the quaffle.
Despite his nimble reactions to the obstacles placed his way, Antonio found himself rather boxed in, with the opposing chasers and his teammates crowded all around him. He wanted to pass the quaffle to Irma or Tucker but couldn't really risk throwing the red ball because Mason, Jack and Hadrian were right there. Mark didn't want to target the pack with one of the bludgers because he was afraid he might hit somebody unintended. Blake seemed to feel the same way, but Zelda and Ian were a little more risky.
Zelda aimed one of the balls at Jack as he reached again for the quaffle, and Mark rapidly came to his teammate's rescue and deflected the black ball elsewhere. Ian targeted Mason on the pack's other side. Blake zipped to Mason's defense and knocked the bludger out of the ballpark.
The pack drew closer and closer to where Daniel waited. It would be Salem's first goal attempt, if the pack made it that far. So far it seemed likely, but would Antonio be able to loose the ball without Jack or somebody else interfering? Mark rather doubted it!
In The Thick Of It (Daniel & Hadrian)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 07-12-11 19:14
With twenty points on the board Daniel is pumped up as the chasers race towards him, the Salem Witches' Institute team in possession of the quaffle. Antonio Torres has the quaffle but from what Daniel can tell, he'd love to pass off the ball but can't thanks to the Hogwarts chasers. With jaw set and a determined glint in his eyes, Antonio goes for it. He cocks back his arm, eyes narrowed at he focuses on the trio of rings Daniel's guarding.
Antonio lets the quaffle fly. Daniel's in motion for the block, ending up kicking the quaffle away. He tries to send it to one of his teammates but Irma Lassiter ends up the one snagging it. Hadrian is practically on top of her so she does a backhand toss to Tucker Standish who barely has the quaffle in hand before he's throwing for a goal.
Daniel moves for the block, oh so certain he has it only to flinch and jerk back when a bludger comes at his head. Daniel avoids the bludger hit but misses the block. As the quaffle passes cleanly through one of the hoops Daniel is mentally chastising himself for not manning up and taking the bludger hit if it would have meant stopping the quaffle.
As the new score of 10 Salem, 20 Hogwarts is announced, Hadrian accepts the quaffle. He makes a pass to Jack who pours on the speed, putting distance between Daniel and the quaffle. That suits Daniel just fine because much as he loves being directly involved in play, he loves even better when Hogwarts has the quaffle giving grief to the opposing keeper.
Jack makes an arc around one of the seekers, swerves around Mark going for a bludger then throws to Mason. Mason in turn darts around Tucker then rolls to avoid Irma's reaching, grasping hand only to get tapped by a bludger from Zelda Piccoli. Mason retains the quaffle but with stinging shoulder he's more than happy to hand off to Hadrian.
Antonio gets in close to Hadrian, repeatedly trying to steal the quaffle, only backing off because he's bordering on committing a foul. Hadrian wouldn't have minded a foul against Antonio but can't really blame the guy for not wanting to make one which at that point would have been deliberate, not accidental.
Just as Antonio backs off, Ian Whitfield aims a bludger right at Hadrian. It comes in from behind, which means he never sees it coming. It smacks him hard dead center between his shoulder blades, knocking the wind from him. By then the sting from Mason's shoulder is a distant memory so he swoops in to aid Hadrian, taking the quaffle off his hands.
Mason works with Jack to move the quaffle in even close to where Emily Frost is guardedly watching the game action. It's Jack who makdes the next shot for Hogwarts but Emily knocks the ball away. Hadrian, still wheezing, is closest to the rebound so he shoots forward to grab it and ends up grappling with Tucker for it. Blake assists with a bludger that knocks Tucker in one elbow, enabling Hadrian to wrest the quaffle firmly away before a referee intervenes with a whistle blow and call for another toss up.
As quickly as he can, Hadrian goes for the goal attempt but once again Emily knocks the ball away.
Getting In The Match (Alexa)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 07-13-11 14:27
Irma Lassiter gets the quaffle when it rebounds from Hadrian's most recent goal attempt. The Salem team is able to get the quaffle three-quarters of the way back in Daniel's direction when Jack intercepts a pass between Tucker Standish and Irma. Hogwarts moves the quaffle back the other direction but doesn't get it very far before losing it after a bludger interferes with a pass between Jack and Mason.
For the next little while neither team retains possession for very long and neither can get the quaffle within goal range. Even with the number of minutes that have passed, after taking a bludger hit between the shoulder blades Hadrian is still wheezing heavily. On the Hogwarts platform Alexa pivots in the direction of Coach Batuti when she hears her named, "Alexa, go in for Hadrian."
"Yes, Coach!" Alexa loudly responds, hopping onto her broom.
She gives Hadrian a thumbs up as they pass while silently hoping that his breathing improves soon. Alexa joins up with the others at a point when Salem chaser Tucker Standish has the quaffle. A bludger courtesy of Mark connects with Tucker's right arm, which is the one he's using to keep the quaffle held against him. With th ebludger hit Tucker relfexively looses his grip then as he swerves to avoid hitting another player he loses the quaffle altogether.
Alexa jerks her broom hard left and down, diving after the quaffle, aware that Antonio Torres is doing the same. He actually gets to the quaffle before she does but the other bludger makes an appearance then, whacking the flat of Antonio's broom. The jolt has him losing the quaffling before he was able to get a good hold. This allows Alexa to dart in and grab it.
She zips away, angling upward as she does so, wanting to be back on a higher plane. Irma crosses Alexa's path but she's not overly worried about colliding because she's still climbing and the other girl was flying level. Sure enough she goes up over Irma without any touching of brooms or bodies.
Leveling off, Alexa leans low over her broom as she increases her speed. Movement to one side has Alexa darting a glance and finding Mason there. She does an easy toss to him without slowing. Mason catches the quaffle them speeds up, pulling ahead of Alexa. He doesn't hold on to the ball for very long though because Jack is just up ahead and in the open.
Mason passes off to Jack who is just out of the best goal range but where he could still take a shot if he could get in the clear and get a shot cleanly off. He's been harassed by Tucker though so Alexa doubts he'll go for it. She pours on even more speed, hurrying to reach her teammate to give assistance however she can.
Adrenaline Rush (Etta)
Author: Jared
Date: 07-13-11 15:39
Etta's not paying much attention to the time so isn't exactly sure how much has passed since Alexa was sent in for Hadrian Rabnott. The score still has Hogwarts leading Salem twenty to ten. In the minutes since Alexa went in Hogwarts had made several goal attempts but hasn't been able to get another shot past Emily Frost, the current keeper for Salem Witches' Institute.
Alexa has just made another and though it squeaked past Emily it hits the rim of the hoop and bounces back. It's Salem chaser Irma Lassiter who catches it. She spins her broom around in a one-eighty and takes off. Jack is right behind but catches up. Irma's got the quaffle where Jack thinks he can tip it away but about the time he's reaching for it, a bludger he never saw coming smacks the hand he's using to steer his broom in closer.
Jack slows or Irma increases her speed, Etta can't tell which. Either way, it's obvious Jack's got a problem. He signals for the first time out of the match. The Hogwarts players currently in the match convene at the platform, hovering around it as Coach Batuti examines Jack's hand as he tells her he doesn't think he can use the now visibly swollen hand and fingers that are beginning to look like thick, bluish-purple sausages.
Without turning away from Jack's hand, Coach Batuti calls out, "Etta, you're up."
Jack lands on the platform as Etta takes off. As it was Irma with the quaffle at the time out, the Salem chaser retains possession as the match gets back underway. Etta's impression of Irma Lassiter so far has been that the girl is an okay sort if a bit full of herself.
Tucker Standish gets between Etta and Irma, accepts a hand off of the quaffle then accelerates away. Etta, frowning from concentration not anger, accelerates as well. Mason is just off to one side and slightly ahead, also putting on the speed in an effort to catch Tucker.
Etta looks for Antonio Torres but even swiveling to get a better look she doesn't spot him. Wait, there he is. Antonio was flying in such a way that for a moment Tucker was blocking the other boy from her view. A bludger sent by a Hogwarts beater, most likely Blake based on where Etta last saw him, nearly gets Tucker in the head. He decides it's a good time to pass and throws forward to Antonio.
By this time the Salem chasers are nearing the Hogwarts guarded hoops. Daniel is alert, watching the quaffle and doing his best to keep his eyes peeled for any bludgers sent at him. Alexa, Mason, and Etta manuever to get into positions that will help them either to block any shot made by Salem or to intercept. Barring that, they are in good positions to catch any rebounds that might happen.
Adrenaline pumping now that she's in the midst of the match, Etta jockeys in front of Irma, hoping that Daniel's able to keep Salem from adding ten more points to its score.