|
|
Did You Draw My Name? (Daniel & Hadrian)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 02-19-12 12:56
Sitting next to Hadrian, Daniel takes a drink of some sort of hot, spiced fruity punch Gillian Jenkins had brought to the match. Gillian is mother of Alastor, Jasper, and Eden and is the person through whom Daniel is related to three. To his right Hadrian sits, also drinking something hot but his is a mulled cider. Being in Ravenclaw, both are cheering their house team on but with cousins Jasper and Marlow playing for Hufflepuff, when one of them does something worthy of applauding, they do. When it looks if if Jack might score both are on their feet screaming loudly. The wild cheering dies off as Glori Hodfuffer catches Jack's throw and tosses the quaffle to Marlow, putting it back into Hufflepuff's possession.
Cheering in the cold, dry air has them both reaching for their drinks again then Daniel asks, "Do you wish you were on the team this term?"
"Sort of. I miss playing in practice but don't miss the other parts of practice. Right now I'm really itching to be out there in the thick of things. You signed up for secret santa, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I don't suppose you got my name?"
"I didn't but I know who did."
"You do? Good, because the gift I found under the tree in the commons this morning doesn't say who it's from. It's probably on the inside but just in case it's not you can tell me who it's from."
"Why didn't you just go on and open it?"
"Because I like savoring wrapped gifts for a little while before ripping into them."
"Georgia Copperpot had mine name. The candy and peppermint basket I've been eating are what she gave me. Did you leave Deak's gift for him yet?"
"How did you know I had Deak? Wait, don't tell me. I remember now. Last week you were with me when I picked them at at Krum's."
When trying to figure out what to get Deak Bennett, Hadrian had found out that his cousin was wanting a new pair of athletic trainers. He want to cousin Aaron to find out if Aaron and Saffron were getting the shoes for Deak. Aaron told him they had been going to but for Hadrian to go ahead IF Hadrian's parents approved of the pricier gift. Because Deak is a cousin Rachael and Gardner decided to let Hadrian get him the athletic shoes. Hadrian owled in to Krum's to order the corret size then picked them up when in Hogsmeade a week ago.
Daniel had not had to go through such Quidditch hoops to get a secret santa gift for first year Ravenclaw Hope Hyland. When asking around to get some information about her, her friend Katheryn Finch, who's also in Ravenclaw, told him Hope and she along with their friends Callie and Marion had given hats for secret santa. That's when Daniel learned that Callie had drawn Hadrian's name and it's also when he learned that Callie, Hope, and Katheryn are friends with Saffron's goddaughter. Daniel knows Marion, but her being several years younger and female, he doesn't know much about her. Maybe if he had a younger sister or even a younger brother he'd know more about her.
Katheryn told him that there was a hat from the catalog they'd used that Hope badly wanted and kept hinting around to her friends about in case one of them wanted to give it for her. If Daniel wanted to give it to Hope, Katheryn would let the others, Hope's parents included, know someone was giving it to Hope as part of the secret santa. All Daniel had to do was owl the order off. It had come a couple of days ago but he's been lazy about getting it wrapped. He'll do that after the match this afternoon and put it under the tree in the commons before going to supper in the Great Hall.
Yay For Hufflepuff! (Jasper & Liannah)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 02-19-12 13:45
Fifteen or twenty minutes later Hufflepuff still has the quaffle but has not been able to score again. At least they've kept the ball from Ravenclaw, which in turns means Ravenclaw hasn't been able to make any goal attempts. Both teams are somewhat frustrated at this point with the lack of progress. As far as Jasper knows, neither of the seekers have spotted the snitch either.
This is not to say these fifteen to twenty minutes have been boring for the spectators. Hufflepuff's made a few goal attempts, albeit unsuccessful ones. There have been attempts to steal, near interceptions of passes, and a couple of spectacular bludger hits. What's more, by now it's painfully obvious to all just how much pain Beatrix Vanderbilt is in. The Ravenclaw chasers and beaters have been doing an outstanding job assisting her.
Jasper slows his broom, shifting slightly as a little bit of a breeze kicks in, making him think that an extra layer under his Quidditch uniform probably would have been a good idea. He passes to Sadie, who hands off to Marlow. Marlow drives in for another goal attempt but ends up throwing right back to Sadie when both Jack and Ramona effectively block her line of sight to the hoops.
Gus gets off a bludger at one of them with Caerwyn wanting to do that same to the other but Jade gets to the second bludger first, sending it at Sadie. Sadie promptly passes back to Jasper, barely avoiding that bludger. He hurls the quaffle at the hoop nearest to him, which is the one on Beatrix's left. She's able to block using the tail of her broom, and thus saving her from having to lift that arm on the side of her injured collar bone.
Marlow catches the rebound but when Deak gets directly in front of her and makes it hard for her to maneuver around him, she passes to the side to Sadie. Sadie's got a clear opening to takes the shot. Beatrix tries to get to the quaffle in time but her hand raised to bat the ball away falls just short of the quaffle. It bumps the room of the hoop but still goes through, adding ten more points for Hufflepuff, bringing the score to 20-0.
In the stands, Liannah cheers the goal. Although a Ravenclaw, Jasper is pretty much her best friend so despite his team being the "enemy" today, Liannah is enthusiastic for Hufflepuff even if it wasn't Jasper scoring the goal this time. She's just as enthusiastic for her own team, afterall her roommate Beatrix is the Ravenclaw keeper, cousin Alastor plays one of the beater positions, and cousin Deak is a chaser.
Sitting with two of her other roommates Hera Roberts and Sarah Edwards, Liannah has to put up with goodnatured ribbing about applauding so much for Hufflepuff. This is in between talk of Christmas holiday, parties, and what each of the girls is hoping to get as gifts. Talk of presents involves talking about secret santa though to Liannah's amusement Hera and Sarah have to tippy toe around each other on who got who's name because Hera drew Sarah's and Sarah drew Hera's.
Liannah has no such problem. She drew the name of someone she doesn't know know but of whom she knows and has seen around and spoken to a few times. He's a Ravenclaw prefect and on the Quidditch team. Upon drawing Christopher Chant's name Liannah had gone straight to his girlfriend Catriona Amherst, another Ravenclaw, for a few suggestions. It seems Christopher has a thing for bugs, beetles in particular. He's got a couple of different terrariums with different environments but has of late been talking of getting another because there are some other bugs he's wanting that wouldn't do well in the terrariums he has. Cat gave Liannah the necessary information so pretty much it was just a matter of looking to see if the pet shoppe in Hogsmeade or other shoppes, like Botanicals & Beyond, had what she needed or if she was going to have to owl order it.
Liannah found something called a biosphere terrarium in Hogsmeade last Saturday that fit the criteria Cat gave her. She got it wrapped and under the tree in the commons last Sunday and Christopher has already retrieved it, opened it, and thanked her for it. Cat told her a couple of days ago that he's already got bugs in it too.
More Secret Santa (Alexa, Hunter, Jill)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 02-19-12 15:04
The other three Wenlock cousins currently enrolled at Hogwarts are also in attendance at the game today. Hunter Rabnott and Jill Prewitt are Gryffindors while Alexa Wenlock is a member of Slytherin House. They are here as Quidditch fans, none caring much either way whether Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw takes the win today.
Like so many of their cousins and friends, in addition to Quidditch, Jill, Hunter, and Alexa are thinking about winter term ending on Friday, the holiday from school and classes, parties, and Christmas presents. All three are participating in secret santa again this year with Alexa getting Barontaine Marchbanks's name, Jill drawing Paton Shrewsbury's, and Hunter having to get a gift for Whitney Widowmaker.
Hunter had no idea who Whitney Widowmaker is. When he drew her name the slip of parchment did not indicate her year or house. He had to do some asking around to find out she is a third year. Armed with that information he'd gone to his cousin Jasper, who is also a third year. Jasper told him Whitney is in Slytherin and added that she's cute, as if knowing she's cute helped Hunter. He'd next turned to another cousin, Liannah, who is also a third year. She was able to tell him a little more about Whitney but pointed to one of the girl's better friends, Adina Blackwood.
Hunter knows who Adina is solely because of her having been on the International Quidditch Tournament team at one point. He's on Gryffindor's team this term but she's not playing for Slytherin and he wasn't part of the IQT team so he doesn't really know much more about her. As she's two years behind him, he's not had any classes with her, not even Fitness & Athletics if she takes that one.
One day when she was in the commons he'd approached Adina, explained what he needed, and after she gave him enough information to be helpful, had thanked her and gone on his way. Based on what Adina had told him, Hunter got Whitney a bracelet. The links look like carnations. It's girly and pretty if you like that sort of thing. He'd procrastinating wrapping it so only got it under the common commons tree Thursday night. He's not checked to see if it's been picked up yet.
Jill had been just as clueless as to who Paton Shrewsbury is as Hunter had been about Whitney. Turns out not only is he a first year Ravenclaw but he's Aleydis Vanderbilt's cousin. Although not close friends with Aleydis, she does consider the Hufflepuff a friend. Aleydis is someone she really only got to know after being able to return to regular classes at Hogwarts after a year at Happy Haven, which put her a grade level behind where she normally would have been.
Aleydis was able to tell her a tiny bit about Paton but not all that much. Seems that she doesn't know him very well either because until a few months ago, she didn't even know he existed. Aleydis directed Jill to her brother Franciscus who is both a first year as well and a Ravenclaw too, making him Paton's roommate. Jill talked with the youngest Vanderbilt for a few minutes the Friday before Hogsmeade Saturday. While in Honeydukes with Etta Wynbourne, she too got to looking at the interesting variety of gummy candies.
Jill got Paton some creepy crawly gummy tarantulas and then some amusing gummies that look like bacon and eggs. Not wanting Paton to feel she skimped on him with a small amount of candy, Jill also got him a pair of toasty thermal socks. She'd been going to quit with that but then saw a game she thought he might like. Called Risk and based on a Muggle game of the same name, the Wizarding version's playing pieces are charmed, much like a Wizarding chess set pieces are, to move and engage each other. She had just enough left of the amount alotted for secret santa to get the game because of it being on sale.
Unlike Jill and Hunter, Alexa had no problem whatsoever figuring out something for Baron Marchbanks. She asked his cousins Wiggy and Gus for some helpful hints and learned that Baron is a burgeoning chess enthusiast. Thanks to sale prices to entice holiday shoppers combined with a special Hogsmeade weekend percent off to Hogwarts students last Saturday, Alexa had gotten him not one but two unique, and very reasonably priced even without the sales stickers, Wizarding chess sets. Both were wrapped and placed under the tree before curfew last Saturday. Baron found his two presents on Sunday and already opened them. She's since received a sweet little thank you note from him and seen him bent over both of the boards at various times in the Slytherin common room as this past week progressed.
Reading the Newspaper
Author: Hermione Granger
Date: 02-19-12 16:28
Both having slept in rather late, Hermione and Ron were still in their PJs while the Quidditch match at Hogwarts took place. They could dimly hear the occasional cheer from the Pitch and sometimes even the muted narration of the commentator, which often rose at a fever pitch whenever something exciting was happening.
"Who's playing today?" Ron asked, spreading black currant jam over a piece of toast.
"Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," Hermione replied without taking her eyes off of the morning's Daily Prophet.
"How do you know that?" Ron asked.
Hermione looked at him over the top of the newspaper. "I read it, of course."
"You don't read the sports page."
"I read everything," Hermione answered. "I may not be as interested in Quidditch goings-on around the world as you are, Ronald, but I do like to stay informed."
Ron chewed on his toast for a moment. "Are you at least finished with the sports page?"
Hermione pulled it free of the newspaper and passed it to him.
"Thanks," he murmured.
They read in silence for a while. Ron, who didn't read every article word for word, was soon finished. He set the section aside and finished working on his toast.
Hermione, meanwhile, had started reading the international news. She read about an upcoming political conference in Prague, an outbreak of dragon pox in Sweden, and a string of burglaries in a small wizarding town in Thailand.
She was about to read an article entitled ESTEEMED WANDMAKER GREGOROVITCH FOUND MURDERED when Crookshanks leapt into her lap and nearly caused her to knock over her coffee cup.
The cat began purring loudly and brushed his furry face against her chin, seeking attention. Hermione put down the paper and started scratching Crookshanks behind the ears. Soon Hero was trying to scramble up into Hermione's lap too, but Croonkshanks refused to make room. Hero jumped into Ron's lap instead and started purring just as loudly as Crookshanks across the table.
Ravenclaw Finally Scores (Deak)
Author: Kody
Date: 02-19-12 19:55
Quaffle tucked in close, Deak pulls out of a climb, searching for Ramona to pass. He'd had her in sight then lost her when both Caerwyn and Marlow flew across his path and he'd had to roll out of the way of a bludger. Jack took a bludger half a minute ago that caught his dominant hand pretty good so Deak's trying to avoid passing to Jack so he can give Jack a few minutes to shake it off.
He really feels like he's failing as team captain. Ravenclaw is down by two and Beatrix isn't doing so well with her collar bone. Some injuries are easier to continue playing with but a keeper with a collar bone that's probably broken could potentially spell trouble. It's just going to get harder and harder for her to use her arm on that side, limiting her range of ability. The whole time the pain is going to get worse with swelling and bones grating. She's being a real trooper to stick with it as she has. Playing without a keeper isn't impossible but it does ratchet up the difficult factor a few notches.
Ramona still isn't in the clear and rather than risk interception by Hufflepuff, Deak accelerates towards Glori Hodfuffer. A bludger comes at him so he swerves, notices Ramona's finally free so yells her name and hurls the quaffle at her. She slows to better catch it, ducks a the dangling feet of Christopher Chants as she shoots under him, then picks up speed again.
Jack is now positioned near the hoops, giving Ramona a signal. The Hufflepuffs and others watching think it's a signal that he's open and to pass. It's really saying let everyone think you're going to pass but shoot the quaffle instead. Throwing for a goal is exactly what Ramona does. At first thinking that Ramona's passing to Jack, Glori makes the mistake of looking to him. It's only for half a second but as in many sports, half a second is a long time and it's all Ravenclaw needs. Ramona's throw is good and Ravenclaw is finally on the board with ten points to Hufflepuff's twenty.
Sadie takes possession for Hufflepuff as Deak whirls back to go the other direction. He passes by the stands where Etta is sitting, reminding him he's still not decided whether to give her the present he'd gotten her over the summer with the thought of giving it at Christmas. Now that they've broken up and are trying to just be friends, he isn't sure if he should forgo giving her the gift. He could, he supposes, give it as a friend but it's a gift more for a girlfriend and not a girl who is a friend.
At least Secret Santa was easy for him this year. He'd gotten his little cousin Amorica's name. He had been talking to her not all that long before the name draw and Amorica had mentioned wanting a fish. As soon as he'd gotten her name, he wrote her parents Geoffrey and Shalamar asking if it was okay for him to get her a fish. As they had not been planning on getting her one themselves nor did they have any objections to Amorica having one as long as she took care of it, Deak got her a beta and a small aquarium for it. For the aquarium comes with some colored rocks and plants but if she wants she can get other plants or decorative items for the tank, or different colored rocks.
Fast Moving, Slow Scoring Match So Far (Augustus)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 02-20-12 15:37
Since the Ravenclaw goal, Hufflepuff has again kept the quaffle in its possession but with Beatrix have more trouble as the game progresses, the Ravenclaw chasers and beaters have really stepped things up. Even if they can't seem to regain the quaffle they have been doing an outstanding job keeping Hufflepuff from getting the ball within goal range. Augustus is frowning as he approaches one of the bludgers, still internally debating whether to bat it at Jack or send it on a collision course with Ramona.
By the time Gus is smacking the bludger with his bat he's decided that Jack is the better target. The older boy is keeping her from taking a pass from Marlow. If Sadie can get the quaffle she might be able to make a goal with a well placed, well timed long throw that Ravenclaw might not be expecting her to attempt from that distance. She's made throws that far in practice but with the pressure of being in the middle of a match, who knows if she could do it or not.
He's successful in hitting Jack with the bludger but it came just as Marlow passed off not to Sadie but to Jasper. Deak comes close to fouling Jasper in trying to intercept but Caerwyn had gotten to the other bludger and was able to use it to keep Deak from gaining the quaffle. But then, Jade uses the bludger most recently hit by Gus to go after Jasper. That hit has him losing his grasp on the quaffle and the red ball goes into free fall.
Jasper dives for it but as it's falling directly beneath him, others are a little better positioned to make the play for it, which is what all five of the other chasers do. It's Ramona who comes up triumphant, tucking the quaffle in close, leaning over her broom and accelerating while also climbing back up to a level better suited for eventually trying for a goal.
Beating Alastor to one of the bludgers, Gus smashes his bat into knowing that with the action moving the opposite direction he's got farther to send it. Halfway to his intended target, Alastor redirect that same bludger towards Marlow. Now Caerwyn is the one flying to try and stop it from hitting a teammate while Gus goes in pursuit of the second bludger, wanting to get to it before Jade does.
Getting Into The Action (Glori)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 02-20-12 16:14
The good thing about Huflepuff having the quaffle so much even if not able to make a goal is that Ravenclaw has had less chances to score. The bad thing about it is that Glori has had far fewer opportunities to participate in the action. To her chagrin, one of the times that Ravenclaw did go for a goal, they'd oh so easily tricked her. She knows better than to take her eyes off the quaffle unless forced to, like say because she's been taken a hard knock from a bludger.
Of course, being able to watch so much of the match is nice, something other players don't get to do. Seekers can but they are generally busy enough keeping eyes peeled for the elusive snitch that even when taking a break to watch a little of the quaffle and bludger action, they often still aren't fully taking it all, still hoping to spot the little winged ball. Nevertheless, Glori does love the challenge of being keeper. The three hoops behind her are large and when you have six chasers, four beaters, two bludgers, and one quaffle all flying about within several feet of you, things can get confusing and chaotic.
With Ramona coming in fact towards her, Deak and Jack flying closely by ready to assist as needed, Glori is on full alert. Sadie has gotten into a position to try and block any shot her sister might make so Ramona passes off to Deak. Marlow is covering him but he's got enough experience on her, plus a far longer reach. What keeps him from throwing for that goal attempt is a bludger from Caerwyn. Marlow snatches up the ball and starts back the other way only to be stopped by a bludger herself. She tries to pass off the quaffle but Jack steals.
He charges forward with it, aiming to his right, Glori's left. At the last second he throws to the other side but she puts her broom in reverse and is able to block the shot though she can't catch the ball, which would have allowed her to control who got the quaffle next. Deak and Jasper vye for the rebound with Jasper having fingers on it first but with such a tenuous hold that Deak's able to knock the quaffle away. He knocks it in Ramona's direction, who snatches it up but can't get a shot off because of Marlow. She ends up swiveling to throw behind her to Jack, who immediately goes for another goal.
Glori rebuffs it again but once more isn't able to catch it. The ball goes straight back to Jack. He aims for center this time but puts a spin on the ball, causing it to curve. Glori gives it a one handed smack just as a bludger comes at her. The bludger hits both her hand and the quaffle, the black ball causing the red ball to also hit her hand and in such a way that it, Glori isn't exactly sure how, ends up going on past her anyway and though it catches the rim of the hoop oddly, still goes through.
Ravenclaw has now tied the game at 20 points apiece.
Gift for Majandra
Author: Karma Davyd
Date: 02-20-12 16:55
Having finally selected a gift, though it was more a gift for Majandra and her husband, I placed the simple, decorative envelope with the blank reservation slip within it on the tree in an area where it can't be missed. Smiling I plucked a biscuit from the tray near the tree and smiled, hunting over the gifts that were gathered beneath the tree for one bearing my name.
Christmas is not a holiday I celebrate, but I thought it would be fun to participate in the secret Santa gift exchange that apparently is a yearly tradition here at Hogwarts that encompasses students and staff alike. I'd skipped the quidditch match today, because I had another date with another victim of my mother's attempts at matchmaking, Raj Newport would be meeting me at a muggle bistro in about an hour, I was so looking forward to it.
Turning, I offered a smile to a couple of individuals who were working on homework, rather than being out amongst the spectators for the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Quidditch game, at least it was warm here, and that was something I was going to miss when I left for my 'date.'
I'd found my gift, but not bothered to pluck it up just yet, I'd grab it later. I had to finish getting ready and then head to London for my 'date' now that the gift had been placed beneath, or in this case, resting on the branches, the tree.