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2006 Hufflepuff-Slytherin Quidditch Match
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 08-03-12 09:20
Trunk of Quidditch balls at his feet, Viktor surveys the pitch and its surrounding stands. Today should be a great day for a match. The air is fairly calm. The sun is out but a smattering of clouds will help players from being in the full glare of light. Ready to assist with referring duties are Viktor's old friend from the Bulgarian national team Stan Stanislaus and Morgana Flowers, of the Humbatas who'd greatly enjoyed the last Hogwarts match she'd helped with. The three fill the time until the teams are announced by talking about the various teams vying for one of the two coveted positions in this year's World Cup. Stan, naturally, is pulling for the Bulgarian team. Morgana believes the British team will make it. As a former member of the Bulgarian team and as someone living in the UK for a number of years now, Viktor would like to see both teams make it to the championship match. The problem for him would be if both do, who then will he pull for at the World Cup?
This being a nice Spring Saturday, the stands are rapidly filling up. It's soon time for the teams to be introduced. "Welcome to the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin Quidditch match! For Hufflepuff are captain and seeker Aleydis Vanderbilt! Beater and co-captain Caerwyn Valentine! Beater Gus Hodfuffer! Chasers Jasper Jenkins, Marlow MacDougal, and Sadie Mickle! And keeper Glori Hodfuffer!"
Each player emerges on broomstick from the locker room to fly a couple of quick circuits around the pitch, waving to the cheering crowd as they go. When they've all coming in for landings near where Morgana, Stan, and Viktor stand Slytherin's team takes the pitch.
"For Slytherin, captain and seeker Cornelia Vanderbilt! Co-captain and beater Mark Farnon! Beater Basil Wynbourne! Chasers Alexa Wenlock, Mason Jeffers, and Olive Green! And keeper Gus Van Tassle! This should be a great game everyone with the sisters Vanderbilt each hoping to be the one to grab the coveted golden snitch!"
Viktor motions for Cornelia and Aleydis to come forward. "I expect a clean match from both teams. Shake hands."
They do but Cornelia is giving Aleydis a look that is meant to be intimidating. Knowing her sister well, Aleydis doesn't seem fazed at all. He has them step back then it's time for the balls to be released and the players and referees to take to the air. The last ball up, the quaffle, Viktor throws forcefully upward before quickly hopping onto his broom. Rising at an angle to better avoid the convergence of six chasers going after the quaffle, each wanting to be the one to lay claim first, Viktor keeps his eyes on the action, ready to blow his whistle seconds into the match should the fight for the quaffle require it.
(Gus) The Beginning of the Match
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 08-03-12 14:16
Despite this might be the most important match of the year, Gus was not nervous. All he had to do was to make sure the quaffle did not enter the Slytherin's hoops. He hoped to do a better job than the last match against Ravenclaw which had been a complete disgrace in terms of defenses. But thank Merlin that in the end Cornelia was able to catch the snitch for the Slytherin team.
He thought about the Hufflepuff chasers and how he was not intimidated by them. Marlow MacDougal was only a second year. Sadie Mickle might be older than him but she was a girl. Jasper Jenkins was nothing but a kid too. Of course Gus recognized they had talent because they made the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, but he thought that Hunter Green and Beatrix Vanderbilt were not as good keepers as he was.
The match started and Jasper Jenkins caught the quaffle, passing it to Marlow who didn't lose anytime flying towards Gus' hoops. She planned to pass the red ball ball to Sadie but Alexa intercepted it. She then threw the quaffle to Mason. The Slytherin chaser speeded up and shot towards the Hufflepuff's hoops but Glori Hodfuffer did an easy defense.
Hufflepuff won the possession of the quaffle but not for long since a bludger from Basil made Marlow drop the quaffle and Olive caught it. Slytherin started to dominate the game now and Gus started to feel like he wasn't doing anything because whenever the Hufflepluff's chasers got the quaffle it would end up once again at the Slytherin's hands.
But then match's rhythm changed when Caerwyn Valentine aimed a bludger at Alexa who drop the quaffle in order to protect herself. With his bat Mark deviated the quaffle with mastery. Jasper did not lose this chance and after working with Sadie and Marlow he was almost face to face with Gus.
His shot was potent and Gus was able defend it although with difficulty. He cursed Jasper and he planned to pass the quaffle to Olive when Marlow appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the red ball and aimed to the central hoop. Another defense, this one even harder than the previous one. Gus just hoped that there wouldn't be such thing like a 'three times a charm'.
He throw the quaffle to Mason and the match proceeded.
Fan Mail (Wiggy)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 08-03-12 16:46
Prior to the start of the match Wiggy was sitting in the stands yawning, thinking that if not for badly wanting to see Slytherin take on Hufflepuff, he'd most likely be passed out on his bed for part of the afternoon. He'd made the national team and between intense workouts, practice sessions, a couple of matches already in the battle to be one of the two teams playing for the World Cup, and keeping up with classes, school work, and studying, Wiggy is tired. For the first time he's actually glad to be a year behind in school because if he were a seventh year, he'd have prepping for NEWTs added to everything else.
Sitting next to him, Jack nudges Wiggy. "Oy, what was that with Filch before coming down here? He looked mad."
Deak snorts, "Filch always looks mad."
"Madder than usual," Jack amends.
"That large laundry sized bag he had? Some of my fan mail. He was a bit cheesed off at having to deliver."
"You get fan mail?" Deak immediately shakes his head, pulling a face at himself. "Forget I asked that. Of course you do. You play pro. Fan mail is a given. Wait. You said that bag was some of your mail."
"Yeah. Usually, it goes to the Puddlemere Offices. I go through some of it but my mum has been dealing with most of it with me so busy. Some does come here but I had no idea a good number of the letters were being collected to give me all at once."
"What do they write?" Jack asks.
"Most are simply requests for an autographed picture or poster of me. Some send something to be autographed, like this one man sent a Puddlemere jersey to the offices, asking the entire team to sign it for his terminally ill son."
"Did you?"
Wiggy nods at Deak. "Yeah, and someone found out the little boy, he's only five, is able to get out some so the whole family was invited to one of our matches. They were given really nice box seats, loads of official team stuff, and we presented the signed jersey to the kid before the match started."
"That's bloody cool, though really sad," Jack states.
"Yeah, seriously."
Trying to lighten the mood Deak asks, "Do you have girls sending you pictures of themselves wanting to be your girlfriend?"
"Yes, from all ages. What's more, some send other things. This one forty-six year old woman sent me a pair of red lace panties, a picture of her wearing them and not much else, and wanting to know if I like older women."
This is met with jaw dropping silence, broken when Jack says, "Okay, you're making that one up."
"I'll show you the letter and picture."
Jack and Deak exchange a look before Deak asks, "So, why are we just now hearing about this fan mail?"
Wiggy is saved from answering immediately by the introduction of the players and the quaffle tip off.
(Sadie) Back and Forth
Author: Griet
Date: 08-03-12 17:05
The Slytherin chasers worked hard to move the quaffle as far away from Gus van Tassel as possible, only to have Sadie intercept the ball around midfield. She turned abruptly and darted away, zig zagging past the outstretched arms and hurdling bludgers, somehow managing to avoid every distraction and deterrent. Once within scoring range, Sadie quickly calculated where best to let loose the quaffle. Gus seemed to mirror her calculations and easily swatted the red ball away with the palm of his hand. Sadie attempted to catch the rebound, but Olive came out of nowhere and plucked it from the sky before anybody else could get their hands on it.
The bludgers came at Olive quickly, and Sadie being awfully close by had no choice but to dodge out of the way or get hit. Olive, somehow, emerged unscathed and took off like a shot in the direction of the Hufflepuff goal hoops. Sadie forced herself to hurry up and catch up, but despite the lack of wind or rainy conditions, she had a hard time with it. Instead she trailed behind, hoping Olive that wouldn't make it all the way to the Hufflepuff hoops.
Unfortunately for Sadie, Olive did. Fortunately, Glori managed to flick the quaffle away from the goals with the bristles of her broomstick. Sadie caught up to the pack just in time for Marlow to catch the rebound. Marlow's grasp didn't last long, thanks to a bludger courtesy of Mark. The black ball narrowly missed her fingers and managed to pop the red ball free, allowing Olive to recover it. She tried for another goal, but this time Glori caught the quaffle.
Glori handed it over to Sadie, who tucked it securely between her arm and body and rocketed away, with her fellow chasers and the Slytherin ones right on top of her. When Sadie could, she handed the ball to Jasper, who had pulled up alongside her. Jasper urged his broomstick forwards and managed to pull ahead of the pack little by little.
Sadie kept her eyes open for the bludgers, which she knew would target Jasper now, but also made herself ready in case he wanted to hand the ball back to her. Eventually he did, turning on his broomstick to lob it backwards at her. She caught it squarely in her middle and then hurried onwards to the Slytherin goals.
Augustus or Gus, But Never Auggie (Gus)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 08-03-12 17:59
Being in a match against Slytherin means that from time to time Gus Hodfuffer can expect to hear his name announced as Augustus or even just referred to as Hodfuffer to help separate him in everyone's minds from that of Gus Van Tassel, even though he's a beater and that Gus plays keeper. Gus doesn't mind. He likes his name. It's just as a little kid he had some trouble with saying his whole name right and he absolutely refused to go by Auggie.
At present Augustus or Gus but never Auggie has his bat at the ready as he approached a bludger. When first spotting it, his intention was to hit the bludger at Olive Green but just before reaching it, Hufflepuff is once again nearing scoring range so he altering his position and adjusting the bat, Gus smacks the black ball at the other Gus.
Basil Wynbourne's able to stop it before it reaches Van Tassel who, in turn, easily blocks a shot by Marlow MacDougal. Jasper Jenkins catches the quaffle, ready to make another goal attempt but Basil's able to go a quick turn around to get that very same bludger, hitting Jasper squarely with it, interfering with the throw. Mason Jeffers is right there to grab the quaffle away then zoom off back in the direction of the three hoops guarded by Gus's cousin Glori.
Mason, Olive, and Alexa Wenlock rapidly work the quaffle down the pitch. Sadie and Jasper both nearly get it back on interceptions but Slytherin is able to retain possession. Mark and Basil are, as usual, aggressive with the bludgers but neither Caerwyn Valentine nor Gus hold back in that department either.
Alexa has the quaffle on the approach to Glori. She throws high and to Glori's right but Glori's ready and blocks the shot with the palm of one hand. Mason grabs the rebound, shooting immediately with another attempt but Glori's able to quickly respond and throws herself at the quaffle. She catches it two-handed against her chest then passes it off to Marlow. Though he tries to get in to stop a bludger from Mark aimed at Marlow, Gus can't maneuver around the tight grouping at the hoops in time. The bludger catches Marlow and while she doesn't drop the quaffle, it distracts her just enough that Olive goes for the steal.
Slytherin in possession again, Gus rushes to get to a nearby bludger while Caerwyn does the same with Basil and Mark intent on getting to the bludgers themselves. Gus gets to the bludger and hits it while Olive was jockeying for an opening to take a shot. He sends the bludger at her but all he can do now is watch and wait to see if he was in time or if not, whether one of the Hufflepuff chasers or Glori are able to stop Slytherin from making this the first goal of the match.
Quidditch Makes a Perfect Saturday
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 08-04-12 14:25
I'd gotten up early and headed to the Great Hall to grab something to eat before anything else happened, wearing a pair of pj bottoms that were my favorite - with pieces of sushi on them, a pair of slip on sandals and a tank top that had a smiling onigiri on it that matched the ones on the pj bottoms. After breakfast I'd showered and pulled on my favorite pair of jeans that had a rip in the knee, a pair of trainers and grabbed a tank top that had thick scarlet and yellow stripes on it for Gryffindor house. Even though my house wasn't playing today, I still wanted to go to the match and see who was going to come out on top.
That had been several hours ago, and right now I was currently sitting in the stands watching the match. I'd gone down to the concessions stand earlier and gotten a butter beer and some nibbles and was currently cheering on Slytherin - simply because my sister was in Hufflepuff and I didn't want her getting a big head if her house won the game today (and I knew it was also out of character for a Gryffindor to cheer for a Slytherin so that's what I did). Either way, it was going to be an awesome match and had already showed some promise of keeping me entertained for the duration.
She'd need to later check the status of the teams vying for one of the two coveted spots at the Quidditch World Cup, that she'd gotten tickets to at a Christmas Event this past year. She could bring a friend, but so far on the friendship level thing she didn't really have many. She'd be going with her parents, brothers, and sisters and each of them could bring a friend to stay in the expansive tent that the family had.
Flicking my gaze briefly over the stands as I took in people in the stands, the other students as well as the fantastic referees whom I knew some stats about from keeping up with the games on the WWN. After a quick run back down to the concessions, she returned to her seat and turned her attention back to the game and would make sure to find the Quidditch recap later on the WWN, while I was doing homework.
Legs curled underneath me I got back to the matter at hand, waiting to see who would score the first goal, because as of right now both sets of chasers, beaters and keepers had done a fantastic job of keeping the quaffle from soaring into the goal hoops at either end of the pitch. A quick flick of gaze upward would let her lay eyes upon both seekers, seeing if they could be the first one to catch the glimmer of golden snitch that would signal one hundred and fifty points and more than likely the end of the game, but right now it was seriously too early for that to happen.
Tight Spot (Marlow)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 08-04-12 15:12
A timeout called so the referees can check the stability of Jasper's broom after a bludger hit it in such a way that splinters went flying, Marlow sits back on her broom, hoping that he'll be able to continue in the match. Not only is he her teammate but as her cousin, Marlow hates the idea of Jasper having to leave the game when it's his broom, not him that's hurt. Two minutes later Coach Krum has Jasper on another broom, having decided that it was best until Jasper's broom could be more closely examined when there's not a match to be finished.
Slytherin had been in possession of the when the timeout was called. Now, Olive has the quaffle putting it back into play with a pass to Mason. He immediately tosses to Alexa as Caerwyn gets bludger hit nicely timed to seriously screw up her catch. Flashing a sorry but not really smile at her cousin, Marlow swoops in for the steal.
Because of her position relative to Alexa and Mason, Marlow has to make a tight turn or fly right where a bludger is headed. Choosing the tight turn over the bludger, she tucks the quaffle in close to her torso, bending slightly to help hold it in place while using both hands to maneuver the tricky turn, neither Alexa nor Mason showing any signs of helping her out by giving more space to complete the turn. If anything, they've closed in on her, making it a tighter squeeze. Determined not to be the one causing a foul here, Marlow quickly assesses the space above and below, checking for other players and for bludgers.
Diving is easier than climbing in the tight space but Olive is just below, probably hoping Marlow will drop the ball. Climbing it is. Leaning as far over her broom as the quaffle at her belly will allow, she jerks on her broom handle with both hands, guiding it into a steep, sharp upward climb, having to roll slightly in the process to avoid Mason encroaching further into her space.
Mason and Alexa start to climb as well but the slight delay in either of them realizing what she was going to do is enough to let her get clear enough of them to level off and accelerate forward. With them no longer blocking much of her line of sight, she spots Sadie. With Mason and Alexa still fairly close to Marlow, Sadie is open. With no sign of her teammate being the immediate target of a bludger, Marlow makes the pass, and none to soon as she was the one being targeted. She's hardly let go of the quaffle when a bludger take her on one shoulder blade.
Reaching to rub what of the spot hit she can, Marlow continues accelerating, wanting to be in a good position to assist Sadie the other Hufflepuff need it.
A New Broom Would Be Nice, But Later (Jasper)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 08-04-12 16:28
Very much liking his broom Jasper is hopeful that the splintered area from that bludger can be easily mended. A brand new broom isn't something he's against. It's that he's really come to know that broom. It's familiar and comfortable. If he's got to get a new broom, he'd prefer the timing be after the teams know who's playing for the Quidditch Cup so that he has plenty of time to get used to the new broom and break it in, learn its quirks.
Even if Hufflepuff loses today, if the team can score enough goals, Jasper and his teammates can ensure Hufflepuff is in the championship match. If they win, they are definitely in it. Win or lose, Slytherin already has a lock on playing for the cup. If Hufflepuff doesn't win and doesn't make enough goals, it will be Ravenclaw edging out Gryffindor to go up against Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup with Hufflepuff taking fourth in this school year's Quidditch standings. To say the least, Jasper either wants to win outright or for Hufflepuff to score a minimum of ten goals to put the team ahead of Ravenclaw.
These thoughts running through his mind Jasper steers around Gus Hodfuffer, who's swinging his bat at a bludger, waving a hand at Sadie. She nods almost at the same time she passes the quaffle to him. Jasper catches it, tucking the red ball in close to his body almost simultaneously having to lean and duck to avoid a quaffle.
Olive attempts to pluck the quaffle away from him but Jasper's got it in too close to his body and too tight a hold on it. Olive could persist and intentionally foul but she chooses to back off, though only a little. She's still in close to him, pestering and harassing, attempting to break his concentration and to interfere with any pass he might make or any goal shot he might take.
Marlow comes around on his other side, allowing Jasper to do a cross body hand off to her, much to Olive's chagrin. Marlow pulls away, with Mason on her heels. She quickly passes to Sadie, Alexa making a dive for the quaffle but missing the interception by less than half an inch.
Within goal range now, Sadie takes a shot, Gun Van Tassel brushing the quaffle away. Mason has the rebound until taking a bludger courtesy of Caerwyn, allowing Marlow to scoop up the quaffle. She doesn't have a clear shot to the hoops so rapidly passes to Jasper. Either Gus's attention was distracted in that brief moment it took for the pass to take place or something else was going on with him because the keeper's eyes were still looking to Marlow to throw for goal. The quaffle is reaching the hoop where Jasper has sent it before Gus realizes Marlow no longer has the ball.
With Gus unable to get to the quaffle in time to stop its progress through the hoop, Hufflepuff makes the first goal of the match, putting the score at Hufflepuff 10, Slytherin 0.
(Angharad Carter-Cardin) Hufflepuff Scores First
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 08-04-12 16:59
This morning I'd been up early, because I'd intended on getting my homework done early in the day so I didn't have to worry about it after the Quidditch match. I was going to the match with Anita Tuck, one of my roommates and then I was probably going to go sit in the common common room and listen to the WWN and maybe play a game of wizarding chess with someone if there is anyone that wanted to play.
I'd gotten a couple of letters yesterday, one from my mother and another from Aderyn and from a friend that I'd made in Japan when we'd been there. Breakfast had been fantastic and I'd changed into my favorite pair of jeans and a Hufflepuff striped tank top to wear for the match today and I was looking forward to it, and seriously hoped that we beat Slytherin.
I wasn't a big a fan of Quidditch as Cai, Broderick or even Evan and I'd probably not bother trying out for the house team next year, but I did enjoy playing the occasional pick up match I just didn't follow every detail that I could.
Anita and I currently were seating in the stands after a few moments watching the action, and hated that there had been a moment when we would have been down a player if Jasper's broom had been too damaged. However, there was a replacement given and within moments Jasper was back in the game and there was no more need for a time out.
The action was fast paced and kept everyone guessing on to who would be the first to score, but after a few moments there was a cheer of delight from the Hufflepuff section of the stands when Jasper threw the quaffle and it sailed past the distracted Slytherin keeper Gus Van Tassel. Hufflepuff was now had the first few points of the game, ten to nothing.
Within moments the action was once more going strong and Angharad and Anita talked a few minutes during lulls in the cheering, wondering on which houses would be playing in the championship match coming up in the next couple of weeks.