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Gadzooks
Author: Carys
Date: 04-27-14 09:52
The queue to get onto the Hogwarts grounds was long but it moved rather quickly. When Griffin first announced that he would be working security for the match, Tristan decided both he and his mother (and Snowy and Seeayetee) should also attend. As they didn't have anything else to do, Carys found herself agreeing to her son's proposal (but the cats had to stay home). She could even snap a few photos for Emrys Everyday.
It so happened the match was between her old house, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff. Carys rarely thought about her time at Hogwarts, which had been cut short thanks to her expulsion, but being there now gave her a sense of nostalgia. She and Griff had both been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, as keeper and beater, respectfully.
As soon as they cleared the checkpoint and Griffin went off to patrol the grounds, Carys and Tristan made their way to the Pitch. There they bumped into Juliet and Jude.
"I didn't expect to see you both here," Carys remarked, giving Juliet a hug.
Juliet shrugged. "It was a spur of the moment decision. We saw the notice in the paper and thought, why not?"
Jude nodded. "We all know Hufflepuff will win."
Juliet slapped his arm. "Stop. Obviously, there are more Gryffindor supporters here than Hufflepuff," she started, gesturing at herself and Carys, "and that will make all the difference."
"You think?" Jude asked, jokingly. "Maybe I'll invoke the Fairchild name and scare Gryffindor into losing."
Jude didn't make light of his shared surname with the current leader of the Death Eaters very often. It had already given him some grief. He was still trying to get on with the Department of Mysteries but had yet to pass the screening process.
Tristan said, "Dad says she's very bad."
"She is," Jude agreed. "Maybe I should change my name so that there's no question about us being related or associated with one another. Do you have a suggestion?"
Tristan furrowed his brow and then said, "Gadzooks."
"Gadzooks?" Carys asked, laughing.
Jude laughed too. "Jude Gadzooks. You have to admit, it has a good ring to it."
"Don't be offended, but I'm not ever changing my last name to Gadzooks if we get married," Juliet said, laughing.
Jude clutched at his heart as if it were broken and said, "I guess I could change my name to Davis."
"Gadzooks-Davis," Carys suggested with a wink.
They laughed and discussed more silly names and went to find some good seats in the stands.
Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff 2007-2008
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 04-27-14 09:53
The Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match won't begin until after the apparition lesson taking place in the Great Hall ends. That has not kept the stands from slowly filling, early birds wanting to be sure of getting a good seat. One would think all of the seats in the stands of this particular pitch are good ones but just ask a short first or second year who's been stuck directly behind a much taller sixth or seventh year if where one sits doesn't matter.
The trunk of balls, which includes a new, never been used before snitch as all matches do, sits on the sidelines. Viktor stand beside it with Blaise Cadogen. Blaise has helped referee in the past and Viktor is glad to have the help today. When Viktor got up this morning, his voice was just about gone. Though refereeing Quidditch doesn't often require a great deal of talking on his part, it's nice to have someone there who'll be able to put voice to any fouls called, speak with an injured player about whether the player needs to come out of the match, and that sort of thing.
When Blaise asks, "Does your throat hurt?" Viktor shakes his head. In a croaking whisper, which Blaise must strain to hear, he replies, "Not even a little."
"You saw the school nurse or go see a healer?"
"School nurse. Gave me a vile potion to drink but said it would take a few hours to work."
"No wonder you're drinking a little coffee with your sugar. Trying to get the bad taste out, huh?"
Viktor nods at the grinning Blaise. He doesn't often put any sugar at all in his coffee but in trying to get the foul taste of that potion out of his mouth he would add some sugar to his coffee, take a taste, then add more sugar. He did that a number of times, so much so that Blaise isn't far from the truth about taking a little coffee with his sugar.
While waiting for match time to edge nearer, the two men take a few turns around the pitch, stopping every now and then to say hello to others. They converse on a number of topics with Blaise doing most of the talking. At one point they stop at the locker rooms for Blaise to say hello to today's players.
For Gryffindor will be the two Hunters, Green and Rabnott, Mildred Campbell, Max Owens, Cai Carter, Madoc McGonagall, and Edgar Steele. For Hufflepuff are Jasper Jenkins, Marlow MacDougal, Aleydis Vanderbilt, Glori Hodfuffer, Gus Hodfuffer, Caerwyn Valentine, and Sadie Mickle.
Back out on the pitch, Blaise and Viktor eventually return to the trunk of balls, Viktor debating whether to get more sugar with a little coffee added.
Obsessions
Author: Ellis
Date: 04-27-14 15:41
Alys went down to the Quidditch Pitch with her roommate Estella. Both girls were dressed in their warmest clothes. It was only the first of March and the end of winter was nowhere in sight. Right now, the clouds overhead were patched with gray and seemed to allude to bad weather. Alys hoped any rain or snow wouldn't happen till the match ended and everyone was back inside the castle.
The girls climbed into the Ravenclaw stands and found two empty places near the front of the box, which was a lucky find since the match had already started. Nothing appeared to have happened yet, so it didn't seem they had missed very much.
Hufflepuff had the quaffle, but then Gryffindor intercepted it. Gryffindor had it for a few more passes, but then Hufflepuff intercepted it back. Neither pack of chasers appeared to get very far before a turnover happened again and again. The crowd couldn't make up its mind on how to feel. Cheers on one side were quickly replaced by "No!!!", "Aww!!", and "Not again!!!", only to result in cheering all over again.
Alys pulled out a pair of omnioculars and spent a great deal of time adjusting the dials. When the settings were just right, she started looking for the snitch. Maybe she could spot it before either seeker. Her focus eventually found Chip seated across the field with his other friends. Chip, a Hufflepuff, was on his feet shaking his fist in the air when Gryffindor once again took possession of the quaffle.
Alys snickered.
"What's so funny?" Estella asked.
Alys lowered the omnioculars from her eyes and said, "People are. Sometimes it's more fun watching the spectators than watching the players themselves."
"Oh, did you see someone pick a bogey from their nose?" Estella asked.
"No," Alys replied, laughing.
"What then?"
"It's just amusing to me how serious some are about their teams."
"You mean you aren't so obsessed about our Ravenclaws? Not even my cousin Bran?"
For some reason, the comment made the tips of Alys' ears turn red. Good thing it was so cold that Estella might not think twice about it.
At not quite 12 years old, Alys wasn't the sort to think about boys all day, but it wasn't that she didn't notice them. She had never thought about Bran in that way, but now that Estella had put the thought into her head, Alys would have a hard time looking at him without thinking about it. She realized that Estella had probably only brought him up because of his position as seeker on the Ravenclaw team and not because she was playing matchmaker. After all, Estella was only 12 herself and probably didn't think much of boys either.
"Well, I'm not going to wave my fist in the air if Ravenclaw loses the quaffle or misses a goal," Alys finally said.
"Such a reluctant fan, you are."
Alys stuck her tongue out at Estella. "I'm just not obsessed."
"This coming from somebody who brushes her hair the same number of times each night and then lays out her brush just so on the bedside table."
"So I may be a little obsessed about some things, but that is different than that," Alys said, waving her hand in the direction of where Chip was sitting.
"Let's have a look then," Estella said, holding out her hands for the omnioculars.
Alys passed them over, and Estella held them up her face and scanned the crowd. Hufflepuff had the quaffle again, but another interception put it in Gryffindor hands. But then a bludger knocked it right back over to Hufflepuff.
Estella started snickering too. "Smiling, frowning, smiling, frowning. They can't make up their minds."
"I know. It's funny to watch."
The girls spent the rest of the match passing the omnioculars between them and laughing at the antics of the spectators in the crowd.
(Arielle) Daydreams
Author: Jolyon
Date: 04-27-14 17:41
Arielle huddled next to Lauren MacDougal in the stands and said, "This match is going to go on forever at this rate."
Lauren nodded her head. "I can't decide if this back and forth but not really getting anywhere is making it exciting or slow."
"I know. Just imagine when somebody finally does break free and make it to the hoops."
"The crowd's going to go wild, and I'm hoping it'll be for Gryffindor," Lauren remarked with a grin.
Arielle was decked out in a black cloak, but she was wearing her Gryffindor scarf, which served the dual purpose of not only keeping her warm but also showing support for her house team.
She turned away from the players to scan the faces in the crowd. Her box wasn't too far away from the staff box, so she could make out her father pretty well. Even though Ravenclaw wasn't playing today, he seemed very much into the match. He kept jumping up to make some sort of exclamation.
She continued skimming the crowd until she came to a sea of black and green. The group of Slytherins was a bit too far away for her to see clearly, but she imagined her brother there, scowling at everyone and everything. She didn't understand how he could be so negative and unpleasant all the time. It had to be tiring.
Arielle turned back to the players but thought about her mother next. She and Asher would be meeting her new boyfriend when they went home for Easter at the end of the month. Arielle wondered if she would like this new guy as much as she liked her father. She tended to like everybody, no matter their faults (even her brother!), but a large part of her hoped her mother's new relationship wouldn't work out. More than anything, Arielle hoped her parents would get back together.
"Are you even listening to me?" Lauren asked, poking Arielle in the side with her elbow.
"Hmm, what?" Arielle asked.
Lauren shook her head. "What part did you miss?"
"Um, all of it?"
"You are such a dreamer."
"I can't help it," Arielle replied with a small smile. "Okay, I promise I won't let my mind wander. What were you saying?"
Lauren heaved a sigh and then launched into the whole story all over again.
Bitchy Witchy
Author: Eoghan
Date: 04-27-14 17:55
Lucy Hewitt grouses, "Bloody cold out."
Eoghan ignores her. Lucy has been grousing about one thing or another all morning. Ms. Hewitt has been particularly verbal at being told he'd let her come with him this morning. Let me? LET ME? Who do you bloody think you are, you manky berk? Lucy had gone on for at least fifteen minutes. That Eoghan had shrugge and told her, "If you don't want to come then just say so and I'll be off," certainly hadn't helped matters. Her screeching was a few decibles shy of shattering glass.
Next time he tries keeping things smoothed over at having made contact with Fairchild when it wasn't his assignment he'll ask the her partner on that, Jermaine Radley. Jermiane can be deadly dull but at least he's not prone to endless whining.
"How much longer, Riordin?"
With a tight smile Eoghan answers her with forced patience. "The name right now is Stewart. Jimmy Stewart. Just as yours is Marlene Dietrich. The contact will be here when the contact is here."
"If we weren't in a Muggle location I'd zap you."
"You've tried that once before if you recall."
"How could I forget? Took me a week to get my hair to stop looking as if I'd been hit by lightening."
"You sort of were."
"Bugger off, pikey."
Anything Eoghan might had countered with is forgotten about when he spots a person who could only be who he, they, are there to meet. He said instead, "Shut up. Time for you to remember you're Marlene Dietrich."
"THAT's who we're meeting? Why in hell didn't you mention this tidbit?"
"Because I didn't know."
Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich walk a short distance to meet none other than Bellatrix Lestrange. At the sight of him, Lestrange gets an odd look on her face. It's quickly gone, the older witch briskly getting down to business.
"You have the root?"
"Right here." Eoghan pats a pocket.
"I need to authenticate it."
Eoghan hands over the small packet. Lucy condescendingly chimes in, "Be careful not to use too much when you test it. That root is rare and hard to come by."
Bellatrix's smile for Lucy is chilly enough that Eoghan would swear the temperature in their immediate vicinity drops a few degrees. "I had no idea. Thank you for the warning."
The sarcasm is so cutting Eoghan would have been surprised if Lucy started bleeding.
Lestrange makes short work of verifying the root is the real deal. Seconds later Eoghan's pocketing the galleons agreed upon for the rare potion ingredient. Lestrange continues in the direction she'd initially been walking in the Muggle park, which is located in Harrogate. Eoghan and Lucy walk off in another, Lucy beginning her carping again. Enough so that he sort of hopes she does try to zap him again afterall.
(Madoc) Some Progress, Sort Of
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 04-28-14 06:20
Madoc glanced up at the graying sky and wondered if the looming ice storm would help move things along in the match. So far, neither side had reached the goals, proving they were well-matched but also making for somewhat irritating gameplay. Max had the quaffle at the moment, but he was boxed in on all sides. He looked for someone to throw to, but the Hufflepuff chasers were doing their best to make passing difficult.
Madoc darted after a bludger knocked away by Gus, after Edgar tried to hit Jasper with it. He caught up to it quickly and redirected it back to the cluster of chasers, aiming for Jasper again, who was preventing Max from getting anywhere. Close to the same time, Edgar hit the other bludger towards Jasper. Gus was there to deflect one, but Caerwyn couldn't get to the other fast enough. Edgar's bludger struck Jasper in the shoulder and created the opening Max needed to break free from the pack.
A roar went through the crowd. Max tore away, but the other chasers were hot on his heels. Madoc hurried to keep up while simultaneously looking for a bludger to hit or intercept. Caerwyn knocked one at Max's back, but Edgar got between it and its target. He hit it at Marlow, but it flew wide over her shoulder. Madoc and Gus fought to reach it first, with Gus being victorious. He knocked it to Caerwyn, who whacked it at Max. It hit him seconds after he passed the ball to Mildred.
Mildred didn't hold onto the quaffle for long, but instead of losing it to Hufflepuff before Gryffindor could even attempt a goal, she passed it to Hunter. Hunter assessed his options and threw it hard at one of the hoops. Glori lunged with both of her arms raised and knocked the quaffle back into the fray.
Hunter snatched it back and tried again, but this time Glori caught the ball. She put it back into play via Sadie, who wasted no time rushing away from the Hufflepuff goal hoops. Madoc quickly skimmed the area for the nearest bludger and frowned when he saw that Gus and Caerwyn had monopolies on both black balls. Madoc had no choice but catch up to the pack and protect his chasers. He leaned forward and shot after them, with his bat clutched tightly in his hand.
Coping
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 04-28-14 12:19
Bronwyn stood shivering on the back porch while Toby dug a hole in the flower bed with blasts from his wand. Nerisse, her first cat, had died peacefully in its sleep and been discovered unresponsive on her pillow only a few minutes ago.
Bron backhanded a tear rolling down her cheek and sighed to herself. The orange cat had been very old and had lived a good life. Her death had been somewhat expected but had nonetheless come as a shock when it finally happened.
"Okay, I think that's deep enough," Toby said, slipping his wand into the pocket of his jeans. He came over to the porch and knelt to pick up the bundle at Bronwyn's feet.
He started to move to the hole he'd dug when Bronwyn called out, "Wait!"
She stepped off the porch and put her arms around Toby's arms, so that it looked like they were both embracing their pet. They stood that way until Bronwyn nodded and said, "Okay."
Toby gently lowered the bundle into the hole and then used his hands to fill the hole back up again. Bronwyn found a nice smooth rock and put it on the grave as a marker. Maybe later she would put an inscription on it or find a different stone for that purpose.
When they finished, Toby took Bronwyn by the hand and led her back inside the house, where they shed their coats and hung them on the pegs by the door. Toby went to the bathroom sink to wash up, and Bronwyn sank down on the couch.
Shadow, the younger cat, emerged from wherever he had been hiding and climbed onto Bronwyn's lap. She scratched behind his ears and then under his chin. He turned his head this way and that, closed his eyes, and started to purr.
Toby emerged from the bathroom and rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, eventually joining Bron on the couch with two bowls of ice cream.
"Ice cream? In this weather?" Bronwyn asked, accepting one of the bowls.
"There's never a wrong time for ice cream, and besides, it'll make you happy."
"It will help," Bronwyn agreed.
They ate in silence for a while. Shadow also fell silent since Bronwyn was no longer giving him her undivided attention. He climbed off her lap, turned a half circle on the sofa cushion, and stared at the ice cream bowl in Bron's hand.
"What else bad will happen?" Bronwyn asked after a while.
"What do you mean?" Toby asked.
"Nerisse died. Maybelle stripped down and threw herself at you. Bad things always come in clusters."
Toby leaned forward to set his bowl down on the coffee table and then put an arm around his wife. "Nothing bad's going to happen, and while I agree that Maybelle catching me in the shower was a bit of a shock, she's in prison now, which is a very good thing because she can't hurt you from behind bars."
Bronwyn sighed. "I know. I'm just… I don't know. Shadow, stop!"
The cat had jumped onto the coffee table and started licking Toby's ice cream.
Toby laughed. "Let him have it. He's had a hard day too."
"My poor baby," Bronwyn murmured.
Shadow made quick work of emptying the ice cream bowl and then retreated to the edge of the table to groom himself. Bronwyn finished her bowl and while she didn't feel 100% better, Toby had been right. There never was a wrong time for ice cream.