|
|
Hufflepuff vs Slytherin 2007-2008
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 06-29-14 07:45
The stands have a few students eager for the day's match to begin and there is a trickle from the castle as more emerge into the grey light of the overcast morning. There was a light, brief shower a quarter hour ago and there is the threat of more rain through the day. There is no lightening in the forecast but that doesn't mean it's not possible. At the first sign of lightening, Viktor will postpone the game and the stands will be cleared; otherwise, even if there is a heavy downpour the match will go on. Sleet is usually playable but Viktor would also halt a match for out and out hail.
As with the last match, there is an apparition lesson going on, one of the last before a morning testing here at Hogwarts for those who've turned seventeen. Passing means their apparition licenses are issued that day. For those taking the lessons who won't be seventeen by that morning, testing is given year around by the Ministry. It's simply more convenient to be able to do it here while lessons are fresh on the mind.
Viktor deposits the trunk of balls along the sideline at the mid-pitch point. Summoning a camp type chair to sit in, he watches for Wanda Carmody. With the threat of rain potentially making for poor visibility during the match, which is between Hufflepuff and Slytherin, Viktor had welcomed Wanda's request to assist as referee today.
A few of the players make it to the pitch, going straight to the dressing rooms. Some are in the apparition lesson so will be the last to the field unless someone else is delayed for some reason. It's rare but from time to time players do oversleep on match day.
For Slytherin today are chasers Olive Green, Mason Jeffers, and Malden McGonagall, beaters Asher Kent and Mark Farnon, keeper Gus van Tassel, and seeker Rylee Marks.
Playing for Hufflepuff are chasers Jasper Jenkins, Marlow MacDougal, and Sadie Mickle, beaters Gus Hodfuffer and Caerwyn Valentine, keeper Glori Hodfuffer, and seeker Aleydis Vanderbilt.
Spotting Wanda, Viktor rises to go meet her. Having her to chat with before the match will make the time seem to go by faster, which is a good thing because Viktor is as eager and as excited for the match as the players and spectators.
(Mark) The Match Begins
Author: Isolde
Date: 06-29-14 11:38
After giving a rousing speech in the locker room, Mark led his Slytherin teammates out onto the field with the commentator calling them each by name as they emerged from the double doors. He flew a quick circuit around the Pitch and then touched down at center field with Hufflepuff captain, Aleydis Vanderbilt. They shook hands and promised to play a nice, clean game, and then it was back into the air again for the both of them. Coach Krum released all of the balls, and the match began.
Mark gripped his bat tightly and knocked it against the bludger that had just happened to wind up in his path. He hit it so that it targeted Sadie as she hurried away with the quaffle clutched in her hands. The bludger made good progress and would have hit Sadie perfectly, had a few things not happened. First, Sadie executed a sudden swerve as if she had eyes at the back of her head and knew the bludger was upon her. Second, Malden rammed unexpectedly into the flying bludger, not having noticed it in his concentration to steal the quaffle back for Slytherin.
Mark frowned, hoping Malden's collision with the bludger had caused minimal pain to his dominant arm. Many chasers were somewhat ambidextrous, but it was always a detriment when the favored arm suffered an injury. Malden rubbed at his arm but otherwise seemed okay.
Mark chanced a quick glance into the stands. His eyes found the sea of green, where he knew Capri would be sitting and cheering him on. They swept to a cluster of Hufflepuffs all decked out in black and yellow. This time last year, he and Kate would have teased each other over the outcome of this match. This year she was probably sitting there with Hugo Hathi, possibly making eyes at him and not paying attention to what was occurring on the Pitch. Mark would say she was supporting Hufflepuff and only Hufflepuff, but Mark knew how close she was to Johanna, Felicia, and Gus. Maybe a small sliver of her was supporting Slytherin after all.
Mark looked over to where Gus guarded the Slytherin goal hoops and thought about how professional they acted towards each other during practice and official matches. They had learned how to put their differences aside for the good of the team. They still weren't friends, but at least they weren't going to jeopardize the outcome of the match because of something petty. They had even bumped fists in the locker room after Mark's big speech.
He tapped the bludger Malden had accidentally run into with the side of his bat, jostling it into position with another tap. Then, he struck it with a mighty whack at Aleydis, because it looked like she had spotted the snitch. The bludger glanced the bristles of her broomstick, disrupting her flight just enough for her to lose sight of the snitch. Rylee hadn't been close enough to spot it and though she came over and began franctically searching for it, the golden orb had disappeared again.
Mark quickly searched out both bludgers and then went after the one he thought he would have an easier chance reaching. He gave it a hard whack and watched as it went after its target.
Nature of the Match (Gus)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 06-29-14 16:46
Hovering on his broom to better search for both the bludgers, Augustus absentmindedly rubs a spot on one knee. He did well overall in this mornings apparition lesson but did have one splinch incident in which everything but the patella of the knee he's rubbing made it to his hoop. Despite the minor setback, Gus is confident that he'll get his license on the 17th and there is another lesson between now and then during which he'll get plenty of extra practice. Whatever happens he knows he won't be like his father who was so distracted with a crush on the lady doing the licensing exam that it took him four tries, the fourth being the day someone else administered the test. Of course, his father claims there was no distraction but a deliberate ploy on his part to see more of the woman.
Spotting both bludgers at the same time Gus goes after the one to his left. It's a little further away than the other but he could see Caerwyn and Asher on the trail of that one. Reaching the black ball, Gus quickly assesses where to send it. Mason is working hard to get the quaffle away from Marlow who took possession only seconds before.
Batting the bludger to follow a path that's just ahead of Mason's current position but if the Slytherin's speed doesn't change the ball and he should try to be in the same space at the same time. As hoped, Mason's attention is so focused on the quaffle and Marlow he doesn't notice the bludger coming at him.
Just before impact Mark swoops in and diverts the bludger. Gus makes a face but isn't angry. That's the nature of the match. He knows plenty of do get furious at every little thing. He's never seen the point of that. He can be as competitive as the next person without getting angry every time something doesn't go his way. The match wouldn't be nearly as fun or as challenging if the other team didn't play their best. That's just his opinion and he does know plenty who'd disagree but that's their right.
Mark had hit the bludger towards Marlow, too close for Gus to do anything about. Unfortunately for Marlow, the bludger clips her. The good thing is that she passed off the quaffle right before the bludger reached her.
Sadie has it again and every time Sadie comes to mind Gus can't help thinking about her sister Ramona. Then again, just about anything or anyone tends to make him think about Ramona.
Dwelling too much on Ramona and searching for her in the stands isn't going to prevent Sadie from a bludger so Gus zooms over to put himself between the one recently used to hit Marlow and that Mark has once again reached to hit. The Slytherin beater was too far along in the batting process to fully stop when he sees Gus in the way. Mark still hits the bludger but he pulls up as much as he can on the force, knowing he's sending it straight to the opposition to use.
Gus and his bat meet the bludger again in time for him to smack the hard ball straight at Olive, who's darting in with hopes of stealing the quaffle from Sadie. Steal prevented for the time being, Hufflepuff drives in closer to where the other Gus awaits primed and ready to turn back any goal efforts the black and yellow clad team might make.
First Goal Of The Match (Olive)
Author: Emerald Green
Date: 06-29-14 18:45
Sadie takes the first goal shot of the match only to have Gus van Tassel knock the quaffle away from the hoops. Jasper grabs the ball on rebound, almost immediately throwing for Hufflepuff's second attempt to score. It's not a great throw, hitting the rim of the hoop and ricocheting off without Gus having to do a thing.
Though Marlow gets a hand on the quaffle it's Malden who comes up successful. Olive pulls her broom into a tight turn, shooting off the opposite direction, looking over her shoulder to keep tabs on Malden.
Malden dips under his team's seeker Rylee then ducks a bludger from Caerwyn. He passes long to Mason who in turn throws to Olive. Rolling to avoid the other bludger, Olive tucks the quaffle in close and leans over her broom at the same moment a drizzle starts up again. Playing wet is never fun but at least it's not wintery cold as well. Then again, at times even spring in Scotland can feel glacial to Olive. She doubts she'll ever fully acclimate, not when she hasn't after all these years at Hogwarts.
Sensing something coming up on her, Olive swerves, avoiding another potential bludger hit but also moving right into Jasper's path, forcing him to slow while doing his own swerving.
Spotting Malden in her periphery, Olive passes. Sadie tries to dart in for an interception but comes up short. Malden takes off with Mason and Olive moving in to help guard him, and the quaffle, from bludgers and further efforts by Hufflepuff to take possession.
Reaching the area around the Hufflepuff kept hoops, Malden zooms straight at Glori, turning at the last possible moment while throwing. Unfazed by what Olive would think of as a version of chicken, Glori has the block until a bludger catches her in the side, throwing off her timing and momentum.
Malden's effort is good! Slytherin puts the first points on the board for a score of 10 to Hufflepuff's 0.
Rubbing her side, Glori hands the quaffle off to Marlow, putting the red ball back into play. Not minding the damp as much now that Slytherin is in the lead, Olive curves around to fly back in Gus van T's direction, ever watchful of the quaffle in case there's an opening to put it back into Slytherin hands.
(Asher) Bludgers and Bats
Author: Jolyon
Date: 06-29-14 21:19
Asher zoomed after a bludger struck so powerfully that it soared away in a long, distant arc. He hoped that recovering it would serve a purpose. The action involving the chasers and the other beaters, as far as he could tell, was rapidly traveling in the opposite direction. The only person in front of him was Glori Hodfuffer, and she only regarded him lazily, since he didn't appear to be a threat at the moment.
Asher pushed himself a little harder and then swerved around the bludger, cutting it off and redirecting it with a forceful nudge. He flew faster than it and nudged it again, this time adjusting the trajectory a little bit. He nudged it a third time, arriving in the thick of things moments later and putting himself at the whim of Gus Hodfuffer and Caerwyn, the latter of whom took notice almost immediately and positioned himself to intercept the bludger.
Frowning when all his hard work at retrieving the bludger didn't pay off, since not only did Caerwyn intercept it, but he also used it on Malden, Asher looked for the other bludger, but found it being wrangled by Mark and Gus. He turned back to the other ball, which Caerwyn had once again gained control of, and calculated that the Hufflepuff beater intended on using it against Malden again. Asher pushed himself forward to cut off the bludger's path, but something went wrong.
As he swung his arm, the slick from the rain caused him to lose his hold on his bat. It went flying towards the black ball, only to get knocked back by the impact. The bat came spinning back in Asher's direction, and though he managed to avoid getting hit in the head, it caught him in the upper arm. He dodged the bludger that followed it. A loud expletive left Asher's lips, but luckily neither Coach Krum nor his helper referee were close enough to hear it.
Referee Carmody was the one to retrieve Asher's bat as it spun wildly towards the ground. It didn't show any sign of splintering or more significant damage, so Asher continued to use it. His arm throbbed something fierce, but Asher knew the severity would subside with time. He ground his teeth together and threw himself back into the match.
Shifting Action (Caerwyn)
Author: Julian Valentine
Date: 06-30-14 09:21
The drizzle had turned into a steady, though light, rain and then subsided. For how long is the question. The sky is full of clouds in various tones of gray. No sounds of thunder or signs of lightening, yet anyway, which is good in Caerwyn's opinion. Playing in intermittent rain isn't ideal but far better than no match at all.
Tightening his grip on his bat, Caerwyn's thankful that the gloves he's wearing help get his hands from slipping on the bat, like what happened to Asher a little earlier. It would be great if they could use some sort of anti-slip charm but the only magic allowed in Quidditch is that which allows the brooms and the snitch to fly, for the snitch to have a memory of sorts of who caught it in a match, and whatever it is that makes the bludgers be able to make those screaming sounds. If someone were caught using a sticking charm or an anti-slip charm for a better hold on the bat, or a chaser for a better grip on the quaffle, the player would be removed from the match and not only would the team be down a player but the team would also be further penalized. Caerwyn does not want to think about how many house points such a player might lose with such a stunt.
Reaching a bludger, he sends it in Olive's direction. She doesn't have the quaffle put she's gotten herself into a good position to accept a pass from Malden. Caerwyn had consider sending the bludger at Malden but he'd have to figure out how get the ball to avoid hitting Marlow, Sadie, Mark, and Mason in the process.
The bludger only grazes Olive but as it gets to her about the same time Malden does indeed pass to her, it serves as just enough of a distraction to allow Jasper to snatch it away before Olive can secure her hold. Jasper sprints away, turning back the other direction in the process.
As the action shifts again from one end of the pitch to the other, Caerwyn goes after the very same bludger he'd just hit. He's forced to back off when Asher gets there first. The Slytherin looks to be aiming at Jasper but Caerwyn ends up going after the second bludger because Gus is closer to Jasper to prevent it from reaching the chaser.
Jasper, meanwhile, rolls away from Mason's attempt to make a grab for the quaffle. Sadie comes up on his other side and before he's even righted himself from the half-roll, Jasper's handed off the quaffle to Sadie.
Sadie accelerates, already nearing Gus van Tassel's position. She feints to the left, throwing to her right. Gus sees through her ploy, slapping the quaffle back from the hoop. Marlow dives for it, bumping heads with Mason in the process. She throws but it's a little wobbly, offering no challenge for Gus to block.
Caerwyn thwacks the bludger, targeting Gus van Tassel. It would have been nice if it reached Gus just as one of the Hufflepuff chasers were throwing for goal but no such luck this time. Caerwyn's bludger knocks into Gus but only catches him on the lower leg. Sadie had gotten the quaffle again after Marlow's goal attempt. She throws but once more Gus turns it back, that bludger hit not affecting him in the slightest.
Malden has the red ball now, the action shifting away from Gus van Tassel. Caerwyn shoots off after one of the bludgers just as big, fat drops of rain begin to fall.
Pains And The Rain (Jasper & Marlow)
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 06-30-14 12:53
Flexing fingers that were mashed between bludger and quaffle, Jasper is glad that the bludger blow was relatively soft. Playing the rest of the match with dislocated or broken fingers in his dominant hand is not something he relishes.
He'd gotten the quaffle after Slytherin had made it to Glori and tried to add more points to the tally. Mason had made the throw, which Glori kicked back with a foot. Jasper caught it, wheeling around to head the opposite direction down the pitch. He'd only made it a few yards when the bludger caught him just right. He'd lost hold on the quaffle and though Sadie tried to recover it, the quaffle ended up with Olive.
Olive did a backhanded throw to Malden who'd thrown the quaffle towards one of the hoops. Glori caught it, handing it to Marlow. Jasper took his eyes off the action for a moment, his fingers bothering him. When he looked up a few seconds later, Malden has the quaffle. Jasper has no idea how that came to be.
Glori turns back the quaffle once more as Slytherin tries for another goal. Jasper practically jumps with his broom sideways in going for the quaffle when Glori bats it away. Wincing as his fingers grip the red ball, Jasper shifts it to his other hand, adding speed to his broom to get distance between the quaffle and Glori's hoops.
Jasper weaves around Asher Kent who's so intent on getting to a bludger he doesn't appear to notice Jasper. He also has to dodge around Aleydis, Hufflepuff's seeker. The periodic bouts of rain must be making it harder to see the snitch but then when isn't the snitch hard to see during a match?
Seeing Sadie open, Jasper moves the quaffle back to his injured hand. Even with sore fingers he throws better with that arm. Sending the quaffle to Sadie, Jasper finds himself flexing his sore fingers again, but this time making sure not to spend time looking at them as he does. He doesn't want to risk missing something again.
Seeing a bludger headed for Sadie, Marlow hurries to put herself between the hard ball and her teammate with the quaffle. Much to her relief, Gus turns the bludger away, sending it at Olive. Marlow doesn't mind having to take a bludger now and then for a teammate but she'll never complain about someone else intervening.
Malden gets in close to Sadie, who in turn throws to Marlow. Securing her hold on the ball, Marlow increases her pace, closing the distance to Slytherin's Gus. Mason and Olive crowd in on her from either side. Movement just below has Marlow glancing down to see Jasper. She passes the quaffle with a drop straight down.
Jasper accelerates, ascending back up to a better height for goal attempts. He gets in close to Gus van Tassel only to have to sharply pull back as a bludger whizzes by. Passing back to Marlow, now free of Mason and Olive, she notes Gus van T. is more off to a side so she throws to the center hoop.
Gus is quick, getting to the quaffle, slapping his palm against it. Mason gets the rebound but in jostling to break free to fly off he loses it. Sadie snatches it up, hurling the quaffle at one of the hoops. Gus is again able to block the shot. The quaffle comes straight to Marlow. She again throws. Gus gets fingers on it but the ball is rain slick and his fingers slip over the surface.
Cheers erupt as Hufflepuff finally makes a goal, bringing the score to 10 points apiece.