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Ravenclaw vs Slytherin 2008-2009 Season
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 03-12-15 17:08
Looking up at the sky, a cloud passing in front of the sun momentarily casting the pitch in shadow, Viktor thinks conditions for today's Ravenclaw-Slytherin Quidditch match are good. Being February the air is chill, especially once in the air, but the day is neither overly bright nor overcast gloom. There is no rain or snow expected. There is wind but nothing strong and so far no sudden gusts.
Setting down a trunk with this match's balls Viktor sits on it, watching as the stands slowly but steadily fill. Somehow, he'd missed asking around for assistance refereeing today so he's going it alone. With the weather conditions good and with him feeling top notch despite recently having a stomach virus he's not worried about adequately covering the match. Then again, he never really is except when he's not feeling well but it is nice giving others referee experience and it's nice having colleagues who enjoy helping out.
Viktor rises when Zuberi and Olive approach, the younger man holding out a coffee for him. "Thank you. I thought you have plans today."
"Just a study group but several are sick so the rest of us decided to get together later. Olive was coming to watch Jade so I'm tagging along."
Former Slytherin Olive, turning from searching the stands for signs of her brother Hunter, jokingly says, "You're going to make all calls in favor of my house, aren't you?"
Viktor grins, "Of course, but if Jade finds out you must explain the why to her."
Olive returns his grin. "I'm the scary one."
Zuberi laughs, "Don't we know it."
"Hey!"
"You said it. I'm just agreeing." Zuberi throws his hands up in mock surrender.
They're joined then by Marjani. The four stand talking and joking with each other until shortly before Willow is due to begin announcing the teams. Olive, Marjani, and Zuberi leave the field to get seated before the players begin zooming out of the locker rooms. In those few minutes Viktor double checks his broom and the balls in the trunk, anticipating an exciting match.
Playing today for Ravenclaw are beaters Jade Green and Aderyn Carter, chasers Franciscus Vanderbilt, Ramona Mickle, and Paton Shrewsbury, keeper Beatrix Vanderbilt, and seeker Bran Hyland.
For Slytherin are beaters Baron Marchbanks and Asher Kent, chasers Mason Jeffers, Malden McGonagall, and Crew Morgan, keeper Gus van Tassel, and seeker Rylee Marks.
(Malden) First Plays of the Match
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 03-12-15 18:44
The Slytherin Quidditch team stood at the doors to the locker room with Gus at the lead. As soon as they heard Willow shout, "Welcome to the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin Quidditch match!" they mounted their broomsticks, and when she began announcing their names, they flew out of the locker room and made a circuit around the Pitch.
Malden flew around the Pitch and then fell into the circle around center field, while Gus and Ramona touched down to shake hands and promise to play a clean game. No sooner as that done, did they mount their brooms again and fall in with the other players. Coach Krum released the balls in order, and then the game truly began.
Malden tried to get his hands on the quaffle first, but Paton was quicker. The Ravenclaw chaser didn't have the quaffle for very long, however. Mason seized the opportunity to steal it before Paton could get a firm grip on it and darted through an opening, making a clean break, at least at first.
Jade quickly diverted a bludger and sent it after Mason. He was far enough away and the ball just quick enough, that Malden couldn't get there in time to prevent Ravenclaw from stealing the ball back. First the bludger clipped Mason's broomstick, causing him to wobble slightly, and then Ramona came in for the steal. Malden cut in front of her path, forcing her to slow. She made the hasty decision to pass the quaffle to Franciscus, but Mason made a speedy recovery and intercepted the ball.
Malden shot forward and threw his gaze back towards Mason to indicate he was open for a pass. Mason did just that, throwing long and far. Malden raced with the ball and then caught it perfectly just yards before the goal hoops, where Beatrix readied for the onslaught of goal attempts that would surely come. Malden quickly sized up the situation and then threw the quaffle at the left goal hoop. Beatrix dove and knocked the ball back with her fingertips.
Both Malden and Paton got hands on the rebound. Malden wrested the ball from Paton's arms, careful not to use elbows but really wanting to knock one into Paton's nose. A bludger suddenly struck his arm, but Malden didn't let go from the ball and though Paton tried to steal the ball back, Malden held on tight. He shifted slightly and though his arm throbbed from the bludger hit, he propelled it forward and let the quaffle fly.
(Gus) Meaningless
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 03-13-15 15:53
Gus watched the quaffle's trajectory once Malden had set it free, and he grinned when Crew caught it. He held it tight on his right arm, as he tried to avoid Ramona who was twice his size. Mason called out Crew's name and he responded by passing the quaffle to him. For a while the Slytherin chasers seemed to dominate the game as they passed the quaffle between each others. But somehow, they didn't seem to make many progresses in reaching Beatrix's hoops, as the Ravenclaw chasers kept blocking them and they had yet to try and find an opening to break their defense.
The cycle ended when Paton was able to steal the quaffle between two passes and he speeded towards the other side of the pitch. The other chasers quickly followed and so did the beaters, ready to launch their bludgers into the pack of players. Paton threw the quaffle to Franciscus. Malden approached from one side and Mason from the other. Franciscus dropped the quaffle and Ramona caught it, increasing the speed on her broom. She ducked avoiding a bludger sent by Baron. Ramona then passed the quaffle back to Paton. Now it were the Ravenclaw chasers that seemed to be playing at a perfect symphony. Gus wondered that maybe that was so because they were all from the same family.
He adjusted his gloves as Paton was approaching the scoring range. Malden flew closer to the hoops, helping in the defense. A bludger passed by. It had been sent by Aderyn Carter; she tried to distract them, while Paton tried to make room to try to score. But Gus didn't really notice the bludger. His eyes were on the red ball and he was not going to stop looking at it until it was on his hands. Paton finally made his move, and shot the quaffle towards the left hoop. Gus moved in that direction as well and grabbed the quaffle. He wouldn't say he did it with ease but he felt comfortable with his defense.
He quickly delivered the red ball to Mason who moved forward to the center of the pitch, the rest of the players in his tail. He passed the quaffle to Crew. Franciscus was right after him and Crew turned back at him and protested he had tried to commit blagging. But Coach Krum ordered the match to proceed, declaring Franciscus had not committed any foul. The Slytherins booed on the stands as Willow Westwick announced the referee's decision. The Ravenclaws on the other side applauded.
Only Rylee and Bran seemed to be oblivious to what was going on, as they both were looking for the snitch. Obviously, Gus wanted Rylee to catch the snitch. Gus still felt humiliated with the team's defeat against Gryffindor. As the team's captain he couldn't help to feel responsible, even if everyone had played well. On the other hand, he was starting to think that all of this was meaningless. It happened during the Career Day at the castle, when he realized he had no idea what he wanted to do with his future. Until recently he had always imagined himself doing something grandiose, such as become a famous Quidditch player or a skilful auror. But now he was aware that things didn't work that away. And that a school Quidditch match should not be the center of his life and worries.
It seemed like reality had slapped him in the face as he saw Johanna and everyone else already so focused on their future while had no concrete ambition.
As Crew continued advancing, still with the quaffle's possession, Gus thought about the Valentine's Day Hearts & Roses Ball. Some girls had expressed their will to go with him, but he was not in the mood to spend time with them. He considered the idea of asking Polly Potts. They had started making out again, but this time Gus was aware that he was being used so Polly could cope with being at school without her friends Catriona and Bianca. On the other hand Polly also knew she was being used, because Gus had told her so. When he was with her, he just didn't have to think about the future and what he would do once he left Hogwarts. She wasn't like Johanna, Felicia and Kate, who worried too much about him. Johanna always tried to control him, make sure he had done his homework and studied. Polly didn't care and so she was the perfect company for him.
New Bat (Jade)
Author: Emerald Green
Date: 03-13-15 19:28
Slowing to assess the bludger options Jade also takes a moment to massage the fingers of her dominant hand. A few days ago during practice the bat she's had for several years cracked, splintering badly enough to be beyond repair. Uncle Woody had sent Jade a new bat but she's not had time to fully adjust to the difference. Someone who doesn't play Quidditch or who's never played beater might think a bat is a bat is a bat.
Not true.
There are different woods used. Bats come in different lengths and hefts. Some bat handles are slimmer than others. Some handles have a sort of knob on the end while others do not. There are even differences in the way the edges are rounded, beveled, or squared off.
This new bat is by the same company as the old one and is of the same model but much as Jade wishes that made it identical to the broken bat, it is not. The handle seems to be a tiny bit smaller around than the other, causing Jade to feel as though she has to grip it more tightly so that the bat doesn't slip. Annoyingly, this has caused her hand to fatigue and cramp. She is good with both hands but constantly switching back and forth can be easier said than done when the match is moving swiftly.
Jade knows she just needs more time to get used to this bat and has to be patient. That doesn't mean she's happy about it nor has it stopped her from wishing she'd had more time to with this bat before the Quidditch match against Slytherin.
Bludger decision made, Jade accelerates. Arriving at one of the black balls she directs it towards Malden McGonagall who recently took possession of the quaffle in a pass from Crew Morgan. The bludger misses Malden but does screw up a hand-off to Mason. Franciscus Vanderbilt darts in, stealing the quaffle a split second before Mason Jeffers is able to get fingers on it.
Franciscus zigs around Crew, who attempts to snag the ball from him but comes up empty. Franciscus notes both Paton Shrewsbury and Ramona Mickle are open. Jade helps him out deciding to whom he should pass by getting a bludger off at Mason, who's shadowing Ramona. Mason momentarily slowed, Franciscus hurls the quaffle to Ramona.
Ramona drives in to the Slytherin kept goals, figuratively putting Gus van Tassel on his toes. Asher Kent gets the other bludger off, missing Ramona but messing up her timing on throwing for goal. Gus easily rebuffs the red ball, sending it into Malden's hands. A bludger from Aderyn Carter allows Paton to steal the quaffle before Malden gets far. Paton swivels his broom around, sprinting back the short distance to Gus.
Jade races to get to a bludger before Baron Marchbanks. He reaches it just before she does, getting a solid hit off as Paton lines up for another Ravenclaw goal effort. Jade scurries after the bludger but doubts she'll be able to get there in time to divert it before it reaches the cluster around the hoops that includes Paton and the quaffle.
First Goal Of The Match (Mason)
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 03-14-15 15:12
Mason hunches down over his broom as a bludger comes whizzing by, headed for Paton. Paton gets the quaffle off before the bludger reaches him though only just. Gus diverts the quaffle with Malden overreaching for it but it's Ramona who gets it first. She fires off a shot, which Gus again turns back. Mason takes possession but quickly loses it due to a combination of bludger and Franciscus.
He stretches out a hand in an effort to thwart Franciscus's goal attempt but his fingers fall just short and he can't thrust his broom forward any to help with his reach or he'd most likely ram into Paton in these close quarters. The quaffle nears the hoops, Gus ready to stop the ball again when the second bludger clips him, putting him off on his timing to reach the quaffle. The red ball soars through an end hoop, giving Ravenclaw the first goal of the match.
As Willow announces this event, "Shrewsbury scores! Ravenclaw now leads with ten!" Slytherin takes possession of the quaffle. Malden passes off to Crew who accelerates away, flying an erratic path as both bludgers target him.
Mason flights a straight course along one edge of the pitch, Asher and Baron both streaks as they hustle past to get to those bludgers. Mason alters course slightly as he comes upon the Ravenclaw seeker. Bran does the same and they both have a quick laugh as they initially both go the same way.
Crew passes to Malden, who has a near miss with Ramona. No foul occurs. That's not just a good thing, it's great. Great because Malden doesn't lose his momentum gaining ground (air?) on Beatrix and her hoops and because possibly injury from a collision is avoided. Also, a foul could have just as likely been called on Slytherin as Ravenclaw. If it had been on Slytherin, they'd have lost the quaffle when so tantalizingly close to the Ravenclaw guarded hoops.
Moving into a better position to assist Malden should he need it, Mason avoids a bludger sent by Baron to harass Franciscus in his efforts to stop Malden and the quaffle. As Malden sets up for a shot, Mason blocks Ramona from getting any closer, more than ready for his team to get points on the scoreboard as well.
(Aderyn Carter) Ravenclaw Still Leads
Author: Cai Pembroke Carter
Date: 03-15-15 07:40
The weather wasn't bad, and she'd been up early enough to get some breakfast before she'd had to head out to the pitch for the match. The weather was nice, a bit cool, but not too windy and definitely not snowing or raining which made things considerably better. Cai and Angharad both sat in the stands cheering on their sister, hoping that Ravenclaw would win the match over Slytherin - as neither were a fan of the Slytherin team. She'd not had time to talk to her sisters before having to meet up in the locker room, so she had no idea if Blake had written or of they knew if he was coming home in the next couple of weeks to visit.
Either way, her attention was now focused on the match, which was moving quickly. Already Ravenclaw had ten points on the board, to Slytherin's zero, and she hoped that they could keep the lead up and ultimately Bran would be the one to catch the snitch. Either way, her attention was as much on the group of chasers and the big red ball as it was on Jade, Baron Marchbanks, Asher Kent and the black bludgers that she so enjoyed hitting with her bat. She would as of this moment be attempting to get behind a bludger and disrrupt Malden's attempt to get points for Slytherin on the board. The well aimed bludger, or at least she hoped it had been, was launched to hopefully connect with the quaffle the moment it left Malden's fingers toward the hoops guarded by Beatrix. The trajectory was slightly off, but it allowed Beatrix a split second longer to get into position and block the quaffle from going into the far right hoop.
Jade was already on her way to get behind the bludger Aderyn had just hit, while Baron was behind the other, launching it toward the quaffle and Paton, attempting to keep the Ravenclaw chaser from getting the quaffle from the keeper. Aderyn was a split second too late to get the bludger, and it connected with the quaffle sending it into a freefall for a second before Crew Morgan was successful in getting his hands upon the quaffle.
The group of chasers seemed to ebb and flow like waves on the shore - but with a bit more chaos as Crew attempted to get into position to either hand off to Malden or Mason if either were closer to the hoops or make the shot himself if he could manage it. Aderyn's gaze shifted over the group of chasers - chewing her bottom lip for a moment as she hovered a second before heading to catch the bludger that Jade had hit a few moments before and attempt to divert Crew's attempt to pass to Mason. A successful attempt would allow Franciscus to hopefully intercept the quaffle and send the group of chasers heading back toward the hoops guarded by Gus van Tassel, and keep Slytherin from scoring anytime soon.
Franciscus, Paton, Ramona, Beatrix
Author: Griet
Date: 03-15-15 09:13
Franciscus snatched the quaffle out of the air and abruptly turned his broomstick around to return to the Slytherin goal hoops. A bludger streaked dangerously close towards his face, causing him to tilt suddenly and making him vulnerable to losing the quaffle back to Slytherin. Luckily, none of the Slytherin chasers were on his exposed side to lift the red ball from his arms. The bludger whizzed by, Franciscus pulled himself back together, and took off at lightning speed for the goal posts.
Paton cut across Mason's path to both slow him down and to make himself visible to Francisucs, in case his cousin needed to pass the ball to someone. He cut a wide arc ahead of the other chasers and then opened his arms to accept the quaffle, which Franciscus let fly when the risk of interception appeared to be low. Unfortunately, both boys were wrong on that score. Malden came out of nowhere and scooped up the quaffle.
Ramona quickly fell into position next to Malden and did her very best to harass him without doing anything that might constitute a foul. She flew as close as she dared without ramming him and swiped her arm out every so often in an attempt to steal the quaffle. Malden, meanwhile, searched for someone to hand the ball off too, but found himself boxed in by Ravenclaws.
Beatrix watched Malden and the quaffle very closely, but she also kept an eye out for the bludgers, which she knew would be heading her way as soon as Malden got within scoring range. She was feeling kind of lucky, though. The high she felt from this morning's successful apparition hadn't yet worn off. Maybe she would block every goal last Slytherin goal attempt and land her desired date to the Valentine's ball today too!
Maybe she wasn't meant to be twice or three times lucky, however, because Baron and Asher both had control of the bludgers and came at her from either side. She had to do some quick thinking to save herself from pain and/or injury, as well as to stop Malden from scoring. Malden let the quaffle fly, and both Ramona and Franciscus did their best to get the ball before it reached the hoops. Beatrix went for the ball at the last second, avoiding one bludger but not the other. It struck her in the front of the shoulder so forcefully, it actually knocked her back into one of the goal posts.
"McGonagall scores! The game is tied!" shouted Willow.
Beatrix's unintentional collision with the goal post hadn't been serious, but boy did her arm hurt! She retrieved the quaffle and gave it to Paton with a wince.
Paton wasted no time putting as much distance between the quaffle and his own team's goals as possible. When a bludger clipped the bristles of his broomstick, he handed the ball off to Franciscus, who rocketed forward with a sudden burst of speed. Franciscus then threw long to Ramona, who had also pushed herself as far ahead as possible. The pass went a little too far, and with no one there to catch it started to plummet to the ground. Ramona dove suddenly, conscious that someone was nearby and doing the very same, and then she got her hands on the ball and pointed the nose of her broomstick upwards to gain altitude.
Unfortunately, she lost a lot of the ground she had by diving and then rising up again, so the Slytherin chasers were all over her, including Crew, who had been the one to nearly get the ball during its plummet. He did his very best to steal the ball away from her, forcing Ramona to change the quaffle's position in her arms. Suddenly, Paton appeared and swiped the ball away, which took Ramona by surprise at first but then relieved her.
Paton passed the ball to Franciscus, who quickly retracted his arm when a bludger nearly made contact with it. If he hadn't moved, the black ball would have likely struck him squarely in the forearm and probably broken it. Mason got the quaffle when Franciscus didn't, but Jade redirected the bludger that had almost hit Franciscus, striking Mason on the thigh. It wasn't enough for him to drop the ball, but it was enough for Ramona to wrestled the quaffle from Mason's arms.
She zoomed ahead and fired the quaffle at the center hoop, which Gus caught with little effort. Gus threw the ball at Malden, only for a bludger to mess up the pass. Ramona was there again and quickly fired off another goal attempt. Gus moved quickly to deflect it, but the ball was just a hair quicker and made it cleanly through the hoop.
"Mickle scores!" Willow shouted. "Ravenclaw leads, twenty to ten!"
Ramona grinned and quickly searched the stands for the other Gus, her Gus. She and Gus would be attending Hearts & Roses Ball together, which would more or less coincide with the first anniversary of them dating. Ramona had already purchased a new dress for the occasion, a red satin number she hoped would knock Gus off his feet!
She tore her eyes away from her cheering boyfriend to chase after Crew, who currently had possession of the quaffle. Franciscus, who was still rather sore at Crew for the false accusation from earlier, felt the urge to get on the younger boy's nerves. He swerved in front of Crew to slow him down and grinned gleefully when Paton punched at the quaffle, popping it free.
Both Franciscus and Paton had mulled over the idea of asking girls to the Valentine's ball. They were at an age where they noticed the opposite sex, but neither had a crush on anyone. The cousins had discussed the possibility of asking Katheryn Finch and Hope Hyland to be their dates but hadn't actually followed through with the idea yet. They knew they needed to ask soon, though, because the dance was next weekend!
Beatrix rubbed at her shoulder and watched with baited breath as the quaffle found itself in no one's position. She wanted Ravenclaw to get it, and not Slytherin, because she didn't think she'd recovered enough to make stopping any goal attempts easy. When her cousin Ramona grabbed the ball, Beatrix let out a sigh of relief. Ramona charged at the Slytherin goal hoops…