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Excitement
Author: Mildred
Date: 04-11-15 14:41
Mildred watched as Hunter shook hands with Caerwyn, and Coach Krum urged them to play fair. All the players were in position ready for the start of the match. Willow Westwick's voice was heard all over the pitch:
"Today Gryffindor and Huffelpuff are facing each other with what will be without a doubt a great match! The Gryffindor team has won its last match against Slytherin, and they hope to leave the pitch with another victory. While the Hufflepuff team is seeking its first win of the championship, after losing against Ravenclaw."
The players' names were announced as well as the referees. Then, finally, Coach Krum released the four balls and the match begun.
The first chaser to grab the quaffle was Duncan Dippet. He quickly flew away from Gerry, who hadn't reached the red ball before Duncan only by a few inches. Duncan then passed the quaffle to Marlow. Mildred followed the Hufflepuff chaser, and glued herself to Marlow, hoping to disturb her movements. A bludger sent by Gus hit the back of Mildred's broomstick. It wasn't a strong blow, that could destroy it, but it was enough for her to lose control of the broom for a moment. Marlow accelerated, leaving Mildred behind. She threw the quaffle to Jasper but it was stolen in mid air by Finley.
Finley turned her broom the other side, to the Hufflepuff's side of the pitch. Mildred joined her, as well as Gerry and the three Gryffindor chasers flew in formation, closer to each others. The Hufflepuffs gathered around as well, pressuring the flanks.
Finley managed to dodge a bludger sent by Caerwyn, but Duncan wasn't as lucky since Madoc hit him on the abdomen. Finley passed the quaffle to Gerry, and he shot it to Mildred, once he found himself cornered by Jasper and Marlow. Mildred thought she was close enough to Glori's hoops to try to score.
Her father was at the stands, watching her playing Quidditch for the very first time, and she wanted to cause a good impression. Alexander had come to visit her during the Parents Weekend as well; Mildred could tell he was feeling a bit uneasy as he spoke with her professors about her performance in class. She knew he wasn't used to being a full time father, and naturally he still had a lot to learn. Luckily they hadn't cross with the Sims. Mildred spent the entire visit afraid of a possible encounter between Alexander and Achilles' parents. She knew that today they wouldn't be coming to the school, so there wouldn't be that possibility. And Quidditch was something her father knew about, so he would feel at ease at the stands. Mildred thought that it would be great if she scored the first goal of the match and offered Gryffindor an advantage. She thought how her father would be proud of her. He had been a Gryffindor too while at Hogwarts, so it made things even more exciting.
She observed Glori's position for a second, and she aimed to the left hoop. She used all the strength in her arm. The shot was potent but Glori was fast and the quaffle ended on her arms, safely. People in the stands applauded Glori's defense. She didn't waste a second and she passed the quaffle to Jasper.
Mildred flew away from the scoring area, eager to stop the Hufflepuff chaser and hoping next time she was face to face with Glori she would be able to score.
By the Lake
Author: Petula Parkinson
Date: 04-12-15 07:21
Petula sat with Nico on a blanket out under a tree near the lake. With the Quidditch match going, the other parts of the grounds were fairly quiet. Pet had brought her reading out with her, and was leaning against the tree, while Nico'd put his head on her lap, trying to distract her.
"C'mon, Pet, surely you have to know something about those mysterious gifts of Val's," he cajoled, reaching for her book, careful not to lose her place. He'd done that once, and the hexing he'd received had quickly reinforced that it was a bad idea.
"I know as much as you do. Mysterious gifts, always in Slytherin-colored wrappings, and they show up at special occasions. She got the earrings at Christmas, and the bracelet was both her birthday and Valentine's. At least, that's the little bit Val claimed about it."
"Do you think it's An?"
"I don't know. I kind of hope it is, but at the same time... If it is him and he's being horrid in public and giving her expensive gifts in private? That seems wrong," she said quietly.
"Agreed. But maybe he just doesn't know what to do about feeling something? You know how the older folks get, talking about arrangements and contracts. We got lucky, not everyone would if they all had their way."
"True, but at the same time, Val's not restricted to a contract. Yes, she's the next in line for the family wealth, but Kirley's certainly young enough to have children, so there's less pressure than in our cases. And I hadn't heard anything about Anton's family resorting to that, at least not yet," she said, thoughtfully. "But, we need to study. Exams aren't that far away."
"They're ages away, Pet," Nico whinged.
"But if we study now, little bits at a time, and make certain we know the information, then we won't have as much to do later, when it's really warm enough to sit out here like this without warming charms," she said, recasting said charm on her cloak along with a charm to keep their blanket dry while Nico pouted.
Minerva & Madoc
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 04-12-15 13:14
Professor McGonagall sat in the staff box next to Willow Westwick and watched as the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff unfolded. She was secretly rooting for her own team, but as Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva knew that she had to act impartial more often than not. All four Hogwarts houses were effectively hers in one way or another, after all. Still, Minerva wouldn't complain the tiniest bit if Gryffindor came out on top today.
After Mildred's failed goal attempt, the quaffle was put back into play via Jasper. As the red ball traveled farther and farther away from the Hufflepuff goal hoops, Minerva's mind wandered away from the match. First, she thought about her office, which had been ransacked during the Hearts & Roses Ball. She never did identify what, if anything, was stolen from the glass cabinets full of trinkets and only knew that the toad her great nephew Malden had given her was still missing.
Minerva also thought about Karina Masterson, who'd been taken from her carriage during Parents Weekend. In the weeks since then, the baby had yet to be found and there did not seem to be any information on where she might be or who might have her. Minerva had offered Professor Masterson a leave of absence under the circumstances and had made sure that Professor Grubbly-Plank was on hand to teach his classes if needed.
Miss Westwick suddenly jarred her attention when she called out her name. Of course, Willow was talking about Madoc McGonagall and not the Headmistress.
Madoc grinned and clapped bats with Edgar, who had just passed by him and assisted with a play that had resulted in Duncan losing the quaffle. The Hufflepuff chasers had made a good effort of working the ball down the field. At just the right moment, Madoc had tapped one of the bludgers in Edgar's direction, and then Edgar had moved it along so that it hit Duncan right as he was receiving a pass from Jasper. Duncan lost the ball, only to have it snatched up by Finley.
Finley immediately turned tail and took off like her life depended upon it. She saw an opening and passed to Gerry, who quickly pitched the quaffle long to Mildred. Mildred caught the ball easily and twisted when Caerwyn aimed a bludger at her. The black ball sailed dangerously close to her, but it missed her entirely. She straightened up and rocketed forward, letting the quaffle fly with a lot of force. Glori knocked it back, but she sucked air between her teeth because the impact of the quaffle with her hands stung more than she anticipated. Mildred caught the rebound and shot again, this time scoring for Gryffindor.
Madoc whooped, glad his team had the first ten points of the match. He turned around, eyeballing the location of both of the bludgers, and immediately set off after the nearest one. Gus also went after it, but his path was abruptly cut off when Leo darted past, his eye on what was apparently the snitch. Madoc made the hasty decision to either protect Leo or go after Marlow, who had the quaffle. His decision was made for him when Leo slowed to a stop, frowning. Apparently the snitch had gone into hiding that quickly.
Madoc zoomed ahead after the bludger, hoping to use it against Marlow before she could get the quaffle even farther down the Pitch.
(Bowen) Detention
Author: Nathaniel Ross
Date: 04-12-15 14:06
Bowen and Pelinore were stuck in Snape's classroom, cleaning dirty cauldrons. They couldn't use magic and the only things they were allowed to use were sponges, water and soap. Bowen's arm was starting to hurt, as he scrubbed with vigor a cauldron, trying to remove the strange residues inside. There was a piece of suspicious hair attached to it. Pelinore was convinced it was troll's hair. The only good thing about this detention was that Snape himself wasn't around. He had left the two Gryffindors on their own. However, Filch would appear from time to time, to control them. They could only leave the room once all the cauldrons were spotless and shinning.
"We are missing the whole match! Why couldn't he schedule the detention for Sunday?"
"Because that's how he is," Bowen replied. "Maybe if we hurry we can still arrive on time before the snitch is caught."
A Quidditch match could last for an unlimited time period, so there was still hope they would be done before it ended. It wasn't like football, Bo thought as he added some more soap to his already very dirty sponge. It has been football that had put him and Pelinore in this situation. After a long time, Bowen had finally managed to convince Pelinore to try and have a try at football. He had brought a ball from home to Hogwarts, and they went outside to the grounds with it. Bowen was showing Pelinore the basics, of how to kick the ball and run around with it. At first Pelinore had teased Bowen, saying that even a trained gnome could do so. But when he tried out, he was a completely disaster and on an attempt to impress Alice Acker and Igraine van Tassel that were passing by, he kicked the ball with a lot of strength and he ended up breaking a glass of one of the greenhouses.
Promptly, he and Bowen agreed to go and meet Professor Ravenscroft and explain to her that had been an accident. They would apologize and even offer to pay for the window's repair. Unfortunately Snape was passing by, and he decided to punish the two Gryffindors right on the spot before they decided to continue to vandalize the school. He had taken ten points to each and had scheduled a detention for today. Bowen couldn't help feeling Snape was exaggerating, since the window could be easily fixed with a spell, and that they haven't broken it on purpose. Snape also confiscated Bowen's football ball. That let him furious, and he spent the rest of the week in a bad mood. He wanted his ball back; it had been a birthday gift from Daisy.
"When this is over I swear my arms will be all filled with muscles."
"Not if they fall out of your body first," Bo teased. Finally his cauldron was cleaned and he passed on to the next one. This one was filled with a greasy brown thick substance at the button. "What do you think this might be?" he asked Pelinore.
"Troll's poo," he replied with a laugh.
Bowen flinched with disgust, hoping Pelinore was wrong. Filch, lured by the laughs, appeared in no time and ordered the two boys to continue working. They did so, but kept talking in whispers, once the caretaker was gone.
(Edgar) Keeping the Advantage
Author: Johanna Steele
Date: 04-12-15 15:00
Edgar grinned once Willow announced Gryffindor's first goal. It was a good start, he thought, adjusting his bat. Marlow had the quaffle now, and he looked around trying to locate the two bludgers. Madoc seemed to have one of them under control as he targeted the Hufflupuff chaser. Marlow managed to deviate herself from it and she carried on with her flight.
Gus and Caewryn didn't go after the bludgers, choosing to defend their team players instead of attacking the Gryffindors. Edgar made a sign to Madoc, both quickly deciding which bludger to fetch. As Edgar followed his own bludger, Marlow passed the quaffle to Duncan, who dropped it down to Jasper who was a few meters under him. Jasper quickly ascended with his arm around the quaffle and he didn't let it go, not even when Gerry tried to steal it with his hands. Jasper was getting closer to Hunter's hoops. Edgar speeded up to reach to the bludger and he quickly aimed the heavy ball at Jasper, in the hopes to stop him. But Caerwyn was paying attention and put himself between Jasper and the bludger. He used his bat to launch the ball to Finley, and he only didn't hit her in the head because Madoc was there to prevent it.
Jasper threw the quaffle back to Duncan, who was very close to Hunter, so he could score. But Hunter anticipated the move and he went for the quaffle himself, before Duncan could reach it. He passed the quaffle to Gerry who was free. Gerry departed at a high speed from the position he was. Edgar followed at a close distant, not wanting a bludger to hit Gerry and disturb him. He did his job well, not by using his bat, but by warning Gerry to duck with a shout. It wasn't a very conventional way to keep the chasers safe, but it worked. Gerry was harmless and he passed the quaffle to Mildred and she tried to pass it to Finley but Marlow caught the red ball between the pass.
Edgar went after a bludger, which Gus was after too. He was able to get it before Gus did and Edgar aimed it at Marlow. But once again, she dodged it. Edgar wondered if she was being extremely lucky today or if she had somehow developed a special skill to escape from bludgers.
The match proceeded and the quaffle was once again approaching Hunter's hoops. The Hufflepuffs on the stands roared with expectation, as Marlow, Duncan and Jasper kept passing the quaffle between the three without anyone to stop them. Caerwyn and Gus kept deviating the bludgers Edgar and Madoc sent to the Hufflepuff chasers. Edgar was starting to feel frustrated, when finally Finley managed to break the cycle. She had launched herself between Marlow and Jasper and she grabbed the quaffle in a spectacular bold move, which was worth Willow's praises and a wave of applause.
Finley turned her broom around and the match continued. Before Edgar came to her aid, he aimed a last bludger to a distracted Marlow, in the hopes she would be finally be hit, and causing the chaser some damage.
Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 04-12-15 15:16
Wiping some wind blown grit from his eyes Viktor blows the whistle clenched between his teeth. A well timed bludger hit knocked the quaffle out of bounds during a pass from Marlow MacDougal to Duncan. Someone in the stands pitches the ball back to him when he flies that direction. As the quaffle had been in Hufflepuff's possession when knocked out of bounds by a Ravenclaw hit bludger, he returns it to Marlow.
Marlow accepts the ball with a smile, her look going instantly serious when she gives her full attention to the match and getting the quaffle back into play. A short pass to Duncan and the chasers are all off once more, Viktor close behind, his eyes constantly scanning not only the action of the chasers but the four beaters, the two seekers, and when the quaffle is near enough for goal attempts then whichever keeper is working to turn the quaffle away. It's a great deal of work and effort but also energizing and exciting; nevertheless, Viktor has never once considered making an effort to become a full-time professional Quidditch referee.
Duncan passes to Jasper with Jasper making the catch just as he's hit by a bludger sent by Edgar. He tries to hang onto the ball but he fumbles his grip, allowing Finley to snatch it away. Viktor follows the action closely, watching for any sign of a foul, letting the whistle drop from his teeth when he realizes he's been clenching it tightly enough one side of his jaw is starting to ache. It's not a conscious act and what's more it's wholly unnecessary to bite down on the whistle for that long and that hard as to cause pain. It's something he's only started doing the first game of this school year. He has to try harder to be more aware and stop doing it.
A massive wind gust has everyone holding tightly to their brooms. Finley, with quaffle in hand, has a more difficult time. She ends up swaying and in the process of trying to keep her balance grabs onto Duncan's broom by accident. Thought not the common foul of blagging, and though an accident brought on by the wind, Viktor shoves the whistle into his mouth again and blows.
The quaffle is turned over to Hufflepuff with Duncan putting it back into play this time. Hufflepuff possession is short-lived when a few seconds later a pass from Jasper to Marlow is intercepted midflight by Mildred. The Gryffindor takes off for the Hufflepuff goals guarded by Glori, Viktor racing along, once more keeping as close an eye on the players as one referee possibly can.
Windy Conditions (Duncan)
Author: Briar Rose
Date: 04-12-15 20:23
Duncan takes a deep breath after one particularly strong gust of wind hit him straight in the face, making it difficult to breathe for a few seconds. The strong, blustery wind has been making his eyes water some but, worse, several times it's affected passing the quaffle and trying for a goal. It's probably bothered the beaters some as well though as one of the players targeted with bludgers, he's not as bugged by that.
Finley has the quaffle, moving ever closer to Glori and the three hoops. Duncan comes around on her right hoping to interfere and with teammate Gerry on her left hoping to help as needed. A bludger goes by and thinking it's aimed at Finley Gerry calls a warning. Duncan's not sure if she heard him or was already thinking to move as she did but whichever it is, she avoids the hard ball.
Finley throws but one of those strong blasts of wind aids Glori in stopping the ball from going through the aimed for hoop. Glori gives the quaffle to Jasper who, surprising to Duncan, immediately passes long to Marlow. Duncan shoots away, keeping watch behind and to the side where Marlow is in case she wants to throw to him.
Marlow does end up passing off to him, Duncan just barely avoiding a bludger in the process. He suddenly finds himself with Finley on one side and Mildred on the other. He accelerates, pulling away only to have Gerry come close on one side, the Gryffindor chaser's hand outstretched in an effort to pop the quaffle loose from Duncan's hold on it.
Jasper comes into view slightly below so he drops the quaffle down, Gerry chasing after it but unable to grab hold before it reaches Jasper. It's still Jasper with the quaffle as they near the other set of hoops and Hunter. Duncan's breath catches, not from hoping Jasper's shot is good, but because he's been smacked in the face again by the wind.
His eyes watery yet again, he rubs at them while trying to see, and hear, if Jasper's throw made it through the hoop.
Goals
Author: Gerry
Date: 04-13-15 18:05
Gerry pulled the nose of his broomstick up sharply, just in time to see Jasper attempt a goal. He held his breath as the quaffle sailed neatly through the air, the gust of wind apparently aiding the ball from going through the hoops rather than hindering it. Hunter brushed something out of his eye as he retrieved the quaffle, which he handed off to Gerry.
Gerry darted away, frowning because the match was tied now, 10-10. He had hoped that Gryffindor would stay on top until the very end of the match, which ought to end with Leo catching the snitch if all went to plan. Gerry saw out of the corner of his eye Gus strike one of the bludgers in his direction. Gerry dipped slightly and made himself as flat as possible, and then felt the bludger fly straight over him. Unfortunately, Caerwyn was right there to intercept it and had a better chance of hitting Gerry, being much closer. The bludger struck Gerry in the ribs and shocked him enough for him to loosen his hold on the ball.
Luckily, Mildred was there to lend a hand and recovered the quaffle before any of the Hufflepuff chasers could. She pushed forward, while Gerry slowed down a bit and gingerly touched his side. He didn't think anything was broken, because the pain wasn't that severe and his breathing didn't feel especially labored. His side throbbed like crazy, though.
Up ahead, Mildred passed the quaffle to Finley, who quickly passed it back to Mildred when both Marlow and Jasper closed in on her. Mildred swerved abruptly in front of the goal hoops and let go of the quaffle, sending it flying with a spin. Glori knocked it back with her fist, sending it to Mildred again. She tried for another goal, only to have Glori turn it back again.
By now, Gerry had caught up to the pack, and though his side still ached, he felt more or less recovered. He caught Glori's rebound and threw it hard at the hoop farthest away from her. Glori dove for it, her fingers just barely grazing the ball. Another gust of wind gave the quaffle the momentum it needed to go through the hoop.
"Martini-Blackwell scores!" Willow shouted. "Gryffindor leads, 20-10!"
Evenly Matched (Glori, Leo, Gus)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 04-13-15 19:50
Glori slowly patrols back and forth in front of the hoops she's charged with guarding, massaging a spot above one knee that took a bludger hit a short while ago. She listens to Willow's running commentary while watching the action halfway down the pitch from her.
So far the two teams have been fairly evenly matched. Unless there's a serious injury Glori doesn't see that changing by game's end. Still, it's irksome that Gryffindor leads by one goal.
A pass from Gerry to Finley is interrupted by a bludger from Caerwyn, allowing Duncan to take possession of the quaffle. With the action getting further away, Glori listens even more closely to Willow. She's just settled into one spot directly in front of the center hoop, eyes following Duncan down the pitch when Mildred steals the ball.
Duncan, Marlow, and Jasper harry Mildred, Gerry, and Finley but the Gryffindor chasers make quick work of getting the quaffle to where Glori waits to thwart any goal attempt they make. A series of short, fast passes has Finley with the quaffle. Glori's set to smack it away from the hoops but as the red ball reaches her a bludger connects with her leg in the exact same spot as a short time before. The hard ball smashing a newly sore spot has her flinching more than she might otherwise. To her chagrin the quaffle gets by her hand, giving Gryffindor its third goal of the match.
Leo looks up at the sounds of wild cheering and hearing that Finley made a goal, the score now 30 to 10. Even with Gryffindor ahead at the moment the pressure to catch the snitch is just as strong. Maybe if the snitch wasn't worth 150 points, the pressure wouldn't be as bad. What if the snitch was only worth 25 points or 50? Leo loves the sport and has read the history of the game but has yet to understand why the quaffle only brings 10 points a goal but a single snitch catch is worth 150. He has wondered if having the chasers with their own ball, the quaffle, was to give spectators something entertaining to watch while the seekers try to locate the snitch. He still doesn't get why the scoring was set as it is but he does get that there wouldn't be much to the game of it was mainly people watching two people hunting, sometimes for hours or even days, for a tiny winged ball.
He watches a moment as Marlow hustles away from Glori, quaffle tucked against her. She swerves and ducks a bludger then passes to Jasper. Jasper darts away, Mildred giving chase. She gets close enough to him to interfere with his efforts to hand off to Duncan. Gus helps out with a bludger. Jasper gets the quaffle off, Duncan making a good catch only to be tapped hard with a bludger from Madoc.
Duncan doesn't lose the ball but he needs a moment to recover from the hard hit so ends up passing on to Marlow. She doesn't get a good grip, which allows Gerry to steal. A smile crosses Leo's lips at having Gryffindor with the quaffle again. Much as he'd like to watch them drive in towards Glori for another goal, he returns his attention to looking for that teeny ball.
No sooner has Leo turned and put his broom into motion when the snitch darts in front of him. With a surge of adrenaline, he's off after it. The ball goes into a gradual dive, Leo not only following but trying to close the distance between the snitch and him.
Near the ground the snitch levels off. He can't believe his good fortune to have been on the snitch's trail for at least a minute now and no one else has noticed, not even Sophie. As he's knocked from his broom by a bludger he didn't see, Leo knows he was gleeful a little too soon. He's picking himself up even as Coach Krum is blowing his whistle.
The bludger hit wasn't all that hard so much as unexpected. His shoulder does throb but that's only from the immediacy of the hit. One knee burns a little from where his knee guard slipped as he hit the ground but otherwise he's fine. With the snitch having been so close to the ground Leo didn't fall far.
Coach Krum gives Leo the okay so Leo retrieves his broom. A quick look for any sign of the snitch as he takes back to the air then it's back to the methodical search.
Gus has been approaching a bludger when the whistle blew. He'd pulled up short but kept one eye on the bludger. He'd also paid attention to what was going on with Leo. Leo might be on the other team but he's still Gus's cousin. Thankful that Leo is fine, Gus fidgets until Krum gives the signal for the game to restart.
Once that signal is give, Gus darts to the bludger, only to pull himself back. When the game stopped Finley had gained the quaffle. With the game on again, Gerry puts the quaffle back into play by tossing it to Finley. As she is who Gus was targeting before the whistle blew, he sticks to that plan, swinging his bat, sending the bludger on a course that should intercept Finley's.
Seeing the other bludger coming his direction, Gus heads for it. He's forced to hold back when Edgar gets there first. Rather than waiting to get ahead of that bludger once Edgar hits it, Gus flies after the one he sent towards Finley. Spotting Caerwyn making a hand signal his way, Gus nods at his friend. Reaching the bludger that Finley narrowly missed, Gus hits the ball not toward another of the Gryffindor chasers but to Caerwyn.
From his better vantage point, Caerwyn redirects the bludger to smack Mildred, who is in the process of setting up to accept a pass from Finley. The bludger makes contact, allowing Marlow to snap up the quaffle. She pivots around, racing in Hunter's direction.
Marlow still has the quaffle when she and several others reach Hunter. Gus smashes his bat into a bludger, putting a lot of force and energy into a hit that carries the bludger to where Hunter is reaching for the quaffle thrown by Marlow. The bludger gets Hunter in the arm, seriously interfering with his ability to grab the quaffle. The red ball continues by the Gryffindor keeper, the score now 20 for Hufflepuff, 30 for Gryffindor.
Play by Play
Author: Finley
Date: 04-14-15 17:35
Finley accepted the quaffle from Hunter and dashed off, rolling to avoid Caerwyn's bludger. As she came out of the roll, she lobbed the quaffle at Mildred, who was a fair distance ahead of the pack. Mildred caught the ball with one arm, but her hold on it wasn't all that good. It nearly bounced away, but then she managed to secure her hold on it after all. She scurried off, though by then her lead had diminished significantly.
Finley hurried to catch up so that she could lend a hand, if Mildred found herself in need of passing the quaffle. Gus gave one of the bludgers a hard whack and sent it right after Mildred, who only noticed it when Finley called out a warning. Mildred twisted first one way and then flew in an arc the other when she got within scoring range. She quickly sized up her options and let go of the quaffle, but Glori had no trouble blocking her goal attempt. She caught the ball squarely in her arms and then handed it off to Jasper.
Jasper's broomstick gave off a burst of speed, but Finley was quick to catch up to him. She made herself as small as possible to reduce wind resistance, though with the wind being what it was, it wasn't easy. A strong gust of wind suddenly blew into their faces, making their progress across the field much slower. Madoc aimed a bludger at Jasper, but the wind carried it so that it nearly hit Finley instead. She jerked backwards suddenly and lost her momentum.
Jasper, meanwhile, passed the quaffle to Marlow. Marlow passed it to Duncan, who passed it back to Jasper. The Hufflepuff chasers moved the quaffle lightning quick through the air. Hunter buckled down in front of the goal hoops and eyeballed the red ball as it passed from hand to hand. Finley watched it too, hoping to intercept the quaffle.
Jasper hurled the quaffle at the left-most goal, but it bounced off the rim and straight back into his arms. He tried again, but Hunter easily knocked the ball back. On the third go around, Gus and Caerwyn got simultaneous bludgers off. Madoc was able to swoop in and deflect one away from Hunter, but the other one got him in the fingers, knocking his hand back and away from the hoop.
Jasper's quaffle went through seconds later.
"Jenkins scores!" Willow shouted. "The match is tied, 30-30!"