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Worried to Invigorated (Wiggy)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 07-22-09 17:07
Wiggersmythe Hodfuffer had been one of the few on the pitch at dawn. He had been out here sooner but the gloom of predawn made seeing much of anything difficult when zooming around on a broom and he nor anyone else had permission to activate the stadium lights. The spell to light up the pitch is a very simple one but even performing simple magic can land one in detention if it's a spell that students aren't to do with explicit permission. It's not as though the lights could have easily been concealed from castle view once turned on.
Wiggy wants on the Gryffindor Quidditch team too badly to go mucking up his chances on the very day of team trials. He's been getting in as much practice time as possible since escaping Happy Haven. Even if things hadn't worked out for a return to Hogwarts, Wiggy was determined to make a team at whatever school he went to instead and if it was somewhere in America at a school there that unbelievably still doesn't have Quidditch, Wiggy would have organized a huge effort to get teams established.
He's not let on to anyone just how badly he wants this or how worried he is about it. Wiggy knows he's good. Too many have told him he's a natural. It's that he lost so much time though. Time when he should have been honing his skills, developing them as his body continued its own development.
When Gloriaspasiana had arrived at the pitch, Wiggy was glad beyond words that his sister did not require hand holding and reassurance that she'd do well today. Glad because he's so nervous he doubted he'd be much good to her. Jack and Deak arriving helped divert his mind from his worries some, but only some.
Warm-ups went well. Wiggy sprinted, flew passing patterns and formations, avoided bludger hits, hit bludgers, and even caught the snitch a few times in one exercise for speed and dexterity. It's only after he's back in the stands awaiting the chaser specific drills that Wiggy realized he could no more tell you who oversaw his group than he could tell you how to brew Skele-Gro.
Wiggy watches everything going on while waiting to be called again, but it's like watching things in a dream. His focus doesn't become sharp again until he snaps to attention at hearing his name for the chaser drills. He performed well and knows he did but that little voice of worry tells him he could have been better. He dropped two passes altogether and fumbled another. During one drill with the bludgers involved, Wiggy took one straight into the chest, head on. He did not, however, let the quaffle go. In the drill where they had to shoot one quaffle after another at the hoops, Wiggy got all of his in, though not perfectly clean. Some hit the side of the hoop before going on through.
Then it was back to the stands to wait for scrimmages to begin. Wiggy could have tried for other positions on the Gryffindor team but he lives and breathes being a chaser. He doesn't think he'd be happy being on the team and not be filling one of those three coveted spots.
During all this there are breaks and Wiggy vaguely remembers hearing someone mention a table of sandwiches, crisps, and drinks for those wanting lunch. He's got no stomach for it so he sat, watching those still going through their paces and then watching the first half of the scrimmages, his heart pounding faster and faster until at last his name is called for one of the scrimmage teams. The first half of the scrimmages are mixed teams and Wiggy's first team has three Ravenclaws, two Slytherins, a Hufflepuff, and him, a Gryffindor.
Wiggy then does what he does best. He took the quaffle, he passed, he accepted passes, he scored goals, he assisted others in scoring, and dodged bludgers and efforts to steal the quaffle away.
The air was suddenly charged. Noises crisper. Vision sharper.
When that scrimmage ends, none of them being very long, Wiggy's ready to jump right into another. When it's his turn again, he plays even better. The third time he's put in as a beater, but that's all right. Wiggy knows having them play spots they aren't that interested in is just part of Coach Batuti's effort to get a full assessment
Much to his joy, when the second half of the scrimmages start, the team scrimmages, Wiggy get to play for Gryffindor and as a Chaser. It's frosting on the cake that the first Gryffindor scrimmage is against Slytherin. Wiggy takes a good whacking with a bludger to the head but Viktor Krum gives Wiggy the okay after pulling him aside and peering at Wiggy's pupils and doing a couple of other quick assessments.
In that scrimmage Wiggy scored twice. The next Gryffindor match is against Ravenclaw. Wiggy gets to play in that as well, getting the quaffle at the tip off then passing to Etta Wynbourne. Seconds later Wiggy's got the quaffle again, doing a steep dive to avoid a bludger sent courtesy of Fritz, only to lose the red ball to Deak.
Wiggy quickly recovers, moving in to put the squeeze on Deak, allowing a Gryffindor whose name escapes Wiggy to retake the ball. A huge grin on his face, Wiggy moves into a position to assist working the quaffle into goal range, his worries about not making the team currently left far below in the ground.
Caught the Quidditch Bug
Author: Ella
Date: 07-22-09 18:14
In the two weeks since the start of term, nothing had changed in Ella's life. Her parents were still divorced, as evidenced by the individual letters she received from them regularly in the short amount of time. She knew she ought to give up hope that they would get back together and be a normal family again, but she couldn't help but wish for it all the same.
In an attempt to keep her mind off of her personal problems, Ella kept herself busy with classes, which seemed more difficult and time-consuming than ever. Her marks were decent so far, but not the best. She didn't mind being average and therefore didn't try harder, but she didn't want to fail either. Ella did what was necessary and then some, but not by terribly much.
When not doing homework or studying in the library, she often found herself at the edge of the grounds meeting Zane. Their ritual from last year had resumed as if the summer holidays had never interrupted the routine. Usually, they met for only brief amounts of time and not every day, but enough for Ella to feel at least marginally happy about their bizarre relationship.
Ella had also found time for flying. Ever since last year, when she'd played beater for the one-time team the Anacondas, she'd caught the Quidditch bug and wanted more of the sport. Beater seemed like the position for her and was what she tried out for during the current Quidditch trials.
She'd come to the pitch with one of the newer broomstick models, a Supernova her father had guiltily given her over the summer. It handled like a dream and would hopefully serve her well over the course of the tryouts.
Initially, Ella found herself in a small group for warm-up drills. The adult assigned to her group had them sit on the turf and do stretches. Ella found the exercise wasteful but didn't comment and didn't show her true feelings. She stretched out her legs in front of her and formed them into a V, mimicking everything the group leader did. Her group even did a little bit of jogging before finally mounting brooms and taking to the skies.
After doing drills like sprints and weaving through obstacles, Ella returned to the stands, but not for long. The drills for specific positions came next, with beater going first. Ella tried her hand at showing off her strength when it came to hitting a bludger, practiced hitting targets, which she managed more often than not, and did very well sending bludgers to her teammates and receiving them as well.
The other positions went next in succession. Ella watched closely to see who would obviously make the various teams and who most obviously would not. It wasn't long before she got called to play in a random scrimmage match. Ella did well protecting her teammates from the errant bludgers and even hit the quaffle off its intended trajectory once. When the house scrimmages came up, Ella found herself in the very first one, playing beater for Gryffindor. She enjoyed that particular scrimmage even more than the first, though didn't necessarily make any improvements on the field.
Only time would tell how well she really did.
Okay With Whatever Happens (Glori)
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 07-22-09 18:17
What Gloriaspasiana Hodfuffer had told Wiggy, Deak, and Jack is true. She'd like to make the Hufflepuff team and she would be happy with any position but as a first year, she doesn't think she's got what it takes to be selected. Unlike Wiggy, Glori isn't a natural at Quidditch. She's not even a natural on a broom. Glori doesn't have a burning passion for Quidditch like her brother but she does like watching the game and she's had fun playing it when chances for it arose.
The warm-ups were fun and interesting. Glori also thought the Humbatas player coordinating her group is very cute but then, she thinks all the male Humbatas here today are cute, most of all that Viktor Krum. During warm-ups Glori's favorite drill was flying really fast around floating pylons, without hitting the pylons. She also rather enjoyed a drill that involved flying through a spinning ring though she did get the giggles when an older boy from another house suggested the ring be set afire to make things more interesting.
When it came time for the second part of the trials, Glori took part in each set of drills. With not caring what position she gets, if she gets one, she figured it best to participate in each group as drills tailored more for a specific position were done. Although she was sure she'd be more tired by the time the tryouts end, Glori thinks the advantage of doing all the position drills is that the time until the scrimmages goes by very quickly. During the beater drills, Glori absolutely loved the one where they had to hit a moving target with a bludger. One of the chaser drills that was great fun was sprinting at top speed with a quaffle, trying to avoid three others trying to steal it away. Her favorite of the keeper drills was having a pro Quidditch player demonstrating some maneuvers to block goal attempts and then trying to mimic those actions. The Starfish and Stick and the Double Eight Loop were Glori's two favorite keeper moves. Very challenging! Of the seeker drills, Glori most liked the one where it was required to chase after the snitch while it went on this convoluted path, all the while someone else was also trying to get it. Glori liked that one best because she thinks it's probably closest to what going after the snitch in an actual game is like.
In her first scrimmage, Glori was put in as a keeper. She tried out as many of the moves she'd learned as she could in the time allowed. There weren't as many goal attempts as there would be in most games but that's because each scrimmage match is timed and not all that long relatively speaking.
Her second match, Glori was seeker, and sure enough that little ball fly all over the pitch and never in a straight line. Glori wove between other players, dodged bludgers, avoided chasers, nearly went through one of the goal hoops when the snitch went that way, and in the end she and the other seeker were with within a hand's reach when the whistle blew to end the match.
As the day progressed, Glori reached the conclusion that she's better at Quidditch than she thought. She's still not sure she has what it takes to make the team but she refused to be disappointed if she doesn't. Quidditch would be great fun and she'd get to know some of the older students on the team better and because she'd be on the team, more students would know her just from that. But Quidditch also takes up time and can be demanding and stressful if what she's heard, particularly from her brother and from cousins such as Phinfilius, is anything to go by. It's only her first year here, and she's grateful to have it considering what she and others went through under former Minister's government. There are other things at Hogwarts to keep her occupied. Lots of clubs. Quidditch just for fun. Her studies. Mum and Uncle AJ both would say that studies come first but that's only because they're grownups and it's a law or something.
As Glori takes to her broom as a beater for a Hufflepuff against Gryffindor scrimmage match, she grips the bat tightly, grins at the fun of it all, and really, really hopes she makes the team. The quaffle shoots up into the air and Glori is instantly off after a bludger to hit at whichever Gryffindor is trying to take the quaffle from Phin's girlfriend Emerald Green. She hits the bludger with a resounding crack of the bat, her grin growing even more. Glori's off like a shot after the other bludger, laying on the spead to reach it first.
Itchy Fingers
Author: Coco Nutt
Date: 07-23-09 14:19
Coco sits in the stands where other students from all four houses are watching the current scrimmage taking place. Hufflepuff and Slytherin are on the pitch and at halfway through the timed match, the players from both houses in the game seem fairly evenly matched. Coco's left hand, which is the hand she most often holds the Beater's bat in, flexes as if wanting to be out there right now, giving a Bludger a smacking good blow.
There was a period of time when Coco wasn't sure if she'd ever get to play Quidditch again. Then came a span when she thought that to play again she'd need to go out for a St. Emrys team while she does her veterinary healing studies. There's always pro but though a number of pro Quidditch players do something else, Coco worried that going pro would cut into her studies.
When Albus Dumbledore invited back those who would have graduated last year, Coco was excited about the possibility of playing at Hogwarts again. She well remembers the pangs she experience having to sit on the sidelines, in the stands and watch matches during her sixth year because as a Non, any Pures wanting her position took precedence. Ironic that the same "Pure" who took her spot was deemed a Non himself when a new guideline for determine who was and who wasn't was established.
Coco looks over at Alastor Jenkins, his face turned towards the action over the pitch. She feels no animosity towards the younger Ravenclaw. He wanted badly to play for their house team and tried out like other had done, including Coco. He can't really be blamed for rules he had no part in making. The real shame was in the fact that Coco is better than Alastor but due to those bloody stupid rules, Alastor was given the Beater spot Coco had long held.
Today Coco hopes the outcome is different. Alastor would like to be a Beater again but with both Coco and Fritz each trying for a Beater position and with both of them clearly still better than Alastor is, Coco hopes he won't be too badly disappointed or overly angry with either of them. Coco's not being egotistical in thinking Fritz and she are better than Alastor or better than other Ravenclaws who've indicated a desire to be a Beater for their house team. Coco's basing her assessment on what she saw while the drills were being done for all those in all four houses who have an interest in playing that position.
There was the drill of hitting Bludgers for distance. Each Bludger Coco hit went soaring far down the pitch. She hit every target in the different drills involving targets, both stationary and moving. When sprinting after a Bludger against another player, Coco got to the ball first every time. She doesn't know how she would have done against Fritz on that one as they didn't go head to head during that drill and Fritz is every bit as fast as she is in sprints.
During the earlier drills, the warm-ups, Coco was not in the same group as Fritz but she was in the same one as Alastor. She couldn't help but notice the younger boy looking oddly at her a few times but she couldn't tell if he was miffed that Coco's trying out for Beater again, insecure that he's not good enough to win one of the two spots over any of the other Ravenclaws after the position, or confident that he's got one of the two Ravenclaw Beater spots locked up.
She'd not dwelled on it then, being her usual not let much of anything bother her self. Coco had put her attention on the warm-ups, finding one in particular really interesting. It was just a passing drill, but they had to pass doing a blind, over the head throw and the person the ball was thrown to had to catch it and immediately do a blind throw behind them as well, and so on. Coco even enjoyed having to run stadium stairs though she heard a few grumblings, some with ear burning language, from some in her group.
The mixed scrimmage matches were fun, more like pick-up matches. During one of the games, when Coco was in the stands watching, she overheard two people talking about how all the teams last term were mixed because of how the houses had been abolished. Coco would have been thrilled to play on such teams especially given how she was doing hard labor at the misnamed Happy Haven.
In all but one of the mixed matches Coco played, she was lucky enough to be in as Beater, her favorite position. The one match she was a Beater, Coco was made Seeker. In pick-up games she's always been either a Beater or a Chaser so playing Seeker was an entirely new experience. Coco spent the minutes of the timed match zigging this way, zagging that way, dodging Bludgers, ducking under Chasers, darting around the goals, and even at one point flying in between a set of stands and the marquise draped over it. With thirty seconds left in the timed match, Coco beat the other Seeker, another Ravenclaw, to catch the snitch. Coco enjoyed every second of it, made all the more fun by being the one getting the snitch, but give her a bat and a Bludger any day!
The Hufflepuff-Slytherin match ends and another with Ravenclaw is announced. Hearing her name, Coco jumps up, hurrying down from the stands to join her teammates, fingers itching to have a bat in hand. In under two minutes, Coco has that bat held firmly in her left hand and is in the air. Fifteen seconds later, she's racing to get to one of the firm, black balls first, all ready tracking the opposing team Chaser who is her first intended target of this match.
Griet, Cornelia & Aleydis
Author: Griet
Date: 07-23-09 17:21
The three oldest Vanderbilt girls arrived at the Quidditch Pitch in time for the trials. Griet, clutching her Stratus 2000, felt giddy and nauseated at the same time. It had been ages since she'd last played Quidditch in any form, and more than anything, she wanted her old position on the Slytherin team again. She felt sick, not because she feared she was too out of practice to do well enough to reclaim her old spot, but because the full moon had only been a few days ago and she hadn't fully recovered from the aftereffects of her transformation. Hopefully, the fact that she didn't feel in top shape wouldn't destroy her chances of playing chaser this year.
Cornelia strode onto the field with utmost confidence, one-hundred percent certain she'd become Slytherin's seeker again. Aleydis, meanwhile, who had Griet's old Firebolt, wanted to become Hufflepuff's seeker. She had played in the position one time last year as a member of the Gargoyles. Aleydis didn't display Cornelia's confidence, but she knew she had a fighting chance of winning the spot since she'd done well in the position last year, bringing the Gargoyles to victory with her catch of the elusive golden snitch.
During the warm-up drills, all three girls had found themselves in different groups. Griet's exercises mainly took place in the air and involved drills like sprints, dodging bludgers, and practice throws of the quaffle. Cornelia and Aleydis had more of a mix of exercises, some on the ground like jumping jacks and stretches and a few in the air like laps around the pitch and through hoops.
They returned to the stands afterwards to watch the individual exercises, starting with beater. Chaser came next, and so Griet left her younger sisters in the stands and joined the other chaser hopefuls on the turf. Once everyone gathered, they were asked to mount their brooms and take flight. First, they practiced passing the quaffle to each other. It started easy, following a general pattern, but then it became increasingly difficult. Griet seemed to forget she didn't feel her best and found it very easy to remember how well she'd once played Quidditch when she'd still done it regulalry.
Next, the chasers practiced passing the quaffle around with bludgers serving as potential distractions. Once again, Griet had no trouble dodging the balls and she did what she did best. She worked the quaffle up and down the pitch almost effortlessly. A few more drills took place and then it came time to practice making goals. Only once did Griet miss.
She resumed her spot in the stands and watched the keeper tryouts take place. Then it was time for Cornelia and Aleydis to take part in the seeker specific drills. Their exercises involved trying to catch as many snitches within a certain amount of time. To catch one before someone else. To catch one and avoid all the bludgers aimed their way. Aleydis came back with a sore shoulder from where a bludger struck her. Cornelia had narrowly missed one but had come out completely unscathed.
Next it was time to take part in the scrimmages. The first ones the girls found themselves in involved all the houses at once. At one point, Griet and Cornelia were on the same team, playing against Aleydis. Aleydis, to Cornelia's extreme disappointment and anger, caught the snitch first.
Later on, when the scrimmages involved one house playing another, Griet and Cornelia once again found themselves on the same team. This time Cornelia caught the snitch. She felt vindicated in having done so, but it still stung that Aleydis, her younger sister and a Hufflepuff of all things, had beat her earlier.
Throughout the trials, Griet had focused only on doing well, so that she'd managed to forget her illness for the most part, and the fact that Oberon had tried out for chaser also. The two met in secluded alcoves on occasion but rarely said anything about those top secret meetings. Sweat glistened on Oberon's forehead from his effort, and now all Griet could thing about was ducking under the stands with him.
Cornelia's voice pulled Griet from her daydreams. "Why didn't you try out, Gervaise? I bet you'd make a great Quidditch player."
Gervaise sat on Cornelia's other side and shrugged. "I'd rather watch, myself."
"Did you see how brilliant I was?" Cornelia asked, purposefully ignoring the fact that Aleydis had overshadowed her once. Aleydis had joined some of her friends elsewhere in the stands, perhaps having sensed Cornelia's overall annoyance with her.
"Oh, yes. You're quite good, Cornelia." Gervaise looked over Cornelia's bushy head to Griet. "So are you, Griet. I bet you'll be on the team again."
Griet managed a small smile and said, "Thanks."
"If it's between her and me," Oberon cut in, "then I'm sure I'll get it before she does. It's not like I have that time of the month to get in the way of things."
Griet's smile faded fast and she rounded on Oberon. "You're an ass, you know that!"
"You don't think your problem could be an issue for the team? Look at you, you're sweating and you're pale."
"I'm sweating because I'm hot and in case you haven't noticed, I'm always pale!"
"Are you two going to keep this up?" Cornelia asked, gazing at the two almost disinterestingly.
Griet really wanted to get up and duck under the stands but she forced herself to sit still and stare straight ahead. She felt Oberon tremble with laughter beside her, but she didn't dare turn to look at him.
Watching The Action And Eating
Author: Julian Valentine
Date: 07-23-09 18:05
Munching on one of the sandwiches he'd gotten from the table where food and drink were provided for those participating in today's Quidditch trials, Caerwyn tries to do a count of how many from each house are taking part. He would be the first to admit that the job would be far easier if he actually knew who belonged to what house. With no houses at Hogwarts the last school year and this one only having been in session for two weeks, Caerwyn finds keeping straight who belongs where no easy feat.
Polishing off that sandwich, Caerwyn picks up the second he'd gotten. The first had been ham and cheese. This one has a bunch of different kinds of meat and what tastes like an olive spread, and there are two types of cheese. Very tasty. Taking a bite, he finishing the mental count of those he thinks are in his own houe, Hufflepuff.
If Caerwyn is anywhere near correct on who goes with which house, then Hufflepuff has the fewest members trying for the house team. While it would be nice if more showed an interest, Caerwyn is also somewhat relieved in that it means his chances of making the team are better. Gus's too, he thinks, looking over at his friend Augustus Hodfuffer who's busy working his way through a bag of corn crisps.
They'd both played in an official match last year, Caerwyn in the first one on a team named the Manticores. He was in the game as seeker and played against Aleydis Vanderbilt who was the other team's, the Gargoyles, seeker. She beat him to the snitch and the Gargoyles won the overall match. Still, Caerwyn felt then and still feels now that he did well.
Gus was in the second match, which pitted the Anacondas against the Jaguars. Caerwyn then got to play in the third match, which wasn't an official game. The Avanalches-Cyclones match was to have taken place on the 7th of June, but Hogwarts was taken over by fugitives by then and the game canceled. On top of that, the particular Saturday that match was scheduled to take place is when the school was stormed and the fugitives captured. Just before End of Term Feast the game took place but the points scored didn't go to any of the end of year totals. Caerwyn was a chaser for the Cyclones that game.
Of the two positions, Caerwyn can't say he favors one over the other. He's played a little as keeper but whenever given the chance, Caerwyn plays beater. That's his favorite though he couldn't really say why. Beater is what he most hopes to get today. Same as Gus, but Caerwyn doesn't really care what position as long as he makes the team. He'd thought it would be a long shot, him being only a second year, but now that he's out here and sees that there aren't as many Hufflepuffs competing as he thought there might be, Caerwyn's much more hopeful.
His broom is the newest Firebolt on the market, a back to school gift. Caerwyn has been using it when getting in practice on the pitch in preparation for today, loving how easily the broom handles, how fast it accelerates. That acceleration was really nice when doing sprints in the warm ups and the nimble handling was excellent to have when one of the drills involved lots of bludgers coming at him at once.
With any position being welcome to him, Caerwyn took part in all four position specific drills, starting with beater, proceding to chaser, then keeper, and lastly seeker. He had made sure, though, to indicate on the roster he'd signed at the beginning that beater is his first choice if it's available to him.
While doing the beater specific drills, Caerwyn got a really good idea of what he's up against, not just in Hufflepuff but who he'd be playing against in the other houses if he makes the Hufflepuff team. Caerwyn's weak spot was how far he could hit the bludger with a single crack of the bat but he can improve that. He's a growing boy plus he can do weight training and other excercises. Where he excelled was hitting a moving target. Caerwyn hit the bullseye every single time, though not always centered. There was another drill hitting a moving target in which the target was a dummy chaser on a broom that Coach Batuti - or maybe one of the other adults there - controlled by wand. Caerwyn hit the dummy ten out of ten tries. Granted, some of those tries were of the arms and legs instead of more solid hits to the torso, but that's still better than others had done.
During the mixed scrimmages, Caerwyn was in one as keeper. He'd blocked two of the three goal attempts made during the time allotted for the scrimmage but one of those times he was hit with a bludger to the shoulder at the exact moment he was blocking the quaffle. He'd played in several of the mixed matches but that one was the next to the last and the last one he was put in as a seeker. When the time came for Caerwyn to play on an all Hufflepuff team as a beater, he hadn't been sure his shoulder would be as up to the task as he needed it to be.
Sure enough, to Caerwyn's disappointment he couldn't knock the bludger as far as had in the drills and in the mixed houses matches that he played bludger. That resolved Caerwyn to toughen up whether he makes the team this year or not because there's next year to consider. All in all that match, Caerwyn did okay. Not his best but he mostly had bludgers where they needed to be and used them effectively.
In the second all Hufflepuff match, Caerwyn was chaser. Again, he did well overall, but his shoulder caught enough that the couple of times he had to make long passes, the quaffle didn't soar like it really needed to. Once he got it to his teammate but the other time it fell short. Caerwyn figures that until Professor Batuti announces teams, she'll be somewhat occupied. After that though, Caerwyn fully intends to ask her advice on getting a muscle building, strength training regimen started.
Sitting now eating and watching the scrimmage that's going on, Caerwyn wonders if Hufflepuff will have another scrimmage today and if so, will he be part of it?