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McGonagalls at the Quidditch Trials
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 10-21-15 18:24
Madoc clutched his bat and flew in between his brother and a bludger meant for him, thanks to a first year trying out for beater. The first year had actually intended on aiming for someone else and then spun out at the unexpected force of the hit. Madoc didn't pay further attention to the first year, who was so dizzy he looked green in the face and on the verge of retching. Instead, Madoc intercepted the bludger and redirected it at a chaser on the opposing team.
The scrimmage matches were the only time that Madoc and Malden would ever play on the same team. In this first one, they were both playing in their preferred roles of beater and chaser, respectfully. During warm-ups and drills, they'd been in separate groups; Madoc with Marmaduke Flowers and Malden with Morgana Flowers, who were both professional Quidditch players with the Hogsmeade Humbatas.
Malden didn't have possession of the quaffle but one of his teammates did. The girl was older than him but had never played for her house team. Malden wasn't sure if she had ever tried out for Quidditch in previous years or if she was one of the ones who tried out every year and never earned a position. Either way, she wasn't any good. She fumbled the ball the moment somebody accidentally bumped her.
Malden immediately dove for it, but before he could sweep it up, some kid he didn't even recognize stole it and flew away. Malden scowled, because he wasn't about to be bested by a first year! He glanced over his shoulder and shot a meaningful glance at Madoc as if to say, Hit that little pipsqueak with a bludger already!
Madoc took the hint and looked around for a bludger that might do for the task, but both were being controlled by the beaters on the other team at the moment. He tried to judge who they might target, when Professor Krum blew his whistle signaling the end of the scrimmage match.
Madoc was immediately called up to participate in the next scrimmage match. The teams were evenly split between veteran and novice players. Madoc's co-beater was a first year who didn't seem to know which end was up on his bat. The beaters on the opposite team were Jade Green of Ravenclaw and another first year. That one held the bat correctly but had a look of terror in her eyes.
The game commenced with a chaser on Madoc's team getting the quaffle first. Madoc immediately intercepted a bludger meant for her and aimed it at an opposing chaser doing everything he could to steal the ball. It got him in the shoulder and forced him to hang back a little. When Madoc looked around to see where he was needed next, he caught a glimpse of his co-beater swinging at the other bludger, only to miss the black ball entirely and nearly whack himself in the head with the bat. Madoc stifled a sigh and focused on his job again.
Malden watched the scrimmage unfold from the sidelines with Asher. He wasn't the type to show any support for his brother, but Malden had to admit that Madoc was a decent Quidditch player. He did all the work for his team, since the first year was rubbish at beating. Hell, he was rubbish at flying too! The scrimmage match ended when the first year fell off his broomstick somehow. At least he'd been flying close to the ground.
Malden was called to play in the next scrimmage match. He was pleased to find himself playing with Gerry Martini-Blackwell of Gryffindor and Paton Shrewsbury of Ravenclaw. They were experienced players and would help him display his skills. It was hard showing off when the other chasers were inexperienced and couldn't even pass the quaffle correctly.
The opposite team got the quaffle first but lost it to a bludger hit. Malden went in for the steal and passed it to Gerry, who passed it to Paton. Paton threw long to Malden, who pulled ahead and got within range of the goal hoops. He threw it the same time a bludger targeted the inexperienced player at the goals. The keeper followed instinct and moved out of the path of the bludger, allowing Malden to score.
He grinned and threw a quick glance into the stands, where he knew Arielle was sitting. It was nice that she had come out to watch the Quidditch Trials. He liked to think that she was watching him, but she probably just wanted to see who would make the Gryffindor team, like his brother Madoc. Malden started to frown and then remembered he had a scrimmage match to play. He put his mind in the game until Professor Krum next blew his whistle.
Trying For Chaser (Mason)
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 10-21-15 18:37
Boris and Mason stand stretching on the sidelines of the pitch. Doing a few toe touches Boris grunts, "Last chance unless a position comes open after the season begins."
"You mean like last year?" Mason asks, thinking of how Taran Tremaine gained a slot on the Slytherin team after the team had already played two matches.
"Exactly."
Further conversation on the topic is stalled when Coach Krum calls for attention so that the groups for warm-ups and drills can be announced. Boris and Mason end up in different groups, Boris with Mason's brother Pyrrhus and Mason with Flora Lynch. When they meet up again both are sweating and settle in a spot to enjoy thirst quenching beverages as the teams for the first of the many scrimmages are announced.
They split again when Boris is in the second scrimmage while Mason plays in the third. Roommate Gaston Gallagher is one of the other chasers in his team this match while Jasmine Doyle is the other. Both are decent players he knows but that doesn't mean they'll do for the house team, then, he's not necessarily assured his spot back either.
A girl on the other team whom Mason doesn't recognize gets the tip off but Flora is able to knock the quaffle from her hands. Flora isn't able to grab the ball herself but the knock she gave it away from the other girl enables Mason to snatch it up. Gaston is fumble fingers for half the length of the pitch as he, Flora, and Mason work the ball towards the opposing keeper. Thankfully, he's able to get it together in time to prevent one of the other chasers, a Gryffindor, from stealing.
Flora has the quaffle as they drive in towards the hoops, passing to Mason after a bludger slams into her shoulder. Mason throws for goal, unable to suppress a broad grin when the keeper isn't able to stop the quaffle's forward progress.
The quaffle goes to the other team but within seconds Mason's intercepted a pass and is speeding the short distance back to the hoops. Gaston is in a better scoring position so he passes, hoping that fumble fingers is not back. The catch is good but while the throw to the hoops is good, this time the keeper is able to block the shot.
The quaffle is in the other team's hands once again but just past the halfway point along the pitch a whistle blows to stop the game. In a bizarre, most likely never to be duplicated naturally event, a bludger somehow tapped into the snitch, sending it directly into the hand of the other team's seeker. Though Mason's team this scrimmage lost, he knows he put on a good showing.
Once on the ground, Flora ends up getting a little medical attention. Apparently, that bludger hit to the front of her shoulder was just hard enough and in the exact right spot to dislocate her collarbone on that side. When she's been seen to, she flops down near enough to where Mason and Boris are for them to overhear her tell a friend she's sore but wants to finish with the tryouts if possible. Mason's respect for the Hufflepuff notches up. He also thinks Flora is pretty but doesn't say anything on that note to Boris as his friend would become a pest about it, maybe even deciding Flora's pretty enough to meet his own high standards, which are actually fairly low though Boris claims otherwise, to ask Flora out. Not that Mason is going to ask Flora out. Or maybe he will.
Shaking his head, he gets his mind back on Quidditch, wondering when he'll play again.
His second opportunity comes sooner than he expects, something he's not at all going to complain about. The more scrimmages he can be in, the better!
As Mason is only interested in playing chaser, that's the only position for which he's signed up. He doesn't dislike the other positions and does play them some when in games just for fun, but as far as the Slytherin team goes, he's knows he's good at chaser and the more he can show that today, rather than splitting up scrimmages with other positions, the more he thinks he increases his chances of making the team again, this his last year at Hogwarts.
This second go around Mason is hit straightaway with a bludger. It's to the thigh and more of a glancing blow but he hopes it's not a harbinger of things to come for the match. One of his team's chaser is a second year whose face he recalls seeing but can't place the house and, typical of Mason, he didn't catch the name. He's a decent little player, little because he's small for a second year, small enough Mason wonders if the other boy is also trying for his house's seeker position. Not all seekers are small or even thin but there is a certain look associate with the stereotype of a seeker. He has the quaffle but keeps looking to Mason to pass, the third chaser having an opposing chaser between him and the second year whereas Mason is more open.
The pass is made but at the last second before reaching Mason, the quaffle is snatched by Boris, playing chaser for the other team, zooming by. Mason goes in pursuit, able to get the quaffle back when Boris relaxes his hold on it when shifting and turning to avoid a bludger hit. Mason flashes him a grin as he speeds away, tucking the quaffle in close.
Mason is hit a second time as he and his two fellow chasers near the hoops. He ends up doing a soft toss to one of the others, who in turn throws the quaffle in the direction of one of the hoops. The keeper turns it back, one of her own chasers grabbing the ball.
When the scrimmage ends, neither team has managed to score nor has either seeker managed to get near enough the snitch to even dream of touching it. Mason would have liked a win but he played well again. Once seated on the ground, another drink in hand, he watches the current scrimmage while Boris talks about his own performance that match, picking apart his positives and negatives, both of them eager to get into the air again for another match.
Second Time Trying Out
Author: Gerry
Date: 10-21-15 19:07
Gerry tucked the quaffle under his arm and slalomed around one of the beaters and then past an opposing chaser looking to steal the ball but being too slow at the attempt. When he came out on the other side, he flicked his wrist so that the quaffle flew at an arc at Paton, who caught the ball easily and continued on toward the goal hoops.
Having been a first year Quidditch player only last year, Gerry didn't share the same attitude as some of the other returning players. Yes, some first years could barely stay upright on their brooms, but there were a handful who had skill. If they were good, then they definitely deserved a position on their respective house teams.
Paton threw the ball to Malden, who threw it back to Gerry. He executed a barrel roll to avoid a bludger and then slyly handed the quaffle back to Malden. Before Malden could make another goal, a shrill whistle sounded very close to Gerry's ear. He winced, and then turned the nose of his broomstick towards the ground.
Because he wasn't immediately sent to play in another scrimmage match, Gerry wandered over to the refreshments table and accepted a cup of water from Flora Lynch, one of the professional players helping out at the Quidditch Trials today. Flora had been the one leading Gerry in his warm-ups and drills earlier in the morning.
Eventually, it was Gerry's turn to take to the sky again. He was only interested in the role of chaser, the same position he had played last year for Gryffindor. He found himself playing chaser with a first year and an older student who had not previously been on a team. Gerry was by far the best of the three, though the first year was scrappy. He managed to filch the quaffle from a passing chaser, only to lose it when the rest converged on him and stole it back.
Gerry flew close to the chaser currently in possession of the quaffle and whipped his arm out in an attempt to take the ball. He ended up swerving to avoid getting hit by a bludger, which caused him to lose some ground. The second bludger hit him in the thigh, which was unexpected since by that point he wasn't even a threat to the quaffle anymore. Gerry ignored the pain and urged his broomstick to fly faster in an effort to catch up the pack again. The goal attempt of the opposing team was blocked by Gerry's team's keeper, who handed the ball to him when game play resumed.
Trying Out
Author: Mildred
Date: 10-22-15 15:42
Mildred checked her broomstick, as she waited for her name to be called to enter in her very first scrimmage. The warm-ups and drills had gone well for Mildred. During summer she didn't have much time to fly on her broomstick and she was afraid of being out of shape. It had been good to know she still could catch and throw quaffles and had a good control of her broom.
The reason for her insecurity came from the first weeks of classes. As a fifth year, she would be taking her OWLs this year, and it seemed that the teachers demanded much more of them than every before. Mildred had felt like she was a first again due to all the new teachers and classrooms, with the exception of Professor Kent and Professor Hodfuffer, who still taught her Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes respectively. She was still adjusting to each teacher's teaching method and to the level of difficulty of this year, and she felt she hasn't entered a routine yet. She was trying out for chaser in the hopes of making the Gryffindor team once again. She was hoping Quidditch would help her to forget her daily frustrations, like last year. Quidditch really had the power to make her forget everything else when she was playing it.
Her name was called to play in the next scrimmage and Mildred mounted her broom, looking around, learning who her teammates would be. She recognized the Slytherin Mason Jeffers on the opposing team. Achilles, who was trying out as well, was also going to play against her, but unlike Mason, he had signed up for beater. Morgana Flowers was supervising the scrimmage and released the four balls from her trunk once everyone was up in the air, in position.
Mason was the first to grab the quaffle and Mildred followed him. She put herself at his side, and used her arm to try and steal the red ball. But Mason was an experienced player, and she knew he would not let the quaffle go with such ease. He passed the red ball to a girl wearing the Hufflepuff colors, who Mildred didn't know. She watched as a chaser of her team, Gryffindor Anderson Acker, went after the Hufflepuff girl, as she moved closer to the hoops. Mildred kept on Mason's tail, and that paid off because when they reached the scoring area, the Hufflepuff chaser, who managed to pass by both Anderson and the other chaser with bright dark hair, who Mildred didn't know the name yet, decided to offer him the quaffle, and surprise the keeper. He was a naïve first year who seemed to forget he was supposed to defend three and not one single hoop. Mildred was able to intercept the pass and she caught the quaffle in the air. She hold it tight and speeded u,p away from her team's hoops.
Everyone followed her and she passed the quaffle to Anderson the moment the Hufflepuff girl blocked her way to the hoops, by forming a barrier with her body. Anderson got the quaffle but he dropped it a second later, letting out a furious shout, provoked by the pain caused by a bludger sent by Achilles. The quaffle was falling into a freefall, but the other chaser from Mildred's team managed to pick it up. She flied right above her, covering her. When Mason approached her, Mildred called her and she threw the quaffle to her. She grabbed it and then she continued her way to the hoops. The keeper was alert, but she decided to risk and take a shot, since she was in a good position. The quaffle flied all the way to the left hoop, and even if the keeper managed to guess the direction of the red ball, he wasn't able to make a defense and Mildred scored.
She grinned, but she didn't celebrate too much, because the scrimmage quickly continued. Only when Morgana Flowers had blown her whistle Mildred realized the snitch had been caught, because she was too focused on the game and during the trails she couldn't count with the usual match comments done by Willow Westwick to know what was going on with the seekers.
"I couldn't hit you once!" Achilles said, once they dismounted and walked away from the pitch, giving space for the next scrimmage taking place.
"You really wanted to hit me with a bludger?"
"Yes. And don't be offended. It's all part of the game."
Mildred smiled at Achilles and they both went to seat together on a bench, waiting for their names to be called out again. Since she had cleared the air with Achilles things had become easier between the two of them, and they were once again good friends.
She had to wait two more scrimmages before she was called again. This time she hasn't been so lucky and on the first minute on air, a bludger, sent by Madoc McGonagall, hit her leg. Mildred had always played on Madoc's team and never against him and she didn't like the sensation of being a target to one his bludgers. She tried to locate the quaffle, ignoring the pain.
A Ravenclaw named Penny Puckett was holding it and Mildred went after her. She bumped against her right flank, trying to force her to lose control of her broom and loose the grip on the quaffle. Penny managed to hold tight and she passed the quaffle to a first year. The girl grabbed and she proved to know exactly what to do with it, as she made her way towards the hoops. Mildred guessed she probably had been a member of the Little League. One of her team's beaters tried to put an end to the chaser's advances but without success: Madoc appeared and changed the bludger's course, protecting the girl.
Mildred stopped covering Penny and she decided to try and snatch the red ball from the girl herself. She had the support of another chaser from her team and the girl found herself being attacked from both left and right, as two sets of hands tried to separate her from the red ball. Finally she gave in and Mildred had been able to recover the red ball. She and the other two chasers worked together, reaching the hoops. It was strange to play with people she wasn't used to, but still they seemed to work well and Mildred passed the quaffle to one of the other chasers, who scored.
The match proceeded and she was hit by another bludger, this time on her arm and then another on the same leg as before. It seemed like Achilles had jinxed her or something, and now she was being hit more than usual. She was relieved when the scrimmage ended, her body feeling sore. However she was glad because she had been able to score three times, and overall had one a good job, taking the quaffle back to her team and attacking the hoops.
At The Trials (Duncan)
Author: Briar Rose
Date: 10-22-15 18:24
Earlier in the week Duncan had asked Grace, "Are you trying out for your house team?"
She thought about that for a second then shrugged. "I haven't thought much about it so probably not."
Sitting now in the stands, keeping an eye out for friends, Grace is happy to watch and cheer Duncan on rather than play, even if only to try out. She likes Quidditch and has played a little but she thinks she'd rather watch something like a Hogwarts match than play in one.
In the ground Duncan rubs a hand along the bristles of his broom. Standing next to him Ollie asks, "Something wrong?"
"No, not really. It's just that all week when I've practiced and then during the warm-ups and drills, the balance seems off somehow."
Ollie smirks. "It's not the broom. It's you. One leg is longer than the other now. Uneven growth spurt."
"Hysterical. You should get a comedy show on the WWN."
Ollie has another equally funny comment to make but Duncan's name being called spoils the moment for now. He'll have to watch for another opening to use the line.
Duncan takes to the air, as a chaser as he was in another scrimmage match. As he was able to make the Hufflepuff team last year in a chaser position, that's what he's hoping for again this time. As he adjusts the color put on to denote him as a member of one team over the other he does what he did on the ground, take a good look at who else is on the team. If he can remember from match to match who's on his team, he won't lose a second here, a second there looking for whatever color his team is for a scrimmage.
A couple of them he only knows their names from a moment before when still on the ground. Another he recognized as one of the new members of Hufflepuff House, Frederick Benwick, but doesn't know him to speak of beyond having once told him how to get from where one moving staircase had stopped to the class he'd been on his way to when the staircase began moving.
Duncan gets the quaffle first but almost immediately passes off to Frederick or Freddie or Fred or whatever he prefers. Benwick ducks a bludger though Duncan thinks it would have missed him anyway as it wasn't hit that well. Duncan flanks him in case he needs to pass the quaffle back, ending up blocking Marlow MacDougal from the other team from stealing the ball.
Sometimes playing opposite someone like Marlow whom he's used to being teammates with has Duncan telling himself it's much like a game for fun where those teams can be a big mix. Still, when the quaffle comes back to Duncan a few seconds later he has to shake off an urge to pass to Marlow.
Benwick, Duncan, and the other chaser on their team work together through a series of quick, short passes to get the quaffle to the end of the pitch where a keeper wearing the other team's color waits for a chance to show some skills. They've almost made it when that other chaser takes a fairly hard hit from a bludger and loses the quaffle in the process. Marlow scoops it up and she with her two chaser teammates soon have the quaffle within scoring range at the other end of the pitch. Marlow's got the ball again, arm back to throw the quaffle towards one of the hoops when a whistle blows.
All six chasers as well as the two keepers are extremely let down not to get to showcase themselves for the rest of the time allotted to the match. At the same time, the seeker who caught the snitch so quickly is jubilant. The four beaters wish they could have had the extra time but as all four were steadily busy with those bludgers, they aren't as disappointed, especially compared to the keepers who neither one got to do much of anything.
A short while later, half a sandwich consumed along with a bottle of water, Duncan is in the air once again, this time with Marlow as a teammate. A chaser from the other team gets the quaffle first but she's hardly moved when the third chaser on Duncan's team, Gerry who'd played for Gryffindor last year, plucks it from her hand.
They lose possession moments later when a pass from Gerry to Duncan is intercepted. The other three chasers make short work of getting the ball to the hoops. The quaffle sails towards a hoop but it's knocked away, Marlow able to catch it. She hurls it to Duncan who pulls away from that set of hoops.
A quarter of the way down the length of the pitch, Duncan takes a bludger that has him needing to pass off the ball. It goes to Gerry, Duncan trailing slightly behind the others to massage the hand that was holding his broom handle when hit by the bludger. Nothing feels broken but there's already a little swelling. His fingers are going to be too stiff to bend by the time he's on the ground again.
Not far from the hoops Gerry passes to Marlow who drives in towards the hoops. By that time Duncan has caught up. She fakes a throw for goal, passing to Duncan instead. He manages not to fumble before letting the quaffle go, sending it to the center of the center hoop. The keeper is able to block the shot with one of the opposing chasers making the catch.
Pivoting his broom back the other direction, Duncan keeps bending and straightening the fingers that had been hit, hoping they don't keep him from doing well the rest of this match and any others he's in today.
Paton, Franciscus, Beatrix
Author: Griet
Date: 10-22-15 19:38
Paton flattened himself over the shaft of his broomstick and zoomed forward, throwing a quick look over his shoulder to make eye contact with Malden, who had the quaffle in his arms. Malden made quick work of assessing the situation and then launched the quaffle forwards, almost overshooting but not quite. Paton reached out his arm and tapped the ball with his fingers, somehow managing to turn it against his body instead of fumble. He secured the ball against his side with his arm and shot forward, coming at the goals at a tight angle. Paton let the ball fly as he turned, but the other team's keeper knocked the ball back with his fist. The scrimmage match ended before the ball could get far across the Pitch again.
Paton touched down, walked over to the sidelines and sat down with his back against the wall when his name wasn't called for the next scrimmage match. He watched as his cousins Franciscus and Beatrix participated in the next scrimmage match instead. Franciscus, like Paton, was going out for chaser again. It was his best position, not to mention the one he had played ever since joining the Ravenclaw team. Beatrix was in her usual position of keeper. Brother and sister played on opposite teams.
Franciscus caught the quaffle at tip off and darted off, heading for Beatrix, who got ready for his approach. He passed the ball to a fellow chaser on his team, who quickly passed it back to avoid losing it to a bludger hit. Franciscus pitched it at the other chaser, only for the young player to fumble the ball. It was scooped up by a chaser on the opposite team, who hastened around and tried to make progress down the Pitch.
Beatrix started to relax a little, but when a turnover happened with the quaffle, she immediately got ready to defend her goals. Her brother caught a pass and drove towards her with a look of determination in his eyes. He threw the ball at the right-most hoop. Beatrix reached out and slapped the ball away from the goal.
Franciscus caught the rebound and tried again. He was successful only because a bludger caught his sister in the shoulder. She didn't flinch away from the black ball, preferring to block her brother's goal attempt than let the bludger scare her away, but it hit her in such a way that she couldn't stop the quaffle from going through the hoop.
Her shoulder throbbed throughout the rest of the scrimmage match and into the start of the next one. This time Franciscus was on her team, but Paton played opposite them both. Paton was the first to get his hands on the quaffle and zoomed towards Beatrix, but Franciscus was on top of him, doing everything possible to either steal the ball for his team or to cause Paton to drop it. Paton veered away from Franciscus, only to get clipped in the shoulder by a bludger. Franciscus used the moment of distraction to lift the ball from his cousin's arms. He immediately turned around to put some distance between himself and Beatrix at the goal hoops.
Franciscus lobbed the ball ahead of him at another chaser on his team, who managed to get the quaffle within scoring range. Unfortunately, every goal attempt made with the keeper eventually catching the ball and handing it off to Paton. Paton handed it off to a chaser on his team, who tossed it to the other one. That chaser threw it back at Paton. The ball flew in quick succession from chaser to chaser, with Franciscus and the other chasers on his team trying to intercept.
When the quaffle got across the Pitch, it was Paton attempting to score. Beatrix kicked the ball away the first time. Then, she punched it with her first. The third time she dodged a bludger and stopped the quaffle by catching it squarely in her arms. She shot her cousin a playful smirk, but before she could hand the ball to her brother or another chaser on her team, the scrimmage match ended.