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(Siegfried) Ready! Set! Go!
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 04-07-07 21:23
Siegfried stood on the sidelines with his broomstick slung over his shoulder while he watched the final heat of Group 6's sprint take place. The seven contestants, consisting of both Hogwarts participants, Thessily Ware from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's own Ariella Beck, raced around the aerial track as if there was no tomorrow. They placement changed throughout the race, but the final results were very clear from where Siegfried stood. Ariella Beck had placed first, Thessily Ware had placed second, and Asita Amadi of the Congoan school placed third.
The students in Group 6 touched down to the ground to accept trophies, pose for pictures and so on, while the names were called for the first heat of Group 7. Siegfried's name was among those called. He mounted his broom and soared up to the starting line.
"Ready! Set!" And at the tone, Siegfried pressed his broomstick forwards, propelling himself farther than anyone else. His lead was quickly lost when Maiba Makanga of Okapi École de Sorcellerie shot past him, followed by Coorain Jirra of Sydney's School of Sorcery and Caprice Mardis of Watling's Wizarding Academy.
Siegfried didn't like being in the middle of the lineup, because if he slipped up just a little, he'd be in the latter half of the bunch. However, if he could urge himself just a little faster, he'd be able to wind up in the top three of this heat. In the end, though, he remained dead center. He hoped to Merlin that the students in the second preliminary heat would be a lot slower!
He watched their race with bated breath and was relieved to discover that he'd barely made the cut. Of the 7 fastest times, he was the slowest. He vowed to do much better in the final round.
"Ready! Set!" It sounded like a car backfiring or someone apparating. Siegfried took off, this time not pulling so far ahead, but still flying as swiftly as possible around the track. He lowered his body so that he could meet the least resistance, and when he was nearly through the entire track, he put all his efforts into flying as fast as he could. Siegfried managed to catch up to the two people ahead of him but didn't beat Lilith Kiptanui. She earned first place almost effortlessly.
Siegfried was quite pleased with his second place, but he was gunning for first place in the Obstacle 1 competition, in which he would compete later that day.
Worsening Condition
Author: Bill Weasley
Date: 04-08-07 09:27
Bill's condition had worsened steadily since he'd first been brought into St. Mungo's. He shook and sweated and felt so stiff that it pained him to even move his limbs. The various potions the nurses had given him to ease his discomfort worked less and less.
The healers were baffled. Using the information Bill had given them about the poisonous powder and samples from Bill's own body, they worked hard to decipher what ailed him and if they could create a cure, but thus far they had little to go on. Bill continued to suffer, but he had faith that the healers were doing all they could to save his life.
Fleur weeped at his side. Bill, using great strength to move his arm so that he could touch her head, wanting to bring her comfort but knew that the only thing he could do was get better again. He patted her head gently and then led his fingers sink into her white-blond hair.
"You must get better," Fleur cried. "You must. What will I do without you?"
Bill said, "It is early yet. I don't feel death coming upon me." It wasn't exactly the truth, but he didn't want Fleur to suffer more than she already was. He felt awful, as if every last bit of energy he had was slipping away until there would be none left.
He wanted to change the subject to something less somber. "What of Adallah? Is there any news?"
Fleur lifted her head, causing Bill's hand to slip onto the mattress. She took it into her own and gave it a loving squeeze. "Zey 'aven't found 'im. Zey 'ave been scouring ze countryside and 'ave notified the world's ministries, so zat 'e might be noticed eef 'e appears somewhere outside Britain."
She used her other hand to touch his cheek. Bill closed his eyes at her touch.
"Zey 'ave been interrogating zat Omar Nawif to see eef 'e knows where 'is master eez. Zey seem to zink zat 'e knows more than what 'e eez telling zem."
"I hope he does lead them to Adallah," Bill murmured, feeling so tired even though he was in enough pain that slept wouldn't settle upon him. "And I hope Adallah leads them to the cure."
At the indirect mention of his illness, Fleur started weeping again. She buried her face into the mattress and cried while holding Bill's hand and stroking his cheek with her other hand. Bill squeezed her hand lightly, but it was all he could manage in order to give her some comfort.
The First Long Distance Race (Basil Wynbourne)
Author: Jared
Date: 04-08-07 10:44
No sooner does the last group of the Sprint get finished up then Group 1 for the Long Distance event is being called to check in. The judges from the Sprint move to join the regular audience and new judges take their places. Justine Blackthorn, Padraig O'Bannon, and Giulia Contadino are there to make sure the race is fair and to record the official times.
Viktor Krum introduces the judges and explains to the spectators what exactly the Long Distance race entails. As he talks the group of ten 11 to 12 year olds are flying up to take their starting positions on the aerial track over the pitch. From the inside out it's Niel Nazaire, Blanca Brandão, Peony Jones, Jenny Gabble, Nikita Klima, Yngvildr Kuester, Emily Martin, Filomena de Gama, Allegra Zapata, and Basil Wynbourne.
Basil's extremely happy about being on the outside. He'd worried that he'd get stuck in the middle or on the inside where in his opinion there's a greater chance of getting boxed in. Sure, everyone will get through a lap and start moving to the inside. Basil will but he's planning on staying on the outer fringe of the pack even when that movement towards the inner lane occurs.
Coach Krum calls everyone to their marks then loudly instructs, "Get set!" Go is as it was for the Sprint, Coach Krum says it but it's drowned out by the sound exploding from his wand to indicate the start. Basil shoots forward but doesn't zoom as quickly as he could. There are fifty laps so he wants to pace himself.
Just as Basil thought, once that first lap is completed, flyers start moving in to the inside, hoping to take advantage of those tighter turns. Basil veers inward but takes another full lap to do it then he jockeys to maintain his fringe position.
The pack of ten stays in a bunch through the next ten laps. That makes it twelve full laps down and thirty-eight to go when a couple start pulling away slightly. Peony and Niel are flying virtually parallel with each other, about half a broom length ahead of the other eight. Seeing Niel apart from the crowd has Basil realizing that Niel and he are the only two boys in the race. Knowing that some of the best Hogwarts flyers have been and are female, Basil tries not to let his sense of superiority and smugness give him the false impression that any of these girls he's competing against will be pushovers in those final laps.
As the race continues, second and third places constantly changes positions. Peony not only maintains the first place spot but manages to increase her lead a tiny bit with every lap. When there are only three laps to go, Peony is half a track ahead of everyone else. Unless she slows down in these last laps or unless someone finds a huge amount of speed to throw on, Peony has first place all sewn up rather tidily.
In the middle of those still more or less bunched together, Jenny Gabble is one who got boxed in. It doesn't seem like it was done with any malicious forethought but more like one of those accidents that happen when you put enough people together in a pack, racing around something. Still towards the outside, Basil starts picking up speed to pass those ahead of him.
As they come down the homestretch, Peony already over the finish line, Filomena de Gama puts on a surge, passing up Allegra and Basil. Allegra goes low over her broom and she and Basil battle it out for third. At the finish line, where it definately counts the most, Basil gets the end of his broom slightly more than an inch past the end of Allegra's giving him the third place finish!
Jack's Race (Jack Emerson)
Author: Kody
Date: 04-08-07 11:50
On the ground looking up at the aerial track, Jack cheers on Basil Wynbourne as the younger boy crosses the finish line in third. While Jack very much likes Etta Wynbourne, he doesn't care much for her blowhard cousin. This isn't about Basil though. It's about Hogwarts getting another winning place and gaining another point in the overall Scholastic Apitude Tournament standings. It's about showing some school spirit.
As that first group had raced, the second group had been told each participant's starting position. Jack is sixth one from the outside. Thalia Brown, the other Hogwarts second year whose name was drawn from the goblet for this race, is first on the inside. Between them there's Magdalena Jovanoviç, Odion Towne, Justine Thompson, and Nicholas FitzWilliam. From Jack outward it's Emmanuel Beaubouef, Simon Cousteau, Melba Garza, Sarah Erben, Gloria Tasulis, Imelda Romero, Ethan Thompson, and finally Simba St. James.
As the fourteen racers get into position Jacks starts feeling hemmed in. It's one thing to practice for this race with Thalia and some of the others from Hogwarts who are in different years. It's wholly another to be on the line surrounded by thirteen others, all of whom want to beat the robes off you.
Fourteen pairs of eyes focus ahead as the announcement to get ready is made. As much as they'd all like to dart forward, the maintain control, not wanting to be charged with a false start. First false start gets a warning. Second false starts means instant disqualification even if the ones involved weren't part of the first one. None of them want to go out that way after so much practice and after looking forward to being in the race for the sheer joy of it.
The starting BANG rings out. Jack surges forward, looking straight ahead but also being extremely aware of where exactly Nicholas FitzWilliam is. The Australian has really long, gangly legs and from the hips up appears to be all elbows. He could do some serious harm without meaning to if any got bunched up and caught right next to him.
Just as with Group 1, after about a lap the racers move more tightly towards the inside of the track. Jack attempts to both move inward and to stay clear of any bunching. Unfortunately, he gets caught up in one surge during lap 7 that has him surrounded and unable to move forward, sideways, or even slow down enough to let others pass then go around them. The way the track is charmed, Jack can't even dip down or climb to get out of the tight grouping.
For 13 very frustrating laps, Jack is trapped in the pack. the only way he could break free would have been to purposely foul someone. Given that he'd be disqualified, that's not an option to consider. When there's enough movement and jockeying of positions to allow Jack to finally break free, he's very glad that if all that had to happen it was in the first half of the race and not the latter half. He doesn't even want to think about being boxed in with nowhere to go for the last 25 laps.
Jack moves incrementally forward, half a broom length here, a full one there, sometimes only a quarter of a broom length but at long last he's able to make headway. When the final lap bell rings out, Jack is in a good position for the sprint to the finish line.
Jack feels a giddy surge of jubilation as he pours on the speed, taking the lead. That jubilation wanes only slightly when at the last moment Gloria Tasulis effortlessly breezes by him for the win. Flying across the finish line just after Jack for third place is the French school entrant Simon Cousteau.
Groups 3 and 4
Author: Griet
Date: 04-08-07 12:20
It hurt Griet's neck to look up at the race for as long as it took all fourteen contestants to complete their 50 laps. Therefore, she varied cheering on Hogwarts and readying herself for her own race. She clutched in her hand the Stratus 2000 she'd won at the Hogwarts Career Day last year. Her old broom, a Firebolt, had been passed on to Cornelia, who would be competing in the Broom Racing later that day.
"Lap 49!" Viktor Krum announced, as the first bunch passed over the finish line.
Griet raised her head to the sky to watch the remaining to laps. The lineup shifted only slightly from start to finish, with Candy Kelly, Isabel Rivera, and Faruka Bjorndal earning first, second and third places for Watling's, La Escuela de Hechiceria and Beauxbatons, respectively.
Group 3 touched down to the ground, while Group 4, including Griet, took to the skies. She flew to her starting position and waited for her race to begin. Meanwhile, down below, the winners accepted their trophies and smiled for the photographer. Representatives from the Daily Prophet were also there, pulling some of the students over for interviews for tomorrow's paper.
"Ready! Set! Go!"
Griet shot forward with a great burst of speed that put her ahead of most of the other thirteen flyers, though several still managed to outfly her. She turned smoothly, following the track without risking losing control of her broom. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that one flyer nearly spun out on the curve. Griet made herself as small as possible, to avoid colliding into the others on the track and to meet the least about of wind resistance. She came across the starting line in fourth place.
49 laps to go, she reminded herself.
She went around, and around, and around the track, sometimes gaining speed, sometimes losing speed. The order varied tremendously, as most of Group 4 flew together in a pack. There were a few well ahead of the others and some that trailed behind.
By lap 35, Griet had fallen behind farther than she would have liked, though she was still a part of the main pack.
By lap 45, she'd pulled ahead again and trailed behind the two who were in the lead.
By lap 49, she'd managed to break away from the pack, but she knew she wouldn't be able to surpass Eladio Criville and Jason Travers. They had first and second places locked. Griet passed the finish line in third place, glad that she'd managed to place at all.
Seeing Someone
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 04-08-07 13:07
Ronan found himself distracted, despite having something very important that required his full attention. Ever since Easter, when he went home against Caden's wishes, he'd worried about his big brother. There was something Caden wasn't telling him, and no matter what excuses or lies he'd given Ronan, Ronan only pretended to believe him. What could Caden possibly be keeping a secret from Ronan? Ever since their father died and Ronan's mother left, the brothers had been very close. They used to tell each other everything, even though they had a ten-year age difference. They used to understand each other well.
But not anymore. Caden had secrets and had completely turned around what had once been a stable life. He'd lost his job at the Ministry of Magic. He'd lost his girlfriend, whom Ronan had honestly believed Caden had deeply cared for at one time. He lived like a slob now. Ronan had almost asked to speak to Professor Jones about what she knew about Caden and Urania's breakup, but then he thought that might be weird. Professor Jones might have one day wound up his sister-in-law, but she was still his teacher.
As Group 4 touched down to the turf, Group 5 was called up to take their places for the fifth Long Distance race of the day. Ronan mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. He joined the others in Group 5 at the starting line and readied himself for the starter pistol. At its BANG!, he leapt forward on his broomstick and ploughed through the air as if it couldn't hold him back. He didn't know how he did it, but he managed to pull himself so far ahead of the rest of the group that it didn't even seem like they'd ever be able to catch up, even though he knew there were 49 laps left and it was entire possible that he'd wind up dead last.
He took the last curve in the first lap sharply but managed to maintain control of his broomstick. His eyes flickered briefly into the crowd, and then he did a full-on head turn to see if who he thought he'd seen was actually there. Unfortunately, what drew his attention more was the fact that the other flyers were drawing nearer. Ronan turned back around and darted forward, urging his broomstick on faster and faster.
When he came around the same curve again, he looked out into the crowd but couldn't find the person he thought he'd seen. He looked each time he reached the bend, but she wasn't there. What would Caden say if Ronan told him again that he'd seen Enid at an SAT event?
Go the Distance
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 04-08-07 13:41
Fritz is among the participants in Group 5, racing along the aerial track in the Long Distance event of the Broom Racing. He's riding a Lightning Bolt. The others have broomsticks of varying models, some foreign makes that Fritz has never even seen or heard of before. And some of them look quite cool! Konstantin Zemlinsky from Durmstrang's broom is made of the sleekest, blackest wood and has bristles that are almost a dark shade of mahogany. It looks very fancy compared to Fritz's, although his broom is fairly new and quite nice.
Besides the Long Distance, Fritz is also participating in one of the Obstacle courses. It will involve flying through a course of rings that will grow progressively smaller with each round. It will definitely be much more difficult than the Long Distance race, which if anything will only be a bit tiring.
He's gone around the track several times already, neither in the lead or at the back of the pack. Fritz pushes forward, trying to get past the person directly in front of him, when that person swerves suddenly and accidentally elbows Fritz in the face. Fritz is pretty sure it was an accident, anyway, since unless that person has eyes on the back of his head, then he probably didn't know Fritz was there. The elbow to the face only slows Fritz down for a moment.
Around and around they all go until they reach the 50th lap. Everyone is straining to be first by this point, and they give their broomsticks extra bursts of speed in their efforts to pull ahead. Ronan Eastwick from Hogwarts crosses the finish line first, followed by Emma Lewis from Watling's and Fritz himself. Behind Fritz are Ignace Reutenauer of Beauxbatons, Guadalupe Espinoza of Hechiceria, Farai Gazini of Okapi, Mosi Martin of Okapi, Graham Keyes of Sydney's, Hillary Berry of Watling's, Silvestre Tomasevsky of Durmstrang, Hamlet St. John of Beauxbatons, Konstantin Zemlinsky of Durmstrang, João Calado of Hechiceria and Alec Bright of Sydney's.
Fritz is surprised that Konstantin didn't do so well, even with so nice a broomstick as he has. He is also very pleased that he himself placed third and that the other Hogwarts participant, Ronan, won first place.
Something Worth Trying?
Author: Charlie Weasley
Date: 04-08-07 14:10
Frustrated, angry beyond belief, and bored to tears, Charlie stretches out on the single blanket pallet. Until the manacle was put back on his ankle yesterday after the near escape, Charlie hadn't realized how much it was chafing. Now it's a constant, painful itch.
From the other side of the room, Ron asks, "How come you didn't go immediately to a spot you could apparate from?"
Charlie folds his hands under his head. "Wondered when you'd get around to asking that."
"You thought maybe you'd be unable to apparate back here."
Ron states this as much as asks. Charlie sits back up to look at his youngest brother. "That's it exactly. I don't know exactly where this is. If it's unplottable that would make apparating back here all the more difficult. Without knowing what the Floo conduit for any fireplace here is, that was out of the question as well. If I'd apparated away, if I could return they'd have long since moved you."
"Thanks for sticking around to help me get free."
"You're welcome though you don't owe me any thanks, Ron. You really think I wanted to get home to have Mum pummel me for not bringing you back as well?"
Ron snorts through his nose as he begins to laugh. "She would have done just that too. I can practically hear her screeching at you about it. If I close my eyes I can still hear her the day Fred, George, and I snuck out in the middle of the night, stole Dad's Ford Anglia, and went to rescue Harry from those horrid Dursleys."
"Was that worse or better than shortly afterwards when she sent you the Howler at Hogwarts?" Charlie laughingly asks.
"Merlin that was something! I didn't think I could turn redder than my hair but by all accounts I did."
Ron's face suddenly goes somber. "I sort of wouldn't mind hearing Mum screeching at one of us now."
"The feeling is mutual. It's only been a week and here we are missing Mum yelling at us. How sad is that?"
Ron looks around the room empty of everything but the two blankets they're using for bedding, the chains anchoring keeping them locked in, Charlie and himself. "At least they let us be in a room together. I was going to lose my voice if we had to do much more shouting down the hall at each other."
"And at least we still have a bathroom and not just a chamber pot," Charlie adds. "If I thought I could pull off the acting, I'd suggest we pretend to start getting along with them and not be angry anymore."
"You think it would work?"
Charlie lifts both shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. "I'm game to try if you are. I'm not that great of an actor I don't think but,"
"It's worth a shot," Ron finishes. "Okay, as much as the thought of it makes me shudder, let's try pretending we do like them."
With something actual to plan, Charlie sits up straighter and scootches closer to Ron to talk.
Ready To Get Going
Author: Phinfilius
Date: 04-08-07 14:37
Phin pumps his fist as Hogwarts students take first and third for Group 5. It would be nice if both Hogwarts entrants fro each year placed in the top three for each race. Still, Phin thinks the school is doing really well and that overall Coach Krum must be pleased with how smoothly everthing's going.
The signal is given for Group 6ers to start getting into position. Before mounting his broom, the newest in the Cleansweep line, Phin goes over to shake Bailey Gray's hand and wish the Gryffindor luck. Once in the air, Phin looks around at the stands, finding the one where a huge contingent of relatives sit to cheer him on. Emerald's family is there as well, waving at Phin and loudly calling out good luck to hiim. Emerald still has a silly grin on her face from placing third in her Sprint group. Her grin isn't as silly as his father's and Vivian's though. Phin can't imagine what that's all about. Maybe they've got another honeymoon planned or something.
A hand crosses over in front of Phin. Aiden Darling, the brother of Drake's girlfriend Ophelia, is holding his hand out to Phin. "When I beat you, it's all in good, friendly rivalry," the Australian jests.
"You'll beat me in what? A hundred or so years?" Phin jokes back.
Phin looks up and down the line. Bailey's three people over. Aiden is on Phin's immediate left. Their faces echo the eagerness and anticipation Phin feels. Tyrone Williams nearly has a false start but he contains himself just in the nick of time. Then they are off, the loud BANG of the starter ringing in Phin's ears.
With 50 laps to the race, different contestants have different theories on how best to win it. There are the break free of the pack early on flyers. There are the get to the front but stay with the pack flyers. There are the stick in the pack and save energy until the last few lap flyers. And there are some with theories that fall somewhere in between.
Phin's strategy is to get to the front, towards the inside but not to pull away from the others for awhile. His thinking is that if he waits until the latter laps of the race, he may not be able to make the needed move to pull away and in front in time.
Around lap 30 Phin puts on a little more speed. Not too much. Just enough to start putting some distance between the bulk of the pack.