Blind Leadership ((Slytherin Quidditch Team))

[Kennedy Valak S6]

Though he wasn’t keen on leading, Kennedy was much less inclined to the idea of being a follower. Leading wasn’t his natural ability, that was certain, but still he had managed what skills were required for him to head up the Slytherin Quidditch team. One thing that was beneficial was that there were only two players older than himself: Caleb Donnelly who was perhaps as quiet as Kennedy when it came to being outspoken and then Drake Manning who was on the team for reasons that Kennedy was still unsure of. Drake had a mean swing for Beater, but other than that he seemed to do his own thing and not really contribute much to the team. As for the rest of the squad, most of them were in his year, which was relatively easy for him to accept, and then a handful were a year below him. Overall, Slytherin had quite a large team compared to most house teams, and everyone was fifth year or older which made for quite a reasonable size advantage when they played the houses with younger students. At the same time, age didn’t always mean everything, as Harry Potter had shown during the few years Kennedy was able to see him play. Though Kennedy himself hadn’t witnessed Harry playing during his first year at Hogwarts, it was well known that he made quite the Seeker as just an eleven year old playing Quidditch for the first time in his life.

Today, Kennedy had booked the pitch for Slytherin to get accustomed to the new team for the year. A recent audition had added a few to their numbers, and Kennedy wanted to get the team used to playing with each other. He wasn’t sure who would show up, but he expected a decent turn out, as most had indicated that they were available for the practice. Most of the newcomers seemed eager to test the water, and then there were the faithful few who had been on the team as long as if not longer than Kennedy himself. It would be an interesting practice, that was for sure, and a good turn out meant that they would be able to get more accomplished. With a roster of 10, they could potentially do a 5 vs. 5 practice match. His broom under his arm and the rest of his Quiddtich attire in place, Kennedy carried the trunk which held the Quaffle, Bludgers, and Snitch to the center of the playing field where he waited for the rest of the people to arrive. Once everyone was there, or at least everyone that he expected to show up for sure, Kennedy decided to get their practice underway.

“Alright everybody,” he said, the team chatter dying down as he spoke. “Today, we’re going to focus on making sure that we are able to work as a team. I don’t care how prideful you are or how much you think you are the best player out there, it’s a proven fact that teamwork is the key to any success in Quidditch. As one of the most competitive people out here, I will not tolerate losing, especially any loss that is a result of a lack of team effort. Therefore, to begin today’s practice, I want you all to pair up. Once you have found your partner, one of you will use the blindfolds that I have in this bag to cover your eyes. At that point, your partner is responsible for verbally leading you around the Quidditch pitch while you are both on your brooms, making sure to weave in and out of each of the six goal posts. Once you have made it through one rotation, switch positions and the leader becomes the follower. Any questions?” He paused for only a second, smirking at the few looks of shock that some of the team members gave. “Good.” He mounted his broom and took a blindfold from the pile. “I’ll need somebody to lead me to get this started. Wynd, why don't you take the first leading position. Then, once we get to the first set of goal posts, the next group will start. I don't care who pairs up with who, just continue until every person has flown around the pitch once with the blindfold on.” Using his wand to tie the black cloth around his head to cover his eyes, Kennedy hovered just inches above the ground as he waited for someone brave enough to be his leader and start the practice.

((I had Kennedy call out Wynd simply because he contacted me and wanted to post but didn't think it was IC for Wynd to volunteer. Thus, to get the post moving, I had Kennedy chose Wynd. Then, whichever two people post next can be partners, etc. Be creative if you maybe wouldn't have necessarily picked that person as your partner IC. We just want to keep this moving instead of worrying about who partners with who. Once this has gone on for a while and most people have finished, I will move onto the next task. Don’t worry if not everybody gets a chance to do each task. Likely, they will be left up for a few days before I come back in a post Kennedy moving the team to the next task. I don’t expect everyone to do every single task, so just get done what you can, but at least do your best to participate once or twice. Remember, the more participation, the better chance you have to hold a starting position. As of now, since we are not in a match, all starting positions can be considered fair game to the 7 people who show the most participation and effort. )

[Wynd Lehane]

The first practice of the season. The day was upon them. Wynd was glad that he had made the Quidditch team. It was something that Ruby was not a part of. He recently realised that he needed to be more independent of his sister. Recent events with Ruby had led him to this conclusion. She had recently become involved with a certain Valmer Van Ruster. Which was actually sort of funny as he was the new Slytherin Seeker. But anyway, Wynd had become way too paranoid and jealous over the whole event. He had made peace with Valmer. He hoped anyway. A Slytherin could be a powerful enemy. But that whole event made Wynd realise that he needed some separation from Ruby. And although they were never truly away from each other it was nice to do different things once in a while. She was still his best friend, but it was nice to get out and do other things. Wynd made his way to the pitch with his Nimbus 2001 in hand. Their father had recently bought them both new brooms and Wynd wanted to break his in. So for once, Wynd was actually excited about going to a social function. He knew a lot of the team as he had shared a room with them for four and half years now. But he didn't know Caleb, Mary, Drake, Alexandra or even Pyro. He wondered what they would be like. Whether he would like them or not. Wynd generally liked people with their heads on straight. People that knew what they wanted out of life.

He recognised Kennedy standing on the pitch waiting for the rest of the team. Wynd didn't know anything about him. Would he make a good leader? Wynd was good at taking directions. People always wanted to be the leader. But true power was the person that held the strings. That was not always the viewed 'leader.' More often than not it was someone that the public never saw. Someone they never expected. That someone would someday be Wynd. But that was then. This was now. Kennedy was the 'leader' now. As the rest of the team made their way onto the pitch Kennedy began explaining what he had in store for them. He went into a tangent about how important it was to have a good team. Blah, blah, blah. The real surprise was when Kennedy told everyone that they would have to fly around the pitch wearing blindfolds. Blindfolds? Not only that they would have to trust someone else to lead them? That was a little more than he could bear. Kennedy told them to pair up and Wynd turned toward the rest of his teammates. He was debating between asking Dylan or Valmer. Dylan and Wynd had a strange relationship but Dylan was smart and Wynd liked that. Valmer was snogging his sister but... nothing. He was snogging his sister. Dylan it was! Wynd was about to cry out to Dylan and ask him to be his partner when Kennedy asked him to lead him on the first run. Wynd opened his mouth to argue but there was nothing. His captain wanted him to lead him and that was that.

Wynd mounted his Nimbus 2001 and hovered next to Kennedy as he put on his blindfold and charmed it tied. "Ready?" Wynd asked Kennedy his voice betraying the nervous feeling in his stomach. What if he ran the captain right into the goal post? He would be kicked off the team even before the season started. "All right. I'm going to say up, down, forward, backward, left, and right. When I say the respective direction I want you to go in that direction and no where else. Then I will tell you to stop. That obviously means stop. Maybe after the first post or so I'll think of a better system but for right now let's try that. Up." Wynd pointed the nose of his broom up and slowly rose watching to see if Kennedy would follow. Wynd saw that he did. When they had reached the height of the first goal post he cried, "Stop!" and Kennedy did so. Wynd felt so stupid but he had to give these simple directions so Kennedy would follow. "Turn right... more... more... more... stop." He told the captain to stop when they were both pointed at the lower left hoop. "Forward," he told Kennedy. Kennedy zoomed forward with Wynd right beside him. "I feel like I should say something so that you know that I'm still here. But I don't know what to say. Stop." They had just passed through the first of six hoops. "That's one down. Five to go. Up. Stop. Turn right. Stop. Forward. Stop. Turn right again. Stop. Forward. Stop. Down. Stop. Left. Stop. Forward. Stop. Turn left again. Stop. Forward. Stop." Wynd took a deep breath. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hard. "Three down."

[Dylan Caoimhe]

Dylan watched Wynd lead Kennedy in and out of the goal posts. He was doing a decent job, he guessed. Or at least it looked as if it wasn't too hard. Dylan was good at giving directions. Well good at giving people directions as to where they could go when they annoyed him. But, he thought he'd do good at this all the same. He looked over at the rest of the team. He really didn't see anyone whom he'd like to do this little excercise with, but, decided why not. He knew he would have to do things like this when he sighned up to join his House team in the first place. He knew he would have to swallow himself, and allow himself to "trust" his fellow team mates. But hey, that trust had a limit, so, it wouldn't be that bad. Dylan picked up his Nimbus 2000, and turned to face the team completely as Kennedy had previously done. No one seemed to enthusiastic. Dylan managed a faint smile.

"So, anyone ready to have a go?" He said it in as friendly a voice as he could muster, and soon felt queasy. Just dont think about it, he thought. Just do it. This practice would be over soon enough. It's not going to kill you to be, friendly. Maybe this was good for him. "Learning" how to interact with and be a part of a team. Oh, who am I kidding, he thought. He felt completely and utterly stupid standing up here in front of everyone pretending to seem like he was a nice guy. Come on Dylan, he thought. It's not that deep. He noticed his smile was gone, and replaced it at once. Everyone still looked as if they didn't want to do the excercise. Oh come on! Someone just pick up their damn broom and lets get this over with!

[alexandra]

Alexandra angrily slipped on her gloves as she mumbled about being put on reserve. How long had she been on the team? Much longer than Kennedy had and yet he had the nerve to put her on reserve! Her anger could only increase as the fact that Kennedy was the team captain entered her mind. Pyro had been captain, but his work was taking all of his time and he barely had time to sleep and go to class, let alone be on the Quidditch team. She wondered if he was going to quit. Shaking her head, she picked up her broom and ran out to the pitch, seeing Kennedy stand there a few others players. It seemed that everyone who was going to show up had and Kennedy was addressing them all. With a scowl on her usually blank face, Alexandra stood across from Kennedy, her eyes daggers.

Listening to him give them orders made her only resent him even more. She couldn't stand the nerve of him. She sighed and waited until his instructions were finished. Pairs? She sighed again, her scowl dropping. If only Pyro had shown. She would have jumped at the chance to pair up with her fiance, but now she was forced to be a "team" and would have to pair up with some strange kid. True, she may know the others on the team, but she wasn't inclined to trusting someone she didn't like.

Finally, Kennedy was finished with his example and gave them that look that meant it was their turn. Alexandra sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and flicking her short brown curls. Suddenly Dylan stepped forward, smiling and being a bit too friendly. Alexandra watched him with cold eyes as she made up her mind. If she was on reserve, she wasn't participating. Dylan's eyes hardened and his smile faded for a moment. Alexandra felt her head tilt. He was acting like she did when she was living with Aubree, so long ago. She sighed and looked around. No one was stepping forward.

"Oh fine!" she said, exasperated, "I'll be your partner. Ok?"

She even surprised herself with how she was talking. Alexandra hardly said one word, let alone in such a tone. She felt her cheeks redden and took up her broom once more.

"Ready?"

[Kennedy Valak S6]

It wasn't long until Kennedy heard Wynd's voice. He didn't realize how much you had to rely on other senses when losing one, especially when on a broom. His balance seemed a bit shaky, and he took a few seconds to steady himself. "Ready," he responded, and then Wynd proceeded to explain how he was going to give orders and directions. Simple enough, Kennedy thought. He hadn't tried this despite wanting to use it for practice, so he hoped that, as the captain, his going first would serve as a good example. It heavily relied in Wynd giving good directions though, which he would soon find out if that was the case.

When Wynd commanded him to go up, Kennedy started out very slowly. He knew he probably looked very silly, but once the others got their blindfolds on, they would realize it was a lot harder than it looked. Every small movement felt like a drastic turn in the wrong direction. Wynd continued to lead him, one direction after another, and though Kennedy couldn't tell where they were, Wynd seemed to sound confident in his commands. At one point though, as Wynd told him to go forward, Kennedy felt his leg brush up against the goal post. It startled him, but was nothing to make him lose his focus. "Three done already? Wow that was fast. Just keep doing what you're doing, I think that the directions are working."

Kennedy continued listening close as Wynd kept commanding him with the simple yet effective form of direction giving. As they went, he even noticed that they were getting quicker and the entire process seemed to go more smoothly. With a final command to go down, Kennedy felt his feet hit the ground, and he took off his blindfold with a sigh. "Great job, Wynd." He nodded to the younger boy and then turned to watch the rest of the team. He saw Dylan and Alexandra had been behind him. Nobody else had paired up or gone yet. "Well," he said, "what are you all waiting for. We don't have all day."

((Wynd, we don't have to switch roles. We can just assume that they would have switched roles and that Kennedy would have lead Wynd. If we all take the time to do both roles, the post will drag on, I think. So, once Dylan and Alexandra and at least one more pair do this task, I shall then move on to another task. )

[Dylan Caoimhe]

Dylan smiled at Alexandra. Someone's in a foul mood, he thought. But, he could pretty much understand why. Alexandra had been on the House team ever since Dylan could remember, and now she was on Reserves. He supposed he'd be angry too if it were him. He picked up a blindfold from the pile and made a move to hand it to Alexandra, but decided against it. Well, why not, he thought. He charmed the blindfold onto his head, and then mounted his broom. "I'll be blind folded. You can lead. If you'd like to, that is." Dylan didn't know if he was trying to press her buttons or not. After all, it was pretty silly to completely ready yourself, and then ask another person if they wanted to switch. Maybe he was trying to make her laugh? Oh well, he thought.

He kind of liked the idea of being blindfolded and taking orders from some invisible source. Or maybe it was just his longing to just completely let go, and have someone else tell him what to do and think for him, since he felt a little lost lately. Maybe he wanted to feel like, or be someone's puppet. He readied his hands on his broom, and waited for Alexandra to start.

[Samaal O'Toole S5]

Samaal folded his arms over his chest. His narrowed dark eyes followed Kennedy as he weaved through the goalposts, directed by Wynd. What a fool the captain was making of himself. When finally the pair landed, he shot the rest of the team a look, as if to say right, now you. Samaal raised his eyebrows and looked around at the rest of the players. Dylan stepped forward and a girl joined him reluctantly. Samaal felt a swooping sensation in the pit of his stomach as he looked at the girl's face. The boy was being a bit dim, "I'll be blind folded. You can lead. If you'd like to, that is..." Sam looked over at Dylan, disbelief etched all over his face. Don't ask her, just do it, fool! Always the hesitation, the gallantry. Such behavior was strictly for Gryffindors only. Samaal felt like stepping forward and saying: "I suppose you wouldn't like to, though. I'll pair up with you instead", but this wasn't the right time to prove to the team how he chatted a girl up. He thrust up his chin instead, and stepped forward. His upper lip lifted in a smirk and he glanced around at the team members' faces. He was reasonably tall, and he took advantage of that, looking down at the other players. "Anybody care to be blindfolded?" he said loudly. He expected most of them to either edge away, worried about being guided by him, or to sneer something back. Samaal raised his eyebrows impatiently, looking around expectantly.

[Mary Evans]

Quidditch! It was time for their first practice and Mary was quite excited. She loved quidditch yet hadn’t played since Pyro visited her house that summer asking her to play seeker for the Slytherin team even though she had always been beater. Unfortunately Pyro had gotten so wrapped up in everything that school year that Kennedy had taken over as captain of the team. Mary felt a mite bad for Pyro, after all his years he really deserved the captain position. But then Mary also knew Kennedy and was sure he would do well, and it helped Kennedy had found a way to put Mary back to beater; the position that most bothered her mother. That was how it had started; Mary joined the team in her third year as a beater in order to bother her mother doing something “un-ladylike”. All these years later, though, Mary had become quite adept at the position and treasured it like an old friend.

In the change room Mary pulled on her robes and looked herself up and down in the mirror. There it was, a grown up Mary, dressed for the day. Sixth year, here she went, only 2 years left to play before she would have to go back to the real world. Mary seriously doubted she would be good enough to play professionally, heck she didn’t even know if she liked the game enough to pursue it as a career.

Out onto the field Mary stomped and found a small knot of people. Kennedy started talking and Alexandra showed up looking in a foul mood. Mary could understand, she would probably make Kennedy’s life difficult if he had bumped her down to reserve too. It wasn’t that Mary doubted Kennedy had good reasons for the decisions he made so as it was she didn’t really mind. But really, if it had been her, she would have been mad.

Mary gave Kennedy an incredulous look as he told them they had to blindfold themselves and trust each other to lead them around the field after some sentimental speech about teamwork that Mary rolled her eyes though. Kennedy went then Dylan paired up with Alexandra, perhaps unwisely considering her apparent mood. Samaal stepped up and asked who wanted to be blindfolded. “How about you, as you volunteered.” Mary said picking one up and charming it to his face without waiting for permission. “Up” she said to her broom as well as to Samaal. “With the nerve to speak to us like that you can volunteer to go first. You live and I will let you lead me.”

[Samaal O'Toole S5]

Samaal narrowed his eyes at Mary, but shot her a nasty leer. He flicked his wand and the blindfold zoomed out of her hand and folded itself around his eyes. Samaal made sure the knot was tight with a second flick of his wand, then he mounted his broom. "Lead on!" he called, not being able to help sneering as he gripped his broom harder. He sort of liked the idea of being lead through the hoops blindfolded. He was ready to take the rounds swiftly and with style, preferably faster than Dylan. Samaal waited impatiently. An unwanted little knot formed in the bottom of his stomach. It twisted unpleasantly, making Samaal a little restless. Was it perhaps the memory of the crash two years ago? Samaal had swerved a bludger, but a second had hit him in the face and sent him spinning. Samaal had dropped his beaters' bat and fallen off his broom. The other beater and a chaser had caught him. A broken rib and nose later, he had woken up in a soft bed, blinded by white light. This experience had scarred him unconsiously and had been a decisive factor in his abandoning Quidditch. and there he was, two years later, being lead blindfolded over a Quidditch pitch. Samaal felt his lip curl a little at the irony of it all. What had caused him to audition for the Slytherin team anyway? He was a beater anyhow, why was he now a chaser? Samaal licked his dry lips nervously. What was Mary waiting for? If he had to do this stupid little practise of Kennedy's, he wanted to get it over and done with. Valak was no doubt a good flyer, but he was hell-bent on justice and persued his role as a leader with the air of a Hufflepuff. He and Samaal hardly ever talked, and Samaal didn't doubt that Valak wasn't his biggest fan. And Mary? Evans was full to the brim with sarcasm and irony. Not a bad combustion for a Slytherin, but it could get tiresome. Ah, and then there was Dylan. It was either Dylan or Wynd who spoke in their sleep. Samaal felt his lip curl. The culprit had caused him several restless nights and bad test results. Not that Samaal was too bad at school. It was perhaps only Transfiguration that made him tense. His mother had written him a letter warning him about his respectable blood status and heirloom. Was he to fail Transfiguration like a common muggle? Samaal felt a pang of anger and distaste in his stomach. McGonagall was a muggle-loving fool just like that old Dumbledore. Was it Samaal's fault if she had preferances? At least there was still potions, a subject to which Sam could relate to. Snape was reasonable and didn't put up with that half-blood riff-raff.

Samaal snarled with impatience. Was Evans going to make him wait all day? "Hurry up!" he spat over his shoulder. He gripped his broom strongly, ready to get going.

[Mary Evans]

Mary gave a cold laugh as Samaal actually got up on his broom and asked if she was coming. “Forward” said Mary, inclined to lead him toward the forest. But then maybe Kennedy wouldn’t be such a fan of that plan. Of course Kennedy was fine when Mary twisted the rules in a game of Truth or Dare, some might even think he was amused, but something told her he took Quidditch a wee bit more seriously. Maybe it was the fact that he had been made the new Captain. Not to mention the fact that Mary herself was supposed to be co-captain and so was obliged to set a good example.

Mary led the way around the pitch using simple instructions such as “left” and “right” while occasionally pulling out “up” and “down” or “Left… right… left… right…” quite quickly just for the fun of watching Samaal be forced to do an odd blind spin because he wouldn’t know when she was serious and when she was just messing with him. She knew he could get her back later, she was a girl of her word and would allow him to lead her when they landed. Mary knew, though, that Kennedy wouldn’t let Samaal lead her into a pole or anything. Not only because they were a sort of friends but because she was senior on the team and as Kennedy was Slytherin he obviously knew how to look after his interests. Naturally, Mary being Mary was the best on the team – Kennedy wouldn’t let anything happen that would make her walk away from his team.

Once they had landed Mary allowed Samaal to lead her around the pitch, with some sharp turns Mary wasn’t certain were all totally necessary. But once the experience was over Mary looked over to Kennedy with a sort of smug look to say ‘Okay, I did it. Now can we get onto something important’ without actually having to say anything at all.

((Samaal, I just assumed you hadn’t done anything too bad to Mary but if you would like to reply with how he led her please do and I can edit my post. I just said it happened to save time but of course an interesting post is worth far more And you can always get the better of her (or try because as Kennedy knows it’s hard to get the better of Mary ) in a later exercise. Or you can do something with the sharp turns I mentioned.))

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Valmer sipped on his tea in the common room, enjoying some much needed time off. He opened a book, his Astronomy book, and began to read in the eighth chapter, his homework for the day. Valmer then checked the time, and looked back at his book. Wait, he thought. Am I forgetting something? In a split second, he realized what time it was, and where he was supposed to be. First Quidditch Practice. "Bloody hell!" he yelled as he jumped up, throwing on his cloak and aimlessly ruffling through papers to find his gloves. Finding them quickly, he threw them on, grabbed his broom and ran out the door. As he flew through the corridors, he knew his team would be disappointed in him, and he wasn't sure what the team captain, Kennedy Valak, would think. Late on the first day? That was pathetic. He expected nothing short of a reprimand and possibly docking of points for his house, all in front of his teammates.

He jumped down five sets of stairs at a time, running as fast as he could, but always watching for professors so that he wouldn't get in trouble. That was something he definitely didn't need right now. Valmer banged through one of the heavy doors, leading outside to the area where he saw some of his teammates already practicing. When was practice supposed to have started? He couldn't remember. He snapped a lock on his case, and it disappeared, revealing his Nimbus 2001. He remembed Wynd Lehane was on the team, and they had run into each other at one time, comparing brooms. Valmer spoke the spell, and the broom raised to his gloved hand. He walked briskly over to Kennedy, awaiting the worst.

"Nice of you to show up, Van Ruster," Kennedy said, part coldly and part sarcastically. Valmer hated it when people, especially authority, called him by his last name. It frustrated him, because his father called him that when he was in deep trouble, at home. But now was not a time to worry about that. He shook the thought from his mind and apologized. "I'm sorry Kennedy. I completely forgot about our practice today. It won't happen again, I can assure you." Valmer looked up in the sky at his teammates, seeing they were all working together to a common goal. "Teamwork practice, I assume?" Without another word, he hopped on his broom and gripped the front firmly, and flew up to his other team members. As he looked around at all of them, there were blindfolds and people zooming around in different directions, and he couldn't even begin to know where to start. Valmer had to look down at Kennedy, searching for some kind of direction.

((G-Moding allowed by Kennedy, as always))

[alexandra]

Alexandra smiled a bit at Dylan as he asked if she would like to lead. With a cold shrug, she stepped forward and mounted her broom. Indicating to Dylan that he put on his blindfold, she rose into the air. The wind blew back her short, curly brown hair and made her smile a bit. She was lost for a split second as Dylan joined her in the air. With a sigh, she nodded to herself and began to guide her teammate through the goal posts. He was doing alright, listening to her as she shouted simple directions.

"Up! Left, more... Right! Straight! Keep going... OK, left again."

It went on like that for about five, nearly ten minutes. She was enjoying the feeling of dominating someone. He was completely in her control. It gave her a soft sensation in the pit of her stomach. Did she enjoy it that much? Her smile faded as they finished and she told him to take off his blindfold. She landed and smiled coldly at Kennedy as if to say "not as bad as you thought, eh?"

Returning to the group, she watched as the next pair began.

[Olivia Dawson S6]

Olivia arrived to practice fairly on time, and when she arrived everyone was huddled up around the captain. Olivia put out the cigarette that was in her hand and listened in on Kennedy Valak’s speech just like she had been there the entire time. Olivia’s Nimbus 2000 was at her side, just like everyone else’s. Looking around, Olivia noticed the entire team had at least a Nimbus. But Olivia couldn’t see the entire team, so she may have been mistaken. But she could see one person with a Nimbus. Wynd Lehane had just stepped up as Kennedy placed a blindfold over his eyes. Olivia hadn’t really been paying attention to the captain’s speech, but from what Olivia saw, it was like a game of follow the leader. The blindfolded person had to follow the other person’s directions. It seemed easy enough. Although, there was the minor detail that Olivia had to place her trust in these Slytherins. But she supposed she would have to after all. If she couldn’t do it in practices, she definitely wouldn’t be able to do it during a game.

Olivia looked around. She saw many people she barely knew, and some people she didn’t know at all. In the corner of her eye, she noticed the infamous Wynd Lehane, who was attempting to lead Kennedy through the six goal posts. Olivia almost laughed at his nervous expression. So he wasn’t ‘The Great Wynd Lehane’ anymore, now that his feet weren’t planted firmly on the ground. Olivia rolled her eyes, thinking of the train ride she’d had to endure with him. He kept checking her out, and while it was a little flattering, it was still pretty creepy. Olivia looked around to see if she could find a partner. Everyone else was already in the air, and there was only one person left. Olivia wasn’t sure exactly who he was, but she knew he was in fifth year, along with Olivia. They shared many classes together. Olivia looked around, weighing her options. Looks like this kid was her only choice.

She approached him calmly and spoke confidently. “Hi, I’m Olivia. Looks like you’re the only one left. I’ll lead, you follow.” She said, throwing him a blindfold. He didn’t look like a very pleasant guy to work with, but then again, most Slytherins were. Compared to many other Slytherins she’d met, (Olivia couldn’t help but think of Wynd when she thought this) this guy could be one of the nicest. Olivia shrugged. “I’ll give you a direction, and you’ll follow it. You don’t have to follow my orders, but if you want to smack headfirst into a goal post, then don’t take my advice.” She warned, craving another cigarette. She doubted the captain would be too happy if she whipped one out right now, so she popped a piece of gum into her mouth to tame the craving for now. She’d have a smoke after practice. Maybe even catch up with some friends. “So, you coming?” She said, looking back at him expectantly.

((I know it’s terribly short, but most of my posts are going to be like this for the next few days, since I won’t have a whole lot of time on my hands.))

[Kennedy Valak S6]

((I apologize that not everyone was able to finish this round of practice, but for the sake of time and trying to get this moving, I am going to continue on. You can just pretend that your characters finished the task instead of worrying about back-tracking. )

Finally, everyone had done the required task that Kennedy had set for them. Overall, he was actually quite impressed and thrilled with what he had observed. Even the newer members of the team were doing well. Aside from Valmer coming late, Kennedy was in a rather good mood and pleased with how practice had been going so far. Now that he had got them to at least trust each other for a bit (something that isn't quite easy to do with a group of Slytherins), Kennedy figured that they could do some normal drills. He pulled out the trunk that held the Quidditch equipment. Taking a Quaffle, he shot a quick glance at Valmer and then tossed it to him rather roughly.

"Alright everyone," he shouted so that they could all hear him. "That was decent, but now we are going to see what you are all really capable of." He didn't want to let them know that he was actually pleased with their progress in the last drill, and so he didn't bother to compliment them just yet. "Valmer, since you were late, you're up first. I know that not everybody is going to play Chaser, but this drill will help with basic flying skills and also Bludger avoiding skills. Mary, can you grab your bat and release one of the Bludgers for me?" Kennedy wanted to use Mary's experience as a Beater to help teach some of the newer players how to avoid Bludgers. "One at a time, you will take this Quaffle and fly one full rotation around the entire pitch at full speed. Then, you will attempt to score a goal while I defend the hoops. At the same time, Mary is going to be sending Bludgers at you to keep you on your toes. If you miss the goal, you have to do three more laps around the Pitch at full speed. If you make the goal, you are free to sit down. After Valmer, everyone else can just take a turn in any order."

Kennedy flew up to the goal posts and took his place. He was anxious to see how well they were at shooting and avoiding Bludgers. Also, he wanted to see how quick some of them were on their brooms. Even more though, Kennedy was glad to get some extra Keeper practice so that he would have the experience in case he needed to play the position during the match. Alexandra had shown up to practice though, and as the regular Keeper, he figured that if she continued to do well he would just keep her there. Eventually, Kennedy watched as Valmer flew around the pitch. He was rather fast, which was good for a Seeker. Kennedy also had his eye on Mary, watching to see her hit a Bludger at Valmer. Finally, he prepared himself to try to block Valmer's attempt on goal.

---

((Ok... this is how we will determine who scores and who doesn't score. As well this is how we will decide if someone gets hit by the Bludger that Mary sends their way:

During each person's turn, I will roll a D6. If they get a 3-6 then they avoid the Bludger. If the person rolls a 1-2, then the Bludger hits them and gives them a -2 for their scoring roll. Scoring rolls will be done with a D6 as well. For each attempt on goal, the player trying to score will get a D6 roll, and Kennedy will get a D6 roll as well. Whoever is higher is successful. In the case of a tie, there will be a re-roll. Everyone should post their player shooting, but after that they should not say whether or not they score just like in real Quidditch. Then, I will come through and reply with the dice rolls and the outcome of the shot and Bludger. Then, after that, players can reply with their response as to what happened. Any questions, just PM me. Note: This is NOT the actual Quidditch system. This is just a small system of dice rolling that I made for our own practice purposed to make it more random and unpredictable. )

[Valmer Van Ruster S7]

Finishing his first task with Olivia, Valmer flew back down and hopped off his broom, looking at Kennedy, waiting for the next task he would be assigned. Hearing Kennedy speak his name, he turned to listen. Chaser. He had always wanted to play Seeker, mainly because he knew how fast he could go. He would have to prove to his captain his Seeker speed and hope for the best with his Chaser technique. After a hard throw of a Quaffle from his captain, he got a firm grip on it and hopped back on his broom, shooting straight up to get into position to try and score.

Seeing that Kennedy was ready for him, Valmer leaned as hard as he could onto the front of his broom, speeding around the pitch, throwing glances at Mary, watching for the Bludger. Looking forward, Valmer leaned again to gain some more speed, determined to show his captain the speed he was capable of on his broom. He turned with the side of the pitch, coming straight at the goal posts, eyeing Kennedy and trying to decide where he would throw the Quaffle so Kennedy would miss. Valmer glanced right, then left, then up, and found a hole that he thought Kennedy might not see, so he took the chance. Valmer hurled the Quaffle at the hole, nearly closing one eye, but keeping his open eye on where he was going. He could barely watch as he hoped he would score and prove his worthiness on the team.

[Kennedy Valak S6]

((Bludger roll = 6 Valmer avoids the Bludger
Score roll = 5, Defend roll = 5 TIE!
Score roll = 3, Defend roll = 3 TIE!
Score roll = 3, Defend roll = 5 Valmer does not score))

Kennedy saw the Bludger zoom past Valmer, but with the speed he was going, there wasn't even a chance that it would hit him. That made Kennedy happy to see that he was quite capable of avoiding the Bludgers. When it came time for the match, the Beaters would likely target Valmer when the time came to catch the Snitch. They might even try to hit him with a Bludger to get him out of the match. However, it seemed as though his skill in avoiding was at acceptable.

Since Valmer had avoided the Bludger, Kennedy knew he would have a better chance of scoring. However, Valmer wasn't a Chaser and didn't really show any interest in being one. Valmer was set on being Seeker, that was quite obvious and Valmer made it quite obvious why he preferred Seeker with the speed that he possessed. As he approached, Kennedy watched his eyes though. It was the eyes that always deceived an unexperienced Chaser. Kennedy pretended to be favoring the leftmost hoop, and when he saw Valmer's eyes shift to the right hoop, he knew he would be able to get there in time. As soon as Valmer shot, Kennedy darted up and was able to stop the Quaffle from going through the hoop.

Smirking, he tossed the Quaffle back at Valmer. "Three laps," he said rather pridefully. "Look on the bright side though, they shouldn't take you very long. Kennedy spun around and flew back to the hoops and waited for the next person to try to score. He hoped that one of the Chasers or someone who preferred playing Chaser might step up and show the rest of them a proper shot, but Kennedy would be happy with whoever came next. His only goal was to stop as many shots as possible so that each of his teammates could find their own weaknesses and improve on them.

[Olivia Dawson S6]

Olivia landed swiftly and quietly on the smooth grass. Even in the winter, when the grass was supposed to be glazed over with ice, it was still soft. Sometimes, Olivia wondered if anyone put a charm on the grass to make it stay so very smooth, even during the winter. But Olivia did not let herself become distracted by something as unimportant as the texture of the grass. She looked at her Captain, who had an arrogant look about him. Olivia managed not to roll her eyes. She never really favored people in power, and she definitely didn’t like people who thought their position in power gave them the right to do certain things.

Like Laura Dawson for example. She was the head of the department for magical law enforcement; a title which she had probably worked very hard for. But now that she was there, Laura barely ever did anything. She merely handed her work to lesser employees and kicked back and relaxed. She even had the nerve to take credit for their work! But Olivia wasn’t going to get into that now. She had better things to deal with. More important things to think about. Like watching that Valmer Van Ruster boy attempt to be a chaser and score goals against the keeper. She popped a piece of gum into her mouth as she watched. Olivia’s cravings were becoming more intense by the minute, but she knew her captain wouldn’t exactly be pleased if she whipped out a cigarette and started smoking in the middle of his practice. Besides, unlike many Slytherins, Olivia had respect for those around her. She knew many people didn’t like the smell of cigarette smoke, and Olivia knew she wouldn’t like it if someone started running their fingernails on a chalkboard in the middle of her practice. But if she had some personal issue with someone, she was always sure to waft her smoke right in front of their face, just to make them angry.

Valmer managed to dodge the bludger that Mary Evans sent her way, but he was unable to score against the keeper. She wasn’t surprised. Valmer was quick on his broom, but it was obvious to anyone with senses that he didn’t have any intentions of being a chaser. Olivia on the other hand did. Olivia swallowed a bit and stepped up. “I’ll have a go at it.” She said in a calm, almost challenging voice. And with that, Olivia mounted her broom. Olivia had already made up her mind before even taking off. Unless the keeper was hovering right in front of the right goal post, she was going to shoot at it. She figured it was best to figure out what you were going to do before you were right in front of the keeper so they wouldn’t get to see you going through the decision making process.

She ignored Valmer flying around the Pitch at top speed and grasped the Quaffle in her hands. She glanced around, taking in the entire scene. She eyed the beater, who looked like she was positioning herself to swing at an incoming bludger. She glanced at all the goal posts, remembering exactly where they were all positioned. Then she turned to face the keeper. She aimed for the left goal post, and concentrated hard at the center of the goal. She didn’t dare glance at the goal she was really trying to score at so the keeper would be convinced she was headed left. But at the last second she switched tactics and quickly hurled the big red ball at the right goal post. It looked like it was going to go through, but it was impossible to tell for sure. Olivia watched, hoping it would go through.

[Dylan Caoimhe]

Dylan watched as Valmer failed to make a goal, and Valmer, admittedly, was a very fair flier. Dylan had some skills on a broomstick, but wasn't sure how he'd fair in this type of situation. After all, he was a Beater, not a Chaser. The first task had been a bit easy, Alexandra did a good job leading. But this exercise had a bit to do with speed, and Dylan found himself wishing he had his Firebolt Hannah sent him for Christmas. Maybe that would've gave him a bit of an edge. ''Might as well get this over with,'' he said to himself. He mounted his Nimbus 2000, and held the Quaffle snugly under his left arm. ''Here we go.''

He kicked off hard from the ground, and immediately started circling the pitch as fast as he could, keeping as much watch on Mary as possible. He approached the hoops, Kennedy leaning more towards the left one. Could be a trick, Dylan thought, but truthfully, Dylan didn't know what to do. Kennedy was good at Quidditch, Dylan knew that from the four years he watched him play. He could be misleading when he wanted to be. He got closer and closer, and his brain seemed to go into overdrive. Just throw it, he thought. He aimed for the middle hoop, and threw the Quaffle, still watching out for Mary and her Bludger.

[Kennedy Valak S6]

((Bludger roll = 3 Olivia avoids the Bludger
Score roll = 3, Defend roll = 5 Olivia does not score

Bludger roll = 6 Dylan avoids the Bludger
Score roll = 6, Defend roll = 3 Dylan does score))

Next up, Kennedy saw Olivia take the Quaffle and prepare for her turn. She had a calmness about her that impressed Kennedy. She didn't seem nervous at all, despite it being her first practice since joining the team. He watched her closely as she flew around the pitch. When Mary had sent a Bludger at her, Olivia managed to dodge it, but it was only just barely as it flew just centimeters away from her body. She avoided it though, which was a good thing.

Then, Kennedy focused all of his attention on her eyes, trying to see where she might try to score. The two end hoops were often popular choices, but with the middle hoop being the highest, sometimes Chasers like going for it since the Keeper would have to change the elevation of their flight. Olivia, though, didn't seem to be giving any hint as to where she was going to shoot, and so Kennedy stayed right in the middle of the hoops until he saw her shoot. Flying as fast as he could toward the Quaffle, he was able to stop it somewhat easily, but it was still a decent shot. Olivia didn't seem to have amazing natural skills as a Chaser, but there was definitely potential, he could tell. Even if she didn't get to start, he knew he'd be able to count on her coming off the bench and putting up a fair fight against the average opposing Chaser. "See if you can catch Valmer," Kennedy shouted to her, wondering if that were even possible with the head-start that Valmer had. He then turned to watch the next person attempt to be the first one to score against him.

It would be Dylan, a potential Beater who would be next. He was another of the new fifth years to have recently joined the team. There were five of them in all who had just joined, and Kennedy was glad to have them all so that the Slytherin team would have a lot of depth and plenty of people to help make practice effective for everyone. Dylan flew around the pitch with a seemingly natural ability. When the Bludger came near him, Dylan avoided it easily, making it look like Mary hadn't even hit it near him. Being a previous Beater himself, Kennedy knew that Beaters often had a better understanding of Bludgers than the rest. Eventually you learned how to read them well enough that you could avoid them for the most part.

Dylan was soon close enough to shoot, and as soon as it left his hand, Kennedy knew he was not going to be able to stop it. His outstretched fingers were enough to tip the Quaffle, but Dylan's strength and precision was enough to allow him to successfully make the goal. "You sure you don't want to be a Chaser?" Kennedy joked. He knew that one goal didn't mean much, but he was impressed with Dylan's skills regardless. If anything, he showed that he was a versatile player and could always be put in as Chaser if they needed him. "Good job, Dylan. Have a seat." Kennedy waited for someone new to give the drill a try.

[Drake Manning]

When Drake decided to try out for the Quidditch team, he realized that must have not previously considered the fact that he would have to come to practices. From what he could tell, it seemed as though it was going to be a waste of time, and that's exactly what Drake found that it was when he arrived. Kennedy Valak, the newly appointed captain of the team this year started things off by making each of them lead another player around the pitch while blindfolded and then switch positions and do it again. It was a joke, really. What made Drake even more upset was that he had bumped his knee on the edge of one of the posts because his partner had been giving him wrong instructions.

Now, Kennedy had them each trying to score while he was defending the hoops. Drake didn't like this drill any more than the first, for he would rather hit Bludgers at other players that waste his time trying to score a goal. Scoring meant nothing to Drake... in fact little meant anything for him besides his own wants and needs. Watching as three of the younger players took turns trying to score, only the later of the three successful, Drake figured he would just get it over with. Taking the Quaffle, he flew rather recklessly around the pitch, eying Mary with a jealous glare as he flew past her and attempted to avoid the Bludger. "Don't hurt yourself," he shouted at her and smiled as he passed.

Soon, he arrived to where he could get a shot on goal. Drake didn't take much time to contemplate which goal to shoot it at, but just worried more about throwing it with as much force as he could. If there was one thing Drake had going for him as far as natural talent, it was his size and brute strength. A grunt escaped his lips as he hurled the Quaffle toward Kennedy, almost directly at him actually, and Drake only smirked as he waited and watched to see if Kennedy was brave enough to put his body between the speeding Quaffle and the goal post.