Avoiding Misfortune! ((Hufflepuff Quidditch Team))

[Seth Wright]

Seth bit his lip nervously as Ivy signalled for him to switch positions and attempt to shoot as a Chaser. His aim wasn't bad, since he was a Keeper, but his aggressive play in terms of interception and stealing wasn't really as strong, which was what he was most concerned about. He didn't mind passing or shooting though, and working in a team was always more fun than working alone by oneself at the end of the pitch, but it also meant often, the audience's eyes were glued to you and the red Quaffle. Sighing a little to himself, Seth muttered some confident phrases under his breath, telling himself inwardly he would be fine here, with his teammates, and he would do them, Chace, and himself proud. Urging his broom forwards, he floated towards the line that was shooting against Ivy, and prepared to take the Quaffle and score with his Captain as the Keeper. He was aware that at the other end of the pitch, Sophia had replaced Kael, and like himself, Kael was also shooting. He noticed Harmony on the other end too, looking the little, determined child she was, and Seth felt just a bit more inspired to work harder and to believe in himself. If someone as tiny (sorry, Harmony, he thought, but she really was very small and cute) and young as Harmony could do it, why couldn't Seth? The rest of his teammates, too, were a shining example to him that he had to work a lot harder to catch up to their standards. He was willing to put in that work though, and he did genuinely love Quidditch. For once, Seth really didn't want to lose to his friends.

It was almost time for him to take his position and attempt to score. Nervously, Seth wrung his hands, prepared to receive the Quaffle from a fellow teammate. "You can do this, you can do this," he chanted to himself, knowing that, probably, in the upcoming game against Slytherin, he would likely be playing Chaser, since Kael was the better Keeper, probably, and he had more experience. Despite doing physically less than the other three positions in the Quidditch game, the Keeper had a lot of responsibility to keep the goals out. Seth hoped, partially, that he would be good enough to play Keeper on the day, but he supposed he should be grateful otherwise because it would mean less responsibility on his already anxiously burdened shoulders. "Chaser wouldn't be too bad, I suppose," Seth continued babbling quietly, his hand doing motions in the air, "I mean, I did choose it. I wonder what Chace will play? He could play anything... though I guess he doesn't want to show people he can be aggressive as Beater... he's strong, but he doesn't like to use it, because he's too nice... I just don't have any muscles at all, I'd be useless..." Realising he was again going along the path of self-sabotage, Seth quickly corrected his mental state, and gripped the end of his broom, narrowing his eyes against the sun shining brightly overhead. The Quaffle came at him, and he caught it deftly this time. He was somewhat surprised at his sudden determination, but didn't want to waste it. Now, it was his turn.

Facing Ivy with frowning eyes, partially due to his anxiety, and partially because the sun's rays were rather overwhelming, Seth held the Quaffle numbly between his fingers, and began to fly slowly forwards to give himself better leverage. He soon sped up though, knowing he'd need a good run before launching the Quaffle to give him more strength behind the shot. His accuracy was good, but his strength had never been amazing in comparison to guys like Chace. "Here goes nothing," Seth murmured under his breath as he aimed for the centre loop behind his Captain. He flung his arm back and positioned the Quaffle, then threw it with as much strength without overdoing his aim at the goal.

((Shooting against Ivy.))

[Harmony Chan H6]

It was Harmony's turn to shoot against Sophia. Her hand tightened a little around the Quaffle, vulnerable between her fingers, although right now she didn't have the worry of having to be alert for any Bludgers coming her way, or opposing players to snatch it out of her fingers. A part of Harmony enjoyed that thrill though, that surge of adrenaline pumping in her veins. Chaser position was by far her favourite position, but she was also a fond Seeker. It just meant less things for her to do, and less team work too. Harmony found herself smiling a little at the thought of Rex on the Gryffindor team. The hot-headed boy who had recently become much more friendlier with her was the exact opposite of her on the Quidditch playfing field. Almost, anyway. Both actually played Seeker too, but Rex was a Beater, which Harmony knew she could never play, because she wasn't aggressive in that way. Chaser allowed her to be aggressive but not in a physically damaging manner, and she liked the tactics involved too. Yes, Chaser really was Harmony's best position, and she could utilise her speed and fast reflexes. She supposed she could play Keeper too, but since Keeper didn't use speed often, her gift was wasted, and this was why she had Seeker as her secondary position.

Someone signalled for Harmony to snap out of her thoughts and prepare to shoot against Sophia. Harmony sent a smile to her older friend, whom she spoke to frequently around school. Sophia was a nice girl, and someone Harmony got on pretty well with. She was a very good Keeper too. Harmony knew she had to do her best against Sophia right now though. If she didn't, she felt it was an insult on Sophia's abilities, and she had to do it for the team, and Sophia was part of that team. Smiling more confidently, Harmony clutched the Quaffle closer to her chest as she took off to shoot. The goal hoops glinted in the morning sunlight, but Harmony was barely distracted by such an observation as she focused her keen eyes on the goal itself. That, and Sophia's looming figure, poised to save the Quaffle and prevent her from scoring. Harmony knew she had the accuracy, but she usually lacked the strength, so this was going to be important training for her. She had to hone her strength... perhaps do more physical exercise rather than dancing. It was a thought that had crossed her mind before. Maybe Rex would help her. Aware, as she approached Sophia, that Rex was disturbing her concentration again, she shut her thoughts away and looked ahead to Sophia with a grin. "Here I come!" Then, she threw the Quaffle and hoped for a score.

((Shooting against Sophia.))

[Ivy Tunstall]

((Seth attempts to shoot, and Ivy attempts to defend the goals.
Seth = Score (D6 + Str) = 6 + 5 = 11
Ivy = Save (D6 + Dex) = 5 + 5 = 10

Seth scores!

Harmony attempts to shoot, and Sophia attempts to defend the goals.
Harmony = Score (D6 + Str) = 3 + 1 = 4
Sophia = Save (D6 + Dex) = 5 + 6 = 11

Sophia saves the goal.))

Seth looked so nervous and unsure of himself that Ivy actually considered deliberately fluffing her goal save. She didn't want his confidence to be shattered by simply not managing to shoot successfully; he did seem a little bit that type, although she didn't know him that well. He just gave that impression. But then again, she wasn't exactly a talented actress so it might be completely obvious, and that would be far, far worse for his confidence. So she determined to do her best to defend the goal - she knew that Seth was quite a good Keeper but she did want to see what he could do as a Chaser.

In actual fact, Ivy needn't have worried - Seth's shot was so strong and fast that, although her fingertips found it and it grazed past them, she didn't have time to actually grab hold of the Quaffle as it went past. It was also on target, and she simply turned round in time to watch it sail through the hoop. She nodded enthusiastically at the goal and went to fetch the Quaffle. She smiled at Seth as she returned to congratulate him on his goal.
"That was great - I have absolutely no faults to pick with your technique, Seth," she told him. "I'd be happy to see you shooting like that in a game any day. Well done." She tossed the Quaffle back to him and glanced up at the sun, which was now almost overhead. She paused, pondering for a moment as she glanced round at the team, and then (turning away from Seth and Kael in an act of pity for their ears) she blew hard on a silver whistle which she'd found at home and decided would come in handy when she found out that she was going to be Quidditch Captain this year. She gestured to the rest of the team to join her.

"Hi again, everyone!" she said to them as the stragglers were just arriving. "I hope that the Beaters had a good practice! I know that the Keepers and Chasers have been doing themselves proud. But my stomach thinks that it's nearly lunchtime, so I'll let you go now so that you can change and go eat." She paused for a moment, thinking of what else she needed to say. "If any of you want to stay and practice a bit more, that's fine too of course," she added with a smile, " - seriously, I'll be here for a bit longer. And Seekers, I'd like to talk to you for a couple of minutes before you go. Thanks, everyone!" She dropped down to the ground and dismounted from her broom, waving to groups of players as they set off towards the locker room.

"Right, Harmony, Charlie, Carson," she said once she'd found a dry patch of ground to talk to them on. "Over here will do, I think." She waited for them to join her, meeting Charlie's eyes once but looking away again swiftly in case they held any of the animosity that she felt they had done earlier on, and doing so unsettled her quite a bit - so much so that she had to wait a moment to collect her thoughts.
"Okay," she said, as was customary for her when trying to decide what to say. "I want to know what you guys want to work on next practice for your Seeker skills. Which part of your game do you need to improve the most? I have to admit... even though perhaps I shouldn't, but I will - I have to admit that I don't know much at all about your position, and neither does Ash. So you tell me what you want to practice, and we'll think of a way for you to work on it." She stood slightly awkwardly in front of them, but eager to receive their suggestions; it was important that they do the right thing for the Seekers since they were such decisive factors in the game.

((Seekers, I'd really love it if you could post replying to this question. Everyone else, you're free to post leaving! If you want to carry on posting until you've got your five posts for your experience point, that's fine... just make sure that you're done by the end of term (3rd July). Anyone who can get up to five posts by tomorrow can have their experience point for the game against Slytherin!!! Thank you to everyone who posted!))

[Sophia Hallington H7]

Sophia was defending the goals against Harmony this time, and she knew that it could be a challenge. Harmony had proved to be an excellent chaser in their game against Gryffindor, and had scored several times. However, Sophia was also a lot more confdent about her abilities as a keeper, having saved several goals in their last game and having caught the quaffle both times in this practice. She watched the younger girl carefully as she took her position and prepared to shoot, wary of what was to come. She prepared herself for a carefully planned shot, and had no idea what to expect-would it be a straight-on shot, or from some odd angle? Would she try and decieve Sophia at all? She had no idea, but she got herself ready for the quaffle coming towards her.

Harmony let go of the quaffle, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere. It was, surprisingly, a relatively poor shot and Sophia managed to catch it with ease. Harmony appeared to lack in strength which she probably needed to build on as that was letting her down, but at least she'd proved herself as a great chaser in the last game. She was confident in Harmony and was sure she'd continue to do well in the games, despite not doing as well as she could in that practice. Harmony was, undoubtedly, determined to do well in the future games, and Sophia just hoped she could build up her strength and get less distracted, but she was sure that was easier said than done.

She then heard Ivy blow her whistle from the other end of the pitch and flew down to the grass along with her teammates. The practice for the day was over, and everyone, apart from the three seekers, was free to go. It was now lunchtime and after the morning of exercise Sophia was getting tired and needed something to eat. She followed her teammates towards the changing rooms where she quickly changed and then they all went to the great hall for lunch together, as they usually did. Today's practice had gone well and she was confident that they could beat whichever team they would be against next (Slytherin, she thought, with a shudder), and then possibly go on to win the cup, though she knew that their defeat against Gryffidor wouldn't do them any favours for that.

[Seth Wright]

Seth watched in constricted anticipation as the Quaffle flew through the air towards Ivy. He observed its speed and strength and thought it to be a reasonable shot - in fact, for him, a very good shot indeed. He wondered whether Ivy would be able to save it, but he did not doubt his Captain's abilities. Then again, no one was perfect. Seth was inclined to thinking that, if in the rare chance that he did manage to score against Ivy, it was down either to fluke, or his Captain's pity for him. Though, he doubted it would be the latter, because Ivy wasn't like that, he was sure enough of that. The sun glinted against the burnt maroon-like colour of the Quaffle as it sailed past Ivy's shoulder, and because of the reflection of the sun's bright rays, it took Seth several moments to absorb the fact that, perhaps, he was going to score after all. He was more surprised that Ivy hadn't managed to save it in the first place. However, Seth was happy to assume it as a mere fluke. He hovered on his broom with bated breath as the Quaffle continued on its way, and from the looks of it, he thought - knew, but didn't really believe - that it was going to sail through the goal without any problems. Seth's hopes were high, and his euphoria cascaded around him as finally, after several long, agonising seconds, he watched his shot fall through the hoop.

Seth was so pleased with himself, so darn surprised, he was still and shell-shocked for a moment, merely staring with wide, disbelieving eyes at his recent feat. Inside, he could feel a sense of pride and happiness well up within his chest. Still, his rejoicing was dampened somewhat by an inner voice that argued over and over that it was just a fluke. It wasn't going to happen again, certainly not in a real match. However, as his delight finally caught up to his physiology, Seth found himself letting out a long breath, and murmuring "wow" under his breath. His face lit up in a joyful grin, and he bobbed on his broomstick again to show he was back to his normal self - if not much happier than before. A nerves and tension left his body, but he was shaking a litwtle from the excitement. Ivy approached him, and Seth smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say. He could hardly believe he'd scored, and gotten a goal past his Captain. Fluke? He was about to say something, when Ivy got there ahead of him, congratulating him on an excellent shot. A little flower of hope blossomed inside Seth's chest; his fellow sixth year's words were a comfort and motivating factor for him, because this was evidence that he really was good, and not just a lucky person - which in all honesty, he was certainly not.

"Thanks," Seth nodded bashfully, looking rather flustered now as Ivy tossed him back the Quaffle. He caught it, fumbling just a little from a mixture of nerves and excitement. "I can't believe I managed to do that properly," he managed to say, before Ivy began to round everyone else up and tell them the practice was over, except for the Seekers, who she gathered around her and proceeded to question. Seth landed on the pitch grass carefully, taking a bit more pride in his flight skills. He tried to convince himself again that he was better than what he thought he was - both Chace and Ivy's comments were testament to that, and he wouldn't have gotten on the team if he were that awful. Smiling to himself, Seth bid goodbye to a couple of his teammates, before glancing back at Ivy with Charles, Harmony and Carson. He saw Harmony glance his way, and she waved him goodbye briefly. Returning the friendly, adorable gesture, Seth turned on his heel, and gripping his broomstick, trudged back to the Hufflepuff Common Room.

Yeah. Seth believed he did good today.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony gave Sophia a bright smile when her friend managed to save her shot. Sophia was a good Keeper, and they were teammates and friends; Harmony did not begrudge her her skills. Congratulating Sophia as Ivy ended the practice and called them to the pitch below, Harmony was one of the first to dismount her brooms. Ivy had said she wanted to speak to those who played Seekers, which included herself, Charlie and Carson. Harmony flashed her usual friendly smile at the two boys as they landed beside her. She waved goodbye to Sophia as she left with the others, and waited patiently for Ivy to explain why she had gathered them. Harmony's mind was still on the failed shot Sophia had saved. She was analysing what she did wrong, what she could improve for the upcoming match against Slytherin, which Hufflepuff had to win. The determination to beat the green team was stronger than against the other two, not due to rivalry, because Hufflepuffs weren't particularly ambitious or competitive in comparison to the other houses, but mainly because Slytherins treated Hufflepuffs like dirt, looking down on them like they were insignificant and 'pathetic'. Harmony got quite angry when she thought of their biased points of views. She knew not all Slytherins thought like that, but a lot of them did, especially the Quidditch players, and Harmony had every mind to beat them at their own game and teach them a lesson on humility and modesty.

Harmony noticed Seth leaving in the corner of her eyesight and turned to wave goodbye to him. He was the final player still remaining besides herself, Charlie and Carson. He returned the gesture, and Harmony was glad to see he was smiling delightfully. She assumed he had managed to score before, and she was glad for him; the poor sixth year boy lacked so much self-confidence. Aurora had mentioned Seth a few times in their conversations; that he was a lovely guy, but very nervy and chatty. Harmony liked him a lot, though, and she enjoyed his company. He was sweet. Little did she know he thought the same of her. Smiling as she turned back to Ivy and the boys, Harmony immediately paid more attention as her Captain began to speak. She asked them a few questions concerning the Seeker role, to which Harmony mused over silently for a few moments, giving a chance for the other two boys to answer, especially since they were older than her and had more experience. Mainly, Harmony looked to Charlie for an answer, because he had been on the team the longest along with Ivy out of the four of them here, and his first position was Seeker; that, and he was more mature than Carson, Harmony felt; plus, he was Ivy's good friend. Charlie, however, did not offer much at first - somewhat expected, since he was quite a quiet guy - but Carson wasn't too subdued, and he hadn't said a word either.

Sighing inwardly, Harmony decided she would have to say something before Ivy died of looking embarrassed. She smiled up sympathetically and encouraging at Ivy and tried to give a concise answer. Harmony couldn't claim to know much about the Seeker role, since her primary position was Chaser. However, she wanted to say what she had gotten out of playing Seeker so far in her short Seeking career. "Well..." Harmony began uncertainly, causing eyes to be drawn towards her. "I'm not the best Seeker here. You know my preferred position is Chaser, and I usually play that part. So, um, I'm not really an expert." Harmony gave a nervous smile. "But, so far, from what I have learnt of my own skills in Seeking, and what it requires, I feel that the job consists of fewer necessary skills than, like, in the Chaser position, which I usually play. When I play Chaser, I have to be good at lots of things, like passing and receiving the Quaffle, thinking about space a lot to make sure the opposing team doesn't steal or intercept, blocking people from stealing, avoiding Bludgers, working with the other Chasers, being fast and strong, and working on shooting and aim and strength behind that."

Harmony rattled off the list of necessities, before pausing for a rather embarrassed breath. "Seeker, on the other hand, only requires the player to be a fast flyer, one that doesn't have to manipulate space as much, be able to fend off the other Seeker, usually in terms of speed, and being able to catch the Snitch... again, that's all related to speed, I think. Oh, and you have to have good observational skills because locating the Snitch is kind of vital." Harmony cracked a laughing smile, before realising she wasn't really getting to any point. Quickly, she tried to make it. "But anyway, the point is that we are lucky in the sense we have less to practice. It does make it harder to practice too, though." Harmony grimaced, looking towards Charlie and Carson for agreement and support. "We can practice finding the Snitch, which can take hours... We can't control the Snitch, unlike with Quaffles and Bludgers... Well, catching a Bludger is probably pretty hard, but at least you can see it," Harmony pressed on with a short laugh. "We could practice just flying after the Snitch, which is more simple. Maybe, pitch all three, or just two, of us to go after the Snitch. I guess that would be good practice." Harmony managed a casual, helpless shrug, before lapsing into quiet, expecting the boys to add to the conversation, or if not, for Ivy to buffer or agree with her comments.