Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff!

[Scott Ryder G7]

Continuing on his way, Scott again decided to try to fly a bit higher. There were both benefits and downfalls to staying up high above the rest of the game. First up, it made seeing more of the field possible, but also made seeing the Snitch a bit harder in the case that it was down low. However, being high above the competition allowed for Scott to keep an eye on Charles and also stay a bit farther from Bludgers. Regardless, he had been flying rather low for the past few minutes, and still no Snitch. He figured it wouldn't hurt to fly back up above the pitch before taking another chance staying where all the chaos and action seemed to be.

((Still searching. Sorry that the posts for Scott are always a bit short and redundant. It's hard to come up with something on a daily basis that is new and unique whenever the darn Snitch won't show up for either Charles or I. ))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((Harmony attempts to steal the Quaffle from Arywiel.
Arywiel = Defending (D8 + Str) = 6 + 3 = 9
Harmony = Steal (D4 + Str) = 1 + 5 = 6

Arywiel retains the quaffle and tries to score.

Arywiel tries to score and Sophia attempts to save.
Sophia = Save (D6 + Dex) = 2 + 5 = 7
Arywiel = Score (D6 + Str) = 1 + 3 = 4

Sophia saves the goal and has the quaffle.

Ashley attempts to defend herself.
Branden = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 3 + 5 = 8
Ashley = Defending (D8 + Str) = 4 + 4 = 8

Tie! Re-roll.
Branden = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 5 + 5 = 10
Ashley = Defending (D8 + Str) = 1 + 4 = 5

Ashley is unable to defend herself and so would swerve.

Ashley tries to avoid the Bludger
Branden = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 3 + 5 = 8
Ashley = Avoid (D8 + Dex) = 8 + 1 = 9

Ashley swerves to avoid the Bludger.

Bryce hits a Bludger at Arywiel.

There is a Bludger flying at Arywiel

Scott searches for the Snitch.
Scott = (D30) = 8
8 is not the Snitch number. Scott does not notice the Snitch.))

[Arywiel Coone G3]

Ary groaned as Sophia saved the Quaffle. She had made it past Harmony as was seconds away from scoring. Slunching her shoulders, she turned. Was that a... BLUDGER! She flattened herself against her broomstick just in time.

((Ary avoids Bludger))

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles had a fleeting moment of panic in which he wondered if there was something all Seekers did or knew that he didn't know about Seeking. Well whatever it was Scott seemed to be in the dark to, though a glance over his shoulder told Charles Scott was looking a long way away from where he was so if the Snitch where to suddenly show itself anywhere near him Hufflepuff was dead meat. Shake it off, Charlie! Charles took a moment to stop panicking and get his breath back to normal then zoomed in a curve around the pitch, hoping against hope that he'd finally see the Snitch.

((In hot pursuit of the Snitch.))

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy was disappointed as she didn't quite manage to reach the Quaffle in time. Lenora was just too quick for her. She was about to turn round and get the Quaffle off Arywiel in a more direct way - forcing it off her - but as she approached ever closer, she saw that Harmony had anticipated her and was intent on stealing the Quaffle herself. Well, so be it. Ivy pressed in close on the other side of the young Gryffindor, hoping to intimidate, or distract her a little, and so put her off scoring. She would have felt more comfortable had she been able to carry out her intention of actually trying to steal the Quaffle - firstly, she'd spent so many games trying to get possession of the Quaffle through desperation that she actually trusted herself to be quite good at that sort of thing, and secondly, it felt a bit like bullying just to hinder the Chaser in this sort of way, without any actual intention to take the Quaffle off her. Still, it wasn't against the rules.

She cheered as Sophia defended the goals successfully, showing the same dependability that she had been doing throughout the game. Then she moved away from Arywiel, into an empty space. She'd managed to break away from the Gryffindor Chasers for the moment, but she was perhaps a little bit far away from the goal. Still, it seemed like the best place for her to go to if Sophia wanted to pass to her. It really mattered that they didn't let the Gryffindor team intercept that pass at the moment - they were so close to the goalposts at the moment that it would be hard to stop them getting another attempt on goal if they did. She wasn't sure which of them Sophia would pass to, but stayed alert in case the younger girl intended to throw the Quaffle in her direction.

((Ready to receive the Quaffle if it comes her way.))

[Sophia Hallington H7]

Sophia flew across the goalposts, and once again caught the snitch. That was the third time now, and couldn't help but feel a sense of self satisfaction. She felt as if she'd done her team proud by not letting any goals in yet, and all they needed now was for Charlie to catch the snitch, or to score another couple of goals so even if they weren't defeated it wouldn't be so humiliating. Well, even if they were defeated she knew that they had played well, and there were still 2 matches left for them to play so they still had a chance to win the cup. Her thoughts returned to the game, as she decided who to pass to. She decided to pass to Harmony as she was free (although Ivy was too), and then hopefully she could pass to Ivy, who could then attempt to shoot.

Meanwhile, Ashley had managed to dodge the bludger that Branden hit towards her, and Bryce was hitting the other bludger towards Arywiel, who would probably attempt to dodge it. The sneekers were still busy, searching for that pesky little snitch. Surely one of them would find it soon? The game had been going on for a long time, and the games she watched didn't usually go on for that long, unlike some of the professional games she'd heard about.

((Passing to Harmony, and defending goals and self if necessary))

[Lenora Byers]

Tha pass to Arywiel went off without a hitch! Lenora hung back and watched as the younger girl shot the quaffle towards the hoops... and as Sophia caught it. "Good try, Arywiel!" Lenora called to her, scoring was not as easy as it looked. Watching Sophia Lenora noticed the quaffle coming toward Harmony and tried to place herself in between.

((Trying to intercept Sophia's pass))

[Branden Davis G6]

Branden watched as Ashley failed to hit his bludger but swerved instead, the bludger nearly getting her. He was just considering chasing off after the bludger to send it at Ashley again when he noticed the other one was in play again. The bludger was flying at Arywiel and Branden knew before playing with the other beaters he had to defend his team.

((Defend Arywiel and send at Harmony))

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony wasn't surprised when Arywiel managed to dodge her. Stealing was always the hardest part of the Chaser job for Harmony, because she was naturally a passive person. She was a swift intercepter, and an accurate thrower and scorer, but her worst area was definitely the offense. Defence Harmony didn't lack in, for she was fast and speedy, and good at dodging. She did get scared back in her first year of flying, but gradually the adrenaline and excitement for the game drowned it out to form her love for Quidditch today. Arywiel soared to the goal to try to score, but Sophia saved it, earning a loud, "Yes!" from Harmony and several other Hufflepuffs in the stands. Bobbing on her broom from the excited cheers, Harmony swung forwards to obtain the Quaffle from Sophia. "Here, Sophia!" Harmony yelled, before a splat of black caught her eye. A Bludger was heading towards her! Quick as lightning Harmony sought to avoid it by flying upwards. Hopefully she could gain the Quaffle at the same time, or perhaps after the danger of the Bludger had passed.

((Dodging Bludger and then hoping to receive the Quaffle from Sophia.))

[Melody Bang-Bala G6]

Melody had watched much of the game from the benches, feeling a weeny bit lonely there because whilst there were a number of people from the Hufflepuff team there, Ethan Jacobs was the only other Gryffindor player on the bench and she was a bit intimidated by him. He seemed to be more interested by the Hufflepuff team members anyway. Melody wondered briefly whether that was because they were largely female, but it wasn't her business to worry about that. The Hufflepuff team members kept on switching places anyway - to start with then a small Hufflepuff girl, only in fourth year as far as she knew, was on the bench along with an older boy whom she didn't know, but the fourth year Hufflepuff did appear to know. Then it was an older Hufflepuff girl, then she disappeared again and was replaced by a young man who Melody thought was a seventh year, then the sixth year boy finally got his turn and was replaced by yet another sixth year, this time a girl. Still no substitution for Melody.

Finally, she got her chance to enter the game, along with the Hufflepuff seventh year who was re-entering it. She'd been waiting for so long that the substitution almost came as a bit of a surprise! She was being substituted in as Beater, so she picked up her heavy Beater's bat and mounted her broom, trying to enter the game as quickly as possible. It took her a while to get her bearings - there had been so many changes on the bench next to her that she'd barely been able to keep up with the game - but finally she saw a chance with a Bludger which a seventh year Hufflepuff Beater had just failed to hit. She tried to get her bat in the right position as she approached it, hoping that her aim would be true. The Hufflepuff Keeper currently had possession, but was passing. Since the play was so close to the Hufflepuff goalposts, Melody reckoned that it would be helpful to distract the Keeper for a while, so she aimed the Bludger at the Keeper.

((Hitting free Bludger at Sophia.))

[Bryce Alexander]

Bryce watched as the Bludger he had hit soared toward Arywiel. By this time, she had shot at the goal, but Sophia had stopped it. Also, Branden had made another appearance, placing himself between the Bludger and Arywiel in an attempt to prevent her from being hit. Also, it seemed as though he had his eyes on knocking it Harmony's way, but one couldn't be quite sure until it was even determined if he could stop it from hitting Arywiel in the first place. Likely, with the way Branden was playing, he would be able to stop it, but nothing was guaranteed.

Meanwhile, Bryce saw the other, younger Gryffindor Beater making her first attack of the game. She had hit the Bludger directly at Sophia who was trying to pass the Quaffle and get it away from the Hufflepuff goals. There was an abundance of action happening around this end of the pitch. Figuring that since this Bludger was for sure heading at one of his teammates, Bryce decided to race after Sophia to defend her instead of Harmony. If he was lucky, either Ash would then take care of defending Harmony or he would have enough time to try to defend her as well.

With an attempted burst of speed, Bryce flew toward the Bludger and reached out with a steady arm to try to knock it off its course. He also was trying to aim it at Lenora who was still in the mix of things as well. She had been all over the place, similar to Branden, and so anything sent her way would at least be a possible way of distracting her as well.

((Defending Sophia and deflecting toward Lenora.))

[Scott Ryder G7]

From his perspective high above the pitch, Scott was able to get a good look at the action that was happening around the Hufflepuff goals. He hoped that Gryffindor might be able to score to tie the ten point lead that Hufflepuff had gained, but he also knew that catching the Snitch was more important than hoping for just a ten point goal at this point. Unless the game started to swing one way or another anytime soon, it seemed as though it was likely going to be decided by whoever could first catch the Snitch. Though, at this rate, the way that the Snitch seemed to be hiding, Scott knew that anything could happen, including one of the teams going on a long run of goals which might tip the score enough to favor one team enough that catching the Snitch wouldn't matter. However, that wasn't likely at the moment, and so Scott tried to ignore the rest of the game which continuing his search for the Snitch. Don't lose hope. It will show up eventually. It has to!.

((Searching for, wishing to find, dreaming about, hoping to see, trying to discover, thinking of.... the SNITCH. ))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((As some of you may have seen Cassandra is on the vacation list and for personal reasons will not be able to return for the game. Therefore, as vice-captain Maryn will be taking over captaincy of the team. It is also down to Maryn to replace another character as keeper in Cassandra’s stead.

Branden attempts to defend Arywiel.
Bryce = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 5 + 6 = 11
Branden = Defending (D8 + Str) = 4 + 5 = 9

Bryce’s bludger continues at Arywiel.

Arywiel swerves to avoid the bludger.
Bryce = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 2 + 6 = 8
Arywiel = Avoid (D8 + Dex) = 1 + 5 = 6

The bludger hits Arywiel. As Arywiel is not doing anything she does not have the concentrate.

Melody hit a bludger at Sophia. Bryce attempts to defend Sophia.
Melody = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 4 + 4 = 8
Bryce = Defending (D8 + Str) = 4 + 6 = 10

Bryce succeeds in defending Sophia and deflects to Lenora. There is a bludger flying at Lenora.

Sophia attempts to pass as Lenora tries to intercept.
Sophia = Pass (D6 + Dex) = 5 + 5 = 10
Lenora = Intercept (D4 + Dex) = 4 + 6 = 10

Tie! Re-roll.
Sophia = Pass (D6 + Dex) = 6 + 5 = 11
Lenora = Intercept (D4 + Dex) = 3 + 6 = 9

Sophia succeeds in passing. Harmony has the quaffle.

Charles and Scott search for the snitch.
Charles = Searching (D30) = 25
Scott = Searching (D30) = 24

24 and 25 are not the snitch numbers. Neither seeker sees the snitch.))

[Ashley Hill]

Ashley concentrated on the bludger as it headed toward her. Swinging when she thought it was right, the tip of her bat brushed across the iron surface. Without even thinking, she served quickly to the right. The bludger flew right by her, the wind blowing against her hair. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ashley peered around the pitch, spotting Bryce as he chased after different bludgers. He was able to hit Ayrwiel, and defend Sophia from both the Gryffindor beaters. Grinning, Ashley heard the loud roar of the crowd as she turned around on her broom. Harmony was now in hold of the quaffle, the Hufflepuff cheers booming through her ears. “Go, Harmony!” she shouted, directing her broom forward passing by Bryce. Giving him a high five, Ashley watched as his bludger directed back toward Lenora. Glancing over at Branden, Ashley quickly spotted another iron ball in play, heading straight toward it. Swinging hard against the surface, she sent it toward Branden hoping that would keep him busy long enough.

((Bludger attack on Branden.))

[AJ Murphy G6]

AJ sat on the bench impatiently. He didn't join the Gryffindor Quidditch team to sit around doing nothing all day! If he wanted to watch the game, he would have been in the stands with all the rest of the school. AJ sat in full Quidditch gear, his Comet-two Sixty at his side, almost pleading AJ to jump on it and fly off. But he couldn't. He had to wait. AJ wasn't officially on the team yet, as he was only a reserve with some fourth year named Melody. Finally, he watched Cass, the captain sit down. AJ was called to take her place.

Cass Blackfire was in both AJ's house and year, and she was quite a beautiful girl. But, she was what was getting in the way of AJ getting the glory. She had already let one goal in, and AJ was going to make up for it by never letting another Quaffle pass through those goal posts again. It was his job as a goalie...I mean Keeper. AJ was so used to playing goalie for his hockey team that he had always addressed the position as such.

AJ shook his head as if to wave away the distractions and took off for the goal posts, listening to the cheers coming from the stands. He hovered in front of the middle goal post for the moment, waiting for some action to come his way.

((Defending the goals and self if necessary.))

[Bryce Alexander]

Finally! Things were starting to go in Bryce's favour. Just as he was able to successfully defend Sophia from getting hit by the Bludger and sending it in the direction of Lenora, Bryce saw that the other Bludger he had hit at Arywiel was not stopped by Branden. Arywiel hadn't been able to dodge it either, and though he was glad that it had hit her, deep down he hoped it hadn't injured her. If anything, he wished it might scare her off or at least cause her to be intimidated enough that it might put a damper on the Gryffindor offense.

Speaking of offense though, Bryce saw that Sophia had made a pass to Harmony, and the Hufflepuff Chasers would likely be making another rush to the Gryffindor side to attempt to increase the score by another ten points. Ashley had just send the second Bludger at Branden, and with the other flying at Lenora, Bryce figured that the best he could do is circle the Hufflepuff Chasers to defend them from any Bludger attacks. Waiting in the wings, he hovered around them as he watched both Bludgers closely.

((Defending against Branden's next attack (if he has one).))

[Scott Ryder G7]

Stay positive. It was Scott's new motto. Regardless of the fact that the game really hadn't been going on for a terribly long time, Scott felt like it was ages that had passed since he first saw the Snitch when Madame Hooch released it at the start of the game. It seemed so long ago that he had to wonder if he just imagined the little golden ball flying away or if it really happened! It does exist, he told himself. It IS out there flying... SOMEWHERE. Scott couldn't think about the score. It seemed too low for how long he felt he had been flying around on his broom with nothing to show for it. No dips, dives, or ducks in attempting to go after the Snitch. Aside from being hit once with a Bludger, Scott felt that his being on the pitch hadn't even been noticed and likely didn't matter. But it would matter. Whether he or Charles caught the Snitch in the end, it would have mattered that Scott was there. Right now might not matter at that exact moment, but Scott knew that it would matter eventually, so until it did, he had to keep telling himself that it was worth it. To do that, he had to stay positive though, which was why he quickly adopted it as his new motto.

((I'll give you three guesses as to what Scott is doing... ))

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles was flying around the pitch in a circle and the thought entered his head that he was just flying around himself in circles. The score was pretty low even - he'd only allowed himself a moment to take it in - at any rate that meant that the game was really down to him and Scott, which was something he hadn't really allowed himself to consider but was forced to now. While he was being real he supposed he should have known that this would happen in the end - as far as Hufflepuff was concerned this was better than in past years since they had always ended up losing the Snitch and the other side scored a lot more goals than they did, so this was really quite an improvement. But it left a huge burden on his shoulders.

He had to stop thinking like this. Once again, Charles made a conscious effort to shake off his fears and think positively. Charles flew as high as he could and then looked below concentrating all of his attention on locating the Snitch.

((Snitch? Where are you?))

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy saw that Sophia was going to pass to Harmony, so she herself moved towards the Gryffindor goalposts into a slightly less crowded part of the pitch, where she was able to take a moment to observe the general goings on of the game. Generally a Chaser tended to get a bit caught up with the whereabouts of the Quaffle, to the exclusion of keeping up with the rest of the game. That perhaps made it the least suitable position to select a Captain from. But she was managing to survey her team (and the opposing one) briefly at the moment. She searched for Charlie, looking upwards. He was so high up that he was barely visible, and Ivy wondered for a moment whether he was really warm enough in the even colder upper air, feeling just a tad over-protective. Presumably he wanted a bird's eye view to do his job. Ash seemed to be in her stride at the moment, and Bryce had just managed to defend their Keeper from a Bludger which could otherwise have caused a great deal of trouble for the Hufflepuffs.

Ivy smiled as she saw that the pass between Sophia and Harmony had been successful, and continued to move in the direction of the Gryffindor goalposts, trying to keep ahead of the other Chasers so that Harmony would hopefully have a free space to pass to her in, if she chose to do so as Ivy rather hoped she would do (it having been a while since she last had possession of the Quaffle, she was beginning to miss the red ball a little bit!).

((Ready to receive pass from Harmony if the Quaffle comes her way.))

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony raised her arms high, half lifting her small body right off the broom; she grabbed the sailing Quaffle with flexing fingers, before sinking back onto her wooden, rather uncomfortable seat with the ball tucked tightly under her right arm. "Thanks, Sophia!" Harmony yelled to the Huffle Keeper with a bright smile, before turning and dodging past other players to get into a clearing of space and zoom towards the goal. Her eyes were peeled for either Ivy or Kael, who she was to pass to. Harmony heard the crowd of Hufflepuff roar her journey onwards and smiled a little to herself; it was always a thrill to get her hands on the Quaffle. She didn't enjoy the limelight, but she liked being able to participate and know she had been a worthwhile asset to the team - someone who made a difference.

Bludgers everywhere! Harmony noted there was one still tailing her, and alarmed, tried to keep it off her trail. The Gryffindor Beaters were being quite merciless today! Frowning, Harmony finally spotted Ivy to her left, and edged across swiftly to decrease the gap between them. "Ivy! Heads up!" Harmony knew Ivy was readying to receive the Quaffle anyway, but it never hurt to voice your intent. With a determined launch, Harmony threw the Quaffle to her Captain, aware that a Gryffindor Chaser could intercept or steal any moment now.

((Attempting to defend the Quaffle and pass to Ivy; also trying to dodge Bludger, if I am allowed to do that too.))