Avoiding Misfortune! ((Hufflepuff Quidditch Team))

[Ivy Tunstall]

"Here's the plan," said Ivy as she stood outside on the Quidditch pitch that was inevitably muddy due to the time of year. She straightened a scruffy twig on her Nimbus 2001 and divulged the practice layout that she and Ashley had decided upon the night before. "We're going to be practicing Chaser, Beater and Keeper positions today, so sorry Seekers," - her eyes fixed on the timid yet sweet younger Hufflepuff and her best friend in turn, and then briefly on the younger Prefect - "but you'll only get to practice one position today. For Chasers and Keepers, each Keeper gets a go at the hoops to defend against two Chasers who are going to come and try to shoot at you - well, hopefully shooting at the goalhoops really. That's one Chaser at a time. We have two sets of goalposts, so we should be able to get through this fairly quickly. For Beaters, Ash'll tell you what you're doing later - she's taking Beaters and I'm taking Chasers and Keepers. I hear that we might have to dodge a few Bludgers ourselves... so keep an eye out for them. Sydney..." - she looked around to try to spot her fellow sixth year - "you make a good Beater so you're going to practice with Ash first, and then Bryce can practice his Keeping skills against you and Ash at the end."

Ivy smiled briefly at the group gathered in front of her, giving them a chance to ask questions if they wanted to. Things were easier for Ivy without Weetzie on the team, just because it avoided the difficulties of the conflict between her and Ash, and even with Bryce. Ivy was sad to have lost her, though. She had a lot of respect for her dormmate, who in former years and sometimes still had brightened the dormitory up with a bit of life, and was still vibrant really in a different direction. But the team was strong, and she really hoped that with enough practice, they would win their next match. She returned to giving instructions:
"But first of all, we're having a race. First one to that set of hoops," (she pointed to the hoops at the south-west end of the pitch), "to the other set and back again wins. Speed, endurance and competitiveness!" she quoted at them from something a well-known Seeker had said recently, "and please don't crash into the goals because neither Madam Hooch nor Madam Pomfrey would be delighted with me if you did. On your brooms, get set, GO!"

She was airborne with her last mighty shout, kicking off from the ground eagerly but hanging back a bit to be fair to the others since she hadn't given them much warning. Still, it would test their reaction times. Once she was satisfied that they'd followed her lead (evidenced by a few of them shooting past her), she urged her broom into an extra spurt of speed, exulting in the certainty that she was alive as a cold wind resisted her flight and whipped her hair into her face. The Hufflepuff Quidditch Team spread out below her and above her, and she was proud to think of how impressive their wild race would look to anyone standing on the ground, watching ten yellow-robed warriors reach with all their might for a common goal - winning the next game.

((I don't mind who posts first! If all other things are equal when I roll to see who wins the race, the person out of those with the highest score who posted first here will win. So just post your character getting ready for the practice and then participating in the race for your first post! )

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony cocked her head to one side and smiled up at Seth. “You’ll be fine.” She soothed reassuringly, her hands brushing down her bright yellow Quidditch robes. “Everyone on the team is great. We make a fantastic set. You’ll fit in in no time.” Her calming words had little effect on the jittery older boy, so Harmony patted Seth’s arm gently, not sure what else she could say to still his tense mood. She didn’t know Seth very well, but she knew she wasn’t scared of him like she was with other older students. There was a childlike quality about Seth that you could detect straightaway the moment you met him. Harmony liked him immediately because he was so different to other older students she had met previously. She had heard a little about Seth from Aurora, but she had never had the chance to meet him face to face until he had joined the reserve team. Harmony had been one of the ones to take him on board and show him around, and he had spent the entire introduction to the team enthusing to Harmony how wonderful she had been in the last match, causing her to blush constantly and laugh. That was another thing she liked about Seth; there was something very genuine and honest about him. What you saw with Seth was what you got. What did catch Harmony by surprise was that he was going out with one of the biggest bimbos in Hufflepuff, and in sixth year in general. Willow Walker was pretty well known around Harmony’s house, and very popular with a particular type of people. Harmony didn’t think Seth wasn’t good enough for Willow though. It was because they were utter opposites.

Ivy caught Harmony’s attention before she could talk to Seth further, and so listened to her Captain intently. Ivy was a good leader, and Ashley was a good vice, and overall, Harmony thought (with a bit of bias, of course) that they had the best house team in Hogwarts. Hufflepuff didn’t always win the House Cup, but they did pride themselves in their Quidditch. Harmony smiled back when Ivy talked about not practising the Seeker position, which was fine by her. It was her secondary position anyway; she much more enjoyed the Chaser practices. Anyway, to practice seeking was hard, as it could take a long time to find the Snitch. Nodding, Harmony continued to listen as she bent down to adjust the laces on her boots. Making sure they weren’t loose, she straightened up again just as Ivy started talking about a speed race. Grinning in enthusiasm, Harmony bounced on the spot a few times until they were dismissed from the talk to mount their brooms. Gripping hers tightly, Harmony swung it under her body and sat on it, gently rising into the air, only a few centimetres from the ground. She let her right foot dangle, poised against the grass to push herself into the air properly once Ivy gave the signal. Tensing her whole body, Harmony’s eyes narrowed, leaning over her broom in anticipation.

With Ivy’s shout of “GO!”, Harmony was off and shooting into the air along with nine other bodies. Immediately the familiar strong sensation of the wind and breeze hit her face, seeping through her hair tied up in a ponytail. Harmony allowed herself a smile as she watched the stronger flyers pull ahead – they weren’t necessarily the ‘bigger’ people, rather, the physically stronger because they could give themselves a bigger boost when they left the ground. Harmony wasn’t the strongest person – in fact, Beater was her weakest position – so she had never excelled in this area. In her usual position of Chaser, what Harmony usually needed to practice was her shooting – her strength rather than her accuracy. Her speed was probably her advantage though, as she was light and could manoeuvre her broom easily. As she had expected of herself, she began to gain speed as the race progressed, pulling ahead of several others. Harmony liked to fly high, so she rose above Ivy and the others, watching their rippling yellow garments flying in the breeze. Harmony smiled happily, resisting a huge urge to throw caution to the wind and go as fast as she physically could – which was fast. However, she had never been one for dangerous speeds, despite it being her advantage, so she kept to a normal, but still very fast speed. She was ahead of most of her teammates already. But it wasn’t like Harmony minded too much; out of all the things Ivy had spoken about, competitiveness was one thing that didn’t run too thickly in her bloodstream.

[Seth Wright]

“Scenario One: I fly too fast, overexert my broom, lose control, and crash into one of the goalposts. In front of everyone. Scenario Two: I don’t listen to the instructions carefully and find myself clueless and lost, then get scolded for doing the wrong thing and be embarrassed in front of the team. Scenario Three: I’m not good enough during practice and Ivy will sack me from the team. In front of everyone else.” Seth tried to tie his bootlaces, but his fingers kept getting tangled from anxiety and worry. His other foot was tapping continuously against the grass; his entire body was a bundle of nerves, tense and uncomfortable. After what seemed like forever, Seth finally managed to get his laces tied together, albeit in a messy, most likely knotted or too loose a way, and stood up, his tall frame rising above most of his fellow teammates. Seth looked around nervously, and was glad that he didn’t stand out too much; Bryce was taller than him, but Seth was kind of scared of the older Hufflepuff. Not that Bryce was a scary person, he was actually a decent guy, and a good prefect. However, Seth had a knack of being a bit afraid of most guys in the year above him; they seemed so dominating even though some of them were so close to Seth in age. He didn’t want to imagine having a Bludger hurtle towards you in a game from Bryce. Ashley was probably just as lethal though, even though she was a girl, Seth continued to reason in his head as his eyes paused on her blonde hair; he couldn’t see the Vice’s face.

Seth ran a nervous hand through his shock of ebony, and glanced round the team for the umpteenth time. Ivy stood at the front typically, the Captain of the team. Seth had rarely spoken to her; she was quite quiet when she wanted to be. But she had struck him as fair and decent too, if not a bit scary as the Captain. He didn’t want to get on her bad side, or disappoint her. Near her was Charles, a boy in his year, and best friends with Ivy. He was really quiet too… Seth attempted a small smile at him, because he quite liked Charles. Kael on the other hand kind of intimidated Seth; he was quiet in a more distant way. Charles struck Seth was friendly, and Kael as more… grouchy? Seth didn’t know, but he didn’t want to get on Kael’s bad side. Nevertheless, he didn’t have anything against Kael; they hadn’t really talked. Sydney was the final person in his year on the team; she was a friendly girl, louder than some of the others, but not quite as loud as most. She seemed nice, but again, Seth didn’t really know her. The younger players consisted of Carson McGreggor and Sophia Hallington in fifth year, neither of whom Seth particularly knew. However, there was one good thing he had noticed – Seth knew that all of these people were decent, and that, as Harmony had assured him, everything would be fine. It was an odd mix, but a good mix. A nice mix. And yup, finally there was little Harmony, the youngest of the lot, but she was just as talented as the others. She was extremely quick on a broom and always smiling, and had been one of the first to welcome Seth onto the team. Currently she was trying to soothe his nerves a bit, but it wasn’t really working.

However, there wasn’t any more time for calming down and getting ready, because Ivy began her talk. After quickly going over the plans, in which Seth nodded along to subconsciously, Ivy ordered a race to take place. “A race?” Seth accidentally said out loud, but quietly enough that no one seemed to notice. “A race?” He repeated in his head, panicking a little. Racing on broomsticks was one of Seth’s less enjoyable points in flying. He liked being slow and steady, and he was always scared of losing control on his broom. Seth was quite frankly shaky if he tried to overexert the speed. However, there was no getting out of this now he was here on the team, and as everyone began to mount, Seth mimicked their actions. Gulping nervously, Seth waited for Ivy’s count. On her loud shout, everyone literally pounced into the air. Seth waited for about a second, which by then several fliers were far, far ahead, and launched also; he had done this mainly because he was scared of bumping or flying into other people. Rising into the air, Seth managed to gather some speed after a few seconds. He was in last place, but he didn’t mind so much. However, Ivy’s words were ringing in his head, and he was ashamed not to be trying harder. Wobbling a bit, Seth bit back his lip and urged his broom to go faster. He had to catch up to the others and give it his best shot; if he didn’t he would be trying to catch his teammates up forever.

((Seth isn’t going to win it, so you can count him out of the running for the winner. Thanks!))

[Sophia Hallington H7]

Quidditch practice. Sophia hadn't practiced much since the unfortunate defeat in their last game against Gryffindor. Well, it hadn't exactly been a long time ago anyway, she'd just been occupying herself with other things. Today, however, was the first official full-team practice since that game, and so it was obvious that Ivy would make them do their best, more so than ever, to make them win their next game. It wasn't even as if they'd played badly at all in the last game. They were winning by 30 points to 0, right until the Gryffindor seeker caught the snitch. But then again, he HAD been a good seeker, not meaning to put Charlie down. The chasers had done a fantastic job, as had the beaters. And she, as keeper, hadn't done badly either. But hopefully she'd be playing as a Chaser in the next game, so that was what she needed to train for today.

The team had slightly changed since that game. They'd since lost Weetzie, but they'd gained Sett Wright, another 6th year. It would be interesting to see how he'd cope with the team, though undoubtedly he'd do well. He must have some talent, or Ivy wouldn't've accepted him. Sophia didn't really know the boy too well, but she was sure that she'd get to know him better in the future. She hadn't been on the team very long herself, but already she knew all her teammates a lot better than she had done. her thoughts were soon interrupted as it looked like the other players were walking out onto the pitch, so she quickly pulled on her boots, grabbed her broomstick and walked out onto the pitch after the others.

Not surprisingly, Ivy was standing at the front, about to give an overview of what was going to happen in the practice. It was going to be chasers and keepers with Ivy, Beaters with Ash and the Seekers were practicing on another day. Then, rather surprisingly, Ivy called a race-fly to one set of goalposts, then the other, then back. Sophia climbed onto her Nimbus 2000, and kicked off, flying as quickly as she could towards the south-west goal hoops. She wasn't at the front of the team, nor was she at the back. She still had a slight chance of winning, but she wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if she didn't. Reaching the goal hoops, she swiftly changed direction, flying towards the other set. This was a strighter path than the last so she had more oppurtunity to fly faster. She just flew as hard as she can, not really noticing who she was overtaking, who was overtaking her, or indeed how many people hadd passed her or she'd passed. It would be interesting to see who won.

[Bryce Alexander]

Weetzie slapped Bryce across the face and then stormed across the room to join Ashley who had her hands on her hips while giving him a look that seemed as though he had just committed a murder or something. "That's for kissing me, and this..." Weetzie said as she pulled out her wand and paused for a moment. With a flick of her wrist, Bryce instantly felt a cold sensation on his inner thighs. She had cast a water spell at him, soaking the front of his pants to make it look like he had wet himself. "that is for making Ashley think that you really cared about her. "Wait... wha..." Bryce stammered, but the two girls simply glared at him before turning and stalking off hand in hand. Their footsteps leaving a resounding pattern of clicks as they stormed off down the hall while Bryce stood in front of an entire crowd of people, completely embarrassed in the silence. Click, click, click... their footsteps echoed.

Click, click, click. A faint pattern of noise sounding like a metronome, filtered through Bryce's mind. Groggily, he turned onto his side, realizing that what had just happened was indeed only a nightmare. He felt the sun beating on his face as he squinted to keep the bright rays from blinding him. Click, click, click. The noise again brought him from his sleep as he looked at the window and saw an owl tapping its beak against the glass. "Go away!" Bryce yelled, throwing his pillow at the window and causing the owl to fly away with a stream of angry hoots. Bryce looked at the clock and realized he had been sleeping for longer than he had meant to. Then, as his mind started to come back to him, he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be getting ready for. Quidditch!

Hopping out of bed in a flash, he hurried to dress in the appropriate Quidditch attire. Ivy would have an earful for him to endure if he was late. Losing to Gryffindor had not made her very happy, but at least she wasn't totally irate about it. But, at the same time, Bryce knew that showing up late to practice wouldn't help her mood any. Taking the steps three at a time, he hurried out of the castle and ran as fast as he could to the Quidditch pitch. His eyes were still adjusting to the sun, and the cold weather was quite a shock for his body which was still waking up for the most part.

Minutes later, he arrived on the field, just in time for Ivy to give the instructions. She hadn't noticed him slip in just on time, but he was breathing heavy enough to get a glare from Ash. "Sorry," he whispered. "Fell asleep and lost track of the time." Bryce wasn't the most punctual, but he did make it a priority to at least try to be responsible. He was a prefect after all, and he had to set a good example for the younger students. Failing to say much or ask any questions, Bryce nodded as Ivy explained what they would be doing in practice. Bryce made the quick observation that Weetzie's void on the team had already been replaced, and in her place was a new kid that Bryce knew as Seth. Whether or not Seth would start, Bryce wasn't sure, in fact he didn't know for sure what position he would even be. He had never had a proper conversation with him before, but the first impression Bryce got was that Seth was a bit different to say the least. He might fare well though on the team for all Bryce knew. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to be a Beater anyways, and so Bryce wasn't going to worry too much about anybody but himself.

As Ivy announced the start of their race, Bryce kicked off the ground, not getting as much of a push as he wanted. His muscles were still adjusting to the change of temperature, and Bryce wished he'd have woken earlier to give himself more time to warm up. It was too late now though, and so he simply did his best to make it around the pitch as fast as he could. Speed was never a strong suit of his, but he had his strength which came in handy on days that he was feeling up to par. Today didn't seem like it was going to be one of those days, but he gritted his teeth and tried his best. Their last match hadn't been his best either, but he learned that he couldn't let the little things get to him. He had to concentrate if he wanted to keep improving, and lucky for him, Ashley had known that and been a bit help to him as he tried to maintain his composure.

[kael]

It was just as well that there was a team practice, Kael told himself grimly. Ever since the match against Gryffindor in which they had been defeated quite spectacularly, he had been spending more time out on the pitch when no one else was practicing, feeling the need to improve himself and his competence in the game. He hadn’t blamed himself for the loss – he wasn’t in possession of such a large ego as to take the bulk on the game onto his own shoulders – but he had felt his incompetence as a chaser. Nerves over his first game weren’t a good enough excuse. Even if he had been the type to accept such a feeble excuse from himself, it wouldn’t work for any other games. His sister had even betrayed her own house – her turn of phrase, not his – to venture out into the cold and throw quickly transfigured quaffles at him. She had been quite vicious too, making him glad that Lynne hadn’t tried out for the Ravenclaw team. He’d hate to play against his own sister – and he’d hate to lose against her even more!

He’d practiced in both the chaser and keeper positions, finding himself better suited to being a keeper but still a lot better as a chaser than he had been. Theoretically anyway. Being in a real match changed everything; there were so many differences between matches and practices. There were even differences between a whole team practice and an impromptu practice between him and his sister – more like dragging Lynne out to the pitch and reeling off a list of everything he had done for her until she felt guilty, and cold, enough to move, even if it was just to regain the feeling in her limbs. Even the team had changed since Seth had replaced Weetzie. Both he and Seth were in the same year so Kael had felt a little strange at the thought that he didn’t even know the other boy that well. But that was to be expected, he supposed. Kael just didn’t make friends with people unless they flat-out demanded that he did. Call it a quirk of his.

A race. Yay. Yes, that was sarcasm. Competition wasn’t a huge deal for Kael, which perhaps explained why he wasn’t perhaps going as quickly as he could. But teamwork was important, and the thought of being scolded by Ivy was slightly intimidating since he hadn’t experienced the girls temper yet and so wasn’t sure whether he could withstand it, which was definitely why he increased his speed, grinning as he felt the wind whip past him. It was an exhilarating feeling and most people probably wouldn’t have believed that Kael, yes Kael Collins of the grumpy and cynical nature, was grinning – it was not a foolish, goofy grin, thank you very much – over the simple feeling of being free in the sky. He was getting closer to the second set of goalposts so Kael forced the exhilaration and the grin to fade. He liked his privacy and he only had it because people knew that he didn’t tolerate noise, foolishness or people. People were already bothering him more often – which was perhaps his fault for inadvertently making himself more approachable by joining the team – and he didn’t want to lose the last shreds of his already tattered reputation as a grump.

[Ashley Hill]

Ashley sat in the warmth of the seventh year girl’s dorm room. She tilted her head to the side, her brown eyes staring out the window. There wasn’t any sunshine. It was all just…gray. At least it wasn’t snowing. That had to possibly be one of the worst weather conditions to have practice in…besides the rain. Even thought it wasn’t snowing, the weather was still freezing. The wind didn’t help much with it either. Ashley couldn’t wait for spring to come upon Hogwarts. She loved playing Quidditch in the sunshine and the gentle breeze. It was much more tolerable then the raging, winter winds that blew in your face during the winter. Sighing, Ashley grabbed a pair of boot, tugging it on over her feet. Doing the same with the other foot, she then laced up the threads, tying it tightly so she wouldn’t have to worry about her shoes being too loose. Ashley had already been through that kind of experience before in her fourth year. That was her first time on the team. It was strange thinking that this would be her last year playing for Hufflepuff. She had seen so many seventh year leave, but it didn’t really hit her one day that she would be the same. Ashley loved everyone on the team, even though they kept getting in recruits, but she made sure to find those new players and get to know them. That was the job of the vice, and being a true team mate. Smiling at the thought, Ashley remembered that Weetzie had quit the team, and a new Huffle, Seth, was taking her spot. Ashley couldn’t remember if he was playing beater or not, but he didn’t seem the type that would hit bludgers at other people, or get in the way of a moving bludger to stop it from hitting someone. Shrugging at the thought, Ashley pulled on the last bit of her clothing before getting up to leave the Hufflepuff common room.

On her shoulders she carried her gym bag, and in the gym bag contained everything that that beaters were going to need that day. She had her bat, target cans, and tennis balls. Ashley wanted to use bludgers for the target practice but she didn’t want to risk anybody getting hurt. Ashley hated it when players got hurt during practice. It just wasn’t pleasant, but they were going to use those iron balls later on. Adjusting the strap on her shoulder, Ashley shivered as a sudden blast of cold air hit her from outside. Her feet squished against the soft grass, dampened by the layers of snow that had been covering the grounds for the past winter. Ashley hated winter; she much rather preferred spring and summer, especially if it was spent in Italy. Once reaching the center of the pitch, Ashley acknowledged Ivy before dropping her shoulder bag on the bench to be used later on. Grabbing her Nimbus 2001, Ashley held it n her hands, leaning against it as she waited for the rest of the team to show up. Harmony, Seth, and Kael standing quietly. Ashley hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Seth, but she made it a priority before the practice ended. Then there were Kael. He seemed rather….grumpy whenever Ashley tried to talk to him. He was a great guy, but Ashley just needed to try harder. Looking up as she noticed someone slip in next to her, Ashley stared at Bryce as he was breathing loudly. His eyes still looked groggy from sleep. Sighing, Ashley glared at him slightly as he explained himself. Keeping quiet, Ashley gazed back at Ivy trying to push her conflicts aside that involved Bryce. She hadn’t quite accepted the fact about Weetzie, which meant that today was going to be an interesting practice. Well, Ashley was going to try her hardest to forget about it.

Noticing everyone mount their brooms for the race, Ashley did the same, floating upwards into the sky. Following closely behind her team mates, Ashley flew around the pitch, enjoying the thrill that always filled her whenever she mounted a broom. It was simply a powerful feeling.

[Ivy Tunstall]

((People who didn't post still get a roll so that they can talk about their position when they do post in the practice (as I have every confidence you guys will! ), but without the Dexterity bonus because they didn't post paying attention.

Results of race
1. Sophia = Racing (D6 + Dex) = 5 + 6 = 11
2. Ashley = Racing (D6 + Dex) = 4 + 5 = 9
3. Ivy = Racing (D6 + Dex) = 3 + 5 = 8
4. Bryce = Racing (D6 + Dex) = 6 + 2 = 8
5. Harmony = Racing (D6 + Dex) = 1 + 6 = 7
6. Sydney = Racing (D6) = 6
6. Carson = Racing (D6) = 6
8. Kael = Racing (D6 + Dex) = 1 + 1 = 2
9. Charles = Racing (D6) = 2
10. Seth = Racing (D6) = 1))

Ivy had to push herself to get anywhere near the front of the race. A few of the players had absolutely shot off, and since she'd hung back a bit, she had to go extra fast to catch up with them. As she rounded the second set of goals, she was finally able to overtake Harmony, who despite her natural speediness didn't seem to be doing that much to catch up with Ivy again once she'd been overtaken. There were still a couple of players ahead of her, though, Ashley being one of them, and as the first of them was already finishing, Ivy caught sight out of the corner of her eye of another person sticking behind her, ready to zoom past at any moment. She didn't feel like letting that happen, actually, she decided, and she went even faster, trying to put some distance between them. That was never going to happen, but it did mean that she sped past the goalhoops that were the finishing post a fraction sooner than the other person, who as she looked turned out to be Bryce. She gave him a smile, and then dipped downwards so as to be out of the way of incoming racers. Harmony, Sydney and Carson followed her in short succession, but the remaining three players seemed to be straggling behind quite a bit.

Since it looked like they might have to wait a little for the rest of their team, Ivy descended back to ground level and hopped slightly awkwardly off her broom. She smiled at Sophia and Ashley happily and congratulated the winner: "Great work Sophia, you looked like you were really going for it and it paid off." She stared up at the skies and shifted her feet, hoping that the others would turn up soon. She didn't like to think that any of her team were too slow. But really, they weren't too far behind. They just seemed to be either struggling, or dawdling. Ivy gave Charlie a shadow of a disparaging glance when he turned up, rather suspecting him of doing the latter, especially after her comment to him after the last game. She hoped that he would actually be focusing on Quidditch for the rest of the practice, at least. Her gaze lingered momentarily on Kael and Seth, who were primarily Keepers and so only needed to have quick reflexes rather than be able to sustain speed for long periods of time. Thus, at least, she reassured herself, but she might have to do a bit of separate practice with them because in their secondary roles as Chasers, they might well need to go a bit faster.

"I hope that's got everyone warmed up!" she said cheerfully, now that she could address the whole team. "Sophia's our winner... I think that her competitiveness gave her the edge, so well done to you for that, Sophia. I also want to say well done to Ash and Bryce... you guys were really impressive!" She smiled happily at them - it gave her peace of mind to know that they'd be able to get to the Bludgers in time. She moved round a bit, gathering the players a bit closer to make sure that those at the back would definitely be able to hear her next words, which were important instructions.
"Right so, scoring. Kael and Seth will be in goal first. Kael, you're defending the hoops right here" - he would be looking slightly into the sunshine, which she thought was a better idea than giving Seth that task for the moment, since he was a bit less experienced and looked even less experienced than he actually was, if you judged it on his nervousness - "and Seth, you're down at the far end. Each of you need to defend against two goal attempts. Harmony, Sophia - and Charlie, you might as well do something for now and then you're next on for Keeping - you're all trying to score for now. Try out whatever techniques you want. You can try dodging and changing angle at the last moment to confuse the Keepers, or you can just go for speed. Up to you." Now that she'd explained the basics, she could send the Beaters away. "Ash, Bryce and Sydney, you'll be doing that later so Ash -" she nodded to her friend, "- if you want to take the Beaters off now and do your stuff, that's great."

She waited until the Beaters had gone to talk to the remaining team again. "Everything clear?" she asked. "Once you've defended against two goals - Kael, Seth - swap round with someone else and have a go at scoring yourselves. If you're not keeping, you should be scoring, and whichever you're doing, but especially if you're not doing anything, watch out for the Beaters because they are getting Bludgers out today and you could get hurt if you don't pay attention." She smiled briefly. "Right, let's go!" she said, trying to enthuse them. She hoped that they all understood. She herself followed Seth to the goalposts at the far end of the pitch. Unfortunately this meant that she was shooting into the sun slightly, but as she squinted she was able to see where she was flying and even where she was trying to shoot. Ivy started off with a fast, straight shot, that should be fairly easy for Seth to get if he was paying attention, but would go right past him if he wasn't.

((Ivy is shooting at Seth!
If you don't understand what you're doing, please ask me.
Beaters, please wait for Ash to tell you what to do.))

[Sophia Hallington H7]

Sophia felt the cold wind on her cheeks and nose as she flew as fast as possible between the ends of the pitch. She could see that only one person was ahead of her now, and she couldn't tell who it was. She flew closer to the person, and noticed that it was Ashley. For a while the 2 girls were neck-and-neck in the race, but as they turned around when they got to the goal hoops, Sophia swerved on the inside and managed to overtake the older girl. The gap between them grew, but soon enough Sophia touched down aheadof everyone else. It was only a couple of seconds before she was joined by Ashley, and then came Ivy and Bryce, pretty much at the same time. Harmony, Sydney and Carson arrived in quick succession, but it was then a while before Kael, Charlie, and finally Seth arrived.

Sophia grinned as Ivy congratulated her. "Thanks. Yeah, I didn't expect to win , but I guess I was rather competitive out there. It was really close though, I must admit." Ivy then continued with the programme of the practice. For now, she'd be a chaser, which was good. In the last game she'd been a keeper, so she needed more chaser practice. Especially as she was now on the main team as a chaser. Sophia nodded at the instructions, and decided she'd try and shoot against Kael this time. It would be easier for her she she was facign away from the sun and Kael was facing into it, and although Seth wasn't as experienced, she'd have the disadvantage as she'd be facing into the sun against him.

She picked up a quaffle, and flew up to goal-post height, and wondered what to do. SHe finally settled on stealth-she decided to try and confuse Kael. She flew quite slowly towards the goal hoops, and made it seem as if she was going to shoot into the left hoop. But at the last minute, taking the quaffle in both hands, she flicked her hands towards the right, releasing the quaffle at quite a high velocity towards the right hoop. She wondered if Kael would notice it soon enough to save it-hopefully he would, seeing as he was the main team keeper after all.

[Seth Wright]

Seth, as he had expected, struggled to keep up with the fastest flyers, but he happily trailed the group at a quick enough speed. He preferred to be more careful than reckless, especially in his first practice. Perhaps Ivy wouldn’t agree with his thoughts, but it was rather too late now. Ivy was up front with Sophia and Ashley, Bryce and Harmony following swiftly behind. Concentrating on his broom, Seth urged it a little faster; the finish line was in sight. As Sophia, Ashley, Ivy, and then Bryce and Harmony crossed it, Seth knew he would be last. Kael and Charles were pulling ahead, and worriedly Seth tailed them until the end. Once the race was over he gave a long sigh of relief. He didn’t enjoy that adrenaline rush; not at such fast speeds anyway. As his broom slowed to a halt, he narrowly avoided hitting someone else head-first, and shakily got off his broomstick, as the others were doing. Ivy rattled off some more instructions and some praise, and Seth ducked his head, feeling awkward since he had come last. He was somewhat embarrassed, since there were younger players on the team faster than him, but he tried not to think too much about it. Ivy was already starting the next practice task, and he had to put all his worries into the present, right?

When Ivy motioned towards the sets of goal posts, Seth’s head turned to look at his. He nodded quickly, and seeing the other players mounting their brooms again, took it as his cue to also fly to his position. Getting on hurriedly, he made his way steadily across the pitch to hover in front of his assigned set of goals. He saw Kael fly the other way, having been designated the side with the sun in his eyes. Seth’s smile was grim but grateful; most likely Ivy had done that on purpose? He wasn’t as skilled or experienced as Kael, nor was he the first team Keeper; he needed more practice and used to it, Seth supposed. Then again, he guessed Ivy would switch them around anyway. Taking advantage of the sunlight streaming against his back rather than into his eyes, Seth looked across the field to see which Chasers were zooming his way with Quaffles in hand to try to ‘attack’ him. Seth gave a nervous chuckle to himself as he floated there alone. Here they came. And guess what? Ivy was one of them. Oh great. Seth suppressed a low groan, and steeled himself for Ivy’s shooting. He doubted she’d go easy on him, right? She should want to test out his ‘skill’. Seth was currently wondering exactly what skill though as he saw Ivy prepare to shoot. Why had he joined the Hufflepuff team again?

But then Chace’s voice echoed in his head, and Seth’s head jerked upwards in surprise. He remembered the encouragement his best friend had gave him just before the practice, that reassuringly smile that Seth believed every single time. Taking a deep breath, Seth calmed himself, soothed his beating heart. His hands gripped his broom tighter, but his face was taut with determination. He didn’t want to let the team, to let Ivy, and most of all, let Chace down. Then Seth would truly be ashamed of himself. Ivy was coming right at him now in a straight line – in a few seconds she would be onto him. Since it wasn’t exactly Seth’s job to attack – nor did he wish to do that to their Captain! – he immediately reversed his broom, ignoring that curling sensation in his stomach. His broom flew backwards a couple of metres, just as Ivy was aiming her Quaffle at the goalpost. Frowning, Seth judged the movement of her arms and jerked his broom upwards so it levelled him higher, his arms in the air to prevent the Quaffle passing him and flying into the goal.

((Seth is defending goals! – currently Ivy’s attempt to shoot.))

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony tried to gather speed and accelerate, but it wasn’t enough – not against Sophia and Ashley in particular, who had pulled ahead of everyone else and were set to win the race as the team neared the finish line. Harmony sent a hasty glance backwards; she could see Seth’s figure tailing the rest of the group, with Charles and Kael in front of him. Flinging her head back to look up front, Bryce was just ahead of her, and then, as expected, Ivy. Smiling in determination, Harmony knew this was a lost cause – the finish line was literally five metres away. She passed it in seconds, letting her broom gradually slow down to a stop beside her teammates. Smiling from the adrenaline rush, her cheeks flushed from the activity, Harmony brushed a few stray strands of dark hair out of her mouth, caught up because of the wild wind pushing against her as she flew at high speeds. The team eventually gathered on the ground together around Ivy, and Harmony let her broom drop her to the ground again, feeling her feet feel the soft mound of grass beneath her boots. She listened as Ivy congratulated Sophia, and Harmony sent her fellow teammate a bright smile. She was pleased for Sophia, since the fifth year girl never seemed to talk much. Harmony was probably quite similar to her in that way – both of them were more introverted than extroverted.

Ivy began giving instructions for the main task, and Harmony listened intently. The pack of players then split, the Beaters following Ashley, and the Chasers with Ivy. Seth and Kael were sent to the opposite goalposts to defend, and Harmony traipsed after Sophia, who was heading for Kael’s end. She felt a little sorry for Seth, as she could see Ivy flying towards his direction, so she had decided on targeting Kael first. He was her big brother in BBBS, and so this would be an interesting situation. A playful smile twitching at her lips, Harmony lined up behind Sophia, waiting for her fellow teammate to score first, and then let her have the Quaffle. Nearby, Harmony observed the Beaters with Ashley, the Vice, giving them instructions. Before she knew it, it was her turn though, and Harmony turned around to give Kael an apologetic grin. She wanted to go easy on him as she looked upon his hovering figure up ahead. Did Sophia score? Harmony hadn’t been paying attention so she wasn’t sure. However, Kael was definitely ready for her. Anyway, she was sure Kael didn’t want her to go easy on him... well. She hoped, anyway.

Brows clenching together, Harmony was flung the Quaffle from out of nowhere. Her fast reflexes caught it, reaching up and stopping it from bowling past her head. “Thanks.” She said to no one in particular, holding the red ball in both hands tightly. Looking at it, then up at Kael again, she decided the best form of action for herself was to go in with speed, and then shoot as powerfully as she could. This was because Harmony’s weakest point in Quidditch was her strength, and so she needed to practice it most. Her speed, reflexes, accuracy and endurance had never been a problem though. Her small figure gave her that advantage anyway, which she was glad of. Patting the Quaffle with a small smile, Harmony looked up again properly this time, glad the sun was shining the other way. Then, she let her other hand handle the broomstick and shot forwards as fast as she could. She had left a certain amount of distance from her starting position from the goals, and this was so she could build up speed until she tried to score. Harmony gained top speeds after gathering momentum, rather than being a starting strong player, like perhaps some of the Beaters. As she swooped in on Kael, feeling the wind batter her cheeks again, Harmony decided to aim for the centre goalpost above Kael. Just as her little body was going to propel into him, she let the Quaffle loose, swerving her broom in time to avoid narrowly hitting him. The ball flew overhead, a powerful shot, and Harmony watched it as she moved away, hoping it would surpass Kael.

((Harmony is shooting at Kael!))

[kael]

Aw, why did he have to face the sun? Kael complained silently as he took his pace by the goal-posts. Still, it was better than Seth having to face into the glare of the sun, he supposed, since the he was new to the team and more lacking in the experience. Not that Kael had played in more than one game but still, Seth looked quite nervous enough without an added handicap. Sophia flew up first, the quaffle in her hands, and Kael eyed her thoughtfully. Clever girl, picking to shoot when facing away from the sun first. She had nearly faked him out, he admitted as he raced toward the right hoop, chasing the quaffle and trying to block it, all the while with the sun trying it's best to blind him.

His ‘little sister’ was the next to shoot at him, before he had even registered whether he had blocked Sophia’s shot or not. Kael grinned at Harmony easily, waiting for her to take her shot. She was a good chaser, as proved in the last game, but that shouldn’t stop him from blocking the goal if he was paying enough attention and his reflexes kicked in quick enough. The sun shone in his eyes and Kael winced, squinting in the direction he thought Harmony was coming towards him from. Then she was in front of him and his broom was rising higher, his arms stretched out to bat the red ball away from his goalposts.

((Blocking goals - first Sophia then Harmony.
And my apologies to the team for the late reply and holding up the practice somewhat.))

[Ivy Tunstall]

((Ivy attempts to shoot, and Seth attempts to defend the goals.
Ivy = Score (D6 + Str) = 1 + 2 = 3.
Seth = Save (D6 + Dex) = 3 + 4 = 7.

Seth saves the goal. One more goal to defend against, Seth!

Sophia attempts to shoot, and Kael attempts to defend the goals.
Sophia = Score (D6 + Str) = 2 + 2 = 4.
Kael = Save (D6 + Dex) = 6 + 1 = 7.

Kael saves the goal.

Harmony attempts to shoot, and Kael attempts to defend the goals.
Harmony = Score (D6 + Str) = 2 + 1 = 3.
Kael = Save (D6 + Dex) = 5 + 1 = 6.

Kael saves the goal.))

Ivy was pleased to see the majority of the group follow her instructions promptly and efficiently. Seth, who had seemed a bit reluctant to participate in the race before, set off quickly towards his designated goalposts and she was pleased to see him tackling the practice with a positive and determined attitude. That was the sort of thing that he'd need in a match, although he wasn't the most versatile of players so she wasn't sure she'd be able to find a place for him in a match all that often. She'd put him onto the reserves because he'd been extremely impressive as a Keeper when he tried out, but aside from throwing and catching, he wasn't up to much as a Chaser. But he could be trained up. She hadn't been much good as a Chaser in anyway when she started, and she was all right now. She was happy in her position as Captain, as well. It meant that she got to contribute to the team in an organisational capacity as well as simply as a player, and that meant that she could fulfil her passion for the sport much better.

Paradoxically, Ivy was very pleased when she didn't manage to score - because that meant that Seth had saved the goal. Something that she did want the second Keeper of the team to be able to do, especially when it had been quite an easy task as that throw had been. She gave her fellow sixth year the thumbs up.
"Good work!" she said, as she waited for him to toss the Quaffle that she was using back to her so that she could go and try scoring against someone else. "Keep at it, you can swap once you've defended against another person and practice your own shooting skills," she told Seth once she had the red ball back in her hands, and she flew back to the other end of the pitch in time to see Kael save Harmony's attempt on goal.
"Give it a bit more 'oomph', Harmony," she encouraged the younger girl. “I know that you can aim properly already, so don’t worry if your aim does start going a bit wild when you throw the Quaffle really hard. You don’t need to work too much on your aim, just on being able to combine it with a really fast throw. Well done, Kael.”

Ivy noticed that Charlie seemed a bit more reluctant to participate than the people who played as Chasers. Perhaps he was just a bit shy lest he make a fool out of himself doing something that he didn’t usually do, but Ivy had no time for it. She flew so that he was within shouting distance.
“C’mon Charlie,” she shouted across the pitch. “Be a team player and give Seth some practice. Then you can swap with him.” She flew up to him in slight concern. “Are you all right today?” she asked, frowning. “Please tell me if you’re not feeling good.” She sighed slightly. “Anyway, go and get on with it.” She gave him a quick smile and then returned to Kael’s goalposts.
“Okay Sophia, let’s see whether you can repeat your spectacular performance in the last game,” she said with a smile at her friend. “You swap places with Kael and we can try shooting against you.” She waited until the fifth year had taken her position and then retreated a bit, before approaching the goals from quite an odd angle, slightly above the goalposts. She expected quite a lot from Sophia after what she’d seen she was capable of against Gryffindor. If she managed to aim successfully from this odd angle, it would be hard for Sophia to judge where the Quaffle was going… but on the other hand, it was harder for Ivy to judge where to send the Quaffle. That was exactly why she was practising aiming from up there.

((Shooting at Sophia from above!))

[Ashley Hill]

Ashley gritted her teeth as the cold wind stun at her face. She could hear the air whiz by her ears as she continued forward in the race. Glancing over her shoulder quickly, Ashley could see another figure closely behind her. She couldn’t tell who it was, but they were gaining speed. Ashley was a very competitive person. It was in her nature, and growing up as a tomboy didn’t help much. She hated losing, but dealt with it well. Quickly star back forward, Ashley could see the girl in the corner of her eye, noticing it was Sophia. This was her first year on the team, from what she could remember. Ashley had been on the team since fourth year, and Hufflepuff still hasn’t won a game since. Gryffindor didn’t deserve to win in their last match. The seeker just got lucky. Charles was so close to snatching that snitch from within the Gryffindor’s nose. Pushing her bitterness aside, Ashley noticed the younger student zoom right past her as they turned the corner by the goals. Trying to catch up, Ashley sighed as Sophia passed the finish mark first, Ashley trailing behind second latter. Descending from the ground, Ashley dismounted her broom as she looked up toward the sky at everyone else. Ivy was the next to reach the ground, Bryce fourth. Turning toward the fifth year next to her, Ashley grinned. “Good job, Sophia. That was some really good flying up there.” Offering a gentle smile, Ashley couldn’t remember the last time they talked. She was helping her with Christmas decorating after Bryce had left her. That was a long time away. Way before all the drama began starting. Why couldn’t she go even a year without it?

Being pulled back into reality as Ivy spoke, Ashley listened to the captain attentively smiling as she mentioned Bryce and her good beater work. They had done extremely that match, even though Bryce got flustered after letting a couple bludgers hit some of the players. Ashley had done the same, but she was good at containing her frustrations. That was one of the things Ashley was going to work on with Bryce. After he got over that, he could be an unstoppable beater. He just had to believe in himself. Smiling slightly at her thoughts, Ashley shook her head as Ivy called to split the team. “Beaters follow me!” Ashley called waving toward everyone as she headed in the direction of her gym bag. “Today we’re going to do something different. Were going to work on a target drill. Grabbing her wand, Ashley flicked it watching as 20 tin cans floating in the air. She made sure the targets were set up out of the way of the chaser practice. Grabbing some tennis balls, Ashley threw them at everyone holding on left in her hand. “Those tin cans are your targets,” she began pointing to each of the cans that floating safely above the ground. Picking her broom off from the ground, Ashley mounted as she swung down to grab her beaters bat. “Were using tennis balls today because it will help with more accurate results, and just incase if it hits anybody.” Nodding Ashley threw the ball up into the air smacking hard with her bat toward on of the cans. It hit it bouncing off back toward her, but leaving the can under turned.

“I want each of you to do just as I done. Knock over as many cans as you can until they’re all down.” Nodding Ashley waited as everyone mounted their broom with their bats in hand, waiting for her instructions. “One….two…three and start shooting!”

[Charles Driscoll H7]

Charles wondered sadly if it would ever be comfortable again to be in the company of his teammates. An idea he'd had in the aftermath of the match was becoming all the more tempting to him and he didn’t look in Ivy's eyes lest she get an inkling of what he was thinking of doing about. They walked out onto the pitch each with their brooms under their arms. Just the rest of this year. And then maybe I can forget about this. He'd hadn’t been sleeping properly since the match, the night they'd lost had been the worst; every muscle in his body had seemed to ache and yet sleep just would not come, he'd tossed and turned and when morning had come he'd been exhausted and it was hard to not think about losing the match for even a few minutes. When the night had come Charles had come to a decision – he’d play the next match then decide perhaps if he was done with Quidditch. He was good at other pursuits – or at least satisfactory – Quidditch didn’t have to be another one.

The first part of practice was a race. Charles was finding it difficult to gather his wits, so after giving Seth a half-smile in return he didn’t do very well. Not quite sure what to do with himself he started going around the pitch in circles keeping out of the way of everyone else, not too keen on trying to play as Keeper and prove that that was another position he wasn’t that good at it. Ivy wasn’t having any of his behaviour though and he gave her a look that said “I’m perfectly fine” when she inquired if he was well. “You’re the one who told me to slow down,” he whispered under his breath. He liked Ashley’s idea, it would take away some of his frustration. Grabbing a bat and some of the tennis balls Ashley had thrown around him he imitated her, forcefully hitting the tennis balls and aiming for the metal cans.

[Sophia Hallington H7]

((Argh, forgot about this! Well, here's my reply anyway, while I remember!))

Sophia couldn't help but feel disappointed as she saw Kael catch the quaffle that she'd tried to score with. However, at least it was proof that he was a skilled keeper, and that he should do well in a match if he was keeper. Sophia herself had been keeper last time, but she was primarily a chaser, so it was good to see that the team's main keeper was doing a good job. However, it didn't help her confidence really, so she knew she'd have to practice her shooting if she was going to score any goals if she was a chaser in the next game. She watched as Harmony also tried to shoot against Kael, and once again he managed to catch the quaffle. Although she felt bad for Harmony, who was also primarily a chaser, she felt good for Kael, having caught both quaffles thrown at him. But she already knew that Harmony was excellent at shooting, as she'd scored 2 of Hufflepuff's 3 goals in their last game.

It was just as Kael caught the quaffle that Ivy came over to their end of the pitch, having shot against Seth. She didn't seem to concerned that Harmony failed to score, but she expected that was because she'd done so well in the last game, and that it prooved that kael was a good keeper. The older girl flew over to Charlie who didn't seem to be too enthusiastic today for some reason, and then flew back over to their end of the pitch. As Kael had already caught 2 quaffles, it was now Sophia's turn to be the keeper and Ivy and Kael would be the chasers, shooting against her. She didn't know what Harmony would be doing next, but as she flew over to the goalposts, she expected that Ivy would tell her what to do once she'd had a go at shooting.

Sophia watched carefully as Ivy flew towards her, at a rather odd angle. She was flying slightly above the goalhoops, and it looked as if she would be shooting somewhat downwards. It would be hard for Sophia to predict where the quaffle would go, but on the other hand it would also be hard for Ivy to aim properly-it was a difficult shot to pull off. She watched the quaffle as it flew relatively slowly towards the right-hand hoop, and quickly flew in that direction, hoping she would be able to catch it before it went through the hoop. She'd been a successful keeper in the last game, and hoped to be just as successful in this practice, despite wanting the chasers to be successful too.

((Sorry it's so short!))

[kael]

He’d saved both goals but Kael doubted that his lack of obvious satisfaction surprised anyone. So he’d saved two goals. Throw a party to celebrate when it wasn’t his own team shooting against him. Such things shouldn’t really be cheered unless it was a fabulous save, full of dramatic gestures if one’s tastes ran that way, or it was a real game. Considering that both goals hadn’t been overly difficult to defend – yes, he sounded slightly conceited with that mental remark, especially considering he privately thought both Harmony and Sophia were good Chasers but it hadn’t been meant that way – he didn’t see that it was worth mentioning.

Ivy issued more orders and Kael nodded obediently, switching places with Sophia and grabbing a Quaffle. Shooting against Seth was a more appealing idea – hey, no one could blame Kael for wanting to see if the second Keeper on the team could surpass his own efforts – and so he took his place opposite the other boy. It seemed to be his fate to be facing toward the sun today, Kael groused as he drew closer. From what he had noticed before Ivy hadn’t tried a stealthy, surprise goal but had started Seth off with a simple, straight-forward shot. Great. That meant that Kael got to play that bad-guy and make his goal a harder one to block.

He shot forward quickly, his eyes firmly fixed on the right goalpost. As if Kael would ever be quite so nice as to advertise his plans so openly, he mentally scoffed before abruptly swerving and shooting the Quaffle, hard and fast, toward the middle goalpost. He did rather want Seth to save it but he hadn’t held back just because of that fact; it wouldn’t have been fair to his housemate. None of the other houses would go easy on any of them just because they were nervous or because it was their first game – Kael had experienced that first hand and had anticipated it, but not well enough. All the same, despite his determination not to show any preference, Kael found himself leaning forward slightly, silently cheering on Seth, as he waited to see if the Quaffle was caught or if he had scored.

[Seth Wright]

Seth caught the Quaffle neatly between gloved hands, almost dropping it in his surprise. He stared down at his victory, the red ball glinting in the bright sunlight. Gradually, a delighted grin spread across his face. "Woo! I saved it!" Seth muttered to himself excitedly, patting the Quaffle in awe, pride blossoming in his chest as he glanced up to give Ivy thumbs up. He almost dropped the ball in the process, but managed to hang onto it and throw it back to the Captain, knowing she might want to go and shoot the opposite end of the pitch. A small part of Seth could barely believe he had just saved a powerful shot by Ivy, who was one of the strongest Chasers in the entire school. Extremely content and raring to tell Chace later about his mini success, Seth primed himself for the next shooting attempt. However, it seemed most of the flyers were down Kael's end, throwing Quaffle after Quaffle at the poor fellow sixth year. Seth sympathised with him, glad he wasn't in his position. He didn't want one Chaser after another firing at him! Not today, his first practice with the team. Maybe later, Seth comforted himself as his eyes wandered around the pitch. His light body bobbed on his broomstick, hovering in the air and shifting side to side, because Seth had never been a person who could stay still for more than a few seconds. He was a born fidgeter, hating long stretches of silence or lack of movement.

Seth watched as Kael saved two shooting attempts; one from Sophia, the fifth year girl who had won the race earlier, and the other from Harmony. He cheered his classmate in his head, flexing his hands subconsciously as he watched Kael handle the Quaffles in the distance. Seth was forced to squint to make out Kael's familiar figure, mop of hair a flash in the daylight. Seth watched as shooting down the other end completed, Ivy gesturing towards Seth whilst talking to Kael. Blinking, Seth wandered what was about to happen. Kael was leaving his position from in front of the goals, Sophia replacing him, and he was flying Seth's way with a Quaffle in hand. "Oh yeah. Kael and I still have to practice our shooting." Seth recalled, dreading the time he'd have to pull his Chaser 'skills' against either him or Sophia in front of his team mates and Captain. Seth wasn't made for any position other than Keeper in Quidditch, and he knew it well. Casting his inabilities out of his mind though, he steeled himself for Kael's attempt to shoot. He began to inwardly assess Kael in his mind as the boy neared him rather rapidly; Seth had always liked Kael enough. He didn't pick on Seth, didn't make any snide comments, and left him to his own devices, which suited Seth just perfectly. What he disliked most was when unwelcome strangers stuck their nose into your business.

"Not the time to be putting people on your preference scale, Seth." He quickly reminded himself as Kael let loose the Quaffle, the red ball sailing towards the goalpost. "Nor is it the time to be talking to yourself. Wait. It's never the time to talk to yourself. It's the first sign of schizophrenia, goddamnit..." Ignoring and pushing his distracting inner commentary out of his concentration, Seth saw Kael's shot flying at him from the side, and immediately steered his broom with one hand to veer that way, using his other hand to stretch outwards to try to block it. His body propelled himself forward to give his arm more leverage and strength to block it, for this was too fast a shot, unlike Ivy's, to be caught. "Boys are always stronger, aren't they?" Seth's conscience muttered dryly without even realising his inner voice was talking again.

((Seth is defending goals! – currently Kael's attempt to shoot.))

[Ivy Tunstall]

((Ivy attempts to shoot, and Sophia attempts to defend the goals.
Ivy = Score (D6 + Str) = 2 + 2 = 4.
Sophia = Save (D6 + Dex) = 5 + 6 = 11.

Sophia saves the goal. One more goal to defend against, Sophia!

Kael attempts to shoot, and Seth attempts to defend the goals.
Kael = Score (D6 + Str) = 5 + 4 = 9.
Seth = Save (D6 + Dex) = 1 + 4 = 5.

Kael scores!))

Ivy was wounded by the dirty look which Charlie threw her way. It was unnecessary, unwarranted and... unneeded! Certainly not needed from him, the person whom she would least expect to turn on her, whatever the situation. She must have truly annoyed him, and that thought really, really hurt. But then the Quidditch Captain strategist within her thought 'Hang his attitude, I don't need it right now', and the startled, slightly affronted hurt in her eyes hardened a little as the rest of her meekly obeyed and she turned away. Whatever his problem was, now was not the time to confront it. She must endeavour not to be distracted from her duty to the entire team.

Judging by her subsequent, absolutely awful attempt on goal, though, she wasn't being quite successful at putting Charlie to the back of her mind. Her aim was completely off: it could have missed by a mile, Ivy thought in horror!
"Yeurgh," she grimaced to Sophia. "Nice piece of goalkeeping, but I'm afraid I didn't give you much to contend with there anyway." Ivy didn't feel particularly mortified at her failure (Sophia was a friend, anyway), but she did feel a little frustrated. "Maybe Harmony will give you more of a run for your money," she said hopefully . She motioned the young girl over. "You finish up at this end, then we can move onto marking for a while," she told the two girls.

Ivy herself flew off to the other end of the pitch, just in time to see (from a distance) Kael scoring against Seth. She was very glad to see his success - she'd been uncertain about her decision to substitute Kael in as a Chaser during the last game, so it was wonderful that he'd proved himself to be so capable just now.
"Excellent, Kael!" she said happily when she arrived. "That was a textbook feint. Seth, not bad; we'll just have to give you some more practice, later on, against those sorts of shots so that you recognise them more quickly, because the opposition have Chasers just as good as that." Ivy smiled at Kael. "Okay, so me next - you two might as well stay here and shoot against me - and then we'll move on to some passing and intercepting until the Beaters are done." she said to her two fellow sixth years as she took up Seth's former position and prepared to defend against their shots. Being a Keeper was quite complementary to being a Chaser - the same sort of observation was needed both for Keeping and for intercepting, because in neither situation was it clear what course the Quaffle you were trying to catch would take.

((Defending the goals.))

[Sophia Hallington H7]

Sophia couldn't help but feel pleased with herself as she reached over and caught the quaffle in both her hands. The team obviously had strong keepers, which would hopefully prove useful in future games, though it hadn't helped too much in the last one. She hoped that she would be a chaser in the following game, whenever that would be, as that was her preferred position, but her confidence as a keeper was always growing. She'd done well in the last game and she'd defended this goal too, which was great, despite it being against one of her own team mates-the captain and a friend too.

She listened as Ivy congratulated her goalkeeping, obviously dissapointed that she hadn't scored. She knew how frustrating it was, seeing as she hadn't scored against Kael on her last attempt, though she guessed that for Ivy it was worse, as she was more of an experienced player, and the team captain so she was responsible for the team, and she hadn't scored against Seth either. Sophia wasn't too worried though-she knew that Ivy was a great chaser having seen her in their last game and previous games before she was on the team.

But now she had to concentrate on what she was to do Next. This time she would be keeper again, defending against Harmony this time. She knew that Harmony, like Ivy, was a great chaser, having scored 2 of the 3 goals in the last game. She hadn't scored against Kael, and neither had Sophia, but then again he was a very good keeper. Sophia knew that she would have to be on the ball this time. She flew over to the goal hoops and watched Harmony carefully. The younger girl let go of the quaffle and it sped over to the goal hoops. Sophia flew over to where she expected it to go, hoping to catch it again.

((Here ya go ))