Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

[Riley Coxen G7]

Riley smiled. The game was going splendidly. She did want to be the one to make the first score, but she was about to be pummeled by the other Slytherin chasers and she needed to make sure the Quaffle was in the perfect position for a score. Besides, as long as it was Gryffindor who had made the first shot, she was perfectly fine with that. Scott's play was beautiful, she loved how he dodged both Slytherins and made them collide with one another. Riley laughed and hollered her words of congratulations toward Scott. "Awesome job Scott! Way to go!" She cheered happily before flying off. Slytherin was now in possesion of the Quaffle, and the angered keeper was trying to pass to the blonde Slytherin boy who had attempted to grab the Quaffle in the start of the game. Scott was trying to intercept, and Riley positioned herself in a clear area near the left goal post so if Scott needed to pass, she could easily make another score. This was turning out to be a great game but there was only one thing that worried Riley only slightly. Where was Casey?

((Getting ready for a pass if Scott catches the Quaffle, steering clear any bludgers that might find their way over))

[rex]

Rex was so busy watching Josephine get hit by a Bludger sent by his captain that he forget for a second what he was doing. He was all for equal rights and everything but it still didn't seem right for a pretty girl to be hit like that. A thought passed through Rex's mind that it would be nice to go comfort Josephine. The thought was interrupted when he heard Melody's voice confirming what he had said to her. Sure enough, another Bludger was heading his way. He wasn't worried though. Melody was there to defend him. "I told you, you need to stick to me like glue," he told her. With Melody worrying about the oncoming Bludger he could worry about... what was it that he needed to worry about? Oh right. The Snitch.

((Avoiding Bludgers and Searching for the Snitch))

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass was glowing. They had scored, and Cass had nearly taken out the Slytherin seeker with one hit. Not that she liked hitting people, but all was fair in love and quidditch. She surmised her team. Yes, it was definitely time for a change. "Madame Hooch, quick change, please. I need to switch Casey with Rosaliz. Also, I'm switching Rex and Melody." She tossed the younger beater a knowing wink. Melody had been dying to get a chance to play the seeker position. Cass looked across the pitch. Mary was making her own line-up changes. Mary was waving her arms around a bit. She saw her motion Julian up. The gryffindor captain said one of the three words her mother had forbidden her to say. "That's dirty, Mary...," Cass said to herself. Should she take herself out of the game? Thinking hard, she let the game's action twirl around her. Julian would never hurt her. "Hum. This could really play to our advantage."

It seemed that Mary wasn't finished attacking Cassandra. With a hard smack, the slytherin captain sent a bludger careening towards her. Stunned, she hesitated. Cynthia! Her Cynthia was in danger. Instinct kicked in. She had to defend herself. She tried to put her bat in between her and the bludger.

((defending and deflecting to Josephine))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((Slytherin substitutions:
Drake Manning is replaced by Adalia St. John as Keeper.
Caleb Donnelly is replaced by Julian Fallon as Chaser.
Dylan Caoimhe is replaced by Kailyn Valak as Beater.

Gryffindor substitutions:
Casey Allen is replaced by Rosaliaz Hernandez as Chaser.
Melody Bang-Bala is replaced by Rex Carter as Seeker.
Rex Carter replaced Melody Bang-Bala as Beater.


Melody attempts to defend Rex from Mary's Bludger.
Mary = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 3 + 6 = 9
Melody = Defend (D8 + Str) = 4 + 6 = 10
Melody defends Rex from Mary's Bludger and deflects it to Josephine.

There is a Bludger flying at Josephine. (See below also.)

Mary hits a Bludger at Cassandra. Cassandra attempts to defend herself.
Mary = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 2 + 6 = 8
Cassandra = Defend (D8 + Str) = 5 + 6 = 11
Cassandra defends herself from Mary's Bludger and deflects it to Josephine.

There is another Bludger flying at Josephine.

(Please can Beaters note that there are two Bludgers flying at Josephine. Slytherin Beaters, if you post defending her, please state which Bludger you are defending her from!)

Drake attempts to pass the Quaffle to Wynd. Scott attempts to intercept.
Drake = Pass (D6 + Dex) = 6 + 2 = 8
Scott = Intercept (D4 + Dex) = 3 + 6 = 9
Scott intercepts and Drake fails to pass to Wynd. Scott has the Quaffle.

Josephine and Rex search for the Snitch.

Josephine = Search (D6 + Con) = 6 + 4 = 10
Josephine's search roll is above 5, so she is able to search.

Josephine = Search = 14
14 is not the Snitch number. Josephine does not see the Snitch.

Rex = Search (D6 + Con) = 1 + 3 = 4
Rex's search roll is below 5, so he is unable to search.))

[Melody Bang-Bala G6]

The force of the Bludger jarred Melody's arms and she winced a little - this was only the second year in which she'd played Quidditch and she knew that her arms and joints were going to be very painful and stiff tomorrow morning. But the jolt meant that she'd managed to make contact with the heavy ball, and apparently the force of her swing had been enough to send it careening in the direction that she had intended. She smiled happily after the Bludger, and then as she heard her name announced as part of a Gryffindor line-up change, her happy smile changed to happy astonishment. She was going to get to play Seeker? Of course she had hoped that Cassandra might let her play Seeker at some point, but she didn't have very much experience and so she hadn't really imagined her Captain would take the gamble in the game against Slytherin.

Well then, she'd better be getting on with it. Melody still had a happy grin all over her face as she handed over her Beater's bat to Rex. "Your turn!" she said cheerfully, and doing a little loop-the-loop in the air, she distanced herself from him a bit so that he couldn't distract her. Now, how was she to get started searching for the Snitch? She'd never done this in a game situation before. What to look for? 'A glint.' she thought to herself. 'A moving glint.' So she started scanning the cloudy sky for anything bright enough to be the reflection of what sunlight there was off her very shiny target.

((Searching for the Snitch!!!))

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine was about ready to go postal on the lot as she clearly saw both Gryffindor beaters send the only two bludgers her way. "OF COURSE!" she growled out in annoyance as loud as she could, she hissed a bit at the exasperation as she attempted to move out of their way, hoping that her damn beaters would stop them before she found the need to steal a bat and knock the Gryffindor beaters out herself. It was highly tempting at that point in the game. Her arm still ached because of the last one. She'd be tickered if she let another one beat her down. Glaring as the one beater moved to seeker, Josephine couldn't help but smirk. If she got out of this in one piece she'd make sure the Gryffindor seeker didn't. She quickly pulled from the thought as her eyes glanced around her searching for the snitch, hoping to catch it before the bludgers were on top of her.

((searching for the snitch and avoiding the *coughs*darn bludgers))

[Wynd Lehane]

His arms were wide open. Wide and open. Still there was no Quaffle to be had. As Drake passed the ball to him Scott flew in and intercepted it. Of course. Why not? Gryffindor was playing at the top of their game today. They were making fools of the Slytherin team. Wynd was about to make some snide comment to Drake, something like he threw like a girl when Mary pulled him out. No time to think about that now. Wynd had to get a hold of the Quaffle before Scott did something stupid with it like try to pass it or worse try to score again on the new Keeper. Wynd brought his broom parallel to Scott's so that his right leg was touching Scott's left leg. "Hey Scoot," Wynd whispered, a name he had called Scott for some time now. "I heard your lover Theo was interested in another man. That must tear you up inside. I hope Lori doesn't find out you're a fluff," he snickered.

((Stealing the Quaffle))

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

She watched the line-up change. Half of the people in the stands shooks their heads in astonishment. Cassandra was taking a huge gamble putting Melody in the seeker position, but she knew the girl was up for it. Now, back to the problem at hand. Why was her husband in the game? She was almost livid with Julian for joining the slytherin team. He was a lover, not a fighter. There he was though. Shooting through the sky trying to get the quaffle. Quidditch was the only thing she had for herself. This wasn't romantic. It was bordering on psychotic. Couldn't Julian let her have something to herself? Not paying attention, she had to dive at the last minute to avoid one of the slytherin beaters.

"Rex, keep to the plan!" She yelled across the pitch. "Stick with Melody! She is your responsibility. If anything happens to her, well, just don't let it happen!" She pointed her bat in his direction. She was again in close proximity to her chasers. Scott had the quaffle, and Wynd moved in for the steal. She moved in to protect Scott if needed. Unfortunately, she was too close. She couldn't hear what Wynd said, but she could see the look on Scott's face. "What did you say? Too afraid to say it to the rest of us? Just like a Slytherin." Every gryffindor fiber roared in her body. "Next time, shut it, Lehane!" Cass bellowed at the chaser. "Shut it, or I will knock you off your broom!" The look in Cassandra's eyes was ferocious as she pointed her bat in Wynd's direction.

((defending Scott if the need arises))

((Sorry, I forgot to add my action earlier!))

[Drake Manning]

"Do you want me to..." Drake had begun to fly toward Scott with gritted teeth, furious that the Chaser had managed to snag the pass from mid-air. While he had intended to knock Scott so hard that the Quaffle would be dislodged from his grip, Drake's actions were halted at the sound of Madame Hooch's whistle. It was time for substitutions. Needless to say, Drake wasn't surprised one bit when Mary had called for Adalia to take his place. Still, despite expecting it, he was still angered by the fact.

"Way to go, Donnelly," Drake hissed as the two of them flew to the bench. "Getting us both benched. Smart move." He was being bitter, and Mary's substitutions were probably the best for the team, but he wasn't about to admit that. Before Adalia had left the bench though, Drake grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Don't let Ryder score. Shove the Quaffle down his throat if you have to." Drake didn't know Adalia that well, but he figured she would do what needed to be done. He wasn't mad at her after all. He was more mad that Mary took him out. Essentially though, Drake was just upset that he'd been having a terrible game and it was only ten minutes in. Throwing his broom down, Drake dropped to the bench with a frustrated sigh. "Goooo Slytherin," he said, his voice full of sarcastic disdain.

((Complaining, whining, and just being very bitter. ))

[Scott Ryder G7]

Just as he was thrilled to realize that the Quaffle was in his possession, the whistle was blown and substitutions were made, delaying the game for a few seconds before the new players took their place. Drake had flown by Scott, ad it was obvious that he was less than happy with the events that had taken place. Scott didn't care though, as he was just going to keep focusing on the game around him and helping Gryffindor to do well.

When the game proceeded, and everyone had taken their places that they had been in when the whistle was blown, Scott now faced another new Keeper in front of him. He realized that he was close enough to attempt another goal, but he wondered if he should pass first just to keep the keeper on her toes. He swooped downward and noticed Riley was nearby. Instead of Casey making their trio complete, it was now Rosaliz, but Scott didn't see her in the area at all.

Before he made a decision of what to do, Scott felt someone fly up to his side, and he realized it was Wynd, one of the Slytherin Chasers. Scott simply ignored the riling comments that Wynd shot at him and pressed the Quaffle to his chest with his right arm, using his left forearm to try to defend Wynd from stealing it. Then, in a quick motion, Scott faked a pass to Riley before attempting to send the Quaffle through the nearest goal post. If all went well, he'd manage to keep Wynd at an arm's length while hoping to make the Keeper believe that Riley was getting the Quaffle when in all reality Scott was determined to score a second goal in less than five minutes after scoring his first.

((Defending from Wynd trying to steal and attempting to score.))

[Kailyn Valak S6]

Kailyn had been sitting on the Slytherin bench, her left leg crossed over her right and her arms crossed over her chest. Sure, she couldn't expect to be a starter when she was new to the team, but the fact that Josephine was out there, playing Seeker nonetheless, definitely hit a jealous nerve. Though she hadn't really wanted to be the Seeker herself, she knew that it'd be hard for her to be supportive of Jo if she ended up winning the match for Slytherin while Kailyn sat on the bench and did nothing more than provide a pretty face to represent the Slytherin team.

When Kennedy was on the team, he had been a starter in his first year of playing. Even more, he was a captain for a while. She rolled her eyes while examining her fingernails and realizing that at least she wouldn't damage any of them if she stayed on the bench for the duration of the game. Then, her eyes trailed down to the rest of the players there and she noted Julian Fallon, Adalia St John, and Pyro Blackfire. An odd assortment of individuals, she thought. Kailyn avoided conversation with anyone as she sighed and looked up toward the action as the crowd roared with excitement when Gryffindor had scored the first goal. "What an idiot," she muttered to herself, seeing that Drake had appeared to be playing quite terribly.

Then, the game was paused momentarily, just after Gryffindor had stolen the Quaffle again, and Mary was soon calling three of the four of them from the bench to enter the game. Kailyn beamed a confident smile as Mary called her to fill a Beater position. Mary was quite known for her Beater abilities, and Kailyn was more than happy to be her partner in the game. She grabbed her bat and then flew out onto the pitch.

The game was soon underway, and Kailyn found that she now actually had to pay attention. It wouldn't be as hard though now that she was part of the action and less jealous of Josephine. Thinking of Jo, Kailyn realized that there was not just one, but two Bludgers headed toward her friend. Looks like I'm needed, she thought, zooming quite gracefully toward the speeding masses. Seeing that Mary had been in a back and forth battle with the Gryffindor captain, she decided to use it as a chance to impress Mary. Kailyn caught up with the Bludger that Cass had sent toward Josephine and batted a mighty swing at it. She had decided to send it at the Gryffindor Chaser who had been doing so well. Kailyn figured that she should take out the strong players and help to demoralize the annoying Lions.

((Defending Jo from Cass' Bludger and trying to deflect it toward Scott.))

[Julian Fallon S7]

Julian wasn't shocked to get called into the game after seeing two of his fellow team mates fighting with each other. He just wished that his first game that mattered would have been against any other house but Gryffindor. He knew Cass would do what she had to do, and he knew that it had been his decision to tryout for the quidditch team. He had tried to discuss it with Cass first, but could never catch her alone to do so, and even inter-castle owls were too much for him when it came to needing to speak with his wife. He saw Mary send the bludger toward Cassandra, and only hoped that she could defend herself or dodge it. Maybe if it did have to hit her, she could position herself so that it wouldn't hit her stomach and take a risk of hurting their Cynthia. He was in the air within minutes after being summoned by Mary.

Julian looked around the game to see exactly where he needed to be since he was being put in as Chaser. It was hitting bludgers toward Cass that had made him insist that he could not and almost would not play beater. He would be glad to do it in any other game but not in a game against Gryffindor. He moved closer to the Gryff chaser that he had come to discover was named Riley, perhaps if Scott attempted a pass, he might be able to move into the right position to intercept. He just wanted to be ready in case the option came open. He wanted to be in this game, it meant more to him than just house pride. This was something he would keep his cool about and not show anyone that this game meant more.

((watching for an opportunity to intercept if it arises))

[Mary Evans]

((Madam Hooch, I got an emergency PM from Dylan saying he cannot be with us this weekend. I have therefore put in Kailyn as beater for him last round when I did the other switches.))

First the keeper and a chaser, next Dylan was looking a wee bit off colour. Without a moment to spare, and not wanting to use up a time out Mary called up Kennedy’s sister Kailyn as a beater and sent Dylan to get a look at. Maybe he was sick, maybe he was fine, maybe he hurt himself, she didn’t know. But this game wasn’t going well enough for Mary to take the time to figure out.

A good move apparently as next thing Mary knew two bludgers were after her seeker, coming from different directions. That Logton brat had defended herself, and Melody had sent a bludger Jo’s way as well before moving over to seeker. Well, at least she knew where the bludgers were.

Mary noticed Kailyn going to defend Jo, that was good. Mary went to the other side and swung her bat, trying to send the little bludger home to Melody. This time, Melody didn’t have a bat to defend herself…

((Defending Josephine and deflecting to Melody))

[Adalia St John S5]

Sitting on the bench Adalia watched Drake’s shameless Blatching* foul; at least it was a house worthy move. Of course Mary took it very wrong, and sent two players to the bench rather than just the one. At least Madam Hooch didn’t seem to notice or care why Mary was changing her team up. That meant Adalia was about to participate in her first ever game.

Before rising Adalia felt Drake pull her aside. “Don’t worry, I know how to do my job. And you’re down here, however did that happen?” Adalia replied with a smirk. Sure he was older, sure he was a prefect, sure he was a starter… but he was being benched and it was Adalia’s turn to play.

Almost as soon as she got up to the hoop Adalia noticed something was amiss, the bloody Gryffindor chaser had gotten his grubby paws on the quaffle. Not one to be caught unawares Adalia quickly positioned herself to look after her rings…

*"Flying with intent to collide." See Quidditch Through The Ages page 29.

((Defending the hoops))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((Mary: Since Kailyn posted defending Josephine from Cassandra's Bludger I will assume you are defending her from Melody's Bludger.


Kailyn attempts to defend Josephine from Cassandra's Bludger.
Cassandra = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 5 + 6 = 11
Kailyn = Defend (D8 + Str) = 4 + 3 = 7
Kailyn fails to defend Josephine. Cassandra's Bludger continues at Josephine.

Josephine attempts to avoid Cassandra's Bludger.
Cassandra = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 4 + 6 = 10
Josephine = Avoid (D8 + Dex) = 7 + 4 = 11
Josephine avoids Cassandra's Bludger.

Mary attempts to defend Josephine from Melody's Bludger.
Melody = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 3 + 6 = 9
Mary = Defend (D8 + Str) = 5 + 6 = 11
Mary defends Josephine from Melody's Bludger and deflects to Melody.

There is a bludger flying at Melody.

Wynd attempts to steal the Quaffle from Scott. Scott attempts to defend.
Wynd = Steal (D4 + Str) = 1 + 5 = 6
Scott = Defend (D8 + Str) = 7 + 6 = 13
Wynd fails to steal. Scott retains the Quaffle.

Scott attempts to shoot. Adalia attempts to save.
Scott = Shoot (D6 + Str) = 1 + 6 = 7
Adalia = Save (D6 + Dex) = 5 + 3 = 8
Adalia saves. Scott fails to score. Adalia has the Quaffle.

Melody and Josephine search for the Snitch.

Melody = Search (D6 + Con) = 3 + 4 = 7
Melody's search roll is above 5, so she is able to search.

Melody = Search = 17
17 is not the Snitch number. Melody does not see the Snitch.

Josephine = Search (D6 + Con) = 3 + 4 = 7
Josephine's search roll is above 5, so she is able to search.

Josephine = Search = 18
18 is not the Snitch number. Josephine does not see the Snitch.))

[Julian Fallon S7]

Julian's faced glared with pride as Adalia defended the hoops and stopped Scott from scoring. This made everything a bit more exciting for him. He pulled himself away from Riley, and made his way to an open area. He needed to get himself open so that someone would be available to take the quaffle when Adalia passed it back out to the chasers. Staying open would be the hard part.

Julian moved as close as he could to the hoops, allowing himself enough room to manuever should a Gryffindor Chaser come up between him and Adalia. He knew what he had to do, but this was his first game. He couldn't hide the nervousness any longer. Julian would do his best and hope that it would be enough to get the quaffle to the other side of the pitch.

((Positioning for a pass from Adalia))

[Mary Evans]

It worked; Mary’s bludger went flying in the other direction, to the other seeker. The other bludger didn’t quite work out so well, but at least Josephine dodged it. With a look at Kailyn Mary sped off after the bludger. The kid was new, it was perfectly understandable that she wouldn’t hit it; but having known her brother and seen Kailyn from time to time Mary wouldn’t be shocked if the girl was hard on herself for it. No time to really spare any feelings though, Mary needed to engage that bludger before Cassandra or Rex did. There was a game going on, a busy game, a tough game. What was up with her team Mary didn’t know, they were doing all the right things from what she could see… Gryffindor were just at the top of their game. Of course Mary refused to lose to Logton*, that would just be humiliating.

“Take out the seeker” was the first rule in The Beater’s Bible by Brutus Scrimgeour. Mary very much held with that philosophy, obviously. Sure, she had been at the World Cup when Ireland’s chasers had dominated so much that their seeker’s incompetence went unnoticed but… these were Gryffindor’s, they were not near so good. If Mary wanted to keep Gryffindor down the best way would be to take out the player capable of causing the most damage. At the very least Mary could daze the kid enough to keep her from looking while Josephine got all the time she needed unhindered. Well, as unhindered as one can be with the Gryffindor beaters after them.

((*For those who may not remember Cassandra’s original last name before Fallon and even before Blackfire was Logton. Mary still uses it as a way to remind Cassandra of her mudblood beginnings. Just in case anyone was wondering who she meant.

Bludger attack on Melody.))

[Riley Coxen G7]

Riley's face fell slightly as Scott's attempt at scoring failed as the new keeper saved the Quaffle from entering the goal post. She sighed. The game was still going wonderfully. She wondered why she hadn't seen Oz or Oliver on the field yet lately, but she didn't mind. She'd catch up with Oz about the game later on. Riley couldn't be bothered with the actions of the other players on her team. Well, she had to be concerned with her fellow chasers and their actions obviously, but she couldn't bother herself with what her brother and his best friend were doing right now. Maybe they were on the bench? Nevermind that. Riley said to herself as she accelerated to try and intercept the keeper's pass.

((trying to intercept Adalia's pass.))

[Melody Bang-Bala G6]

Nope, nothing yet. Even on a relatively cloudy day, the glare from the clouds could give Melody a little bit of a headache if she looked at them for long enough. She looked down towards the rest of the game and towards the ground, knowing that the Snitch could just as well be lurking there. What she saw, however, was that there were two Bludgers heading her way, one of them quite close, the other still a good way off. She gulped a little at the sight. It would have been very comforting to have her Beater's bat right now. But if every player carried a Beater's bat, that would make the game a little unfair. She was Seeker now, so she was fair game. She would have been doing the same thing to the Slytherin Seeker had she still been playing in that position. She was still thrilled to be playing in this position, despite the heightened danger that came from people actually trying to do nasty things to you, rather than the self-inflicted danger of throwing oneself (and one's bat) in the way of Bludgers meant for other people.

Well, she had the advantage of a Beater's eye. She reckoned that she could predict the path of the Bludger quite accurately. She just wasn't used to dodging them. She'd have to hope that someone would come and save her, and keep an eye on the Bludgers for the moment. Perhaps the Snitch would be hiding behind one of them.

((Searching for the Snitch and dodging any Bludgers that come too close...))

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Whatever Wynd had said to Scott rattled him pretty badly. Scott botched the throw, and Cass watched as the quaffle was intercepted by the slytherin keeper. She shook her head and sighed. Could this get any worse at this point? They were playing at the top of their game today, but a turnover could turn the tide. She made a mental note to speak to Scott later. "Rex, get your head in the game!" The seeker turned beater was nowhere to be seen. There was a good chance that slytherin would get control of the quaffle this round, and she needed Rex to be on his 'A' game. Her line-up change was starting to look like a bad decision. Melody seemed to be doing a superb job as seeker though, and Cass wasn't going to let the little gryffindor get hurt on her watch.

At full tilt, she raced across the pitch on her Firebolt. Cass seriously wondered if Pyro ever regretted giving her the broom as a gift after she creamed him in one of these games. As she flew, she couldn't help but throw a jibe towards Mary. "Why don't you head back to the showers, Evans? Your playing like a mudblood!" She swung her bat in the hopes of hitting the bludger.

((defending Melody and deflecting to, yep, you guessed it, Josephine))