Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine Bowman stepped out into the sun, the world bright for just that one flare of a moment before she adjusted he goggles to block the harmful rays. She would need to be at her utmost if she wanted Slytherin to win today...and she did. More than anything she needed to win this game. The world around her was fast plunging into a world of icy cold despair, leaving her to drown in the frigid water. So much had happened...she'd come so far and at the same time had fallen so short of her goals.

Today...today would be a defining moment. She would either rise above the pain...the heartache...or she'd let herself drown in it. Either way here was a world she needed to believe in, have faith in, and this game was her only outlet...the few brief moments of forgetfulness, followed by the ever-numbing remembrance of the pain she had been experiencing over the last few months. It always was that way when her feet were on the ground, it was perhaps one of the reasons she craved the existence of the broom she now held in her hand. Knuckles turning white from the pure adrenaline pumping through her body. This was a world she knew...knew above pain and heartache, a world she craved attention in...a place to allow her the ability to feel without pain.

There was no time to hesitate at this brink, this precipice and with that thought she threw one leg over her broom and bolted into the sky. It was as it should be...as her feet left the ground, so did her pain leave her...a ghostly figure that could not walk the air around her, confined to the ground on which it stood, it could not haunt her in the sky. It was as she hoped it would be and that she took solace in. Time passed as she lapped the pitch before joining the rest of her team awaiting the beginning and as it always did the game began on baited breaths.

Josephine thought nothing of the others as she bolted upward at the whistle, flying through the sky as she searched for the snitch, her mind oblivious to the world around her, save for the glances to make sure no bludgers were headed her way. Her whole concentration was placed on the game...on the snitch, the world dying away around her...as it always did.

((snitch searching and bludger dodging))

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro soared toward the falling snitch, he saw the Ravenclaw chaser, the queer boy, coming in from the other direction. Pyro quickly refocused, cutting the Ravenclaw out of his mind, he didn’t care if the two collided in midair, his body was prepared for it, let the Ravenclaw get worried and pull out of the dive. A quick movement out of the corner of his eye stole his attention though and Pyro glanced that way. He noticed Mary deflect a Bludger that was aimed at him and nodded in appreciation, Mary was skilled, she had been on the team for as long as he had and lead the Slytherin’s well. The split second distraction cost him though for when he returned his attention to the Quaffle he noticed the Ravenclaw had scooped it up and was flying toward the Slytherin goals.


“Damn!” Pyro growled under his breath and wheeled around to pursue. Olivia beat to that and managed to wrestle the Quaffle out of Theo’s hands. Pyro quickly raced to catch up to the two as Theo came up even with Olivia and began to fight for the Quaffle. Wynd was open, but Olivia would need a free moment to pass the Quaffle to him. Pyro swerved in front of the two battling chasers and aligned himself with Theo’s path. If Theo continued on his path the two would collide, freeing Olivia to continue on down the field. Pyro grinned and braced himself for the impact.

((Providing a screen for Olivia, Blocking Theo))

[Williard Thoth R4]

Williard bit his bottom lip as he watched numerous actions unfold rather quickly. The Slytherins had managed to steal the Quaffle from Theo and their Beaters were unleashing an unmerciful assault on Ruth, their seeker, and were now headed down the pitch to try and score the first goal of the game. Williard watched Theo try and get the Quaffle back and saw that the Slytherins really were laying everything on thick.

Up until now, Williard had just been flying around examining everything that was going on. But, if he didn't do something soon, then Ravenclaw could possibly be in for a rough game. Mustering up his courage and scream-counting out loud (One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight!), Williard flew into the action head on.

((Standing by in case Olivia attempts to pass the Quaffle in which I will try and intercept.))

[Ephraim Eades R7]

Apparently Ruth was in a bitter mood, Ephraim thought as she barked some snide comment at him. He couldn't blame her though as both Bludgers were chasing after her. Celia hadn't managed to stop Dylan's Bludger, but luckily Ruth was able to avoid it.

After barely preventing Mary's attack from hitting Ruth, Ephraim saw the Bludger heading toward Dylan who seemed eager to knock it right back at Ruth. Ephraim was seeing a trend. With that, he flew after the Bludger that was now safely away from Ruth and he prepared to send it in the opposite direction where the Slytherin Seeker was. It was time to even the score and help Ruth to have a more equal opportunity to bring home a victory for the blues.

Letting Celia to help in case Dylan successfully sent the Bludger back at Ruth, Ephraim flew to the other Bludger and swung with a sweeping motion that sent it careening toward the Seeker in green. "Head's up, Bowman," he said quietly to himself as he zoomed off to stick close to Ruth in case Celia was unable to defend her.

((Attack on Jo.))

[Drake Manning]

That had been a close one. Well, not as close as it could have been. The Darke kid didn't even manage to get off the shot he intended before Olivia had swooped in and snatched the Quaffle right from under him. Drake watched happily as the players zoomed off the other way, rain still soaking their robes and causing an obvious lag in the normally lightning-fast gameplay. He wondered to himself if anybody had ever thought of using waterproofing spells for days like today, or if it were even allowed. Even if it wasn't allowed, he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Too late now though, he thought, there was no time to get his wand and cast the spell in the middle of the game. The Chasers could be back down at his end of the pitch in seconds if the Quaffle were stolen again. And, by the looks of it, Darke was well on his way to trying to get the Quaffle back. Drake admired his tenacity, but he still wasn't about to let the scrawny blonde make a fool out of him by scoring a goal anytime soon.

((Bored in the rain... waiting for a shot on goal.))

[Celia Richmond]

Oh great...just great. The game hadn't started too well for the Ravenclaws, unfortunately, and Celia hoped that it would pick up soon, and that her teammates wouldn't be too discouraged. Despite not being able to deflect the bludger towards Olivia, she was happy that Ruth had at least managed to dodge that bludger anyway, and that E had managed to deflect the other bludger towards Dylan, it seemed...well, whoever it was was trying to deflect it away from himself (actually, come to think of it, it must be Dylan, she thought), and deflecting back to Ruth. Unfortunately Olivia had managed to steal the quaffle from Theo, making Celia feel all the more guilty for not managing to . Not surprisingly he was trying to steal it back, and she hoped that he would succeed with that. He was a great chaser, and she hoped that he would be able to score.

The only thing Celia could really do to help would be to send a bludger towards Olivia, hopefully knocking her out or just disorientating her, making it easier for Theo, or even Williard who had just flown over there too, to steal the quaffle from her. E had hit one bludger towards Jo, and the other one was presently heading towards Ruth. Celia warned the other girl, and flew over there, hoping to deflect the bludger away this time, and towards Olivia.

((Warning Ruth, deflecting the bludger away from her and towards Olivia))

[Olivia Dawson S6]

Olivia was very pleased when the Quaffle landed in her hands of course, but she knew this would be only half the battle. She still needed to find a way to get from where she was to a decent distance where she would be able to get in a good score. She did have the option of passing as well, but she wasn't about to pass over to Lehane who would just love to come right over and steal the Quaffle for himself. If that arrogant pig actually thinks I'm going to trust him with the first goal of the match he's a bigger idiot than I thought! Olivia thought to herself while noticing a rather lanky blonde Ravenclaw chaser trying to steal. She then realized the bludger factor. A Ravenclaw beater was trying to deflect a bludger in what seemed to be her direction, so if she wasn't careful she could get hit. It didn't matter to Olivia. That lanky chaser and the could-be bludger was nothing. Ignoring Wynd Lehane's stupidity, Olivia flew forward until she was at a decent range from the three goal posts. The keeper seemed to have been flying low, so Olivia faked like she was going to shoot at the left goal post but hurled it in the direction of the highest one in hopes the keeper would not be able to reach it in time.

((Dodging Theo and any bludgers headed my way, attempting to score!))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((Please bear with me by the way - I'm new at this!

Celia… there isn’t any Bludger heading towards Ruth.

Dylan attempts to defend himself from Ephraim’s Bludger and to deflect it to Ruth.
Ephraim = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 6 + 6 = 12
Dylan = Defend (D8 + Str) = 1 + 6 = 7
Dylan fails to defend himself.

Dylan attempts to dodge Ephraim's Bludger.
Ephraim = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 2 + 6 = 8
Dylan = Avoid (D8 + Dex) = 5 + 4 = 9
Dylan dodges Ephraim's Bludger.

Ephraim hits a Bludger at Josephine. There is a Bludger flying at Josephine.

Pyro attempts to block Theo.
Pyro = Block (D4 + Dex) = 4 + 3 = 7
Theo = Dodge (D8 + Dex) = 5 + 6 = 11
Theo manages to avoid Pyro.

Theo attempts to steal the Quaffle from Olivia; she attempts to defend the Quaffle
Theo = Steal (D4 + Str) = 4 + 5 = 9
Olivia = Defend (D8 + Str) = 4 + 5 = 9

Tie! Re-roll.

Theo = Steal (D4 + Str) = 1 + 5 = 6
Olivia = Defend (D8 + Str) = 5 + 5 = 10
Olivia retains the Quaffle.

Olivia attempts to score. Edward didn’t post defending his hoops, so he doesn’t get his stat points.
Olivia = Score (D6 + Str) = 5 + 5 = 10
Edward = Save (D6 + Dex) = 2 + 0 = 2
Olivia scores! Edward has the Quaffle.

Ravenclaw 0
Slytherin 10

Josephine searches for the Snitch. She has a high enough Con score that she will always have a Search roll of at least 5, so I won’t be bothering rolling those for her this game!

Josephine = Search = 5
5 is not the Snitch number. Josephine does not see the Snitch.))

~~~Commentary~~~

Aurora grinned at the apathetic expression on Kael's face. "Don't look so glum," she tried to cheer him up teasingly. "You get to nitpick at the Slytherins. You should feel all-powerful." It was their first time commentating, and together at that, but she was determined to enjoy it and laugh about it afterwards. Aurora watched as the players readied themselves in their positions whilst Madam Hooch grabbed the Quaffle. Once the whistle had been blown the players were off.

"The Quaffle is released and Vice-Captain Theo Darke of Ravenclaw and Pyro Blackfire of Slytherin fight for it," Aurora spoke excitedly, straining her eyes as she spoke fast. Sonorus allowed her voice to be heard through the stadium without even raising her tone. "Darke gets the Quaffle and flies for the goals!" Aurora nudged the so-far silent Kael, mouthing the word 'Beaters' at him, hoping he would make a comment - a dry one, most likely - about them. She couldn't keep her eyes on more than one situation at a time.

Aurora was cheering for Ravenclaw, but she forced herself to be neutral. Still, it was difficult as she watched Olivia steal the Quaffle from Theo. "And Dawson takes the Quaffle from Darke. Slytherin are in possession," she announced a little glumly. "The Ravenclaw supporters show their discontent. Bad luck, Theo." Aurora just about caught sight of Ruth dodging a Bludger and blinked. "What was that? Looks like Ruth - Hosker-Thornhill is too much fo a long-winded surname, sorry Ruth - was about to be hit by a Bludger from Caoimhe! Where are the Ravenclaw Beaters?"

Aurora had to take her sentiment back when Ephraim whacked a powerful Bludger at his Slytherin counterpart. "Oh, I take that back," Aurora said aloud in amusement. "Looks like the Ravenclaw Beaters are awake after all. Eades hits Caoimhe in revenge for Ruth! Oh, there goes Eades again - he's hit a Bludger at," Aurora squinted, "Bowman, the Slytherin Seeker! Will the Slytherin Beaters react?" A shout from the crowds caused Aurora's attention to revert back to the Chasers, where Olivia was streaking towards the other side of the pitch.

"Meanwhile, Dawson is approaching the goals where first-time player Summers is. Let's hope he defends." Aurora realised she was showing some partiality, and a few boos alerted her to that, but she merely grinned a little. "My dear Slytherins, where do you expect the Huffleypuffs' allegience to lie?" she asked sweetly, before promptly beginning to commentate again on the action so none of the professors could interrupt and reprimand her. It was unlike Aurora to be so sarcastic and daring, but she totally blamed her whims on Kael's influence.

"And Dawson throws the Quaffle. Darke tries to steal but the Quaffle sails over him. Summers tries to save and--" Aurora held her breath and watched as the Quaffle fell through the hoops. "Slytherin score!" she spoke somewhat dully as a massive cheer erupted from the Slytherin stands. "Moving on swiftly," she quipped, shaking her head with a wry smile, "Summers has the Quaffle and looks like he's passing it to August Reid." Aurora hoped the Fifth Years would succeed.

[Josephine Bowman S7]

It was a moment or two before Josephine caught on to the fact that a bludger was headed her way. She really hoped her beaters would take up and try to defend her in that moment as she thought she saw a flicker of gold. Of course she was going to attempt to weave out of the way of the bludger, but she wasn't necessarily paying that close of attention to it anymore...assuming her teammates would try to save her...really hoping[/i] her teammate beaters were paying closer attention to the bludger than she was.

Josephine instead decided to bolt toward the flicker of gold, only to find it was nothing more than some lone gold trinket that some student probably dropped from the stands. How disappointing...she had hoped she'd find the snitch early and be done with the game in one quick succession, but of course things can never work out perfect like that. However at that moment the Slytherin crowd erupted in pure enthusiasm and Josephine's eyes lit on the hoops just as they scored. A smile slid across her lips just as she remembered about the bludger and her smile dissipated as she attempted to avoid it while still searching for the snitch.

((trying to avoid bludger *coughs*lowdexMary/Dylanhelp*coughs* and searching for snitch))

[Edward Summers R6]

Edward floated nervously around in the center hoop and watched as the game progressed. He could barely contain a whoop of excitement as Theo beat the blonde Slytherin to the Quaffle in the opening toss of the game, his excitement was quickly dampened by the fact that the Quaffle was quickly stolen back by another Slytherin chaser. Ed gulped and leaned forward on his broom, hoping that someone would stop her, Theo failed to steal the Quaffle and she had an open shot.

Suddenly Ed froze, everything came crashing down. He saw clearly where she was about to shoot to and he couldn’t get his muscles to react, couldn’t bring himself to steer into the path and stop the Quaffle. He simply froze and didn’t move as the red ball flew past his face, the groan’s from the crowd told him all he needed to know. As if the groan’s were a trigger Edward was able to get control of his body once again. Head hung low he quickly dove and caught the descending Quaffle and brought it back up to playing altitude. His eyes searched the players and descended upon August. “Oi! August.” He shouted in warning and quickly tossed the Quaffle.

((Passing to August))

[August Reid R7]

Ah, Quidditch. This was going to be August's first game as a main Chaser instead of the Keeper. But he had faith in Ed even if Ed didn't have faith in himself. Maybe, August would perform better as a Chaser than as a Keeper. He turned out to be a lousy Keeper. Actually, August really wasn't that good at Quidditch in general and sometimes asked himself what he was doing on the team. Theo was on the team which always made games and practices fun. And then there was Ed too. Today they were playing against Slytherin. As August searched the team clad in green his eyes landed on Dylan. He wanted to look away but he could not do anything but stare at the older Slytherin boy. Dylan did not seem to or would not even acknowledge August's presence. But he must know that August played on the Ravenclaw team.

The game began with Theo getting the Quaffle before Pyro was able to. August just flew around being open and followed Olivia when she stole the Quaffle but Theo tried to steal before August was able to react. Still he kept himself open just in case the game shifted suddenly in their favor. As luck would have it, Olivia attempted to score. August held his breath and watch Ed. He could see the fear in Ed's eyes and the Keeper froze and was unable to do anything to stop the red ball. The crowd groaned but August knew it was all right. The game was still young. They had plenty of time to make up for one single goal. "Don't worry about it, Ed. You'll get it next time," August cried to his friend. Ed looked for a Chaser to throw the ball to and his eyes landed on August.

((Catching/Receiving the Quaffle))

[Wynd Lehane]

Wynd just smirked to himself when Olivia completely ignored him. It was amazing how much she disliked him. He really couldn't blame her. He really disliked her also. The only good thing about her was that she was a pretty face. Wynd recalled having to spend that evening with her at the ball. She did look good in her dress that night. But this was no time to think about that. This was time was Quidditch. Olivia completely ignored him and attempted to score. Olivia probably thought that she was going against his wishes but that wasn't true. He just wanted her to do something. Anything. Theo was close on her tail and would get the Quaffle back if she just hovered around looking useless. Wynd yelled at her to get her to do something.

The Ravenclaw Keeper completely froze and didn't even make a move to save the goal. If he was going to be like that, this game was going to easier than Wynd had thought. He watched as Edward retrieved the Quaffle and then decided which Chaser he was going to pass it too. His eyes landed on August. Wynd knew August as the younger brother of Jack but nothing else. If he was anything like Jack then he would be nothing to worry about. This is going to be fun, he thought.

((Intercepting pass if allowed))

[Ruth Hosker-Thornhill]

She slipped swiftly past the second Bludger, but hissed under her breath as Celia failed to defend her. Her captain was a brilliant beater and she knew this, merely hoped that Celia would show her skills in this game like Ruth knew she could. And then – finally, Ruth was free for a moment to focus on searching for that heavenly little golden ball. There were no Bludgers after her. The first chance she had to momentarily relax. From the corner of her eye she saw the other seeker – a stupid girl who thought herself too highly, most likely – dive. She instantly kicked into motion. Josephine was fast, which was irritating. But before even the Slytherin did, Ruth noticed the lack of movement from the flickering gold ahead. She pulled up slowly and turned. Typical of the Slytherin kid to mistake the Snitch so easily. Ruth would do well not to follow her so quickly. As she turned from the dive a Bludger rushed past her – aiming for Josephine. Brilliant. She took the opportunity to scan the skies again, hunting for that golden flicker. She was close to the stands and the cheers and boos that suddenly erupted shocked her slightly. Slytherin had scored. Casting a furious glance at the goal posts and the stupid boy there – Edward, was it? – Ruth wished that Celia had put a more experienced person in as Keeper. This boy clearly was not up to the job.

((Snitch searching, dodging any Bludgers if they swing my way.))

[Theo Darke]

Theo couldn't believe it. Today just wasn't his day, was it? Growling at his failure to steal the Quaffle from Olivia, he watched helplessly as the ball sailed through one of the hoops, giving Slytherin ten points and raucous applause from the green-clad stand. Scowling, Theo yelled at his closest teammates, "Come on guys!" He hoped they would feel just as invigorated as himself to beat the other team. "Edward, eyes front," Theo yelled to the younger boy, but not unkindly. He knew there was no point berating Edward, and it was not in Theo#s nature. Yes, he felt thoroughly disappointed they had conceded a goal, but it was Edward's first time in the main team and he was bound to be nervous, especially considering his usual disposition. The best thing Theo could do was encourage him and instill some confidence. "It's okay, just concentrate," Theo added. "Breathe and concentrate." He watched as Edward readied to pass the Quaffle to August and hoped the kid would be successful.

[Celia Richmond]

(ahhh, sorry, should've read the posts more carefully I guess!)

Celia groaned as she noticed that Olivia had, unfortunately scored. Edward hadn't been on the ball it seemed (her thoughts having no pun intended), which didn't help at all. At least it was only one goal, and hopefully the Ravens would have plenty of time to score, and hopefully also catch the snitch. It wasn't too bad, just yet. At least E's bludger had hit Dylan, and there was also one heading towards Josephine, which was something, and Theo had avoided Pyro despite not being able to steal the quaffle from Olivia before she scored.

It looked as if Edward, who now had the quaffle, was planning to pass it to August. Well, the younger boy was the closest chaser to Edward, so it seemed to be a sensible choice. Unfortunately, Wynd was trying to intercept this pass, and before he had the chance to Celia hit the free bludger in his direction, to minimise his chances of intercepting.

((hitting bludger at Wynd))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((Please note change to the previous round!

Celia hits a Bludger at Wynd. There is a Bludger flying at Wynd.

Edward passes to August. Wynd attempts to intercept the pass.
Edward = Pass (D6 + Dex) = 1 + 6 = 7
Wynd = Intercept (D4 + Dex) = 4 + 4 = 8
Wynd intercepts Edward’s pass. Wynd has the Quaffle.

Josephine attempts to dodge Ephraim’s Bludger.
Ephraim = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 5 + 6 = 11
Josephine = Avoid (D8 + Dex) = 7 + 3 = 10
Ephraim’s Bludger hits Josephine.

Josephine must concentrate to maintain her action.
Ephraim = Bludger (D8 + Str) = 6 + 6 = 12
Josephine = Concentrate (D4 + Con) = 3 + 4 = 7
Josephine is unable to search for the Snitch.

Ruth searches for the Snitch. She must get a search roll of 5 or more to search successfully.
Ruth = Search (D6 + Con) = 4 + 2 = 6
Ruth is able to search for the Snitch.

Ruth = Search = 17.
17 is not the Snitch number. Ruth does not see the Snitch.))

[Wynd Lehane]

Well, that was easy. Almost as if the Ravenclaw Keeper wanted to give him the Quaffle. "Thanks mate," Wynd called to Edward as he flew away to the other end of the pitch. Wynd briefly recalled in his mind the night that had seen Edward run down the corridors in nothing but his birthday suit. Wynd had originally thought that the Ravenclaw didn't have it in him. But he had been wrong. His mind came into focus once again when he noticed a bludger headed straight toward him sent with love from Celia. Where were Mary and/or Dylan? They had just let Jo be hit by a bludger, were they going to let one of their Chasers be hit also? There were plenty willing to take their place, Wynd thought to himself as he flew over the Slytherins sitting on the sidelines.

He really wanted to try and score but the rules told him that he had to pass to another Chaser before they could try to score once again. Olivia or Pyro. Olivia was playing really well so far but... she was Olivia. Plus, Pyro was Wynd's new associate. If they were going to work with each other in the present and the future, it would take a little trust.

((Passing to Pyro))

[August Reid R7]

His arms were wide open to receive a pass and then... nothing. What was with that? Was Slytherin really going to dominate this game? No, they weren't. The Ravenclaw team wouldn't let them. Wynd may have won the battle but they were far from winning the war. Not that this was a war but the game was a serious thing. It had been a good feeling the past couple of weeks knowing that Ravenclaw had beaten Hufflepuff. True, the game was really really short but they had won. No one could take that away from them. August wasn't about to let that feeling go. Plus, if they won, he could rub it in Dylan's face. Then maybe he would feel smug and confident when talking to the other boy instead of feeling low and scared. August raced after Wynd as fast as his broom would take him. The Slytherin would have to pass before his team could make another attempt on Ed. That would be his moment. That's when August would strike.

((Intercepting the pass))

[Mary Evans]

They had scored! That was great, however a bludger had hit Josephine and Mary knew she would be upset. Last game Jo had been hit several times, it seemed Gryffindor had the same tactic as she. It hadn’t gone over too well. Catching a glance at the seeker clutching her side Mary knew it hadn’t been a good hit, and that wasn’t going to go over well either. Nothing for it really. Mary called out to Madam Hooch so Jo could go down to the bench.

((Line-up switch. Josephine for Stephen. Thanks.))

[Ephraim Eades R7]

Things were starting to look a bit better for Ephraim. Not only did he manage to knock a Bludger at Dylan, but he succesfully sent a Bludger at Josephine which went undefended. That should surely help to lower her concentration, giving Ruth a slight advantage in the search for the Snith.

At that moment, he watched as Celia's Bludger was flying toward Wynd who had the Quaffle. Ephraim figured he might as well help add to the confusion around the Quaffle. Following up with the Bludger that had hit Josephine, Eprhaim connected his bat with the metal ball and sent it into the huddle of Chasers.

((Attack on Pyro.))