Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin!

[Finn Miles H7]

Finn's attention was lacking for a moment as he watched Sophia come so close to scoring for Hufflepuff. It seemed that she was well on her way to adding ten point to the board, but Manning was there to stop the Quaffle from going through the hoops. Finn refocused his attention, locating the two Bludgers.

With Drake now holding the Quaffle, Finn figured he could try to predict the next move. It'd likely be a pass to Wynd, or perhaps Stephen? It seemed these were the two most influential players at the moment for Slytherin. Finn decided to attack the first.

Diving downward, he pushed hard onto his broom handle. The Bludger he was after was finally within reach, and so he swung his bat, aiming toward the moving target of Wynd Lehane. Finn hoped he had taken enough timing into account for the location that he had sent the Bludger, as Wynd was quite the fast flyer.

((Attack on Wynd.))

[Stephen Donahue S7]

Stephen couldn't help but feeling a smug happiness roll over him as he successfully marked the Hufflepuff chaser. He found a slight amusement to the whole thing as he saw her falter and Manning catch the quaffle. That was awesome. It meant that Hufflepuff had been blocked out so far from scoring and that also meant they had regained possession of the quaffle. Stephen flew up quickly, making it apparent that he would be more than happy to catch the quaffle should Manning choose to pass the quaffle to him.

((catching quaffle if passed to him))

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine sighed as she picked at a string on her quidditch robes. She was getting bored just flying around constantly. The snitch was no where in sight and she was getting entirely too annoyed with not finding it by now. Though the last she had seen Manning had stopped the goal from the Hufflepuffs, which was awesome. Jo was infinitely happy about that, but would be much happier if the snitch were in her hands. Another deep sigh escaped her lips as she stopped trying to pull the string loose and got back to snitch searching.

((looking for the snitch))

[Drake Manning]

Drake flashed a triumphant grin as he felt the Quaffle land safely in his hands. He had to admit it was a decent shot, and, had Stephen not been all over the Hufflepuff Chaser, she just might have scored. Drake didn't want to think about that though as he eyed the players in green, looking for his next pass. Since Mary had substituted Julian and Pyro out of the game (who knew what their problem had been), Wynd and the two from the bench were a bit more lively. Drake wasn't sure who to pass to. Stephen ended up catching his eye though, and Drake hurled the Quaffle toward him, without needing to alter him of the oncoming pass since he was already waiting for it.

((Focus pass to Stephen.))

[Sita Mehadi H7]

Hmm... this was so much harder than it looked. It was hard to keep your concentration when every minute was so much the same... because of the cloudless sky, the flurry of players below was the only changing pattern to provide any distraction from the boredom, and everyone knew that as a Seeker you musn't allow yourself to be distracted by what was going on in the game. She had to keep on looking. She had to concentrate. Sita attempted to get her head in gear as she continued to circle round the pitch, aware that she had already been distracted for far too long.

((Focusing on searching for the Snitch.))

[Sydney Rawson H6]

"Yes!" Sydney roared as she saw Wynd take a bludger. In the game of qudditch, there was no hard feelings with attacks like that. It was the point of the match; to have fun but risk your life. Sydney smiled at the thought of the game, and circled the pitch. She watched as Finn took a stray bludger and shot it at Wynd. Looking out for the other bludger, she saw it below the Slytherin hoops. Flying down to the grass, Syd popped the black iron ball back into the air. She watched the game as she noticed another Slytherin chaser making a lot of moves that discounted many Hufflepuffs. Putting her power behind, she focused on the other Slytherin boy.

(( Attack on Stephen, & Focusing. ))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((Finn hits a Bludger at Wynd. No one posted defending or warning him, and he did not post himself, so he will not get his stat points for dodging.
Finn = Bludger (D6 + Str) = 3 + 6 = 9
Wynd = Avoid (D8 + Dex) = 4 + 0 = 4
Finn’s Bludger hits Wynd! As Wynd does not have any actions this round, he does not need to roll concentration.

Sydney focuses on hitting a Bludger at Stephen. There is a super-scary Bludger heading at Stephen.

Drake focuses on passing to Stephen; Chace attempts to intercept the pass.
Drake = Focus Pass (D6 + Dex + Con) = 2 + 6 + 6 = 14
Chace = Intercept (D4 + Dex) = 3 + 6 = 9
Drake’s pass is successful! Stephen has the Quaffle.

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

Sita focuses on searching for the Snitch, so she will automatically have a search roll above 5 this round.
Sita = Search = 19
19 is not the Snitch number. Sita does not see the Snitch.))

[Ivy Tunstall]

It was hard to remain positive when the opposing team seemed to have all the necessary tricks up their sleeves, and all the chances they took paid off, luck on their side. She groaned as Drake saved Sophia's shot on goal; Ivy had been willing on her friend to succeed. She was really annoyed that Sophia hadn’t scored because they’d needed it so much, and it took all her effort to do what she had to do as Captain and shout out: “Good shot, that was really close!” to Sophia so as to encourage and spur the sixth year on.

She saw Chace moving into place to intercept the pass and remained where she was, frowning to herself because she was using her little break from play as thinking time. They needed to get a new Chaser into the game, to shake things up a bit and maybe throw the Slytherin Chasers (or not-Chasers) off their stride. But who? She made up her mind as Chace failed to intercept the pass. He hadn’t been quite as proactive this game as he usually was, although he hadn’t been playing badly either… but perhaps a bit of a break would focus his mind. Speaking of which, perhaps it was time to see if Kael had woken up? She summoned Madam Hooch and detailed the line-up changes she wanted.

Now time to get that Quaffle back! With a Bludger heading his way, Ivy was pretty sure that Stephen would be wanting to pass the Quaffle on again soon, so there was no time like the present for trying to swipe it out of his arms. Time to make him panic, after his nasty charge at Sophia which Madam Hooch should really have noticed as a foul…

((Making a line-up change. Subbing Chace out of the game and Kael in as Chaser.

Attempting to steal the Quaffle.))

[Sita Mehadi H7]

La-di-da. Dum-de-dum. No Snitch here, no Snitch there, no Snitch anywhere... but it must be somewhere, just waiting, lurking. Did it sort've want to be caught? When it did it might show itself... though it would still need to be chased. Oh, wouldn't it just hurry up and put them all out of their misery? Silly Snitch. Maybe she could just have a go at distracting the other Seeker instead? Sita began to move faster and then dipped into a dive. She'd seen Melody Bang-Bala do this move in the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw game, and now she was going to try it herself.

((Feinting, and searching for the Snitch.))

[Mary Evans]

Another bludger hit Wynd, and he really wasn’t looking too great. Signalling Hooch Mary decided to put Wynd on the bench for a few minutes to let him shake the bludgers off while giving Julian another shot at chaser. Turning back to the game play Mary noticed her team were, thankfully, in possession with Drake having passed the quaffle over to Stephan who was speeding down the pitch with a bludger at his back. “Not again” she muttered as she went in to protect her chaser.

((Defending Stephan and deflecting to Sita.
Taking out Wynd and putting Julian in as chaser.))

[Stephen Donahue S7]

Digits wrapped hard around the red quaffle as Stephen caught it. The game was getting faster and more competitive by the minute. He held tight to the quaffle as he flipped around his broom already taking off as he looked for the nearest chaser to pass to. He knew that he was going to be a target now, mostly for his success in stopping the Hufflepuff chaser from scoring. It was something he was quite proud of actually, but right now his mind was focusing on getting out of the mess he'd gotten himself into. He could see the other Hufflepuff chaser fast on his heels and then the glimpse of a bludger headed his way. Oh that wasn't good. He was going to have to do some quick thinking.

((focusing on avoiding bludger + defending quaffle + passing to Adalia))

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine circled around the pitch once again. She was fast becoming bored by this mundane routine. Every time she thought she saw the snitch it turned out to be just a flash of light flickering from the sun. Everything that was going on seemed to be taking forever, yet Josephine couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the immediate game every few moments, watching the quaffle switch hands back and forth between the two different teams. A deep sigh feel from her lips as she flipped the broom around and headed back in the opposite direction.

((recognizing feint (yeah yeah I know I can't but I'm still writing it there) searching for snitch))

[kael]

He had messed up as Keeper. A scowl formed at the very thought. Kael had allowed himself to be distracted and the result had not been good. It wouldn’t happen again; he wouldn’t let it. It just wasn’t like him to lose concentration so easily. Much as Kael had grown to...tolerate Seth, it was utterly undeniable that Seth was the more likely of the two to have his focus waver. That was in the past though. He had temporarily failed as a Keeper – in his last game! – but now he was in as a Chaser. It might not be his preferred position but he wasn’t that bad of a Chaser, and he knew precisely what he had to do. Eyes narrowed, Kael kicked himself into action and headed for the Slytherin Chaser in possession of the Quaffle – what, Kael was supposed to remember his name now? – with the simple intention of liberating the red ball.

((Focusing on intercepting the pass.))

[Seth Wright]

And now Stephen had the Quaffle. Seth gave a disappointed groan. His Chaser teammates were better than this! He urged them to reclaim the Quaffle for their own, prayed Ivy or Sophia or Kael, who had just come onto the pitch, would redeem Hufflepuff pride. At the moment it looked like Slytherin were winning, which was quite terrible considering Slytherin had basically won the House Cup by a mile after being neck in neck with Hufflepuff for a few months. However, as a butterfly, red and black in colour and very beautiful, flew past, Seth's attention diverted completely to watch the fascinating creature, and failed to focus on whatever happened next to the Quaffle.

((Not really concentrating!))

[Madam Xiomara Hooch]

((Kael, your focus was not used this round so it hasn't been counted towards your total of 5.

There have been changes in both the Hufflepuff and Slytherin line-ups!

Chace has been subbed out of the game; Kael Collins H7 takes his place as Chaser.

Wynd has been subbed out of the game; Julian Fallon S7 takes his place as Chaser.

----------------------------------------

Mary attempts to defend Stephen from Sydney’s Bludger and to deflect it towards Sita.
Sydney = Focus Bludger (D6 + Str + Con) = 3 + 6 + 6 = 15
Mary = Defend (D8 + Str) = 3 + 6 = 9
Mary fails to deflect the Bludger and it continues towards Stephen.

Stephen focuses on avoiding the Bludger.
Sydney = Focus Bludger (D6 + Str + Con) = 2 + 6 + 6 = 14
Stephen = Focus Avoid (D8 + Dex + Con) = 1 + 5 + 3 = 9
Stephen is hit by Sydney’s Bludger!

Stephen must roll concentration to maintain his actions.
Sydney = Bludger (D8 + Str) = 8 + 6 = 14
Stephen = Concentrate (D4 + Con) = 1 + 3 = 4
Stephen is unable to concentrate and drops the Quaffle. The Quaffle is loose!

Sita feints in an attempt to distract Josephine.
Sita = Feint (D4 + Dex) = 4 + 6 = 10
Josephine = Recognise Feint (D6 + Con) = 4 + 6 = 10
Tie! Re-roll.

Sita = Feint (D4 + Dex) = 1 + 6 = 7
Josephine = Recognise Feint (D6 + Con) = 2 + 6 = 8
Josephine is not fooled by Sita’s feint and is able to search for the Snitch.

Sita searches for the Snitch. She must get a search roll of 5 or more in order to search successfully.
Sita = Search (D6 + Con) = 4 + 3 = 7
Sita is able to search.

Sita = Search = 15
15 is not the Snitch number. Sita does not see the Snitch.

Josephine searches for the Snitch.
Josephine = Search = 6
6 is not the Snitch number. Josephine does not see the Snitch.))

[Trinity Bleu]

"AND RAWSON'S BLUDGER HITS WYND-BOI!" Trinity literally screamed with excitement and triumph (almost as though she herself had made the hit) as she lurched over the edge of the stands eagerly, fingers gripping the wood as she watched the black ball make contact with green Quidditch robes. "Nice one, girl! Way to go!" she added through the loud jeering of Slytherins who did not appreciate the delight of their obviously and openly biased commentator. "And Hallington goes for goal! But argh, Manning saves, dammit!" Trinity huffed passionately to herself. That had been Hufflepuff's best chance so far of catching up with Slytherin's lead. Trinity would be damned if Slytherin won this match and made it easier to get the Quidditch Cup, away from Gryffindor's hands. Slytherin were already in line to win the House Cup, Trinity could not tolerate two wins in one year for her least favourite house.

"Miles is now on the attack with his bat, looks like he's aiming for my best friend," Trinity said sarcastically. "And the Bludger flies towards Leha-- and he HITS!" she finished with a loud whoop. "Hah, that arrogant jerk really had it coming, well done Miles!" Trinity was extremely pleased that Wynd Lehane was getting pelted by the Hufflepuff Beaters. Served that Prefect right, after all the times he'd been so snotty and horrible to people such as herself. Trinity wouldn't take such an attitude, from a cocky Slytherin no less. "More substitutions for both teams. Both Vices have now been subbed out of the game, with Collins back in for Coxen, playing Chaser. I thought he was the main-team Keeper?" Trinity raised a confused eyebrow but it did not deter her, and she ploughed on nonetheless. "Le-Bambi has left in favour of Fallon; oh what a shame, he was the highlight of this match for me," she said with smug amusement.

As the whistle blew, Trinity's eyes were drawn back to the Chasers' scuffle. "Donahue is in possession after a pass from Manning. C'mon Hufflepuff, give it some welly, for Pete's sake! This is painful to watch!" She wet her lips as she reached for a bottle of water, feeling her throat begin to parch from constant talking. "Donahue high-tails back to the other end and-- oh, Seeker activity!" she declared excitedly, causing everyone to search frantically for the subject of her announcement. "Mehadi seems to have seen the Snitch! But Bowman seems to be ignoring her." Trinity mused whilst watching her fellow classmates, both of whom she wasn't particularly fond of, though she obviously disliked the Slytherin much more. "Bowman thinks it's a feint, and she's right. Nice try, though, Mehadi, keep confusing the enemy." Trinity's eyes could not linger on the Seekers for long, though, because the Chaser-Beater situation quickly caught her attention. "Donahue is trying to get past the field of Hufflepuffs - block 'im off, go on! He's not having much success and here comes Rawson's Bludger, and BAM!" Trinity punched the air to emphasise the collision. "Donahue is hit! And the Quaffle goes flying! Who'll get it first?"

[Ivy Tunstall]

Oh ah... Sydney's Bludger approached even quicker than Ivy had been anticipating and in the end she decided to stay a little distant from the Slytherin-not-a-Chaser to avoid risking the Bludger hitting herself rather than its actual target. Not long afterwards, the Slytherin... Donahue, that was the name... took what appeared a brutal blow from the Bludger, and dropped the Quaffle. Ivy hoped that the other Hufflepuff Chasers would be paying attention as she herself swooped in at Donahue, attempting to block his route to the Quaffle he had just dropped. He might still not have his wits about him after a Bludger hit like that, but he'd proved to be quite apt in the position of Chaser so far and Ivy wasn't about to take any chances.

((Marking Stephen.))

[Sydney Rawson H6]

Sydney was happy with the way the team was playing today. Almost the entire team was giving their all and it made Syd happy to be a part of the Hufflepuff house. They weren't decietful, nor would most with just for personal reasons. It was more for the sake of the team. Watching as Wynd was escorted to the bench. Syd's eyes fell back to Stephen just as her bludger hit him. The crowed OOooed as you saw the pain he was in. Inside Syd she felt bad for always being the attacker, but it was a game and each player knew what Qudditch entailed. So, she shrugged that feeling off and got behind another bludger.

((Attack on Josephine.))

[Sita Mehadi H7]

Sita sighed as she realised that Josephine wasn't following her, feeling a little bit embarrassed. To her it was just another proof that she wasn't really up to the standards of players on the other teams - Melody Bang-Bala had obviously actually known what she was doing when she pulled off that stunt, whereas Sita now looked very silly. She felt her face grow hot as she heard Trinity Bleu commentating on her failure, although it was nice that she at least gave Sita a bit of encouragement. Support from the commentator didn't count for much - belonging to a good team and being able to work with them was far more important - but it certainly didn't hurt.

Sita attempted to settle her nerves and the adrenaline that even a fake dive could generate, staying at her new, lower altitude as she scanned the grass and the shadows near to the stands, looking for a sign of a small golden ball brushing along the ground.

((Searching for the Snitch.))

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine caught sight of the Hufflepuff Seeker diving, her first instinct was the follow, but her mind wouldn't seem to allow her body to go, as if it knew something she didn't. It did really, it had already sorted out that there was no snitch in sight and as she was thinking this the seeker pulled out of the dive. It had been a feint...a close call. Josephine had almost fallen for it, next time she probably wouldn't be so lucky. Now however she was more concerned with trying to find the real snitch. Of course that would come after the bludger she saw headed her way. "Great," she muttered to herself as she attempted to dive to get out of its path.

((focusing on avoiding bludger + snitch searching))