Quick-Grab {QSC Seekers}

[Milo Leafe]

Kids. Or, as he had been advised to call them, ‘young adults’. How old would they be now- about seventeen? Some even verging on eighteen, he supposed. Milo thought back to the list of four students he would be seeing today and had to think for a moment of their years. Two fifth years, one a sixth year, the last a seventh year. He had also been given their houses, but cared not for that at all. He didn’t know much about the Hogwarts houses. Going by colours and the animals representing the houses, Milo liked the yellow house- Hufflepuff- the most. Yellow had always suited him well. He knew that his niece Gracie was a second year in Gryffindor and yet this still this meant nothing to him, although obviously meant it was a good house; only the best for Gracie. Milo had noticed that he didn’t have a Ravenclaw representative, a clear indication that the house must hold no Seeker ability or determination at all. It was a shame really. He always loved to see brilliant Seekers at such a young age- they reminded him of himself when he was just a confused, rebellious teen that just wanted to play some bloody Quidditch, not mess around with quills and writing about goblins from the past.

He hoped that the outcome of the first task he would do with the kids would show him that talent was not completely lost. He knew there would be many good beaters, chasers and keepers- there always was. He had no interest in any of those positions at all, and actually played them pretty terribly whenever he took up a bat or goal post. To Milo, that was a strength. It enhanced his love for Seeker position and the grace, the skill, the natural ability he showed when playing it. Arrogant though Milo could be, he had perfectly good reasons to be proud of his talents. They didn’t exactly show anywhere academically. Thinking back to what he wanted to see from the aspiring Seekers today, Milo knew it was that arrogance, that passion and that need to play Seeker- and only Seeker- that he wanted to see. Maybe he would see it in one of the kids, maybe he wouldn’t. If not then he would not be very surprised.

A little way away Milo spotted various members of his own Quidditch team gathering their students. They varied in sizes and Milo was instantly pleased he would be getting the small group- just four students, a perfect size. With a flourish Milo flicked his thin wand at his neck, muttered a quick ‘sonorous!’ and spoke into the bustling crowds. “Ariane Chan, Sita Mehadi, Josephine Bowman, Jack Reid- Seekers participating in the seeking event please come to your assigned pitch section immediately, your task is about to begin.” And ‘quietus’. Milo had underestimated the punctuality of his assigned students- three of them were already close by and merely shuffled closer when he called. One lagged behind slightly and Milo didn’t hide the glare in his eyes as he flicked his eyes over this student. With complete disregard for everyone else on the pitch Milo stood before his group and studied them for one moment. He didn’t hide the obvious fact that he was doing so- why should he? His green eyes lingered over the boy without much hesitation; he had wondered earlier how the only boy of the four would cope and hoped he had a fighter on his hands. His gaze flickered over the smallest girl with a small smile creasing the corners, noting her size as an advantage. To the eldest girl he didn’t miss the headstrong look in her eyes and her posture- she looked ready, he noticed, for almost anything. And finally the pale-skinned girl, whose gaze he met, searching for defiance, although he knew not why.

“Right. If you have long nails, go cut them. Girls put your hair up lest you want it ripped from your scalps.” His tone was blunt, emotionless, his gaze critical and stony. “I am Milo Leafe, and I am a Seeker. The tasks you will be doing for this competition will be with me, not my captain, not my coach. If you want to ask me the best type of wood to have for your beater’s bat, or perhaps my preferred maker of Keeper’s gloves, then you can leave.” He looked each of the students in the eye before nodding. “Good. Our task now will need all your concentration. You’ll have to be quick, and you must not let your opponent succeed. I will not give you tips, hints, advice, techniques at this stage. It’s all down to you.” He pulled from his coat two hard, round objects and kept his fingers wrapped around both humming balls tightly. “I really hope you know what these are. I hope you know how to reach for them at a height that is best for you, at a distance best for you, at a speed best for you. To catch one of these quickly and secure the winning title for your team you must know the Snitch as well as you can…”

Milo paused here and lifted his broom from its position nearby, holding both Snitches in one hand. He indicated the four students should follow him, and took off into the air with an almighty push. “Four of you- two of these. If you don’t catch one, you’re out. If you do, you will go against the Seeker that caught the twin. Don’t be idiots and all go for the same Snitch!” He was now in the centre of the four, the kids making a square around him, one at each point. Without hesitating Milo ripped his hands apart and held them up high. “CATCH A SNITCH! His fingers opened and instantly the golden orbs shot away from him. It was quick, it was spontaneous, it was no doubt a surprise to the kids. Milo shot away from them, quickly checking there were no other kids in the air around. Neither Snitch would go far and they both had less-than-perfect charms for quick turns; but they were fast, and the aim of this task was for the Seekers to match that speed and catch a Snitch as quickly as possibly.

((It’s pretty simple- if you have any queries PM me and I’ll be happy to help. Your character must attempt to catch one of the Snitches before anyone else. You have about a week to post your replies- however, seeing as there are just four of you, I expect fairly quick replies. If I have all four in before the week is up I will determine the first two losers then. If you are not on the vacation list and do not post by the week’s end, you will automatically be out of this task. This task is determined by your Speed, Concentration & Aggressiveness and the outcome of dice rolls.))

[Jack Reid]

Jack Reid walked onto the pitch, his long and thick broom in his right hand, as he kept a hard grip on it. The wind picked up as he walked up to the flat land, realizing their instructor for the Quidditch Skills Cup was already there. He was the first to show up, but as he glanced behind him, he noticed the other three Seekers far behind him. He came to a stop directly in front of the instructor, who was Milo Leafe. Jack didn’t know the name well, but he knew at least that the man was a Seeker, and a damn good one at that. Why would he be in charge of the Seekers in such an event as the Quidditch Skills Cup if he wasn’t good? Of course he had seen worse happen, but right now that didn’t matter. It was up to him to take Slytherin to the top, and this was the first challenge for him. The wind picked up again, and his robes flapped in the wind as he waited somewhat impatiently for the other students to show up.

The other students finally walked up, seemingly not as confident as he was, but he didn’t want to come off as cocky to their instructor. That might give him some negative points as it was, and he didn’t need that on his shoulders at the time. The head Seeker gave some basic pep talk, along with a basic idea of what was required of them. It was as simple as any Quidditch game: catch the snitch. The only difference was to catch the snitch faster than the others after it. It would be an elimination type challenge. Jack knew he was fast, so he intended to show that and do what needed to be done.

The head Seeker kicked off of his broom, flying high up with two snitches in his one hand, and yelled out a few more instructions before simply opening his hand. The snitches immediate darted away from him, and the four seekers hovering in the air were left to get them on their own. Jack had his black gloves on, the ones he used any time he played Quidditch, and knew it would likely be a rough challenge. The rest of the Seekers were good, but he intended to be better. Jack darted after the snitch he had seen fly directly to Milo’s right, his eyes trained solely on the gold ball. He kicked the back of his broom, leaning forward hard. The broom shot fast at the snitch that was whizzing back and forth in the air. He got closer to it, and Jack made it a point not to ever reach his hand out until he was quite sure he could snatch it out of the air. That moment was now. He reached his hand out quickly, waiting for the gold ball to be in his grasp.

[Ariane Chan]

Ariane was not amused. Okay, so she was rarely ever amused, but participating in a Quidditch-based tournament against other students by doing pointless activities? For a prize Ariane could only describe as useless? No, she was not amused at all.

Judging by the look on the other students' faces, they were as surprised by her presence as she was. Ariane didn't do social big events - no balls, no matches, no nothing. And now this? Dear God, what would people say of her 'perfect' reputation now? Putting on her best scowl bordered on vicious, Ariane brushed past her competition and headed for the guy she had been directed to - the man who would be in charge of the Seekers and their part of the tournament. Ariane was sure she had heard his name was Milo Leafe during the opening ceremony and inwardly snorted; Milo Leafe? What sort of a name was that?

Ariane was here for one reason only: Aurora. As usual, her perky Hufflepuff cousin had decided to have some fun and shove her into the limelight. Just great. Ariane had felt her mood level swing into the minus digits the moment her name had been read out a few days previous. She had almost decapited Aurora on the spot. Quidditch? Competition? Excuse me?

To make things worse, Harmony had found it hilarious also. The worst of it was that Ariane's little sister expected her to go out there and win it for her and Aurora in front of everyone. Ariane cast an eye back at her competition to see if they were following her: that Slytherin boy was lagging behind, but the two girls were keeping up just fine. Typical men, Ariane thought mercilessly, her fingers on her broom tightening by a fraction. She had heard quite a bit about Jack Reid: she knew he had two younger brothers by the names of August and Bronsen, both in Ravenclaw (one was in Harmony's year, after all); she knew little about his personality, but she was sure he wasn't on the Slytherin Quidditch team; the most obvious piece of information about Reid was from recently, and the only reason Ariane knew of it was because the other culprit in his double duo of trouble was the one and only Riley Coxen. That name gave Ariane a headache. If it wasn't bad enough that Riley had spent her younger years terrorising her fellow students with immature pranks with her twin brother Oz, then befriending the notoriously terrible Godric's Daughters (Ariane had to share a dorm with the leader and founder, Erica Maple, and she would be glad to be rid of her when she graduated), she then had to start dating a Slytherin boy and create even bigger catastrophes than when she had schemed with Oz - duelling in the corridors, going behind Filch's back - you name it. Ariane had heard nothing but Coxen and Reid for the last few weeks and she was frankly sick of it. Didn't they realise she had to clean up their messes and listen to the professors' moaning and ranting?

The other two girls Ariane knew a little of; the first was a Slytherin also, which meant trouble, of course. Ariane narrowed her eyes at the green robes and tried not to curse the house. She recognised her as Josephine Bowman, but even then her heart softened only slightly. She had known that girl's sister, Brianna; she had been a Ravenclaw in her year, up until a while ago when she had died of cancer. It had been a tragic loss... no doubt her sister was feeling it. The thought of losing Harmony frightened Ariane more than anything... Even more than one of Jez Cuthbert's annoying pranks or a dream of Tristan leaving her for the one hundredth time. Ariane had little room for sympathy, though, and her eyes moved to the Hufflepuff girl. She was in Fifth Year and her name was Sita Mehadi. She knew a bit about her because of Harmony - they were friends. Ariane wasn't sure she agreed with the friendship, but as long as Sita wasn't going to hurt her little sister Ariane had no reason to hate her.

Drawing up close to Milo Leafe, the professional Quidditch player for the Wigtown Wanderers, Ariane knew she had resigned herself to participating in this competition and she would give it everything she had - and then kill Aurora in her sleep afterwards. Ariane was ready for the competition (it wasn't even competition when she thought about it... They were younger than her so defeat was a rather impossible thought); she could be competitive when she wanted to be and she could feel it arise just a little as Leafe talked. Ariane listened boredly, taking in his sharp attitude with some contentment; at least she didn't have an annoying, smiley instructor. The moment Leafe threw his hands in his air Ariane was off - but not in the same direction as the others. She had digested his brief but concise instructions straight away without batting an eyelid and she was out here to win. The wind flapped its wings around her as she shot off into the sky, watching the shards of gold fade into the atmosphere with its dexterity. Patience was Ariane's forte, that was why she was best as Seeker, and so she hovered in the air in the centre of the pitch, rather high up, gazing down at the activity below, unfocusing her eyes so as to catch any glimpse of golden flash. Unlike other Seekers who liked to watch the other activities or run around looking for the Snitch, Ariane preferred to remain still and wait for the Snitch to reveal itself. She didn't see any point in flying in circles.

As Ariane had suspected, Reid had gone after the Snitch the moment it was released from Leafe's hand. The other one had disappeared and like Leafe had said, going for the same Snitch as everyone else was stupid. Ariane was determined to find the other one. Her eyes scoured like hawk's around her until she saw a flash of gold across the pitch, not too far away but quite a way below. Immediately she dropped her broomstick to fall from the sky, heading like a thunderbolt for the Snitch. She was there in seconds, her hand outstretched and about to grasp the Snitch. Now, if anyone got in her way she was going to somehow get rid of them - without touching a hair on their body.

[Sita Mehadi H7]

Joining her house Quidditch team was something that Sita had always intended to do, but never got round to. They'd been going to audition together, as their little foursome, once they got into second year. She and Gavin had initiated a pact that they would. Unfortunately, other events had got in the way of that. But that hadn't changed the basic truth that Sita had always been sporty, would continue to be so, and as such would continue to jump at any chance to do something active and fun. The Quidditch Skills Cup seemed like just that to Sita. She had always liked flying classes; she'd enjoyed control exercises and races where she could go just as fast as she pleased. Of course, she had no actual experience of playing Quidditch, beyond the poor excuses for games they'd played during PE lessons and a few messing-around games with friends over the years (there had been precious few of them, due to the lack of good friends). But there was no need for that to hinder her. She would be victorious!

Apparently that started with her cutting her nails. Sita looked dubiously at her nicely-manicured nails, which were painted a delicate shade of lilac. No thanks. She did, however, deign to take a purple bobble from round her wrist and tie her hair up with it. Wavy strands still popped out in an unruly fashion, but there was nothing to be done about it. Really then she should have tied her hair up before, but she'd been busy attending to the rest of her appearance. She'd never worn such a profusion of bright yellow before and hadn't planned on having to make everything match with that. (Let it not be said that Sita had been being a little vain - it would have been futile to suggest that to her). She glanced round at the other competitors. Josephine Bowman she recognised because they were in the same year, not that they'd ever talked. The only boy was an elder Slytherin, who she thought was possibly only a year above her. She wasn't sure, though. And finally Ariane, Harmony's sister. From the impression she'd formed of the seventh year Gryffindor, Sita didn't think she was very much like her younger sister. She was a bit intimidating and Sita would be avoiding her if she could.

This choice having been made, it was the unknown Slytherin whom Sita followed. She dipped down below him and approached from one side. Sita hadn't had the quickest start (she'd been a bit preoccupied at the time watching something going on down below), but the Slytherin didn't seem to be making a particularly quick job of catching the Snitch so she'd caught up with him. The tiny ball was moving awfully fast, so she didn't blame him for his hesitation. Luckily for her, tracking the progress of a ball was something she had experience with from tennis, so she was able to reach towards the golden ball at the same time as the Slytherin, trying to grab it before he could.

((Going after the same Snitch as Jack.))

[Josephine Bowman S7]

It seemed a fairly nice day, only a slight chill to the air for the Quidditch Skills Cup. Josephine Bowman watched the crowd around her, students talking quickly and boisterously around her. There was no joy in her eyes. She wasn’t doing this for anyone there, not herself and not for her house pride…she was doing this for her sister. Brianna had loved quidditch far more than anyone else ever could and yet she had never really been able to play because of how weak and fragile she was due to the cancer. Now…now Brianna was dead. It was only through flying that Josephine felt close to her sister’s spirit and that’s why she was out here today. She was determined to win for her sister. She didn’t care about anyone else there…she just knew that she wasn’t going down without a fight. Her sister was gone, but a part of Josephine always knew she’d be watching over her….just like Dad was. So here was her chance to show them both that she has the same genes…that she could make them both proud of her and that’s exactly what showed in her eyes as her name was called.

Josephine moved slowly, finding no need to hurry like the others. She would terry even if it annoyed the man known as Milo Leafe. When he glanced over her, his eyes catching hers. She didn’t hide the flicker of emotion that escaped her eyes the pain, determination, and absolute need to win. She was a jumble of emotions, but only one seemed to win out in that moment as she followed the group high into the sky. She found the man’s words entertaining to say the least as he certainly showed just how much he was into being a seeker, not that Josephine really blamed him. It was an honorable position and one she absolutely adored.

Blue orbs were trained on one of the tiny balls in his hand. She would choose that one to go after. It was going to be hers. She visualized it’s released and capture in her hand, knowing the old mediation was actually quite helpful in believing that you could do things. As it was she already knew she was going to catch it…knew that she had ever right to catch it, to win against her three opponents and she would do anything it took to make sure she did win.

The moment he released the snitches the one she’d been eyeing speedily disappeared…and that’s when her gaze dropped to the other seeker that had not taken off the moment they’d been released. Ariane sat motionless in the sky and Josephine found a smirk coming to her lips as she watched her for a moment. It didn’t last too long before that familiar glint of gold was seen by both of them. Ariane had dove quickly, Josephine looping around into a dive behind her. Speed had always been Josephine’s good aspect as she came up beside Ariane, her eyes flicking to the girl and then to the snitch. This was the moment…she couldn’t let Ariane get that snitch…She wasn’t going to let her sister down. She reached out her other arm positioned on the broom in a way that would allow her to jar Ariane if she had to. She’d knock her off her broom before allowing that girl’s fingers to touch the snitch. It all came down to the gods now though and Josephine’s own ability to get things done.

((Going for the same snitch as Ariane))

[Milo Leafe]

Milo enjoyed watching the different tactics that the four students used. He noted the weaknesses and strengths in everything each pupil did. Reid and Mehadi followed one Snitch, Chan and Bowman the other. It interested him to see how they approached the task. The Chan girl was the only one who did something so different- but different was not always the thing to do. The only boy of the group went directly to the first one he seemed to see, which was a good and a bad thing to do. Milo had noticed the smallest girl and admittedly, had been doubtful about this one. She seemed like she had the determination and once she set after Jack Reid, Milo saw this come in use. But she had been distracted by her surroundings, it seemed. And that was always a big no-no. The last girl was interesting. When Milo had released the spinning orbs he had been looking at her just before they left his fingers and was surprised by the want in her eyes. He recognised that look and was pleased to see it. However, after diving back out of the way of the flying students Milo noted that Bowman had not shot off after the Snitch she had been focused on, as he had expected- instead she was watching Ariane Chan. This did work in a sense; when Chan saw her Snitch and dove after it Bowman followed, and it was not difficult to see that she was easily the faster of the two girls. Milo considered this as he watched the two pairs battle it out for the Snitches, wondering what he would have done.

The battle was over quickly and Milo watched carefully. It was difficult to observe what all four students did as they were so swift in their movements, as was necessary. But he saw who caught the two snitches and wasn’t incredibly surprised, although he had doubts about the fate of one due to the Bowman’s speed. Out of the first two – Mehadi and Reid – the latter was the successful one in catching the Snitch. Milo noted this before turning to see the outcome of the second snitch. Ariane Chan had the golden ball between her fingers, while Josephine Bowman’s were empty. “Seekers- to me!” He didn’t need to use the charm on his voice again. He flew into the air to greet the four and they hovered there for a moment. Milo looked at each of them before holding one hand out to Reid, one to Chan. They placed the snitches in his hands and he felt the warmth on the golden balls, smiling slightly as the wings fluttered against his palms defiantly.

“That was good. You-” he turned swiftly and faced Jack. His eyes didn’t hold any emotion and his voice was much the same. He didn’t mind if the student’s were offended by anything he said; he was, after all, the professional. If they didn’t recognise that and accept his advice then they weren’t cut out for the industry. “- you’re not fast. Not too slow, but not too fast. Because of this you should work on tactics that suit you. Shooting off in the direction of one snitch just because that’s the one you want might not be the best thing. You should consider where you are on the pitch and, although I don’t normally encourage this, watch your opponent. You cannot afford to be further away from the snitch as them because of your speed. However you had your sights set on this snitch and you succeeded. Well done.” It was rare for Milo to give out compliments and normally when people said ‘well done’ it was said with a smile, maybe a pleased-for-you expression. But Milo’s tone was still emotionless, which almost contradicted his words.

“The other winner.” He spun around on his broom to face Ariane Chan. “You did what the others didn’t. This might be admirable in some people’s eyes, but it might also be foolish and lose your game. Here, it worked. However you must also be ready to deal with what happens when you cannot see the snitch so easily, so quickly. Your dive worked well and you didn’t waste time on wondering what your opponent was, or who they were. Both factors that can help you win.” He said less for this girl because he wasn’t sure if she would accept his words and take them in- there was that headstrong, confident look in her eyes. He felt oddly tempted to say something negative to bring it out; which would have been incorrect on his part as their mentor for the tasks.

“Mehadi.” He looked at Reid’s opponent with an expression that was just as hard as the one he had spoken to the other two with. “You cannot get distracted.” An edge was in his voice. “You cannot let your surroundings get to you. This will be your downfall, as shown. When you did decide on which snitch to go after you made a very difficult opponent though. That’s good- you wanted the snitch and being determined and aggressive is necessary, otherwise your opponent will beat you. Unfortunately that happened here, because of you paying attention to your surroundings. Next time work on blocking everything out but the snitch and the best route to it. Once you have seen it, do not let it disappear.”

Finally, Milo turned to Bowman. Although he didn’t show it he was bored of his words. It was sad to think that although he had spent time and thought evaluating each player’s performance, they might not even be listening. In truth Milo wasn’t the right person to be a mentor- he was better in practicals, in actually getting on the broom and beating the opponent. “You failed to catch a snitch because you didn’t want it enough.” He expected to see a flash of something in her eyes- disagreeing with him. But he didn’t care for what she thought. “In a sense, you wanted the snitch enough; but you didn’t want it for you. You wanted the chase. You’re fast and that’s a great ability to have in this sport. But you cannot rely on it. You cannot rely on your opponent finding the snitch for you simply because you might be unable to do so yourself, or maybe too lazy to do so yourself.” A little rude perhaps, but Milo was tiring of being the advisor quickly and couldn’t help but speak his mind. “Next time, you might to better to follow Reid’s example- although this was not necessarily the best thing for him, it might be for you. If you can find the snitch quickly, then you can trust your speed to get you to it. But if you cannot find it early on and before the other player- without waiting for them to see it- then you will most likely fail. As shown.”

With a sigh almost difficult to suppress, Milo looked all four in the eye before continuing. His mind was already skipping forwards to the next level of the task- he was interested to see what that battle would be like. “Sita Mehadi and Josephine Bowman, neither of you were considerably weak players today. However you might do well to think about what I have said. You may now land. Whether or not you stay to watch Ariane and Jack is up to you, but I strongly recommend you do stay.” He nodded, and they knew they were being dismissed from the air. He ignored what they did next and turned instead to face the two players remaining. “This is simple. You know the drill.” He tucked one snitch away, but held up the other one. “Catch it.” His words were soft, quiet, almost inaudible. But the wind seemed to lift his voice up and carry it to Reid and Chan. In one quick motion Milo threw the snitch directly into the air above him while he dove lower to get out of their way. The golden orb hovered for just a second before shooting off. It would not go far, but it was fast.

---

SYSTEM – D6 + D6 + D6 + CON + AGG + SP = TOTAL

SNITCH #ONE
JO – 3 + 2 + 5 + 4 + 2 + 5 = 21
ARIANE – 5 + 2 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 4 = 23

SNITCH #TWO
SITA – 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 19
JACK – 4 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 3 = 20

Jack and Ariane both catch a snitch, Sita and Jo do not.

As stated, they must each attempt to catch the single snitch, much like in a real Quidditch game now.

Sita and Jo- you may post your characters reactions.

Jack and Ariane will continue to the next level.

The second level between Jack and Ari will involve two D6 rolls instead of three.

Current Standings:
1 - Ariane and Jack
2 -
3 - Josephine
4 - Sita

[Ariane Chan]

Ariane knew she was bound to have an opponent in one of the two girls, and she soon saw them in her peripheral vision; it was hard to miss that short dark hair and flash of green robes: Josephine Bowman. Narrowing her eyes in determination, Ariane drove her broomstick faster. She had seen Josephine play in matches and knew she was fast; that was her forte, for she was small and lithe. Ariane wasn't as fast (but fast enough, as it was necessary for a Seeker to be fast), but she trusted her broom-handling and tactics. She doubted Josephine was a patient or thoughtful sort of person, though she could be wrong. Keeping this in mind, Ariane blocked the factor of Josephine following her out of her mind, focusing instead on just the Snitch in front of her eyes. She was gaining on it - but Josephine was also gaining on her. In seconds the younger Slytherin was neck-in-neck with Ariane. She frowned, though did not take her eyes off the Snitch. Both their hands were outstretched, wanting that golden ball to themselves. Ariane was determined she would get it, but she was worried Josephine would resort to violence - she didn't trust Slytherins. Jerking her broom forwards, Ariane propelled her body even further, knowing her opponent would not expect it, and thus swiped the Snitch away from Josephine's grasp. The ball fluttered erratically in her palm but Ariane barely noticed as she kept her hand tightly shut and used her free arm to swing her broomstick away, reversing so she shot back towards Milo Leafe. Ariane didn't stay to utter condolences to Josephine; that wasn't Ariane's style, to pity, and she doubted Josephine wanted her pity either. Josephine was strong; she would survive.

Halting before Milo Leafe as he ordered everyone else to gather to him, Ariane kept her hand shut, lying beside the stick of her broom. She was more aware of its struggle now, though the feeling was somewhat numbed since her skin was ice-cold from the chilly atmosphere. However, Ariane's breaths - not extremely heavy to show she hadn't exerted herself too much - no longer came in steamy patches. Her body had adjusted to the atmosphere. The cold was Ariane's element anyway, unlike sunshine and clear skies, which was Aurora's favourite sort of weather. Ariane handed the Snitch to Milo Leafe silently with a blank expression - she showed no sign of victory, happiness or arrogance. She hadn't willingly entered this competition, so Ariane felt rather little at the moment. She just wanted this game to be over and done with. Then, Milo began addressing Jack about his play, and Ariane realised all four of them had to sit through analysis of their techniques. Instead of wanting to roll her eyes, Ariane found herself rather intriqued, though she did not show it. She listened to Milo's words carefully, weighing them up. She had watched Jack, but briefly, so what he was saying now would hopefully help her later - that was why she was paying attention. She hadn't watched Sita at all, so Ariane now had a deeper insight into the young Hufflepuff. As for Josephine, Ariane knew enough to weigh up the Slytherin; she had come to the same conclusion as Milo: lazy play, was what Josephine had used, and it didn't impress Ariane.

Ariane took in what Milo had to say about her with an indifferent expression, though in truth she was listening. This guy was analytical - he had spotted their weaknesses in minutes. Ariane was impressed, and although she disliked the fact he was revealing her tactics to the other three, she was pleased to see he had pointed out what she already knew were her weaknesses - and more. Ariane agreed with Milo; she knew the tactic she used in this game would not always work in another. However, it usually did; if Ariane did not see the Snitch first, her opponent would, and from her position she would be able to spot them flying after the Snitch. The second reason she had chosen to be patient this time was because there were two Snitches, and Jack had run off after the first like a cat with a mouse. Ariane watched Milo's eyes observantly, and noticed he was holding something back. She wondered with some irritation what it was, but after listening to him berate Sita and Josephine somewhat, Ariane was content he had not elaborated further with her. As though he had guessed her personality correctly, he hadn't dawdled on her for long - once he'd stated the specifics, anything else he might have added would've been cast onto the Unneeded pile.

Ariane watched Josephine and Sita retreat for a second, but her gaze soon riveted back on Milo. She was waiting for the next task, and no doubt he would spring it onto them when they least expected it. She suddenly felt as though she was in a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, poised to combat one of Professor Druex's fast-flying spells. Ariane had always had lightning reactions - similar to Harmony and Aurora both - and this helped in Seeking. Watching Milo, Ariane wondered: if she were to become a professional Quidditch player, would she be like this man? He was harsh and blunt, qualities Ariane saw quite clearly in herself. She liked the brutal truth, though she had a shred of tact, which Milo had also displayed. However, although this thought intrigued her, Ariane wasted little thought on it as Milo began drawing out what she and Jack had to do next. The moment Ariane caught the words 'you know the drill', her reflexes had her muscles poised to take off. Yes - they were doing the same sort of exercise. Ariane didn't glance at Jack, but she knew he was ready too. Her tactical thoughts had already spiralled into action, and Milo's words echoed through her head: her tactic wouldn't always work. Well, here, it would definitely not work, knowing who her opponent was. The moment Milo released the Snitch, Ariane was racing after it. Her eyes tracked the golden movement. All she had to do was catch the Snitch before Jack - and since she was smaller than Jack, she assumed she was faster than him. Furrowing her brow in determination, Ariane reached out as she closed around the Snitch. She was less inclined to hold back her aggressiveness with Jack, but only if he attacked her first. Ariane refused to be bullied into second place.

[Jack Reid]

Jack pulled a tight turn around as he felt the small gold ball whir in his gloved hand, silently celebrating briefly in his mind. He didn’t come to a stop, even though he knew he had won the current challenge against Sita. She had gone after the same Snitch, but he was faster and he knew it. He smirked slightly at her, knowing he had got the better of her in that current battle for the top Seeker position. He saw Milo Leafe fly back up, high above the pitch with the four seekers. He called the four to himself, and they all flew quickly to him, no care left in his voice any longer. Not that care was needed, Jack knew that Quidditch was a rough game, and the Seeker position could sometimes be quite a brutal fight between houses. Right now Milo held his hand out to Jack and to Ariane, who had seemed to catch the other Snitch. He hadn’t been paying attention to her, because he had been paying attention to Sita.

That was a mistake, for the most part. But he wasn’t used to paying attention to three Seekers. He was used to one. Of course he hadn’t played in over a year. Jack had been on the team the year before but had decided to opt out this year for Quidditch. He was tired of the House battles and the constant looks he got when Slytherin won. He got enough looks as a older male Slytherin as it was, and now he was with Riley so he got some looks he didn’t deserve anyway. Jack shook his mind off of the past and focused on the challenge at hand: catching the Snitch a second time, against Ariane Chan this time. Milo Leafe began with Jack, criticizing how each of the Seekers played the game. He criticized his speed. Jack knew he was fast. Milo said he needed to be faster, or he needed to work on the tactics that worked for him. It was good advice, some that he needed. The man complimented him on his efforts, and he nodded, giving the emotionless man recognition of his compliment.

Jack hovered in the air on his broom somewhat impatiently as Milo instructed the other three Seekers in the error of their skills, and gave especially hard marks to Bowman and Sita. He took a bit of the discipline to heart, but not completely to heart. It was things he knew, and discipline he kept in mind. The two that had lost flew down towards the bottom of the pitch, and Jack waited for his next challenge. Milo instructed Jack and Ariane to their next task, simply to catch one Snitch. The same challenge as before had become significantly harder, even if it was the same as before. Ariane was a better opponent than the rest of them, and the two of them were on a bit of a high it seemed since they had both won the last challenge. Jack waited and watched as Milo reached his hand out and released the one and only Snitch.

Ariane was smaller and likely faster than him, but that meant that Jack needed to be more strategic and follow the Snitch, making his move when he absolutely needed to, and grab the Snitch out of the air. As soon as Leafe let go of the Snitch, Ariane darted off after it. To some, a wise move. Right now, Jack was following the gold-winged ball with his eyes. He would take off as soon as it came around at the right time. Ariane seemed to be failing to keep a close eye on it, but his eye was trained hard, and the gold ball turned quickly toward him and he kicked the lower end of his broom hard, turning into a 180 and spinning to jet off right after the ball whizzed past his ear. He inched closer and closer, reaching his hand out to grasp the gold ball. He guessed that Ariane would think he would get aggressive with her, but he only played that way if he needed to, and right now he felt he almost had the game in the bag. He reached his black gloved hand out to grab the Snitch out of the air in front of Chan’s face, expecting the imminent victory.

[Milo Leafe]

Milo smiled as both students responded swiftly off- good. No hesitations this time. He wanted to see that Chan saw the competition and was pleased when she seemed to do so. He was also pleased that Jack kept his head enough to focus on the Snitch. Doing so was good, but it was only luck that made the golden ball change direction. Milo noticed that as it did so and passed Jack- soon on Chan’s tail- there was almost a collision between the two; it was inevitable. He was a little disappointed that there wasn’t, admittedly. It would be interesting to see how Ariane would react to being hit mid-air by another person; Milo suspected that Jack would just shake it off for a moment. But Chan was a little different, both a weakness and a strength.

Leafe continued to watch the two and was a little surprised as the Snitch was caught- admittedly, he had not expected it to be in the hands that now clutched it. Hmm. Ironic that the only boy on the team would catch the Snitch. Or not so ironic. It took seconds for Milo to fly back up to the two, waiting for them to come closer after slowing down from their race. He shook his head at the Snitch in Jack’s hands when the boy made as if to return it. “No, that’s yours. You…” He cocked his head slightly, considering his words. He was about to say ‘you earned it’- but he didn’t believe those words, so did not say so. “- were lucky. If the Snitch had continued straight on, you would have had no chance at all in catching it.” Milo didn’t focus on further comments. “Ariane Chan, you flew well there. In a normal game, Bludgers would have been flying at you, Jack, because you were stationary; thus an easy target. You would have been hit… and the Snitch would be Chan’s.”

Milo flew to the ground once more and nodded to both remaining students. His mind was wondering about what thoughts were going through their heads at that moment- he hoped that Jack’s were not smug, as Leafe knew the boy could not rely on the tactics he had used then. Chan… she was difficult to read. Either she didn’t care at all or she would care too much; Milo doubted that it would be in the middle of the two for some reason. Perhaps because she was so much like him… Shaking his head mentally from the thoughts, he spoke once more before departing. “I will see you both in the next task. Be ready.”

---

SYSTEM – D6 + D6 + CON + AGG + SP = TOTAL

SNITCH
ARIANE – 4 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 4 = 16
JACK – 5 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 3 = 17


Jack catches the snitch, Ariane does not.

You may post your reactions.

Thanks both for your quick replies.


Final Standings:
1 - Jack
2 - Ariane
3 - Josephine
4 - Sita

[Ariane Chan]

Ariane had been confident - very confident, perhaps over-confident - that she would be the winner. However, to her great surprise, Jack's hand was the first - and only - to grasp the Snitch, not her own. Ariane's eyes jerked towards the Slytherin beside her, feeling a sense of surprise, anger and annoyance... not all of it was directed at Jack, though. The feeling died down after her calm conscience stepped in and suppressed it successfully, leaving Ariane feeling emotionless... There was a lead of disappointment resting in the pit of her stomach, but it was a light burden, and it was gone by the time Ariane had floated casually back to Milo with Jack.

The short journey was silent but filled with thoughts for Ariane; thoughts assessing the task that she had just lost - to Jack Reid, nonetheless. In hindsight, perhaps Ariane had not been careful enough: Jack had sneaked up on her when she had been concentrating too much on the Snitch; she had to be more aware of her opponents. Also, Ariane had let her guard down: although she had been out there to win, she hadn't wanted it enough, although her self-belief had been strong, certainly. Perhaps she'd underestimated Jack a little.

Only a crease of a frown aligned her forehead as she hovered in front of Milo, waiting for the criticism. Ariane concluded to herself that she had done well overall. Yes, she had lost the Snitch to a Slytherin; yes, that annoyed her to no end and she felt disappointed for her supporters (all two of them) more than she was ashamed of herself. However, Ariane didn't let loss become grudge (although she was very good at holding grudges); she was more mature and sensible than that. The moment they were stationary, she extended a hand to Jack, a calm but blank expression on her face. No words were exchanged, but what Ariane intended was to assert that she had had a good match and she was not bitter about losing. Frustration was mingled with her competitive streak, but Ariane didn't let it control her, nor was it aimed at Jack - but at herself.

Ariane didn't expect Jack to take her hand; if he did she would shake and retract hastily; and if he didn't, she would pretend she had not attempted to silently congratulate him on beating her. In her heart, Ariane believed she was the better Seeker; she was tactically better than Jack, although he had strength and evidently a natural skill (but whether that was better than hers was subject to opinion). Hearing Milo's short words confirmed Ariane's thoughts that she had not done a poor job; she had tried hard, although it had not been her best. After all, Ariane was not particularly concerned about the competition and winning it, although she did feel her competitive streak shifting uncomfortably. Her conscience sated it by assuring it that she would do better next time - and win.

Ariane's extreme reactions continued to battle in her head until she descended leisurely towards two yellow-clad figures. Harmony was wrapped in bright sun-coloured robes (a dubious fashion statement, Ariane thought inwardly), and Aurora was wearing her Hufflepuff scarf (with a flashing red hair accessory though, in support of her best friend, which had made Ariane crack a rare smile before the task). The moment she saw her sister and best friend, most of Ariane's frustrations filtered away automatically. The battle between her competitiveness' annoyance at her failure and her natural desire to not give a damn because she didn't want to be here in the first place halted as Ariane was embraced by a flushed Harmony. Ariane let her sister hug her with an awkward expression, sending Aurora a subtle pleading look as Harmony chattered away.

"You were good - better than that Slytherin, I think. I'm probably biased, but you should've won," Harmony enthused with a hint of disappointment. Drawing away, Ariane patted her sibling on the shoulder comfortingly in silence as Aurora answered for her.
"Never mind. You'll get them next time. You'll try harder and hopefully luck will be on your side, hm?" Aurora flashed Ariane a knowing look, and she grabbed Harmony's arm to pull her off the edge of the Quidditch pitch. "Come on, let's go get a bite to eat. You can watch yourself on my 'oculars, Ari." With a small smile, and having forgotten her previous loss, Ariane followed the most important people in her life off the pitch and into the warmth.

[Jack Reid]

Jack felt the gold ball in his hand and smiled slightly, knowing the victory was his, as he jetted away from nearly colliding with Ariane. It hadn’t quite been the best strategy, and he honestly hadn’t expected it to work. In a regular game, bludgers would have been flying all around him, likely hitting him from all sides as he was just sitting there hovering for the first few seconds. One thing he had learned in his first practices when he was originally on the Quidditch team: as a Seeker, never stop. Never ever stop your broom. Jack now found it interesting that the only man out of the four seekers ended up winning the whole challenge and ended up catching two Snitches. As he flew around, Milo Leafe came around to acknowledge them, and he was about to hand the Snitch back to their instructor, when Milo said that it was his to keep. It seemed he was about to compliment Jack, saying that he earned it, but he changed it quickly to an idea of luck. He nodded once again at Milo’s instruction, and took it to heart, even if Milo didn’t think that Jack did take instruction well. When he was treated correctly, he would take things well.

Jack knew he had to improve if he wanted to continue to win at this game, so he would work on his flaws, as Milo had talked about. He turned his broom around, speaking. “Ariane, you were a great competito---”, but that was as far as he got before he realized that Chan was gone. She was already seemingly sulking in her loss, and she had met up with Harmony, down in the dumps. The fact was she had played well, and Jack knew that. He wanted to congratulate her, but she was busy now. Luck had really been the deciding factor. He flew down to the others, ready to continue to get better and refine his skills once again, gearing up for the next challenge.