Pinpoint Turning ((QSC Seekers))

[Ethan Chapman]

((Calling Josephine Bowman S5, Ariane Chan G7 and Sita Mehadi H5.))


This afternoon's activity would be the final Seeker challenge, Pinpoint Turning. Ethan's preferred positions were Chaser and Beater, since he preferred playing within a team rather than alone, though he had practised and played as a Seeker before. Having played for his local team, then for his country around the world, Ethan had had to adjust to playing in all four positions, in case one of his teammates became unable to play. It was rare Ethan played Seeker or Keeper, but he hadn't been poor at either. His love would always be for Chasing and Beating, though; spending one's entire life in those two positions had taught him to love and treasure them.

Ethan arrived on the pitch, the taste of chicken for lunch still in his mouth. The Wigtown Wanderers Seeker was already there and Ethan nodded at Milo in greeting. "Afternoon," he smiled around at the three students awaiting the challenge. "Are you ready for your last task?" Observing the three girls (odd, no boys, though Ethan had immediately noticed the overwhelming female influence in Hogwarts Quidditch, with all the Captains being female), Ethan noted the contrasting cold and warmth personalities in the fifth-year girls just from the gleams in their eyes and the expressions on their youthful faces. He hadn't lived fifty plus years for nothing. Then Ethan turned to the oldest student in the group, the only Gryffindor; she was still and silent, and he remembered that she was currently the leader in the Seeker matches. He wondered how she'd fare today.

Ethan nodded at their supervisor, Milo, again, before addressing the girls once more to announce the start of their task, Pinpoint Turning. "The aim of today's game is simple: see this obstacle course?" Ethan tilted his head upwards and sideways; it was magically built and dangerous if fliers weren't careful. "The three of you will fly through it against each other. In essence, this is a race. However, you are Seekers; the Seeker element is that you will be chasing a Snitch. You must follow this Snitch through the course; it will leave a trail of golden dust so you don't lose it. The first to capture the Snitch is the winner." Ethan turned back to the Seekers. He knew this was the most dangerous task for them so far. "Please be careful. Medical assistance is on hand in case there is an accident, but I am sure you will all be careful. Reckless behaviour would be foolish." Ethan sent them a pointed, stern look, before concluding, "Any questions? All right, mount your brooms, girls. Let's start."


((Handling, Speed, and Accuracy will be added to 3 D6 rolls to determine the player who is the fastest. See here for your stats. The deadline will be edited here later when I have been told what it is.))

[Ariane Chan]

Ariane lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the shy summer sun. The weather had improved drastically over the course of the week and for once she was grateful for it. Judging from what she could only assume was some sort of obstacle course that lay ahead of her as she walked onto the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, rain wouldn't be welcome during this next and final challenge for the Quidditch Skills Cup. To say Ariane was pleased this was drawing to an end was an understatement; she hadn't wanted to participate in the first place. She would be glad to get this over and done with, though that slumbering competitive streak within her would stir every now and again at the thought of winning.

Ariane's opponents arrived a few moments later to join herself and Milo Leafe, Seeker for the Wigtown Wanderers. At the moment, Ariane was the lead Seeker between the three. Perhaps it was because she was older, but she didn't believe that age was the key to much. It was ironic, though, that she was the only one not to be a part of her house team; Josephine played for Slytherin, Sita for Hufflepuff. Ariane had never once truly considered joining a team, despite the fact that the prize of this tournament was to participate in an 'all-star' line-up that was to play in America - Ariane's least favourite place on the planet.

d**n, why was she doing this again? Harmony. Since her little sister had been eliminated from the Chaser competition, it was down to Ariane to 'make the Chans proud', as Aurora had said with a jovial smirk. Ariane had snorted, rolled her eyes, and went to grab her broom to practise - alone. Doing this competition for Harmony didn't make it any easier for Ariane, though. The thought of playing in a team of strangers in America of all places was worse than having to face Tristan... almost. As usual, as Ariane waited for the Coach of the Wigtown Wanderers to arrive, she felt an inclination to give up; to throw in the towel and play poorly, to let her opponents win. But she was Ariane Chan and, well. She couldn't do that.

Finally Ethan Chapman arrived and the introduction to today's task began. Ariane listened to the instructions carefully; as she had predicted, it was indeed an obstacle course. The activity wasn't strenuous and she was not at all fazed by the dangerous though small threats. Ariane had been knifed in the abdomen before, she had seen and experienced worse. Without batting an eyelid of fear, she mounted her broom. She was aware Harmony and Aurora were watching from afar and knew they would be worried; however, she also knew they believed in her, and that was why Ariane couldn't give up - she couldn't let them down. Not again. She kicked off the ground gracefully into the air with the other two girls. Her Snitch twitched in front of her face and, at the blow of the whistle, it jerked off, leaving, as the Coach had said, a trail of gold dust. Without a single hesitation, Ariane shot after it through the obstacle course. She was fast; she could win this.

[Josephine Bowman S7]

This was it…the last task of the Quidditch Skills Cup. This task would be the deciding factor at whether or not she was able to be on the team that played in America. It was something she truly wanted and needed to do. Brianna would have wanted her to do it and as such Josephine knew she had to…but it was more than that. Josephine also wanted to, craved to, be able to play Quidditch in America. A part of her had always longed to visit the place, despite the continued annoyance of its occupants. She had also wanted to visit a different continent. She was always in Europe; though most countries she’d visited were indeed beautiful and perfect she’d always wanted to cross that wide-open ocean. It definitely seemed like it would be fun. Besides that, playing an international Quidditch game would be one to tell the children and grandchildren, if she were to ever have any.

She breathed in the Quidditch air as she slowly made her way across the field toward the Wigtown Wanderers Seeker. The freshly cut grass and smell of wet wood cast a pleasant smell around the pitch and Josephine herself felt a hundred times better than before. Quidditch always seemed to do that for her. Always made life a little easier to handle. It was probably one of the reasons why she felt she had to be successful in it. Shifting her broom to her dominant left hand Josephine came to a stop beside Ariane Chan…the Gryffindor annoyance who had decided that she was going to take up as Seeker even though she’d never played in her life. If Josephine lost out to her for the starting spot she’d probably lose it on the girl and hex her. Of course that was just nonsense…Josephine would win, simple as that.

Josephine was quick to meet the eyes of the Wigtown Wanderers Seeker. Ethan Chapman was his name and Josephine had watched him play once or twice before. He was a good Seeker and one that Jo may or may not have thought was also slightly attractive, however in her current state of determination she was far too focused on winning to focus on how attractive he was. Though there was a silent alarm going on in her head. She forced it to stop though before her attention could wane. He was discussing the challenge and Josephine felt a soft smile pull at her lips. She was good at obstacle courses. There was no way anyone would beat her today. That snitch was going to be hers. Icy blue orbs landed on Chan and she smirked. Today was going to be her day, not Chan’s. Today she was going to make her sister proud.

Mounting her broom she felt the familiar wood seem to meld to her. She was one with her broom; she was one with her mind. Determination flared to life. She wanted this more than the others did; she needed it more than they did. This was going to be her day. This snitch was going to be hers. Everything was flaring to life in her and she knew that she’d succeed. There was no option for failure today…none. This was what she was meant to do. Her whole life had led to this moment…well probably not in reality, but at the moment she truly thought so. The whistle blew and the Snitch took off. Josephine saw the trail of gold and shot off after it. Her eyes focused on the Snitch, not leaving it as the obstacle course sprung up before her. She would make it through. She knew she would. Whether it was in one piece or many Josephine didn’t care as long as she caught that snitch.

[Sita Mehadi H7]

As if Sita knew an awful lot about Quidditch, but yet here she still was competing in the Skills Cup. She had enjoyed the last challenge... she'd even joined her house team since then! So something good had come out of it all, despite her poor performance in the last task.

She hadn't even bothered to straighten her hair for today, and had tied it back in a bright orange bobble. She didn't look as pretty as usual, in her opinion, but she knew that she looked sporty and that pleased her. Sita was sporty, although with her parents' occupation, it was Muggle sports that she'd got involved with the most so far in her life... tennis especially. She was unlikely to get serious about Quidditch at this point.

Sita cheered up visibly as Ethan Chapman pointed out what today's task was. A race! Here she felt she was on a level playing field with the other competitors. She was fast, she had a good eye for steering round obstacles, and in school flying lessons she quite frequently came out as the winner of similar races. The only thing that was at all different was the fact that there was a Snitch involved. She shrugged. She thought she could handle it. She set off eagerly. She wasn't about to get left behind by the other two, not this time.

[Ethan Chapman]

Ethan watched with interest as all three players took to the sky. They barrelled through the obstacles with determination and confidence - especially the seventh-year Gryffindor and fifth-year Slytherin. It was as though there was an invisible yet tangible rivalry between them, although they had never once in front of Ethan acknowledged each other. Perhaps, he reckoned, they recognised the skill in their opponent and saw them as their rival. Competition was healthy in Ethan's eyes and he hoped it would strengthen, not deter from their performance. It made some falter, and sadly they were usually the weaker players, those not fit for competition and battle. Ethan himself was a confident, competitive man, but he strived to maintain a balance so when defeat did come, he was prepared to deal with it. You couldn't win every time, he had learnt that in the last thirty years; you had to realise you don't always get your way, but he hadn't known that as a teenager and had been over-confident and cocky. Now his arrogance had toned down considerably and caused many people to admire him for his experience, which Ethan felt was much better than being disliked for cockiness.

All three girls completed the obstacles in good time and few struggles. Mehadi, the Hufflepuff fifth year, proved to be the best, surprisingly. She finished first in a record time that impressed Ethan. Mehadi had not shown her best skills so far during the tournament, having come last in the first task, so he was pleased to see her fulfilling her true potential. Chan and Bowman, on the other hand, despite their invisible heated rivalry, fared worse, and were more slow and lagged. Eventually Chan was a few seconds ahead of Bowman. Ethan nodded to himself as the girls came to a halt to rest. No doubt they needed to compose themselves, especially Bowman, who had come last; he did not expect a competitive young girl like her would take defeat well, as Ethan himself had not done so during his own youth, and had been prone to dark moods for days after. "Well done, girls," he said as he approached them with an encouraging smile that would likely be lost on Chan and Bowman especially. "You have officially finished all the tasks for the Quidditch Skills Cup. Miss Mehadi is the winner of this task, congratulations." He stretched out a hand to shake Mehadi jovially. "Commiserations to Miss Chan and Miss Bowman, but you both gave impressive performances, you can only be proud of yourselves. Now, to announce the overall winner of the Seekers in this tournament."

Ethan turned to Milo, who stood beside him, and murmured imperceptively. When Milo nodded his assent, Ethan turned back to the girls with a smile. "I am delighted to announce that the winner of the Seekers, and the girl who will be travelling with myself to America to participate in an all-important Quidditch match as the main-team Seeker, is Ariane Chan. Congratulations." Ethan shook her head. "The runner-up is Sita Mehadi, who will also travel with me and be Chan's reserve Seeker. Rest assured you will get a chance to play too. Congratulations." Then he shook the younger girl's hand for the second time. "Finally, Miss Bowman, you have done exceptionally well, but unfortunately you missed a place off the team. Let me offer you my condolences and utter conviction that you will make a fantastic Seeker in the future. You can only continue to grow in your skills with experience." Ethan shook one final hand before stepping back in line with Milo. "Thank you for entering and participating in the Quidditch Skills Cup," he said with a smile. "It has been a pleasure to be able to watch such talented youngsters fly so well. I'll see Miss Chan and Miss Mehadi in America."


((Rolls (Han + Sp + Acc + D6 + D6 + D6)
Ariane Chan: 4 + 5 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 18
Josephine Bowman: 4 + 4 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 2 = 16
Sita Mehadi: 3 + 4 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 5 = 24

Rankings for this task
1st: Sita Mehadi = 3 points
2nd: Ariane Chan = 2 points
3rd: Josephine Bowman = 1 point

Combined points from all asks
Sita Mehadi: 1 + 3 = 4
Josephine Bowman: 2 + 1 = 3
Ariane Chan: 3 + 2 = 5

Overall standings
1st: Ariane Chan
2nd: Sita Mehadi
3rd: Josephine Bowman

Thank you to all three of you for participating and well done!))