[Quid.Match] Q2: Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

Quidditch Cup One
MATCH TWO




The sun is shining through
patches of white and grey cloud.
Small, unnoticable breeze.
Rain could be on the way.

The Quaffle and Snitch are released.

[Jamie-Syrus Griffiths]

Jamie-Syrus was an easy going kind of guy, not much truly fazed him and his attitude normally resulted in him hanging out in the commonroom stuffing himself on sweets and drinking enough pumpkin juice that he was surprised that he was not turning orange! However if it was not for games of cards in Dan’s office, classes or trips to Honeydukes for more sweets Jamie-Syrus would only leave the Hufflepuff Commonroom to go down to the Quidditch Pitch…maybe that was why he was so pale. And that was the reason he had now donned his yellow Quidditch robes and was hovering on his broomstick a fair few meters above the ground. The cheers from his fellow students reverberated around the stadium as yellow and blue banners fluttered in the wind that was bringing the dark storm clouds closer over the Scottish mountains.

Ellie had given the team a dam good team talk before the game started and the extra addition of Professor Vaid and Headmaster Hubbles prep talk would have done the moral of the side no harm. And it was as he waited for the Quaffle to be thrown up into the air that Dan’s last words replayed in his head, and Jamie-Syrus could not help but laugh as he thought of all the bad language that had escaped form the Headmasters lips!

That was when he saw the referee throw the Quaffle up into the air and with light speed reactions Jamie lunged forward, arms outstretched and he was not surprised when he felt the Quaffle fall safely into his gloved hands. Chuckling to himself with the thrill of the game Jamie pulled his broomstick sharply to one side to avoid an on coming player and then dived downwards all the while making his way closer to the three tall goal hoops. Humming himself a small tune Jamie looked around for either Ellie or Caleb and at the first site of one of them he tossed the Quaffle into the air and just like a volley ball gave it a punch to help it along its way and hopefully into the arms of his teammate.

[Heavenly Laurent]

Dark stormclouds gathered over the mountains, the yellow and blue banners fluttered in the slight breeze, the air hummed with electricity... tricky conditions for a match... But Heavenly, in her blue robes was ready to take it on.

The pint-sized Ravenclaw hovered on her broom, the Snitch was released, the whistle blown, and Heavenly Laurent rose quickly yet gracefully into the air. Circling the edge of the pitch, her sharp eyes watched for the Golden Snitch while also keeping an eye on the other players. She saw Jamie-Syrus from Hufflepuff grab the Quaffle and she groaned. "Come on guys, you're letting them get ahead of us already?" she muttered to herself. Not that anyone could hear her of course, over the roaring and cheering of the crowd.

Heavenly sighed, running a nervous hand through her golden hair. She couldn't believe the day was finally here, her first match! Of course she definitely wanted to win and make her cousin proud of her. But she also knew that no matter the outcome, as long as she tried her best and had fun doing it, Ashton would be proud of her. That's what she loved about Ash. He never tried to push her or put pressure on her to win, win, win. To the both of them, simply enjoying the game and doing your personal best was more than enough.

She giggled slightly as she thought of her cousin. Although she and Ash were nine years apart in age, they had always been closer to eachother than they had their own siblings. Or in Ash's case, step-sibling. Ash had always been more of a brother than a cousin to her. But he was more than that, he was her best friend, and protector. Granted he did get a little over protective... but Heavenly figured that had something to do with her small size.

At four feet- nine inches tall, Heavenly was certainly one of the smallest students in her year. If not the school! And Ash at five-seven, literally towered over her of course. Heavenly, was in fact, so small that it wasn't uncommon for Ash to still give her piggyback rides or carry her around. Not that she cared. Actually she quite enjoyed having her own personal Chaffeur!

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she spotted a glint of gold. All thoughts immediately returned to the match. Was it the Snitch? She leaned forward for a btter look. No, it wasn't. Just someone's watch. Heavenly sat back with a sigh and continued to circle the pitch watching for the little golden ball that would win her team the game...

[Alexis Heart]

The morning started her off with a song in her head. It went a little something like this, what day is today, today is our first Quidditch match. What day is today, today is our first Quidditch match. This little ditty played itself in her head for hours as she smiled at just about everything and everyone. There was nothing Alexis Heart enjoyed more than a good game of Quidditch. The game itself was the most exciting thing in the world, played on broom sticks, with crazy balls called bludgers trying to fly around and unseat people. Alexis happened to be the Ravenclaw teams beater and it was her job to aim those bludgers at members of the opposite team.

It was something Alexis enjoyed because it gave her the opportunity to release some of her frustrations on others. Not that she had any at the moment, still it was nice to be able to just wing that bat and knock a bludger out of the way. Despite the violence being a beater was very important, it was her job to make sure no one tried to take out the chasers, the keeper, and especially the seeker. The seeker was the most important member of the team. It was up to them to catch the snitch and the snitch could mean the difference between a win and a loss, plus a game of Quidditch did not end until the snitch was found.

Breakfast that morning was an interesting affair her face was lit up like a Christmas tree and she wouldn't eat a thing. The excitement of getting up in her broom and playing again the other team was too much to bear. At this point she was fit to bursting and eating would not have helped her at all. So when she realized that food was not going to keep her there she opted to leave and head off to the pitch to meet up with the rest of the team that were probably in the changing rooms getting ready.

Walking the grounds Alexis looked up at the sky to see the weather conditions for the match. They were decent, cloudy yes but not thick clouds you could see in front of you and that meant no sun glare so vision would be optimal. It could rain, but the clouds didn't look like they were holding much liquid so it would probably be a light rain. She was ready for no matter what.

Standing on the field with her teammates she watched the ref throw the Quaffle into the air and release the Snitch. That meant it was time to go. Hopping on her broom she kicked off from the ground hard and in no time was flying around the pitch, her eyes peeled for any sign of a pesky bludger.

[Caleb Holden]

Caleb had stared at the ceiling for hours trying to fall asleep. However, his attempt had been in vain, for whatever amount of sleep he had gotten wasn't enough. Sluggishly, he readied for an early breakfast and headed to the Great Hall. At breakfast, he ate little bits of everything and made sure to hydrate. The pumpkin juice worked wonders in waking himself up. All too quickly, or so he felt, he was ready to head to the Pitch for the match. Trying to stay as focused as possible, he allowed no other thoughts or idle chat to pass the blockade of his mind.

The yellow and blue banners stood out against the clouded sky. Caleb hoped that it would not rain. Once inside the Hufflepuff changing room, Caleb quickly readied his mind and his body, stretching some before swapping his school robes for the Hufflepuff team robes. Clutching his broom, he listened to the pep talks, getting the adrenaline pumping.

He stepped outside with the rest of his team, closing the sound of the crowds from his mind. He wouldn't let the noise of the student body bother him during this match. Flying into the air, Caleb had a moment of pure bliss to be flying again until the Quaffle was released and Jamie caught it. Caleb raced farther up toward the hoops, waiting for the pass. He kept his eye out for Bludgers, not ready to be hit by one yet.

He turned fast enough to see Jamie's pass and caught it. Quickly maneuvering his broom, he twisted and curved his way through the players, trying to confuse the Ravenclaws as to who exactly had the Quaffle. Bringing the Quaffle closer to the hoops, he made a sharp right turn to avoid a stray Bludger, straightened toward the hoops, then threw the Quaffle, hoping that one of the Hufflepuff Chasers would catch it.

[Ellie Rook]

This was it, the day Ellie had been waiting for. She tossed and turned the night before, not gaining much sleep, but thinking about everything that could go wrong. At 6:30 am, Ellie finally decided that she could get up. She put on her quidditch robe sand went down to breakfast, seeing a couple of her teammates there also. She sat with them, and the conversation was thin. Ellie ate a piece of toast slathered in butter, but nothing else.

Ellie would have to say that waiting was the worst part of the day of a match. Once she was ready, she just wanted to play. However, the captain had a lot to do before it was time to go out on the pitch.

In the locker room she set up her teams lockers, spelling their names out above each one in a sparkling ink that came straight from her wand. Ellie was satisfied that the team would like the surprise. Ellie now sat, her own broom in hand, her chasing gloves slipped on and her hair pulled back in two tight braids that went down her head.

The team filed in and Ellie let them get themselves ready before calling their attention. "Ok gang," She said as they quieted down, Ellie now had the spotlight. "This is it, the first match. I know how much as of you have worked, and your spirit is amazing, but we can't hold back today. Let it all loose. Play safe, play smart, but have fun." Ellie said, bringing her team together in a huddle. The stood there a moment, one mass of black and yellow robes, and then Ellie yelled "Let's Go!" and she stepped out of the robe room and onto the pitch.

The game had started and the tip off had gone great. Jamie grabbed the quaffle, but Ellie was just in a horrible position to receive it. She was just feet away from the pas when a luckily Caleb picked it up. Ellie raced after him, picking up speed, trying to get a good position. Her fellow chaser was close by her. The pass was made, and this time Ellie was in a perfect position to catch his pass, and the quaffle slide nicely into her hands. Ellie flew fast toward the goal getting a good ways down the pitch. However, Ellie knew holding on the quaffle that long meant bludgers on her tail. Ellie started for the top goal post, and turning slightly to the left. She turned behind her and threw the quaffle hard into the top hoop, hoping her tactic would have confused Bray, that would have been sweet revenge.

[Bradyn Reed]

Bray was peculiar when he was nervous. He became completely stoic and snapped easily, which meant that his quidditch players got quite a bit of hassling yesterday. And no one had it as bad as Felicity locke, who he was sure got told to break her leg several times. But they both agreed that Claw domination was worth more than petty hatred, and the two would work together like never before to crush the Hufflepuffs. It was odd to wake up and sit next to her at breakfast, everyone was excited and he was back to his normal self. Normal as in, playing a couple pranks on the hufflepuff table by exploding their drinks then pretending nothing happened. Finally, it was time for him to pull on his dark blue robes and pull together the team for a peptalk - bray style.

"You better not embarrass me out there. You'd almost have to try to lose against hufflepuff."

With that he rolled his eyes at the Hufflepuff's excited cheers and moved his way over to the hoops, paying special attention when they got the Quaffle first. Come on, come on, someone steal that thing before I beat you! He thought, grinding his teeth in frustration as his ex-girlfriend looked smug while she prepared to toss it in. Adjusting his legs quickly, Bray pulled his gloved hands off of his broom in preparation for a block. Then he tried to make eye contact with her, trying to see which way she was looking to aim and his expression was smug as he kept his position centered until the quaffle left her hands. Pulling up swiftly, he was nearly vertical when he felt the quaffle graze his fingertips. With an emergency dive to the left to keep his balance, his only thought was to keep it out of his hoops.

Goal Saved! by Ravenclaw

[cora]

Cora hadn't joined her team at breakfast. Instead she stayed in bed, head covered by her dark blue quilt, trying to pretend like it was still dark out and she had hours before her first quidditch match. Cora couldn't remember why she tried out for the quidditch team in the first place. Probably because she had been caught flying by herself and urged that she should try out. Cora did, and didnt think that she would actually make the team.

Cora was a muggle, so the first time she ever flew a broom was only a few years ago. However, she found that she really enjoyed flying. It was something she could do by herself, where she could be totally alone where no one could bother her. It had stayed this way for a while, but now Cora was no loner alone.

Cora could hear the early yelling and screaming for the teams that started before a match. She groaned and threw the covers off her head. She squinted as she was blinded by the light of the day, even though it was cloudy. She sighed and jumped out of bed, throwing on her quidditch robes, not bothering to re-do her hair, which was in a messy bun. She grabbed her broom which was a loaner from the school since she still didn't own her own.

She walked down to the pitch, walking into the locker room just as Bray gave his one lined speech. The rest of the team walked out and onto the pitch. Cora stood there biting her nails for about a minute and then kicked herself out on to the pitch. She got herself in the air, and tried to ignore the hundreds of voices below her. They were all looking at her. She froze in position.

The game started, and it seemed as though everyone was moving so fast around her. Cora seemed to float without moving. She watched as the Hufflepuff took the quaffle. She forgot how to play and what to do. She watched the Captain of the Hufflepuff team take a shot. It was Captain against Captain and it seemed that Ravenclaw pulled it off. Suddenly, Cora found herself going toward the goals, and she got the quaffle from Bray who had just made a wonderful save. Cora turned herself around but didn't go anywhere, she looked around for a Ravenclaw chaser, but she didn't go any further then she was. Finally she saw some blue and threw the quaffle as far as she could, hoping that she would completely mess up.

[Paige Matthews]

Paige couldn't believe it, how crazy was this. Today was her first Quidditch match on her new team. She was still stunned that she made her house team when it happened just by chance. It was cool though since she found out that she was a natural when it came to flying. For years she thought she would be bad at it but when she got up on that broom it was like she was meant to do it. So when the team captain told her it was a go for her to be on the team Paige couldn't help it and she went for it. She was so excited that she went and found Rosa to tell her the good news, and though her sister wasn't that into the sport she still managed to cheer her sister on.

So before the match that day Paige went to find her sister who was usually good at giving her pep talks since Paige was so nervous she really needed one. Rosa had a big grin on her face and asked her how it was going. Of course Paige broke down and told her everything. Rosa being the oldest took on the motherly type role, patting Paige on the back and telling her that everything would be alright. They sat together for a few hours just talking until it was almost time for the game to start. The two sisters parted ways Rosa went to the stands to watch while Paige went to the changing rooms to get ready.

In the changing room was the rest of the team. They were getting ready so Paige followed suit. Their captain Ellie gave a speech a good one at that. Finally, Paige felt as if she was ready this was going to be a good game. Ravenclaw had a good team but the Puffs had heart and sometimes heart was a lot more important. Going out onto the pitch with the rest of her team her heart was pounding almost out of her chest but she still got on her broom and up into the air along with everyone else.

[Heavenly Laurent]

Heavenly sighed with impatience as she continued to circle the pitch, looking for that pesky golden ball. Did they honestly have to make it so freakin tiny? she grumbled to herself. What was the point of trying to catch the ball if you could barely see the stupid thing? Focus Heavenly! You've got a game to win she chided herself as she forced her attetnion back to the game. "Yes!" she gave a small cheer as Bray saved a goal. Cora, intercepted the quaffle and passed to someone in blue. Heavenly prayed they would catch it.

Once again, Heavenly saw a glint of gold. This time near the Ravenclaw stands. However, leaning forward she realised it was just someone's necklace. Heavenly couldn't help but groan as she leaned back and continued to search for the snitch. Now where could that pesky snitch possibly be? she wondered as she watched the game going on slightly below her.

Heavenly watched each team, trying to learn their strategies. Their didn't seem to be much of a strategy at the moment. Then again, it was their first game. Plenty of time to come up with a winning strategy later. Besides, she was confident that Ravenclaw would win. They had an excellent team. Bray, despite being a slavedriver was an exceptionally good Keeper, their Chasers were cool, calm, and collected and seemed to work as a team. The Beaters were..well, they were brutal! And not to brag or anything, but Heavenly herself was wicked fast and had eyes like an eagle. Most of all they had skill, comraderie, determination, and heart. Oh yeah...Ravenclaw definitely had a winning team this year

[Alice Simmons]

Alice had the family honour and reputation to uphold, her brother Dax had been a beater for Hufflepuff many years ago and here she was, the small and determined Hufflepuff was going to do her very best to help her house win! As the Keeper her job was clear, defend the hoops and to never less the quaffle in. The problem was this would be her first ever Quidditch game and as she sat in the changing rooms her heart was pounding her stomach was twisting itself into a million knots threatening to bring up her breakfast. Walking out onto the Quidditch pitch did not help either, the cheering of crowd and the feeling of the atmosphere of anticipation that clung the stadium made the normally talkative girl lose the ability to speak.

However as soon as she was up in the air, the sharp wind blowing her red hair around behind her all sense of nerves and anticipation where thrown out the window. She had a game to help win for Hufflepuff and the only way she could do that was to focus on what was going on around her. Thankfully however her teams chasers were on the ball (literally) and they flew into action passing the quaffle to one another and leading everyone away from her hoops that she needed to protect. That was when a gasp on anticipation filled the stadium as Hufflepuff captain Ellie Rook shot for goal only for it to be saved by the Ravenclaw goal keeper.

Ravenclaw now had possession and with her small beady eyes fixed upon the blue robed chaser followed their progress getting ready to dive in the way to protect her hoops, although Alice hoped that one of the many yellow robed chasers would get the ball first…save her a bit of work.

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie was holding her breath as her first shot of the season went right into the hands of Bradyn Reed. Ellie groaned, but didn't dwell on what could have been for long. The quaffle was put back into play and into the hands of Cora Davis. Ellie had tried to study up on all her opponents and knew that Cora was the nervous type. Any pressure and the quaffle would be put right into Hufflepuff hands.

Ellie flew towards her and she saw that the girl was not moving, she did not fly fowards or even backwards, she was motionless in the air, quaffle in her arms, looking around for an open Ravenclaw. Ellie saw the window that the girl would choose to use and raced towards it. Ellie had guess right. In the next second, the Ravenclaw threw the quaffle and Ellie was able to easily intercept the quaffle. Ellie was right on top of the hoops, but she couldn't get off a good shot. She yelled to her team to get open and help her out.

Finally she saw a good pass. Ellie threw the quaffle, lobbing it over the head of a Ravenclaw and hoped it fell in the hands of a Hufflepuff.

[Felicity Locke]

Quidditch, just another tally on the ‘I-have-no-free-time’ list that Felicity was currently making. When she wasn’t practicing, she was walking around the halls telling kids to get the hell back to their rooms before she kicked their arses there. On top of that, she had changed her position to chaser because there was a need for them. Fay really needed to take a break on this nonsense or she was going to go mad. Well, crazier than she already is.

The game had started, but it seemed like Felicity had been out of it. She grumbled at her own sleepiness and watched as the Quaffle soared toward their hoops. Luckily, Bray was awake today and caught the Quaffle. She grinned in spite of herself and cheered like the rest of the Claws. Fight or no fight, they were going to win this match. With that thought in mind, she worked to locate the Quaffle. And then she saw it, in the hands of Ellie. Oh snap.

Felicity flew forward, trying to catch up to the Puff girl as she swerved past players and tried to avoid the random bludgers. Ellie shifted to throw, and Fay flew to the side. The Quaffle flew through the air, and Felicity flew forward to catch it. It slammed against her chest as she caught it roughly in her arms and tucked it against her chest. The breath was knocked out of her, leaving her momentarily stunned from the hit.

Working against the throbbing in her chest, she flew forward, squinting to try to locate a Claw to receive her pass. She noticed a spot of blue and threw the Quaffle toward it.

[Alfie Baxendale]

It was odd how their captain’s speech had not filled Alfie with a lot of confidence, so as well as having to play chaser for Ravenclaw he was also going to have to make sure he did not let Bradyn and his house down. As a result his nervous seemed to have taken over and for the first ten minutes of the game everything seemed to overpower the fourth year. The cheering of the crowd seemed deafening, the cold wind made his hair stand on end and more importantly he felt rather threatened by the yellow robed players that were flying at him. In fact it took for their rivals to almost score to get the Ravenclaw to kick himself into action.

Swooping into the fray Alfie flew near Fay, trailing her closely however this was when he noticed she was only looking forwards and there were no other chasers before her. With a quick bit of thinking Alfie lowered himself on his broom and urged himself forward and he overtook his fellow Ravenclaw. Glancing over his shoulder is when he finally saw the quaffle flying towards him. Reaching out with a shaking hand Alfie caught the quaffle, quickly pulling it close to him and tried to ignore the nervous that suddenly took over.

It was not only a fellow chaser he was looking out for but bludgers as well, the fear of being knocked off his broom scared the life out of him. Licking his lips nervously Alfie flew forwards trying to avoid any yellow players and at the first sight of blue in the scoring zone near the hoops Alfie threw the quaffle straight at them.

[Ellie Rook]

Ravenclaw needed to pass one more time before a shot...so, I'll take it that I can intercept.

Ellie yelled out to her team that she saw a Ravenclaw coming toward the pass, but she was too late in noticing. Ellie swore as she kicked her butt into high gear and chased after the blue robes. She noticed that it was Fay carrying the quaffle.

Ellie was getting into position just as Fay passed it off. The boy seemed to just have run into the pass. Luck, Ellie thought as she switch directions. Ellie was faster then the boy, she would bet money on it. She dove underneath him and sped up, speeding ahead of him from underneath. Ellie then waited for the perfect moment. Just as she saw his hand go back to pass, Ellie pulled up and caught the quaffle. The throw hadn't gotten more than three feet before it landed in the hand's of the Hufflepuff captain. However, now Ellie was all the way on the other side of the pitch, the wring side. She quickly did a round about and swerved to avoid the boy she had just stolen the quaffle from. She sped down the pitch, and saw a yellow blur directly underneath her. Taking a chance Ellie dropped the quaffle down to her teammate. If it worked it would be a beautiful play.