It has been a rather harrowing day for Briony Wexler. Somehow, while caught up amidst the celebrations of Gryffindor winning their last match, Briony found herself cornered by the Hufflepuff with whom she had gone to the previous year’s Governor’s Ball, Orion Kari. The conversation had started harmless enough, until Felicity showed up, and he had cornered her instead. Briony, of course, had gotten annoyed about this, but her annoyance was not to last long, as Orion soon began cornering Felicity in a very different way than how he had done with Briony — a way which even naive Briony knew was not good. His hands were on her cousin’s sides and his face was moving in. Briony had kicked him in the shin and told him to stop it, the pain of which had distracted him from Felicity long enough for her to get away, but Briony now had his attention. His attention to her was not gentle, instead twisting her arm and grabbing the younger girl up, covering her mouth, while Felicity, at first, made to run away. Briony‘s struggling made enough noise for the girl to turn back, and now it was her turn. The shin-kick did not work a second time, though, and it wasn’t until Felicity managed to bite his arm that he let go of the younger Wexler. Though in pain from the bruising, and in a shambles because of her torn robes, Briony ran quickly from the scene. Felicity and Briony became separated at that point, Briony heading to the commonroom and Felicity in another direction. Running through, Briony looks a fright; her robes are torn and mussed, and she even has a small cut on her neck from the scuffle, from which comes a small trickle of blood. The girl is nearly crying, though not quite, as she comes in and plops herself onto a couch quickly, tucking herself up completely before even noticing whether anyone else is in the room or not. It is only now that tears begin to silently flow down the girl’s cheeks while she hugs her knees close to her.

Agonizing as always over a nearly-overdue Transfigurations essay, it is several long moments before Gabriel Goden is even aware of Briony’s presence in a chair not too far from where he is, sitting on the floor in front of a low table by the fire. His careless glance up to her doesn’t tell him much except that she’s there, and he doesn’t catch on to the anguish she’s feeling. In fact, the only indicator that anything is wrong that Gabe recognizes is that Briony didn’t cheerfully greet him and start chattering away like a sugar-high sparrow. But this, he decides, is his payback for his calling her a boy in their last meaningful contact with each other. Women. Little did Briony know, her ‘silent treatment’ was hardly a punishment: ha-ha, Gabriel wins. He continues to work on his essay, purposefully ignoring her.

The glance isn’t noticed at all by Briony, because it is not until afterward that she even notices that he is in there. A rather labored breath in, and she wipes her face carefully — or, well, in typical Briony fashion — with the in-tact sleeve of her robe and then looks at him, a rather red befreckled nose rather obvious, though she seems to be trying to look as if she isn’t crying and about to overflow once again. “Ga– Gabe?” she asks in a quiet, almost mousy voice, completely out of character for the usually exhuberant girl. Her appearance is truly a fright, and her sudden appearance has seemed to frighten a few firsties away up into their dorms, while a few of the older students discreetly glance over their books at her, perhaps in an attempt to hear exactly what the problem is so that they might spread the news first.

Just short of rolling his eyes, Gabriel keeps his head down and appears to continue writing, but the truth is that he is just scribbling in a line now. He never could write and listen at the same time effectively, but he’d rather give off the appearance that he’s /not/ listening (though, he doesn’t really know why). “What?” he answers finally, furrowing his eyebrows and talking in something of an annoyed tone. Thinking her voice sounded funny, though, Gabriel does finally look up long enough to get a good look at her. “Bollocks, what happened to you?” is his callous inquiry — clearly he doesn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.

“I– he– and we– and then — and it hurt and –” is about all that is intelligible in what Briony responds with, her voice high and rather subdued, while the tears flow freely from her eyes. She wipes her face again, but all it manages to do is to aggravate a smudge on her cheek. She sniffs for a moment, her shoulders heaving a bit, and then she buries her face in her arms which she has brought up to rest atop her knees. It is clear that Briony does not know how to handle such a situation as this. Several of the older students seem to lose interest now, and chatter as they walk by, assuming that this is merely the situation of a dramatic younger student, attempting to get attention from a boy. Soon, there are only a few other people in the commonroom while the third year sits in the very corner of the couch, her head buried to stifle the sound of her crying.

Utterly dumbstruck, Gabriel stares stupidly for a minute, completely unsure of what to do. He’s stopped the pretense of writing now, and is giving her his full attention. “Uhh,” Gabriel murmurs, glancing downwards for a second and scratching his head in confusion. She’s still crying when he looks back up at her, unfortunately for Gabe, who bites his lip apprehensively. Slowly, he gets up from his spot on the floor — his essay quickly forgotten — and sits down beside his friend on the couch. “Bri, what happened?” he repeats his question, though there is little insensitivity in his voice. It seems strange to him to pat her or something, so he just shuffles slightly closer to her on the couch.

“That boy, Orion, he tried to hurt Fe-Felicity, he was touching her funny–” she sniffs, “And I kicked him, and– and–” she struggles a breath and wipes her eyes again with her — now rather damp — sleeve. “And he tried to hurt me. He put his hand over my mouth and he was h-holding me, and — and –” Briony pauses and sniffles again, loudly, breathing in deeply again. “He tore up my robes and everything, and I think he would’ve hurt me more if Felicity didn’t bite him.” Briony‘s face is red now, but at least the crying is slowing down a little. “It was horrible. He was so mean to me, and I only wanted to go to the kitchen for a snack.” She sniffs again and just turns to look at Gabriel as she finishes saying this, looking decidedly upset still, though the tears have slowed to a gentle trickle now, rather than a fountain.

Gabriel‘s look of confusion only increases in its intensity as Briony relays these events to him, but eventually mutates into an ugly, angry expression. “Orion? The git you went to the Ball with a while ago, he–” Gabe sits up a little, his hands making fists on their own accord, “he tried to hurt you two?” A glance to the trickle of blood on Briony’s neck gives Gabriel a hot, infuriated feeling all over — hotter than anything he’s felt, even dealing with Rafe or a Quidditch loss. No, this was all new. Digging around in his pockets, Gabriel finds a clean handkerchief at last, and holds it out to Briony. This is something he could do. Crying girls liked handkerchiefs.

Awkwardly, Briony takes hold of the handkercheif, but she doesn’t appear to be accustomed to these things. She dabs at her face a bit with it and shrugs. “I guess he did,” she tells him. “I don’t know why he would want to do that. He was always so nice to us be-before.” She sniffles again, a bit more subdued, and even leans back a little more, not clinging quite so tightly to her knees now. “I think he wanted to– to… kiss Felicity or something,” Briony seems to only just realize. She shakes her head quickly. “I don’t know, it didn’t look like when my mum and dad kiss.” Briony bites her bottom lip and looks at Gabe. “Do you want this back?”

Shaking his head quickly in response to her question about wanting his handkerchief back, Gabriel feels too angry about what stupid Orion’s done to care about much else right now. “That… stupid piece of…” Gabriel utters loathingly, his fists tightening as he begins a chain of forcefully whispered curse words that would make his mother balk. “I’ll kill him,” Gabriel resolves simply, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head at Briony. “He can’t do that. He can’t get away with it.”

Looking at Gabe with rather wide eyes. “Maybe we should just tell Professor Prichard or something instead. Then you don’t get in trouble or anything.” Briony looks down at the handkercheif as she lets one leg hang down while she tucks the other under it, leaning back against the sofa. “I wouldn’t want you to go to Azkaban or anything,” she admits and then looks up at him again. She hadn’t expected him to get this mad. Of course, she hadn’t expected him to be here, either, necessarily. “We’ll tell one of the teachers, we could just tell your mum and she could take care of it. I’m sure he won’t get away with it.”

“Yeah, tell my mum, tell my mum,” Gabriel repeats, trying to calm himself down. She was right, of course, about it being the right thing to do. Even though Gabe has no doubt in his mind that he /could/ kill Orion right now, were he here, he rather does like the fact that he’s never seen a dementor in his life, and that he can go to Hogsmeade every so often. He supposes Azkaban doesn’t have Hogsmeade weekends, so the fact that Briony is settling for an administrative approach to solving this problem does relive Gabriel somewhat. Now, he just sits, breathing heavily, trying to dispel some of his rage. It takes quite a while. When the initial fiery feeling leaves, Gabriel turns to look at his friend and what previously was anger is now just sympathy. She truly does look frightful in such a state of disarray and Gabe is almost overcome with pity. Pity, and a strange impulse that he didn’t think he’d ever have. Only able to ignore it for a second, Gabe soon finds himself leaning close to her, his heart pounding as he touches his lips to her cheek in s quick kiss, leaning back almost immediately after and wondering what on earth he’d just done, and why.

Briony is about to respond to Gabe’s comment about telling her mother, but is stopped short when he kisses her cheek. The spot where his lips have touched turns bright red, though the fact that the rest of her cheeks do as well seems to drown this fact out. Biting her lip, Briony looks at Gabriel for a moment, her lips twisting into a bit of a smile. She seems to have no words to say in response now, though, as if the kiss to her cheek had rendered her mute. Instead, she just looks up at him with a bit of a lopsided grin, still clutching the handkercheif.

‘What did I just do? What did I just do?’ repeats Gabriel Goden in his head, over and over. His whole face is hot, and he can’t bring himself to look at her right away. When he does, Gabe is relieved to see her smiling, not scowling. She didn’t run away, and that was a good sign, thinks Gabriel. She also didn’t slap him. Also a good sign. He’d seen quite a few girls slap Nate for trying things, but those situations had been different, Gabe rationalizes. Taking a deep breath, Gabe looks down for a second, as if contemplating his options. He seems to have come to a decision as he slowly leans in again, closing his eyes as his lips touch hers.

Briony‘s eyes close as his face nears hers, and her smile changes to a rather nervous one, and then his lips are on hers. The sensation is a new one for Briony, and her heart begins to race. So many emotions in one day! The girl lingers for a moment, almost awkwardly, and at the same time, not wanting to draw herself away as she seems to be holding onto the handkercheif as if her life depends on it. It is at this moment that a fit of familiar giggling begins behind them. Nellie. Briony breaks the kiss and turns, red-faced, to see Nellie Caldwell standing at the foot of the stairs, smugly crossing her arms. “I always /thought/ that might be what was going on. I guess everyone’ll know for sure now.” Briony frowns a little at the other Gryffindor, but she’s really quite far from understanding what’s going on, and instead stands up. “Nellie Caldwell, if you tell anybody I’ll… I’ll… I don’t know, I’ll hurt you good!” Briony looks rather menacing as her robes are mussed, as is her hair, and even gossipy Nellie Caldwell seems a bit taken aback by this threat. Will it stop her gossiping? Hard to say. She continues on her way out of the commonroom at this moment, so even Briony doesn’t know as she sits back down. “She’s going to tell /everybody/ and then our mums will know and my mum will never leave me alone.” She sighs as she says this, part of her wishing her mother wouldn’t know, and part of her wishing that she could kiss him again.

Shrugging, Gabriel sighs as if he’s just said something that he’s been bottling up for a long time. “Well…” he says after a while, “In a way, it’s better than, you know, /us/ having to tell them…” he trails off, rather wondering just what he /would/ tell his mum if it came down to that. What did this mean? “So…” Gabriel says awkwardly, the situation with Orion and Felicity drifting away somewhat, replaced with this new confusion and happiness about what just happened with Briony. His eyebrows are raised as he smiles, not knowing what to say.

The Orion situation hasn’t completely left Briony‘s subconscious yet, and with this new situation, as she settles in next to Gabe again, she just seems to be at a loss for words. Instead of saying anything in particular at first, she leans over to put her head on his shoulder, scooting a bit closer as she does this. Though Briony has never been one to be considered a cuddly person, it just seems right for her to do this at this moment. “I guess it’s easier than us telling them. I hope Felicity doesn’t find out right away.” She shrugs a little as she says this, and it is a bit of an awkward moment for right now, Briony be very young and quite inexperienced in this ‘love’ business.

Nodding, Gabriel rather agrees about Felicity not finding out too soon. Not because he’s ashamed or anything, but the whole situation is so new to Gabe that adding Felicity to the mix would only confuse him further. Feeling the weight of Briony’s head on his shoulder, though, he gets a kind of fluttery feeling of nervousness in his stomach, and has /no/ idea what to do with his hands. Rubbing his forehead with his index and middle finger with one hand, he slowly reaches out with his other to pat her knee, but then withdraws it to let it rest in her lap. He quite enjoys the ensuing silence, just sitting.

Keelan Walsh wears, for once, plain black robes with no hint of team affliation. This is rare enough at a game against Ravenclaw, but it seems she’s either had a talking-to or a rethink over the summer break about bias in Quidditch. Maybe her red robes were just dirty. At any rate, she’s standing underneath her umbrella in the center of the pitch, squinting out toward the locker rooms of each team, trying to spot red or blue robes coming through the downpour.

Riley Markham makes his way on to the pitch with a soft yawn, his pale skin sizably more alabaster than tanned under the chilling effect of all the rain. Broom draped avross his shoulders, he waits to kick off anxiously. Growing more nervous by the minute.

Nervously Andy walks onto the pitch, his broom in hand and his robes getting soaking wet in seconds. Looking up to the dark clouds he mutters to Keira “Hm, great.” Then his hands slip into his gloves as he lines up with his teammates, waiting for Keelan’s initial whistle blow.

Boyce Gardener follows behind Riley quietly, trying to hold on to the excitement he felt in the changeroom, and dismiss the nervousness that was trying creep up in to his belly. He carries his broom much more traditionally, though the damp air keeps causing the broomhandle to slip from his fingers.

Quincy Matthias lumbers out onto the pitch, making some crack about the weather to his teammates and hoisting his broom over his shoulder for now. The rain doesn’t otherwise seem to bother him, though he uses his spare hand (beater bat tucked under an arm) to push hair off his forehead.

Rhian says, “Good afternoon everyone, students and faculty alike. Today is a lovely autumn day, if you are a duck perfect for the first Quidditch game of the 1927-28 year. I am Rhian Brecon, your announcer for this year, and for those of you unable to see, I’ll make sure to tell you everything that’s happening. Today’s game is Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw and as this is their first game of the year, I will give you a quick listing of the roster. For Gryffindor, the Chasers are 3rd year Andy Carver, 5th years Keira Sanguine and Tobias Raleigh, their Beaters are 4th years Kelly Pantall and Quincy Mattias, with the Keeper the 3rd year Briony Wexler and their Seeker and Captain, 4th year Gabriel Goden. For Ravenclaw, who this year comes to try and hold onto the Quidditch Cup they won last year, their Chasers are 4th year David Mildren, 5th year Prefect Bailey Williams and 3rd year Boyce Gardner, the Beaters are 5th year Prefect Tegan Madison and 3rd year Riley Markham, their Keeper being 5th year Laney Abbott and their Seeker and Captain, leading them once again, 6th year Prefect Noémie Ribouet. The official for today’s game is Professor of Herbology, Professor Walsh. We now wait for both teams to come brave the weather as we are now, so let’s get this game underway.”

Making her way out into the pouring rain, Noémie appears to be in quite a mood today. Her face is set seriously, and her eyes squinted, though this could likely be caused by the amount of water cascading down into her face. Coming to stop near Keelan, she does not look at the captain, instead looking in the direction of where the Gryffindor team is to join them. The rain does make it difficult to see what, exactly, is going on, and Noémie finds herself biting her lip while she looks around, rather hoping that the snitch won’t be quite so hard to see when it comes time to begin.

David follows the other members of his team, muttering against the rain and how it might affect the game. He carries his broom under his arm, hoping that it won’t behave as it did during that practice, when it suddenly stopped midair for no reason. That should not happen, though, since he had it looked over by the flying instructor, who reassured him that it should fly fine from now on. A bit nervous about the match, David stays silent and waits for the game to begin.

Laney Abbott is more nervous than anything, and keeps pushing her glasses up her nose with her free hand. Her broom is clutched hard in the other, and more than once she redoubles her stride to stay with the rest of the team, lips pressed into a thin line. Still, a “Lovely, I’ll just divine where the Quaffle is in the mess and block it that way.” escapes her lips in a sour sort of mumble.

“N– I’m su– no, Bri — c’mon, you–” Gabe starts as he walks out to the pitch, trying to sneak words in while Briony chatters at him quietly on their way out to the pitch. “You’ll be fine, I’m sure,” he tells his friend and then falls silent as the two of them come out, their red robes easily dampened by the sheer volume of water falling upon him. Squaring off in front of Noémie, his nervousness is not easily hidden, especially as he turns away from Briony a bit, perhaps to hide this very fact from her.

Trailing behind Keira and Andy, Tobias nestles on his broom a last time. It’s his first match in the main team and now it comes to a close against last season’s champions Ravenclaw. Quiet as usual he hides his excitement quite well, except of a trembling left eyelid.

Not to be left out of the intial comments, Kelly Pantall holds onto her broom, bat, and, like everyone, gets very wet.

Following Gabriel out to the pitch, once she is finally coaxed into silence by him, Briony starts to fidget. Her broom in one hand, and the other hand shoved deep into her pocket, she shifts from foot to foot while glancing around at the rest of her team.

David Mildred is about as grumpy as the other teammates about the foul weather, and doesn’t mince her words about it. She is rather in a foul mood today, for no apparent reason, and twirls her bat around, ready to play with the bludgers and send them over to the opponents.

Keira Sanguine looks almost annoyed at the water as she makes her way out to the pitch, though the smirk on her lips seems to say that she might know a bit more than she’s letting on. Glancing behind her, the smirk fades as she realizes who is following her. She’s got to do well this game. She just has to.

“Doesn’t seem all that bad to me,” Riley murmurs, sincerely, as he drives his hands in to his pockets. Both of which are wrapped in suede gloves, so that the scars of his left hand don’t catch on the fabric of his robe pocket. “Could be worse. And they have ter play in the same muck.”

Usually easy-spirited, Bailey does not look quite so easy today. The conditions are not the best for Quidditch, especially not for the first game of the season, and, with only a glance to Tegan, he goes to stand next to David, holding his broom with a rather tight grip.

“Alright, let’s keep our formation close and I…ahm…want to see clean passes. Don’t give away quaffle possession to easily. Just like in the practices. We can do that!” Andy tries to encourage his fellow chasers, finishing with a weak clap and wrings out his robe for the first time. The match hasn’t even started yet and he’s wet to the bones already.

Keelan Walsh smiles, though the gesture is merely polite. “Well, it can’t be lovely weather all the time. Okay, Captains, lets get the handshake through so you can start this game, shall we?” She watches them, gives a small nod, and turns to open the box of Quidditch balls, folding up her umbrella and setting it down. A click releases the Snitch from it’s special holder, and away it flies into the rain. Then Keelan takes hold of the Quaffle and calls, “On your brooms?” before blowing the whistle and tossing it into the air to get the game started. A few moments later, the bludgers are released, and Keelan mounts her broom to watch for fouls.

Laney Abbott is in the air and traveling toward the Ravenclaw hoops at the sound of the whistle, and soon hovers before them, waiting for Chasers to come her way with a Quaffle to, hopefully, block.

Swing his broom from his shoulders and mounting it in one easy motion, Riley turns and nods to Tegan — communicating that he understood their practiced tactic of knight at dragon. He was the knight who defended his teammates, she was going to start off being the one who grabbed a bludger and attacked.,

Quincy Matthias and Kelly rise into the air and spread out a bit, wielding the bats and watching (or at least attemping to) for bludgers to hit at the Ravenclaw team.

Reaching out to shake Gabriel’s hand, Noémie doesn’t wait long before getting herself onto her broom afterward. “Alright, keep it clean, and play hard. Remember what we practiced, everyone,” Noémie tells her team and as soon as she hears the whistle, she flies upward, though not too high. She wants to see where the snitch goes, after all, so that she has more chance of catching it.

Biting his lower lip, Boyce takes off in to the air after mounting his broom — almost slipping off it from the rain. He seens to grow a bit more confident once in the air. He’s ready.

Gabe Goden shakes Noémie’s hand as she offers it and then turns to his team. “Er –” he pauses as Andy begins to tell the team a quick last minute pep talk. “What he said,” Gabe tacks on and hops onto his broom, keeping a close eye on Noémie, though his attempts to keep up with her are rather obvious.

Following his teammates, David kicks off the ground starts to take some speed, making a direct flight towards the quaffle, which he grabs deftly before flying towards the Gryffindor goals. He makes a silent nod at the other Ravenclaw chasers to indicate them to be ready for a pass should the need arise.

Flying upward, Keira makes an attempt at the quaffle which has been released. Reaching close to David, Keira‘s face is set and she reaches out with intent to blatantly steal the Quaffle from David, though this does cause her to lose balance a bit and she has to slow down in order to gain control over her broom again.

Andy mounts his broom and sets up to shoot for the quaffle once it’s tossed up into the air. He sees the ball flying upwards and accelerates, but doesn’t reach it, since David has been more agile this time. Andy orientates again and chases the Ravenclaw.

Making her way up to the goals, it is not long before there is a small crowd headed toward her, and Briony looks almost fearful as she rubs her left wrist carefully, biting her lips while she gets situated more carefully in front of the goals, at a slight slant rather than straight on.

Nodding in silent agreement with Riley, Tegan pushes her broom forward and flies directly towards the nearest bludger, which she sends towards the pack of Chasers going after David, notably Andy.

Tobias gets into the air and hesitates a bit to go for the quaffle, since Andy and Keira are already racing for it. He stays back, turns around and is flying in front of David now, trying to guess where he is going.

Rising up quickly, Bailey is too slow to even be in contention to get the quaffle. This time, however, it appears as if a Ravenclaw has gotten it, and this bolsters Bailey a bit. Making his way down the pitch in an attempt to catch up, he swerves wide around Keira as she slows down and reaches out with an arm to let David know that he is currently open.

Kelly swoops in and knocks a bludger toward a streak of blue that will probably turn out to be Boyce, while Quincy takes flight, however slowly, toward the sound of another bat cracking, in order to attempt to intercept the other bludger, though he doesn’t yet.

Boyce Gardener moves notices Bailey postion himself and moves further up field to provide Bailey a passing lane ad possibly an attempt a a score., moving at a moderately quick speed but holding a fair amount of control. He is completely ignorant of the bludger sailing at him.

Feeling that the Gryffindor chasers are getting a bit too close to him, David makes a pass at Bailey, before continuing towards the goals to prepare the field for another pass.

Not being aware of Bailey, Andy stays behind David, coming nearer inch by inch he is now at his heels, but still not able to reach for the quaffle. As David passes, Andy notices that he’ll only be able to cover the Ravenclaw now. Bailey is too far away already.

Reaching out with his hands wide, Bailey makes a clean catch and begins to fly forward in an effort to catch up to Boyce. The older boy swerves a bit and then flies in to toss the quaffle to the younger chaser as he crosses in front, making his way diagonally away for a moment before coming back behind David and making his way around to hover behind a bit, in case the quaffle needs to be passed out again.

Riley, however, is very aware of the bludger that has been hurtled toward Bailey. Laying low on his broom in an attempt to keep the rain from blinding him, he darts foreward. Reaching out with his bat, he bunts the bludger away from Boyce almost at the last moment, before wheeling back and hitting it toward Keira. Though his aim isn’t dead on, exactly, it’s a right sight more sharp than last year, and definately sail in the general direction of his hopefully distracted target,

Seeing David’s pass, Tobias tries to intercept the ball, but it’s too well thrown, so that his finger just get the quaffle’s gust. He dashes down to hassle Bailey now, but too late, another pass he could not reach. “Keira, watch out!” Tobias points at the bludger and keeps flying next to Bailey, to cover him.

Shrieking a bit, Keira turns her broom and tries to get out of the way of the bludger, finding this difficult as her broom hasn’t quite calmed down yet, and her broom is stuttering a bit as she tries to out-fly the metal orb. “You bloody beaters! Get over here and hit this confounded thing at those bloody Ravenclaw!” Several more sentences, riddled with obscenities follow and the girl’s face gets quite red while she tries to get control of her broom still.

Quincy Matthias is in the path of the bludger at last and aims it with a powerful crack of bat-on-ball back toward the Ravenclaw Chasers with a grunt. Kelly flies for the other bludger, a bit peeved that Riley redirected it.

Freed of the bludger he’d not realized he had, Boyce catches the quaffle on the tips of his fingers, nearly dropping it a few times because of his slick it was, and making his flight briefly jerky. He manages to get himself relatively under control, however, arching up as he comes at the hoops, before diving and trying to shoot over Briony’s head, hoping for a quick score.

Deciding to let her role as the dragon aside for a while, Tegan flies towards the chasers to prevent the bludger from hitting them. She is still a bit away from it, so she does not reach it immediately, but flies there the best she can.

Rhian says, “The captains come into the center of the pitch and shake hands before both teams are called to their brooms. Professor Walsh waits until they are ready before releasing the Quaffle, the two Bludgers and the Snitch. With the toss of the Quafle, Mildred is quick on his broom and manages to catch it. Ravenclaw has first possesion this game as they head down toward Wexler who waits at the goals she is guarding. Pantall manages to get to one of the Bludgers and hits it over at Gardner, who seems totally oblivious to it. The Ravenclaw Chasers seem in good form as Mildren passes the Quaffle to Williams and Williams in turn tosses it to Gardner.”

Kelly takes care of the bludger again, calling something out to Keira that is lost in the sound of the rain and noise of Quidditch, while Quincy tries (poorly) to keep pace with Tegan and prevent her hitting the other.

Reaching up with both hands as the Quaffle is tossed at her, Briony manages, for once, an easy block. The block is easy, but the catch is not, and she fumbles with it for a moment before getting a good grip on it. Tossing it outward, she aims it to Andy without a word, though a grunt does ensue.

David Mildred groans as well, but for another reason, as he sees that the quaffle has been blocked. He immediately starts to chase Andy, hoping to get the quaffle from his hands.

Rhian says, “Markham manages to notice the Bludger flying after Gardner and hits it away back over to Sanguine. However, Gardner is having a slight issue with the Quaffle while he flies. Mattias takes the other Bludger and hits it in general at the Ravenclaw Chasers, though Tegan is attempting to protect her team’s Chasers. Pantall goes after the Bludger that is chasing Sanguine, attempting to keep it away from the Chaser. Gardner, now in the clear, attempts to score… But is stopped by Wexler, but it is only batted to Carver to head down back the other way.”

A short smile brightens on Andy‘s face, as Briony saves the first shot and gets a hold of the Quaffle. Flying for a second, then seeking one of his fellow chasers, Andy finds Keira at his side and instantly flings the Quaffle to the girl, noticing David behind him. Andy then performs a hard turn, to force David to slow down and get Keira an advantage.

Finally reaching the iron ball which was flying towards the Ravenclaw chasers, Tegan swings her bat and sends the bludger towards Keira. “Take that!”

Tobias slows down and lets his broom drop a bit to avoid the crowded field. He shoots forward and heaves up again, so that he finds himself in front of Keira now.

For a moment, Noémie thinks she’s spotted the snitch. While she begins to fly toward the gold fleck that she thinks she has seen, it is a moment before she realizes that she has a bludger following her, and her course is altered in order to avoid the orb that is hot on her tail. “Riley, Tegan! Someone” she shrieks in a rather undignified fashion, flying downward through the action in hopes of losing it.

Rhian says, “Pantall finally got the bludger that was after Sanguine away, and now it heads off to Ribouet, give the Seeker something to do until the Snitch is spotted. Meanwhile, Mattias is trying to stop Madison from getting at the other Bludger, but she manages to get it away over at Sanguine, who just recently got the Quaffle from Carver. Carver is trying a nice move though of attempting to block Mildred from persuing Sanguine as she barrels her way to Abbott.”

David Mildred narrowly escapes a collision with Andy Carver as the Gryffindor does a reckless turn right in front of him, and dives to avoid him. He lets out a shout of rage as he does so. Keira is already far from her, but noticing the bludger flying towards her, he decides to anticipate her (very likely) pass to Tobias and flies directly towards him instead.

It takes Riley a few moments to divine the location the bludger, having heard the sound of a bat striking it, but unable to see it for all the rain. Sailing upward quickly, he chases after Noémie — not quite able to keep up with her in all the rain and wind (he did have more wind resistance, naturally). But he could get close enough to send that bludger away. His aim is off, though, for the angle he had to strike it. It sails off in no particular direction toward friend or foe.

Keelan Walsh pulls up short on his broom to change direction, sweating a bit even with the rain coming down. He and his broom are not the fastest on the field, and it’s likely that the bludger will inflitrate the Chasers before he makes it. Kelly remains, for the moment, on the lookout rather than the offense, thanks to the rain unable to see the result of her last hit.

Quincy Matthias pulls up short on his broom to change direction, sweating a bit even with the rain coming down. He and his broom are not the fastest on the field, and it’s likely that the bludger will inflitrate the Chasers before he makes it. Kelly remains, for the moment, on the lookout rather than the offense, thanks to the rain unable to see the result of her last hit.

Laney Abbott starts to get a bit more nervous as she squints through the rain and detects scarlet blurrs moving toward the Ravenclaw end of the pitch. She begins to bob vaguely in place on her broom and her grip tightens around the handle.

What has she done to get the bludgers flying toward her today? Keira Sanguine has only barely managed to get the Quaffle secured under her arm and started on her way to the Ravenclaw goals before another bludger is directed at her. Looking over her shoulder, she checks to see if there are any other Chasers available, before she notices Tobias in front of her. Chucking the Quaffle quickly, with a shout of “HERE!” Keira swears a little more and veers away so as not to direct the bludger to Tobias.

Beginning to grin as his bet has paid off, David begins to chase Tobias, closing in to him as every second goes by. Had he gone for Keira after his near-miss with Andy, he wouldn’t be so close to the Gryffindor chaser as he is now… David has good hopes to at least bother him a good bit if he tries to throw the quaffle.

Tobias looks over his shoulder and receives Keira’s well-metered pass. He zooms up into the zone, heading for the left hoop and attempts a score. He dekes to puzzle the keeper, but notes David then and flies out of the zone again, throwing the Quaffle to Andy.

Making his way down the pitch, Bailey seems to think it a good idea to stay close to Andy now that David has gone after Keira, leaving Boyce to follow Tobias. As the Quaffle is tossed to Andy, Bailey sees his opportunity, and flies forward a bit, as well as his broom will let him. This is just in time, as he manages to get a grip onto the red orb, turning quickly and flying as fast as his broom will take him in the other direction. He is headed straight for the Gryffindor hoops with the slick ball.

Quincy Matthias is belatedly in the fray and with a very wet smack, sends the Bludger flying in the opposite direction, hopefully scattering at least some of the Ravenclaw Chasers, now that they’ve recovered the Quaffle. Kelly scans the skies for the other and zips toward it, sending the Bludger toward the Ravenclaws as well.

Seeing Bailey crossing in front of him, Andy‘s flying becomes unstable and he can’t avoid him stealing the ball from Gryffindor. Changing into defensive mode again, he shoots away to follow Bailey and gets a hand on the Quaffle, pulling at it.

Noticing the smooth work done by Bailey, Boyce does his best to tag Tobias and prevent him to follow the Ravenclaw chaser and intercept the quaffle.

Rhian says, “Markham manages to get the Bludger away from Ribouet with ease, but where it went, I don’t know… Matthias has also managed to get the other bludger away from the Gryffindor Chasers while Sanguine tosses the Quaffle to Raleigh. Raleigh now takes a chance to pass it to Carver, but wait… Williams has managed to intercept the Quaffle and the field now turns around to head to the Gryffindor goals.”

Gabe curses loudly as Ravenclaw gets hold of the Quaffle again, and the Gryffindor pulls her broom around, making a hard turn to try to follow down to the other end of the pitch in an attempt to retrieve the quaffle for her own team and scoring.

Keira curses loudly as Ravenclaw gets hold of the Quaffle again, and the Gryffindor pulls her broom around, making a hard turn to try to follow down to the other end of the pitch in an attempt to retrieve the quaffle for her own team and scoring.

A second later, David turns his broom and flies in Andy’s direction, attempting to hinder him and prevent him from catching up with Bailey.

Tobias slows down and ponders if he should go and dive into the bunch of chasers, threatened by both bludgers or wait where he is to receive a pass, should Andy really get the quaffle from Bailey.

The situation is a bit dire for the Ravenclaw chasers, since the two bludgers are directed towards them. Noding to Tegan, Riley Markham decides to take the bludger, which he reaches easily enough. The bludger is sent away from the pack of chasers in a matter of seconds. On her side, Tegan has more difficulties to catch the other bludger, and reaches it just as it was going to hit David, but as she does so, she prevents him from tagging Andy correctly and nearly collides into the Ravenclaw boy.

Tugging back at the Quaffle as Andy attempts to grab it back from him, Bailey growls a little and says something rather unintelligible as he tries to fly over a bit, pulling both the quaffle and his broom at once while he yanks again, finding this difficult due to the wetness of the Quaffle.

Andy pulls and turns the Quaffle in Bailey’s arms and hands. A tough opponent, as Andy isn’t the strongest of boys after all. But then his arms slips through and prises the ball out of the Ravenclaw’s grasp. A quick look and the Quaffle is on it’s way to Tobias again, who seems to have been sleeping at the zoneline.

Back and forth, back and forth! Keira turns around again and makes a rather sour comment under her breath before yelling, “Make up your confounded minds!” The chaser makes her way back down the pitch and pushes her auburn hair out of her face, looking quite irritated.

Rhian says, “The two Gryffindor Beaters seemt o have a vengence for the Ravenclaws as both Bludgers are sent to the Ravenclaw Chasers. Gardner attempts to block Raleigh from following while Mildred tries the same thing with Carver, but it fails as Carver tries to steal the Quaffle away from Willaims. With this rain, it seems overly difficult to keep a good grip, and it seems that it succeeded as Carver pulls the Quaffle from Williams and tosses it to Raleigh, the closest to the goal.”

The Quaffle is pried away from him as just as a bludger connects with the Ravenclaw’s leg. “AUGH!” he shouts loudly and grabs his leg. This prevents Bailey, at least for the moment, from following the group of chasers who have turned and headed toward his goals while he — rather babyishly — rubs his leg, his eyes pricking with tears, though he’s not about to show them.

A bit surprised Tobias prepares for the catch, does well and whirls around towards the Ravenclaw hoops. Maybe his first goal for Gryffindor, today? With a small groan he tosses the Quaffle towards an empty ring, hoping that the keeper won’t get it at that speed.

Quincy Matthias gives momentary chase to the Bludger, hitting it neatly toward Noémie, while Kelly guards of her own group of Chasers, intentionally or not, in case a Bludger heads their way.

Laney Abbott‘s lips have been moving at a nervous under-toned mumble for the last few moments, as if the rain weren’t distracting enough, and so she doesn’t move fast enough, and the Quaffle soars past her outstretched hands through the hoop, bringing bright red splotches to the Keeper’s cheeks.

Letting out a loud “WHOOP!” as she hears the clang from the other end of the pitch, Briony seems to be ready to jump up and off of her broom. The game, however, is not over, as the Seekers are both still prowling about, flying this way and that, and Briony does not move off of her broom, instead, getting situated to prepare for another shot, should it come.

Rhian says, “Raleign manages to get the Quaffle, and before anyone can stop him, he turns around and tosses it to the goals. Abbott can’t seem to get there fast enough and Gryffindor scores… It is now Gryffindor-10, Ravenclaw-0. Though the game isn’t over yet… Williams has gotten in the leg with one of the Bludgers while the other one seems to be going after Ribouet once more.”

Riley Markham glances a few differant ways, trying to make out shapes in the rain that had long since gave up trying to sting his eyes in a more worthwhile pursuit of hoping to freeze them. The bludger, however, can hardly be missed as it sails past his head directly toward Noémie. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, Riley grabs his broom, pulls up, and gives the cannonball chase.

Unclenching his teeth again after the loud scoring sound, Andy throws his hands into the air. “Yes! Great shot, Raleigh!” He backs up again to be ready for more chasing and scoring.

“I scored.” Tobias looks into his empty hands and to the score board. Then he flies back again to set up for defending.

Boyce Gardener swoops in behind the Gryffindor hoops, snatching up quaffle (much more easily than the last time) and looping back hard — Bailey and David both seemed rather close, but he didn’t reckon he could he bank hard enough in the rain without falling off his broom to give himself a good go at it. Chosing between the two, Bailey and David — Boyce tosses the quaffle to David, trying to put himself in the airway enough to set up a pick for David to have a clear shot if he catches the red ball.

Having fully recovered now from his pain — or at least put it aside — Bailey makes his way around just in time to see a score go through for Gryffindor. A sour look crosses his face at this and he turns, flying toward the middle of the pitch and pausing as Boyce comes down. At the pass, he flies forward more, making his way toward the other hoops. They’ve got to even up!

Approaching Bailey again, Andy tries to cover the zone between him and David to prevent a pass to this Ravenclaw chaser.

Catching the quaffle, David quickly assesses the situation and the position of the chasers –both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. And then, he darts towards the Gryffindor goals, choosing not the direct path (which would probably sent him straight towards the Gryffindors) but choosing the right side of the pitch instead.

Heading for Bailey first, then trailing off towards David, Tobias tries to reach the Ravenclaw, but it’s still a long way to go. He didn’t see Andy on Bailey’s other side and lost a good amount of time, now.

Keira Sanguine flies down, a grin on her face. Sure, she doesn’t like her teammates, but it’s still her team, and a win for Gryffindor is a win for her. She tries to catch up to David, but her broom appears to have a bit of a stuttering problem, likely due to the rain, or perhaps her issues at the start just persisting on, and she has trouble catching up, especially as he swerves out to an alternative path.

It takes Riley a fair bit of effort to catch up to the bludger chasing Noémie — especially considering how graceful and fast Noémie could fly, even in adverse conditions. He was no slouch in the flying department, it was his best strength. But in this weather, it was killing him. Swinging, aming as best he can, he tries to arch the bludger at Keira. His bat begins to slip out of his hand, though, as he swings — and the bludger takes off in Gabe’s direction, instead.

The golden snitch has come into Gabe‘s view! He flies downward in pursuit of the little golden ball which e has only barely been able to see. The rain seems to have let up some and he makes his way downward, downward, making it only slightly closer to the little orb as it continues to stay just out of reach while he begins his chase.

Deciding to give the Gryffindors something else to think about than the quaffle, and cursing herself for having allowed a bludger to hit one of the Ravenclaw chasers, Tegan goes after the other bludger, which she intends to send after Andy. At the last minute, though, she notices Gabe’s dive and sends it against him instead.

Rhian says, “Ravenclaw heads back to the other end of the Quidditch Pitch with the Gryffindors chasing them. Markham manages to intercept a Bludger that was going after Ribouet, but turns and sends it toward Sanguine… What is this, seems that Goden has caught sight of the Snitch and has begun the chase. Madison has spotted this and sends the Bludger near her his way to try and change his attention and to loose the Snitch.”

The bludger, this time, doesn’t even register to Noémie as she spots Gabriel beginning to fly quickly downward. Flying before she even begins looking for it, it doesn’t take Noémie long to catch up to the younger boy, and she is flying neck-and-neck with him, her hand outstretched as if she is to be able to reach the little ball before he will. The snitch swerves this way and that, up and down, and it appears as if this chase is not about to stop soon.

Noticing that Bailey was totally covered by Andy, David has no option but doing the job himself. He approaches to the Gryffindor hoops the best he can, pretends throwing the quaffle towards the rightmost hoop but sends it to the middle hoop instead…

Bumping into Noémie a little — on accident, he promises! — Gabe makes a sharp turn as the snitch does, and overshoots it a bit in his excitement at being so close to possibly winning. His broom does not turn quite as well as he would like back, though he tries to catch up to the snitch and Noémie.

Keelan Walsh and Kelly almost simultaneously spot the double bludgers heading toward their Seeker and take off through the rain to try and stop them. Kelly, faster, arrives first and manages to deflect the Bludger, but Quincy is trailing behind.

Quincy Matthias and Kelly almost simultaneously spot the double bludgers heading toward their Seeker and take off through the rain to try and stop them. Kelly, faster, arrives first and manages to deflect the Bludger, but Quincy is trailing behind.

Reaching up as the Quaffle comes her way, Briony makes an attempt to catch it, but the Quaffle’s slickness does not help, and it flies through the hoop behind her. Briony does not look pleased at this, and scowls a bit as she retrieves the Quaffle, tossing it out to Tobias harshly.

Rhian says, “After some jostling, the Ravenclaw Chasers make their way down the pitch and right in front of Wexler. Mildred attempts to score, faking to one hoop and trying for the other. Wexler misses and Ravenclaw scores! It is now tied at 10 a piece. Bludgers are still flying around though as both Goden and Ribouet fly after the Snitch. Goben almost had it there, but seems to have missed.”"

Noémie hears the clang, but she doesn’t even know who it’s for as she reaches out, despite the jostling, and closes her fingers around the golden snitch. The little ball goes limp in her hands and its wings fold up again as Noémie holds it above her head triumphantly. The sixth year pushes her water saturated hair out of her face and flies down to the pitch quickly, hopping off of her broom and then holding both broom and snitch in the air in celebration. They’d won!

So close, and yet, so far. Gabe Goden flies down to the pitch, having nearly managed to get his hand around it before Noémie but not quite making it. He flies down to the pitch and looks up at his team, a bit disappointedly, before sighing. The captain doesn’t even wait for his team to come down before he makes his way off of the pitch, bound for the locker rooms. A nice warm shower sounds about right for the fourth year captain.

Rhian says, “Ribouet has caught the Snitch. Ravenclaw has won the first game of the year, and are on their way to a wonderful streak to trying to keep the Quidditch Cup. Final score is Ravenclaw-160, Gryffindor-10. Now what do you say to getting out of the rain everyone?”

Keelan Walsh blows her whistle signifying the end of play, and with less terseness then usual congratulates anyone who goes by as she collects the balls and returns them to their box.

Feeling quite disappointed, Briony flies down and lands soon after Gabriel has. She waits just a moment, intent to see how Kelly had done — after all, Briony couldn’t be watching the Beaters the whole game, could she? — and see if perhaps they had at least bruised up some of the Ravenclaws well enough. After she has caught up to Kelly, the girl makes her way slowly off of the pitch, whether Kelly is following her or not.

Riley cheers from his place Noémie lands, throwing his arms in to the air and whooping. “Yeah, Raaaveeenclaaaw!” Drifting down toward ground, pleased as hell to be done zipping around a too-cold sky in too-wet rain, Rilet leaps off his broom and cheers. Those practices had paid off. “YES!”

David cheers loudly, both for the ten points he managed to score than for the victory of the team, and quickly lands to celebrate with the other members of his team.

Boyce Gardener lands not from Riley, grinning and cheering “Yeth! Yeth!” Clapping Riley hard on the back, he walks over to congratulate Noémie on her catching the snitch. His first victory with the team.

Catching the quaffle as it is thrown to him, Tobias has only a moment to fly toward Ravenclaw goal before he hears that the snitch has been caught, and not even by his team. His disappointment is apparent as he flies down and hands the Quaffle over to Keelan, making his way inward. Perhaps he can talk shop with Gabe in the lockers.

Tegan Madison shakes her fist in the air. “YESSS!” she squeals, happy that Ravenclaw has won, and lands near Riley, David and Boyce. “Congratulations, everyone!”

Letting out a stream of obscenities, Keira Sanguine makes her way down to the pitch, looking sourly at the Ravenclaws, and then stomping towards the lockers. That no good Wexler, and that confounded Goden and Raleigh and Carver and Matthias, all of them were worthless. Yes, even Raleigh. The girl doesn’t head to the lockers with the rest of them, instead deciding to head into the commonroom and the girls’ bathrooms.

Cheering with the rest of his team for a moment, Bailey grins widely. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to go get dried off and head to the commons! I heard there’s going to be a wild party!” Without another word, the boy trots inside, waving a fist joyously above his head.

Quincy Matthias rather dejectedly, and with a good deal of squelching, dismounts and heads off to shower(as if being wetter was at all useful) or at the very least to dry off and sulk in the Common Room with everyone else.

Laney Abbott feels some of the good spirit at winning, though her only role in this sodden game was to let Gryffindor score. As such, her jubilation at her first Quidditch game being a win is tinged with self-mockery, evident with the rather closed expression of her eyes as she avoids the team and stalks off of the pitch, murmuring vague pleasantries that sound rather forced if anyone addresses her.

Grinning at her team, her demeanor much improved from the start of the match, Noémie looks quite pleased now. “Good work, everybody! We played beautifully!” Hearing Bailey’s comment, though, her attention strays toward the castle. “A party sounds about right, don’t you think?” the girl tells her team. “Come on, let’s celebrate!” Striding over to hand the snitch over to Keelan, Noémie turns, then, and runs inside. She doesn’t even stop along the way, instead going to the commonroom dripping wet. What’s a little detention in light of this cause for celebration?

Sloshing onto the pitch just after dinner, Gabriel Goden looks over his shoulder to the silent Tobias, trudging along behind him. Having failed quite profoundly at attempts at conversation with the young man thus far, Gabriel sighs as the two reach the pitch. “I’ll just… get the chest then,” Gabe says, pointing to the shed before heading off in that direction, leaving Tobias on his own.

Making her way out to the pitch, Briony‘s clothes appear to fit her now, and she almost seems subdued as she comes out to the pitch. This could be because of the injury she recently sustained during a practice, the aftermath from which doesn’t appear to have left her completely as she rolls her wrist, carrying her broom in the other hand while she makes her way out to join Gabriel and Tobias. “Hello,” she tells them quietly. What could be bringing the usually boisterous girl’s energy down to such a, well, normal level?

Not much in the mood to talk (not that he ever is, really), Tobias merely nods politely to Gabe, looking down to the soaked grass when he can think of nothing to reply with. As Gabe returns, lugging the chest across the grass with both hands, Tobias makes to help him just a split second before Gabe stops, wiping his brow with a sigh. Looking sidelong to Briony, Tobias nods but doesn’t say anything in greeting.

“It looks heavier than it is,” Gabriel assures the two others. “Hi, Bri. Alright. Here’s my idea,” he starts, looking first, slightly upwards to Tobias and then fairly level, to Briony. “Last time, I was out here for hours looking for that stupid snitch,” he mutters, kicking the side of the chest half-heartedly. “So this time, I’m not letting it out. Tobias, I want you to practice scoring on Briony with the Quaffle,” Gabe says, opening the chest and thrusting the red ball at Tobias, “and in between shots, you have to throw this,” he instructs, taking out a golf ball from his pocket, “in the opposite direction for me to catch.”

“Huh,” is all Briony can manage in response to Gabriel. After all, her plight was a little worse. She was hurt after all! “Should I just go up, then?” the girl asks, though she doesn’t wait long for a response before getting onto her broom and flying up to the hoops in a leisurely fashion. “Alright, I’m ready!” she tells the boys, and doesn’t say a word about her arm, though sore it might still be.

“Yup Brio– okay! Let’s go! Tobias, one lap to begin with and then we’ll start for real.” Gabriel nods, with a grin, before mounting his broom and taking off into the clear and chilly air, Tobias silently on his tail. The quiet boy actually beats Gabriel around the pitch, and stations himself several yards from the nearest goalpost. As Gabe meets him there, he backs up quite a bit. “Here, Tobias! Chuck it as hard as you can, and make me dive for it! But…” he starts, noting Briony’s stiff demeanor, “uh, throw Briony’s first.”

“OK,” is Tobias‘ surprising reply. Turning his back on Gabriel, Tobias pockets the small ball for now, circling around a little bit in a wide oval before shooting the quaffle smartly and sharply to the centre goalpost behind Briony. Before noting to see if it went in, he withdraws the small ball and turns, throwing it as hard as he can in Gabriel’s direction.

“Nnnng!” Briony yells, reaching up with the arm that was not injured to stop the quaffle as she manages to stop it between both hands. Grinning to Tobias, Briony tosses it back without waiting to see if he is even looking in her direction. She does have the decency to yell, “Coming at you!” and stretches her arms above her head, wincing only slightly as she perhaps stretches her left arm a bit too hard.

“Gaah!” shouts Gabe as the little ball goes much farther than he expects it to. Tobias has quite the arm! Presently diving down, Gabriel forces his broom to its full speed, trying not to think about what his mother would say right now if she saw him, hurtling full-speed towards the ground. He pulls up quite early, reaching out his arm and wincing as he just barely catches the white ball. “Bollocks,” observes Gabriel, the ball smacking against his palm as it makes contact.

Not looking at Briony at the time of her throw, Tobias whips around a second too late and the Quaffle hits him in the shoulder and starts to fall. Diving down to retrieve it, Tobias wordlessly retakes his place in front of Briony, shrugging. He turns, moving farther away from Briony before taking his next shot — a curveball. By now, Gabriel has come back up behind him, and after an “Oy, Toby?”, tosses him the golf ball.

Curves, though she’s got them plentifully, are not something Briony is too practiced at in Quidditch, and while she dives for the direction it appears to be headed, Briony is shocked to see it fly right past her with a loud CLANG as it flies through the hoops. That is definitely something the girl will have to practice at if she’s to do her team justice this year! Flying down to catch the quaffle, it appears that Briony‘s wrist is limbering up. “Good shot!” she calls to Tobias and chucks the Quaffle to the boy again. “Try that agian?” she asks, though it seems to be lost on her that if she’s to get better at them, perhaps expecting it isn’t the best way to do so.

Pitching the golf ball again, which sends Gabriel off in a hurry, Tobias turns in time to catch Briony’s toss this time. “D-d’you mean the curveball again? Alright,” he says, almost unsure of himself. Tobias seems to need some momentum before executing his curve-ball shots. He rounds once more on the little keeper, performing the same shot again, almost identically.

“I missed that one,” Gabriel discloses to the two upon his re-arrival, the white ball in his hands. “I hope we have good weather for the match, really,” comments Gabe. “It’d be hard to see the snitch in the rain. Can you imagine?” he asks, shaking his head. Tossing the ball to Tobias again, Gabriel nods, ready for his next dive. “Ok, go!” Gabriel says, the tall chaser obeying quickly.

The identical shot does not fail to occur to Briony as she is able this time to catch it without too much effort invovled, though she does wobble on her broom a bit — her shoes are a bit slick, after all. “Don’t do the same one this time,” she calls to him, rearing back and tossing the ball in his direction. “I think it’s too easy for me; I won’t get better that way.” Lord knows she can use all the practice she can get, too. Flying a bit around in front of the hoops, Briony seems to be trying to get into a suitable spot in front in order to block any shot she gets with ease.

“Oh… okay…” replies Tobias, almost as though he thinks he’s done something wrong. “Right, this one wi– I mean, I’ll do something different this time,” the young man says with a nod. Tobias flies outward, actually behind Briony before coming round and flying towards her again. “Huuuugh!” Tobias cries with the effort of this shot.

“You throw so fast, Tobias,” whines Gabriel, though his tone doesn’t have a grating air to it, and the boy is still grinning as he comes back to eyelevel with Tobias, producing the golf ball and, for variety’s sake, pitching it towards the goal hoops. He is very careful to aim, though, at the opposite hoop in front of which Briony is currently covering.

The difference in the shot doesn’t seem to have phased Briony this time and she turns with her broom, trying a new trick — thwacking it away with the bristles. The hit makes a rather unpleasant sound, but she doesn’t seem concerned as the ball has a perfect trajectory back to Tobias. “How was that one?” she calls proudly, prepared only marginally for the golf ball as it comes flying at her. As if out of habit, her hand shoots out and she catches it. “OW!” she yells and then holds her hand out. “Gabriel Matteo Goden, what did you do that for?” she yells to her friend, flying forward, golf ball brandished before her.

“Good–” starts Tobias, catching the Quaffle once more. Looking over just in time to see Gabriel nearly shriek with mock-fear and take off in escape of Briony’s wrath, Tobias has no idea how to react to the pair. Why did Gabriel throw the ‘snitch’ towards the goalhoops? Shrugging, Tobias nervously tosses the Quaffle up and down.

Flee! Flee from the angry Briony! Speeding off as fast as he can urge his broom to go, Gabe Goden laughs as he looks over his shoulder to the girl. “You’ll never catch meeee!” he taunts loudly, sticking his tongue out at her. Making for a dive, he points his broom downwards in an effort to lose her. Gabriel snickers to himself, thinking he’s quite clever.

Scoffing, Briony chucks the golfball hard at Gabriel, its speed gaining even from that with which she has thrown it due to its downward trajectory. “If you’re going to do things like that, I’m going to do homework instead!” the girl calls, flying also downward until she has reached the ground. “My arm’s feeling better at least. It isn’t quite as sore now.” Briony doesn’t say this quite loud enough that anyone more than ten feet away would hear her, and she stands on the ground for a moment. A bit louder, “Well, are we continuing or aren’t we?”

With the ball just missing hitting him, Gabriel watches the thing land and, with a poor attempt at a grand bravado catch, follows it to the ground, lunging at it despite its already-stopped status. Sliding along the wet grass, Gabe’s robes resemble Slytherin robes by the time he stands up, grinning, in front of Briony. “Look, I’m Harper,” he says with a wink. “Well… I do have quite a bit of homework now that you mention it.” Looking upwards to the awkward-looking Tobias, Gabe calls, “We’re bringing it in!”

With a nod, Tobias obediently and promptly flies downwards, landing his broom quite gracefully considering his height. “Um, is this yours?” he asks, holding the Quaffle out to Gabe, who laughs upon taking it and stashing it into the Quidditch chest. “Good practice, guys,” the captain says as Tobias peers at the ground. Had he proven himself at all? Upon nodding once more, Tobias departs, hearing Gabe’s voice saying, “C’mon Bri, don’t look at me like that! Race you to the castle?”

“See you later, Tobias!” Briony calls as she takes off without warning toward the castle, her longer legs making her trip out quite a bit easier while she sprints. Unfair? Probably. But it doesn’t appear that Briony minds this.

With a higher level of energy than usual, Gabriel Goden rushes out to the pitch, Silver Arrow in hand. Tossing it aside as he nears the broom shed, Gabe whips the old wooden door open as he lugs a chest containing the Quidditch equipment from its place and out onto the grass. Hopefully that would become easier as time went on. With that, Gabe sighs slightly as he stoops to pick up his broom, standing it up and leaning on it while he waits for others to arrive.

The unmistakable sound of Kelly once someone has got her started approaches the Pitch well ahead of her. For once, at least, she seems to be in a genuinely good mood if rather unnecessarily condescending towards whoever it happens to be that she engages in her stream of conversation. ‘Conversation’ may be pushing it a little, however, as she seems to be caring little for the efforts of anyone else to have some sort of input. “…just saying, you know, that there is absolutely no basis for your theory. I’d suspect that you were just making it up, but I had a little more respect for you than that. You probably read it somewhere, right? In one of those stupid wizard books, I’ll bet, they have no concept of Jack the Ripper. I mean, if he was a wizard, they wouldn’t have used a knife, I reckon. I mean, surely he would have used his wand, if nothing else…” Indeed, whoever, she had been talking to in the first place appears to have drifted away, or at least stopped paying attention, and as Kelly steps onto the Pitch, her broom in hand, she lapses into silence and shrugs her shoulders wordlessly at Gabe as some sort of greeting.

Stomping her way out to the pitch, Briony does not appear to be in a good mood. She lets a rather large, obvious yawn emit and crosses her arms over her broom as she stops in front of Gabriel and Kelly at the field. “Hullo,” she greets her comrades, and though her posture seems to point to her being rather unhappy, she appears to be more exhausted than anything else. “What’re we doing today?” she asks, almost in a mumble as she glances from one of them to the other.

“Goden!” hollers Quincy Matthias as soon as he has the team captain in his sight. “Am I late? My pocket watch broke. What a piece of rubbish it is. You’d think something so finely crafted could withstand someone delicate as me sitting on it numerous times, wouldn’t you?” Quincy jokes with a somewhat hoarse-sounding laugh. “Well, I made it,” he announces, grabbing a beater’s bat from the chest with his sausage-like fingers. Looking at the two girls upon their arrival, Quincy tips an invisible hat and grins. “Miss Wexler,” he says with a low bow in Briony’s direction, “and Miss Pantall, always a pleasure,” he adds theatrically, also bowing to Kelly– though not quite as low.

“I’m surprised you’ve sat on it once without breaking it, Quince,” laughs Gabriel good-naturedly. “Hey Bri, Kelly,” he greets with a nod. “Well, you are about to find out, arent’cha, Briony?” he asks. “Right,” Gabe says to the group of three, looking downwards for just a second before continuing. “So, beaters…” he trails off, idly pointing to the bludgers, “keeper,” his eyes meander up to the hoops in the distance, “seeker…” he eyes the small compartment for the snitch in the chest. “Okay. I suppose that our lack of Chasers for this practice won’t make that much of a difference,” comments Gabe, messing with his hair as if deep in thought. “How about we let out one bludger, the snitch, and I’ll take a quaffle. I’ll take shots on you, Bri,” he says, pointing to her, “and Quincy and Kelly, you can practice aiming the bludger. Don’t hit it at each other,” Gabe warns, “only send it in the other’s direction. Okay,” he nods once more. “Go warm up a bit and I’ll let out the bludger and the snitch.”

“Oh, stuff it, Gabe,” Briony responds to her friend and only glances at Quincy. He’s the newbie after all, and she might be tired, but she still knows more than him. Well, she thinks so, anyway. “I’ll do a lap or two, I s’pose,” the girl tells her friend and yawns again. “Please don’t hit me either, alright?” she comments to the beaters before getting onto her broom and slowly making her way around the pitch. These laps seem to take a while, but once she has finished with three, she seems to be a little more coherent, and even a bit less annoyed-looking. After she has finished these, she stretches her arms upward and pauses for a moment before taking her place in front of the hoops. “Whenever you’re ready, Gabe-y!” Ah, back to her old nickname.

“Shut up, Matthias.” Kelly replies abruptly, swinging one leg over her broom and eying him with sudden annoyance. The reason for her slightly apprehensive annoyance is left unremarked upon as she kicks off from the ground and flies around in a vague circle, clutching her bat in one hand, keeping an eye on the other Beater. Her good mood having disappeared in the sudden light of her annoyance, her good cheer begins to return as she flies around, and she certainly can’t seem to resist a sort of vague giggle and a glance to Briony as she hears the uttered nickname ‘Gabey’.

“Have no fear, Kelly,” Quincy declares, ignoring her plea for his silence, a hand to his beefy chest. “I promise to do my very, very best not to hit you with this demon of a Quidditch ball.” After a pudgy grin, Quincy mounts his broom and putters for a few moments on his way upwards and to full speed. The young man’s ‘full speed’ is a bit under average, but he urges his broom on comically by patting it on its top. “Come on, Bessie!” he says, laughing. After a couple laps around the pitch (he had hopes of beating Briony around, but alas, no dice), the boy looks down to the ground. Seeing Gabe wave and shout, Quincy readies himself for the release of the bludger, which he watches as Gabe does. “We have a live one, Pantall!” he says excitedly at the bludger heads for him, holding his bat with both hands like a baseball player. “Look, I’m a Muggle!” he says to the now-passing Gabe, who merely smirks. “Batter up!” Quincy calls, smashing the ball, changing its trajectory to head for Kelly, now.

“You’d better be ready, Briony Wexler, because I am about to score mercilessly on you!” Gabriel taunts loudly as he heads straight for her, a Quaffle nestled familiarly under his right arm. Gabriel‘s transition to seeker would take some time, now after having played a chaser for some years. “Mercilessly!!” he repeats as he nears Briony and her goals, whipping the Quaffle out from its place and hurling it at the left-most goal.

“Come on you’re not even a Chaser anymore!” Briony calls with a scoff, but this scoffing and the fact that the boy has changed positions does not seem to make her better at blocking shots, and she misses the first one, hearing a loud CLANG as it goes through the hoops. Frowning at her good friend — and date to the social, incidentally — Briony flies down to retrieve said Quaffle, flying it back up and lobbing it towards Gabriel, though it seems to be a bit high trajectory to actually fly to him. “Go again,” she orders loudly.

Swinging her bat one-handed towards the bludger, Kelly rolls her eyes at the other beater, distracted again from Briony by the sight of the bludger. It is a fairly weak hit by her standards, though not too bad given that she is deflecting it from an awkward angle. Even so, it is less than ideal and she grimaces at her own poor hitting, which as well as being weak is rather badly aimed and only curves towards Quincy out of a bludger’s natural inclination to unseat someone. “Well, that was terrible,” she remarks, biting at her lower lip. Her intention to make a joke falls quite flat, but at least she’s making an effort.

“I could catch this with my teeth, Pantall,” Quincy notes, squinting his eyes with glee at his light sarcasm. At the bludger comes toward him, he feigns terror and pushes his broom to go in reverse for a few moments, in the opposite direction of the oncoming ball. “Boom!” calls Quincy as he hits the thing back to her, his face a false mask of horror as he watches it speed at top velocity towards, not Kelly, but the ground. “Whoops,” he calls. “Wotcher,” he warns as the bludger changes its path on its own, heading now for Kelly.

“You’ve gotta be kidding!” Kelly protests, having to perform an odd sort of dive and spin to actually approach the bludger from a workable angle. She hits it hard, perhaps angry at herself for having done so poorly before, or perhaps just trying to prove that she is actually capable of more than her wimpy hit had shown. As well as being considerably more powerful, it is considerably better aimed, and she snorts at her fellow Beater with a wide grin, rather unmistakably impressed with herself. “Try catching that with your teeth, Matthias.”

“Gabe the Great SCORES!” announces Gabriel just in time to watch the Quaffle soar easily over his head. Rolling his eyes with a laugh, Gabe goes to retrieve the big red ball when he catches a glint of something near the ground. Could it be? “One second, Bri,” he calls, knowing full well it will annoy her to have to wait. Still with the Quaffle, Gabriel plummets down to where he thought he saw the glimmer of the snitch. It takes him a few seconds to see it again. “There you are,” he says sneakily, speeding up to try and grab it. The golden ball is much too fast, though, and turns abruptly in its course. “Bollocks!” shouts Gabe as he looses sight of it. Turning his broom sharply, he heads upwards again to shoot on Briony. “And another!” he says, lobbing the Quaffle as hard as he can at the middle hoop behind Briony.

“But you wouldn’t love my adorable smile so much if I had no teeth,” retorts Quincy with a bat of his eyelashes. Secretly quite impressed with Kelly’s return, Quincy chases after the bludger as fast as he’s able, taking quite a while to gain on it. He actually lets out quite a girlish squeal as the bludger actually stops and heads immediately in the direction whence it came. Ducking at the last moment, Quincy nearly falls off his broom. Watching the bludger as it makes for Kelly without him even hitting it, he calls, “I think it fancies you!”

This time, Briony is a bit more prepared, and she manages an easy catch this time, stopping the Quaffle with both hands. “Who’s great now?” she calls to her friend with a bit of a grin, throwing the Quaffle hard at him and righting herself on her broom. Briony yawns and distracts herself, watching Quincy and Kelly for a moment. What was Gabe thinking, putting that boy on the team? Briony‘s distaste for him could, of course, be interpreted by the fact that she doesn’t seem to be in a pleasant mood in general and is instead using this to judge those around her. It is a miracle that she hasn’t said anything truly caustic to Gabe or Kelly as yet.

Going into another dive to avoid the bludger and having to circle around it yet again, it is with a rather loud ‘crack!’ that Kelly eventually returns the bludger towards Quincy, her hit fairly powerful if nothing on her previous one, and she seems neither especially impressed or annoyed by it. Smirking at the other Beater, she adds, “Well, it wouldn’t fancy you if you slipped it an out of date love potion, would it?” Her nasty words are delivered with a certain jesting smile, however, and she seems to be genuinely enjoying both the practice and the bickering with Quincy.

“You’re great now,” Gabriel replies in a breathy, faint admiring voice as he clasps his hands and sighs. This proves to have been a mistake for Gabe as Briony’s throw hits him hard in the stomach. “Uuugh,” utters Gabriel, sputtering. “A little less passion on the throws, please, Briony,” pleads Gabriel as he starts a lap around the pitch to look for the snitch again. Unsuccessful in his search, he rounds once more on Briony, flying at her from a low angle. Pitching the Quaffle, hard, as if in revenge, Gabriel takes off immediately after to continue looking.

Lavishly wiping a ‘tear’ from the corner of his eye, Quincy pretends to blubber as he smacks Kelly’s well-aimed shot back to her. *CRACK!* “Ohh no,” he says. “Now you’ve done it. Now you’ve gone and hurt my delicate feelings.” He sniffs and appears to be blowing his nose on the sleeves of his robe. “You know I’m just an old softy under all this massive muscle,” Quincy calls, flexing the arm holding his bat. “Don’t choke!” Quincy yells suddenly as the bludger nears Kelly.

“Ow!” Kelly is quite able to return the shot with a heavy one-handed blow, though it flies rather off-course and her other hand flies up to clutch her wrist dramatically. “Never mind that, that hit just about broke my wrist.” Of course, either the girl is possessed of simply marvellous powers of healing or she is merely exaggerating, for within moments she is waving her bat again with the same hand and waiting for the next bludger to come at her, not something easily done with a broken wrist. “Alright, alright – that hurt. Look, my wrist has gone all red.” Well, her skin is a shade more pink than usual, perhaps. She is really just being unnecessarily dramatic.

“Tut, tut,” comments Quincy with a shake of his head and a pout. “Lucky for you, none of the Ravenclaw beaters have my… brute strength,” he says, uttering the last words in a low, guttural tone before grunting like a troll. “I’ll get it,” he says flippantly, pointing to the bludger that presently zooms over his shoulder, only just missing his ear. He goes after it, hitting it back over his head to change its direction and slow it down, then turns round to aim properly and gives the thing a whack with a smart-looking underhand. Glancing at Kelly’s hurt wrist, Quincy sighs again and suggests, “I could kiss it better. It’d be like magic.”

“You should pay attention,” Briony retorts, rather harshly as she seems to have no sympathy for his predicament with the Quaffle. The girl, for her own part, ought not to have sid anything, either, since this time, the quaffle does hit her rather hard in the arm in her attempt to catch it. A loud yelp and shriek emits from the third year and she doesn’t even make an attempt to get it. “I think it’s brooooken!” she calls with a loud whine, and it is clear that the waterworks are soon to start. “I need my muuuuuuuuum!” The tears begin flowing at this and she clutches her arm hard, her face turning nearly as red as the robes she is wearing.

Attention drawn away from the still-missing snitch, Gabriel stops dead in his path and wheels around to face Briony’s direction. Concern floods his facial expression almost instantly as he ignores the falling Quaffle and rushes up to Briony. “I-I’m sorry Briony, I didn’t, I mean, I’m sorry, I threw it really hastily and… do you really think it’s broken?” he asks very quickly, no hint of mockery or sarcasm detectable in his tone.

“It doesn’t hurt that much!” Kelly hastily retorts, crossing her eyes and making a face at Quincy. She is silent for a moment, though, clutching her broomstick tighter with her legs and hitting the bludger as hard as she can with a two-handed hit, which goes quite off-course but is quite impressively hard. Then, she seems to realise Briony’s dilemma and she flies at full-speed towards the girl, biting her lip awkwardly. “I, uh, bet it’s not broken!” She offers, though she seems to realise that this is unhelpful, and she shakes her head slowly. “An’ even if it is, you’ll be okay soon.” She then turns to face Gabe, glaring at him. “Way to go, Captain.” She mutters, his apology (and the mere fact that she’s berating the Captain) apparantly meaning little to her.

Biting her lip and wiping her face quickly with the non-injured arm, Briony nods mutely and puts her arm onto her broom carefully, trying to maneuver down to the ground. It is rather haphazardly that she manages to get down and get off of her broom. The girl lets the broom fall to the ground without much care or concern as she regrasps her wrist, looking down at the red and swollen limb. “I think it’s broken,” she sniffs loudly and looks to Gabriel, tears still flowing freely from her eyes. “I need to see my mummy. It huuuuurts.” The girl really sounds quite helpless and child-like as she says this, signalling that, despite her height, she is still quite a little girl.

Clearly flustered, Gabriel messes with his hair as he shoots an eye-narrowed look to Kelly. “Way to go, yourself,” he responds for no reason at all, looking back to Briony. “I’m sorry,” he says again, the picture of remorse. “Look, we’ll get you to your mum,” Gabe says in a cautious voice, as if Briony could break into pieces if he spoke too harshly. “Kelly… you’ll take her, right? I need to get the snitch back…” Looking around, Gabe finally calls, “Quince! Can you bring in the bludger?”

“Aye, aye, cap’n!” Quincy replies immediately, saluting as he’s sure a real pirate would do. Chasing after the dark ball, Quincy at last manages to catch up with it, smashing it downwards with all his might and following it downwards. Pity no one is likely to be watching him, for as soon as he’s low enough to the ground he leaps from his broom and onto the wriggling ball. “Victory,” shouts Quincy as he wrestles it a good six yards over to where the chest is and secures it.

“Yeah, I’ll take her.” Uncertain of the protocol in these matters and still fixing a rather annoyed glare on Gabe, Kelly reaches out a vaguely concerned, sympathetic arm to the injured girl, biting at her lower lip as she does so. If she notices Quincy’s wrestling the bludger, she does not show it, in sharp contrast to her tendency to make faces at him for the smallest things. “You’re gonna be alright, Briony, okay. No thanks to Gabe, but you’ll be okay.” Her tone is quiet and pitched to Briony, though easily loud enough for the others to overhear.

“I know,” Briony responds with a loud sniffle. “My mum’ll fix it. But it hurts.” Another sob comes out and the girl holds her arm closer to her body. She doesn’t offer much for interesting or meaningful conversation as she makes her way off of the pitch with Kelly, though the girl does try to curb her tears as she makes her way into the school. After all, she can’t appear to be this bothered by a broken limb. What will the Ravenclaw team think, if they see her sobbing like a small child!

Quite ruffled, Gabriel sighs as Briony and Kelly depart together, rolling his eyes at Kelly once her back is turned, and watching Quincy waddle off in another direction. In a moment of clear thought, Gabe notices Briony’s abandoned broomstick on the grass and makes a mental note to take it in when he finds the snitch. It shouldn’t be too hard, should it? With a hand to his forehead to shade his eyes from the dull November sun, Gabriel scans the pitch for a glint of gold…

Gabe couldn’t be more bored. By some miraculous series of events, Gabriel as successfully completed all his homework to the best of his ability, practiced flying drills twice in the last four days and even fished all the scrunched up socks out from under the covers of his bed– the ones that got kicked all the way down in his sleep. Sighing, Gabriel sprawls out in one of the chairs in the common room, staring at the ceiling.

Yawning and coming slowly down the stairs, it appears as if Briony has had quite a bit of a lie-in. The girl’s hair is quite a mess, showing signs of wear from sleep, and her clothing is haphazardly put on, and it appears that the girl has grown, as the pants she has put on come down only to the tops of her ankles. “Morning, Gabey,” the girl greets her good friend with a yawn and plops into a chair kittycorner to his. “Y’look –” yaaaawn, “Bored.”

Recognizing the voice and presence well enough to know who it is, Gabriel doesn’t even move when Briony sits down, except to say, “I am,” in a deadpan tone. Continuing to stare upwards, it’s a couple seconds before he reacts in any meaningful way. Eventually he does sit up properly in his chair and turns to look at his friend. “I’ve been up for two hours, you know,” he notes with a grin. “Getting some beauty sleep, then?”

“Oh, right, beauty sleep,” Briony responds, stifling another yawn and then grinning. “It’s Sunday, no reason to get up early!” The girl lets out a little giggle and presses down her hair as she tucks her legs — and rather pouffy looking pair of slippers — up underneath her and shrugs. “So, has anyone asked you to the social yet, Gabe?” The same question as the year previous, in likely the same tone, but this time, there seems to be a different glint in her eye as she turns a bit toward her friend, facing him more.

Raising his eyebrows, Gabe leans back into the chair, eyes downcast for only a second before glancing back up to her. “No, not yet,” he explains, shrugging. “I haven’t been much of Felicity lately, though, so… I don’t know if she wants to go with me again this year or anything.” Another indifferent shrug. “Or maybe Kalynn will ask me. But I’d be okay with not going. Now that, you know, pretty much my entire family will be there too,” Gabriel adds, smirking.

“Well, you should go with me,” Briony states frankly and rather chirpily, given the fact that she had just moments before been yawning and lethargic. “Not Felicity, ugh.” She shakes her head as she mentions her cousin and then shrugs. “I heard this year it’s going to be different than last year somehow. I’m not sure how much different it could really be unless we’re going to have it inside this time instead. That would be interesting, don’t you think?” the girl comments, as if she hasn’t just asked him to go with her almost in the same breath.

“Go with you?” Gabriel repeats, basically ignoring all the rest of what Briony’s said. Gabe leans in a little. “What… like… as a date? Or as friends?” he asks cautiously, trying not to sound like he’s expecting a particular answer. A Social with Briony. Gabe would have to get used to the idea. Realizing his hands are more or less clenched into fists and his attention is rapt, Gabriel falls back into the squishy chair, relaxing his tension purposefully.

“Oh, honestly,” Briony retorts with a laugh. “You act like it’s a big deal. It’s just the social, Gabe! Anyway, you could be my date. It’s not a big deal anyway.” She shrugs and grins at him. “So what’re you going to do today? Are you going to practice Quidditch? Because if you are, I want to practice with you. Did you see those notices about the announcer tryouts? I was thinking of looking into that. Wouldn’t that be fun, being the Quidditch announcer? If I did that, then Dad wouldn’t be so jumpy about Quidditch. He hates that I’m on the team, you know?” Of course, Gabe likely knows that already, but this has never stoped Briony in the past.

In order, Gabe shakes his head, nods, shrugs and nods again. “No, I’ve been doing a lot of Quidditch these past few days. I think I’ll be taking today off from it.” Gabriel can understand what it’s like to have an unsupportive (well, not unsupportive. Concerned. Over-concerned.) parent in terms of Quidditch. “My mum doesn’t really want me on the team either, but it hasn’t stopped me yet. You know, it’s like we’re taking over the school! Or Gryffindor anyway. Now I’m Quidditch captain and she’s head of house,” he says cheerfully– more cheerful than he’s been lately at any rate. “It’s just kind of funny,” he says, not realizing he’s completely glazed over the fact that they now both have dates– each other– to the social.

“Well, I’m sure this will be Gryffindor’s year, what with the Good Deed Club and us on Quidditch. We’ll win for sure, of course.” Briony grins at his, not seeming at all concerned that he hasn’t really said much at all in response to the social. He’s going with her now, of course. No more to it than that! “We should see about a game of chess! Dad worked with me on it this summer and I just know I’ll be able to beat you now! Do you want to give it a go?” The girl sits up and yanks at her too-short pant leg with a grin. “We could play with the Magical Creatures set! I’m sure nobody would mind. C’mon, Gabe!” The exhuberant girl apparently does not seem bothered by whether Gabriel actually wants to do, and instead, grabs at his hand in an attempt to pull him toward where the chess set is set up.

“Fine, fine,” he resigns quickly, allowing himself to be led/dragged over to the set. Bored as he is, Briony could likely suggest almost anything that he hadn’t done to death in the last week and he’d be completely on board. “I get to be the black side,” Gabriel calls quickly with a smirk. “Now to warm up my strategy-nerve,” he says, geekishly rubbing his hands together. “Actually… my strategy-nerve has been broken for a long time. You probably will win today. Did I tell you about my so-failed strategy plan for over the summer?” he asks almost rhetorically, knowing full well he hasn’t told anyone.

“No! You were going to do, but then you wouldn’t,” Briony tells him with a gasp as she plops down in front of the white side of the board, which is curiously pinkish, as if someone had tried to charm the pieces to be a different color. “Okay, hmmmm,” she states aloud as she begins to survey the board. Being that it is a blank chess board, one would think that making a move would be relatively easy. Just move something. But, no, not for Briony, she has to take in all the possibilty of the board before she moves. There is quite a long pause of quiet from the girl before she finally moves a piece out and then looks back at Gabriel. “So, what was your strategy?”

Quickly moving a black pawn two spaces out from its beginning line as if he’s put no thought into it, Gabe replies, “Well the strategy came in later. The original plan,” he looks downwards for a second before smiling hopefully at Briony, “was… was… that my parents still love each other. I can tell they do. So there has to be a way to get them back together. It’s stupid that they haven’t already. So I thought I could, you know, help it along.” Gabriel pauses. “It’s your turn,” he says with a smirk, but knowing she knew.

“I know, Gabe,” Briony responds with a light scoff as she looks down at the board. “Did you really think it’d work? I mean, it seemed like your parents didn’t want to be together. Or else, wouldn’t they be still?” Briony quirks her head, her hand hovering over an animal-shaped chess piece, though she isn’t looking at it. “I mean, I really wouldn’t know, really.” Briony bites her lip, apparently unsure of what to say, so instead of saying anything, she clacks her piece to a different spot, stifling a giggle as it makes a bit of a screeching sound, and then readjusting herself in her seat to sit on her leg. “I guess it didn’t work, though, since you said it was failed. What were you trying to do, exactly?”

Moving another pawn, Gabe sighs. “I didn’t really know how I could help at first. Then I thought if they maybe just… saw more of each other that some kind of spark would come back. I mean, you’ve seen my mum. Doesn’t see look lonely? Look at her eyes next time you see her,” Gabriel instructs, interlocking his fingers. “Anyway, at the end of July when we, my sisters and me, were leaving dad’s place and going to stay with mum, we all met in Diagon. It was supposed to be a quick exchange and everything. But I pretended to fall down,” he stops, thinking and revising his story to, “well, did fall down. I even scraped my knee a bit! I thought they’d both get concerned at once and it’d be a meaningful moment or something… but a witch passing by said she used to be a healer and suddenly my knee was completely fine.” Sighing, Gabe rolls his eyes at the recollection.

The girl bites her lip as Gabe says this, quirking her head to the other side and quickly moving a pawn of her own. “Well, it’s too bad that healer happened to come by. I don’t suppose you tried it again somewhere else, did you?” the girl asks, her loyalty to her friend obviously superceding that of her loyalty to his mother. “Did you get your sisters to help you?” A pause. “Though I s’pose you probably didn’t want them to help, huh?” Briony shrugs. “You could have asked me to help. I’m sure we could have come up with something.” Such a serious turn of conversation, Briony doesn’t seem to know how to handle.

Gabriel Goden shakes his head. “I couldn’t even think of anything else. That’s part of why I got so discouraged and was so moody near the end of summer. I started losing hope, and that’s never good! Now I have the dream again, so I will eventually succeed. The only question now is ‘when’, right?” The boy smiles as he moves a bishop out of its place, diagonally, quite far into ‘Briony territory’. “Kate wanted to help, but she’s not the best for coming up with ideas. Jamie… doesn’t want to talk about things ever. At least, not with me.” Such a statement seems depressing, but Gabe glazes over it as if it’s just the way things have been for a long, long time. “I know I should have asked you. But… for a while I was a little embarrassed about what I was trying to do. Now, though,” he says with great determination, “I know that all people want their parents to be together. Nothing to be ashamed of, right?”

“Of course there’s nothing to be ashamed of, Gabe! I don’t know what I’d do if Mum and Dad weren’t together anymore.” Briony pauses as she eyes the bishop carefully, moving a pawn slowly out and then pulling her hand out quickly. “So, what’re you going to do now that you’re at school? I mean, you can’t very well get your dad out here very often, can you? He doesn’t have a whole lot of reason to come here. Unless he comes to the Governor’s Ball. Do you think he will?” Briony‘s eyes light up with their usual conspiratal light as she grins at her friend. “Maybe they could dance together somehow at the Governor’s Ball and then they could realize that they do love each other. Do you think?”

“I didn’t even think of that!” Gabe replies excitedly, accidentally knocking over a knight before moving it forward. His mind really isn’t in the game. “That’s a fantastic idea, Bri. Maybe he would come, I mean, he works for the Ministry. Didn’t some people from the Ministry come last year?” Gabriel asks, truly oblivious. If he had to be honest, that day was quite a blur in Gabriel‘s memory. “I’ll have to owl him and tell him to come. With mum here, he’ll feel like it’s her domain and he shouldn’t intrude or anything. Do you… do you think I should owl him and say that mum wants him to come? Or will that just get messy…?”

“No, don’t do it that way. Then they’re sure to find out that you were meddling and then it might backfire. Maybe you should tell your dad that you want him to come. It’s not a lie that way, right? And your mum will probably come because it will be at the school, right?” The girl bounces a little and captures the bishop which has been left quite vulnerable. Plunking the piece next to her side of the board Briony sits up a little more. “You don’t think your mum would get angry if your dad showed up to it, do you?” the girl asks, leaning back again, putting a finger on her chin thoughtfully.

Sinking down a little after his nodding at her prior statements, Gabe rests an elbow on the table and plops his chin into his open palm. “She probably will be mad…” he says, thinking about it. It’s with less fervor that he used his knight to take Briony’s bishop-stealing piece, not realizing that his king is quite exposed from the diagonal. “But, I mean,” Gabriel says, starting to rationalize things in his mind and out loud, “it’s a chance I’ll have to take. If she’s mad at first but then gets dad back, she’ll be happy. So, I’m going to do it.”

“Are you sure your mum would even talk to him? I would think, if she’s mad, then maybe she won’t stop being mad enough to realize that she misses your dad.” Briony sighs a bit and puts her bishop out. “Check,” she tells him and matches his own posture by putting her own chin in her hand and leaning forward a bit. “I don’t understand why grownups do stupid things like that. They should just stay together if they love each other.” Briony shakes her head and tuts a bit, looking down at the board and then back at Gabriel.

“I basically never understand what–WHAT!” Gabriel exclaims, Briony’s check only just registering with him. “But there’s only…” he trails off, moving the only defensive piece he can in between Briony’s bishop and his king. As soon as she takes that piece, though, the came will be over for Gabe. “I can’t believe–” he stutters, his parents’ marital issues forgotten temporarily. “I was just distracted, you know,” he says, already making weak excuses for his soon-to-be loss with a good-natured grin.

“Oh, come on, I told you dad had practiced with me all summer!” Briony protests, moving forward and capturing the one piece cheerfully. This is possibly the shortest win the girl has had in which nobody threw the game intentionally. “Checkmate!” she calls happily and jumps up, doing a bit of a happy dance. “What do you want to do now? It’s too early to make plans for the Ball, but maybe we could go and practice for our Quidditch match, even though it’s a while away. Or we could go see if there’s anything of interest in the kitchen. What do you say?” Briony seems entirely oblivious to the fact that she is still in her pyjamas.

Smirking, Gabriel decides to see just how far he can take Briony into the public of the school before she realizes she isn’t exactly dressed for social interaction with the general population. Briony always could be counted on for fun, couldn’t she? “Let’s see what’s in the kitchens,” he agrees, standing up and making for the portrait hole. “C’mon, Bri, if we wait, there won’t be anything left!” he says, snickering into his sleeve as he leaves.

“Alright!” Briony agrees and runs in her slippers with some attempt to catch up to Gabriel. This only causes her to slide a little bit and then nearly fall over as she grabs at Gabriel for leverage, also smacking her hand on a chair haphazardly. “Whoops!” she comments as she regains her balance and stands up. “Last one to the kitchen’s a gooseberry!” she tells him and darts out of the commonroom in pursuit of getting to the kitchens, slipping and sliding in her pouffy slippers the whole way. Ah, the adventures of youth.

To say that Gabriel is nervous would be a gross understatement. He drags his broom presently as if it weighs about twenty pounds more than it normally does, and the agitated look on his face is truly not becoming. Having reached the spot on the pitch it seems he’s been walking to, Gabriel turns to appraise the ‘crowd’. To call it a crowd is surely not an understatement. “Uh, hi,” Gabe greets, scratching a probably-imaginary itch at the back of his head. “Welcome to Quidditch trials,” he says, but stops when he notices that people are still meandering his way. “Um, we’ll just hang on a second,” he says, letting his broom drop to the ground.

Bounding out to the pitch just after Gabriel, Briony looks excited, to say the least. The girl is in rather ragged and perhaps a bit too small Quidditch robes, her broom slung over her shoulder while she comes to a stop near the rear of the group. “We’re going to have the best team ever!” she exclaims to those around her cheerfully, and blows some of her hair out of her face casually, seeming to be used to the phenomenon of hair in her face.

If the Quidditch Captain looks nervous, there is no word for Kelly‘s expression as she approaches, other than possibly ‘ill’. She clutches her broom so tightly her knuckles are white, and her other hand shakes slightly, and she persistently tugs at her hair and bites her lower lip awkwardly. She opens her mouth to greet Gabe and Briony as she approaches, those being the two she is most familiar with, but then silences herself again, closing her mouth again soundlessly before she says something stupid, and stepping back again as though to try and conceal herself, murmuring to herself quietly. “Oh, what am I doing here? Would Gabe even let me on the team? This is stupid.”

“Yeah, so, as far as open positions are concerned, we’re looking for a seeker but, uh, I might take that role myself, so that’d leave… chaser, yeah, and um… one of some other role might like to be a chaser so… so that’d leave another role open,” Gabriel articulates with great trouble. Catching a glance at Briony, Gabe seriously wishes he could just siphon off some of her excitement into himself. Sighing, he continues with, “So if you could just all line up and give me your names, we’ll… Kelly, you’re here?” he asks before thinking better of it.

Oh. Someone’s talking to her. At the sound of her name, Kelly looks up at Gabriel suddenly, fixing a rather venemous glare on him and stepping forward. “/Yes/.” She replies sharply, folding her arms across her chest and very nearly hitting herself in the chin with her own broom. Then, apparently realising that being sharp with the new Captain isn’t a good way to get ahead, she coughs softly and clarifies, “Yes, I am here. I want to join the Quidditch team this year – didn’t I mention over the summer? Why do you ask?” Though her tone is much less snappy, it still has a nasty edge to it.

Preparing to mention that Gabriel already knows her name, Briony‘s speech is halted as Kelly speaks. Touchy, touchy. The girl shrugs a bit and chimes, “Briony Wexler! I just know we’ll get the cup this year, especially if Gabe-y’s the captain!” The girl appears to be beaming with pride at this and sets her broom bristles down next to her, tugging at one of the sleeves to coax it to cover her whole arm.

Stepping back a little, Gabriel starts slightly as he quickly replies with, “Uh, no. What? Nothing! Uh…” such that it almost melts into one odd sound effect. “Well, good luck,” he says after shaking his head and turning his back on her, stooping down to pick up his broom. Truth be told, Gabriel had, in a shocking moment of clarity much after the fact, realized that he hadn’t been mad at Kelly that day over the summer when they’d fought like cats and dogs. He’d been mad at himself! In any case, he tries to clear everything from his mind in order to focus. Stepping into the Quidditch shed for a moment, he comes out dragging a large bag (assumedly stashed there earlier in the day) which appears to contain many balls of various sizes. Judging by the fact that Gabe easily hoists the thing over his shoulder as he mounts his broom and starts to hover, it can’t be very heavy. “Okay, let’s all get warmed up a bit. Two laps around the pitch and meet me in the middle, ok?” He instructs in a tone that, to himself anyways, doesn’t even come close to ‘authoritative.’

“Gabey.” Kelly echoes quietly, shaking her head; she flushes slightly pink as she is instructed to warm up, and she says nothing else to either Gabriel or Briony, mounting her broom and hovering in midair for a moment before beginning the laps around the pitch. Perhaps Gabe isn’t very authoritative, but she intends to do as he instructs for at least as long as it takes to find out if she makes the team. She’s not too bad on the broom, all things considered; while she’s nothing special, she’s fairly steady and her turns at the edge of the pitch aren’t too jerky. Then, two laps later, she returns to the centre of the pitch, still looking slightly nervous and ill, but at least a little better than before.

Not skipping a beat, Briony is up on her broom quickly, one of the first to kick off and make her way around. Her wobbly flight could mean one of two things: Briony is nervous, or else, Briony is uncomfortable in her quidditch robes which are proving to be more and more of a problem as she continues around the pitch twice, coming to hover near Gabe. “Do I have to get off?” she asks, looking down at Gabe as if she really very much wishes for him to say no.

“Okay, good job, good job,” is Gabriel‘s attempt at encouragement, but at least he’s grinning and looks slightly more relaxed. Looking up to Briony, he smiles and shakes his head. “Nope,” he replies. “Actually, can you make your way over to the goals, Bri?” he asks as if he’s pleading for a huge favour. Really, he’s just short of clasping his hands together. “As for everyone else, I need to know what positions and stuff…” he trails off, digging around in the huge bag. He comes up with a few paddles which he tosses to two boys, having uttered, ‘beater,’ and throws out several larger balls. “Kelly?” he asks after most players have received something, even if just a nod in the case of the seekers. “What about you?”

Flushing quite pink – she had been too busy taking offense to answer the question, hadn’t she? – Kelly shakes a little on her broom and offers, “Oh. Right. Beater. Sorry.” She doesn’t quite meet Gabe’s eye as she watches him, and her hands shake a little as she raises them to catch whatever he throws at her. Coughing quietly, she adds, “Gabe? I’m sorry about that fight we had.” As if this is at all relevant to the Quidditch practice. It’s something to say.

“‘Course,” Briony answers with a bit of a scoff, just short of telling him that he needn’t ask. The girl flies a bit crookedly as she again begins tugging at her sleeves and it is several moments before she gets the rest of the way to the hoops. For a moment, she seems rather perplexed as to how she’s to look competent at the hoops — after all, she’s not a newbie anymore — and looks with annoyance at her sleeves. The girl does seem to have an epiphany, however, while she rolls her sleeves up quickly, tucking them up above her elbows neatly.

Whipping his head around to ensure Briony is far enough out of earshot that she is likely not to have heard Kelly’s reference to their fight over the summer, Gabriel sighs in relief. Nodding as he tosses Kelly a paddle, Gabe smiles lopsidedly. “Yeah, uh, I’m sorry too. It’s ok, we’re still friends.” Or, as close to the definition of ‘friends’ that Gabe and Kelly ever were to begin with. “Allllright,” Gabe yells to the group as a whole. “Chasers, I want you to all take shots on Bri. Be fair though, one at a time,” he says, almost protectively. “Beaters, I’m going to be chucking these everywhere,” he says, holding up a bludger-sized ball. “So try to help the chasers out and have them not get hit! Seekers, it’s hard to emulate the snitch very well, so I’m throwing these to you,” he shows a smaller ball to them. “Ready? Go!” he says, immediately throwing a ball at Kelly, snickering.

Instinctively catching the paddle, though upside down, Kelly nods her head in response, offering a small smile to the boy – and almost missing the fact that the first ball is directed at her. “Ah -” she swings for it with her paddle and, though it is most definitely intercepted, and a fairly decently hard blow it is, though she seems to have only limited control over where it is headed and it ends up nearly hitting one of her fellow hopefuls. “Sorry!” She offers, though it is only a token apology, and she flies off in the opposite direction, waiting for another ball to come her way.

As the chasers make their way over to Briony, she begins diving, almost as if she didn’t expect them to shoot quite so quickly. In contrast with her previous year’s tryout, though, she does manage to block most of them, though the occasional one does get past her. At this point, Briony has been thoroughly distracted by her too-small robes, though her hair does provide constant frustration. It never seems to occur to the third year to tie it back.

Laughing as Kelly nearly hits one of his potential chasers, Gabriel begins throwing out balls in their assorted sizes to their corresponding Quidditch roles. The snitch-balls sail quite far as Gabe throws them as far as he can, and they drop quickly. The bludger-balls, though, are quite a bit lighter than the balls they are meant to emulate and are harder to throw as far a distance. Gabriel tries to gain a sound feel for the talents of those auditioning, making mental notes as he goes. He watches in shock as suddenly one of the more burly beater-wannabes whacks a ball hard, sending it in Briony’s direction. “Gaah!” he yells. “K-Kelly! Get that!”

Startled by the sudden instruction, Kelly accelerates after the stray ball, approaching it from more or less right-angles, her bat prepared to swing before she is even close enough. When she does strike out at it, it is a wild hit and not well aimed, though a fairly powerful hit and well and truly no longer headed for Briony. Unfortunately, it also means she has almost lost her balance and takes a moment to recover before she can do much else. “Sorry, Gabe,” she offers, breathing heavily as she rights herself. “Briony, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Briony calls, having stared at the bludger coming her way rather than do anything to get out of its way as she might have during the previous year’s Quidditch season. The girl’s eyes are wide and she waits a moment, missing several quaffles as she does so. “Oh, sod off,” she snaps at a couple of smug-looking chaser wannabes as she shakes her head and returns her attention to the people in front of her. “Get your own Quaffle,” she tells those around her and blocks one of the red balls visciously.

“It’s okay, that was rather good!” exclaims Gabriel, wiping his forehead with his sleeve in an automatic gesture of relief. “You know, Kelly, I thought the last thing I’d want to see is you with a bat, but that turned out for the better, didn’t it?” he jokes. Kid of. Well, at least the thing hadn’t hit Briony. Though, it probably wouldn’t have been too bad even if it had. Gabe had just been overexcited. “Crisis averted!” he updates the group with a grin before Kelly can reply to him, though his eyes are narrowed slightly at the dull-looking beater who misaimed the ball in the first place. Smirking at Briony’s vehemence, Gabe starts throwing balls once more. After some time, the boy is panting with the effort and perspiration is evident on his face. “Uh, okay!” he yells. “Bring it in?” Gabe shouts, almost as a question.

For a moment, Kelly seems unsure of if she should take offense to the crack about her with a bat, though she can’t help but smile as his statements seem largely complimentary. She intercepts two more ‘bludgers’ before she finishes, still largely not well-aimed, but fairly decent hits nonetheless (and none so violently off-course as to cause damage to any existing team members). Finally, as he shouts out his intent to conclude the session, she flies down, tossing the paddle in her hand back towards the bag. “Brought in, Gabe,” she offers, her cheeks still flushed pink, though perhaps more likely now with exertion than embarassment. “And do you know around when you’re going to announce who made the team? Just out of curiosity.”

Batting away another quaffle, Briony doesn’t waste time after Gabe orders them to bring it in. She quickly turns and flies away, not helping the smug chasers retrieve their quaffles, though she does grab one from a nervous-looking first year who drops hers just as Briony begins flying by. “You shouldn’t put those ones on the team,” Briony tells Gabe slyly, glaring over her shoulder, though the two look quite successfully put in their place by Briony‘s attitude, for better or for worse.

Following Briony’s glare over her shoulder, Gabriel thinks he sees who she’s talking about and nods in confirmation. “Okay,” he says, almost conspiratorially, hungry as he is for any help or guidance anyone could offer him, but especially Briony. “Yeah, they look like bad news to me, too,” Gabe notes truthfully to the girl under his breath. As Kelly’s paddle hits the huge bag, Gabriel grins and glances over to her. “Haha, yeah, brought in literally!” he says, not knowing how else to react. If he were honest with himself, he sometimes did subconsciously view Kelly as a ticking time bomb, able to go off at any second. But, she seemed stable enough today. “Yeah, I’ll be posting… well, I’ll just tell everyone…” he trails off and backs up a little to address the whole group. “Um, that was a good trial! I’ve got a pretty good idea of where everyone stands,” says Gabriel with much more confidence than he actually has. “So… as usual, the team will be posted in the common room once I’ve decided for good. Probably next week sometime, and then we’ll start up with practices and all. So, uh, until then, good luck!” The young man smiles, satisfied.

A ticking time bomb? Absolutely not! Kelly nods in response, though perhaps a little put out that Gabe’s response wasn’t to announce ‘I need no time to figure you out! Oh, mighty beating goddess Pantall, I would be honoured to have you on my team!’, and dismounts, clutching her broom with both hands awkwardly, unsure of what to say. “Alright. Do you need any help putting the stuff away? I mean, I was going to meet Charlie right after, but I can help you out if you want…” She shrugs vaguely, glancing at the bag, apparently quite uncertain of what else to add, if there is anything. Silence is weird, to her.

“You want to help?” asks Gabriel with a perked brow as he stares at Kelly. Apart from Bri, the other students have started to disband, sauntering off the pitch in various directions. “Sure, yeah that’d be great,” he replies, getting a slight feeling that she’s sucking up a little. But whether or not she is, Gabe likes it. Yawning, Gabriel drags the bag over to the shed, leaning it so it stands up as well as a floppy bag possibly can, intending to put it inside once it has been refilled completely. Well, this Quidditch trial could gave gone worse! All in all, Gabe is quite happy. “C’mon,” he says once *most* of the balls are picked up (the well-visible ones, anyway), “my dad sent me butterbeer,” he says in a low voice to Briony, waving to Kelly. “Have fun with Charlie… Kelly-Belle.” And he runs for his life back to the castle.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of children of assorted ages and uniform colours, Gabriel Goden shoves his way through the masses in the Express’ corridor, Briony in tow. “Mooove,” Gabriel mutters under his breath, eventually spotting an empty section. “In here, Bri,” Gabe advises, turning his neck to make eye contact as he points. He opens the door with no intention of closing it himself and slumps onto a seat. The summer, against his will, had gone so fast, and now it was back to school. How could anyone be cheerful? “Well, another year,” Gabe says to Briony with a sigh.

With a bit of a flourish, the door opens again and Carrie Mary Jane Whittier enters the door. She’s carrying a smell pet carrier in which a siamese cat lays sleeping, a suitcase of clothes, and a small golden harp. But that’s not what draws attention from anyone who knew her before. When she left Hogwarts last year, Carrie had beautiful long red hair that used to fly behind her during quidditch matches. Now, it’s cut off into a jet black, bob-style haircut. Her face is powdered, and her lips painted into a petite blood red circle. “Terribly sorry to intrude,” She grins as she enters, “But all the other carriages are full.”

“Isn’t it exciting, Gabe-y?” Briony answers cheerfully, bounding in with a rather harried looking cat in her arms. “It’s okay, Whimsy. We’re going soon. Come on, Alden! Don’t straggle!” Briony sounds like quite the all-knowing older sister as she plops down as close to the window as she can, on the seat facing Gabriel. “I can’t wait for Quidditch this year, can you? I’m sure we’ll do better. I’ve been practicing all summer, of course. I want us to get the cup this year! And we’re going to do good with the Good Deed Club. Alden, you can be with us if you’re sorted into Gryffindor. Well, of course you’ll be Gryffindor. You should be, anyway. I’ll be terribly disappointed if you’re not. And, and, oh, I get to start the electives this year! I’m so excited to see the Divination teacher. Nearly everybody likes her!”

Alden Wexler follows Briony in to the cabin with a small sigh, his expression grave. “Don’t shout, Briony. It’s unbecoming, especially when I’m just behind you.” He lingers in the doorway for a moment, waiting for his older sister to find her seat and clear the way, before placing his suitcase neatly up in the rack and taking a seat near the door and opposite from Briony. His arms folding over his chest in a thoughtful way. He had vague feeling that this would be a long trip — much longer than the floo power ride still dusted his cheeks annoyingly with soot that delivered him to Diagon Alley.

Gabriel truly doesn’t recognize Carrie as he replies to her with, “Yeah, it’s no problem,” and turns to glare somewhat at Briony. “Exciting?” he echoes before he remains silent for a few seconds, not hearing much of what Briony says (though, this lack of attention can partly be defended by the notion that Gabe thinks she is mainly talking to Alden anyways. Though, it was hard to tell for Gabe sometimes). Despite the figurative cloud looming over him, he almost can’t help getting caught up in Briony’s excitement somewhat. Maybe this year would be better. Shrugging to Alden, Gabriel Goden sighs as he looks back to Briony. “This year will be great,” he says with the naive, hopeful tone so common of him in his younger years.

“I didn’t shout,” Briony comments, taking this in stride as she continues on. “Hi! You’re on Hufflepuff team, aren’t you?” she tells Carrie, but doesn’t linger. “Anyway, buck up, Gabe. We’re going back to Hogwarts! Your mum is still our House Head isn’t she? I like her being our House Head. Professor Calwern scared me a little bit. She had all those rules and I was afraid I was going to break some.” Briony shakes her head a bit and then shrugs, grinning cheerfully at her brother and her friend. “Why are you so glum? You’ve been this way all summer. It’s no fun. We didn’t even get to go on any adventures because of it.” A pout crosses Briony‘s face as she says this, but it doesn’t last long. “Maybe we can find some while we’re running through the Good Deed Club and solve them! We didn’t find many last year. It was really sad. I wish we had.”

Felicity Wexler lingers for as long as she is allowed on Platform 9 3/4 — standing beside next to a short, silver-haired woman in her early seventies, who leans heavily on a cane. With one arm linked with the elderly woman, helping support her, Felicity talks in near tears to her until the whistle blows it’s last warning and the ushers begin making final shouts. And it’s with deep, obvious reluctance that Felicity parts with her (not for the least of the matter that the lack of support almost causes the old woman to fall over, until two men on the platform come to help), make it on to the train. Tears in her eyes that she fights to hold back, Felicity makes her way quickly to the nearest cabin with a window looking out on her Grandmother Larsen — and without worrying about it being Briony who she has to press close to in order to look out the window and wave, she abandons her suitcase at the door and cuts straight to her objective, watching sadly as the two men help the old muggle woman toward a hearthstone so she can return home.

Sitting down to the lukewarm reaction from Gabe, Carrie actually bursts out in a tiny laugh, “You really don’t recognise me, do you? I’m offended, Mr. Gabriel Goden. I stole the quaffle enough times from you last year to think you’d have noticed me.” She winks, and plucks at her harp, noting, “Briony here has a sharper mindski, I see.” She also smiles to Felicity as she comes in, and quips, “Oh, my! I’ve boarded the Wexler compartment, I see!” Her smile doesn’t dip, though, and she even begins to play a quiet tune on the harp.

“What?” questions Gabriel, confused at Carrie and showing it with a perked eyebrow and ignoring Briony for the time being. “Oh,” he says, realization dawning on him finally. “Right, I guess I recognize you, K… C… uhh…” he stutters with her name, though he probably did know it at one point. “Yeah, I recognize you,” he says quickly and looks away, a little flushed. As luck would have it, he turns immediately to the teary Felicity. Even worse! Girls and their emotions…! In a last effort, he turns to Briony, safe and always cheerful Briony. “Yeah, I… I…” he starts before crossing his arms and smiling, maybe a little falsely. “I’ll tell you later… this summer was kind of… a failed mission.” He shrugs. “But yeah, my mum’s the head of Gryffindor again this year.”

Alden Wexler arches a brow as Felicity comes bolting in to the compartment, leaving her suitcase at what is, essentially, his feet. Exhaling a long sigh as the Felicity leans over Briony to get to the window, knowing at least in part the nature of the girl’s apprehension and tears, Alden (much like Gabe) looks away. Though his motion is bore more out of modesty than any embaressement. Without a word, he rises, takes Felicity’s trunk, and stretches himself once more to place it in to the racks.

As Felicity continues to cry, Carrie finally breaks her carefully constructed image to shuffle next to her and ask, “Hey, hey. You alright, Jane?” She rubs a hand over Felicity’s shoulder. “It’s alright… shush. It’s alright. I’ll play you a song, OK? Make everyone happy here?”

“Hey, I was here first,” Briony comments and frowns a bit. Felicity isn’t her favorite cousin, after all. Does Briony have a favorite cousin. “Get your own window seat if you want one.” Briony doesn’t say this with as much sourness as usual, because having seen Felicity’s grandmother, even Briony can’t help but feel a little bit sad for the girl. “Oh, a failed mission?” Briony responds to GAbriel, looking almost concerned at it. “Why did it fail? You should have let me help! We would have succeeded together. After all, I’m thirteen now. I’m every bit as good at stuff as you.” So Briony thinks anyway. The train has begun moving, and Briony shoots a beaming look of pride to Alden. “Look, isn’t it nifty? The train ride is so fun.”

Wiping a few tears from her cheeks that manage to escape despite her best efforts, Felicity looks briefly to Carrie — smiling a little, in a brave sort of way, before rising and pulling away somewhat from Briony and the window. “No, thank you, I’m alright –” Briony’s words, strangely, are somewhat comforting to her. The mild harshness in her tone is familiar, and so it’s in the nature of that solid rock that she pushes Briony on the arm (though decidedly more gentle than she would most other times, matching Briony’s understated kindness with some of her own) before flopping down next to her Gryffindor cousin. She passes a small smile of thanks back to Alden, for his putting her suitcase away, and decidedly keeps her gaze from the window as the trainstation fades well from view. Otherwise, she remains quiet.

“I said I’ll tell you later,” Gabriel re-states with much emphasis, eyeing the others in the compartment furtively. Really, it wasn’t the type of ‘mission’ one discussed openly while among others. “And…” though it pains Gabriel to say it, “I… don’t know if you’ll be able to help. Or anyone.” He blinks quickly a couple times before forcing a smile again and trying to change the subject. “It’s okay, Felicity, it’ll be summer again soon. Just think about how fast last year went,” he lies, trying to make her feel better about leaving.

Felicity Wexler nodding slightly to Gabe, in response to his comforting words — words she knows to be false, but words that are comforting never the less, she puts on her best smile, in an attempt to convince herself that she might believe them. Her hands fold in her lap, and she finally turns her gaze to Alden — somewhat curious what it is that Gabe is whispering about, but feeling a little to down to pry. “Are you excited?”

Alden Wexler shifts his gaze back to Felicity once she has regained control of herself, his expression mute — excitement, it would seem, wasn’t a part of his typical profile. “About Sorting, you mean?” Alden murmurs, thoughtfully. His voice mildly high pitched, and somewhat effeminate despite the clarity and certainty he pours in to his words. It only adds to the general air of “delicacy” that radiates from the child. “Not especially, no.”

Keelan Walsh is standing on the platform, covered in robes that seem impervious to the rain that falls thickly from the sky. “First year students, please, this way!” She swings about a lantern, held high over her already considerably tall head, to emphasize her location. “Everyone else, the carriages are–over there!” Indeed, the carriages are lit rather warmly, as though they’ve been fitted with heating for the particularly blustery weather this Sorting day. “Come on, first years! We’ve got a lovely trip planned for you.” If being drowned from above while floating across an icy lake in the dark could possibly be considered fun.

Kara Raine hopes off the train, turning back to wave towards Rhyne. “Good luck! See you at the feast.” Glancing around, the second year tries to stay up with her fellow Ravenclaws, trying to see where they need to go next. No boat for her this year.

Alden Wexler hardly seems to notice the rain as Keelan calls out for the first years — quite despite the fact that in a little under a few moments, the poor boy in new school robes is throughly soaked, head to foot. Without a word, he does as instructed, following Keelan along the way. Ugh, rain. Olivia sighs and pulls her hood up carefully, tucking her hair back into the hood as best she can, though the water has not done nice things to it. “I’m glad we’re finally here,” she comments to Evan, making her way to the carriage and stepping into one several down.

Exiting the train, Evan pauses after a few steps to hear Keelan’s familiar voice and watch the first years begin to separate. He looks in particular for one first year boy; upon spotting the child confidently walking off toward Keelan with a few others, he hurries to follow Olivia into the carriage.

Riley Markham throws a somewhat cold look up at the Faculty table as he enters the Great Hall — wine red hair soaking wet despite his brief exposure to the rain. His expression is nothing short of rageful as it falls upon the Headmistress, before he flops down at the Ravenclaw table with a dark, dark hiss.

(Gryffindor) Being seemingly confused due to the events in the train compartment, Andy sits down at the Gryffindor table, keeping an eye on Orion. As Felicity comes in, he wishes he could be invisible or vanish in the ground. Still unsure how to handle the experience he looks down to the table, glancing up only from time to time, checking Orion and the Faculty table.

(Gryffindor) Forcing himself into something resembling a cheerful mood, Gabe glances up to the faculty table, too, as he seats himself at Gryffindor’s table. After he is unable to catch his mother’s eye (she seems busy talking to a child at the table, go figure), Gabriel shrugs, acting like he didn’t try to make eye contact in the first place. “These feasts are always the same, have you noticed?” he asks Briony with a perked brow. “Not that it’s a bad thing,” he adds, catching himself in what could be interpreted as a negative comment.

(Gryffindor) “Well, I suppose so,” Briony answer quickly, shrugging a bit. “I like watching people get sorted. And my brother’s going to be sorted, so I’ve got to pay attention. I do hope he’s in Gryffindor like me and mum and dad. I’ll be so disappointed if he isn’t.” She pauses. “Though, I’ll still like him no matter what house he’s in.” She sounds very rehearsed as she states this and then leans down with her chin in her palm. “I dunno if I’d like him to be in Slytherin, though. I don’t know many Slytherins that I like. I think they’re too mean.” Clearly, the girl hasn’t had many run-ins with Slytherins.

(Gryffindor) Felicity Wexler sinks down in to a seat next to Andy, looking preoccupied and tired. Her gaze lowers toward her empty plate, and almost idly, she reaches up and takes a curly lock of hair between her fingers before absently moving it toward her lips.

(Gryffindor) “Like my sister you mean?” Gabe asks with a grin. “If she’s a model Slytherin, I’m glad that we don’t have much to do with them,” he says. “If my mum would have had another kid, I bet it would have been in Ravenclaw. Then mum would have a full set,” muses Gabriel , idly scratching an eyebrow. “It’s strange how we all ended up in different houses I think,” he continues with, picking up a fork and standing it on its tines, though not letting go. “Don’t you think?” he asks Briony, looking down afterwards.

(Gryffindor) “I guess it kind of is,” she answers cheerfully. “But my dad was in Gryffindor, and then Uncle Logan was in Slytherin — dad still doesn’t like that; I think he wishes Uncle Logan had been Gryffindor, too — and then Uncle Jared was a Ravenclaw and Uncle Gilbert was Hufflepuff, and then Uncle Freddie was Gryffindor, too, and Auntie Eva was Ravenclaw. So I guess they have all the houses, too. Maybe it’s not that uncommon. I wonder if any families have only people who go to one house. That would be neat, don’t you think?” Briony giggles as she says this, thinking more about it. “Imagine, a whole family of Ravenclaws. I bet they’d all own libraries!”

(Gryffindor) “No, no,” Gabriel says, being caught up in his excitement of times past. “One, a sister, would own a library. The parents would own a dusty museum and the brother would be the manager of Flourish and Blotts,” he says, ticking the entities off on his fingers. “The youngest sister would be an editor for the romance novels of the oldest sister, and the oldest brother would be a guide on the tours of his parents’ museum,” he says, grinning as he pictures the family, all with inch-thick glasses and disheveled hair.

(Gryffindor) “My mum was in Slytherin,” Felicity says, quietly, turning her gaze toward Gabriel and Briony. Her tone is somewhat shy, almost as if she isn’t certain she should be joining thier conversation. But all told, she needs to talk, to get the image of the receeding train station out her mind. “Dad, too, I think. I’ve never asked him. Not sure about my sisters, either, though I’d bet Maura was in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.” Felicity didn’t have much oppertunity to speak to her family often, socially, considering how busy they all were.

(Gryffindor) Sensing the pathetic tone in Felicity’s voice, without really understanding what she, Briony and Gabriel were talking about, Andy is torn between staying quiet and involve in the conversation and maybe find out what was her cause of concern. He finally lifts his gaze and turns to his housemates. “Hey, I…ahm…unfortunately didn’t find you in the train.” he attempts with a tiny voice.

(Gryffindor) “You don’t even know what houses they were in? How could you not know?” Gabe asks Felicity, obviously surprised at learning these things. Just how someone could never have heard what houses their family members were in is completely lost on Gabriel. The boy shrugs as he lets the subject drop, sensing somewhat that Felicity is still a bit depressed about leaving that woman he saw her waving to.

(Gryffindor) Felicity Wexler cringes a little with subtle voracity of Gabriel’s question. Any other time, and she might have bristled, lashed back with a stressed few words of her own which, likely, would met and exceeded anything Gabe’s slightly exasperated question might have delivered with a hint of sack full of righteous anger. However, the simple fact that she has had a lingering, mild crush on Gabe ever since they were first years, combined with the nature of her current, delicate state, instead only lowers her voice and makes her retreat a little. “I.. mum and dad.. are just busy, I don’t see them.. much, and Maura and Ariena are so much older than me.. and they’re gone, living on their own.. and really, it’s just me and Grandmother Larsen.. and she’s a muggle..” Her voice sort of drifts away, accepting Gabe’s willingness to shrug and let it go, before turning to look to Andy. “What cabin were you in? Who did you sit with?”

Entering later than the other faculty, Astra wipes her hands nervously on her robes. Hurrying up to the table, she doesn’t greet anyone or even Arriving at the faculty table; she walks around behind it and takes her seat.

(Gryffindor) Andy shudders a bit at Felicity’s question, but answers right away. “Uhm…It was the…third, yes. And there was this Hufflepuff with me. Orion. I suppose you know him?” Andy tries to look into her eyes for the first time this evening. He can’t hide a hint of reproach in his glance.

(Gryffindor) Felicity Wexler blinks, twice, before looking at Andy wide-eyed. “You sat with Orion Kari?” A small, quiet hint of excitement fills her voice as she turns in her seat and reaches out to take both of Andy’s hands in both of her own. “What was he like? What happened? Did he say anything?”

(Gryffindor) Another world collapsing for Andy, every crumb of hope has just been blown away. Shutting his eyes for a split second, Andy gathers some power to be able to speak again. “He has been drawing, just sitting around, not talking much or let’s say hardly anything. Just not my type of person to be with, I think.” he replies, rolling his eyes a bit.

Keelan Walsh leads the firt years out of the Waiting Room, most of them still soaking wet, Keelan herself strangely dry as she removes a ridiculously large cloak. Up she goes toward the head of the room, darting a glance at the other faculty with a ‘And why do I have to do this?’ look on her face. Then there’s a brief smile as she disappears off to the side. Returning, she carries with her the age-old stool (although it’s sturdy) with an ages-older rumbled bit of hat. This is set down in front of the Faculty table and she steps aside, clasping her hands silently in front of herself.

Fern Featherstone follows after Keelan. Her upper teeth press gently against her thin lower lip as she attempts to control her nerves, while looking over the room from beneath the curtain of her sparse lashes. She then tilts her narrow chin and looks up toward the ceiling. A gasp is heard, but Fern stubbornly and with much pride tries to control her vocal and trembling reaction. When the hat begins to sing, she looks upon it with a nervous kind of suspicion. She then looks toward the other first years, waiting to see what how they respond before stepping into a line.

Alden Wexler widens his eyes at that last line — no matter how composed a young boy appears about the process of Sorting — the notion of possibly being bitten by a old, dirty hat raises a hint of alarm as regards the patched bit of leather on the stool from the end of the line of first years. Still, he remains quiet, hands clasped in front of him, regaining his composure with a small shake of his head that sends droplets raining in a meager arch around him.

Keelan Walsh unclasps her hands and produces from a pocket a thick role of parchment. Unfurling it a bit, she repeats the instructions, “When I call your name, step up and place the hat upon your head, please. Peering through her spectacles at the first name, her voice comes, a bit unsteady, truth be told. “Castle, Rhyne!”

“I’m going to be in Slytherin, I know it,” Satinka tells Seker in a quiet whisper as she crosses her arms. Her voice is stronger and more certain than the look on her face would have one believe, but the girl appears rather focussed on the old-looking hat that sits nearby and then glances to Keelan. “Oh, I wonder where he’ll be sorted,” she comments and watches with interest as the first name is called.

Rhyne Castle makes his way to the Sorting Hat and settles it firmly on his head, doing his best to project more confidence than he actually feels. He waits in silent anticipation for the hat’s verdict.

Rhyne Castle blinks, owlishly, as he removes the hat, looking just a little bit bewildered. Although the bemused expression doesn’t fade entirely, it is joined by something at least resembles pleasure, and he puts on a more-or-less convincing smile as he goes to join his new housemates.

Falling into line behind Satinka, Seker only nods and watches nervously as Rhyne is sorted. “I met him in Hogsmeade,” comments Seker after a moment, clapping as the boy is declared a Ravenclaw. “Well, it looks easy,” Seker notes, sighing.

Fern Featherstone shifts her slight weight from one narrow foot to another as she stands in the line. She watches as Rhyne is sorted, seemingly slightly less nervous now. Her thin lips curve into the ghost of a smile. She then glances between Satinka and Seeker, clearly listening to their words.

“It didn’t hurt him, it looks like. Looks kind of easy. All you have to do is wear it. I wonder what it does. Do you suppose it just randomly picks, or if it really does decide based on, well, how you are?” Satinka whispers back, watching for the next name to be called while Rhyne makes his way to Ravenclaw table.

Keelan Walsh calls out, “Cowper, Jason,” who takes approximately four seconds before the hat calls, “Gryffindor!” and then Keelan calls another Ravenclaw, then a Slytherin and “Featherstone, Fern!”

Alden Wexler applaudes politely as Rhyne Castle is sorted in to Ravenclaw, squinting a little as the newly sorted student removes the hat as if he might actually be able to see if the leathery bit of rag actually had teeth or not to carry out the threatened biting.

Fern Featherstone approaches the hat with tentative steps, suggesting that the slender girl is rather shy. Still she throws back her narrow shoulders and lifts her dainty chin, as if trying to display a bit of pride. She reaches for the hat, while frowning with distaste in response to its ragged appearance. She then places it upon her head, leaving her lank ragged dark locks to cascade against her shoulders. Her breath quivers in the hollow of her pale slender throat, as she awaits the sorting and her small form is tense, as she sits still, silent and statue like.

Keelan Walsh claps a bit awkwardly and briefly and then continues on with two Hufflepuffs, another Gryffindor, “Linwood, Patricia!” who goes to Gryffindor as well, a Ravenclaw followed by a Slytherin and two Gryffindors and then, with a smirk, Keelan announces, “Rathe, Satinka!”

“There’s no way it’s random, are you joking me?” Seker whispers in an incredulous tone to his sister. “Haven’t you heard of the families who all get into one house, no fail?” Seker questions, crossing his arms. “No, it’s got to read your mind or something,” he says with determination, though clapping idly. “We’ll be joining her in a few minutes, hopefully,” Seker says, watching the girl go to sit down. “Go!” Seker says suddenly.

Looking startled, Satinka lets out a gasp as her name is called, and glances back at her brother, walking to the stool with unusual caution. Hesitating a moment, she looks at the hat, and then picks it up, simultaneously plopping it on her head while sitting quickly onto the stool. She bites her lip and closes her eyes up tight, seeming to be in deep conversation, or else in deep pain while she wears the illustrious hat.

With very little pause, Keelan announces, “Rathe, Seker!” as if she really needed to emphasize that he was next in line.

Still taking deep breaths, Seker does smile as his sister is sorted, nodding in her direction. One down! Now the other Rathe needed to be placed rightfully as a son of Slytherin. Hearing his name called, Seker feels like choking and fainting (life is so hard), but instead nods and steps up to the hat, sitting down and putting it on.

“It isn’t random,” Alden assures them, finally, as Satinka’s name is called. Though he chooses not to elaborate on anything else he might have gleaned from his summer reading. He draws a deep breath the closer it gets to his name being called, idly wondering if it were better that his last name was poised at the end of the alphabet, or if it might have been more simple to be at the beginning and get it over with. Indeed, despite all appearances, he is nervous. Though largely, it’s more rooted in the fact that his mother is watching from the faculty table, and seemingly a half dozen relatives are all scattered in the audience, eagerly awaiting another Wexler in their house, and sure to give him guff should he fail to share it.

Stunned, it is a few seconds before Seker comprehends the word emitted from the hat. “What?” he asks, standing up and turning around to look at his mother, his face a mask of surprise and horror. He can’t bring himself to try and look at Satinka, not after she made it and he didn’t. What is this. What it this? Seker is in a stunned reverie as he stumbles to the Hufflepuff table, not thinking, yet, to look for Rafe or any of the other Hufflepuffs he’s acquainted with. It was probably a prank or something. Well, Seker would play along for now. “Hello!” Seker greets his ‘housemates’ with a put-on genial demeanor. “What are we having?” he asks, pointing to his empty plate with a perked brow.

Keelan Walsh chokes a bit on the next name, though Sheldon, Galen sorts to Slytherin all the same. Three Ravenclaws, a Gryffindor, and yet another Hufflepuff later, she calls, “Wexler, Alden!” who is second to last in the world of Sorting unless someone has been missing from the list or Keelan‘s recitation of names.

Alden Wexler swallow a breath, Alden steps forward, moving toward the stool and the old, patched hat with an even stride. He pauses briefly to glance up at the faculty table toward Sibyl, then to the Gryffindor table toward Briony and Felicity, before exhaling a long sigh and lifting up the Sorting Hat. With a grave expression, he climbs on to the stool and places the hat on his head.

(Gryffindor) Gasping, Briony‘s face falls ever so slightly as her brother is sorted into Hufflepuff. Brothers apparently are to go to different places than their sisters this year, and it is clear that Briony was hoping rather hard for him to come to Gryffindor. “He would have made such a dandy Gryffindor,” she comments. “It’s sad, now he’s a Hufflepuff.”

His eyes somewhat wide, caught a little off guard by the insight of the hat, Alden quietly removes the cap after it’s shout and slides off the old, solid stool. “Thank you,” he says, politely, to the ragged bit of leather, before turning toward the cheering table to take his seat. He was certain he could feel Briony gaping at him from behind.

Keelan Walsh calls out, “Wexler, Kyler!” who takes a seat and sits there for so long Keelan is actually startled to hear, “Slytherin!” call forth from the hat. With one last look over the assembled students, she rolls up the parchment, claps briefly, and takes the stool and hat away. When she returns, it is to her seat at the faculty table, where she relaxes, duties done.

Melvina Prichard rises from the faculty table purposefully once the ritual of Sorting has concluded, lifting her nimble, long-fingered hands in a suggestive way as she beckons the student audience for silence. “Excuse me, quiet please — yes, that includes you, Mister Alcot.” Her voice is thick and strong, but laced with an ever-present hint of amusement. An almost coy half-grin touches her lips, looks over the heart of her school.

“Greetings, everyone,” Melvina calls, her voice dancing across the Great Hall at a comfortable volume. “Welcome to your school year nineteen hundred and twenty seven! I trust that all of you enjoyed your summer vacations! As I’m sure most you of you are now aware, my name is Melvina Prichard and I am the Headmistress of Hogwarts school. Last year, all of you helped give this blustering, frugal old woman a home and a purpose. This year, I hope to reward and repay each of you for that wonderful gift. Now, pressing on, I’ve some beginning of term announcements to make.” Clearing her throat, the Headmistress pulls a pair of spectacles from her emerald robe pocket and resting them on the bridge of her nose, before gathering up a tightly-bound scroll sitting next to her empty plate.

“All the usual suspects, of course. Our caretaker has asked me to remind you check the updated list of prohibited items and punishable offenses that have been thoughtfully posted in each of your common rooms–” Drawing in a deep breath, the Headmistress begins to unroll the wound parchment, “Spellwork outside of the classroom, rough play, pranks, hijinxs, dungbombs, Whimple’s Pimple Powder..” Demonstratively, she allows the end of the scroll to slip from her fingers, clatter to the table, spill over the edge, and roll across the floor Great Hall until it exhausts itself somewhere near the door of the waiting room across the entrance hall. A somewhat playful glint sparkling in her eyes, Melvina sets her end of the very long list down and vanishes it with a flick of a wand which she withdraws from the sleeve of her robes. “As you can see, the list goes on. Be sure to check it.”

After a small bubble of laughter, Melvina takes up a blessedly smaller sheet of parchment. “Hogwarts tradition demands that I remind you the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds for all students. As seems to happen every year since antiquity, some of you will most certainly forget that pesky little rule. It just slips out, squeezed away from the building pressure of knowledge our fine professor work so hard to fill your head with over the year.” A rueful chuckle escapes her as she shares a knowing smile with the hall. “Know then that detention is the minimum punishment for entering the Forbidden Forest without a member of staff or faculty beside you, and that such acts will usually will result in a substantial loss of house points as well.” With a small, meaningful glance around and a pause to clear her throat and savor a sip of pumpkin juice, Melvina continues. “Naturally, we ask that you respect and defer to your Prefects. Also, I’d like to congratulate our new Head Boy and Head Girl, Andrew Larson and Margaret Cresterton. Mister Larson and Miss Cresterton, please stand.” She applauds once the two have risen, leading those who care to join her in a modest round of congratulations, before continuing on.

“Well done, Head Boy, Head Girl,” the Headmistress says, sincerely. “On to faculty. There are many exciting changes in Hogwarts staff this year, so to begin I hope you all with help me in welcoming Professor Phoebe Helit whom will be heading up our Muggle Studies department, and Professor Addison Williamson whom will helm our History of Magic class.” Melvina holds for a pleasant-enough round of applause before plowing on. “Also, though she has been with us a great while, I hope you’ll all help congratulate and welcome Professor Rathe in to her new role as Deputy Headmistress. Naturally, she’ll continue to provide you all with excellent lessons in your Defense Against the Dark Arts courses as well.” Another pause for applause, and quietly surprised murmurs — it was hardly a secret that last year Professor Rathe could hardly stand Professor Prichard. Now she was Deputy Headmistress? “Sadly, I must inform you that Professors Calwern and Ashcroft have chosen to step down. Professor Fallon will properly replace Professor Calwern as Gryffindor head of house.”

Following a deep, relieved breath and Melvina finally sets down the parchment and removes her glasses. “That said, I have only one more announcement to mention before we start in on the delicious feast I know you’re all patiently waiting to savor. This is my second year as Headmistress of Hogwarts school — last year was a daring step on to the path of the uncertainty for all of us. A maiden voyage, where bold choices were made, some rising to shimmering brilliance, others not so much. But in this second year, the fright of the unknown fades as well all walk in a comfortable security. Each sure we know, or at suspect, of what to expect It is in this peaceful repetition that we as a family forge traditions. Thus, I announce to you all our first of many traditions, the second annual Barefoot Social.” A sly, almost devillish grin dances over the lips of the Headmistress. “A celebration of the new term, greeting those whom are just joining us, and welcoming home those of us returning for another year. This dance will semi-formal, open to all years, and include an… outdoor feast.” The too-clever look on her face almost seems to gloat, briefly, as she looks out at her young crowd. Obviously, she is terribly proud of herself. “As this is the mother of tradition, we shall follow the precident set by last year’s grandmother event — the ladies will need ask the gentlemen for the honor of an afternoon’s courtship.” She waits, eagerly, for the reaction to that before at last finishing up. “I will be resuming the Student Events Committee, made up of students from all years to help me prepare for the Barefoot Social, Governor’s Ball, and a handful of other special events I have planned through out the school year; if you’d like to be on said Committee, you may contact me through any of the usual means. Exact details regarding date and time of the Barefoot Social shall follow shortly. Let’s eat.” And with small nod and a sly, lingering grin, she slips casually back in to her seat.

“So, we gave up on the ribbons for now, because as soon as my hair gets wet or anything, the ribbon falls out anyway,” Briony blathers to Gabriel as she leans against a statue, fiddling with the sleeve of her robe, for really no reason. The girl is decked out in Gryffindor colors today, hat, scarf and mittens, as well as wearing her school robes, and she looks to be quite ignorant of the fact that some snowflakes are floating down from the sky and getting stuck in her rather messy hair.

Things have seemed slow-going to Gabriel these days, which is what he is thinking about as he sticks his hands in his pockets and sighs, only half-listening to Briony’s chatter about ribbons. “Oh, yeah,” he comments indifferently as he looks around for something to change the topic to. No luck. “Well, maybe you’ll just get better at it,” he says, despite Briony’s admitting of their having given up.

Orion Kari sits rackishly near the fountain, back propped against a stone pillar. Uncaring for the state of his crisp robes on the cold, somewhat damp ground, the olive-skinned Hufflepuff gaze flickers between the picturesque statue of the wing-spread phoenix and the sketch pad propped against his one bent knee. A point of sharpened charcoal scritching furiously at the page. His hair is somewhat damp, and clings to his overly-handsome features, hinting that he had been outside for quite a while.

“But we like it,” Briony admits with a sigh, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Gabriel probably doesn’t care what their hair things look like. “Have you asked anyone to the ball yet, Gabe?” she asks her friend, standing up and walking around the statue she’s been propped against. On her round, however, she spies Orion, and as if some sort of charm has been cast on her, she stops and watches him for a moment, wide-eyed, then makes herself tear her eyes away. After all, one can’t be caught staring! The damage is done, though, as her face is now quite red.

Gabriel Goden truly doesn’t care about ribbons, but good friends always tried to be supportive, didn’t they? He nods, raising an eyebrow at her as she stops to gaze at something. Briony had no attention span, did she? At her question, though, Gabriel shrugs and stretches his arms. “Well, no. I wasn’t on that planning committee so I can only go if I ask someone who was on it. I don’t know, balls aren’t really my thing. Are you going?” he asks casually, though he assumes she probably will find a way of getting there.

Bundled up in about sixteen layers of cold weather gear – after that snowball fight, she’s not going to get caught unprepared for the cold again – Kelly Pantall makes her exit from the castle and meanders through the courtyard, her gait one indicating her distraction and, likely, her lack of any actual purpose in her wandering. When, finally, she does seem to notice the small handful of people in the courtyard, she blinks a few times and offers Gabriel and Briony each a small smile, a sort of ‘I’m not specifically angry with either of you’ expression more than anything else. “‘Allo, Briony.” Gabe doesn’t get a greeting. Nor does Orion get so much as a look. Then, the question on everyone’s lips. “Going to the ball?”

A happy Alexandra nearly bounces across the courtyard, bookbag stuffed full of supplies on one shoulder. She’s here to participate in one of her favorite pastimes – drawing – and her favorite subject is the phoenix statue. She’s done many drawings before, of course, but now, armed with new knowledge from her Wizard Art classes, she had started a new drawing, one she intends to make full colour and animate. She’s not the only one interested in the phoenix today, however. A bit awed, she looks at Orion and his drawing, not quite approaching him, but edging closer shyly. Shy is something that Alexandra usually is not, but Orion’s good looks and talent seemed to have an effect on the small Hufflepuff. “That’s really good…” she says finally, blurting out the compliment.

Wrapped up in his thick cloak and a woolly Gryffindor scarf, Andy Carver shuffles out to the courtyard. Passing Briony and Gabriel, he greets them with a muffled “Ullo!” and raises the gloved hand. He just went outside to take a few minutes of fresh air and heads for the fountain to finally sit down at its edge, opposing and ignoring Orion. Andy rubs his hand and watches his foggy breath vanish in the air.

Orion Kari lifts a hand slowly, raking some sodden, obsidion locks from his chisled feature. It takes him a moment to feel the eyes on him, and another after it before he feels confident enough with his last stroke of graphite against the parchment that he turns his gaze. It could be a moment painted in time, chisled against the snow. Handsome, dark features, blending in to grey tone of the late winter world. Yet his hair, and his eyes, start out vivid and vibrant brown. A rich color, surprisingly full of life against the cold tone of slush and stone around him. And for a moment, he catches Briony’s gaze, before she tears it away. And the faintest hint of a smile touches his lips, a sunrise that adds color to the world. The page of the parchment is turned, and his charcoal flickers across it once more in dazzlingly quick motions. But otherwise, he remains motionless.

“Hi,” Briony greets the newcomers, trying not to look as distracted as she feels with Orion in the vicinity, and glances to Kelly as she makes her way in. “I dunno, if someone asks me. I didn’t go to the events planning thingy. Felicity was there, after all.” Briony says this as if Felicity’s being there is possibly the worst thing that could have happened to the committee. “Are you going with your — er — well, Rafe?”

Waving nonchalantly to the others, too, Gabriel looks to Briony as she talks to Kelly. “Felicity!” Gabriel snaps his fingers at the revelation. He could ask Felicity if he ever decided he wanted to go to the ball. As it stands, Gabriel is rather impartial to the event. After all, the Barefoot social was rather fun, but no more fun than any other weekend, really. The boy tenses a little at the mention of Rafe, but says nothing.

Biting down on her lower lip and most pointedly not looking directly at either Briony or Gabriel as she formulates her answer, it takes Kelly a long moment to actually say anything particularly relevant or coherent. “I don’t think so.” She finally offers, clearing her throat ostentatiously, and trying to draw attention away from the fact that her cheeks are flushed pink. “I mean, you know, he’s a fourth year, and my sweetheart and all, but I’m on the Events Committee, so I’d hate to let my… I mean, I’m allowed to take any lower year student with me if I want, I might do that and, you know, meet up with him there…” She probably thinks it’s a good cover. It probably wouldn’t be, if her words weren’t tinged with doubt and she wasn’t such a bad liar.

Alexandra Leong flushes red for a moment, and quickly hurries away to a spot a few feet from the older Hufflepuff boy. She pulls out her own sketchbook, but instead of taking out pencils and charcoal, she pulls out her wand. Turning to her drawing, she steals a few quick glances at Orion, then at the statue. She gives her wand an experimental wave in the air. Satisfied that it is behaving properly, she focusses her attention back to her drawing, waving her wand over it, adding to the shadows and lines already there. If anything, she’s hasn’t really noticed the Gryffindors, and she’s certainly not listening to their conversation. Not that the ball isn’t on her mind, of course.

Orion Kari seemingly pays no attention to the talk of courtships and socials, instead branding his charcoal across the resiliantly, ever-dry parchment with a speed and skill that almost defies logic. There is practiced confidence in his movements, as his gaze flickers from Briony, to the parchment, to Alex, and the parchment, Briony, then the parchment, and then the rest sort of in one glance. A process that repeats several, several times. Finally, he pulls back the charcoal and carefully brushes off the parchment (smudging only what he wishes smudged). “Breaktaking,” he muurmurs under his breath. A quiet sound, almost unwitting to the fact that there are others around.

“Well, that’s nice of you, Kelly, inviting a younger person like that. Rafe doesn’t mind?” Briony is apparently clueless about the subtleties of Kelly’s statements. The girl begins to play with the fringe on her scarf and glances around. That Hufflepuff girl is sitting near Orion. Her Orion. Briony‘s eyes fall on them for a moment or two longer than they ought, and she returns her gaze to her housemates. “I might go if someone asks me, or maybe my mum and dad will have me go somehow.” She shrugs. “We won’t get to be barefoot, so I don’t think it’ll be as much fun.” She can’t help but giggle at this, though. After all, Briony does enjoy being barefoot.

For a moment, Kelly fixes an expression of utter confusion on Briony, just staring at her unflatteringly for a moment. The question, etched into every inch of her face, is so very clearly ‘You’re not really that stupid, are you?’. After a moment, she shakes her head firmly and looks down at the ground a few feet away, scuffing at the ground with her boots. “No, Rafe doesn’t mind.” She concludes decisively. “Because I haven’t told him.”

Andy looks around. The courtyard seems to be quite lively for such a cold afternoon. Without intention he picks up shreds of conversation. Felicity? Would she be asking Gabriel again? Then he would be the fool again. He imagines himself sitting lonely in his dorm, while everybody is having fun at the Ball. Maybe some annoying girl would ask him, though, but that really wasn’t the time to think about this. Andy closes his eyes and enjoys the sunrays, wondering why he saw red when he shut his eyes and the sun was shining onto them.

Orion Kari considers the picture he had drawn for several moments, studying with a somewhat critical eye, despite his previous compliment to his own work. Perhaps the word was directed elsewise? A few corrections are made, a few shifts of line here, a little smudge of shading there. Finally, without word, he pushes himself up. His hair damp from melted snow and his robes sodden with slush from the ground against which he had just sat, he pauses briefly folds the corner of the parchment he’d been working on and closes the pad solidly. Turning n his heel, he doesn’t bother to magick himself dry, though he does glance toward his younger housemate and offers a mysterious smiles for which he is known. It’s with a smooth, confident stride with which he moves past her, however. His gaze forward, focused on no one in particular, he moves toward the pack of younger students — but as he crosses Briony, he presses the sketch pad on to her, so that she takes it, and whispers quietly in his thick, richly accented voice.. “Go, with me,” before continuing on his stride toward the castle proper. He lets go of the pad simply, leaving on Briony’s good grace to keep hold of it, and he never looks back. His hands finding his pockets, his olive skin glistening with trickling water. The marked page of the notebook is a scene of the courtyard, with the fountain in the background, and Briony in forefront in a ballroom gown, dancing with he in dress robes. Everyone else, with the exception of Alex who is paid some detail, is cast in sketch figures and half-flushed poses. It’s a quick rendering, and sketchy, but the amount of life and skill is almost masterful, as if he had been born with a peice of charcoal in his hand.

“Well, don’t you think you should ask him? I mean, he is your sweetheart, after all.” A pause. “Wait, is he, still?” As Orion approaches, thought, Briony seems to forget all that Kelly has been talking about, and she pauses, looking up at him with wide eyes. Her hands grasp the sketchpad as he hands it to her, and she looks down at it, her jaw dropping at the detail shown. She had never managed anything quite so elaborate as this, and she is rendered speechless as she looks at it, even if her mind is yelling ‘Answer him!’ as he asks her, so casually, to go with him to the ball. “Alright!” she finally says, many moments later, her voice sounding strained and unusual as she looks up at him, her eyes still wide and her mouth still agape.

“I’m not asking Rafe anything.” Kelly responds flatly, her tone edged with a slightly dangerous note – quite a turnaround from that a few days before, or even a few moments before. Then, in response to the next question, she hesitates a moment, apparently not taking note of Briony’s distraction, too deep in her thoughts. These thoughts must be intriguing ones, for it takes her a long moment to answer a question that one would think she knows the answer to offhand, and her cheeks flush scarlet. Finally, she says, flatly, “Yes.” And this is all, before she too gets distracted. “Oooh…”

Orion Kari does turn back, nor give any other sign that he had heard Briony, beyond withdrawing a hand from his pocket offer a small wave behind him. His strong footfalls, muffled only by the soft slush through which he walks, echo through courtyard. The sound reverbating against the stone, mingling with the last embers of her called answer, leaving silence but for the babbling water of the fountain and Kelly noise of surprise. With a flourish of his cloak, he turns a corner and vanished in to the castle.

Briony turns to Kelly in utter surprise and grins a bit lopsided. “Lookit what he just gave to me, Kelly!” The girl tells her housemate with a bit of a high-pitched giggle. “I guess I am going to the ball after all. I’ve got to go tell mum, I’ll need new dressrobes for it!” Suddenly, Briony seems more interested in the ball than she had moments ago, and she grips the pad of paper rather strongly, looking over the drawing in awe.

While Kelly certainly did notice what just happened, and did see what happened, she doesn’t seem anywhere near as excited as Briony does – in fact, she seems entirely put out that now Briony isn’t paying as much attention to her drama. “Yes. New dress robes. I have some of those. Whoever I end up taking will just love them.” There is a certain arrogance to her tone, though it is one that she affects quite frequently, and she frowns at Briony a little bit. “Isn’t he… rather old for you?”

“Too old? What are you talking about? Rafe is older than you, after all,” Briony points out, frowning a bit. “You’re just sour grapes is all.” Well, she tried, but the comment seems to lose some meaning being butchered the way it was. “I’m going to go put this in my room.” Briony‘s tone is a bit cold as she says this, frowning again at Kelly and turning to run back into the school, out of the cold.

Silver lettering on invitations throughout the castle fades, to be replaced by the tell-tale seven-pointed star. Beneath it, ‘Come, masked adventurers, to the gardens where the tall oak grows, for soon tolls the hour of a feast.’

Bengale Tiger stands just inside the gate, her open-mouthed tiger mask protruding from underneath her tightly wrapped hooded cloak. As people arrive, the mask itself forms a sort of grotesque smile, and the tall woman bows. “Welcome, welcome.” Some of the fairies in their rose bushes giggle and flutter their wings, but otherwise the rose gardens on this winter evening are currently quite silent. Once it appears everyone has assembled, she beckons to the long table, “I do hope a feast will make up for my long silence in matters of the S.E.A.”

Stalking Lioness comes through the southern gate from the School and gives a smile and nod to Bengale as she arrives. “This is absolutely beautiful,” she looks around, her blue eyes darting around to take in everything, though keeps her big heavy cloak kept tightly around her, and her hood over her head, which will help keep the heat in.

Fitzcordia comes quickly towards the Rose Gardens, almost dancing as she makes her way inward. “Hullo, Bengale,” the girl giggles and pauses just inside the entrance, waiting for Gabriel — or, well, Flicker — to catch up with her. Her mask has been remade since the first meeting, and now appears more as a kitten than a mask made of whiskers as it was before. Even still, the mask is heavy on whiskers, with a bright, smiling mouth below its pink nose. “Not many people here yet,” she comments, looking about. “Oh, look at the table Ga–Flicker!”

Nodding to ‘Fitzcordia’ in his dog-like mask, Flicker himself looks to the table with a grin. It was fantastic! Flicker couldn’t wait to find out what this meeting would entail, as he’d been excited for it ever since the last one, so long ago. “I wonder what we’re doing,” muses Gabe as he places a finger to his chin.

Juggle sneaks towards the gate of the garden, of course wearing his hooded black winter cloak and his bizarre monkey’s mask. He is one of the first to arrive, carefully looks for the setting of the feast and gives a faint nod to Bengale and the others. With his hands in his pockets, he keeps quiet and stands still next to his comrades.

Sophocles shyly follows a couple of other masked students, seemingly hesitating a bit before actually passing through the gate. What does he fear? The boy takes a big breath, and with both his hands, readjusts his mask on his face. Sophocles wasn’t there for the first S.E.A. meeting, though he had received the invitation parchment as well. He wasn’t keen on participating in anything suspicious after his adventures in the Library last year, but after he heard the rumours, he decided that it was just a game, and that he would give it a try. Following the instructions, he made a mask out of cardboard –a particularly impressive mask of tragedy, with a face expressing a mix of weeping and anger, something he saw in one of his father’s encyclopedias. And now, here he is. Sophocles walks forward, and nods to the other people already here, without saying a word, and waiting for someone to talk to him first.

The mask Turquoise wears has been altered since the previous meeting, such that he may not even be recognized unless the full name is remembered. For it now looks much, much more like a Sphinx, and a turqoise one at that, different shades of color forming the details around eyes and face. Along with this change, it has also been altered to leave his mouth free, covering his face from nose and up and curving down lower at the sides. From under this face Turqoise looks around the garden in surprise, turning to the masked face next to him to comment, “They’ve done a lot with this!”

Stalking Lioness finds a place to sit down at the table, but doesn’t touch anything yet. She reaches up and readjusts her mask, which covers her her forehead, eyes, most of her nose and comes down to either side of her mouth, leaving her mouth and chin open to eat. Out of the sides come whispers that belong to a lioness. She smiles at everyone who arrives and just takes in the beauty of the gardens, even at this evening hour and the cold of the winter.

Jack Harlequin stands off to the side, his mask still covering his face completely. Although the food looks delicious, he dares not show even an inch of skin, for fear of giving away his identity. This fear isn’t entirely unfounded, because he hasn’t met anyone in the school that fits his description. Besides, having a decent disguise is part of the experience.

“It’s a lot different than when we had tea here,” the girl admits, smiling from behind her yellow feathered mask. Persephone‘s mask has been improved as well, with perhaps a bit of help, and now looks very much like a canary’s mask. The top comes up over her forehead, and the feathers plume up above the hood of her cloak. An orange beak covers her nose, and the feathers fan out over her cheeks. This time, her mask even has room for eyes, though it doesn’t need a mouth hole, given that it stops at her nose, save for the feathers covering her cheeks. “I wonder what we’ll be doing tonight,” she asks, her voice even sounding excited as she makes her way towards the set table, taking a seat across from Stalking Lioness.

“Please, do take a seat, so that we may begin.” Again, the mask itself smiles, although her own lips are visible within that wooden expression. Bengale herself takes a seat not at the end but rather near the middle (but not precisely), and begins to look over the food. “They’ve really outdone themselves, I fear. Poor things, I wonder what they’ve got to eat up at the castle tonight.” A soft chuckle escapes. It isn’t a Feast night, of course, and it’s likely what they have here is a merely a precursor to what those who stay over the holidays will be dining upon. “I believe if you just tell your goblet what you’d like to drink it should fill, but of course the selection isn’t endless. Nothing we wouldn’t normally have, though perhaps–” she lifts hers and speaks to it–and it does, in fact, fill. “Ah, yes. Butterbeer is available.” What, letting children have mildly alcoholic drinks? Her? Possibly. “Well, my follow members of S.E.A, shall we dine?”

Stifling a yawn behind her generic white mask – which is, admittedly, a little less generic than last meeting, now possessed of a few sketches across the cheeks and hand-drawn decorations of that sort, a woman holding a knife featuring prominently across the cheeks and nose – Marie Jeanette makes her way into the garden. She looks about, hands on her hips – not defiantly, merely in apparent confusion – and offers to no one in particular, “Uh, someone changed it since last time I was here. That’s weird. Why would you put a feast in a rose garden?” Of course, she seems to forget about this point entirely as she approaches the table, standing awkwardly alongside it and waiting for someone to direct conversation to her.

As the others are beginning to take place at the table, which has been set up under the oak’s branches, Juggle also steps towards it and sits down. There is a good amount of distance between him and Stalking Lioness, which is sitting on the same side. Juggle looks over the bowls and plates and finally gets stuck at what seems to be a tiny corner of parchment under his plate. But he does not dare to examine it any longer as Bengale starts to speak. As he realises that he should also try to fill his goblet, lifts it and requests under his breath. “Uhm…water?”

“Eating of course!” Fitzcordia responds to Flicker’s comment with a bit of a giggle, bounding over to the table and taking a seat near the top end of it, near to where Bengale has taken her seat. No, Fitzcordia isn’t a suck-up, not at all. “Oh, what should I drink?” Fitzcordia asks her friend, and almost as if she had commanded it, her goblet fills with pumpkin juice. “Pumpkin juice it is,” she agrees happily, sipping from it, looking quite cheerful. “I do hope it’s something exciting. I’m in the mood for an adventure.”

“Yes!” Flicker replies cheerfully to Bengale as he sits down beside Briony and grabs his fork and knife, only to set them down again. He grabs his goblet, tipping it towards him and checking inside. Grinning, he sets the thing right again, instructing, “butterbeer!” to the cup. As it fills up, Gabe looks to Bri– to Fitzcordia and points to the goblet. “She wasn’t lying,” he points out with a laugh.

Turquoise slips into a seat beside Persephone, taking a moment to look not at the decorations but at some of the other objects added to the garden. “There’re games set up, look.” He waves his hand toward an archway, then the brooms, completely ignoring the ladder and tree. “But it looks like dinner first..” Hearing Bengale, he smiles, quickly directing his own glass to fill with butterbeer. Shouldn’t ever pass up a good oportunity after all.

Stalking Lioness takes the goblet at the seat she is at and has it fill with butterbeer as she loves the drink actually. When Bengale allows them all to eat, she does indeed, enjoying the meal that is provided for them by the house elves of the castle. Hearing about games, she smiles as she looks at the table. “Ooo, some of them look like fun. But alas, food!” she begins to eat, basicaly ham with mashed potatoes, rolls and some of the fresh vegetables that is provided.

Persephone does this, too, for, really, who would pass up the opportunity for Butterbeer, especially on a non-Hogsmeade weekend. “I wonder what kinds of games they’ll be,” she muses, taking a slow sip of her butterbeer while glancing around at the filling table. The spread was really lovely, and Persephone was thoroughly enjoying the enchantment that the Rose Gardens now held for her. “I’m so glad I remade my mask,” she comments quietly. “It would have been very out of place now, with all these wonderful new masks. It looks like a lot of people worked hard on them.” She giggles a bit, as she spots Marie Jeannette’s.

Sophocles takes a seat at the table, near another student wearing a monkey mask. He takes some time looking at the people surrounding him, trying to guess who is hiding behind the masks. His attention shifts towards Bengale, who seems to be the person in charge tonight. When she mentions Butterbeer, he lets out a small laugh. “Butterbeer, uh? I must have that.” he says, not wanting to miss that occasion. He laughs quietly at the boy with the monkey mask who ordered “water”, before muttering the name of the drink –and instantly, the glass starts filling itself. “A dinner… it’s better than a tea, isn’t it?” he says to the people surrounding him, before looking at the games pointed out by Stalking Lioness. “Impressive…”

No one’s talking to Marie Jeanette. Is that possible? Well, she can’t have that, now can she? Folding her arms across her chest – and here her defiance comes in, a little – she sits herself down next to someone, anyone. And for the record, it is a very nicely drawn girl with a big knife on her mask, amidst other sketches. At least, in her mind. Sighing a little, she turns to whoever she happens to now be sitting with, offering, “It’s lovely in here, isn’t it? Do you think it’s true that usually people only come to the rose garden to do sweetheartly things? I mean, everyone talks about it, but I know I don’t do things like that.” Of course, last time she was here, she was kicking the tree.

Bengale Tiger takes for herself one of the pot-pies with a little pastry turkey atop it, and then calls down the line, “Juggle, could you pass that squash in front of you, please? I’d love to try some of it.” While she waits, she takes a good swig–yes, a swig– of her drink, careful not to get any of it on her mask. It might start to smell. Bengale seems relatively at ease eating a feast amongst a bunch of, well, children, for all that she’s not the most social of professors. “After dinner there will be games, of course, although I may need to sneak you one by one back into the castle if we’re out here late enough.” She says this casually, looking up and down the table.

Juggle begins to load carrots, potatoes and cabbage onto his plate and takes a sip of water before starting his meal. “Mhm.” is the only comment he would give about the mentioned games with a mouthful of vegetables. Turning his head further than normally to be able to see properly through the eyeholes he faces Sophocles and greets him with a short wave. Having cleared his mouth again, he turns to Marie Jeanette and answers. “Yes, you just have to look at the tree. The brutes have carved their initials into it.” As Bengale asks for the squash in front of him, Juggle instantly grabs it and hands it over. “Sure.” he adds with a smile, feeling a bit more comfortable right now.

Giggling as Bengale says this, Fitzcordia can’t help but choke a bit on her pumpkin juice. “Imagine, being snuck into school so we won’t get into trouble!” The excitement in her voice is ill hidden and she starts piling food onto her plate. Always glad for suppertime, this one. “Look at that, oooh, that looks good,” she comments as the squash is passed past her. She reaches out and takes two croissants, as well as some of the various meats that are on the table. Soon Fitzcordia‘s plate is piled high, and she is starting to eat through it happily. “S’good, innit, Ga– er, Flicker.”

Gaping a little at Bengale, Flicker raises an eyebrow (even if it’s not visible behind his mask) and looks away quickly, unsure as to whether or not she’s kidding. Peering around the table, Gabe wonders who, exactly, else is here. Likely Rafe was behind one of those masks. Were his sisters here? The anonymity was rather fun, but a bit unsettling, too. Well, at least he had Briony. “So good,” Flicker agrees. “Will the games be played in teams?” Flicker asks no one in particular, though he is looking in Bengale’s direction.

Riamh wears a mask that is vageuly human shaped, but also rather covered in clocks. All of them tell something, but time is not it. On her left cheek, there is a clock with a hand pointing to ‘dinner time’, and on her right, one that points to ‘possibility of trouble’. A miniature cuckoo bird hands from somewhere under her hood, and what is visible of the forehead is a rotating image of the sky–including the phase of the moon. The mask parts are a polished maghoney in color, and the bottom (with a border of roman numerals and clock hands) opens up to reveal her mouth. Despite the black cape, much of Riamh‘s hair is visible.

Stalking Lioness smiles at Marie Jeanette at her speaking. “Yes, it is very lovely. I don’t know, I’ve been too busy to contemplate sweetheartly things.” Okay, actually she does, but her love is also busy as much as her, and isn’t here, so it isn’t fair to speak of him there. “But when everything is bloom I would probably come here just to sit and think, and study. It’s beautiful here when everything is in bloom.”

Reaching first for some ham, then scalloped potatoes, and so on through the different types of dishes, Turquoise offers each to Persephone and after that, to the others around him, answering as he does so, “I don’t know.. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun, though.” Pausing as he reaches the vegetables, he leans over to address Marie Jeanette, “I don’t know, miss.. I only come here to teach my owl tricks.” Of course, he glances at Persephone after saying this, though his expression is lost behind the mask except for the less-than-serious smile.

“I kicked that tree once,” Marie Jeanette observes, piling her own plate high with foodstuffs of various sorts, apparently not paying much attention to precisely what she is putting on her plate. “Not because of the initials on it,” she clarifies after a moment. “Just because I was in a bad mood and thought the universe needed a good kicking.” Precisely why that tree in particular needed kicking remains unknown as she concludes that the food on her plate is sufficient and begins to eat – well, sort of begins to eat, apparently only now taking note that the mouth of her mask is too small for any but the tiniest bites, so she is reduced to eating like a bird. What a dilemma. A pause, and she turns to Stalking Lioness. “Really? I have a sweetheart too. I never even thought of that. Not that I’m going to start now!” The last sentence is added at a rush, like almost an afterthought, and then she devotes her attention back to cutting up her food into really small bites.

“Owl tricks, yes, of course,” Persephone echoes, stifling a bit of a giggle, as she gives a toothy smile, despite her crooked teeth. These are rare, and it’s very possible that the mood of the evening has just set her into a very pleasant mood, ignoring her usual hesitations. She takes bits of this, some of that, a role here, a croissant as well, nodding as Stalking Lioness comments about it being in bloom. “There’s this yellow and white one just over the way that I really like, and it’s even more in bloom now than when I was here the other da–” Persephone stops herself short. “Well, it’s more in bloom than it was before, which is unusual. It’s all very lovely.” The blush is hidden by the yellow feathers on her cheeks, but Persephone looks down at her plate taking a bite of food, shaking her head at her own chattery mouth.

Bengale Tiger takes the squash and piles some of it on her plate before passing it along. “Well, I’m sure,” as she ought to know, “that a lot of care is taken to make sure there’s something in bloom year round. Except of course for the roses, which always are. Special variety.” Oh dear. Lucky for the students, Bengale is hungrier than she is eager to divuldge information about the various plants, and begins cutting into her pot pie. “Most of the games are at least for teams, yes.” She’s so chatty, it must be weird for the students to think of her as the same person she is in class… and the halls… and if they accidentally run into her at the Leaky Cauldron over the summer.

Of course, Fitzcordia doesn’t recognize who Bengale is, though she ought to have by now. “Oh, team games. You’ll have to be on my team, Flicker,” Fitzcordia demands. No, she doesn’t ask, but when has she ever actually asked if he wanted to do something? “I’m sure we’ll win,” she comments, before starting to eat her second croissant, still looking very cheerful. The whiskers on her mask seem to twitch constantly as she eats and giggles.

Turning to Persephone with what could be a skeptical expression if her mask wasn’t concealing it so, Marie Jeanette looks her over and then turns back to her plate. “Don’t sound so suspicious,” she instructs the other girl pompously. “You should either say something or say nothing.” And she’s not a hypocrite for her part, either, is she? She takes another few tiny bites of her dinner, spearing potato on the end of her fork and nibbling at it awkwardly. Stupid masks and mouths.

Riamh has taken an awful lot of vegetables, but also several thick slices of what appears to be duck, and is busy munching along on it. She looks down the line at Jack and raises, invisibly, one of her eyebrows, as a clock hand moves from ‘dinner time’ to ‘butting in on other people’s business’ (in very tiny script). “Why didn’t you make a mouth-hole in your mask, Harlequin?” Nosy nosy.

Stalking Lioness nods to Marie. “Yes, well my sweetheart isn’t here, so I won’t really be talking much about it. It isn’t fair really… Why did you kick the tree? that wasn’t very nice to the tree.” She continues to eat a few more bites. “This is all really wonderful. So what are you going to do for the holidays? Going home to see your parents?”

“We’ll win if it involves running,” Flicker notes. “You think I’m fast on my broom, I’m an even faster runner. Like remember when I told you I ended up in Ireland once?” he inquires, tilting his head, “Well one time I ran to Africa and back in order to pick a violet for my mum,” he says with a boyish laugh. “Anyways, yes, we’ll be on the same team,” he agrees, taking another drink of Butterbeer. If only his mother knew!

Grinding her teeth together, Marie Jeanette does not look up at Stalking Lioness for a long moment, distracting herself by cutting her dinner up until really tiny pieces. “I’m trying to avoid it.” She eventually replies. “I was angry because my mother wants me to come home for Winter Break, and I don’t want to go so I need a really good reason not to. I don’t like spending time with her anymore, not since my father left.” And she looks up again, glaring at Stalking Lioness as if daring her to continue the line of questioning. “I’m not hungry anymore, never mind.”

“Hmph,” is all Persephone says in response to Marie Jeanette, taking a bite of potatoes. “Oh, I’m going to visit — er, well — someone very important.” It appears to be more difficult than she had originally thought for Persephone to keep her identity a secret. “It’s going to be a very good holiday for me, I think.” The girl chats to her companion, in his Sphinx-esque mask as she finishes up her supper, looking rather cheerful, despite Marie Jeanette’s comments to her.

Juggle leans back, after he has finished his meal with one of the delicious pies offered for dessert. As he bends forward again, he nudges his plate accidentally and a small piece of parchment pops up. His eyes shoot towards Bengale, not knowing what to do. “Ahm…sorry.” is the only thing he could think of. He remains pondering if he should hide it under the plate again or hold it up and decides to leave it as it is, eyeing the others.

Stalking Lioness is now silent. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to open old wounds.” She turns her attention to finishing her meal, not wanting to ask Marie Jeanette any other questions in order to make her more upset. She now her food is the most interesting thing that she can pay attention to, but soon her plate is empty and she doesn’t want to have anything else, minus desert, if there is any.

All lonely and unloved-like, – or, y’know, not – there’s another hooded figure edging towards the food table. Her mask? A disgustingly feminine butterfly-based creation. That’ll trick them all, definitely. “Do rose bushes have feelings?” Psyche pipes up after a moment, catching Lioness’ comment. Her brows furrow behind her mask, thoughtfully, but otherwise just picks at the plate she’s gathered food on. “Holidays are coming, aren’t they? This term has gone on forever.”

“Sure you did, Flicker,” Fitzcordia responds almost absent-mindedly to his claims and finishes off her supper. Ah, time for dessert! Fantastic! “I can run faster than you, and you know it,” the girl retorts to her friend, pushing her plate away from her a bit, as if to say ‘I’m finished here’. She grins at Flicker and glances around at the others at the table, many of whom seem to be finishing up. “Feelings? I never… er, I never thought they would.” Fitzcordia actually looks perplexed at the idea of this.

For once in his life, Flicker doesn’t really even want dessert. He just wants to start the games! “You can’t run faster, B-augh! These names are too hard! Fitz,” he catches himself, with a laugh. “We’ll race one day, I’ll show you,” he continues, grabbing a clean fork and awaiting the final course, planning to bolt it down when it comes.

As the group finishes the main course, the remaining food (what little there is) disappears with a quiet ‘pop’! in much the fashion in tends to in the Great Hall. Then appears the varitey of deserts, as well as the bags, one for each place setting. Bengale smiles down the table at Juggle while selecting a particularly tall slice of really, really chocolate cake. “Don’t mind that, it’s for after the feast.” She doesn’t seem to mind, continuing on-”Some rose bushes do have feelings, but they’re all alive and should be treated as such.” Ahem.

“I’m frankly glad,” Marie Jeanette informs Psyche, pushing her chair back from the table and folding her arms. “I don’t want to go home for Winter Break – or Easter Break – and I intend to find somewhere else to be over the summer, too, if possible. I don’t know what I’m going to do for Break, though. I was going to stay here at Hogwarts, but I’m going to be all alone.” Sulky, grumpy Marie Jeanette.

Stalking Lioness smiles as she sees all the deserts show up. It takes her a moment for her to decide what to take, and so she first decides to take the chocolate mousse wit the strawberries, eyeing the chocolate cake if she still wants it after the mousse. Taking the first bite, she closes her eyes and gives a soft, content sigh at the taste and begins to eat the rest, and the strawberries as well.

“You’re on,” Fitzcordia agrees, looking with bright eyes down at the desserts that adorn the table now. “Ooooh, look at that,” she comments, unsure of where to start. Finally, she decides on the ice cream, piling on almost more toppings than she has gotten ice cream, and begins eating it, quite cheerfully. Indeed, the whiskers seem to twitch even harder as she eats this than they have already, though it could just be from the cold. “Oh, this is so good,” she comments aloud as she finishes her ice cream, rather quickly, and leans back in her seat, looking quite comfortably full, though she eyes the chocolate cake very carefully.

Psyche plucks a piece of fruit from a dish with a contented little smile, at least until Marie mentions going home. “Would your mother really let you do that?” she asks, head tilted to one side, “I’d think mine would go ballistic. Well, gently ballistic, anyway.” The irony is unbearable. As for rose bushes, the girl nodnods in Bengale’s direction. “I think out loud sometimes,” she comments, nibbling at her fruit. “But most of the plants around here are more or less normal, right? No biting or sentient-ish stuff?”

Marie Jeanette offers a small, humourless laugh in response to Psyche, glancing at the younger girl (and apparently entirely not realising that they are talking about the same woman). She doesn’t make any move to eat dessert, her appetite apparently entirely gone. “Of course my mother wouldn’t let me. That’s why I have to make up some good reason. I’ll tell her that, that, that someone invited me to spend Christmas with them ’cause they like me so much. Or that a prefect asked me to stay at Hogwarts over Break so we could have a special party. Or something. I’ll work it out.”

Flicker has already finished his chocolate cake, despite its having been in front of him only one or two minutes. “Yeah, good,” he says, wanting to stand up and get things started. “But we can’t race now, because I’m too full,” he warns. Such a race would need to capture him at his peak, obviously. “When are the games starting?” he asks Bengale. Boy, one-track mind or what?

“I should hope none of the plants around here bite!” Persephone comments, putting her hand over her mouth in a bit of shock at the thought. No, it had not before occurred to her that some of the plants in the rose garden could be dangerous. For her own, Persephone has taken a bit of spice cake, as well as a baked apple and a bit of candy, and is slowly working her way through the cake as she listens to the conversation going on around her. For her part, she had never expected that when she was invited to join the S.E.A that she’d be treated to a feast and some games, rather she assumed that more adventures would be had, dangerous things that she wouldn’t actually want to do.

Bengale Tiger chuckles, and it comes out sort of low and rumbly, which is odd. “No, in these gardens the plants just sit around and grow. With a bit of magical help, of course, or I imagine they would all be dead by now.” She finishes up her cake and her butterbeer, and then leans back. “I imagine that once everyone has had their fill, we can begin the games, Flicker.” Hah. If you had told Bengale when she was a first year dreaming of becoming a teacher that she would address anyone by the name of Flicker, she would have called you a loony. To the general populace, “Those bags are so that you can take some of these treats back with you. After all, there’s a bit much to eat at this moment.”

Stalking Lioness looks over at Bengale when she speaks, having had her mousse and enjoyed greatly. Hearing the bags were to be used to take what she wants away from the feast, she smiles and opens it to take a few items that she will want later on up at her dorms. There are several items she takes, but then closes the bag so she can take it later, hoping she’ll remember.

“Best idea ever,” Psyche informs Bengale, happily beaming behind her mask. “I suppose the Hogwarts staffpeople would all get in trouble if some of the plants out here were dangerous and someone got hurt.” Still, Marie’s words catch her attention again, and she claps softly. “Good for you, as long as it works. I hope it does? Oooh, games.” Attention span… where?

Although apparently in a rather bad mood, Marie Jeanette has enough sense to fill a bag for herself with considerable amounts of transportable desserts, on the assumption that she would rather regret it if she let her annoyance get in the way of eating her fill of lovely sweet things that most people are not permitted. When full, she twists the top of the bag closed and slips it into her robes. Then, she turns her attention back to Psyche, shrugging her shoulders lightly. “I don’t see why it shouldn’t work – I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? I’m not there when she picks up Cass and Lenore from the station, and I get a Howler in the morning?” Oh, good one, kid. Nice anonymity there.

While not particularly looking forward to the games for her part, Persephone knows Evan likes games, and she does start to eat a bit more quickly, tucking the baked apple discreetly into the bag for nibbling on later. She chuckles a bit as she hears the boy nearby wax poetic about how excited he is about the games. The girl says little, though she has finished her bit of spice cake now, and sits back neatly in her chair, not really caring that the hood of her sweater has fallen off and her blonde hair is now visible behind the fanned feathers.

Oh wow the shock! Cas– Psyche‘s eyes widen significantly, and her mouth is open to announce this revelation when something absolutely brilliant occurs to her instead. “You should bribe your sisters into helping you,” she suggests sagely, “get them to cover for you and lend credibility to your story. Well, maybe not Lenore – I’ve met her, I think. The other one, though.” She considers her words for effect and then nods thoughtfully. “You should give them candy, or something. Kids love that.” Evidence to this statement? The way she’s carefully arranging stuff in her bag so as to fit the maximum possible food in.

“I wonder what the games are going to be,” Fitzcordia asks Flicker, chewing quite contentedly on a bit of caramel she has left from her ice cream, and finally finishing her dish of dessert. Hearing Marie Jeanette speak, however, Fitzcordia‘s attention is brought to the person sharply. No, it couldn’t be. But it had to be. Yes, Fitzcordia has a very strong idea who that person must be. The girl, spotting that others are now stuffing their little bags full of goodies, follows in suit and begins to fill the bag with as much sweets as will fit inside it. After all, she’s a growing girl, and she does like her sweets.

Bengale Tiger just lets the students talk for awhile while she mumurs a few preservative spells over some of the deserts to place in her own bag. It’s a bit disturbing how many domestic spells the woman knows. This done, however, she announces, “Alright, as Juggle discovered, there is a bit of parchement underneath your plates. On it are instructions for a scanvenger hunt. You should work in groups.” The mask has a bit of a sinister look, although it still smiles, and Bengale‘s own lips form a mild smirk. “If you don’t wish to participate, there are a few other games to play, although I’m quite willing to stay up until an incredibly improper hour while you all enjoy yourselves. It is, after all, very nearly Christmas.”

“I dunno. Cass’s a bit… eh, I dunno if any amount of bribery would actually make her lie to our mother.” Well, for all that Marie Jeanette has a practically encyclopedic knowledge of things that she wants to know about, she is painfully thick about certain things, up to and including recognising her own sister. Of course, she isn’t actually paying very much attention, her attention flickering back to Bengale’s words, shoving her plate aside and locating the indicated parchment. “Ooh…. who wants to be with me? Huh?!”

Stalking Lioness listens to Bengale when she speaks, and so lifts up her plate in order to see what the parchment said. “Groups?” she looks around to see who might want to be in her group to go find things. Some of them she already has ideas for what these riddles might be talking about.

“Oh, you can be with me and Flicker, if you want,” Fitzcordia volunteers, hearing Marie’s exclaimation. the girl stands and yanks at Flicker to stand with her, giggling a bit. Yes, Fitzcordia appears to be very excited as she picks up her parchment from under the plate and looks it over. “Oh, a scavenger hunt. We’ll win this one!” She holds her copy of it up, standing near to Flicker as she looks around to see if anyone is joining her group.

About to protest Marie’s dismissal of her sister’s ability to lie for fun and candy, Psyche is momentarily distracted by Bengale’s announcement. “I need a team, too,” she offers, then perks up. Must convince Marie. “I’ll go with you?” she offers. “Anyway, I think you should give it a try. If you don’t, and it turns out she would have helped, you could regret it if things fall through somehow.” But looklookparchment! “I’ll go with anyone who wants me tagging along, really.”

“But, look, it says ‘pairs or trios’…” Marie Jeanette points out, gesturing to the piece of parchment. “So if I go with Flicker and Fitzcordia, I can’t go with you as well, kid..” Evidently, her inability to recognise her own sister spreads as far as her own housemates, too, apparently entirely unable to recognise the nice couple that offered to let her in on their group – and perhaps, if she did recognise them, she’d be all the more eager to join Psyche instead. “Um. Um, um, um. Are you any good at riddles? I’m not.”

Riamh‘s bag is somewhat riduclously bulgy, although as she collected the girl murmured things about “Da’ll love that, hope it doesn’t go bad fast.” and such. She pulls the parchement from under the plate and unfolds it carefully, as one of the hands on her mask points toward ‘Insatiably curious’ (which, for this girl, is often the case). Surveying the group, she spies out Psyche, “Hmm, she seems to have a group, how about me?” Since the person with the mouthless mask hadn’t ever replied. “I’m D– I’m Riamh. Means something about time, I think, which I thought was good because I’ve all the clocks. My grandfather, who is a muggle, makes them.” Which, as she sleeps in the same dorms as Psyche and likely has a lot of clock things, sort of gives her a bit away.

At this announcement, Persephone stands, taking her parcment with her and looking it over. Oh, riddles. Persephone isn’t all that good at them. However, she is in exceptionally good spirits, so she seems to set off straight away, poking around at some of the flowers as if trying to find things without even discussing things with her teammate, who, presumably is Evan, though he hasn’t exactly caught up with her yet.

Psyche examines the parchment for a moment, then wrinkles her nose. “Well, I’m going to give it a good try. Just going to have to hope that’s enough.” she replies to Kelly, although perhaps just from sheer lack of familiarity she’s a little lost for most of the answers. Recognising Riamh, though, she flashes the girl a smile. “It’s a pretty name, too. I’m Psyche.” Well, she is for the moment. “It’s a reference to a Muggle goddess, I think. I just chose it because it matched the mask.” She beams, though. “I’ll go with you, though, as long as you don’t mind or anything?”

Riamh smiles, mouth completely visible (smudge round her lips from some mousse and all). “Well I asked you, so of course I don’t mind–how about the first one — ‘all in gold?’ She looks about, “I’d say our plates but they don’t seem very flighty. Do you think we could throw one on the air or use a hovering charm on it?”

“I’m alright at them. I do love them. Let’s see… Flighty item, all in gold.” Fitzcordia puts her hand to her chin in thought. Indeed, this is the same pose which she would often strike while they were on hunts to solve mysteries. “What do you think it is, Marie Jeanette?” Fitzcordia asks, looking down the list. “Silvery circle, scarlet plume, hmmm. This is hard!” The girl looks about. “Maybe the plume is one of the flowers? Do you think it might be its name?”

“Well, a plume is a feather, o’course.” Marie Jeanette replies knowingly, planting her hands on her hips, apparently content to believe that she can lead the adventuring. “Well, uuuusually. Usually, I think it refers to a feather sticking out of someone’s hat. Does anyone we know wear a stupid hat? Maybe they took the stupid feathered hat and put it somewhere to find. Or, I don’t know, maybe not.” A pause, and she looks around. “Well, a circle for telling time has to be like, a silver pocketwatch or something. The problem’ll be finding it – it has to be outside somewhere, right, so it has to be a little pocket watch, not something big…” She kicks at the ground idly, unsure of where to start looking.

Stalking Lioness finds herself a partner and they head off to go find the items that are on the parchment. “Bengale, are all the items here in the garden?” she pauses before the tiger to see if they have to leave the area just to find the items.

Bengale Tiger has taken position on the swing to watch and answer questions. “Well, they should be.” Another rumbly chuckle. “I don’t think they’re liable to have taken off.” Hint, hint. She kicks off a bit, actually making use of the swing. “For some items, you might look around at what we’ve got in order for an idea of how to find them.” Yes, her mask seems frozen in a mischevious, tigery grin.

Psyche beams at Riamh, and apparently just figures that the other girl has x-ray vision and can see the expression. “I dunno. If it’s in the air and it’s gold, even if it’s not the right object it fits the description, right?” She pauses a long moment, then, eying her piece of parchment some more. “So are you Muggleborn, or is it just your grandfather? Only, only, do you have a pence?” Yes, she’s clueless.

Riamh wrinkles her nose, “Oh, no, my parents were both magic, but my mother’s parents… and my Aunt, at that, are Muggles. Didn’t have to explain to them about Hogwarts though, since my mother went. My other grandparents are magical but I think I have some great grandparents or great great ones that were muggles or muggle born… or half bloods… or maybe it was pure.” She frowns a bit. Actually it’s a combination of them all, “Anyway, I’ve known about magic my whole life and I haven’t got a pence, though I know they’re sort of small round coins–different colors and sizes depending on how many pence the piece is worth-fifty or ten or somesuch.” She kneels, rooting about. “Seems a shame to throw it on the ground, though.”

At this announcement, Persephone stands, taking her parcment with her and looking it over. Oh, riddles. Persephone isn’t all that good at them. However, she is in exceptionally good spirits, so starts nosing around, peeking under tablecloth and chair, in hopes of stumbling across something that fits the clues. “Have you found anything?” she asks a person nearby while looking down into a daisy curiously.

“Oh, a feather, that makes sense,” Fitzcordia admits, nodding and glancing around through the garden, where many people are already starting to look for the things listed in the riddles. “Flighty item, all in gold…” Fitzcordia comes back to, resting her hand on the back of her hood, on top of her head. “Could that be — oh, I’m sure I know — that has to be a snitch!” she decides with sudden inspiration. “Help me look for it! Flicker, you go that way! And I’ll go this way, and you, Marie Jeanette, you can go that way.” Fitzcordia sprints off, skirting around a duo to rustle about near the flowers.

For her part, Marie Jeanette dives straight into a rosebush, peering about for something sparkly. What happens, of course, is that her robes get caught on thorns and her skin gets a bit scratched up, and her hood eventually just falls off her head – <3 KP & RD <3, indeed, the things people write on their masks – so her copper hair gets tangled as well, but she’s quite certain that there’s something to find in here, somewhere. Somewhere. Come on, sparkly things…

Psyche nods thoughtfully, then also goes to ground to search for one of these coins. “So we’re looking for money, then. Hmm. Do you think we get to keep them if we find them?” She considers this a moment, then industriously turns to her search. So much for prissy and feminine, which was the impression she was trying to go for with that mask. “In the meantime, I’m not sure about the pearl part but the thorn-kepy beauty absolutely has to be a rose. A white one, maybe? Are Muggle relatives fun to have?” She’s just curious.

Not noticing Marie Jeanette’s adornment on her forehead, Fitzcordia crawls about, looking for a snitch. Where-oh-where could it be hiding? Then — she sees it! Up in the air, hovering just above a plant nearby, she reaches out to grab it, but it is too quick for her. Picking up her hand, she is amused to find a pence on it. “Hey, Marie Jeanette, is this one of the things on the list?” She asks, running back to her groupmate and holding the pense in her extended hand. “Do you think that’s the muggle pence?”

Marie Jeanette extracts herself from the shrubbery, peering at the extended coin. “It’s called a penny, stupid. Two of them bought you an interlude with a prostitute in Whitechapel. Well, not you personally.” Without offering any further explanation, she shrugs her shoulders lightly and gets lost in the greenery again. “Ow! Stupid plant things! It’s eating my hair, I swear.”

Riamh picks up — “…Has someone lost a marble?” She pockets that, on second thought, and crawls underneath one of the chairs set up by a chess table, hopefully with nobody on it, and then back out again. Pulling herself up, she seeks out Psyche, “I didn’t find anything but a marble, and I’m pretty sure that’s not anything.” She wanders a bit, “It’s regular, I guess. I do love to watch my grandfather tinker with clocks, but sometimes my other grandfather comes back with stories about his job where he’s had to undo really amazing spells that went bad, and that’s good too–say, isn’t one of the clues to climb? There’s a ladder against the tree.”

Psyche tilts her head thoughtfully, looking up from her search. “A marble? What colour is it? Is it white? Tell me it’s white. That’d make it pearl-like, and it’s in the rose garden, which has thorns!” It’s worth a try, anyway. “So you get the best of both worlds, right? I dunno – your clocks are nice.” Ooh, and she’s full of ideas right now. “Are any of them silver–ladder? Where? Ooooh. You want to climb and search, or should I?”

Yes, there is no doubting with whom Fitzcordia is trying to work. Fitzcordia doesn’t deign to respond to the comments about hookers or calling her stupid. No, instead, Fitzcordia slips the pence into her pocket and stands up straight. Now, for the snitch! She glances up at the sky, not seeing it to start, but she does recall the brooms. Yes, Flicker had pointed them out in the start! She glances around. No, nobody else at the brooms just now. She quickly runs over to the line of brooms and demands that one of them come UP! Her voice is so forceful that more than one rises, and she gets onto it, bucking a little uncertainly as she flies on an unfamiliar broom.

Stalking Lioness tries searching for a bit, but sighs as she enjoys watching the others hunt through the gardens. She just doesn’t feel like hunting for everything right now. She finds her seat back at the table and watches everyone participate. At one point she gets up to check out the other games set out, but then returns to her seat to continue watching and see who wins.

Bengale Tiger swings so slightly it’s more like rocking back and forth, waiting for people to come forth with their finds. A genuine smile surfaces as Fitzcordia takes to the skies and the partnership of Psyche/Riamh explores the possiblity of climbing. That was more like it, doing things in a trickier way. “Poor Marie, I hope she finds it for her trouble,” murmurs the woman aloud, which like as not sets several more people digging through the thorn-laden busehs. The fairies within them squeal in their high pitched voices, and some seek shelter in the branches of the oak or atop arches.

“AHA!” Marie Jeanette‘s voice can be heard from amidst the shrubbery, and she eventually removes herself from the bushes, a pearl held between her fingers. Admittedly, her hands are all scratched up and her hair looks like a bird’s next, but she has the pearl. “I found it, Fitz!” She cries out, seeking the girl with wide eyes. “Oh, right. Oh, well, what else can I find?” She relocates her parchment, peering at each item in turn. “A silver circle… who would be stupid enough to leave one of those in the garden?” She offers out loud, almost in horror. “What happens if no one finds it? It’d get ruined?! I better find it quick.”

Riamh is halfway up the ladder before Psyche has the full question out, and calls, “I think I will! I’ve practice.” This is said in a very self-assured voice as she clambers out onto the branch. “None of my clocks are silver, no!” she shouts back down, carefully pulling herself up to height–”What does the parchment say is up here? It’s really dark, there’s no lamps or anything.”

Psyche unrolls her sheet, chewing on her lip thoughtfully. “Dark? Hm. It’s ‘one missing Queen’ you’re looking for. Which makes absolutely no sense to me, I’m afraid. Umm… maybe just feel around and see what you touch?” This is called loudly enough, but having caught one of the other people getting on a broom, her sister in some bushes, and such she figures secrecy isn’t worth it. Instead, then, she returns to searching for a penny, though now around the base of the tree. And, eventually… “I found a coin, Riamh! When you get down you’ve gotta tell me if it’s right?”

Fitzcordia is not a seeker, and she isn’t used to being in the air trying to spot the little golden thing, especially on a broom that she isn’t used to flying. The flight is a bit rough and she bucks around a bit, having apparently gotten an ornery broom. “That’s goooood, Marie!” she calls, and holds onto the broom tightly, crossing her ankles, in hopes that it will better keep her on the broom. “C’mon, broom, c’mon,” she says to the bucking broom, trying to steady herself so that she can spot the flying golden orb, which she has only spotted once, and not yet since.

Eyes downturned, Marie Jeanette inspects the ground for some hint of a pocketwatch on the ground, any kind of hint of where it could be, and as a result she doesn’t notice where she’s going and actually walks right into the gate. Oh. Handy. This is the first time she looks up, and she seems entirely surprised for a moment – then, victorious, she grabs at the feather and jumps up eagerly, clapping her hands together joyfully. “I found another one! Aren’t I excellent!”

Riamh fishes about, sticking her hand in a spider web, which she shakes off nonchalantly, a squirrel hole (there’s a bit of angry chittering and shouting as Riamh pulls herself to a different branch), and finally a bird’s nest. It being December, however, the nest is empty–except for a few shells and a white marble queen, who says, “Oh, good show my dear, but shouldn’t you have gotten a Knight to climb this tree for you?” Silly chess pieces and their one-track minds. Knowing better, Riamh still responds, “I’m Knight enough, thank you.” which gets no return response. Down she clambers, holding the little Queen aloft. “Look, Psyche!–oh, that is one. I think it’s a 10.”

“Good show!” Fitzcordia calls, spotting the snitch again as it hovers near an outer branch. She flies gently towards it, coaxing the broom slowly, slowly, until she’s within arm’s reach, and she snatches at it, missing the first time, but throwing her other hand out and grabbing it, closing her fist around it while throwing her chest at the front of her broom, which bucks a little more and flies down to the ground. She jumps off of it, unsteadily landing and sumbling a bit, but managing to stay on her feet. The stubborn broom flies over to where the other brooms are lined up, and Fitzcordia doesn’t let go of her grip on the snitch. “Look, I got it!” she calls to Marie, beaming.

Psyche whoops loudly, applauding Riamh. “That’s two! Three if we can make the plate fly and convince Bengale that it counts.” She bounces a little on the balls of her feet, and in her enthusiasm her hood falls back most of the way. Oh, well. As long as her sister remains oblivious, she doesn’t mind. “We’re a pretty good team, aren’t we?” And then she spots Fitzcordia, and pouts a little. “A snitch – of course. Ahh, well. A plate it is, for us. Unless you’re good at flying and there’s another one somewhere?” It’s worth a try; somehow she doubts it, though.

“Only two more things left to find, I think!” Marie Jeanette calls out in response, peering down at the ground again and inspecting it for any sign of a pocketwatch. Here, watchy watchy watchy… here, watchy watchy watchy… “Hey,” she calls out after a while, peering about. “How come I have to find everything?” Because two items on the list is now ‘everything’, of course. “Can’t Flicker find something, huh?”

Bengale Tiger bites her lip, holding in a laugh as the searches continue, even as snow begins to fall. It isn’t too late as of yet, though dinner time in the castle is surely long since past.

Riamh hops a bit, “Oh, well, we’ll just have to get a plate to fly, I don’t think there would be more than one of those.” One of her clocks now points to ‘Barely Escaped Mortal Danger’ and the other to ‘Nearing Curfew’. The cuckoo bird hangs a bit forlorn. “We got two, though, and maybe there’s another… is that a feather? Somewhere.”

“I’m looking, too, Marie!” Fitzcordia calls, looking around, still gripping the snitch in her hand. She puts her hand to her nose to scratch it, and is reminded very suddenly of the mask as the whiskers start twitching again. “Oops,” she mutters and smoothes them out, glancing around some more. Silver circle, and missing queen. Hmmm. Just as she stoops to look for something shimmery nearby, which turns out to just be another muggle coin, Flicker begins to shout that he’s found it. “Found what? Oh, look, Marie! Flicker’s found the pocketwatch! What do we need? The missing queen?” Fitzcordia pulls out the parchment and looks over it to see all the riddles.

Still beaming at Riamh, Psyche nodnods. “Got to be worth a try. Umm. Getting the plate to just hover for judging might be good enough? What do you think?” Meanwhile, brushing her dirty hands happily on her robe, she returns to the table to steal a plate, placing the penny on top of it and holding it out to her teammate. “I think the others have more than us…ahh, well. Maybe offer that marble you found, too? Just in case we can get points for effort?”

Bengale Tiger is paying remarkably good attention, and stands up as Flicker finds the pocketwatch. “Okay, everyone, that’s every item that there was only one of accounted for–bring your items to me then, and we’ll announce the winner.” This is largely a formality; she’s been paying enough attention that she knows who has won without checking.

Looking up at the sound of Fitzcordia’s words, Marie Jeanette claps her hands and grins widely – not that it can be seen behind her mask, but she is virtually overflowing with glee. “Oh, oh, Flicker, I could kiss you!” Exactly why such exhuberance is being attached to the finding of a pocket watch is uncertain, but can you name any time this girl has been logical? Glancing over at Bengale, she nods, rifling through her pockets for the items she found. “This is the pearl in the thorns or whatever the clue was, and this is the plume…”

Kiss him? Oh no, that doesn’t make Fitzcordia happy. However, she says nothing, and just makes her way over to Bengale. “Here, I’ve got a snitch and a muggle coin right here.” She pauses a moment, digging deep into her pocket before she locates the object, presenting it for observation as Flicker makes his way back over. “And he’s got a pocket watch.” Fitzcordia looks quite pleased that the five of them had managed to find so many of the needed objects for the scavenger hunt. And imagine, five galleons to split between them! What fun.

Psyche, meanwhile, fairly bounds over to Bengale, proffering coin and…plate. “It flies if you throw it. Not quite as good as their snitch,” she admits, but oh look she’s so hopeful, “but it’s gold. And Riamh has the Queen chess piece. So that’s..two, really. Maybe three.” Or four. Maybe she should put a rose or some dirt on the plate, too, just in case it matches a clue somehow?

Riamh frowns now, but pulls the marble out of her pocket (it’s blue) and presents it with the queen. “Well, here’s the missing queen and a marble is sort of like a pearl.” So is a really round rock. She doesn’t look very hopeful at being a winner, though, what with the others having found five of the six items.

There are a lot of people that would not be happy about Marie Jeanette kissing Flicker, and as such she seems to realise this and does not in fact make any attempt to do it, tempted as she may be. “So, do we win? Huh? How are we going to divide up five galleons? Is it two to me an’ Fitzcordia and one to Flicker, ’cause he only found one and we found too? Or…?”

Bengale Tiger nods, “Well done everyone–although I’m afraid that plate and the marble don’t count. So it’s Fitzcordia, Flicker, and Marie who have earned the prize. Given it’s dividing between three, I’ll thrown in an extra knut, and that 1 Galleon, 11 Sickles, and 10 Knuts a pieces.” This amount is fished out of her robes and held out. “Mind you, I can’t do that in my head, so I’d figured what it was for a duo and for a trio earlier.” What? She’s equal here. Or mostly equal, really. “Now, if Riamh and Psyche would return the missing Queen to her chess set–it’s that one,” Bengale indicates, “You may either play or we can return to the safety of the indoors.”

Landon is totally and utterly excited! He’s buzzing and jumping about and grinning from ear to hear. Of course, the crowd can’t tell because Landon looks a neutral as ever on the outside. His broom is grasped firmly in his hand and he is holding his beater’s bat between his arm and his side. He uses the free hand to wave at the audience in no particular rhythm. A few waves here, a finger-wiggle there, and arm flap after he gets a little further towards the center. When he reaches his spot, he stops and just stands like a Landon-Statue.

Gabriel is psyched. Holding his broom well off the ground as he makes his way onto the pitch with his team, Gabriel looks around, reminding himself to take cleansing deep breaths. “We’ll win this,” he says aloud, switching his broom from his left hand to his right. Looking to Keelan as she speaks, Gabriel gulps a little, glancing at Briony.

Briony, who has all week been practically shivering with excitement, looks a bit green in the face now as she strides onto the familiar pitch. An unfamiliar sight greets her as she makes her way out behind Gabriel. There are far more people here than she ever remembered seeing at a match, all with their eyes down on the pitch as the teams collect and get situated. Oh, Briony is very nervous now and she hardly hears what Keelan says; she is far too distracted by all the commotion.

It is a clear day, free of rain, and Noémie smiles a bit as she pauses at the edge of the pitch. The fifth year has a determined smile on her face as she makes her way to the center of the pitch, holding on to her broom and comes to a stop near where Keelan is. “Yes, Professor,” she responds, as she always does and puts her hand out to Marie-Anna. The Ravenclaw’s hair is skillfully pulled back for once, rather than flying all over the place in a mess of wavy light brown, for better sight of the snitch.

Clavicle Gravely comes striding out carrying his Sandsweeper 25. The Egyptian broom has sleek lines. He waves to the Ravenclaw stands and yells “AUK AUK!”

Keelan Walsh is already in the center of the pitch, perched atop the box that holds the Quidditch balls. Her broom is nearby, waiting for it’s use. Today, her robes are a somber shade of deep red. The whistle hanging about her neck shines in the autumn sun, and she plays with it idly, waiting for the children to arrive. When they do, she stands up, shoulders straight, and says, “Captains? Shake hands, nice and sportsmanship-like, now.” with a grim smile.

Broom in hand Marie-Anna stands in suitable position that she may shake the opposing captains hand. Upon the professors call the Gryffindor beater shakes Noémie’s proferred hand, offering the Ravenclaw captain a polite smile.

Van stalks behind the rest of her team, gripping tightly to her broom. The Seventh year isn’t too excited, but a faint smile is still plastered across her lips as she gazes out into the stands. She breathes out a little laugh at Clavicle, shaking her head a little but in no belittling way.

Tegan makes her way onto the pitch, a foul look on her face. The fourth-year beater grips her bat in one hand and her broom in the other and stops far to Noémie’s left, looking the Gryffindor beaters up and down, sizing them up before the start of the match. Tegan is now seasoned to the matches, and she has to suppress the urge to laugh as she looks at the faces of some of the newer players, who look rather nervous. She says nothing, and no sounds emit from her while she stands there, waiting the beginning whistle, just smirking.

Andy Carver‘s heart pounds with excitement as he enters the pitch with his team. He has clenched his right hand around his broom to minimise the trembling. He takes a few deep breaths, lines up near Gabriel and nods towards him slightly, not being able to force himself to a smile.

Josh MacLean is pale beneath his freckles, his eyes wide and his newly-developed adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows nervously. He raises a hand to his mouth to chew on a fingernail, but puts it back down at his side after accidentally tasting the leather of his gloves, proceeding to stand somewhat near Landon, and waits, his knuckles white with his hand clenched tightly around his broom.

David walks in line with the other players of his team, holding his Moonsweeper over his left shoulder. He punches his right fist in the air, saluting the Ravenclaws who were cheering on the team from their bleachers. It is a fine day for flying, and David is feeling exceptionally confident, owing to the inordinate amount of training the team captain arranged for the whole team… he certainly feels less frightened than on his first match last year.

Quidditch! Hooray! Tybalt‘s favourite sport on the planet. He lives for it, he’d die for it, and it is the best opportunity in the world to show off! He slicks his hair back with a graceful movement of his hand and pulls on the bands of his fingerless gloves a few times – just for how of course, they’re already firmly attached to his hands. Once he’s done with that move he waves towards a group of girls that are frantically waving their red and gold banners at him in an attempt to get his attention. He winks in their direction and they all shriek with giggles and start talking excitedly amongst themselves. Now, off towards the center of the pitch! After a slinking along in a graceful fashion, Tybalt reaches the seeker’s spot and stands tall and proud, waving like he’s the one who invented Quidditch, or something.

Clavicle says, “Auk! Auk!” he grins and trots over to David with a laugh. “Come on David…Just one Auk, for the team!” He grins and prepares to mount his broom when signaled to.”

Bailey Williams follows David, no trace of fear or excitement on his face whatsoever. He tries to concentrate on the match, remembering the moves drilled in him after those numerous practices. He holds his broom in his right hand, waiting for the order to mount it and dart into the sky.

Riley Markham cant’t help but feel somewhat nervous as he makes his way on to the pitch, broom slung across his shoulders like a clothes rod, as if he were carrying pales of water. A feigned attempt at looking cassual, almost as if he hoped he might somehow fool himself. His aim had gotten better in practice, but there was still a lot of work to be done. And here of all places, with his Gran wave down at him from the faculty stands, he could almost feel his heart beating somewhere in the vacinity of his throat. Purposely not turning his gaze up to respond to her, pretending interest in the color of the grass.

Keelan Walsh spends the hand shaking time undoing the latches on the trunk. Almost as if sentient and able to understand what was going on, the Bludgers begin to shake the box from the first releasing ‘click’. However, when it’s opened, they just struggle against their bonds. Keelan pushes a button which reveals the Snitch. Taking it gingerly from it’s holder, the Professor turned Referee allows the tiny golden ball to unfurl it’s wings and bat them a few times before letting it zoom away. Now, the Quaffle is collected, and Keelan turns back to the teams. “Everyone ready?” She doesn’t let it go yet, “Let’s play a fair game, I don’t feel like giving a lot of penalty shots today.” This is said seriously, and she raises the whistle to her lips with her free hands. Giving the Quaffle a toss rather impressively high, she blows the whistle, signaling the beginning of the match.

Mounting his broom, Gabriel resolves to shake of his nervous feeling as he prepares to kick off the ground, trying to have faith in his game skills. He and Briony had practiced a lot, and he needed it to pay off. At Keelan’s whistle, Gabriel jumps a bit before lifting off in the direction of the Quaffle.

Eh, what the heck? She’s not going to be here much longer so who cares? She over beside Clavicle and Dave, waving her fists in the air towards their audience, “AUK! AUK!” She screams, giggling. Van claps, turning and grinning to her teammates before swooping over to her position.

Switching from anxiety to alertness in a split-second Andy Carver mounts his broom as the referee grabs the whistle and pushes off the ground with all his force, even losing the balance a bit and nervously adjusting his seat again. He heads for the quaffle. Maybe he would be able to grab it before Gabriel. Every second counts now.

In one move, Landon jumps onto his broom and pulls his bat from under his arm, ready for use. Then, with a quick move of his leg, Landon shoots straight up into the air, and slightly off to the side so that the Chasers can have control of the field and he won’t be in the way. Now, to wait until the bludger are released so he can make sure they don’t hit anyone on his team.

As soon as she hears the whistle, Noémie is on her broom and she flies high above the pitch, above the hoops. The Ravenclaw sees the golden snitch released and watches as it quickly is gone from her sight. Well, it’s still early in the game, and Noémie is not concerned about missing it this time. She stays perched on her broom, staying very high above the action of the game, hoping to quickly spot the snitch, rather than have the game go on for days.

“Don’t clobber the ball, control your swings, follow through with the connection,” Riley murmurs, over and over again under his breath as the call to mount brooms is given. Athletism and mindless bravado his specialty, Riley hardly thinks at all as he pulls down on the handle of his broom from his shoulder, flipping it in to place. Mounting it and kicking off from the ground in one smooth motion. Impressive for a second year, even though he nearly dropped the broom and fell off the other side of the broom. Recklessness to match his brash flying style. Soaring up high, he flips his bat in to his scarred hand with a flick of his wrist. Still pointedly avoiding looking the faculty stands as he glances around the pitch at his teammates and enemies, looking for a leather-wrapped cannon ball.

Marie-Anna Greyton is back in the appropriate position for her to start on the ground from, bat under one arm as she mounts her broom. It’s not long after that she launches into the air, her bat in hand. She’s a little to the side, much like Landon is.

David mounts his broom and, with a firm kick on the ground, takes off in the air, taking his position. Once floating in the air, waiting for the whistle to be blowed, he looks at this teammates, grinning at them. “Give’em hell, Riley!” he shouts, and mutters under his breath: “and don’t send the Bludgers to me, please.” David was impressed by Riley’s skills on the broom, and never forgot that it was thanks to him, inderectly, that he got on the team. However, Riley’s aim was sometimes very random and downright dangerous…

“Remember, Riley! AIM!” Tegan calls as she, too, gets onto her broom and kicks off the ground, quickly ascending with her bat gripped tightly in her hand. She may not have as much power as her fellow beater does, but at least she can aim. Tegan‘s smirk is gone from her face now that the game is in session, and she gives a passing bludger a hard WHACK!, aiming it generally in the direction of the Gryffindor seeker, in hopes of quickly giving Ravenclaw an advantage.

Josh MacLean takes a deep breath as he mounts his broom, flying at a steep angle upward before levelling out to head towards the opposite end of the field, but not too far from the Quaffle, trying to keep himself open for passing and mostly paying attention to the other Chasers.

As the whistle is blown Tybalt makes a big show of turning on his `Seeking Sense’ – as he calls it – as he hops onto his broom and soars as high up as he can be while still visible to the female members of the audience. He flips his hair out of his eyes and scans the skies for that elusive, golden ball. He needs to catch it and he looks like he won’t quit until he has it.

Keelan Walsh gives the teams a moment of playing before stepping back from the box and undoing the bludger restraints with a charm. Mostly because she can and partially because the stupid balls are dangerous. Having unleashed them on people ranging from 12 to 17 (or possibly 18) who are typically assumed to be at least partially under her care, the Herbology Professor mounts her own broom, but does not rise as high as the players, as of yet.

Clavicle Gravely mounts the”Auk Auk!” he hops on his broom and the sandsweeper and zooms up. He heads for the quaffle as well, trying to use the foreign brooms speed to go for the falling quaffle. He pours on the speed to try to cut through the crowd. For now he trusts Riley to keep the bludgers off.

Briony Wexler flies up towards the hoops, looking rather unsteady as she does so. Chances are high that the second-year will lose her breakfast before the match is over. “Whoo, Gryffindor!” she calls as she takes her place in front of the three high hoops. Is it possible that they’re higher up? Briony doesn’t know. The girl tries to watch as there are now twice as many people on the pitch as she is used to, more things flying around to keep her eyes on. Just watch for the red one, Bri, that’s the ticket. Keep your eyes on the prize. Echoes of Gabriel’s recent pep talks fly through her mind.

Still concentrating on the match, Bailey follows his fellow Chasers and takes his position, on the right wing of the field. He keeps his eyes fixed on the box where the Quaffle was stored, waiting for it to be released. Bailey doesn’t partake much in the cheering, and totally ignores the comments that the other players of his team were exchanging between them as a way to release the tension. His flying is the only thing which matters to him now. As the Quaffle is released, he pushes his broom forward and flies directly towards it.

Worry rapidly becomes frustration as Riley flashes a slightly uncomfortable look toward David, then an annoyed one toward Tegan. “Yeah, alright, already!” Gritting his teeth a bit, Riley bucks his broom, spotting the second down low. Twisting in to a barrel-roll dive that is perhaps even more reckless and showy than normal (as if to show that he did have SOME talent), thesound of Riley‘s own bat connects with the ball almost in tandem with Tegan’s own CRACK. Pivotting his broom in a smooth turn, he does as instructed, and the bludger whistles off fast in the general direction of Briony. The first person he’d seen after coming out of the one-eighty turn. “Ha!”

Being totally surprised Andy finds himself having plucked the quaffle out of the air just in time. He hectically turns his head into all directions, sees Josh first and tries to pass the red ball to him. Giving the toss way too much of speed.

“What? I’m on your team!” Tegan calls, scoffing a bit. Really, now, one would think he’d be grateful for the advice she was offering. No matter, Tegan watches as Riley shows off a bit. “Oh, gimme a break, Riley!” she calls, rolling her eyes again at her teammate. She is forced to duck, however, as his bludger comes directly at her head. “Aim at THEM! Not ME!” Tegan does not seem very pleased, does she?

Marie-Anna Greyton grins as she watches the release of the bludgers. “Let the games begin,” she states with a bit of a cackle before swings her arm a bit, warming it up a little for those encounters she’s certain to have with those nasty bludger. As she see’s the bludger go flying towards Briony, Marie offers a shout. “Bri! Heads up!” is given, as she herself races towards the keeper intent on getting between the bludger and the Gryffindor keeper.

As Noémie sees Tybalt showing off for the girlies in the stands, she rolls her eyes. Go right ahead and do that, she decides as she flies in a figure eight over the pitch, watching around carefully. Noémie is alert, determined not to watch the action in the game, rather, to look for that bit of precious gold that will name her team winner.

David briefly turns his head towards RIley and Tegan, hearing tiny bits of their argument carried to him by the wind. He quickly turns his head back to the Quaffle, which Andy has just thrown to Josh. David decides to try and steal it from the Gryffindor player, and flies in his general direction.

Watching the players, Landon flies the length of the field as he waits for one of his players to be in danger. He’s the defensive beater, at the moment, and he doesn’t feel like chasing down a bludger so he can whack it at another player, just yet. Of course, once he has a bludger he will whack it at a player on the opposite team.

The Ravenclaw keeper wets her lips, adamantly watching the game as it continues on, leaning here and there as Van does her best to predict when she’d best actually do her part.

“Josh!” Gabriel yells upon seeing Andy’s pass to the boy. “I’m open!” he adds, shooting forward towards the Ravenclaw goals, hoping to get into a better position to be passed to. Gabe is unaware of whether or not Josh actually caught the Quaffle, or if it was intercepted.

Clavicle Gravely turns to try to intercept the quaffle as it was speedily tossed. He doesn’t have time toi catch it. So instead he tries a quick 180 to try to tail bat it toward David.

Watching David going for the Quaffle, Bailey decides to play a preventive game and manoeuvers such as to place himself between Gabriel and Josh, should David fail to catch the Quaffle and the Gryffindor try to shoot the Quaffle at Gabriel. Besides, covering the Keeper is never a bad idea.

Briony shrieks a bit and flies downward as she sees the ominous black orb flying towards her at a rather fast pace. No, Briony would rather abandon her goals than get hit straight-on by a bludger. She is now about halfway down the tall hoops, rather out of the way of where she ought to be in order to block shots, but — but the bludger! Briony is not going to head back up until the object has been deflected.

Luckily for him, Josh is better at catching and throwing than he is at flying, and was paying attention, so although the quaffle is flying really fast, he sticks out an arm in time and with a sound thwack, it connects with his arm and is held close to him, his arm curled around it, as he zooms further towards the Ravenclaw goals when he notices David and Gabriel almost simultaneously. With a nervous glance from one to the other, he clamps his teeth down on his bottom lip and circles a little to the left to see if he can’t get a clearer shot to Gabriel, and attempts to chuck the ball with enough speed to get it safely to his teammate.

Marie-Anna Greyton takes a quick whack at the bludger, the noise resounding as bat meets ball, and deflects it away from Briony, who gets a crooked grin. The bludger, meanwhile, was deflected in the opposite direction from which it was going, perhaps far and fast enough to get to Van.

Tegan is in the middle of the pitch and seeing Marie-Anna alter the bludger’s trajectory, she flies as quickly as her broom will take her to stop in front of Van. It is a mere moment before the bludger has connected with her bat again, and it spirals towards the clump of both team’s chasers who seem to be still jockeying for posession of the quaffle. “Riley! Get the other bludger!” she calls, watching as one flies his direction.

As Andy speculates that his pass has not been caught by Josh, he lets his broom fall back a bit out of the action and pushes it up afterwards to get a better view on the events on the field, not flying out of his fellow chasers passing range. And then he sees the quaffle swooshing through the air again as Josh passed it. Andy shoots forward on his way to place himself in front of the Ravenclaw hoops.

Eek. There’s a bludger flying right towards him. Stupid things have minds of their own. He winds up and whacks it across the stadium and away from himself. And, now it looks to be heading straight for Van! Good aim, Landon! Good thing he practiced with targets at the last practice!

Marie-Anna Greyton flies off towards the bludger that’s flying towards the clump of chasers. “Landon, stop Riley, get that bludger!” is shouted by the elder beater, though her call is unnecessary as, evidently, Landon’s already on it. Of course, now the Gryffindor eyes the bludger, trying to assess if one of her own chasers will get hit, or if it’ll hit a Ravenclaw chaser. Then again, it may not hit anyone. Either way, she doesn’t seem intent on stopping the bludger if it’s going to get a Ravenclaw.

Riley Markham seems fairly pleased with himself there for a moment, as he as the bludhger sails past Tegan toward it’s original target. A faint smirk touching his lips. “Past you! Jus’ followin’ your advice, eh? Aimin’!” It wasn’t his fault Tegan’d got in the way, and though he usually got on with him at least amiably, the nervousness he felt being on the pitch for the first time and the aggrivation of being told the same thing day-in, day-out during daily practices with both the varsity and junior squads — it had ground down on his patience. Add to that the undue expectations he felt with his Gran watching.. His nerves were fairly shot, she he had reverted to his more base self-defense mechanism. Show-boating and gloating. Gloating soon to become brooding. “Hah!” He shouts again, before blinking. Having, briefly, taken his mind out of the game to admire his own handywork. Turning, he manages to get his bat up just in time to deflect the bludger half-away (in the direction of Tegan herself, which is doubtful to improve her mood or disposition toward the boy). The impact catches Riley off balance, though, knocking him in almost exaggerated slowness off the edge of his broom after flailing hims arms in circles not unlike a duck. He does, however, manage to save himself, reaching up to grab the handle of his broom, leaving him dangling there for a moment with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

“Catch it, Bailey!” shouts David, as Josh throws the ball towards the Ravenclaw balls. David is too far away to attempt a catch, and besides, it would be better for him to be slightly nearer of the middle of the pitch so that if Bailey catches the ball, he could pass it to David afterwards.

Looking backwards to check for a pass in his direction, Gabriel‘s gaze first falls onto Briony– what was she doing!? “Gah!” is Gabriel‘s outburst, but he then notices Josh’s strong pass to him and turns his broom around, extending one hand towards the ball.

Tegan hasn’t moved since Marie-Anna’s bludger shot came straight for her team’s keeper. Rearing her arm back, the beater chucks the bludger towards the group of chasers once again, hoping that it’ll come into contact with someone from the other team rather than her own. Of course, as they’re all in such close proximity, it makes it difficult for her to judge where it will go or who it will hit.

Clavicle Gravely turns seeing Riley having trouble. He flies fast and herd under the boy ready to pull a catch if he needs catching. “Riley! Are you alright?” he calls out, then sees the boy catch himself and he gives him a thumbles up. “Auk Auk!” He turns and zips back after the quaffle.

Keelan Walsh is being a nicely unbiased ref(really!) and just sort of slowly circling the pitch at a level where she can see what is going on without getting involved unless she needs to be. For a worried moment she hovers, watching Riley. Under her breath a muttered, “Ruddy Ravenclaw, don’t get yourself killed.” She resumes her slow circling, patiently waiting.

Having noticed the ball being thrown at Gabriel probably second before he did, Bailey pushes his broom towards the Quaffle and intercepts it deftly. He then dives a little, attempting to get some speed so as to distance Josh and get to the middle of the pitch, hoping that he would be able to send the Quaffle to another chaser then.

Now that she is out of peril, Briony flies back up to hover about three feet in front of the hoops. As the other team gains control of the ball, her arms go up in a defensive position, one that she has been taught through copious practicing. The girl still looks a bit green in the face, but is noticably shaking less as she watches the action. Her exhileration is beginning to overcome her nervousness.

Marie-Anna Greyton hovers close enough to get in the way of a bludger if it appears to be out to hit a Gryffindor, but she makes no move to try to stop them if they’re out to hit a RAvenclaw.

“N-noooo!” Gabriel cries as the Quaffle is intercepted and whisked away from him. “Oh no you don’t!” he yells, shooting after Bailey, hoping to catch up with him and regain possession of the Quaffle for Gryffindor.

His cheeks turning crimson, Riley pulls himself back on to his broom with no small effort — immediately glad that he’d done so well with chin-ups in muggle grade school. “Yeah, yeah, dandy, Clavy,” he calls out, once he’s he’s secured himself back on to his broom, and pulled his back back in to his hands. The confidence and bravado of his anger suddenly gone, he pushes forward.. Allowing himself enough time to flash a half-dark, half-embaressed sort of look at Professor Walsh, Riley returns himself to the game. His movements nowhere near as quick or sure, but much more controlled.

“Ugh, Riley!” Tegan shouts as she gets knicked in the hand by the bludger before she manages to whack it towards Gabriel. She grabs onto the hand that got hit by the black sphere and frowns hard at her teammate. “Haven’t you been listening at all?” she snaps at him irritably, clutching her hand for the pain in it. Deciding that she would get it looked at later, the beater, rears her bat back up, waiting to see where the bludgers end up next.

Curse it! They were beaten away! Landon makes a dive and manages to hit the bludger hit by Tegan. He aimed it straight towards Noémie and it sails quickly through the air, displaying the force it was hit with. Landon supposes he probably should have waited until someone on his team was in immediate danger, but that could take too long. It was much more likely to hit a Ravenclaw if it was aimed at one.

Clavicle Gravely is lagging behind the quaffle chase, So he’s actually in good position as he never got so far down the pitch to chase the quaffle, going after Riley. He zips towards the Gryffindor hoops. “I’m open!”

Van Douglass is more nervous about Gabe and Josh then anyone else, throwing up an arm to attempt and block the approaching bludger rather then abandon her post just as her teammate moves in front of her. Not noticing the other one coming from Landon, the girl pushes out from behind Tegan to once again have a view of the field. When she does notice it, she swoops back behind Tegan until the girl beats it away, at which time she comes back out. Nope. She wasn’t as cowardly as the other keeper at all.

Josh MacLean yells, “No!” at the interception, and zooms closer towards Gabriel, trying to stay in an easy throwing distance to his fellow chaser, but not actively going back for the quaffle himself, until Clavicle shouts out from near the Gryffindor hoops and Josh lowers himself to his broom to get more speed as he flies towards the path the ball will probably take if thrown to Clavicle.

“Argh!” Andy ‘articulates’ under his breath as the pass is intercepted. He whirls round to try to get the quaffle back as he hears – and a split second later sees – a bludger fizzing behind him. Maybe he could redirect it to a Ravenclaw. Andy races down towards David and crosses his way, touching the tip of the Ravenclaw’s broom slightly. He looks back to see if it was a successful attempt, still rushing across the field.

Riley Markham shifts his gaze toward Landon, then the bludger than he struck. Tegan’s shout ringing in his ears, frustration and embaressment gripping him at nearly equal measure. Darting upward, he moves in a quick attemp to put himself between the bludger and Noémie, to perhaps reclaim some of his honor. Bat ready to knock the cannonball back at Landon with as much force as it was struck. Calm the bloody hell down, Riley.. you can do this..

Noémie is not ignoring the action of the game so much as to miss that there is a bludger flying in her direction. She quickly flies away from where the bludger is, but had not spotted it fast enough to avoid it altogether. The bludger knicks the front of her broom, tacking a good six inches off of the tip of it. “You’ll pay for that!” She hollers as she rocks back and forth unsteadily on her broom. The usually graceful Noémie looks decidedly displeased as she manages to move herself out of the bludger’s return trajectory.

“Argh!” yells David, nearly hit by the second-year Gryffindor. “That’s a foul!” he yells, and as a result looses sight of the Quaffle for a split second. Upset by the near miss, he only realizes a couple of seconds later that the Quaffle is still in Bailey’s hands… but for how long? He flies towards the Gryffindor goals, trying to catch up with the other Gryffindors who were beginning to build a defensive wall.

A day late and a galleon short, as they say. Riley‘s attempt to intercept hadn’t been quick enough, and the bludger is missed by centimeters off the end of his bat. This was going quite splendidly for him, wasn’t it. As the end of Noémie’s broom is clipped, Riley winces violently, flashing her an appologetic “I did the best I could” sort of look, before swinging back for the bludger’s return path. The same mantra he’d been repeating when the took off play in his head, he flashes Landon a somewhat harsh look before lifting his bat and swinging again. The crack errupting from his bat colliding with the ball something like thunder. Maybe the destruction of part of his Captain’s broom helped bring focus, but his aim is true, sailing quick and fast at Landon. He can do it.

Keelan Walsh is alert and not wondering if she will have to start muttering about Astra needing potions ingredients, honestly. Almost missing the collision, it isn’t until David yells foul that she realizes he’s right. Her faces falls a little as she blows her whistle and announces, “Foul! Penalty shot to Ravenclaw!” A small frown, and she waits for the attempt to be made. Sigh.

Oh no, a penalty shot! Briony has not had much practice at all with this, and her eyes are wide as Keelan announces this. The girl grips her broom rather more tightly than she needs to, her knuckles turning white. Okay, Briony, time to show your skill, your merit. Aw, hell, just try to block the shot. She tries to think encouraging shots, though she has a hard time of it, knowing that two of the keepers on Ravenclaw aren’t first years at quidditch as she is.

Clavicle Gravely turns and wanders over to the side he’s supposed to stay on while a penalty shot is being finalized. he hovers a bit and grins “AUK AUK!!!!”

What? A foul? That would simplify things for David. The Ravenclaw chaser, still holding the Quaffle, now has a free way towards the penalty line. Once he reaches the line, hovering for a while to decide to which hoop he’ll throw the ball, he finally turns his broom to the right, feinting a shoot to the right hoop, but in reality throwing it to the left hoop.

Yes, the second year has seen shots like this before, but in her nervous distraction, she mistakenly begins to dive to her right, where David has first begun to shoot before realizing that the red orb is heading the other direction. Quickly pulling on the end of her broom to attempt the block for the other hoop, she nearly falls off of the flying mechanism just as the quaffle flies through the hoop with a loud CLANG! Briony‘s face falls and reddens as she rights herself on the broom and centers herself again. No, this was not a good start.

Keelan Walsh watches Briony miss with a wince, and the announcer gives a booming “Point to Ravenclaw!” but she flies in to collect the Quaffle and resume play. With another blow of the whistle, she does just that, and quickly removes herself from the thick of things while she’s at it. A sympathic glance to the Gryffindor Keeper is all she spares.

A loud groan escapes Riley as the foul is called, of course momentarily pausing the bludgers, including the one he’d clobbered at Landon. The one good hit he’d had, the one that was bound to actually have a positive effect. The air seems to slip from him and his shoulders slump. And he makes the horrendous mistake of looking back toward the faculty stands, as David shoots. Catching the surpremely dissapointed gaze of his grandmother from the corner of his eye. Yeah, that about did it. At the moment, there was nothing more he wanted than to land, find some great rock and crawl under it to die. The fight gone from him almost totally.

Clavicle says, “AUK AUK!!!” the chaser yells as he does a 720 on the broom. He then watches to see who will take possession of the quaffle.”

Giving a cheer as Bailey makes the score, Tegan starts flying a bit as the play resumes again as normal. Well, it was something, and it put them ahead, even if it was Gryffindor’s own fault that Ravenclaw even had the penalty shot. Spying a bludger heading down towards her end of the pitch, Tegan flies quickly towards the black object and gives it a hearty WHACK! She sends it towards the captain of Gryffindor team, trying a different tack rather than attacking the chasers or keeper.

Josh MacLean curses under his breath as the penalty is called, and scowls and repeats himself as Briony misses the shot, but once the whistle blows, he is all business once again, or even moreso now that they’re down a point and Josh is a bit angry. Ascending and zooming towards the quaffle, he grabs it, slowing down to glance around and try to spot one of the other chasers.

“It’s okay, Bri!” Gabriel shouts from across the field, though he doubts she could possibly hear him across that distance and amid all the noise. Looking the other way to Josh, Gabe sees his teammate in possession of the quaffle and flies up towards the Ravenclaw goals again. “Josh!” he calls again as he passes by.

Marie-Anna Greyton cringes slightly as she makes note of the score, a shake of her head is given before she spots the incoming bludger and aims to take a whack at it. Unfortunatetly for Marie, two things went wrong with this intent, the first one being, she was too close to the bludger to hit it properly, therefore resulting in it hitting her shoulder. The second thing, the black orb was hit too hard and was going too fast for Marie to maintain her balance, so not only did it hit her shoulder, and, quite possibly, break it, it also knocked her off her broom to the ground below. Upon landing the captain wrinkles her nose. “That’s gonna hurt in the morning,” is muttered as she stands to make her way off the pitch.

“Yeah! That’s for you Gryffindors!” cheers David, as Bailey manages to score a goal. When the Quaffle is put into play once again, David concentrates and turns his broom towards Gabriel. David had difficulties to steal a Quaffle from someone, but covering another player is easier. He hopes to catch the Quaffle as it is thrown towards him, or at least turn Gabriel into a tactically useless player for Gryffindor.

Sharp eyes spy the bludger heading straight for him. Yeegads! Luckily it pauses at the penalty shot is taken, but once play resumes it hurtles straight for him. Without missing a beat Landon lifts his bat and stops the bludger and reverses it’s flight. Of course, the force of the stop and hit combined chipped a hunk out of the top of his bat, but Landon doesn’t seem to be worried about it. He’s studying the bludger closely to make sure it takes out Noémie just as it has been aimed to do. He is forced to tear his eyes away, though, as Marie-Anna takes a hit. The Gryffindor boy is now the team’s only beater, and that could be a problem.

Well, Tegan‘s shot was successful, much to her own surprise, and the bludger in true form comes flying back in her direction. As it approaches she rears back and chucks it directly towards Josh, who seems to be the most agressive Gryffindor chaser at the moment. The girl rotates her shoulder a bit as she watches to see whether the bludger indeed goes where she indended for it to go or whether she ought to start flying to intercept it again.

Bailey is still lagging behind the zone of interest, due to the fact that he was the one who shot the penalty and thus has to cover the distance between him and the middle of the pitch where the Quaffle is. He pushes his broom forward, trying to get some speed, and hoping that nobody would have the bad idea to send a Bludger against him.

Clavicle Gravely pours on the sandsweepers speed to try to go help cover the hoops and try to snag the quaffle. He pours on too much speed and flies dangerously close to the hoops. It takes him a moment to recover and he looks for the quaffle.

Riley Markham had remained fairly near Noémie while the penalty shot had been made, so it doesn’t take much for him to place himself between it and the Ravenclaw seeker. He is, after all, quite quick. And he brings up his broom and deflects the bludger back with an annoyed expression. His hit is strong, even though he doesn’t place all his weight in to it. The aim is poor, however, flying wide of Landon by several feet, sailing instead toward the Gryffindor seeker.

Andy hangs his head as the penalty has been called and sweep aside as it is performed. Not watching the first Ravenclaw goal he feels like having a big chunk of stone in his stomache. But as the game action sets in again, Andy sees Josh carrying the quaffle and tries to fly ahead of him to be the preferred receiver. “Josh!” Andy calls.

Josh MacLean doesn’t notice the captain go down, being preoccupied with having the quaffle in hand. He chews on his bottom lip, Gabriel is covered, where the heck is Andy? His searching is interrupted, though, by the glimpse of something black, metal, and moving very fast in his peripheral vision, too fast… Josh turns slightly, unable to get out of the path of the bludger, and is hit in the stomach, at which point he drops the ball, doubling over in pain and wobbling precariously on his broom as he floats towards the ground.

Tybalt Holmes flips his hair back and winks at his girls as he soars around the stadium for all to see. So, of course he doesn’t see the bludger that is heading straight for him! It connects with his shoulder and sends him spinning around in circles so fast that he is nothing more than a red and gold blur for a few seconds. Several groups of girls sprinkled throughout the audience scream in horror as their pretty boy is shot down. He floats down towards the ground for a bit before he regains his head a bit. “YEEGADS, LANDON!” He shouts across the pitch and he grabs his shoulder with one hand and rests his forehead against the handle of his broom. But, after a few moments he lifts his head and throws both of his arms up into the air (One of the making a sickening POP as it is raised) and he shouts, “But I’m OK!” and his girls shriek and clap excitedly. Now, he needs to go back to finding the snitch. That bludger is now flying off towards Clavicle and it doesn’t appear as though it’ll bother him twice in a row.

“Good one, Riley!” Noémie calls encouragingly to the beater with a wave. She has managed to pick off the sharpest bits off of the end of her now-shorter broom, and appears to be paying a bit closer attention to the game, knowing that she has not got the same flying advantage as usual. Momentarily, Noémie thinks she spots a glint of gold near to the ground and begins flying downwards, around the center of the pitch so as to avoid her teammates who are attempting to get the quaffle and make shots. She manages to get the feel for the less-than-whole broom as she comes down, but her lack of control at the start had her taking too long to get to the ground and the snitch is now gone again. Grumbling quietly, the fifth-year makes her way back up above the commotion to see if she can’t spot the snitch again.

“Aaah!” shouts Gabriel as he sees Josh hit, bringing both hands to his head, each grasping his hair. Without hesitating anymore, Gabe grips his broomstick and heads downwards, trying to catch the Quaffle before it falls down completely. Gabe comes up with it, hurling it at Andy. “Go!” he shouts after the haphazard throw.

ACK! Landon‘s losing it! He was speeding off towards Tybalt in hopes of grabbing that bludger and he completely forgot about the one headed for Josh. “Sorry!” Of course, it doesn’t sound sincere, or anything. Landon‘s not capable of that. He flies off after the bludger and smacks it with one sharp movement. It hurtles off, after Riley. Take that!

Wow. That’s got to hurt! David watches Josh falling down, but remembering the advice given him during the practices, he turns his eyes back again on the Quaffle. That Gryffindor player who nearly downed him a few minutes ago now has it. David turns his broom in his direction and pushes it into full speed. Ravenclaw has scored a penalty, but David is still decided to show Andy personally what he thought of his flying skills.

Riley Markham arches a brow.. watching the bludger collide with Tybalt with a hint of surprise and growing satisfaction. It didn’t quite ease the void that had grown in the pit of his stomach, but it did make him feel sizably better about things. “Thanks,” he calls back to Noémie, though the cockiness is gone from his tone. You can do this, just stay calm. As Noémie goes in to dive, and knowing that her broom is damaged — Riley makes a last second choice. Considering he just winged the Gryffindor seeker, if Noémie has seen the snitch, she’d become a target. Turnning his broom, he plays point, matching her descent, keeping himself between she and the Gryffindor keeper. As Landon smashes one at him, he lifts his bat to simply bunt the bludger away, pushing it almost gently in the direction of Tegan.. “Madison, heads up, ammo coming!” He shouts. He could salvage this.. he could pull himself out of the grave, or at least out from under the rock.

Keelan Walsh watches the game with a masked but growing concern. The Gryffindor team really seems to be getting smashed up, but so far it hasn’t been in the appeaance of a foul. She is, however, watching the Ravenclaws like a hungry predator, just waiting for one of them to do something that is actually against the rules.

Bargaining for Gabriel saving the quaffle from fumbling again Andy positions himself away from the other Ravenclaw chasers and the bludgers trajectories. As Josh is floating down he notices his captain lying on the floor, either. “Fair enough.” he mutters and sees the flying quaffle from the corner of his eye. And it’s flying perfectly. Andy boosts up his speed at snatches the quaffle out of the air, not thinking about his actions, just letting it flow. Like a falcon bringing its prey to the nest… Andy shakes his head slightly to redeem this flow of his consciousness, though it got him in a quite more cheerful mood. He races towards the opponent’s hoops and clinges to his broomstick, the quaffle under his arm.

Clavicle Gravely wasn’t paying attention to the bludger, but sees it at the last moment! He blinks and takes off, but he’s too close for the bludger to target someone else. “HEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPP!” he cries as he takes off….the bludger mere inches from him. It’s not a rogue bludger, just too close to find a new target. “RIIIIIILLLLEEEYYYYY!!!!!”

His head swimming, Josh reaches the ground near the edge of the pitch, where he staggers off of his broom and promptly vomits on the ground in front of him. His expression pained, he remounts his broom, wincing but determined to stay in the game, and rises slowly back towards where the action is, his eyes wary, watching for bludgers.

Bailey finally comes to the Ravenclaw end of the pitch, and flies towards the hoops, attempting to prevent Andy from having a clear view of the goals. He is essentially acting as a secondary goalie, flying in front of, and a little below, the Ravenclaw keeper.

Having had to entertain herself for the last few minutes, dear Van takes a few moments to realize that Andy is approaching. Hurriedly, she tries to finish up adjusting her pony-tail to prepare to actually do something. She grips her broomstick with one hand, keeping the other open and braced for blocking. Which hoop? Whiiich hoop?

David flies behind Andy, reducing the distance separating him from the Gryffindor, and soon flies to his side. Were they not wearing robes of different colors, one would nearly think they were two players of the same team flying in a perfect formation. David then releases the grip of the broom with his left hand, and extends his arm to try and punch the Quaffle out of Andy’s grasp.

Josh MacLean gains speed, his expression still uncomfortable and his face greyish as he flies over to the Ravenclaw side, about as far from the hoops as Andy but on the opposite side, raising up an arm and calling over “Andy! Right here!” in a somewhat hoarse voice.

Seeing the bludger coming her way, Tegan rears her batting arm back and then brings it forward, hearing the bat connect with the bludger with a mighty WHACK. She watches as she aims the ball directly for Andy, hoping to slow him down to a degree by whacking either him or his broom with the sphere.

Landon spies the bludger right off, and speeds towards it. He’s hot in its trail and ready to beat it away from Andy as soon as he catches up. It’ll take some speed, though. He presses his chest flat against his broom until he can bring himself between the bludger and his teammate. *WHACK* And it soars off in David’s direction.

Riley Markham glances back with Clavicle’s shriek and exhales a rather loud groan. “NECKFRICHZT!” (A gobledegook word whose definition is best left undisclosed) He growls, wheeling about on his broom without thought and kicking up. Laying close to his broom, acting on instinct, he blazes daringly close to Clavicle. Close enough that his robes might brush the fellow second year’s face. And without pondering it, he gives the bludger a might stroke, sending it again, unintentionally, at the Gryffindor seeker.

Spotting the snitch again, this time, near the Hufflepuff bleachers, Noémie starts flying quickly in that direction as fast as her broom will take her. (She’s definitely going to have to replace the broom now, thanks to the Gryffindor beaters.) The fifth year speeds her way across the pitch, eyes focussed only on the little golden ball across the way as she keeps her right hand out in front of her, leaning close down to her broom to increase her speed.

The whole scene seems to center around Andy. Everything seems to slow down and last for minutes instead of seconds. David approaching from the right, Josh waving to his left and the bludger rushing towards him. “It’s hopeless.” Andy thinks. But just at this moment Landon knocks away the bludger and everything seems to be colored brighter than before and seconds become seconds again. He notices David’s hand shooting towards the quaffle and reacts by doing a braking sharply and slinging the red ball into restored Josh’s direction.

Clavicle Gravely grins thankfully “Good one markham.” he flips around and a sparrow bounces off his head. “Oww!” he grins and zips back towards the holder of the quaffle. “Great save Markham!”

WHAM! Again, poor Tybalt Holmes is smacked by a bludger square in the chest. Or, is it the same bludger. Really, he’s not keeping track. He’s winded as he spins around in a red and gold blur. Once he stops, he spies Noémie speeding towards the snitch! He’s got to get it. He tilts his broom in the correct direction and shoots off like a bullet. But despite his determination he’s going down, down, down, down. . .down. He collides with the ground so sharply that his broom is stick at a forty-five degree, angle, and Tybalt does a summersault as he rolls off and faceplants in the dirt. He’s gone black. The Gryffindor seeker is down and out. Tybalt‘s fan girls shriek in horror and all run towards the front of the stands. The reach out, leaning over the railing as though it the just reach far enough they can save him. They’re in hysterics now. Someone is going to pay later. Poor Tybalt.

Josh MacLean‘s eyes widen in alarm as he sees the bludger near Andy, shouting out, “Lookout!” on reflex, but apparently that wasn’t needed, and Josh breathes a sigh of relief in the second between the bludger getting hit away and Andy lobbing the ball at him. He catches it well, and without missing a beat, throws it at the left hoop.

Riley Markham frowns slightly, wheeling about to float momentarily beside Clavicle, watching the bludger blaze in the direction of the Gryffindor Tybalt — and looking somewhat satisfied as it connects with Tybalt’s chest. “Not really, eh? I was aiming fer that prat,” he mutters, motioning with his bat toward Andy, before turning on his broom and moving to place himself physically between Noémie and the Gryffindor seeker. Hopefully causing him to vere off. With Noémie’s broken broom, any number of seconds he could shave off of Tybalt’s flight might help Ravenclaw’s captain the win. And if nothing else, Riley had proved he could fly fast enough to at least put himself in the way of things. He might not be able to hit them, but he could get in the way.

Mere seconds pass between Tybalt’s unfortunate connection with the ground and Noémie‘s connection with the snitch. Her hand closes around the golden object and she lets out an exhuberant ‘Whoop!’ as she flies around the Hufflepuff bleachers, holding the small golden ball up in her right hand triumphantly. Ravenclaw has won the game! Noémie flies down to the pitch, Her broken broom in one hand and the snitch in the other, holding both up in the air. Yes, this was a good start for Ravenclaw’s Quidditch season.

Briony‘s face falls as she sees that the Ravenclaw seeker has managed to get hold of the snitch. Gryffindor has lost their first match of the season. The second year cannot help but feel slightly responsible for the game’s result and flies down to the pitch rather slowly, getting off her broom and wiping her eyes rather dejectedly. So much for lucky robes. She will not cry, she will not cry… except she already is. Rather than wait for the rest of her team, Briony retreats back into the school, intent on hiding out in the lockers for a while until she feels a bit better.

Clavicle Gravely sees her catch it and he hollers “AUK AUK!!!!” and does a circle around Noémie.

Van Douglass rears on her broomstick, using her own weight to swat at the quaffle with her broom’s end. She too doesn’t miss a beat… in hitting it right back in Josh’s direction. Her expression slowly melts away to one of complete horror, that is, until it is taken over by her smile after Noémie catches the snitch. She moves away from the hoops, motioning for Josh to take his best shot if he likes. What with it not mattering.

As Andy has just been about to switch into a celebrating mood, because his action seems to develop into a goal, he just gets his next and last punch into his stomach, because he hears the resounding noise coming from the standings. Even the most of it from the Ravenclaw bleachers. Andy looks up and sees Noémie commemorating the victory. He shrugs, looking to Josh and Gabriel with a miserable face and heading for the ground.

Riley Markham pulls up as Tybalt collides with ground, smirking softly to himself, the soles of his shoes almost brushing the blades of grass. He shifts his gaze toward Noémie as the Ravenclaw crowd roars, and rather carelessly hops off his broom as it still moves, stumbling foward a few steps.

“Hurrah!” Tegan calls exhuberantly, waving her bat around cheerfully as she sees that the team seeker and captain has caught the snitch. She flies down and runs with her broom quickly towards Noémie, enveloping her in an excited hug, screaming rather loudly with excitement. “We win! We win! We win!” Laughter mixes with her screams as she happily clings to the captain.

Narrowly avoiding the Quaffle that locked on him instead of Andy, David lets out a cheer when he understands that the match has finished. Ravenclaw has won! “AUK AUK!” he yells, finally surrendering to the peer pressure set by Clavicle and the others.

“Ooof,” Noémie responds, being enveloped in Tegan’s arms. “Yes! Go Ravenclaw!” the usually reserved fifth year yells, waving around her fist with the snitch caught up in it still. She drops her broom to the ground. She’ll worry about that later, right now — they are the winners! “Good job, team!” Her elation is clear by the wide grin on her face.

Landon pants slightly as he rests his head against the stick of his broom. Sheesh, that game was tiring. This is why Quidditch has two beaters. He needs a nap now. But, of course, he has a terrible feeling that a hoard of angry Tybalt fans are going to want to tar and feather him. Hopefully, though, they’ll choose to fawn over him in the hospital wing, first.

Keelan Walsh gives a whistle to officially end the game, and collects the balls (either by summons or a player simply bringing them) back to their holding places until they’re needed next. “Excellent game,” she murmurs to any who go by, though her tone is considerably sulkier than one would expect from a mature grown woman.

Riley Markham is blissfully ignorant of Tybalt fans, luckily, as he makes his way over to the team, after collecting up his broom. His expression pleased, but somewhat subdued. He has resumed his practice of not looking back toward the faculty bleachers, and seems to be breathing fairly hard, even for the amount of excersize he just recieved.

Josh MacLean glares fiercely at Van, trying to resist the childish urge to stick his tongue out at her. Instead, he scowls unpleasantly, catching the quaffle and holding it far away from his injured abdomen as he descends to the ground and hands it to Professor Walsh. Walking over towards Andy, he groans. “Absolutely d-destroyed,” he comments. “And I think… I p-probably should head to the hospital wing.”

Van Douglass blushes as Josh glares at her, smirking a little as she floats gracefully to the ground to join her team in their celebration, cheering happilly.

Once he’s on the ground, Landon drags his feet over towards the spot where Tybalt is currently flopped and he pokes the boy a few times with the ends of his shoe. “Anyone care to help me cart him off to the Hospital wing, or something?”

“Nice shot, though.” Andy tries to encourage Josh and adds “I hope Nova will be back next time. I’ll come with you to the castle. I really need a shower now.” But as he passes Landon. “Ahm, sure, wait a second.” Andy fastens his belt and puts on of Tybalt’s arms around his neck.

Clavicle says, “Ravenclaw Ravenclaw AUK AUK AUK!!!!” he lands and joims the throng around Noémie”

Melvina Prichard walks out on to the pitch quietly, striding across the small grouping of damaged Gryffindor players, nodding the each in turn as she passes, “Well played,” she murmurs, congenially, to each. Keelan is similarly offered a small, polite nod. But her path across the field is fairly direct. And without wasting a word or movement, she finds Riley’s side and lays a hand down on his shoulder. Not so much lays, grips. Grips down on his shoulder, meaningfully, even though he gaze finds the Ravenclaw captain. “Well played, Miss Ribouet. Nothing less than I’d expect from a Bones descendant.”

Clavicle Gravely Blinks “Bones Descendant?” he steps forward. “Who’s a Bones descendant? The Bones are closely tied to the Gravely’s.. or were around the Goth invasion of Rome.”

Josh MacLean steps alongside Landon. “I’d help, but I, uh, wel, y-y-you two got it. I’ll walk with you, though, we’re all heading to the same place, anyways.” As the headmistress passes, he shrugs, and gives Andy a small smile. “If I’da been paying attention I wouldn’t have g-gotten hit in the stomach.” And he blanches. “Oh, no, I just puked in front of the entire school…”

“Thank you, Headm– what was that?” Noémie faulters over her speech halfway through, glancing to her headmistress and around at her celebrating teammates. Perhaps she had misheard. “What was that you said, Headmistress? I think I missed it.”

With a flip of his wand, Landon levitates the rest of Tybalt. “Come on, then.” He nods and motions his head towards the castle as he makes his way slowly across the field. “It’s fine, Josh. Come on, you’re going to the infirmary, too.” Of course, it is at this time a horde of fan girls decide to flood the field, and crowd around the trio carrying their fallen hero. They have their hoods up and sob on each other as they traipse across the field. Man, you’d think he died or something.

“I am, Mister Gravely,” Melvina replies, glancing to Clavicle with a slightly arched brow. “And Mister Markham, and Miss Robouet, more importantly.” Clavicle’s brush on geneology brings a faintly amused smirk to her lips. “Indeed, most all of the pureblood families are intermingled eventually. The Bones family is one of the oldest. Naturally, the Gravely and the Bones intermingled juncture, though as you said it was a great deal ago, on another branch of the family. Miss Ribouet’s relation is a but more, immediate, let us say.” Shifting her gaze toward Noémie, she grins, almost absently. “Second cousins, I believe. Once removed? I’d have to look at the tree again to be entirely sure. You and my Riley, I mean. Never the less, dear, well played. We must be off, an appointment to make, you see.”

“Oh no.” Andy moans as the horde of girls rushes towards and surrounds them. “Let’s get him there quickly.” he emphasizes and pushes the levitated Tybalt towards the castle. “Move!… Get out the way!” Andy keeps on repeating as the procession gets going.

Clavicle Gravely blinks at Pritchard. “You are a Bones? Wow! Er.. that means we’re related.. on a cousin aunt or uncle side.” he hmmms. “I could be your Uncle! Er…ma’am.”

“What, really?” Noémie‘s face is rather blank as she is informed of her family ties to, well, anyone, really. Noémie has known none of her family, save for Arnauld Ribouet and his parents, who are a part of her father’s family who were also ostracized. She is not able to react to Melvina any more than this however as the Headmistress makes her way off the pitch again, Riley in tow. Riley and Melvina were related? Noémie is shocked by this, and rather than celebrating with her team, now wanders into the school, seeming rather dazed and now distracted. She’s definitely going to have to think about this. And owl her parents. Yes, perhaps she would send owls. Truth be told, Noémie isn’t exactly sure where she’s wandering.

Melvina Prichard shakes her head toward Clavicle. “Perhaps, thirty or forty times removed. There are several branches of the Bones family. The one from which I hail has shied away from Gravely blood. The carnival nature, mind. I don’t think it suited their more.. refined, tastes.” She doesn’t waste anymore time, however, pushing Riley off. Not even allowing him a moment to react to the startling news.