Spectator: Slytherin V Hufflepuff Finished

interactions | @Elliot Price, @Dymphna Teague, @Ruthie Greer, @Max Avery

Eris looked at the professor who had talked to her, nearly falling onto her butt in sheer confusion. He seemed to be laughing at what she had said! But, Eris wasn't very trusting of any of the adults at Hogwarts. She gave the nameless professor a thumbs up, a distrustful expression on her face. Her lips pursed together into a frown, as Eris waited with bated breath for a moment. She expected him to do something, maybe point a wand at her or start teasing Eris. There was no way he was actually laughing at her joke. No adult at Hogwarts was cool enough to join in on a joke without an ulterior motive. Wordlessly, she slid further away from Elliot Price, not wanting to interact with a professor. Adults at Hogwarts weren't trustworthy in the slightest. For all she knew, he could have been trying to gain Eris's trust and then jinx her! She wasn't going to take any risks. Not when she was here to cheer on her friends.

As she turned away to go find a spot away from the prying eyes of adults, Eris missed most of the action in the game. Locating where she had spotted Max before, Eris barked out a laugh at the sight of her best friend engulfed by blonde-haired Ravenclaws. That was, however, before she noticed one of them was Dymph. Eris was filled with excitement over seeing her friend, until she noticed how evidently gorgeous Dymph had become. She had always been beautiful, but Eris had never really noticed. She didn't start putting stock into beauty until this year and seeing the half veela made Eris instantly jealous.

Eris paused what she was doing to stare at Dymphna. Self consciously, Eris looked at her own red-hair and wordlessly put it up in a bun. How had Dymphna gotten so beautiful? It was all Eris noticed for a moment, her envy growing by the moment. Eris halfway expected her face to grow green with envy. She wished for a moment to be Dymphna, suddenly wanting to avoid the conversation going on. Angry at herself for being so short and so behind on puberty, Eris debated changing her features but remembered that Max knew her well enough to detect a change in her appearance.

It wasn't Dymphna's fault that she was so adult-looking and pretty. Eris just felt jealous that she didn't look that way too. But, just because she was jealous didn't mean that Eris could stop talking to Dymphna completely or run away from the game. Sighing, shoving down the unwanted emotions, Eris wormed her way into a spot next to Dymphna and Max, nodding her head towards Ruthie. Because she was so small, Eris found it was easy to cram herself into the row that her friends were sitting in, even if she did have to stomp on a few people. God bless rainbow combat boots.

A smile on her face, the only sign of her inner turmoil being her faintly red cheeks, Eris looked around. "Well shit! This looks like a party in the making! Max, Dymph, and random screaming girl! My three favourite people." There was nothing malicious in the way she called Ruthie random screaming girl, rather an amused expression and a giggle. It was better to be around people her own age than creepy professors.

An oversized banner was heavier than one might expect. The first year lowered it slightly as she realized it might be better to wave it around at key moments. As she did so, she heard the boy nearby introduce himself as Max Avery and he asked if there was anyone they were here to support. He and Dymph were both here for Serena Towers and Alexx Severin, names that were unfamiliar to her. Older students she suspected as she knew Dymph was in 3rd or 4th year. "I don't know the other teams very well," she admitted sheepishly, aware that as a Quidditch player this was something she really should work on. "What positions are your friends playing then?" she asked, thinking that would be a start to getting to know the rosters.

From her expression, Dymphna seemed to recognize her. She was glad, and she hoped it was from Quidditch or the common room, anything but the taking-the-extra-life-and-proceeding-to-fall-into-the-lake-anyway attempt at Dodgeball. "Not bad," she replied, "It's always a good day when Quidditch is on. How about you?" Speaking of Quidditch, it seemed that Max played for Gryffindor as Keeper from Dymph's question. "Oh, great! I'm sure we'll see you on the pitch then," Ruthie said eagerly.

Then things seemed to turn more somber when Dymph mentioned Kyle's fall in the earlier game. Ruthie remembered it vividly. Kyle looked so strong and powerful; it had been a shock to see him fall, even if it had been to Ravenclaw's advantage. Exciting it had been at the time, but now it seemed more serious. Biting her lip, she wanted to express some sympathy, but she wasn't sure what would be the right words...if there were right words. Instead, she nodded silently in solidarity.

Her eyes were kept forward to focus on the match, when they were joined by another spectator, who seemed to share a similar talent for making an entrance. Red-headed and energetic, she greeted them all by name, except that Ruthie's name had been replaced as 'random screaming girl.' At first there was a slight flush on her cheeks, but that subsided once she realized that meant she was achieving her goal. "Gotta scream if we want players to hear," she said as she looked over at their new companion. Again, someone she didn't recognize but her height and features, she guessed she was closer to Max and Dymph's years. Still, she looked friendly. "I'm Ruthie," she introduced herself with a wave.

Interacting with @Dymphna Teague, @Max Avery & @Eris Fawley

“JUST WAIT TILL WE GET THE CHANCE TO WHOOP YOU ROOK!” his best friend shouted up from the bench and he offered a Grin as he continued to flail and make goofy gestures at her. Then, the Quaffle went into the the air and almost as if a switch was flipped his stopped goofing around instantly and his attention shifted from Santario to the Game proper. He watched the 6 chasers fight over the ball, the excellent hawkshead maneuver, followed by the great goal save and even better avoidance of the bludger. Then came the double beater attack on the large hufflepuff beater and he winced as the boy took the hits and was taken off his broom. It wasn't too long ago he had taken a bludger hit himself and was dismounted, and the event still left a sour taste in his mouth.

Speaking of taking bludger hits from behind him as he leaned on the rail he heard some girl he didnt know use his name.

"I hope DeRook’s doing alright. Nasty fall.”

Kyle cocked an eye brow and turned around and looked for the person the voice came from and his eyes landed on Dymphna. "Doing Just fine, Take more than a bludger to put this Lion Down." he flashed her a toothy grin and turned back around to face the Quidditch pitch, cupping his hands around his mouth as he shouted

"LETS SEE SOME CHAOS! WOOOOOO!"

Interacting with @Dymphna Teague

@Dymphna Teague | @Ruthie Greer | @Eris Fawley | @Kyle DeRook

"I am," Max confirmed, pleased that Dymphna shared friends in common with him. Now he knew why she'd seemed so familiar; Phaedra had mentioned that she was going to the girl's birthday party in her letter. He'd noticed the blonde before and had considered approaching her because rumour had it she was extremely smart, so it was a stroke of good fortune that they'd met up today. Besides, any friend of Phaedra's could be a friend of his as far as he was concerned - he trusted his best friend's judgement without question. Except for maybe that Wes Hart lad. "And you're Ravenclaw's Keeper, aren't you? Seems we have a lot in common already." His smile held genuine friendliness, which turned into a laugh when Kyle turned around at Dymph's words.

After he'd turned back to continue cheering, Max shook his head rather fondly. He was warming slightly to the Quidditch team after seeing the highs and lows of a game with them, and he had to admit it made his House spirit rise to play. "He's a lively one, that DeRook," Max continued to Dymph absentmindedly, kicking his feet up onto a chair and crossing his legs. "Good quality for a captain. Keeps team morale up."

He might've said more had Eris not approached, looking... stylish... in rainbow boots. He moved over only slightly to make room for her tiny frame, relaxing further at her presence in their small group of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. She was the perfect person to even out the red and blue, and he held out his fist for fist bump. "Well if it isn't my favourite Gryffindor Metamorph Seeker," he said with a smirk, purposefully being extremely specific. Despite everything bad that had happened these past couple of months, there was something... magical about watching Quidditch with a best friend and making more. It was like something straight out of a Harry Potter history book, and for the first time in a while he felt a pure sense of happiness.

"Alexx is a Slytherin chaser, Serena is Hufflpuff second-string seeker, Reid is a Hufflepuff beater," Max answered Ruthie, finding it funny himself that no one was cheering for one team in particular because they had friends in different Houses. "Don't worry, you'll get to know everyone; my bet is we'll all know the other teams by the end of the year. Would be cool if we had a massive Quidditch party for all the teams to meet each other. But for now, you're right. We gotta scream." He stood up and clapped both hands over his head, exuberant with how quick-paced the game was. "GET 'EM ALEXX! YOU'RE MY HERO, SERENA!" And, after a moment of hesitation. "DON'T DIE, KOVACS!" May as well help Dymphna cheer too. "YOU CAN DO IT, JULIE!" That girl, he didn't even know at all, but it was all in the spirit of good fun.

The smile on the older man’s face fell flat as his brow furrowed in confusion to match the expression of the red haired girl he attempted to joke with. If anyone looked closely they might spot a bit a flush on Elliot’s cheeks as she gave him an awkward thumbs up and scooted away to be closer to her friends. He gave her a quick wave and blinked away the confused look on his face as he turned back tot he pitch. Epic fail.

Just as he turned, Elliot spotted a blonde haired girl passing by with a rather large banner rolled up under her arms. “Good day, Professor.” She said with a wave. “Good day, Miss Greer.” He called backed with a police nod. He would find his smile again as she unrolled the banner to present a large Hufflepuff crest. 

It was then that an actual badger caught his eye. Elliot did a double take as he spotted it. At first it appeared that someone had charmed a large stuffed animal to wiggle around the stands. A deep and booming laugh would erupt from his belly as he realized it was one of the smaller children in a badger costume. Where on earth did they find that?! He thought to himself. “Well done!” He called out to Hufflepuff’s newest mascot as he clapped in approval. 

“Thank you, Professor Price!” Elliot turned back to see young Tharaldson acknowledging his compliment. “Would you mind if I took a seat next to you? Are you ready for the game? I myself am very excited for it. To watch the game live like this is so exhilarating don’t you think?”

“Of course lad, be my guest.” Elliot stood aside and gestured towards the empty seat next to him. “Yes indeed, my boy! There’s nothing quite like Quidditch season at Hogwarts and nothing beats seeing the match live. I can’t wait to see how this year’s teams shape up.”

It was as if their words had called the pitch into action, a whistle blasted and without further notice the balls were released! Elliot eyes snapped to the skies. “Ah ha! They’re off!” He called out in excitement. Immediately both teams chasers formed an arrow head formation as they hurtled towards the Quaffle. Elliot tapped Erik on the shoulder pointing up to the action. “Look there! Hawks Head Attack Formation on both sides! Brilliant!” The older man clapped and cheered as Hufflepuff gain the first possession. A flutter of excitement tore through his chest as they made their way to the goal posts. His right hand would smack the railing before him as the Slytherin keeper denied the Hufflepuff chasers a goal. “Good effort! Keep it up!” He yelled out to the field. 

A terrible crack tore through the air. Elliot turned to see the Hufflepuff Beaters smack a Bludger towards the Slytherin Keeper. Good strategy! He thought to himself, but despite their best effort the Keeper was able to dodge the blow. Elliot followed the Bludger as it whizzed of towards one of the Slytherin Beaters, the young girl gave a mighty swing and sent it crashing into the rather large Hufflepuff. “Oh!” Elliot winced as the Bludger connected. Another smack resounded across the sky as yet another Bludger was hurtled towards the same target and it too would strike. The impact of the two blows was too much for the Huffle as he fell from his broom and plummeted towards the ground. Elliot’s hand immediately reached for his wand, but with second thought he resisted the urge to help. The game handlers would take care of it. “Merlin’s beard! Down a player already.” 

The young boy jumped up from his seat in excitement. “Who are we sorry for? Hufflepuff, there’s no way you are rough. Who are we flying by? Hufflepuff, all you are is talk and fluff. Who are we sorry for? Hufflepuff, don’t you think you’ve lost enough.” Erik’s chant burst through the hands that cupped his mouth. Elliot peeked down towards the boy as the lad did his best to avoid eye contact. Cheeky bas...

Before Elliot could finish his thought, a flash of yellow robes tore off through the air. The Hufflepuff Seeker was giving chase. “Ha! Not so fast Mr. Tharaldson! She’s got her eyes on it!” He pointed in her direction.

Interactions: Eris Fawley, Ruthie Greer, Hufflepuff Mascot (Jake Morris), and Erik Tharaldson.

Open to further interactions.

Donny was beaming, yellow scarf and glove clad as he finally found his seat in the crowd of rambunctious students. He was so excited to finally see a game! Granted he wasn't a part of the team, but who says he has to be just like his father? Anyways, he grabbed bag of chocolate covered chestnuts. He sat down just as Quinn took a mad bludger from Slytherin! "Yikes!" Donny said, wincing and almost dropping his Hufflepuff flag. He couldn't imagine how his dad, or anyone for that matter could take a mean bludger like that one. "YOU CAN DO IT! GET UP! GO, GO BADGERS!"  he yelled over the crowd, the spirit flowing through him on the the first match of the year. He was, after all, a second year now, and this was the first match for him in a while, or at Hogwarts at least.

He took a mouthful of hot, sweet chestnuts and watched the players every move. How swiftly they moved... Like, like angels almost! Slytherin on the other hand moved like a bunch of bats coming for a rude awakening. He imagined himself on a broom, flying to the hoops, dunking the quaffle like the beast he was, swoosh!  He sat on the edge of his seat, waiting until their next move. All the players were in perfect position, what was the worst that could happen? 

Eyes glued to the game, Andrew made a few cringe faces as he witnessed a few players get knocked off their brooms, some of them not so lucky to be rescued than others. He watched as the fallen ones were tended to and whisked away by medical staff, and his sympathies went out to them, hoping they'd turn out all right in the Hospital Wing. Honestly, the brutality of this "game" was mind-boggling to him. How could this be legal? Not to mention those bludgers.. Weren't they made out of solid iron?! If one of them hit a player in the face…

Shaking off the worrisome thought, he tried his best to relax and 'enjoy' the rest of the game, fearing mostly for Dan's safety, more specifically Dan's feet, since the dude wasn't. wearing. shoes!

It was then he noticed a bit of an odd, swift movement in the crowd in front of him, and caught glimpse of a raised staff of a closed umbrella being wielded by Slytherin-clad student, as if they were going to hit the person next to them, only to halt mid-air with it, but - wait - was that…? Oh, no…

Spotting a flash of familiar silvery-gray fur on @Emerly Pine's shoulder before it disappeared into the boy's scarf, Andrew's eyes jerked wide open, and he whipped his head around, feeling his hands around his own scarf, which turned up empty and hollow, causing him to panic. His rat was nowhere near to be found, on or around him. Penelope had deserted her station. And now she was going to get herself killed by freaking out everyone! In the midst of all the stadium's deafening noise, there was no way Andrew's voice could be heard above them, as much as he wanted to shout and call out Penelope's name. Abandoning his seat, he immediately hopped to his feet and began squeezing his way through the rows of spectators, albeit painfully slow progress as he tried to hurry his way down to where [Emerly] was, hoping to catch Penelope before something else happened to her. . .

Meanwhile, Penelope's senses had alerted her to the trajectory of the umbrella that was prepared to come smashing down on top of her, and she dove into [Emerly's] scarf, burrowing within it to conceal herself. With Emerly's hands unraveling his scarf and Penelope finding her cover being peeled away, she wriggled through to the other side, popping out onto the boy's opposite shoulder and freeing herself from the cloth as soon as Emerly removed it. In his distracted/nervous state, perhaps Emerly wouldn't notice the rat still riding on his shoulder until a split second later, if he happened to glance her way; she'd glance back at him, almost as if she were shrugging innocently, oblivious to the amount of unease and disruption she had caused. But Penelope had had her fill of adventure for one sitting. Unfazed by the encounter, she'd scurry down from Emerly's shoulder, onto the ground, vanishing into the crowd behind Emerly… Only to reappear again, a few rows behind, scrambling her way up onto another boy's shoulder -- Andrew's shoulder -- who was startled yet relieved that Penelope had found her way back to him first.

Andrew had been working his way towards Emerly, recognizing Penelope when she emerged from the Emerly's scarf, onto his shoulder, guiding Andrew over to where she was, before the rat hopped down and disappeared again. If Emerly were to look behind and notice where --specifically whom-- Penelope had surfaced up at, Andrew would flash a smile and wave apologetically at Emerly, before retreating to his seat (which luckily hadn't been stolen during his absence). Sitting back down, he shot an annoyed glare at Penelope.

"Seriously?" He hissed. "You gotta cause trouble now? Do you want to be in a cage?"

Penelope poked her head out from beneath Andrew's scarf, tilting her shiny black eyes and tiny pink nose up at him with enough puppy-dog cuteness to melt his frustration away.

Andrew huffed resignedly. "Well next time I'm gonna put you in one, if you keep wandering around," he warned. "Now eat this and stay there." He held out a piece of popcorn for Penelope's paws to grasp hungrily, and resumed watching the game.

Interactions: Closed for now

[font=baskerville regular old face] @Max Avery @Ruthie Greer @Eris Fawley @Reid Kovacs

"We do," The blonde agreed. Despite how dangerous Quidditch could be, she was proud to have made the team and made a handful of new friends because of it. Her home life back in Malahide was a good one but Hogwarts truly was like her home away from home. An eye roll at Kyle's response then she was focused on the game again. The lack of protective gear the other players had was still troublesome, something she wouldn't have to worry too much about being a Keeper and all. She and Max got lucky.

Dymphna greeted Eris with a smile upon her arrival. While they were friends, they weren't particularly close yet. Maybe she would send her an owl later on and try to meet up with her sometime. If they had Quidditch in common, there were likely other things they could bond over. She shifted closer to her other new friend and Quidditch companion Ruthie. There would be plenty of time to get to know her better too.

As Max cheered, she noted that he was cheering for Reid and also Julie, who he didn't even know. "Thanks," she murmured, not knowing if he would understand why she wasn't cheering for them herself. Though it might not have caused any issue, she worried that any sort of scream would muck up the game, even a positive one like cheering for her friends. It was a risk that her family warned her about so instead, she chose to stay quiet. Not exactly a hard thing to do. She wasn't exactly a loud person to begin with.

"D'you think we could get a Quidditch party approved?" Dymphna knew just the person to ask, assuming they would need a chaperone. Her cousin Hjørdis might not necessarily want to do it but if she asked nicely then maybe she would. Having her there would make sure the party ran smoothly and didn't end in a disaster as the last one had. She frowned just thinking about it, watching Reid up in the sky. They were on good terms but she would apologize again during their next study session - in person apologies were hard but worth it. Owling him over the summer about it was efficient and insured that they were still friends, but it didn't feel right to not have a conversation face to face.

Wait... he felt a weight on his shoulder.
He turned and looked at the animal until it hopped off and scurried through the stands. Would it stop by the Hufflepuff with brown hair and a yellow sweater, or yet another Hufflepuff with dark hair who he remembered seeing smiling to himself earlier, the other one cheering, or maybe even someone Emerly remembered as one of the school professors? Emerly turned in his seat, trying to catch a glimpse of where it was going. He must have looked pretty ridiculous, as most of the action he should have been watching was taking place in the complete opposite direction.
A relieved look spread over his face as he saw the creature scramble up onto another student's shoulder. Thankful that was now all sorted out, Emerly gave him a thumbs-up, and turned back around to the game just in time to see a Hufflepuff get knocked off their broom.
He winced, obviously dismayed, "Ohhh..." He got up, trying to see through the crowd. Just how dangerous was this game? He gulped and looked over, trying to see if the fallen player would be attended to. Even if it was technically a plus for Slytherin, it bothered him a lot. Strangely enough, he suddenly felt the urge to give Hufflepuff a cheer too, so he did, "You can do it, Hufflepuff! Don't give up!" It was a little strange, to be cheering for both teams at the same time, but wasn't it just important that people were having fun, whether Hufflepuff or Slytherin? He clapped and whistled.

The aptly-named screaming girl had been spending most of her time, well, screaming. That and waving her banner furiously. Until Julie fell. The loud CRACK of a beater's bat sent her first year friend flying down and down and down again, seemingly picking up speed the faster and farther she went. Ruthie's eyes widened in fear as she actively watched the tumble, dropping her banner to the floor. Holding onto the railing, her backed in fear as she strived to get a head above the other and a clear view. Not that this was anything to get excited about. Quite the contrary, it was terrifying.

"Hufflepuff...someone...save," she cried out as she hit the top of her hand against the railing in protest of the inevitable. But it was too late. The first year was falling too fast and no one was quick enough to reach her in time. Ruthie winced when she saw her friend hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. She didn't want to think of the pain she'd be in once she got up. The girl that hit her looked older and strong as hell. It was likely she'd made some awful dents in the Hufflepuff's body.

Upset and unsure, she looked around at Dymph and the two new students she'd made acquaintances of in the past few minutes for some kind of reassurance. Quidditch was brutal. She knew that from playing against Gryffindor. She wanted to stay and watch--it would be useful for their next match against Slytherin if nothing else--but she felt torn by the compulsion to check on her injured friend. Reluctantly, she pulled on her robes and turned on her heel. "Let me know who wins. And about the party," she said to Dymph, trusting she'd hear about the match outcome at the next Quidditch practice. The looked back at Max and the other girl. "It was nice to meet you. I'm sorry, but I've got to check on Julie," she explained as she moved out of the row, leaving the banner abandoned the floor with its corners rolling up into itself.

Tag: @Dymphna Teague, @Max Avery & @Eris Fawley.
Action: Ruthie leaves the thread.