Spectator Broom Racing Hufflepuff v Slytherin - Spring 2025

May 3rd 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Colin McCoire @AngelFyre McCubbin and @Simon Kincaid

"Uff! This thing is heavier than I thought it would be--!"

Emily carted the banner behind her - or rather, dragged it behind her - as she made her way to the broom tracks that afternoon. While the thing was awkward to carry, it worked out better than to have three separate banners to make for the spring games. After learning Hufflepuff and Slytherin would be racing against each other, it meant Emily could smoosh three personalised banners into one. So that's what she did. A banner with an array of green and yellow sparkles of glitter, paint and chanted lettering was left out to dry the night before, ready for Emily to haul today to the big game.

"Ah-ha!"

She spotted the stands and made her way close to the front, given that she appeared to be one of the first to arrive. She unravelled the banner and planted it above her chair. She didn't even have to go searching for Colin, hearing him howling for her before she was even in her seat. She grinned as she showcased her banner to him, waving to AngelFyre and Simon and beaming when she got their attention as well:

SNAKE AND BADGERS, FEEL THE FLOW!
COLIN, AF, SIMON GO!

"Good luck out there!" she hollered, waving ecstatically to all three of them.

_{Word Count: 220}

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Strength: 6 | Evasion: 7 | Wisdom: 8 | Arc Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

Interacting with : Reducio @Emily Shephard, @Colin McCoire, @Kyra Banuelos + open to interactions!

Date: Reducio May 3, 2pm

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio Dark Green sweater, black skirt, black sandals. Hair in pigtail braids. Wand. Purple crystal pendant and tulip earrings.

Kaitlyn beamed as she gracefully climbed up the stands. She wanted a good view of the racers. This match was the Slytherin versus Hufflepuff match, and she wanted to cheer on her friends from Slytherin. Did she also know some of the racers on the Hufflepuff team? Of course. But her house was playing. That took precedence in her mind.

While she was not too familiar with most of the team, Kaitlyn knew Colin and the team’s newest member, Kyra. She wanted to show support for one of her newest friends and knew there was no way she was missing Kyra’s first game. As such, she made sure to arrive early so she could get a good seat.

The young Slytherin sat on a bleacher in the middle of the stands. Ignoring the weather, she wore a dark green sweater, a black skirt, and black sandals. Her brunette hair was tied in pigtail braids, with her wand tucked safely behind her ear. Her purple crystal pendant and tulip earrings sparkled despite the clouds.

Noticing Emily holding up a sign to root for Colin and some Hufflepuffs, Kaitlyn giggled. She waved to the Hufflepuff. “Hi Emily! Sweet banner, I should have thought of that!”

Kaitlyn cupped her hands near her mouth. “Good luck, Kyra! Good luck, Colin! Let’s go, Basilisks!” She shouted, cheering for her house. She beamed as she waited for the race to start, excited to see how it would play out! Hopefully, her house would be victorious, but only time would tell.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 254 words

Ava climbed the stands, finally able to watch a race without strategizing against her opponents. She wasn’t sure what exactly she was doing there in the first place, having dubbed herself as a bit of a recluse in the past month.

The closeness she had begun to achieve with some of her peers terrified her. She wasn’t sure what she was meant to do in a friendship where the idea of fun was talking rather than mischief. Emily and Colin: the two people she could talk to. Yet she found herself drawn to the quiet rather than the bustling lifestyle the two had adopted, rumours flying around the castle of their closeness. It seemed a new girl had captured Colin’s heart, unsurprising with the ease Colin seemed to trust others with.

Ava hated that in the back of her mind, she was waiting for something to break that spirit. He had certainly gone through rough patches, but she couldn’t help but wonder when he would make the switch from careless young teen to mature young adult.

She settled down in a spot near the back of the stands, fidgeting nervously. She wished she had thought to bring a book, or had wisely avoided the event altogether. Emily was holding a large sign Ava could only imagine was for Colin, and Kaitlyn was cheering nearby.

She pasted a smile on her face, the simple action seeming to lift her mood a little.

"Woo, go basilisks!" She cheered, leaning back casually and lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the early spring sunlight.

@Emily Shephard, @Colin McCoire, @Kaitlyn Connor

Joseph had never been to a broom race before. Why? He simply never saw the point in going to one. He wasn't a big fan of crowds, or cheering, or the simmering competitive spirit between competitors and spectators alike. As it happened, today's broom race coincided with Astra's nap time, and after much deliberation he decided that there were better things to do than stare at the quiet, resting form of his beloved pal.

Hopefully he wouldn't live to regret that decision.

Strolling into the stands, Joseph brushed a strand of hair aside, picking out a brown-haired girl holding a banner that made him instantly feel wildly underprepared for the occasion.

It read:

SNAKE AND BADGERS, FEEL THE FLOW!
COLIN, AF, SIMON GO!

AF? Simon? Joseph's head tilted slightly, his eyes gleaming with mild surprise. Well, that was new. He'd never known the prefect duo that had warmly welcomed him back to Hogwarts at the start of the term were broomracers. As for Colin... he was as familiar with the name as he was with the little fishes in the Great Lake.

Just five minutes outdoors and he was already learning something new.

The stands seemed relatively deserted, suggesting the Hufflepuff was probably earlier than expected. All the better, Joseph thought, grinning from ear to ear. He'd get the best seats to himself.

Finding a cozy spot with a good view near the front, Joseph settled down, fishing out a modest pair of binoculars. Not that he'd need them - but the poor things had been collecting dust in his trunk since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Frankly, they deserved an outing. Watching trunk-dwelling spiders dance all day to non-existent disco beats probably wasn't as fun as it sounded.

Cheers erupted from somewhere around him - passionate, encouraging, loud. Oh dear. Was he supposed to yell things too?

Yeah... this really wasn't his thing. Still, he'd stay for a little while. Until someone noticed how unenthusiastic he was. Or until he got hungry. Or bored. Whichever came first.

Nobody said anything about having to stay for the whole race, after all. But if Colin crashed into a tree, he didn't want to miss it. That'd be truly spentafricular.

Mentioning: @Emily Shephard @AngelFyre McCubbin @Simon Kincaid @Colin McCoire@Astra the rock

───═━┈┈━═─── 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗞𝗢] 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘 ───═━┈┈┈┈━═─── ○ 5'6 ꜰᴛ, ꜱʟᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʏᴘᴇ, ᴅᴇᴇᴘ ʙʀᴏᴡɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ, ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅᴇʀ ʟᴇɴɢᴛʜ ʜᴀɪʀ ○ ʜᴀɴɢʀʏ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ Reducio

Hanako slumped down in one of the available seats from the spectators stand. There was no way he was going to continue standing while watching this race. Not after finishing his own duel not too long ago. His injuries may have been healed, but the mental weariness was evident on his face. Did he come too early? Meh, well. It’s not like Wyatt was going to keep his eyes on Hanako through the duel.

He initially planned to just sit and pay attention to the race, silently. Hanako? Behaving? Wow, shocker. But frankly he really was too tired. Plus, he wasn’t really the sort to scream and cheer for someone he came to support. Wyatt knew his style. So Wyatt then probably wouldn’t find it at all surprising that when one of his teammates howled- and screamed for someone named ‘emi’ on the stands, well - Hana couldn’t really let the opportunity slip by.

Bringing his two fingers to help him make it louder, hoping to reach Starkey’s ears - Hanako would whistle shamelessly for a few long seconds before the team started the race. If Starkey made the right (or wrong) choice to look where Hanako was is, he would see the duellist cease his whistling , weaning a cheeky grin before blowing him a kiss and waving at him. Mouthing a ‘ don't die’ with his lips.

Even if he was tired, he could trust Wyatt to take a joke. These past 6 years of.. Their bond, had Hanako assure that. Or he could be completely wrong and Wyatt was ready to hex him after the match ended. But Hanako had enough spells flung at him today to care.

It's almost a shame Wyatt will have to pay attention to his duels instead of Hanako, but at least he wouldn’t be alone today. On the empty seat next to him, there was Hanako’s Omniculars.

Clearly, saving a seat for someone else.

The Day before (2nd May):
^{Sojackhassomethingtoworkwithwhentheycome}

Hanako was just about to get out of his room to set up the farewell party for the viridian vipers. But before he did, he turned to Jack. “Catch” , before throwing something up in the air towards Jack’s direction to catch. Once he did catch it, it showed a very familiar fox token.

“ I’m going to see Wyatt’s match tomorrow after mine. Going to the stands right after I’m all patched up so I won’t have energy, time nor the mood to get food. Meet me there with something tasty for me to munch on. And we’ll consider it even. That’s how the token works, right?” he tied his hair before turning back to Jack with a cheeky grin. “ You’re an expert in stalking me aren’t you? I’m sure you can whip up something good. See ya” He said casually before he left the room.

Well - if Jack comes, that was up to him. Hanako’s main focus is to come and support Wyatt, while relying on the other screeching students to keep him awake and be louder than the light grumbling in his stomach.

@Wyatt Starkey, @Jack Burnett

Open/Closed For Interaction

May 3rd 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Joseph Sims - @Kaitlyn Connor - @Ava Winchect - @Hanako Tone

Emily grinned when Colin and AngelFyre waved back at her, with Colin's well known howling travelling towards the spectator stand with them. That only made Emily wave back to them even more enthusiastically! She watched as they took their positions at the starting line, a tiny giggle escaping her when Colin began his broom antics, riding lazy circles around AngelFyre whilst talking up a good game.

A few others spectators came up and joined her in the crowd. She spotted Joseph and gave him her Huffie smile before he sauntered off, looking alien to the notion of a broom race. Emily knew the feeling. It took a bit of convincing before she went to see the last Slytherin broom race. Sports were just... Nah. Not really her thing. Looking at Joseph, she understood the sentiment well. Still, she hoped he'd enjoy himself all the same.

She heard Kaitlyn's voice behind her and gave her a wave, her smile stretching wider when Kaitlyn commented on her banner.

"Hehe! Some of my friends from both houses are in the race today, so I didn't know who to cheer for without singling out the other," she explained, laughing sheepishly. "I'm surprised I managed to get it made in time! Otherwise the banner would still most likely be dripping in undried paint by now...!"

Another Slytherin came and joined them - an older looking student by the looks of it - giving a cheeky whistle and grin to one of the Slytherin broom racers down below. Slytherin seemed to be all about howls, whistles and anything that's got to do with mouth noises, don't they? Ah, but that was also the beauty in friendships like that, wasn't it? Emily simpered at the banter playing out before her.

Riding the coat tails of Slytherin spectating was--

"AVA!"

Seeing Ava Winchect approach her in the stands had Emily drop all attention and rush over to glue herself to her in a tight hug. She hadn't seen her in what felt like donkeys years. She was worried Ava had disappeared and wouldn't come back at one point. Then again, those were back in the days of the black mark. For all she knew, it could've been it that was talking.

"You're here!" She released Ava before she would most likely squeeze her to death, beaming at her before quirking a cheeky smirk. "Sheesh! You vanish from the corridors and decide to pop up out of nowhere after all this time? I was getting tired of waiting for you to zoom by on your broom like you always do!" She playfully bapped Ava on the forearm.

Then realisation struck her. "Wait-- You're a broom racer, aren't you? Shouldn't you be down there with Colin? You better get down there quick before they start without you...! Where's your broom?"

Then more realisation struck her. Emily's features softened, as did her voice. "You're not racing this season?"

_{Word Count: 469}

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Strength: 6 | Evasion: 7 | Wisdom: 8 | Arc Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

Ava should have knew she couldn’t escape the watchful badger’s eyes. Especially when she seemed to convey the opposite vibe than the rest of the stands, a more withdrawn approach to watching the race than the lively stands.

She felt Em’s arms wrapped around her around her in a tight hug, which wasn’t at all shocking given that the girl was a badger. Badgers did seem to love all things hug and snug related. It probably didn’t help that Ava had been avoiding the girl for the past month. It wasn’t completely Em’s fault, though.

“Sorry,” she said, arms hanging loosely at her side before she realized she had to do something it’s them. “I’ve just been…busy lately.”

Busy meant many things. Busy avoiding people. Busy making sure she didn’t fail out of school. Busy making sure no one knew that her entire had flipped upside down. Busy.

She felt Em release her and smirked. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Of course, there were questions to follow. She was very obviously not at the starting line, and she hadn’t taken off with the rest of her team. Her former team. She glanced down and did her best to shrug nonchalantly. “Er, I’m sort of…how do I say this? I’m sort of failing all my classes?”

She laughed nervously and toed the bleachers. “I kind of had to leave the team so I could focus on school, except I’m still failing and now I don’t have anywhere to destress so I just--”

She cut herself off abruptly, realizing she was oversharing. She would have finished that she had begun to take her stress out on professors and students in the form of harmless pranks, but she didn’t want anyone’s pity. It was easier to pretend those harmless pranks were for fun and she had nothing stressful in her life to deal with anyway.

“Hopefully I’ll be back to racing soon, and I’m going to keep practicing and cheering the team on, but I’ve got to raise my grades or…” She trailed off, then returned to her mask of enthusiasm.

“Anyway, who are you cheering for? Slytherin or Hufflepuff?” Divert, hide, cover. What should have been three simple rules were hard to follow around the badger when she always seemed to speak more freely than she would have liked.

@Emily Shephard

Interacting with : Reducio @Emily Shephard, @Ava Winchect, @Joseph Sims, @Hanako Tone + open to interactions!

Date: Reducio May 3, 2pm

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio Dark Green sweater, black skirt, black sandals. Hair in pigtail braids. Wand. Purple crystal pendant and tulip earrings.

“No worries, I think it’s cool! I’m sure they appreciate your support, just as much as you enjoy giving it,” Kaitlyn smiled at Emily. “I’m glad you finished it! You did a good job on it,” she continued, after looking at the banner. Perhaps she should have done such an activity before coming. Ah, no matter now.

After watching the players fly in formation for the start of the broom race, Kaitlyn looked over and saw Ava coming to sit near her and Emily. The slightly older Slytherin appeared to be nervous. Kaitlyn smiled at her and waved. “Hi Ava,” she greeted her, giving a quiet giggle when she rooted for their team.

Kaitlyn spotted a younger Hufflepuff boy sitting near the front of the seating area, and an older Slytherin boy giving a whistle. It was always great to see other people rooting for the teams, as well, even if she wasn’t a fan of competition.

As Ava and Emily conversed nearby, Kaitlyn watched the action in the air. She was cheering on the Slytherin broom racing team when, sadly, most of the Slytherin team were blached. Not a good sign. “Simon! Ruth! Tilly!” She shouted, cheering on the Hufflepuffs that she knew. “Yay, Colin! … It’s ok, Kyra, shake it off, shake it off. You can do it! I believe in you!” She shouted at Kyra, continuing to cheer for the basilisks. Hopefully, they could win this match … at least when they were back on their brooms. ‘Next time, I’m bringing pom-poms.’

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 255 words

Cheering for:

Reducio

@Kyra Banuelos, @Colin McCoire, @Simon Kincaid, @Matilde O’Fionnagan, @Ruth Fairchild

May 3rd 2025
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
@Ava Winchect

Emily quickly shook her head the second Ava apologised. "Whatever on earth are you sorry for? I'm just happy to see you again...!" She beamed when she looked up at her. "Besides, there's no harm done just because we get busy once in a while".

She squeezed Ava's hand. "So long as you're okay then we're okay too!" Though she squeezed her hand harder - more so in alarm - when she heard Ava say she was falling behind in her grades.

Emily gasped as if she had the best idea in the world. "If you're struggling maybe I can help! I know I'm not familiar with the syllabus, being a year younger than you and all... But sometimes having a buddy as background noise can help stimulate the mind some!" Honestly, after the hiatus the two shared of not seeing each other, Emily would be lying if she didn't admit she wanted an opportunity to spend more time with Ava in general.

"I do hope you'll rejoin the team," Emily said earnestly, her smile still plastered on her face. "I actually do miss watching you fly about on the track... It's a nice contrast to watching Colin and his constant blatching with the other team!"

Just like now, when AngelFyre tried to blatch Colin! It didn't matter whether he was the aggressor or not, Colin was always the centre of some blatching tactic!

"Go AngelFyre! Go Colin!" Emily cheered. Then she laughed when she turned back to Ava.

"Well, in case you didn't notice before, I'll be cheering on both teams today," Emily grinned. "It's a little difficult to pick a side and stick with it when so many of our wonderful friends are racing today!"

_{Word Count: 284}

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Strength: 6 | Evasion: 7 | Wisdom: 8 | Arc Power: 7 | Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace