A Puzzling Afternoon PV Cane Gordon Finished

“Honestly, with the way we play this we could turn it into a national sport”
"That would be fun! There's a World Chess Championship, so sudoku doesn't sound too far-fetched either... Maybe Hogwarts-wide, if not nation-wide?"

Natasha turned back to the puzzle, looking over the numbers Cane had added, wondering what she should do next. Everywhere she looked, it seemed as if a 3, and a 9 was missing.

Hmm.. A 5, no, 5's already in the box, maybe 3? No, 3 can't go her either.. Perhaps, 6?
Suddenly, she gasped, and furiously started scribbling numbers in the grid, filling in boxes at lightning speed. Finding just one number had gotten her nearly 10 more!

She glanced down at the 3 boxes she'd filled in and grinned, before adopting her sports commentator voice and saying"This play by Natasha gives an AMAZING lead to their team, and the crowd goes WILD.
Now, we all watch with bated breath as Cane takes the quill, determined, and ready to win!"

She passes the quill to Cane, wondering whether he too, will get a major breakthrough and fill in a lot of numbers, and thinks over his question.

“What about you? I could actually see you as a Seeker.”
You're right, I would love to be a seeker actually, I think it'd be quite fun."
"My second choice is Beater though, hitting stuff at people definitely has some appeal, and I'm quite proficient at it, what with years of practice hitting my brother," she joked.

@Cane Gordon

I gracefully accepted the quill with a mock semi-serious expression plastered on my face, I puffed up my chest as though I was accepting a legendary artifact. The guise didn't last long, a soft chuckle breaking the facade “And here we go, ladies and gentlemen the quill changes hands! The pressure’s on for Gryffindor’s Cane Gordon, who must now match Natasha’s absolutely blinding run of placements. Can he do it? The world holding its breath!”

After Natasha's display I couldn't afford to be left behind “Hmm… Natasha’s spectacular play just opened up...” I paused a moment tapping my bottom lip with the quill, my brain racing through potential numbers. It took a moment but then multiple spaces jumped out at me. Starting to fill out the spaces, I kept pace with the grand commentary we had going on. “Then, boom! a brilliant deduction! Followed by the bold, the beautiful, the completely unnecessary but somehow correct follow-up move!”

I raised the quill aloft like a victor’s wand in a duelling match, grinning wide. “And the crowd goes wild! They’re chanting our names ‘Na-ta-sha! Cane! Na-ta-sha! Cane!’ the greatest Sudoku duo Hogwarts has ever seen!”

Using both my hands I offered the quill back, like some sort of page handing back a knights sword. “A Seeker, huh?” I said, tilting my head thoughtfully. “Yeah, I can see that. You’ve got the focus for it and probably more grace on a broom than me. How anyone manages to see, let alone catch that flying gold menace is beyond me."





_{300/200
@Natasha Jones}

And the crowd goes wild! They’re chanting our names ‘Na-ta-sha! Cane! Na-ta-sha! Cane!’ the greatest Sudoku duo Hogwarts has ever seen!”
Natasha laughed and cheered along with Cane, "Na-ta-sha! Cane! Na-ta-sha! Cane!"
"Sudoku has never been this exciting before", she added, smiling.

She thought about the comment she had made about a Hogwarts-wide sudoku championship, and as her brain fixated on it, an idea came to her mind, "You know, a Hogwarts-wide sudoku championship is actually not a bad idea, we should actually think about it sometime..."

She let the thought hang in the air, and took the quill, glancing at the puzzle and wondering where she should place the next number. She scanned through each and every row and column, furrowing her brows as she concentrated on the puzzle.
Then, a smile breaking through her face, she dipped the quill in ink and began writing, filling in the last row with a 4, a 9, and a 2, and the third last row with a 3, a 7 and a 6.

“Yeah, I can see that. You’ve got the focus for it and probably more grace on a broom than me. How anyone manages to see, let alone catch that flying gold menace is beyond me."

Natasha chuckled, "It's all about strategy! Spotting it is kind of based on luck, but the chase, well that's exhilarating! I've done a couple small dives using the school brooms, and the rush of wind is just amazing!"

She paused for a breath, before adding, "I guess it won't surprise you that I love roller coasters and any thrilling rides?"

@Cane Gordon

"I guess it won't surprise you that I love roller coasters and any thrilling rides?"

I couldn't help but chuckle when she mentioned roller coasters, I didn't mind them myself but the there was a big difference between coasters and broom riding at speed. “Yeah… you give off serious front-row-no-hands-on-the-bar energy, so I can see you pulling off barrel rolls, pointed directly at the ground chasing the snitch” I said, still smiling as my eyes drifting back to the puzzle. "I think I will stick with Keeper, thank you very much!".

There were only a 6 blank spaces left. Seeing the whole puzzle nearly finished gave me a little jolt of excitement.

“Well,” I said, “if we’re going to make this Hogwarts Sudoku Championship thing real, we should at least prove we can finish at least one.”

I picked up the quill again, and began thinking over the numbers. With most of the other boxes filled it wasn't hard to figure out the last few remaining.

“And now,” I said in my best, sports commentator who takes himself too seriously voice, “the moment of truth for Gryffindor’s Cane Gordon. The end is in sight. No pressure at all.”

I grabbed the puzzle and started filling in it in and when I finally put the quill down, I lifted both hands like I’d just caught the ever elusive golden snitch. Game, Set, Match!

“AND THAT’S IT!” I shouted, throwing my arms up as though fireworks should’ve gone off in the courtyard, signalling and hearlding us as the triumphent duo. “Complete! Finished! A masterclass in teamwork, quick thinking, and absolutely unnecessary flair!”

I took a moment of pause before I turned and handed the puzzle back to Natasha.

“You know,” I added, a little softer but no less amused, “we actually make a pretty great team.”






_{338/200
@Natasha Jones}

“The moment of truth for Gryffindor’s Cane Gordon. The end is in sight. No pressure at all.”
Natasha smiled grinning and holding her breath ever so slightly as she watched Cane fill in the last of the boxes.

“Complete! Finished! A masterclass in teamwork, quick thinking, and absolutely unnecessary flair!”
Natasha cheered alongside Cane, "Na-ta-sha! Cane! Na-ta-sha! Cane!", wondering when a game of sudoku had turned into this national level, Olympic style sport, laughing along with Cane.
She quickly scanned the puzzle, ensuring that nothing seemed to repeat, but it all seemed correct. Suddenly a thought flashed into her mind, and she dug around inside her bag, before pulling out the crumpled answer sheet from inside the deep depths, and matching it with the puzzle. An award-winning smile flashed across her face as she realized that everything was correct. She quickly adopted her 'sports commentator' voice and said, "Well, the judges have just checked the puzzle, and I am proud to announce the winners of this Sudoku Championship, Natasha Jones and Cane Gordon!" '
"An absolutely marvelous and amazing duo, who have broken the WORLD RECORD in sudoku solving!"

“We actually make a pretty great team.”
"We really do, don't we?" she said, her voice softening, I'm really glad you asked to join me Cane," she added, "if you hadn't, I would have simply had a boring afternoon solving a puzzle, instead of doing a sports commentary game type thing!" she said, not quite finding the right words to describe their afternoon, but hoping that Cane understood what she meant.

@Cane Gordon

I chuckled when suddenly she dived into her bag and dug out an answer sheet. I watched her compare this crumpled mess to our grid with all the the seriousness of a referee reviewing a final call. When she degreed we had been successful, I couldn’t help but play along, placing a hand over my heart like I was standing on a victors podium.

“World record holders,” I said and using every ounce of acting ability I had (which isn't a lot), I allowed tears to well in my eyes. “I cant believe it, I’ll expect my commemorative plaque any day now. Maybe something shiny to hang in the common room, mother will be so proud.”

Her voice softened, and so did my grin. I looked down at the finished puzzle, then back at her.

“I’m glad I came over too,” I said honestly. “I was just looking for a bit of quiet, and somehow ended up winning a championship instead.” A small laugh escaped me. “But yeah… this was a lot better than sitting alone pretending History of Magic was exciting.”

I slowly gathered my things together. “We have to do this again sometime?” I asked, keeping it casual but hopeful. “Maybe we can defend our title. Or just… make homework a bit less terrible.”

I reached out to her, offering her a hand up to help her from the stone floor. “Thanks for the afternoon, Natasha. I think this might’ve been my favourite part of the day.”

_{252/200
@Natasha Jones}