A Spectacle Hufflepuff v Ravenclaw Finished

Alan had been glancing over to the field, as he watched the Quidditch players get into position. His eyes were fixed on one player in particular, Willow. It was going to be her first match or so and he would be here to cheer her on. He watched as he interacted with the spectators, but his attention was quickly pulled away to Flash. The Slytherin his his face behind him, so that he was possibly hidden from sight by the girl. Was Willow the person? The person he mentioned? He lightly turned his head to glance at the Slytherin boy with questioning eyes, wondering if the other kid was okay and what had caused him to hide. He knew the girl and that meant the.. girl knew him? Alan lightly shook his head, not knowing whether the girl knew him, but did she? Alan had not heard the girl mention Flash, but then again that was also easily excused. But Flash had been unwilling to talk about the matter... Alan glanced over to the field, where he saw the Hufflepuff girl in question. Alan also caught glimpses of the players and the quaffles being thrown around and it made him wonder how exactly the players were able to concentrate both of flying and the game. He also was quite sure that those bludger things were way too dangerous, especially so high up in the air. What was the thrill in playing Quidditch? Was it the danger? He had heard of stuff like that before, that some people just liked to dodge danger.

"... his matches a lot at home.”, he heard as he was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts, blinking as he stared at the Slytherin boy, "U-Uhm... C-Can you repeat that, p-please?", he wondered, tilting his head apologetically. He had been so distracted, that he had even lost the red thread of his original thought, on how the boy knew the girl. He clearly was here for her, Alan was sure of that. Would it be too insensitive of him to prod the topic?

Before the Gryffindor could get lost in his thoughts again, his attention was drawn to the start of the game and he tried to keep his gaze on the player he had promised to cheer for. And he was sure she did well, she caught one of the quaffles thrown and what a catch it was! It was amazing with how much ease she seemed to effortlessly pick the quaffle out of the air. The third years features melted into a bright grin, as he thought about how incredible she was doing. And Alan was not the only one amazed, a lot of students cheered, but it was Flash right next to him, who caught his eye yet again. The boy had been so secretive about who he was here for, but it was undeniable who he was cheering for.

"D-Do you know h-her? I-Is she the one y-you mentioned?", he wondered, as the Slytherin boy sat back down into his seat. Alan's curiosity got the better of him and he asked the question. Now he could only wait and see what the Slytherin had to say about it. It was a harmless question, so he was sure that no harm was done.

Flash had done a remarkably terrible job at keeping his emotions to himself. While around Alan, he felt a sense of comfort that made him forget to keep his defenses up. After all, he was so naturally kind and helpful, he rarely had to do anything in order to have a nice conversation, or get something done. That, and because of his politeness he never questioned Flash’s motives. The veil had been lifted however in Flash’s current state of disarray. He couldn’t play off his actions up until that point any longer, at least not to Alan.

”I… yes. There’s no point in hiding it further. I only ask that you don’t pry. I have my reasons for not wanting to make a public display, so I hope you’ll respect that.” Flash colored his word heavily with the responsibility of refinement.

When he thought about it, he had never learned where that part of Alan had come from. In reality, they had only ever had one real conversation, the two of them always seemed to be thrust into the middle of some unrelated conflict when they were together. Flash was suddenly curious, though in no little part because it worked as a convenient diversion.

”Actually, Alan, I have been meaning to ask… now, don’t feel pressured to answer this, but do you come from a well-to-do family?” Flash looked at him openly now, the knot in his brow gone as he tried to forget his embarrassing display only moments prior. ”I only ask because you seem, well, you remind me of myself a bit in that regard.”

Quidditch was a fast-paced game, but there were moments to talk, such as when the quaffle was only just caught by the Keeper.

@Alan Vanes

Mentioning [sort of interacting]: @Saskia Nicholson | @Evelynn Decipio

To say that Thora was simply anxious for the game to commence would be inaccurate. No, she was full-on nervous and frothing on the bit to see the leather quaffle tossed into the air and the game begun. This would be evident to one who cared enough to glance at her, seeing that her right foot was tapping at an unnaturally quick pace, and small hands were folded tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. But the girl couldn't help but let a enthusiastic smile tug across the tense corners of her mouth as Saskia turned, grinning and giving her a thumbs-up.

Thora's fingers curled into her own thumbs-up, which was then thrusted out in return to the Hufflepuff captain. As green eyes finally lowered to glance at the large crowd that was gathering, she noticed a small redhead wrapped in a scarf--much like Thora herself--crossing the benches just near her. Evelynn Decipio, Gryffindor co-captain. It wasn't surprising that she'd turned up to spectate this match, as this was where other teams' strategy could be observed. Thora returned her wave, smile widening.

Even though she was still sitting alone like always, it felt good to know that people knew her. No, Thora didn't want popularity, nor did she want to be that one girl that literally everyone knew for one reason or another, but simply being recognised was nice and something that was a pleasant change from being practically invisible.

And then finally, at long last, the brooms were urged into action and the balls released. The beginning was fast, as with all of the others past, and one not ready for the lightning speed of the young students might be taken by surprise with how fast the quaffle was snatched up by a blonde Ravenclaw and taken to the hoops. Thora, though, was ready, green eyes following the leather ball's every movement. Even if she wasn't playing, it was good practice to keep an eye on the quaffle so it'd come easily during a game.

Then came the bludgers. The iron balls were whacked again and again, each sound of contact sending a shiver through Thora. All of the beaters on the field were very strong, as she'd seen during Slytherin's matches against their teams, and to be hit would be utterly painful. As for the scene above, player after player went down as if automated. But thankfully, nobody was tumbling through thin air, making their way towards inevitable impact. It seemed that the teams were pretty even, both knowing exactly what they were doing.

So remained the small Slytherin, alone on the benches, a quiet spectator among a roaring crowd. She didn't know which team to cheer for, but having hopefully boosted her friends' morale, she was content with simply sitting there. Anyways, the game wasn't won yet, was it? There'd be a later time to scream and yell.

As a quaffle zoomed towards the Hufflepuff goals and was blocked by the mighty Willow Anderson, a little badger stood up and hopped and waved its arms in celebration.

Jake wasn't really a badger of course, he was just pretending, but when he put on the costume and entered the stands he really did feel like something much more than just little Jake Morris. He was Hufflepuff, through and through, more badger than boy.

There were actually two victories that had come to Jake, here in this third Quidditch game of the season.

The first was that he had finally gotten less shy in his mascot costume. Sure, it had been embarrassing at first...But he had come to really appreciate that nobody could see him. He wasn't Jake anymore, he was just the badger - and he bet that a lot of students didn't even know for sure who he was (never mind the fact that he was one of the only kids who could fit in the costume). He had thought they were laughing at him at first, so sure was he of what those types of smiles meant, but he soon realized that he'd been wrong. They weren't smiling because they were making fun of him, they were smiling they were happy. And even crazier, it was him who had made them happy. They even cheered. Jake never wanted attention, and to get cheers should have been a nightmare...but...well...from the safety of the costume they felt kind of nice and nobody could see him blush.

The second victory was that he had actually started to learn how Quidditch worked. The lucky part about having Quidditch-playing friends was being able to ask for a bit of help learning all of the rules. He was starting to get the hang of it, though he'd never before watched sports. Red balls go in goals, little gold ones have to be caught for lots of points, you have to avoid the brown ones - which is obvious because they hurt. He sometimes forgot the amount of points everything gave you, and he still didn't get how come it was fun (how could you play and not be terrified of being hit by a bludger, or of falling off your broom?) but he at least could tell when Hufflepuff was doing well and when a cheer was called for.

There hadn't been any goals yet, but he thought maybe Hufflepuff needed some cheering on anyway to help it happen, so he did what all good mascots do (or so he thought, though he hadn't been totally clear on what a mascot was before having been given the costume). The badger turned to face the stands and waved his hands in the air and hopped. Sure enough, they started to cheer. Cheering for one team almost felt mean to friends on the other team. The problem was Jake had friends on EVERY team. The only fair thing to do then was to cheer for his own house, and after all, as he had once been told, the badger society was depending on him.

Go Hufflepuff Go!

George shot out of his seat like a firework as Willow blocked the quaffle, following along the movements of the crowd with a roaring cheer. His arms were held high in triumph. He did not understand the rules of quidditch, but it was still quite a ride to be in the stands during a game. A lack of understanding did not mean a lack of spirit, most certainly.

Settling back into his seat beside the costumed Jake, George took a moment to reach into his pocket and pull out the makeup he had stolen from Professor Bercegeay. Thick black paint was smudged on his fingers, but he scooped up just a bit more from the palette and smeared it up his face around his nose and eyes. He looked horrific, but the more creative spectators might notice that he was intending to resemble a badger as well. He spared nothing in the pursuit of Hufflepuff pride, wrapped in his yellow tie and scarf at the same time.

"GO, WILLOW!" he shouted from the stands, leaning over forward so far he'd be liable to get sideswiped by an errant player. He couldn't believe he had once seen her fly so terribly. She really did seem like a celebrity when she was flying in front of all the spectators like this, blocking quaffles like it was nothing. "Show those birds what a badger can do, aye!"

When Jake - the masked badger - began to wave and cheer, George couldn't help but join in. Not simply because he knew the secret - but because it was so lovely to see Jake out and energetic for once, the centre of the party and not clamming up. Maybe it was easy for him when he didn't have anything to say. Must be why he liked George so much.

George took a moment to survey the crowd - mentally counting who was cheering along and who was not, for future grudges to hold - and spotted Alan Vanes. He spared a second to wave at him before turning to watch the game again. "Hello, Alan!"

Mildred watched in anticipation as the quaffle flew towards the Hufflepuff goals, she looked away as well- she couldn't bear to see what would happen next. Soon loud cheers erupted and Mildred looked up and saw Willow had blocked it! She immediately started jumping up and down and waving her banner around. She yelled, "GO WILLOW!! CONGRATS!!" She felt immediate pride- she could start crying right there on the spot. She felt a sudden burst of emotions hit her as well she was just so proud of Willow, she knew just how much Willow wanted to be on the team and contribute.

Waving a banner around like a manic soon tired Mildred and she wanted to take a small break, she decided that a small stretch with a walk would do her well now that the crowds have dwindled and many have taken their seats it was easier for Mildred to walk around. She scanned the area for any of her friends, she saw Sean although he was with two people she didn't know- not wanting to bother him and his friends she looked around for anyone else. Sadly, she wasn't able to spot anyone else. She looked around one last time and had stopped when she saw something strange, which was the understatement of the year- she was literally in a school for magic but it wasn't every day you see someone in a... badger suit?

It. Was. The. Cutest. Thing. She. Has. Ever. Seen. (Well it was second to Willows stuffed animals)

She quickly walked to it and as she near them she couldn't help herself but smile at the unknown person's pride, it was very admirable of them to support their house in such an amazing way. There appeared to be someone seated near the badger although Mildred wouldn't let this stop her! She looked and him and considered shoving the boy away- although she decided she was in a decent mood today and didn't want to start any fights. She shuffled past the unknown boy and reached the badger and couldn't help herself but hug them. The suit was just so so cute, and the badger suit had cute little hands! she stopped herself from literally shaking the unknown person suit hands "I love your suit so much! It's so cute!!"

Alan glanced at the Slytherin, a bit curious about the situation but then he nodded slowly. He accepted that Flash did not wish to talk about it any further, so he just smiled. But the question in his head stayed. What was this about Willow and him? He would not ask any further questions or make many assumptions, but it was clear that something must have happened between the Hufflepuff and the Slytherin. Alan however knew neither of them good enough to actually come to a conclusion that could satisfy his curiosity and decided to drop the topic for the time being. "D-Don't worry, w-we don't need t-to talk about it, if you don't w-want to!", he agreed, smiling apologetically, as he did not mean to make the other boy uncomfortable in the first place.

The third year turned around, when he heard a familiar voice call out his name and quickly caught sight of George, who had painted black color on his face. Smudgy patches that resembled streaks. Clearly it must have been a rushed job, because the paint had clear spots and Alan had no idea what it was exactly, but he could only assume it was supposed to resemble a badger. Maybe at least, he was not able to pinpoint it exactly. But upon seeing his friend, he smiled brightly and gave him a small wave, before his eyes focused back on Flash, who asked him a question.

Alan was a bit surprised by the next question thrown his way when Flash asked him, whether he was from a well-to-do family. He had never been asked about that before, so he frowned slightly not sure how he was supposed to reply to such a question. "I...I s-suppose?", he muttered, not really wanting to brag about it or anything, but he knew he was better off than a lot of other people. He lived in a big house and never had to worry about money or having enough food at home. "I do? H-How?", he asked curiously, trying to see what the two would have in common just because they grew up with similar circumstances. But he was curious to hear the reason.

Sitting in the stands, she could feel a slight chill beginning to kiss at her bones, the winds icy fingers crawling down her neck. The stands were beginning to fill almost completely and the game was to begin. Wrapping her large burnt orange scarf tighter around her neck, she watched as the game began.

Immediately the 4 of the 6 chasers dove for the quaffle, fighting for the possession, but ultimately a Ravenclaw girl came out on top. She sped away towards the goalposts that Willow was guarding. She threw the quaffle with all her might, yet it was not enough.

Wow! Willow made the save and blocked the goal! She quickly jotted down a note about the girl in her notebook before resuming her observations, hoping she did not miss any other major events.

Hufflepuff Keeper: Willow Anderson
Successful block immediately at the start of the game.
Skill? Or beginners luck?

Glancing up just in time to see the beaters attacks, there was no mercy shown. The Ravenclaw beater named Emma successfully landed a hard blow agains the Badger seeker, but it was not enough to knock her down. The other Ravenclaw beater, Jorah Moussa, sent a bludger towards a Hufflepuff girl, successfully knocking her off the broom, the bludger ricochetting towards the Hufflepuff seeker yet again. That girl was good. She took a beating from one bludger, and evaded a second attack all while remaining on her broom. She began to write a note down about the Hufflepuff seeker right as she heard the crowd start yelling. She glanced back up just in time to see Jorah get pummeled by a bludger that was sent from the female Hufflepuff beater. The female Ravenclaw beater had no time to breath before a bludger was sent towards her from the male Hufflepuff beater. She was able to miss the attack, but would she have time to take a breath to glance around at the rest of the game? With two players falling to the ground, Tyranni waited to see if anyone would come to their aid. It was as if all went silent in her mind as she watched the two tumble to the ground. Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub. Her heart beat was all she could hear as she watched the ground approach the players, both saved by one of their teammates at the last minute.

Players to watch:
Ravenclaw Beater: Jorah Moussa. Appears to have good accuracy, but low health.
Ravenclaw Beater: Emma Hill. Good evasion skills? Last minute move or always attentive?

Hufflepuff Seeker: Serena Towers
Stayed on broom when hit by bludger AND successfully evaded a second attack!

She had just finished writing her note when she noticed that the Hufflepuff seeker, Serena had begun to fly around the pitch in a very determined manner. She must have spotted the snitch!

Adding an addendum to her original note on the seeker, she wrote:

Resilient and keen eye for finding the snitch. But can she catch it?

The game was already off to a fast start, and if this was any indicator of how the rest of the game would go, it could be a quick match.

Interacting with @Lydia Cooper and @Sean Hearth
Mentioning @Willow Anderson, Cecily Quinn, Dawn Riley, Annie Morgan and @Jake Morris

"You're hardly late! They're just about to start!" Aaron reassured Lydia, smiling as he allowed her into the empty seat beside him. Then the twelve-year-old beamed as his two best mates were introduced. Aaron couldn't believe they hadn't met before today (of course, they'd seen each other in classes before), but better late than never, right?

Aaron smiled broadly when he saw the banner that he and Lydia had made the night before. It was even better in the daylight! Of course, he had mainly done just the coloring while he left Lydia with all the hard stuff (like the lettering and the drawing of the broomsticks), but he still felt really proud of the end product. "It looks so good! I hope Willow can see it from the posts!" When Lydia mirrored his sentiment, Aaron smiled and grabbed the banner, helping her hold it out in front of them.

"Look! Look, she saw us!" he suddenly yelled to the others, noticing that the blonde-haired keeper had blown them a kiss. He laughed in excitement as the game began. There was quite a scuffle among the chasers to get possession of the quaffle. Moments later, a Ravenclaw chaser was beelining towards Willow. @Cecily Quinn, according to the commentator (who, Aaron suddenly noticed, was not their headmaster). He watched with baited breath as Willow and the chaser went head-to-head, and-

"YES!" Aaron pumped his fist in the air and raised the banner with Lydia and Sean. He looked over at his dormmate, "This is gonna be SUCH an exciting game!" He turned back to the game with a spark in his eyes, watching the beaters direct bludgers towards the chasers. He groaned with the rest of the crowd when he saw Hufflepuff @Dawn Riley get knocked out by a bludger from the Ravenclaw team, and she started to fall. He rejoiced inside when another chaser, @Annie Morgan, caught her though.

"Nice catch, Annie!!" he yelled out, cheering for his upperclassmen. She had been really kind to him back during the Wizards Batting game against Slytherin in December.

As the stands cheered and booed and hissed, Aaron looked around with a huge smile on his face. Only a few minutes into it, and this was looking to be a fun game! He was about to turn back to the game, when he suddenly saw a badger! Like a mascot badger! "Guys, look!" he said to Lydia and Sean, pointing towards the person in a badger costume. "Whoever's in there has some serious Puff spirit!" he said with a laugh before turning back to the game.

Interacting: @Aaron Jones and @Lydia Cooper

Sean looked at Lydia and tried his best to smile at her "It's nice to finally meet you Lydia, I'm Sean" he had surprisingly managed to not sound that cold, probably because he felt like he knew her a bit from what Aaron told him. He looked at the banner she was holding, Aaron had told him that they made a banner together for the Hufflepuff keeper Willow "You guys did a really good job". Hearing the whistle blow, it was finally the beginning of the match and Sean started to feeling the excitement rising. He watched in amazement as the players fought for the possession of the quaffle, soaring through the sky at high speeds.

He looked over at Aaron and Lydia who both looked as excited as the other and smiled to himself, he looked back at the game and saw that a Ravenclaw player had the quaffle and was heading straight towards Willow. As the player was getting closer, Sean could feel himself move slowly towards the edge of his seat. The Ravenclaw finally got all the way to the Hufflepuff keeper and threw the quaffle, but Willow had got it ! Sean sprung up with Aaron and Lydia raising their banner and cheering, he looked over at his friend smiling "I've never been this excited since getting my letter!".

They sat back down and watched the match continue, Dawn Riley one of Hufflepuff's players had received a bludger and was falling but was caught by a Hufflepuff player that Sean recognized as Annie Morgan. As Sean cheered for Annie he felt grateful for Aaron who talked so much about Quidditch that Sean could now recognize pretty much all of the Hufflepuff players which made watching the games somewhat even more amusing. He was looking at the game when Aaron had called Lydia and Sean, he was pointing towards someone who was in a badger costume. Sean loved the costume and laughed a bit at the scene which was quite unusual for him "I could imagine you in one of those !" he joked to Aaron before looking back at the game.