Fall Games Spectator Thread

Alexei deeply did not wish to be at the Quidditch game. He vastly preferred his own sport of broom racing or even dueling, but it was popular among his peers. He had gotten punched at the last Quidditch game he had attended, so it couldn't be worse than that. When in Rome...

There was also the fact that it was pouring down rain. Alexei was not someone who enjoyed being soaked to the bone, and his umbrella spell was only doing so much to prevent that watery fate. Still, there was a lovely Gryffindor playing who had requested his presence, and these British girls were so lovely that he almost didn't mind the rain.

He saw a pair of girls and decided to approach them, perhaps offering to share his umbrella spell. It was always best to have some kind of excuse when approaching girls as not to come off like a complete pervert. He had heard rumors of one of his school mates getting punched for handling things badly at Hogwarts already, and he aimed to avoid that fate.

"Might I have the pleasure of joining you two lovely ladies?" the Russian said, smiling pleasantly at the two. "I don't know many people here at Hogwarts."
The older looking of the two bore a striking resemblance to the aforementioned lovely Gryffindor, as well as a second girl he had encountered over the summer. The younger girl was quite lovely as well, and once again, Alexei deeply wished he went to Hogwarts.

Interacting with @Thomas Lestrange
Mentions @Rafael D'Spacito and @Aurelia Roberts

Less than half a week before the match, Aurelia had confronted the Quidditch captain of Gryffindor to announce her withdraw from the team. To say the least, her quidditch superior was not very happy about the loss of another player. Aurelia would not consider herself an official player given that she had never participated in an official quidditch match. Although she did enjoyed the month's experience as a team seeker, the weekly trainings with the team and chasing the snitch at daring speeds, the sport would never have suit her in the long run.

The position of second string seeker co-incidentally fell to a second year who shared her first name, another Aurelia. It was a great cover, no one aside from the Gryffindor quidditch players would suspect that she was ever on the team. There might have been a few Notresvace left on the older rosters around but the fourth year doubted that anyone would have noticed the change of last name to a much more simple sounding Roberts. It would seem like Aurelia Notresvace never had never been on the team.

With the tip of her wand pointing up as it held the umbrella charm which protected her from the cold relentless pelts of rain, Aurelia made her way up to the stand. Sure, the girl may not be able to participate in the sport but that did not mean she was forbidden from cheering for her team. At the end of the flight of stairs, Aurelia would glance around the stands, there was a certain individual, her eyes navigating around for those she recognised. There were a handful of exchange students around and she hoped that a certain adolescent from the north american school would not be in the vicinity.

Instead, she found a Slytherin boy seated in the last row, tucked in a corner under the pouring rain. Their last encounter was a very peculiar one involving a boggart that left Aurelia with many questions. Hags. Those weren't the only question she had for him. Another would be his newly attained position. Aurelia was sceptical that someone who had the audacity to damage and steal a piece of her belongings manage to attain the role of a prefect. Soon, Aurelia had made her way towards the Slytherin who was looking quite dismayed.

What ever the cause of his distress was, Aurelia could not care less for there was something else she was far more interested in: A leathered-backed journal. The white paged book was opened in his lap. With a swipe of her hand, the fourteen year old had snatched the object from the slytherin's hold. Lowering her wand and dispersing the umbrella charm for a short moment, Aurelia would rip the page off the spine before crumpling the article into a ball which she briskly tossed away, "Now we are even, prefect" she said with a smirk tugging the side of her lips. However, Aurelia was not done, the boy's possession would remain in her grasp. Leverage.

With another wave of her wand accompanied with an incantation, Aurelia was shielded from the rain once more. "We have a few things to discuss. Your boggart being one of them. First of all, what was that creature?" Although Aurelia was knowledgeable of what Hags were, it would be ideal to know to what extent the boy knew about them.

[font=times new roman]

Fashionably late was his typical way of arriving at things, it seemed today was no different. The fact was, he had never bothered to come to one of these quidditch matches before, finding the sport, well, boring. There was a consideration to wear the shirt that he had adorned at the quidditch match he briefly attended during the summer that dawned the words 'Quidditch is Boring', but, he decided against it. Instead, he fashioned himself in a straight black raincoat that covered over his head, allowing those golden irises to peek out from beneath the low hood of his attire. There would be no color to show who he supported, no Gryffindor badge showing his house; the simple fact that he was attending would be enough to show his support for the friends who once asked him to come and watch.

Making his way through the crowded stands, he found an empty slot to where he could squeeze his way into, allowing himself to stand there instead of sit in the rain-soaked mess of benches. Honestly, he should have had the umbrella charm, but, he found it to be nearly useless up until this point in his life and didn't want to make the dedication to learning it before this time. Now though, he would have to rethink such things and make it a point to learn even the spells that he considered to be a daily necessity. The thought drifted though, as he looked up towards the scoreboard and the actions of the players. It seemed Gryffindor wasn't doing so well in the weather and that they might be losing this match. This wasn't a surprise.

From what Zykeal had learned about the team is that they were complete rubbish, barely winning any of their matches, and needing a serious change in their roster from the last year. That was just the rumors though, Zyk didn't enjoy rumors, so he didn't take stock in them until now when he could see that the team really didn't perform well together at all. Regardless, he watched and hoped that his friend and dormmate Rafa could snatch a victory from the mess that his team had gotten themselves into. The other team, the Slytherins, seemed to be doing well, but, he didn't care much. Although some of his housemates seemed to have a serious rivalry with the snakes, Zyk did not and found that most of them seemed quite pleasant to him.

Still, the second-year stood there, twisting the ivory-colored wand through the fingers of his dominant hand. The tick needed to be satiated even in the most daunting of weather and he barely even registered his actions in doing it; it just was. Barely blinking, he never took his eyes off the match ahead and watched the match unfold. Zykeal wasn't there for anyone but a few of his friends that were on the team, but, wasn't opposed to the other students that surrounded him from acknowledging his presence if they could recognize him under that dark attire of his.

Mentioning: @Rafael D'Spacito
Open to Interactions

Interacting with @Henry Knight & @Caelan Stewart
Mentioning @Cassandra Ironwoods
Open to Interactions

Today was the day, the first Quidditch match of the season: Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. Starlee didn't really know much about Quidditch; brooms or sports had never really been something she was interested in, but she knew the prestige that came with being a Quidditch player was huge. That was why she had decided to attend, after all. Her new idol, Cash, would be playing. The only problem was that it was a super rainy day and Starlee really didn't feel like getting wet. She had also somehow managed to forget, huddled up in her dorm reading a book. It wasn't until someone rushed in to grab a rain jacket, calling to a friend about the match, that she remembered about it at all. "Oh no..." she said aloud, tossing her book aside, grabbing her jacket, tugging on her boots, and heading out to the pitch as fast as she could.

She finally made it there, rain crashing down all around her in the stands. She looked around in the air and noticed that the match had already started. "GO CASH!!!" she yelled at the sky, trying to find the purple hair zooming around the field. It was too rainy, so she decided to see if she could find someone to sit with. She peered around the stands and recognized two faces from the field day event they had been in last month. 'Perhaps they would recognize her as well? No harm in asking...' she thought, trying to be brave in talking to the two boys. She cautiously approached them and said, "H-hey... I don't think we were ever properly introduced... I'm Starlee. Starlee Kennedy. Mind if I sit with you both?" She was trying to be as confident as possible, but her attention toward them waned as she heard a gasp from the crowd.

Cash had fallen off their broom! "NO! CASH!" she yelled, and soon after she saw a fellow teammate swoop by and pick the purple-haired up before they hit the ground. She was holding her breath since Cash's fall, and at this moment she finally let it all out in a huff and sat down in relief next to the boys, not necessarily caring if they had accepted or denied her invitation to sit. She was just happy Cash was okay.

Interacting With: @Henry Knight & @Starlee Kennedy
Mentions: @Cassandra Ironwoods

Nick was happy to see Henry turn his head to his, clearly happy to see him. He was worried for a moment that Henry might've forgotten that he was coming. "'m doin' pretty crackin', the rain's a doozy today isn' it?" Nick said as he watched it pour down onto the field, the Quidditch players zooming through it. He looked to the Chasers on their end and saw Alexx, the head of the Hogwarts Headliner, score. He whooped in excitement.

"Eh, well let's hope Slytherin can use it our advantage." Nick said, looking at Henry and then the rain. He then looked to the various beaters and sees that two of them attempted to knock a blonde girl off her broom, which even Nick knew was a penalty. "For Christ's sake, ye'd think we'd be the ones cheating." Nick said, as the referee very angrily called a penalty lap.

Even if the cheating wasn't bad enough, one beater had hit Cash, but they were still standing. Nick thought they were ok for a moment, before another beater came along and hit them again, this time actually succeeding, causing them to fall off their broom. Nick stood terrified until one of their teammates luckily saved them.

As Nick was still watching Cash on the girl's broom, a blonde girl walked up to the two of them. He recognized her as the girl who pulled really well in their tug of war game during field day. "Oh ye, ye were the really strong chick in front of me, right? Go right ahead." Nick said, before adding, "'m Nick by the way."

Open to Interactions
Interacting with @Henry Knight & @Caelan Stewart
Mentioning @Cassandra Ironwoods

As soon as Starlee felt assured that Cash was safe on the teammate's broom, she turned back to the two boys to address them. "Well it's great to finally meet you Henry and Nick! And yes, that was me, the 'strong chick.'" She giggled a bit as she said it, remembering how she managed to somehow out-pull most of the students on their team, albeit being that she was a small, first-year girl. She continued, "I'm not sure what came over me... I guess my competitiveness!" She smiled at the both of them and then turned back to look at the field.

She watched the players as she contemplated what Henry had said about a penalty lap. She assumed the Gryffindors had done something wrong, but what? She turned to Henry, deciding to ask him and said, "So what do you mean, Henry? I haven't watched too much Quidditch admittedly... I do know the basics though! Like, we are winning right now!" she put her hand behind her neck and smiled unassumingly as she tried to make conversation with the boys. Boy was her awkwardness starting to take over.

Honestly, she had really just come to support Cash and she really hoped they wouldn't be out of the game soon, since she had just managed to make her way to the pitch in the pouring rain. Making new friends was more of a side-quest. She continued to observe the players out on the pitch, hoping Cash could get back at those cheating Gryffindors. A wave of excitement overcame her as she stood up without warning and yelled "Beat 'em down Cash!!!" Satisfied with herself, she sat back down to see what would happen next.

As Flash settled in, so too did Bridget seem to. It was something he had read in one of Val’s books, how open posture and relaxed shoulders can make the person you’re talking to feel reflexively more at ease. It was part of why it was so important to be aware of how he looked, and what he did. Even very small things could ripple out to other people. Nervousness, worry… they were contagious.

”Oh? I never saw the last game…” Flash quirked an eyebrow, feeling a bit wary to hear ‘Durmstrang versus Durmstrang’. He knew Quidditch was a high impact sport, but Durmstrang had made it much more painful than the game had ever set out to be, taking advantage of rule breaking in order to break the enemy team. ”I guess blatching is a popular move. Good to know.”

It wasn’t long after they had made themselves more comfortable than the sound of Professor Jemari's voice pealed through the loud rain. Flash’s eyes returned to the pitch, pulling out his binoculars to see if it wouldn’t help to see things a bit better. Though, honestly, they didn’t. It was good that everyone wore bright green and red, or he might not have been able to tell at all what was going on. With closer inspection, one could make out who was holding bats, who was going after Quaffles. The figures started to dart around in an instant.

It was hard to say for sure, but it seemed as though it was Alan himself who was successfully grabbing the Quaffle, though the Slytherin prefect Koko Riddle was on Keeper duty for the Slytherin team. She was quite seasoned, she wasn’t a new player in the slightest, so she seemed to have no trouble keeping the goals free of flying fiends. Gryffindor must have been sure that their Chasers would succeed, since they let their owner Keeper go elsewhere. When one of the Slytherin Chasers, surely Miss Alexx, since it was clearly not Nico, got the Quaffle, it was a free goal. It seemed Gryffindor’s ploy here was very ‘Durmstrang’ indeed, though just like for them, it didn’t pay off.

”I guess you’re right. Wasn’t… wasn’t Piérre related to the Durmstrang co-captain?” It hadn’t been said to him outright, but it was pretty obvious. Flash had jotted down the roster for Durmstrang to make his write-up for Evelynn, and their last names were the same. That might have not been enough to go off of, but they were nearly identical as well. ”Romeo Marchonné…”

Flash recognized all of the Beaters, both the Gryffindor and Slytherin beaters were large personalities around the school. In particular, Rafael and Anastasia, who were both going for a blatch on Erin Ryan. A bit poetic, maybe. Miss Erin was strong, Bridget had even said she used to live under her shadow when she played as a Beater herself.

Flash barely knew how to feel, he liked them all. Both of the lions had a place in Flash’s heart, perhaps closer than most, but Miss Erin was on his team. She was an outcast with no one on her side, being targetted violently. He couldn't say he thought blatching was wrong, it had a heavy price and therefore felt fair, for the most part. It was seen as a dirty move by most, and even Evelynn seemed to dislike Rafael's enjoyment of the tactic, but he couldn't say he wouldn't consider it himself. To throw away an asset in your arsenal because it was 'right'... what was 'right' anyhow... Well, mostly, he felt worried. His heart was beating furiously, his brow suddenly furrowed.

Thankfully, or not, she dodged both blatches, putting Slytherin in an excellent position as two of Gryffindor’s players were now taking penalty laps with no goals. Not only that, but Miss Griselda had been successfully bashed silly by the strong arm of Erin they had been trying to subdue. In fact, all of Gryffindor’s attempts seemed to come up against a wall. A shame for them, but exciting for Slytherin.

”Miss Erin really is an excellent player…” Flash was rapt in attention, but he hadn’t forgotten that he was part of a pair. He was almost grateful Bridget was off the team, if only because he enjoyed her similarly analytical approach to watching others. ”It’s no wonder she’s a target.”

Two bludgers had successfully made purchase on Cash, another one whose bright hair made them easier to identify on the field than most, but someone saved them. Flash returned the binoculars to his face once more to try to make them out-- it did seem to be Persephone. Initially, he almost thought it was funny that she of all people would stick her neck out for someone, but then it started to make sense. She was as prideful as any Slytherin, certainly most of all she wanted to win.

And winning they were, though everyone knew Quaffle points were a small consolation. Everyone’s eyes would be on Dan Palmer and Evelynn Decipio, as much as they could follow the darting Seekers in the obfuscating rain. If he were to pick sides based on admiration, he had to admit he cared much more for Miss Evenlynn. While not at all a youthful pining as with the likes of Rafael or Anastasia, he greatly admired her mind, and her eagerness to gather information and learn everything she could. Certainly someone like that was a natural born Seeker.

Dan… what could one say about Dan. Flash wasn’t particularly fond of him, he came off as frivolous and careless, though it was clear he cared a great deal about the sport. His plans were being pulled off flawlessly, after all. It wasn’t just points that Slytherin were leading in, they were also up in players, with Miss Griselda’s brutal bludgering. And they didn’t have to blatch to do it. Certainly he deserved respect.

”Bridget… what do you think of Dan Palmer?” She had worked with him directly as a teammate, certainly she knew him much better. ”Is he a good Seeker? A good captain?”

He trusted her to be honest, part of her great appeal was her lack of false propriety. It was such an annoyance to have to wade through all the things people thought they ‘should’ say.

Interacting with: @Bridget Collins
Mentioning: @Alan Vanes Koko Riddle Alexx Séverin @Piérre Marchonné @Rafael D'Spacito @Anastasia Beckett @Erin Ryan Griselda Edelhart Cassandra Ironwoods @Persephone Barret @Dan Palmer @Evelynn Decipio
Outfit:

Reducio

@Flash Holmwood

Quidditch games were fast-paced. It was why as a spectator who cared about the outcome you couldn't just look away; every second tended to be action-packed. As soon as the game started, the players were off, red and green darting through the rain. There was a chaos to it, but also an order. Everyone had their own tasks, each team had a strategy. The question now was how well those strategies would be executed.

The race for the Quaffle was the first thing to happen, three sets of hands all reaching for the leather ball. Alexx seemed to be quite close the first two times, but perhaps she was a little off her game, because the ball slipped straight through her fingers into the grasp of Alan Vanes. Bridget couldn't claim to know the fourth year Gryffindor all that well, but she'd met him through clubs and was working with him on Katrina's Scavenger Hunt Club. At any rate, she couldn't claim to have some sort of friendship that would lead her to root for him ahead of her House, but she did hope his first game went well and was interested to see how he did. The newer players, while less seasoned, were always an interesting factor.

Alan would fly at Koko and try to send the ball through one of the hoops, but the unknown of new players aside, experience certainly gave you an edge. This was proved by the Slytherin Keeper, who in a display of prowess Bridget knew Koko was entirely capable of, deflected both attempts. The third time, Alexx would get over whatever was messing with her playing and throw the ball through the unattended Gryffindor goals. That was odd; where was the Gryffindor Keeper? Certainly Gryffindor could afford to guard their goals this early on in the game, and couldn't they remember how crucial Quaffle scores had been the last time they played? Where even was he? Eventually she spotted him seemingly hovering around Gryffindor's Seeker. She supposed that made sense what with how much fire Seekers usually took, but it was still something that could hurt them in the long run.

"Hmm?" It seemed Flash was saying something. She felt a little bad; here she was with something she enjoyed the company of and she had momentarily forgotten he was there. "Oh, I think so. They have the same last name and look pretty similar, so while I haven't heard it outright, I'd say it's safe to assume."

Speaking of Pierre, there was a bludger hurtling his way. He managed to dodge it, but Bridget was still stuck on the fact one had been aimed at him. Was this part of the plan, or an accident made on Cassandra Ironwood's part due to inexperience? And if it was part of the strategy, what was the reasoning behind it? Bridget wasn't sure, nor did she have the time to think it through. Quidditch, once again, was a whirlwind of action.

Speaking of action and that 'Durmstrang vs. Durmstrang' idea she'd mentioned to Flash, two Gryffindors seemed to be utilizing blatching. Bridget didn't have anything against the move, really--fouls were a large part of many sports and it wasn't as if Quidditch wasn't already brutal--but she thought it tended to be too much of a risk, or at least an over-utilized action by some teams, Slytherin included. The reason her eyes narrowed, though, was because of the players doing the blatching. It was hardly a surprise to see Rafael streaking towards Erin; he'd proved he was perfectly content taking penalty lap after penalty lap with nothing to show for in their last game, and besides, he'd lost her respect as a hot-headed, reckless person a long time ago. And as for Anastasia Beckett, Bridget didn't particularly like her either. The Gryffindor didn't necessarily deserve her hatred since she knew she probably didn't have the entire story, but she'd hurt her friend and that wasn't something she just forgot about.

Erin Ryan was an undeniably talented player, something Flash voiced. Not only did she send the bludger that knocked Griseldis Edelhardt to the ground, but she managed to dodge both blatch attempts. She couldn't quite smother the smirk at Rafael and Anastasia's pointless penalty laps. Bridget responded to her companion's comment with a nod; she didn't really have anything to add on to what he'd said. Erin Ryan was talented and she was always a target.

Two of Gryffindor's Chasers had gone for Erin, so what were their Beaters doing? Oh. It appeared Cassandra had become victim to two balls of iron, neither of which they managed to avoid. The Beater tumbled to the ground, but was snatched up by Peresephone Barret, the newest addition the Slytherin Chasers, before impact. Having to double-up on brooms wasn't great, but it was better than their Beaters being out and having to resort to blatching.

As for the Seekers, she was rather shocked that no one had tried to take them out. She couldn't tell if either of them had spotted the Snitch, although neither Seeker appeared to be all that purposeful in the direction of their flying, so it was probably a no. "Let me know if they spot the Snitch, okay?" Flash was interested in the position of Seeker and had said it was because he had a good eye, so perhaps he could help her out in that regard. Bridget had never been all that talented at spotting the glint of gold.

Flash was asking her about what she thought of her former Captain. Dan Palmer was an interesting case in terms of Bridget's respect, to say the least. On the Quidditch Pitch, she had some amount of respect for him, but he didn't impress her as a person. He was rather... arrogant. It seemed Flash was asking more about him in terms of being a player and a captain, though, which was probably a good thing. Bridget didn't have any qualms about being truthful in her assessment of people, but she wasn't the type to talk badly about people just because she could. "As a Seeker... well, statistically, he's caught the Snitch twice in the four games he's played. He's not a poor Seeker, but I would say his inability to spot the Snitch has cost us at least the game against Gryffindor. Dan Palmer is no Serena Towers, but he's still playing, so I suppose that says something." It was a little strange Serena had left after such an excellent season, but it was understandable. If Quidditch wasn't your passion, there was no reason to subject yourself to constant targeting. "I guess I'd just like to see someone else get a chance in a game sometime. Edric's been practicing for a year but he's never gotten an actual shot to prove his skill. As a Captain, Dan's a good fit, though. He's had some excellent strategies." There were a few times his strategies had seemed a little too reckless, but overall he did a good job. Hopefully that was the assessment Flash was looking for. The action was picking up again.

Interacting with @Paisley Brown

Mentioning @Griseldis Edelhardt @Percival Rainwood

Opeila had only half-heartedly watched the game, lost in her thoughts, unprepared for the sudden "Hi" to her left. Surprised she turned her head. It was a brunette girl Opeila could vaguely remember passing in the corridors when rushing to the next lesson. She never spoke to her though, not to mention knew her name.

The girl- a Gryffindor, when her gaze fell on Opeila's house crest, she automatically looked for hers- asked her, who the best player was as she was new to the games.
The Slytherin sent her a smile. Could that girl read minds or were Opeila's feelings just all over her face? Probably the latter, however Opeila welcomed the distraction with open arms.

"Is it sad that I never went to a Quidditch game in my first year? This is my first game too, I'm not that into Quidditch. And the last game of last year was on my birthday and a friend organized a surprise party for me. But let me think... Gris, your prefect, maybe? I think she's pretty ambitious with everything she does." Her gaze again wandered to Percival on the bench. She never saw him play, of course he was benched, but still. Opeila wasn't even sure what their relationship had been about. Had they ever gone past two strangers? What did they actually know about one another? Nothing, right?

A movement in the air caught Opeila's attention. Erin, the beater from her team successfully hit a bludger in Gris' direction, hitting the Gryffindor, knockikg her off the broom. Opeila's heart skipped a beat, quickly she was on her feet, watching the girl fall. Opeila winced when she hit the ground, her gasp covered by her hands. Was Gris her friend? Kind of maybe? Well, no matter, Opeila hated seeing her get hurt.
"I guess that's why I don't watch Quidditch games.", she told the girl next to her, still looking at Gris on the ground. She was just hoping for her to move...
Only the sound of complaint behind her caused her to sit down again.