Fall Spectators 2021 Gryffindor v Hufflepuff

Mentioning: @Jürgen Hess

Hess? Isn't that one of the pureblood family names? She faintly recalled something about that name, but could not quite place it. She was sure her mother took her somewhere once when she was younger that was owned by a wizarding family with the last name Hess. "Your family doesn't own a bookstore by chance do they?" It was a shot in the dark, but she was sure she remembered visiting a bookstore with her mother. She wanted to look at the different books, but her mother refused to let her wander the store alone, and brought the girl into the back where one of the owners had a long talk with her mom. She was bored and finding anything to distract herself and kill the time, but did remember something about divination being discussed. "If so, I think I went there once with my mom. I was much younger though so I don't remember a lot of the trip."

"As long as you avoid Erin Ryan, I don't anticipate any drama." That caught her attention, the small hairs on her neck prickling up. What could he mean by that? She thought it a bit odd of a comment yet she was picking up on something.

"I--hmm. What exactly do you mean 'avoid Erin Ryan?' She is a member of my quidditch team, and though she is a bit, well headstrong to put it nicely, I have never had a problem with her." Indeed she was speaking the truth. Erin was a very willing player, listened to the suggestions Dan and her made without complaint and did her job well on the field. She had heard rumors about the girl but she did not lie. She had never had a problem with Erin. In fact, she would be doing exactly the opposite of the boys suggestion just later this day when the Slytherin versus Ravenclaw match began following the conclusion of this one. Erin was one of their strongest players, a constant target, but vital to their team. It was a bit hard to avoid her entirely.

@Tyranni Whitethorn

Alan had come to the game, just as he had promised Howard; what he had not expected was for Howard to be up against the Gryffindor's own house. He had kind of lost track of Quidditch as soon as he had dropped the sport. He still cared and would still come to the matches if he was not otherwise occupied, but he simply had too much on his small mind to keep together even more information. Recent challenges he had set for himself just took the priority and so did the Duelling Club. He for sure felt Meenauh's departure as all the weight had now been dropped on his shoulders instead and he sometimes wondered how the fourth year girl had been able to carry the amount of responsibility. Not to forget that Alan was also a prefect and busy doing patrols and functioning as a mediator between the students and staff.

As he stood in the stands, he would lean forward with his forearms draped over the handrail with his chin propped up on them. His eyes would look for where he knew the Quidditch players would enter the field from as he watched both teams appear. There had been a lot of change in the Quidditch team of his own house, he knew at least two students had left after he did as well, strong players and Alan wondered if their absence would be felt. He would recognize @Evelynn Decipio and of course @Rafael D'Spacito and felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched them fly through the air as they positioned themselves. He would wish them all the good luck they needed and while he came to cheer for Howard as well, ultimately his house pride forbid him from hoping his friend would win. He was here to support his team equally as he would cheer for Howard if he did well. As @Howard White flew his rounds and passed Alan in the stands he would see as the dhampir stuck out his tongue at him and with a burst of energy the Gryffindor would push himself up, his hands gripped the rail as he leaned forward as much as gravity would allow him and shout, "Your're going down, Howard," he would yell after his friend, making clear he would support his house, though it was shouted in good spirit. It reminded him of the jests the two had when Alan had been on the team still.

The first course of action was kind of predictable but equally frustrating. None of the Gryffindor chasers would go for the quaffle and their goal post was not even protected. It was a common, yet quite risky play that Gryffindor had managed to pull off many times. He trusted in the captains abilities, but had to huff as Howard equally gained possession over the quaffle a total of three times and had scored it just as many times. Not a good start for the lions, he dared to think as he watched the interaction closely. Rafael appeared to be hit, something Alan had rarely seen before and the boy grimaced as if he had felt the pain himself. Hopefully the captain would be able to bite through the pain and stay safe from any more attacks from now on. Alan's gaze would instinctively run over the students he saw sitting on the bench, the second string students specifically, when he noticed an empty space. Eyes narrowed he would count the students until he realized his worries to be true, Gryffindor was one player down, one of their second string players had not made it to the game. Alan's grip lightly tightened on the rails, his knuckles whitening as he hoped this would not cost them the game.

Even the next exchange would not be much better. Once again none of the Gryffindor chasers would go for the quaffle, leaving Howard free range as he reached for it over and over as he managed to score two more goals through the unguarded post. One of those times however he had simply dropped the ball as if something had distracted or shocked him enough to make him let go of it. This would mean a total of 50 points for the badgers at this point. He would also watch as Evelynn dropped from her broom, only to be caught by @Anastasia Beckett who had been prepared to swoop down and hoist her onto her own broom. It seemed like this game was excruciatingly slow and unbelievable fast at the same time, as many things happened at once. His focus was now on Ana and Evelynn as he hoped for them to pull off an impossible stunt to ensure the lion's victory.

Maybe he should not have been so cocky in yelling after his mate, Howard would probably be all smug about it, if the badgers would actually manage to claim victory for themselves. He truly hoped not, it would put the Gryffindor's in a horrible mood. Somehow the boy wished, that his own team would have played more careful rather than risking all of those penalty laps so early in the game. But it wouldn't be his house's team if they weren't reckless on their path to claim the trophy.

Serena instantly looked away, trying to look at the ground or the railings or the chair or anywhere that basically wasn't @Howard White. Wait- what? She looked up awkwardly, as she heard his voice. Her stomach did a flip as she spotted he was talking to her. R-right. Wish him luck. "Y-yeah, good luck," She mumbled, her heart pounding so frickin' loudly. Wait, did he just wink at her?

Her face felt so hot, despite the fact that it was October. She knew it was not romantic or anything like that but that did not help. She instantly looked away, tugging on her sleeves. Sitting down on the seat behind her, she tried to focus on the game. The condition of her heart was not getting any better as she watched him play. He was so good and she was so pleased that he seemed to have found something he was good at, that he could put his energy into. She had stepped down from Quidditch a while ago but it had actually been the activity that she put all of her energy into when she stepped down from being Head Girl. It had saved her from being lonely, from the darkness that had been building up in her heart then. Serena kind of could only hope that it did the same for him - but that he would not leave as she did.

The main issue was that she still did not how to comprehend her emotions. She was painfully aware of her feelings for him but also knew they were not reciprocated. More recently, she had even apologised and written a letter to him about how he should take Falentra to this stupid ball coming up, in an attempt to get them together again and it just sucked. She wanted him to be happy, of course, she did. But that did not stop the jealousy and then the guilt that followed because of the jealousy. Nonetheless, she was trying her best to avoid him.

She ran her finger on her collar before tugging on it, trying to cool herself down, "Can you just... not?" She whispered to Pizza, who was probably judging her very much right now. He knew how she felt, he knew everything. He also probably did not understand any of it, nor did he care but she was convinced he was judging her!

The game quickly took her attention though, as Ethen got knocked off. Within minutes, she was on the edge of her seat. Stanley was up. Quinn was missing his shots. Howard got hit by a bludger. All the while, it looked like their opponent seeker was onto something. The game was over. It felt like it lasted a lot longer than it probably actually did as Serena was actively trying not to pay attention to Howard, all whilst paying attention to him.

Ugh. Why did she have to feel this way? It sucked. She clapped politely for Gryffindor before grabbing her stuff and heading off quickly. "Just... don't, Pizza..." She whispered as she picked him up, trying to avoid his judgement. With that, she quickly left the pitch.

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