Quid Spectators Hufflepuff v Slytherin Jan 2022 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚎

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Quidditch season had started once more, bringing the second game of the year. Without fail, the fifth year part-goblin was there to support her house. She never failed to support them. She might not have played but it did not change anything: she still wanted them to be the undefeated champions of the world. The last game had not exactly gone to plan though but this time, this time would be different - she had faith in that.

Serena was dressed warmly, in an oversized knitted jumper with her Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around her neck. She had a bright yellow woolly hat on that donned a small brown rat embroidery patch on the middle. Her gloved hands held onto a nice warm hot of hot chocolate as she stood by the railings and looked over them, out onto the pitch. She was early but it did not matter. She was here and ready to cheer. Hufflepuff was going to win this.

"Don't even get started, Pizza," She warned the small brown rat nestled on her shoulder. He had not said anything but she felt the judgement. He always judged her! It was as though he doubted her intentions. She was here to support her house in her former favourite sport. She would have been here regardless of who was on the team! It was nothing to do with the grumpy dhampir and any sort of growing fanclub, not at all! Hell, perhaps she was here to support Ami, who was looking beautiful as always?! Yeah! Don't judge her!

@Serena Towers

It was a Sunday afternoon with no other plans happening around the school other than one of the biggest Quidditch games. Today it wasn't Ravenclaw on the field, but rather Hufflepuff and Slytherin. If Bloom had to choose on which team to cheer on, it wouldn't be the green one. Ever since she played on the Ravenclaw team, she had a sense of excitement to watch the games. She now knew what to expect (or not expect) and knew that the more in the crowds that were cheering you on, the better they played.

Wearing her winter uniform and bundled up with a snow hat and scarf, Bloom made her way towards the Quidditch Pitch to go and cheer on the Hufflepuff team. She knew some of the players on the team which made it even more exciting. As she got there, there were unfamiliar faces. There seemed to be such a surge of first years this year than in previous years. As Bloom was making her way around the circular pitch in the crowds, she saw one familiar face. Smiling, she went up to them.

"Serena!" she called out and went up to her. She saw on her shoulder a rat. The way she was relaxed with him, it was definitely her pet and not just something out of the blue on her shoulder. Bloom had never met Serena's pet before. "Oh hi there," she said to the little creature. Why a rat, Bloom couldn't understand why.

"Want to watch and cheer on Hufflepuff together?" she asked, smiling at an old friend who she saw on occasion.

Interacting with @Bloom Silverton

Glancing over her shoulder as she heard her name being called out, a smile crossed her lips. She tilted her head a little, careful not to knock the brown rat that resided on her shoulder off it. Raising her other free hand in a wave, she grinned, "Hey! Oh, sure! Of course, they are -" She paused, looking back over the pitch.

Rosie had just ridden in on a bear. More specifically Ami the bear. She laughed softly, shaking her head, they were insane. Absolutely crazy - and it was very much why she loved them. She really did love them for their strangeness, "Well, the usual. Just being idiots," She teased with a grin on her face. They were great. A part of her definitely missed being on the team at times but this was for the best. Besides, broom racing was quickly winning her heart.

"It's been a while since you last played too, right?" She asked, just making conversation as she gazed out to the pitch. It had been well over a year now since she walked onto the pitch as a member of the team. From her memory, Bloom used to play too but she could not recall specifically when the Ravenclaw had stepped down or why. Either way, it was nice to see the girl supporting Hufflepuff today.

@Serena Towers

There was something about the Hufflepuff team that not all teams had. Perhaps it was spunk or just "balls" in doing things that others would not. Bloom couldn't help but the stare at how each player was coming out from behind the scenes and onto the field. She could not help but to smile.

Bloom looked back over at Serena and shrugged. "It's been a long while, yeah," she nodded. Bloom remembered being on the Ravenclaw team and how terrified she was before every game. It was an experience she was glad to have, however. It helped her socialize and jump into scenarios she would have never done. Why she joined the team in the first place, she had no idea. Call it a random act of crazy.

"I don't think we've ever played each other. The game between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff I was benched," she laughed, shrugging. Bloom had many good games, but there were other games that she had been benched to give a break. If she played every game, it would be too intense. Some players were given breather games, too.

"Do you miss it?" she asked, looking back at the crowd and watching them all come out one by one. It was always a long introduction to watch, but it was never that long when you were in it. "Are you still playing sports?" she asked, wondering what Serena had been up to nowadays.

Interacting with @Bloom Silverton

"Pretty sure we won that game," She teased, smirking a little at Bloom jokingly. They had been undefeated for a while, in fact, and there was something so incredible in that feeling. It was something to be proud of. She often forgot it at the time - she forgot to stop and appreciate and take pride in it. However, she should have. They were a great team together. Seeing Hufflepuff lose physically hurt her, she could not even begin to imagine how the team felt. But that was why she was here. She was here extra early to make sure they had support, to know that they were not alone. Even if it was just in spirit, she was with them.

Loyal to her house, Serena would never consider supporting the other. However, seeing Erin bought a small smile to her face. She did not know if this was the best thing for her or not but Serena had found a lot of peace in sports... perhaps Erin would too. Perhaps one day, she needed to have a proper heart-to-heart with the girl... But she had no idea what she would even say.

Her gaze fell onto Howard, who was walking onto the pitch. Another person the sport would hopefully help... "Sometimes, yeah. Times like this makes me miss it..." She replied, looking over the pitch. Rosie was being adorably ridiculous as always. Ami was definitely encouraging it but it looked fun. Howard looked far more serious than the other two but someone had to take it seriously! The team had changed since she played but there were quite a few members that remained the same. She missed being their teammate but it was also far too painful to watch them get hurt constantly because she could not catch the snitch fast enough or could not evade everything without their sacrifices.

Not taking her eyes off the pitch, she nodded, "I am - I'm a broom racer now. It's pretty great," Broom racing was definitely winning her heart very quickly. It was fun. "What about you?" She asked, turning both questions back to the Ravenclaw.

@Serena Towers

A laugh slipped Bloom's lips. Serena was right to say that they probably won the game. Hufflepuff, unlike the other houses, have been undefeated so far in all of their Quidditch games. It was impeccable at how well they play together to keep winning. Bloom was never as in-sync with her team as she has seen Hufflepuff.

Before she could reply, Bloom saw out on the crowd that Howard White, a new friend of the year, was coming out from the locker room. "Look who's coming out! It's Howard!" Bloom said excitedly. She looked at Serena with a smile and then back at Howard who came out to the crowd looking serious. Perhaps a lot was on his mind. Bloom was learning more and more about him throughout the year. Bloom definitely appreciated his close friendship this year. "He is such a kind person, don't you think?" she asked, assuming since they were all fifth years and he was in her house, that she would know him.

"Oh wow, a broom racer!" Bloom acknowledged. "It must be so different, huh?" she asked, wondering how it was to be a broom racer. It was all about speed than it was teamwork skill. "I tried out to be a broom racer, but did not get it. I don't even know if I really want to be on the team or not," she said, thinking about it further. "Sounds scary," she chuckled.

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The weather of the past weeks was better suited for indoor sports, like duelling, than high-altitude, high-speed broom sports, but here they were. Despite the chill evident in the snow cover and blowing wind only making matters worse, Bridget hadn't seriously considered skipping this one. She made a point to make every game, and if they didn't cancel Quidditch for adverse weather conditions, why would she use that as an excuse? Besides, it seemed half of the games were bound to be played in storms of varying degrees--battering rain, howling winds, falling snow. A coat, hat, gloves, Slytherin scarf, and thick socks would just have to do. And where they failed to fully keep out the chill, she had a thermos of tea, kept warm with the water-heating spell trick Illowy had told her about.

She was anxious to see Slytherin play today after how terribly the first match of the year had gone. Their game against Ravenclaw had frankly reached a point where it didn't feel like she was watching Quidditch anymore, only a bloodbath of green falling out of the sky. She supposed a minor plus was Flash getting his first chance to play, though it was incredibly short-lived, hardly a chance to show what he could do. Needless to say, she hoped they could put that behind them, establish their rhythm. Both teams were hungry for a win, coming off of losses, and Hufflepuff was no push-over, with an intimidating line-up of tenured players. But Slytherin had experience, too, and if Erin Ryan didn't qualify as intimidating, she didn't know what did.

Finding a spot near the front wasn't difficult; the turnout wasn't quite what it would be on a nice day. Good view, check. She'd brought her omnioculars, too, but handling them with gloves and wind might not be the easiest. At least this wasn't a snowstorm; such lack of visibility would edge into the territory of too dangerous to play and make spectating pointless. The only thing she was missing was someone to sit with. Maybe she should have asked someone, but many of her first thoughts were either already playing or averse to brooms, and the latter she was hesitant to invite in such awful weather.

When the teams finally flew out, taking the customary lap around the pitch--on a day like today, was it a warm-up lap or did it just make them colder?--she added her cheers for Slytherin and was attentive to the passing Hufflepuffs. It had been a while since she'd played Quidditch, and by now she'd fully moved on from it to duelling, but she liked to have a sense of what the teams looked like. It wouldn't be long now until the game was underway.

Interacting: @Bridget Collins

Henry perfered the quiet and warmth of the library, getting lost in a leather-bound book for hours at a time. The thought sounded like a dream to the young third year. Threading up the stairs of the stands to the quidditch pitch in the bitter cold, eyes ahead.

Loki ran ahead, the feline seemed to hold the opposite personality of his onwer. Tail flickering in the air and nostrils sniffing the air, stepping through the group of students. Disappearing from the sight of his onwer who stood frozen. Eyes glued on where his orange feline was last seen. Slipping his hands into the pockets of his slytherin dueling hoodie, the teen moved his way through the group. Looking for his feline.

A slytherin boy dressed in jeans, a dueling hoddie, and knitted hat wandered through the stands calling for his feline. Henry squinted his eyes, desperately looking for the mischievous feline when his blue gaze caught the sky. Smiling a little as he silently wished his friends luck and a good bludger to the face on the certain slytherin's he didn't quite enjoy.

Shaling his head a little as he moved back to the task at hand, walking through the stands. Gaze circling around the feet of others as he searched for his feline until he saw him. Henry nearly fell into the railling as he watched Loki rubbed aginest the legs of on his dueling captains and parther, the feline acted like a friendly and affectionate feline. Not purring through. Biting the inside of hid cheek, swearinf to get some revenge on his furry friend later. The teen walked up to the pair as he spoke"hey, sorry about Loki if he causes any trouble," the teen whistled once and Loki ingored him. The teen eyed his feline and whistled again, tapping once on his pant leg to signal the orange feline. Looking up, Loki gave a meow then paddled over to his onwer who spoke"again sorry about him, Cap- uh."

Interacting with @Bloom Silverton

Takenback a little by Bloom's excitement, she blinked as she looked at who she was referencing. Howard. Howard frickin' White. Of all of the people in the team, why him? She imagined they were friends but there were other fifth years in the group to be excited about! He was the one that she was trying to avoid thinking about.

"Yeah. He's pretty... pretty great," She replied after a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase it. He was a kind person. That was not something she doubted. In fact, it was one of the things she thought about him before they had even become closer. She had considered him to be far kinder than he appeared to be years ago. He may walk around with a scowl on his face but she never thought he was anything but kind. Though, him in attack mode is a little terrifying. Not in the sense that she thought he would hurt her but rather in the sense that, she would not want to be on the other side. But he was a friend. Someone she had considered a friend for many years, likely before he viewed her the same way.

Her eyes lingered on him for a few moments, watching him zoom around the pitch as he warmed up. Ughhhh, why did he have to be so bloody kind? It made him cuter. And that just made everything more painful. She tore her gaze away from him, not wanting to catch his attention. The last time he had spotted her in the stadium, she was pretty sure he had winked and her heart could not handle something like that happening again.

Luckily, Bloom seemed to be distracted by broom racing. "It's not all that different, actually. Both require the team to work together, both have goals and dangers to avoid. The main difference is, the environment is just as much against you as the other team. So you can't just focus on one... You have to focus on everything," She explained. If you kept an eye on your opponents, who could very well attack you, you would lose to the obstacles on the course. If you focused on the course, the opponents could easily find an opening and attack you. You had to look everywhere at all times, that was the only solution. You had to be better than everything else and everyone else. But you still had a team to rely on, a team that worked together to win.

"It's a little scary but, I guess it's nicer than getting bludgers to the face and falling from a broom ten times in five minutes," She admitted. Being a successful seeker made her a threat to everyone, apparently. It was a little more than terrifying. There was no end to the attacks, no break to breathe in. People did anything to defeat her, including cheating. They took down her teammates, making her watch them take the hits meant for her and watch them suffer. In that sense... broom racing was a lot less scary. No one specifically cared enough about her to focus all of their might on her alone. She was not a threat in broom racing, nor did she have to watch her team protect her with their lives like she was.