Quid Spectators Hufflepuff v Slytherin Jan 2022 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚎

@Henry Knight

Henry accepted her offer. Truth be told, she wasn't exactly sure what to do now that they were both standing there. It wasn't like they talked outside of duelling, where she channeled a confidence rooted in her captaincy--in the duelling room, she knew what she was doing. Here they were just two kids, and she didn't know very much about Henry. So thank goodness for the game, saving them from having to figure out what to say or else bear the silence. It was easy with something to watch; at most, they could exchange commentary.

Slytherin's point lead was gone almost immediately, and not by the expected hands of a Chaser. No, Ethen was after the Quaffle instead of the Snitch. Was he so confident in his abilities he felt he had time to spare? Could Hufflepuff be trying for a win by Quaffle scores? She frowned, pulling her omnioculars to her eyes, trying to gather a more detailed picture. Or maybe... maybe he had already seen the Snitch. She wasn't completely sure, but it was a tactic her Quidditch Scrimmage team had used. Have the Seeker go after the Quaffle once they spotted that elusive glint of gold while keeping an eye on it, of course, to try to edge their way closer without making their discovery immediately obvious. Plus, it racked up a trio of scores for Hufflepuff, which might count at the end of the year, if not today.

It wasn't great if Ethen already had his sights on the Snitch, since her magnified vision didn't make it look like Dan did. But Slytherin wasn't doing poorly by any means. In contrast to last game, which had been a lot of snakes falling from the sky, it seemed like they might have the offensive edge. Falling players forced the badgers to double up, and in time, Slytherin had taken out a first-string Chaser and decimated the Beater lineup to just Quinn. Erin was, for once, still in the game and certainly making Hufflepuff pay for it. On the whole, the Beater action was exciting, a mixture of key bludger hits and selfless Seeker defending.

The sound in the stands shifted most drastically in two short moves. First, Cash sent Ethen, who had been concerningly close to closing his fingers around the game-winning ball for a while now, plummeting to the white-covered ground below, no one around to catch him. Bridget applauded along with other Slytherin supporters, because how could she not? "That was huge," she commented to Henry amidst the noise. But then the cheering shifted as Dan fell, too, victim to a Parkin's Pincer. He also had no one to catch him, the team perhaps too laser-focused on taking out Ethen. Just like that, both teams had a new Seeker.

And while she didn't want the sight of Dan, experienced Seeker and captain, down and out, she couldn't help but be a bit excited, shifting where she stood to give her attention to the incoming second-strings. Flash, who for a while had been in doubt of if he'd ever get a chance to play, would now be taking to the skies for the second time. Eager to watch her friend play, she was simultaneously anxious, for last time he'd fallen almost immediately. But this should be better. Last time everyone was falling, the Slytherin team decimated, so there'd been little hope he would have the support to stay in the air, much less to win the game. Now, while Hufflepuff was surely just as much out for blood as Ravenclaw had been, the odds weren't so skewed and the Seekers were on even ground. Fingers crossed, Henry might just be able to hear her whisper, "Alright, come on."

@Serena Towers

There was a sour pit bubbling up in Bloom's stomach. She is lying to someone who she considered a really good friend in Hogwarts. But what was worse? Sharing that she, too, also liked the same boy? What was worse was that both Bloom and Howard had already started the flirtatious dance (at least that's what her mother would call it). They, as friends, went to the movies, but it shifted into being more than just going as friends to being a date. It was already a step that she did not want to confide Serena in. But what if she already knew? No, she wouldn't have known by then. This was all too terrible.

"Oh? You grew up with him?" she questioned, her head tilting ever so slightly. Maybe there was more to Arjan and Serena than Bloom could knew. They were probably next door neighbors or something. "Oh, so you have to share all the details!" she joked, keeping going with the lie that she was falling head over heals with Arjan.

Then there was the question: do you even know him or is it just appearance? WELL, Bloom had no idea who the hell Arjan really was. She only really saw him and a glimpse of his personality from the spin the bottle game over the summer, which was long ago. "Um, yeah, a little," she lied even more. "Care to tell me more?" she asked, wanting Serena to speak more than her on the subject. Her stomach churning even more for every minute spent on this conversation.

"More penalty laps from Hufflepuff?" Bloom asked, trying to slowly change the subject back to the game that was actively being played before them. It seemed there was more than just that: Slytherin's Seeker had spotted the snitch. The way they were flying around the pitch made it look like a goal than a search. "Come on Hufflepuff!" she screamed.

@Bridget Collins

Henry and Loki has left the thread

Interacting with @Bloom Silverton | Mentioning @Howard White

Serena frowned to herself, staring out into the pitch watching the game. Bloom liked her brother?! What was she even supposed to say to this? She was confused. How did she warn her friend that he was an absolute jerk, a heartbreaker and just an awful racist guy when that friend had a crush on him? Serena knew how sucky having feelings for someone could be. But at least the guy she liked was worthy of her feelings. Arjan was not worthy of anyone's love, in Serena's opinion. He would not be able to reciprocate - especially not for someone who was not a pureblood. At least, that was the opinion she had of him.

"I mean... yeah, sorta. He is my brother, yanno," She responded as she commented on them growing up together. It was not something he would be pleased she revealed but also, she did not plan to lie to her friend about stupid things like this. Serena had no problem admitting they were related and openly admitting that she hated that more than he did - though she was less vocal about that hatred.

Scratching the back of her head awkwardly, she finished her hot chocolate and placed it down to the side as she turned to Bloom, "Not entirely sure what more to really say. We don't get along, to be honest. He's... very different, I guess. We value different things," Serena responded as diplomatically as she could, trying not to say anything that could get back to Arjan and then be thrown into her face. They were different people. Hell, they were very different - both in appearance and personality. He was a foot taller, for starters, and had arms that could snap her in half. But his personality was far less impressive, it was foul. She had a lot of self-doubts but she would like to think she was a better person than him, at the very least.

"Yes!" She whispered, fist-pumping slightly as she saw Howard zip through the air and score several quaffle goals right after each other. She almost scared Pizza right off but it was fine! "I guess I'm not the best person to ask about him since we don't really hang out. But uh, I can try and answer any questions, I guess?" She continued, wondering if that was the best move. Maybe she should just tell Bloom to move on and not like him but... how could she? Moving on was so much easier said than done. Serena wanted nothing more than to move on from her own feelings that were just making her awkward and guilty and... it was not happening. Telling Bloom to move on was probably not the nicest move. It was so much easier said than done.

She sighed, about to say something else when her eyes widened. Howard was whacked with a bludger, "Fu-" She cursed under her breath, sighing a brief of relief when he was caught. The frown on her face deepened, knowing that it probably hurt. Having received plenty of bludgers herself, she knew they were not exactly 'fun'. The game was over before there was a chance to even react. When the snitch had been caught, she did not know. Her eyes were fixed on the dhampir, "I'm sorry, I have to go-" She mumbled with worry painted on her face, scooping Pizza Rat in her hands and quickly grabbing her stuff.

"I'll see you around!" Without hesitation, she turned away from Bloom and quickly made her way to the exit. She would go make sure he was okay - from afar, of course. There was no way she could go talk to him but as long as she saw him walking out of the locker rooms fine or being healed in the hospital wing, she would take that as a good sign and leave it at that. He was definitely stronger than her and definitely capable of taking a hit or two far better than her, she knew that. That did not stop the fact that she was worried about him though nor the fact that she cared about him, far more than she could ever tell him.

Serena exits the stadium

@Henry Knight

There was not much peace following Flash's entry into the game, as expected. There rarely was a dull moment in Quidditch, period, and this late in the game with pressure rising and holes appearing in line-ups, you couldn't afford to take your foot off of the accelerator. Cash, arguably the game's hero for that key blatch, soon plummeted after Ethen and Dan. The snow looked rather like a blanket from up here, but she doubted it did very much to soften the fall. She caught Henry tensing beside her. Were Cash and Henry friends? She thought she might have seen them hanging around before.

She couldn't spare a moment to assure him Cash would be okay, unfortunately, because the action didn't ease up. Action wasn't even a good word for it, more repeated attempts on Flash's status as airborne. Bridget was holding her breath. One, that was Cash taking a blatch. Two, he was falling at the hands of the ever-dominant Howard White. Her grip tightened on the railing, leaning forward to follow the plummet. And then Koko was there, this hardly her first time snatching a Seeker from a devastating fall. But they weren't out of the woods yet. Three. In rocketed a bludger from Quinn Healy, the last of Hufflepuff's Beaters and a veritable threat. It all happened remarkably fast, and the next thing she knew, Koko was looping away, Flash in tow, untouched. With a glance around the sky to make sure that was it of the assault, at least for the moment, Bridget rocked back on her heels and released her breath.

Amidst all that, Flash had managed to collect a few extra points for Slytherin. That was good, those would help them later in the year. Plus with both second-string Seekers out, there was always the chance of the game ending abruptly if they were both taken out, and it would be bad to trail in Quaffle goals in such a case. Tyranni added another two scores, tying the board at 50-50. By now it was apparent Flash had spotted the snitch--he was fast, doing quite well--and most attention was on the attempt to secure those 150 points for Slytherin. Erin taking out both Atlas and Quinn, the last of the badger Beaters, in one swing of her bat was certainly a notable side event, though. The tides of falling players had turned since they played Ravenclaw. Henry had commented he hoped this wouldn't end like last time, and it was looking like it wouldn't.

Briefly, she was concerned as Howard undid their catch-up points, pulling Hufflepuff back into the lead, but it wouldn't matter. In the end, as Koko steered the broom and Flash reached, her friend would secure his first Snitch catch and the game would be called. A Slytherin victory. It felt good, as any House success did. She might be a duellist through and through now, but the Quidditch team had her support, her cheers added to the roar of the crowd.

After allowing the moment for celebration, Bridget gave her attention to Henry. There was nothing more for her to add to the Quidditch scene until she was down with the players to congratulate them. He expressed that watching the game had been more tiring than duelling, and that was true. Duelling did not require you to turn your head this way and that; it was much easier to keep up with all the action. She made a sound of agreement. Indeed, at least Slytherin won, as rocky a match as it might have been. They really had been close to losing until Cash took out Ethen.

"Of course," she said to his thanks. Bridget quite enjoyed explaining things, especially sports, so it hadn't been any trouble. Quidditch, duelling, and such made sense to her, and it was fulfilling to share her understanding. "See you later." She waved teammate and cat off, following a moment after. Now that the excitement was over, she really wanted out of this cold air. Did they really need outdoor sports matches to fall in the middle of winter?

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