Headliner Ulterior Motives PV Finished

Anastasia wasn't exactly what one would call a team player. She could, in fact, work with others when she had to, but she had been called "abrasive", "bossy", and a "control freak". She hadn't the faintest idea why. In any event, she hadn't been involved in anything very team-oriented since being on the Gryffindor paper her first year. She'd had to quit shortly after she became a prefect, which was really just as well since she had managed to start a rivalry with one of the older members by attempting to blackmail her. It was even more concerning when one considered the fact that she'd only been on the paper for a few months.

She was also barely caught up on all the school that she'd missed while she was traveling, and final exams were speeding towards her. The young Gryffindor was consuming caffeine like it was oxygen, and more often than not, running on less than five hours of sleep. So, why on Earth had she applied for the Headliner?

Well, first off, she had decided that the teamwork thing was something that she probably ought to work on a bit, since, in her future plans as an Auror, she was sure she would have to work on a team at some point. Secondly, she did in fact enjoy writing and editing, which she suspected was a result of her avid reading habits. Thirdly, and really most importantly, she loved knowing everything that was going on. Being gone for nearly a year meant that she was dreadfully behind on her gossip, which she simply would not stand for. Now, it wasn't that she had joined the newspaper so that she would have an excuse to know everyone's business, but she had joined the newspaper to have an excuse to know everyone's business.

So far, she hadn't learned anything particularly interesting, but she had only just joined the paper and was still getting reacclimated, so that wasn't too much of a loss. She was leaving the office after working a bit on the next issue of the paper when she was approached by a vaguely familiar girl. She remembered her from the SWAG game and from seeing her in the Gryffindor Common room but didn't know much else about the girl.

"Yes, I suppose I am," Anastasia said pleasantly when the girl asked if she was one of the new recruits. She assumed that the girl already pretty much knew that since she was in the office at the moment and hadn't been here in the past several months. She found it a bit odd to ask a question that you already knew the answer too, but she supposed that it was just the girl trying to be friendly or something. She also made note of the fact that the girl said her last name first. She wondered if she was one of the purebloods who wanted everyone to know that they were a pureblood, or simply a weirdo who wanted to go by her last name. Nobody really called Ana by her last name, since generally at Hogwarts, she went by Ana and at home, she was Anastasia and her father was Beckett. She wasn't fully against the idea though, just hadn't considered it before. "I'm Anastasia Beckett."

She shook younger Gryffindor's hand as she tried to think of where she recognized the name from. It hit her as the redhead mentioned the SWAG game. She was the Quidditch co-captain that Rafa had spoken oh so fondly of. Still, Anastasia supposed that she wouldn't completely judge the girl based on what Rafael thought of her, and in any event, it certainly wouldn't hurt to be on good terms with one of the other members of the paper, since she had already managed to get on a certain Hufflepuff's bad side. "Yes, I quite enjoyed it. Generally, I prefer Quidditch, but that was certainly enjoyable."

@Evelynn Decipio

Interacting with @Anastasia Beckett

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Beckett," Evelynn replied with a smile and faint tip of her chin.

Finally someone who seemed subdued in conversation to a normal level. Perhaps it was just coincidence, or maybe it was a general trait of many young witches and wizards that Evelynn didn't share, but many of her encounters with her peers had left her feeling somewhat socially exhausted and more than a little dizzy with the rapidity and circling of their rapid-fire conversation. She was far more accustomed to a slower pace of intellectual and proper interaction, one that allowed sufficient thought and reflection throughout the conversation. A good grip on the shake, too, she noted before releasing to rest her palm casually atop the flap over her bookbag.

"The games can definitely be a touch chaotic at times," Evelynn commented, smirking faintly at the recollection of more than a few ridiculous SWAG moments. "But always interesting in one way or another. Like how Greer targeted Moussa as a spectator seemingly out of nowhere. Makes you wonder if that was some sort of vengeance seeking tactic from bad blood."

As she spoke, she retreated a few steps to the nearest table, propping herself up to sit upon its edge, legs crossing at the ankles. "But Quidditch, mn? You were at that last game, no? The one between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff? Now that you mention it, I thought I remembered seeing you in the stands."

In fact, Evelynn recalled a little bit more than just that. It had been incredibly difficult to ignore the roaring cheers that had been called out time and again for their golden Captain. Beckett hadn't been the only one in attendance for him, either, if she was remembering right. It was almost funny, really. Wherever he went, it was as though he had a little gaggle of personal fans following him about to fawn over his — less than impressive, in her opinion — accomplishments. But none of those thoughts would escape beyond being mentally and silently acknowledges.

"Do you play?" she wondered, genuinely interested. An obvious fan of Quidditch herself, she was always keen to meet another who shared the interest. "Or is it more something that you enjoy watching?"

Ana nodded slightly at being a please to have met. That was something that everyone said, usually whether or not the person was in fact a pleasure to meet. Still, Ana considered herself quite a pleasure, and chose to believe the girl somewhat meant it. This also confirmed her suspicion that this girl was a weirdo who chose to go by her last name. She supposed that was better than going by middle names. People who did that were just demented. If Ana chose to go by her middle name... Good Lord, which of her seven would she even go by? That wasn't even counting nicknames. Katherine for example had at least five nicknames that she could think of off the top of her head. No, she would stick with her first name and she supposed her last name with people like this girl. What even was the point of middle names? Other than to waste ink when signing things? Ana honestly had no idea.

"Yes, I assumed that was some bad blood I wasn't privy to, but I haven't actually seen either of them since then, so I really don't know," Ana replied. The entire thing had been odd. Attacking a spectator in something that was just a game anyway. Ana had just taken for granted that there were problems between the two and hadn't questioned it since she'd been gone so long and didn't know much about the relationships of various first years. Apparently though, the bad blood was news to people like Decipio that had been around. Something to potentially ask about if she say either of the involved parties again.

"Yes, I suppose I was rather memorable at the game. Gryffindor played an excellent game. That snitch catch of yours was superb," she said, a pinkish color spreading across her pale cheeks. Between her noticeable outfit and loud shrieks, she doubted anyone would have missed her. It had been fun at the time, but it wasn't behavior that represented Ana, or the Beckett family for that matter, very well. In any event, complimenting someone's Quidditch game was typically a decent tactic to use when becoming acquainted with someone new at Hogwarts.

"I do, actually. I suppose it's rather unavoidable, what with my mother having played professionally and all," Ana stated. She cringed inwardly, realizing her causal mention of her mother's career could be seen as name droppy and gauche. Still, it was a major factor as to why she had started Quidditch so young.

Unfortunate. Although Evelynn hadn't really been expecting anything to come of her comment regarding Greer and Moussa, perhaps there had been a small part of her that had hoped perhaps this Beckett might have known something. It had been a toss of the hat shot in the dark, but she had sought to join the paper, which generally attracted those who had a penchant — or at least interest — in gossip. Too bad..

Not that Evelynn dwelled on that brief disappointment long, nor give any outward indication that it had crossed her mind. The compliment that had come after had caught Evelynn quite by surprise. Perhaps surprisingly, this was actually the first time anyone had said anything to her about the game at all, nevermind her catch and the part she had played to snatch the victory. Although, it wasn't as though she had saved her team, or anything. The chasers had been doing a remarkable job as sailing that quaffle through the hoops and the lead had been their team's even before the snitch had been caught.

"Thank you," Evelynn replied, her tone reigned demurely in as a faint blush crept across her cheek. In part, she had felt a slight spike of embarrassment at the recognition, something she hadn't yet grown used to. But more than that, the memory had brought with it the rather unexpected moment between she and the other passenger of the broom she had shared. "It was a fun game," she added, shrugging a brow as she settled more comfortably against the desk. "Certainly nice to be able to prove that I was capable of more than I was able to do at the Slytherin game."

"And really?!" She continued, transitioning to this new and rather exciting revelation of Beckett's familial involvement with Quidditch. "Your mother was a professional Quidditch player? That's brilliant! Who did she play for? And does she still play? Is that why you're not on a team, though? I can imagine there'd be quite a bit of pressure in trying to follow in her footsteps and to play as well as she did, or better."

Still, even if what she had said were true, Evelynn could see the easy benefit of having the girl on the team. Even if it was indirectly, it could be potentially invaluable to have someone with a direct line to a pro player. What sort of helpful tips and tricks could they all learn as a result, she wondered. And how great would it be if her mother was ever able to drop in to do an impromptu lesson or assessment. It was always best to take the advice and feedback from those better than you in any field. This aerial one was no different. All of Evelynn's equestrian trainers had been those who had received at least some form of recognition in the show ring. If she could have something like that here at Hogwarts with Quidditch...

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Anastasia Beckett[/font]

Ana smiled and nodded slightly when the other girl blushed and thanked her. Interestingly enough, the girl seemed rather surprised by the compliment, as though she hadn't received as many as she deserved based on that catch. Ana thought was rather a shame, seeing as the catch was pretty bloody awesome, especially considering that the girl had been sharing a broom with another player. Ana hadn't had that happen in any of the games she'd played, and quite frankly, she found it rather impressive that the team was cohesive enough that something like that maneuver could be pulled off successfully.

The girl's reaction surprised her slightly, since somehow it seemed slightly less guarded and calculated than her previous words and body language. She'd heard rumors about the seeker and boy she'd been on the broom with supposedly making out and/or sucking each other's faces off after the match. She hadn't actually seen either of them once they landed after the game, so she really didn't know what to make of it all. People really were an odd bunch. Her thoughts about that reaction, the alleged face sucking, and people in general were interrupted by Decipio's enthusiastic reaction to her mother having been a Quidditch player. She'd gotten a range of similar reactions when she'd mentioned it at Hogwarts. It was a nice change, since back home, everyone kind of knew about her mother's career.

"She was on the Holyhead Harpies right out of school until she had me, but she retired after that. Something about wanting to focus on her family, which I think is a crying shame, since I really don't require that much focus," Ana replied. Not that she actually focused that much on Ana beyond hiring fancy expensive tutors. If she'd been truthful about her reasons for retiring, it would have been some combination of wanting to focus more on throwing stupid pureblood parties and Ana's father pressuring her to. Those weren't really things that Ana was planning on discussing with a near stranger though."And she'll deny this, but she definitely still has it. She taught me to fly as soon as I was crawling, and she can still outmatch some of her friends that are still on the team. My not being on the team is more related to the fact that I missed pretty much all of my second year before March, so I wasn't there for tryouts and I'm buried in homework now. I'll most likely be trying out next year though."

Ana smiled slightly. Despite Rafa's reports of her, this girl didn't seem too bad. A bit snaky and calculating maybe, but not the evil vampire bitch she'd been expecting. Still, she remained on edge. The girl's bringing up the events of the SWAG game in the manner she did combined with the fact that she was on the newspaper had made clear to Ana that Decipio was at absolute best a fierce gossip. Someone that could be fun to be around at times, but certainly not someone to trust with anything remotely important.

"Hollywood Harpies?" Evelynn echoed, mildly surprised, but not unpleasantly so. "Did she play when Professor Bercegeauy was on the team, then?"

It wasn't as though Evelynn really knew much about the various teams. Not yet, anyway. That was something she would have to fix down the line when she had a little more access to current sporting events in the Wizarding World, but the Hollywood Harpies was at least one team with which she had grown a bit more familiar than she otherwise might have expected. All thanks to Miss Birdcage, obviously. That fowl-brained professor had been one of her very first introductions to this world of magical wonder. She'd been the one to deliver her letter, the one to take her to fetch her supplies at Diagon Alley, and had been the one to give her a few private training sessions as a beater when she had first been vying to a spot on the Quidditch team. And she was a Hollywood Harpy. It made Evelynn smile just to think about the possibility that Beckett's mother and one of her favourite instructors might have played together professionally.

"That's fantastic," Evelynn chuckled as Ana described her mother's preserved aptitude for the sport. "I wish I'd had that chance. My mum was a bigger fan of mounts with which you could develop a meaningful connection, I suppose, so I learned to ride instead of fly. I envy you a bit. I fell in love with the broom the first time I finally got to try it out. But I still enjoy riding as well."

Her smile lingered on her lips. One that reflected both her enjoyment of the topic at hand, as well as the nostalgia of what came with it. Although she loved Cassie dearly and would never consider ceasing her equestrian pursuits, gosh what she would have given to have been able to learn to fly at such a young age. She'd been a quick learn and had improved dramatically since the start of the school year, but she could only imagine just how much further along she might have been had she the same advantage as Beckett.

"I definitely look forward to seeing you try out when you do," she nodded, thoughts already jumping forward to the next year. Gryffindor's team dynamics had been more than a little tumultuous over the year. It would be nice to be able to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with a stronger outlook going into the year. Soon. "Do you know what position you'll be going for?"

Given the agility that the girl had demonstrated in the SWAG game, Evelynn figured she likely could have played several positions. She had the build of a chaser or a seeker, though, in her opinion. The idea of her being a seeker was one that sat on the fence with Evelynn. She'd found that members who shared a role could go one of two ways. Either they bonded over supporting each other and having each other's back, or their relationship sat on the edge of a knife. There could be tensions around being benched as a second-string regardless of how the first was performing: either envy of the loss of spotlight, or resentment that they weren't on the field instead to show them up. But on the other hand, her as a chaser would widen the chasm even more.

"Chaser?" she inquired, putting out her second-place suspicion. "Fancy playing alongside D'Spacito?"

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Anastasia Beckett

"I don't think so. If I remember correctly, Professor Bercegeauy joined when I was three or four, so my mother wasn't playing anymore," Ana told the redhead. When she had arrived back at school from her travels, Ana had been thrilled to find out the flying professor had been on her mother's team and she kept meaning to talk to her about that. She kept forgetting or procrastinating about it, and now the professor had left, which was a pity. The interim flying professor was the Slytherin head of house, who Ana was slightly terrified of. In a good way, like she wanted to be her when she grew up. However, Ana still wasn't completely certain that the head of house wouldn't fling a child from a broom because they were irritating her. Exactly what Ana wanted to be.

Ana grinned at the mention of riding. It wasn't her chosen sport, but it probably her second favorite way to get around. She definitely wasn't good at it though. She could get from point A to point B on a horse, but beyond that, she was hopeless. Her mother had insisted on her being at least proficient in riding, but Ana found it to be rather useless, as they didn't even have any horses at their main residence in Londo. They had several at their chateau in France, but they usually only spent the summers there, so for the majority of the year when they were in the city, Ana didn't have a reason to ride. Half the horses were just grumpy assholes who didn't actually like being ridden. There was one horse that she'd liked that had been a bit more spirited, but it had passed away a summer or two ago.

Ana smiled at the girl's remark about looking forward to seeing her try out. Not that she would admit to to anyone, even herself, but she was slightly nervous. In the best situations, Ana didn't work well with others without a lot of effort and Quidditch was no different. She knew that being able to work well with and depend on others was vital, specifically for the chasers, but really for the team as a whole. Ana was the literal definition of "if you want something done right, you do it yourself". Her entire childhood had taught her that the only person that would always be there for her was herself. No one else. Not her parents or cousins or anyone. That had caused some serious problems when she had recreationally playd Quidditch in the past. Despite the fact that she had made several friends at Hogwarts, at the end of the day, she didn't fully trust any of them. "I usually play as a Chaser,although I do make a half decent Seeker in a pinch," Ana told the girl. "I'm planning on going out for chaser though."

Ana's cheeks flushed slightly at the mention of Rafa. She would be lying if she said that playing alongside Rafa wouldn't be awesome. Out of everyone she knew, he was probably the person she came closest to actually fully trusting. They hadn't actually known one another that long, it had been just over two weeks since they'd met. "I suppose so," she said causally as though that wouldn't be possibly the greatest thing ever.

"Oh, that's a shame," Evelynn replied, offering the briefest shrugging pout of her lips in response to the negative about Ana's mother having played with the Professor.

The red-head had found herself a little disappointed. It really was a shame. She would have loved to have found out a little more, to have received the inside scoop, on what it was like having played with the self-absorbed woman during the height of her career. Even if she did find Professor Berceguaey to be somewhat overwhelmingly narcissistic at times, she had developed a bit of a soft spot for her. No one could ever say the teacher wasn't entertaining at the very least, and she had always been endlessly receptive to offering help, even if it was just because it made her look all the better or because everyone deserved to hear what she had to say. Not that that was necessarily what the professor believed or anything. But alas, no such insider knowledge would be able to be forthcoming.

Still on the subject of Quidditch, Beckett had confirmed Evelynn's supposition regarding her preferred position. Admittedly, there was a slight shot of agitation that sparked like a rap of a ruler on the knuckles. Although she had been outwardly correct, she'd been wrong. She had actually pegged the girl as a Seeker rather than a chaser, mostly on her leaner build and her voiced aversion to team play. But, she couldn't deny the relief she felt as well. Given her desire to get to know the girl better, she didn't relish the idea of rivalling her for Seeker. Especially not with her clearly superior experience and access to private coaching.

"You'd have some good supporting teammates for that," Evelynn smiled, tilting her head slightly. "Woodward and D'Spacito are brilliant flyers. D'Spacito can be a bit narrow at times, and I don't always agree with his calls or the risks he takes with blatching, but.." She shrugged a brow. There wasn't really anything she could do about that, so she'd had to learn to just accept it. He was Captain. His word was gold. Fool's gold, maybe, but still enough to trump her. "MacAllister and Woodward have good heads on them, though, and both have been nothing but dependable allies. Quinlan is great, too, with the benefit of seniority on the team. You'll have some fine competition with try-outs."

The talk of try-outs and positions wasn't the only thing on Evelynn's mind though. Her probing comment about Beckett playing alongside D'Spacito had earned not only a verbal reaction, but also a visual one. While both were informative in their own way, it was the latter that she found the more interesting. She had blushed. The mere mention of the Quidditch Captain had coloured her cheeks with a rosey tinge. She'd had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. Flash.. Beckett.. That other kid.. He really was a walking stereotype. Anger issues, arrogant, graced with genes he didn't deserve, athletically inclined, stubborn to the point of blind, a complete imbecile, and apparently swooned over by half the school. Perhaps that was a gross over-statement, but even three was three too many.

"What year are you in, anyway?" Evelynn asked, wanting to change the subject and direct her thoughts away from her idiot captain before her slowly simmering ire began to boil. Plus, she wanted to get to know Beckett better. Given the way she had grinned at the mention of equestrian riding, she clearly had good taste. "I don't think I've seen you in my classes. Are you in any of the other clubs around the school besides SWAG?"

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Anastasia Beckett[/font]

Ana nodded slightly at the redhead's commentary about the various other Gryffindor chasers. She also found it rather humorous that one of the first things the co-captain mentioned in conjunction with Rafa was his blatching. It had been a subject of great interest during her first conversation with him, with him telling her that his nickname was apparently "Blatch King". Blatching, to Ana anyway, was great in certain places, but probably not something that you wanted to use too often.

She was also grateful for the information on the other chasers. From Ana's observations at the unofficial game, the team was an overall skilled bunch and Decipio's words confirmed her thoughts. She vaguely knew Marla from her first year, but other than her and Rafa, the chasers were pretty much strangers to the second year.

Something else that interested her was Decipio's quick pivot to school. It seemed rather odd, since seeing as she was on the Quidditch team, one would have thought she would have wanted to talk about Quidditch for ages. There was something that they were discussing that she didn't care to converse about further. Likely one of the chasers. If Ana had to guess, she'd say it was Rafa, seeing as she'd only had positive things to say about the rest of them. That combined with Rafa's commentary about his co-captain made Ana somewhat curious as to how on Earth the two worked together at all. The second year had already known that their relationship was contentious at best, but the depth of it was new information to her. Were they really so antagonistic to one another that Decipio couldn't even stand to talk about him?

"No, I suppose you wouldn't have seen me in classes. I'm a second year," Ana said. That was assuming that she wouldn't be made to repeat the year or something. It wasn't that she was actually failing anything, just that she had been gone for the first six months of the school year and was now desperately trying to catch up. She would actually throw a tantrum if she was made to repeat the year, seeing as that was simply not the way Becketts behaved. God, her parents would have such a fit if that happened. She could already hear the lectures about how it brought shame upon the entire family and this just wasn't the way that any Beckett did things. A little ironic, seeing as they were the ones who had pulled her out of school to travel. None of these inner musings were visible to anyone who might have been observing the brunette. "I do ballet, so I've recently joined a club for that," Ana told the girl. That had been something that had been more of her parents' thing. They had been disappointed with how little she'd practiced during the school year and had told her that she really ought to join or found a club to ensure more that she rehearsed more often. "And how about you? Any clubs other than SWAG?"