2021/22 Gryffindor Quidditch Try-Outs PV Gryffindor closed

It hadn't even been that long since the brunette had been on the pitch practing for this very moment. Haley had shown her a few pointers and Elena sincerely hoped that would be enough to suffice for today. It was a big day and she was counting on those lessons to make sure she made it through today with either some postive news or without crashing into the ground. If there was anything more worse than not making the team, it was showing them that you didn't even know how to control your broom and that was something Elena wished to avoid at all costs. The broom firmly clutched by her side, she made her way down to the pitch where a throng of people had gathered either potential hopefuls as her eyes searched the faces hoping to find a friendly face there, Haley's maybe, she couldn't let her friend down after all the effort she had put in.

Evelynn's voice rang out washing over all of them establishing presence and command as she laid out the instructions. Elena herself was leaning towards more the Seeker and Chaser stations as in her mind, she struggled with which one to flock towards. Well, at least they were removing the bludgers from the equation so the Gryffindor supposed she didn't have to worry about any trips to the hospital wing in her foreseeable future for now. Her eyes shifted to the broom at her side, not as glamorous and impressive as others and she could have sworn some of the twigs on it looked like they were bound to break off any second. It would be a miracle if the thing didn't break apart mid-flight. "Just work with me for today, okay? That's all I ask." She remarked as if hoping the thing could process what she was trying to say.

The formalites out of the way and with everyone ready to put their skills to the test, Evelynn released them to their stations as the girl inhaled, one long deep breath hoping to Merlin that even if she didn't manage to make the cut, she could at least put on somewhat of a decent performance. Broom in hand, the fourth-year trekked over to the first station for the seekers, It was a bold move with full knowledge of the fact that the positon was one of the vital ones and also one of high pressure, they held the cards that decided if their team won or lost a match but Elena was of the opinion that you had to challenge yourself and you might surprise yourself. Perhaps that was why she chose this particular spot hooking one leg over her broom idling for a moment waiting for some instruction to begin the task at hand. As long as she stayed upright, she would call it a victory.

Alice was so excited, and nervous, and excited nervous that she almost felt as if she were about to vomit. But she wouldn't-- she couldn't. If she threw up now that would be the worst thing to happen in her life ever, because it was the tryouts for the gryffindor quiditch team! She felt like the entirety of the eleven or so years she had been alive had been leading up to this moment. She couldn't stop herself from bouncing on her heels in excitement as Evelynn spoke, doing her best to hang on to every word the Gryffindor team captain said. She was going to station 2. Station 2. Station 2 Station2statio- oh there was another thing. She had to go to station three afterwards to try and dodge some bludgers as well. Okay, she could do that. That was doable.

She took a deep breath to steady herself as Evelynn wrapped up her speech and released them to their stations, clutching her rickety-school issued broom to her chest. Her parents had told her she could only get a better broom when she was officially on the quidditch team, despite her and her grandmother's protests. But it was fine! She would make the team and then get her broom! And she would be the best beater Hogwarts had ever seen. Once they were released to go to their stations, she practically sprinted over to the second station to officially start tryouts. Ready to begin hitting the bludgers towards the bubbles.

Words: 251

Action: Trying out at station 2, Bludgering Action

M O D E R A T I O N

P A R T I C I P A N T S

Elena Jangleton Reducio Sta 9 | Eva 5 | Str 6 Wis 10 | Arc 5 | Acc 10 Advanced Casting Lovely Creature Evasive Maneuvers Keen Eye	Alice Grimmshaw Reducio Sta 7 | Eva 7 | Str 9 Wis 3 | Arc 5 | Acc 4 Broken Broomshaft
Aurelia Notrésvace Reducio Sta 5 | Eva 19 | Str 5 Wis 12 | Arc 5 | Acc 9 Lovely Creature Evasive Maneuvers Non-Human Enthusiast Terrible Presence	playername Reducio Sta X | Eva X | Str X Wis X | Arc X | Acc X abilities

@Elena Jangleton
STATION #1

Reducio

Golf ball #1 Find DC 15 | Catch DC 15 Keen Eye d100[26] Fail Wis d20[16]+10 = 25 Success Acc d20[14]+10 = 24 SUCCESS ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎	Golf Ball #2 Find DC 15 | Catch DC 15 Keen Eye d100[91] Success Acc d20[12]+10 = 22 SUCCESS ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎
Golf Ball #3 Find DC 20 | Catch DC 20 Keen Eye d100[22] Fail Wis d20[6]+10 = 16 Fail ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎	Golf Ball #4 Find DC 20 | Catch DC 20 Keen Eye d100[99] Success Acc d20[17]+10 = 27 SUCCESS ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎
Golf Ball #5 Find DC 25 | Catch DC 25 Keen Eye d100[100] Success Acc d20[13]+10 = 23 Fail ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎	Golf Ball #6 Find DC 25 | Catch DC 25 Keen Eye d100[36] Fail Wis d20[17]+10 = 27 Success Acc d20[2]+10 = 12 Fail‎

Found: 5 | Caught: 3

Curious eyes followed Jangelton's march as the girl made her way towards the first station. As the first string-seeker herself, Evelynn had a vested interest in any who would be signing up to work with her in that role. Whether she would happen to catch it or not, Evelynn would cast the girl a warm smile. Perhaps even an encouraging one. Naturally, she couldn't be seen to have favourites, but there would likely always be a certain warmth held for this peer in particular. While only for a brief time, the ordeal they had endured together at the turn of the new year had been significant, and Evelynn wouldn't soon forget it.

As soon as Jangleton was in position upon her broom, golf balls were tossed into the air by someone who had volunteered to help Evelynn out with the tryouts. Probably some nameless, faceless first year. They started out relatively simply--easy to track, easy to catch--just to weed out those who had at least a basic competence. Jangleton didn't disappoint, catching the first two tosses easily. Progressing in difficulty after that, however, the upperclassman started to run into some trouble. Still, it was clear that she was, more often than not, able at least to track the tosses with her eyes, racing after the thrown balls with fervor. Catching them was another matter, however. Overall, although it wasn't the most spectacular performance, it was still clearly above average. Certainly worthy of consideration, and would prove to be a just a slight bit more successful than Notresvace's performance to follow. If Jangelton had accepted the challenge, she would come out the marginal victor.

@Alice Grimmshaw
STATION #2

Reducio

Bubble #1 - Close Hit DC 15 Acc d20[13]+4 = 17 HIT ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎	Bubble #2 - Close Hit DC 15 Acc d20[1]+4 = 5 Miss ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎
Bubble #3 - Mid, side-to-side Hit DC 20 Acc d20[19]+4 = 23 HIT ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎	Bubble #4 - Mid, side-to-side Hit DC 20 Acc d20[5]+4 = 9 Miss ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎
Bubble #5 - Far, erratic Hit DC 25 Acc d20[8]+4 = 12 Miss	Bubble #6 - Far, erratic Hit DC 25 Acc d20[4]+4 = 8 Miss

Hit: 2

A new face among the crowd made their way to the beater's bat. Although they had not yet formally met, Evelynn recognized her as one of the first years that had been recently sorted into the house. While many lauded the benefits of experience, fresh blood was always welcome; especially when it was accompanied with raw talent. Not a lot of effort was required to size this particular participant up to know that she exceeded expectations at least where physical prowess was concerned. Two years Evelynn's junior and Evelynn wasn't sure which would be the taller on ground. There was a brawn to her as well. That coupled with the freckles that spattered the girl's face left Evelynn with the impression that she might have been looking at a younger Procoppio.

It was with keen interest, then, that Evelynn watched this aspiring athlete give her attempt. The bat fit well in Grimmshaw's grip and the girl seemed comfortable enough, if a touch inexperienced, astride a broom. With a warning of caution, the bludgers were released. Live bludgers. As one of the more dangerous of the stations for the inexperienced quidditch player, Evelynn had her wand at the ready to halt the bludger's trajectory just in case they should veer off course towards unsuspecting individuals elsewhere on the pitch.

The attempts were a touch haphazard. The first went well enough. Struck squarely, the iron ball rocketed towards one of the nearby bubbles, cleanly bursting it with a small pop! For a moment, Evelynn dared to dream that they'd stumbled upon a diamond in the rough. Hogwarts knew that Gryffindor could use a few good beaters. Slytherin had Ryan; Hufflepuff had Procoppio and Healy; and even Ravenclaw had Moussa. Gryffindor had the expertise and skill of Edelhardt, which had been put to excellent use, but none had come close to matching the outright brawn of DeRook since he'd taken leave of the team.

The next bludger, however, rather than pummeling the bubbly target, would instead shatter those rising dreams. It skittered off the bat at such an odd angle that Evelynn wasn't actually certain Grimmshaw hadn't missed it entirely, the ball bouncing off her shoulder instead of the bat. "Are you quite alright there?" Evelynn called out, confirming that the girl hadn't sustained injury in the effort.

She hadn't, thankfully. It was just a bad swing. One that she made up for with the third attempt which sailed easily to one of the mid-range targets, popping the bubble where it idly floated side to side. The rest, though, didn't hit their marks. Still, it was clear the girl wasn't without talent. Some practice to improve her accuracy, and perhaps a few tips to master the backbeat might set her on the right path.

@Aurelia Notrésvace
STATION #1

Reducio

Golf ball #1 Find DC 15 | Catch DC 15 Wis d20[3]+12 = 15 Success Acc d20[10]+9 = 19 SUCCESS ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎	Golf Ball #2 Find DC 15 | Catch DC 15 Wis d20[6]+12 = 18 Success Acc d20[7]+9 = 16 SUCCESS ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎
Golf Ball #3 Find DC 20 | Catch DC 20 Wis d20[4]+12 = 16 Fail ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎	Golf Ball #4 Find DC 20 | Catch DC 20 Wis d20[15]+12 = 27 Success Acc d20[14]+9 = 23 SUCCESS ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎
Golf Ball #5 Find DC 25 | Catch DC 25 Wis d20[7]+12 = 19 Fail ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎	Golf Ball #6 Find DC 25 | Catch DC 25 Wis d20[15]+12 = 27 Success Acc d20[13]+9 = 22 Fail

Found: 4 | Caught: 3

"School brooms only, please," Evelynn chimed out almost immediately upon seeing hte sleek Silver Arrow clutched in the fifth-year's proud grasp. "It is already difficult enough as it is to determine how much of a difference in performance is a result of first-time nerves. I've no interest in attempting to discern how much of someone's skill is a result of their brooms rather than true talent." Lifting a hand, she directed it to a nearby barrel where an array of perfectly average and competent brooms nestled nose down with well-kept tail twigs poking up to the sky.

The hint of a rueful smile flecked Evelynn's lips as a challenge was cast to Jangleton. This would prove to be another interesting performance, Evelynn knew. This wasn't the first time her upperclassman had tried out for the team; although, after her last withdrawal, the Quidditch co-captain was a touch surprised to see her returning to try out again. Was it an honest interest? Or a motion of boredom? The query would be cast to the side as Notresvace got into position for the station, however, attention directed to make note of her skill.

One after another, a set of gold balls would be thrown with increasing difficulty. There definitely was talent, that was clear. Just like her predecessor, Notresvace swiped the first two balls clean out of the air, motions fluid and dexterous. In fact, Evelynn hated to admit it, but just a glance was enough to know that the air-bound seeker-prospective was possibly a better flyer even than herself. Flame flickered at her core, viridian but cool. It quieted without difficulty and the trial continued uninterrupted.

Petty solace was found as Notresvace missed the subsequent toss of a ball, her flight pattern suggesting she didn't know where it was. The fourth, she caught. Thus far, her performance had been almost identical to Jangleton's with the exception of superior technical flying. The fifth, she failed to spot, however, marking the first point of inferiority. And the sixth, she spotted, but couldn't maneuver enough to catch. Overall, she had closed fingers around half of them, and evidence suggested that she had seen four.

Maybe it was Haley's instruction or the reminders she kept muttering to herself in her head but the brunette was surprising herself She caught not one ball, not even two but three of the blasted things but as for the other three, they fell just short of her grasp as she flew after them going this way and that in an attempt to gather them into her grasp but at the conclusion, it seemed like three was all that she was going to get. It wasn't exactly the mind-blowing performance that the Gryffindor had been hoping for but it was one that she was happy with content with it as she touched down on the pitch, a new-found respect for the Seekers who's job it was to catch these things. At first glance, it seemed relatively straightforward but after going through what she had, there were a whole lot more factors to take into account.

She shrugged in response to the other girl's question who had wandered over while she had been busy with the task presumably. "Not too bad, defintely not a walk in the park though." It required some adept levels of broom handling for sure and she inherently thanked herself that she had sought out instruction on that matter before even considering to attend these try-outs. "Good enough?" She asked, a grin creeping into her expressions, the question directed towards Evelynn. They probably wouldn't be privy to what the results would be today but the brunette reckoned that a few encouraging nods or words would be enough for her as her eyes wandered over to see what other stations they had in store. It was always good to have a backup just in case the first preferred role didn't work out. Her attention was immediately directed towards the fourth one.

Chaser had always been one of the more common ones and as such, Elena expected fierce competetion for that one and such, she naturally deduced there would be high expectations as a result of this. Still, you never put all your cards into one deck as the grass crumpled under her feet as she made her way towards the station, broom in hand eyes scanning any potential participants to get a jist of what was to be done here. She had relative faith in her skills to be able to put a projectile whether that be a Quaffle or something else through three hoops the size of Merlin's beard or at least that was what she thought. Assumption was never a good thing as she hooked a leg over her broom waiting for an indication to start, fingers crossed zoning out any other distractions that might burst into her little bubble of focus.

M O D E R A T I O N

P A R T I C I P A N T S

Elena Jangleton Reducio Sta 9 | Eva 5 | Str 6 Wis 10 | Arc 5 | Acc 10 Advanced Casting Lovely Creature Evasive Maneuvers Keen Eye	Alice Grimmshaw Reducio Sta 7 | Eva 7 | Str 9 Wis 3 | Arc 5 | Acc 4 Broken Broomshaft
Aurelia Notrésvace Reducio Sta 5 | Eva 19 | Str 5 Wis 12 | Arc 5 | Acc 9 Lovely Creature Evasive Maneuvers Non-Human Enthusiast Terrible Presence	playername Reducio Sta X | Eva X | Str X Wis X | Arc X | Acc X abilities

@Elena Jangleton
STATION #4—Quaffle Scoring

Reducio

Score #1 Score DC 15 Acc d20[18]+10 = 28 SUCCESS	Score #2 Score DC 15 Acc d20[12]+10 = 22 SUCCESS‎
Score #3 Score DC 20 Acc d20[19]+10 = 29 SUCCESS	Score #4 Score DC 20 Acc d20[12]+10 = 22 SUCCESS‎
Score #5 Score DC 25 Acc d20[1]+10 = 11 Fail	Score #6 Score DC 25 Acc d20[6]+10 = 16 Fail‎

Scored: 4

Passively observant of the interaction between Notrésvace and Jangleton, Evelynn couldn't help but smile internally as the latter responded in a way that completely disabled the jab. It had been fairly clear that an attempt to rile a rivalry had been made. Perhaps for little wonder. The two were both trying out for the second-string seeker position, both were exceptionally lovely aesthetically, and they were both very capable on the broom as evidenced by their performances. No doubt, few would question a certain level of animosity between the pair. Not everyone was so keen to engage in such antics, however. A newfound respect would be silently extended to the younger of the two, and as Jangleton shifted, in turn, to address Evelynn, she smiled.

"Certainly," came the reply. "A more than adequate performance. One that clearly shows that you have spent some time on the broom. Have you been flying for long? Or have you played Quidditch in the past?"

In truth, Evelynn wouldn't have discounted the possibility that perhaps Jangleton might have played during her earlier years, perhaps before Evelynn's time at Hogwarts. Although… perhaps such inquiries might be better suited for a later date. As it was, a new station would draw the girl's attention, leading her to the far end of the pitch where the rings had been set up with targets to assess the accuracy of prospective chasers. Trailing at a distance, Evelynn would set up in a position to be able to observe.

It was often the case, the co-captain had found, that many of the roles tended to overlap. A good seeker could make a good chaser. Decent chasers might also make a successful Keeper. Burly keepers could often fill in as beaters. Skills utilized for one position on the team often translated to another. It was something Evelynn found rather interesting. And it was something that had proven to be a great boon on those occasions when one role found itself short of sufficient prospective players to fill it. A shuffling of roles wasn't necessarily detrimental to the overall performance of the team. So it was useful, then, to know what other roles an individual could successfully manage.

And chaser, it seemed, was one that Jangleton could easily slide into. With apparent ease to any onlookers, she would handle the quaffle with skill. Or, perhaps it was just beginners luck, or the convenient absence of any true opposition or contest. Either way, the red skin would sail easily through the air striking the largest of targets as though they'd been magnetized. Even when the throws had called for the second size down, the throws arced true. They weren't even just glancing blows, either. Square on the mark, the quaffle would strike the targets flat without question. Only when Jangleton had reached the smallest level, the targets just a little smaller than the size of a quaffle, did she run into trouble. Whether it was nerves, ill luck, a poorly timed cross wind or simply the end of skill level, neither of the smaller targets would succumb.

"It seems chaser could very well be your calling as well," Evelynn projected, acknowledging that all things considered, the other lioness had performed about equally in the two stations. "Have you a preference?"