Saturday, September 13th, afternoon — Quidditch Pitch

There was a whole lot going on in the world outside of Hogwarts and some people had family members who had literally disappeared. Even so, the world kept spinning and Quidditch tryouts still happened on schedule. Besides, he knew from experience that keeping busy could be good for the grieving soul and a lot of the hopefuls looked as excited as ever for the tryouts to begin.

"Good afternoon everyone, I am Gregory Fynch and I am the captain of the Ravenclaw team," Gregory said in introduction of himself once it seemed that everyone had gathered. They had a lot of positions to fill so he hoped they would be up to snuff. He would even take a first year if they flew quite well. After all, skills could be taught if the potential was there.

"Behind me, you will note the obstacle course that each of you will be flying through. I will be watching how you fly and taking note of it. There are tasks whilst flying through for the different roles you are trying out for. If you are trying out for more than one than simply cycle through the course again while switching tasks." He waited a brief moment for them to get this information soaked in.

"Chaser hopefuls will have to pass Quaffles to one another and I want you to try stealing the Quaffle from each other at least twice. At the end of the course, you will then attempt to score by throwing the Quaffle through one of the hoops that the people trying out for Keeper are guarding. Be aware that there will also be practice bludgers coming your way but don't worry - they don't hurt like the real ones do." He took another moment for them to get caught up. After all, he was relaying a lot of information and he had no way of knowing how intelligent or how much attention span some of these students might have.

"Beaters, there are moving targets marked in yellow that you will be aiming practice bludgers at while also making sure they don't hit the Chasers trying out. I have beater bats for each of you. Keepers, your job will be to protect your chosen hoop against the Quaffles that come your way when the Chasers reach you."

He waited once more and answered any questions that might have come up before blowing his whistle when he felt everyone was more or less on the same page. And if they weren't, that was kind of on them. "You may begin! Good luck!"

Please post once for each position you are trying out for. Make sure you have filled in the requisite form and have received a “like” from Kayte before posting! The deadline for all posts is 10:59pm EST on September 14th.

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This, Jameson Potter was resolved, would be the year that he joined the Ravenclaw quidditch team.

Oh, it was perfectly reasonable that he hadn't; first years seldom did. He'd had some jealousy to tamp down, though, when Caspian had managed the feat last year. No matter now—Jammy had practiced a great deal in the year since he had last made the attempt, had joined the flying and quidditch clubs, and while the lad was hardly a natural, he now had some actual skills to bring to the pitch.

Practice did not make perfect, but it did make proficient.

New-to-him broomstick in hand (Rex had given Jameson his old one, as the new graduate was off on tour and did not need it), the second year made his way down to the pitch, vibrating with nervous excitement as he listened diligently to Fynch's directions. The team's captain seemed so intense to Jameson, but in a good way—a way that spoke of determination, of fulfilled promise.

Along with a gaggle of other children set on completing the chaser trial, the young wizard sped up into the air, determined to show what he could do.

  

Position: Chaser
Required Kayte like: yes

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Alys had woken up excited, no dreams last night but that was not unusual this time of the month, she wondered what the new moon in five days time might bring her in this magical place.

However, the choir had not left her unguided. She had very quickly found a gift for these magical brooms. Being a muggleborn she had never used a broom before school started but she had picked it up very quickly. The house seeker had told her it was a lot about confidence, that the brooms would pick up on it. If she believed she could fly, so would the broom. The older girl had even given her a couple of private lessons but there hadn't been a huge amount of time. She truly hoped she could succeed. Her parents might even buy her her own broom if she made the team.

Her first trial was for the position of Chaser. She had excellent agility and managed to get around the course easily passing the quaffle to her teammates when needed and attempting to retrieve it from the mock opponents. It was very fun.

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Position: Keeper
Required Kayte like: yes

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Now this was an interesting one, a keeper? She had done similar on the children's polo pitch a couple of times but there extra dimension made it a fascinating challenge. She tried her very hardest, blocked some, let some in, again, very fun.

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Position: Beater
Required Kayte like: yes

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The Beater position was a fallback if she was honest. She didn't truly like the idea of position, too violent and she had heard about the class that it was considered a bit of a “mannish” position. She would have tk redouble her efforts considering her petite stature.

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Phin wasn't sure if there was more or less pressure to make the team this year. He wasn't that surprised he hadn't made it last year, but the thought of failing two years in a row might be too embarrassing to bear. Though not embarrassing enough not to try out, apparently.

Phin launched himself into the air with the other chaser hopefuls, and was glad he at least had three tries at this.

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Well, he certainly hadn't embarassed himself, of that Jameson was quite confident. He had been rather... uneasy seeing the peculiar Miss Gower there; he was quite certain he did not wish to be on the team if she was! This, however, seemed a very distant liklihood, and so Jammy set about the keeper portion of the day's trial.

  

One try out down, two to go. Phin took his place in front of the hoops next for the keeper try out and tried not to think about how short his limbs suddenly felt.

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Just beater left. Phin could do this--or, at least, he felt like he hadn't utterly embarrassed himself so far. He wondered idly if being able to hit a moving target at another moving target would ever be a useful skill in any other context, and then decided that wasn't a helpful thought process right now, actually.

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Poppy gripped the school's broom so tightly her knuckles were white. She refused to let her nerves get the best of her. Logically, she knew she didn't have very high chances of making the team. Most first years didn't. That didn't mean she would give up before it even began, however.

The long summer days she'd spent with her father zipping above the trees in Hawthorn Hallow had prepared her for this. He'd taken her when she'd had her first sign of magic, and she had loved it ever since. Nothing could beat the feeling of being so far above the earth with the wind streaming through her hair. Like she could do anything.

She didn't have as much experience with actual quidditch—her younger brother hadn't had his first act of magic yet—so the few scrimmages she'd been able to play had been in the Hebrides with her extended family. Their competitiveness had kept Poppy near the edges of the pitch, but she'd had a cousin take pity on her twice and managed to handle the quaffle a bit. She hadn't scored a goal either time, but she'd been close.

The instructions the captain gave were simple enough. She flew alongside her fellow chaser-hopefuls, doing her best to complete the task.

The following 1 user Likes Poppy MacFusty's post:1 user Likes Poppy MacFusty's post
   Ignacio Sidonia

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Club Membership in: Astronomy ✿ Flying ✿ Charms ✿ Book ✿ Quidditch

Adorably sweet set by the amazing Lady! ✿ plot with me

Nacho was practically vibrating with excitement. He clutched a shiny new broom in his small hands and listened with rapt attention to the seventh year boy explaining how tryouts for the team were supposed to work. It all seemed simple enough. He could fly an obstacle course in his sleep and he’d been practicing for chaser all summer! (That’s not to say he hadn’t also been forced into playing keeper a few times. For whatever reason, his friends in Spain hated the position and so they’d traded off turns.)

A few of the other Ravenclaws went and Nacho watched them, skeptical of all, especially the weird one from sorting. By the time it was his turn, he felt like he had this in the bag. He was small, but boy was he quick! He mounted and kicked off, beginning his trial for Chaser.

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With his first try-out complete, Nacho prepared to loop back for Keeper[/b]. His face was flush from the exertion but he was grinning from ear to ear in the most genuine way very few could boast prompting. (Or having seen before.) There wasn’t much on this planet that impressed Ignacio Sidonia, but quidditch was one of the few things he actually enjoyed.

He hoped he made the team in either position, honestly. He’d never minded playing Keeper that badly and who knew? Maybe one day he’d have a big growth spurt and he’d be able to block whole rings with just his body.

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