Mo was ready when the Quaffle came his way, even if he wasn't ideally positioned for it the way that Theo was. He allowed West's fake, sliding into position even as he looked aloof and unprepared, hoping to send Salvatore spinning across the hoops to watch Theo. He was ready, though, and when the Quaffle sailed towards him, Mo dove at it from above, palming it hard and redirecting it through the nearest hoop.

SEE THAT? He wasn't doomed to assisting genius plays. Mo Branxton makes the goaaaaal. He whooped cheerfully as he retrieved the Quaffle, tossing it back out to West again. Time to let Theo do his thing.



Cooper wasn't in dire need of Chasers, although it never hurt to bring on new talent if it appeared. They were generally less expensive than established players, they brought in new fans and had marketing potential left to exploit. And almost no baggage at this point. He didn't need Beaters, though, so his attention didn't stray from the end of the Chaser tryouts as the Beaters took the field.

"Those are my nephews," Cooper noted to Rebecca, finally willing to claim the boys now that they were playing well. "Branxton and Odessa. Reasonably inexperienced, obviously, but imagine the publicity if I recruited family members to the family team." It was a fine line he was walking, wanting Maroon to know those boys were of his bloodline while still dissuading her from recruiting them herself.

To be honest, he couldn't decide which was worse: the suggestion that nepotism was a guiding principal in his recruitment strategy, or the embarrassment of playing (and maybe losing) against lesser known family members. The first, perhaps, since it would devalue his team rather than merely embarrass him.