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 Mackled Malaclaw
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Sydney M. L. Masters
Slytherin Third Year
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The Leaky Cauldron |  Catching up! (Sorry for giant post/weird formatting!) Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Oh, so they were going to test drive the brooms? Tina smiled to herself, barely able to contain the rush of excitement as Professor Adara explained the activity. *Being right and flying were two of her favorite things, so putting the two together made this the best class ever! Her smile faded slightly when she heard the brooms would only fly four feet in the air. That was no fun! She wanted to fly high, but she supposed she could She reached into her bag for a quill and her notebook and neatly wrote down the name of each broom model present, organized in alphabetical order. She paced in front of the brooms, taking careful note of their length, twigs, and overall appearance. Then she picked them up one by one to test their weight and feel of the handle. When she was done examining each broom, she wrote her preliminary descriptions in her notes.
Now which broom should she fly first? Tina's dark eyes raked over the brooms once more. Definitely not the Oakshaft! As curious as she was about the antique broom, it seemed to be the most popular option so far, and there was only one of it. She didn't feel like vying for a chance to ride the Oakshaft, thank you very much, so she was just going to let her classmates go first and come back to that one after testing the others. The Cleansweep and the Jollyrocket caught her eye, but in the end, she decided to stick with alphabetical order.
Tina mounted a Blasting Star. It was a little hard to get on - her gangly frame and the broom's shorter handle length were not a good combination, but she managed by scrunching up as small as she could. So far, so good. The takeoff was smooth, and it was fairly comfortable to sit on… though Tina could feel a few bumps here and there. Nothing too distracting though. It wasn't as fast as she would've liked, but it kept a consistent speed… until she came to the turns. *There was a slight lag. Overall, it wasn't bad, but not quite Tina's cup of tea.
She put back the Blasting Star and picked up a Cleansweep to try next, but before she could take off, Professor Adara released the bludgers and cotton balls. Huh? She was only doing this now? Why not at the start? Now Tina's findings for the Blasting Star were probably inaccurate because she tested it before the bludgers were added, and she doubted she'd have enough time to re-test it. But there was nothing she could do about it. Feeling slightly annoyed, Tina mounted the Cleansweep and took off. Takeoff was a bit faster than the Blasting Star, and the ride was much more comfortable. She hardly felt any bumps! The speed was better too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bludger coming toward her and nudged the broom to the right. Okay, turns were a little harder to negotiate on this one, but she still liked this broom. It reminded her a lot of her old Comet!
Two brooms down, three to go. Tina looked at her list, taking a quick moment to jot down her findings for the brooms she'd tested so far. What was next on the list? The Jollyrocket, awesome! This was the one Tina was most excited to try. She eagerly picked up one of the brooms and mounted. Takeoff was even faster this time, and in almost no time, the broom picked up a lot of speed. Tina whizzed past a couple of the cotton balls, aiming a quick “Colorvaria!” as she went. She looked back just long enough to see them turn blue before turning the broom around. Nice, smooth turns, no lag in speed… Tina liked this broom! Maybe even enough to consider a Jollyrocket instead of a Nimbus for her new broom.
There were only two brooms left on Tina's list after she wrote her findings for the Jollyrocket: the Oakshaft and the Shooting Star. Breaking with alphabetical order, she went for the Shooting Star next, as there were more of it to go around than the Oakshaft. The broom looked cheaply made compared to the others, but Tina supposed you couldn't judge a book by its cover. She mounted and kicked off; the takeoff was so-so, faster than the Blasting Star but nowhere near as fast as the Cleansweep or the Jollyrocket. The ride was a lot bumpier too! She flew along at the top speed the broom would reach - which was still not fast enough for her liking - but as she turned to avoid a bludger, the broom lost a lot of speed. In fact, it seemed the more she tried to urge it to go faster, the slower it went. And was it just her or was she flying lower than when she started. It was safe to say this was her least favorite of the available brooms!
Tina dismounted the Shooting Star and took a quick moment to write down her findings. Now only the Oakshaft was left to try; she was pleased to see it vacant. Looks like it was a smart idea to save it for last! Tina just stared in awe of the piece of history for a moment, admiring its craftsmanship. It must've taken someone a lot of time and effort to make it! She was almost afraid to try it out; she didn't want to break it! She mounted and kicked off much more gently than she had the more modern brooms. This one was not very comfortable to sit on, but despite the lack of cushioning charms, it was a pretty steady ride. The takeoff was smooth, and it kept a consistent speed. *Tina wasn't even going to try going fast on this broom! She coasted along, casting a “Colorvaria!” at a cotton ball on her left to turn it blue. She'd just aimed her wand to do the same to another ball ahead on her right when she saw a bludger coming straight for her. Yikes! She tried to turn, but this broom was harder to maneuver than she'd expected. Oh, no! She did NOT want to be the person to damage a priceless antique. So the broom couldn't go very fast, and it was hard to turn; there was no way to go but… UP!
Tina nudged the Oakshaft upward just in time. Phew! Now it was time to get this broom back on the ground before anything happened to it! She gently touched down and dismounted, laying the broom down neatly where she found it. Then she returned to the towel where she'd been sitting at the start of class to record her final observations.
Text Cut: Tina's findings
Tina Dantes
Fifth year, Ravenclaw
Blasting Star: With the exception of the Oakshaft, the broom had the least compact appearance. The twigs are bushier than the racing brooms. The handle is much thinner than the Cleansweep and Oakshaft but feels a little thicker than the Shooting Star. It also looks a bit shorter than the others. Is this because it was designed to be beginner friendly?
The flight was mostly slow and steady. The seating was comfortably cushioned, though I felt an occasional bump. While this broom didn't reach the speed of the Cleansweep or Jollyrocket, it maintained a mostly consistent rate of speed throughout; the few lags I saw came at the turns. I tested this broom first, so it's possible my findings would've been different with the addition of the bludgers.
Cleansweep: This broom has a sleek appearance; good length, compact twigs, thick handle though not as thick as the Oakshaft. The handle appears to be made of oak, though it's darker in color than tye oakshaft. It must be a different type of oak (possibly Spanish oak?) In design, it somewhat resembles my own Comet. You can tell it was designed to be a racing broom.
In flight, this broom was one of the fastest of the ones tested. It has comfortable seating with no bumps - possibly due to a built-in anti-vibration feature. It handles well, though the thicker handle makes for difficult maneuvering. It appears to lose some speed at turns, though I don't know if it's because of the broom itself or the thick handle making turns harder.
Jollyrocket: This was the sleekest- looking model available for resting. The handle is nice and long, thinner than the Oakshaft and Cleansweep but thicker than the Shooting Star and Blasting Star, and it has the glossiest polish.
This broom performed best in flight. It had the fastest speed overall and accelerated quickly. It was easy to maneuver in turns, and it lost the least amount of speed while turning. This broom maintained a consistent speed and height throughout - no sudden lags or dips.
Oakshaft 79: This broom has an overall rougher appearance than the others. The handle is made of oak, a lighter color than the Cleansweep, and has a thick sturdy feel to it. Though long, it is crooked and knotted, and it lacks the polish typically applied to mass-produced brooms. The twigs are also more crooked than the others and stick out in all directions.
Flightwise, this broom is slow but reliable; it's easy to see it was meant for endurance flying! It picked up the least amount of speed, though it was the most consistent in maintaining the speed it did reach - no sudden acceleration or deceleration. Like the Cleansweep, *there's some difficulty negotiating turns. Is this a common thing with oak brooms?
Shooting Star: This broom has the general appearance of a racing broom -long sleek handle, compact twigs - though it looks less well-made than the Cleansweep or the Jollyrocket. Possibly due to the company's reputation for making the cheapest racing brooms? The handle is thinner than the Cleansweep and the Oakshaft - definitely not made of oak.
This broom was a mixed bag in flight. The ride itself was fairly comfortable; the broom has decent cushioning, but I felt a lot of vibration. It takes off smoothly and handles turns better than the Cleansweep or the Oakshaft, but it started losing speed and height halfway through.
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