Qaz flew along side the Huffie for a bit longer. The girl seemed to be getting more comfortable, Qaz let her fly on her own, while she took another high lap, then took a rapid decent and pulled up for a fairly nice landing. School brooms didn't have the braking power to which she had become accustomed.

Ahhh! This is just what Tobi needed. Time up in the air to relax in the middle of these crazy exams. Time to clear his head.

The Balance number is calculated by - NO! Now is not the time!!!

Tobi shook his goggled head to clear it.

Three large, floating hoops appeared in the middle of the Pitch. Each were flashing a vibrant pink and bouncing around so that it would take some skill to fly through each because judging the exact location of each hoop wasn't going to be easy.

"Whenever you're flying, whether it's in a game or for recreational fun in a protected area, you will always encounter some sort of obstacle. I want each of you to fly at top speed through each of the hoops without hitting the sides with your body or broomstick," Vindictus called out from the ground. "After you accomplish this task, please land and stand inside the red rectangle."

'You got it.' Qaz quickly exchanged the school broom for her own, mounted, kicked off and flew towards the hoops.

She hovered a ways off, trying to get the timing on the first hoop. When she was sure that she had it down, she bolted forward and made it through without touching it. She pulled up on the other side and waited for a moment for her heartbeat to slow down a bit.

They weren't being times, that she knew of, so better to take a little time and get it right the first shot.

Ohhh, pink hoops. Anna sure did love pink! Especially flashy, vibrant shades of pink. She watched the three hoops bounce up and down...up and down...for a moment before finally deciding she was ready to try flying through each of them. Mounting her broom, Anna looked up towards the first hoop. It sure was bouncing mighty quickly. Times like this, she sure could have used a Freezing Charm like the one she, Professor Vindictus, and a few others used on the corridor that time.

Ready to roll, Anna darted off and headed towards the first hoop, her eyes wide and alert as she gained in on it. Just as she got close enough to fly through, though, she skidded to a complete stop and turned around again. No way was she going to make that one. Anna flew back down and stared at the hoop a bit longer. Sighing, she darted off once again, staring at the hoop just the same as she'd done before. As she gained in on it, Anna squinted her eyes in concentration, veered a bit to the left to dodge the hoop, and soared right through it.

Awesomeness. One down...two to go.

Qaz was hovering, trying to time the second hoop. It wasn't as stable as the first one. She moved a bit closer, the shorter the approach, the less chance of error.

When the time was right, she accelerated to top speed and shot through the hoop. That's two down.

She glided over to the third hoop and paused to center herself. She wasn't in a real hurry, because she knew when she made it through this hoop, she had to land.

The hoops were cool. The pink? Not so much. Jeez, what was it with pink in this place? Ah well, turning to face the hoops, Clifford urged his broom towards the first one. He leaned down, hoping to pick up as much speed as he could and kept hi eyes on the movements of the obstacle.

... he had to judge this perfect. He didn't want to show himself up in the flying finals!

AHA! Clifford whizzed though the first hoop, body and broom still intact. Now onto the second one.

Vanessa grinned as she looked at the pink hoops. Pink was nice. She liked pink. But they were bouncing around quite a lot, oh dear. And they had to go through them too.
Flying off in the direction of the hoops, the one she was flying towards moving out of the world. Brilliant. Speeding up, she zoomed towards one of the pink hoops, managing to get through it without hitting the side of it. Awesome. Only two more to go.

Coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of her third lap,Sarah looked across to see the hoops appear in the middle of the pitch.Pink hoops.
What is it with that colour?!

Top speed through them? Simple...maybe...if they weren't moving.
Oh get a grip of yourself,Sarah.You are wearing protective gear,if you get bumped just hang on for dear life!

Lining herself up with the first hoop,Sarah took a couple of deep breaths.It's now or never as Elvis would say.
Keeping the broom tip steady and level,and with a loud "Heeeyaaa" she launched herself forward as fast as she could go.
With all her concentration on the hoop she willed it not to move too far when she got to it.

15 feet...10 feet...5 feet...it moved up slightly.Sarah had just enough time to tilt her broom upwards and get through the hoop by the narrowest of margins.If she had waited any longer she would have scraped the bottom of the ring...bad thing to do.

Ecstatic with herself,but unable for safety reason to clap and cheer,she came to a stop a few metres the other side of the hoop and geared up to do it all again...twice.
Oh hell.

Daphne took a moment to enjoy the warm spring air as it washed over her. She did a few zigzags to loosen up and get the feeling of flying again. She missed the feeling of darting through the air and moving up and down. It was great to do this and to do it for credit.

When the pink hoops appeared before her, she smiled deviously. She was ready for a challenge. Manoeuvring through those hoops at top speed would be difficult. She focused her attention on one of the vibrant hoops and cautiously circled it. After about a minute she took off in the opposite direction at full speed. Several meters away she came to a stop and turned around. Then she flew right back towards the hoop. As she got closer, she noticed it was moving a bit faster than before, throwing the Ravenclaw off a bit. Diving through the hoop, Daphne needed to tuck her head down, lest she smack it. "One!" she chuckled as she looked at the other two. They would undoubtedly be easier.

Qaz had timed the third hoop. Might as well do it. She shot forward and blasted through the last hoop. She continued on up and up, doing a quick spin around the pitch before coming in for a landing in the Red Rectangle. The bad news was that she was down on the ground. The good news was that she was no longer staring at putrid pink hoops.

Glaring at the second hoop, Anna made a beeline right towards it. Her facial expression dared the rims of the hoop to so much some within a yard of her body. Flying faster and faster, Anna gained in on the hoop, growling at it as she came closer and closer to flying through it. Just as Anna got within a few feet from the hoop, she glanced down to check out Professor Vindictus' new look just one more time.

THUNKKK!!!!

Anna blinked and glared daggers at the hoop that had just nearly knocked her unconscious. Stupid hoop. Stupid spazzy outfit the professor decided to wear. "Argghhh!" Anna growled, biting down on her teeth in anger. With determination, Anna turned her broom around, took off once again, and soared through the hoop with ease.

Mwah haha....one to go.

Clifford didn't bother slowing down once he'd made it through the first hoop. Nope, still leaning down he attempted to get faster still, testing these old school broomsticks. Swerving past one of his classmates, Clifford judged the second hoop just as perfect as he'd judged the first one, making his way through it without a single bump. Now just one more to go.

The second one seemed to be moving around more than the first,but there appeared to be a rhythm to it.
Sarah sat there for what seemed like forever,just watching it go this way and that.Must.Get.My.Timing.Righttttttttt.
She launched forward one more time aiming slightly to the left of the hoop.She was sure it would move that way by the time she got to it if her timing calculation were correct.Hoped anyway.

With a "whhhhoooossshhhhh" she was through.This time it went alot cleaner than the first one and she allowed herself a quiet little "WoooHooo" as she stopped to catch her breath the other side.
Only one more to go.

So apparently even Vindictus seemed to enjoy the color pink. Perhaps he'd been hanging around Bunz and Lupa too long; sighing wistfully, he nonetheless put his focus on the pink hoops which was actually kind of cool. Bouncing, flashing, annoying pink hoops. But he was a flyer and skilled quidditch player, so he could do this, right?

Determined and focused, he steadied his line of sight and took in to the location of the hoop. Focus. Determination. Zoom!

At his top speed - thankfully he was using his Oakshaft as he wasn't sure he could have gone this speed on the school brooms - the fifth year zoomed forward to fly directly through one of the hoops. One done; Two to go he thought, eying the others in the distance bouncing brightly.

Flying towards the second one, he zoomed forward, until he was maybe a foot from the hoop and then flew again at top speed through the hoop. Ah this flying thing through hoops was easyyy compared to what he was used to (with bludgers and all).

And one more to go.

Vindictus pulled out his special watch. "You're almost out of time!" he called out and went back to his notes on each student's performance.

Just one more hoop to go. He'd already managed two, this final one would be nothing surely. Expression full of determination, Clifford urged the old school broomstick he had borrowed toward the pink hoop, attempting to judge the movements it was making.

... this way, that way, this way..

He ALMOST made it. Almost. The hoop decided a sudden change of direction when he was half-way through it and the back end of his tail caught it. Ack! Grumbling under his breath, he slowed down and flew towards the red rectangle and dismounted.

Was this all they had to do for this final? Sarah hoped so.Flying through these hoops was a draining experiance,but at least it made her forget about how much she hated heights.With all the concentrating on the disgusting pink rings she didn't have a chance to look down and get scared.
No she was just scared of getting knocked out....

This one seems to go up and down more than anything, she thought.
Up and down.Up and down.
Right must stop that I'm getting dizzy.OK one more and I can land this thing and get the feeling back in my legs.
Aim for the middle or near enough......
Leaning forward for one last time,Sarah soared towards the hoop.Despite a little wobble as she got there she managed to get through intact...physically if not mentally.

Turning to the right to avoid anyone else flying about,Sarah actually had to look down to locate the red rectangle.Seeing that the 'Claw who flew with her earlier was already there,she smiled.
Coming in to land with a rather undignified bump,she dismounted,picked up the broom and walked..on her unsteady feet..over to the rectangle to await further instructions.

Alright, so if Anna planned to make it on to the next step of this final exam, she needed to get a move on and make it through this third hoop. Not only that, she needed to do it without any difficulties. She'd misjudged her distance on the first hoop and flown head first into the second hoop. If she wanted to make any sort of impression, she'd better fly through this last one without any difficulties.

Anna soared back down and eyed the hoop. It was bouncing up and down just like the other two, but there was something different about this hoop. This hoop would be the one she'd conquer---the one she'd fly straight through. Nodding her head once just to indicate to herself that she was ready, Anna pushed off and darted towards the hoop. She gained in on it, never once taking her eyes off it. She was sure there were many distractions around the stadium, but she wasn't going to divert her attention to any of them. Anna continued to fly until WHOOSH! she'd gone right through the last hoop!

With a smile, Anna headed back to the ground and moved to stand in the red rectangle.

As she zoomed away from the first hoop, she looked around for the second that she needed to get through. Training her eyes at one, she found the pink hoop which she was going to head for, and began to zoom towards, still going reasonably fast, so that she was sure to make it.
She grinned in victory, as she moved through the hoop, not touching the sides again.

Only one more to go. She looked around for the final one, and zoomed towards it. After this she'd have finished it. Leaning over her broom, she sped up again, and kept zooming towards the hoop, and just about made it through, before it bounced off. It had been close, but she'd still made it, just. After this she headed back to the ground, and stood in the red rectagle

She was doing a few slow laps around the pitch. Her hand was still a little sore from the last Quidditch match but her grip on her broom was strong. She stopped when she saw the floating pink hoops appear on the pitch. They were moving about. She groaned.

She took a deep breath and shot off toward the first ring. It was bouncing and vibrating and she tried to keep her broom pointed at he center of it. She smiled as it looked like she was going to make it through the ring and just as she flew up on the ring it dropped a foot and she had to dive so fast it felt like she left her stomach in the air as she barely made it through the ring without touching it. "Bloody hell," she panted.

The second ring seemed to be moving faster than the first one so she felt like she was on a roller coaster as she flew toward it. She put on a burst of speed as she got closer to it, and closer and then it shifted to the left and she almost threw herself off her broom as she changed directions so fast to make it through the hoop. "You shifty little thing," These hoops were going to be the death of her if she didn't pay closer attention. She was a seeker for Merlin's sake she should be better at this!

She looked at the final hoop and took a deep breath. She watched it for a few seconds before she shot off towards it. She was going to make it through this one. It was vibrating and looked like it was shimmering in the sunlight. Was that a trick of the light meant to distract her? She shook her head and kept going toward. She shifted over to the right and she was right on it, then it rose a few feet and she pulled up the handle of her broom and followed it. It moved to the left and she moved. And finally she was threw it. "YES!" She cried pumping her hands in the air.

She flew toward the red triangle and landed. She was breathing hard as she sat down.

One more to go. He'd flown through the last two without excessive difficulty, but somehow the bouncing on this third one was making him dizzy and he sighed zooming closer to it. Almost there. And then with one quick flight, Dom zoomed directly at the center of the hoop, right the last hoop! SUCCESS!! He had successfully flown through alll three hoops. Dismount into the red rectangle...

Except in his dizzying flying through all the hoops, the fifth year misjudged the location of the red rectangle and landed just outside the red line. Oops. Stepping over the line, his cheeks flushed slightly and he waited for what was next to come.

Flying was not good. Rian didn't like it. And now Mr. Quidditch Dude added moving hoops!?

This was going to be the death of her. Of that, Rian was sure.

But she tried, tried her hardest. This was a final, and Ravenclaw needed points. So, of course she had to do it, whether she was scared out of her wits or not. She just had to keep reminding herself not to look down.

So, hoop after hoop, she finally made it. It was a good thing she was so small, or else she probably would've ended a lot worse than a few bumps and bruises. She ran into the first hoop, her elbow catching it. She was already sporting a growing bruise right around her funny bone. Nice.

On the second hoop, the end of her broom hit. Which made Rian lose control of the thing for a minute, which resulted in her being suspended in the air, upside down. So she screamed and, thankfully, turned back up before she fainted.

But the third hoop, she made it through without hitting anything at all. Sure, her foot had come close to smashing into the bottom of the ring, but she'd made it. She was so proud of herself, she almost forgot about the red rectangle. Cursing herself and her fear of heights, she landed, thankful to have her feet on solid ground. She didn't realize that it had taken longer to get through all three hoops than she expected.

Wheee! Flying through hoops? That's it? Well as long as he didn't have to conjugate latin or describe the characteristics of conical fingers while he was at it, Tobi figured he was golden!

He leaned forward on his broom, heading for his first pink hoop, (he didn't care much for the colour, but whatever,) both for the speed and to make himself as small as possible, he shot through it clearing the hoop on his right side with about 2 inches to spare.

Ooo. I'm gonna have to be a BIT more carefull...

"Well done! Now for a task that is worth more than just a few points," Vindictus said and the flashing pink hoops vanished. "It's a broom race and this is your starting and finishing point. Five extra points will be rewarded to the top three finishers." He pointed to the red rectangle. "No wands can be used in this race because it would be dangerous for you to take your hands off your broom handle. Also, please do not intentionally collide with anyone because medical help is not available. Use your wits when you're up there and it's not my fault if the Whomping Willow or Giant Squid get in the way."

TASK 2: Broom Race
1. After taking off, you'll fly ONCE around the PITCH and then exit the stadium.
2. You will then fly over THE LAKE, but you must fly 10 feet above the water and try to avoid touching the water.
3. After the Lake, you'll fly over the PATHWAYS to the BAMBOO FOREST.
4. Try not to scare the poor little pandas in the BAMBOO FOREST as you fly over the tops of the bamboo trees.
5. After the Bamboo Forest, you'll need to fly to the FRONT GATE and make a sharp U-turn.
6. Fly due east to the WHOMPING WILLOW. Make it past the tree and then back over THE LAKE.
7. Fly five feet above the water and see if you can wake Bartholomew, the Giant Squid. As you approach the swimming rock, shoot up into the sky so that you don't hit it - this will jettison you towards your final destiation.
8. Fly back into the STADIUM and land in the RED RECTANGLE. Refreshments
will be available (lemonade and gingersnaps).

He looked at the students and smiled. "Ready? Begin!" He blew his whistle without any countdown and warning.


OOC: You must RP in all of these locations. Yes, it's okay to RP more than once at each spot, especially if your character is interacting with another.