Emily listened intently as she watched her peers present the customisations they made on their brooms. No doubt there were some interesting ones out there. Feathers and bat wings???... was the broom for fancy dress? It looked good but probably didn't actually fly well.

Jacob had the right idea about adding a pillow, there had been times she would have like to have one of those stuck to her broom.

Emily smiled at Rex, his broom was........ clever. She hadn't thought to attatch a drink holder. Though she wouldn't want to mess the with aerodynamics of the broom. After all she loved flyign fast.

She was beginning to see resemblences between her broom and some of the others. Perhaps she should do her presentation now... she glanced around nervously.



Standing up- broom in hand Emily cleared her throat to speak.
"Well... I made four modifications to my broom", she said holding it so that everyone could see.
"The first one is pretty simple... as you can see I have my name painted on the handle. I did this using normal paint but then I charmed it so that the paint cannot be removed- it wont flack, crack or scratch and it will still show if it gets painted over." Emily smiled... thats right if anybody was thinking of snitching her broom- she would always know it was hers!!!

"The second customisation I made.." she said indicating to that tail of the broom, "was to add some colour. I used a colour changing charm to colourt he tips red." Pausing Emily smild, "I chose the colour red because it supposably makes things go faster." Well perhaps it looked as if it went faster...

"This little screen here", she said pointing to it on her handle. "This is a bewitched radar device which allows me to identify people, objects, animals- both visible and invisible within a five kilometre radius." Emily was going to explain why she chose to do this but, decided it was self-explanatory- though if anyone asked about it she would answer.

"And lastly... though you cannot see it, I have charmed the broom so that the temperature around the flyer can be controlled." She made circular motions around her broom indicating to the air. "I have the air temperature set to twenty-five degrees celcius... which is a comfortable climate for myself, though you would be able to adjust it if it was yours. I felt this was important if you have crazy quidditch captains that make you do training at four in the morning on a winters day..." she gave Jacob a look that said, oh yes thats right I'm talking about you... you crazy person.
If only she had her broom back then,... would have been so much better.

She was done?! that was it?!.... part one of her exam complete?...

Patroclus sat back and watched as the other students all presented their brooms. There some really great idea, such as Treyen's use of peruvian darkness powder, or Jacob's air bags, and though he hated to admit it, Sierra's idea of sensory alarm was rather quite inspired!

As other Gryffindors took there chance to show and tell, the Prefect swelled with pride they had all done great jobs! And a cookie basket; so Kurumi!


But now it seemed it was Patroclus' turn,

"Good Morning everyone" he began, like the future teacher everyone told him he should be, "How are we all today?" and like a teacher he didn't give them time to reply, "Excellent to hear!" he couldn't help but let a little smile slip onto his lips.

"Well I am here to add to the already amazing pile of custum brooms you have all presented today, so I guess it will get started!" Lifting his broom in front of him, Patroclus held it would one hand, so that it was parallel to the ground.

"As you can probably see, my broom is very much a Gryffindor Broom!" he smiled indicating the Lion head at the tip, "A pure gold lion bow not only represents my House, but also acts as an Undectable Extension compartment; say for luggage if on a long trip, food if maybe you are off to a picnic, or if you are a bit of an under handed flyer, maybe some style of sabotage tool, I however would use it for food......you know" he blushed.

"At the shoulder's of the Lion as two outstretched wings, these are used a stabiliziers, increased stability in the air, increased aerodynamics and also helps with sharp turns and dives," he gestured to the wings.

"Next, just behind the Lion Bust, is two buttons, both easily visable in bright colours, so that that can be used at both day, and in the darkest of nights. The first," he pressed the yellow button, the Broom tail, releasing a a cascade of bright blinding golden stars, that rained down on the ground, "Release the Tail stars, these have two purposes; one to be aesthetically, and two to blind opponents. The stars continue to spark, and increase in brightness for about five minutes, so therefore they can also be used a signal flare."

And then Patroclus came to the final button, "The Purple button is my favourite," Pressing it, he directed the head of the broom into the sky, where with a great almighty WHOOSH a jet of red and golden flames erupted like Dragon's fire

"The Lions head also spews a jet of unbelievibly hot flames, this can be used defensively or ceremonially.....it's up to the flier."

So that was his broom. "Any questions? "

" You must have heard that I love to eat and have a lot of butter" Rex told Chloe. " Who doesn't want to dance?" Rex asked Chloe. 'Actually, this is just a fun broom I designed " Rex said to Chloe. " Well it is not a blue cat in the hat design, it is my favorite football team in America called the Dallas Cowboys since I come from SweetWater, Texas" Rex explained to Chloe. " I like yoru broom" Rex smiled.

" At least you know it is illegal" Rex told Sierra. "Wishful thinking, are yo usure?" Rex asked Sierra. " Professor what do you think of Sierra's broom if she used it for Quidditch" Rex asked him."Cheating is Cheating" Rex said to Sierra. All of the rest of Sierra's family would not cheat because they are all Gryffindors.

...

Sierra narrowed her eyes. What was it with these Gryffindors? Were they all this concerned with doing the right thing, or was she just the unlucky one to be stuck in class with all the weird ones?

"Possibly," she answered with a wicked smile, "so I guess it's best to always be aware of your surroundings."

Now, if one more Gryffindor fed her some ridiculous line that revolved around honesty, safety, and doing the right thing, she just might scream. Or, you know, roll her eyes or something...

Oh, ...lovely. It was 'chipper as a sparrow' Patroclus Hudson. Sierra was convinced the boy had a smile frozen on a his face. There was just no other explanation for someone always being this happy...

Hmm... The addition of flames to his broom was rather impressive, though--even if they did erupt from a Lion.

"Positive," Sierra said, answering Rex's question. She glared at him when he called the professor's attention to her broom.

No one likes a tattletale, Loser Lion...

" I have been at Jason's these last termss" Rex told Sierra. He has pictures of all your family in Gryffindor robes, Gryffindor sweaters and playing Quidditch with legal brooms" Rex explained to Sierra. " Jason had been close to your family , but I wonder what yoru family would think of yoru shenagins' Rex said to Sierra. " I am finished with this subject" Rex gave a dmirk to Sierra. Sierr'a family would probably didown her for her actions.

Nika held her broom in hand as she looked around at other's brooms. She looked at everyone's brooms in awe. They were all so well thought out. She looked back at her own shamefully. Well she had worked hard on it and that's what counts.

Vindictus knew that things were getting out of hand. "OKAY - this is about sharing your custom creations and not picking on someone's family," he warned to Rex.

"Now each of these creations are unique and show the personality of the creator, unfortunately, the brooms aren't legal to be flown so I'd suggest you use these decorated brooms for decorative purposes only."

Now for the fun to begin.

"I would like for each of you to grab a broom off the rack and a bat. Once you have these items, please line up about arms width apart."

It was a shame they couldn't fly their brooms. Emily was so looking forward to testing it out. Still she was curious to see what Professor Vindictus had in store for them now.

Getting up and taking one of the brooms from the rack and a bat- it had been a while since she held a bat. She thought back to her first and second years as a beater.. still she was glad to make to switch to chaser- less injuries.

Lining up Emily held her arms out to get an indication of how far she needed to stand from her peers. She glanced over and gave Finn, Jacob and Spike a grin.

Practicals were always more fun.

Simon nearly rolled his eyes at the banter between Sierra and Rex. Leave it to his housemate to take it too far like always and be annoying. Thankfully Vindictus cut it off and soon enough brought everyone's attention to the next task. Setting his decorative yet useless broom off to the side out of the way, he walked to the rack and took one of the approved brooms and a bat before lining up some feet away from the Ravenclaw already up and patiently awaiting the others to join him.

Bat? BAAAAAAT!!!!!!

Jacob was pretty sure that it looked that his pants caught fire, by how fast he jumped up again.

WAIT! His Pants Were On Fire! Merlin, Not Again!

Oh Phew... nope they weren't on fire. Good.

Jacob grabbed a bat and breathed a sigh of releif as he gained the rest of his arm back... Sure it was usually a sword that extended his arm to it's full length, but the bat had become the new one as he spent more time here. He then Broom, cause all the brooms here were the same, old, and simple, but they served their purpose perfectly.

What Were they Gonna hit? He Wanted To hit Something SOOOOO Bad... just as much as he wanted to cut those muggles. He still wanted to cut them up... they touched the brooms... that poor broom probably had to go through therapy. Poor Traumatized Broom.

"My father is a Slytherin," Sierra said, through gritted teeth, "...and he's the one I live with. I don't live with the others." She hadn't really intended to discuss that sort of thing, but Rex Trigwell had angered her.

Picking on someone's family?! Picking on!? That term didn't sit well with Sierra, but it wasn't like she could argue her point against a professor. Her family hadn't been picked on--Trigwell just hadn't a clue in the name of Merlin what he'd been talking about.

She sighed softly and then grabbed a broom and a bat. She wondered if it'd be alright to chase Trigwell out the room with it... She joined the line and stood arms length apart from the next student in line.

Oh no. Nika should've known that this was coming. They are going to fly aren't they. Nika walked over and grabbed a broom and a bat. Gulp. SHe took a few deep breaths. "Oh no Oh no oh no..." Breathe Nika breathe! She walked over to the few already lined up and held out her arms. Okay arms length apart check.

Chloe felt a bit confused about the first thing Rex said and her face showed it's in response but as her went on what her said made more sense. "Oh, ok, I was just gonna say you could have all those things on your broom reduced in size and stored in your pocket and still, eat, drink, and dance when you land. But I guess that is not the point. And the Dallas Cow Boys that is American football team. Cool, I don't know much about football or football but I can say it looks like you are representing well cause your broom looks awesome.

Haha. Decorative purposes only? Riiiiiiight.

Either way, he...er, what? Grab a bat? What were they going to hit? THE BROOMS? But he'd worked soooo hard on his broom!

Or maybe not hitting the brooms.

Treyen went off and took a broom and a bat, and then lined up. What for? He was entirely clueless, and his mind wandered what could Vindictus be thinking.

Ohh, were they going to fly now? YES! This was always the best part.

Vashti went over and picked up a broom and a bat - were they all playing Beaters today? - then took a spot in the line, making sure to stand arms length apart. Or, y'know, what she assumed was arms length without literally measuring the distance with her arm.

"Since you're all a bit stressed out, I thought I'd make the practical portion of this exam easy," Vindictus began. "Flying and hitting something at the same time takes skill . . . and some of you are pretty handy at that."

Wink.

"I want you to take off and fly around this empty stadium. When an object suddenly appears, you've gotta fly towards it and smack it real hard with the bat without falling off your broomstick."

Smirk.

"This doesn't mean that you get to hit anyone who happens to be in your way - just hit the items when they appear. And don't forget to remain alert for anything unexpected."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver officiating whistle.

TWEET!

Emily mounted her broom and kicked off from the ground- hard. Taking a turn and lapping the pitch. Bat in hand. Vigilant. Calm.

It had been years since Emily had a beaters bat in her hands... and to be honest it felt good. Hopefully that would reflect on the practical... she still crossed her finger- mentaly- for good luck.

Jacob made sure he was an arms length away from the people next to him. Yup.

Ooh... So professor, who we gonna hit. Can we break stuff, Jacob liked breaking stuffs... Oh. They were going to hit stuff as it appeared. That seemed simple... As hard as he could. Jacob liked hitting stuff hard. This was gonna be easy.

At the sound of the whistle Jacob instinctively mounted and kicked off in a swift motion. He few steadily, brandishing his bat menacingly.

Broomstick and bat in hand, Sierra perked up when the professor said they'd get to hit any object that suddenly appeared. She mentally listed all the people she wished she could smack with the bat, but even she wasn't that violent.

At the sound of the whistle, she took to the sky. She was a Keeper, not a Beater; but she'd played Beater at least once or twice before, so she knew her way around with a bat. She eyed her surroundings, not really seeing anything she could hit just yet. Hopefully they wouldn't soon get attacked by a enlarged version of one of Hollingberry's cookies...

First question. Okay. But... this one sounded a bit... odd? Helena looked at the boy who asked, then back at her broomstick. Then... back at the boy. "Uh... At the beginning, I didn't plan to make it look so dark, but then I thought I could add something for..." Uhhhh for what? "Just to make it look original," and weird.

Why soooo many difficult questions?

Helena looked over towards the girl. "Well, it still works the same. I just gave the twigs a new look," she said, now grinning.

Aaaaand professor Vindictus was crazy.

...

Helena mounted her broomstick and gently pushed herself away from the ground, so she was hovering above the ground, with the bat in her hand... But she was... scared. Terrified.

Oh no. It was what Nika feared. She had only ridden a broom twice before, three if you count dressing up as a witch for Halloween and running around pretending to fly. Nika was nervous, even more nervous than she was for charms. Although that exam went pretty well.

Nika mounted her broom and waited for the OK to lift off. She tried to calm herself down, but it's not working very well. "Breathe. It's okay. Your not going to die. The professor won't let you die. Please don't die." Nika closed her eyes shut. Not good Nika. "Right eyes open." Nika opened up her eys and took off at the sound of the whistle. Flying is hard enough as it is and now they have to hit things?!?!

Nika was starting to panic. "How do I go again!?! Which way is up?!?! Where is down?!?! Oh no not good, not good." Nika was hovering 5 feet above the ground and she was already starting to feel dizzy. She needed a good grade though so she tried to suck it up. She looked around and noticed that some students were already doing great. Nika tried to relax and clear her mind and oddly enough it was working. "Okay first lesson.... think Nika think." Nika started slowly remembering what they went over in the first flying lesson and she just did that. Her plan was to stay in the air and steer clear from all flying objects. That way there would be no need for her bat and she could just focus on the flying.

Selina was thrilled when Vindictus said that they would be graded on flying. She was good at that. Sometimes she thought it was all she was good at, regardless she was ready for the task.

Kicking off the ground on one of the school's brooms Selina rose into the air. There was a certain grace to Selina when she flew. Her entire family flew the way she did. Maybe that was why her family for nine generations had every Skylar be the Quidditch Captain of Gryffindor in their years at Hogwarts. It was a post she hoped to fill one day if she worked hard enough.

Finally high enough in the air Selina looked out for this object. It could be anything.. Vindictus was tricky like that.

Flying, paying attention and hitting items that randomly appeared in the open air above the pitch. Piece of cake especially for those used to the task of dealing with bludgers and other assorted obstacles. At Vindictus' blow on the whistle signally them to begin, he mounted and took off with a smooth and calculated movement into the sky that was familiar territory. The captain was watchful once he had reached a height and placement he was satisfied, knowing it was still class and something they were graded on and not a place to be over-confident.

Okay, so, Beater was not exactly his usual position, but he'd sent some pretty awesome Bludgers in Jake's way during tryouts and a couple practices. The boy knew he had the Beater's ability in him...just...both Melanie and Miranda seemed to think he was better as a Keeper.

And Kaika never let him try any other position. Seemed all girls were against the boy taking up a Beater's bat.

Thank Gilderoy for Vindictus!

As soon as he heard the whistled he was up in the air, bat at hand. And expecting anything and everything. With Vindictus, there was always the element of surprise.

Kyle mounted her broom and waited for the whistle, as she heard it she took off to the skies. When she reached a height she was comfortable with, and well she was ready for whatever obstacles sent her way. Glancing her around she made sure to keep out of everyone's way and out of the way of obstacles. Mrs. never been in a quidditch game before wasn't planning on getting smacked with anything today.