The bludgers were going... going... going... Taddy watched as they headed towards the hoops, one hit the rim before rebounding off, while the last one flew into the middle hoop. "Yes!" Taddy raised the bat in the air in triumph. Hanna and Ewan were just as happy for him over it.

Taddy grinned towards them when he saw Hanna take the next shots. "Nice shots!" He gave her a thumbs up as one went through the hoop. Ewan took his next and made it on first try. "Awesome!" Well, he couldn't doddle anymore, now he had to fly through the the other bludgers.... guess it was a good thing he waited for them to hit theirs before taking off.

Without anymore time wasted, Tad tucked in and zoomed off as fast as he could. Taking a moment to drop the bat at the area he first picked it up at. Just then he could hear the faint whistling in his ears. Briefly he thought it was Captain Juni signaling for their attention, but it was too faint to match her whistle's sound. He chanced a glance, "Yikes!" Tad was about to get a face bull of the bludger when he swerved opposite, just missing it. Adrenaline was in full drive, as his ears and eyes were on full alert.

There were more bludgers coming and at each sound of a faint whistle, he swerved in different directions. Maybe if he went near the hoops they'd go through them instead of at him? Taddy thought about the possibility, but then again there were the other tryoutees aiming at the hoop. Ohh, that's right. It was going to be time for him to play Keeper. Taddy dodged another one that nearly hit his foot before he approached the other end of the pitch where the hoops waited for him.

One lap under his belt soon became two which went on to becoming lap three, four and five then finished up at the start where Juni was ready to reveal the layout of this year’s tryouts. Her whistle blowing to tell the stragglers it was time to move on. Septimus listened intently as the process…the obstacle course…was laid out for them all to follow. His gaze twitching between the captain and the various stations that he would need to beat to move along. Bat…dodge…toss…goal…snitch.

Boy was it going to get interesting.

With no questions, Septimus remained quiet, awaiting the next blow of the whistle to let him go after his shot. He grabbed a bat that worked for him before heading towards the modified bludgers. Beater wasn’t his usual role, but he wasn’t afraid of them. Swing and a hit! But the bludger flew off to the right of the blue hoop he was aiming at making it really a miss. Too bad for him but thankfully not the last attempt. So off he went towards the next target, doing his best to line it up a little better as he took aim on his approach, swinging it smoothly and hoping for the best as it left his control.

GOAL!!

Taddy made it to the goals, as he slowed down his broom to approach in front of it. He searched around to see the bludgers not being as active around him as beforehand. Maybe now he could sigh in relief. This was really what it took if he wanted to be a Seeker, wasn't it? He gave a wave towards the nearest flyers. They were going to shoot the Quaffles at him, yes?

Keeper wasn't really a position he was in favor of, mainly for staying in one spot for so long. He couldn't resist the temptation to fly all around. But now that he was in this position, Tad could kind of see it's benefits, you got to see the action.. but there was still some pressure involved when all eyes will be on him. He shook his head leading his wavy curls resist against the wind. Before he knew it he saw a Quaffle fly towards his face, "WAAH!" He covered his face. Oh wait, he needed to guard it. But it was coming so fast by the time he moved his hand to open and catch it... he felt the Quaffle rebound off his closed fist. "OWWW!!" It was a good thing the Quaffles weren't so hard. He wasn't bleeding, but man that was going to be sore later on as he shook the hand rapidly to get the blood flowing to fight the pain. Well... at least that one didn't score in. Tad could now say he punched a Quaffle away. "I'm okay!" He yelled out in case anyone saw that.

How many did he need to save again? Three right? That sounded proper good to Tad. Now he had to focus again because more Quaffles were heading his way. He saw one curving to his left. So he positioned his broom to reach out and grab it... only for it to just brush past his fingertips and score in. He snapped his fingers in disappointment. Well, no use sulking about it. He had to get the others right. So Tad re-positioned himself, just as another one came his way. He was ready. It was heading for the middle. He reached out as it approached and he caught it. One more to go!

Tad repeated the motions. Attempt to reach and catch and then throw it back. He missed two more before finally blocking one last one. He had adopted the trick on moving left to right, just as another Quaffle went through. So with that last Quaffle, he gave it a good kick away. The timing on it went just as he had hoped.. maybe not as soon as he had liked to, but it was done. Now he could move on to the next part. So he flew heading through the pitch again.

Okay okay okay okay.
Mark think he figured that all out. It was a lot to take in, but it wasn't difficult to understand. Yes, this was very different from the last tryouts he had. Maybe this will be a recurring thing? Well, probably. Since Juniper is in her last term, there will be a new Ravenclaw Captain next year. That means a different kind of tryout for sure. But for now, this was the one he would focus on.

Mark took one of the beater bats as instructed and flew toward the center of the pitch. As he flew in one of the soft bludgers nearly bonked him on the chest but he dipped out of the way just in the nick of time for it to zing past him. Mark kept his eyes on that one. It was much easier to follow than a snitch but there were a few of them flying around too. So if he lost track of it and his eyes began to follow another bludger it wouldn't be too much trouble as it was still a soft bludger. Mark positioned himself closer to the hoops but not so close that it would be unfair should he make contact with one.

He took aim as one soft bludger and Whack! Shocked Mark was as his bat made contact with it. huh Maybe the strength and eye coordination conditioning training he went through with Uncle Aegis wasn't for nothing. Unfortunately Mark's aim was bit off as the bludger pinged against the edge of the hoop and did not go through it.

Okay, that's okay, Mark. Just re-position yourself. He moved further away from the hoop and went a bit to his right. As another Bludger flew toward him Mark swung his arm back and WHACK! This time the Bludger went through one of the hoops.

Now it was time to go onto the next station.

Ewan was in the zone. Fully focused on the next objective and doing it to the best of his ability because from here on, he’d have to. Hitting things was the easy part but he knew where his weaknesses were.

Dropping his bat off at the station for the next person to use, he pushed back off the floor with as much ferocity as he could muster and propelled himself off to the next station. What did Juni say it was… bludgers? Yup. Here they came, fizzing towards him as though they were Ewan seeking missiles. With a mighty tug on his broom, he swerved off to his left into a dive before finally pulling up as he got close to the dew covered ground. One down. One to go.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he quickly looked over his shoulder in hopes of seeing the next bludger. His eyes searched briefly for the hard brown ball, and it wasn’t long before he found it. Well, it found him. It came barrelling towards him. 20 ft away. 10 ft away. 5 ft away. Smirking slightly now, he Ewan slackened his grip and dropped until he was hanging upside down just in time as the bludgers reached his side, missing him by inches. Quickly, he swung back and forth until he got back onto his broom and sped off to the keeper’s hoops, ready to try and save a few goals. Hopefully.

Onto Station number 2 once he dropped off his bat.

Or rather through station number 2 where all the real bludgers were so he could make it to the goal posts that were the next station. Septimus took off to start his way, swerving when the first attacking ball came his way. And even then, he wasn’t out of the way of danger as there was another one right there as they all were moving around and bouncing around all willy nilly to try and catch them off guard. There was no letting down one’s attention here at all which was just like during the game. Plenty of obstacles in the form of bludgers and players to contend with.

The fourth year banked his broom back to the left before diving down a bit to take a lower perspective on the pitch. Here he managed to have a minor reprieve and fly a bit further before swinging past first one passing bludger. And then another and another with a bank and a turn before pulling back and swooping back up to escape and finding himself finally past all of them.

YES!!

From chaser to keeper he went, flying towards the goal posts and swinging around to face where he had come from.

OOOOH an obstacle course? This sounded fun! Nettie hovered near the captain, listening to the instructions as she went over each station. After that, they were dismissed, and Nettie headed off to the first station.

Three blue hoops, and she had to hit a bludger through each one. Beater was by far one of her weaker positions, but she'd dabbled in it before in her league. You had to practice all the spots, even the ones you never thought you'd play. Grabbing a bat, she swooped up with her broom and got in to position.

She waited, dodging a bludger that came at her at a weird angle that she didn't like. Then, another one came back, headed straight towards her. She smiled to herself and wound up her swing, then BAM! She shot it off towards the hoops.

Except - it bounced off the side of the hoop. BOOO. She sighed and rolled her neck, loosening herself up a bit more. Alright, next one was going IN! She waited until another bludger headed her way, this one going faster than the previous one. Perfect.

She wound up and BOOM! This one went right through the first hoop, just like she had hoped. Perfect! Time to move on!

Mark pulled up just up before this next obstacle. He watched as countless of those soft bludgers he had to use in the last task were now zipping and zooming all over the place. Only this time he didn't have a beater bat to protect him. This would require agility, and dexterity. While this wasn't what he trained for over the summer, he figured it wasn't necessary. He could get by with his small body and it's nimbleness here.

While his new broom wasn't built for speed he was confident it was fast enough to get him through here.

He readied himself and 3 2 1 OFF HE WENT!

Mark's broom and himself zoomed forward going to full speed in mere seconds. He kept his eyes peeled as best he could while also trying to go forward as much as he could until he would have to dodge. Another idea he had was to lower himself as far down onto his broom as possible. It would give the bludgers less area to hit if he stayed low.

Just as he got as low as he could a bludger came right at him straight on! Up or Down! Mark descended out of the way of this bludger and just as he did another bludger fwumped right into the bristles of his broom sending him in a tailspin going down. But it also moved him forward too. He steadied his broom before it would continue down and zoomed forward still shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness and he got out of the second obstacle with only the one hit.

Valencia finished her laps and landed as instructed. It looked like some of the people were already friends. She wondered if they played together on the team last year. She really needed to do a better job of befriending the older kids.

She eyed the bludger in the Captain's arms and nodded enthusiastically, quickly memorizing the instructions.

She picked up one of the bats and gave it a practice swing from the ground. She'd never held a beater's bat before. It was heavier and more awkward than expected, but she tried to get used to it as quickly as possible because she was already behind.

She kicked off and swung the bludger and... missed -- twice -- before making a connection and sending it to the rim of the hoop. She did get the next one through a hoop though. It was going a bit slow, but that didn't technically matter, right?

Taddy was zooming down the pitch, he just had to fly through the opposite end where the other set of hoops where. Gazing around he could see Ewan heading down to the opposite goals. He wondered what station he was on when he saw a Quaffle soaring to him. Catching it, he thought this was cool. He was just about to practice as Chaser when he felt the Quaffle getting warm. At first he thought nothing of it until he felt his hand get warmer and warmer through the gloves until it felt hot.

"Ahhh.... here!" Tad then tossed it in the direction of Septimus and Ewan who were nearest. That could be their first save right? As soon as he threw it another Quaffle flew in his direction. He caught it. Okay, so far so good now if he could just fly a bit faster before the Quaffle got too hot again..... Nope. This one had to go too. "Here you go, catch!" Tad didn't look to see who was near him, he just knew that the Quaffle had to go so he threw it in the direction of the next flyer he saw go pass.

Now it was the big moment, once again as soon as he threw the Quaffle a couple charmed others flew in his direction. Tad caught one of them and he could see the goals getting closer and closer.

Now instead of avoiding bludgers, he wanted to come in contact with the charmed quaffles when he could. For everyone that he didn’t block meant a possible goal and his failure at his attempt as keeper of the hoops. A watchful eye out, Septimus was quick to move at the slightest hint of something coming towards him. It had been a close call the first time, the action mostly his arm catching the quaffle and swatting it away from the hoop it had been aiming for. However the second time he wasn’t quite fast enough and all he could manage was cause the quaffle to go through the hoop at a different angle that it had been originally moving at.

No biggie…nobody was perfect and blocked everything.

At least him.

There was a reason he wasn’t a keeper. Too much pressure. He was ready for the next one though, scooting in front of the hoop it was heading towards and catching it instead. Septimus tossed it aside to resume its charmed duty, gearing up for the next shot towards him. The one that bounced off his grasp and the hoop to get inside. Now that was rotten luck. Finally he managed to jet to block his third and final shot, the fourth year letting out a sigh of relief before moving to the next station.

....only to have a quaffle being thrown at him. He managed to catch it, looking to see where it had come from...and spotting Tady just as the younger Ravenclaw was moving along.

Once Nettie had passed the first station, it was time for the second station - aka Bludger Alley as Juniper had called it. Hehe. That made it sound creepy and foreboding. As she zoomed up to the beginning of the station, she flexed her fingers a few times and fixed her grip so she was TOTALLY ready.

Off she zoomed. She felt she had an advantage here, with her Nimbus being SUPER fast and all, and her tiny frame helped her to twist and turn in ways that others just couldn't. One of the bludgers came right at her face - WHOOSH! She flipped and did a barrel roll, the bludger just whizzing past the top of her fingertips as she turned. The next one was right on it's tail and she dipped in over to avoid that one.

She had to move quick and think on her toes because the bludgers were out for - well, blood today. WAIT IS THAT WHY THEY WERE CALLED THAT? Another one came at her, this time out of the corner of her eye. SO, she slammed on the breaks, watching at it zoomed past her. She could feel the rush of air as it passed causing her hair to flutter behind her a bit. Geez. Someone was going to get killed in here!

Thankfully, one more bludger was all that stood between her and freedom. She saw it coming a mile away, moving slower than the others, which was a nice change of pace. For this one, she merely floated a bit higher into the air, flying above it and letting it pass. Station two was done!

Septimus had almost forgotten the trick with the next station’s quaffles. That is until the ball in his hand started to get real warm. He tossed it with a mild yelp, not even sure anyone was near. Right…they were supposed to be trying to pass to teammates, something they had to do all the time during the games. Now he just had to handle the quaffles properly from now on and not be caught by surprise as he continued on.

Like the next one that came into his possession as he flew through the area. This time he was more aware of the presence of others and tossed it back to Taddy before it could really warm up. See that was how one passed the quaffle. The next one that headed his way was likely to be passed to the next person coming into Station 4. Which may be Nettie or Ewan depending on the timing of the passage of stations.

Flying up above the rest of the ones trying out to get a better look of everything going on. Everyone seems pretty excited about the concept of the obstacle course. First she seen Tad giving a try at the bludgers. Well first she seen him trying out the bats. That was actually a very important element of being a beater. Choosing the right bat. She seen several of them taking the time for that.

[b]”Good Job Tad.”[/b[ Even though he had a minor close call he recovered well. Hannah who had also took the time to select a bat. On her second attempt she hit the bludger through the hoop. Ewan was swinging and connected with the bludger, and hit it into the hoop. ”Nice one Hannah, Great Job Ewan.”

Of course she would cheer on everyone during tryouts, encouragement was the most helpful. Septimus was next with the bat it took him twice to hit it though she hoop. ”Way to go, Septimus.” Thrusting her fist in the air. Next Mark was up, again it took him twice to hit it through the hoops. ”Good one, Mark.” She knew from experience that it was not easy to hit the bludger into the hoops. You can hit it in the direction you want it go, but actually hitting it through something was harder.

She was also proud of the way they were encouraging each other too. Keeping her eyes on the other station now that everyone was starting to move forward. She watched as tad had a close call. ”You alright, Tad.” Yelling over him to check on him. Ewan was navigating his way through pretty good too. Septimus had just joined them too.

Everything seem to be going well. Nettie and the first year, Valencia were working on the hoops and bludgers. ”Way to go girls.” She punched the air again.

After a few more minutes passed the seventh year decided to go ahead and release the snitch. Let it go around a bit before the first ones had finished the course. ”Alright guys I released the snitch so when you’re done. That’s what we are going to finish with once you catch it let it go and try again.”

It was actually fun to watch everyone do the obstacle course. It was going perfectly in her opinion she could see what each of them were doing with each position. That’s went Tad had another close call. Maybe she should wrap him up in bubble wrap. After Tad and Septimus had kept their goals they were passing the quaffle around. Nettie was busy dodging the bludgers. And opps she didn't think about, if there wasn't enough people to play toss. "I'm open!" Holding her arms out to catch the quaffle. It had been a really long time since she had caught one. Hopefully she wouldn't make a fool out of herself joining in.



OOC:Hello Ravenclaws. You have until the 18th to finish the course. As always jump in at anytime if you haven't posted yet. Thank you for sticking around. I lost the post last night and fell asleep so I had to start all over again. Not fun. First thing first don't forget to fill out this survey here. I'll keep things progressing over the next two weeks. As always you can jump on in where it's at or catch on up and play with us. If you have questions PM me or Phoenixrising Don't forget to fill out the survey before posting in the tryouts.

This is what Mark signed up for. This position right here. This part of the obstacle course. These charmed Quaffles didn't stand a chance against him. He was this house's keeper last term and he wanted to continue to prove he was the Claw for the job. This was what his broom was made for. As before it wasn't built for it's speed, it was built for it's stability.

He didn't have his keeper gear on him, no gloves, no goggles, no helmet, but Mark trained without them too. As the first quaffle zoomed forward toward the left goalpost Mark lifted up on his broom and reached his arm out catching it and then chucked it back out toward the other charmed quaffles. That one was easy, but he would stay focused.

As he re-positioned himself to the center ring Mark watched the quaffles continue to zip around. This was bit different from being able to focus on the one ball during the game. He didn't want any of these to get past him. a Second quaffle took a a sharp turn and it looked like it even put spin on itself. Mark was impressed. He pushed down toward the left goalpost this time and swatted the spinning quaffle up with the bristles of his broom and into his hands tossing that one back out.

He got back to the center ring, but was there only for a second as two...TWO quaffles then shot over at him. He didn't sign up to save two quaffles. He only needed to save one more, but he was still determined to not let any of them go past him. One looked like it was going faster than the other.
He arched himself up from his broom and kept his feet on their stirrups making him tilt down a bit. The Ravenclaw keeper reached out for the quaffle that was headed for the right goalpost while at the same time doing a forward somersault on his broom to swat at the quaffle zooming for the middle post.
This was him showing off to the captain but it fell short.
...The back of his broom tipped the quaffle but it still managed to go through the post. Mark chucked the quaffle back out that he did catch, but frowned at his failed specialty save. Hopefully that wouldn't count against him?


Still he saved three goals which was what he was supposed to do.


He looked around. Hoping he wasn't being frowned at for showing off and flew toward the fourth obstacle for these tryouts.

Finishing up her laps Chloe touched down on the ground as Juniper began what they were going to do. She was so ready for this! She was going to show everyone that she might be tiny but she could be the best of the best. They would win the Quidditch cup and she would be part of the reason!

Even though she had been on a pitch for years Chloe felt nervous to play the other positions even if it was just for this little practice. She hadn't really swung a bat that much and she never ever tried keeper, so this was all going to be luck.

Once Juniper said to start she was up in the air quick, but she made sure to keep her distance from the others just enough to not throw her balance and to make fully sure she was being seen. When you weren't even five foot sometimes you just blended in and tall people made it hard to see you.

She moved towards the first station using one of the bats provided Chloe reached out her right arm holding the bat with ease. She could keep balance pretty well. Seeing Ewan and Tad both hit some well she cheered before taking her first swing. The bat connected to the ball and went just over the hoops. "ugh"

Not able to take to much time to get upset about missing one she went for the next ball and took a nice swing to push it towards the right and right into the hoop. She pumped her fist in the air to celebrate and moved around until she saw another bludger coming towards her. Going towards it she had to zip down out of the way as it moved before she could swing, but she quickly flew around to get back in position and hitting the second ball into the hoops.

WOOT!!

One more, she had one more and she could move on to the next station. She knew she could do it and she was going to do it well. Looking for a few moments to find the third and final she zoomed straight for one and knocked it into the hoop. Without any hesitation she went straight for the next area.

Taddy felt pretty good working with the others, they were so supportive, especially the Captain which always meant good things. Positive things tend to improve performance. "Nice catch, Septimus!" Tad called back when he saw him catch his pass earlier, when he returned the pass back to him, Tad kept a hold of it before reaching up to the goal posts. There it was, the hoops he would have to score through. He couldn't help eyeing the dummy Keeper being used, it was... something.

Taddy could just make out where to aim at, when he felt his hand heating up. This was it. He threw it with all his might aiming towards one of the goal posts. The fake Keeper was actually real and had attempted to catch it, it had just missed its reach though and went through the right hoop. Excellent. Tad took another Quaffle and tried to feint before tossing one.. but that didn't work out with his second shot being blocked. And the third one too... But Tad wasn't going to let that stop him, he scooped up another Quaffle flying towards him and shot it with as much force as his first attempt and.... it bounced off the head of the Keeper and circled the inner rim of the middle before going through. He did it, that was two goals!

That's when he heard from Juni about the snitch being released. Okay, now he was on the go. He gave a little mock salute to Septimus and other nearby flyers getting through Station 5 before he flew up to get a good view of the whole pitch. The pressure was on.

Keeper wasn't Nettie's top position, but she didn't think she was AWFUL at it either. She certainly preferred it over Beater. She positioned herself in front of one of the goal posts and waited as she charmed Quaffles started making their way towards her.

She spotted one heading right toward her, and raised her right arm. POW! She PUNCHED the Quaffle out of the line of the goal post, watching with satisfaction as it hurtled off towards the grass. She smiled to herself. She was getting good at this Quaffle punching thing. Hehe.

Next one was coming to her left, and this time, she swooped in and caught it. She fumbled a little bit, but kept her handle on it after a moment or two. She smiled and dropped that one away just in time for another one to sneak up on her to the right.

Kicking it in to high gear in order to grab the Quaffle in time, she sped her way in front of the goal post and grabbed the Quaffle was it hit her HARD in the chest. She let out a little cough, and had the wind knocked out of her momentarily. For a second she was afraid she'd fall off of her broom - but she managed to keep herself on. Thank Merlin. That would have been embarrassing. Shaking her head to refocus herself, she let go of the Quaffle that had nearly killed her and then zoomed off to the next station. Time to play hot Quaffle!

After she got the third goal Choe headed down the pitch. Moving with ease she loved being on her broom. It was the best place on earth other than the greenhouse. Watching the other's she smiled, "Go Tad!" She liked cheering her friends on, but she liked playing even more.

Seeing a bludger coming at her she dipped down away from it and then leaned on her broom to move faster. Being little did come in handy when she was zipping around bludgers flying at her. Sensing another one she glanced to her left and moved up and to the right to get away from it. She didn't lose it that easy and moved faster as it started to chase. She couldn't help but laugh from the fun if Chloe was honest she enjoyed being chased by the bludgers, she was fast and knew she could usually get away from them.

Ducking again she watched the bludger zoom past her as she headed to the other station.

Taddy was up in the air, his light blue eyes scanning the perimeter. It was really nice being able to view everything from above. This was the moment had been building up to, showcasing his Seeker skills. He had practiced with catching small balls and marbles replacing as a snitch, so spotting it should be a snap, right?

Tad rested the side of his open palm against his brows in a way to shield most of the brightness so he could scan the area. He could see Nettie punch a Quaffle away from her. He grinned giving her a thumbs up... and that was when he saw a glimmer of shiny. That had to be the snitch as it shined it's way past the goal posts.

No more use thinking about it, Taddy tucked in and sped off with the broom. He had to have the snitch, briefly hearing Chloe M cheer him on. He felt a surge of assurance, he could do this. It was getting closer and closer... and then he reached out to grasp it. He did it. Tad raised it up for a bit, "Yes!" before he released it to re-catch it later.

Hot quaffle! Nettie was excited for this one. She HAD played Chaser for one term, after all, and dabbled with it a bit in her summer league to make sure her skills were still sharp - just in case she was needed in that position this year instead of Seeker.

Grabbing one of the quaffles, it immediately started getting warm in her hands. Looking around, she saw Mark coming up on her, having finished the last station like she had.

"HERE, MARK, CATCH!" she cried, tossing it at him. Hopefully he was paying attention!

Was Chloe falling behind? Nah, she wasn't at all. She was keeping up with everyone, but she was taking her time. She was going to make sure she did her very best and a seeker was good at making sure they were doing their very best. They were watchful and that was exactly what she was being right now. She was watching and moving as she needed to make it to the next station.

Once there she knew she had to be a keeper and get in the mind of a keeper, though she wasn't a big fan of it. You didn't get to move much and she was wiggly, needing to stay in front of hoops made her wiggles come out even more, but she would prove herself and do it.

Seeing the first quaffle come at her she moved towards it and it hit back away from the hoops. "That wasn't hard." Her smile grew as she watched and waited for the next one. Seeing another come in she flew to meet it but it was coming in faster then she thought and she just missed it as it went into the hoops.

"UGH"

Okay, okay, she could do this. She needed to get the rest of these. Her eye set on the next quaffle she moved as she saw it coming. Moving faster towards the left hoops she let the quaffle bounce off her hand and made the save! Just as she got set she saw the third coming straight at her and she caught it with ease.

N-Nettie! Right okay he could do this with her. No need to feel awkward or worried around her. His first priority was Quidditch above all at the moment. "I GOT IT, NETTIE!" Mark caught the quaffle with ease. He zoomed down the pitch only a little keeping his eyes to his back and watching where Nettie was at. The quaffle really was getting warmer in his hand. This was a bit like a Quod that Uncle Aegis used to play with. Mark tossed it back to Nettie hoping she would catch it again.

There was no issue with this part of the Obstacle Course. While he trained over the summer more to be a Keeper, his Uncle told him a lot about Quodpot and the importance of teamwork and passing in the game. Keeping the Quod for too long ended with some pretty bad booms. Best not test how far Juniper wanted to go with players who would not pass the Quaffle.

Quidditch tryouts were here already! As much as Tina loved quidditch, she felt a little ambivalent about trying out this year. Not for lack of confidence in her skills - she got a lot of practice time in over the summer! She was unsure of her chances because she was still getting used to her new school and she hardly knew anybody, and if Hogwarts was anything like Beauxbatons, quidditch team positions typically didn't go to newcomers like her. But Tina was here, and she was determined to give it her all! The dark-haired girl made her way to the quidditch pitch clad in full practice gear, her broom clutched tightly in her hand. It was nothing fancy, just an old Comet, but it would get the job done. She glanced tentatively around the pitch; some of the faces she recognized, others she didn't. "Hi. I'm Tina," she introduced herself to the unfamiliar people shyly, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. Talking to new people was hard for her, but she was going to have to get to know them since they could potentially be teammates.

Without wasting any more time, she joined in the warm-ups. She had already done a few stretches before she got here, but there was no such thing as being too limbered up! Up, down, side to side... Tina stretched, finishing with a few toe touches. She finished just as Captain Juniper spoke. New setup this year? Tina wouldn't know anything about that, since she was at Beauxbatons last year, but it sounded interesting - and she couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement as she mounted her broom for laps. She eagerly kicked off, whizzing through the air at a breakneck speed. Tina felt a rush of excitement at the scent of fresh air and the familiar tickle of a breeze against her face. Now this was more like it!Come on, Tina! Pace yourself! she thought, falling into a more steady pace at the end of her first lap. With each lap, she gradually increased speed until she had built back up to the speed she'd started by the end of her final lap.

Tina gracefully touched back down seconds after the whistle and awaited further instructions. Oh, an obstacle course? Okay, that sounded doable. She took a minute to go back over the directions in her mind, just to make 100% sure she understood everything, before walking over to the beater station and grabbing a bat in her right hand. She took a couple of quick practice swings to get a feel for it, as she was more used to her own bat, and mounted her broom again. Okay, Tina, you've got this! she thought, gripping the bat tighter as she eyed the center hoop. This was the station she felt most confident about! She dodged the bludgers, patiently waiting for one to come at just the right angle. Now get angry!

The right amount of anger always helped Tina put some power into her swing - and it wasn't hard. All she had to do was think of Cassius Rosier, her ex-friend from Beauxbatons! She swung with all her might, and...

WHACK!

The bludger shot toward the center hoop and... straight through. Tina smiled, pleased with herself that she made it on her first try. Her years of practice and experience at Beauxbatons had paid off! Fueled by her success, she sped toward the next obstacle.

He’d arrived! Station 3 and it only seemed like he’d been waiting for forever, not that it was anyone’s fault. Taking a quick, deep breath, he flew in front of the middle goal, his hands out stretched at the ready. It didn’t take long for the first Quaffle to fly his way and…just out of his reach into the left hand goal post. Okay, so he wasn’t the greatest of keeper but then again, he never really played there. With a small rueful smile, he readied himself for the next few that were about to come his way. He may not be the best, but his lanky, athletic frame would help him!

Perched at the ready, he save one. Two? Three! All three found themselves nestled in his large hands, safe and sound. Maybe the person who bewitched them felt sorry for him but hey, he wasn’t about to complain.

Ewan could feel the heat rise to his cheeks as he dropped the last Quaffle and headed to off to the passing zone with the rest of the kids trying out for the team. Grinning at Taddy as he arrived, he quietly settled into the rhythm of catching and passing the Quaffle, not holding onto it too long for fear of being singed. That was until he almost dropped a pass from Taddy! “Ooops!” with a last minute dive, he managed to grasp it in his fingertips before reverse passing it to an unknown person to his left, relief etched across his red face now. How would it look if he finally reached the end of the pitch, only to drop it then! Not good. Not good at all.

Ewan couldn’t help but grin widely now as he neared the goal posts, another Quaffle in hand. With the keeper in his sights, he sped towards goal hoping to catch them off guard. With a small faint to the left, he threw the ball across his body to the right hoop and…Aghhhh. “Come on!” he shouted, as the keeper saved his shot. Any trace of a smile that had once rested on his face was now gone, replaced by a grimace, as shot after shot was saved. His second and third both straight at the keeper. Determination suddenly filled his glare as he received a second wind of sorts. Mustering all of his power he lumped the Quaffle in his hands at the middle hoop.

“YES!!!”

Had the psyched the keeper out? Must have because the keeper dived to the wrong hoop. Rejuvenated with confidence, he quickly dispatched the next Quaffle with ease through the right hoop and turned instantly, his eyes twitching around in search of the small golden ball that so many before him had caught.