Gryffindor Pride Try-Out

[Bruin Dumbledez]

(OOC - Any Gryffindors are welcome to post, although the try-outs themselves will be for those in Second Year or above. First years need to pass their flying lessons before they could join the team.)

Bruin Dumbledez, Seventh Year, Head Boy, and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain strode out onto the field for the start of his last season. In truth, he hoped that it would actually be a season as the history of Quidditch at Hogwarts New Zealand was not a particularly proud one. Bruin would be doing everything in his considerable power to ensure that the Quidditch Cup would be contested this year and that Gryffindor would be holding it aloft when the dust had finally settled.

It was a beautiful Spring morning and Groundskeeper Willie has outdone himself preparing the Pitch for use this year. The equipment sheds were all freshly painted, the elevated hoops practically glistened in the morning sunshine and the stands look like they had been expanded to accommodate the growing number of students at the school. Bruin set the Quidditch Trunk on the turf, still slightly damp with the morning dew, and grabbed his Scarlet Streak, intent upon getting a few minutes of flying in before the onslaught of skilled and not-so-skilled flyers from Gryffindor descended upon the pitch.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera bounced down to the pitch for the Gryffindor tryouts. It was a bright sunny day. The air was crystal clear and it was a perfect day for flying. She was dressed in her favorite flying clothes, jeans and her University of Georgia shirt. She wasnt nervous in the least bit since she had been on the team since she was a first year. However back then there had not been house teams only club teams. Kiera smiled as she walked onto the pitch and saw Bruin. She skipped over to him. "Hiya Captian! Are you ready for your last year?" she asked him cheerfully.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat had woke up early to go for an early morning walk and then headed back up to her dorm to grab her Scarlet Streak. She still looked extremely tired and worn out from the sleepless nights. The morning air was nice and Bruin had chosen the perfect day to hold try-outs. Kat finally arrived at the quidditch pitch and saw Kiera and Bruin there. She strolled over to the two of them and greeted them both with a half-hearted smile and little wave. "Hey guys," she said as she sat down on the ground, kicking off her flip flops and pulling on her tennis shoes.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

It had been almost a week since the her uncles death and Andy had avoided just about everyone like the plague. Somehow it had been easier than she had thought it would be. Her dorm afforded her much seclusion, the prefects common room more and the quietness of the library even more. She had not spoken to Zuka or Carlisle or even looked at Bruin since that day but when she had heard the try-outs were on knew it was inevitable that they would have to face each other.

Holding her new scarlet streak with the wolf head on the cuff and the inscription from Patrick, as well as the beaters bat which he had engraved a wolf paw onto the club part, Andy walked down on to the pitch. Her sank low as she saw her two room mates and Bruin already there. Steeling herself for human contact, Andy left her bat by the quidditch trunk. She could not even look him in the face. Instead she said a generic hello to all of them.

"I haven't had a chance to try the broom out yet, so... I'll be up there if anyone needs me" it was not an excuse but it afforded her one and she wasted no time at all in straddling her broom, kicking off and climbing until she felt enough distance between them. This was going to be a long day she could feel it already. Pulling her goggles down over her eyes, Andromeda swerved to her left and began to fly the length of the pitch.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor held her Nimbus 2001 firmly in her hand as she made her way down to the pitch. She was a little nervous about try-outs, but it was something she had wanted to do the moment she arrived at this place, so excitement definatly over-shadowed the nerves.

Stepping onto the pitch, Taylor looked at all the older students. Everyone else was older, she didnt want to be out-done by them. She knew she could fly, pretty well too, but the older students had obviously had more experience so Taylor wasnt sure. She was ready and determined to try and prove her own thoughts wrong.

She approached the headboy and two other girls Taylor didnt know. There was also another student in the air that Taylor didnt recognise. "Hi." Taylor said trying to be confident, but the weight of judgement remained on her shoulders. "Im here for the tryouts." She leaned her broom on the ground so she could put some of her weight on it.

 

[Mike Gray]

Taking his scarlet streak from his dorm, Mike swiftly walked out of the Common Room and down the stairs all the way down to the Quidditch Pitch. Not many people had arrived. "Hey Guys" Mike said happily. "Am I late or...?" Mike trailed off, clutching his Scarlet streak in his left hand. Mike saw only 2 people so far trying out. Both he had met briefly and hadn't really spoke to them much over the years. Mike looked up at bruin, realising that this was his last year. Smiling slightly, Mike waited patiently for everyone else to arrive so that training could get under way. Mike was itching to fly. It had been ages since he had flown.

 

[Ellie Sparks]

Ellie grabbed her Scarlet Streak from under her bed and made her way out of the Gryffindor Common Room, rushing down to the Quidditch Pitch for the team try-outs. Arriving there, she stared up at the sky and smiled brightly, it was a perfect day for Quidditch!
Spotting the group of fellow and future team mates, Ellie bounced over to them, "Hey Guys" she greeted them, smiling round at them all. There were a few new faces there. The young Gryffindor was a little nervouse today, she badly wanted to do well and get herself a spot on the team. The years before, she had been a substitute Seeker, which meant she would play if Hilary couldn't make it. Hopefully this year there would actually be a few Quidditch games, too! Scraping her blonde curls back, she tied them in a messy high pony, leaving only her side fringe out of it.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin greeted his housemates with a mixture of simple replies, nods and shrugs. In truth, he wasn't prepared for his final year and he had no idea how to help Gryffindor Quidditch advance any further without the opposition showing some desire to raise their level and actually face them on the pitch. Quidditch had been an enormous source of interest for him, but had also provided some of his greatest disappointments. He did not want to give the younger students the impression that he would be playing any favourites this year in selecting the team, so he decided that for today it would be all business.

Bruin pulled out a clipboard with a muggle-style pen on a string attached to it and held it out in front of him, calling those assembled to attention. He had noticed Andy's arrival and that she had chosen to go and fly by herself as opposed to wait for him to speak and would leave it up to her whether she would join them or not. If she chose to continue isolating herself then it would be something that he would have to hold against her, this would be a tight-knit team that depended upon trust and communication and if anyone wasn't able to put the team ahead of themselves then they would find themselve on the outside looking in.

"Alright, thanks for coming. This should be a great year and I know that our house is going to have an amazing team. Try-Outs will be a little different this year. I am looking for at least 10 players and I want everyone to train at two positions so it gives us the ability to adapt if we have some injuries or problems with people keeping their grades up. It should also help you next year when Cyndi and I have graduated." Bruin opened, stating things rather matter-of-factly and not dwelling on his last comment. It was fact, his time was almost up and he and everyone else would just have to get used to it.

"So, what I want you to do today is this. Put your name on the list and indicate what two positions that you are most interested in. Then, when it's your turn you will mount your broom and head to the south end of the pitch and wait for my signal to start. You will fly north and dodge the objects that I will be placing in your path. It you see a Quaffle, catch it and try and score on one of the hoops at the north end. Then, you are to fly around the north hoops and back towards the south hoops, again dodging anything in your path. If at any point you see a Snitch appear, you are allowed to make one attempt at catching it. If you manage to catch it, then your try-out is done, if you don't see the Snitch or don't catch it, then race to the south hoops as fast as you can and I'll record your time." Bruin wasn't sure that they all understood, so he took a breath and continued.

"You're going to be judged on how fast you complete the course, if you score a goal with the Quaffle, and if you see and capture the Snitch. Points will be deducted if you are hit by any of the obstacles or don't complete the course as instructed. I'll demonstrate to show you what I expect." Bruin added as he headed over to the Quidditch Trunk, a large equipment bag, and pulled out his wand.

Bruin opened the trunk and bag and began muttering a variety of hovering charms on different small objects, mainly a mixture of tennis balls and rubber balls that he spread around the pitch at random. He then walked over to the equipment shed and pulled three dummies out that he had strapped to house brooms. The first two that he sent careening off over the pitch and that appeared to have a mind of their own, although the one was flying upside down at the moment in a zig-zag pattern. Bruin sent the third dummy to the North Hoops where it simply drifted back and forth in front of the three hoops rhythmically.
Finally, Bruin returned to the Quidditch Trunk and released the practice Snitch before grabbing his Scarlet Streak.

Bruin looked up at the pitch, littered with flying debris and the three dummies, and smiled inwardly at his handiwork. He had made it look rather effortless, but it had been something that he had been planning for weeks. Bruin had even used a couple of modified hovering charms that he had learned from reading the book that Andy had given him and a motion activated Engorgement Charm that would swell one of the rubber balls into a full-size Quaffle when flown near...he hoped. Bruin handed the clipboard to one of the others and mounted his broom, quickly heading for the south hoops, hovering there for a moment to ensure they were watching.

(Out of Character - the next post is what I anticipate your try-out looking like)

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin - Beater or Chaser

Bruin had written his name across the top of the paper on the clipboard before heading to south hoops and awaited the signal to begin. He pulled his stopwatch out from below his shirt where it had been hanging and started it, blowing on his Fox-40 Whistle as he did so. After a moment's pause to survey the veritable mine field of sports balls before him, he pressed himself to his broom and accelerated towards the north hoops, veering or dipping occasionally to avoid the objects in his path.

As he approached the centre of the pitch, he noticed a red ball off to his right suddenly grow in size and begin falling towards the earth as if it had been dropped by another player. He shifted his weight and dove, aiming at a point below it and managing to scoop the Quaffle up with his right hand. He was about to give his housemates one of his big grins when one of the charmed dummies came charging towards him and almost skewered him with the tip of its broom. Bruin resisted the urge to give the dummy a flying clothesline and dismount it and swerved to avoid the contact before refocusing himself on the north hoops.

Bruin closed the distance quickly, although did feel a tennis ball riccochet off of his foot at one point. If it had been a bludger, he'd probably have a broken ankle, but he simply decided to chalk it up to rust and maintained his focus on the hoops. Bruin watched as the Keeper Dummy drifted from west to east and waited for it to clear the left hoop, rearing back and sending it flying through the middle of the hoop. Surprisingly, the dummy accelerated back to the west in an attempt to stop it, but failed to do so before resuming its more pedestrian pace of drifting back and forth.

Bruin circled the hoops and then accelerated back to the south. As he turned, the big Gryffindor noticed something glistening about 5o feet ahead of him and low to the ground. Bruin entered a steep dive and closed on the Snitch quickly. However, just as he felt certain that he would catch it, the Snitch shot upwards and slipped through his grasp. He turned his head, but stared directly into the midday sun and knew that he wouldn't be able to find it again with the temporary hole he had just burned into his retinas. Instead, Bruin accelerated towards the South Hoops, meeting only light resistance from hovering balls and laughing as the upside dummy flew into the west stands awkwardly. Didn't realize I'd made a Slytherin dummy!

Bruin clicked the stopwatch as he passed the hoops and looked down at his time...the display read one minute and 37 seconds. Not bad, although he was certain that some of his teammates would outdo him in the speed department and he hoped that at least one or two would show a greater ability to track the Snitch. Besides, Bruin wasn't in his element on the pitch unless he had a Beater's Bat in his hand anyways, looking to dish out some punishment or offer some protection.

Bruin returned to the group on the ground and dismounted. "Alright then, not great, but at least that should give you the idea of what I'm hoping for. I'll be sitting over there and evaluating things, the rest of you can talk amongst yourselves." He said, clearly distancing himself from the rest in the hopes of appearing impartial. Once seated in the stands, Bruin called out to the participants. "Alright, who's up?"

(Out of character - have fun with it and feel free to be as creative as you want. You may even godmod me having prepared a few other surprises if you like. You may also determine your time, as long as it is somewhat realistic.)

 

[Mike Gray]

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater

Mike decided to take his go now rather than wait. He was nervous but tried to brush that feeling aside. He did it some what unsuccessfully. Mounting his broom, Mike kicked off the ground, the nerves rising with him. Mike headed towards the South End of the pitch and waited for Bruin to do so. Mike wiped his forehead gripping tightly on his broom handle. It would be an embarrassment if he fell off his broom and he would probably say goodbye to his place on the team. Mike accelerated when Bruin blew his whistle, and Mike looked towards his destination of the North End hoops. Mike was about a quarter of the way there, when he could see something coming towards him. Squinting slightly, Mike made it out to be a dummy. Swerving slightly, Mike dodged it, and continued to look ahead, giving his full attention to the trial.

Mike kept on flying, keeping his eye out for the snitch and also a quaffle look a like. Mike flew faster, making himself more air resistant. Sweat started to drip down Mike's forehead, but mike resisted the need to wipe it away, sure that a lapse in concentration was something that could not happen. Looking to his left, Mike saw a red ball heading for him at some speed. It was an awkward one to catch, and Mike would of preferred to dodge it. Taking a risk, Mike did a u-turn extending his hand forward, catching the quaffle in time. Sure it had cost him a few valuable seconds but surely the reward was greater if he scored with the quaffle?

Mike was getting closer and closer to the Hoops, keeping his eyes out for any obstacles. Mike was straight on with the hoops, thinking he had straight pickings which hoop to shoot at. When suddenly a dummy dropped from the sky, circling the hoops. Damn Mike said to himself, aiming for the hoop straight on. Mike threw it, and watched in anticipation as the dummy circled the hoops. It looked like the Dummy was about to move to the centre hoop, when the quaffle sneaked in the centre hoop, narrowly missing the dummy keeper.

Circling the hoops, Mike headed towards the south end, scanning the pitch for any obstacles that could prove a problem. Mike was still searching for the Snitch but also looking at any incoming projectiles or dummies. Mike finally reached the South stands, encountering no dummies or balls and unfortunately no snitch. Mike hit the ground near the others who were waiting to start their trial. Mike snatched a quick glance at Bruin's stopwatch. 1 minute and 42 seconds Mike told himself hoping he wasn't the slowest.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin jotted down a few notes as Mike completed his try-out. He'd looked more nervous than Bruin had seen him on the pitch in recent memory, but had flown well. Like Bruin, it was evident that they should leave the seeking to someone else. However, Bruin knew from past experience that he could count on Mike as a Keeper, a Beater, and a great teammate. Bruin looked to see who was next up.

(OOC - two things...

First, I assume Mike meant one minute and 42 seconds or Bruin has gotten extremely slow in his old age.

Secondly, there are changes coming to Quidditch and your chance to voice suggestions can be found HERE )

 

[Ellie Sparks]

Bruin - Beater or Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser

Ellie listened in as Bruin told them all what would be happening and what they were to do for there try-out. She nodded her head, they had never done anything like it before and it was probably a better try-out than the ones they had done. It would show Bruin who was really up for a challenge, and who was physically up for it too! Writing her name under Mike's name, she scirbbled down the two positions she was intrested in. Playing Seeker was her dream, but she would also be willing to play Chaser, as she liked that too! Nerves filled her whole body as she watched Bruin complete the course in good time. Mike followed him and done good time wise too! Looking around, she noticed no one else seemed to want to go next, so decided she would. She knew the longer she left it, the more nervouse she would become, and when she was flying her love for it left no room for nerves.

Swinging a leg over her broom, she kicked off the ground, hard, and flew over to the South end of the pitch. Taking a deep breath, she awaited Bruin's signal to start. It came sooner than she would have liked, but if she was to play Quidditch for the team she would have to be ready for things like that. Lying low on her broom she sped off towards her destination of the North end hoops. She was around about half way to the center of the pitch when she spotted a tennis ball flying towards her, fast. When it was inches from her broom handle, she swerved easily to the left and dodged it. She covered the rest of the distance to the center by swerving around and about obstacles such as balls and the occasional traffic cone.

Zooming through the center she found herself in the NW/NE section of the pitch, were she spotted a large, red ball flying towards her. Quaffle, she told herself, urging her broom to go faster and streching a hand out to hopfeully catch the ball. Suddenly, she found herself inches from it. Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes against the wind and steched her hand out further. Her finger tips touched the cold metal and she attempted to close her small hands around the large ball, deciding instead to store it under her arm. Trying to keep hold of her broom while keeping the Quaffle under her arm was a hard job, but she told herself she could do it and her determination was larger than her petite figure! As she drew closer and closer to the hoops, she spotted one of the dummies Bruin had enchanted to guard the hoops. Slowing down slightly, Ellie scanned each hoop, trying to decide which hoop to go for and which hoop would be easiest to get to. Eventually she decided upon the left hand hoop, and slipping the Quaffle from under her arm into her hand she brought herhand backwards and flung the Quaffle forwards with as much strength as she could muster.
The Quaffle went in the direction she had intended and she watched it go through the hoop, missing the dummie by inches.

Grinning, Ellie realised she had nearly finished the course and was nearly at the hoops. Now if only she could spot the snitch! Peering around herself she searched the sky, desperately seeking a glimmer of gold. She was just deciding wether to race towards the hoops and finish the try-out or keep searching, when she heard a fluttering sound at her right ear. Turning her head instantly, she spotted that glimmer of gold she had been looking for. Flying away from her, was the golden snitch, the sunlight reflecting of it's hard metal.
Go for it, she told herself, lying lower on her broom and spiraling upwards, in the direction of the Snitch. She was now a good bit above the hoops and the Snitch was now slightly to her right. Forcing her broom to go faster she nearly went lundging over the handle as she leaned forwards and streched her arm out. The Snitch was inches from her fingers! It fluttered about a little, left and right, and Ellie became quickly frustrated. She wasn't giving up without a fight, though. Flinging herself forwards, she cupped the snitch in her hand and closed her fingers tightly. Grinning brightly, she laughed slightly as the small wings of the ball continued to beat against her palm, before finally stopping as she flew at top speed towards the hoops, before returning to the ground and running over to Bruin.

Opening her hand, she held the Snitch out for Bruin to take and checked her time on his stop watch. 1 minute 31 seconds. Not bad, Ellie, she told herself, her eyes sparkling brightly. She'd done better than she had expected to. She thought the seconds she had taken to chase the Snitch would have set her time relatively bad, but then again she had sped through the obstacles well and with no problems. She had always been fast on a broom. She was small and petite for her age, and she held her balance good. She was also stronger than she looked. Her small figure allowed her to fly through the air at speed without difficulties. Her only downfall was finding it hard to carry large balls such as Quaffles while keeping her balance and flying well, which is probably why she had played seeker ever since her dad had taught her the game when she was just 9 years old. Although back at home they didn't have full scale games like they did at Hogwarts, just small ones. Still, Ellie couldn't imagine herself playing anything but Seeker, although she knew she would be one very lucky girl if even with the time she had taken she landed herself the spot of Seeker on the team. Hilary was still to try out, and she didn't even want to think about how good she was going to do!

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat watched as first Bruin, Mike and then Ellie completed the run through of the obstacle course that the Head Boy had set up. She could tell that Bruin meant business this year as it was his last year and because of that she really hoped that quidditch worked out. Noticing that no one else was stepping up to the plate Kat dropped all the 'baggage' that she'd brought down here with her, deciding to deal with it once today was over with because she didn't want to let one of her best buds down.

Grabbing the pen Kat signed her name on the clipboard with a nervous flutter in the pit of her stomach. What in the name of Pete are you so nervous about? You've done this a million times she thought as she returned the pen to it's place and grabbed her broom.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser
Kat-Chaser or Keeper

Kat headed to the South end of the pitch, mounted her broom and waited for Bruin to blow the whistle. Once he did Kat kicked off and leaned forward to gain as much speed as possible towards the North hoops. As soon as she reached a speed she was comfortable she also reached an obstacle. There was a dummy coming straight at her and apparently she zigged when she should have zagged and the tip of it's broom caught her on the right collarbone. "Crap!" Kat growled as she nearly tipped over sideways, but as luck would have it she caught herself and kept pushing on.

She managed to successfully dodge a few bludgers and felt that she was making fairly good time. Just then she saw something sparkly flit by out of the corner of her eye. Kat chanced a side glance and saw a snitch floating about three or four feet away from her. Ugh, should I even attempt it? As soon as I do then the damned thing will disappear on me. Forget it she thought as she ignored it and returned her focus to finishing up the course. When she was nearly to the hoops of the North end she saw a quaffle fly by a few feet below her so risking adding a few more seconds to her time dove down, swooping under the ball and caught it, but just barely. She redirected herself and flew hard towards the hoops, hoping to make up any time that she may have just lost and when she reached her destination she launched the quaffle as hard as she could towards the left hoop seeing as how the dummy was guarding the far right hoop and it soared right through. Kat punched her fist in the air, knowing that it was cheesy, but feeling a sense of accomplishment. Without wasting anymore time she turned and flew as fast as she possibly could back to the South end and landed not so gracefully tripping as she dismounted her broom. She walked over to Bruin and checked her time. 1 minute 47 seconds. Bah! That sucks Kat...gonna have to start training a bit harder and step it up a notch she berated herself as she walked over to where a few others were gathered and plopped down on the cool grass.


((Sorry this is kind of lame, but I got a phone call from my sweetie and I don't get to talk to him very often so I got a little distracted =-/ It'll be better next time...PROMISE!! ))

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Andromeda had two reasons for taking off into the air as she did, one was that she hadn't flown since her plummet to near death before the summer holidays and she was nervous as hell about giving a poor performance at the try-outs; the other was this was the first chance she had to test out the broom that she had gotten for her birthday. She made a lap and noticed others arriving, dipping her broom instantly she headed back. At least she hadn't fallen off and any kinks she might have felt prior to her first flight on a new broom and her first flight in a few months were ironed out at least. Though she had still to see what the Streak could really do. As she landed Bruin began to speak and Andy looked astounded that he hadn't chosen to wait for any of the others. Things really were going to be different this year it would seem.

As much as she wanted to be on her own and had done a bang up job of it so far, Andy knew that quidditch was basically all she had going for her besides her studies. It meant everything to her and there was no way on this planet that she would let her team down, no matter what issues she had with herself. She watched as first Bruin then Mike, Ellie and then Kat flew. As she went to write up her own name she cast a glance at Bruin, just for a moment before quickly scribbling her name and the positions she was battling for.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser
Kat-Chaser or Keeper
Andy - Beater or Keeper

In one fluid motion Andy straddled her broom and kicked off taking it nice and handy as she flew down to the south end of the pitch. Circling the hoops to face north wards, she hovered for a moment, pulling her goggles down over her eyes and waiting for Bruins whistle. Leaning low she whipped off instantly, a tennis ball coming directly for her as soon as she had made her move. Andy swerved to the left and plunged on.
"Come on let's see what you can do then" she called to the broom before tucking her legs up and leaning lower so that it looked like rider and broom were synchronized. A dark black ball came hurtling toward her and Andy dipped suddenly to miss it, gasping as the ball grew the closer it came. Swerving around it she nearly collided with one of the charmed dummy's but thankfully she kept her balance and rolled to the right away from the thing. As she sped faster and faster she finally saw the red flash of a quaffle and ducked to retrieve it only to have another charmed dummy tailing her. As she sped up, another dummy pulled along side of her.
She took a quick look at both before pulling up the head of her broom and climbing upwards. It meant the quaffle was out of her reach for now but only just, once out of the dummies way Andromeda spun swiftly to her right and dipped her broom into a very steep nose dive coming down directly on top of the quaffle.

She reached out and grasped it effortlessly and manuevering the broom around once more in the direction of the North hoops Andy gained speed quickly. The streak was so much faster than her Sienna Storm had been and the rush was exhilarating. The dummy keeper seemed alot slower than what herself and Mike ever were and it didn't feel like any challenge at all as she pulled back and hurled the quaffle into the center hoop. Turning as she did so to head back to the south end once more. The snitch was no where in sight but that didn't bother her in the slightest. All of a sudden it felt as if she were being ambushed, as ten maybe twenty balls hurled themselves at her.

Pushing herself forward, Andy felt the fear for a moment that she would be knocked off and sent plummeting down to the ground again. But the streak got her through unscathed. Swerving, ducking and diving as if possessed. When she reached the south end she smiled. As she lowered her broom she dismounted with a flourish, her face glowing from the exursion and her mind so alive that she all but forgot the vow she had made. Her eyes glowed with the excitement of flying, it always had this effect on her. Grabbing her broom and removing her goggles she ran beaming over to Bruin to check the stop watch.
"How did I do? Wow, 1 minute 25 seconds" she couldn't help but smile at him until she suddenly realised what she was doing. Turning around to watch the next person, Andy took a deep breath. This was quite possibly the hardest thing she had ever promised herself that she would do.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor watched as older students appeared on the pitch. It made her feel extremely nervous, but once the head boy started talking, she shook off the nerves. Her mind soley on Quidditch and the upcoming try out. She would prove that younger students could be just as good.

She hung back as some of the older students jumped in to go first, she watched their techniques and struggled with the nerves that threatened to come back. As the girl who had been flying when Taylor first reached the pitch landed and checked her time, Taylor stepped forward. "I'll go next." She said quietly, approaching the captain and writing down her name. She knew the one position she wanted more than the others was Seeker, but Keeper could also be a second choice.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser
Kat-Chaser or Keeper
Andy - Beater or Keeper
Taylor - Seeker or Keeper

After she had wrote her name down, she mounted her Nimbus 2001 and headed down to the South end of the pitch, she hovered in place, rolling her shoulders and hyping herself up. She waited for the whistle that would start the course.

The instant it was blown, Taylor sped off, gaining as much speed as she could, feeling like she hadnt even heard it. She was flying on instinct alone, not thinking, just doing. She kept her vision aware of everything at all times, her main goal, to find the snitch. If she got that, her time wouldnt matter too much.

The goal posts in clear view, but all other surroundings making themselves known, Taylor turned her head to see a tennis ball flying directly at her face, she ducked her head instincively, her broom never slowing down. She only had time to raise her arm as a quaffle came flying from the other direction. She knocked it forward to save and went into a dive, catching it almost a second after hitting it away. She clutched it under her arm, she knew she wasnt fantastic at throwing. She could deinfatly catch, but not throw.

As she came closer to the hoops she prepared herself to throw the Quaffle. She untucked it from her arm and held it in her palm, her speed slowing only slightly as she raised her arm ready to throw. From out of nowhere one of the charmed dummies flew down at threw off Taylor's focus. She swerved to the side to dodge the dummy as she threw the Quaffle. It bounced off the hoop and fell to the ground. Scowling slightly, Taylor returned to full speed, not letting it throw off her concerntration. She had tried out for Seeker and Keeper for a reason.

She zoomed around the goal posts in a perfect turn, staying close while keeping her speed. She narrowed her keen eyes as a sparkle caught her eye closer to the ground. She went straight into a dive from her turn, following what she now recognised as the snitch. She had to catch this, come on Taylor you can do it. She kept her eyes sharp, even as she took a sharp right turn to avoid a dummy flying towards her. Nothing could take her attention of the small ball of gold. She stuck low on her broom, to small frame giving her an incredible speed. She came closer to the Snitch, her eyes flicking as the small metal ball did. Suddenly the Snitch zoomed to the right and stopped in place. Taylor was still flying at top speed so she only had time to flick out her right arm with her palm open insinctively. She felt the cool metal smack into it. Closing her fingers, she was almost at the end of end of the course, so she fly with intense speed until the end.

Her concerntration never faltered until her feet hit the ground, in which she allowed a smile to spread across her face. She held the Snitch in her finger as she walked with pride, her broom clutched in her hand, to the team captain. She checked her time regardless. 1 minute 40 seconds. Wow, that was pretty good considering. She kept grinning, hoping she had done as well as she felt she had. She handed the Snitch back to the Head Boy and Quidditch Captain. She felt good about that run. Now it was all a matter of would she make the team.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin watched as one by one the Gryffindors stepped forward and attempted to complete the obstacle course that he had laid out for them. They all had their own unique styles, but the skill component was undeniable and they all looked fearless, not surprising given the house that they had been sorted into. Bruin noticed that Andy smiled at him, or at the very least at her result, and hoped that this was a positive sign. He was worried about her, but had no idea how to communicate that without bringing up things that she wouldn't wand to talk about. For now, he simply offered an encouraging nod and returned to his clipboard that had been charmed to take a copy of what was being written on its pair by the others, quickly noticing that one of his teammates had made a subtle change to Bruin's role. He smiled, it suited him and his current mood.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser sounds about right, should make team...
Mike- Keeper or Beater looks like junior version of me, give him shot to show keeper skills
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser fast and aware, little struggle with Quaffle, may need to hit the weights
Kat-Chaser or Keeper head in clouds today, but what else is new...always solid come game time
Andy - Beater or Keeper new broom suits her, is speed being wasted at positions she wants?
Taylor - Seeker or Keeper great young talent, little struggle with Quaffle, but great capture & speed

Bruin knew that there were still a number of people waiting to try-out, including some veterans that would be difficult to knock off the team: Kiera, perhaps the most acrobatic flyer and enthusiastic teammate ever and looking lovely as always; Hilary, former TriWizard Champion and Seeker extraordinaire; and Cyndi, fellow 7th year and Beater who complimented his more reckless style well. Bruin realized that the first two had been Yule Ball dates for him in previous years and began to wonder if Cyndi had a date for their last one...hmmm?

"Alright, who's next?" He shouted.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi ran onto the quidditch field with her broom in hand. She had overslept and nearly missed the try-outs. Cyndi mouthed sorry to Bruin and waved to the rest of the team as she walked over to wait for her turn to try-out. This would be her last year on the team, and although Cyndi was sad about that, she also wanted it to be her best year.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser
Kat-Chaser or Keeper
Andy - Beater or Keeper
Taylor - Seeker or Keeper
Cyndi- Beater or Chaser

"I'll go" Cyndi said as Bruin asked who would be next. She mounted her Sienna storm and flew into the air taking a deep breath as she felt the breeze hit her. Waiting for the whistle, Cyndi tightened her grip on her broom. When it blew, Cyndi shot off heading toward the south end of the pitch. As she neared the goal posts, a tennis ball came out of nowhere right in front of Cyndi. She swerved to the right and the ball flew right over her shoulder. That was close, Cyndi said determined to pay more attention and wishing she had a bat to hit it away. She successfully maneuvered around the cones that were in the way and the other tennis balls that tried to hit her.

She continued to head toward the goal posts and saw the quaffle fall out of the sky. Cyndi sped up to catch it. When it was safely tucked under her arm, Cyndi looked at the goals and the dummy in front of it. It was moving around and Cyndi took a few seconds to try and see where to throw the quaffle. Taking aim, Cyndi swerved to the left and quickly released the quaffle. She watched it soar toward the left most hoop. The dummy narrowly missed it as it safely went through his arms and into the hoop.

Not wasting any time, Cyndi easily flew around the hoops and began to search for the snitch. She continued to fly back north searching the sky and the ground for it. As she approached the center of the field, Cyndi thought she saw a flash of light near the edge of the field to her right. Cyndi turned her broom and nosedived toward it, dodging and ducking under balls as she grew closer. As she started to reach out her hand to catch the snitch, it dodged away. Cyndi muttered a curse and flew after it. It was heading back toward the south end of the field and so was Cyndi. Another ball attempted to hit Cyndi and the snitch, which was slightly ahead of her, turned to avoid being hit. Cyndi took the opportunity and threw her hand out to catch it. As her hand closed around the snitch, the tennis ball flew toward her head and Cyndi ducked. It flew right over her head, so close that she felt the breeze of it That was way too close, Cyndi thought as she continued to clutch the snitch and head toward Bruin.

Cyndi kept the snitch in hand as it continued to flutter and dismounted near their captain. "How'd I do?" Cyndi asked excitedly as she showed him the snitch. "1 minute 39 seconds...not bad" Cyndi said. She took a deep breath as she layed down her broom and sat down on the grass to watch the next person go.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera watched from the sidelines as the Gryffindors took their turns trying out. As she watched, she tried to decide what to do for her second try-out. Kiera had only ever played as a chaser since her first year when the game of Quidditch had first been explained to her. She remembered how odd it had seemed to her when she had found out magic exsisted. Kiera had laughed at the thought of people chasing each other around on broomsticks. She realized now that she could not imagine her life without the sport. Kiera smiled at that thought.

As Cyndi finished her tryout, Kiera skipped over to Bruin. "I think I will have a go now." she said grinning broadly. She wrote her name and positions down on the piece of paper. She had decided to make her second position beater. Kiera was a small girl but she was well muscled from years of gymnastics training. In fact, most of her weight was muscle. Her slim figure tended to work in her favor since people underestimated her strength.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser
Kat-Chaser or Keeper
Andy - Beater or Keeper
Taylor - Seeker or Keeper
Cyndi- Beater or Chaser
Kiera- Chaser or Beater

Kiera hopped on her Scarlett Streak and flew into the air. It was a crystal blue day and the air was refreshing. She decided to do two high speed warm up laps before starting her tryouts. Kiera pushed her broom to its highest speed. It was all she could do to keep from laughing as the wind whipped around her. Kiera realized how much she had missed flying this summer.

At the end of her second lap, she slowed down and lined up where Bruin had signaled for them to start. Kiera grinned and nodded her head to show she was ready for the course. She was impressed at the number of objects Bruin had charmed to get in their way. She was relieved she had practiced with the Dummies during her match with James. Kiera gripped her broomstick as the whistle blew and took off like a bullet.

The first set of obsticles were fairly simple to avoid. Kiera dodged the tennis and rubber balls with easy accelerations, climbs, and drops. She kept a watch for the Quaffle untill she spotted it in the arms of the incoming dummy. Kiera rose in the air above the dummy. She made a fist with her hand and slammed in down on the Quaffle as she passed the dummy. Immediately she dropped down 10 feet to catch the falling Quaffle.

Kiera grinned as she tucked the ball securely under her arm. She zoomed down to the North hoops where the Keeper dummy was moving slowly back and forth. Kiera decided to have a little fun even if it added time to her score. She was quickly approaching the goals as she climbed up so that she was standing on her Streak. She knew her broom would find the exact position she wanted it to be in for her landing. After all this wasnt her first time on the pitch. Kiera laughed as she jumped up and forward towards the goal. As she was jumping, she quickly shot the Quaffle through the goal. She tucked her knees and flipped over the hoop. Kiera landed with her arms in the air and her feet placed as if she had just done a pass on the balance beam.

Kiera smiled as she slipped back down into her seat. She circled around the hoops and then kicked her broom into full speed as she raced back to the Southern hoops. Kiera flew in a zig zag pattern avoiding all the balls as she had on her way down the pitch. She saw the snitch once but decided to keep going towards the finish line figuring she would just waste her time trying to catch it. Kiera was no seeker.

Kiera crossed the finish line grinning. She took her broom down to where Bruin was watching tryouts. She was breathless as she asked him, "Hiya. How did I do?" She laughed as he told her 1 minute 33 seconds. Not bad for not flying all summer...she thought to herself. Overall, she was happy with her tryout as she went to join Cyndi on the grass.

occ- Sorry I couldnt help myself when I saw that acrobatic comment!

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

[ok I removed the ooc posts so that the thread could run smoothly and I've pm'd all the first year Gryffindors - if none show up, I think take the team as if... ]

Andromeda watched Cyndi and Kiera fly, the new girl had been really good as well. She hoped that others would come along as well to try out, the team needed to be strong at all times. Rookies included. As much as she tried to detach herself from it all, for some reason she couldn't detach herself from flying. She gave a small smile as her team mates each took their turns and returned to the pitch again, all well pleased with the efforts they had made.

 

[Kida Frost]

Kida has been under the influence of a sleeping potion for most of the try outs, when she woke up she stretched and looked around at the clock before it hit her Quidditch Try outs, Kida threw her books into her bag, picking up her moontrimmer as she did and ran down to the quidditch pitch. she shook her head for a moment, Nurse Kanti had been giving her sleeping potion so she could get some peaceful nights sleep every now and then, unfortunatly she took a bit to much on this round and had slept through most of the day.
Kida made her way down to the Quidditch pitch and stood watching everyone who were already flying around doing the course, once of the people there was her Cousin Aeon, Kida scratched her head slightly looking around she ran over to someone who was holding a clipboard. "So Sorry i'm late" she said as she chucked her bag on the ground and pulling her jacket back onto her shoulders. Kida quickly wrote her name down on the list.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser
Kat-Chaser or Keeper
Andy - Beater or Keeper
Taylor - Seeker or Keeper
Cyndi- Beater or Chaser
Kiera- Chaser or Beater
Kida - Beater

Kida watched someone complete the course and she swallowed slightly "yikes" she said to herself, as she looked at the course, when the girl came down Kida looked around "i guess its my turn" she said smiling, Kida looked at the ground and picked up a beaters bat, "If someone says break a leg i will send a bludger at them" she joked as she mounted her broom and kicked off the ground shooting straight towards the south of the pitch, Kida looked around for a moment before she saw somthing come towards her, Kida smiled as she almost hugged her broom as she dodged the object, still keeping a firm hold of the bat Kida sped towards the other end of the pitch.

Several Charmed dummies began to come towards her, Kida quickly pulled to a halt and headed down towards the ground, going straight underneeth the dummies. A charmed object was following her Kida turned her broom to fly up, skimming long the sides of one of the towers Kida turned around and headed back towards the south end of the pitch, Kida gripped the bat tightly before giving it a vicious swing and hitting the Charmed object with a loud Thwack, She smiled as it took off in the other direction, Kida saw another object coming towards her out of the courner of her eye, quickly swining the bat again she Hit the object with a back swing without even looking at it she headed off down the course.

Kida did a circle of the course dodging various charmed dummys which kept on flying towards her, She managed to get two to fly into each other. Kida laughed as she let go of her broom with one hand and pulled her jumper back on her shoulder before running her fingers through her hair, Kida had been practicing holding on to her broom with no hands but at the speed Kida was going she didn't think that would be a good idea, she only usually did it when she was hovering.

Kida smiled as she pulled around again hovering above the group of students below Kida saw a rubber object fly towards her and Kida gave a quick swing of her bat before spotting another fly towards her and she hit that aswell. Kida Ducked a few before she heading down again, Skimming along the grass of the pitch she hit another object with the bat before heading down to the ground, Kida skimmed the grass before pulling to a stop almost infront of everyone and dismounting her broom quickly.

Kida made her way over to everyone else when she heard something come behind her, Kida turned around and dropped her broom on the ground before swung her bat a bit, before hitting the object with a solid swing, she smiled as she soar off. before resting the bat on her shoulder, Kida held her hand over her broom and commanded "up" she broom flew up into her hand and Kida made her way down to where everyone was to check her time, she smiled and looked at the boy "so how did i go" she smiled taking in a breath slightly, Kida couldn't wait for a answer and moved around to see the time, '1 minute 28 seconds, Excellent' she said as she took another deep breath "That was awesome" she said smiling "Adrenaline rush" she said as she put the bat on the ground.

 

[Imogen Day]

Immy was walking around the almost empty common room when she notice a notice on the noticeboard. Immy walked over and read. Gryffindor quidditch team try outs. It did say that first years couldn't try out but Immy didn't see any harm in her going to watch it. Immy quickly ran up to the dorm room and got changed out of her pj's and into some normal, casual clothes. Immy quickly brushed her hair and tied her laces before walking out the dorm room and the common room. She was beginning to feel very excited about watching the older students play. They'd all be very good and Immy wanted to be as good as them. She'd need to get herself a broom but she'd get one eventually, when she had the money. Immy broke into a small jog as she made her way through the castle.

Immy burst excitedly through the doors to the grounds. She was smiling brightly and her eyes were filled with the excitement she felt. She began to skip down to the pitch, humming to herself. Immy was soon at the pitch where a few of the older students were already getting ready to fly. Immy quickly made her way up to the stands. She took a seat on the stands and began to watch. She noticed that she appeared to be the youngest student in attendance. This didn't bother Immy, she wanted to watch and having another person sit with her who could potiential talk to her would make her lose concentration on the play. Immy didn't recognise most of the students. She didn't know if it was because she was far away from them or just that she didn't actually know any of the older students well enough to recognise them. It wasn't long that one by one the people began to try out.

Immy didn't know much about the game of quidditch, but from what she did know there were seven players and 4 balls. She hoped this might also help her when she began to learn about the game. She'd already know how each position was played. Immy was in awe as the older students got on there brooms and flew. They were all very good. Each in turn showing what practice meant you could eventually do. Immy wanted to practice even more know. She felt inspired by the why the older students flew. All with such grace and the signs of practice all over. Immy cringed a little as one of the girls missed the hoops. Immy did think it was a good shot. After each person took there shoot Immy gave a small clap that probably wasn't even heard by the fliers but to clap is a way to show appreciation of talent.

Immy was beginning to pick up a little on the games itself. The very small golden ball was caught by one person. It was fast and hard to see. Someone had to guard the large hoops, like in most muggle games, there had to be someone to try and stop the scoring. Then there were the scorers. Fast and good passers. Finally a position which required a bat and hitting what appeared to Immy as the most manic ball she'd ever seen. Immy didn't want to be caught on the end of one of it's hits. This young Gryffindor was filled with pride watching her fellow house mates fly. She knew with this much talent the quidditch cup was there's for the taking.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin had noticed a young girl enter the stadium and take a seat in the stands early in the try-outs, but tried to keep his mind on what was happening in the air. He was very pleased with the way his fellow Gryffindors performed, but found himself getting almost as much enjoyment out of watching the young girls reactions to the plays above. After Kida's try-out, Bruin decided to actually live up to his role as Head Boy and be a little more welcoming to the first years than he had been earlier in the year.

He settled his rather large frame into the seat beside the girl and smiled. "So, what do you think? Interested in joining us up there later in the year?" He said with a warm smile. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Bruin." He added as he held out his hand to the girl.

(OOC - I think we have 10 great players and it appears that the try-outs are just about done. I'll post the team list in the Common Room and we can have our first practice in a week or so, alright?)

 

[Hilary Grace]

Hilary saw that she was pretty much the only person left on the sidelines who had not tried out. Deciding that it was time, she picked up the list that the others had signed and wrote her name at the bottom. She then suddenly realized that she hadn't even thought of what second position she wanted to play. Quickly she tossed up the thought of playing any of the other positions and wrote down the position she felt she was most unlikely to get. She loved being a seeker, and was not even totally certain of what everyone else did.

Bruin - Beater of Chaser
Mike- Keeper or Beater
Ellie - Seeker or Chaser
Kat-Chaser or Keeper
Andy - Beater or Keeper
Taylor - Seeker or Keeper
Cyndi- Beater or Chaser
Kiera- Chaser or Beater
Kida - Beater
Hilary- Seeker or Beater

After a brief second to breathe, Hilary hopped onto her Scarlet Streak and sped quickly to the starting position. She realized she hadn't really warmed up much more than simple stretching as she watched the others tryout, but she knew that this would be her last moment to tryout. As she looked out over the course that Bruin had set up it clicked in her head that this was just like the TriWizard tournament. Come on Hilary, you can deal with Pixies you can handle bludgers. Let's go she thought to psych herself up and then she started.

With ease Hilary zigzagged around some of the easier balls, feeling the wind rush through her hair and loving every moment of it. She dove quickly passed one of the overexcited balls that seemed as though it would have loved to knock her off her broom. Infront of her she saw a dummy trying to pass the quaffle like ball at another dummy. Hilary flew inbetween trying to intercept the ball but fumbled it, not being so used to the size compared to the snitch. The other dummy got the ball anyway and Hilary zoomed forward slightly happy that she hadn't written "Chaser" on her sheet because that would have been bad.

Moving her thoughts back to the course Hilary saw it. The snitch was flying in loop-de-loops around the bottom edge of the fall goal hoop. As she shot forward, barely blinking to not lose it, she paid attention to the flight pattern and realized that if it kept going in its same way she would have to go UNDER the hoop. But then it stopped, right above the hoop edge. Hilary realized that she would have to choose between crashing her broom into the hoop or catching the snitch. Wait, Hilary..... the seeker hoop flip! she thought excitedly to herself as she remembered one of the moves she used to do all the time in practices.

Quickly standing up onto her broom, lining it up perfectly, Hilary shot forward at speed towards the hoop and the snitch. At the perfect moment she jumped up and dove through the goal hoop and caught the snitch mid air. Hilary landed on her broom on the other side and lifted her hand above her head like a victorious seeker.

Flying down towards the ground, Hilary was happy with her tryout and even more, to have been in the air again with a snitch in her hand. She smiled and flipped her hair slightly as she landed beside the group.

(((So, it's not very good..... but it's done Sorry, I'm getting my internet issue solved in about a week. )))

 

[Imogen Day]

Immy smiled to herself. It was very cool for Immy to be able to watch this. She knew next year she'd try out. She didn't know which position and she didn't know the rules but she knew she'd try out. It seemed like the perfect sport for her. The fact it was played on brooms made it a hundred times more brilliant and enjoyable to watch. Immy was too busy watching the pitch that she didn't noticed an older boy make his way over. When he sat Immy got a small fright before looking to him. She smiled politely and nodded excitedly to his question. Immy continued to smile and took his hand. The name rung a bell in Immy's head. Bruin Head boy and quidditch captain. Immy wondered what it must be like to be head boy or quidditch captain. Immy realised she'd still not spoken and blushed a little.

"Imogen or Immy." Immy said with a polite smile. "I'd love to join and play but I don't even know the rules of the game or anything about it for that fact. I think they teach it in flying. I hope they do, it looks like a lot of fun." Immy looked out onto the pitch. It looked like a lot of fun.

 

[Bruin Dumbledez]

Bruin returned Immy's bright smile, thinking back to how he had felt when he first walked onto the pitch. He watched as Hilary dove through the hoop and caught the Snitch, his smile widening, knowing how crucial the Seeker position was to success in the game of Quidditch. He turned his attention back to Immy and replied. "It really is great fun, just make sure to pay attention in Flying class and then maybe you can come out and fly with the team later in the year to learn a little more about the game itself." Bruin suggested.

Bruin looked over at the pitch and noticed that everyone had completed their try-outs now and were looking up at him expectantly. He turned to Immy and smiled. "I hope you'll excuse me, but I think that I should probably go and let them off the hook. It was nice to meet you Immy and let me know if you ever want to join us, alright?" He added with a wink before jumping up and heading back down to the others.

"Great job everyone. Looks like we've got all the pieces of a champion...and a few extra parts to boot!" He said enthusiastically. "I'll post the first practice on the bulletin board tomorrow!" He added as he started to gather up some of the equipment.