Closed Planning Ahead

[Mualla Avar]

Usually, Mualla was an expert in ignoring the stress of school and do something entirely different to take her mind off of things but with the responsibilities of being a sixth year as well as a Quidditch captain ignoring the stress wasn't possible. She didn't know who would show up for the try-outs, or how good they'd all be, but she did already come up with strategies and tactics they could use based off of Hogwarts' performance during last year's final match. Slytherin had bested them without much effort which was something she had to keep in mind. Their Seeker was fast so theirs needed to be someone even faster, or at least have a faster broomstick. Once her morning classes were done and the homework had been noted, Mualla seated herself in the hall for some lunch and more planning. She currently was scribbling and drawing away on a notepad on which she had drawn multiple Quidditch pitches for different strategies, ignoring her lunch entirely.

 

[Édelie de la Mora]

Édelie had managed to get some practice time in on her viola before lunch and in between her classes. That was one big part of her summer that she always missed - the amount of open time to practice. It became more difficult once classes picked up and all the social engagements began. She made her way into the hall to grab some food and took a seat near a couple of students her age. After she made herself a salad, she pulled out her journal so she could write down what she had accomplished and make a note of what measures she wanted to focus on tomorrow. Midway through her meal, she looked up and noticed Mualla writing a bunch of shapes on a notepad. "Are you working on some new plans?" she asked the girl, as she knew she was a quidditch player.

 

[Mualla Avar]

If Mualla was able to successfully build a team and then have that team win the first match against Ilvermorny, she knew that there was a change, however slim, that they might actually win the championship too. But to do that, she first had to come up with different strategies and plays that she thought could them that far. It made her wonder if the captains before her ever felt this much pressure. Surely they must have, which made Mualla feel bad because she hadn't always been the nicest to Nadine or Orélie when they were still captains. Startled by the voice, she looked up from her notepad to see that Édelie was sitting not too far away from her. She smiled and nodded. ''Oh, hey! Yeah, I figured that I might as well work on some new plays whilst eating,'' she said, putting her pencil down when she noticed the still untouched food in front of her. ''How's class?'' she asked, still very much thinking of strategies.

 

[Édelie de la Mora]

Édelie took another bite of her food and then smiled at Mualla. She was thinking about trying out for Quidditch this year, but she hadn't quite decided yet. "We lost a lot of players from graduation, didn't we?" she asked, kind of sad. She missed her friends who had left but was excited for them to make their way in the world. It had been two years since her sister graduated, but she still wished she was closer most of the time. "Class is alright. Thankfully, we are free of exams this year," she said cheerily and finished up what was on her plate. They had a year in between their big tests, but that didn't mean Édelie would slack off. "How about for you? Are you still taking everything after your OWLs?"

 

[Mualla Avar]

''We lost everyone except for myself and our Seeker,'' Mualla answered, taking a quick bite of her sandwich. It really wasn't fun to think about how many people the team had lost due to them graduating. Doing so kind of made her wish that they were still on a summer break so she didn't have to think about it. She liked living in that bubble. She smiled when the other girl said that classes were alright and let out a sigh of relief at the mention of not having any exams this year. ''Tell me about it, I don't think I would have enough time for exams this year,'' she said with a small chuckle. ''Oh, yeah, it's all going alright too, the only class I'm not taking will be Charms. I didn't do too well on the exam, unfortunately.'' Was she worried about failing Charms? Not really, she would most likely pursue a career in Quidditch after graduation herself. The only one who didn't like her failing Charms was her Dad but she had learned to stop listening to him a while back. ''So, are you looking forward to this year? Anything special happening?''

 

[Édelie de la Mora]

Édelie didn't realize so many players had graduated. She was sure it would take a lot of rebuilding for the team and that Mualla had her work cut out. It seemed more appealing to at least try out since there were so many open spots, but the brunette hadn't quite come to a decision yet. While she hadn't done the best on her exams, she had gotten an E in Charms, which was better than average. "You must have done pretty well then to only not be taking one class," she said a smile and took another bite of her salad. Édelie didn't have any big plans for this year. It seemed like a filler year but also the year that she should really be deciding what she wanted to do with her life. As her mother kept reminding her, she would need a job before graduation, and that thought was stuck in the back of her mind. "Maybe just studying and career searching," she said with a slight laugh. "I might tryout for Quidditch," she added, hoping Mualla had a positive reaction.

 

[Mualla Avar]

It wasn't as if Mualla had done exceptionally well on her other exams, on the contrary, she had only achieved the bare minimum for the subjects she needed to pass to be able to continue them in her sixth year, which was another thing her father had not been too happy about. Honestly, the only thing her father was happy about was that the fact that, with the subjects she managed to score a passing grade with, she could still try to apply for a job at the Department of International Magical Cooperation after graduation. Fortunately for her, they had agreed that a job at the Ministry of Magic would only be a back-up plan for if a career in Quidditch would not work out the way she wanted it to. Mualla perked up when Édelie said that she might tryout for the team and beamed. ''Yes, you should definitely tryout for the team!'' the girl exclaimed excitedly, forgetting momentarily that they weren't the only two students around. ''I mean, not that I will be biased, I can't, but it would be really cool if you did.'' It would be nice to have someone on the team that she had known since her first year at school though, as it was extremely likely that most of the participants would be a lot younger than her or Sophia. ''Do you have a position you're good at?'' Mualla asked, keen to continue with this conversation.

 

[Édelie de la Mora]

Édelie shrugged when Mualla asked her if she was good at a position. She didn't necessarily think she was good and had never really played on a team, just with her siblings in their backyard. Her siblings automatically made her a chaser because her brothers preferred trying to hit each other with a bludger. She had became rather good at maneuvering around them. "I sometimes have played chaser. I don't think I would do good with a bat," she joked. She couldn't recall what position her fellow student played, but her reaction was a little more encouraging than she had expected.

 

[Mualla Avar]

Mualla grinned at Édelie's joke. Of course it didn't really matter to her what position the other girl played, as long as she thought about perhaps participating in tryouts, that'd be great. She didn't know how many people would turn up to tryouts but could only hope that it would be enough to fill the whole team. She definitely did not want to go down in history as the worst Quidditch captain Beauxbatons has ever seen because she couldn't build a team to take on the other schools. Making a mental note to explore the idea of making flyers and handouts to get people's attention, she took another bite of her sandwich. ''All I am saying is that you should for sure come and tryout for chaser if that's the position you play sometimes - we can use everyone,'' she replied. ''Anyway, I won't bore you too much with Quidditch. Got anything exciting going on this week? Anything fun planned?''

 

[Édelie de la Mora]

Édelie processed Mualla's encouraging statements, making a decision to commit to trying out. If she told the captain she was, it would be letting her down if she didn't show up. "Sure, I'll go for it! Why not?" she said with gusto. She didn't mind talking about Quidditch since most people were obsessed with it but was glad when they changed the subject a little bit. "Just studying and trying to keep up with classes. I feel like we have already been given so much work," she said a little exasperated. "Don't you think?" She closed her journal and placed it back in her bag, seeing as she wouldn't need to focus on practicing right now.