Quidditch Kills - Protesting the Ravenclaw Tryouts

[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara loathed the sport entirely and wasn't shy about it so when she had heard that tryouts for Quidditch were beginning shortly she had prepared herself. She had made signs and posters, pasting them around the school for people to read about because the danger really needed to have the appropriate attention even if most students were lambs to the slaughter for the sport. She only knew when the Ravenclaw houses tryouts were so she had to only protest theirs but was hopeful that she would find out when other teams were going to be taking part in this bloody attempt at a sport so she could try to prevent people from taking part in the danger. So with all of her stuff Zara walked up to the pitch and to the seats nearest the rings which would be used most for the tryouts and readied herself. With signs that said Quidditch Kills and Down with Danger which moving images of people being injured. She had not used her own father's likeness because that wouldn't be kind to her twin if he decided to help her as she hoped he would but there were more who had died in the history of Quidditch and even more whose bodies had been damaged beyond repair. To Zara she wasn't sure which was worse but all she knew was that they could've lived on normally without the sport. She knew she would never stop people playing it but she did know that she could at least keep young children from playing if people had the sense she hoped they did. Shouting "Down with Danger" at the top of her lungs had given her some attention but she truly hoped for more for the cause because these young people didn't deserve horrible deaths.

 

[Lennon Cohen-Knight]

Although Lennon was not quite as vocal about his dislike for Quidditch as his twin sister was, the Ravenclaw still felt strongly about the dangers of the sport because of the fact that people actually died while playing it, much like their father, yet children were still allowed to play it. Even though he was a lot more shy than Zara, he knew he still had to go out and support his sister in her protest. Truth be told he thought it might've been a lost cause in banning Quidditch completely from Hogwarts, but perhaps they could deter some people from trying out at least.

It was still a little ridiculous to him how they required first years to learn how to fly since they were all so young and the activity was dangerous; at the very least it could be offered as an elective to older students. Perhaps he and his sister could focus their efforts on banning that as a class for first years first before they moved on to a more ambitious challenge. But either way the Cohen-Knight twins were out in the stands, holding up signs. "Hey I made a bunch of small fliers and pamphlets that have statistics on them so we can pass them out," Lennon said, taking a large stack of parchment from his bag to show his sister. "I heard that some people come sit in the stands to watch try outs so we can pass them out here," he offered. He wasn't the screaming type in protests, but he offered his help in other ways.

 

[Zara Cohen-Knight]

Zara was briefly distracted from her goal when Lennon arrived and gave him a big grin, so glad to see he was joining her effort because all the shouting in the world wouldn't help if they didn't have the support of one another in this and in other matters. The girl gave her brother a quick one-armed hug as he approached and listened to what he said. "You're the absolute best, Lenny," the girl said to her twin, knowing that she would hear more about that particular sentence on a later date but hardly caring enough to keep her from saying it. While Zara had all the fact she had this expectation that because she knew she was right others would just fall in line so she wasn't as prepared as her twin was but was glad when he brought things down to reality because the truth was that he was the most pragmatic of the pair of them. While she shouted, "Quidditch Kills!" Zara hoped sincerely that the oaf of a Quidditch Professor heard about this too and knew that he was encouraging danger as were the rest of the staff if they supported the 'sport'. The Ravenclaw had been sure to charm Lennon's sign with the image of the Quidditch Captain himself hurting his arm quite terribly in a game from last year to prove to the students that even their classmates who they trusted with their skills got hurt, just the same as beginners and professional players. "I wish I could've convinced my roommates to join us too, they really would've been a big help," the witch said to her brother in a much quieter voice than the one she'd used to scream and shout.

 

[Lilyanna Hope]

Lilyanna was not happy at all to be back at Hogwarts and there were so many better things that she could've been doing back at home where it was much more peaceful. The only thing she liked about school was the education but even then she did not like the people that she had to do that with which just frustrated her even more. Better yet, they all had different interests to her and only a small portion ever wanted to make conversation. Everyone in the school seemed to be rather rude or it was just Lilyanna not understanding where they were coming from. Whatever it was, Lilyanna still hated them all and couldn't wait until next holidays where she could hopefully do what she wanted in peace. She picked up her drawing book and a pencil and headed straight outside of the castle with the rest of the students who were coming out for Quidditch Trials. She obviously had no interest in ever trying out for something so stupid but she figured that it would be quite fun watching people fail or perhaps attempting to draw them as they fell off their broom.

As quickly as possible, Lilyanna made her way to the pitch and took a seat on the sidelines. Unfortunately, just when she thought things were going to be pretty peaceful, Lilyanna heard shouting not too far away from her. A girl Lilyanna recognised from her first year seemed to be protesting quidditch and Lilyanna couldn't help but smile, glad that she had found someone she knew. She walked over to her and the boy who seemed to be her brother, but before she was able to even say hello she was abruptly given a flier by Zara which was all about Quidditch being dangerous. They seemed pretty prepared for it and it made Lilyanna's heart warm knowing that someone had roughly the same opinion on quidditch as she did. "Hey Zara!" she exclaimed, remembering her name. She hoped that she remembered her too. "Do you need some help with this? Not that you're doing a bad job - I think this is awesome!" She smiled at her, not really paying much attention to the boy. It gave her something to do and debating her point of view was always what she did best.

 

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle had been strolling through the castle grounds, with her guitar case strapped to her back when the sentences 'down with danger' and 'quidditch kills' rang in her ears. She was on a mission to find a spot to sit and play guitar but figured the interesting sounds of what was happening only a short walk away from her was enough to deter her from her mission, if only for a few minutes. So she turned on her feet and walked over to where the signs were, standing quietly as she read them and opening her mouth in shock of the images of various quidditch players hurting themselves. It was gruesome, to say the least and Noelle began to wonder if students that played quidditch at Hogwarts New Zealand were more prone to injuries than players were at other schools because she had never seen a protest against the sport before. She adjusted the case on her back slightly as she continued to observe the signs and the gruesome images displayed on them.

 

[Isaiah Jeffreys]

Isaiah had gotten fairly used to the idea of protesting, his dorm mate was probably one of the most active people he'd ever met in that way, and so when the try-outs had started isaiah had remained completely unfazed by it, he didn't mind, because it wouldn't exactly stop him doing what he needed to do as captain. Though perhaps he could understand why some would think it pretty dangerous, he had broken his arm in the first game they'd played last year and continued to play with it, until the game had come to an end, so he wasn't exactly ignorant to their plight, so when the try-outs had come to a close, and Isaiah had finished congratulating the new team, the boy made his way over to the small group of kids who'd been protesting and he greeted them all warmly.

"Hey there," he greeted as he approached, running a sweaty hand through his already sweat licked hair as he took them all in, "I'm Isaiah Jeffreys, Captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team," he informed them with a little smile, before clearing his throat a little and looking at the children, he was sure he knew a few of them as being from his own house, but there was one that didn't know at all, and one that seemed to be younger than the rest, "Let's be real, Quidditch isn't going to stop any time soon, but do you have any concerns or suggestions that I as captain might be able to put forward to increase the safety of my players?" Isaiah was taking an interested in what they were doing, hoping to engage with them a little and see if he couldn't stop this from growing much more than it was, which he assumed wouldn't happen, given the popularity of quidditch in the school, "After breaking my arm in the first game of last year and continuing to play with it, let's just say, I might be more amenable than most to improving the safety of this great sport,"
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[Lennon Cohen-Knight]

Lennon momentarily glared at his sister when she called him the one thing he begged people not to call him, but as their protest gathered some attention from others, he was glad they had not heard her say it for fear that they would start calling him that too. When a girl Zara knew approached them, Lennon didn't say much as the girl began talking to Zara. He would never say this to her out loud because it sounded like such an odd thing for him to say, but he was happy that Zara had made friends at Hogwarts because he knew she had a strong personality and she could be a lot to handle at times. So he was glad she had found others that saw the best in her. But Lennon also worried that soon Zara would start making more friends that she would realize she didn't need him anymore, and that terrified him more than anything. It was a complicated thing to feel happy yet anxious at the prospect of Zara's new friends but he tried not to let that bother him at the moment.

Not long after the Quidditch tryouts had ended, he saw someone from the team approaching them. From afar he could see the blonde head of hair so he had assumed was the captain because of the way he had been leading the tryouts. Lennon worried that he was going to tell them off or kick them out of the Pitch for protesting the tryouts and was immediately trying not to get defensive because that boy was only a student just like they were, so what authority would he have to kick them out! But he tried not to assume the worst just yet and instead focused on working on a rational argument as the boy approached them.

Lennon's suspicions about this boy being the captain were confirmed as he introduced himself, but he was pleasantly surprised when the boy didn't tell them off for protesting and instead was trying to compromise on the issue. The Ravenclaw glanced at Zara, wondering if she would be willing to compromise on this subject, but that was essentially like asking her to compromise her morals. Before his twin could start yelling in the boys face, Lennon decided to stand up and speak for them since he could be a bit more rational. "Hi, I'm Lennon Cohen-Knight, Ravenclaw second year," he introduced himself just as the older boy had done. "I appreciate you coming over to talk to us," he began politely as he carefully thought out his words in his mind first before speaking. Lennon took a deep breath and then said, "I know Quidditch is very popular here at Hogwarts, so you think it's invincible, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to get Quidditch banned. So while the chances of us getting the sport banned may be slim, that doesn't mean we are going to stop fighting for that chance." He glanced down at the small group of people. His heart was racing fast in his throat because he hated 'public speaking' of any sort, and he hated confrontation.

"If you want to play Quidditch on your own time that's up to you, but we don't think it should be condoned here at school because multiple injuries when started so young can seriously affect your health as you get older," Lennon tried to explain rationally, trying to keep his voice calm and level. "It starts with one injury here or there, and then it escalates and the damages become more permanent and the effects longer-lasting until suddenly they're fatal," he added with some finality. His voice had cracked slightly at the end of it and you could tell by the look of fierceness in his grey eyes that Lennon was speaking from personal experience. His father had suffered many injuries from Quidditch since his days playing here at this very school, for the exact same team the older boy now played on. As he got older and continued to play professionally, his injuries continually got worse, one landing him in a minor coma, and another eventually killing him. If Scorpius hadn't been playing since his days at Hogwarts, his later injuries wouldn't have been so damaging and he would've been alive long enough to at least know he had kids on the way. So that is what Lennon was protesting for. Not allowing students to play at Hogwarts minimized their risk for more damaging injuries later in their life if they did choose to play Quidditch professionally. Lennon looked down at the other students around him again to see if they wanted to say anything else because he had already said much more than he wanted to.
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