Closed Screaming Bludger Tennis

[Emma van Houten]

Armed with her beater's bat and the screaming bludger she had bought over break, Emma was ready to have some fun. She wasn't even sure if it had been her idea or Lysander's, but the idea to play 'tennis' with their bats and a bludger had been born after an afternoon of utter boredom. Stealing a school bludger had been a bit risky, but thankfully Emma had the screaming one just waiting to be used. She had originally wanted to use it as a prank in practice, but this was much better. After they both took a position on the lawn, far away from each other, and both had their bats ready, Emma called to Lysander. "Ready!?" She yelled, barely waiting for a response before counting down. "THREE, TWO, ONE... GO!" She released the bludger and immediately hit it at Lysander, hoping he could hit it back to her even when they were on the ground and slower than they were while on their brooms. Maybe they should have done this on brooms, now that she thought about it. But it was too late to change plans now. WIth a loud screech, the bludger made its way to Lysander.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander made a show of stretching his arm muscles on the lawn while Emma set up, occasionally tossing his bat into the air with a few somersaults before catching it again. Anyone watching from nearby was about to witness two absolute pro beaters bat a bludger around from the ground. No brooms for ease of maneuverability, just raw skill from the Gryffindor team. A totally great idea. His bat did a couple of spins in the air before it landed back in his outstretched hand, and he swung it over his shoulder as Emma counted them down. His grip tightened. Three, two, one. The shriek that was emitted from the enchanted ball was horrendous, and Lysander was delayed in reacting, taking a second to recover from the shock of it. He ran sideways to meet the ball and dove for it, giving it a smack just in time with the end of his bat and sending it spiraling back Emma's way. He crashed into the grass, earning a few green stains on his elbow, and scrambled to his feet to get ready for the bludgers comeback.​

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma let out a slightly hysterical laugh at the shriek the bludger let out, it was almost unexpected even though she had known it was coming. She watched as Lysander hit it back at her, impressed by how he managed it. Only then did she realize it was now her turn to hit it again. She yelped and quickly ran towards it, but the bludger went up high unexpectedly. Why had they forgotten these things had a mind of their own? Emma jumped up high, her bat reached all the way up in an attempt to hit it. Her bat grazed the bludger, but it wasn't enough to make it change course. The bludger flew right over her outstretched bat and into the greenhouse behind them. Right through an open window, miraculously not smashing any of the glass. "Oh. Oops."

 

[Lysander Summers]

With both hands on the bat, Lysander swung it over his shoulder, prepared to give it another hit when it came back. Only, it didn't. It sailed right over Emma and he watched it vanish through the window of a greenhouse. Well, that game idea had been short-lived. "That's probably not good, huh?" He said as he walked up alongside Emma. He could hear the muffled screaming from the bludger inside, and looked around the lawn to see if anyone had noticed. "Let's go get it before Castillo finds out." He said, glad there wasn't already a class being taught. Though, a bludger flying through the window might have livened it up a bit. He jogged over to the greenhouse and gave the door a shake, frowning when it didn't open. Nothing a quick little alohomora couldn't fix. He nudged the door open after unlocking it, but immediately closed it again when the bludger made a mad bounce toward him. "After you?" He laughed lightly, shifting the bat in his hand in case they needed to defend themselves.​

 

[Emma van Houten]

As soon as the initial shock wore off, Emma started to giggle. Of course they would do something like this. As she noticed the muffled screaming of the bludger, she started to laugh harder, covering her face for a moment. "Oops." She repeated again. She wanted to argue and tell Lysander that Professor Castillo would probably find out, as she could already hear things breaking inside, but she had paid good money for that bludger and it would be a shame to just leave it there. "Alright." She said as her giggles subsided. Emma gripped her bat tightly and quickly slipped into the room, smacking the bludger away as it tried to fly at them again. "Oh man." She said, as the bludger immediately knocked three flowerpots off a shelf. "How are we going to do this?" She asked, realizing they probably should have come up with a plan before going in.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander raised his bat to follow in after Emma, and flinched when she managed to bat the rogue bludger away from them. He winced as something audibly broke. They'd picked such a specific spot on the lawn to play this game without damaging anything. Why did it have to derail their plans so quickly? Maybe a joke bludger had been a bad idea. "Uhhh. Castillo immobilized a bunch of leaping toadstools I accidentally set loose last time I was here. We could try that." He suggested. He didn't have time to raise his wand and try it himself before it was headed for them again, screaming all the while, and he jumped forward to try and bat it back out the open window it had originally come through. It hit the paneling instead, forming a slight crack along one of the glass panes as it ricocheted off. He raised his wand to try and keep track of it, but it was moving around too much to get a decent aim. "This thing is so fast!" He groaned. At this rate it was going to make its own exit route out of the greenhouse, and they'd be left to clean up the mess.​

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma nodded when Lysander brought up the idea of immobilizing the thing, ducking out of the way. "We can try." She said, wincing as she heard the bludger knock more things over. Lysander chased the bludger to the window, but it hit the paneling instead. Emma was pretty impressed by how sturdy this building was. "Okay, you cover me." She said, fumbling for her wand. "I'll try to immobilize it." She pointed her wand. "Impedimentia!" She said, but all she managed to do was slow down a flowerpot that was tumbling down after the bludger knocked it off a shelf. It fell in slow motion while the bludger zoomed off as fast as it had before.