Open Sideline Watching

[Oliver Harper]

Ollie was bummed that, as a first-year, he wasn't really able to try out for the team. It sucked, and he absolutely loved Quidditch too. He was sure so many first years were bummed about that, too. However, that didn't mean he could miss the opportunity to see his brother try out for the team. Ollie sat in the stands as he watched the team in blue tryout, and so far, they had been good. Ollie hadn't properly seen his brother play in action before. Sure, he had seen it first hand in their backyard, but this was a little different. He couldn't help but be amazed by how different it all was, imagining himself flying around the pitch and being on the team.

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

Natsuko had been fascinated - she'd watched the Hufflepuff tryouts, then the Slytherin tryouts (they were a bit brutal) and now she was watching the Ravenclaw tryouts. It wasn't that Natsuko imagined herself playing - that was a bridge too far - but anything magical was interesting to her and so, she watched. She'd been sitting in the stands for a while when she looked up and noticed someone familiar. She got up and bounced over, taking a seat beside Ollie. "Hi! Remember me?" she asked pleasantly, pointing to herself. "Oh, is your brother over there?" She looked over to see if she could guess which one. "You were right, by the way. Quidditch is great! I've been watching a bunch of teams tryout. Though the Slytherins are a little bit..." She scrunched up her face a bit, remembering the beaters and how intense they'd been - even to their own players.

 

[Oliver Harper]

Oliver turned around when he heard a voice and grinned when he saw who it had been. "Natsuko! Hey!" Oliver says with a big wave as he greets her. Oliver nodded quickly before pointing to the air towards a blonde figure who was currently following one of the chasers. "Yup! That's him! He has to try out again cos he was only an alternate on the team the last couple of years," Oliver explains to the girl. He thought it was sort of a dumb rule, but he guessed it also made sense. Oliver smiles at what she then said next. He was glad that Natsuko seemed to be enjoying the sport. "I'm always right when it comes to Quidditch" Oliver says teasingly with a grin. Oliver frowned a little. "Oh, I haven't seen the other tryouts. What happened during Slytherin's tryouts? Was it quite bad?"

 

[Hudson Triss]

Hudson wasn't the biggest Quidditch fan, but he had heard that some of his classmates were watching tryouts to observe or just for fun. Hudson decided it could be fun to watch some of the school teams before their big games and headed down the stands, quickly seeing his roommate. He took a seat beside them as Ollie was finishing up his conversation with a girl Hudson didn't know. "Oh, are these not the first tryouts?" he questioned, realizing that it was Ravenclaw on the field and not Gryffindor.

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

Natsuko was pleased to find Ollie, who she considered a pleasant person to be around. He didn't seem to mind her questions, which was a relief. In fact, not that many people seemed to have. "Ohh, I hope he makes it on the team!" Natsuko said happily, then noticed someone else had joined them. "Hi! I'm Natsuko! Oh, yeah, I don't think Gryffindor have had theirs yet. Or I missed it. I'm not sure. I just looked out my window one day and saw people in the robes going out so I decided to follow. And then I saw the Hufflepuff tryouts were on the bulletin board. I'm a Hufflepuff, by the way." She said this all rather pleasantly, smiling brightly. "Are you a first year too?" She'd learned not to always assume, after her experience on the train.

 

[Oliver Harper]

Ollie grinned. "I hope so too!" Oliver says with a nod, as he looks up at the sky for a moment, quickly finding his brother in the sky. Oliver wanted to try out, but he was too afraid to ask the captain if he could try out. He guessed he could try out next year. Oliver waves at his roommate, Hudson, as he joins both him and Natsuko. "I think Gryffindors had theirs a few days ago. I missed out on watching their tryouts, though" Oliver frowned a little. He wished he could've watched it, but he had been preoccupied with exploring the grounds it had completely slipped his mind.

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

"Oh, I would have liked to see that," Natsuko said, deflating slightly. "I heard they won the Hogwarts cup last year, so they must be good!" Natsuko didn't think about ot even mention that she probably wouldn't know a single thing about the standard of playing. "I wonder if I'll be any good at quidditch," she half-mumbled. "I think I will try out next year. I still don't know how to fly, but there's time to learn, right?" Natsuko decidedly did not have the advantage but she was hopeful. "Then maybe one day we'll face off! Natsuko versus Ollie and his dorm mate!" She mimicked the sound of an explosion.

 

[Hudson Triss]

Hudson smiled at Natsuko. "I am Ollie's roommate. I'm Hudson," he added. He listened to his two new friends chatting and then wondered if he would try out. "I think we take some flying classes, right? I hope so. I don't know how to fly, either. Oliver, are you going to tryout next year, you think?" he asked curiously.

 

[Oliver Harper]

Oliver nodded at what Natsuko had said. "Yup! They've won the house cup the last few years. They must have a pretty good captain if they have a strong winning streak" Ollie says with a grin as he then whistles, keeping an eye on the tryouts. He then looked towards the Hufflepuff. "I'm sure you'd do great at Quidditch!" Ollie says encouragingly as he then pats the girl on her shoulder. "A lot of practice will help too!" Oliver says with a grin and nod. Oliver clapped his hands together and pointed his index finger at Natsuko. "Sounds like a plan! I like that! Game on!" Ollie says with a grin, getting a little competitive. He then turns to Hudson. "Yeah, they will be flying lessons. I'm sure we'd learn a lot. And yup! I wanna tryout for the team next year! I reckon it would be fun!"

 

[Natsuko Hirano]

Natsuko nodded in acknowledgement to Hudson introducing himself. Natsuko was glad to make a new friend - because in her opinion, if you met someone and seemed to get along that immediately made you buddies. She smiled as Ollie encouraged her, feeling a swelling of happiness and optimism. "Sweet!" Natsuko said in a chipper tone to Ollie's challenge. "I hope the flying lessons aren't too hard too quickly. I really need to figure out even the basics," Natsuko said. Briefly, she imagined them all on the same quidditch team. That'd be cool. She knew they'd be competing if they were on opposite teams, but she wanted to imagine just working together for a moment. "Do you think you'll try out too, Hudson? I'm trying to figure out which position would be good to go for. I kind of want to try and be a keeper, I reckon that'd be fun."