Open Thrills

[Jemma Potter]

Jemma Potter didn’t particularly see any reason why she should bother with her courses. She supposed she’d try this year in her OWLs but really, all she cared about was Quidditch. That was her future, and she knew it. Her siblings both played professionally, and Jemma was determined to be a big star. If you were looking for Jemma Potter, you should start with the Pitch.

Today was a relatively nice day, and Jemma intended to get a few hours practice in. She changed in the Gryffindor locker room before grabbing her broom. The Pitch was empty which was just the way Jemma liked it. It wasn’t that she wasn’t friendly or kind, but she didn’t have many friends. It was just hard to trust people outside of her family. She knew she was still a chaser for the team, but she preferred playing seeker. Unfortunately, Jemma was very good at chasing too, and Jake thought she’d be better staying there. The redhead let out a snitch to practice with, giving it a minute to vanish into the air before mounting her broom to seek it.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick wanted to do well in quidditch this year. He had finally received a full position as a beater in the Hufflepuff team after so long and he needed to show April that he could do it and that she had made the right choice. With his OWL exams over with, Patrick figured he had plenty of time this year before his NEWT exams to really focus on the sport, knowing that he only had a couple of more years to really play it properly before he had to venture out in the real world. He never considered doing quidditch after school and just wanted to play it well now that he had the chance.

With his beater bat in hand and a case of bludgers in his other, Patrick made his way to the quidditch pitch to do some of his own practice. The practice with the team had gone well, with him having hit only a couple of bludgers, but he wanted to hit more this time and was determined to do so before the big game. He didn't think many people would be there, mostly because the teams had already had their practices, but did notice a younger Gryffindor already on the field, playing with a snitch. He knew the Gryffindor seeker from last year was unable to play and wondered if perhaps this girl was the new one. However, it was really none of his business and he would soon find that out anyway. He walked over to her, looking up and waving at her as she was in the air. "Hey!" he shouted, trying to get her attention. "Do you mind if I hit some bludgers around here? I might accidentally hit you and I apologise in advance." The teen blushed slightly, knowing he wasn't the best player but hoping the girl wouldn't judge him too much if that happened.

 

[Jemma Potter]

Jemma had already been on the pitch at least a half hour when she noticed someone else on the ground. He was waving and shouting at her, but she couldn’t hear what he said. She flew down quickly, lcatching the later half of what the boy said. Jemma grinned at him as he apologized in advance if he hit her. She shook her head. “What sort of chaser would I be if I couldn’t avoid a bludger?” Jemma said with a smirk. She didn’t recognize the boy, but that wasn’t unusual. She tended to keep to herself. “I’ll practice with you if you like. I’m not a great beater, but I practice with my cousin Jacob sometimes.” Jemma offered. She liked to practice the other positions just to keep her skills up. Besides, it might be nice to have some company today.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick chuckled slightly at the younger girl's comment before realising she had said chaser instead of seeker. "D-did you mean seeker?" Patrick stammered, wondering why she was using the snitch when she was a chaser and not a seeker. "I mean, are you a seeker or a chaser? You're a seeker, right? But Gryffindor has another seeker, don't they? Are you an alternate? But I've seen you before." Patrick sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was confused, and it was all a bit overwhelming. Sometimes Patrick just didn't understand things, but it was none of his business and so Patrick tried not to worry about it. "Anyways, if you want you can practice with me, as long as I'm not disturbing anything you're doing." he told her, putting the case of bludgers down on the ground next to him.

 

[Jemma Potter]

Jemma could see why her statement would be confusing since she was practicing with the snitch, but she wasn't a seeker for the house team. The red head's mouth turned upwards in the corners. "No. I meant chaser. I'm not an alternate. I just don't play seeker for the school. I prefer it, but my mom and sister worked with me as a chaser since they both played professionally. My dad was a seeker and my brother plays seeker for the Cannons right now." the Gryffindor tried to explain to the boy. Jemma didn't normally talk so much to strangers, but she felt comfortable whenever she was on the pitch. The Gryffindor grinned at him. "Nope. Not disturbing me. I'm Jemma Potter, by the way." she said, introducing herself to him.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick nodded as the girl cleared everything up and explained that she was actually a chaser rather than a seeker. He thought it was interesting that her family consisted of famous quidditch players. The teen had never thought about going professionally, but he assumed the Gryffindor would want to due to her family's history. It would be such a hard job full of a lot of pressure and Patrick just didn't think he'd be able to handle that. Some days he felt really tired after a game and playing professionally was much harder than that. Patrick smiled at her as she told him he wasn't disturbing her and introduced herself as Jemma Potter. "Jemma Potter. Like Harry Potter? The boy who lived?" Patrick asked, wondering if it had any sort of correlation. The teen was rather enjoyed his History of Magic lessons and knew that Harry Potter also had an association with quidditch. It would be very cool if Patrick had met someone who knew him. "I'm Patrick. Patrick Vernier. But I guess you can call me Pat." he told her with a shrug. He really didn't care what she called him, as long as he knew who she was referring to. "Okay, so if we're going to practice together, you're going to need a beater's bat." he said, holding his own bat tightly in his hand. "Do you have one? Or we could share if you like?"

 

[Jemma Potter]

Jemma's face blushed slightly as he asked about Harry Potter and if she knew him. It was always such an odd question for her. Luckily, her uncle seemed to be more famous in New Zealand then Harry Potter. Still, the Gryffindor nodded her head at the question. "Well, yes. He's my grandfather, actually." she said, with a shrug of her shoulders. The boy introduced himself as Patrick and she grinned at him. "Okay, Pat. I don't have a bat, but I bet there's one in the shed over there. Hang on." she said, before sprinting to the equipment shed on the opposite side of the pitch. Jemma rummaged around for a few minutes before pulling out a beater's bat that was quite weathered but it would work. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed, heading back to where Pat was. "Found one." she said, proudly.