Wake Up and Smell the Broomstick

[Jai Dionysus]

Jai didn't play Quidditch competitively, but that didn't mean that he didn't spend all of his free time practicing. Between his woodworking, research and training, schoolwork had been losing out. To Jai's utter mortification, he'd been kept back a year to make up for all the work he'd been ignoring. He wasn't a dunce: far from it. He just had better things to do. Jai pelted the practice Quaffle at the lower right ring and scored spectacularly (Keeper or no Keeper, he thought, That must've looked pretty good). He was trying not to let his mood become sour and not sulk about his 'demotion'. The rest of Slytherin House gave him enough sh** without him adding to it, himself. The stern talking-to he'd gotten from the Slytherin Prefect (younger than him by a year, Merlin, the mortification!) would follow him for the rest of his young life.
"Slytherins don't this, Slytherins don't that," Jai muttered to himself as he threw the Quaffle as hard as he could at the middle ring. It hit the rim so hard that the reverberation echoed throughout the pitch, and through its callback, Jai finally heard the sound of another broom. Great. Things couldn't be any better, he thought sourly.

Jai touched his Firebolt down lightly and flung his gear bag over his shoulder, scowling up at the other flyer moodily. There was plenty of woodworking to do back in the common room, and his experimental wand-protecting potion only had an hour till it was ready to come off the flames. He was just unclipping his gloves when a soft whistling made him turn too late. There was no more warning before he was bowled head-over-heels by a summoned broom, catching him right in the small of his back and planting him face down in the winter mud. Jai staggered to his feet, pushed his sopping hair out of his face, and advanced towards the source with murder in his eyes. He had half a mind to pull out his wand.
"HEY!" bellowed Jai. "What the hell, squib?! Did you not see me there?"
​

Out of Character:

Slight God-mod approved by recipient roleplayer.

 

[Artemis Jackson]

Because of the self felt euphoria two days ago, Artemis Jackson was previously frivolous and carefree. The exams were finally done and certainly, she would advance to her fifth year that would serve her educational needs. The OWL levels were notorious for its difficulty at the very start - as for some they still needed to adjust - yet Artemis knew some people who had passed it with soaring emotions. Today though, she cursed herself for not being able to contain herself with Alliyah, the best sister she had ever known, as the two of them decided to go and have some sisterly bonding without even paying much attention to Artemis' broom. Artemis recalled leaving it in the Pitch around the start of the evening, oblivious to the fact that someone could touch it even if her initials and house were engraved on the wooden handle. But much to her dismay, the exhaustion overwhelmed her and tempted her to go back to the dormitories instead. Artemis obliged willingly that night, letting sleep overtake her senses before two complete minutes could even pass. She never remembered herself having that much fun when it came to talking to Alliyah as they made plans for the holidays and Ally poured unto her the latest news that the fifteen year old had been missing out on. It was a pure blissful meeting, yes. That was two days ago and the day after that - which was yesterday - Artemis found it unusually freezing to abandon the emerald flames of the common room. Today was the simply and undoubtedly best day to retrieve her Sienna Storm.

The winter season delighted the young lady, giving her the thoughts of how it felt in England this time. Great Britain had a different atmosphere compared to New Zealand, which confused Artemis the first time she arrived in Oceania. Wrapping her slim form with the correct robes that her father charmed to make her feel slightly warm, she headed out towards the snow covered Quidditch Pitch where usually it was isolated during this time of the year. There was no match unfortunately but Artemis did not give heed to that anyways. Her latest game was victorious which pleased and satisfied the Keeper of the Slytherin team very much. Artemis secured her robes, which would keep her comfortable for sure whilst up in the air. The imagination of the cold air striking her face made her insides feel refreshed suddenly. As a fan of Quidditch games, Artemis had made an effort to pursue a somewhat stand that her name was always known as the Keeper of the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Her eyes finally caught the sight of the huge field that supported the six rings of either side of it. "Thank Merlin," murmured the Slytherin gladly as the broom closet did not seem to be bothered for the past two days. It was by chance that the ref, the elves or an unimaginably kind person was the one who put her broom inside the closet. Lost brooms either got lost or went inside it instead. She felt herself get nervous to see if ever her broom was indeed inside, but that did not really matter. She was already fumbling for her wand that was located in the inner pocket of her robes, her teeth nibbling on the flesh of her lower pale coloured lip.

With a subtle flick of her wand, Artemis summoned her broom hoping that she wouldn't need to wait so long for the summoning charm to look for it. She was strangely impatient this morning since all she ever wanted was to get her hands on her own possession and use it once more before enjoying the hols. "Accio my Sienna Storm." To add some emphasis to the second word was something Artemis had purposely done and she let her eyes scan the rings that she had guarded numerous times, briefly remembing how the former captain of the team went to guard it herself. Artemis did not smile nor frown at the memory and instead, her ears were on the prowl for any whistle of wind that would indicate that her broom was there. As she was about to look at the broom closet again, she heard two complete different things that were good and utterly bad. The snow crunched not far away, because of the heavy weight of an object that could... talk? Her eyes nearly bugged out when the reaction of a human reached her icy eyes. Artemis outstretched her hand and in came the Sienna Storm that had her initials, plus the house that she belonged to. But it did not end there. Artemis saw a guy, much older than her, stalk towards her direction in a menacing manner. The grip on her broom tightened suddenly and she felt exposed to the other boy. Her facial expression molded into something that was apologetic and somewhat surprised, for the term he used certainly did not apply to her. "I am so sorry," mustered the English blonde out of her chapped lips and felt it tighten afterwards. But the embarrassing fact was that she was familiar with him - for he belonged in Slytherin as well. It had been more than once that she saw him in the common room. "Try to be careful with your words too, yeah?" As her rhetorical question cautiously rolled off, she eyed him again and put a foot forward, wanting to get past him. IF, he would let her.
​

WC: 921 words

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Jai narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin Prefect, for he'd finally recognised her and was not happy at what he was seeing through a layer of mud.
"Tell you what," he said as he stepped forward too, right into Artemis' path. "I'll watch my mouth if you watch your damned wandwork. A blind house elf could have Summoned better than that." Jai was not in the mood to hold back, and an angry, mud-splattered Slytherin was not one to mince words. It was just typical that the current object of his affront was the one to give him a face full of mud. His anger wasn't specific to Artemis, but to Hogwarts and Slytherin house in general. He'd have to stop being bitter about it eventually, but circumstances as they were, Artemis was taking the brunt.

"And I'll just bet that your Sienna would be the one I saw getting woodrot, left uncovered in the shed and not even cleaned from the last fly, yeah?" said Jai, cutting to the quick. "Or is someone else a lazy Keeper who can't block a ring to save her own skin?". Merlin knew who had taught him to be so frightfully cruel, for it wasn't his mother or father. Both of them would have tanned his hide for such behaviour, seventeen years old or not. They were sweet people who had raised him well, despite being a surly child. Perhaps it was his insular behaviour at Hogwarts that had turned him sour, even being surrounded by caring people. Either way, it wasn't making him any friends. It was hard to think of such things when you were ankle deep in the Pitch, and neither did it help that the Slytherin Prefect was particularly pretty. It just made Jai feel bad, which made him grumpier.​

 

[Artemis Jackson]

Instead of practicing in peaceful laps under the winter sky, a total useless argument had occupied the fifteen year old's precious golden time. Her grasp on her broom suddenly felt protective over it and she took a step back when he stepped directly on her supposed path. Her irked feelings were masked in an unbelievable expression. Truthfully though, she also did not want to believe that this was happening to her. A minor fight with an older Slytherin wasn't what she looked forward to in the morning. Fate was playing tricks on her, along with being cruel and sadistic. She let the guy occupy her path and she noted, that that little piece of action did intimidate her. He was taller than her and his build was bigger and stronger compared to her slender form. She sighed - the males in her year or above her were mostly tall and it completely sucked. It was not as if she was petite but goodness, when could the time come when she could see herself taller than an older guy by at least two inches? Artemis surveyed the taller form in front of her and she narrowed her icy eyes that were vividly blue. "Stop the attention seeking will you? I apologized so its best if you just play your part well," Artemis hissed for only his ears to hear. She expected him to be a good bloke than the rest, since he was supposed to act mature and all. Artemis suppressed the sigh of defeat, knowing that she had thought incorrectly and inaccurately. She knew his personality vaguely and thought well of him at the start. God, how did she become utterly wrong?

Unknown was the name of the boy for Artemis. But damn, she knew his face almost too clearly in her mind. He was a seventh year and a tall one at that. That was pretty much the facts that Artemis was aware of. It was not like she befriended older Slytherins every single day. The older students in her house were much busier and sometimes, they did not desire company at all. Her studies and flying sessions occupied her own time. Plus, she spent time with Alliyah and sometimes met Minoas. If only this boy did not have that scowl on his face whenever she saw him anywhere, the Slytherin lady would have thought that he was attractive. Regardless she knew that his personality would certainly not suit her own and perhaps this little argument would lead them to become annoyances. Artemis wanted to turn away from him and leave him to sputter out vile words by his own self. His anger was irrelevant for her and she never really knew someone who could become so violent with their words just because they were hit by a broomstick. Artemis would have primarily be irritated if the situation turned the tables, but then she knew that she would only flash them a glare and perhaps utter a few words. She just thought that the guy was exaggerating his irritation towards her. The amount of it was simply increasing.

The echo of vicious words surrounded themselves around the two Slytherins which was mainly caused by the older one. The pace of the words were certainly quick which made Artemis look at him calmly. Her talent of putting a barrier of apathy was quick as his words and she let him calm down first. His rapidly rising temper made him look immature in her own eyes which in case she just bit her lip to stop herself from moving aside which was a possible factor to let him be insane once again. The winter air was waiting for her flight and she could not let this slow her down. Inwardly, she groaned as she made a quick brain process of how the overview of her day looked like. Awful as it was, the fifteen year old did not want it to become worse. "Listen here you grumpy git, it's really none of your business to examine my broom nor is it your right to insult my Quidditch skills. Move aside will you." The last sentence that came out was originally going to be a question of sorts, but then as a command and plead it was emitted. Artemis somewhat felt the transfer of energy from herself to the flying broom because of the imposed anger that he was trying to let her feel. She thought that perhaps she was literally making herself look like an idiot, which resulted the self consciousness to kick in her system. Her icy blue eyes lingered once more on his then with a soft huff, she attempted to get out his way without looking at him.
​

WC: 793 words!

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Jai knew he was being irrational, and he could feel his shame growing which only made his self-righteousness worse. Nothing poor Artemis could have said would have deterred him from a good row. There was no one to yell at for his bad grades, nothing he could do to turn back time and get his head in gear, so he was taking it out on the nearest innocent and it was all going to end in tears.
"Attention seeking, hey?" he spat out, wet mud tracking rivulets down his pale face. "Well hell, I would have been happy enough to pass right by you, but you were the one who caught my attention with your shoddy wandwork." 'Sorry' didn't seem like it was going to cut it. "I don't just walk around like this normally, you know," Jai said with his arms raised, and all the mud from his admittedly hilarious fall slopped onto the ground at Artemis' feet. He shook them out, deliberately peppering the younger Slytherin with muddy remnants. "Not fun, is it?" he sneered.

If any of the other Slytherins had come upon the scene, Jai would have been chewed out for treating a female with such disrespect. The Snakes were nothing if not traditional. No one was keeping him in line except his conscience, who was disturbingly silent as he raged on at the girl.
"How about this," said Jai, his eyes narrowed nastily. "I'll moved aside if you admit that you can't fly worth a dung-covered knut. After all, Quidditch Keepers don't leave their brooms out in the rain, so you mustn't be a Keeper." He prodded her gear bag with more force than necessary, sending it swinging. The final insult. "So what'll this be, cardboard props?".​

 

[Artemis Jackson]

Actually, he intimidated Artemis.

The fact was there, posed obviously in the air, yet the youngest prefect of the Slytherins refused to dwell with it. She hated cowards and their cowardice. However she knew she was no Lioness at heart. Everything that made her very conscience and body belonged in Slytherin, she knew. For her, hypocrites never deserved an award. If ever they did, then they worthy to rot in wherever hell. She supposed that this boy - not a young man emotionally, in her very silent mind - picked on her because she was physically qualified to be taunted by someone. Although she was one of those female students whose height was just ordinary, this guy just exceeded hers like it was a piece of cake for him to actually grow. Tilting her head a little more to raise her chin in defiance, she matched her bright eyes with his. His eyes were strikingly brown, she noticed. "I'm sorry if I'm human," shot Artemis at the cranky guy. Frankly he seemed to be possessing some of those PMS cramps. Artemis wanted to say that aloud to him. Pouring over him with facts about how he was irrationally dealing with her mistake. A simple Scourgify would do the trick but hell, no, he declined to face that maturer solution. He wanted to give her the time of her life. "Well, princesses don't walk around with mud." What a girl he actually was. Artemis just hoped he did not take that wrong meaning that she doubted his sexual orientation. She just wanted to mock him as well, in a manner that was less intense than his.

Droplets of mud occupied the vision of the two rapidly. They covered the boots Artemis cleaned just recently. A soft growl formed from the base of her throat. Pressing it down, she successfully did it with restraint. Then Artemis lost the ability to talk for a fleeting moment. Paralyzed as he was shaking the mud from his own self to her, Artemis just looked at him in shock. He was a f***ing bastard with all the ungentlemanly things he had done to her. Regaining the skill to move after a tense three seconds, she said, "You slimy wanker!" Crude language for her well, was simply used when in dire need of words to spit out. By instinct she shook her feet in attempt to lessen the dirt. Even by her efforts, some remained stubbornly. Artemis should have slapped the living flesh out of him but she kept her calm. That was her specialty anyways wasn't it? Masking her emotions and replacing it with something more indifferent. Artemis looked at him with a spark of mutual irritation and anger present in her solemn orbs. The harsh breeze around them flew airily and this caused shivers to run down the prefect's spine unexpectedly. But then her focus was taken again by the other student. Ah, so he knew her from their Quidditch team. Artemis felt embarrassment stir inside her tauntingly. The more it increased when he almost shoved her bag. "False. Perhaps you can show me how to fly and play to save a dung. Covered. Knut." By the end of her paused words, Artemis was just a foot away from him. Surely he witnessed the smirk of a challenge that she presented him. He was no hypocrite wasn't he? Backing out would prove to be silly obviously.
​

 

[Jai Dionysus]

"That's debatable," shot Jai angrily to Artemis stating that she was human. This was turning out to be better that he thought it would be. She wasn't going to be a pushover like some of the other Slytherins he'd met. They had sharp tongues on them but half of them wouldn't stand up in a fight. His furious grin was growing as she shot barb after barb that him. Wanker. Princess. He almost laughed. The girl looked about ready to snap, and Jai's hand was itching towards his wand, but she surprised him by issuing a challenge. He was genuinely taken aback and, to his horror, slightly worried. He may have been an avid Quidditch fan and an almost fanatical player, but Jai had no practical experience playing against other people, let alone his own team's Keeper. He'd seen her on the field a number of times, and she was good. He clenched his fists and gripped his broom tight, staring her down.

"Let's see about that, then." growled Jai, closing the gap between them so that only a few inches remained. "What does best out of five sound like to you?" Surely he could manage to get three quaffles past her. She was angry and hadn't warmed up yet, where as Jai had already been flying for a good hour before the fight. There was a crack from the sky as another winter storm began to brew, and little pitter-patters began to speckle down onto their heads.
"I don't think you have the guts, though." said Jai as an answer to her challenge. He couldn't ignore the wind picking up and changing the conditions of the field. Maybe it should be best out of three ...​

 

[Artemis Jackson]

That entire step gave her a shudder of excitement and readiness as if she were adaptable to flying in any season of the year. That however was not exactly true since the cold air that flapped right in front of her face made her nose go pinker. Speaking of pink, it was inevitable that a tiny flush of pink painted the small bit of her cheeks. The hateful cold was also another factor. She knew that the wind up in the air will make the pale pink tint of her skin spread like a wildfire across her cheeks even more. His step was daunting towards her and Artemis stood there blankly as she could, and remained entirely blank. The unconcerned facade hit her features almost perfectly but her eyes said differently. There was a constricting flare there tempting her very mind to give it out and transform the blonde lady into some overconfident dog. Declining that very delicious offer, Artemis cocked her head to the side and buried her gaze deeply into his without any hesitance blended within. She liked how he was so brave about this - how he wanted to give her his all just because she acci-f***ing-dentally hit him with her clumsy Summoning charm.

The space between them was disturbingly close. Heat stirred inside unexpectedly that felt terribly uncomfortable. Artemis was forced to step back by instinct because of the sudden step that Dionysus did. That little sign was not mainly because of the intimidation and anger he was radiating but more likely because of the need for personal (and yes, very private) space. She did not even know the young man up to this day which she never hoped happened anyway [truthfully]. "Let's try it then." No hesitation whatsoever, Artemis moved past him forcefully making sure that he wouldn't tower over her smaller form again. As her feet made its longer than usual strides, she dropped the bag that contained her gear on one of the benches that she forgot which house team used. Along with that her broom dropped to the snowy floor. Artemis quickly snatched the gloves that would help her hands get not too much of the friction. Once her hands were covered (which was another quick process), blue orbs connected with Jai's with and tilted her head again to the side, her eyes narrowing professionally and seriously.

"How about some laps first? Three rounds yeah? Then a stop at the hoops to have our quick, little game. I'll be Keeper." She took a step beside her broom and uttered the 'Up command' which she did successfully to spare her some shame. Her hued nostrils were too cold because of the temperature and she knew that it'll be colder above. Artemis took a last glance at the hot tempered git and had the devilish will to smirk. Her humble side however took over immediately which resulted her game face to fill in instead. Artemis mounted and flew steadily at first before zooming right to the South hoops. There she scanned the Pitch to look where he had gone and once she had spotted him, she let a ghost of a smirk grace her pale lips and started to complete her first lap. Her peripheral was on the prowl as to where he was flying. She wanted to know what his speed was and what his moves were. Artemis ignored the shiver of the anticipation and raced forward, her posture slightly leaning. She was so close to finishing her first lap and wondered if ever the cold shall limit her Keeping skills because of the air that will rush in if ever she would extend her arm.

Out of Character:

Yay for spontaneous games [and winners].

 

[Jai Dionysus]

An odd feeling shivered through Jai's stomach when the blonde Prefect smirked at him, and before he knew it he'd swiped up his broom and leapt on.
"Three rounds, then. Hope you can keep up," said Jai, returning the smirk. He watched her take off and begin to circle the pitch and, in an odd gesture of generosity, allowed her a head start in order to throw his mud-soaked robes off. Underneath the soiled uniform he wore a stylised slytherin t-shirt and a pair of well worn jeans. The robes slopped onto the ground, forgotten, and Jai resettled himself on his Firebolt and hit the sky.

Artemis was a smooth flier, he'd give her that. She'd not hesitated in her laps and took the corners even better than most of the Slytherin team. There was a part of Jai that thought she was wasted a Keeper, though he'd not studied her blocking skills before. The way that she flew made him imagine a seasoned Chaser with a goal in mind. Jai slid himself forward without taking his eyes off of the figure ahead and angled his slim torso into an acceleration. Six seconds and the Slytherin was right beside his house mate. The wind blew hard, and broom swayed naturally with the currents, making them dance around each other and they worked off a bit of steam. Unbeknownst to the distracted Jai, his foul mood was dissipating and he was starting to enjoy himself. Nothing could make him relax as much as a good fly, but a broom ride with a challenge? He laughed suddenly, the sound coinciding with a crack of thunder that made the grand stands shake. It was a deep sound, rich and almost surprised as though he didn't laugh often (which was very true, indeed).

"Damn," muttered Jai under his breath with a second thunder strike. They were nearing the end of the second lap, and the rain began to patter rather than speckle. He cast a glance towards his unlikely flying partner as they rounded a curve, narrowly and expertly avoiding the three rings. She's pretty good, thought Jai again, despite himself. By the time they'd circled a final time and 'skidded' to a halt in front of the rings, the rain was a steady shower that had water pouring down the back of his neck and plastering his shirt to his skin. He ignored the cold and grasped his wand, pointing it down into the far corner where the supply box sat open and waiting.
"Accio quaffle!" shouted Jai against the wind. There was a soft whistling and the game ball went smack against his palm. He pocketed his wand again and held the ball up to Artemis, raising an eyebrow at her as if to say 'Now that's how it's done!'.
"Wanna skip this game, kiddo?" said Jai, flicking water out of his face. "Still time to chicken out."​

 

[Artemis Jackson]

Cold air mercilessly struck in every place it could hit the blonde. Under the legs, around the neck, above the rib cage and she even felt some air trespass underneath the slightly warm clothes that were charmed just for her. Naturally, flying was not like sailing on the tranquil sea. They were two different things that were not to be compared if talked about. Flying was something she loved about herself since she was so adaptable to its twists, dives and techniques. This was a sport; a skill that should be learned fearlessly by the brave and willing. But now Artemis was using it as a challenge for herself and for that guy who was now beside her. He caught up quite fast and she could not resist the temptation to smirk sideways. His flying was not entirely bad, considering that he was an amateur and probably had never experienced any game even with his friends during the hols. Did he even have any friends? Any close friends that he could owl any time of the day? Artemis' were limited, but at least she had a few she could confide in, in times of... well, trouble.

It felt good to be flying again, even if the large drops of rain landed on her robe. Now that particular wet feeling was what she disliked and caused her to scowl slightly. What perfect timing did this little "game" of theirs had. Just a whilst ago, Artemis thought that the snow was enough to fill the atmosphere with the cold she really liked, even if it didn't appear to be so. A masculine laugh erupted and so did the boom of thunder. It made Artemis want to chuckle at this (ad his) unfortunate coincidence. "It doesn't like you!" she called out, her eyes still focused on the sight before her. She made a swift turn as she reached the goals and heard another cruel laugh of the thunder. It was fun to loosen up the arse of this guy. He was too uptight and a little humor would not hurt. She did not mean any of those words - a little spark of curiosity fired inside her though, wanting to really know if he too this seriously or not. Maybe the wild winds were just stuffed in his ears to not let him hear her little call. How hilarious it would be to see him scowl at her. How humorous indeed.

Instead of stopping directly in front of the rings, it seemed better to go through the rings from behind and then stationing herself in front of the three hoops. It did not take a long time for the older Slytherin to Summon the Quaffle with ease. Artemis looked at him with her head tilted to the side, an pale eyebrow carefully raised. Even with the distraction of the strong rain, Artemis still knew that he held the Quaffle up for her to see. Afterwards, he spoke, in which she snorted to herself because of his overconfidence. "Tell me why I should chicken out." The sound of her English accent echoed around the Pitch, even with the sickening splash of raindrops against her clothes, her broom, her head, and every other object it could be splashed on. Artemis rubbed her gloved hands onto the hilt of her broom, ready for any action. She could see the outline of the lifeless, scarlet ball. "Would you be surprised if I asked you the same question? That there's time to actually chicken out, kiddo." The eyes of Artemis blazed with light and passion, eager to start this game in the rain. The rain was mostly the cause of her irritation currently, and this boy would have to shove it up his mouth.
​

Out of Character:

I'm sorry, I just had to search and I found this.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Jai did indeed scowl at her, for he did not miss her little taunt when the thunder struck hard. Something about his facial expression seemed to betray the fact that his scowl wasn't quite as serious as it would have been two minutes ago. He was colder than he'd ever been for a very long time and was competing against the Slytherin team's best Keeper in years, but Jai was nothing short of thrilled.
"Maybe not," he retorted against the biting wind, "But it was aiming for you!". His grin lost the last of its anger and settled into mischievous. Jai hovered delicately in the baying currents, watching with mild approval as the Slytherin spitfire shot through one of the rings and circled around to guard them. He tossed the Quaffle from glove to glove, nudging the broom into a sway with his knees. Their little competition could turn out dangerous if it didn't finish within the next five minutes. The storm wasn't even directly upon them yet the rain came harder than ever. Jai sucked at his bottom lip where sweet rain droplets clung, and he narrowed his eyes at the younger Slytherin.

"It just seems like you, doesn't it," Jai told her in order to get her riled. "Chickening out ... why don't you prove me wrong, doll?" Without further warning, he swung into in a tight loop-de-loop to confuse his opponent and shot for the bottom left ring, currently unguarded. It was well aimed, especially for a shot taken when coming out of a spin, but the wind could do anything to the un-charmed Quaffle, and the little Slytherin Prefect could be fast when she wanted to be. Jai skidded perfectly in the air and waited to see whether or not his shot fell through. Everything was happening in flashes as the lightening struck. Watching Artemis move was like watching a broken muggle movie with the too much time between the slides.​