Y34 Hufflepuff Quidditch Try-Outs

[April Ward]

Somehow, April had never expected to get the captain's badge. It made sense once she thought about it. Norton would have been a good candidate too, but he was very busy with the Wild Patch Club and being a prefect. Therese was good too, but she was also in the Wild Patch Club. It made her feel proud, knowing that Austin trusted her enough to leave the team in her hands, but it also put pressure on her. April had never felt like she was particularly responsible, and being in charge of training and getting the team ready for games sounded like a big responsibility to her. Another responsibility were the tryouts themselves. Only now that the moment was here, did April really realize she would probably have to turn people away. Not everyone could be a star player, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be sad. This was her final year, and she really hoped that she could lead the team to victory. Hufflepuff hadn't done as well as it used to in the past few years, something April felt a little responsible for.

Clad in her Hufflepuff robes, April waited for her team to arrive. She was going to be watching her current members too, as she wanted the team to be as good as possible. She needed everyone to work together well. When she thought no one new was joining anymore, she started to speak. She waved at everyone. "Hi! Hello! Welcome. I'm April, the Hufflepuff Captain for this year. Glad you're all here!" She beamed. "It's time for tryouts, uh, obviously. So that means anyone who wants to be on the team should show their best side. If the position you like is already full, you should still try out! The team needs alternates too." She kind of wished she had prepared this speech a little better. She felt like she was forgetting something. "Current players will be flying around too and helping with the tryouts. They'll make it feel more like a real game." She added. "Oh, please say your name and the position you want to try out for before flying! Good luck!" She hoped she had been clear and that everyone understood what to do. She now needed to pay close attention to the tryouts.

Players	Position
Abian Hunter	Chaser
Analei Louw	Chaser
Arvel Ayers	Chaser
Norton Gillespie	Beater
Available	Beater
Therese Rosenberg	Keeper
April Ward	Seeker (Captain)
Available	Alternates

Out of Character:

Players from the previous year are guaranteed their spot without needing to try out again - as long as attendance is posted before try-outs are over. Alternates, however, will need to try out again.

First years are required to PM me for approval before attempting to try out.

 

[Lauren Carter]

Lauren had been looking forward to only this when coming back to Hogwarts. She had been hating everything around her and everyone except for this. And she had to act nicely to the people here, but she kind of didn't felt like it. But she hoped that Aonghas and she would be together one day on the team. The person she actually liked hanging out with and really started to see as a good friend. But on the other day she wasn't honest to him about home and how she felt, but she tried to forget about that. The blonde made her way to the pitch and saw some group of students. She listened as the captain started to speak, and she seemed like really happy. The blonde had heard that there was a beater position free, and that was kind of what she actually needed. She would love to smash that thing and let out her anger. And figured that would be a good position for her. When it was the right time she smiled fakely, not that they knew but she tried to feel happy. But her father made her believe she could do nothing ,and she just wanted this to work for once, for once to have something positive. '' Hi I'm Lauren. I'm trying out for beater.'' She than said and jumped on her broom to go into the air. Lauren was not afraid to fall of her broom. She had seen her worst fear and lived that everyday.

She took the beaters bat into her hand and was ready for this. She saw a bludger close to her and flew along to it. She didn't mind hitting someone now, it was her job right? And what kind of example did her father gave her? Lauren actually didn't thought about others right now. She had to do this for herself once. When she saw the bludger coming at her she threw it hard and actually managed to hit it too. She frowned for a moment since it didn't seem to go anywhere, but she had hit it! The blonde wanted more and flew faster to the other side. Than she managed to hit the bludger and actually hit someone. She felt really free and thought of her father when hitting the bludger. After managing hitting more bludgers later she landed on the ground and gave the beater bat back. She kind of had no idea what to say, so she just did a bow and walked away.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot was already nervous enough about trying out, let alone trying out for the same position as the Captain. He didn't have any ideas about wanting to replace April any time soon, but the idea of being a seeker still appealed to him. He'd been a quidditch fan since he was a kid and you couldn't ignore the glamour that came from being a seeker. He listened as April gave her introduction, gripping his broom tightly until it was his turn to kick off. "Uh, Elliot Briar. Trying out for Seeker." He said, trying to keep his voice even even if he found it a little hard to look directly at April.

Kicking into the air, Elliot watched the snitch whizz past him and immediately lost sight of it. Hovering for a moment, he took a few breaths before rising over the pitch, scanning the pitch methodically. It wasn't the most flashy or exciting way to hunt for the snitch, but it was what he could do. He circled the pitch slowly, keeping his eyes open and trying to ignore the niggling feeling that he was being watched and judged. Elliot didn't know how long he'd been scanning the pitch when he finally spotted the movement out of the corner of his eye, dancing near the bottom of the Southern goal hoops. Elliot shot forward, but panicked before he got close enough to grab the snitch, pulling up a few feet shy of the ground. Cursing under his breath, he shot after the snitch, doing his best to speed up without losing sight of it. Hand out, Elliot barely managed to keep his eyes open, fingers brushing the snitch before they finally closed over it. Heart in his mouth, Elliot came to a quick stop, nearly bucking himself off his own broom as he held it up with an awkward wave. He knew he should be pleased he'd caught it, but Elliot was a bit too numb from the adrenaline to feel anything but relief.

 

[Therese Fergusson]

Therese was kind of sad that it would be her last year, but at least she had a chance of showing how good she became with being a keeper. She actually thought of making an carreer out of it and thought of what Rory had said to her, of joining the same team. She had no idea what Leif would be thinking of that. But that was stuff for later. Now it was time for try outs and Therese joined the team and smiled. She was one of the oldest ofcourse together with Norton and April, and April became captain and she was glad for her roomie. '' Hey guys.'' Therese said with a big smile before April started with her talking. Than she saw a blonde familliar face between the crowd and noticed her cousin Lauren. She was wondering how the girl was doing. Therese didn't hated her uncle, but he was a different person than others. She never really could have a good chat with him, he just ignored her. And the family was not that close with the Davenport side. Therese saw her trying out for beater and flew to her hoop to protect it and let the chasers have a go. She was gonna do her best too. And ready for this season.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian still couldn't quite believe he had made the team last year, but he had. The team hadn't done great last year, but that was going to change now for sure. He felt confident in his teamwork with Arvel and Analei. Especially Arvel, as the two of them had trained together a lot last year. Abian couldn't help wondering if Arvel had sent him one of the pink roses. Maybe the one without a note, quiet seemed like his style. But there was no way to ask without sounding super awkward, so he hadn't asked. He stood near his fellow chasers and waited for the tryout to begin. When it was time, he flew into the air to help out with the tryout.

 

[Norton Gillespie]

Norton grinned happily as he arrived on the quidditch pitch, he was very, very proud of his girlfriend. She absolutely deserved the position she had gotten as quidditch captain. The teen couldn't help the wide smile as he watched her call the whole event to order. Though he had wanted to wish her luck on the pitch, he stayed away knowing that this was important for her and wanting to respect her to not make this in any way about them. Norton nodded along as she spoke smiling easily and then when she told them to get started, gave her a double thumbs up, mouthed the words, love you, and then shot up into the air. ​

 

[Aonghas Fergusson]

Aonghas was pleased to be back at school, with things at home being how they were, it was a welcome distraction, school and everything that came with it. The boy was looking forward to being able to take part in quidditch again. With an alternate position in the last year, he hoped to get that again, after all, it would be good. he would practice and get better but there wasn't much pressure on him, he didn't end up falling so in love with the sport that he did the same as his brothers, though quidditch was in his blood. He arrived at the pitch and looked towards the captain, a wise and good choice for the position. He smiled vaguely towards her for a little moment before he centered himself and got himself together for the try-out. He needed to do well in this if he was to keep his position on the team. Aonghas spotted Lauren and gave her a little wave, she'd been maybe a little odd with him since coming back but he'd said nothing of it. Eventually the captain finished saying whatever she wanted to say and try-outs could begin. He waited for his turn and stepped forward, "Hi, Aonghas Fergusson, was an alternate chaser last year, tryin' oot fae chaser again," The boy said, making sure to mention that he'd been on the team in the last year, in case she had forgotten. He also mentioned which position he wanted and then shot up into the air. ​

​

Aonghas was much better than he'd been in the year before, his own practicing and just being an alternate had made him faster, his tosses more precise. He caught a quaffle when it was thrown up into the air, and made quick work of part of the field before throwing it hard towards someone else. The other person wasn't able to score but it was largely that the keep was just better. Aonghas didn't mind this at all, an almost asist wasn't the best outcome but it hadn't been his fault it had failed. The teen was able to continue the try-out like that, doing relatively well on his passes, being more precise on his shots on goal, even if only one went in in the entire time. He was still much better, even Aonghas could tell that compared with his last try-out he was a much stronger player, and that had come with only being an alternate. That was a good thing, even if he was only an alternate again this time around it didn't make his playing worse, it had made him better. Aonghas worked hard the entire try-out, passing and catching with practiced talent. Eventually the try-out drew to a close and he returned to ground, hopeful that he had kept his position as an alternate. ​

 

[Analei Westwick]

This was the first year that Analei didn't actually have to try out for the team and she was super excited about it. Most of her training in previous years had been for beater, but she had made sure that she spent a lot of time in her break practicing for chaser. She was going to do better than one goal this year, and she was desperate for a hufflepuff to win the cup! Analei sat with the rest of the team, excited to watch the try outs.

 

[Amy Jewel]

Amy had been tossing up whether to try out for the Quidditch team or not, but decided that it would be good for her. She'd spent time practicing over the break and she decided that even being an alternate was good. She waited while the captain spoke, and tried to calm her nerves. When it was her turn, she stepped forward and said, in a clear voice,"Amy Jewel, trying out for Chaser." She knew for a fact that she was one of the youngest there, but she didn't let that fact bother her. She kicked off and began flying.

Thankfully, her siblings had been practicing throwing heavy objects at her while they were flying, because the Quaffle was a lot heavier than Amy expected. Still, it was a nice weight and she managed to throw it to someone else easily. She flew across from them, hoping to get a chance to shoot. Sadly, she didn't that time, but she didn't let that bother her. It was a team game after all. She continued the rest of the try outs catching and passing smoothly, before trying to score. It was caught by the Keeper, and she sighed. She didn't know how that would effect her performance. Before she could get another chance to shoot, the try outs ended. Amy landed on the ground and hoped that it had been enough.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

After having a tough year the year before with his OWL exams, Patrick was excited to be playing Quidditch again this year now that he had more time to focus on it. He enjoyed being an alternate every time, but now that the Hufflepuff captain badge was passed down to someone else, he was slightly nervous as he made his way down to the pitch for the tryouts. He didn't really know the new captain very well. All he knew was that she was the team's seeker, and from what he had seen on the pitch from her, he knew she was good. Patrick hoped that she had also seen him play in the previous years. It would definitely make him feel better about getting onto the pitch to try out again.

As the team gathered around the new captain, Patrick listened as she greeted herself and told everyone what to do. It was brief, but Patrick liked it that way as it meant he would spend less time being nervous about what was ahead. As Patrick made his way to the sign up sheet he noticed that the beater position was finally open as the previous person had graduated last year. Patrick completely forgot about this and suddenly felt more butterflies than he did before, knowing that if he wanted to be more than an alternate player, he really needed to up his game. "My name is Patrick Vernier and I'm trying out for beater." the prefect told the seventh year before mounting his broom and heading up into the skies with his beater's bat in hand.

As Patrick elevated himself into the air he noticed a few new faces around the pitch and smiled nervously at them, hoping he could show the new captain that he was better than them. Soon enough, a bludger began plummeting itself in Patrick's direction. Instinctively, Patrick swung his bat behind him before hitting it with force, watching as it then changed its direction of travel, heading the way that it came. It was definitely easy enough for the teen to be hitting bludgers now that he had been playing Quidditch for a while. He continued to hit more and more bludgers, even getting in front of some so he had a chance to hit some more. Eventually, the tryouts had finished. With sweat dripping down his face, Patrick nodded a thanks to the captain before heading back up to his dormitory to clean himself up.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija was shaking as he made his way down to the Quidditch pitch. All his instincts were telling him this was a very dangerous game to be playing, but after hearing about how his mom flew in the Triwizard Tournaments while she was at school, he knew the pressures could be higher, recalling the stories in his head as he changed, to help lower his heart rate. As he met the others on the pitch, he waited until he had a chance to speak up. “Hi, I’m Ilija Olaf,” he wasn’t sure many of these people knew who he was. “Trying out for Chaser,” it looked like the Chaser position was the most fun, although if he had to go elsewhere then he would.

Taking his broom he mounted it and gripping hard, kicked off and flew up into the air. He joined those that were already playing, watching as they passed the Quaffle between them. Treating them as the opponents, Ilija swooped forwards to intercept their pass, grabbing it and tucking it under his arm before the other chaser could catch it. He bent a little lower as he felt like that would make him go faster, and he sped off towards the goal posts. He wasn’t expecting to get a goal, and admittedly he didn’t until his third attempt at throwing it in, but when he finally did there was a large grin on his face as he was satisfied he was finally getting there. He knew it would hard work and he’d have to practise in order to keep up with the others, but it was certainly more fun than most of his football games had ever been. Making his way back to the ground he thanked the Captain, before taking a seat to see who else would give it a shot.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

This was the first year Arvel didn't have to feel bad that he was guaranteed a place on the team while Analei had to try out. He sat down beside her on the bench, too tired to join the others in the air even if it might have helped them. He still hadn't quite got his mind out of holiday mode. Who could blame him? The transition of doing nothing - absolutely nothing - for six weeks to coming back to school was much too abrupt, like an alarm clock going off an hour early. He was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. But he did watch the hopeful tryouts. He was curious about who would fill the vacant beater spot, whether he'd like them, whether they'd be any good. Hufflepuff desperately needed to up their Quidditch game if they stood a chance of winning this year.

 

[Wendy Bell]

Wendy made her way down to the pitch clutching her broomstick by her side. Every year she tries out to get on Hufflepuff's quidditch team and every year she benched. That would discourage anyone from trying out, but, not Wendy. Even if she doesn't make the first line, she still gets to practice with the team as an alternative. And the more she practiced, the more she was getting better at playing the game. Wendy would go as far as switching position to see if she was any better at them. So far, she didn't mind whacking bludgers and catching the snitch when she not trying to stop a chaser from scoring. Out of the two positions, she wouldn't mind going for beater this time around, though she very much like guarding the hoops. Wendy arrived at the pitch, waving at April. "Congrats on making captain, girl, you deserve it!" Wendy greeted April and wave at the others on the team.

"Well, you've seen me try out for keeper, this year I'm going for beater. I'll play either one, I honestly don't mind," Wendy informs her before she mounted her broomstick and took off for the skies. Wendy kept low on the ground and was given a bat to show some potential skills she had to the game. Wendy had only played soccer and basketball in junior leagues back in New York. None of those sports involved a bat, so it was tricky getting used to swinging. The first bludger that flew near her, Wendy swung with all her might and sent the bludger out of reach. It helps that Wendy chatted with a few professional players a while ago, thanks to Kace's dad connection to the American Quidditch League. The bat tremor underneath her grip on the second bludger, Wendy hissed on that hit. She recovers quickly and went after a few bludgers, ending her try out on the sixth hit. Feeling sore all over, Wendy was convinced she did pretty well considering it was the first time she tries out for beater.

 

[April Ward]

Out of Character:

Tryouts are closing tomorrow!

 

[April Ward]

Hufflepuff Quidditch team​

Players	Position
Abian Hunter	Chaser
Analei Louw	Chaser
Arvel Ayers	Chaser
Norton Gillespie	Beater
Patrick Vernier	Beater
Therese Rosenberg	Keeper
April Ward	Seeker (Captain)
Aonghas Fergusson	Alternate Chaser
Wendy Bell	Alternate Beater
Elliot Briar	Alternate Seeker
Amy Jewel	Alternate Chaser

Out of Character:

Thanks for trying out!