Y37 Gryffindor Practice S2

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander had to try not to let his nerves show today. He stood on the pitch by himself, having spent the morning organising the team practice alone, and restlessly tossed his bat from hand to hand. He hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected to become a co-captain at fourteen, and he definitely hadn't expected to have to take on sole responsibility after a single semester. He was glad he'd had Sierra to help him figure things out during that time at least, but now that he couldn't rely on her anymore, it felt like a much larger weight. His heart had sunk at the news, but, he was supposed to be a leader. He had to be strong, no matter what. He could do this, he told himself.

Sander waved at the players as they arrived, and waited for everyone to get settled before diving into it. "Hey, guys! So, it's just me today." He began, fidgeting once more with the handle of his beaters bat. "Sierra might not, uh. Might not be back on the team with us anymore. Quidditch can be overwhelming and sometimes people have to focus on what's most important for them. Um. So, yeah. She'll still be cheering for us from the stands! But it does mean that we've lost a really great seeker, and we'll have to work extra hard to make up for it." It was a bit daunting being down a seeker, but they were a great team, the best. They could still win the cup. "It's gonna be kinda tough this semester, but we're Gryffindors, we can still show the other teams that we're still the greatest team in the whole school. And...yep. That's all the important stuff I have to say. If you have any questions just ask me, otherwise we can start doing some warm-up laps around the pitch before we really get into practice." He explained with as much a confident smile as he could muster. Sander bent down to pick up his broom, but lingered on the ground in case anyone had anything else to say.​

Out of Character:

Just arrivals for the first 24 hours, then we'll dive into practice!

Gryffindor,Practice

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko was excited to get back to practice after the holidays. He had stayed active but it wasn't like he could practice at home. They had won their first game which was amazing, especially since he had actually which he hadn't been expecting at all. But that's what also made him nervous, now that they won it was on step closer to being champions and the stakes were now even higher. It took him a moment to realize it was only Lysander waiting for them when they arrived and the way he was fidgeting didn't make him feel better. Nikko was stunned to hear Sierra had left the team. He didn't know her well but he knew it probably hadn't been an easy thing to do. He continued to nod along with Lysander as he spoke, wanting to show he was listening and being supportive before starting his warm ups.

 

[Knox Ivers]

Knox arrived at the quidditch pitch for practice that day with the energy to play along with the Gryffindor team to the best of his ability. After spending Christmas at Hogwarts and putting time aside to have fun, Knox felt refreshed and energized for a new semester, and he couldn’t wait to fly and practice with his teammates hoping that they would win their next game. Knox smiled at Lysander as he arrived to the pitch, though as he listened to Lysander speak his smile faded. It was sad to hear Sierra might not be able to play with the team anymore. Even if she would be cheering them on from the stands, Sierra was one of the core members of the team and Knox felt unsettled that she wouldn’t be around anymore. Knox began to start warming up, and stretched his arms slightly as he tried to process the concept of Sierra no longer being the team’s seeker. He was at least thankful that Lysander would still be there to lead Gryffindor to victory, and trusted that Lysander would know how to handle being a captain without Sierra, and as Knox continued stretching he tried to focus on his optimism.​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë was more than ready to get back to practice, still confident in how their team's abilities and most of all just excited to get back to playing again. She gave everyone a happy wave once she arrived at the pitch, a bit surprised to see Lysander standing there alone with Sierra nowhere in sight. She could feel her confidence drop a little when he mentioned his co-captain might not be back on the team with them anymore. Losing one of their seekers would be tough and she also felt kind of bad for the pressure the situation might put on Flynn. It probably wouldn't be easy having to go up against Slytherin's seeker. He wasn't the only one who might feel pressured by the situation though and she was sure Lysander's fidgeting hadn't gone unnoticed by the others either. Once he finished speaking Chloë picked up her broom, giving Lysander a small, encouraging pat on the shoulder as she passed him. "Hey, you got this. We'll be good." She smiled at him, before hopping onto her broom and pushing off to do some warm-up laps.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully was psyched to be getting back into quidditch. They were in the finals again this year and there was no way they'd lose this year. Broom slung over his shoulder, Sully was surprised to see just Lysander down on the pitch as they gathered around, and even more so when Lysander explained why. Sure, quidditch could be stressful, but was their seeker really ditching them right before their championship match? Sully cast an incredulous glance first at Lysander, and then at Flynn, who he guessed was their starting seeker now, before shaking his head. He didn't want to be a downer though, so Sully just clapped Lysander on the back before joining Chloë in the air for some warm ups. "So, us chasers can just score like 15 goals, right?" He said breezily to the other chasers.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

With his new broom in hand, Flynn was feeling just a little better about Quidditch now. Though any good feelings he might have had were instantly gone the moment Lysander announced that Sierra might not come back to the team. Did that mean he was supposed to play as their starting seeker instead? His heart dropped right into his shoes, going just a little pale in the face at the thought as he gripped his broom just that little bit tighter as if he would faint without it holding him up. It was bad enough he was still trying to prove himself perfectly capable to just himself, but to have the whole team riding on his shoulders? That was just a little more pressure than he would have liked so soon. But he didn't want to look too worried about it, still managing somewhat of a shaky smile as he eventually hopped onto his new broom and pushed off to do some warm-up laps of the pitch.

 

[Professor Noel Waldgrave]

Noel was ready for an practice. He wanted to become better everytime and practice was good. They really needed to win this year. If Slytherin would win another one it would be terrible. He was suprised to hear the news Lysander brought for Sierra. He hoped it would not be so bad, but they had an good alternate he was sure. He went standing next to his chaser friends and smiled. Heard what Sully and Chloe said and nodded. '' Exactly.'' He said with an grin. And was wondering in which team he woukd play today or that they would just practice in an normal way.

 

[Lysander Summers]

The reassurance from some of the team helped to alleviate some of the gloom, and Lysander released the Quidditch balls before joining the others in the air, eager to move on with what they'd had planned. "Okay, everyone knows what they're doing, right? Keepers, pick a hoop, everyone else, do what you do!" He called out, before flying off to find a bludger.​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë confidently nodded her head at Sully's words. "We can totally do that." She laughed before pushing forward to scoop up the quaffle when it was thrown into play, securing it tightly under her arm as she decided to head for the side of the field her broom was already pointing towards.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully grinned as Noel and Chloë agreed with him. Flynn was probably a fine seeker, but he was also like 12 and it didn't hurt to have a back up plan juuust in case. He followed on after Chloë as she grabbed the quaffle, eager to get back into playing.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko nodded as Lysander gave them their instructions. He did as he was told and he kicked off. He headed to the north hoop and watched the Chloe and the other chasers closely.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Sucking in a lungful of breath to try and calm himself, Flynn was quick to zip off in search of the snitch, hoping to make a quick catch.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë noticed Nikko at the hoops and Sully right behind her, flying in the general direction of the hoops just a little further before deciding to toss the ball to Sully. @Solomon Tofilau

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Sully grinned as Chloë passed him the quaffle, swooping in to take a shot where Nikko was guarding the hoops. He must have not warmed up well enough though, as it didn't make it into the hoops and Sully groaned before waiting for the quaffle to be thrown back in.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

After Sully's attempt Chloë caught the quaffle when Nikko threw it back into the game, turning around to make her way towards the other set of hoops.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

Chloë grabbed the quaffle and Sully followed after her to back her up, still trying to shake off his annoyance at missing his own shot earlier.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn stayed high up at first, making small circles as he kept an eye out for ay sign of the snitch

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë continued her way towards the hoops Christian was guarding, not too bothered when her shot didn’t make it in. They had only just started after all.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

As much as it sucked that Chloë missed, Sully felt a little better that he wasn't the only one not making shots. "We just needed a warm up, aye," He called to Chloë not wasting any time scooping up the quaffle.

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë nodded at Sully’s words, following him as he made off with the quaffle.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

It was tempting to try another shot at goal, but Sully could bide his time. Instead, he lobbed the quaffle over to one of the other chasers.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander paused his flight to do a quick sweep of the sky and see where everyone was at. This had been way easier with two pairs of eyes trying to keep track of everyone, and now he really had to pick up his game. Everyone seemed to be doing fine, and he flew off to pursue a bludger.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko tried to brace himself as the chasers came towards him. Sully made an attempt but it came up short. He was able to dive quickly and catch the quaffle before tossing it back.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

After just a moment of flying, his eyes zeroed in on something shiny. Wasting no time, the twelve year old darted after the snitch, a big grin on his face as he pulled up with it fluttering in his clenched first. "I got it! That's number one."

 

[Professor Noel Waldgrave]

When the practice began he was glad they would just play as an team. He followed Chloe and Sully and saw them missing their shots. When Sully took the quaffle again he flew close and catched it when he tossed it. Deciding to take an shot, he flew towards the hoops. Glad to see Flynn catching the snitch already! This gave good hope.
@Solomon Tofilau