Y38 Slytherin Quidditch Tryouts

[Blake van Houten]

Every time he thought about the fact that this was his final year at Hogwarts, Blake felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. Time had gotten away from him somehow, and now he was facing down adulthood coming closer at a terrifying pace. It was hard to keep off his mind but he still had one year of school left, and Blake was going to make the most of it. Being back on the Quidditch pitch both felt bizarre and familiar all at once. A sport he had taken up to make his dad happy, something he no longer cared about at all. It was a relief still to be excited for the new year to come, to feel the same fire for the sport he always had. Blake had been terrified of becoming someone he didn't recognise, and it felt good to still feel like himself.

Well, not entirely. Looking over the new Slytherin hopefuls, Blake didn't feel the same... ferocity he had felt in the past. Previous tryouts had involved a lot of yelling from him, determined to put the team through their paces, but this year... it all felt silly. Meaningless bluster, like everything else his father had taught him. That wasn't to say he wouldn't be firm, but when he addressed the collected hopefuls, Blake's tone was far softer than it had been in previous years. Matter of fact, rather than forceful. "Alright, you're all here for one reason. Slytherin is the best team in the school, and I expect you all to take that responsibility seriously. Being on this team means working hard, means long practices, means committing a hundred percent. We're champions because we never stop grinding, we give everything we've got on the pitch and then keep going. We play as a team, and we win as a team. If you're not ready for that responsibility, to give up your free time to practice, to keep playing your hardest when you're hurt, to show up for your teammates every single time, you'd better head back to the castle now. But if you think you've got what it takes to be a champion, get up there and show me what you've got!" He grabbed the whistle around his neck and gave a sharp blow, starting the tryouts off.

Position	Player
Seeker	Blake Irons (Captain)
Keeper	Mordred Cavanaugh
Beater	Daintree Vaskevold
Beater	Paige Thompson
Chaser	Jasper Night
Chaser	Tres Bear II
Chaser	Eleanor Kingsley

Out of Character:

Welcome to tryouts! For those unfamiliar with how this works, please begin by having your character state their name and the position they're trying out for, followed by RPing them trying out in that position.

Returning team members listed above must post attendance at tryouts to retain their positions, returning alternates must try out again.

First years may not try out without first PMing me for permission, no first years will be allowed to try out unless there are not enough older students to fill the team.

Please seriously consider your availability before trying out for or returning to the team, Quidditch can be a substantial time commitment and people missing practices or games can seriously affect the team's chances, as well as taking away spots from other people who may be eager for a chance to play.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper had been a bit surprised by Blake's turnaround, and even more surprised by how much his own feelings had turned around. He almost considered Blake a friend now, something he couldn't have imagined even a year ago. He listened to Blake's speech, surprised that it wasn't as loud or as dramatic as usual. It was still a bit dramatic though, and Jasper fondly rolled his eyes. Then he got on his broom so he could support in the tryouts, passing to students hoping to be chasers or trying to score with would-be keepers. He figured that'd be the best way to see who would work well with the rest of the team.

 

[Indira Khatri]

Indi was ready to try new things this year and really push herself to be a more well rounded student. One of the things in the top of her list was to try out for the quidditch team. Her flying lessons last year had been...ok but there was no way she was going to get better with out practice, and quidditch was perfect for that. She arrived at the pitch ready to go and listened the the captain’s speech with moderate interest. He seemed very intense but she did find his words to be inspiring. When it was finally time she stood up straight and introduced herself. “My name is Indira Khatri and I’m trying out for chaser.” She said clearly and confidently. She kicked off and took to the air with ease and followed the other chasers, watching them closely to learn their moves. It took a while but she eventually got her hands on the quaffle and raced to the goals. She didn’t waste a second and managed to make the goal on her first try. She knew it was probably beginners luck but she still let the pride carry her for the rest of the try out when she inevitably missed her second try. Indi grew more and more competitive as the try out when on, passing the quaffle and taking shots as if it were an actual game. When it was all over she said a polite goodbye to the captain and left wanting a spot on the team much more fiercely then she had expected.

 

[Natalia Novak]

Natalia wasn't someone who absolutely loved Quidditch, but she did like the sport. She enjoyed playing practice games whenever she could, and out of all the activities at Hogwarts, it was the one that she was the most drawn to. Natalia knew she should join something this semester, a club or a team, something to have more of a social group. Last year she had been pretty lonely and pretty ineffective at making the right kind of friends. She didn't know entirely if the Quidditch team was the right place for it either, but she knew at least Liusaidh Fergusson was likely to try out again, and that was always a good connection to keep.

She had her hair tied back in a high ponytail, a green bow in it for luck. She waited patiently for her turn to try out, keeping her head high even when she saw that awful Indira also trying out. Surely she couldn't be much good. She had to focus on herself. Natalia stood up straight and looked the seventh year captain in the eye when she spoke. "I'm Natalia Novak," she said, putting importance on the name, "and I'm trying out for chaser." With that, the girl took to the air. Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to get her hands on the quaffle, and she flew over to the hoops. Her first attempt to score was blocked, but she managed to grab the quaffle again soon after and scored that time. Natalia scored twice more, and then landed back on the ground. She felt like she could have done better, but playing on a real pitch with real other players was still a bit new to her. She thanked the captain for the chance to try out, then sat down to watch the rest.

 

[Daintree Vaskevold]

Daintree arrived at the quidditch pitch rather eager, he welcomed the opportunity to bring new people on to the team and was rather hopeful for not another spiel from Blake, but it seemed he'd be in for both. When the captain had stopped speaking Daintree gave a smile and then shot up into the air.

 

[Liusaidh Styx]

Liusaidh had hoped that she wouldn't have to try-out again, she had played in two games of the sport the most important game and then just the one with the frenchies. However to her horror she was being made to try out again, just because she'd technically been a alternate. Well, Liusaidh was going to show them. She'd show them all. Liusaidh arrived at the pitch and spotted Natalia, "Oh so yer tryin' oot," she said, "Should telt me, ye could've asked my brothers fae advice," Liusaidh said in a sweet tone, but she was more keen on herself and making sure that this girl didn't take up her possible slot on the team. Eventually the try-outs got under way after Blake's usual speech and she stepped forward, "Hi, ahm Liusaidh Fergusson ae course, ye should remember me fae the last two games of the team, and that ah've definitely become more ae a team player under yer instructions in practices. Ah also feel it should be noted, ah didnae once punch ye, even though, ah could've," Liusaidh said to him, of course she hadn't punched them when he'd said they could because she thought it was too boring, but he didn't know that. She was certainly hoping that bragging about her achievements on the team would remind him about team loyalty.

Liusaidh got on her broom and shot up into the air. She was keen to just get this underway and so managed to get a ball pretty quickly. In the time she'd been an alternate her flying had improved, she was faster, more confident, and more keen to take risks. She'd always been a risk taker but had sometimes lacked the confidence on a broom. Though Liusaidh would've never admitted to it. She threw the ball into a hoop as she neared and very nearly got it in. As Liusaidh went through the motions of the try-out it was clear that she was still a rather selfish player - one might argue less so than before but the bar hadn't really been lowered - but her shots were more on target and occasionally she threw to someone else. She managed to get a few shots in over the time, and only a small amount were caught, those that missed rebounded off the ring or missed by a slight amount. She had certainly improved, even if Liusaidh would say that she'd always been perfect. She flew back to the ground once her try-out was over and gave the captain one last falsely sweet smile. ​

 

[Rye West]

A masked Rye arrived to quidditch tryouts gripping a broomstick in hand. Through the holes in the mask he wore, his eyes roam apathetically from one face to another. They eventually landed squarely on the captain when he stepped up to address those that were present. The older slytherin, well, he had an intense edge to him that was there, yet, very subtle if you weren't paying attention. Rye tunes him out from the most part. He was here because he wanted to try something new. Something his sisters may never consider and that was his motivation to tryout for the team. It'll be another excuse to avoid his sisters when they come up with dumb ways to annoy him. "Rye West, trying out for beater," the young slytherin pulled his mask up and then down. The mask stays on, there was no way he was going to take it off. Rye mounted his broomstick while he wield a beater's bat in his other hand. The boy took off as the bludgers went spiraling in random directions in the skies. Rye, gripped the bat and the first bludger that near him he lifted the bat and sent it speedily fast across the pitch. He's got a lot of practice with bats back home. Specifically the wooden ones he like to demolish against a hard surface. One would look at him and wouldn't think he was a wielding maniac. They wouldn't think anything as he wore a mask most of the time, Rye didn't care much for their opinion of him. Rye landed on the ground after a couple of hits and exited the pitch.

 

[Lucie Vernier]

Lucie had been waiting for this moment for ages, and she knew her older sister would not be happy about it. She hadn't told Ana what she had been planning, especially after hearing what she gave Patrick after he made the Hufflepuff team, and just hoped that she could make the team before Ana had anything to say about it. The girl was excited, not having received an ounce of sleep the night before. It would be her dream to fly the skies and represent her house. Her flying lessons definitely proved to be fun, and she hoped that she could do it and really show people her talents.

The Slytherin girl made her way to the quidditch pitch with one of Patrick's old broomsticks in her hand. Patrick had let her borrow it, and if she was lucky enough to make the team she'd convince her parents to buy her her own one. She gathered around with the other Slytherin members, trying not to be too intimidated by how much bigger and stronger they seemed. Lucie knew she was strong as well however and so knew this wouldn't lessen her chances. The captain definitely had a few things to say. He most likely wanted to deter people away from trying out, especially since they already had a full team, but Lucie stood grounded, really knowing that she could live up to those expectations. The girl lined up when instructed, and when it was her turn, she spoke confidently. "My name is Lucie Vernier and I am trying out for the beater position. Or I can do keeper, whichever fits." she said, a smirk upon her face.

When it was time to fly up into the sky, Lucie did not hesitate. She mounted the broom smoothly and efficiently with one of the bats in her hand. She kept an eye out for anything coming her way, and it didn't take long before she spotted something spiralling in her direction. She held the bat behind her, swinging forward as the bludger flew in front of her. She then watched as the bludger collided with her bat, soaring through the sky in the opposite direction. She wanted to aim for something this time, and so kept her eye on another person also trying out for the beater position. When a bludger came her way this time, she aimed straight for them. The bludger then changed course once it collided with her bat, and it rocketed in their direction. They were then easily able to hit it away. Lucie was proud of herself for this.

Once she thought she had hit enough bludgers, Lucie then resorted to the keeper position. She returned the bat then made her way to one of the hoops. She needed quick reflexes for this as well, and so kept alert as she watched everyone on the pitch who had a quaffle in their hands or under their arm. Some of them were fast, passing to their friends as they made their way towards her. She kept her eyes on them, following their every move as she tried to determine where they would go next. As one of them threw the quaffle right towards the left hoop, Lucie dove for it, flying as fast as she could towards it. She caught it under her right arm and threw it back out, glad that she had done it so easily. She waited for some more people to have a go, and managed to catch them pretty easily as well. She was definitely getting the hang of it.

When the tryouts had finished and it was time to head back down, Lucie did so, making sure to thank the captain before heading back towards the castle for a good and well-deserved shower.

 

[Ruben Right]

Ruben got to the quidditch pitch eager to try out again. Last year he had tried out for seeker and it went well since Blake decided to choose him, even if it was an alternate position. If Blake had seen potential in him then Ruben was gonna try out again. This year it seemed like there were a lot more people trying out than last year, some familiar faces from last year and some new and that could mean more competition for him but if that was the case then he was going to prove once more that he was the better choice and no one would doubt that.

"Ruben Right, trying out for seeker" he said grinning a bit. He mounted his broom, took off and started his search for the snitch. He was already a bit used to that from last year and so it was easier to spot the golden orb. The boy flew right towards it but as always it wasn't that easy, the snitch started flying around the pitch at what always seems light speed. Ruben was flying right behind it making sure to dodge any obstacle that he would find on the field, the boy was decided to not lose the snitch out of sight and as he speeded up a little the snitch met his hand and the boy held on to it hard so it wouldn't escape making him repeat the process all over again.

He returned to the ground triumphant that his try out had been successful, he had caught the snitch and had done his best, that was enough for him. Once the try outs were over the boy returned to the castle heading for the kitchens. All this effort had made him hungry.

 

[Eleanor Kingsley]

Eleanor was looking forward to being back on the pitch at Hogwarts with her teammates. The break had been fairly lonely for her without her brothers around. She had spent a fair amount of time practicing on the small pitch her parents liked to keep up, but it wasn’t anything compared to the one here. Today, Slytherin would be holding their quidditch tryouts and Eleanor was happy to help the newbies tryout. She waved to Blake as she entered and waited for instructions.

 

[Mordred Cavanaugh]

Mordred walked on to the Quidditch pitch with his broom in hand. Seventh year. He'd made it. Soon he'd be heading the family company. Once it was in his hands, he was free! Well, kind of. But, that is for another time. He was excited to watch people try out. They were the future of this team, so they needed to be good perfect, as close to it as possible. Mordred flew into the sky with an eye on the new recruits. He joined in after a while and gave some of the students pointers or compliments.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Tryouts will be closing tomorrow evening, last chance to give it a go!

 

[Blake van Houten]

Tryouts are now closed, thank you to everyone who tried out! We unfortunately have a limited number of spots, but I would encourage those who didn't make the team to try again next year! Final team lineup is below, and will also be posted in the common room.

Position	Player
Seeker	Blake Irons (Captain)
Keeper	Mordred Cavanaugh
Beater	Daintree Vaskevold
Beater	Rye West
Chaser	Jasper Night
Chaser	Liusaidh Fergusson
Chaser	Eleanor Kingsley
Alternate Seeker	Ruben Right
Alternate Chaser	Indira Khatri
Alternate Beater/Keeper	Lucie Vernier