Finally! on Crotalus Commons

Jennifer Zucchero

April 06, 2008 9:14 PM

Quidditch sign-up by Jennifer Zucchero

Jennifer Zucchero had been one of the first off any of the wagons when hers arrived, so she had figured she’d have enough time to get to the common room, post her ready-made sign-up sheet, and then get back to Cascade before anyone missed her. After all, it always took a substantial amount of time for everyone to unload, get to cascade, and watch the first years try to figure out what was going on (though she would miss seeing that a little if she didn’t happen to be fast enough. Some of them made the funniest faces as they changed colors).

After pinning up the sign she paused a few seconds, just to check one more time that there were not any egregious errors and to worry about this next year. Not only was it her last on the team, and not only had they done a decent job at best last year, but now there was probably going to be some lovely unresolved tension between her and her assistant captain if she didn’t manage to sort things out to a satisfactory degree soon. A glance at the clock made her realize that she had taken much longer than she’d anticipated, and so Jennifer turned around and half-ran out of the common room and back toward Cascade.

QUIDDITCH TEAM TRY-OUTS!

Try-outs for the Crotalus quidditch team will be held one week from the coming Sunday. If interested, please sign name, year and preferred position below, though walk-ons are welcome as well. If there are any questions or problems, please contact Jennifer Zucchero or Geoffrey Spindler.

Jennifer Zucchero, Seventh Year, Seeker, Captain

Subthreads:

Finally! by Renaye and Josh Warren with Zane Cooper, Renaye and Josh, Raye and Josh

Signing up by Addie Laurent

Not that I've got much choice :-p by Geoffrey Spindler

Here I go again by Oliver Abbott with Earl Valentine

Can't believe I'm doing this... by Alexis Ashwood

Finally getting around to it... by Lily Collins

Internal debating is fun. by Helena Layne

0 Jennifer Zucchero Quidditch sign-up 48 Jennifer Zucchero 1 5

Renaye and Josh Warren

April 06, 2008 9:56 PM

Finally! by Renaye and Josh Warren

Renaye and Josh entered the Common Room, their things unpacked and ready for the start of term. Renaye had been mid-conversation, reliving the final moments of the State's game. Josh listened with a smile on his face. If only they could put their tactics to use on a team here. At that moment, however, when his pale blue eyes had crossed over to the notice board in a hopeful glance, he spotted it. The Sign-Up. Josh grabbed onto Renaye's sleeve and changed her course straight to the board. She looked over at him, confused, and back to the notice board. Her green eyes lit up and she broke free of his grip, actually running to the board so her blonde hair flew behind her. Renaye whipped out a pen and wrote below the captain's signature:

Renaye Warren, Second Year, Beater

She looked over to Josh and held out the pen, grinning over at him. Renaye's smiles were contagious. Josh felt the smile spread over his face and he took the pen from her.

Josh Warren, Second Year, Beater

The twins were ready for try-outs. They had been practicing for the whole summer in preparation for the Big Tournament. They had tested out what they had at the Junior State Championship game and won! They had the experience. They had the brooms. They had the motivation. They certainly hoped they had the skill to land a spot on the team. Josh wanted this so bad... It had been all he thought about last year. He had been so desperate to join the games as he watched from the sidelines, but he just told himself that it would be okay next year. Next year. Okay, now he was done waiting. He was going to give everything he had at that try-out. He turned to Renaye.

"We're going to have to go all out," he said, determination in his eyes, "I really want this, Raye." Renaye smiled at him and reached out, messing his black hair.

"Okay."

0 Renaye and Josh Warren Finally! 0 Renaye and Josh Warren 0 5

Addie Laurent

April 06, 2008 11:18 PM

Signing up by Addie Laurent

There it was, the inevitable sign-up sheet. Addie stared at it as though it were some foreign animal that was going to eat her. Her stomach was a pit of nerves. Why had she ever let Hannah and Nicoletta talk her into doing this? She didn’t belong out there playing Quidditch. She belonged on the sidelines, where maybe she could even listen to Ronen doing a play by play. No, instead, here she was about to add her name to a list that she shouldn’t be adding her name to. Her only hope being that she would be horribly enough to not even make reserve, though, she could never do it on purpose.

Another thought occurred to her that she hadn’t thought of before. Would her roommates notice? And if they did, what would they think? At the start of last year, nothing had gone right. She had in her very shy manner attempted to insert herself into the conversation with her roommates with the hope of making friends of them, however, that had not turned out well in the least. Not that they appeared to hate her, but it wasn’t a comfortable situation minus Laurie who was friendly to her. Unfortunately, signing up for Quidditch meant the possibility that she would no longer have that barrier, especially since as she viewed the sheet, Renaye had already signed up.

She gave a sigh. It was unavoidable. If she didn’t sign up, Hannah would find out, especially if she asked their cousin, who shared a House with her and had access to the sign-up sheet. Another sigh rendered and she was pulling out a pen from her bag. This was it. She was going to add her name. She could do it. She took the cap off. She bought the pen up to the sheet. A flourish of the pen and there it was.

Addie Laurent, Second Year, Any

Quickly, she capped the pen, threw it in her bag, and headed off, before she could change her mind and scratch off her name. Relief washed over her. She had done it. She had signed up for Quidditch.

0 Addie Laurent Signing up 0 Addie Laurent 0 5

Zane Cooper

April 07, 2008 12:10 AM

I think everyone saw this coming by Zane Cooper

Quite possibly the best thing about being a second year (besides actually knowing where you were going in the corridors... usually) was the fact that you got to try out for the Quidditch team. Zane was almost certain he'd be stuck on reserve this year, but getting to practice with the team was certainly better than nothing. Besides, someone could get sick or die or something and then he would get to play. Not that he was wishing for anyone to get sick or die. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't mind if someone got a small cold.

Zane could even ask to borrow Law's broom for tryouts. Law had gotten a new broom because he was a member of the Teppenpaw team (albeit the reserve) and the broom he had been using was about six years-old. The new broom wasn't top of the line, the Coopers couldn't afford that much, but it was still new and had excellent speed. Of course, if Crotalus ever played Teppenpaw and both brothers were playing, Zane would be forced to use his own old broom. No one was ever going to buy Zane a new broom, not even Grandpa Wes, who was a total pushover. If Zane got a new broom, it was common knowledge that he'd never come back down to earth.

Running from his dorm back to the common room with an inked quill in hand, he remembered another dilemma. Back home, he usually played Seeker. But back home, the Snitch they used was painted black, thanks to Law. The oldest Cooper brother had joked about the paint job with the other kids, but secretly he had altered the Snitch so that Zane could actually see the thing. It wasn't like Zane was blind, he was just... well red-green color blind. Because of this, the second Cooper brother had a lot of difficulty distinguishing between the green grass of the Pitch and the goldish-yellow color of the Snitch. Seeker was his favorite position, but if Seeking meant telling the whole school about his eye issue and having to get special equipment and being treated differently... well, he didn't want any of that.

Besides, Chaser was fun, too. Granted, he didn't think that any of the Chasers were seventh years, so he'd probably have to wait a while to get some actual playing time. But at least he'd get to play. Most importantly, the Quaffle was bigger, and the red of the ball was a bit easier to distinguish from the green of the grass, making it altogether easier for him to see than the tiny Snitch.

Maybe he could talk to the captain in private about it. She was Head Girl after all, she must be trustworthy. If Zane was especially lucky, she could even pull some strings to have the color of the snitch quietly altered for him. Then again, he could tell her, and she could freak out. She might think that someone like him was such a liability that she wouldn't want him on the team at all.

It wasn't fair. His brothers didn't have this problem - why did he have to be the freak? Wasn't it enough that he was turning out to be the runt of the family - even his little brother was gaining height on him! It seemed like nothing ever went his way. The school had even dropped Astronomy, Zane's favorite and best class. Now the only thing he was good at here at Sonora was Quidditch, and now they might take that away from him, too.

No, he couldn't let that happen. Even if that meant not playing his favorite position. He'd even compete with the Warrens for beater if he had to.

"Hey guys," he greeted as he passed the aforementioned twins. With a solemn expression upon his face, he added his name to the list.

Zane Cooper, Second Year, Chaser

0 Zane Cooper I think everyone saw this coming 0 Zane Cooper 0 5

Geoffrey Spindler

April 07, 2008 2:23 AM

Not that I've got much choice :-p by Geoffrey Spindler

Geoffrey wasn't thinking of much other than getting some sleep when he made it to the Crotalus commons after the feast. It had been a long trip from Wyoming (although not so long as it had used to be when he'd still lived at his parents home) and then the talk with Jennifer had just seemed to leech any remaining energy from him. It was more luck than anything else that had caused his tired eyes to notice that there was already something pinned to the noticeboard.

Seeing the word 'quidditch' came somewhat easier after that.

He thought for a moment of waiting to sign up in the morning, but, after moving closer and seeing his name up there as a person to go to, he thought better of it and spent the next couple of minutes checking through his robes for a quill and then trying to scratch his name onto the parchment before he realised that it didn't have any ink. It took another couple of minutes for him to remember a relatively simple spell to conjure up a little bit of ink. This time, when he wrote, the words showed up quite clearly.

Geoffrey Spindler, Fifth year, Chaser, Assistant Captain

That done he did the only sensible thing he could do, which was find his way to the dorm he shared with Adam Brockert, locate his bed and fall into it fully dressed.

39 Geoffrey Spindler Not that I've got much choice :-p 79 Geoffrey Spindler 0 5

Oliver Abbott

April 07, 2008 3:12 AM

Here I go again by Oliver Abbott

There were many amazing things about Sonora, but its best perk had to be Quidditch. In his first year, Oliver had been lucky enough to be a reserve for his House team. In his second year, he’d been further thrilled to be granted a place on the team itself, as a Chaser. This year, there was nothing going to stop him from signing up. He knew there would be a lot of second years adding their names to the sheet – Irene’s cousins were two of them – so Oliver knew there would be competition. Still, he wasn’t going to give up his position as Chaser without a fight – he was going to try his hardest yet at tryouts, and play like he’d never played before in the games. This year was going to be a victory for Crotlaus!

With renewed enthusiasm, Oliver took out a biro from his over-stuffed pocket and added his name to the list along with the others.

Oliver Abbott, Third year, Chaser.

0 Oliver Abbott Here I go again 99 Oliver Abbott 0 5

Earl Valentine

April 08, 2008 2:19 AM

I'm going again too by Earl Valentine

The little piece of parchment that was tacked to the board in the Crotalus common room was probably one of the biggest reasons that Earl actually enjoyed the start of the new school year. Said parchment held the sign-ups for the Quidditch team, which Earl had been Keeper for since first year. This year was nothing special in that instance, so when Earl made his way up to his room after the Opening Feast, that notice board was where his brown eyes lingered first.

Luckily, he had an incredibly prompt Captain and there it was, waiting for him to sign his name. Before he did so, he checked out the names already written there. A bunch of younger kids and the assistant captain. At least no one else was vying for his position. Someone tried that once and he never really liked her after that.

Grabbing a ratty quill that had been left on a table during someone's hasty unpacking, Earl quickly scrawled his name in the next available line.

Earl Valentine, Sixth Year, Keeper

0 Earl Valentine I'm going again too 67 Earl Valentine 0 5

Renaye and Josh

April 09, 2008 5:21 PM

It's "The Sight" by Renaye and Josh

The twins looked around as a greeting was heard quite closeby. Josh grinned to him roommate, of whom he imagined was just as excited about this notice as they were. Renaye gave Zane a friendly wave and smile. It probably would have been fun to get together over the summer for a Quidditch game, but with the trip to Laurie's and the tournament... There was barely any time.

"Hey!" Renaye greeted. "Ready for this year? I have a feeling this is going to be a good one." She pointed her thumb over to the sheet. "Did you get to play a lot over the summer?" Josh had a feeling Renaye wanted to talk about State's at least a little to their fellow Quidditch fan. She loved to tell the story. She had told it... countless times at home. Josh had to admit though, it was a great story... Josh didn't want to sound like they were bragging or anything, but he did want to share the experience with his friend and roommate. He would let Renaye do the talking. He usually did. Somehow she managed to get his point across pretty well most of the time. The only problem was, there was never any secrets on the twin ship.

0 Renaye and Josh It's "The Sight" 0 Renaye and Josh 0 5

Zane

April 17, 2008 9:31 PM

Too bad they got rid of Divination by Zane

Zane smiled at his friends, his spirits immediately lifted, if only slightly. By now he had accepted Renaye’s Girlishness, in much the same way one would accept any other strange quirk, like ambidexterity. It was odd, but something that could be ignored on a daily basis.

“Always was ready,” he nodded confidently, “Yeah, played lots of Quidditch, some Quodpot, occasional game of Shuntbumps when parents weren’t around to get mad about it.” Sports back home were far from organized. This had everything to do with the fact that they were all pickup games, and the only rule one could be certain of was that there were no rules. Therefore, the games rarely presented very realistic situations. Zane was fairly certain that he’d never had to worry about kids switching teams mid-game and extra Bludgers being let loose in Sonora. But he did like to think that the chaotic type of play he usually saw prepared him for anything a regulated game might throw at him.

“What about you guys?” he said, certain that the two of them had logged just as much time in the air as he had this summer, “Do anything interesting?”

0 Zane Too bad they got rid of Divination 0 Zane 0 5

Renaye and Josh

April 19, 2008 4:46 PM

It's a sad day... by Renaye and Josh

The twins exchanged looks at Zane's question about their summer. Now they could tell the story to someone who would understand the absolute huge-ness of the situation. Laurie got it, but Zane was a big Quidditch guy, like themselves. He would get it. Renaye and Josh loved this story. Renaye looked over at Josh a pleading look on her face.

"You tell it..." he said, knowing she was better at telling the story anyway.

"Okay, and you can tell about what we did before that." Renaye smiled brightly and turned to Zane, her expression suddenly serious.

"So it's in the middle of August and it is hot! Josh and I have been practicing our Beating for weeks and weeks now in preparation for this tournament we do every year. This year though, we have a better team than usual. This one guy, our Keeper, moved from Virginia and he's a great player, really nice guy too. Another girl left her other team and came to ours, she's a Chaser. A few other new people joined and we ended up with twenty terrific players on one team heading into the tournament. We play through the first four rounds, dominating in two and barely scraping a win in the other two. So now, get this, we're heading to Lansing for the State Championship!" Renaye's expression remained neutral, leaving any possible outcome as a possibility. If Josh hadn't been there, he wouldn't have know what was going to happen.

"So we're in Lansing, in this huge stadium, getting ready to play. Josh and I are insane with nerves. We've been starting Beaters the whole season, but we knew how important this game is. The time went by so fast and soon we were out there at the kick-off. To get it started, the other team scores... twice. I'm like 'Joe, what are doing man?' But he got over that soon. Josh and I were hunting down bludgers like mad-people. We were trying so hard to make sure we did all we could to throw the other team off. In the meantime, our chasers managed to tie it up. The game went on that, Josh and I being bludger ninjas, and the teams taking turns scoring. So the game went on and everyone was tired. We were down by 40. Josh and I are getting ready for our T-3 maneuver when we see Lynnie, the seeker who has the hots for Josh, go into a dive for the snitch. The other seeker follows. At the same time, the other team's Chaser is going for a goal. If she scores and Lynnie catches the snitch, we tie and have to share the trophy," She raised her eyesbrows at Zane in a not-likely way. "So Josh hunts down a bludger and nails it towards the Chaser. She takes her arm back to throw the Quaffle, and the bludger goes shooting by in front of her and she has to roll sideways, throwing everything off. Down below, Lynnie goes for the grab and pulls out of her dive with the snitch!" Renaye let her grin appear on her face now, her green eyes alight with the pride of the victory.

"After the game," Renaye reached into her pocket, "The coach named us MVPs!" Renaye held out her hand to Josh to finish the story of their summer.

"But before that, we went to Florida and stayed with Laurie. We went to theme parks, the beach, taste-tested her Dad's cookbook stuff, and we camped at this Rainbow Springs place. It was so cool. We stayed there for about a month. This was all before the August Tournament. Dude, it is so hot in Florida. I got sunburn through my hair! I didn't know that could happen!"

0 Renaye and Josh It's a sad day... 0 Renaye and Josh 0 5

Zane

April 21, 2008 1:19 AM

Here's hoping for a brighter future by Zane

From the way the twins were acting, Zane could tell that this was going to be good. Flopping into a nearby armchair, he figured he might as well make himself feel comfortable. Folding his arms behind his head, he nodded at the twins, informing them that he was quite ready.

Brown eyes grew wide, as if trying to absorb every word, trying to imagine what it must be like to play in an actual organized tournament. Playing in actual organized tournaments cost money, a resource that his family never had readily available to spend on Quidditch. So it was more than safe to say that he was feeling especially envious right now.

“State championship – no way!” he exclaimed, jumping to attention in his seat, “That’s way cool, guys! And nobody thought to owl me about this?” He had to admit, if only to himself, that he felt kind of out of the loop right now, though he too had made no effort to keep communications over the summer. He hadn’t had anything that cool to write about, though.

And what would he have done if they had owled him? Sat at home and feel envious, like he was now, probably. Maybe he would have braved his small fear of the Floo Network and gone with his brothers to catch one of the their games. Then he could have sat in the stands and feel both happy for his friends, yet jealous at the same time. Perhaps it was better that they said nothing at all. Perhaps that made things easier.

For now, he was choosing to live vicariously, hanging on to Renaye’s every word, trying to imagine what it would have been like. He chuckled a bit at the term “bludger ninjas” and muttered “wow” and “cool” at all the right places. At the mention of Lynnie, he wiggled his eyebrows a bit at Josh in a very joking matter. Personally he thought it was still kind of weird to have crushes, though he wasn’t completely opposed to the idea, as he once had been not so long ago. Zane was a young twelve-and-a-half year-old.

He couldn’t not grin when Renaye announced that they won and were named MVPs, no matter how envious and left out he might have been feeling before. Championships and being named MVP were always far more important than little personal stuff like that. Most of all, the boy was proud for his friends.

And, if he had completely forgotten to feel left out, then he was reminded when they mentioned going to Laurie’s house. At least Laurie had sent one of her homemade postcards over the summer. Once again, he had totally failed to send a letter, but he was certain that Laurie knew that he appreciated it.

Zane laughed at Josh’s minor discovery, “Yeah, my Mom never lets my brothers and I leave the house without putting a sun blocking charm on us first.” It wasn’t nearly as hot in Oregon as it was in Florida, but it definitely could be sunny, and damage could still be done. It was kind of embarrassing to have the faint glow of the spell all around you when you went out. But it was far less terrible than when his mother chased him out of the house and did the spell in front of everyone, which had only ever happened once.

0 Zane Here's hoping for a brighter future 0 Zane 0 5

Raye and Josh

April 22, 2008 2:52 AM

We could move to Fiji? by Raye and Josh

“State championship – no way! That’s way cool, guys! And nobody thought to owl me about this?” Renaye grinned at his exclamation of the chamionship, but once he asked about the owling, her face fell into an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Zane!" She said, following his lead and taking a spot on the couch, Josh sitting beside her. "Mom and Dad had our owl and since they don't really send much..." She drifted off. "Believe me, I thought of you!" She assured him. "Josh too," she added as an afterthought. Renaye didn't want Zane to think that they didn't like him. They had had a blast at the ball together and he was a good friend to have.

Through her story though, Zane seemed happy to hear about it. At the mention of Lynnie, Josh rolled his eyes. That girl was so obnoxious... The thought stuck Renaye that it may seem like they were bragging a bit, but it was all just simply informing him, honest. It was hard to tell someone that you were an MVP at a Championship without being a little bit proud of yourself. They had worked for it though. So much.

“Yeah, my Mom never lets my brothers and I leave the house without putting a sun blocking charm on us first.” Renaye looked down at her recently tanned skin. She was normally much paler, but the recent excursion to the Sunshine State and the many long practices outdoors in her tank-top and shorts had gained her a lack of that complexion. Josh, however, burner. Easily.

"Yeah, should have learned how to do that..." Josh said, smiling lightly. "Where abouts do you live?"

0 Raye and Josh We could move to Fiji? 0 Raye and Josh 0 5

Alexis Ashwood

April 22, 2008 6:01 PM

Can't believe I'm doing this... by Alexis Ashwood

The sign up sheet had been taunting her for days. Seriously, was Quidditch such a big deal? The Warren's seemed to like it a lot. It was a huge thing. Stopping at the sign up sheet for the third time that morning, Alexis frowned. Her mother and father didn't need to find out, did they? It was just some kind of research if she signed up. She just wanted to know what the big deal was.

She had gone out on the Pitch quite a few times since she had listened to Josh talk about his amazing Quidditch match over the summer. He had made the barbaric sport sound...fun. She had thought about it for a while. She could always drop out later, right? No one had to know.

Taking out her pen, Alexis looked over her shoulder. Yeah, no one was watching her. Taking a deep breath, she signed.

Alexis Ashwood, Second year, Chaser

It was just a little bit of reasearch, nothing big, she thought as she walked away from her signed name. It's not like she'd make it on the team. There were many more talented people than her.

Alexis just wouldn't admit how much she actually liked Quidditch, not even to herself.

0 Alexis Ashwood Can't believe I'm doing this... 117 Alexis Ashwood 0 5

Lily Collins

April 25, 2008 4:30 PM

Finally getting around to it... by Lily Collins

After last year's game against Teppenpaw, Lily hadn't really been too sure she wanted to play Quidditch anymore. Gradually, however, she'd began to feel better about the whole thing. She had eventually rationalized that it had to be a freak accident. After all, she injured people with some regularity. It was what made her a good beater.

Plus, she'd apologized to Kaylie who had of course naturally forgiven her, because that was what Kaylie was like. Lily doubted she'd ever do the same if she'd been injured to such a degree. She had no plans to ever play Quidditch again after graduation but an Auror still had to be in good shape and not subject excessive back pain. Kaylie, however, had not only been willing to forgive her but insisted that Lily should sign up again because she was really good.

So when she saw the sign-up sheet, Lily placed her name on it.

Lily Collins, Seventh Year, Beater

11 Lily Collins Finally getting around to it... 45 Lily Collins 0 5

Helena Layne

April 26, 2008 12:58 AM

Internal debating is fun. by Helena Layne

The Quidditch sign-up sheet had been simultaneously trying to seduce and mock her ever since she reached the Crotalus common room on the first night. When she passed it groggy, Helena had even caught herself wondering if the captain or Assistant Captain had somehow charmed it to draw attention. If one of them had, he or she deserved a round of applause and a tip of the hat, because it worked; the more she told herself to ignore it, the more it drew her gaze.

She surveyed it directly for the first time with her hands on her hips, which, to her slight surprise, were no longer quite as slim as they had been before summer. There wasn't a solution to the problem the bulletin board presented she liked - a little more time or a little more anxiety? - but she had to make a decision. She still wanted to play - her feelings toward the game hadn't changed, and it was a good stress reliever - but she had to look at it rationally.

In her third year, she had been almost constantly short on time. Between Quidditch and her classes and her stubbornly miserable brother and stubbornly miserable friend, she had been constantly tired and usually irritable. If her fourth year had promised to be a repeat of the year before, games would have been immediate and acceptable casualties of the war for her sanity. She'd been meaning to give them up all summer, actually, but just enough had changed to make an additional bit of thought on the matter necessary.

The fact of the matter was that she'd been trying to work herself into the ground as a third year, the theory being that if she was always busy or exhausted, she wouldn't be required to write home or able to think about it. She was fairly sure she'd never pull off the amount of extra work she'd made for herself again. She was even surer that she didn't want to, especially since she'd come to accept, to some degree, that Lavinia's problem wasn't going away. In addition, Geoff and Anne were no longer fighting, so they didn't need her anymore, and she couldn't imagine that an acquired talent for organization would make life harder on the academic front.

And she'd been on the team every year. Even with so many younger students coming out of the woodwork to join, she felt almost obligated to sign up just because she had in the past. Helena was reasonably sure she could deal with Jen dismissing her better than she could with guilt over failing to meet an obligation.

Half-convinced she was going to regret this, she took out a quill and copied down her information.

Helena Layne, Fourth Year, Chaser

16 Helena Layne Internal debating is fun. 88 Helena Layne 0 5

Zane

May 04, 2008 4:19 PM

So long as they have Quidditch by Zane

“Nah, it’s cool,” Zane reassured them calmly. The twelve year-old wasn’t one for drama, and would rather understate his jealousy than waste energy being upset. Energy should only be used for the purposes of Quidditch.

Perhaps that was why he’d been voted Most Bashful in the school yearbook – he was always too busy daydreaming to ever talk much. He was actually proud of his title of the Most Quidditch Obsessed boy in his year, unlike Law, who had won the same award in his own year, and was taking it as a cue to Become a More Well-Rounded Person. Whatever.

Ronen had racked up his own share of titles – Most Popular, Class Clown, and Most Creative – Zane recalled. All very true statements about his more outgoing cousin, in Zane’s opinion. The only award he didn’t get was the one he received for Most Likely to Become an Auror. Where had that come from? You had to be really good at school stuff to become an Auror, and the only class Zane had been good at was Astronomy. As fate would have it, Astronomy was thrown in the trash, and so was his average, now that it was gone. Now he’d actually have to work to keep his grades up if he had dreams of making the Quidditch team and escaping any Howlers his mother might send him.

“Aladren,” he stated proudly, adding, “In Oregon. Not exactly the sunniest place in the world, but that argument doesn’t work on my mom. And I guess it does get sunny from time to time.” The fading burn on the back of his neck and his nose could attest to that. He’d managed to get out once before his mother could catch him. She’d let the sunburns serve as punishment.

0 Zane So long as they have Quidditch 0 Zane 0 5