Beginner Lesson (nm) on Quidditch Pitch

Coach Amelia Pierce

November 13, 2009 5:33 PM

First Year Flying Lessons by Coach Amelia Pierce

Though she knew from practical experience that not all schools taught first years how to fly a broom, Sonora's new Quidditch Coach was of the firm opinion it was a good idea. Granted, a fair number would already know how, having been raised in magical families, but it was intrinsic enough to the wizarding world that it was only right to give muggleborns and half-bloods who may not have such experience a chance to figure out how it all worked. Brooms were an important mode of transportation in addition to their obvious application to sports.

As she looked out over the group of young people, she was also glad that she had this class first, before she had to deal with any of the Quidditch teams, who were far more like to compare her to her predecessor. Given that half the staff seemed to be new as well, it hadn't really come up as such as problem - in terms of both confusion and inferiority complexes - as she feared would result from Coach Amelia Pierce taking over Coach Amelia Fox's job.

Still, it was nice to start out with the only group of children who weren't able to compare her to the famous Beater who had taught at Sonora before leaving the school in the hands of a woman whose closest ties to the national Quidditch League was through the legal and public relations departments. Amelia Pierce had occasionally spoken in their defense when WAIL had gotten particularly noisy. But to these kids, she was probably a virtual stranger.

Unless, of course, they were up on their New England pureblood gossip and news. Then they'd know she was the matriarch of the Boston Pierces, disowned from the New Hampshire Pierces, and heavily involved in DISCUSS. And given WAIL's theories and biases regarding women involved in Quidditch in general and DISCUSS in particular, they may have encountered the inevitable, but completely unfounded, rumor that she wasn't entirely straight.

But none of that was important today. She wasn't even going to mention her first name, never mind her family branch. Today, she wasn't Amelia Pierce. Today, she was Sonora's Quidditch Coach and little else. Well, the Crotali would know her as their Head of House, but besides that, today was about the Coaching. She was there for one purpose and one purpose only.

"Today, you are here to learn how to fly a broom," she announced to the gathered first years in a loud voice that wasn't quite shouting but still carried very well. She'd never been or met a drill sergeant, but she was using the kind of voice that television told her they used. "My name is Coach Pierce, and I am going to show you how."

She looked them over, making instant assumptions and bets with herself about which ones didn't need the instruction. "Some of you probably already know how, I'd like you all to stand over there," she pointed to a patch of grass on the Pitch ground away from where she'd piled a stack of brooms. "For everyone else, I'd like you to collect a broom," she pointed at the pile, "and stand in a line right here. I'll be with you in a moment. That means everyone," she added to a girl who was almost certainly a pureblood and probably thought the whole thing didn't apply to her.

She walked over to where the kids who had flown before were gathered while the rank beginners fought amongst themselves to find a school broom that struck their fancy. "Okay, you guys, I'm going to exempt you from the lesson and let you free fly. I know I considered myself an expert flier by the time I was eleven," she'd been wrong, and anyone here who thought the same also was, but she wasn't going to burst their bubble yet, "so I imagine some of you also consider yourselves above a beginner lesson. If you still want to stick with your classmates, or aren't comfortable in the air unsupervised, you can stick around, but I'm not making it mandatory."

She jerked a thumb back toward the broom pile. "If you'd like, there's a Quaffle over there you can throw around, and school brooms if you didn't bring your own. Please keep in mind that this is a privilege that I don't need to grant you. Any trouble from any of you, and you will all be back down here learning how to hover three feet over the ground, is that clear?" She frowned sternly and looked around with her best disciplinarian 'mess this up and you will regret it for months' Look - she'd raised two teenagers and coached at Durmstrang, so she knew she had a pretty decent one - and then nodded in dismissal. "Good. Have fun."

With that, she returned the beginners, who were mostly lined up by now. Taking a spot in front of them, where they could see her and she could see all of them, she summoned over her own broom and put it down beside her. "I want you all to put your broom down next to you. If you're left handed, put it on your left side, if you're right handed, put it on your right."

Once they seemed to have accomplished that, she instructed, "Now put your hand out over the broom and say 'Up!' very firmly, as if you were giving a pet dog a command. Not yet!" she ordered when a few kids opened their mouths and looked about to give it a try. "Wait for the demonstration. Up!" She commanded, and the broom leaped up into her hand. "It may take a few tries, but it should eventually come up to your hand. Once you get that far, put one leg over the broom, like this," she straddled the wooden handle.

"All of these brooms will have a cushion charm on them, so use that to find where you're supposed to sit. At this point, you may kick off the ground and hover, but I don't want you moving around too much yet. I'll come around and give you permission to try doing so once you've mastered the hover. Raise your hand if you need any help."

Subthreads:

Advanced Free Flying (nm) by Coach Pierce with Demelza Eagle, Tobar Brishen

Beginner Lesson (nm) by Coach Pierce with Kameyrynn Prinzo, Starbuck Gregory, Veronica Kerrigan, Aladren, Jose Hernandez, Alessa Hinckley

1 Coach Amelia Pierce First Year Flying Lessons 20 Coach Amelia Pierce 1 5

Coach Pierce

November 13, 2009 5:33 PM

Advanced Free Flying (nm) by Coach Pierce

0 Coach Pierce Advanced Free Flying (nm) 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

Coach Pierce

November 13, 2009 5:34 PM

Beginner Lesson (nm) by Coach Pierce

0 Coach Pierce Beginner Lesson (nm) 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 13, 2009 7:40 PM

Feeling slightly more confident about this by Demelza Eagle

Ah... quidditch. That one thing Demelza knew she could do. And not fail... but she never thought that way. Yes, very deep down, she had an ego where she told herself she was the best. But, most defiantly on the outside, she hated to brag. She hated it when other people bragged. Brag. Bleh, such a mean thing to do. And Demelza hated when herself or other people were mean. It just didn't fit her personality.

So, when she went to go stand by the first years who already knew how to fly, she did it rather reluctantly, because she felt, and she had no reason what so ever to feel this way, as though she was bragging. Proudly showing she had magical descents... when she had much more muggle in her than magic. But, she couldn't deny that she had grown up flying with her many brothers, so she joined the more confident looking first years and gave them a warming smile. Privately, she thought this was a good way to show them who she was on the inside... well, that would be lying. She was actually really loud, and, especially when beating a bludger in qudditch, really tough and strong. Some people would even suggest intimidating.

As Coach Pierce announced what they were supposed to do, Demelza felt slightly intimidated. She was tough looking, but what else was she supposed to expect. She had to present herself that way get control over the first years. But when she told them they could spend the time free flying, Demelza got really excited. This was going to be a great way to spend her time! She really needed to practice, for she had signed up for the Pecari team. But when the quidditch coach said she thought she was an "above flyer" at the age of eleven, Demelza thought that was sick. Who would think themselves better just because just because they had been born of "pureblood" decent. Muggle-borns can be just as great quidditch players! Her uncle was living proof...

She immediately mounted her broom that used the belong to one of her brothers. She scooped up a quaffle while hovering a few inches over the ground, and asked to the group in general near her, "Hey, wanna pass a quaffle? Should be fun."

0 Demelza Eagle Feeling slightly more confident about this 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Tobar Brishen

November 13, 2009 8:12 PM

Oh fun by Tobar Brishen

Tobar had hated the thought of being taught to fly, he had been on a broom since he was six and his father had decided to teach him how to fly. At the age of eight he had been given his own broom, and a spot in all the family Quidditch games. So taking a class on it would annoy him to no living end, but he went as it was mandatory. Once the coach said that the advanced flyers could free fly he had grinned.

He got on the broom and hovered for a moment getting a feel for the broom before he went a little bit higher and flew around the pitch slowly. He wasn’t trying to upset Coach Pierce by show boating. When he heard the girl asked about the Quaffle. He smiled at her and nodded. “I do!” He said and he flashed his winning smile. “Tobar Brishen.” He introduced himself.

0 Tobar Brishen Oh fun 152 Tobar Brishen 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 13, 2009 9:55 PM

Very fun! by Demelza Eagle

As the other first year agreed to passing the quaffle with her and introduced himself, Demelza replied, "Think fast!" and quickly and accurately passed the quaffle before introducing herself.

"I'm Demelza Eagle, Tobar. Nice to meet you!" She said, as he swiftly passed back the quaffle and she mirrored him. Demelza started to steadily fly higher and higher, until she was at a comfortable height. She started to grin as the passing continued, and since she couldn't stand the silence, she tried to spike up conversation.

"You're pretty good, you know," she complimented, then added, "Did you sign up for your house team? I signed up for the Pecari team! Although, I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it...."

0 Demelza Eagle Very fun! 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Coach Pierce

November 13, 2009 11:52 PM

ooc by Coach Pierce

Demelza,

Please note that you can't write for what anybody else does. The two bits "as he swiftly passed back the quaffle" and "as the passing continued" are forcing Tobar's actions. This is fairly minor here since you've agreed to pass the quaffle, but try not to hijack other characters in the future.

0 Coach Pierce ooc 0 Coach Pierce 0 5

Kameyrynn Prinzo

November 14, 2009 12:17 AM

Finally I get a chance to fly! by Kameyrynn Prinzo

Kamey listened to the instructions and set the broom on the ground on her left side. Putting her hand above the broom and following the command said in her hoarse whisper “Up!” The broom quivered a little and Kamey hoped that it wasn’t because she wasn’t loud enough. She tried again almost glaring at the broom and putting the force of her wish behind it as she said still in the hoarse whisper “Up!”. This time the broom rose into her hand and she grasped it before it could fall. She proceeded to straddle the broom and found the spot mentioned by the coach settling there.

Being given leave Kamey kicked off from the ground and began to hover. This feeling reminds me of that hanging rollercoaster at the adventure park we took the trip to last summer, she thought, though with out the back or shoulder support. She began working at finding the center of gravity of both herself and the broom together so that she would not have an issue with balance.

She looked around at the rest of the class and then over to those that already knew how to fly. She could see Brishen passing the quaffle with another girl. I’ll be there someday, she thought. Raising one hand while still maintaining her balance with the other she waited for the Coach to see her.

0 Kameyrynn Prinzo Finally I get a chance to fly! 0 Kameyrynn Prinzo 0 5

Starbuck Gregory

November 14, 2009 12:20 AM

Nervous by Starbuck Gregory

Starbuck was nervous for the flying lesson, she wanted to do well so she could get on the Quidditch team so she tried to calm her nerves telling herself it would be like being on a roller coaster. She made her way to the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the class. Listening to the Coach she became even more nervous. She sighed as some of the students went to stand where the Coach told them too. She let them go pick up brooms and she grabbed one that looked safer then the rest of them.

She set it on the ground on her right side. She was pretty impressed when the coach got the broom to fly into her hand. Really up was the magic word? Her brothers would tease her endlessly if they ever saw that. She was amazed as one of the advanced students flew higher into the air her eyes widened, she couldn’t wait to be able to do that!

She smiled when the coach let them begin trying. “Up!” She said it the way she’d give her puppy the command. Yet the broom just laid there once again she cried. “Up.” The broom rolled over but did not come to her hand. She sighed a couple of other students had already done it why couldn’t she? She closed her eyes and calmed down some. This time she said it firmly but not in a nervous voice. “Up.” And the broom flew into her hands. Her eyes widened she had done it! She wanted to leap about and dance but she figured that would make her stick out a bit.

She held the broom steady and put her leg over it straddled it. This felt right she wanted to soar into the air but she held it back she didn’t want to get a detention in the beginning of the school year, though it was bound to happen. She kicked off like Coach Pierce had showed them and hovered waiting for her to come around.

0 Starbuck Gregory Nervous 0 Starbuck Gregory 0 5

Veronica Kerrigan, Aladren

November 14, 2009 10:29 AM

Is this necessary? by Veronica Kerrigan, Aladren

Quidditch was an entirely useless class. As far as Veronica was concerned, she would never actually need to use a broom since there were more practical means of travel such as floo (though, admittedly, a bit dirty), portkeys, and side-along apparation. So, she really didn’t understand why this class was mandatory. In fact, if they never planned on using a broom, they shouldn’t have to take the class at all and if she didn’t have to take the class, she would have more time for the important things like fixing the nail that had chipped as a result of having to carry her stupid broom down to the field. Maybe she could talk to the Coach about it since the professor was female and all.

Patiently, as patient as she ever was, she waited through the initial introduction and instruction and once the rest of the students were to form a line, Veronica puffed out her chest, squared her shoulders, and put her nose in the air like she was about to say the most important thing in the world, but was promptly stopped in her tracks as the Coach said that it meant everyone. The woman was simply awful! How could she submit good purebloods to such demeaning modes of complete torture? She had thought for just a moment that maybe the professor would understand, but she had forgotten the one thing she should never have forgotten. She was a Quidditch Coach by choice.

Well, whatever. If she was going to be subjected to this supposed class, then she was going to do it with dignity and grace. She refused to stomp or huff the way she wanted to. No, instead, she calmly walked to her spot with her broom. She simply refused to use one of the school provided brooms, because not only were they probably all shabby and could be dysfunctional, they could carry a number of germs from all that had used them previously. Oh, it wasn’t that she was afraid of germs exactly so much as what getting sick would do to her appearance. Having a runny nose, coughing like a burly man, and being red faced were not attractive qualities and when she found Mr. Right Pureblood, she didn’t want him to remember that she had once been less than perfect looking. Actually, she really didn’t want anyone to think that. Ever.

In the line with the other students, she paid only the necessary amount of attention to the professor. She already knew how to fly. She chose not to. Instead, she glanced around trying to spot Rachel, one of the worthies, to see if she looked as bored as she felt. When she spotted the other girl, she gave her a small wave. Maintaining social contacts was at least something she could do in the class. When it seemed like the Coach was nearing the end of the lecture, Veronica tuned in a bit more. So, she had the option of basically playing Quidditch or taking the beginner lesson. That was a no brainer. She was going to take the beginner lesson. It had nothing to do with being comfortable or wanting to be near her classmates, social bonus, as she was simply going to do as little work as possible.

In the beginner lesson, she tried to look interested, if only so she didn’t get in trouble, but it was hard and she couldn’t wait to begin hovering so she could let her mind wander on to more important matters like who was the cutest boy in the class and was he pureblood? Relief washed through her when she was finally able to do exactly what she wanted to do. “Up!” She commanded. Veronica was good at commanding tones so the broom came up easily enough. Sitting like a boy, she straddled the broom and kicked off to hover the three feet in the air. All right, now that was hovering, it was time to see who else was in the class and expand her social connections. Turning to the person closest to her and to find out if they might be someone she wanted to talk to, she said, “This is a real drag, isn’t it?”

0 Veronica Kerrigan, Aladren Is this necessary? 0 Veronica Kerrigan, Aladren 0 5

Ira Stanwick

November 14, 2009 11:51 AM

I really wish it wasn't. by Ira Stanwick

Ira was annoyed, annoyed that he was being forced to take a flying lesson. Purebloods don’t fly they take the floo network and apparate when old enough; they simply don’t fly on a broom. He scowled at the Quidditch coach he was beneath being put on a broom. He was glad that his mother had forced him to get a new broom just the idea of using a old school broom repulsed him.

He stayed with the beginner class due to the fact none who had basically run over there looked beneath him. He had been taught the basics by his eldest cousin last summer. So he set the broom on his left side and in his best commanding voice, said. “Up.” He scowled once again when the broom refused to come to his hand. “UP!” The second time the broom flew into his head and he smiled.

Once he was hovering he looked over at the girl next to him who spoke. This is a real drag, isn’t it?” She had said. Ira raised an eyebrow, glad his blonde hair was cut short so it wasn’t going to be windblown like the other boys on the pitch. “I couldn’t agree more.” He said shortly, wondering if the girl was worth his time. “Ira Stanwick.” He said after a moments debate.

0 Ira Stanwick I really wish it wasn't. 0 Ira Stanwick 0 5

Delilah Kerrigan, Pecari

November 14, 2009 12:30 PM

Isn't it though? by Delilah Kerrigan, Pecari

Flying was a class that Delilah had a hard time containing her enthusiasm for. It was probably one of the only classes that she would do well in, probably even better than Veronica, which was hard to believe. Oh, it wasn’t that she didn’t try, because she did, unlike Veronica. Yet, no matter how well she seemed to understand the lesson, when it came to actually doing the assignment, it suddenly became confusing and she ended up messing it all up. This was one class that didn’t require anything more than actually showing her flying ability, which she actually had thanks to playing broom games and the like with other kids in the neighborhood.

So it was with as much effort as she could muster that Delilah forced herself to pay attention to the lecture when all she really wanted to do was anything but. Standing there, she was far more interested in all of her classmates, yet for different reasons than her sister. While Veronica was interested in making all the right social connections, Delilah was interested in making friends with everyone or at least trying to. Life was more interesting when one had lots of friends, because then she always got to try something new or get to do things that she wouldn’t otherwise get to do. She really never understood why her sister wanted to limit herself when there was just so much out there.

When they were told that if they knew how to fly to go stand over there, Delilah followed along and dragged her broom behind her. She hadn’t actually thought about getting a new broom for school until Veronica had insisted, something about germs. At home, she just used her dad’s old broom from when he was a kid. It was still a little bit big for her, but she liked it with all its old marks. But she was excited to have her own broom too. Though, it was still a bit too bland just like her new shoes. She didn’t really like new material things, because they lacked personality. Though, she was more than happy to fix that.

Her old shoes, the ones that were up in her room, had all sorts of pictures and writing on them in every color imaginable. She was sure her current shoes would soon be like that and like her shoes, she would need to do something about her broom. Maybe she could tie various colored ribbons around the handle. That would be cool. She looked around to see if anyone else had their own broom. Did they have it decorated? She wondered if they would want to decorate it. Oh, there she went again getting lost in her thoughts instead of paying attention. Looking to the professor, she listened to what they would be doing instead of being in the beginner lesson.

Cool! They would be playing around with a quaffle! Hopping onto her broom and kicking off, she flew over to where her friend, Mel, and a boy had begun passing the ball. She caught the end of the conversation and grinned at Mel. “I signed up too. If we both make it, we’ll be teammates! How awesome would that be?” Her brown eyes passed over to where the boy was hovering. “Hey, I’m Delilah Kerrigan. How long have you been flying? I’ve only been flying the past couple years, since I was nine. Want to pass the quaffle my way?”

0 Delilah Kerrigan, Pecari Isn't it though? 0 Delilah Kerrigan, Pecari 0 5

Veronica

November 14, 2009 1:33 PM

At least it's only one year. by Veronica

Veronica was pleased to see that the person had been a boy. This helped with her life plan a bit, but only if he was worth her time to which it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. “Delilah Kerrigan of the North Carolina Kerrigans,” she replied in her most formal and haughty tone to make it clear that she was a pureblood from a good family. The only thing marring her family reputation was that her father had married beneath him and that her mother had abandoned them, but most people didn’t know that or at least most worth knowing. This was because her grandmother, who a fair number of purebloods knew or had at least heard of, didn’t make mention of it.

But that was normal. Most reputable pureblood families had quite a few skeletons in their closets. They were only brought up in times of alliances and wars. Now was neither of those times, but she could find out other important information. “Where are you from?” She wasn’t sure if she had ever heard grandmother refer to a Stanwick or not. Of course, that might have been due to the fact that Delilah was always fidgeting as their grandmother talked of such important matters. Didn’t she understand the importance of making the right social connections? What they did now would set them up for life. Her hazel eyes studied the boy. She hoped that she wasn’t making a mistake by talking to this one.

Perhaps, she should continue to test him a bit. She fluttered her lashes at him a little while placing one polished nail against her lip. “The worst part of this class was having to carry my incredibly heavy broom all the way here. I ended up chipping one of my nails. Would you mind terribly carrying it back for me?” She smiled innocently at him as though she didn’t know what she was doing at all. This test would determine not only if he were a pureblood since obvious someone that wasn’t wouldn’t be a gentleman, but also to test to see that he was a gentleman since not all purebloods were.

0 Veronica At least it's only one year. 0 Veronica 0 5

Ira Stanwick

November 14, 2009 2:26 PM

Thankfully by Ira Stanwick

“Ira Stanwick of the Seattle Stanwicks.” He said more formally, he wanted the girl to know he was a pureblood. He had heard the name Kerrigan before and knew that the girl was good enough to speak to. He listened to her speech about the brooms and wanted to gag. Though he knew as the gentlemen his parents had raised him to be, he would have to carry it back for her.

“That is no problem, Miss. Kerrigan, though I don’t believe you are in my house, Crotalus. So which are you in?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. He was sure the girl hadn’t been in the common room and was surprised to see a pureblood with her not in Crotalus. He smiled back at her and waited still hovering on the broom, this had to be the worse class ever.

“I’m really disliking this class.” He mumbled to Veronica. “It’s a bit annoying.” He ran a hand through his hair and glared at the Coach who was speaking to the other students, couldn’t she just come here and speak to him so he could be done with this class.

0 Ira Stanwick Thankfully 0 Ira Stanwick 0 5

Tobar - Teppenpaw

November 14, 2009 3:40 PM

Oh yes! by Tobar - Teppenpaw

Tobar was a bit taken back when the second girl joined them, weren’t there any guys in the first year? He smiled though at the mention of Quidditch and tossed the Quaffle to Delilah. “I’m Tobar Brishen.” He introduced himself. “And yeah I signed up for Quidditch! I couldn’t let Teppenpaw win without me!” He cried as he went a little bit higher then the girls and looped around them.

“I was first put on a broom at six years old, but I wasn’t allowed to fly by myself till eight. It’s pretty cool that Coach Peirce is allowing us to be playing while the others are being taught.” He said as the quaffle was tossed to him, he tossed it once again to Demelza.

“So what house are you gals in?” He asked as he pushed his black hair out of his face so he could see better, if he made the team he would have to braid it extra tight on game days.

0 Tobar - Teppenpaw Oh yes! 0 Tobar - Teppenpaw 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 14, 2009 5:34 PM

Oh yeah by Demelza Eagle

Demelza grinned at Delilah as she zoomed up to her and Tobar. Delilah also joined in their conversation.

"That would be so cool!" She exclaimed to Delilah as she said that she also signed up for the Pecari quidditch team. "But did you see how many first years have signed up?" She asked passing over the quaffle in her hand to Tobar, "Well, at least we have some already trained skill, eh? I grew up with quidditch, which would make sense if you've seen any of my brothers. They taught me how to play quidditch when I was about 5 and are all really good. So, I'm trying my best not to brag, but, well, I do know how to play. I play beater for the most part, what about you two?" She asked the two people she was passing the quaffle with.

She was glad that She had Delilah there because she knew her a bit better, but she was also glad that Tobar was there too because she did want to meet people from other houses.

Demelza turned toward the beginners and was quite surprised. Having known what quidditch was her whole life, there seemed to be a lot of people who didn't even know what it was until very recently. Demelza couldn't imagine a life with out quidditch. Well, she hoped that they would enjoy it as much as she does!

0 Demelza Eagle Oh yeah 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Veronica

November 15, 2009 9:01 AM

More annoying things by Veronica

OOC: Oops, haha, I wrote Delilah instead of Veronica in my last post. Sorry about that. I really shouldn’t write more than one post at a time. >^^<

BIC:

Seattle. That explained why the name had only been vague in her memory. Her grandmother talked more of Eastern purebloods than Western purebloods. However, it hardly mattered as all purebloods were worth a decent note. She was actually curious as to why they opted to live in Seattle and wondered if it was a negotiable thing for the family. “Doesn’t it rain there quite often?” Veronica asked wanting clarification for something she thought she had read somewhere. She couldn’t imagine actually liking somewhere that rained all the time, especially after having grown up with the sunshine and warmth offered by North Carolina.

Though, dreary thoughts of rain were washed away as a genuine smile lit up her face. He had passed the test! He was pureblood gentleman. But it was quickly washed away by the inevitable question of what House she was in. Her eyes shifted away from him briefly in panic of how to answer. If she lied, she was inevitably going to be caught in the lie since she had roommates that could easily state that she roomed with them, but if she told the truth, then he would know that she was supposedly intelligent and then she thought that there might be a good chance that he wouldn’t want anything to do with her. What to do? What to do?

The answer was unfortunately obvious. Even though she didn’t want to, she had to tell the truth. “I’m not in Crotalus. Actually, I’m in Aladren.” There she had said it. She had admitted to what House that she undeniably in. She waited with baited breath for his reaction. Would he immediately begin talking to someone else? No, that was silly since he had already passed the test of being a gentleman. He would at least wait until the class was over and then would probably never talk to her again. Being in Aladren was certainly going to be her downfall. They might as well have just given her a potion that would have made her skin permanently blue so it would have been a sign signaling that she was branded a brain.

’I’m really disliking this class. It’s a bit annoying.’

The words were a bit of a surprise merely because they meant that he was still talking to her. She followed his gaze over to where the Quidditch Coach was standing and scowled. “She should have come over to those, like us, that can obviously hover first since we don’t seem to need all the help some of these others need. Then, we could have at least sat down for the rest of the class period.” Looking around she realized that her sister wasn’t in the beginner’s area. Spotting her, she glared some more. “It’s not the only thing annoying.” She was speaking more to herself than Ira, but the words were said out loud.

0 Veronica More annoying things 0 Veronica 0 5

Delilah

November 15, 2009 10:10 AM

I can't wait until Quidditch starts by Delilah

OOC: Just some friendly advice. Tobar, since you wrote that Tobar had tossed the Quaffle to Delilah, the ball is now out of your character’s possession and assuming that the quaffle was passed back to your character is god-modding, because you can’t predict what Delilah or Demelza would do since they aren’t your characters. For example, instead of passing the quaffle back, they could have started a game of monkey in the middle with you or could have passed it on to someone completely new to encourage someone else to join the thread. However, to make the thread move along a little easier, I’ll work with what was written and I’m assuming Demelza currently has possession of the quaffle unless the author says otherwise.

BIC:

“Yeah,” Delilah said with a little bit of disappointed in her voice. A lot of first years had signed up to play for the Pecari House team. The competition was going to be really tough for sure. Not to mention, there were probably older years that were going to sign up and would undoubtedly be better. Maybe. She blinked in surprise as Demelza mentioned having been taught Quidditch at five. “Wow. If you learned that early, then you’re probably really, really good, and will blow the other first years away at try-outs! I’m sure you’ll make the team and you know what,” her face brightened, “if I don’t make it with you, I’ll just have to make a bunch of signs to cheer you on!”

She tossed the Quaffle to Tobar and waited while he said how long he had been on a broom. That was a really long time too! She couldn’t imagine starting that early. She probably would have fallen right off. At five and six, she had been as clumsy as could be and had ended up with numerous scrapes and bruises from falling down and tripping over this and that including her feet. Of course, now, she had a little less of that, but she still wasn’t the most graceful person. Though, that may have been due to the fact that she ran around more outside than she did sitting around playing grown-up with Veronica or let’s do extra credit summer homework with Cassie.

“We’re in Pecari,” Delilah answered. She thought it was great that they were both in Pecari, because it meant that they got to be roommates. She hadn’t talked much yet with their other roommates, but she was sure that they would get along wonderfully. How could they not? She didn’t think that any of them were like her sister who she hated to admit could be quite the snob. Between how different they looked and their personalities, it was hard to believe that they were sisters let alone twins. Thinking about her sister, her brown eyes went over to where her sister was. Why was she in the beginner class? She knew how to fly.

“Do you have any siblings?” She asked while waiting for the quaffle to be tossed back to her. She jerked her thumb towards her friend. “Mel here as a bucketful, but I’ll let her give you the details. I have an older sister, Cassie, and a twin, Veronica. She’s over in the beginner class even though she knows how to fly. She’s probably working on her social connections.” Delilah rolled her eyes. “So anyway where are you from? I’m from North Carolina.”

0 Delilah I can't wait until Quidditch starts 0 Delilah 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 15, 2009 11:25 AM

You flatter me by Demelza Eagle

When Delilah replied to Demelza saying she had been flying since she was five, Demelza stared down at the ground, and concentrated it, as though it had the answers to a test. She could feel her face turning red and didn't look her in the eye as she continued. She didn't like the thought at all about her making the team and Delilah not making it. She would just feel so guilty.

"Yeah, but your really good too, I'm sure," She replied, and threw the ball at her really hard, just to see if she proved her point about her also being really good... and she did.

-ooc- Delilah, you did say that I was in possession with the quaffle, and then you said you passed the quaffle to Tobar, so I'm not forcing your actions, just incase you may have thought that.-ooc-

Next time, she thought, I'll give her my beater strength and see if she catch get that.

Demelza watched Delilah throw the quaffle to Tobar as he said how long he had been on a broom. He really didn't start flying until he was 8 and Demelza started flying when she was 5. She was the test person for all her brothers when they wanted to try out a new trick. Which would explain all the times Demelza has had to go to the hospital in the past 5 years... most of it was all Will's fault. He wasn't the best one at quiddtch....

Demelza smiled when Delilah mentioned that they were in Pecari. She really did like being in Pecari. She had some of the coolest roommates!

Grinning, Demelza replied to Delilah's statement about her family, "Yeah, I've got tons. Going from oldest to youngest: Joel, Tommy, Joe, Jamie, Beth, Will, Mickey, Luna, Me, Katlin, and Glen. 5 of us, including me, all play quidditch. I'm using my brother Joel's old broom," She said, indicating it, "But it's still a pretty good broom."

Then, adding in a question of her own, she asked, "What positions do you guys play? Or, well, do you have any positions you play specifically, yet? I play beater for the most part, but I play chaser sometimes if I'm needed."

0 Demelza Eagle You flatter me 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Ira

November 15, 2009 11:32 AM

Such as? by Ira

Ira chuckled softly when Veronica asked about how often it rained in Seattle. “Yes it rains tons but father refuses to move from the family estate. Plus once you live there long enough you grow fond of the rain.” He said with a smile.

After a moment she finally answered his question about what house she belonged to. “There’s nothing wrong with Aladren at all.” He said with a smile. “It’s Pecari and Teppenpaw that should be ashamed of what house they are in.” He wanted to roll his eyes at the mention of the other houses but didn’t do so. It might be good to make friends with Veronica, not only for her pureblood linage but for her brains. Ira knew he wouldn’t be the best student but father would expect him to get decent marks here at Sonora.

Ira nodded in agreement when Veronica said. “She should have come over to those, like us, that can obviously hover first since we don’t seem to need all the help some of these others need. Then, we could have at least sat down for the rest of the class period.” “I couldn’t agree more, it seems a bit silly this class is mandatory doesn’t it? I think it should be an elective class.” He scowled again and rubbed his head, could he just get off the broom already?

0 Ira Such as? 0 Ira 0 5

Tobar Brishen

November 15, 2009 12:10 PM

Answers by Tobar Brishen

OOC: My humblest apologizes for the god-modding.

Tobar laughed when Delilah said that Demelza had a bucketful of siblings. He nodded and smiled at them. “I have three younger siblings my sisters Gianelly, Rosalie, and my brother Emilian. Though I have tons of cousins and we all travel together so it feels like I have twenty siblings.” He bit his lip wondering if these girls would suddenly dislike him if they knew he was a gypsy he knew some wizarding families hated his kind though he didn’t know why.

He smiled and shrugged at the question about where he was from. “I’m from all over the place. Though Romania, England, and Germany where we lived for most of my life, we have only been in the United States for a few years.” Tobar played with his hoop earring as he watched the girls for a moment. He missed his family already and it hadn’t been long, he missed hearing Gianelly and Rosalie bicker and missed taking care of Emilian.

Running his hand though his black hair he sighed these girls asked tons of questions very quickly he almost couldn’t keep up. He closed his eyes trying to remember what the last question asked was. Oh yes the position question. “I’m usually the Chaser when my family plays, but I’ve played Keeper and beater before, it’s pretty fun. I just love the sport.” As he finished speaking the quaffle was tossed to him. He caught it pretty easily and he tossed it in Delilah’s direction.

0 Tobar Brishen Answers 152 Tobar Brishen 0 5

Demelza Eagle

November 15, 2009 12:59 PM

Wow. That's interesting by Demelza Eagle

When Tobar said he traveled with his cousins all over the place, Demelza was impressed. That's gotta be one heck of a life, living with all your cousins and moving all over the place. Her family was rather the opposite. They never stuck together, and they all went to different schools. They had a medium sized home in Delaware where they were all in during the summer. But only the little kids (no longer her) lived there during the rest of the year. Joel, Tommy, and Joe were out of school and lived of on their own, but Jamie was in his last year in some school in Australia, Beth in her second last year in a school in Germany, Will and Mickey (the only ones together in a school) were in 4th year in Hogwarts, and Luna off in Mongolia in her second year. Wow. How can I even remember that, Demelza though.

"That's so strange!" She exclaimed as Tobar finished, "I couldn't imagine doing that! My family would be such a hassle if we even tried that." Then, she explained her whole family to them. How they all went to different schools, what years they were in, ext. She was probably boring them.

"Yeah, I must agree," She replied to Tobar as he described his positions, "Although, I'm a crummy keeper. And too clumsy to be a seeker. My brother Jamie is a seeker and Tommy is a keeper... but he isn't all that good. He doesn't like quidditch as much as me, Jamie, Joel, Joe, and Mickey.

"So, what about you, Delilah?" She asked, "What is your favorite position?"

0 Demelza Eagle Wow. That's interesting 157 Demelza Eagle 0 5

Jose Hernandez

November 16, 2009 1:31 PM

Second Year Crasher by Jose Hernandez

Jose had neatly trapped himself. He'd told Jude - well, technically, he'd implied very strongly by claiming they were roommates and then proceeding to move into the first year dorm - that he was a first year. And since he'd made a bet with himself that he could keep Jude believing it until yearbooks came out, he was caught in the position of needing to take Flying Lessons again, or he'd blow his own cover.

Not that taking them over was necessarily a bad thing. He was signed up for Quidditch again, and kind of expected he'd be taking over his cousin's now empty position. Which was a decent assumption up until one realized that Jose was a tiny bit afraid of heights and a really lousy flyer. So he kind of hoped that maybe retaking the basic lessons would sort things out better.

He'd heard Coach Fox had left of course. That had been announced at the end of last year. But he'd been too busy paying attention to Jack and the people at his table to give much heed to the introductions made at the Welcoming Feast. He'd figured he'd meet the new people soon enough. Besides, it was weird, having the same first name as the new Head Boy.

Consequently, the self-introduction of Coach Pierce took him by surprise. And she looked enough like Maria that there was no mistaking it. Why hadn't anybody told him one of his Eastern Cousins was going to be the new Coach? At least it was a Boston cousin. That she was a Quidditch Coach made it impossible for her to be a New Hampshire one. Jose was still kind of glad it wasn't obvious by his name or appearance that he was one of the California branch. The Eastern Pierces were all just a little bit frightening.

He was tempted to go join the advanced players, if only to avoid her notice better, but he stuck with the beginners. He was here to relearn from the beginning and sort out whatever it was he was doing wrong. Besides, playing catch required holding the Quaffle, and Jose didn't like letting go of his broom that long. Which is why he was trying to restart from square one.

So he stayed and picked up a school broom and lined up with the first years, as if he'd never touched a broom and certainly not as if he'd ever played as Pecari's Alternate.

He said "Up!" when she told him to (and nearly said it before she told him to), and then pushed up into a hover as though he were a natural. It was actually not much different from his success last year, since he'd managed and practiced a low hover even before coming to Sonora.

The problem was going to arise when he tried to actually go anywhere.

1 Jose Hernandez Second Year Crasher 149 Jose Hernandez 0 5

Alessa Hinckley

November 17, 2009 5:27 AM

Yeah, I'll stick with this. by Alessa Hinckley

Alessa was less than thrilled about flying lessons. She was nervous about getting on a broom, not so much because she could fall, but because she was worried about looking silly. Alessa wasn't a very physical person. Her movements tended to look awkward and odd and she was terribly uncoordinated.

She tried desperately to listen to Coach Pierce but it was pretty difficult for her since it was all about flying. Not only was Alessa not interested in flying herself, but listening to people talk about it, or Quidditch, just bored her to tears. It was actually a bit like the people noise but with less anxiety involved. It made Alessa want to leave or cast a spell on herself to make herself temporarily unable to hear (or a silencing spell on the Coach.)

Unfortunately, she couldn't leave and as a first year, she was not adept enough at spell work to try to make herself deaf or silence anyone else. Not to mention that silencing the Quidditch coach would probably land her in trouble and make her classmates dislike her because for some strange reason other people liked flying and Quidditch, so Alessa merely started zoning out.

It wasn't as if she'd never been on a broom anyway, it was just something that she hadn't been all that fond of and being a girl from an important pureblood family in New Jersey, Alessa had certainly never been really encouraged to continue flying.

When Coach Pierce-Alessa was certain she was one of the Boston Pierces, which she knew to be the disowned offshoot of the New Hampshire branch-divided them up, Alessa moved towards the Beginner group. It looked like the more "advanced" students were going to play Quidditch and Alessa wanted to no part of that .

She took the broom she'd borrowed from one of her cousins for the sole purpose of this class and placed it on the ground. Alessa put her hand over it and said "Up."

Of course, it didn't do anything, but Alessa really did not care. She sighed, hoping the class would be over soon.

11 Alessa Hinckley Yeah, I'll stick with this. 150 Alessa Hinckley 0 5

Rachel Bauer

November 17, 2009 8:28 PM

I'm <i>stuck</i> with this. by Rachel Bauer

Rachel had been dreading flying lessons, but not for the reasons most pureblood (or, in her case, “pureblood”) girls would have done. It wasn’t a matter of being afraid of heights and immorality, but instead a matter of not being afraid of them.

She’d been given her first toy broomstick when she was two. When she was seven, not too long before her mother went public with her intention to get a divorce, she’d graduated to a real broom. Even now, when she thought she could get away with it, she liked to listen to the late-night Quidditch games on her wireless. Until Momma had married Jeremy, she’d never even heard of WAIL, and once she had, she’d thought they were stupid. Momma had admitted she privately agreed, but had still made Rachel promise her there would be no Quidditch and limited flying while she was at school. To listen to her tell it, failure to comply could ruin not only their lives, but Kate’s and Alicia’s as well.

That, too, sounded stupid, but Rachel couldn’t be sure. Not that sure. What if she did somehow ruin things for her sisters? As annoying as they could be sometimes, and as prone as she’d been to beating them up before Alma had gotten hold of her and taught her some manners in time for Momma’s wedding, she did love them.

So she was going to be good. She’d worn capris and braided her hair – she wasn’t nearly good enough to even think of attempting flying in a skirt – but other than that, she was the image of bored pureblood propriety. Thank Merlin she didn’t actually need the lecture; it wasn’t nearly as easy to pretend not to listen while she was than it was to pretend to listen while she wasn’t. Seeing Veronica, she smiled to the other girl’s wave.

To her dismay, the group was promptly split in two – Advanced and Beginner. It almost killed her not to join the Advanced group, and not just because the idea of tossing a Quaffle around was more than welcome; she hated admitting that someone might know more than she did about something, and as it turned out, it was even harder to admit they knew more than she did when she was fairly sure they actually didn’t. It helped slightly to note that Veronica, along with a boy she recognized from the commons, stayed behind as well, but only slightly. She liked being visibly better than everyone else a lot more than she liked upholding her mother’s stupid ruse.

Once the groups were firmly differentiated and she’d managed to talk herself out of talking herself out of pretending to be a beginner, Rachel looked down at the school broom she was using with an expression of distaste. Hers was much nicer than this, and would be even if she didn’t dust it; Dad had gotten it for her for Christmas that last year, and since it hadn’t been used much since Jeremy came along, it was still in good condition. Not so this old thing; it might well be older than she was. “Up,” she said, and winced slightly as it thudded into her hand. If she got splinters, she was so going to sue.

Luckily, she managed to release it and mount without any such catastrophe. Hovering, she held a bored expression on her face as she watched the girl beside her in line try and fail to get her broom up. An Aladren, by her robes; Rachel wondered if this girl would have been the lowest woman on the food chain whose bed she would have stolen if she’d worked her nerve quite up to dorm-breaking instead of going along to Crotalus and risking her life on the assumption that Helena had the ‘rule-driven’ part of the Crotalus personality to make up for the ‘respectable member of society’ part she so clearly shunned. Leaning toward her slightly with her hands still on the broom handle for balance, Rachel said, “You have to be firmer if you want that to work.”

16 Rachel Bauer I'm <i>stuck</i> with this. 154 Rachel Bauer 0 5

Alessa

November 27, 2009 3:33 AM

Sorry for the wait by Alessa

Alessa looked over at the girl who'd spoken and then back at her broom. "Thanks, but I'm not entirely sure I do want it to work. I'm not afraid of heights and I don't think flying is immoral" the whole WAIL argument had never really made sense to her, to Alessa it seemed really convoluted "but its just not my thing."

She probably shouldn't have mentioned that she didn't think it was immoral. Sometimes Alessa said things she probably shouldn't to the wrong people. As a supposed good pureblood girl she wasn't supposed to like Quidditch or flying and she didn't but not for the proper reasons. Good pureblood girls were supposed to think it was immoral and made women like other women but she didn't. What if the other girl was that type? Alessa figured if she was the other type, the type who liked Quidditch and flying, she'd have gone with the advanced group.

Unless she was Muggleborn and then she probably would be confused as to why Alessa would mention that she didn't think flying was immoral.

Of course, the Crotalus badge on the other girl's robes made Alessa think that the odds were she was probably a pureblood. Which meant she might be the proper type if she was over here.

She might as well introduce herself though. "I'm Alessa Hinckley." As an after thought she added "of the New Jersey Hinckleys." Alessa looked back down at her broom, "If I do make it go up, that doesn't mean I have to go play Quidditch with the Advanced group, does it?" It was more of a statement than a question.

11 Alessa Sorry for the wait 150 Alessa 0 5

Rachel

November 28, 2009 1:27 AM

No problem. by Rachel

Rachel sat back slightly on her broom as she processed the other girl's answer, studying her with something somewhere between curiosity and plain old confusion.

She could understand disliking something. There were lots of things she disliked, like losing and stupid people and people who assumed she was stupid because she happened to be a well-dressed girl with blonde hair (such people were usually corrected really, really fast). What she couldn't understand was what disliking flying had to do with doing it in this context. The other girl was supposed to be one of the Aladrens, for Merlin's sake. Surely she had enough sense to realize that performing the task was very much an essential part of making the grade here? Everyone said idiots didn't get into Aladren, which was one reason she'd wanted to be there.

Of course, they had let Gramma Claire, the woman who gave up on life because her ex-husband got over her, in, so there were clearly exceptions. Maybe she was looking at one right now.

Before Rachel could ask her if she was a complete moron or just that bad at sarcasm, though, the other girl offered a formal introduction, forcing her to bite her tongue. She'd either just met a pureblood or a fellow faker, and she had no idea which. The fact that Alessa had just said flat-out that she didn't think flying was immoral made Rachel half-think she was faking it, but for all she knew, the Hinckley family was liberal or small and putting on airs.

"I doubt it," Rachel said in answer to her question. "It's a long way from hovering to playing Quidditch." She took a quick, covert look at the Advanced group. "Which is not what they're playing. That's catch. It's not Quidditch unless there's Bludgers and they're knocking heads in." It was a little too much to ask that she not sound pleased by that prospect. Momma had taught her to be a Chaser before, but she'd always secretly wished she was built well enough to be a Beater. She thought there should be an easy enough way to direct the Bludgers with magic, but that would be a dirty cheat's way of doing it. Because one intro warranted another, she added, "I'm Rachel Bauer, of the Arizona Bauers."

Technically, this was true. She'd been born in Arizona, and to a family called Bauer. That her paternal grandfather was a half-blood and her paternal grandmother Muggleborn was an extremely minor and unnecessary detail in her mind. She had better looks and brains than most purebloods she'd met, her own kin - she sometimes thought her own mother - all included, but they still had the power. She didn't like it, but since she lacked the resources to bludgeon every member of the major families into seeing the errors of their ways, she had to be sensible and at least try to play along.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Hinckley," she remembered to add. It was hard, remembering what-all she was supposed to do now that Momma and Jeremy had no way of looking over her shoulder. "How are you liking being at Sonora?"

16 Rachel No problem. 154 Rachel 0 5

Alessa

November 28, 2009 2:27 PM

Here. I'll make up for it by answering this one now :) by Alessa

Alessa nodded to what Rachel said about them playing catch rather than Quidditch. She hadn't been watching carefully of course since she had zero interest in the sport. Either way, she wasn't doing it.

"It's a pleasure to make yours as well, Miss Bauer." As she said this, Alessa tried to remember if she'd heard of a Bauer family out in Arizona. She had studied the geneology of the pureblood families in great depth out of both interest and requirement. Her parents wanted her to meet what they called the right people and know who they were. It was, to them, an essential part of being part of the Hinckley family which was pretty important in New Jersey pureblood society circles. Alessa herself just liked seeing how everyone was related and connected. For the life of her, though, she couldn't remember a Bauer family.

Then again, Rachel had said she was from Arizona. That was nearly as far away from New Jersey as one could get within the continental United States so she could have missed them. Then again, Alessa's mother was from Colorado so she knew a bit about the Western families too. They could have been a newer family, she supposed, and Alessa didn't really care enough to press the issue.

She considered the question. "It's all right, I suppose. I'm rather looking forward to starting the real classes especially History and Transfiguration and Charms. I suppose Defense and Potions will be all right too but I'm not that interested in Care of Magical Creatures. I don't know much about the professors either so they could be dreadful. I tried to ask this older student at the feast but he wouldn't tell me much other than the librarian was helpful. Of course, most of the professors are new, so he probably didn't know much more than I did." Alessa gave Rachel a polite smile. "What about you? Are you enjoying your time here?"

Alessa looked around at the other "beginners". None of them were playing catch or Quidditch or even flying. That meant she didn't have to either if she did get her broom up. She looked down at her broom. She did want to pass the class but she didn't want to do too well either. Her parents never really had hammered any of the WAIL stuff into her because they thought they didn't need to when she didn't like to fly in the first place. It didn't matter the reasons, they were just happy she wasn't into it. Still, her mother had stressed that she shouldn't do too well at flying. (To which Alessa had told her that wouldn't be a problem.)

She placed her hand over the broom again, and, taking Rachel's advice, said with more firmness, "Up." This time the broom slammed up into her hand. Alessa had to admit, it did feel good to get it right.

But it still didn't mean she was going to play Quidditch anytime soon. Or catch either.

11 Alessa Here. I'll make up for it by answering this one now :) 150 Alessa 0 5

Rachel

November 29, 2009 12:47 AM

And all is well. by Rachel

Though it was, technically, the correct form of address for a young lady of her assumed station, Rachel had never liked being referred to as 'Miss Bauer'. It made her feel like an old maid schoolteacher, or like the speaker was such a one. It was uncomfortable. "Please," she said with a slight wave of her hand. "It's Rachel."

She knew that might not be exactly fair of her, as Alessa might not be comfortable calling her by her given name so soon after they'd met and might feel compelled to offer a similar permission when she wouldn't otherwise have done, but even Momma admitted that people who waited to get the things they wanted instead of taking them usually lost in the end. It had clearly been Nana's idea instead of Dad's or Momma's - 'Rachel' name fit the pattern established by Naomi with her own kids, while 'Caitlin' and 'Alicia' did not - but Rachel liked her name, and besides, they were a troupe of eleven-year-olds. There were limits to how much formality they really needed.

Anyway, offering permission to use her name was as good as declaring that Alessa had passed the test and that Rachel, at least for now, did not see her as an antagonist. If she was, as she planned to do, going to spend most of her time pretending to be in Alessa's House, she needed to get most of its first-year members on her side and do that quickly.

She nodded to Alessa's summary of her feelings about their situation. "It's adequate," she said. "I would have rather been in your House, but at least in Crotalus, I get a room to myself." It was a major advantage; a shared room meant fewer opportunities to practice magic and decompress after a long day or stressful encounter, and if she failed to get things out of her system in private, she doubted it would be pretty. She had Naomi's temper, and that wasn't a good thing.

"I'm looking forward to Transfiguration and Defense most of all," she said. Neither were traditionally 'girly' subjects and thus might not get her the best reception now, but that wouldn't matter much once they got into classes because she wasn't good at playing dumb. Anyway, Alessa claimed she was looking forward to Transfiguration, too, so there wasn't an awful lot she could say about it. "Though Charms is useful, and History of Magic will probably be very interesting." It didn't hurt any that she enjoyed reading, which was kind of integral to history. She filed away the information that at least one student found the librarian to be helpful.

Rachel smiled, pleased, when Alessa got her broom up. "Very good," she said. She decided to test Alessa, who she was at the point of thinking might have some potential, again. "Do you want to try to fly a bit?"

16 Rachel And all is well. 154 Rachel 0 5