<font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font>

May 10, 2012 9:30 PM
As she was looking over her notes of Sonora's past few Quidditch seasons, Coach Amelia Pierce had noticed that she had, at some point, fallen victim to an alphabetical bias to put Aladren on the pitch first. Having made this discovery, she immediately eliminated the Hawks as one of her options for the first two teams to play.

She also decided not to have Pecari go first since their roster was the last to come in, and she wasn't above petty retaliation for its tardiness.

That left Crotalus and Teppenpaw to play first, and she vaguely wondered if maybe she should make a habit of putting the two finalists up against each other during the next year's elimination rounds. It had shaken things up nicely last year, even if she would have preferred for her own house to make it further than they had.

She couldn't think about that today, though, because she needed to remain impartial while Crotalus played Teppenpaw. With Marissa Stephenson's graduation, Captain Melcher was now the most experienced captain leading her team and Crotalus would be fielding an untried Seeker. It was, Amelia thought with forced impartiality, going to be anybody's game. Neither team had won a game last year. Crotalus would be looking to redeem themselves. Teppenpaw would be even more eager to prove that they could win at all.

It was also anybody's game in beautiful weather. Amelia paused briefly to enjoy the warm sunlight, then continued carrying the trunk of Quidditch balls out to the center of pitch. The two teams were already gathered in clumps, listening to their captains' pre-game speeches. She gave them as much time as they needed, then called the two captains over.

"Today, we have Captain Kirstenna Melcher leading Teppenpaw and Captain Sam Bauer leading Crotalus. Please shake hands." After they had done so and returned to their respective teams, Amelia continued as she released first the snitch, then the bludgers, "Goals are worth ten points. Game ends when the snitch is caught, which is worth 150 points. Game begins with my whistle. Let's keep it clean, folks. On three." She picked up the Quaffle and readied to throw it into the air. "One. Two. Three. Tweet!" She blew into her whistle and tossed the Quaffle as high as she could.

She picked up her own broom and followed the balls and the players into the sky.


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1 <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font> Game One: Crotalus vs Teppenpaw 20 <font color=silver>Coach Amelia Pierce</font> 1 5


<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>

May 14, 2012 2:02 PM
Quidditch at a small school was often a family affair, but Kate had never really noticed it as it applied to her before. Sure, Sam was family, but with the distance between the Seeker and the rest of her own team, sometimes, much less the Chasers of other teams during the game, it hadn’t seemed to matter too much – or at least not the way it was mattering now that her cousin was actually the Crotalus captain, rather than just the Assistant Captain like her, and he was fielding a Seeker it should, theoretically, be easy to beat. When those conditions had not been in place, it had not seemed to matter much that Sam was her cousin, even when he was already the Crotalus Assistant Captain; Marissa had seemed like more to do with her on the Pitch than her cousin had.

That was then, though, and this was now, where all those things that hadn’t been true last year were true, and Kate’s stomach, consequently, was tied into a solid knot of dread as she thought of Sam being the opposing captain and having a new Seeker. She felt almost sick as she waited for the show to begin.

She was, as a member of the other girl’s team, standing so Kirstenna’s back was to her, but as she watched, she saw that Sam was smiling at the Teppenpaw captain, and even in what Kate thought was a nice way. For a blissful moment, she was distracted from being kind of sick by the thought of the domestic dramas of the sixth years. They had gone to the Ball together, and Kate thought they were friends, but she was pretty sure they weren’t dating, anyway, and hadn’t really been even during the Ball thing, so it was still better than some of the cases she thought she’d heard of where captains had previously or currently been involved with each other….

This distraction lasted all of a moment, though; all too soon, the coach was blowing her whistle, and the game was on. The majority of the players melded into a wild red-and-yellow lump as they shot into the air, all fighting, she guessed, for possession of the three balls it was easy to see and, therefore, to make a game of possessing. She broke away from them all, flying high in the hopes of seeing the Snitch above all the mayhem.

She wanted to win this – she needed to win this, if she was to be perfectly honest. It had been so long, and now she didn’t even have the excuses of Marissa’s superior age and experience or Arnold’s craziness and cousin, just a second year and the prospects of total humiliation and a year’s worth of gloating rights for Sam here in front of her. She was convinced that if she ever went up against Arnold Carey again that she could beat him, and so atone for every other loss she’d put the team through, but first she had to get past Crotalus. First she had to beat Sam.

Come here, little Snitchy, she thought, beginning her first loop. Come here, let me win…

The Snitch, however, remained stubbornly out of sight as Kate flew through the clear sky, never staying still for more than second or two in the expectation that the Crotalus Beaters would be here to greet her soon enough….

….Or that the Crotalus Seeker would start haring off after things, making her obligated to follow just to be sure he wasn’t crazy. New Seekers always jumped at everything, she thought, but the fact was that sometimes, they were right. Arnold Carey had been right, and so had Jade Owen, last year. The way Cepheus was flying around like he was going completely crazy in the air kind of added some verisimilitude to his run, too; the Snitch could move like that, when it wanted to. The rest of them just weren’t so overeager, at this point in the game, that they usually risked making themselves sick and dizzy when the Snitch looked like it was in a playful mood.

Well, Kate couldn’t say she’d complain if Cepheus puked, or better yet just fell off of his broom, but she wasn’t going to count on it. She didn’t have the luck when it came to this game, after all. If she did, she would have won a bit more often, and the Snitch wouldn’t be so active today.

After ascertaining that Princeton was not actually about to catch the Snitch, though – the one way in which its constant showing of itself, or at least of something gold and move-y showing itself, was working in her favor, it seemed – Kate took a moment to look at the situation as a whole. She couldn’t see either of her Beaters, but one of the Crotalus ones was in sight. It wasn’t Topher, which was another thing she was sort of glad for, but it was her opposition’s roommate, which could, maybe, offer some advantage to them; it depended on how well they got along, which she didn’t think was too often the case between roommates in Crotalus House. Either way, though, she had to keep up with Cepheus and not get too bruised up by Gareth, and….Ah, curse it, there went the second year again. If she didn’t win today, and Pecari’s win turned out to have been a fluke, she thought it would be darkly amusing to watch this guy and Arnold drive each other to frothing madness by the end of the Championship.

For now, she flew after him, and determined that his broom was probably enough different from hers that if she flew in front of him at any speed, she was likely to spark a collision, which would hurt her as much as him, probably, and get Crotalus a penalty shot, which Kirstenna could probably handle but which was all-around better not to deal with if they could help it. If she tried cutting him off, either for real or to mess with him, she’d try it when he eventually, if the Snitch continued to elude them both, slowed down, as he would have to do. He seemed a little slower already, honestly; that wacko flight plan right at the beginning of the game had to have taken it out of him.

The trick was to keep him and his friend both in her sights – it looked like Solomon had already caught a Bludger, so it would be bad if she did, too, especially if her Beaters didn't show up to do some damage to the Crotali sooner rather than later - while still, oh yes, looking for the Snitch, which didn't seem to be anywhere around here....

She glanced toward Cepheus. Would it work? Worth a try, anyway. Getting a better grip on her broom, Kate dove toward the ground almost as fast as that broom could go, hoping he would follow at top speed and crash into something that wouldn't hurt her or cause a foul to be declared against her team. In Quidditch, leading someone into messing himself up was fair play, so long as she didn't actually touch him.
16 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font> But my guys can break your arms at will? 170 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font> 0 5


<font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font>

May 14, 2012 6:33 PM
One of the first rules Cepheus had learnt concerning Quidditch was never to follow a false lead. That was, of course, somewhat impossible, but having been led astray multiple times while playing Quidditch with his friends and family back hone, he didn't think he could trust other Seekers. He was somewhat tired already from chasing whatever glints of gold he had seen, or thought he'd seen. Bauer, the Teppenpaw Seeker, had followed him around a bit which he'd thought was strange at first. Then he wondered if she'd seen it too which had spurred him on a bit more until he lost sight of the gold.

Watching a bludger pound one of the Teppenpaw chasers in the back looked painful and Cepheus winced as he stayed sitting on his broom in the air. It was as if realization washed over him, a sudden panic, perhaps, but all of a sudden everything was clear and he had to take a few deep breaths, his senses heightened. He could get hurt! For real! The thought of a bludger pounding into him made chills roll down his back and he was paranoid for a moment. His eyes caught sight of the Teppenpaw Seeker and he watched her, trying to get his mind off of the horrible images in his head.

It looked like she was going to dive to the ground, which he thought was ridiculous, and he didn't see any purpose. Though he was inexperienced in a real "professional" Quidditch setting, he'd played the game enough to know not to follow an opposing Seeker unless he was absolutely sure he saw gold. The sun was bright enough anyway that he would see the glint in front of her. As far as he could see, she wasn't following anything in particular. He didn't enjoy chasing after other seekers anyway; that's what chasers were supposed to do.

Cepheus hated staying nearly immobile on his broom in the middle of a match, so he began to fly around, going the opposite way of Bauer. He didn't want to spark anything, and being inexperienced, he was afraid of something terrible happening to him. His fears were going to get the best of him, but it was difficult to knock it out of himself.

He looked around, flying and watching Gareth to make sure he was shadowing him. He didn't want to get hit by a flying bludger any time soon. For Merlin's sake, he didn't know which would be worse: get hit hard by a bludger or lose the match to Teppenpaw. Cepheus flew around, his blue eyes searching desperately. As far as he was concerned, the latter was much worse. His pride was on the line then. His fears were beginning to turn into a panic as he didn't see any sign of a snitch. Perhaps he should have gone after Bauer...
0 <font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font> Only if we can do it to you guys first. 0 <font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font> 0 5


<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Chaser</font>

May 14, 2012 10:57 PM
Kate saw that Cepheus wasn’t following her, but she also noticed that he was not moving quickly in any direction, so she flew to the side and then leveled out, now away from both his Beater and the main action, with some open air she could see around in. She wished her move had worked, but she couldn’t say she was going to complain too much about how things were going at the moment. She was in no immediate danger of being hit by a Bludger, and if the Snitch wasn’t up there with Cepheus, then maybe it was down here with her, or at least in neutral ground where either of them might have a shot at it.

She began to fly as though she were moving up and down rows, looking through the clear, bright air. Sun like this could blind her, but it could also make a Snitch as easy to see as it ever was. She was hoping for the latter, which was another advantage to being lower; she was less likely, she thought, to look around and get the sun straight in her eyes. She was still starting to squint, and having to rub her eyes to make them open again.

That was Quidditch. The sun could make the Snitch shine brighter, but her eyes didn’t want to stay open, and one wrong look would leave her looking at green spots instead of watching what was going on – and even more than making her miss a chance at the Snitch, that could make her not see a Bludger. She had been playing Quidditch too long to be terrified at the thought of a Bludger, but it did scare her, and she didn’t like it one bit, as no sane person, in her expert opinion on that matter, did. Being hit by a fast-moving iron ball which could break bones if it hit just so and was hit by a strong enough person just…failed to be fun, to her mind; she had concluded that if Quidditch Through the Ages was right about how Bludgers came to exist, then Scottish wizards of a certain generation had been completely crazy.

Since it was too late to do anything about it now, though, she just rubbed her eyes again and kept looking for the Snitch, her eyes moving fast over the ground, up and down and to the sides in the air, to any and everywhere, hoping the Beaters would take out the Crotalus Seeker and give her at least a temporary reprieve and maybe an easier-to-beat figure in an alternate but knowing that she had to be on top of it herself the whole time if she really wanted to win this, which she did. Kate thought that she might want this as badly as she had ever wanted anything in her life, except maybe – on some days, particularly and much more when she was younger and everything was newer – for her parents to get back together again.
16 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Chaser</font> No, just your team. 170 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Chaser</font> 0 5


<font color="red">Gareth Whitebriar-Beater </font>

May 15, 2012 7:38 PM
Gareth cringed slightly when the bludger he aimed struck one of the yellow Chasers in the back. Flying wasn’t the only aspect of Quidditch that he didn’t care much for, but he’d long ago accepted that his build was best suited for Beating, and of the four positions it was the one that required the least amount of diving. Thank Merlin he hadn’t been built like Cepheus, there was no way he’d be able to handle the Seeker position. Just trying to keep up with his wayward roommate made his stomach clench and attempt to tie itself around his spine. Chasers didn’t have to do a lot of diving, but if the Quaffle was missed, they were expected to go after it. The same was true of Keeping. Bludgers on the other hand were not subject to the laws of gravity which greatly reduced the need to point his broom down at any sort of painfully sharp angle.

Now if only his roommate would stop careening all over the place he would be happy. The Teppenpaw Seeker decided to join Cepeus’s mad run before attempting a feign that caused the large boy’s lip to curl slightly in distain. It was a stunt that his idiot cousin Gawain liked to pull. Two summers ago he failed to pull out of the dive and crashed spectacularly, breaking his arm and fracturing his knee. He was pleased that Cepheus didn’t fall for it. There weren’t any bludgers near enough for Gareth to take advantage of her stunt, so Gareth gave her a dark look before returning to his guard position above and slightly behind Cepheus.

He wasn’t sure if it was his look or something else, but the rival Seeker chose to abandon her attempts at drawing Cepheus in or hanging on his broom tail in an effort to reach the Snitch first if he happened to spot it. Following dutifully as his Seeker took the high ground, Gareth focused on the game and not the way his stomach lurched unhappily. The rival Seeker kept her attention on him and Ceph for a while before becoming engrossed in her own search of the lower area of the Pitch. When a bludger strayed too close for Gareth’s comfort he flew forward placing himself between the dark ball and Cepheus, then taking careful aim he lashed out, sending the Bludger down and at just the right angle to target the rival Seeker.
0 <font color="red">Gareth Whitebriar-Beater </font> I think not 0 <font color="red">Gareth Whitebriar-Beater </font> 0 5


<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>

May 16, 2012 11:35 AM
It was always disconcerting to look at a patch of air one second and be safe, then look back at it two seconds later and find a Bludger heading her way, but Kate would rather be disconcerted than Bludgered, which made having those two seconds to see the ball ‘o doom heading toward her so she could get out of the way far preferable to not having them. Seeing this one coming, then, she flew first to the left, getting out of its direct path, and then, since there weren’t any other warm bodies in her immediate proximity and it was unlikely to cease its attack without another target to latch onto, she flew up, abandoning her current search, toward the main game, veering as close to the nearest red robe she was pretty sure didn’t have a bat as she felt she could, then weaving around for a moment before rising again to see if she had shaken it.

She had, or at least it looked to her like she had. Squinting up toward the rival Seeker and his bodyguard, Kate waved for a second, just to let them know she was still standing, and then resumed looking for the Snitch, knowing it had to be somewhere. It could just as easily be somewhere near her as someone near Cepheus, or at least somewhere she’d notice it enough before he did that she’d be able to beat him to the punch.

Kate flexed her shoulders beneath her bright yellow robes, making her long, light brown ponytail sway against her back. That made her shrug again, since it felt kind of weird, particularly with the back of her neck starting to sweat. Quidditch gear wasn’t the coolest thing, at least in the temperature sense and probably the fashion one, too, though she didn’t know enough about that to be sure, ever invented to wear, and with the sun out and bright, it was something she guessed could impact the game by itself, right along with getting headaches if they squinted too much at the sun.

Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch. Crazy stuff. At least it was only rarely that the game went on long enough and at the same time presented the Seeker with little enough interference for it to become boring. If worst came to worst, there would always usually be a Bludger sailing out of the wild blue yonder to shake things up every now and then. At the moment, she was hoping it was more of a ‘then’, since she’d had a brush close enough to ‘now’ to keep her interested for a while longer...

…And had just seen a glint, at a long angle down and to her right, that could, she thought, just could, be the Golden Snitch. Kate dove for real this time, hoping she’d be able to pull out of it if she was wrong and not caring if she did crash land so long as she grabbed the ball first if she was right.
16 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font> I think so. 170 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font> 0 5


<font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font>

May 17, 2012 1:12 AM
Perhaps it was a good thing that he hadn't followed Bauer. When he'd looked over at her direction again, she was no longer heading straight for the ground, but turned her head around this way and that. It was confusing, but Cepheus stood his ground, or, technically, his spot in the air, and looked around aimlessly for gold. Cepheus was extremely grateful for his roommate. He felt that he could concentrate more on looking for the snitch and not worry as much about bludgers. Of course, it was a bit ludicrous not to be concerned about getting pummeled with the iron balls flying around, but he could just be less concerned.

Cepheus narrowed his eyes at Bauer, trying to shield his eyes from the sun, and watched her sail down again. He didn't exactly see what she saw, but she definitely seemed to have more of a purpose. He lowered his broom, watching her curiously. He drifted a bit, and then decided to follow her at a slower pace. He lowered his broom slightly, his eyes peeled for a glint of gold, and then he saw the glint that she had seen. His broom lurched forward almost without his conscious decision to go, and followed her close behind. The glint leveled and Cepheus was grateful he didn't have to go smashing into the ground just to get it. He was desperate to win, but he wasn't sure if he was so terribly desperate to break his bones during the match.

He followed Bauer in her pursuit, and then followed the glint of gold ahead of them. He tried to see if it really was the snitch or something trying to trick them, but, really, what could possibly trick them on this pitch? In the middle of a match? His palms were getting sweaty, he was gripping the wood so tight, and the speed of his broom was making it a bit more difficult to see. His short blonde hair was a muck, his heart thudding in his chest, and his tiny frame allowing him to shoot forward faster. The thought of snatching the snitch and feeling the gold in his fingers gave him an ineffable feeling of immense hope. He could see the trophy now. If they won this match, they would win them all, and then the Quidditch Cup would be theirs. Crotalus would finally have it, and Cepheus would be a part of that. The vision coaxed him to increase his speed, though it wasn't exactly possible at this point, but he didn't want to lose it. Not now. Not ever.

And then the gold disappeared. It was as if Cepheus had blinked and the bloody snitch had just disappeared, vanished in thin air. It had been, after all, just a glint. He hadn't seen the actual ball of gold itself, but it didn't console his screaming brain. He looked at Bauer, wondering if she could still see it. He didn't want to follow false leads, but had that been a false one? Cepheus wanted to pull his hair out, but in his ire his bum had slipped off the broom a bit, scaring him back into reality. His knuckles were white as he gripped the wood for life. His bottom half was hanging onto the broom by the underside of his knee, and he was thankful for joints. It was funny how thankful one was for convenient body parts during a Quidditch match.

He swung back onto his broom, shaking a little once again at the prospect of falling off. He couldn't get that physically upset again. Ceph realised he'd lost a bit of time being upset at himself and looked around once more. He kept an eye out for Bauer, but didn't want to be misled by her. Any glint of gold would do, really. Any.
0 <font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font> That's not called sportsmanship, Miss. 0 <font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font> 0 5


<font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font>

May 17, 2012 1:33 PM
Kate’s vision had not physically narrowed, her peripheral vision was still there and theoretically functioning, but she felt almost as though she had blinders on as she pushed her broom hard, heading toward that sparkle she had seen. Her attention was hyper-focused on it, following its slightest movement, ready to jump if it did; she didn’t even really hear the crowd, or anything going on with the Quaffle, or even the Bludgers, though such fragments of independent consciousness as she had left hoped that was because there weren’t any in the area rather than because she was too focused to notice them.

She did, anyway, have enough attention left to see red when it got close in her side vision, and she knew that either one of the Chasers was doing something kind of weird or that Cepheus was catching up with her. Feeling a surge of frustration, she tried to make her broom go faster, to give her the last bit of juice it had in reserve, willing it to get her to the Snitch before he got there –

For half a second, maybe less, she glanced toward the opposition to see how close he was, how much time she had left, whether she was going to lose, and when she tore her eyes away and back to where the Snitch had been, there was nothing there. She gasped, almost cried out, as she scanned the air frantically for some sign, any sign, of where it might have gone, but it just wasn’t there anymore. It was gone again. Disappeared into thin air right in front of her nose.

Crying felt like something she wanted to do, but she knew not to – especially since Cepheus seemed to have blinked as well, and also found the Snitch gone when he looked again. That meant they were still even. That meant she still had a chance of catching it. They could still win this one, as long as she didn’t stop in disappointment and frustration and give his guardian Beater a good chance to get in a clear shot at her. That was going to be a problem very shortly, she suspected, unless she moved, because both of her Beaters seemed to be with the Chasers, meaning avoiding any Bludgers from Gareth would probably be up to her.

So, without further ado, she flew away, still looking for the elusive Snitch.
16 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font> Sportsmanship is for after the game, Mister. 170 <font color="yellow">Kate Bauer, Seeker</font> 0 5


<font color="red">Gareth Whitebriar-Beater </font>

May 17, 2012 6:14 PM
Gareth was finding that keeping track of a Seeker was both harder and easier than he’d first expected. The term prior, the Crotalus Seeker had been a seventh year who hardly needed a first year Beater to play guard dog, so he’d divided his attention on protecting the remainder of the team, and doing his level best to knock the enemy Seeker out of play. He’d even managed to score once on the Aladren Seeker, though it hadn’t been quite enough to keep the Carey from catching the Snitch and pushing them out of the running for the Championship, but it had been a good hit and spoke well of his beating skills.

But now Crotalus was fielding a new Seeker, his friend and roommate, someone who did need his protection. The weight of knowledge that he was responsible for keeping Cepheus in one piece so that he could catch the Snitch and win the game for Crotalus settled on his broad shoulders. It wasn’t a crushing thing, but it did add more importance to his position than he was accustomed to. Giving his full attention safe guarding a single player made the game less complicated. All Gareth had to do was keep an eye out for the two opposing beaters instead of worrying about the rest of his team and looking for openings on the other team as well. He would leave that to Topher, as the more experienced player, he would know best how to exploit the other team and make the most of his hits.

The difficulty involved keeping up with a Seeker. When he was keeping track of the rest of the team he wasn’t required to try and keep pace with any particular player, let alone one who regularly dove at small shiny objects. Cepheus tore after the Tepp Seeker when it appeared the girl actually spotted something authentic instead of just trying another fake out. Gareth kept his own dive shallow, maintaining his vigil from a greater height as red and yellow fought for speed. His pale blue gaze ignored the head to head chance, instead he focused on locating his rival Beaters and where the bludgers were on the field to see if he could take advantage of one if the Teppenpaw Seeker pulled too far ahead. The iron balls were not close at hand, so he settled for defense, and wrinkled his nose slightly at the fact that he would be forced to defend both Seekers seems they were so close together that a strike at one could easily take out the other.
0 <font color="red">Gareth Whitebriar-Beater </font> That’s hardly a fitting attitude for a Lady 0 <font color="red">Gareth Whitebriar-Beater </font> 0 5


<font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font>

May 18, 2012 11:46 AM
Cepheus was immensely disappointed in the fact that the snitch had disappeared. Not for good, of course, but it had disappeared at the moment nonetheless. He'd never realised just how difficult it was to be a Seeker. Who in their bloody right mind would chase after a tiny golden ball in order to win a bloody match?

Cepheus loathed the fact that he already knew the answer, but couldn't loath it enough to quit. There was something about searching for the blasted golden snitch that set his blood racing, his heart pounding. He loved the feeling of flying and there was no other way to enjoy it than in competition, so he felt. There was always recreational flying, but that wasn't the same.

Thoughts of his brothers and friends came to mind as he aimlessly gazed around the pitch for the snitch. He wondered if Rupert would join the Quidditch team when he got here. He'd probably try out for Chaser, though, as Cepheus looked at the red and yellow bodies flying around, throwing the quaffle around, he most likely wouldn't make it on his first year. It was inevitable. Cepheus believed Crotalus had a fair amount of wonderful players. No one could deny that. Ceph just didn't want to be the reason why they lost this match. He shivered slightly.

Cepheus didn't fear many things, but feared many things at the same time. He didn't like to admit it to himself as Father had said showing vulnerability was weakness, but it was difficult not to for a twelve-going-on-thirteen year old boy. He didn't like spiders, was somewhat afraid of falling off of his broom, was scared of humiliation, but his biggest fear of all was disappointing his family. Family was very important to his dad and he was glad his family wasn't the kind that decided to up and desert each other if necessary. The Princetons all tried to look out for each other unless, of course, one married a muggle-born. There had been awful violence concerning one of his ancestors, but that had passed some now. And that relative had been a psychopath.

Anyhow, disappointing his family would surely begin if he lost this Quidditch match. If he lost, if he didn't catch the snitch, then his father would be disappointed, and then Cepheus wouldn't do well in school and get on academic probation. He'd wander the halls at night, wishing for a better life, and get admonished for it. And then he'd stop going down to Cascade Hall to eat and wouldn't eat anything and would starve until he went home, but his family wouldn't want him back home because he'd flunk out of school and he'd be thirteen and have nowhere to go and no money to buy food and then he'd die all because of a bloody Quidditch match.

The image frightened Cepheus Princeton considerably no matter how far-fetched it was. He couldn't lose. He just couldn't. His blue eyes glanced over at Gareth briefly, making sure he was still there and hadn't abandoned him during Cepheus's brief drifting, but got his head back into the match, widening his eyes as if it would help him see better. Instead, his eyes accidentally glanced at a reflection of the sun and burned his retinas for a millisecond. "Ah!" he exclaimed quietly, blinking rapidly to get his vision back completely. That was difficult. Now he was seeing black spots and he wanted to scream. If he couldn't see properly, how in the world was he going to win this match and not end up dead at thirteen all alone?!
0 <font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font> Breaking arms and backs aside... 0 <font color="red">Cepheus Princeton, Seeker</font> 0 5