Getting started by mounting the broom and kicking off, Hanna hovered higher up on her broom. She didn't feel the need to zoom off into the air, rather than carefully observing the dummies, quaffles, and players around her. It was great to see Nettie returning, as well as some first year fellow Claws. Hanna watched as the Quaffles were released, and the dummies soared into their positions.

Hanna needed to decide instantaneously just what to do, with the actions she could see. As the dummies sprang to life, Hanna pressed her chest to the broomstick, zooming it forwards and towards Anna and the three dummies. "Just behind you, Anna," Hanna called, as she saw the older captain chaser look around. She steadied and engaged her legs enough to lift one arm out, ready to bring her other hand off if need be.

It was game time. As soon as the quaffles were released into the air, Avalon tilted the nose of her broom forward and zoomed off in their direction. But she quickly noticed that along with the dummies, several other classmates were already pursuing the quaffles. She raced toward the third quaffle before noticing a fellow Ravenclaw scooping the second one up from one of the dummies. The girl quickly pivoted her broom and raced toward the hoops, but Avalon noticed that the dummies were gaining on her. If she didn't speed up, they'd intercept it. Avalon circled her broom around and matched the girl's pace, flying parallel to her. "Look out behind you!! I'm open!" she called out, waving her hand once to signal to the girl.

Hearing her name being called, Anna took a quick glance over her should to see Hanna. It was a good thing Anna had played with people from other houses during the summer, otherwise throwing the Quaffle to the Ravenclaw would've felt very weird.

It didn't, though, and the sixth year was more focused on missing the dummies as she made the pass. Half of her was hoping those mechanical beings would be super tough on them because that was fun, the other half wanting it to just go smoothly because, honestly, she didn't want to see anyone injured during tryouts. Nope, not even people from the other houses.

As soon as the Quaffle was out of her hand and flying through the air towards Hanna, Anna tried to zoom ahead and away from the dummies so she could be open to catch a forward pass from either Hanna or any of the others if needed.

Anna watched as the quaffles were released, and the dummies flew off after them. There was no way she was going to try to get the quaffle against three dummies and some real people, so Anna took off the other way. Thankfully that quaffle only had one dummy and another person going after it.

Leaning forward, she put on a burst of speed. This part, she was good at. She was a fair flier, and she was small and had less wind resistance than other people, or something. She was gaining ground (air?) quickly enough.

That dummy was kind of intimidating, though.

Doing her best to ignore it, Anna put her focus on the quaffle. Closer... closer... and she reached out and grabbed it. Aha!

One of the dummies had been close to catching the first Quaffle, only to watch it be taken from it. Needless to say, the metallic thing was not happy about that. Neither was its two comrades. One zoomed forward directly down the middle, attempting to intercept but only managed to knock into Anna mere seconds after she passed the Quaffle... the other two came in from both sides, their metallic eyes set on Hanna and the red ball they desperately wanted in their grasp...

The two dummies that had their eyes set on the second Quaffle that had been tossed into the air were not happy that it wasn't in their possession... both sped up, gaining up on Trinetta... only one thing was on their mind: getting the red ball out of her hands... even if they both had to sandwich her in, one on each side of her... they both simultaneously moved inward, ready to make their move, the moment Avalon called out...

Getting to the third Quaffle was all about speed. That was something that the sole dummy that had flown after the red ball had. For a while, it appeared that Eniola was gaining up on it... but soon Anna was neck and neck with the other girl... Anna zoomed away from Eniola, bypassed the dummy, and gained hold of the Quaffle... seeing this, the dummy adjusted its path and moved to knock into Anna and snatch the red ball from her...


The two dummies stationed at the goal hoops remained motionless as they faced the two Quaffles floating nearby in the middle of the air... as of this moment, they had no reason to move...

Jeez, those dummies weren't messing around. Archer had managed to avoid getting trapped in the pile-up that was starting to form, barely. Unfortunately, she had also managed to avoid catching one of those Quaffles that were released. Darn it! But, she did notice some that seemed ready to pass. "Hey, over here!" she cried to the first year (at least, she looked like a firstie), waving her arms in the air.

Ooops, hopefully that hadn't gotten the dummies attention......

Anna readjusted the grip on her broom when one of the dummies knocked into her, but her gaze was still locked on the Quaffle flying towards Hanna.

The sixth year noticed two of the dummies going on both sides of the Ravenclaw to try and take the Quaffle from her. She quickly turned in the air, moving away from the dummy that stayed by her and shot down diagonally until she was a few meters below Hanna and the other two dummies.

The Gryffindor didn't want to shout to get the other girl's attention as that might make the dummies alert of her too, so Anna hoped her red robes zooming underneath them would be enough to make Hanna realise she could let go of the Quaffle, as Anna's right arm was already in front of her, ready to catch the ball.

Anna and Tessa got grins, but Józef didn't really join in with the conversation - he was too focused on the fact that Nina was in the stands waving at him. And, if he wasn't mistaken, wearing his hoodie - of course, he couldn't actually see from this distance, but he was assuming it was the case. If he hadn't been so cool, he might have swooned.

Nettie got a wink when she joined the group, too. Merlin, he enjoyed winding her up.

But soon his attention was on Colin MacKenzie. It was a weird tryout set up, completely different from the last two years, and Jó wasn't sure how he felt about it. There was definitely more pressure, though - that was a given. He nodded along at the flying instructor spoke, just to show that he was paying attention.

When he kicked off, Józef headed straight for the hoops: he'd get in some goals first, and then move onto the catching/passing part. Scooping a Quaffle up into his arm, he zigzaged his way towards the hoops, hoping to distract the Dummy!Keeper. Feinting to the left, he shot the ball straight at the hoop.

The dummies moved closer and closer to her classmate, and they seemed to be attempting to sandwich her. Avalon was planning to wait a few more seconds for a pass, but a Quaffle floating near the goal hoops caught her eye. She hoped her warning would be enough for her fellow Ravenclaw. Avalon sped off in the direction of the other Quaffle, scooping it up under her right arm as she approached. The dummies were vigilantly protecting the hoops, so it would be a tough shot. Avalon figured she needed to distract them somehow. Archer had taught her how to do a successful fake throw - she figured that now would be a good time to test it out. She raised her arm and pretended to toss it to the left hoop, but she actually just tucked the Quaffle under her left arm instead. Quickly, Avalon used her left arm to toss the ball as hard as she could through the opposite hoop.

Eniola grimaced when she missed her chance at getting the Quaffle first. Annoyed but determined she saw the dummy set it's sights on the kid, Anna I think her name is. She thought to herself as she sped towards the dummy and bumped into him to keep him away from the girl with the Quaffle. She braced for the impact, but it still caused her to groan before she raced off to help her teammates get closer to the goal posts.

Eni heard the cry and caught up just in time to the two girls. On the other side of the youngin' she flew alongside them to keep the dummies out of the way and stay open for a pass. This should be good! Eniola thought to herself.

Maxie had been playing the long game. While everyone was zooming around and fighting back and forth- passing without a plan, egging on the dummies- he'd been thinking. The dummies honed in the second someone got the quaffle and not a moment later- they were fast, and brutal and unforgiving. The other players worked as a team, but not a well-organized one- Maxie noticed that real quick as he zoomed from one stretch of the pitch to the other, weaving through students and pass dummies.

There was a quaffle in the air- tantalizingly close- Maxie swooped in, taking ahold and zooming fast toward the hoops. He was moving in low, real nice and low- hoping to trick the keeper dummy into swooping down- and then he'd shoot up high and practically dunk the quaffle past him- er, or her- them.

Hanna caught the familiar Quaffle under one arm, adjusting it to rest into the nook her Quidditch posture gave. Zooming closer towards the goals, where she hoped one of Team!Hogwarts could make a goal against the dummies. She watched Anna get into position ready to take back the quaffle, but the moment wasn't right. Two dummies, on either side of Hanna, closed in. There was something very unsettling about the metallic eyes of the dummies, but Hanna tried her best to ignore it. They were just another team, and she didn't need to pay them any attention other than knowing they were there and wanting the ball.

And then Anna moved into the perfect position, allowing Hanna to throw the ball towards her outstretched hand, the flutter of anticipation all too familiar in Quidditch flying in her stomach.

Nettie could see the dummy coming at her out of the corner of her eye...or should she say EYESSS. Because she had TWO of them coming for her, coming closer and closer. They were trying to squeeze her in and take the Quaffle!

Pssh. Not today!

Holding tight on her broom, she pulled up on her broom and rose up in to the air, pulling out of the little gridlock they were trying to squeeze her into. She rose in to the air above them, managing to sneak her way out. She looked around, as she'd heard Avalon calling out to her before she'd noticed them coming in on her, but saw her fellow Claw had already moved on to the next Quaffle. Well, good for her - and good for Nettie, because now that she had avoided turning in to a Nettie Sandwich, she could focus on scoring!

Since everyone was focused on the second hoops, she focused on the first set of hoops, which was closer to her anyways. She wound up, took her Quaffle, and shot it right at the left hoop, hoping it would soar through!

QUAFFLE #1
The two dummies at each side of Hanna side drew closer and closer. The dummies had now sandwiched her in and were now making efforts to latch onto the Quaffle and take it from her grasp... Needless to say, they were rather annoyed when it was registered that the red ball was no longer there.

The Quaffle fell into Anna's hold, making it the perfect exchange. Though the dummy from before, the one that had knocked into Anna earlier was back... In fact, it had snuck up so suddenly that it was mere seconds away from punching the ball out of her grasp...



QUAFFLE #2 Avalon's cry out forced one of the dummies to move inward toward Trinetta too quickly, causing it to bump into her and bounce off... the other dummy was moving in at a steady pace, though had nothing to make contact with as it zoomed to the side, now flying beside the other dummy... Trinetta had flown up and was dashing down the pitch while Avalon fly away... naturally, the two dummies chased after, extremely unhappy with how their plan had been foiled...

The moment the Quaffle was thrown through the hoops, which neither dummy had been expecting, one of them swooped downward and passed it to the other... both sped back to the centre of the pitch... the Quaffle moved between them, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...



QUAFFLE #3 The single dummy was still very focused on the Quaffle that was in Anna's clutches. It was so determined to get a hold of the red ball that it hadn't even noticed that two others had gathered. As Archer's voice sounded and Eniola caught up with the group, the dummy carried on with its swift movement ... BAM! ... it knocked right into Anna, causing the Quaffle to fall from her grasp...



HOOPS #1 The moment that Józef appeared was the moment that the dummy defending the scoring area came alive... its metallic eyes narrowed in on the boy, watching his every move... but the dummy soon was confused, both by the boy's feinting move as well the appearance of Trinetta with two dummies on her tail... not sure where to go, the dummy remained still... both Quaffles went through the hoops.

With the two other dummies snatching up the Quaffle that Trinetta had brought over and soaring off, the Keeper dummy grabbed hold of the remaining Quaffle and tossed it out of the scoring area...



HOOPS #2 The dummy began moving when Avalon approached the scoring area. Its eyes watched the girl carefully... perhaps too carefully, as it darted toward the left hoop and was quickly disappointed that it had been fooled... the Quaffle thrown by Avalon had successfully went through the right hoop.

Now more alert, the Keeper dummy tossed the Quaffle back out into play... its eyes locked on Maxie as he flew forward... this time the dummy wasn't going to be easily fooled... the low flying only meant that the boy was, eventually, going to shoot up high... eyes were now on the Quaffle... when it was released, the dummy flew after it was fast as it could... for a moment, it wasn't clear whether the ball would go through the hoop or the dummy would stop it... but in the end, the dummy's efforts were successful -- barely successful, but successful nonetheless... the Quaffle was then thrown back into play...





OOC: For clarification purposes as I don't think the instructions provided by Colin/myself were super clear (my bad!), there are two DIFFERENT stations: passing (the Quaffle groups - the main playing field) and scoring (the Hoops groups - both scoring areas on each end of the pitch).

If you're in one of the passing groups, you do not need to worry about scoring; you're just focusing on keeping the Quaffle away from the dummies. There are three Quaffles available for this. Interacting with those in the group in addition to the dummies is strongly encouraged. Please make sure you read the dummy post as well as the posts of those in the same group as you before posting.

If you're in one of the scoring groups, you're just dealing with the dummy stationed that is defending the hoops. There is a Quaffle and a dummy at each end of the pitch for this task. If multiple people are present in the same scoring area, you can do a bit of passing with the hope of confusing the dummy before shooting. (And to be transparent with the scoring, I am doing a coin toss to determine the outcome: heads = scored, tails = blocked.)

Please continue putting one group in the title of your posts to avoid confusion and to help everyone keep track of where everyone is. If you want to change stations, you may do so; just make that clear in your post title and in the content of your post (e.g. "Wrapping up Quaffle #2, transitioning to Hoops #1"). Thank you!

Anna watched intently from below as Hanna was sandwiched by the two dummies, but she kept her hand ready to catch the Quaffle as soon as the girl let it go.

If only she was this invested in her normal lessons, maybe she would've done better in her OWLs. Alas, she did not care about those.

Anyway, Hanna finally made the pass and Anna skilfully caught the falling ball, wrapping her arm around it and leaning in to pick up some speed again. Which turned out to be the right move as she spotted the third dummy right by her!

Merlin! That was close. The fact dummy nearly took the Quaffle from her made her heart skip a beat, but the new rush of adrenaline kicked in exactly because of that, which was helpful. Anna was off, zooming forward and doing an upward loop moving around and above Hanna and the two dummies, hoping to get rid of the dummy that was so close to her.

She slowed down a little, stabilising her broom to have a look around. Anyone free she could pass the Quaffle to? She was kind of ready to move on to the goal hoops, really. However, she didn't want to simply give the ball to those dummies, no way! The Gryffindor wanted to make sure another player got it before she changed stations.

Anyone? Would Hanna be able to get rid of those two dummies? Anna needed to be quick before those dummies came after her again.

Eniola saw the crash just before her. I guess my hit to the dummy didn’t do much. She thought to herself. Seeing the Quaffle fall she dove fast and hard to grab hold of the ball. “Yes!” She yelled as she hugged the Quaffle to her chest. Rolling her shoulders forward in a protective stance against any dummies that might come for her she held it tight. She flew high and fast to get out of reach of any dummies. “Follow me!” She yelled to the other two Chasers as she raced away from the dummy and kept her eye out for any more.

Avalon's eyes widened as the Quaffle flew through the hoop. She had done it! She could go to sleep happy now that she made at least one goal at tryouts - regardless of whether or not she made the team. But Avalon didn't have time to celebrate - she spotted a Gryffindor flying on the other side of the pitch, seemingly in need of someone to pass the ball to. And with two dummies racing toward the girl, Avalon figured she should help her out. She leaned forward on her broom and accelerated, figuring that she should head back to the passing section of the pitch anyway. "You can pass it here! I'm open!" Avalon called, looking on either side of her for any dummies. She knew it wouldn't be long before another one was on her tail.

Thankfully, as soon as Anna started looking around for someone to pass the Quaffle to, she spotted a small Ravenclaw coming back from one of the hoop stations trying to get her attention.

The Gryffindor didn't have time to think how cute the little girl was, exclaiming she was open when it was so obvious she was. But Anna would later think that that was cute, mhm. Adorable firsties were adorable.

It was because the girl was small and adorable that Anna really wanted her to catch the Quaffle, so before the dummies could come too close, the sixth year zoomed towards the firstie and pretty much tossed the Quaffle to her when they were a mere metre or two away.

That move, however, wasn't just because she wanted to make sure the little girl had the Quaffle, but Anna was planning on going to that hoop area anyway, so it was fitting. Ciao for now, crazy dummy trio!

She arrived at the hoops area just in time to see the dummy catch the Hufflepuff boy's throw. "Good effort!" She called to him, giving him a thumbs up. She had just about seen his little stunt to try and fool the dummy. It nearly worked, so it had been a good effort indeed.

ANYWAY, the Quaffle was thrown back in play, so Anna caught it and after taking a glance at the younger boy to make sure there was no way they'd bump into each other, she zoomed the other way towards the dummy. Yep, right at it because... well, because she felt like it. Could one even intimidate a metallic dummy? Who knew. Before the thing could decide it'd fly towards her too - which wouldn't be ideal since colliding wasn't in the plans at the moment - Anna tilted her broom handle just enough to go past it and towards the right-hand side hoop. She threw the Quaffle with all her might because the dummies were tough, but this Gryffindor could give them toughness too!

Um....yeah, okay then, so Archer was just going to move over here then. She really didn't feel like getting knocked off her broom today, thanks. And if those dummies (literally, ha!) kept it up, that was exactly what was going to happen. So, she was just going to move over to the hoops now.

Approaching one end of the pitch and grabbing a ball, Archer waited patiently for her turn to take a shot. Once it was, she sent the Quaffle hurtling towards the hoop. Would she make it?

Hanna watched Anna expertly grab the Quaffle, but not before she yanked the broom upwards to pop out from between the dummy sandwich. Once she was away from the dummies, she steadied her broom and looked back to see one of the dummies sneaking up on Anna.

Relief was instant as Hanna saw the Gryffindor dart away from the dummy and towards the hoops. Hanna tailed her, looking around for any dummies that might be doing another sneak. But they were soon joined by Avalon, who was ready to help with the quaffle.

Doing a turn and speed flying towards the other hoops, Hanna watched as the dummy let in two goals. "Nice Nettie!" Hanna called to her fellow claw. And with another quaffle being put in the game, Hanna dove towards it, grabbing it swiftly in her outstretched arm. Doing a few manoeuvring swerves, dips, and lifts, Hanna flew towards the hoops, her chest against the handle, and underarm threw the Quaffle towards the opening.

QUAFFLE #1

The two dummies that had sandwiched Hanna in did not budge as Anna handled the Quaffle... it was as if they knew the third dummy was going to take care of Anna while they dealt with Hanna... but they did not expect Avalon to make an appearance and mess up their plan... the dummy that was about to punch to Quaffle from Anna's grip watched as the red ball was passed... it immediately lost interest in Anna and flew straight toward Avalon... the two dummies bumped into each other when Hanna slipped away... then they noticed their comrade going after Avalon and zoomed after... Anna and Hanna had both moved on, leaving Avalon to deal with three dummies on her own...



QUAFFLE #2

The two dummies continued passing the Quaffle they had gained possession of between each other... they were flying fairly close to each other, clearly determined to keep anyone else from taking their precious red ball from them...



QUAFFLE #3

After knocking into Anna, the dummy changed its course and flew downward in an effort to get the Quaffle in its grasp... only to have it snatched by Eniola as it was about the reach out for it... not pleased with this, the dummy began its chase... faster and faster it flew... soon it was flying right beside Eniola... an arm reached out... it was going to take the red ball from her one way or another...



HOOPS #1

The dummy defending the hoops had both metallic eyes honed in on Hanna... it watched as she grabbed the Quaffle... it watched as she swerved, dipped, and lifted... it followed her every move as she inched closer and closer toward the hoops... needless to say, the dummy was very alert... it chased after the Quaffle when Hanna released it... then, with a swift and sudden reach, the dummy stopped the goal from being made.

It raised the Quaffle in the air for a moment as if it were gloating at its achievement before throwing the ball out of the scoring area once more...



HOOPS #2

Now there were more people approaching, which made the dummy's metallic eyes dart back and forth... though it remained stoic as ever, it was calculating what to do if it just so happened at a number of them started working together... fortunately for it, they were each taking turns at scoring...

The dummy, in fact, was not intimidated whatsoever when Anna darted foward... it also moved forward with no signs of moving out of the way, but rather had the intent of pulling the ball from her grasp before a shot could be made... but then the dummy had been tricked by the sudden movement... the Quaffle went through.

As soon as the ball was tossed out of the scoring area, it had been grabbed by Archer... the dummy, not pleased that it had been made a fool, was keen on keeping an eye on this one... the movement by the girl was predictable... though the red ball moved with a surprising amount of speed, it wasn't enough to get past the dummy.

Once more, the Quaffle was thrown toward the hopeful Chasers...



OOC: Tryouts will be coming to a close today at 11 PM EST (roughly 8ish hours from the time of this post). Get your posts in now while you still can! ^___^

There certainly was A LOT to pay attention to during this tryout. That was something Colin could not deny. Those who had been keeping the dummies from gaining possession of the Quaffle had clearly been kept on their toes, and those attempting to score at the hoops certainly had been challenged. He, as well as the Captains, had noticed everyone's efforts and successes as it all unfolded before their eyes.

Noticing that the sun was starting to make a gradual descent, he looked down at his watch and took note of the time. It was nearly time for the third tryout session to come to a close. Several minutes later, the man reached for his whistle.

TWEET!

As the sound of the whistle echoed through the air, the dummies came to a sudden halt and then gradually returned to their original positions on the ground, returning back to their idle state.

"That'll be the end of this tryout session," he called out. "Rosters will be put up by yer Captain sometime next week, so keep yer eye on the noticeboard in yer common room. Now, hit the showers and go about the rest of yer ev'nin'. Great work out there, ye lot."

OOC: Thank you all for participating in the Chaser tryouts! I hope you all had fun. Feel free to post your character leaving the pitch at this time.

Quidditch rosters will be posted sometime on Sunday, March 19th, so keep your eyes on the lookout. ^___^