The Practice Pitch
 

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...hool/Pitch.jpg

When not in use for games, the Quidditch Pitch is open for students to practice their Quidditch skills before attending team tryouts, and it's also open for students to practice their flying skills (make sure you get a broom from the Broomshed!)

Once the Quidditch season officially begins, team captains can 'book the field' with Professor Vindictus for practice and non-team members can watch practices occur. When practices aren't in session, the pitch is open for flying practice.

Note: This thread is for IC role playing and not chatter. All SS rules apply in this thread.

Daisy ran onto the pitch with her broom. It was MASSIVE - and completly deserted.
'I'm looking forward to flying round this,' Daisy said to herself happily. Flying round the countryside near her village had been great fun, but Daisy had been longing to fly round a proper quidditch pitch, like the ones in real matches.

She clambered onto her broom, which was new and had only been flown twice and looked up. The earliness of the day meant there wasn't much weather at all. Kicking off, Daisy soared into the air.

The feeling of freedom was always amazing for Daisy, a broom was a place where she could get away from all the stress of her life and just soar straight into the skies. Keeping herself as close to the edge of the pitch as possible without leaving it, Daisy flew a couple of laps.

'Woooaaahh,' she yelled, feeling a bit stupid, but as nobody was around, not too embarassed. Daisy had a great view from up here, the mountains and the Hogwarts castle looked amazing. She could see a couple of people down by the lake and the whomping willow. This was seriously worth getting up early for....

Rose walked onto the pitch, wondering what it would look like. It was huge! Rose hadn't flown in front of any wizards before so was happy that it was empty. Rose brought a broomstick and her plastic ball from home out and got onto it. She kicked her feet of the ground and up she went! She could feel the wind whizzing past her as she chucked her ball and flew after it. She had to practice for the tryouts!

Daisy knew she had to be careful when she saw Rose on the pitch, even though she knew her, she did not want to be embarassed flying round the pitch yelling happily at the top of her voice.

Rose had started practising with a muggle ball, which was a good idea, though Daisy, except a muggle ball wouldn't really match up to a bludger, so there would be no point in Daisy trying it.

She zoomed round the pitch a couple more times, the wind whipping through her short hair, when an idea came to her head. Daisy flew to the ground and practiacally jumped off her broom, which lay hovering in the air, waiting for her to remount. Daisy ran to her bag and took out her beaters club, this was a special trick of Daisy's - she was ambidextrous - so she could hold the club well in either hand. This would suprise the opposing team when they aimed bludgers at her.

Daisy ran back to her broom and mounted, the club still in her right hand. She thought it best to only keep it shown in one hand until a match, especially with members of other houses around. Seconds later, Daisy was back in the air again, getting used to the feeling of flying one-handed, which she could of course already do, but needed getting used to on this new broom. She grinned at Rose, pretending to aim a heavy blow at her ball before continuing to zoom around the pitch, pretending it was a real match.

Ivan walked down to the pitch with his new broom over his shoulder. Looking around he spotted Finn and walked over to him. "Yo," he said and brushed off the side of his jeans. He decided to go casual since the threat of like falling and getting dirty seemed quite possible this time. Why was he willingly doing this again? Even he couldn't remember why he'd signed up.

"Thanks for helping me," he said as he set his broom on the ground and looked around at the couple of people flying. "So.....what are we doing to get started?"

"Hey Ivan..." Part of Finn couldn't actually believe that Ivan was trying out. His friend really didn't seem the type. Not at all. But if they all got on the team this year, it was going to be pretty epic. Bending down Finn picked up his broom again, glancing up at the people already flying. Hopefully they wouldn't get in the way too much. Turning back to Ivan, Finlay grinned. This was going to be pretty fun. "Well someone has to help you don't they....?" Although Finn was surprised that Ivan hadn't asked Jimmy....

"We could do a few laps of the pitch...?" He asked with a shrug. Warm up a little? It would give him a chance to see how good Ivan was. Mmm. That was a very good idea.

Ivan stared around and stuck his hands in his jean pockets. It was very different being on this side of the pitch. He almost wanted to change his mind and decide not to do it but then thought what would Dora think of him then. Yup Dora, that was the real reason he was doing this to prove he wasn't just a brotherly figure. How getting on an opposing team was going to help him with that he wasn't sure, he hadn't thought that far ahead. "That's true."

Nodding Ivan picked up his broom and stared at it for a moment. Smirking slightly he fiddled with it and threw his leg across it. He was goign to have some fun with Finn first. Yup. "Umm...how do you make this thing go up?" he asked sounding honest and then pushed off the ground slightly. Acting scared he gripped tightly and made the broom go forward slightly. "IT's MOVING!!!!" he yelled sounding like a very frightened first year on a broom for the first time. Well it could be believable since he didn't like to get dirty at all. Even James didn't know he'd been practicing with Miles this summer.

"Awesome...." Finlay grinned, throwing one leg over his broom, and kicking off. He hovered in the air a little, looking down at Ivan. What was he doing....that was weird. "Are you being serious Ivan?" Finn kinda didn't believe him...not really. Surely the dude knew how to fly. Or hadn't he gone to flying lessons last year. "Have you ever flown before?" Because if he hadn't. Why on earth was he trying out.

He burst out laughing when Ivan yelled. "Duddee!" He shook his head. That was not cool. Not at all. "Are you seriously scared?" He stared at Ivan. "If you are....why on earth are you trying out?" Maybe it wasn't cool if they all got on the team....

Laila!
 

Hugo walked up to the pitch with his broom in his hand. Right. He had signed up for the Quidditch try-outs. Now he needed to practise. He got lost in the little carves in the wood of his broom, probably because he was so nervous because he would never make the team. Maybe he should try another sport. He sighed, looking down at his blue sweater and jeans. No. Quidditch was fun. He gripped his broom tight and put it between his legs and off he was.

Dragging the broom disrespectfully behind her, holding it with one hand, and wearing a weary look on her face; That was how Louisa stepped out into the Practice Pitch.

And as soon as she was out, she froze. "My luck!" She grunted under her breath seeing all those students flying around confidently and.. actually laughing sometimes as they were up in the air... like really flying. Scanning the faces, she saw Vashti standing there her face bright with joy and Louisa had to think for two seconds about the reason of her joy before she got it.

"Vashti!" She called waving at her friend and walking over to her, the fake smile of joy didn't reach her eyes. "Good weather for planes today." She said sarcastically. She was going to BE a plane in a few minutes...sort of.

Glancing around at the couple of students on their brooms, she started to regret the practice. "Umm... don't you think we have to wait for the pitch to be...er.. kind of less crowded?" She said awkwardly, and in real there was only four students or so in there so the lame excuse probably wouldn't work with her friend.... but a girl can wish.

Ahh home sweet home
 

Selina's feet crunched into the freshly trimmed grass. Her feet wriggled back in forth in her sneakers and dug deep into the ground. She was trying to reaquaint herself with the turf and the Pitch. This was her true home. Most kids found themselves at home near the fire of their Common Room or in a specific classroom. Not Selina. All she needed was the wind in her hair, the sun on her face, and the flight in her heart and she was just fine.

She moved forward onto the Pitch and closed her eyes to inhale the smell of the Pitch. It had the slight bitter taste it always had during the beginning of the school year. But it was her favorite smell.

Her lips curled into a smile and her fingers traced the outline of her broom. It was her broom. Now that she was a second year she could train, fly, and hopefully play on her own equipment. She had loved flying on the school's old Nimbus last year, but Selina's firebolt was her baby. It was her greatest weapon because she knew the broom inside and out. From the time she had first gotten her broom it had become her most prized possession, so it was in the finest condition.

Then her eyes finally lifted to look up and out at the field. It was just as she had remembered it. That sense of familarity gave Selina a feeling of warmth that rushed all up her bones until she shuttered it out through her limbs. Taking a deep breath in Selina mounted her broom... and was off fast through the air.

Who was that on the ground? Was that Selina? Awesome! Hugo mounted his broom to try and impress her, but she was off before he could even blink.

Flash.

Whoa. Where was she? Hugo pulled his Firebolt up from the dive he was about to do and looked in the sky. There was someone. Wow. She was fast. But Hugo had a fast broom too. It had been collecting dust last term but now he would use it! He floated around for a bit, looked down at his broom and flew off with a speed Hugo had never used before on this broom.

WOW.

He approached Selina. This was awesome. As he felt the wind through his hair, he looked at her as he almost flew next to her. This was probably really slow for Selina. But still. Awesomeness. "Hello," he yelled whilst approaching her.

Oh this was fun. Ivan saw the look on Finn's face as he yelled and felt like he had succeeded. "I-I-I-" he said stuttering pretending to look a bit more frightful until he leaned down and sped off past Finn laughing. Stopping in mid air he turned to look at Finn with a smirk, "You should have seen your face dude." It was hilarious and now that he'd had his fun he could get down to business.

"And to answer your question I'm doing this to impress Dora." And the ONLY reason he was telling Finn this was so he wouldn't turn around and find him snogging her. He might be his friend but he still didn't fully trust him.

Arabella-Marie walked into the practice pitch with her broom in hand she was looking forward to getting back into the air and practicing some sprints in preparation for tryouts

Selina was flying through the air taking her time. She wanted to get reacquainted with the Pitch. She had missed it so much, the air, the smell, the feeling. Her peace was almost complete when she heard a rustling behind her. Her eyes opened quickly and looked behind her. There was Hugo. Selina was so caught off guard she almost fell off her broom. Her entire frame was hanging mid air and all that attached her to the broom was her strong grasp on the broom. She was dangling mid air until she pulled herself back on the broom and breathed deeply, "Oh my Merlin! Hugo you scared me."

Arabella-Marie got on her broom and touched off the ground and raced to the hoops at the bottom of the pitch and stopped she was still a bit rusty after the summer league had finished she hadnt been on a broom since then

Alex didn't want to talk to anyone, he didn't want to think about anyone. All he wanted to was to get on his broom.

As soon as the Feast was over, he'd gotten his broom and hurried over there. Well, hurried was an exaggeration. It had taken him half an hour to get to the Common Room. And another thirty minutes to get to the pitch. He was seriously broken.

He couldn't believe he'd lost everything in such a short time. He'd drifted apart with Fee, he barely spoke to Emma, his girlfriend and his best friend were... He swallowed and picked up his pace to go stand on the pitch. Clearing all his thoughts, forcing Ellie and Chandler out of his mind he took a minute to look around him. He didn't see the people already in the air, all he saw was the pitch, the pillars and the stands. Alex was back, although he needed to get back to practise if he would be able to get on the Slytherin Quidditch team another term.

He mounted the broom with a determined expression and kicked off the ground. No thoughts, just flying.

lame post, sorry -_______-
 

Hugo gasped as Selina almost fell. But then she swinged back like a ninja. "I-I'm sorry," Hugo said as he stopped flying. Hugo really got startled when she almost fell. "I could use some practise," he said, panting.

Selina pulled her broom to a stop and sat mid air catching her breath, "It's okay, just remember that not everyone is as trained as me. Catching people off guard can get people hurt. I'm just glad I was the one who taught you that lesson."

Then Selina realized Hugo wad practicing and gasped. She leaned off her broom and smacked him on the shoulder, "Why didn't you tell me you were trying out for Quidditch."

Haha. Selina was being all Quidditch expert-y. Hugo liked that. "Right, understood," he said and saluted resulting a smack to his own head which kind of hurted. Then he wobbled around on his broom.

Smack. On the shoulder. Balance. Hugo almost made a little loop but thankfully, he could stop himself. "Well, I like to not tell people about the things where I'm not quite certain of, so that if I fail, noone will know," he said, nodding. That was quite an awkward thing to say, but it was true.

SHH! Jacob's Not Here!
 

Jacob had the intention of an early rise, and the ability to get some practice into his routine before his more captain-like duties starting kicking in. And that was close... he'd already taken a look at the sign-up sheets... there was nothing funny about that. He'd sneaked a peak at the other sign-up sheets and it told him, he'd have to beat his team extra hard to win this term. Beat them, and make sure he looked good for the scouts.

But when Jacob reached the pitch, he saw that he wasn't the first. The Pitch was extremely crowded, and he didn't want to answer any questions, so Jacob tip-toed in the shadows, and made his way up the stands. He'd watch and wait for there to be a lot more room... this was good. He'd have a first impression of a lot of peoples flying skills. He saw a few people from last years teams, and try-outs.

Maybe he'd summon some popcorn from the kitchens. Or request a House-elf to bring some to him. Oh how much he missed this... an elf servant and a kitchen that was always open to him.