Kennedy walked over the pitch along with the equipment trunk. He was still all in his high from the day before, Slytherin's win over Hufflepuff. He set the trunk on the ground with a soft thud. He turned in the direction of his partner and grinned.

"Sure it isn't too cold to play?" he said, a playful tone to his voice. Something told him Sierra was not going to back off Quidditch just because of chilly weather. He had heard her say Quidditch meant a lot to her during Muggle Studies. Hehe.

Following Kennedy out onto the practice pitch, Sierra couldn't help the million and one thoughts running through her mind. Their win over Hufflepuff, Vindictus' passing out, and the hand holding with Kennedy. It was so much to take in, and yet, just coming out here on the practice pitch was just a nice way to handle it all. Flying had always been second nature to Sierra, and Quidditch wasn't too far behind. They did go hand in hand pretty much, though.

"You're not wimping out on me, are you, Kennedy?" she asked with a smirk. Something told her he wasn't really serious, though. [B]"Of course it's not too cold to play. Vindictus has made us play in the snow before." Sierra looked down at the equipment box but didn't move to unlatch it just yet. Once they did, the balls would fly out in all directions. "So we were both Beaters yesterday," she pointed out. The obvious. She hadn't even known Kennedy's official position until yesterday, though. "You did good out there." She smiled at him then looked down at the box. She wasn't completely out of her shyness stage yet. "You wanna practice with the bludgers?"

Kennedy made a "pfft" sound and smirked jokingly. "I'm no wimp." Nope. Not anymore. Those days were long, long gone leaving his new found confidence behind. Truth be told, he liked the this side of him that had been dormant for so long. It wasn't much that he thought he was all that, but that he trusted himself and his actions. It felt nice.

He nodded, slowly, his eyes still on her. Was she shy with him? Because he didn't feel shy toward her...at least not anymore. You could say he was comfortable around her now. Comfortable enough to hold her hand like yesterday. Taking a step closer in her direction he said, "You did amazing." Because she had. Hitting the bludger at all those Hufflepuffs. Amazing. He then turned his body so he was facing the equipment trunk - not moving a step. "Yeah. That is our specialty." And he winked.

He wasn't. Sierra had to give him that much. She remembered talking to him times before when he'd literally blush after every single sentence he said. She'd just considered him a friend then, and really, she guessed he was just a friend now. The difference was that she had a crush on him now, whereas she hadn't before. He'd gotten a badge and grown up some and Merlin--age did Kennedy Escalante well!

He stepped a little closer, and she looked up, meeting him with a smile. "Of course I did amazing," she said. In the end, she'd always end up giving a typical Sierra Greingoth comment. "I'm a Slytherin, aren't I? We're made of greatness." She could honestly just stand, frozen with Kennedy so close, but she had to keep in mind that Kennedy was just her crush. He'd held her hand, though. What did that meannnn?

"Budgers it is, then," she said, kneeling down and unlatching the trunk. She had her own bat, but she unlatched one from the equipment box and handed it to Kennedy. "Your weapon of choice, Prefect Escalante."

He chuckled and shook his head. That was like the "Sierra Answer" for most compliments or maybe all now that he thought about it. "Thank you, Prefect Greingoth." He took the bat she offered him and smacked it against his free hand. That made him fell powerful in his own beater rights. It was as if he was untouchable when he was holding the bat.

He walked over to the two brooms, picking both of the up and handing Sierra one of them. Better be ready for that bludger and not get caught on the ground. Plus, he really wanted to fly right now. "I'm ready when you are."

Sierra stood up and watched Kennedy as he smacked the bat against the palm of his hand. He was the perfect boy for her--power in the form of a badge and a bat. When she realized she might come across as staring at him, which she was sooo wasn't, she looked away quickly, giving the equipment box a random glance.

Then he was handing her a broom. Had they really almost forgotten them? What were they thinking? "Guess we'll need those, hmm?" she said with a laugh. She almost had a tendency to toss Kennedy's broom to the side and tell him to hop on hers. From that point of view, she could show him lots of things about being a Beater. They'd probably get roasted by Vindictus, though.

Mounting her own broom, she held on with her left hand and raised her bat with her right. Then reaching down, she unlatched the tie around the bludger, releasing it into the air. Reaching bat with her bat, she smacked it high in the air. "...anddddddd, GO!" Then she took off into the air.

Yes. They needed the brooms because running or hopping around the pitch wouldn't do. He mounted the broom and the second Sierra said GO! Kennedy zoomed off the ground, whizzing through the cold air. He wasn't always this good at flying, although it almost came natural to him. Maybe it was due to the lack of fear of heights. Eventually, practice after practice he got better until he was able to fly without holding onto the broom handle with both hands.

The bludger curved around the pitch and weaved its way toward Kennedy. He swung his arm backward and when the ball was close he swung it forward, the bat colliding against the bludger causing a loud THWACK! to ring throughout the pitch.

"Heads up," he called. Though he doubted Sierra needed any warning. She was great at this.

Sierra heard Kennedy's warning, but she was already on it. She'd been playing beater since she was a second year, and before that, she played keeper. Keeper didn't matter much now, but the fact was, she'd been playing beater for quite some time. This had developed into second nature for her.

*SMACK*

The bat hit the bludger and sent it flying away. The thing was, Sierra had aimed her body and her bat in a way that would send the bludger flying right back at Kennedy. Straight toward his head, so if he wasn't ready or didn't do something quite right, it'd smack HIM.

Did she want to hit him? Of course not! "You've got to be ready for the other team to catch you off guard," she shouted, wanting to be heard over the rush of the wind. "More often that not, that bludger going to be heading right at somebody's head, sometimes even your own. SMACK IT, KENNEDY!"

O_O

Sierra smacked the bludger toward him!

At first he had been listening to what she was saying as well as keeping his eyes on the ball, but he had not expected her to hit it at HIM. Swinging his arm with more force than last time he managed to hit the bludger just in time, but not with the result he would have wanted. He had felt the bat barely graze it away from him.

He could feel the adrenaline from that surprise hit surge through his veins. "That was a close one," he said, more to himself though.

Kennedy followed the bludger as it returned and this time he hit it toward Sierra. No warning, but not because he was trying to get back at her, but because what would practicing be if they warned each other of every bludger that came their way.

With rolled poster in hand, Gideon ventured back out onto the grounds, yet this time further then the gardens he had been only a few days ago when he originally picked the flowers. He was heading for the pitch with an idea on a creative location of said project. Infiltrate...that had been an interesting choice of word and yet it gave the whole task force a sort of spy-like feel. He had almost decided to head up to the astronomy tower but seeing as that location was not accessible, his second choice was what he went with.

Reaching the pitch, he stayed off on the sidelines watching the flyers up in the air and thought on a flight of his own once he was done with his work. For now...Gideon simply headed on to the broomshed...his final destination.

Sierra knew that Kennedy wouldn't be ready for that bludger, but it still amused her when she caught his reaction to it. He just looked so startled. It was sort of, well...cute. She almost hated that she'd smacked it his way, but honestly, he was so much cuter when he toughened up. Maybe that was why she hadn't really had a thing for him in their earlier years. Now, though, with that badge and beater's bat, she couldn't help but crush on him.

"You have to ready for the close ones," she warned, giving him a matter-of-fact look. "...and just think, there are two of them." She really should have unlatched both, but possibly mauling the boy she had a crush on just seemed like a sure fire way not to get his attention. "You know Kennedy," she said with a smirk, and then she paused to smack the bludger back at him, "Quidditch was how my parents ended up together."

Just sayin'.

Ready for the close ones. Got it.

Kennedy had to admit her voice was distracting him. He was doing well on keeping his eyes on the bludger, but at the same time his mind drifted off to hear everything Sierra had to say. And that normally didn't happen...well, with girls. It was quite the opposite, he usually got distracted on other things. Except, this was not the case with the female Slytherin Prefect whom was hitting bludgers at him.

This meant this training was going to do him well. If not even Sierra's voice managed to distract him then nothing would.

"Hmm?" he murmured, watching her hit the bludger back at him. This time he was ready and swum his arm back and then SMACKED it toward her. Yeah! That's how it's done. Then his eyebrows rose into his forehead. Is that so?" That was interesting. He smiled before saying, "Was your father a beater as well?" Because he's seen Lafay with a beaters bat and she knew how to swing it good, so there was no doubt she had been one herself.

Sierra watched Kennedy as he hovered nearby. Playing one-on-one Quidditch with him might not have been the greatest idea. Oh, she was having an amazing time, make no mistake about that. It was just, all she wanted to do was focus on him. "Nope," she said, eyeing the bludger as it flew her way. "He was a keeper...and a captain. Mom was a beater, like me."

*SMACK*

She hit the bludger and sent it sailing past Kennedy and to the opposite end of the pitch. She had no idea why she'd hit it that hard, but she guessed it was just in her nature. "Sorry, Kennedy," she said with a laugh. "I guess it's just in my--..."

...and then she froze, right on top her of her broom hovering there in mid-air. Her whole body was frozen like she was a little doll instead of a living, breathing human.

So what now, Kennedy Escalante? You've got a bludger sailing back in your direction and a frozen girl hovering nearby, one who may call fall at any given second due to not being able to control her broom.

Ah. So her father was a keeper AND a captain. Impressive...aside from him being Minister and all. He wondered what kind of players Sierra liked. Was she attracted to keepers like her father, or the seeker, or chasers...or beaters?

The bludger zoomed pass him and he followed it with his eyes until he heard Sierra speak, his eyes going back on her. His brain was telling him to look OUT. "It's alright–," but he didn't get to finish because Sierra froze. Like...just FROZE. "Sierra," he called. This was not funny. There was a bludger coming right at them and they were several feet up in the air. "Sierra! This isn't funny." Not at all.

His eyes traveled back to the approaching bludger and at the girl. Not even thinking about it he raced forward to Sierra. She was going to fall if she kept this up, so he acted on instinct. He wrapped his arm around her waist and gently shook her. "Sier–,"

*WHAM*

A strong force collided with his left shoulder, but he braced the rest of his body so that Sierra wouldn't go flying off. His shoulder throbbed and couldn't move the rest of his arm. Though, he made sure Sierra was safe in his good arm.

*WHAM*

When Sierra felt the jolt of some sort of force, she came to, unfreezing and finding herself in the exact same position she'd been in right after she'd hit that bludger. Speaking of which, what exactly had happened right after she'd hit it? She didn't even remember where it went.

...but Kennedy's arm was around her, which confused her even more. Then she looked over at him. He was...hurt. She could tell just by the way his left shoulder looked. "Kennedy!" she exclaimed, and then thinking fast, she cast on the bludger, ending the spell that kept it going. "Hang on to me, and let's land. You're...you're hurt."

Making sure he was still hanging on to her for support, she began to lower herself to the ground.

Boy, was Kennedy glad he didn't have to worry about the bludger anymore. He nodded and winced while his good arm tightened just a bit more around Sierra's waist. This wasn't how he imagined himself holding her...not with - what might be - a broken shoulder. The pain only intensified and he had to bite his lip to cover a pained groan. He's never fractured a bone before, so this kind of pain was new to him.

When is feet touched the ground he couldn't help but ask, "What...what happened to you up there?" he winced. Yes, Kennedy was worried about her well being a lot more than he should be of his own right now...even if the pain electrified up his left arm.

Gaaah!

Later on, when she had time to properly think back on this, Sierra would be able to smile about the fact that Kennedy's arm had been around her waist. Right now, though, all she could thinking about was getting her co-prefect safely to the ground. When they finally touched ground, she turned to him, looking at his shoulder with horror.

Wait...

"What happened to me?" she asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes. Now she was just confused. Why was he worried about her when he obviously had a broken shoulder? Or at least a badly injured one. "Kennedy, ...I'm not hurt. You are," she innocently pointed out. "What do you mean what happened to me?"

Nevermind that. They needed to get him to the Hospital Wing!

Kennedy stared at her with questioning eyes. "You..." froze? Didn't move? FROZE?! He winced again and then began to wonder if he had imagined things, but if that had been the case wouldn't Sierra have pushed him off when he shook her? Or maybe even slapped him for penetrating her personal space?

Odd. Very odd.

"I...yeah," he's was hurt, and now that another shot of pain fired up his arm he realized that HE needed medical assistance. Though, it would do Sierra good if she got a check up too. "I...I'll tell you later...I really want pain killers right now." Like a bottle of them. Or could someone knock him out with a bludger so he wouldn't feel the pain anymore?

Gemma walked up to an empty spot near the Practice Pitch and pulled out a copy of the sign she had hung in a variety of areas....was hanging them up in this many spots overkill...maybe but the needed to know who all was having these symptoms so they could hunt down the cause.

She flicked her wand and with a sticking charm hung up the sign.


~*Click Here to go to the Hospital Ward*~

With a nod of her head, she stepped back and then headed off to another location in the castle.