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Flying Lesson 1: Creaothceann Banner credit: Suziella Out on the grounds, down by the pitch is where the first flying lesson of term 46 is held. In the middle of the pitch is a row of school brooms neatly placed on the grass for the firsties and for the students in need of borrowing one. There is also a large trunk containing what looks like hula hoops and next to it are black cauldrons placed on top of each other in a tall tower. It looks slightly unstable, swaying slightly in the wind but never toppling over.
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Kyle made his way down by the pitch, a little worried. He had never flown before, and to be honest he was a little afraid of heights. His older siblings never seemed to have a problem with it, however. On approaching, he wasn't sure if he should get a broom right off the bat, or if he should wait for the professor to tell them to pick one up. He decided to wait to be on the safe side. The hula hoops and the cauldrons made him wonder what their lesson would be about. Would they have to fly by and pick them up? Toss a hula hoop over someone else? He shook his head. It did no good to theorize just yet. He didn't have all the data he needed to come up with a decent hypothesis. |
Flying classes. Now here's something and someone that appreciates contraptions hovering off the ground. The Curly Top zoomed for the pitch, his awesome broom in hand. "Goodafternoon Professor...." he began as he spotted the man just chilling on his broom. Haha his kinda Prof really. But oh the hoola hoops and the CAULDRONS are spotted. Yep they were. A grin that showed he could barely contain his excitement graced the young man's features. Are they gonna be playing what he thinks they would be playing? Ohboyohboyohboy..... |
Olivia had been very curious about the strange Groundskeeper. Not only a Groundskeeper...but also the Flying instructor? He was a burly man, and it amazed her that he could instruct them about brooms... but there he was in the sky; balancing perfectly along one. It was a rather charming sight, and the blonde found herself applauding. Literally applauding. Her hands were loudly slapping together at the graceful display, and Liv happened to know a thing or two about "graceful displays". She was a ballerina, after all. "Bravo, sir. Bravo!" Also, no school brooms necessary for her! Olivia had been gifted one by her professional quidditch player father. It was league standard and everything. One of her prized possessions, if she really put thought into it. That was normal, right? For a person to consider their broom a "prized possession"? Ahem, in preparation for the lesson, Liv had trimmed its twigs and everything the night before (just as her dad had taught her). So, it (and she) were ready to go. Oh!... And there was a lone ickle (Zellana) already present (and an Ace, but she knew Ace and that was completely different). It would've been terribly rude not to approach and try to make some type of small talk...right? Merlin, the blonde didn't want anyone to assume she was rude. Especially not any of the younger kids. "Hello! ....Are you excited?" |
Kimi made his way out to where the flying lesson was going to be held and said "Good afternoon Professor" Kimi stood and waited patiently for the lesson to begin |
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Rooney greeted their new Flying Professor with a smile and also a wave, considering that he was sure to get a crick in his neck if he continued with a conversation with someone already in the air, especially when it seemed that they were lying down on the broom. Yikes. Was that really the impression they should have been giving the younger students about the art of broom handling? Roo thought not and hoped that none of his Ravenclaws dared to copy, they'd get stern looks for weeks. Especially if Miss Jessa Cambridge stepped outta safety guidelines. He collected one of the school brooms for himself, thinking nothing of the fact he was a seventh year without his own broom. He didn't need one and much preferred the gift of new books and cauldrons over something he would get no use out of. Rooney wasn't a leisurely flyer. He took part in classes and that was about it. And speaking of cauldrons....was...that a stack of them..? |
With broom in hand, Olivia Holden reluctantly walked down to the Quidditch Pitch. Flying was definitely not one of her strongest suits and she wasn't prepared to show how awful she was to the rest of her classmates, especially Matt and Ace. They'd probably make fun of her for it. While she had been practicing, Olivia knew that her level wasn't too great so she walked quietly down to the Pitch. Then she saw the Professor casually lying on his back. What? Ummm... He looked relaxed. "Hello Professor!" she said with a small smile, trying to seem as upbeat as possible whilst the death of her reputation loomed in front of her. Just smile. The Professor seemed chill. Maybe this class would be chill? Clutching her broom a little closer, she glanced around the crowd to find Ace already ready to go. Well someone was ready for an exciting class. She headed towards him before her eye was caught by the set of hula hoops and..... cauldrons? She blinked. Hmm... What were they going to be doing today? She headed towards Ace and a few others (Olivia and Zellana). "Hey! How's it going?" she said with a small wave. |
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Rooney, Kyle, Olivia Holden Quote:
"Well, flying is an exhilarating feeling. It's like.. you've taken command of the skies, when you're up on a broom. It can be a little bit of a shock at first, but it's mostly liberating. I'll stay close, just in case." She paused, smiling at Rooney as he appeared on the pitch. Oh, and the other Olivia. The Holden one. "If you'd like, of course." She was a terrific flyer. More than once her father had suggested she try going out for quidditch. Wasn't there a sport that required cauldrons? Or was her brain making that up?........NO. Creaothceann! That was it! "Think he'll make us wear them on our heads?" |
Olivia smiled at the first year (Zellana). Hmmm... She had no clue but at the mention of Ace seeing excited about it all. "I have no clue," she said with a frown. She chuckled at Olivia Phillips' statement about wearing the cauldron's on their heads. She wouldn't mind that then everyone wouldn't see what a horrible flyer she was. "Now that would be a sight." Turning her gaze back towards the cauldrons, she tilted her head to the side as she thought. "Cauldrons... Hoola hoops... Maybe we have to work as a team to get the cauldrons through the hoola hoops?" she offered a guess. "No, no, that doesn't seem right..." |
Kyle blinked. "Wear them on our heads? I hope not. They can be pretty heavy, after all." He thought about it and sat in the grass. "I think I'd like someone sticking close. If I can even manage to get up in the air." That was a possibility, wasn't it? That he wouldn't even be able to get it up? What if he couldn't fly at all? But commanding a broom was just magic, and he was good at most magic, so that might not be a problem after all. She said it was liberating, like taking command of the skies. That did sound rather nice. |
Flying Théo was excited to get back in the air and with his own broom this time and it wasn't too cold and well Théo was ready. It also looked like the Groundskeeper or where you suppose to call him a Professor. The second year was confused by that. Well he was ready for the lesson or ready to see someone do something wrong and call them out. Whichever. "Hi Ground....Professor" Yeah he was just going to find a place to stand. |
If there was one class that made Abey feel all warm and fuzzy inside - even though it made him freezing cold and BRRRRRR on the outside - it was flying. THIS was something he KNEW how to DO. Even Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms and Transfiguration had aspects to them that Abey struggled with, but not flying. This class was ALL practical, and it was something Abey had been doing since he could hold onto a broom, which meant it was something he could DO. And - AND - he had proved himself capable too, this last summer. He had proved he was TEAM-worthy when it came to flying. AND. ANNNDDNDNDNDNNDNDDDDDDD, THIS year he wasn't a first year anymore, which meant his OWN BROOM. But better than anything else, this class was taking place outside. Abey had his problems with outside, mainly the fact that it was always so cold, but being inside the castle had started to make him feel jittery. For reasons. Out to the pitch he strolled - practically skipped - to join the growing crowd of students. Abey scanned everyone's faces, looking for the old man face which belonged to the profes-... uhh... groundskeeper? Professor? ... That One Guy. It was actually only a few moments before he thought to look to the skies, and saw him hovering up there... like that. "Cool!" Abey exclaimed, before hop-skip-jumping over to Théo - broom in hand - and giving him a nudge. "Betcha I can stay on my broom like that for longer than you can," he declared, pointing up at... That One Guy, and flashing his friend a characteristic toothy grin. |
Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Jessa was excited about flying, honestly. The girl had never been bad at flying, not with the help she'd gotten from her father and her sister sometimes when she wasn't ridiculously busy but what made her excited was the fact she and Cameron had been PRACTISING. Soon she'd be doing wild things like the Professor. Did anyone else see him flying on his back like that?? Of course they did, he wasn't invisible. "Can you do that too, Rooney??" The young girl asked, coming to a stop by the side of her Prefect. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she watched the man hover about. "Hello Professor. Will you be teaching us that today?" Yes she saw the hoops and yes she saw the cauldrons, but what REALLY interested her was the fancy broom tricks the Professor quite clearly knew. Jessa leaned against her broom, glad Cameron had suggested she bring it this year. The school brooms were fine, but she happened to like the one she'd received for her birthday better. Olivia got a wave, as did Theo but really......riding on your back! How soon could she try? |
Time for a flying lesson!? SCHWEEETTTTT This slytherin was really excited for this lesson. She was itching to go flying on a broom and experience the fresh air. Her family couldn't afford to get her a broom this term, Zae knew she needed to borrow a broom from the class. As she walked down to the huge field and felt the september breeze, Zae noticed other classmates were here. They seemed to be around her age. She didn't feel alone. Zae saw the Professor and gave a polite nod and said, "Hello Professor.." He seemed to be an odd sort but let's see if he can teach her how to fly. Zarina found an empty spot to stand and waited for instruction. |
she said "good afternoon" btw. in Icelandic. lol Also, Liv, Kyle and Rooney Most of the lessons weren’t really anything that got Stasya too nervous, even if half of them she wasn’t entirely confident about yet. Mostly because she hadn’t had a wand before so she was still getting used to it, but flying was something else entirely. She’d never flown. She couldn’t remember if she knew anyone who had, even. Mama didn’t. Gobstones didn’t involve flying after all, and she hadn’t seen papa on a broom either. It had made her approach the grounds near the Quidditch pitch hesitantly, if still with a high level of curiosity. It never hurt to try something at least once, plus she figured there would be much less chance of anything involving creatures than there was in lessons like Potions. She’d try, anyway. It helped when she saw that there were people she recognized already there, as she’d walked through the open gate to the pitch. Ace, Théo, a couple other Gryffindors…And Liv. She’d somewhat made a beeline for the older girl, stopping kind of between her and one of the brooms lying on the ground before she gave her and Kyle a smile. “Hi!” Oh, and the head boy too, since he was nearby. He’d gotten a smile too. Then she had looked up, noticing Abey’s gesture upward, and saw the groundskeeper hovering around, balanced entirely on his back on the broom. Hopefully they weren’t going to be expected to do that. She was oh so tempted to ask, but instead she let herself give in to a different temptation. One that she wasn’t sure the groundskeeper knew about her, or anyone else really. “Góðan daginn,” she called up to him. Mama had taught her a little bit of her native language, just like papa had taught her a little bit of Russian. |
Perfect day for flying. Is it not? IT IS INDEEDY! Best part about it was that he was a SECOND year now and SECOND years got to bring their own brooms because SECOND years were not first years and SECOND years had permission. Derf was honestly tempted to just fly down to the pitch from the castle on HIS OWN BROOM but had refrained. Dad had warned him about not doing that and practicing a bit of patience...but it was REALLY REALLY HARD when he was itching like he had had ants in his pants to STAAAAART. A thought that was only intensified when he arrived and saw the groundskeeper already up on his broom LOOKING SUPER NEAT AND COOL! Confident and eager, Derf mounted his broom without a second thought and pushed off the pitch with a grin wider than the Cheshire cat's. Swerving and performing an accidental and sloppy figure eight in his haste, the Hufflepuff glided along beside the groundskeeper. "GOOD DAY, SIR!" he chirped. The SECOND year was TOTALLY handling his broom with care, see? He had read the rules! He knew! NOT A TOY! |
To be perfectly, completely honest, Daisy didn't particularly need this lesson. Especially if first years were going to be around too, which meant that a good thirty minutes of the lesson would be spent explaining just how to get on a broomstick and start flying. It wasn't normal for her to walk into a lesson feeling like she wouldn't learn anything, but flying was different. This, she knew how to do. After all, being able to fly a broomstick was kind of a pre-requisite to being in the U-17 Quidditch team. .... had she ever mentioned that? Still, it was a couple hours more of practise and that never hurt, especially when all of a sudden her schedule was pretty occupied. Daisy would adjust it, maybe even drop a few things, but the problem was that she simply didn't want to. Well. She said problem. Top of the line broomstick on her shoulder, Daisy walked past the groundskeeper and chuckled. "Hello, Sir." That was a way to hover around, she supposed. Not one she had ever tried, yet, but she might just start doing that. Oh, look. She learned something new. Kind of, anyway. Shaking her head in amusement, she made her way towards a slightly empty area of the ground and finally looked around. Derfael was flying already, there was a tower of cauldrons swinging about ... Hogwarts. It truly was never boring. |
Stasya, Olivia, Kyle Flying was something Emmeline had a little experience with, though she wasn't supposed to have and she wasn't very good. She had maybe, sort of, borrowed her big brother's broom and flown around the countryside sometimes. She wasn't so good at landing, so maybe the professor could help? Or was practically crashing how you were supposed to land with brooms? She smiled as she saw the professor was lying down on his broom -- cool -- and Derf was zooming around on his too. Looking around, she moved over to Stasya and the other kids she was standing with. She wanted to sit/fly/whatever with some big kids this time, because she was kind of nervous. It would be embarrassing to almost-crash in front of everyone, and big kids knew A LOT. "Hi!" I'm Emmeline," she told the people standing near Stasya that she didn't know. |
No school broom for this one; the parents had finally set their foot down and given all four Kennings with their very own. He was fairly sure he was right when he thought Takeru's arrival had a lot to do with it, but it wasn't like he'd been given a lot of choice in the matter. Executive decisions were done a lot at home,anyway. Just because they irritated the everything out of him did not mean he wasn't used to them. Besides, there was surely nothing wrong with a broomstick of his own. ...It was really just a matter of principle, though. Once again, he'd been robbed of yet another decision. He was well aware there was a certain element of dramatic and over-reaction happening here, at least. "Sir." The new groundskeeper seemed to be admiring the clouds or something. "Hello." The old man looked very comfortable, which Levi supposed at least one of them was. He was an alright flyer at best, but flying had never come that easily for the boy; it required more focus than he thought it deserved, which was exactly why the second he turned seventeen he'd take his apparition test and say GOODBYE to flying forever. No reason to continue to perfect something he didn't even like. Anyway. He waved at Olivia, the head boy, a Gryffindor girl whose name he was pretty sure was also Olivia, Cambridge, the other younger human beings. He went to stand next to Daisy, touched his shoulder to hers in greeting. "The good news is that it isn't really windy." At least the weather was being thoughtful. |
Ground Professor? That was a new one, Melbourne chuckled when she overheard Théo’s words…that, was one heck of a greeting. Still, the Gryffindor couldn’t help but grin when she spotted all of her friends and classmates that were already there. Mel looked over when she heard Stasya’s words…was that Swedish? No, the accent was slightly different from anything ”…that was good day right? It…sounds a –lot like what my great-gran used to say whenever we visited her in Sweden,” Mel explained with a grin…at least, that was what she had thought Stasya had said. Mel’s fingers were tightly clutched around her broom…HERs, it wasn’t amazing or anything but it was her very own broom and that was just brilliant. ”Hey Levi,” Mel grinned over to the Kenning boy before glancing at his broom, ”I like the broom” she commented while inwardly adding that she hoped he didn’t lose it…after all it looked sturdier than most of the school brooms…it was then, after greeting Levi that Mel finished as she looked at the cauldrons and hoolahoops. ”…I have a feeling those Cauldrons aren’t for Creaothceann,” Mel pretended to dramatically sigh as she took a moment to lightly bop her friend Tenacius on the shoulder to the bristles of her broom. ”it’s a shame…I do wonder how long we’d all last collecting falling rocks in cauldrons” yep…dangerous games were always fun yeah? |
SPOILER!!: Kyle + Olivia Holden "You could lessen the weight with a charm, if you were going to wear it." She grinned down at the small boy as he'd parked on the ground. After a spare moment, she followed suit; laying her broom across her lap. Precious cargo. No one needed to get any ideas. Refocusing on the other Olivia, the blonde grinned. "Gosh, could you imagine tossing cauldrons at one another? Talk about ringing someone's bell." Getting lugged by a thick hunk of iron would surely knock someone out. OH. They could be substituted for bludgers, cause, you know bludgers were also made from the same materials. They hadn't used to be called blooders for nothing. SPOILER!!: Stasya + Emmeline Oh, and there was Stasya and Emmeline. She'd met the latter on several occasions by now, but had always failed to share her own name. That's what happened when you had the concentration of a goldfish...sometimes. It was worse when too many people were around... "I'm Olivia. I keep meaning to introduce myself, but... I'm scatterbrained." Sorry about that, Emmeline. Also, to little Stasya. "Hello, dearest! Ready to fly today?" ...And we see you Levi. Sup, bruh. |
SPOILER!!: Govoni "Mm... That's true." Kyle nodded and smiled as she sat down in the grass with him. "I can't imagine throwing cauldrons at one another. Could you imagine one of them getting caught on the broom? That would throw the whole thing off. And the whole 'ringing someone's bell' part." He giggled a little. "I wonder if there's a reason they're stacked like that. It looks a little precarious." |
Even though this wasn't going to feel like a lesson to Skylar, she was still stoked to be attending because of any opportunity to be flying at Hogwarts would work to simulate what experience it might be to fly for her house team. Plus practice so she could hopefully make the U-17 team next summer, which would be amazing. Approaching she smiled when she saw the way the groundskeeper was balancing on his broom and had to admit she was very impressed with that ability. She would have to try that herself should she grow bored of ordinary flying. Not wanting to distract him for heaven forbid he lose his balance, Skylar approached to stand next to Daisy, figuring the older girl would offer steady competition for whatever today's lesson held in store for them. |
Obviously Henry didn't need a flying lesson. He was very experienced with a broom. But he thought it was also obvious that he loved flying and wouldn't miss a chance to go flying, even if it was under the guise of a class. So he was here with his treasured broom, making his way onto the pitch and into the designated class area. "Hi, Mr. B!" he called towards the lounging instructor, and he gave the man a wave and cheerful grin. Did everyone see that balance? Sign of a skilled flyer there. It was only a given that he look for his teammates for this class and, upon spotting Carden, headed over in that direction, giving her, Levi, and Skylar cheery waves as they were standing next to her. "Hey, guys!" Did he hear talk of Creaothceann? Henry's eyes fell on the stack of cauldrons as he thought over the prospect. |
Kyle, Liv, Olivia, Mel plus a bit of Stasya Ace was always excited about broom games. But games that involved cauldrons make it specially interesting to him. As Mel had so thoughtfully busted his bubble, to which he made a funny face in reply, he did think it was Creaothceann or some kind of offshoot game, given how the former technically still banned. In any case, greets were in order in this group that he's found himself in "Heya peeps! Who wouldnt be excited for flying and cauldrons and hoola hoops and all that eh? Each of them are fun by themselves, who knows how much more fun we can have putting them together!" Let your imagination roam with that statement. Also Stasya get a smal grin upon hearing her greets. He understood that reference. |
Levi, Skylar and Henry There plenty of young students around. Plenty more arriving, too, and Daisy briefly wondered if maybe she shouldn't just leave and go and -- do stuff. It wasn't that young students couldn't fly, her own experience proved that wrong, it was simply a matter of ability. After all, if there were people who couldn't fly that well, maybe the lesson wouldn't be that useful to her. Silently, to added a mental note to go and talk to Mister Baldvinsson as soon as possible about possibly holding an especial lesson for Quidditch-inclined students. After all, the man knew how to fly, and fly well too, she'd wager. But here came the best friend. She grinned and bumped her hand against his, fingers wiggling against his skin. "I agree, very fortunate." There was a slight breeze, but not nearly strong enough to hinder their flight. She leaned in towards him, a teasing grin across her lips. "It should make things easier for you, shouldn't it?" Not that she meant anything but it; Levi didn't like to fly and, even if it was weird to her, that was fine. "Anyway, is this your last class today? We could --" Oh. Hi. She'd finish that later. Instead, she turned to the girl now standing beside her and grinned down at her. "Hey Skylar. Ready to do some laps?" The girl had Quidditch in her blood, it was no surprise that she was here and looking that ready. It was endearing, in a way that reminded her of her younger self. And suddenly that quiet space didn't seem that quiet anymore, but Daisy waved enthusiastically back at Henry the Prefect. "Whittebrook. Thought you weren't going to show up." Because she would humiliate him. Clearly. That's what she kept telling herself. Rivalry between teammates was perfectly acceptable. |
Text Cut: Individual replies <3 As the last student arrived, Mr. Baldvinsson was eager to start the lesson. Aiming his wand towards the large metal gates to the pitch, they swung closed. ”Welcome everyone, to the first flying lesson of the term!” A small pause for dramatic effect, and/or insertion of applauds. When none happened he quickly continued. ”My name is Haraldur Ingimar Njord Baldvinsson. That’s Mr. Baldvinsson or professor Baldvinsson, whichever you prefer. I am the new Groundskeeper and Flying Instructor at Hogwarts.” Still no applauds? Tough crowd. ”Those of you who do not own a broom of your own and all firsties, you may now choose one of the school brooms if you haven't already.” As around half of the students did so he kept a careful watch on them. ”There’s enough for everyone, no fighting. They’re all in perfectly good shape.” Or you know. They should be. Aaaanyway. Haraldur leaned on his broom and he began slowly drifting, hovering just a few feet above the ground. Circling the crowd of students he continued when everyone had settled down again. ”I am not familiar with the flying skills of Hogwarts students since 2043. I don’t know how talented you are, I don’t know which house has won the most Quidditch Cups and I don’t know what you know of the art of flying.” The new instructor came to a stop in front of the small group again. ”But I am curious to find out.” His light blue eyes shone with obvious excitement. ”All those experienced and confident enough on their brooms…” He grinned. ”Why don’t you show me?” He reached for his wand inside his robes and flicked it towards the trunk of hula hoops. The hoops flew away from the students, positioning themselves high up in the air, spread all over the pitch. ”Fly through the hoops to get to the other side of the pitch. Note that the hoops will move in the air. In order to complete this challenge you must fly through all of them and reach the other side. Miss one and you must go back to start over." He paused for a second, giving them a moment to process this. "There are cauldrons on the other side of the pitch. Once you get there, retrieve one cauldron each and return back here where you started. On your way back, do not fly through the hoops again. Let’s not collide with each other, hmm? As always, play fair and no shoving.” Please, students. Let's work together not to flood the hospital wing after lesson one. Haraldur narrowed his eyes at the young children, because young they all were, to show them just how serious he was with this. Any roughness would be dealt with accordingly. He had eyes in the back of his neck, he did. Well. Sort of. ”On my command…” He grabbed the horn hanging around his neck and put it to his lips. It gave off a dull but loud sound. That's your cue experienced flyers! And off they went. Haraldur turned around and waved his arms for the students lingering behind to get closer. ”Gather around, gather around.” He waited for them to waddle closer before he continued. ”Place your broom on the ground next to you and hold out your dominant hand above it. With authority and feeling, command your broom to your hand by saying ‘Up!’” For the first time that afternoon he dismounted his broom and dropped it to the grass to hold his right hand outstretched over it. ”Up.” Immediately the broom left the ground and flew up to his hand. He looked back at the students. "Now, don't be discouraged if it doesn't move on the first few tries. You need to befriend the broom before it obeys you. Keep doing this until your broom is in your hand. Once grabbed, mount the broom and take a firm grip on holding your hands like so.” He swung one leg over the broom, mounted correctly for the first time that lesson and placed his right hand above his left, angling the broomstick slightly so the first time flyers could see how to hold it. ”When you’ve got your broom, mounted it and found a comfortable way to hold your hands safely in place you will start with a hover. Lean slightly forward and kick off gently from the ground. Hover for a few moments before touching back down to the ground by carefully leaning back. Watch this.” He kicked off, into a small hover and touched back down with ease. ”Piece of cake!” He turned so his back leaned against the broomstick again and levitated slightly. Ah, comfortable position. ”Now, it’s your turn to give it a go. The ground does have a cushioning charm... Not that you will need it. I'll be right here, should you need me." "On my command…” The horn sounded for the second time. That's your cue first time flyers! OOC: Wow! What a turn up! I’m so happy *emotional* I know it's a lot of text (please, I know) but bear with me on this. Instructions for the mini-activity are as follows: Experienced flyers: Mount your broom, fly through the enchanted hoops in the sky over to the other side of the pitch. Pick up a cauldron and fly back, along the side of the pitch. Land safely to where you started from. First time fliers: Take a broom, stand next to it, hold your dominant hand above it and say ‘Up’ with authority. Once broom is grabbed, mount it, place your hands on the broom and kick off lightly from the ground into a hover. Touch back down by leaning back slightly. Practice this process a few times. We will be moving on in approximately 36 hours, which means you have until Saturday 13th of May, 7 am GMT+2/1 am EDT Haraldur and I will be around during all this time for questions and assistance or just... You know. Watching you guys. As always, PM me if there's any questions. <3 |
Kyle smiled when the professor knew his name. Even though he knew everyone's name, he still felt really special. After listening to the instructions, he grabbed a broom, placed it down at his left side, and held his hand over it. In his most authoritative voice he commanded, "Up!" It didn't stir. He frowned. But the professor said it would take a few tries. Befriend the broom, huh? He remembered his time with Jace in the gardens, wrapping his magic around the other boy to joint-cast. Maybe he could do the same thing with the broom. He reached out with his magic, touching the broom with it, saying he was a friend. He commanded the broom again, but it didn't move. He concentrated, closing his eyes, reaching out to the broom, wrapping his magic around it. Then, in an almost instinctive move, he commanded again, "Up!" The broom seemed to come alive and jumped into his hand. He smiled. Mounting the broom, he followed what the professor said and leaned forward, pushing off the ground, though none too gently. He jumped up a few feet into the air with a jolt, surprising him and making him lose his balance, falling off the broom and onto the ground. He winced, more out of surprise than anything else. He commanded the broom to himself, and mounted to try again, pushing off a little more gently this time and managing to stay on. Then he leaned back a little and touched to the ground with ease. |
Scattered mentions! Pleased at Kyle's giggling, because he was a cutie and it made her feel better about herself, she shrugged. There were so many questions, too! The young mind was quite curious. "Sounds sooo dangerous, but maybe it's meant to keep us on our toes. I certainly wouldn't want to be attacked by one of those hunks of metal." Might help her 'evasive action' skills... but then again, Olivia doubted a professor would be allow to throw heavy objects at them. It was probably in the handbook...and Merlin help that person if her mother found out, anyway. That. Cow. Experienced flyers, you say? The Gryffindor was ALL about getting up into the air today, but then she recalled her promise to stay close to Kyle. Chewing her lip, Liv cast a sidelong glance towards the small Slytherin boy...who was already rising to follow the beginners' instructions. Hm, if she could be quick about her laps, then she'd be back in no time to help him with whatever he needed. And, of course, there was also their brand new Flying instructor; with his fancy tricks. Surely he'd keep all her ickles safe on the ground. Pushing herself up from the ground, Olivia followed suit with mounting her own broom. Those cauldrons weren't going to collect themselves, amright? After a bit of horn action from Professor Baldvinsson (which was so cool, BTW.... just yes), the Lionlady shot off into the air, not waiting for her peers in the slightest. This was supposed to be a show of skill. HER SKILL WASN'T BEING A SLOWPOKE. M h m. |
This guy. THIS guy. ... Abey liked this guy. He was fun. AND he made Abey feel mega actually like he was WANTED in this class, which... well, he knew that it wasn't that other professors didn't want him there, but the enthusiasm with the groundskeeper's greeting made him feel extra good actually! "Mega ready actually, Profe-... Grou-...... Sir!" Nailed it. Okay. Right. Yes. Ready. READY. SO READY. Abey was, needless to say, incredibly eager to get into the air. Practically buzzing with excitement, he fidgeted and shifted from foot to foot, MEGA JEALOUS OF DERF WHO HAD THOUGHT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FLY EARLIER. Next time, Abey decided, he wouldn't be left on the ground. So yes, waiting and listening was happening. Impatient waiting but keen listening, because it was talking about flying, so of course it was worth listening to. And, as the groundskeeper kept talking, Abey's eyes went all big and shiny. An opportunity to show just how good at flying they were?! Well, let the newest reserve Seeker for Alexandria's Junior Quidditch team SHOW YOU, SIR. Luckily, the time it took for Abey to mount his broom was about as long as it took for the groundskeeper to blow on that horn of his. And that was LUCKY because, in his enthusiasm, Abey had had no intentions of waiting. So it was only really a coincidence that he kicked off from the ground, shooting into the sky like a cork from a bottle, at the exact moment that the horn sounded. FLYINGFLYINGFLYINGFLYINGFLYING. |
Ace, Olivia, Kyle, and more! She smiled at Olivia and Kyle's joking. Ha, that would be a sight. Before she could reply, Ace had begun speaking again. Olivia raised an amused eyebrow at Ace and then chuckled. His enthusiasm was certainly infectious and she found herself grinning a little even. "Dont laugh at me too much," she muttered as the Professor explained the lesson. So they would have to retrieve the cauldrons and go through moving hoola hoops? Aright. That was going to be an experience. Ehhh... Mounting the broom and getting ready to fly, right? Gulp. Olivia P had already pushed off of the ground quickly like a professional. Welp. Olivia Holden was going to be less graceful at this. She bit her lip, feeling incredibly nervous and wishing that Ash the Phoenix was here to calm her fears. She gripped her left fist tightly and then let out a deep breath as she mounted her broom. Then she pushed off from the ground, slowly floating up, until she had gained control. Alright. She had made it up here. Now the challenge would be staying on the broom. Not wishing to seem like a complete joke, Olivia decided to sit up straighter and ready herself for flying through the hoola hoops. She could do this. If Olivia, Ace, and others could do this, then she could definetly do this. She just needed to believe in herself. She flew a little higher up into the sky and then glanced down at the others on the ground. "You guys coming?" she asked. |
Oh Théo was ready since he had brought his OWN broom and all. No more dumb school brooms. Théodore hated them.WAS THAT A CHALLENGE ABEY. Because that is what it sounded like and Théo was not going to lose AND it sounded like fun. So, of course, the second year lion was going to accept it even if Abey was part of a team. Lucky. "You're on." Théo returned the grin and well looked like the lesson was starting. Whoa now that was a name. Lets go with Mr. Baldvinsson. He was good with that. Wait maybe the Abey challenge would have to wait because this challenge would take some concentration and well doing it like Mr. Bald was on his broom would be really difficult. He mounted his broom and kicked off into the air. It was nice to be flying again |
Henry, Daisy, Levi ... And then Henry had made it and her heart just melted a little at that cheery wave, to which Skylar offered a smile in return and was about to return greetings to Levi and Daisy, when the Professor greeted her with remembering her name too! She didn't know why, but somehow having the If she didn't like him before, she definitely liked something about him now. Experienced flyers. That was her, considering how quidditch ran in her blood and she'd been flying since before Hogwarts. Fly through the hoops, that were moving. Well that didn't sound terribly challenging, unless she got caught, but she was smaller than some of her classmates and definitely the professor. So she was pretty certain that the hoops would be large enough. "Race ya?" Sky said, mischievous glint in her eyes at the three older students. Sure two of them played for England, but that just meant a bigger challenge for her. She knew she could be fast. And without waiting or dawdling around much more, the fourth year mounted her broom, kicking off into the air and flying in a figure eight first, before flying through the first hoop. Goodness, this felt good. |
Oh boy! THEY COULD FLY NOW AND THE PROFESSOR SAID THEY'D LEARN TO FLY ON THEIR BACKS DURING A LESSON!!!! Sounded like something to practice in her spare time so she'd be on par with everyone when that lesson came. It never hurt to be prepared and as she'd just realized, the Professor would probably separate the experienced from the inexperienced in that lesson too. She didn't WANNA be left on the ground with the inexperienced when that time came. Just look at Derf, he didn't even have to wait for the lesson to begin before he started flying. Lesson for another class. She wanted to get off the ground too. She'd of course seen Levi waving at her and she'd given him a wide grin in return but really she wanted to get up in the air. Jessa watched in awe as the hoops moved into the air. They'd be flying through those???? To be completely honest, the girl wasn't as experienced as some of the others that had already taken off, but she already knew the basics the Professor was instilling on the First Years and didn't think she needed that lesson so...."Up." Her voice was firm. Her sister had once told her that you had to make the broom know you meant it or it'd never listen. Had to be decisive and command the respect. It'd taken her a few tries back then but by now she was used to the solid wooden frame slamming into the palm of her hand. It was a relief really. One false move and the Professor might think she belonged on the ground. The Ravenclaw mounted her broom and pushed off the ground, making a steady ascent into the air. So far so good. Keep it calm Jessa. She knew what she was doing, for the most part. Never flown through moving hoops before but how hard could it be. |
Prof question, Olivia mention Emmeline smiled back at Olivia. "No problem! Me too, actually." Sometimes. When she wasn't scared she was going to fall out of the sky and be the worst flyer EVER. Her stomach felt like it was home to a LOT of worms that kept wriggleing around inside, and she bit her lip as she waited for the teacher to start talking. She listened as the professor mentioned that there would be two groups; which group should she go in? She did know how to fly after all, it was just landings -- and flying in straight lines -- that she had trouble with. But that was BORING stuff anyway, right? She waited to see what the other first years were doing, and it looked like most of them were going to stay on the ground. She supposed she should do that too, because even though the hoops were more fun, falling/crashing in front of everyone wouldn't be. And there were those worms in her stomach to remind her. So she grabbed a school broom off the ground at random and trudged over to the professor with the other beginners, occasionally sending envious looks over to the kids already in the sky. She was surprised that they had to talk to their brooms; she had always just grabbed her brother's broom and pushed off. Maybe that was why it didn't like her? Putting her school broom back on the ground, Emmeline gave it a very determined look and said, "Up!" But the dumb broom just laid there doing nothing. She frowned severely at it because she wanted to FLY, not play the broom's dumb games, and tried again. This time the broom rolled over on the ground! What! What use was it to her on the ground? Frowning severely at the broom, she said "up" AGAIN and the broom rolled over the OTHER way. She was not going to stamp her foot at the broom or throw a tantrum; that reminded her too much of the part-troll boy in her year, James Summers. Still, she felt super frustrated. She looked around to see if the other first years were having any better luck. It looked like they were, because some of them were in the air. Emmeline frowned back at the Dumb Broom and wondered what she was doing wrong. Sighing, she decided that she and this broom needed professional help. After she raised her hand, she asked: "Professor sir, why is mine rolling on the ground?" But she said this in a small voice as it occurred to her that maybe the broom wasn't dumb after all, maybe the problem was that she didn't have enough magic... She looked down at the rolling broom with a now-dejected expression on her face. |
Mel, Emmeline, Liv, Ace, professor...mentions of Derf and Kyle It had been tempting, but seeing as nobody else had done so, Stasya had wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have spoken in Icelandic to the groundskeeper. Maybe nobody else knew Icelandic, but when Mel had turned to ask what she said, it made the small blonde wonder. “Mhm,” she’d answered with a little nod, also giving Emmeline a grin as her friend had joined the little group. Plus a nearly confident nod to Liv as the older girl had asked if she was ready to fly. She thought she was, anyway. And she didn’t really mind being called dearest, either. It was kind of nice, if different. Not like having mama there, but someone fond of her. She was definitely distracted by all the discussion of why the cauldrons were there, not quite missing the quick grin from Ace, but she had grinned again when she suddenly had found the groundskeeper hovering near her. “Þakka þér fyrir!,” she’d replied, oddly feeling like she’d surprised him but also that he really didn’t mind that she’d spoken Icelandic. Except she was quickly reaching the point of not really knowing much more than what she’d already said. Mostly she just understood it, like when her grandparents visited. Either way, she’d already sort of chosen one of the brooms, so all that was left was to listen to the instructions. She’d been a little jealous of Liv and Derf and the others being able to do the other task, being able to fly so easily, but it also just gave her the challenge of trying to catch up to them. She’d gone over to a spot near Emmeline, either way, feeling bad when her friend was having trouble with her broom. “Maybe it’s broken?,” she offered, trying to help. Some of the brooms looked kind of old after all. She’d set her own school broom on the ground gently, watching as Kyle had accomplished the hovering they’d been asked to do. She couldn’t lie to Liv. She had to be ready to fly. “Up!,” she said, holding her hand over her broom like they’d been told. Nothing happened at first, but after she’d repeated herself a few more times the broom had slowly raised to the level of her hand and she’d curled her fingers over it. Climbing on, she’d tried to copy the way Mr. Baldvinsson had positioned himself when he’d demonstrated, but she didn’t kick off yet. She wanted to make sure Emmeline managed it first. |
Flying. Etta wasn't even sure why she was here. She was a decent flyer but honestly, she didn't feel like showcasing her flying skills to so many people AND the professor. She had been standing somewhere near the back, feeling a new level of nervousness. And --- wow. She looked up to stare at the moving hoops in wonder, something she'd never done before. Obviously. And she had to do it in the first attempt too or simply repeat it. Great. She could do this, yeah? She had already picked up a school broom earlier since she didn't have one of her own. Never did, really. Oh, well. Better to get this over with. Etta mounted her broom and pushed off from the ground, gaining altitude easily. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of fresh breeze against her face.. she did miss flying, even if she'd never admit it. Forgetting her fears for a moment, she simply enjoyed the moment as she headed towards the moving hoops. Oh gosh.. let her just do this, please. |
Return to the ground? Maybe? No thank you, sir! Although the second year did glide down a liiiiiiitle more so he was hovering over the pitch, legs wagging this way and that while the groundskeeper with way too many long and difficult names spoke. Hadn't he heard someone call him Professor B? He was going to stick with that, if it was okay. 2043 though...that was FOREVER ago! The cogs in the Hufflepuff's head were already beginning to spin with thoughts on this subject, but he was easily distracted when the topic of conversation moved on to what they would be doing today....which was apparently flying through hoops. STILL WAY MORE THAN WHAT THEY HAD DONE LAST YEAR SO ALREADY THIS WAS LOADS MORE EXCITING. Since he was already hovering, Derf was easily able to resume his flying and quickly sped off after Theo and Abey. Part of him REALLY wanted to stay behind and help Stasya and Emmeline and others but like...they had heard the man. Show him what they could do! "GUUUUUUUUUUUUYS-S-S! HAWKSHEAD ATTACK FORMATION! HAWKSHEAD ATTACK FORMATION!" Was Daisy watching him? Did she see? |
Liv was excited for flying. She greeted Mr. Baldvinsson, which is what she preferred to call him. She didn't own a broom, so she picked one of the school brooms. The students were fighting over a broom but she chose to pick a broom and leave. The teacher, as she saw, was very old-fashioned. Her House won the House cup last semester, which was extraordinary. |
Good choice. Daisy had to stop herself from visibly preening at the Professor's words about her broomstick, but she still nodded in agreement and looked down at her broomstick. It was a good choice, Dad had helped her choose. It was fast but reliable, with incredible balance. Very, very useful if you mainly used it when you were flying around at insane speeds, throwing a Quaffle around and avoiding other people. And the stands. And the bludgers. Those two seemed to be her issues, to be honest. Nevertheless, Professor Baldvinsson would definitely be getting a visit from her because he seemed to not be aware that the Quidditch Cup was, unfortunately, not a thing at Hogwarts anymore. Maybe -- she tried not to get her hopes too high, but it was kind of impossible -- he would be the one to bring it back. Honestly. Daisy would cry tears of joy, which was saying a lot because she didn't even remember the last time she had cri -- wait, no, she did. Uhm. Moving on. As soon as she heard the instructions, she kicked one leg over her broomstick and got ready to fly away, but clearly, age was getting to her and making her slow. As soon as Skylar flew off, Daisy turned to the boys and shook her head, amused. Aaah, young blood. Or younger blood, whatever. She couldn't deny that she felt some sort of friendship duty to stick around and wait for Levi, but at the same time, there had been a horn. People were flying off. Daisy was shuffling on the spot, visibly excited. Eeeeh. She'd pull the best friend card later. "Meet you guys back here, okay?" And with that she tightly grasped the wooden handle of the broomstick with both, kicked the ground hard and flew off into the air. She zoomed past Derf trying to enlist Abey and Théo into a version of the Hawkshead Attack Formation and spared the boy a quick smile before flying off, towards the first hoop. She focused on its movements, happy that her Quidditch training helped her with that. After all, she had to figure out where Henry and Zinnia would be before she threw the Quaffle at him, or the movement of the opposing team's Keeper before she attempted to send the red ball through the hoop. So it was with relative ease that she went through the first one and continued towards the second one, zigzagging her way around the other students. Second one? Easy peasy. But then something played on her mind and she looked back towards the ground as she approached the third hoop, and her concentration was, however momentarily, lost. The thing about flying, you see, was that it was incredibly hard. It required full attention, maximum levels of concentration. The tiniest distraction could bring trouble and Daisy was good, she was exceptional even, but she was also only sixteen years old and, therefore, prone to making mistakes. As soon as she looked forward once more, she realised her mistake and tried to swerve the broomstick, but at the speed she was going it wasn't nearly enough and the bristles of her broomstick hit the hoop as it moved, sending her spinning around. Her feet slipped off the crossbars and for a few seconds she seemed incapable of stopping the spinning broomstick. Mentally, she thanked her Dad for always telling her mistakes on a broomstick were normal and she always needed to remain calm. So, she did. And eventually her feet steadied themselves on the metal bars once more, and she pulled at the handle, bringing the broomstick to a halt. Right. Better take a few seconds to regain her focus once more, then. |
Haraldur, although keeping an eye on the older students so they were all right, stayed with the younger students to see if they needed assistance... Text Cut: Kyle The flying instructor kept silent as the young first year tried to summon his broom over and over again. He would have stepped in if no progress was made, but he knew the boy had it. He just had a feeling. When the broom left the ground to fly up into the young boy's outstretched hand, the professor lit up finally letting out an excited cheer. "Well done, Mr. Erikson! Well done!" He hovered on his broom and watched the boy mount his broom, take off and then fall to the ground. "Don't lose courage, son." He glanced at the other young students before returning his attention to Kyle. He gave him an applaud once the young boy had managed to lift off. "Well done, Mr. Erikson! Take 2 points for Slytherin, for excellent broom work." Yes, he was indeed very proud. The flying instructor glanced over towards the experienced flyers who started to take off over the pitch. First off was Miss Phillips, taking off looking confident and sure on her broom. His attention shifted to the young Mr. Botros and couldn't help but feel proud at the young boy's excitement. Yes, yes, very good. Haraldur watched Miss Holden take off and waited if she needed something, but in contrast to her previous nervous approach she looked safe up there in the air. He smiled at Mr. Montmorency. The young boy took off after Mr. Botros and he nodded his head approvingly. There were many brilliant young flyers. Speaking of brilliant flyers... Miss Diggory looked as comfortable as ever up there on her broom, not that he would have expected anything else. Miss Cambridge was up in the air not too long after that. Haraldur watched curiously as Miss Cambridge commanded her broom to fly up to her hand only to mount it moments later. Brave girl. He nodded approvingly before a younger student stole his attention... Text Cut: Emmeline Haraldur hovered over to the young Gryffindor, giving her broom a quick glance. "You need to show it who's boss, Miss Sparkes." He cleared his throat and got comfortable on his own broom as he stayed behind, right next to her. "Your connection with the broom is as important as that with your wand. You need to trust it, and it needs to trust you. This takes time. Don't rush it. It should want to obey you. Take a deep breath and try again, Miss Sparkes. I know you're close now. Give it a go." As he stayed next to Miss Sparkes he glanced over at Miss Dalgaard-Volkova who just managed to command her broom and mount it correctly. He gave her a nod and a smile. "Well done, Miss Dalgaard-Volkova." He commanded her, he was certain she wouldn't have any problem to kick off into a hover. As he waited for this, Haraldur glanced over at the other group of students where the female Hufflepuff prefect just took flight. Miss Kramer looked very sure and comfortable up on her broom and he quickly looked over to another student. Young Mr. Ashburry-Hawthorne was already in the air, or had he never touched down to the ground? Either way, he was zooming off towards the hoops and the flying instructor watched him with pride. He did love his passionate flyers. A young Ravenclaw student had grabbed a school broom and he gave her an encouraging look. "Give it a go, Miss Awning." Haraldur watched Miss Carden fly off and caught her spinning in the air. He was about to roll over, mount his own broom correctly and kick off in the air to join her but she gained control of her broom and he stayed behind with the first years. "Good broom control, Miss Carden!" He called to her. Very well dealt with, indeed. OOC: You still have around 10-12 hours left to complete this mini-activity. Catch-up posts are always welcomed, guys ^_^ We'll be around! |
Kyle smiled at the encouragement he got from the professor. And once he got himself up in the air and back, he had earned two points for his house! He felt ecstatic! He lifted off the ground and cheered from atop his broom and almost lost his balance, quickly placing both hands on the broom again to support himself. He leaned back and landed again, unable to stop smiling. He wasn't sure how he would handle being high up in the air, but he would manage somehow. Flying class may not be so bad after all. He continued practicing taking off and landing, getting more confident each time. |
She needed to relax. The broom had risen into the air like she'd wanted and there was no bucking or other malfunction--just like every other time she'd flown. It was just...the nerves, you know? Of not wanting to be called back to the ground and stuck with the beginners. The girl would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous of the way Derf and Theo just sped off, Derf yelling things she could only assume were quidditch related. The thing was, flying wasn't the problem, it was keeping focus with literally everything happening around her. It was for this reason that she remained seated on her broom, hovering in the same spot while she watched the others make an attempt at the hoops. Zipping across the pitch was one thing, zipping through hoops that moved of their own accord was another. Some part of her was trying to find a pattern...overthinking as it were. It was the story of her life really. Her legs kicked idly and her posture was one of someone pensive but relaxed. Up...down....across....down....but none of them seemed to move like the other and none seemed to keep up the pattern she thought she'd made out. Wasn't long til the young girl was subconsciously gnawing away at her lower lip. Of course she could just rush in, put her hand eye coordination to the test but...there had to be SOME thing. |
Emmeline smiled gratefully at Stasya as her friend suggested the broom was broken, but she shook her head. "I think it's just stubborn," she told the other young Gryffindor. Despite her own issues, she was really happy when Stasya's broom did what it was supposed to and the blonde girl climbed on. "Good going!" Emmeline grinned at Stasya again, and gave her own broom another try before Mr. Baldvinsson came over. She realized then that Stasya was probably waiting for her, and shot her friend a grateful look, but continued in the small voice: "You can go ahead, I don't want to hold you up." She wanted Stasya to get to hover before time was called after all. The fact that Mr. Baldvinsson had hovered next to her and didn't seem to be leaving was very reassuring to the young lion, and she relaxed slightly. She listened closely to what he was telling her, and she felt relieved that he didn't say that she didn't have enough magic to fly properly. She reminded herself that she'd flown on her brother's broom, sort of, but that hadn't required showing it anything or trusting really; if it didn't throw her big brother off, why would it throw anyone else off? Still, Mr. Baldvinsson was the flying professor for a reason and she was sure he knew what he was talking about. Comparing brooms with wands worried her slightly again because her wand had chosen her, and this broom could not have shown that it didn't want to fly for her more clearly. What if it didn't choose her-- But no, Mr. Baldvinsson seemed to think it would work for her. Show it who's boss and trust it. Right. Taking a deeeeep breath, Emmeline moved her hand above the broom once again. She glanced nervously at the professor again, but he still hadn't left. "Up!" More rolling on the ground. She sighed, but she was not going to give up now, not with the teacher and Stasya waiting. Emmeline tried to recall the wonderful sensation of soaring over the countryside, even if it wasn't proper flying. She really wanted to get in the air again, and surely this broom did. "UP!" And at last, the broom jumped up the hovering position! She grinned broadly at Mr. Baldvinsson and Stasya. "Thanks, sir!" Without waiting long, she eagerly swung her leg over the broomstick and copied Mr. Baldvinsson's grip and position as best as she could. Turning to Stasya, she asked her friend: "Ready?" |
It was another while of just hovering there, watching the others before Jessa came to a conclusion--two actually. 1. She could not sit here indefinitely. 2. A little more time on the pitch couldn't hurt in building some confidence. It shouldn't have been this daunting to throw herself at a bunch of moving hoops, but at any given time there was so much going through the Ravenclaw's brain that the task seemed almost impossible. Eventually, the young girl took a deep breath, steeling her resolve. She would have to get a move on before those on the ground came to join them; that would have been the true mark of her falling behind. Jessa leaned forward on her broom, finally willing it into action just as someone zipped by her to enter the obstacle course of hoops. It was next or never, that was what she told herself. Soon the wind was whipping against her face, her hair trailing behind her in the messy braid she'd managed. The first hoop seemed easy enough but in all honesty she'd just flown into it. A stroke of luck as it were based on it's random movement. Ironically, that was how she'd zipped through the second as well. Weird how that worked, it was almost effortless, like her eyes knew where they wanted to go and the broom fell in sync. In reality it was likely very subtle movements in her own body at the sight of each hoop--no Jessa. Don't think too much about it. Just let it happen. |
Just being up in the air was almost actually enough to make Abey forget the whole point of the being in the air thing. The whole 'do this and then that and then the other thing and then come back' or something. Yes, there was a POINT to the flying, and Abey remembered. Barely. HOOPS FIRST! Easy peasy to get through hoops ESPECIALLY WHEN you were small and thin because that meant there was a lot more margin for error. NOT that Abey needed margin for error because actually he was excellent at flying actually and it was the only thing he was really excellent at at all. AND ACTUALLY even his new wand said that he was a really good flier, so like... that meant it was the law or something. The yell of Derf reached Abey's ears JUST ABOUT, but it was a little hard to hear properly actually because of the whole FLYING thing. Also, Abey was IMPATIENT TO FLY and he was a liiiiiiittle bit tempted to ignore the yelling and go straight for the hoops... but he didn't because it was his VILLAIN and also they were supposed to be showing their skills and flying in formation was ONE OF THE ULTIMATE SKILLS. Even if it meant it didn't make a WHOLE lot of logical sense in terms of going THROUGH the hoops. The Hawkshead Attack Formation was all about forcing other Quidditch players out of the way while flying TOWARDS the hoo-... Uhh... the goalposts. Usually. But maybe it would work on hoops too! "OKAAAAAAY! BUT I'M IN FRONT!" Because he'd called dibs. Right then. HE'D CALLED IT. So that all he had to worry about was getting through the hoops, and trying to judge where they would be by the time he reached them. Speaking of which... FIRST hoop... easy peasy! Well... not easy at all actually, BUT THAT WAS HIS STORY AND HE WAS STICKING TO IT. Onwards he went, determined and focused. And fast. |
Stasya had given the groundskeeper a grin when he had complimented her, but that hadn’t meant that she was abandoning her plan to wait for Emmeline. Friends didn’t let other friends fail, so for now she was perfectly willing to stay on the ground even if she could sense her broom was maybe getting a little impatient. Besides, even though Emmeline had told her she could go on ahead, there wasn’t anywhere to go. All they were supposed to do was practice hovering and landing. She figured it didn’t matter if she waited or not for that, and right now, she wanted to wait until her friend’s broom had cooperated. Along with the groundskeeper, apparently. They would give her support, the confidence that she was going to manage it. Not to mention, she was not going to go anywhere while her friend was frustrated. She had grinned again when the stubborn broom had finally risen up to the other girl’s hand, still mounted on her own even though she had yet to push off. Therefore her feet were still, sort of, on the ground. Enough that she thought she could manage to push off once she chose to, anyway. “Yup,” she responded, adding a nod for good measure even as she had pushed off and hovered maybe a foot or so off the ground, watching to make sure the other girl had managed it too. Only then did she lean back a little and feel the broom lowering her back down until her feet were on the ground again. It seemed easy enough. |
Etta could see the hoops clearly now, slowing down considerably. She felt the sudden pang of anxiety and nervousness again. See, this is why she needed to practice flying often. The girl hovered mid-air for a little while, watch people fly through the hoops easily enough. It shouldn't be that difficult and yet. The girl sighed, realising that she couldn't just stay here forever. Instead, taking a deep breath, she focused on the hoops and carefully studied the their movement. It was an easy-enough activity, there really was so need for anxiety. Gosh, Etta. Narrowing her eyes and leaning forward just a little, she zoomed forward. She flew towards one of the hoops in the middle.. concentrating.. concentrating... and found herself right at the other end. Wait. Did she just do it? She turned around to make sure the line of hoops were behind her, the biggest smile appearing on her face. Heh. She did it. |
Lucas smiled snighly as the professor set forth the activity. He knew he could have some fun with this as a master flyer. Lucas took hold of his broom and boarded it. He then kicked off the ground and took off. He sped through the rings almost knocking the more hesitant flyers over. Before long he had the couldron in his hand and he kicked off to head through the rings again but now he was getting a bit too cockey. He attempted to go to the rings at top speed and he knocked his hand against one of the rings causing him to drop his couldron right where the first year flyers were, "LOOK OUT, FALLING CAULDRON", Lucas bellowed frantically. The last thing he wanted was for some poor first year flyer to get hurt. He was as class clown, not a sadist. |
*lost the LONG POST I JUST MADE* *crying* It was exhilarating...being this high up in the sky again. To be honest, Olivia found herself to be in a much better temperament as she rode the wind above the others down below. It was peaceful, calming... providing a sense of freedom... A false sense, but one that was much needed at the current moment, all the same. It had been so long since she'd felt anything like it...and instead of immediately going for the hoops, as most everyone else had, the blonde found herself accelerating to a breakneck speed; laying nearly flat against her broom handle as she maneuvered into the curve of the stadium. Crisp, autumn wind was whipping and thrashing at her face and hair, but she didn't trouble herself with any of those details. This was, after all, meant to be about "showing off", right? Well, what better way to demonstrate her skills than to put on a little show all her own? True, Liv probably seemed a bit rusty at first (and she was, GAH), but her mum was funny about her being on a broom at home. And she'd been otherwise preoccupied this summer with getting engaged to the Head Boy and living it up with Althea Kenning. So..... Hoops, what? Ha! Just kidding Mr. Baldvinsson. She'd be getting to those hoops in just a moment. If the need arose, Olivia would submit a formal apology later on, but it was impossible for her not to do a lap of two just to get the feel of her broom again. It'd been aaages after all....... Well, okay, about six months, but still. That seemed like ages to her. SO MUCH had happened in that measly six months. ANYWAY, it was time to get down to business. She didn't want to waste too much time zipping around the pitch and not completing the activity. There was a point to make here; concerning her grades and keeping up with them with all that was going on. Also, Liv's speed wasn't for the faint of heart. It probably seemed reckless, stupid, and juvenile to anyone watching, but this girl was in complete control of her broom, just as her father had taught her. In fact, WATCH THIS (famous Gryffindor last words)... Steering the handle in a hard left, Olivia drove into the bend of the stadium stands, keeping her composure in tact as she used the momentum coming out of it to propel herself towards the hoops. Naturally, since said hoops were not stationary, Liv had to pull up to decease her pace....attempting to anticipate the movements of the rings as they completed their vertical, to horizontal, to diagonal drift. Tricksy hoops. Tricksy, indeed. Not a second later, she shot through the first ring, allowing her body to fall into place as she was forced to coast through the awaiting second one. It'd been too close and had nearly knocked into her broom.... DECEITFUL! Luckily...there seemed to be enough space between it and the third one to allow for some quickness and fancy trickery....which was basically just her avoiding the hoop edges like a recoiling snake. Her mum would've been so proud, right? Also, what made this leagues more challenging was the fact that they were attempting to complete this activity all at the same time. So, there was some consideration from Liv as some of her ickles were up here with her... Well, Abey was, anyway. She was mindful of him and the Montmorency boy... and Derf, and Jessa...all of whom she'd taken a liking to. Actually, the blonde found herself moving at their pace.... sorta. As they neared the stack of cauldrons... the hoops seemed to become more vigorously...or was that just to her own mind? That might've been her imagination acting up...as she was SO CLOSE to finishing... but it definitely seemed to be the truth. Her imagination could be absolutely insane at times... Zipping up out of the fray of her smaller peers, Olivia attempted to line align her body with the awaiting rings, so that she could make a straight shot through those remaining... NO, she wasn't going to miss any of them... This was strategy! It would never be her intention to knock anyone off a broom or accidentally push them, and these were aggressive ickles (surprisingly). Ugh, not finishing fast was going to bug her, but that's the risk you ran wen being mindful of others. It was no big deal. She'd collect her cauldron and run it again........ Aaaaaand taaaaking said cauldron in THREE........TWO.....ONE.... Flatting herself against her broom handle again, Olivia raced downward through the remaining rings, effectively cutting in front of the smaller children (WITHOUT HARMING THEM)... whipping out her broom as she neared the cauldron stack. Listen, these things were heavy... and she wasn't about to kill herself transporting a hunk of metal across the sky. What if she dropped one on an smaller child below? She NEVER would've forgiven herself.... NEVER. She had children down there! Carlton, Stasya, Kyle... Needless to say, it was best to charm hers. Mhm. Everyone should've followed suit. Snatching it up, she sat it atop her head like a makeshift helmet and took off towards the starting point; landing just a moment later. Throwing her leg over the side, the lionlady plopped down on the soft, pitch grass. She run the course again in a bit. That had only been the MINI activity, after all. THERE WAS MORE TO COME! |
Text Cut: Individual replies <3 After the last student had touched back down on the ground, Mr. Baldvinsson couldn’t help but show his excitement by levitating up and down in the air in a bouncing manner. ”Yes, yes, well done everybody!” Proud ex-ranger here. ”Please, take a seat everyone.” The soft grass is ever so warm and comfy. But the excitment from being in the air would have to simmer down a bit for now. ”I know Quidditch is no longer practiced at Hogwarts.” The Flying Instructor glared up at the castle at this statement. He wouldn’t mind an evening in the Igloo, discussing how much of an annoyance that was to him. But for now, it was a sore subject for everyone currently on the pitch. Moving on. He flew very close to the students, eyeing each and everyone one of them as he spoke dramatically. ”Since Quidditch is no longer practiced at Hogwarts. I thought we could come up with a new tradition... Something I have played all my life on Svalbard...” Yeah? You getting excited? You’re ready for this? He let go off the broom and flew his hands out. ”Creaothceann!” Again, no applauds. Although he did like when the sound of clapping hands came spontaneously he might have to actually teach the students when to clap for him. Right now, they could fly and all but the applauding was just terrible. Just terrible. ”It’s fun! It’s fun!” He reassured them. ”Don’t listen to the Ministry. Ministry-Schministry, am I right?” He was right. Haraldur flew back to his original position in front of the class, still levitating, he leaned forward, propping his elbows up on the broomstick to rest his head in them. ”Anyone mind telling me why Creaothceann isn’t played at Hogwarts? Or anywhere? How does one play the game?” Come, come don't be shy. With a raise of hands, please. OOC: Alrighty! This one is pretty simple guys, answer Haraldur’s questions: - Why is Creathceann not played anymore? - How does the game work? You have approximately 24 hours to answer the questions. This means class will be moving on tomorrow Sunday 14th of May 9.30 am GMT+2/ 3.30 am EDT. |
Daniel had been stood quietly wondering what to say, when suddenly the Professor asked a question and his hand shot into the air. "Professor, is it because according to reports it is one of the most deadly games that is played on a broom?" He had read that somewhere, "Though I would love to see it in action, nothing can be too dangerous surely." |
No but...it was his idea so shouldn't he be in front?! Or could they take turns? Ultimately decided that it really didn't matter to him whether or not he was in front, Derf sooooooared and sped through the air, easily gliding through the hoops and only clipping the back bristles of his broom once when he tried doing a little additional small corkscrew sort of trick while flying through one of them. Had Daisy seen that? Not the small clipping but the corkscrew? WOULD SHE SIGN HIS FACE?! Ahem...anyway... Gliding back down to the pitch - wait...were they supposed to have done something more than just fly through hoops? Oops. Distractions happened again - and dismounting briefly to listen to the flying instructor speak. Derf DID clap, actually, thank you very much, because ANYTHING that meant they could actually use their brooms was a good deal to him! But nearly as soon as the second year's eyes lit up...they dimmed. "Becaus-s-se the threat on Hogwarts-s-s was-s-s for all athletics-s-s?" he responded after raising his hand. He remembered mum being SUPER upset about it - still was really - because she loved watching quidditch matches while she worked as a professor. "S-Somefing about how flying was-s-s only for the birds-s-s and everything else unnatural...I think..." So that would include Creaothceann, yeah? They could go look in the archives of the Daily Prophet if necessary to clarify. "But you play by doing what she did," he added, pointing to Olivia and the cauldron!helmet she had. "Only not as a helmet but the other way, opening up, so you can catch rocks-s-s in it." |
Etta landed after flying through the hoops for a while, not really wanting to come down at all. Honestly. It felt so good to be up in the air after so long.. that she wondered why she didn't practice that often. Obviously, she wasn't good enough to be playing professional quidditch but it would be nice to fly occasionally. She'd have to keep that in mind. She settled comfortably on the grass, the excitement still clearly visible on her face... when it turned to one of surprise. WHAT? Creaothceann? What was he even talking about? FUN? She had read about it.. of course so the prefect raised her hand, the look of incredulity still present on her face. How did he call it FUN? Really. Something was very wrong with him. She raised a hand, giving him a very disapproving look. "Professor, I apologise for disagreeing with you but it's a terrible, terrible sport.. incredibly dangerous. Basically, the players have a cauldron on their heads and they have to catch falling rocks and stones with it.." Her voice trailed off, almost shuddering at how horrible that was. Why were they even discussing it? |
life happened >_< || *catching up* x3 Professor long name. It must be a tradition for the motherland because his dad also has a mile long name. He smiled happily as the man continued to speak. He likes this guy mmhm fo sho. Ohhh so he's just gonna let them strut their stuff? This Curly Top doesnt need to be told twice! Tenacius hopped on his broom and pushed off, making a beeline for the nearest hoop floating in the air. Flying through hoops, zipping this way and that. His dad joked that he learned to zoom first before he could walk. And his adeptness in the air seem to indicate that. Of course as with anyone who moves speedily he was bound to make mistakes-- oops there he goes dinging his shoulder on a hoop...... whoah that was a close one mustve lost a few curls there..... aaaand finally the prize-- a cauldron! Tenacius zoomed his way back towards the pitch, glided over the ground before letting his broom hover over a spot. Can he just hover-sit over here like the Prof? He's more comfortable chillin like this. And they ARE gonna talk about Creaothceann! He fist pumped the air on the man's words, ministry schministry indeed! Up goes the hand in reply "Because the game is basically played like catch the falling rocks with your head Professor, with a metal pot as a shock absorber..." the leonine lad laughed "Didnt help of course that it doesnt have that great of a safety track record.... but I think that can be remedied. I mean Quidditch is highly dangerous too, but they got safety procedures and rules, I think Creaothceann can work out as a good sport provided that there are rules and regulations set in place, standardize equipment, things like that." |
Eeep, catching up Olly wasn't going to miss a flying lesson, of course. He was standing quietly, watching this new flying instructor. It seemed that they were going to begin the lesson with a little test. He was not the best flyer in the world, and he didn't play for a youth quidditch team like he knew some of his classmates did. But he enjoyed flying. He was a wizard, after all. Se he headed over to the supply of school brooms, since he did not have one of his own, and mounted it. This test didn't look too hard. Olly kicked off the ground, and then he was flying. First step, fly through the hoops. He could do that, even if they were moving a bit in air. He didn't try to race anybody, like some of the others were doing. He went slow and steady, veering back and forth as needed to soar through each of the hoops. It was nice. Olly didn't actually fly that much, but when he was up there he wondered why. It was nice. And it was peaceful. It was definitely something he should do more often. Olly made it through all of the hoops to the other side of the pitch. What was it he had to do again? Right, pick up a cauldron and fly it back to where he had started. That was only a little more difficult. He didn't often fly while holding things. It would be easier for someone who was used to playing quidditch. Someone who caught and threw quaffles while flying all the time. Sure he'd thrown a quaffle back and forth while on a broom before, but not really flown long distances with it. Still, he could do it. He grabbed one of the cauldrons and held it securely in his hands before flying back, under the hoops, to where he had started. He was a bit wobbly but there was no falling or dropping, and he flew back the length of the pitch without much trouble. He made it back to where he started and his feet touched the ground as he landed. And they were talking. About a sport that he could not ever hope to pronounce and didn't really know anything about. Olly stood quietly off to the side and let the others answer. |
catching up :3 Flying, flying, flying. Skylar was in her zone, focused and determined to make it through those moving hoops, that it took a moment before she realized people were touching back down. Were they done already? Squinting down at the ground, it seemed the Professor was continuing on with a discussion, and she zoomed down, having not finished getting through all the hoops, sadly, but in time to hear Professor B shout loudly Creaothceann and address the class with a few questions about the sport. Why wasn't it played at Hogwarts or anywhere? UH DUH, because it was like the most dangerous broom game ever! Raising her hand, she spoke of what she knew about the game, "Twelve players, wear cauldrons strapped to their heads. And like ten players will die." Kind of brutal, if you asked her. |
Kyle, not really much one for flying in the first place, had no idea about this sport. He listened to the others' answers and his eyes grew wide. Especially as someone mentioned that players died. Brutal! Though, catching falling rocks in a cauldron on their heads didn't seem like a bad thing of the rocks were small enough. But why a cauldron on their heads? Couldn't they just carry the cauldron and catch pebbles? |
Don't rush it? Easy for him to say down there hovering with the Firsties while she had to pretend like she belonged up here zooming around like everyone else. Jessa did slow it down a little, finding it was easier to maneuvre her way through the hoops when she did. Pretty soon, it didn't seem so hard, in fact at some point the girl had begun to speed back up. It was a gradual process, hardly noticeable unless you compared the initial speed with the end result but she could tell. As her confidence going through the hoops grew, so did her accuracy at getting through them. At the Professor's instruction, Jessa descending, coming to a bit of a running...jog....then walk into a more stationary position. Her landings were improving, she'd noticed that too. Much like some of her classmates had opted to do, the young girl took a seat on the soft grass. She hardly knew much about Quidditch, suffice to say she knew even less about Creaothceann. Consequently, she remained silent, taking it all in. The Professor said it was fun, but listening to her classmates, she couldn't help thinking she would prefer to play Quidditch--even if she wasn't entirely good at that either. |
Bit of Catch Up ><"" Zarina heard the Professor greet her and she couldn't help but give a warm smile in return. He seemed to be a bubbly fellow. She gave him credit for his personality. As she waited eagerly to fly on her broom, she heard him give his greeting. Wait...wait a minute. His name was whatt? Zae didn't quite catch that. Is there a shortened form of it? She will call him Professor B for short. Yeah that would work. Well she already got the school broom already so she was ahead of the game. Ooohoo so he was giving the experienced flyers a challenge? Well this could go horribly wrong or Zae could be amazing. She didn't really have any experience flying before. Her family never really taught her. She would sit this one out. Zae went with the group similar to hers. She went with the first and second years and she was waiting for instructions. Once she heard Professor B tell them what to do it was a piece of cake. Once the horn was blown, she raised her hand over the broom handle and commanded, "UP!" Hmm nothing happened. Maybe her broom was a dud? Zarina rolled her eyes and wished it worked the first time. She held out her hand and said, "UP!" a little more forceful this time. It came up to her hand in seconds. "WOAH!" she couldn't help it. It was so cool it worked. Now time to mount her broom. She hastily put her leg around the broom handle and sat down on it. This wasn't really that comfortable that's for sure. She began to lean forward and kicked off and felt herself begin to float. Woooahh she was doing it! She was ACTUALLY doing it! She beamed with delight and then she felt herself getting a little higher for her liking and then she leaned back and went to the ground. Zae didn't need the cushioning charm after all! Once Zae felt comfortable and the Professor called the lesson to a halt, she sat down and listened to Professor B's lecture. Wait Quidditch wasn't practiced here anymore? Sayyy whaatt? Zarina was looking forward to it! Aw man. She heard his term and just stared at him like he was dumb. That didn't even sound like English. That sounded like gibberish. She smirked and wondered how many teachers listened to the ministry. The ministry always were uptight. Never let them have any fun. So Professor B wanted to know what Creaothceann was? Zarina had no clue. She could offer a random thought though, "I am guessing that game of Creaothceann dealt with creatures and they attacked people on brooms?" She shrugged and waited for his reaction. |
Hah. Rooney Bronwyn was not as graceful on a broom as others would expect him to be, given his graceful presence on a stage. He wasn't awful, but it certainly wasn't something he would be urged to continue on with after Hogwarts. Cauldron collected, he joined the rest of the students for the next portion of their class. Head tilted, the boy looked confused at the answer given by Zarina. There was a weird imagination on that one, for sure. He did think the chat about quidditch at Hogwarts was interesting though. He, for one, did not have an opinion about it. He hadn't had it as a hobby and it was nothing for him to 'miss' being here at school without it. Not having quidditch for those that played quidditch was just the same as him not having the stage when here. EITHAH WAY... Roo put his hand up in the air. "It's not played because heaven forbid we get hurt playing a game, when we actually just get hurt by things that spawn in the castle." He didn't want to, you know, cause problems...but....hey, it was a real thing. There was this whole 'noooooo' aspect about sports, but how many kids had almost died last year just by being in the castle????? "But yeah, like Tenacius said, it could be easily adapted with safety regulations." |
ketchup Okay now it was time to get to business. Théo angled his broom towards the first enchanted hoop and sped towards it. He was not thinking of racing anyone or even looking at what his friends were doing because he got distracted. Flying was all that mattered right now. This summer really paided off and not hitting anyone or anything odd happening he made his ways through the hoops and made it to the cauldrons. Soo far so good. He picked on up and sped back along the side of the pitch and ended up back where he was landing as well as he could. Eh he still had to work on perfecting his landings. Well, a seat it not really what he wants to do just after flying. Really all he wants to do is get back in the air. But he listened and took a seat. Uhh how do you even say that? Théo tried in his head and well it still was not working out for him. Welp Théodore had no idea what this thing was so he was going to be quiet and learn something hopefully fun since the Ministry did not like it and Professor...Groundkeepr Bald liked it. |
As she lay there on the grass, the blonde took stock of those around her. Everyone else who'd been up in the air with her seemed to have survived. So, that was great. Flying wasn't meant to be a point of stress. It was supposed to be fun. So, this made her happy. Yay for NO DEATHS or INJURIES. Mr. Baldvinsson was probably very pleased with the lot of them... and he'd even praised her own skill. YAS!!!! Though she was still lying down, Olivia waved in his direction. "THANK YOU, SIR!" The words were shouted because she was comfy and didn't feel like sitting up just yet. Lazy daisy! .... AND HA! TOLD. YOU. C r e a o t h c e a n n! That was enough to have her sitting up and regarding those gathered. Yes, because TOLD YOU....whoever she'd been speaking to about it. Her brain was fuzzy from the joy of flying still.... "Sir, you are mental if you think this is considered fun." A good mental, of course. Liv wasn't in the habit of disrespecting her professors as so many others were. "I suppose it could be a good practice for working out one's evasive maneuvering, but as a sport, it couldn't have been too much fun for spectators." Also, the blonde still had her cauldron perched atop her curls. She pointed to it. "They wore cauldrons on their heads.... I'm guessing they were most likely equipped with charms to make them lighter. As I have done to this one." Though, Liv wasn't wearing it in the proper way. It'd have to be upside down to collect any falling rocks. In fact... "Much like with quidditch, they could simply use magic to improve the game." Kinda like a magical object was used to replace the snidget, since those were nearly extinct from the brutality of their role in the game. Having to be caught and all and rough treatment by seekers. "Make the rocks softer....or something. Depending on how many one player caught, the weight on his or her neck could be enough to cause a lot of problems, too" Of course, Olivia wasn't a ministry game developer and it wasn't her job to fuss and worry about it. Save that for the Ravenclaws present. ...And we see you pointing, Derf-bean! Huzzah, kid. |
Text Cut: Individual replies <3 Text Cut: Individual replies <3 Haraldur stopped his hovering in front of the class and clapped his hands together once to get everyone's attention. "Well done everyone. As most of you said, it's a dangerous sport. Or used to be, when it was practiced. It was actually made illegal in 1762." Ahem, let's move on quickly now. "But as Miss Phillips pointed out, so was quidditch back in the day." He leaned back on his broom, clasped his hands over his chest and just briefly wished he had some snacks to nibble on before he continued. "Both Mr. Salander and Mr. Bronwyn mentioned the dangerous aspect of the game would be avoided by just having the right regulations. I am a strong believer in this. Nothing can improve if we don't try. Quidditch wouldn't be such a beloved sport as it is today if people that came before us hadn't improved it. Who knows, even quidditch might have been against the law." Dramatic gasp. Or he would have done a dramatic gasp if he wasn't in such a comfortable position. "SO, kids." Yes, kids. Even those older kids were still kids. "It's our duty for the generations to come to actually think about this." Was he being overdramatic? Eh... "What could be done to improve the game? What could be done to make it less dangerous?" He shot Miss Kramer a look here. "What changes could be made for it to be allowed again?" Directly translated this meant: How could he persuade the headmistress to allow it? OOC: Okidoki! Answer Haraldur's questions on how to improve creaothceann. What safety measures, rules or regulations could be enforced? Any changes to the rules of the game to make it less dangerous? Do you think there's any chance of it ever being legal again? Why? Why not? Creativityy! *jazz hands* Class will be moving on in approximately 24 hours. At Monday 15th of May 9 am GMT +2/3 am EDT |
Resting her hands in her lap, because she very much liked the Groundskeeper and having a go at him, Liv beamed at the raised brow. SAME TEAM, MR. BALDVINSSON! And she 100% agreed that nothing was too dangerous that couldn't be tweaked. Besides, one of her mother's biggest gripes was how the Ministry regulated everything. ALSO, it was puzzling how they pushed to make quidditch work, but hadn't afforded the same honor to other sports. She supposed from a public standpoint, quidditch was simply more marketable. Better PR. Good for their economy and everything...on an international level? Money, money, money... "As I was saying before, they could probably use a charm to make the rocks softer, or perhaps even use a different object other than rocks." Rocks to the head... sounded like a lawsuit waiting to happen, to be quite honest. To her, it didn't even sound that entertaining. Maybe they could catch rubber balls? Snowflakes? Bird poop? All of those things sounded leagues more hilarious. "....and maybe something besides a hunk of metal on top of the head could be used. If I hadn't put a feather-light charm on this cauldron, my neck would be seriously strained." Strained and in pain. Ho-de-hum. Eh, she wasn't a Ravenclaw... Go ahead, Rooney. This was all you. |
This was the sort of question that got the Ravenclaw's brain working at hyper speed. It was possibly no secret that the young girl liked to pull things a part, not only to see how they worked but also to see how they could. In this case, they'd already done the deconstructing leaving the process of building it back up in such a way that it was no longer in the same predicament as before. Like...like hypothesizing. Merlin knew the girl spent hours on that when she could. The thing was, the world was full of infinite possibilities and Jessa was one of those believers in their being more than one way to skin a kneazle. Take creaothceann for instance. There had to be a way of changing it while preserving the things that made the game enjoyable. No one liked watered down sports. They were plain disappointing, rules and new procedures however could sometimes be welcomed. "I think Olivia's on to something with the featherlight charm on the cauldron, Sir. It would allow for more agile movement on the pitch and I reckon it could even reduce collisions." Because surely balancing something like a cauldron--especially one filled with large rocks--would throw out anyone's balance while flying at top speed. Jessa found it hard to believe that injuries came solely from the falling of the rocks on metal above your head. "But instead of making the rocks softer necessarily or changing rocks to something else, why not place a cushioning charm on the inside of the cauldron? The rocks certainly wouldn't go crashing into it as hard and it could prevent half the concussions I imagine must happen during play." |
SPOILER!!: catching uuuuuup Abey's attention did EVENTUALLY return to the class happening in front of and all around him, so that his MIND was as present as his BODY. Still massaging his arms, one at a time, he blinked around at everyone gathered around, suddenly realising that once again (why did this keep happening in his classes?) he had missed some vital class discussion and had not the slightest clue what anyone was talking about. Something about danger? How to make things safer? Uhhhh... was there a not-stupid answer that Abey could give that might apply to LOADS of things? Make it more likely to have a right answer. He could have just stayed quiet, but what if then he got called out for not paying attention OR participating? Quick, just... guess! "Uhhhhm... cushioning charms?" Abey piped up, forgetting about that hand-raising thing again and actually having never got into the habit of it in the first place. But yes, cushioning charms... surely they made EVERYTHING safer ALL THE TIME. "In case you... fall?" Jessa and Liv were talking about rocks and cauldrons and heads, and just having listened to them made Abey go just a bit wide-eyed, whether out of fear or intrigue he was not exactly certain. |
Kyle raised his hand, thinking. "What about if we caught pebbles. They'd be harder to see and catch, but it wouldn't do much damage. Or if we caught little bean bags. And instead of a cauldron, we could use a basket." |
Zarina shrugged when the Professor commented on her answer. Least she tried and gave her creative input. I mean Zae really thought it had to do with creatures. It would be fun though. She smirked at the thought and listened to Professor B's speech to the class. So now he wanted to know what could be done to improve this so called game of Creaothceann. Like Zae couldn't even pronounce that word. She could call it game C. Now onto the task at hand. Zae saw that the game was played with cauldrons on their heads? Well that was plain difficult. Cauldrons were heavy. They also used rocks to throw at each other. Well that was ermm...ouch? Zae could just imagine it. She could imagine the pelting and bruising they encountered. Zae listened in on the class and their answers. One of them seemed to be the brainiac of the class. She pursed her lips and decided not to say anything. I mean they covered all the basics. "Personally instead of using rocks why don't we use like foam balls or like tennis balls or something..?" There was her muggle side coming out but hopefully someone knew what she was talking out. |
Théo was going to say like rubber or foam balls but it was already said and he was not that creative so he had nothing. The original game just sounded like death and Théo eyes went wide when he heard what they originally did because it was crazy insane. Rocks falling down on you and you just had a cauldron tied to your head. It was dumb. Maybe that was why it was outlawed. Made sense to Théodore. |
As a natural reflex the Gryffindor leaned back as the Flying Man literally zoomed in on his response. Still beaming though, because hey looks like he #NailedIt eh? He listened to the others give their suggestions. Some are actually suggesting they avoid using rocks entirely "Oh but... that would take the fun outta that...." Sad face. Part of what made Creaothceann appealing for certain people was the risk of getting pummeled by a rock. Thats what made the game exciting. "Maybe we can still use rocks, but we have to regulate the size, weight, shape and material of the rocks? Also any magic thats applied to them should be regulated as well. Maybe they're magic'd to avoid the face, maybe they should fall only under a certain max velocity, maybe they're magic'd to not shatter on impact, maybe if they collide with a player's body, it wont be strong enough to break bones, just give a really good bruising." So far thats what he can think of right now. Oh but Jessa also spoke about the caulderons "I agree with Jessa. Lets also regulate the magic applied to cauldrons. Also i think we can improve the design of the cauldrons themselves, how they're worn on players' heads. Maybe some magic can also be applied to them that in case they become a liability to the player's safety, they could maybe transform into something else? Or maybe fall off easily instead of taking the player down with it?" |
catching up After Emmeline mounted her broom, she and Stasya hovered together. Emmeline even managed to learn forward slightly and touch back down without semi-crashing for the first time ever! Clearly, this professor knew what he was doing. "Thanks for hovering with me, Stasya!" She was kind of sad that almost everyone was getting off their brooms and sitting on the ground at this point. Hovering was nice and all, but were they going to do any real flying today? She hoped so. Emmeline blinked in confusion as the professor asked them questions about some apparently ancient sport that started with a C. Rocks going into cauldrons on heads? On brooms?! Sounded pretty crazy-reckless to her, and she wasn't opposed to some recklessness in general. Her eyes widened the more she heard about this sport; were they going to actually do this C thing? Because it sounded barbaric! It was true that her parents were forever complaining about how meddlesome the Ministry had become, but Emmeline thought that maybe they had a point on this. |
Skylar was listening, but honestly, the speculations of improvements the fourth year had to admit would be rather feeble attempts to reinstate the game. The game had been illegal for over 300 years and well, Skylar was sure if changes could be made to the sport to make it allowed, surely they would have happened by now. Because she hated to say this, but adding cushioning charms and featherlight charms, or changing the rocks to something smaller (pebbles still hurt at high speeds, she was sure!), well, the game wouldn't be Creaothceann any longer. Improvements made to the game to make it less dangerous would make it different sport, a different variation, and it wouldn't necessarily be the same thing. "Why don't we just use marshmallows instead of rocks?" Skylar suggested, somewhat sarcastically. Because seriously, if they were going to be changing it to tennis balls, just change the whole set up. It was no longer Creaothceann anymore anyway. |
AND SKYLAR! :3 yeeeees Okay. OKAY...but Derf really just wanted to get back on HIS broom already and go. GO GO GO FLY FLY FLY NOW NOW NOW? So, he really was only half paying attention to the groundskeeper, no offense meant, with his bright blues UPWARDS at the SKY that was calling to him. Could they maybe fly with owls sometime? Or any bird for that matter. ASH?! COULD THEY FLY WITH ASH?! You know...study birds up close and personal while flying and learn some of their formations and mimic them on their brooms? SORT OF like what he, Abey, and Theo had just been doing? Quote:
But THEN he heard something BRILLIANT said by the Slytherin girl who had GLARED at him all of last term in these lessons. "I REALLY REALLY LIKE HER IDEA!" Could they do that? Please? His tummy was rumbling. |
Etta flushed slightly when the groundskeeper gave her a look. Fine, fine. She cleared her throat and pretended that hadn't happened, instead focused on what he was talking about. Hmm. How to make it less dangerous? Interesting. She gave it some thought, listening to some of the other answers given. Marshmallows, though. That was rather cute but not practical. Also, such a waste of food. "Like a couple of others have mentioned, I think it would be better to soften the inside of a cauldron? Using a softening charm, maybe?" Since others had already mentioned the cushioning charm. "It would completely soften the inside of the cauldron, making it rather bouncy and soft and therefore.. the rocks would create no impact at all. It would be safe, yes?" |
Text Cut: Individual replies <3 Haraldur was more than pleased with the answers and suggestions provided by the students. Most of them seemed to have the same mindset as him. Now all they had to do was convince the Headmistress about this. He wouldn't do it himself, this was a joint effort. Yup. "That's a lot of great suggestions." He nodded, smiling at them. "I'm happy to hear you guys seem so open about this because we're going to try your suggestions. Well, some of them anyway." He pointed little finger guns at them, because he was cool, hip and down with the kids. "We're going to play creaothceann!" Surprise, wow, so unexpected what a twist of events. "But for that to be possible, we're going to change up some of the rules of the game." For the second time that lesson, the instructor actually got off his broom. It wasn't often that he was actually walking around on foot, he wasn't comfortable on the ground. It was just so... Solid. But he did this in order to bring out his wand and aim it at the cauldrons, both the ones that some had brought back from across the pitch and the ones in the tall tower that Haraldur had provided before class started. "We could always use other objects to catch the rocks in, such as baskets or buckets but for the sake of authencity..." He flicked his wand. "I will place a feather-light charm on the cauldrons..." He did so and gave Miss Phillips a glance while he did so. Great minds and all that. "As for the objects we're catching..." In the trunk next to the wobbly tower of cauldrons were small rubber balls that was earlier hidden by the now levitating hula hoops. Haraldur mounted his broom again in his usual comfortable position and glided over toward the trunk. "There are a lot of details to figure out when it comes to the objects were catching. Should we keep the rocks but enchant them, like Mr. Salander suggested? Or should we just skip the idea of throwing rocks at each other and use something else?" He reached down and picked up one of the small rubber balls, which just happened to be of a red color. It was a coincidence. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was his favorite color. "I've decided to not throw rocks at you today." Because he cared about their soft heads. And because the board of governors would have him fired. Or something way worse... "We're going to use these neat little rubber balls instead. There are four colors; green, red, yellow and blue." Alert, this was not a coincidence. Another shocking reveal by Mr Baldvinsson. "Your task is to catch the balls with the color corresponding to your house. Catch the correct ones and you will gain points. Catch a ball that belongs to a different house, and you will lose points." He dropped the little red ball into the trunk again and clasped his hands over his chest. "It's been a while since the Hogwarts quidditch cup was a thing. Today you can play against each other in creaothceann." BEAM. "I'll be sending the balls towards you, so strap on your now not so heavy cauldron and get ready to play!" As the students got ready and kicked off into the air, Haraldur grabbed the horn from around his neck, took a deep breath and blew it. Not even a moment after that, the balls of all four colors shot through the air. OOC: Yeeeeeeeeeee buddy. Let's play creaothceann! *wiggles* Strap the cauldron to your head and catch the rubber balls that Haraldur fires off towards you. Only catch the ones with the color matching your house (green - Slytherin, red - Gryffindor, yellow - Hufflepuff, blue - Ravenclaw). + 5 points for the correct color. - 5 points for the incorrect color. You can never get any less than 0 points so no negatives! My brain would appreciate if you guys labeled your posts with how many points you have. There is no minimum/maximum amount of posts required. Haraldur and I will be here the whole time! If your character isn't ready to throw themselves into the game, the hula hoops are still in the air and serves as great practice! You have approximately 58 hours to complete this task. Wednesday the 17th of May 7 pm GMT+2/1 pm EDT. |
Score - 0 He liked her idea! Jessa beamed, awfully proud she'd managed to offer up something useful on a topic she knew very little about. From what her classmates had said, she gained enough of an idea of what the sport was actually meant to be like and she agreed with Ace that for the most part, the sport should be preserved. A few of the suggestions had her wrinkling her nose for the level of change they suggested. To this day, bludgers could still crack open skulls and shatter kneecaps if swung in the wrong--technically right--angle and no one was trying to change that. Compared to that, falling rocks seemed like the least of anyone's problems. By the sounds of it, falling rocks wouldn't even BE a problem this go around. Rubber balls. Well she couldn't say she wasn't a little relieved despite her own belief. Jessa was still becoming accustomed to flying while things happened around her. It was a certainty she'd suffer at least one injury if the rocks remained. There were pros gathered at the pitch today and she was certainly not one of them. Being able to help yourself on a broom didn't mean you could suddenly maneuvre your way through falling rocks. At the Professor's prompting, the girl rose from her spot on the grass and remounted her broom. Before pushing off, she accio-ed a cauldron and strapped it to her head, careful to fix it right...as...right as she thought it felt anyway. With it secured, the Ravenclaw shoved off the ground and took to the air once more. She came to a stop just in time to have a rubber ball miss her cauldron and knock against her forehead. Ugh. So much for starting off strong. It was for the best though. That one had been green. |
0 for now. Question for clarification? Derf liked her idea? Had he not realized that she was totally JOKING about the marshmallows because she was making fun of the fact this would no longer be the same sport, so may as well change the sport radically. But then again, judging from the Professor's reply to her suggestion, she guessed he didn't get her sarcasm either. Well, duh, of course it would be a waste of good marshmallows. But the point was it was kind of stupid to change the game; it'd been over three hundred years since it was banned, so if it was going to change, it would have done so long ago. And they were going to play the game, with incorporating some of their ideas. Which all Professor B had to say was Hogwarts Quidditch Cup and despite the fact that they weren't playing a true version of Creaothceann (which would be ghastly if they were!), the fourth year was stoked enough. Because it resembled quidditch, which was good enough for her. Without further waiting, she kicked off in the air, after the green balls of all four colors that were being launched. She was actually kind of grateful because green was so easy to spot against the sky. But wait, she had a question ... Flying down low enough for the Professor to hear her, she hovered in air, "Professor? What do we do with the balls after we catch them? Just release them?" Or wait, it was what the cauldrons were for? But eventually, the rubber balls might bounce out? Unless she caught it with her hand and placed it in the cauldron? |
Score = 0 Okay, it was time to get her head in the game and not just in the literal sense. There were rubber balls being tossed all over and by virtue of simply hovering here, she was missing out on them. Blue eyes locked onto one shortly after it left the Professor's hand. The question was...how did one position oneself in such a way that the ball would fall into the cauldron on her head? Jessa took a dive, trying to get under the ball as it plummeted toward the ground but she'd either not dived far enough or else not dived soon enough. Whichever the case, the ball hit the ground with a few small bounces before coming to a standstill and her cauldron was still empty. Huff. This was gonna be even harder than she'd first thought. Rising higher once more, the young girl tried to locate any of the other rubber balls that would fit nicely in her cauldron. Once again she moved in, locking onto her target. She wouldn't miss this one. This one would be it. Just a little closer.......it was right there....... And there it went. Sigh. Could they play Quidditch now? |
Score: 0 Honestly, Rula didn't mind that Creaothceann had been banned for so long. It didn't sound all that fun to her, risking death just to win a silly game. The possibility of injuries was one thing - Quidditch obviously had that - but people dying in every single game? No thanks. Original Creaothceann should just remain a thing of the past. Mr. Baldvinsson played it though? Why? Why would anyone actually want to play it like that? Merlin. The idea of updating it with a few rules and regulations to make it safer? She was somewhat open to that. She still had absolutely no interest in playing it, but she wasn't against that idea. Some of the suggestions the others provided were pretty good - aside from the marshmallows - and it looked like a few were ones the groundskeeper was using since they were going to be playing the game. Lighter cauldrons and rubber balls made it a little better, at least. She strapped a cauldron onto her head, mounted her broom, and kicked off into the air, looking around for a green ball to catch... Aha! There was a green one falling right next to a red. Rula zoomed forward and down a bit, trying to get the right angle for the green one to fall in the cauldron. Just a little closer... Plop! Plop! Wait...did she catch both of them? Merlin's beard, zero points then. Ugh. |
Score: 0 Olly was listening quietly. So far he really had nothing to add. If they had stopped being quidditch because of the potential risks and dangers it seemed crazy to try to play something even more dangerous. Though with the modifications he supposed it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe. He could still see it going horribly wrong. Then again, anything could be dangerous if it went wrong enough. Even things like...going to the bathroom. Anyway. Cauldron strapped to his head? Check. Broom? Check. In the air again? Check. Balls in his cauldron? Uhh.... The rubber balls had been released but now that he was supposed to catch them in his cauldron Olly was not sure what to do. He was bad enough at catching with his hands, how was he supposed to catch with his head? And catch only the green ones, at that. Olly flew threw the mayhem, trying to avoid the yellow and red and blue balls. But the problem was the green ones were all mixed in and he didn't know what to do. Oh! There was one! Olly flew rapidly toward a green rubber ball, hoping to catch it in his cauldron. Instead he ran right into it, hitting it with the outside of the cauldron and sending it flying even further away. Great. |
Score - 0 WELL. Etta got up, not really happy about playing this game.. STILL. It's way safer now and less injury-prone but somehow, she felt mildly uncomfortable. She couldn't just walk out of the class though.. or sit out when everyone were playing. Let's just get this over with, yes? She strapped on her cauldron, mounted her broom and took off into the air again, zooming about for while, looking for a yellow ball to catch. Why could she only see green balls?! Where were the yellow ones? And she had to be careful to not catch the other balls too. --- Oh, WAIT. A falling yellow one! She zoomed over, trying to catch it but... GREAT. It just hit the side of the cauldron and bounced off. Trying not to look too disappointed, she looked for another one, totally immersed in the game at this point. |
Kyle watched as the others played, and mounted his broom. Okay, slow, and close to the ground. Oh, but everyone was zooming up to meet the balls, and he was... there. He decided maybe practicing on his broom would be better than going after the flying balls, and instead went back and forth on the pitch, inching a little higher off the ground with each pass. |
Olly was trying to think of a strategy but coming up blank. He really had nothing besides fly around randomly and hope a ball falls into the cauldron. Trying to catch the green ones had not worked for him yet, and he did not see him becoming any better at it in the foreseeable future. So option one it was. Olly flew over to where he spotted a bunch of the rubber balls and flew under them. He was hoping one or two would go in, and that he'd get lucky and get green ones, but no. Of course that's not what happened. Instead, a clump of five all fell into his cauldron. Olly was not lucky enough that they would all five be green, of course. The problem was that he didn't know what color any of them were. The cauldron was strapped to his head so it wasn't like he could see inside it. Uh. He flew lower, down closer to the professor. "Professor, if I didn't see what color the ball was how do I know if I got points?" Was there any simpler way to do it short of stopping completely, unstrapping the cauldron, and checking? That seemed like way too much work. |
Score - 0 (Olivia P, Stasya, Ace mentions) Emmeline stared at Professor B as he said they were going to play the crazy-rocks game. What?! As he continued to explain, she let out a breath of relief; they were playing with rubber balls instead. The House colors thing made it feel a competition and Emmeline was always ready to play games that didn't involve certain death. So she was super new to flying correctly; when had that ever stopped her before? Besides, several kids were already playing. Getting excited now, she rushed over to the teetering tower of cauldrons, but she couldn't reach the top one. She could fix that! "UP!" She mounted her hovering broom and flew to the top of the tower so she could grab two cauldrons off the top; one for her and one for Stasya. She'd seen the Cambridge girl use a spell to get her cauldron, so hopefully the older kids she and Stasya had been sitting with could get their own? 'Cause she couldn't carry more than two of these things. Leaning forward like Professor B had taught them, she managed to land normally. It was harder to go back to where she'd been sitting with two cauldrons AND a broom, but she managed it. As she plopped back down with the group, she handed a cauldron to Stasya. If her friend didn't want to play, one of the other kids could have it. Still... She glanced up at Miss Olivia and Mr. Ace and the other older kids still on the ground, "Are you guys going to play? How do we only catch red ones in these biig cauldrons?" Because she was small for her age, these seemed just a bit big for her head. |
0. -5 for the blue but +5 for green :P Watching her peers for a moment, Skylar finally understood what she was meant to do, but truthfully, she wasn't quite sure really was fond of the idea of blindly trying to catch green balls into her cauldron. Cauldron back strapped to her head, the fourth year flew up towards where Oliver was flying, as she squinting into the distance. This was definitely good seeker training, if nothing more because she had to catch only the green balls. Seeing a cluster, she reached out and snatched a green one from the air, reaching up with it to plop it in her cauldron. Only problem was ... Plop, Plop Was that ... two pings she felt? Paused in midair, the fourth year reached up again to feel around, as she plucked one ball out. Green. And the second one that had just fallen. Blue. Darn. Tossing it aside, she shoved the blue one back into play, and the green one back into her cauldron, as she zoomed off again. |
The flying instructor stood behind the trunk and sent the rubber balls flying in every direction for the students to catch in their cauldrons. "Whoopsie daisy!" He felt more alive than the volcano Eyjafjallajökull last rupture. "Here they come!" YUP. They were everywhere. Text Cut: Skylar Haraldur was enjoying himself. Sure it probably more fun to play but shooting off rubber balls towards the students and watching them catch them sure was a sight. "You could release them, Miss Diggory." He replied, not taking his eye off the students in the air. But then she'd lose time by landing and placing the balls on the ground. "There's little chance they'll bounce out but of course there is always the risk of that." He couldn't make it too easy for them. He waved his wand and set off another batch of balls up into the air. "OH and, try to catch the balls just using your cauldron Miss Diggory. You're a skilled flyer, you got this." He never doubted her for a second. Text Cut: Olly Haraldur smiled at the young prefect. "I would save as much time as I could. Aim for the green ones, Mr. Borzekowski-Thomas and when the activity is over, you can count how many of the correct color you managed to catch in your cauldron." The flying instructor flicked his wand and set off more rubber balls towards the students. OOC: *wiggles* You still have approximately 25 hours to complete this task! |
score - 0 (NIL POINTS) Oh hey! LOOK! HE GOT IT RIGHT! ... Somehow..... To celebrate, Abey did a double fist pump of victory - only made slightly more difficult by the fact that he was also still holding a broom - yesssssss. ANN. THEY WERE GOING BACK IN THE AIR. Okayokayokay - (this was Abey half-listening to the instructions) - okayokayokay LET'S GO! Abey grabbed one of those cauldrons, and even though he had just been told it was made featherlight, he still overestimated how much strength he needed to pick it up and sort of surprised himself. Once the cauldron was strapped on, he mounted his broom once again and kicked off into the air. WHEEEEEEEE! ... Wait, hold on... what was he meant to be catching? The re balls that matched the colour of his house (Gryffindor, siGH), or any colour BUT red? |
Post One: +5 (from dumb luck) (Emmeline) GREAT MINDS, INDEED, MR. BALDVINSSON Pleased as a cucumber at the response to her answer, Liv sat up fully. They'd be starting soon. She could feel it in her bones... That, and he'd just started reciting instructions.....which could ONLY mean that said instructions were about to be put to use. Or, at least, the Professor would expect them to be. Whether or not everyone participated, that wasn't up for her to decide. Either way, this sounded like it was going to be VERY fun...and the Gryffindor hastily righted the cauldron atop her own head, strapping it in place, as most others were. Nah son, she was with the majority that WOULD be taking part. A few things.... 1) she was a fantastic flyer and her House needed her.... 2) she enjoyed being up in the air, anyway, and never turned her nose up at an opportunity....and 3) had she ever been known to back down from a challenge. Most certainly NOT. Also, rubber balls? Nice, but possibly tricky. They had the capability of bouncing right back out of the cauldrons upon impact. Tricksy, Mr. B. Tricksy, indeed. Liv saw you, sir. Yes, she did. Alas, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward. #GRYFFINDOR.....or was that #SLYTHERIN?.... Nah, #GRYFFINDOR... She was bravely facing down the newness of this task. Not that Slytherins couldn't be brave... but... #GRYFFERIN? #SLYTHERDOR? Oh, she was being asked a question... Halt on the taking off just yet, then. Hai, little Emmeline! "I'm about to join the others now.... but I think there'll be a lot of catching of other people's houses at first until we get the hang of it. The trick...will probably be to avoid clusters of colors and single out lone red ones..." Or, at least, that's what Liv planned to do. It was easier said than done, absolutely, but she wasn't ready to give up. Besides, it was hard to pass judgment without being up there, testing out her own theories... "See you up there!" Throwing her leg back over the side of her broom, Olivia gathered her full strength and kicked off from the ground with an O O M P H!. Soaring into the fray at once, she tore away from the cluster of her peers, eyes darting to and fro for any lone red balls. They were mostly in groups of all four house colors, which made all this seem nigh impossible (now that she thought about it further)... Not thinking much about where she was flying, she drifted into a patch of falling colorful balls. Perhaps they were meant to hope for the best? Rely on luck? Sell their souls to unmentionables?.... Oh, buddy. OH. THERE WAS A RED ONE...with a BLUE ONE... Nevermind...... Suddenly, the blonde felt (more than heard) a THUNK! atop her head... Had she just caught something??? How was she meant to know if it was the right house color, though?!!??!? |
+5 we think. She could release them? But wait, what? No hands? Why hadn't the Professor said that before? Skylar did grin though when he said she was a skilled flyer and had got this. Except, how would she know if she was getting only the green balls? And if they bounced out? But she guessed that was part of the risk and challenge of it. But if she aimed towards single lone green ones and flew slow enough below it, surely she could do it. Professor B even seemed to believe in her. Squinting off into the distance, the fourth year found a cluster of rubber balls, but it was a mix of colors, which meant too risky. Zooming off away, she spotted a stray green ball, and took a deep breath. She could do this, no hands. No hands. Flying, flying, flying, until she was right underneath it... she jerked up just a bit, and nothing. Glancing around bewildered, she frowned when she saw it slightly off. Well, that was poor judgment. Spotting the green one again, she hovered just underneath it, as she aimed her head forward at just the right angle and plop. She felt it. And hopefully it was a green one and not another colored one that had strayed in... |
Score - + 5 Etta was starting to think that this sport was totally pointless. Catching a yellow ball seemed more difficult than she had anticipated, really. She flew about carefully, making sure she didn't end up catching the other coloured ones. She almost considered giving up but.. that wasn't an option. She sighed to herself and looked up, just in time to see a flash of yellow. HEY. Yes. She could do this. She zoomed forward, making sure she was at the right place.. and waited, when the yellow ball plonked right into the cauldron. YAY. But, she didn't waste too much time hovering about.. she started to fly once again, glancing at her classmates every now and then. It wasn't as bad as she'd thought.. maybe. She squinted up at the air once again.. wait. Was that a yellow? No.. she quickly flew out of the way before the blue ball fell into her cauldron. Oooookay, that was a narrow escape. She heaved a small sigh of relief. Phew. |
catching all the wrong balls oops So...no marshmallows then? That was kind of disappointing...but any lingers sads on the subject were soon gone as they were given the signal to take to the skies. Well, you did not have to tell this Hufflepuff twice! Strapping a cauldron to his head, Derf quickly mounted his broom and took off. Which only naturally meant that he zoomed right on by Abey with a bit of a giddy grin. Oh! And there was Emmeline and Jessa and holy flaming salamanders it felt gooooooooood being up here. But right...there was a task at hand! He could focus. Sort of. But there was a serious flaw in this activity for the Hufflepuff and his eyes squinted at the falling balls trying to differentiate the different shades of similar hues and was instantly brought back to the start of term feast as a first year where he had found himself at the Gryffindor table rather than Hufflepuff. Once he felt certain he had the right color, only he so so sooooo did not, Derf leaned forward on his broom and went into a bit of a nose dive until he heard the PING of something landing in his cauldron. SCORE! He had one! Blue eyes darting around once again, he went into a bit of a loopty loop until he heard another fall into his cauldron, and yet he speed on, with several more balls landing ceremoniously in his cauldron. |
score: 0 Still just proud of herself for both managing to hover and also proving that she was a good friend because she’d waited for Emmeline to succeed too, Stasya had stayed quiet all during the discussion about Creaothceann. Actually, it had more just been because she hadn’t really heard about it, but she’d been distracted too. She’d wanted to fly again, even if it was more hovering, but instead she’d stayed on the ground, listening as she just kept hearing all sorts of bad things and getting herself all sorts of worked up over the idea they would be playing it. Because she really didn’t want to die the first time she’d ever managed to fly, and it really seemed like Mr. Baldvinsson was planning on them playing. She couldn’t ignore the presence of the cauldrons after all. But then it was established that there weren’t any rocks involved and she’d relaxed a little. Only a little, but enough that she’d given Emmeline a smile when she had brought a cauldron over for her. She’d managed to strap it onto her head, a little awkwardly even though it had been made lightweight just because size, and mounted her broom again even as she heard Liv answer the question her friend had asked. Single out the red ones. She could try to do that. Mhm. Awkward nod. She pushed off and hovered for a moment before leaning forward and nearly zooming forward faster than she’d wanted. She was trying to find the red balls, but first she had to control her flight. And keep the cauldron strapped onto her head, which was proving hard to balance. It was easier to just close her eyes and hope that any balls landed in her cauldron. Preferably red ones but the main part was she didn’t want to fail. Not now that she’d managed to fly. |
Score: 0 Lone red ones. Sounded like a good idea to Emmeline and besides, everyone was in the air now. She didn't want to be left out of the game so she awkwardly strapped the cauldron onto her head. It felt weird trying to balance the silly thing on her head, because as she'd discovered when she'd gotten the cauldrons down, carrying or balancing them was awkward because they were big and unwieldy. She was delighted to discover that this school broom seemed to like her better now, because it didn't hesitate anymore when she said "up!" to it. Mounting the broom, Emmeline rose into a hover first and then gradually gained some height. She had been pretty much at hover-level or close to it when she'd flown off for the cauldrons, but this would be fun because she could go higher now. Emmeline zoomed off across the pitch, searching everywhere for lone red balls. They didn't seem to exist and to be honest, she was having fun just flying around. A few balls PLOPPED into her cauldron but she couldn't see what colors they were. Flying at this height was so much more fun than hovering (although that had been good too) that she tried to do some zig zags and go even faster. More balls plopped into her cauldron entirely by chance; she thought maybe zig zags were too much, because was she controlling the broom now or was it controlling her? Oops. Not anything to worry about unless you crash, she told herself sternly. Gryffindor was the House for brave people after all. |
omg catching up :3 || got two reds xD They're actually gonna play Creaothceann??? Hooyah! But these are not actual rocks, instead its colored balls, and they had to be specific about them balls to be caught. Ok now thats an added challenge in itself that didnt exist in the original Creaothceann game. He could hear someone calling out his name-- ah yes young Emmeline, and he waved at her. He's will be joining her soon, he just needed to figure out his strategy..... And boy has he got it. With all the students up in the air catching and not catching the right colors of their houses, the Curly Top used them to filter out the balls that he didnt need. Because those are deductions see? With lesser balls falling through now he kicked off the ground, the cauldron secured on his head, and flew under the hail of balls that are more red than anything else-- bcz those have been avoided by the other houses yeah? Awwyea. *plunk!* *plunk!* SCORE! |
0 points still Watching everyone else in order to work out what to do was... actually a little more difficult than Abey had thought. Some people were catching balls all in their own house colour, others were catching anything but, and some were catching both. For a moment the thought struck Abey that perhaps it didn't matter which ones they were aiming for, but........ no, no, he DEFINITELY remembered there being a specific instruction. ... Well, it didn't really matter after all. It WAS only a game and only for this class, sooooooo he made a guess, and decided to do what HE thought was the most likely thing. Red baaaaaaaaalls, here were come! Decision made, he ZOOMED AHEAD AND INTO THE FRAY... and very quickly found that this game was much easier said than done. All of the red balls he aimed for? He ended up missing them entirely. The temptation to use his hands to catch them was sooooo stroooooong. THUNK! At last! Abey had - totally by accident but shhhhhhh - caught one! Nice! Except one problem was that he couldn't see it so didn't know what colour it was. And another problem was that, if he had managed to get a look at it, he would have seen that it was yellow, not red. |
3rd red. thanks Abey xD Given how well his strategy went, he was sticking with it, flying pretty much under the radar and around the periphery. He had to take care of the two red balls in his cauldron now, because a wrong one or two would wipe out his efforts completely. Which will be a TOTAL bummer. he is eyeing fellow Gryffindors too, because he knew they would be aiming for reds, and in the event that they miss, he's there for the rebound. Like Abey over there, valiant effort, missed reds by mere inches. So there goes Ace as he swooshes beneath their feet and *plunk* in goes the 3rd red ball. |
idk the actual score anymore but pretty sure still zero with all these colours At first she thought that with time she would get the hang of this, as she was slowly getting the hang of quidditch but as it turned out, getting to the right angle...avoiding the wrong colour....avoiding collision with your classmates, keeping balance with the cauldron and listening to the occasional shouts of the Professor happened to be too much in one go. As it so happened, at some point her brain would have to start tuning some of it out if she planned for any of it to start making sense. Once again the girl slowed to a stationary position, watching the others zip about the pitch in their own little games of catch. The sudden rattling in her cauldron told her that a ball had flown inside without much help from her, a green one as it were, but she didn't know that as she hadn't seen the moment it fell in there, she'd only heard and felt it. Thing is, she knew sitting around wasn't the answer but at the same time...moving had gotten her nothing. Suddenly she was dormant an--CLUNK! Merlin, another one!!! What colour had that one been? Circe the least she could do was pay attention if she was going to be hovering here like this. For all she knew she could have been at 10 pts or down to nothing because neither colour happened to match her house. Watching the balls being thrown all about, it occurred to her--and was proven--that statistically speaking...just sitting here...she would inevitably catch a ball or two, even if only by accident or happenstance. The results didn't lie and though she knew it wasn't how the game was meant to be played, Jessa moved into something of a wait game. Rather than zip around trying to dodge the wrong ones and aim for the right ones, the young girl sat perfectly still. When a ball came in close enough that she felt she could catch it, she would lean forward or backward on her broom in an attempt to make a successful catch. This method, of course, was not without its faults. Sometimes she miscalculated and ended up dropping the ball completely. Not to mention her theory being proven right in that whether she did something or not, inevitably a stray ball or two would land itself in her cauldron. There might have been 6 or 7 of them in there by now and despite the fact she knew they weren't all blue, she was pleased she had caught any at all. |
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