Year/Job
6th Year
Tried to drift dear but don't know how... |
Sol
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Post by Laurie Greer on Jan 23, 2024 12:24:14 GMT -8
Despite the dreadful cold that clung to her bones like ice, Laurie was sweating like something else. Quidditch was always intense but it seemed like there was something in the air between the players– As if the Ravenclaw team was desperate to practice harder and better and finally win the cup. It seemed a bit of a longshot to Laurie, if she were honest. Gryffindor had some of the best players they’d seen in a while and Ravenclaw… Well, some players and alternates just weren’t pulling their slack. Including the Keeper. It was like they had their head in the clouds–
The scrimmage had been going well. Quaffles were flying from goal post to goal posts and each team, comprised of the various Ravenclaw players, were fighting tooth and nail to win the game. Despite it just being a practice match, Laurie could confidently say that she was thrilled. Every time she got her hand on the Quaffle, she’d feel electricity course through her body, begging to win just another handful of points. And it continued like that for the entire practice– Until they were moments before the Snitch was being caught.
Adrenaline pumped through her body, breathing labored and heavy. She could see puffs of visible breath in front of her face as she regained her composure. It had been a good ten minutes since both Keepers had disappeared from the pitch. Those still playing opted on taking a break, considering just how brutal their practice was.
“They’ve been gone for a while…” Someone piped up, searching the horizon for their players which seemed to be all but gone. “Maybe they decided to ditch practice after someone decided we were going to train like insane people…” A laugh almost forced its way out of her throat but she covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing the laughter with a smile. They weren’t wrong– training had been intense. “Oh wait– Look!”
On the horizon, the two keepers that had disappeared emerged from far out– with no snitch in their grasps. Laurie frowned, puzzled why they’d been gone so long if they were just going to come back empty handed. If it was her, she wouldn’t have come back until she found the snitch– but she kept her mouth shut.
The two kids were younger– they must have been fourth or third years, trying out the position to see if they had a knack for it. Both of them looked haggard, the blond boy devestated he hadn’t found the snitch. “I– It was there and then… it just kept going and–”
The girl jumped in; “And we couldn’t get it! It just kept disappearing… It was so.. So.. Stupid!” She exclaimed, clearly frustrated that the snitch hadn’t been so easy to get. Everyone looked disappointed, especially considering the game was going to be a draw if no one claimed the snitch. Winning on Quaffle points alone felt weak. "Well.. we've gotta retrieve the snitch or we'll be in a load of trouble!!"
Laurie rose her hand, looking around at her exhausted looking peers. They probably wanted to get back and to dinner– and sending the younger students out to look for the snitch again felt cruel. “I can go find it.” She said simply. “My sister used to be a keeper– so it won’t be too hard, hopefully.” The younger girl keeper gave her a dirty look that she ignored.
Nathaniel James
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Year/Job
Sixth Year
You shine a light on my dark side, But you don't care what you see. |
Beater (23)
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Post by Nathaniel James on Jan 24, 2024 2:49:03 GMT -8
Things were going pretty well in Nathaniel’s life. For the most part anyway. Of course, his home life left something to be desired, but at school he was thriving. He had the grades, the popularity, the girls. He put in the work to better himself at Quidditch and it showed. Ravenclaw didn’t become two time champs for nothing. However, with Stella gone the team was hurting a little. They had a few rookies on their team, something that Nate wouldn’t have gone for if he was Captain but, hey, it wasn’t his call, was it? They practiced hard, wanting to earn that Quidditch cup another year in a row, and they honestly needed to. Gryffindor had a solid team with Rose Kelly leading them. Ravenclaw would have to work twice as hard to win it this year.
They played hard, Nate’s arm feeling pretty sore from smacking bludgers with his bat. His aim was on point today, the bludgers clipping brooms rather than arms. But there was one chaser he just couldn’t hit. Finch was absent from practice today, something had come up and he couldn’t make it, so the Captain let a couple freshies play. Well, the inexperienced Seekers appeared to have lost the snitch. Practice stalled and everyone started congregating on the turf, Nathaniel flying down to join them. He listened to the back and forth and watched the skies as the younglings came back empty handed. The boy scoffed, shaking his head in dismay. Finch wouldn’t have let the snitch disappear like that. Someone said they had to retrieve it or they’d be in trouble and Nate could only imagine how angry Professor Grady would be if it was truly lost. He raised his hand. “I’ll go,” he said at the same time as Laurie Greer. Nate glanced over at her, noticing her hand in the air as well.
The Captain nodded and pointed at the two of them. “Both of you go. We’ve got to find that snitch.” With a shrug of his shoulders, Nate walked over to Laurie. The two of them weren’t close by any means, Laurie seemed to be annoyed with him more than anything, but Nate didn’t have a huge problem with her. She read a lot, but so did he. He guessed she was way more straight-edge than he was, but damn she was good on a broom. “Shall we?” he asked her with a smirk. Without waiting for her to respond, he turned back to the rookie Seekers. “Which way did it go?”
They were off toward the lake, the cold air whipping over his face as he soared over the glassy water. The giant squid decided to make an appearance and Nate dodged his tentacles with ease, his gaze scanning the area for a glint of gold. After twenty minutes of searching he skidded to a stop high above the lake. “Find anything?” he called out to Laurie, having no luck of his own.
Laurie Greer
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Year/Job
6th Year
Tried to drift dear but don't know how... |
Sol
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Post by Laurie Greer on Jan 24, 2024 8:11:29 GMT -8
The voice that seemed to speak up at the same time as hers wasn’t one that she wanted to. Was it seriously Nathaniel James? What the heck did he want searching for the snitch? Suddenly, it clicked in her head. This was a ploy to prove he could be captain for the next Qudditch season, wasn’t it? In his dreams. Laurie didn’t consider herself a competitive person but her rivalry with Rose Kelly ran deep– and Laurie planned on becoming Captain so she could sweep the Quidditch cup right out of her perfectly polished hands.
Sighing in disdain at her Seeker seeker, she reluctantly picked her broom back up. “Great.” She murmured, mounting the broom, giving Nathaniel a look and shooting off into the sky. It was cold highly above the lake, with wind practically begging to knock her off the broom. Thankfully, she and her troublesome partner were stronger flyers. Anyone else might have been taking a quick dive into the lake if they weren’t careful, but the two Ravenclaws stayed strong on their broom.
Grey eyes searched the expanse, looking for any sign of the little golden troublemaker. Why were snitches like this? Whatever the reason, it was exactly why she could never be a seeker. Those bloody little things were a pain in the neck! How dare they just escape the Quidditch Pitch like the team had nothing but time to kill.
Laurie sniffled as she came to a rest above the lake, rubbing one hand up her left arm to create some friction– as if that would warm her frigid bones. Her quidditch practice clothes were meant for practicing, not for flying in winter conditions. Squinting at the cloudy skies, she didn’t doubt it was going to snow soon– which meant the snitch could be buried and lost until spring.
Nathaniel's voice cut through the cold air– shockingly, she was grateful to see he hadn’t skipped off to do whatever he did when Laurie wasn’t around him at practice. “No luck.. Even though this definitely isn't something that's based on luck....” She pointed up. “It’s going to snow soon… I don’t think we’re going to find it before then.” Laurie lurched forward slightly, nearing Nathaniel. Their whole team would be in hot water if they didn’t find it– there had to be a solution.
Her eyes went wide– an idea. She was hesitant to share it with Nathaniel, simply because it was so… it was sooo– Well, it was a bit deceptive. “I have an idea. But I swear to Merlin if you tell anyone it was me… I’ll… I’ll dunk you in the lake or something.” Sighing, she glanced around, as if a professor or prefect might be flying around trying to catch her devious plans. “There’s some stuff in the observatory that looks an awful lot like a golden snitch… If we could sneak it in as a replacement until we find the real thing…”
Nathaniel James
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Year/Job
Sixth Year
You shine a light on my dark side, But you don't care what you see. |
Beater (23)
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Post by Nathaniel James on Jan 24, 2024 10:33:59 GMT -8
See, Nate really didn’t care about becoming Captain. He knew that Stella had hoped he would get it, but when he didn’t it was no sweat off his back. Going pro was never something that really interested him. Sure, it’d be a huge challenge and he’d have the excitement he was looking for, but there were other ways of getting that. Besides, would they want a criminal on a pro team? Probably not. So, here he was looking for the snitch because he honestly didn’t want to be around the twelve year olds. They were kind of annoying and not really fun to play with. Besides, with practice over it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. He could go see Naomi, but honestly he was already getting bored with her.
There was a reason that Nathaniel was a beater and not a seeker. He grew more frustrated the longer they were looking, his blue eyes scanning the open air looking for just the smallest glint of something. But alas, there was nothing. He blamed the Captain for putting them in this mess. You don’t just throw rookies into a game without coaching them first. Professor Grady was going to chew them out so badly, he just knew it. She was kind and bubbly, but boy did she take Quidditch seriously. And as a former seeker for the Harpies, she would be sure to be pissed about them losing a snitch.
He looked over at Laurie where she hovered a short distance away from him. She called back to him and he groaned, not happy that neither of them had found the missing snitch. When she pointed up to the gathering clouds he looked up with a frown. He knew she was right, the air was frigid and everything on his body was numb from the cold. Nate let out a heavy sigh, casting one last glance around in the hopes of finding something before it snowed. Because she was right, once it did it was likely lost forever. Well, at least for today.
The redhead came over to him and his gaze flickered to her face. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were colored red and, for the first time in six years, he thought she looked rather pretty. Nate noticed when her eyes got as big as saucers, his brow raising slightly in response. Laurie told him she had an idea and as she continued, a sly smirk slowly started to spread across his face. “Well, well, well,” he said, giving a slow clap. “I’m impressed, Greer.” Something wet had touched his nose and he looked up then, watching as the first snowflakes fluttered down from the clouds. “We better get there quick. Don’t want to leave everyone in the cold, do we?”
Nathaniel gestured for her to lead - it was her idea, after all - and he followed behind her. The observatory came into view and he pulled up on his broom, slowing down and gliding to the railing. Nate hopped off his broom in one smooth motion and landed on the observatory. “Okay, so we’re looking for something small and gold. Split up?”
Laurie Greer
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Year/Job
6th Year
Tried to drift dear but don't know how... |
Sol
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Post by Laurie Greer on Jan 24, 2024 12:18:55 GMT -8
Nathaniel’s eagerness was admittedly not the response she was looking for, but one she should’ve expected. “Don’t get any big ideas!” She quickly exclaimed as the cold snowflakes made contact with her hair, peppering the red with speckles of white before melting. “I’m just saying this because I don’t want to get chewed out but I also don’t want to get in trouble…” Every fiber of her being was begging her to change her mind– after all, this was against all the rules she had for herself. Not to mention it was just down right dishonest. If anyone asked her about where the snitch went… Well, she wasn’t a great liar and everyone knew that–
One time in her third year she’d “borrowed” a telescope for a night and before midnight struck she was already admitting to her misdeed– it was the only time in her six years at Hogwarts that she had ever been awarded detention and even then, the Professor let her out early thanks to the pitiful look glistening in her eyes the entire detention.
“I am so dead serious, Nathaniel. You cannot tell anyone that we’re doing this…” She gave him a serious look, scanning his eyes to look for any sign that he would hold this over her head. Though, with someone like Nathaniel, she couldn’t completely tell anything from just a glance. Finally giving up her search for a promise in his eyes, she turned to look at the castle. No one would be in the Astronomy tower this time of day– especially with the sky so cloudy.
Pivoting towards the castle, she felt her heart beating wildly in her chest. Merlin, this was such a terrible idea. Maybe the twenty minutes she’d spent in Nathaniel’s presence was affecting her brain? Was that something that could happen? Was nefarious behavior contagious? Jeez, that would be devastating.
Once on the balcony, she set her broom down and brushed the snow from her hair. Her fingers stung from the cold and for once, she wished she had the ugly mittens her sister knitted for her two Christmases ago.
“This isn’t Scooby Doo, Nathaniel.” Laurie said matter-of-factly, waving him inside as she looked around to ensure the coast was clear. “I spend too much time in this place not to know where everything is.” Lowering her voice, she spotted the book shelf which seemed to be filled with a variety of heavenly bodies, replicas, some big, some small. “I wouldn’t suggest we do something stupid like this unless I was very sure I could find it…”
Shoving her hand to the back of the bookshelf, she smiled when she felt the small spherical object touch her fingers. “Found it!” She exclaimed softly, wrapping her hands around it and pulling it out. Part of her felt pride that her obsession with Astronomy was coming in handy in such dire times. Revealing the sphere, she gauged Nathaniel’s reaction to her genius. “It’s an armillary sphere– well, a mini armillary sphere. Not an exact replica of a snitch… But at first or second glance, it looks similar.”
Nathaniel James
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Year/Job
Sixth Year
You shine a light on my dark side, But you don't care what you see. |
Beater (23)
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Post by Nathaniel James on Jan 25, 2024 10:27:21 GMT -8
He only smirked as she practically pleaded with him not to tell anyone about her idea. Nate wasn’t going to expose Ms. Goody Two Shoes like that and, in fact, he’d probably take the blame should they get caught, but it was fun to keep her guessing. The boy was seriously impressed with her deviousness, wondering what other surprises she had in store for him. He was starting to see Laurie Greer in a whole new light.
…
Nathaniel rolled his eyes at her response. Of course she was into Astronomy. He supposed that was why Bella and her were such good friends, but Nate couldn’t care less about the stars. Sure, they were pretty to look at sometimes, but they weren’t exciting. The only time he came to the observatory was for a romantic snog under the night sky. He followed her wordlessly as she led him to a bookshelf, his head swinging around to keep a lookout as she searched for what they needed. It seems they finally had some luck because the tower was completely devoid of life. Well, with them being the exception.
Her voice rang like bells in his ears as she exclaimed that she found it, Nate’s head swinging back to look at it. It was a small, spherical object with gold plating that glinted in the dim lighting. His brows raised, his expression clearly showing he was impressed. Laurie explained what it was, his gaze flicking from the sphere to her face, smiling a little at the look of excitement in her eyes. “Yeah, it’ll definitely work,” he agreed. For now, at least. They still needed to find the actual snitch before too much time had passed, but they bought themselves a day or two. “Great idea, Greer.”
The wizard looked over the railing at the sky, watching as the snow started to fall more heavily. “We better get back with it before everyone freezes to death,” he told her, glancing back over at her. “Then we need to make a game plan to find the actual snitch.” He’d ask Finch to help, but his friend had been a little absent the last couple of days. Nate just assumed he was busy hooking up with Rose. “Come on then. Since it was your idea, you can be the hero who saved the day.”
Laurie Greer
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Year/Job
6th Year
Tried to drift dear but don't know how... |
Sol
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Post by Laurie Greer on Jan 26, 2024 13:37:33 GMT -8
She was happy with her find-- it would buy them time to get on some winter gear later in the week and hunt for the snitch. Or maybe she could even go to Elsie and ask for a suggestion on how to find the Snitch if it was buried under heaps of snow. Whatever the solution she eventually landed on, it was one that could come about later and wouldn't leave both of them freezing their asses off. She held the small sphere in her hand before pocketing it, safely keeping it out of harms way when they flew back.
"Wait." She paused, giving Nathaniel a look. "Are you serious? You want me to tell them I found it?" She looked at him wide-eyed, as if what he were asking her to do was insane. Did he not know how bad a liar she was? Had he not witnessed any of her attempts at deception and see them utterly fail. "Nathaniel." The girl said seriously, pulling their fake snitch out and holding it out, placing it in his hands. Her demeanor was serious. "I can't be the hero unless you want us both to get detention for lying. I'm so serious. It has to be you, Nathaniel. You have to be our hero."
Laurie didn't want to force Nathaniel to take the blame-- that wasn't it. But she was certain if it were in her hands that she would forsake the mission and it would fall apart in seconds. She could do a lot of things, but lying wasn't one of them.
With her hands still over Nathaniel, she gave him one final look, as if telling him with her eyes that it had to be him. Satisfied he understood, she removed her hands and smiled. "Alright, now that that's sorted... We should definitely head out. They're gonna get suspicious if we take too long, especially since we're upperclassmen. Let's get going, Nathaniel!" She said in a singsongy voice as she hopped on her broom and took off from the balcony of the tower.
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Year/Job
Sixth Year
You shine a light on my dark side, But you don't care what you see. |
Beater (23)
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Post by Nathaniel James on Jan 29, 2024 2:30:48 GMT -8
To be completely honest, Nathaniel didn't even think twice about offering for Laurie to be the one who saved the day. He was just thinking that it was her idea, so she should be the one to bring it back. But the girl stopped him, giving him a pointed stare and Nate just blinked at her. He watched wordlessly as she pulled the fake snitch out and placed it in his hands, his skin tingling as her fingers grazed him. His bright blue eyes were wide and trained on her face and he could see how serious she was. The corner of his lips twitched upwards in a nervous smile. His gaze flickered over her face, taking in the speckling of freckles that covered her and her big gray eyes. His heart was beating steadily in his chest, the rhythm going along with her words. Her touch lingered for a moment and he blinked some more before nodding his understanding. She smiled, removing her hand and Nate had this strange feeling traveling through him.
"... Let's get going, Nathaniel!"
He stood frozen in his spot as he watched her mount her broom and take off. His hand was still tingling in the wake of her touch and he lifted it to inspect it. That was so weird, he thought before shaking the feeling off and mounting his own broom, kicking off the floor and soaring high up in the sky. Laurie had a head start on him, but he was riding a Quinn Supernova thanks to the wonderful Stella Quinn. Nate leaned forward, picking up speed, and he started to close in on her. "Let's hope this works!" he called out to her before easing into a turn. The two of them made their way to the pitch, the snow falling heavily and blanketing the castle and grounds in white powder. It didn't take them very long to reach their destination and he felt a bit guilty that it had taken them so long. He couldn't see their teammates, but he figured they entered the locker rooms to get away from the cold and snow. Diving down, he reached the ground quickly and hopped off his broom, his feet carrying him to the locker room without skipping a beat.
When they entered, the team was sitting around chattering with each other. Nathaniel could hear their worry, catching a few words of their conversation - "Should we go looking for them?" said one. "The snow is really coming down now, I hope they're okay," said another. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and stepped forward, holding out the fake snitch. "Found it," he announced, the room going silent as they all turned to look at him. Nate was starting to feel a little nervous, part of him scared they'd see right through them, but after a moment the room erupted into cheers as their teammates stood and rushed over to them. "You did it!" they cried. "We're not going to get into trouble!" Nate's lips spread into a wide grin as the pride washed over him, glancing back at Laurie to give her a sly wink. "Let's get it in the trunk and get the hell out of here and back to the castle." He walked over to the open trunk and placed the sphere in the snitch's resting place, silently thanking the Gods that it fit perfectly. Before anyone could take a close look, he closed the trunk and locked it, kicking it toward the Captain. "All yours, boss," he said dryly, the fact that he was not fond of him pretty evident in his voice. The kid smiled and took the trunk away as the rest of the team gathered their belongings and filed out of the room.
Nathaniel lingered until it was just him and Laurie left. He turned to her with a wide smirk, his arms spreading out victoriously. "What did I say? Brilliant plan."
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