An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
The Great Hall was was abuzz with excitement and conversation, as it was the night of Quidditch Tryouts -- which would take place on the Pitch as soon as dinner concluded. Potential players went through a mix of emotions and ways to prepare. It was anyone's chance this year, regardless of having been on the team last year or not.
But before that could begin, they had to sit through dinner. The Professors were mostly disinterested, apart from the eager Heads of Houses. McGonagall and Snape kept exchanging challenging looks, as if having a silent bickering match no one else could hope to understand from glares alone. Professor Rivera was boring Professor Hathmore with statistics, while Professor Sprout kept waving at the Hufflepuff table to offer encouragement.
A few students left early, however. Not everyone was keen on the sport or cared even the slightest about the event. Those, and several studious N.E.W.T students as well, much preferred to finish early and retreat to somewhere quieter and where they were less likely to be bothered.
The Tryout thread will be made, and can be joined (including by spectators), once dinner concludes. If you wish to tryout, your character must be already active and can continue to do so. Serious interest only, please.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Apr 30, 2023 15:13:47 GMT 10
Just dinner to endure and then MJ would be trying out for the Ravenclaw team again! She entered the Great Hall and noticed the buzz of chatter and excitement, smiling to herself as she sat at her house table.
MJ added some garlic bread and a hearty scoop of some kind of pasta dish to her plate, her stomach rumbling in anticipation for the cheesy goodness.
It had been a productive day, with MJ able to tackle some tasks and she felt a sense of accomplishment for what she had achieved. Re-earning her spot on the team would be the perfect end to her day.
After a moment, she tucked into her dinner, knowing she'd need energy for what laid ahead. She reached for a jug of water and poured herself out a drink, glancing up and down the table.
Hopefully some of her friends would join her soon.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Apr 30, 2023 15:21:30 GMT 10
Kody was conflicted.
Of course, he was disappointed that the day had got away from him and Reena, which meant they didn't get their mushrooms. But, it was now dinner time and he was one step closer to trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Finally.
Sitting at his house table, Kody was practically vibrating with excitement. He was hungry, sure, but he couldn't even think of food right now!
"We're so close! Aren't you excited? Or maybe nervous? Scared? A mix of everything--" He blabbed. Maybe to the person next to him or maybe to no one at all, only himself. Kody didn't mind if no one replied.
His hands tapped a beat onto the table, fuelled by restless energy.
He could keep blabbing all through dinner, content with his own company. His thoughts were all over the place anyway, trying to anticipate what to expect for try-outs or conjuring up a hundred different outcomes for that evening.
It had been such an eventful day that Felix had almost forgotten about Quidditch tryouts. Yet as soon as he sat down at the table for dinner -- and heard the excited talk of tryouts -- he almost choked on the chicken he had began to chew on.
Tryouts! Quidditch! How could he forget?
He had been so excited, but now his stomach was a jumble of nerves. Would he be able to make the team this year? Unlike last year? He knew his team had a lot of competition. All he could do was try his best.
His stomach was full of butterflies; a mixture of nerves and excitement. So much so that he suddenly didn't feel very hungry.
"I'm definitely a mix of everything," Felix said with a nervous laugh at Kody. He hadn't even realized he had been sitting next to him. "I probably should eat for some extra energy...but suddenly I'm not so hungry."
The poor boy probably looked like a deer in headlights right now. Usually things didn't bother him too much but he really really wanted to make the team.
Pierce had almost forgotten how Quidditch-crazed this school was. As soon as he entered the great hall and went to take a seat it was so loud with chatter he couldn't help but grimace. He peered around for his siblings -- he knew Amelia, Joshua, and Toby would be trying out. Even if he himself had no interest in joining his team he'd still go to support them.
Plus he liked to keep track of the new techniques; mostly to help out his siblings by giving them insight on their opponents or even how they themselves could improve. The skills of the sport did intrigue him, so he would have gone regardless.
Scooping some roasted potatoes and vegetables on his plate, he began to eat as he tried to block out the cacophony of noise around him. The quicker he finished the quicker he could find a bit of peace and quiet before the tryouts started.
Post by Jonathan King on Apr 30, 2023 17:14:42 GMT 10
Joe came running into the Great Hall but slowed his pace tremendously when he almost collided with a group of first years. He smiled and breathed an apology towards them before he power-walked towards the Ravenclaw table.
He had his long curls held back by a thick blue head band and he could feel his hair bounce with every step he took- which was fun. His dad had given him the head band so he could properly manage his hair while flying.
Speaking of - he had debated skipping dinner and directly going to tryouts and wait there, but he figured it was better to eat and then worry about getting to the pitch on time after he had filled up his strength.
"MJ!", he waved at her from afar before breaking into a jog to get a seat next to her.
He sat himself down and took off his frayed robe onto the seat next to him to save it for Ryan.
"Are you excited yet? I know I am but I'm sure we can make it. The Birdwhistle-King-Team shall take flight again!"
Joe smiled brightly at her as he filled some steaming beans onto his plate and filled his cup with some milk. Protein before sports. Yes, that made sense to him.
Post by Joshua Twiggs on Apr 30, 2023 17:23:27 GMT 10
Dinner. Right.
Joshua stared at the empty plate in front of him while worrying his lip between his thumb and index finger. His knee had started to bounce the very moment he had sat down. His stomach was in nervous knots as the reality of tryouts was just this dinner away.
He barely registered his housemate's chatter around him as he tried to remember what his dad had said in his letter this morning. Not to worry about Amy and Toby, yeah?
Right now he was too busy worrying about himself.
What if he wasn't cut out to play Quidditch afer all? He wasn't even sure what position to try - only what position not to try out for.
With a sigh he pulled himself together and looked at the food options on the table. Nothing struck his fancy in particular, so he filled up a small potion of mashed potatoes before grabbing some nuts for his pocket.
He also filled some water into his drinking goblet, his mouth was feeling rather dry.
Post by Amber Lloyd on Apr 30, 2023 18:46:09 GMT 10
Amber entered the Great Hall which was already full with buzzing students. She quickly scanned the Hufflepuff table, seeing if she saw Joshua or Caine. But there were so many students already sitting and still getting their seats that she wasn’t sure if she spotted one of them or not. She had sit at her own table anyway, so she proceeded to actually do that.
Seeing the food on the table, her stomach began to growl loudly and she gently hushed it. Running around all day made her quiet hungry. So she began to fill her plate with some Shepherd’s Pie.
As she began to eat, she started to listen more to the conversations around her – which was mostly Quidditch this, Quidditch that. And she suddenly wasn’t so hungry anymore, despite having barely touched her plate yet.
Right, Quidditch Tryouts were later. She had successfully pushed the thoughts about it aside for a while. Because thinking about it all the time made her nervous. Like right now.
Noticing that she only toyed with her food around her plate for the past few minutes, she groaned, pushed the plate aside and let herself fall on the table, letting her head rest on her arms.
Why did she decide to do it again? She had asked herself this a few times over the day already and the answer was always the same: Because it seemed fun. And she liked Quidditch, perhaps more than she admitted to herself.
Her parents had told her to always pursue what was most enjoyable for her at Hogwarts and not to be too shy about trying new things. Currently, Quidditch seemed to be both.
However, now she wasn’t so sure anymore. What if she got her hopes up now but didn’t get on the team because she was just so bad at Quidditch? Or was so bad that she was the laughingstock for everyone else? Amber clearly didn’t want that.
A tiny voice in her head reminded her that her decision was not final yet. She hadn’t told anyone else what she was going to do. She still could back out. No one would knew.
She sighed. That was wrong. One person would knew: herself. And she had already decided to try it.
If she went against her decision now, she knew she would always regret it. So it was useless to think anymore about what would happen. She would see that later. For now, she had to prepare herself for the best outcome.
More determined now, Amber sat herself up again, grabbed her plate and started eating again.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Apr 30, 2023 20:27:34 GMT 10
"Felix!" Kody announced the younger boy's name, seemingly for no reason other than he had spoken to him. Kody was just glad to have someone who understood what he was going through right now.
"Yeah -- Like, I'm gonna explode in a second if... If..." Well he didn't know what, exactly, but it felt like dinner was taking too long and Quidditch was too far away. Kody wondered if anyone else around them was trying out for the team...?
He didn't spot anyone immediately obvious but that was fine. He had Felix.
"I was looking at the options from Magnora Brooms earlier, a classmate had their catalogue. I'm not sure what broom to get if I get on the team, I guess that's something I need to ask my mum and grandparents about but I do like the look of the Ashstorm or the Ironbark." He was definitely rambling now.
Kody dug into his school bag looking for the catalogue so Felix could flip through it as well -- unless he already had a broom! That'd be pretty cool too!
Post by Martha Twiggs on Apr 30, 2023 20:30:47 GMT 10
When Martha down, she made sure to gently bump her shoulder against Joshua's. Hopefully he wouldn't mind too much, his big sister sitting next to him at the dinner table.
"Hey, how was your day?" A casual start to their conversation as she considered her options regarding food. Martha was in the mood for something that reminded her of home so she added roast beef, vegetables and gravy onto her plate.
She knew Joshua (as well as most of her other siblings) would be trying out for Quidditch after dinner and she intended to be there to support them from the stands. She did spare a glance towards the Slytherin table and found Pierce easily.
Surely he would be joining her in the stands?
"You're going to do great, by the way. I like to think Quidditch is in our blood even though I've no interest in playing." Was that encouraging or just off-putting? Well the last thing she wanted to do was make her brother feel worse.
Martha busied herself with her food, hoping for the best.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Apr 30, 2023 20:35:07 GMT 10
"Hey Joe -- Ohh! I love your headband! You look great and that's such a genius idea..." She only had a hair bobble to tie her hair back into a ponytail when she flew. Maybe she should look into getting a headband too, just in case.
She was glad to have his company and definitely perked up when he mentioned the 'Birdwhistle-King' Team. "Definitely! If we don't have you on our team, then there's no point at all."
Flying alongside Joe last year had been very eye-opening for MJ. It had made her feel a little behind in terms of her own skills and she had practised hard over the rest of the school year (despite no Quidditch) and summer (very carefully) to try and be better.
Hopefully all her hard work-out pay off and reflect during try-outs. She looked at the enchanted ceiling and sighed, "I really want to get on the team again this year. I want to play with you and the others..."
When she looked back at Joe, there was a determined scowl on her face, "Plus, we owe Amara for her dirty tactics last year. We need to make sure Slytherin stay beaten!"
Kwame came to the Ravenclaw table for dinner time. It had been a great day of classes with Charms and Divination. Even though Kwame usually feared Charms, but today his performance in the class was better than usual.
Unfortunately he had not been successful with the ingredient hunt. Both times he had come away empty handed.
Kwame was scared Professor Snape would rescind his offer to use the potions room if it took too long to collect his ingredients.
Kwame took a seat nearby Amber who was becoming his friend in the Ravenclaw house. Even though she seemed closer to Joshua and Caine, maybe they could develop their own special friendship too.
"Hi Amber" said Kwame as he sat down beside her. He filled his plate and began to eat as the days activities had left him feeling quite hungry.
"So are you excited for the Quidditch try outs tonight? I still don't know if I will try out or not."
Post by Caine Hawke on Apr 30, 2023 23:41:46 GMT 10
Dinner! Dinner was only one step away from the rest of the night and Caine just wanted to get it over and done with! He. Was. Buzzing.
A quick scan of the Hufflepuff table and the fifth year boy bolted (at a very quick walking pace) toward the one, the only, Joshua Twiggs.
Plopping down without an ounce of ceremony across from him he stared at empty plate and worried face for a moment before his eyebrows shot skyward and a hand waved before Mr. Twiggs' eyes to catch attention.
"What are you doin' that for? You look like you're gonna tear your lip off!" He reached over, gathering a bit of food onto his plate and stared, concerned, at the mashed potatoes his friend had gathered.
"Hey, look here, what're you worried about, mate? Tryouts? Lack of potatoes?" he could guess either of the two, really. With a diet of potatoes only that's what he'd have worried about in this situation.
Last Edit: Apr 30, 2023 23:42:23 GMT 10 by Caine Hawke
Amber was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Kwame until he said her name. Caught off guard, she choked on her food, gasping for air as she reached for her glass of water. After chugging it down, she waved to him briefly. She was glad to see him but also wouldn't have minded sitting alone for a while. Especially if the topic of conversation was once again Quidditch. Although, this evening was about the sport, so what did she expect...
Being asked about Quidditch Tryouts made her feel like the anxiety from earlier wanted to come back, but she pushed it away successfully. Avoiding the topic of excitement all together, because right now it was rather complicated, Amber started to ask Kwame instead.
“What hinders you to try it?” she looked at him curiously, a question she should have asked herself way earlier…
Post by Thorne Perry on May 1, 2023 1:13:27 GMT 10
Thorne grinned at the older boys across the table - he'd had a busy day, but his own, personal business was done for the night. Sure, he'd go and cheer the others from his house on - but (and maybe this made him a tiny bit of a traitor?) he was more concerned with going to cheer for MJ! He had no interest in playing Quidditch himself (though he'd gotten over his major fears of simply flying last year) but it was fun to see such excitement.
He peered around the table after a moment, ladling out a big bowl of potato and leek soup and then - much to his utter delight - spied a loaf of tiger bread cut in thick slices and lightly toasted.
....he could, of course, be forgiven if he maybe helped himself to half the slices....right?
Last Edit: May 1, 2023 1:13:42 GMT 10 by Thorne Perry