Harry Potter Next Generation discussion

A Quidditch pitch is typically in the shape of an oval, five hundred feet long and a hundred and eighty feet wide, with a small central circle of approximately two feet in diameter. At each end there are three hooped Goal posts of different heights, surrounded by a scoring area. The early barrel-goals had been replaced by baskets on stilts, but whilst these were practical, they did carry an inherent problem: there was no size restriction on the baskets, which differed dramatically from pitch to pitch.

It was dinnertime in the castle. One of the times you could easily slip away. Ava walked over to the Quidditch Pitch with her broom in hand. She needed to calm down, and flying often helped. She felt on the verge of tears and an anxiety attack, so she kicked off the ground and started to fly. Ava flew with speed and precision. She felt the wind in her hair and immediately felt happy. Ava's cheeks were pink from the wind. She decided to get her snitch and began practicing. Ava knew the position was opened, but she didn't want to try out. The anxiety would probably get to her. Ava caught it in a little under two minutes, and was beaming.

Rose had quidditch practice following dinner, but decided to go down to the pitch early to get some extra practice in. She munched on an apple as she walked, and tossed it in the bin once she arrived. Entering the Gryffindor locker rooms, she retrieved her broom and pads from her locker and entered the pitch. Much to her surprise, someone had beaten her there. She watched as the blonde flew in intricate spirals, swiftly catching the snitch after she released it.

Ava grinned at her victory and flew to the bottom of the pitch. She was beyond happy so she decided to jump off of her broom and roll onto the grass. Ava's broom stopped near her, and Ava laughed. She stood up and noticed a girl was standing there, staring at her. "Oh. I-I'm sorry," Ava stuttered, her grin fading from her face. "I.. shouldn't be here," she said, blushing deeply. Ava picked up her broom. "I.. can leave," Ava told her, wanting to go. She was beyond embarrassed that someone saw her flying. She didn't enjoy flying in front of other people.

"Don't worry about it. The Gryffindor team isn't practicing for another half hour. You're amazing! do you play for your house team?" Rose asked. "cause you totally should. I haven't seen Seeker skills like that since my Uncle Harry stopped playing" Rose smiled at her next thought "although, if you're not in Gryffindor, I probably shouldn't be encouraging you. you'd kick our butts" Rose giggled

"Um.. No I don't," Ava said nervously. "I think I'd vomit or something if I tried out," Ava told her with a little, forced smile. "All those people watching you.." Ava shuddered. "Let's just say I don't do well with crowds." Ava tilted her head. "Uncle.. Harry?" Ava asked curiously. She had heard that name before, she just couldn't put her finger on where she heard that name. "Does he, well, did he play on a professional team?" Ava asked.

"Not exactly..." Rose trailed off. "he never played professionally, but he became the Seeker for Gryffindor when he was a first year. He's a pretty remarkable Seeker, but that's probably not why you've heard of him..." Rose said, not sure if she wanted to tell this girl who her uncle was, but realizing it was to late now. "My uncle is Harry Potter"

"Oh cool," Ava said, not really making the connection. She knew about the war, but was horrible at remembering the names. "So, are you comparing me to him?" she asked curiously. She smiled a little. "I'm not that good. Definitely not good enough to make the team," Ava said calmly. "Well…" Ava said awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Rose could tell the girl wasn't confident in her skills despite the fact that she was better than most of the other teams' Seekers. She decided not to push the matter and instead introduced herself "I'm Rose Weasley, 5th year. What's your name?" She asked

Ava grinned. She put her broom down and introduced herself. "I'm Ava Bristow, sixth year," she told Rose. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said warmly. She had always been good at meeting people normally. Ava was friendly enough.

"Nice to meet you Ava" Rose said, grinning. "So besides quidditch, what sort of things do you like to do?" She asked

"I love to roller skate, do gymnastics, read, and sing," Ava said, while blushing as she said sing.

"That's awesome! I love to read and sing too!" Rose grinned. "I've never done gymnastics or been roller skating before though. I bet they're pretty hard to pick up when you're older, huh?" Rose said "So what are your favorite books?" She asked

"Awesome," Ava said, grinning. "You have to be pretty flexible for gymnastics," Ava told her. She did a cartwheel and landed into the splits. She got up, did a back bend and kicked over. She grinned at Rose. "See? I have a spare pair of roller skates if you want to try it," Ava suggested.

Rose's mouth dropped open as Ava did her cartwheel and splits. "That's was amazing! I'd probably break my neck if I tried to do a cartwheel now" She smiled "I'll probably need a lot of help on the skates but I'd love to try!" She said enthusiasticlly

Ava grinned and bowed. "Thank you, thank you," she joked. "I can help. It's very fun. When do you want to try?" She asked happily.

Daniella clutched her broomstick and gazed around the quidditch pitch. She couldn't see Ava anywhere but she knew she would come. Talon sat on the sidelines and watched birds flying past with great interest as her owner fiddled with her broom handle, waiting. Daniella climbed onto her broomstick and soared up into the sky for a quick warm up. Her long hair flew out behind her and she whizzed in and out of the towers. Her blood was pumped with adrenaline and she smiled as she flew.

Ava pulled back her hair and grabbed her broom. "Time to go to the Pitch," she said with a sigh. Ava walked outside then sat on her broom, flying to the Quidditch Pitch. "Hey," Ava told Daniella with a grin when she found her. 'Is anyone else coming?" she asked, matching Daniella's speed.

(( ah only if anyone else is free to rp so at the moment no :) ))

"No," Daniella turned to look at Ava, already flying beside her. Something told her she could overtake her easily if she wanted to. "Since you seemed not to like the idea, I thought it would be better if no one else came for a start. Later, though..." Daniella said, smiling. She hovered in mid- air, making Ava stop as well. "So, what is it about playing with people that you don't feel great about?" She prompted.

Ava grinned, relieved. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "I don't really do well under pressure.." she admitted. Ava stopped when Daniella did and blushed. "Like I said, I don't do well under pressure. But I also get a bit anxious and I feel like I'm going to pass out or…" she trailed off. 'Or puke,' she thought, not wanting to tell Daniella. Ava blushed deeply.

Daniella giggled inwardly at Ava's comment but didn't laugh as she knew it would be extremely insensitive. "Oh." She started, not quite knowing how to address the problem. "That's a real shame, especially since it stops you from doing what you love." She sympathised. "Why do you think it happens? Is it nerves, or are you scared of what people will think of you?"

"I think it's more of.." Ava started, not really knowing what to say. "It's more of, I don't want to have people witness if I fail?" She said after thinking about it. "I don't ever like people to see me practice until it's perfected, so if I fail, I feel nervous and overwhelmed," she explained, blushing deeply, it showing pretty well with her pale skin.

Daniella really felt sorry for Ava. It must be horrible not to be able to play quidditch because she got so nervous about failure! "Well, you know no one will judge you, right? Because even if you do stuff up, we won't care. HEAPS of people I know are terrible at quidditch, and even great players muck up. Just remember that." Daniella comforted her.

Ava listened to Daniella and nodded. "Okay, I'll remember that," she promised. "What are we going to do today?" she asked nervously.

"Well," Daniella said, "I was thinking maybe we could just let a snitch go and we'll have a race to see who can get it first. Then you can choose a game, if you like." She suggested. Ava probobly had a warm-up exercise that she enjoyed. Daniella had brought a snitch with her and she pulled its' little velvet bag out of her pocket. She undid the clasps on the pouch and grasped the small golden ball in her hand. The snitch's tiny wings fluttered eagerly. "Ready?" Daniella paused, hand raised to throw the it into the air.

"Ready," she said nervously, looking at the snitch. Ava set her stop watch, wanting to see how long it would take and the snitch flew off. Daniella had barely released it when it was on the other side of the court. Ava sped up next to the snitch with a grin. She outstretched her hand and scooped it into them. Ava grinned at Daniella and stopped her stop watch. "A little over one minute," she told herself under her breath.

"Wow!" Daniella hovered in mid air, frozen. She stared at Ava in disbelief. "Ava, you didn't tell me you were that good!" She exclaimed. She had barely seen the snitch before Ava had caught it! How could she possibly be so scared of failiure when she was so talented? With her on the Hufflepuff team the house would do so much better, perhaps win the cup. Daniella made up her mind to eventually persuade Ava to try out for the team, no matter how long it took.

"I probably would've done better if someone wasn't watching me," she admitted, not at all trying to be rude. "My personal record is thirty nine seconds," Ava told her. Ava honestly didn't know she was good. She had never been to a Quidditch game in fear that someone would ask her to practice with them, so she had no one to compare herself to.

Daniella wondered how Ava could possibly be oblivious to the fact the she was such an excellent player. "Really?" she said, marvelling at how Ava got so good. "You must practice heaps!" Daniella suspected that Ava must be related to a famous quidditch player- it seemed to be in her blood.

"I practice when I don't have anything else to do.." Ava said simply.

Daniella wondered how often this was. "So... do you want to do anything else today?" she questioned, holding out her hand for the snitch. "You've already made progress- you didn't throw up all over me," she laughed.

Ava blushed. "I'm fine," she said calmly. "I.. um.. I kind of forgot you were here when you let go of the snitch," she admitted, placing the snitch back into Daniella's hand.

"Well, that's a good start." Daniella slipped the snitch back into it's pouch and tucked it deep into her pocket. "If it helps you concentrate, keep doing that," she smiled, and started drifting down towards the ground. She looked over at Ava, flying beside her. She didn't seem too shaken, thank goodness. They touched down and Daniella dismounted her broom, face flushed from the wind.

Malcolm sat on he bleachers, waiting. I hope that girl gets here soon. He started humming one of those Muggle radio songs his sister used to listen to.
He must not have been actually paying attention, because it's highly doubtful he wanted to meet up with a friend after hours (especially a girl) while humming You Don't Know You're Beautiful.

Ava had noticed Malcolm come in. She had just changed into her muggle clothes because they were a bit more comfortable. Ava mounted her broom and flew up to the bleachers he was sitting in. "Hello," she said brightly. Her hair was put into a high ponytail, wearing sweats and a basic tee shirt.

(sorry i took so long. I was watching the new ever after high episodes with my sister. AWESOME!)

He stopped humming, and looked at Ava. She looked nice, more open then she'd been before. "Oh, I, er, forgot my broom," he sighed inwardly. He really had forgotten his broom.
"It's fine," he said, "I'll help you, and then we can talk. What's your fastest capture time?"

Ava laughed loudly. "You forgot your broom?!" She asked, not believing him. "Help me how?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "And why do you want to know?" Ava asked, narrowing her eyes, suspicious. She didn't know if she should tell Malcolm. "I don't always practice as a seeker... I'm a decent chaser. I'm absolutely horrible at beater. I've never tried being a keeper though. That requires another person," she babbled, blushing. Ava often talked too much when she was a bit anxious.

"Well, you know," he shrugged, "I had a million things to think about. Besides, I'm also not that great at most roles. I was just curious about the time. I've tried my hand at seeking once or twice, and I wondered how you'd fare against an opponent with he same goal as you. But if your time is too fast, it'll be useless to try. Accio Broom! "
The broom appeared in his hands so fast you'd have thought he'd conjured it from thin air.
"So anyway," he said, pretending no to notice the look on Ava's face, "Are you going to tell me your best catch?"

Ava sighed. "On a good day, I can catch the snitch in a minute or two. On a bad day, about five," Ava said, biting her lip. She didn't know how well it was. She just knew the rules and positions in the game. Ava shook her head, laughing. "I still can't believe you forgot one of the most important parts to Quidditch." Ava was impressed with Malcolm's spell, although she didn't show it. She didn't know how Malcolm dealt with praise, and didn't want him to get a big head.

"You are kidding, I hope," Malcolm said, "That's it? Why do you think most Quidditch games last so long? The last school Seeker to have times that good was Harry Potter."
He knew she needed to hear this. She was so shy and unsure of herself, but she had no real reason to be.

"Why would I be kidding?" she cut in. Ava listened to what Malcolm was saying, a bit hesitant. "Harry Potter?" she asked in unbelief. "Seriously?" she asked, a bit hesitant to believe him. "I-I'm not as good as him," Ava said, looking down. She glanced up, meeting his eyes, a questioning look in them.

"Of course you are," he said, "Haven't you ever heard the story of how he caught the Snitch 5 minutes into the game? That was one of the shortest games this school has ever seen!"

"I haven't really done my research about Hogwarts Quidditch. I won't let myself get too invested in World Quidditch though. So I tend to stay away from things like that.. I know I'd never be able to go to a game because.." Ava trailed off, not really wanting to get into the details of her horrible life outside of school. She realized she was still on her broom and decided to dismount and sit across from him.

Hmm. She was doing that thing again, avoiding talking about family. He did the same, and he knew he had no right to pry into her business if he wasn't willing to share his.
But there was a story he should tell her. She deserved the truth about that, at least.
"I'm going to tell you a story. It's a bit long, so I'll pause occasionally so you can ask questions. Deal?"

Ava could tell Malcolm was thinking, it being quiet for a few seconds. He asked if he could tell a story, and Ava simply nodded. She was curious and didn't want to interrupt him and started playing with her fingers, bending them. She wasn't known for sitting still.

"So once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a Hufflepuff Seeker in fifth year who was chosen as team captain. Now it happened to be that all the people she chose for the team were fourth years- not because of any special preference, just because they were the best."

Ava raised an eyebrow, a bit confused about why he was telling her what seemed like a made up story, but allowed him to continue. She didn't want to be rude and interrupt.

"Now, there was a little boy in Hufflepuff who wanted to play Chaser, but he couldn't, since the Captain had picked the team when he was a first year. So, once the Captain graduated, he jumped at the chance to try out, even if it was as Seeker. So, he was on the team. They even won the Cup! And then the whole team, except for this one boy, graduated. So now the boy, who wanted to be Chaser but was already known as a Seeker, had a problem: he was the only member of the Hufflepuff team, and he didn't have any clue how to find new members. After all, it would only be his second year on the team. Then, the boy met someone who would be perfect for the team, and could help him recruit new team members. Only one problem: even though he didn't really want to play Seeker, he was- and the new girl was a Seeker."
Malcolm stopped his story. "So what do you think," he asked, "What should the boy do?"

Ava could see where this was headed, and shook her head, smiling. "Well, honestly?" she said taking a deep breath. "I think the boy should follow what his heart is telling him to do. If he's a Seeker and wants to be a Chaser, tell him to go for it! Life's too short to be defined by what others think of you. He should just," Ava paused, realizing she should take her own advice. "He should just take a chance. Let no one get in the way of his passion. Being unhappy isn't worth it. If he can change his circumstances, do so. Only he can control his life." Ava was silent, letting Malcolm think about what she said. After all, she was thinking about what she said.

"I guess," he said, "I mean, Ginny Weasley only started playing as a reserve Seeker for Harry Potter, and look where it got her." He laughed.
"So if the boy becomes a Chaser, does that the girl should play Seeker?"
(My mother has declared tomorrow no-screen day,and the day after that is my first day of school, so I might not be on again for a while.)