Term 16 Round I: Montagnard vs Nuage

It was a bright sunny day and it was perfect to play quidditch. There were only a few clouds in the sky, and it wasn't too hot or humid. Professor Bowen took a deep breath and grinned. She loved quidditch and she knew this was going to be a good game.

But the tensions between the two new captains was evident. Professor Bowen didn't know what it was about, but she didn't want there to be a incident on the field between the two Seekers. "I want a clean game," she said to the teams, but looking directly at Kayla and Isobel. "And I mean it. Shake hands."

After the girls finished, she told the teams to get in position. She blew her whistle.

The game will be locked 12/22/14

Kayla was nervous, as it was her very first Quidditch game and she was captain. Still, she was less anxious than other team members. It wasn't that she thought she was an awesome Seeker but she had confidence in her team. She wanted to win and enjoy the game. When she saw she was up against Isobel some of her calmness was replaced with frenzy. How was she going to the enjoy the game with her? However, Kayla couldn't drag the whole team into her own personal rivalry. Even Professor Bowen sensed the tension between them. She couldn't let her team believe she was a petty little girl. Kayla gripped her broom in one hand and looked Isobel in the eye neutrally. "Good game," she said, shaking her hand in a firm and concise handshake. Despite her misgivings of Isobel, she meant it. 

They took off into the air, and Kayla's eyes immediately started roaming for a glimpse of gold. There it was down near the bleachers. Kayla went in a steep dive, before it disappeared. She could barely make out its rapid zigzag through the players, let alone keep up with it. She thought she saw something and chased excitedly in that direction, but it turned out to be a golden sign. She took a respite from her Seeking to applaud a good Nuage goal. "Nice," she called to her team member hastily before returning to her chase. For the first time in the game, she noticed Isobel in the opposite direction. Should I tail her or do my own thing? she wondered. She spotted the Snitch, halfway between her and Isobel. Kayla quickly kicked off towards it, ignoring the possibility of a collision, but it quickly escaped. 

Nuage: 20
Montagnard: 0

Isobel was not happy about having to go against the Miller girl. Kayla really grated against her nerves. She had to at least play nice for Cameron's sake, which also pissed her off. But a friend was a friend, even if their sister was a pain in the ass.

Professor Bowen could tell that the girls didn't like each other. And the teams knew, too. But Isobel figured that if Bowen didn't want fights, she wouldn't make Kayla a captain or a Seeker.

Isobel took to the sky quickly. She saw the snitch, then lost it as the goal sound rang. Nuage was winning. "Step it up, guys! We're behind!" she shouted, just as one of Montagnard's chasers scored. "Good start!" she called to her team.

She saw Kayla's confused face, then saw the snitch fly up and over the other girl's shoulder. She was going to catch the stupid thing. And she wasn't going to give the other captain an opening at all.

Nuage: 20
Montagnard: 10

Montagnard was gaining on them. Ugh. And currently, Seeking was more frustrating than fun. At least it was nice weather. Amidst all the zigzagging and going back and forth, she discovered some tricks about her broom and found herself steadily improving throughout the game. Now the Snitch was starting to annoy her. She had to beat it at its own game. With Isobel hot on her trail, she saw the golden ball again and lunged for it, only to predictably escape again. Now it was at the other end of the field. 

Montagnard has scored another goal. The score was tied. Kayla briefly multitasked, both flying after the Snitch and yelling advice to her team. There was a perfect opening for a goal that triggered something in her mind. "Do the strategy we worked on last practice!" she shouted to her Chaser. "Hit the Bludger the other way!" she advised her Beater.

She shifted her attention back to the Snitch, not bothering to see if her advice had worked, but a few seconds later the goal buzzer sounded. "Nice job!" she yelled without taking her eyes off the Snitch. Isobel was ahead of her, but they were still far away. This would play out like the first twenty minutes of the game. Whenever they got close to the Snitch it would just escape. It was like a dog chasing its tail. 

She stopped following Isobel, staying a distance away. She had to restrain herself to keep going slowly. Isobel's face looked like a mixture of confusion and suspicion. She was getting close to the Snitch. As soon as Isobel got close to the Snitch, it dodged and bolted in Kayla's direction. Now! Kayla immediately made her move and pounced on the Snitch. She could've sworn she felt the leather of the ball, but at the last millisecond it dived. Disappointed sounds came from the crowd as Kayla paused to revive her spirit. At least Nuage was slightly ahead. 

Nuage: 50
Montagnard: 40

Isobel was extremely proud. Even though they were losing, there were still having a fantastic game. Montagnard was falling behind by one point. Then another. Then another. But Isobel wasn't discouraged. She had spotted the snitch again

It was far away from her, but she had still spotted it.

She lunged forward, flying as quickly as possible to grab the little gold ball. As soon as she was close, it suddenly moved up to the left. Isobel flew up, reached out, and gripped the snitch. She lost her balance suddenly and started to fall, but she held on tightly, and was able to regain stability without panicking too much.

As soon as she did get center again. She held up the snitch for everyone to see. Montagnard was going to finals.

Nuage: 80
Montagnard: 190