Term 20 Round III: Feu vs Nuage

It was that time again, another game of the wonderful sport of quidditch. Professor Bowen breathed in the fresh air and exhaled with a smile. She truly loved being outside and seeing the sport in action. She was glad to see the pitch looking normal. Since the quidditch season began, at least once a year the pitch had been altered in some sort of way. That was before the wind began to blow harshly. The professor hadn't heard a thing about the weather changing so drastically. The wind blow with a great force and she knew this was going to be a tough game for both teams. Why had the weather changed so fast like that? The wind was definitely going to affect the game, for good or for worse.

Once both teams were on the pitch, Professor Bowen said her usual saying, but you could hardly hear her over the wind. She yelled over the wind for the captains to shake hands. Once they did, she blew her whistle and released the balls. The game was beginning and the wind seemed to be getting worse by the minute. This would be an interesting game.

The announcers are Carlie Jackson and Andrea Ritter

Ursula didn't really mind having to play in the finals, but her teammates did, and they were showing it. They just kept on going on about it in the changing room, while she was desperately telling them to relax. They didn't really listen, but she was sure they'd brighten up once they felt the wind around their faces. Once Ursula felt the strong wind blowing, however, she suddenly felt a lot less confident. Was she prepared to do this? She looked to the stands. They were crowded as hell. It's Rio all over again!, she thought. And about one in fourteen were looking at her... She didn't have to count them all to see that that was a lot. No time to worrry about that, though, as it was time to take to the skies! The cold wind didn't bother her at all. When she tried some advanced Transfiguration spells some months ago, she got some fur on her arms. They managed to remove it, but both the spells to get it and to remove it where quite easy, so she remembered them both and made sure that she was always prepared for the cold winter and soft spring. She was in position, so was everyone else, so here they go!

The Snitch was released first, which Ursula saw coming her way. She ducked as it flew over her head, followed by being a lot more careful where the Bludgers went. She got hit by one on practice once, and she didn't need another one of those experiences... Finally, her ball was thrown up. Six brooms hauled at each other to get the Quaffle first, but it looked like... Feu... No, Nuage... Feu? Suddenly one of the Nuage Chasers zoomed towards her. He threw fast, but she was faster. In the blink of an eye, she made it to the left goal and caught the Quaffle. As she threw the Quaffle to one of her teammates, she saw the Nuage Chaser's face. Apollo? He played Quidditch? Well, he played a little poorly, but maybe he wasn't giving it his all just yet. Anyway, she was going to make sure Nuage didn't beat Feu. Beating Apollo was just an added bonus.

Greg didn't know what he was expecting, but it didn't involve him leading his team to the championship. And he wasn't really expecting to play against Kayla, either. He had to admit, though, that he was excited. This had to be a good game and he hoped they had practiced enough.

Greg shook Kayla's hand and winked at her. "Good luck," he said.

After everyone was in position and the game balls were released, he took off into the sky.

Nuage immediately had the quaffle, but Ursula blocked the first score attempt. "Keep it up!" he said, shooting her a thumbs up before flying off to hit a bludger.

Feu: 0
Nuage: 0

Apollo was overjoyed. Playing in the finals...that was more, than just crazy! He began playing Quidditch this year. Everything went by so fast! And Apollo loved every single moment. Quidditch became a real passion for him. Along with swimming, it was his favorite sport. Apollo walked closer to the pitch. He smiled broadly. Even though weather changed drastically and the wind began blowing harshly, Apollo didn't lose his optimism. The wind was actually...kinda refreshing.

"This is going to be awesome!" Apollo shouted in an excited manner. However, he was barely heard over the strong wind.

"Good luck, Feu!" Apollo said with a cheerful smile on his face, as he flew into the air with his broom. The ball was thrown up and Apollo flew quickly, to get the Quaffle first. And he did! He zoomed towards the goal and threw the Quaffle as fast as he could. Ursula managed to catch the ball. Not really a surprise. Apollo knew that she was a pretty tough girl.

"Whoooooo-hooooooo! Ya go girl! Μπράβοοοοοο Ursulaaaaaa!" He shouted in support. Yeah, Ursula was his opponent, but she was still quite impressive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Μπράβο (Bravo): "Well done" in Greek.

Feu: 0
Nuage: 0

Kayla couldn't stop grinning even with the harsh wind. All the team spirit was infectious. Her eyes landed on the overwhelming sea of orange and yellow in the crowd. She heard muffled shouts of various player's names and caught screams of "KAYLA!" Kayla grinned and waved in every direction, hiding her nervousness. She wondered if those goofy fourth years had followed through on their promise to make a positively fantabulous banner for her.

Kayla clasped Greg's hand and winked back. "Good luck to you, too. You'll need it," she joked. She knew a lot of eyes were on them because they were the captains and because they were dating. But she couldn't think about that. All that mattered, right then, was the game. The finals. The championship.

She took off into the sky and wasted no time in moving. After a while she saw a dash of gold and immediately zoomed at its  tail. Kayla seemed so close, but a bulky Feu player nearly collided into her. She gritted her teeth to keep from yelling "get the hell out of my way!". The player quickly swerved to catch the Quaffle. By then the Snitch had disappeared. "Block foul!" yelled Kayla, but the motion was quickly dismissed. Apparently the Feu player "intended only to catch the Quaffle." Angry mutters swept across the stadium.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kayla saw the Quaffle pass hand to hand towards the goal. Nuage might score. Ursula quickly caught the ball. This girl was frustrating her but there was no use in showing it. Kayla kept her outward frustration in check. She heard a loud cheer from...Apollo? What the crap did he think he was doing? There was a time for praising the opponent, and that was after the game. "Apollo! Less cheer, more scoring, please!" Kayla yelled. Or perhaps he was doing it deliberately to annoy the Keeper. If she was the feisty proud type, Kayla could see that working. A tiny devious smile flitted across her face.

Three minutes later, Nuage scored. "Keep it up team!" Kayla yelled before resuming her furious hunt for the Snitch.

Feu: 0
Nuage: 10

Junie-Pierre was frightened. No, frightened wasn't the right word to explain the ice that solidified his muscles and tensed him more so than a statue could ever be. Even on his broom at the ready the Seeker was scared out of his wits.

This was the final game of the year, and his final game for the entire sport.

Weight was on his shoulders to catch the Snitch far more than he had anticipated. On top of faint weight in his pocket he had barely managed to keep hidden (How he he would manage to keep it safe through his flight he had no idea.) there was enough stress on the wizard to take him to sleep in the middle of the field.

But he couldn't. He had to keep going.

Just wait, he thought. Be patient, Pierre. Everything will be okay.

With a final win, if he was able to him, there was only one question left running through his head. He only hoped She would listen.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of cheering from his team, surprised enough to jump from his broom.

He team had finally scored.

"Way to go!" Julie-Pierre couldn't help but cheer, for a moment feeling nothing daring to push him to the center of the earth. "Come on, Alle, keep it up!"

Feu: 10
Nuage: 10

Andrea felt a little more confident now it was time for the final match. She'd spent the last one watching and the game and listening to the announcers. It had looked like it'd be a good day for a match but then she felt the wind blow past her head and blow her hair into her face. She spluttered into the microphone and the sound echoed throughout the pitch. "Sorry. I was having a hair attack. Better now."

She frowned at the way her voice appeared to be competing with the wind. Andrea covered the mic. "How do you speak over the wind?" she asked Carlie. It wasn't a problem she'd ever imagined could happen despite it having happened once before back at her old school where the deputy head had trouble being heard on sports day because of the wind. How had he done it?

The first year removed her hand and tried again to speak. This time with one hand clamped firmly around her long hair. "Hello everyone and welcome to the final match of Quidditch. Today Feu and Nuage will be playing for the cup. One of the Nuage chaser has the quaffle and is attempting to score but is blocked by Valdez and one of the Nuage player is cheering her on. Does he know they are the enemy today? Oh. The Nuage captain nearly got run over by one of the Feu players. Miller is calling foul but apparently it wasn't one but there's disagreement on that one. I'm not sure it was either but I don't know enough Quidditch to say if I'm right.

"And Nuage score the first goal of the match. But wait. Feu have evened up the scores with a goal of their own. Meanwhile the seekers are continuing to search for the snitch." She sat back and hoped that despite the wind blowing through the microphone the spectators could still hear what she said.

Feu: 10
Nuage: 10

Ursula was holding out, but just barely. Maybe she was a better Keeper than the Nuage one, but Feu's Chasers were definitely getting outclassed by the opposing team's. They just kept on coming... Each time she thought she was safe for more than a couple of seconds, they proved her wrong. How many times did she have to turn them down before they'd get the hint? She blocked and blocked and blocked, but she couldn't keep them all out of the goals... After Feu's first goal, Nuage immediately went into the attack again, as to prove to her that she wasn't going to get any slack because her team was doing a bit better. She was still good to go, but her hands were shaking and her broom was too. Left, right, left... She lost focus for only a fraction of a second, but Nuage saw their chance and took it. She wasn't able to keep this up...

She wasn't going to fail her team, though. No matter how tired she was getting, no matter how hard she was getting blown off her broom, she could not let them down. Not today. Nuage went into the offense three more times, Ursula stopped them in their trackes three more times. You can rest later, Ursula. Now you have to push ahead until the Snitch has been caught. She looked over to Julie-Pierre. Please, don't wait too long...

Feu: 10
Nuage: 20

The game was surely exciting. Most people seemed surprised that Apollo cheered at Ursula. Well, he didn't do something wrong, right? It was just some moral support towards the opponent, within the limits of the sports spirit. Maybe the people of France weren't familiar with the Ancient Olympic Games...

Apollo, along with the other Nuage Chasers, tried to strike multiple times. Ursula was pretty good, but one of Apollo's teammates managed to score. Apollo screamed in support. They can win this game. They have to. However, the Feu Chasers began the offensive. Apollo tried to get the Quaffle from them, but they seemed determined. A bit...too determined. And their determination rewarded them. They scored, much to the disappointment of Apollo and his teammates.

"Oh man...Come on guys we can do this!" He said in an optimistic way, to encourage his teammates. Apollo always remained optimistic till the end. With a determined look in his eyes, he flied as fast as he could. He got the Quaffle from one of the Feu Chasers and quickly passed it to one of his teammates. Then, he went close to the goal. When his teammate was blocked by a Feu Chaser, he passed the Quaffle to another Nuage Chaser and then the ball was passed to Apollo. He grabbed the ball and scored!

"Ναι! Ναι! Wheeee~!" He did it! He waved his hands in the air and laughed. He then looked at Ursula's annoyed expression, and winked at her. She should be proud of herself. She was still a pretty great Keeper.

Feu: 20
Nuage: 30

--------------------------------------------------------
*Ναι: "Yes", in Greek.

Carlie wasn't quite sure how she felt about the wind, but she was all too enthusiastic about the game. She was so proud of her team.

The third year looked at her fellow announcer and wordlessly passed her the other green rubber band from around her wrist. It would probably help her. Not as much as the hat Carlie was wearing, but at least some.

"Sorry, Captain Miller. It's just windy today. Don't be discouraged, though! You guys are in the lead now!"

It seemed like she had spoken too soon, though. "Just kidding! You guys are tied due to a magnificent Feu goal. Good job, Feu players!"

Feu: 30
Nuage: 30

Julie-Pierre was getting well too stoked, using whatever strength he could muster to keep his hands on his broom and keep his attention to the game. This was going to be it, he had decided. Whether they lost or won, he had to ask her here and now. If he did, when would be another chance.

He watched the teams intently, more concerned for his fellow teammates as he saw Ursula help bring up the score. "Ja, that's it!" he chanted loudly, unable to stop himself from letting go of his broom to bring a fist up in triumph. He took note of her looking to him, getting her message, as he gave a soft nod.

The lad knew he had to get his head in the game, and that he would.

Apollo was doing well, though, with his team. The light and determination he gleamed for them seemed to give them a way to come from their tunnel of fright that had started to linger with Ursula's diligence.

But now the score was suddenly tied, and everything seemed too perfect to be true.

Before he could muster everything, Feu had gotten another score.

"Gut gemacht (Way to go!)!" he chimed loudly, without another warn repositioning himself for flying as he felt it was best he be ready. Something in the back of his mind told him that the Snitch would be around, soon, and he knew he needed to be as prepared as possible.

Only time would tell when, and he had to keep his eyes open.

Nuage: 30
Feu:40

Several shots later, the score, now 70 to 80, seemed to be at a standstill. It was all up to Kayla or Julie-Pierre at that point. Everybody was kind of checking out, it seemed. Quidditch was so fast paced that a game over forty minutes was fairly long, though there was no actual time limit in the sport.

Greg's bat connected with a bludger just as the winning bell went off. There was sudden uproar from the audience. He looked out and saw a sea of silver and mint green cheering.

Feu: 230
Nuage: 70