Term 18 Round II: Cerisier vs Feu

It seemed that the weather was going to be strange for the entire season. The day of the first game was abnormally cold and today's game was surprisingly warm. The sun was shining brightly and it was melting the small bit of snow that had fallen the day before.

Professor Bowen looked at the players gathered. She remembered that there were new players, so she decided to give almost the whole spiel.

"Welcome, or welcome back, to Quidditch. Even though the sun is shining, it will be a few degrees cooler in the air than it is on the ground. Keep warm. Follow the rules of the game and do not goof off up there. And remember to have fun. Armstrong, Banken, shake hands. It's time."

When the two captains finished, the professor blew her whistle.

Sophie Owens is the announcer.

Autumn could honestly say that she wasn't nervous for this game at all. Not because she was confident, but because she felt experienced. She'd been in this position before. And overall, these were probably the best conditions she'd flown in during a game. So she wasn't concerned about that at all.

And since Autumn knew Lucie a little bit better, it was easier to have good sportsmanship, as well.

Autumn pushed off of the ground and went off to search for bludgers. She heard cheering, but wasn't sure which team had scored. It didn't matter much to her. She had found a bludger and hurled it across the pitch at any Feu player she could possibly hit.

Cerisier: 10
Feu: 0

Lucie was ready for another year of Quidditch. She was not going to focus on any failures. Not when her track record had racked up more successes than fails. This year though would be more of a challenge with a new seeker on the team. Most of the team were new and Lucie had to remind herself she was in their shoes once with the added responsibility of captaincy on her shoulders.

She smiled encouragingly at her team and said, "you'll all do great so long as we go with the strategies we used during practice," before leading them down to the pitch. At least the weather was better for this game than the one she'd watched from the stands. And she was facing a captain she didn't have any bone to pick with. They were more friendly rivals than out and out hostility.

Once her handshake with Autumn was over she made sure to be ready to push off the ground at the blow of the whistle. Today she would be protecting her goals as fiercely as she always did. It was unfortunate the first goal of the match went to Cerisier and Lucie gritted her teeth. She had to remind herself it was only the beginning. The next ding was down the other end followed by another. That was much better.

Feu: 20
Cerisier: 10

Gregory was slightly annoyed. The other part of him that wasn't annoyed was a bit happy. He had some assurance that Feu would win the game. He would never say that, though. His cousin was at least trying to win for Cerisier, and that had to count for something.

He felt a small sense of pride when his cousin's team scored the first goal. Cerisier might actually give Feu a decent game.

Greg swung his bat and hit a bludger, but it didn't go far. Cerisier hadn't had the Quaffle in a while. There didn't appear to be an immediate threat. Cerisier had blocked a few of Feu's goal attempts, but it didn't seem to matter. Feu had their next three goals very quickly.

Feu: 50
Cerisier: 10

Julie-Pierre was struggling to not jump up and down while sitting on his broom, only a meter or two above the ground as he kept his eyes going around for his prize. He was getting go hyper, so impatient, and it was all understandable. This was his first game, his first time getting the feel of true adrenalin and chaos. It was a little sad how his first game was against his girlfriend's team, but he was managing quite well despite the fact.

Feu's Seeker for the year sadly had no role as of yet. All he could do was watch, wait, and keep sight for the Snitch. When that was all done, it would be time for him to fly. All he needed to do is be sure he grabbed it, and his team would hopefully be up for the next round less Cerisier got fifteen goals more than them before the cursed golden ball was seen.

"Yeah, that's it, guys!!" the German couldn't help but chime as he saw his team getting another shot in, but winced when he saw Autumn's side get some in, too. It didn't help that her team had blocked several good attempts for his team to get even more shots. Feu was still in the lead, but there was still tension. As long as they had the opportunity to win after he grabbed the Snitch, if he grabbed it, things ought to be alright.

He only hoped he'd grab it. Even with it being his first game, a lot of pressure was getting on him. Whether by others seeing Seekers as such a big role or him over-analyzing things, all he could do was be patient and careful when the time came.

Feu: 60
Cerisier: 40

Lucie was really getting into the spirit of this game. She managed to block more goals than she let through, or rather, the Cerisier chasers managed to get past her. She no longer got frustrated when that happens. So long as the scores were close enough for the Feu seeker to be within a chance of ensuring a win with their catch she was not going to worry.

"Keep up the good work," she called out to her team after yet another score from her side. The quaffle came down her end and this turned out to be one of those times she misjudged the hoop the chaser aimed for. Still the scores weren't overly worrying. Cerisier continued to trail behind Feu. This time by ten points. Any time now Julie-Pierre would catch the snitch. Wouldn't he? For the first time in the entire match Lucie was beginning to entertain her doubts from before the game. What if he weren't as good as Bo had been?

Feu: 80
Cerisier: 70

Sophie basked in the sun, a welcome surprise. There was a lot of potential drama in this game, with Autumn playing against her boyfriend and cousin. She could easily babble on about the relationship rumors. But the good spirit of the game was contagious.

Sophie couldn't suppress a smile as she drank her butterbeer. Ah. Refreshing. She propped her feet up on the stand. "Ooh, Cerisier's putting up a good fight with the score 80-70 to Feu." No one was paying attention to her words and were clearly getting bored. She didn't entirely blame them. "Dang, look at Julie-Pierre go! He's been doing a fantastic job of replacing Bo." A lightbulb went off in her head and she smirked. "Hey people, bet five Galleons he'll catch the Snitch. Anyone? Anyone?" She heard cheering in the crowd.

Feu: 80
Cerisier: 70

It was completely up to Julie-Pierre now. Greg had been done with this game before it had even started, but he kept going anyway. The score was about even, which impressed him. Cerisier might stand a chance. He needed to stop being such a snob. But it wasn't like he was saying anything out loud.

He rolled his eyes at the announcer's comments. It may have been a good idea, though.

It seemed that the Keepers weren't letting the Quaffle pass. Someone needed to catch the snitch already. "Come on, Julie-Pierre," Greg muttered before hitting a bludger toward a player in green and blue.

As soon as he caught eye, Julie-Pierre took for the Snitch. The little bugger was going to get caught if it was the last thing he could do. Part of him wanted it for a bit of attention and fame, but it was more to show himself that he was getting out of his strange reclusive phase, that he was bettering himself. If he could do this, this one thing, then everything would be perfect.

The redhead swerved out of the way quickly as the green and blue Seeker began trying to get a quick elbow on him, much since there was no law prohibiting one irritating nudge or two. He tried to pay no mind to it, however, keeping his eyes straight as his sights were set on the flying enchanted ball.

Seconds flew by, somehow feeling like both decades and milliseconds at the same time. This was so agitating and stressful already, but the adrenaline was helping to keep him from worrying on the stress. If he didn't, then his opponent would win. He couldn't let that happen. Not on his watch.

"Almost there," he grumbled instinctively to himself, getting nearer and nearer to his prize as he barely noticed a bludger careening away from his broom, mere centimeters below, as it aimed for a Cerisier player. If just a little extra attention had been taken to that, he could have given the other Seeker the lead.

Not today.

"Come on, come on." The boy stretched out his left hand, continuing to soar all around the pitch and well above. The ball was a pest, but a rather enjoying one, Julie-Pierre had to admit. "Almost there---

"Got it!"

Right hand holding at his broomstick tight, his left forced forward as fingers clasped on the sphere. The force was so great with the speed of his flight that he took a spin before managing to stop long before he was close to hitting anyone or anything. He let out a harsh breath of relief, feeling so overjoyed as he looked down. He caught it, he really caught it!

Julie-Pierre cheered loudly, the flutters of the little wings ceasing from the Snitch as he held it high.