Quidditch Tryouts 1351

Professor  Renoir stood in the sidelines of the Quidditch Pitch and took a deep breath. Today was the day: tryouts. She loved tryouts. There was nothing more exciting than new talent and a chance for Ravenclaw to win the Cup..er, any house, that is.

“Do you boys have everything under control?” she asked the four team captains.

“Of course, Prof,” Finn smiled cheerfully. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

With a nod, she went to sit on the bench by the equipment shed. The captains handled the tryouts, but her presence was mandatory for safety reasons. They would start with a general speed test – a race around the pitch. After this, they’d divide the students up into groups based on their desired position and move to the coordination round. They’d test each player’s skill and make the final decision after that.

“Here they come,” Asher muttered as the newbies flooded through the gates.

Adelaine was having trouble controlling herself; she was literally jumping up and down with excitement. The day was finally here!

“I AM SO EXCITED!” she squealed, linking arms with Marigold and jumping again.

“Addie, calm down,” Seamus laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“How can I?” she grinned. “I’ve been waiting for this day practically my whole life!”

They walked down the hill, still lush even in October, and headed for the Quidditch Pitch. She, Marigold, and Seamus were meeting up with the rest of their crew in the changing rooms. Adele knew there was going to be some competition, but she was ready for it. In fact, her competitive side only made her more confident.

“So what will it be like?” she asked eagerly.

“Ye’ll race, an’ divide up inta groups based on position,” Seamus explained. “How ‘bout it, Marigold, ye nervous?”

They both looked at Marigold to see how she was faring.

Marigold couldn’t tell where she was on the emotions scale. She was excited, but at the same, nervous. The last time she was on a broom wasn’t pretty. But, that was in the past. The recent past. But, the past none the same. Nothing is gonna happen, she kept telling herself, pushing down the scared feeling in her chest.

”I’m so excited!” she said happiy, bouncing along with Adele to the Quidditch Tryouts. She was going for Seeker this year, even though Gavin was already a great Seeker. But, Gavin would likely couch and Marigold would be the one flying, unless he wanted to couch from the broom, which Marigold was fine with. But, she wanted to be Seeker. She wanted it so badly.

Marigold held her new broom tightly in her hand. She smiled at it and it seemed to vibrate this warm sensation. Alys, when she wasn’t in hiding, bought her the broom, one of the best in Germany. Marigold loved it from day one. It was a great broom, fast and nimble. She hadn’t had a chance to fly on it yet. Hopefully, the broom lked her already.

”Alright Goldie. You ready to take some names?” Walt asked her, walking up in his healer robes. Marigold laughed. Walt was trying to build her confidence, which was good because Marigold needed it. She looked back to see Robert coming down with his healing tent. It was just in case something went wrong, which hopefully nothing will. It was just tryouts. Everyone could fly very well. But, Marigold knew that she had to be ready. Just in case Robert needed her. But, she felt pulled in two directions, between Quidditch and Healing. She knew one day that she would have to give one of them up.

”Knock ‘em dead Goldie!” Walt yelled to her as she entered the Pitch, him going to help Robert with the healing tent.

”How many people do you think will be here? Do you see Arya?” Marigold asked Adele.

Arya felt numb from head to toe. She sat on the bench in the changing room, trying to lace up her boots, but her fingers kept slipping. The last time she had felt this nervous and sick, she was on the back of a wagon surrounded by bandits.

“Psst,” she heard someone whisper from outside. “Arya?”

“Yeah?”

“C’mere,” the voice said.

She cautiously followed the order and peered outside a slit in the large tent. Gavin was there, hidden between the two changing tents, grinning.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“You’re not supposed to fraternize with the newbies before the tryouts, you loon,” she smiled, glad to see him. “I can’t shake my nerves. I can’t even think straight!”

“Don’t think at all, then,” he said calmly, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders. “Just race. You’re one of the fastest fliers I know, Arry. You’ve got this.”

Arya blushed and took a deep breath. “Thanks, mate,” she said with a smile, awkwardly punching him in the arm. He quickly let go of her and cleared his throat.

“Right….pal,” he smiled, although the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Okay, I’ve got to go finish up,” she said, waving and walking back into the tent. It looked like Adele and Marigold had just arrived.

Mira wound her yellow and black scarf loosely around her neck and walked down to the Quidditch Pitch. A lot of people usually came to tryouts, they were almost as competitive as games – and, she was sorry to say, it was sort of funny to watch the few rather untalented kids try their hardest. Since all of Mira’s friends were trying out for the teams, she was alone. She didn’t mind it, though; she brought a couple of bottles of butterbeer and some chocolate frogs to pass the time.

“Hey!”

“Oh, hello,” she waved at Edwin as he ran toward her. “Aren’t you supposed to be there by now?”

“There’s plenty of time before they start,” he assured her, smiling casually. “Besides, I’m already dressed.”

He was wearing flying clothes under his robe. Mira nodded, and wrapped the scarf a bit more tightly.

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“Me? Nahhh,” he scoffed at the notion. “I was born with a Quaffle in my hand!”

They both laughed, and she wished him luck as they parted ways. Mira climbed a couple sets of stairs so she wouldn’t have to crane her neck too much to see. Once she settled into seat, she suddenly wished she had a friend there to keep her company.

Kolby walked to the Quidditch Pitch with Osmond,Devan and Mick. He wasn't going to tryout, no matter how much the boys begged him. He had a good gig with announcing. He liked it. He could be charismatic and people liked him and paiad attention to him. He went up into the stands. He saw Mira sitting alone and went up to her.

"Care if I join?" he asked, sitting a little bit away, making sure that he could come closer if she said so.

'And it looks like we're underway here folks, at the 1351 Quididthc Tryouts!" he faked announced, praciticing with just him and Mira. He laughed at himself and kept pratcing, watching the fliers.

Deirdre ran off to the Quidditch pitch. She was running very late for tryouts as she hadn't been able to locate her trousers or the longest time. Hopefully they wouldn't mind.

She released a sigh of relief when she saw no one was in the air yet and went to find the other Hufflepuffs. When she finally found Finnius the Irish lass gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry I'm late. I tried ta hurry as fast as I could."

The older Hufflepuff smiled down at his housemate. "It's alright for today, but try not to be late for the real games if you make the team, alright?"

Deirdre nodded and braided her hair quickly as she waited to begin. There were loads of angry bees buzzing around in her stomach. Gods, she was nervous.

Adelaine finished lacing up her boots and then happily walked out onto the Pitch. She went and stood by Marigold, Arya, and Deirdre. I can't believe it, she kept thinking to herself excitedly. After ages, they were finally here! At tryouts! No more amateur first year scrimmage matches that didn't count for anything.

"Looks like the gang's all here," she nudged Marigold, pointing to the bleachers.

Seamus and Peyton were 'the gang'. It made her realize that four of the six guys in their group were Quidditch captains. Oh, we'll all get to spend so much more time together! she squealed in her head. If we make the team, that is...

"Alright, everyone listen up!" Gavin stood front and center and shouted. "Welcome to tryouts!"

The crowd whooped and clapped until Symon stepped up and spoke. "Here's how it's gonna go down: before we split into houses, we're going to test your speed. Upon arrival, you were all give a small metal contraption. This clips to your broom and will magically record your speed and time. Go ahead and set it up."

Adele took the timer out of her pocket and fastened it to her broom.

"Everyone line up and kick off, at least thirty feet high!" Asher instructed. They all did as they were told, and he continued. "Now listen, this is not a race! Do not focus on going faster than your peers, just focus on going as fast as you can. On three! One....two....THREE!"

Marigold was gone! If it was a speed test, she wanted to be one of the fastest, proving that she's Seeker material. So, she took off and threw caution to the wind, allowing the broom to take over, Marigold merely steering. She felt like a hawk, flying through the air. She was towards the front, with other people, such as Edwin and Osmond and others. In fact, everyone was equally fast for the most part. She wasn't leading, but she wasn't following either. They came to the first turn and Marigold smiled as the broom handled it with grace and didn't have to slow down to turn. She sent positive feelings towards her broom, which was radiating with warm fuzzy feelings. It seemed to say, "I love this! Let's go!" They reflected each other's feelings and Marigold felt one with the broom. They came around the second turn, almost lapping the Pitch. Then, someone got competitive.

He started to close in on Edwin and waved his hand in his face, trying to freak him out and slow him down. Then, he started shoving.

"Knock it off, Edmond!" Edwin yelled at him, shoving him back. Marigold looked at the boys.

"Both of you stop it!" she yelled at them. Edmond then came for her. Marigold was having none of that.

"Edmond, you're not playing fair!" she told him, swatting at his hand. She became scared and the broom took over, reassuring her that she was safe. She waited until he was going to try to ram her and then she flipped over him and kept going. She watched as he struggled to get his speed back. Soon, they had lapped the Pitch and they all landed. Marigold watched as Symon scolded the Edmond kid. Asher smiled at her as he collected her little device. She smiled back and then went and sat with everyone in the center of the Pitch.

The moment they were given the call to take off, Deirdre was off. She knew she had to go fast enough to catch the quaffle and evade other team members, but not fast enough to be a seeker. Chasers had to have the perfect speed to cooperate. And as much as she felt out of practice, the few practice lessons she had with Peyton and Arya paid off. The Irish lass was comfortable on the broom and managed to keep up to her top speed. It was good to really fly again.

She saw what Edmond was doing and was prepared to go help her friend when she saw Marigold flip right over him and move on. Good thing, too. If Edmond wound up hurting Marigold, he'd be dealing with her. Once they landed and gave their little gadgets to the captains, she made sure to sit next to Marigold.

"That maneuver ye did te get away from Edmond was amazing!" She whispered to her, absolutely beaming.

As soon as Asher said "three", Arry was off. She took Gavin's advice to heart and cleared her mind completely, she was one with the broom. No interruptions from the outside world penetrated her little bubble, and she went as fast as she possibly could. Gavin, of course, was watching her the entire time, but she didn't notice.

"Go, Arry, go!" she heard Peyton shout from the stands.

With a look of total determination on her face, she reached the goal post that symbolized the end of the track. Without stopping or slowing, she dipped down and landed smoothly on the pitch.

"Brilliant!" Asher grinned, taking her timer.  He leaned in and whispered giddily, "Don't tell anyone, but you're totally getting us the cup this year."

She laughed, and laid flat out on the grass.

((OOC: For reference, the Pitch is 500 feet long and 180 feet wide))

Adelaine handed Gavin her timer, but not before peeking at it herself. Just under three minutes! Not shabby at all, she smiled and thought. She went and sat next to Marigold and Deirdre and watched the rest of the fliers. Seamus and Peyton had joined Professor Renoir at a table by the bleachers to write down everyone's times and help take notes. They immediately pulled aside the ten slowest and let them go.

"Alright, next up is the agility test," Gavin announced, motioning for everyone to stand. "There are four white lines drawn in the grass over there, go and line up behind them."

While everyone went and chose a line to stand in, the captains were setting up an obstacle course along the length of the pitch. There were hoops, horizontal bars, vertical beams, etc., and they were all different heights. Oh boy... Adele thought, nervous for the first time. It was then that she realized that she was first in her line.

"Great, so you four are going first," Symon directed, shooting a small smile Adele's way. "You'll start down here, and fly to the end. I think this goes without saying, but do not simply fly above all the obstacles."

Adelaine gulped and took her place. Symon signaled for them to kick off. Calm down, she told herself. This is an important skill for a Beater! When the whistle blasted, they took off. Adele easily navigated the first few obstacles. There was a rather tricky one coming up, though; a small hoop about 100 feet up. She made herself as narrow as she possibly could and slid through it successfully. Every other part was simple for her, but she grazed a beam toward the end, which threw off her speed a little.

"Blast it," she grumbled upon landing, standing by Symon.

"You were great," he said quietly and reassuringly. She felt herself blushing and turned to watch everyone else.

Marigold smiled as Dierdre complimented her. Marigold had grown a love of flying over the summer and she loved to do tricks. She got a little more skills, but she was still a beginner.

"Thank you! That's so nice of you to say," Marigold told her, appreciating the compliment. Then, she listened to the instruction and lined up on the second line, watching the first group. They all did really well and Marigold sighed. Keep your cool. We got this! her broom told her, feeling warm in her hand. Marigold smiled and stepped up to the next line, carefully watching the others. The tricky part would be the little hole. Marigold looked at her competition. She was easily the smallest, being the only girl in the line. Also, she was with none of her friends or anyone she was familiar with, except Alec, who she remembered from the scrimmage game.

"Next line," Gavin called out. Marigold mounted the broom and they all went into the air. Marigold gulped and shook her head. She had to focus. Gavin called it and all four of them started the course. Under, over, around the Maypole, under, over, watch out for Alec, loop de loop, and now the keyhole, Marigold thought, going quickly. She saw that all four of them were coming up on the hole and she either had to speed up or slow down to get through. She decided to speed up. She was the first one through the hole, corkscrewing through it. But, the two boys behind her weren't so lucky and they tried to go at the same time and bumped heads. They gently floated down to the ground, as Marigold and Alec completed the course, Marigold slowing down on hearing the other two get hurt.

"Are they going to be alright?" Marigold asked Asher as she landed.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine. They're boys. We're pretty hard headed," Asher told her. Marigold laughed and nodded. Then, she went and stood by Adele.

Arya was calm as a...as a...as a snowflake? Now is not the time for analogies, she thought, taking a deep breath. Gavin had been avoiding eye contact with her since they spoke in the tent, and she wasn't sure why. Was it something she'd said?

"Alright, you four are up next," Asher said, gesturing to the obstacle course.

Was this important for her as a Seeker? She wasn't sure. Seekers wouldn't be flying through too many obstacles. Of course, there was always the chance that the Snitch would decide to stray away from the Pitch.

"Nervous?" Jane, that awful Slytherin brat, asked with a smirk as they kicked up into the air.

"Not a bit," Arry rolled her eyes. No distractions.

The whistle blew, and they took off. The first half of the course was a piece of cake. Arya navigated it quickly and smoothly. However, Jane was right on her tail. They were just about to do a tricky maneuver through a hoop when the girl slammed into Arya's side, knocking her clear off the broom.

"Whoops!" Jane shouted honestly; she had only planned on throwing her off track.

Arry screamed as she fell through the air, the sound lost with the wind. The ground was coming up fast and she braced herself for the worst. Instead, she felt her body slam into someone else's. Gavin had flown to her just in time to catch her, and they now landed softly on the center of the Pitch with a crowd swiftly gathering around.

Kolby watched the tryouts, narrating the whole time. He grimaced when the to boys clashed heads. He watched as Gavin caught Arya. A crowd gathered around and Marigold worked on making a hole so Robert could get close to them. That amount of impact had to hurt at least one of them. He was surprised that Gavin didn't break his arm. Robert waded through the students. The two boys that bumped heads and were in the healing tent. Gavin joined them briefly, from what looking like a pulled shoulder muscle. After a little while, he came back out and the tryouts continued.

"I hope he'll be alright," Peyton commented. Kolby didn't notice that Peyton and Seamus had moved close to him and Mira.

"Oh, I'm sure he will. He had Walt and Robert fixing him. And, it didn't seem to be too bad," Kolby told him. Peyton nodded and they continued to watch the last line.

"Are you goin' te narrate this year?" Seamus asked. Kolby nodded and smiled. He was looking forward to the Quidditch season.

[[OOC: Once the Pitch is divided, each house will have 250 ft by 90 ft]]

Adele went and stood by Arya, making sure she was okay. Luckily, Gavin was fixed up in no time, and the tryouts continued right away. Symon clapped his hands loudly to get everyone's attention, while the gamekeeper, Charles, set something up on the Pitch.

"Alright, the final round," Symon announced. "I want everyone to stand with their houses now. As you can see, Charles is setting up barriers for us."

Across the way, Charles had his wand out. The Pitch was divided into four squares by what looked like thin beams of colored light: blue, green, red, and yellow. It was pretty obvious where each house was supposed to go, so Adelaine walked to the blue square and stood with Marigold. Gavin was their captain, so he took over where Symon left off.

"Gather round, everyone," he shouted. "Here's the deal: each position group is going to come up - one position at a time - and show off their skills. First up are the Beaters!"

That's me, Adele thought, stepping up and taking her place alongside five other Ravenclaws - three second years, a 4th year, and a 6th year. She looked over to the stands and locked eyes with Seamus. There was no way he'd be replaced as a Beater, so really only one of them was going to be chosen. That had to be her. She was determined.

"Okay, up in the air, Beaters," Gavin instructed. "Everyone else, please stand all the way over there on the edge. Beaters, I'm gonna let loose two bludgers and you do the rest!"

The bludgers immediately went wild, darting across the sky in zig-zag patterns. The 4th year boy immediately got hit and fell to the ground, being stopped in time by Gavin's "arresto momentum." Adele smacked a bludger away from the crowd, getting cheers from the rest of her house. After about ten minutes, Gavin called the remaining players back; it was down to Adele, a 2nd year, and the 6th year.

"Great job, guys," he smiled. "Next up, Seekers!"

Marigold felt some knots in her stomach as Gavin called them up. Marigold was extremely small compared to her competition, two 5th year boys, who towered over her. But, she had to use her size to her advantage. They were bigger, meaning that they were slower. At least, that was the theory. Gavin smiled reassuringly at her, seeing her sandwiched between the two boys and looking nervous.

"Alright. This is simple. Catch the Snitch, after it had a 10-second head start. If you cheat or play dirty, you're automatically disqualified," Gavin said, throwing the Snitch in the air. He counted to ten and the three of them took off.

The Snitch was already hiding. They flew around the space they had, trying to find it. One of the boys suddenly dashed in one direction. The other boy followed. But, Marigold saw the Snitch going upwards. They both hit the invisible barrier, seeing the Snitch from another part of the field. Marigold bolted upwards, feeling the positive energy radiating from her broom.

Soon, Marigold was at the spectator tower level, looking for the Snitch. Suddenly, it buzzed right in her face, as if to say, Come get me! Come get me! Marigold groaned and followed the Snitch the best she could. But, it was a tricky thing. She had to stop and start a little bit. She saw that the boys were even more confused than her, which was really surprising.

The Snitch was there! Marigold saw it and kept up with it. The followed her, but Marigold picked up her speed. She was so fast that her eyes started tearing up. She caught the Snitch! And, she stopped. She had stopped right in front of Gavin's face, the Snitch two inches from his nose. If she had continued flying, she would have accidently punched him.

"Good. Good work, Marigold!" Gavin congratulated as she landed. The fellow Ravenclaws clapped as Marigold went to sit with them, still holding the Snitch. She noticed that it wasn't gold, but that it was bronze. It was a practice Snitch. She smiled. She did it.

Mira watched excitedly as the final round of tryouts began. The pitch looked so cool with the light barriers dividing the houses. It was sights like this that made her appreciate how amazing magic was.

"Do they also recruit stand-ins?" she asked the boys.

"You mean if one of the main players is out? Not really, no," Peyton shook his head.

"There are a few players who can take over if a Seeker is injured," Seamus explained. "But Quidditch is all about jus' carryin' on no matter what. Sometimes we'll 'ave te play wit five people, or less."

That's intense, Mira thought. Quidditch was such a dangerous sport; it took so much skill.

"So, Mira, you going to the dance?" Peyton asked, turning toward her. Last year, she might've wondered if he was going to ask her. But, now that Deirdre was back, she knew he was smitten by her housemate again.

"I've gotten a couple of invites," she nodded. "Secret, of course."

Peyton and Seamus smirked at each other. They probably knew who at least one invitation was from. Speaking of the devil - Jon was waving at her from the Hufflepuff square. She waved back. Her line of sight veered over to the Gryffindor square. Edwin was competing for the Keeper position; he was seriously good.

"See, if Edwin gets on ta team," Seamus continued, seeing where she was staring. "He'll probably be a rotating player. Asher's already ta Keeper, but they'll take turns Chasing an' Keeping."

Kolby blushed a little bit, hearing about Mira's dance plans. Then, he willed it away. He liked the Hufflepuff a little bit last year. But, this year, she was less interested in him. So, he backed off. He asked one girl, the little Hufflepuff who he helped achieve revenge. She said no, apologizing, saying that she already had a date. Kolby understood, but he hadn't worked up the courage to ask any other girl. He debated on even going to the dance or not. But, he remembered that he had to spoil Davy's plot, so, in theory, he had to go. With or without a date.

"What are your plans, Kolby?" Peyton asked. Kolby just shrugged. He didn't want to admit his embarrassment.

"Oi! Looky tere! Adele did 'eally good!" Seamus suddenly changing the subject. Kolby turned back to the Pitch, watching the Slytherin team. Osmond and Devan were down there with the older kids. Osmond just finished his beater try out and high fived Devan. Kolby smiled. He wished that he secretly wished that he was good at Quidditch, just for the team building element. He wasn't particularly good with people. Being on team might help him with that.

" Looks like Marigold is up for Seeker. Hopefully, she does well. Those two brutes could never win a game for Ravenclaw," Peyton commented. Kolby watched the Ravenclaw side, as Marigold zipped around in a dizzying sort of way. If flying fast didn't make him sick, Kolby might be a good Seeker. He certainly had the attention span for it. Peyton and Seamus cheered when Marigold caught the Snitch. Kolby turned to see how the other teams were doing, just in time to see Arya on the Gryffindor side.

Arry took a deep breath when Asher called for the Seekers to kick off. This was it. If she botched this, what would she do? All of her friends had their "things". Adele had dueling, Marigold had healing, the boys had Quidditch. Arya didn't want for her thing to be Potions, it just wasn't anywhere near the same level as star Quidditch player.

"Alright, I'm gonna release the Snitch and it'll have a ten second headstart," Ash explained, holding up a bronze Snitch. "Whoever gets it first, well..you know."

He released the Snitch, let it fly around for a minute, then blew his whistle. Arya flew as high as the barriers would allow her to go, and just watched. She was competing against three boys: two of them were 4th years, and one was a 2nd year. Theo Corbet; she was a little surprised he was trying out for Seeker, because he did really well as a Chaser in the scrimmages last year.

"Where are you, Snitch?" she muttered, squinting her eyes.

The others were flying around, which she thought was mistake number one. How could you spot a tiny gold ball if you were constantly moving? She tipped her broom and flew across the Pitch to get a different angle. After about ten minutes, she saw the glint of bronze in the sunlight. Gotcha, she thought with a grin. She sped toward it, and in a matter of moments the Snitch was in her hand.

"YES, Arry!" Asher shouted, slapping her on the back. She laughed in a daze as everyone chanted her name.

The other tasks had been a bit too easy for Deirdre. She was practically a perfect speed for a chaser and could move swiftly and gracefully enough to be at the top of the considered list of chasers.

"Alright, Chasers!" Finnius called out. "You will be going 'round the pitch, passing the quaffle between you like you would during a real game. Each of you should try to score a few goals if possible."

He signaled all of the Hufflepuff recruits up into the air and waited a moment before releasing the Quaffle. Deirdre managed to get it first and flew off, passing to Elsa. They passed between each other, getting goals as often as they could score. Finnius made sure to watch, already knowing which ones would likely be on the team. "Alright, time's up!"

Professor Renoir could barely suppress her smile. She loved seeing new talent, especially in her house. I can already feel the Cup in my hands, she thought, sure they'd have the winning team this year.

"Alright, Prof," Asher said, looking beat. "That's that, make everyone go away."

Renoir rolled her eyes at the cheeky Gryffindor, but smirked all the same. The four team captains felt almost like sons to her, though you'd never catch her admitting it. Charles shot a beam of light into the center of the barriers and they vanished.

"Everyone gather around!" Gavin shouted, waving them over to the bleachers.

Once all the hopefuls had crowded in front of her, eyes puppy-dog wide on some of them, Marguerite spoke.

"Let me start by saying you've all shown your eagerness and skill," she started, choosing her words very carefully. "As you know, there are only seven positions on each team, and most of those are already taken. Very few of you will be chosen, but that doesn't mean you can't hold out hope for next year."

Several of them groaned, already assuming they'd failed. "Chin up!" she said briskly. "Results will be posted in each common room the morning of the Halloween feast. You are dismissed!"

For once in her life, Marigold actually felt confident! She felt like she did great and she deserved the position. She was excited! She was practically bouncing around when Renoir gathered them up. She stopped and groaned when she heard that they would have to wait until the Halloween feast. It was so far away! But, she was extremely confident.

"Is the Pitch closing down? Or can we still fly around?" Elsa asked Marigold. Marigold shrugged. She would like to try to get her speed up, but maybe not today.

"Hey," Asher said, coming up to Marigold. Marigold blushed that he purposely came up to her.

"How'd I do?" she asked him.

"According to public opinion, you did great," he told her, looking at Renoir. Marigold knew that he couldn't give his opinion until later. She smiled and he smiled back.

"So, do you want to go get dinner, ummmm, after you change back?" he asked her. Marigold blushed.

"Just you and me?" she asked. He nodded.

"I mean, unless you want the group to tag along," he asked. Marigold smiled.

"Sure. Let me go change," she told him. He smiled and nodded, as Marigold walked off with Elsa.

"Ooooo! Marigold and Asher, sitting in a tree,k-i-s-s-i-n-g," she chanted as they walked off. Marigold shoved her and blushed as they went to the changing room.

(OOC: I assume this is before the dorm party, when she becomes a doxy).

Adele was pumped up when the tryouts finished. Did they really have to wait until the end of the month to find out if they made it? At least I've got the party and the dance to occupy my mind, she thought.

"Great job, Addie!" Seamus grinned, jogging over to her with Peyton.

"You'll totally make it," Peyton high fived her.

"I hope so," she sighed, coming down from her high.

"Let's go grab lunch," Gavin suggested after turning in his notes to Renoir.

Adelaine looked around for Marigold, but she'd already headed off with Asher. What about Arya? She was lost in the crowd, too.

"Sounds good, I'm starving," she said, patting her rumbling stomach and leading the way.

Arya put her broom back in the chest, very pleased with how the tryouts had gone. She was annoyed that they wouldn't know the results until the end of the month, but all good things to those who wait.

"Nice job, Arya," a housemate said.

"Yeah, you got it for sure," another one told her.

"Thanks, guys," she smiled back, glad for the enouragement.

After she'd changed out of her sweaty clothes, she looked around for her friends. They were nowhere to be found. She thought at least Gavin would've waited for her. If his foul mood was all because she punched him in the arm, they were gonna have words. Bad words. Arya rolled her eyes at the thought, and walked to the Great Hall alone.