A Waffle with a Quaffle [Open, come play! Come spectate and chat!]

[theboywhodied]

It's a beautiful day for soaring in the sky. At least....it's a beautiful simulated day, Cedric corrects himself. He stands in the center of a grassy field, hoops standing tall on either side. Racing brooms that will soon take to the sky with their riders are laid out in neat rows on either side of him, and a case containing the many balls of Quidditch rests at his feet.

He's exchanged the loose-fitted clothing he'd taken up after his injuries for loose-fitting yellow and black robes, and even that small change brightens his mood. Cedric Diggory is in his element. His cheerful, dangerous whirlwind of an element, the finest sport the wizarding world has to offer.

This should be a fun one to watch!

((And go! Use the subthreads, or start your own threads to chat and trash-talk and have a good time! Threadjacking is totally encouraged.))

Comments

Pitchside

[theboywhodied]

Cedric waits eagerly for the arrivals, hoping to get some good conversation in. It's been too cramped for too long in that hospital bed, or even in the quarters where he usually sleeps.

Hopefully they'll have enough for a team or two! But he's not too worried. There is plenty to do with a broom.

Re: Pitchside

[kaya_waterwave]

Kaya, who had took a shine to flying on brooms when Cedric first had the Quidditch simulation up, was here and ready for action. Due to what she'd already seen of the house colors, Kaya found she favored Ravenclaw colors, so she was already sporting blue and bronze. Her hair had arranged in waterbender fashion hair loopies to keep them from getting in her way.

When she saw Cedric out on the field, she immediately rushed forward and gave him a hug. "I'm so glad to see you're doing better!" She said. "I heard what happened with Yavek and his thugs."

Re: Pitchside

[theboywhodied]

Cedric caught her, relieved that the bruising on his torso had largely healed.

"I know. I lost my head when Howard...and then I spent the night in hospital," he reminisced guiltily. "I just can't interfere like that," he said in a low voice that didn't indicate the entire truth, just in case there were listeners. They'd talk more later.

"But I'm okay now. Ready to play?"

[myboggartisthemoon]

Lupin arrived with perhaps a little more enthusiasm, carefully hidden, than anyone might expect. Quidditch was good (if bittersweet) memories of James, and later, Harry, after all.

"A pity we don't have real brooms," he said offhand to Cedric. "They would be useful."

[theboywhodied]

"Professor!" Cedric greeted him with a cheery wave. It was good to see him again...for now. As long as the adults didn't fixate on his foolishness again.

"I know. Someone offered to help me build them, but he's gone. And I don't know if I can learn the secrets on my own."

Re: Pitchside

[tetsuwan_atom]

Atom flew down onto the illusory field, landing neatly on the grass and looking up at the sky. It sure was a nice day for a game.

[theboywhodied]

"Hey!" Cedric was fascinated by Atom's flight abilities. It must be so wonderfully freeing to do it the way he did, no outside assistance required.

"You sure you don't want to play?"

/swamps you with threads

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard's still clearly shaken by the events on the Observation Deck. He seems to shuffle from shadow to shadow rather than walking around with that feigned confidence he usually does, his body posture is all sunken in, and he's still taking way too many breaks to stare into space. But, on the upside, he's actually getting sunlight again instead of hiding in the Inn. Or, at least, whatever Stacy's imitation sunlight counts for.

He's not even sure if he wants to fly again yet, honestly, but at some point he has to start pantomiming his old routine until it becomes real again, so it might as well start with hanging out with Cedric. Besides, he heard a game was on.

He hangs out on the sidelines and, when he notices Cedric's noticed him, waves a bit.

[theboywhodied]

It's Howard. Howard outside, even. Cedric's surprised, but pleased. He jogs straight over to say hello.

"You'll finally get to see it in action. Then you'll see how mad we really are, huh?"

[curiousredsoul]

The mention of sport that involved flight had drawn Celena's interest near immediately. Thus the moment she had a chance she had taken a break from her work and made her way to the designated sensoriums.

Her gaze swept across the illusionary expanse, taking in the field that had been set up before letting her gaze settle on the one she assumed was Cedric. Walking across the field she dipped her head to him as she approached, "Greetings,"

[theboywhodied]

"Hello!" Cedric still remembered his painful encounter with a dragon from home, but he knew the crew members weren't so bad. He did give her plenty of space, though.

"Were you here to fly?"

Re: Pitchside

[first_in_time]

Barbara was curious as to why so many people were headed to the same place with brooms. Perhaps it was a mass clean of some kind? They all looked relatively young; maybe there had been a large party and everyone had pitched in to clean up. But this wasn't what she was expecting.

The field and hoops had been confusing in themselves but then people begun taking to the sky, soaring about on their brooms. It was spectacular to say the least.

Oh my!

Barbara simply stood and watched, gobsmacked.

[theboywhodied]

Barbara would be even more fascinated by what was in store: this was just the beginning. And what better way to start than with a greeting?

Cedric swooped down from his spot in the sky, landing in a gentle stop a safe distance away from her. He slung the broom over his shoulder and walked to her, all smiles.

"Hi! Are you here to see the game?"

[17thangel]

Maria walks over with a curious look. She sees flying things and any chance to match up against other pilots interests her.

"So, are you racing or something here?"

[theboywhodied]

"We're playing a sport. There's some racing involved, but that's not all of it," Cedric clarifies. He smiles at her, looking at her, the brooms, and then the skies and the players there.

"Did you want to see the game?"

[bequiet_hescreamed]

Clef approached the pitch, taking in the sight of the whole field, the brooms, and the case of balls. Just looking at all the equipment he couldn't figure out how this sport was played.

[theboywhodied]

Hi, Clef! Cedric grinned and waved at the familiar wizard, sweeping down the field to say hello.

"Hi! Long time no see. Did you want to play?"

The Game

[theboywhodied]

Finally, it's almost time! The rules are explained, the players are ready, the balls will soon be released, and Cedric couldn't be happier.

"Ready?" he asks the teams before the start of the match.

The Teams

[theboywhodied]

Cedric looked 'round at his companions, lost in thought. They didn't have enough for a full game, but there was surely something they could do. He counted the gathered players, wondering.

"There aren't enough of us for a full game. We have one Seeker, one Chaser, one Beater, and I'm not sure what the rest of you want to do, but if we had one of each position we could do something. Or maybe we could switch to Chasers and play a simple scoring game."

Re: The Teams

[kaya_waterwave]

"I'm game for whatever," Kaya piped up, trying to seem as friendly as she could, "but it'd be really good if we could make teams to compete with each other, wouldn't it?"

Not all fun and games

[grimbiker]

Sirius’s smile lasted for only a few moments. The sight of the field brought back memories he’d forgotten during his incarceration and though they were all happy they tortured him. He remembered James soaring through the air, bringing their house to victory. All the times Sirius had spent ribbing James over how long he spent practicing for Quidditch. (“I swear Prongs, you love that broom more than Evans. Is it because she won’t let you ride her and the broom will?”)

He couldn’t believe James was gone. A part of Sirius expected to see him practicing but the field was empty for now. Everyone was gathering below. James wasn’t here. He would never be here. Sirius knew why. He knew who was responsible.

Sirius nearly took a step back and left but he said he would be here and his departure might be noticed. Besides, he didn’t run away from anything and certainly not memories, even if there was a sharp ache in his throat.

Re: Not all fun and games

[kaya_waterwave]

There was a little that Kaya knew about their world aside from what Cedric and Luna used to tell her about, but she could see that the man who was walking through the field obviously had history here. It was plainly written all over his face.

While she knew that there was likely little that she could say that would be of any comfort, especially knowing that Harry had been podded, she figured it was at least still a point she could her best food forward.

"Hi," she said, giving him a smile. "Are you going to show us the ropes today?"

[grimbiker]

Sirius nodded slowly, buying a little more time to regain control of his voice.

"I'll do what I can but you'll be better off learning from Cedric." He held out his hand. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Sirius Black."

[theboywhodied]

"Sirius?"

Cedric caught sight of him right away. It was hard to miss someone who didn't look happy near a Quidditch pitch. He strode over, pulling his robes tight. The billowing was starting to look ridiculous.

"Are you all right? Are you still Stunned?" Could still be his fault. Cedric was having rotten luck lately. Oh, if only he knew.

[myboggartisthemoon]

Lupin stepped silently up to stand next to Sirius, and after a moment, lifted a comforting hand to his friend's shoulder. No words were necessary. He understood exactly.

And even the comments he could offer about Harry's performance as Seeker, how well his godson flew and how magnificently he played, could only be empty and hollow now. Harry wasn't dead, but he was gone.