[QUIDDITCH]: Hufflepuff – Game 6

 
 
 
 

-          Remember the skill levels of each dummy and RPG according to it, you’ll be judged on it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Katie yawned as she stepped out onto the field. The sun was peeking up over the horizon, but a rather annoying light drizzle was adding a chill that reminder her that winter wasn't quite over yet. She swung her beater's bat over her shoulder, broomstick in her other hand. She'd had a rather bad week and was excited for the opportunity to hit some heavy flying objects at some dummies today. Hopefully she'd have some easy targets, though she was somewhat worried that the rain would cause her hands to slip and she'd end up hitting herself in the face, or worse, missing a bludger she was supposed to be redirecting, and it slamming into her face instead.

Ignoring the vision of herself lying on the ground with a profusely bleeding nose, Katie did her routine scan of the field to see what kind of players she'd be up against. She could see "P"s from the chasers above her and knew she'd have an added challenge trying to hit any of them. At least that just gave her another excuse to hit extra hard. The good news was it looked like the other beaters were only wearing "A"s on their robes, which meant if she could do a good enough job of getting rid of the enemy chasers, the Hufflepuff chasers should have a rather easy go at scoring some points. The Keepers had "S"s on them, which confirmed that the chasers would have a good shot at bringing those points in. Katie groaned as she noticed the seeker dummies flying around with "A"s. This would mean a drawn out game in this drizzle? Katie would definitely have a cold after this match.

"Beater," she called upwards, and one of the dummies disappeared.

No use drawing it out any longer than it already will be, Katie thought, kicking off the ground so they could start the game. It wasn't long before the whistle sounded and the balls were released. Katie saw a bludger immediately head off towards one of the Hufflepuff chasers and leaned heavily on her broom to intercept it. As she neared, Katie wound her arm back, scanning the field at the same time for an enemy chaser. She spotted one trying to sneak up on the Hufflepuff dummy from below. With a might whack, Katie swung the bat, redirecting the bludger away from her teammate and down toward the chaser below. The chaser was too good to miss the heavy object flying towards their face and swerved out of the way to avoid it, but it did give the Hufflepuff dummy crucial time to fly out of danger of having the Quaffle stolen and continue towards the enemy Keeper.

A couple more good hits like that, and we might have a pretty good chance!

Katie spotted a bludger flying aimlessly around, and shot towards it, ready for another big hit.

Katie could tell her hands and arms were going to be sore tomorrow. The light drizzle was causing her beater's bat to be just slippery enough where she had to grip it until she thought her fingers might fall off to keep a good hold. Every time she hit the bludger, she could feel the impact all the way up her arm, reverberating through her. While it was incredibly satisfying to see the bludgers careening around the stadium at the opposing dummies, it did tire your body out after a while.

While she was definitely slowing the chasers down a bit, Katie was getting frustrated by how relatively easily they seemed to be dodging her bludgers. Very rarely did any of her attacks result in the chasers actually dropping the Quaffle, only for them to swerve out of the way, hopefully directly into the arms of a Hufflepuff chaser ready to snatch the Quaffle away.

Excellent, Katie thought as she watched one of Hufflepuff's chaser dummies wrestle the Quaffle from the other team. Time to get some action.

Katie flew off towards her team's chasers who were in formation preparing for an attack towards their enemy's goal posts. Katie circle around them in a big loop, weaving above, below, to the right and left of them. It didn't take long before an enemy beater knocked a bludger towards the chaser formation. Katie intercepted it easily, knocking it instead towards an opposing chaser who was getting too close for comfort. The opposing dummy retreated, letting the bludger soar past.

Katie continued circling around the chasers, keeping her eyes peeled for any approaching bludgers that could slow the chasers' approach.

They were almost to the scoring area now. Katie searched around for a bludger she could use against the keeper, but none were in sight. However she could see one of the enemy beaters getting ready to redirect a bludger her way. Katie sped forward towards it, hoping to cut it off so as not to be even a distraction to the other chasers. Katie hit the bludger in the opposite direction towards the action; she couldn't risk hitting it towards the fray where the enemy chasers had closed in, lest she hit or interrupt one of her own teammates.

Katie needn't have worried though, as the slight head start the Hufflepuff chasers team had allowed them to toss the ball back and forth quickly in front of the goals, confusing the keeper. As soon as they had an opening, the chaser dummy lobbed the Quaffle through the post, scoring another goal for Hufflepuff.

HUFFLEPUFF BEATER

Katie was actually quite enjoying herself despite the annoying drizzle that wouldn't seem to let up. She could feel her week steadily improving as all of her stress and aggression was let out on the bludgers she smacked ferociously at the opposing dummies.

Her aim still wasn't one hundred percent yet, but she did manage to avoid any of her own team's players, and usually got close enough to the opposing dummies that they either had to swerve or, occasionally, even drop the Quaffle. Her biggest challenge was still trying to throw off the professional level enemy chasers, but at least she was giving the Hufflepuff team the advantage of somewhat distracting the opposing chasers, and ensuring that they didn't have to worry too much about bludgers when they had them.

Katie was on the tail of a bludger she was hoping to hit towards the chaser currently on the tail of a Hufflepuff chaser. With a mighty swing, Katie launched the bludger in the chaser's direction, who fell back to avoid the hit. Katie had hit the bludger a little too enthusiastically, and felt the wet bat slipping out of her fingers. She fumbled it in her hands, but managed to grasp it before she dropped it completely.

The opposing chasers had wrestled the Quaffle from the Hufflepuff team and were taking it back across the field. Katie spotted another bludger and sped towards it.

"I got it, I got it," Katie called as she saw her teammate also approaching it.

But she was too late. The dummy had reached it first and, ignoring her calls, hit it towards the chasers. Unfortunately, the bat did slip out of the dummy's hand, and he had to quickly drop down to catch it.

Katie looked after the bludger disappointed as it flew past the enemy chasers a good two metres away.

She leaned into her broomstick and caught up with them. A bludger shot past her right ear. She could see an enemy beater getting ready to hit a bludger towards the Hufflepuff keeper.

Katie quickly swung her bat into the bludger nearest to her, her whole arm reverberating with the shock. With a thunderous crunch, the two bludgers collided, and sped off in opposite directions. While Katie had saved the keeper from a bludger attack, it looked like the keeper hadn't managed to save the goalpost from the chasers' attack.

Katie was chasing a bludger that was halfway between her and the enemy beater. She was determined to get there first. He seemed to be closer to it, but Katie knew she was faster. Urging her broom on, she loaded her arm back to be ready to swing.

When she was close enough, she swung her bat as hard as she could, reaching forward. A split second behind her, the opposing beater swung his bat as well, making contact with her bat as she made contact with the bludger.

Instead of blocking the bludger, however, it just seemed to propel it further, as it sprang downward towards an enemy chaser who quickly ducked out of the way.

Katie shot down after the chaser, who was passing it on to a teammate. They were nearing the Hufflepuff scoring zone, and there was no bludger in sight. The Hufflepuff chasers were hot on the heels of the opposing dummy, but hadn't quite caught him yet.

She heard a resounding crack in the distance, and turned around to see a bludger headed in the general direction of the Hufflepuff chasers, though it missed by a long shot.

Katie quickly pounced on the opportunity, and after letting if fly a little further, she zipped around to the other side of it, and, gripping the broomstick with her knees, used both hands to smack the bat as hard as she could into the bludger, aiming directly for the chaser with the Quaffle.

It was an excellent hit. The bludger spiralled at lightning speed towards the dummy chaser who was forced to go into a corkscrew like maneuver to avoid it. At the speed the dummy was traveling at, it was forced to drop the Quaffle in order to stay on its broom.

Out of breath from exertion, Katie tapped her bat against her hand, watching the Hufflepuff chasers take off back towards the other end, while Katie scanned the pitch for another bludger.