9th House Quidditch: HUFFLEPUFF V RAVENCLAW : 5th-9th

{Ravenclaw Seeker}

Rigby hit the locker room door with a loud, echoing thud. She entered with too much speed, hopping crazily over a row of benches. Her fingers frantically worked with the combination on her lock, but she couldn't get it to work. She whipped out her wand and blasted the lock away. With one hand she removed her school clothes, while her other hand dressed her in her quidditch robes.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date" Rigby chanted over and over to herself. She had spent the last four days under the care of Madame Pomfrey...for a simple Muggle sinus infection. Technically the school nurse did not want Rigs playing in the quidditch game, but since she hadn't banned her from the sport Rigby took that as the healer's approval to play. She reached up and gathered her mass of hair into a simple, loose bun. It would probably come undone later on, but she wanted to get out on the pitch as soon as possible, sure that everyone was waiting on her.

She ran out onto the field, broom in her right hand as she tried to put on her other glove with her left hand and her teeth. Rigby hopped on her broom, blasting into the air. Her chest was tight with panick, she hated being late. But when she reached a height she felt save to hover at she realized that she hadn't missed much. The score was tied at zero to zero and not a lot was going on. Rigby shrugged, grateful for the reprieve. Deciding to liven up the atmosphere Rigby did a fly by of the section of the stadium where the Ravenclaw supporters sat, causing them to burst into cheer. Task accomplished, Rigby set off for her one true goal, to catch the snitch.

(Hufflepuff Beater)

Streams hurriedly straightened her robes, her broom in her left hand and her trusty bat in her right. The sun made streams squint, so she couldn't see how the game was progressing. The locker rooms had been empty; was that a bad sign?

But when streams zoomed into the air, holding onto her broom loosely with one hand while the other held the bat aloft, she was surprised to see the field nearly empty. Where the heck is everybody? Did I get the date wrong?

Then, somewhat relieved when she saw the Ravenclaw seeker soaring around, streams began zig-zagging across the field, quickly gaining speed and momentum. She was headed for a Bludger hovering near the Huffie goalposts, and she was going to whack it with all her strength.

{Ravenclaw Seeker}

Obviously the illness that had nearly kept Rigby from the game had effected almost her entire team and Hufflepuff as well. As she searched for the snitch she had to avoid more sneezes than bludgers. Determined not to get coated with germs Rigby flew high in the air, far away from the diseased players. She felt bad for everyone but she was healthy now and she planned to stay that way. Even Madame Hooch was coughing and wiping her runny nose on her referee robes.

At one point Rigby caught sight of the snitch and she had started flying towards it, but had pulled up quickly when she was faced with the dilemma of flying directly between two sneezing and coughing Hufflepuffs. The momentary pause and change of direction had caused her to lose sight of the snitch, and she was back at square one. Cursing herself for being so germaphobic, Rigby renewed her efforts, now flying aggresivly through the wheezing players.

Her increased gameplay paid off, and she caught up to her golden target once more. Rigby blocked out the sounds around her, ignoring the mist of germs that seemed to surrond the pitch, and instead concentrating on the snitch's erratic flight. Twisting and turning, she followed the snitch. The snitch did a giant loop through the sky and Rigby looped right along with it. Flying upside down was not her favorite thing to do in the world, but she was good at it. She anticipated the arc of ths snitch's path, and without allowing herself time to think about what she was doing, Rigby dropped from her broom, hanging on with just one arm. The move put her right hand ahead of the snitch and Rigby grabbed the buzzing snitch before it could change direction. The few people on her team well enough to see what had happened cheered her. Rigby grinned, knowing that a catch had never been so needed as before. Now she just had to figure how to get back on her broom...