InsaneJournal

At 2 PM, the majority of staff and students head down to the pitch for the second game of the season. On the way, the forest is almost entirely red and gold, providing a warm-looking backdrop despite the dropping temperature. Captain Powers refuses to let the cold get to her, and is all smiles as her squad takes the field to show off their flips. No one can match Ebonhide for sheer passion, and the cheerleaders in purple and gold get the crowd chanting along with them in an enthusiastic call-and-response. However, it’s Coppertale in their seasonal orange and black which ends up the favourite, as Captain Hawkeswood leads his squad in a Halloween-themed routine. With pallid, gory makeup and a shuffling undead gait, Coppertale shamble onto the field to perform an adaptation of a muggle dance routine—“Thriller,” of course.

As can be expected from the school’s two most fiercely competitive houses, the game explodes into action, with Chaser Quayle taking possession after a mid-air scuffle, and Decourt and Webb flying right behind him. But Keeper Velasquez knocks his first shot out of the air, and Chaser Turner grabs it to score the first goal of the game for Coppertale. It’s not easy—Coppertale and Ebonhide already have notoriously tough Beaters, but Fiori/Kim and Barringer/Park seem out for blood today as they do their utmost to gain control of the two Bludgers on the field. Chaser Stoker has a tough time getting to the Quaffle at all, as Beater Kim appears intent on breaking in his skull, only stopping his onslaught (briefly) when his captain orders him to focus on someone, anyone, else.

Almost 30 minutes in, the score is a nail-biting 50–40 for Coppertale, with all Chasers demonstrating impressive flying to avoid the hard-hitting Bludgers zinging through air. The tide turns when Fiori decides to redirect their efforts to Chaser Wainwright, who dodges nimbly but repeatedly puts himself out of passing range of his fellow Chasers. Around the 45 minute mark, Wainwright once again loses track of his teammates, enabling Webb to steal the Quaffle from Turner and finally have Ebonhide take the lead. Stoker becomes distracted yelling at Wainwright, and not five minutes later, Quayle tosses in another goal, pushing his team to 80–60.

With all the Beaters’ attention on the Chasers instead, Seeker Guthrie is having a relatively easy first match. The Golden Snitch remains elusive—both Seekers spot it at least once, but the Snitch quickly escapes each time. On the second instance, Hale and Guthrie dive into the fray for a short but fierce chase, only to break when Barringer sends a Bludger right at them, trying to knock Hale off-course. Park takes advantage of the chaos to claim the other Bludger and nail Fiori in the side, hard enough to make him drop his bat. Ebonhide’s supporters boo loudly, but Fiori insists he’s still good to go, even with bruised ribs.

Just short of an hour into the game, Stoker and Decourt are jostling for the Quaffle near the Coppertale hoops, blocking the view of Velasquez, who doesn’t see it when Kim sends a Bludger barrelling for Stoker—which misses him and slams Velasquez against a goalpost, cracking her head and tumbling her from her broom. Coach Thorn jumps in to slow her descent with magic and catch her before she lands, but Velasquez is out cold, and Healer Mufferaw insists that she be taken to the infirmary. Thorn is also quick to blow the whistle on any fights brewing during this break, and orders the Coppertale captain to put in a reserve and get back to the game.

After that, it’s a bloodbath. Decourt leads her team in points by landing four of the next seven goals by Ebonhide, as nearly every shot at the Coppertale hoops (and an intimidated freshman reserve) goes right in. Coppertale does their best to regroup, but Keeper Raza grows increasingly confident with each point gained by Ebonhide, only letting in a handful of the shots the fox Chasers manage while not stuck playing defense. Enthusiasm amongst the normally rabid Coppertale fans tanks with every passing minute.

It’s up to Guthrie to staunch the bleeding, and at the 108 minute mark, he spots the Snitch for the second time, glimmering up by the stands. He’s off like a shot, but Hale doesn’t waste a second when she sees the other Seeker racing to beat her. They spin around each other; the Snitch takes them around the stands and back into the game; Hale and Guthrie fly past the Ebonhide hoops and lunge forward for the win—which Hale takes, metal wings fluttering between her fingers as she holds up the Snitch for all to see.

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EBONHIDE WINS
200–90

Whether you’re a player, cheerleader or spectator, post below with your character’s reactions! If you wish to post separately about the game, please use lj-cuts and mark for spoilers for the first 24 hours, so no one sees the result before reading the official match description. Yeah guess what this match was not any shorter than the last one.