Only Sometimes [Seth]

[marianmorgan]

'Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.'

Marianne wasn't quite sure why she loved the Chudley Cannons, but she did. There was something utterly sweet about the way they persevered despite the inevitability of defeat. Kind of like introducing her father to Muggle computers, actually, except the only possible prize for that was that he'd probably buy one, break it and let her take it apart.

It was this unconditional amore that made her habit of losing their memorabilia such a terrible pain. Many an orange jumper, hair-tie or incredibly freakish mini Quidditch player had gone missing on the Hogwarts grounds, eaten up by the lake or the grass or particularly nasty spiders. She should have felt guilty anyway, because most of the stuff was her father's and had been pilfered from the house without permission each summer, but it held considerable significance for her, too. Stupid things. There must have been a tracking charm she could look up in the library so they would stop disappearing.

To be fair, the Snitch signed by Oliver Chudleigh had been misplaced not because of her carelessness but because of her generosity. After practise, a straggle of second-years asked to borrow a ball for their game, and she offered them the only one she had in her pocket. She assumed they would notice the writing, but apparently they did not, because they chucked it in the equipment shed with the rest of the rubbish and now she was rummaging through a pile of sweaty old Quidditch gloves trying to find it. The sky peeking through the grimy windows was a faint, dusty pink, in the throes of a dying sunset. She was sure she had been here since midday.

[Seth Hevulen]

Seth reached the Equipment Cupboard in search of a Quaffle. We wanted to practice without everybody watching. He could easily enchant the Quaffle to fly towards him for him to save. It would be easier with somebody else but the rest of the guys were busy doing other things and he hadn’t seen anybody else to ask.

Seth was slightly surprised to see the door of the cupboard open. He frowned to himself and approached it with slightly more caution, with the rumours about Pace and Potter going around he didn’t want to walk in on anything. He could hear something moving around in there.

Cautiously he looked around the door and sighed in relief. It was Marian. What was she looking for? He cleared his throat to alert her to his presence before entering, just so he didn’t scare her as much as he would have had he come in ‘unannounced’.

”Hey Mari,” he said quietly heading to the back of the cupboard and opening the ball box, he pulled on a Quaffle quickly and went to leave again.

Then he had an idea. Marian was a chaser on the team. She was nice enough as well, she’d give him a hand and throw the Quaffle at him surely? ”Hey, would you mind doing me a favour?” he asked as he leveled with her again

[marianmorgan]

Marian straightened and banged her head rather gracelessly against a shelf, upsetting a lifetime supply of Keeper's gloves that probably predated the Plague. A couple of flies whizzed dizzily out of the pile, adjusting to their new freedom. Still no sign of the ball. "Hey Seth," she said, kicking a box of broomstick twigs out of the way. Why hadn't she come here earlier? Why hadn't she thought to fetch a nice, standard school snitch for the stupid second-years that couldn't recognise a Quidditch relic when they saw one? She bent over and dove beneath the shelves, sorting through the assorted mess and trying not to think about the centuries of sweat that coated it.

She extricated herself much more carefully this time, keeping the edge of the shelf in her field of vision. She gave him a smile. "Sure, what do you need?"

[Seth Hevulen]

Seth smiled at her with the best ofhis abiity, this wasn't something he usually did. Speaking to other people, but she was on the team, she couldn't be too bad could she? Besides, she was in his year and had been for the last five since they started, she was hardly going to turn on him now.

"Yeah, um, I was uh, wondering if you would mind lugging a few Quaffles at me just for some, uh, extra training?" he replied scratched at the back of his unkempt head. His hair was already everywhere it didn't take much to make it messy considering he preferred to adorn the 'bed head' look pretty much everyday.

If Marian declined his inviation for some extra practise then he would just find somebody else. It didn't really matter who as long as they could throw a decent ball. His broom in his han dnad the Quaffle he had picked up in the other he prepared himself for a declination of his invitation and was ready to leave without her.

[marianmorgan]

Marian was scanning the clutter around her keenly, looking for any hint of gold with orange edges. There was a haphazard stack of rain goggles that she had not yet explored, but she doubted the snitch would be in there, so she felt around it briefly with one foot before letting it go. She would be here for ages, she realised grimly. Ages and ages, and Ollie would get bored and eat the bedsheets.

So Seth's invitation to toss the Quaffle was enticing not only because it presented the usual opportunity to get on a broom, which she would never decline anyway, but also because it gave her an excuse to abandon the fruitless search. She bit her lip and looked around her once more, then as a last resort, pulled out her wand and pointed it vaguely at the ceiling.

"Accio Oliver Chudleigh Snitch."

Nothing happened. With a sigh of defeat, she stood up and stretched massively, then grinned and held out her hands for the Quaffle. "Sure. Let's go."

[Seth Hevulen]

Seth smiled, happy that his team mate hadn't tried to bite his head off or whatever. that was a good sign. Nodding he made his way out of the Equipment cupboard and towards the pitch. There were no no other students around, the Team wannabes had all left for the day giving way for any of the teams who actually wanted to do team practise. Team practise was somethign Seth never looked forward to, just in case he managed to make a complete and utter tit out of himself. Some days he wanted to just run off and find Oscar. ash being Captain was good, but other times really didn't help him. He couldn't turn to him to bitch about it all. So he had to off load on Oscar instead.

"Uh, thanks for this Mari," Seth mumbled as they reached the main green of the pitch after not speaking at all since leaving the Equipment cupboard, "I don't wanna end up making a fool of myself at practise, so getting the best chaser on the team to help me out, means a lot. Thanks," he finished his little ramble and nodded at Marian. He turned on his heel and headed towards the goal posts leaving Marian with a Quaffle and her broom.

Time fore her to do some lugging.

[marianmorgan]

Best chaser on the team. Marian balked for a moment, tossing the Quaffle idly from one hand to the other while she considered the gravity of the compliment. Then, deciding that this was a title she could live with, she grinned and mounted her broom, pushing off with the blissful laugh she usually used to herald the beginning of Quidditch matches.

She leveled with him, hovering near the middle of the pitch where, if she remembered correctly, a Ravenclaw beater had almost broken her nose a couple of years ago. With his elbow, not a Bludger. The poxy-arsed weasel. When Seth appeared to be somewhat prepared - or at least in position, which was what counted - she tucked the Quaffle under her arm and pulled on her Quidditch gloves, swinging her feet absently back and forth. Either her balance was remarkable or her broom was particularly accustomed to this treatment. "Ready?"