Quidditch Boot Camp- Open to All Quidditch Students!

[Aubrey Morris]

Aubrey stood on the pitch, wearing his old uniform from his professional Quidditch days, his custom broom hovering beside him as he checked his gloves and goggles. He smirked a little at the familiar feeling before putting his hands on his sides after checking the hair tie keeping his hair back, waiting for the students to arrive.

He'd decided to spice things up a bit for the Quidditch players at the school by holding this little Boot Camp. It was optional, of course, but he was offering to give them tips and tricks that he learned and saw during his days in the big leagues. But whether they decided to capitalize on it was another matter entirely.

He'd invited all of them at once, not by teams or positions, though he could give them more direct lessons if the opportunity provided itself today, or another day if need be, he certainly didn't mind. He hummed a bit to himself as he waited, watching the side of the pitch that the students would likely come from as it was the side closest to the school.

Some of the ones that were the first to arrive were Miral and Nathaniel. Neither of them was a captain, but they were prefects so he wasn't entirely surprised that they were the first ones there, plus Miral was a seeker, they tended to be a bit antsy and quick to act. Not long after a captain did arrive, Ryan, from the Hufflepuff team. He was a quiet fellow and seemed to be trying not to be noticed by the other two, but then seemed relieved when one of the Gryffindor beaters came up, throwing an arm around his neck from behind- Ezekiel Aubrey believed his name was.

Now to wait on the rest.

[Emily Collins]

As almost always, Emily was sitting in her spot in the library writing an essay. During her first year, she had found a secluded spot between bookshelves containing books on muggle studies and other not so popular topics, and since then she has been using it as a quiet place for studying. Right now she was surrounded by several books, and had another one on her lap, using it as a pad for her parchment. Lost in her thoughts, she was staring at the ceiling and tapping with the quill on the parchment. „Damnit,“ she muttered quickly when she remembered that today was the quidditch boot camp where she really wanted to go.

She quickly stood up, gathered the books on the ground and returned them back to their places. Then she packed her things and ran to her dorm room. She tossed her backpack on her bed, changed into sportswear, tied her hair, grabbed her broom, and took another run to the quidditch pitch. She slowed down and heaved a sigh of relief when she could see that they hadn't started yet. She walked towards the group still at a quite quick pace just so she could be sure she wasn't late or arriving barely on time. She was used to being everywhere with several minutes to spare. But she didn't want to look like a complete weirdo to her quidditch friends, so she tried to catch her breath on her way across the field.

„Good afternoon, Professor Morris,“ she said to the professor politely before she took her spot next to her teammate Nathaniel. „Hi,“ she greeted her fellow students quietly, so maybe those standing right next to her could hear her, and flashed a timid smile at everyone. She decided to use her spare time for adjusting her hair tie and checking her gear, as she got dressed in a rush. This way, the silence from her side also felt less awkward, but she had always struggled with small talk.

[Evelyn Darke Goldman]

The second Quidditch captain to show up was Evelyn from the Slytherin team, along with one of the Chasers, Kyle. Confidently she strode towards Professor Aubrey and the gathered students while Kyle followed, half a step behind her. With a slightly pissed expression on her face, she scanned the area and noted that most of the other Slytherins weren’t here yet.

“Didn’t you remind them to be punctual?” she asked Kyle.

“I did,” the Seventh-Year replied defensively. As one of the oldest members of the team, it was his responsibility to ensure that the team turned up for lessons and training. And while there was still some time before the start of the boot camp, there was still a chance that one or two of his teammates would be late.

“If anyone dares to be late, I’ll have their hide,” Eve growled. It wasn’t just a matter of discipline: it was about how the Slytherin team was being perceived too. She wanted the whole team to be the first that was fully present and ready, so that she could send a message to the other houses. The animosity between some of her teammates was public knowledge, and she needed her team to put up a united front.

Something at the edge of her vision – or rather, someone – caught Evelyn’s attention. Ryan was looking at her with a smug expression on his face. How dare he. Eve was about to confront the Hufflepuff captain when it dawned upon her that something wasn’t quite right – and indeed, standing a few metres away she could see one of the Gryffindor Beaters putting an arm around another Ryan’s neck. “Childish,” she glowered at the first ‘Ryan’, who flashed a cheeky grin before revealing his true identity: Leo Sakurai, one of the Chasers on the Hufflepuff team and a metamorphmagus.

Done with his little prank, Leo bounded over to join his captain. “Ryan-kun~!” he greeted cheerfully with a radiant smile and an enthusiastic wave.

[Laguna Lestrange]

Despite the fact that he was the Gryffindor team captain, Laguna and his buddies, or teammates, were not always known for being the first to arrive to a scene. But, given the opportunity that presented itself, Laguna was also not going to be last to this particular event. Quidditch was always his favorite thing in the world and he had every intention of going professional after school came to a close. What better networking opportunity could have so conveniently popped up? The blonde pushed by a few of the younger students despite the fact that he towered over just about everyone else in attendance. As he arrived, he took a quick inventory of the others in attendance. Most of them he wasn't surprised by. His gaze paused on the Slytherin group though.

Most of that group were people that he grew up with and they probably knew his play style better than some of his own teammates. He glanced toward the professor and gave a nod. "Afternoon. Happy to be here." He said, confidence apparent in his voice as he spoke. If there was one thing he didn't lack, it was confidence.

He was certain that his teammates would slowly arrive. His eyes scanned the crowd again to see if perhaps he'd just overlooked them. Most of them would be attending. Maybe they were hiding off in the back or something. If that was the case, they'd get the hint to come and claim their spots at the front of the crowd. What kind of proper Gryffindor would sit in the back seat when it came to capitalizing on an opportunity. Or...was that the part of him that some would argue should belong in Slytherin? He thought on it briefly, but was dismissive of the intruding thoughts as he looked over the brooms that people brought with them.

[Aubrey Morris]

Miral looked over, hearing her captain threatening violence on anyone who was late to practice. "Should I be hearing that threat as a prefect?" she teased her, smirking lightly, though Nathaniel nearby did not look so amused... when did he ever, to be honest. Seeing the trick with Leo, she blinked a little in surprise, "Just what we needed. A prankster who can disguise themselves," she sighed, looking at the sky like she was asking why she was being punished this way before looking back to their coach, who seemed rather... amused at the show of the players who had arrived.

Aubrey looked at Laguna as he spoke up and gave a nod, "Glad some people felt it was worth the time." he gave a snort.

Nathaniel sighed, realizing he was the only Ravenclaw there, but it was fine. He'd pass on what he learned to the rest. They were probably studying if he had to guess.

Ryan looked at Leo as he called out to him and smiled. "Hey, Leo. I'm glad you could make it," he said, pinching the back of Zeke's arm to get him off him. This made Zeke yelp and dance toward Lag to escape him.

"Heyo, Capt'n," Zeke said to Lag before looking at Aubrey.

"Well, we'll let the rest join in whenever they come along," he said, cracking his knuckles, "I wanted to impart on your willing minds some of what I learned in my years of Quidditch, the first which is your current teams will not mean a thing outside of this school," he said, crossing his arms, "If you choose to try and be a professional at this sport, you will likely play with people you once considered a rival," he looked between each of them.

"But I know those rivalries are too ingrained in your brains right now for you to picture such a thing, so let's start with some simple practice drills to get us all limbered up. You all came dressed to work, so let's put you to work, mount your brooms and head to the goal posts," he said, pointing up at the nearest posts before mounting his own and flying up.

If Lag was watching brooms, he'd note that while the base of Aubrey's broom was a firebolt, he'd definitely customized it. It was cherry red and had baubles hanging off the end closest to his hands...and possibly ribbons in the bristles on the other end.

Miral mounted her own after putting her hair into a ponytail. While her parents undoubtedly bought her a more recent broom model, she made her way up to the goal posts on her Nimbus 2001. She'd ridden it to the point that she had a grip on the end because she wore out the wood with her hands.

Even so, Zeke huffed a little, looked at his Comet 260, and shrugged. "The tool doesn't make the man," he said, saying it wrong on purpose before hopping on. He waited for Lag and Ryan to mount their own before heading up as well.

Ryan followed suit, getting on his Cleansweep 11, and lastly, Nathaniel graced them at the goals on his own Firebolt. It was a more standard model than Aubrey's, but his father clearly saw an opportunity to show off.