Gaia looked at Magnus () for a moment and slowly said "What kind of wolf has slow reflexes?" Then roared in laughter circling Magnus "Cheer up! We are just warming up." With a wink Gaia shot towards the sky feeling the wind on her face. ( ) "I am going to do a few laps to practice my one handed grip. i will be back in a few." Gaia flew close to the ground to grab a bat and go around the pitch.

Aderyn laughed as Gaia joked at Magnus' expense.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll nearly fall of my broom at some point today, too!"

She grinned and flew a little higher, getting used to the feel of her broom once again after not having flown for a long while over the summer.

Magnus' reply was a grunt before zoomed off. He was a little shaking at the near fall. He nearly snapped at the girls because he was embarrassed and upset. He was normally easy going so he wanted to calm himself.

"Nice moves," Katsumi called to Aderyn, her voice amused. She saw Magnus nearly tip off his broom, dropping the ball in the process. He managed to recover, but seemed upset as he flew off.

The second-year gave him a couple minutes to calm down before guiding her broom alongside his. "It's not enough to hold on with your hands," she commented quietly. "Especially if you're going to be playing a game. Make sure you're gripping the broom with your legs -- that's far more important than your handgrip."

"I know," he said in a hopefully mild voice,"I wasn't paying attention. Me adopted mum was a professional Quidditch player an' taught me 'ow ta fly." He pointed to his Quidditch robes, "Me dad's old robes. Did a colour charm on 'em when I got 'ere. 'E was in Ravenclaw, same as me mum." He sighed. Magnus wanted to be perfect at everything. He knew he wasn't but the near fall bothered him as it was a careless mistake. Carelessness was how he became a werewolf to start with. He was here to have fun and needed to shake the incident off, however he wasn't sure how to do that or what to say.

"A pro?" Katsumi sounded interested, and perhaps a tad jealous. Not that she'd trade her parents for anyone else in the world, but neither of them had any interest whatsoever in sports, something that sometimes frustrated her. She had an academic bent, yes, but not to the exclusion of everything else. "I bet she taught you all sorts of moves." Magnus still seemed a bit less than settled, so she dropped the whole issue of his mishap, and focused on the new information he'd volunteered. "Hey, I don't suppose you could show me a trick or two you learned from her?"

He nodded. "She and Dad were both on the 'Ogwarts team. Mum knocked Dad off 'is broom. She spent everyday carin' for 'im in the 'ospital wing and that's when they started dating. After 'Ogwarts mum joined the Holyhead Harpies and now she makes Quidditch supplies. Dad's an unspeakable. He joined the Ministry straight outta 'Ogwarts." The eleven year old seemed to be calming down as he talked of his new family. Sometimes it was still so new to him. He smiled, liking the idea of showing off. "Alright," he said, "the Double Eight Loop is a cool one. Mum was a chaser, but she saw it once and had ta learn it." Magnus went over to the hoops, started gaining speed. He was going really fast now and did a figure eight across all three hoops, imitating blocking the quaffle at the same time. Once he finished the maneuver returned to her. "Mum also really liked the Woollongong Shimmy. You gain a break-neck speed and zigzagg to throw of other chasers." Then Magnus took off again gaining a dizzying speed. His body was low to his broom, to allow him to get the best speed. He pretended to hold a quaffle in his arm and zigzagged around the quidditch pitch till he returned to Katsumi, dropping the fake ball at her.

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/SVnDghm.png[/img] Gaia was still zooming in and out she hadn't done much practice with her new bat. It was a little heavier than her previous one to compensate for her growth. () "Have you seen Sam ()? I would like to do some practice moves with her!" Gaia called out at Magnus when she was close enough to ask and hovered a moment to hear the reply before flying off.

"Sorry," he said shaking his head, "I 'aven't see 'er. She's probly being a prefect."

Sadie hadn't been fully paying attention, so when Magnus () tossed her the quaffle... it bonked her on the head instead.

"Ouch!"

The quaffle started to sail to the ground, but as soon as Sadie regained focus, she dived after it. She pulled up as she caught up speed with the quaffle and caught it, immediately tossing it in () Katsumi's direction.

"Coming your way!"

Sam waited anxiously as the Owl Post arrived in the great hall. With the galleons she had saved from birthdays and Christmas, added to what she made from sale of her old comet, she finally had enough to buy the broom of her dreams. A Starsweeper XXI, just like the ones the US team rode when they defeated Liechtenstein in the 2014 Quidditch World Cup. It was scheduled to arrive today. By the time the large package arrived, carried by a monstrous eagle owl, Sam was practically jumping up and down (to the annoyance of everyone around her). Whooping in excitement, she feverishly unwrapped her sleek new broom.
Pausing only briefly to garner a few "oohs" and "aahs" from her tablemates as she admired it, Sam headed straight for the pitch. Spotting Gaia and Magnus she held her new broom overhead and shouted "IT CAME!!!"

Katsumi watched Magnus show off, and she imitated his Woollongong Shimmy, doing a respectable job at it. So many turns in rapid succession was far harder than it looked! She wheeled back towards the Gryffindor first-year, shaking her head. "That one's tough! Let me try ag--ah! Watch out, Magnus!" She'd not been paying attention to Sadie, and at the edge of her vision the approaching quaffle looked a lot like a bludger. She ducked, banking sharply to avoid being hit -- which left the ball heading for Magnus.

Magnus dove, literally across Katsumi, grabbing the quaffle with an "oof" as he laid across her broom with his legs clamping on his. He smiled as he tried to figure how to get virtical. "That's great," he called looking at Sam, bring that new broom 'ere an' give old Magnus a 'and will ya?"

Sam's broom was already in motion as she swung up onto it, streaking across the pitch to help Magnus. Flying was what she loved best, the one thing she felt really confident at. Her new broom responded to her slightest shift in weight, turning quickly as she swooped up, reaching out to help Magnus right himself. "Hiya!" she said, waving to Sadie and Katsumi. "I'm Samantha, but please, just call me Sam"

"Ta for that," he said laughing deeply, "didn't fancy 'aving ta sleep like this." He scooted his broom over to inspect her new one. "That looks awesome. Major congrats!"

Aderyn circled the pitch, watching her friends closely as the quaffle changed hands. Since she'd discovered her penchant for keeping the term before, she'd worked hard to hone her observational skills. She wasn't an avid chaser by any means, so she focused on watching the quaffle's movements, biding her time.

Realising he had the quaffle, he yelled, "Aderyn, catch!" and threw it towards her.

Aderyn's attention was drawn as Magnus called her name. Whipping around on her broom, she swooped forward and caught the quaffle, fumbling it awkwardly for a moment before getting a grip on it. Grinning, she turned on her broom to face the group and threw the ball as hard and far as she could across the field.

"Free for all!"

Gaia saw the quaffle zoom with force towards the opposite goal posts and with a wicked grin she crouched on her broom for speed with a one handed maneuver Gaia made a hook with her right arm and grabbed the quaffle and pun in place. She wasn't expecting to get it so the hit was a little harder than expected. Still grinning she took a look at the field and passed the quaffle at Sadie ()

In the excitement Gaia had not realized her bat slipped from her back to the ground. It was a good thing she wasn't that high up or that would have been a disaster when she noticed Sam had joined them. "Nothing like new broom smell!" Gaia hovered next to her friend and high five'd her. "Ready for some beater training? Dad taught me some new moves!" () "By the way Aderyn, that is a mean arm you have! Ravenclaw will be really lucky to have you in the team!" Gaia added with a wink, beaming at her friend. ()

"Took me almost two years to save up enough galleons for it..., but it's so worth every knute." She grinned as high five'd her. "I'd love some beater practice! Do we have access to bludgers? I'm sick and tired of seeing how far I can whack a garden gnome. The little knee biters never stay away for long so there's always plenty around to practice with, but it's pretty dull. They can't change direction and come back-atcha like the real thing."