Now upright, he found that he felt somewhat better than he he'd done whilst lying on the ground, but could still feel a faint straining in his breathing from where the Bludger had winded him. That, coupled with the fact his breathing was already slightly laboured from over-exertion made him feel particularly unwell.

He glanced around as Nimue came up and smiled at her. "Clumsy idiot, me." He put an arm around her shoulder and sagged against her slightly. "I'll be alright," he announced to both her and Nathaniel. "I think I need a break, though."

Using Nimue as a human crutch, he moved over to Madam Hooch. "Do you think you'd be OK to conduct the rest of the trials if I sit here and watch?" he asked, a little embarrassed. "I guess you saw what just happened with that Bludger."

Jacob had put his glasses back on just in time to see the motion that Raphael made. The thin boy put one hand back on his broom in a loose grip, and nodded. "I guess I will." He said quietly, with a shrug.

After all, Anders wasn't there to watch, so it wasn't like there was any pressure on him. Besides, Niki and Jian were very wrapped up in their own conversation.

He picked up the bright red ball, and flew forward at a languid pace, halting several feet away from the hoops. "Ready?" He asked with a slight smile, and then darted forward to the hoop on the right in an attempt to score, the ball under one arm. He still had only one hand on the broom, and dropped suddenly to the lowest part of the hoop. He leaned back, and let the ball fly into the air, watching it head for the very bottom of the hoop.

Raphael most certainly was not ready when Jacob made the pass at the hoops. He was pitifully not ready, not at all.

And then, just as he was blinking, as he had enough time for a single thought ("yerwhat!?") Jacob was there and dropping downwards, below him and towards the hoop.

Time seemed to slow, as Raphael carefully in the split second before the ball was about to slide into the hoop went through his options. Well, he mused, the first option is that the ball goers flying into the hoop and I've made yet another mess of it. Yes, that does seem to be the best course of action. Or, rather, the only course of action available...

...all he needed to do was to catch the ball. Which was a fair bit below him. And his broom was all wrong and he didn't think if he turned it off and fell, he'd be able to start it again, seeing how it was practically dead already. And he needed to get down this impossible distance in about a second. It would be so much easier if I could just get rid of the broom and...

... fall to my death? I can't fly on my own, Raphael thought. The thought seemed wrong, a little distant. Well... he could only fly in his dreams... he could only fly in his dreams...?

His glance stole towards Anders, somewhere on the pitch, and Raphael was decided. It was then that the world seemed to blur as he closed his eyes and let the sounds take over. So many sound he could remember... so many times... so many to choose from... then... learning in the glades of lights... months before that etched stone was there... leaves rustling around him in a summer breeze, lights flashing down on him, and his radio blasting.

In the raucous that was his mind, Raphael emerged for just a second, and wished that the old man was there - he'd know the right song and he'd be singing it right. What had the radio been blasting?

Raphael on his broom let his body to limp completely, and slid off, as if he had blacked out, his eyes shut against the world, and the only sign of control was his feet, which entwined together.

So when, as he fell to the lowest point of his fall, let the quaffle slide into his open hands serenely, he let his feet stay hooked around the base of the brush even as the broom got a new lease of life. And then the momentum of his fall brought him back upright, where he opened his eyes and effortlessly spun the quaffle on his fingertip, the beat shuddering into his broom as he and it started jiving in mid-air. "If you know," he sung (and not totally badly, either, though still not with the skill of Nathaniel), moshing with the broom, "where I'm at, I would get a kick from that. Money face, lucky hand, making weekends what they're for. So will you go with me? I'll take you away. So will you come with me? I'll take you away!"

And then, he slid the Quaffle back to Jacob, and let the broom shake over to Niki and Jian, and addressed all three of the other keeper tryoutees. "What should we do now?" he asked, letting the grin slip all over his face.

For a few moments, all Jacob could do was stare.

Then he chuckled under his breath, the faintest trace of a grin slipping out from his serious expression. When Raphael began to sing, however, he really did laugh, and loudly.

He easily accepted the Quaffle, putting it under one arm and following the other Ravenclaw towards the two others.

"Waiting is a nice idea." He suggested, releasing the one hand that had been lightly gripping his broom, balancing once again with no hands. Whee. "Or we could just keep practising. Nice save, by the way." The last bit was directed, of course, to Raphael.

Madame Hooch nodded at Anders. "Of course. You can watch the chasers and beaters while I finish the keepers. No need for you to move. I'll keep an eye out in case of trouble."

As Madame Hooch approached she noted Raphael and Jacob. "Very impressive, young man." She said to Raphael as she approached on her broom. I don't think you need to demonstrate that again. Maybe you would care to try and score while Jacob here plays keeper."

She turned to the others who were gathered around the goals. "If you have completed your demonstration of your keeping skill you may go and join the others in their chaser and beater trails. Ask Anders which team you should join."

Shinrei was very relieved that Madame Hooch had chosen to approach their little group gathered by the goals.

She directed her broom towards the teacher. "Excuse me, Madame Hooch? May I try to guard the goals while the others attempt to score? There are still a few of us who have not had the chance to play Keeper... and I really want to try. May I please, Madame Hooch?"

Madame Hooch nodded. "Of course. You may go next."

She turned to the other players. "Niki, can you act as chaser to approach Shinrei, please." She threw the Quaffle to Niki and waited to see how Shinrei would perform.

Shinrei nodded. "Thank you, Madame Hooch."

She steered her Rakurai towards the goals, assuming the Keeper's position. She passed Raphael and a thin boy with glasses. Jacob or Jason. She gave them a nod.

Her face in its usual blank expression, she hovered by the goals and waited.

Raphael looked at Jacob, and gave the other Ravenclaw student a grin. "Thanks for that," replied Raphael - feeling much better about himself already. Music could do wonders.

So - Madam Hooch wanted him to try and score against Jacob. "Fancy having a go at Keeping, Jacob?" Raphael, asking the other student while keeping the broom bobbing to a beat only he could hear - he wanted to keep in the air and on this broom rhythm was everything to keep the magic going...

Jacob shrugged and tossed the ball at Raphael. "Suppose that's what I'm here for, after all!" He chuckled lightly, but as he urged to rather old broom to the hoops, his face settled back into the calm, serious expression.

Now he had one hand gripping the broom, tilting his head slightly as he waited for Raphael's first move. He was too tall for the broom, all arms and legs, almost comically so.

Raphael let the balls slip into his hands easily, as he watched his housemember wait for his move towards the goal. Raphael let himself bob in mid air, the air in him moving up and down, letting all the tension go as Madam Hooch watched him and Jacob intently.

He knew what he would do, too, it seemed to be the best option. Somehow he would try and get past the lanky Jacob - and Raphael had enough respect for his housemate to know that the long legs would be a huge help, not a hindrance, in this case.

And so, he grinned at the other student, letting the air stay below him for a second more, letting the wind move him, letting his heart and the brooms beat in symphony.

The broom reared up, a bucking horse, and shot towards Jacob.

Raphael didn't spin on the broom, he was too focused for that... too in the moment... he could feel the energy that the broom had, even the old and rickety thing... sloshing back and forth... shaking... shuddering... and the broom started to cut out. The magic that seemed to connect him and it started to make him shake as he shot along...

And he started to lose altitude, falling below Jacob - still in reach for the goals - still going quick - just about to crash - he could throw the Quaffle that was part of his movement - he could - he had the time - and perhaps the broom could turn afterwards - he was going too quick - he couldn't climb after the throw - and he couldn't stop - he'd crash into the poles -

Raphael found his gaze touched Jacob's for just a second, and Raphael decided that he'd make this a good shot. His housemate deserved it.

And so, as the broom was about to pass under Jacob, Raphael stood and leaped over the other.

And for a second in mid air, Raphael was flying, with no broom, with no safety, his shadow over Jacobs eyes.

And the Quaffle left him at speed. He didn't see where it was going - probably towards the hoops - now - to fall correctly... Raphael fell on the broom, and his crashing falling weight made it plummet down. Just far enough for him to land, safely - he looked up to see Jacob - Jacob had...

Jacob had been watching Raphael with a serious expression. For once his glasses stayed on their own on the bridge of his nose. The other Ravenclaw was heading towards the bottom of the hoop, and so pale eyes followed him carefully.. Instead of aiming his broom downwards, the lanky boy pushed down gently on the handle of his broom, and dropped about three feet, looking as though he had done no more than travel in a Muggle elevator.

Oh no...was Raphael insane? He was going to crash! Jacob hurriedly shouted at his mind not focus on the other boy's broom, instead on diving for the bright red ball that was speeding towards the very bottom of the goal. He judged the curve of it, and so slid forward to the very end of the broomstick in a fluid motion, intertwining his ankles so he could turn on his side and snatch the ball out of the air.

Just barely making it by his fingertips, for once he was glad of his long arms. He neatly tucked the ball under his arms, righted himself completely, and looked around wildly for Raphael. Now his first priority was to help the fellow Ravenclaw...he couldn't have landed safely, he couldn't have-

Adjusting his glasses, he flew, coming to a rest slightly above the other boy. "Stop scaring me like that!" He ordered with a vague grin, relief clear in his voice. "You must give all of your friends heart attacks!"

********

Mahou kicked off and flew into the air, Blackfoot on the brush. She wasn't about to make her stay on the ground if she didn't want to. If the little red fox wanted a ride, she'd let her have one. Blackfoot knew when to hold on and when not to.

With her hat fluttering a bit, and alarming Mahou in the process, the half-elf watched as Kat caught the Quaffle. She frowned and raced to the Quaffle, noting that Kat was passing it to Hal. Swooping low, Mahou whipped the tail of her broom rather sharply, causing her familiar to be deposited on the ground, though lightly.

Going into a dart position, the girl zipped on her Firebolt toward the Quaffle. She was going a tad too fast.. her hat flew off her head.. It fluttered to the ground, though Mahou wasn't paying any attention.

Her mind was on the game.

Fleeing to the Quaffle, Mahou attempted to intercept the pass from Kat to Hal, reaching out with her delicate piano-player hands.

Sarah had felt somewhat hampered by the fact that she was playing with a group of people with whom she had not had a chance to train. Still with Mahou rushing forward, she herself moved into position that if Mahou caught the Quaffle Sarah could flank her and be ready to protect or take the ball.

She was mildly surprised to see Mahou's hat fly off and ears revealed. *Oooh....she's a bit elvish... cool.* and that was that as far as Sarah was concerned.

Reaching for the Quaffle, Mahou snatched in mid-pass from Kat to Hal. She glanced over to Sarah, smiling a little as she clutched the Quaffle to her. Falling back a bit, the half-elf moved closer to Sarah, throwing the red ball to her, hoping that she would catch it.

Then it hit her. Mahou looked down to see her hat still fluttering to the ground. Panicking, the girl whipped her head around, trying to see if anyone had noticed. She knew that Sarah had to have seen her ears.

Nearly losing her balance, Mahou flailed her arms, gripping the shaft of the broom tightly. ~*This cannae be..*~ she gasped in Elfin. ~*I cannae reveal this.. no' when I was jus' gettin' ta ha'e friends!*~ Cursing rather loudly in Elfin, the girl fought back tears. Her life was ruined again. Just as it had in Cerrydwin's.. so shall it be at Hogwarts.

Looking over to the Forbidden Forest, Mahou contemplated running in there to escape the torment; to escape the eminent ridicule. But she couldn't... she had trials to finish. So she raced over to Sarah to flank her.

"C'mon, baby," Luis taunted the Bludgers, swooping right into their paths. Ever since he had learned to play Quidditch, he found being Beater the most attractive, as it allowed him to cut loose most of the time and, of course, inflict most of the damage on their opponents. "Come to Papa."

He also liked to directly confront the Bludgers, not wait for them to head in the direction of his team-mates.

The Bludger, indeed, approached Papa. "Yes, baby, that's it!" he hissed in approval.

He raised the club, then swung. There was a satisfying smack as the club made contact with the dark-coloured ball. The Bludger went pelting in the direction of Sarah and Mahou of the opposing team.

"Now's your chance to get the Quaffle!" he yelled to Kathryn, the Chaser who was closest. "I'll try to clear a path for you."

Kat glanced up at Luis and nodded. She dashed after Mahou. As she came along side Mahou she pushed her broom sideways into her opponents, buffeting her.

Then she reached out for the quaffle hoping that Mahou would release it in her surprise.

Mahou, indeed, clutched the Quaffle as Sarah approached her, and she then proceeded to grit her teeth as she was buffeted. ~*I donnae think so*~ Mahou muttered softly in Elfin. Though she knew that she was revealed to be an Elf, regardless of if people liked her or not.. she was NOT going to blow the trials.

Instead, Mahou let her broom drop a few feet, beneath Sarah, avoiding the whistling Bludger as well. She chanced a whipping glance at Luis and frowned. He was one to be reckoned with a Bludger..

Mahou allowed her broom to drop a half a foot more as she flew on her Firebolt, trying to find someone to pass it to.

Sarah managed to avoid the bludger by about a centimetre. She could see what Mahou was trying to do and sought to position herself slightly behind and below so that Mahou could safely pass the Quaffle to her.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet, baby doll," Luis muttered under his breath, sneering as he urged the borrowed Nimbus faster towards the other Bludger. When the other Bludger was within striking distance, he looked at the three girls clustering around the Quaffle. Sarah and Mahou against Kat.

"Oh no you don't, girls," he said, punctuating the statement with a seeming explosion as his club made contact with the second Bludger. "Two against one's not fair. Time to even the odds."

He watched with satisfaction as the bludger sped in earnest towards Sarah, who seemed to be waiting to receive the Quaffle.

The Bludger went very, very fast, a tiny black meteor against the afternoon sky.

If only he could take control of things like this in real life, he wished to himself, very earnestly.

Of course, Sarah knew that all is fair in love and Quidditch, so she shouldn't really have dropped her guard after dodging the first bludger.

She received a great thwack on the arm by the bludger that Luis had loosened in her direction. She was unable to keep her position and for a second or two she plummeted though quickly regained control of the broom.

Her arm was currently useless though she hoped it wasn't broken. Luis had had a lucky strike by her elbow and her arm was now numb. She knew she couldn't help Mahou any longer though and needed to drop back to earth for safety and just to have it checked out in case the numbness covered a fracture.

With the wind in his hair, the cold hard broomstick against his fingers, and his feet dangling below him Andy felt at peace. He waved down at Marvo.

'I'd be an excellent Seeker' he thought. 'None of the bludgers can hit me if I'm not fully concentrating.'

But now was definitely a time to concentrate. Andy saw Sarah get thwacked on the arm by the bludger. He desperately wanted to help her, but he reminded himself that there was a game to be played. He flew over towards Kat to help her obtain the Quaffle. He smiled at her. Everything would be fine.

Marvo waved back to Andy and smiled. "Hey, he's good isn't he." He said to no one in particular.

Yvette, who was sitting only a few seats away from Marvo, grinned in reply. She had cautiously taken off the fluffy pink earmuffs, and for the last ten minutes had been stretching them this way and that.

"They all are!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "I'd never be able to pick which one's best, and I've seen more Quidditch players than I can count." She went back to playing with the earmuffs.

Marvo glanced at Yvette's 'pinkness' and wondered if it would seem rude if he backed away a bit. But he decided against it, after all, he was here to make friends with as many people as he could, they had to learn to trust him, and anyway, after what Lizzy had said...

He moved a little closer to Yvette. "So true. I'm very impressed. So why aren't you taking part? or are you trying for a cheerleader?"

Yvette took her mittens off while she was speaking, just to see how cold it was without them. Hmm...not bad...she put the mittens and the earmuffs into her coat pockets. Tucking loose strands of curling brown hair behind her ears, she leaned back and propped her legs up on the empty seat in front of her.

"Me? A cheerleader?" She just laughed. "I've done the commentary a couple of times...that's always fun. I really like it. But we're going very professional this year, so I suppose I'm stuck with watching and yelling out insults to the other teams."

She winked at him, and absently smothered a yawn. Cold weather always made her tired.

Gritting her teeth against the resounding thwack of the bludger on Sarah's arm, Mahou seethed deeply. She threw a vicious glare at Luis that he'd never seen before, though she knew if she'd encountered him later, she'd tell him good shot. She knew this was all a game, but at this point in time.. the Half-Elf wasn't a happy camper.. er.. Quidditch player.

Then, upon seeing Andy fly over, she sped her broom upward. "So, two against one in me own favour nae be good?" she asked. "Yet.. three against one in yer favour be wondrous odds, eh?" She smiled a bit and clutched the Quaffle tightly. She had to do this.. for Sarah. Sarah had come over to take the Quaffle.. and she had gotten thwacked with a bludger for it.

Speeding toward the goal, Mahou leaned into the Firebolt. She drew back her arm and hurled it at a hoop, hoping it would go in..

Kat smiled back at Andy, as he hovered protectively by her. But as she did so, she missed her chance to snatch the Quaffle back. She watched, a little dis-heartened, as Mahou scored.