Attempting to... Quidditch? [Dimitri - Seeker Tryout]

The new term had officially begun, and the Ravenclaw witch had yet to solidify her schedule. Being a Prefect meant that Nerisei now had a lot more responsibilities than what she used to and that meant she would have to set her priorities straight... But let's be honest, Nerisei Gerber would never set her priorities straight, and the reason was none other than Dimitri Moreau. The one guy that could make her forget all about the things she should be doing, and instead have her fantasise about all the things she shouldn't!

This evening though, Nerisei had decided to mix those two together, instead of choosing one. And this was how the young witch found herself walking alongside her... guy? Her relationship with Dimitri was yet to be determined, but Nerisei knew well enough that the Moreau heir was far more than just her friend. Was he her boyfriend though? In her mind, this was the case, but making assumptions was not what Nerisei wanted to do. How weird would it be for her to wander around, claiming that Dimitri was her boyfriend, whilst he thought otherwise? No, no. They needed to talk about things before she gave their relationship a title.

But dealing with her weird relationship was not what made her anxious this particular evening. The Quidditch Tryouts were in order for the Ravenclaw Team, and Nerisei felt like the decision she had made was not the right one. Quidditch had never been a game the Prefect felt like playing, though that didn't mean she was bad at flying. On the contrary, the young witch was quite the flyer, and after the big win last term, Neri had thought about trying out for the team.

"I am nervous." The witch admitted upon the duo reached the Quidditch Pitch that was currently full of Ravenclaws. Nerisei turned to look at Dimitri, broom in hand, and let out a soft sigh. "Do you think I should do this?" Neri asked, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth as her anxiety escalated. A few words from Dimitri would be able to calm her down, right?

As Nerisei stood in Dimitri's arms, staring up at him, a million of thoughts passed through her head. No matter how hard Dimitri was trying, Nerisei could sense that there was something bothering the fellow Ravenclaw. To anyone else, Dimitri wouldn't seem to act any different, and in truth, he was truly trying very hard to make sure Nerisei didn't suspect a thing, but when someone spends as much time as Neri has with Dimitri, it is fairly easy to understand that something is terribly, terribly off.

The young witch didn't really know what, but she did suspect it had something to do with the fact that he has to resit a whole year, just because he failed Potions. Nerisei didn't know much about Dimitri's home life, she barely knew anything, in fact, so she couldn't be sure if it was his mother, or maybe his father that made him feel this way. The problem was that Dimitri had lost a lot of things this year, his friends, who had moved up and were now Seventh Years, and even his chance of becoming a Prefect.

Nerisei knew that Dimitri wanted to excel just as much as she wanted, and he had worked really hard all year to earn a spot as a Prefect... but Nerisei got it. And even if Dimitri had feelings for her, Nerisei knew that this had to hurt him more that it made him proud. Because if it was the other way around, Nerisei wouldn't like it.

I think that you should do exactly what you want to do. You're an amazing flyer, and if you want to play Quidditch, you should play Quidditch."

The kiss atop her head made the witch smile sadly and pull away discreetly. She knew that Dimitri would never actually tell her what to do, but Nerisei actually needed his support right now, but his moodiness wasn't allowing her that much, and Nerisei was beginning to get quite angry. She had been there for him, but Dimitri refused to cooperate with her. Instead, he decided to act like a baby and avoid her.

"Thanks." Was all Nerisei said, whilst she moved away from Dimitri and towards all of the other Ravenclaws that were waiting for their turn.

"Gather around, everyone!" The captain of the team instructed, and everyone, including Nerisei, gathered around him, waiting for further instructions. "I am glad to see old and new faces alike, ready to compete for a spot on the team. To make things easier for us, we will sort you into small teams and you will have to play against each other."

Nerisei bit her lip, getting lost in her thoughts as the Captain started calling out names. She turned towards the stands, looking for Dimitri, hoping to receive a smile, anything to cheer her on, but her concentration was broken at the sound of her name being called. "Gerber? Nerisei Gerber?"

"That's me." Nerisei answered, raising her hand for the Captain to notice. The older boy took a good look at her and nodded to himself, before saying. "You are Team A's Seeker. Warm up, you're up first."

Nerisei took a deep breath, nodding to herself as she moved towards her assigned team. As she took a good look at them, she noted that four out of the seven players were part of last year's Ravenclaw Quidditch Team. Well, isn't that fair..., the witch thought.
"Okay, listen up, everyone." Joanna, one of the Beaters on her team said. "As some of you might have noticed, I have been playing for the Ravenclaw Team the past year and so has James, our Keeper, Vivienne and Thomas, two of our chasers."

The Ravenclaw witch followed Joanna's eyes, noting the people she had just mentioned and nodding slightly. She wasn't good at socializing, and her poor skills were coming to the surface. "That doesn't necessarily mean we are going to win, though. So, please, try your best guys! Oh, and Seeker?" Joanna asked, turning her attention on Nerisei, who wanted to die of embarrassment as all sets of eyes turned on her. "I truly hope you are useful."

Nerisei blinked a couple of times, confused at Joanna's words, before her eyes darkened slightly. No one told Nerisei Gerber she was not good enough. "Oh, believe me, Frey, I can handle myself." Was the last thing Nerisei said, before she mounted her broom and pushed off of the ground, waiting for her team to do the same.

Nerisei had mounted her broom, and soon after the rest of the team followed, ready to warm up before the big Tryouts. The witch wasn't overly confident, to be fair, but she was well aware of her skills at flying. She was pretty impressive, that much was for sure, but Nerisei liked to push herself to the limit, learn more and become better and better. There was always room for improvement, everyone knew that.

"Gerber! You there?!" Joanna asked, earning a glare from Nerisei who turned to look at her. Joanna Frey was a Sixth Year like herself, Pureblood and utterly annoying. As far as Neri knew, Joanna had tried out for the team last year and became one of Ravenclaw's best Chasers. That, though, did not give her the right to talk to Nerisei that way. "Shouting isn't very ladylike, Frey, don't you think? I am sure your parents wouldn't be very proud."

Honestly, Nerisei had no idea how Joanna's family treated her, or whether they were proud of her or not. Nerisei barely knew how Pureblood families actually were, until she met Dimitri. Not that she knew much now, since Dimitri didn't like to share what was happening at home, and Nerisei didn't want to push him, but she evidently knew a tad bit more that what she used to. Like, what Pureblood ladies were expected to do, how to talk, act... All the things Nerisei would never have or be.

"Just focus on the game, Gerber. We are doing laps. Start." And with that Joanna flew away, leaving Nerisei alone, smiling at herself. Her words had obviously annoyed Frey, but the Pureblood girl didn't say anything. It's not like she could come up with anything smart, Neri thought, before pushing these thoughts away and focusing on warming up.

Falling in line with the rest of her teammates, Nerisei flew around the Stadium, getting comfortable on her broom. As a Seeker, not much was needed, in her opinion. Except being a very, very good flyer. A Seeker, though, was the most important member of the team. She would have to dodge all the bludgers, go toe to toe with the enemy Seeker, and capture the golden snitch, a tiny golden ball that was too fast and too small. Nerisei wasn't sure about the catching part, but she tried to remain positive.

Failure though, was not on her list.

"Gather around!" The Captain shouted, and the two teams flew closer to the center of the pitch, where he was hovering. "Not all of us are made for this game, and that's perfectly fine. So, I'd like to see some fair play from all of you and remember, if you don't make it into the team, that doesn't mean you are bad with your broom, you're just not good enough for the sport. Good luck everyone!"

Nerisei waited for the bludgers and then the snitch to be released, and once she heard the sound of the whistle, she was off.

Game. Set. Match.

As the game began, Nerisei immediately flew after the golden snitch, that was still quite visible, surprisingly. Most of the time, Seekers flew all around the pitch, avoiding all the bludgers and all the players that could potentially fall into them, either by accident, or because they truly wanted them out --even though that was considered a foul--, but their main goal was catching that Snitch. And that was challenging enough on its own.

The witch turned to look at the other Seeker, noting how he was unable to spot the tinny golden ball that was flying around like crazy, and smirked. She was ahead, and that was good, right? Soon enough, though, Team B's Seeker caught up with the fact that Nerisei had spotted the Snitch, and was after her in a matter of seconds. "Shit." Nerisei mumbled to herself, her eyes on the Snitch, in an attempt not to lose the tiny sphere from her eyes.

Not sure how fast the other Seeker moved, though, Nerisei decided to look back in order to check where exactly the other Seeker was at, but to her dismay, a beater had just hit one of the bludgers, and was currently flying towards her. By the time Nerisei turned to look ahead of her, the bludger was about to hit her right in the face. As of instinct, though, Nerisei found herself doing a barrel roll, avoiding the dangerous bludger and successfully surviving another day.

"Merlin's beard!" Nerisei all but screeched as she leaned forward, creating more distance between herself and the bludgers that had threatened her life not a moment ago. The problem was that she now had no damn idea where the Snitch had flown off. Pulling her broom to a stop, Nerisei allowed herself to take a good look around, --not that it helped at all--, and try to spot the little devil. The sound of cheers were echoing in the background, but Nerisei wasn't sure whether it was their chasers that were scoring, or whether her team were getting their ass kicked.

"Nerisei! We need you!" Joanna's voice touched the witch's ears, snapping Nerisei out of her trance, just as soon as the snitch made an appearance again. "On it!" Nerisei yelled back, flying, once again, after the golden snitch. She wasn't the only one that had spotted the golden sphere though.

Team B's Seeker, was once again after her, nearing her faster than what the girl liked. Soon enough, the guy was right next to her, and Nerisei finally recognised him as James Benson, a Seventh Year. "Are you ready to get destroyed, Gerber?" James said to her with a smirk, but Nerisei didn't even bother turning to look at him. She knew that he was trying to break her focus, and the witch was not going to allow him that much. Oh no, she was so close to winning. She wouldn't lose this now.

"I am talking to you Gerber!" James yelled at her, taunting her, but Nerisei's eyes were still not moving away from the Snitch. In a matter of seconds, the tiny golden ball decided to dive into the Stadium, and Nerisei smirked. This was her chance to win, and she was about to do it impressively. Turning to James, Nerisei smirked at him, before speaking. "And I am winning."

Before Benson could register what was happening, Nerisei had dived down, sharply, going after the snitch. Knowing that Benson wasn't bright enough to figure out that she was performing a well known Wronski Feint, Nerisei felt herself smile as the male dived down after her, wanting to get to the snitch first. The Ravenclaw witch knew that her move was extremely dangerous, and would either win, or lose the game for her team, but Nerisei was well aware of her capabilities as a flyer, and had perfect knowledge of what to do.

As seconds past, her broom --And James--, was picking up speed rapidly, making their way to the ground a very short journey. Most people would have pulled on their broom and they would have stopped, too scared to compete against Nerisei, but James, being too proud, did not stop his broom. Instead, he leaned closer to it, accelerating enough to reach Nerisei. In about two seconds, they would crush...

"Have a nice stay at the Hospital Wing, Benson!" Nerisei yelled, and just before her broom could crush, she pulled up, smirking in satisfaction as the other Seeker crashed into the Ground below. Claps and cheers could be heard once again, and Nerisei knew that her move had earned her a lot of points, but there was one more thing to do before this game could be declared as won.

Eyes catching the snitch once again, Nerisei flew freely towards it, extending one hand and attempting to catch it, but to her dismay, the feathered ball slipped through her fingers, earning a frustrated growl from the witch. Trying once again, Neri extended her arm, reaching for the small object, but before she could touch it, a bludger hit her from the side, throwing her off her broom. Thankfully, the witch wasn't overly high, but the landing still hurt like a b-tch.

As the gasps touched the girl's ears, Neri knew that everyone would probably come to her aid, but the witch didn't want any help. Instead, before anyone could come close enough, the witch managed to raise her hand, showing off the bright golden snitch that was trapped between her fingers.

Nerisei had caught the snitch.

The whistle marked the end of the game, and Nerisei tried to push herself up, only to find an arm helping her up. Looking to her right, the witch spotted Joanna, who was smirking down at her. "Good job, Gerber. That was an impressive catch." She said, and after making sure Nerisei could stand on her own, she left, and went to find the captain.

The rest of the Tryouts went by in a blur, with Nerisei treating the small bruises she had received and cheering the rest of the players on. But what she couldn't wait for were the results.

An hour had passed, perhaps, before the Captain called for them. Everyone gathered around, anxious to find out who had made it into the team, and who had failed. Nerisei was nervous, her fingers tightly wounded around her broom, in an attempt to stop them from shaking. She had to be strong, no matter the outcome.

Names started being called, but Nerisei's wasn't one of them. First, it was the Keeper, then the Beaters and then the Chasers, until finally...

"Gerber?"

Everyone's eyes turned on the witch, staring, waiting to hear what the Captain would say. Nerisei's eyes found his and no matter how hard she had tried, she couldn't hide how anxious she was.
The cold face of the Captain broke into a huge grin as he pulled her into an awkward hug. "Please welcome our new Seeker, Nerisei Gerber!" Nerisei's eyes widened as she looked up at the Captain, completely oblivious to the clapping on the background. "That was very impressive, Gerber. I am surprised you hadn't tried out earlier. Now, go celebrate and make sure to rest." With a pat on the back, the Captain left Nerisei standing there, frozen. Some Ravenclaws came up to her to congratulate her, others were glaring, which was natural, but Nerisei didn't care about that.

Instead, she pushed past all the people, and started running towards the stands, where the only person that mattered was sitting.