A/N: And now into my favorite section of this Adventure! Whoot! Please Read and Review-Thanks! (oh, and this is the last update for today..sorry *cackles*)
Disclaimer: See previous chapter(s).
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Part 5: Quidditch
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They had been at Hogwarts for several months.
The Clan had fallen into a routine; they would wake up, turn into their Anthro-forms, and head down for breakfast in the great hall. Then they would rotate out through different classes throughout the day; they usually stayed in a group, though they would occasionally wander off from time to time. They had visited and explored every corner of the castle; such explorations usually took place in the hours after the last lesson of the day and before dinner. After dinner, they hung out with the teachers, who caught Loki (and therefor them) up on everything that had been going on in the past few centuries-information they couldn't have gotten from the books. Then they would take a few hours to set up pranks on individuals or groups the next day; after that, they would retire to their tower and Loki would tell them about his personal adventures in this Dimension. They would sleep, wake up, and start again.
There was certainly no shortage of possible pranks, and Slytherin quickly got the brunt of such jokes, though to be fair they still played a number on students of other houses. Echosong enjoyed the wacky nature of their stay, since it reminded her of her and Shadowflame's adventures with the Doctor. The blue-gray she-cat was currently in her anthro form, and crouched with Shadowflame at the end of a hall; together, they had been using their combined ability to manipulate Time and Space over short distances to keep a group of Hufflepuffs going in circles. They had technically been inside the loop for several hours, though only a few minutes had passed on the outside. The reason this group of students were the brunt of this...somewhat cruel...joke was because, despite their reputation as Hufflepuffs, they had been picking on a tight-knit group of younger students-and had been saying some really rude things about Loki and the cats in general. The siblings devised their time-trap for the bullies not long after. Echosong felt a vibration in the strand of Time she was manipulating, and suddenly Loki was crouched next to them, in his wizards robes and in anthro form. "What's going on here?" The two she-cat's quickly explained, and Loki's bright green eyes hardened slightly as he looked at the group of students. Finally, he sighed and said, "Well, let's just leave them to it, yes? The others would like to try Quidditch."
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It was a stormy day outside, and Shadowflame noticed most students were inside, or huddled in groups on the stone benches. Loki led Shadowflame and Echosong onto the Quidditch field, where the rest of the Clan had gathered-a few Hogwarts students had trickled in and sat scattered through the stands. Shadowflame ducked her head at their interested stares, her deaf ear flicking slightly as it automatically tried to pick up sounds. Once the Clan was gathered, Loki cleared his throat. "Since Quidditch is a game between two teams, and each team only has 7 players, 7 of you will not be playing...technically. I'll be on the sidelines making keeping an eye on things and commenting." as the Trickster said this, he indicated the pile of equipment-14 sleek Nimbus 2001 brooms, and a old carved chest that was propped open to show the red, oddly shaped Quaffle, the two brown-black bludgers, and the trapped Golden Snitch. At his gesture, however, the Quaffle turned rich green, the bludgers solid black, and the Snitch into delicate silver. All in all, the now green Quaffle would be harder to see while falling next to the green of the lawn, the now-black bludgers all but invisible next to the heavy storm clouds, and the silver Snitch would be little more than a wink and a flash in the corner of the Clans eyes. Shadowflame nodded her head in appreciation; she had heard from Luna Lovegood the rules of Quidditch, and these new balls would work better with the Clan and their enhanced senses, coupled with the warriors' special abilities. Loki continued, a gleeful grin on his face. "Duskstar and Fawnstep will be team captains, and the Keepers. Sunpool and Swift-Eyes will be on the sides, in case anybody gets hurt. The Seekers will be Feather and Raven. Captains, choose the rest of your Teams please." Duskstar nodded, eyes glinting. "I get Feather. For Chasers...Dovefeather, Hawkclaw and Rageheart. For Beaters...Owlwings and Larkwhisper." Fawnstep grinned, flashing fangs. "Then I have Raven for my Seeker. Chasers will be Bladeclaw, Ripplestone and Echosong. Shadowflame and Sparrow for Beaters." Loki glanced around. "That leaves Storm, Minty, Shadow, Lilyfire and Crow...as Hunters. I didn't want to leave anybody out, so the Hunters will be free-runners, helping or hindering individuals or your Teams as they see fit. They will also be on broomsticks..." the Trickster gestured, dropping the slight glamour that had made 21 brooms appear as 14. The reveal made the entire Clan flash fanged smiles, tails twitching back and forth in excitement. "Usual Quidditch point system applies: 10 points whenever the Quaffle makes it through a hoop; 150 for the capture of the Snitch. Team colors are green and gold, dark blue and silver..." as he said this, Loki gestured again and transmutated the Clan's basic robes into the traditional Quidditch uniform-Duskstar's team had the green with gold trim and black leathers, while Fawnstep's had the dark blue with silver trim and brown leathers. Duskstar considered a moment, then decided "We'll be the Serpents." Fawnstep nodded. "And we'll be the Wolves."
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The Serpents had taken the left side of the field, and the Wolves the right. The Hunters were circling above the others. Duskstar and Fawnstep were at the hoops, Raven and Feather circled just under the Hunters (who where in black robes with red trim and gray leathers), Rageheart and the other Chasers were facing each other at the center of the field, and the Beaters were grinning at each other from their positions just above and behind the Chasers. Loki flew straight up, not bothering with a broom, and hovered in the middle of the field, robes billowing around him in a slow, water-like movement. The Trickster flicked his wand, and the Quaffle shot straight up as the bludgers were released and the Silver Snitch vanished. "Begin!" Instantly, Rageheart put on a burst of speed-but not fast enough to beat Bladeclaw's supernatural speed. The transformed she-cat tucked the green Quaffle to her side and shot towards the left-hand hoops with Ripplestone acting as body-guard. Rageheart turned, and shot after them. "Dovefeather, jump!"
Instantly, the she-cat leaped from her broom, her Mark-enhanced strength ensuring she reached Bladeclaw's, which twisted so that the two she-cat's were upside down. Ripplestone darted in to knock off Dovefeather, who slid neatly back onto her broom as Hawkclaw darted her extra long and strong claws in and shoved the Quaffle out of Bladeclaw's grip, sending it flying towards Rageheart who caught it and flew towards the Wolves' hoops. Bladeclaw snarled, and made to follow-but was blocked by Storm, who flew in front of the affronted she-cat. The warrior would never risk harming the kitten, and she swerved to avoid Storm, allowing Rageheart to make it to the hoops. He raised up slightly and shot the Quaffle with all his strength-but Fawnstep's quick reflexes kept it from going through. The deputy grinned at him, tossing the Quaffle to Echosong, who appeared out of nowhere. "Nice shot!"
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Dovefeather felt her silvery hair flying behind her, rich green and gold robes flowing as she twisted and turned and ducked, often acting to snatch the Quaffle from Bladeclaw, Ripplestone and Echosong. The normally reserved she-cat was exhilarated, and firmly decided to ask Loki to bring them back to this Dimension on a regular basis just so that they could play this game. An odd, warbling sound made her right ear twitch, and she rolled in mid-air to dodge the bludger sent by Sparrow at her head. The transformed she-cat snarled at the laughing apprentice; but it was a happy sound that Sparrow grinned at before turning and using her pitch-black club to send a second bludger, from the Serpents Beater, Owlwings. The transformed silver gray she-cat was distracted by Rageheart once again attempting to send the Quaffle through Fawnstep's hoops-the deputy's warrior reflexes meant that she should have stopped it again, but this time Lilyfire dive-bombed the white-and-brown she-cat, allowing the Quaffle to soar through the middle hoop. A ding sounded, and Loki's amplified voice rang through the stadium. "Score for the Serpents! We stand 10-0, and the Snitch is nowhere to be seen."
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Crow circled above the field, the red-trimmed black Quidditch robes that Loki had created for the Hunters flapping in the fierce wind that had kicked up. His pale green eyes roamed the field, watching as the other Hunters helped or hindered as Bladeclaw used her Mark-enhanced speed to snatch the Quaffle once more from Rageheart; before Dovefeather could use their new technique to gain it back, Echosong shot forward, the air rippling around her as she caused time to slow down in a small spot, making the three Serpent Chasers shift into slow-motion. Bladeclaw waved at Echosong, who grinned, and shot towards Duskstar. The transformed leader watched with a grin, ears twitching back and forth as she neatly ducked and swerved around the bludgers both Shadowflame and Sparrow were desperately aiming at her, trying to give their Chaser a chance. With a fierce grin, Crow went into a steep dive, his robes lifting slightly to show the light tabby markings on his skin. As he picked up speed, a faint whistling was heard...
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TBC