He clenched his teeth, trying hard not to let out a groan as his shoulder sent bolts of pain throughout his body. His personal trainer's practice had been brutal today because the charmed bludgers and snitches had their velocities accelerated to triple their normal speed. Matt was sure he had never flown that fast or that hard, and after a one-two bludger punch to the cheek and shoulder sent him flying through the air and into the stands (yep, they'd hit him that hard), he'd been ushered into the medical center to recuperate.

At least he'd survived the first half hour of the frantic practice. That had to equal about three hours World Cup time, yeah?

Using his good arm to push himself up onto the examination table and let out a breath, slumping. He was more than excited about going to New York and performing on the world stage, but hell if he wasn't just as nervous. Was he the only experiencing this sort of stage fright? He couldn't be, right? Maybe the rest of the team was just better at hiding their nerves.

Or maybe he was the only one that was acting like a ickle first year.

The door to the room opened and Matt looked up with a genuine smile, "I think it's dis--"

His smile waned at the sight of the healer and he looked around, he was in the right room, right? What was he doing here?

She was a champion.

Holly wouldn't (and couldn't, since she was sure it was well-documented) deny that she had cried. Quidditch had been her life for so long, and to have this stretch of a career without a league cup to call her own, it was hard to deal with. Seasons were long and ehxausting, they took away all your time and energy, and to not win the cup meant that you'd just wasted the year. Sure, there were the fans, there was making personal records, and even the international circuit was fun, but Holly had needed this win so badly that she still got shivers when she thought about it. She'd done it, and she'd been the best.

She sighed, taking in the surroundings. Appleby Park had been transformed into a wonderful setting for the event, the spells on the stadium keeping the guests warm and the night sky bright above them. The league cup sat on its platform in the middle of the dance floor, looking like a glorious holy grail that she'd finally wrapped her hands around. Her husband was here somewhere, but she was lost in the sea of people. Teammates, competitors, agents, and the media, it was simply a night for the game she loved, and Holly couldn't remember a moment when she'd been happier with everything in her life.

As she made her way to the bar, she spotted one of her aforementioned teammates standing off and away from the rest of the guests. Holly, not one to ignore a teammate as she'd taken on the role this past season as, well, a mother-hen (but don't tell Theo), she couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in the back of her head.

"You're missing all the fun," she said, taking their elbow. When Holly finally got a good look at their face, she frowned, "What's wrong? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

WHO: Richard House and Delilah Spinnet
WHAT: Deleted scenes from a Nicholas Sparks book
WHERE: Rich's flat
WHEN: Early January 1984

( He should be angry, like she was angry at him for kissing Eight’s sister. )

Who: Ms. Spinnet and her very handsome date
What: Cuteness
Where: Londonish?
When: Last weekish?
Status: Finishing in comments.


( Aww, does that mean you won’t be snogging me senseless then? Unfortunate. )

Charlie was pretty sure he'd missed out on a wonderful career as a party planner. As he stared out at the dance floor, which he stood over on a platform where the DJ was spinning a mix of wizard and muggle music (even with some popular French songs that were actually pretty catchy if Charlie said so himself). He wasn't surprised at how many people showed up, but it still nearly startling to see how bloody happy everyone was to be there! Sure, some looked ridiculous with the fake mustaches that were passed out (not required, obviously), but a lot had actually grown out their beards and it was----cool, they tried, they wanted to be there and they wanted to have a good time. Charlie wanted to have a good time.

The Kestrels were not top of the pack, and while he believed in his team completely, the stress of the numbers had been getting to them. A night like this was necessary, and maybe it could rejuvenate the team that had lost some valuable members this season and had done a bit of shifting around. They were still trying to get themselves into place, and it needed to happen faster than it was.

Plus, Axe had been pissy all week that no one had acknowledged the anniversary of his birth.

Charlie grabbed the mic from the DJ and grinned, enjoying colorful scene laid out in front of him. funkybuddha club had been a perfect choice for the night, "Don't everyone tire themselves out! There's still a lot more festivites to look forward to!"

( enter funkybuddha club )