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: Kendall and Victoria
What: Quidditch talks
Where: A restaurant somewhere?
When: lmfao end of march I'm pretty sure... whoops
Status: Posting it now before it becomes foever old/forgotten... Finishing in comments? Omg Lettie I am so sorry I dropped the ball on this one <3<3<3

( I think it’d actually be in your best interests to learn how to dodge bludgers, actually. )

Who: Delilah vs. Victoria
What: Delilah vs. Victoria
Where: Outside Florean's
When: Today?


( Oh, Henry was going to be so angry with her if she caused a scene. )

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 )

Glenda pressed her lips together to produce a small laugh, brushing the old wizard's shoulder in front of her in a warm manner as he laughed at his joke. It was a rather amusing story about a niffler and a mackled malaclaw, but the night was starting to wear her down. Any WWN party, whether it be under the façade of a birthday bash or not, was always apart of the public relations machine. Tonight was certainly no exception, though it did give her an excuse to wander (and drink) as much as she pleased. Under that pretense, she gave a quick pat to her new acquaintance and walked off before he had a chance to contest.

There was also this aging business that she couldn't help avoid either. Turning older when she already felt ancient was a strange feeling; it felt doubly so every time another announced her general youth. Twenty-three and already so popular! Twenty-three with such a name! Twenty-three, what a bright future laid ahead! They all conveniently forgot to realize that she was still twenty-two, and really nothing of their kind words made any sense to her, but what could she do if they wanted to tell her these things? It was good that she had perfect her smiling and nodding years ago.

This party wasn't all that bad, honestly. The WWN had actually invited some of her old friends, in addition to people she was sure she had never met in her life, but that didn't bother her. It was.... nice. And a bit frightening. Well, frightening for the prospect of one person, which Glenda still wasn't sure if she was actively or passively avoiding after all these months without knowledge of whether or not he was even here... it did not matter! She was an adult. They were adults, there was no reason why---

Merlin he was here. There he was! Was she losing feeling in her legs? Feeling very much caught, Glenda stood frozen, even unable to think of going about executing a quick get away. Maybe he wouldn't see her, or felt just as awful as she had been feeling and would continue to prolong their eventual remeeting! That was a pretty awful thing to say about your best friend, wasn't it?

Dear Miss/Mr. Last name here!

I am writing to inquire as to if you would sit for an exclusive interview for an uncoming special Quidditch edition of The Quibbler. I request a prompt reply as there are deadlines to meet and time is short, especially with the Dijibouti flu going around. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Xenophilius Lovegood
Editor-in-Chief

It felt good to be the host of the party, and not the one creating a scene and making an entrance. Though Charlie would never admit it, the therapy sessions with Healer Bonaccord had...well, he still wasn't happy with everything going on in his life, but it had given him an outlet other than the bar, and that was allowing him let out the pent up stress he'd been bottling in. It was hard to figure things out by yourself, and for someone whose ego was as fragile as his, Charlie was slowly realizing that he needed a complete stranger to release his anxieties.

Of course, he wouldn't feel like he'd completely found peace until he managed to get her in the sack, but that was just a personal goal of his.

At any rate, Charlie was finding that being the host was interesting. Everyone knew you were going to be there, so there wasn't a great surprise when they saw you, but after those greetings were done they were off to see who else had shown up. It looked like a good outcome, but Charlie felt a bit slighted as it was pretty deep into the night and a certain invitee had not appeared in the crowd. With a breath he pushed the door open to the balcony and stepped out into the cool December night.

He stuck his hands into his pockets, spotting some displays of fireworks over the tops of the surrounding buildings. Charlie grinned at the early celebrations and let his shoulder sag.


ooc: guests = quidditch related people + their guest?

Odette had actually been enjoying her relatively eventless holiday season. With Noah home, and Terry and Anna getting older, she had been doing wife/motherly things that there hadn't been the time for, or she simply had no interest in doing before. Who knew that making endless batches of Christmas cookies could be so rewarding? Or cooking lavish familial breakfasts? And don't get her started on gift shopping; she was definitely sure she had gone overboard this year, and therefore their children were well on their way to becoming spoiled.

But, nonetheless, she should have realized that things had been too quiet, and when this Seth drama started to boil, Odette knew it would be a matter of time before it completely blew up. The Magpies did not like having their teammates traded, regardless of who they were, and it notoriously never went over well when it was made obvious that the trading was of the player's own doing. Practice would be fun--- and by fun, she meant not at all, because if it did by some miracle start on time, then passive aggressive anger was bound come out later through the form of a push or a remark, or something, and then it would all be downhill from there.

Of course, she knew deep down it would be hard to make any promises herself. This growing burn in her stomach was not seeming to go away anytime soon, and--- Odette sighed, stopping herself before she entered the locker room. No, that was wrong. As a leader, she should stay unbiased and logical, only using her passive aggressive anger in appropriate manners. Like letting Seth run for a bit longer while the rest of them took a water break. For good measure, she rolled her head to crack her neck before knocking the door open and walk in.

Seth wasn't here yet. Sending a look to her teammates already present, Odette dropped her bag to the ground. "Well."

Victoria would've been lying if she'd said that she hadn't thought about Ian in a more-than-friends capacity since they'd started having play dates for the girls. He was a handsome man, they got along well enough ... and most importantly, he didn't just shy away from the idea of having a daughter. It seemed so stupid in retrospect to think that Vinny had been ready for children, but he'd seemed so happy with the idea of it at the time that she hadn't thought too deeply on the matter.

What a mistake that had been. Maybe Mira was right -- she just needed to gauge whether Ian had any interest in her or not. She wasn't about to end up on the wrong end of an unrequited crush (again). Sure, things had eventually worked out with her and Vinny ... at least for a time, but that had been a long enough road. She didn't want to go down that path a second time.

She apparated to outside of Ian's place and lifted her hand to knock; it still seemed bizarre to her that the floo network actually went inside peoples' homes. It was so -- invasive. She took a deep breath and smoothed down the hem of her shirt out of habit; being this nervous around someone she already knew she was friends with was ridiculous. She was a strong, confident woman, and she had every right to move on as fast as she wanted to from Vinny. It would help her get over him, obviously.

Ian's sister had Ava until later this evening, so Victoria knew she had a little time to talk to Ian alone.

"I brought Indian."

Billie knew, before she even stepped foot into McCarthy’s Pub that she was going to receive a warm welcome from the patrons there. The interior of the place was decked out in Black and White, jersey’s and lights that formed the words ‘Montrose Magpies’ blinked and flashed on the walls, making the smirk she wore cut deeper into one cheek as she looked around, not even able to take a seat at the bar without people whispering about who she was. It didn’t take long before a couple of guys approached her, asking if she was who they thought she was. Normally she’d tell them to fuck off, because she was someone who liked her animosity, but she was in a celebratory mood – not only had they won the game, but the teammate she had gotten closer to over the last couple of weeks had given that slimy Kestrel the beat down he deserved. Overall, it was a productive day for all the Magpies.

Because she had some time to kill, she joined the group of rowdy fans, her hand wrapped around the handle of a pint glass, a brow arching up at the somewhat attractive man who kept grinning at her. She knew the look all too well - that ‘I’m going to get in your pants tonight’ look – but she just kept rolling her eyes, looking towards the door frequently to make sure Thomas hadn’t entered yet.

She had a good buzz going by the time she looked to the doorway one more time, and finally saw the teammate she most considered a friend to be standing there. Billie grinned deviously and stood up on her chair whistling loudly to get everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and Gentleman…Thomas McCormack!”

She made a broad sweeping gesture with her arm towards the door, her grin growing in size as she got the reaction she knew she was going to get – the entire bar started cheering and clapping, Billie included, and some of them even went over to the other Quidditch star to shake his hand, and tell him what a great job he did on the pitch. Hopping down from her chair, she finally approached him with there was room, two full pints in her hand, one which she would extend out to Thomas.

“How’s the arm?”

She asked, once again smiling. She figured he needed a mood booster, and being surrounded by people who praised him for his actions in the game instead of scolding him seemed as good a plan as any. She had even invited some of the other members from their team to join in on their fun, but she really couldn’t be too sure of how many were going to take her up on the offer.

Who: Victoria, Ava, Katie and Ian
What: Both of them are having problems with this 'parenting' thing. It's like a pow-wow parents' meeting.
Where: Jubilee Gardens, London
When: Noon-ish of the 30th.

( This was totally not fair. )

It had been a rough week. Last weekend a good friend of his and Victoria's, a former teammate actually from the Meteorites, had died in a broom crash with his family. Something about faulty breaks, the charms---It had been devastating, and the trip back to Moosejaw and then back to England still had him suffering from Portkey-Lag.

So when his lawyer called him in for an early morning meeting last night, Vinny was really not looking forward to it. He had no idea what it could be about, but was more than surprised to see his girlfriend waiting outside the offices.

"Hey," he leaned down to give Victoria a kiss, but was looking more than surprised at seeing her, "What are you doing here?" To have the both of them there made his insides start to twist; this couldn't be a good thing, could it? What if it was something that the papers had made up and they were questioning things?