champions }{ ludo a. bagman

[vinnie edmond kentwood]

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIEND AND WE'LL KEEP ON FIGHTING TILL THE END
NO TIME FOR LOSERS 'CAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD
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Vinnie stepped out onto the pitch in his practice jersey and slacks. He was wearing a mismatched sort of pads and carried a quaffle that looked like it had been through the worst. And by the worst I mean chucked into a tornado, carried through a tsunami, and landed through the goal after flying between Rita Skeeter's legs. This was the Ravenclaw practice quaffle and as far as any one was concerned, it belonged to Vinnie. He carried it under his arm, and held his broom out beside him, a brand new clean-sweep with the lacquer still thick on the handle except where Vinnie had already rubbed it down for better grip. The pitch was empty that evening, no other Ravenclaw players, just shining goal posts and stands filled with the imaginary cheering of thousands.

He saddled his broom and kicked up off the ground. His shirt rippled in the wind and he soared directly upward, the quaffle still secured under his arm, only his left hand holding him onto his broom. He made it look effortless. Down below anyone in the stands couldn't see the way his muscles clenched, or the way his thighs held him to the broom. They fans couldn't hear the beat of his heart like he could sense it through out his whole body. And on game day, the stands couldn't see the immense pleasure it gave him to win. He tossed the quaffle up, still waiting for Ludo Bagman to show up before he started practice. Though they were on different teams, the two friends were able to stay decent enough on the pitch to get in a few extra practices together. They had to learn early on that neither was going to give up this precious time just so they could practice alone, so they practiced together and then went for the throat whenever Hufflepuffs were against Ravenclaw.

Ludo was probably off getting interviewed due to his recent signing with a team, and with that thought Vinnie threw the quaffle up a little higher and harder. It was hard to contain his jealously, especially as Vinnie thought of himself as just as good a quidditch player as his Hufflepuff counterpart. Vinnie should be signed with a pro team too, he was the fastest chaser in England. The fact that Ludo had beaten him to this momentous achievement burned inside Vinnie like only it could in a best friend. He tried to be happy about it, and mumbled a congratulations the day he found out which was a lot more than he thought he could accomplish, but still that frustration built up. Vinnie threw the quaffle towards the goal posts and looked away as it whizzed through the hoop, staring directly at the Hufflepuff changing rooms.

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HOTTIES ALERT!
FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY-THREE WORDS
BANNER (C) TO sarah's a gleek @ caution

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[ludovic aurelius bagman]

Ludo wished he had a perfectly awesome excuse to be late, like practice with the Wasps, or an interview with some magazine. But, no, it was nothing quite so dramatic. Marlene had borrowed his practice beating set, and he had to hunt her down to get it back. She was supposed to have returned it days ago, but she never was good at being on time. Luckily, his cousin had still been at dinner when Ludo had poked into the Great Hall looking for her. A few short minutes later [or not because Gryffindor had the stupidest tower in the absolute furthest part of the castle], Ludo had his practice set back and was well on his way to meeting Vinnie. He’d like to say he learned a lesson from all this, but it was something the pair had repeated many, many times over the years. Now that he had money of his own, Ludo was purchasing her a set for Christmas. An early Christmas present.

The Hufflepuff megastar was wearing the practice jersey the Wasps had given him. It was filthy, but Ludo didn’t care. It was only going to come off part way through the practice anyway. And it’s wasn’t like Vinnie was going to get close enough to smell him. As much as some of the scarier fans around school would no doubt love to have such an image ingrained in their heads... Like Vinnie, Ludo’s gear was terribly mismatched. He hadn’t the time to sort through everything properly while getting ready. One beating glove was black leather, the other brown leather. His shin pads were similarly mismatched, one in Hufflepuff colours, or Wimbourne Wasp colours he supposed, and one was an Arrows pad. They were still his hometown team after all, and any pad in a pinch. He paused briefly in the Hufflepuff changing rooms to adjust his gear before strolling out onto the pitch, dragging his broom, bat, and bludger trunk behind him.

Naturally, Vinnie was already on the pitch, tossing a quaffle around. Ludo paused for a few seconds, shielding his eyes from the sun with one arm, to watch his best friend play. There was little doubt in Ludo’s mind that Vinnie was the fastest chaser in England. It was a moniker that Ludo often teased Vinnie about, accusing him of giving it to himself. But that was what best friends did, they ribbed each other mercilessly. Especially when they were competitive quidditch players. But in all honesty, Ludo wanted Vinnie succeed. And he hoped Vinnie would be signed to a team soon, then they could compare notes.

“Lookin’ a little slow tonight, Vin!” Ludo called out by way of greeting as he got the bludgers ready to be released. He was no spectator, so although Vinnie made it look effortless, Ludo knew just how much effort went into keeping oneself aloft, and just how hard of a sport quidditch was. Those who made it look effortless, they were the superstars of the game. But Ludo wasn’t about to give Vin a compliment, not so early into a practice anyway. “Here come the bludgers!”

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511 words

Oh my, except for the dirty jersey, they're quite the sexaaahhh pair. *fans self*

[vinnie edmond kentwood]

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIEND AND WE'LL KEEP ON FIGHTING TILL THE END
NO TIME FOR LOSERS 'CAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD
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Vinnie knocked his head back and let the laughter flow. Being the only two on the pitch had its perks, he knew for sure that Ludo could hear his howling laugh all the way down on the ground. He dove down to retrieve his quaffle, making the effort to zoom past Ludo on his way, though going around the other way would have guaranteed he got the ball before it touched the ground. Vinnie didn't do things the safe way when it came to quidditch and Ludo. He grinned as he whizzed past and scupped up the quaffle just centimeters above the blades of grass. "Your shoddy eyes just can't keep up with me!" He shouted back at Ludo before racing on down the pitch again to try his shot at the goals from even farther down the pitch.

Ludo was wearing what had appeared to be Hufflepuff's distinct black and yellow but Vinnie caught a closer glimpse as he flew past. It was the Wasps' practice jersey, as dirty and smelly as ever, but all that had meant to Vinnie was that Ludo was well on his way to being not just a member of the team but ready to play in matches, ready to soak up the cheering of fans outside of Hogwarts' walls, ready to be better than Vinnie. He clenched his throat. He didn't like feeling competitive outside of the game, not when it included his best friend. They had grown up with quidditch together, and it wasn't fair to either of them to lose sight of that in the end. This was their seventh year, their last chance to win. As far as Vinnie was concerned, seventh year would be the year that he remembered as he moved on to bigger things. Its the stepping stone, the final push up into higher ranks. The wind that whipped at his back reminded him that this pitch was the only pitch familiar to him. He'd never played anywhere else, save a few backyard pick up games over holiday. He didn't even know what it felt like.

He nodded down to Ludo as he let lose his bludgers. Vinnie hadn't been hit by one hard enough to hurt since his fourth year. He spent a week in the Hospital Wing for that. Who had hit him? Ludo Bagman. Marlene came close to seriously injuring him once, but close doesn't count in quidditch. He zig zagged out of the way and chucked the torn up, mud covered quaffle down at the goals to watch it fly through the middle ring. Flying after it, never taking out his wand because that would cheat himself out of practice, he bit his lip and finally plucked up the courage to ask. "Hey Ludo! What's it like playing on a pro pitch?" He hovered himself over the goals, keeping a eye out for bludgers the entire time. Whether Ludo gave 'em a wack or not meant nothing, they almost seemed to search for people when they were flying around.

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HOTTIES ALERT!
FIVE HUNDRED AND SIX WORDS
BANNER (C) TO sarah's a gleek @ caution

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