Quidditch Workshop for Anyca Corynn:

How it Started

1. How did they get interested in Quidditch? If they are from a Wizarding family, did they play the game growing up? If a Muggleborn, how did they gain an interest in the game?

Anyca, having several Wizarding family members, grew up playing Quidditch and even more avidly watching pro Quidditch matches with her father and grandfather.


2. How long have they been on the house team?

After a failing attempt to join the team in her first year, Anyca got on as a reserve in her second year at Hogwarts and has been playing ever since.


3. Do they have aspirations of going professional?

Professional Quidditch is Anyca's only job aspiration and she has been training and practicing since she was 10 years old.


4. Have they ever been close to losing their position on the team?

In her third year, when she finally made the main team, Anyca's grades slipped quite a bit which threatened her position on the team. She brought them up quickly after realizing that she could potentially be kicked.

Basic Knowledge

1. What kind of broom does your character own?

Anyca's father recently purchased for her a Nimbus 1700. Although it cost him more than he would have liked, his daughter would have traded all her birthday and Christmas present for the year for that single item.


2. What position do they play? (or, would they want to play if they aren't on a team) Does this position fit well with their personality or does it seem an improper fit for them?

Anyca plays a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The position is all movement and dodging, aim and reflex so I would say it matches her active athletic personality well.


3. What is their favorite Professional Quidditch Team?

Anyca and her family are LONG time die hard fans of the Montrose Magpies.


4. Who is their favorite professional player?

Favorite player of all time is Hamish MacFarlan, former captain of the Montrose Magpies.

Their Teammates

1. List their teammates and, to the best of your knowledge, describe their relationship to each.

Cass MacArthur (Seeker) - Although they haven't spent a lot of time talking in the past, there are striking similarities in their dislike of being alone and their social nature. Anyca does spend a few minutes chatting with her teammates after every match, but has spent strangely little time socializing with them outside of the Quidditch pitch and Cass is one of those who she will likely befriend if not on that basis alone.

Alex Kollman (Chaser) - Despite the fact that he is both younger and male, Anyca and Alex get along swimmingly. Both have a tendency to be pranksters and the easy-going, smart-mouthed conversation with boys has always been easier for Anyca. She considers him a good friend.

Barty Crouch (Keeper) - Barty is a test in Anyca's patience with people, but she can't help but consider him a personal challenge as well. His disdain for conversation and seemingly chosen aloneness are completely shocking to her and she makes an effort to get him into conversation as often as possible. Her efforts usually fall flat in the face of his indifference, but she is stubborn if nothing else.

(All descriptions of character relationships above are based on the assumption that Anyca has been at Hogwarts too long to have not met these students already and my synopsis of their interaction with her are based on the individual character biographies that I read the personality portion of.)


2. How do they feel about their team captain? Do they respect them? Feel that the person is the best choice?

Whether or not Anyca secretly believes that she would be the best captain for her Quidditch team, she is nonetheless fully supportive of whoever is filling the appointed position. Her leadership inclination can sometimes clash with the authority of the true team captain, but she is friendly and even charming enough to smile the rough edges away. She knows that eventually she will have the position and is patient enough to wait it out.

Chasers

1. Do they enjoy being a Chaser? What do they most struggle with in that position? What are they best at? How well do they work with the other two Chasers?

Anyca has played both a Beater and a Chaser in her years of playing quiddich and she prefers playing Chaser by far. It is a position that requires teamwork, communication, and a balance between speed and control. Anyca has always enjoyed the thrill of scoring and has learned to recover quickly if hit by another player or a ball. She works well with her teammates, the other two Chasers in particular.

The most difficult part of this position for Anyca is the inclination toward player on player brutality when faced with a quick decision or an interception. She has been known to play quite rough.

Rivals

1. Find at least one player on another house team with whom they have a rivalry. Who is it? Why do they have this rivalry? How is this rivalry played out in a match?

As with most tomboys her age, Anyca doesn't know how to manage a crush. It confuses her for the most part and is the first thing in her life that has made her think twice about herself. Not for long, but her appearance has crossed her mind at least a couple times when crossing the pitch to face off against Slytherin when she knows their tall, dark, quiet captain is going to be strolling out from the opposite end.

And again as with most tomboys her age, this mortifying attraction to an enemy houses team captain comes across as a rivalry. The evidence of it can be seen in the edgy brutality used when in a match against him, although she tries incredibly hard to ignore him altogether.


2. Who is their rival on their team? How did this rivalry get started? Is it mostly a friendly rivalry or is there more to it?

There is a small friendly sense of competition between Anyca and Alex Kollman only because their like personalities allow for it. Points are recounted at end game and playful insult may be thrown, but at the end of the day its all fun and games and Anyca truly knows the quality of Alex's skill in the game.

Their Gear

1. Do they own the broom they most covet, or is there another broom they want?

Although grateful for the broom her father so generously invested in, Anyca truly desires a custom broom made by the Avenger Broom Company. She hasn't had the heart to ask her father after his recent gift, so it may yet be a while before she gets her wish.


2. How do they take care of the broom they have?

Anyca's broom is more carefully cared for after a match than she is herself. From her very first broom to her most recent acquisition Anyca has always cleaned and polished the wood to a smooth well-oiled shine and kept the thatching fresh and in good condition. The time spent caring for her broom is the only time that Anyca likes to be alone.


3. What kind of gauntlets do they have? Are their some that they want more?

Anyca's quiddich gear is the best that can be bought short of custom equipment. Her gauntlets are a particular point of pride because though they are now two years old, they are in good condition. At this point she rather considers them lucky and would lament getting new ones.


4. How well do they take care of their uniform? Their protective gear? Their broom?

As listed above, Anyca's gear comes first after a match and is stored in a chest for safe-keeping while it's not being used. She is careful of her broom in particular.


5. Do they have their own practice Quaffle, Bludgers, and/or Snitch?

When the field is clear and other students are having lunch or spending time in Hogsmeade, Anyca can sometimes be found practicing with all three of the balls in all three positions with close friends. There is not a position of quiddich that she doesn't understand, although there are some that she is far better at than others.

Their Rituals

1. Do they have any pre-game rituals?

Anyca refuses to eat anything up to six hours before a match, although not neurotic about it, she is insistent that it lightens her movements. She also spends a good half hour checking her gear, getting dressed, and polishing her broom before each match.


2. What sort of things to they do after they (block a shot, make a goal, catch a snitch, hit a bludger)?

If it's an end-game goal or a particularly amazing shot she will cheer and will always call out a compliment to a teammate who has met with success, but most of the time she will feel the rush of joy and exhilaration with a big smile while racing back into play.


3. What do they do at the end of a match if they win? If they lose?

If a match ends well Anyca makes as much, if not more, noise than the rest of the supporting crowd and celebrates with friends as soon as her gear as been checked. If they lose, she spends a few minutes in the locker room trying to buoy the team and takes an extra long time caring for her broom. It's a quiet, methodic two hours in the locker room or in her dorm room usually before she emerges.


4. Do they have any superstitions? Lucky charms? Taboos? Have their tarot read before a match? Check the crystal ball? Or do they think that's all utter nonsense?

If one were to ask Anyca about such things she would say she didn't believe in any of it, but somewhere deep down she believes that replacing her gear would bring bad luck. Anyca also wears a small unpolished silver pendant on a chain around her neck during each match. It was her grandfathers and the image on the surface has been so worn with rubbing down that it is no longer identifiable, although at one point it was a magpie.

Injuries

1. What's the worst injury they've sustained?

Anyca has managed to receive a myriad of injuries over the years playing quiddich, both at school and at home. She has broken both arms once, her right arm twice. Has broken her collar bone, had a shoulder dislocated, and received innumerable cuts and scrapes that might have otherwise required stitches. More than anything she has sprained wrists, elbows, and ankles repeatedly from close calls, bludgers, and other player encounters but the worst injury she has ever sustained remains the large cut she got up one side of her face when loss of broom control by another play led to a collision and then a plummet to the ground. The students would have suffered much worse had a teacher not been there to catch them.


2. How do they feel about the Hospital Wing?

The hospital wing for Anyca represents a whole new level of torture that is worse than the injury itself, whatever it may be. Inactivity, long periods spent alone, and boredom are just a few of the reasons why she hates it so miserably.


3. Are they easily injured or do they fight through the pain to keep on playing?

Unless the injury is one that a teacher can see, Anyca wont mention it until after the match. She has played through, or at least tried until she was pulled out, every injury that left her conscious on the field.