Just a Face in the Crowd | Yadiel

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It had been a few days since Angie had met the Perfect Stranger in a diner in Diagon Alley. She and her daughter had gone to lunch and found themselves seated next to a few sweet pair, a single father and his pre-teen daughter. The 2 pairs had spent their whole meal chatting across their side by side tables and Angie had found out that the father was a professional Quidditch player who insisted that she and Olive attend his next game. Angie accepted gratefully and woke the toddler up early on that Saturday Morning to get the two of them to the pitch before the game started.

Angie, carrying half asleep Olive on her hip, arrived at the pitch with a good 30 minutes before the match was set to begin. She found the seats based on the tickets that she got from the witch in the booth. Her name was on the list, which made the blonde feel rather important. She sat down in the box they had been sat in and looked around her, she was surrounded by who she assumed were friends and family of the Falmouth Falcons since they were all wearing jerseys and children were running around happily. Olive, the half asleep 4 year old took in their surroundings as well as her sleepy brain could manage. It was a sight indeed and Angie was so glad that she had accepted the invitation.

@yadi

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Yadi and Lucia had arrived early to the pitch so that he could gather together with the team and participate in pre-game rituals along with getting a little bit of strategy planning going before they were actually in the game. He had been looking forward to this game because he had a really good feeling about it. They'd been practicing two new plays for weeks and tonight they were going to be utilizing them when they could. It would give them an advantage. He'd worked with his other chasers and two of the beaters to come up with the plays; they were the Falcons' own creation. Lucia had been waiting patiently as he prepared with the team and had gotten excited right along with them as the time grew closer and closer for the game to start. She wasn't just excited for the game though, he knew. She kept asking if he knew if Angie and Olive had shown up yet. Angie and Olive had been the kind mother and daughter they had met a few days ago at a diner in Diagon Alley. They'd been really kind to him and Lucia; Olive was an adorable 4 year old whom Lucia had quickly formed a bond with in the restaurant and Angie, her mother, had been good company. He'd found out from her that her brother and father had been Falcons' fans and coupled with the fact that Olive hadn't been to a quidditch game yet, he'd decided to invite them to this one. He hadn't known if they'd shown yet or if they would show up at all. He could check; a trip to the ticket stand would let him know if they had checked in or not, but he didn't feel it was necessary. When it was fifteen minutes before start time, he sent Lucia up to the team's box to take her seat and he began his mental prep for the game.

Lucia headed up to the box to take her seat only to see that Ms. Angie and Olive had come to the game. Olive looked a little bit tired so she didn't want to frighten her with her excitement. Instead she approached the two of them, a smile on her face. "Hullo Ms. Angie and Olive," she smiled and waved.

Tag; @angie

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Angie hadn't been to a Quidditch game since before she got pregnant. Her mother would take her and her younger sister to the harpies games over summer holidays from school. And her father would take her brother to Falcons games. Her two younger siblings still went sometimes, but she hadn't gone. She didn't want to have to find childcare for her little one for the day when she much rather would be spending time with Olive. She had never thought of taking Olive. Games were loud and rowdy and she knew the little girl was too much of a princess to appreciate them when she was younger, but Angie was really hoping that since her toddler would be 5 next month that she would be able to handle the match today. Especially if Lucia was able to come like she wanted to. Olive would see the way that the older child behaved and would try to mimic her behavior, wanting to be grown-up like her. 

She heard the voice of the young lady approaching her and was very glad to hear it. "Well hello sweetie." Angie smiled. Greeting all children as 'sweetie' and 'honey' was a thing that she, as a mother got away with most of the time, she normally did it when she forgot the names of the children. She remembered Lucia, of course, and so did Olive, because the young girl hadn't stopped talking about her and Beauxbatons and faeries since the lunch. "Do we get to sit with you?" Angie asked, hoping that answer was yes, she was interested to get to know the girl better. "Hi Lucia." Olive greeted too, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, beginning to get excited to see her idol again. "Is your daddy going to fly?" she asked. 

@yadi

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Yadi was seated and waiting for the countdown to end. He'd been playing so long that he didn't really get pre-game jitters. It was more so that he said little prayers. A prayer that none of his team members got hurt. A prayer that he was able to showcase his best. A prayer that Dustin found the seeker. A hope that Lucia would be watching closely and that she would be proud of him. He held his eyes closed and took deep steady breaths after each one formed in his mind's eye. By the time the last one passed, the clock had wound down and it was almost time for their coordinated team entrance. With a quick breath, he stood and looked over his teammates, each pair of eyes looking back at him waiting for a word of encouragement or something. He didn't think he really got better at the whole pep talk thing over the years since he'd been captain but they seemed to eat his words up so he continued to give them something. "Business as usual. You've been doing good in practices with the new plays, it's time for the execution. I know you've got it in you, I've seen it with my own eyes. Do it like you've done in practice and the Harpies won't know what hit them." A few of them grinned or smirked, some nodded in understanding. Either way, his team was ready. He motioned towards their entrance and everyone lined up to wait on their cue.

Lucia grinned as Ms. Angie and Olive greeted her. She was really glad that they came! Olive would be able to see her papa in action. She really hoped they won the game too. "Yes ma'am," she answered in reply to Ms. Angie's question, "But when I come I don't really sit down much. I like being here so I can see everything better." Just before she went to answered Olive's question about her papa, an announcer spoke around the arena to introduce the Holyhead Harpies. "Oh oh! It's starting! Look Olive!" The Harpies flew out in a motioned that dazzled the fans. She loved the sounds of the crowds and grinned as noise in the arena grew with the people cheering.

Tag; @angie

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The idea of Quidditch fascinated Angie, it was more the actual gameplay that she hadn’t liked as a younger girl. She didn’t like sitting outside with the screaming fans all around her. She didn’t like getting rained on. And, she mostly didn’t like what it would do to her image at the time. In school, she was a party girl. A cool girl. She wouldn’t dare be seen at a Quidditch match with her mother beside her making a fool out of the both of them. But, big games, like the World Cup, were social events as much as they were matches. Everyone went and Angie loved going to those matches. Though admittedly, she spent much more time browsing the merchant stalls and gossiping with friends from school than she spent actually watching the match.

Lucia told her she didn’t like to sit for matches that way she could see easier and Angie nodded. She set the toddler down on the floor. Olive was getting excited and waking up now especially since the teen girl had joined them. Olive went over and stood with Lucia to watch when the announcer began speaking. It was loud, just as Angie had remembered it. But it was a lot more pleasant without having to look over her shoulder constantly or scan the crowd for familiar faces that might notice her. The Harpies came out of their stands and flew around the field.

“Wow.” Olive said with her jaw hung open. Angie went and stood next to the two girls, watching the field below them. Once the Harpies had been introduced they introduced the Falcons who flew out of their stands and did laps around the pitch too while they were being introduced. “What number is your dad?” Angie asked, scanning the players. Since he was the captain, she figured he would have come out first, but it was hard for her to tell.

@yadi

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Yadi watched from position as the Harpies flew out onto the pitch, swerving around and around taking up most of the arena. He smirked and shook his head at the theatrics of it all; even if he enjoyed it he could still admit that it could be too much sometimes. He whistled to his teammates and they all mounted their brooms and just as the announcer said their team name, he took off with his players close behind in an arrow. The Harpies were kind enough to stay back as they made their entrance, his team flying swift around the edges of the pitch and even flying over the crowd just a bit for fun. The crowd was going wild, this was going to be a game to remember, he could feel it in his very core.

Lucia cheered along with the crowd just as her papa's team flew out into the pitch and she turned towards Olive, who had a very surprised look on her face. She would definitely call that a success. She knew Olive was going to like Quidditch just as much as she did. Ms. Angie turned to ask her what number her papa was and she turned back to the crowd, her eyes narrowing just a bit to try and see better into the throng of players that were on the pitch. Her papa's team had reached the end of their entrance performance, sweeping upwards in the middle the pitch. Just before they dispersed she pointed to him. He was the one who was in the very middle of it all. "There he is! He's number four !" she pointed in an excited fashion, a grin on her face. The game was just about to begin, she couldn't see the referee but she knew they were down in the middle on the fields, getting ready to release the balls to begin gameplay. Lucia turned towards Ms. Angie once again. "Okay Ms. Angie. I know you said that you liked the Harpies but can you root for my papa too? This is a big game! she asked hopefully?

Tag; @angie

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Number four, Lucia pointed out to them. Angie located the number and sure enough she recognized his longer hair and it made her smile a bit. This was fun, she had to admit, the game hadn't even started yet and she was already having a better time than she had expected to have. And Olive was taking it all in more than she thought that the girl would. Angie thought Olive would be overwhelmed and that the noise would upset her. She was quite the princess and Angie knew that was her own fault. She had spoiled the little girl. But, Olive could see that this was something that older kids and grown ups enjoyed and it made her want to like it so she was letting herself fall completely in awe with the whole thing. That didn't stop Angie from worrying about her hearing, however. She was a mother, it was her job to worry.

Lucia then asked her another question and the fact that she was asking made her heart swell. Lucia was such a sweet girl, and such a good influence on Olive, Angie couldn't help but think so. "You have my word. I'm officially converted." she promised. It was only fair. The Falcon captain had gifted her the tickets so it wasn't too much to ask that she root for them. "I'm glad that your mum didn't mind you coming with us this weekend." Angie said to her. The woman admitting, was very curious about their whole situation. But maybe it truly was as simple as it sounded. They were divorced and co-parenting their lovely daughter. What happened to cause the divorce was a curiosity of hers, but one that she didn't really expect Lucia to have the answer to that. Parents normally didn't share the nitty-gritty details with their children. 

@yadi

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Lucia's eyes lit up with excitement at Ms. Angie's assurance that she would be cheering for her papa. Turning back to the game, she watched as her father and the rest of his team took their positions, the referee below calling out a few rules as they normally did at the beginning of the game. "I am too! But I'm also glad you and Olive were able to come!" she admitted happily. Gripping the railing, she watched in anticipation and suddenly the balls were released, signifying the beginning of the game. The players dispersed, the crowds went wild once again, and she began cheering loudly for the Falcons. She looked back and forth between the game and Olive, just to make sure that she was having fun too, because that's what it was about after all! This was Olive's first game so she wanted her to have just as much fun as she did.

~~

Yadi flew fast on his broom, speeding his way down the field following the Harpies player who controlled the quaffle. He didn't want to take his eye off the player but a quick look to his left and he noticed that one of their beaters had hit a bludger in his direction and the object was right on course to collide directly with him. He had to think quickly, he needed the best way to stay on course with the player without getting hit. Gaining a bit of speed, he flew up directly to the right of the player. Her shock was a momentary event but she quickly focused on her task of getting down to the goals. The bludger did what he expected it to do and clipped the end of her broom, knocking her slightly off course. She hadn't been paying attention and the quaffle slipped from her grasp. It took him only seconds to snatch the ball from its freefall. He made short work of a hard turn around and his other two chasers flanked him for cover. His beaters were great so they provided the best cover they could for the three of them. The distance to the goals fell away quickly and when he was faced with the Harpies keeper, he smirked, letting the ball go before whipping his broom hard to the left and hitting the ball towards the lowest of the three. She misjudged and instead of knocking it way, she tipped the quaffle further into the goal, giving them the points. And just as he went to fly away, the announcer yelled out the end of the game. Dustin had caught the snitch.

Lucia was cheering so loud she was sure others could hear her over the rest of the crowd. "They won Ms. Angie and Olive! Oh my gosh the won!" she cheered as she jumped up and down happily. It had been a tough game, with both teams fighting over the lead each time one of them had the ball. The game had been close but Dustin had pulled it out for them in the end. She couldn't wait to congratulate everyone.

Tag; @angie

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Angie, who had never really been into Quidditch before spent the whole game on her feet, eagerly watching the field. Olive alternated between standing and behind held by her mother. The 4 year old asked a lot of questions and was beginning to get a little stir crazy by the end of the match. She wanted to run around, but Angie had tried to keep her fairly close, letting her roam close by. For the most part, however, Angie knew that Olive took this day as a learning experience. She was mimicking the actions of the older girl. She would cheer whenever Lucia cheered and she would always ask Lucia who she was watching to make sure she never missed a bit of action when she was interested in the action.

The match had been drawing to a close before their very eyes and Angie had no clue that it was ending until it had ended. Until the Seeker for the Falcons caught the snitch. Angie had watched intently as Yadiel manipulated the course of the bludger to hit the other team's chasers broom rather than his own. And when the Harpie chaser fumbled the quaffle, Yadiel rushed to catch it, doing so and managing to score just as the seeker had caught the snitch, the points were totalled up and the obviously, the Falcons had won! The crowd went wild cheering for the team, including Lucia, who was likely more excited than anyone else! Angie smiled seeing her so happy, and Olive followed in her lead and jumped up and down with glee! “Yeah! They did!” Angie agreed. “We won, we won, we won.” Olive chanted happily and Angie wondered if all the yelling that had been done today would cause additional strain on her voice. “It was such a great game!” Angie added, in awe. What would 17 year old Angie James think if she saw herself now? Angie didn’t care. She had changed and this was who she was now, the mum in the stands with her child and her friends child. She couldn’t believe that she knew someone on a winning Quidditch team, it was very exciting! “Should we go down to the pitch?” Angie asked Lucia when people began to disperse from the box. She wasn’t entirely sure if they should wait here or go down and wait for her father near his locker room.

@yadi

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Lucia was really happy when they both joined in on her excitement at her father's team's win. It wasn't soon after the teams flew back to their respective locker rooms that the crowd slowly but surely began to file out of the stadium. Ms. Angie then asked if they should go down to the pitch to wait on him and she wasn't quite sure. "Well, Papa usually has me wait up here because some of the other players' families stick around to watch after me because they know me but I think because you're here it should be fine for us to walk down because I'll be with you and papa knows you." She didn't think Ms. Angie qualified as a stranger so she technically wouldn't be walking off with one right? It seemed logical to her. "But I'm not really sure how to get to the pitch from here," her words trailed off a bit because the pitch was a bit stadium that sat a ton of people.

Yadi showered and changed quickly, making sure his hair and clothing were proper and in order before he congratulated the team on a job well done and bade them farewell. He wanted to get back to Lucia to see what she thought of the game. He had to admit he was also curious to know if Angie and Olive had shown up to. He hadn't had the time before the game to check the box office to see if the tickets had been picked up or not. He figured they would have been with Lucia though; gravitating towards a familiar face. He started at a job up the multitude of stairs that led to the player boxes and once he made it to the top, he noticed Lucia talking with the two of them. Good. He hoped they enjoyed the game too. He approached them casually, pulling Lucia in his chest and giving her a quick hug before greeting his guests. "Hello Ms. Angie and Olive. Did you all enjoy the game? I'm sure you enjoyed the game love. You look a bit flushed. I think I even heard your screams over the rest of the crowd," he chuckled playfully at his daughter before looking back at them to gauge their reactions to the game. She'd found out he was a professional player when they first met but anyone could say they were one. He wanted to know what she thought of his playing. "Omg you were so great! The game was so awesome! Dustin was so cool when he caught the snitch!" He could see her excitement starting back up all over again.

Tag; @angie

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Lucia explained that she normally waited in the box because there were people here that could look after her. That made sense, Angie thought to herself. She had assumed that they would meet her father below, but of course he wouldn’t want his daughter wandering around such a big place on her own. Angie always let Olive wander around when she wanted to, to an extent, of course. She allowed her daughter to roam around a shop or area of a park without her mother having to be by her side, it was easier and encouraged curiosity and exploration. But, a stadium this large, Angie never would let her child roam around alone. There were hundreds of people around, if not more, and they were almost all strangers. “Oh… Uh… I don’t know how to get down either…” the blonde turned her head towards the entrance to the box and saw Yadiel entering. She smirked, problem solved. “Oh look, he’s already found us.” Angie pointed him out as he walked over.

He thanked them for coming and hoped that they had enjoyed the game, before Angie could say anything, her daughter, who’s head was just taller than Yadiel’s knees began to exclaim, “you flied so fast. I couldn’t see you sometimes because you went whoosh!” Olive found herself out of breath with how fast she was speaking, and she did a hand motion of her hand zooming past her head to indicate just how he had ‘whoosh’-ed. Angie laughed a little at her daughter's enthusiasm, but had to agree. “The game was brilliant!” and Lucia agreed also, insisting that it was cool how Dustin had caught the snitch. “Do you have somewhere to be anytime soon?” Angie asked, “Because I was thinking, since you’ve been so kind of Olive and I, we could treat the two of you to celebratory… I don’t know… ice cream maybe?” she offered, not wanting to put them in a situation where they had to say yes, but really hoping that they would. “Ice cream?!” Olive’s face lit up even more, if that was even possible.

@yadi

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Amusement filled Yadi's eyes and spread to his face as he was greeted by the excited sounds of both his daughter's and Olive's voices. They both expressed their enjoyment of the game in fashions he expected; Olive's undeniably adorable gestures reguarding how fast he was flying made a rare grin appear on his face. Angie added in that she thought the game was brilliant. "Thank you all for the compliments. I'm sure the team will be glad to know that they have new fans," his words were meant as a question but it came off a bit more knowingly than that. The reason that he'd invited her to this game in particular, besides the fact that it had been soon, was because she had mentioned she was a Harpies fan. Both her and Olive looked as if they enjoyed the game and he was glad that he invited them. Angie spoke then, inviting the both of them out for ice cream and as soon as the word left her mouth, just as Olive exclaimed, Lucia turned to him. She didn't say anything at all but the look on her face was just begging him to say yes. He smiled down at Lucia before he turned back to Ms. Angie. "No plans at all. We'd love to come along,". Even before he could get the words out of his mouth, Lucia whispered a 'yes!' in triumph and he chuckled. "Did you have somewhere in mind,?" Wherever they went, he hoped that he could get a nice cup of tea from the place. It was an after game ritual of his; it helped calm the in-game adrenaline and helped him think about what they needed to work on. He didn't think he'd have much time to do the latter now with guests and it was better for him to focus on his time with his daughter anyway.

Tag; @angie

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The chaser seemed pleased that he had converted two new fans. Angie was glad also, she had never seen herself as someone who would like Quidditch or any sports in general, but here she was, having thoroughly enjoyed the game that she had watched. And seeing her daughter so excited meant that she would likely be investing in season tickets, Angie could picture Olive as a Quidditch player when she got to school. Especially with her interest in flying. Maybe along with the toy broom that she would be getting in May for her birthday, Angie would also get Olive a toy Quidditch set and a jersey of some short so she could fly around their balcony (which Angie had magically expanded into a decent sized yard) chasing a slow, easy to find snitch wearing a Falcons jersey. How very cute. “You certainly can tell them that they have two new fans. My father and brother will be pleased.” Angie smirked, knowing her mother was now the only non-Falmouth Falcons fan in the family. After the man and his daughter exchanged a look, Yadiel admitted that they didn’t have any plans and would love to join them for ice cream, or something of the sorts. Angie, who wasn’t a fan of ice cream, but had a suspicion that Lucia would be just like Olive and would love the sugary treat, had exactly the place in mind. “There’s a little place in London that’s actually an ice cream cafe that I take Olive to sometimes, I’m not really the biggest fan of ice cream so normally Olive gets a cone and I get a coffee. Does that sound alright?” she asked.

@yadi

[Deleted]

At the mention of her brother and her father, Yadi mirrored the smirk she gave and nodded. It really was a shame that the both of them couldn't come along to the game. He assumed she would have something the brag about to them since she had gotten to attend it and it had been a good game. Speaking of, he had to make sure he grabbed those things he was supposed to be giving to her for her father and brother. Before the game had started, Yadi had grabbed some things to sign for them after remembering his offer to her. He hadn't signed them yet because he hadn't been certain if she would be here but now that he knew, he needed to make sure to give them to her. She then mentioned an ice cream cafe that her and Olive frequented and Yadi nodded. "I can't wait! I love ice cream. Lucia spoke excitedly and Yadi laughed and shook his head. "Sounds like a plan then. Before we go though.." Yadi slipped his wand out of his pocket and silently summoned the things he'd gotten for them. Slowly, two hats, two scarves, two capes, and a marker flew up from the direction of the field and into reaching distance. He made quick work of signing each item, making sure to put his signature in places that weren't too obnoxious but somewhere they were easily viewed, before handing them over to Angie. "As promised," he started with another nod, "Now, off to the cafe."

~

Upon arrival to the ice cream cafe, Lucia was practically doing a happy dance as they walked through the doors. Yadi was holding his breath in hopes that no one bothered them. Because they'd just finished with a game, there would be people more willing to approach him than on a normal day. Everyone was still in the after glow of a good game so they wouldn't care about the fact that he was with his daughter and a few guests.. He looked around the cafe to see if anyone had noticed them yet or to see if anyone was approaching him. Nothing, luckily. Overall, the cafe had a nice atmosphere, much less childish than he expected considering the treat. He'd never been to the place himself so he hadn't known what to expect. "Ooh I like this place. We should come here again, papa! Lucia insisted.

Tag; @angie

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Yadiel summoned a few bits of merchandise before they headed off to the ice cream cafe. He signed them and presented them to her, like he had said that he would but she had honestly forgot about. She had every intention to gift them to her brother and father, who would be overjoyed to receive them and likely would ask a million questions about the game and the man himself, who had been so generous. “Thank you. It’s too kind.” she smiled.

~

The arrived at the cafe, a favorite watering hole for the mother and daughter. Angie hadn’t been a fan of ice cream for the past few years. She had craved it while she was pregnant and after she had Olive, she hadn’t found herself finding it very appetizing anymore. The texture was too much for her. However, she never wanted to deprive Olive of her favorite cold treat. “Olive, maybe you could show Lucia the best flavors?” Angie asked her 4 year old. Olive had tried every flavor behind the case and knew exactly what she wanted, Olive had been getting the strawberry and Chocolate ice cream every time they had gone for ice cream for the past few months. “Oh an um, you can get ice cream too if you want.” she said to Yadiel, not that she had to give the grown man permission. “I don’t really fancy it myself, I’d much rather just get a coffee.” she admitted, walking up to the counter to put in her order.

@yadi