[THE FINAL INCANTATION;; 2004] Aidan Lynch.
Name: Aidan Lynch
House (present or former): Hufflepuff
Year (if applicable): Fifth
Background/biography:
All babies are born with the ability to grasp objects, but most do not develop the required hand-eye coordination to voluntarily grab small items until they are nearly a year old. Aidan Kieran Lynch (born on May 30, 1962), however, was an exception. At sixth months, he was already wandering around the house and grabbing at everything at anything. No matter what the size the object was, he almost always managed to grab it with one playful grope and keep it firmly tucked in the palm of his hand until his mother (a Half-blood witch) came by and gently pried it out. And for some odd reason or another, Aidan had a particular fondness for shiny things: his older brother's Gobstones would often go missing (thankfully, Aidan didn't have much of a habit of stuffing things in his mouth) and his mother had to keep her jewellery out of his reach once he was tall enough to open and search through her drawers.
Aidan had his first glimpse of a Quidditch game at the age of five when his older brother, Angus, was playing with a group of friends over the summer. It wasn't really an actual Quidditch game: they simply tossed an old Quaffle around while on broomsticks, but Aidan was still excited by the concept. He was too small to play with them, but he sometimes joined in anyway on his toy broom, which amused everyone. At first, he wasn't terribly good at all: he couldn't keep up with everyone and his attempts to catch the Quaffle often ended in it bouncing off of his head. Eventually, after practicing a bit by playing catch with his parents, he got the hang of it and was able to at least not get bonked on the head during a game. He never really perfected his abilities until he was seven and finally allowed to use his dad's old Cleansweep. And though he did show some promise as a Chaser, he never really felt that it suited him.
Angus and most of his friends also began their first year at Hogwarts the year Aidan turned seven, so the latter was out of familiar children to practice and play with. His father, a Muggleborn wizard who had a particular fondness for the game and had played Keeper on the Gryffindor team during his school days, thought it would be a good idea if he tried out for the local children's Quidditch league. Just for the heck of it, Aidan tried out for all four positions: he couldn't exactly coordinate himself to block all three hoops, so Keeper was out of the question. He was also rather small for his age, so he didn't have the physical strength to play Beater. He did, however, perform decently for both Chaser and Seeker, though slightly better for the latter. Perhaps it stemmed from his odd childhood obsession, but he had quite a good eye for small shiny objects as well as a talent for reaching out and grasping things with amazing accuracy.
When Aidan was eight years old, his parents took him and Angus to watch a Quidditch World Cup game. It was Angus' second, but Aidan's first. He was absolutely fascinated to watch the world's best players (for that year) compete against each other. He'd watched professional Quidditch before and was a staunch supporter of the Kenmare Kestrels, but that hardly compared to the World Cup. Not only was he spellbound by the absolutely ridiculous speeds everyone was flying at and the strange moves that were played, but he found all the cheering and support from the crowd -- particularly when the Seeker caught the Snitch -- to be extremely inspiring. Maybe it was childish rashness, but he decided right then and there that he was going to play Quidditch professionally as an adult.
He didn't exactly have support from everyone in his family: his father thought it was a lovely idea, his mother implored him to be reasonable and realistic about his future (it would be hard to play Quidditch professionally if you still had a habit of crashing into the other players and the ground while chasing the Snitch) and his brother, well, we all know what older brothers can be like sometimes. Nevertheless, Aidan continued on with his children's league games, pushing himself rather hard and once breaking his right arm during a particularly spectacular crash landing. Aside from that, he began reading "Quidditch Through the Ages" obsessively and carefully watching the Kenmare Kestrels' moves whenever he had the chance to watch them play.
Several uneventful (save for the odd game injury here and there) years passed by, and Aidan eventually found himself on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school at the age of eleven. While sitting in a compartment with his older brother, he couldn't decide if it was something he should be glad about or not: on the one hand, there would be a House team for him to play on. On the other hand, all he really wanted to do was play Quidditch. Not that he wasn't at all interested in developing his magical abilities, but structured classes and homework and tests and all those icky things would certainly get in the way of Quidditch training.
During the Sorting, Aidan found himself placed in Hufflepuff, which he supposed wasn't too bad. After all, the House did embody some good traits, even if the other Houses didn't think too highly of them. That, and as far as he knew, their Quidditch team wasn't very good, so it would be easy to make the team. Not that he was too worried about that, of course, since he did have more than his fair share of natural talent on the pitch. His disappointment upon learning that First-Years were not only not allowed to try out for the House teams, but also forbidden from having broomsticks at school, was naturally not surprising. Nevertheless, he still watched Hufflepuff Quidditch practices whenever he could (his brother played Chaser on the team) and spent much time trying to mentally analyze whatever they were doing. During the actual games, he always cheered enthusiastically for Hufflepuff.
The lack of Quidditch during his first year also meant that Aidan had more time to devote to his studies. He wasn't the best student in his year; far from it, actually, but he did manage to keep his grades decent and just slightly above average. He never really stood out in any subject, either for better or worse, with the exception of Flying. Unfortunately for him, that class wasn't year-round.
In his second year, Aidan tried out for the House team, only to learn that Mary Sue Hensen, his senior by two years, had already made Seeker. Rather disappointed, though not entirely dispirited, he tried out for Chaser instead and effortlessly made the team. Since he had ambitions to eventually take up that elusive Seeker position and to make team captain in the near future, he pushed himself especially hard (as usual, and expected of a Hufflepuff); he was often fairly reckless and he gained quite the reputation for crash landings during his first few games. That, and he sometimes had an annoying habit of trying to offer strategies to the team captain during practices. He also continued honing his abilities as a Seeker, usually at the end of practices when the Snitch wasn't in use, as well as over the summer.
As annoying as he might have been though, his effort seems to have finally paid off. Now in his fifth year at Hogwarts, Aidan, though still a Chaser, has recently been made the team's captain, even above his older teammates. As a reward for this accomplishment, his parents recently bought him a new racing broom from the Nimbus line. He hopes to be promoted to Seeker next year once Mary Sue graduates.
On the flipside, he still has to write his O.W.L.s at the end of the year and while his marks aren't appalling, he's got an awful lot of studying to do if he wants to do well. Then again, his goal is to play professional Quidditch anyway, and you surely don't need any O.W.L.s for that?
Although Aidan loves attention during games, he prefers to remain low-key when not on the pitch. He can often be found sitting in the back row of a class and keeping to himself. He almost never volunteers answers unless he's called on, although that might also be because he usually doesn't know the answer. He's not stupid or incompetent, per se, but he'd rather spend his spare time devising new Quidditch strategies than studying. That, and he daydreams in class on occasion.
He's very enthusiastic during Quidditch practices, of course, but it's a sort of subdued and reserved enthusiasm. He's very open-minded about his team members suggesting and contributing ideas, especially since strategy and team coordination isn't necessarily his strong point: you wouldn't be wrong in saying that while he's an exceptionally talented player, he's just a competent team captain. On the other hand, it's just his first year in that position, so he has time to improve himself. As a player, his specialty is speed and catching. He's competent at scoring goals, but his maneuvering, while usually very well-controlled, can be alarming at times: he's acquired a habit of occasionally crashing into the ground, goalposts and even other players.
Aidan isn't a very social person and tends to stick closely to just his Housemates, particularly his fellow Quidditch players. Because he doesn't go out of his way to approach people, he doesn't have very many casual acquaintances or enemies. But if he did, he'd be quite indifferent towards them anyway. The same can be said for his attitude towards his Quidditch rivals: he doesn't mind a bit of competitive spirit, but he prefers to spend his energy on improving his playing rather than playing the part of a bitter rival. And while he's naturally friendly by nature, he's not the most sensitive boy you could meet: he's intuitive enough to predict what move a rival player might make next (and there are still many misses), but he's completely and utterly oblivious to things like flirting. It's not much of a loss for him though: he'd take a night of extra Quidditch practices over a date any day.
House (present or former): Hufflepuff
Year (if applicable): Fifth
Background/biography:
All babies are born with the ability to grasp objects, but most do not develop the required hand-eye coordination to voluntarily grab small items until they are nearly a year old. Aidan Kieran Lynch (born on May 30, 1962), however, was an exception. At sixth months, he was already wandering around the house and grabbing at everything at anything. No matter what the size the object was, he almost always managed to grab it with one playful grope and keep it firmly tucked in the palm of his hand until his mother (a Half-blood witch) came by and gently pried it out. And for some odd reason or another, Aidan had a particular fondness for shiny things: his older brother's Gobstones would often go missing (thankfully, Aidan didn't have much of a habit of stuffing things in his mouth) and his mother had to keep her jewellery out of his reach once he was tall enough to open and search through her drawers.
Aidan had his first glimpse of a Quidditch game at the age of five when his older brother, Angus, was playing with a group of friends over the summer. It wasn't really an actual Quidditch game: they simply tossed an old Quaffle around while on broomsticks, but Aidan was still excited by the concept. He was too small to play with them, but he sometimes joined in anyway on his toy broom, which amused everyone. At first, he wasn't terribly good at all: he couldn't keep up with everyone and his attempts to catch the Quaffle often ended in it bouncing off of his head. Eventually, after practicing a bit by playing catch with his parents, he got the hang of it and was able to at least not get bonked on the head during a game. He never really perfected his abilities until he was seven and finally allowed to use his dad's old Cleansweep. And though he did show some promise as a Chaser, he never really felt that it suited him.
Angus and most of his friends also began their first year at Hogwarts the year Aidan turned seven, so the latter was out of familiar children to practice and play with. His father, a Muggleborn wizard who had a particular fondness for the game and had played Keeper on the Gryffindor team during his school days, thought it would be a good idea if he tried out for the local children's Quidditch league. Just for the heck of it, Aidan tried out for all four positions: he couldn't exactly coordinate himself to block all three hoops, so Keeper was out of the question. He was also rather small for his age, so he didn't have the physical strength to play Beater. He did, however, perform decently for both Chaser and Seeker, though slightly better for the latter. Perhaps it stemmed from his odd childhood obsession, but he had quite a good eye for small shiny objects as well as a talent for reaching out and grasping things with amazing accuracy.
When Aidan was eight years old, his parents took him and Angus to watch a Quidditch World Cup game. It was Angus' second, but Aidan's first. He was absolutely fascinated to watch the world's best players (for that year) compete against each other. He'd watched professional Quidditch before and was a staunch supporter of the Kenmare Kestrels, but that hardly compared to the World Cup. Not only was he spellbound by the absolutely ridiculous speeds everyone was flying at and the strange moves that were played, but he found all the cheering and support from the crowd -- particularly when the Seeker caught the Snitch -- to be extremely inspiring. Maybe it was childish rashness, but he decided right then and there that he was going to play Quidditch professionally as an adult.
He didn't exactly have support from everyone in his family: his father thought it was a lovely idea, his mother implored him to be reasonable and realistic about his future (it would be hard to play Quidditch professionally if you still had a habit of crashing into the other players and the ground while chasing the Snitch) and his brother, well, we all know what older brothers can be like sometimes. Nevertheless, Aidan continued on with his children's league games, pushing himself rather hard and once breaking his right arm during a particularly spectacular crash landing. Aside from that, he began reading "Quidditch Through the Ages" obsessively and carefully watching the Kenmare Kestrels' moves whenever he had the chance to watch them play.
Several uneventful (save for the odd game injury here and there) years passed by, and Aidan eventually found himself on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school at the age of eleven. While sitting in a compartment with his older brother, he couldn't decide if it was something he should be glad about or not: on the one hand, there would be a House team for him to play on. On the other hand, all he really wanted to do was play Quidditch. Not that he wasn't at all interested in developing his magical abilities, but structured classes and homework and tests and all those icky things would certainly get in the way of Quidditch training.
During the Sorting, Aidan found himself placed in Hufflepuff, which he supposed wasn't too bad. After all, the House did embody some good traits, even if the other Houses didn't think too highly of them. That, and as far as he knew, their Quidditch team wasn't very good, so it would be easy to make the team. Not that he was too worried about that, of course, since he did have more than his fair share of natural talent on the pitch. His disappointment upon learning that First-Years were not only not allowed to try out for the House teams, but also forbidden from having broomsticks at school, was naturally not surprising. Nevertheless, he still watched Hufflepuff Quidditch practices whenever he could (his brother played Chaser on the team) and spent much time trying to mentally analyze whatever they were doing. During the actual games, he always cheered enthusiastically for Hufflepuff.
The lack of Quidditch during his first year also meant that Aidan had more time to devote to his studies. He wasn't the best student in his year; far from it, actually, but he did manage to keep his grades decent and just slightly above average. He never really stood out in any subject, either for better or worse, with the exception of Flying. Unfortunately for him, that class wasn't year-round.
In his second year, Aidan tried out for the House team, only to learn that Mary Sue Hensen, his senior by two years, had already made Seeker. Rather disappointed, though not entirely dispirited, he tried out for Chaser instead and effortlessly made the team. Since he had ambitions to eventually take up that elusive Seeker position and to make team captain in the near future, he pushed himself especially hard (as usual, and expected of a Hufflepuff); he was often fairly reckless and he gained quite the reputation for crash landings during his first few games. That, and he sometimes had an annoying habit of trying to offer strategies to the team captain during practices. He also continued honing his abilities as a Seeker, usually at the end of practices when the Snitch wasn't in use, as well as over the summer.
As annoying as he might have been though, his effort seems to have finally paid off. Now in his fifth year at Hogwarts, Aidan, though still a Chaser, has recently been made the team's captain, even above his older teammates. As a reward for this accomplishment, his parents recently bought him a new racing broom from the Nimbus line. He hopes to be promoted to Seeker next year once Mary Sue graduates.
On the flipside, he still has to write his O.W.L.s at the end of the year and while his marks aren't appalling, he's got an awful lot of studying to do if he wants to do well. Then again, his goal is to play professional Quidditch anyway, and you surely don't need any O.W.L.s for that?
Although Aidan loves attention during games, he prefers to remain low-key when not on the pitch. He can often be found sitting in the back row of a class and keeping to himself. He almost never volunteers answers unless he's called on, although that might also be because he usually doesn't know the answer. He's not stupid or incompetent, per se, but he'd rather spend his spare time devising new Quidditch strategies than studying. That, and he daydreams in class on occasion.
He's very enthusiastic during Quidditch practices, of course, but it's a sort of subdued and reserved enthusiasm. He's very open-minded about his team members suggesting and contributing ideas, especially since strategy and team coordination isn't necessarily his strong point: you wouldn't be wrong in saying that while he's an exceptionally talented player, he's just a competent team captain. On the other hand, it's just his first year in that position, so he has time to improve himself. As a player, his specialty is speed and catching. He's competent at scoring goals, but his maneuvering, while usually very well-controlled, can be alarming at times: he's acquired a habit of occasionally crashing into the ground, goalposts and even other players.
Aidan isn't a very social person and tends to stick closely to just his Housemates, particularly his fellow Quidditch players. Because he doesn't go out of his way to approach people, he doesn't have very many casual acquaintances or enemies. But if he did, he'd be quite indifferent towards them anyway. The same can be said for his attitude towards his Quidditch rivals: he doesn't mind a bit of competitive spirit, but he prefers to spend his energy on improving his playing rather than playing the part of a bitter rival. And while he's naturally friendly by nature, he's not the most sensitive boy you could meet: he's intuitive enough to predict what move a rival player might make next (and there are still many misses), but he's completely and utterly oblivious to things like flirting. It's not much of a loss for him though: he'd take a night of extra Quidditch practices over a date any day.