2025/2026 Stage 3 Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor: Match 2

She gave a pretty nonchalant shrug at Evelynn's response, adjusting her stance instead. That might sound a bit cheesy, but it felt heavenly to be with her teammates again on the stage, flooded by the applause and cheer of the crowd below. Haven's beam and Lea's welcome and Marcus the Pygmy Puff's squeak made Lindsey's grin even wider, and she nodded at her fellow 7th year's enthusiastic proposal of ice cream - she could almost taste that lemon sorbet on the tip of her tongue. Welp. Now she'd be thinking of ice cream throughout the duel.

She had full faith in this duel, but somehow, strangely somehow, her spell didn't go off. Was it because she focused too much on considering what ice cream flavour she should pick afterwards? Or something just felt off? Lindsey bit her lower lip, wincing as she was hit by Evelynn's Cracker Jinx. Kim's Wind Jinx split and hit both her teammates - oh, that probably wasn't the best start. Refocusing, Lindsey was determined to take this back.

Despite the arsenal of spells at her disposal, Lea had learned that sometimes simplest was best- certainly when increasing the complexity of the rest of the spell. The Gryffindors were sure to hit hard with how their demeanor lined up, no tricks needed for sheer force of will. Going on the defensive immediately felt wrong, the hope being that she could keep track of the field enough to escape the onslaught, instead trying to fight fire with fire.

The only issue was plan versus actuality. Underestimating one's opponent was a dangerous move and so was not looking to the sides. 'Flipendo' had just escaped her lips when rubble exploded from her teammates', the sudden hit veering the spell off course. She managed enough control to keep it split yet Rose would only get a minor injury and the other flew way off to the side in the vague direction of Kim. Not a great start, it would get worse as frustration clouded the next impending threat, noticing the gust of wind as it caught up to her. Her attempts to scramble out of the way would find no purchase as she was instead pushed back with Haven also caught. Not exactly the rousing start she had hoped for, there was still time to get this back.

Haven winced as she watch Eve fall to the ground. "Sorry, Eve! Hope you're alright!" She shot an apologetic look before turning to Lea: "I told you I warmed up my wand..."

But even a good move on her part couldn't stop the barrage of attacks from the other side. Ouchie. "I'm okay, Marcus!" she reassured her pygmy puff in the stands. At least, for now. But she was determined there would be a positive outlook for their team still.

Round 2

Sunday, 31st of May, 2026
Morning Slot

Though no duellist risked doubling down on a split attack so soon after their last, it was easy to mistake otherwise. Neither side of the piste was safe, not when Lindsey and Rose aimed to attack each other with simultaneous Cracker Jinxes. At once, firecrackers appeared out of thin air and began to burst against and upon each other, some ricocheting so decisively that it allowed Evelynn to sneak past Lindsey's defences with a secondary, far less widely-cast explosion. If any spectators had forgotten to bring their earplugs, Cassius himself included, one's own fingers could do at least part of the trick as long as they avoided the combined concussive force of noise and physical shards of the piste flinging themselves at eyes and ears alike.

So surrounded by flashy magic all around, a healer's duty was therefore an often overlooked one, no matter how temporary the pursuit, but one of the most important on the piste—Haven had certainly realised that. All of the duellists and her mysterious Marcus (?) in the stands could get ice cream later, but she'd impart some sweet, sweet healing onto Lea while everyone was still distracted. Rejuvenated, possibly the only duellist lucky enough to avoid the chip damage occurring all around her, Lea took the boon and threw it forward with a cast of Ventus so formidable that it blew Kim akilter. It was enough for him to fumble the spell he'd been about to cast, the third individual within two rounds to do so.

Perhaps something was in the water, or, considering the acrid smell of cracker smoke, in the air, for both teams had whittled away at the other far more steadily than the lightshow implied. In some explosive way, a war of attrition had been called, for each loss seemed simultaneously accompanied by success in some way. Blow by blow, it was too early to tell who'd outlast the other in this sudden siege of epic proportions.

Information

1. You have 96 hours from now to write your entrance posts (50 words min).
2. In the same time period, send me (Cassius Hirano) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
3. If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
4. If you have any questions or corrections, don't hesitate to owl or DM me!!
5. Good luck, and have fun!

Duelling Spells

Duelling System

Newest Patch

At least no matter what the outcome of this duel was, Kim could remember it as a time he would always remember. It was the last time the three of them would be together here in an official setting, unless they met again and were teamed up as adults later in the future. It also was the first time his Wind Jinx had ever split into two and actually hit both targets! He looked over at Rose who complimented his spell and nodded at her too. "Thanks, don't worry about your own, you'll get it next time!" Kim said with a smile.

Of course, Evelyn was perfect and managed to hit both her targets. The good thing was that both sides were doing well and although both sides had suffered damage, they were on pretty much equal footing this time. It made it more fun for him, challenges were always appreciated. But winning was still all that really mattered in the end, it was the only thing people would look at and think of when they saw you. Kim had to admit, he was sentimental about this particular match though. As it would be the last one the three of them shared.

If they could win this one, they would go out with a bang, a suitable ending for their time.

Kim was determined to do his best in order to make it happen. But one never knew how things would turn out, not until the last few rounds. Or until there was only one left standing on either side. A gust of wind ended up slicing him up, a good spell from Lea, but he managed to stay on his feet. Unfortunately, it interrupted his focus when casting his own spell and it died before managing to get out of the end of his wand. Lindsey's Cracker Jinx caught him off guard soon after and he flinched as some stray wizard crackers ended up hitting him as well. He raised his arm, shielding his eyes as much as possible until the sound faded around him. Kim carefully looked around and gripped his wand tighter.

"Let's get back at them!" He tried to rally his teammates.

Making the same mistake twice was not something Lindsey allowed herself to do. Flickering her wand, her Cracker Jinx landed solidly on Rose, and the splinters nailed the other two lions. Lindsey let out a huff as she wasn't in time to step out of the spells coming her way, feeling the pain in her body as she vainly and instinctively inched aside. Her teammates were doing good, at least. She managed a little thumbs up as Lea's spell also hit, and Haven performed healing on Lea. It's only the very beginning. Nothing was set in stone yet.

Feeling the effects of Ventus, Lea decided the next course of action was to give the Gryffindors a taste of their own medicine. Thankfully this time would work much better as she could keep her focus to one beam- a gust headed straight towards Kim. And while he seemed to want to return the favor, it never made it across the piste, allowing her plenty of time to dodge the shard's from the explosion by Lindsey's feet.

"Thank you," she nodded towards Haven before preparing for the next round.