2025/26, Stage 1 Slytherin v Hufflepuff, Match 2

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Jack had practiced for hours and hours with Hanako for his first duel prior to it. However, that didn't seem to make him feel any more prepared once it was actually time to face their opponents. Right from the moment the announcer stepped onto the piste and began to speak, he was confused. He had been certain that had been told that Piérre Marchonné would be overseeing their match. Who, then, was this young woman speaking for him in his place?

Jack was fairly certain he knew Piérre. They were in the same year. Was this some sort of trick of his? He certainly seemed to enjoy playing pranks, but no one seemed to stop the individual from announcing the names of the duelists, so Jack had to assume everything thus far was fine and allowed.

As if that weren't puzzling enough, he soon heard the names of the Hufflepuffs on the opposing team and was shocked. As he called most people he could by their last names when referring to them, he was more familiar with the names the announcer used than their first names and was fairly certain he knew who they were facing.

Jack had heard Jake Morris had had something to do with his house's dueling team, but Jack had thought that meant the kind-hearted, animal-loving young man had only been helping them with it, not actually dueling. He couldn't have pictured Jake dueling if he'd tried since he had imagined it to be something of a violent activity and Jake seemed to be anything but violent. What was he doing there then, though?

And then there was Haven Bohannon. Although she was in their year, Jack didn't know her very well except that she didn't like him very much for stealing her pygmy puff one time and leaving it with Hanako, who she liked even less. Hanako, who had nonchalantly stolen her first kiss one summer. Oh boy...he would certainly be in for it now. Maybe they both would if Haven recalled him as the fox that had abducted her pet, but Jack remembered how tearfully Haven had responded to having her first kiss stolen. Hanako was probably not going to come out of this duel unscathed if Haven had anything to say for it.

And then there were the students who weren't from their year: Mahlioz Evethisawe, the fourth year Slytherin and Lea Hirsch, the sixth year Hufflepuff. Jack had seen them around the school enough times, but that didn't mean he was personally familiar with them. Still, he hoped to protect Mahlioz as best he could being one of the two oldest students on the team. Even if he still was new to it. Mahlioz seemed pretty capable from what he could tell, but since she was the youngest on both sides, he thought the match seemed a little unfair to her.

And then there was Hanako. Good ol' Hanako; almost as predictable to Jack by then as he himself was.

"Bangarang," Jack muttered under his breath, triggering the bond between them created by his binding mark and opening up his channel to their telepathic links.

<Hey, Flower. Have you faced any of these opponents before? I didn't exactly expect to see Morris here. I know almost nothing about Hirsch and I know Bohannon probably still has it out for you. Or did you guys kiss and make up already? No pun intended.>

If nothing else, Jack was glad to be facing his first duel with his fellow dormmate by his side, at least.

@Piérre Marchonné, @Hanako Tone, @Mahlioz Evethisawe, @Lea Hirsch, @Haven Bohannon, & @Jake Morris

Mahlioz could almost sigh with relief at being back on the duelling piste. The last time they had competed here had been during the Wizarding Chess tournament, and by the gods had that been stressful. Sure, here, they were duelling against (yet again) a team with all older students than them, but they were used to that, and this was duelling, not an insanely more complicated version of already complicated chess. Habit made things much easier - how they loved their old familiarity.

And there was Hanako, the old man, even older now that he was in seventh year. Mahlioz had been rather devastated to learn that Ara would not be joining them this time, after - four? five? games in a row with their beloved, insane team. This was change, and definitely the sort she didn't like (but really, was there a sort of change she liked?). But at least there was Hanako. She gave him a small wave, then one at her second teammate, a certain Jack Burnett.

She had heard the name in rumors and seen him around, but honestly did not know a thing about him. Had he even duelled before? She hoped he knew what he was doing, but then again, none of them really did, so.
They only really knew of one of the Hufflepuffs, Lea Hirsch, who had moderated one of their duels in the past. The girl moderating this time was someone Mahlioz did not recognize in the least, which was rare, considering they had at least seen most seventh years by now, let alone those involved in duelling. Curious. They put the thought to the side, trying to focus on getting their head in the game.

early october 2025 | time unknown banner by aiden choi Reducio @hanako tone @jack burnett @ara villa Reducio action: as strategized

english | french | thoughts gif by ava winchect Reducio the outfit Reducio sta 9 | eva 10 | str 4 | wis 11 | arc 9 | acc 11 wandmaker (5% auto-dodge) | perfectionist | calming presence (allies: hanako tone and jack burnett) | spell spread

The occationaly fake smile and grimace would not be hidden by the 7th year boy. Everything about this seemed so wrong. The graduated seniors were so selfish, how dare they not stay back another year to save him from this despair? There were more things that were different than they were the same. Mahl, little twerp that never defended Hanako with Ara's consistent bullying waved as usual, which he weakly waved back anyway. They had been duelling for a long while anyway. " Let's not let him die too early~" he said in a casual tone, loud enough for Burnett to hear.

_{I swear i'll come back later to add more to this with the banner too}

It was strange, no longer the one keeping a careful eye over all of the other participants. It was almost instinctual at this point, forcing herself silent to let the new captain do their job as they corralled everyone into their teams and made sure the duellists were prepared to step up to the piste. All of this shepherding energy would now unfortunately fall onto Haven, her roommate that Lea had somehow convinced to stay a duellist for yet another stage. "Marcus is all sorted and you've got your wand, yes?" They felt like basic questions but the Sixth Year had learned to never be sure.

The announcement saved Haven from anymore trouble, finally casting her eyes towards the opposing team. Slytherin had a reputation for being brutal duellists and she was curious if that would stand true. Seventh Years would always be a pain (no matter how close Lea was to being one herself) regardless of if the teen had seen them around the piste before, offering only a slight tilt of her head before analyzing the final opponent. Mahlioz, a duellist for some time now despite her younger age and while Lea had moderated her loss, there was plenty of time in between to learn some new tricks.

Haven skipperooed down to the duelling piste, in a fabulous mood before stopping dead in her tracks as she patted down her pockets. Crap. Where was her wand? She spun around in place a few times before remembering she put it in her left sock. Satisfied, she hopped along, taking her place at her teammates' side.

Luckily, Lea knew her well, quizzing her about everything before they started. Haven nodded along, very seriously. "Yes, yes, I put Marcus in the stands and promised him extra treats if he behaves himself. Otherwise he gets a bath. And I brought my wand this time!" She went to retrieve it, pulling it out of her sock. "These are my lucky socks too," she mentioned, looking down at her feet before realizing she forgot to put the other one on. "Err... well... lucky sock, I guess." Haven was even a little bit excited for the duel, until she saw their opponents, her face falling.

"Stupid Hanako and his stupid mouth and that stupid kiss and stupid stupid stupid," Haven muttered under her breath, glaring at the boy from across the way. She huffed a little. She was still mad at him for stealing her first kiss, but at least her second was better- much, much better, and had plenty to make up for it. She really should forgive him by now, but he robbed her of the chance of having her first ever kiss with the most perfect boy. Haven couldn't help the blush that spread from the tip of her nose across her face when she thought about him, her Cyrus. Hopefully she'd get to send him a letter telling him all about her victories and how she beat up the guy who gave her a horrible first kiss. First, she probably had to beat them, though.

She turned to the audience before they began, finding her little fluff ball and blowing him a kiss. "Behave, Marcus, I love you!" She cooed at him a few times before turning back, this time meaning business. "Let's go make these snakes wish they had a good healthy breakfast before this! Because nutrition is important and they'll be spending lunch in the HOSPITAL WING! Yeah!! Take that, you... you slithery... you slippery.... watermelons! Yeah! Take that!"

Jake's final year of Hogwarts, and his final year of duels. Really, now that he was no longer a captain, he wasn't quite sure why he was still dueling. He had liked captaining a lot more than actually dueling, but you couldn't have a captain who couldn't duel, right? Now that he was no longer captaining the team, he could really step down whenever he wanted to. But well...even if he hadn't enjoyed dueling per se, it had let him show himself what he was capable of. That he could be brave, not back down from a challenge, and continue to become, well, stronger. And he was pretty sure he had. He used to cringe at every spell...now he could keep his cool, and though his spells weren't the strongest, he had gotten quite precise. Maybe that was why he stayed on the team (not to mention that now that he was a seventh year with so much experience under his belt, he didn't want to let down the team by leaving them. He may not have been great, but he had at least managed to become halfway decent).

As for their opponents, Jake had dueled Hanako many, times. But one member of the opposing team he'd never even seen NEAR a dueling platform. "Oh, hey Jack!" Jake said, grinning. "Since when are YOU on the dueling team?" How had he missed that JACK was on the other team? He hadn't even known he was going to be dueling, which really meant that he needed to do a lot more catching up with his friends...He felt just a little guilty. There was so much to do between class and prefect duties, but that was no excuse. There were more important things than work, after all. Still, even if he should have known, getting to duel Jack now would be fun, and it would give Jake a chance to prove what he could do. Jack had known him since first year, and now he would show him how much he'd grown.

Of course, he was so surprised to see Jack he almost forgot that it wasn't really the time for talking. Luckily, he was startled to his senses by the outburst of Haven next to him. It sounded like she didn't like Hanako very much, and though Jake didn't know why, it had something to do with his 'stupid mouth' and 'stupid kissing'. That sounded about right. He didn't really know what had happened between the two of them, but he had seen Hanako flirt a lot on the dueling platform, so it only then stood to reason that he'd been getting up to such things with his mouth. He looked down awkwardly as Haven yelled out taunts to the other team, calling them watermelons (Which Jake hadn't even realized was an insult).

Secretly he thought that maybe Hanako and Haven would be a good match for each other, but he made sure not to say it.

Round 1

She watched with arms crossed and a slight smile lifting her lips as the first spells were slung across the piste and Slytherin seemed to get the worse end of the stick almost instantly. While Hanako's spell collided with Lea with no difficulty whatsoever, causing her to stiffen up and fall over, she had managed to send a barrage of vibrant firecrackers that spontaneously exploded across the stage with an eccentricity conjured only by an amplification of arcane will. Jack was battered back and forth by the hissing sparks, and Hanako faired only slightly better. Mahlioz, the youngest, managed to evade the worst of it, only taking a small spark from a single radius while neatly eluding the other.

But alas, Jack's woes were only beginning, as Haven's knockback jinx struck him in the chest. All of those spells were powered by precise and potent magics, and Piérre coloured himself impressed that the seventh year was still standing against those blows. "Burnett is getting battered like this morning's pancakes and whipped like its topping!" He jested lightly at the redhead's expense. Playful in nature, but far be it from Piérre to pass up any opportunity to be quick-witted. "But he's still standing, and maybe that'll prove to be an error on Hufflepuff's part!"

A body-bind curse from Jake relegated Hanako to the same state as he had given Lea, and both Mahlioz and Jack riposted Haven's single flipendo with a Confringo and Ventus, respectively. The glittering amber eyes of Piérre's masque watched the spellwork with admiration while he chewed her lower lip in consideration. He was already placing personal bets as to what each team would try next.

"Alright! We have the gloves thrown off! Let's see who buckles first!"

Information

1. You have 96 hours from this post's timestamp to owl your moves to me (Piérre Marchonné) and to make your 50+ word post.
2. Do not hint at your move in your post, as this can give an advantage to the other team.
3. Remember to send your move and make your post before the deadline. If either of these are not completed in time, your move will be void.
4. I will try to moderate early if all actions and posts are in before the deadline. If you do not wish for me to do this, please owl me.
5. Your stats, abilities, and spells are considered locked for this duel. If any are added to your trunk since 13 October 2025, they may not be used.
6. If you have any questions or feedback regarding this match, please feel free to owl or DM me.
7. Handy links: Duelling Rules, Duelling Spells, and the most recent patch.
8. Good luck and happy duelling!

The spectator thread for this duel can be found here.
Come cheer for your House and friends!

Lea did not know the history behind Haven and Hanako, but Haven's anger gave the Sixth Year a primary target as the duel commenced. Her intention had been to test the newcomer and see his capabilities, but why not expand the list? After having spent all that time learning how to spread a spell, it was nice to show it off and with such a grand display as the Cracker Jinx. The snaps and lights brought a small smile and a curious look towards Mahlioz as she dodged the majority of the small explosions- so the younger year had grown. She wouldn't get to consider that for long though as retribution came quick in locked up joints. What a horrible experience, merely becoming a spectator within one's own duel.

Mahlioz had not realized exactly how called for Hanako's comment had been. Burnett had at first seemed like he'd be okay - he was a little lanky, sure, but that meant very little, she'd learned a long time ago not to judge a book by its cover. Except in this case, the judgment had perhaps been justified. Two of the three Hufflepuffs zeroed in on the seventh year, apparently seeing something Mahlioz had failed to, and one round in he did not look like he was doing great.

Man, Ara would have had a field day with him. Not only was he a seventh year (also known as an old man) but he was immediately nearly knocked out in his first duel. Poor guy. Though, to be fair, his confringo was magnificent - knowing Ara, she'd probably start by picking on Hanako about the fact that Burnett had managed the spell the black-haired boy had failed thrice. It felt a little silly thinking about Ara when in the middle of a duel the other fourth year wasn't even in, but she felt like a bit of a missing presence.

Glancing at the other team, she did feel a little bad for Lea Hirsch - petrificus totalus was a pain for sure. Haven Bohannon had given them an interesting comment before starting - "slithery slippery watermelons" was a term Mahlioz did not think they had ever heard anyone be referred to as, but they had to admit it was both a little insulting and kind of cute. The girl got a ventus for it - Mahlioz was quite proud of that one, actually; it was so nice when her spell didn't just fail, or miss, especially in the first round. But they had seven more to go (and that was if they didn't all die first).

october 19 2025 | morning slot banner by aiden choi Reducio @hanako tone @jack burnett @ara villa Reducio action: as strategized

english | french | thoughts gif by ava winchect Reducio the outfit Reducio sta 9 | eva 10 | str 4 | wis 11 | arc 9 | acc 11 wandmaker (5% auto-dodge) | perfectionist | calming presence (allies: hanako tone and jack burnett) | spell spread