A Work In Progress

A few years ago, Dee had been a regular at the duelling club. First as a captain, then only as a duellist, she'd spent hours upon hours in this room, casting and training and duelling. Then, after she'd quit the team, she'd avoided the place for months - guilt for leaving had mixed with dread that she'd made the wrong choice, and this small, insistent fear in the back of her mind, that when she came back, she'd start to miss it, when the entire point had been to free herself of a hobby that had become a burden, a prison built in her own mind.

It had taken a while for her to get past that fear. To dip her toes back in, casually; competing with friends for fun, rather than on a stage for points. Using spellwork in her races had helped, too, putting all that training to good use, and it had been scarily effective as well.

Now, she was more of an infrequent visitor at the duelling club, wandering in when the mood struck her and drifting out again when she got bored, much like a stray cat. Sometimes to practice, sometimes to people watch, or just to sit in the familiar atmosphere and work on some essay, tucked away in a corner. She'd come three days in a row, then not think about it for a month until her feet carried her back here.

Today was such a day. She'd meandered around aimlessly for a while before finding herself in front of the doors, then shrugged and pushed open them open - just in time to watch a kid fly past her and collide with the wall nearby. She blinked. That had been an impressive backfire. Flipendo, she guessed, from the force of the spell and the age of the lad. Nine out of ten, pretty decent form on impact.

As she watched, the boy heaved a sigh so deep it could only come from the bottom of his very soul, dusted himself off, and got back to it. The corner of Dee's mouth quirked up. That was a better attitude than she'd had when she'd started duelling. "Yeah, you can," she agreed cheerfully and sauntered closer, giving his form a critical look. "But as impressive as your broomless flying is, I think you'll want to hit the target next time. If you want my advice," as if he had a choice, really; unless he turned around right that moment and started casting at her, he'd hear that advice either way, "shift a bit more to the side, and lower your elbow, like this." She demonstrated her stance, falling into it easily. Despite having left the team a year and a half ago, her body remembered.

"Start the wand movement half a breath before the incantation, and don't rush it. It's more important to get the rhythm right." She nodded, satisfied with her own suggestion, then stepped back. "Now, let's see that spell, eh?"

@Percival Rocier

Percival jumped up and squeaked when he heard the voice behind him, which instantly broke his concentration. His wand jerked in his hand, and he spun halfway around before realizing it wasn’t another student coming to laugh at him for his mistakes. It was an older girl, likely a 6th year or higher, standing a few paces away with a look that wasn’t mocking at all. If anything, she seemed amused.

He probably would have been, too.

His face then turned red almost immediately and he began to mumble, “I uh... didn’t hear you come in,” he said with an awkward tone before he rubbed the back of his neck. Of all the people to see him fling himself into a wall, it had to be someone who looked like she actually knew what she was doing.

When she stepped closer and started explaining what he had done wrong, he blinked, clearly caught off guard that she was taking the time to actually help him instead of just walking past and laughing at him. With a sudden smile on his face, he followed her gestures carefully as she showed him her stance. She had clearly done this a million times before, judging by how natural she made it look, so he just knew that it was worth listening and remembering all of this.

“Half a breath before the incantation,” he then repeated under his breath, before adjusting his footing to match hers. His elbow lowered, his shoulders squared, and his grip on his wand tightened just a little. He finally exhaled slowly and nodded, hoping he'd get one in return if his stance was better now.

He then glanced at her one last time to make sure she wasn’t about to correct him again, then turned back toward the training dummy. The last time he tried this, it had ended with him being the one flying. He wasn’t eager to repeat that, so he took a moment to steady himself, trying to remember her advice.

“Okay,” he said to himself. “Let's try this again.”

He raised his wand again, followed the movement she had demonstrated, and focused on his target, “Flipendo!” The sound from his spell cracked through the room, and this time, instead of the spell rebounding, the practice dummy shot backward a few feet before toppling over. Percival blinked once, then twice, before a big smile spread across his face. “Did you see that?!” he asked, turning toward her, his eyes wide with excitement. “It actually worked!” He was still a little breathless, still red in the face, but this time it was from pride instead of embarrassment.

With a grin still on his face, he straightened his robes a bit and tried to compose himself before he'd end up making a complete fool out of himself. “You really know your stuff,” he finally said, “Thanks for the help. I think… I think I just really needed someone to point out what I was doing wrong.”

His gaze flicked toward her wand again, clearly curious, "Are you on the duelling team?"

@Dealla Prince

The lad jumped as if he'd been stabbed by a needle and let out a sound that reminded Dee of the toy mouse she'd got Dauncey for Christmas a few years ago. "Razor-sharp focus, I see," she said drily, although she was grinning openly in response, no attempt made to hide it. While she'd refrained from making a particularly dramatic entrance, she hadn't really been very stealthy, either.

Dee had seen all sorts of reactions to her unsolicited coaching over the years - was it concerning that she was apparently doing this at least semi-regularly? - but rarely had it been received this wholeheartedly. It was amusing, and maybe even endearing, to see the lad immediately latch onto her words with a level of enthusiasm that Dee usually reserved for her favourite pudding at dinner.

Not just that, but he clearly paid attention, mimicking her stance and echoing snippets of her casual advice as if committing them to memory. The sincerity with which he approached the unsolicited mini-lesson led her to automatically match his attitude, giving a sharp eye to his renewed stance, and nudging his elbow into line with his torso. Despite the teasing edge still present in many of her words, the help she offered was honest - and the feedback candid. (She'd never been known to beat around the bush.)

It was also incredibly satisfying to watch the boy take her advice and put it into action, producing a very solid Knockback Jinx - and it even fired in the correct direction this time. His aim wasn't half-bad, either. It was amazing, really, the difference a few minor adjustments could make. Maybe the kid had some talent. "Not bad," Dee acknowledged, nodding. Obviously there was still room for improvement, but... "Good start, well done. Now repeat that just a few hundred times..." It was hard to tell from her tone how serious that particular instruction was, but then, you didn't want to have to think about your stance and your elbow and the rhythm of your words in a duel. You wanted them to be instinct. Repetition wasn't everything, but it certainly helped.

The gratitude was received with a modest shrug and a wink. "Anytime," she said. "I'm always happy to point out other people's faults, eh?" She grinned. "And it's always easier with an independent pair of eyes." Unless you were obstinately insisting on doing everything on your own, that was. But who would ever do that?

Stretching languidly, Dee stepped forward and spun her wand around her fingers, the motion proficient and secure. She hadn't come with the explicit intent to practise her casting, but now that she was here... she found herself in the mood. Maybe it was the throwback to her time as a duelling captain, instructing other students, pulling her back to her younger self. "Nah," she replied, her expression equanimous. "Used to be, though, a few years ago." She flashed the lad another grin. "Now I do most of my casting on broomsticks and watch badgers, lions, and snakes fall off their brooms. Very satisfying." She did most of her spellcasting training on her own, these days. Racing practice was usually more focused on the flying part than the casting; the best spellcasters on their team, Peri, Bea, and herself, had already joined the team as accomplished duellists. The next glance sideways was accompanied by a conspiratorial wink. "I'm technically not supposed to use this room anymore, I think, but you won't rat me out, will you?"

Her gaze flicked forwards again, focusing on the training dummies scattered across the room. Never above showing off a little, she picked out two on the farther side, then exhaled before guiding her wand in a fluid motion. "Ventus." It was a spell as easy as breathing to her now, but had always been a crowd favourite during her time on the duelling team. Had that changed? She didn't know. Twin bursts of wind split from the tip of her wand, blowing her hair back from her face before shooting across the room to blast the dummies clean backwards. She grinned, satisfied, before turning back towards her new duckling. "How about you? Joining your house team?"

@Percival Rocier

Percival could barely keep the grin off his face. Every little comment she gave him felt like some great wisdom being handed down from someone who was clearly miles ahead of him. And when she winked at him again in that teasing manner, his cheeks went warm so fast he had to look down for a second just to get himself under control.

This was so exciting!

A few hundred more times.

He blinked at the idea, unsure if she was joking or if she genuinely meant it. But judging by how easily she’d fallen into her stance, and how confident she sounded, he suspected that was exactly how she had learned. And if that’s what it took, well… he supposed he didn’t really have a choice.

“I can try,” he said before he tugged a little on the sleeves of his robes, “Probably not all today but I’ll do it.” He looked at her with a stupid little grin, but he clearly meant it. If anything, watching her made him want to keep going more.

Then she spun her wand so effortlessly that he wasn’t sure whether he should be impressed or intimidated. Probably both. She then cast a spell he had never heard about before and the two training dummies practically jumped backward from the force. His mouth fell slightly open as he watched this magical display unfold.

So he exclaimed, “That was awesome!” his eyes wide as he stared at the dummies she had sent flying. Her question, however, brought him back to earth quickly enough. He rubbed the back of his neck again and mumbled, “I, uh… I signed up for the waiting list,” he admitted. “I really want to be on the team one day, but I don’t think I’m getting on anytime soon." It was quite a long waiting list, after all, but perhaps that wasn't too bad.

As a first-year with very few useful spells, he'd probably get thrown around far too easily, anyway.

He glanced at the toppled dummy he’d actually hit this time, and his shoulders lifted just a little. “But I’m going to keep practicing, so I can be useful when a spot opens up." Then it was his time to grin, as he turned back to her, “And don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you’re here. Promise.”

He wasn’t about to sabotage himself. Dealla was an amazing duellist, and he was clearly hoping to learn a lot more from her.

@Dealla Prince

Oh, this kid was just precious. Dee had always been susceptible to flattery, but it was rare to be paid this kind of wide-eyed, unadulterated attention, as if missing even a single word of her advice would inevitably lead to disaster. Following it up with a successful spell had only increased his excitement. She giggled at the almost too earnest reaction to her comments - that sort of sincerity would likely not last long around her - but nodded, anyway. "Ten is a good start," she said encouragingly.

She was also never above showing off, as demonstrated by her Wind Jinx, but honestly, the reaction was worth it. It was also a good thing to give children something to aspire to, right? Would Dee ever have learned how to spread spells if she hadn't watched Phaedra do it first? She wasn't sure. Thus, the little demonstration had been for educational purpose, and not just for her own satisfaction. Obviously. "Oh, that was nothing," she said dismissively, but the warm smile remained on her face. "I've once seen a Ventus split into four separate spells, that was pretty impressive."

Something he might also witness once he started attending team practices and duels, but apparently that was still a while off. "Oh?" Dee asked, scanning his robes for the House crest that was sewn to it at chest height. Slytherin. "Ah, right, the Slytherin duelling team is always popular. But you'll get there, don't worry. People leave, or they graduate, it'll just take a bit longer." Chewing her lip for a moment, she watched as he glanced back at her target dummies. The sight seemed to reinforce something in him, ignite a determination that felt just a little bit familiar, and she caught herself smiling at the sight. Oh, whatever. So what if she was technically too busy, with N.E.W.T.s around the corner and her other extracurriculars already eating into her study time? There was always time to foster the next generation, right? And teaching him a few things wouldn't take too much of her time, especially if he was as quick a study as it seemed. She could even do some revision while he practised.

"Well, maybe I can show you a few tricks for when you finally get on the team," she offered, and held out her hand for him to shake. "Hi, I'm Dee, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

@Percival Rocier

Percival’s grin somehow managed to get even bigger when she said ten was a good start. Ten was actually manageable, and he'd love to practice it that many times with someone of Dee's caliber watching. So he nodded quickly with a spark of excitement and determination vivid in his eyes.

When she brushed off her Ventus like it was nothing, he began to chuckle, “If that was nothing, then I don’t even want to imagine what the impressive version looks like,” he said, still very much in awe of her magical display. But four separate currents of wind splitting off? He couldn’t even picture himself controlling one strand of magic that precisely, let alone four at once. But the idea that he might get to see things like that if he were to get on the duelling team made him rock on the balls of his feet with excitement.

It was just going to be a long wait.

“Yeah… I know it’ll take a while,” he said when she brought it up, “But I don’t mind waiting too much. I want to be good when I get on the team, and I'm not there yet." He looked at her again, his blue eyes still bright. Watching her duel, even for just a minute or two, had already set a bar in his mind that he wanted to reach someday.

And then she extended her hand.

“It's nice to meet you, Dee, I'm Percival," he said with a happy tone of voice when he quickly reached for her hand to shake it, "Some people also call me Percy, so that's fine, too!" He withdrew his hand, paused, and looked at her for a moment. Finally, he felt a lot of his worries slipping away. Even if she could only spare an hour a week teaching him a few tricks, he'd no longer feel so stuck.

This was his big chance to become who he wanted to be.

“I’d love to learn anything you want to teach me,” he added a moment later. “If I can get even half as good as you someday, I’d be really happy.”

@Dealla Prince

Percy was clearly a lot more patient than Dee was. And humble. And all around a good lad. She usually stayed away from those - or tried to corrupt them by tempting them into her rule-bending ways. But maybe she could make an exception for this one - in the course of just a few minutes, he had manage to thoroughly endear himself to the Ravenclaw with an efficiency that would have been scary if it had been on purpose.

He was maybe also a little too timid, judging from his self-evaluation declaring him not good enough for the Slytherin team (yet), but they could work on that. Granted, he did need work. But most of the Slytherin duellists didn't have a Dee to help them train. Dee crossed her arms, considering. He'd grasped the corrections she'd made to his stance pretty naturally, but that had been when she had quite literally moved him into the right position. From what she'd seen, that had also been where most of his issues with the Knockback Jinx had stemmed from - that, and maybe a lack of confidence.

"Well, Percival," she said, pushing up her sleeves, "I can't promise you're gonna be anywhere near as good as me, but if you're up for it, why don't we start with a small lesson right now?" She took a step back, already assuming he would accept the offer, and scanned him again, head to toe. Noted the way he stood, the way he held his wand now that he wasn't actively using it. There was a clear change in her attitude, now; more intense, more serious, despite the joking tone of her previous remarks. What had been light-hearted entertainment to her when she'd entered the duelling club had turned into a commitment. "Get back into casting stance, will you?"

If he complied, she'd start adjusting his stance again, with more detail this time - the positioning of his feet, the angle of his upper body, the direction his hips were turned. His grip on the wand, the position of his elbow, the twist of his wrist. Once done, she nodded. "Alright, remember how this feels. That's your basic casting stance. You'll see that mine is a bit different, but you'll figure out what works best for you with time. I'm not usually a big fan of following textbook stances; duelling has to feel right or the spells will come out wrong. But it's a good starting point."

She slid into duelling position next to him, demonstrating how her angles were a bit different, her wand gripped more loosely; Dee's duelling style had always been based on speed. "And now, you want that stance to become automatic. It's the position you always return to between different manoeuvres. So what we're going to do is move out of position - to cast a spell, or take a step into any direction, and then immediately fall back into stance."

Stepping back, she gestured for him to start, then, after each reset, she'd correct the stance again - and again, and again. She noted the progress, focussing her attention on where he struggled instead. And then, after a good reset and without warning, she placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a good shove sideways.

@Percival Rocier