Duelling Stage 1, Day 2 Spectator Closed

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SEPTEMBER 18TH
@Henry Knight@Lucia Fox@Rose Moon@Eyre Reeves@Logan Baird]

Scarlett had preferred to remain on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team when Duelling and Broom Racing came out as official Hogwarts sports. Now, broom racing sounded easy - dodging obstacles was the only peril, and that wasn't so hard, was it? And duelling - duelling appeared to be great. Fabulous even. Scarlett knew Charms, and she loved her wand and she loved spellwork. But fighting someone on a wooden stage wasn't that appealing to the girl. She liked the freedom of soaring through the air and hitting people with metal balls. Moving to first-string only strengthened her decision.

That wasn't to say she wouldn't watch her friends duel, however. The Quidditch waitlist was rather large, so when duelling came up, students seemed to have jumped on the opportunity to finally take part in a sport and have that precious, treasured title of 'Duellist'. In this case, two good friends of hers, Rose Moon and Lucia Fox, had signed up for duelling, and had been granted a spot on their house team. Today would be their first match and she wouldn't miss it for the world.

Scarlett was stood in the spectators area and saw a familiar face. Merlin, him again. Would they ever stop bumping into each other? She glared at Henry, debating what to do. Scarlett didn't want to cause trouble today, so settled on walking up to the Slytherin.

"You stay out of my way, I stay out of yours," said Scarlett flatly. She turned on her heel and walked back to where she was standing. Scarlett saw a brunette she didn't know, Rose, Lucia and Rose's boyfriend, who had Flipendoed her in SWAG. She didn't really like Rose's boyfriend anymore. They aimed their wands at each other, and Scarlett rocked on her heels in excitement as flashes of light shot by, most missing, but one hitting - Lucia casting a Green Sparks Charm at Eyre.

"GO LIONS!" shouted Scarlett eagerly. Gryffindor was her house after all, and she needed to have some sense of house pride. "BUT ALSO GO LUCIA AND THE OTHER ONE! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN A GREEN SPARKS CHARM LUCIA!"

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Flash had been eagerly anticipating the start of that year of dueling, in no little part due to his deep rooted connection to many of the students involved, as well as a healthy dose of the spirit of competition. He was no different than any other Slytherin when it came to pride, he was always glad to be associated with a house that had a good reputation. Not only that, but watching a dueling match was sure to be exciting.

Strange then, that he showed up on the second day, to a match that had no Slytherins in it. In fact, he hoped he wouldn’t be standing out at all. While in the evening he had planned to keep an eye on all three matches, that morning he was only looking at one person. Ruka. He knew the Hufflepuffs he was fighting, but only from single interactions. The other Gryffindor, not at all. It would be hard for it to have made a difference anyway, Ruka had always been someone that Flash couldn’t take his eyes off of.

Yet still, he was no closer to understanding why. Brilliant and dangerous, beautiful and frightening. Perhaps it had become something of a hidden obsession that he kept kindled like a candle in a storm. Seeing his name written on the roster had given Flash a visceral reaction, he wasn’t even tempted once to keep his distance. Still, he didn’t know if his watchful eyes were welcome. Ruka attested to wanting to get to know Flash better, but it seemed so difficult. Talking to Ruka… was always difficult. Flash had always preferred watching. Admiring, away from the responsibility of having to explain it.


When Flash returned for the evening, he had no such secret motives. It seemed the people he was most interested in watching were unfortunately all fighting simultaneously across all three tables. For one, his dear friends Willow and Opeila were pitted against one another, as well as Bridget on one table making her debut as a duelist. There were of course many more he knew and was interested in keeping track of, though the one that might have least been expected was his eye for the Slytherin captain, Dmitri. Their acquaintance was new and strange. Frankly, part of Flash’s recklessness that night was in part due to their strangeness to one another. Still, because of it, they had become quite a bit more familiar.

There was little fanfare however as the moderators quickly released the tension, starting the matches. Flash struggled at first to know where to look, he heard voices and spells he recognized, but flipping from one person to another, there was much to concentrate on. Opeila missed… Willow hit Opeila, but was hit by Adonis as well, while her ally frozen in place taking no action. Before Bridget had even had the chance to act, Dmitri and Ruby exploded onto a hapless Ravenclaw first year, knocking him out in round one while still doing damage to the other enemy duelist.

The intensity caught most people’s attention, no less Flash’s as his eyebrows raised in astonishment. It was no wonder he was captain. While he nearly felt bad for the outmatched first year, it also put the Slytherin team in a good position. Dmitri seemed confident, though upon second glance he also seemed afflicted with copious amounts of snot. At least it wasn’t the slug spell, Flash wouldn’t have been able to bear to watch.

It was quite exciting. He would never be the type to yell and cheer loudly, but anyone watching his body language could tell he was brimming with delighted anticipation.

Yesterday Xailah had gone to watch Pericles duel. Today she would return to the dueling club, to support two other friends in their duels. Meenauh in the morning, and Ruby in the afternoon. Xailah had made sure that she was free at both times- she didn't want to miss a thing. The metamorph arrived with a basket in hand, a thermos in the other, and a cat draped around her neck. She quickly spied Meenauh, and her teammate- who she was... extremely surprised to see, to say the least. Xailah was more than just a little concerned to see Meenauh paired with Galton; so while the Gryffindors walked onto the stage, Xailah would try to whisper to the girl. Well it was more of a hoarse shout, than a whisper- but it would get her point across. "Meena- Meena if Galton sssuddenly goes feral, just tell him that the other team is made of candy." Xailah stared. She was completely serious. She had seen what Galton could do- not once, but twice. What that cub was capable of, genuinely concerned her. The last thing she wanted to see, was Meenauh fall victim to his gluttony.

Meenauh would be hit ad nauseam. It wasn't the worst curse she could have been hit with, but it was pretty bad. Xailahs brows would crease as she watched the girl sniffle, and wipe her runny nose on the sleeve of her black robes. No not on your sleeves Meenauh... Xailah made a mental note to start brining tissues to the duels. "Thats right, brush it off Meenauh! I ssswear your spell almost hit that boy!" Xailah cheered. She couldn't physically help her snotty friend- which was irritating, yes- but she could play cheerleader, and attempt to keep the Gryffindor team's morale, raised. Xailah didn't want to see Meenauh go out with snot on her face- so, she crossed her gloved fingers, and hoped for the best.







Xailah would return to where the duels were being held, once again. This time she was here to watch Ruby duel. The young snake had been acting a bit strange as of late; so Xailah wanted to be around as much as possible to make sure the child was doing alright. The hatchling deserved all of the support, that the lioness had to offer. Xailah desperately wanted to see Ruby work through whatever was bothering her. Thus, Xailah promised herself that she would be there to help Ruby- even if the girl refused the help. The Gryffindor didn't want to see the snake walk down the path, that she was currently walking. Xailah walked to a spot close to the stage. She had stood in the exact spot for the two previous duels she had attended, and had decided to claim it as her own. That was her spot now.

Just like the other two duels, Xailah carried with her, a basket, and a large cat. She skimmed all the faces that stood on the stage; her eyes would fall on the face that she was looking for. "Ruby!" Xailah waved to the young Slytherin. It certainly didn't take long for the snakes to spring into action. The Gryffindor had looked up just in time to see the Ruby send one of her Ravenclaw competitors flying. Xailah looked around to see a few shocked faces, and winces from her peers. She would not take part in sharing the pained looks- she would start to clap. A good spell. Ruby wasn't afraid to dive right in with offensive spells. "One left! Finish them Ruby! I want to see your team win this!"

𓆗 Supporting @Ruby Cazares 𓆗

Margo chanced a glance at her watch as she ran. It was half-past. Merlin's pants, she was going to be late! The furry bundle in her arms was not helping matters. Hades had somehow caught a cold and had looked at her so morosely as she left her dorm that she'd just had to bring him along. Besides, he liked Ruby.

Margo skidded to a stop just in time to hear her friend acknowledging the fact Ravenclaw was going to be crushed. She glanced quickly at her friend's competitors. They looked like decent people. Margo almost felt sorry for them.

But more than anything, she was excited to see Ruby in action. Her partner looked promising too, though not really someone you'd want to sit and enjoy a nice cup of tea with. Shame. Tea was one of the great necessities of life, in Margo's opinion.

Just then, Ruby, with the practised moves of a striking snake, managed to throw someone across the room with a single wave of her wand.

Hades sneezed.

"Hey!" Margo teased, stroking him gently on the head. "I thought it was a bit more impressive than that."

She then raised her voice. "Whoo! Go on Rubes, crush 'em!"

She grinned. "And then we can go and drink tea!"

What? She was thirsty. And besides, what're friends for?

She already knew Slytherin was going to win...

Although Thora had been briefly indecisive over whether to continue on Slytherin's Quidditch team or try out for duelling, she'd soon decided that duelling wasn't for her—not now, anyway. She'd participated in one of the first pair duels the previous summer, where she'd been the first one knocked out after being hit with countless Flipendos. She was no longer bothered by the fact, of course, but it hadn't been the most pleasant experience; besides, while she was only a second-string player, she really did enjoy Quidditch and was looking forward to a second season.

Evidently, she wasn't the only one forced to make a choice between teams, as a few Slytherins had departed from the Quidditch team to try out for—and make—the Viridian Vipers, their new house duelling team. Duels were fun and Thora was certainly happy for them, but there was a lingering sadness as she noticed their absences each time she headed down to the pitch for a Quidditch practice, Bridget in particular. After a year of both of them playing, it felt strange to Thora to not have her best friend by her side at practice, but she'd let it go, sure that Bridget would be a good duellist. After all, it was for the same reason she was here, standing on her tiptoes amidst the spectators, awaiting the looming commencement of the afternoon duels. Really, she was mainly here for Group D's duel, but all three at this hour would feature Slytherin, so she supposed it would all be worth it.

Of course, she'd have liked to spectate as many of the duels as possible, but time was rather scarce as she was a third year now, with a considerable homework load each night. Though attending all of them would be impossible, there was no question as to which slot she would choose—the one Bridget was duelling in, of course.

Besides, this was a matter of house pride as well; she was there to cheer on Slytherin. Period. She had a few acquaintances, some closer than others, in other houses, of course, but her loyalties lay with her house. She'd never been one to yell and there'd be no way her voice, quiet on average, would carry over the chaos in the crowd that came with the last set of duels for the day. Still, she wouldn't remain quiet, of course—to her, silence didn't really feel like support. "You got this, Slytherin!" she called, cupping both hands around her mouth. That would suffice, even if it got lost in the voices of the others.

She turned her attention on Group D for the time being, unable to focus on all three at the same time. With the customary stating of the rules and the referee's command, the duel began. In all honesty, spectating a duel was rather strange, especially since Thora was accustomed to watching Quidditch, eyes glued to the sky on constant action rather than forwards. Her green gaze darted back and forth in attempts to guess the players' moves and anticipation of wands alight with color—assuming the spells were successful, of course—as she awaited the duellers' spells.

And finally, they were at it. The attempts of all four girls were partially successful, but none of them reached the intended target, three of them veering off and one backfiring. Thora frowned, biting a fingernail as Bridget's well-cast spell (well, all she could see was that it had been successful, at least), fired back at the Slytherin. She couldn't see what exactly had gone down, but it was nothing drastic, as far as she could tell—and no fire yet, which was a little surprising given how popular the spell seemed around campus—but her insides began to churn, mixing nervousness for her housemates with the pure excitement she'd felt previously. Getting hurt was practically called for in a duel—it was nearly impossible not to get hit throughout an entire match, after all—but Thora hated watching as her best friend, housemates, or anyone, really, was pummeled continuously with spells.

The cries of supporting housemates and friends mingled with confident spellcasts, resulting in a steady crescendo of noise. But even though Thora was one to enjoy solitude, she didn't quite mind this time. This was duelling, after all.

As the duel began, there wasn't much to see. That was, everyone on stage must have been fairly nervous, with how the spells were flying fast, but at no target in particular. Only one spell did any damage, and it was the Hufflepuff he didn't know nearly blinding the Gryffindor he didn't know. The sweet and adorable Frost had missed her mark, though her spirits seemed high. Though she was a prefect, Flash had a certain amount of trust in her. After all, she was friends with Falentra, and didn't bat an eye when Flash both broke curfew and other unmentionable illegal activities in front of her. Clearly the laid back, so-long-as-you-aren't-hurting-anyone type of authority. He didn't necessarily want to see her getting hurt.

Ruka missed too, a blindfold not attaching to anyone's eyes. Flash flinched, he hoped Ruka wouldn't take it too hard, though he was historically pretty hard on himself. It almost surprised Flash that Ruka would even try out for the dueling team, but he was glad he did. It wasn't healthy to avoid people all the time, and dueling was an excellent way of getting out a bit of wanton frustration in a legal way. That was, so long as one was winning, it could also be frustrating in and of itself.

The duel involved students from four different years, so it seemed remarkable that the one who hit was the first year of all people. It was still early in the match, so there was no telling which way it would go next. Flash clenched his hands, rubbing his fingers nervously as he watched. He wanted so badly for this to be a positive experience for Ruka, for him to be glad that he was coming out of his shell. Perhaps it was useless to hope for such an outcome, even if he won this match, he was sure to lose a few others if he stuck with it. He watched Ruka's expression, full of anxious wonder.


The intensity continued, spells being thrown around at every table so quickly that it was hard to keep up. Flash tried to register every move, but it was impossible with them being flung simultaneously. He really hoped he wouldn't have to suffer through trying to watch three games at once again next time around, it was a bit of a headache, especially with how much he cared about each table. He wished he could give them each his undivided attention, but it was impractical to have each duel be one after the other. It would take all day, or longer, and likely some unlucky duels would end up with a tired or non-existent audience.

On the table with the most people he knew, blows were being exchanged at a quick rate. Willow hit Adonis, and Opeila hit Willow. Willow was certainly not looking to be in a very good position, though Flash was surprised that it seemed like Opeila was targeting her. Then again, perhaps the fact that they knew each other encouraged her to knock Willow out as quickly as possible. It was a very Slytherin way of thinking if true, as it was ruthlessly efficient. Remove the emotional element to carve the way to victory. Meanwhile poor Adonis was stuck trying to cast spells through tickling laughter, a very 'Willow' form of revenge.

Meanwhile, it seemed like Dmitri and the remaining Ravenclaw were talking, though Flash didn't have the capability to catch everything that was said while so much else was drawing his attention. The tone however was unmistakable-- condescension. It was amusing to see Dmitri so full of confidence, even with the mucus spell reddening his face with itchy swelling. The Dmitri that Flash had met was not even slightly as sure of himself. Defensive, nervous. Perhaps having a wand in his hand made all the difference, he was proving to be a flawless caster so far. Flash would hate to be at the end of that length of chestnut, and hoped he never would be. He wasn't about to underestimate this display of power.

Interesting though, that the crowd seemed far more enamored by Ruby, who was not faring quite as spectacularly, even having one of her spells backfire despite not being under very much pressure. It seemed that even though both of them were rough around the edges, Ruby had formed significant attachments in the school, and Dmitri had not. He was taunting the Ravenclaw, getting under her skin and making her lose her concentration. It was ruthless, but it was working. A useful tactic for sure, but he certainly wasn't winning any hearts and minds in the crowd. Likely, he didn't care to. Interesting. Perhaps he was so off-putting that even his dueling partner was feeling uneasy.

Speaking of spells backfiring, it seemed Bridget was just as unlucky. Flash recognized the spell, and the quiet thereafter made things clear: she had accidentally silenced herself. A rough first round for her first duel, but she didn't seem all too phased. Though Bridget had nerves like anyone else, she was also reasonable enough to not let one setback get to her. From a cheer to his side, Flash noticed her best friend Miss Thora was also attending, to no one's surprise.

Despite a few setbacks, it seemed the Veridian Vipers were not only popular, but also doing quite well. If they dominated the competition, there was sure to be lots of celebration around the house. He hoped so, they always seemed to get into horrible trouble that left them battered and broken, though perhaps that contributed to their experience and skill.

Back at the first table, it seemed Opeila had returned the favor by casting the tickling charm on Willow. Now both her and Adonis were filling that side of the room with short bursts of uncontrollable laughter. Though he doubted Willow felt the same, Flash found it rather comical. Even though it was supposed to be a serious duel with reputation on the line, it seemed somehow fitting that such a group ended up full of laughter. He hoped the two of them weren't taking it so seriously that resentment might start brewing.

At Dmitri's table, he flung a devastating knock back charm on the Ravenclaw, so much so that she was having trouble standing back up. Domination indeed, and quite the opposite tone from the duel on the other side. Flash wondered how much longer the solo duelist would fare, or whether Dmitri planned to toy with her more before finishing her off. Just how far did he plan to go?

At Bridget's table, her partner Santario was doing a noble job of keeping up while she was momentarily indisposed. Flash honestly knew next to nothing about her, but she seemed like a competent duelist. She was dodging spells, and succeeded in her own wind charm. They were set up for a good next round as long as Bridget's tongue untied. Flash decided to approach Thora, though their acquaintance was a somewhat strained one. She wasn't too happy with him when they first met, and he had commanded her to forfeit when they came face-to-face at the illegal fight club they were forced into. She had silently complied, but he assumed it hadn't been a great experience for her. Still, they were both close to Bridget, and that was what they were there for.

"She looks confident. I'm sure she'll bring it around." Flash smiled at Thora, not at all sure how welcome his presence would be.

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SEPTEMBER 18TH
@Henry Knight @Lucia Fox @Rose Moon @Eyre Reeves @Logan Baird @Mars T'ien

Every round, she expected Lucia's winning streak to end. Every round she was proved wrong.

With an open mouth, Scarlett watched as Lucia's spells hit their mark every. Goddamn. Time. Now, she would normally be happy. Lucia was a friend, and a good one at that. However, Rose was a friend as well, and a friend from her house. Her house, which she was hoping would win the duelling championships. Scarlett couldn't very well support Hufflepuff, of all teams! Even so, she took silent pleasure as Eyre appeared to be suffering from some misfortunes, though she tried to squash them down.

Wait, what was that obnoxious, pest-like voice? Ah, Henry Knight, supreme interferer.

She didn't acknowledge what he said, preferring to spin around to face him. "Can you just stay out of my business! she snapped, a glint of murderous anger in her dark-brown eyes. She moved away from him.

With keen eyes, Scarlett watched as spells failed and missed, except one. Lucia's. An Incendio charged towards Rose and Scarlett barely had time to leap forward - on impulse - and curl her fingers around her wand before realising she couldn't interfere. God, what a stupid rule. Wasn't the referee going to do anything? It seemed not. She would have to count on Rose's lame boyfriend, the Eyre guy. Hopefully he would be her knight in shining armour, even if the thought made her sick. But no! Eyre was vomiting slugs on the floor. For once, Scarlett was annoyed at the success of her friend.

She watched sickened as Rose's robes burst into flame and all she could do was scream, "Watch out-" a bit too late. Scarlett glanced around for help before deciding to shout at the referee, "Can you do something or-" Then Eyre. "EYRE GET UP AND HELP HER!"

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