Duelling Stage 1, Day 2 Spectator Closed

The duel was going badly. As the first duel he was watching, he could hardly believe just how bad it was. He was stunned, watching as Ruka took the brunt of many attacks and his partner and him failed nearly every spell. Unlike Ruka, who seemed to smile despite everything, his partner was growing impatient, scowling. It was a fairly stressful situation, but Flash doubted he could he angry when looking at Ruka... dancing like he was. He was a fantastic dancer, after all.

That was when it happened. The movement was simple, but it caused an instant reaction in the crowd. His partner pointed his wand at him, though he failed again as usual. Did this Gryffindor have no concentration at all? A bit taken off guard, Flash turned to see Miss Dealla yelling at the boy, chastising him with some choice words. Flash agreed, there was really no scenario where attacking your partner was a good idea. It seemed like a rather bull-headed move, not to mention all of the animosity from his team and the spectators he would be brewing up. Perhaps he suddenly decided dueling wasn't for him and was looking for the worst possible way to quit.

He likely didn't know Ruka very well anyway, if he decided to target him. Flash could hardly recall what it was like to underestimate him, since it was a grave error he deeply regretted in his first year. Though, frankly, the move was so toneless that he expected the Gryffindor had no idea how his actions would ripple out going forward. That was the only explanation Flash could come up with for such flagrant and careless self-sabotage. Not a moment after Dealla's clear outrage, Flash heard a second, extremely familiar voice. Of course, Burnett was also outraged. Now there was someone you didn't want to get on the bad side of.

Flash would look at him, though it was hardly the time to strike up a conversation. Similarly to how he was avoiding Ruka, it seemed like Burnett was avoiding him. The three had spent so much time together the year before, but had barely said anything since the new year started. Burnett had been there for Flash when he needed someone, defended him when he was hurting himself, held him when he was lonely. He wasn't sure what had changed. Perhaps it was what he said on the carriage ride, or the fact that Ruka and him were brothers now. Perhaps Burnett was just tired of Flash, now that he wasn't fun to toy with anymore.

Flash wasn't outraged, more... confused. Perhaps, slightly, pitying. He wasn't immune to his own self-sabotage from time to time, but he was always trying to improve. Was this a call for help, isolating himself and making enemies? Well, he didn't know who this boy was, but he had formed an opinion on him. Destructive, careless, petty. The type to avoid. It was a shame that Ruka got paired with him of all people, but it wasn't like either of them were having much luck. It wasn't long before Ruka passed out, too exhausted to dance any longer. At least he wouldn't have to suffer through this match any longer.

As the remaining Gryffindor continued to have his spells fizzle into nothing, seeming to taunt Dealla for correctly chastising him, Flash was done. He had no interest in watching the boy make a fool of himself further, it was giving him second-hand embarrassment. When he turned to leave however, he saw that the spectators room was packed with people that would recognize him. Well, that was fine. Almost no one knew about his history with Ruka, and he was fairly sure Ruka didn't see him either. That just left Burnett, of course, who knew far too much about what had happened. He had been the one that practically forced them to talk about it. What a terrible day that was.

"Good morning." Flash leaned in to speak, the ruckus of the continuing duels and crowd being less than quiet. "I hope Ruka gets a new partner soon."

With that, Flash left to continue with the rest of his day, before the afternoon duels would begin. No need to see the results, he wished Frost the best of luck, but he didn't want to endure any more of this mess, now that Ruka was out for the count.


The other two matches seemed so long when compared to Dmitri's match, though Flash got the feeling that most of the matches wouldn't be resolved as quickly as his. Bridget's match seemed nearly at a complete stand-still. While they had taken care of Santario relatively quickly, now neither side seemed to be making any real progress. There were a few hits on either side, but what were the odds that Bridget could continue to last in a 1 v 2? He wanted to say a long time, he wanted her to be able to win despite everything, but it wasn't looking good. Though he was never one to shout out, Flash cleared his voice before raising it.

"You can do it, Bridget!" He called, briefly.

In the other match, Adonis had knocked himself out with his own spell, and Opeila, who had been doing fairly well for most of the match, was looking sick and disoriented. Once again, May was not very responsive. Perhaps she had nerves, or was in over her head. He didn't really know her well enough to say. Opeila seemed determined though, even when it was clear that she was going to succumb to the curse of the bogies. Once she dropped, Willow looked up to Flash, who waved back with a big smile. She looked happy, and he was proud. She had been having trouble lately with returning to the same confidence she had during their first year. Hopefully this would be a step towards reclaiming some pride in herself.

Now all that was left was Bridget's match. From what Flash could tell, The Veridian Vipers were doing excellent in their matches so far, claiming most of their matches as victories. Opeila's match, it seemed, was the first loss, though Flash couldn't find it in himself to wish anything different. Willow deserved the win for her hard work. As for Bridget's match, it didn't look good, but he still had hope. With Thora beside him, he hoped she would be able to feel their encouragement and support. Not that it would necessarily help her cast spells better, but one could hope.

Morning Slot
Watching | Group F: Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff

Closed to interactions.

There was just a second in which it looked like Ruka's eyes flickered her way again, but she barely noticed, too focused on his partner, her attention a bubble with no space for anything else. If he even tried to cast on Ruka again, made any movement whatsoever, she didn't care, she'd come looking for him and hound him for this. No matter how badly her own duel had gone the day before, this was something she wouldn't fail at.

She was glaring, aquamarine eyes flashing when Zykeal turned towards her, for the first time this duel. His lips were moving but she couldn't hear it - was he even talking to her? Apparently it had taken her full-out screaming at him for him to hear anything she'd said, so his words likely weren't meant for her to hear.

At least his next attack was directed at the Hufflepuffs again, but any thought focused on Zykeal was wiped from her mind when she saw the Knockback Jinx flash towards Ruka. He'd been in bad shape before, under the effect of both a Wind Jinx and Tarantallegra, so this was only the last straw, but Dee still winced when she saw the flash of blue hit him, and Ruka went down.

Everything seemed to rush by after that. She didn't care about the outcome of the duel, it would have really been hard for her to care less. She only stayed long enough to watch Ruka be removed from the duel, likely to be taken to the Hospital Wing, before she turned around and left, the bitter taste of anger and disappointment in her mouth.

Ruka Burnett-Tân | Zykeal Lane

Thread left.

Right as things seemed impossible, something changed in Bridget's duel. Even though it was a 2 vs 1, one of the Ravenclaws seemed to stop participating. He wasn't sure if it might have been clearer what was happening had he sat somewhere else, but as far as he could tell, she just stopped. He didn't know her at all, but this would not be a great first impression. Was she having second thoughts about joining the dueling team, or something else?

Either way, Flash had become excited for what now seemed like a more even match, but not long after the first Ravenclaw exited the stage, the other one followed. It raised some questions, but the entire match had been a bit strange. He couldn't pretend that despite the somewhat anti-climactic ending, he was overjoyed that Bridget had won in the end. He smiled and waved, presumably with Thora at his side doing the same. It certainly could have gone better, but a victory was a victory.

With that, it seemed the Vipers were in an excellent position. If he hadn't miscalculated, five out of their six matches were wins for Slytherin. It didn't surprise him that his house would excel at competitive spellcasting. Wondering idly how influential Dmitri was on the performance of the team, Flash said his goodbyes to Thora before leaving the audience. He would likely see Bridget around and congratulate her when there was less crowding and ruckus.

-Morning Slot-
Group F: Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff


The air crackled with magic as the duelists engaged in a fierce exchange of charms and curses. While the nimble First Year seemed to glide over a relentless assault that sought to eliminate her early, her Gryffindor counterparts were struggling to hold their own. All the while, the shadow of Frost loomed over the audience like a giant bat, an aura of cruel superiority descending over lesser creatures. Perhaps the duelists saw each other different, but to Jackson, he pictured her as one of the villains from the stories he had been told as a child, one who wielded great power and wielded it mercilessly.

He didn’t despise her. Nor did he admire her. He admired the art of duelling itself, and somewhere somehow, he envisioned that he would shatter her crown of ice and take upon himself that very mantle of victor. His steely eyed gaze traced the fallen forms of the Gryffindor duelists as they were wheeled out to the hospital wing. Up until now, his purpose had lain out of grasp and out of sight, but now he saw it clear as day. Or at least, he thought he did. Here, amid the slinging of spells and the cries of pain, he found a task to set his restless mind to.

He watched with respectful contempt as the Hufflepuff girls clinched their prize and his gaze fell once again to his wounded housemates. When he was young, he had been taught that in all things, there was always one who won, and one who lost. He had always believed it in the way a man would follow the scriptures of his religion. But now seeing the antithesis of victory and defeat before his very eyes was like witnessing God for the first time. He had seen the truth firsthand. And now, nothing could shake his faith.

Withdrawing silently from the crowd as hordes of spectators charged to embrace the duelling victors, Jackson retreated into the faceless swarm. . .

The Gryffindor common room was quiet that night. Nobody wanted to mention the humiliation that had been endured that day. Minutes later, he found himself buried face deep into his pillow as he tried to ease his mind. But as he tried to swallow away his excitement, his thoughts began to choke him. How could he rest now? For days, he had wandered around Hogwarts questioning the purpose of his wasted life. For years, he had slaved as an academic prize child for parents who loved him only as much as the glory he could bring. Now, that competitive race had returned to him, and he allowed his natural instinct to take the reins. This was water he was familiar with. But as with all pools, shallow or deep, he acquainted himself by dipping his toes in first. . .


Closed to Interaction

The chaos that was three duels raging simultaneously was beginning to get to Thora. Hogwarts being somewhat constantly in such a state, she wasn't yet annoyed by the fact, but simply couldn't help noticing as the noise only continued to increase in volume, escalating alongside the duels. Each lessening of sound left an infernal ringing in her ears, but she shook her head to clear it, set on keeping track of Slytherins' duelists. She was here to support her house, after all, not whine about people's enthusiasm.

It wasn't as if she could focus, anyway - even though her attention was mostly on Bridget's duel, there were plenty of distractions with the incantations and sudden flashes of light from all of the corners of the stage alike. Despite it all, the energy was infectious; there was an excitement that tugged her spirits up, bringing sparkle to her eyes and a smile to her face. Until now, duelling had been something of a rare happening, so Thora, too, was eager to be present, even if she were just a spectator amidst a roaring crowd as opposed to one of those on the stage. Duelling had been fun, but she felt that for her, Quidditch was the superior choice - for now, at least.

Slytherin was faring pretty well overall, it seemed. At one end, Ruby and Dimitri had already finished off the Ravenclaws they'd been duelling, sweeping up another victory for Slytherin. At the other, Santario had been knocked unconscious and removed from the stage, Bridget left to fight one on two. Thora bit harder on her lip, fingernails digging ten uniform dents in her palms. She had faith that her friend could win the duel, especially since both Ravenclaws had taken some hits already and she was sure Bridget was a brilliant duelist, but few spells - from either team, at least - appeared to be successful, most veering far off-target or not making it out of their wands at all. It really was unfortunate, but then again, she supposed misfortune and missed spells could plague even the best of duelists.

"Come on, Bridget!" she cried, a shout caught up in the hurricane of cheers surrounding her - and that of Flash, who still sat beside her. Right. Their previous encounters, albeit both few and short, hadn't been all too enjoyable and to be honest, Thora wasn't sure what sort of opinion she had of him. On one hand, he seemed to know what he wanted and wasn't afraid to voice it. On the other, however, he'd been dismissive of her the first time they'd crossed paths, a late night in the common room in a larger group trading notes in preparation for the Blossomball. She wasn't often one to jump to conclusions, but it was safe to say that Flash hadn't given Thora a great first impression.

She was a little surprised of their seemingly similar reasons in attending the duels this afternoon, as he hadn't been very vocal in the past minutes where he'd been in earshot other than to cheer on Bridget. Thora hadn't really been aware of the two's acquaintance - however, she wasn’t in the business of poking her nose into other people's lives, so she supposed it ought not to be unexpected. There was a twinge of something unfamiliar - was it envy? Wariness? - but she pushed it aside, sweeping it into a shadowy corner. Perhaps Flash was far more friendly than she'd perceived those first couple meetings. After all, it did seem to be so as they sat in a comfortable silence, an eye in the storm of chaos that was the stands.

Though she hated to glance away from Bridget's duel, for surely something significant would happen as soon as she stopped staring it down, Thora tore her gaze away to the only other ongoing duel - the one with Opeila. The second year was no more than simply an acquaintance to her, but at least she was a recognizable face. After all, it was more than Thora could say about most everyone at Hogwarts. It seemed both sides were doing quite well in their spellcasting, despite several hits from the opposition finding their mark. The Curse of the Bogies was taking working its nasty magic as usual, wearing down two of the duelists - in fact, Thora was impressed they were still able to cast and dodge.

The teams seemed quite evenly matched, in fact, each duelist dishing out (and receiving) a fair amount of damage. Thora had begun studying the foursome as close as her vantage from the stands allowed, wondering which would be the first to fall. It was just a matter of time, after all - despite their resilience, they could really only remain standing for so long. Then came the next round of spells, and the boy collapsed to the floor, finally finished by a well-placed spell from Hufflepuff as well as his own spell backfiring. It seemed that the badgers had finally gained the upper hand, with an unsteady-looking Opeila facing off two girls (one of whom, to Slytherin's credit, didn't seem too well either). Again, casting the Curse of the Bogies early on in the match was a smart move - the magic-induced cold worsened over time, eventually growing strong enough to knock someone out. In Thora's opinion, it was an obvious backup plan; if hitting an opponent on target constantly proved problematic, they'd still eventually fall unconscious from the cold. In fact, she'd used it herself in her first (and so far only) duel - she just hadn't remained standing long enough to see its final effect.

And then it was all over. Opeila collapsed to the ground, the cold having finally gotten the better of her, and with that came a victory for Hufflepuff. It was disappointing, even simply as a spectator, but they'd done their best - wasn't that what mattered? With a small sigh, Thora swiveled back towards Bridget's duel, where she'd been blindfolded. She clenched and unclenched her left fist as she observed the struggle, a supportive friend unable to do anything but watch.

But a few spellcasts later, the third and final duel left still running seemed near a close. One of Ravenclaw's duellists seemed to have frozen, resulting in a removal from the duel, and suddenly it was a one on one, only two duelists left on the stage. Bridget cast a beautiful Ventus, a whirlwind of wind bursting out of her wand. Thora scooted to the edge of her seat, fully expecting the other to react, to retaliate. She watched and watched, but even as the wind died down, disappearing as quickly as it'd arrived, there was no attempt, nothing but… a raised hand.

Brow furrowed, she cocked her head to the side as the Ravenclaw left the stage swiftly, leaving no explanation. So, Bridget had won, then! It wasn't the most climatic, real finish of a duel - more unsatisfying, rather, given the victory had been due to one opponent having been removed and the other forfeiting - but Thora was still happy with the results. It was odd, for sure, but at least Slytherin had won. She hadn't bothered to attend the morning's duels, partly because she wasn't sure she had the time with Quidditch and homework dominating her schedule and since the sport didn't hold her interest that much, but it seemed that the Vipers were putting up quite a strong front, something about which they ought to be proud of.

"See you around," she called as Flash left, remaining in the stands for a few moments more. Perhaps first impressions weren't everything, the boy having been rather pleasant company despite my lack of posts her lapses of silence. She couldn't deny that she hadn't thought Flash all that polite at first, but he'd seemed quite nice, just now. Maybe she'd been wrong to judge - after all, it wasn't right to do so unless you really knew someone.

Interacting: @Scarlett Aden
Mentioning: @Logan Baird | @Lucia Fox | @Eyre Reeves | @Rose Moon

As the tension died down which Henry was grateful for and his attention was back on the duel. He couldn't help but flinch from anxiety as he watched spell after spell hit both gryffindor's even though a small part of him was happy that Logan and her partner that he faintly remembered being told her name was Lucia was winning. The twelve year old still felt rather bad for the gryffindor's on the other end, okay he felt rather bad for Rose who at least he considered a friend maybe even a close one at that and at the sight of the girl being knocked uncontrollably he wanted to race over to her and pull her to safety but he knew she was safe, there were protocols for duels anyway and he could see her in the hospital wing anyway.

After that Henry smiled a bit at the sight of Eyre also getting knocked unconscious, he didn't like the boy but he didn't hate him either as he looked over at Logan and her partner who he hoped her name was Lucia as he shouted to them " Wicked duel guys! Go hufflepuff! Awesome win!" Henry smiled at her before turning to Scarlett and saying " I guess this is bye then," Henry gave her a smile then left for the hospital wing

Henry has left the thread

Lydia's eyes were glued on the duel, as she tried to observe both how her teammates were doing, and if she could figure out any kind of strategy that the other team -or well, only Zykeal in this case- was using, but that last task proved more difficult than imagined, since the boy kept dancing uncontrollably, thanks to the Tarantallegra that Lea had hit him with.

The two Hufflepuffs were doing quite well, and despite her initial worries, the Hufflepuff Captain was extremely happy with how the pair was working together. For a second her eyes widened as she saw Frost's spell accidentally aim towards Lea, but the younger Huffle was quite quick and moved out of the way, avoiding the knockback jinx.

As the duel proceeded, the tension grew more and more; Zykeal aimed a powerful Incendio towards Lea, that however managed to avoid it quite easily, and hit the Gryffindor boy with a Tarantallegra once again, just like Frost hit him with a Flipendo. The red headed girl felt extremely proud of them, and she thought that, if Zykeal would have ended up winning the duel, she would have been still incredibly happy and proud of the good job her team mates had done.

While Frost healed herself a little bit, since the Curse of the Bogies was getting worse each passing minute, Lea got hit by Zyk's Incendio, but luckily the flames went out as the First year avoided a Flipendo that the Gryffindor boy had cast at her. Then, in perfect synchrony, Lea's and Frost's spell hit Zykeal at the same time, and Lydia couldn't help but do a little celebratory jump.

With those two final spells, the Hufflepuff team had won the duel, and Lydia smiled wide at the two girls. "You did amazing girls! Good job!" she told them and gave them a thumb up.

Feeling happy and excited, thanks to this amazing victory, Lydia smiled once more to her teammates and then made her way out of the Duelling Club.

Lydia has left the thread