Duelling Stage 2, Day 2 Spectator

[font=Monotype Corsiva]Morning Slot
Group A: Ravenclaw vs Slytherin
Group D: Hufflepuff vs Slytherin[/font]

@Willow Anderson @Astrea Soleil Neptune @Henry Knight @Dealla Prince @Pericles Dralt @Bridget Collins

On the next day, there were two matches in the morning that he was eager to watch. The first was really only because it was Willow's first time moderating a match. He expected her to pull it off flawlessly, but he still wanted to be nearby to support her in her new co-captain role on the Hufflepuff dueling team. No matter what she decided to try, he would be there to encourage her journey. More than anyone else in Hogwarts, Flash was attached to Willow. They spent much of their free time together, even though from the outside their worlds might have appeared to never intersect. On the contrary, they were practically connected at the hip.

It hadn't evaded Flash's notice that Ruka's team had been basically dissolved. After what happened last time, it was no surprised that his 'partner' would be kicked from the team, but then on top of that, Ruka left school. It had come as a bit of a shock for Flash, who only heard about it after the fact. The reasoning made sense, given he had an unconventional upbringing. Still, he had been such a coward all year that he hadn't managed to mutter even one word to the boy before he was gone. Their parting words the year before almost echoed like a dark joke-- that they meant to get to know each other better. Instead, Flash had practically hid from him. Because of that, a stinging sense of deep rooted shame accompanied him that morning.

Trying to maintain his enthusiasm for the sport despite his 12-year-old regrets, he was actually quite interested in the match Willow was moderating. It was a Slytherin match, for one, and against two Ravenclaws he was seeing a lot more of these days. Naturally, he wanted Slytherin to win as many points as possible, but he was also not particularly close to either of them. Astrea he had talked to specifically because of Willow's interest in her, though the conversation had not brought them any closer to having anything close to a friendship. She was stand-offish, a bit cold and terse. He was glad her opinion of Willow was a charmingly positive one (and therefore posed no threat), but he didn't generally associate with people like her. Pureblood, polite yet unfriendly.

Henry Knight was also one he didn't particularly like. He was brutish and loud, not to mention an anxious mess. He at least seemed to be a competent duelist, which was all he could really say for him. To be fair, Flash had a chip on his shoulder for most of his fellow dorm mates. They certainly didn't make his living situation any easier with their shenanigans. Their only real interaction so far this year consisted of Flash basically telling Henry to shut up, in slightly kinder terms. Needless to say, he was not very emotionally attached to their win, besides the raw points advantage that his competitive spirit craved.

Miss Dealla and Pericles however were people of some interest to Flash. Dealla for her bright mind and involvement in activities around the school. During his first year, he likely would have attached himself to her out of propriety-- a dueling captain, writer, organizing events, and being a prominent figure in her year. Nowadays, he was mostly satisfied to get to know her better slowly over time. The two of them weren't all the different after all, and therefore tended to run into each other anyway. If he called upon her for a favor, he figured she would at least humor him.

As for Pericles, it was not as straight-forward. Flash tentatively trusted Meenauh and Xailah, and they had implicated Pericles into their trio of would-be investigators into the odd occurrences around school. Even so, Erin Ryan had instilled a deep mistrust of the prefects in him, one that had him spending most of the start of the year tracking their moves meticulously. After attending errands with him and working on the Masquerade together though, Pericles seemed to be an extremely well mannered and kind person. Perhaps suspiciously so. Even in the SWAG game earlier that year, Flash had ganged up on and targeted Xailah and Pericles, only to be saved from falling by Xailah despite it.

He had tried to ease the steady beating of paranoia in his heart, but he had been fooled before. He thought for sure that his older brother was an icon to be looked up to, and an example to follow. How the universe must have laughed at his blindness. He wasn't going to let people into his heart so easily anymore.

At another table was Bridget's second duel. Naturally he wanted to be in attendance for that, another who had ascended into co-captain status in the meantime. It seemed the choice had been made to add secondary co-captains to relieve the professors from the responsibility of moderating matches, which only gave more opportunity for students to step up to the plate and shine. He was somewhat proud of Bridget for being the one to earn the position, of all the eager and cutthroat Slytherins. She certainly deserved it, and it almost seemed like she had been starting to step out of her comfort zone recently. When he first met her, she seemed very reserved, like she mostly kept to herself. If this was how she was destined to grow, he was excited to see where it would lead.

With little fanfare, the duels commenced. With the first group, there was mostly an even trade. Pericles had lost his own wand right away, also earning a blindfold to the face. Nerves, perhaps, but it seemed he wasn't the most competent duelist in the world. Like Flash, he was still young though. It made him wonder just how interesting the duels would become as the teams became better spell casters over the years. Astrea had duel cast the blindfold spell, but then found herself suspended by Dealla's. Both teams had bumbles and successes.

Over on Bridget's side, it seemed she was the only one who managed to get a spell to stick on the first round. Flash smiled and clasped his hands, he really hoped her match would go smoother this time. Her partner was the other co-captain, who last time around got pummeled into dust relatively early in the match. Together they would no doubt be a force to reckoned with, but Santario's aim needed work.

Just as he turned back to the match Willow was moderating, Astrea had been dropped, blindfolded, and tossed back seemingly all at once. A shock wave was felt through the crowd as they reacted to the elegant Slytherin's self-explosion. This was her first match, after all, and she likely wasn't too happy with how it was going. As Henry and Pericles removed their blindfolds, Miss Dealla seemed to be the only one making any meaningful progress. Well, perhaps Astrea's move would have been perfectly devastating if it actually worked. Not everyone could master the ability to double cast spells, as enticing as the idea was for duels with two opponents like this. Perhaps the Slytherin pride had finally started to eat its own tail after how well they had done in stage 1. Hopefully they could start getting their act together before it was too late.

[font=Monotype Corsiva]Afternoon Slot
Group F: Hufflepuff vs Slytherin[/font]

@Dmitri Jones @Frost Cira @Lea Hirsch

That afternoon, Flash returned to the stages for one match only. One could argue he had no good reason to keep watching Dmitri Jones' matches, but weren't they likely to be the most entertaining of all? This time, he wouldn't be distracted by all the other matches going on at the same time. He would grab a spot close to his duel so he could watch it properly. Study it, perhaps. Not only that, but Miss Frost was his competitor. She and her first year companion, Miss Lea, had been a match he watched the first round as well. He knew they worked well together, and Miss Lea was surprisingly competent for her age.

Frost offered kind words, only for Dmitri to throw them back in her face. He likely wouldn't see it, but Flash shot him a look of disapproval. Perhaps it was his intention to enrage or frustrate his opponents, but he hoped he knew that Frost was a formidable opponent. He didn't know whether he was underestimating her, or putting on a show. Only further watching would say for certain.

Open to interactions for both time slots

Even though duelling had clearly taken off from the very day the first official season had been announced - or perhaps before that, even - Thora hadn't been, and still wasn't, with the hordes of students vying for a spot on their house team. Well, it did admittedly hold some appeal, her having almost immediately fallen in love with spellcasting from the moment she'd been introduced. She'd duelled officially once, as part of the partner duel tests, and though her team had been defeated, it'd still undoubtedly been, at worst, an interesting experience. Charms was her favorite class, and practical portions of any lesson were always far more enjoyable than the theory, to her. In all logic, she should be one inclined to duelling - and she had considered it briefly, even. But despite all of that, Quidditch took precedence for her.

It'd been over a year since she'd made it onto the team, and though she had yet to play, she still hung onto the hope of being able to get onto the field someday. Besides, she didn't typically break commitments she'd previously made - and that wasn't to mention the hours she'd spent practicing, both by herself and with her teammates. Granted, flying was a useful skill in the wizarding world and surely all her practice wouldn't really be going to waste, but she wasn't especially keen on leaving Quidditch behind. Not now, anyway.

The fact that she wouldn't be participating didn't curb her enthusiasm as the second stage of duels rolled around, though, nor did it deter her from spectating. The anticipation was palpable in the days leading up to the cold January weekend, house tensions a little higher than usual and yet a mutual excitement ever-present in the air. Thora was by no means immune to this - in fact, she found herself infected by it before long, mentally ticking off the days until the first sets of duels as they passed. Classes seemed to grow longer by the day, the mountain of homework taller, but finally, the weekend had come.

She'd woken herself early today, dashing to devote a couple hours or so to homework before the morning's duels began. The suboptimal night of sleep had taken its toll on the girl, but it was scarcely visible under the unusual energy about her. From the moment she'd leapt from her bed, there'd been a sparkle in her green eyes, a bounce in her step. It wasn't that she was typically lethargic - well, perhaps just a little bit-, but clearly, it was all due to excitement. A good ten minutes before the duels were due to start, she finally set off from the common room, hurrying up the stairs towards the duelling stages.

Arriving promptly, Thora wove her way through the small crowd that had already gathered towards the front, seeking some chance of a good vantage point despite the much taller professors whom spectators were required to stand behind. Not many were present, so navigation wasn't terribly difficult, though there were a considerable number of muttered apologies and awkward hops. As she dodged taller figures and accusing glares, she glanced around for a friendly face. It wasn't likely, given that she'd never made an effort to meet people and, as a result, hardly knew anyone despite her third year status, but a quick scan of her surroundings certainly wouldn't hurt.

But as she reached the front, rising onto her tiptoes, lo and behold, there was Flash Holmwood. Thora wasn't sure she would describe their relationship as friendly, the two having only ever exchanged a few words, but he was still rather pleasant company. Honestly, she ought not to be surprised to see him; after all, the last time they'd crossed paths was at the previous stage of duels. Though she was loath to leave her spot, currently offering a mostly unobstructed view of the stages, she set off again, darting through the throng.

"Hi, Flash," she began simply as she drew near to the boy, offering a small smile and a wave. At a loss for what to say next, she fell silent, allowing Flash to carry on the conversation if he wished. Experience had taught her that she was better off staying quiet than stumbling through words, if at all possible, simply to save face. Still, she was open to conversation and would remain standing by soundlessly even as she turned to train her eyes forwards - on a specific one of the stages, to be exact. It was true that she was present partially out of pure interest, but more so, she was attending to support Bridget, who would, again, be duelling. In fact, Thora happened to know about her best friend's promotion to co-captain in the span of time since the last stage. Of course, it ought not change her performance, but it was still quite an achievement and Thora was all the more proud of her for it.

Bridget and Santario had pulled off an impressive win in the previous stage, and Thora had absolute faith in them to do just the same this time. Granted, their victory over Ravenclaw hadn't been entirely fair, what with one of the opposition needing to be pulled off of the stage in the midst of the duel, the other forfeiting, and even Thora had felt the strange lack of closure, the proper end of a duel that had been completely missing. But she knew what capable duellists both of them - and the entire Slytherin team, of course - were, and would cheer them on regardless of what happened.

The duellists were all in position now, each standing in their respective spots, and with the command from the referees, the duels began. Craning her neck slightly to get a better view of Bridget's duel, once again, Thora found herself biting her lip again, hoping the very best outcome for the Slytherins. It seemed all four duellists had made their first move well, light of various colors extending from their wands. Only Bridget's Wind Jinx, though, would hit its mark, the twisting vortex encapsulating one of the Hufflepuff girls. Though she couldn't help but smile at her friend's success, it certainly wasn't with any malicious intent - surely being caught in such a wind couldn't be comfortable, though it was likely better than the perpetuated tradition of Hufflepuffs being set on fire.

Tearing her gaze away, Thora glanced up and down at the other ongoing duels, both of which included a Slytherin duo. Neither of them seemed to be going particularly well; though the Slytherins were able to hit their marks in a somewhat consistent manner, the same could be said of their opposition and so they were taking a fair number of hits as well. Growing increasingly worried, the girl felt her hands curling into fists, nails denting her palms.

Slytherin had won an impressive number of duels in the last stage, emerging with a clear and well-deserved lead on the other houses, but the chance of the same happening this time around seemed to be getting slimmer, based on what was before her. She could only hope, on behalf of her house's duellists, that they could turn things around before it was too late.

[font=Monotype Corsiva]Morning Slot
Group A: Ravenclaw vs Slytherin
Group D: Hufflepuff vs Slytherin[/font]

@Thora Larkston @Bridget Collins

Though Flash's eyes were following the matches closely, it was not going to skirt his attention that he was being approached. It was almost funny to recognize who it was, as almost like clockwork, Thora and Bridget both seemed to find a way to him while he was spectating. No doubt whatever Bridget saw in Thora included this similar interest in watching games. He smiled gratefully at her presence, glad that Bridget had someone as supportive as Thora in her life.

"Good morning, Miss Thora."

They were quick introductions, neither tended to have much to say to one another. Almost like co-workers, respecting one another but feeling no particular attachment. Flash did have something he wanted to say to her this time though. He went in his bag and pulled out a wrapped chocolate frog to offer to her. He got them from Sylvain's errand, and had absolutely no appetite for chocolate. He looked for any opportunity to pawn them off on other people. Bridget had liked chocolate, so hopefully Thora did too.

"Would you like a treat?" Regardless of whether she accepted it or not, he would continue talking. "Bridget's match is going well."

There were a few hiccups of course, but nothing as bad as her last match. Looking over at the one Willow was moderating, it seemed to be mostly stalling out. Recovery from damage without either team being able to take advantage of the opponent's disadvantages. Dealla tried to hone in on Astrea, but the blow didn't land. Slytherin was still in a worse position, but not by much.

"Miss Thora, I had been meaning to ask you something. Please stop me if I'm prying--" Flash kept going, feeling particularly bright and talkative during the morning hours. "I saw you switched positions on the Quidditch team. Was that because a first string position opened up, or were you always interested in becoming a Chaser?"

It wasn't idle chatter-- Flash was on the Quidditch team now. A few of the long time players had switched and left after the loss with Gryffindor. They all had their reasons, and for Thora, it meant she would finally get to play on the main stage. Even if they weren't teammates now, he would still want to know. After all, if one loves a sport they crave to learn all the intricate details. At least that was how it was for Flash, he couldn't speak for anyone else.