King of the Hill Wargames fin

Green : talking
Purple : thinking

Disable Hildegard was floating in the air, dizzy because of all those Flipendo she received.
She was barely able to think just after all those attack but when she was able to emit some thoughts the first one were just :

-SNAKES SNAKES SNAKES !!!

She really did want to attack them back but she realized something was odd, she was a bit taller than usual.
At first believing someone had casted something like Engorgio on her she quickly noticed that her feet did not touch the ground.
That was one of the worst nightmare for someone that had a disability related to walking, she knew that she would most probably fall on the ground without properly landing if the spell ended.
Yet staying in midair was also scary, being exposed to all those wizard, to all those flipendos, she had to make a choice.
Who ? who did something of such cruelty to her ? She thought that ganging up on her was horrible but this was of another level ! Did they all plan it together ? She firmly believed it.
All of them, this group of supposed "friend" who she did her homeworks with, at that moment she stopped considering them as friends, they were not even enemies, they were just people she did not want to have anything to do with.

Action : Cast Finite Incantatem on myself

There was about a millisecond of euphoria at having hit her target successfully; then Liana was robbed of her glee as the consequences of choosing not to dodge Della’s attack hit her in full force. The beam of the offensive spell caused some pain – as if she’d been punched in the area where it hit. This was in no way a new experience, since during her study sessions back at home the Kerr heir had been exposed to the effects of numerous different spells. Nevertheless, while the sudden loss of control in her lower limbs was neither utterly novel nor shocking, it was still unpleasant and damaging. The redhead glared at the Gryffindor girl, suddenly itching to inflict pain on her; by setting that pale hair on fire, perhaps? That would be something to pay back with for causing Liana’s legs to perform this humiliating tap dance. She’d seen Incendio and its variants used in duels before – that seemed rather effective at harming the opponent, and, for some reason, was allowed in most duelling situations.

But before deciding on her next action, she had to survey the field. Avery’s spell had also hit its mark. Matthew missed – that was a shame, because it looked like Hildegard didn’t need much more battering before she would pass out. To Liana’s surprise, Maggie picked their disabled housemate for an attack as well, which, to her best of knowledge, was a fully independent act – the pro tempore alliance only included three of them, unless Avery schemed some more and did not let her in on it. Which was by no means a reason to be bitter. The very fact that he approached her with a plot impressed the redhead, indicating that, for all his amicable and honest ways, the boy was indeed capable of embracing the serpentine ways. If he had plotted some more afterwards, well; they were snakes, after all.

Liana’s gaze lingered on their victim, a pang of guilt stabbing her in the chest. Schneider was vulnerable due to her damaged leg, which made her an easy target. Mother would have said it was shameful to attack one who was weak, let alone to do so together with other people. However, Father would approve of the attack completely, albeit he may scold his scion on her choice of allies – muggleborns and half-bloods. Still, their victim was not as weak as all that. In many previous occasions Liana had witnessed the dark-haired girl casting advanced spells with ease and precision. Had she been left unharmed, any one of them could have become her target, and likely suffered a significant damage not unlike that transfigured goose that Hildegard had set on fire and then Flipendo’d. No; she was unpredictable, powerful, and lacking in mobility – all major reasons to take her out fast, before she could pick someone to effortlessly take out with some three well-aimed spells.

Her scan of their six-way battle complete, the redhead adjusted her grip on the wand, her cheeks flush with the embarrassment of the enforced dance that was draining her energy and likely damaging her aim quite a bit. Was she an easy target now? Perhaps even as tempting to the other snakes as their crippled housemate? Unless she made a huge effort to leap out of an incoming spell’s way, she’d be almost as easy to hit, anyway. She shot a glanced at Maggie – another wild-card; hopefully, she would not take advantage of this momentary vulnerability. Well, come what may; Liana’s decision was already made.

Action: As strategized.

Action: As strategized.

@Avery Chen | @Liana Kerr | @Maggie Hawkins | @Matthew Gray | @Evelynn Decipio | @Hui Ming

Action: as strategized

Action: As strategized.

Everything was happening much too fast. Distantly, she heard Avery shout out an incantation just as she was drawing the required pattern with her own wand. Much less distantly, she heard the older girl demanding them to cease fire. That was already too late - the incantation was on Liana's lips and the beam was about to shoot out of her arcane weapon. However, the urgency and authority in Decipio's voice made the first-year try and obey - she jerked her wand sideways, the blue ray flying harmlessly past the intended target.

The intended target, however, did not seem quite as obedient, as her own attack reached Matthew, inflicting the same humiliation on him that it had on Liana. She wondered if it was painful to try and balance on his wayward legs doing the complicated relevés and pirouettes. Could he replicate those moves without the influence of the spell? Could he dance something quite less showy, but still sophisticated? That was very much relevant for her, as his date. Well, if he couldn't, then she might just take a page out of the white-haired lioness' book and cast a Tarantallegra on him at the Ball. A snide remark regarding just that was about to emerge from her mouth; the redhead swallowed it down. No need to antagonize the boy with words just now; otherwise he may focus his anger, if he was feeling such, on her instead of the person who made him twirl uncontrollably.

Her gaze went around the field, taking in the scene yet again. There was portrait behind Della that seemed to be mocking Liana's failure; luckily, only the self-conscious snake noticed it, as nobody else was reacting to it. Feeling her cheeks starting to burn, she quickly moved on. Neither Matt nor Maggie seemed to have attacked anyone. Hildegard was indeed down - it had been a good choice to let Avery take it from there while picking the next victim for herself. The girl only wished that she hadn't been quite so acquiescent with the demand to stop the duel, as it seemed there would be no repercussions for Della, who was the only one that took advantage of the confusion. Hopefully, that would make the others turn their wands on her, instead of Matthew whom she made an easier target now. Liana's own legs, thankfully, had ceased their tapdancing, which, as Avery had indicated, had indeed not been quite as masterful as Matt's ballet moves. She finished her appraisal of the situation just as Evelynn granted them the permission to carry on.

Action: As strategized.

Mentions: @Liana Kerr | @Hildegard Schneider | @Della Barfield | @Avery Chen

Spells flew back and forth, and Matt internally sighed but shrugged it off when his own missed. He rarely used spells beyond the classroom and so it wasn't overly surprising that his accuracy wasn't a hundred percent. Even if it was at a girl with very poor evasive maneuvering.

Luckily, said girl was hit with another couple of spells and before he even had time to cast a second she was being called out of the game. He paused, allowing Hildegard to be dragged off, but his pause didn't necessarily mean everyone else paused and before he had time to say boo a spell hit him with a force that sent him spinning. And spinning, and then pirouetting into a dance that took him a moment to realize he hadn't subconsciously decided that what this moment needed was a ballet victory dance.

His body moved in graceful dips and swirls, and as he spun he took note of who'd hit him. The only Gryffindor girl, the one who'd hit Liana before him. He couldn't blame her for shooting out spells at random at Slytherins when she was surrounded by them - it was just unfortunate for her that Liana was one of the people she'd chosen. While he wouldn't hold a grudge for this, he could certainly see his housemate doing so.

Ah well. "Thanks, Avery, really appreciate the confidence." As he continued to dance - which was tiring when you weren't in shape, how the hell did ballet dancers keep this up? - he idly wondered if one could cast this spell on themselves. It would definitely make him the star of the Ball if it was possible, but being the center of attention wasn't particularly appealing. What was was focusing on the battle in front of him instead of letting his mind wander.

Flipping his grip on the wand to hold onto it better, he looked down at his own body and then around the room. Right then. What came next?

ACTION: Doing as strategized

mentioning: @Matthew Grey | @Hildegard Schneider | @Avery Chen | @Liana Kerr | @Della Barfield

Maybe it was sheer dumb luck that Maggie didn't get hit by anything. She figured that it would be a complete melee, spells flying every which way and sparks hitting walls and ceilings. It almost surprised her to watch Hildegard be targeted so early on in the games and watching her hover high above in the air, Wingardium Leviosa cast, Maggie almost felt bad.

Of course, she'd be the targeted one. She had a limp leg and a deftness for spells, which made her both an easy target due to the decreased evasion speed and an immediate threat.

Maybe, Maggie figured as she lowered Hildegard back down to the ground as gently as she possibly could, she should have targeted Liana Kerr. The new big man in town, so to speak.

Maggie had never been known for her deliberation speed. As she thought, tried to piece together who the best person to target might be (Della, maybe. Just to ensure a Slytherin win? A barbaric concept, she knew. Maybe Avery, though Maggie might feel especially badly afterward), she did miss the next round of spells cast.

Evidently, it would be a silver lining. They had to stop for Hildegard, crumpled on the ground and limp. Oh, oh no.

Matthew had the same idea, standing stagnant on his platform.

However, small mercies never did last long. Within the moment, she was back to sizing up the competition. Liana, Della, Avery, Matthew...

Not Matthew. He didn't pose all that much of an immediate threat right now, did he? Neither Avery nor Della had the chops that Liana did. But Liana was her friend, and would the other think badly of her if she chose to target her?

Who knew that wargames could be so friendship-heavy.

With a little breath in, Maggie steadied her wand. Ready to go.

action: doing as strategized

Interacting: @Evelynn Decipio

English | Mandarin | French | Quotes

The Slytherin moderator watched as the prefect took charge of the situation, retrieving the downed Schneider before allowing the battle to resume. It was an interesting step, and for a moment he wondered if Miss Decipio might impose some manner of penalty on the two fighters who had disregarded her order.

When it appeared that she would not, he allowed himself to relax, and take a moment to think over the question that she had posed to the adults on hand. The amusing antics of the painting were ignored completely in favour of the duel at hand.

Despite appearances, this was not so much a free-for-all as it was a coordinated assault. That his housemates had gone and planned out at least an initial volley was testament enough to that.

“Not Liana Kerr,” he answered the question that had been asked to the adults present, slowly tasting the words as he spoke them. It tasted right to him. “She suffers from the same weaknesses as Schneider - a large spell repertoire and an impressive offence, but that also makes her an enticing target.”

And that meant that the winners were not likely to be the biggest names, but the sneakiest ones. It could also not be Miss Barfield, then, who seemed the only other outsider amongst the quarter of conspirators, and a likely target.

“Gray, perhaps?” Ming offered finally. The boy had impressed in their little study group, despite his unassuming manner. besides, naming his best friend seemed in poor taste, and Miss Hawkins was here more for the adrenaline rush than the pride of duelling. He managed a half-smile, then.

“But perhaps you’ll be secretly cheering for the sole figure sharing your House Colors, Miss Decipio?”