And your Children's Day Present is- closed

Duvessa found herself in the dueling hall once more. Not that she was an official duelist, but somehow the feel of the room made her heart beat faster, spells whizz with more determination and....well, just the place that made the dark haired Slytherin eager to duel.

She walked in calmly, a serene expression on her face, giving nothing away that they would want to see. Duvessa waited till Raizel and Zachery went in, looking at the two students she was facing. They seemed to be ready, so the fight would soon begin. She gave them a lazy nod, as if doubting their standards.

The Slytherin here was, actually, slightly nervous before each duel and a familiar sinking sensation enveloped her as though she was destined to fail. Her piercing eyes targeted each opponent before returning to her wand. It was Pheonix feather, one of the most rarest cores. The one that stayed loyal to their master. The ones that actually listened.

And the wood? Chestnut. The one that was all for justice, and Duvessa slightly hated it for it's fame for Herbology and flying. Neverless, she had to cope with it for her lifetime until she broke it so she might as well get used to that.

Action: had been owled

Thought | Said

Dueling. Just thinking about that word made Zach's heart thump. He felt a thrill on his skin as he imagined himself casting spells at his opponent.He had signed up for this unofficial yet special event. And today was the day for him to participate in a duel, instead of just watching.

Zach entered the Dueling Club and discovered that Amaris, the moderator, and Duvessa, one of his opponents, were already present. He recalled that there was another person who was supposed to join them, but they had not arrived yet. Duvessa nodded at him, indicating that she was prepared for the duel. Zach responded with an awkward smile, feeling his heart racing and his hands sweating due to nervousness.

A girl entered the room. She was Raizel, a prepared Gryffindor. Her attendance made Zach overthink. What should he do first? What if he got hurt? What if his spells failed? These thoughts made him anxious. However, he realized he needed to maintain focus. Retrieving his wand from his pocket, he took a deep breath and exhaled, clearing his mind of negative thoughts. Zach was now ready to face his opponents. He had chosen a spell and the person he wanted to cast it on in mind.

Interacting with: Opponents & Moderator

How many dueling games had she joined? She had already lost count of it. There were a lot of them popping out lately, showing that more people are taking interest in the said sports and unlike the other ones, it’s probably the easiest one to be set up. Everytime she sees one dueling game pop out, Raizel can’t help but check it out. It was pulling her in like a magnet. This one though, she wanted for others to experience dueling, the thrill that it brings, the rush of adrenaline. She already has a couple of dueling experiences and it would be nice to share those to others who are interested in it.

She didn’t immediately sign up for this one, she waited for others to fill in the spot but to her surprise, only a few had signed up which made her wonder why? Perhaps it’s not as popular as she thought it was or people are just preparing for the end of the school year that’s coming close.

Oh well, more experience for her then. She’s gonna need it anyway in preparation for what’s to come in the future. Entering the dueling club, it seemed like everyone else had arrived. Amaris Knight, a familiar face, met her in the common rooms, quite an interesting person. Duvessa Ember. Not much can be said but she does know her in a way. Modded one of the duels that she had participated in too. The Ravenclaw boy however, this is probably the first time she’s seeing him or maybe, she had just gotten aware of his presence. She probably had passed by him in the corridors at some point or met somewhere else entirely.

“Was I the last to arrive?” She wondered out loud before taking her place once the duel was starting, acknowledging her opponent’s presence by giving them both a nod. Right, time to have some fun. Let’s see what this duel has in store for her.

Action: Owled

1st June (happy early children's day!)

The duel had started off fast with a flurry of spells. Most notably (in Amaris' impartial opinon) was Duvessa's Fumos spell, which enveloped both her opponents in a hazy smoke, possibly lowering their accuracy for the duration of the spell. Amaris hoped for Duvessa's victory, but she promised herself that she would remain a fair moderator no matter what entailed.

Unfortunately, Duvessa's opponents had casted before they were blinded by the Smokescreen Spell. Zach had tried his best to cast at Duvessa. He had succeeded in producing a spell, which was, in his case, Flipendo, but the spell failed to hit Duvessa. Silently, in her heart, Amaris cheered for her co-worker in the Hogwarts Hex, if not a friend, then someone she was happy to be around with. She said nothing out loud, though, as to not distract the duellists. Go Duvessa! she said to herself in her heart.

Her gaze then drifted to Raizel, whose wand was out and casting. As soon as the Gryffindor’s hand formed a triangle shape that looked like dancing legs, Amaris immediately knew which spell her fellow Lion was casting. It was the Dancing Feet Spell. At first Amaris had thought the spell, which had been successfully produced, would land on Duvessa. Yet it landed on Zach instead, who started dancing ballet in the middle of the room.

Action: Will be owled

Thought | Said

As Amaris exclaimed, "Let the duel begin!" Zach aimed his wand at the Slytherin girl. He traced a slight downward curve in the air, followed by a rapid ascent with a tiny hook at the end, and cast the spell, "Flipendo!" Zach was surprised that his Knockback Jinx had worked. However, Duvessa was a formidable opponent who easily evaded the attack, leaving Zach a bit shocked. Although his offensive start had failed, he accepted the outcome.

On the other hand, Raizel cast the Dancing Feet Spell on him, causing him to do ballet in a random manner. It really made Zach uncomfortable for dancing like that. However, he couldn't help but curse Raizel in whisper for her attack on him that made him hurt and embarassed. Suddenly, a hazy smoke emerged, lowering his vision. It must have been Duvessa's attack.

Zach tried to remain calm and maintain his focus despite his lowered vision and uncontrolled legs, but he couldn't. In his anxious state, he started to think about what he should do next. Should he continue his offensive way or try to debuff one of the opponents? This stupid dance really made him could not concentrate at all. After a moment of consideration, he decided on his next action. He pointed his wand again and wished that his action would be successful despite his condition.

Interacting with: @Duvessa Ember, @Raizel Voltrouz, @Amaris Knight

The feeling of, well, being hit was horrifying. Duvessa managed to dodge Zach's spell with ease, feeling a smirk rising inside her head. She was a fierce opponent when it came to Dueling, and she managed to duck just in time.

However, her luck was not the best. She produced a Smokescreen spell, making it harder for them to hit her. And well, each other. She was silently fuming that everyone went for her, but then again, would they? Perhaps they wanted to side together and make her loose?

Raizel, however, tried her luck. She cast the Dancing Feet spell and Duvessa gave an audible gasp. Quickly, quicker than anything, she changed her expression to...well, almost bored. No one had seen the quick transition, and Duvessa's leg broke into a dance. It was a modern comic one, obviously working well and making her feet move in rapid speed. She wished that it was going to stop, because it was dreadfully uncomfortable and she hated the feeling of being controlled.

It was both harmful for her reputation and dignity - but she bore it quickly.
"Unfortunately for you, I also look great when dancing." She called, though inisde praying that the horrifying spell would stop. And quickly.

And as soon as their moderator signaled for them to start, Raizel wasted no time in performing her spell. From what she learned before, catching people off guard with a quick and precise cast is a useful tactic. She has her eyes on her target, a spell in mind. "Tarantallegra!" It's a classic spell to start off this duel.

She would've targeted Duvessa this round but she was curious about the Ravenclaw boy, his skills in dueling and what better way to see that than aiming a spell towards him and see his reaction. Will he be able to dodge it much like every other opponent she had faced before? Perhaps. Although deep inside, she wishes for the spell to hit.

And it did. He probably wasn't expecting a spell coming for him and to be honest, she does feel bad about hitting someone that she had only met (properly) today. Maybe she should apologize after but then again, this is a duel, you should expect a spell coming for you no matter what… but that's probably hard to do when you have two opponents. You don't know where it might come from or much worse, two spells coming at you at the same time making it hard to dodge.

While her spell was successful, Zach's wasn't and missed his target. It was a relief to see that he aimed for Duvessa but after that attack on him, she won't blame him if he goes for her next round. The smokescreen is up, a spell that Duvessa conjured up, enveloping them. This just got interesting.

Action: Owled

1st June

Poor Zach was still dancing. It was hilarious to watch, if Amaris was frank with herself. She wasn't, of course. It would be quite rude to say such a thing and Amaris could never bring herself to be a rude person. Lucian Mornstern was rude. Amaris must have been his opposite, right? So dear, so friendly? Of course though, she was the one who through the pastry at Lucian, not the other way around. Still, throwing a pastry wasn't rudeness, it was just... not good. Considering her choice of words, Lucian certainly had a better vocabluary than her.

However, to his credit, Zach did manage to cast a spell. When you hear about the Curse of the Bogies, even if you only heard the name, you'll know it was a sick spell. Well, sorry about the bad pun. The spell would have caused Duvessa nausea and uncomfortable feelings in her nose. Good for the Editor-in-Chief however, the spell did not hit, probably because Zach was dancing too wildly. 'Hey, Raizel,' Amaris shouted despite herself. 'How long does the spell last? I'm afraid dear Zach here is starting to loose control,' she said, grinning wildly. Realising her rudeness, she started feeling ever so ashamed, 'I'm sorry Zach.' She still couldn't keep herself from grinning though.

As her thoughts shifted to Raizel, she saw the unofficial duelllist tense up. Following the Gryffindor's gaze, Amaris' eyes landed on Duvessa as a green light appeared at the tip of the Slytherin's wand. It could have been any spell that was green, but it became evident that it was the Verdimillious Spell just after the light shot out of her wand and pierced the fog around it. Amaris averted her eyes automatically, not wanted to get blinded herself. She was probably being a bad (see, Lucian's vocabulary's much better) moderator by doing this and not, well, moderating the duel, but she couldn't control herself.

She was not surprised to see the spell didn't hit. The duellists, including Duvessa herself, had been blinded by her Smokescreen Spell. 'Duvessa,' Amaris called through the fog. 'That spell is affecting you more adversely than not.' At least 'adversely' was in her arsenal of words. However, it was not only because of the fog that the spell had not hit. Raizel also dodged expertly away from Duvessa's spell, which in fact had not missed by far.

It might have only been the second round, but the Fumos Spell was making everything so, so much more interesting than it originally was.

Action: Owled

Thought | Said

This annoying dancing-feet spell effect made Zach more irritated. He felt his body start to ache because of the unusual movement, even though Zach was a competitive dancer before he went to Hogwarts. He became even more irritated when he heard Amaris' commentary about the dance. He felt that she was mocking him. He gave her a death glare, but the pirouette made him look pathetic. "Let's keep calm," Zach whispered to himself. Fortunately, the fumos effect ended, and it helped him think more clearly.

He saw Duvessa cast Verdimillious towards Raizel, but she dodged it perfectly, so the attack couldn't hit her. It amazed Zach for a second. "Should I do the same as Raizel?" he thought. Both his opponents were so great that he believed they would definitely do well in the official dueling. It made him think if he made a good decision to join the dueling team because there were many great students there.

But Zach quickly regained his focus. He planned his next move - should he debuff or stick to an offensive attack? He looked at both Duvesa and Raizel, trying to analyze which move would be better to attack them. Should he attack the Slytherin girl, Duvesa? Or should he attack Raizel, the Gryffindor? Or maybe he should attack Amaris instead, as he began to dislike her.

Interacting with: @Amaris Knight @Duvessa Ember @Raizel Voltrouz