2023, Stage 3 Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin: Match 2

I honestly couldn't believe that today was my first duel! I had been on the waitlist for a while, but all that waiting had finally paid off. On top of that, I was also the youngest Hufflepuff duelist. Well, that was to be expected. Twirling my wand between my fingers, I took a good look around the dueling room. Sure, I'd been here before a couple times, but never for a real duel like this.

A few months ago, I had participated in an unofficial duel, but then again, that one was only unofficial. This was the real thing. Plus, it wasn't a 1 on 1 duel, it was 2 on 2. At least I would be collaborating with somebody from my own house. Together, me and my dueling partner, Nessie, would win this one for the badgers. Hopefully.

I took a look at our adversaries, Slytherin. I had nothing against Slytherin, but if it were up to me, I'd like to see them bomb this duel. But, hopefully we'd all come out alive. Again, hopefully. But, as my Gran always says, 'To hope is foolish, to see if it works is better unless you end up dead." Such a comforting quote, isn't it? No...not at all...

Action Sent

• REPRESENT, SLYTHERIN REPRESENT •

Sun. 23rd April | Fourth Floor, Duelling Club
wc: 366
Avery's Hex #136b5c

· || ────────────────── ────────────────── || ·

┏		┓
	----- S undays typically meant that Avery would eventually find his way to the duelling room, but today there was no sense of lazing or sense of going with the flow. Today was something he had worked towards for nearly a year, and here he was much earlier than he needed to be, to ensure he didn’t miss it in some freak circumstances. His first-year excitement was showing, even as he greeted his teammate with a small nod. Fowl, a name he wasn’t too familiar with but one he would certainly like to get to know given how put-together she presented. It was a sense that was developed over many hours spent in appropriate company, in the circles of high society. She was fair, blonde and extraordinarily pretty, even to someone that didn’t typically pay attention to that kind of thing. “Fowl was it? - Leveret.” He flashed her a winsome grin, greeting her as most purebloods would; partly as a way to suss out if she would respond the same and reveal herself, and partly to keep it short and sweet; gesturing for her to climb the steps before he did. In the seconds he bought, he flicked a gaze to those that had settled in to watch the duel. “Let’s make them sweat.” He said cooly, he’d flick his ebony eyes over to their opponents. In an equally slick motion he had drawn his wand and taken up his position. There was a reserved and focused air about him, everything he did from the moment he woke up was planned for; he was just like that. Even now, moments before they were set to exchange spells, he was scanning them for any visual cues. He regarded their moderator’s introduction with a nod; Adelaide. He didn’t know her name, but this was the girl that had wiped the floor with his teammates, Ming and Guinevere. Avery would hope for a better showing today; in fact he’d hope to do the same to his opponents but in the case that things went poorly he’d at least aim to hit one spell, it surely couldn’t be that hard?
┗		┛

Action: As Strategized

Interacting with @Pea Elena Fowl, @Aurora Griffith, @Nessie Swansea & @Adelaide Barlowe

The familiar scent of the renowned dueling room hits her nose as she enters the room. This is it, the last duel of the season. The past 2 rounds have been a series of ups and down for the young Slytherin. She lost the first round but won her second round, and now, the third round has begun, and yet the conclusion of this battle is still uncertain. But from the look of who is she gonna face, she is absolutely confident that the victory would soon be hers.

The white-haired glide prettily along the room, walking towards a man who she guessing is her new partner. Judging from his appearance, he definitely looks much more decent than her last partner. Someone who seemed to grow up in a high society pureblood family, someone that doesn't looks strange in her eyes. Although appearance-wise, he seemed to be an adequate partner, she still will have to assess his skill in the piste, given he is a first-year student. With her regular sly smile, Pea greeted him back. "You are definitely looking more adequate than my last partner." She then takes a step as Leveret gestures politely to take her position first, as he should. But before he followed her unto his position, she looked over her shoulder, "Don't disappoint me, Leveret." She mutters to the black-haired boy with her most charming smile and turns her head back to its original position.

But as she settles in her position, she saw a familiar figure who seems to be the moderator of their duel. Well, well, how unfortunate for her. It is none other than Adelaide Barlowe, a Ravenclaw girl who doesn't seem to... particularly favors her. Pea flashes a smile at her, and gives her a small wave, hoping that despised their history, the girl would moderate this duel impartially.

@Avery Leveret
s t a m i n a : 7 | e v a s i o n : 6 | s t r e n g t h : 4
w i s d o m : 7 | a r c a n e p o w e r : 5 | a c c u r a c y : 7
Action : doing as strategized.
Abilities : Alluring | Lovely Creature
Partner : Avery Leveret

Round 1

Nessie

Reducio

Nessie did not post or send in an action.
Missed post count: 1

Aurora vs Avery

Reducio

Aurora casts Curse of the Bogies at Avery.
Wisdom DC: 12 + 3 LC + Part-Veela = 15
Wisdom Check: [d20: 19] + 6 = 25, success

Accuracy Check: [d20: 5] + 5 = 10
Evasion Check: [d20: 13] + 10 = 23
23 > 10 -> Miss

Pea vs Nessie

Reducio

Pea casts the Disarming Charm at Nessie.
Wisdom DC: 10
Wisdom Check: [d20: 3] + 7 = 10, success
Autododge Check: [d20: 15] -> No autododge

Accuracy Check: [d20: 1] + 7 = 8, crit miss
New Target: Avery
New Accuracy: [d20: 8] = 8
Avery Evasion: [d20: 11] + 10 = 21
21 > 8 -> Miss

Avery vs Aurora

Reducio

Avery casts the Knockback Jinx at Aurora.
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 13] + 8 = 21, success

Accuracy Check: [d20: 2] + 12 = 14
Evasion Check: [d20: 3] + 8 = 11
14 > 11 -> Hit

Damage: 100 + 0 x 10 = 100
Effect: Aurora takes 100 dmg

For some reason, Nessie had not realized that the duel had started. She failed to send any spells towards her opponents, leaving her teammate to fend for herself for this round. At least Aurora seemed to take it in stride, deciding to cast the Curse of the Bogies at her opponent, Avery. Although, Avery had managed to dodge the spell by a mile, unluckily for Aurora.

Pea had attempted to cast the Disarming Charm at Nessie, but much to Adelaide's joy, the spell had missed so wildly that it had instead went straight towards her teammate, but at least Avery had managed to dodge the spell just in time. It wasn't exactly the best way to start a duel, missing so terribly, especially for someone like Pea, but maybe it wouldn't be too terrible a bruise to the ego. At least Adelaide had refrained from making a comment about it, she was still going to moderate this duel fairly.

No one was going to get through this round unscathed, though, as Avery managed to cast a well-aimed Knockback Jinx at Aurora, hitting the girl and undoubtedly causing her quite a bit of pain. It was only the first round, though, so it was too early to tell just how this would go.

Information

1. You have 96 hours from the timestamp of this post to owl me, Adelaide Barlowe, your actions. If you do not post within the allotted time, your action is void. There are no extensions.

2. Word count is 50 words minimum, but feel free to write as much as you like. Do not hint about your actions in your post.

3. Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked on 18th April for the duration of the duel. Any spells added after that date cannot be used.

4. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to owl or DM me.

5. If you haven't already, please familiarize yourself with the Duelling System, Duelling Spells, and the latest patch.

6. Most importantly, good luck and have fun!

@Nessie Swansea @Aurora Griffith @Pea Elena Fowl @Avery Leveret

[Spectator Thread: Day 2, Morning]

The older Hufflepuff girl, someone if she is not mistaken named Swansea, looks to be frozen in her place. Perhaps she was embarrass to face her ex opponent who won over her last time, or maybe she is simply intimidated. But for the first round, the girl did not do anything. Her teammate however, tried to aim at her new dueling partner. Avery Leveret. The bloke who seem to have quite a number of girls supporting him from the bench. What a nuisance. Thankfully, he dodged. But as she was glancing at the spectator bench, she does notice someone familiar, someone who never misses all of her dueling battles. Really, she wonders whether he doesn’t have anything to do other than following her around. The black haired 4th year student is seating right with the other Slytherins, and as their eyes met, Hanako winks and whistle- loudly. Incredibly annoyed Pea angrily cast her first spell which terribly aimed ended up going straight to her partner. Pea quickly looks at Leveret, worried and very angry at herself for letting Hana distract her. But Leveret seems to appear unscathed.

“You are quite slippery for a first year,” The white haired utters with relief seeing her spell isn’t causing any harm to her own teammate. “That was not on purpose, I- apologize.” Pea says with a slightly red face from anger and what looks like embarrassment to Leveret. Seeing her apologize is almost as rare as seeing a unicorn in the middle of London so Leveret should be grateful to have a partner as good as her.

@Avery Leveret @Hanako Tone [permission to godmod Hana is granted]
s t a m i n a : 7 | e v a s i o n : 6 | s t r e n g t h : 4
w i s d o m : 7 | a r c a n e p o w e r : 5 | a c c u r a c y : 7
Action : doing as strategized.
Abilities : Alluring | Lovely Creature
Partner : Avery Leveret

• REPRESENT, SLYTHERIN REPRESENT •

Sun. 23rd April | Fourth Floor, Duelling Club
wc: 464
Avery's Hex #136b5c
Pea's Hex #ffffff

· || ────────────────── ────────────────── || ·

┏		┓
	-----A delaide had commanded the duel to begin, at least that was what Avery thought, and yet one of their opponents stood gormlessly at the polar end of the piste. It caused a insignificant twinge of hesitation to run down his spine, which itself was straightened and tall, not hunched or slouching, rather rigid-looking even. His posture was inspired by the muggle sword-sport; fencing, where he stood tall with one hand behind his back to keep it from waving it around like some uncouth barbarian, and his body turned side-on to minimise the profile his enemies could target whilst his hand, wand and dominant foot forward at the Hufflepuffs opposite. Thankfully, he was in a zone. He walked amongst the shades of strategies and plans that wouldn’t come to be; and yet even still this was something he had considered and had prepared for. Avery Leveret has never dithered, and he wasn’t about to develop that weak habit today, of all days. He attributed his dodge to both his focus and his form, leaning back in a wide manner but never straying from the duelling line he had envisioned; letting Aurora’s spell sail past without much effort. He was mid-way through straightening and slinging a spell of his own back at Aurora before his ebony pools shot to the incoming blast from his left; Pea had miss-fired, or had she? Narrowly dodging this one, he finished the flourish of his wand and shot a poisonous “Flipendo!” at Aurora, landing squarely and buying them a few moments. He kept an eye on Nessie, but occasionally shot a look to his partner, and then to the seating, wondering if he would show up the former to the latter as the newest member of the team. “You’re quite slippery for a first year. - That was not on purpose, I apologise.” She exclaimed. Good, she felt the need to; that was a good enough sign for him; especially if his analysis of her was correct; he had the upper hand. “Worry not,” He said with a simple nod that expunged any wrongdoing on her behalf. “-Slippery and Stunning, is what they’ll be calling us.” He smirked to his side then. It would be unoriginal to remark on her beauty, but he felt he could get away with it with the context. “I didn’t know falling asleep standing up was a legal move!” He said out loud, to Adelaide but loud enough for the Puffs to hear. He was getting into it now, and he now wore a grin on his previously serious face. Arrogance was an unfortunate side-effect of privilege, especially when the ego is fanned even a little.
┗		┛

Action: As Strategized

Interacting with @Pea Elena Fowl & @Adelaide Barlowe, and the Puffs!

Well, leave it to the new girl to get Flipendo'ed right at the start of the duel. For a second, I wondered if I had my priorities straight because for once, my quick reflexes failed me. Gah. Horrible sneks. But, I guessed I'd face much tougher competition than that little unofficial duel I did in November, which had actually gone pretty well.

I glared at the two Slytherins across from me and Nessie after getting hit in the chest with the powerful spell. They seemed to be quite satisfied with themselves. I looked at my duelling partner, worried. "Hey, Nessie? Are you all alright? What happened?" I asked, looking at the 2nd year Hufflepuff.

I stared daggers at the Slytherin boy, Leveret, after he taunted Nessie. "You don't say!" I said, quite sarcastically. "An attitude like that will be your downfall, even if you don't believe it!" I spent the next few seconds thinking of what to do you next since it looked like I was carrying the weight for both me and Nessie here.

Please don't screw this up...

Round 2

Nessie

Reducio

Nessie did not post or send in an action.
Missed post count: 2

Aurora

Reducio

Aurora did not send in an action and posted after the deadline.
Missed post count: 1

Pea vs Aurora

Reducio

Pea casts Incendio Duo at Aurora.
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20: 18] + 7 = 25, success

Accuracy Check: [d20: 5] + 7 = 12
Evasion Check: [d20: 11] + 8 = 19
19 > 12 -> Miss

Avery vs Aurora

Reducio

Avery casts the Knockback Jinx at Aurora.
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 3] + 8 = 11, success

Accuracy Check: [d20: 7] + 12 = 19
Evasion Check: [d20: 4] + 8 = 12
19 > 12 -> Hit

Damage: 100 + 0 x 10 = 100
Effect: Aurora takes 100 dmg

The Blazing Badgers had apparently decided to become the Sleeping Badgers during this duel, and Adelaide couldn't entirely fathom why. This round, Nessie did not bother to cast a spell towards her opponents once again, instead deciding that she was having much more fun doing nothing at all. Unlike the last round, Aurora had apparently decided to follow in Nessie's footsteps and fail to cast a spell. Perhaps she was too focused on taunting her opponents that she forgot the point of Duelling was to cast spells, not words, at said opponents.

The snakes appeared to be doing much better when it came to performance. Pea had decided she wanted to turn the Blazing Badgers name into reality, sending an Incendio Duo towards Aurora, although the Hufflepuff had at least managed to dodge it. It would not end there for her, though, as Avery would once again cast the Knockback Jinx at her, and once again it would hit her. Definitely not a pleasant experience, and Avery seemed to really be enjoying Flipendo this duel.

"Simply standing on the piste is most definitely an unusual strategy, and it makes for a very boring match. Come on, Hufflepuff, I'm here to moderate a duel, I'm not here to babysit. Snap yourselves out of whatever stupor you're stuck in and start casting those spells!" Adelaide usually kept her thoughts to herself when overseeing a duel, but she just had to speak up in this case. She wasn't going to stand here watching a duel that only one team seemed to be participating in.

Information

1. You have 96 hours from the timestamp of this post to owl me, Adelaide Barlowe, your actions. If you do not post within the allotted time, your action is void. There are no extensions.

2. Word count is 50 words minimum, but feel free to write as much as you like. Do not hint about your actions in your post.

3. Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked on 18th April for the duration of the duel. Any spells added after that date cannot be used.

4. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to owl or DM me.

5. If you haven't already, please familiarize yourself with the Duelling System, Duelling Spells, and the latest patch.

6. Most importantly, good luck and have fun!

@Nessie Swansea @Aurora Griffith @Pea Elena Fowl @Avery Leveret

[Spectator Thread: Day 2, Morning]

• REPRESENT, SLYTHERIN REPRESENT •

Sun. 23rd April | Fourth Floor, Duelling Club
wc: 324
Avery's Hex #136b5c

· || ────────────────── ────────────────── || ·

┏		┓
	-----H e couldn’t believe it. His debut on the piste was quickly becoming a joke, as both Hufflepuffs stood there and gawked. The insult caused a small vein on his forehead to pop in anger, doing far more to him mentally than any of the confrontations he’d had with other students; and he’d been hit in the nuts by that pathetic and beastly Clark some time ago. Aurora had even quipped at him, but that was more akin to an angry chihuahua nipping at one's coat-tails only to be booted off with a simple enough gesture: a spell of his own that propelled her back again. Unlike some peers of his, kindness held no place within his arsenal of weapons he kept within reach, and he shook his head at what he would now deem a pathetic sight; presuming the crowd watching were thinking the same. What they might think was one thing, but the idea that his first duel was being mocked, or being ‘gifted’ to him, made him seethe. He wanted to earn this, he hadn’t worked this hard for a forfeit that had less class than he and Pea, deserved. – The pair opposite could well pull a lacey white pocket square and wave it in surrender and that would be better than whatever this was. His anger formed a sharp, malicious, sneer on his features. Where once he had been jovial with his opponents, now he was silent. Avery was prudent in taming his tongue, lest he say something to disqualify them. Pea could probably sense the rage in the boys’ countenance, if she didn’t feel it herself. It was things like this refined people picked up on, as they spent a lifetime trying to master those skills, never to let the curtain fall. The tightening of his hand on his wand was sign enough of his resolve; his answer to such.
┗		┛

Action: As Strategized

Interacting with @Pea Elena Fowl & @Adelaide Barlowe, and the Puffs!