2023/24, Stage 3 Hufflepuff v Slytherin: Match 3

Well, this was familiar. Lucia adjusted her sleeves as she went up to the duelling stage for her last match of the year. Her teammates, Lindsey and Jake, were people who she knew and liked - Lindsey had been a friend for years. She even knew two of their opponents, although that wasn't necessarily a good thing: Ruby and Hanako had both been on the team which beat Hufflepuff in Lucia's last match. Lucia listened to the moderator's comments and tried to stay confident. "No pressure, then," she murmured to Lindsey, and drew her wand.

Today’s Duelling Hall was decked out with house colours and cheering crowds, and Lindsey took a dip breath while doing a final mental revision on the possible spell choices and useful techniques. It was the last duel of the season, and she sincerely hoped that nothing would go wrong.

At backstage Lindsey tiptoed, trying to catch @Cassius Eden’s attention yonder with a wave before he was summoned upon the duelling stage. Back in January she had given her word to spectate Cassius’ duel, determined to cheer her friend on, but it turned out disappointedly that they were duelling simultaneously, on the same day and the same slot. If Cassius ever turned his head this way, he would have spotted Lindsey’s big, encouraging smile and a thumbs-up. This was not only for showing her confidence in Cassius’ skills and offering a little encouragement, but also for reassuring and bracing herself up. Hopefully - hopefully - she would be able to survive through this duel and gave her friend a high five after both of their duels ended.

Lindsey regained her focus on her own coming duel, and eyed her opponents carefully. The only one she had been against before was Hanako Tone, and back at that time she, along with Autumn Ivy (Where was Ivy now, by the way? It’s kinda weird to miss an old rival but that’s what currently on her mind.) had secured a win from him. Oh, and Tone had been quite a flirt…with Ivy, of course, and it was funny enough to see them bicker.

Her knowledge of the other opponents might be scarce, but her teammates were both trusted individuals and skilled duellists. She was paired with Jake last time, who was stable and supportive, and Lucia had been a faithful friend of hers all these years - Lindsey felt super grateful for the ravenhead girl to be by her side. There was no doubt that she confided in them. When Lucia reassured her, Lindsey nodded at her two partners with a determined smile. “Of course. We shall do it.”

Last stage she might be thwarted. But this time she wouldn’t.

“Try not to pass out before me, Russetwood. It’ll be more embarrassing than losing. Saying this out of care and love~” was his first attempt at team support for today’s duel. Cazares didn’t need support. In fact Hanako opted to look away from the ex-prefect. He had always learned Even after winning their last duel, they weren’t exactly friends. Even teammates is a bit of a stretch if meant in a more emotionally bonding term and not for as it is. Teammates. Business. “ Welcome to the senior leagues, pipsqueak" He casually jested in a faux polite tone, sending the girl a mischievous smile before paying his attention to his teammates. All of them are familiar in their own unique ways.

“Ahh..Fox, Springhall..” he greeted with a flirty tone everyone here (but Russetwood) has heard at least once in their life. One that was leaning towards jest than actual interest. Always accompanied with a cocky grin attached to his face. And will stay attached unless his health is in danger. “can’t say I’m surprised to see you two here again. Couldn’t stay away from me for too long can you? I get it, I get it~” he sweetly retorted, briefly passing his gaze to Jake. Whom he met under different circumstances and one of the very few duelists Hanako could never find in him to flirt with. Trust, that it definitely is a good thing. “ Jake” He greeted, a smile less flirtatious and less ingenuine than what the rest got. “ Good to see you. You don’t mind too much about me admiring your lovely teammates, do you?”. Even if he did, Hanako was fairly certain what Jake thought had little effect on changing Hanako’s attitude. Perhaps even Jake knew that.

Jake had expressed he wasn’t a fan of Hanako’s usual tease while moderating an old duel once upon a time. But hey, perhaps he has a different outlook on it if he was an opponent instead?

Doing as strategies but ALSO- talking with @Guinevere Russetwood ,@Lindsey Springhall, @Lucia Fox, @Jake Morris

Uh oh...

Jake had used to worry a lot about dueling when he'd first started - he'd been terrified. That had been two years ago, and since then, he'd grown a lot. He no longer worried (much) about the spells. He was more worried about letting down his team-mates. But while the spells didn't scare him like they once did, Hanako was a different story.

Okay, okay, maybe SCARE wasn't the right word, but the Slytherin boy certainly made him uncomfortable. They had met once, a long time ago, and he had tried to help him - but the crying boy he had met once upon a time had certainly changed a lot since then. They had dueled a year ago and he had watched over one of Hanako's duels too. He had seen the way the boy carried himself on the dueling platform, and it was definitely not like anybody else he had ever faced.

Last time they dueled it'd taken him a while to even recognize that what Hanako was doing WAS flirting. He knew that teenagers (well most of them...Jake hadn't yet got to that point, though he wasn't sure why) really loved dating, or TRYING to date, but Hanako was the only one that Jake had ever seen trying to do it on the DUELING platform. He'd made peace with his class-mates endless search for love, but this? This was something else.

So maybe Jake found himself looking away in case that helped Hanako NOT pay attention to him as Hanako smiled and greeted their team-mates. To no surprise, he was doing what Jake definitely was sure now was flirting. He did notice Jake too, but luckily he didn't flirt. He only asked if Jake had a problem with him admiring his team-mates. Well to be honest.... "Er, well, I mean, I guess I'd PREFER you didn't....but...." Jake shrugged, knowing it was hopeless. He didn't think anything could stop Hanako.

Jake nodded at his team-mates, who he knew would be solid companions. All of his Hufflepuff team were. "Ready guys?" he asked, picking up his wand and waiting for the call to begin.

Doing as strategized and talking to @Hanako Tone

Ruby loved duelling, and that was a fact that couldn't change regardless of what transpired, but this year of official duelling had been... less than ideal. She had thought it had been bad enough with the November game, when her quite possibly incompetent teammates had ended her status as undefeated. They had, at least, won in February, but now not only was she with Tone—Winters had left, leaving a third year to replace her. Ruby looked at her newest teammate with undisguised scorn as the duellists took their places on the piste, thoroughly unimpressed that she had to suffer the embarrassment of this lineup, but she held her head high. “No, you both had better stay on your feet,” she added to what Tone had said, a warning in her cold, flat tone. The way Tone had avoided looking at her altogether did not go unnoticed either, but it was something that she definitely didn't mind. At least he was being sensible with that, if cowardly. She rolled her eyes before fixing her icy gaze firmly on her opponents. It was insulting to her abilities to be dragged down by the other Slytherins, but she would at the very least make sure that her head was in the right place.

Round 1

It was a series of brilliant flashes of magic and a swirl of mist, but as these events occurred, keen green eyes were watching everything and making keen note of it all. If he didn't, what was the point of being the proctor at all.

"And they're off! Oh my goodness, take a look at that Ventus!" Piérre's eyes widened and a huge and beaming smile crossed his face as a pair of beautifully split gale force winds tore through the room with a scream--perhaps this was the response to Ruby's slight towards the youngest teammate on their side--as it roared across the piste so fast that not even the nimblest among them, that of Jake Morris, was able to properly evade the vengeful gusts. The wind would cut through their clothes with chilling fervor, heavily buffeting him as well as the original target of Lindsey. Perhaps it was also this wind that had caused another, much more refined--if slightly weaker than the wailing winds that had ensorcelled him--Ventus from Jake to spiral away from Ruby, misadjusting the aim just enough for her to easily avoid its bluster.

No sooner had the spells been cast, the wind swirling and crying with the force of an ill-satiated child, than a heavy cloud began to form. "Ah! And as soon as a hurricane level wind whips by, a haunted fog comes rolling through! That thick soupy stuff'll make it really hard for most people unused to such obscuring sights to aim, and for those inside it'll make it even harder to evade!" Indeed, the flirtatious Hanako was a powerful caster, and his spell was indeed thick and silvery fine, seeming to sensuously curling itself about no lighter than a whisper itself in order to obscure the visions of Lindsey and Jake in particular--winding and winding like a snake, it was a particularly thick fog at that... "I don't think that stuff'll be letting up anytime soon by the looks of it! What'll Hufflepuff do to counter or adjust to it in the meantime?!" Piérre posed the theoretical to the audience.

The response to his question came in the form of gleaming firecrackers that spat and blasted just as the fog closed in on Lindsey, splattering the Slytherin side and seemingly taking them just a hair by surprise--none were quick or nimble enough to avoid the buckshot spray of sparkles, smoke, and bangs. "A spell after my own heart, and a perfect way to start a show--I'll give you that much, Lindsey, at least you have a taste of showmanship I can get behind--a Cracker Jinx can send anyone reeling with the shock of being overstimulated by sound, light, and smells! The snakes are all recoiling!" Figaro twined between Piérre's legs, nervously mewing as the smells filled his sensitive feline nose.

Crouching a bit to comfort his feline, Piérre's eyes were still on the stage as the loveliest among them and the most advanced among them faced-off. A slightly uncontrollable but flashy spellcast from the glossy-haired girl that carried a lovelier charm even than that of Lindsey created two separate ribbons that spun in an attempt to wrap themselves around the faces of Ruby and Guinevere. Unfortunately--or perhaps fortunately as the story would continue onwards from this moment--the only individual struck by the spell was that of younger Guinevere, right as Ruby's powerful blasting curse seemed to be fumbled from her hands just moments before launch (had she been distracted by the sheer amount of spells that had come her way, or by the showing of the youngest student among them?) and caused it to fling towards that same newly-blindfolded girl. While Guinevere did seem to just barely stagger away from the worst of it (or by some other means avoid the brunt of the most grievous harm that such a powerful caster could produce by use of that Blasting Curse), cruel wood splinters would dig in and deep into her, leaving at the least some gnarly splinters and at the worst some serious shrapnel wounds.

Piérre let out an audible cry of shock. "Agh! Betrayal! An accidental miss, we've got the tally going all over again--who's on it this time and who's taking bets huh?!" He snapped to the crowd to start acting upon that subconscious command of his. "Miss Cazares' spell is set upon the youngest serpent of the bunch! Was it really an accident... or could it possibly be... jealousy?!?!"

A creeping smile crossed from cheek to cheek as a nefarious smile began to form. Oh, how he loved to fan the flames of conflict... even if he didn't realize it at times. "The teams look even, still... come on, now! Show the other side what-for, will you?!"

Information

1. You have 96 hours from this post's timestamp to owl your moves to me (Piérre Marchonné) and to make your 50+ word post.
2. Do not hint at your move in your post, as this can give an advantage to the other team.
3. Remember to send your move and make your post before the deadline. If either of these are not completed in time, your move will be void.
4. I will try to moderate early if all actions and posts are in before the deadline. If you do not wish for me to do this, please owl me.
5. Your stats, abilities, and spells are considered locked for this duel. If any are added to your trunk since 10th May, they may not be used.
6. If you have any questions or feedback regarding this match, please feel free to owl or DM me.
7. Handy links: Duelling Rules, Duelling Spells, and the most recent patch.
8. Good luck and happy duelling!

The spectator thread for this duel can be found here.
Come cheer for your House and friends!

“Cool cool cool cool, thanks buddy” Hanako grinned, after he pretty much stopped listening the moment Jake said ‘ er well I mean I guess’. That sounded like a yes to the Slytherin. Good enough. Now with Jake’s absolutely full permission, he winked at the lovely Hufflepuff girls before shrouding half of the duelling piste in fog.

A lot happened in that one duel apart from that. Right as his fog covered the two Hufflepuffs, a wonderful shot of Ventus came from his team. His first initial thought was that it was Cazares. Hanako had seen his fair share of textbook-perfect spells. And he hated to admit it but it was inevitable to disregard Cazares’s skill in spellcasting.

However much to his ( and everyone else’s surprise honestly ), it was the pipsqueak instead. Not only was it perfect but it hit both their target. A wide cheeky grin was about to appear on his face. A dangerous instinct of stupidity to mock Cazares. All instinct of mischief faded as he saw Cazares’s wand aimed at their pipsqueak. He watched in both horror and shock as the spell narrowly missed the first year, alas unable to save her from the splinters of the blasting curse.

"Agh! Betrayal! An accidental miss, we've got the tally going all over again--who's on it this time and who's taking bets huh?!"Miss Cazares' spell is set upon the youngest serpent of the bunch! Was it really an accident... or could it possibly be... jealousy?!?!"

Perhaps a second or two passed before the moderator's words stirred a reaction in him. Worst than teasing her. Worst than accidentally hitting a spell at her. Worst losing while being on the same team as her, Hanako laughed. Boisterously. And once he did it was hard for him to stop. So much so he could hardly pay attention to the crackers jinx going on around him. Clutching his stomach he did his best to control his evident amusement. “HAFHSh- You hear that Cazares? Did Pipsquek’s Ventus make you mad and rethink your dueling career or-” and then he made the mistake of looking at Cazarez.

Hanako was by no means a brave person. Generally and even emotionally. But whatever he saw in Ruby’s eyes at that moment made his spine straight as he swallowed back his chortles with a nervous gulp. “Tone? Shut up or the next person to be hit with a Blasting Curse will be you”.

His lips were zipped. His eyes looked forward. And his other hands covered his shins for a split second. (Thanks Opeila). Fearing the worst for that moment. Coward, yes. Not that stupid. When Cazares warns something, she never does so lightly. “Ahem- anyway-” he tried to wave it off, refocusing back on their duel at hand.

Doing as strategies but ALSO- laughing at @Ruby Cazares[, but also being scared of her