Dueling Lesson Three (First & Second Years)

Once again, Finley and Naomi found themselves separating after breakfast to go to different classes. Naomi made her way to the Dueling classroom gloomily. She didn't like the thought of attacking other people, even if it was necessary, but she wasn't about to let herself slack in anything, so to class she went.

This time, Naomi found herself the first one in class. She blinked once as she took in the rearranged classroom, pausing in her stride for only a second before making her way to one of the desks a little farther from the platform.

Accept the necessity of the class though she may, Naomi still didn't want to be too close to the duelers. Besides the possibility of stray spells flying into the front row, Naomi found that it was easier to take in the lesson if she was a little farther from the main action.

Alberi certainly wasn't in his best condition these few days. He was in a rather angry state from the news of a new sibling. And when he wasn't towering over his emotions, he was wondering why his parents would want to have another kid. Why did they need two kids? Was one not enough? Then again, Alberi wasn't sure why people wanted even again kid in the first place. He surely didn't want one. He'd be concentrated on making again career anyways.

Walking into the classroom, he noticed again make over. Now there was a platform planted in the middle of the room. And some dummy. He suddenly hoped he didn't need to duel today. Dueling wasn't for him. He wasn't such a person to fight. In fact, in war, he'd be strategist, hacker, code breaker kind of guy. But in the front lines, fighting? Nope, that wasn't really him.

Alberi saw a girl. They shared quiet a number of lessons together, so he had noticed her. But besides knowing her house, he didn't pay any more attention. Not in the mood for making new friends, he sat away from her. He also was away from the platform. It was better that way.

"Today I want you to try your hand in duelling against another student*," Veronika said figuring that the best way for this to go was to just get it off her chest, "I have a list of spells that you can use behind me; just for safety reasons. I want you all to just try quick casting. I know there may be some accidents, and I know the counters for the spells and if it proves to be too much I've a Healer waiting in my office." It was true, an old teaching friend from Beauxbatons, Ysabella was a Healer now and visiting England and opted to help Veronika for this little excursion. She could only hope there would be no real serious damage or real hatred to be born from her students for this.

"This is all very experimental and I assure you that if you don't want to you, you don't have to, but I really urge you all to try it."


SPELL LIST -

- Aresto Momentum (Decreases speed in target)
- Babbling Curse (Makes target ramble profusedly)
- Cantis (Makes target sing)
- Cheering Charm (makes target cheer uncontrollably)
- Ducklifors (Changes target into a duck)

{{OOC: * = Use an NPC if you like to duel against }}

{{OOC: I'm using an NPC.}}

Naomi's hand shook as she turned to the person next to her, a Hufflepuff boy, and asked if he wanted to partner. She had really, really been hoping to avoid this; she had never used her spells against another person before. Studying the list of spells, Naomi quickly ran over the incantations and wand movements in her head, assuring that she knew how to use them. She noted that the Shield Charm wasn't allowed; she had better be quick at dodging then.

Squaring up against her partner, Naomi dropped into the correct stance, waiting for his move. He cast the Cheering Charm first, which Naomi dodged, but she couldn't manage to get out of the way of a quickly fired Cantis.

Wanting to end the fight quickly, Naomi sang (since she couldn't speak normally) "Aresto Momentum!" causing the Hufflepuff to slow down. From there, dodging his slow jinxes was easy and Naomi used her advantage to change him into a duck, possibly the oddest spell on the list.

"Professor," she sang, raising her hand. "I think you need to come change my partner back."

(I'm using an NPC)

Alberi honestly didn't want to duel. In fact, he wasn't going to, if a fellow Gryffindor girl didn't grab his wrist and drag him to the podium against his will. "Let's see how Mr. I-Think-I-Am-Perfect would do in a duel!" she said, obviously angry, though Alberi didn't know why. He honestly couldn't understand humans - they were so foolish at times and made no sense at all. They all lacked logic, the idiots. That was why he didn't want to be a Gryffindor - a house full of idiots with tempers.

At the end, however, he was dragged to the podium and forced to duel. He could go down but... The boy would look stupid if he came up and went down afterwards. No, he'll go through with the girls plan. But not without a fight. He will try to win this. Wait, what where the spells he could use... Ah, yes!

Waiting a few seconds, it seems his opponent had the same idea. While he shot her with a babbling curse, she shot him with a cheering one. The thing it, they did it at the same time. When the two spells collided, they just disappeared in mid-air. Alberi was surprised by that. He would have to look into it... Wait, he was in a duel! He decided to use her spell against her. Shooting her spell, she had shooted his, though this time they didn't meet.

And now both of them had began to talk. Alberi had began. "Trying with my spell, are you? Did you even know the spell? Probably not... I mean, you're a girl blonde and girl blondes aren't usually smart. By myth, that is... Did you know that it origins from America? America, the land beyond the ocean, as my geography teacher once said. He was a good teacher, though he could try to teach us more. I already knew what they taught..." he probably would have continued, had he not been interrupted by a now cheering girl. "Hey, hey, ramble not! Our heads will explode unless you stop! As for you - you used my spell! Don't forget to look at yourself as well!" Alberi just waves his wand hand and used the moment to say "Aresto Momentum," before he would start to ramble out again.

"That's a spell from a long time ago, you know! I think it was used in a Quidditch match by a chaser... What do people see in Quidditch? It's really boring for me..." he was again interrupted by the girl, now talking in a slow cheer. It was unusual to see it slow, compared to the fast rhythm cheers were told in. "Whaaat kiiind ooof Gryffiiindooor dooesn't liiike Quiiidiiitch... Aaand theee inveeentooor iis Daaiisy Peeeeniifoold, aaan aaweeesoome wiitch..." Alberi quickly noticed that it wasn't a very good ryhme - meaning that the spells must be wearing off. Smirking slightly, he raised his wand and turned her into a duck. "And now you're a duck. Part of the Anatidea family... And I think I'm done." he said as the last of the first spell had weared off. He also got that his spell also was off, considering that the duck just finished quacking in a slow marching rhythm.

Spoiler:

Veronika can vividly remember being 11 and her Dueling professor pushing her into actual dueling waay too fast. She  remembers spending 30 minutes after class angrily cursing her professor in her mind because he let Jimmy Kilts cast a jinx that wasn’t on the list of permitted spells on her; she had collapsed on the floor thanks to a mis-cast jelly legs jinx. She forgave Jimmy naturally and when they were third years they even dated, but still she never got over the sort of irritation that her Dueling professor gave her just by existing. Yes he understood that as she got older she excelled more than other’s at the subject, but he always seemed to be either pushing her limits or restricting her.

She promised to never do that to her students.

Imagine her surprise when she found that she was right; there was no reason for her to fear, her first and second years had done brilliantly! She clapped for them, taught a few of the struggling first years how to cast a bit more efficiently before fixing Naomi O’Hare’s partner.

“Terrific everyone! Have a wonderful summer!” She dismissed them grinning and waving them off, even indulging in giving a few high-fives.

POINTS

GRYFFINDOR:
Alberi Woodston: +10 for Attendance, +5 for Participation
HUFFLEPUFF:
N/A
RAVENCLAW:
Naomi O’Hare: +10 for Attendance, +5 for Participation
SLYTHERIN:
N/A