Duelling Classroom ((Fiona & Adrian))

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Hogwarts was never a particularly warm place, but the sun was shining enough right now and the air sufficiently muggy that the Duelling Classroom was quite warm. It was on the southern side of the castle and Amaryllis felt pride in the fact that it was one of the sunnier classrooms, but since it had no hearth in winter there was little you could do to dispel the chill. The classroom wasn't uncomfortably hot now, but that chill was no longer hanging just out of reach. It had been banished into the tepid heat outside, which had just soaked it up as though it had never existed, a super-absorbent sponge of cold air. And it would remain a distant memory as well, until maybe about mid-November, when she'd have to resort to serious heat-creating spells rather than just making a mild adjustment to the temperature.

Amaryllis was allowing herself a somewhat laid back period of rest at the moment. Rather than applying herself to any marking, she was leaning on the windowsill reading a Jane Austen novel. The aromas of the flowers in the Courtyard were drifting in through the open window, born up by the convection currents of the warm air and Amaryllis breathed in deeply, enjoying the scents of summer. A fourth year Slytherin had approached her to ask her to oversee a duel, Fiona O'Reilly her name was and as far as Amaryllis remembered the opponent was Adrian Hollows, another fourth year Slytherin. That duel was due to start in about ten minutes. So a little while longer of peace. Just a little while. For once, when Amaryllis looked at the clock, it wasn't as a result of wishing she could instill a little punctuality into her students. More wishing she had a little more time left to herself. More hours in the day would be helpful. Perhaps the Ministry might initiate that in a drive to be more productive.

[hollow]

Adrian grinned at his owl, Castor, and the grin only widened when Castor flew over to a group of younger students and snatched the packet of owl treats out of one students hand. That owl really was too like Adrian for its own good sometimes. But Adrian still enjoyed the owls company, at first because he was a present from his younger sister but now because of an actual attachment that had formed between them. Hmm...rather pathetic in a way. But he didn't care. A peck on his ear interrupted him from his musing and made his eyes flick to his watch. "Ah no!" Adrian yelped, glaring at the group of students when they laughed but dashed away, not having time to insult them but making a note of their faces in his mind for later reference. How could he have forgotten about the duel with Fiona? Really, Adrian almost never forgot anything so to forget something he had spent hours dwelling over and practicing spells for was a surprise.

The corridors were as crowded as ever and Adrian had even less patience for them than usual. Darned slow people! Adrian took a deep breath before dodging the people rushing toward him in the mad rush to get to wherever they were going and charging through the corridor. He turned right sharply, recognizing a corridor that would also take him to the Duelling Classroom but wasn't at all crowded. Honestly, hadn't these people heard of alternative routes? Adrian stopped outside the door and took a second to breathe and go over the spells in his head before entering. "Hello Professor." Adrian inclined his head politely and checked his watch before smirking in satisfaction. A few minutes early. Good. "Enjoying the book, Professor?" Adrian inquired quietly, reluctant to interrupt the reading but curious as to which book it was.

[Fiona O'Reilly S5]

Fiona fixed her hair in the mirror of her dormitory. She had still been trying to get used to the new look, but she needed it. She needed something different after what had happened. It had helped her move on from things she had been dwelling on. It had helped with a lot actually and now she was ready to do some real damage. Of course not now. She had a duel to go to against Adrian. He had willingly agreed to have a duel. Fiona didn't know Adrian so well, so she was eager to have a duel with him. A duel was the only way to really get to know someone. Besides Adrian was in her year and house, it would be good to get to know him better. She shrugged more to herself as she grabbed her wand and fixed her robes before heading out of the dormitory early.

Fiona wasn't much for showing up to places early. She was an on time kind of gal. So she strolled through the corridors at a reasonable pace, but nothing quick. She glared at the other houses that seemed to impeach her way. A quick look from her sent them away from her path and she smiled with satisfaction. Turning into the last stretch of corridor before she reached the classroom. She mentally checked off all the spells she had learned and then stepped through the door. Adrian had already arrived and Professor Hardy seemed to be deep into a book that Fiona didn't recognize. "Hello, Professor, Adrian," Fiona said greeting both with a polite smile and a nod of the head. She leaned against the wall near the door as she waited for further instruction.

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Quiet time over. Amaryllis looked up as the door clicked open and nodded to the Slytherin boy that walked through it. "Very much, thank you Mr. Hollows," she replied as she returned to the page she'd been on and immersed herself in the book again. He might have asked but he didn't seem too keen to make conversation and she wasn't particularly inclined to herself today. When the other duellist arrived, she did however insert a mid-green leather bookmark into the book and deposit it on her desk, greeting the new arrival, "Good afternoon, Miss O'Reilly. We can begin once you are both ready." She eyed both students for a moment before continuing, "Mr. Hollows, if you would stand on the orange square mat to the right of the platform; Miss O'Reilly, you the yellow triangle please." Amaryllis strolled to the other side of the room as she waited for them to fulfil those instructions, closing the heavy door to the Duelling classroom with a sharp snap so they wouldn't be disturbed. She regarded both students to ensure they were ready and walked over to a position in front of the platform where she could see both easily before saying, "Mr. Hollows, you may cast your first spell when you are ready."

[hollow]

"Fiona," Adrian smiled in greeting, noting Fiona's stance against the wall with amused interest. It was almost like she didn't want to come in any further. Was he truly that scary? Adrian knew that he wasn't, he was certainly friendlier than most all Slytherins and definitely more tolerant, but wondered if others saw him as scary or intimidating. A good way to be seen fora Slytherin but Adrian wasn't sure if he liked other Slytherins looking at him like that. He rolled his eyes impatiently, knowing that no one could ever see him as scary unless he didn't like them. And he had nothing against Fiona. They hadn't talked much but that was Adrians fault probably, he hated crowds and so kept away from the common room as much as he could. Very few could find him unless they knew where to look, if he didn't want to be found.

"Orange. A nice colour though perhaps a little bright," Adrian commented before walking over to the mat and positioning himself. The sharp snap of the door almost made him jump but Adrian controlled himself just in time. Now was not the time for nerves to suddenly reappear. But what had he gotten himself into? Adrian had never duelled before and only a sudden interest in duelling had made him volunteer when Fiona had asked for a partner. Both an interest in his fellow Slytherin and in duelling.

A deep, but hardly noticeable, breath to steady his nerves, a last amused thought about exactly what he had gotten himself into and then; "Pousikus."

[Fiona O'Reilly S5]

Fiona nodded at Adrian with a smile. She wondered if he was getting nervous over what was to come. She wasn't. She had never dueled before, well at least not legally. She had lost house points earlier this year in an attempt to duel with Cassandra, but that duel had been rudely interrupted. She balled her fist in frustration at the memory. She had gotten into quite a bit of trouble with a prefect when they found out. She was angry at herself more than at anyone. She should have been more Slytherin like by going around silently to get revenge, but Fiona's impatience had sent her over the edge. She sighed to herself as she brought her attention back to Professor Hardy who told her to move to the yellow triangle. She raised an eyebrow at Adrian's comment and she couldn't help but smile when she saw him slightly jump at the sound of the door snapping shut.

"Adrian are you familiar with the works of Shan Yu? He said: 'Live with a man forty years. Share his house, his meals, speak on every subject. Then tie him up and hold him over the volcano's edge, and on that day, you will finally meet the man.' So I guess we'll skip the living with part and get right to the volcano's edge," Fiona said with a slight laugh. She pulled out her wand and readied herself as Professor Hardy said Adrian would cast the first spell. Fiona heard the spell he cast. She desperately searched her memory as fast as she could. Pousikus was a blast of air that would shove her back if she couldn't defend herself. She searched until her memory flashed to the only spell she could think off that countered gusts of air. "Froid resistez!"

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

((Adrian casts Pousikus, he has a 75% chance of success.

*Dice... 3... = 37.5% ... Success!*

Adrian casts Pousikus. Fiona casts the correct defense spell, Froid résistez. She has a 50% chance of success.

*Dice... 2... = 25% ... Success!*

Fiona casts Froid résistez. Fiona's Froid résistez reduces Adrian's Pousikus from 1 point to 0.5 points.

Score - Adrian 0.5, Fiona 0.0))

Amaryllis watched the two students sternly. She wasn't prepared to have either of them endure any real unpleasantries and it was as well to let both of them know that. She watched Mr. Hollows expectantly as they waited for him to cast his spell, and nodded as he produced a very feasible Pousikus. Nothing wrong with his casting of that. She smiled when Miss O'Reilly also produced an excellent defence spell. The charm Mr. Hollows had used might still have some effect of course, but not enough to force the other Slytherin to step back. "Excellent, both of you." Amaryllis said as she waved her wand to dissipate any lingering effects of Mr. Hollows spell. "Miss O'Reilly," she said, turning to the girl. "You may cast your first spell whenever you are ready."

[Fiona O'Reilly S5]

Fiona smiled when she saw her defense spell had been performed well enough. She couldn't help, but feeling a bit of satisfaction. Although she mildly felt the wind hit her from his wand it didn't have much if any effect with her defense spell working against it. She held her wand at the ready waiting for Professor Hardy to give her the cue on when to perform the next spell. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at Professor Hardy's words. She knew it had been an excellent spell and she was planning on performing her attack spell at just the same level of excellency. At least she hoped it worked out as well as she wanted it to. Professor Hardy gave her the go ahead to cast her spell. She delved into all the attack spells she had been learning and she waved her wand, "Frenonectio!"

[hollow]

Adrian grinned when he saw his spell working and chuckled when Fiona managed the defense spell, inclining his head respectfully. Fiona had done well and he wasn't resentful. After all, he had done well too. And Adrian didn't really possess the fighting spirit that existed in most other Slytherins unless it came to Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Those he would willingly fight but a fellow Slytherin, the very thought made him annoyed. Slytherins weren't supposed to fight each other. Not that it was a proper duel; a duel between enemies. Actually, Adrian considered Fiona to be an acquaintance or a distant friend. Certainly not an enemy. The spell was cast and it took barely a second for Adrian to respond, the few hours of flicking through his books finally paying off with his quick response. "Protego."

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

((Fiona casts Frenonectio; she has a 75% chance of success.

*Dice... 6... = 75%... Success!*

Fiona casts Frenonectio. Adrian casts the correct defense spell, Protego. He has a 50% chance of success.

*Dice... 6... = 75%... Failure!*

Adrian fails to cast Protego, so Fiona's Frenonectio hits with the full 1 point of damage!

Score - Adrian 0.5, Fiona 1.0))

It wasn't a particularly strong spell from Miss O'Reilly, but yet it was effective enough: Mr. Hollow's defence ended up being rather non-existent despite the effort he'd made and his shoelaces tied themselves together rather messily. If he had any sense of balance he wasn't about to fall over - as long as he didn't try going anywhere. "Retexete," Amaryllis said as she pointed her wand at them, unravelling the dubiously tied knots. She left it to Mr. Hollows to retie his own shoelaces.
"That was very good Miss O'Reilly," she said. "The thing to work on would be style that makes it more effective - for example, making the laces longer with an impossible number of loops, or a horrendous number of double knots. Mr. Hollows - your technique is correct; try a little more feeling and clear enunciation though." Amaryllis waited a moment for Mr. Hollows before she gave him the go ahead, "Mr. Hollows, you may cast your second spell."