Dueling Classroom ((Cassandra & Pyro))

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Amaryllis was reading a novel again. A simple Agatha Christie this time. Well, not really simple. She loved the Muggle author. Such a lot of intrigue. You could think you'd worked out whodunnit, but all the time you could be wrong. And sometimes they had such great twists at the end. Coming to the end of a chapter, she glanced up at the clock. A while left to go yet. She could carry on reading. Amaryllis stood up and went to open the door. It was fairly quiet in the corridor at this time of day - it was the lull after classes had finished and long enough had passed to allow everyone to get where they wanted to go. Across the hallway two portraits were engaged in deep conversation. they glanced up at the Professor and continued as she returned to her desk.

Today she was going to be supervising a duel between two third years. A Gryffindor, Miss Logton, and a Slytherin, Mr. Blackfire. Amaryllis was sincerely grateful for the fact that Miss Logton appeared to be doing something useful with her time rather than getting herself into trouble as she had been rather prone to doing earlier on in the term. Gryffindor point balance still hadn't recovered. Duelling was challenging, and rewarding. Amaryllis hoped the third year would develop an enthusiasm for it and not feel the need to venture into the forest. The two students should be turning up fairly soon, Amaryllis noted, with another glance at the clock. She picked up her book again and continued to read.

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro's feet echoed on the stone chamber. His black cloak twirled around him as he walked down the hallway. His hood was up and low over his eyes. His eyes peered own from under the hood. He was in a dark mood today. So when Cass had approached him with a dueling proposition he had eagerly agreed. He needed something that would let of a bit of steam. Although his magical abilities had been slipping. Hed take anything, and, he couldnt let a chance to beat Cass just slip by.

Pyro found the door to the dueling classroom open. He stepped inside. There were a few desks pushed against the wall of the room. Pyro looked and saw the professor. He glanced at her but gave no greeting. He wasnt in a greeting mood. He moved over to a dark corner and sat down on a chair and put his foot up on a desk. He wraped his cloak around his body and lowered his head. He almost looked like he was sleeping as he waited for Cass to arrive.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass left McGonogall's classroom in a bit of hurry from excitement. Pyro and her would be dueling today, and she wasn't going to miss it for the world. Not only had she been wanting to learn how to duel, but she really wanted to prove to Professor Hardy she was more than a troublemaker. After that incident with Kris in the Forest, she had hardly been able to look the woman in the eye. Besides that, she would never miss the chance to try to beat Pyro.

Finally making it to the assigned dueling classroom, she opened the door to see that Prof. Hardy and Pyro were already there. However, Pyro looked like he was sulking in the corner. She smiled at Prof Hardy and have her a hearty smile and said, " Hello Professor. Looking forward to the duel today."

She took of her cloak and looked at Pyro. " Hey Pyro. Being a drama King today?"

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Amaryllis stood up as Miss Logton arrived, and smiled slightly at the girl. She seemed eager to duel. Amaryllis just hoped this didn't mean she was used to duelling unsupervised as well. Amaryllis decided to give the girl a chance. She just needed to learn where to direct her energies. She seemed to have quite a lot - maybe she just needed to direct them into schoolwork instead of into getting into trouble. With a swift glance at Mr. Blackfire, who didn't look particularly cheerful, she began to speak to the two, watching the young Slytherin to ensure he did stand up and did have some idea of manners.

"Miss Logton, if you would like to stand on this grey square here, and Mr. Blackfire, you on this green triangle, we can begin the duel. I hope you have both reviewed the duelling rules before coming here." Amaryllis waited for the two of them to respond to her instructions before continuing. "Now then, both of you bow to your opponent, and when you are both ready, Mr. Blackfire, you may begin the duel by casting your first spell." Amaryllis stood slightly away from the pair to watch, her wand at the ready if any assistance was required. Some spells could have rather nasty effects, and Amaryllis didn't like to see students embarassed by them.

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro shot a glance at Cass. "Drama king? Last I checked people could be by themself if they wished." He wasnt in the mood to argue. When it looked like Professor Hardy was about to begin he stood up and removed his cloak and stretched a bit. Professor Hardy gave a quick speech and than signaled them to their marks. Pyro walked over to his and smirked at Cass. "Hope your ready to loose."

Pyro steped onto the green triangle and did a quick bow. As he straightned he pulled out his wand and twirled it in his fingers as he brought it up in front of him.
He pointed his wand at her and calmly flicked it and said. "Flippendo."

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass took off her cloak and laid on top of her books that she had brought with her. Standing on the spot that Professor Hardy had directed her too, she flipped her hair over her shoulder. Finally getting serious, she did a slight bow and set her game face.

" Flippendo!" Pyro said, and she watched as the spell fought its way toward her. Wand at the ready, she commanded, " Fortuikus!" She hoped that this would be enought to allow her to stand her ground.

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

((Pyro casts Flippendo, he has a 37.5% success chance.

*Dice... 5... = 62.5%... Failure!*

Pyro fails to cast Flippendo, so no defensive spell is needed.

Score - Pyro 0.0, Cassandra 0.0))

Amaryllis watched as Mr. Blackfire's spell gained very little power and did not affect Miss Logton at all. Then again, it was quite a difficult spell for a third year to cast and it had been a good attempt. She nodded at Mr. Blackfire. "A good try," she said, "only a little way to go until you are able to cast the spell." Amaryllis turned to Cassandra Logton. "Miss Logton, you may cast your first spell whenever you wish."

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass raised an eyebrow as Pyro's spell failed to work. Why did he do that? I mean, really, why cast a jinx that was too much for him to do. Plus, such a nasty once! Well, I guess the drama king remark probably sealed her fate at this duel. Cass had a different plan of attack from her opponent; casting large jinxes to hurt your opponent wouldn't work here. Maybe...


Cass thought about her next move carefully, not wanting it to be a rash move. Aiming her wand, she decided to take a page out of the Queen's book. "Silencio!" she cried. This may not harm Pyro, but it would definetly quiet him down.

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro couldnt help but gawk as his spell failed. He snarled and stomped his foot. No! He thought to himself. No way was he going to let this spell beat him. Beating Cass was a small object to him now. He would not fail this spell again.

So distracted was he he almost missed Cass attack. he snaped to attention and barely caught her spell. 'Silencio.' Pyro brought his wand up. He knew the defence for this. "Protego!"

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

((Cassandra casts Silencio, she has a 62.5% success chance.

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

Cassandra casts Silencio. Pyro casts the correct defense, Protego. He has a 37.5% success chance.

*Dice... 7... = 87.5%... Failure!*

Pyro fails to cast Protego so Cassandra's spell hits with the full 1 point.

Score - Pyro 0.0, Cassandra 1.0))

Amaryllis raised her eyebrows. Mr. Blackfire seemed to be taking this rather seriously, but also not dealing with small failures very well. It cost him only a small while later, as Miss Logton's spell hit him at full force. It was a nicely cast spell too. Amaryllis removed the effects of the spell and nodded at Miss Logton. "Well done, that was a good spell, Miss Logton," she said. "Mr. Blackfire, whenever you are ready, you may cast your next spell."

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro couldnt believe that even the simple defence spell had failed. He knew that he had been shying away from his magical abilities and leaning on his physical prowes, but he couldnt have imagined that it was this bad. He waited for Hardy to undo the effects.

He set his grip on his wand and growled in determination. "I wont fail this time...." He pointed his wand at Cass. "Flippendo!"

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass smiled as Professor Hardy commented her on her spell. She couldn't help it, she loved it when she got approval. She watched as Pyro pondered his next move, and was a bit surprised when he casted Flippendo.

Yawning, she once again casted the counter curse. " Fortuikus!" Couldn't he pick a spell that would actually challenger her?

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

((Pyro casts Flippendo, he has a 37.5% success chance.

*Dice... 7... = 87.5%... Failure!*

Pyro fails to cast Fortuikus, so no defensive spell is needed.

Score - Pyro 0.0, Cassandra 1.0))

Amaryllis frowned as Mr. Blackfire cast the same spell again and yet again failed to do so properly. Practise was a very good thing, but if the first time you practised a spell was in a duel, it wasn't helpful. She raised her eyebrows, hoping they would not have the same display as they had witnessed the last time he had failed with his spell. "I'm afraid it's not quite there yet, Mr. Blackfire," Amaryllis said to the third year. "I suggest you practise it after the duel if you want to perfect it." Amaryllis turned to Miss Logton, whose composure was impressing her. She wasn't seeing much of the kind of person that would run around in the dangerous Forebidden Forest with only another student for company. "Miss Logton, you may cast your next spell when you are ready to do so."

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Pulling a hair tie from around her wrist, she grabbed her and put it in a ponytail. She was savoring this moment! Pyro was getting so flustered from this confrontation! I guess being beaten by a mudblood at a duel might be another one of his most embarrasing moments.

Smiling, she pointed her wand at Pyro, finally making her decision on the next spell she was going to cast. Pyro was casting spells that there was little or no chance that a third year could cast. That was no way to win a duel. A person needed to focus on their strengths and not their weaknesses when in a position such as this. " Rictusempra!" Cassandra cried as she watched the spell blast out of her wand towards Pyro.

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro looked down at his wand as his spell failed a second time. He stared in silence and it looked like he was about to have one of his anger outbursts again, but something surprising happened. He chuckled. Just a short one, but that chuckle was followed by another one, this one longer. Pretty soon his chuckling grew into laughter and he raised his head to the ceiling as he laughed. Finally getting controll of himself he brought his attention back to the moment. He cast a glance over at Professor Hardy. There was a slight evil glint in his eyes.

"Oh dont worry Professor. I wont let this spell defeat me. I will practice untill I have it down to a knack." He turned his look over towards Cass. A smile creeping across his lips. "It seems your going to win this duel today muggle. But you win it using easy spells that even a first year could preform. Atleast I shall leave this duel satisfied that I atleast attempted some spells that were beyond a 3rd year comprehension." It was at that point that Cass cast her next spell. Pyro flicked his wand. "Protego."

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

((Cassandra casts Rictusempra, she has a 62.5% success chance.

*Dice... 8... = 100%... Failure!*

Cassandra fails to cast Rictusempra, so no defense spell is required.

Score - Pyro 0.0, Cassandra 1.0))

Amaryllis watched sharply as Mr. Blackfire conducted himself quite inappropriately, laughing rather manically but most outrageously making a completely unacceptable comment to Miss Logton just as she was casting her spell. The spell subsequently failed, but Amaryllis did not give permission to Mr. Blackfire to continue the duel. She eyed him reproachfully before speaking. There was a difference between thinking something and saying it, especially expressed in a way which could deter the other person.

"Mr. Blackfire, I hope you realise that you should address your peer with more respect than you have just now. Miss Logton would have every right to be offended by those comments, and they could be said to be at least distracting to her casting her spells correctly. Five points from Slytherin. I hope you will treat all your peers with more respect from now on." Amaryllis turned to Miss Logton. "Miss Logton, sorry. Your spell is not quite there yet, but if you continue to practise you should have perfected it in only a short amount of time. Now then, Mr Blackfire," she continued, "if you have understood that for the duration of this duel you are not to talk to Miss Logton in such a manner as you just have, you may cast your next spell. Only do so if you can keep to the rules of this duelling club."

[Pyro Blackfire S5]

Pyro watched as Cass's spell failed. He turned to Professor Hardy and did a bow. "Forgive me Professor, wont happen again." He spoke in a smooth tone. He straightned and turned to Cass, overing a light nod of the head. "Sorry about my comment." He spoke to her in that same even tone. Finally Professor Hardy gave him the go ahead to continue the duel. He smirked inwardly. Had he ment any of his apologies? Ofcourse not. This duel had opened his eyes for him and he now realized that he needed to get busy and start reading the book that Dixie had gotten for him.

He taped his wand against his shoulder. "Hmmm, now lets see. What spell should I use?" He figured to use a easier spell but easily dismissed the idea. The flipendo spell was begining to get boring, time for a different one. "Ah yes." Pyro pointed his wand at Cass. "tarantallegra"

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass raised an eyebrow as he apologized to her and the Professor. Wierd for Pyro, but it wasn't an apology that was going to be accepted. There was too much history between the two of them now, and there was no way she could forgive him that easily now. Not after that low blow that night in the Room of Requirement.

Deciding it was better to keep her mouth shut at this point, since she wasn't sure if what would come out of her mouth would be nice or not, she continued to keep her wand level with Pyro. This way, she would be ready to counter whatever spell he couldn't cast correctly. Hearing him cast his final spell, she couldn't understand why he was casting all these hard spells. He was only a third year, why was he casting all these spells that were going to be near impossible to cast.

" Protego!" Cass cried to counter his spell.

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

((Pyro casts Tarantallegra, he has a 37.5% success chance.

*Dice... 5... = 62.5%... Failure!*

Pyro fails to cast Tarantallegra, so no defense spell is required.

Score - Pyro 0.0, Cassandra 1.0))

Amaryllis was not satisfied with the tone of voice in which Mr. Blackfire answered her, although she allowed him to continue, having noted there seemed to be a good deal of tension between him and Miss Logton. She would keep a close eye on both of them. And perhaps try to find a task for Miss Logton to do. There would be time enough for that later though. Right now she would finish this duel. "Not quite there with that one either, Mr. Blackfire," she commented. "Miss Logton, you may cast your final spell whenever you wish." Amaryllis stepped back a little, but not too much. She didn't want any trouble.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass looked at Professor Hardy worridly. To tell you the truth, she really wasn't too incredibly sure why Pyro was being so aggressive. True, they were arguing, but what he was doing was a bit ridiculous. Watching the Professor tense up, she started to lose her nerve just a bit. This started out as fun between friends, but now he was taking it personally. Cass didn't realize how angry he was because of the night with the book.

Not really wanting to continue now, she felt she was forced to finish what the two of them had started. Letting the last spell come to mind, she rustled up her remaining muster to finish this duel. " Pousikus!"