Sora Blake
Ministry of Magic
Hitwizard
-swagger like us-
Posts: 652
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Post by Sora Blake on Aug 10, 2006 21:38:42 GMT -5
Sora sighed slightly as he adjusted his pack, already stifling the yawn that was threatening to emerge. The Slytherin found an empty seat behind Brittany, his eyes spotting a Hufflepuff that he didn't recognize sitting on the desk next to Brittany. The Hufflepuff seemed to be staring at Brittany for a reason he himself didn't know. His hand lightly touched Brittany's hand in greeting as he took the seat behind her. He ran a hand through his long auburn hair as he continued to notice the girl continued to stare at Brittany. He leaned forward towards Brittany and whispered in the ear that wasn't facing the Hufflepuff,
"I think that girl has it in for you or something, Britt..." he whispered very quietly, leaning back into his seat as he finished. Professor Raynor then called the Hufflepuff which he had warned Brittany about. He raised his hand as the Professor asked the question,
"I think the most important rule in dueling is to defeat your opponent." he said matter-of-factly, chuckling at his own extremely obvious answer.
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Post by cappuccino on Aug 11, 2006 8:56:32 GMT -5
"Perhaps treat each other with respect, and whether you manage to win or lose-- leave with dignity?" Ivy said, taking a guess. She had to hand it to herself, it was a really good guess. It was better than Allegra's and Sora's anyway. She was so smart sometimes, and it didn't surprise her. Why? Because she was perfect, that's why. However, she tried not to show her smugness because she was still rather petrified standing next to Professor Raynor.
Ivy needed a reality check or two. She definitely not as perfect as she thought she was. Definitely.
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Post by Tamis Raynor on Aug 11, 2006 13:10:18 GMT -5
"If we were looking at a fair, planned out confrontation between wizards, Miss Thornton, then you would be 100% correct. The rules I am looking for have more of less to do with a duel in any situation. Five points to Ravenclaw nonetheless." She replied to Allegra, noting that Ivy had indeed joined her on the stage.
Sora received a rueful look, but it was more on the lines of what she was looking for. "Yes, Mr. Blake, there is no denying that is the ultimate rule in a duel, especially if it is life or death --" Then the girl standing beside her gave an answer and she nodded her head, "If it was a friendly duel where everyone was friends, Miss Xin, I would agree with you. But if wands are drawn and you lose, you are not going to walk away unscathed. As this is a Defense class, we expect the worst, and losing would mean losing your life. But good answers. Five points to each Slytherin and Hufflepuff."
Crossing her arms behind her back, Raynor began to pace the length of the stage, careful not to run into the girl that was now standing on it with her. A usual motion for her in class, never being one to sit still.
"The courtesies of a duel are what Miss Thornton pointed out. However, there are also four basic rules that every witch and wizard should know when coming against a combatant. They rank in order of importance." She held up a finger. 'The first is Skill. In a duel, you have to be able to defend and attack at the same time. If you send a hex at your opponent and they disarm you at the same time and you cannot shield yourself as well, you lose. Skill also encompasses the ability to preform your spells discreetly; silently. If you opponent knows what you are going to do, chances are you will never win."
A second finger went up to join the first. "The second rule is agility. While skill ranks higher, agility is just as important. If you have turtle movements, no matter how skillful you are, you will lose. You have to be able to move quickly and respond fast enough to stop attacks and send your own defense before your opponent can stop it."
Three fingers up in the air now. "The third is knowledge. This just benefits you in the long run. If you have a wide knowledge of both recognizing hexes and curses by looks as opposed to incantation, you can fight it off even if one is not given. If you have the agility. Knowledge of being able to preform a wide range of spells will keep your opponent on his toes."
The last and forth finger joined the rest. "The last and final rule is the least important of all of them when looked at one way and the most if in another way, and is therefore given the last place. Power. You can be the most powerful wizard known to wizard-kind but if you do not have three above rules, you can and will lose. Power is no a substitution. However, always know your power. Know you strengths and weaknesses. If you know your limits, you have that much better of a chance."
Dear Merlin that had been a lot of talking. Want to move fast through these indeed. "Questions?"
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Post by Brittany Garland on Aug 11, 2006 17:21:50 GMT -5
As Sora whispered to her, she turned over the slight possibility that Ivy might not like her. She had absolutely no idea why the girl wouldn't like her, so finding no logic in what he said she shook it off. Simply shrugging in response since Professor Raynor had just started the lesson, Brittany listened intently to what she had to say. The art of dueling wasn't half as interesting as the actual dueling itself but it was important. With that, she scribbled furiously across the parchment attempting to get the just of what exactly the lady was saying.
As Raynor finally took a breath, the girl took a minute to twist her wrist around. It was indeed a tough task to keep up with what she was saying but she had gotten the main ideas of the four basic rules. Looking up to the professor as she asked if there were any questions, Brittany instinctively shook her head, 'no' in order for the woman to move on.
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Allegra Thornton
Hogwarts Staff
Administrative Assistant Witch
^it's just me^
Posts: 2,420
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Post by Allegra Thornton on Aug 15, 2006 21:53:39 GMT -5
Allegra wrote out her notes, taking care to highlight what Raynor meant by rules. Allegra considered what the Professor had laid out to be more like needs. Rules, as her brother was quick to point out, were meant to be twisted and manipulated and in some cases, flat out broken. These weren't quite like that.
SAKW She circled the letters, making a mental note to find a meaning in the initials later so that she would remember it.
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Post by Tamis Raynor on Aug 22, 2006 16:21:16 GMT -5
No questions then it seemed. Which meant they could move on just as quickly as she intended. This truly was among her more favorite lessons, the dancing flame of thrill in the back of the Professor's eyes was enough to say that. Dueling could be a great art when undertaken, especially what they would be reviewing today.
"Now, these rules are very crucial to your performance in a duel, and your ability to commit them is a key part in that. Hopefully, in your other classes, you have at least gained the rudiments of casting spells without speaking. If you have not, you are going to be playing a fast game of catch-up."
Oh, yes, Raynor was having much too much fun with this one.
"You're opponent will not be able to calculate you're moves as much if you use silent incantations, it is also much quicker. Today, you will be dueling each other in pairs; silently. If one word is muttered, ten points will be taken from your house and you will get a P for the day. You will have one of two choices. 1) Duel another student and the victor gets ten points and the right to pick the next pair. 2) Duel myself. A victory is not needed, and you will get five points. If you choice the second option and win... I will think of something."
Though, whether they could or not with the second option depended on how much experience they had with the silent incantations and dueling in general. An auror of a dozen years was not a complete push over.
"And Miss Xin, as you offered yourself as a volunteer. You are up first. You can duel myself, or pick another student to join you on the stage."
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Post by cappuccino on Aug 25, 2006 22:40:20 GMT -5
Ivy gulped. "Er..." she looked around the class and tried to measure up skills and agility. Brittany will give me no mercy....Sora looks sort of scary-- let's don't even talk about Kellen and Allegra. She said that I don't have win against her... okay-- I'll take the chance! Ivy had to admit that she was probably the weakest person in the entire class-- in terms of skills, knowledge, agility and wisdom... Word...
"I'll challenge you to a duel-- " she dropped her voice low, and she spoke sincerely. "Honestly, Professor... I'm not very good at silent spells," she said blushing terribly. Ivy wasn't really sure how she got into the class. But, she was here to learn and she would try her best.
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Post by Tamis Raynor on Sept 5, 2006 17:06:40 GMT -5
"Thats quite all right, Miss Xin, I simply want you to try," the Professor stated, offering a slight smile of encouragement before drawing out her own wand. She had not expected to be challenged right away.
The Professor raised her voice once more for the rest of the class to hear what was being said. "In a formal duel situation, you turn your backs to each other, walk ten paces, and then turn around and bow to your opponent. Then the duel starts. As this is a formal setting, we are going to respect this default and begin the duel in this matter. Though in reality, they would probably jump straight to the dueling in a life or death dirty situation."
She explained the the class in more words than was truly necessary, mainly as she wanted to give Ivy a chance to calm herself a bit before the duel actually began. But, they did also have to move on, many more couples to go through.
"Whenever you are ready, Miss Xin," she said, waiting for the girl's single before turning, walking the designated amount, and bowing.
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Post by cappuccino on Sept 11, 2006 9:22:19 GMT -5
Ivy gulped, hoping that whatever Raynor would do wouldn't leave a mark on her perfect face. She nodded at Raynor to signify that she was ready, and stiffly turned her back to the professor.
Oh god... what did I get myself into?
Although it was rare to see Ivy sweat, she had been persperating rather profusely. It was obvious that Ivy was nervous. She clenched her fists, and took a deep breath. She had to do her best. That was all she could do.
She walked ten steps, gave a small prayer, and turned back to Professor Raynor.
Crap, I think I have to go to the bathroom...Smashing, just smashing! she thought bitterly in her head. I can do this! she thought confidently.
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