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Post by Nicholas Gawain Lannsman on Dec 13, 2007 21:11:16 GMT -5
Nicholas spent about an hour finalizing the preparations of the dueling arena; reinforcing magical defensive charms to protect onlookers, mostly and making sure the area was clean and respectable for the duel. Smiling, he moved two bundles of green clothing to their separate sides and hung them up on the walls with magic.
Some students began to file in, saying hello to Nicholas as they did so and struck up idle banter as he worked. A few Gryffindors lent him a hand with a few other menial tasks of setting up a few more benches and they finally sat down themselves.
Anthony Corenthos and his crowd of goons came in and Nicholas talked to them and brought Anthony, alone, to his designated corner. He seemed to be striking up a stern conversation, the strict look on his face somewhat odd, but Anythony slipped a few jabs and snide remarks here and there regardless.
Nicholas unblinking and raptor gaze made Anthony's smile falter. Finally, after a few minutes, Nicholas went back to waiting for Donall. The duel was still a good ten minutes away.
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Post by Dónall Kennedy on Dec 13, 2007 23:05:22 GMT -5
Dónall casually walked into the Dueling Arena, with no outward emotion of fear or apprehension. On the inside, however, he was a huge mess.
He had no idea how he had managed to get himself into this, and was worried about the outcome, contrary to his little threat to Corenthos out in the Entrance Courtyard.
He slowly walked over to where Nicholas was waiting and greeted him. "Hullo, Sir. I suppose we should get this over with, hmm?" he spoke with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
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Post by Nicholas Gawain Lannsman on Dec 13, 2007 23:24:44 GMT -5
Nicholas' head snapped up towards Donall as he walked into the Hall. He quickly strode on over to where Donall was and guided the student to his side of the dueling area. He spoke in a brisk, professional manner. Almost militaristic.
"Hello Donall. I suppose we should get this over with, but I think you should finish it. Let him make a few first moves, play it defensive and then, hammer away. Aim a little off so you miss him a few times, something flashy so it kinda makes his vision a little blurry. The rapid succession of spells should keep him too worried on the defensive and then finish him off. He's a bit on the bigger side, so maneuverability isn't his strong point. Stay on the move and you'll wear him down, alright?" he said, as he looked Donall critically over, fixing his shoulders so he could stand up straighter.
"Remember your stances and posture. Don't lean into your attacks, you always have a tendency to do so. It'll throw you off balance and he'll knock you down. Stay down heavy at first then switch up to something a little quicker. If he ever breaks, hit him up top or low; his weight is all in the center mass, it'll topple him over."
It was odd the way he spoke and looked at him. It was almost fatherly in the way he addressed him, the way he seemed to care about Donall's outcome in the duel, and even seemed worried for him. Finally, Nicholas looked Donall in the eye.
"I don't care what you think, Donall, or what anyone else says. I knew you had it in you. Don't let this bloke walk over since you decided to be your own man. It might be a hard road you've started walking down, but I knew there was a good and strong willed wizard in there." Nicholas said, sounding somewhat proud of Donall. He leaned in and seemed to smile a bit. "And let that boy know the truth of it."
He leaned back and nodded his head once, sighing. "Ready?"
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Post by Dónall Kennedy on Dec 13, 2007 23:38:39 GMT -5
Dónall listened intently to what the knight had to say. He planned on winning this duel, even though he was nervous. It was his pride at stake, and he had a point to prove to his House.
"As ready as I'll ever be, Sir." this was true, for even though he felt that he could wait another few minutes, days, or even years, Dónall knew that it was now the time to do what he had to do. It didn't matter if he was really ready or not.
"Thank you for the advice, I'll consider it. Now, let's do this, I guess."
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Post by Nicholas Gawain Lannsman on Dec 14, 2007 0:09:26 GMT -5
Nicholas' face split into a beaming smile, almost like when he played with his children. He clapped Donall on the shoulders. "Win or lose, Donall, you've made your stand. You can always get back up, but I know you'd prefer to stay standing at the end of this. By the way, little surprise for you." he said, pointing at the small bundle of rolled up fabric on the wall. "You'll see."
Nicholas walked out towards the center of the dueling arena and looked to all the students gathered around.
"Ladies and gentlemen, students, and members of the four Houses of Hogwarts. A challenge was issued, last week on this very day to be exact, over matters of honor between the families of Kennedy and Corenthos." Nicholas began. At that moment, both of the rolled up cloths unfolded.
On Anthony's side, the large green banner had his families crest and the slytherin colors in the background whereas on Donall's, his family crest appeared with the same house colors in the background.
"Today, the issue will be dealt with as gentlemen in a fair duel. Please approach each other gentlemen. And shake hands." he said. He looked to them again and added quieter and with a raised eyebrow. "And if either of you tries to squeeze the other's hand too hard, I'll show you what it's like to duel with a broken wrist personally. Play nice."
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Post by Dónall Kennedy on Dec 14, 2007 0:22:05 GMT -5
"Well, Sir, I just hope this is worth it all. I've got a lot to lose here today, and I can't decide if I care or not. I've already lost so much here..." He trailed of as he looked to where the bundled up fabric was hanging on the wall.
"A surprise?"
He watched as Nicholas spoke before the crowd and the bundled up fabrics unfolded themselves to show tow Family Crest banners, for him and for Anthony. He would have beamed with pride had he actually appreciated his family background.
At the knight's words, he shook hands with Anthony, locking eyes with the boy to sned a message. He would not back down now that it had started. He wasn't the type to just give up easily.
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Post by Isabelle Wesker on Dec 14, 2007 13:52:09 GMT -5
Isabelle was standing in the crowd with her friends and most of the Ravenclaw 6th years. Not that they'd usually care about Slytherin business, but Rudy Maynard had told his housemates about what happenned in the courtyard. Kennedy's behavior had been pretty off-character this year, and they were all curious about the outcome of the duel.
Before the duelists came over the Ravenclaws all argued together about their theories on who would win the duel based on their knowledge of the two Slytherins. Isabelle however looked more interested in talking about herself...
"Dueling. Seriously. What is this, the 12th century? There's so much better ways to settle arguments than flinging spells at each other pretending you're storybook heroes. If I was the one who had a problem with a classmate I'd try to talk it off. Of course you can't expect Slytherins to be able to act as anything else than though guys..."
"Oh, come on now, this will be fun to watch! I want to see what they're capable of!" said Mary Prawett,
"Yeah, Isa, think of it as a sport!", Sera Jotte added.
"Bah, I'm here, aren't I? I still say you'd never catch me stooping so low... Oh, here they come. Man, that green clashes with everything."
The girls listened as Sir Nicholas made his speech. Mary and Sera looked over at the ex-auror rather admiringly, but Isabelle just listened to him, her arms crossed, and as he mentionned matters of honor and lowered the banners, she rolled her eyes in exagerated despair.
"Pointless dramatics..."
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Post by Arcturus MacDougal on Dec 14, 2007 16:21:41 GMT -5
Arcturus was watching with part excitement, part pride, part fear. Word had gotten round what had happened and why this duel was being fought, and Arcturus couldn't help but admire the Kennedy kid. He had some real guts to go up against the traditional nastiness of his House. It just went to show, your House didn't make you. It kind of made Arcturus think . . . but right now he just wanted to see how the duel went. He couldn't help but root for Kennedy, along with most of Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw. A few hadn't heard of the reason for this duel, and so were pretty much indifferent. And just about all of Slytherin House was on Anthony's side. There were one or two Slytherins who looked like they might be on Kennedy's side, as they weren't booing viciously, but they looked too scared of the rest of the Slytherins to do anything else.
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Post by Nicholas Gawain Lannsman on Dec 15, 2007 13:20:01 GMT -5
He watched both of them shake hands and give each other a bit of a staredown.
Nicholas sighed.
Boys.
"Alright. Duelists, to your corners. The duel will end when someone will yield, or be rendered incapable of fighting. You know what spells aren't permissible. Should there be any foul play involved, House points will be deducted and I will intervene. Understood?" he said. Anthony nodded, not looking too eager to have the large Gryffindor Head of House enter the fray.
"So be it. Salute your opponents."
Anthony gave Donall the slightest of salutes before standing, tensed, and ready to spring into action.
Nicholas stepped out of the barrier and looked to the arena. Reaching beneath his long black cape, he drew out his silver sword. It rang clearly and crisply throughout the entire Hall as he pointed the blade upwards. "Let the duel-"
He swung it down a second later.
"Commence!"
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Post by Dónall Kennedy on Dec 15, 2007 23:09:23 GMT -5
At the knight's word, the duel commenced, and Dónall nearly froze, until he heard a loud cry of "Expelliarmus" emanate from his opponent. He immediately threw up a shield charm, and blocked the attack.
At Corenthos' next spell, Don jumped out of the way, nearly being hit by one inch. He dodged the next few the same way, much to Anothony's disappointment. He didn't fight back directly, as much as he wanted to. He really took Sir Lannsmann's words to heart.
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Post by Elsbeth Pierce on Dec 15, 2007 23:36:08 GMT -5
Elsbeth stood to the side with the other professors, watching the duel unfold. She cheered for both sides, she could show no partiality, for she was in a position of high authority and showing bias wouldn't be appropriate.
Really, though, after heaqring about what prompted the duel in the first place, she was silently rooting for Dónall Kennedy; he was truly a remarkable young man for going against the grain and standing up for himself amongst a House full of those who would oppose him.
She watched intently.
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Post by Narrator on Dec 16, 2007 0:42:30 GMT -5
"Immobulus!"
Another spell darted for Donall but this one flew passed him by barely an inch. Anthony looked mighty angry as he flung spells at his fellow Slytherin.
"What's a matter, Kennedy? Impedimenta!" he yelled as he loosened the Impeding Hex. The spell struck Donall in his shoulder, causing his movements to become sluggish for the next few seconds. Anthony pounced on it and hit Donall with a Levicorpus spell.
Donall's ankle was grabbed by an invisible force and snatched him into the air, hanging him upside down. "I knew you were too much of a coward to even be able to fight back!" Anthony sneered as he began to move forward, raising his wand again.
Nicholas' words echoed in Donall's mind; Let him make a few first moves, play it defensive and then, hammer away. Aim a little off so you miss him a few times, something flashy so it kinda makes his vision a little blurry. The rapid succession of spells should keep him too worried on the defensive and then finish him off.
Anthony was too busy being cocky. He left an opening.
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Post by Dónall Kennedy on Dec 16, 2007 0:53:38 GMT -5
Dónall didn't struggle as Anthony sent a Levicorpus his way. This could be used for his advantage; from in the air he could aim better higher up on Anthony's body.
He screamed "Finite Incantatum!" followed by a quick "Confundo!" aiming at Anthony's collarbone. The spell hit, confunding the boy, making him confused and unaware for a few moments.
The Levicorpus spell broke, and Don fell to the floor but quickly rolled over and stood up in a good stance.
He didn't take Anthony's bait; he stayed quiet, never talking back, only concentrating on the spells he threw his way.
He threw a couple of spells at Anthony quickly one after the other, while he was confunded. This was his chance. "Avis! Oppugno!" A flock of birds appeared and at his command flew around Anthony's head, distracting him.
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Post by Narrator on Dec 16, 2007 1:04:23 GMT -5
Anthony seemed dazed and confused when he was hit by the Confounding spell. He was vaguely aware that Donall had fallen and was free of his spell, and was quickly coming back to his senses as a flock of birds began to strike at him. He staying in place, batting some aside with one hand and shielding his face with the other.
With a grunt of frustration, he cast his arm out, yelling "Stupefy!" in Donall's direction. The reddish bolt soared towards him and missing buy less than an inch again. It hit Nicholas' barrier and evaporated.
"Stupid, bloody birds!" he yelled as he then began firing at some.
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Post by Dónall Kennedy on Dec 16, 2007 1:08:52 GMT -5
Dónall took this opportunity to try to hit Anthony with a spell that would end the duel. He cried out "Expelliarmus!" and it was fortunate to him that the spell hit its target, and Anthony's wand went flying.
The wand suspended in the air, Don tried to catch it.
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