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outfitttt, just took off his tie and robe, no time to change : (

Dracon had been in the Great Hall for the past hour levitating benches and tables. He had waited impatiently as the clock neared seven for the remaining stranglers to get up and leave their empty dinner plates. He had to clear the hall, float the furniture out of the room and into the charmed storage room where the caretaker had given him permission to store the house tables, and pull out the giant single table that stretched almost from the giant doors to the podium of the Headmistress. It left him a little exhausted, having to lift a few hundred pounds all by himself, but Dracon worked quickly to prepare for the arrival of members and visitors. Grace came in after that (typical) and had helped him lay down the giant sheet of royal purple and golden stars with the phases of the moon on the table. They used a fastening spell to stick the sheet to the table top so it didn’t trip anyone when they stood on top of the table. It would be unfortunate to dodge a spell and get taken out by a giant’s bed sheet. Along the sides of the table was more than enough space for people to stand and watch or move around. The familiar giant fireplace roared against the right wall as Dracon climbed on top of the table and with a flick of his wrist, the Great Hall doors creaked open.

Some dueling club members filtered in, and others were faces that weren’t known to him. He always encouraged students to come and watch the duels, but the only way to participate was signing consent forms. It was a lot easier just to join the club, but some didn't have the time required to come to the meetings. Dueling was dangerous – no bones about it, it was a serious sport where people could get hurt, intentionally or by accident. While safety was first priority, and he watched extremely closely, spells happened in a blink of an eye. A professor was always around to make sure that everything was ran accordingly, a chore which some enjoyed and others, like his cousin, despised.

Dracon stood on the edge of the table and looked out at the small crowd that had gathered. Most of them looked excited at the idea of finally being able to hop up on the table and get out some of their pent up hostility that had accumulated over winter break. Others, the less familiar faces in the crowd, looked uneasy. Dracon tucked his wand into his pants and clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention. Luckily, the crowd was moderate and allowed him to speak loudly without the use of a charm.

“Well, it’s canny good to see some new faces here. Welcome tuh Dueling Society, everyone. For anyone who doesn’t know me already, Ah’m Dracon Towler,” he paused and gave a slight smile. He rubbed his hands together and scanned the crowd with his hazel eyes. “So, Ah’m not one for making long speeches but let’s get some things out of the way. First, we practice safety here. Second, dueling is a magical contact sport only -,” he tossed a subtle look to a group of his fellow Slytherins who he knew fought a little dirty when possible. He did like his house and appreciated competitiveness, but it was his reputation on the line if someone was seriously injured. Dracon didn’t do well with people disrespecting his rules or his desires, and had no problem with intervening if things got out of hand. “Third, yee may have a second tonight, for anyone who isn’t familiar with that term, it means if yee get knocked out, a trusted ally can step in and take over your duel. Yee must pick your ally, if yee chose to have one, before your duel begins.”

Dracon paused as everyone whispered to one another, and a few poked the person next to him or her to agree to be partners. It was a standard practice to have a second in a duel, and very ancient. You certainly didn’t want your second to be someone you didn’t like or couldn’t rely on. A second fought for your honor (or your life), at least in ancient times they did – it was the ultimate bond of trust.

“Finally, we don’t have any requested duels for tonight, so,” Dracon looked around and smirk, his hands  opening up in a welcoming gesture.

“Any volunteers?”

( any questions please don’t hesitate to pm me. please also view the rules in the plot development thread here. there's been an edit to the rules, guests can duel as long as their post mentions they signed a consent form!)

Delilah was feeling extraordinarily peevish today - which, of course, meant she was in a ripe mood for dueling. She wasn't ordinarily a particularly sunshine-y person (on the contrary, she was regularly likened to a fire-breathing dragon by her brother, of all people), but on an "off" day, she was an absolute nightmare. It was probably, in any case, a good thing that she was here (the last time she'd felt this cranky, she'd gone rather hex-happy on one particular Ravenclaw who'd been getting on her nerves lately).

Ever the social one (not), Lilah was lurking a ways away from the small crowd of people that had gathered. She saw a few familiar faces but made no move to greet them, save for a couple of mute nods sent towards a few of the seventh years. It was, from her point of view, no tragedy that she was on speaking terms with so few of her peers. Socializing was a trifling thing. She was just going to forget half of the people she met, anyway. What was the point?

She surveyed Dracon as he began addressing the masses. He was probably - no, definitely - her closest friend here. She supposed it was a good thing that they had gotten to know each other; if she'd never talked to him she would have outright hated him. President of the dueling club, quidditch player, master overachiever...he was, in short, a more Slytherinesque version of her brother, and the very antithesis of Delilah herself. And, she noticed offhandedly, he was still rather good-looking...

Lilah cracked her knuckles, feeling rather irritated with herself. She wasn't supposed to take note of that kind of stuff anymore - she wouldn't touch Dracon romantically with a ten-foot pole.

He was asking for volunteers now? She supposed it was kind of her duty (as a friend) to volunteer herself. Straightening up, she tried her best to catch his eye.

Why not you and me? We're probably the closest to equals on the dueling front...

Delilah was, in her own opinion, a very skillful duelist. She had a nasty competitive streak and was about as belligerent as a riled-up acromantula. Of course, being so aggressive had its pitfalls: Lilah's spells were powerful, but her weak point was accuracy. She had a tendency to get hot-headed and lose her focus.

"I'll do it."

No one could ever say that Grace Eddy was not involved  in her world. Usually she participated in her life with such gusto that it exhausted most of her friends, classmates and adults. Rarely was she able to find others who were so dedicated and rivaled her overachieving ways.

Usually when she did find those people, they were so few and far in between that she saw them as kindred spirits. Rarely were they considered a nuisance because she spent most of her time navigating around those who tended to slack off or had more interest in having fun all the time. Even as competitive as Grace was, generally, she did not begrudge a fellow student who was just as hard working or goal oriented as she was.

It seemed though, that could never reconcile that competitiveness with any of her Slytherin classmates. Even people like Dracon Towler and Liviana Wiedman, who she would begrudgingly admit to respecting, she found it hard to quell the urge to compete against them.

Thus, the majority of Grace's silence while helping Dracon set up for the Dueling Society meeting was part of her ongoing love-hate relationship with her fellow seventh year. The was good looking, hard working, athletic and intelligent. But he was also a pureblooded Slytherin who exuded a conceit that grated on her nerves.

Her feelings towards the Club President was not the full cause of her silence, however. The tail end of Grace's holiday had been filled with the revelation of some rather unfortunate news and she had spent most of her time back at school still trying to come to terms with it. So far, the Gryffindor had yet to open up to anyone about it and had been uncharacteristically withdrawn upon her return (which was quite different from simply being studious and focused).

Her mind was simply preoccupied and many of the ideas and pursuits that she once felt were of critical importance were not so anymore by comparison. So, when the set up for the meeting was finished and members began to arrive, Grace withdrew to the sidelines, content to allow Dracon to have the spotlight. Or anyone else for that matter. She had no plans to duel on this particular day,  even if her nemesis, Maeve Whitman, did manage to make an appearance.

It didn't look like the blonde Slytherin would, but another girl from the house of snakes spoke up when Dracon asked for volunteers to duel. Her brows shot up as she wondered who else would volunteer to join those two.

Quinn's Uniform - hasn't been bothered to get changed.

Quinn McAvoy was bored. And when boredom hit the blonde maniac of Gryffindor, it could only be a bad thing. Lou was nowhere to be found, all of the buys were studying (come on, exams aren't that important) and there wasn't a soul around who wanted to mess about for the remainder of the evening. She'd tried contacting Dev (he was always good fun) but to no avail, and Quinn found herself laying on her bed, picking off some mud from the toes of her Doc Marten boots. Looking over at Grace's bed (the neatest and tidiest corner of the room), she sighed, trying to remember where her friend was. The library? No, no she was doing something else...

She racked her brains trying to remember, wishing that she concentrated more. Quinn constantly forgot things, whether it was a time or place to meet someone, or the assignment that a professor had set under an hour ago. A quick remedy was to listen properly, but Quinn was far too fickle and scatterbrained to do that. Blowing a large pink orb with the two hour old bubblegum she kept on chewing like a cow with cud, Quinn's boredom was slowly driving her insane.

After one last attempt at trying to remember her previous conversation with Grace, she sat upright immediately, giving a squeak of accomplishment. Duelling Club! Her more studious friend had seemed a little reluctant to tell Quinn of her plans, purely out of sensibility. Quinn had a lot of enemies within Slytherin (from the girls, in particular) and trusting her offensive spells was not a brilliant plan. After exhausting all other avenues of entertainment, Quinn foolishly grabbed her wand from the bedside cabinet and sprinted down the winding corridors of Hogwarts to her final destination.

She barged into the room, a hand bashfully running itself through her mane of blonde hair.
"Sorry I'm late!" she laughed, beaming at the crowd who gathered. Some of the more familiar Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs smirked at each other and towards Quinn, knowing exactly what she was like, whilst others scowled, turning up their noses. She immediately spotted Grace, giving her a large wave and bumping through the gathering of students to get to her on the other side of the table, mumbling "'excuse me darling," and "cheers, out the way," throughout. Quinn couldn't help but giggle as she put an arm around Grace's shoulders, lifting her other hand in the air to signal her arrival.
"Don't worry, I'm her guest!" she called out to Dracon Towler, giving him a beam of inappropriate enthusiasm. She immediately turned to Grace, whispering in her ear excitedly. "Thought I'd invite myself, mate, bored out my skull in that dorm." Quinn regularly embarrassed Grace on many an occasion, but nothing was shocking about her behaviour. A Duelling Club certainly wasn't the right environment for someone as reckless as Quinn McAvoy.

Josh was present, watching the circus that was Duelling Club get started. Already there was drama. Young was being as anti-social as usual, and actually looked to be fairly irritated today, she'd be one to watch. Josh, of course, wasn't stupid enough to get into a duel with her, since she could certainly cast a powerful spell.  For Josh to defeat her, he'd need to be quite lucky. Grace Eddy was here, but looked to Josh to be likely not to duel. Then Quinn McAvoy turned up, quite dramatically. Oh great. Josh had seen Quinn around before, and she was a party girl, not the kind of person that flourished in the fiercely competitive Duelling Club. Josh’s prediction for her next destination was the Hospital Hut, quite frankly.

Uniform

A new year, a new resolve. Waker felt her fingers tingle as they tightened around her wand. This was her last semester of her last year at Hogwarts. The final stretch of Prefect badges and curfews and consoling library chairs. The sudden onset of panic had been striking her most often at night, when she was preparing to doze off to sleep. But now she felt surging inside her, and she swallowed hard, trying to keep it caged.

Blasé countenance in check, she stood quietly if somewhat distantly while the Dueling Society members new and old drifted into the Great Hall. The sheer smallness of the younger years made her think twice about having joined... and then she remembered her resolution to be a more offensive player in the game of wands this year. She was an adult. Nearly. And if she wanted a good job when she graduated, she would have to practice obsessively the charms she'd committed to memory, the pages of spellwork she'd remembered like photographic scans.

She nodded amicably if conservatively in the direction of Dracon, the club's president and a friend of a friend. The Had Girl had steadfastly attended every Dueling Society meeting that school year, had fiercely defended herself against many a student, and had tried her best not to let the word competition float too frequently into her head while dueling. This was not for a grade. It was practice for life after Hogwarts. Remembering as much was more of a challenge than her coolly arranged face dared convey. She shifted closer to Grace, sharing a glance as she watched two confident Slytherins match up. She was concerned about whether she should choose a friend or a not-so-friendly student to partner with, but then decided that in the Real World, none of that would matter.

When the first pair stepped up, Waker knew that the next contender would be battling a fierce duelist, whether it was Dracon or Delilah.

Uniform

Holding onto her wand, Megan looked around at the other students who were taking part in the Dueling club. There were a few faces that she never saw before, and there were a few that she remembered seeing from the other meetings. She always tried to remember when the meeting dates of the different clubs that she was in. She never liked being late, and she definitely hated missing out on anything that was happening. No, it wasn't for gossiping reasons, it was just that she liked to know what was going on.

Therefore, Megan had arrived on time for the current meeting. Certainly, the place wasn't crowded, so there wouldn't be too many duels, and it shouldn't last too late for that matter. Of course, that didn't really matter to her too much, but she knew as well that she would need to eventually concentrate on studying for her OWL exams. Thankfully she still had a few months before those dreadful exams began.

Megan nodded as she heard Dracon made a few announcements before the dueling actually began. She had to admit hat she was thankful that the students weren't going to be graded on how they do. Sure, it was always important to try hard to duel correctly. But, the fact that they were just dueling for fun and amusement made remembering the vast lexicon of spells to be easier. After all, there was no pressure for the students to perform well for a Professor, and further more for their grades.

When the offer was made for volunteers, Megan stood there in silence. She was never one to be the first person to volunteer for anything. Especially if any of her failures were used to make an example for the rest of the club. While she doubted that it would happen, that still didn't mean that she would duel first. She noticed Delilah, a Slytherin, volunteer first. She saw the older Slytherin duel before, and knew that she was powerful. So, she continued to keep silent, waiting for the first duel to start.

It was unlike Liviana to be late for anything, but she was especially never late for Dueling Club. Not only was it a very practical extra curricular activity but it was one more instance where she got to spend time with Dracon doing something they both loved. She was actually surprised that he seemed to enjoy dueling with her given his rather misogynistic leanings toward women in Quidditch. Maybe it was just one of those things, though he did tend to be a traditionalist and while he didn’t seem to view women and “lesser” he had a certain set of ideas, or perhaps better stated he had an appreciation for women who wanted to be housewives.  In that regard Maeve was probably better suited to him than Liviana…which was mildly annoying to the dark haired girl. More annoying was the fact that all of these thoughts were rollicking through her head as she skittered toward the Great Hall. She’d been in the library reading over the DADA spell Professor Storm had shown them earlier in the week, trying to right her wrist movements. Then she had gotten into a conversation with Landis about what she was working on, losing track of time.

She was the last to arrive at the hall, Dracon already giving his welcome back speech. She adjusted her jacket and dropped her bag near the door. She wasn’t quite sure what she was expected to do with him now. Things were… different between them since her visit to Cardiff. She wasn’t sure where they stood with one another now - sometimes they felt closer and sometimes he seemed a million miles away. For the last week she had tried not to think too much about it, they spent time together and the kisses were generous but they hadn’t really… talked about where they stood. She’d been so focused on school it didn’t really seem to matter until they were standing there in the Great Hall and she didn’t know how to greet him in front of other people. Standing next to Quin, she vaguely wondered if the girl had showered that day. Her hair looked as though rats had taken nest. It was rather distasteful. Livi wasn’t even sure why the haggard looking blonde was there. She wasn’t a member, and then the feeling of dread that she might want to become a member took hold. Salazar’s kickers! That would be a disaster.

As Delilah stepped up and offered Liviana tilted her head to one side in silent judgment of the other girl. She was a hot head who cast wild. Liviana was the kind of duelist to keep her calm, and known for head dead center aim. Coupled with her years as a Quidditch player her reflexes were honed to a fine point. She had no real personal grudge against Young, she simply found her a bit distasteful. She had a big head and went around bullying people. It was the opposite tactic used by girls like Maeve who were cruel but calculating. Delilah just blew up and her rage smattered against innocent bystanders as well as her intended target. The key to beating her in a duel was to manipulate that weakness. When no one else stepped forward, Liviana heaved a small sigh and pocketed her wand for a moment as she twisted her hair back and secured it in a loose knot, “Alright then, if no one else is willing to have a go, Drake you’re my second?”

To be honest, Dracon wasn’t too surprised when Delilah volunteered. He had introduced her to dueling club a long time ago, knowing her temper and figured that this would have been the best way to extinguish some of her fiery flame. Delilah was absolutely gorgeous, Dracon had noticed that from the first time they met, but she had a way about her that warned everyone she was dangerous. Delilah reminded him of a lesson in Care of Magical Creatures when they learned about poisonous dart frogs of the rainforest and how their bright colors warned other creatures they weren’t to be crossed. Delilah was that frog to the letter: she was dangerous when toyed with, while she may have looked beautiful and entrancing, she was poisonous to the touch. She really wasn’t his type at all, but her home life had made a connection between the two and they had ended up being closer than he had anticipated. He felt bad for her and liked the person she was when she wasn’t in a rage, but, their relationship was rocky at best. They made a mutual decision to stay friends and that had always been the way things were. It had been a year ago and they had kept their word and remained friends. It was hard to have a personal connection to someone and not have her in his life to some degree. He knew better than most the depths of Delilah’s temper, so he was equally unsurprised that when she volunteered to participate, no one was quick to join in. Delilah’s spell power was extraordinary and came from all the built up rage and passion she had – the same passion that made her all the more enticing when they had gotten to know one another. When she landed a blow, the victim felt it to their core and it rocked the bones. However, Delilah could hardly hit the broad side of a giant when she dueled so that worked in everyone’s favor, but the chance still existed that she could hit them and Merlin, it would sting.

Dracon took note the look she gave him and resisted a smirk. He wasn’t the arrogant type, but he was confident in his abilities and had worked hard to be where he was as a caster. Dracon could match Delilah pound for pound when it came to spell power, although she was much more emotional and the longer the fight when on the more powerful she became, Dracon was a master of defensive magic and being a chaser gave him startling accuracy. They were typically a dead even match, she would win some and he would win others. With it being the first meeting back since winter break, Dracon wasn’t in a hurry to take over the meeting and be involved so readily. He wanted to step back and let others have their turns. For a long few minutes, everyone seemed to be looking around nervously at one another as Delilah prepared herself. Much to his disappointment, Dracon found himself about to volunteer to have the bout with Delilah simply to ease everyone’s nerves. Before he could say otherwise, the doors burst open and Quinn McAvoy came into the Great Hall.

Dracon’s eyes narrowed.

"Don't worry, I'm her guest!"

A completely uncalled for comment left Dracon silently annoyed at her presence. It had nothing to do with her or her house as much as her disrespectful entry into the room. “…Fantastic,” he replied sharply, looking away from the spectacle. Girls who craved attention that badly left a sour taste in his mouth, and he couldn’t have found that any less appealing. Moments after, a silent figure slipped into the room and stood near Quinn with her own equally distasteful look on her face – Liviana Wiedman. He gave her a small smile when they met eye contact before he looked to the crowd, “there is no one willing to volunteer?”

A pause.

He sighed.

“Alright then, if no one else is willing to have a go, Drake you’re my second?”

Thank Merlin. Dracon’s lips burst into a grin and clapped, excited now that something was going to happen. There wasn’t any fun in dueling club if no one participated. He chalked it up to the winter break awkwardness of being gone for so long. “All right, brilliant, brilliant. Of course,” he said happily, walking to the other side of the table. He looked at some of the crowd members and spoke more loudly, “all right, first duel is between Liviana Wiedman and Delilah Young, both from Slytherin. I’ll be acting as Liviana’s second,” he stepped off to the far side to be Liviana’s second, close enough to jump to her aid, but out of the way so she had her space.

“Let’s get this started then!”

A little enthusiasm would have been nice.

Fauna had walked in just as Dracon Towler had begun the dueling club meeting and explained what they would be doing tonight. She'd never been to Dueling club before, and had always viewed it as something akin to Quidditch - scary, unnecessary, and bound to land her in the Hospital Hut if she even entertained thoughts of trying it.

But today's meeting was open to newbies. And she didn't have to participate, she told herself. She could watch and see how it worked.

There were many familiar faces there, some friendly, some not. Most of the seventh-years were in Defense with her. Fauna weaved through them to stand next to Grace, who had been extra quiet and focused since they'd returned to school. Their conversation yesterday and detention last night had cleared things up, made Fauna feel closer to her.

She nudged her arm and smiled nervously. "Hi," she whispered, hoping she wouldn't shock her completely just by being there. Fauna glanced at Waker but had no idea what to say to her. Perhaps it was best that Delilah and Liviana volunteered, and Dracon announced the first pair.

Slipping silently into the Great Hall, with help from a little silencing charm, Ignan stepped a few paces to one side of the door, so that he would not easily be seen by any more latecomers arriving through it. His intention was not to interrupt Dracon, and the Dueling Club he led, while being able to observe and advise if necessary.

It was the end of a long week, and Ignan had looked forwards to a viable excuse for putting aside the set of Second Year homework he'd collected in. Although orderly and neat in his organisation, it got a little mundane on a Friday evening when after dinner the prospect was a set of poorly spelled essays. Watching a wider range of students interacting, particularly the older ones - though he noted the majority were his NEWT students, which pleased him.

Surprisingly many of the students were not forthcoming to volunteer, but as noted the signals they gave off unintentionally with their body language, he became aware of how many of the group were there to learn how to duel by watching, rather than by demonstrating. It was lucky Dracon was a fairly confident young wizard to keep persisting.

Leaning gently on the stone wall behind him, Ignan prepared to observe at a distance, waiting for the first limb to get blown off accidentally for him to try and reattach enough to get back to the healer.

"Don't worry, I'm her guest!"

Delilah's rather blank-faced expression quickly turned sour. Quinn McAvoy, honestly? And she thought Dueling Club was the only place she could escape from her annoying presence. The girl was like a nasty, quick-spreading pathogen - she managed to worm her way into everything, whether you wanted her there or not (she was sure it was always the latter case). And she made her presence known. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Delilah's temper flared (never good before a duel) - she could already feel the onset of another headache.

She snorted at the lack of response from the rest of the club. It wasn't overly surprising, to be honest - none of them were truly stupid (except McAvoy), so they had to know what was coming. She did feel a bit sorry for Dracon, though (if she was even capable of such a thing...she hadn't decided yet) ; the lack of enthusiasm had to be a bit disappointing. Perhaps she shouldn't have volunteered...

When Wiedman stepped forward, Delilah felt decidedly ambivalent. She didn't dislike the girl in any way, but she didn't like her much either. After seven years of sharing a dormitory with the girl, she still appeared as cold and aloof as ever. She supposed it wasn't the other girl's fault - Lilah hadn't done much to facilitate any form of bonding. She did always make an effort to be civil to Wiedman - especially now that she was dating Dracon - but they weren't going to be giggling over friendship bracelets anytime soon (not that Delilah encouraged this type of behavior). As an opponent, though, she would certainly be worthy. She was calm and accurate. Her spells were likely to hit when Lilah's weren't, but they were probably also weaker. She also seemed like she would be quite a deal stronger in defensive magic than Lilah, who tended to deliver a lot more on the offensive end.

The Slytherin's eyebrow raised, however,  at the fact that Wiedman had asked for a second. Could it be that the girl was already predicting defeat? She doubted it - she'd never seen Liviana as someone who lacked confidence - but it was a nice thought just the same. Lilah, of course, wouldn't have a second. It wasn't like she planned on losing, and she didn't know anyone well enough, anyway.

“Let’s get this started then!”

"I suppose," Delilah said irritably, McAvoy's presence still on the brain. She wouldn't put it past Quinn to irritate her on purpose, just to see her lose. But then again, Liviana didn't seem to fond of her either - Lilah hadn't missed the distasteful expression on her face.

It was customary for opponents to bow to one another before a duel. Lilah always did this very quickly, not because she was trying to be rude (although she almost always did this without trying) but because she was afraid that her momentary back-bending would give her opponent the opportunity to strike before she did. Today was no exception. Lilah bowed stiffly, and straightened almost immediately. She didn't hesitate for a moment before striking.

"Conjunctivitis!*"

It was standard practice in any official duel to have a second. Liviana thought everyone was aware of that, but perhaps her oponient knew that no one would back her up willingly. Young was a bitch through and through, like Maeve only with her sympathies slanted the other way. Generally Liviana considered her to be beneath bother but there was something about the way she still looked at Drake that rubbed Livi the wrong way. She had never been a jealous person in the past but lately it seemed like she was losing that bit of security in herself. Sleeping with him, as far as she could tell, had no strengthened their relationship at all. If anything she was more worried about it than before. Everything moved too fast for her liking now and of course Drake wasn’t one to want to talk about it. So they held hands between classes and carried on as they had before. The problem was it was starting to get in the way of other things for her - like focusing on a duel about to happen right in front of her…with her as a moving target for Dehlilah’s childish temper.

Whipping off her jacket she tossed it onto her bag and tried to clear her head, focus on the task at hand. She’d watched Young duel enough to know how quick her reaction time after the bow would be. She didn’t bother with formalities, which meant that the best option was to defend and strike consecutively - but she’d have to be quick. She would lead off with her strongest spell but follow with a weaker one as not to tire herself out. Dueling, well good dueling at least was a lot like chess is that you had to be thinking several moves ahead, using what you knew about your opponent and their modus operandi.

The trouble with someone like Young was that unless you watched closely there was no set pattern to her movements. She shot hard and fast with the singular goal of taking someone out in as few spells as possible. In Livi’s personal opinion while this tactic was efficient it left a lot to be desired. To be a good duelist you had to have stamina and accuracy as well as power. Being able to blow things up wasn’t much help if you couldn’t hit the broad side of an owlery. Righting herself quickly from the bow she hardly took a step back when Dehlila flicked her wand, strong reflexes and a strong voice countered with, “Protego*!” followed quickly by. “Confundo*!” Whatever thoughts had crowded her head before she was no a blank slate, unaware of anyone else in the room save for Lilah and the singular goal of beating her smug pompous dirt blooded ass, slightly vicious smile on her lips as she waited for the other Slytherin to counter.

As per usual Matty was standing in the back, arms crossed over his chest and angular jaw set in a blank calculating expression. He loved Dueling club. Although he failed out of Charms he was decent in Defense against the Dark Arts and growing up with five older siblings allowed him to get plenty of practice fighting at home. Since joining the Dueling club Matty had been a strong reliable member. He had won his fair share of duels but had also lost a fair amount as well. Matty didn't see this as a downfall though, he learned from every experience and each failed duel was a learning experience, it only made him better in the end.

Matty watched the two Slytherins with interest trying to gauge who would win the match. They were both fairly well matched against each other. Livi took her time and focused on what she was doing but that caused her to take precious time that allowed Lilah to attack. Lilah was hot headed and attacked without thinking. If her aim was better it would make her one hell of a force to be reckoned with, luckily for Livi it wasn't which made the duel more in Livi's favour. Matty was eager to see if his calculations would win out or if he would be proven wrong.

For a moment Matty glanced around the gathered students, his dark brown eyes settling on Fauna and Grace. He made a movement towards them when he noticed Quinn on the other side of them. It caused Matty to hesitate. It wasn't that he didn't like Quinn he just really did know her and she was so different from her he doubted he'd have anything to talk to her about. For the time being he stayed where he was although every so often his dark eyes returned to Fauna, a ghost of a smile on his thin lips.

 Fergie hadn't meant to be late. He didn't like it, and strived to be punctual if at all possible (except to parties - a certain degree of tardiness was required to make a decent entrance). But after classes had ended and he'd gone to his dorms to change out of his uniform, he'd been unable to find the sweater he'd wanted to wear. Sure, he could just pick another one, but... but he'd planned this outfit in advance specifically because it was just...right, for dueling. Another sweater would have thrown the whole thing off.

 Besides, he knew where he'd left it. He knew. And it bothered him that it wasn't there.

 So he'd spent the better part of an hour looking for the lost item of clothing and getting more and more annoyed by the fact that he couldn't find it. Had someone taken it? He couldn't see any of his dorm mates borrowing it without asking, but Callum might have taken it just to annoy Fergie. That kind of thing had happened before, after all. His eyes narrowed and he was prepared to stomp out to the common room and demand its return when he spotted the cuff of a black sleeve sticking out from underneath his bed. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be the very sweater he was looking for.

 Fergie let out an exasperated sigh, looking it over to ensure that no lint or dust had attached itself to the dark material. It must have fallen off the bed and got kicked underneath, somehow. And of all the places he'd looked in the room, it was in the one place he hadn't thought to because it would have been too obvious. How annoying. But oh well, it couldn't be helped now. He quickly pulled it on and zipped it up before heading to the bathroom so he could use the large mirror to put on the hat Jordyn had given him for Christmas at just the right angle. Attire finally complete, he quickly made his way to the Great Hall.

 Things seemed to already have gotten started when he arrived. Ferguson slipped in quietly and took a spot near the back, not wanting to disturb anything. He grinned at his cousin, Mateo, and grimaced at Quinn McAvoy (really, what was she wearing? Gold lamé boots? Ew) before turning to greet the person standing next to him, fellow fifth year Megan Ruiz. He didn't know her very well, but she'd always seemed nice. "Evening," he greeted her with a charming smile, tipping his hat. "Have I missed anything important?"

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