Dueling, Lesson 2 - All Years

The Revulsion Jinx and The Reductor Curse

The Norwegian leant back against her desk, her form fitting, navy dress clutching to her delicate frame in a way that highlighted but didn't flaunt her assetts. She had her arm extended, her silvery patronus gliding elegantly around the room and leaving a glowing trail in it's wake. It seemed to lift the mood of the room somewhat, making her smile as she watched the creature hovering well above head height.

On the board behind her were the names of the jinxes they would be learning and her name, both written in her usual, neat, cursive script, and the room was laid out as per usual with the desks arranged in a semi-circle and the arena at the front. They would not be penetrating the dummies for blood this lesson, not after what had happened last time.

"Bless her," Lucelia said to herself softly as she looked to the door of the classroom, only able to blame herself for not thinking properly about the lesson plan. "I guess it's not for everyone..."

Last lesson had been interesting, to say the least, and if it was anything to go by then the rest of her dueling classes would come with some form of surprise. The girl flounced into the fourth floor classroom and waved happily at Professor Tsahara, still on a buzz from the holidays and still wearing a bracelet with a snowman hanging off the front, a gift from her mother that she had been given upon arriving back home.

The 'news' her parents had spoken of in their letters had been of a new adoptive sister. The young girl called Leena who she was now happy to share a bedroom with was delightful, and her Estonian accent made her all the more adorable. She spoke fluent English, and had apparently been in the country for three years but hadn't found someone willing to take her in. The Christmas had been simply wonderful, and for the first time Isabelle had been reluctant to go back to school because she knew she would miss her little sister.

The girl took a seat in the front of the arrangement of desks and got out her notebook, a picture of her family with their new addition on the front, also taking out a quill and placing it directly to the side. "Did you have a nice break, Victoria?" she asked softly, taking the time to spark up a conversation before the lesson began.

Dueling was not a new class for her, she actually quite enjoyed it but at first she didn't understand because there was two classes that both were practically the same which was Dueling and DADA, at first she only took one until her older brother explained the difference and then she began to take both instead of one. They both would come in handy when she left Salem to go out into the real world. The blonde entered the class and once again saw the familiar faces.

"Hi everyone" she greeted.

Apollo was just going to focus on Dueling and not anything else. He didn't need his personal drama to be fresh on his mind but he couldn't help but hope Ares was in the class so that when the class ended he could be able to corner the young Wormwood boy into talking to him but knowing Ares's smart self he will find a way around everything. The Nightshade walked into Dueling and once again saw his sister. He wasn't surprised to be in a classroom with her like all the others. He stood by her side.

Dueling was a good and helpful class for him to learn, he would be a complete idiot if he didn't decide to take this class or Defense Against the Dark Arts, it wouldn't be humane if you asked him. The Wormwood walked into Dueling and of course there stood both of his siblings again. Ares just needed to focus on the class and not about his problems, he wasn't going to give into his thoughts so that is why when he saw them and came up with not wanting to get lost in his thoughts he cleared his head and walked further into the class, he didn't stand with them but he was close enough for them to see him.

Walking into Dueling she wasn't surprised to see that it was another combined class with all the years, she sighed and stood off to the side like she always did. Henley barely liked waking up early for these classes but she was being forced into going because the only way she was aloud to be apart of her father's work was to finish Salem so she had the experience she needed even though her father taught her at home, she still needed to know these things and besides she loved to throw it in people's faces when she was right and they were wrong.

Charlie got to Dueling right on time, she didn't want to be late and miss something that could be important, even the smallest thing could be important and that is why everyone always had to make sure they paid close attention in school. The red haired girl stood by all the others and waited for the class to begin. The Professor was a good Professor and anyone who said other wise were either deaf or blind (maybe both) because it doesn't matter what lesson is taught it matters on what someone learns at the end of the day.

Diem loved to go to Dueling, it helped in the future and anyone who didn't take the class was missing out on so much. This was a class she always looked forward to and was glad to hear whenever the Professor was coming back to teach the class she so happily started. Diem entered the classroom and saw a lot of familiar faces, it wasn't like there was any new ones and if there was then that would be most likely a first year, maybe a transfer like she was.

Brayden walked into Dueling and saw the familiar face of his friend Ares. Brayden knew what his friend's siblings looked like and saw that both of them were there and that Ares wasn't anywhere close to them. Brayden felt bad that he was having issues with his siblings and was really glad that Brayden had no siblings to fight with. The Belladonna walked closer to Ares and stood by his side. "Hey" he greeted to Ares but it was low enough for only Ares to hear.

Callum liked duelling, and had decided to pick it up for the semester. He was happy for classes to be back, it was a distraction from his thoughts on what had happened over the holidays, which had surprisingly hurt him. He walked into the classroom, his usual smirk upon his lips (though without the glimmer of mischief) and slung his bag to the ground as he waited for the class to start.

Mary took a lot from the last lesson and was, in fact, quite engrossed in her own actions and didn't notice Victoria's breakdown at first. When she did notice it, the witch had been surrounded by people who were trying to help. She felt immensely guilty about not being there for the younger girl and made a note to keep an eye out for Victoria this lesson.

She walked in the classroom and found Victoria with her eyes before taking a seat. The writing on the board promised a fascinating lecture and Mary was more than ready.

Dueling made her nervous, of that she was sure, and it took a lot of effort to climb to the classroom and go in. Her hands were sweaty and her heart was beating a little faster, whether it be from the nerves or from the climb, Gillian wasn't sure, but knew that she needed to calm down.

Walking up to a desk, she sat down, and looked around wondering who would be the one she was to fight. She wished someone would notice how raw she was at physical confrontations and would give her a tip or two on how to do the whole face to face fighting. She didn't have trouble being confrontational with words, but when it came to physical violence, her nerves just broke down.

The part Veela smiled at the two girls first to enter, the two she had long since deemed eager to learn at all opportunities. "Thank you, Victoria," she said, dismissing the creature by putting her wand down on her desk. "Lovely to see you, as always!" She looked back to the door, returning Aphrodite's greeting and smiling at her brothers as they came into the classroom too, though was surprised to see that the youngest distanced himself from his siblings somewhat.

More students entered the room and Lucelia greeted them all individually and by name, hoping by now that a relationship had been built up between them was strong enough for them to feel relaxed in her presence. She waited a few more minutes before resuming her regular place at the front of the classroom, hands behind her back as she spoke with authority, though her usual cheery aura did not fade.

"Okay guys, I guess we'll begin. On the board behind me are two spells, both of which we will be learning today; the Revulsion Jinx and the Reductor Curse. Can anyone give me the incantations of these two spells, the wand movements and the effects? One response each, if you would be so kind," she asked, trying to encourage more widespread participation.

Mental headdesks were now her favourite thing, seeing how apparently all of her professors were bent on making either classes without desks or/and with all the years combined. Trying not to seem as ignorant as she felt, as soon as prof. Tsahara asked about the two spells, Gillian took out her book and some parchment, and wrote down hastily the two names for the spells.

While the other two students talked about the uses and stuff of the reducto spell, Gillian quickly searched the index of her book for the other spell. Thanks to her ability to read really fast, she found it with ease before the Wormwood girl could finish. Skimming over the overall information of the revulsion jinx, she raised her hand and said "the spell for the Revulsion Jinx is "Relashio", and it repels object from it's holder". without waiting for anyone to add anything, she continued "Excuse me prof. Tsahara, what is the difference between a jinx and a curse?" asked the girl with a small red tint on her cheeks. She didn't really liked showing how ignorant she was, but it seemed worse to stay ignorant just because asking questions was embarrassing.

Jaden was tired but she still went to dueling because it was good to learn self defense. Her parents thought she was a lady and ladies don't need to learn to fight but Jaden wanted to live her life and make her own choices just like Sadie. Even though she stuck in arranged marriage to some guy she does not even know Jaden still wanted to live her life before she had to do whether parents told her to do.

Slipping into the back of the class, Janique frowned, knowing she was very late. It was not something she particularly bothered about, but it could cost her house points and that was not something she wanted.

Moving towards an empty seat near Jax, she slid into it, taking in the information on the board. She could smell something she recognized as alcohol coming from his direction and rolled her eyes slightly. He was probably hungover, by the looks of it, something she knew from experience with her mother. Her first game had also enjoyed getting drunk, and she knew how to play the type. But for some reason, her eyes drifted to the direction of her last game, and she had to force her attention back to the boy right next to her. "Had a little to much last night?" she whispered teasingly.

"Very good, Mister Blake," the Norwegian commended, smiling at the seemingly very tired student, finding his demonstration equally useful and yet entertaining at the same time. She turned to Victoria, next, smiling at the young Wormwood as she demonstrated her usual flare and intelligence. "Also correct, Miss Newbury. Five points for both of you." She turned to the other Nightshade, then, contemplating her question for a matter of moments before addressing it.

"Five points to Nightshade, Miss Arkanian. As regards to your question, classification is usually more about the effects of the spell. Charms alter the inherent qualities of an object, jinxes are spells whose effects are irritating but amusing, almost playful and of minor inconvenience to the target, hexes consistently affects the object in a negative manner and a curse is intended to affect the target in a strongly negative manner. There are other things too, like whether sustained concentration is necessary and how long the effects last, but those are the more widely accepted rules of classification. Thank you for asking though, I'm sure others were wondering the same." She offered the girl a sincere smile as she resumed her space at the front of the room and addressed everyone again, ready to start the fun part.

"Okay, so. If you'll all get on your feet, please. You won't be causing blood to erupt from these bad boys, today, but instead you'll be learning something that you might not see as important, but I've used these two spells more times than I care to admit." She lifted the disillusionment charm she had placed on the arena and the dummies appeared, each in it's own little segment that it couldn't escape from. They were chained up to seemingly nothing, but would struggle against the restraints and move around once set free. "You will release and destroy the dummy in as fast a time as possible. This may seem easy, but the best defense against any curse, jinx or hex is a dodge, and these little blighters will show you that.

"You may begin."

What had to be for the first time in her life, Mary let other students give their answers and didn't even bother raising her hand. Other people knew just as much as she did and at the end, it didn't really matter who answered, as long as the questions were answered. Her not replying had nothing at all to do with the fact she was thinking of her last training with Jake and then planning the next Quidditch practice in her mind. No, she was definitely very focused on the class and not thinking about showing the team that new move she learned from Jake...

She could hear the Professor talking about what they should be doing and Mary snapped back, forcing herself to pay attention. Dueling was incredibly important, after all and while she could zone out the theoretical part, it would be very unwise to not do the practical part.

Mary stood up, walked to a dummy close to where Victoria was standing and took out her wand. After a glance towards the younger Wormwood to make sure she was okay, the witch considered her own dummy. It was struggling against the invisible bonds and the witch couldn't help but imagine a helpless victim. She shook her head and focused on the task at hand.

"Relashio." The dummy was free now and it immediately made its way towards her. She sent a tickling charm at it, as a bait. "Reducto." the witch muttered as the dummy ducked, pointing her wand lower than before.

The curse hit its target and the dummy reduced to a pile of ashes. Of course, if it would be an armed witch or wizard instead of a dummy, it'd be much more work.

House points really didn't matter to Gillian, that whole inter.house competition seemed rather silly, and most points that she accomplished to make, would probably get deducted if people found out what she really liked to do when no one was looking. So when prof. Tsahara gave her five, she just nodded, and went on to do things that would be more productive and interesting, like writing down the answer to her question.

Once the prof finished explaining what they were supposed to do, Gillian walked to stand in front of the dummies that suddenly appeared out of thin air, and readied her wand, paying close attention to what other classmates were doing. It seemed rather easy to them, but Gillian wasn't fooled, she knew they were all older and more experienced than her.

She repeated the spell in her head a couple of times and when she though she was ready, the girl pointed her wand towards a dummy in front of her and said "relashio", the dummy jumped into action immediately and Gillian felt a bit more confident of her abilities because the fast way the dummy released itself from its invisible restraints, but the second part of the exercise was definitely trickier, for as soon as she pointed her wand and said "reducto", the dummy ducked in a weir disjointed way that would be utterly unnatural for anything else that wouldn't be a dummy, with it's arms and torso flailing in different angles.

As a result of this, Gillian's spell went and hit the wall behind the spot were the dummy was a millisecond ago; Gillian twisted a little after her dummy and said "reducto" once again, this time slightly louder and flicked her wand directing the spell to where the dummy was at that moment. But, once again, the dummy flailed and ducked going to some other place of the classroom.

Gillian chased the dummy releasing spells after it, and hitting other dummies, desks, walls and other not particular places in her haste to hit the evasive dummy. After a while, the chase and the spells were making her tired, but with a small amount of luck, and after quite a few random objects destroyed, one of her spells hit the dummy's leg and it fell to the ground.

With a yawp of triumph and her hair all disheveled from the running, Gillian threw her hands in the air and did a small victory dance in front of the fallen dummy, before smiling at it and whispering "you're mine mister run-a-lot" and with a confident flick, she said "reducto" one last time and blasted the dummy just like her other classmates.