It was Sunday, the first one since they had arrived at Hogwarts. Which meant that it was also the date of the first Snow Leopards meeting.
Five minutes before the start of the meeting, the first- and second-year Slytherins and Ravenclaws were beginning to gather in the Grounds. Leo and Marisa were there, of course, as were Theo, Daphne, and Tracey.
All of the Ravenclaws had joined: Terry and his friends Michael, Anthony, Roger and Ollie, as well as the girls: Morag, Padma, Lisa, Sue and Mandy.
Most of the first-years had also decided to join the group: two-thirds of the Ravenclaws and about half of the Slytherins.
"About time you started, isn't it?" Marisa asked.
"I guess so," replied Leo, then said more loudly. "Okay everyone, can I have your attention please? The fee, as you should know, is three Knuts per session to be paid directly to me at the beginning of each. Please form an orderly queue over here."
The students all lined up, some willing, others bemused. Leo wrote on his piece of parchment the name of each student, leaning on a Lockhart book. That was probably the most use the book would ever get.
Once all twenty-six names (including Leo's own) had been written down and Leo had earnt himself two Sickles and seventeen Knuts, it was time for the official start.
"Okay," said Leo, "before we start anything, I want to get an idea of your current level, so we are going to have a duelling tournament. The first-years will start, and the winning first-year will join in the next round with the second-years. So…" he thought for a moment, "five first-years will get to skip the first round and the others will play. Knockout tournament, of course."
He told the first-years to line up and then said: "First five to that tree get byes. Ready… go!"
Three Slytherin boys, a Ravenclaw boy and a Slytherin girl were first. Leo called the first match: "Sarah Johnson against Matthew Nott."
A muggle-born Ravenclaw girl and Theo's younger cousin stepped forward nervously, gripping their wands tightly.
"Okay," said Leo, "the only rule is that you're not allowed to do anything that could cause serious injury or that can't be reversed by a student. When you're ready… begin."
The Ravenclaw stood there and did nothing. Leo could see the panic in her eyes.
"Petrificus Totalus!" said Matthew.
Sarah tried and failed to dodge and was hit by the Full Body-Bind Curse.
Marisa rolled her eyes but Leo said nothing except to counter the curse and allow Sarah to move again.
"Well done, Matthew," said Leo. "Sarah…"
"I don't really know any spells that would be useful in a duel. That's why I'm here, really."
"Right," said Leo. "Do you know any spells at all?"
"I can light my wand up and I can turn a match into a needle."
"Okay, fair enough. You'll learn soon, don't worry."
The matches continued. Marisa didn't pay much attention to the first-year rounds except to see that Matthew came out on top.
The first second-year match was between Roger and Tracey. Roger disarmed Tracey and then hit her with another Full Body-Bind.
It was Leo's own turn next. He was put against Morag, who he beat with a Melofors and an Expelliarmus, having dodged her Leg-Locker Curse. Daphne thrashed Matthew, Terry narrowly beat Padma, and then Marisa was put against Sue Li, who she defeated without too much trouble. Lisa, Anthony and Theo also went through to the quarter-finals.
The first quarter-final was Daphne against Terry. It was a close match, but Daphne just beat Terry with three Full Body-Binds in a row making them virtually impossible to dodge.
Secondly, Marisa duelled Lisa who she beat fairly easily, only having to dodge one Disarming Charm.
The third quarter-final was between Theo and Roger. Theo won with a very speedy Expelliarmus.
Finally, Leo duelled Anthony who he defeated despite a close shave with a Full Body-Bind.
Marisa duelled Theo in the first semi-final, which went on for a very long time before Theo finally yielded to Marisa's Tickling Charm.
Leo had a slightly easier time against Daphne, who had good reactions but little magical power meaning that it was only a matter of time before he could land a Full Body-Bind.
That left the final, which was, inevitably, Leo versus Marisa.
"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Roger theatrically, "place your bets now."
Most of the Ravenclaws placed small amounts on Leo, although Daphne placed a whole Galleon on Marisa.
Theo was agreed by both parties to be the referee, and said once all bets had been placed: "Begin."