First off, let me thank everyone who has reviewed. I wanted to get this out sooner, but have had some troubles. I hope it is alright!
I want to specifically thank all the lovely BTD players that have been stopping by. Bella, Ginny, James, Deveral. Bella, I'm glad you caught the Martha thing... you know what's coming up... Dev, thanks for her last name, I'll fix it some time on here... and Sirius won't lose his position, but something will happen to almost make him (eep, I've said too much!)
Ruriko, Lily is the cleverest *girl* because James and Sirius are boys. And I've got my comp fixing Sirius's name now, so it's all good!
Borg, I'm glad that you hate it. Really I am... seeing as I don't care your opinion and no one in their right mind would.
PurpleSailorSaturn7, short and sweet, with lots of meaning!
Ella, wow you reviewed a lot! :) okay, first off, next ch (*I think*) you'll learn more of the parents pasts. But why Talon is bitter won't be uncovered till near the end. And thank you for saying that to Borg. Unfortunatly he'll come after you now. That's how he came by my stories, because I told someone he's an idiot. I hope he doesn't. You should read my letter/story to him. And you used one of my favorite saying (Go jump in a lake) I'm glad you like my characters, I have fun playing with my own.(or some in this case are others original) More will be coming soon! Jmaes is in fact a Chaser, I read it in an interview dialogue with JKR. It says nothing about Sirius being Seeker though, so that I like. Plus it explains how he can do something that'll be coming up. What James and Lily fought over is a minor detail, but I'll uncover it later. Too bad you got kicked off. That happens to me all the time. Thanks for making me one of your favorite authors! And more sweetness coming soon!
Gwen Sanderson, thank you thank you! Y'all make me blush.
But my parents and old teachers say I'm a great writer too, but I don't believe it. But I'm the worlds biggest critic, to my own work. Dad asked me why I don't be a writer when I grow up, because I have actually written an original story *gasp* but I wouldn't really want the pressure. I mean, imagine what JKR is feeling when she has a deadline. I'd hate it, though I wouldn't mind writing for a living, no school, no work... but alas it's not for me I don't think. I may send something in to a publishers, but then again, I may not! Oh, I've blabbed enough, and yet there is more on the bottom!
One last bit, the next chapter may take a little while, I have another story I want to start (I really shouldn't, but meh!) and then I'll work on chapter 16. Well, chapter 16 is actually a filler chapter, I think, and you'll learn some reasons for things.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. I do own however, the families of the Marauders, some of the teachers, and Kimball Zenobia (who comes in later) Also, my fellow RPGer Morgan owns Xanthe Shannon, and is allowing me to use her in this story (and up-coming ones of this series) and some other characters like Deveral, and umm... others ya.
This story is based on an RPG called Before the Downfall (http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/beforethedownfall)
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Chapter 15 - More Captains
The first student government meeting was very rough. Dumbledore explained what their purpose was, and how they were to properly work. He handed out books to the secretary and treasurer, meant for recording their data, and explained how things would go. Their first project, he said, would be a homecoming ball, the last weekend in September. He assigned the council members to find out what their houses wanted and put it together. They would meet each night from 3 to 5 to make sure it was together.
Sirius got the job of talking to the students about what needed to be changed at Hogwarts. He was allowed to skip classes, providing he caught up on the work, and address other students on what they were attempting to do to improve the school. He found himself working harder then ever before, because he still had Quidditch practices, and even though Gryffindor didn't play until November, James demanded 4 practices a week.
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Despite his promise not to tryout for dueling if he was voted as the President, Sirius found himself heading towards the classroom that Saturday. He smiled at the thought of the dueling teams. Professor Audrey commented every class how good he was. Sirius had quick reflexes from both being a Seeker and a prankster, and learned the curses and counters quickly. He was easily top of the class, followed close by James and Remus.
Sirius opened the door into the main dueling room. Much like the Quidditch tryouts, the students were separated by house, talking in hushed tones. Sirius noticed that changes had been made to the room. A dueling circle had been drawn in the center, and stands had been placed around it.
"Mister Black, you made it!" A voice rang out. Audrey had seen him. She'd been badgering Sirius to find out whether or not he'd be trying out. He'd shrugged her off before and did so again.
"I thought I'd check it out," he said, walking off to where James, Lily, Remus and Arabella stood, leaving Audrey behind.
Audrey moved to the center of the room. She clapped her hands to get their attention. "Students, this year Professor Dumbledore gave me permission to have a dueling tournament. Each house will have a dueling team, and every few weeks we will have a competition. Each house team will be couched by a teacher, and headed by 2 captains."
There will be 7 members to a team, from all grades, depending on skill. I have been watching you all in class, so there is no real point of a tryout, but I will be assigning you an opponent to duel, from your own house." she paused. "I will explain how the tournament works more when the teams are formed, so for now let's have a few practice duels."
Sirius Black and Arabella Figg, you are first." Sirius glanced at Arabella. They walked to the dueling circle. "None of you I suppose have ever had a professional duel, so these are the basics. You cannot step outside the black line, or cross the red line to your opponent's side. You may switch sides, if you are both in the transition zone." she gestured to the blue triangles. "But, for now let's just deal with the basics."
To start a duel you must bow, while standing opposite each other in the dueling circle." Sirius and Arabella took their places and bowed. "Then the referee will blow their whistle, and you begin. Wands must stay down until the whistle is blown or you get a strike. You get 3 strikes and then you forfeit the duel. And you also get strikes for crossing the lines. The match ends when someone disarms the other person." She blew her whistle. "Begin." she said when neither moved.
Sirius cast a Jelly Legs Jinx without thinking. Arabella blocked it and sent a Cheering Charm at Sirius. He blocked that and dodged the Body Bind Arabella had sent right after it. They went on for a few minutes. Twice they were given strikes, Sirius for crossing sides inappropriately, and Arabella for stepping outside the black line when dodging a jinx. But they soon mastered the transition of sides and got accustomed to the size of the ring. Finally Sirius could yell "Expelliarmus" and Arabella's wand flew into his own hand.
"Good duel!" Audrey beamed. "Very well done, especially for the first time. Now, bow again, and shake hands." Sirius did this, but only barely touched Arabella's hand. He felt himself blush slightly at her touch. "That was an excellent duel, and if there are others this well, this will be an interesting tournament." She went on to call other couples forward from different houses. But none seemed to duel as well as Sirius and Arabella.
She paired Sirius with James, and after a pretty good duel, though not as hard as his first, Sirius disarmed James with little difficulty. Arabella was paired with Remus and took him in a few minutes.
After the two hours Audrey called them to a halt. "Very good work for today. That's all we have time for. Tomorrow, from 1 to 5, we will have another tryout, and I will announce the captains and teams. The tryout may not take that long, but I wish plenty of time. I will see you there."
Sirius left the dueling room with a light heart. He was tired yes, Audrey had him fight at least 5 duels, but he couldn't have felt better. He hummed as he went to dinner.
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The next day's tryout went by quickly. Audrey had Arabella and Sirius duel first again, another action filled duel, ending with Sirius disarming Arabella. If she was at all upset, she hid it well as she beamed at Sirius, causing him to blush and turn his attention on Lily.
Four hours later Audrey called them together. "You all are very skilled, and unfortunately I can't have you all on the teams." she paused. "I will go through the teams by house. Gryffindor, your captains this year will be Sirius Black and Arabella Figg, and other members Remus Lupin, Alison Safire (a 3rd year), Gregory Fairbrother (6th year), Kenny McBeth (7th year) and Lily Evans."
The Gryffindor's congratulated the newly formed dueling team, which moved over to the side. Sirius was surprised that James didn't make it. He was one of the best duels in the class. Ignoring Audrey as she read off the other teams, he went to talk to him.
"Hey Prongs, what's up?" he said, pulling him off to the side.
"Nothing Padfoot, why?" James asked, pretending nothing was wrong.
"Why you didn't make the team, that's what." Sirius said. "You are better then Lily and Remus. You know that."
James looked at the ground. "I told Professor Audrey I'd rather give any spot of mine up." He said quietly.
"But why?" Sirius yelped. "You could help us win this tournament."
James shrugged. "Too much to do." Was all he said. "Common, Audrey isn't done yet. Sirius followed James back to the group in the middle of the class.
Audrey continued. "Team practices will be starting shortly, with your respective teachers. Unfortunately I cannot coach all the teams, so to be fair I will not be doing any of them. You will discover the team coaches at your first practice. Gryffindor, yours will be first, tomorrow from 3 to 5 in here. Hufflepuff, Tuesday, Ravenclaw Thursday and Slytherin Friday, all at the same time. Every week it will be the same basic schedule, though extra is available to be booked, and you may have practices in other classrooms."
Audrey surveyed the room before her. The students were quietly chatting under their breath. "That's all for today." She said. The students headed towards the entrance. "Sirius, Arabella, can I talk to you for a second?" she called out before they could leave the room.
Sirius and Arabella glanced at each other and walked to where Audrey was standing. Audrey transfigured some chairs for them to sit in. "Little trick, always comes in handy." She explained. "Transfiguration was always my best subject." Sirius and Arabella sat down and looked at Audrey.
"I want to talk to you about the dueling teams of course, and your dueling styles." She paused. "First, Sirius, I realize that this year will be tough for you, with Quidditch, being Student Government President, and being captain of the dueling teams. Your good friend Mr. Potter declined being on the dueling team for fear of being over worked. That and OWLs this year, I fear you may be a little overwhelmed."
She put up her hand to stop Sirius from interrupting. "I myself think you can handle it." She said calmly. "I just want you to understand that things may be hard, and if you ever need someone to talk to, or come to for help I am here." She smiled. "Now, about the teams. This includes you Arabella. I picked you 2 as captains because you have a very unique style, and way with your wands. You duel it seems without really thinking, and that is excellent. Sirius, I have no doubt you are the better of the two of you, but you have your weaknesses. Arabella, to beat him, and future opponents, you need to home in on these weaknesses."
"What I would like is for the two of you to come in for extra training. This is not to help Gryffindor win the tournament, though I have no doubt you could, but to further your skills as duelers. This extra training would not be for curses, and counters, no, but for other forms of fighting. Muggle techniques, which are a great asset to the best of duelers, they can help you with coordination and also confidence. Confidence is key to a good dueler, if you go thinking you will lose, then you shall."
"Aside for the extra training, I know you tend to have quite a few spares this year. During these spares I would like to have you assist my younger classes with their dueling. I can arrange extra credit, and it will put you at more tolerance with Professor Dumbledore." Audrey winked at Sirius. "What do you say?"
Sirius thought about it for a moment. "I would love to learn some of those muggle techniques, if I can find the time. And the helping your classes sounds fun, but I'm not sure if I have time for both."
"If you come in Monday, Wednesday and Friday to help out in my classes, it is during scheduled class time, and I can also have you working on the training during those times." She said with a lopsided grin.
Arabella smiled. "I would love to help out, but I don't have many spares. " was all she said.
"I do too." Sirius piped in. "For as long as possible."
"Good," Audrey said. "I'll see you two tomorrow then. Now scat, get to dinner." She ushered them out of the classroom.
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The next day Sirius used his afternoon double spare to help Audrey in her dueling class. It was unfortunately the Gryffindor 3rd years in there for his first half. And that meant that Princess Astrid was there.
Audrey set him to work helping the slower students master the disarming spell. He was a good teacher, and within 15 minutes the entire class had mastered it. So Audrey pulled Sirius aside.
"Sirius, the younger years have more extensive training then yours, they will be learning more, but taking a lot longer at it. Do you understand?" Sirius nodded slightly. "Good. I need you to help me explain the dueling procedure, since you and Miss Figg seemed to have mastered it."
Sirius shook his head. "We haven't mastered it," he protested. "We've gotten plenty of strikes against us."
Audrey smiled. "You may have had strikes, but you 2 are the only ones who have attempted to transfer sides, pushing your actual boundaries bigger." she paused. "Many wizards think that when you duel, you are opponents. But professional dueling requires a lot of cooperation. Without it, you cannot transfer sides, you could not win really." Audrey looked at Sirius confused expression. "You don't believe what I say, but it is true. Your opponent is really more of a friend, and you must learn to interpret their movements to discover their weaknesses." she smiled slightly. "But back on track, I need you to help explain how dueling procedure works, and show them with me."
Sirius nodded, then spoke, "What, you want me to duel you?" he asked.
"Yes." Audrey said. "You and I shall duel, this will not be a real duel, just a demonstration," she laughed at Sirius's look. "You don't think you can beat me, and that is your first mistake. Always believe you are better then your opponent is, even if you are not. If you go into the rink expecting to lose, then you will. Now, Sirius, I could easily beat you, but you need practice. I think that soon when we duel you will come out on top. I have no doubt in you."
Sirius shook his head. "You don't doubt me a lot," he said sharply. "Professor Audrey, I am not this great person you think I am. Everyone has great expectations for me, yet I doubt I will be able to fulfill a lot, if not all, of them. I wish for once someone would doubt Me." he walked away, leaving an amused Audrey behind.
'Sirius, Sirius, Sirius.' she thought. 'Your main weakness is you doubt yourself. One day you'll see how wrong you are about you.' she stalked after Sirius, and began explaining the procedure to the class.
Sirius noticed that she explained basically the same way she did in the tryouts. You get in, bow, wait for the whistle and begin. The duel ends when someone is disarmed, and you shake hands and leave. She explained about the strikes, and how you get them. The thing she spent more time on was the transference between sides.
"Dueling is a cooperative sport. You must cooperate with your partner, who is just that. A partner, not an enemy, who without there is no duel, and without cooperation, the duel is pointless. You must use cooperation when transferring sides." Audrey explained, much like her conversation with Sirius. "Without cooperation, you will never be able to duel to your full potential. The sides were created to prevent physical attacks without wands on your opponents. You only may transfer sides when both duelers are within the blue triangles. It may be on purpose, it may be by accident, but once both persons step within the blue, you may switch sides. In fact, you must switch sides." she smiled at the class's thoughtful looks. "There are ways that you can prevent switching sides, but that is too advanced for this year. So you will be required to cross sides when both duelers are within the blue."
You must be aware of where you are at all times in the dueling circle. It may be hard now, but the more you practice, you will soon be moving without much thought, by instinct." she paused. "Sirius will help me demonstrate what I'm talking about. We will have a mock duel, neither of us really trying, to show you how you stay within the boundaries." she beckoned Sirius forward; he gingerly stepped into the ring. She threw her whistle to one of the students, and told her to blow it after they bowed.
Audrey faced Sirius and smiled. She gave a short bow, which Sirius returned. At the sound of the whistle they began. Sirius sent a few hexes at her without realizing that it was supposed to be a slow battle. But she deflected them easily. She spoke to the class while dueling.
"See how Sirius is moving out of the way of some charms, and blocking others. Some counters are very difficult and energy draining, so it may be best to move out of the way as first instinct. Now, notice how Sirius is within his blue triangle? I now move to mine." she did. "And we can switch sides." Sirius promptly did.
After a few more examples, Audrey threw her wand in the air. "That is the signal of a truce," she explained to her class and Sirius. Sirius had caught the wand, and handed it back. "Your duels will not end in a truce unless a teacher calls it. Then a white flag is thrown. But, for class purposes, I will be calling them."
She glanced at the door that had just swung open. In stood Arabella. "Miss Figg." Audrey called. "How nice that you could join us. Please, come in." Arabella nervously walked in. Sirius watched her; she was supposed to be in Muggle Studies.
"I dropped it," she mouthed at his expression. Sirius nodded slightly, and decided to ask her about it later.
Audrey was still talking. "Now that Arabella is here, we can see a proper duel. Sirius, Arabella, would you please?" she gestured towards the dueling ring. Sirius walked to his original spot, and Arabella dropped her books and then joined him.
They bowed at each other and waited for the whistle. Audrey blew it, and they began dueling. Audrey played commentator, telling her class what was happening. It was near the end of the class, and the next one had begun to drift in. They all stood in awe watching Sirius and Arabella duel; everyone could see why they were captains of the Gryffindor team.
Finally the duel ended with Sirius disarming Arabella when she failed to move quick enough to get out of the way of a jelly legs curse. Sirius finished the curse before shaking her hand, and then handed Arabella her wand back. She had a slightly flushed face, but was beaming despite having lost.
Audrey and the 2 classes broke into applause. It had been a great duel. She looked at the clock and exclaimed. "Dear me, 3rd years you are late for class." she jotted a note and gave it to Astrid. "Give that to Professor Sprout." she said ushering them out of the class.
Audrey turned back to her new class. "Well, you saw what Arabella and Sirius can do, and I hope in the future you will be as great as them." she paused, "But now, you saw the last of the lesson, so we'll have to backtrack."
She launched into the boundaries and rules all over again. Sirius listened in mild interest this time. Instead he focused on Arabella. She looked extremely happy for just being humiliated by him. Sirius shook his head. He didn't care what was going on with her. Not at all.
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So, what'dya think? PLEASE Review! I'd like it alot alot alot! If no one reviews, I'll stop posting my stories here, since it takes me extra time to, since all my stories are on my website first.
CassidyRai
cassidyrai@hotmail.com
http://cassidyrai.tripod.com/stories
Okay, you don't have to read this, but this was a review done by ~*Ginny*~ in the BTD message board it is very long, and full of useless babble, so I put it at the bottom of the chapter! And you may not understand half this stuff, there is a lot about the RPG it self in here, but I thought it was cute:
How dare you forget Lily's speech?? I worked long and hard on that... and you simply left it around!! haha, man I wish I was Lily, she's so awesome! I think I might like her even more than Ginny. *gasp* ... no no no! That's not right!! Why did I say that? Cassidy, what have you done to me?? I can't believe this! GAH! Hehe, Dev made it! Yes! I mean... cough... I don't like him... haha! No really, do you even know how old he is? *shakes head* I don't... oh now I'm scared!! he might be. Reading. This. This. Very. Moment. *dart eyes arounds looking for suspicious folks* Well... I don't see him... but you never know... he could have an invisibility cloak... he's a tricky one all right... sensitive Slytherin my @$$!! Haha! Aw... now he's mad at me probably... Dev, hun, don't be mad! You're cool... honest? Haha Oh man, I do really need to work on my social skills... haha no I don't! They're perfectly fine!! So now I'm timing myself...! I'm going to write for exactly half an hour... let's see how long I can make this and if ff.net will let me review this time around! OK... so it's 8.03 and i've been writing for three minutes! So at 8.30 i'm free as a bird! Ah.. what was I gonna say? Oh yea... Martha Juniper or however you spell it... GREAT BIG SNEER HERE... will she play a 'role' (if you get my drift *nudge nudge wink wink*) in an upcoming chapter? I wonder... was it blue or green lipstick... haha... no one but us knows what we're talking about! GO BTD!! Actually our posts are getting strange lately! It's almost scaring me! But you know, c'est la vie and all the wholesome goodness! Actually in my last 'review' (if you wanna call the 1/8th they let through! GRR) i said something about 'Filled with rambly goodness!' It scared me I tell ya, I was on such a fake sugar rush! Well I did have ice cream like an hour before I wrote that... but I don't think that counts!! Whoa... been writing for 7 minutes *PHEW* this is hard work!! I hope you apprieciate all this I'm doing for you! Where are my cookies?? hahah, that's a good one Em!
But man, cookie monster has it made! I mean... eats cookies all day on national television and doesn't get fired?? That's the life...*eyed glaze over* Man now i want cookies!! Cassidy!! Ahh... ok ok... this is what I'll do! Here goes: *jumps down from a ledge (what the? where did this ledge come from? Meh) and runs across the Quidditch pitch. Stops out side an old cottage, and breaks down the door. (with her natural brute force, natch!) Walks to the other side of the room and turns over the desk **CRASH** (how odd... I seem to be breaking things lately) and peers down a hole that mysteriously pops out of nowhere and sticks her head in. Calls out* 'Helllllooo?? Cookiiiiieee maaannnn?' *Instantly a bag of cookies appear* YESS! Success *sits on floor quietly munching her cookies! See how easy that was? and now I have cookies...! Ah.. what else? Oh YEAH!! WHERE IN TARNASHIONS DOES PETER GO?? I mean he's always sneaking off! Are you just getting him out of the picture or is there an actual subplot?? Cause I'd be cool if you were just trying to get rid of him!! (looks at clock: Oh my!! 13 more minutes to go!) Ah what else... uh I dunno, so I'll just tell you about my day (happy happy joy joy!) Well let's see... I woke up and could hardly move! I played three games of soccer yesterday...ouch (yes i AM looking for sympathy here! Excellent... my plan is working... oh crap I wrote that!! And now I'm too lazy to delete it all! hahah oh well... where was I?) Ah yes, the pain. Then I went and played soccer in thunder and rain! That was awesome... I had so much fun... it was like an insane person would do that... oh wait... that's me!! haha!!
OH MY COD! (yes cod, I don't believe in God- I believe in Cod! mwahaha I soo stole that from my friend!! I wonder why they put up with me?? Hmm... I mean, you never EVER want to meet me when I'm on a pixie stick high! I mean... *shudders* It's unnatural, that's what it is! But you know what they say... birds of a feather or something like that!) Any ways, I don't remember why I wrote OH MY COD now... but it WAS important I assure you...! ...Or was it? Oi, my hand is starting to cramp and I have 9 minutes left on my deadline here... must go on... carry the torch... yadda yadda yadda... So I'm trying to remember what I wrote in my last review (it was awesome, I was so proud of it *sniff sniff*) and all I can remember now is 'filled with rably goodness'! Ahh! That's not what I want to remember... oh yeah.. it had soccer or something in it too... but that's not important... the important thing is... Oh wait I remember part of it! Okay... let's see! "A prankster named Sirius, what are the odds?" use that in your fic, and I'll be over the blue moon made of KD!! You canadian? Cause then you know what I'm talking about *starts humming "if I had a million dollars" by BNL...* and what else... ah oh yes! Will you be doing that scene with *can't say-will ruin it for everyone else if you do do it* down in the dungeon where he does ___ to *Sirius's first love*? Cause it would be awesome to see Sirius in a full blown rage? And Lily?? You don't metion her much.. true this is a Sirius/*I KNOW WHO* fic, but still!!! Hahah ! I'm going to be evil and not review next time if I don't see Lily... ok so that's not true... but Snapy? what about him and his little *obsession*, eh? Hahah!! Oh this is too fun! It really isn't healthy I think! And what else... Oh I don't know... but I only have 3 minutes left so I better start saying my goodbyes (yes, kiddies I know it has been fun- goodness knows I have been sitting her... and my buts falling asleep but hey! Don't worry Gin will be back! Never fear!! haha so fun!) ANy ways... bye bye!! I've had some good memories here in this little review box, where it's all safe and cozy and warm and... oh wait, that's right, that's my house!! AHahha so confused I get! Oh my only one minute left!! what ever shall I write? how about I love the story and I sure as h*** hope this works other wise I'm gonna be peeved!! I'm going to copy and paste this whole thing just in case!!! okies, well it's now 8.30 So I'll see yas!! Have fun reading this and all!! *clicks 'submit review' and giggles madly* BYEEEEE
I want to specifically thank all the lovely BTD players that have been stopping by. Bella, Ginny, James, Deveral. Bella, I'm glad you caught the Martha thing... you know what's coming up... Dev, thanks for her last name, I'll fix it some time on here... and Sirius won't lose his position, but something will happen to almost make him (eep, I've said too much!)
Ruriko, Lily is the cleverest *girl* because James and Sirius are boys. And I've got my comp fixing Sirius's name now, so it's all good!
Borg, I'm glad that you hate it. Really I am... seeing as I don't care your opinion and no one in their right mind would.
PurpleSailorSaturn7, short and sweet, with lots of meaning!
Ella, wow you reviewed a lot! :) okay, first off, next ch (*I think*) you'll learn more of the parents pasts. But why Talon is bitter won't be uncovered till near the end. And thank you for saying that to Borg. Unfortunatly he'll come after you now. That's how he came by my stories, because I told someone he's an idiot. I hope he doesn't. You should read my letter/story to him. And you used one of my favorite saying (Go jump in a lake) I'm glad you like my characters, I have fun playing with my own.(or some in this case are others original) More will be coming soon! Jmaes is in fact a Chaser, I read it in an interview dialogue with JKR. It says nothing about Sirius being Seeker though, so that I like. Plus it explains how he can do something that'll be coming up. What James and Lily fought over is a minor detail, but I'll uncover it later. Too bad you got kicked off. That happens to me all the time. Thanks for making me one of your favorite authors! And more sweetness coming soon!
Gwen Sanderson, thank you thank you! Y'all make me blush.
But my parents and old teachers say I'm a great writer too, but I don't believe it. But I'm the worlds biggest critic, to my own work. Dad asked me why I don't be a writer when I grow up, because I have actually written an original story *gasp* but I wouldn't really want the pressure. I mean, imagine what JKR is feeling when she has a deadline. I'd hate it, though I wouldn't mind writing for a living, no school, no work... but alas it's not for me I don't think. I may send something in to a publishers, but then again, I may not! Oh, I've blabbed enough, and yet there is more on the bottom!
One last bit, the next chapter may take a little while, I have another story I want to start (I really shouldn't, but meh!) and then I'll work on chapter 16. Well, chapter 16 is actually a filler chapter, I think, and you'll learn some reasons for things.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. I do own however, the families of the Marauders, some of the teachers, and Kimball Zenobia (who comes in later) Also, my fellow RPGer Morgan owns Xanthe Shannon, and is allowing me to use her in this story (and up-coming ones of this series) and some other characters like Deveral, and umm... others ya.
This story is based on an RPG called Before the Downfall (http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/beforethedownfall)
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Chapter 15 - More Captains
The first student government meeting was very rough. Dumbledore explained what their purpose was, and how they were to properly work. He handed out books to the secretary and treasurer, meant for recording their data, and explained how things would go. Their first project, he said, would be a homecoming ball, the last weekend in September. He assigned the council members to find out what their houses wanted and put it together. They would meet each night from 3 to 5 to make sure it was together.
Sirius got the job of talking to the students about what needed to be changed at Hogwarts. He was allowed to skip classes, providing he caught up on the work, and address other students on what they were attempting to do to improve the school. He found himself working harder then ever before, because he still had Quidditch practices, and even though Gryffindor didn't play until November, James demanded 4 practices a week.
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Despite his promise not to tryout for dueling if he was voted as the President, Sirius found himself heading towards the classroom that Saturday. He smiled at the thought of the dueling teams. Professor Audrey commented every class how good he was. Sirius had quick reflexes from both being a Seeker and a prankster, and learned the curses and counters quickly. He was easily top of the class, followed close by James and Remus.
Sirius opened the door into the main dueling room. Much like the Quidditch tryouts, the students were separated by house, talking in hushed tones. Sirius noticed that changes had been made to the room. A dueling circle had been drawn in the center, and stands had been placed around it.
"Mister Black, you made it!" A voice rang out. Audrey had seen him. She'd been badgering Sirius to find out whether or not he'd be trying out. He'd shrugged her off before and did so again.
"I thought I'd check it out," he said, walking off to where James, Lily, Remus and Arabella stood, leaving Audrey behind.
Audrey moved to the center of the room. She clapped her hands to get their attention. "Students, this year Professor Dumbledore gave me permission to have a dueling tournament. Each house will have a dueling team, and every few weeks we will have a competition. Each house team will be couched by a teacher, and headed by 2 captains."
There will be 7 members to a team, from all grades, depending on skill. I have been watching you all in class, so there is no real point of a tryout, but I will be assigning you an opponent to duel, from your own house." she paused. "I will explain how the tournament works more when the teams are formed, so for now let's have a few practice duels."
Sirius Black and Arabella Figg, you are first." Sirius glanced at Arabella. They walked to the dueling circle. "None of you I suppose have ever had a professional duel, so these are the basics. You cannot step outside the black line, or cross the red line to your opponent's side. You may switch sides, if you are both in the transition zone." she gestured to the blue triangles. "But, for now let's just deal with the basics."
To start a duel you must bow, while standing opposite each other in the dueling circle." Sirius and Arabella took their places and bowed. "Then the referee will blow their whistle, and you begin. Wands must stay down until the whistle is blown or you get a strike. You get 3 strikes and then you forfeit the duel. And you also get strikes for crossing the lines. The match ends when someone disarms the other person." She blew her whistle. "Begin." she said when neither moved.
Sirius cast a Jelly Legs Jinx without thinking. Arabella blocked it and sent a Cheering Charm at Sirius. He blocked that and dodged the Body Bind Arabella had sent right after it. They went on for a few minutes. Twice they were given strikes, Sirius for crossing sides inappropriately, and Arabella for stepping outside the black line when dodging a jinx. But they soon mastered the transition of sides and got accustomed to the size of the ring. Finally Sirius could yell "Expelliarmus" and Arabella's wand flew into his own hand.
"Good duel!" Audrey beamed. "Very well done, especially for the first time. Now, bow again, and shake hands." Sirius did this, but only barely touched Arabella's hand. He felt himself blush slightly at her touch. "That was an excellent duel, and if there are others this well, this will be an interesting tournament." She went on to call other couples forward from different houses. But none seemed to duel as well as Sirius and Arabella.
She paired Sirius with James, and after a pretty good duel, though not as hard as his first, Sirius disarmed James with little difficulty. Arabella was paired with Remus and took him in a few minutes.
After the two hours Audrey called them to a halt. "Very good work for today. That's all we have time for. Tomorrow, from 1 to 5, we will have another tryout, and I will announce the captains and teams. The tryout may not take that long, but I wish plenty of time. I will see you there."
Sirius left the dueling room with a light heart. He was tired yes, Audrey had him fight at least 5 duels, but he couldn't have felt better. He hummed as he went to dinner.
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The next day's tryout went by quickly. Audrey had Arabella and Sirius duel first again, another action filled duel, ending with Sirius disarming Arabella. If she was at all upset, she hid it well as she beamed at Sirius, causing him to blush and turn his attention on Lily.
Four hours later Audrey called them together. "You all are very skilled, and unfortunately I can't have you all on the teams." she paused. "I will go through the teams by house. Gryffindor, your captains this year will be Sirius Black and Arabella Figg, and other members Remus Lupin, Alison Safire (a 3rd year), Gregory Fairbrother (6th year), Kenny McBeth (7th year) and Lily Evans."
The Gryffindor's congratulated the newly formed dueling team, which moved over to the side. Sirius was surprised that James didn't make it. He was one of the best duels in the class. Ignoring Audrey as she read off the other teams, he went to talk to him.
"Hey Prongs, what's up?" he said, pulling him off to the side.
"Nothing Padfoot, why?" James asked, pretending nothing was wrong.
"Why you didn't make the team, that's what." Sirius said. "You are better then Lily and Remus. You know that."
James looked at the ground. "I told Professor Audrey I'd rather give any spot of mine up." He said quietly.
"But why?" Sirius yelped. "You could help us win this tournament."
James shrugged. "Too much to do." Was all he said. "Common, Audrey isn't done yet. Sirius followed James back to the group in the middle of the class.
Audrey continued. "Team practices will be starting shortly, with your respective teachers. Unfortunately I cannot coach all the teams, so to be fair I will not be doing any of them. You will discover the team coaches at your first practice. Gryffindor, yours will be first, tomorrow from 3 to 5 in here. Hufflepuff, Tuesday, Ravenclaw Thursday and Slytherin Friday, all at the same time. Every week it will be the same basic schedule, though extra is available to be booked, and you may have practices in other classrooms."
Audrey surveyed the room before her. The students were quietly chatting under their breath. "That's all for today." She said. The students headed towards the entrance. "Sirius, Arabella, can I talk to you for a second?" she called out before they could leave the room.
Sirius and Arabella glanced at each other and walked to where Audrey was standing. Audrey transfigured some chairs for them to sit in. "Little trick, always comes in handy." She explained. "Transfiguration was always my best subject." Sirius and Arabella sat down and looked at Audrey.
"I want to talk to you about the dueling teams of course, and your dueling styles." She paused. "First, Sirius, I realize that this year will be tough for you, with Quidditch, being Student Government President, and being captain of the dueling teams. Your good friend Mr. Potter declined being on the dueling team for fear of being over worked. That and OWLs this year, I fear you may be a little overwhelmed."
She put up her hand to stop Sirius from interrupting. "I myself think you can handle it." She said calmly. "I just want you to understand that things may be hard, and if you ever need someone to talk to, or come to for help I am here." She smiled. "Now, about the teams. This includes you Arabella. I picked you 2 as captains because you have a very unique style, and way with your wands. You duel it seems without really thinking, and that is excellent. Sirius, I have no doubt you are the better of the two of you, but you have your weaknesses. Arabella, to beat him, and future opponents, you need to home in on these weaknesses."
"What I would like is for the two of you to come in for extra training. This is not to help Gryffindor win the tournament, though I have no doubt you could, but to further your skills as duelers. This extra training would not be for curses, and counters, no, but for other forms of fighting. Muggle techniques, which are a great asset to the best of duelers, they can help you with coordination and also confidence. Confidence is key to a good dueler, if you go thinking you will lose, then you shall."
"Aside for the extra training, I know you tend to have quite a few spares this year. During these spares I would like to have you assist my younger classes with their dueling. I can arrange extra credit, and it will put you at more tolerance with Professor Dumbledore." Audrey winked at Sirius. "What do you say?"
Sirius thought about it for a moment. "I would love to learn some of those muggle techniques, if I can find the time. And the helping your classes sounds fun, but I'm not sure if I have time for both."
"If you come in Monday, Wednesday and Friday to help out in my classes, it is during scheduled class time, and I can also have you working on the training during those times." She said with a lopsided grin.
Arabella smiled. "I would love to help out, but I don't have many spares. " was all she said.
"I do too." Sirius piped in. "For as long as possible."
"Good," Audrey said. "I'll see you two tomorrow then. Now scat, get to dinner." She ushered them out of the classroom.
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The next day Sirius used his afternoon double spare to help Audrey in her dueling class. It was unfortunately the Gryffindor 3rd years in there for his first half. And that meant that Princess Astrid was there.
Audrey set him to work helping the slower students master the disarming spell. He was a good teacher, and within 15 minutes the entire class had mastered it. So Audrey pulled Sirius aside.
"Sirius, the younger years have more extensive training then yours, they will be learning more, but taking a lot longer at it. Do you understand?" Sirius nodded slightly. "Good. I need you to help me explain the dueling procedure, since you and Miss Figg seemed to have mastered it."
Sirius shook his head. "We haven't mastered it," he protested. "We've gotten plenty of strikes against us."
Audrey smiled. "You may have had strikes, but you 2 are the only ones who have attempted to transfer sides, pushing your actual boundaries bigger." she paused. "Many wizards think that when you duel, you are opponents. But professional dueling requires a lot of cooperation. Without it, you cannot transfer sides, you could not win really." Audrey looked at Sirius confused expression. "You don't believe what I say, but it is true. Your opponent is really more of a friend, and you must learn to interpret their movements to discover their weaknesses." she smiled slightly. "But back on track, I need you to help explain how dueling procedure works, and show them with me."
Sirius nodded, then spoke, "What, you want me to duel you?" he asked.
"Yes." Audrey said. "You and I shall duel, this will not be a real duel, just a demonstration," she laughed at Sirius's look. "You don't think you can beat me, and that is your first mistake. Always believe you are better then your opponent is, even if you are not. If you go into the rink expecting to lose, then you will. Now, Sirius, I could easily beat you, but you need practice. I think that soon when we duel you will come out on top. I have no doubt in you."
Sirius shook his head. "You don't doubt me a lot," he said sharply. "Professor Audrey, I am not this great person you think I am. Everyone has great expectations for me, yet I doubt I will be able to fulfill a lot, if not all, of them. I wish for once someone would doubt Me." he walked away, leaving an amused Audrey behind.
'Sirius, Sirius, Sirius.' she thought. 'Your main weakness is you doubt yourself. One day you'll see how wrong you are about you.' she stalked after Sirius, and began explaining the procedure to the class.
Sirius noticed that she explained basically the same way she did in the tryouts. You get in, bow, wait for the whistle and begin. The duel ends when someone is disarmed, and you shake hands and leave. She explained about the strikes, and how you get them. The thing she spent more time on was the transference between sides.
"Dueling is a cooperative sport. You must cooperate with your partner, who is just that. A partner, not an enemy, who without there is no duel, and without cooperation, the duel is pointless. You must use cooperation when transferring sides." Audrey explained, much like her conversation with Sirius. "Without cooperation, you will never be able to duel to your full potential. The sides were created to prevent physical attacks without wands on your opponents. You only may transfer sides when both duelers are within the blue triangles. It may be on purpose, it may be by accident, but once both persons step within the blue, you may switch sides. In fact, you must switch sides." she smiled at the class's thoughtful looks. "There are ways that you can prevent switching sides, but that is too advanced for this year. So you will be required to cross sides when both duelers are within the blue."
You must be aware of where you are at all times in the dueling circle. It may be hard now, but the more you practice, you will soon be moving without much thought, by instinct." she paused. "Sirius will help me demonstrate what I'm talking about. We will have a mock duel, neither of us really trying, to show you how you stay within the boundaries." she beckoned Sirius forward; he gingerly stepped into the ring. She threw her whistle to one of the students, and told her to blow it after they bowed.
Audrey faced Sirius and smiled. She gave a short bow, which Sirius returned. At the sound of the whistle they began. Sirius sent a few hexes at her without realizing that it was supposed to be a slow battle. But she deflected them easily. She spoke to the class while dueling.
"See how Sirius is moving out of the way of some charms, and blocking others. Some counters are very difficult and energy draining, so it may be best to move out of the way as first instinct. Now, notice how Sirius is within his blue triangle? I now move to mine." she did. "And we can switch sides." Sirius promptly did.
After a few more examples, Audrey threw her wand in the air. "That is the signal of a truce," she explained to her class and Sirius. Sirius had caught the wand, and handed it back. "Your duels will not end in a truce unless a teacher calls it. Then a white flag is thrown. But, for class purposes, I will be calling them."
She glanced at the door that had just swung open. In stood Arabella. "Miss Figg." Audrey called. "How nice that you could join us. Please, come in." Arabella nervously walked in. Sirius watched her; she was supposed to be in Muggle Studies.
"I dropped it," she mouthed at his expression. Sirius nodded slightly, and decided to ask her about it later.
Audrey was still talking. "Now that Arabella is here, we can see a proper duel. Sirius, Arabella, would you please?" she gestured towards the dueling ring. Sirius walked to his original spot, and Arabella dropped her books and then joined him.
They bowed at each other and waited for the whistle. Audrey blew it, and they began dueling. Audrey played commentator, telling her class what was happening. It was near the end of the class, and the next one had begun to drift in. They all stood in awe watching Sirius and Arabella duel; everyone could see why they were captains of the Gryffindor team.
Finally the duel ended with Sirius disarming Arabella when she failed to move quick enough to get out of the way of a jelly legs curse. Sirius finished the curse before shaking her hand, and then handed Arabella her wand back. She had a slightly flushed face, but was beaming despite having lost.
Audrey and the 2 classes broke into applause. It had been a great duel. She looked at the clock and exclaimed. "Dear me, 3rd years you are late for class." she jotted a note and gave it to Astrid. "Give that to Professor Sprout." she said ushering them out of the class.
Audrey turned back to her new class. "Well, you saw what Arabella and Sirius can do, and I hope in the future you will be as great as them." she paused, "But now, you saw the last of the lesson, so we'll have to backtrack."
She launched into the boundaries and rules all over again. Sirius listened in mild interest this time. Instead he focused on Arabella. She looked extremely happy for just being humiliated by him. Sirius shook his head. He didn't care what was going on with her. Not at all.
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So, what'dya think? PLEASE Review! I'd like it alot alot alot! If no one reviews, I'll stop posting my stories here, since it takes me extra time to, since all my stories are on my website first.
CassidyRai
cassidyrai@hotmail.com
http://cassidyrai.tripod.com/stories
Okay, you don't have to read this, but this was a review done by ~*Ginny*~ in the BTD message board it is very long, and full of useless babble, so I put it at the bottom of the chapter! And you may not understand half this stuff, there is a lot about the RPG it self in here, but I thought it was cute:
How dare you forget Lily's speech?? I worked long and hard on that... and you simply left it around!! haha, man I wish I was Lily, she's so awesome! I think I might like her even more than Ginny. *gasp* ... no no no! That's not right!! Why did I say that? Cassidy, what have you done to me?? I can't believe this! GAH! Hehe, Dev made it! Yes! I mean... cough... I don't like him... haha! No really, do you even know how old he is? *shakes head* I don't... oh now I'm scared!! he might be. Reading. This. This. Very. Moment. *dart eyes arounds looking for suspicious folks* Well... I don't see him... but you never know... he could have an invisibility cloak... he's a tricky one all right... sensitive Slytherin my @$$!! Haha! Aw... now he's mad at me probably... Dev, hun, don't be mad! You're cool... honest? Haha Oh man, I do really need to work on my social skills... haha no I don't! They're perfectly fine!! So now I'm timing myself...! I'm going to write for exactly half an hour... let's see how long I can make this and if ff.net will let me review this time around! OK... so it's 8.03 and i've been writing for three minutes! So at 8.30 i'm free as a bird! Ah.. what was I gonna say? Oh yea... Martha Juniper or however you spell it... GREAT BIG SNEER HERE... will she play a 'role' (if you get my drift *nudge nudge wink wink*) in an upcoming chapter? I wonder... was it blue or green lipstick... haha... no one but us knows what we're talking about! GO BTD!! Actually our posts are getting strange lately! It's almost scaring me! But you know, c'est la vie and all the wholesome goodness! Actually in my last 'review' (if you wanna call the 1/8th they let through! GRR) i said something about 'Filled with rambly goodness!' It scared me I tell ya, I was on such a fake sugar rush! Well I did have ice cream like an hour before I wrote that... but I don't think that counts!! Whoa... been writing for 7 minutes *PHEW* this is hard work!! I hope you apprieciate all this I'm doing for you! Where are my cookies?? hahah, that's a good one Em!
But man, cookie monster has it made! I mean... eats cookies all day on national television and doesn't get fired?? That's the life...*eyed glaze over* Man now i want cookies!! Cassidy!! Ahh... ok ok... this is what I'll do! Here goes: *jumps down from a ledge (what the? where did this ledge come from? Meh) and runs across the Quidditch pitch. Stops out side an old cottage, and breaks down the door. (with her natural brute force, natch!) Walks to the other side of the room and turns over the desk **CRASH** (how odd... I seem to be breaking things lately) and peers down a hole that mysteriously pops out of nowhere and sticks her head in. Calls out* 'Helllllooo?? Cookiiiiieee maaannnn?' *Instantly a bag of cookies appear* YESS! Success *sits on floor quietly munching her cookies! See how easy that was? and now I have cookies...! Ah.. what else? Oh YEAH!! WHERE IN TARNASHIONS DOES PETER GO?? I mean he's always sneaking off! Are you just getting him out of the picture or is there an actual subplot?? Cause I'd be cool if you were just trying to get rid of him!! (looks at clock: Oh my!! 13 more minutes to go!) Ah what else... uh I dunno, so I'll just tell you about my day (happy happy joy joy!) Well let's see... I woke up and could hardly move! I played three games of soccer yesterday...ouch (yes i AM looking for sympathy here! Excellent... my plan is working... oh crap I wrote that!! And now I'm too lazy to delete it all! hahah oh well... where was I?) Ah yes, the pain. Then I went and played soccer in thunder and rain! That was awesome... I had so much fun... it was like an insane person would do that... oh wait... that's me!! haha!!
OH MY COD! (yes cod, I don't believe in God- I believe in Cod! mwahaha I soo stole that from my friend!! I wonder why they put up with me?? Hmm... I mean, you never EVER want to meet me when I'm on a pixie stick high! I mean... *shudders* It's unnatural, that's what it is! But you know what they say... birds of a feather or something like that!) Any ways, I don't remember why I wrote OH MY COD now... but it WAS important I assure you...! ...Or was it? Oi, my hand is starting to cramp and I have 9 minutes left on my deadline here... must go on... carry the torch... yadda yadda yadda... So I'm trying to remember what I wrote in my last review (it was awesome, I was so proud of it *sniff sniff*) and all I can remember now is 'filled with rably goodness'! Ahh! That's not what I want to remember... oh yeah.. it had soccer or something in it too... but that's not important... the important thing is... Oh wait I remember part of it! Okay... let's see! "A prankster named Sirius, what are the odds?" use that in your fic, and I'll be over the blue moon made of KD!! You canadian? Cause then you know what I'm talking about *starts humming "if I had a million dollars" by BNL...* and what else... ah oh yes! Will you be doing that scene with *can't say-will ruin it for everyone else if you do do it* down in the dungeon where he does ___ to *Sirius's first love*? Cause it would be awesome to see Sirius in a full blown rage? And Lily?? You don't metion her much.. true this is a Sirius/*I KNOW WHO* fic, but still!!! Hahah ! I'm going to be evil and not review next time if I don't see Lily... ok so that's not true... but Snapy? what about him and his little *obsession*, eh? Hahah!! Oh this is too fun! It really isn't healthy I think! And what else... Oh I don't know... but I only have 3 minutes left so I better start saying my goodbyes (yes, kiddies I know it has been fun- goodness knows I have been sitting her... and my buts falling asleep but hey! Don't worry Gin will be back! Never fear!! haha so fun!) ANy ways... bye bye!! I've had some good memories here in this little review box, where it's all safe and cozy and warm and... oh wait, that's right, that's my house!! AHahha so confused I get! Oh my only one minute left!! what ever shall I write? how about I love the story and I sure as h*** hope this works other wise I'm gonna be peeved!! I'm going to copy and paste this whole thing just in case!!! okies, well it's now 8.30 So I'll see yas!! Have fun reading this and all!! *clicks 'submit review' and giggles madly* BYEEEEE