Ch.12 Duel Ahoy*!
The 5th year Slytherins and Gryffindors were sitting in the DADA classroom. The bell had gone five minutes earlier. Professor Blizzard was running late. This was very unusual.
" What's keeping the Ice-queen?" enquired Ron languidly. He had just had a hearty lunch (having nearly missed breakfast because of his laziness in the morning, he had made up at lunchtime) and wasn't really in the mood to study.
Ron's nickname for their Prof. was not an uncommon one. Almost the entire school had taken to calling her that (not to her face ofcourse!). After the first class with the Professor everyone's enthusiasm dulled as she proved to be as strict as the other Slytherin teacher, Prof. Snape, sharing with him a penchant for taking points off Houses. The only difference was that she was a lot fairer than him.
She was merciless with inattentive students and handed out as many as 10 detentions on her first day of classes! The Slytherins also shared the sentiments of the majority of the student body, but for different reasons. They had been expecting her to be the female version of Prof. Snape, however, their first snickers at the detentions she handed out to hapless students soon turned to subdued cries of dismay when she turned on them. They viewed it as a betrayal of sorts. It took them a while to get used to the idea of a Slytherin teacher NOT favouring them.
While her actions caused her popularity among the students to nosedive, they had an opposite effect on Hermione and other like-minded students (mostly Ravenclaws) in whose eyes, she became an idol to emulate. Smart, sharp, intelligent and always immaculately dressed, even her chaos-loving young detractors couldn't help but admire her poise.
As McGonagall had remarked to a colleague in the privacy of the staffroom, it was good for the young girls at the school to finally have some idea of how a modern young witch should dress and behave.
Hermione now looked over disapprovingly at Ron, as he stretched his arms and yawned sleepily.
" Just because she happens to take her job seriously doesn't give you a reason to ridicule her personality" she said huffily.
" Oh come off it Hermione. She may be a hell of a teacher but she is a little...well . .aloof" Harry replied, finishing lamely.
He had managed to stay out of trouble in her classes, though he had been a bit apprehensive, keeping in mind that his track record with the other Slytherin Prof. wasn't a very encouraging indicator of things to come. However, even though he actually got along quite well in her classes, he didn't entirely disagree with Ron either.
" Hell of a teacher is right. I say she's just as bad as Prof. Snape." Ron unfortunately did have reason to hold a grudge against her as he had been one of the first students she had 'detentioned'.
" Now you're being prejudiced. You wouldn't say that about Prof. McGonagall, would you?" Hermione retorted.
" She IS fairer than him at any rate" said Harry, grudgingly coming to Hermione's aid and trying to console Ron.
At that very moment, Seamus, burst into the room. He had taken advantage of the teacher's absence to get his book which he had left in his dormitory. Now, book in hand, he stood at the front of the class, bent nearly double. He looked like he had been running. He was trying to say something but couldn't as he was out of breath.
"What is it ? What's happened?" Harry asked , jumping up. He suddenly felt his irrational fears( the ones he had tried so hard to suppress after the Tri-Wizard tournament fiasco) resurfacing. Had Hogwarts been attacked? But then why was Seamus here and not a professor? His mind raced with these thoughts.
" Is the Professor coming?" Ron asked with a groan. He had been hoping for a miraculous free period when the Prof. hadn't shown up.
Hermione, however, had noticed Harry's face go white, so she turned to Seamus and said rather fiercely, "Go on, spill it!"
" The Duel...Dueling club's been....re-instated. J-just saw the notice on the board in....common room." He managed to huff out.
At this, a collective cheer went up in the classroom, with even the Slytherins (who along with the rest of the class had been straining their ears to hear what Seamus was saying) joining in.
It was only when the last of the cheers died down that the class became aware of a presence at the door. At Seamus's beckoning (who was still standing at the head of the class) they turned as one toward the door to find Prof. Blizzard and Prof. Snape standing opposite each other and leaning against the door frame with their arms folded in front. They looked as if they had been standing there for quite some time.
In truth, Myra had been walking towards her class when Snape intercepted her. The meeting with Dumbledore,( which incidentally, turned out to be nothing special, just a 'welcome back to Hogwarts' thing for Yana) had detained her as well as the rest of the staff. Snape wanted to discuss the timetable she had left in his office that morning. He had just gotten to sentence no.2 when out of the corner of his eye he spotted Seamus running along a parallel corridor toward the DADA classroom.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he had accompanied her to the class and now stood watching in slight amazement as he witnessed a rare display of Gryffindor/Slytherin unity (even if it was momentary).
" Told you they'd love it" Myra said to him as she strode into the classroom and looked at the students staring intently at her and almost squirming in their seats with hushed excitement. She couldn't help wanting to smile at their eagerness to grow up.
/ Too bad they won't find out it isn't what its made out to be till its too late!/
"We-ell, seems we have enthusiastic pupils for once!" she said aloud when she reached her desk and turned around to face the class and him.
He gave her a small nod in reply and left, whilst the class was captivated by her 'clear as crystal' voice.
" We shall have our first meeting in the great Hall where the interested students may gather..let me emphasize that ALL students in third year and upwards shall gather as their participation is mandatory.....Now , onto more pressing matters..Today's lesson for instance...."
He could hear the groan emanating from the class he had just left and smirked.
/ Well, well. We shall see how you do my 'dear' children./
...............
" ....Every year of every house shall have a different or same year of a different or same House as their opponent every week...this is to give you as much practice as possible against a variety of opponents. Let me remind you that the purpose of this club is constructive.NOT destructive..so if I catch any of you trying to use the club as an excuse to further their foolish little vendettas against each other ....."
Severus stood with the other teachers listening to Myra rattling off the club rules....
/she couldn't possibly make it sound any duller could she?/ he grumbled to himself.
He realized he was rather impatient for the proceedings to begin. He couldn't help but remember the events of the previous, short-lived Dueling Club, as he looked around the hall which was arranged much the same as it had been then. He looked particularly fondly at the spot on the wall that Gilderoy had crashed into. He still hadn't forgiven the vain little fool's audacity in asking him to be his 'assistant'. The only reason he had agreed to do so was that it provided the perfect opportunity to let everyone know just who was the competent DADA teacher around (Yes, he had been hoping to send a not-too-subtle message to Dumbledore). Plus, there was the satisfaction of kicking the annoying, know-nothing-at-all 'professor's ass!
/Yes, as the lovely professor just put it 'so' eloquently, it was the perfect chance to 'further his not-so-foolish little vendetta' against the twittering prat!/
Snape refocused his attention on Prof. Blizzard as she beckoned to someone whilst continuing to talk.
" I myself will be present at most of your meetings to evaluate your performance as this ties in with DADA lessons for all students third year and upwards. Bonus grades for the lower years"- a glance at the eager 11 & 12 year olds-" will be awarded if they do well. However, the real Incharge will be your Dueling instructor, who has served as instructor at the ATA"-awed murmurings in the student body-"....may I introduce Yana Giovanni."-as Yana stepped onto the Dueling strip (or mat whatever) and all the students turned to face her.
Immediately fierce whispering broke out amid the assembled students, who were standing in rows house-wise. Many of them wore stunned expressions on their faces.
" Another Weirdsister?" Ron said in utter disbelief. "ATA instructor?"
"What's the ATA?" asked a slightly confused Harry. He had so far managed to gather that yet another ex-superstar had graced Hogwarts with her presence which explained the students' reaction.
" Auror Training Academy" murmured Hermione, next to his ear.
"Really?" Now it was his turn to be surprised. He suddenly understood why Ron was so flabbergasted.
" Rather well-qualified our famous singers are ,eh?" said George Weasely, grinning from ear to ear. Fred stood behind him with Lee, an identical grin on his face.
Yana stood stock still in front of the students, clad in Auror blue robes (although not the official uniform) calmly surveying them. She waited for the murmurings to die down before she spoke. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Myra and Severus, two tall figures in black, approaching her.
/It's Showtime!/ she thought as she put her hands behind her back, slipping into instructor mode effortlessly.
" You all have so far been accustomed to using words to express yourself...a wise choice..IF you are given the choice. However, in a duel, your actions speak louder-and much more forcefully- than words. I am here to teach you to choose your actions wisely...just as your English teachers no doubt taught you to choose your words carefully .. to achieve the desired effect."
As Severus and Maya stepped onto the furthest ends of the mat, backs to each other; Yana, standing in the center between them, went on,
" You will now witness a demonstration of a duel to give you an idea of what it looks like. I ask you to pay attention to the wand movements, see if you can make out what spell has been cast....and I want you to pay special attention to the 'deflection of spells'...a most useful skill in wizarding duels. Prof. Snape and Prof. Blizzard" - a pause, in which she glanced at Myra /Are you sure you know what you're doing?/ - our demonstrators, have taken their positions, and I urge you to take yours" - signaling towards chairs placed at the farther end of the room, not too close, neither too far away from the duelers, where a few teachers, who also appeared curious about the outcome of the match, were already seated - "..your professors will need the extra room."
She then stepped off the mat and moved to a corner, the position of the moderator. Myra had questioned the necessity of such a measure, but Yana was not willing to take the risk. She just couldn't bring herself to trust Snape as completely as Dumbledore...or Myra.
" Be sure to note down all the spells, hexes, curses and wand movements you recognize," she called out as parchment and quills appeared in front of each student.
" Not again" Ron said derisively, looking pointedly at Snape. " Do you reckon he'll do her in like Lockhart?"
" I don't think so, not this time" Harry replied, leaning forward to get a better angle of view on both professors. Hermione nodded silently in agreement, keeping her quill poised over her parchment.
" Wouldn't it be great if they just finished each other off?" asked Ron hopefully.
" That is a distinct possibility. However, I'd say my goodbyes to Prof. Snape now" a voice replied from behind him.
The trio turned in unison to find Reive smiling slightly at them. " I don't believe we've met, I'm Madeline Reive, call me Sev." she stopped short. /No, not that/ "er.Reive" she said as she extended her hand toward Ron.
A bewildered Ron shook her proffered hand, apparently at a loss for words. The trio introduced themselves and shook hands in turn, as the students around them looked on in amazement. /A Slytherin being friendly?/ they all seemed to be thinking. As Harry shook her hand, he added, " But I'm sure you already know about us" with a pointed look at Draco, who was sitting next to Reive, pretending not to notice what was happening. Draco, returned the look with a sneer, and then turned his attention back to the duelers, who were now facing each other and preparing to bow. He found that he really didn't mind Reive being friendly with Potter, weasel and the mudblood..er, Granger(although he knew the rest of his House-mates would!). He wondered briefly whether he was losing his marbles (?!) before his attention was locked by the sight before his eyes.
The two Prof. had taken off their cloaks to reveal, shorter, well-cut, fitting robes and were poised with wands at the ready, when the signal was given by Yana.
Suddenly, the room seemed to explode in a wave of sparkling colours. At first the students couldn't see or understand what was happening but as they realized that a protective field had been created around them so that they could remain safe from errant spells as well as actually hear the incantations and see wand movements if they focused hard, they began to pay uninhibited attention.
The two duelers were usually dead on target with their spells, of which there was a wide and interesting variety, however, both were also able to block most of them rather skillfully. At first, the two remained stationary, hurling spells and deflecting them without moving. Then, suddenly, Snape moved sideways to avoid a hex and let loose a stun spell. Blizzard immediately somersaulted out of the way and managed to throw another hex at him before landing in the center of the mat. The students 'Oohed' and "Aahed' audibly. The hex missed by inches, making Snape's hair stand on end. He grinned fiendishly.
/ Upto your little tricks again? We'll see how far your acrobatics get you./
Without sparing a second for Myra to regain her balance, he let loose another spell with a particularly deft wand movement - and this time, it didn't miss. Her hair turned orange. The students let out shouts of laughter. Myra paused a moment to figure out what had happened. She glared at Severus as he tried to hit her with another hex and ducked to avoid it while simultaneously firing her own spell at him.
He wasn't expecting it. As a result he was knocked off his feet, and his wand slipped out of his hand and rolled away. He didn't allow himself to land still on the floor, but started rolling after his wand the instant he hit the floor. He knew he was going to get hit a second time before he got his wand. It glanced off his arm - she wasn't able to aim properly as he was moving - and ripped the material of his robe sleeve. Wand in hand, he stood and glared murderously at her, before being forced to literally twirl on one foot out of the way of an incoming spell. Snape, to the surprise of the students, who expected him to trip, managed it very well and finished with a hex of his own.
Myra fell to the floor, apparently stunned, as some of the students groaned, and lay still as Severus approached. She knew he'd figure out she was shamming( the spell had just glanced her, making her fall to the floor) before he got too close so, when he was within three feet, she fired a spell at him from her position on the floor before standing up. He tried to deflect it a moment too late; the next thing he knew, he had acid green hair!
Now, the orange and green headed duelers faced each other again, revolving slowly, as if taunting the other to make the first move. Suddenly, Myra started laughing uncontrollably. She had a ridiculous vision of two orange and green blobs facing off and couldn't help feeling silly.
Snape stared at her, taken aback for a moment, before turning to the students and saying "Rule no.1: never laugh at your opponent" as silver cords came out of his wand to bind her.
However, the cords turned back on him as, Myra apparently recovered from her laughing fit, pointed her wand back at him, effectively deflecting the spell back to him, saying, " Rule no. 2:Never underestimate your opponent."
But Snape hadn't, as he proved when he 'finite incantatem'ed his own spell, the cords disappearing in a puff of smoke and when it cleared, the students saw he had tackled Prof. Blizzard physically and was standing behind her, holding her head with his arm under her chin, and her wand in his hand.
It appeared as though Severus had won the duel by use of unusual (read muggle) tactics, but he wasn't the only one who could do so, as he found out when she hurled him head over heels over her back, bending almost to the floor as she did so.
The students watched in hushed amazement as Snape flew through the air, however he managed to land on his feet in a kind of weird cartwheel, faltering only slightly as he regained his balance and stood to face Myra, with both their wands in his hand. He had won, even if she had the last move. So, she just bowed in reply to his gesture, not taking her eyes off him for a second. His face was inscrutably expressionless.
Now that the duel was officially over, the students got a good luck at the extent of damage each dueler had wrecked on the other. Apart from the bright orange colour, Myra's hair had turned loose from its usual neat knot and hung partly in her face as she stood still facing Snape, taking a moment to catch her breath. Snape, on the other hand, had acid green hair and a torn sleeve, but no blood. Yes, it had been a bloodless fight, and nothing else appeared to be wrong with them, other than the fact that they were slightly out of breath. They were really just recovering from the rush of adrenaline, as Yana explained later.
All the students gaped at the professors as they fixed themselves, with awed expressions on their faces. When Yana asked to see their parchments, most of them realized they had completely forgotten to record the events occurring; however, as the events were still fresh in their memory, they were able to recall some of the spells and hexes and quickly jotted them down. Ron glanced at Hermione's parchment as he scribbled furiously on his own, and saw that she had filled atleast three-fourths of it. Yana waited patiently for the students to finish. She had been expecting almost all of them to forget to write; she really couldn't blame them. It had been a good duel, with both opponents equally matched. She walked over to the place where Myra and Severus stood and complimented them on a 'good show'.
" Very colourful" she added, in reply to which Myra snorted softly and Severus........well, he looked torn between being pleased and being exasperated.
" So, in your opinion, what was the most outstanding feature of the duel you just witnessed?" Yana asked the students. A number of hands were raised.
" It was bloody brilliant!" someone exclaimed from the back.
Yana checked her smile, and pointed to Harry. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"
" Timing. Reflexes." was all he said.
Apparently, it was the answer Yana (Madam Giovanni) was looking for, as she said, "Ten points to Gryffindor. Excellent observation Mr. Potter. Anything else?" she asked looking around at the students.
" Physical balance. Presence of mind" a voice spoke up. It was Draco.
" Well said Mr. Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." Then, walking to the dueling mat once again, she continued, " The most important things are a sense of physical balance- clumsiness never goes unpunished in a duel - and good reflexes which requires presence of mind. Ofcourse, the knowledge of a variety of hexes is also very helpful..........."
The lecture ended with the students being asked to pair up to practice the Disarming Charm, usually the first choice for those who wish to avoid confrontation; which Madam Giovanni advised was a wise decision to take.
/Look who's talking/ Myra thought laughing inwardly, remembering the many times the wily Gryffindor had knowingly begged for trouble.
Yana asked Myra to allow her to perform the charm on her; however, Myra ended up hitting her with the charm first.
" I can take the humiliation of losing my wand only once in a day" she said by way of apology as she helped a slightly dazed and cross-looking Yana up.
At the end of the practice session which went quite well, with most of the students picking up fast, the three Professors in charge waited till the last of the students had left the Hall, before leaving themselves. At the entrance to the Hall, Severus wished both females a good night and swept off, looking very smug. Myra went off to her own rooms, muttering darkly under her breath. Yana snickered to herself, shook her head at the backs of the two retreating figures, and went on her own way, thinking:
/He's never going to let her live it down!/
*a/n: recently saw 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. p.s. i NEED reviews!!
The 5th year Slytherins and Gryffindors were sitting in the DADA classroom. The bell had gone five minutes earlier. Professor Blizzard was running late. This was very unusual.
" What's keeping the Ice-queen?" enquired Ron languidly. He had just had a hearty lunch (having nearly missed breakfast because of his laziness in the morning, he had made up at lunchtime) and wasn't really in the mood to study.
Ron's nickname for their Prof. was not an uncommon one. Almost the entire school had taken to calling her that (not to her face ofcourse!). After the first class with the Professor everyone's enthusiasm dulled as she proved to be as strict as the other Slytherin teacher, Prof. Snape, sharing with him a penchant for taking points off Houses. The only difference was that she was a lot fairer than him.
She was merciless with inattentive students and handed out as many as 10 detentions on her first day of classes! The Slytherins also shared the sentiments of the majority of the student body, but for different reasons. They had been expecting her to be the female version of Prof. Snape, however, their first snickers at the detentions she handed out to hapless students soon turned to subdued cries of dismay when she turned on them. They viewed it as a betrayal of sorts. It took them a while to get used to the idea of a Slytherin teacher NOT favouring them.
While her actions caused her popularity among the students to nosedive, they had an opposite effect on Hermione and other like-minded students (mostly Ravenclaws) in whose eyes, she became an idol to emulate. Smart, sharp, intelligent and always immaculately dressed, even her chaos-loving young detractors couldn't help but admire her poise.
As McGonagall had remarked to a colleague in the privacy of the staffroom, it was good for the young girls at the school to finally have some idea of how a modern young witch should dress and behave.
Hermione now looked over disapprovingly at Ron, as he stretched his arms and yawned sleepily.
" Just because she happens to take her job seriously doesn't give you a reason to ridicule her personality" she said huffily.
" Oh come off it Hermione. She may be a hell of a teacher but she is a little...well . .aloof" Harry replied, finishing lamely.
He had managed to stay out of trouble in her classes, though he had been a bit apprehensive, keeping in mind that his track record with the other Slytherin Prof. wasn't a very encouraging indicator of things to come. However, even though he actually got along quite well in her classes, he didn't entirely disagree with Ron either.
" Hell of a teacher is right. I say she's just as bad as Prof. Snape." Ron unfortunately did have reason to hold a grudge against her as he had been one of the first students she had 'detentioned'.
" Now you're being prejudiced. You wouldn't say that about Prof. McGonagall, would you?" Hermione retorted.
" She IS fairer than him at any rate" said Harry, grudgingly coming to Hermione's aid and trying to console Ron.
At that very moment, Seamus, burst into the room. He had taken advantage of the teacher's absence to get his book which he had left in his dormitory. Now, book in hand, he stood at the front of the class, bent nearly double. He looked like he had been running. He was trying to say something but couldn't as he was out of breath.
"What is it ? What's happened?" Harry asked , jumping up. He suddenly felt his irrational fears( the ones he had tried so hard to suppress after the Tri-Wizard tournament fiasco) resurfacing. Had Hogwarts been attacked? But then why was Seamus here and not a professor? His mind raced with these thoughts.
" Is the Professor coming?" Ron asked with a groan. He had been hoping for a miraculous free period when the Prof. hadn't shown up.
Hermione, however, had noticed Harry's face go white, so she turned to Seamus and said rather fiercely, "Go on, spill it!"
" The Duel...Dueling club's been....re-instated. J-just saw the notice on the board in....common room." He managed to huff out.
At this, a collective cheer went up in the classroom, with even the Slytherins (who along with the rest of the class had been straining their ears to hear what Seamus was saying) joining in.
It was only when the last of the cheers died down that the class became aware of a presence at the door. At Seamus's beckoning (who was still standing at the head of the class) they turned as one toward the door to find Prof. Blizzard and Prof. Snape standing opposite each other and leaning against the door frame with their arms folded in front. They looked as if they had been standing there for quite some time.
In truth, Myra had been walking towards her class when Snape intercepted her. The meeting with Dumbledore,( which incidentally, turned out to be nothing special, just a 'welcome back to Hogwarts' thing for Yana) had detained her as well as the rest of the staff. Snape wanted to discuss the timetable she had left in his office that morning. He had just gotten to sentence no.2 when out of the corner of his eye he spotted Seamus running along a parallel corridor toward the DADA classroom.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he had accompanied her to the class and now stood watching in slight amazement as he witnessed a rare display of Gryffindor/Slytherin unity (even if it was momentary).
" Told you they'd love it" Myra said to him as she strode into the classroom and looked at the students staring intently at her and almost squirming in their seats with hushed excitement. She couldn't help wanting to smile at their eagerness to grow up.
/ Too bad they won't find out it isn't what its made out to be till its too late!/
"We-ell, seems we have enthusiastic pupils for once!" she said aloud when she reached her desk and turned around to face the class and him.
He gave her a small nod in reply and left, whilst the class was captivated by her 'clear as crystal' voice.
" We shall have our first meeting in the great Hall where the interested students may gather..let me emphasize that ALL students in third year and upwards shall gather as their participation is mandatory.....Now , onto more pressing matters..Today's lesson for instance...."
He could hear the groan emanating from the class he had just left and smirked.
/ Well, well. We shall see how you do my 'dear' children./
...............
" ....Every year of every house shall have a different or same year of a different or same House as their opponent every week...this is to give you as much practice as possible against a variety of opponents. Let me remind you that the purpose of this club is constructive.NOT destructive..so if I catch any of you trying to use the club as an excuse to further their foolish little vendettas against each other ....."
Severus stood with the other teachers listening to Myra rattling off the club rules....
/she couldn't possibly make it sound any duller could she?/ he grumbled to himself.
He realized he was rather impatient for the proceedings to begin. He couldn't help but remember the events of the previous, short-lived Dueling Club, as he looked around the hall which was arranged much the same as it had been then. He looked particularly fondly at the spot on the wall that Gilderoy had crashed into. He still hadn't forgiven the vain little fool's audacity in asking him to be his 'assistant'. The only reason he had agreed to do so was that it provided the perfect opportunity to let everyone know just who was the competent DADA teacher around (Yes, he had been hoping to send a not-too-subtle message to Dumbledore). Plus, there was the satisfaction of kicking the annoying, know-nothing-at-all 'professor's ass!
/Yes, as the lovely professor just put it 'so' eloquently, it was the perfect chance to 'further his not-so-foolish little vendetta' against the twittering prat!/
Snape refocused his attention on Prof. Blizzard as she beckoned to someone whilst continuing to talk.
" I myself will be present at most of your meetings to evaluate your performance as this ties in with DADA lessons for all students third year and upwards. Bonus grades for the lower years"- a glance at the eager 11 & 12 year olds-" will be awarded if they do well. However, the real Incharge will be your Dueling instructor, who has served as instructor at the ATA"-awed murmurings in the student body-"....may I introduce Yana Giovanni."-as Yana stepped onto the Dueling strip (or mat whatever) and all the students turned to face her.
Immediately fierce whispering broke out amid the assembled students, who were standing in rows house-wise. Many of them wore stunned expressions on their faces.
" Another Weirdsister?" Ron said in utter disbelief. "ATA instructor?"
"What's the ATA?" asked a slightly confused Harry. He had so far managed to gather that yet another ex-superstar had graced Hogwarts with her presence which explained the students' reaction.
" Auror Training Academy" murmured Hermione, next to his ear.
"Really?" Now it was his turn to be surprised. He suddenly understood why Ron was so flabbergasted.
" Rather well-qualified our famous singers are ,eh?" said George Weasely, grinning from ear to ear. Fred stood behind him with Lee, an identical grin on his face.
Yana stood stock still in front of the students, clad in Auror blue robes (although not the official uniform) calmly surveying them. She waited for the murmurings to die down before she spoke. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Myra and Severus, two tall figures in black, approaching her.
/It's Showtime!/ she thought as she put her hands behind her back, slipping into instructor mode effortlessly.
" You all have so far been accustomed to using words to express yourself...a wise choice..IF you are given the choice. However, in a duel, your actions speak louder-and much more forcefully- than words. I am here to teach you to choose your actions wisely...just as your English teachers no doubt taught you to choose your words carefully .. to achieve the desired effect."
As Severus and Maya stepped onto the furthest ends of the mat, backs to each other; Yana, standing in the center between them, went on,
" You will now witness a demonstration of a duel to give you an idea of what it looks like. I ask you to pay attention to the wand movements, see if you can make out what spell has been cast....and I want you to pay special attention to the 'deflection of spells'...a most useful skill in wizarding duels. Prof. Snape and Prof. Blizzard" - a pause, in which she glanced at Myra /Are you sure you know what you're doing?/ - our demonstrators, have taken their positions, and I urge you to take yours" - signaling towards chairs placed at the farther end of the room, not too close, neither too far away from the duelers, where a few teachers, who also appeared curious about the outcome of the match, were already seated - "..your professors will need the extra room."
She then stepped off the mat and moved to a corner, the position of the moderator. Myra had questioned the necessity of such a measure, but Yana was not willing to take the risk. She just couldn't bring herself to trust Snape as completely as Dumbledore...or Myra.
" Be sure to note down all the spells, hexes, curses and wand movements you recognize," she called out as parchment and quills appeared in front of each student.
" Not again" Ron said derisively, looking pointedly at Snape. " Do you reckon he'll do her in like Lockhart?"
" I don't think so, not this time" Harry replied, leaning forward to get a better angle of view on both professors. Hermione nodded silently in agreement, keeping her quill poised over her parchment.
" Wouldn't it be great if they just finished each other off?" asked Ron hopefully.
" That is a distinct possibility. However, I'd say my goodbyes to Prof. Snape now" a voice replied from behind him.
The trio turned in unison to find Reive smiling slightly at them. " I don't believe we've met, I'm Madeline Reive, call me Sev." she stopped short. /No, not that/ "er.Reive" she said as she extended her hand toward Ron.
A bewildered Ron shook her proffered hand, apparently at a loss for words. The trio introduced themselves and shook hands in turn, as the students around them looked on in amazement. /A Slytherin being friendly?/ they all seemed to be thinking. As Harry shook her hand, he added, " But I'm sure you already know about us" with a pointed look at Draco, who was sitting next to Reive, pretending not to notice what was happening. Draco, returned the look with a sneer, and then turned his attention back to the duelers, who were now facing each other and preparing to bow. He found that he really didn't mind Reive being friendly with Potter, weasel and the mudblood..er, Granger(although he knew the rest of his House-mates would!). He wondered briefly whether he was losing his marbles (?!) before his attention was locked by the sight before his eyes.
The two Prof. had taken off their cloaks to reveal, shorter, well-cut, fitting robes and were poised with wands at the ready, when the signal was given by Yana.
Suddenly, the room seemed to explode in a wave of sparkling colours. At first the students couldn't see or understand what was happening but as they realized that a protective field had been created around them so that they could remain safe from errant spells as well as actually hear the incantations and see wand movements if they focused hard, they began to pay uninhibited attention.
The two duelers were usually dead on target with their spells, of which there was a wide and interesting variety, however, both were also able to block most of them rather skillfully. At first, the two remained stationary, hurling spells and deflecting them without moving. Then, suddenly, Snape moved sideways to avoid a hex and let loose a stun spell. Blizzard immediately somersaulted out of the way and managed to throw another hex at him before landing in the center of the mat. The students 'Oohed' and "Aahed' audibly. The hex missed by inches, making Snape's hair stand on end. He grinned fiendishly.
/ Upto your little tricks again? We'll see how far your acrobatics get you./
Without sparing a second for Myra to regain her balance, he let loose another spell with a particularly deft wand movement - and this time, it didn't miss. Her hair turned orange. The students let out shouts of laughter. Myra paused a moment to figure out what had happened. She glared at Severus as he tried to hit her with another hex and ducked to avoid it while simultaneously firing her own spell at him.
He wasn't expecting it. As a result he was knocked off his feet, and his wand slipped out of his hand and rolled away. He didn't allow himself to land still on the floor, but started rolling after his wand the instant he hit the floor. He knew he was going to get hit a second time before he got his wand. It glanced off his arm - she wasn't able to aim properly as he was moving - and ripped the material of his robe sleeve. Wand in hand, he stood and glared murderously at her, before being forced to literally twirl on one foot out of the way of an incoming spell. Snape, to the surprise of the students, who expected him to trip, managed it very well and finished with a hex of his own.
Myra fell to the floor, apparently stunned, as some of the students groaned, and lay still as Severus approached. She knew he'd figure out she was shamming( the spell had just glanced her, making her fall to the floor) before he got too close so, when he was within three feet, she fired a spell at him from her position on the floor before standing up. He tried to deflect it a moment too late; the next thing he knew, he had acid green hair!
Now, the orange and green headed duelers faced each other again, revolving slowly, as if taunting the other to make the first move. Suddenly, Myra started laughing uncontrollably. She had a ridiculous vision of two orange and green blobs facing off and couldn't help feeling silly.
Snape stared at her, taken aback for a moment, before turning to the students and saying "Rule no.1: never laugh at your opponent" as silver cords came out of his wand to bind her.
However, the cords turned back on him as, Myra apparently recovered from her laughing fit, pointed her wand back at him, effectively deflecting the spell back to him, saying, " Rule no. 2:Never underestimate your opponent."
But Snape hadn't, as he proved when he 'finite incantatem'ed his own spell, the cords disappearing in a puff of smoke and when it cleared, the students saw he had tackled Prof. Blizzard physically and was standing behind her, holding her head with his arm under her chin, and her wand in his hand.
It appeared as though Severus had won the duel by use of unusual (read muggle) tactics, but he wasn't the only one who could do so, as he found out when she hurled him head over heels over her back, bending almost to the floor as she did so.
The students watched in hushed amazement as Snape flew through the air, however he managed to land on his feet in a kind of weird cartwheel, faltering only slightly as he regained his balance and stood to face Myra, with both their wands in his hand. He had won, even if she had the last move. So, she just bowed in reply to his gesture, not taking her eyes off him for a second. His face was inscrutably expressionless.
Now that the duel was officially over, the students got a good luck at the extent of damage each dueler had wrecked on the other. Apart from the bright orange colour, Myra's hair had turned loose from its usual neat knot and hung partly in her face as she stood still facing Snape, taking a moment to catch her breath. Snape, on the other hand, had acid green hair and a torn sleeve, but no blood. Yes, it had been a bloodless fight, and nothing else appeared to be wrong with them, other than the fact that they were slightly out of breath. They were really just recovering from the rush of adrenaline, as Yana explained later.
All the students gaped at the professors as they fixed themselves, with awed expressions on their faces. When Yana asked to see their parchments, most of them realized they had completely forgotten to record the events occurring; however, as the events were still fresh in their memory, they were able to recall some of the spells and hexes and quickly jotted them down. Ron glanced at Hermione's parchment as he scribbled furiously on his own, and saw that she had filled atleast three-fourths of it. Yana waited patiently for the students to finish. She had been expecting almost all of them to forget to write; she really couldn't blame them. It had been a good duel, with both opponents equally matched. She walked over to the place where Myra and Severus stood and complimented them on a 'good show'.
" Very colourful" she added, in reply to which Myra snorted softly and Severus........well, he looked torn between being pleased and being exasperated.
" So, in your opinion, what was the most outstanding feature of the duel you just witnessed?" Yana asked the students. A number of hands were raised.
" It was bloody brilliant!" someone exclaimed from the back.
Yana checked her smile, and pointed to Harry. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"
" Timing. Reflexes." was all he said.
Apparently, it was the answer Yana (Madam Giovanni) was looking for, as she said, "Ten points to Gryffindor. Excellent observation Mr. Potter. Anything else?" she asked looking around at the students.
" Physical balance. Presence of mind" a voice spoke up. It was Draco.
" Well said Mr. Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." Then, walking to the dueling mat once again, she continued, " The most important things are a sense of physical balance- clumsiness never goes unpunished in a duel - and good reflexes which requires presence of mind. Ofcourse, the knowledge of a variety of hexes is also very helpful..........."
The lecture ended with the students being asked to pair up to practice the Disarming Charm, usually the first choice for those who wish to avoid confrontation; which Madam Giovanni advised was a wise decision to take.
/Look who's talking/ Myra thought laughing inwardly, remembering the many times the wily Gryffindor had knowingly begged for trouble.
Yana asked Myra to allow her to perform the charm on her; however, Myra ended up hitting her with the charm first.
" I can take the humiliation of losing my wand only once in a day" she said by way of apology as she helped a slightly dazed and cross-looking Yana up.
At the end of the practice session which went quite well, with most of the students picking up fast, the three Professors in charge waited till the last of the students had left the Hall, before leaving themselves. At the entrance to the Hall, Severus wished both females a good night and swept off, looking very smug. Myra went off to her own rooms, muttering darkly under her breath. Yana snickered to herself, shook her head at the backs of the two retreating figures, and went on her own way, thinking:
/He's never going to let her live it down!/
*a/n: recently saw 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. p.s. i NEED reviews!!