I'm sure I made MANY people mad with the cliffy in the last chappie! Don't worry, tho, all will be explained this chappie. So sit back and enjoy!!!
DISCLAIMER: All the original HP ideas belong to J.K. Rowling, ruler of the magical universe. All the info on staff fighting comes from the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce, ruler of the medieval universe. Whatever infinitesimal piece is left belongs to me. *sighs* I feel so proud…
Chapter 8-The Dueling Club (kinda gives it away already, doesn't it? Oh well…)
Dueling Club
This club will meet every Monday, Tuesday and Friday after the afternoon classes. It will take place in the Great Hall. You will learn various spells for attack and defense and will also learn the basics of staff fighting, martial arts and sword fighting. At the end of the school year, there will be a Dueling competition for those in the club. The winner of this competition will give their House 100 points. All who wish to join, please sign your name on the sign-up sheet next to the notice.
Professor Aquila-Head InstructorLily Evans- Assistant Instructor
Lily could hear people whispering in the background as she stared dumbly at the notice. *Make ME Assistant Instructor? What the hell for? When did I ever say I wanted to teach anyone? Grrr…I think it's time for a chat with our esteemed DADA professor.* she thought, and whirled around swiftly, startling some of the people clustered near her. As she stalked off towards the Head table, the pitch of the whispering increased, but she paid them no heed. Upon reaching the place setting of Professor Aquila, she waited for the professor to notice her.
"Miss Evans! What can I do for you?" the older woman said kindly.
"May I speak to you…in private?" Lily said, her voice tight.
"Of course. Please excuse me, Professor Flitwick." The miniscule professor shrugged and made a shooing motion with his hands. Lily stomped off to the antechamber outside the Great Hall, and the Professor followed, though making much less noise. The minute they reached the privacy of this room, Lily turned vehemently on the Professor.
"What the hell do you mean, making me 'Assistant Instructor' or whatever?!? Did I ever say anything about this kind of club? I mean, hell, you didn't even ask me whether I wanted to or not, you just 'signed me up'. Well, what if I don't want to help you with a bunch of bumbling idiots who can barely cast 'Stupefy'?" Lily ranted, the traces of tears coming to her eyes. *The only one I trusted has betrayed me…* she thought, becoming closer and closer to tears by the second. "Why didn't you just ask?" she finished in a hoarse whisper, and turned away from the other woman. *I will not cry, I will not cry, it's a stupid thing to cry about, I will not cry…* she chanted mentally, as the tears threatened to spill over.
"Lily, turn and face me." Professor Aquila said quietly. Lily paused. *She never calls me Lily!* she thought dazedly, and complied. "I am truly, deeply sorry. I did not think to consider your feelings in this matter. However, I feel this Dueling club is necessary. Dark powers are rising, and we must not leave our students defenseless. I cannot train all the students on my own, figlia dell'cuore. Will you help me?" she asked pleadingly. Lily sighed, the ghost of a smile coming to her face.
"How can I not, madre dell'cuore? After all you have done for me? Anything I can do to repay you will be done. I am sorry for flying off the handle, though. It was uncalled for." The professor grinned widely.
"Thank you so much! I will see you in the Great Hall immediately after supper." the other woman said happily, and walked calmly back into the Great Hall.
Lily stared blankly at the wall for a moment. *What have I gotten myself into?* she wondered, and with a deep sigh, she walked off to her first class of the day.
* * *
"…And then, Abbott steps right into the grease, slides all the way across the hallway and right into a suit of armor! The suit starts to fight, Abbott starts shrieking like a little girl and somehow ends up inside the armor!" Sirius finished, and the four boys laughed raucously while enjoying their lunch. "No wait, there's more!" he continued, gasping a little. "Dumbledore had to get him outta there and he lost about 20 House points for swearing and stuff!" The boys cracked up again, glad that yet another of their pranks had gone well.
"So guys, are you signing up for the Dueling club?" Remus asked as he buttered a piece of bread. James shrugged.
"Yeah, the spell stuff will be useful. I dunno how fighting with sticks is gonna help us, though. And the Dueling competition will be loads of fun. I mean, being able to blow up Malfoy, with permission? Priceless!"
"Yeah, I get Snapey-poo." Sirius said, and chuckled evilly. The boys grinned.
"So yeah, first meeting after the classes, can't wait." Peter said. Remus shrugged.
"Did you know Evans is Assistant Instructor?" Sirius' mouth gaped in shock.
"Evans? The toothpick? She'd break if you landed a tickling charm on her! How could she do any of the martial arts crap?" James snorted in derision.
"Hate to break it to ya, Siri, but when I snuck down to her practice area, I took one step and I was pinned to the floor with a sword to my throat." James shrugged. "Not one of my favorite experiences. I didn't even see her coming, she's that fast." Sirius stared at him.
"Oh no…" he moaned. "What have we gotten ourselves into? Evans will murder us!" Remus patted his shoulder mock-reassuringly.
"There, there, Siri. I'm sure once she kills you she'll leave the rest of us alone. Think of it as a noble sacrifice!"
"I'm too young to die!" he wailed in an annoying nasal voice, "I've got all my life to live!" He broke down into fake sobs as Peter hauled him upright, a long-suffering expression on his face.
"Come on, Mr. Dramatic. If we're late for Potions, Halloway will murder all of us!" Sirius uttered a little shriek and raced out of the room.
"Geez, sometimes I wonder…" James said, and the other boys sighed as they followed Sirius' echoes through the halls.
After dinner that evening, the boys waited in the hall with almost all of the student body. The DADA professor had come in, waved her wand (the tables had cleared away and a long rectangular platform appeared) and disappeared again, so everyone was getting kind of restless.
"Holy, it can't take that long to form a lesson plan!" Sirius said impatiently. James shifted from foot to foot.
*Come on ladies, let's hurry it up!* he thought anxiously. As if they had heard his thoughts, the two teachers appeared. The room instantly quieted as they strode to the platform.
"Good evening, everyone. I am Professor Aquila, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Dueling specialist. The agenda for tonight is fairly basic, I'm afraid, just to get you started. Miss Evans and I will demonstrate what Dueling actually looks like when performed by two experts. After that, we will go over some of the attack and defense spells. Finally, we will finish off with some beginning staff work. Any questions?"
One mousy-looking girl from Hufflepuff raised her hand.
"Yes, miss Goldman?"
"Why do we have to learn to fight with sticks and swords and all this ancient stuff? Shouldn't we just use wands?" For the first time that evening, Lily spoke.
"Let's say you are Dueling with a Dark wizard and he disarms you of your wand. What are you going to do, say 'Time Out' and he or she will give your wand back to you?" she said scathingly. The girl blushed. "As well, the movement for any kind of martial art will aid you in the movement with your wand. Learning to avoid sword strokes will help you to avoid other spells. Also, if you combine the two together, say a shield charm and a sword, you can channel magic with your sword to make it stronger. It will help you greatly in many ways." Lily finished.
"Any more questions before miss Evans and I duel?" No one moved. "Very well. Lily will set up the dais as I explain the rules of Dueling to you." Lily began to place shield charms around the dais as the Professor spoke. "In Dueling, you are allowed a wand and a physical attack item of your choice, be it a sword, a staff, heck, a rock if you want to!" There were some titters from the assembled students. "You are also allowed physical attacks, like punching, kicking, whatever. It is much more difficult to Duel like so than just stand there and cast spells at each other. When done properly, a real Duel is like…well, we'll just show you. Ready, miss Evans?" Lily checked the sword at her side and nodded. The two women strode to opposite ends of the rectangle and bowed. James felt a feeling of anger, of protectiveness well up. *What the hell is wrong with me?* he thought, gripping his wand until his knuckles turned white. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his head back to the stage.
"1…2…3!" the professor shouted, and the Duel began.
In a fluid movement, Lily unsheathed her sword. She held it in her left hand and her wand with her right. Waving it slightly, she cast a shield charm as she circled the older woman. The other woman had a bow and arrows, which she strung and began firing off quickly at Lily. Lily waited until the arrows were a hair's breadth from her before cutting them to pieces with her sword while they were in mid-flight. There was a gasp from the crowd as all that remained of the arrows was wood splinters.
"Holy crap…" Remus breathed, but James was too engrossed to notice.
"Stupefy!" Lily yelled, and the red jet of light bounced off the shield charm hastily raised by the professor. She retaliated by launching herself in a flying kick directly at Lily's abdomen. It hit, and the crowd groaned. James' felt incredibly angry and had to restrain himself from jumping up there and attempting to beat the professor into a pulp. Lily lay on the ground for a moment, but flipped herself over the other woman and landed lightly on her feet. She did something with her wand, and her sword began to glow an unearthly green. Throwing her wand aside, she brandished the glowing sword at the other woman, who merely stared. They circled each other like vultures for a few moments, each feinting lightly at the other. Finally, the professor rushed at Lily, hoping to catch her off guard. Lily bounced lightly out of the way and lashed out with her sword. A whip of power spewed out the tip and wrapped around the ankles of the professor. Giving the sword a tiny flick, she hoisted the professor into the air.
"Do you yield?" she asked, holding the teacher upside down. The other woman said nothing, merely flicked her wand. A gust of wind bowled Lily over and she stumbled upright, still holding the sword. The professor drifted down to the ground. Waving her wand in a complex gesture, the bow and arrows flickered and turned into a sword. The older woman picked it up, and Lily chose that opportunity to grab her wand.
"Now, we will demonstrate how to properly duel with swords." the professor said, hardly sounding out of breath. Lily nodded, and the two women began a pattern dance that drove them within inches of striking each other. Slice, block, spin, thrust…all was carried out at blinding speed. Finally, Lily smiled, and James could feel Peter shudder beside him. It was the same smile she wore when she changed their hair in third year. Drawing her wand, she switched her sword to her left hand and fought the same way. "Petrificus Totalus!" she shouted, and aimed it straight at the shield wall. The professor, distracted, watched its passage. Lily seized the moment and leapt on the professor, bringing her down. She leaped away quickly as the spell she had cast bounced off the wall and hit the other woman. She stiffened and lay there immobile. "Because you are unable to continue, I consider this your yield." Lily said softly, and banished the shield charm. The Hall erupted in applause and cheers, as James let out the breath he had been holding. She was safe. *What the hell?* he thought, realizing what he had been thinking during the entire duel. *Why am I thinking like this? It's only Evans, for god's sake! Get a grip!*
Meanwhile, Lily had revived the professor. "Well done, miss Evans." the other woman said proudly. "Now, I wish you all to pair up and begin practicing some basic charms and hexes." The students paired up quickly. "We will be giving you a sheet with the important spells at the end of this class, but for now, you must remember them. The main defensive charm is protego, the shield charm. Some attack spells are expelliarmus, to disarm your opponent, stupefy, to stun them and petrificus totalus, which renders a person completely immobile, as miss Evans demonstrated. The protego charm will defend you against expelliarmus and stupefy but not against petrificus totalus. Remember you can also dodge the spells! When I shoot off sparks, you will cease practicing. Ready? 1…2…3…GO!"
"Protego!" James shouted, and he was encased in the golden dome. Sirius, whom he was sparring against, had repeated the same gesture.
"Petrificus totalus!" shouted Sirius, and the jet of blue light sped swiftly towards James. He jumped out of the way in the nick of time.
"Auditioning for the ballet, Potter?" Malfoy yelled at James over the sounds of spells being cast. (AN: I'm sorry, I couldn't resist! A little déjà vu…)
"At least I can hold my own, Malfoy." James spat back. "Snape seems to be thrashing you quite easily!" Malfoy's eyes narrowed.
"At least I don't have to spend every waking minute with that slut Evans! Unless you enjoy it, of course." he sneered. "Tell me, is she good in bed?"
"Tarantallegra! " was James' reply. Malfoy's legs began to jerk around in a sort of quickstep.
" Rictusempra! " Malfoy retaliated, and James flew backward several feet. Hoisting himself up, he shot off yet another hex.
"Furnunculus! "
"Conjunctivitis! "
"Densaugeo! " Students moved out of the way of the two furiously battling boys. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily stalking up to them. *Oh shit.* was all he had time to think.
Lily walked right in between the two boys. Ignoring the curses flying for her, she flung out both hands and gestured with her wand. A jet of golden light streamed from each hand and knocked both Malfoy and James into the wall, hard. They both lay there for a moment, slightly dazed.
"Unless you two idiots can use some discipline, you will be expelled from this group." Lily said harshly. She walked off as James stumbled to his feet. *Well, great, now Evans thinks I'm an idiot.* Actually, she thought that already. said the little voice in his head. *Shut UP!* he thought furiously and walking slightly stiffly, continued sparring.
"Okay!" shouted professor Aquila, shooting off sparks from her wand. The Hall quieted. "The last exercise for this evening will be staff work. Everyone shall take a staff and stay with their partners while miss Evans and I demonstrate." Whispering an incantation ("Ferula!"), a large number of staffs appeared. The students rushed forward as one to take a staff, then returned to their partners. "Good. Now, there are three basic types of strikes and blocks: High, Middle and Low. A High strike is like so." The professor slid her hands along the staff and thrust it down, stopping an inch from Lily's head. "A High block defends the face and head. Lily, demonstrate." Lily thrust the staff up into the air, angling it so it protected her. "When done in unison, it looks like so." The professor thrust the staff like before, only to be met with Lily's. The wood clacked sharply. James listened intently to the explanation of the Middle and Low strikes and blocks, then moved into position.
"This feels so weird. I mean, fighting with a stick?" Sirius exclaimed. James nodded fervently, as Professor Aquila had some more instructions.
"One person to attack and one person to defend. Ready? You will go High strike and block, Middle strike and block, Low strike and block. Repeat until I whistle and stay in time. 1…2…3! High! Middle! Low! High! Middle! Low!" she chanted, and all over the Hall there was the clack of wood on wood, as well as the yelps of those who's fingers got in the way.
"Faster!" barked the professor. "High! Middle! Low! High! Middle! Low!" James, who was attacking, swung the staff, which seemed to get heavier by the moment. *As soon as I am done, I am taking a loooong bath!* he thought wistfully, then cursed as he whacked his finger.
"Switch! Ready! High! Middle! Low! High! Middle! Low!" the professor kept chanting, and James began to defend himself. Everyone was getting tired, he could tell. Finally, the professor blew the whistle. Some people collapsed to the ground, others leaned heavily on the staffs.
"Very good, students. We will meet here again tomorrow night. See you then." It was obviously a dismissal, and the chattering students eased themselves out the door.
"Well, that was fun." said Remus cheerfully. Peter scowled.
"Speak for yourself." he said grumpily, nursing several badly bruised fingers. The other three boys laughed, and the happy sound receded down the hall.
Whew! That chappie seemed soooo long! Hope you enjoyed, next chappie will be out soon! Now the thanks for my WONDERFUL, AMAZING, BRILLIANT reviewers! You all get a present! *Gives them all a wooden staff* Now you too can practice like the students! Hehehehe…
c.n.- Yes, I know I'm evil. And I looooove it! *cackles*
UnKnown- I'm hurryin', I'm hurryin'…keep your socks on! Thanks for the comments!
WolfMoon- Yeah, I know, I was really pissed that ff.net wasn't working! S'okay, tho, I know you love me! P.S. Well, not really, but now's she's teaching!
rachel- *sniffles* THANKS SO MUCH!!! I love you, you make me feel so happy!!!!!
thuyanh91- I'm trying, I'm trying…hope this is up to your standards!
Paliea- I wrote more, see? More!
FEAngel258- Aww, one of my fav reviewers!!! *huggles* Hmmm, maybe I should do cliffys more often…hehehehe…
wriader- Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!…Whew, is that enough? *lol* No…don't hurt me! *whines*
LillyNyx- Yes, I am very proud. *snickers* Thanks, I think it's good too!
Lady Draven- Awww, thank you! I'm proud of my poems. *cough*loadacrap*cough* Hopefully you can really visualize what's going on in this chappie.
Ladyhawke- Yeah, I got kinda tired of the lil' wimpy mousy Lily and the Lily who talks big and can't do anything. So, I thought I'd make her a real kickass chick! Fun, huh?
PoTtErSPaYnE- Thanks a bunch! My life DOES rock, now that I think about it. Although it could be better if I had a wand and went to Hogwarts…
angel-dolphin- Thanks a lot! Look, I wrote more soon!!!
Ladee Shammee- Aww, thanks! I'm gonna e-mail you as soon as this goes up! No, not stupid cliffy! Cliffys are fun to write! They make everyone made at you…hehehehe…
IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have realized that there are usually some mistakes in each chappie that I post. So, I was wondering if anyone would like to beta for me? Please? My e-mail is miss_horseygirl@hotmail.com, so e-mail me if you're interested!
-eventergurl88