Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for my own. They are
owned by J.K Rowling, and this fan fiction is written solely for
entertainment.
Chapter 8: Triumphant Dueling vs. Disastrous Dueling
Kelsey and I emerged from the Great Hall after dinner with the others, skirts uncomfortably too tight. I had "accidentally" let slip that I thought Remus and Kelsey should get together which erupted into hundreds of questions for the already overly embarrassed Kelsey. We had all made a plan to set the two up, but it was still shaky, so we decided to discuss it during study hall later that week.
We chatted all the way into the common room, but stopped when we noticed several students huddling around the massive bulletin board. I furrowed my brow.
"What is it?" I asked my friends. They shrugged, so we made our way through the crowd, until we could clearly see what it said.
DUELING CLUB
Any students interested, please go to the Great Hall tomorrow at 7:00
"Dueling!" Cecily exclaimed with excitement! "That is so cool! We should all totally go!" We all nodded enthusiastically and agreed to meet in the Great Hall tomorrow at 7.
After pestering Kelsey about Remus for another half hour, we all went to bed with excitement of the next day.
The next day, everyone was restless about the upcoming dueling lesson. Kelsey and I remembered Harry did it in his second year, so we were both extremely excited.
7:00 came much quicker than we had expected and Kelsey and I rushed into the Great Hall at 7:03. The four tables were gone and down the center was a long, royal blue platform. Professor Whipple, our Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, stood on top of it, waiting for all the students to quiet down.
"Caroline! Kelsey! Over here!" I heard Kate call to us. We found them at the very front, standing with the Marauders. Squeezing between Kate and Lily, Kelsey and I waited for Professor Whipple to begin.
"Now, students, many of you are well aware of what dueling is. But for you younger ones, let me explain," Whipple began.
"Dueling is using your expertise on spells to overcome or defeat another. Erm, much like fighting," she explained.
"I'll now pick two students to demonstrate first." She twirled her wand over the students. Suddenly, she pointed her wand at me. Oh my god, I thought to myself. Alice squealed in excitement. I noticed people straining their necks to see who Whipple had chosen. Remus elbowed me.
"Go!" James encouraged. I wasn't sure. Kelsey pushed me forward.
"Come on, Caroline! You always told me you loved to fence, right? That's like dueling! Sort of. Go!" she exclaimed. I gave in and made my way up onto the stage.
"Excellent! Now, we need a challenger!" Whipple twirled her wand over the crowd again, landing on someone I couldn't make out. "Mr. Black, you! Come on up here!" Whipple proclaimed. My mouth dropped open in shock, and all my friends, marauders included, are in a state of shock as well as Sirius jumped onto the stage. I heard a 5th year Ravenclaw comment," She'll never beat him! He's too good at everything,"
I glanced at the girls and the Marauder's quickly. They all had expressions of anticipation that gave me a surge of confidence that maybe I could beat Sirius. I looked at him. He gave me a lopsided grin, before drawing his wand.
"Alright you two. To the center and salute each other." Whipple instructed. Sirius and I stood facing each other and saluted.
"Are you ready for this?" he said haughtily. I smirk momentarily and raise my eyebrows.
"Are you? Let's do this," I said grinning, then turned around and walked back to my place and then stood in position, my wand drawn. The Hall was completely silent in anticipation.
"On my whistle, send a spell as quick as you can. I'll judge. When I think one of you is defeated, I'll blow my whistle again." Whipple explained. Here goes, I thought just in time Whipple screeched into the whistle.
"RICTUSEMPRA!" I shouted much more quickly then I expected and surprisingly quicker than Sirius. He suddenly flipped upside down and flew backwards threw the air. After a quiet moment, Sirius got to his feet.
Grabbing his wand he had dropped while being thrown backwards, he sped into position and very quickly shouted a spell back at me.
"TARANTALLEGRA!" he yells. My legs flew out from under me and I landed onto my back. Kelsey winced from the side lines.
I leapt to my feet as fast as I could and sent my next spell.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Sirius' wand shot from his hand and flew through the air, across the platform, where I caught it in my hand. I smiled to myself. Now, Sirius had no weapon.
He advanced on me, trying to get his wand back, but I scream quickly," LEGEREO!" Sirius jolted into the air and hurtled, fast back to his place on the other side, dropping hard on to the stage on his back, still, with no weapon. I then heard Professor Whipple blow her whistle.
Next thing I knew there were lots of hands clapping and cheers and I smile to myself in a pretty arrogant way, but I walked over to Sirius who is still lying pathetically on his back. I lean over and grin deviously. "You do realize, that the 'Almighty Sirius Black' just lost to a girl," I dropped his wand beside him and offered him a hand. He rolled his grayish- blue eyes and got up, picking up his wand. "This isn't over," he threatens playfully. I cock an eyebrow at him and grin. "We shall see" I add to the joke, and then turn on my heel and lean over to talk to Kelsey and the others over the side.
"Looks like we have a new winner! Is there anyone in here that would like to challenge Miss Lefave, here?!" Whipple exclaims. Everyone started looking around at each other, hoping to catch someone who would challenge me. Then there came a voice from somewhere in the front row. "I will, Professor." The voice is familiar. I was talking to the Marauders when I heard this and my blood ran cold. The proud expression on my face disappeared. "Ah! Good! Come on up here, Bellatrix!" Whipple exclaimed. There was a strange, frightful silence in the Hall. Slowly, I stood up. The Marauders (more so James and Sirius) had sucked in their breath in some sort of predicted anger. As I walk to my place, Cecily grabbed my leg. "Watch what you're doing, she's tricky!" she said fearfully. The other's looked at me in horror. There were a few more "be careful" comments, not making me feel much better that I was about to duel Bellatrix Black. "Alright, salute each other RESPECTFULLY!" Whipple said. She obviously didn't like Bellatrix much either. Bellatrix and I stopped in front of each other. I held my chin up a bit to show her I wasn't afraid. She grinned menacingly at me. "I'd be scared if I were you, mudblood," she hissed. I twitched, but stood firm. "You can only wish," I hissed right back. I saluted aggressively and pivoted around and marched back to my place, then stood in position as I waited for Professor Whipple's whistle.
"I must remind both of you, nothing rash or dangerous. On my whistle, then." Whipple proclaimed. Then, the shrill sound from the whistle split through the silent air. "TARANTALLEGRA!" I screamed. Bellatrix was thrown into the air with a shocked yelp, flipping over and over until landing on her stomach. No once winced except her best friend Elizabeth and her posse, who squealed in horror. Bellatrix was on her feet in a split second, wand raised. It was too quick for me to react. "RICTUSEMPRA!!!" she shrieked. I was catapulted at least five feet into the air. There were a few scattered gasps as I fell to the floor. Bellatrix looked quite haughty and egocentric and I wasn't going to live with that. Wobbling to my feet, I shouted my spell. "IACULO!" I screamed. Bellatrix shot into the air and started to spin around faster and faster. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, which was incredibly unnecessary. People were covering their ears, so I finally decided to let her down. "ADFLIGO!!" I yelled. Bellatrix abruptly stopped spinning and plummeted down, slamming into the stage. There were a few flinched expressions, but still, it was only Elizabeth who screeched in horror. Many others started to laugh. Bellatrix managed to her feet. Her blood-shot eyes glared into mine. "Now, I'm forcing you to pay! EXPELLIARMUS!" she screamed. My wand flew out of my hand so quickly it took me a moment to register that it was gone. James grimaced. "Oh god..." he groaned. Sirius clenched his fists. Kate and Kelsey covered their eyes as everyone else watched. My wand landed in Bellatrix's outstretched palm. She smiled devilishly. She pointed her wand at me and squinted evilly. "Get ready, mudblood... CRUCIO!"
A green light blasted from Bellatrix's wand. I watched in horror for a split second as the light shot into me. Horrible, mortifying pain erupted in my body. I shrieked in pure pain as I collapsed to the ground. It felt like white-hot wire whipping at every point of my skin. The last few things I heard was Whipple shouting for someone to get Dumbledore, Bellatrix laughing and someone screaming my name before I blacked out completely.
Chapter 8: Triumphant Dueling vs. Disastrous Dueling
Kelsey and I emerged from the Great Hall after dinner with the others, skirts uncomfortably too tight. I had "accidentally" let slip that I thought Remus and Kelsey should get together which erupted into hundreds of questions for the already overly embarrassed Kelsey. We had all made a plan to set the two up, but it was still shaky, so we decided to discuss it during study hall later that week.
We chatted all the way into the common room, but stopped when we noticed several students huddling around the massive bulletin board. I furrowed my brow.
"What is it?" I asked my friends. They shrugged, so we made our way through the crowd, until we could clearly see what it said.
DUELING CLUB
Any students interested, please go to the Great Hall tomorrow at 7:00
"Dueling!" Cecily exclaimed with excitement! "That is so cool! We should all totally go!" We all nodded enthusiastically and agreed to meet in the Great Hall tomorrow at 7.
After pestering Kelsey about Remus for another half hour, we all went to bed with excitement of the next day.
The next day, everyone was restless about the upcoming dueling lesson. Kelsey and I remembered Harry did it in his second year, so we were both extremely excited.
7:00 came much quicker than we had expected and Kelsey and I rushed into the Great Hall at 7:03. The four tables were gone and down the center was a long, royal blue platform. Professor Whipple, our Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, stood on top of it, waiting for all the students to quiet down.
"Caroline! Kelsey! Over here!" I heard Kate call to us. We found them at the very front, standing with the Marauders. Squeezing between Kate and Lily, Kelsey and I waited for Professor Whipple to begin.
"Now, students, many of you are well aware of what dueling is. But for you younger ones, let me explain," Whipple began.
"Dueling is using your expertise on spells to overcome or defeat another. Erm, much like fighting," she explained.
"I'll now pick two students to demonstrate first." She twirled her wand over the students. Suddenly, she pointed her wand at me. Oh my god, I thought to myself. Alice squealed in excitement. I noticed people straining their necks to see who Whipple had chosen. Remus elbowed me.
"Go!" James encouraged. I wasn't sure. Kelsey pushed me forward.
"Come on, Caroline! You always told me you loved to fence, right? That's like dueling! Sort of. Go!" she exclaimed. I gave in and made my way up onto the stage.
"Excellent! Now, we need a challenger!" Whipple twirled her wand over the crowd again, landing on someone I couldn't make out. "Mr. Black, you! Come on up here!" Whipple proclaimed. My mouth dropped open in shock, and all my friends, marauders included, are in a state of shock as well as Sirius jumped onto the stage. I heard a 5th year Ravenclaw comment," She'll never beat him! He's too good at everything,"
I glanced at the girls and the Marauder's quickly. They all had expressions of anticipation that gave me a surge of confidence that maybe I could beat Sirius. I looked at him. He gave me a lopsided grin, before drawing his wand.
"Alright you two. To the center and salute each other." Whipple instructed. Sirius and I stood facing each other and saluted.
"Are you ready for this?" he said haughtily. I smirk momentarily and raise my eyebrows.
"Are you? Let's do this," I said grinning, then turned around and walked back to my place and then stood in position, my wand drawn. The Hall was completely silent in anticipation.
"On my whistle, send a spell as quick as you can. I'll judge. When I think one of you is defeated, I'll blow my whistle again." Whipple explained. Here goes, I thought just in time Whipple screeched into the whistle.
"RICTUSEMPRA!" I shouted much more quickly then I expected and surprisingly quicker than Sirius. He suddenly flipped upside down and flew backwards threw the air. After a quiet moment, Sirius got to his feet.
Grabbing his wand he had dropped while being thrown backwards, he sped into position and very quickly shouted a spell back at me.
"TARANTALLEGRA!" he yells. My legs flew out from under me and I landed onto my back. Kelsey winced from the side lines.
I leapt to my feet as fast as I could and sent my next spell.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Sirius' wand shot from his hand and flew through the air, across the platform, where I caught it in my hand. I smiled to myself. Now, Sirius had no weapon.
He advanced on me, trying to get his wand back, but I scream quickly," LEGEREO!" Sirius jolted into the air and hurtled, fast back to his place on the other side, dropping hard on to the stage on his back, still, with no weapon. I then heard Professor Whipple blow her whistle.
Next thing I knew there were lots of hands clapping and cheers and I smile to myself in a pretty arrogant way, but I walked over to Sirius who is still lying pathetically on his back. I lean over and grin deviously. "You do realize, that the 'Almighty Sirius Black' just lost to a girl," I dropped his wand beside him and offered him a hand. He rolled his grayish- blue eyes and got up, picking up his wand. "This isn't over," he threatens playfully. I cock an eyebrow at him and grin. "We shall see" I add to the joke, and then turn on my heel and lean over to talk to Kelsey and the others over the side.
"Looks like we have a new winner! Is there anyone in here that would like to challenge Miss Lefave, here?!" Whipple exclaims. Everyone started looking around at each other, hoping to catch someone who would challenge me. Then there came a voice from somewhere in the front row. "I will, Professor." The voice is familiar. I was talking to the Marauders when I heard this and my blood ran cold. The proud expression on my face disappeared. "Ah! Good! Come on up here, Bellatrix!" Whipple exclaimed. There was a strange, frightful silence in the Hall. Slowly, I stood up. The Marauders (more so James and Sirius) had sucked in their breath in some sort of predicted anger. As I walk to my place, Cecily grabbed my leg. "Watch what you're doing, she's tricky!" she said fearfully. The other's looked at me in horror. There were a few more "be careful" comments, not making me feel much better that I was about to duel Bellatrix Black. "Alright, salute each other RESPECTFULLY!" Whipple said. She obviously didn't like Bellatrix much either. Bellatrix and I stopped in front of each other. I held my chin up a bit to show her I wasn't afraid. She grinned menacingly at me. "I'd be scared if I were you, mudblood," she hissed. I twitched, but stood firm. "You can only wish," I hissed right back. I saluted aggressively and pivoted around and marched back to my place, then stood in position as I waited for Professor Whipple's whistle.
"I must remind both of you, nothing rash or dangerous. On my whistle, then." Whipple proclaimed. Then, the shrill sound from the whistle split through the silent air. "TARANTALLEGRA!" I screamed. Bellatrix was thrown into the air with a shocked yelp, flipping over and over until landing on her stomach. No once winced except her best friend Elizabeth and her posse, who squealed in horror. Bellatrix was on her feet in a split second, wand raised. It was too quick for me to react. "RICTUSEMPRA!!!" she shrieked. I was catapulted at least five feet into the air. There were a few scattered gasps as I fell to the floor. Bellatrix looked quite haughty and egocentric and I wasn't going to live with that. Wobbling to my feet, I shouted my spell. "IACULO!" I screamed. Bellatrix shot into the air and started to spin around faster and faster. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, which was incredibly unnecessary. People were covering their ears, so I finally decided to let her down. "ADFLIGO!!" I yelled. Bellatrix abruptly stopped spinning and plummeted down, slamming into the stage. There were a few flinched expressions, but still, it was only Elizabeth who screeched in horror. Many others started to laugh. Bellatrix managed to her feet. Her blood-shot eyes glared into mine. "Now, I'm forcing you to pay! EXPELLIARMUS!" she screamed. My wand flew out of my hand so quickly it took me a moment to register that it was gone. James grimaced. "Oh god..." he groaned. Sirius clenched his fists. Kate and Kelsey covered their eyes as everyone else watched. My wand landed in Bellatrix's outstretched palm. She smiled devilishly. She pointed her wand at me and squinted evilly. "Get ready, mudblood... CRUCIO!"
A green light blasted from Bellatrix's wand. I watched in horror for a split second as the light shot into me. Horrible, mortifying pain erupted in my body. I shrieked in pure pain as I collapsed to the ground. It felt like white-hot wire whipping at every point of my skin. The last few things I heard was Whipple shouting for someone to get Dumbledore, Bellatrix laughing and someone screaming my name before I blacked out completely.