The dueling club's first inter-house meet took place in October. Gwen was very nervous as she donned her uniform. The uniforms were designed to make sure that contenders didn't get wrapped up in their clothes. There were no robes, no capes, and no skirts involved, just trousers and shirts in the House colors. Eunice put Gwen's hair up in a French braid for her to keep it out of her face, and pulled back her own hair in a ponytail. She took a deep breath.

"You ready?" she asked Gwen.

"Yeah," Gwen answered, clenching her hands to keep them from shaking. "Let's go."

000

The Great Hall had been set up for the meet. The benches were set out along the length of the hall like bleachers. The duelists were to fight in the middle, and there were long padded screens hung from the ceiling to soften their falls when disarmed. Gwen and Eunice took their places on the bench with their teammates. Glancing around the room, it seemed to Gwen that most of the school had turned out to watch. Not as many as turned out to see the quidditch matches, but the hall was still mostly full. She gulped.

Sirius came over, looking jaunty. There was a spring in his step. Gwen had to fight down a wave of jealousy. He wasn't nervous—he had nothing to be nervous about. Sirius and James excelled at everything. Remus followed Sirius in, looking a trifle grim.

"Sirius!" Eunice hailed him enthusiastically and indicated the seat beside her. He took it.

"Are you ready?" he asked Gwen over Eunice's head.

"Not really," Gwen answered nervously.

"Oh, you'll be fine," he assured her. Hearing James' voice, he turned and waved to his friends. James smiled back and Peter waved excitedly. Gwen watched as James took a seat next to Lily, who tried not to make a face. Gwen couldn't help but grin.

The benches filled quickly, and all too soon, it was time for the match to begin.

Madame Hooch strode to the center of the Hall and said a few words. But Gwen wasn't listening. The butterflies in her stomach were flapping so hard they made a roaring noise in her ears.

But as she watched the first few contenders, she found herself taking an interest in them. The older students seemed to have some tricks up their sleeves that she had never seen before, and she watched avidly, drinking them in, trying to remember some of the spells for later. She probably wouldn't be fast enough to pull any of those spells out during this match, but she would practice them for the next.

This cold analysis calmed her nerves, and by the time her name was called, she was much less nervous.

She was facing a Hufflepuff she had never seen before, a boy by the name of Hadrian Oxbridge. Her hands shook a little as she stepped out into the center of the Hall.

And then, a curious thing happened. The moment she took up her place opposite her opponent and bowed to him, the other people in the Hall simply disappeared. She didn't hear them, she didn't see them, she wasn't even aware they were there. It was only her and Hadrian Oxbridge, his brown eyes and his thin-lipped mouth and his short, black wand. They took their dueling stances, and Gwen's hands ceased to shake.

Hadrian attacked first, with a disarming spell. Gwen blocked it. Then he tried petrificus totalus. Gwen blocked it. He tried two or three other spells, and Gwen blocked them all, never making a move to attack herself.

Hadrian paused for only a split-second, bewildered, trying to think of another spell he could use against his opponent. Gwen took advantage of that time, and cried, "Expelliarmus!"

Hadrian flew backward into the padding, and Gwen took a step forward to catch his wand. Suddenly, there were people in the Hall again, and Gwen could hear them applauding, the Gryffindors (particularly the first-years) stomping their feet and shouting. Gwen blushed, but couldn't help a small smile of triumph. She walked over to where Hadrian was picking himself up and handed him his wand back. They bowed to one another again, and Gwen practically fled back to her seat.

"That was brilliant!" Sirius said as she sank down onto the bench and tried to become invisible.

He had barely finished the statement before he himself was called to face his opponent. He disarmed him easily. Eunice's turn didn't go as well; her opponent disarmed her after she had only just managed to block one of his other spells.

"Good try," Remus and Gwen both told her as she took her seat again. She shrugged. "I didn't expect to do all that brilliantly anyway." Honestly, she didn't look very upset.

A Ravenclaw went up against a Slytherin, and an older Gryffindor against a Ravenclaw, and then Remus' name was called. Gwen watched with interest. To her surprise, Remus attacked first, then immediately blocked the spell his opponent, a Slytherin named Severus Snape, had cast at him. Without giving Severus time to gather himself, he immediately cried, "Expelliarmus!" and Severus flew backward into the netting. Remus seemed so surprised at himself that he failed to catch his opponent's wand, and it clattered on the floor.

Good-naturedly, Remus picked it up and handed it to Severus, who gave him the barest of nods when Remus bowed.

All-in-all, the match went well for Gryffindor, and they came away with quite a few points for their house. A small celebration ensued in the Common Room. A number of people came up to her and complimented her on her work. She thanked them shyly. She noticed Sirius nearby, talking in a loud voice about the look on his opponent's face when he had disarmed him. It was interspersed with raucous laughter from James and a few of the other Gryffindors. Remus sat nearby, smiling faintly, and Peter was watching them with idol-worship in his eyes.

"Mm, Sirius is dreamy, isn't he?" Eunice said for the hundredth time. Gwen couldn't help a small grin as she shook her head at her friend. "His looks, maybe. Haven't you noticed he's a bit stuck-up?"

"Stuck-up?" Eunice said, not really listening. "What makes you say that?"

Gwen and Lily exchanged an understanding look. "He's not very kind," Grace said tactfully.

"Nor is James," Lily added with almost a growl. "And I wish he'd leave me alone."

But it was obvious Eunice wasn't listening to any of them, and they soon gave up.

TBC

AN: I know, another short chapter. But I'm trying to get back into the swing of this fic, and I need to decide how much of each year I'm going to tell about. At this point, it looks like not much…

You should all thank werewolflemming for reminding me to get back into this fic!

I have finished HBP, and now my fic is officially AU. I won't say why in case you haven't finished reading yet, but you will understand by the time you finish the book. Oh well, it's a small detail, and I'm going to continue.

Saltwater: lol Don't damn the writer if you want more chapters!

lunelwe: I agree. I love Sirius, but he is a bit stuck-up as a kid.

Rockeman: Well, Eunice Wheeler was my mother's maiden name, so I doubt very much she was your grandmother. Unless you've time-traveled. lol (And Grace McLaughlin was my great aunt.) I'm sorry, I would've responded to your review sooner, but the really long ones don't get emailed to me, so I didn't read it until now. On to the Mary-Sue avoidance tips:

1: Well, there's actually a reason why her eyes change colors, but you won't find it out for a bit… In fact, she won't find it out for a bit…

2: Agreed, most people are a mix. Case in point: Sirius.

3: Don't worry, relationship between Remus and Gwen will proceed at a decently slow rate.

4: No quirks so far!

5: lol FRIZZ? I must say, I've never seen a Mary-Sue analysis mention non-friziness before…

6: lol Agreed. See my LotR fic series for examples of how the heroine gets herself captured because she can't fight worth crap.

7: Quite true. Which is why, while Gwen is good at charms and decent at defense and quite good at dueling, she absolutely sucks at transfiguration, potions, etc.

8: Mhm

9: James and Sirius do that a lot. That's part of the reason we're not sure we like them…

Very good tips for any writer. So basically, my only MS probs are that my character has unusual eyes, and is particularly good at dueling. And there's another reason, but you won't find it out until later and I'm not giving any hints. :)

Thanks also to Tanny and (of course) werewolflemming. Keep reviewing! Any comments, criticisms and suggestions are quite welcome! (Particularly suggestions…)