Normally Hady would take a duel all in stride. Whoever she was matched up against was given her all and if she lost it was with her head held high. This match-up though..this was just unfair. Pairing up the Head Boy and Head Girl was all fine and dandy, both knew how to duel and were accomplished in many types of spells. However when SHE was the Head Girl and the Head Boy just so happened to be her boyfriend it wasn't fair. How was she expected to duel against him?

From the second her eyes landed on the name beside her on the dueling roaster she was upset. She knew Frankie's dueling style, she knew what he was capable of and she didn't want to go against him. Forfeiting wasn't what she did though. So that left her with just option, showing up today. And here she was.

All thoughts were forced into the back of her mind as Hadleigh stepped into the arena dressed in her dueling robes, hair tied back into a tight braid. Walking towards the center of the arena, wand in her hand and lowered at her side she kept her hazel eyes trained on Frankie. "Hey you," she spoke softly greeting him in her usual way or what was very close to it. Gosh she was tempted to run her fingers through his hair like normal but she kept herself in check not moving from her spot. "Ready?" Hopefully he was.

Bowing in respect and showing that she was ready she confidently made eye contact, hazel meeting blue. Straightening up several steps backwards were taken as her wand was raised. She was going to go with the flow and allow whatever was to come to happen. Purple Firecrackers were cast first aimed just off to Frankie's right in order to catch his attention but not to hurt him. This was very quickly followed up by a quietly spoken, "Fulgari," as the wand movement was preformed. This later charm had only be tested during practice duels so she was actually hoping it worked today so she'd get a chance to see how it looked for real.

As this was his last year of Duelling Club, Frankie was prepared to go all out and give it everything he got. In the past, he did take duelling seriously. But this year especially was a critical year for him. If he wanted to get in the YATI programme, he had to be extraordinary and strategize with that Auror mentality. All eyes were on him. Whomever Hershey paired him with hopefully brought an extra pair of underpants. They were going to need it. They were going down.

Or not.

Before the duel he had checked the roster. He had expected that he would be going head-to-head with Iver or Dixon or even Brookie. But that expectation had been crumpled into a ball and tossed aside. The Gryffindor wasn't going against any of those people. No, this duel was going to be much harder than that. He was going to be duelling his girlfriend.

When he stepped inside the arena, he couldn't help but look around for Hershey. Why would the man betray him like this? This. Was. Not. Fair. It wasn't like they snogged in front of him or anything overly gushy. What was the man's purpose for doing this to them? To him?

His attention was captured by Hady the moment she greeted him. "Hey," he responded solemnly, his tone making it obvious that this situation was not one he wanted to be in. Instead he wanted to just grab her hand and lead them both far away where they didn't have to duel against each other. But he knew that, in spite of them being together, they were going to go through with it anyway. Mind you, things likely weren't going to get as intense as they would have had someone else been standing opposite them. "Ready when you are," the blond quickly added, forcing his lips to form a smile.

For those who watched Frankie duel, they would know that he was behaving very differently. The way he bowed at Hady gave it all away. Normally he would have given some trash talk, flashed an annoying smirk, and not completely bow. This time, however, none of that happened. In total silence, he bowed down as far as he could go and gave her a look that said 'I'll take it easy on you. Promise.'

Then the duel began with Hady sending purple firecrackers and cords at him. Frankie let the firecrackers land next to his right foot and explode. He knew that was meant to be an attention-getter for the spell that was to come next. The cords whizzed right over his head as he ducked in the nick of time.

Blue eyes gazed over to the hazel pair. The Head Boy did nothing but look at the Head Girl for a moment, his wand pointed at her. In his mind, he was going through the least damaging attacks he could perform without making things too easy. "Disillusiona," he stated while twirling his wand around himself. Now you see him, now you don't.

After the egg-being-cracked-over-your-head sensation ended, the blond quietly inched closer to Hady. With a flick of his wand, he uttered a quiet "Herbifors" and continued moving about the arena in his chameleon-like state.

Text Cut: Points Tracker

Affected by Spells:

• Purple Firecrackers: Shoots firecrackers (purple) from the caster's wand
  
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -10
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: -20
    • M: 0
    • F: 0
  • Additional Effects: N/A

• Fulgari: Binds opponent's arms in luminous cords
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -15
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: -10
    • M: 0
    • F: -10
  • Additional Effects: Target must unbind themselves before can cast/move again

Spells Casted:

• Disillusionment Charm: Target blends in with it's surroundings (Chameleon Charm)
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -50
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: 0
    • F: 0
  • Additional Effects: Target can avoid opposing spells without use of fatigue or magic points, so long as the spell is in effect
  • Directionality: Casted on self

• Herbifors: Causes flowers to grow from the target
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -15
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: -25
    • M: 0
    • F: 0
  • Additional Effects: N/A
  • Directionality: Casted at Hady

Physical Movements:

• F: -5 (ducked to avoid Fulgari)

Dueller Name: Franklin Paton

• H: 400 + (-20) = 380
• M: 400 + (-65) = 335
• F: 25 + (-5) = 20

Nothing about Frankie's attitude slipped passed her today. She knew exactly what he was feeling but maybe he felt a bit more betrayed then she did, this win was important to him, important to her but more him. Hady knew how badly he wanted to get into the YATI program, how hard he was working towards that. That didn't mean she was going to let him win though, sorry Frankie but she couldn't do that. Whatever went into this duel, boyfriend or not he was going to get her all. Maybe

From the moment the blonde's mouth opened to the look he had given her when he bowed she wanted to stop the duel right there and grab him by the shoulders and shake him. Shake him and yell at him. Demand that he don't take it easy on her and that he treats this like any other duel, shows her what he's really made of. Whatever happened they could deal with it afterwards. What she wanted to do didn't happen. Rather she gave him a small shake of her head and warning look that said 'Don't you dare'.

The purple firecrackers were treated as a distraction just as intended. He knew her dueling style which meant she was going to have to get creative. He also ducked and at that moment she was already preparing herself for whatever was sent her way. What she didn't expect was an invisibility charm to be cast on himself. Hady raised an eyebrow this as she used this just last term in her duel against the YATI guy which she got crushed in.

As easy as it was to simply cast a revealing charm she choose not to. Let him have his fun for the moment. Listening to whatever she could she heard very soft footsteps but couldn't exactly make out the direction or the muttered word she thought she had heard. Protego was on her lips and she had already begun the start of the wand movement when she felt the impact of whatever spell had it her. Being as it didn't hurt at first she didn't sense anything instantly wrong. Then she felt the small tingle and the uncomfortable sensation of flowers beginning to grow from her body. Well alrighty then. "Aaww, how nice of you to notice what a lovely flower I truly am," she responded smirking sweetly as she preformed the movement for her next charm which was just a simple aiming of the wand. "Aguamenti," she murmured softly under her breath slowly spinning on the spot to spray water all around before aiming it upward so it would fall down on them after hitting the ceiling. It didn't matter if she got wet as well right now. This was very quickly followed up with "Glacius," after lowering her wand from the ceiling and aiming it straight outward as she spun in a circle once more. Chances were he was still close enough to be hit with at least one of these.

Oops if she totally soaked/froze the both of them and the entire arena.

Don't you dare.

Frankie had rolled his eyes at her when she mouthed those words. Whether she wanted him to or not, he was going to take it easy on her. There was no way he could force himself to cast the incantations for things like the Scorching Spell or Defodio. The blond would have used those in any other duel, but not this one. Yes, they would be able to look past whatever happened. But he just couldn't bring himself to treat Hady exactly like any other person he had duelled against in the past. The Head Boy didn't want to hurt her.

His preferred spells weren't necessary to win a duel, however. He could get by with cleverness and some tamer defensive spells, which was what Frankie intended to do. It explained why he was quick to disillusion himself, creep about the arena out of sight, and use that silly, yet surprisingly still effective, flower spell.

A grin appeared on his face when Hady responded. The boy wanted to comment back, saying that she was indeed a pretty flower, but he stopped himself from speaking. Doing so would have given away his position. She didn't need to know that he had made his way behind her, the back of her head facing him as he stood several feet away. Kudos to her for that braid though. It looked spot on today.

Staring at the back of Hady's head momentarily distracted Frankie. Before he knew it, he was dowsed in water. It was enough to get him focused again just in time quietly mutter and block her second spell with a strong shield charm. He knew her duelling style all too well and knew that second spell was coming. In case the Ice Queen heard him speak, he started moving again.

The combination of spells that Hady had casted forced him to move a lot slower than what he wanted to avoid slipping tumbling to the floor. Though it was important that he keep on moving to avoid being an easy target -- Alexis Cambridge had taught him that crucial lesson -- in spite of how challenging it was to get around without slipping and falling on his bum.

A thought then popped in his mind, which caused him to stop moving after managing to move a few feet away from his hiding place. He needed to use their surroundings to his advantage, and he needed to distract Hady before she noticed the trail of water he was leaving behind. It was the only way he could make any serious strides in finding a new place to wait patiently before making his next move.

"Ventus," he said confidently, moving his wand in a whip-like motion and sending the spell directly at Hady. Frankie hoped the spiraling wind, with he help of the frozen floor, would push her across the arena, spinning her body around and around as she went.

Text Cut: Points Tracker

Affected by Spells:

• Aguamenti: Water-making spell; creates jet/fountain of water from the wand
  
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -10
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: -5
    • M: 0
    • F: 0
  • Additional Effects: Followed up by a freezing charm, will cause the freezing charm to do 2x damage to opponent

• Glacius: Changes target into solid ice (i.e. Freezing Spell)
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -20
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: -20%
    • M: 0
    • F: -20%
  • Additional Effects: For club purposes the spell will NOT transform the target (if human) into solid ice, but will severely restrict movement as if target was mostly frozen

Spells Casted:

• Protego: Creates a shield against MINOR spells (jinxes, hexes and curses), and sends them in rebound to the original caster (i.e. Shield Charm)
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -10
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: 0
    • F: 0
  • Additional Effects: N/A
  • Directionality: Defending against Glacius

• Ventus: Creates a strong blast of wind from the wand, which can be strong enough to push things
  • Caster Points:
    • H: 0
    • M: -15
    • F: 0
  • Opponent Points:
    • H: -15
    • M: 0
    • F: -5
  • Additional Effects: N/A
  • Directionality: Casted at Hady

Physical Movements:

• N/A

Dueller Name: Franklin Paton

• H: 380 + (-5) = 375
• M: 335 + (-25) = 310
• F: 20 + (-0) = 20

If this wasn't Frankie she would've glared at him for the eye rolling. She could handle herself and whatever spells he could toss at her. Just because she was his girlfriend was no reason to be going light on her...and yet she knew he was going to do just that. Not because of who she was but because he cared for her and hurting her wasn't an option. For that alone she was more proud of him then anything else.

Hady had wanted Frankie to reply to her comment. Hoped he would but she knew that he knew better. If he had she would know exactly where he was. Good for him on being smart and keeping his mouth shut.

The combination of her cast spells had to work. If at least one hadn't hit him this was going to stink. Slowly spinning on her spot, being careful of her footing for fear of falling she kept a very relaxed expression when she noticed a shimmer of water footsteps. Frankie. "Aparecium," she spoke clearly waving her wand in his direction. Sorry but it was time to see where she needed to cast at. Plus she much enjoyed seeing his handsome self. Not that she could see him she readied herself for what was next. Hady recognized the wand movement before anything else the spell already shooting towards her as she slid/sidestepped off to the side, momentarily forgetting it was icey and sliding a little. Falling onto her butt onto her own would've stunk big time.

Letting out a breath the snakette aimed her wand at the wet and frozen floor at Frankie's feet or well just beside him. "Descendo," she cast calmly. Her goal here had been aimed at pushing the floor downward and forming some type of slide as she had angled her wand when casting it. With the water and ice Frankie would hopefully slide down and it would give her a few moments to decide what to do next.

Hirsch saw that look. He did. And he gave Frankie his best attempt at a smile in return. Surely, the boy knew that this was bound to make him stronger? Not heartless, but stronger. And there was also the matter of Hadleigh Lynch being an exceptional dueller. There was a lot to learn here, Paton.

When the duel kicked off, the man found himself being impressed by the level of talent between these two. If one thing was for certain, it was that both had picked up something from their duels against Aurors and were good at using those strategies here. Maybe it really was a good thing he paired them up together where they had a challenge rather than send their opponent packing away in a matchbox.

....... Oh. It was over? But that meant..........

............ uh.

Unhappy? He really was. The shield was struck up and he marched out towards the two. "Excellent! I am very proud of the two of you and the level of duelling that was present here. Really." Remember that before he announced the next part, okay? "But there can only be one winner so, congratulations, Hady. And well done, Frankie." Don't take it to heart, okay?


Stats:
Hadleigh Lynch: 86.67%
Franklin Paton: 83.75%