Carl was ready for his Duel. He had spent the past week or so preparing himself for this year's Tournament. His ranking in the previous term was not that bad, but he was hoping to improve this year. He was glad to find out that his opponent was a boy (at last) - he always felt bad having to attack girls. He remembered Matthew to be the guy who sprayed water around the Potions classroom when they were "poisoned" last year. WEll ...

The Hufflepuff smiled and bowed to the other boy. He pointed his wand firmly at the Gryffindor and said, "Obscuro!" Blindfolding, it was a strategy he had learned from his first duel with Mel. It was difficult, but he had managed to learn the spell.