"..Three" Amelia finished for the Gryffindor, and without even a second though, her wand swished through the air and the following incantation escaped her lips in a clear voice, "Tarantallegra."

Xana was ready. "Protego!" she hissed again. "Expelliarmus!" she snapped her wand briskly at Diabolica's, feeling confident, she pivoted and stepped forward, raising her wand hand high and flicking her wrist down sharply, keeping wand arm high. "Aguamenti!" she whispered, grinning.

Water cascaded from her wand toward Diabolica.

Torie was watching her opponent carefully and noticed a slight wrist movement which proceeded the perfect's spell casting maneuver. Picking up on this, Torie quickly cast a shield charm. "Protego!" she cried, managing to complete her cast just in the nick of time. Without skipping a beat, Torie cast an offensive spell, directing her wand at the perfect with great care and intention. "Locomotor mortis!" she shouted, swishing her wand with vigour. She immediately got ready for the perfect's next cast.

Kayla watched as Jeff walked off into the corner of the room and she shrugged. She turned and spotted Helios across the room and a mischevious smile played across her lips. She looked at him and waved for him to come over to her. Oh this was going to be fun.

Diabolica moved her wand in a quick circle and muttered, "Finite Incatatem." Focusing more on the diarming spell, she noticed the water too late and jumped aside--though water still got her. She paid no attention, though, for she was quickly thinking up a spell. "Stupefy!" she muttered, sending red light towards Xana as she sent with it a leviating charm.

Amelia was sure that the girl would have enough time and brains to cast a shield charm, which sure enough she was right about. She also knew that the girl would probably cast an offensive spell as well, since that seems to be the general fall of things in a duel. As soon as possible, Amelia quickly cast a shield charm, but instinctively ducked to make sure that the spell missed her. She wavered a few feet left and right, to throw Torie off guard, before casting her spell from a few left of her original standing position. With a swish of her wand, she shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and then instantly returned to her 'ready state'.

OOC: Okay, my darlings. I am going to bed. I am leaving this classroom open. You MAY continue to duel on three conditions:

1) No one can hex someone so badly they have to go to the infirmary. It's mean.

2) No one can ask me a question and then get frustrated that I don't realize it, turn on my computer again, and answer it. I'm SLEEPING. You're giving me low self esteem!

3) Don't chat. Don't fight. Don't set things on fire. Don't find your pet dragon in the corner. Quit breaking my quill (MICKEY! PUT DOWN THE CANNON).

Okay, that was more like 7 things. I'll catch you all on the flip side.

Jeff mutters something like an apology and returns to near Kayla taking a defensive stand. But he seems to be watching the Headmistres with more interest that before.

Xana saw Diabolica do a complicated maneuver- compounding two spells, but she didn't know which. "Protego!" she said, doing the requisite maneuver, but only getting it half right. Crikey, she thought as she started to levitate... she had to retaliate quickly. "Incarcerus!" she hissed under her breath, creating the proper maneuver before she rose too high off the floor to complete it. "Descendo!" she said, pointing her wand to herself, and plummeted back to the floor. She recovered from the fall in an instant and returned to defense position... now getting a little serious and intense. Oh, she's playing rough... she thought. Two can play at that.

Helios was in the back of the class, near the corner where Jeff was going. Like the cool kid that he was, the boy prince was leaning against the cold stone wall, arms folded over his chest.

Finally, it had taken Kayla long enough to notice him and wave him over. The Hufflepuff boy grined like a Cheshire cat, and walked calmly towards her, the footfalls of hard sandals could be heard between the shouts of students. "This will be fun.." Helios whispered.

Luckily for Torie, she was used to a moving opponent from her former stint as a kendoka and adapted easily to Amelia's movements. Casting the shield charm once more, Torie immediately blocked the incoming spell. Torie was not used to the huge amounts of concentration that dueling required, not only to protect oneself, but also to think of a spell that might break her opponent's defense. Torie decided quickly to cast another spell. "Petrificus Totalis!" she cried. She hoped this time that the spell would hit.

Diabolica narrowly dodged her spell and retaliated with a Confundus charm and a disarming spell. Ah, this'll be fun....

Kayla raised her eyebrows at the smile on Helios' face. Oh he thinks I'm going to be a push over she thought grinning to herself, well he can just think again as she stood in the defence stance.

He was in front of her now and her eyes narrowed slightly. "Just because I'm a girl Sunrider, I don't want you taking it easy on me. Treat me as you would any other opponent."

This dueling thing really took a lot of concentration, which made Amelia think about her surroundings and future as an auror. She then cleared her mind to focus on the task at hand, and how to bring down her opponent. Though while she was totally focused trying to figure out how to bring down Torie, a spell grazed her left arm which was enough to knock her off her feet but not the full effects.

Standing back up, she blinked a few times before saying, "I'm okay... really. Okay." And then she quickly cast the first spell that she could thing of, "Rictusempra!"



ooc: i'm going to sleep now. good night & see you at the match tomorrow

Xana smiled as she easily blocked the spells, working to keep her postures sharp so her focus wouldn't falter.

"Impedimentia!" she threw this spell low, lunging down with her front leg as she flicked her wand hand up. Throw the spell, don't just cast.... she reminded herself as she stood back to full height and turned sideways, snapping her wand behind her back. "Levicorpus!"

Torie too was growing tired, mentally as well as physically. The tickling charm hit her full out before she could do anything to protect herself. Torie began to laugh uncontrollably, tears streaming from her eyes as the spell continued. She dropped to the floor rolling with laughter and pain. "Ow! he he he." laughed Torie attempting to clutch her aching sides. "Ah ha ha ha!" Torie was laughing so hard, she couldn't even call out to the Hufflepuff perfect for help. She hoped the perfect would end the spell soon.

Diabolica was about ready to block it when she started being hoisted up in the air by her ankle. She quickly pulled out her wand, muttering to herself, and hissed, "Liberacorpus!" She was dropped to the floor and landed on her left leg--which unfortunatly sprained it. Thinking, "Ferula!", it wrapped itself in bandages and she got up again, wincing. She quickly pointed her wand at Xana and called out, "Impedimenta!" She almost tripped over her robes and fell as she ducked (just in case) and whispered, "Incarcerous!"

Xana heard the whispered spell, but it hit her, slowing her reaction time, and she was unable to block the incarcerous spell. The ropes hit her, pulling on her wand hand and binding it to her side. She cursed loudly, forgetting about the younger kids in the room for the moment. "Finite incantatem!" she said, then whispered intently: "Expelliarmus!"

Josh was still watching xana and Dia as they went at it. They were very dedicated. He chuckled as he shook his head at the two.

"If you were anyone else..." Helios sounded nearly sinister as he twirled his wand with two fingers before slipping it into his palm.

"I would be going easy on you!"

Wand raised.

A hex about to escape his lips

Think fast

Kayla watched his movements carefully and barely heard what he said, she could sense the hex before he even opened his mouth. She decided not to waste anytime. "Expelliarmus" she bellowed and moved to the side in case he blocked her with a shield charm.

Diabolica felt her wand slipping out of her hand and caught it just in time. She narrowed her eyes and cursed under her breath in Russian. 'Immobulus!' she thought as she jumped to the right, muttering "Rictusempra," as she moved a bit more to the right and cast a Confundus charm again at her.

Xana's focus was complete-- she'd forgotten how good it was to duel a worthy opponent. She quickly blocked the cast spelled and wordlessly performed the oppugno charm attack, sending a magnificent flock of magical ravens to attack Diabolica.

Krissy sat back and watched her two hufflepuff friends duel. This was not going to end well.
"Oi! I've got winner." She said with a small smile. She silently rooted for Kayla. "Would show that cocky git..." she whispered to herself with what little venom she had left for Helios.

Diabolica cursed under her breath. "NEVERMORE!" she yelled across the room to Xana, trying to get the ravens to stop pecking. She pulled her wand out, froze the ravens, and thought, "Serpensortia!" A great, ebony black serpent slid onto the floor, it's green eyes gleaming. She gave a quick nod to it and it and it slid forward, untill so close that it could have flickered it's tonguge and it could have touched her shoe. Rising up so tall that it looked eye-to-eye with her, she thought, "Expelliarmus!" and, knowing it's job, the serpent fake-bit her--not actually biting her skin, but coming close to it, just to justify that if, in a real duel, this had happened, Xana could have been beaten.