Merlin, this class just loved to take away Kat's opportunities to speak up. Deep inside, she was kind of getting pressured to answer immediately so as to avoid the same situation again. Kat bit her lower lip while thinking that sooner, she'd be out of answers. *inner flail*.

She raised her hand. "Though it wasn't as big as the Final Battle between Harry Potter amd Lord Voldemort," she paused. The name. OOOOHHHH! Scared yet? "The duel between Bellatrix Lestrange and Molly Weasley is nothing less." Uhm, right. That was her answer. Thank you.

Susan was total enraptured in the lesson. Susan didn't realize that so many rules applied when dueling. But most of them seemed necessary, except for the a rule about what you are allowed to wear...that seemed a little silly.

Sue started to think about all the duels she read about and which one interested her the most "One of the best duels was the one between Dumbledore and Grindelwald." Well at least to Susan that was one of the best ones in history.

"A war isn't labeled solely on countries in an armed hostile conflict against one another, Miss Fischer. States or opposing forces, however large or small they are, may also be declared in a war. Although, indeed, there have been wars broken out due to women in the past, and no doubt will be in the future. People haven't changed all that much during the passing centuries."

Continuing on...

Trojan war, love potions, Edgbert the Egregious and Emeric the Evil, Professors...

"Mmhmm, there are many notable duels in our wizarding history as well as muggle history. Not all of them pertaining to power as you can see, although some are a little more well known, such as the duel of Dumbledore versus Grindelwald... I believe was the most suggested here." Which wasn't all that surprising. "Travel two countries away though and you'll have a completely different variety of answers."

"With why duels happen set aside, has anyone ever seen someone intently observing or studying a duel? Or done so themselves? If so, or even if not, what would be a person's reasons for doing this?"

Alyssa had not really seen an actual 'authentic' duel except for the ones that she had seen in their DADA class, but she guessed a possible reason as to why one would be observing one. So she raised her hand and answered.

"I believe that people would be observing because either they want to see who wins. But more because they want to study either person's style of fighting. What are their defensive moves...you know just in case they might want to duel the person themselves."

Jory had never seen a real duel but he knew why he would observe a duel. H e raised his hand. "People may observe a duel because they wish to get some knowledge on how a duel is done or may even wish to pick up some tips or techniques.''

Why would someone study a duel? Well, there were plenty of reasons why someone would do that. The cynic in Selina said that it would be to see a person's weakness if they were going to be a future opponent. The Puffer in Selina said it would be to admire the talents of two duelers. And the Selina in Selina thought that it would be to just better her own dueling skills by watching. Always could afford to learn something knew in her opinion.

SO THAT was what she went with when she raised her hand. Grinning at the Professor, she said, "I honestly think, ma'am, that most people examine duels to learn how better themselves as duelers. Learn something new, you know?" Yeah, she knew what Selina was talking about.

Why would someone observe or study a duel?

Entertainment? You get to watch two people hex the snot out of each other and that was kind of fun, right? But that probably wasn't the answer Romanos was looking for. Milton raised his hand and spoke up. "It depends, but some people might watch to see what kind of mistakes someone makes and then... learn from it." Better yourself by watching other people make mistakes. Sounded like a good plan.

"Or, or..." Mo put up his hand and flapped it helpfully at the professor. "Or maybe they're a Healer or a mother or someone who worries professionally and gets paid for it, and they're watching to make sure that no one gets injured." Less likely then the others, but not a repeat answer at least. Mo didn't want to just agree with everyone else if he could help it.

"Or maybe..." he continued with a thoughtful tilt to his head. "Sometimes duels are monitored by someone, especially if they're formal or the participants are learners. So the watcher might be a kind of adjudicator who is making sure the rules are followed and stuff."

Why would you observe a duel? The competitive side of Ella thought it was because you wanted to see how the competition fared under pressure. If you noted their moves ahead of time, perhaps you'd have a leg up if you ever had to face them. Seemed like smart thinking to the blonde.

There were other reasons too, like being a fan of duels or officiating. Oh...and, "Professor, people would probably go in support of the duelers, yeah? I mean it would make sense to have family members or friends or...mentors there to watch and such."

If she could have just melted into the floor then seeped through the cracks onto another floor she would have. History wasn't fun. DADA was fun. When you put the two together DADA became infected and was no longer as fun.

She shifted a bit on her new cushiony seat thing then tried paying attention.

Oh wait!

It sounded like a question she could answer!!! "Weeeeell, maybe they want to learn as much about each dueller as possible, you know, in case they ever end up in a duel with them later on. If that happened they'd already know what they were capable of and they'd know some of their flaws before hand." Seemed legit.

Laura looked at the Professor raised her hand and smiled. "When I study a duel, I do it so I can see their weaknesses and where they are most vulnerable to attack." Laura smiled, "It's the same with Tennis players, they study their next opponent so that they know there strengths and weaknesses." Laura was actually glad she knew that question

Oh West was sure he could answer this one. Haaaaaaaaand up.

"Gambling? Maybe they have money riding on the outcome." Then you'd be REAL invested in the result probably, and want to see the one you're backing win.... And sure you could watch for technique or whatevs but really, money.

Kendall had stayed quiet during the start of all the questions. Not because she didn't know anything about duels, but more because she wasn't one to repeat other people's answers when they were talking about something as important as dueling. Although, the topic of watching other people duel was interesting enough that she found herself unable to stay silent any longer. She wasn't about to address the hypothetical idea of why other people would watch, though. That was sort of what had been asked, but she looked at it a different way.

Raising her hand as she sat up on her mat, just so she could get her arm that tiny bit higher so it would be noticed, she spoke. "Professor? I don't knowwhy other people would watch a duel, but I know if it was me, I'd be watching so I could get ideas. Watching a duel could teach a person new techniques, or how to fix their own weaknesses, and if I was going to be dueling anyone, I would like to know I've done everything to make myself as best as I could be." Besides, she needed to know lots of fighting techniques in order to be a good superhero.

Nigel did not know anything about studying duels. But he knew people would watch them more if people were betting and putting money on them. It does seem to make the games or duels matter more.

"Because they have money on the winner of the Duel"

They would have to study it if they did not want to lose a lot of money. Though it does seem like the gamblers know more about the games than even the fans do. But back to dueling, it would be a big waste of money if they just bet randomly on the winner.

Medea nodded with each answer. Some making her smile a little more.

A professional worrier?

"Yes, I'm sure some people watch duels for support or if money is at stake..." The professor chuckled. "Making sure the duelers follow the rules or for support, indeed, but there is also much to learn from the duel itself. Tips, techniques, and strategies. Studying a person's dueling style to take note on what worked and what didn't, such as which spells worked or even footing placement and stances. I'm not suggesting to try and copy someone's fighting style precisely down to the flick of a wrist because they're great, but, it is worth to take a moment to sit back and observe, if only to greater your own style." Medea paused for a moment. "Which, we'll be getting into next lesson."

Glancing down to the Astronomy professor, her eyebrow raised and nudged him with her clean boot before standing up. Still breathing right? Was...was he drooling? On her floor! Hmph. "For now though..." Medea turned the chalkboard around to the clean side. The students had enough time to finish copying down what was written, though it wasn't erased in case it were still needed. "I spoke of 'spells that worked'."

"Who can name a spell one could use in a duel? Ten points to the house that list the most."

OOC: Your character can name up to three spells, but only ONE spell per post, please. Repeated answers will not be listed. There are plenty of HP and SS canon spells, so please don't make any up for now. Class will end tomorrow around 6pm EST.

They were competing for points, eh? Ella smiled a little and immediately began to wrack her brain for all the spells she knew that might be used in duels. There were a lot she'd read about so she should be able to help Hufflepuff.

Raising her hand, the blonde bounced a little and waited to be called on. "Professor, the full body bind curse, or erm body freezing spell, might be used during a duel." Yup, cause ensuring your opponent couldn't move was definitely in your best interest.

"...Learning someone's strategies and way of maneuvering? To better themselves as a duelist..." Had someone said that? The Slytherin Captain shrugged.

Oh...wait, Professor Romanoes was asking another question already...

Dylan leaned back in his seat, racking his brain for spells...Locking in on one, he raised his hand. "Stupefy? It's the stunning spell...." It was a personal favorite of his...

Spells for duelling?

This class would prove to be even more useful than she thought. She would name a few spells and learn some while she was at it. You never knew when someone would suddenly run into you and decide that they wanted a duel. Some people might have thought that sounded ridiculous but she believed that anything could happen and even if nothing happened she wanted a nice long list of options for the next Ravenclaw to cross her.

Heh.

She raised her hand.

"There's also the disarming spell...expelliarmus..."

Even if there had been a point to it, Kendall honestly didn't see why people would bet on who would win in a duel. That just meant the other person wasn't thought of as good enough, and that made her wonder why anyone would be dueling them anyway. She wasn't going to ask that, though, just because it seemed like Professor Romanos was trying to keep the discussion to the actual dueling, not the concept of why people would duel others. If she really wanted to know, she could always ask after class was over. Except there was also that question of baby dementors from last term, so she probably would wait to ask other questions. besides, it seemed like they were going to be studying dueling again in the next lesson, so her question might get answered anyway.

Listing actual spells would be much more interesting, and her hand came shooting up almost as soon as the professor had finished speaking. "What about the Jelly-fingers Jinx we learned about last term? That could be useful in a duel, since it would make it hard for your opponent to keep hold of their wand," she replied, already making sure she was ready to take down the list once it was established and already thinking of more spells. She wanted the Claws to get those ten points after all.

West stuck his hand up. "Histedius! That one is cool." Since you could BEND it and all.

Also, he could go on for DAYS about spells. The points were totally theirs.

Eh. Whatever. BASIC wars, then? Were they considered duels or not? She still didn't know, but they had moved on from naming duels, anyways, so Alice supposed it didn't matter anymore. "Entertainment, Professor. Some would watch for the sport." Was that bad? To.. like.. enjoy it, even though it was violent? She didn't find it any more violent than Beating in Quidditch, she supposed. So.. maybe it wasn't all that bad? Either way, she was pretty sure there were some loons who would feel that way and enjoy watching.

She might have been one of them.

Alice knew SOME. 'Course there were the obvious, like the disarming spell and such, but Lex had already named that, hadn't she? Instead, she decided to name another common, easy one to remember. "Immobulus, professor.." That one would probably be an awful spell to experience the effects of. Unsettling, too. Quidditch sounded much easier and less embarrassing than dueling to her. She'd stick to that.

Now. There were more spells, weren't there?

"Locomotor Mortis." West added quickly, hand up, kind of gleefully picturing being able to cast that on someone. Yeahhhh! Who though? Alexa, probably. Leg locker curse ftw?

Dylan smirked as West piped up and answered. In the way of their Quidditch experience, they'd totally work off each other...

"Protego, ma'am.....because sometimes it's better to defend than attack." Strategy, the Slytherin way.

He glared at Ravvie!Odessa. He was going to get a crack at her, right?

"Tarantallegra is another one that could be used." And it'd be really funny to see one's opponent dancing all around, yeah? Ella giggled softly at the thought, tapping her quill on her parchment thoughtfully.

More? Of course he had more. West grinned at Dylan and stuck his hand up again. "How about Duro so you could like, turn your opponent's shoes or even their wand, into stone?"