[OPEN] Wizard Duel

[vampdetective]

Who: Professor Angel, Professor Isabela & you!
Where: Dueling Hall & elsewhere!
When: Throughout the event.
Rating: Rate as needed!
Summary: Professors Angel and Isabela are here for all your duelling needs!
The Story:

DUELING CLASS

[ Classes are held in the dueling classroom; one of the larger classrooms that can be found in the castle. There is a raised platform in the middle of the room, clearly marked to indicate where the duelists should stand. A large desk is off to the left on the platform centered between both duelists, where both professors can sit and watch and intervene if necessary. Isabela is usually perched on top of the table while Angel can usually be found standing in front of it, arms crossed.

Classes are broken up by year, first and second years focusing on simpler moves like disarming and shielding. The spells and techniques become more difficult and more advanced as the years progress, with students not only learning how to defend themselves, but also how to attack. There is a strong emphasis on not harming other students, and those students who are caught purposely violating that rule are dealt with swiftly by both professors. As is standard in wizard dueling, physical contact between duelists is also against the rules. ]

OFFICE HOURS

[Anyone seeking to speak to either Professor Angel or Professor Isabela will be able to find them in their shared office at various hours, sometimes together, sometimes separately. Whether you have a simple question or would like to schedule some extra practice, they’ll gladly make themselves available-- aside from whatever time they might spend in Hogsmeade over the weekend.

Students or other faculty visiting their office will notice a very stark contrast between the two halves: Isabela’s desk and the area surrounding are mostly bare, aside from a number of awards and two bottles of firewhiskey lined up on the shelves behind it. In spite of this, her space still manages to be disorderly, with quills and parchment spread out across the desk and on the floor immediately surrounding. Angel appears to have more physical belongings, with the shelves behind his desk filled with books from end-to-end, but everything on his side is neat and meticulously put in its proper place.]

ELSEWHERE

[Of course, most professors look forward to Hogsmeade weekends just as much as the students do. Both professors will be visiting the village, including taking up a table at the Three Broomsticks for the better part of late Sunday afternoon. They can also be found eating with their fellow faculty members in the Great Hall during mealtimes, and Angel is a frequent visitor to Hogwarts’ expansive library, not seeming to mind its ghostly caretaker in the least. Isabela can frequently be found out on the Quidditch pitch taking up residence in the stands as Professor Stark puts in extra time with his students.]

((OOC: Please feel free to specify if you’d like one professor in particular or both!))

Comments

dueling class! one or both is fine :V

[normandysbest]

[Out of everything they're allowed to do at Hogwarts, dueling has to be Shepard's favorite. This isn't theory or practice- it's thinking on the fly, no way to be fully prepared, just skill and luck. Her favorite. She's not aggressive, but dang, she'll call anyone out who's messing with her.

Being a 7th year, she's allowed to do cool stuff, but she's... pushing for some more advanced techniques. Maybe a little out of line.]

So, how often do people actually duel outside of school? Because you guys seem to stress it pretty hard.

Office Hours! One or Both! :)

[therapize]

[Cami's been thinking a lot about dueling lately--not only in the past few months but for over two years. She's gotten better at Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, all of which serve her well enough. But she knows there are students who are better than her, stronger, and who in turn face unspeakable evil beyond these walls.

She has to improve. She can't just focus on passing the N.E.W.T.s next year; Cami's got to start thinking about how all of this comes into play when their teachers aren't watching.]

So she heads to the office where Professers Angel and Isabela both keep their hours, knocking on the door while it's still closed. Hopefully at least one of them is in, and they won't ask too many questions in response to hers. She's got a lot of secrets to keep, and Cami doesn't want to betray that even in her zeal to help the people she cares about most.

duelling - either or both is great!

[dothatgirl]

[ her movements are wild, and it seems like faith thinks the harder she flicks the more powerful her hexes will be. but she leaves herself wide open for the flipendo her duelling partner flings at her. when she hits the ground, faith growls out a frustrated snarl before clambering to her feet. ]

This is bloody pointless!

[ she chucks her wand at the floor and stomps past her professors to find something she can physically relieve her anger on... ]

Office Hours, Angel pls. (because I can't play with myself D:)

[actualwizard]

[ Billy views dueling as one of his most important classes. When he finishes school at the end of the year his goal is to go right into Auror training and dueling is definitely something he needs for his career. Aurors take no less than 'exceeds expectations' on the N.E.W.T.s and Billy is determined to score above that.

Which is why he's knocking on the Professor's door after class hours. ]

dueling class - one or both as desired!

[postictal]

[Tim's not really what anyone would call an aggressive person by nature. It's hard to muster the actual intent to put behind his spellwork - he's only ever been average in pretty much everything he's tried, with the odd and inexplicable exception of Potions.

Still, he's a seventh year, about to move on into the wide, wide wizarding world, so he figures it'd be good to learn a thing or two about trying to defend himself.]

How, uh...likely is it for this to be a thing that happens outside Hogwarts? Just, you know, as a vague estimate?

[ivehadbetter]

[ Isabela can definitely get behind Shepard's reasoning for liking the class, its also the reason Isabela loves dueling, and she was very surprised to find how much she enjoyed teaching it as well.

Its a simple question, and one she's happy to answer. ]

Well that really depends on what you want to do once you leave here. There's always the competition circuit where you would be using these skills daily to train for matches. Magical Law Enforcement is also somewhere dueling would come into play more often then not.

[ivehadbetter]

[ Cami is in luck because both professors are currently in and most likely bickering about something trivial- like where Isabela moved Angel's advanced spell book.

The knock quiets them both for the moment. ]

Come in!

[vampdetective]

Come in.

[Angel calls out without looking up from the book he's leafing through at his desk, chin resting in one hand as he props himself up on his elbow.]

[vampdetective]

It comes up more often than you might think.

[Magical Law Enforcement was exactly where Angel had started out before he went into teaching, as a matter of fact.]

You have the talent for it. Are you thinking of pursuing a career that might make use of it?

[vampdetective]

[Angel looks up at the knock, pausing in his pursuit for that very book, setting his aggravation aside for the time being. They could go back to arguing when there wasn't a student present.]

Just so you know, Isabela, we're not finished here.

[vampdetective]

Depends on the career path you plan on taking.

[There are certainly a number of professions in the wizarding world that will never make use of it, while others will use it almost daily-- but there are other real-world applications.]

Even if you don't find yourself participating in many duels, practicing it is good for your reflexes. Teaches you to be able to think on your feet, cast spells as a reflex.

[vampdetective]

Faith, wait!

[Angel is quick to turn on his heel to follow her, uncrossing his arms in the process, grabbing her wand from its place on the floor as he goes.]

You're doing great, you just need to be more patient!

[Storming off, however, is a great way to get nowhere fast-- or to lose points, depending on the professor, although Angel has always been of the opinion that he and Isabela are both more lax in that department than some. Frustration comes with the territory.]

[postictal]

[Yeah, he's really got no clue where he wants to end up as far as career pathways are. Which is starting to be a problem, seeing as the last thing he wants to do is retire from the wizarding world and picking up some dead-end muggle job. Unfortunately, that's about the only future he can foresee for himself.]

All right. Well, uh...I guess that makes sense. Can't say my DADA marks are all that high, though.

dueling class, one or both

[participates]

[Bedelia watches from the back of the crowd as her classmates step up one-by-one to the dueling platform. She's pressed up against a wall, hidden so she can't be seen, but can still watch each duel from over the shoulders of the other 7th years.

It's fairly simple work to find the patters each student has developed over the course of their instruction. Which spells they favor, which movements they think are most effective. It's easy to find the flaws in their techniques, the missed opportunities, the moments of hesitation. They hold back, all of them. They let each other have small unnecessary victories, they choose weak spells and intentionally slow the pace at which they use them. It's infuriating.

Despite her harsh internal critique, when one of the professors finds her in the crowd and tells her to step up, she freezes. She can feel the eyes of her classmates on her as the moment of silence stretches on. Most of them probably remember what happened in 3rd year. What she did. She hasn't taken a dueling class since that year; had she not needed the class to graduate, she wouldn't be here now.

The professors have made a mistake. They couldn't possibly want to expose another student to the possibility of being hurt by her again. Bedelia ignores the looks, the low murmur that starts to develop in the crowd around her, and meets the professor's eyes.]

No.

[actualwizard]

[ Billy pushes the door open and looks around, only spotting Angel in the office. ]

Hi Professor, I'm not interrupting am I?

[therapize]

Cami opens the door just in time to hear Professor Angel's final line, causing her to raise an eyebrow as she steps in.

"If you're busy, I can come back." Since the way they were talking almost makes it sound like they were about to start a duel themselves. The pair is known to get along, however, so Cami doubts it's anything that serious--even if Professor Angel always seems to have permanent brooding face.

(It's really a shame. He's pretty hot for a teacher.)

"I was hoping to talk a bit about dueling, though." Duh, Cami. That's why you're talking to the dueling professors. "I mean, against someone using Dark Arts."

[dothatgirl]

[ at professor angel's voice, faith does lose a little steam, but she still needs distance so it's not until she's near the door. but she very purposely doesn't exit. her tone turns sullen, the initial explosion of rage now burning off. ]

That shite hand-me-down wand has never liked me...

After Hours, one or both!

[preparenting]

[It's always been pretty clear John's good at fighting, since his first year here. With fists, with words, and with wands now, too. Every year John shows incredible promise in dueling and talent that he doesn't necessarily have in other classes. That's good though, considering his target career. As the school year has gone on, John's become more restless. He's tired of what they're learning in classes- he got these down pat long ago. He needs a challenge.

He shows up to office hours on Tuesday, with a speech to appeal to both of his professors. I'm gonna need to know a lot more if I'm gonna be an auror, he practices to himself. And it's so close to graduation. Would it hurt to teach me more advanced stuff?

Knock knock. Over-eager student calling.]

[vampdetective]

[He fights the impulse to take her by her shoulders to help her center herself, knowing full well that helping a student learn to manage their own anger and frustration is as much a part of teaching as the practical skills themselves, sometimes.]

Second-hand wands are never easy to master. You should consider how well you've managed to do with it so far. That takes as much skill, if not more, as it takes a student who has a properly attuned wand to give even an average performance.

[vampdetective]

[Angel looks up at last, setting his reading aside.]

Not at all. Something I can help you with?

[vampdetective]

Don't tell any of the other professors I said this, but marks aren't everything.

[Important, sure, but he's seen plenty of skilled students come through who weren't quite so strong academically.]

Have you thought about what you want to do when you leave school?

[vampdetective]

[Angel exchanges a careful glance with his partner before turning his attention back to the student in question, arms folded across his chest as he studies Bedelia-- thoroughly, but not unkindly.

Whatever is blocking her, keeping her from stepping forward, he's certain they can work through, though he won't force her to discuss it in public if it take more than a simple nudge.]

Is there something wrong?

[He'd been there during her third year. Things would never improve if she didn't conquer her fear of making the same mistake over again.]

[vampdetective]

Come in.

[Both professors are present, but it's Angel's voice that calls out to beckon John forward, looking to Isabela briefly before he turns his gaze expectantly towards the door, reclining comfortably in the oversized chair behind his desk.]

[dothatgirl]

[ something about that argument hits a point in faith that helps relieve more of the steam, and she nods. ]

I know.

[ considering she'd turned down a brand new one, though, it's a hard pill to swallow. ]

But I don't want excuses. Magic should just work when you're a witch.

[ivehadbetter]

Isabela shoots Angel an amused look before turning her attention to Cami, a pleasant and welcoming smile on her face. "We're not busy, Miss O'Connel, please come in." As long as you don't count light hearted bickering as busy. Plus it means Angel will be shooting disgruntled looks in her direction even longer now.

"What exactly do you mean? If someone used a dark curse against you?"