Hogwarts: 6th Floor - The Dueling Arena ~ Hocus Pocus?

It was enormous.

Sabriel had expected the Dueling Class to be large, of course. Perhaps even charmed to accommodate certain duelers. But Sabriel soon realized that nothing he had anticipated prepared him for the real thing.

The room could equal the great hall in size. It provided plenty of space for hearty duelers, and Sabriel wondered if the walls were reflective. He clenched his fingers around his wand, feeling very apprehensive. How far apart would be and Michael be during the duel? And would he be as good as Michael would like? He imagined the trial would be brief; both he and Tremaine had classes to get to, soon.

Sabriel caught his breath. He had gotten here as fast as he could, but climbing from the first floor to the sixth was no easy task. Getting past the moving staircases also proved to be a hassle for someone in a hurry. In short, he was thoroughly winded. His chest ached. He had foolishly left his outer robe with Snidely, Tremaine's enchanted hatrack, so he was also cold.

Sabriel realized he must have looked worse than he actually felt; his hair had fallen all in his face. The shiny, pale blonde strands were like silk to his skin, but bothersome all the same. He produced a tie and pulled it all back. He held a moment of triumph; he rarely managed to get his bangs out of the way. They must have been growing out.

The dueling arena had no windows. Sabriel assumed it was to protect ones down in the courtyard from wayward spells. No matter, Sabriel gently inhaled and exhaled. He did a few stretches. They were unnecessary concerning his default flexibility, but it helped equip his mind for battle.

Instinctively, Sabriel's mind absorbed his surroundings fully: the chamber was at least thirty meters wide and fifty meters across. There were bits of jade and flint embedded in the concrete. The walls were not absorbent; depending on the spell, it would bounce. There were no obstacles. Any and all obstructions could be transfigured or charmed into place.

Sabriel pulled out his wand. Elmwood. His grandmother's hair served as its core. Gingerly placing it at his side, he waited.

((OOC: All descriptions for the arena are imagined. XD And I know Sabriel and Tremaine were supposed to leave together, and although I was pretty sure you wouldn't mind, I didn't feel comfortable using Tremaine without your permission. D: !))

OOC: Its fine. I don't mind godmodding w/ anyone i'm rp'ing with.


Michael followed Sabriel into the dueling arena. He strode to the far end of the room. He noticed Sabe was a bit winded already.

"Take your time," Michael told him. "There's no way to fail this test. Its just to see where you are. When you're up to it, take your place on one of the crecent moons on the blue mat." He took his place on the moon that was about four moon markings out from a stellar symbol in the dead center of the long narrow mat. His hands were simply resting at his side. He wasn't going to raise his wand to the ready position until it was called for. He didn't want to rush the boy.

"I presume you know how this is done," Michael said. "Have you ever participated in a duel? Watching one is one thiing, but being part of one is quite another."

Sabriel took his position. Sabriel had participated in practice duels before, for DADA. They were all part of the curriculum. During the summer, his father would take him out in the fields and pretend to duel him. Ferris, of course, was permitted to use his magic. Sabriel had to think of the counter spell, but the most he could truly do was physically dodge. His father hardly cared whether his hexes hit his son or not. Sabriel even watched a few formal and informal duels in the pages of his schoolbooks. Except, he had never set foot in an arena before.

"I have participated in many practice duels," Sabriel answered shyly. "So I do have experience in that department. He took out his wand. Elmwood. Unyielding. He gave a shaky, albeit polite smile and bowed.

"First," Michael said, making the cursory bow out of politeness, "Let us test your shield. You do remember your protego spell, right? Cast it now, please. Shield yourself. I am testing the strength of your self protection shield. I am presuming you do not know the more advanced contego shield that aurors use. I am not supposed to show you that spell, but in time I very well might show you that if it looks like you could benefit from it."

Michael waited until Sabe had cast a portego spell around himself. He aimed his wand to merely fire a transfiguration spell. It would tell him immediately if Sabe were able to protect himself and to what degree. The spell was designed to transfigure Sabe into a gazelle. He chose an animal that would be structured much like what Sabe was biologically used to. The slender, lythe body style, the grace, the beauty...he did not for one moment want Sabe to feel belittled if his protego did not hold.

"Ready?" Michael asked. Then he fired the transfiguration spell. "Origis Vultis!"

Origis Vultis: transfigures the target to a gazelle.

OOC: when one duels on PA, they can cast up to 3 spells at a time. Usually they are a combination of defensive and offensive both. Usually, one defensive and two offensive, but its whatever the caster chooses. Then we post at the bottom of the post what spell we cast and what it means. PA has a good spell compendium, but we also like to use the spell list in the Harry Potter wiki. Hope that helps. Any other questions, just ask!

(( OOC: Hope I did it right! And ki, energy, magic -- If they aren't, I'm making them synonymous. XD ))

Sabriel extended his wand. The stance helped provide more stability when casting the spell, and improved his ki flow from his hand to his wand. "Protego!" A shimmering, mostly transparent shield erected itself around him, made purely from concentrated energy. Magic.

"Ready?" Michael asked. Sabriel nodded.

"Origis Vultis!"

Sabriel knew this spell, and couldn't help but develop a glimmer of both apprehension and amusement. A gazelle? Would the transformation be painless? And how long would it take for the effect to wear off or Tremaine to negate the effects? A morbid curiosity developed inside him, but there were other times to find out, and Sabriel wasn't sure he wanted to know at all.

The spell was surprisingly potent. As it impacted Sabriel's shield, he found himself gasping from the intensity. Of course, Tremaine was an experienced older wizard. Sabriel wondered if he expected his 'Protego' to deflect his spell at all.

It didn't. Instead of bouncing off and rebounding back toward Tremaine, the spell expanded, hugging the surface of Sabriel's shield, before eventually being absorbed. Even so, Sabriel held a private moment of triumph at not letting it break through. He had practiced the spell for hours, both at home and at school. By the time he was in his Fourth Year, he at least knew how to cast a decent one. Further development would allow spells to bounce off the shield, but that would come in time.

- Protego: basic protection charm, meant to rebound minor hexes, jinxes and curses

Michael laughed, delighted. "Oh, well done!" he exclaimed. "You have a good shield. It is exactly where it should be for your age and experience, perhaps a tad more. You've been practicing. Excellent. You, my boy, have much potential. He looked at Sabe, and his eyes held a bit of excitement.

"It is, I believe," he grinned, "your turn. Intensity is not so important. I just want to get an idea of how you defend yourself. You know, it won't be long before I can turn this part of what we do over to Khaat's husband. Let me see. Veelas are very good at tossing balls of flame when they are angered. Have you grown into that power? Are you yet able to toss a ball of flame at me? Let us look at some of your own natural abilities first. If you have not grown into that natural ability yet, then you may choose whatever spell you wish to fire back at me with."

Michael had not raised his own shield. He would raise it if he needed to, but he had plenty of options to defend himself with. He was not particularly worried. Not yet. After all, this was just testing. Not even practice, let alone a real duel.

Sabriel blushed, then shook his head. "I do not think I have been that angry before," he replied. The boy ran a set of slender fingers through his hair. "Mother says I am odd; everyone else in my family has a terrible temper. I have seen my sisters toss fireballs before. Sometimes their entire appearance changes altogether. It is a frightening experience."

When he was younger, his sisters cleaved to him. They would always try to get him what he wanted (or what they assumed he wanted). Although Sabriel did well to equalize his love, the haughty Veelas still quibbled over his affections. Mild Sabriel. Cute Sabriel. Kind, loving, fragile, conservative Sabriel. He was less like a brother and more like a gem. A prize, maybe? He simply knew that being in their company for very long was madness. If one of them grew hostile, their faces warped and changed. Not completely, though. Never completely.

Well, he should not keep Professor Tremaine waiting. Ah, but what spell to use? There were many different possibilities!

Sabe doubted his magic would be able to do Tremaine any harm. He did not want it to. All the same, he wanted to impress him. He raised his wand while taking a deep breath. Mind clear? Yes. Posture all right? He supposed so. Wand condition? Ha! He always took great care of his wand ..

"Petrificus Totalus!" he said. His voice was clear. Soft, but steady. Sabriel willed all his strength into the spell.

- Petrificus Totalus: Binds the victim's body completely. Hands at sides, knees locked together. Lasts as long as the castor permits.

Michael deflected the spell, but it did take him some bit of effort. Sabe's spells were good and strong. That pleased Michael immensely.

"Oh, well done!" he said. "You do have good wand skills. Excellent. You can hold your own if you need to. That is a good thing. Nice. Very nice. Brian will be pleased. Alright--let's see. Aguamenti!" Michael fired the jet of water from the tip of his wand and aimed it to arch overhead so that it might fall on Sabe rather than firing directly into him. He had no desire to hurt him. Getting wet, well, perhaps that wasnt such a bad thing. "How do you feel about a little water, Lad?" he laughed. His keen hearing thought he heard something in the hallway and then sliding under the door, Hiss slithered in. "Do try to stay out of the way, won't you, Hiss? We dont' need to be tripping over you. If you want to be useful, you could stand guard and warn us if someone comes." The rope gave him a rather exaggerated salute and slipped an inch or so under the door to keep watch in the hallway.




aguamenti: fires water from a wand tip.

Sabriel, curious as to what diverted Tremaine's attention, turned his head for a moment -- and was suddenly soaking through his robes. The spell did not hit him directly -- Tremaine obviously did not intend for it to, but the arc carried enough water to drench him. The boy sneezed. He took a moment to blink water from his eyes and pulled his bangs back. He had just enough time to catch Hiss slithering back under the door.

Ah, what was that spell? Sabriel muttered what he thought was the incantation and grew delighted when a blast of hot air erupted from his wand. He quickly drew it over his robes and hair. The spell was rather effective; he was dry in just a few short moments, but quite humiliated.

Well, he had allowed himself to get distracted. Sabriel repositioned himself beside his crescent and focused. He was going to try hard not to let it happen again.

"Incarcerous!" he cried, extending his wand once more.

Incarcerous - ties victim up with ropes
Hot-Air Charm - produces a blast of hot hair from the tip of wand, no incantation given

Michael had been distracted by Hiss, and Sabe's incarcerous wrapped him up nicely while he was talking to Hiss. Rather than being rattled by it, it made Michael laugh.

"Well done. My own fault, that. That and my stupid rope." The rope jerked back across the door and seemed to be gesturing annoyance at Michael. "Finite!" Michael shouted, and the ropes that bound him disappeared. Hiss still looked annoyed. "Get over yourself," Michael said to Hiss, "You're supposed to be on guard duty. Go." He turned back to Sabe as Hiss slid an inch or so under the door again.

A simple charm might work. Maybe. "How good are you with this, then?" he asked. He nonverbally flicked his wand in Sabe's direction, sending a shrinking spell. He wondered what Sabe would look like pocketsized.

Finite Incantatum: stops spells

Shrinking charm: shrinks target