She raced into the dueling arena. She was panting and had a stitch in her side. She did not want to miss this duel. She didn't care if she had broken her neck trying to get there. She leaned against the wall and covered her mouth with her hand so she would distract them from their duel. She didn't want either of them to turn their wands on her. She caught her breath and walked over to stand next to Kayla. This was too good to miss.

"Of course." Ethan nodded stiffly, inwardly cursing the stubbornness of the old man as he watched his old professor toss away his cane. Well if he wasn't going to acknowledge that he was old and infirm, Ethan wouldn't acknowledge it either. Despite Krazimeriz' formidable repertoire and his lifetime of experience, Zan would not flinch away from this. Honour and pride ran just as deep with him as they did with Kazimeriz. He had done nothing wrong, but rather than embarass Alessia Lupa the scary, Ethan chose to hold his tongue and accept the challenge.

Chris Potter heard from another student that Professor Truebridge and Kazi were going to duel and he did not want to miss it. He quietly went into the Dueling Arena and stood by Kayla and Paris. He waved and smiled excitedly to them. And then turned his attention to the wizards infront of him.

Tobi ducked into the duelling arena just behind Kayla, (seriously, one more growth spurt and he'd have to duck wherever he went.)

"Did I miss anything?" he whispered, scarcely audible. He liked Professor Truebridge, and well, Professor Kazimeriz was a good teacher, he didn't much like the idea that either could get injured.

Anastasia Bunbury silently moved out of the shadows of the dueling arena and leaned against the wall near Prefect Winters, her hands resting deep in the pockets of Ethan's jacket. Her shoes were hardly noticeable for once, being the simple brown moccasins they were, but she did have a certain pair of stunna shades perched atop her red head.

"Careful now," she muttered to herself, watching the two men banter back and forth in the center of the room. She had the oddest feeling that she wanted Truebridge to win....but why, she really didn't know. Because if he didn't...well, that meant the jacket was hers to keep.

On the other hand, she really disliked Kazimeriz...and if Ethan lost...why, she would be losing a fashionable friend. If Bunbunz had friends, that is.

Cedric entered the arena because he heard that the two popular professors was going to duel so he can't wait to see the legendary duel..

Kazimeriz smirked as he stood before Truebridge. "It has been a long time since I have seen you in this arena. I remember well... I wonder if you are as impetuous now as you were in your youth?" Kazimeriz raised an eyebrow, assessing the young man. True, he had a measure of respect for the boy's passion toward learning... but disdain for his lack of self control.

Obviously news had traveled the corridors of Hogwarts, one minute she was standing on her own and the next thing she knew Paris was beside her followed by Chris, then Tobi, Professor Bunbury and Cedric. She acknowledged the others with a slight nod of her head.

"Nope not yet" she replied to Tobi in a whisper and she turned to Professor Bunbury who was standing on the other side of her. "Cool jacket Professor" she commented eyeing off the jacket. The very same one she was sure she had seen Truebridge in.

Kayla returned her gaze back to the two Professor's and she felt her stomach clench slightly. She was more nervous about watching this duel than when she was participating in one herself.

Cedric was quite thinking that Kazi was too old for Truebridge..but he was not underestimate Kazi because he knows that Kazi is a powerful wizard..and Cedric has a theory if Kazi was been professor of Trubridge..Cedric was standing behind kayla and tobi..he hopes that this will be a wonderful match,a blazing hot match,actually...

"I doubt you have any intention of harming any of my books, sir." Ethan answered, with a slight narrowing of his eyes as he too recalled the first incident which had earned him a detention at the hands of Krazimeriz. At eleven, it wasn't so much that he had been impetuous, rather he'd... okay he'd been fairly impetuous, and if he was honest there was still a streak of that hidden deep within himself. But one thing that young Zan could not stand was anyone harming the tomes that he spent most of his waking life attempting to escape into, even as joke, or as harmless bullying, he had never stood for it once.

This particular incident had been very early on in his first year, he'd been sitting off to one side reading a book when another student had decided to turn his wand on Ethan and sent a diffindo at the pages of the book spread on his lap. Eleven year old Ethan had immediately draw his own wand on the culprit and cast a particularly nasty curse with extreme and surprising effectiveness...

... and Krazimeriz had seen it and punished him severely.

Would they fall back into their old patterns? Probably. The difference was that Truebridge could see that Kazimeriz had not changed all that much, while he himself clearly had. Or perhaps not so clearly to the old man?

Truebridge turned his head slightly and acknowledged the students that had flocked to the arena, his eyes coming to rest on Professor Bunbury... was that his jacket? And a pair of his stunna shades! His eyes widened slightly.

That did it.

ALL women were crazy.

She was bouncing she was so excited to be watching this. She noticed the jacket that the Pink Punisher was wearing. She knew she had seen Truebridge in that. Hmm, what was going on there? She thought.

Finding his way quickly to the Dueling Arena, Raiden stopped short at the sight of quite a few students that had already gathered. Spotting Kayla in the middle of a small crowd, Raiden moved closer to her and tapped the back of her shoulder tentatively, biting his lip again. It was a habit he seemed hard-pressed to quit.

"Kayla, they're not really going to... kill each other, are they?" he asked worriedly. He rather liked Professors Truebridge and Kazimeriz, he didn't want them to kill each other! They were both really good professors. "They're not gonna hurt each other too much, right? They're professors, they wouldn't..."

Kayla turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder and saw that it was Raiden and she pulled him to stand in front of her and she wrapped her arms around him. "I don't think they're going to kill each other" she murmured in his ear. "As for the hurting part that I can't honestly answer. Just stay with me Raiden, everything will be alright." She really shouldn't say things like that because she didn't know if that was strictly true.

Tobi shrugged, "I wouldn't put it past Kazimeriz to kill anyone," he said. "Hope he doesn't though, Truebridge is a great teacher."

He was. Who else could teach them about history using chocolate? Seriously. The man was a Genius!

Raiden held onto Kayla's arms as she wrapped them around him, feeling instantly more comfortable with the situation than he had just seconds ago. If Kayla was here, and Tobi the Giant Gryffindor, and other people... the professors wouldn't... go too far. Right? Someone would stop them, remind them that they were in a school, with students...

And yet, Tobi's words managed to immediately shove him out of the comfort zone. He twitched, a rather noticeable twitch, and stared up (up, up, up) at the tall Gryffindor, chewing on his bottom lip again despite the rather painful lesson he'd learned about that in Diagon Alley.

"He... he wouldn't..." Raiden said softly, his hands tightening on Kayla's in worry. "They're professors, they'll know better than to... do that..."

But the doubt was heavy in his little voice. Professor Kazimeriz seemed like he could do it. Like he might. Even the idea of them hurting each other though... was troublesome to Raiden. Was this how people worked after they grew up? They got mad at each other and challenged each other to duels and tried to kill each other?

...maybe growing up wasn't something he wanted to aim for anymore.

Kayla felt Raiden's hands tighten around hers and she threw Tobi a reproachful look. "Nice one Avalon, let's scare all the little kids while we're here." She pulled Raiden tighter against her and leaned down a little to whisper into his ear. "It won't come to that Raiden. Professor Kazimeriz, maybe a little frightening but he wouldn't do anything that stupid on school grounds."

She looked back at the two Professor's as they all waited on tenterhooks for the first spell to be cast. No, she was sure Kazi wouldn't try and kill Professor Truebridge but she should see him trying to hurt him a lot. That was what dueling was about after all and looking at Truebridge, she was pretty sure that he was going to put up one hell of a fight!

Kazimeriz smirked. "Ah, yes. Your precious books. Tell me, do they still hold the same position of importance in your mind and heart, or has the focus of your desire shifted onto--" his eyes shifted briefly to Bunbury "-- other delights?" Kazimeriz spoke idly as he moved toward the traditional dueling position on the piste.

"Its still books, Sir." Ethan answered stiffly. With his back ramrod straight, he took a few steps to take his position. "I am not, and never shall I be, a man of vice."

Kazimeriz sneered. "I question the veracity of your statement, Truebridge... for here we stand, poised to duel for the honor of my goddaughter... whose purity and good name you attempt to muddy in pursuit of just such vice. Or had you forgotten the reason for this duel?"

"I had not forgotten the reason you gave for challenging me, Sir." Ethan responded, gritting his teeth slightly and still unwilling to oust Less or cause her further embarassment. If she did not want to clarify what had occurred then that was her business, and if she truly believed the accusations she made, well, then Ethan was right about the crazy part. He believed it was better for his reputation to be run through the mud than for hers.

No one hurt his Alessia. He would not see this man-- one of his former students, no less!-- get away with such an act. He would rather slay or be slain than see a man try to take advantage of the beloved girl, so damaged already by life's cruelties.

"If you have no words in your own defense, then let it begin." Kazimeriz bowed, taking the traditional dueling stance, and waited for Truebridge to respond in kind or speak on his own behalf.

"As you wish, sir." Zan responded, lifting his wand in a salute and offering a low and respectful bow before taking his stance and immediately sending a flurry of non-verbal stunners, each aimed at slightly different points on Kazimeriz' body, with a gouging spell thrown in at random.

Just when she thought they were going to go on talking to each other forever, Truebridge sent a flurry of spells at Kazi and Kayla gasped at the speed at which he had cast. She tightened her hold on Raiden, unconsciously squeezing his little body and probably making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Merlin" she breathed, "He's fast. I personally didn't think Truebridge had it in him quite frankly."

Child's play. Grateful that he had taken his pain potions, Professor Kazimeriz blocked the stunners with ease, moving with the lithe elegance and speed of a seasoned dancer decades younger than he was. "Really, now, Truebridge, this is third year nonsense." He watched the angle of incidence and trajectory for each spell thrown, blocking with pinpoint precision though coming close to missing that gouging spell-- sharper angle, hard to spot! He cautioned himself not to get cocky. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the students gathering. Let them watch; perhaps it will teach them a bit about targeted shielding. He retaliated, throwing a silent diffindo spell at Ethan and following up with a disarming spell. Better to start small, then build from there. It had been too long since he had been in a proper duel; couldn't hurt to warm up.

"I hope it doesn't go that far," he whispered back to Kayla, eyes locked on the two older men as they exchanged words. As they moved to their dueling positions, he let out a little whimper of concern. Why did they have to do this? It was stupid. "Kayla, why do they have to do this, it's just-" Raiden went utterly and completely rigid in Kayla's arms the second the duel started, the question he'd been asking forgotten as Kazimeriz and Truebridge went at it.

Merlin's pants, Kayla was like a boa constrictor. But Raiden couldn't find the words to say anything about it to her, not that he would either way. He merely tightened his own grip on her hands, hoping that she wouldn't suddenly let go or leave. Because really, she needed to be there, in case something happened.