Dylan pressed his hand against the gash on his chest. Ow it hurt. He was feeling slightly faint from the loss of blood. No he couldn't do. Fainting was for cissys. And Dylan was no cissy.

His shield faltered in the pain. Then the sheet came into play. OMG he was throwing a sheet at him. Oh no. Not just a sheet. A solid, rock sheet. He had hardened it. Dylan was prepared for contact. He had his hand tightened around his wand, ready to create the best shield the world had ever seen. Then it broke. It bust into millions of shards. All heading straight for Dylan.

He erected a shield, shards of rock bouncing off it. "Furnuculus," he retorted, firing off a quick succession of hexes. Jelly-legs followed by a stinging and finally a leg locker.

He was getting tired. And he was in so much pain. He just wanted to win.

Oh JEEEEEEEEEZ! Jake hated those curses. He didn't want to have his legs all wobbly and he didn't want to look like an idiot.

Panicking, Jake tried to dodge the spells instead of using Protego, and so he was caught right along the side of the face by a stinging hex before he even thought to pull up a shield.

"ARGH! PROTEGO!" he screamed out, a big red welt on the side of his face, across his cheek, nearly from his mouth to his ear. Owie... that...

...

Stung.

Not rubbing his face, because that would make it worse, Jake stood facing Dylan in rage. "STUPEFY!" he yelled out, once the curses were finished flying at him. Honestly, you'd have thought the bird one would make him more angry. "Tarantallegra!"

And... because he just felt like it, Jake levitated one of the branches into the air again and had it thrown right at Dylan. Hopefully it'd knock him out or something. Then Jake would win.

Dylan smirked as Jake was hit with countless hexes. Boy he was good. Blow after blow hit Jake. That was until he put up a shield. Oh well it worked. That cut looked bad though. Not as bad as the chest hole Dylan had though.

He took a deep breath, as the pain ran through him again. He was about to pass out. Well probably. He couldn't. He just couldn't.

His wand raised, he jumped to the side and rolled. Commando stylie. Woo. He was an army man trying to survive a war. The pain in his chest forgotten momentarily.

Suddenly something fell from the sky at him. It connected with his head. He hadn't even managed to get another spell in before he crumpled to the floor.

He had lost.

These two were putting on a good show. The dirtier the wand fight the better and these two had gotten pretty dirty. Seamus watched gleefully. He had good money on this.. and he reckoned the taller of the two boys was going to be a nice little earner.

That was until a branch knocked him out.

NOO!

"Get up!" Seamus called angrily, waving a balled fist in the air. "Get up and finish him off, boy!"

Still standing with his wand directed at Dylan, as though he antcipated another fight, Jake was silent. Vaguely he eard some random geezer shouting at Dylan, and after a full minute, he realised Dylan wasn't getting up.

Jake had won.

Spitting out some blood that had found its way into his mouth, Jake lowered his wand, the ringing silence eery as he tried to comprehend what he'd managed...

But then there was an odd blissful feeling in his mind again, as if the existing feeling had been tweaked.

Of course he had won.

So now what?

Yes!

Samuel turned his eyes onto Seamus and grinned, "Your boy lost. Told you it's always the quiet ones you need to watch" he said with a chuckle as he fingered the money in his pocket.

Oh yeah tonight had been a success!

"Be sure to come back for round two" Samuel called over his shoulder as he made his way into the arena towards the two boys.

He nudged the one lying on the floor with his foot before drawing his wand and 'enervating' him. With another quick tap of his wand on each boy, Samuel spoke. "You're done here. Now get your butts back to the castle."

Dylan was suddenly awake. What happened? His head hurt so badly. "To the Castle?" he nodded. He would have to get his chest looked at. It didn't look too bad. Just a big hole. Yeah nothing.

Jake didn't waste a moment. As soon as he was told to leave, Jake lowered his wand and put it back into his pocket. With haste, he scurried past the old man who had apparently bet against him and lost his money (karrrrrma) and away from the arena, straight back up to the castle.

With... those nasty cuts all over him, a bruised back from flying into the tree, and a welt from the stinging hex, which still smarted.

Fail.

...

Well... win... in a fail way.

Deep in the heart of the Forbidden Forest an underground dueling arena has been set up. A few random students have been selected to participate in these duels.



ROUND 3

ARYA LOVEGOODS Vs DESTINY SHEPARD



Place your bets.

As soon as Destiny was out of the castle doors, she started running. She occasionally looked back to see if anyone was following, and every time the coast was clear. For some reason, that made Destiny smile.

Still holding her wand at her side, Destiny inched further and further into the forest until her feet told her to stop. It was the first time she was ever in there, and knowing what types of things lurked about, she was not scared.

Weird.

There was a bounce in her step as she walked through the forrest seemingly without a care in the world. Her hood was down and her school robes open, softly blowing in the breeze and revealing her bandana and pajamas. She loved the midnight sky and took her time to watch the stars while enjoying the feel of the ground under her barefeet. The girl wasn't worried about being followed, she had taken care of that in the castle. Now all she cared about was enjoying the grounds at night as she continued her journey.

Twirling her wand she continued to walk until suddenly she reached her destination. Though she had never been there before, a weird feeling told her this was the place. Looking around she spoted a familiar face, the girl from potions class. They hadn't gotten off to a good start so Arya wasn't sure if the girl liked her or not. A small smile touched her lips as she looked at the girl."Hey" was all she said before returning to her examination of the new location.

Moving behind the girl that had just arrived, Samuel wore a scowl on his face. "We're not here for a picnic ya know" he growled as he tapped his wand on the girl's shoulder and strengthened the Imperius Curse he had placed on her earlier.

With another snap of his wrist he lit the torches in the arena and stepped around the girl and moved forward. "I suggest you start warming up, we'll be starting soon" he called over his shoulder as went to set up the seating area.

Destiny ignored the girl that had arrived. She wasn't there to talk. Actually, she had no idea why she was there, but it was not to make friends. She slightly recognized the girl, but shook that out of her head as the freebie hating bartender showed up.

Now Destiny knew why she was there. As soon as the torches were lit, her lips curled into a smirk and she stepped forward. She chose a side of the arena that she thought would be more comfortable for her, and turned her back so that other girl couldn't see what she was practicing.

Not that Destiny needed practice..

Only mouthing the incantations, Destiny flicked and swished her wand in all the snazzy motions she had learned, and a few she had no recollection of learning.

Yeah. That girl was going down.

Arya jumped slightly at the sound of the rude bartender's voice, but before she could turn to retaliate she felt a tap on her shoulder. She stoped twirling her wand as her mind was suddenly focused, as if she remembered why she was here in the first place.

"Sorry"She mumbled as she removed her robes and placed them by a tree. Her eyes flickered to her opponent as she mentally went through all the spell she knew.

Flicking her wand up she cast her shield a few times, holding it for a minute before leting it fall. Arya didn't want to preform any spells aloud worried that the other girl would hear so instead she practiced the wand movements repeatedly to a few key spells and stretching her legs, she wanted nothing to stop her from a win tonight.

Was Ayra stretching? Destiny had stretched enough on the run over here. She was not going to waste her time with all the useless stretches, when she had spells to practice.

Turning slightly so she could almost see what Ayra was doing without it being to obvious, Destiny took mental notes of the flicks she was performing. Any other time, she would have been oblivious to those types of things, but this time is was different.

She wanted to win after all, and Ayra was only a first year Hufflepuff. Destiny was definitely feeling superior to the girl now, even though she was only one year ahead of her.

After practicing a few more spells, the Slytherin turned to her opponent, 'You're going down.'

Confidence is key here.

Having finished her stretching, she was now practicing wand movements. The girl didn't bother to turn to her opponant for she was to focused on the task at hand.

It bothered her not that the girl was older. She had size and speed on her side, even if she did break her shield there was no way the spells would hit her. Arya was to flexible and fast for that to happen.

Upon hering the girl adress her, she stoped what she was doing and slowly turned to the slythern girl smirking."You wish snake."She scoffed as she looked the girl over, sizing her up.

Yup. She was gonna win.

Seriously?

Destiny snorted at the girl's words, 'Huffie's were never known for originality, huh?' Obviously not. How many times can a Slytherin be called a snake? Boooring.

She rolled her eyes at the sizing up she received. Ayra. She bit and scratched Destiny while she was under that potion's effects! Narrowing her eyes at her opponent, she just wanted this thing to start already..

There were paybacks that needed to be delivered.

Arya tightened her grip on her wand, "Apparently neither are snakes..." A small smirk still played apon her lips. Obviously this one wasn't to bright and she was growing tired of this bantering.

Taking her eyes away from her opponient, Arya began to study her surroundings as she continued to practice her wand movements. Her steps were slow as she walked around the whole area, stoping every few steps to cast her shield and peek at the snake.

Huffing and puffing her way through the forest, Rosa Cavello finally stepped into the clearing still leaning on her cane. She wished that stupid man would find a more suitable place to hold these duels.

Scanning the area Rosa's eyes fell onto the two young girls that were tonight's entertainment and her eyes narrowed. Huxley certainly liked the young ones. Well she supposed that she did also, they were so much easier to influence then the older ones.

Stepping forward closer to the girls she was able to get a better look at them and she had to admit that they didn't look all that bad but they seemed to be just as bad as the other ones she had come to watch. Spending the energy on insulting each other rather than focusing on their plan of attack.

Hmm, she didn't need to scrutinize them any longer, she knew who she was going to bet on. "Oh Huxley" she called spotting the man near the seating area, "I want to place a bet."

Forgetting for a moment that she was meant to be quiet---or at least not yell so loudly---Alora Lassley came running and jumping into the arena. Seeing as the weather was a bit warmer, she'd left her coat at home. It wasn't raining, either, so her usual umbrella wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Instead, she swung her big, bulky purse around and around, accidentally hitting poor 'ole Rosa in the head a time or two. "Let's get the ROAD on the SHOW!" she called out, realizing only a moment later that she'd accidentally reversed some of the words she was yelling. She jingled a bag of coins towards Samuel. "Galleons, galleons! I'm ready for the bet, Sammy Boy!"

Samuel knew that Alora would be back but he was mildly surprised to see that the Cavello woman had come back. And thank god for that because that woman had money to throw around.

He moved over to them and took their bets and then headed over to the arena. "Practice is over. Take your places and let's get this duel on the road."

Destiny was going to make another comment to Arya, the biting and scratching Kneazle girl, when she spotted two women making their way into the stands. Whoa. She was going to have to duel with an audience? That made her feel a tad bit nervous, but as quickly as the nervousness came, it disappeared. She would have laughed at the woman who got hit in the head with a purse, but she bit her tongue when Mr. I'm-too-good-to-accept-coupons-and-clean-my-store man came over.

And it was now time to take their places. Destiny didn't know if she was assigned a place, or if she could just stay where she was, but she wouldn't ask. The man was still creepy and she liked the spot she was at anyway. She wasn't going to give up her spot for Ayra, if that was even her real name. She shifted her weight in anticipation when the man said it was time to get the duel on the road. Why at this moment did she wish she brought sneakers? Socks were just not as good as sneakers, that's for sure.

Taking a deep breath, Destiny closed her eyes for a moment and moved a few steps closer. Bowing to Ayra, she raised her wand, stood in what would be called her very own duelling stance, and smirked, 'You first..cretin.'

Sure, Destiny could very well cast first, but it was better this way. Much better.

Arya paid the spectators no mind as she went back to practicing her wand movements for the duel. She didn't really care for a show but knew once they got started she would all but forget they were there. As she took a few steps she was glad to have went barefoot, her balance improved greatly when barefoot and she would need that while dueling.

When the creepy man spoke she took a deep breath to focus while turning to face Destiny. She bowed in unison with Destiny before taking a defensive stance and pointing her wand at the girl. Her eyes narrowed at being called 'cretin' and mumbled "fart face", before focusing on her magic.

"Expelliarmus!" As the spell shot towards the girl, she took a quick few steps to her right before sending another the girls way. "Locomotor Mortis!" She wanted to start off simple to test Destiny's style of dueling having never seen the girl duel. Flicking her wand in the air she cast her shield "Protego!" while taking another few quick steps to the right.

Fart face?

Whaaaaat was that? When someone calls you a cretin, you do not retaliate with fart face! Seriously. That should be a rule and if spells were not shooting towards Destiny, she would have made a mental note of that, for it was a good rule.

Expelliarmus, that was a spell that she knew would be heading her way, since that was going to be her first spell as well. She stepped aside for that one and when it passed, Destiny flicked her wand and muttered a quick 'Protego.' which blocked the leg-locker curse. So far this was easy..but who knew how long it would last..

Smirking to herself at Ayra's poor choice of spells, Destiny wracked her brain for spells that would, hopefully, be unexpected, for she was not going to try to disarm her. Not yet anyway. 'Incarcerous!' she muttered and watched as the ropes flew right towards her enemy, and quickly followed that spell with a 'Furnunculus.'

As she watched the two spells fly towards the Hufflepuff, Destiny quickly put her shield up. Gotta be prepared.

Arya dodged the first spell with ease, keeping light on her feet as she continued to move. The second hit her shield, she could feel it weaken as her foot slid into the ground.

Pointing her wand at Destiny she shouted a spell,"Confundo!"Spoting a family of raccoons in a near by tree she pointed her wand towards them and sent them after Destiny,"Oppugno!"With the distraction she strengthened her shield and kept moving, this time in the opposite direction.

As she moved she rambled her head for spells to use on Destiny, not wanting to use to much as there was no telling how long this could go on. "Langlock!"If the first spell missed and somehow the racoons wern't effective than surely this spell would be.