Kurumi shifted her body position and waited for a moment as class began and the first question was asked. The current stretching position - which was perfect for raising one's hand actually - didn't cause her to wobble at all and she easily raised her hand to answer. "If I may repeat what I said to you at the end of the previous lesson," she said when her turn had come. "Besides being good for muscles - making us more flexible and agile - which are all good things for a wizard to be, yoga mproves concentration and creativity. However," and now Kurumi was going to prove that she had taken up the woman's advice and seriously thought about yoga between the two lessons. "These notions merely scartch the surface of what yoga can do. Yoga means "union" in Sanskrit and was a means for a person to become enlightened and, to those of us who don't really believe in such practices, helps us get in touch with ourselves...to...develop a greater awareness of our physical and psychological states."

And, you know, help mold chakra and defend themselves from evil Dark Wizard Mystics!

Alice withdrew from her awkward stretching position and outstretched her arms for an easier stance as she eagerly answered the Professor's question. "In my opinion, the main point of Yoga is to get in touch with our roots." The second year smiled at her little pun, and expecting blank looks, she explained, "Many of the words involved with Yoga, even the name of the practice itself, originated from titles of roots, which is why I consider it the point of the exercise. The word 'Yoga' means to attach, and is the means of achieving spiritual awareness and tranquility and enlightens us with physical and mental health, therefore raising awareness with our 'roots, or ourselves." As the girl finished speaking, she resumed her previous stretching position and tried to suppress a yawn that was lodged in her throat. Was stretching over yet?

No yoga, yes! Nate still wanted to stretch though. So he started to copy what the teacher was doing. Typicall muggles stretches, but they still worked. Nate was wondering what they will being doing today if the teacher recommended to stretch. Were they going to learn a new spell, or were they going to learn a new spell and cast it on a creature. Like ridikulus on a boggart.

Ariana Stood up & stretched. she didn't know why people hated yoga Ariana Enjoyed it last class. though she didnt feel like speaking up much right now so she just listened to everyone else's responses as s he stretched & took a moment to meditate

Well, those were some better answers than she had at the beginning of the previous lesson. None of the creeped her out. "Most of you were on the right track vith vot I vos going for. However, there vos also a reason for the dark room as vell, as it ties in vith the yoga. Many of you, or even only a few of you, may have noticed that a few of your other senses were kicking into overdrive since your sense of sight vos blinded. Perhaps even letting you think a bit more clearly since you aren't distracted vith too many objects in front of you."

Having switched stretching her arms already, she started with stretching her legs. "I had you all do a few yoga positions to counter your train of thoughts. Challenge you if you vill. You could've thought clearly in the dark since ve were only going over review, something in which you should have been comfortable vith, but since I added in that little challenge, it made it that more difficult for you to do. Many of you right now had mentioned a bit of multi-tasking during dueling, or some encounter against your opponent, and most of the time, it vill not be in your comfort zone. The circumstances can vary depending on the outcome, but the end result is still the same, sometimes even making you frustrated to point of losing altogether."

"So, that is vot ve'll be vorking on today. Taking you out of your comfort zone. One of you had suggested it last lesson..." Though she forgot which. "Our five senses and how they come in handy during dueling, or in other vords, how to duel when one of them is taken away. You all know your five senses. Sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Which one do you think is the most important during dueling? And which is the least important?"

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Nate switched poses. He raised his hand, which is really hard to do since he is doing a leg stretch and has to hold up his leg. Anyways he said "Professor I think the sense of sight would be the most important during a duel. If you can't see were the spell is coming from or where your opponent is how are you going to block and attack. And I think the least important would be the sense of taste. Unless you're somewhere were there is dust or dirt and your enemy is hidden while running and kicking up dirt so you could taste the dust or dirt the sense of taste is pretty useless to you."

Ella listened to the professor, thinking about her senses and which one would be the most useful during a duel. She was torn between sight and sound for the most useful. She was sure of the least useful, taste for sure. Since her classmates had mentioned these, she kept her hand down.

Shifting into the next position, Kurumi thought for a moment as Professor Ramanos posed the next question. Really, all of those senses were disposable when it came to dueling with you really thought about them. Kurumi raised her hand. "I think, in a sense," no pun intended there, "that all of the senses are somewhat disposable when it comes to dueling. I do agree that perhaps taste and smell are the least useful of our five senses since you don't really need to be able to taste to duel. Hearing as well I suppose. If you are dueling with someone who has mastered the art of silent spellcasting, then that sense has been taken away from you already." Kurumi paused for a moment as she thought some more. Sight could be taken as well and you would be fine to some regard. "I think...touch may be the most important if for no other reason than for you to know that you have your wand in your hand. Without that sense, you could be holding nothing at all or something else entirely." It was a bit outside of the box, but touch was very important. Your entire skin acted as an active agent with this sense and there was a lot that could be accomplished with only it. "Touch makes our entire being aware of what is around us. We don't need to be able to see snow to know that it is cold for example. We feel it with our sense of touch."

So that was the reason why. Beezus tried to stick what Professor Romanos right into her mind as she switched stretching her other arm. She would need that, really. Now that she thought of it, the things that Professor Romanos had told them about the yoga during their previous lesson was undeniably correct. She really wasn't too distracted that time since it was dark, well..aside from the talking students.

As the Professor changed position, she followed after and listened once more as she elaborated more on the whole multi-tasking and yoga thing. True, multi-tasking can't be avoided during a duel. There'll be a time when you've gotta dodge one spell and at the same time would need to fire another one. Beezus nodded as pulled her right foot upward.

Blink. Blink. They were going to whaaaat? Take them off their comfort zone? That. didn't sound too good. But it would certainly give her more knowledge on how to duel properly and effectively. Then..off to the five senses. Which is the most important and the least important? Hmmmm.. The young eaglette pondered for a moment as she let go of her feet and raised her other one. After a while, she raised her hand, "Professor, I believe the most important sense would be the sense of hearing." Much important than the sight, that one is. "And maybe the least would be the taste." Well, then again that was her own opinion.

Amethyst took everything in that the professor was saying. She hadn't realized that she needed all senses when dueling. She and the others were asked about the most important and least important sense. She raised her hand. "Professor, I think that sound is the most important, and taste is the least important."

Oakey switched stretching positions to the one that Romanos was doing but Switching his legs back and forth to get them both equally stretched. Professor, I believe Sight and sound are our most important senses during a duel. Oakey switched legs again and continued with his answer. Without those we wouldn't be able to see or hear spells being cast at us.

Oakey didn't need to think twice about the least important sense during a duel. That would be taste, Professor. It's the least important during a duel because we aren't really eating anything. Unless you get knocked on the floor, then you'll be tasting dirt. I wouldn't want to have that sense during a duel if that happened. Dirt has some pretty gross things in it like worms and it's where animals....well you know...Oakey noticed he had gone slightly off topic...but uh, well, yeah I think you get the idea of what I'm saying...I think.

Alyssa listened as the Professor explained the reason for making them do those yoga positions. Then the Professor asked her question. Now that was a tough one. She thought for a long while before raising her hand to answer,"Professor, I would have to say that sound is the most important. Sight would have been too, but sometimes you may not be able to see your opponent. Not everybody is honorable when it comes to dueling and you may end up in pitch darkness where you will have to depend on your hearing to sense where your opponent is positioned. You also may be able to hear what spell they are using if they say it aloud. Of course, in the dark, you can see the spell coming at you, but it might be too late for you to block it.

As for the least important, personally I would think that it would have to be taste. Unless the person is sending lightning bolts at you and you can taste the ions in the air, taste would be the least important sense used in dueling." Alyssa hoped her guess was right.

Jory listened carefully with interest to the Professor's explanations. Then he thought about the answers before raising his hand.

"Professor, I'd say sound is more important because you can hear what spell is cast as well as which direction. Taste wold be the least important, of course," Jory said.

Raising her hand, Raven answered the question.

"I think sight is the most important during duelling. I believe eye-contact influence our confidence in duel." she had experience that last term. "And I don't think taste is not too important, because we didn't taste something, right?"

Wowowowowowow..... She almost fell, the stretching position make her body was not balanced.

Annabelle thought a little more on this question. "Hmmm which sense do you need for dueling." she thought to herself.
"Well there is sight to see your opponent and touch to feel for your wand in your robes to have it at the ready. I think sound is also important because then you can know if a curse missed you or not."
"I think the least important senses would be taste and smell because you can't really taste when you are dueling someone and you can't rlly smell the person unless they haven't bathed in days or you know they have unique sent.

Messer listened while the Professor explain to them about the benefit of yoga. He followed suit as Professor Romanos changed the position. He thought for a moment before answering the Professor question. Messer raised his hand "I think the most important sense important during dueling would be sound, Professor." he said. "Because like Alyssa said sometime we can't see the opponent, so have to count on our ear to hear the sound from our opponent, like they steps or even the sound of their breathing. So that we'd know their exact position." And if you already know where your opponent are, they can't use the element of surprise against you. "And the last important sense during dueling would be...taste?"

Taking him out of his comfort zone? But, he LIKED his comfort zone. It was...comfy. He shook his head, returning back to the present and to the question that had been asked. After a minute or so of thinking he raised his hand. "I believe sight is the most important sense in a duel," he began, "If the person you're dueling has mastered non-verbal magic, then it is important to see what wand movement they do. Some wand movements are easy to identify, and if they aren't you might as well get an idea of what kind of spell your apponent is using," he explained. He was actually able to concentrate while doing this pose. "It's also possible to identify what spell is being cast by the color of it...right?" he said, ending with a question.

Now, what was the least useful sense? "The less important sense may be taste because...well I don't think a person has time to actually stop and taste whatever it is." Why would someone even do that? Taste the ground?

Yeah it was back aching at the time but on the other hand, it made Jonathan realized that he kind of needed that one. Exercising and doing yoga was not really a normal thing he did. Well unless when he's at home. His mother would let him join in the whole yoga thing. Thank Merlin for Nobi to stand by and save him from doing so.

So why was that so last time? Jonathan followed the Professor's next position. Stretching before class is definitely nice.... but no yogas though. It's rough to think and at the same time do a pose...

That's it!

"It had something to do with our focus and attentiveness to your class professor" he raised his hand to answer the professor. "Doing the yoga poses was hard but it became much harder when we were trying to think for the exact answer to your questions" he nodded. It's true you know. Took him more pauses before he could actually raise his hand to answer. "Also that, we need to balance both our minds and our body" he added.

So right now they're not doing some yoga... INSTEAD... they're doing some exercising. Clever. Jonathan was now on the third position. He stood on one foot and then with his right hand placed on his right foot, holding it. Now he's just hoping he won't make out a fool of himself while doing this exercise pose.

So among the senses that she had mentioned which of those are the least and most important. Jonathan smiled as he raised his hand "They're all equally needed. If one becomes nonfunctional during a duel then the opponent will definitely take this to an advantage and leaving you, the one with the lost sense, to a disadvantage." he said. well, that's not really fair. These senses are very important, irregardless to what they are capable of doing.

B-b-b-but what if there is a correct answer to this question. Jonathan shook his head "I mean...uhmmm..." he said still balancing himself with one foot "The most important sense during a duel is the sense of sight while the taste is the least important." he said putting his free hand down.

Angelina thought in deep thought for a big, ignoring the students around her answering there own opition to the question. Well out of the five she could put them in order, but from the top most important is between two things for her. Raising her hand she said, "Professor I think the least important would be taste. For the most important I would say sound out of all the five, but wouldn't sight also be important? Because if you hear a spell and if you are in a good of people who are throwing spells everywhere wouldn't you have to have the sight to see if one is coming to you?" But that is just what Angelina thought was good to think about.

Elise frowned. So definitely no yoga this lesson. That was... sad. She was just learning foot-gravity coordination. Too bad. Stretching a little, she heard the tiny crack in her back and her eyes widened. That was surprising...

Raising her hand, she grinned. "Hearing," she replied. "You won't be able to see your opponent at all times, and so you'll need your ears. After that'll come sight, to be sure of where your opponent is if they're especially silent or non-verbal. Smell might work too, if your opponent's scent carries."

Shrugging, she finisheed with stating that, "I think taste is the least important, since it's highly unlikely to be useful in a duel."

Putting down her hand, Elise bent over a little and straightened up. Done!

Ok they were doing the whole calisthenics- yoga thing again. He expected this the moment he saw the mats. The talk of going out of their comfort zone? He didnt expect that. He liked his comfort zone. Its done nothing but good for him and kept him out of trouble for years. Sure he took some chances but it was after careful thought and a lot of research, almost to the point that there were no surprises that would catch him off-guard.

And one of his senses will be taken away? Oh boy now he's getting nervous. He already has one sense thats already compromised which he has to live with, so he knows all about having to use other senses to compensate for the defect. He raised his hand tentatively as he replied "Professor, for me, the sense of sight would be the most important.... the least would be.... the sense of taste. Or even hearing." Yeah he said hearing, which would probably rank as the second or first most important sense for others, but not Vickers.

Zhenya thought for a moment. If she was duelling someone else, what sense would she want over any other? And what scent could she do without?

She raised her hand and said "Professor I think Sight is the most important because you need to be able to observe what your opponent is doing. Well, in saying that you can observe with other senses as well, such as if you had very poor sight, but I suppose it's probably the easiest sense. You can see their subtle movements, and react to them. I think the least important one is taste... I'm not going to be wanting to eat during my duel because I'll probably be in Fight or Flight mode. And what would taste be able to do? Unless I was in the wild and had to taste the tracks my opponent was going on or something," she said remembering some nature documentary her mother had forced her to watch. The host had gone around tasting the animal waste to find their tracks... but Zhenya wouldn't like to do that. Especially if it were human.

Janice took her right feet, and pulled it backwards. She had not done this for almost a year, since she is not taking gym class anymore. When the professor asked the class the question she thought about it for a while, then raised her hand and answered.

"Professor, sight would be the most important, since sound would take more time to travel and that would kind of give us more time, even though it's only a split-second difference."

"Sight would be most important, because if you can't see what your opponent is doing, you can't react." Obviously. And what if the person had decided to go muggle on you? Couldn't hear a spell because there'd be no spell to hear. So, sight is definitely most important. As for the least important…?
"The least important would be taste. There's not really anything to taste in a duel." Or, at least, Sky hoped not…

Hmmm... which senses do you need most in a duel... well, that was quite obvious. Daisy would struggle to duel blindfolded, and although sound was also important, she could sorta last without it. She raised her hand.
'Sight is the most important,' she said, 'because you are able to see what spells your opponent is using on you, and sometimes if they show emotions that can be used to your advantage, like fear, if you get what I mean.' She thought for a second, 'and taste is probably the least important, because you don't really need to taste anything at all whilst duelling.'

Comfort? What was comfortable about yoga she did not know! LuLu changed positions so that she was stretching her legs now! It wasn't painful or anything just normal balance really.

''Well, I'd say their all very important in other words you need all five senses for dueling, but I think that sight would be the most important since you need to see what the opponent is playing at! The least important would be taste... because you wouldn't really be eating anything!'' she replied after raising her hand

He had been on the right track with his answer? Good for him!

Daichi changed his yoga position as he listened to the question. He had the feeling that this was going to be a very cool lesson...! But first the senses. Daichi raised an arm in the air for the second time to try and answer the questions.

"I think that all of them are important but if i have to pick one...i'd pick sound, Professor" he said and still with his arm in the air he continued. "I saw in a movie once that when one of them couldn't find the other, he had closed his eyes and was going for where he HEARD the other....and...it looked cool so that's why i pick sound" yush.

Arm still not lowered he went to the second question. "As for the last question, i think that taste is the least important ..unless you're in a tasting duel?" O_o was there such a thing? If it was and it involved chocolate cake.. Daichi was sooo in! And now he lowered his arm.

Slowly letting go of her arm, Louisa took hold of her ankle and gently stretched her leg behind her back. The professor's question made her furrow her eyebrows thoughtfully, losing her balance too because she stumbled a bit before standing erect remembering last term's dueling club.

"I think hearing is the most important sense, professor." Raising her arm as she spoke, "Last term when I tried dueling, I relied on hearing the incantations. Maybe because my opponent wasn't able to do non-verbal spells, or maybe the fact that I don't really recognize the wand movement or the physical property of the spell as in its color." Pause. "I'd say smelling is the least important?" And it was the first time ever that Louisa provided an answer based on experience rather than copied from a book.

This was a tricky question, Alex thought. She raised her hand. "I think the most important sense would depend on the situation", Alex said. "If it was dark, sound would be more important. If your opponent used a nonverbal spell, sight would be more important. Touch is probably always important." "The least important sense would be taste", she said finally.

Laura looked at the Professor, Yoga again, nope she wasn't going to do it, she would just act like she is doing it. "Professor, sight will be the most important because if you don't have it you can't see who your fighting."

Vlimia did the next pose, stretching her limbs nicely. As she did that, Vlim pondered the question. Stopping for the little while it took to raise her hand and get chosen, she then said "I think the most important sense in dueling would be hearing or sight. Because with hearing, you can hear what spell the opponent is casting, and be ready for it. With sight, I suppose you just need to be able to see what's around you so you don't bump into anything or cast a spell in the wrong direction. But I suppose it all depends on the situation, if somebody can cast non-verbal spells, and so on. A duel could happen anywhere." Vlim explained, thinking her choices were pretty good. "The least important sense would be taste." She concluded, going back to her stretching.

Selina moved into the next yoga position with relative ease. This was not as hard as what they had been doing earlier. Then she tried to raise her hand to answer her question, "Well ma'am, I would say sight. Although I really do believe you need all of them to work in conjunction with each other except possibly taste. Magic is a communative skill. At least the way I see it. So putting limits on magic by saying what is most important is, in my kind, closed minded."

Ariana Sat down. 'could we get on with the lesson already.' she thought to herself. she was tired already.

Taking you out of your comfort zone? Out of???, Gwendolyn repeated in her head and then looked back at the Professor. One of sight and sound…, the third year thought. But which one? Sight? Sound? Hmm… ‘I think sight is the most important sense’ Yep, she could probably deal with not hearing what the opponent said, but she couldn’t bare seeing nothing. That would be just confusing… ‘And… I guess taste is the least important’ Really- how could that be uselful?!

Justin listened intently to what the prfessor was saying about how yoga is important to learn. Then he raised his hand once again, " Professor, I think the least important sense to be able to use during a duel would be sight. And the most important would be the sense of touch. Because the sense of sight is not always necessary because your opponent is not always visible. while the sense of touch can be used to detect even the slightest movement. "

Harvey then did the next stretching part by bringing his foot behind him and holding it there as he stretched out his leg.. he then listened as the professor spoke to him and asked them a question.. he listened carefully as he tried to hold his balance as he thought about the answer to this question. He then slowly put up his hand so as not to lose his balance while he did this. "I think the most important would be sight.. as you would have to see where your opponent is during a duel and the least important would be taste.. as there would be nothing to taste in a duel" he answered as he still tried to hold his balance he didnt want to fall or lose his balance like he did last lesson. But at the same time he was being careful to not over-stretch himself.. he was still very sore from the bludger hitting him during his first ever quidditch match. He wondered how long it would take for this soreness to go.. he never knew that in his first quidditch match he would get hit by a bludger and be sore for many days to come

Sight would be the most important and the least important would be taste. She said If one of our sences were taken away we'd have to rely greatly on our other sences like sound, and use our intuition.

Again, Sierra looked up from her stretching exercises. "I don't think one is more or less important than the other," she stated, raising her hand. "Dark Arts don't always deal with dueling. If someone tried to poison you, you could use your sense of smell and taste to detect the poison." Hopefully it wouldn't get as far as having to taste the poison, though... "If you're being attacked, you'd need to use your sight or your sense of sound." She shrugged. "You could use any of them at any given time, really. Even touching something to get a feel for what it is or how it could hurt you could help. Besides, I've always been taught that in the dark arts, you should be aware of your surroundings at all times. I think this means using all your senses together."

Lily changed her stretching position, following the lead of the professor. She wasn't very stiff, in fact she seemed ready to exercise today but she didn't want to get hurt so she stretched anyway. The only problem was that she couldn't take notes, so she had to focus and try to remember all the information so she could jot it down later. Though now it was on to the next question. Which were the important senses and which were least important. Lily raised her hand, knowing that she would have a minute or two to think while she waited for her turn. Before she knew it she was answering. "I think the most important senses would either be sight or sound, because you would use those to determine how to protect yourself from the spell or whatever was done against you. and the least important would either be taste or smell, because you wouldn't use those very often during a duel." Lily switched legs after she had answered and looked eagerly towards the professor to see what was next.

Lily wasn't exactly sure what the answer was to the next question but she decided to guess, so she put her hand up. "Would protego be our greatest asset?" She put her leg down since she was done stretching.

Shifting into the next stretching position, Alice listened as the class started to answer the next question Professor Romanos had proposed. "Well, Professor, I agree with some of the others that taste and smell are the most disposable of our senses during a duel," she said, extending her legs again and reaching out to touch her toes. "Since we rely mainly on sight, many think that vision is most beneficial while in combat. Yet I find the function of hearing most convenient throughout battle. In any actual or classroom duel, the point of it is still to learn from your opponent, the spells that they use and mistakes that they make. Your adversary is always teaching you, whether they know it or not, and without hearing we could not put use to any of it."

The girl paused for a moment, in her stretching and speaking, and then added, "Of course, if your competitor has mastered the art of silent spell-casting, then I suppose touch would be the most advantageous to you. But in most cases, I think we would benefit from hearing. "

As the Professor posed another question, Alice thought for a moment before answering. She raised her hand, stretching her arm as high as she could. "Professor, since you've stated that the senses are our most valuable assets during a duel, wouldn't any spell that damages one of the five senses be a spell valued over all the others? Conjunctivitis, the spell that toys with someone's eyesight, would be an extreme assistance because, as I stated before, most wizards rely on their eyesight and therefore will be at a large loss in the duel. After all, if they couldn't use their other senses correctly, they would be at a disadvantage. And, of course, the spell Stupefy, which knocks your opponent out, would also be helpful but displays absolutely no creativity or imagination whatsoever." There must have been other spells that toyed with the senses, but this was the only one the second year could recall off the top of her head.

Nate put his foot back down on the ground. Thank god they were done with stretching. When he heard the next question he had to think really hard about it. Then it came to him. He raised his hand and said "Proffesor I think that protego would be the best spell in a duel. Because one it is very simple to do, and two it's a protection charm. Without that spell you would get hit more often."

Putting her foot down on the ground and relaxing her body, she thought about her 'greatest' asset in a duel. There was many, in fact. The shielding charm was her best choice, closely followed by the disarming one. Any other jinx or hex was good but not the greatest asset.

"Protego would be my greatest asset, professor." Raising her hand as she answered.

RL has stunk this week.. Catching up...
 

Question 1:

Minerva followed the professors directions copying her actions then she put her hand up. "Professor yoga is a great way to bring balance not only to your body, but to your mind. It helps with flexibility as well as waking your senses. So us doing these positions as we did our lesson helped us concentrate more and woke our brains up to retain more information.

Question 2

Minerva changed stretching positions and put her hand up. "In dueling would sight be your best sense. To see your opponent you can know there action." she wasn't sure, but she decided to take a guess. She knew it wouldn't be taste, maybe if the person you were facing smelled really bad smell would be a factor, but probably not. You wouldn't want to touch the person you were fighting so touch would be out, so it had to either be see or hear.

Question 3

Minerva listened to the professor and then put up her hand again. "Professor wouldn't expelliarmus be your greatest asset in a duel. If you can get your opponents wand away from them then you would be able to have the upper hand as well as be safer from harm.

No new yoga position? Oh okay... Daichi stopped doing the position and placed his left foot back on the purple mat. Listening , the Slytherin thought about giving an answer.

"We learned from a dueling master last year that the shield charm is very important" he said after raising his arm. "But personally...i don't have one" he mumbled , cheeks blushing as he looked at the ground. "Unless Scourgify is one ..i'm really good at that one!"

blink blink

Justin listened to the professor and answered, " Professor, I believe that Experlliumas would be the best asset to have in a duel. "

Oakey put his foot down and stretched his arm into the air to answer this question. Professor, I believe that Protego is our greatest asset in a duel. He put his arm down and continued wit his reason. Not only will it protect you from your opponents spells but it will also deflect that spell back at them. Making Protego both an defensive and if used properly an offensive spell.

sorry for the bad spelling of the spells
 

Olivia sat with her legs crossed on the mat and raised her hand Expeliarmus would be a duelers greatest asset, because it gives you a chance to cast more spells on your opponent cause they are dissarmed, but if your opponent is able to cast spells without a wand petrificus totallus would be useful because it limits your opponent's movement

Jordan raised his hand, "Professor wouldn't the shield charm, Protego, be your greatest asset in a duel?" he asked, "Depeneding on the strength of the charm, it will protect you from most spells apart from unforgivables. And don't people say that defense is the best offence or something like that?"

"I think Expelliarmus would be the most helpful spell", Alex said while raising her hand. "If you could take away your enemy's wand, they would not be able to harm you by casting more spells."

Zhenya raised her hand and said, "The greatest spell you could use as your greatest asset would be the one you have mastered. Not one you barely know, as it might not work. But I suppose the disarming spell, if you could, would do it. But then the opponent might get physical to fight. So it's hard to say, because your best spell might not be good enough if you're up against a dark wizard. Also I think stupefy might be good. Didn't Harry Potter use it to save his live?" she asked.

Ella thought about that for a moment and then raised her hand.
"Professor, the Disarming Charm would be a great asset during a duel because it would enable you to disarm your opponent and gain the upper hand."

Hmm...was she asking the question the class as a whole or as to their own personal skills? "I would say it'd be the shield charm," he said, raising his hand. "But, in a personal level I'd say the stunning spell." Yeah, because he was familiar with it and it was a spell he felt comfortable doing. Although, the Dueling Professor guy had told him that his wand was good at defensive spells, Kennedy always like playing offense.

Violet raised her hand after listening to the teacher's previous questions and lesson. "I believe the disarming spell could be the most important during a duel with another wizard. Without their wand, I don't think they would be able to do much, unless they can do very dark and advanced spells perhaps?"

'Uh-huh, that's most of us thinks,' Beezus said mentally as Professor Romanos chimed that most of them believed that the sight and sound senses are more important than the remaining three. But then again, even if they concluded that there was such a thing as a most important and a least important sense, it wouldn't hinder the fact that all five senses are valuable and that having them in a normal way should be nurtured correctly and properly. Yes, that was just what the Professor said, taking advantage of the senses' full potential, not taking it for granted.

"Sound and sight?" Beezus asked when Professor Romanos said they'd be focusing on two senses at that time. Hmmmm..spell that is your greatest asset in a duel? After pondering for a while, she raised her hand. "Professor, I believe it depends on the caster of the spell. I mean, if you're not good at doing the Disarming or Stunning Spell then it still won't work to your advantage. As for me, I consider myself good at the Diffindo spell so I suppose that is my greatest spell asset in a duel. Though learning more spells would be very most helpful." the young eaglette chirped.

"There really is not right or wrong answer here. A few of you had the right idea though. The spell that becomes a wizard's greatest asset is one that they've mastered and are comfortable vith doing. Like Miss Castell has said, if you can't do a spell, than it isn't vorth trying in the first place. You have no advantage over your opponent. Most often though, the two spells that vould most likely help you win a duel is the disarming charm and the shield charm. The disarming charm both disarms your opponent and knocks them back if used correctly, and the shield charm can become both a defensive and offensive spell depending on how you use it."

"Ve'll be practicing these two spells today as vell as use them in our duels ve'll do later on. I know you all know the incantations..." She'd heard it many times in their answers. "Though who can tell me the wand movements for the Disarming Spell and the Shield Charm?"

Was in the middle answer to last question when I saw your next one
 

Alyssa thought for a moment before raising her hand."Professor I agree with some of my fellow classmates who mentioned the Shield Charm as it would be a good spell to protect yourself. The Disarming one would also be good to remove the wand from your opponent."

She barely gave her answer when the Professor asked her next wand. So she raised her hand and answered. "Professor is the wand movement for the Shield Charm is a horizontal sideways motion starting from left to right and then back to left again?"

Jayden raised her hand slowly, unsure of the answer, but deciding to take a swing at it anyways.

"Professor, is the wand movement a circular and pointing motion?" She half answered, half asked as she ran a hand through her hair nervously.

Yes, as she said, playing to ones' advantages and strengths. Beezus nodded and gave the Professor a small smile.

So they'd be learning both the Disarming Spell and the Shield Charm? Two at that? Merlin, she does hope she could remember all the spell she'd learned that day. But anyway, she already knew the incantation for the Disarming Spell which was the Expelliarmus, and based from her experience on the Dueling booth at the Founder's Fandango, she wasn't too good with it so she made it a mental note to really listen and learn how to do it properly. As for the Shield Charm, mane of her classmates mentioned it and its incantation was Protego. Though in contrast to the Disarming Spell, the young eaglette knew that one better.

Wand movements? Wand movements? She raised her hand. "I think the wand movement for the Disarming Spell is a circular motion?" Yeap, that was half-asked. She wasn't that familiar with the said spell. "And the Shield Charm's a waving motion." That was by far what she knew.

They were going to due? Oh boy, this suddenly got even more interesting!

He's done the disarming charm before as well as the shield one, so he raised his hand. "The disarming charm is a circular hand motion or pointing your wand at your opponent," he said.

Nate raised his hand and said "Professor for expelliarmus you would put your arm up in front with wand just above head level. Describe a small circle in the air in a clockwise motion, followed by a down wards stroke. For protego you would move hand in a waving motion."

Ella wasn't sure how she needed to move her wand in order to correctly use the two. She did think for the disarming spell that positioning was very important. "Professor, when using Expelliarmus isn't it important to point your wand at the object you want to take? For example, you'd point it at your opponents wand."

Louisa smiled proudly. They were going to practice the two spells that she was good at... the disarming one was a bit hard to manage but it was strong enough with the girl focusing really hard on the target.

"The shielding charm, professor, is achieved by waving your wand in a circular motion and preferably using your elbow as a steady point." Louisa had raised her hand naturally when answering that, and she continued, "The disarming charm's wand movement is to point it at the opponent fixedly." Some people did the circular motion too but Louisa thought that the pointing is the essential move.

Alyssa realized that she had misphrased what was saying. So she raised her hand again and said,"Professor I would like to correct myself. The wand movement is still a horizontal movement but it should start from right to left and back again. Adding that the the axis of rotation is at the elbow."

Alice continued to stretch, mimicking the Professor's movement's as she raised her hand. "The movements for the Disarming Charm are particularly simple, are they not, Professor? All you must do is extend your wand and turn it in a clockwise circular motion, followed by a downwards stroke. It is quite similar to drawing a question mark in the air, I think. Often, if you associate casting a spell with drawing a symbol in the air, it makes the spell-casting easier for the caster," she said, finally ceasing stretching and folding herself legs under her as she sat.

The second year continued on, describing the motions for the second spell, the Shield Charm. "While casting the shield charm, all that is necessary is a small waving motion made with your wand. The only difficulty of this spell, in my point of view, are it's variations. More advanced versions of the spell can be cast, can't they, Professor Romanos?" the girl questioned curiously. After all, if you never asked, you never learned, right? "The variations I know of are Protego Duo, Protego Horribilis, Protego Totalum, and Protego Maxima. But seeing as the root of all of these charms are the base spell, Protego, I'm assuming that is all one needs to learn to master the branch spells and their respective movements."

Minerva put her hand up "To disarm someone you need to point your wand at your opponent and say the spell." she wasn't sure about the shield charm, but she had disarmed someone during the flag game.

slight catch up with previous 2 XD moved while i was sleeeeeeeeeping hehe
 

Kurumi had been a little too focused on stretching to answer the next set of questions, but thought about them internally. What spell would she consider her best asset in a duel? She thought back to the duel she had had with Oakey. Her primary means of attack seemed to be Glisseo these days, or at least something to distract her opponent, so that was the first bit that came to mind. When students brought up the Shield Charm, Kurumi nodded in agreement...but you could really only defend for so long. All defense and no offense wasn't going to help you win any sort of fight. Then again, all offense an and no defense wasn't going to get you anywhere either.

Still, before Kurumi could answer anything, class had moved on to describing how to perform said spell. Seeing as several of her classmates had already answered, some more than once again Kurumi decided to remain quiet as the professor really didn't need to hear the same thing over and over again.

Instead, the fifth year looked around the classroom for another 5th year. Hmm...maybe her and Kennedy could pair up again if they were working with partners. They had been partners for a bit during Dueling Club last term and, well, if there was going to be any partner work with spellcasting surely the professor would ask them to pair up with people in their own year.

But then, Kurumi thought of something. Something she had been rather curious about. "Professor, I have a question, if that is alright," she said raising her hand. "Let's say that you were able to perform wandless magic...would you still need to perform the movement but with your hand and/or arm?" Sort of like...a Jedi? Or was it more intention alone that performed the spell?

Laura seriously wanted to talk like this professor again it would be fun but she decided against it, she wanted too gain some points, but the next question was hard. "Professor as much as I hate to say it would the Killer Curse be your greatest asset, because well if that hit you win, it's game over, the end." Laura sighed she really hadn't wanted too say that but well it was true.

Oh, well, those two wand movements were easy, especially since Sierra had a private Defense Against the Dark Arts tutor who'd gone over the spells with her many of times. She raised her hand then said, "For the Disarming Charm, you can either move your wand in a circular motion or you can just point it at your opponent." She'd always wondered why there were two choices there, but maybe one just had more power then the other. "Then it's just a waving motion for the Shield Charm."

Silvia had never performed either of those spells before. So she quietly listened to the other students' answers and hoped that these spells would not be too difficult for a first year to master.

Raising her hand, Raven answered again the question.

"For the Disarming Charm, you can either move your wand in a circular motion or you can just point it at your opponent. Then you just wave your wand for Shield Charm." she said

Sorry for the catch up, my computer is giving me a hard time these days
 

Sophie raised her hand. "To disarm the other person we just need to point our wand in their direction, isn't it?" At least she saw some of the students doing that before and she herself had tried it a couple of times. "The Shield Charm is just... pretty much wave your wand in the direction the spell is coming, like if we were going to block it with our wand movement!" Or something like that. Right? It had worked for her at least!

Cardigan,being a firstie,had no idea whatsoever about dueling.It almost scared her in a sense!What if you like magicked soneone's arm off?What if you magicked someone's nose off?What if...?That had caused her to completely shun dueling!Today would just have to be the day to face her fears.After all,dueling didn't seem half bad.Cardigan intently listened for Professor Romano's answer as she gnawed on her lower lip.Worried?In all ways thinkable!

Don't worry, I see all your answers ;)
 

Squinting her eyes a little, she tried to figure out which spell the girl may have confused the shield charm with, but decided against waiting to answer for too long. "Not quite, Miss Potter. However, you may add a horizontal line to the vand movement in order to increase the size of your shield though. I'll demonstrate that in a moment."

"Directing where you vont your spell to go is very important, yes." she nodded. "Good example."

"A bit backwards there, Miss Fischer." she chuckled lightly. "Turn that question mark upside down. It's more like a small 'd'." The girl's knowledge on the variety of shield charms though had Medea nodding a little. "There are indeed variations of the shield charm, each a bit more difficult to produce than the last and vastly more powerful as vell. Ve'll be sticking vith just the basic 'protego' today."

She'd been expecting these questions from the Gryffindor girl lately it seemed. "Not really no. Some spells do require the use of some hand gesture. It doesn't hurt though, to use the movements you vould use if you vere using a vand, it's second nature after all and easier to produce the results you vont, but when it comes down to it...you don't really need a hand movement. Intentions should be the focus alone. Underage magic vould be a good example to think about."

"The killing curse, Miss Hyde, should be the last spell you should use, if ever." she said, frowning a little. There was always one answer she wasn't fond of. "It is unfortunately true, though, there are other vays of defeating your opponent vithout having to result to the killing curse though. Keep up vith the lesson, Miss Hyde."


After listening to the everyone else's answers, Medea flexed her hand, and a moment later, her wand slid into her palm. "The Shielding Charm has one of the easier wand movements. A waving motion, or in other more specific words, it's an upward arching flick." Demonstrating for them, she created the upward arching flick, before repeating a bit slower so they were able to clearly see it. "This spell requires your concentration to keep up, so if you cast another spell, be aware that your shield vill have been brought down."

"There's also a vay to increase the size of your shield. It requires an extra wand movement. A horizontal line." Creating the upward arching flick with her wand with a nonverbal 'protego', a very light blue shield appeared in front of her, glimmering almost as if trying to falter, though that was far from the case as the color only faded every now and then; results in having the shield look invisible. "And, add the horizontal line..." Demonstrating so, the shield expanded as slowly as her wand movement. "This should only be attempted when you've mastered the shield charm itself. It'd make it that much easier on you."

Letting her shield drop, she continued onto the next spell. "The Disarming charm does in fact have two wand movements. The simple 'point' is quite popular, and there's also the circular motion as some of you mentioned. This circular motion is actually more like a small 'd', with a snap of your wrist at the end." Pointing her wand to the side away from the students, she demonstrated by making a tight circular motion and ending with a small upwards snap at the end, much like the letter 'd'. "I'd like you all to practice the 'd' wand movement for today, which...brings us to our next activity."

"So, stand up if you aren't already, and look for a partner. Preferably someone in the same year as yourself. Ve'll be practicing the disarming spell first, and then the shield charm. Afterwards ve'll be going into a few duels vith these two spells. Let's go. Hop at it."

OOC: The task for now is to look for a partner in your own year, and if that's not possible, than someone close to it. Don't RP practicing the spells yet. We'll get to that next.

First year!
 

Oohh! So the shield would stay there until they cast another spell or drop it?? Sophie didn't know that! Good and useful information.

Sophie started looking around, trying to find a partner. "Anyone from the first year wants to partner up with me?" She asked with a grin.

Fourth Year Student :]
 

Annabelle knew the Disarming and Shield Charm wand movements already since her older brother taught them to her when she was very little. He was very protective and wanted her to be armed. The Disarming had circular motions with the occasional point. The shielding charm has an upward arching flick. She copied it down into her notebook for safe notes.


Annabelle heard her directions. She got up and tried to look for a Fourth Year Partner. "Anyone who is a fourth year need a partner?" she asked kindly.

second-year preferably?
 

Woot! So it was indeed safe to say that her answers were correct. Merlin, she was getting good at remembering spells way better now. Beezus listened more as the Professor had given her comments, ideas and own elaborations of some concepts shared by her classmates.

When it was announced that they'd be practicing the two spells in a while though, she felt excited. Learning a new spell with someone would be very nice indeed. Not only would it lessen the nervousness but would also build a bond. Moving her things to the side of her mat, she stood up when Professor Romanos asked them to look for a partner. "Errrmm..anybody need a partner? Possibly a second year too?" Beezus called out.

Oakey, Janice or Keefer where are you?? Permission granted xD
 

Alyssa called out for a partner. "Any one want to partner up with me? I'm a 3rd year." Alyssa knew that she was going to have problems finding another student on a year and so she hoped that the Professor would allow her to partner with someone older, if she couldn't find someone.

5th year *waves...and EYES*
 

For some reason Kurumi often forgot about underage magic - the sort that they all performed before they knew that they were witches and wizards. The sort that was based on their emotions and not too much intent...or something. Magical principles like this confused her and she sort of wished that they had a lesson on Magical Theory or Magical Philosophy. If that were offered she would probably be the first person on the sign up sheet.

Rolling her ankles and wrist once or twice, Kurumi spun around looking for someone to partner up with.

Partners?

Kennedy stood up and looked around. He's usually always left alone because he's so slow. Not this time, though. Oh no. He looked around and spotted a certain lioness. Hehe.

"Kurumi, partners?" he asked.

Was he too late. Were there no people left to partner up with? Okay, he was being a bit exaggerated.

5th year (or any year, i'm not picky ;))
 

Vickers stood up from his mat and unconsciously brushed his pants off. It looks like they were going to practice basic defensive spells, which was fine by him. Its the having to do one on one that makes him nervous. Unfortunately he was the kind of guy that would rather avoid a confrontation or outsmart one rather than actually go face to face with whoever.

Then again there was a reason why he attended DADA. To get over his nerves of.... confrontation.

He drew out his wand and pointing it towards the floor, started flicking it as he practiced the wand movement. And yes waiting for anybody who needed to partner up.

Second Years? O.o
 

"Alright. Basic defensive spells. I got this!" Jayden mumbled to herself as she got up from her seat, fumbling around in her robes in search of her wand.

Wand? Check.

"Any second years around that need a partner?" She called out as she gathered her hair into a high pony tail. This spellwork was going to need some concentration, and having hair in her face just wasn't going to help.

Now to find a suitable partner.

Sky didn't know many of her fellow second years, so when she heard someone call out for a second year, she answered. "I'm a second year…" she said walking up to the girl. "Hi, I'm Sky," she decided to add, just to get that out of the way. Yikes, were they really going to have to duel…? Sky wasn't so sure about this all of a sudden…

Kurumi turned around when she heard someone say her name and a small smile crept across her lips. "Sure," she nodded. Hopefully they wouldn't be as awkward as they had been the previous term during Dueling Club. They had already gotten some practice throwing spells at one another thanks to capture the flag, so it shouldn't be as bad this time. "Round two it is."

3rd year please. I don't mind who :)
 

Daisy yawned and stretched, her wand enclosed in her right fist as she looked around the room for a partner in her year, preferebly one in her own house. How did the Professor expect her to find a partner in her own year before the lesson? It would take Daisy forever unless someone came rushing over to work with her. Maybe Alyssa would, but she probably had people she wanted to work with...

Other were already walking around there, asking anyone for partners. Beezus was about to approach one student from her own house when another approached her, saying she was also a second year. Oh well..anyone from her classmates really did not matter as long as they'd be able to practice and communicate with each other peacefully. "Hello!" she greeted the girl back as she took off the rubber band from her wrist and started tying her hair into a ponytail. Right, she wouldn't want her hair to get in the way once they start practicing the spells."I'm Beezus. Nice to meet you." she too introduced herself. "Let's just do our best?" The eaglette gave her a thumbs up.

Now, to wait for further instructions.

Raven!!
 

Zhenya looked around for Raven. Where was she? Wasn't she right next to her?

Shrugging to herself, she stood up to go and look for her.

Pick meeeeeeeeeee!
 

Elise grinned, pulling her wand out and twirling it around her left hand as she scanned the room for a second year who was free. Noticing a Ravenclaw that she'd never actually talked to before, she tapped her on the shoulder.

"Is it okay if we partner up?" she asked, twisting her hair into a messy bun and sticking a pencil in to hold it up.

Partner? Okay.
Luckily Raven had the best partner ever. Who else? Zhenya Burton.
"I'm here!" she said.