Claudine had run into HELGA HUFFLEPUFF too? Cole was shocked but quickly hid it. It should be no surprise to hear though considering that Rowena Ravenclaw had visited them in history of magic class when they had been discussing Nicholas Flamel. "Maybe it's like with the Fat Lady," but he didn't get to finish that trail of thought before Claudine jerked away from his touch like he was poisonous. Slightly hurt he wondered what he had done wrong. He had just patted her on the arm. It wasn't like he had planted a kiss on her lips. Girl's we're a confusing species.

"Okay, fine." He mumbled distractedly as his attention at was drawn fully to the fiery and hostile exchange between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin with their headmaster trying still to not lose his cool. Turning his blue eyes back on Claudine he held her wand out to her again. "Here you are, you dropped it." He chose not to say anything about holding her wand out for a second time.

Several minutes later Headmaster Trent poised them all with a new question. Staying quiet he listened to everyone else's answers. Cole didn't know what he could contribute that hadn't already be said. He had to say something though for credit. "Worst scenario in spell casting could be if you lose your focus or control too I bet because of anger you can do more damage that you initially planned to do. Like we've read about in history of magic how the famous Harry Potter blew up his aunt Marge like a big balloon or when he shattered the glass at the zoo and a dangerous snake got out."

SPOILER!!: Replies

SPOILER!!: Lindsay

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

Wait, was their duel practice over before it really began? It seemed that way because the professor had pretty much moved on and was asking a question. Naya looked at Ewan and shrugged. Maybe they would get a chance to continue after the answers were given.......maybe. It would help if the founders weren’t so incredibly distracting.

As for the professor’s question.......Did he come up with that one just for her? Naya, the queen of lost focus? She knew that losing one’s focus was a very bad thing and could be deadly. It was something that she was trying very hard to overcome. It was definitely a work in progress.

Naya raised her hand to respond to the question. ”If a person lost their focus in a serious duel, it could result in them being on the receiving end of the Killing Curse without the means to protect themselves. That would absolutely be the worst case scenario.” Game over. The end.

"Correct. Depending on the type of duel agreed upon, the worst thing you could run into is a nasty killing curse." That would surely put an end to it, long before the person had the ability to learn from their mistake...unless the person came back as a ghost but that was a story for another discussion.

Dying was a real thing when people stopped paying attention.

SPOILER!!: Ryan

Quote:

Originally Posted by love-for-HP

Blake was grateful for the break for a moment. "Thanks Chloe, but I'm ready." He told her just before the headmaster spoke up again. Whew .. saved by the bell.. or the professor's word, which ever way you wanted to look at it. The worst case senerio if you lost focus in a duel.... well that question seemed pretty obvious. "Well in a real duel if you loose focus you could be killed. Here in this classroom you'd loose your wand." There ha .. he managed to compose himself and give a good answer in front of not 1 but 2 founders.

"Yes." Malachi nodded. A second to mention death. It had the Headmaster wondering--perhaps prematurely--if that was truly the worst outcome his students could think about. With how final death was, there was certainly worse that could befall someone should they stop paying attention.

Far worse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godric Gryffindor

Gryffindor's head spun back around with such flare that his fiery mane of hair whipped him across the face. "Who said that!?" he barked as he unsheathed his mighty sword to threaten the villain who dared challenge his honorable speech. Though it was by pure dumb luck that the villain (Fearlessleader19) remained anonymous to Godric's senses.

Namely because Trent was speaking AROUND him, as though the mighty Godric Gryffindor had not the ears to hear him. Barely letting him stay? Slander. This was his castle and fortitude! He was the one allowing them to stay!

Soon enough, at the man's feet, the FAINT OF HEART Slytherin boy [love-of-HP] was coming to and in the tender care of a Ravenclaw maiden [Bazinga] nonetheless. Now where had he seen THAT before...

"Be wary, maiden!" he warned here sagely while stroking his beard. "Slytherins are a sinister set! Defend your honor or else he end thine life in a rage birthed from unrequited love!"

But these stances and dueling techniques would not do, not do at all. It was clear that Trent was unfit to do what must be done for the most epic of duels.

"No, Salazar. You slithered through the door," he jeered at the long white bearded man. "I stomped in and will NOT be spoken to like some pup on a leash! I cannot believe you consider THIS man a professional. This man who dare send the likes of US to his office like meek and weak little school boys! He has not even bothered to correct the flabby arm of that Slytherin there. Nor the hunched back of that Ravenclaw just there. There is a serious lack of etiquette and valor! VALOR! Valor that cannot be taught in such sterile settings!"

Worst case scenario? HARK, HERE IT BE! A dueling arena without valor!

"A loss of honor!" he spoke boldly while marching over to the headmaster, his sword dragging across the ground so ferociously it sparked against the stone. "Which you have begot!"

...

.....

"OI!" It would seem that the only way to get through to Gryffindor, the only way to be heard, was to be louder than he was. Despite the rise in his voice, the Headmaster's expression was neither frazzled nor desperate. It was the sort he may have given a student who was quickly wearing on his patience.

Once he thought he'd gotten his attention, his volume went back to it's usual level. "That's enough of that." Enough of all that. "Sheath your sword, sir. I'll only be asking the once." While his hand moved toward his wand. He'd vanish it, oh he would and before Gryffindor could move across the room to cut him down. "These are children. A chivalrous man such as yourself shouldn't be threatening children, least of all the ones left under the care of Hogwarts." Y'know, the school your subject helped to build from the ground? That Hogwarts. "These students are technically under your protection--though they aren't really. They're under mine and I won't hesitate when it comes to protecting them."

SPOILER!!: More replies

SPOILER!!: Mordaunt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hey Ju

Catherine chose to ignore Cecelia's disappointed look because this was a lesson, the Headmaster had told them to focus and those people there weren't the real founders anyway. Did Cecelia know they were dead?

The first year blocked her best friend's Disarming spell with a Shield Charm of her own - which wasn't that difficult because the Gryffindor seemed to be doing it all pretty half-heartedly right now - and she just watched her as Cecelia randomly said Protego when she hadn't cast any spells.

Sighing, she stepped closer to her best friend again. "You know those aren't really the founders." Catherine told the blonde. "They're really dead. Those are just..." She trailed off, glancing at the older men again. She wasn't quite sure what they were, but rumour had it portraits were coming out of their paintings, so they might as well have done the same. "...shadows of who they really were. It's not as cool." She finished with a nonchalant shrug.

Just saying.

Then the Headmaster asked them to brainstorm the worst case scenario if someone lost their focus while spell casting or in a duel. The people saying you could be hit by a Killing Curse weren't wrong, as that was indeed the worst case scenario. Or maybe being hit by an irreversible spell, but Catherine couldn't think of anything that couldn't be magically reversed. Though... if everything could be magically reversed then there wouldn't be any need for a specific area of Hospitals where they kept patients long-term. That was where one of her mum's cousins worked at, she knew that, so there was some kind of magic that wasn't reversible.

...

Catherine's attention went back to the older men as Gryffindor carried on putting on a show. He had a sword? Who even had one of those these days? Definitely not a real person. Besides, if that was the oh-so-famous Gryffindor Sword, then that was another proof that he wasn't the real deal, because... well, wasn't that gone until someone 'worthy enough' could get it from... somewhere?

No answer?

Was he surprised? Not particularly. The thing with Mordaunt was sometimes she talked, sometimes she didn't. Sometimes she mumbled things you'd miss if you weren't standing particularly close. The Headmaster had learned to accept that, mostly because the girl hadn't proven herself to be the sort to doze off or daydream and lose focus in his lessons. It worked in her favour.

SPOILER!!: Yoon

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

”You only beat me because i let you” he said, rolling his eyes at Bernadette’s excitement. Had he not been distracted and had paid attention he wouldn’t have been beaten that easily. He looked at the Founders again because he was still curious to know why they were here but Slytherin spoke in a normal tone which meant that he did not hear him from where he was standing. Gryffindor on the other hand...well it was hard not to notice his words as he literally boomed his voice through the arena.

It was only when the Headmaster told him to focus that he looked back to the young Gryffindor and he raised his eyebrows as he saw her stomping her feet. ”Why did he point his sword at Rasting?” he asked.

Before he could cast another disarming charm her way, they were called to a stop by the Headmaster and he pocketed his wand back in to his wrist holster as he continued the lesson. What was the worst consequence he could think of when losing focus? ”Other than getting killed, being hospitalized in St’ Mungo’s would be pretty ba------.” He stopped his sentence because the sound of Gryffindors sword dragging across the ground made him put his fingers in his ears ”Gryffindor SIR. Can you PLEASE stop dragging that sword on the ground!” This sound was a hundred times worse than dragging nails on a chalkboard!

Given his own level of irritation, Malachi wouldn't chide the boy a second time for his insistence Gryffindor knock that noise off. He would chalk it up to reflex this go around. Something the boy, like himself, simply couldn't ignore.

"Being stuck in St. Mungo's for the rest of your life could, depending on your outlook, be arguably worse than death, yes. There would be a few things to consider and of course it differs depending on who you ask but with how clean and final death is, a lot of alternatives could be worse."

SPOILER!!: Grantham

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

The Headmaster, her hero, was being SO polite to her other hero founder Godric Gryffindor; it was really tough NOT to stare at them all lesson. But she pulled her eyes away from the trio of men who thought they were in charge and focused on her partner for a second.

"Um, I beat you fair and square because my spell made you drop your wand," she countered in a know-it-all tone. "Rasting is kind of rude, you know, and he was sassing off as usual and pulled his wand out to stop Gryffindor's destruction, and I guess Godric Gryffindor really has a thing against Slytherins anyway, so then he pulled his sword out to threaten him, and...." and and and and Bernie trailed off because they were moving on with the lesson. And oh look, look who had his sword out again. Classic Gryffindor!

Obviously getting killed or injured would be THE WORST but surely there were some other reasons not to lose your focus? Bernie raised her hand. "If you lose your focus and mispronounce a spell," like she had just done, "you might have unexpected and undesired results. Like the Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." Famous story, she'd heard.

"Very good, Grantham. Someone's been reading." Did he sound surprised? Only marginally, but he sounded equal parts impressed. "Getting your incantations jumbled won't always kill you but they could get you into some uncomfortable positions that may leave you wishing otherwise." At least she was back to paying attention. It would do her well to keep that up with what was coming next.

SPOILER!!: McCarthy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

Well Chloe was glad that Blake was alright, but the headmaster was talking again and trying to get the founders to leave, but the Gryffindor was not leaving. She didn't understand why they were being so vocal in here. The Ravenclaw founder, for the most part, was very polite, but Gryffindor was being very mean.

She looked around the room and tried to figure out who he was talking to or even who he was talking about. Everyone seemed to be doing the best they could and the form was looking good from what her little height could see.

"Sir, if you get distracted you could lose the duel, you could lose your wand, you could lose your life. Three things that you really don't want." Thankfully they were just practicing and didn't have to risk any of those in here, but she did keep her eye on the founders in case they were going to pull something to prove other wise.

"Correct, McCarthy. Those are certainly not three things anyone goes into a duel hoping for. And, with how particular some wands can be, you really don't want to go getting disarmed in a duel then having it change allegiance." That...would've been...equally problematic, to say the least.

It was good thinking.

SPOILER!!: Vance

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Claudine had run into HELGA HUFFLEPUFF too? Cole was shocked but quickly hid it. It should be no surprise to hear though considering that Rowena Ravenclaw had visited them in history of magic class when they had been discussing Nicholas Flamel. "Maybe it's like with the Fat Lady," but he didn't get to finish that trail of thought before Claudine jerked away from his touch like he was poisonous. Slightly hurt he wondered what he had done wrong. He had just patted her on the arm. It wasn't like he had planted a kiss on her lips. Girl's we're a confusing species.

"Okay, fine." He mumbled distractedly as his attention at was drawn fully to the fiery and hostile exchange between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin with their headmaster trying still to not lose his cool. Turning his blue eyes back on Claudine he held her wand out to her again. "Here you are, you dropped it." He chose not to say anything about holding her wand out for a second time.

Several minutes later Headmaster Trent poised them all with a new question. Staying quiet he listened to everyone else's answers. Cole didn't know what he could contribute that hadn't already be said. He had to say something though for credit. "Worst scenario in spell casting could be if you lose your focus or control too I bet because of anger you can do more damage that you initially planned to do. Like we've read about in history of magic how the famous Harry Potter blew up his aunt Marge like a big balloon or when he shattered the glass at the zoo and a dangerous snake got out."

"That's an interesting take, yes. Losing focus could mean losing control as well and at that point, it'll be harder to control the outcome of your spells. You could end up causing far more damage than you ever intended. Good, Vance."

Another that was thinking away from the obvious.

SPOILER!!: Kaiser and Slytherin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salazar_Slytherin

For once in his life...Salazar agreed with Godric. The nerve of Trent to send them to his OFFICE, like they were some common students that he was planning to punish. Of course, he couldn't just admit that he was agreeing with Godric, so he simply gave the man a nod. He disagreed with just about everything Godric Gryffindor did, but once in a blue moon...like right now...they were on the same page. He didn't have to be such a fool about it, creating a spectacle and screaming and waving that stupid sword of his around. Didn't he know that in order to gain respect you had to act like a professional, not a child?

What was he saying. OF COURSE he didn't realize that. Stupid man.

Ignoring Trent entirely and deciding to just move along with his plan without the help of the Headmaster, he walked over to the Slytherin boy who had offered to entertain them earlier (Kaiser). AKA - the only boy who showed any promise around here. "That's a good lad," Salazar said as he approached. One thing he had to sort out first...

"Tell me...what might your...lineage be?" he asked him quietly, leaning in so that only the boy could hear him. He got what he was getting at, yes? Mudblood? Halfblood? Pureblood? There was only one right, obvious answer...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

Well... he'd tried. And Trent didn't seem terribly pleased about the attempt, which led Kaiser to believe he'd be similarly unimpressed when he asked to be excused from the lesson entirely, once the next activity started up. But he didn't really have the spare mental energy to fret about that. Every cloud.

Kaiser did not attempt to find a partner, though he knew this would not be viewed very favourably either. There just seemed to be little point in wasting anyone's time by partnering up with them and then immediately unpartnering. He decided it was better to just stay out of the way, as a sort of non-verbal heads up to the Headmaster, a pre-warning that he'd be letting him down (again) imminently. He thought about the question, sure, and had plenty of potential answers for Trent - the most simple of which was that you would absolutely be taken unawares if you let your concentration lapse, which meant someone could get the better of you in any variety of ways - but kept his mouth firmly shut.

But... maybe it would have been a better idea to mingle in the group of students, at least for the moment, because now he had a... Slytherin on his hands. The Slytherin. Kaiser looked at him, glanced towards Trent again, and then back at Slytherin. He still didn't really know what the deal was with these founders. Were they capable of magic? Did he want to find out? (No, he did not. And, frankly, it seemed best to err on the side of caution.)

And that question... was complicated. Kaiser didn't actually know the answer, not even a little bit of it. Still, when a guy who looked an awful lot like Salazar Slytherin came up to you and asked about your (presumably magical) lineage, and you didn't know if he was capable of taking you out on the spot... well, you made do.

"Pureblood... sir," Kaiser replied, just as quietly, and he glanced towards Trent once more. Checking to make sure he wasn't looking, or hoping to get his attention, it was difficult to fathom. "Old European families." He knew 'Kaiser' was the name of a German pureblood family, at least. Whether he actually came from it was as yet a mystery, but didn't they always say the best lies were shrouded in truth? And this possible lie (maybe it really was true, he had no idea) would hopefully only need to serve until he could make his exit.

Oh for the love of Merlin.

At first, Trent had been distracted with the responses of the students but from the corner of his eyes he finally saw Kaiser and Slytherin having a chat. A mumbling chat that he couldn't hear. That made it an instant nope and had Malachi walk over to the boy, take him by the shoulders and pull him away from the man.

"Don't..don't talk to him." Whether he was talking to Slytherin or to Kaiser was left up in the air, but Malachi had moved the boy and nudged him in with his peers. There. Stay there. Right there--until they moved on again anyway.


* * *

"Nice to see you thinking. As mentioned, death is a consequence that can come from losing focus but let's not forget there's worst things out there than dying. Spells that leave you permanently disfigured. Spells that never stop hurting. There's a whole range to consider. In the end, it's best to keep your head in the game while dueling." The fact they were still able to think clearly about the consequences of losing focus was good. They would need it. In truth, he'd had other plans for the students. Something lowkey enough but now it became clear that unless given specific reason to focus, many of them would keep paying far too much attention to these attention seeking, problematic founders.

It made Slytherin's suggestion that they'd come to help all the more laughable. This...this was not helping.

"Good. Taking as far a breadth as possible around and away from Gryffindor and Slytherin," Yes, he wanted them to stay away from them as much as was possible, "everyone get on the stage." Once they started to, they would realize that the once narrow stage would begin to expand to accommodate them all, even growing circular in nature. By the end, it would fit them all with quite a bit of room.

"We'll be doing a rather unconventional sort of duel. One that involves elimination. When I give the signal, it will be a free for all. You will try to knock others off the stage using the knockback jinx while trying not to get knocked off yourself. Keep your cool. Concentrate. No worries, the floor is cushioned to ease your fall. Everyone is fair game, it will take quite a bit of focus...and skill to be the last one standing. With each person thrown off, the stage will get smaller. Occasionally structures will appear from the ground, you may use them as cover but I wouldn't rely on them. Sometimes they disappear as quickly as they arrive."

Were they all clear? Excellent. "Go!"

OOC: We're onto the final stretch everyone!!! It's a battle to the death finish with the last student left standing to be the winner. Just a few rules, while you can take aim, you cannot decide that your spell knocked someone clear off the stage. The outcome is to be left to the person who owns the character. You may aim at anyone and everyone. I will be posting with little updates on the stage to add some extra oomph to their peril but you can choose when a small shelter appears or disappears. This will go on until February 10 @ 11:59 pm EST. Have fun!!

Cole’s hurt showed when she pulled away and Claudine felt a small pang of regret. She hadn’t meant to let him take offense but physical contact wasn’t her thing. She’d have to explain later. Right now she took the wand, which she had completely lost track of earlier. Merlin. The appearance of the Founders had definitely thrown her off. Would this happen in other lessons as well? “Thank you,’’ Claudine told Cole, looking up at him. She tried to communicate that she hadn’t meant to offend him but doubted she got the message across with her usual serious expression.

It was safe to say that Claudine had failed miserably at remaining focused. But she was not upset over that fact. Instead, she focused on calming herself down. Thankfully, Trent moved the lesson along which helped with her intention. “Death.” Her hand was lowered when she gave her one word answer, which needed no expounding. The simple word spelt out the disastrous outcome quite clearly.

So now they were just going to be throwing spells willy-nilly at each other? Claudine was a little disappointed that she wouldn’t be working with Cole now. She looked towards him and gestured towards the stage which she stepped onto. This little exercise seemed easy enough and since the Knockback Jinx was a second year level spell, she felt somewhat confident about casting it repeatedly. When Trent called to them to get started, the Snakette threw the first spell at a random classmate.

“Flipendo.’’

She listened to everything around her and when she thought everything it might not actually have been everything. There was just so much going on that her head was spinning a bit trying to keep up with who was talking, who was listening, who was being told to leave. It did not seem the founders were going to leave and they were told to start a new activity.

Thankfully Chloe had never put her wand away because one minute she was listening to the next she saw movement in the corner of her eye and turned to see Claudine sending a spell her ways. She hurried with the movement, "Protego" she said just in time to block the spell.

A smirk crossed her face, she wasn't one to ever be vicious, nor be the one to be competitive unless she was on a broom, but she really did not like how Gryffindor was treating the headmaster. She had come to really like the headmaster over the years and this was not sitting well with her. Doing the wand movement she sent the spell straight at GRYFFINDOR himself, " Tarantallegra" if the man was going to stay the students should be entertained.

With all this talk of distractions, Isla was accidentally focusing more on the founders than she was the lesson. However, she wasn't being obvious about it. She was still looking at Trent and following along with the lesson, but the founders were being super loud in the background. She'd even heard one of them, Slytherin, ask someone about their lineage. Uh oh. She didn't even want to think about where that could lead.

She followed the students up to the stage, watching it as it expanded to fit them all. Magic was such an amazing thing, wasn't it? Everything seemed all fine and well until Trent used the word elimination. Wait, what? That didn't sound good... Nevertheless, she whipped out her wand. If spells were going to be cast left and right, she wasn't going to sit around and watch them happen.

A spell shot past her and toward someone else, causing her to try and figure out where it had come from. HOLY MERLIN, had someone cast at Gryffindor himself? Trent was going to go INSANE. But anyway, she thought that spell had come from Claudine, so turning her focus to the slightly older girl, Isla cast. "FLIPENDO!" she called out, waving her wand around.

Minjae was a bit jealous. Atleast Rasting had gotten a response , even if it was a bad one , from a Founder. Salazar Slytherin had mostly ignored him when he had last seen him. Probably because he was a Hufflepuff and a muggleborn. Well, not probably, most definitely.

The Headmaster's shout directed at Gryffindor himself caused Minjae to look away from Bernadette and towards the two and he HATED it that he stood too far away to actually hear what he had to say. Because that had been SO COOL!

Following the rest of his classmates up on the stage, Minjae had taken out his wand again and held it in his hand just in case. This was DADA after all. Constant vigilance and all that. Having a pretty good feeling on what the next activity was going to be, the Hufflepuff played it safe and chose a spot near a corner and watched the stage expand to fit them all.

Elimination duel. He was glad that he had chosen a relatively safe spot. Had he been in the middle, it would have been harder to dodge multiple spells and this way he had a pretty good overview of the stage.

But anyways.....THIS.WAS.SO.EPIC!!!

Minjae's eyes seemed to spark with excitement and he bounced on his heels, waiting for the Headmaster to give the go sign. THIS was the kind of lesson he had been waiting for ALL YEAR(s)~

At the sound of the signal, Minjae immediately aimed his wand at the first person he saw, which happened to be a Slytherin (Isla) and cast the knockback jinx her way.

Oh? Did this mean that they could throw spells at Gryffindor? That’s right. Claudine saw you, Chloe, and she thought that attacking that pompous, big-headed man was worth a detention if she was caught. So, it was for this reason that she threw the Knockback Jinx at the Founder. “Flipendo.’’ Her voice was strong and confident as was her wand work and she sincerely hoped it hit her target.

Unfortunately for her, the time spent throwing a spell at Gryffindor cost her the chance to defend herself against Isla. The Jinx hit her squarely in the chest. Claudine was sent off and over the stage and down to the cushioned area below. She landed on her back and so she was left staring up at the ceiling.

That was fun while it lasted.

But did she get Gryffindor? Claudine scrambled to her feet to check.

Naya listened as all of the answers to the question were given. Yes, losing your focus could have dire consequences. She had to work harder on maintaining hers because she had no intention of going down due to failing concentration.

Now though, it was activity time. The professor explained what they would be doing and it sounded like fun.........but the thought of spells flying about the room at the hands of students with varying levels of ability........well, it was the perfect opportunity for chaos. Anyway, she followed instructions and proceeded to the stage. Naya didn’t fancy falling off, padding or no padding. She had every intention of being the last student standing.

Once it was time to begin, Naya had her wand out and ready. As the spells began, she tried to look around in all directions. She was ready to protect herself if need be, but she needed to find a target to aim for. Naya didn’t feel good about aiming at a first or second year, although she was sure that they would have no qualms about knocking her down. Then she found her target. Waving her wand, she aimed at an older Ravenclaw (Chloe). “Flipendo”, she said with great enthusiasm. Nothing personal though.

Tom had been listening to the instruction and now it was time to do an activity and this one looked amazing, well now it was time to get into the dueling arena and to actually fight, at least he had permission to use spells this time.

Seeing Naya he decided that he would cast a spell in her direction. Trying to think of a spell he suddenly thought of one and so he shouted “Flipendo” He did the wand movement and then he waited to see what would happen next.

While the students fought it out on the stage, a most curious thing occurred. Without warning, the platform began to lift until it was a few feet off the ground. It began to bob up and down like a boat at sea, never remaining still for long.

Up and down and up and down.

Isla made the mistake of watching her spell as it traveled toward Claudine. At first, she never knew if it hit or not, because just at that moment, someone else's spell (Minjae's) blazed past her, only narrowly missing her. "Whoa, Holy Merlin!" she called out, having been taken by surprise. She better watch what she was doing and not where her spell was going.

Having said that, she did manage to catch a glimpse of Claudine, and it appeared like the girl had been hit by someone's spell. Her's? Who knew? Ready to fight back and save herself basically, Isla turned her wand toward another student and cast. "FLIPENDO!" she called out again. Hopefully it didn't go toward Chloe, who had been brave enough to cast at a founder. If that girl had been bold enough to do that, who knew what she'd do to little firstie Isla.

She thought she was doing good until she felt like her feet were rocking back and forth. "What...?" she mumbled to herself. Oh, great. As if dueling wasn't terrifying enough, the platform was now moving. Isla slid a little but managed to regain her balance. Now...had that last spell hit anybody?

Yes, she had been reading, Headmaster! Bernie beamed at the man and of course as soon as the opportunity arose, scrambled to climb on the stage. She had a strategy for winning this thing, and that was to avoid everything and stick to the back for the most part.

She couldn't resist casting a spell at Isla though. "Flipendo!" Bernie cast, with some passion, but very, very quietly and sneakily.

Oh Headmaster Trent was going allll protective on them .... not that she doubted her house founder, but it was just kind of heartwarming to see and hear. On the stage though. An elimination style duel??? Huh, well, okay then...

Carsyn keeping a relatively low profile, as her younger classmates - save for Naya and Chloe - engaged in firing spells at one another first. She'd let them take each other out, while she just kept her guard up. Including her feet firmly on the platform when it started to move.

"uhhh...." Please no one get sick on her. She was actually okay with the rocking, being a quidditch player, it felt to be a rather similar sensation. But she knew not all her classmates could handle this. "Protego Duo," she cast on herself just be safe against any surprising offensive spells while she was getting her bearings. She got this. She'd be casting offensive spells in a bit....

It may not have been terribly obvious from his face, but Kaiser was pretty relieved when Trent intervened, even if he did so by physically moving him. He'd been regretting not joining the group, after all. "Sorry," was all he could muster, quietly, directed at the headmaster before the man moved on.

... Which reminded Kaiser, once again, exactly what his issue with this lesson was. Uncomfortable. He was very... uncomfortable. And quite unable to find any other words for what he was feeling, even though there was... a lot.

Kaiser kept clear of the stage area for the moment, waiting out the final set of instructions - it might have been something he would be perfectly alright with, after all, and then he could stay and not let anyone (say, a certain headmaster) down - his insides writhing with every word spoken.

Yeah. No. Big nope, actually. Kaiser crossed to Trent as everything kicked off. "Sir, I do need to-..." He cut himself off, not initially liking the tone of urgency in his voice, then realising it might also help his case. "May I be excused?" Pause. "... Not to speak to him. Hospital Wing. Migraine coming."

Kaiser had been suffering with terrible headaches, at least, for a while now. That was true. He just... didn't have one right this moment. But a lie in this case was really all for the better.

No sooner had Naya cast her spell, then another spell was sent her way. A first year, she knew it. It happened to be sent by her former partner and housemate Tom. It was a good thing Naya had quick reflexes because if she hadn’t, things might have ended differently. Moving to the side and casting a very quick Protego, she narrowly missed being knocked off of the stage. Naya gave Tom a nod of respect. Okay firstie, okay.

Having survived that near miss, Naya knew better than to let her guard down. Unfortunately, something happened that she could not have predicted. The stage began to rise and then jerk around like a bucking bronco. That wouldn’t have been a problem for a normal person. Naya had pretty good balance, so that wasn’t her issue. The jerky movement, however, did trigger her not so normal motion sickness. This-was-bad. What was it with Hogwarts and the nausea inducing classes? First the spinning flower pots and now this. Having to maintain focus and try not to throw up at the same time was challenging. She couldn’t even thing about casting a spell right now. She needed to protect herself and hope that the ride ended soon.

Blake thus far had avoided any spells, he kind just kept bouncing around and hiding behind others so he went unnoticed. He had also decided not to cast in spells during this time. But then the platform began to move and groove. He lost he footing and slid into a kneel, but form that position he could see who wasn't paying attention.. digging in with his knees as best he could he raised his wand and fired at the closest person to him (Naya).. he had no idea who the student was, but figured it was now or never if he was gong to involved in this activity. "FLIPENDO" He half shouted and waited to see what happened.

Cole was glad that their headmaster was dealing with the founders but it didn't seem like either Salazar or Godric was very interested in taking their discussion elsewhere. Hopefully they weren't going to be stuck in the middle of a three way power duel.

Anways back to what Headmaster Trent had decided for the last activity; a knockout duel. Unsure really how it was going to work Cole quickly casted "Protego duo!" over himself as he circled around his peers on the stage observing and waiting for his amble time to attack. The opportunity came eventually when he saw that Carsyn was more focused on trying to keep herself upright as the stage lifted up into the air and started to bob up and down. Cole didn't have it easy either, but he grounded his feet, spreading them wide best he could and aimed his wand over at Carsyn and casted "Flipendo!"

Had she hit Gryffindor? Her focus had gone all into that when she heard another spell and saw it go towards the man. Whoops, what had she started? Hoping she didn't get the bunch of them casting spells at the portrait adults she turned to get back to the game just in time to feel herself get hit by the spell.

'Ugggggh"

Being completely unprepared for the impact she flew back and landed on the soft ground. Just as she hit the ground though she noticed the class raising. Getting on her feet she looked around, was that it then? She was just out?

Minjae had to dodge and use the protego charm on a couple of stray spells as they had missed their intended targets but so far, no one seemed to be aiming at him. Which was a good thing for him of course. Because he was not going to quit until he was the very last man standing on this platform!

Before he could cast another Flipendo at his classmates, the stage suddenly wobbled a bit and before he knew it it raised up in to the air. Uuuuhm...he did not like heights.. he wasn't scared of it but wasn't a fond of it either.

Thinking that the battle was just going to be a bit higher up, Minjae aimed his wand at a Blake and fired the knockback jinx a second before the stage began to bob up and down and he stumbled again. The edge wasn't safe anymore so the Hufflepuff ducked down and crawled in a swift motion closer to the middle while still looking around for any spells. He knew he would fall down anyway if he kept standing. And it would be far more embarrassing if he fell off the platform because he lost his footing than when he got knocked off by a jinx.

The stage was rocking and Naya was starting to become a little nauseous. Unfortunately, a little usually turned into a lot very quickly. Had to keep focus. Naya had to keep her focus. She did not want to lose the game or her cookies.

Taking deep breaths and trying to keep it together, Naya noticed a classmate in her line of sight. She managed to get out “Pro..... and that was all she said before she was hit. Falling back off of the bouncing stage, she hit the padded floor. Naya looked up in time to see the younger Slytherin (Blake) who had ended her hopes of a win. Those little first and second years were fierce. Naya felt rather bad about being taken out by a younger student. On the other hand, she was free of the rocking platform. Maybe she could just lay there on the floor until the nausea subsided.

Blake having successfully knocked off Naya turned to see who remained on the platform. This was rather fun! He didn't even mind the bobbing up and down after all it gave him a quick chance to send a spell at some unsuspecting victims.

Blake turned and noticed a student taking aim at him. "Protego" He said smiling, he had barely gotten that shield charm off, and by barely Blake felt himself being pushed back, but was able to control it just in time. Firing right back at the boy you send it at him "Flipendo" He shouted and then took a staggering step in the opposite direction. A moving target was harder to hit than a standing one right?

This was NOT what she had in mind when she pictured this duel. She had pictured TWO people, herself being one of them, facing off and trying to disarm one another. This was mad chaos, and spells were flying left and right and straight at her! At the same time, though, she was pretty proud of herself for holding her own. She'd stayed in this arena and faced her opponents with determination. She hadn't ran out the place screaming like she'd feared she would.

She pointed her wand forward, aiming it at Blake Ryan. "FLIP--..." she tried to say. But before she could get the 'ENDO' added to the incantation, she was tossed off her feet and thrown backward. UGHHHHHHHH!!!

Was it bad that he hadn't expected this activity to be so...entertaining? Going in, the Headmaster had a few predictions but was being pleasantly shown otherwise. In no time at all, Malachi had forgotten all about founders who'd crashed his class.

At least they were being quiet now. Quiet was fine. Quiet he could live with.

Something he had less a chance of forgetting was the time as the clock on the wall struck the new hour.

"We're gonna have to end things here. Dust yourselves off and give yourselves a pat on the back. You all did well." Even the ones thrown from the stage. "Off the stage, come on, step lively. Everyone is free to grab snacks or get yourself freshened up a bit. We'll be beginning the duels in exactly half an hour. If you're late for your duel, you forfeit." As a fair warning to any who chose to leave the arena for the break.

"In the meantime, gather your things and move them to the seats in the stands." No need to have them lying around.

OOC: Aaaaand that's a wrap! I had a blast, thanks for coming everyone!! My day got the better of me BUT I'll try to get the dueling threads up within the next 24 hrs for everyone who signed up for the duels. Can't wait to see those! For now, you're dismissed