Another dueling club meeting. Jude found that he welcomed these sorts of academic meetings more than ever given the approaching exams that were OWLs. Was he losing his sanity as yet due to all the studying, homework and spell practice? Not yet. There was still time for that if a breakdown was written in his stars. The music reached his ear as he approached the door and he immediately picked up on the melody. He bobbed his head a bit in time to it as he pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

There was no surprise about the mannequins. Nor Madigan’s presence. The Hufflepuff noted that like Madigan, he was also wearing a tee - Jude’s had the print of one of the logos of the Muggle band Nirvana on it. The difference was that he was wearing his usual jeans ripped at the knees. “Hi, professor! I like the music!’’ Not at all his type but hey, music was a universal language. He gave the man a grin then wandered off to a short distance away to while some time away.

DuelingclubDuelingclubDuelingclub.

This was BY far the single thing that Vera looked forward to the MOST. Ever since she had gotten her wand she had been anticipating these meetings, because NATURALLY her wand talented for dueling would make up for her lack of knowledge in spells. At least, that's what she was hoping for.

Skipping into the room, having worn a pair of leggings and her favorite well faded Kenmare Kestrals shirt. Glancing over at Professor Madigan, Ve BEAMED at him and gave a wave. "Hi Professor M! You certainly look cozy!" She took a look around the room at all the mannequins before glancing back at the man. "While we're waiting to start, can I boxing with the mannequins?" Did she know how to box? Not at all. Did she still want to try kicking and hitting the mannequins? Absolutely.

Maybe she could even make her own training montage like the muggle moves!!

Milo... was not much of a dueller. In spirit, he was barely a duelling club member, and yet he still made his presence known at these meetings. He had never yet engaged in a duel, and mostly just lingered and listened and watched, ready to draw his wand if attacked, but he had no intention of engaging beyond that. It was enough to learn from the sidelines, proactive and yet restrained enough to satisfy his hunger.

Intellectual hunger, that was. Cerebral appetite. Mental munchies.

Slipping into the room, socked feet sliding over the floor, he drifted towards Mr Madigan and none too subtly leaned over to see what article he was reading, and from what newspaper. Milo did not openly acknowledge the other students - out of principle, in one case - but he had heard them. He did not like the music, and though he would not say no to muggle-duelling the mannequins, it seemed unlikely that that would be on the cards for today, at least as far as Mr Madigan's intentions were concerned.

The fourth year's attention had been drawn to the classical music being played and after seeing the space and the training dummies, he walked into the room, assuming that it was the place for the duelling club meeting.

First and foremost. Vera Thanatos should be avoided at all costs. He knew he was the reason she had joined the duelling club in the first place, but she was a hassle.

Daniel moved to greet the professor first, hoping that the first year was too distracted with the training dummies.

"Professor," he said politely, his eyes scanning the page of the newspaper. "Has anything interesting happened?"

Violet was not really interested in becoming a dueller, but ever since the Neo-Alliance takeover of Hogwarts during her third year, she had been very focused on learning how to defend herself (though she had not done so bad for a fifteen-year old, at that). "Hello again, Professor," she greeted him as she came into the room. Hmm, classical music--she did appreciate that. Then she caught sight of the mannequins, which triggered some bad memories of previous classes with the fake-Headmaster Trent, and her expression became clouded.

After the greetings were had, the Professor finished off the page he was reading as the students seemed to immerse themselves. All seemed to be pleasant before it seemed to have been time enough to begin.

"Right then," Professor Madigan set aside his newspaper to address the class by turning down the music to barely audible. "Good day, everyone. Given the festivities coming around, it seemed good as time as any to not only brush up those defensive skills but also show that a good time can be had as well," How can seemingly two contradictory purposes come about?

"We will be dealing with these mannequins very soon, but first, I must ask or rather imagine yourselves in this scenario. You're in a crowded room when the opposition presents itself and sends projectiles and spells in all directions. Without naming a specific spell, what would be your reaction or what you feel should be the best course of action to take place?" He was curious on responses, as he imagined all answers would be welcomed.

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OOC: Thanks so much your patience! Feel free to get creative with answers. Class will continue in at least 24 hours.

Jude was actually getting into the music and was disappointed when Madigan got started. That meant the music would cease or not be as loud now. Maybe he’d ask Madigan after the meeting about it. But for now, his attention was on the man. The Hufflepuff’s eyebrows lifted. Defense and a fun time? Those two can be mixed together? Well, that was certainly something.

The scenario was thought over for a bit, trying not to think of a particular spell that would be useful in the situation. A hand went up. “I would take cover first then attempt to figure out where the attack was coming from.” That was a logical thing to do.

The smaller boys silence at the start of the club may have made it appear that he wasn't listening or that he hadn't even had been that at all but that surely wasn't the case. Vasco had been there the entire time, hands in his pockets and rocking lightly on the balls of his feet.

Deuling club may not have been one of his first choices but it was Vera's soooooo he was here too. Not really in support but more in a 'to make sure she didn't get slaughtered' sort of way. A brother had to look out for his sister, right? Not to mention if they got to duel one on one he could finally take out some of his frustrations on her without getting in trouble.

Keeping an eye on his sister who only seemed to be worried about taking on the mannequins already, Vas also tried to think over the scenario they had just been given by Madigan. A lot was running through his head. If his sister was with him at the time? Was there actually anything to take cover under/behind?Slowly he raised his hand. "I'm guessing it's safe to say that the room is too crowed to safely get to a door and get out? So.. yeah, take cover of some sort and try to assess where the attack was coming from. It's kind of hard to say really because I don't know what the room looks like and you can never really know for sure how you'll respond in a certain moment..."

Talking toilet bandit, did he just say? Was he joking, or was there really such a thing? At Hogwarts? Violet had heard nothing about this. This news distracted her so much that she nearly missed the first question.

"I would cast Protego first, around me and anyone near me, while I tried to figure out where the attack was coming from and then the best place to take cover," Violet added. The spell was becoming her go-to spell, but it had served her well so far in her life.

After hearing such good plans, Professor Madigan decided it was time to move on to the next step. The fun was waiting to be had. "Right, as many have suggested there is only so much you can do in an immediate response that taking cover and looking out for others is the best set of action." Now it was time to get the wands out.

"As mentioned, one of the go-to defensive spells, Protego will be used again today. The goal in one's lifetime is to be able to conjure a Protego in your own sleep." Loosely speaking, but quite the standard to set when on the defense. "These mannequins will be our enemy for the day. Now they won't be stationary and will actually be aiming at us. But I assure you, no one will need to take a trip to the Hospital Wing if all goes according to plan." There had to be some thrill thrown in.

"But before we get right to that, let us practice the Shield Charm, Protego. To those needing more time learning the spell. You can practice repeating the charm Pro-Teg-Oh, and forming a straight line from top to bottom like the letter "I" in the hand movement." And for added measure, "You're welcome to work with another one. Safety is helpful in numbers."

"Annd... begin." With a flick of the wand towards the radio, the classical music turned back up again.

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OOC: Before we move onto the activity, you will be practicing the Shield Charm, Protego. No minimum post required, as much as your character is capable of. They could even post assisting others. The meeting will continue in at least 48 hours.

Protego. Truly, he was not surprised. The Charm was highly useful and Jude, though fairly good at it, wouldn’t object to having a bit more practice. The challenge of having the mannequins as opponents? Exciting! It was one he was already looking forward to. Could he skip the practice of the wand movement and incantation?

But hey!

At least the music was back at a satisfying volume! Jude always worked better when music was involved. “Pro-Teg-Oh! Protego!’’ Such an easy incantation, such a simple wand movement. Which brought him to a question that had only just popped into his mind. “Professor? Can older students use Protego Duo?’’ That was the one he really needed to perfect.

Being able to cast Protego in one's sleep! Violet would really love to be able to do that (because she'd never really felt quite safe at night since the Neo-Alliance war). Well, maybe someday--she had cast Protego, and Protego Duo rather a lot (and rather successfully, if she did say so herself, by now.

Violet perked up her ears to hear the reply. She herself would really like to learn some of the more advanced options, like Protego maxima or Protego totalum, as well.

"Anyone want to partner up?" she said out loud, looking around in particular for some of the younger students and feeling rather pleased that she had something she was good at to share with someone.

Everyone seemed to be progressing nicely or at least at the forefront of the warm up. This good question wasn't one to be overlooked naturally, "Oh yes, they certainly can practice that," Professor Madigan had no issue with students challenging themselves. Just to add for anyone else who didn't hear this, "Protego Duo is a fifth-year level upgrade from the regular Protego, merely to increase the size of the shield."

Now then, it had been time to begin the fun, "Alright everyone, looks like you're ready to begin the exercise." Flicking his wand in the direction towards the mannequins starting from the furthest away. The mannequins began slowing raising their arms into a T-pose position

"Now since Spring is among us, it's time we add a little fun to our training." How so? Cue the mannequins now spinning slowly before short bursts of water shot out sprinkling. "Since we're all dressed for getting a little water on ourselves, this training will act as us managing to avoid getting hit by our attacker's spells. Using Protego we'll be protecting ourselves from the bursts of water that may hit us or others." Now where's the fun? "Now, being in a dangerous situation we can't just stay hidden behind cover, we will have to fight back sooner or later to make our escape. So you may use any spell you're familiar with, whether its a Stun, Tickling, maybe even a Bat-Bogey Hex. Give it your all and you'll see-"

Just then Madigan could feel a small jet of water on his back from one of the mannequins, "Ahem, like so-" Before the second jet could hit him again, he conjured up a "Protego,", repelling the water back onto the mannequin, followed by a "Flipendo" at the mannequin. The mannequin then changed into the color blue from the water, followed by a dark purple from the second spell hitting. "The mannequins to indicate you hit them will change a random color. If you're feeling extra confident you can move across the room defending, attacking multiple mannequins, and even partner with another person if you so choose."

Now what's the incentive, "At the end of the activity there will be a prize based on the effort shown, best of luck!"

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OOC: The mannequins not only spin but they sprinkle water! Defend and/or shoot spells so they can change colors. You're more than welcome to work with another person to help. Work at your own pace, the meeting will conclude July 13th.

Even while he wished he could upgrade his protego to a protego duo, the fourth year knew he wasn't ready for that just yet. Despite the fact that he was fairly certain of the protego charm itself.

When the Professor signalled for the activity to begin, Daniel lowered his wand to his side and observed the mannequins gently raising their arms into a T-pose. The Hufflepuff furrowed his brows at the sight. So the goal was to avoid being hit by the water while attempting to defeat the mannequins. It sounded simple enough.

But it was the mention of a "prize" that piqued his interest. He didn't care what the prize was, he was prepared to destroy every mannequin in his path!

Even though that wasn't realistically possible, meh. Daniel readied his wand and pointed to the first mannequin he saw.

Jude shot Violet a glance, considering her offer to pair up. The idea was quickly dismissed since he felt that this was something he wanted to do on his own. Don’t ask him why, it was just one of those instinctive things you feel in the moment. Especially since he was determined to master the Duo aspect of the charm… Jude nodded happily to Madigan to acknowledge the reply. Thank goodness for being a fifth year!

His attention went to the mannequins as they began to move. The activity didn’t sound bad and already he was looking forward to getting started. And soon enough he could! Jude did not hesitate for a split second. The nearest spinning mannequin decided to target him.

“Protego Duo!” Green light shot from the dragon heartstring core wand. However, his spell wasn’t strong enough; the barrier was weak and water easily came through and hit him squarely in the face.

So much for a strong first attempt.

After enough time had gathered, with the spinning mannequins likely soaking the active duelers, Professor Madigan made his rounds observing each student. Some did try, some others well their presence was acknowledged and appreciated all the same as he nodded approving at each person. But the time had reached its limit and even past so before he silenced the music one last time.

"Alright, give yourselves an applause on your time done here." Professor Madigan smiled. "As promised, the prizes for today's activity go to Hufflepuffs Mr. Jude Anders and Mr. Daniel Yoon. Here you go, gentlemen." Handing them both what appeared to be golden coins enclosed with strange markings that would form to spell out the owner's name. "While these coins aren't meant for spending, they will serve to heat up at the sign of uncertainty and danger. Or in the case you're feeling anxious, they'll be cool to the touch." He found them quite valuable but this was subjective.

"Thank you all for coming, feel free to take a chocolate coin in the basket here if you're feeling famished. Meeting adjourned."

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OOC: Thank you all for joining in! You're welcome to post your characters goodbyes and such before the thread closes tomorrow.

Jude had had the time of his life! By the end of the meeting, he was significantly more efficient with Protego Duo. He was proud, so proud of himself. The new accomplishment would come in handy for DADA practicals no doubt. He was disappointed when the group had to depart but definitely cheerful that he had won a fancy golden coin for his efforts.

“Thanks, professor!’’ The fifth year enthusiastically examined the coin. WOW. It can warn of danger AND help with anxiety? Yeah, he was going to keep this forever, okay? Wand holstered again, he started to head out but not before throwing Daniel a grin. “Nice work!’’ It was pretty cool that Hufflepuffs had taken the win.

A chocolate coin? Yes, please!

Also… did Madigan have a thing for coins?

Violet stopped as instructed, more than a little damp after the practice. She figured she had managed to block about 2/3 of the dummies' attacks, but unfortunately that was not enough to keep her from getting drenched. She was a little disappointed she hadn't won a coin, especially when she heard they alerted one against danger. But she had to admit that her mind had not been entirely on the activity; she was distracted by her personal life, which was such a novelty that she was not quite sure how to handle it.

"Goodbye Professor, we'll get those dummies next time," she commented as she exited the room.