Open Y37 SDA Exhibition Duel

Open after Daphne posts with Tyler and Amanda posts with Lydia

Sydney had been thrilled when the SDA was finally handed over to her. She had so many plans and ideas for actual useful skills and magic she could share with her peers, free to do what she actually knew would be beneficial for the club. There was only one problem with her newfound control of the SDA. And that was her co-leader, Tyler Lee. Even if Sydney didn't know Tyler was backbiting toady personally, she knew she'd be able to smell it on him just from the sheer sliminess he exuded.

She'd known she'd have to find some way to work with her new co-leader, and the exhibition match had seemed like an excellent first step. Not only would it give Sydney a chance to show off why she was an undefeated duelling champion and perfectly suited to lead the SDA, but if she got to flex that fact over Tyler in the process then all the better. Her besting him in a public duel would drum up excellent awareness of their club and give Sydney a bargaining chip for their future club arrangements.

Taking to the raised duelling stage, Sydney took a moment to check the room over before the match began. They'd asked Professor Drage to oversee their match, and Sydney was eager to have an actual duelist proctoring them instead of some professor (or headmistress) who just wanted to throw their weight around. If this went well, Sydney would get a chance to show a real duelist, future club members, and the entire school just what she could bring to the new era of the SDA.

Lydia had been both surprised and grateful to be asked to proctor a performative duel for the SDA. Someone must have let slip that she enjoyed amateur duels in her spare time. Of course, she’d agreed to the club leaders’ request. She arrived early to the duelling chamber to see one of the Slytherins already setting up.

“Good afternoon, Miss Townsend,” Lydia said warmly, “is there anywhere in particular you’d like me to stand? Or anything I can do before the match?”

Out of all the clubs at Hogwarts, Tyler felt like the SDA suited him best. So he was glad he had been picked to lead it, though he wished he'd been picked on his own. It almost felt insulting to be picked together with some girl a year younger than him, a girl who clearly was unfamiliar with the concept of a hairbrush. Tyler knew Sydney from Slytherin and from reading her articles in Hogwarts Monthly, and knew the type of person she was. Someone so desperate to be edgy and interesting that they created their entire personality about it. It was boring, and honestly difficult to take her seriously.

This exhibition match seemed like a good idea, for multiple reasons. It was something new and interesting, something that would hopefully promote SDA with people who wouldn't have joined the club otherwise. But it would also show the whole school that Tyler was a force to be reckoned with, and it would show other SDA members who the real leader of the club was. If he beat Sydney, he knew that would make him look like a better leader than her. And as he was a year above her, Tyler knew he had an advantage.

After setting up the stage, Tyler waited for the match to begin. Professor Drage was overseeing the match, as she had apparently been a duelist. Tyler doubted she was anything special if she had to settle for teaching now, but it beat having some other professor there who clearly knew nothing about duelling. Tyler frowned when the professor addressed Sydney first, and politely cleared his throat before speaking to answer the question. "Perhaps standing just beside the stage would be smart." He said with a small shrug. "And we have everything in hand, thank you. I think we can begin." He said, finally looking at Sydney. "Oh, right. Do you agree?" He asked, almost as if asking her was an afterthought.

Sydney gave Tyler a smile that was more a baring of teeth than anything as he helped Professor Drage get set up before their match. There was no point tearing into him now when she'd be free to jinx that skeevy, pompous tone right off of him in a few minutes. "As long as you think so," She said simply, rolling her shoulders and taking a moment to check at the gathered students in the room. "My fellow students, welcome to the Student Defense Association's first exhibition match of the year. Today's duel will be between your new SDA leaders, my self, Sydney Townsend, and my opponent, Tyler Lee. We hope this inspires you to explore what defensive magic can do for you and what skills you might be able to learn with us at the SDA," She said, vaguely gesturing to Tyler while she addressed the room. She wasn't a huge fan of standing on ceremony, but it felt good to be up on stage being listened to. And she knew it'd drive Tyler crazy that she got to make the introductions while he was being a smartass. "There," She said, turning back to face Tyler on the duelling stage. "Begun."

Sydney let Professor Drage signal them to begin, giving Tyler a short, sharp bow that let her keep her eyes on him. Tyler had an advantage of having an extra year of schooling under his belt, but Sydney knew she could think outside the box. All she needed to do was outsmart Tyler and she'd have this duel won. Wasting no time, Sydney shot off a bat-boogey hex, grinning that she was able to fire off her spell first.

Simon had heard about this duel form both Sydney and Tyler, and while most people would be excited to have the chance to cheer on their friends, he had been dreading ever since. So far he had managed to balance the fact that his two closest friends hated each other. It just involved a lot of nodding along and looking believably interested. But now that they were actually about to face off and duel in front of the whole school, it put him in an awkward position. Who was he supposed to cheer for? Presumably both, but if he was spotted it would make this much more awkward then he cared to deal with. So he settled for taking a seat towards the back of the dueling chamber. He needed to be there, but he didn't exactly need to be seen.

Tilly had noticed flyers around the school about an exhibition duel, and she decided to attend. The second-year had never watched a duel before. Plus, she’d heard good things about the SDA from her fellow classmates. The Hufflepuff secured a spot in the duelling chamber and anxiously waited for the match to begin. She watched as the first spell was cast and wondered if it would strike home.

Michael was excited to hear the New Zealand had a duelling club and was even hosting an event so early in the semester. He never wanted to use duelling to hurt anyone, but it was a terribley fun way to practice magic and determine which of your friends was truly the better wizard. He walked down to the dungeons and entered the duelling chamber, hoping that the event was open to anybody and not just members. He didn't see anybody he knew there yet and took a seat just as the fight was about to start, leaning forward with a characteristic grin on his face. He admired the girl's first hex. What a classic.

There was no doubt Sydney probably wouldn't Brooke to watch the exhibition match, but there was no way Brooke was going to miss it, even if she had to go incognito. It wasn't often she got to see Sydney truly in her element, and even though it was a little harder to see everything from the back of the room, she still slipped herself into an inconspicuous spot as the event was starting. Brooke gave the person next to her a polite smile of acknowledgement as she got settled, right as Sydney was starting her introductions, before double-taking when she realized she recognized them. "I know why I'm back here, but what are you doing back here?" She asked Simon quietly, glancing back at the stage where Sydney had managed to fire off the first curse. @Simon Thorne

Salem wasn't entirely sure what the SDA did, outside of duelling apparently, but she was excited to get to see Tyler in action doing something cool. She found a spot close to the duelling platform so she'd have a good view, making sure to wave at Tyler before the match began. The other leader, Sydney, cast the first spell but Salem was sure Tyler would be able to block it. "Go Tyler!"

While Tyler was finishing up speaking to Professor Drage, Sydney took the lead and welcomed the students to their duel. He frowned a little at that, as he had wanted to bet he one to introduce them. At the very least, to introduce himself. But as she spoke, he quickly morphed his face into a smile, nodding as if he was completely on board with this. He knew Sydney knew exactly what she was doing, but at least he could get back at her. After bowing, he blocked her spell with an easy shield charm, smiling. "Protecting yourself from weaker spells is the first thing you'll need to learn." He said, almost lazily. "Stupefy." He then cast at Sydney, aiming the spell at her squarely. He knew it was unlikely that he'd knock her out in one spell, but he couldn't help but imagine how funny that would be.

Beckett decided to check out what was happening at the SDA. It seemed like there would be a big duelling thing that he didn't much about so today he scheduled his day differently to see what the fuss was all about.
When the young Ravenclaw arrived at the usual duelling chamber there were some people there, some of which were second years. He decided to approach them but quietly and without saying anything, also because they seemed to be having a conversation, he knew both of the second years, Tilly a girl that partnered up with him in some classes and Liusaidh, the kind of girl who was mostly known to always be causing some sort of mess.
He looked at the people who were duelling, he had no idea who they were but he knew that neither of them belonged to Ravenclaw, Beckett has an excellent visual memory and he would know if they belonged to the same house. It seemed like the duel had just began, both the duelists were still in one piece and didn't look hurt so he couldn't have missed much.

Juniper had been surprised to hear about a duelling exhibition happening so early in the year. She couldn't remember the club doing anything like that previously, and she was excited to spend more time studying the other students' habits so she could have a chance at winning this year's duelling tournament. She had decided to be prepared for the event and had made tiny bags on popcorn to hand out to students in case they were hungry (because who doesn't want snacks?). She had even created a cute costume to play the part. She walked into the duelling chamber with her popcorn in tow that had a sign on the front reading "Free Snacks." She wasn't familiar with Sydney or Tyler other than watching them duel previously and watched as they began, offering snacks to anyone who passed her or waved in her direction while trying not to interrupt the main event going on in the chamber.

Seraphina had once again been pressured by her mother to try and be "apart of something." If it wasn't for her grandmother also giving her the encouragement, she would have shrugged off the suggestion all together. However, all the clubs at Hogwarts just seemed dumb. She didn't want to play with plants or be in a large group of girls doing sleepovers and braiding each other's hair. She wasn't really a good writer so the idea of joining the yearbook or paper seemed out of her reach. She thought about seeing if she could do her own version of a column at the newspaper that wouldn't require her to write anything, but she knew that the students would probably laugh at her. The duelling thing seemed like a viable option, but she wasn't quite sure about it. She had heard that they were hosting an event and meandered down to their chamber to check it out. There were a lot of people, most of which the Gryffindor was not familiar with, and she felt small comparatively. She found a seat in the back corner of the room that allowed her to still watch the event and carefully watched as the duelling began. The girl seemed a little broody, which Seraphina found appealing, and she hoped that she would be the one to win.

Tilly grinned at @Liusaidh Fergusson as she sat down next to her. As always, the Slytherin couldn’t be missed, even in a crowd. “Honestly, not much, he’s only blocked her hex so far,” Tilly said in a low voice, watching as the boy cast the Stunning Spell. She wondered if it was going to hit, but hopefully not. That would be pretty boring, for a duel to end so quickly.

The Hufflepuff smiled at @Beckett Harrington as he joined them. But then, Tilly noticed someone in a wild red and white outfit out of the corner of her eye. Free snacks! Tilly was always up for a snack, given that she was perpetually hungry. She waved at @Juniper Zumwalt and hoped that the older girl would notice.

Simon tensed as the duel began but thankfully no one had landed a hit yet. He had been so focused on platform he hardly noticed who was around him until someone spoke to me. "When did you get here?" he snapped reflexively when he noticed Brooke beside him. "And why is that?" he asked with narrowed eyes. "Why aren't you up there supporting your lovely sister?" he asked as his face pulled into a mischievous smile towards the end. But he sighed, and tried to properly explain himself. "Because, being friends with both of them is exhausting. I am in the middle of a situation I can not win. So I am simply here to show my silent support." he said with a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. @Brooke Townsend

Sydney tried to keep her temper at Tyler's obvious dig. Two could play at that game, especially since he wasn't bothering being subtle. This was an exhibition match after all, so it wouldn't hurt to have everyone learn a little something. "You'll have greater success if you actually manage to use spells your opponent isn't expecting," She said, pulling up a shield charm to block Tyler's predictable stunning spell before casting her own. "Silencio!" Sydney was fairly confident Tyler hadn't learnt any non-verbal spells yet, so a silencing charm would put an end to both their duel and the annoying dribble coming out of his mouth.

Tyler could tell he was getting to Sydney with his words, and blocked her spell as she sent one at him. She was trying to humiliate him in return, but Tyler didn't think she had a very good point. "Being effective is more important than trying to be original." He said, raising his eyebrows slightly. "But very well, Langlock!" He cast at her. He had read up on a few spells, and knew for a fact Sydney wouldn't know this one yet as it was too advanced. If she wanted him to be unpredictable, he'd give her what she wanted.

Lydia watched as the two Slytherins parried each other’s blows. One could have cut the tension between them with a knife. While it made for excellent entertainment, as proctor, Lydia needed to keep things in line. A nice crowd had gathered. Lydia put the tip of her wand to her throat and magnified her voice with the Amplifying Charm.

“Depending on the setting, and competition rules, banter between duellists may be encouraged,” Lydia said, her eyes on the stage, “for the purposes of this exhibition, keep it civil.” She smiled and tapped her wand against her throat again to return the volume back to normal.

If it weren't for the clubs section of the Monthly, Nell would have dropped out of the SDA a long time ago. She had accepted that she was absolutely terrible at dueling, and the club just didn't hold much to interest her. Journalism came first though, and she didn't want to miss the chance to keep up on what was going on in the club. Which, today, included a duel she felt particularly uneasy about watching. Tyler had always been one of Nell's least favourite classmates, and the fact that he was dueling someone younger and less experienced made her all the more worried for Syd. She hung towards the back of the audience taking notes about the event, wincing every time Tyler aimed for Sydney.

Juniper was intently watching the duel when she saw a student waving towards. Figuring she wanted some of her free food, Juniper carefully walked behind the spectators to the side the girl was on and gave her a smile. "Would you like some popcorn?" she asked, picking out a bag and holding it towards the girl. She noticed there was a small group of them and looked back down. "There's plenty to go around, and I'm guessing we are going to be here for a while," she said with a laugh, listening to Professor Drage add her commentary to the match. She had remembered the little banter she had had with Lysander during their duel, and for the most part, she thought it just increased their desire to beat each other.
@Tilly Drage @Liusaidh Fergusson @Beckett Harrington

Sydney grit her teeth when Tyler not only blocked her spell but had the time to snark back at her. She wasn't familiar with the spell he returned fire with, but it didn't take a genius to know she should avoid it, quickly pulling up a shield of her own. Her mouth was half-open to say something scathing in return with Professor Drage spoke up about civility. The last thing Sydney needed was a repeat of her first duel with Eric in second year. "I think the spells can speak for themselves most of the time," She said instead, leveling her wand back at Tyler with renewed focus to cast her own hex in return. "Incendio!" She shouldn't underestimate him just because he was a conniving worm, but she wasn't going to be scared by a few upper year spells.

Brooke just raised her eyebrow when it became obvious she'd startled Simon. Clearly he was jumpy. It was interesting that Sydney wasn't as vocal about her dislike for her as Brooke would have assumed, but perhaps Sydney had just become committed to pretending Brooke simply didn't exist and was sticking with that. "She doesn't like me watching her do things," She explained simply, tilting her head curiously at Simon's own explanation and glancing at the other duelist, Tyler, up on stage as the pair exchanged barbs and spells. "Does Sydney know you're friends with them both?" She asked, filing the information away for later. Brooke couldn't image Sydney would take one of her friends spending time with someone she didn't like very well, but she had to accept she may not know Sydney as well as she used to before she'd come to Hogwarts. She had some catching up to do in that regard if Sydney would just let her. @Simon Thorne