Anger Management

[Victoire Fontaine]

Victoire was in a state of disbelief, this term had been anything but good and it was her last term of the school, they had all experienced the death of a close friend which in of itself wasn't something she had expected to happen, it was a horrible thing to happen, and most days the head girl did expect for Avie to just come bouncing around the corner waving some rock around, and the other far more recent thing was the fact that Jean and her were just over. This she might've seen coming if Victoire had been paying more attention, she loved him but it wasn't something she had ever really seen lasting outside of school. The protection that the school had given them wouldn't exist in the real world, the biggest threat in school were his two brothers, outside of school there was far more. But it didn't mean that it didn't hurt, that she wasn't angry about it, because Victoire was. She loved him, and it was because of the family she'd been born into that she was unable to continue to be with him, that she was being threatened by his family, her blood that would dirty his. Something she had no control over was controlling something in her life, and she was annoyed, her family was well respected within the muggle community, they held a high status, and yet in this world it meant nothing. Victoire was head girl, with near perfect grades and yet she would never be good enough for him or his family, it didn't matter what she tried to do, her blood simply made her, to them, not worthy.

Which was why she had sought refuge in the duelling tournament, with everyone so focused on exams, this room was thankfully empty, and with the excuse of wanting to practice advanced magical spells she might need for the NEWTs, the girl had her wand pointed at a dummy and each spell she shot at it, was laced with an anger with which Victoire had never cast spells with. The gryffindor couldn't tell anyone what had happened, she still didn't want people knowing about them, the tiny few who did weren't going to tell anyone else but she certainly didn't want more to find out incase the threat lingered, which meant that she had no one to turn to to even vent about what had happened. Screaming wasn't like Victoire, but practicing her magic that was more up Victoire's street and her concentration was entirely focused on the dummy she was practicing with, her intent to eventually render it nothing but a pile of ash.
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[Esme Lancaster]

No amount of preparation could have ever readied Esme for the year she'd endured so far, one that had started out so well for the seeress. There had been a distinct lack of insufferable youth getting on her nerves, a surprising change from the previous few years. Not even the Adams twins could have brought the year down after Vulcan's proposal to her by the lakeside, an event that marked the particular spot as a special place in her heart. But that quickly changed. Seventh year was supposed to be a difficult time for all witches and wizards, after all, their exams were specifically referred to as nastily exhausting, but that was meant to be their most major obstacle to overcome. Never, not even with her gift of foresight, did the Slytherin begin to think that anything more difficult could arise. The loss of her friend made her studies feel like childs play in comparison, and the lake, once holding one of her most pleasant memories, and so much warmth, now left a cold chill down her spine whenever she passed too close to the water's edge. Avie shouldn't have died. With all the power they held, the ability to bend the very fabric of space to their will, to rearrange molecules at the wave of a hand, to command the very elements themselves, all of it had failed her. Wizards didn't drown. It was too difficult to believe that with everything they were capable of, simple water was able to kill someone she cared so much for, a boy she considered to be almost like a younger sibling to her. Her best friend was gone, and no amount of power she knew of could bring him back. It hurt more than anything she'd felt before, and the witch wasn't sure it would ever stop. Magic always solved her problems, but now she was helpless.

It had been months of feeling sick with grief, upset at her incapability, and the incapability of others, but as time went on, her feelings had grown into anger. Anger at herself, unable to save Avie despite being able to see the future, anger at Lucien for not taking better care of their best friend, anger at the school for its uselessness at protecting its students, and anger at Avery himself for leaving her. It wasn't fair, and Esme needed an outlet for her emotions. Dueling had, in the past, been a good source of channeling her aggression, but without a tournament scheduled for the her last year, she'd contained her feelings inside, to the point where she needed to let it all out. Almost in a daze, the witch found herself wandering through the dark of the dungeons, loosely turning over her wand in her hand, until finally she came to a stop, outside the familiar doors of the dueling chamber. It came as some surprise to find someone she knew, all too well, already inside. She'd wanted to be alone, to take the time to let out her feelings on something other than the trees lining the forbidden forest, in case she went overboard and started a fire she couldn't contain, but perhaps she could still work with her current situation. A live target was better than an inanimate one. "Fontaine." The seeress announced her presence as she approached the head girl, her eyes shifting to the dummy that her rival was practicing on with an expression of distaste. "Performing some basic spells on a target that can't fight back?"
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[Victoire Fontaine]

Victoire's anger barely subsided, and she turned around at the sound of someone else's voice, the sight gracing her eyes not one she would expect. After all they weren't friends, at most they were colleagues because of having to work in Ollivanders, but that was it, Victoire knew that she likely respected Esme more than she would ever respect her, but how she was used to purebloods thinking they were better than her and that she was unworthy of their time. The head girl narrowed her gaze at her, why had she come to this room, was it for the same reason as Victoire. She could only imagine the emotions that she was going through, though Victoire had been friends with Avie, spent time with him, it was nothing like how he had been with Esme, the Esme Victoire knew was nothing like the one that Avie had known. But, her grief had abated while she was dealing with Jean, and though now she was unable to do anything, she couldn't tell anyone what happened, she didn't want to really either, all she wanted to do was vent, get the frustration out of her system.

"Why do you care," she returned, really not interested in Esme and whatever she was saying, or accusing her of, it didn't matter that perhaps Esme was the better duellist, Victoire was smarter, better. She felt her anger grow and her grip on the wand tightened, "How about you and I have a little duel, then I can practice on a target that will fight back," she was itching for this, she wanted to just duel, where others had quidditch to fight it out, she didn't, all she had were her studies, this was a good way for her to vent she was sure of it. She was just itching to get started, she moved the grip in her wand, looking at Esme with a hint of a challenge in her voice, the head girl knew that she was hardly going to turn it down.
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[Esme Lancaster]

"I don't." Esme responded simply. She didn't have anywhere close to the capacity to care about someone such as Victoire, the ever so perfect little head girl with dirty mud coursing through her veins, who she was sure only gained her status in the school out of pity from the staff members. Of course, muggle-borns needed all the special treatment they could get to become even remotely capable witches and wizards. It was injust, and Esme could feel nothing for a person of such a low status. After Avie, the seeress wished she lacked the capacity to care about anyone else at all. Emmett, Vulcan, Lucien. She could count the few she loved on one hand - her brother, her lover and her best friend. She couldn't lose any of them, couldn't go through it all a second time. No physical pain she had ever felt amounted anywhere close to the emotional pain she experienced over the last few months. There simply wasn't a spell or potion to fix death, as far as she could find. Once was enough for a lifetime.

The challenge Fontaine presented brought a smile to Esme's lips, the first in quite some time, but it wasn't one of joy, or happiness. There was no positive emotion behind the expression. It was much crueler, full of suppressed aggression, one that made it clear that the opportunity to bring suffering on someone else was one she could hardly pass up. The Slytherin was the victor to their last duel, and she was more than confident that they'd reach the same outcome. Book knowledge meant nothing on the dueling platform, and with the anger she had bottled up, she knew her spells would pack even more of a punch than they had. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, do you? You don't honestly believe you can best me? I've already proven myself once before, but I'm more than happy to do so again. Are you sure you don't want to call yourself a nurse to have on standby? Trust me, Fontaine. You'll need it." Esme responded, slowly ascending the dueling platform while her wand twirled idly between her fingertips. "If not, I'm ready whenever you are. I'll even let you take the first shot this time." While they may have needed a professor supervision under normal circumstances, the Slytherin could hardly care for the rules. She needed this fight. ​

 

[Victoire Fontaine]

Victoire hated that Esme just thought she was better than her, not unlike Jean and his family, so desperate to believe that they were better just because of the family they had been born into. Victoire was so tired of being compared to these people whom she knew couldn't hold a candle to her. She worked hard, she studied, she practiced and she knew that she would one day show them how much better she truly was. How much smarter, better prepared, how she had come into magical life knowing nothing and was now smarter at it than all of them. Victoire shook her head at her, "I'll be just fine, thank you" she returned clearly frustrated by the way this girl was, "But, we're doing this properly, unlike you I don't take pride in bending the rules," With this Victoire turned towards the entrance of the duelling rooms doors, intending to find a professor, and as luck would have it, she did as the professor appeared to be leaving the dungeons, "Professor Haden!" she called out a little sharply before summoning the professor by waving him over, "Can you monitor our duel, it's for NEWT practice," she told him, a slight extension of the truth, but enough to make the professor say yes and she was glad it was the charms professor who barely cared about rule breaks that he'd likely not get involved.

With that the head girl turned back to Esme, and put herself at one end of the duelling platform, bowing like she was supposed to to her, "After you, I insist" she told her tersely, holding herself in the right position, getting a firm grip on her wand, and having it directly pointed at Esme. She wanted to win this desperately, to prove herself, but she needed the outlet, her anger towards the pureblood sense of superiority, the pureblood belief that she was less deserving of her magic than anyone else, that she didn't belong to this world, that certain families deemed her so unworthy of someone in theirs.
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[Professor Misha Haden]

Misha enjoyed the end of term more than the beginning, usually it meant a holiday was just around the corner and rather than dealing with students he could just relax and drink. Of course, Misha did love teaching, he enjoyed every moment of it, and he found the first year entertaining, seeing them grow. It was good fun, but outside of the classroom setting and if ever the students had a question for him, other than that however he didn't much mind for it. Dealing with kids, discipline weren't really his strong suit, he treated them mostly like adults in his classroom and outside of that he didn't really bother. he remained ever friendly, and it was not often he was without a smile but there was a difference. The professor had been minding his own business, walking back up from the dungeons when he heard a student call his name, a little startled he glanced round to the origin of the noise and spotted one of his NEWT students, stood at the entrance to the duelling chamber, he walked over, and was bombarded with a question that didn't feel like much of a question, but he nodded, entering the room and sitting himself down to monitor the duel, reminding them both quickly about the points and rules but he was sure they just wanted to get started. The charms professor pulled out a packet of biscuits from his pocket and began munching on them as the events in front of him unfolded.
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[Esme Lancaster]

Points: 150

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"Hrmph. Typical." The Lancaster witch retorted, folding her arms across her chest, fingers tapping impatiently against her arm as she waited for the Gryffindor to go and fetch a passing professor. It irritated her, how by the book Victoire had to be, how all of those goody two-shoes types had to act. There was no risk taking with them, no fun. Following the rules was such a bore, and while she could respect that some of them were in place with good reason, they were both adults in this situation. They didn't need to be supervised by a professor to duel. She thought that, once she had turned seventeen, life would be different. While now she could apparate and use magic outside of school, there was little time to do that with so much of her year spent on the grounds regardless. Even still, they weren't treated as the other adults of the castle, still under the authority of the staff. Esme wasn't a child anymore. She could handle things on her own, and it was about time everyone else realised this.

The Slytherin scoffed at Victoire's justification of their duel as she earned the attention of their charms professor. While she may have claimed not to take pride in bending rules, apparently she wasn't above lying. As her opponent moved into place, Esme inclined her head slightly, before drawing her wand up. Fontaine's attitude spurred her barely contained anger. Her words conveyed a sense that she believed she could win, that she were at all better than Esme in a fight. The seeress narrowed her eyes. She'd show her. She would never dare to challenge her again. "Very well. Petrificus Totalus." Her wand arced down, emitting a more simple spell to start off with. Victoire was more than prepared to defend anything she started with. She needed to whittle her down.

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Action(s) Taken: Cast spell
Point Changes: -5
Points Remaining: 145 ​

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[Victoire Fontaine]

Current Points: 150

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The moment Victoire invited Esme to begin she felt her anger focusing, she wanted to win this badly, but she also just felt like it would be good to vent. She gripped the wand tighter in her hand and as the spell was uttered her mind just eliminated everything else around her. She blocked the spell lazily, looking at Esme as if to ask why such a weak spell, a first year spell, they were NEWT students after all, surely Esme could try something harder, "Deprimo," Victoire shot back aiming the spell at Esme's feet, letting her anger very quickly out through the spell, and she'd admit it felt good. While the dummy had been a simpler and easier target, Victoire sure that this would both be more fruitful as practicing spells but also just better for her in that moment. Something that couldn't fight back was no fun really, but this, with Esme and all that pent up rage from so many years of constantly never being "as good", it felt good, definitely good to seemingly final be able to vent.

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Action(s) Taken: Cast Spell twice
Point Changes: -10
Points Remaining: 140

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[Esme Lancaster]

Current Points: 145</COLOR>

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Esme stepped forward, sweeping her wand toward her feet as she conjured a shield, the transparent guard rippling into life and bouncing the spell away from her. The Slytherin's eyes narrowed. How dare she. <COLOR color="seagreen">"You really think you can just drop the floor out from under me? The only one going down here, Fontaine, is you." She hissed, cutting her wand through the air as if it were a blade cutting through her opponent. "Diffindo." The spell arced through the air, sailing toward Victoire. Esme wanted to slice up that perfect little face of hers. To make it as ugly as the blood that ran through her.

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Action(s) Taken: Cast Spell x2
Point Changes: -10
Points Remaining: 135
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[Victoire Fontaine]

Current Points: 140

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Victoire couldn't help but be a little disappointed by the fact Esme managed to protect herself from Victoire's spell, she wanted to show the girl what she was capable of. To show her a little bit of destruction, but thus was not going to happen. Esme spoke, but Victoire ignored the words, not caring what she said, letting her anger remain silent, and just focused on the spell being shot towards her. "Duro," Victoire shot back, she knew this spell wasn't exactly a spell often used, but Victoire couldn't even stop herself from using it.

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Action(s) Taken: Cast Spell twice
Point Changes: -10
Points Remaining: 130

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[Esme Lancaster]

Current Points: 135</COLOR>

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Esme grimaced as the spell failed to make contact, stepping aside just in time as the returning fire skimmed by, connecting with a banner on the wall behind her, it's fabric greying and stiffening as it transfigured into stone. That could have been her. The Head Girl had tried to turn her into a statue. Turning away from the banner, she took aim once more, jaw-line tightening as she focused, feeling her anger rushing through her and down the length of her arm. "Expulso." She commanded, the explosive curse violently erupting from the end of her wand.

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Action(s) Taken: dodged spell, cast spell
Point Changes: <COLOR color="#ee4a2d">-15
Points Remaining: 120
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[Victoire Fontaine]

Current Points: 130

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A little smirk appeared on Victoire's face, almost unnatural to the girl who did not often smirk. She couldn't help but feel proud of the spell that she had cast, turning the fabric into stone. There was nothing but focus on her face as she re-met Esme's gaze, and due to this slight delay only had enough time to dodge out of the way of the spell her opponent had shot, and in a fit of growing anger shot back, "Diffindo" allowing just all of her frustration in that moment filter through the wand and on to the spell she had just cast.

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Action(s) Taken: Cast Spell, dodged
Point Changes: -15
Points Remaining: 115

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[Esme Lancaster]

Current Points: 120</COLOR>

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For a brief moment, as the explosive curse rebounded off the back wall, Esme had thought she'd succeeded in her attempt to finally take out her rival, only to realise that Victoire managed to avoid it in time. The returning spell was already on its way, and the Slytherin was only just able to cast up a shield to defend against it, stepping back as she felt the force of the spell against her barrier. Fontaine was serious. So was she. "Confringo." The seer shot back forcefully, lashing out with another of the many blasting curses in her arsenal. The Gryffindor was bound to let her guard fall, and Esme was ready to take advantage of it once she did.

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Action(s) Taken: Cast spell twice
Point Changes: <COLOR color="#ee4a2d">-10
Points Remaining: 110
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