Closed Angry Victory

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha knew she should be happy. She should be proud she was the duelling champion again, for the second year in a row. But it didn't feel like she had won, probably because she hadn't. The only reason she now had this title was because stupid Terror had decided to give it up willingly. It was almost worse than losing in Anisha's eyes. The stupid git had looked like he was giving her something like he wasn't minutes away from getting his ass totally kicked by her. It was infuriating. Now everyone would think Anisha had only won this title because Terror had let her win, even though she had won more matches than anyone in her year. Anisha had stormed out of the duelling chamber and had just started wandering around the dungeons without a clear goal in mind. She was probably hopelessly lost, but she didn't really care right now. What pissed her off most of all was that she now couldn't know if she would have won. Probably? But she wasn't sure. It was infuriating. Anisha stopped to kick at a suit of armor and grunted, grabbing her foot. Those things were sturdier than they looked. She let out a grumble of curse words as she hopped on.

 

[Dorian Fitzwilliam]

Dorian didn't 'hate-watch'. He wouldn't bother to waste his time with something as petty as that. His lurking in all Anisha's duelling matches had been pure, detached research for next year and that was all. Though really, he hadn't seen anything all that educational during Anisha's following duels, more to confirm she was winning on pure luck really, at least until that final duel. That had certainly been something Dorian hadn't been ready for, though knowing Terror's family reputation he probably should have. Anisha certainly hadn't been ready for it, or for Terror's forfeit either.

An incredibly uncharitable part of Dorian had to wonder if she'd made some sort of deal with the Slytherin, that they were working together to create a spectacle and let Anisha win, but even if he was bitter about losing to her, Dorian had seen Anisha mad enough over the years to know the look on her face had been genuine. Anisha might have been annoying, but Dorian knew she wasn't low enough to sink to Terror's level, as loath as he was to admit it.

Still, the debacle hadn't changed that Anisha was their year's champion again and Dorian hadn't felt like dealing with Anisha's gloating on the chances he passed on the stairs on the way out, taking a long detour in the dungeons until he heard someone making a racket further down the corridor.

"Picking fights with inanimate objects now, too?" He asked in lieu of sighing when he realized who exactly he'd managed to bump into. "While a suit of armor might be about as clever as a Zhefarovich, you should probably pick your battles better," he said, crossing his arms as he took in Anisha's clearly agitated state.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha was glad the pain in her toes was quickly fading, but she felt a flush of embarrassment as she heard someone and realized someone had heard or seen that. Well, that was embarrassing. As if the duel hadn't been bad enough. Anisha turned and audibly groaned when she saw just who it was. She put her foot on the ground again and scowled at Dorian. "Why are you always there?" She asked him. "Are you following me?" As Dorian kept on talking, Anisha quickly realized he had seen her duel. Of course, he had. She knew that she technically won, but it didn't feel that way. She figured Dorian wouldn't see it that way either. It was nice to hear he didn't have a high opinion of Terror either, but it also annoyed her. She didn't want to have anything in common with Dorian. "Oh my god, do you ever shut up?" She asked, exasperated. "I can pick a fight with you if you want me to beat you again." She added, scowling. "Though I think this thing would put up more of a fight." She gestured to the suit of armor.

 

[Dorian Fitzwilliam]

“No,” Dorian said quickly, crossing his arms to avoid the embarrassed flush. He couldn’t exactly admit he’d come down here to explicitly avoid her. That would be just as bad as saying he was trying to follow her.

He scowled at her as Anisha continued, whatever sympathy he might have felt about the outcome of her duel with Terror quickly draining away. Lest her forget that deep down Anisha Khatri was a rude, entitled girl with a bad attitude. “You sure you can actually win if your opponent isn’t forfeiting,” he snapped back before he could think better of it. Anisha just had the ability to push all Dorian’s buttons without trying and he always ended up saying things before he could think about it. Half the time that was more annoying that Anisha herself. “You really have a high opinion of yourself, huh,” Dorian said with obvious disdain. “I was ready to say what Terror did was inexcusable but maybe that’s exactly the caliber of opponent you deserve,” he said, ego bruised enough to turn his words far sharper than intended.

 

[Anisha Khatri]

Anisha wasn't convinced by Dorian's no, and she squinted at him suspiciously. It would be just like him to chase after her just to rub in her face that her victory had been spoiled. She bet he had a lot of fun watching her yell at Terror.

But as Dorian asked if she was sure she could actually win without the opponent forfeiting, she had to laugh. Why did he keep saying these things when she beat him? "I don't remember you forfeiting, or was that what you were doing? I thought you were just terrible at duelling." She shot back at him. "Good to know for next time." She said with a grin. She knew she was being mean, but he started it. "Next time you can just say you forfeit instead of stumbling over your own feet on the stage. I also beat more people than just you. How many duels have you even won?" She asked as she advanced on him slightly. "I do, actually. Because I'm awesome." She said when he asked if she had a high opinion of herself. "And so do you, I'm surprised you haven't walked into a wall yet with your nose so far up in the air. You think you're better than everyone" Anisha snorted. "I'm surprised you think what Terror did was bad. You're just like him. You're both too arrogant to function."