Closed Practical Demonstration

[Sydney Townsend]

While Sydney had come to something of an uneasy truce with the other girls in her dorm, she didn't trust any of them in the slightest, still doing her best to spend as little time hanging around Slytherin house as possible. It also didn't help that Brooke was in school now, and didn't even have the decency to be sorted into her own house. Just the thought of her sister, propped up in the common room like model student doing her homework made Sydney want to break something, so she came down to the duelling chamber, intent on frying a few of the practice dummies until she felt better.

She was a little surprised to find another student already in the chamber, recognizing Ava Lancaster from the Duelling Tournament last year. Sydney had ended up watching all the duels, both out of personal interest and for her HM article, and Ava's ruthless style had stood out to her over a lot of the other contestants. "I want you to show me some of those spells you were using last year," She said, taking a determined step forward. While it seemed like Ava's style had mostly aimed for efficiently dispatching her opponents, Sydney had been impressed with the range of spells the older girl had known, including a few that Sydney didn't recognize at all. And if there was magic about that they weren't teaching in class, Sydney wanted in.

 

[Ava Lancaster]

Ava hadn't intended to come back to Hogwarts New Zealand. It was the first time she'd stuck with a school for more than one year, since a year was generally all the time she needed to find what she was looking for, but so far the school hadn't given her much at all to work with. There weren't many, or arguably any, secrets in the castle. No concealed chambers, no fabled fountains, no forbidden tomes. The library's restricted section itself was lacking in the same accumulation of thousands of years of history as other schools had, given how much the newer school lacked any real history to begin with. It was just a regular, plain old castle, and Ava was just about ready to give up.

Since she had no choice but to attend the school for another year at the very least, Ava decided to shift her focus to something else she was good at. Winning the dueling championship the previous year had hardly come as a surprise. Learning obscure magic was her thing, and her distant relatives had all been champions in the past. Not that she'd needed to really dip into her arsenal. A straight aggressive approach had been enough for her first duel. She'd expected to win. It was inevitable, and though the school was second-grade, she was pleased to leave her mark, at the very least. With a new year opened up more to learn, including another blasting curse that Ava couldn't wait to practice. "Confringo." She incanted, jettisoning a training dummy away with a pleased smile. She turned abruptly at the sound of footsteps and lowered her wand, holding what was meant to be a brief glance to see who was walking up, only to be addressed directly. She was too new to the school to really discern what year the girl may have been in, but she knew it wasn't hers, at the very least. "Some of them were quite advanced." She remarked, looking the girl up and down. It wasn't a brag, as much as it was a statement of fact. "I suppose I don't mind teaching you. Which ones did you want to learn?" It was an abrasive way to be asked to teach someone, but Ava could appreciate getting straight to the point.​

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney kept her gaze steady, not cowed when Ava casually remarked about how advanced some of the spells were. "I'm not scared of some hard work," She said evenly. Even if she didn't immediately master them, at least getting to see them would be beneficial on her own, and she wasn't about to let Ava intimidate her. "What was that toad jinx, the one you used on Elsie Baros last year?" Sydney asked, thinking of the first spell that came to mind that she'd seen last year. Baros had been able to deflect the spell, much to Sydney's disappointment, but she'd been eager to see what it was capable of, unable to find much information about it later while working on her article covering the duels.

 

[Ava Lancaster]

Ava pursed her lips in quiet contemplation, her eyes curiously searching the girl, as if trying to discern her intentions for wanting to learn the spells. Either way, she didn't particularly care what she used them for, but she was still rather curious to know. "Elsie Baros. Shame about her." Ava remarked, in a tone that suggested it wasn't that much of a shame. It was one less girl in her dorm. Two less that year, fortunately for her. It was certainly quieter, and Ava wasn't about to complain regardless of the circumstances. "Amphibia Eructo." She started to explain, lowering her wand in the process. "Think of it as something like "amphibians erupt". You know the phrase "to have a frog in your throat?" She asked, continuing before she could give the young girl a chance to respond. Of course she had. Everyone had. "No idea which came first honestly, the phrase or the spell, but it basically summarizes what it does. It's essentially a more extreme version of the slug vomiting charm. I'd demonstrate, but these dummies don't exactly vomit." Ava said with a small gesture of her wand toward the inanimate person. There was an implied offer to use it on the enquiring girl, as much as she doubted she'd take her up. "I had hoped to show it off properly during the tournament. Maybe this year." She did feel eager to duel again, to test a theory at the very least. Ava wasn't a stranger to death. She'd lost parents, family members, and now a random dormmate. Was it her? Or coincidence? She didn't know, but if another duel partner tragically died not too long after the tournament, then it would at least confirm a few questions.​

 

[Sydney Townsend]

"Oh. Yeah," Sydney said, almost having forgotten what had happened to Baros. It seemed a dumb way for a witch to die anyway, and Sydney hadn't really known the girl beyond having seen Ava wipe the floor with her in their duel. Sydney perked up when it seemed like Ava was open to teaching her the spell and she listened as Ava explained it, drawing her own wand speculatively. "Simple enough," She said, repeating the incantation back just to test the syllables out loud.

"Why do you try out it on me. I'll duel you," Sydney said, raising her wand in a loose duelling stance. She knew her chances of losing were high, Ava was the 5th year duelling champion last year. But then again, Sydney had been champion in her year too. "If you jinx me, you jinx me, but at least I can see the spell in action," She said, smiling, but her face was still determined. Even losing to a good duelist would be interesting, but Sydney didn't plan on giving in easily.

 

[Ava Lancaster]

Ava had to pause, unsure if the younger girl was actually serious about her offer. Some people were a glutton for punishment, but she never thought she'd meet someone so willing to put themselves on the receiving end of such an unpleasant spell. Ava, however, was not going to complain. She smiled lightly and shrugged her shoulders as if to say okay, it's your funeral. Her feet danced a few steps back, giving the girl a wider berth, before raising her own wand. There may not have been anyone to watch, but she had her doubts they'd be intruded upon. It would be over before it even began. "If you're sure. I have to warn you - I never did come across a counter jinx." And it was such a long walk back up to the Hospital Wing. She didn't give the other girl much pause however, dipping into a brief bow before waving her wand quickly. "Amphibia Eructo!" She incanted, tossing her jinx toward her.​

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney felt a rush of gratification when Ava agreed to her offer, nodding seriously when she mentioned the lack of a counter spell. It was a tricky situation; Sydney had no desire to actually experience the spell herself, but she couldn't deny it'd be useful to see it in action. "No pain no gain, right?" She offered with w try grin, hurrying to return Ava's bow before she fired off the spell. Sydney had just enough time to pull up her own shield charm, muttering a curse as Ava's jinx nearly blew through it. It had been good to see a more upclose demonstration though, and Sydney tried to mirror Ava's stance. "Amphibia Eructo!" Sydney tried to volly the spell back, disappointed that it didn't seem to carry nearly as much punch as Ava's sputtering out almost entirely before it even reached her. Determined, Sydney adjusted the grip on her wand, ready to keep going.

 

[Ava Lancaster]

Ava was wholly prepared for the duel to be over before it had even begun. It wasn't like duelling people in her own year, and even then, she hadn't considered them a real challenge. Yet she was glad when the younger girl managed to block it. It kept it fun, and if she was going to learn how to use it, throwing up slugs on the first go wasn't ideal for the learning experience. She gave a slight upward quirk of her lips as the girl changed her stance, though as she raised her wand to shield herself from the retaliating spell, she had to wonder if she needed have bothered. "It's a start. It's all about intention." She told her. A spell that fizzed out was still a spell. "Watch my movements." She continued, waving her wand more deliberately through the air. "Amphibia Eructo!" She finished, firing off another jinx at the girl.​

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney knew this was going to end either one of two ways; Either she managed to successfully cast the jinx and get it past Ava's shields, or she got hit herself. A sobering reminder, but Sydney used it to help her focus, since she didn't intend to just go down without a fight. She nodded as Ava kept coaching her, trying not to let her temper get the better of her and miss useful information. Ava fired the jinx off again, and Sydney, watching closely, just managed to pull her shield up, having to leap to the side as it failed to fully block the spell. Sydney had to grin though, she knew she was outmatched, but it was thrilling in a sense, and she readied her wand, determined. "Right, Amphia Eructo!" Sydney shot the jinx out, more sure this time.