December 10th, 1892 — The Great Hall, Hogwarts

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Olive is running out of excuses for why Charles is moderating duels against his will but none of her other characters are appropriate so he must suffer mysteriously.

And suffer he does.

It seemed there was one thing worse than ladies dueling and it was little girls dueling. Women were impressionable at all ages but they were most impressionable in childhood and really how could anyone condone the indoctrination of little girls into brutality? He was witnessing the seeds of society's future demise being sown right before his eyes. It was deplorable and he loathed to be party to it. When Althea was finally off his hands and in the care of the school he'd make sure she was banned from both quidditch and tournaments. With a mother like hers she needed to be sheltered from all forms of overexcitement and competition.

...And that concludes the rules of this dueling tournament. Miss Weasley, you may begin.

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Outfit | Tag: Louisa Weasley Ashley Allen | Notes:

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Aldous Crouch

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Her first duel. Thus far, Louisa Weasley had not found her thing at Hogwarts. Oh, she had friends, to be sure, and was quite resolved to do her best in her courses, but she lacked Rex's affinity for quidditch, lacked Flora's flair for seemingly everything. Could dueling be it? Her stomach fluttered in anticipation as she curtseyed quite awkwardly to Mr. Allen, then drawing her wand on the Ravenclaw.

"Stupefy!" the first year cast with as much gusto as she could muster.

Ashley Allen

  

Dueling seemed a fascinating concept.

Already, he'd read through a book on the topic. As well as a biography of a duelist that he'd come across in the non-fiction section of the library. It seemed similar to Quiddich in being a kind of event one could never truly understand from a book, except it seemed dueling was something that first years could participate in.

Experience would likely help frame an understanding of what it was that he was reading. Except dueling seemed to pose an interesting combination of both magical theory and practical application that covered any number of subject areas. So he supposed he had a bit of a handicap, in that he had only a short list of charms or spells that he knew of.

Was that it? Or part of it? Were the best duelists those with a vast array of spells in which they were well versed? Or was it better to have a more utilitarian set to draw from?

Wand at the ready, the boy's fingers rubbed against the smooth hazelwood. So intent was he on taking in the movements and ceremony that he'd almost mirrored her curtsey, catching himself as he'd started the movement and awkwardly transitioning to the bow appropriate his gender.

The formalities were an interesting facet of it all that had nothing to do with magic. He supposed it had more to do with station? Or class? Or whatever being a gentleman was?

When the match had begun, the boy had already decided on his move. A curse, actually. From the first year text for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He wasn't entirely certain he had the wrist movement down for this one. Was it flick and swish? Or more of a swoosh and hook? Going for the flick, the boy's wand weaved in the air as he faced the girl and said, "Flipendo!"

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A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
-Charles Dickens

Ever since we met I've got just one regret to live through and that one regret is you

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Charles raised an eyebrow at the boy as he started to curtsy and was amused to observe the child correcting his blunder halfway through.

Unfortunately for the little girl, her stunning spell concluded in a seemingly harmless puff of red smoke at the end of her wand... And then she was knocked straight off her feet and firmly onto her backside which would probably hurt for a few days judging from the way she seemed to fall.

This was why little girls shouldn't duel!

The first round goes to Mr. Allen who will begin the second round.

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Outfit | Tag: Aldous Crouch Ashley Allen | Notes: Apologies for my tardiness, I keep falling asleep

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[Scores: Louisa 2, Ashley 4] +6 for injury!

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   Ashley Allen

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Louisa Weasley

Not going to lie, it still blew his mind that he could do magic.

A red cloud appeared in a puff before Louisa -- which was the result that Ashley had been expecting for himself. To be perfectly frank, the muggleborn boy would have been elated for a puff of red smoke. As much as he wanted to believe he was the wizard that they'd said he was, he still expected to wave the wand and for nothing to happen.

Instead, a gasp of surprise slipped from the boy's lips, as the jinx leapt from the tip of his wand. It was a moment of sheer wonder.

Then he saw Louisa go flying backward and that moment of wonder summarily ended like a the needle of a phonograph slipping off the disc. A pit formed in the boy's stomach, his shoulders drawing up as the child tensed up with an overwhelming sense of dread.

Was she okay?

When Mister Macmillan had called the first round, the boy gave a sigh of relief that Louisa hadn't been hurt badly.

Note to self: Not going to use that spell again.

He'd thought that the Knockback Jinx was going to more of a push and less of a shove. He certainly hadn't expected to knock the girl off her feet. But what was the alternative? Incendio? He certainly didn't want to set the girl on fire. The Bogey Jinx? No, that just seemed mean-spirited.

Walking to the center of the match, the boy bowed politely. His mind was still trying to come up with an alternative that wouldn't further hurt the girl even as he held his wand at the ready.

In the book on dueling that he'd read, there had been one spell described, but it had a particular hand motion that he hadn't even begun to practice.

Bollocks, but he definitely wasn't casting Flipendo on Louisa again.

When he turned, the boy's mind was made up. Trying to recreate the movements described from the pages, he stepped forward with a flourish and cried,"Expelliarmus!"

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   Aldous Crouch

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A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
-Charles Dickens

Lou winced as she landed heavily upon her rear end, her tailbone smarting as she rose to her feet—a feat which lacked any grace or dignity. That was...not what the Hufflepuff had had in mind. Hoping to stave off any future injury, the first year tried her hand at a shield charm.

Charles Macmillan

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Ever since we met I've got just one regret to live through and that one regret is you

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As distasteful as it would've been to witness girl thrown across the room again or some similarly violent maneuver, Charles was dismayed that the boy hadn't been able to end the duel decisively. There was no way he could possibly end the duel here when the girl's shield charm had deflected her opponent's spell as if it had been a handful of dust thrown at her.

Miss Weasley will begin the deciding round. So put out was he that he didn't even bother stating the victor of the round - it was obvious anyway.

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Outfit | Tag: Aldous Crouch Ashley Allen | Notes:

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[Scores: Louisa 6, Ashley 4]

  

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She had done it—Lou could scarcely believe it as she readied herself for her spell, a tickling charm.

"Rictusempra!" the young Hufflepuff cast.

Ashley Allen

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Charles Macmillan

"Oh," the boy watched, in awe as the girl dispelled the magic.

That must be a shield charm. Or, was it a shield charm? It seemed like one, or at least, it seemed that what Louisa had done functioned in a manner consistent with what he understood shield charms to be. He'd just never cast one himself. He'd read about them in magical theory, but hadn't thought about the concept beyond what he'd needed for the test.

He'd definitely have to look into that. It seemed remarkably useful, even outside of the present context. Maybe he could ask the girl about it later?

Millie Potts seemed obsessed with either charms or potions. The young muggleborn felt an impending sense of doom that it was only a matter of time before he was asked to be the teen's assistant for testing out one or the other. In the case of the former of which a shield charm would be absolutely clutch.

Bowing to Louisa for the third, and likely final, time, the boy repeated the same process as before. Not wanting to risk any further harm to her, he tried to re-create what he'd done with the previous invocation of the disarming spell.

"Expelliarmus!"

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A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
-Charles Dickens

Ever since we met I've got just one regret to live through and that one regret is you

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Charles knew in his gut that the result of the duel would be distressing when he heard the boy utter the incantation for the disarming charm again. That hadn't worked for him last time and it seemed Charles had been right to suspect it wouldn't this time. Well, in fairness it did work this time but not fast enough to prevent the girl from casting her tickling charm fully. Miss Weasley lost her wand but the boy was already bent over with the effects of the tickling charm when it left her hand.

Miss Weasley wins the duel and... house points. He forgot how many they were supposed to win, someone else could deal with that.

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Outfit | Tag: Aldous Crouch Ashley Allen | Notes:

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[Scores: Louisa 4, Ashley 3]

  

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