An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Jaxen Ashworth on Oct 22, 2022 20:34:31 GMT 10
Having reached out to Lucas that morning, a decision had been made to meet after class and get their long-anticipated duelling session out of the way. It was just supposed to be a friendly opportunity to train and improve their skills, so in theory nothing to worry about?
Leading the way into the chamber, Jax tossed his bag to the side as he wouldn't be needing it. It would serve as nothing more than a hindrance if he kept it, and although this wouldn't be a proper duel, he didn't want to take any chances.
He hadn't been particularly happy when Reena informed him that she'd agreed on his behalf to grant Lucas a trio of duels. He didn't even know what arrangement had been made between them, nor did he want to know, but now he saw this for what it was. An opportunity.
Practice would grant him the upper hand in his upcoming rematch against Kassia. Why would he pass up the opportunity to hone his skills and show her up? And when she'd been so smug about besting him before? "I think we can agree to keep this clean, no curses. It is just a training exercise after all?" he turned to face Lucas, waiting for confirmation of the added clause to their arrangement. This needn't be a painful experience if the goal was to just improve their skills
(ooc: Permission to have Lucas agree to duelly duel time granted by lena)
Post by Lucas Mardling on Oct 22, 2022 21:04:23 GMT 10
Lucas strolled into the chamber, giving it a wary look, then headed over to where Jaxen was getting ready for their duel. Three duels, actually. It was close to being a voided deal, but he was being a bit lenient for Reena's sake -- and OWL year had them all busy, so he had to assume Jaxen wasn't simply avoiding him or not taking their terms seriously.
'Sure. No curses,' Lucas agreed, placing his bag near his feet. That was a bit of a relief, honestly, but he hid it well.
He nudged his bag with his foot, so it wouldn't get in the way yet was in close enough proximity that no one could think about trying to steal it. Lucas never knew when he was needed for deals, so had to keep something on him at all times -- unless he was so over it for the day and didn't want to be around anyone. He'd considered making today a day like that, but he knew too many things were going on and it would be foolish to not take advantage of that.
Taking the time to fold up his sleeves to just above his elbows, Lucas flexed his neck and tried not to feel too antsy. He was quite good at confrontation when the situation called for it, despite his reputation for self-preservation and all that. But duels were tricky, and he'd grown a very healthy distrust for his classmates.
'Since you kept me waiting, I have dibs on first cast,' Lucas said, eying Jaxen to see if he'd challenge that. Her got out his wand, admiring it for a moment, then readied it.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 23, 2022 1:24:36 GMT 10
Having searched the general area for a while, Reena had the bright idea to check the Duelist Chamber. Lucas had mentioned wanting to hone his dueling skills to her before, he had even struck a deal with her which involved her convincing Jax to duel him.
Nonetheless she was surprised to find her brother here with Lucas. For some reason she had assumed the deal had been done with already and she suddenly felt very awkward busting in on their duel.
She hung back for a little while but when she noticed that no spells were being cast and the no duel seemed to be actively held, she was certain they must have heard her come in.
Reena awkwardly smiled and waved at both of them before walking towards Lucas‘ side of the dueling area.
“Hi,“ she said. This was a bad idea. She should have just gone out and gathered the ingredients and brewed it herself.
“So sorry to interrupt. If you had a minute, I would like to buy a beanstalk potion…?“
There was a slight question at the end of her request. What if Lucas didn’t even have it on him?
Post by Jaxen Ashworth on Oct 23, 2022 9:55:32 GMT 10
Jaxen noticed the way Lucas seemed to guard his bag so closely, as opposed to the way he'd just casually tossed it to one side with little regard to its contents. He didn't comment about it though, not wishing to annoy his classmate when he was obviously already annoyed by how long it had taken him to arrange this thing.
"Yeah, have at it" Jax agreed to allowing Lucas to cast first, it didn't matter all too much to Jax who went first and if that was the price of keeping Lucas happy, then he'd gladly pay it. The Slytherin had already agreed to his own terms of avoiding curses, so this way they were even.
Taking out his wand, he readied to defend himself but needn't have bothered. Before the duel could really begin, Reena walked forward, waving at them as if that made interrupting the duel she'd arranged okay. Lowering his wand while his sister was in the firing line, he tried not to eavesdrop on her conversation with Lucas.
It was none of his business. Nope, he was staying out of whatever it was she had planned.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Oct 23, 2022 22:16:26 GMT 10
Nodding at Jaxen's confirmation, Lucas raised his wand and opened his mouth to say the incantation--
He lowered his wand, hearing Reena's voice and approach. He turned in time to notice her wave, and was surprised to see her. Why was she here? It wasn't necessary, since this was all pre-arranged and fr her own benefit. Unless she simply wanted to watch the outcome. He hoped not; what if he lost terribly?
Oh. She wanted a deal?
Now?
'Uh...' Lucas glanced at Jaxen, then nodded to Reena. 'Sure.'
He tucked away his wand, then begun searching through his bag. It wasn't a very popular potion, so he had to check the inventory first. Of course he had some, but it wasn't the sort of deal or placement he could determine off the top of his head. Which pocket was it?
'One Beanstalk potion.' Lucas held it up, eyeing the green liquid. 'That'll be 32 Galleons. Deal?'
He tried not to seem to friendly, unaware that it was noticeable that he was far more relaxed around Reena or clearly accustomed to her company by now. Lucas wasn't sure how to act with Jaxen right there, and if he approved or even knew of their friendship. Not that he typically cared, but for Reena's sake after having learned a bit about her on their walk.
And the last thing he needed to do right before dueling her brother was to stir any sort of drama whatsoever. He couldn't rely on Jaxen to keep his word if he got all big brotherly or whatever sibling rage people justified their actions with in situations like this.
Post by Reena Ashworth on Oct 23, 2022 22:35:11 GMT 10
Reena followed his glance towards Jax, feeling even worse for busting in like that, unannounced. She was relieved however when he agreed to the deal and started searching his bag.
So at least he had it on hand. When it took him a while to find it, she cast another apologetic glance towards her brother.
He was doing her a favor and here she was, wasting his precious time that could be used practicing.
“Deal!“
She could feel her face light up at the sight of the green potion and she quickly counted her galleons on her open palm for Lucas to see.
“30, 31, 32 galleons. Here you go,“ as she handed him the money in exchange for the potion, she wondered if it wouldn’t have been better to just make it herself.
Was her time truly more valuable than her money?
But it was a done deal now, no need to dwell on it. Not like she could pull a 180 on Lucas now, after disrupting him like this.
She had the slight impression that he was acting stand-offish but that could just be the fact that this whole situation was rather awkward for her. Reena waited for Lucas to count the galleons himself and then accepted the potion from him.
“Thanks! Have a good practice and … uhh, good luck?“, she said and started towards the exit.
Turning towards Jaxen, she put both her palms together and shook them at him in a thanking and pleading for forgiveness kind of motion before she waved him goodbye.
[exit]
[ooc: potion/galleon exchange done with permission]
Saoirse came hurtling into the duelling chamber, unwilling to waste another second on the latest stupid task set before her. Although she had gone to the entrance hall first, she'd heard that Lucas was duelling today. And so, she was going to interrupt.
She spotted him immediately along with an older Ravenclaw boy. Saoirse sprinted right at him, stopping a few feet away from him and taking out her sack of galleons with a loud jingle. "Hi, I need a beanstalk potion really fast. I accept the terms and conditions, accept that I can't take action against you if I fall to my death, blah blah, sorry for bothering you and I can pay extra for a rush job!"
Post by Lucas Mardling on Oct 23, 2022 23:07:06 GMT 10
Lucas tucked the Galleons away in his pouch, and barely had a chance to plan his next move when a Gryffindor brat came barging in as well. For Merlin's sake, could he not get a moment's... wait, did she just say she'd pay extra for a "rush job"?
He smirked, never one to pass up an opportunity. Reena was a friend at least, so he didn't mind the interruption, but Saoirse was just some kid who was in a rush and didn't seem to care if he was otherwise busy. Not that he cared much either, was money was money, but Lucas really wanted to just do his own thing for once.
'I have one right here,' he said, holding up another Beanstalk potion. 'That'll be 33 Galleons. Deal?'
Lucas held out his hand. Since she was in a rush, he'd be sure to count it right away then hand it over. And he was much more thorough than with Reena. She'd counted hers out well, and he'd observed it was correct -- having counted it himself was more for show. But Saoirse, he checked every golden coin offered to ensure it was exact.
[OOC: Saoirse -- you have my permission to pay, wait for him to count, then receive the potion. In interest of saving time, you can rush off right after this post too. Happy questing, you two!]
Saoirse shunted the correct number of galleons towards Lucas. She was running low on funds now, but was too devoted to her task to care. As he counted, she tucked the beanstalk potion into her robes and looked back up at him. "Thanks. Hair products must be expensive for you to be doing this!"
Post by Lucas Mardling on Oct 24, 2022 19:44:28 GMT 10
'What?' Lucas stared after that Gryffindor, tone sharp with offense. 'How dare she.' He huffed, annoyed by the insinuation that all his money went towards hair products as if he possibly needed that many or endless maintenance.
He had a mini-rant in his head, then huffed again and turned to Jaxen. Lucas shot him a "can you believe that brat?" kind of look, shaking his head. He even went as far as to make note of it, in case she tried to squirrel any discounts off of him in the future. Not that he typically gave them, but still. The cheek.
'Right. Sorry. Can't help it that I'm popular,' Lucas said, playing it off with charm. Shaking his limbs to loosen them, he got out his wand and aimed it again. 'Ready?'
As it was a mutual training experience, no tricks -- he actually awaited confirmation after giving a heads up, rather than taking advantage of it. Lucas fired off an offensive spell as soon as Jaxen was braced to officially get their duel started.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Oct 24, 2022 19:57:36 GMT 10
Lucas winced at the impact, his spell having rebound on him. Nothing special, as no way was he using his more fancier spells right at the start for this very reason. He shook off the brief sting, then tried to reclaim some of his own pride as well.
He hated losing the first turn.
But he knew Jaxen was great at dueling. And they were there to train, so Lucas could improve. So for now, he could shove aside his pride and focus on the task at hand. Jaxen wasn't the type to taunt and mock him, hopefully, so this could go as intended.
'All right, just getting my footing,' he said, breathing a calming breath before raising his wand again. Lucas cast another offensive spell, hoping this one was stronger or could reclaim him a chance at winning this.
Post by Lucas Mardling on Oct 24, 2022 20:04:38 GMT 10
Lucas yelped as he was knocked backwards, surprised by Jaxen's strength. He was able to brace himself well enough on the floor, but his ears turned pink at the whole thing. This was not going how he'd planned. He stood, dusting himself off, and was huffy about losing the first round.
It wasn't fair. He knew his spell was much stronger that time. Jaxen was skilled, but Lucas hadn't expected to struggle this much. He stared at his wand for a moment, now quite discouraged. Was he just bad at this? Was the whole thing a mistake, and would only serve to embarrass him?
'I lost. Fine. Whatever.' Lucas frowned, charm gone. 'Let's just get this over with. You go first.' He held up his wand, ready to defend himself but expected to make a fool of himself again.
Post by Jaxen Ashworth on Oct 24, 2022 20:26:24 GMT 10
Jax deflected Lucas's first spell with ease, but whatever spell the Slytherin had used didn't seem to give him much bother. Jax decided that it may have been a miscast, that Lucas had accidentally uttered the incantation before he was ready and that was why he'd defeated him so easily.
Readying himself for Lucas's next offense, he flourished his wand in an effort to defend once more. The result was more powerful than he'd intended, and he took a step forward when Lucas was knocked to the ground.
"You good? Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you so hard" he could imagine Reena's expression if he somehow managed to injure Mardling during a few training duels which were supposed to be friendly.
Lucas didn't seem to be enjoying himself now that he'd lost their first duel and Jax grimaced as Lucas got back to his feet and he raised his wand, jabbing it in the Slytherin's direction as he cast an offensive spell.
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