Gryffindorgal4HP vs. Gemma_Cullen-Malfoy

She had remained crouched behind the pillar, knowing this was rather cowardly and didn't show much dignity, but Gemma was aware now wasn't the time for being proud and complicated if there was a less decent, yet more effective and safe way to do things. From her position she peeked into the arena just in time to see the other girl dodging her Expelliarmus , grinning a little madly at the pillar she had placed herself behind.

Umm, I hope they haven't given me some escapee from a ward of some kind or another. I may be good at duelling, but I got no idea of how to defend myself against people staring down stone!

She suppressed a little giggle, brought forth by carbohydrates and excitement, before deciding that know would be the moment to get out of her comfortable hiding spot. If the pillar was to give in beneath the enemy's gaze, she sure wouldn't want to be buried beneath it. However just as she prepared to step around it, the Gryff did some weird twirling thing and turned on the spot.

In all honesty, it looked like some gymnastics interlude that wasn't fitting at all, so now Gemma was confused as to whether staying invisible wouldn't maybe be the better choice indeed. The internal debate was only stopped by a scream from the other which seemingly had one just too long break between two words, making her wonder if the spell would be any bit efficient if it would get to hit her. She didn't get around to answering that question, though, for she heard a weird sound, like rocks colliding soundly, followed by an echoing crack. Reacting instinctively she sprang back from the source.

A second later and she found it had been the right thing to do, for a slightly smoking fissure showed on the pillar, now looking ready to come crashing down any second. She didn't know what to do, she now stood out in the open and the other could attack any moment. Pillar or Duel? Duel or Pillar? The next oncoming rush of sugar in her system chose the latter- no, former- well, the duelling option and made her legs move her back behind the row of pillar lining the round wall of the room. From there on, she ran a wide circle, half-hidden by stone and getting away from the huge, meanly hurt thing.

As she reached the opposite end of the arena, she stopped to lean forward, hands on her thighs, breathing a little heavier than a duelling witch or wizard in good condition was supposed to. Of course she knew why she'd never have joined any kind of Muggle fighting thing, magic was much more her favoured ability. During the sprint, she had racked her brains for a good spell, and now she came back from behind her cover, walking quickly so she stood a few feet away from them, and plainly said the word "Serpensortia!", making a huge, thick snake winding out of the tip of her wands slowly.

Yeah, she was hoping her opponent would be afraid of it and back off for a moment. So what if running turned her thinking pretty useless? After a long moment, which in fact had been just enough for the snake to start slithering towards the Lion Girlie, Gemma could practically feel the light bulb glowing over her head and she raised her wand hand again, spinning three quick circles - clockwise, counter-clockwise, clockwise again - and aiming a Confundus Charm at the other. Now that should make the whole thing interesting, battling a confused fellow! And she was pretty sure it could be reversed some way or other, with that being a rule of the Tournament - yeah, it sure was. Had to be.

Seconds drew into eternity with her knack for exaggerating, and she found she could just wait for what her magic would do to the other - like a rabbit looking at a snkae in trance. Not too good, so she tried occupying herself with something else. She checked her shield, obviously still in place, and shifted her gaze around the room to see if anything within it might be usefull in duelling. As she discovered several neat items, a smirk tugged at her lips and she returned her attention to the spellwork at hand that had yet to show its effect.

As she had hoped, her snake was slithering towards the opponent. What was her name, actually? Gemma would have liked to think of her as some person with a name and identity, and she was sure she'd seen her around before and picked up her name. Was it Lily? No, probably not, but it did sound similar as far as she remembered. While she observed the gliding animal, she came to the conclusion that it was Lucy, but she couldn't be sure. Well, then again she had a name and identity now, so she wasn't going to care if it was not the right name.

Before she could get lost in thought, the snake suddenly came dangerously close to the Gryffie, and she didn't even flinch or step back from it. She did cast a Shield Charm, but as far as she knew that only worked against magic. Of course the snake was magic of some kind, but it was also a conjured yet natural being, so maybe it wouldn't be useful protection. And indeed, the snake bit, drawing a scream from Lucy. Gemma tried hard to look unimpressed by the unscheduled incident.

Unfortunately, this got her into a confrontation with the Tickling Charm since she obviously looked to serious for Lucy's liking. A momentary lack in concentration had her unable to think properly, and she wasn't sure whether the determination in the battle would make the spell get through her shield. In that case, she needed to be prepared somehow. Just - how? The jet of light was coming closer quickly, and her thoughts seemed to rotate, not helping much. It was only a second before she suspected the spell to meet her shield that a word flashed into her mind.

Duelo! I read it somewhere in one of those ancient spellbooks from...who knows where. What was it again? Emphasize the 'e', move wand in a lightning shape downwards. Now what does the thing do? I can't simply send off a spell when I don't know what it'll do - or can I? The book was in the school library, so surely the hing won't do serious harm? Gosh, why can't I just remember what it does?

She didn't dare waiting until she actually remembered, though, instead she just did as she had remembered, directing the spell straight forward to hit the girl smirking at her quite maliciously. However the jets of light crashed midair, shooting off course simultaneously, and neither reached its goal. She let go of a breath audibly, and when her gaze crossed the cracked pillar, she found she could make the whole thing a little more interesting. She had spotted a mid-sized rock between two pillars, nothing that could endanger anyone, but maybe, just maybe...

She raised her wand, pointing it towards the far end of the arena, at the damaged pillar. Just as she screamed "Confringo!" and spiralled her wand, though, her arm shook heavily and she was now directing the wand somewhere else. Hopefully it'd look as if the whole thing was happening unintentionally. Of course the Blasting Curse wouldn't do much, but if it could distract Lucy there was always a good chance of a really successful attack, since the girl seemed to be quite good at escaping whatever spell thrown at her. As she waited for the impact, she mulled over a plan to get this duel going finally, and she did have some ideas. If only on her hand, partially. Once the girl'd look away, she could peek, and if it didn't happen she surely would find something else to do.

All of a sudden, a small laugh escaped her. She had finally remembered the background information on the Duelo, and it was most ironical that it had been the spell coming to her mind, for it was a Spanish Saddening Hex, kind of an opposite of the Rictusempra she had defeated with it. Enthralled by the little joke her mind had played on her, she didn't realise just how off her aim had actually been due to the shaking of her arm. Only the ugly sound of stone on stone had her snap back to reality and it was too late by then.

Out of nowhere, a pillar was coming down towards her, flying in pieces too fast, growling too loud. She was shocked for a moment, but then she dove away from where she stood, crashing hard onto the floor a few feet away. Stone was rushing down still and the first chunks noisily hit the floor where she'd been standing. She sighed in relief, but it wasn't justified for a quite large piece of he pillar hit her ankle right then, and a pain seared through her body.

She literally had no idea of how to carry on the duel, but she knew she was making herself very vulnerably lying there. Her plan had failed and turned onto her, now she could only fight her way through. Gritting her teeth, she stood up and walked over to where the rock was, cowering behind it. The horrid feeling in her left leg never stopped, it seemed to have every intention of enabling her, but she couldn't give up now when she'd brought it upon herself. She knew nothing would be broken, but it seemed bad enough.

Once again she found herself trying to form a plan, this time one that'd make her a good dueller while not moving much any more. It was then that she bothered to look into the middle of the arena, hoping to see Lucy up and well - okay, maybe not that but at least not severly harmed. She couldn't use punishment for rough duelling, plus she wanted to carry on with this. Stone dust clouded her view, and she couldn't see the girl right away. What the hell had happened to her?