Anything You Can Do

[Gemma Simpson]

"Ha- everything Transfiguration related?" Gemma scoffed with a smile. It was definitely a class she had struggled endlessly in, culminating in a terrible OWL score. Gems nodded along though, brows furrowed as Harry explained a well-thought out game plan to their studying. It made sense to her. She'd have to do a little asking around- Tilda seemed pretty well-versed in the duels, maybe she could give Gem a better idea of what she was and wasn't allowed to do spell-wise.

It was a relief to hear she wasn't annoying him at least. She knew she had the tendency to do that without even realizing it. "I should probably brainstorm a list of things I can do and fill it in from there." It would be a short list, but Gems figured she wasn't going to make it past the first round, so it really wasn't that big of a deal. "I'm really going to need to practice a few things though..." It had been a while since she'd had to do any real, practical magic. None of her NEWT classes really required it unless it was something she needed to do in Potions or Herbology. "Oh! I wonder if I couldn't learn to conjure flowers, those I'm good with." Gemma pulled out a bit of scrap parchment form her bag next to her and the same quill she'd just had out to jot down some notes between bites of her lunch.

  

[Henry Berkwood]

"A list is probably a good idea," Harry agreed. "I should use that idea myself, I think." Really, anything that would help him at least not make a total fool of himself was what he was after. He thought he'd be pretty satisfied so long as he didn't end up with something horrible, like when people only half-transfigured things and you ended up with half a cat or something awful like that.

Harry followed Gemma's lead and dug out some parchment and a quill to start making a list. It was terribly short, since he didn't think listing things to turn opponents and dummies was actually helpful. "Maybe I should work on shield spells," he said, frowning.

  

[Gemma Simpson]

"Oh that's a good one! What about easy jinxes?" Not that Gemma should be thinking about jinxing people, since she wasn't allowed, but Harry was! "I wish we could do the harmless jinxes, what is the big deal about something so innocent as a leg lock jinx? It's not like it's going to kill anybody." Gems was pretty sure she could handle having that thrown her way than a lot of boys her age. Of course, she was not the most ladylike of creatures, but still!

Chewing thoughtfully on her supper, Gem wrote down things as they came to mind and more importantly who she could get to help her. She really was a lost cause without her friends. It was by sheer luck and good help that she'd even made it this far in school. "Can you think of any easy charms I can refresh my memory on?" She may as well pick his brain while she had his attention. It would take a trip to the- gasp! -library to really think on some things she could actually attempt. Asking around was much easier!

  

[Henry Berkwood]

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. It isn't as though a lady will never need to know how to defend herself. There are always all those horrible stories in the Prophet, aren't there?" It didn't make any sense at all to Harry, but he was probably not the right person to make those sorts of calls.

In response to Gemma's question, Harry considered for a moment then started rattling spells that he could think of, occasionally adding, "I don't know if this one's that pretty, but maybe it'll come out better than the other person's spell," or something along those lines.

Eventually, Harry said, scratching his head thoughtfully, "I think that's about all I can think of, to be honest."

  

[Gemma Simpson]

Nodding along, Gemma wrote down Harry's ideas. "Exactly!" She squeaked, glad to at least hear he was practical. Not that Gemma ever thought about things like that too seriously, but it did make sense!

Once she wrapped up the list, she tucked it away in her bag so she could pester people and visit the library to work on it. "No, no, that's great, that was a lot of help. I think I can make it work." She smiled broadly at him. "Now let's eat!" So much more enjoyable than worrying about a dueling tournament that they probably wouldn't win anyway.