Demetria Longbottom vs. William Pendergast

[Mortimer Skeeter]

Morty always terribly enjoyed getting to judge duels. It kind of still counted as work, but seeing everyone else's attempts was almost more fun than actually duelling, himself. It was difficult not to split his face in an unprofessional grin as the first competitors he was judging approached, for against the woman was only Will Pendergast, his friend and fellow coworker! This would be great.

After speeding through the rules, Morty declared, "Mrs. Longbottom, when you're ready!"

@'Ellory Pendergast' & @'Imogen MacFusty'

  

[Demetria Longbottom]

Demy had missed dueling. It'd been years since she'd participated in a tournament. First she'd been in mourning, and not in the mood for such joys, then she'd been pregnant with two babies. She had signed up for the twelfth tournament fully aware that she'd gotten rusty - it'd be a miracle if she made it very far. That was hardly a reason not to participate, though!

Her first opponent was Mr. William Pendergast. He had been a yearmate of Demy's. Sadly, they'd not really interacted outside of their prefect duties. Demy was much better acquainted with Mr. Pendergast's sisters than Mr. Pendergast himself.

At the sign of their judge - another yearmate- Demy tried to conjure up a small cornflower field in the piece of podium in front of her.

@'Imogen MacFusty' @'Elias Grimstone'

  

[William Pendergast]

Will couldn’t be entirely certain how this would go. It was no secret that he wasn’t exactly the most skilled duelist out there, but he was at least willing to give it a try, especially considering that he had actually prepared for this tournament as opposed to the last one he had signed up for -- and the fact that their judge was someone that he considered to be a friend also helped to alleviate his nerves a bit.

Kind of.

Actually, that was a lie, having Morty there was definitely a bit nerve-wracking -- and the grin that was threatening to spread across his friend’s face wasn’t exactly helping any.

After bowing to his opponent -- a one Mrs. Longbottom, who he was not particularly acquainted with beyond the fact that they had been yearmates together (along with Morty, too!), though he still respected her regardless -- and clapping politely after her display, Will aimed his wand at the dummy’s heart, taking a moment to throw a Morty a brief look that said ‘don’t laugh’ before attempting to cast the shooting-arrow spell.

@'Elias Grimstone'
@'Ellory Pendergast'

  

[Mortimer Skeeter]

Both spells worked, essentially, though the arrows - whilst whizzing through the air - didn't actually pierce the dummy at all. Morty winced in amused sympathy and instead turned a smile towards the successful cornflower field and Mrs. Longbottom.

"Mrs. Longbottom takes the first round, beautifully!" Morty announced, maintaining composure. "Mr. Pendergast, you're up."

[Demetria: 7, William: 5]

@'Imogen MacFusty' & @'Ellory Pendergast'

  

[William Pendergast]

Will winced slightly as the arrow sped past the dummy and out into the crowd. Luckily, no one was hurt, though he supposed that he should have gone for a less...hazardous spell -- or at least one that wouldn’t (unintentionally, of course) harm any of the nearby onlookers.

Despite being just a hint disappointed by his loss (in truth, he felt more sheepish than anything else), he managed to be a good sport about it, and was only too happy to applaud Mrs. Longbottom’s win. It was an impressive display of magic, after all, of that he had to concede.

Once bidden to begin the second round, Will held out his wand and delivered a Severing Charm, hoping to physically damage the dummy.

@'Ellory Pendergast'
@'Elias Grimstone'

  

[Demetria Longbottom]

Demy was happy that Mr. Pendergast's arrow didn't hurt anyone. She'd hate for the man to get in trouble for a miscalculated move. She knew enough about the man to know that he'd never willingly hurt someone.

For the second round, she attempted to turn the cornflowers into bluebirds.

@'Imogen MacFusty' @'Elias Grimstone'

  

[Mortimer Skeeter]

The second round was a complete opposite to the first: the Severing Charm hit the dummy clean on and worked a treat (at least it was a dummy, and not a person!), whilst the, er, bluebirds, never got quite out of the flower stage.  

"And that round goes to Mr. Pendergast!" Morty said. "Mrs. Longbottom, we'll be needing a tie-breaking round, if you will."

[William: 7, Demetria: 3]

@'Ellory Pendergast' & @'Imogen MacFusty'

  

[Demetria Longbottom]

Demy was aware that she'd gotten rusty, but not to that extent. She was capable of much greater transfiguration when she was in her sixth year! She really ought to practice on that branch of magic.

But not now. She'd probably lose anyway, but Demy still tried to charm her cornflowers into appearing silver.

@'Imogen Macfusty' @'Elias Grimstone'

  

[William Pendergast]

Pleasantly surprised by his win (and realizing only moments later that his previous spell hadn’t exactly been as safe as he'd been aiming for for*), Will took a moment to briefly appreciate the fact that it hadn’t gone awry because Merlin, that would have been terrible, and he would have felt eternally guilty if he had hurt someone -- or worse, killed them. (Because Will can be super dramatic like that, sorry).

After his opponent’s display, to which he had politely applauded, Will raised his wand, and muttered, “Diminuendo!” Hopefully his dummy would shrink to the size of a child’s doll toy.

*Miri totally forgot when she was looking for a spell. >.>
@'Elias Grimstone'
@'Ellory Pendergast'

  

[Mortimer Skeeter]

Mrs. Longbottom's charm worked far better than her last. Will's, however, perhaps showed a little more skill.

"With two rounds to one, Mr. Pendergast takes the duel. Commiserations, Mrs. Longbottom!"

[Demetria: 5, William: 8]

@'Ellory Pendergast' & @'Imogen MacFusty'