Aderyn waved back at Gaia () as the girl waved to her and she smiled, settling in to watch the other students. She was a bit nervous to be there - after all, she wasn't nearly as good at defensive magic and dueling magic as she was at potions and herbology - but she hoped she'd make friends soon. Furthering that, she hoped that this club would help her get better at defense against dark arts, too.

Her attention was drawn as Beth () spoke to her, and she was glad to see another friendly, familiar face. She nodded at the girl and then glanced around at the other faces in the group.

"Hi guys," she said with a wave. "I'm Aderyn, Ravenclaw. Nice to meet you all!"

She clapped excitedly for Gaia as the girl managed a stunning spell and she nodded as Gaia spoke to her.

"I hope that's true! I need to get better at these spells."

Looking past Gaia, she watched and waited for the next student to take the stage, feeling a little nervous for when her own turn came.

Magnus almost tripped in his excitement. Remembering the wand movement Beth had used he belted "Stupefy" unfortunately his aim was off and he hit who fell from the chair to the floor. Deep red blossomed to his cheeks as he knelt down on his semi-conscious friend... does stunning a person make it harder to be friends? "I'm sooo sorry!" Hanging his head down he wondered what else to do.

()

Gaia whispered to Aderyn "You can do it! Just think of the dummy as garden gnomes!" then had to stifle her giggle.

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/ewypPQR.png?1[/img]She told Hannah (), "You're a natural!"

"Great job, Deme!" she shouted, after he finished.

Beth asked Aderyn (), "Do you feel ready to give it a try now?"

Beth knelt beside Paddy and Magnus."Don't worry. It's okay. Paddy will regain consciousness in a few minutes. How about we practice some wand movements?" she asked Magnus () and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Lyn (), can you grab Paddy some water?"

He nodded still feeling horrible and followed the wand movements closely. By his fourth try it did look pretty close to Beth's movements

Aderyn laughed as the mental image Gaia () planted sprang to mind. She nodded and stepped forward toward one of the dummies, clearing her throat a little and raising her wand. She was a pacifist by nature and so dueling didn't come naturally to her, but she gave it her best.

"Stupefy!"

She watched a few red sparks spring from the end of her wand and fizzle away in the air before her, not reaching the target but not making anything explode, either, so she supposed her first try hadn't gone too badly. Looking around, she glanced at Beth () with a small smile.

()

"Well done!" Gaia clapped.

It was fun to watch as her fellow students were around trying defensive spells and chatting among themselves.

[img align=left]http://i.imgur.com/ewypPQR.png?1[/img]"That was a great first attempt," she happily told Aderyn ().

She turned to and said, "Why don't you and Aderyn practice the hand movements again.? Then you both can try the spell on the dummy again."

"Would you like to give it another try?" she asked Magnus ().

At () Beth's suggestion Gaia got up to her feet and started practicing her hand waving. " I am sure we will get this soon enough!" Gaia said with a grin.

"Thanks!" Aderyn said as Gaia () and Beth () both said some encouraging words.

As Beth suggested they practice the wand movements again, Aderyn nodded and turned to Gaia.

"I don't know if my problem is with my movements, or with my intent. Does this look right to you?"

She held her wand and furrowed her eyebrows as she practiced the flick of the wrist necessary for the stunning spell. She was graceful and practiced enough, she thought, but somehow there was some kind of disconnect with her spells sometimes.

() "You know maybe you are concentrating too hard? Try relaxing into the movement and just focus on the spell you are trying to achieve."

Gaia turned to a dummy that was free and off to the side, took a deep breath, and pointed her wand at the dummy. A quick circular motion and "STUPEFY!" The red light zoomed to the dummy hitting it in the chest. The dummy stopped.

"YES! I still need to work on my aim. I keep hitting too high. It worries me I might try to do the spell and hit someone so hard I cause permanent damage!" Gaia looked at her friend encouragingly.

Magnus nodded and watched as everyone even remotely close to him scattered. He looked at the dummy, waved his wand slowly in the movements and said "stupefy" a red light shot right in the dummy's chest and he heard several claps of approval. He beamed, especially since was now awake. He offered her a hand to help her upright.

Aderyn's expression turned thoughtful as she considered what Gaia () had said. She had been accused all her life by her parents of overthinking things, so it was definitely possible that she was just trying so hard to get the spell right that she was actually the root of her own failure. Nodding, she turned to watch Gaia give it a try.

"Nice shot!" She commented as her friend's spell hit the dummy, even if it was a bit high.

"I don't think you're going to hurt anyone too badly - maybe just a bruise or two!"

She took her place to try again, facing the dummy and holding up her wand. Relaxing her arm a little, she did the wand movement and called out "stupefy" again, smiling as a weak but definitely consistent bolt of red light hit the dummy somewhere in the middle of the stomach area.

"You're right, I was just really overthinking it!"

()

"Yes!" Gaia did a little excitement dance. "You got it and you have great aim!" Smiling she looked at her friend "I overthink too. My dad was the one to tell me to breath. I get frustrated when something doesn't come easily. See, plants I understand, studying is not difficult, but using defensive spells is not in my to do list. I figured this club would help me with that." Gaia continued to wave her wand.

Aderyn nodded ().

"I'm the same way," she replied. "My mum always joked that I'm a lover, not a fighter. It's true - I can do regular magic without a problem, and potions and plants are easy, but I struggle with hexes, and jinxes, and curses, and defensive magic. I mean, I think if I had to defend myself I could do it, but even something harmless that's defensive - like a patronus - is difficult. Although now at least I think I know after all the practice I've done lately that my patronus is a black bear!"

As she talked, she unconsciously practiced the wand movement for the stunning spell with her wand, keeping herself warmed up and ready for another try.

()

"Oh! Mine is an owl! I practiced it as soon as I started school. My dad always taught me at home. He made me use twigs, but yes he helped me master movements and some complicated spells." Gaia smiled at the thought. "Magic is awesome."

()

"An owl is perfect! They're wise, just like us Ravenclaws!"

Aderyn smiled and remembered a lot of the things her own father had taught her - mostly about healing magic. Her mother knew a lot about defensive magic thanks to her work at the ministry, but she was never really home long enough to teach Aderyn anything.

"Maybe if this doesn't work out for me, I can just transfigure my enemies in a duel! I'm good at that."

She glanced around, watching a large, fat field mouse scuttle across the floor not too far away. As it scampered, she pointed her wand at it, waved it in a circular motion, and cried "calcuverto!"

The mouse stopped sharply, a puff of smoke rising from the spot where it stood, clearing away quickly to reveal a mouse-sized pebble lying on the great hall floor. She grinned brightly at her achievement, feeling better about her transfiguration skills than she had about her dueling.

()

"That is amazing! I am better at charming things. That is why my hair changes colors frequently!" Gaia said with a smile.

She pointed her wand at the dummy again and "STUPEFY!" this time the dummy stopped.

()

"That's fantastic! I'd love to be able to do that. I've just always been afraid to charm my hair to change colors in case I couldn't get it to change back again."

She laughed and clapped excitedly as Gaia hit the dummy again, right on target.

"That was perfect! Good job!"

She waited for the dummy to become reanimated, preparing to give her own dueling another go.