I want to say this before I forget! There is a hurricane coming to my island between Wednesday and Thursday so I may not be able to log in - I hope everything goes well and we don't lose power but in case I disappear, please make sure to post the duel on the second task page. We have worked very hard to miss the deadline. I'm going to try fix a few things now before bed - a few words repeated and capitalized words was mostly what I saw wrong. But in general I can say I really really liked what you did with the story. =D [spoiler=draft] As the headmasters announced the specifics of the second task, the two champions from Hogwarts listened. Though their reactions differed, their thoughts were the same: Teamwork was not going to be fun. Terry rolled her eyes while Lenore narrowed hers. Both of them sighed.

The girls looked across the clearing and spotted one another but it was Lenore who took the plunge and moved first. As she walked toward her fellow champion, she wondered whether she could just stun the girl and get on with the duel on her own.

“Probably wouldn’t be allowed.” She said under her breath. “Shame.”

Terry, who had been spared the ordeal of actually approaching her teammate, waited where she was and worked through her own thoughts. Where is my luck? I thought challenges were an individual thing? She hated the idea of being forced to deal with another person, especially one that she didn’t know properly. What were her strengths? Her weaknesses? She saw that the girl was getting close and wondered what annoying thing she would say when she got there.

“What are your best and worst points?” Lenore asked matter-of-factly and without preamble.

Terry’s expression didn’t change but the light that flashed in her eyes spoke to her irritation. As expected, this blonde girl (What was her name? Leonore? Lenore?) had said something to instantly annoy her.

“I wanted to ask you exactly the same,” Terry snapped. “I don’t want you dragging me down on the task, so we had better win because I don’t like losing.” After a sigh she added, a bit more composedly, “My strength in dueling is defense but I’m also good at attacks. My specialty is the lasso spell which will leave my opponent hanging upside down, tied up by a magical rope. It’s hilarious and genius. Now you tell me yours.”

Lenore was slightly taken aback at the comment “…don’t want you dragging me down…” but as Terry went on to explain her strengths she forgot about the rudeness. The lasso spell that Terry had mentioned was fairly advanced and dead useful. And the girl obviously wasn’t one to waste time on formality which was just fine with Lenore.

“I take the offensive whenever possible. I hit hard and watch for weaknesses which can be exploited. Everyone has them so don’t miss an opportunity to let your enemy’s shortcomings do the work for you.” Lenore realized that she had just quoted her father word-for-word. This made her feel both scared and a bit proud at the same time, though she didn’t let either of those emotions show. Instead she allowed her eyes to move up and down, looking over Terry thoughtfully, as though assessing a painting or a new piece of furniture before buying. What she saw didn’t impress her. The girl had a mass of purple hair and glasses that made her look anything but threatening. Not seeming to notice or care that she was being silently appraised, Terry continued the conversation.

“Observation is a great quality and very useful. I don’t normally attack fiercely at first so I can take the time to learn my opponent’s vulnerability. Of course, some people are harder to read than others and we don’t want to underestimate anyone. If we do, it can be our ruin which is why I prefer to go slower on duels.” She paused. “But I suppose each has their own technique.” She said this last part slowly, obviously not impressed with Lenore’s ‘hit hard and fast’ style. After a moment, she added. "Somehow we have to make this work. I’m not a fan of team play, I admit, but since we have to do it, it’s better if we make an effort.”

“I agree with that part wholeheartedly,” Lenore said. She pursed her lips and resumed her appraisal of the other Hogwarts champion. “Can you make a decent shield?”

“Excuse me?” Terry raised her right brow. Being asked if she could make a decent shield, as if her capability was even a question, had insulted her. “I said my strength was defense and shields are one of my specialties. Now, can YOU make a decent shield? Actually, don’t answer that. I’ll just duel you now and find out.” She smirked. “Oh wait, we can’t now. You have to be in one piece when the task starts.”

Lenore just stared for a moment after Terry’s little outburst. She had asked a question, she hadn’t meant to offend the girl. She noted mentally that she would need to be careful not to set Terry off. Fortunately, Lenore wasn’t quick tempered and could keep a cool head.

“Just wanted to be sure of what I was getting into,” Lenore said calmly. She completely ignored the question about the shield charm and the threat. “And we don’t have time for a practice duel anyway.”

Terry regained her composure with a rapidity that surprised Lenore.

“You’ve probably figured it out by now but we can’t exactly learn teamwork in a half hour.” Terry said. “I think we should just pick one opponent each and defeat them as quickly as possible because we have more probabilities that way than trying teamwork without practice.”

Lenore nodded her agreement. “You’re right. If we’re both better at working alone then it makes sense to do it that way.” She thought for a moment and then added, “I’ll take out the defense. If you’re specialty is defending, I want-… sorry, you may want to take on the aggressor.”

It was Terry’s turn to nod. They finally had something planned, even if it wasn’t much.

“Very well, let’s hope the two we have to fight are a good match for us. Wouldn’t want this to be boring.” She paused and then said, “I’m sorry if I was a bit too harsh. I tend to get irritated easily and working out of my comfort zone doesn’t help either.” With a calm expression she extended her hand. “Let’s do this, Hogwarts depends on us.”

Lenore took the girl’s hand and smiled. “Then let’s give them a good show.”

Lenore and Terry parted ways. There was still a bit of time left before the duel started so Lenore began to mentally prepare herself. She needed to get into the right state of mind if she was to function properly. The first thing that she needed was to get into the right outfit. Clothing always changed her mood and her standard school uniform just wasn't doing anything to make her feel like a champion. She raised her wand and summoned a few items from her dormitory. It took them a few minutes to make their way down to the clearing but when they did, they flew neatly stacked into her arms. Among them were a green cape, gloves, and over-the-knee boots. Taking the lot, Lenore ducked behind some nearby trees and cast a disillusionment charm on herself. The warm, trickling sensation that began at her head and made its way down her body told her that she would be safe from prying eyes. Quickly she changed into her new outfit, took the charm off of herself, and stepped out of the cover of the trees.

Newly clothed and starting to feel more at ease with the upcoming challenge (the challenge being teamwork, not dueling), Lenore looked around at the crowd. The excitement over this task was higher than for the first by a long shot. Dueling was much for fun to watch than potion brewing and every student here knew it. There were already banners waving over the crowds, cheering on the champions from various schools. Lenore smiled and was glad that she was separated from the main of the student body. Being part of that large, noisy crowd would have driven her mad.

A little ways off, Terry was doing some preparation of her own. She was not someone to get nervous when it came to tasks. She felt confident enough that she would succeed. This task in particular, however, she was certainly not at peace with due simply to the partnership aspect. To calm herself she didn’t think of family or friends. Instead, she revised all of the spells, charms, and defensive magic that she knew. It was not as though she was likely to forget any of it under pressure but it helped all the same.

After she had finished her review, covering not nearly all that she knew, but enough to satisfy herself, Terry turned to where the three dueling areas had been set up. Once she spotted Appoline Persnickety, she knew where the Hogwarts duel would be. It was the one in the center. She saw that the champions from the other two schools were moving toward their own areas, their own headmaster or headmistress standing sentinel. The idea of being trapped didn’t seem appealing to her yet those were the rules of the task. She thought again of how much calmer she would be if the task had been an individual one, but for some evil reason the judges had decided to test teamwork. How cute. she thought with sarcasm.

Lenore stepped up beside her teammate and looked at the area before them. It was almost time. She pulled a couple of chocolate cauldrons from her pocket and popped one into her mouth. She bit into it and felt the fire whiskey pool out, sending a warm sensation down her throat. She grinned.

As if as one, the two girls stepped up to their platform and through the barrier, which wavered slightly as their bodies touched it. Terry shuddered a bit and Lenore’s eyes widened. It felt a lot like stepping through cool water and neither girl would have been surprised to come out the other side wet. They found themselves completely dry however and stepped into the center of the platform.

“One more minute until our opponents arrive.” Terry informed Lenore without knowing if she cared for the information or not. Probably she already knew. Lenore just tossed her a chocolate cauldron in response. Terry caught it and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with it. It was easiest just to eat it so she put it in her mouth and chewed. It wasn’t bad.

“Thanks, that will fire me up a bit.” She said. “Though it’s water that I could really use…oh, I know.” She used her wand to conjure water with the Aguamenti spell, catching it neatly in a glass which appeared in midair. She offered some to Lenore who just shook her head and then they both waited for the duel to start.

Thirty seconds exactly after the announcement of the second task, the opponents entered the sealed space. They were two men, both adults and both fairly young. But that’s where their similarities ended. One of them, who looked to be roughly thirty, was rather short and had large glasses that hid a slightly pompous expression that instantly made Lenore wince. Terry, on the other hand, took little outward notice of him; her eyes were fixed on the second man. He was tall with hair that was spiked up artfully, a sleeveless shirt of mostly pink that showed off his toned arms, and a confident grin.

“Greetings ladies, my name is Milo and I will be one of your opponents.” The second man introduced himself. “Good luck beating me." With his last words he curtsied and smirked.

The older man simply gave a small stiff bow and said, “Samuel. It’s a pleasure.”

Lenore didn’t even hear Samuel introduce himself. The moment that Milo had begun to speak, her heart had skipped and she had felt a subtle warmth creep up in her cheeks. He was gorgeous. As he finished with his little curtsy, what was warmth in her cheeks became full flames and she had had to squeeze her eyes shut tightly. She took a deep breath, the first she had taken since Milo had stepped into the area, she mentally chided herself. Get it together, Lenore! You are not going to lose this to a pretty face.

Terry’s reaction to Milo was equally as strong but in the exact opposite direction. She found the man annoying instantly. It irked her when he had said ’good luck beating me’ as if he were unbeatable, and no one was unbeatable.

“Good luck to you too.” Terry responded, looking directly at Milo with a bland expression on her face and a slow bow. Milo took her lack of expression for nervousness but in truth, this was just her natural state. Without even a glance at what she was doing, Terry raised her wand and cast a silencing charm over the area. That would help both girls to be less distracted.

Samuel had been momentarily forgotten, outshone by his more flamboyant partner. But then the whistle blew and there was no more forgetting. All four duelist sprang into action.

Both girls knew the details of the task. One opponent would be the aggressor and one would be defense. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to figure out which one was which before the duel started and therefore, couldn’t guarantee that they were each fighting their chosen type.

At this first juncture, luck was in their favor. Terry had instinctively faced Milo the second the whistle sounded, just for the chance to wipe the silly grin off his face, and he had responded with a volley of offensive spells. She countered them quickly. This was the one she wanted. Her first attack was a simple disarming spell which he easily dodged.

“Best you can do?” Milo smirked. “I fear for you then - that was very pathetic.” He attacked again, making Terry take the defensive. She decided to let him go ahead and play while she observed his moves and tendencies, as well as get a feel for his strength.

“Aren’t you going to try to beat me?” He asked in response to her lack of attack. “This is getting boring, I may start playing hard if you don’t get out of your comfort zone.”

“You talk too much boy,” Terry said simply, with her usual emotionless face, but she sent out an attack so fast and unexpected that he had to jump in order to doge it.

“Now you’re getting serious. Come at me girly - don’t waste my time.” He attacked more fiercely, sending spell after spell at high speed but Terry dodged each one - even when she had to fall to the ground to do so - and even managed to attack between defenses. Still, she was making no real progress. Milo was stronger than he looked which just irritated her more. And he still wouldn’t shut up.

“Do you ever change your expression, girlie? Give me a smile. Hey, even a growl would do.” He winked.

“Silence.” Terry said, still without emotion. “Look it up in the dictionary. Would do you good to learn the meaning.”

“Dueling 101. It would do you good to learn the tactics.” Milo responded with another of his smirks. He couldn’t read the girl but was pretty sure she was pissed. He rained down an avalanche of spells over Terry and even shot a few toward Lenore but Terry covered her quickly since she was busy with glasses guy.

“Not so bad for a little girl,” Milo commented.

On the other side of the arena, Lenore was busy with Samuel. She had been a moment late in starting as she had still been trying to get Milo out of her head. She raised her wand to cast a silencing charm only to find that Terry had already done it. She was grateful for the quill and even more grateful that Terry had chosen to fight Milo, not only because he had turned out to be the aggressor but also because she would be less distracted by him. Now she turned her attention to the guy with the glasses.

She put up a barrier in front of herself and shot out a couple of hexes over the top. She hit first with the furnunculus curse and followed right after with the blinding hex. Her opponent counted then effortlessly and then sent out a counter-curse to shield his partner from whatever Terry had thrown at him.

“You’re quicker than you look.” Lenore said as she sent off another curse, this one meant to slow the victim’s movements. “Is that office-clerk look of yours just for show then?”

The man dodged the curse by ducking to the side. When he answered it was in a high nasally voice.

“You can learn a lot if you work in the right office.” He countered a few more spells then put up a rather thick shield with a bluefish hue. “You’re Lenore Addlebourne, born October the 12th seventeen years to Tacitus and Estela Addleboune.” He decided. “Originally from London, relocated to Barron’s Hollow, Scotla

No worries and please be safe! I'll be praying for you and your area. hugs

I'll be gone just about all of tomorrow but will make final tweaks and make the post on Wednesday. :)

I'm glad you can do it - I was worried for a moment. We still have power so hopefully we will till tomorrow at least.

Are we going to add the images of the opponents? We can add them at the beginning if you don't want to add them mid story, but if you don't want to add them, it's fine with me too.

I fixed a few mistakes I found but honestly I did it so late I'm not sure if some were not fixed.

I'm so sorry I've been so useless - I've been on holiday with very limited internet access for the last week! I haven't abandoned you on purpose! If I have time I'll see if I can do anything else to help, though I'm pretty late now!

I'm without power myself so I can't do more. I trust Twilight will deliver it. I really only have my phone and can't log much. I don't know when I'll have power but so far no sign it will return soon. :(

Not a problem Alex :) I hope you enjoyed your holiday!

I hope you get your power back soon. Apart from signing in, it really just disrupts daily life. Still, I'm so glad that you weren't in greater danger. With the time extension I've been able to read through the story a few more times and tweak things here and there. Not much though since we had so much already done. I'm glad we were able to rp it all before the storm hit. I guess this was good timing for a team challenge.

I'll definitely add the HA's to it! They're such a great part of the detail.

[spoiler=Current Draft]

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/zDbNYa8.png[/img][img align=right]https://sapi.subeta.net/shared/305320.png[/img]As the heads of the schools announced the specifics of the second task, the two champions from Hogwarts listened. Though their reactions differed, their thoughts were the same: Teamwork was not going to be fun. Terry rolled her eyes while Lenore narrowed hers. Both of them sighed.

The girls looked across the clearing and spotted one another but it was Lenore who took the plunge and moved first. As she walked toward her fellow champion, she wondered whether she could just stun the girl and get on with the duel on her own.

“Probably wouldn’t be allowed.” she said under her breath. “Shame.”

Terry, who had been spared the ordeal of actually approaching her teammate, waited where she was and worked through her own thoughts. Where is my luck? I thought challenges were an individual thing? She hated the idea of being forced to deal with another person, especially one that she didn’t know properly. What were her strengths? Her weaknesses? She saw that the girl was getting close and wondered what annoying thing she would say when she got there.

“What are your best and worst points?” Lenore asked matter-of-factly and without preamble.

Terry’s expression didn’t change but the light that flashed in her eyes spoke to her irritation. As expected, this blonde girl (What was her name? Leonore? Lenore?) had said something to instantly annoy her.

“I wanted to ask you exactly the same,” Terry snapped. “I don’t want you dragging me down on the task, so we had better win because I don’t like losing.” After a sigh she added, a bit more composedly, “My strength in dueling is defense but I’m also good at attacks. My specialty is the lasso spell which will leave my opponent hanging upside down, tied up by a magical rope. It’s hilarious and genius. Now you tell me yours.”

Lenore was slightly taken aback at the comment “…don’t want you dragging me down…” but as Terry went on to explain her strengths she forgot about the rudeness. The lasso spell that Terry had mentioned was fairly advanced and dead useful. And the girl obviously wasn’t one to waste time on formality which was just fine with Lenore. Practicality was more important right now. Practicality and winning.

“I take the offensive whenever possible. I hit hard and watch for weaknesses which can be exploited. Everyone has them so don’t miss an opportunity to let your enemy’s shortcomings do the work for you.” Lenore realized that she had just quoted her father word-for-word. This made her feel both scared and a bit proud at the same time, though she didn’t let either of those emotions show. Instead she allowed her eyes to move up and down, looking over Terry thoughtfully, as though assessing a painting or a new piece of furniture before buying. What she saw didn’t impress her. The girl had a mass of purple hair and glasses that made her look anything but threatening. Not seeming to notice or care that she was being silently appraised, Terry continued the conversation.

“Observation is a great quality and very useful. I don’t normally attack fiercely at first so I can take the time to learn my opponent’s vulnerability. Of course, some people are harder to read than others and we don’t want to underestimate anyone. If we do, it can be our ruin which is why I prefer to go slower on duels.” She paused. “But I suppose each has their own technique.” She said this last part slowly, obviously not impressed with Lenore’s ‘hit hard and fast’ style. After a moment, she added. “Somehow we have to make this work. I’m not a fan of team play, I admit, but since we have to do it, it’s better if we make an effort.”

“I agree with that last part wholeheartedly.” Lenore said. She pursed her lips and resumed her appraisal of the other Hogwarts champion. “Can you make a decent shield?”

“Excuse me?” Terry raised her right brow. Being asked if she could make a decent shield, as if her capability was even a question, had insulted her. “I said my strength was defense and shields are one of my specialties. Now, can YOU make a decent shield? Actually, don’t answer that. I’ll just duel you now and find out.” she smirked. “Oh wait, we can’t now. You have to be in one piece when the task starts.”

Lenore just stared for a moment after Terry’s little outburst. She had asked a question, she hadn’t meant to offend the girl. She noted mentally that she would need to be careful not to set Terry off. Fortunately, Lenore wasn’t quick tempered and could keep a cool head.

“Just wanted to be sure of what I was getting into.” Lenore said calmly. She completely ignored the question about the shield charm and shrugged off the threat. “And we don’t have time for a practice duel anyway.”

Terry regained her composure with a rapidity that surprised Lenore.

“You’ve probably figured it out by now but we can’t exactly learn teamwork in a half hour.” Terry said. “I think we should just pick one opponent each and defeat them as quickly as possible because we have more probabilities that way than trying teamwork without practice.”

Lenore nodded her agreement. “You’re right. If we’re both better at working alone then it makes sense to do it that way.” She thought for a moment and then added, “I’ll take out the defense. If you’re specialty is defending, I want-… sorry, you may want to take on the aggressor.” she finished, hoping not to offend the girl again.

It was Terry’s turn to nod. They finally had something planned, even if it wasn’t much.

“Very well, let’s hope the two we have to fight are a good match for us. Wouldn’t want this to be boring.” She paused and then said more quietly but without a trace of embarrassment, “I’m sorry if I was a bit too harsh. I tend to get irritated easily and working out of my comfort zone doesn’t help either.” With a calm expression she extended her hand. “Let’s do this, Hogwarts depends on us.”

Lenore took the girl’s hand and smiled. “Then let’s give them a good show.”

Lenore and Terry parted ways. There was still a bit of time left before the duel started so Lenore began to mentally prepare herself. She needed to get into the right state of mind if she was to function properly. The first thing that she needed was to get into the right outfit. Clothing always changed her mood and her standard school uniform just wasn't doing anything to make her feel like a champion. She raised her wand and summoned a few items from her dormitory. It took them a few minutes to make their way down to the clearing but when they did, they flew neatly stacked into her arms. Among them were a green cape, gloves, and over-the-knee boots. Taking the lot, Lenore ducked behind some nearby trees and cast a disillusionment charm on herself. The warm, trickling sensation that began at her head and made its way down her body told her that she would be safe from prying eyes. Quickly she changed into her new outfit, causing her school robes to disappear with a flick of her wand. She then took the charm off of herself, and stepped out of the cover of the trees. 

Newly clothed and starting to settle into the idea of the upcoming challenge, Lenore looked around at the crowd. The excitement over this task was higher than for the first by a long shot. Dueling was much for fun to watch than potion brewing and every student here knew it. There were already banners waving over the crowds, cheering on the champions from various schools. In addition to the Hogwarts crest, there were several smaller ones heralding both Slytherin and Ravenclaw houses in honor of the two champions. Lenore smiled and was glad that she was separated from the main of the student body. Being part of that large, noisy crowd would have driven her mad. 

A little ways off, Terry was doing some preparation of her own. She was not someone to get nervous when it came to tasks. She felt confident enough that she would succeed. This task in particular, however, she was certainly not at peace with due simply to the partnership aspect. To calm herself she didn’t think of family or friends. That wasn’t part of her personality. Instead, she revisited in her mind all of the spells, charms, and defensive magic that she knew. It was not as though she was likely to forget any of it under pressure but it helped all the same.

This review didn’t cover anywhere near all that she knew, there simply wasn’t enough time for that. She did feel more relaxed however and turned her attention to where the three dueling areas had been set up. Once she spotted Appoline Persnickety, she knew where the Hogwarts duel would be. The headmistress was standing serenely in front of the center arena, chatting with a few fellow staff members.

Terry saw that the champions from the other two schools were beginning to move toward their own areas, where their own headmaster or headmistress was standing sentinel. The idea of being trapped inside one of those arenas didn’t seem appealing to her yet those were the rules of the task. She thought again of how much calmer she would be if the task had been an individual one, but for some evil reason the judges had decided to test teamwork. How cute. she thought with sarcasm.

Lenore stepped up beside her teammate and looked at the area before them. It was almost time. She pulled a couple of chocolate cauldrons from her pocket and popped one into her mouth. She bit into it and felt the fire whiskey pool out, sending a warm sensation down her throat. She grinned.

As if as one, the two girls stepped up to their platform and through the barrier, which wavered slightly as their bodies touched it. Terry shuddered a bit and Lenore’s eyes widened. It felt a lot like stepping through cool water and neither girl would have been surprised to come out the other side wet. They found themselves completely dry however and stepped into the center of the platform.

“One more minute until our opponents arrive.” Terry informed Lenore without knowing if she cared for the information or not. Probably she already knew. Lenore just tossed her a chocolate cauldron in response. Terry caught it and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with it. It was easiest just to eat it so she put it in her mouth and chewed. It wasn’t bad.

“Thanks, that will fire me up a bit.” she said. “Though it’s water that I could really use…oh, I know.” She used her wand to conjure water with the Aguamenti spell, catching it neatly in a glass which appeared in midair. She offered some to Lenore who just shook her head and then they both waited for the duel to start.

They didn’t have to wait long. Thirty minutes exactly after the announcement of the second task, their opponents entered the sealed space. They were two men, both adults and both fairly young. But that’s where their similarities ended. One of them, who looked to be roughly thirty, was rather short and had large glasses that hid a slightly pompous expression that instantly made Lenore wince. Terry, on the other hand, took little outward notice of him; her eyes were fixed on the second man who appeared to be in his early twenties. He was tall with hair that was spiked up artfully, a sleeveless shirt of mostly pink that showed off his toned arms, and a confident grin.

“Greetings ladies, my name is Milo and I will be one of your opponents.” the second man introduced himself. “Good luck beating me. With his last words he curtsied and smirked.

The older man simply gave a small stiff bow and said, “Samuel. It’s a pleasure.”

Lenore didn’t even hear Samuel introduce himself. The moment that Milo had begun to speak she had forgotten about the older man entirely. Her heart had skipped a beat and she had felt a subtle warmth creep up in her pale cheeks. He was gorgeous. As he finished with his little curtsy, what had been warmth in her cheeks became full flames and she had had to squeeze her eyes shut tightly. She took a deep breath, the first she had taken since Milo had stepped into the area, and she mentally chided herself. Get it together, Lenore! You are not going to lose this to a pretty face.

Terry’s reaction to Milo was equally as strong but in the exact opposite of directions. She found the man annoying instantly. It irked her when he had said ’good luck beating me’ as if he were unbeatable, and no one was unbeatable.

“Good luck to you too.” Terry responded, looking directly at Milo with a bland expression on her face and a slow bow. Milo took her lack of expression for nervousness but in truth, this was just her natural state. Without even a glance at what she was doing, Terry raised her wand and cast a silencing charm over the area. That would help both girls to be less distracted.

Samuel had been momentarily forgotten, outshone by his more flamboyant partner. But then the whistle blew and there was no more forgetting. All four duelist sprang into action.

Both girls knew the details of the task. One opponent would be the aggressor and one would be defense. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to figure out which one was which before the duel started and therefore couldn’t guarantee that they were each fighting their chosen type.

At this first juncture, luck was in their favor. Terry had instinctively faced Milo the second the whistle sounded, just for the chance to wipe the silly grin off his face, and he had responded with a volley of offensive spells. She countered them quickly. This was the one she wanted. Her first attack was a simple disarming spell which he easily dodged.

“Best you can do?” Milo smirked. “I fear for you then - that was very pathetic.” He attacked again, making Terry take the defensive. She decided to let him go ahead and play while she observed his moves and tendencies, as well as got a feel for his strength.

“Aren’t you going to try to beat me?” He asked in response to her lack of attack. “This is getting boring, I may start playing hard if you don’t get out of your comfort zone.”

“You talk too much boy.” Terry said simply, with her usual emotionless face, but she sent out an attack so fast and unexpected that he had to jump in order to doge it.

“Now you’re getting serious.” Milo laughed. “Come at me girly - don’t waste my time.” He attacked more fiercely, sending spell after spell at high speed but Terry dodged each one - even when she had to fall to the ground to do so - and even managed to attack once or twice between defenses. Still, she was making no real progress. Milo was stronger than he looked which just irritated her more. And he still wouldn’t shut up.

“Do you ever change your expression, girlie? Give me a smile. Hey, even a growl would do.” He winked.

“Silence.” Terry said, still without emotion. “Look it up in the dictionary. Would do you good to learn the meaning.”

“Dueling 101. It would do you good to learn the tactics.” Milo responded with another of his smirks. He couldn’t read the girl but was pretty sure she was pissed. He rained down an avalanche of spells over Terry and even shot a few toward Lenore but Terry covered her quickly since she was focused on glasses guy.

“Not so bad for a little girl.” Milo commented.

On the other side of the arena, Lenore was busy with Samuel. She had been a moment late in starting as she had still been trying to get Milo out of her head. When the whistle had sounded, she had raised her wand to cast a silencing charm, only to find that Terry had already done it. She had been grateful for the quiet and even more grateful that Terry

They didn’t have to wait long. Thirty seconds exactly after the announcement of the second task, their opponents entered the sealed space.

-In this part it's supposed to be 30 minutes after not seconds because they had 30 min to get ready for the task.

At this same moment, Terry succeeded in aiming the redactum skullus spell at Milo’s face and watched as hid head shrunk to the size of an orange.

-watched as his head not hid. I really thought I fixed this on the previous draft but oh well guess not xD

I don't remember other mistake, hope that's all. I had to read this on my phone- still no power -_-

sorry I'm still without power, it was good we did the work early. Unfortunately no one else have had time to help us. Let's hope it's good enough- I think it is

I love how you placed the images too :D

Thank you! You probably did fix the mistake. I had made changes as well and tried to add your changes by sight so that's my fault. Thanks for pointing it out again!

I think it will be just fine. We worked well together and have a good story. I'm feeling confident :D

Hang in there, I hope you're able to get back to normal soon hugs

I can't wait to get to normal- I fear not being able to do next task at this rate. :(

Will you post the entry today or last day? If you can't I'll try do it on the phone but you have the code.

I certainly hope you'll be able to!

I was thinking of posting it on the last day just so I can re-read it a few more times. I seem to pick up more issues with each read through. I'll definitely have it up in time though so no worries. I won't let you down!

I trust you :3

Just posted! :D

yay!