Combat Training Lesson 3 - (Auror Trainees, All Years)

Posts : 10

Lorelai stood in the empty field, hands firmly clasped in front of her, surveying the area with a hint of pride. She had only very recently taken over the job, and she knew she had quite a few shoes to fill. After all, it had been the Headmaster himself who had taught this class previously. Still, she wasn't too nervous, only excited, because combat was something she was good at - besides undercover work, that is - and it was right up her alley.

She was in jeans and her favourite t-shirt, not liking anything else. Taking position on the side of the field, Lore made sure that the rope was visible, and that the students would not be able to cross past it. Crossing her arms as she waited for the first few people to arrive, she smiled a little. Today was going to be very interesting, because she was not going to give them any breaks or start off easy - she wanted them to jump straight in, so she could tell which areas they needed more help in.

Behind, in the roped-off area, hidden with a simple concealment charm, were charmed dummies. Each were extremely lifelike, and had been supplied by the Ministry themselves at Lorelai's request; she wanted only the best for her students. What their purpose was for remained secret for the time being, and it was this exact reason she kept them hidden.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 180

Amerix was particularly excited for this class. She had heard news of there being a new professor for Combat Training and she couldn't wait to see what he or she was like. Would they be serious? Funny? Strict? Laid-back? Amerix herself had preference for lecturers who were spontaneous and made the class fun. She didn't mind the more silent and serious type but she tended to be inspired and motivated by lively teachers.

After clothing herself in a comfortable sleeveless shirt with knee length shorts, she put her hair up in a waterfall headband gathered into a bun. There was no way she was going to let her hair get in the way of a class requiring physical activity. She made sure her water bottle was full before leaving for the Combat Fields. She was going to be early but she didn't mind. She enjoyed the clear spring air as she made her way to the designated place for the class a small bounce in her step. There was nothing better than physical activity. It was one of her favourite parts of being an Auror-in-training. Nearing the field, she spotted the professor and no other student around.

So the new professor is a female. Interesting Amerix thought to herself.

Once she reached the field, she greeted the professor respectfully and spotted a rope sectioning off part of the field but she couldn't see anything behind it. Wonder what that's for. She'll just have to wait and see.

Professors Posts : 147

Professor Dorian was someone she looked up to, and admired, but when she heard there would be someone else taking over his position for one of her classes, Brooke couldn't help but feel just a tad bit excited. Sure, she was relatively sad that she wouldn't be getting the feedback from the older man, but then there came rumours that their new Professor had only gotten that position by having some alone time with said headmaster, and she was more than confused. Gossip, she knew, was not something to take seriously, but she couldn't help but wonder at the real reason that there was a switch of Professors.

Still, it was going to be interesting to meet new people and Brooke walked down to the training fields with short hair, a baggy t-shirt, and track pants. Noting she wasn't the first, Brooke glanced over the new professor, taking in the petite female. So Professor Collins was a female! That was definitely something, especially considering this was a combat class, but she knew not to stereotype or judge. It was merely an interesting fact for her to take note of.

Moving to stand next to Amerix, she smiled brightly. "Good morning, Professor Collins," she greeted happily. "I'm looking forward to your class, and welcome to Merlin's!" Then, turning to face the witch beside her, she lowered her tone for a less formal greeting of a friend. "Hey Amerix! How're you?" she asked cheerfully, the excitement for the upcoming class radiating off her in waves. After all, sectioned off areas usually meant something surprising or interesting, and that only made her more curious and ready for the class than ever.

Posts : 51 Location : U.S.A-Central Time

Donning a pair of jeans and flipping up the hood of the zip-up jacket he wore, Airen made his hay down to the combat arena. Almost shutting his door, Airen quickly turned and snagged the pair of fingerless, strap-on gloves he always wore. Too close, he thought as he pulled them on his hands, making the right hand a little tighter to make sure it wouldn't fall off. No one needed to know yet.

He had picked up something about a new professor in a conversation he overheard among some of the other Auror majors, but didn't think much of it. He didn't even know if they were teaching the Auror majors of another major group.

Upon arriving at the combat arena, however, he saw that there was a new professor there. A woman, in fact. She was obviously older than Airen, so that was all the indication he needed to guess that she was his new instructor now.

Spying a roped-off area, Airen guessed that the area would be the hot zone for the action today. Standing silently behind the Brooke and Amerix, Airen folded his arms and waited for the class to begin.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 146

Arthur walked down to the Auror training field. He had heard something about a new professor this class but hadn't made any judgements yet. Best not to judge to conclusions because of a few rumors.

When he got there he took his place and noticed that this professor was a woman. It wasn't that it mattered to him, he didn't believe in gender stereotypes.

"Welcome to Merlin's Academy professor," Arthur said, hoping to make her feel welcome. Being in a new place could be unnerving. He also greeted Amerix before taking his place. He didn't know a lot of people in this class and really he barely knew Amerix but it was nice to see her.

Spotting the roped off area he wondered what the professor had planned for them today.

Posts : 10

Smiling at the two first females who had arrived, she spoke a word of thanks, but at who, she wasn't exactly sure - while the witch had given her a nice greeting, there had been no mention of name. But at least she knew the other woman was named Amerix. Taking note of the other couple of students that arrived, Lore checked her list and frowned a little, realizing that quite a few were late. Never the matter, if they wanted to show up late, they could - they just better have a good excuse ready.

With a quick wave of her hand, Lorelai removed the charm that kept the place hidden, revealing 4 sections in the field, also roped off, so that a fairly large square arena-like area could be assigned to each student. Adjusting her features from a smile to strictly business as she turned towards her students. "Good morning," she started, then made sure they were giving her attention before continuing. "There has been a rumour going around that I earned this job by sleeping with the Headmaster. Before we begin, I wish to have you understand that this is not true. Anyone who tries to figure out otherwise or brings this up again will be shown exactly why I am the Professor of combat class and not you. Do we have an understanding?"

Having taken care of that, she relaxed a little, offering just the smallest trace of a smile. "Now, my name, for those of you who didn't check the schedule, is Lorelai Collins. There's no need for formalities like Ma'am or Professor - Lorelai or Lore is perfectly fine." Pausing to let them take this in, she motioned towards the fields. "Each of you will be assigned an area. It seems empty for now, but the moment you enter, a dummy will appear at the end. Now, please don't be alarmed - whilst they appear extremely life-like in both looks and mannerisms, please do note that they are not real. Your task is simple. Take them out. You may kill or you may incapacitate them by means of a spell, or by knocking them out. It doesn't matter too much to me which way you do it."

Again stopping to let this sink in, she continued moments later with, "If you do injure them, there will be a release of blood - luminous blue, not red, because I know some get squeamish about real blood. This lesson is merely for you to get a taste of a real duel. No weapons, please, but merely your wand and yourself. They will be able to cast back as well as attack and defend, but they will not be able to severely injure you. Do not worry, my intent is not to harm you; the worst that will happen are a few scrapes and bruises. If you're ready, please, go ahead and find your square."

Standing off to the side, she hid a smirk. What they didn't know - what she did not tell them - was that the dummies were charmed to be really good at combat, both magical and muggle. Despite their looks, they had the flexibility and the skill of an experienced auror in training, and would not be able to be beaten by any students, unless they were extremely gifted; they would need to be better than the highest ranking Auror in order to beat any of the dummies.

[[OOC: Please note that your character will NOT be able to defeat the dummy. It will take an extreme amount of work to even hurt it in the slightest. Also note that your character will NOT know this already; they will have to figure it out by themselves, because the dummies look extremely incapable. The list is below with the image of what the dummy assigned to your charrie looks like. Enjoy, and you may use this to build your character up. Any questions, please PM me or ask me anytime in CB.]]

Amerix - Male 1
Brooke - Female 1
Airen - Male 2
Arthur - Female 2

Posts : 51 Location : U.S.A-Central Time

Airen raised a curious eyebrow at the Profes...Lorelai's opening topic. He realized that it must have come from that strange magazine that he tossed when he found it on his doorstep a couple days ago. He really did hate gossip, so a magazine with the name Gossip on it immediately did not warrant his notice. Besides, he had his own secrets. Secrets that he would rather a person find out about on their own than from some rumor.

Looking to the arena that Lorelai had lifted the charm from, Airen idly wondered how advanced the fighting of the dummy would be. He, himself, knew a couple martial arts styles, but Airen all but knew that he'd be done for when faced with anything beyond karate and a little kickboxing. Magic could easily equip a dummy with all that knowledge and more. He grew a little wary of the challenge he faced.

Airen stepped into the ring that the professor had assigned to him, wand drawn and ready for anything.

Well, almost anything...

Frankly, Airen did not know what the dummy would look like. At the very least, he figured that he'd be facing a faceless, wooden mannequin, like the one he had used to practice drawing with in his fourth year. He did not expect a representation of a muggle, stereotypical nerd. Airen cocked his head curiously, wand still aimed at the dummy. It seemed almost too easy of an opponent from what the professor made it sound like. She didn't seem like one to go easy on the first lesson. Airen guessed the appearance was just for cosmetics, but he couldn't know for sure. While still suspicious, the young Auror-in-training was also innately curious.

Suspicion and curiosity battled in his mind for which approach to take, with both sides reaching a compromise and having the young man subtly shift his wand to the ground just before the dummy's feet. "Bombarda," was what left Airen's mouth. The spell jetted forward and excavated a bowling-ball sized crater where the figure was, as well as causing the dummy to jump and roll away from the area with apparent and practiced ease.

"Cosmetics it is," thought Airen as he crouched slightly in a battle stance, wand still aimed at the figure. Deciding to keeping probing, Airen took a step to the left. The dummy followed suit. Airen stepped forward slightly. His opponent inched closer. The student circled to the right. The challenger orbited similarly. "So, I must strike first..." Airen observed.

Fine then.

With a tense calmness, Airen shot forward with an Everte Statum aimed at his opponent's chest. The dummy, in a creaky wooden voice, muttered, "Protego," crouching as it said the spell. Airen deftly side-stepped his deflected spell and stopped advancing upon the dummy when it followed with a Locomotor Mortis. Airen dived out of the spells path, tucking and rolling as he landed. Coming up, he back tracked with a quick Fumos that covered the area in a smokescreen.

The dummy, after countering with a Ventus that blew the smoke away, twisted and brought it's arm up to block the knife-hand Airen had intended for the back of its neck. It's other wooden arm shot forward for Airen's solar plexus, which he deflected with the forearm of his wand-handling hand. Keeping the quick movement, Airen brought his wand to the point at the dummy and cast a near point-blank Flipendo, causing both combatants to be thrust away from each other.

Airen landed on his back, grunting at the brilliant move he made. He looked down his body, gasped, and rolled away from the Depulso that he saw the still-nerdy looking fighter cast while fighting to stop its own backwards travel. Jumping back to his feet, Airen cast a quick Expeliarmus and hoped his aim was true. It was, but the dummy had cast the same spell in the time before before's Airen's had connected. Airen made to move, but the spell still made it's mark.

Both fighters were now disarmed.

"Now comes the hard part," Airen thought, advancing with raised fists. The dummy did the same. Airen raised his fist, but instead used the momentum to bring his back foot in a back-kick aimed at the head. He felt his foot connect with the dummy's face, but soon found the same foot grasped at the ankle. He had only just finished turning when the fist connected with his sternum, causing him to stumble back. After barely deflecting the kick from the dummy with his left hand, Airen swept his back leg at the appendage still on the ground. His opponent fell on the ground and rolled away from the fist Airen had sent at its face.

The dummy spun up to its feet and charged at Airen, who leaned back and brought his other fist into the path of the dummy's head, busting its lip and sending a small ripple of pain up Airen's arm. The combatants turned back to face each other. Airen was sure he'd find a bruise on his chest as well as a some reddened hands beneath his fingerless gloves. The dummy was not much better. A busted lip and a bleeding nose were sported by the lifeless form.

Airen sucked in a breath and shuffled closer to his opponent, fully intent on finishing this fight. The opposition inched closer, bringing its arms up. Airen thrust a fist forward, only to have it blocked and countered with a fast right hook onto his left, upper cheek, near the eye. Airen reeled back and spun his leg up in another roundhouse. The dummy dodged this one and met Airen's follow up fist with a palm strike. Airen only had a moment to be shocked before he was met with a well-aimed, hard punch at his own solar plexus.

All air rushed from his lungs, and he doubled over into the knee with a knock. The dummy returned to its battle stance, as the young and humbled Auror-In-Training fell to his hands and knees in an attempt to catch his breath. "Okay, that one hurt," Airen thought to himself as he gulped in more air. "But I'm not done yet."

Groaning as he stood up, Airen brought his arms up once more and advanced. Striking with a left hook, he was met with a waiting, open hand from the dummy and an accelerating fist to his right eye. He managed to avoid the direct impact on the eye, but was still sent reeling with a few scrapes near it from the fist. Wrenching his captured fist away from his opponent, Airen launched into a side kick. Missing, he brought his foot back and twisted his upper body, bringing his back fist around in an uppercut. This move left his entire right flank open, which the dummy capitalized on with a low punch to Airen's right side. This was followed by another one from its right arm that once more connected with Airen's solar plexus.

Airen doubled over onto his front. Rolling over with a gasping groan, he sat up and looked over to the waiting dummy. Karate wouldn't do Airen anymore good today. Shaking his head, Airen softly said to the dummy, "Not today, friend."

Standing up sorely, he hobbled away and picked up his wand. "I'll be feeling that tomorrow," he thought humorously to himself. For some reason, Airen found the situation slightly humorous, to be beaten by a lifeless construct that had more fight in itself than he could muster right now.

(OOC: Sorry, it's a little long. )

Aurors In-Training Posts : 146

Arthur hadn't expected that opening topic but he could respect her directness. Maybe she thought it was best to nip the rumour before it got out of hand.

Looking at the arena that Professor Lorelia had lifted the charm off of, Arthur wondered what he should expect from the dummies. He certainly hadn't expected what he did find. A classic dumb blonde stereotype. Well this professor seemed to have a sense of humor. He was stuck between amused and wondering if he should be insulted.

It was a very life like dummy but the blonde girl didn't look like much. Still he knew he had to be cautious, perhaps them underestimating the dummies was what the professor had been counting on.

"Stupefy," Arthur said, pointing his wand at it. The spell had been easily dodged.

He stepped back a bit and the dummy moved forward but didn't attack. Well he would have to hit first. He hit with a few more offensive spells but the dummy was too quick for him.

He quickly tried Flipendo and then Expeliarmus but apparently the dummy had gotten a similiar idea as they both got sent flying back and disarmed. He took the oppurnity to attack the dummy unaware. Once he was close to it again he tried to land a kick, using the other foot when the dummy caught his right one but he just ended up falling onto the ground. A few more attempts of hitting it just eventually landed him back on the ground.

"Well you win," he told the dummy and he went to find his wand.

Guest

Daniel was not a man who listened to Gossip Witch. In reality, he was a man who worked with what he saw people doing, and paid little and less heed to gossip. However, the Gossip Witch's latest edition had caught the attention of his friends, and they had had such an amazing time reading it.

The tales of Parker Emery had had the boys howling with laughter, and Daniel had made plans to make sure the boy never forgot the tails. But it was the picture on the last page of the magazine that had truly gotten Daniel's interest up. With a smirk, he and the boys had made a bet that Daniel couldn't get the witch's number, and Daniel never wishing to back down, had accepted.

He'd had to do a little research, in honesty, to find when she was teaching. But then Daniel had made the decision to head to that class. Late, of course, because he wasn't capable of timings. Hurrying out to the meeting point, Daniel noted the class had already started. Oops.

"Morning, professor." Daniel greeted the witch, trying to keep his eyes on her face as best he could. "What have I missed? Apart from your beautiful face?" He asked, noticing one of the students fall to the ground. Well then, it seemed the university was teaching the next Aurors well... "Are those... just dummies?" Daniel asked, frowning at the people and then back at the professor. If they couldn't beat dummies, then what were they doing on this course?

Posts : 10

As the students began towards their allocated spots, she watched from a distance, taking in their movements and reactions, but not saying anything just yet. They would find out later, as a group, because that was always the best way to learn - from and with each other. She caught sight of the movement long before the body appeared next to her, but she turned to greet him as though she hadn't. Raising a single eyebrow at his words, Lore decided to ignore it for the time being. He was most definitely not an Auror-in-training, that much she could tell - it didn't seem as if he had it in him.

"Please note that there is no need for formalities; my name is Lorelai. Use it, and while you're at it, tell me yours," she said curtly, then motioned towards the field. "Yes, they are dummies. Charmed to look and react like real people, but not actually real."

She paused, giving him a quick look over. Already she didn't like him; her instincts told her he wasn't here for the lesson, and she always went with her instincts. They had saved her life before and while this wasn't a life threatening situation, they were never usually wrong. "Also, you missed quite a bit, but I'm not going to bother to repeat. If you're here to learn, there's a section for you here," she said, pointing to the one nearest to her. "Rules are simple. Defeat the dummy. Try not to kill it; the Ministry prefers it if targets are acquired alive, unless stated otherwise in mission briefings. Spells and whatnot will not be able to hurt you more than a few cuts and bruises, so don't worry about any lasting damage."

Giving her wand a little flick, she wordlessly cast a spell to alter the shape of the dummy into one that mimicked, well, her - both in appearance and in skill set. If she found that he was getting more hits than misses, which she doubted, she would up the skill to that of her squad leader. Either way, this was one fight she was sure the cocky boy would not win.

Daniel's Dummy

Posts : 51 Location : U.S.A-Central Time

Airen had looked away from the dummy that had easily beat him and took a glance at the newcomer. He hadn't seen him in any of his classes before, so he just assumed that he was a late enrollment student. His thoughts changed when instead of just asking what he had missed, he began to...

Wait, was he flirting with the professor, a woman who was easily a decade older than him? Airen raised a curious brow, but instead set to checking himself over for any injuries that he could patch up here and now. He mostly found bruises that would heal over time, but nothing that he could patch up with a healing spell. The one injury that had drawn a little blood was a scratch near his eye. It would heal, so no worries. Looking back over to where the newbie was talking with Professor Collins, Airen felt mildly annoyed that this person didn't seem to have a care about the class was instead trying to flirt with the professor.

"Are those... just dummies?" he heard the new guy ask in a tone that Airen did not appreciate. While yes, they were dummies, the one that he had faced felt as if he was facing a Ministry Auror. He couldn't help the slight narrowing of his eyes at this person. While he did try to see the best in people, it wasn't always easy. This guy was certainly making it hard.

When Professor Colli...Lorelai, that was going to take some getting used to... charmed up a new dummy, Airen returned to looking at his own. He was contemplating having another go now that he had gotten a good assessment of his injuries. But then again, maybe he should ask Profes...Lorelai if he could try again.

"Umm, Profes...Sorry, Lorelai...may we try again with our opponent even after we get defeated?" he asked politely, trying to keep his eyes from betraying his slight annoyance at the new person.

Guest

"Please note that there is no need for formalities; my name is Lorelai. Use it, and while you're at it, tell me yours,"

Daniel decided the moment the witch spoke that she had perhaps one of the nicest voices he'd ever heard. Though, that was, in fairness, probably just because he wanted this to go his way, rather than it actually meaning anything. "Daniel, my name is Daniel Jameson." He replied to her question with a warm smile.

The explanation of charmed dummies was an interesting one, and Daniel looked away from the witch for a moment to watch the dummies kicking the asses of most of the students.

Oh the extent he went to to show the world he was a man.

The instructions were straight forward enough for Daniel, and he nodded along with the information from the witch, waiting until she'd finished, and trying not to smirk too much seeing his opponent. "I'll strike you a deal to make this more fun." Daniel spoke, improvising in that moment because he couldn't go back to the lads empty handed.

"If I beat the dummy, you will give me your phone number, or your floo." Daniel explained, trying not to look too happy with himself. "And if I don't beat the dummy... well, I'll do whatever pleases you."

Posts : 10

As the boy gave her his name, she mentally went through the list of Aurors she had been given. There was definitely no Daniel there, and especially not one with a Pureblood last name. So what was the boy doing here? Simply looking at him as he talked about 'fun’, she internally raised an eyebrow. It was growing more and more obvious by the second. She did, after all, do a lot of undercover work in bars and beaches, so boys and men alike coming over and trying to flirt was not something she was unused to; Lorelai had practically heard every trick in the book, and even some more original ones. None of them worked. The witch was simply not interested in relationships of any kind, not after what happened with her now ex-husband. One night stands were even worse, because she liked to be in control, and you never knew what would happen when you hooked up with a stranger.

Now that challenge, however, was one that got her attention. She was very certain that the boy could not handle the dummy as well as he thought he could. If he did, well, she would be the first to offer him a job alongside her. After all, it wasn't everyday she met a boy who could take down a top notch Auror. And if.. when he failed? Well, Lorelai had just the thing to ask of him. Almost lazily, she gave him a smile. "I suppose a little gamble won't hurt," she said softly, making her voice more girly that it normally was. She wanted his lost to be even more painful that it could be. "Off you go, Daniel."

Crossing her arms, she waited, her eyes not missing what the other students were doing even as she made sure she kept her attention mostly on the boy and the dummy that would appear as her. Things were going to get very interesting, very quickly, and Lore was more than ready to see the boy's butt served to him on a platter, by a 'simply' dummy.

Lorelai turned to the boy who asked the question and nodded. "Sure," she replied before silently charming his dummy so that it would be slightly easier for him though not so easy that he could defeat it.

Aurors In-Training Posts : 180

[[OOC: Permission to GM given by Mel ]]

Amerix returned Brooke's greeting, replying that she was good and felt a smile tug at her lips when she noticed the excitement of the other witch. It always amused her how easily Brooke could show her emotions while Amerix usually kept a composed exterior.

She turned her attention to the Professor when she started talking and felt her respect and admiration for the professor grow. She had gotten right down to the point and hit the bulls-eye, squashing the rumours about her. In all honesty, it took a long while for Amerix to figure out what earning her job on her back meant. While she wasn't unfamiliar with the act, she didn't really know all the terms for it. It wasn't until she overheard other students talking using words and phrases she was familiar with that she finally understood what it meant.

Amerix felt her surprise increase when she told them to call her by name. She didn't know many professors who liked that, much less encourage it. She knew of some who even considered it disrespect. Amerix was starting to like her more and more. She pushed all thoughts aside as Lorelai continued with the explanation of what they had to do. It didn't sound too difficult and all Amerix had to do was remember what spell to use and use them wisely. She wasn't too familiar with hand to hand combat, knowing only basic skills, so she would have to keep a tight hold on her wand.

Once Lorelai was done explaining, Amerix headed to her assigned spot. She had no idea exactly what she expected but it definitely wasn't that. She stood frozen where she was, not moving a step closer, her heart thumping so loudly that she was sure it drowned out all other sounds. The dummy, if that's what a life-like-looking-exactly-like-a-human thing could be called, was a man. One of Amerix's greatest fears. In addition to that, he looked like a hardened criminal and a drunk. She felt fear and trepidation course though her veins, igniting her blood like fire.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she prepared to give herself a pep talk. Okay, Amerix. Calm down, calm down. It's just a dummy. Don't let the look fool you. Just a dummy. Justadummy, justadummy. You can do this. Just pretend you're fighting like normal and concentrate on the spells you're going to use. Pretend he's someone you really hate and focus. Focus. After taking a few more breaths to try and return her heart to its normal rate, she opened her eyes, faced the dummy and took a firm grip on her wand. She decided she should cast a gripping charm just in case it slipped out of her hand. That done, she wondered what she should begin with. A few spells came to mind and she couldn't help but grin at them, mentally debating if she should use them. She decided not to just in case Lorelai thought she was fooling around when in truth, she was pretty serious because turning the dummy into a duck would definitely make it easier to fight.

She decided to start with Inflecto Telumsince they were still quite a distance apart. The dummy easily side-stepped it and got into a defensive stance as if challenging her to come closer which she didn’t. She started again, shooting multiple arrows one after another in quick succession hoping that she would be able to hit him. As the arrows kept flying, she took steady steps towards him. The dummy dodged all the arrows easily and Amerix was beginning to consider changing spells when she saw his left shoulder jerk backwards. One arrow had hit but judging by the way the dummy pulled it out, it couldn’t have done much damage. She continued her assault hoping to finish him off but was taken back when all her arrows came flying back at her. Letting out a tiny squeal, she lay flat on her stomach to avoid them and heard them hitting the ground behind her.

Gritting her teeth, she decided to change her strategy. This was proving to be more and more difficult. She already knew the dummy was very flexible with quick reflexes and able to dodge her spells effectively. That gave her an idea. She muttered a homing spell and watched the ball of light fly to the dummy. He tried to dodge it but when he saw that it followed him, he ran to the end of the field, turned around rapidly and Amerix saw the ball of light hit a round shield the dummy had conjured up.

She came closer to the dummy until she was just a foot away. But before she knew it, she was shot up three stories in the air when he muttered a Alarte Ascendare. She turned her body to make sure her legs were facing the ground as she said Aresto Momentum. She lost her footing when she landed, spraining her right ankle with her knees buckling under her as she tumbled to the ground earning her scrapes to both knees and the palms of her hands. Thankfully, her wand was still in her hand.

As she recovered from the fall and tried to stand up, she found a shadow looming over her and looked up to see the dummy’s palm in her face. Her head swung to the side on impact. A slap? Really? was her thought as she rolled to the right to avoid a fist to her face. She stopped herself once she was out of the way. She had a split second to point her wand at the standing dummy from her position on the ground on her back. She intended to cast an Incendio but before she could say the incantation she had to roll away to avoid another spell he sent her way. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw fire go out from her wand and land on the dummy.

Did I just cast a non-verbal spell? She had no time to be surprised because the dummy had extinguished it and was sending a spell her way. She was up on her feet by now and she dodged it before charging towards him. Her shoulder hit his chest and she felt his arms go around her waist, lifting her up in the air to send her falling backwards. Amerix had just enough time to cast a Mucus ad Nauseam before landing on her back, tearing a groan from her lips. The distraction of a runny nose gave her enough time to get back on her feet.

She was thrown backwards by the dummy’s Everte Statum and before she could land, she saw another spell coming her way. She heard herself thinking Finite and saw a red flash appear before her, ending his spell. She was too slow to react to his next spell and found ropes winding around her waist, pulling her to the dummy. She couldn’t think of a spell fast enough and she found herself in his arms, without her wand. Her left hand was twisted behind her so that her back faced his chest. She felt his palm in between her shoulder blades and felt him push. She fell to the ground and was conscious of a burning pain shooting up the left arm. She must have dislocated it. Or rather, the dummy dislocated it for her. She hated to give up, but knew she could no longer continue so she hobbled back to the professor.

“Lorelai? Could you help me pop my arm back please?” Amerix asked as she supported her arm. The professor tapped her arm with her wand and Amerix felt it move back in place with absolutely no pain, much to her surprise. She thanked the professor and turned to watch the rest of the students sure that by nightfall, her bruises would start showing. She could already feel the sting in both skinned knees and knew that she was covered in dirt from rolling on the ground. At least she found out that she could do some non-verbal spells when the occasion called for it. She’d need more practice but to make it secure but she was feeling good with herself.

Guest

When the witch accepted his offer, Daniel almost grinned, it seemed the rest of the lads were going to have a phone number or floo address to be working with that evening. Of course, Daniel wasn't interested, he had Cassana now, so it was purely taking one for the team.

Though, in honesty, he'd just pulled the shortest straw from the back, and now he was here.

The rest of the kids he didn't have time for, so when he was told to hurry off, Daniel did, hoping to be in out and gone before much more could happen. Though, of course, Daniel hadn't really done dueling in almost two years since he'd stopped Defence Against the Dark Arts and dueling class. Oh well, this would be something fun.

Slipping his wand from his pocket, Daniel stepped in to the arena, ducking almost instantly as a spell was shot in his direction. "Shit." The boy mumbled, casting up a shield a moment later to defend himself from the second attack. The third spell smashed Daniel's shield and knocked him off of his feet. This was no longer a game, and that notion became apparent as he just about rolled out of the way of a fourth spell.

Whatever the professor had done to this dummy, Daniel was quite sure it was trying to kill him from the early onslaught. Oh, how the lads would probably be laughing their asses off if they could see him now! The thought in itself was sickening but Daniel pushed it away and send a Stunning Charm towards the dummy of his professor. The block was quite easy for her, though Daniel wasn't surprised, but as she blocked, he sent a second Stunner and the Conjunctivitis Curse towards the dummy. It was a good spell to have the dummy lose it's sight.

However, it would mean having to hit the target.

Neither of Daniel's spells came close to hitting the dummy, not through lack of aim, but simply because the capability of the witch was much greater than his own. Not really surprising given her job and what he was actually trying to become.

However, though Daniel might not be the best duelist in the classroom, or even the university, he was good at protecting himself. A curse-breaker worked in some of the most dangerous places in the world, with spells so ancient that most times you didn't know what you were heading in to. Therefore your defensive spellwork had to be of a high quality.

So with each spell that came his way, Daniel either dodged it, or blocked it, slowly building up a sweat as he stayed on his toes. The dummy was very good though, and as Daniel went to save himself from the high Stunning Spell that had been aimed at his head, his reaction time had not quite been good enough to block the Bombarda Charm at his feet. Being thrown from his feet, Daniel could feel the cuts in his ankles and bit his lip, almost ready to get back up when he got pulled up by his ankle, upside down and high in the air.

Levicorpus.

Such a dirty school trick.

Daniel glared at the dummy who did look much too smug with herself. "Petrificus Totalus!" Daniel called out, knowing it was the Shield Charm or the spell that held him in place would be used. The Shield Charm came, much like he'd expected and the floor hit him harder a moment later. With a soft groan, Daniel pushed himself off the floor for a second time.

There was a flurry of spells in his direction then. Five, maybe seven, a few he dodged, a few caught him on the arm, one on his cheek. Daniel was growing frustrated with this task. The young man sent out a Stinging Hex as one final spell hit him on the chest, bringing a searing pain there. But as he closed his eyes for a moment, he was quite sure he saw a hit on the dummy.

Dropping to his knees, Daniel panted from the exertion of trying to defeat an inanimate object. Reaching up to brush his hair from his eyes and the sweat from his brow, Daniel looked back to the teacher and gave her a small shrug as if to say he'd done.

Before he finally collapsed on to his back, happy to just have the coldness of the floor seeping in to his back. The injuries he would deal with in a bit, he was waiting for the adrenaline rush to end. Awesome possibly didn't cover it, but he knew he never, ever wanted to do that again.

Ever.

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» Lesson 2: Unicorns & Pegasus (All years & all Healers in training)
» Auror Lesson 1 & 2: Finding Your Strengths (Auror Majors Preferred)

Combat Training Lesson 3 - (Auror Trainees, All Years)

Combat Training Lesson 3 - (Auror Trainees, All Years)

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