InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It's raining men.."

James Bradfield (bradders) wrote in castagain,
@ 2008-01-19 16:15:00

Who: James and Dorian.
What: A duel!
When: After this.
Where: The Slytherin Common Room.
Rating: PG-13ish
Status: Incomplete

James was on his feet and gripping his wand as soon as he was done writing. He was seeing red and all he could think about was hexing Dorian fucking Nott into oblivion. He had no business talking to Tuck like that, no matter who "started it". At least that's what he thought. This probably had very little to do with Tuck. He was getting sick and still had hours of homework left to do today and was pretty pissed and frustrated with life. The only good that had happened this week was that he'd finally gotten a full night's sleep for the first time in two weeks. Thank Merlin for that, or else he probably wouldn't have the energy to do what he had in mind. But even sleeping hadn't put him in much of a good mood. He wasn't nearly as exhausted, and his mind was actually pretty clear. He was able to really think, but all he had been able to think about was how much he hated being back at school, under the thumb of Neville Longbottom. He had no right...

So James was in fact, looking for a fight. He needed some way to release all his anger and frustration with the past two weeks and Dorian had made himself a prime target. He tore open his dormitory door, his wand shooting white sparks just from the pure anger coursing through it's holder's body. He took quick strides down the hallway to the common room and his eyes fell on the face of the older Slytherin. He didn't wait. He couldn't wait. With a quick swish of his wand, James practically growled "Expulso!" and aimed the hex at Dorian. He was out for blood.

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad here, right now: $0

(Post a new comment)

zerotobitch
2008-01-19 10:08 pm UTC (link)

Dorian Nott was no stranger to people wanting to hex him into oblivion. For his past seven years at Hogwarts, that seemed to be the general consensus: Dorian Fucking Nott Deserves To Be Hexed Out of Existence. He was surprised they hadn't started a club. All of that animosity and a general adoration if not respect for the Dark Arts had made him quite the duelist, so he wasn't really worried by James' threat -- granted, if James completely lost it and tried to kick his ass Muggle style, the string bean of a person that was Dorian Nott wouldn't stand half a chance.

But a duel? Please. Dorian was older, smarter, craftier, and, since he wasn't pissed off, a bit more rational. Now, as for the actual --

Dorian's encouraging train of thought was cut off quite suddenly by James' hex. Luckily, the fact that James had spoken the incantation gave Dorian time to get up Protego -- but not fast enough. The hex knocked his shoulder back and split the seam of his robes. It hadn't hurt, not too terribly, but the principle of it was enough.

"Now, now, Bradding," Dorian lilted teasingly, casting another silent Protego in anticipation of another hex. "Don't you know how duels work? I bow, you bow, we count off, and then we try to kill each other like civilized people. Then again, I suppose civilized is a bit of a foreign concept to you. This seems be the best I can get." For the time being, he didn't cast any offensive spells -- better to see exactly what James' tactics were, if any, and go from there.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-19 10:35 pm UTC (link)

Dorian had age on him, this was true. Another year in Matthew's class was going to help him immensely, but James was far smarter than most people gave him credit for. He was top of the class in Charms and if he'd actually done everything Matthews assigned them, he'd be high up there as well. But there was of course, the problem that he wasn't doing much thinking right now. He really only wanted to cause as much damage to Dorian as possible.

Another flick of his wand, and well aimed at the seventh years' eyes. He remembered not to speak this time. He was really pretty fantastic at nonverbal spell casting now. Conjunctis was the spell, and would be quite painful if it met it's target.

Unfortunately Dorian had cast that bloody Shield Charm, leaving James' hex ineffective. He had to calm down. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he just kept firing random curses at him. He couldn't quite get himself to cooperate though, especially as Dorian's jeering met his ears. No way in hell he was going to bow to Nott. Fuck no.

Confringo! A swish and stab of his wand sent another hex at him.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

zerotobitch
2008-01-20 03:50 am UTC (link)

Dorian glanced around the common room fleetingly -- mostly empty, especially considering the time, but a trickle of people were starting to take notice of the duel going on below. He looked back at James, the Shield Charm holding up well against Bradding's second hex, and gnawed gently, almost imperceptibly at his lower lip. He couldn't keep casting the same spell forever.

He could always try, though. Dorian slashed out with his wand just after he saw James move, casting Protego once more, but over a far smaller area. He didn't have time to create a whole bubble, nor did he want to waste his energy. It worked, sort of; the Blasting Spell ricocheted off the sheild and crashed into a bookcase, sending splinters of wood and singed books all over the common room. Dorian hissed in pain and yanked an errant splinter out of his wand hand, still keeping his eyes on James.

"Come on, now, Bradfield, it's not that hard. Just bow -- like this." Dorian bowed, quick and deep, and jerked his wrist upwards as he returned to stand, sending a Jelly-Legs Jinx at James' lower body. Without hesitating to see if the spell hit, he cast a silent Levicorpus.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-20 04:47 am UTC (link)

James was blind to anyone else in the room. He was getting more and more annoyed at Dorian's refusal to actually cast any offensive spells, and he took advantage of the half second he had while Nott's eyes were off of him. With a swift movement, and with a footballer's grace, he kicked a wooden folding chair at the other boy. He wasn't really sure if it was going to hit him, but he hoped he'd be distracted enough to give him an edge of advantage.

The shower of fractured wood fell harmlessly in front of him, and he couldn't help but feel the slightest tinge of satisfaction as he watched Dorian pull a splinter out of his hand. It had wasted a moment he'd probably needed though, and he only barely dodged the other boy's jinx. He felt the heat of the sparks as he hurriedly moved to the side, but then stumbled... upwards? He hadn't even noticed Dorian cast another spell in his hurry to get out of the way. Fuck.

But he still had control of his wand hand and that was all he really needed. He pressed for another spell, and flicked his wand at Dorian. Aiming was difficult whilst in the air, but he thought he did all right. Silently, he fired Frassanapneo, a rather malicious hex that would block Dorian's airway if it hit it's target.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

zerotobitch
2008-01-20 05:01 am UTC (link)

Dorian barely dodged the chair, berating himself mentally for giving James even a half-second of having the upper hand. Still, he had a bit of an advantage -- James was hanging by his ankle, after all, though he still had a good grip on his wand. Dorian had just started to cast a Disarming Spell when he felt himself begin to choke. Water immediately sprung to his eyes; Dorian spared a moment to slash a Diffindo in James' general direction, more to distract him than actually harm him, before pressing his wand to his neck and casting Explico, a general counter-jinx. It didn't work -- Dorian realized what spell James had used and cast Anhelo securus, his windpipe expanding in his throat again.

"Cheeky bastard," Dorian hissed, flicking his wand and lifting James a little bit higher before silently casting Liberacorpus. He rubbed his throat as James fell, quickly putting up a weak Shield. It probably wouldn't completely block anything, but it was better than taking something directly. Fucking -- Bradfield. His chest was on fire from just a few seconds of being oxygen-deprived. "Playing dirty, are we?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-20 05:30 am UTC (link)

As Dorian's spell flew at him, James only barely put up his own Shield. He had nowhere to go of course, hanging by his ankle in midair. And fuck if he wasn't up rather high. He only barely realized this as he suddenly went higher. His heart skipped a beat in his chest and then he was falling. And fuck if it didn't hurt. He landed hard on his right side, still sporting a fun little collage of bruises from the winter break. He could swear he felt something crack and he hoped he hadn't just broken his ribs all over again. All the breath was knocked out of him, he was faintly dizzy and his heart was beating too fast. Bastard, putting him up too high. But the sudden pain cleared his head of anger. He felt more rational already.

He couldn't stay on the floor. James got to his feet, probably too fast as he gasped for breath. This was ridiculous. Why was he even bothering with his wand any more? Dorian probably weighed two thirds of what he did and had practically no muscle mass. His goal wasn't to beat Dorian in a fucking wizarding duel; it was simply to make him hurt. He didn't need magic to do that.

James growled "Stupefy!" twice, once to break the Shield charm and again just to distract Dorian as he proceeded toward the older boy. He wasn't expecting to do any damage, he just needed to get close enough to make physical contact. He flicked his wand, simply to look like he were casting another spell. And then James abandoned magic altogether and instead threw his left fist hard at Dorian's jaw.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

zerotobitch
2008-01-20 05:43 am UTC (link)

Dorian allowed himself a brief moment of delight at James' obvious pain, still rubbing his throat and trying to think of something he could cast at James without being kicked into Azkaban. The second Stupefy hit him squarely in the chest before he had time to react, but by the time James was anywhere near him he'd already casted a countercurse.

At the flick of James' wrist, Dorian brought up his arm to slash another Shield into the air -- and promptly saw that James wasn't actually casting a spell. It was too late to do anything, though -- Bradfield's fist glanced off Dorian's raised arm slightly, but his punch still his Dorian squarely in the cheek, pain blossoming outward from the point of impact.

He could feel his head snap back even as he thought You're a fucking idiot, Nott, you know that?. His cheek was still throbbing when he caught his bearings, jabbing his wand up and casting Depulso at James in an attempt to push him as far away as possible, mind racing to think up another tactic. How do you duel against a Muggle?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-20 06:44 am UTC (link)

James skidded back a couple feet before slashing his wand to counter it. He thought Dorian looked a little flustered by the sudden increase in physical contact involved in this encounter. Well he'd better get used to it, or this was going to over really fast. But right now, James had to figure out a way to get that bloody wand out of Nott's hand. The obvious was to cast a disarming spell, but James was already crowding the other boy, one hand on the wrist of the hand that held his wand, pointing it away.

His own wand was still in his hand, but it was only firing random bursts of sparks now. His left hand was over Dorian's right wrist, and with a quick jerk downward that had to be painful, he tried to force his wand out of his hand. If this didn't work then he'd probably resort to using magic, but that would require a few more seconds than he wanted to give up.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

zerotobitch
2008-01-20 07:00 am UTC (link)

Dorian hissed aloud again at James' hand on his wrist, dropping the wand almost instantly and stupidly trying to jerk his hand upward out of James' grip. He instantly heard something important-sounding crack in his right hand, the agony coming from his wrist completely blotting out the fading pain on his cheek. Dorian placed his left hand over James' before James could pull away and whispered "Flagrante," under his breath, hoping the burn would distract and repulse James.

Dorian dropped his hands away -- his wand had rolled too far away for him to even think about grabbing, even with James' hand burning, so he shouted the first spell that came to mind: "Ferula!" Great. Now he was wandless and holding a large wooden rod. Dorian cast Flagrante on the rod as well, just because he knew his strength enough wouldn't do much damage, and held it in front of him with his left hand. He'd probably taken too much time -- Dorian cursed mentally. Fucking Muggleborn filth.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-20 07:31 am UTC (link)

"Fuck," James hissed, automatically pulling his hand away. But even through his pain, an amused smile touched his face as he heard Dorian's next spell. He was definitely flustered. He'd have to ignore the burn for now. He had no doubt that Dorian would attempt to use his screw up as a weapon.

He decided not to get too fancy with this. James could probably trip the boy and have this be over in two seconds, but he wasn't anywhere near done with him yet. Instead, he took another swing at Dorian, dropping his wand for the moment. He wasn't planning on needing it, and it was filling up a hand he needed. With his now free hand, he grabbed Nott's other wrist and used the same twisting motion he'd used on his right hand.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

zerotobitch
2008-01-20 07:58 am UTC (link)

The second time James grabbed his hand, Dorian was a little less unprepared. He managed to twist his hand down so when he dropped the rod it would at least singe James' hand, reaching out with his now free (if throbbing) right hand and muttering "Accio". He whipped his wand diagonally as soon as it was in his hand, knowing he was at a disadvantage, and cast Depulso again.
Dorian cursed mentally -- this duel was lost, no doubt about it, though it wasn't really a proper duel. Dorian didn't doubt he could take James in a Wizard's Duel, but like this, with Muggle tactics and a swelling number of Slytherins crowding the common room and beginning to jeer -- Dorian hadn't noticed them until now, Merlin, didn't they go to class? -- Dorian didn't stand a chance.

Not like he was going to admit that, though.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-20 08:11 am UTC (link)

James swore under his breath and he was scorched again. But at least the damn thing was out of his hand. He had time to kick it away before he was skidding backwards again. God damn, that fucking wand. James closed the distance between them again, brow furrowed in frustration. He only barely noticed the growing crowd. He was still pissed off, even if his side was throbbing and his hands were blistering. He wasn't done with Dorian fucking Nott.

James took Dorian's wrist again, but instead of twisting it downward, he grabbed his opposite shoulder with his free hand and turned him around. He moved his hand to the back of his neck, fingers clamping down cruelly and drove the older boy face first into the nearest wall. James didn't let up, keeping Dorian pressed against the wall. There, he yanked his wand hand up behind his back until wrist was almost between the other boy's shoulder blades. Unless Dorian could pop his shoulders out of place, that definitely had to be uncomfortable.

"Bastard," he growled, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

zerotobitch
2008-01-20 08:31 am UTC (link)

Dorian bit back a yelp of pain as he was shoved against the wall with considerable physical force, at this point thinking more about minimizing the amount of damage that would be done to him by the end of the fight rather than actually winning. It was hopeless -- James probably didn't even have his wand in his hand anymore, not that Dorian could tell from his current position, and there was a blinding pain coming from both his shoulder and his right wrist, which he figured was probably broken or something equally ridiculous.

"A lot of things, but none of them relevant." Dorian paused, taking a deep breath and trying not to scream. "As for you, I'd have to say that you have serious anger management issues," he hissed, "and have forgotten that I am still holding my wand." Though he was in no position to do much fancy wandwaving, he did manage another Levicorpus -- with James still holding his wrist. If James didn't deflect the spell, he would be at a bit of a disadvantage, but Dorian would likely have a broken arm.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-20 08:41 am UTC (link)

James did not, in fact, have his wand anymore. But he had almost complete control over Dorian's entire right arm and as soon as he mentioned his wand, James moved out of the way, expecting another spell. The spell missed him completely and before Dorian could attempt anything else, he removed the hand on his neck long enough to pluck his wand from between his fingers. He absently tossed it over his shoulder and put his hand back where it was, pulling Dorian's head back only to slam it back into the wall with dizzying force.

"You stupid fuck," James pushed Dorian's hand further up his back, "You better apologize for the shit you said to Tuck. Right now." His fingers tightened around the back of his neck to add emphasis.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

zerotobitch
2008-01-20 08:46 am UTC (link)

Well, a blessing and a curse. Fair enough. Dorian squeezed his eyes shut, his entire arm burning in white-hot pain. And there went his head. It felt like everything hurt, white and green and Merlin, he felt like he was going to be ill.

"I'm sorry," Dorian drawled carefully, painfully aware of how close James was to actually breaking his arm, "that I called your girlfriend sweetheart." Dorian bit back a statement that might have literally gotten him killed, adding instead "and whatever else I might have said to offend your sensibilities. Happy?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bradders
2008-01-20 08:59 am UTC (link)

He should have been happy. He'd just beat the shit out of Dorian Nott in front of the most of the Slytherin house. And now, he was faintly aware of how many people had gathered around them. But he still didn't feel like he'd really hurt the other boy just yet. Sure, it was obvious he was in pain, but James hadn't had the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

So in a soft, steady voice, James spoke, "Good. Don't do it again." And with that, he pushed Dorian's hand as far up his back as he could, satisfied at the loud crack that met his ears as something broke in the the older boy. He pulled him away from the wall and pushed him out toward the middle of the common room, making sure to hook a foot around Dorian's ankle. It was just to add insult to injury now. It could have been a game. James had made his point.

(Reply to this) (Parent)