fandomhigh | DADA for Muggles [Wednesday, October 21, 5th period]

"Hopefully your week off wasn't spent forgetting everything you learned in class," Sirius said with a slightly evil grin, "because today is your midterm."

"That's correct. Don't worry too much -- it's a practical exam," Remus said simply. "Today, we will be assigning pairs. Over the course of the week, the two of you will ~~play Spy vs Spy~~ attempt to disarm one another. Now -- " he added, looking around at the students, "there will be no injuries. Anyone caught hurting another student will be given immediate detention, and that will be the first of your worries. We are looking for disarming alone. Your opponent will declare a surrender to denote your successful disarming. Roughhousing is fine; anyone who uses their powers to give another student any kind of serious injury will be in trouble. And -- " he added quickly, "I do hope you all understand that attacking at the dance is absolutely not sportsmanlike. While a real attack in real life might take place in such an unexpected setting, this isn't a real attack, and I would be very sad if someone's dress was ripped or trousers torn."

"Or the punch bowl disturbed," Sirius added. "And we aren't going to be held accountable for what happens if you accidentally attack an alumni who looks like your target from the back. Today's lesson is for information gathering. Talk to the other students and learn your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. If you have powers, you are absolutely allowed to use them since fights in the real world are seldom even, but as Professor Lupin mentioned, use discretion. Listen carefully to the list as I read them," he said, reaching for a piece of parchment:

Alex Karev v. Francine Peters
Andy Gallagher v. Didi
Annja Creed v. Diana Hansen
Blysse Norwood v. Edmund Pevensie
Dinah Lance v. Alice Liddell
Elizabeth Stonem v. George Cooper
George Sands v. Jack Burton
Jenny Sparks v. Merlin
Jo Harvelle v. Priestly
Momoko Akatsutsumi v. Eleanor Robinson
Sam Winchester v. Griffin O'Conner

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Dinah stared at Alice for a long minute. "...yeeeah, no." She paused. "Not for a class assignment. There's no win there. I'm guessing you won't stop until one of us is unconscious."

Alice lifted her shoulders. "The assignment says, fight until one of us concedes. If one of us conceded before we were unconscious, naturally I'd stop there."

Logic.

"I suppose we're meant to infiltrate more than attack. One could break into one's opponent's room, shred a blouse, leave it scattered on the floor. Next time, it might be you. Or find one's opponent's friends, and suggest they convince one's target to surrender if they fancy their appendages."

"Point," Dinah said, thinking carefully. Except no, she really didn't want to face Alice with knives in her hand, given the way she was with the Harpies. She might be able to take Alice; then again, with the element of surprise on Alice's side, as it would be for a week-long game, she might not.

"...please be joking? I'm pretty sure Claire would not find that fun at all."

"Joking about what?" Alice asked, frowning at her classmate. "You've dismissed the idea of a weapons-fight. Are you saying intimidation is out, as well?"

The point of the assignment was to survive. Why were they being asked to dismiss tools at their disposal?

See, this was the thing, Alice had two modes: 'rest', and 'jugular.' She kind of remembered that from the few times they'd fenced. She'd heard the same limits and same assignment as Dinah, but it just did not translate. Foreign language.

"'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line,'" Dinah said aloud.

"I don't know any Sicilians," Alice shrugged. "But death is always on the line. It's only a matter of how well it's hiding."

Survival was not always pretty, but it was preferable to the alternative.

"If you'd rather not fight, you could forfeit. I've disarmed you with words, no injuries required."

As much as Dinah hated to do that, hated to be the one to back down, and genuinely felt she had a good chance of physically 'disarming' Alice before she 'disarmed' her.... it really was the only sane option. It just wasn't worth it for the sake of a class assignment. One of them would get hurt. Maybe badly. And that would be on her, then. Alice didn't, couldn't get it. If she'd felt Alice was bluffing, she'd go through with it. But she was certain the other girl wasn't.

She was silent for a few minutes, then reluctantly said, "I think you're right. Your style of warfare isn't one I can compete with. Not for the sake of something like this." She sighed, then shrugged. "I guess we just write this conversation up for the teachers next week?"

DADA for Muggles [Wednesday, October 21, 5th period]

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Re: Interrogate your classmates! [DADA 10/21]

Re: Interrogate your classmates! [DADA 10/21]

Re: Interrogate your classmates! [DADA 10/21]

Re: Interrogate your classmates! [DADA 10/21]

Re: Interrogate your classmates! [DADA 10/21]