Week One - Task #02. - "All a Buzz"

[Prof. Alexander Brighton]

You first read a notice about the upcoming dueling club on the bulletin board in your common room. Since then, it seems like there has been a lot of talk around the castle about it. Everywhere you go, you hear people talking about excitedly about the kind of hexes and jinxes that might be taught.

A couple days later, you even see something about it in one of the school newspapers. You would be lying if you said the dueling club didn't interest you. You think it would be a fantastic idea. If you participate, you might be able to get back at those bullies. What better way to improve your dueling skills than by joining a dueling club?

The time is getting near to sign up and there are hundreds of thoughts running through your head and you keep asking yourself “What kind of spells will I learn”? “Will I be able to defend myself against the bullies by the time the dueling club ends in a few weeks”?

Task:
While you wait to sign up, post below in no less than 100 words how you feel about a dueling club. What do you want or expect to learn? Are you excited or nervous? What parts are you most excited or nervous about? What other thoughts do you have?

This task is worth 10 beans/sapphires and it is due at 11:59 pm HOL Time on March 30.

[Lex Green]

I would say that I am both nervous and excited at the prospect of a duelling club. I'm very glad that I'll have the opportunity to learn how to defend myself - both against bullies now and any potential dangerous threats later on in my life (if I can start learning now, I can make sure I'm fully prepared later on.) However, it's not lost on me that in teaching students how to defend ourselves, the club may end up also teaching bullies how to bully even more! I'm sure this won't happen deliberately, but I can't help considering the fact that students could end up picking up new curses, hexes and jinxes from their practice.

[River Fenwick]

I am so excited about a dueling club! I expect to excel at more spells than I currently do while brushing up on my dueling skills and reactions. I'm only nervous about performing in front of others, as I often lose focus when I feel eyes on me. I'm not too worried about injuries, as I assume we'll be in the safe hands of the Professors and Prefects in charge of the club. However, I do feel like those of us participating in this club will have a bit of an advantage from now on in Hogwarts compared to the rest. Time will tell if this leads to something good or something terrible, though I'm hoping all goes well for all of us!

[Dibyarup James Potter]

I am very excited about the Duelling Club, and simply cannot wait to duel with my fellow students. I expect to learn about more advanced duelling spells, both offensive as well as defensive. I am also very excited about this unique opportunity to have real duels with other witches and wizards my age, where I can learn and practice duelling spells that will help me become a great Auror.

The moment I read the notice about the Duelling Club, I immediately started practising the Shield Charm (Protego and Protego Maxima), the Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus), the Stunning Spell (Stupefy), the Banishing Charm (Depulso), and the Knockback Jinx (Flipendo). These are the primary spells that I use during a duel, and other than these, there are a couple of other spells that I might use during the duels as well. However, those are some of my secret cards which I would prefer to not disclose.

[Anne-Marie Gagne]

I'm very excited for the dueling club! And slightly nervous as well. Learning how to duel sounds so fun. Competitions for dueling seem really fun to be a part of and I'm hoping to do competitions after Hogwarts.

But also a dueling club will be good for learning how to use the spells we learn in school to help protect myself and my friends if it's ever needed. Learning how to use the spells the most effective way as possible in the event of an emergency of some kind. I also hope we might have the chance to learn spells that aren’t taught in any of our classes as well.

[Rosalinda Malfoy]

At first when I heard that there is going to be a duelling club, I was excited, because I think from there I can learn more about my classmates and other wizards, to learn more about other spells that I have not already learnt and also got some experience to do something better next time in duel. But besides that I just hoping to meet new people and maybe even spend a fun time in the club. Also if we will be learning new spells for Ravenclaw, maybe we could win against other houses and make our house proud of who we are.

[Scarlet Robloutain]

While I am excited and somewhat nervous about the duelling club, I am mostly full of curiosity and anticipation. I want to learn the basics of duelings and spell-casting, since I don't know much yet, and I am excited to see what kind of duels we will have and the new skills I will acquire. I'm a bit anxious about the physicality of it, and I hope we're given good instructions for safety and proper etiquette. I'm also a bit nervous about making friends and fitting into the duelling community, but I'm sure I'll do fine. I'm looking forward to a new fun and challenging experience, I'm sure I won't regret it

[Hiya Debnath]

As for a Dueling Club, I have always wanted to join one. I need to practise and add some good spells to my repertoire, which can not only help me now, but can also come in handy in my future in the wizarding world. Although I am not an aspiring Auror, I am sure all of us want to know how to protect ourselves from potential threats from dark wizards and witches in future. Being able to rely on oneself when in danger from an enemy is a useful skill to have, because it may not necessarily be always true that someone may have our back. Who knows we may end up facing a Third Wizarding War or yet another Battle of Hogwarts some day. It will also be effective against bullies. If not any of these, it is a great opportunity to learn how to be a skilled contender and attention-grabbing duelist for dueling competitions. I always love competitions and it's not fun to join not to win. : ) While winning is not guaranteed, practicing one's skills always helps increase the chances of victory. Therefore, when I heard about a Dueling Club, and when I read about it in the school newspaper, I was extremely excited. While I am not one to engage in too many physical pursuits without motivation, a Dueling club would be just the motivation I need to flex my physical, mental, and magical muscles on a regular basis without losing focus and keep myself physically, mentally, and magically active. It would work much like a gym-membership with a fixed schedule, that helps one stay on track and workout regularly without losing motivation. While I am thus very excited, I am also slightly nervous, because being a Muggle-born witch, I hadn't watched duels using magic until I came to Hogwarts, so all of it may be a bit new to me and it may take me some time to adjust to replacing the urge to kick or box with the urge to cast a spell quickly. I am excited to learn as many offensive and defensive spells as possible, whether common or uncommon, so that I have a lot of spells in my repertoire to resort to when in need of these. However, I will start slow and focus on perfecting each spell as I go, rather than trying to perfect many spells together, otherwise I will practically learn nothing. I am looking forward to joining this Dueling Club and having fun with all the people who have joined the same for the same purpose. Moreover, socializing in the Dueling Club is yet another good way to stay motivated for it.

[Viviana Kingston]

I think the most exciting part about joining the duelling club is getting to learn new hexes, spells and jinxes, if not for the fun of it but to learn it for safety and protection should we ever find ourselves in a dangerous or tricky situations that need disarming spells. Other than that, a good thing about the club is being able to have a safe place to practise spells you wouldn’t usually learn in the classes and getting time to bond with the fellow duellers. Who knows when their advice, tips and tricks may become useful for the future?

[Janne Halla]

I like the idea of the dueling club. I'm quite excited about it since I've never done anything like this before. There was also some apprehension and nerves. I don't think that I've got as much experience with spells as non-Muggleborns do.

I do want to learn every defensive and offensive spell that I can. Perhaps they can also be used in other areas than just dueling. There's also non-magical stuff to be learned, like how to dodge, how to concentrate, and how to strategize to get yourself that win that you want.

I do hope that we get to have the dueling club every year and not just as a one-off, it's such an interesting thing to be a part of!