Sorry, friends, for the late upload, I've been travelling.
Kelli had two different feelings upon seeing Hogwarts. That she was home. But Hogwarts wasn't welcoming her home this year - depending on how well Tom and she got on, it could just be the death of her. And Kelli had the type of personality that got ahead of her. She'd argue with anyone whom she didn't agree with, she antagonised them and she had a generally very annoying personality if you were on the wrong side of her.
They had Dueling Club the first Wednesday and every Wednesday following and if anything, that's what Kelli was looking forward to most because it was finally the time Kelli could finally release all her pent up anger at Tom over the summer holidays. Elizabeth and Lauren had made sure to go, knowing that there was a lot of tension, though Kelli didn't really agree with the idea of 'tension' they had.
"Students, students," called Professor Stone over the group of every year. "Will Miss Watson, Hufflepuff's fifth-year prefect and Mr Riddle, Slytherin's fifth-year prefect, please come forth?"
Both students head up to the stage and did their usual routine, wands out, bowing, six steps each, turning and facing the other.
"Now, you two may go at each other with everything you know," Professor Stone told them, "I, of course, will intervene if I think it's become too intense and one of you may lose your life. Everyone, please step back from the stage."
Kelli was glad to hear that - though surprised that Professor Stone had gotten very relaxed with their duels, especially the year that she'd had spent her summer holidays with him with him playing prison warden.
"And begin," he called once everyone had taken enough step backs.
Kelli moved first, calling, "Impedimenta!"
He used a protection spell and Kelli shot three spells at him to explode at him, speaking each one, all short spells that didn't have too much force before he shot one back at her. She met it halfway with the same spell and it exploded in the air. The ceiling shook with the force and steam obscured their view slightly.
Tom took advantage of the moment and started to shoot spells. She deflected two, dodged one, deflected another before using a non-verbal expelliarmus. The red light shot towards him and he flicked it, a smile curling upwards on his face. The duel became non-verbal, both recognising the colour of each jinx and curse that flew towards them or passed them.
For the first time, Kelli was giving him a real match.
Small birds shot out the end of Kelli's wand, flying right at Tom. He moved his position but she hadn't brought them out to attack, she'd brought them into the match to transfigure them into darts that were going at full speed at him. She did just that and he deflected them.
Kelli thought of her happiest memory and oddly enough, it was the sorting hat actually sorting her in Hufflepuff. She'd spent years before coming to Hogwarts thinking she was a Hufflepuff but constantly doubting it. But for her to actually hear it from the sorting hat itself? A dream, a really fabulous good dream, come true.
"Expecto Patronum," she said, speaking clearly.
A white rabbit erupted from the end of her wand and flew right at Tom's face, temporarily blinding him. She shot her first spell at him - Impedimenta. And he was hit and she disarmed him of his wand.
For the first time, she'd won. But this was the first time she'd really been passionate about her duel with Tom.
She caught his wand with her other hand.
He looked up at her, time going back to normal for him. Tom looked surprised, shocked and genuinely quite impressed. She didn't hear the crowd's polite applause, instead, she walked over to him and handed him back his wand.
"Like I said," he then said softly, "perfect."
Kelli tried her best not to still at his words, but it still happened. There was a pause before her arm dropped and she smiled at him, though a little more strained this time. "Tom, what do you mean by that?"
"You'll find out eventually," he replied, bowing his head and she followed suit.
"Good duel, fabulous duel," Professor Stone said, cutting through the ice of their tension, "You really gave it your all, Miss Watson. And non-verbal magic from both of you, a year before you start to learn how to use non-verbal spells? You two are the brightest of your age, indefinitely. And you, Miss Watson? Great charms work and transfiguration. A full corporeal Patronus, at your age? Wonderful. Your quick thinking, knowing that it was best to distract your opponent before defeating him earned your win brilliantly, twenty points to Hufflepuff."
While Kelli appreciated the praise, did it have to be in front of everyone?
"Th-thank you," Kelli stammered, before heading down after Tom, wanting the next pair to go.
"That was so cool, Kelli!" Katie's voice enthused from a little ahead of her, she was wearing her Gryffindor robes. Tom had been correct in assuming she'd be a Gryffindor. "I knew you could beat Riddle in a fight, yeah!"
Kelli laughed and said, "I've never been able to do it before now, Katie."
"You were like-" Katie started to make odd gestures and equally as odd sounds to mimic Kelli. Kelli felt that was severely uncool, to be frankly honest. "It was so amazing, can you teach me how to fight?"
"Duel," Kelli corrected. "And, well, Professor Stone is a very great Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and he'll be teaching everyone how to duel."
"Why can't you teach me?" Katie pouted.
"Dueling, even practising duelling, isn't allowed in the castle," Kelli told her, bending to be her height. "This is the only place you can duel and Professor Stone is adamant you only get paired up with people in your year."
"You break the rules at the Orphanage," whined Katie.
"But I don't like the Orphanage," Kelli replied. "I don't like Matron Westbrook, so I break the rules there because she's mean. But I like it here so I don't break the rules here."
She pouted. "You were so much cooler before." Then Katie turned on her heel and stomped away. Literal angry stomp that reminded Kelli of the Sims 4's angry walk. Kelli watched in semi-amusement and the rest disappointment.
Turns out Katie didn't need to be in Ravenclaw to dislike Kelli. Kelli sighed and straightened back up before turning around and watching the next duel, not wanting to deal with that kid, although she may have to. If this were Kelli's time, Kelli would've half expected Katie to whip out the black eyeliner sometime within the school year. Though, that was quite an unfair statement.
"You're not fulfilling your destiny," Lauren's voice came from behind Kelli.
"Did you see how we'd be spending our time or is it just a fact?" asked Kelli after a moment, looking at her with an interest.
"Well, when I did a reading about you - I'm sorry, I was concerned about you when you told me about Riddle - and he stayed in my mind," she told me.
"You didn't need to apologise," commented Kelli softly with a smile.
"But when I thought about you at school, he was in my mind too. It was the case of whenever I thought of you, he was there in my mind too," she replied. "When I looked it up, I found it meant that you two would be spending time together, or he's going to kill you but that's not very likely," she added jokingly.
Oh God he's going to kill me, Kelli thought with her eyes wide, a look going straight at Tom who wasn't looking her way.
"Hey, he won't be killing you," Lauren told her, suddenly cautious. "He's not really that psychopathic, right?"
"Well, I can't prove it," Kelli muttered. I'm so dead. "But if I die this year, know it was him."
"Why do you think you two won't be at least a little friendly?" asked Lauren. "You two are top of your classes, you're both prefects, you're duelling partners here and you seem to keep him from being like the rest of the people he talks to. He's always keeping an eye out for you - he actually went to your orphanage and kept you from getting into so much trouble with the Matron."
Kelli sighed, she'd managed to make him being creepy sound romantic. She looked up at Lauren and said, "I've had a really paranoid childhood. There've been times when you wonder if today's the die you're gonna die. So, I'm really sorry that I come across as irrational, but it's just . . . me." The 21st century sucked because there was always the chance that someone may just go 'screw it' one day, and England had become quite targeted over the last few months she spent in her own time.
Lauren pat Kelli's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you off. I forget that you've had it rougher. But, Kelli, you're safer here."
Kelli didn't so much as believe that, but she hid it and smiled. "You're right," Kelli lied because she couldn't tell her why she was wrong. "But still, really? Right now, I'd prefer death over being friends with Tom."
"You use his first name."
"We're at school now," Kelli replied. "We've basically got our own lives. Mine exists in books. Speaking of which, after this, I have to go to the library and see if there's anything I haven't read."
"You're a giant nerd," Lauren told her.
Kelli smiled but she looked back at the duel. Lauren had literally just told her she was going to die. That wasn't good news at all.