A quiet breeze drifted lazily through a half-open curtain in the Ravenclaw Dormitories, tickling the nose of one Evalyn Wong as she slept on a bed near to the window. Feeling the wind upon her nose caused her to stir, first twitching her nose and then slowly opening her eyes. It was early in the morning, and a day like any other with classes on the horizon and perhaps, if time allows, some studying in the library or common room. With a tiny yawn Evalyn rose from her bed and rolled her body over to a sitting position with her bare legs dangling over the bed's side. Still having not shaken off the throes of sleep entirely she cast her gaze across the room to observe the other occupants of the space still fast asleep and at peace. Smiling softly, she lifted herself to a stand and quietly patted down the sides of her night gown as she made her way over towards the towering wardrobes against the wall. Each girl had a bed, a trunk, and a wardrobe in their dorms to store their belongings, of which Evalyn's were quite empty compared to others. She had few belongings to her name and even fewer that remained consistently in her possession, a fact made heavily apparent when she cracked open her wardrobe and looked inside.
Evalyn didn't have many clothes to begin with, but still others saw fit to "borrow" what little she did have whenever they pleased. A few skirts were missing, her long socks and all but one blouse, which made it fairly simple for her to choose today's attire. "Be at peace." Whispered the young girl whilst plucking a skirt from its hanger and slipping her legs into it and pulling it up to her hips. "Day is young." Her sole remaining blouse was plucked from its hanger and quickly buttoned up, and all that was left was the uniform robe stuffed carelessly into the bin normally reserved for umbrellas. To this Evalyn gave out a heavy sigh, her deep brown eyes tracing along the robe's length as she tugged it free and saw the numerous stains upon it. Someone seemed to have used her robe as a tablecloth or perhaps a rag, for still-glistening blue ink stained the fine black fabric and many creases could be seen across her robe. Its shabby state didn't stop Evalyn from putting it on however, and then she was off without even bothering to check if her shoes were there today. A quick trip to the dormitory washroom allowed her a few moments to straighten her hair and brush her teeth, which by the time she finished other souls in the dorms started to wake up for the day.
Drifting along like a specter, Evalyn remained scarcely noticed by other Ravenclaws beginning their days. Her slow, deliberate footsteps made not a noise while Evalyn walked down the spiraling stairs and out through the common room's door. Out in Ravenclaw Tower proper and no longer walking on carpet the stone floor was cold against her feet, sending a shiver up the length of her leg and stopping only when Evalyn clenched her fist and began to walk again. Once she was moving her hand would loosen again and retreat into the depths of her sleeves to find refuge away from the chill. Defense Against the Dark Arts would be the first class of the day for Evalyn, her first one for that matter considering the strange circumstances concerning her enrollment to Hogwarts. A few more paces and the DADA tower with its rich greens and lovely dark wood trimming came into view, with the tall spire of the astronomy tower jutting prominently out at the top. After taking a few seconds to take in the view she hastened her pace across the cold stone bridge and into the DADA tower, shutting the door and the cold out behind her as she stepped inside. It was much warmer in here than where she was before, courtesy of many atmospheric charms and the more mundane charms of the fireplaces set near the lounging areas. There was still some time before class started, more than enough time for some light reading by a fire and a cup of fresh tea.
"You what?!" The large doors on the lower level slammed open and let in the breeze along with a gaggle of students with whom two stood out at the fore. One, a tall Gryffindor boy with a frustration etched onto his features and hair nearly to match the redness of his cheeks; the other a Slytherin cocksure expression and light, mocking eyes. "You think you're so hot? Let's see who is the better duelist." Declared the Gryffindor, whose name as far as Evalyn was sure was Leander. "Ha!" Chuckled his rival, picking up speed and ascending the stairs to cross in front of Leander. "You couldn't duel your way out of a puffskein nest let alone match me." He added, waving away his opponent as he hurried along into Professor Hecat's classroom. "Get back here! You won't be running from this one!" A fuming Leander said through his teeth, now running at a sprint after the Slytherin boy into the classroom as well. It wouldn't be long until the remaining crowd all filed into the room after the two, voices abuzz about an imminent fight among other chatter. Seeing this, Evalyn left her tea and tucked her book beneath her arm and proceeded into the classroom as well with a gloomy sigh.
Upon entry Evalyn was immediately treated with a sparking red trail zipping past her face, missing her ear by mere centimeters and fizzling against the wall beside her. Her attention then turned to the origin of that blast, and there in the center of the room stood the two boys from before engaged in a pitched battle of wands and words. Stupefys flew to and fro throughout the room, more than once forcing a student or two to duck or dive out of the way while the two fought on. As his opponent deflected another one of his attacks Leander slid his foot forward and let loose a bellow of sound and fire, only for his opponent to lazily lift his wand and nullify the gout of flame against a shimmering blue barrier. "Is that all you've got?" The Slytherin lad replied with a grin, now flicking his wand toward his opponent without missing a beat. "Bombarda!" With a sudden yelp Leander lifted his wand and conjured his own blue barrier, causing the ball of force launched from his opponent's wand to careen upward... Striking the skeletal figure above them and sending the skull on a collision course right to where Leander stood.
"Leviso!"
Shouted a wizened, but austere feminine voice from above, and before the skull might have crushed poor Leander it was stopped in midair to the surprise of all in the room. "Perhaps you'd be good enough to blast each other to pieces on your own time." She continued, striding into the room with an easy confidence and a wand held aloft, ostensibly controlling the skull. "I get new students every year, but I only have one Hebridian Black skull." This was Professor Hecat, Hogwart's very own Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, known to be a skilled and powerful witch even in her old age. As she carried on to admonish the boys as well as explain the origins of that skull, Evalyn couldn't help but look around the room to gaze upon the other curios and trophies of Hecat's career. The inquisitive Ravenclaw wouldn't receive much of a chance to look around however, as the professor was quick to restore order and set the students on their first task; casting that very spell she used to stop the dragon skull's descent. The spell's name could be heard in chorus about the classroom, with students swishing and flicking their wands about to lift a feather set before them. For Evalyn's part she succeeded immediately, surprising even herself with how fluid and natural the motion seemed to be.
"Very good!" the professor said with a smile, having noticed Evalyn's handiwork and already beginning to arrange the next lesson. "But the best way to practice, is by dueling." At this Evalyn lifted a brow, slightly hardening her gaze and approaching the center with the other students while her teacher pushed away the desks and chairs with a flourish of her wand. "We'll start with you two, duelists- take your marks!" Hecat commanded with a nod at both Evalyn and the boy from Slytherin who had earlier been dueling Mr Prewitt. To that the boy turned her gaze to Evalyn, noticing her for the first time and passing her by with that same cocksure look on his face from before. "Time for a proper Hogwarts welcome" the boy said with a chuckle, assuming a spot several paces away and then turning to face his shabby-looking opponent. Both drew their wands and assumed their stances, both wildly different from one another's but united through their competitive gazes. Neither student would be able to get a spell off before Hecat once again interjected by means of lifting the very floor beneath them to form a narrow stage for them to duel atop.
"You may begin."
Her opponent fired first, pointing his wand squarely at Evalyn's face and sending forth a shimmering crimson bolt of magic. As fast as the Slytherin had struck so did Evalyn evade, pivoting on her bare heel to let the blast fire harmlessly into a wall. Three more blasts erupted from the boy's wand, and three more times Evalyn danced around their effects without pause. On her third pirouette Evalyn suddenly lunged forward, now sending her own burst of magic towards the opponent, who lifted his wand much the same way he had with Leander to conjure a shimmering globe of force about his person. This was exactly what Evalyn was waiting for, her wand already going through the motions for the very spell she had just learned. The shield shattered immediately, and having not expected the attack her foe was made subject to Levioso's effects. "Gah!" He exclaimed as he was lifted into the air, only able to watch helplessly as Evalyn lowered her wand and emitted a stupefy from its tip that struck him squarely in the chest and sent him careening over the stage's edge. With that Evalyn had won the duel, flourishing her wand to shake off residual sparks before returning it to her ink-stained pocket. The floor was lowered and Evalyn began to step forward, but found herself stopped by her opponent who now towered in front of her.
"Heh," he began with a smile and a nod. "Not bad for a beginner. You give as good as you get." Evalyn offered the boy a wry smile as he passed her by, returning to the crowd of students while the duel's victor approached the teacher. "Well done, well done. I put you on the spot and you rose to the challenge. Points to Ravenclaw!" Exclaimed the aged woman, a playful light dancing in her eyes which shot a quick glance at the Slytherin before returning to Evalyn. "Mr Sallow is a talented duelist, if you wish to practice more perhaps he will have some ideas for you." With a wave of her hand she dismissed both Evalyn and her class, for the day's lesson was over and now would begin a period of free time before the next class would begin. Maybe now would be a good time to go get that tea...