The Astronomy Tower

*She feels the change in the air around Parkinson, in the way she moves, even the way she breathes, and she knows what's coming. But she's not going to back down. Her hand drifts closer still to her wand, her fingertips near grazing the smooth wood. She smirks.*

I didn't need you doing me any favours, Parkinson. Don't kid yourself - what you did for Remus was for your own ends. You're nothing but bully and I'm not afraid of you.

[*runs up* Crucio! *runs off*]

*creeper is creeping*

"Not afraid?" Pansy smirked as the wind picked up, tossing her hair across her face. In one movement, she brushed her hair back and pulled out her wand, pressing it to Granger's neck. "We can fix that. Incarcerous!"

*Her wand was in her hand the moment she spotted Parkinson's out. She stumbles as the cords wrap around her neck and her wand swishes.*

Stupefy!

*Her throat is constricted by the cords and the spell doesn't have much strength behind it, but it buys her a second to turn her wand to the binding*

Diffindo!

*The cords fall away and she moves to the side a little getting her back away from the wall and falling into a defensive stance, her eyes burning with outrage.*

Pansy watched the ropes shoot out of her wand, but in the next instant she'd been knocked backwards, catching herself on the stone floor. She stood up again and shook her head. Pansy practically snarled at her. She flicks her wand toward Hermione, not caring if the spell hits her or the walls and floor behind her. "Reducto!" Her eyes stayed wide with excitement, glinting in the light as her pupils widened.

[Go Mum! Go Jedi Master Pansy!]

*Hermione's knocked to the ground, her leg trapped under a little avalanche of stone as the wall behind her is exploded from the force of Pansy's curse. She hisses in pain, feeling the skin of her shin tear - that's going to leave a bruise, probably lucky the bone's not crushed. She fires a Conjunctivitus Curse back at Pansy and kicks the stones from her leg and scrambles back to her feet, finding herself backed towards the exit. Her leg burns with pain, but she pushes it aside - it's not going to kill her.*

[Dee.... if you're on your Ipod touch then download the skype app]

[I did. It was extremely slow.]

"Hell!" Pansy shouted, feeling something hit her right eye. It was a burning sensation, itching like no other, but she ignored it. It wasn't a big deal. She turned back around, slashing her arm out toward Hermione, "Diffindo! Densaugeo!" She didn't wait to see effects of one spell before shooting another, taking a step closer after each spell was cast. "Incendio!" She drew a line of fire behind the Gryffindor, flames rocketing into the sky. Her lips curled at the corners, the fire reflected in her gaze, and she laughed coldly, taking calm steps forward.

*Hermione bites back a swear word as the curses fall either side of her, just barely missing her by sheer luck more than her ability to dodge. The wall of flames flares up behind her, driving her forwards, far closer to her adversary than she'd ever hoped to be.*

Expulso!

*She screams in an attempt to drive the Slytherin backwards*

The spell struck the ground at her feet, sending up bits of stone. She threw her arms up in front of her face, taking most of the hit on her forearms. Once the pieces stopped flying, she leaped forward again, pointing her wand at Granger's face. "Obscuro!" She pivoted and slashed with her wand again, driving the flames higher, hotter.

Evanesco!

*Hermione vanishes the blindfold that appears over her eyes, but the instinctive step she takes away from Parkinson drives her back towards the flames, she feels them licking at her back, and sweat begins to roll down her.*

Locomotor Mortis! Expelliarmus!

Fleur runs into the Astronomy Tower in the midst of this heated spellcasting duel and points in slow motion at the Blue's Clue on the wall. She yells out over the roar of the destruction, "LOOK! A CLUE!" She turns and makes a dramatic gasping face, "LET'S PUT THIS IN OUR HANDY DANDY NOTEBOOK!" And then she runs out.


[]

[FLEUR I LOVE YOU!!!!!!]

[Fleur, I love you, hahahaha]

Though she managed to leap out of the way of the first spell, the second caught her off guard and sent her wand flying from her hand. After a momentary heart attack of fearing it would fly over the wall and down to the grounds below, she sighed with relief as it struck a lower wall and bounced to the ground. She looked over her shoulder momentarily, her eyes wide with unreasonable excitement, as she dashed after her wand, tumbling to the ground after it, grabbing it and rolling into a half-crouched position, her wand out in front of her once again. "Deprimo!" The wind whips up, tugging wildly at the flames and spreading them across the top of the tower. "Furnuculus!" She jumped up, hurrying forward again. She wasn't one to retreat unless she had to. She would stay on the offensive. "Impedimentia!" She longed to use the unforgivables, to test it out again. She wondered if it would be just as irrationally enjoyable as it had been the times before. She knew she'd have to try it again and find out.

*Hermione, distracted momentarily by the wind whipping the flames to fever pitch behind her, screams in pain as boils erupt over her. She drops and rolls, and the Impedimenta soars over her head. She fires off the first thing that comes to mind, a Jellylegs Jinx, and pulls herself to her feet once more, refusing to lay down despite the pain.*

Pansy felt her legs go numb beneath her, and she spills to the ground, finding them useless. She sits on the ground, her wand pointed directly at Granger. With all the fury and anticipation within her, she finally shouts. "CRUCIO!!" Her eyes glitter as she realizes it's true, it really is a great feeling. Though the thought scares her for a moment, she brushes it away, ignoring all else for the absolute power she feels while performing the curse. She manages a soft laugh, watching the Gryffindor crumble. She is torn between using the counter-curse on herself and continuing the curse on Granger, but decides on the latter, enjoying the feeling far too much to stop it just yet. As her rage grew, the flames grew, and the wind picked up at the top of the tower, lighting it up like a torch above the castle.

*Hermione drops like a stone under the effects of the Crucio, her body spasming, feeling as if fire is burning through her veins and thousands of knives are plunging into every inch of her. She bites her lip, refusing to let out a scream despite the tears now streaming down her face. It feels like it'll go on forever, like she'll be lost to madness, but finally, after what seems like an eternity, Parkinson's control slips and she's freed from the curse. She gasps and rolls over, half mad with pain, acting on blind instinct. She rolls towards the Slytherin and, wand forgotten, lashes out like a wild animal, catching her in the square in the nose with her fist, hearing the sick crunch of the breaking bones. She finds her feet, just barely, and staggers, stumbling back towards the flames. She can barely see anything, barely register anything beyond the pain, and she knows she's fighting a losing battle against unconsciousness.*

Pansy watched as Granger escaped the curse, rolling toward her. In an instant, her head was jarred backwards, warm liquid making its way down her face. She shrieked in a momentary pain and removed the jelly-legs jinx from herself, straightening up where she sat. "Fighting like a muggle. Typical, Granger. Typical," she spat, jumping up quickly and advancing on the girl. She left her wand gripped in her fingers by her side, striking out with her right leg instead. Making contact, Pansy sent the girl tumbling over backwards, almost shocked to hear her own laugh ringing out above the deafening crackle of flames. Revenge was so damn sweet.

*Hermione doesn't even know where the blow comes from, but she hears a loud cackle of laughter right before the ringing in her ears overrides all other senses. She falls backwards, engulfed in flames, but the searing burns last only a moment and then she's falling, tumbling down the stairs of the Astronomy tower, feeling bones break and skin tear. It feels like she's going to fall forever, and then she stops suddenly, her head slamming into solid stone. She blacks out, crumpled in a broken heap at the base of the stairs to the Astronomy tower.*

Pansy stood at the top of the tower, on the side of the wall of flames opposite where Granger just disappeared. She tries to catch her breath, to calm her racing heart that she just noticed was quite out of control. Her hands were shaking, barely holding her wand anymore. She blinked, wincing as her eye stung, surveying the damage. There were pits in the ground and much of it was still on fire. She wondered what it would look like from afar, the highest tower of Hogwarts ablaze. It would almost be beautiful, if it weren't so destructive. Her hair was all over the place by now, from both the fight and the wicked winds. She whipped her wand across the room, trying to lower the flames and give her a place to leave. She wiped off her face with the back of her hand, eventually giving up on getting the blood off. When she had a clear path to the stairs, she headed toward them, taking last smirking glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the depths of the castle, headed for the dungeons.