Unspeakables; Rule One

Chapter Eleven: When the Skeleton in Your Closet Crawls Onto Your Ceiling

The first thing Celeste heard upon climbing the stairs to the defense against the dark arts room was a roaring sound of multiple students chattering excitedly. Then came the distinct sounds of spells bouncing off of protective charms and landing on the objects near it. As she took her last steps up and rounded the corner into the entryway, she assumed she would find students practicing various spell works for another hour of review. She could've stopped at the door, surprised by the chaos of an aggressive duel, but that was not what had her paralyzed in place: staring up.

Her eyes were locked on the reconstructed skeleton of a massive creature strung above and secured to the ceiling.

A dragon.

She tried to pass off the shiver as multiple people noted her presence. She did not note theirs.

Celeste hadn't realized during the attack, but now it was obvious as she studied the hanging remains. The rogue dragon had the sides of its skull fashioned with the same protruding horns as the skeleton in front of her. It was the same species.

I guess I hadn't realized the horns because I was a little too preoccupied with not becoming the toasted marshmallow between a Fig and Osric s'more sandwich; thank you very much.

She was knocked out of thought by a spell whirling towards her; she moved her body just in time, stepping to the left as if she was merely shifting out of the way for someone. She watched the hex leave a mark on the stone behind her and settled in, leaning next to it with her arms crossed.

The duelists at hand had not noticed their spells being dodged by the multiple onlookers, some in various states of uniform. Celeste scouted out the crowd and spotted Ominis, displeased and shaking his head, and then she found Imelda cupping her hands around her mouth and cheering on one of the contenders. Priscilla had her eyebrows furrowed, but it was Samantha's voice, cheering as she entered through the classroom door next to Celeste, that made her realize the two male duelists putting on this show were actually intending to be destructive to each other instead of using this moment for friendly practice.

This duel was rooted in anger.

The redheaded one was lean, medium height, and perhaps a bit lanky, but overall, he was throwing out some decent spells. He kept himself in a crouch, causing the bottom of his robes to get underfoot. It told Celeste two things. For one, he was quick. In fact, it was his biggest strength, but he wasn't utilizing it. If he kept a firmer wrist, stopped bending his knees so much, and focused on his speed, he'd do better than he currently was. Second of all, he was going to lose as he most definitely picked a fight with the wrong person.

The one who had the upper hand in all of this had his back towards her. She observed his footwork, the patterns of his wand movements, and the strength that flared through the muscles of his forearm as he continued to lay more spells on his opponent. His robes were off, the sleeves of his white button-up rolled neatly to stay out of the way, but the bottom of his shirt was half untucked, and his green tie seemed loose from the back. He was fluid and yet perfectly still. His technique was flawless.

This guy was undoubtedly the better duelist, on par with some of the best Celeste had met. It was, unfortunately, easy to confirm that this was Sebastian Sallow and his greatest supporter was Samantha Dale. Who was standing near Celeste by the entrance and blowing out her eardrum.

"Finish it, Sebastian!" She yelled.

He turned his head, and Celeste caught the gleam in his eye as he sent a smile to the Ravenclaw girl. The other boy took advantage of Sebastian's lack of focus and fired three spells, but he blocked them effortlessly.

"Is that all you got, Leander?" He laughed. "Bombarda M-!"

Sebastian's mouth had definitely started to form the word Maxima, but he quickly stifled it and let the kinder version of the explosive spell out. The shocks of it wafted through the air. There was a moment of silence. Then everyone watched as the horned skull of the dragon above dislodged and came careening down, aiming for Leander's head.