Grounds

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The grounds are flat, short-cut grassy areas and are located near the Herbology greenhouses. It is overlooked by the Training Grounds Tower and the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower.

The night was devoid of clouds and the moonlight shined upon the training grounds, illuminating the entire area as if it wasn’t night at all. Taking the beauty of the scene, as he often would enjoy it, Cade slowly walked on the grass plains. It was forbidden for students to be outside this late at night, but for him being spotted would not be a problem at all. He had burrowed a very special item from her girlfriend: the cloak of invisibility. He had fashioned it on top of him properly so that it covered his entire body. He was also moving slowly, as if to not leave any tracks behind him. Though he was only about to find out that none of his precautions mattered to a certain person. The winds blew over the fields, as the atmosphere got heavier. There was a throbbing feeling that encapsulated the very being of the Gryffindor student; he knew that somebody was watching him up close. And his suspicions were soon confirmed when he saw a transparent layer form above him. He would try to escape from being surrounded by it, but the glowing edges of the transparent dome advanced faster than he could keep up.

Narrowing his eyes, the young lad slowly grabbed his wand. The spell that had circled him was Protego Totalum, though the slightly yellowish tint it had suggested that it had been cast with other enchantments. The caster of the spell knew what he was doing for sure, and they were pretty good at it too. Instead of continuing to walk with more caution, Cade decided to not move at all. He halted completely and waited for the caster of the spell to make his appearance. Was he afraid? Not at all. He wasn’t placed in the house of the brave and courageous for nothing. If anything he was curious to find out what would happen next. And luckily enough it wouldn’t take long to do so. As the lad was examining his surroundings, a condensed ball of flames quickly advanced towards him. At this point Cade jumped to his side and dodged, though his movements caused the Cloak of Invisibility to be wrapped around his neck like he was wearing a cape. He adjusted it quickly to give his arms more freedom, before glancing at the direction the spell had come from. He saw a man’s figure. Though it looked similar, the moonlight was hitting him from his back, leaving the mysterious figure’s face obscure.

The man started run all of a sudden, but not directly towards Cade. He started to circle towards him, and as a response the boy did the same. As they started to move across each other, the man shot several sparks of orange colored energy aimed at the ginger wizard, who deflected them all. Though this wasn’t the end of it. The man cast a wide wave of flames, prompting the young wizard to use Aquamenti. As a stream of water shot out from the tip of his wand, Cade aimed it towards the middle and forced himself through the wave. He felt the temperature of the air rise around him, yet luckily he was unburned. The water from his wand hitting the flames had created a thin layer of mist around him, and the boy decided to use this to his advantage. “Expulso!” he thought as he aimed his wand at his target. Several bursts of blue energy flew towards the man and bombarded him with great force. This was it. Cade had gotten him off guard. Or at least that was what he thought. He realized how wrong he was until he noticed a shift of air behind him.

A bright, almost blinding light of lightning rushed towards him from his back. And at the last second he reacted by turning around while moving his right arm over his head and swinging it as hard as he could, unleashing a scarlet spark that would meet the blue jet of energy. The winds blew towards the Gryffindor student, as he grabbed the Cloak with his left hand so its grip wouldn’t be loosened. As Cade’s Disarming Charm connected, several bolts of lightning were unleashed in random directions from the collision. The boy knew better than anyone that the Disarming Charm was a core element of dueling. It would allow the duelist to rebound an opponent’s spell, leaving the latter open for further attacks. That was his plan, but there was one problem. The mysterious figure was stronger than him, and he was pushing Cade’s spell back. There was only one way to escape: to convert his Expelliarmus into something else. As the connected part of the two spells slowly moved towards the boy, indicating that he was being overpowered, he suddenly tilted his body to his left and jumped. The opposing spell flew right past him, as he quickly landed and caught the view of the mysterious figure. “I got you now!”

Aiming his wand at the man, Cade’s eyes widened with excitement as a fiery orange blast left his wand and zoomed in towards his target. “Confringo!” he exclaimed with excitement, knowing he had just cast his strongest spell. A curse designed for maximum power that could even prove fatal if hit. And it did. The spell suddenly burst into a powerful explosion and engulfed the man in its flames. Or once again, that’s how it seemed to him. “Stupefy!” From within the flames, a familiar voice arose. Cade was suddenly hit by a simple yet strong Stupefy and sent flying. Once he hit the ground, and uncontrollably rolled around on the ground until he slowly stopped. Grunting and panting in pain, he lifted himself up a bit and straightened his back. He wasn’t trying to defend himself or fight back anymore. He knew the fight was over, and so did the man. “You have gotten better, but you still have a ways to go.” he said as he walked over while placing his wand inside his suit’s pocket. Chuckling at the comment, the boy looked up to the man, finally able to see his facial features. “It’s so you to attack unannounced like that, father.” he replied. His father extended his hand to help him get up, though the serious expression his face didn’t disappear for a moment.

“That’s how it happens out there, Cade. It would be naïve to expect your opponent to honor the formalities.” continued Colin. He knew that his son was also interested in the career of an Auror, and if he was determined to be one it would be better for him to get used to unfair fights like these. “Anyway… what are you doing here?” asked the boy as his father let him go. He dusted the Cloak of Invisibility; it had flown several meters away from him after he had hit the ground. But luckily it was standing inside out so he had been able to spot it. “The headmaster requested help from the Ministry concerning the Dark Lord. He suspects Hogwarts might be attacked.” said Colin bluntly, leaving the boy baffled for a moment. “Wow. Never thought things would get that serious.” said Cade in a joking manner. He thought maybe that would help to lighten up the mood, but with his father it just had the opposite effect. “Doesn’t matter what you think, Cade. Now that we have had a little… training session, it’s better that you return to your dorm. It’s not safe to be lurking around here at night on your own.” Extending his arm for Cade to place his on top of it, Colin impatiently waited for a reply. In the end he got a simple, disappointed nod. Once the young Lion placed his hand on top of it, they would apparate inside the castle.