Goodbye to Our Beloved Headmaster

When it came to the first match, I was very eager to see as to how things would turn out. My heart was pounding with excitement to see our two Head Girls going against each other! Both of them were so very well matched that it was too close to call! Due to this, Memrah called for a rematch. The rematch was just as exciting too! It almost seemed as if the two of them didn’t want to cause harm to each other. Both of them held their own very well, but they knew that only one of them could be the victor. In the end, Disa rose victorious with her Disa-strous puns! The two of them were carried off yet again to the Hospital Wing, however, I was able to get some insight from both Anne and Disa about their thoughts on the match prior to it, after it, and the rematch.

Here is what Anne had to say before the duel began: “Starting out what was my last year at Hogwarts, I knew that I wanted to go out with a bang. Of course, what better way to do that than dueling. So I signed up, and due to my past experience, I got to sit out round one. I was able to watch a lot of the students and learn their tactics. As rounds went past, I faced many opponents, this resulted in many long stays in the Hospital Wing, where I had time to rest … and if the Healers were not watching, I was even able to do my homework! Dueling is a big adventure, it just can be painful as well! As the opponents narrowed down and I was declared a finalist for the Championship match, I was a bit anxious … now to see how it pans out!"

 

And here is some her thoughts on how the first duel went: "It was a grueling duel, rather pun-ishing. I heard many voices in my head, it was clear my opponent was a worthy opponent. I felt excitement mixed with a bit of trepidation going in, I knew my opponent was rather worthy, none of the spectators would be disa-ppointed. To that end, my prophecy was self-fulfilling, it was a grueling duel and we have another part tomorrow, I have been studying and centering my mind, in an attempt to counter whatever Disa throws my way. At the end of the day, the Anne-alysis will be quite interesting to read.”

We also had some final thoughts from Anne about the final match: “I had a blast and loved trying the different combinations. Disa was a ton of fun to play against and yeah … it was awesome. Just a great duel! Disa and I have dueled twice now (where a victor was determined), she won once and I won once.”

Now here is what Disa had to say prior to their first match: “The Blackthorn Cup finals were everything I expected and more! I absolutely loved that it was the two Head Students battling it off! I loved working with Annelise this year and getting closer to her, so ending off the year with a final showdown was just f-anne-tastic!"

And onto the her thoughts on both matches: “Both of the RTD final matches were really something! For the first time in RTD history, a live voice chat was occurring as the duels were occurring and it really added a new sort of excitement to hear reactions from my opponent, refs, and the spectators! I won’t disa-gree the voices could get distracting and throw me off my game, but at the end of the day, the benefits of listening to fellow mHers and speaking to them during such an intense duel made it all worth it! I’m super happy at how the addition of this new element added to the final and gave it even a more of a “real-time” feel to it! My opponent, Annelise, and I really gave it our all and used some really interesting spells in fantastic combinations that made each second of the ref, C’s typing seem utterly nerve-wracking! 

Now I sit here writing this, having fought in both duels and looking back at it, apart from my little debacles, there is nothing I would change. Actually scratch that, I’d leave in those mistakes I made in the first match, because the humour associated with it isn’t something I’d take away! Huge thanks to my opponent Anne, the referee, Christiana, and all who joined in on the fun. Oh and allow me to publicly apologize deeply to the Europeans who weren’t able to make it at that time because of me!”

All in all, the finals were filled with disa-ster causing casts as well as some amazing anne-tics and despite the final outcome, the experience of it all was nothing less of brili-anne-tly para-disa-l!