Lesson 3: Famous Duelists
Every duelist needs a role model to look up to. Or something like that. In this lesson, we are going to talk about four of the most well-known duelists in the wizarding world.
We'll start with the wizard who is probably the most famous: Harry Potter. So let’s get some basic information about Mr. Potter. Harry was born on July 31st of 1980. His parents were killed by Voldemort, blah, blah, blah. We all know that story, so let’s move on to his dueling. It may be hard to think of baby Harry's encounter with Voldemort as a duel, but that introduction to battle at such a young age, as well as the consequences it brought about, made his chances of surviving a duel much much greater. He continues to gain experience as a young student when he faces Voldemort in his first year, and becomes the Gryffindor Dueling Champion in his second year. At the end of his fourth year, he fights Voldemort in a more duel-like situation, again finding success. Then, as the teacher for Dumbledore’s army, he taught students how to defend themselves against dark objects or people. And of course, once Voldemort made his final attempt to take over, Harry found himself in many duels, ultimately surviving them all. But what about Harry makes him a great duelist? Was it pure luck? Surviving by accident? Maybe. He did have a few talents, including the ability to cast spells without a wand and a better-than-average skill at defending against the imperius curse. And Harry's preference for the spell "Expelliarmus," which may seem like a simple spell, gave him the opportunity to catch his opponents off guard and start things off his way from the beginning.
Another great duelist is Professor Filius Flitwick. Rumor has it that Professor Flitwick was also a great dueling champion while he spent his time at Hogwarts. One trait that makes Flitwick a remarkable duelist is his size. Many people would overlook this, or think that a small wizard would have a harder time in a duel, but Flitwick's size is a great advantage to him. With being of such a short stature, he is a smaller target for his opponent. So yes, in this instance size does matter. Being small makes it harder for your opponent to hit you, which is why Flitwick would be such a difficult opponent. And don’t put it past this Charms Professor to kill someone. At the battle of Hogwarts, Flitwick bravely battled death eaters Yaxley and Dolohov, and being the great duelist he is, he survived, and, as many believe, even killed Dolohov in the process.
Albus Dumbledore. Born in 1881, Dumbledore is one of the most accomplished wizards of all time. He has earned countless awards, including The Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting, and The Gold Medal for Ground-Breaking Contribution to the International Alchemical Conference in Cairo. While Dumbledore is known for his years of teaching transfiguration and serving as the beloved Hogwarts headmaster, he also gained much fame for his duel against Gellert Grindelwald. Dumbledore has a lot of talents that allow him to succeed in duels. Owning the elder wand surely gives him an advantage, and his ability to perform spells without use of a wand also makes him rise above other wizards. The duel against Grindelwald took place in 1945. Although there is not much detail known of the duel, Dumbledore won, giving him possession of the elder wand. This means that he was able to defeat Grindelwald without use of this wand, proving just how skillful of a wizard he was.
Lord Voldemort. Although Voldemort did not have the best intentions, we can't deny that he was a very talented wizard. In fact, Dumbledore once said "He was one of the most brilliant students Hogwarts has ever seen." You may be familiar with his Award for Special Services to the School or his Medal for Magical Merit, and those were only some of his accomplishments. Unfortunately, he quickly embarks on his evil quest for power, killing more people than Ryan can count. Naturally, any time one of his victums fights back, Voldemort finds himself in a duel. He finds success in almost everything except his duels with Harry Potter. We know that Harry first had the advantage of the protection from his mother, but later on, the wands become very important. Through the connection between the twin cores, Harry, though he cannot claim victory, is able to escape Voldemort. Perhaps it it Voldemort's lack of humanity that causes him to constantly fail against the younger, less experienced, but far more noble Harry Potter.
Of course, these are just some of the most famous duelists in the wizarding world. Many more skilled wizards, such as members of the Order of the Phoenix, or even the Death Eaters have fought in important duels. We're not going to cover all of those in this lesson, but you can always look them up if you want to learn more!
On to the homework!
We'll start with the wizard who is probably the most famous: Harry Potter. So let’s get some basic information about Mr. Potter. Harry was born on July 31st of 1980. His parents were killed by Voldemort, blah, blah, blah. We all know that story, so let’s move on to his dueling. It may be hard to think of baby Harry's encounter with Voldemort as a duel, but that introduction to battle at such a young age, as well as the consequences it brought about, made his chances of surviving a duel much much greater. He continues to gain experience as a young student when he faces Voldemort in his first year, and becomes the Gryffindor Dueling Champion in his second year. At the end of his fourth year, he fights Voldemort in a more duel-like situation, again finding success. Then, as the teacher for Dumbledore’s army, he taught students how to defend themselves against dark objects or people. And of course, once Voldemort made his final attempt to take over, Harry found himself in many duels, ultimately surviving them all. But what about Harry makes him a great duelist? Was it pure luck? Surviving by accident? Maybe. He did have a few talents, including the ability to cast spells without a wand and a better-than-average skill at defending against the imperius curse. And Harry's preference for the spell "Expelliarmus," which may seem like a simple spell, gave him the opportunity to catch his opponents off guard and start things off his way from the beginning.
Another great duelist is Professor Filius Flitwick. Rumor has it that Professor Flitwick was also a great dueling champion while he spent his time at Hogwarts. One trait that makes Flitwick a remarkable duelist is his size. Many people would overlook this, or think that a small wizard would have a harder time in a duel, but Flitwick's size is a great advantage to him. With being of such a short stature, he is a smaller target for his opponent. So yes, in this instance size does matter. Being small makes it harder for your opponent to hit you, which is why Flitwick would be such a difficult opponent. And don’t put it past this Charms Professor to kill someone. At the battle of Hogwarts, Flitwick bravely battled death eaters Yaxley and Dolohov, and being the great duelist he is, he survived, and, as many believe, even killed Dolohov in the process.
Albus Dumbledore. Born in 1881, Dumbledore is one of the most accomplished wizards of all time. He has earned countless awards, including The Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting, and The Gold Medal for Ground-Breaking Contribution to the International Alchemical Conference in Cairo. While Dumbledore is known for his years of teaching transfiguration and serving as the beloved Hogwarts headmaster, he also gained much fame for his duel against Gellert Grindelwald. Dumbledore has a lot of talents that allow him to succeed in duels. Owning the elder wand surely gives him an advantage, and his ability to perform spells without use of a wand also makes him rise above other wizards. The duel against Grindelwald took place in 1945. Although there is not much detail known of the duel, Dumbledore won, giving him possession of the elder wand. This means that he was able to defeat Grindelwald without use of this wand, proving just how skillful of a wizard he was.
Lord Voldemort. Although Voldemort did not have the best intentions, we can't deny that he was a very talented wizard. In fact, Dumbledore once said "He was one of the most brilliant students Hogwarts has ever seen." You may be familiar with his Award for Special Services to the School or his Medal for Magical Merit, and those were only some of his accomplishments. Unfortunately, he quickly embarks on his evil quest for power, killing more people than Ryan can count. Naturally, any time one of his victums fights back, Voldemort finds himself in a duel. He finds success in almost everything except his duels with Harry Potter. We know that Harry first had the advantage of the protection from his mother, but later on, the wands become very important. Through the connection between the twin cores, Harry, though he cannot claim victory, is able to escape Voldemort. Perhaps it it Voldemort's lack of humanity that causes him to constantly fail against the younger, less experienced, but far more noble Harry Potter.
Of course, these are just some of the most famous duelists in the wizarding world. Many more skilled wizards, such as members of the Order of the Phoenix, or even the Death Eaters have fought in important duels. We're not going to cover all of those in this lesson, but you can always look them up if you want to learn more!
On to the homework!