Dueling in the light of day
or a well lit area is straightforward, but what does one do when someone turns
out the lights?

The experience of dueling in
the dark is very different from dueling when everything around you is fully
visible. There are many obstacles a caster must consider when dueling in the
dark. While the caster gains cover from the darkness, so does the opponent. The
most extensive knowledge of spells is no good if a caster cannot find his or
her target. The purpose of this section is to ready students for different
complications that may arise should they find themselves dueling at night or in
the dark. Practiced preparation for these circumstances
allows the caster to have in mind the issues that may arise.

Locating Opponent & Aiming Spells

First and foremost, a caster
needs to be able to locate his or her opponent in the field of the duel. Even a
well cast spell can have no effect if its target is not in the vicinity of the
direction it is aimed. This portion of the section gives a few tips on how to
find and target an opponent without the help of sight.

The most obvious way of
locating the opponent is to produce some source of light. A quick scan of the
room with Lumos or the production of some simple Bluebell Flames can provide
enough light to find the opponent. The most obvious disadvantage to this
technique is that any production of light will signal the opponent to the
caster’s location. In some situations, retaining the cover provided by the
darkness would be a more advantageous choice for a witch or wizard. Likewise,
one should keep an eye out for any light that the opponent might cast.