The dirty looks increased a day before the first challenge. The Daily Prophet had run an article about Esmeralda Lynx. She was being posthumously charged with helping Sirius Black in the murder of thirteen people almost eighteen years prior. I had read the article. It was just another big load of bull.

I slept horribly the night before the first challenge. The three champions were brought to a tent outside the Forbidden Forest after breakfast. Stands were set up along the outside. There were three stalls in the tent with a sitting area. I had on a silver sweat suit. My hair was pulled back in a braid and I was wearing a silver headband. I twirled my wand nervously until Headmaster McGonagall entered the tent.

"In the first challenge," she said, "you will have to face three monsters scattered throughout the forest. They consist of a Boggart, a banshee and a troll. You will all be given three hours each to either capture or kill the three monsters."

Oscar and Ginny did not seem intimidated by the revelation of what the first challenge was. Had they known? That would give them more of an advantage than me. Who had told them? And why had no one told me? Was it because I was in the tournament and only fourteen?

"The first champion to participate is…" Headmaster McGonagall called from a stand. We could hear her inside the tent. "Ginny Weasley!"

Ginny took a deep breath before leaving the tent. I sat on the chair in the Beaxbaton stall. I kept spinning my wand. I took a few sips of water every now and then. Two hours later a cheer went up outside.

"The next champion to participate is…Rory Lynx!"

I opened the tent flap. I gripped my wand as I walked into the forest. I followed a dirt path for about ten minutes. Even in midday it was dark in the forest. I lit my wand tip. I looked around cautiously. My wand was not giving off as much light as I wanted. I made the ball of light bigger. It hovered in front of me as I walked. I came to a fork in the path. I decided to take the left path. I started down it.

The ground began to shake. I looked around nervously. I knew it was the troll. I heard trees rustle to my right. I faced that way. The ground continued to shake. I heard every footfall the troll took. I held up my wand. I tried to go through a list of spells in my head that I could use against him.

I was thrown into the air as a foot slammed the ground right behind me. I rolled over. The troll had come up behind me. I still heard rustling to the right. Whatever that was I would have to deal with it later. Right now I had bigger fish to fry.

That was it! I pointed my wand at the troll's wooden club. "Incendio," I shouted. His club let on fire. He was too stupid to drop it so he just started swinging it around. That was so going to make the centaurs angry. I pointed my wand at the flames again. "Folluis Maximus!" Some strings of flames from the burning club flew down to connect to my wand. I flicked my wrist forward. The flames wrapped around the troll's ankles. I did it again and again. The flames kept encircling him. Soon he was engulfed in flames. There was nothing he could do anymore. I kept walking on the path as his ashes fell to the ground.

The rustling to my right was still going on. Would it be best to wait for whatever that was to approach me or should I approach it? I had about two and a half hours left, but I also had one monster down. I would wait for it to approach me. It stopped a few minutes later anyway.

I heard a screeching sound ahead. It was the banshee. I walked forward cautiously. I came into a clearing. A young woman in all white was in the middle of the clearing. She was washing something in a pail of water. It was a bloody shirt. She began to moan loudly then started screaming and wailing.

I stepped forward. The banshee looked up at me quickly with black holes for eyes. I got a sick feeling in my stomach. She shrieked even louder than before. "Silencio," I said, more out of annoyance than anything else. The banshee was cut off. She looked at me angrily. She went back to her washing like I was not there. Why would I have to capture her or kill her? She did not really seem like a monster.

Suddenly she flew at me. I ducked. I felt a cold wind go across my back. I ran forward. I jumped over the pail of water. I turned. The banshee was coming back toward me. "Wingardium Leviosa!" I yelled. The large pail flew up. It hit the banshee in the face. She tried to scream but could not. She flew at me again. I tried to think of spells that would be good for killing a banshee. I had nothing.

She grabbed my shoulders. She flung me against a tree. She forced me to look in her black eyes. I saw all my friends and family dying as she washed their bloody clothes. I tore my eyes away. I kicked her back. I held my wand up. I had decided to risk casting the spell I had in mind. I had no idea what affect it would have on the banshee.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A white flash shot out of my wand. A wolf, my Patronus, ran at the banshee. It leaped at her, sinking its teeth into her neck. The banshee disappeared in a bright flash with a silent cry. My Patronus evaporated. Two monsters down, one to go.

I began walking again. I wondered what shape the Boggart would take. I looked around, trying to find it. I still had a couple hours left.

A half hour later I came to the end of the narrow path I had been following. I stepped off of it. I pushed branches out of my way as I walked deeper into the forest. I was careful to avoid any of the suspicious looking plants. You never know what those might do. They could eat you or start singing. Either way, it could be terrifying.

I heard a weird sound behind me. I turned. From the shadows a figure was appearing. I made my wand light bigger again so I could see what it was. Well, I knew it was the Boggart, but I did not know what shape it was going to take. Then the light showed on it. The Boggart was in the shape of a werewolf.

"Riddikulus!" I shouted shakily.

The Boggart howled. Nothing happened. It started forward. "Riddikulus!" I tried again. Still, nothing happened. I began to run. The Boggart followed behind me. My heart was going a mile a minute. I am deathly afraid of werewolves, in case that was not completely obvious.

I tripped over a rock jutting out of the ground. Are you kidding me? I jumped back up. The Boggart was right behind me. I wished I could run faster. I wished I could actually fight back against the Boggart without just my wand. It was totally worthless if I could not even cast a spell properly with it. I just wished I could have more power.

Extreme pain seared through my muscles and bones. I screamed as I fell to the ground. Even the Boggart was a little taken aback. I let go of my wand. I tried to stand up but was knocked down again by the pain. I knew the werewolf had not bitten me so what was going on? When the third wave of pain came, the worst one, I tried to scream again. Instead a loud bark came out.

I looked down. My hands had been replaced by light brown paws. I could hear the Boggart's every little breath as it got closer again. I spun quickly on all fours. I felt my tail move. My fur bristled. I was a wolf!

I ran at the Boggart. I pounced on it. I scratched at the Boggart's face. It began to bleed. It threw me off. I rolled back a couple times. I tried to get back into human form again. With a huge burst of pain I was on my hands and knees. The Boggart came forward. I snatched my wand up off the ground. My confidence had boosted immensely.

"Riddikulus!"

The Boggart turned into a Chihuahua. It tried to bark menacingly. I started cracking up. The Boggart exploded. I ducked as goo went flying over my head. I looked back at the tree it had splatted against. Poor elm.

I found my way back to the path. I began running along it to get out of the forest quicker. My light bobbed ahead of me to show me the way. I was almost to the end of the path when there was a weird sound nearby. I stopped. I walked off the path. I went around a couple trees. Mist rolled along the ground as I walked toward the noise. It got louder as I went around a thick tree.

A unicorn was lying on the ground. It had a large cut on its side. It was barely clinging to life. I walked over to it. It looked at me with bright blue eyes. It was crying. I sat next to it. I began to pet it. The unicorn closed its eyes. It rested its head on my lap. I looked at the cut more closely. It was too deep for me to do anything for it. By the time I reached anyone who could help it would be too late.

The unicorn wailed loudly. Its gold horn seemed to become duller. It put its head back down. I continued petting its mane for a few more minutes. Its chest slowly stopped moving. When it stopped moving altogether I gave the unicorn a final pat on the head. I got up and walked away. When I looked back the unicorn was gone.

I went down the path again. A loud cheer went up as I stepped out of the forest. Headmaster McGonagall led me to Madame Pomfrey, who gave me a quick check up while Oscar Ivorio headed into the forest. I only a few scratches, cuts, and bruises. Afterward I joined Ursula in the stands. Trudy was still in the hospital, but for a different reason now. She had a bad stomach bug that was going around.

"You have a better time than Ginny did," Ursula told me.

"And she had a broken arm," James added from her other side. "You look like you've only been on a pleasant hike."

"It was far from that," I said.

"Yeah, we saw some flames," Ursula said. "What did you do?"

"I burned the troll."

"What did you do for the banshee? And the Boggart?"

"I used my Patronus to kill the banshee and I, uh, just dealt with the Boggart the same way anyone else would."

Ursula looked at me skeptically. "I'll be expecting the truth later," she whispered.

I focused on the forest again. Every now and then I saw a tree branch sway or heard a distant sound. Oscar came out a little over an hour and a half later. He had the best time. I came in second and Ginny came in third. After the challenge was over everyone left the stands. Only a few people remained to talk with friends. I sat there alone, staring at the forest.

"Very few people can do that."

I looked to the side. Headmaster McGonagall was walking toward me. She sat next to me in the stands.

"I did not become a successful Animagus until after I left Hogwarts," she said.

"I didn't intend it," I said hastily. "It just happened."

"I know of another person who was a natural Animagus. Both her parents were Animaguses. Your mother was an Animagus."

"Yes, I know. She was a cat."

"Yes, she was." Headmaster McGonagall fixed her robes. "Your mother was a very bright student."

"Did you read the Daily Prophet?"

"Yes. Romulus came to speak to me after. He knew your mother was always one of my favorite students, even though I do not pick favorites. Between that and Aurora's arrest, I'm afraid the police and detectives working on some of these cases are no more than daft men with pot bellies."

"Did you ever think they are not doing it willingly?"

The headmaster looked at me. "Are you suggesting someone is trying to control the police crew?"

"And the judges."

"It would take far more than one person to cast an Imperius on the members of the court system."

"There are enough people out there who are against them."

"Them as in the court system or them as in your family?"

"The court system, obviously." I looked down at my shoes.

"But they seem to just be targeting people you or your family members are close to. Hilda Swarvosk, the chef, is being tried tomorrow for robbing a vault in Gringott's."

"She would never do that! She didn't do it!"

"I believe you. However, she will have to prove that to the judge and jury. And, if your inkling is correct, it will not matter. If the judge and jury are under the Imperius she will most likely be sent to Azkaban."

"So someone really is targeting me?"

"It seems so."

"Why? Who would do that? I don't have any enemies and neither does my uncle."

"Right now I suggest you don't worry about it. I will try to do some fact finding and will notify you if I find out anything."

"Thank you, headmaster." I got up. I was about to leave, but stopped. "There was a unicorn in the forest."

"That is not very shocking. There are at least a dozen."

"But it died."

Headmaster McGonagall stared at me. "It died?"

"Yes. I heard a noise and I found the unicorn dying. I stayed with it until it died."

"That was very kind of you. Did the injury look man made?"

"I don't know. It was just a deep gash."

"Thank you, Rory."

I went down the stands. Inside the Beaxbaton carriage a party was waiting for me. I washed and changed before joining it. I was hounded with questions about what the challenge was like and how I beat the monsters. I tried to answer them as best as I could. When I was asked about the Boggart I avoided telling anyone I had learned of my new ability. I wanted to talk to the Transfiguration professor, Professor Reynolds, before anything else. I could not find him so I decided to just wait.

Professor Indiga came up to me during the celebration. She was drinking a fire whiskey. She smiled at me. Her teeth were yellow.

"Nice job in the challenge today," she said. "I had to miss it to deal with personal matters, but I heard you did well."

"I guess," I said modestly.

"I'm guessing the Boggart was probably the hardest for you."

"Why would you guess that?"

"I know you have a terrible fear of werewolves. I heard Ursula telling Gertrude that you had nightmares about them."

"Oh, um, well-"

"And becoming an Animagus is never easy. Very painful, I'm told."

"How did you kn-"

She took a sip of her fire whiskey. "I'm not an idiotic old hag, that's how I know."

She walked away, chugging the rest of her fire whiskey. I was stunned for a second. How had she found out I was an Animagus? How did she know I had discovered it while fighting the Boggart? I chased after her into the entrance hall. I stepped in front of her.

"What were those personal matters you had to deal with?" I asked.

"They're personal matters, which means you don't have to know," she said.

I pointed my wand at her. "Tell me."

She grinned. "You can't do that."

"Really? Try me."

"You attack a teacher and you'll get expelled. If you get expelled you'll be out of the tournament. The consequences for somehow getting out of the Triwizard Tournament are worse than death."

"I love how you have this perfectly planned out." I put my wand away anyway. "I don't care if you're a teacher or not. I will find out what you're up to."

"Don't count on it, champion."

She waltzed away. I stormed up the stairs to my room. I slammed the door. Ursula jumped. I dived onto my bed. My book bag was open on the floor with homework I needed to finish. I would do it the next morning. I closed my drapes. I did not care if I had not changed into my pajamas yet. I tried to fall asleep but it took forever.

"Rory! Rory! RORY!"

I rolled over. Ursula was shaking me. I could see very faint light outside the window. It was almost dawn. "Wha?" I asked groggily.

"Rory!"

"I'm up! What is it?"

"Headmaster McGonagall has gone missing!"

I sat up. Ursula repeated what she had just said. I ran out of the room. Everyone was running around inside the carriage. All the teachers were in the entrance hall, talking. I went back into my room. I grabbed my Nimbus 3000. I vaulted out my window and started toward the castle on my broom.

I jumped off outside the doors. I pushed them open. I ran to the headmaster's office. "Godric," I said before the gargoyles spoke. They moved aside. I ran up the spiral staircase. Inside the headmaster's office was a complete mess. Papers and books were strewn everywhere. Chairs and tables were overturned. An owl cage was completely upside down. I ran over to the desk. I tried opening the drawers. They were all locked. It looked like someone else had tried opening them too.

I ran back out of the office. The Hogwarts professors were all crowded in the corridor. They stared at me when I came out of the office.

"She was kidnapped," I said. "The office is totally destroyed!"

"How did you-"

"Shush!" Professor Trelawney said, cutting of Professor Slughorn. "The girl speaks the truth."

"Of course she does."

"I believe her," Professor Sprout said. "Minerva would not leave without telling someone. I saw her office. It is completely destroyed. I don't know who would do such a thing…"

"I've got a pretty good idea," I muttered.

I left the castle again. I sped back to the carriage on my broom. The professors were on their way to the castle. I leaped off my broom. I stomped up to Professor Indiga.

"Where is she?" I asked. "I know you kidnapped Headmaster McGonagall!"

"Why would I do that?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe because you're some sick minded criminal."

"You are way out of line, young lady."

"Ms. Lynx!" Professor la Urque called. "Come with me. Now!"

I followed Professor la Urque back to the carriage. He brought me into an empty classroom. He told me to sit down. I did.

"What would cause you to accuse Professor Indiga of something as serious as abducting Headmaster McGonagall?" he asked.

"I know she's got some evil plot that she's trying to carry out," I replied.

"Evil plot, huh?"

"Yes! The other day she said she could not attend the challenge for 'personal matters', then she commented on something that happened that I had not told anyone."

"What happened?"

"I kind of…became an Animagus."

Professor la Urque cleared his throat. "Well, I don't recall hearing that, so how would Professor Indiga know about it?"

"That's exactly it! She shouldn't have known about it! I think she was in the Forbidden Forest during the challenge, watching me."

"That is yet another serious accusation against Professor Indiga-"

"And I saw a dying unicorn! I stayed with it until it passed. It had an awful injury."

"And you are also accusing Professor Indiga of doing that?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm going to agree with you. I've never liked Giovanna. She's always been extremely secretive and hostile to everyone. I have no doubts she is up to something."

"But what is it she's up to?"

"Something bad, something very bad."