Act III

Testing a Person [O]

"The life of a Vigisorem is not glamorous," Kristina Nicolette spoke seriously to the room full of Vigisorem hopefuls. "If you are here for fame or to be recognized as a hero-" she scoffed at the word. "-then you better get the fuck out because you lack the conviction to do this job if, by some chance, you pass the test." She glared and Bill noted a few people, younger ones, shifted uneasily but stubbornly stood their ground. "Vigisorem are protectors, our first objective is always to save people not to 'go for the kill', if death can be avoided then you damn well will avoid it. We are defenders whom will stand between a person, regardless of race, and their attackers. We are murderers whom can and will kill if all else fails but only if there is no other option as we have long since learned the difference between what is right and what is easy.

Statistically every three in ten hopefuls fail the test you are about to take, one in ten will quit within the year, one in ten will die during their rookie years, one in ten will be injured to the point where they are unable to preform active duty but the rest of you, the four in ten, will live to become veterans and maybe even stand before a room of hopefuls like I am. I say this not to scare you but to drive home my original point- if you lack the conviction then you better fucking leave now because you won't survive if you just half-ass it." She stared down the room an entire minute before continuing with a nod. "Good.

This test will be held in the Paladin Arena, you will all start the same distance from the finish line- teams of no more then three are allowed- the time limit on the test is ten days- it will be taken in a time loop so there is no need to worry about losing that time- and the first to cross the finish line will be awarded. You will all be color coded, each color has a different set of tasks they must complete before being able to cross the finish line. You will also be given a spell limit of 350 spells during the test. If you are involuntarily downed for longer then thirty minutes then you are declared 'dead' and will be taken from the arena. The conclusion of the test will be either everyone in the arena crosses the finish line, time has ran out or there is only one person left standing." She had been leading them to an armory, as they were told to dress in the mundane clothing given to them on arrival with only their wands left on them, and stopped when they entered the room. "Now, choose your gear so we can begin."

...

Bill had chosen a pair of brown dragon hide boots that doubled as shin guards, a light dragon hide jacket that's sleeves morphed into gloves if you flick the wrist just so, a wand holster went on his right arm with a similar contraption went on his left sheathing a knife, his pants were toughened leather spelled for protection, his rather plain shirt covered a protective vest made of basilisk hide with an enchanted neck knife tucked inside, his left thigh had a sheathed hatchet strapped to it with his right having a refilling water bottle, his belt was made of toughened leather with an assortment of shrunken tools hung like a key chain, on his right hip was a bag that was deemed 'first aid', finally he wore a sack across his back containing necessities like food.

Sirius, Bill noted, was equipped similarly to him although the Animagus wore a sleeveless dragon hide cape with a hood- with a bubble head charm spelled to activate when it was pulled on- rather then jacket, the hatchet traded for a machete and a long sleeved basilisk hide shirt to protect the arms along with a pair of goggles hanging at his neck. Bill didn't mention the odd choice- odd because the bubble head charm made goggles a bit redundant- as Sirius ended up enchanting them- rules were they couldn't bring in anything but they were able to alter the gear they'd chosen- along with a pair of mirrors, which he gave Bill one with the instructions to call his name for them to be able to communicate.

At the mirrors Bill nearly sagged in relief as it confirmed the belief that they were working together, while he had experience in dangerous situations it was standard protocol to move in teams of four to cut down casualties so he felt infinitely better knowing that he had someone watching his back.

There were others, generally the older and tougher of the group, that had armed themselves as Sirius and Bill did, acknowledging the benefit of tools when placed under a spell limit. But many merely dressed themselves and grabbed a sack of necessities, apparently confident in their ability to reach the finish before they used up all their spells.

"Alright, kiddies!" Kristina Nicolette called, clapping her hands to gather their attention. "Each of you step onto the tube platform!" They obeyed, stepping into the white tubes that closed behind them. "Once you've reach up top the test begins- we'll be marking time every six hours along with updates on how many are left in the Arena or if anyone finished- when you step out you'll be given a color and a map that has markers for where your tasks are. Good luck, kiddies! Rise to Paladin Arena!"

With the command the floor Bill stood on, along with everyone else in a tube, rose, dragging him into darkness as he went up stories before bathing him with light as it suddenly stopped and opened up in the arena.

August 28: Sirius and Bill take Harry and Hermione to get ready for school, Ron deals, the Twins are themselves, Luna gets Ginny addicted to 'Merry Poppins', Charlie's a liar but for a good cause, Berry makes Buckbeak a cake (Sirius decided that it was the hippogriff's birthday), Sirius hints at teaching Animagus transformations, Percy is practically molting, Moony wrestles with Padfoot and Umbridge is evaluated.

I've tried five time to write Aug 28 with no luck. I really, really hate shopping so I'm 76% sure that the Underground will be the only shopping trip written out. [On a different note, would lockers be of any use in a magical school?]

August 29 (O) [Now]: The news makes Remus happy (vindictive little misbehaving rabbit he is), Charlie writes, the Golden Trio deal with becoming the Silver Duo and Bronze Uno, the Twins make calling cards, Hedwig's admirer is a bit of a stalker and Sirius takes Bill so they can be tested.

As Bill is our narrator at the moment and in a time loop for the test, this test will drag out August 29 for multiple chapters- now don't you love Bill? If not for him we'd be with Harry talking about school schedules with Hermione along with Golden Trio teenage angst.

On another note, the test will have creatures in it- I was curious, what do you think Bill (and Sirius) should face?