Nervously, wondering what Moody wanted now, Aerrow had followed him and was led to the room on the third floor where the former Sky Knight had show the three illegal curses. But Moody carried on through it and showed him to a door at the back of the room which from the look of it was his assigned rooms. The entrance room seemed to have been converted into an office that was full of a number of exceptionally odd objects that Aerrow supposed Moody had used in the days when he had been a Sky Knight. On his desk stood what looked like a large, cracked, glass spinning top, in the corner on a small table stood an object that looked something like an extra-squiggly, golden aerial which was humming slightly. What appeared to be a mirror hung opposite Aerrow on the wall, but it was not reflecting the room. Shadowy figures were moving around inside it, none of them clearly in focus. "Like my Dark Detectors, do you?" Moody asked, watching Aerrow closely.
"What's that?" Aerrow asked, pointing at the squiggly golden aerial.
"Secrecy Sensor, vibrates when it detects concealment and lies, no use here of course, too much interference, students in every direction lying about why they haven't done their homework, been humming ever since I got here" He chuckled. "I had to disable my Sneakoscope," He said, pointing to the glass spinning top. "Which whistles when someone nearby by is being untrustworthy, because it wouldn't stop whistling, it's extra-sensitive, picks up stuff about a mile around, of course, it could be picking up more than kids stuff," He added in a growl.
"And what's the mirror for?" Aerrow asked.
"Oh that's my Foe-Glass, see them out there, skulking around? I'm not really in trouble until I see the whites of their eyes" Moody replied, letting out a short, harsh laugh just as a nearby chest shook violently, Aerrow swearing he could hear a yell, for a moment. "Wouldn't even bother telling you what's in there, wouldn't believe me if I did" Moody told him casually before he gave a sharp wince and clutched his metal leg as he made his way over to a nearby chair and sank into it. He then carefully pulled it off, leaving one of his legs ending in a stump just below his knee, and placed it on a stand built to hold it. "It's a tough job sometimes isn't it? Not many people outside it know how tough" He said quietly, seeing Aerrow stare sympathetically. Aerrow nodded in understanding but knew he'd gone through nothing in his career compared to what Moody must have gone through in his. Moody's next question, however, snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Now, what are you planning to do about your dragon?" He asked expectantly.
"Oh," Aerrow said, his worries flooding back. "Er, well, I just thought I'd..." He tried to come up with a answer.
"Sit" Moody ordered, kicking a stool towards him, which Aerrow sat on.
"Listen to me Aerrow, that was a decent thing you did telling Cedric," Moody told him, leaning in towards him. "But let me tell you, by your age he could turn a whistle into a watch and have it sing you the time, Flur may act like a fairy princess but she's as much one as I am, as for Viktor, his head may be filled with sawdust but he's strong and quick and able to notice tiny little details the others won't" He warned him as Aerrow nodded, understanding what he was getting at. "Come on Aerrow, what are your strengths?" Moody asked, growling frustratingly. Aerrow thought for a moment, his magic was still quite basic, he wasn't particularly strong and didn't have that good a keen eye. Really only one thing stood out for him.
"Er, I can fly, I'm a fair flyer but I..." He said, Moody nodding enthusiastically.
"Better than fair the way I hear it" He told him.
"But I'm not allowed my skimmer" Aerrow reminded him, the rules only allowing him to carry his weapons.
"Your allowed your blades" Moody told him.
The rest of the time left before the first task passed by all too quickly and before most people knew it the eve of the task was upon them. The Storm Hawks and Starling, all of whom having been told what was in store for the first task the morning after Aerrow had found out, had retired to the common room for a while before they went to bed. But someone was missing from the group.
"Where's Aerrow?" Starling asked, having not seen him since dinner.
"Said he needed a walk" Ace replied causally even through he had been staring into the fire all night, obviously just as nervous about the next day's event as the champions must be.
"He'll be fine, just needs a bit of peace I guess" Piper reassured, glancing up from her book.
"Yeah" Starling muttering in agreement and decided to try and get some sleep. "I'm going to bed" She told the others as she got up from her chair and began making her way over to the staircase that lead up to her bedroom. As she neared it, however, she happened to glance out of one of the windows besides the balcony door and saw a singular light coming out of one ships that were parked on the lawns just visible from their rooms. Instantly Starling recognised the shape and the large windows of the Condor's bridge in the small amount of light it was emitting and knew exactly who was on board.
She found him, not in the bridge as the lights had suggested, but on the floor below, in the hanger. Aerrow was lying underneath his skimmer, which had been propped up on a jack, fiddling with it's mechanics, using a variety of tools that he was taking out of a metal toolbox led next to him. "Aerrow?" Starling called as she walked over, now able to see past his legs and up to his head as she neared and stooped down.
"Yeah, oh, hi" He replied as he stopped working and looked up at her, sliding out slightly on the creeper he was led on.
"What you doing?" Starling asked curiously.
"Oh, I noticed the gear stick was a little stiff when we flew out the other week, thought I'd put it right" He said as he slid all the way out and sat up as Starling squatted down besides him.
"Your doing this now?" She asked, wondering why he'd chosen the night before the task to do this.
"Well you know what happens if you don't get around to doing these things" He replied with a shrug, wiping the sweat and oil from his head with the back of his hand, the upper half of his t-shirt also in a grimy state.
"This doesn't have anything to with tomorrow does it?" Starling asked suspiciously, wondering what his plan was for facing the dragon, something he'd not gone into detail about.
"How could it? I'm only allowed to take my blades in, remember?" He told her, though not in a fully serious tone which gave Starling the impression that he was planning something and felt confident in whatever it involved.
"Okay, I'll leave you to it" She said, standing up and heading back towards the room's exit as Aerrow slid back under his skimmer. "Make sure you get some sleep" Starling said over her shoulder as she left.
The large round wooden stadium, now filled with cheering and excited spectators, had been erected on the peak of one of one of the mountains that surrounded the castle, multi-coloured flags fluttering atop of the two tall white tents attached to it. One of the tents, more of a roof than the other, reserved for the tournament's judges and officials, lay within the arena's stands, it's sides left open to allow a clear view of the rocky and boulder filled surface that lay far below in the centre of the structure. The other tent, attached to the outside of the opposite side was for the champions so that they could prepare for the task in privacy. Despite the cheers and noises of the waiting crowd finding their way into the tent, inside there was a tense silence as the four champions waited for the task to begin. They had all left their squadrons, who had all gone on to take their seats in the stands, and had changed into clothes suited to to the task ahead.
Fleur, dressed in a silver trimmed, dark blue tracksuit, was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Viktor, kitted out in a thin brown jumper underneath a long red robe, that ran down to his ankles, and heavy black cargo trousers, looked even surlier than usual whilst Cedric, wearing a fitted yellow and black robe, was pacing up and down. Aerrow, having changed into a thick black leather flight jacket and trousers that, like the other champion's clothing, bore his name and squadron logo, was also pacing, but closer to the edge of the tent, just besides its canvas wall.
"Your attention please, this is a great day for all of us..." Dumbledore's voice was heard to announce until it was drowned out by a loud roar, that Aerrow knew had come from one of the dragons. "Each of the three tasks involves very considerable danger..." Dumbledore's voice then began to say but was once again lost against another noise, this once, however, much softer and one only Aerrow heard. It had come from the other side of the tent's canvas wall that he was stood next to.
"Psst" It had said, sounding like a girl's voice. Looking more closely Aerrow could see the shadow of someone standing besides the tent and approached it. "Aerrow, is that you?" The voice asked as the person it belonged to pulled away the flaps a little so that Aerrow could just see Piper's arm holding back the canvas.
"Piper? Yeah its me" He replied.
"How, how are you feeling, okay?" She asked after a moment, she sounding nervous herself.
"I'm aright, how are the others?" Aerrow asked back as steadily as he could, wondering how the rest of his team were doing as they prepared to watch him go through this.
"They're ok, er, Ace seems a little tense and quiet, Finn's, still in a mood, and Stork seems to be worried about what the dragon will do" Piper replied. "Remember, the key is to concentrate, after that you just have to..." She began to coach him.
"Battle a dragon" Aerrow cut in, finishing her sentence. Piper gave a slight whimper at this before rushing in through the gap in the the canvas, her arms flapping slightly, a moment later and pulling him into a hug. A sudden bright white flash and slight bang made them both stop and look towards the other side of the tent. It was Skeeter, and her photographer, who were both standing in another of the canvas's gaps with Skeeter, dressed today in another hideous outfit made of a scaly brown material that reminded Aerrow of the Horntail's skin, holding back the material.
"Young love!" She said excitedly as they stepped into the tent, her Quick-Quotes Quill and notepad floating in behind her. "Oh how..." She began, trying to find the right word whilst her quill scribbled words of it's own. "Stirring" Skeeter came up with as she came over to Aerrow and Piper, the other champions looking at her with both annoyance and suspicion. "If anything goes, unfortunate with you today," She told Aerrow. "You two might even make the front page" She said, her eyes darting between him and Piper, either remaining oblivious or ignoring the obvious glares she was receiving from those all around her.
"You have no business here!" Viktor suddenly said in a loud and angry tone. "This tent is for champions, and friends" He told her, momentarily glancing at Piper, who smiled in thanks, as Skeeter and her quill turned around to face him.
"No matter," Skeeter said, unable to miss the message this time, though she kept a grin. "We've er, got what we wanted" She said as the quill jumped into her hand, momentarily brushing the edge of it across Viktor's cheek, before she turned on her heel and headed back for the gap in the tent she'd come through, her photographer taking one last photo.
"Er," Piper began to say as soon as they'd gone, turning back to Aerrow. "I'm not sure how well these will work but I've hit them with a visibility crystal" She told him, handing over his sky googles that he sometimes wore when flying on his skimmer.
"Thanks Piper, I'm sure they'll work fine" Aerrow reassured, grateful for the effort, as he slipped them over his head and allowed them to hang around his neck. Piper nodded in relief, noticing Viktor watching curiously out of the corner of her eye. It was then that the flap of the main doorway of the tent was pulled aside as Dumbledore, the Council representatives and Crouch walked in.
"Good day champions gather round" Dumbledore asked them, which the four of them did so quickly, Piper remaining besides Aerrow, clutching his arm slightly. "Now, you've waited, you've wondered and at last the moment has arrived, a moment only four of you can fully appreciate" Dumbledore continued to say but then notice Piper, who had ended up stood right besides him.
"Piper, what are you doing here?" He asked curiously.
"Oh er," She said. "Sorry, I'll just go" She apologised, backing away for a moment as she gave Aerrow a last nod and smile before she left the tent.
"Crouch the bag" Dumbledore then asked Crouch, who quickly produced a small purple silk sack.
"Well, time to fill you in!" Crouch said as brightly as he could. "I'm going to be offering each of you this bag," He said, indicating the one he was holding. "From which you will each select a small model of the er, thing you are about to face, there are different er, varieties, you see" He told them, unaware that every champion knew exactly what they would be facing. Aerrow glanced around to Cedric, who caught him eye and subtly nodded, to show that he had understood Crouch's words. "Ladies first," Crouch then said, offering the bag to Flur. She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect living model of a dragon, smoothed skinned and green. It had the number two around its neck. "The Tamoura Green" Crouch told her. And Aerrow knew, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that she had seen the life sized original before. The same held true for Viktor, he didn't even blink when he pulled out the red dragon that had the fringe of gold spikes, which had been named by Crouch as the Firebolt. Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the silvery-yellow dragon, called the Short Snout, the number one tied around its neck. Knowing what was left, Aerrow put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Horntail, and the number four. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared it's minuscule fangs before it started biting the leather on palm of the fingerless glove it was sat on. "These represent four very real dragons, the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on on the one you have chosen, now each dragon has been given an golden egg to protect," Crouch explained. "Your objective is simple, collect the egg, this you must do, for each egg contains a clue without which you cannot hope to proceed to the next task, any questions?" He then asked.
Meanwhile up in the stands Piper had found her seat next to the other Storm Hawks and Starling.
"How is he?" Startling asked as she sat down.
"Fine, a little pale but fine" Piper replied, still sounding worried herself. Ace, however, was looking anything but fine but was looking around the arena to try and take his mind off focusing on his worries. When he happened to glance over at the official's area of the stands, however, he saw something that replaced those worries with anger.
"What's he doing here" He spat, pointing out Lucius, who was currently shaking hands of various people, to the others.
"No idea, but we can't worry about it, not now" Piper reminded him, knowing Aerrow could do with all the support he could get.
"Could the dragon break free?" Stork asked, sounding worried but immediately distracting everyone off Lucius and back onto the task they were about to watch.
In the tent the champions, have been received all their instructions, including how they would score points, were now waiting for their turns. Cedric, being the first to go out and now looking a very green colour, was stood by the part of the tent that had remained open, the path that led to the arena.
"Good luck champions," Dumbledore said. "Cedric at the sound of the whistle you may enter the arena" He told him, Cedric only nodding at this. Dumbledore, the Council representatives and Crouch left soon after this, no doubt to take their places in the stands so they could watch, the crowd's noise increasing at this as everyone knew the start of the task now wasn't far away. Inside the champion's tent the tense silence had returned, but not for long as a loud, shrill whistle cut through the air, signalling Cedric to enter the arena. Aerrow tried to wish him luck as he watched him walk out, Cedric, however, only managed to reply a sort of hoarse grunt. Seconds later, he, Viktor and Flur heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the arena and was now face-to-face with the living counterpart of his model.
It was worse than Aerrow could ever have imagined, sitting there and listening. The crowd screamed, yelled and gasped like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Short Snout. Viktor was staring at the ground whilst Fleur had now taken to retracing Cedric's steps, around and around the tent. And the commentary, a man's voice Aerrow didn't recognise, made everything much, much worse. Horrible pictures formed in his mind as he listened.
"Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow" The commentator said "He's taking risks, this one!" He added at one point.
"Clever move - pity it didn't work!" He was heard to say.
And then, after about fifteen minutes, Harry heard the deafening roar that could mean only one thing, Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg. "Very good indeed!" the commentor was shouting. "And now the marks from the judges!" He said. But he didn't shout out the marks; Aerrow supposed the judges were holding them up and showing them to the crowd. "One down, three to go!" The commentor then yelled as the whistle blew again. "Sky Knight Flur, if you please!" He called. Fleur was trembling from head to foot; Aerrow felt more warmly toward her than he had done so far as she left the tent with her head held high and her hand clutching her blade. He and Viktor were left alone, at opposite sides of the tent, avoiding each other's gaze. The same process started again. "Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" they could hear the commentator shouting gleefully. "Oh, nearly! Careful now, goodness, I thought she'd had it then!" He cried.
Ten minutes later, Harry heard the crowd erupt into applause once more. Fleur must have been successful too. A pause, while Fleur's marks were being shown, more clapping sounded, then, for the third time, the whistle. "And here comes Sky Knight Viktor!" The announcer called, and Viktor slouched out, leaving Harry quite alone. He felt much more aware of his body than usual; very aware of the way his heart was pumping fast, and his fingers tingling with fear. And yet at the same time, he seemed to be outside himself, seeing the walls of the tent, and hearing the crowd, as though from far away. "Very daring!" The Commentator was yelling, and Harry heard the Firebolt emit a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing, and, yes, he's got the egg!" The announcer declared. Applause shattered the air like breaking glass; Viktor had finished. It would be Aerrow's turn any moment.