Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series.

Author's Note: As with the previous chapter, this * indicates a change in point of view between James and Albus.

14:Round Two

Professor Potter walked through the doors. "Unfortunately, Professor Kelly was injured last night and will not be here today. Please go back to your Common Rooms. The rest of your classes will continue as normal" Harry said.

He left the classroom and all of the students packed their things and followed behind him. "What do you think happened to him?"

Albus saw Professor Parker walk around the corner and into the dungeons. "Where do all you think you're going? You all have class" he growled.

"Professor Potter told us to go back to our Common Rooms because Professor Kelly wasn't able to take class today." Rose replied as she was the first in the line of students.

"Oh Professor Potter said it, did he?" growled Parker rhetorically. "Back to your Common Rooms then-" he continued to growl at the students "-except you Potter. You're coming with me."

Albus stopped and turned around to face his least favourite Professor. "What did I do, sir?" Albus asked as the worry grew in his chest.

"The Potions professor asked me to fetch you." he continued to growl.

"Oh, alright." Albus said following Parker.

"Professor Kelly is in the Hospital Wing. Go and see him now. Its his orders." Parker said and walked away, most likely back towards his office.

Albus didn't dare disobey his least favourite Professor because he knew the feeling was mutual. He knew that if he didn't, he may well end up on detention and he didn't want to give Parker an excuse to punish him. Albus trekked to the Hospital Wing, it didn't take him too long to get there. The doors were open and Albus walked in. There was only one patient and Albus knew it was his Potions professor. He walked over to the bed and Professor Kelly turned his head and looked at Albus. Albus was the first to speak. "Professor Parker said you wanted to see me."

"Yes, yes. You're the best in the class and I want you to help your Slytherin classmates. I don't know how long I'm going to be in here so for tomorrows class, you and your fellow Slytherins will continue. You will help any one should they need help."

"Why me, Professor?" Albus asked.

"As I have already said, you are the best in the class."

"I don't even know how I'm so good at Potions. My dad told me he was terrible at it."

"Maybe your flair lies further back, do you know who Lily Evans is?" he asked and Albus shook his head. "Ask your father and go to the trophy room. That will answer your questions."

"Well, thanks Professor." Albus said getting up to leave. His Professors left arm and leg were heavily bandaged so he acknowledged Albus' departure by nodding his head. Albus left the Hospital Wing and hurried back to the Common Room.

Albus had finished dinner and went to his father's office. He knocked on the door and received a call of "Enter". Albus pushed open the door and saw his father sitting at his desk, hunched over a stack of parchment. He looked up and saw his son. "Al, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was talking to Professor Kelly earlier, he wants me to help the Slytherins in the class but that's not why I am here. He told me to ask you who Lily Evans is."

"Ah, he was telling me you were great at Potions. Lily Evans is my mother, your grandmother. He seems to believe that you have been given her talent at Potions. She was, from what I have heard, one of the best in the school at Potions.

"But, I still don't understand." Albus said.

"Many people believe that talents skip a generation or two. Paul, Professor Kelly to you, is one of these people. He thinks that you have received her talent in Potions and according to some of the other teachers, her talent in school completely. James on the other hand seems to have inherited a talent from his grandfather of the same name. Anyway, have you ever been to the Trophy Room Al?" his father asked him. Albus shook his head. "You should go there sometime and look at the academic awards that the school hand out. Also, look at the Quidditch ones too." Harry said smiling and also, rising from his chair. "It is dinner time for me, so I would appreciate if you didn't stay in my office."

Albus got out of his chair and followed his father out of the room.

The month of January rolled on with little event. Albus and Rose ran the Potions class in Professor Kelly's absence. Rose took the Gryffindors while Albus was in charge of the Slytherins. It was about two weeks back to school when Professor Kelly returned to class.

January turned to February and with it the weather improved slightly. It wasn't as cold but it still rained often and the temperature was relatively low. The wind, however, didn't seem to be as strong. February 1st was a Thursday. The second round of the TriSchool Tournament would take place over the next three days. It would began with the Quidditch match between Australia and America, the duelling tournament would take place on Sunday and the second task would take place on Monday.

Albus wasn't nervous because he hadn't any part. He knew James had been practising hard, all sorts of different spells that could help him. Albus did want to watch the Quidditch match, the Seeker in particular.

The two days passed quickly. Some of the teachers were nice enough to give them no homework while others piled it on, reminding them that they exams at the end of the school year.

Saturday afternoon, 2.p.m. to be precise, came quickly, quicker than Albus thought they would. Albus, with Scorpius and Luke, went down to the Quidditch pitch. Finn hadn't been feeling well earlier in the morning and was in the Hospital Wing. The referee was once again appointed by the Ministry of Magic, Gerald Forrest was his name.

The game started and ended rather quickly. The game hadn't been on five minutes when it was ended. The Australian side had raced into a lead of 50-0 with goals Katie Rhodes and Joshua Thomas. It was then an uncontested catch for the Australian Seeker Ashley Wilson. She was high above her own goal, and the American Seeker, John, the brother of Champion Grace Simpson, was doing likewise. Ashley saw the Snitch at the base of the post and went into a dive. The Snitch seemed to be coming towards her and she caught it and then pulled out of the dive. The referee blew it up and the final score was 200-0 in Australia's favour. That gave the Aussies ten points and they moved to 22 points, just three behind Hogwarts in the standings.

Albus had no real interest in the Duelling tournament the following morning but went along because Luke wanted to see it. It was, or so Albus thought, quite boring. He watched as Hogwarts and Australia came to the final duel, with the winner taking the full ten points.

Albus was upset to see Hogwarts lose. This put Australia in the lead for the first time with 32 points. Hogwarts moved up to 30 points. America were rock bottom on just 9 points.

*James walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs into the Gryffindor Common Room. He was greeted with a round of applause and people shouting messages of good luck. He walked through the Common Room and jumped through the portrait hole. He descended the many flights of marble staircases. He didn't even go into the Great Hall. He had been told to go to the Headmistress' office for directions on the next task. By time he got there, Professor McGonagall was waiting at the gargoyle which had already been moved aside. "In there Potter, Mr. Edgely is waiting for you."

James made his way up the spiral staircase and, when he reached the top, the doors were open and he continued to walk in. Mr. Edgely was sitting idly on the desk while swinging his leg slightly. The other two, Steven and Grace, were sitting in two outside chair while one between them remained open. They were both playing with their hands. Mr. Edgely looked up. "Ah, Potter, nice of you to join us." he said.

"Now, I am going to explain the next task here. Firstly, no magic is allowed for the first part of the task. Please give me your wands." he said as he stretched out an arm in which James, Grace and Steven placed their wands. "You will have to earn your wands for use in the task. That will be part of the challenge." he paused and looked at the three Champions.

"The second task is a test of endurance and then a battle of wits." he said and then dived into the explanation of the task.

"The first section is a Muggle endurance course and the second part is… Actually, I'm not supposed to tell you what it is. You have to rely on your own skill." he said pocketing the three wands and showing them out the door.

*Albus, Luke and Scorpius walked from the Great Hall. Finn hadn't been released from the Hospital Wing until late that morning and he told the others to save him a seat and he would catch up with them. Scorpius' blonde hair blew slightly in the stiff breeze. The three boys pulled their robes tighter and pulled their emerald and silver scarf closer to their necks. They continued to walk remembering the announcement from Albus' father. They would be going to the Dragon Pavilion area, an arena built for the first task when his father was taking part in the TriWizard Tournament.

The boys finished the long walk and took their seats.

*James stood in a white tent. Only he and the other two champions stood there. A canon sounded and that was the signal for the champions to emerge. The white tunnel stretched for what felt like forever. Finally it came to an end after about five minutes of walking. James emerged first followed by the Australian and then the America to a thunderous applause.

There were three separate lanes, and each had the crest of the respective school. James looked ahead of him. He saw nets, tyres of cars, a large wall with a rope draped over the front. James didn't want to know what was behind the wall. He looked at the ground in front of him, it was marshy and James knew his robes wouldn't be clean for long. Mr. Edgely stood behind them and he started counting down. "Three-" James looked left and right, "-two-" James focused straight ahead, "-one" James readied himself and then there was the shrill blast of Mr. Edgely's whistle. James took off on the outside lane. Grace and Steven seemed to be stunned and James was at the net before either of them had started. James dropped onto all fours and started crawling through the net. The marshy land made it difficult to move and the other two had quickly caught up to him. He clawed through the soft ground but by time he got out of the long stretch of netting, he was second behind Steven. He proceeded to jump through the tyres and close the gap. He continued to run towards the large wall. He jumped and grabbed the rope and used all his strength to pull him to the top. He grasped the top of the wall and rolled over. He slid down the steep side of the wall and landed, feet first, into a puddle of muck. It didn't bother him as he got up and continued to run through the soggy ground. He wasn't looking and he fell over the edge. He could see a black and white chequered tape not too far from him. He fell and landed on a soft tangly plant. It was dark and damp and the plant began to constrict James.

*Rose sat with Albus and his friends as they watched James get off to a fast start but fall back to second place. They watched him fall down the steep slope of the wall and into the puddle of muck. "He's doing well. He's first!" Rose exclaimed as James started running. "He better be careful, the next bit is the drop into the dragon pavilion. I hope James remembers to pick his wand out of the box. But James didn't. He ran straight by it and fell over the edge. He landed on the Devil's Snare. James didn't have his wand and he was struggling against the Devil's Snare. Steven on the other hand had stopped and pulled his wand from the box. An announcement sounded "Ms. Simpson has withdrawn from this task. She will receive no points. Reason for withdrawal is, as of now, unknown." Everybody had fallen silent for the announcement but the noise levels picked up as soon as it finished.

*James remembered what Professor Longbottom had said one evening in his house when he had brought a plant similar to this. "This is Devil's Snare" he thought. "It doesn't like the light but I don't have a wand." he murmured to himself.

"RELAX JAMES! JUST RELAX!" he heard Rose scream over the noise of the crowd. James had no other plan so he took Rose's advice. It was a rarity that Rose was wrong. James started to relax and he felt the vines loosen. After a few seconds the vines released him completely and he fell through. James landed on the cold stone floor beneath. There was a flash of bright white light and Steven fell through the Devil's Snare but landed on his feet just as James got to his. "Here Potter" he said, throwing James' wand at him. "I want to win this task fairly" he continued as he marched forwards and James followed him. Once again, the dragon pavilion was separated into three separate tunnels but the entrance to the American one was closed off. James and Steven headed off down their respective tunnels when James came to a locked door. "Alohamora" James said pointing his wand at the door but it was a futile effort, the door didn't budge. James then remembered about the wand box. Surely there was a key or something in that. James stepped back and raised his wand. "REDUCTO!" James shouted and the door burst open, broken off it's hinges. James ran through only to find Steven there first. There was a single door in the large circular room. On the door was a note.

I will not open easily

You must now use your wits

This favours no one

Not even the Brits

This tests your cunning

Your courage

And intelligence

Now, here is what to do:

Find the cup

That contains the key

Only one may pass through

One victor to be found

One loser must remain

This decides the winner

Only one can escape

"What do you think it means?" Steven asked.

"It looks like only one of us can survive. Only one can get through."

"We've got to look for the cup that contains the key."

Only when James looked closely that there were engravings on the wall. James looked closer and they appeared to be numbers engraved onto the walls of the circular room. James went back and reread the riddle. "One, one, one" James repeated quietly every time he read the number one. Surely he had to look for the number one on the wall. James took the chance and found the number one engraved onto the wall. He looked around and saw Steven reading the riddle repeatedly. He moved closer to the number and tapped it slightly.

*Albus was worried. He had seen James enter the Dragon Pavilion thanks to Rose. He watched as Steven had burst through it and handed James his wand. The two then disappeared down their respective tunnels and it had been ten minutes and they had still not emerged. Albus sat, shaking slightly, hoping that James would be victorious. He knew they were in the final because Grace withdrew. "What do you think is going on in there?" Luke whispered to Albus

"I think its some sort of mental challenge, maybe" Scorpius butted in.

"I was thinking that too" Rose said.

"There ya go, that's what is happening" Albus said.

*The number one in the wall began to rotate to reveal a cupped hole. Glowing inside was a key. James took the key as the cup rotated and closed again. Steven had got up and was walking around the room. James slowly edged towards the door as he turned the key in his left hand and his wand in his right. He put the key in the lock and turned it. The door clicked open and James pushed it and ran out. Steven turned when he heard the lock click and ran towards the door. The door was slowly closing. Steven dived and slid out the door just before it closed and vanished. Steven got to his feet quickly and grasped his wand tightly. "Stupefy" he shouted aiming at James. James quickly fell to the floor as the light flew over his head. Steven had closed the gap which was now only at about two metres, in James' favour.

James knew he needed to cast a spell. He turned and pointed his wand at Steven. "Impedimenta" James shouted. The Aussie slowed considerably. James got to his feet and rushed to the finish line where he collapsed onto the ground. He was exhausted. The judges gathered into a huddle once Steven crossed the line

* "Yes!" Albus shouted jumping to his feet as James was first over to the line.

Mr. Edgely pressed his wand to his neck as the judges huddle broke. "Sonorus" he said and his voice became magically amplified as it boomed out. "Mr. Potter has won the task and will be awarded ten points" he paused for the applause as well as the cheering from the Hogwarts students. "Mr. Warner finished second and will receive five points. However, we have decided to award and extra two points to Mr. Warner for great sportsmanship. This means that Hogwarts will battle Australia in the final to take place at the end of May. Both schools are tied on forty points. Unfortunately, the American school have been eliminated from the tournament but will remain with us until the end of the school year." he finished his announcement.