"Welcome to the the second Triwizard task!" boomed Professor McGonagall's voice. The four Champions were huddled in a tight group inside of the enclosure's tent and they were wearing cloaks, draped around their shoulders, in a desperate struggle to keep warm.
The Minister for Magic was unlocking all the chests, from the first task, and what Albus saw completely bamboozled his mind.
There was nothing in the chests. Or so he thought.
"Illusion charm. Fools you into believing it was all for nothing. There's a compass and a sword in there," Sky whispered in his ear, his warm breath tickling Al's neck.
"How can you see through those spells?" Albus demanded. "Oh. I thought that was impossible. That died out eons ago!" Sky had the gift of the wolf which meant he also had better sight than a human.
"Champions, gather round me!" yelled the Minister. The four champions obediently did as he asked. Cachel was going blue in her face. Luka Lakasse was rubbing warmth into Albus's shoulders whilst Adolpha was whispering into Sky's ears. Strange.
"In this bag, will be the monsters you will need to face in this task. They are all fearsome and may even maim you or cripple you. I hope you learned your defensive spells well..." the Minister announced.
Albus immediately thought of Pollux, the dragon he'd been raising with Sky. By now, Pollux must be a titanic dragon...
"Ellis, you choose first," McGonagall declared loudly. She held out a bag that was writhing, like a snake would.
He drew out a Gorgon-like creäture. Albus swore that the Gorgon glared at him, hair writhing with bristling snakes, petrifying reptilian skin that was dark green and, Albus turned away from its eyes.
"Potter," the Minister announced. Albus had a familiar dragon, with bronze claws... Pollux!
Cachel drew out a Basilisk with terrifying yellow eyes and Rowan had a winged lion with goat's furry legs and eyes of cold steel.
"When the cannon goes, you will retrieve the things from your chest and go into the forest. You will be judged on how you defend yourself against the monster and how you work as a team together-"
"What things?" snapped Rowan. "There aren't any!"
"Use your eyes. Concentrate properly, Rowan Fishy," growled Cachel. McGonagall sighed loudly and the Minister ruffled his hair worriedly. Something was going on.
"Rowan! You're with Potter. Cachel, with Ellis, please," the Minister announced. A thunderous cannon shot went off and Albus and Rowan darted off into the forest. Once they were under cover of several trees, did they stop. Albus was handling a spear whilst Rowan had a short dagger.
"Know what you're doing?" Al asked.
"Vhat do you mean?" Rowan wheezed uncontrollably. There was a circle of pale red growing rapidly on in the inside of Rowan's shirt.
"How did you-"
"It is a simple injury. Vhat else could it be?" Rowan declared. He dabbed a navy blue handkerchief onto the wound and he let out a sigh of relief. Albus heard a crackling sound behind him, some thing was in the bush!
It was only a forest magpie, but Al noticed something strange. There was an almost human glint in its beetle black eyes. And that magpie was sat on a branch, keeping a devious eye on Al. Was that normal? Everything was eerily quiet. And Albus suddenly realized why. He straightened up.
"Rowan," he announced, swallowing uneasily.
"Yes, vhat is vrong?" Rowan demanded.
"That magpie..." Al whispered suddenly. "It's watching us."
"Vhy?" Rowan asked nervously, his eyes on the magpie now. Albus silently picked up a twig and snapped it, in his fingers. The magpie cawed loudly.
"It's attacking!" Albus yelled in Rowan's ear. There was a titanic crowd of birds now, swooping and diving, ferociously pecking at the two wizards, trying to find blood... Everything was happening too quickly and Albus curled up into a ball to avoid the attack.
Sky was there. How? So many questions and little answers...
"Are you alright, Al?" Sky's voice sounded echoey as if they were talking inside a tunnel. His green eyes radiated a certain warmth, as if they were waiting for him to get up and laugh.
"What happened?" Al demanded.
"Rowan bailed out on you. Charming git," Sky announced. "What about you?"
"I'm OK, I think. Give me a minute. Ow!" Albus seemed to have twisted his leg. There was a faint pearly-white spark in Sky's gleaming emerald eyes. As if he was afraid of something. "Sky, what's wrong?"
"How big did Hagrid say that dragons could get?" Sky murmured, glaring at something behind Albus.
"RUN!" Cachel shrieked at them, before launching herself in front of the wizards, brandishing her shield at the titanic dragon that was behind them. It gave a thunderous roar and bellowed out blazing flames from its nostrils. Cachel had to be barking mad to face this beast.
It was a Hungarian Horntail.
It had dusty brown skin, as if it had been in the sun for a while. Its gleaming yellow eyes, with vertical pupils, glared at Albus, almost as if recognising him.
"Pollux," Albus said firmly. Cachel stared at Albus as though he was mad. "It's the name I gave him."
"This is your bloody dragon?!" Cachel demanded furiously. The dragon bellowed and a spiral of grey fumes went into the sky. Sky simply nodded and rushed towards the dragon which barely noticed him. Sky kept onto Pollux's spiky back, and called out for Albus and Cachel.
The chain which rooted the dragon down were rusty and ancient. They broke easily as Pollux spread his muddy brown wings out and took off unexpectedly swiftly into the overcast sky.
There weren't many obstacles on the way, but Sky shot a few peacock-feathered arrows off into the forest below to vent off his feelings. They all hit the same oak tree in the forest.
It was a signal. For something, Albus thought.
Maybe Sky was directing the dragon to where he wanted to land or maybe it was a signal for Julius Rowan to find something. Albus barely knew what their goal was.
Pollux glided over the gloomy forest and set the three down by the oak tree. The glimmering silver chain around Pollux's neck became fastened around the tree. A yell came from the forest and a few birds fluttered off their perches. Rowan came running, a claw in his arms and crimson blood all over him.
"I guess that's good news," Cachel muttered.
"The Griffin 's claw- very advanced," Sky sarcastically announced to Rowan. "Or is that his tooth, I wonder?"
"Do we get some-thing from Pollux?" Albus asked nervously. Sky nodded. Albus silently crept to where Pollux was chained to the tree. "Sorry, old friend. But I've got to do this. Give me a second, mate and it'll be all over."
Albus gestured for Rowan to hand him the dagger and Rowan obliged, giving him a handful of blood in the process. Al simply tugged at a bronze yellow claw that was protruding from Pollux's right foot.
He cut in one swift motion and the dragon screeched a terrible screech. A scream of pain.
"Did Cachel get her Basilisk fang?"Rowan asked. Cachel pulled out a canine yellow fang. "It smells horrible! Sky, you get yours?"
"I did. Let's climb aboard Pollux again. I have no intention of walking back."
Pollux smoothly glided over the Black Forest and the dragon landed back at the very edge of the gloomy forest, where the enclosure was. The judges had a worried expression on their faces, something which made Albus think back to what Sky said all those months ago: "To win is like to lose."
They were afraid of the dragon. Sky confidently jumped down from the dragon's wing and bowed, much to the audience's delight.
"It's tame!" Sky announced loudly. "Won't hurt a fly, y'know!"
"Our Hufflepuff champion, please will you stand in front of the judges?" Harry Potter asked, his voice louder than the wind which was causing a lot of noise. Sky cantered over to the spot marked for him. Fille's wand marked out a nine. Krum's wand made a unbelievable nine. McGonagall announced a nine. Percy gave a scowl and declared an eight. Thirty- five for Sky.
Albus leapt off Pollux's wing and landed smack bang where Sky had been standing.
Percy announced a ten. The crowd roared with excitement. Al swore he could hear Scorp and Arty chanting his name. Fille smiled gently and stated a ten. Krum made a face and threw up a ten. The audience were going wild now.
McGonagall gave a ten. The first forty of the tournament!
The crowd went completely bonkers. The Hufflepuffs were cheering his name and the Slytherins were scowling, beating the stands with fists. The scene was pandemonium.
"SILENCE!" bellowed McGonagall. She looked very frail now. As though she might break if somebody touched her, like a hundred year old roses. She glanced at Albus and gave him a gentle smile.
The crowd were immediately silenced.
Cachel stepped up. Fille gave her an enthuastic ten. Krum waved a ten and Percy pushed his glasses closer to his face and gave her a nine. McGonagall gave a ten. Cachel had thirty-nine. Now it was Rowan's turn. Albus felt slightly nervous as the giant lumbered towards him. But Rowan only passed him, giving Albus a toothless grin and a cheeky wink.
Krum gave Rowan a nine. McGonagall shot up a ten. Fille announced a five. Percy gave a ten and the crowd applauded him politely. The Minister for Magic led the four champions back into the tent.
"The last task will be on the fifteenth of June. You will be required to learn your defensive spells and, for your NEWT's, you'll be doing them on the twelvth of June, with everybody else. Off you go!" the Minister announced loudly.
Albus and Sky hurried up the castle; they could be the first into the Great Hall. Albus felt excited, for possibly the first time in the year. It might only be January but he had a lot to look forward to.
The Quidditch match, next match, such as.
"You all right there?" Luka asked. Albus nodded, and Scorpious pulled a tin from his bag."Scorpious and Arty have a proposition to make."
"Well, we thought we could make some jokes and sell them at-"
"No way! Too boring!" Albus announced. He elbowed Sky, who was reading the Daily Prophet. Al snorted. Half of the facts in there weren't true. And the other half, well... let's not go into that.
"Hey, look at this! Ancient relic of goblin-made trophy found at Hogwarts castle. That's wicked!" Sky announced. He pointed to a black and white photo of a scowling goblin, holding a gleaming trophy up to the camera. There was 'SE' and 'LE' engraved on there.
"Wedding trophy..." Al stated.
"How'd you know that?" demanded Arty. Al shrugged.
He'd never know the truth about that wedding cup. No, he wouldn't.
Thought of the Day:
I know I haven't updated for a while. Purely to do with the fact that school's started. I'm busier than I've ever been and I can't seem to find the right time to write a few words on the chapter. But here it is, spanking new!
As I write this, all my other fanfics are on hold. I will try and update for you Sky Ellis lovers. You might find some joy in putting your opinion into the poll on my profile page. If more people say they want Sky Ellis to live than people don't, you might find a twist coming your way soon.
If you don't say yes, no twist or fairy tale ending.
Loads of people have been egging me on with this! There might be a video on Sky Ellis, I have idea. You check and tell me. But I'll ask you a question I asked you a few chapters back.
Why would Lily Potter be in Slytherin?
Please leave a review on what you think the answer is or even PM me!
SeekerDraconis23