Matou Shinji and the Master of Death
A Harry Potter / Fate Stay Night Story
Disclaimer: Though I wish it were otherwise, I do not own or in any way, shape or form hold a legal or moral claim to elements of either the Nasuverse, the Potterverse, or other works I may reference in the course of this story.
Summary: In the wake of Dumbledore's death, Lucius Malfoy has become the most powerful man in Magical Britain. Hogwarts undergoes reforms under the rule of Headmaster Flitwick. Severus Snape learns that some wrongs cannot be set right. And driven onwards by eerie dreams of shadow and flame, Matou Shinji walks the path of destruction.
Chapter 37. No Win Scenario
In the sky above an endless sea of trees, six figures sped on broomstick towards their destination: an inverted pyramid of weathered white stone just visible above the horizon, an ancient ruin whose makers had been long forgotten by any living civilization.
"Think that's it?" Ron Weasley asked, the redhead squinting as he leaned forward, shading his eyes with one hand as he tried to make out any details of what lay ahead. Sadly, with the sun hanging low in the sky before him, this was an exercise in futility. "The place where they've hidden the Holy Grail?"
"…well, I don't see anything else that seems promising," Cedric mused aloud. He turned to the girl beside him, the one he trusted most of the entire group. "Do you, Cho?"
After all, like him, she was a Seeker, trained by endless hours of Quidditch practice to notice the smallest hint of something out of the ordinary. But as she scanned the horizon, peering into the distance, the Chinese girl shook her head, biting her lip.
"I think Weasley is right, Ced," the girl said quietly. "I don't see any other leads."
"Malfoy? Dunbar? Ginny?"
His outriders responded in the negative as well, with Diggory, the commander of the group, acknowledging their replies with a curt nod.
"Alright, let's get closer then," the youth ordered. "Malfoy, you and Dunbar fly low, keeping watch for anything unusual around the treeline. Weasleys, fly ahead of the formation and keep us informed of any threats from the sky. Cho, cover me."
"Roger that."
The fliers zoomed to their positions, and keeping a watchful eye for any emergent threats, they advanced in formation, the distance between them and their destination shrinking at a rapid clip. Soon they would be at the temple – and who knew what awaited them once inside?
"Flare!" came a shout from below, as Fay Dunbar caught sight of a shower of green sparks, looking much like the ones she'd seen above a burning forest months ago, and then a hidden clearing around it, surrounded by trees. "I think it's a landing zone, captain!
"Good!" Cedric boomed, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "You and Malfoy hold position here, and make sure the landing zone is safe. Cho and I will link up with the Weasleys and do a bit of scouting."
"Captain?"
"Well, while we have brooms, might as well get in close and buzz the temple, to see if there's a way in from above…or at least to see if we can get any idea of what's on the ground between the landing zone and the entrance," the youth explained, with Fay giving a curt nod and descending towards the ground below as he and Cho zoomed forward.
Ahead, he raised an eyebrow at the sight of the two Weasleys circling the ruin like wary vultures, apparently engaged in a squabble over what to do next.
"I don't see why we don't just land and have a look around," Ron was saying, gesturing to the flat roof of the temple below. "I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
Ginny just shook her head and sighed.
"Ron, you've never taken one of these before. And for all you know, the roof could very well be trapped," the redheaded girl argued, though she could see her argument was falling on deaf ears. Luckily for her, before anything else was said, Cedric and Cho joined the two above the ruin.
"What's happening here?" the youth asked mildly.
"Captain," Ginny replied in a clipped tone, her lips pressing together. "My brother and I were just having a disagreement about whether to get closer. He thinks we should land on the ruin and look for a way in from the top. I think it's probably a trap."
"Well, let's find out," Cedric noted, producing his wand from a pocket in his robes. "Avis."
With a loud blast like the sound of a rifle being fired, a swarm of falcons burst forth from the tip of the youth's wand, angling towards the barren stone of the roof. The moment they made contact, however, concealed runes flared to life all over the temple's roof, reducing the conjured birds to nothing more but ash before vanishing once more.
Cedric – and Ron – blinked at this, momentarily speechless, while Ginny simply sighed and shook her head.
"Don't say it," Ron warned, looking over at his sister. "Please."
"What? You mean, 'I told you so'?" she couldn't resist asking, with her brother's face taking on a pained expression.
"Yes. That," he answered.
"Well…it's definitely a trap, that's for sure. Wouldn't be much of a challenge if it were that easy anyway," Cho broke in, not wanting to hear the siblings squabble over these things when there was a mission to finish. "Ced, back to the landing zone?" She looked back in the direction where they had left Malfoy and Dunbar. "I don't know about you, but I want to make sure the Slytherin Seeker and the Gryffindor Beater haven't torn each other apart."
"Hah! They wouldn't…" But the youth trailed off as he saw the serious look on his girlfriend's face. "Surely you don't think…"
Cho just shrugged.
"Better safe than sorry," she said, swinging her broom around and zooming off in the direction from whence they'd come.
"…well, you heard the lady," Cedric said after a beat, as he moved to follow suit. It simply wouldn't do for a leader to be shown up by his subordinates, after all. "Weasleys, after me."
Fortunately, there was no disaster waiting for them when they arrived at the landing zone, just a lone flier hovering above the clearing with streaming chestnut brown hair – the Scottish girl Fay Dunbar, with Draco Malfoy nowhere to be seen.
"…hey, where's Malfoy?" Cho asked the Gryffindor, who simply pointed to the ground below, with nary a person in sight. The Ravenclaw peered down at the clearing, carefully checking to make sure she hadn't missed anything, or that the boy wasn't hiding behind a tree, but didn't see anything. "Dunbar…"
"It's fine," the Scottish girl said brusquely. "He found an invisibility cloak on the ground and is hiding under it."
"…it wasn't neatly folded and out in the open, was it?"
"It was, actually," Fay remarked, raising a slim eyebrow. "I'm not sure if that means it was meant for us, or if it means there's someone else already here."
"Or if it was a trap."
"That too," Fay noted, shrugging. "But Malfoy wanted to go down, and since nothing has killed him yet, so it's probably safe. For now."
"For now," Cho echoed.
"Well, you can never be too sure about one of these exercises," Fay observed. "I mean, last year, there was an army of Dementors to contend with. This year, we haven't seen anything like that yet…"
"So the real danger is still to come, you're saying."
"Yes," Fay said, as the others came into view. "No luck getting at the ruin from above, I take it?"
"No," Cho replied, her lips pressing together in a thin line. "Disintegration curse."
Both of Fay's eyebrows shot up in surprise, with the girl looking from Cho to the three figures rapidly approaching.
"You didn't lose anyone, so how…?"
"Bird-conjuring charm," the Ravenclaw explained. "Handy thing."
"Ah. That it would be."
Cedric arrived with the Weasleys moments later, signaling for the group to descend to the rocky forest floor. As they touched down, and dismounted, the youth was surprised, but not entirely impressed, to see Draco Malfoy step out from under a rather large invisibility cloak with his broom.
"Look what I found just laying here," the Slytherin Seeker observed. "An invisibility cloak big enough to cover all of our brooms."
"So we can't land on the temple roof and are meant to approach it on foot, huh?" Cedric mused, though his mind turned to darker possibilities for why the cloak might be here. "Somehow, I don't like that idea, since it means it will be harder to get away if need be. Let's face it. We have quite a few more options when flying than when on the ground."
Fay grunted in acknowledgement, while Malfoy crossed his arms with a sour look of defiance, as if to say that while the older boy might be right, it wasn't as if he was helpless on the ground. Far from it, in fact.
"So what you're saying is, you don't think we can beat whatever is in our way," the blond remarked with a touch of irritation. He didn't particularly like people doubting him or his abilities, after all. But then he glanced over at Ron and Ginny and snorted. "Then again, you have a second year here, and of course, Ronald Weasley, who isn't even a proper Ourea member. Never took a Kobayashi before. Probably couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag if he had to."
"Why you—"
"Gentlemen," Cedric hissed between clenched teeth, fixing both Draco and Ron with a baleful glare, as this was the last thing he needed. "I do not doubt your capabilities in the slightest. I chose you, after all – both of you – all of you to join me on this mission, and I would not have done so if I did not have faith in what you could do and if I did not believe you would be useful in what is to come."
"Alright, Ced, what do you have in mind?" Cho asked, her brown eyes curious as she regarded the Hufflepuff.
But the youth did not answer directly.
"What do we all have in common?" he inquired instead, his gaze moving from one member of his team to the next. "Aside from the fact that we are all part of the Ourea."
Surprisingly, it was Ronald Weasley who answered.
"…we play Quidditch?" the redheaded boy hazarded, with the Gryffindor rewarded with a grateful smile.
"Mister Weasley is correct," Cedric announced, looking between his team members again. "You all play Quidditch. And that is important, given that of the Ourea, you are the only ones who do."
"Oh?" Fay asked.
"The people who designed this temple and its defenses don't think like Quidditch players," he explained, a curious expression of cheer tugging at the corners of his lips. "Since the roof is trapped, they expect people to dismount here and to proceed to the destination on foot, meaning that what we will face is probably geared towards incapacitating or disabling people on the ground."
"You want us to fly through the forest?" Cho deduced, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at the dense forest around them. True, there seemed to be enough room to fit a boom and rider, but…she knew that there would be all manner of sharp turns within, and very little visibility. "It's an interesting idea, but isn't it a bit dangerous?"
"More so than doing exactly what Lockhart expects? We've taken the Kobayashi Maru before – we know that is utter folly," Diggory retorted, which the others had to admit was a fair point. "Accepting the given circumstances of one of these scenarios all but guarantees failure." His voice was grim and his demeanor perfectly serious as he locked eyes with his team. "Don't get me wrong. I agree that most people would probably find it difficult to fly through a forest. But then we're not most people, are we? We're Quidditch players, and damn fine ones at that! We even have the four starting Seekers of Hogwarts among us, as well as a Beater and a Keeper."
Malfoy, who had been on the verge of speaking, remained silent, seemingly mollified by the Hufflepuff's words of praise.
"All of us want to win. To show Lockhart that we do not believe in no-win scenarios. And so we have to do something different," Cedric continued. "Something bold. Something unexpected. That's why I picked you – all of you."
He took a deep breath, looking at each of them in turn.
"Not because you are individually the best at combat, though you are each very skilled – both as competitors and captains. Not because you are the best strategists – though you have a solid grasp of tactics and strategy. Not because you are proven leaders – even though each of you has proven yourself a hundred times over. I picked you because you are experienced Quidditch players. Fliers. Masters of the skies. In all of the Ourea, you no doubt have the best broom handling skills, the best ability to work as a team, the best ability to think outside the box. And together, I think we can win."
"Alright then. You've picked us - what do you want of us, Cedric?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Fly with me," Cedric responded. "It will be difficult, to be sure, but it is better to face what is merely difficult than what is impossible. We'll move in two groups – one consisting of Malfoy, Ron Weasley, and Cho, and the other Ginny, Dunbar, and myself. The lightest and fastest scouting ahead and blazing a trail for the rest of us to follow, the defenders protecting them, and the most experienced bringing up the rear in case. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Ron spoke up, crossing his arms. "Why do I have to be in a team with him?" he asked venomously, glaring at Malfoy.
Cedric sighed.
"Would you rather follow your sister's every move?" the youth questioned, with Ron's expression growing tight and pinched.
"…now that I think about it, no. But well…"
"I think you know the story of the Stone Cutters and how they came to be, right?" the Hufflepuff remarked, stilling Ron's protests. "Given that your brothers are members, you should, at least. It was an open secret that they were at war with one another – the infamous Weasley Twins against the Boy from the East and the Boy-Who-Lived. They hated each other. Pranked each other mercilessly, and probably would have done worse. But then the troll came…" Cedric Diggory trailed off, shaking his head. "The troll came, and they put their differences aside to defeat it, just as you and Malfoy will need to put your differences aside if we want to succeed in our quest for the Grail. Can you do that?"
"…I guess," Ron replied, the reluctance in his voice plain as day.
"'I guess' is not good enough, Ronald Weasley," Cedric responded. "You want to be seen as a champion, as a heroes, as a leader among leaders, but are you willing to do what is necessary to reach that goal?"
The youth looked at Ron challengingly, with the young Gryffindor meeting his gaze without flinching.
"I am."
"Then mount up, and let's ride."
Only minutes later, the two groups found themselves speeding through the forest, weaving between trees as they hurtled towards the temple.
"Stupefy!"
Draco Malfoy juked left and then right again as a bright red spellbeam tore through the space where his head had just been, striking a plumed, winged serpent almost two meters in length that had been rushing straight at him.
An Occamy – an aggressive, highly territorial creature – said to be native to the Far East.
…just one of the many hazards that those approaching the temple could expect to encounter.
"Watch it, Weasley, you almost hit me!" Draco snarled, turning to glare at his erstwhile protector.
"Sorry, I didn't expect you to dodge that way!" Ron shouted back, about to launch into a tirade – only to bite his tongue, his eyes widening at the sight of something suspended between two trees. 'Oh merciful Merlin…' "Malfoy, look out!"
"Huh?"
But the warning came too late as Draco Malfoy ran smack into an Acromantula's web, the sticky silk wrapping around him as he lost his grip on his broom, which free of his control, veered off somewhere into the forest.
"Ugh…" Malfoy groaned, dazed from the impact. "Weasley…what…"
And then he froze, his body going perfectly still as a jet-black creature with far too many eyes and legs slinked out of the underbrush, hissing the words, "Fresssh Meaaatt."
"Acro…acromantula," he breathed, and then his doom was upon him. Faster than anything that size had a right to move – it barreled over to the boy and folded the web over him before lifting him up into the air with its front legs. He could hear Weasley shouting something as he rained spells down upon the spider, but it did no good, as the young Gryffindor's spellbeams shattered on the arachnid's hairy carapace.
The spider ignored the annoyance, sinking its fangs into the hapless Draco Malfoy to paralyze him before bringing its spinnerets to bear, spinning his body round and round as it wrapped him in silk.
"Hey you, don't ignore me!" Ron cried above, though the spider was doing just that. If he couldn't affect it directly, then maybe... "Incendio!"
With a wave of his wand, the web-wrapped form of Draco Malfoy was set aflame, with the flames quickly spreading to the Acromantula's forelimbs. The giant spider dropped the bundle of flaming silk and reeled back in shock, focusing its full attention on Ron with a bloodcurdling shriek.
'I'm dead. I'm so very dead.'
"Stupefy!" was all he had time to cast before he was knocked off his broom by a wave of barbed needle-like hairs that struck every inch of his exposed skin – as well as his eyes, blinding the boy. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" he screamed as he fell, casting what spells he could towards the crashing he heard coming closer and closer.
And then for Ron Weasley, it was all over, with the spider's fangs sinking into his throat and ending his wretched existence.
Cho, seeing what had happened to Ron or Draco, shook her head and simply sped by, hoping the creature would be distracted enough by its new meal that it would ignore her, as she knew that confronting it would be an exercise in futility, and she had no wish to give her life in vain.
She even managed to avoid running into any other spiders or traps, with the temple in sight when—
Pain. Painpainpainpainpain.
Light blossomed, a line of runes blazing into existence on the ground as she slammed into a powerful barrier and was burned to ash in an instant.
The other team fared little better as Ginny met the same fate as Cho, a scream of pain and utter desolation issuing from her throat as the magical barrier tore apart her form.
As if the activation of the barrier had been some kind of trigger, the doors of the temple opened, with an armored troll nearly five meters tall emerging from within and roaring as it pounded towards them.
'…we're doomed…' Cedric thought, his wand in his hand as he stared at the oncoming beast, feeling true terror for the first time. "Dunbar, get out of here. I'll draw its attention."
"But, captain, what about—"
"Go," the youth insisted, his eyes old and weary as he looked upon the great troll, knowing there was no way he could beat it. Not with Dunbar by his side, and certainly not alone. "This is my fight."
"But you'll…."
Her voice faltered as she took in her leader's expression, one which accepted that he had been wrong. That because of him…because of him, his team had…
"Go," he commanded, brandishing his wand. "That's an order, Dunbar."
"Understood, sir," Fay said softly, flying off in the direction from whence they'd come.
With a wave of his wand, Cedric transfigured some of the fallen stones upon the ground into wolves to distract the troll – but the creature simply charged past, trampling them underfoot as it came straight at him, seeing him as intruder and enemy.
"Today…is a good day to die," he whispered, before the club splattered his entrails across the clearing and everything went mercifully went dark.
When he came to again, Cedric Diggory found himself drifting through a sea of white.
'No. It's not white…' he realized after some time. 'It only seems like white. But…where am I?'
It wasn't anywhere he knew. Anywhere he recognized. Anywhere he had heard of, as there was nowhere in the world that was just an expanse of nothingness. In the world, anywhere one went, there was at least form and time, if not light, air, color, and sound.
Here, there were none of those.
There were no names. No words. Nothing, as he sank, falling deeper and deeper into the pattern of reality.
No. That wasn't right, was it? How could he be falling if there was nothing here, nothing to fall from, nothing to fall to, nothing to fall through? How could he be falling when the very concept of falling itself was meaningless?
What had happened? How had he gotten here? His mind was fuzzy, his thoughts were clouded.
"—or—."
'—or—?'
"Dig—."
'Dig—?'
"—y."
'—y?'
"Dig—ry."
'Dig—r?'
"Diggory. Wake up."
'Diggory.' The word stirred something in him, with the pieces of his mind reassembling themselves as he spoke it. 'A name. My name. My name is Cedric Diggory.'
The sea of white faded, with the youth coming to awareness again, finding himself laying on the cold stone of the castle floor. His head hurt. His body hurt. There was no part of him that didn't hurt.
But he…was alive.
"Can you hear us, Mister Diggory?" a voice spoke. A familiar voice at that…
'Professor Lockhart's voice…'
"Ugh…" he groaned, opening his eyes and forcing himself to relax as he felt someone helping him to a sitting position, letting him see the stirring forms of his comrades being carried out of the room.
The ones he had chosen to aid him in his quest. The ones who had given their lives for him.
The ones he had failed.
"One burned to death. One eaten by an Acromantula. Two killed on impact with the barrier. And yourself crushed by a troll," another voice broke in – a younger voice this time. The voice of someone he looked up to as an example of what ordinary people could become in extraordinary circumstances: Robert Hillard, the prefect who had risen to become a Stone Cutter. "How did it feel, Prefect Diggory?"
A cup of something aromatic was placed into his hands, and he downed the contents quickly, feeling the pain in his body ease as he did.
"…I failed," the youth said distantly. And he'd failed spectacularly, to boot. That might have been expected last year, when the Kobayashi Maru had pitted them against an army of Dementors and the Dark Lord who commanded them, but this year…this year, they hadn't faced anything outright impossible to stop.
"You did," Hillard noted dispassionately. "And…?"
"I thought…" Cedric hung his head. "I thought I had what it took to be a leader, that I could take this group of people and challenge the Kobayashi. That if we were daring enough, bold enough, we could win. But…" His voice faltered and the youth swallowed, closing his eyes. "…I was wrong."
Silence hung in the air for a time with the Prefect beginning to think the worse – that because of his performance, he'd be dismissed from the Ourea, stripped of his honors and more, but then Hillard spoke again.
"Being what people call a hero, or well, a Stone Cutter, isn't about honors or glory, Prefect Diggory," the Head Boy remarked, his tone sympathetic but edged with steel. "It's not about courage, or charisma, or winning." Cedric's eyes flew open as he stared at the older boy, the one he'd looked up to for years now. This was a different face to the hero he knew, one he didn't think the boy showed often. "It's about sacrifice, teamwork, and knowing what it is you value. It's about leadership, and understanding the responsibilities of leading."
"…is that why…" '…you had us pick others to come with us?'
Robert chuckled bitterly.
"Indeed. When you are overconfident as a leader, when your plans fall through, when you fail, you are not the only one who suffers." The Head Boy knew that all too well, given what had happened in their final encounter with Quirrell, with the burden of leadership sitting heavier on his shoulders with each passing day. "Your team trusted you. They had faith in you."
"…and I failed them," Cedric whispered.
"If this had been real, all of your team would be dead, save for Miss Dunbar, who you sacrificed yourself to protect," the Stone Cutter confirmed.
"Even…Cho?" the Hufflepuff asked, swallowing. "I didn't see…"
"Your paramour, Miss Chang, would have been vaporized by the protections around the temple."
"I see."
Robert Hillard sighed and shook his head.
"But this was not," the Head Boy continued. "Real, that is. Oh, the emotions are. As is the pain and frustration that both you and they felt. You failed. You let them die. But you – and they – are alive, that you might learn."
"I…if I'd known…"
"That's the thing, Prefect. We don't always know," Hillard said softly. "We cannot always know before we charge into the breach."
"But…after this…if it's the same scenario…?"
"Then those who have experienced it before will know some of what awaits them, yes. But will it help them? Or will it paralyze them? As a Ravenclaw, I can tell you that knowledge is not always power. A little knowledge, in fact, can be the most dangerous thing in the world."
"…you might have a point there," Cedric conceded. Part of why he'd been so confident was because he hadn't known what awaited him. If he had…
"Indeed," Hillard mused aloud. "Mister Diggory, as you – and almost everyone else – knows by this point, you are very likely to succeed me as Head Boy. Whether or not you are selected as Tri-Wizard Champion, you will have responsibilities to the students of Hogwarts, given that over half the school – Fourth through Seventh Years – will be with you at Durmstrang."
"I've never…I've never left Britain before," the Prefect stated, shaking his head. "I don't…"
"They haven't, either," Hillard rejoined. "With few exceptions, most of us are born in, grow up in, and die in Britain. So while at Durmstrang, they will look to you for guidance. Especially if you become Champion."
"…but what about the Stone Cutters?" Cedric asked, genuinely curious. "Aren't you and the others the ones everyone looks up to? I mean, even I…" He trailed off.
"People look up to us, yes," the Head Boy affirmed. "But they also think of us differently. They don't see us as their peers exactly. They see us as heroes, as extraordinary individuals who strut about the stage of history and do the impossible. They look up to us, but they don't look to us – because in their minds, there is a gulf between us and them, between what we do and what they can accomplish. What we were, that we were like them, doesn't matter as much."
"It matters to me," Cedric said quietly, his eyes meeting Hillard's. "It matters that someone who isn't the Boy-Who-Lived, who isn't a mysterious boy from the east, who isn't one of the Prankster Twins who even Peeves respects, stands among the Stone Cutters. It…you remind me that greatness is not entirely out of reach."
"It never is, Prefect, so long as one dares to reach for it. There is always a place among us for those who strive, and those who prove themselves worthy."
"…I'll keep that in mind."
"See that you do, Mister Diggory."
For Ron Weasley, who had never been exposed to something quite like this before, the visceral power of the Kobayashi Maru was nothing like what he had expected. True, he'd taken Professor Quirrell's Christmas Challenge in his first year, but that had been nothing compared to what he had just experienced – and even if it had been, that was over two years ago at this point, and his hadn't been one of the more brutal ones.
Getting his throat ripped out by an Acromantula – even if literally he hadn't seen it coming (because it had blinded him) – had been something on a whole other level. Even now, after drinking the potion Lockhart had pressed into his hands, an elixir which had reversed most of the nocebo effects left by the spider attack, he found himself trembling as he replayed those final moments of the assault again and again in his mind, sitting in the corridor outside the Ourea clubroom with the other members of the organization.
Being knocked from the air. Losing his sight. Knowing that death was coming, without any way to defend himself. Knowing that in the end, resistance was futile. That had been utterly…
"What happened to you?" he croaked out, turning to the person seated beside him – his sister, who he had discovered was apparently Longbottom's Second in the Ourea. "In the forest."
Ginny was silent for a moment as the images of last year's Kobayashi flashed into her mind, a scenario where she'd been forced to confront Sirius Black, who had laid siege to Ottery St Catchpole with a vast army of enemies.
A scenario in which she'd surrendered Ron to the clutches of the Dark Wizard so that everyone else might be spared.
She'd resolved to do better this time. To win without sacrificing anything, like Hillard had done. But…
"I died," she whispered softly, shaking her head.
"How…?" Ginny didn't reply immediately. In fact, Ron wasn't even sure she'd heard him. "Gin?"
"…you know the runes carved onto the roof of the temple?" she asked at last.
"Yeah?"
"There's a line of them around the temple, too," the Seeker of Gryffindor answered. "Get too close, and, well…"
She shivered. Last year, she'd been one of the lucky ones, one of those who had gotten away with only emotional scars to bear. This year…
"…then how the bloody hell are we supposed to get inside?" Ron growled, balling his fists in frustration. "It's like that git Lockhart is setting us up to fail."
"…well, he did call the Kobayashi Maru a no-win scenario last year," Ginny said matter-of-factly. "Even though a couple of people did beat it."
"Huh." Ron grunted and shook his head. Even with just Acromantulae and the invisible cursed barrier, he had a feeling this was far above anything he was capable of. Still, even if the very thought of leading a team into that terrified him, even if every bit of magic he had was screaming at him not to go through that again, that it utterly meaningless, he wouldn't just quit.
Truth be told, the boy knew he would probably fail. He knew that compared to Cedric Diggory, he wasn't nearly as experienced in the art of leadership. Compared to his sister, he wasn't as good a flier or as much of a daredevil. Compared to someone like Matou, he wasn't nearly as powerful.
But there was a part of him that refused to give up, a part of him that said that if he walked out now, he would never become anyone of note, unlike his brothers and his sister.
All of his life, Ronald Weasley had wanted to become somebody, and now he'd been given a chance. Apparently, there were those in the Ourea – perhaps even Matou, the boy who had slain an Acromantula in single combat – who thought he had potential, and he wasn't about to squander it.
Not even if they tossed him against what he feared most.
Yes, the Acromantula had killed him. But as the memories flashed into his mind over and over, he came to the realization that the only reason it had come after him was that he had hurt it – or at least surprised it – when he had set the webbed Draco on fire in his ill-thought out attempt to free the other boy.
The spider had seen him as a threat.
It had taken him seriously.
The door opened then, with Professor Lockhart emerging with a thoughtful-looking Cedric.
"We're ready for the next person," the History Professor noted, eying the group for any who seemed less than eager to participate, with his gaze falling with amusement on the rather sullen Seeker of Slytherin, who had been leaning against the wall a bit down the corridor, shaking his head. "Mister Malfoy, I do believe you're up."
"No."
The response, curt and bitter as it was, surprised the man.
"What was that, Mister Malfoy?" Lockhart asked.
"I said no," Draco repeated, matching the assassin's glare as his lips twisted into a scowl. "I'm not doing this. Working with that Mu—ggleborn for a play is one thing. Walking into certain death without any chance of victory? Facing things like Acromantulae or Dementors when we haven't even learned how to deal with them, or the spells for stopping them are far beyond even a normal Seventh Year? Forget it."
"Mister Malfoy," the History Professor intoned coolly, the man's tone making Draco bristle. "I remind you that you are a member of the Ourea, and as long as you hold that status, you are required to participate in the Kobayashi Maru exercise."
"Then I quit," Draco Malfoy stated bluntly. "The Ourea is supposed to be an organization that trains leaders, but what you're teaching isn't leadership. It's insanity."
A hush descended upon the members of the Ourea gathered in the corridor as they bore witness to the dispute between their mentor and one of their peers.
"Are you certain, Mister Malfoy?" the History Professor asked quietly, his features harsh and unyielding as stone. "If you choose this path, there will be no going back. Not even if you change your mind."
The atmosphere was tense as the others waited to hear what the boy – one of their peers – would decide.
"…so be it," Draco said with finality, as he turned and walked away, with Gilderoy Lockhart watching him silently until he disappeared down the stairs in the distance.
"Disappointing," the man uttered as he turned back to the group. "But then, Draco Malfoy never did understand the deeper lessons of the Kobayashi. Curious, really, how it is those born to power who are the ones who appreciate its costs the least, as opposed to those who work for it." Lockhart shook his head. "With that in mind, are there any who would like to volunteer to go next?"
"Me."
Ron wondered who had spoken up – and why everyone was looking at him and muttering in surprise – before he realized it was he himself.
"Oh? You would like to volunteer, Mister Weasley?" the History Professor asked coolly.
"I would," the Gryffindor boy said, keeping a tremor from his voice only with the greatest bit of effort.
"Very well then. And who would you like to accompany you in your quest for the Holy Grail?"
Not the easiest of questions, that, but then, Ron had thought about who he might want.
"Dunbar, Diggory, Lovegood, and Goldstein."
Diggory had led the previous team and likely had insights. Dunbar had survived where the others had fallen. Lovegood and Goldstein were respectively the founder and current leader of Team Snorkack, who led the Capture the Flag league, and since Lovegood's Christmas visit to the Burrow, he had had suspicions about her relationship with Matou.
A mix of those who had just gone through the scenario with those who had not, as there was a balance to keep in mind. Yes, those who had been through the trial would be prepared for what lay ahead, but those who had just…died, or who were still processing what had transpired might be more of a liability than an asset.
'…just like Malfoy, who quit just now rather than face that scenario again.'
"That's four, Mister Weasley," Lockhart observed, as those named rose and made their way to the door. "Do you have another person in mind?"
"Eh…Longbottom," Ron said after a moment. The Consul might be a right git, but at least he was a Gryffindor, and Ron figured that someone who was co-leader of the Ourea had to be good for something.
"Very well then," the History Professor noted, as Neville got up as well. "Come in then, Mister Weasley, and when you and your team are ready, we will begin."
So the group made their way inside, with Ron frowning as he overheard Prefect Diggory mutter "…here we go again."
He'd show them he was capable.
He'd show them all.