Chapter LV: The Daily Prophet

Now that the champions had been announced, they were brought to Headmaster Lunar's office. Inside there was the witch from Olivander's wand shop, a wizard who came to represent the Ministry of Magic, and a journalist. First off, they started with the man from the Ministry, who stated that he was from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He brought with him contracts for the three champions to sign saying that they agreed to the terms and regulations of the Tournament:

1. No spells are to be casted towards other champions.

2. Defense is to be permitted, but there shall be no killing or cause of critical injury of any creature to be faced during the tournament

3. Items such as: invisibility cloaks, healing potions, potions to increase stamina, potions to increase physical strength, broomsticks, items with enchantments, and weapons are strictly forbidden. Bringing such items causes an immediate position of last place in the event and additional punishments shall be added.

4. Use of curses will result in penalties; punishment will be determined by severity of curse.

5. Cloaking spells are also forbidden.

6. You stand alone in these tasks, so you may not look for the aid of the other champions.

7. Active seeking and revealing knowledge, other than that provided, about the tasks will be considered as cheating and punishment will be brought.

The three tasks will be hosted on: 5, November; 20, February; 9, May.

All three champions were required to sign this contract, and they took down the dates; but the contract sparked curiosity among the champions.

"Exactly what sort of creatures can we expect to see during this tournament?" Eret asked.

"Rule number five specifically states that revealing such knowledge will be considered as cheating." The wizard from the Ministry stated. Eret apologized and stated that he was merely curious as to how dangerous the creatures they'd be facing were, but nothing could be revealed.

Now the witch from Olivander's stepped forward and asked to see their wands, and she started with Eret:

"Twelve inches, birch wood, with the talon of a hippogriff. Oh my, yes, this'll do the trick it responds to you quite nicely." She replied. Next she examined Giselle's, to which she spoke: "Eleven inches, ivy wood, the hair of a unicorn… It almost looks like ones of my own craft with these leaf etchings in it, but it looks worn, like it has been used before you. Where did you get it?"

"It started out as my grandmother's. She passed away with the pox when I was little, but she gave me her wand." Giselle replied.

"How does it respond to you?" The witch asked.

"I have to say that it responds quite nicely to me." Giselle told her. With a smile, the witch handed back Giselle's wand and moved on to Hiccup.

"Ah, I remember you like it was just yesterday, same as that red-haired lass. Come on let's see how well you've treated your wand." She said. Hiccup handed her the wand and she examined it: "Thirteen inches, elder wood, and dragon heartstring. It's easily one of the most powerful wands I've ever had the pleasure of carving. It pleases me that you've taken good care of it."

After handing Hiccup his wand back, he took a look at it himself. The base was carved into a dragon's head, the handle was a pair of folded wings, and the remaining length was the tail with a few curves in it. So his wand wasn't straight like most wands were.

"Well, shall we begin?" The reporter asked.

"I do believe that it is your turn to start your interviews." Headmaster Lunar told him.

"Excellent, Mr. Haddock, if you'll follow me." He replied, and he took Hiccup's wrist and dragged him into a broom closet.

"Alright, Mr. Haddock, I am Sigmund Glass, a reporter for the Daily Prophet."

"Hello." He replied shyly.

"First interview I see. Don't worry, all I'm going to do is ask you some questions, and you answer them. Does that sound easy enough?" Sigmund said. Hiccup nodded, and the interview followed as this:

Sigmund: What motivated you to put your name into the selection?

Hiccup: I decided that this would be an opportunity to better myself as a wizard.

Sigmund: Is it also true that you're a Viking?

Hiccup: Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? I'm still just a wizard, and it's not like I have the legendary strength of most Vikings, I'm a talking fishbone if you compare my size to that of the rest of my tribe's.

Sigmund: As Vikings, your parents must be proud to find out that you've been selected to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. What do you think they'll say to you?

Hiccup: I think that my father would think that I've lost my mind. I didn't put my name in to make them proud or anything. I put it in because I wanted to use this tournament to test myself, and see for myself where I stand as a wizard. As a Viking, I've been raised to look at danger in the eye and push through it… even though the actual 'pushing' can prove to be a bit of a challenge for me.

Sigmund: So all you hope to get out of this Tournament is a self-evaluation?

Hiccup: Well I hope to get a little fun out of it as well. I'm also looking at the Tournament the same way I look at Quidditch; it's a sport, and it's a sport I want to participate in.

Sigmund: Alright then, thank you for your time.

With that Hiccup was excused from the office and he didn't hesitate to leave, even though he paused to wave 'goodbye' at everyone before exiting.

As Hiccup roamed the halls, he turned a corner and bumped into Elsa, accidentally knocking her to the ground.

"Oh gods, Elsa, I'm so sorry about that!" He exclaimed as he bent down to help her up. Once she was on her feet, he asked her: "Have you been looking for me?"

"Yes, I came to tell you that the whole lot of us will be visiting your mother's hut shortly. She's taken it upon herself to teach us how to duel." She replied. She took Hiccup's arm and began dragging him along the way. During their run through the halls, they collected Ivan, Jenny, Vanilla, and now that Kay was coming into the circle, he came along too.

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"What the heck? Is that a dragon? I thought I was mad for keeping thestrals!" Kay exclaimed upon seeing Cloudjumper. However, the strange thing was that he was the only dragon there.

"You are mad." Jenny replied.

"Now's not the time for this, what I need you to do is chose a partner and stand across them, forming two lines." Valka told them. The pairs were as followed: Hiccup, Merida; Rapunzel, Emily; Jenny, Ivan; Ally, Jack; and Vanilla, Elsa. Leaving Kay to stand on the side and be used for demonstration with Valka.

"Dueling, as you all know is a fight between two wizards, it is a custom for the opponents to bow to each other as a sign of respect, we then turn and take ten paces away from each other, and today we're trying to simply disarm our opponents. Now, what is your name, boy?" Valka said.

"Kay Black."

"Very well, alright Kay I'll give you the courtesy to have the first move." Valka replied. They exchanged a couple quick jinxes before Valka's wand flew out of her hand, earning surprised looks from everyone to Kay Black.

"Sorry, you see I come from a family of wand makers, and we have a real fascination with the very core of magic. We don't just study what magic can be used for, we also learn about how wizards channel it and the discipline it takes to wield it. It even comes to the point where we've cracked our own wands because of the amount of power we can create is too great for them to handle." Kay explained.

"Do you even need your wand then?" Valka asked.

"Yes, I just need one strong enough to channel my magic. I'd be happy to tell you guys everything I know about the core of magic in order to increase your own strengths if you'd like." Kay replied. He then stepped aside to watch the others practice their dueling.

Ally's attack on Jack was bold and strong, she easily disarmed him on their first match, and Valka was quick to help Jack and emphasize how to block some of the spells Ally was using against him. At their next match, Jack was able to alternate between offensive and defensive actions much more smoothly, and therefore stay in the fight longer.

Merida and Hiccup were equally matched as much as they were in Quidditch, and their duel looked as if they were simply fencing too. Valka was happy to see that while her son was a strong wizard, Merida was also doing a fine job of holding her own. However she was also proud to see that within time Hiccup found the opportunity to disarm her at just the right time.

Elsa and Vanilla started out like Ally and Jack, but after seeing what Valka had done with those two, they picked up the ability to block spells quite swiftly. As for the others, they learned to do the same on their own time, or they knew what they were doing from the start.

When Valka ended the lesson, about everyone was sporting a few bruises, including Valka herself and Kay Black after being struck by a few rogue spells they didn't block in time.

"Alright, it seems that you all can hold your own during a duel, and that your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is doing a good job of teaching you." Valka stated. The Furious Flurries and their friends nodded in agreement. Then Valka approached Hiccup and told him: "I believe that you'll hold your own quite nicely during the tournament."

"Um, Mother, I wanted to ask you something. I saw you sitting at the staff table when we first came here for the year. Is there a reason why?" Hiccup said.

"Your Headmaster heard about what happened to Jenny and I, and he came to me to talk about it. He also opened the doors to Hogwarts for me so I didn't have to stick to hunting and foraging, and he hired me to help out with the tournament." Valka replied.

"Hey, where are our dragons?" Jack asked, looking around.

"They're across the lake right now. They're all alright, but they're a bit busy hunting for the moment. Sometimes it takes more than just fish to satisfy them."

Kay Black leaned over to Merida and asked: "How many dragons do you guys have?"

"Six if we count Cloudjumper over there. Most o' them come from the Northlands, but Elsa rides a Ukrainian Ironbelly." Merida replied. Kay looked at her in shock.

Ω £ Ω

The next day, Hiccup received a copy of the Daily Prophet featuring his interview with Sigmund Glass. He allowed his friends to look over it for a while, but then he tied it up with a letter reading:

Dad,

I thought you should know that I've been chosen to participate in an event called a Triwizard Tournament. It is a contest involving three tasks set on separate dates: 5, November; 20, February; and 9, May. I would like for you to come to support me and perhaps enjoy them. These tasks are supposed to be the ultimate tests for wizards, and we have two visiting schools participating in this too. There's more to learn in the newspaper I'm sending you.

Hiccup.

He tied the Daily Prophet and the letter to Hulda's leg and sent her off.

Ω £ Ω

Now on a deserted island in the Northlands, in a house made with magic, there was Mor'du tending to Pitch Black. After a humiliating defeat, the foul villains had to abandon their hideout in Pontefract, and so they found this island with the aid of their recruit, Drago Bludvist.

When Drago returned to Pontefract after the fight, he was in for a scolding by Pitch Black, saying that if he had been there with his dragons they would've had the chosen ones and their fear would've fed him until he was as powerful as ever.

However, the day brightened up for him when Gothel brought him a newspaper from England.

"The animagus is in the Triwizard Tournament?" Pitch questioned.

"Regina is also the Headmistress of one of the visiting schools." Gothel replied in a sing-song voice."

"Gothel, you have just earned yourself a youth potion that will last you for the rest of the year. This is lovely, please go tell Regina that I want to ensure that the Hogwarts champion gets a special award." Pitch replied.

"I'll do what I can to serve you, Master." Gothel replied. She assumed the form of a raven and flew off.

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Alright, so any questions? I have one: How many chapters would YOU prefer I write before I post the first task? I'd post it as soon as possible but I want a bridge from the start of the school year (now) to the fifth of November. Also, what would you like to see during those chapters?

Please review.