AN: Not even gonna apologize for this being late because it is LONG. Enjoy it. I certainly did! It was fun to write. :)
REVIEWERS!:
Acecove: Not yet. Pitch isn't really doing much to keep them apart because he knows that Hiccup's trying to stay away on his own. Cat's bad feeling is related to other things, but there's a surprise coming that I think you'll enjoy very much. ;)
Guest: That is the first time I've ever been told that I update fast. I try to be regular, which people have praised me for, but fast is a new one... Anyways, really happy to hear you're enjoying Emma's side of the story! Like Talia, I was a little worried people wouldn't be interested in her since she's not one of the main four. Yes! Always time for Pirates! And you should be nervous. I'mma drop a bomb on y'all soon!
Eris: Thanks! Mainly it's a way to be like "look! We're taking care of these other dangerous people so the world is less dangerous!". The Ministry is kinda just ignoring the problem. Further explanation on that later.
Liesje2004: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Yes, yes I am! Kind of like a POTC AU, but they're also wizards. This series is literally everything.
Music: "Set Yourself Free" from Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (the series)
NOTES: Let no one Cage who you were Born to be.
Chapter 16: Set Yourself Free
The hospital wing of the castle was quiet and bright with the winter sun shining through the tall, thin windows. The flowers on the bedside tables were old and needed replacing. Rapunzel hummed quietly to herself as she mixed different herbs in a mixer with the small crusher, and Pascal was napping off to the side on the large table. Things had been busy for the healers at Hogwarts with the new classes for the girls. Rapunzel was surprised when there were only girls and no boys had come, but she supposed that was just their young egos finding more interest in Auror work than in the fine and precise arts of medicine.
Both jobs were important, and as long as they had enough people for both, everything important would get done. Though, Rapunzel was a bit disappointed that Emma's magic wasn't very compatible with healing. The younger girl was focused and determined, and Rapunzel was naturally fond of her as much as Jack and Merida. Rapunzel worried about Emma a lot, too. The younger girl thought Rapunzel didn't know about the trouble she'd been getting into, but just a while back Rapunzel had been out early one morning collecting morning glory roots only to spot Emma soaking wet, wearing nothing but a thin night gown, and climbing up the snow-covered hill towards the castle from the ocean. Rapunzel didn't know how to help the girl, mostly because she had no idea what was going on in her head, but the behavior she'd been witnessing lately was concerning at the very least.
Aside from her duties as one of the school's healers and her now only part-time Guardian duties, Rapunzel also had the Tournament to worry about. It had been a few weeks since the first task, and everyone was looking forward to the winter break that was fast approaching. Rapunzel, however, was more focused on the clue she had yet to entirely decipher. She had figured out that their next challenge was going to be under water, but the bit about 'Stranger Sounds' and 'being bound' was concerning to say the least.
Still, she couldn't lose her nerve. She'd known when she had put her name in that goblet that these challenges would be treacherous, and if she were to let one ominous poem scare her then she had no place in such a Tournament. After two weeks of digging through somewhat familiar books in the library Rapunzel had found a way to breathe under water for the required hour. Since she'd gotten the most prominent issue handled fairly early on she'd been trying to think of ways that she would be able to fight under water, that way she would be prepared for whatever was waiting for them 'down there'.
Inspecting the crushed herbs, Rapunzel found them to be satisfactory dumped the mixture into a jar for safe keeping. After sealing the lid nice and tight, she moved into the back storage closet full of shelves that were brimming with herbs, medicines, books, bandages, medical tools, and a hundred other necessary pieces of equipment.
She had just set about tucking the jars of mixtures she'd made into their proper space on one of the lower shelves when she heard voices out in the main room. She recognized them immediately as Dr. Sweet and North, but their conversation sounded tense. Rapunzel inched over to the door, standing against the wall next to it as she assured herself that it wasn't eavesdropping! She was simply waiting for an appropriate time to rejoin them in the main room as it sounded like their conversation was very important and private. If she just happened to overhear something, well, then it couldn't be helped, right?
"...evaluate her progress yourself?" Dr. Sweet was in the middle of saying, and Rapunzel was surprised that he actually sounded a bit exasperated with Professor North.
"You know why we cannot!" North said. "King Frederic was very specific... And to some extent I must agree with him."
"You couldn't possibly think that Rapunzel is incapable of handling herself as a Guardian-!" Sweet started, but North shushed him quickly.
"Of course not! Rapunzel will make an excellent Guardian one day, but she is our only healer, and she is still learning to fight." North reasoned.
"I disagree with you. Rapunzel is more than accomplished in fighting. Maybe she's not as natural at it as Jack and Merida, but she can hold her own. She's the most powerful of the three, I'm certain!" Dr. Sweet said.
"I know." North replied, but his tone sounded grave. "Rapunzel's magic is very powerful and there is still a chance that she can use the flower's magic. She used it to save Eugene, after all. I do not believe King Frederic's concerns for her safety are invalid, Dr. Sweet."
"You think it was right of him? To demand she be removed from Guardian training?" Dr. Sweet asked, and Rapunzel's hand shot up to her mouth to keep the gasp from escaping.
"It is only until the Tournament is over. He was only willing to let her continue in the Tournament after I convinced him that it would be safer for her to be focused on winning school-controlled challenges than to be chasing after Pitch when we have no idea the strength of him or his forces." North heaved a heavy sigh. "Besides, with the Ministry unwilling to cooperate this seemed to be a fairly good medium that was able to satisfy everyone."
"So you're slipping Merida and Jack in where you can because only the Ministry will care if they're caught, but with Rapunzel there's a concern with King Frederic?" Dr. Sweet summarized and Rapunzel's arms fell to her sides, her fists clenching tight.
"Unfortunately, yes." North said. "That is why I am asking you to refine her training as a healer as much as you can. Between the Tournament and your teachings, I hope that Rapunzel will continue to grow strong."
"I understand. I don't like it! But I understand." Dr. Sweet said. "I'll make sure to teach her everything I can."
"Thank you," North said as their footsteps started fading towards the entrance again. "Now I believe Captain Amelia will be waiting for us..."
As their voices faded, Rapunzel stepped into the doorway, feeling numb and sick. She leaned heavily against the door jamb and took a deep, shuttering breath. Her arms wrapped around herself as her eyes and cheeks started to burn, but she screwed her eyes shut and shook her head. She would not cry. She was so tired of crying.
She pushed herself onto her feet and walked over to the nearest bed, sitting down heavily as she let out a huge breath all at once. Her own father had convinced North to remove her from Guardian training. Granted the Ministry was also part of it, but Rapunzel couldn't believe that after everything she'd done her father still saw her as fragile. He was still over protective and trying to keep her inside walls that he deemed safe enough.
"There is so much more to me than you think." Rapunzel said, wishing her father were there so he could hear her. Pascal climbed up onto her arm, having woken up when the two men walked in, and he looked at her with sad and worried eyes. Rapunzel looked up towards the window, the dead flower on the bedside table silhouetted by the blue sky beyond the window frame. "Locked inside a tower. Kept behind a wall. Sheltered from a world you've barely known... That's the way they treat you, and what's worst of all, who's to blame? Just you and you alone."
She stood and moved over to the flower, Pascal watching her from the bed helplessly, and she lifted the head a bit to try to make it look a little more lively, but the poor thing just dropped back into it's droopy position when she removed her hand's support. Rapunzel looked up and out the window, the sky wide and open with only a few fluffy clouds and two sparrows flitting about until they flew off into the sky.
"There's much more inside of you than anyone can see," Rapunzel sang, watching those birds fly and her back straightened with new determination. She turned and walked back to the center of the giant, spinning around with her arms spread wide. "And now the choice is yours, Life waits beyond the doors, So step on through the time has come, And only you can set yourself free!" She threw open the doors of the Hospital wing into the wide corridor, memories of her and her friends adventures at the school rushing through her mind. Their time in the dungeons when they found Pitch, or the fight against Gothel, or when the boys were turned into bears and they stole King Fergus's favorite carriage.
"No one else can tell you what to do or who to be! No one gets to say if you will stay or go," She started running down the hall, towards the end of the corridor where it ended with a sharp right and a balcony ran the length of the next hall. She opened the glass doors and jumped up onto the stone railing of the balcony, looking out at the far horizon of the sea as the wind rushed through her short hair. "So use the gift you're given, Make the world your own, Look inside your heart and find the key, And set yourself free!" She twirled on top of the railing twice, looking at that incredible view once more before jumping down with a huge grin. She marched purposefully back towards the Hospital wing.
"Bound up by your worries. Trapped by your mistakes. Forced to play a role you've never chose." She thought about how worried she was over everyone and everything; her friends and family. She remembered her mistakes of trusting Gothel, or not being able to save Hiccup, or disappointing her father. She considered the fact that maybe she would have preferred not being a princess with so many responsibilities thrust upon her since her birth and how it was now preventing her from really experiencing the life she wanted.
"Why not test your limits? You've got what it takes! Let it out and follow where it goes!" She walked briskly into the Hospital wing to the back table where her bag was stashed underneath. Pulling it out, Rapunzel reach into it and retrieved a notebook that she'd gotten from Hiccup during her second year. Inside were endless drawings and paintings of her and her friends and all their memories, good and bad. The most recent was of the Goblet of Fire when she decided to put her name into the cup and confided in her journal about it. "No more letting someone else define you to a "T"! You know that you are strong, You've known it all along, So seize the day, Let down your hair, You'll find a way to set yourself free!" She flipped through her journal, reminding herself of everything she'd done, everything she'd been through, and how she'd grown through it all. She knew she could be a great Guardian, and she knew that she could win this Tournament.
"Now it's up to you and what you'll do and who you'll be! You get to decide how far and wide you'll go!" She finally got to the first blank page and smiled. She pulled out her paints and brushes and let her hand move where it wanted to go, rushing across the paper as her excitement and determination grew. "So look to the horizon, Open up your wings, Fly away to find your destiny, And set yourself free!"
With one final stroke, Rapunzel leaned back, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead as she appreciated her newest piece of art, Pascal peering over the top of her notebook and then looking up at her with a bright smile.
It was a brilliant phoenix with it's wings spread wide in flight. All reds and oranges, and yellows, bright and majestic and proud. Rapunzel grinned and scratched the top of Pascal's head, finding all the strength and determination she needed in that painting.
"Come on, Pascal. Let's go figure out how we're gonna win this Tournament." Rapunzel said, holding out her hand for Pascal. He grinned and crawled onto her hand and then her shoulder when she lifted him to it. Rapunzel packed up her things and then hurried out of the Hospital wing to find Merida and Jack.
In her excitement, she didn't notice that out of all the wilted flowers in the wing, the one she touched was suddenly brand new. It shimmered with gold dust, the white rose once wilted and dead, now alive and blooming with a slight glow.
"Welcome to the second task!" Professor North announced with his wand pressed to his throat, making his voice echo across the lake and the three watched towers that had been constructed in the middle of it as viewing platforms for the audience.
Rapunzel stood on the middle one with the teachers and the other Champions. To her right she could see Jack and Merida waving at her and giving her thumbs-ups and smiles of encouragement. Emma was next to them with a Durmstrang boy that Rapunzel recognized as one of Jim's friends, and Rapunzel smiled at Emma when she waved enthusiastically at her. It was nice to see the younger girl with someone closer to her own age.
Rapunzel was dressed in a wet suit with the Hufflepuff colors, the yellow stripes displayed proudly for all to see. Elsa was dressed in a pale blue suit that looked to be pants and a long sleeved top that gave way to a semi-skirt. Jim was dressed in a Durmstrang wet suit that looked just a bit too large for him, probably due to the fact that the Professors of Durmstrang had been expecting a slightly older Champion and prepared for the tournament based on that assumption.
"The second clues, treasures of sorts, are hidden somewhere on the bottom of the Black Lake!" North continued as a hush fell over the crowd listening to him. "In order to win, each Champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. However, they will only have one hour to do so. And one hour only. After that they will be on their own. No magic will save them."
Rapunzel had some doubts about that last part being true, especially in her own case, but she didn't allow herself to dwell on it. Instead she focused her eyes on the water, she was distracted though when Jim started choking for some strange reason. She exchanged a look with Elsa and they both shrugged uncertainly, but the canon announcing the beginning of the task fired and the two shook off the distraction in favor of diving into the water.
Rapunzel caught Emma shoving Jim into the water out of the corner of her eye.
But then she hit the water and it all rushed up around her at once. Her legs started moving to propel her forward along with one arm, but her other arm reached into the very small, tight pocket on her thigh that held her wand. Pointing it at her neck and moving up to her mouth, a large, air-tight bubble form around her mouth, allowing her a pocket of oxygen. She inhaled deeply, no longer needing to hold her breath and slid her wand back into it's pocket.
Rapunzel looked around her and propelled herself further towards the bottom of the lake, swimming a steady pace as her eyes scanned the surrounding area. The Black Lake was appropriately named as the water was so clouded that you couldn't see five feet in front of you. Her limbs felt sluggish and awkward as she moved through the water, but without her sight she needed to move as quickly as possible to cover as much ground as she could in the shortest amount of time.
The deeper she went into the lake, the clearer the water became and an eerie glow that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time also help her visually. It was confusing and it made her shoulder muscles twist with anxiousness. Something about the lake wasn't quite right.
Even so, she kept swimming onward, watching fish dart about the lake-bottom and rock formations pass by beneath her. Eventually she found her way to a forest of giant seaweed plants, so thick that she had to push the strands of the slippery plants aside before she could slip through. Like thick brush in the forest, Rapunzel imagined, finding a rhythm and grace as she spun and glided through the underwater forest.
Having been kept inside for most of her childhood, Rapunzel didn't have a lot of experience in swimming, but for whatever reason she didn't feel uncomfortable or out of her element. She always found beauty and comfort in nature, no matter the setting, and at random moments she felt as though she could Sense the life in the element itself; like when she walked through the woods with her bare feet brushing the earth, or noticed beams of sunlight in different places. As a child she liked to pretend it was the spirits of nature calling to her. She felt it now.
She could Feel the magic in the water.
Movement off to the side caught her attention, and when she looked over, she managed to spot Jim through the tendrils of greenery. His hands were webbed, his feet had turned into flippers, and rough gills stuck out of his neck.
"Of course!" Rapunzel thought, remembering vaguely a plant that was said to give people the ability to breathe underwater. It was extremely advanced Herbology; even Rapunzel had only heard of it through all her plant-based studies because it didn't have anything to do with healing, so she had no idea how someone as young as Jim had known about it, but it was a brilliant idea.
Looking forward again, she kept moving, reaching the other side of the forest to find a large clearing with uneven ground that was covered in ancient ruins. Decayed structures with patina bathing every surface. She dove under an arch at the top of an old set of stairs, looking both directions as she surveryed her surroundings.
She was floating at the top of the rise just before the earth gave way to a giant pit, like a reverse volcano. Down at the very center of the ditch something sparkled and, upon closer inspection, Rapunzel spotted three small boxes that had clearly not been there for too long. Simple wood boxes with silver decorations.
Rapunzel grinned and shoved herself off of the ruins, shooting through the water towards her prize, but just when she was about half way there, the water rushed around her with a sudden current. Looking up, Rapunzel gasped at the giant tentacle that was coming down at her through the water. She yanked her wand from her pocket and shouted, "Ventus!"
The jet of wind that burst from the tip of her wand propelled her off to the side just in time to avoid the tentacle that crashed onto the lake floor, sending up a huge cloud of sand. Rapunzel followed the tentacle and found that it belonged to a Kraken.
The giant octopus gave a mighty roar, it's limbs wiggling and curling around the ditch to protect the treasures hidden at the very center. Rapunzel swam back and forth, twisting and turning to avoid the crushing strength of the tentacles that were closing in around her. She rushed towards the top of the ditch, the last opening left for her, but another tentacle slammed down right in front of her, blocking the path.
Rapunzel raised her wand, but just as she was about to attack, an explosion caused a burst of bubbles and a flare of light. The Kraken shrieked and moved the tentacle, revealing Jim floating there with his own wand. He waved for her to 'come on', and Rapunzel hurried to swim towards him.
They swam until they were a safe distance from the Kraken, watching it from the top of the rise as it curled around the little chests. It's back tentacles waved about behind it's bulbous head as it's bulging eyes moved slowly across the landscape.
Rapunzel tilted her head curiously at the creature, and then looked at Jim next to her. She could see him swallow as he stared down at the giant creature, and then he met her gaze. He shrugged, and Rapunzel returned the gesture. She had an idea, but she wasn't sure of the best way to test it.
As it turns out, she didn't need to. Elsa swam up to the side of the Kraken from the back and shot an ice blast at it, aiming perfectly to get through the waving limbs and hit it directly on the head. The Kraken roared and whirled on her, waving it's tentacles wildly. Elsa faced it head on, meeting each tentacle with an ice blast and a stubbornly set chin behind her own bubble head charm.
Elsa wasn't a warrior like Jack or Merida, but she was definitely a fighter. Determined and focused, unwilling to back down from a challenge until she'd overcome it. Rapunzel's cousin had always been like that.
Rapunzel decided to use her knowledge to her advantage, though, and, seeing her opening, she started moving closer to the Kraken in small increments. She ducked behind rocks and ruins, slowly getting closer and closer as Elsa tried to freeze the beast's tentacles to the lake floor despite the sand making it impossible for one person.
Rapunzel watched as Jim shot forward, swimming straight into the fight. His flippers gave him a greater advantage because he was able to move faster and more fluidly than Rapunzel or Elsa, and he used it well. Getting right in front of the Kraken's line of sight, Jim got the Kraken to chase after him with a tentacle while simultaneously trying to fend off Elsa. Rapunzel saw what the boy's plan was almost immediately as he led the tentacle up, down, and around all the other wiggly limbs of the Kraken.
Rapunzel grinned, and pushed off a rock to shoot towards the Kraken until she was floating directly behind him. She looked up at the giant, round head and waving appendages from the Kraken's one blind spot in between it's two most back tentacles. She grinned and gripped her wand tight, pointing it directly at the ground.
"Ventus Tria!" She said, and her body shot through the water faster than any creature could swim with the stronger variation of the spell. She arched her back as the spell faded, hitting the peek of her little flight directly above the Kraken, and as she angled her body so that she was looking straight at the creature, she pointed her wand toward the surface. "Ventus Tria!"
Elsa and Jim froze to look up at her as she streaked through the water right in front of the Kraken's face. She hit the lake's floor in a crouch with one leg extended for balance right next to the three little chests that the Kraken was protecting, but the Kraken hadn't taken any notice of her whatsoever. Rapunzel grinned, feeling her chest swell with happiness at the success.
What the others didn't realize was that because of the creature's giant size, it's blind-spots were also bigger. It couldn't see anything behind it, and it's bulging eyes were incapable of going crossed eyed to see something right in front of it's face. Coming from directly above lowered her chances of being seen as she slipped right into the Kraken's blind-spot, and now it didn't know that it was protecting not only the treasures, but it's enemy too.
Rapunzel reached out to grab her box, but a large movement made her head snap up in time to see Elsa take a direct hit from one of the tentacles. She went streaming through the water and hit a rock hard, her head bouncing off of it and her bubble head charm popping, forcing her to hold her breath. She grabbed her head with both hands, squeezing her eyes shut as she sank to the lake floor.
Another movement above her brought Rapunzel's eyes upward. Jim was still racing the tentacles, trying to tangle the beast in it's own limbs, and while it was working, it was a slow process. Rapunzel could see the fatigue taking it's toll on the boy as he panted. Rapunzel also noticed he was slowly losing speed and when she squinted to get a closer look, she noticed that the webbing between his fingers was smaller than before and he was scratching his neck where his gills were. His spell was wearing off faster than it should have.
"But why?" Rapunzel thought, and then she shook her head. Why it was happening didn't matter in that moment. Making a quick decision, Rapunzel grabbed all three boxes and cradled them in one arm as she pointed her wand at the ground. "Ventus Tria!"
The spell worked just as it had before, but this time the Kraken caught a flicker of movement and followed it upward, roaring in indignation as it realized Rapunzel had taken it's treasures. Looking back to see if it was chasing her, Rapunzel wasn't looking where she was going and slammed into Jim as he tried to shoot passed.
The two of them went tumbling head over heels through the water, the boxes scattering as Rapunzel's arm was flung out into the water on accident. Rapunzel managed to grab two of them even with her uncontrollable rolling, but the third started falling back towards the lake bottom. Jim chased it, kicking his feet furiously, and he snatched up the box with both hands, bringing it close to his chest as he forward-rolled into an upright position. He opened his eyes and smiled at the box in his hands, but then he looked down and an explosion of bubbles left his mouth as he screamed in fear over the Kraken that was coming straight at him.
An ice blast slammed into the side of the Kraken's head, causing it to veer off course and crash into a rock formation far off to the side. Both Jim and Rapunzel looked over and grinned at Elsa who looked exhausted but mostly okay.
Rapunzel swam over quickly and held out one box to her. Elsa took it and gave Rapunzel a nod of thanks as they both smiled at each other. Suddenly Elsa's eyes widened and she pointed behind Rapunzel, who turned to see what Elsa was trying to tell her.
Jim's spell was fading faster. His hands had returned to normal and his feet were quickly doing the same as they shortened and reformed back to human feet. He was holding onto his neck with his eyes squeezed shut as if he could feel the gills sealing up along his neck. Rapunzel and Elsa hurried over to grab one of his arms each, and the three of them started swimming as fast as they could towards the distant surface.
Rapunzel looked at Elsa, straining to her breath as bubbles sneaked out the corners of her mouth and her nose. She looked at Jim who had also resorted to holding his breath and was kicking with all his might to help propel all three of them closer toward the surface.
Reaching over to Elsa's hip, Rapunzel removed her cousin's wand from it's pocket and pressed it into her hand. Elsa looked at her with widened eyes, but Rapunzel pushed them both upwards, mouthing a charm that would get them both safely to the surface. Elsa, though reluctantly, nodding and point her wand toward the surface.
"Ascendio!" The gargled noise was enough to yank Elsa and, by extension because of her hold on his arm, Jim towards the surface of the lake. Rapunzel followed after them slowly, but steady and smiling. She knew it was the right choice even if she lost.
Breaking the surface of the water and sucking in her first real deep breath in what she assumed was almost an hour felt wonderful. Her short her flipped back out of her face and the cheering of the crowd filled her ears. Elsa and Jim crouched at the edge of the center watch tower, holding out their hands to her and calling her over. They took one of her hands each and pulled her out of the water until they were all standing huddled together and shivering from the cold, but grinning ear to ear.
"You were incredible." Elsa said, wrapping her arms around Rapunzel in a hug, which she gladly returned.
"So were you!" Rapunzel said, but she stepped back sharply, holding Elsa's shoulders and looking up slightly. "How's your head?"
"A little blood from a sharp edge, but no concussion." Elsa assured her, lightly touching the bandage that had been wrapped around her head.
"Are you alright, too?" Rapunzel asked, turning to Jim and was shocked to see him standing, though his posture was slouching a little bit in his tired state.
"I'm definitely not used to being able to swim so well or so fast. I think I over did it just a little, but I'll be fine." He said and then dipped his head in a small bow. "Thank you."
"Oh, no! I couldn't have -!" Rapunzel started to assure him that there was no need for thanking her as they had all worked together, but North walked out to the center, calling for everyone's attention with the voice projecting spell. People ducked their heads and covered their ears as he spoke.
"Having been the first to return, Elsa of Arendale is awarded first place! Followed by James Lake Jr. in second, and finally Rapunzel of Corona in third!" North announced to the gathered students. Beauxbatons cheered loudly at the news, and some of the Durmstrang students cheered for Jim. Most of Rapunzel's classmates clapped politely, but still looked disappointed. "However!" North interrupted the celebrating. "In a twist of events, we have recognized that Princess Rapunzel would have finished first had it not been for her determination to not only retrieve all three boxes so that all of our Champions could finish, but also to allow herself to be left behind to save the lives of the other two Champions. Both Elsa and James have insisted that we award Rapunzel with First Place for the challenge!"
Cheers exploded from all of the gathered Hogwarts students, and even those from the other schools as well, as Rapunzel looked at Elsa and Jim in shock. Jim only smiled brightly at her, and Elsa nudged her arm lightly with a proud smirk.
"You deserve it. We never would have gotten our boxes if you hadn't figured out that thing's blind-spot." Elsa told her, and Rapunzel felt her face grow hot at the praise and admiring looks from everyone around her.
"That was amazing!" Merida suddenly burst from crowd, shoving two large Durmstrang boys apart so she could grab hold of Rapunzel's arms and shake her excitedly. "You were great, Punzie!"
"Oh, come on! It's not that surprising. Rapunzel's always been awesome." Jack grinned throwing a towel over Rapunzel's shoulders as she laughed, feeling warm on the inside.
Then another group came barreling through the crowd, only this time they divided. Anna went to Elsa, hugging her tight, and Emma, alongside the boy Rapunzel only knew as Jim's friend, raced over to the boy Champion.
"Dude are you okay?! What the heck happened?!" The short, roundish boy exclaimed, his hands moving wildly.
"I don't understand, a human ingesting that amount of Gillyweed should've lasted a full hour, but yours barely lasted forty minutes!" Emma said, looking confused by the results and concerned about Jim's condition because of them.
"Well, that explains how Jim learned about Gillyweed." Rapunzel thought as she watched them, smiling as she tilted her head to the side. "I wonder how those three met?"
"Uh, haha, well, you know, maybe it was just a bad batch? Anyways, everything worked out, and being able to swim like that helped a lot." Jim coughed and sputtered a bit, but then smiled earnestly at Emma who straightened curiously and then softened, returning the smile and giving Jim a nod.
Jack looked at Emma, then at Jim, and then back to Emma, squinting. As if he was trying to figure out what was going on. Rapunzel had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, and Merida rolled her eyes and grinned widely at Jack.
"What do you say we go celebrate Rapunzel's victory!" Merida cheered to the joy of the Hogwarts students and it seemed to be enough of a distraction to pull Jack back into the fray.
The cheering was deafening and the whirlwind that followed, though hectic, was enjoyable. The students of Hogwarts gathered up their Champion and whisked her away for celebrations filled with sweet treats and butter-beer, singing and dancing. Rapunzel laughed a grinned the whole night, showing off the little box she'd gotten for her efforts, and even though she had no idea how to open it, she took a great amount of pride in that little box.