Thorfinn watched his witch's face as the feather slowly fluttered closer to her. Thoughts and feelings flowed across it differently when she was immersed in a problem and this was the most focused he had seen her, even since this whole thing began.
For a moment he thought back to the day he had brought her here and watched the two of them together. Some things had been clear but had no context. The witch who he had thought would submit to no one ever, willingly took veritaserum and answered the man's questions. How she had looked at him. With complete focus and an amount of trust and more evident, deference, that seemed very out of place. The last time he had seen these two interact directly had been that cafe years ago. It was a wholly different dynamic. The wizards curt words and dismissive attitude had not surprised him but the interest in her words and thoughts had been unexpected.
Yaxley had been the difference maker, he thought about that for a moment after she disappeared, how the Russian looked to his friend. The way Yax stepped in and spoke when Dolohov wouldn't. Made it more comfortable and even things like meals being all together and the way conversations flowed. It was as if he was a bridge between the Russian and others. Allowing more than the usually minimal exchange of words and still fewer thoughts or emotions.
As he waited for Dolohov to indicate they were leaving, he couldn't read what was said between the two anymore than usual but something passed between them and then the Russian disappeared with his usual quiet crack. Thorfinn shifted on his feet for a moment. Wanting to follow but he would need the wizard beside him for that. The look on his face wasn't revealing but his strange eyes showed more. Interest and maybe a bit of pensive thought. Knowing Yax wouldn't want to miss anything either, he just waited.
Then he touched a finger to the red quill in the other wizards hand and waited to spin to the ground. Portkeys had been set up for the two groups, Dolohov didn't need them, they were his wards they would be bypassing.
It was dark and the air felt damp and chilled. Waiting for his eyes to adjust, he scanned his immediate surroundings. Cloaked in black as usual, Dolohov stood at the edge of the platform they stood on and Thorfinn moved to be able to see over the edge. The man was looking down into what appeared to be a pit and he let the immensity of the magics used to create this puzzle impress him for a moment before speaking.
"Can you show me like before." Yaxley was standing on the Russians other side and though he didn't speak, the click of his tongue showed his impatience. The Russian made the same sound and wand movements as that day months ago and the magnified image of the little witch appeared before them.
Just then the other three that had been invited spun into being behind the three already there.
"Where are we?" It was Potter who spoke and Luna who answered.
"Underground or in a stone tower it seems. Watch, she doesn't know where she is anymore than we do." Her voice was less dreamy than usual and he pulled his gaze from his witch and looked at the other small group.
Potter stood, clearly uneasy with his surroundings and probably the company there. His eyes were on Yaxley and then they flicked to him. Something passed and he was dismissed in favour of him looking for his friend. Thorfinn gestured below them with a head tilt and Potter looked a bit surprised before walking to the platform's edge. Then he could see the image in the air and realised what was happening. His face immediately became intent as he watched the witch begin to manipulate the rune equation.
"Does she know we are up here?" He asked, much more quietly. Thorfinn waited for Yaxley to speak as usual and when he didn't, thought maybe he would have to perform his usual function of explaining what needed to be said.
"No. That we are watching though, yes." He answered in a normal tone. Indicating the witch couldn't hear them.
A few minutes passed in silence except the two slightly behind them whispering quietly to each other.
"You don't seem surprised by this." His hand gesture indicated the whole thing. The dramatic location and the witch's capabilities. He shrugged. That was a true observation.
"Is it filling up with water?" Potter sounded a bit alarmed and more than a little intrigued. His hum indicated his confirmation and when the witch began to be obscured by the fog he voiced his first question.
"Climate or the ward itself." He asked, knowing it would be Yax who answered.
"Climate first." The small shifts in Hermione's expression showed her completion of each step more clearly than what the audience could actually see.
"That impressed her." Potter murmured beside him and Thorfinn took a moment to appreciate that the wizard knew his witch well. Could read her and maybe could see more than he could. It wasn't pleasant but it was a bit comforting, that she had someone.
The water was rushing and the sound was very loud. Luna came closer and Thorfinn noted 'Bas remained right beside the younger witch.
Dolohov was perhaps the only one who didn't tense or make some sound when the ward on the pillar suddenly showed visibly as it opened, then became a near circle of magic that resembled cracking waves around her.
"Now." Potter said and Thorfinn wasn't sure what he meant until he realised that the other wizard couldn't see anymore than he could but was watching the witch's posture. He too could see her readiness but knew she wasn't ready quite yet.
"Now." He murmured as she tensed and then spun, the points of magic released from her free hand, not her wand. Then as they hit the moving mass there were three circles of blue that resembled targets, visible for a moment and then silence.
"Wow." Potter murmured and though he didn't speak, Thorfinn agreed. Now that it was over for the moment, he let himself survey her. She was fine, a bit damp but she quickly fixed that.
"Only one dead on. The lighter one showed about four inches off." Yaxley commented, as if they were observing an experiment.
"They were targets?" Rabastan asked, sounding as if he had only been holding in his questions by sheer force of will.
"Mmhm. Not important but a good indication for other things." Yax answered and then both men took a step back and the group of six waited. Half of them not knowing what they were waiting for.
"Prokhodimyy." Yaxley barked a laugh at the low word from his friend. He noticed that Potter looked at the wizard in a similar way that his witch sometimes did, when he laughed that way. Interesting. He noted that Yaxley too noticed this.
"I'm sure she will be thrilled with such effusive praise from you. I'm not sure the word passable has actually passed your lips." Thorfinn knew the look Dolohov shot him told his friend to be silent, and grinned with Yaxley at the man's reluctance.
"There." Luna said, her eyes watching the feather falling gently toward the witch.
"Again?" Potter sounded a bit uncertain, and Thorfinn realised that only the three usually with her knew there were six feathers. As they all watched, the witch looked up at the feather, several emotions crossing her face. Understanding, a flash of what might be apprehension and then the light of challenge. She bit her lip and then relaxed it quickly with a look that meant she knew her mentor wouldn't like that, perhaps remembering he was watching. Then she composed herself a bit, and cast the same spell as before, checking it was actually a portkey. Her grin was small, as she reached for the eagle feather that had a slightly yellow sheen to it. Thorfinn let his own grin form in response to hers. It clearly showed her wonder and appreciation of the magics.
The litany of things that grin made him think of was cut off by the crack of Dolohov following the witch to the next location.
"We will wait a moment, here." Yaxley put in, his tone indicating no argument would be allowed. Thorfinn caught his eye and asked his question. The look was slightly grim and the madness showed for a moment. Ah, their audience would balk perhaps, at whatever his witch was facing now. Him too, maybe. Not for the first time, Thorfinn felt Potter's eyes on him and tried not to react.
"What did the first set of runes say Yax? They flashed by too quickly for me to catch and weren't any of the regular runic languages I've studied before." The genuine interest was clear and he too wouldn't mind knowing the answer. It would have been her instructions, not for this task but the whole thing. They were complex, it made him think of the one word concepts that the student and teacher often used.
"Her instructions for the complete exercise. A Siberian dialect of Norse, I'm not sure of the tribal origins. I walked away before that part of their discussion." His tone said that only those two could discuss something like that to their preferred depth and enjoy it. Of course it wasn't a discussion per se, as few words as possible were used and mostly proving her the materials. Not in a way that was straightforward either, but so she needed to understand its components and variations. It was interesting to watch.
"He talks about magic with her?" He wasn't sure about the blonde witch and Potter, but the other two understood what 'Bas meant. With words, verbally. Both of them shrugged slightly, in their own ways. It wasn't easy to explain how they communicated.
"You were at breakfast." Thorfinn replied after a moment, their confusion was clear.
"I wasn't." Potter put in. Rabastan nodded thoughtfully.
"Could you explain how it felt?" The odd blonde witch asked. Potter understood exactly what the blonde meant, his small smile of appreciation showed he was grateful for the acceptable way of asking without demanding information that wouldn't be given. He knew from Hermione then, that things often weren't to be said out loud.
"We were there and a part of the conversation. It wasn't isolated. It was private though. Master and apprentice in the traditional sense. I said something, and it was clear in the reactions around me that it is nuanced and probably quite complex, their communication. Dynamic is perhaps a better word." As usual he spoke thoughtfully and to the little blond witch. Thorfinn thought that quite insightful. Potter tried to extrapolate what he could and eventually looked to the blond.
"Can you make that more my level?" He asked her and Yaxley chuckled lowly. In good humour at the self deprecating tone.
"Traditionally Master and Apprentice was a sacred agreement." The little witch had paused to think and whatever she would have said was not spoken because the warding layers around them all flashed different colours at once. It was a bit staggering. To see the layers and some of their forms.
Pulling out another feather, this one looked a large owl one, Yaxley met his eyes. They shared a look at the blatant show of Dolohov's skill. The man did enjoy a bit of preening. The little witch was good for his ego. When they were all touching it, they spun away.
For the second time today, Hermione had to bring her panic and fear back under control. Whatever she had been expecting when she grabbed the first feather, it hadn't been the last five situations. That was all she could think to call them. There were equations and translations. She needed to put up and take down wards. This was all usual for her, or had become so in the previous months of extensive training every day. Even on her days off she made sure to use her magic, the more she did, the more she could. Provided she didn't overtax herself.
The man's genius and careful handling of her education was becoming clear. Before they had started, she might have been able to make her way out of each situation. Not one after the other like this though. Her solutions would have been too clumsy and magically draining.
Standing before what she thought was the last ward in this complex maze of weathered stone, she forced herself to take three deep breaths. Closing her eyes would have helped but it wouldn't be wise. She was getting tired, her magic and energy running low. If this wasn't the end, she would eat the granola bar she had brought with her.
Willing her hands to stop shaking, she considered what might happen. The water had rushed faster, the wind had nearly pushed her over, and the plants had grown at such a rate she was forced to burn some of them to get enough time to take down the wards forcing their growth. That had been amazing. She was sorry to take it down. Beautifully layered wards in a globe pattern, that criss crossed so their effects were slightly changed, in order to provide all the plants needed to grow without restraint.
This one was more simple than the fire one she had finished last but it had trapped her and she had nearly let herself be pulled underground. In that moment, she hadn't remembered that this was part of her schooling. All of her primal responses to being dragged into dirt that was turning to stone around her legs had prompted more magic use than had been wise. Standing there now she could think about how she should have used transfiguration or added moisture or any of ten things she could think of to buy the time to pull down the wards causing her problems. When the first three hadn't worked, she had basically lost her head and blasted her way out.
Knowing she had to keep going in order to be able to stop, she raised her wand, then began carefully checking what she could of the outer shell. As she began taking them down she realised there was a pattern and she stopped for a minute.
Using her finger she drew on the sandy floor of the maze. Yes. That was the same as the first challenges equation solution. Three more came down at their corresponding solutions but this one hadn't had an equation. It was more of a trap situation and again she thought of the blasted tournament. Yaxley and his sense of humor. She better get a bottle of that wine after this.
Suddenly she dropped and rolled forward. Her magics telling her the wall of magic was coming down right where she was and it was powerful. That would take a lot to break down. More than she had or could afford to spend right now. The only way out was forward, so as she came up from her roll she wasn't caught too off guard by the bolts of energy coming at her from what felt like all directions. It was too many for individual shields so she used her loose magic to swirl around herself and began quickly finding the end of the domino like stacked wards that were powering the attack. As they began to fall it was like a swirl falling around her as they came down. Not for the first time she wondered what her audience saw. Breathing a bit heavier than she would like, she let her wry appreciation of the showy way the magic had been used show on her face.
Now she was looking at a golden vase. On a pedestal, and she was glad Harry was here to appreciate the absolute appalling morbid humour involved in this. It wasn't a copy but this definitely had the feel of the TriWizard Tournament to it. She hoped he could see the amusement behind it, instead of taking it badly.
Dolohov wouldn't be pleased if she just took it but she knew that it was a portkey and that she would have to touch it. Two spells showed it was and she took a breath before grabbing it.
