A Touch of Magic

by Fynnion

Kiba Rolf Scamander was abandoned by his parents at a Muggle Orphanage called Leverton's. He has lived his life not knowing of his heritage or the Magic world, until a man enters the orphanage to change his life for ever. Rated M for Adult Themes/Language/Gore Cover made by Elená Georgi

41. Chapter 41: The First Trial

Chapter 41: The First Trial

The Eight students descended the stairs then turned right and went further down past an open gate to a giant round table. "it's all Wrong!" One voice could be heard, along with some French shouting.
"You French Tart. Everything's a conspiracy theory with you!" Moody could be heard
"Quiet, I can't think!" Dumbledore could be heard through the commotion.
"disqualify him!" A tired man spoke in-between as the adults all rushed down the stairs
"Everything's a conspiracy theory!" Moody repeated
"I Protest! I Protest" the tall woman says from the far back as they all came into view
"Kiba! Kiba!" Dumbledore called twice his voice calm as always but his eyes gleaming like a wild-fire
"make a redraw for your champion!" the brown skinned man said
"Kiba, did you put your name into the Goblet of fire?" Dumbledore asked calmly, holding Kiba tightly by the shoulders.
"No Sir!" he responded.
"Did you ask one of the older students to do it for you?"
"No Sir!" he responded again
"Are you Absolutely sure?!" he looked deep into Kiba's eyes
"Yes, yes Sir!" Kiba said again. Dumbledore, who had been looking over the top of his spectacles, relaxed his grip and lowered his gaze.
"Well of course he is lying!" Madame Maxime said finally making it to the last step of the stairs, as she smacked the hanging lantern out of her way.
"THE HELL HE IS!" Moody spat "The Goblet of fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object. Only an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm could have hoodwinked it. Magic way above the talents of a Fourth-Year!" he added, more towards Dumbledore then anyone else.
"you seem to have given this a fair bit of thought, Mad-Eye!" Karkaroff said pushing himself through between Dumbledore and Kiba to stand face to face with Moody
"It was once my job to think as dark Wizards do, Karkaroff. Perhaps you remember" he replied coldly
"That doesn't help!" The finely dressed woman said with a strong Russian accent
"Barty, I leave this to you.." Dumbledore said. Everyone looked to Barty, who's bottom lip was quivering. He blinked a quick few times
"the rules are absolute." He replied "The Goblet of fire constitutes a Binding Magical Contract.." he turned around to address all the champions and the school heads "Mister Scamander has no choice. He is, as of tonight, a Teen Wizard Champion" Kiba suddenly felt more nervous then ever as they all looked at him, he felt suddenly overwhelmed. And sunk into a nearby chair.
"so be it" Dumbledore said stepping over to Kiba's chair. All the other champions took a seat as well with their school Head behind them.
"Welcome Champions, you have all been selected to compete in the first ever Teen Wizard Tournament. Here are a few things: Firstly, you must select an Aide from your school. This person will not only assist you during the tasks and the preparation for them, they will be your substitutes if you're unable to compete." Crouch explained "Secondly, the grade of any given task will be selected via a judging of ministry officials. So it's not just about how quickly you pass the trial, if you finish first or last, it's about HOW you complete the trial. Thirdly, each school will host one task. It is that schools champions duty, to travel around and bring the other champions to their school, giving them not only a tour of your school but also making sure they are treated fairly. Understood?" they all nodded and Crouch revealed a glass Jar and passed it around, allowing every champion to take out a piece of paper, Kiba being the last to do so. "we'll begin here with Miss Rodriguez and go around to Mister Scamander please reveal your papers"
Each paper had the name of a school on it and so the locations for each task were selected. The first would be in Bouxbatons in France, followed by Uagadou in Africa, followed by Durmstrang in Poland. The Fourth task would be at Castelobruxo in Brazil followed by Mohoutokoro on a Japanese Island. The sixth would be at Koldovstoretz in Russia followed by Ilvermorny in America finally ending up at Hogwarts.
"Now we have our locations, you will all be receiving word soon on the First Task and it's date. Goodnight now" Crouch turned and promptly left and Dumbledore soon took Kiba and Moody as well. Kiba followed Dumbledore to his office where Dumbledore finally spoke to him.
"It was supposed to be Harry, wasn't it?" Dumbledore asked, Kiba nodded quietly "Noble of you to protect your friend Kiba.. but I wasn't lying when I said these Tasks are dangerous" Dumbledore said "you'll be needing extra work in both charms and Defense against the Dark Arts. Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape will help you prepare…"
"and my Aide?" Kiba asked "who would you want me to choose?"
"I urge you to ask one of the Older students, a Seventh-Year could provide knowledge that you currently lack" Dumbledore replied. "oh, and this." He conjured a sheet of paper "please fill this out, you'll need all your abilities during these Tasks.. though I believe one form suffices" Kiba grabbed the paper and Read it.
"Animagus Registration Form?" he asked "you know?"
"Indeed, quite the feat I must say. Multiple forms even. But you'd think after three troublemaker students became Animagi right under my nose, I'd pay more attention" he replied with a smirk "send it off as soon as you can" he sent Kiba off with a single goodnight and as he left the office he saw Moody, McGonagall and Snape waiting outside. They all wished him a goodnight and entered the office.
Kiba had soon reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and even before he has completely entered the hole Hermione was already there pulling him into a deep embrace. "I know what you did," she said "Brave. But stupid"
"thanks, I guess" he replied. "I don't know what came over me, but I couldn't let Harry just put himself in danger like that" Hermione let him go and frowned
"So you save him by putting yourself in danger?" she asked
"I'll be fine, Hermione" he said making his way to the armchairs "I'll be getting some extra lessons, and I'll just do my best. Win or Not"
"Still.. Dumbledore did say these Tasks are gruesome and dangerous.. not to mention that probably require an extensive knowledge of every aspect of Magic" She said "if you'd like I can help you prepare for your Tasks.." she offered "well, the theory of them" she added
"I'll take any help I can get" Kiba replied.
"so you know what the first Task is?"
"No. It's going to be at Bouxbatons though" he replied "that's all we were told"
"I'll see what I can dig up on the school," Hermione said "but we should get some rest now. I know you are shaken up by this too" she stated as she made her way to the starts "Goodnight, Kiba"
"Night, Hermione" he replied. Of course Hermione was right. He was shaken, he was worried.. maybe he was even scared. Neither Harry nor he should have been eligible to participate, and neither had put their name up for consideration. How was it then that they were chosen? The boy stared at the fire, his thoughts swirling over what was to happen, if he even had a chance to win.. he eventually got to bed as well amongst the rest of the snoring boys hoping to find sleep quickly, yet it didn't come.
"This can't go on, Albus" McGonagall spoke up to the Headmaster in his office "First the Dark Mark, and now this… we both know it was supposed to be Harry"
"What do you suggest, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked as he stared into his Pensive
"put an end to it. Don't let Scamander Compete"
"Crouch said he's bound by the contract.. he has to compete!" Moody intervened
"Headmaster, I too find it difficult to believe this to be a mere coincidence" Snape said almost timidly "however, if we are to truly discover the meaning of these events perhaps we should, for the time being.. let them unfold"
"what? Do nothing?!" McGonagall said whipping her head around to glare at Snape "offer him up as bait? Scamander is a Boy. Not a piece if meat!" she protested "Have you no care for your God-son, Severus?"
"I Agree.. with Severus" Dumbledore said calmly "Alastor, keep an eye on Harry, will you?"
"I can do that" he replied letting his eye rotate around once
"He'll want to investigate himself" Dumbledore added "Severus, perhaps you could give Kiba some extra lessons. He'll require allot of knowledge and has little time to collect it"
"Of course, Headmaster, Whenever I'm available"
"I shall ask the same of Filius.. and perhaps, I shall call upon another to assist young Scamander.. he'll need All the help he can get"
Kiba woke up the next morning almost at the same time as Ron. They both got dressed without uttering a word, but when Ron headed for the door Kiba finally decided to speak "Shouldn't we wake Harry?" He asked
"why?" Ron replied
"so he can have breakfast too"
"He's Harry Potter, he can do what he wants" Ron spat before leaving in a huff. He waited down the stairs ignoring Hermione's Hello as he headed for the portrait hole. Kiba decided to wake Harry and head down himself
"Morning, 'mione" he said finishing with his tie
"Hey, what's up with Ron?" she asked looking towards the portrait hole
"I don't know, i-"
"Morning guys, have you seen Ron?" Harry asked
"he's already headed down," Kiba said "we were just waiting for you" Harry lead the way towards the great Hall and as they entered, suddenly the while Gryffindor table rose and began applauding and yelling for Kiba. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joined in as well along with a handful of Slytherin's. Lee Jordan even jumped up from his seat and dashed over to hang a Gryffindor banner over Kiba's shoulders. Kiba just kind of stood there, feeling undeserving of such attention, but that is when he spotted Ron, still looking away, seated and eating. The Three made their way to a free spot near Ron doing their best not to shove anyone to hard as they were all slapping Kiba on the shoulders. Congratulating him on being chosen.
"How did you do it?" Ron asked suddenly as Harry sat down
"do what?" Harry replied
"you know bloody well what, might've let your best friend know though" Ron shot back "I know that the flame choose you, not Kiba"
"Ron, I don't know what happened last night. But I know this, I didn't put my name in that cup" Harry answered sounding thoroughly annoyed "I didn't ask for this to happen…"
"That right? Bet you can't resist it anymore. You've been a Hero since your birth"
"if Harry wanted the glory, then why didn't he accept the flame?" Kiba said doing his best to defend Harry and calm Ron
"he chickened out, thought the tasks we going to be to difficult.. so now you take the fall for him" Ron said harshly
"I didn't ask for this to happen, to any of us" Harry jumped back in "you're being stupid.." there was a moment of silence, Harry and Ron just stared at each other
"Yeah, that's me.." Ron said "Harry Potter's stupid friend" he grabbed a slice of toast and left the table without looking back. As they ate more and more students came over to bother Kiba, asking him how he had submitted his name, and who his Aide was going to be. Kiba tried his best to tell them all that he hasn't decided on one and that he hadn't submitted his name.
"Mister Scamander, would you join me please?" Flitwick announced himself beside them. Kiba immediately obligated got up from his seat
"I'll see you later guys" he said before following Flitwick from the hall. "What is it, Professor?" he agreed politely
"nothing to worry about, for a start, you can relax" he replied "Professor Dumbledore had asked Severus and I to give you some additional lessons, so you don't lag behind the other champions. As inconvenient as the incident may be, we still want to see Hogwarts become the first winner of the Teen Wizard Tournament"
"Sounds great" Kiba said
"But," Flitwick continued "Severus and I tend to be busy with seven years of students to teach and grade.. so Dumbledore has called for a third, Personal Teacher for you. They will meet you in the empty classroom on the seventh floor, today, an hour before the Feast"
"alright, thank you Professor"
"bring your timetable!" he ordered "off you go, that's all"
"Thank you, Professor!" as soon as Flitwick had left Kiba spotted a few students coming for him again. He decided to make a run for it and lost them quickly, opting to head for the Magical Creatures Reserve. He remained there for a while, chatting with Lancelot and watching the Wompus Cat young playing around. But eventually classes called and he had to leave, finding a group of students waiting for him.
Kiba spent the day contemplating who he could take as an aide until he finally decided. Lunch came and Kiba found himself approaching the Hufflepuff's table where he tapped on one seventh-years shoulder. "if it isn't the Hogwarts Champion" Cedric said turning towards the younger boy.
"listen, Cedric. We're supposed to choose an Aide who assists us with preparation for the tasks and technically compete if I'm unable to" Kiba began "Wou-"
"Definitely, I'll be your Aide!" he responded without hesitation
"oh, ahem, great.. thanks. I'll- I'll let Dumbledore know.. Thanks Cedric" he Said awkwardly returning quickly to his lunch. The day was soon nearing the evening feast when Kiba excused himself from the common room to head up to the seventh floor. He knocked on the door and awaited a response.
"Please enter," a very familiar voice spoke.
"Remus!" Kiba greeted the man excitedly dashing over to him for a friendly hug. "you're going to teach me?"
"Yes," he said "but not today. Have you brought your timetable?"
"Yes, here" he handed the man his parchment and he looked it over quickly. "but what about your.. condition?"
"well, Severus has agreed to brew me some Wolvesbain" Lupin replied "and if I can't teach then Flitwick or Snape will help you"
"Thank you.." Kiba said
"Are you nervous?" Lupin asked carefully, looking into the boys eyes
"I'm terrified.." he replied honestly
"I see" the two went over his timetable and scheduled three separate times in which Kiba could get some extra lessons. And so, the week passed on. Kiba was having his first lesson with Lupin. "here, what I want to teach you is a very useful spell for travelling short distances" Lupin said "it is considered to be flight, but I like to call it dematerialization" he explained "watch" Lupin closed his eyes and a sort of white smoke emitted from him, it consumes him as it danced before taking off to the ceiling of the room and then in circles around it. Kiba watched in awe as it descended quickly to the ground, it swirled a bit as it danced around before falling to reveal Lupin within it. The last traces of smoke falling from his shoulders and hands like water flowing from a mountain.
"Amazing" Kiba said in awe.
"While in this form you can fit through very tight spaces, but you cannot fire any spells" Lupin said "however, specific spells can hit you, but your speed should be enough to avoid them. But if you do get hit, you have to materialize immediately. Otherwise, you might get stuck in a partially dematerialized form of yourself.."
"I want to learn it, please teach me" Kiba replied enthusiastically
"I will, of course. Now, many of the things I'm going to teach you now stem from the same methods as Apparating, so remember it carefully, you'll learn that eventually too" Kiba left that lesson having made significant progress. Now being able to partially dematerialize. He quickly made his way to the dungeons towards Potions where he heard a heated argument between Harry and Malfoy. He rounded a corner and they finally came into view, along with to colored jets of light and a few yells. Goyle, who had been standing next to Malfoy tumbled backwards and fell over and Kiba quickly saw massive boils sprouting on his face and then he looked past them and saw Hermione turned away from Harry and Ron clutching her jaw.
"Hermione!" Kiba ran over to her and tried to take her hands away so he could look. But she turned away and whimpered on. But it was getting more difficult for her to hide, suddenly her front teeth were growing larger underneath her hand, starting to poke out at the bottom just past her chin. Kiba finally managed to move her hand aside, but she was far beyond his help. He grabbed his wand from behind his ear but Hermione was crying out in terror now as she touched her teeth.
"What is all this noise?" Snape said opening the door to his classroom.
"Potter attacked Goyle! Look!" Malfoy shouted quickly pointing towards the panicking Goyle
"Mister Goyle, to the hospital Wing. Quick!" he sneered
"only because Malfoy attacked Hermione, look! Ron added pointing towards Hermione's teeth
"I see no difference…" Snape replied receiving an immediate evil look from Kiba and several shouts from Harry and Ron. Hermione whimpered once more and ran off with Kiba close behind.
"HERMIONE, WAIT!" he shouted at her once they had escaped the corridor "let me stop the growth, please!" Kiba could see the water in her eyes mounting, threatening to follow when she finally moved her hands away and let him cast a spell "Finite Incantatem" he spoke softly as a red light emitted from his wand stopping the rapid growth of her teeth. "You should go see Madam Pomfrey, and don't worry about what Snape said" he added. Hermione nodded and ran off as the boy returned to potions.
"Finally decided to join us, Mister Scamander?" Snape sneered "perhaps our Champion thinks to highly of himself now?"
"Sorry, Professor" Kiba replied "put it appears there was a little incident.." he added
"Ten points from Gryffindor for your tardiness" he added "on to the lesson.. Antidotes!" He said "I expect you have all completed your recipes. Now it's time to brew them, we'll be testing them at the end of the lesson"
Kiba got busy quickly as he took a seat beside Harry and retrieved his recipe from his bag. Snape watched them all carefully as they brewed their potions. He had just finished brewing his antidote when the door opened and Ludo Bagman came in.
"Ah, Snape. Thought this would be where you dwell!" he says happily "I'm looking for the Hogwarts Champion, have you seen him?" Kiba sighed immediately.
"Bagman, have you forgotten how to knock?" Snape sneered "incase you missed it, I am teaching"
"Ah, Mister Scamander, is that you?" Bagman said ignoring Snape completely as he walked over to Kiba. He grabbed him by the hand and shook it wildly "Belated congratulations on being chosen to represent Hogwarts, so sorry I missed the ceremony. How do you-"
"Bagman, I am teaching!" Snape repeated now standing beside Ludo.
"ah, yes, of course.. my apologies. Mister Scamander, please join me" Bagman replied
"No. Sit down, Kiba!" he sneered "you can interview him after the lesson" he pushed Kiba back down into his seat by the shoulder.
"But Snape, it's the ceremony. The weighing of wands, and some pictures for the press" Bagman said "they're all waiting upstairs" Snape let go of Kiba and growled lightly
"Fine. Mister Scamander, I shall examine your antidote thoroughly. Leave your recipe and belongings here" he sneered. Kiba nodded and left with Bagman.
"so, how does it feel? The Hogwarts Champion!" Bagman said
"wrong…" Kiba said "I didn't even want to join the tournament.. but here I am" Kiba replied
"oh come on, you can't change that now. But imagine, your name on that cup, a whole school knowing your name for centuries to come, you could do Hogwarts proud. You could be the first Teen Wizard Champion" Bagman preached, and suddenly Kiba felt himself warming up to the idea. Maybe he was destined to compete, perhaps he could win and truly earn that eternal Glory, Kiba Rolf Scamander, the first Teen Wizard Champion, known all throughout England and perhaps the rest of the world. The Underdog that surprised everyone!
Kiba was lead by Bagman to the entrance hall where Dumbledore and the other Headmasters and Headmistress' stood in wait. "Kiba, there you are" Dumbledore said "it is Time for the wand weighing"
"sir?"
"Don't worry, Mister Ollivander will simply examine your wand to determine if it is in good condition and can be used to compete" Dumbledore explained quickly "we've already been to all the other schools, you are the last. The other Heads have elected to join me to confirm no suspicious behavior. Please present your wand" Kiba quickly grabbed his wand from behind his ear and held it out across his to palms.
"Ah, yes.." Ollivander hesitated to pick up the wand but eventually did. "Acacia and Blackthorn.. 8 Inches, fairly flexible. Dragon heartstring, Veela hair and Thunderbird tail feather.." he muttered to the surprise of the foreign wizards and witches "seems to be in a fine condition and good to use, as was Mister Diggory's" he finally started handing the wand back after producing some quick flowers.
"Now, Mister Scamander. The first Task is soon to come, specifically on the Fourteenth of October" Dumbledore said "this first Task will be designed to test your Wit in a perhaps stressful situation"
"We shall collect you on the Twelfth Octobre. 'ere at Tree o' clock" Madame Maxime added
"Thank you, Madame Maxime" Kiba replied
"you may return to your class, Mister Scamand-"
"Excuse me!" a voice suddenly shouted through the hall "Dumbledore, I was hoping to Interview the Hogwarts Champion for the Daily Prophet"
"I don't think tha-" Dumbledore tried to speak but the woman was already dragging Kiba away. She had blonde hair that curled in different directions all around her head and great jeweled spectacles. A sweaty man with a big, smoking camera followed them into the nearby room and snapped pictures along the way just as he had done during the ceremony.
"I am Rita Skeeter," she began "I write for the Daily Prophet.. but of course you know that. It's you we don't know" she added with a smile. Her floating quill began scribbling across a floating notebook nearby and documented everything the either of them said, though with great exaggeration, but eventually he managed to free himself and return to Snape's classroom.
"You've returned, about time too" Snape said as he entered "any news on the trial?"
"they said it'll be about testing my Wit" Kiba replied "it'll be on the Fourteenth of October"
"Very well, to your antidote. I must say I am both intrigued and impressed by your usage of certain ingredients" Snape said quietly "It worked well when put to the test. Safe to say you once more exceeded my expectations. You're free to go now, good luck on your trial"
"Thank you, Professor" Kiba replied quickly grabbing his bag and parchment and practically sprinting from the uncommonly kind Snape. His behavior was odd to say the least.
After spending days and days practicing with Lupin and Flitwick, and the evenings preparing with Hermione's help. The Twelfth had soon come, Kiba stood outside the entrance hall with Dumbledore by his side. Waiting patiently before the clock showed Three he went over the proper greeting in his head several times, McGonagall had been very strict with him to ensure he would not embarrass Hogwarts, or the house of Gryffindor.
He waited patiently until a large carriage pulled by a dozen flying horses came into view and landed before them, a set of red stairs unfolded and the door opened. Madame Maxime stepped out first guided by Dumbledore's hand down the steps followed by Fleur Delacour. With a little push from behind by McGonagall Kiba stepped forward and held out his hand. Fleur placed hers gently in his, lifted her skirt slightly with her free hand and dipped down. Kiba bowed his head low and held her hand until they both stood straight. She gestured towards the open carriage and Kiba climbed the few steps to get inside. He was met with a beautiful, large room containing a large, circular booth in the middle where the other champions were already sitting Greeting him with hesitant words.
"Privet," the pretty blonde said as he sat down beside her "Raya" she added holding her hand out to the young boy, he shook it firmly.
"Kiba," he simply said. They all introduced themselves to him and then everyone went to their own conversations. Kiba first spoke with Raya, the pretty Russian and Viktor Krum about Quidditch. They were both very friendly towards him unlike the African boy. Later on he also spoke to the Japanese boy Akio and Alex the American who showed considerable interest in his grandmother, who had apparently been a well known Auror in America.
Kiba quickly realized that several of them spoke with thick accents. The most extreme ones were Viktor and Fleur who were increasingly hard to understand. While Adéwalé and Raya's accents were very strong they were still easy to understand and surprisingly Akio spoke with very little accent. They had soon however arrived at their destination and Fleur lead them all out of the carriage with Kiba following last. They were met with a Palace before them surrounded by large gardens, and a path leading to a large fountain and behind it the front doors. "zis fountain iz te most important," Fleur said as they passed "itz named after famous student of our school, Nicholas Flamel. Zis fountain is known to have healing and beautifying qualities" she added flipping her hair to the side with her hand. Fleur kept explaining details about the school as she lead them all to the dining hall where a special table was set for just the eight of them.
The food was brought to the table by several men and women in fine Dresses and Suits. Unlike Hogwarts there wasn't a large selection of individual foods, but a selection of deferent meals. Viktor, Alex and Adéwalé were quick to choose the steak with roasted potatoes, Alex however also selected a accompanying salad. Raya, Akio, Zoe and Kiba choose the lobster fettuccine, but only Kiba and Raya choose the salad to accompany it. Fleur was the only one to choose the chicken dish with the mashed potatoes and a salad as well.
Kiba quickly got into conversation with Akio and Raya again, both boys incredibly interested in the sort of teaching in the Russian school, and if they all had Vodka at dinner. Raya refused to tell them until they get to the school for one of the trials. Quickly however the conversations combined, turning into a match of trying to out-do each other with accomplishments and achievements. Viktor was quick to boast about his agreeably incredible Quidditch track record whilst Akio explained the nature of his golden robes, stating that the robes only turn gold if a student achieved top Marks in every subject. Raya was quick to announce her winning streak of 25 matches from her school duels and Adéwalé announced his ability to turn into a rhino at will. Kiba decided however to hold back, keeping both his Animagi ability and his rare gift of understanding animals tongues to himself.
And if the other champions really wanted to, they could look up his registration as a Lion very easily. Kiba thought back to what Dumbledore had told him before.
"I need you to understand this Kiba.. I fear something bigger then all of us is coming, so use this opportunity."
"what do you mean, professor?"
"I don't quite know it yet myself, but, this tournament is not just to test the students, and the schools by an extended. It's about international magical cooperation, or in other words-"
"making friends.." Kiba interrupted
"yes," Dumbledore sighed "you might be competing, but don't let that discourage you from being friends outside of the trials"
"I'll try Headmaster.."
"Kiba?" he was brought back by Raya. The waiting staff had now brought a selection of desserts. There was a small plate with tiny colorful cakes, a large glass filled with chocolate mousse and Ice cream as well as a small bowl of a sort of cream, the top of which had been nearly burned. Kiba choose the mousse and Ice cream and waited for the rest to make their Selection.
After dinner Fleur lead them all to a large circular room where seven beds could be seen each divided in equal sections. Each bed was of course for one if the guests. Kiba found his bed and his belongings there as well, he waited for the others to find their places. Fleur then guided them to the bathroom and shower they would have to share and wished them all a good night. Kiba got off lucky since he was a morning shower kind of person, unless he had been very active during the day, so he didn't feel a need to fight over the shower with the others and instead got comfortable in the unfamiliar bed.
Kiba was the first up the next morning and decided that he'd have a look around the grounds since today was their free day before the First Task, he woke up Hotaru and hid her until they were alone to walk the grounds. Hotaru sat on Kiba's shoulder, enjoying the cold morning breeze that rustled the leaves and bushes along the paths. 'how are you feeling?'
"well, there's a lot of words to describe it. Scared, uncertain.. terrified" he replied "but none really capture my true state of mind"
"How about bezumnyy?" a voice added behind him "that means crazy…" Raya snuck up on the boy. Hotaru had quickly hidden herself in his jacket pocket to avoid being seen, which luckily she wasn't.
"Raya!" Kiba jumped in surprise, "I thought you were still sleeping.
"well, key to being champion is healthy routine" she replied "I get up early to workout every day"
"well, then your chances are better then mine.." Kiba replied "I just couldn't sleep any longer" Raya chuckled at this, falling in line with Kiba to walk with him, she was silent for a moment before looking back at the younger boy
"you really did not apply for the tournament?" she asked, Kiba simply nodded "and now you are forced to compete.."
"I just don't believe I stand a chance.." Kiba muttered "you all have much more experience, and you've been in school for longer-"
"you doubt yourself, stupid thing to do." Raya told him with a smile "I, for one, never underestimate the underdog"
"What do you mean?"
"You approach problem with different mindset," Raya explained "unexpected mindset for experienced champions"
"So you're saying I stand a chance, cause I know less?"
"No, no. You stand a chance, because we cannot predict you," she answered with a smack on Kiba's head "I know what I've learned throughout my school years, I don't know how much you have learned yet"
"Hmph, I guess you can see it that way" Kiba sighed
"we will see," Raya muttered "you should believe in yourself, yes?"
"Yes,"
"gotta keep going, good talk"
"yeah.." Kiba said "thank you!" He called after her. "thank you.." he muttered again. The day remained uneventful until the next morning when it was fine for the trial. There was some time to kill before they had to assemble so Kiba decided to greet his friends, well Hermione and Harry.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked with genuine concern
"well, better.." the boy replied "got some encouragement from Raya" he added
"oh really?" Harry asked with a smirk
"funny Harry," Kiba replied "but seriously, she says I stand a chance because they expect me to lose"
"well, you are up against the best" Hermione reminded the Hogwarts Champion "I dug into their school's and checked any sort of mentions of them in the papers. Now Krum is an obvious one, he's top of his class in all physical subjects and anything involving a broom. His shortcomings are subjects such as Potions, Arithmacy and Ancient Runes to name a few" Hermione explained "Delacour is Top of the Line, in all subjects. She's smart but I assume she doesn't get into pressure situations often. Chidubem set a record for becoming the youngest animagus, he managed his transformation at nine years old. That's about all I found.."
"That helps plenty, thanks 'mione" Kiba said with a smile before excusing himself to join the other champions. Kiba was blindfolded and soon brought into a room on his own, as were all the other champions, he was told to keep his eyes closed until he heard the sound of a canon and only once he did, did he open his eyes.
It was pitch black in his room, his eyes had already partially adjusted to the dark but he quickly reached for his wand and with a simple muttering of the incantation it lit up the room in blue shimmering light. He gave the room a quick once over, and it appeared to be a kitchen. There was a stove-top an oven, cupboards a sink and a fridge with a freezer on top along with a single window that was barely see-through. Kiba spotted a chandelier above his head and quickly lit it before sticking the wand behind his ear. He approached the window once more and got as close as he could.. there was movement behind it. "Finestra" he said flourishing his wand. The window reduced to little more then dust and Kiba looked through.
"Kiba! Help me" he heard the boy cry out. It was Cedric, he was seated on a wooden chair, his hands bound behind him and his wand no where in sight. The window was too small to climb through so Kiba decided his best choice was too calm Cedric down.
"Cedric, this is a trial." He said "I'm gonna find a way to get you out of there, just tell me what you see"
"Okay, okay" Cedric breathed heavily trying to calm himself down. "I see.. Runes right In front of me, and.. and a door to my right" Kiba checked the left side of the wall he was standing in front of and saw the fridge. He grabbed it and pulled it away from the wall a bit and saw the door too, it was locked however. He tried the unlocking charm but it was pointless. He started to rummage through cupboards and drawers and found letters and numbers, several of them.
"Cedric, you said you have runes?" Kiba asked
"yes, yes right in front of me," he replied quickly
"okay, well I've got letters and numbers here, maybe the right word will get me a key" he thought out loud.
"sounds great, but I can't read them.." Cedric said in defeat.
"describe them to me," Kiba said he grabbed his wand again and muttered a spell that allowed him to draw on his hand so Cedric could correct him. They got through it very quickly as Kiba wrote down what they translated on his side of the wall. "it's a riddle, were getting there!" and that is when it happened, the ground rumbled and slowly the ground beneath Cedric began moving, revealing a pitch black pit beneath him.
"Kiba, it's moving!" he cried out pushing his chair back against the wall
"Cedric! Calm down, focus on the runes!" Kiba yelled at him and they quickly finished the translation before the ground had even retracted ten percent of the way.
"what does it say?" Cedric asked
"All things it devours, birds, beasts, trees and flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel. Grinds hard stones to meal. Slays kings, ruins towns. And beats high mountains down" Kiba read.
"Beats me," Cedric said "I'm sorry Kiba, I'm not good with riddles"
"shush" Kiba said pressing his eyes shut. He wasn't sure if anyone else was watching but he knew that if Hermione were she'd know.
"forget the Riddle, I'm running out of time!" Cedric pleaded "just get me out of here"
"Time.. Time! That's it Cedric!" Kiba said excitedly looking around for a place where he could insert the letter's he had. He spotted a framed picture and took it off to find a set of slots in which he inserted the letters. The wall accepted the letters and out of the wood formed a key that Kiba used to unlock the door. The floor had now disappeared almost half way, Cedric was panicking more and more as he tried to wiggle out of his restraints.
"Cedric! Did anything change?" Kiba asked through the doorway as he too checked his room
"the ground is still moving, but nothing else-" he stopped "the Runes, they changed! They're words now!" Kiba decided to jump Over to Cedric and tried to free Cedric with the second key as Cedric read out loud "it cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after. Ends life, kills laughter" Kiba hopped back to the other side and checked his letters, he knew the answer but didn't have the letters.
"Cedric, I know the answer, it's darkness.. but I don't have the letters.." Kiba admitted looking through the window to the horrible sight of the ground disappearing beneath Cedric.
"Help!" he shouted as his chair tipped over the edge. Kiba was already at the door, having just casted a jinx that would make Cedric as light as a feather. He flourished his wand again and shouted his incantation in absolute panic, praying to himself that it would work.
"Carpe Retractum!" a rope of orange light shot from his wand and wrapped around Cedric and the chair. Thanks to his previous spell Kiba wasn't flung down into the hole along with Cedric and was able to pull him up into his own room. "Here, I think I can open it. Kiba inserted the key again and tried to turn it and it didn't work. He grabbed his wand and muttered another spell "Obscurum" a black mist poured from his wand engulfing the lock.
CLICK
The shackles fell off immediately and Cedric was finally free. But it wasn't over apparently, they were still stuck in that room. "how did we even get in here?" Cedric asked
"I was brought in here… but I walked, so there must be another door" Kiba muttered
"Revelio" Cedric had his wand out and pointed it at the walls around them until a door finally appeared. The two boys smirked at each other.
"Aberto" Kiba simply said with a point of his wand and the door opened, allowing the two to step out. Kiba looked around the stands, and saw Harry and Hermione cheering wildly as they stepped out. He looked over to the other doors and saw two others open too. Fleur and her Aide as well as Akio and his were out already, above the other doors however were projections of the ones who were still in their trial. Kiba could see immediately that they had all been different from his as he watched Raya save her Aide from being crushed between two moving walls, secretly rooting for her to finish next.
The rest had all soon finished as well and Ludo Bagman announced loudly that the judges would be announcing the placements soon. "to make things a little easier, we've decided to implement a Point-System. The champion in first place shall be awarded Four Points, the champion in second place, Three Points, the champion in third place, Two points and the champions from Fourth to Eighth place shall be awarded One point each"
"gotta say Kiba, I'm impressed" Cedric whispered to him "you showed some real talent in there"
"Thanks Cedric," Kiba whispered back with a smile, the praise from his Aide catching him by surprise.
"I mean it, I'm honored to be your Aide" Cedric added "despite what the people say, I believe you got a real shot at winning this tournament"
"it iz time to announce ze placements!" Madam Maxime said loudly "in First Place, Akio Itō!" "in Second Place, Fleur Delacour!" "in Third Place, Kiba Scamander!" most of the Hogwarts students went wild, above all the noise Kiba could hear Hermione Woo'ing and Harry shouting his name, a fair amount of non-Gryffindor's were also cheering but few to no Slytherin's were even paying attention. Raya, who was standing next to Kiba nudged him with her elbow as she clapped. "In Fourth Place, Raya Kravchenko! In Fifth Place, Alex Mason! In Sixth Place, Adéwalé Chidubem! In Seventh Place, Viktor Krum!" now finally the Slytherin's decided to make some noise, opting to root not for their school, but for Durmstrang instead "and finally, in Eighth Place, Zoe Rodriguez!"
"Now that the first Task has come to an end, it is time to enjoy the hospitality of Boubaxtons!" Bagman announced.
"please follow ze Students to our dining hall" Madame Maxime added gesturing to her flock of students who prepared to all to the dining hall
"the champions must remain for a little longer, but they will join you all shortly" Bagman intervened again. And as every student was lead away, the Aide's closed up the rear of the large crowd that was headed towards the palace. "congratulations, congratulations!" Bagman went along all champions stopping a little longer on Kiba "I am pleasantly surprised with your performances" he added "you all successfully saved your Aide and completed the first trial!"
"But there is little time to dwell on this success," the wide, dark skinned woman intervened "the second trial will take place at Uagadou, it will test your endurance, and the trial will be on the third of November. You will be collected on the first of the same month by myself and Adéwalé"
"Yes, so prepare yourselves well starting tomorrow, because tonight we celebrate!" Bagman yelled as he lead the way to the palace. Kiba arrived at the hall and saw the big hall filled with all sorts of colorful robes. He spotted Raya, who was being congratulated by a Boy and several girls. Then there was Akio who was in a excited conversation with what looked to be identical triplets from his school. He was looking around for any familiar faces when he was suddenly tackled by a warm hug.
"you did it!" Hermione squealed as she squeezed him harder "I knew you could" she let go of the boy sand looked up at him with a wide smile.
"yeah, we had no doubts" Neville added smacking Kiba on the shoulder.
"We were worried for Diggory though," Harry added "looked like he couldn't handle the pressure"
"Well I was in a difficult situation" Cedric said from behind Harry before continuing his walk around.
"so, what's the second trial?" Hermione asked quickly
"well, it's at Uagadou in Africa," Kiba replied "the Headmistress said it was going to test our endurance" Hermione looked at her feet thoughtfully
"Hermione, relax" Harry told her "let Kiba celebrate his success before you go on to the second trial"
"It's on the third," Kiba said "it's less then a month away"
"Hmm. I'll go chat up with some people from Uagadou, maybe they'll give me some insight to their school" Hermione replied before turning without hesitation and chatting up with some girls wearing African robes much like Adéwalé. Kiba himself was approached as well, but not by anyone he wanted to be approached by.
"Mister Scamander!" Rita Skeeter called out to him as the flash momentarily blinded him and his two friends "can I have a quick word on your first trial? What did it feel like, and, is this what you expected when you submitted your name?"
"Uhmm.. oh my god, is that a.. it can't be!" Kiba said pointing to a nearby window. Rita skeeter and her camera man dashed over to the window allowing the three boys to make a quick escape from the hall, but not before Kiba spotted Hermione among the crowd talking to none other than Viktor Krum.

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