* A/N: Danger… ok, who the hell would create a contest with danger? Only the author! Well anyway, Harry and the gang finds three kids along the way in their second task who informs them that the whole contest is a trap! How will they get out of this task let alone the trap? Well you have two more chapters to find out the second question, but the first question remains to be answered in Chapter 6: Task 2- The Elements Combine! *
Chapter 6: Task 2- The Elements Combine
Further and further the teams had walked down
the corridor. All you could hear were the quiet whispers of the people and the
drip drop sound that casually occurred often. Finally, all walking had ceased
and four doors appeared before their eyes.
"I will need your undivided
attention please, for the next task could be dangerous," said Minglewatts with
his cold grim voice.
"I beg your pardon?" Seamus
exclaimed. "Did I just hear the word 'dangerous'? Ok, that's my cue to get the
fuck out of this wannabe gothic place." Just as soon as he turned around and
walked, he had been knocked back onto the floor. Seamus had walked into an
invisible wall that wasn't there before.
"Unfortunately you won't be
leaving," Minglewatts mentioned, "for once you check in, there's no checking
out unless you finished the tasks. Moving along, here lies before you four
doors leading to paths that never meet at any point. This is an Apparate Free
Zone, so you will have to get to the end using your cunning and magical
skills."
All heads started to swivel from
left to right since everyone was looking at each other. Everyone broke out into
chatter, some saying, "oh great," and "this is such bullshit".
"Well, it is time for each team to
choose a path," he continued. "Along the way, you will need to find four items.
These items are as follows: Basilisk Eyes, a vile of Unicorn Blood, Fairy
Wings, and Phoenix Talons. Anything unusual you shall and will ignore." After
those words, he gave Harry and the rest of them a spine-chilling look.
Hermione quickly jotted down the
items on a piece of parchment. Then they chose to go through a door embroidered
with a lightning bolt, a raging fire, an ice crystal, and a drop of water.
"Ok everyone," Ron began to say as
they walked down their path. "It's best if we stick together .We don't know
what's going to lie ahead of us basically."
After the little pep talk, everyone
lighted the ends of their wands. They then put the tips together to form one
light to emanate the area around them.
"Did anyone besides me wonder why he
mentioned anything about finding something 'unusual'?" Hermione pondered.
"I did," Cho replied. "Maybe he's hiding
something. I also realized that he had glared at us when he mentioned
it."
"Not to be big headed or anything,"
said Harry, "but who said he didn't look at us because he knows that Herm, Ron,
and myself were known for uncovering secrets? I mean, we did have that
reputation ever since our first year at Hogwarts, and we still do."
"Is it just me," Padma said with
chattering teeth, "or is it getting a bit cold all of a sudden?"
"Actually, I think the ice emblem on
the door might have something to do with the area we're coming to," Seamus
pointed out. "Maybe this path has something to do with the elements. At least
there's light up ahead. NOX!" They were now in an area filled with
icebergs and glaciers.
"Bloody Merlin!" Harry shouted.
"Look!" Up ahead, three black children were in separate ice blocks. They looked
as if they were in a deep slumber. Their wands were hovering above their
isolated blocks. Harry had gone up to one of the ice blocks, which held a kid
around thirteen years of age. He had light skin, was skinny, with short hair
(low haircut), and circular glasses.
"Ok, this is weird," Harry said,
"This kid has a 30-70 resemblance to me!"
"What should we do?" Cho shrieked.
"He said not to tamper with anything besides what we're looking for."
"I don't know about you, but surely
I wouldn't want to be in an ice cube for who knows how long," Harry said. "I
say we should melt them out. Maybe they still have a little string of life in
them. Besides, right now Minglewatts can kiss my grits."
"all right. Herm, you take the other
cube," Cho ordered, "and I'll take the one with the girl." So they all
pointed their wands at their designated
blocks.
"LANCANUM INFLAMARE!" They
simultaneously shouted. A burst of flames had emitted out of the tip of their
wands, and the ice cubes automatically began to melt. As the melting continued,
the heat had also penetrated the kids in the process. The boy with the glasses'
finger had moved an inch away from his chest. The rest of the children's eyes
began to slowly open. The melting had finally stopped, and the hovering wands
had been sent to their hands.
"Th…th-thank…you," the other boy
said, shivering. He was a quite heavy-set kid also around thirteen and with
glasses. His hair was up to his shoulders in braids.
"Holy shit, guys," the skinny boy
said, "Harry has a 30-70 resemblance to me!"
"Hey, how did you know my name?"
asked Harry.
"Did you forget who you are or are
you just stupid?" the girl stammered. She was average weight with her hair in
cornrows. She was a little darker than her obvious friends and (A/N: I bet you
know what I'm going say about her) also looked about thirteen. "We might have
been frozen here for about a year, but everyone knows about Harry Potter."
"Yeah, you're The Boy Who Lived,"
the skinny kid noted. "Were you frozen too or do you just have a bad memory?"
"Oh, I guess I did forget," he
blushed. "Anyway, who are you three?"
"Well, my name's DéShaun
Armbrister," the skinny boy stated.
"I'm Michael Culzac," the heavy-set
kid chimed.
"And I'm Chennelle Harris," the girl
said. "We're very pleased to meet you!"
"Well, since you already know me,"
Harry started," "these are my friends Hermione, Seamus, Ron, and Padma, and
this is my girlfriend Cho."
"Pleased to meet all of you,"
Chennelle said. "Well, we have some bad news for you."
"You see," DéShaun began, "this
'contest' is a trap."
"A trap?" Harry and the rest
of them shouted.
"Yeah," Michael added. "When we
entered this 'contest', it was just for a new broomstick. You know, the
Lightning Jolt?"
"Anyway," Chennelle interrupted, "it
wasn't for couples as the contest is for you, but for teens. So when we reached
this part of the contest, we had already concluded that this was a trick."
"So Minglewatts had thrown us into a deep
slumber and frozen us," DéShaun finished. " By the way, did we mention that
we're fifteen?"
"I knew that faggot was up to
something!" Seamus exploded. "I just have one more question. How did you know
it was a trap?"
"Well, we can give you a
demonstration," Chennelle said as they started to walk. "Someone think of
something."
I wonder if we can trust
them, Harry thought to himself.
"Of course you can trust us, dumb
ass!" DéShaun snapped at Harry. "If you couldn't trust us, why the hell would
we waste our time telling you what happened? We would have just killed you and
then finished this task."
"How did you know what I was
thinking?"
"Well, that's how we knew it was a
trap," Michael said. "Along side our magic, we can read minds."
"I am also a Parselmouth," said
DéShaun with pride.
"And I am the Seeker for Gryffindor
House," Chennelle chimed. "I also know practically every spell in Wizarding
history."
"Wow! So was I when I was in
Hogwarts!" Hermione screamed. "Did you read Hogwarts: A History?" As
they talked and gabbed about books, Michael and DéShaun were having their own
conversation.
"Hey, you think that Hermione chick
is cute?" Michael whispered.
"Sort of," DéShaun responded, "but
you know I have my mind set on someone else. Besides, she's too old for you."
"Well, maybe I should catch her in a
corner anyway," Michael snickered. DéShaun gave him a very hurtful nudge in his
arm. Further up ahead, they saw an area with mountains and volcanoes. Blazes of
fire brew up from the top as if it were ready to erupt.
"By the way," Harry asked, "did
anyone see one of these items?" Harry handed them the list. A few seconds was
devoted to silence until…
"Oh yeah!" DéShaun exclaimed. "These
must be the Basilisk Eyes. No wonder why we almost fainted when we looked
directly at them." He gave them the large round eyeballs, and they proceeded
further.
Just then, about fifteen yetis came
riding on an avalanche, heading straight towards them.
"Uh-oh," Seamus shuddered. "How're
we going to fight them off?"
"We're definitely outnumbered," Ron
reassured them.
"Well, we might as well fight back,"
Chennelle said out of bravery. They ran towards the yetis hoping that they can
find a way pass them.
I hope this works,
Harry thought. "ACCIO GRYFFINDOR SWORD!" He waited a while as they tried
to fend off the yetis, hoping that his plan would work. Just then, he saw a
glint of light flashing towards them and a high pitched slashing sound. He knew
it was the sword, and as soon as it halted in front of him, he grabbed the
handle and quickly did another spell.
"DUPLICANTENIUM!" (A/N: OK,
so I had to make a spell up, big deal.) The sword turned into several
duplicates, and he did a Banishing Charm sending each one to his friends. They were
slashing and cutting away at the yetis, but it didn't seem to work. The yetis
were just as strong as their forces.
"This isn't helping us, damn-it!"
Michael said with sheer sarcasm. "What do we fucking do now? We're practically
surrounded!"
"I remember Hagrid teaching us
something in Care of Magical Creatures class," Chennelle thought. "He said a
little poem. I think it was 'Yetis, yetis, their height is their fame, but
one thing they hate is… The heat of a flame!!!' That's what it was." She
withdrew her wand and pointed it at the yetis. "INCENDIO" A ball of fire
shot from her wand, and the yetis were now hopping around like little sissies.
The gang then ran pass them and proceeded up the volcano.
****
"This must represent the fire element," Seamus continued with his previous
analysis, "like the fire emblem on the door."
"He may be a joker, but he's surely
observant," Hermione squealed with joy, and she gave him a long kiss.
"Moving right along," DéShaun said.
The smooching was too much for his "young" eyes. "I believe I see a Phoenix
nest on the other side." Sure enough it was a nest of a Phoenix, and they cleverly
did a Hovering Charm on themselves to cross the hot sweltering lava pit. There
in the nest lied the Phoenix Talons, the second item on their list. Just as
soon as Cho went to pick them up, a Phoenix cry had filled the air. The scarlet
and golden bird with its gold beak, tail, and talons had ferociously swooped
down, trying to protect its nest. Ron was knocked into the fiery hole as the
wings of the Phoenix had brushed him.
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" Padma
screamed, and Ron had stopped an inch away from being melted in the gooey hot
lava. He was levitated back up, and the Phoenix still was flapping its wings in
fury.
"Hey, let's try to domesticate it,"
DéShaun clambered.
"Yeah," Chennelle agreed. "Then
maybe she can fly us to that lake over there."
"Does anyone have any herbs?"
Hermione asked.
"Just one sec," DéShaun said,
pulling out a weird looking wallet.
"What's that?" said Michael in
amazement.
"Well, it's called a MiniLargo,"
Chennelle explained. "It can carry anything from Knuts to Broomsticks."
"And I intend to get my new broom
out," DéShaun concluded. He pulled out a silver broom. It was shape like a
lightning bolt and looked freshly bought from Diagon Alley. Every birch twig was trimmed to perfection, there
were footrests implanted on it, and words in scarlet lettering that said Lightning
Jolt shone on the broom.
"I would like you to meet the Lightning
Jolt. It can go from zero to three hundred miles per hour. Hurling Hex
Proof and has a lifetime warranty. Better than the Nimbus Collection and the
Firebolt combined."
"How the fuck did you get one of
those!!!!!!?" Michael shriek like a little girl.
"Well, if you try out for the
Gryffindor team---and pass---then every team member gets this. I'm the Seeker
for when I play in the first and third season game. They changed the rules you
know," he directed to Harry who didn't know about the new rules. "Chennelle
plays the second season and finals. Whenever she's sick, I take her spot, and
vice versa."
"I seriously hate you now,"
Michael said with friendly jealousy. "We've been frozen in fucking ice cubes
trying to get this broom and you two already had it!? Oh well, I hope
you'll have the decency to let me try it out once."
"Of course I would. Now, there was
an herbal tree over towards the east. I'll be back in a flash!" and
before you know it, DéShaun was gone just as soon as he said good-bye.
It was only a few minutes before he
came back. Harry had tried to calm the Phoenix and obviously succeeded. They
then hitched a ride down to the lake, resembling a smooth glass reflecting the
enchanted sunlight.
"Ok, so now where do we go?" Cho
asked apprehensively.
"Well, we're going to have to go
underwater," Hermione said with deep thought. So they all had used the Bubble Head
and Impervious Charms and dove under. They saw many things below. Grindylows,
Merpeople, Plimpys, and Ramoras were swimming merrily in harmony.
"The vial of Unicorn Blood or the
Fairy Wings should be due north," Harry noted. "POINT ME!" With his wand
on his palm, the tip had faced to the left, which is the direction they swam
in. They had finally reached an underwater crypt that they explored.
There they found the Unicorn Blood, which was heavily guarded by three
sleeping Sea Serpents.
"We'll have to be extra careful," DéShaun
muttered, but even with his low voice, the Sea Serpents woke up, rearing their
ugly horse like heads. they then rapidly swam after them. One of the serpents
had wrapped his tail around Chennelle's leg.
"RELASHIO!" she squealed, and the snake
released his kung-fu grip off of her leg. "I'm going to try and see if we can
at least Apparate underwater. We're basically out of the over world, so it
should work down here." Sure enough it did work. Chennelle had Apparated to the
pedestal with the Unicorn Blood. Once the vile left its place, a strong current
rushed them out of the crypt. Later on they were on shore.
"Where are we?" Cho murmured.
"Dunno," DéShaun stammered, soaked by their
undersea voyage. "We're surely pass the volcano, so we must be near the
finish."
"Well, let's finish what we've started," Harry
coughed. They quickly got onto their feet and began to walk.
"Did you guys hear something?" Chennelle
asked quizzically.
"I thought I was the only one who heard
it," DéShaun replied, looking frantically around. "It sounded like
thunder."
"Well, we have no protection from it.
Maybe we should do an Impervious Charm so we won't get as wet."
"Good idea, Chennelle. IMPERVIUS!
" They had each made each other waterproof, but that was a mistake. Instead a hailstorm
rolled upon them. The hail was the size of bowling balls, and lightning crashed
towards the ground. They still needed to find the Fairy Wings and their mission
would be completed. They would be able to get out of the task as well as try to
unfold whatever plan Minglewatts was brewing up.
"I think we should...RUN!!!!!!!!" Michael
squawked like a chicken. DéShaun had duplicated his broom, and they all mounted
them, trying to dodge every single hail ball that they could. It was worse than
Bludgers, and with one hit could possibly break a limb. Finally, they had
spotted the Fairy Wings atop a high pillar. They bodiless wings furiously flew
around as if it was a Snitch.
"Time for a little Quidditch practice,"
Padma shouted through the thudding of the hail on the icy ground.
They flew to maximum speed, encircling
the Wings as it tried to escape. Harry made a reach for it, but unfortunately
his Quidditch skill wasn't any match for them this time. Chennelle did the
Wronski Feint, which also failed. DéShaun was an inch close to catching it, but
the bewitched wings flew upwards when he tried to snatch at it. Padma,
surprisingly, almost caught it, only if the wings didn't slip out of her two
fingers. Cho zoomed beside it, made a quick grab, but barely caught it.
Hermione tried to Immobilize it, but was unsuccessful due to it had evaded it.
Seamus, however tried the Peskipiksi Pesternomi Charm, but forgot that they
were Fairy Wings. Michael did a loop-dee-loop trying to catch it, but surely
the Wings outsmarted him, for they were hiding behind his head. Now it was
Ron's turn. He snuck behind Michael on his broom, reached out slowly, and...
caught it as if it was a fly! The hailstorm subsided, and they advanced on to
the end of the task.
All there was in front of them was a
sheet of ice with words carved into it.
"So," Harry said, directing his statement
to Hermione and Chennelle, "what do we do now?"
"Well, I guess we read the inscription,"
she guessed. It read:
From the blaze of the fire, to the
Frost of the ice, may the purest of
Heart bring forth the light.
With the Roll of thunder, and the wave of Water, may the bravest of men open
the Keyhole of Wonder.
"Let's try this
in a type of ritual," Chennelle said with sheer intelligence. "Let's make up a
routine. That should reveal this 'keyhole'." They quickly made up a routine and
tried it out.
"From the blaze of the fire,"
Michael, DéShaun, and Chennelle recited, touching wand tips. A pillar of fire
shot out from this motion.
"To the frost of the ice,"
Hermione and Seamus said together, also touching wand tips. A pillar of ice
crystals had emitted from their gesture.
"May the purest of heart bring forth
the light," The two groups recited together.
"With the roll of thunder," Harry
and Cho shouted together, now touching their wand tips together. A lightning
bolt was summoned to them.
"And the wave of water," Ron and
Padma said with dignity, touching wand tips as well. A pillar of water came
forth to their wand ends.
"May the bravest of men open the
Keyhole of Wonder!" All of them shouted together. Their separate
elements joined together as one to create a beam of light that thawed out a
keyhole in the ice wall. The collected items were summoned to the keyhole, and
a path was revealed. Relieved, the gang stepped through, ready for the next
task and a fight they would never forget.
*A/N: Whew --brushing sweat off of brow-- that was one long and adventurous
chapter. Well, I hope you enjoyed. I would like to take this time to
thank all of my reviewers (even angel eyes) for actually taking time to read
this. Get ready for the next chapter. Please, R/R!*
