You've very welcome CrystalizedLily. But it should really be me thanking you. You're only one who's been reviewing! ::tear:: So...this chapter (as well as all the rest) goes out to you!!!!

Peeves anxiously waited for the answer to his letter to the Ministry for about a week. He became increasingly frustrated each time he saw the same calm Sourdine walking around the school. Nothing was happening. Did the Ministry not take his letter seriously? Peeves didn't tell anybody about Sourdine and the Ministress's switch. He couldn't help enjoying that little secret and secretly taking delight in the things that the Ministry could do to punish the two. Now was his time to get back at Sourdine for all the misery she had caused him. Well, that is, if the Ministry believed his letter. But they just had to!

But the answer didn't come. And the third task was drawing steadily closer. Peeves found that he couldn't sleep. It wasn't only because of worrying about the task, or that the Ministry wasn't doing anything. It was because he had begun to have nightmares about snakes. It came to that every night before he got into bed he had to check under the covers and pillows to make sure there wasn't a snake under it. There usually was. With nightmares on top of that, life became a nightmare itself. Several times Peeves would wake up screaming and jumping out of his bed. Nighttime had become a horrifying time. Peeves wished so badly that he could live without sleep. He dreaded the time after dinner when most people finished their homework and went to sleep.

But he didn't know who was doing it. He didn't know who was making his life even more miserable. The solution he had suspected at the beginning of the fiascos was Sourdine. Now that he had discovered that Sourdine was actually Gloria Mirable pretending to Sourdine, he highly suspected her. Was she taking care of the job for Sourdine, ensuring that he would run out of the school in blind panic, begging for mercy?

Peeves looked like a wreck. Because he wasn't getting any sleep his eyes looked dull and baggy. His face was pale, and he jumped at the slightest noise during the night. The nervousness about the third task was settling in also. He didn't have a clue of what he was going to have to do, and he didn't think he was in any shape for it. He was much too tired.

Still, as the beginning of June drew near, Peeves was beginning to go to pieces. His only comfort was his constant supply of pranks. Homework was piling up, also, and the extra work helped him keep his mind off of everything. He began to pour over spell books and charm texts, picking up little spells here and there, hoping they would come in handy during the task. In investigating strategies, Peeves came across a Dreamless Sleep Charm. It worked perfectly and Peeves began to get a good night's sleep without his nightmares. Still, the snakes kept appearing where he least expected them.

₪

After the evening meal, Peeves slowly walked out of the fortress with Sourdine/Gloria, filled with anxiety and terror. Even though he used the Dreamless Sleep Charm, he had not been able to get to sleep that night. He felt drained.

Sourdine/Gloria led Peeves a long distance from the fortress, heading towards the huge and immense mountains behind the Academy. The mountains were spotted with large patches of thick green trees. Pointy rocks jutted out of the sides. Heavy clouds covered the sun, hinting rain, and giving the mountains a dark, foreboding appearance. Peeves shivered, even though the weather was humid.

As he and Sourdine/Gloria walked across the vast meadow separating Beauxbatons and the mountains, Peeves gazed longingly at the soft, long grass and their warm fresh scent. They finally reached the foot of the mountains and began to trudge through a dense patch of prickly brush. The brush opened up to a large and dense forest. Hidden in the trees erected from the branch of one tree to another, was the usual tent where the champions met before the task. Still silent, Sourdine/Gloria led him to the tent, and opened the flap for him. Peeves glared at her with a look of mistrust. Sourdine/Gloria looked uncomfortable.

Stepping boldly into the tent, Peeves saw Amy and Marshal, who were sitting in opposite corners. Amy refused to look up when Peeves entered. Marshal glanced at Peeves, but then went back to staring at the floor. After taking a seat himself, Peeves pulled out his wand and began to rub on it with his robes, cleaning off any smudges. No one said anything. After several minutes Marshal stood up suddenly.

"What was that?" he whispered. Amy looked up and rolled her eyes.

"Scared, are you? Hearing things?" she asked bitterly, brushing aside a strand of her raven hair. Marshal shook his head and sat back down. They went back to quiet, listening to the distant voices of the students coming to see the last task. They would be watching from the meadow at the foot of the mountains. Suddenly Peeves saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He jumped to his feet.

"Snake!" he croaked, gasping in horror. Amy snorted. Marshal shrugged.

"Must have been what I heard," he muttered. Peeves whimpered.

"I hate snakes!" he cried, and unexpectedly bolted out of the tent. Amy and Marshal watched in surprise. A couple of seconds later Peeves was dragged back into the tent by Professor Juven.

"You can't back out of the tournament now, Peeves. It's restricted," Juven was saying. Peeves was as white as paper. Juven plopped Peeves down in the closest chair, and turned his dark eyes to the two other champions and smiled faintly.

"This is the beginning of the Third Task," he said simply. "This task, since being the last, is in my opinion, the most difficult. The most challenging. The most dangerous. It will involve your understanding of the magic in nature and how to survive the horrible things that are associated with that." Juven dug into his robes and pulled out three slips of paper and gave one slip to each champion.

"Each of these slips are a list of the things you must find and acquire in order to complete this task. In a way you could call this a kind of scavenger hunt. You must search these mountains and forests in search of the things on your list. Be careful, though. These mountains are full of evil, dangerous creatures and plants. If at any point you are in need of assistance or your life is in danger, send red sparks in the air, and we will come to your aid right away. However, once you send off the sparks, you are excluded from the rest of the task. The first champion to find all of the items on their list is the winner and will immediately receive the Triwizard Tournament Cup." Juven smiled encouragingly down on the champions, and then gestured towards the entrance to the tent.

"I believe it is about time for the Third Task to begin!" With that he left the tent, followed closely by the three terror filled champions.

Juven led the trio through the thick trees until he came to a clearing in the middle of the dense wood. Standing solemnly in the middle of the clearing were Sourdine/Gloria, Headmaster Influencia, and four other people Peeves recognized as teachers from Beauxbatons. The three champions stepped up to the serious group, all three of their faces very pale, Peeves the most, if that was possible. Sourdine/Gloria nodded to Juven, as if checking that the champions had been informed on what they were to do. Juven cleared his throat and said in a loud voice, "I believe we are ready."

Sourdine/Gloria smiled smoothly, looking Amy, Marshal, and Peeves in the eyes. Influencia began to speak.

"Ve are, as you know, at ze foot of ze mountain Facilis Descenus Averni, vich means 'great 'ill' or 'danger' in Latin and is part of the Pyrenees Mountain Range," he said grandly. Peeves shuttered, as did Amy and Marshal. Influencia sneered coolly then went on.

"Ze mountain goes up in zis direction," he said, pointing to the left with his left hand, "north. Remember ze instructions Professor Juven 'as given you. Be careful and cautious. Bear in mind, ze first champion back at zis very spot vith all of ze items necessary receives full marks, and at ze moment, Peeves Radley is in ze lead." Peeves didn't feel like gloating at the moment. "Ve may begin vhen all three of you are ready. Are you set?"

Peeves took a deep breath to stir his nerves. He nodded, afraid to talk. Marshal and Amy murmured their agreement also.

"Very vell," Influencia said curtly. "You may begin."

Peeves looked around, a puzzled expression on his face as Amy darted out of the clearing and into the forest. Marshal took off a couple of seconds later. Peeves walked sulkily out of the clearing.

Under the shelter of the trees, Peeves looked down at his list for the first time. Written in spidery handwriting it read;

Articles to Be Found

Root of Flutterby Bush

Bark of Fiery Fir

Horn of Graphorn

Bubotuber Plant with pus still within

Nose hair of Yeti

Not quite knowing how to begin, Peeves reread the list and racked his mind, trying to decide where to start. Spotting a narrow path running beneath the shadows of the many trees, Peeves followed it, hoping he would somehow find what he was looking for by just following a path. As he trudged along, thinking hard and trying to remember what a Fiery Fir was or how to dehorn a Graphorn, the forest grew dark and cool and the path slanted smoothly up. The shadows in the midst of the trees grew darker as the sun began to sink behind the mountains, its rays creating a rainbow of colors on the rocky horizon.

As Peeves walked silently along, he craned his ears for the slightest inclination of sound. The forest was eerily quiet except for the soft crunch of dead leaves underfoot. Suddenly a loud twitter echoed through the forest, and the trees swayed in a nonexistent wind. The hairs on the back of Peeves' neck stood up as he whirled around, peering though the mass of greenery, looking for any movement in the darkness. The forest became silent again.

Reassuring himself that nothing bad was going to happen, Peeves continued up the path, looking this way and that, trying to catch a glimpse of any important plant or creature.

He didn't know how much time had passed by the time he arrived at another clearing. The treeless ground was bathed in blue moonlight. Deciding not to risk walking out in the open where he would be prone to the attack of any dangerous creature, Peeves slunk along the trees that outlined the clearing. He stopped short. Something had made a sound amid the trees just a few yards ahead. He heard a soft, muffled snort and dug his hand inside his robes, clenching his wand tightly in his pocket. Taking a few slow steps forward, Peeves had his eyes wide, searching through the dim moonlight.

Pale light gleaming on its long shaggy gray-purple hair, a creature the size of a large Muggle bus, which stood on large, four-thumbed feet and on its shaggy back sat a hump was grazing upon the bloody remains of its last hunt. The creature's head, too, looked like a great lump where the neck should have been. Two fierce black eyes that blazed like coals burned from the head-lump. Worst of all, however, were the two milk white horns glinting above the vicious eyes.

Peeves gulped. A Graphorn! He had heard they were big and ferocious, but he had never seen one up close. Glancing nervously down at his list, Peeves gulped again as he read

Horn of Graphorn

Pocketing the list, Peeves drew out his wand, trying to remember how to fight a Graphorn. From what he knew, they were extremely aggressive and very difficult to overpower. The thick hide was tougher that even dragon skin and the horns were as sharp as needles.

As Peeves crept closer, a twig snapped under his shoe. The Graphorn looked up from where he was, crouched over his meal. It snorted again, its eyes flickering wildly about. Peeves stood as still as he could, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. Cold panic washed over him.

The Graphorn stood up all the way. Peeves tilted back his head as the Graphorn stretched to its real height. It was nearly as tall as a small tree. With a great bellow, the Graphorn ran towards Peeves, waving its hirsute arms outrageously.

Pointing his wand at the Graphorn, Peeves bellowed, "Stupefy!" A jet of red light burst from the end of Peeves' wand and hit the Graphorn strait in the chest. The red jet bounced off the furry monster and hurtled off through the trees. "Stupefy!" Peeves shouted again. The stream of red bounced off the Graphorn yet again and into the trees. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Peeves screamed. The red light rocketed off. Peeves ducked as the spells flew over his head. The Graphorn gave a bellow of rage and advanced even more on Peeves. Peeves stared horror struck as the monster bore on him. With a small shriek, Peeves stumbled into the brush behind him. Tripping over his feet, Peeves turned tail and ran, blasting spells over his shoulder.

"Stupefy! Reducio! Petrificus Totalus! Impedimentia!" A multihued of lights zoomed through the forest. The Graphorn still ran forward, its large feet thundering on the forest floor, shaking the trees. Peeves tripped over a root and sprawled onto dead leaves, scraping the palms of his hands on the rough ground, the Graphorn right behind. Peeves forced himself to flip over and struggle to a sitting position, his wand raised.

The Graphorn stopped a few feet ahead of Peeves, its eyes flashing. With a final roar, it swooped one of its great arms, aiming strait for Peeves' head. With a scream of terror, Peeves did the last thing possible. Pointing his wand feebly at the Graphorn's eyes he said in a strained voice, "Stupefy." The spell hit the Graphorn strait in the left eye. It howled in pain but was cut short as it kneeled over backward and into the shrubbery, unconscious.

Peeves sat panting on the ground, aware of the stinging pain on his palms and the throbbing scrape on his knee. Scrambling over to the fallen Graphorn, Peeves knelt next to the head. Taking a deep breath, Peeves took out his wand.

"Caesura," he muttered, putting his wand firmly against one of the Graphorn's deathly pointed horns. It shimmered like a pearl as a thin line of white light cut through the horn. With a soft thump it fell to the leaf covered ground. Slowly and fearfully, Peeves picked up the lustrous horn and pocketed it with care. Shaking, he stood up and sighed, brushing off his robes briskly. Taking one last glance at the now one horned Graphorn, Peeves continued down the path.

A cloud cut out the light from the moon and the night was plunged into darkness.

"Lumos," Peeves murmured. Light flooded from the tip of his wand, casting a dim yellow light on the path. Withdrawing the list from his pocket, Peeves glanced at it and mentally crossed off the Horn of Graphorn. Memorizing the four other items on the list, Peeves pocketed the list again and straitened his back bravely. Still not quite believing he had just vanquished a Graphorn, Peeves began to worry about finding the other articles.

"I remember hearing that yetis prefer cooler areas," he muttered to himself. Suddenly there was the sound of crunching leaves shortly behind him. Peeves reeled around, silently searching the brush behind him with the light of his wand. All was still. Peeves turned back around and continued down the path, painfully aware of someone, or something, watching him from behind. Drawing his warm Hogwarts cloak closer to his body, Peeves began to cogitate on the list again.

"Uh...uh...and...and Fiery Firs like to be far from any other plants," he mumbled, glancing over his shoulder every so often. Another shriek reverberated through the forest. Peeves stopped walking and turned in circles, looking around. There was still no movement amongst the sinister trees. Stumbling forward and walking as quickly as he could Peeves whipped his wand back and forth, aiming its rays through the trees.

He stopped suddenly as the dim light fell upon something. Planted at the foot of a very large oak was an odd colored plant with large prickly leaves. Sprouting from the middle was one solitary bud, the size of a light bulb and tinted a deep purple. Peeves recognized it at once as a Bubotuber Plant.

Trying to remember how exactly to pick the plant without bursting the bud and loosing the valuable pus inside, Peeves swooped forward, his robes billowing out behind him. Kneeling next to the plant, Peeves whispered, "Nox," and extinguished the light at the end of his wand. He then murmured, "Caesura," the Cutting Charm.

A thin strip of white light flared from the tip of the wand. Carefully Peeves pushed aside the prickly leaves as to expose the main stem. He bit back yelps of pain as the leaves left little slashes on his hands. They began to feel moist and when Peeves looked down he could see that his hands were gleaming with red blood. Closing his eyes for a second and then reopening them, he took a deep breath and deftly cut the stem with the tip of his wand. He felt the plant go weak in his hands as its support was cut. Gently Peeves placed the wad of bud and leaves into his robes, leaving a great lump in his side. Breathing a sigh of relief, Peeves stood back up and continued down the trail. He had already found two parts of the list. That left three more.

Just when he was beginning to relax, another screech rang through the trees. Peeves groaned, but knew it was no good to stop and look around. He kept walking.

Unexpectedly something scuttled onto the path right in front of Peeves. With a gasp of surprise, Peeves jumped backwards. He had almost stepped on the thing.

"Lumos," he said in a loud voice. The wandlight allowed Peeves to see what was in front of him.

It looked like a lobster. It was about twelve inches long and light gray with many dark-green spots. Peeves knew what it was; he had studied them in fifth year in Care of Magical Creatures... a Mackled Malaclaw. Peeves backed away slowly, praying the Malaclaw wouldn't bite him.

Mackled Malaclaw bites weren't fatal; they just gave their prey a week's worth of unluckiness. That was the last thing Peeves needed at the moment— bad luck. The Malaclaw scampered forward, it's claws clicking. Although it wasn't very big, it looked menacing in the faint, white wandlight. Peeves continued to walk backwards, his eye on the Malaclaw.

Suddenly, right behind him, there was another scuttle and another Mackled Malaclaw scurried onto the road. He was trapped between them.

"Oh god, what did I do to deserve this?" he moaned. He thought he heard a snort somewhere amongst the trees, but didn't see anything move. Retreating into the trees on one side of the path, Peeves hoped he could circle around the Malaclaws. The two Malaclaws dashed after him. Peeves bolted through the trees, hearing the Malaclaws right behind him, going surprisingly fast for being so small. In fact, they seemed to be gaining. Peeves chanced a glance over his shoulder and ran smack into a tree. Slumping to the ground, and clenching his bleeding nose, Peeves gazed wide-eyed as the Malaclaws scuttled up to him.

"Nox," Peeves whispered, extinguishing the wandlight, then, "Impendimentia!" Like with the Graphorn, the spells bounced off the Malaclaws' hard armor-like outsides. Groaning in panic and pain, he could do nothing but whimper as one of the Malaclaws scampered up to him. Peeves tried to struggle to his feet. Just as he managed to get to his feet, the Malaclaw took a big chop out of Peeves' ankle.

"AAAAAAYYYIIII!" he screamed, grabbing hold of a branch and fighting to stay standing. The branch broke off the tree and into his hand. As Peeves feel to the ground yet again, he dropped his wand. The other Malaclaw scuttled over to it.

"NOOOOOO!" Peeves howled, extending his arm, trying to reach his wand. He wasn't quick enough. The Malaclaw picked it up with one of its large claws. With a snap, it cut the wand in half. There was a sudden boom as the wand set off such an array of sparks that it blinded Peeves.

Within moments, all that remained of that Malaclaw was a smoldering pile of ash. The other Malaclaw seemed to be in shock. So was Peeves. A few moments more, the Malaclaw darted into the shrubbery. Peeves was again on the ground, panting, as he gripped his ankle and wiped his bloody hands on his robes. Peeves staggered to his feet, putting all his weight on his good ankle and staring mournfully down at the charred remains of wand and Malaclaw. He was without defense, without light, and without a way of letting the others know he needed help. He tottered to the path and stopped, looking down both ways. He could go back, and admit defeat, or he could go on up the mountain and try to gather the rest of the items, but with the chance of being attacked and caught without a wand.

An image flashed in Peeves' mind. He could hear Lawson laughing and the persnickety voice of Sean telling him he knew Peeves couldn't do it. Amy was glaring at him in triumph and Marshal sniggering in the background. Worst of all, he could see Sourdine sneering in his face and shaking her head. "I knew you couldn't do it, Peeves Radley. I knew your tricks wouldn't keep you safe for long."

Peeves frowned and held his head high. He would show them. What did they know? He was going to prove his bravery by completing the task...without a wand. He would win the tournament, wand or no wand, luck or no luck. He marched as fast as he possible could with his injured ankle up the path, feeling momentarily confident and courageous.

After a few minutes, Peeves became aware that his right side was itching terribly. Running his hands along his side, he felt a thick liquid sopping his robes. Rubbing the ooze between his fingers, Peeves lifted to his nose and smelled it. It smelled sour and salty. Peeves eye's widened as he realized what it was. He hastily dug his hand into his robe's pocket. As he had suspected, the Bubotuber Plant's bud had burst, covering his pocket, the Graphorn horn, and his underclothes in the infecting pus.

Undiluted Bubotuber pus causes sores and boils, and Peeves' side was covered in it. Moaning in pain and anger, Peeves slumped against a tree. He felt so worn and tired. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't go back and face all those people, plus he doubted he would be able to walk back at all with his ankle like it was, he couldn't continue in the state that he was in. Closing his eyes and putting his head between his knees to try to stop the overwhelming headache he had, Peeves gave in to exhaustion.