Chapter three- The first task
'So let's go through the checklist one more time to make sure we have everything,' said Sirius with a grin, 'You girls made us pack everything except the kitchen sink!' Asha and Tay rolled their eyes at him. 'Alright, rope?'
'Check.' James replied.
'Water bottles?'
'Check.'
'Insect Repellent?'
'Check.'
'Energy Bars?'
'Check.'
'Kitchen sink?'
'Check!'
'Complete morons?' Tay butted in,
'Check!' laughed Asha, whacking Sirius over the head.
'You know you want me.' Sirius grinned at Asha who rolled her eyes.
'You know guys; hate to break up this little love in, but our portkey leaves in five minutes, we have to go.' Remus interrupted them. Tay glanced at her watch and gasped, 'He's right! We have to leave!' They all set off at a sprint for the meeting hall.
They arrived, breathless and panting, four and a half minutes later, just in time to grab an old sneaker from Professor McGonagall. James felt the familiar feeling of a hook being jerked behind his navel, and suddenly he was standing at the bottom of a huge mountain with Remus, Sirius Taya and Asha. James looked around. Most of the mountain was surrounded by foliage but James noticed a thin pathway. He motioned towards it and the others nodded. With Sirius in the lead, they began to climb mount Coolum. The pathway continued in a winding fashion, never getting too steep, until about halfway up the mountain. Suddenly, Sirius stopped and Asha ran dead into him. 'Watch it, Black.' She grumbled, rubbing her forehead where it had collided with his collarbone. The she realised why he had stopped. They were standing at the bottom of what looked like a small, dry waterfall. It was slanted, making it possible to clime, but it was going to be dangerous, and one slip could cause them to break their necks. 'Okay,' said Sirius, turning to face the others, 'who wants to go first?'
'I'll go.' Tay volunteered brushing a lock of her dark brown hair out of her face. Twenty seconds later she was standing at the top. James, heartened by her success, immediately started scrabbling at the wall, but when he was only about a meter up, he slipped, and came crashing back down. Remus, unfortunately, cushioned his fall. 'Obviously,' Tay called from the top, 'You boys don't have the climbing experience that Ash and I have. Fortunately, I have an idea.' She bent down and started rummaging through her backpack, and when she straitened up, she was holding a long coil of rope. She tied one end around a tree and then threw the other end down to Asha, who caught it and handed it to James. 'Tie this around you waist.' She told him. Sirius was looking bewildered. 'You two, like, read each others minds or something?' He asked Asha. Asha laughed. 'When you've known someone since pre-school, it's natural.' She explained. Sirius still looked bewildered, and Asha turned to James. 'Just climb up,' She told him, 'If you fall, the rope will catch you.' James nodded and started to climb. Two minutes later, James, though scratched, bruised and shaking, was standing safely at the top. He untied the rope around his middle and threw it down to Remus, who climbed up in five minutes, untied the rope and threw it to Sirius, who climbed it in three minutes, untied the rope and was about to throw it to Asha, but Taya stopped him. 'Just watch.' She said quietly. Sirius watched 10 seconds later, Asha was standing at the top with the others. The boys stared at her with looks of awe on their faces. 'What….how….10seconds….THAT'S BLOODY IMPOSSIBLE!' Sirius yelled. 'Apparently not,' said Asha with a smile. She then turned and continued hiking up the path. Ten minutes later, she broke into a run and shouted to the others, 'We're almost there! I can see the flag!' The others sprinted after her. Soon they were all gasping for breath, at the top of the mountain.
Ten minutes later, when all the groups had made it to the top, professor McGonagall apparated, making them all jump. 'Congratulations Group four.' She said smiling, Group four receives five points, group one receives three points, group three receives one point and group two receives no points. I have your port keys here,' she handed each group a portkey, 'They will activate in one minute. I will see you back at camp.'
She disaparated. Sirius grinned round at his team mates, 'Go team four!' he yelled.
