From the Bottom of the Pit

You know that saying where, if you hit rock bottom, the only is up. Ila thought that was true in her case. After how everything was going from being the Fourth Champion, having most of the school hate her, which included one of her best friends, as well as having to understand what the First Task will be so that she won't be underprepared and get killed before she has to defeat Voldemort who could potentially but not really because Ila know's that he's back, Ila thought things couldn't get worse. In fact, she thought this would be her turning point. Things would start looking good from here. The students will get over it and like her again; her best friend will realise how unreasonable he was and be friends with her again. She'll find out what to do for the First Task and not die just in time for her to defeat Voldemort and never have to worry about him again.

She lived in blissful ignorance for a week. It was nice. She really liked it; ten out of ten would do it again.

And then, on day eight, it was like someone had drenched cold water on her when she was sleeping.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" Ila said through chattered teeth as she wrapped her blankets around her.

"Because you weren't waking up, and you needed to see this," Parvati said, hiding the jug of water behind her.

"There were other ways you could've woke me, you know?" Ila shivered, getting up from her feet, ignoring the splash of water from the puddle that had formed on her lap. "Like, pinching me or even slapping me or I don't know shaking me away as every normal person does?"
"C'mon, let's get you dry," Hermione said, guiding her to the girls' bathroom and sitting her on the edge of the bathtub. She was about to close the door when Lavender's foot got in the way. "What're you - "

Lavender pushed the door open so hard, Hermione fell to her feet. The two girls stepped over Hermione and held out a newspaper article in front of her. On the front page, there were a series of candid pictures of all of the champions.

"MEET THE CHAMPIONS RISKING THEIR LIVES FOR ETERNAL GLORY!" read the headline.

"What do you want me to do this with this?" Ila asked the two suspiciously.

"Read it," Parvati said, sitting next to her and held out the newspaper for her so that she couldn't get it wet.

"But I don't have my - "

"Here you go," Lavender said, thrusting her pair of glasses into her hands.

" – glasses," Ila said, unsure of what the two girls were doing.

"Go on then," Parvati said. "You'll want to read it, trust me."

And read it, she did.

As well as swearing, cursing Rita and nearly ripping the newspaper to shreds once she finished the article.

It was safe to say, Ila was pissed.

The article that Rita had done on the champions wasn't actually anything related to the champions. At least, the articles that weren't on the front page. Yes, there were multiple articles. And even then, the first page didn't even have all the articles. Ila took up most of her page, with a few sentences dedicated to Fleur and Krum. Cedric hadn't even made it to the front. With a brief introduction from the first page, Ila turned to page two. Her eyes bulged at the contents of the page. It was from that 'interview' she had with Rita.

If it wasn't obvious from the way she was acting in that 'interview' or from the articles that Ila had previously read about Lauren Dawlish, this article had shown Rita for her true colours. At least to Ila. She assumed the rest of the people reading this thought Rita was doing a nice thing and talking about the injustices that occur to thousands of Pakistani women, such as Ila herself, every day. Rita Skeeter was doing a great job at being the whistleblower for racism.

"Being a young Pakistani woman, it feels like I'm not being listened to…most of the teachers usually ignore me…a part of me feels like Dumbledore and, heck even all the teachers would treat me better if I was a white boy…every time something happened to me, it feels like I can't say anything because I know nothing will happen…."

Even after the expose on Dumbledore and Hogwarts in general, it got a lot worse for Ila.

"It's the old white men like Dumbledore, Fudge, who is constantly on my back, who didn't even do anything…I was the one who defeated You Know Who, so where's my credit?… I suppose it's why I decided to put my name in…my parents grew up in times where they had to prove themselves to people like them constantly…the Triwizard Tournament feels like I have an opportunity to make them seen, to prove to those stupid white men and my white competitors for that fact, that I, a coloured person can win a competition as big as this and win the 1000 galleons, which I will be giving back to my relatives in India, because they need it more than I do…I know I'm going to win because I don't feel like I'm in danger; I know that I'm not because I have my parents watching over, guiding me…."

But that wasn't it.

Ila turned to page seven. It was like that hole that Ila was stuck was going deeper and deeper until Ila couldn't even see the light of day.

On page seven, there was a long interview with other people talking about Ila. There were a few Slytherins who had been interviewed who said the same thing as always. "Ila Potter's an attention-seeking whore. She thinks that just because she lost her parents, she gets all the sympathy and just because she defeated You Know Who, she deserves everything."

But that wasn't what got to Ila. No, it was, in fact, the interview Rita Skeeter did with Colin Creevy. Ila knew not to be mad at him. He was only a third-year being taken advantage of by a woman who was definitely in her forties, if not fifties. But, she couldn't quite feel that sympathy for him as she read the article.

"'She hasn't been seen without Ron Weasley ever since they were in the first year. There were pretty close friends, and many people think they were together because they're so close. During my first year, I remember that neither of them showed up because they crashed into the Whomping Willow in a car together. And then last year, there was a massive argument in their friendship group over a broomstick, and because of that, Ron and Ila ended up shunning Hermione Granger for a good couple of months.'

Hermione Granger is a black Muggleborn witch, originally from Haiti who is also a fellow Gryffindor and is the only other person Ila Potter is close to. Students from Slytherin house say that Granger can be quite dangerous at times. It is common for men and women to practice in Voodoo, a black magic religion from Haiti. Many of the students say that there has been more than one occasion where Hermione Granger has used black magic to get what she wants, most notably getting top marks in every class. Though, one must not underestimate all the other things she could do, considering the dark nature behind the religion.

'It was probably then is when they got together, it's pretty obvious. But something must have happened during the summer because now Ron and Ila aren't talking to each other anymore. It might have been because Ila wasn't into the relationship anymore, but Ron still had feelings for her. I would, too, if I was in his position too.'

'Are there any other reasons why you think Ila wanted to break up with Ron?' Mr Creevy shifted in his seat, looking around nervously. He wanted to say something; it was on the tip of his tongue, I knew it. It only took him a few seconds to break.

"Well, there's a lot of rumours that she and a fourth-year Slytherin are in a secret relationship."

'A secret?'

I had to admit; I didn't think Ila Potter was one to date, never mind leading two guys on simultaneously. When I had interviewed her, she was shy and timid, afraid to speak her mind, like many women from the Asian community that I have met. It wasn't until I built a rapport with the poor girl did she speak. One might say perhaps it was her family, the Varmas, that made her feel like that. It's common within Asian families, especially Pakistani families, for the patriarch to dominate the women.

'They tend to argue quite a lot…I've never seen two people hate each other more than those two…but loads of people think that it's actually the opposite behind the scenes…they actually love each, though I'm not quite sure how that works….'

Although Mr Creevey didn't know how it was glaringly obvious that this must have been true, I found out the Slytherin in question was none other than Draco Malfoy, a fellow fourth year. Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, is a known Ministry employee and philanthropist; his recent donation was a generous 5000 galleons to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. It was apparent to see why the two would be so volatile in front of everyone. Imagine how the world would react if they found out that Draco Malfoy and Ila Potter were in love with each other? While many would be disgusted, I, for one, think it is the most romantic. A Romeo and Juliet story minus the death. Although, now that Ila Potter is a Champion, who is to say…?"

The rest of the article was along the same lines, mainly about her love triangle between Ron and Malfoy, something Ila dry heaved at the thought of when she first read it. Her throat still burns, and her eyes still water whenever she reads it. Ila would have preferred it if Rita Skeeter went on about the racial injustices she faces as a 'young British Pakistani woman,' than to hear all about this. At least then, the wizarding world needed to know, not whether or not she now prefers Cedric Diggory.

"You will never get Cedric for as long as I live bitch!" a second-year shouted as they walked past Ila, who was there to the library to meet with Hermione. The group of second years laughed at her before another one yelled, "And don't you dare start looking at Viktor either; he's mine. Did you hear me?"
"He's also eighteen," Ila muttered under her breath.

For the past ten days, since that article was out, it had been like this constantly. It first began with Parkinson and the Slytherins. They went absolutely barmy when they read 'Draco Malfoy and Ila Potter are in love with each other.' Half of them were angry, mainly Parkinson, while the others were making fun of her, telling her that, "There is no way on Earth a pureblood like you will go with a filthy Paki like you!"

"Why would he want to ruin his blood?"
"Yeah, Draco doesn't be dirty as you. Don't drag him to your level!"

Ila hadn't even seen the man of the hour properly. In all the lessons Gryffindors have with Slytherins, Malfoy would sit as far away from her as possible or always have his back. The moment the bell rang for the start of lessons, he would always stroll in, and the moment it rang for the end, he would be the first to leave. Every time the article was brought up, her mind always returned to the conversation she had with Malfoy in the Owlery.

And then her conversation with Dumbledore. Maybe this was her doing everything. Maybe Malfoy was actually trying to be nice, and Ila was making it hard for him to do so because of her. She wasn't letting him grow. But she couldn't have that conversation now. Not now when she was busy trying to keep away from the Slytherins and the CD's (yes, that was the name of Cedric's fangirls, and yes, it was just as stupid as it sounds) that were in outrage the article.

Though, she supposed there was one good thing that came out of the article.

"Hey, Ila!" A voice called out to her. She closed her eyes and braced for the worse. It had been a few days at that point since the article came out, and people were still annoyed over everything. She turned around slowly.

"Hi Angelina," Ila said, surprised.

"I – I er didn't – I never got the chance to say congratulations for being the Champions."

"But - "

"I know you keep on saying that you didn't put your name in, but it doesn't matter anymore. You're a Champion," Angelina said. "Not mention you're the only person Asian or – well person of colour up there."

"Right."

"And I know you're getting some backlash, especially with the article that came out," Angelina said. "But just know that we have your back."

"We?"
"Yeah, you know…all the Black and Asian kids will back you," she said. "Even if what you said in the article isn't actually true, the stuff about Dumbledore and Fudge and how everyone would treat you if you were a white boy's true….Anyway, just let any of us know if Rita's bothering you again…we'll help you out on that one."

Angelina said goodbye before running off, leaving Ila confused.

But something like that happened almost every single day after that. Some student of colour would come up to her, tell her how amazing she was for talking about what it was like to be an Indian woman in the spotlight and how it must feel to be constantly weighed down by those white men. Ila hadn't even said anything about that. To be honest, she wasn't sure how she felt to be constantly in the spotlight. Though, that was another conversation for another day.

When she reached the library, she found Hermione in her usual spot, at the back of the library, away from the prying eyes of everyone. As she walked, a couple of students greeted her, and some of the younger years even showed her the badges that Cedric had, in fact, made.

Ila constantly wondered how he felt about the article. The only time he was on it was when it was to do with Ila's love life.

"So, are you ready to do some practise the Summoning Charm?" Ila asked enthusiastically as she sat down. Truth be told, she was nowhere near as enthusiastic as she pretended out to be. The First Task was closing in on her, and she still didn't have a plan to figure out what would happen. Along with that, this stupid summoning charm was another thing Ila couldn't figure out. Why did she even need to learn a Summoning Charm? What was she even going to summon if she didn't know what she was going up against? Hermione didn't reply, instead, she continued writing. When Ila peered closer, she saw that Hermione hadn't written anything and pretended to write things down. "Is something wrong? Did someone say something – did I say something?" Ila asked.

"What makes you think you've upset me?"

"You're pretend writing…you only do that when you're avoiding something."

Hermione sighed before letting her face hit the table. She spoke, but everything was too muffled for Ila to hear. She sat back up properly before speaking again.

"How long is this going to go on for?" Hermione said.

"What?" Ila asked.

"You and Ron," Hermione said, exasperated. "It's been going on for weeks. Why haven't you two said anything or even apologised to each other?"

Ila felt the enthusiastic attitude drop and felt her real emotions float to the surface. "I've told you already, Hermione; I'm not the one who started it. He's the one who won't believe me that I didn't put my name in the Goblet."

"You two are best friends, and you didn't even speak to each other during Snape's detention of all things, of all the people you hated, you couldn't say a single thing."

"I was a bit too busy trying to pass out from falling and having all those potions fall on top of me," Ila defended. "Besides, it's his problem. He could've said something too during detention."

"Stop being so stubborn, Ila!" Hermione said. "Do you have any idea how tiring it is to go back and forth between the two of you?"
"Go tell him that then."

"You miss him!" Hermione said impatiently. "Not like that, obviously," she quickly added once Ila gave her a pointed look in light of the recent article that was circling. "I know he misses you too-"

"Miss him?" Ila scoffed. "I don't miss him…."

But this was a downright lie. Ila liked Hermione very much, but she just wasn't the same as Ron. There was much less laughter and a lot more hanging around in the library when Hermione was your best friend. They consequently spent a lot of time pouring over books during their lunchtimes, trying to figure out how to work the Summoning spell. While she knew that if Ron were here, they'd still spend time in the library, it would have been more fun. They'd do pranks on other students and even dare each other on how far they could piss Madame Pince off before getting kicked out.

Not to mention Viktor Krum was in the library an awful lot too, and Ila wondered what he was up to. Was he studying, or was he looking for things to help him through the first task? Or maybe, was he looking out for Hermione. With how things had been going, him always sitting on the opposite table as her and Hermione, Ila knew what the answer was. It didn't also help that Hermione often complained about Krum being there — not that he ever bothered them — but because groups of giggling girls often turned up to spy on him from behind bookshelves, Hermione found the noise distracting.

"Kochon! He's not even good-looking!" she muttered angrily, glaring at Krum's sharp profile. "They only like him because he's famous! They wouldn't look twice at him if he couldn't do that Wonky Faint thing —"

"Wronski Feint," Ila said through gritted teeth. Quite apart from liking to get Quidditch terms correct, it caused him another pang to imagine Ron's expression if he could have heard Hermione talking about Wonky-Faints.

"Whatever," Hermione said, looking back at her clean parchment. "He's still a pig for leading all those twelve-year-olds on."

Life seemingly had gotten worse for Draco. He wasn't sure if he was being honest. He thought researching about the Sisters was going to be easy because Dumbledore would've planned it so that he would give an easy task to perhaps one of the youngest memember of the Order.

And yet here he was, stuck in the library for the fifth time that week, being so close to ripping the pages of this book before throwing it out of the window, hoping it would fall on Voldemort's head and kill him so he wouldn't have to do anymore researching. For the past thirteen days since Dumbledore gave him the task, he hasn't made much progress. All that he knows about the Sisters was that they were a group of witches that had formed during the Middle Ages. While it wasn't actually proven, there were rumours that they killed men and drained their blood away for whatever reason. They also had a plan to kill King Arthur but the Order of Merlin had stopped them. They had been inactive ever since.

But they weren't.

They were clearly still going but in secret and there was no way they would let the author of all the different British Cults find out about it.

He groaned, letting his head hit the table as he prayed that something will come his way to help him. What was worse was that he couldn't even tell anyone. While he knew most of his friends would be confused and then start to ask questions which was something he didn't want, it would have been nice for one person to help him. He lifted his head up and rested it on top his arms. A mixture of books, notes and newspapers were strewn across him as he watched the students work around him. There were a few Ravenclaws to his left. Maybe they could help. They're smart enough…

But they're also the nosiest people out of the four houses. They'd want to know everything about what he was doing. Cedric Diggory and a few of his friends were reading, hoping to find something about what the First Task would entail. Cedric Diggory and a few of his friends were reading, hoping to find something about what the First Task would entail...

He needed to find someone who knew what they were doing but did not care enough to ask constantly.

An idea formed into his mind.

He knew it was a bad one. There was no possible way it would work. And besides, he couldn't actually tell anyone. Wanting another person to help him it out was just wishful thinking.

But it doesn't have to be, he said to himself.

It's Potter for merlin's sake. The poor girl is already confused by his actions, asking her would confuse her even more. Draco took one more glance at his table.

He wasn't getting anywhere with this. He had meeting with Dumbledore coming up to check on his progress. He needed to do well on this if he had any chance of even being considered a member. He needed the help. Besides, she was the right fit. She knew enough about what happened with Lauren Dawlish. As long as he doesn't mention Voldemort, she won't care to ask any questions.

But how?

How could he ask Potter to help him?

Draco stood up from his seat and headed over to the bookshelf where all the newspapers were kept. Finding the papers that were from all the way in 1600 and 1700's, he carefully placed the box onto the table. Filing through the papers, carefully to make sure he didn't rip because if he did that would mean an instant ban to the library and possible exclusion if Madame Pince was feeling nice, he searched through them to see if there were any mention of the Triwizard Tournament. After finding a few, he began to read about them. The first one, dated in 1769 talked about the different champions – no, he didn't need to know about them, he just needed to know what they did during the First Task. Taking the second article, he found it. The three champions had to go against some sort of creature that looked oddly like the Giant Squid from Hogwarts. It seemed as if the Squid was guarding something, something that the champions had to collect in order to pass to the next Task. Draco skipped over the tragic death of one of the champions and moved to next article, this time dating 1764, Draco skimmed the article to find what the three champions had to do this time. They had to battle Acromantulas because they were guarding something that the…champions needed…to get.

Draco looked at the rest of the articles. He read the same thing. For every First Task in the tournament, each champion will go up against a beast, that will be guarding something. The champions will need to fend off the beast to obtain whatever they were guarding to allow them to go to the Second Task.

That was how he was going to get Ila to help him.