Chapter 7 – First Task
Anya made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast and she received many respectful nods and a few cheery greetings from her house table. Since becoming the Junior Champion, her standing in Slytherin had rose by a good few notches. There hadn't been much of a party when she had entered the common room back when she was chosen, just a small standing ovation and a few rounds of firewhisky that the seventh-years had brought in. Snape may favour his own house, but he still enforced discipline and no one wanted to get caught staying up late.
Her standing in the school had risen as well, owing to being a Junior Champion for Hogwarts. Her brother did not enjoy the same fate to say the least. Most had assumed that he cheated his way in from Junior Champion to Champion because he wanted more glory. As a result, he had become the target for most of the school's mockery, culminating in Malfoy's 'POTTER STINKS' badges. Despite unknowingly insulting Anya with the badges – not that she cared, she was no longer a Potter in her books, Malfoy's attitude towards Anya had toned down, probably for being one of the champions.
It was in a Potions lesson that Anya and Harry were sent off the Wand Weighing ceremony, led by an excited Colin Creevey. The two ended up in a fairly small classroom, the rest of the champions were already there, along with Ludo Bagman and – from the looks a lady with a camera man flanking her – the press.
"Ah, there they are! The last of the champions!" cried Bagman as he spotted the two. "In you come, the both of you, it's just a Wand Weighing ceremony. The rest of the judges will be here in a moment."
"Wand Weighing?" Harry repeated nervously.
"Nothing to worry, just a check that your wands are functional. The expert's upstairs with Dumbledore, after that will be a quick photo shoot by Rita Skeeter here for a small piece on the Tournament for the Daily Prophet."
Anya watched as Rita Skeeter requested and promptly dragged her brother off for an interview, she was then led by Bagman to a room with the rest of the champions. In the room stood a wizened old man with misty grey eyes, chatting with Dumbledore, Anya presumed that he was the expert Bagman mentioned. It was a while before Dumbledore left the room to fetch a relieved-looking Harry from the clutches of Rita Skeeter.
The old man was introduced as Mr Ollivander, who began the inspection of each wand, from Champions to Junior Champions. Each person had their turn until it was Anya's turn
"Let's see here Ms Seryy," said Ollivander, inspecting her wand. He paused for a moment, a slight frown on his face. "Ah… intriguing, most intriguing. Birch and dragon heartstring, nine inches, all in working order."
A wave of Anya's wand and Ollivander conjured several butterflies, which flew off into the air. He returned her wand back, leaning into her ear as he did so.
"How did you come across this wand Ms Seryy?" a ghost of a whisper reached Anya's ears.
"My one of my old teachers gave it to me. Why?" Anya whispered back. She chanced a glance at the old man, he looked suspicious, confused and curious, but there was no trace of anger.
"I recall very wand I made, as well as every wand my father and those before him had made. The wand you hold on to was made by my father. Incidentally, it belonged in a crate of wands that was stolen back in 1917. Intriguing, is it not?"
"I'm sorry for you and your father's loss. If it is alright, I can pay for it after this ceremony, I prefer not to cause trouble for a wandmaker."
"It's quite alright my dear," Ollivander said, patting her shoulder as she took back her wand. "There's no point paying for the sins of others. In fact, I am pleased that at least one of the wands found its way into good hands."
Ollivander moved back and allowed Anya to join in a quick photo shoot. The process was thankfully quick and the champions were soon dismissed for dinner. During dinner, she found Cedric hanging around the edge of the Slytherin table, clearly waiting for her. She sat down and pleasantly indicated him to join, to which he politely refused.
"Sorry Seryy, I ate already. I just wanted to ask, maybe we should meet up and discuss about tackling the First Task. After all, it's better to do this earlier."
"Sure, why not," Anya shrugged. "Meet me in Professor Snape's office after this."
"After dinner it is."
"What about Potter?" Anya nodded her head towards the Gryffindor table. "I'm supposed to be assisting him too. Want him to join along?"
"Well... Potter and I are supposed to be opponents technically but... I'm sure he has his own plan. He can meet you separately, I'll see you after dinner."
Since the Junior Champions had to have their creations approved by their assigned teachers, which in Hogwarts' case was the student's Head of House, Anya had to spend much of her time in Snape's office. The relations between the two were civil, choosing to spend as little time together as possible. Snape had simply offered her congratulations and stated that she was not to let Slytherin down during the Tournament. Besides that, the two acted like as though it was another Potions lesson, he would simply make an occasional inspection on her activities, deem it satisfactory and move on, not that Anya minded.
Soon, it was after dinner and Anya found Cedric loitering outside Snape's office. The Hufflepuff looked up and glad to see her.
"You came, finally. Hanging outside Professor Snape's office gives me the chills."
"Understandable," Anya chuckled, opening the office door and ushering him in. "Many people react like that to his office. Come on, let's go."
The two entered the office to see a brooding Snape grading Potions essay, his eyes flickered over to the pair and simply went back to grading.
"Do keep your discussions quiet, Ms Seryy and Mr Diggory. Your positions as champions does not give you the privilege of acting as you please."
Both students nodded obediently and made their way over to a corner of Snape's office where – for Triwizard Tournament purposes – Anya had been given to as a workshop of sorts. Tournament officials had placed in various wards for safety should any of the Junior Champions' tinkering and experimenting go wrong. In the corner, there was only a simple table with a few books on top of it. On the centre of the table lay scraps of rough paper filled with scribblings.
"So do you have any plans, Diggory?" Anya asked, arranging this table to a more presentable state.
"Well, not really," said Cedric. "Since they don't tell us what the First Task is, I'm just going to have to play it by ear. But I do have a clue, researching all previous Tournaments, the First Task has always involved-"
"Dangerous magical creatures."
"I'm glad to know my partner does her homework," Cedric smiled. "So do you have any plans?"
"Just a simple one on my part as the Junior Champion."
"Well, what is it?" Cedric eagerly pressed.
Anya shuffled around her notes and chose a few choice pieces, hand them to Cedric. Cedric took the notes and looked through them, a look of confusion on his face.
"I assume these are runes, but since I don't take them as electives, I have no idea what's going on."
"It's a very simple plan," Anya explained. "Since we have no idea what magical creature we are facing, I went with a general tactic that can be applied regardless of which magical creature gets thrown at you."
"And that is?"
"Sensory denial. Looking up on the more dangerous creatures that might be chosen, they are statistically more reliant on senses other sight, such as hearing and smelling. This is a polar opposite of us humans who rely on sights mostly"
"So we cut off their sound and smell," Cedric followed up, catching on to her idea. "This forces them to rely on sight where we will have the advantage, and this will work regardless of whichever creature they use."
"Statistically, the odds are yes," Anya finished up, handing him two ivory tusks covered with runes, one white and the other black. "Do keep in mind these do not affect just the creature you will face, this affects an entire area, so try to keep your sight sharp if you plan on using these."
"Why are there two?" Cedric asked curiously.
"Part two of the plan, sensory overload. The white tusk removes all sound, smell and equalises heat – because some creatures are sensitive to heat – in the area. The black tusk emits sound, smell and heat, it wouldn't likely overload a large creature's senses, but it will probably be a good distraction, especially when combined with the white one to create an even sharper sensory contrast. Activation is just prodding with a wand. The rest is on you to overcome."
"Wow, thanks a lot Seryy," Cedric said with a wide toothy smile. "I didn't even expect this from you, all this with just runes. I expect you made another set for Harry?"
"Yes," Anya nodded, taking back her notes. She had gotten this done early on to get over with it, allowing her more time to catch up on studies. The moment she found out in a book containing the history of Triwizard Tournaments that the First Task involves magical creatures, she already knew what to do. Sensory denial and overload was one of the things Nathaniel had taught her.
Since you have a unique sensory capability, Anya, creating a complete mass sensory denial over a large area will only benefit you in a fight.
She had spent one week doing the calculations and rough scripts for the runic complex, holed up completely in Snape's office during her free time. Her proposal was submitted to Snape who, for his part, merely aided her in procuring the tusks of a centicore from the Tournament officials. Another day was spent carefully carving out the runes on the tusk until there was an inch of unmarked ivory.
"Once again, thanks a lot," Cedric said. "I guess my plan now is set, huh. Eat a whole lot of carrots from today onwards, use the tusks and play it by ear."
Anya laughed at that, collecting her tusks back, the items will be given during the task itself. Cedric bade her goodbye and left the office. Anya stored her tusks in a warded box provided by the Tournament officials and made to leave as well. As she left, Snape glanced up at her.
"Good work Ms Seryy, if the runes work. I'm sure Professor Babbling will be annoying me to no end about you after she sees your work during the First Task," said Snape before turning back to his grading.
To her surprise, it seemed that her brother was not intent on seeking her out to prepare for the First Task. Ever since the 'hissing' incident, Anya realised that Harry had left her alone. She was surprised that her brother was a Parselmouth. Since it was an inherited trait, Anya took it that Harry dropped his suspicions on her when she did not understand his hissing. However, being somehow entered into the Triwizard Tournament, Harry had yet to make an effort in preparing for the First Task, at least Cedric – who was going to play it by ear – had bothered to read up on what to expect.
Anya realised what Harry had been doing, he had been trying to ignore the problem at hand, hoping that the nightmare would disappear one fine day. She did not appreciate Harry's method with dealing the issue, as she was one to not hide but stare at the problem until all fears go away. However, she couldn't deny getting a little worried for her brother. Fight, flight or freeze, these were the natural responses to danger, and Anya was pretty sure flight or freeze is not the appropriate response for a danger that was going to get you regardless of what you do.
There was hardly any love or bond between the two, but Anya was not fond of having someone who shared the same blood dying. Losing a part of you that you never used would still incur a hollow sense of emptiness. Even without being family, seeing a poor kid suffer like that was plain sad. She was tempted, many times, to just drag Harry out of his mood and give him a solid plan. But it takes two hands to clap and Anya could clearly see that one of the hands was disabled. Furthermore, she was not incentivised to take the first move, how the Champions fared did not really affect her points.
However, Harry did make a move eventually, although Anya found it to be very last minute. It was a day after a Hogsmeade visit that Anya found herself cornered by Harry and Hermione.
"Seryy, mind coming to the library with us?" Harry asked. "It's got to do with the First Task."
Anya nodded in response, following Harry and Hermione to the library. There, she grabbed a nearby chair and took a seat opposite Harry. Hermione had vanished into the phalanx of bookshelves, leaving the two together.
"You took your time to get into action," Anya remarked, looking over where she last saw the bushy-haired girl.
"Sorry about that," Harry said sheepishly. "Had a lot going in my mind, being in this forsaken Tournament and all."
"I've noticed, so what am I here for?"
Answer came in the form of a pile of books thundering down the table between them, landing in a loud 'thump'. Hermione was standing over them, facing Madam Pince and mouthing a silent 'sorry'. Anya glossed over the titles and came to a conclusion.
"Dragons? That's the First Task?"
"Yes, the Champions are going to have to get pass them," Hermione said quickly. "So we need to come up with a course of action, you can help figure out a plan."
"I thought my job was just to provide items to the Champions."
"Well, have you?" Hermione pressed.
"Yes."
"Yes?" Harry echoed in surprise. "And you didn't tell me?"
"You never asked," said Anya, repeating the choice line of a familiar old man.
"And what did you come up with?" Hermione inquired.
Anya took a breath and began the same monologue she had given Cedric, mentioning the runic tusks and the general plan of sensory denial and overload.
"But allowing the dragon to still see isn't foolproof," Hermione said. "How is Harry going to get past a dragon, even with a sensory advantage?"
"That's his job, though I would not recommend a head-on assault," replied Anya, getting up from her seat.
Hermione was about to burst out but Harry spoke up before she could launch herself into a rant.
"You're right, this is my part. Thanks a lot for those rune tusks, Seryy." Harry said gratefully. "But still, any advice?"
"Play by your strengths?" Anya suggested with a shrug before leaving the two to their work. "Best of luck Potter."
XXXXX
The roar of the crowd was ear-splitting as the spectators were eager – bloodthirsty almost – for the First Task to begin. Anya, along with the Junior Champions, had just made their way back to the Slytherin stands from the Champions tent, having passed their items to the Champions after the inspection of the Tournament officials.
"Well, what did you come up with, Anya?" Astoria asked from beside her.
"You'll find out soon enough, I'm not going to spoil it."
"Wise choice, Seryy," Zabini said, grinning in anticipation. "I, for one, am fond of surprises."
"Doesn't matter what Seryy comes up with," said a snide Malfoy from behind. "Potter's dead regardless, I've got ten galleons on that."
Most of the Slytherins nodded in agreement. One of the younger students sounded out, "What of Diggory?"
"I wouldn't mind seeing the pretty boy lose his hair in the fire," Zabini quipped.
"Only because he's better looking than you," Nott remarked, earning a glare from the dark-skinned Slytherin.
"Welcome," the loud voice of Ludo Bagman boomed from everywhere. "Welcome to the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament."
The applause and cheers reached a crescendo.
"The task at hand is very simple," the voice explained energetically. "The Champions, with the aid of whatever the Junior Champions have provided, need to get past an angry mother dragon to retrieve a golden egg."
"An angry mother dragon?" a seventh-year hissed happily. "Potter's done for."
"And without further ado, let us invite the first Champion into the stage for the show to begin. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Cedric Diggory."
There was a mix of claps and shouts as the Hufflepuff entered the arena, a blueish-grey Swedish Short-Snout laid in wait, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously. The cheers slowly softened down into a steady buzz.
"What did the Hufflepuff say he would do?" Nott asked Anya.
"Play it by ear."
There was a wave of snorts from the Slytherins around her who heard that statement. Cedric sprang into action, taking cover behind a large rock. He took out the two tusks and rapped the white one with his wand and the arena suddenly came to a pindrop silence, the only sound radiating from the stands and the commentary. The dragon stood dazedly for a moment, as though trying to find its bearings.
"And what was that?" Bagman cried out. "It appears that Mr Diggory has just pulled out the items provided by Ms Seryy, a runic item capable of either nullifying or emitting sound and smell, very smart against a creature that smells more than sees. Well, what's his plan from here?"
A wave of Cedric's wand had a nearby rock transfigure into a large Labrador, two motions of his wand activated the black tusk and sent it flying to the dog, sticking on its side. The screech and scent of rotting flesh reached the stands and the dragon immediately fixed it head in the direction of the dog. Both man and dog dashed off in opposite directions, Cedric keeping a low profile as he ran for the eggs while the dog made itself as obtrusive as possible. With the two contrasting runes in play, the Swedish Short-Snout paid no heed to Cedric, lunging for the bounding dog with haste.
"Oh! He's taking risks, this one! Dashing straight for the eggs like that." Bagman cried out.
However, the dragon was faster than everyone expect and it descended onto the transfigured dog as Cedric was halfway through reaching the eggs. Its fangs tore through the dog and smashed the runic tusk attached, cancelling its effects. The screeching from the dog stopped and the dragon begun to swivel its head about, searching for a new target. Despite, the Short-Snout having poor vision, the moving figure of Cedric still drew its attention.
"Ohhh…" Bagman said in disappointment. "It was a clever move utilising what Ms Seryy gave him, pity it didn't last long enough. Now, is Mr Diggory going to close the distance on the golden egg? There's a fair bit of distance, but he might just make it."
Cedric was sprinting for the golden egg at top speed, and the dragon was closing in. Just as the Short-Snout let out a breath of fire, Cedric dove for the egg. The flames clipped just the top of his hair, but he managed to land right on the golden egg, securing his objective.
"Wow! That was close ladies and gentlemen," Bagman cried out as the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers and the dragon-keepers rushed in to keep the Short-Snout at bay. "Fifteen minutes, not that bad indeed. Mr Diggory has set quite the benchmark for the next Champions. Now let's take a look at the scores."
Thirty-eight points in total, not bad.
"Now, its Ms Seryy's points for her runic item designed for wide-area alteration of noise and smell."
A nine from Madame Maxime and Bagman. A five from Professor Karkaroff. And eights from Dumbledore and Crouch. The Slytherins around her exploded in cheers, clapping her in the back.
Thirty-nine, not bad as well.
"Thirty-nine!" echoed Astoria, wrapping her arms tightly around Anya and yelping in joy. "That's even better than Diggory."
"Remember to lend me your Runes notes for future lessons," Nott muttered from the side, a small smile on his lips.
"Cough up enough galleons and maybe I'll consider."
Fleur Delacour came next, with Jean Poitiers' item. From what Anya saw, she was holding a sack tightly bound with string. The Welsh Green stared at the French in expectation, she banished the sack up in the air and hit it with a cutting curse. The contents within the sack came loose and the rich, strong aroma of roast meat filled her nose, around her see could see Crabbe and Goyle salivating from the scent alone. Within the sack was a lump of roast beef, clearly charmed or doused in potions to amplify its aroma. Fleur whirled her wand and pointed it straight at the roast beef, which began to multiply rapidly. It was the most unorthodox use of a Geminio Charm Anya had ever saw, but she couldn't deny its effectiveness and creativity.
"Brilliant! Simply brilliant!" Bagman said with a rich laugh. "Who would have thought of something like that? Clearly, Ms Delacour and Mr Poitiers are bent on showing the superiority of French cuisine, and the dragon seems to confirm that statement as well."
By this point, a small mountain of roast beef had formed between Fleur and the Welsh Green. The dragon had begun to feast on the meat and Fleur simply took her time sneaking around it, periodically casting more Geminio Charms to keep the Welsh Green in check. Fleur ended up with the golden egg in twenty minutes, but not a scratch on her.
When the judges cast their scores, an excellent display of Charms but a comparative lack in the task's main purpose of showing daring earned her thirty-five points. Her partner, Poitiers, received thirty-eight points for showing the ability to think outside the box to come out with something simplistically creative via cooking and potions.
The Durmstrang Champion was next and he walked up bold as brass, staring down the Chinese Fireball without fear. A flick of his wand and Krum sent a vial hurtling straight for its nose, the vial burst into thick fumes which the Chinese Fireball inhaled.
The effect was instantaneous and the dragon began to sway a little. Krum followed up with a curse to the Chinese Fireball's eyes, the curse found its mark and the dragon ended up thrashing about in agony.
"Sweet Merlin, that man has guts taking a dragon face on," Bagman exclaimed. "Just the nerves you would expect from a world-class seeker."
Krum quickly made his way for the golden egg, avoiding the rampaging dragon as he did so. However, said rampaging dragon crushed a good number of eggs before Krum could get his golden egg. This had cost him points, but Krum had managed to top the competition so far, raking in forty points. Dulovo himself earned thirty-four for his prowess in potions.
Finally, it was Harry's turn. Anya watched on as her brother raised his wand and screamed at the top of his wand.
"Accio Firebolt."
Smart. Anya mused, tactics like this were straight of out Nathaniel's and Grey's books. There was a silent anticipation as everyone – including Bagman – waited for the results of Harry's gamble. Sure enough, a Firebolt came whizzing around the corner of the castle and into the arena.
"Well, this is an unexpected move from Mr Potter," Bagman declared. "Just what exactly is the plan our youngest Champion have concocted?"
Harry boarded his broomstick and began speeding towards a waiting Hungarian Horntail, turning and weaving around it. A sharp pull that brought Harry inches away from both hard ground and dragon fire elicited gasps from the crowds.
"Great Scott, he can fly! Mr Krum, are you watching this?"
The swing of the Horntail's spiky tail managed to scrape Harry's shoulder, this time eliciting screams from the crowd, but the Gryffindor was unfazed. Harry started climbing higher and higher in a sweeping circular path, slowly luring the protective mother dragon away from the eggs. When the Horntail had overextended, Harry dug into his robes and pulled out a black tusk, a prod from his wand and a great heave sent the screeching item in the opposite direction and the Horntail followed it.
"Oh! There's the set-up from Mr Potter. Great plan, but will the execution be just as great?
He dives down. The Horntail doesn't notice, it's too focused on Ms Seryy's little trinket. Potter speeds in. Arms are open. The Horntail has its wings spread open. There's the window of opportunity. Potter's going for the golden egg. Sweeps in and- YES!
We talked about the execution and Mr Potter here delivered splendidly. Talk about skill, talk about nerves. Where was this man when England got flattened in this year's World Cup?"
There was a thunderous wave of cheers as Harry rose from the eggs, the golden egg tucked in his arm.
"Will you just look at that ladies and gentlemen, our youngest Champion is the fastest in getting his golden egg."
The dragon-keepers leapt into action and Harry was ushered away to the medical tent. When all had settled down, Harry had won forty points, bringing him up to tie with Krum. Anya, out of curiosity, chanced a glanced at Malfoy behind her, only to see the fuming blonde stomping away in anger.
"Come on, Anya," Astoria tugged at her sleeves. "Don't the champions get to visit the tents with a guest or two? Bring me along there, I want to take a look at Diggory."
"Diggory?" Anya asked.
"Excuse me? Haven't you seen that man, he's absolutely dreamy."
"Alright," Anya chuckled, rising from her seat. "You can tag along, I'm supposed to be there for a briefing once the task is over. But don't blame me if you get kicked out."
The two made their way to the tents, where Astoria promptly began to wander off on her own, taking care to avoid drawing attention. Anya let her be, the second-year was growing on her, covering a patch on her heart that had been violently ripped out long ago.
"Seryy, good to see you."
"Diggory, glad to see you alive. You've looked better."
"I can agree on that," the Hufflepuff grinned from beneath the thick yellow paste plastered on his face.
"The Short-Snout got you good, huh?"
"Would have been worse if not for your runes, worked very well, shame the Short-Snout got to the dog too fast. You ought to consider being a curse-breaker or even a ward specialist with that level of Runes."
"It was some nice Transfiguration work on your end to."
Anya left the Hufflepuff to rest and decided to check on the other Champions. Fleur was unharmed and Krum suffered a few bruises from avoiding the rampaging Chinese Fireball. Harry sat in corner, with Madam Pomfrey fussing over the gash on his shoulder. All in all, Hogwarts came out with more injuries in this First Task.
"You look like a mess Potter," Anya stated. "But that was some smooth flying though."
"Thanks, Seryy," Harry grinned. "Your runes were good too, threw the Horntail off and gave me an opening."
"Well, ladies and gentlemen," Bagman entered the tent jovially, bounding with energy. "That was an exciting First Task, but there's more to come. You see the charming golden eggs that you have fought hard for? They contain the clues for the upcoming task, so do give them a good inspection in your free time. The Second Task will take place on the twenty-third of January. As for the Champions and Junior Champions assignment, Jean Poitiers of Beauxbatons will be aiding Viktor Krum for the Second Task, Mihail Dulovo to the two Hogwarts Champions and Anya Seryy to Fleur Delacour. I wish you all good luck."
With a deep bow and a cheery wave, Bagman bid the champions farewell and excused himself, leaving the champions to themselves.