Chapter 11 – Second Task
"Ladies and gentlemen," Bagman's magically amplified voice rang across the Forbidden Forest. "Welcome, to the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament!"
Up above the trees, the roar of excitement thundered from the multiple orange dirigibles floating about, the obscenely large gondola cabins packed with so many spectators magic had to be involved in keeping the dirigibles airborne. Anya took her eyes off the crowded skies to accept the Auror-grade dragonhide coat and gloves that a lanky Tournament official was giving her. As Junior Champion, safety measures were put in place in a task where they have to physically put themselves in danger, dragonhide gear offered a decent degree of protection from spells and was tough enough to stop sharp objects from piercing through. In addition to that, she was given an emergency escape portkey as well, just in case.
Pulling on the dragonhide, Anya took her place next to Fleur, who had a determined look on her face. Much like the First Task, the Beauxbatons Champions was dressed in a tracksuit, the preferred choice of clothing for most champions. Anya opted for what as familiar, favouring her usual operations garb sans ballistic vest. The part-Veela looked at her as asked in a strained voice. "Are you ready, Ms Seryy?"
"As I'll ever be," said Anya crisply, tugging on the edges of the gloves. She surveyed the ground, the night before had brought a blizzard onto Hogwarts. A thick layer of snow now blanketed the ground, movement will be difficult.
"For this task," said Bagman merrily. "Our champions are to split into three teams, each with a magically conjured Ceryneian Hind. The goal is simple, the Champions are to catch the Hinds from the other teams and the Junior Champions are to defend their Hinds. Points will be given not based on how many of the other Champions' Hinds they are able to catch but rather on how well they perform."
Duelling was allowed too, Anya remembered that nugget of information during the brief earlier. Her grip on her wand tightened, it had been a long time since she got in action. A slight grin of excitement managed to worm its way into her face. The two female champions made their way onto a stone circle in the Forbidden Forest, it was their starting position. In the centre of it stood a Hind, it was magically conjured, a floating vapour of blue and gold mist, vaguely resembling a Patronus. The hind cantered towards Anya and she noticed an amulet held in its mouth, or rather the vapour that was in place of a mouth. It tipped its head and dropped the amulet onto Anya's hand, this was what Bagman had briefed the Junior Champions about.
"Alright, Junior Champions, you will each be provided with an amulet from your Hind. Now, the beautiful amulets given allows you to give basic control over the Hind and allows you to know its location as well. This will aid you in the task of defending your Hind from the Champions. And rest assured, other champions will not be able to use the amulet you receive.
As for the Champions, the amulet you receive will only reveal the locations of all Hinds once every nineteen minutes for one minute, so don't go relying too much on them."
Anya inspected the item in her hand, it was finely crafted, a large polished crystal surrounded by intricately twisted bronze. On the crystal there was a glowing red glowing dot, pointing towards the Hind. Anya walked around the Hind and the dot shift to keep pointing towards to magical construct.
"Move," Anya muttered softly, the Hind obeyed, starting a trot around the two champions.
"Now, the champions have an hour of hardship and stiff competition ahead of them," Bagman declared. "May the best pair win!"
The sound of a blowing horn resonated across the trees, signalling the start of the Second Task. Anya opened the pouch she brought with her, revealing the wooden blocks she had prepared within it. Waving her wand, she activated the runes on them and transfigured them into swiftlets, which started to dart across the trees and into the forest. Fleur took off onto the woods, casting a clever charm to keep the snow in stasis, allowing her to walk on top of the snow rather than trudge through it.
"And they are off, with Krum, Diggory and Potter opening with a Summoning Charm. Clearly, Potter's performance in the First Task was clearly an inspiration, the Summoning Charms are off and the three Champions are waiting."
Anya's guess was right, using broomsticks in a wide-area search would definitely have been the other Champions' first choice, she would have done that herself had she been in their shoes. Turning to the Hind, she began to lace the sentient vapour with various spells. Disillusionment Charm, Notice-Me-Not Charm, Silencing Charm and Shield Charm. Lastly, she took out another set of wooden blocks with runic carvings. One transfiguration spell later and there was a small flock of sparrows circling the Hind. The ward system was simple, any magical presence entering the 'circle' of sparrows would trigger a wide-area Freezing Charm, hopefully putting the intruder in a stasis.
"The three Champions are really showing their speed on a broomstick," Bagman's jovial voice reared itself up once again. "Just what you'd expect from three seekers. Look at them weave about the trees, inhuman reflexes right there!"
Those words piqued Anya's curiosity, the Forbidden Forest was old, ancient even, and the trees were densely packed. At best, there were a few clearings and gaps in the woods that could be picked out by a pair of omniculars, especially in winter where most of the leaves have fallen. But there was still enough cover that closely observing multiple high-speed broomsticks moving through the woods could no longer exist within the realm of physical possibility. Anya had the strange yet familiar sensation of being watched. Heeding that sensation, she cast her eyes about, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She found something hovering up in the trees, a wriggling ball of yellow and turquoise lines. The colour was new, but the movement and structure was not. She had seen it multiple times before, an Observation Charm and Tracking Charm combined. No wonder Bagman was able to keep a close commentary on them, the charms were likely linked to a screen somewhere in the dirigibles. However, making the commentary audible to the champions as well was a downright questionable in Anya's books.
"Oh! You better watch out there Mr Diggory, that was a close call with that Doxy swarm. But that was a clean recovery and- Sweet Merlin! Did his broom just fail him right there? It seems to be disabled, Diggory is losing control and- Ohhhh... ploughed right onto the snow."
Questionable it may be, but Anya was gladly appreciating the information Bagman was pumping down, it seems the swiftlets did their job and there were more threats than just other champions. Even from the ground, Anya could make out the faint sound of the spectators screaming from the airships above.
"Goodness, it's not just Diggory, Krum and Potter are both forced to make an emergency descent. Their brooms are failing too, just what is going on here!?"
Breathe in, count to four. Hold, count to four. Breathe out, count to four. Hold, count to four.
Points were given on how well they perform. In other words, simply standing about as a Junior Champion would not do for Anya. This competition was as much an entertainment to the masses as it was a method to foster international relations, which meant that points were given on how flashy and entertaining they could be. To Anya, going on the offense definitely provided a better outlet to entertain her audience. Sitting around trying to wow the people with fanciful defensive charms while the older students do a more active role in the task was not advantageous.
"Follow, but keep a distance. Stay low. Should I be rendered unable to fight, run away from anyone you sense," she muttered to her amulet. Casting a Disillusionment Charm on herself and a Silencing Charm on her boots, she dashed into the woods with the Hind obediently following her.
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Mihail Dulovo was pissed, this task certainly was not fair. He had half a mind to complain fiercely to Professor Karkaroff after this, the Hogwarts Champions were pushing him to the edge, and they would have had Krum not given him a solid heads-up on the Second Task. Trying to prepare a solid defence for two Champions had been an excruciatingly suffocating task. Furthermore, it had to be done within the same time frame, forcing him to run from Potter's starting point to Diggory's.
Now that Diggory's Hind finally had its protections set up, the Bulgarian took a step back to inspect his work. The Hind was covered in a thick brown goo and emitting a sinister hum, promising certain bodily harm should anyone try to catch it without caution. Now all that's left to do was wait, and relocate Diggory's Hind should his Intruder Charm sound off. Dulovo could not bring himself to care about Potter's Hind, let the other Champions catch it for all he cared. The Bulgarian was insistent that Potter had cheated his way into the Tournament and having putting the British in a disadvantage was justice in his eyes.
"And just what is the plan of our female champions?" the sound of the commentary reaching his ears. "Ms Seryy seems to be adopting a rather unorthodox strategy, I certainty can't fathom what she's doing. And for Ms Delacour, she does really seem to be doing quite the opposite. She's just standing there... unless- OH! That certainly is unique, but it rather is the obvious choice to take when searching for something in a large forest.
Well... she's got it. Or at least I think she does... no she's definitely got it! She's sprinting off right now and certainly in the right direction, somebody better be prepared for her!"
Dulovo was sure those words have thrown Poitiers into mental overdrive, because it certainly did just that to him. He pointed his wand into the trees, eyes darting around, trying to pick out the slightest disturbance.
"Krum and Potter seems to be having a more difficult time searching the Hind, and Diggory has created quite a creative solution. Very smart, just like the First Task, and it might just work out. It's close, very close and- Yikes! That's just too bad, but how did she even notice those- Merlin, she is fast, very fast! She's running now and... she's running towards Diggory?"
A few moments after those words, Dulovo could hear multiple sharp cracks of spells impacting against rocks, trees and Shield Charms. The fight was near, he could tell from the volume of the noises made. Diggory was engaged in a duel, and if he was to show up as reinforcement, the two of them could take down the Delacour woman. This would definitely lessen the number of threats he would face, he turned to the direction of the noise and rushed off. But without even a single step taken, Dulovo found himself unable to move, his initial forward movement providing the momentum to topple face first onto the floor.
"Bonjour mon cher," Fleur's smooth voice filled Dulovo's ears. "Thank you for turning your back to me."
Frantically trying to scream at the amulet, Dulovo realised he was unable to speak, Fleur had added a Tongue-Tying Curse and a Silencing Charm in addition to her Full Body-Bind Curse for good measure. The Durmstrang Junior Champion was very confused, just how was she able to either escape or defeat Diggory and make her way to his rear with seconds. Fleur turned her attention away from Dulovo and focused on the goo laden Hind, trying to come up with a solution to get past the defences Dulovo had established.
"A desperate dodge from Diggory, he can't get his bearings straight- Wait a moment, Delacour seems to have gotten to Dulovo. It was a smart move on her part, using nature-based scrying to find the Hind in a forest. Yes, he's incapacitated, she working on the Hind now. Can she get past the Durmstrang Junior Champion's defen- Mother of Merlin! That move from Seryy! Brilliant application of Transfiguration there! Diggory is having a taste of his own antidote!"
That was when Dulovo realised Diggory's opponent had not been Fleur, the sounds of spells coming from the distance came from Anya.
"She's got the senior Hogwarts Champion pinned, those bats sure are nasty and- Yes, there it is! A quick Stunning Spell from Diggory- Misses! What was that movement from Seryy? That's an interesting stance to dodge an enemy spell in a duel. Ladies and gentlemen, who would have thought that lying prone on the ground could be a viable stance in a duel? Hold it, Delacour seems to be cracking it. Almost got it. Wow! The female team seems to be truly putting on a show for us."
Dulovo watched in horror as Fleur's face split into a triumphant grin, finally able to vanish the goo stuck on the Hind.
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Taking a deep breath, Harry stole a peek at the Marauders' Map ensuring that the tree hollow hid the map from the sight of whatever it was that kept track of him. He was so grateful he had Sirius for both suggesting this idea and partly creating the map he was now using. All it took was a Sticking Charm on the Firebolt and his navigation problem was solved, although he had to hide it deep in the bristles of the Firebolt to keep it away from prying eyes.
Following the plan, he would go after the Hind Poitiers was protecting first. After that was done, he dreaded the next thing that would come up. From Bagman's commentary, it seemed as though Cedric's Hind had already been captured. That would leave him having to go up against Anya, not something he was fond of, especially after hearing her take down Cedric.
Then again, not like he actually needed to. As much as how Ron claimed that Harry had a good chance at winning the Tournament, staying alive was still the main priority.
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Apparently, Disillusionment Charms did not stop whatever spell the Tournament officials used to see the champions. Anya gathered that much from the commentary, it had to be the amulet that they provided that was responsible for this. As she moved through the woods, she spotted several bats flying around as well. Those bats were tiny and well hidden among the tress but Anya spotted them immediately and knew that those were the work of another champion. Her sight perceived them to be a woven sheet of Transfiguration magic glowing bright as day, someone had either conjured those or transfigured them from nearby objects. Filtering through the list of champions, she shortlisted the suspect to Cedric, the only champion to have used Transfiguration during the First Task.
The bats were likely scouts, programmed to lead Cedric to any of the Hind or champions they find. That was a problem, Disillusionment Charms does not conceal one from echolocation. How Diggory even had the foresight to use bats Anya did not know, or it could have been a big fat coincidence.
"Krum and Potter seems to be having a more difficult time searching the Hind, and Diggory has created quite a creative solution. Very smart, just like the First Task, and it might just work out. It's close, very close and-"
Definitely Cedric, thank you very much Mr Bagman.
Anya wasted no time, a deft flick off her wand sent a Stunner to one of the bats which dropped onto the floor. Several Stunners soon followed in rapid succession, disabling the bats. She took note of the direction they came from and looked into the gaps in the trees, spotting Cedric walking with his disabled broomstick in hand. Without hesitation, Anya broke into a sprint, heading straight for Cedric.
"Yikes! That's just too bad, but how did she even notice those- Merlin, she is fast, very fast! She's running now and... she's running towards Diggory?"
One final leap from Anya brought her over a bush of Devil's Snare planted by the Tournament officials and she had a clear shot at Cedric.
"Stupefy," the words came out firmly as she took aim. The red jet of light exploded into sparks as it came into contact with Cedric, he had been smart enough to prepare a Shield Charm beforehand. Cedric immediately scrambled for cover, darting from tree to tree. It did not matter much to Anya though, her aim was good and her spells smashed against Cedric's shields one after another with the same rapid fire she had used on his bats.
"A desperate dodge from Diggory, he can't get his bearings straight-"
It took a few moments before Cedric realised his foe was under concealment. He waved his wand wildly and sent paint splattering all over the place in hopes of land some on Anya to reveal her location. Anya ducked behind a tree and responded by transfiguring the surrounding pine cones into bats which began to swarm Cedric, their wings batting against his face as the winged mammals dug their fangs in an attempt to bypass his Shield Charm that was the sole barrier between fang and skin.
"Mother of Merlin! That move from Seryy! Brilliant application of Transfiguration there! Diggory is having a taste of his own antidote!"
Cedric sprang into a frenzy, swinging his broomstick in an attempt to rid himself of the bats while his wand fired off a variety of spells, from Banishing Charms to Freezing Spells. Some of the bats began dropping and others were launched away from Cedric. Anya kept a distance, she was not planning on having to dodge any paint again, she also kept up the tempo, sending spell after spell at Cedric. The Hufflepuff clearly had a great deal of magical capacity, bring able to keep his Shield Charm up the whole time.
"She's got the senior Hogwarts Champion pinned, those bats sure are nasty and- Yes, there it is! A quick Stunning Spell from Diggory-"
A sudden twist of his wrist and Cedric had a Stunner sent straight for Anya, her sustained spell fire giving him an idea of where to aim. Anya did not bother with a Shield Charm of her own, her various encounters in firefights and combat training with Vlad had taught her the immediate reaction to enemy fire. Hit the dirt and move to improve cover. Landing onto the snow, Anya rolled over to dodge the next Stunner which brought snow splashing up beside her. She shuffled over to flush against a tree, keeping her profile low while maintaining her salvo of spells. It was quite astounding what wonders a solid cover and small area of exposure can to do against spells. The next two spells were not even a distraction to Anya, the Leg-Locker Curse smashing into the tree truck while the third Stunner flew by above her.
"Misses! What was that movement from Seryy? That's an interesting stance to dodge an enemy spell in a duel. Ladies and gentlemen, who would have thought that lying prone on the ground could be a viable stance in a duel?"
"Flipendo. Incarcerous. Stupefy." Anya laid prone behind the trees as the spells flew from her wand in quick succession. The Knockback Jinx was the straw that broke the camel's back, shattering Cedric's Shield Charm and throwing him onto his back. Ropes from the next spell wrapped around his torso tightly, keeping him open for the Stunner that went straight into his chest.
"Wow! The female team seems to be truly putting on a show for us."
Anya climbed back onto her feet, moving over to throw a quick Disillusionment Charm over his unconscious body to prevent his partner from easily reviving him, not that she needed to. She checked her watch and found that almost half an hour had already gone by, she probably only had enough time to hunt another Champion down. In her opinion, the Tournament officials had placed too many Doxy swarms and Red Caps in the forest, at least she found out what the dots on the map Fleur had deciphered meant. There were a lot of dots on the map, a lot of trouble.
Up next would be Krum, he would be a challenge if Durmstrang's reputation in the Dark Arts were anything to go by. But if she was able to take him down as well, there would be no doubt that the judges would be impressed. With one last check at her surroundings and another check at her concealment spells, Anya ran into the thick blanket of trees once again.
As she searched, Anya entertained herself with Bagman's commentary. Apparently, a rough scuffle between Poitiers and Harry had broken out, with the use of a broomstick as a club being heavily hinted. With Dulovo down, Krum himself had secured Harry's Hind with ease. It was a good ten minutes of searching before Anya came across a set of footprints in the snow, she knelt down to inspect them. The prints were size of an adult and its pattern seemed to have an ungainly gait to it. Krum had passed by here, and the tracks were still quite fresh.
"Diffindo," another Severing Charm from Anya lopped off the head of yet another dwarf-like Red Cap that had been stalking her, a bone club in its pudgy hands. They had been immensely annoying, their acute sense of smell negating her concealment spells. Following the trail soon led Anya to a small clearing where she stopped abruptly. She saw cords of magic coiling around the surrounding trees, they were freshly made and they were trap spells. Krum knew she was coming, he probably came to that conclusion from Bagman's commentary along with the corroboration of his amulet. He must have seen Anya's Hind move towards him on the amulet, providing him enough suspicion to infer Anya's plan of offence being the best defence.
Anya looked around for signs of the famed seeker and found him hiding behind a tree. Before she even made a move, Krum sent a Blasting Curse at her, forcing her to roll for over. The curse impacted a tree, sending splinters flying everywhere, some bouncing off the Shield Charm Anya had cast. However, the Bulgarian was not done, he sprang forward with vigour and began to keep the pressure on Anya. Strong curses and wide area spells seemed to be the arsenal that Krum was using, clearly not intent on underestimating the witch.
"An aggressive opening from Krum, forcing Seryy back. Just what you'd expect from him after the First Task," Bagman's commentary once again filled the area. "Clever move to use a Supersensory Charm to find out where Seryy is."
Ducking behind a tree as a jet of red flames splashed on the wood, Anya grimaced. No wonder Krum was able to target her accurately despite a Disillusionment Charm in place, he was able to pick out the blurry silhouette of her figure. She pointed her wand on the floor and took a deep breath.
"Fumos."
Black smoke exploded all around her, covering her from Krum's view. A Supersensory Charm may be able to pick out a person under Disillusionment Charms but it cannot see pass a thick physical smokescreen, whereas Anya's right eye could. She come out from her cover and responded in kind, launching a dead log at Krum with a Banishment Charm. As the log neared him, she sent a Blasting Curse at the log, showering the Durmstrang Champion in sharp splinters. His Shield Charm stopped him from bodily harm, but he was forced to start dodging as red jets of Stunners started to fly from the thick black smokescreen in front of him.
"Looks like Seryy is fighting back just as aggressively, spells are flying from the smokescreen. Just how is she able to aim through that? OH! Ladies and gentlemen, we have another heart-stopping duel on our hands."
Another smokescreen from Anya expanded the size of the swirling black smoke, allowing her more room to move about under concealment. She fired off spells as she ran around, forcing Krum to constantly shift the focus of his Shield Charm around as he seemed to be attacked from multiple directions. A flock of transfigured bats that Anya sent was met with a firm counter-spell that had the bats dropping back onto the ground as harmless stones and pine cones. Krum replied with a curse that had a sickly green acid spraying around the area, eating in snow, stones and trees. Once again, Anya was forced to take cover, taking pot shots every now and then. It wasn't that her spells weren't hitting, she prided herself in her accuracy and precision, Krum's defence was just too good. The Durmstrang Champion clearly had experience in duel as he shifted his barriers and wards with an adept skill Anya had not saw with Cedric.
"That acid curse is nasty," Bagman cried out. "Look at it gnaw into the stone, it's a good thing our young Hogwarts Junior Champion is quick on her feet, not that we can really see her under that smokescreen of hers. A close fight is going on, this is going to be a battle of speed. Both champions are clearly skilled in their defence, Seryy with her dodging movements and Krum with his Shield Charms, this is going to go down to who can strike faster than the other's defences."
Bagman was right, Anya realised that she and Krum were quite evenly matched. She was definitely faster and had better reflexes, but Krum's experience in conventional magical duelling made up for those shortfalls. She was going to have to pull a trick from her sleeves if she intended on winning this fight. As another Stunning Spells zipped past her, she started biting her lower lip, trying to come up with a plan. A pincer attack was clearly called for, his Shield Charms were too good. All she need was an attack from the back or side while Krum had his Shield Charm completely focused on his front. But there was no one else to work with, Transfiguration was out, Krum proved to be able to counter the creatures Anya sent.
Unless...
A small idea wormed its way into her head, festering quickly as the milliseconds passed. Anya smiled, she was going to have to pull a trick from her sleeves indeed. Krum would not expect this, the judges would not expect this. A genuine demonstration of some magical proficiency but a perfect illusion of sheer magical power. Didn't someone say that the best lies were half-truths? She dashed out from her cover and out from her smokescreen, cancelling her concealment spells as she did so. She took one careful aim, pumping all her energy into the next spell.
"Reducto!" the blue jet of light went pass Krum, reducing the tree on his left into a fine mist which blossomed into the air. Immediately, she tumbled onto the snow as Krum's curse flew above her head. The tumble ended with her coming back on her feet and she followed up with the most unexpected move Krum had witnessed in all his duelling experience. She threw her wand high in the air.
It was an underhand throw, with the lob sending the wand spinning directly upwards. Krum's head followed the path of the wand before finally focusing back on Anya. The split second distraction was all she needed. Krum watched as she leapt forward, bringing her left hand to her chest, pressing the thumb and middle finger together. Anya's heart was pounding at this point, the thrill reaching a climax. She could feel the prickling sensation of excitement shivering from her neck down to her toes. She faced Krum and a wide grin crept open.
Krum froze for a moment, gripped by the expression on the raven-haired girl's face. It was predatory, with an almost feral glint in her eyes. She radiated the aura of a snake that just cornered a mouse, and at that moment, he very much felt like a mouse. Somehow, the light in the girl's right eye seemed to dance with its own wild liveliness.
"Protego!" Krum yelled, instinctively casting a Shield Charm. He did not know what she could do without her wand but that gleam in her eyes hinted – no, screamed – that she had an ace up her sleeves and she was drawing it out now.
Anya lashed out her left hand and as it fully extended, the thumb and middle finger that were pressed together in a strained tension cracked apart in a snap. The air seemed to crackle with a wild energy the moment her hand completed that motion. Next thing Krum knew, the air ten feet to his left where the Reducto-ed tree once stood tore itself open into a crimson explosion.
The shockwave from the blast threw him off his feet, landing on the snow-covered ground, his Shield Charm absorbing most of the blow. A ringing sound overwhelmed his senses, he felt the warm trickle of blood flowing from his ears, the eardrums must have burst from the shockwave. He tried to climb onto his feet, but he stumbled right back onto the snow, his world spinning in his eyes. Turning onto his side, Krum emptied his stomach violently, his breakfast splattering onto the snow, a rancid brown on the otherwise pristine white. The vertigo and nausea from the shockwave proved too much for his body to handle as he curled up on the ground, clutching his head and groaning.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Bagman roared among the screams coming from the spectators high above the forest. "That can't possibly be a wandless and nonverbal Blasting Curse!?"
Anya went to retrieve her wand, which had stuck itself into the snow. She pushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes and turned to smile at the groaning Krum, the adrenaline still rushing in her blood. The thrill of pulling off her plan successfully was very invigorating.
"Unexpected! Impossible! And certainly a complete shock and surprise!" Bagman was raving at this point. "A fourteen year old girl using wandless and nonverbal magic at that capacity? Absolutely unbelievable!"
As though on cue, the blaring horn signalling the end of the Second Task resonated across the Forbidden Forest. Cheers erupted from the dirigibles up above as Tournament officials begin to cautiously enter the area, bringing all the champions out of the woods. Anya casually sent another Severing Charm at a lurking Red Cap before following a team of Tournament officials who were lifting Krum on a conjured stretcher back to the champions' tents.
As she entered the tent, the familiar sight of Madam Pomfrey fussing over the injured champions greeted her. Harry and Poitiers sat at opposite corners of the tent glaring at one another, covered in scratches and bruises. Dulovo was uninjured, the spells from Fleur inflicting no bodily harm whatsoever. Fleur herself was sporting a kneecap that was just healed from a fracture after a particularly nasty run-in with a Red Cap. On a cot bed sat a groaning Cedric, rubbing his back that had slammed against the ground from Anya's prior Knockback Jinx.
"Oh, there you are," Madam Pomfrey said with an exasperated sigh as she notice she had two new patients. "Duelling in the woods? Really, that's a little too much. Ms Seryy, you still here and be still. I'll get back to you after I treat Mr Krum, you were a little overenthusiastic with him I'm afraid."
Anya obediently followed the matron's orders, settling herself into one of the empty cot beds. Looking at Krum, she supposed she was 'a little overenthusiastic' as Madam Pomfrey had declared, the Bulgarian was roughed up badly. Then again, she had overestimated the effort required to generate a dust explosion sizeable enough to incapacitate Krum. On top of that, it was her first time using sawdust as the medium of explosion. Thank Merlin Krum was good with his Shield Charms or else raptured organs would have been involved.
"So, hunting down other Champions are we?" Fleur asked as she joined Anya at watching Madam Pomfrey treat the wounded Champion, rubbing her newly healed knee gingerly. "I will admit I was sceptical when I heard your plan but you did turn out alright. Not everyone would expect the Junior Champion to turn the hunter into the hunted."
"What happened to Potter and Poitiers?" Anya peeled her eyes off Madam Pomfrey to look at the two males who were glaring at one another.
"From what I gathered, a brawl consisting mostly of prank spells and a broomstick. Ended in poor taste though."
"I can clearly see that. Did Potter catch Poitiers' Hind?"
"Oui," Fleur replied with a hint of annoyance, none of which was directed at Anya. "From what Jean was ranting about, Potter managed to hit the Hind from sixty feet away with a strong Impediment Jinx during the brawl, allowing him to catch it."
"What was Poitiers' method of defence?"
"Charmed the Hind to create mirror images."
"And Potter hit the right one?" Anya asked incredulously. "From sixty feet?"
"That was the reason Jean was ranting actually," Fleur commented. "Although the broomstick hit across his cheek could have been the other reason."
Soon, Madam Pomfrey was done patching up Krum and turned her attention to Anya, fussing over her despite the fourth-year suffering only light scrapes. With everyone treated, the champions all left the tent to check on the scores that the judges were giving them.
"Now that all our esteemed champions are here," Bagman announced. "Let us start announcing the points. Starting with Mihail Dulovo, for his rather interesting method of using a combination of- err… curses and poisons to deter the Champions from catching his Hind, the judges have decided to award him thirty points."
Anya smirked, clearly the British judges were not fond of the Durmstrang Junior Champion using Dark Arts to form his defences.
"Jean Poitiers, for his mirror imaging charms earns him a solid thirty-six points. And of course, for Anya Seryy, the dark horse of the Junior Champion. Her ability and aggression in duelling her champions combined with that astounding feat of wandless magic turned the hunters into the hunted, this earns her forty-five points."
If Anya had been drinking anything at that moment, she would have choked on it. Even from the champions' tents outside the Forbidden Forest, she could hear the thundering roar of cheering from the floating dirigibles.
Alright, maybe I did overdo it.
Suddenly, Anya realised that pulling out a card like that may not have been the brightest idea in the long run. Doing something like wandless magic would definitely attract scrutiny from many people, last thing she wanted was to have people inspecting her very move, especially people like Moody. Anya plastered a false uneasy grin on her face as she saw the other champions looking at her, hopefully showing a face of modesty as she swore internally. However, she actually did felt uneasy bringing this much attention on her. Hopefully, this would not come back to bite her in the future.
"Moving on for the Junior Champions to the Champions, Cedric Diggory, for another clever feat of Transfiguration for hunting down the Hinds – although it didn't really work out – along with an admirable display in duelling earns him thirty-seven points. Fleur Delacour, for her unique and ingenious method of using nature-based scrying to seek out the Hind earns herself thirty-eight points. Harry Potter, although hitting a little bit of a snag, still managed to clinch himself a Hind through an impressive display of aim. The judges have awarded him thirty-five points. And Krum, showing us a fantastic display of duelling skills himself earns thirty-nine points."
Eighty-four points in total so far. Anya had a clear lead, with the next closest being Krum. But in hindsight, she would rather let Krum take the lead, showing off the wandless magic was probably too much.
You'd better win the Tournament after this, Anya. If Grey ever hears of this, I am going to be found dead in the riverbanks of the Northern Dvina River.
Soon, the champions were ushered into a tent where Bagman awaited them. The man threw Harry a slight look of worry, but his face soon took on the look of wonderment when he saw Anya.
Yeah. Too much.
"Well, this task was simply splendid, very well done all of you. Now, on to the Third Task, partners have swapped once again. Ms Delacour with Mr Dulovo, Mr Diggory and Mr Potter here will be with Mr Poitiers. Last but not least, Mr Krum with Ms Seryy."
Anya took a look at the man whose eardrums she had burst just an hour ago, the man in question was also looking at her with a mix of interest, relief and caution. A slight bit awkward, but also expected.
"I'm sure all of you are excited for the Third Task, am I right?" Bagman asked about with a wide smile. "Well… sorry folks, that's left for a big mystery. It will take place during February and that's all I can say. What I can say is that the whole of you better get ready for this sheer terror."
Unable to decide whether Bagman was being serious or just plain goofy, Anya opted to watch on silently as the man waved everyone a cheery goodbye before hastily exiting the tent.
"So… Seryy, right?" Krum asked as the other champions left the tent, cautiously extending his hand to her. The feral expression on the girl during their fight was stuck firmly on his mind. "It will be a pleasure to work with someone as formidable as you, I never had the chance to duel with one as powerful as you."
"Likewise," Anya shook the offered hand. "You were quite good yourself. It's not often that I'm forced to pull out a card like that."
"This Bagman person seems to be quite vague about the Third Task," Krum stated, looking at the tent flap where the Ministry Head of Department was a minute ago. "I suppose that doesn't leave us with much clues to work on."
"Definitely not," Anya agreed. "Guess we'll just have to prepare for the worse, brush up on any useful spells."
"Sound advice. Until the next time then."
The Bulgarian left the tent as well, leaving Anya to take a deep breath before heading back to the castle herself. She could already imagine the attention and persistent questions from the students awaiting her.