It was sight to behold, the event making the front page over and over again. Not only was the Triwizard tournament an event meant to draw attention to the school hosting it, but this one also had Harry Potter right in the center of it despite him not even placing his name inside the goblet.
Talbott has travelled to Hogwarts ever since the first task back in late November, witnessing the events unfold. In a sense seeing Harry ride his broom, fending off the fire breathing dragon, he could not help thinking back to the times when he and his friends were about the same age as him, all getting into all sort of dangers in order to break the curse of the Vaults. For some it had been the adventure of their lives, for others not so much as all that transpired left a lost of hurt and scars behind.
And now, after graduating and making a name for himself, he once again witnessed how the school appeared to have little regards for safety, especially when allowing Harry to participate despite him not even being of age. He was a priority, Dumbledore insisted on making the message loud and clear, yet still allowed for him to partake in the tournament.
Back in November Talbott voiced out his concerns however they fell on deaf ears.
At least he managed to speak with Charlie once more face to face as he was part of the team that brought the dragons to England. Up until that point while Talbott did send a few letters to the Dragon Sanctuary, they were met with a cold shoulder and no response. Even as he stood in front of Charlie, he refused at the beginning to even listen to him, let alone accept an apology.
However Talbott followed him, risking even getting too close to the dragons, Charlie yelling some obscenities his way. Yet he saw that the ever-prudent man he knew was honest, wiling to even set himself in front of danger if that meant having his apology heard. One that was eventually accepted.
He learned then Talia had not made contact with him anymore and now that February rolled around and Talbott was once again present for the second task, no one had anymore words to share on her whereabouts. Agitation settled inside of him like a second heart, not letting him rest properly, making his head muddy as anxiety dragged its claws on the walls of his mind. He could not accept the fact that she had disappeared into the world, but then again there was no news on Felix either.
As the cold wind blew through his hair, his eyes took in the setup arranged on the Black Lake. It was early in the morning, however students, professors and visitors alike where making their way to the stands in hopes of getting a front row seat to the events. What they hoped to see was beyond Talbott as the contestants would need to dive into the lake.
The only reason why Talbott even made time to attend the second task was in order to have a word with Moody, who appeared adamant to stay away from him the first time around. However if Talia was to reach out to someone, it would still be the same group of people as before. But those same people were all located in one place and currently too busy with the tournament events.
But that did not mean he would give up.
And surely enough, he managed to locate Moody as he was making his way towards the stands. Picking up the pace to arrive in front of him "Not now boy." He quickly shoved him aside, Talbott gritting his teeth.
"Why didn't you tell me about Talia?" he saw Moody slow down, reaching inside his coat to grab a flask, taking a swing before turning to look at him.
"What is your mission?" he wobbled over, looking up at him "What do you need to do?"
Sunset colored eyes widened slightly, body tensing a fraction. It felt as if he was at the very beginning of training, Moody berating him when a mistake was made, asking him question after question, giving him little time to formulate a proper answer "To serve and protect." He finally stated, a bit too on the unenthusiastical side.
Licking his lips, Moody shook his head "Exactly, so what does the girl have to do with any of that?"
Blinking in surprise, Talbott's first instinct was to just step back and assess the situation better, however as he narrowed his eyes in a dangerous stare, he took another step forward, towering over his former trainer "She also deserves protection, one many have failed to give her. You should have told me she contacted you."
With a loud scoff, Moody proceeded to turn away from him, ushering Talbott with his hand in a dismissive manned "The girl is a weapon and she will join us when the time comes."
It felt as if electricity struck through his entire system, Talbott hissing through his teeth "What did you call her?" gesturing with his hand in order to refrain himself from reaching for his wand and hexing Moody with a spell then and there "Are you mad?" however he just continued to make his way to the stands.
As he took another step to follow him, he heard his name being called out, a charming smile accompanied by a well known face managing to douse his burning anger. Straightening his coat, Talbott waved over at Bill Weasley who was making his way towards him through the increasing number of people "Didn't expect to see you here." He stated, hands rubbing together for warmth as his shoulders drew in, attempting to preserve some of the warmth that was quickly trying to leave his body.
Taking another moment to look after Moody, Talbott's brows drew together as he just ran the previous interaction through his mind, hands burying themselves inside deep pockets. He felt as if ever since he left the Ministry he was a different person, not wishing to provide help, dismissive, erratic even, far more than before "Had a day off." Talbott replied looking back at his friend, not a single emotion reaching his stone cold face.
As they took a seat in order to watch the events of the second task unfold, it was not long until the participants took a dive into the probably very cold water, crowd soon not being able to see anything, just as Talbott suspected.
"So, how have you been?" Bill tried to coax him into a conversation seeing there was really not much to do apart from staring at the surface of the water, waiting for something to happen. Glancing over at Talbott he just provided a very short answer in the form of one word: work. Seeing how he was getting no honest reaction from him and knowing very well what happened with Talia, he decided not to bring her up as he had no valuable information to offer him, instead asking another question "What is going on with you Talbott?"
Providing him a side glance, his brows rose in suspicion "What do you mean?"
Giving him a small smile, he tried to lighten the mood a tad "You know you can talk to me right?" however Talbott was having absolutely none of it.
"Where are you getting at?" his face now fully turned to assess Bill's intentions.
Running a hand through long hair, he glanced back at the water with a very serious expression "I met with Penny the other day." Refraining himself from turning to take a look at Talbott, Bill continued "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." he quickly responded not losing any though on the matter and the question presented to him, however he did not fail to notice how Bill gripped one of his hands tight.
"Alright, fine. But I will still tell you what I think about it." Turning over to him, he continued "And you'll listen because I don't know what's wrong with you lately, but I don't recognize you anymore." He was not mad per say, more disappointed by the look on his face "If you intend to sleep with someone, you can at least have the decency to tell them there won't be more than that." Talbott's eyes grew wide, obvious embarrassment in how he rubbed his neck in an attempt to come up with an answer on the spot "Especially someone who has been your friend ever since joining Hogwarts."
"Look" Talbott quickly lowered his hand knowing it was betraying him "what happened between me and Penny is none of your business."
"True" Bill shook his head accepting that fact "however since you know I am involved in the entire Talia scheme, I think it makes it my business." A hand quickly covered his mouth, lowering a second later as the Durmstrang headmaster turned to look at them, Bill quickly catching on.
Talbott continued to stare at the water, not uttering another word, however the tightness in his jaw and how he remained rigid as to not fidget spoke volumes, Bill feeling as if he had crossed the line. Placing a hand on Talbott's shoulder, he was quick to notice the tension in his muscles, before he was shrugged off, a glare telling him not to attempt that again. Lowering his voice, he apologized "I know I shouldn't have said that."
"It runs in the family it seems." He retorted, Bill knowing about his fight with Charlie as he would not shut up about it for a few days following it. If it was one thing his little brother was known for it was his stubbornness and tendency to hold a grudge until apologized to. However his quarrel with Talbott hit him a tad too close to home. Charlie had learned to care for Talia and Felix as if they were his own siblings, something Bill did not expect the first time around when he watched him with a horrified look as he told him all he knew about Talia and her reasons for being at the Dragon Sanctuary.
It was Charlie who chose not to share with her any of the details, instead wishing to earn the girl's trust. And surely enough, it had been rewarded in full when she risked her own life in order to save him and Felix from the fire breathing dragon.
Blinking away the memories clouding his mind, Bill spoke once more "There was a time when you would have done anything not to hurt a soul. Don't get me wrong here, I still believe that to be your fundamental core value, but I feel as if other things are clouding your judgement recently." Looking over at Talbott, he once again placed his hand on his shoulder, this time not being pushed away "And I know you blame yourself for a lot of things, but whatever you do, you can't change the past and you know that." The grip tightened a fraction, Talbott's shoulders relaxing slightly "But you can chose what you do with your future and how you control those actions."
"I know." He replied softly "It's the only reason why I have been trying to be honest and make amends. But you're right, Penny at least deserved to know it was a moment of weakness and nothing more. I will talk to her, I promise."
As the first bubbles appeared on the surface of the murky waters indicating the first contestant was about to emerge, Bill took away his hand "Small steps my friend, small steps."