The Triwizard Cup

The Triwizard Cup was placed in the Entrance Hall, inside a protective glass chamber, the same location the Goblet of Fire had been situated, almost a year ago.

Students gathered in a circle around the Cup after breakfast as they examined the Cup. It was a simple glass cup, with handles and a stand made of silver.

After breakfast, Jojen and the boys in his dormitory walked up to the Triwizard Cup to examine it closely. Jojen was rather unimpressed by the flimsy little thing behind the protective glass, he had imagined something much more grandiose.

"We should each pour a glass of whatever drink we fancy into the cup and Jojen would have to drink it all," Jacob suggested.

"That taste would be terrible," Smalljon objected, "Let us just fill it up with simple old firewhisky, I bet this cup can hold four bottles worth."

"I agreed with Smalljon's idea, blind mixing would just be a waste of the good liquor, we can fill It with firewhisky but add a few shots of high alcohol vodka," Giff agreed.

Amanda and Hermione, hand in hand, made their way through the crowd.

"Look!" Amanda squeaked, "That is the Triwizard Cup!"

"Jojen! Jojen!" Hermione grabbed a fistful of Jojen's robe and tugged, "Will you win the Cup?" she asked, looking at her older brother with big wide eyes.

"I'll try my best," Jojen replied, ruffling her mushy hair with his right hand.

If Hermione had arrived at Hogwarts, then it would mean that his parents are in the castle somewhere. Ever since the incident, they have been to Hogwarts several times, sometimes together, but usually, his mum came alone, to visit Aemon and to discuss treatment options with Aunt Rose and Professor Longbottom. Neither of them had spoken a word to Jojen, even if they saw him sitting by Aemon's bed when they arrived, they would walk past him, treating him like one of the suits of armour that decorated the corridors of Hogwarts.

A high-pitched scream cut through the buzz of chatter that had filled the Entrance Hall, the chatter stopped as everyone looked around, trying to locate the source of the scream. "The entrance!" someone yelled.

Jojen's head turned towards the entrance of the Entrance Hall, he saw three figures, Professor Hotah, supported on either side by Karroch and Professor Cassel, all three of them were covered in blood, dirt, and grime. There were deep cuts on Professor Hotah's chest and body, the wound was open and blood and bloodied, blood dripped slowly, drop by drop, from the raw red flesh.

Jojen pushed his way past the mass of terrified students, "Is he ok?" he asked Karroch.

He ignored Jojen's question and barked, "Clear a path, he needs Rose!"

"Clear the way!" Jojen shouted as he waved his arms. Some of the students nearest to him backed to give way, but more students were still pushing their way forward to gawp at Professor Hotah's wound. The other boys from his dormitory, who had followed behind Jojen ran before them shouting: "Coming through!" The boys led the way forward, clearing a path through the crows, Professor Cassel gave the Cup a curious glance as they walked by. Amanda and Hermione ran up to Jojen, as he passed.

"What happened to that man?" Hermione asked, sounding slightly fearful.

"Nothing Aunt Rose can't fix," Jojen reassured her, "Stay here," he told them.

Once out of the Entrance Hall, there were lesser students and the corridors were unblocked, Smalljon and Griff walked in front, pushing some dumbfounded students out of the way. They burst into the Hospital Wing. Jojen's parents were there, together with Meera and Lodbrok, sitting around Aemon's bed, partially blocked from view by the blind.

They looked up in surprise as the four boys ran in.

"Have you gotten yourself into more trouble? The day of The Third Task?" Aunt Rose emerged from behind the blinds, her eyebrows slightly frowning as she asked.

"It's Professor Hotah," Jojen sputtered.

"Rose!" Karroch called as he dragged Professor Hotah's limp body through the doors.

Aunt Rose gasped as she ran forward, "Here," she instructed, pointing to the bed nearest to the entrance.

Karroch lifted Professor Hotah onto the hospital bed. "His wound would not close," Professor Cassel told her, "It looks like poison," he added, "Those bastards wiped their weapons with poison."

Aunt Rose bent forward and examined his wound, Jojen leaned in to get a closer look, he could see some of Professor Hotah's flesh turning a nasty green. "This is bad," Aunt Rose said as she pulled out her wand. "Accio!" a few bottles of potions flew out of her office and towards her.

"Was this caused by the same people that were attacking the Hippogriff and Thestrals in the Forbidden Forest?" Jojen asked.

"Yes," Karroch grunted, "At least I think it was them, a group of humans living in the forest, I've never seen them before."

"Sorry Hotah, this is going to hurt," Aunt Rose warned as she uncorked a bottle of bluish liquid and slowly poured its contents over Professor Hotah's wound. When the blue liquid met Professor Hotah's wound, there was a loud hissing sound, like meat being fried over the fire. Blue smoke rose from his wounds, leaving Professor Hotah groaning and gasping in pain, his right hand gripped tightly on the metal handle of the Hospital bed, he was gripping it so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

As the smoke cleared, Jojen saw that his wounds, while not healed, had stopped bleeding.

"Here," she said, handling Professor Cassel another valve of light brown potion, "Make sure he drinks all of this."

"Come on Aero," he said, pouring it into a small ladle and holding it to his mouth. Professor Hotah did not resist, drinking everything in one gulp, "This is disgusting," he moaned.

"What do you think it is, pumpkin juice?" Aunt Rose said as she tapped at his wound with her wand.

"Did you see the faces of the people those people?" Griff asked Karroch, who sat down on a wooden chair, looking extremely weary.

"The attackers were wearing masks, and we could not give chase after they had injured Aero so badly. But we have stunned a couple of them and might have killed two," Karroch grunted.

"They must be extremely skilful to have injured Professor Hotah so badly," Jojen commented, he remembered his lessons with the Professor, he had tried many times, but could not even get a scratch on him.

"No," Professor Cassel told him, "They caught us by surprise, we walked right into their ambush. Aero was walking in front, and he took the brunt of the attack. Then they tried to surround and overwhelm us, about two dozen of them, all wearing some kind of weird animal masks. Aero was already hurt and bleeding out; it was all we could do to retreat."

"Those buggers could never come close to Aero in a fair fight," Karroch splat, "Cowards, each one of those."

"Did you manage to get a hold of what poison the attackers were using?" Aunt Rose asked, as she had produced a long metal needle from her pocket and was probing carefully at Professor Hotah's wound.

"No," Karroch grunted, "I should have thought of that."

"Professor Cassel, what did you meant when you said that they were wearing animal masks?" Jojen asked the young Professor.

"They were all wearing masks over their face, each was different, there were tiger, rabbit, deer, all kinds," he explained.

"Does the type of animal mean anything?" Griff wondered, "Like tigers might have a higher rank than rabbits or deer."

"Maybe," Karroch said, "I saw the one that was commanding them, he was wearing an owl mask. I attacked him with me axe, and he blocked me axe."

Jojen felt dazed, he felt like his chest was contracting, his brain felt like it was spinning in his skull, he was dizzy, for a second, his world felt muted.

"… alright?" Griff had grabbed Jojen by the shoulder and was shaking him. Aunt Rose paused in her inspection of Professor Hotah's wound and turned around to look at Jojen worryingly.

"The owl mask," Jojen croaked, looking at Karroch, "Was it white? Large round white eyes? With a yellow beak?"

"Yes," Karroch replied, looking at Jojen like he was a man who had just risen from the dead, with an equal mixture of fear and awe and a heavy dose of disbelief.

Everyone in the Hospital Wing was now looking at him.

"I need…" Jojen gasped, "Some air." He stood up and ran out of the double wooden doors of the Hospital Wing. "Wait up!" Griff called as he hurried after him.

Once out of the Hospital Wing, Jojen kept walking, he felt like his brain was spinning in his skull as he walked, he had no idea where he was headed, just that he needed to keep moving if he did not want to be overwhelmed by his thoughts.

He ran past the Staff Room, along the corridor to the Entrance Hall. There, students were still crowded around the Triwizard Cup, a hush silence fell over them when they saw Jojen appear, panting, with a wild look in his eyes.

"How's Professor Hotah?" someone called from within the crowd.

"He is fine!" Griff shouted as he caught up to Jojen, he gripped him by the elbow.

Jojen did not respond to him, he started walking, students moved out of his way when they saw him coming, no one said a word or tried to block him as he walked towards the light, and out of the Entrance Hall.

He did not stop there, he continued walking, down the familiar path and up to the small hill with the oak tree. There, he finally sat down and felt his breathing normalize. Finally, he no longer felt like he was suffocating.

He looked up, surprised to see that Louvel and Daario had followed him and Griff out of the castle. They were all looking at him with concern in their eyes.

Jojen breathed deeply, he mentioned for his friends to sit as he collected his thoughts.

The weather today was amazing, and it was a beautiful morning, groups of students littered around the grounds and by the lake enjoying the morning sunshine. In the distance, the Quidditch Pitch was under wraps, from this distance, the wizards standing outside the Pitch were no bigger than worker ants, hurrying around frantically, ensuring that everything was ready for The Third and Final Task of the Triwizard Tournament.

This year felt extremely long, Jojen felt like five years have passed since he had his first date with Pari in Diagon Alley. He thought back to his first kiss.

Jojen looked in the direction of the Forbidden Forest and said: "The night of the incident, I was the last to faint. Either I was lucky, or it was by design, either way, I saw them, in their animal masks. I saw the Owl Man."

Everyone turned to look at Jojen, eyes wide opened.

"Then…" Griff spluttered, "That means that… those who attacked Professor Hotah are Walder Frey and his cronies."

"The gate is under guard ever since George's disappearance," Jojen started, "They have never left the grounds.

"They have moved into the Forbidden Forest, they are the ones who were attacking the Hippogriffs and the Thestrals, the feather of a Hippogriff, and the heart of a Thestral, those are the ingredients that they are after. The feather of a Hippogriff, when minced into powder, is an excellent medium for stabilizing potions, and the heart of a Thestral is only used in the darkest of potions. Both ingredients are rather rare, but they found a steady supply of both, right here, in Hogwarts."

"Why stay in the forest?" Louvel wondered, "It would be just for getting a few potion ingredients? They can go anywhere they want, with the kind of wealth the Frey family has, they would purchase their potion supplied from many places."

"After that night, they are all wanted felonies," Jojen reminded him, the thirty-one Slytherins have all been identified, their pictures plastered on the front pages of the Daily Prophet and in wanted posters across the country.

Griff nodded, "They can't possibly show up in Diagon Alley and shop for ingredients, even if they were to find a shop willing to sell to them, they are still taking a massive risk. Hogwarts had everything they would need, and they still have the map, no one can catch them if they are careful enough."

"There are other supplies that they could get from the school, food, water, any magical equipment that they require. And… accomplices," Jojen added.

"Do you think there are still students in Slytherin House that are working with them?" Louvel asked.

"There are other Frey cousins, they are the most suspicious," Daario reminded him, "And he is a very popular figure in the Slytherin House, there are almost five hundred students in the House, it would be impossible to find his supporters."

"We cannot rule out the possibility that there may exist students from the other three Houses who are working with them as well," Jojen stated, "They had always been several steps ahead of us at every turn, it would make sense if they had eyes and ears in more than just Slytherin House."

"What do we do then?" Daario asked, "We know who we are facing, we know where they are, we are more prepared this time than we ever were, we can beat them."

"No," Jojen cut him off, there was another way. "We shall inform the Aurors," he said slowly, emphasizing the word 'inform'.

"Are you sure?" Daario blurted, surprised, "We can gather everyone again, I'm sure that they are all pumped up and eager for revenge. You just have to say the word and we will follow you-"

"And end up like Aemon?" Jojen finished his sentence for him.

Daario fell quiet. Jojen remembered the two Aurors that interviewed him that day, Arthur Dayne and Ygritte Leslie, they will listen to what he has to say, and they will find the Slytherins.

The four boys returned to the castle, the crowd in the Entrance Hall had mostly dissipated. Jojen looked in the Great Hall, the Auror was usually present during mealtimes was not there.

"We can try the Staff Room," Louvel suggested, "Even if we do not find anyone, we can talk to a professor."

They make their way to the Staff Room, over there, the two gargoyles that were guarding the Staff Room refused to let them in.

"No students allowed," the left gargoyle stated.

"I have something important," Jojen insisted.

"They always have something important," the right gargoyle said.

"Every time," the other gargoyle agreed.

"They won't come if it is not," the right gargoyle added.

"Can you still talk if I blast your head off?" Daario threatened, drawing his wand.

"Look!" the left gargoyle exclaimed, "A student threatening us."

"That's all they know to do, pull their wands and make empty threats," the right gargoyle said.

"You will find that my threats are not so empty," Daario warned, his wand growing red.

"Enough," they turned around; it was Professor Potter.

He looked at the four boys gathered in front of the staff room, his glaze ended at Daario, his wand still drawn and pointing at the gargoyle.

"Who are you looking for?" he asked.

"The Aurors," Jojen replied, "We have some information about Walder Frey and the other Slytherins, I think it would help them in their investigation."

Professor Potter's eyebrows lit up in surprise, whatever answer he had been expecting, it was not this. "Shouldn't you be preparing for The Third Task? Why are you still trying to find the Slytherins? Don't you think you have caused enough damage?"

"I was not," Jojen explained, "But after what happened to Professor Hotah today-"

"You believe that the Slytherins are responsible?" Professor Potter said.

"Yes, and we are going to tell the Aurors everything we know," he finished.

Professor Potter looked at him, he looked doubtful, he did not look entirely convinced that Jojen had told him his true intentions. He left them outside the Staff Room while he entered and returned five minutes later with an Auror. She was neatly dressed in Auror uniform and had her blond hair tied neatly in a ponytail. "I've heard that you are looking for me?"

"Yes, we have-" Jojen stopped in his track, this was the same female Auror that had mocked him and his cousins during Easter, she did not appear to have forgotten the incident either, a smug look crept into her face as she realised who she was dealing with.

"Is there a problem?" Professor Potter asked, looking from Jojen to the female Auror.

"None Sir," she replied politely, "It's just that Mr Weasley and I have met, back when I was first posted to Hogwarts."

Whatever Jojen felt about her, he had no choice but to trust her, he proceeded to tell her about the Owl Man, how he had seen him during the night of the incident and how he believed that Karroch had seen the same person when they were ambushed in the Forbidden Forest.

"That is an interesting theory," she nodded, she smiled sarcastically at Jojen, "But don't you think that the owl mask is just a coincidence? Perhaps they went shopping at the same shop on the same day."

"Tell Dayne and Leslie, they will believe me," Jojen insisted.

Jojen could swear that her nostril flared as she snapped: "I do not need you to tell me how to do my job!"

"You should verify with Aero," Professor Potter hinted.

The young Auror did not dare to disobey Professor Potter. She followed Jojen and the others to the Hospital Wing. Professor Potter did not go with them, he retreated into the Staff Room.

When they arrived, Jojen saw in dismay that Professor Hotah was no longer there, nor was Karroch or Professor Cassel. All there remained was a blood-stained bed by the door of the Hospital Wing. "Where is Professor Hotah?" Jojen asked Aunt Rose.

"I've managed to stop his bleeding and stabilized his condition. But I could not get the poison out of his system. Karroch and Professor Cassel are bringing him to St Mungo's, I have informed the Healers there, they would be better equipped to heal him," she explained.

Jojen stared at the empty bed that was occupied by Professor Hotah moments ago, some of the blood on the sheets and metal bed frame was not yet dry.

"Well, I wish him a speedy recovery," the Auror yawned, looking at her watch, she muttered "time for a nap before lunch duty."

"Bitch," Daario splat as she left, closing the door behind her.

"Mind your language young man!" Aunt Rose chastised.

Jojen's parents were still sitting by Aemon's bed. They were accompanied by the fourth-years Stannis, Davos, and Julia as well as Warren the white golden retriever. He had a surprise guest, Roza was standing behind Julia, her arm crossed.

"Hi Jojen," she greeted him, there was no hint of friendliness in her voice, that was how she spoke to Jojen when there were others around.

"Roza, what are you doing here?" he asked as he walked over.

It was Davos who answered, "This!" he said excitedly, holding up a flask of what seemed like sewage water, "Polyjuice Potion," he grinned. Jojen understood, she had come to deliver the Polyjuice Potion to Aemon.

"Have you tested it?" he asked her.

She looked him straight in the eye and answered: "No."

"It will work fine," Aemon's cheerful voice rang across the Hospital Wing.

"Rose," Lucile called, "Are you sure that this would be ok?"

"It's fine," Aunt Rose replied, "In small quantities."

Lucile grabbed Aemon's hand tenderly with her own. "You don't have to do this baby," she said, "If something goes wrong it will damage the chances of your recovery."

"I've made up my mind," Aemon replied, "If I am to have half a day of sight, there is no other sight worth seeing but Jojen lifting the Triwizard Cup."

Lucile turned and glared at Jojen as if it was Jojen who has had a knife on Aemon's throat and was forcing him to drink poison.

Jojen turned to Roza and asked: "Was this your idea?"

"No, it was mine," Davos interrupted, "I will volunteer my hair as well, Aemon can easily pass off as me, as long as we keep our distance, no one will notice."

"How did you knew that she had Polyjuice Potion?" Lucile asked.

"That day Walder Frey almost killed Jojen, Roza saved him when she returned to the castle to brew her Potion," Davos replied casually, "I guessed that she would have some ready to use."

Lucile gasped and Hugo looked at Davos, confused. For the first time in weeks, Lucile looked at Jojen with something other than loathing and hatred. Jojen adverted her gaze, instead, he walked and stood behind Roza.

"What happened Davos?" Hugo asked, "Why had no one told us this."

Davos froze, he turned red in the face and stared at his toes. "It's no big secret Davos," Louvel, seeing that Davos was put in a spot, stepped in, "Just some incident that happened months ago. No one got hurt that day, and it is not worth mentioning."

Roza reached for Jojen's hand, she squeezed it tightly.

"Why have you not told us what that Walder boy did to you?" Lucile asked Jojen.

Jojen mind flashed back to that day, he saw Walder Frey silver knife in hand, ready to bring it down onto his heart. Despite everything he had done to him, Jojen felt a tinge of pity amidst the hate he felt towards Walder.

"It's all in the past," Jojen replied, "And he was not really planning to kill me then, Davos was exaggerating."

Lucile faltered slightly, her eyes were fixed on Jojen and Roza's hands.

"Let's drink the Polyjuice Potion!" Julia said, trying to sound cheerful.

Stannis removed a pair of scissors from his pocket and snipped a few hairs from Davos head. Carefully, he put them into the potion, he gave it a gentle stir and it turned to an off-white colour, its texture resembled that of cured milk. He placed the flask into Aemon's hand and uncorked it for him.

Aemon received the flask, Jojen saw that his eyelids fluttered excitedly. Over the last few weeks, they have slowly started to lose their colour, now it was a sickly grey. Jojen had asked Aunt Rose if she could do anything about it, but she told him that before they decided on the final treatment method, it would not be wise to attempt any additional healing measures, it might have detrimental effects in the future.

"Urgh," Aemon said when he gave it a sniff, "Here goes nothing."

He tipped the entire contents into his mouth and swallowed. For a moment, nothing happened, then his features started changing, his arms became thicker, his chest expanded, and he appeared to shrink slightly into his clothes. His bright red hair started losing its bright hue and retreat into his skull. Colour rushed into his lifeless, grey eyelids, it started to budge, and when he opened his eyes, two black pupils stared back.

Aunt Rose pushed the students to one side as she rushed over to Aemon, "How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked.

There was a tense moment of nervous silence, "Three," he said. An audible sigh could be heard.

"I can see fine," Aemon gasped, he now looked exactly like Davos.

"Alright, listen, I want him accompanied by one of you at all times," Aunt Rose commanded. "And I want him back in this bed at twelve midnight, sharp."

"What if the task lasts longer than that?" Stannis asked.

"I have one more flask," Roza volunteered, producing another flask from her pocket.

Aunt Rose opened her mouth, about to reject, but she wavered when she saw the plea on Aemon's face. "Alright, I can allow one more sip, to extend a few more hours, but no partying, straight back here after the task."

"We can always bring the party here, to fake Davos," Davos grinned, but stern looks from Aunt Rose and Lucile silenced him.

They stood back, giving Aemon the privacy to change out of his hospital robes for the first time in months. Jojen spent the rest of the afternoon with Aemon. Davos kept his distance, careful not to be seen with him. They spent the rest of the afternoon chilling by the grounds, Aemon played with Amanda, Hermione, and little Brandon, none of whom knew the truth about his eyes or his actual identity. Jojen sat, leaning against the oak tree, and watched as the younger kids run across the lush green grass, he realised that this might be the last time that they would be able to play together.

Sometime past Noon, he saw a group of younger Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students enter the Hogwarts ground through the school gates, under the watchful eyes of a few Aurors on duty, they had travelled here by portkey, a much less fanciful and efficient way of travelling.

"Do you remember the old Auror our grandparents told us about, Mad-Eye Moody," Louvel said, as they watched the young students flood into the Hogwarts grounds.

"A crazy old man who lost his marbles," Jojen replied.

"Well, he had a fake eye that allowed him to see," Louvel pointed out.

"He will look like a freak," Eve objected, "I've seen photos of Mad-Eye, he is not handsome."

"Better that than stay blind forever," Louvel maintained.

Jojen had an early dinner, he did not want to be too full during the actual task itself. Waving goodbye to his friends and taking one last look at Aemon, he left the Hogwarts castle and made his way down to the Quidditch Pitch. The massive canvas that had covered the pitch was lifted, Jojen saw that additional stands had been added to accommodate all the extra spectators. Like during The First Task, there were three big screens. A huge dome had been built in the centre of the Quidditch Pitch, with three different entrances. By the edge of the Quidditch Pitch were numerous tents, a swam of Hovercam buzzed around them, their little translucent wings flapping silently.

Jojen spotted Chloé and Lodbrok standing with Albus Potter in a distance. Chloé's golden hair was almost impossible to miss. Unlike the previous two Tasks, Chloé had not braided her hair, this was the first time he had saw her with her hair untied. It flowed freely behind her, shimmering in the light.

As Jojen approached, he saw that Albus Potter looked terrible. There were white streaks in his otherwise thick black hair, his face was thin, and there was an unhealthy yellow complexion to his skin, but he wore his Ministry uniform ever so smartly. Was this because of the stress from organizing The Third Task or the actions of his son, Lysander?

Seeing that all three Champions were here, Albus Potter gathered them together for their start-of-task brief.

"Each of you will enter through one of the doors and into the dome, all three doors are identical, and the rooms inside similar, but the two contestants from Durmstrang Beauxbatons can choose which doors to enter," he explained.

"There are many rooms inside the dome, I will not reveal the contents of the room at this current time, all I can tell you is that each room will lead to more rooms, and your objective is to be the first to get to the room situated in the centre of the dome, that is the room which contains the Triwizard Cup."

"So, it's a maze," Chloé summarized.

"Yes," Albus Potter nodded, he handed each of the champions a pin to be pinned on their competition robes, "These are portkeys, the first person who grabs the Triwizard Cup will trigger these pins, it will bring all three of you out to the podium, where the final scores will be given, and the winner is announced. Given the closeness of the scores so far, it is likely that the winner of this task will be crowned the winner of the Tournament."

Chloé raised her hand. "Will we face one another in the maze?"

"The closer you are to the centre, the more likely to run into your fellow contestants, you can engage them using non-lethal spells," he continued, "No slicing anyone up," he added looking at Jojen.

"He will not slice me up," Lodbrok grunted, in a tone that did not sound very friendly. Jojen thought back and realized that the two of them had barely spoken ever since his fight with Meera. Was he still offended Jojen nearly killed his girlfriend?

"Will there be traps in the rooms?" Chloé asked.

"There might or might not be," Albus Potter replied, "You will know when you enter the rooms."

Chloé crossed her arms, looking unsatisfied with his answer.

"One more thing," Albus Potter said, "The ceiling of the dome is enchanted with a spell, like that of the Great Hall, you would be able to see the open skies from within," he told them, "Tonight is the full moon, this will provide you guys with plenty of light. If you are familiar with Astronomy, you can leverage on the positions of the stars to assist in your navigation and to plot your location."

With that, he dismissed the three Champions. They walked towards the Champion's tent.

Lodbrok was looking at night skies as he walked. "This a good night," he commented, "Full moon, and clear skies."

Jojen looked up as well, the moon was round and shining brightly, something Walder Frey once said echoed in his mind, we have only three more full moons before the Strawberry Moon! We need to get everything ready by then.

Why had he forgotten this piece of information? He raised his hands and started counting the number of days that had passed since then, his fingers were slightly trembling when he realised that three full moons had passed since that day.

"Lodbrok, is there any special name for the full moon tonight?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice steady.

Lodbrok thought for a moment, "None that I can think of," he replied.

"Once, the full moon was red in colour," Chloé said, "We called it the lune rouge, the red moon."

Jojen looked up at the moon, tonight, it was bright, round and yellow. This is not the lune rouge. "Have you ever heard of moons named after fruits," Jojen asked.

"I've heard people calling the full moon in June the Strawberry Moon because June is the time when strawberries become ripe and ready to be plucked. I suppose tonight is the night," she told him.

Tonight is the night.

Lodbrok was the first to reach the tent, he moved to one side and held the flap of the tent open for Chloé to enter with a 'Thank you, and a smile. Then he turned to look at Jojen, who had stood rooted to the ground, a few feet from them.

The two Champions cast enquiring looks at their fellow contestant.

"You go in first, I'll catch you later, there is something I need to do," Jojen spluttered, without waiting for a reply, he turned and started sprinting towards the direction of Hogwarts, leaving Chloé and Lodbrok casting confused looks after him. Jojen ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but it was an uphill run back towards the castle, and by the time Jojen had reached the large doors of the Entrance Hall, he was painting and sweating. Inside the Entrance Hall, there was a huge crowd, students from all three schools milled around, reporters were carrying large, heavy cameras, and many other witches and wizards. A hundred pairs of eyes turned and stared at him as he appeared.

Jojen dived into the crowd, trying to make his way through the crowd.

"Out of the way!" Jojen shouted, some stepped back to make way, but others just stared at him as he pushed his way past them. Someone tried to grab his hand and give him a handshake, they slowed him down.

Frustrated, he pulled out his wand, "OUT OF THE WAY!" he bellowed, sparks flew from the tip of his wand. The students nearest to him gasped, almost tripping over each other as they backed away. Ignoring their bewildered and confused faces, Jojen carried forward, past the Great Hall.

"What's wrong?" Griff was there, by his side, he was wearing a headdress with a lion head, Daario and Louvel standing behind him.

"I need to see the Auror now," Jojen shouted as he ran down the length of the corridor.

"You again," the gargoyle said.

"Open," Jojen told him.

"No," he refuted.

"OPEN!" Jojen roared.

The two gargoyles looked somewhat surprised at his outburst.

"Or what? Will you break-" there was a loud crack and a flash of green light, Daario had drawn his wand.

The remaining gargoyle shrieked in terror as pieces of its companion fell on the floor around him, it covered its face with its ugly wings, the door behind him opened. Jojen burst inside, his friends behind him, Daario's wand was still smoking.

"Mr Weasley! This is the staff room, who gave you access?" Deputy Headmaster Justin Finch-Fletchley was sitting on an armchair reading the Evening Prophet, he looked up in surprise.

"Professor!" Jojen shouted, unable to keep his voice down, "I need to talk to that Auror right now, I know that the Slytherins are hiding in the Forbidden Forest, I do now know what they are going to do but I know that whatever they are planning, it is going down tonight!"

"ENOUGH!" Jojen turned and saw Professor Potter walk over, with the young female Auror behind him.

"You are getting out of hand, all of you!" Professor Potter scolded, "Do you think just because you are Seventh Years and graduating there is nothing I can do?"

"YOU CAN DO ALL YOU WANT BUT YOU NEED TO LISTEN, WHATEVER THEY ARE PLANNING, IT IS HAPPENING TONIGHT!" Jojen screamed in his face.

There was a stunned silence for a moment. No one screams at Harry Potter in his face with such a tone, no one.

"Have you contacted Dayne and Leslie?" he asked the young Auror.

"Not yet," she said.

"Why have you not?" Professor Potter demanded.

The young Auror looked down at her shoes and mumbled something.

Professor Potter turned back to Jojen, "They will be here soon, and they will take your statement. Your behaviour is getting out of hand Jojen, after tonight, it will not go unpunished."

With that, he turned and walked away. The young Auror threw them a look of disgust and vanished too.

"It will be too late-" Jojen called.

"That is enough for one night Mr Weasley, you have the Triwizard Tournament to prepare for and attend," Professor Finch-Fletchley blocked his way, "I believe it's starting soon." He pointed to the door.

Jojen knew that he had no choice but to leave, Griff, Louvel and Daario followed silently behind him.

"Scolded aren't you," the one remaining gargoyle gloated as they walked out, "I've told you so-"

"Confringo!" Jojen blasted the second gargoyle into pieces. Broken granite clattered as it fell onto the floor.

Jojen stood outside the Staff Room, for a moment, at a loss of what he should do.

"I need to see Aemon," Jojen said.

"He is in the Gryffindor Common Room," Griff informed him.

The four boys ran up, as fast as their legs could carry them, "Housecats!" Jojen shouted at the Fat Lady, who barely had time to open before Jojen pushed her portrait aside and climbed through the hole.

The Common Room was relatively empty, only a few students remained.

"Jojen! Jojen!" Amanda and Hermione squeaked when they saw them, they ran forward and hugged him tightly. Jojen patted their heads absent-mindedly.

Griff ran toward a group of their cousins who were upgrading the model of the lion they had first created in preparation for The Second Task, he returned with Aemon in tow.

"Go on, I have to ask A- Davos some last minutes tips," he told the girls. Neither seemed willing to let go, so Louvel stepped up and tickled them on the stomach, the girls laughed as they fell onto the group in a heap. Jojen, Griff and Daario walked with Aemon to a corner.

"What do you know about the Strawberry Moon?" Jojen asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot that tonight is the Strawberry Moon!" Aemon exclaimed, "Well, under the obscure branch of magic known as lunar magic, the Strawberry Moon is known as one of the strongest full moons of the year.

"Some lunar magic, especially potions, may require certain procedures to be down under a full moon. But lunar magic is old magic, and mostly replaced be more convenient and efficient branches of modern magic, they aren't in our Hogwarts syllabus."

"I've overheard Walder Frey saying that he was waiting for the Strawberry Moon," Jojen told him.

"When did he said that?" Daario asked.

"The day when I was almost killed," Jojen replied, "I've managed to eavesdrop on part of his conversation, it had completely slipped my mind, until tonight, when I looked up in the sky and saw that it was a full moon."

"They have been waiting for tonight," Griff realized, "But why would they have stayed in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Maybe it was just a convenient and familiar place since most their equipment must have been here," Jojen hypothesized, "And if they were to travel by the countryside, they would have to bring several bodies with them."

"Bodies?" Griff asked.

"George." Daario immediately realized who Jojen was referring to, a look of horror crossed Aemon's face. Griff looked at Daario's grim expression, then to Aemon's horrified face then back at Daario before it hit him.

"How long have you known?" Griff asked.

"Since that night in the dungeon," Jojen said, "I've not told it to anyone but the Aurors… because I don't want to believe that it is true."

Jojen hesitated, he looked at Aemon's with Davos face and features before he continued, "I have been so wrong before, the Aurors do not believe me, not even Professor Potter."

"But I do Jojen," Aemon said.

Aemon's face flashed in front of Jojen's eyes, the blue eyes, the heavy black spectacles, and his dimples that always showed too much whenever he smiled.

Aemon's confirmation gave Jojen strength, it gave him the courage.

"I've caused all this," Jojen said, "I have to end this, no one else is going to get hurt because of me-"

"No, you do not decide for us," Daario cut him off.

"You have the Triwizard Tournament to win," Griff added.

At the Triwizard Tournament, Jojen looked out of the window at the brightly lid Quidditch Pitch. He saw a steady stream of spectators, stretching from the Quidditch Pitch to the Entrance Hall. He could see and feel the excitement in the crowd, even from up here.

"Will these two Aurors, Dayne and Leslie listen to what you have to say?" Griff asked.

"I think so," Jojen said, "They have to."

"Alright, this is what is going to happen," Griff told him, placing both of his hands on Jojen's shoulder and speaking directly to him, "Daario and I will go into the Forbidden Forest tonight, we know where Karroch was ambushed, we will know what to expect and we will be careful.

"You," he said, looking Jojen in the eyes, "Will go and win that darn Triwizard Cup."

Jojen looked at Griff, there was a look of determination and confidence in his features.

"I will go to," Louvel added, he had rejoined them.

"You don't even know what you are signing up for," Jojen said.

"Oh, Griff can fill me in on the details, that's not a problem," he shrugged.

"When they arrive, they will listen to you," Griff told Jojen, "You must stay and wait for them to arrive."

"You can't go," Jojen said, "You have seen what they did to Professor Hotah, and he is the best fighter in this damn castle." And I can't bear to see anyone else get injured, Jojen finished the sentence in his head.

"He was ambushed, we are not," Griff pointed out, "And we are just going in to do a reconnaissance mission."

"Yeah, phrase two," Daario chimed in.

"You need evidence to back your claim," Griff continued, "You have three pairs of eyes, they will have to listen to you."

Jojen looked at his watch, it was about time, The Third Task is going to start soon. He must make a decision now.

"Alright," he reluctantly agreed, "But reconnaissance only, do not engage with them. They have thirty people, the three of you cannot win."

"Don't worry about us," Griff said, "We will be careful." Daario and Louvel nodded.

"If anything goes wrong and you need help, send red sparks into the sky," he told them, "I don't care if I'm in the middle of the task, I will stop that moment and I will go into the forest."

"Ok," Louvel nodded, "But you will not need to."

Griff, Louvel and Daario made to leave, but Jojen hesitated, he glanced at Aemon. He has been toying with this idea in his mind for weeks.

"The centaur was right," Jojen started, "Every last prediction of his has come true."

"Yes," Aemon nodded, "You are going to win this, I am sure of it."

"Yeah…" Jojen said softly, he has been dreaming of years, to complete in the Triwizard Tournament, to lift the Triwizard Cup and bask in the honour and glory and the one thousand gallons reward money that came with it. But what is all the glory in the world and money in Gringotts compared to his brother's smile?

"What if… I just give up and lose the tournament on purpose," Jojen said, "The prophecy will not come true, and the tragedy would not have happened, you can get your sight back."

"Oh Jojen," Aemon crackled, "I should've known that you would have such a thought. What do you think will happen?" Aemon asked him, "Do you think the moment someone else lifts the Triwizard Cup will the moment my eyes will magically reappear?"

"Maybe, or maybe because I lose, I will meet someone… or find something…" Jojen said, grasping at straws.

"You are wrong," Aemon stopped him, "The centaur is right, but he got it backwards, I am not going blind because you won the Triwizard Tournament. You, Jojen Weasley, will face and overcome incredible odds, making it past all the obstacles placed in front of you, and win the Tournament irregardless of whatever tragedy that life is throwing at you."

"Winning this Tournament is nothing," Jojen insisted, "I would trade it all away…"

"What's done is done Jojen," he said, "I do not blame you for what happened, and you should stop punishing yourself for that. After all, if I cannot see you lift the Triwizard Cup, for what did I drink that flask of what tasted like Davos's cum?"

Jojen would not find the words to reply to him.

"Win this for me Jojen," Aemon said.

"I will," he promised.

Griff, Louvel and Daario were waiting for him by the portrait hole. They exited together and started descending.

They made their way towards the Quidditch Pitch, at the edge of the pitch they stopped.

"It's a pity," Louvel looked up at the Quidditch Pitch and the big dome as he spoke, "That we are going to miss The Final Task. Chloé surely wouldn't be happy."

"Yes," Griff said, a hint of pity in his voice. "Hey!" he stopped a Gryffindor third year that had been walking towards the Pitch. "Take this," he handled him his lion head hat. The third-year smiled happily, putting the hat on his head, running forward to show his friends his new headwear.

"It's time, the Task is starting soon, you better get going," Daario told Jojen.

"Be careful," Jojen told them.

"We will," Louvel promised.

"Win that darn Cup," Griff called as he walked away, his voice was already sounding distant. Jojen stood at the same spot, staring at the silhouette of the three boys leaving him, becoming smaller and fainter until they disappeared into the darkness of the trees. Only then did he turned and walked towards the Quidditch Pitch.

"Where have you been!" Albus Potter exclaimed as Jojen stepped into the Champion's tent. He saw Chloé and Lodbrok, who were each standing in one corner of the tent, look up at glance at Jojen curiously.

"Just nerves," he told Albus Potter, plastering a smile on his face.

Outside the tent, John Oliver has started talking: "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament!"

"Alright, wait for him to announce your names before walking out," Albus Potter told them, "After that choose a door to enter through, Ragnar, you will go first, followed by Chloé."

The Champions nodded as they lined up behind the flap. The three Champions waited, neither talking to one another. Outside, John Oliver was talking, the crowd was cheering. Inside the tent, Jojen's heart was racing, the image of his three friends walking into the unknown replayed itself over and over in his mind.

"Welcome the Champion of Durmstrang! The strong and mighty Ragnar Sigurd Lodbrok!"

Lodbrok exited the tent with a flourish, his left fist clutched high above his head, the volume of the crowd momentarily dimmed as the flap of the tent fell back into place. Now, it was only Jojen and Chloé left in the tent with Albus Potter. Jojen stared at Chloé's back, at her gorgeous golden hair spread behind her shoulders, he felt a pang of guilt in his guts, she was expecting her boyfriend to be among the crowd, supporting her, but he had sent Louvel into what seems like a suicide mission.

"Next, let's welcome the Champion of Beauxbatons! The fair and graceful Chloé Léa Weasley!"

Chloé pushed the flap aside and glided out gracefully. Albus Potter walked forward for a few steps, he was now standing shoulder to shoulder with Jojen.

"Good luck Jojen," Albus Potter said, "Do us proud."

These six simple words hit Jojen hard, his eyes were already brimming with tears as he replied: "Uncle Albus, I should have done more to help Lys, he would not have done what he had done if I were there for him."

Albus Potter let out a small sigh, "It's not your fault Jojen, a man chooses his path."

"Last but not least! the Champion of Hogwarts! Jojen Dragonslayer!"

Albus Potter patted Jojen on the back gently and gave him a push as Jojen pulled back the flap and walked out.

A roar greeted Jojen as he walked out, he wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve as he saw a couple of hovercams close on him. They stopped a few feet from him, covering him from all angles, when Jojen looked up, he could see himself in the three massive screens. He located where Lodbrok and Chloé were standing and made his way to the third and only empty door. Amongst the noise of the crowd, he could hear the roar of the lion that his cousins had created.

"In the count of three!"

"THREE!" everyone in the stadium seemed to be yelling alongside John Oliver.

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

Jojen pushed open the door and walked in, his wand held up high. He was in a large empty triangular room, the walls were painted a dull orange, on the wall to his left was two doors of light beige, on the wall to his right was a single door of beige. Jojen looked up, above him, the full moon and the stars shone brightly. As the door behind him closed, the noise of the stadium was muted. The room fell silent, the silence helped him clear his mind and focus.

He walked to the wall on his left and opened one of the doors and looked in, it was another room, smaller than the first, but triangular as well.

Albus Potter had called this a maze, it truly was one. Waving his wand, he branded the number one on the first door he entered. As he proceeded, he continued to brand doors to mark the ones he had visited before. Using the simple charm "Point me," he was able to find North and used it to figure out in which direction he should head. The centre of the maze was to his West.

Each room was bare and triangular, painted in the same dull orange colour. Each door was identical too, each with the same ugly beige colour. The only difference was the size of the rooms that he walked into and the number of doors, some had three, others had four, but there are also rooms with six or more and rooms with only one.

The maze seemed to continue endlessly, Jojen wondered if the interior of the dome was magically enhanced to be bigger than the space that it appears to occupy. Jojen was about to turn the handle and push the door open when he heard a creak. Someone was in the room he was about to enter. Jojen froze, listening hard for what is to come.

"Come on out," Lodbrok said. Jojen pushed his door open slowly, standing at the other wall, was Ragnar Lodbrok, his wand out and pointing at Jojen. Jojen stepped into the room, his wand up and ready as well. Behind him were two hovercams.

"Nice meeting you here," Jojen greeted.

"The same to you," Lodbrok growled, "I've been looking forward to this."

"I can't say I have been," Jojen replied, I would rather get through the maze without having to fight anyone.

"That would make a poor show," Lodbrok gestured at the hovercams, "The audience would be disappointed."

Jojen did not immediately reply, he was observing Lodbrok, watching his posture, how he held his wand.

"I wanted to kill you," Lodbrok said, breaking the silence.

"When I saw her lying on the Hospital bed, unconscious and almost dead, I swore to myself that I will kill the bastard that put her there," Lodbrok told him.

"I would too if I were in your shoes," Jojen said.

"But she told me not to," Lodbrok finished, "So I have to settle with beating you in front of the school, in front of her."

"Well, I did not know what I was doing back then," Jojen apologized, "It will not happen again."

"If someone did the same to Roza?" he asked.

"I would not stand a chance against someone that can do that to Roza," Jojen admitted. He cared about her, and he liked her greatly. But the status of their relationship was… fuzzy.

"Enough talk," Lodbrok said, then in a loud booming voice, he told him: "Come at me Dragonslayer!"

"Stupefy!" Jojen shouted. Lodbrok was ready, he deflected the spell easily. "Apparent Avem!" a flock of small white bird erupted from the tip of Jojen wands and dived straight toward Lodbrok, as they neared him, they turned into sharp pointed icicles.

Lodbrok brought his wand down, bright blue flames burst out from his wand, it formed the shape of a bear, standing in between Lodbrok and the icicles. The icicles turned to water as they encountered the fiery bear, they splattered harmlessly onto the floor.

As soon as the last icicles melted, the bear fizzled away. Suddenly, Lodbrok was no longer hiding behind the bear, but he was to the right of Jojen and firing stunners at him.

"Protego!" Jojen shouted, taking two steps back while blocking the barrage of spells directed towards him.

Lodbrok jumped, he was on the left of Jojen. He quickly adjusted his footing to block the new waves of spells coming at him.

A single axe, appearing from nowhere came flying towards Jojen. It was nothing like Karroch's massive axe, Jojen manages to take control of its path, sending it swinging one round harmlessly around him and back towards Lodbrok.

Lodbrok jumped to his right to avoid the incoming axe, it was a simple jump, a leap of no more than one yard. But the floor where had landed was wet, Lodbrok slipped on the water from the melted icicles, he went down, waving his arms frantically.

"Stupefy!" Jojen aimed and fired. The jet of red light fired from his wand hit Lodbrok in the chest as he fell. He was unconscious even before he hit the ground.

Jojen stood there panting, his wand still pointed at Lodbrok. After a few seconds, he made his way forward, slowly, one step at a time.

Lodbrok had fainted, their duel, while short, was one of the most intense duels that Jojen had ever found himself in, and he counted himself as extremely lucky to have beaten Lodbrok. If the fighting had continued any further, Jojen had very little confidence that he could come out on top.

Leaving Lodbrok behind, Jojen continued to the next room.

Jojen saw the marking on the door and realized that he has been there before. He turned and went in the direction what Lodbrok came in. It was a much smaller room, it was lucky the fight did not occur here, Jojen thought.

He opened the door to the next room, just in time to see the door opposite to him open.

"What a coincidence," Chloé smiled at Jojen, "Look," she said pointing her wand at the last door. "Confringo."

The door burst into splinters. In the room beyond, sitting on a small wooden table, was the Triwizard Cup.

"I knew it," Chloé told Jojen, "If only I was half a minute earlier."

"It's never too late," Jojen said. The two of them were standing by their respective doors, neither had stepped into the room.

"I've heard commotions just now, coming from that direction, I assume that poor Ragnar is now out of the game," Chloé guessed.

"I was lucky," Jojen admitted. He would have to perform much better to stand a chance at defeating Chloé.

"Stop being humble Jojen," she smiled.

"Ladies first," he told Chloé.

"Gladly," she smiled, bringing her white coloured wand up and in one swift motion, sent no less than five stunners towards Jojen. He ran, avoiding the stunners will crossing the room, closing the distance between him and the door.

Seeing what he was doing, Chloé directed her spells towards the front of Jojen, forcing him to jump back to doge her new wave of attack.

Jojen turned his body and started attacking Chloé with his spells. She jumped gracefully to her right to dodge his spells before raising her wand again, firing more stunners back at Jojen who managed to block them this time with a shield charm.

"Ignem ardentem et hyacintho," Chloé started chanting, a small ball of blue fire erupted from the tip of her wand and fired at Jojen.

"Protego!" he shouted, the blue fireball bypassed his defences like they were not ever there, Jojen leapt to one side, throwing himself onto the floor. The fireball missed him by inches, it hit the wall behind him, fizzling as it burnt the wall, leaving a Quaffle sized blackened hole.

Chloé was still chanting, a second fireball erupted from the tip of her wand and fired at Jojen, this time, it burnt a little brighter, and was a little faster. Jojen scrambled onto his feet, throwing himself to the right to dodge the second ball of flames. He hardly had time to land on the ground before the third ball of blue flames forced him to dodge once more.

Taking full advantage of a momentary respite, Jojen shouted: "Venit Caeli!" The air in front of him rippled, as the wind in front of him rippled. One of the hovercams, which was flying in front of Jojen, was cut in half as the wind passed through it.

Chloé did not block his attack, instead, she ended her incantation and leapt to her left, she had managed to force Jojen into one corner of the room, far from the entrance of the trophy room. The distance between her and the trophy room was much shorter.

"Stupefy," he shouted, aiming at her exposed back. A jet of red light left his wand towards Chloé, she was slow to lift her wand, she was exposed, the red light hit a lock of her creamy golden hair.

Jojen looked up in triumph, expecting to see Chloé fall, but she did not. Instead, she continued running, the spot where his spell had hit her hair grew bright yellow, and as she ran, the light in her hair was spreading, soon, her whole hair was shining.

In what felt like aeons ago, Aemon told him that he suspects that her hair would have some magical properties. Back then, Jojen thought that Aemon was being ridiculous, after all, he had only seen Chloé a couple of times and had just a few brief conversations with her. Turns out, he was right all along.

Jojen realized that he had been doing what Professor Hotah told him not to, which was to stare, mouth open at Chloé.

"Stupefy!" Jojen shouted again, this time, Chloé jumped, instead of rising half a yard or so and landing on the ground like a normal human would, Chloé rose, higher and higher into the air. Her hair was growing ever brighter as she ascended, like an angel she rose.

"Stupefy," it was Chloé's turn to attack.

"Protego!" Jojen deflected her stunner. Chloé did not follow up on her attack, instead, she turned in mid-air and flew towards the open door.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Jojen shouted frantically, there was no way he could make up the distance between on foot, if she ever got through the door, she would win, no doubt about that.

Chloé's hair grew even more intensely as she flew even higher, gaining in speed and dodging Jojen's spells, suddenly, there was a loud bang.

"Ow!" Chloé screamed in pain, her hair lost its glow and she fell, like an angel whose wings had broken, hitting the ground with a loud 'thump'.

Like with Lodbrok minutes before, Jojen approached her carefully, with his wand raised and ready. Her limbs were in an awkward position due to her fall, and her hair was messy. It was no longer glowing, but back to its normal golden colour. Jojen looked up, the ceiling was enchanted to reflect the sky above, in the heat of the battle, Chloé had risen too fast, too quickly.

Stepping over her, Jojen entered the final room. The Triwizard Cup was sitting on the table, in front of him.

Jojen stood inches away from the Cup, all these years, this was what he had dreamt of. Yet when his dream was at last realized, it was not the glorious ending that he had pictured. He felt like he had stumbled and fallen across the finish line right in front of two unlucky competitors.

He raised one shaking hand and placed it on the cup. There was a jerk, Jojen was pulled up into the air, tossed and turned before the ground suddenly came rushed towards him. He straightened his legs and landed, besides him, he saw Chloé and Lodbrok slam onto the ground, both unconscious.

Jojen looked up at the blinding lights, rows upon rows of supporters shouting his name. He saw his dazed face being shown on the gigantic screen, he heard the roar of a lion. Aunt Rose walked past him, she revived the other Champions with a wave of her wand, they sat up, looking confused at their surrounding before realizing what had happened.

Then there was still the matter of points, for The Third Task, each judge was awarding points out of fifteen, Jojen was still ten points behind the other Champions. Lodbrok went first, the judges were generous, and he walked away with eighty-five points.

"A hundred and ninety-five points!" Oliver announced. Lodbrok walked to the section of the stands where the Durmstrang contingent and those students who had arrived that very morning sat and bowed low. They cheered and applauded him as he made way for Chloé.

"A hundred and ninety-seven points!" Oliver announced Chloé had received a total of eighty-seven points for her Final Task.

Chloé walked in front of the adoring crowd, she blew two kisses into the stands. She gracefully exited and made her way and stood next to Lodbrok at the sidelines.

"Let us put our hands together and welcome the first Champion to reach the Triwizard Cup! The brave, the handsome, and the Champion of Hogwarts! Jojen the Dragonslayer!"

Jojen took his place before the judges stand, he looked up at the seven judges sited at the High Table. He would require at least ninety-eight points from a maximum of a hundred and five. If he failed to secure that many points, he risked having Melisandre's tragedy repeating itself on him.

Professor Longbottom was the judge, he raised his wand, a stream of fire shot out from his wand forming the letter fifteen in the night sky, amongst the backdrop of stars.

As it faded, it was replaced by another fifteen, given by Headmaster Fremont, followed by Headmistress Pavlichenko, who gave Jojen another fifteen.

"It has three perfect scores so far for Jojen, given by the three Headmasters, will the remaining judges be as kind?"

Then it was Melisandre, she raised her wand and the letter fourteen appeared. The cheering from the crowd did not diminish. Then it was Dominique Weasley, she raised her wand and another fourteen appeared in the night sky. Next up was Diego Maradona who seemed rounder than the last time Jojen saw him. He raised his wand and awarded Jojen fifteen points.

Then it was Harry Potter, Jojen looked up and saw a stern face, unsmiling, looking back at him.

Adding the points up inside his head as the judging proceeded, Jojen counted a hundred and eighty-eight points. It was down to Professor Potter to decide his fate. Professor Potter's words from earlier this evening rang in Jojen's ears: "Your behaviour is getting out of hand Jojen, after tonight, it will not go unpunished."

He raised his wand slowly, the volume in the stadium subsided as everyone watched his every move. A burst of fire erupted from the end of his wand, eleven.

It seems that his punishment will come after tonight.

Cameras flashed in every direction, the noise in the pitch was so loud that it drowned Jojen's thoughts. On the big screen was a blow-by-blow recap of his earlier duel with Lodbrok and Chloé. A game official walked up to him and shook his hands, Jojen could not hear what he was saying, but he was pointing towards the podium.

Standing on letter two was Chloé, standing on letter three, was Lodbrok. The middle of the podium of empty, Jojen slowly made his way forward, he started at the letter one for a full minute before he lifted his legs and took his place between the other two Champions.

Then came the medal presentation ceremony, Albus Potter handed them to Maradona who hung the medals over their necks. A bronze medal for Lodbrok, a silver for Chloé and gold for Jojen. The words 'Champion of The Hundred and Eighty-Ninth Triwizard Tournament' was engraved in three different languages on solid gold. The flipside of the medal was a detailed engraving of Hogwarts castle.

It was only when he saw Albus Potter carrying the Triwizard Cup towards the podium did the full magnitude of his accomplishment hit him. Years of dreaming, years of hoping, long hours of training, blood, sweat and tears had led him to this moment. Waves of emotions flowed through his body, Jojen's heart sped up, his head was spinning, his vision was getting fuzzy.

Maradona approached Jojen, the Triwizard Cup in his fat fingers, he held it out to Jojen. He reached out, with trembling hands, and for the second time in the night, grabbed the handle. This time, he was not being pulled up into the air, the pokey was deactivated.

Jojen raised the Cup high up above his head, confetti, the colour of red and gold filled the air, he lifted the cup high, letting the sound of the crowd wash over him.

It was a beautiful night, the moon was bright and round, the stars littered the night skies, far beyond the Quidditch Pitch, red sparks rose and soared high into the air.