The day of the first task was at hand and Newts was beyond himself with anxiety.
"What if I screw up, the whole school is watching these tasks." Anna slapped him, "Get a hold of yourself, Newt." The Hufflepuff boy looked stunned. "You just slapped me."
"Yes, yes I did."
"Why?!" his hand covered the red spot on his cheek.
"Because I've never known you to actually care what those people think, and they don't matter anyways." Suddenly she felt a pain against her own cheek, turning to face him with eyes almost as black as the night sky, a sardonic smile on her face.
"I'm going to punch your lights out, then you'll really fail this task, Newt." He'd slapped her back as payback, now the two stood, staring at one another before Newt scurried off at full speed out the common room entrance.
"NEWTON ARTEMIS FIDO SCAMANDER! GET YOUR CREATURE LOVING ARSE BACK HERE!" She sped after the yellow and black clad boy, cursing her short stature as he hopped down the moving stair cases two steps at a time.
"Don't make me stun you!" Newt laughed as he turned a corner into a different corridor, she quickly followed him, her wand drawn.
"Colloshoo!" Newt came to an abrupt stop, falling flat on his face as his shoes magically stuck to the floor, catching up to him she plopped down on his back.
"Get off me, Anna!"
"Not until you admit defeat, Scamander." There was a cough from behind the two.
"Well, I feel Miss Carrio may be more cut out for these tasks, Mr. Scamander."
"Professor Dumbledore!" there was a twinkle in the professor's eyes, familiar and almost fatherly. Anna quickly undid the shoe stick charm and Newt scrambled to his feet, nudging her in the process.
"My threat still stands, Newt." Dumbledore cleared his throat once again.
"Newt, you're supposed to be by the entrance to the forest, the first task will start soon. Anna, I'll escort you to your houses seats." Newt nodded and took off.
"Good luck!" he waved as Anna and Dumbledore headed for the viewing area.
"Champions!" Headmaster Black's voice rang through the area like it would were he one of those sports announcers. "You will have 3 hours for this task, 2 to find your destination, and one to find your clue. You may use any spells or charms that you please but you may not sabotage the others. The three of you will be teleported to different sections of the forbidden forest and go from there. If ant anytime something happens, and you need to be pulled out point your wands towards the sky and shoot off red sparks, someone will come find you. Best of luck to you all."
Watchful eyes witnessed as the three school champions vanished, strange projections appeared before the quidditch stands, showing the three students and their locations, Anna's eyes stayed on Newt.
The forbidden forest was an unforgiving terrain, even the most skilled wizards could get lost if they didn't know how to navigate properly.
And off they ran. "Newt, play to your strengths…" he had become rather skilled in locating spells over their summer vacation, mainly after having to track down a couple of baby Hippogriff's that had strayed from the rest of the herd. If only the projections had sound, she'd feel so much better.
Watching the screen, Newt looked completely lost. They'd only really spent time in the forest for Care of Magical Creatures, and if she remembered correctly there was in fact a river nearby, so if he could track to that clearing, he'd be able to find the where he needed to go, and if her suspicions were correct, He needed to find the bridge crossing the river. He seemed to be mouthing something before sprinting off, his wand floating in front of him, direction shifting every now and then.
'point me…a perfect choice, especially if he used it the way I think he did.' Her eyes trailed to the other two champions, it appeared once had come in contact with a rather grotesque looking troll. The crowd gasped almost as if they were a scripted audience, the first set of red sparks shot off from the Castelobruxo students wand, his projection vanished as he was apparated back into the quidditch pitch, that Left Sarah Hale and Newt as the contenders.
The first hour was up and Sarah looked to be completely lost, finally giving in to her need to use magic, meanwhile, Newt was finally coming up to the Care of Magical Creatures clearing.
"YES!" the Hogwarts students were cheering, Anna clapped her hand together, once in the clearing it was a short distance to the rivers crossing. And if the challenge wasn't too harsh he'd have the clue and be back in the quidditch soon.
Newt found the clearing, ending the point me charm and tucking his wand away as he sprinted down the pathway to the river, glancing back every now and then to see if anything had spotted him, seeing nothing he kept on.
Finally stopping at the river he looked around, confused, the bridge sat unguarded but it almost seemed too easy…
"Hello, Champion." Newt searched for the voice but saw no one. "Up here, Handsome." Newt turned his eyes to a hovering tree branch and then immediately dropped them to the ground, up in the trees was a very beautiful, but very naked, winged woman.
"Aww, you're shy, well don't worry Honey, all you have to do to cross that bridge is answer my questions." Still slightly red in the face.
"Th-That's all…That's all I have to do? Just answer questions?" the fair woman jumped down, perching herself on the edge of the bridge, Newt kept his eyes averted.
"Just these three."
"Th-Then…let's get to it." The fairy giggled at his modesty.
"What is your name?" Newt looked confused, why did she want his name, then the riddle he and Anna had solved came back to mind.
"I know who I am, but who am I? If I am he, then he is me, me is him who I see, I am who, but who is he?" she'd guessed it was a reflection and if she had been right then this task was about self-reflection.
"I'm waiting, Honey." For a fairy she was certainly impatient. Taking a deep breath he brought his eyes up to meet hers.
"Newton Artemis Fido Scamander." The fairy smiled, her eyes suddenly glowing purple, Newt felt his head swim.
"All right, next question." He felt his head swim but did his best to keep his focus.
"What is your quest?" Another easy question, what was this fairy playing at, why were all these questions so…Wait…what had her question been again? The Fairy's smile grew.
"Clocks ticking, sweetheart" Newt shook his head, thinking hard about the question she had asked, trying to think f what it had been.
"To win this tournament." Once his answer was out, he saw the fairy scowl, he'd broken through her enchantment.
"Very well, Champion. Onto the final question" she moved to flutter in front of him, tilting his head up so he was looking into her eyes.
"What is your most valuable treasure?" her eyes flashed purple again trying to sway his answer choice. He jerked away quickly.
"You…You're using magic to confuse me." The fairy frowned, having been found out.
"Is that your answer?" her grin was cheeky as she drifted back to the bridge.
"No. Ask your question again, Fairy." Newt was laser focused now.
"As you wish, Champion. What is your most valuable treasure?" he had so many treasures, the creatures he now had hidden in his Hogwarts trunk, but was that really valuable? There was also his family, sure his elder brother annoyed him to no end with his attitude, but family was irreplaceable, yet he still wouldn't say that he held them as a treasure.
Brown and green eyes flashed in his mind, a girl with so many sides to her she was still an enigma and one he wouldn't trade for the world, the muggle born girl gifted with abilities most would only dream of. Her smile could brighten the room, and on many an occasion it had brightened his day and chased clouds from his mind. A girl he'd saved what felt like ages ago. Yes, she was his most valuable treasure.
Taking a deep breath he looked back at the fairy before him, confidence filled him.
"Anna Carrio." The fairy blinked a few times before breaking into laughter, Newt was not smiling though, his expression was serious and the fairy soon became so as well.
"Very well, you may cross." The fair moved back to her place in the tree, to await the other champions.
"What you seek is in the grove just up the pathway. Off you go." The fairy looked extremely pissed off as he sped across the bridge just as Sarah stepped into the clearing.
Anna was dumbfounded, Dumbledore had fed her all of Newts answers to give the girl peace of mind after she'd witnessed the fairy's mind trick magic. But the second he'd told her of Newts final answer her face turned as red as a blood pop. She stood and quickly headed for the quidditch pitch team tunnels.
The second he reappeared on the quidditch pitch with a rolled up piece of parchment she sprinted onto the field, tackling the poor boy to the ground.
"You have some nerve, Newt!" there were tears in her eyes, "You think you can just tell people things like that?!"
"You're angry, why are you angry?"
"You told that fairy I was your treasure." Newt finally looked into her eyes as the two of them sat up, noticing the mist of tears in her eyes, she wasn't angry…she was scared and maybe a bit confused. Their conversation was cut short as Headmaster black announced Newts return.
"Ladies and Gentleman, The Hogwarts Champion, Newt Scamander has returned with his clue!" Cheers filled the stadium and Anna nudged his side.
"Raise the clue…" he looked at her confused, following her eyes to the rolled of parchment in his hand.
"O-Oh, right!" Newt quickly took her hand in his without thinking and shot their entwined fists into the air.
A chant of 'Hogwarts!' rang in the air before Sarah Hale appeared on the pitch, a clue of her own in hand.