Title: Code of the Griffin
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: From a war ravaged future, someone is sent back in time to change the course of the war.
The three Champions stood in front of Hermione and the Tri-Wizard Tournament Judges, with their Security Escorts nearby. They could tell that the Judges were not happy about what was about to be discussed but they had no choice. The Grand Marshall was running this show, and while they all had some idea what this meant; only Cedric, Ron and Susan fully understood the distinction.
"You were all informed that the clues you were given from the First Task are no longer valid." Hermione said. "You are here to find out the details of the new Second Task."
Dumbledore started to open his mouth until the Grand Marshall shot him a look that immediately silenced him.
"The First Task was designed to test your courage against an unknown foe. The revised Second Task is designed to test your adaptability and creativity." Hermione continued. "Your Task will be to complete a series of stations, kind of like an obstacle course. Each station will consist of either a physical or mental task which is to be completed. You will be scored on both the way you complete each station and the time it takes to complete the activity at the station. Movement between the stations will not be times but excessive delays without a good reason will incur a penalty. If you require medical attention, that's fine, if you just dawdle for too long then you will be penalised. Each of you will run the task individually with enough of a gap between to ensure you will not run into each other."
The three Champions looked at each other for a moment.
"What's the catch, Boss?" Cedric asked. "Because I know you came up with this Task, not any of them, so there's got to be more to it."
"You're right." Hermione said. "There is one big catch."
"No wands?" Victor asked.
"Not exactly." Hermione replied. "You are only allowed to use these seven spells."
Hermione passed out a sheet of parchment to each Champion displaying the list of spells. They quickly checked to make sure all of the parchments were the same.
"These spells are very specific." Fleur said. "I take it there are more than seven stations."
"Correct." Hermione said. "There are twenty-five stations. Hence the creativity."
"And we are only allowed to use these seven spells?" Victor asked, to which Hermione nodded.
"Are we allowed to not use spells?" Cedric asked.
This got a shocked look from everyone except the Order Members.
"I mean, is it a requirement to use Magic to complete all the stations or can we use physical means of completing the tasks?" Cedric clarified.
"The restriction is you can not use any spells or active Magical abilities except those seven. There is no restriction against non-magical solutions, nor will there be any penalties for completing the tasks non-magically." Hermione replied. "That is all. Dismissed."
The Judges were the first to leave the room, with Cedric and his guard leaving soon after. Victor went over to Susan where he said something before she chuckled and messed up his hair with her hand and walked out, causing the Bulgarian Champion to follow like a puppy.
Fleur had gone over to Ron and they were talking softly. Hermione could not hear what they were saying but got the impression that Fleur was somewhat relieved and Ron was being encouraging.
Hermione could not help but smile at the interaction between the two. They had not faired well in the previous timeline. Ron had been severely injured in the fighting against Voldemort and had died aged twenty-six from complications, having never had a serious girlfriend let alone a chance at a long term relationship. Fleur had married Ron's older brother Bill, but Bill had been hunted down and killed for being a Warewolf after he had been attacked by Greyback and it had left Fleur broken and alone. Fleur had once confided in Hermione that while she Loved Bill, she had never really been In Love with him, that there was some spark that was missing in the Curse Breaker. Now it looked like she had found that missing spark in Ron.
When she heard the slight pop, Kathryn Li stepped away from the surveillance equipment and drew her pistol. The windows were covered with blackout curtains except where the lenses of the surveillance cameras were poking through, which were all connected up to a laptop and a printer on the small table pushed against the wall below the window. The wall around the window was covered in photos of the target and maps that indicated the target's movements and possible sniper positions.
Holding the pistol trained on the doorway, she moved over to the side of the room so that there was not a direct shot on her position.
"Li, it's me." Larks called out.
"Prove it." Kathryn countered.
"You said if I didn't take you to the Ball, you would rip out my spleen with your bare hands and then break my scope." Larks replied.
Kathryn lowered the pistol and let Larks into the room. The small apartment that they used as their base of operation was, to all observers, abandoned and they never used the door to enter or exit the apartment. The best thing that it had to offer was that it was directly across from the primary residence of the target.
"How's the surveillance going?" Larks asked. "I got us curry from that good takeout place you showed me."
Larks put the takeout down on the small dining table and went over to look at the photos on the wall and checking the new ones on the laptop.
"No change in his schedule." Kathryn replied, spreading out a map on the table besides the surveillance equipment. "I still think that the best time to do it is either in two days, or in five."
After pouring over the photos and maps for twenty minutes, they moved to the small dinging table where they sat down across from each other and ate their curries out of the plastic containers they came in, with the provided plastic forks, as they continued to discuss the target's schedule and the where they planned to complete their mission. There were a lot of variables to consider, especially in order to get away clean as they had no outside assistance in their extraction route. Too far into the Muggle World and the Police, who would instantly recognise the death for what it was, would get involved. Too far into the Magical World and, ironically enough, the less places to successfully set up for a long range, clear shot there would be, thanks to the closeness of the buildings and sometimes crazy designs of buildings that could be supported by Magic rather than by physics. Finding that balance was proving tough. There were several spots that would work, but most of them were in places where egress would be… problematic at best. After having seen the file on the target, they knew the stakes and were willing to give their lives to take him out if needs be, but that was not preferable. Not because they were afraid to die, but because it would leave The Grand Marshall vulnerable to exposure if they were identified.
When the lights went out in the target's apartment, they knew he was in for the night, but the thermal camera was still recording and would set off an alarm if he used Magic to leave. They retreated to the sole bed in the small apartment and settled down to sleep, with Kathryn hugging Larks to her side. Since the Yule Ball, their relationship had progressed, but they did not make love that night, in fact they had only made love twice, once on the night of the Yule Ball and the other on the night after they had accepted this mission. Since then they had needed to focus on the mission. The time to strike was approaching and, should they both get out alive, they could build on their relationship then.
TBC…