Sorry I took so long! Well, then, onward!
- xHx
The quartet of Gryffindor students sat around a small table, eating what they could stomach. They had been given two rooms at The Leaky Cauldron – one for the boys, one for the girls – and now sat in the pub itself, eating breakfast. Rita walked around, handing out schedules.
"Gryffindor tributes," she said, approaching their table. "Here is your house schedule for the week." She pulled a slip of cardstock from her pocket and laid it in front of them.
Hermione pulled it to her once the reporter had left and read;
Monday
10:30 AM Meeting w/Gryffindor Mentor...Rm. 12
11:45 AM Protective Enchantments w/Cedric Diggory...Rm. 2
12:30...LUNCH
1:45 PM Non-Magical Weapons Training w/Mentor...Rm. 12
3:30 PM Recognizing Poisons w/Severus Snape...Rm. 7
4:30 PM Non-Magical Defense Training w/Mentor...Rm. 12
5:30 PM...DINNER
8:30 PM...Lights Out
Tuesday
8:30 AM Breakfast w/Gryffindor Mentor...Rm. 12
10:30 AM Offensive Spells w/Filius Flitwick...Rm. 4
12:15 N Deadly Plants w/Pomona Sprout...Greenhouse
1:30 PM...LUNCH
2:45 PM Non-Magical Weapons Training w/Mentor...Rm. 12
4:00 PM Edible Plants w/Pomona Sprout...Greenhouse
5:30 PM...DINNER
8:30 PM...Lights Out
Wednesday
9:30 AM Breakfast and Meeting w/Prep Teams...Rm. 11
12:30...LUNCH
1:45 PM Non-Magical Weapons Training w/Mentor...Rm. 12
3:30 PM Meeting w/Prep Teams...Dorms
6:30 PM...Magical Broadcast Channel Interview
9:15 PM...DINNER
10:00 PM...Lights Out
Thursday
8:30 AM Breakfast w/Gryffindor Mentor...Rm. 12
10:30 AM Protective Enchantments w/Cedric Diggory Rm. 2
12:30...LUNCH
1:45 PM Non-Magical Weapons Training w/Mentor...Rm. 12
3:30 PM Recognizing Poisons w/Severus Snape...Rm. 7
4:30 PM Non-Magical Defense Training w/Mentor...Rm. 12
5:30 PM...DINNER
8:30 PM...Lights Out
Friday
10:30 AM Meeting w/Gryffindor Mentor...Rm. 12
11:45 AM Offensive Spells w/Filius Flitwick...Rm. 4
12:15 N Deadly Plants w/Pomona Sprout...Greenhouse
1:30 PM...LUNCH
2:45 PM Non-Magical Weapons Training w/Mentor...Rm. 12
4:00 PM Edible Plants w/Pomona Sprout...Greenhouse
5:30 PM...DINNER
8:30 PM...Lights Out
"At least it seems like a normal schedule," she muttered. "We have our televised interviews on Wednesday, and because of it, dinner is late."
"How late?" Ginny said, holding her hand out for the page. Hermione handed it over.
"I wonder who the mentor's going to be," Hermione said, taking a bite of bacon.
"No idea. The Slytherins have Bellatrix, Yaxley, Macnair…hundreds of Death Eaters to choose from. We've got school faculty and who knows who else available to us," Nigel said.
"The Ravenclaws have Padma," Ginny said, laying the paper in the center of the table again, scooping up a bite of her cereal.
"The Hufflepuffs have Zacharias Smith," Seamus added.
"Whoever we get will know how to use non-magical weapons. The Death Eaters won't, and neither will Zacharias. Padma will know how to use knives and a bow; you all saw how she acted in the games last year," Hermione said. "She put basilisk venom on her arrows. It was a great tactic."
"We can't count on our mentor to know everything." Ginny glanced at her watch and jumped, just as three other people in the dining room of the Leaky Cauldron did the same. "Oh, crap, we have to move! It's 10:15!"
"Shit," Hermione muttered, picking up the remaining five pieces of bacon from her plate, waving to Tom, and standing. "Where do we go?"
"Room twelve," Ginny said, stuffing the schedule into a pocket as the four took off up the stairs.
They reached the room with seconds to spare. There were no signs that it was a normal inn bedroom – the bed had been replaced with a long table, and on the walls were hundreds of Muggle weapons, as well as something Hermione couldn't recognize.
A loud ruckus disrupted Hermione's study of the curved blade on the wall.
"I'm going, I'm going!" A dark-haired male, taller than Seamus, was shoved through the door, which was locked immediately upon closing. He turned around, striking blue eyes meeting Hermione's own dark brown.
"You're Alec Lightwood, aren't you?"
The youth nodded. "Padma told you, did she?" Hermione nodded. "Good girl. Perfect aim with a bow."
"She probably didn't tell you," Hermione said, walking back to the object of her scrutiny, "but she has a crush on you."
"She did. And I told her I'm unavailable," he replied, his voice much closer. He was next to her now. "This is an item that is not permitted in the Challenge Grounds." He said it so matter-of-fact that Hermione just had to ask one thing;
"What is it?"
Alec laughed. "They told me I'd meet the surviving member of the trio that gave their Dark Lord so much trouble. They said you were the brains of the operation. For that reason, I'm surprised you haven't already figured it out."
"I spent the last two years hoping not to be chosen for this. I never researched any weapons because I was afraid I'd jinx it," Hermione replied, blushing faintly in embarrassment.
"I doubt this would be in any of the books available at any bookstore you've ever visited," Alec said, gently taking it down from the hooks that held it to the wall. "It's a seraph blade. They have to be used appropriately, not like a regular knife."
"I've heard of things like that, but I've always been more interested in archery."
"Glad to hear it – that's my specialty. It's harder to learn than swordplay, but well worth it. Stealth is easier with a bow." Alec turned to the other three. "What about you?" His eyes were on Ginny.
"I have no idea," the redhead replied, ducking her head slightly to hide the blush that crept over her face.
"Well, perhaps we could discuss the tactic I used last year, with the tributes of Ravenclaw House?"
Five minutes later, the five teenagers sat around the table, each with a cup of tea in their hands and a notepad under their right hand.
"Last year, each of the students learned the proper way to handle all of the weapons I can teach, including swords, whips, bows, and sai knives. My younger sister Isabelle is far better with teaching proper technique with a hair-thin whip, as she uses one made of electrum. I'm all right with one and can help you with it.
"A few notable things; Padma applied basilisk venom to her arrowheads when she entered the Challenge grounds. This increased her chances of survival in a ranged battle, but it is not what I recommend. At least seventy-five percent of your fighting will be hand-to-hand combat. Plus, the Slytherin tributes will be afraid of you. They know how ruthless Gryffindor House can be.
"Zacharias Smith won on a technicality. He fought no one. He hid until there was only one other person left, immobilized her, and then slit her throat. It was an underhanded, filthy tactic. Something I don't expect from any of you."
With a relaxing sigh and a sip of tea, Alec added, "Whichever weapon feels most comfortable to you in the time we have – from now until eleven-forty – is the one I'd recommend learning in complete detail."
It took them forever, but they finally settled on both hand-to-hand weapons (Ginny with the sai, Nigel with a machete, Seamus with a tall naginata, and Hermione with late 17th century style katara knives) and ranged weapons (bow and arrows for Hermione, throwing knives for Ginny – the two boys would rely on magic for ranged). Hermione and Ginny found themselves sparring with their ranged weapons, which were the shortest of the ones they'd chosen, while Nigel and Seamus practiced with disarming and shielding.
When the loud buzzing sounded through the room, Ginny looked at her watch. "Eleven forty-five!" The door locks clicked, and the quartet started out into the hall. "Next stop, room two."
So sorry this took me so long to write; I had problems muse-wise. Look up the listed weapons in images to find out what they've all picked. Yes, they'll all also learn to use whips and stuff like that.
Much love,
xHx
P.S.; I am aware I have changed the name of the tournament! The Bone Challenge simply sounds far too...suggestive, if you understand my meaning.