"Did you really just say bloody
Chapter 17: First Task Part I
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter or anything like that, just Shawn and those kids/ideas/schools that you don't know :)
"Did you really just say bloody?" He laughed.
I groaned silently, glad that the disillusion charm was in place, so he couldn't see me blush.
I'd said the word 'bloody' two bloody times in one day!
Stupid British slang.
Before anyone could even blink, the morning of November 24th was upon us and with it the First Task. I had told Carmen and Troy of everything that had gone on in the forest, and they were quick to help me figure out a way past the dragons. There were many things that I could have done. For example, I could have sent the conjunctivitis curse, but I had decided to make that my last resort. I was a Black, meaning that I had to do something spectacularly cool and amazing and showy. It's practically in my blood.
"IDEA!" I shouted that morning as we sat in my room, trying to think of a way to get past the dragon. The task was to begin in 2 hours, and we were running low on time.
"Please, do share." Troy said sarcastically as he buried his face into my bed. I tutted at him before sharing my idea.
"A holographic charm. Mixed with a projection charm. Or I guess the other way around, really." I said thoughtfully.
Troy sat up and looked at me calculatingly. I raised an eyebrow.
"That might work. You project the Dragons body directly across from it, but instead of projecting it onto a screen, you project it into a holographic charm, which makes it look like it's actually there. It will get territorial and focus on the dragon, leaving you time to sprint past it." Troy strung the thoughts together and sent me a grin.
"Brilliant." Carmen whispered.
"Here, try it now." Troy said standing up in front of me.
"Nah, I think I'll wait till the task." I pocketed my wand and stood.
"Are you crazy? You aren't going to practice?!" Carmen asked incredulously as I began to exit the room.
"The task is supposed to test my daring and the ability to think on my feet. That's exactly what I plan on doing." I smiled.
I could hear them groan simultaneously as I walked out the door.
"Champions, welcome to your first task." Mr. Crouch said ominously as all five champions stood in a tent. He was holding a small sack as we gathered around him in a circle.
"In this bag is a miniature version of what you will have to fight." He passed around the sack and each champion took their pick.
Cedric Diggory was to go first with the relatively calm Swedish Short-Snout.
Fleur Delacour would follow with the Welsh Green.
Viktor would take over after that, facing the angry Chinese Fireball.
I would butt in to fight the aggressive Hebridean Black.
And Harry Potter (last, and probably the least) would finish off (or be finished off by) the Hungarian Horntail.
"You will need to get past the dragon, and capture the Golden Egg, before returning to the sidelines. Points will be awarded and deducted for particularly advanced magic, or for any injury that may occur." Mr. Crouch continued.
No one looked particularly surprised by the news, meaning that all the champions had known about the task before-hand.
"Well then, you will all have a few moments, but at the sound of the cannon, Mr. Diggory may proceed. Good luck to you all." He nodded curtly before exiting the tent. The five of us just stared at each other for a moment before we split off into our general directions.
I had a long wait so I amused myself with shooting little fireballs from my fingers in the corner.
After many cheers and boos, it finally came my moment to shine. I waited for the cannon before exiting the tent and into the arena. Everyone was on their feet cheering, and I could see the section for Salem, cheering at the top of their lungs. My heart swelled with pride as I held out my wand.
The ground was rocky, giving me a good hiding spot as I prepared myself for the spell. The Hebridean Black looked vicious, with its spiky tail and fire-snorting snout. I huffed, before coming out of my hiding spot.
"Fake statua. Exertus alacritas!" I shouted out the two spells in quick succession, waving my wand in a circular motion. I watched in awe as a Hebridean Black seemed to shoot out of my wand, matching the same size as its counterpart. It stood a ways away, glaring threateningly at its corporeal form. The real dragon roared angrily and tried to tackle it. I took this distraction as my moment to sprint.
I spotted the eggs nest about 30 yards in front of me. Sprinting as fast as I could, a swing of the Hebrideans tail struck my down, and into a protruding rock. Apparently, in its mad haste to get to the fake dragon, it had swung its tail wildly, and into me. I coughed painfully as blood spurted from the puncture wound in my stomach. I could hear the crowd gasp, and the stunning wizards move forward slightly.
I shook my head. I would finish.
The Hebridean Black was still distracted by my hologram, so I sprinted to the nest and scooped up my golden egg. I looked back to see the real dragon roaring.
It had gone through my hologram, and was now running towards the one threat to its eggs.
Me.
I sprinted away as fast as I could, narrowly avoiding the sprays of fire that were sent my way. I finally made it to the sidelines, where Charlie happened to be standing, waiting to escort me to the medi-station. People had risen to cheer, and I couldn't help but grin, before I looked down.
My black shirt was ripped, and blood was pouring out of it at an alarming rate. My hands and arms were scraped from the rock, and I was dirty beyond belief.
I swayed slightly.
"Come on, love. You're looking a bit pale. Let's get you to the Madame Pomfrey; she'll fix you right up." Charlie said soothingly as he slipped my arm around his shoulder and his around my waist. I leaned against him all the way to the medical tent, before he helped me sit in one of the beds.
Diggory was sitting there with burn cream over half of body. He looked slightly perturbed and looked at me curiously as I sat down, gasping for breath. He had obviously missed my spectacular performance.
"What happened to you?" I asked politely as Charlie went to hail down the medi-witch.
"That Short-Snout decided it likes roasted students rather than raw." He said dryly. "How about you?"
"Took a tail to the stomach. Makes me wonder why people refer to me as the 'Battering Ram'." I coughed. He chuckled slightly.
"Well, you are a spectacular beater, so that could have something to do with it." He grinned. I blushed and shook my head.
"And from what I hear, you're an even better seeker. Heard you beat Potter." I said conversationally. He blushed as well.
"That was mostly just a fluke." I frowned.
"There are no such things as flukes in Quidditch."
He was about to reply when some crazy medi-witch came running over.
"Diggory, lie down. And you! Taking a tail to the stomach! You shouldn't be exerting yourself, or you'll pass out from blood loss!" She clucked like a mother hen. I smiled faintly.
"Sorry ma'am."
"Just like your father, you are. Always getting into scrapes." She all but shoved a blood-replenishing potion down my throat and cast a number of spells on me.
"Lie down, and stay there till I tell you too." She glared before walking away. I coughed slightly, before sitting up.
"Is she always that insane?"
"You don't even know the half of it." Cedric sighed.
A/N: So that was part 1 of the first task. The next part only has a little bit of the first task, but a lot more of Nick, Troy, and maybe Viktor? Thank you for the lovely reviews again, they make me so happy.
The spells that Shawn used are just the words Fake image and Project animate in Latin. I do believe those are the right translations, but I got them from a translator website, so I could be completely wrong…
Also, WARNING! I didnt really edit this before I posted it, because I'm on my way to a Breaking Dawn release party. I know, I am a dork...
A couple of announcements though.
First, BREAKING DAWN COMES OUT TONIGHT!! Meaning don't expect any updates over the weekend -.-
Second, I have volleyball tryouts all this week, so I don't know how much time I'm going to have to update.
Third, I'm thinking of writing a new story. Here's the summary, but it sounds better in my head, I swear.
Cornelia "Cory" Potter was never the perfect child, no, that was left up to her brother James. Her twin brother, James Potter, who was younger than her by a mere 7 minutes, but was still younger nevertheless, was always better than she was. Always the one who was slightly better at flying, the one with the wicked sense of humor, the one with the good looks, the one who could get away with everything, the Gryffindor. When the hat shouted out that Cory was destined to forever adorn the Slytherin crest on her robes, her life went down the tubes. Her parents still loved her, sure, but James never forgave her. After his death, she moved to America, but now that Voldemort is back, she's been called back to fight. And fight she will. A Slytherin never backs down from battle, no matter which side there on, and Cory is ready to take on her old friends, while fighting alongside her old enemies.
My plan is to have like, the beginning of each chapter be something that went on during her Hogwarts time, but not a flashback. Just like a scene sort of thing. The beginnings are going to be consistent with each other as the story goes along, while the second half will be what is going on in the present. Does that make sense? So like, the first half of each chapter will be a part of her time at Hogwarts, but it'll be a consistent story line, just like the second half. So you'll be learning more about Cory's past with each chapter. This will be going on during OOtP, and will probably be a Sirius/OC or a Remus/OC. I haven't decided. Please let me know what you think!
And Fourth, I would like to say RIP to Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon Professor who gave 'The Last Lecture'. I've seen the lecture and it holds so much truth, and has honestly given me a new outlook on life. I extend my condolences to his family, and I think that if you haven't yet, you should go search his lecture on youtube. It is a very moving speech.
-Shawn
