Guess who's back back back. Back again gain gain. This fanfic's back back back. Tell a friend friend friend.

Hey guys! Told you I'd have a new update as soon as Thanksgiving break started, and I am proud to say, I keep my promises.

Have you guys seen Mockingjay part 1? I loved it! Also, have you seen the trailer for Pitch Perfect 2 and Avengers: Age of Ultron? Because I'm super excited for those. Also, in the trailer for the new Cinderella (which my inner 5 year old is very excited about), the prince's eyes are Alec Lightwood/Will Herondale blue! It's amazing. And his eyes match Cinderella's dress :)

Okay, I'm done now with that. Thank you guys for waiting so patiently

You guys have been amazing :)

Now, on with the story.

Alec POV

February, along with the second task, seemed to arrive all too quickly; the last few weeks had gone by in a blur.

At least, it seemed that way to Alec as he walked to the library, reflecting on the last month. While December had provided a bitter end to the year, the month of January and the New Year came with the chance for a fresh start. That's what New Year's was all about, right? Fresh starts, new beginnings? And Alec was more than happy to welcome the opportunity.

Over the past few weeks, he had fallen into a routine. Every day, he'd wake up and go to the Great Hall, where he'd eat breakfast at the Gryffindor table with his sister and friends. He had decided that he would eat breakfast and dinner there, choosing to have lunch at his own house's table with Tessa. On weekdays, he'd go through his classes as usual, finding his way to the library by the end of the day before dinner to work on homework. He wanted to get it done right away, and it worked for him, seeing as his teachers seemed to think that the students didn't have enough work the last few years so they want to give every assignment possible before the seventh years left for good. But Alec didn't mind the amount of work; it gave him something to do, something to distract him, rather than wasting time thinking about him.

Magnus had respected Alec's wish, keeping his distance from him, and Alec was grateful for that, seeing as he didn't know how he would be able to cope being so close to him, wanting to kiss him, but at the same time, the burning image of Camille in his arms flashing through his mind. It made things in the week or two after the break so much easier.

And while Magnus did keep his distance the first two weeks or so, slowly but surely, he began to fold himself into Alec's routine. It started with a casual "hello" when passing in the hallway, slowly snowballing into their current situation. Now, every day, Magnus would eat lunch with Alec and Tessa, meals passing by with polite conversations and small talk. Every now and then, one would get a small chuckle out of the other or a small smile, and Alec was content with it. Although, he could tell Magnus still missed what they had, seeing as he would sometimes catch Magnus watching him, or notice the smile fall whenever Magnus thought no one was looking at him. As much as Alec longed to change that, to make Magnus happy again, to end his own slight sadness of the situation, something kept holding him back. But he knew it wouldn't take long, wouldn't take many more fleeting looks from Magnus, for his will to break and he finds himself falling in Magnus's embrace again.

But he had other things to focus on and worry about for the time being. Or rather, Jace did, but that didn't stop Alec from worrying about him.

There were less than twenty-four hours until the second task, the event being held earlier this year, and Alec doubted Jace was ready. Sure, he claimed to have figured out what the second task was, but he refused to tell anyone what it was. Instead, he rounded his friends up and had them help him tear through random books in the library, learning tidbits of information every now and then. Today was one of the only days he wasn't going to be in the library, so Alec took the opportunity to enjoy the silence, ready to curl up on one of the chairs with a good book.

And that's what he did, or at least he tried to. He couldn't seem to be able to focus on the book in his hands, his eyes slipping shut no matter how many times he tried to read the same sentence. If he was being honest to himself, it was getting late, but, as any reader, he was determined to continue reading. But, before long, the page started to blur before his eyes, the lines mixing with one another, as his eyes slipped open and shut for one last time. He couldn't bring himself to stand up and walk back to the Ravenclaw Tower, so he made himself comfortable where he was. Surely no one would mind if he fell asleep right there? True, students weren't supposed to be out of bed after midnight, but the staff loved Alec. Surely they'd let this one time slide?

And with that last thought, he felt himself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

Darkness. That's the first thing Alec noticed when he woke up; the sudden darkness he was unaccustomed too.

Second, was the cold, biting at his skin through the thin fabric of his robes.

Third: the fact that he couldn't move. Something was keeping him tied to the solid cylinder behind him. He struggled to move a tinny bit, but to no avail. It was then he noticed that his feet weren't touching the ground.

"And ze sleeping beauty awakes," a cold voice with a French accent said out of the darkness.

Alec allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness, taking in his surroundings. He noticed two other students, about his age, in a similar situation as him. All three of them were tied to trees, forming a triangle, and, as far as Alec could tell, they were about ten or so meters up in the air. To Alec's left, there was a girl of short stature with black hair braided down to her waist. Her gray eyes shown through the darkness, and she had a faint grin on her lips.

To his right, there was a boy with platinum white hair that glowed in the few moon beams that managed to find their way through the cloudy sky. His skin was very pale, much like Alec's, and his eyes were extremely dark, though Alec thought that maybe it was just the lightning. Alec assumed it was he that had broken the silence (or as much silence as there was in the woods), considering that he was looking at Alec expectantly, and the voice had been lower than a typical female's voice would be.

"What-how… where are we?" Alec asked his companions.

"You don't remember?" asked the girl, her voice heavy with an accent that Alec vaguely recognized as Swedish.

"Of course he doesn't," the boy answered, turning to his right. "He was practically falling asleep when zey told us everything. Zey had to carry him out, need I remind you?"

"Need I remind you that ve doesn't include me? You guys vere here when I got here," she said, defensively.

"Yes, but I 'ave only told you what 'appened five times," the boy muttered in response.

"You said nothing about that!" she shot back.

"Can you two stop bickering and tell me what the hell is going on?!" Alec interrupted, frustrated at the whole situation.

"Vy, velcome to the second Trivizard Task, my friend," the girl responded, her tone switching immediately, having finished her argument with the white-haired boy.

"W-What?" Alec asked, refusing to believe what he was hearing.

"Ze Triwizard Tournament," the boy repeated. "We're in ze Forbidden Forest, if zat's what you are really wondering about." He sounded bored at the whole situation, and annoyed at Alec's constant questions. "And before you ask why, we are waiting for our school champions to save us."

Alec took a moment to process the information. Well, he wasn't expecting for this to be the next task, much less that he would be involved in the tournament at all. But here he was, strapped to a tree in the Forbidden Forest, at night, with the company of complete strangers he had yet to learn the names of, most likely surrounded by all the creatures that dwell in these woods. And, for some reason, Alec wasn't in the least bit frightened.

"Okay… And you two are…?" Alec asked.

"Tyra," the girl responded, "friend of Viria. That over there," she tilted her head to the boy, who glared at her. "…is Sebastian…"

"I'm ze adopted brother of Jean," he responded. "…who should really 'urry up right now!" he shouted to the sky. He turned back to Alec before asking, "And what do we call you?"

"Alec," he responded. "Friend of…"

"Let me guess… Jace?" Sebastian interrupted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's not zat hard to figure out, since there's only zree champions."

Tyra rolled her eyes, probably already sick of everything Sebastian had to say.

"Wait, what exactly is the task?" Alec asked, ignoring Sebastian's previous comment.

Sebastian let out an annoyed sigh. Tyra, on the other hand, was more than happy to answer. "Vell, you can clearly tell, but ve are each tied up to our own tree in the Forbidden Forrest. Down below us are centaurs, making sure ve don't get killed by big spiders or anything. And ve have to vait here for our champion to find us and untie us. First group to get back gets the most points. Vell, if one of the two is harmed in any way, of course, points vill be deducted," she explained. "Now, ve just wait."

"Which I am getting bored of!" Sebastian called in the woods again, causing Tyra to roll her eyes again.

"I can't believe I'm stuck vith him," she muttered.

"Ze feeling's mutual," Sebastian spitted out in response. "I wasn't even supposed to be 'ere," he said to Alec. "Zey just shipped me out for zis task." He glared at the ground. "At least I might see 'er," he said so silently that Alec almost missed it.

Silence fell over the three of them, interrupted with the sounds of the forest; the hoot of an owl, the clickers of a spider, the howl of a werewolf.

Suddenly, without warning, Tyra's face lit up, a grin spreading across her face. She looked up at the other two, both with confused expressions of their faces.

"Vell boys, looks like my ride's here," she said, smirking. She started to wiggle a little against the ropes.

And with that, the ropes around her fell to the ground, not untied, but cut or chewed off. Tyra started to fall to the ground. Right before she hit it, she curled into a ball, a perfect somersault, gracefully rolling on the ground into a standing position, dusting the dirt off of her clothes.

Not a few seconds later, Viria emerged from the trees. "Oh, do all the vork for me, I see. Couldn't let me do the saving here?" she asked jokingly.

"Of course," Tyra responded, laughing, and Alec though he caught her wink, but from this height, it was hard to tell. "Good job out there," she added.

"Vatever," Viria responded. "Let's vin this."

And then the two were gone, leaving Sebastian and Alec to wonder the same things. How did she get down? How did the ropes get cut? They didn't hear or see any magic at work. And usually, with magic involved, the ropes would untie themselves rather than cut off. And it looked like they were chewed off. How had that happened? Viria didn't even have her wand out when she emerged from the darkness. They didn't even see Viria until after Tyra had landed. So, how did she do it? It didn't make sense to either of the two. But as they stared, confused at each other, they both shook their heads, silently agreeing not to voice their questions. Clearly it was just something they didn't learn about yet, and asking the other would do no good considering how confused they both looked. Not to mention they weren't exactly friends or anything. Alec wasn't even sure if he liked this Sebastian kid. Something about him was unsettling.

Then, out of nowhere, Alec spotted a familiar flash of gold on the ground, just about the same time he felt the ropes around him start to move.

Jace.

"Bon sang," Alec heard Sebastian curse under his breath. "Where is he? 'Ow 'ard is it to find your way around a forest?"

But Alec paid no mind to it, as he knew he had but seconds to come up with a way to not fall to his death. With a last second split decision, he cast a nonverbal spell in his head. Accio broomstick! he thought with everything he had.

There must have been brooms in place nearby for that exact purpose because not a second after he cast the spell was a broom there, hovering beside him. And just on time too, seeing as not a second after it arrived, the ropes fell away. Quickly, as gravity began to take hold, he grabbed the broom, bringing it down with him, slowing down his fall enough to swing his leg over it. He flew down to the ground to where Jace was standing.

"Quick thinking, mate," he said smiling. "However, you just leave that here. We can't use it after this point."

Alec dropped the broom without a second thought. "We should go," he said. "Viria was already here, and she's heading back."

"Yeah, I saw her a minute back, and Jean isn't too far behind. But we can still catch up to Viria; don't give up on me yet." Jace grinned before he turned around and started to jog. "You coming?" Jace called over his shoulder.

And so, without a second look back, Alec started to sprint until he reached Jace, who started to sprint with him. They had to win this.

They ran for what seemed to be hours, even though it was barely even one. The forest seemed to change around them, trying to confuse them. Neither Alec nor Jace had ever been this deep in the Forbidden Forest, you know, since it's forbidden, and all. Roots would seem to arise out of nowhere, determined to trip one, or both, of them. It became more difficult to move in some places, the trees becoming bigger, the plants thickening around them, sometimes rising to their waists. When the forest would start to turn darker, they would turn around, sure that they were in too far, heading the wrong way, seeing as they needed to go out, rather than in. More than once, they came across a unicorn, but it quickly galloped away at the sound of their stomping feet. They didn't see any centaurs, seeing as they were guarding the trees, but Alec didn't want to think about what would happen if they came across a wild centaur.

The sky had begun to clear up, but it was no help for Jace and Alec, but rather an added obstacle. It was a full moon that night, and every now and then they would hear a wolf howl off in the distance and they would freeze, hoping it wouldn't head their way, but preparing themselves in case it did.

Their breaths because tired, but they kept pushing on. They were determined to be first back from the task. Not to mention, it wouldn't be safe to stop moving for too long. Alec could hear the sounds of some creatures, such as the slither of a garden snake. But, other times, he would see a group of spiders heading in the same direction. Everyone at the school knew that there was a spot in the forest where a family of many gigantic spiders take residence. And these spiders ate human flesh. Alec and Jace always headed in the opposite direct of the spiders whenever they saw them.

They did, however, come across a few medium sized spiders, which the quickly got rid of, before sprinting away, never once slowing down.

And, then, of course, there was once a rumor that there was a giant in the forest, and people started adding on saying there's a whole clan there, just waiting to attack the castle. Alec didn't believe it, but he wasn't about to go searching the forest for a giant. If there was a giant, Alec didn't know what he and Jace would do, considering many spells didn't work on giants due to their thick skin. He supposed the best they could do in that situation would be to just keep running.

Finally, they noticed the forest begin to clear up, the trees becoming more spread apart. Without a second thought, they both picked up the pace.

The sky seemed to be lighter and brighter. It must have almost been time for the sunrise. But, for the time being, the sky was still very dark.

Soon, they could see the end of the trees, the school in the distance, but the temporarily built stands filled with people much closer. The people seemed to notice they were arriving, and suddenly every Hogwarts student was up on their feet, cheering Alec and Jace on. As tired as he was, Alec couldn't help but let the smile creep onto his face. They were so close, and, by the looks of it, they would be the first back. None of the other champions were in sight.

Jace seemed ecstatic t to get back, while Alec slowed down his pace a little, seeing no need to rush. He was still thirty meters away when Jace reached the clearing, stopping where he was to bow for the cheering crowds. Alec rolled his eyes as he approached his friend. He didn't win yet until Alec was there as well.

Twenty meters away. Alec could barely hear anything over the shouts and cheers.

Fifteen meters away. Jace started to turn around to beckon him to hurry up.

Ten meters away. Jace's face fell as he noticed something behind Alec, something Alec couldn't see or hear, something he paid no mind to.

But he did pay attention to his friend's now terrified face.

Time seemed to slow down as Alec slowed down during the last few meters, curious as to what Jace was looking at. He saw him shout something but couldn't hear, and he stopped to give him a questioning look.

That was his mistake.

A sudden piercing feeling erupted in his shoulder. His veins burned as he felt something course through his body, weakening him as it went. It felt like it was tearing at him from the inside and out, and there was nothing Alec could do to stop it. He heard Jace shout something, moving forward, waving his wand as he did. He felt something get removed from his shoulder, but the pain remained. He felt his knees give out as he crashed to the ground. His vision started to fade to darkness, the world around him starting to slip away.

And throughout it all, one voice rang over the rest, calling Alec's name, becoming louder and clearer as Alec's vision disappeared until…

Darkness. That was the last thing he remembered; the ever engulfing darkness.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know there weren't any Malec moments, but I needed more action, to evolve the Triwizard Tournament plot line, and it also sets up for future chapters...