Chapter 24: Let the Task Begin

Lydia's arms were crossed tightly over her chest, glaring with steady fury at him. That had been her pose for the last week or so, since she'd shaken him from his visions in the Divination Tower. He could almost hear her grinding her teeth from across the table. He leaned into Derek's side, trying to hide from her rage and the inevitable fact of the first task. His legs were as weak as when Lydia had helped him from his bed and to a crystal ball.

Glancing up, he caught Allison's and Kira's eyes across the Great Hall. They smiled wanly at him before returning to pick meekly at their breakfast and murmur one word answers to polite questions. He grimaced once they'd looked away, pushing his plate towards the center of the table.

The pack paused in scarfing down their breakfast, staring at his plate in a mix of horror and concern. Derek's arm tightened around his waist, fingers kneading gently at his side. Lydia's face dropped, her arms sliding to hug her waist.

Scott gaped at him, mouth hanging open, a whole piece of toast sitting on his tongue. "Stiles... you're not hungry?" he garbled, horror tinging his nearly unintelligible words.

"Not really. I think I'll puke if I try to put anything in my stomach," he explained, wiping the back of a trembling hand across his lips. Saliva pooled in his mouth, and he swallowed thickly to clear it. The simple fact that the full moon was right around the corner, less than a week away, was not helping in the least. His pack hadn't begun to exhibit their usual myriad of symptoms preceding the full moon, but Stiles' had already begun to feel its inevitable pull and was beginning to regret cementing his mate contract with Derek. He wondered idly if there was a delete button, or maybe a restart button.

Derek pinched his side playfully, narrowing his eyes at him. "I can feel you thinking unfaithful thoughts about me, you know."

Stiles grinned, bumping their foreheads together. "I'm not actually considering it. You know I love you. And if I had to do it all over again, I still would." Smiling, Derek closed the distance between them.

One of the others, presumably Cora or Malia or Aiden, gagged loudly. "Mom, Dad, stop it. That's gross," Erica whined petulantly, laughing uproariously, the others joining her quickly. Laughing along, Isaac slapped Scott on the back as he choked on his food.

Liam glanced over his shoulder at them from the Hufflepuff table, his eyes curious and lonely. His eyebrows colliding in the middle of his forehead, and he twisted around quickly, shoveling his food into his mouth.

After he'd been brought into the Hospital Wing and healed by the next day, Stiles and Scott had attempted to explain to him what had, and was about, to happen to him, how he would begin to change. Scott had even given a brief demonstration. After they'd woken him up when he'd passed out, he'd vehemently denied his new werewolf status. Stiles had kept a close watch on the thread that connected him to the pack. He'd see if Liam was still denying in a few days time when the moon, full and at her peak, called to her children.

"You should really eat something, even if it's just a banana," Danny coaxed, indicating the bowl of fruit in front of them, "You're going to need your strength today."

"Yeah, strength for ignoring pointed questions from concerned friends who saw him basically have a seizure when they took him to a certain tower because he begged them," Lydia spat, her scowl firmly replaced on her face.

Sighing, Stiles plucked a banana from the bowl of fruit, peeling it and stuffing it whole into his mouth if only to escape having to reply. He was still chewing when he eyes caught on Kate Argent watching him idly, his spine snapping straight. Swallowing, a snarl to rival Derek's rose in the back of his throat as he half stood, shifting his body to shield Derek. Beneath his shirt, his mother's ring warmed against his sternum, glowing faintly through the material. A self-satisfied purr vibrated his chest as she startled back, her eyes narrowing after a moment.

"Stiles," Malia hissed, snapping her fingers in front of his face, "You're eyes are doing it again!"

Blinking, Stiles slowly lowered himself back into his seat. He kept eye contact with Kate until she glanced away. "Bitch," he muttered under his breath, turning back to the others, "She can go fuck herself with a cactus before I ever let her lay a finger on one of you." His pack stared at him. "She's fucked over enough families already. I won't let her screw up my new one. When I can't, can you guys keep an eye on Liam, Kira and Allison? I wouldn't put it past her to go after people who are becoming pack."

Lydia twirled her wand in her fingers, glaring at Kate. "I think... a confundus charm will do quite nicely. Or... don't you think it would be hilarious if she couldn't talk straight for a few hours?"

"Do it," Stiles snarled viciously, glaring at the offending woman. The pocket of his robes that housed his wand began to smoke vigorously.

"Derek, Derek, get his wand out of his pocket!" Danny said frantically, standing from his seat to lean over the table. "Get it out of his pocket before he sets his robes on fire again!"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "That was one time."

"Yeah, one time too many," Cora snapped, "I'm still scared from seeing your pale ass skin. I almost got blinded!"

"Stop your bitching," Stiles said calmly, pulling back the magic that trembled across his skin. Immediately, his wand ceased burning yet another hole in his robes. He couldn't control his magic that well all of the time, but he was getting better. He was having moments like it more and more often.

Before Cora could spill acid from her mouth, Headmaster Deaton stood from his seat. "It is just about time for the first task to begin. We must remove the Champions from your presence, but you will have them back soon enough." He raised a hand, a door off to the side of the head table swinging open. "Champions, follow us. The rest of you may head out to the grounds. You will find the first task being assembled out by the Quidditch field."

Shooting to his feet, Stiles squeezed Derek's shoulder reassuringly before following after Allison and Kira.

…..

"This is it. This is how I die. Not by getting my throat cut open or burned at the stake by some crazy, obsessed woman, but like this," Stiles muttered, staring out through the tent flaps. Their tent had been set up so it overlooked the Quidditch field, where they could hear the excited chatter of the growing crowd floating up to them on the breeze. "This is an unexpected turn of events."

Kira punched Stiles hard in the shoulder, fear decorating her face, as Allison shouted, "Don't say that, Stiles! We're part of this too!"

"Did you know," Stiles continued, rubbing at his arm absentmindedly, "That the Triwizard Tournament was discontinued in the late 1700s, 1792 to be exact, because of the high death toll. Champions die all of the time. Cedric Diggory was the last to die in the 1994 tournament. I wonder if any of us are going to die in this tournament. With my luck, it'll be me, so don't you two worry." He placed calming hands on their shoulders, his magic running across their nerves, and almost as if against their will, they began to calm.

Kira glared at him. "I really hate you sometimes. Why would you say that?"

"It's just some facts I know. You should know your history before you go into battle."

A man cleared his throat behind them. The trio turned, fully expecting it to be Mr. Yukimura or Deaton. Who they were confronted with had Stiles shouting, "Dad!" and throwing himself into the man's arms.

Sheriff Stilinski wrapped his arms around his son, holding him close to his body. "Hey, son. How are you feeling? How's Scott doing? I heard that you've been causing Melissa a lot of trouble lately."

Pulling away, Stiles grinned at his father. "Well, since I can't cause you trouble, I have to cause Mama -I mean Madame- McCall trouble."

The Sheriff raised an eyebrow at him. "By getting hexed into a coma?"

"Not my fault. I was playing the Quidditch match, minding my own business, beating Cora at her own game, and then BAM! I was waking up in the Hospital Wing, unable to move anything but my head. I didn't do any provoking to get hexed this time."

The Sheriff sighed, ruffling Stiles' hair. "The fact that you have to say 'this time' is an indication that you need a keeper. So, how are the others?"

"They're good. Everyone's good, better since we met back up with Derek on the train." The Sheriff nodded, glancing over Stiles' shoulder to Kira and Allison standing behind him. "Oh! Dad, this is Kira and Allison. Allison and Kira, this is my dad. These are the two amazing girls that I'm going to be competing with and against. They're definitely going to smoke me, so don't hold your breath on me actually winning this thing."

"Nice to meet you. Sorry that my son is such a strange one. He gets it from his mother." The Sheriff shook Allison's hand when she offered it, and bowed clumsily when Kira bowed to him.

"Hey!" Stiles shouted indignantly, "How'd you get here anyway? Or more importantly, why are you at Hogwarts?"

"Deaton contacted me when you were chosen as one of the... what are they called?"

"Champions?" Kira supplied helpfully.

"Yes, that, one of the champions, and asked if I would like to come and watch. Well, I couldn't exactly give up this opportunity to come and see magic in action."

Glancing away, Stiles muttered conspiratorially to Kira and Allison, "Or to see his boo, Mama McCall." Pressing their hands to their mouths, they turned away to shield their laughter.

Deaton cleared his throat beside them, dragging their attention towards him. "It is nice to see you again, Sheriff. I hope you enjoy your time here with us. The task is about to start though, so Madame McCall will show you to your seat."

Melissa stepped out from behind him, smiling sympathetically as the trio snapped straight, terror sinking back into their bones. "You'll all do fine. I believe in you, and so do your friends. Just do your best." She waited until they gave her each a jerky nod before striding towards the tent flaps and holding one side open for the Sheriff to follow her.

Stilinski dragged Stiles back into his arms, hugging him tightly before pulling away. "You'll do great. You are your mother's son." Squeezing Stiles' shoulder, he caught up to Melissa, falling into easy, familiar conversation with her.

Stiles stared after them, watching as they closed the distance between them, their shoulders brushing as they walked. They reminded him of his parents before his mom got sick, when she was still present in her mind. They reminded him of how Danny and Ethan acted, how Isaac, Scott and Allison had begun to act. He wondered if that's how he and Derek looked when they were together. One of the others, it felt like Derek from the magic, sent him a soothing wave that washed through him.

Huffing, he turned back to Deaton. "So, Headmaster, how's this all going down?"

"Let's wait for the other judges to arrive before we proceed. They should be here in a moment. They were walking out here last I saw."

Swallowing thickly, Stiles looked back out to the Quidditch field. "Will this be dangerous?"

"It will be more dangerous for some of you than others," Deaton conceded, "But we have placed sentries in each box and throughout the crowd to deter any foul play from the spectators." They were silent for a moment, listening to the screaming and laughter and talking of the crowd. "Ah, there are the others now." Stepping back from the tent flaps, he looked over the trio. "Are you three ready?"

Shuddering, Stiles nodded, gripping his wand until his knuckles pressed white against his skin.

The other judges and headmasters gathered around them, standing behind the trio, watching Deaton expectantly. "Champions, we are on the precipice of your first task. The Triwizard Tournament it about to begin. Are you ready?" The trio nodded. "Good. Your first task will be a collection of objects. You will have thirty minutes to collect as many objects as you can manage. At the end of the thirty minutes, or if you three collect all fifteen objects before the time is up, you will be allowed to keep the objects and use them in your next task. Some of them are potions, some of them are books, some of them may even be a creature or two. These items have been placed around the grounds and in the castle. Markers have been attached to each object to advertise its location. A bonus object has been placed in the Shrieking Shack, but there is only one way in and one way out. The clock will run for two minutes after all fifteen items are collected, which will be your time to search for the bonus object. Once the thirty minutes expires, if all objects are not collected, no time will be given. Whoever has collected the most objects, or the champion who collects the bonus object, will be deemed the winner of the first task. Any questions?"

"Yeah, just one," Stiles said, his hand shooting into the air, "What kind of object would you stick in the Shrieking Shack? And what kind of trap, because there's obviously going to be an obstacle or something?"

Deaton only smiled at him.

A hand landed on his shoulder, and he turned to glare at the offending appendage, then it's owner. "Who just goes around touching people? Rude," he spat, shrugging out from under the hand of the Beauxbatons' headmaster.

She sneered at him. "There's no reason for you to worry about such a thing. You are obviously too dense for such a task. Miss Allison Argent will be the one to collect the hidden object."

"I believe my champion will be the one to retrieve that object, not yours Madame. Yours is too much of a delicate flower for such a task," Kira's headmaster told the woman haughtily, looking down her nose at all of them.

Rolling their eyes, the trio of Champions turned from the growing argument, pushing through the tent flaps. "May the best witch or wizard win?" Kira asked, smiling as she held out her hand.

Stiles' and Allison stacked their hands atop hers. "May the best witch or wizard win," they agreed, converging for a rib cracking hug. Breaking apart, Stiles grinned widely. "What are we waiting for? Let's get this task start!"