A/N: Chapter 8, aka the one where the tasks finally start. This one is very, very long for you guys. Hopefully it will satisfy you for a while, I don't know if I'm going to be able to post again for the rest of the week. My finals start tomorrow and go through Friday. Wish me luck!

She was going to die today, she just knew it. All the preparing she had done was not going to help her. Skye was a nervous wreck and she couldn't focus in any of her classes. She kept receiving awkward stares all day and whenever she walked by people would stop talking. It was getting under her skin.

Skye wanted to go back and start the week all over again. Her and Jemma's little romp in the attic during dinner had been a good ending to her Monday and now that it was Friday she almost regretted not spending more time trying to study. She never thought she would regret not studying.

When she hadn't had free periods with Jemma, she had them with Trip, and they were in the room of requirement learning the last of the spells she had picked out in the black restricted book he had brought her. Some of them came easily to her and she wondered for the briefest of moments if it was because of her family's blood. She tried not to think about it. When she had free time with Jemma, she was doing her best to focus on the spells, which did not always work out.

For the last week Skye would sit there and study spells with Jemma until her brain needed a break. And once Skye started her break, they didn't tend to go back to studying after. She and Jemma had wound up in the attic every day, either during one of their free periods together or in their break after dinner. The only studying Skye was doing then was anatomy, and she had to say, she liked it alot. They were like rabbits and Skye didn't think either of them minded. It kept her mind off of Friday and what would be happening.

Now, it was Friday, Halloween, and the first task of the Triwizard Tournament would be taking place after dinner. She knew that she and the other two Champions had to speak with the Daily Prophet reporters before the task began. The world, of course, needed to know how they all felt, and they still hadn't been given any information about it. Only that it was to take place in the dungeons under Hogwarts.

She was in her last class of the week, History of Magic, probably her last class ever. Skye was sure that Jemma had noticed that she was off today. She hadn't even taken any notes, which sometimes was not unusual, but she hadn't doodled any either. She was just staring at the blank paper expressionless. Skye didn't even stir when the professor dismissed them for the day, too deep in her thoughts.

Jemma had absolutely noticed that Skye was acting nervous, but it wasn't a surprise. Her girlfriend had been growing continually more anxious as the day of the task arrived, and Jemma had been trying to stay as calm as possible to help Skye out, no matter how much she wanted to grab a paper bag and hyperventilate.

"You'll be fine," She assured Skye as students packed up their things and left the classroom. She knew exactly what Skye was thinking about and she wished there was something more she could do. They'd been preparing for over a month, though, and Skye was ready. Though Skye didn't think she was, Jemma had seen her improvement throughout the duration of their studies and was confident that Skye would be able to defend herself against whatever the task threw her way.

Skye was still frozen in her seat, and their professor was giving them sympathetic looks. Jemma knew that her girlfriend was very reluctant to leave the class and begin to head to the Great Hall for dinner, because afterwards, the champions would be rounded up to complete the first task.

Skye finally came back from her thoughts enough to shut her book before she stopped again. Maybe, the slower she did this, the longer she could draw it out, and then she wouldn't have to go. She sighed then, realized that that was a silly idea and that time was going to go on whether she wanted it to or not. She stuffed the book in her bag and turned to Jemma.

"Just kill me," the brunette groaned and grabbed Jemma's shoulders, holding them tightly, "at least this way I'll know it was you and not whatever is waiting for me. It'll be better." Obviously she was exaggerating, but she still wanted to crawl under a rock and hide.

Jemma rolled her eyes at Skye's dramatic gesture. She was trying to act as normally as possible, hoping that maybe it would rub off on her girlfriend a little bit. She grabbed one of Skye's hands and let the other fall off her shoulder as she led her out of the classroom.

"Walk with me?" Jemma tugged Skye outside into the fading late afternoon light. There was a little time left before they had to go to dinner. She wasn't feeling very hungry and she'd much rather spend the time with Skye, but she wanted her girlfriend to get a good meal in before she had to participate in whatever it was that was planned for her.

"We've been preparing you for ages. You'll do great." Jemma promised her, even though the statement was also meant to assure herself as well. They had been studying a lot, Skye had to be ready. She'd learned bookfulls of new spells to help her.

Skye's slightly shaky hand in Jemma's let her know just how anxious the girl already was, and she knew it was only going to get worse as they neared the time for her to go. She gave it a comforting squeeze as they walked towards the library. The attic was their safeplace, and Skye would probably be much more comfortable spending their last half hour or so together in the quiet space. She wasn't going to make Skye study, there was nothing else she could learn at this point. If she didn't know it now, she wouldn't know it before the task. They could do something relaxing to help with Skye's nerves. She could read to her, that always made her tired, so there was no reason not to think it wouldn't help her now. Skye didn't like books by themselves, but listening to Jemma read them was completely different.

"It'll be ok." Jemma said again, standing on her toes to press a kiss to Skye's cheek as they approached the library.

This was it. She had eaten, barely, and the three Champions stood in a row next to the headmaster in the great hall. Everyone, every student, every teacher, was there, listening and waiting for Headmaster Coulson to announce the beginning of the task. They had all spoken to the reporters and Skye was fairly certain that she had mumbled everything. They had taken a lot of pictures as she was also fairly certain that she was half blinded from them now too.

She was of course still shaking, although she tried to hide it by putting her hands behind her back. Neither Bobbi or Ward seemed phased at all. They hadn't entered as a joke. They were serious. Dead serious. All eyes were on them. Skye thought she might crack under the pressure, but soon the headmaster was filling the hall with his announcement, bringing all the attention onto himself.

"Tonight, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament will take place. In just a few short moments the Champions will draw for their order. The task is to take place in the dungeons under the castle. A choice few of you will be invited to watch the events with the other headmasters, myself, and the teachers. The rest of you are advised to remain here and await the outcome if you so desire," Coulson said and turned to the champions.

"Barbara, step forward and draw," the headmaster instructed and gestured to one of the heads of house who held out a small black bag. Skye watched anxiously from her spot in line as Bobbi reached in and drew out a small sparkling blue sphere. Inscribed on it was the number two, signaling that she would be the second champion to complete the task.

Ward was called up in the same fashion and drew out a small blue pearl of his own. Etched into the beautiful jewel was the number one, which only left number three. Skye reached in and pulled out her own pearl with shaking hands. Last. She had to go last. She would have to wait for both Bobbi and Ward to go before her, which wouldn't help her nerves at all. The anticipation would probably kill her before she ever made it down into the dungeon. Skye wasn't even paying attention to the last of his speech until she realized that the headmaster had finished and the three of them were dismissed from the front. They only had a few minutes left before Ward would be taken down to the dungeons and she and Bobbi left in a room to wait it out. The headmaster was waiting by the doors to the main hall for those which had been selected to watch.

Skye's eyes scanned the crowd for Jemma as she clutched the small blue jewel in her hand. It was still shaking, and not apt to stop anytime soon. She would rather be going first and getting it over with than having to wait.

When all the students not on the list filed out of the Great Hall, grumbling, Jemma rushed up to the front of the hall and threw herself at Skye, wrapping her arms around the brunette's neck and holding on tight.

"I'll be watching. You'll be fine." She whispered into her girlfriend's ear. Skye was obviously dazed and didn't seem to respond. Jemma pulled away and glanced down at the object in Skye's hand in curiosity. Slowly, she gave Skye another hug, and made sure she heard the word. "Dementors," Jemma had read enough to know that what Skye was holding was what the dementors fed on.

Dementors...Skye frowned and held onto Jemma tightly. She didn't' want to let go, because if she did, that would mean they would have to leave. Dementors were no joke, but Skye knew that this was an intense tournament. They wouldn't put all of their faith in the soul sucking creatures. There had to be a catch. There had to be something else.

"Hey uhm...don't," Skye bit her lip, trying to figure out how to word it, "Don't uhm, watch if things get bad, okay?" Her patronus was a mongoose for heaven's sake, and she didn't know how many dementors would be in there. It was such a small thing she would probably have to conjure ten at a time to be effective.

Jemma bit back tears upon hearing Skye's request. If something did happen, she didn't know how she'd respond. No, nothing would happen. Skye would be fine, especially now that she knew what was to come. Jemma nodded, sure that Skye could feel the movement against her shoulder, and finally pulled away.

"I love you, Skye. I'll see you on the other side." Jemma smiled, but quickly realized the double entendre behind her words. "Not the other side as in dead, I mean the other side as in when you finish-" Jemma blushed and hoped she didn't just scare the hell out of her girlfriend.

Skye's eyes were wide at Jemma's words, but then she actually smiled, chuckling a little at her girlfriend's accidental joke. "Thank you for clarifying. I would have hated to wake up in some ghostly realm and you weren't there." That was her Jemma, the cute nervous blushing one that was her favorite. "I'll do my best to get back to you," Skye smiled, halfheartedly since she was still anxious herself, but she leaned down and gave Jemma a light kiss on the lips. This could be there last one ever, but Skye hoped not.

"I'm counting on it." Jemma smiled. Half of her was terrified that Skye was going to get killed and that she'd never see her again, but the other half of her just knew that this wasn't how it was going to end. "I have to warn Bobbi now," Jemma explained quietly, looking around her to make sure none of the professors knew she was telling them anything. "I'll see you later." She gently squeezed Skye's hands once more for assurance and hurried over to Bobbi, using the same technique she had with Skye. She had to jump a little bit to get high enough for the taller girl to hear her whispered warning. Bobbi thanked her profusely for the warning and hugged her tightly for a few moments before the headmaster ushered the three champions away.

Skye was already so anxious about the task, but hearing that Jemma was going to go and warn Bobbi too, not only her competitor, but also the woman who was currently trying to steal her away, that she was even more so now. She shoved her shaking hands into her pockets and watched with clenched jaw as Jemma hugged the blonde girl and gave her the same warning she had gotten. If she died during this stupid task, Bobbi would go right after Jemma full force, if that wasn't what she was doing already. It made her worry, and what little she had of her focus slipped away as she and the other two Champions were escorted from the hall and transported to the dungeons.

Skye and Bobbi were shoved into a side room to wait, and Skye took a seat as far from her as possible and fiddled with her hands and the small pearl in them. Ward was sent down the stairs and through the dungeons door into a thick, black enchanted fog. Should he emerge, he would do so on the other side of the castle where the Headmasters, teachers, the chosen few would be waiting to congratulate him.

It had already been ten minutes and Skye continued to sit in the empty classroom, silent as the grave, brooding and thinking over some sort of strategy. She had to think of a happy memory, one that would be strong enough for her patronus to take out a dementor, several if need be, but she couldn't focus, no matter how hard she tried. Skye needed to be ready before she stepped down into the dungeons to face whatever else it was that awaited her.

"Look," Bobbi started. Anything was better than the deathly silence in the room. "I know we don't really get along-"

"Wow, no way, great perception there doctor Watson," Skye grumbled and turned away. She didn't feel like listening to any of the girl's taunts, or worse, if she decided to talk about Jemma.

"I don't have anything to say to you, so just leave me alone."

"What I'm trying to say is…" Bobbi sighed. She knew the frustrated look on Skye's face and she knew that the other girl wasn't going to be listening to anything she said. "Don't die out there." She offered a half-hearted smile. Sure, she didn't particularly like Skye, but the reasons they were fighting weren't enough to make her wish death upon her. No one deserved to go like that, anyway. Neither of them knew what was out there.

The door to their annoyingly cell-like waiting room opened and Headmaster Coulson entered. He was definitely wearing a poker face, not allowing himself to give away anything about what had happened to Ward or if he had gotten through.

"It's your turn, Miss Morse."

Skye sighed and slowly turned back to look at the blonde as she got up to leave with the headmaster. She could have said anything, but had actually wished her well...sort of. They obviously weren't going to be friends, but they could be decent competitors.

"Hey, you either," Skye shot back before Bobbi was escorted out of the room, leaving her all by herself to wait. Waiting was by far the worse part.

Skye had lost track of how long it had been since the girl left. She had been deep in her thoughts, listening to the silence in the room and her heavy breathing. Her shakes had mostly gone away, but that didn't mean that she wasn't still nervous. Either way, it felt like an eternity before the sound of the door jolted her back to reality. A knot immediately formed in her gut as she slowly stood.

"It's time," Coulson said, same stoic face from before. He held the door open for her and Skye slowly made her way back into the hall. They were the only two there and she sighed heavily, turning to look down the flight of stairs to the doors to the dungeon.

"Good luck, Miss Johnson." The headmaster motioned for her to continue. Skye wasn't sure she wanted too. Her legs felt frozen in place, but somehow she found the courage to move them.

Once she had made her way down the stairs, she turned to look back for the headmaster, but he had already vanished. She faced the door again, trying to prepare herself. Skye inhaled deeply, reaching out to grab the door handle with one hand, and pulling her wand out with the other.

"Here we go…" Don't die you idiot…

Skye pulled open the door and was met with a thick black smog. She grimaced, brow furrowing as she stared into the dungeon. She couldn't see a thing, how had Bobbi and Ward made it through? She exhaled slowly and stepped inside, letting the door shut behind her. For the briefest of moments, she was plunged into total darkness. It sent a chill through her bones and she shivered.

"Lumos Maxima," Skye held her wand up and soon a bright light shown from the tip, illuminating a small space around her. She could see the floor, and slightly ahead of her. She supposed she had no choice but to continue forward.

Bobbi had made it through, so there was no reason to think that Skye wouldn't. At least, this was the logic Jemma had been using in her hopefulness. As far as she knew, both Bobbi and Skye both had the same spells in their heads, courtesy of Jemma herself.

Complete and utter relief had flooded through Jemma's veins after Ward had finished the task. It wasn't nearly as daunting as she had imagined it to be. She'd been confused about why some random little boy had shown up during Ward's task, simply repeating over and over again that it was his fault their little brother died. The gears in her mind had been turning quickly, however, and she figured out that there were boggarts in the stone maze waiting for the champions. Because of the dark mist, the boggarts could sense a person nearby and shapeshift into something that would be in their worst nightmares before the champion even realized there was a threat.

She knew Skye could handle this, though, she keenly remembered teaching Skye how to fend off the boggarts. Bobbi made it through fairly easily, it seemed that her worst fear was something as simple as large snakes, which she quickly turned into gummy worms. It was only the end of the task that worried her.

When Skye emerged from the black mist, wand in hand, Jemma's heart leaped out of her chest with excitement. Through the enchanted mirrors that gave onlookers a view of the entire maze, she could see the terrified expression on Skye's face and she wished she could tell her to calm down. She looked to where she knew was the location of the first boggart, and she was surprised to see herself in the mirror.

Skye took her first few hesitant steps forward in the dark, only her wand to light the way. She swallowed hard and exhaled, stepping forward more sure now till she came to a wall. The Hogwarts Champion emitted a groan and stretched her wand further to try and see to either side. It looked like both were open, so she chose left.

Her steps were not quite as sure as she wanted them to be, but nothing had popped out yet so Skye's fears were starting to wain. That was until she heard some feet shuffle that weren't her own.

She froze in place, trying to see through the thick smog, but she couldn't. She turned around, waving her wand behind her to see if something was trying to sneak up on her from behind. Skye waited a moment with bated breath, but nothing came. On the other side of the mirror they would hear an audible sigh, and Skye turned back around.

"It's nothing...it's nothing…" She whispered to herself and when she held her wand forward again and took a step she almost fell over someone. Skye shrieked and leapt back, holding her wand out in a defensive position before she recognized a familiar face.

"Jemma? What...uh, what are you doing in here? It's dangerous remember, there are dementors in here," The brunette questioned, stepping closer towards her girlfriend, "Here, go back that way and take a left. The exit is just around the corner-"

"I'm done, Skye." Jemma growled. Her eyes were unblinking and emotionless. "I'm tired of all your lies and bullshit and I'm tired of trying to help you fix your stupid mistakes," She continued, slowly advancing on the slightly confused champion. "I don't love you. We're finished." She said all of this without a single hand gesture or emotion on her face.

Skye was taken aback for a second, face full of confusion before Jemma moved closer and more into the wand light.

"What? Jems, I…" Skye stopped, taking a closer look. The words hurt. It was Jemma's voice and Jemma's appearance, but this definitely wasn't Jemma. For one Jemma always spoke with her hands. That's what Skye found adorable about her, and secondly, if she was this mad, she would certainly be throwing something at her. But what was it?

Skye rattled her brain, listening to the awful words bombarding her ears before she grinned to herself, recalling a page for class she had actually read. Jemma had talked to her about the possibility of boggarts. They had literally gone over every possibility in the book. Jemma was such a book worm.
"Got it, riddikulus!" Skye waved her wand quickly at the fake Jemma and chuckled to herself as a large pile of books appeared and suddenly some rather cute reading glasses popped onto the fake Jemma's face.
"There, much better. You're cute when you're reading," Skye chuckled to herself and left the now very preoccupied boggart with a little heavy reading.

It was odd seeing herself inside the maze, it was sort of like seeing herself when she was using the time turner, except she hadn't already lived through it and she didn't know what the other version of her was about to do. She was a little offended that she was one of Skye's worst fears until she heard the words in her own voice, telling Skye things that she'd never, ever say or even dare think. Her heart broke a little bit when her girlfriend's face twisted into confusion and hurt. If only there was a way for her to send a message inside telling Skye that this wasn't her.

This fake version of her wasn't even anywhere near realistic, it was almost laughable. Skye smiled and cast the spell she'd actually managed to learn, and Jemma couldn't help but be proud of her. She loved the funny image Skye had in her head as well, with the stack of books and the glasses. Did she actually look like that all the time?

Skye maneuvered her way through the fog faster now, more confident than she had been at the start. Boggarts. She could handle some boggarts for sure. It was just this maze now that was going to get annoying. After a few minutes of hitting dead ends, she retraced her steps. The suspicious lack of activity meant she was going the wrong way. She was supposed to run into and defeat her worst fears. How could it get worse than it already had? Skye didn't see how it could. Until she came up on blondie in the dark.

Skye stared at Bobbi, no, fake Bobbi for a moment before she sighed, "Of course. Literally of course you would be here…" She groaned. She was almost mad at herself. She held up her wand, ready to say the spell as soon as she thought of something amusing for her to do.

"Go on, might as well tell me why you're here. Wow, what a terrible nightmare," Skye said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. If this was the best the tournament had to offer, she didn't know why she had been worried in the first place.

If Skye had thought it was just going to be Bobbi down here, she was wrong. Jemma slipped out of the shadows as well. This Jemma seemed a little more realistic. Instead of the dead, emotionless eyes the previous boggart had held, the eyes belonging to this Jemma were full of the lust that had been in them when she and Skye were fooling around in the attic, but she was looking at Bobbi.

Bobbi, fake Bobbi, Skye had to remind herself, grinned maniacally at Skye before taking another step closer to Jemma. In one swift movement, the blonde grabbed Jemma's hips, pulled their bodies against each other, and planted a hungry kiss on her lips. As if it wasn't enough for Bobbi to kiss Jemma, the short girl reached up with one hand and delicately placed it on Bobbi's neck and slipped the other just under the hem of the taller girl's shirt.

Fuck, Skye had spoken a little too soon. She wanted to separate them. She wanted to blow Bobbi's stupid shit eating grin right off her face, but her focus was hard to find. It was rather difficult to think of a funny situation while all of her insides were on fire, boiling over the edge and ready to explode. Of course it wouldn't just be Bobbi. Skye had to shut her eyes. She wanted to put her hands over her ears too. The sounds she was starting to hear weren't' at all pleasant...at least not to her.

She opened her eyes. Skye regretted it, almost immediately and she shut them again very quickly. She did not want to see what her nightmare fake Bobbi wanted to do to her girlfriend. Limbs all tangled together. She wanted to vomit. Quickly a muggle childrens game her mother had showed her growing up came into mind and without looking, Skye shouted the spell, pointing the wand at them.

When at last she opened her eyes, Bobbi and Jemma were fully clothed again, all awkward as Jemma tried to reach her left arm over Bobbi's leg to place it on a green dot, on an even larger pad of multicolored dots.. Bobbi's leg was on blue while her right and left arms were crisscrossed on yellow and red. She was almost bent over backwards, and Jemma wasn't faring so well either.

"Oh thank god for Twister…" Skye let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding before she quickly left the second boggart. She didn't have anymore time to waste of them. That was about as bad as it got in her book. Little did she know she was very, very wrong.

When Jemma saw an image of Bobbi, she was confused yet again. What was Skye afraid of Bobbi for? Sure, they'd fought in the Great Hall that one time, but Bobbi seemed to have come out with more bruises and scrapes than Skye had.

It all made sense when she saw herself yet again. Acid churned in her stomach when she saw the image of herself with Bobbi. She liked the blonde, but not like that. They were just friends. She knew Skye had been jealous that she'd been spending time with the other girl, but she hadn't known the feeling was so intense that a boggart used it as one of her worst fears.

Jemma was suddenly very hyper aware of all the students who had suddenly turned to look at her, and her face turned beet red as blood rushed to her face. Damnit, Skye.

"Two lefts, a right, straight, then a-damnit!" Skye hit another dead end and she crossed her arms, the light bouncing off the fog and the stone walls. Which way had she missed? She slowly retraced her steps. To the right, through the four way and stopped. She tried the right path...or, had she tried the left?

Skye's hand flew to her head and she balled her fist into her hair, tugging at it lightly, "Think you idiot. Jemma didn't spend a week teaching you how to memorize things properly for you to forget which way you came from!" She closed her eyes again, thinking through the maze in her head before she nodded to herself.

Skye made her way to the left, careful not to bump into anything in the dark like she had the last two times. She rounded the corner and suddenly she came out of the fog. Everything was still dark, but the room was no longer smokey, and it was well lit thanks to her wand. She sighed heavily, relieved when she saw a door at the other end of the room.

"Finally, it's about time," She grinned to herself. Now all she had to face were the dementors. As she strolled towards the door, now confident again, she wasn't prepared for the sound that hit her ears.

"Daisy?"

Skye's blood ran cold and goosebumps shot up over her arms. She was almost at the door, but she couldn't move. That voice…

"Daisy is that you?"

She didn't want to turn around. She almost couldn't turn around. If she turned around, that would make it real. She hadn't even realized how afraid she was until she saw the light shaking against the walls. Her arms wouldn't stop and her anxiety came flooding back.

"Daisy Johnson, it's rude to leave your guest waiting. I taught you better than that."

Skye swallowed hard and turned around, watching as a tall middle aged man stepped into the light from the smog. Shit...shit, shit shit.

"Why don't you come give your father a hug?"

The first two boggarts were nothing compared to the third, Jemma knew this. If there was one thing in the entire world that scared Skye absolutely shitless, it was her father. The Deatheater. He was cruel, evil, and downright terrifying. Skye had only told Jemma about her father a few times, she could hardly even bring herself to talk about it with her. She was ashamed of having his blood, and not only was she afraid of him, but she was afraid of being like him.

Apparently Headmaster Coulson knew who this was as well, because he drew his wand and cut off the view of the maze. As the enchanted mirrors went dark, panic began to rise in Jemma's throat. She knew that the man in that maze with Skye wasn't real, but something still felt horribly wrong.

"Everybody who wishes to know the results of the tournament, please wait in the Great Hall for it to finish. The viewing of the task is no longer permitted within the student body." Coulson and the other professors in the room herded the disappointed students away. Jemma followed them, mostly because she was completely frozen in fear and she didn't have control of her own legs. Was Skye going to be able to overcome the fear that had been haunting her for her entire childhood?

It had all turned sour quickly. Too quickly. This boggart meant serious business and Skye didn't think she could handle it. In fact, she knew she couldn't handle it. Everything had already gone to shit in a handbasket wrapped up in a nice lace bow. And that was before Jemma had shown up. Now? Skye was absolutely certain she had left the dungeon and entered hell. Her own personal hell just for her.

Her wand was pointed at him, but her hands were so shaky Skye knew she wouldn't be able to do anything, and if she did, she would miss. Her whole body was trembling and she was fairly certain she was crying though she was too numb to feel it on her cheeks.

"Don't you dare touch her. Don't you dare lay a finger on her, so help me-"

"Or what, Daisy? We both know that you don't have what it takes to do what needs to be done. It's families like hers that hinder the progress our benefactors have made, your dear father included. Pure blood or not, those that are against us must be punished. If they do not conform, they must be eliminated."
"I'm nothing like you!" Skye shouted, her shaking hand raising her wand higher in an attempt to feign confidence.

It was difficult, almost impossible, for Skye to tell that this wasn't the real Jemma. It was as if each boggart had gained a little more information about her, absorbed a little more of her personality and the way Skye saw her.

Jemma's entire body was trembling, her bottom lip quivered, and she stared at Skye with a pleading look in her eyes as Skye's father pointed his wand at her. She clenched her jaw and gave a small nod, as if she was telling Skye that it would be ok and that she needed to remain strong.

"Yes, Daisy, I know. That's why I have to do this. Then you'll see things my way," Cal said with a smile, turning his wrist just so before he uttered the word. It was almost under his breath, and Skye would have missed it completely if not for the fact that Jemma had shot down to the floor, writhing in pain and screaming Skye's name as if doing so could somehow help her. The agony Jemma was suffering through was completely unimaginable, though there was no sign of physical injury. The torture was meant to affect her mind, slowly driving her insane by making her think she was in constant pain until she no longer knew her own name. She felt like hot knives were piercing every bit of her skin, though she could not see any weapon being used against her besides the dark wizard's wand. Jemma made contact with Skye, pleading for help. She couldn't control the shrieks in her own throat and this eye contact was the only means of communication. It served as a bridge for Skye into her mind, so that she could see exactly how Jemma felt.

I can't...I can't do this. It's not real. It's not real… "It's not fucking real," Skye hadn't let her wand down, but she couldn't look at her father. Not with Jemma screaming like that and calling her name. She could barely see anyway, tears were flooding her eyes. She didn't have any focus left.

Her own shaking had stopped. She couldn't be this afraid when Jemma was the one in real trouble, with real fear and real pain in her eyes. Skye's grip on her wand tightened, and her face twisted into a terrible expression of anger. She was angry at herself for letting this happen, angry at her father for doing it. She was going through the motion before she could stop herself.

"Sectumsempra!" Her motions were precise and the curse hit the boggart full force, taking it by surprise. The image of her father mutated into a bloody mess, but still standing there, smiling, laughing, as if it hadn't affected him at all.

Skye lowered her wand, horrified with herself and that the spell did not have the desired outcome. She had forgotten that this wasn't real.

"See Daisy? Was that so hard? You are exactly like me."

The brunette couldn't bear it. She nearly dropped her wand as she turned on heel and fled to the door, swinging it wide and slamming it shut behind her. It didn't drown out the sound of Jemma's screams, which only made it harder to turn around to face what was next.

The hair on her arms stood on end, goosebumps popping up all over. Skye shivered, she could see her breath in the cold room, and the walls and floors covered in ice.

"Dementors…" She grit her teeth together. How was she supposed to focus on a happy memory with Jemma under the Cruciatus Curse in the next room?

Something was wrong. Something had definitely gone absolutely, horribly wrong. Jemma paced nervously in the Great Hall, her hand covering her mouth as tears slipped out the corner of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Ward and Bobbi hadn't taken more than half an hour to complete the task, and it was nearing an hour on Skye's clock. That worried her on its own, excluding the fact that Headmaster Coulson had completely cut them off from what was going on.

"I thought you said it was an easy task, lil'mama?" Trip whispered to Jemma over the other hushed tones going around the room. "What takes so long with a boggart and some dementors? My girl has those spells down. We've been practicing," His hands were clasped together, resting against his forehead as he sat at the table with Jemma and Fitz. He had, of course, asked for details when he saw the group come out from the end of the dungeons. He had thought it was over, until Jemma showed up without Skye.

"It was... At least it was supposed to be…" Jemma muttered. "Then one of those damn boggarts turned into her father-" She stopped herself. Trip was Skye's best friend, but she didn't know if he knew about Skye's heritage, how she was the daughter of a very infamous death eater.

Trip put his hands down on the table, a little louder than he meant too and the sound resounded over all the other murmuring. He looked as shocked as Jemma had when she first saw the boggart as Skye's father through the mirror.

"Shit, no kidding? You sure someone shouldn't be going in there to get her then?" Trip asked, concern evident on his face. He was perhaps one of the only other people who knew the truth about Skye's family other than Jemma. The two of them were tight after all.

"So you know," Jemma sighed, relief evident in her voice. She was glad there was someone else who could truly understand how much this would upset Skye. "I want someone to go help her, but I don't think it will happen. It's against the rules. The task was designed to be terrifying, and I don't think they'll make an exception for her." She knew she was right, Skye wouldn't be receiving any help. That's why she was so worried that her girlfriend hadn't returned yet.

Jemma just couldn't sit still, she got up from the bench and continued pacing back and forth. If Skye didn't come back, she didn't know what she'd do.

"I'm sure she'll be ok." Fitz added, though it didn't seem that reassurances from anyone but Skye herself would be calming Jemma down any time soon.

Shortly thereafter, the doors to the Great Hall opened as Headmaster Coulson walked in, followed by the two headmasters of the other two schools. The teachers which had been allowed to continue to watch the task filed in behind them. The Hogwarts Champion was stuck behind the three headmasters, and she didn't rush past them when all had entered the room. It was almost like she was hiding. Any glances of her that the group of friends could get were of the girl, looking down at her feet. She still seemed unsteady and very rattled. They had probably had to escort her in.

"The first task of the Triwizard Tournament has come to an end," Coulson finally spoke up once the hall went silent, "The rankings are as follows." He motioned for the head of Beauxbaton to continue.

The woman pulled out a long scroll from her robe and opened it up, "Currently in first place is Barbara Morse from Beauxbaton with a time of twenty-three minutes and seventeen seconds and a score of one hundred and twenty-five. In second place is Grant Ward from Durmstrang with a time of thirty minutes and forty-seven seconds and a score of one hundred and fifteen points. In third place is Daisy 'Skye' Johnson from Hogwarts with a time of one hour, seven minutes and thirty-two seconds and a score of one hundred points." She rolled the scroll back up as students cheered for their respective champions, except there seemed to be a distinct lack of cheering from the Hogwarts students. A few had even dared to 'boo' at the mention of her name.

This time the Durmstrang headmaster spoke up after the crowd had quieted again, "The second task will take place on February thirteenth of next term." There was some more cheering around the room before Coulson shushed them all again.

"It is advised that all of you now return to your common rooms," Coulson smiled then, "The gossip will save for another day." The teachers all filed from the hall and left, soon followed by the other two headmasters. Coulson turned around, still blocking their view of Skye.

He laid a hand on the girl's shoulder and leaned over, whispering something into her ear. It took a moment, but she nodded and then Coulson dismissed himself. As he left and Skye came into view, she was still looking down at her feet. The brunette was still shaking and a small black box was gripped tightly in her left hand. When finally she managed to look up, she had dark circles under her eyes and they were sunken in. She looked sick and pale. Her breathing was shallow and she looked still too afraid to move. Finally, when Skye seemed to return to herself, she scanned the room for a familiar face.

Her eyes landed on Jemma and they went wide. A smile almost formed on her lips before her her fists clenched together, her left tightening around the black box. Her jaw did the same. Her eyes quickly darted back down to her feet. All she could hear were Jemma's screams in the back of her mind. Skye didn't think they would likely go away for a while, if ever. They were as clear as they had been when she had been in the dungeon.

Trying to conjure a patronus while listening to Jemma shriek and cry out for her help, only to never show up. The white light from her wand had been frail, and faded out several times. She had been too afraid to even move, draining kiss after kiss, the dementors had almost taken her. She could hardly remember the memory she had used now. Her mongoose had chased them all away and she had staggered of the room, breathless and freezing clutching the box. She was almost certain she had heard the killing curse before opening the doors.

Jemma's pacing stopped immediately upon finally seeing her girlfriend, and her eyes widened with concern. Skye looked absolutely awful, so much worse than she had when she'd been escorted away from the viewing area. She was worried about her, but also extremely relieved to see her alive at all.

"Skye!" She called out. The other girl dropped her eyes to the ground and something inside Jemma snapped. What had really happened after that boggart turned into her father?

"Thank goodness you're alive." Jemma rushed up to Skye and cupped her face gently. She had to refrain from gasping because the brunette's skin was so cold. To say that it looked like Skye had seen a ghost would be the understatement of the year.

Skye tried to smile, but her brow furrowed instead, looking away from Jemma even as she cupped her face. The warmth from her hands was comforting though, so she did not move away. She just didn't know what to say to her. Jemma had said she would be watching, so she must have seen everything. She must have seen her run away, leave her to be tortured in the other room. Skye started to shake under Jemma's touch before she finally managed a, "hey…"

There would be time to ask questions later, but right now, Jemma knew Skye just needed someone to hold her. She would be whatever Skye needed her to be, so she gently wrapped her arms around Skye's waist and rested her chin on Skye's shoulder.

"You did it…" Jemma assured her. But at what cost? She wasn't entirely positive that the Skye that had just stumbled out of the dungeon was the same Skye she'd always known.

Skye was hesitant, but only for a moment, afraid she might break Jemma or this image of her before her would shatter and twist and turn into something else. She still wasn't positive she was back in the real world, but Jemma would feel the heavy sigh of relief as Skye finally tightened her arms around the girl, clutching both her and the black box tightly. You did it...yeah, I did a lot of things...including leaving you to die
"Yeah…"

Skye's voice sounded hollow. Her touches were uncertain, and the way she held herself suggested that she'd been severely shaken up. Jemma wished she could make it all go away.

"We can go to the attic tonight, you don't have to go back to your dormitory. You can stay with me." She whispered, holding on even more tightly. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to let Skye go again, especially to face the next challenge in a few months. She was going to have to go through this two more times still.

Jemma would feel Skye's chest heave as she started to breath more heavily, nodding quickly to the girl's suggestion. It was clear that she had no desire to be alone after the events that had occurred in the dungeon and needed a lot of reassurance that it was actually over. Skye's throat was dry still but after a moment she finally managed to choke out more than one word.

"I would like that," She nodded again, almost as if having to reassure herself too. She clutched just a little tighter to Jemma before she pried herself off, somewhat stiff, and held her arms. The brunette stole a glance at Jemma's face before the same anxiety as before swept over her and she turned away quickly. She looked anywhere but at Jemma. Her eyes landed on those who were leaving the hall, all staring at her and whispering about her. She shied away from them. She had almost forgotten that Jemma wasn't the only one she had let down besides herself. She had let all of Hogwarts down by taking so long in the task...if she had just done more, then perhaps she could have gotten out with a decent time like the other champions, instead of being stuck, alone and afraid and unable to do anything but run away.

"Come on," Jemma smiled and grasped Skye's hands. As she led her away, she nodded to Trip and Fitz to let them know that she'd take care of the traumatized girl.

"If we're lucky, the mice haven't found our stash of candy. The chocolate will help with the effects of the dementors." She assured her, trying to distract her with pleasant thoughts. She felt Skye squeeze her hands back a little bit and she silently walked her the rest of the way to the library.

As soon as they reached the attic, she let Skye collapse on the couch, exhausted, while she retrieved the bag from underneath that was thankfully untouched and still full of sweets. It took some rummaging, but Jemma found a plain bar of chocolate and fished it out before sitting next to Skye and handing it to her. She could see in Skye's eyes that she was slowly calming down, and she affectionately placed her hand on the taller girl's thigh.

Skye was relieved to be in the safety of the attic and away from all the prying eyes and gossip about how poorly she had done in the task. She wanted to sink into the couch and sleep for a week. Maybe by then everyone would be done talking about it and the events with her father would stop replaying over and over in her head. Skye took the chocolate gently from Jemma and took a small bite. She sighed after a moment, and finally bit off a larger piece and seemed to relax some.

"So...you aren't...you aren't upset with me?" the brunette asked tentatively, slowly shifting to look over at Jemma. Her eyes still wanted to drift back to the floor, but she forced herself to look. This wasn't a boggart. Nothing scary was going to jump out at her. Her father hadn't really hurt her. Jemma was fine. Nothing was wrong. Skye just needed some convincing.

"Of course not!" Jemma exclaimed, probably a bit too loudly, because Skye flinched. "How could I possibly be upset with you?" For once, Jemma couldn't understand the way Skye was acting. After all she'd gone through, Skye somehow wondered if she was upset?

Jemma leaned against her, once again protectively wrapping her arms around her. She could feel Skye slowly leaning into her and shifting her position on the couch so she was more comfortable. Her skin still felt cold to the touch, so Jemma rubbed a hand over Skye's arm in a weak attempt to help her warm up.

"I'm so proud of you." She whispered into Skye's ear. Her girlfriend had managed to conquer her greatest fears with enough courage left over to fend off dementors.

Skye didn't understand how she could be proud after watching her face off, or lack there of, against the last boggart. She decided not to question it for once. Sometimes, Jemma just knew best. The tired champion took another bite of the chocolate before she set it down and curled up into Jemma's touch. She felt a little warmer than she had when she had emerged from the dungeon. It would take time to heat up completely. She had had so much happiness and warmth sucked out of her before she had managed to conjure her patronus. Skye grinned halfheartedly then.

"I used the day the bludger knocked me off my broom during the match against Gryffindor…" she said quietly and her hands wrapped around Jemma's waist. "I woke up in the infirmary and you were right there, just waiting. You were so mad," Skye even managed a chuckle. "You're really cute when you get flustered like that...I still can't believe I asked you out from a recovery bed…" A blush appeared on Skye's still very pale cheeks before she tucked her face into Jemma's neck to hide it.

"You're so odd," Jemma laughed, brushing a few strands of hair out of Skye's face. "Picking a day you were severely injured to conjure a patronus." She rolled her eyes and pretended to mock her, but she remembered the day with a smile as well. As much as she wanted to stay awake all night and just talk to Skye, she knew it would have to wait. The other girl was slowly dozing off in her arms, completely exhausted.

Slowly, gently, Jemma pulled her legs up onto the couch and fell onto her side, dragging Skye down with her. She found herself letting out a long sigh as she pressed her body against Skye's back and hung her arm over the girl's waist. It was a little awkward since Skye was taller, but Jemma knew that she enjoyed being the little spoon when she was upset.

"Go to sleep." Jemma coaxed her, pressing soft kisses to the side of her neck and tracing patterns across her bare forearm. "I'll be here when you wake up."

Skye let herself be shifted and moved and once Jemma was behind her she snuggled back, making sure to press as much of herself against her girlfriend as possible. The comfort of it would hopefully keep any nightmares at bay. Now that she was actually laying down, her eyes suddenly felt heavy. Skye was exhausted and it didn't take her long till Jemma's reassuring presence had coaxed her to sleep.