For almost two weeks now, since she and Skye had started fighting again, Jemma had been grabbing breakfast and eating elsewhere to avoid Bobbi, but that wouldn't do today. The task was set for the next day, and she couldn't let Skye go into it without talking to her. She clutched her book, which was uncoincidentally about dragons, against her chest and walked over to the Slytherin table, where it looked like Skye was still skulking as well.

"Skye?" She asked nervously, trying to get the other girl's attention once she was standing at her side. Her girlfriend ignored her, simply staring down at the plate on the table in front of her. Jemma's heart constricted with guilt and she readjusted her grip on the book so it wouldn't fall out of her clammy hands. She was nervous, not only about trying to get Skye to talk to her, but about the task that seemed to bring impending doom. It was clear that the brunette wasn't going to talk to her, but Jemma needed to tell Skye what she had for her.

Jemma was a teacher's pet and she knew it. This time, she had decided to use it to her advantage and go to the Care and Keeping of Magical Creatures professor for help. He'd taken her out into the forbidden forest the night before and shown her the three dragons that had been selected for the task. She'd marked the three species in her dragon book, three red ribbons were slightly hanging out of the edges. She'd also taken the liberty to mark them from most dangerous to least, so Skye could start with number one in case she didn't have time to make strategies for each.

"I have some more useful information for you," Jemma said, swallowing hard. She gently laid the book down on the table and took a step back. "I want to speak with you, but if you don't, that's ok. I'll be in the attic if you want to talk. About anything." Jemma meant that Skye could come to her about either the task or the current state of their relationship, and she didn't know which one she wanted most. She wanted to fix things, but she also wanted Skye to live. When Skye still didn't say anything, Jemma finally left, taking a few steps backwards and almost tripping on the stone floor before finally turning around and rushing towards the library. People had been staring, they had either witnessed or heard about Bobbi and Skye's fight, and Jemma just wanted them to stop. She wanted to be alone with Skye again, but she didn't think the other girl would bother to show up before the task.

Skye glanced over at the book once Jemma had left. She felt terrible and very conflicted. She wanted to talk to Jemma about everything that happened, but every time the other girl came to bring it up, or she herself wanted to bring it up, the words stuck in her throat and her mouth went as dry as a desert. She just couldn't bring herself to say anything, hence the ignoring. It was a terrible solution. In fact, it wasn't a solution at all and was only making the situation worse.

Trip was sitting next to her, but he knew better than to speak up about it by now. The first time he had tried he had nearly gotten his head bitten off. He hated it when the two of them fought but in a weird way, he saw it as their process. They, mostly Skye, would always blow up at the smallest thing and then they wouldn't talk. He would see this for a week or so and then all of a sudden when he saw them next, everything would be right as rain. He hoped it would rain soon.

"From Egg to Inferno: a Dragon-Keeper's Guide…" Skye read, finally taking her plate and pushing it aside so she could set the book in front of her. What good was a dragon keeping book going to be? She needed to defeat one, not raise one. She opened the book to the first tab Jemma had put into the book. Trip slowly leaned over towards Skye, making sure he could read over her shoulder.

"Chinese Fireball? How did she find out what dragons they were going to use?" Trip asked, concerned, but very much glad that the Ravenclaw had.

"Who cares. She did it," Skye was too busy reading to care how she got it. The main thing was that she had. She felt guilty for having ignored her girlfriend for so long and here she was still trying to help her.

"The Chinese Fireball is a scarlet colored dragon native to China, also known as the Liondragon. The average adult is twenty-five feet long!" Skye rolled her eyes and looked up from the book. How was she supposed to face something that big?

Trip groaned and shook his head at her, snatching the book away and continuing to read. "The Fireball's name comes from the mushroom-shaped flame that spurts from its nostrils when angered as well as the mushroom-shaped flames it shoots from its mouth. Weighs between two and four tons. Mildly aggressive," Trip shut the book and turned to Skye, "Damn, girl. That thing can serve you up on a silver platter well done to the core."

"Oh wow, thank you for that, Trip. Way to give a vote of confidence there," Skye groaned, slamming her head down onto the table in exasperation. She didn't even want to think about the other dragons. They were probably all equally as awful and terrifying. It wouldn't matter which one they gave her. She needed to think of a strategy.

"Hey, its okay though. Lil'mama said this one was the least dangerous of the three choices, so hopefully this will be the one you get. Let's look at the others. Can't get too much worse, can it?" Trip was terribly wrong because when he landed on the next dragon Jemma had marked, he gulped.

"What?" Skye mumbled. Trip's face didn't look confident at all.

"The Peruvian Vipertooth," He shivered a little bit before he continued, "A copper colored dragon native to the eastern and north-eastern area of Peru. Fifteen feet in length and one to three tons. It is the smallest breed of dragon, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in speed and lethality. It is poisonous."

"Oh great. I can die a slow painful death instead of being quickly roasted alive. I can't decide which one is better!" Skye lifted her head from the table and snatched the book away. She looked under the name and saw that Jemma had ranked it the second most dangerous...so whatever the third dragon was had to be the top predator of the event.

Skye hesitantly turned to the page and groaned again, "The Ukrainian Ironbelly. The Ironbelly is a metallic silver colored dragon native to Ukraine. It is the largest species of dragon ever documented with a length of sixty feet and a weight of six tons or more. Holy fuck!"

"That wasn't in the book was it?" Trip laughed sliding the book back over to him to look at the picture. It looked menacing enough. Trip was fairly certain he wouldn't want to tangle with that one. Really he didn't want to tangle with any of them. "The Ironbelly is bipedal. Oh, so it only has two legs, look. The others have all four and wings," He pointed to the page and Skye nodded, but she didn't think that it would make a difference when it was trying to eat her.

"Immense wingspan, long talons, rough scales hard as steel. Damn, this guy is something alright. The Ironbelly can produce jets of flame up to three thousand five hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than any other dragon species known to the wizarding world…" Trip shut the book then and turned to Skye. "You," He poked her in the chest for emphasis, "have some studying to do. You need to talk to your girl. If not to sort things out before your imminent demise, then to at least talk to her about the task. She's smart Skye and you need her help. I can't help you with this." He shrugged and gave the book back to her.

"I don't know, Trip...I don't know what to say…"

"You gotta find the words. And soon, before today becomes tomorrow and it's too late to do anything," He stood up from the table again and waved goodbye, taking his leave of the Great Hall and heading to class.

Skye sighed, watching him go. She knew she needed to talk to Jemma before the task to sort everything out. She needed to apologize for her behavior, and thank her for bringing the book. She needed to ask for forgiveness and get her to help devise a plan to overcome all of the dragons, since she still didn't know which one she would be facing. Still, Skye didn't think she could find the words for that conversation just yet. She was running out of time.

When at last Skye managed to work up the courage to go to the library, it was already halfway into her first period of the day, which she had skipped. She had spent the first half pacing in the Slytherin common room, trying to decide on what to do. When she opened the trap door, she had expected to see Jemma sitting on their old ratty couch. She wasn't.

Skye came up and looked all over, but her girlfriend was nowhere to be found. She must have gone to class. Skye had missed her opportunity, after she had taken so long to think of what to say. Jemma would surely come back during break. The brunette would come back and meet her then. She would apologize for being so mean and ignoring Jemma. They would make up. They would make a plan, and Skye would go into the second task feeling much better than she did now. Only, it wasn't going to work out that way.

The morning of the second task, Fitz rushed into the Great Hall, hoping that he would see Jemma inside and relieve his anxiety about her sudden mysterious disappearance. He hadn't seen her in almost twenty-four hours, and at first he had thought his friend was with Skye, but was now seeing her at breakfast. She didn't look good though, she looked a little green in the face, but he couldn't blame her. If he had to face a dragon that afternoon, he wouldn't be able to keep down his breakfast either.

There was still the matter of Jemma though, she wasn't the type to just ditch a day's worth of classes and disappear entirely. Something had to have happened, and if anyone knew more than he did, it was Skye. Frankly, he was upset with her for reacting so badly. Jemma had told him what happened and he thought it was completely ridiculous for Skye to be upset when Bobbi was the one who kissed Jemma. The Ravenclaw girl still seemed to think the whole thing was her fault for not realizing what was going on sooner, and Fitz's reassurances that it wasn't had gone right over her head.

He passed Bobbi on his way to the Slytherin table, and the girl eyed him curiously, but didn't dare act on it. She still had a slight bruise under one eye and he knew Bobbi probably wouldn't be going anywhere near Skye or Jemma for a while.

"Was Jemma with you yesterday?" Fitz asked, completely skipping over greetings. All he wanted to do was figure out where Jemma had gone, he didn't really care for small talk or side conversations at the moment.

"What? No, only for a minute. She gave me a book, then said she was going to meet me in the attic but when I got there…" Skye sighed and looked away from Fitz. Jemma hadn't met her in the attic after breakfast. She hadn't been in the attic during their break. In fact, she hadn't been able to find Jemma anywhere. The brunette assumed it was because she had lost her chance to talk and now Jemma didn't want to see her. Now that she knew Fitz hadn't seen her either though, she was starting to get worried. It was unlike Jemma to not speak to anyone. If she wasn't talking to Skye, she was most certainly talking to Fitz.

"She wasn't there. I didn't see her after that. Is something wrong?"

"I'm worried about her. Yesterday she wasn't at any meals or classes after breakfast, and she didn't even show up in the common room or dormitories. One of the girls told me she was never there last night." Fitz said in a rush. He had been holding out hope that Skye and Jemma had disappeared the previous day and spent it by themselves, but now that he knew Skye was just as clueless, he was starting to panic. "I thought she was with you…" He mumbled, looking down at the floor. Where had Jemma gone, and on the day before the task?

"I thought she would be with you, if she wasn't with me," Skye shook her head. She was just as puzzled and she could feel her early morning sickness coming back along with a knot in her belly. Her anxieties were certainly growing as breakfast ended. She was already in her Champion's robes. The task was to start shortly after breakfast, even though it was a school day. Classes had been canceled for the event so that others could watch. It was to take place on the quidditch pitch. Perhaps Jemma was already there, getting a seat.

"Maybe she is already at the pitch?" Skye asked. Still, it didn't explain why the girl had been absent. Skye didn't think Jemma would leave her and not come to wish her luck, even if she was angry. She had last time.

"I doubt it," Fitz said. "people are waiting in line for good seats, but she wouldn't have to wait there for twenty-four hours." He pointed out. The last time anyone had seen Jemma was actually twenty-four hours ago, she was officialy missing. They should probably go to Headmaster Coulson, or at least the Ravenclaw head of house. They had to do something to find her.

The Slytherin grit her teeth together and stood up from her breakfast. She hadn't been able to eat anyway. She was much too nervous. She wanted to go look for Jemma, now that she knew something had happened to her and she was gone, but she simply didn't have the time. She had to report to the field early for another interview with The Daily Prophet. All the Champions had to, as it was required.

"You have to go find her fitz. The headmasters will be at the pitch. Probably too busy to talk. You'll have to talk to the teachers or the Ravenclaw Prefect. See if he has seen her. I want to help you but I don't have time. I can't miss the task even if I want to." Skye hated to say the words, but they were true. She had signed a magical contract by being accepted and she didn't want to find out what happened if she broke it.

Fitz nodded, showing his understanding. "I'll find her." He assured her. He turned to walk away and continue his search, but he stopped short. "Oh, and Skye? Good luck." He said sadly. He tried not to think about the possibility that this could be the last time they would ever see each other. Without wasting another moment, he hurried off to find his friend.

"As you all three surely know by now, the second task is dragons." Coulson began the briefing of the champions in their waiting tent. "All of you opened your black boxes, which is good. The second they came in contact with flames, they not only dissolved and revealed the riddled parchment, but sent out a magical signal so that we knew who figured it out first." The Hogwarts headmaster explained to them with a slight smile on his face, like he was proud of himself for being so clever. "Ward, as you opened your box first, you have been assigned the least dangerous of the three dragons, a Chinese Fireball. Skye, you came in second and now have a Peruvian Vipertooth. Bobbi, you were last to open you box, so you have been paired with an Ironbelly."

The champions still weren't entirely sure of their task. From Jemma's conclusion, Skye knew that it was something about a dragon's treasure, but she didn't yet know the objective.

"This is another timed event, the champion who finishes in the least amount of time will receive the largest number of points. The task you must complete is simple, but difficult." Coulson continued. The task was not as complicated as the previous one, but it was definitely more daunting. "Something precious has been stolen from each of you. Currently, each of your marks smells like a hatchling, so your dragon will defend it with its life. Your task is to retrieve this precious something and make it to the safe point on the opposite side of the pitch. Good luck to all."

Something precious had been stolen from them? Skye's eyes widened with the sudden conclusion that flooded into her brain. Jemma. They had taken Jemma and given her to a dragon. That was why she was missing. It had to be. From what Skye had read about the Vipertooth, it did not sound like a forgiving creature, and Jemma was going to be guarded by it. Like a treasure, the dragon was going to defend her with its life.

Suddenly the riddle made a lot more sense. Jemma had been right. The riddle had been about a dragon's treasure, and now she was going to have to take it. It was quite ironic that the same treasure turned out to be Jemma herself. Still, Skye couldn't take any comfort in the circumstance. She felt guilty at having thought the Ravenclaw girl wouldn't show up to wish her luck on the task. She hadn't had a choice.

The only satisfaction Skye found at present was hearing that Bobbi had to deal with the Ironbelly. She had practically prayed all night not to receive that as her dragon. It was the largest and the most dangerous of the species which they had brought for the tasks...it also happened to be the first dragon on the pitch. Bobbi would have to go first. Skye tried not to grin, but she couldn't help it. Seeing she still had a black eye also gave her an extra boost of satisfaction, but only for a moment. They would all be facing dragons today and there was no telling what was going to happen. Skye had a strategy planned, but if the Vipertooth was the fastest dragon here, then it would be harder to pull off than she had previously thought.

Nearly an hour went by while Skye sat on a bench inside the tent, not allowed to watch what was happening outside in the quidditch pitch. She could hear it though. She could hear the dragon roar, the sound of the flames shooting from its mouth, and the cheers of the crowd. There was snapping, scraping, spells, flashes of light beyond the tent as the dragon sent jets of flame from its belly. After a while, everything went quiet and the crowds cheering swelled even louder. Bobbi must have finished the task.

The Hogwarts champion watched as Ward was ushered out after half an hour of preparations. The keepers had needed to switch the dragons of course. Even so, it was a long wait. Skye lost track of time, listening to the roar of the crowd and the roar of the dragon. Eventually she tuned it out, laying down on the bench, trying to calm herself. She was getting anxious. Going last definitely did not help her self esteem any. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that the brunette did not notice the quiet of the crowd or the return of Headmaster Coulson.

"Champion."

Skye was quickly shaken from her happy place and sat up quickly on the bench, spying the headmaster at the entrance of the tent. She swallowed hard and he took notice.

"It is your turn, Miss Johnson. The Peruvian Vipertooth has been secured and is awaiting your arrival to the field," He had made his way over to her and put both of his hands on her shoulders. She was shaking and he needed to steady her. "Go now, and good luck."

With that, he turned to leave and Skye slowly stepped towards the edge of the tent. The announcement was made and with a great intake of air, she stepped out of the tent. The afternoon sun was blocked by clouds and the chill of February was in the air. Winter had not yet fully left. She looked up to the high walls of the pitch as she made her way through its underbelly and up the stairs.

The green field Skye was accustomed to was gone, traded away for a field of rock and dirt. She could see an enchantment placed over the stands so that they could watch the task without fear of being hurt by the dragon. The new rock walls were high, too high for Skye to see over, and as she made her way through the gravel and out of the entrance she stopped. Time was announced. The task had started.

Skye was frozen. Hearing the sounds and seeing the flashes of fire beyond had done nothing to prepare her. Her strategizing had done nothing to prepare her. Nothing could prepare her. Not twenty yards away the two ton copper beast lay amongst a bed of rocks, nostrils smoking from the pent up flames waiting to be unleashed. It looked slim, built for speed like Skye had read. Its orange eyes had a watchful gaze over the entire arena. Skye dared not move.

The crowd was quiet, waiting with bated breath, and she could hear the hiss of the dragon's own breath as its belly expanded in and out as it breathed. The coiling of its tail caught her attention and Skye nearly dropped her wand. She had caught sight of familiar light brown locks. Something precious has been stolen from you. The Headmaster's words echoed in her mind and Skye took a hesitant step forward.

"Jemma?"

From the second Jemma had entered the arena herself, she'd been staring at the entrance Skye was supposed to appear in, and a cold rush of adrenaline made its way through her entire body when her girlfriend finally appeared. She saw, rather than heard, Skye calling out to her. All she could hear at the moment was her own heartbeat in her ears and the scraping of the dragon's scales on the rocks. She squirmed, but the dragon's tail was wound around her body too tightly. Not enough to cause pain, but enough to make her uncomfortable and to make her feet start to feel numb.
Skye did not need to confirm it. She felt the cold stare of orange eyes on her. The silence was broken and the attention of a sixteen foot dragon was all on her. Rocks tumbled away as the dragon shifted, its head slowly raising as it expanded its belly with a hiss. Skye thought it akin to that of a snake, but with the added sound of a thousand rattlesnakes in its throat. The sound alone made her blood run cold, and still she couldn't move. It came to its feet, a heavy chain around its back ankle rattling loudly as the beast shifted. Another hiss filled the air as the Vipertooth reared its head back, mouth wide as if gargling something. This was a different hiss though. This was the hiss of gas.

"Shit!"

Skye ran, sliding down quickly onto her side, ripping her pants on the rocks as she hid behind a large boulder just as a jet of flame shot from the dragon's mouth and seared the earth where she had just been standing. Ok, this guy means business...think, think, think! her breath was coming in quick gasps. The brunette felt she might hyperventilate if she didn't calm herself. She watched as the jet of fire stopped. She needed to get closer.

Jemma's stomach flipped when she witnessed Skye barely escaping the stream of fire the dragon had shot at her. She had a terrible feeling this wasn't going to end well. She'd tried to give Skye a head start by letting her know what the dragons were going to be, but she didn't know if she'd done it in enough time for the other girl to form a plan for each one. Her thoughts were interrupted again when the dragon's tight grip on her suddenly released and she fell to her knees on the rocks. The dragon was moving, trying to adjust its angle so it would be able to reach Skye behind the boulder.

"Skye, run!" She screamed, but she wasn't sure her girlfriend would be able to hear her from so far away and over the sound of the gas, which seemed to roar as it built up in the dragon's throat.

The Slytherin girl heard the hissing buildup of gas again, and the clanking of chains as the dragon moved. She quickly shot out from behind the rock, rolling just out of the way and behind more shelter as a new wave of fire crashed over her previous hiding place. Her heart was pounding, but when the stream of fire stopped she moved again, creeping closer, hiding from the flames.

You have one shot. Don't fuck it up! The last jet of fire stopped, the Vipertooth having to build up enough gas to light the flame in its mouth before it could fire. Skye clambered up onto the rock, wand pointed to the side of the Vipertooth's face, a mere three yards or so away.

"Somnus Maxima!" A more powerful version of the spell Skye had used to put both Bobbi and Jemma to sleep burst from her wand in a bright ray of white light. It hit the copper beast full force, causing it to stagger and cry out. It shook its head rapidly, eyes shut tight and Skye was frozen for an instant, waiting to see if her spell would successfully put the dragon to sleep, as she had intended. It did not.

When Jemma caught sight of Skye, all she wanted to do was run to her and help fend off the dragon, but she knew she wasn't allowed to, and she couldn't even if she wanted to. During the preparation process, Headmaster Coulson had confiscated her wand, time turner, and everything that she could possibly use to help herself or Skye. She recognized the spell Skye tried using on the dragon, but she knew it wouldn't be strong enough to put it to sleep, only piss it off. Although the dragon moved, it hardly strayed from her, and just having the beast so close to her made her entire body shake. She was thankful for the strange lotion-type gel she'd had to rub all over her skin before the task began that made her smell like something the dragon wanted to protect instead of eat. She only wished Skye had this advantage as well.

Senses regained, the beast locked eyes onto the Hogwarts Champion, its mouth opening wide, twisting its head till its jaw unhinged almost like a snake. Skye wasn't sure what was coming until the animal made a charge, head shooting forward. She barely had time to act.

"Protego Maxima!"

An opaque shield spell quickly spread its way from Skye's wand, creating a force field in front of her which the dragon crashed into with its full force. It held but for a moment, long enough for Skye to regain her senses and sprint away, almost stumbling in the gravel before the shield shattered and the momentum forced the dragon down into the rocks. It was very upset, Skye could hear as she ran, as the beast roared. The sound caused the bleachers to shake. Temporarily stunned, the dragon needed to refocus and locate the intruder to its den, who was currently hiding behind another large rock on the opposite side of the field she needed to be on. Her spell hadn't worked. She needed a plan B.
"Accio firebolt." If she couldn't waltz in and take Jemma, she would have to fly in, and fast.

A sound Skye may have misinterpreted echoed across the pitch along with the dragon's roar, and it made Jemma's blood run cold. Thunder. She looked to the ground and the small hairs on the back of her neck rose. Small spots were appearing on the rocks, and she soon felt the droplets of water splattering on her face. It couldn't rain, not now. Within a few seconds, the light shower turned into heavy downpour, and a bolt of lightning illuminated the darkened sky. Yes, this would help Skye by preventing the dragon from shooting flames at her, but now there was a much more serious problem. She could feel whatever she'd put on her skin before slowly washing off, and the dragon turned away from Skye. Its nostrils expanded a few times as it smelled the air, and then it turned its gaze onto Jemma. She didn't smell like a hatchling anymore, and she was unarmed. She took a few terrified steps backwards, but her back slammed into something. She had run into the dragon's tail; there was nowhere for her to run and no way for her to defend herself.

Skye had not noticed the thunder, but she did notice the rain. It was hard to miss as it grew into a downpour and Skye had to put her hood up to try and keep the water out of her eyes. She needed to see. The familiar hiss of gas was gone and she had to peer around the rock formation she was hiding behind to see what the dragon was doing. It was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see the Vipertooth had turned from her. Another flash of lightning illuminated the cause. It was going after Jemma.

Why?! Why, why, why?! It should be ignoring her...unless...It was the rain. The rain was washing off whatever it was that was keeping the dragon from going after her girlfriend. They undoubtedly left her without a means to protect herself. Why would she need it if there was no harm in her being chased and devoured?

"Goddamnit," Skye scrambled on top of the wet rock and held her wand up. She shouted for Jemma to duck, and she only hoped the girl had heard her before she didn't have anymore time to waste on 'ifs'. "Bombarda!"

A small set of explosions working their way up the Vipertooth's neck caused it to stagger and roar in response. Its head whirled back around, followed shortly by the rest of its body to face Skye, who coincidentally hadn't thought of a plan after the explosion spell. It tried to build up enough gas to shoot fire, but the rain stifled any chance of a spark, and so, enraged even more, it charged again.

"Shit!" Skye turned around to jump down from the rock. Over the rain her ears picked up a very welcomed sound, one she would recognize anywhere. She jumped swiftly off of the rock and landed onto her broom, which had finally arrived after being summoned. She shot off out of the way and higher up into the arena to try and get a better look at the situation. The dragon had not crashed into the rocks this time, but instead had managed to stop quickly, and its orange eyes landed glaringly on her from below.

When Jemma saw the broom, she felt proud and also immensely relieved. Skye had a plan. The dragon turned away to look up at Skye, who was already high up in the air. If she was going to make a run for it, now was the time. She didn't think the headmasters would mind now that the whole situation had gone to hell anyway.

The dragon's tail moved away, untrapping her, and Jemma turned, intending to flee and slide down a few of the rocks to get further away, but another roar caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder to see what was going on, just in time to see the dragon lunge at Skye, stretching its wings and taking flight. Her eyes widened when she realized that she was in the way of its takeoff. Its tail flung back as its body lifted into the air, and she was directly in its path. The dragon hadn't even been aiming for her, but the end of its tail rammed into her chest, shoving her backwards. Normally this wouldn't have been a huge deal, but the rocks beneath her feet were slick and as she stumbled back, she slipped. The dragon had been guarding her on an elevated point in the rocky pitch, and now Jemma was falling downwards over the edge. The last thing she remembered was the sharp pain in her temple and the loud crack as her head slammed into a rock and everything went black.

Skye heard the roar and looked down below, trying to keep her hood up and wipe the water from her eyes as it pelted her in the face. The dragon's wings had spread and it was resolved to come up into the sky after her. Right, dragons can fly. Duh. It launched itself into the sky and the champion quickly faced forward and shot off. The beast was fast, but the speed of her new broom would hopefully be enough to keep ahead of it. It was hard enough to steer without much practice, but what better time to learn when being chased by the fastest dragon species known to wizardkind?

It was also difficult to see. Whenever they had to play quidditch in a storm, the team members were given goggles so that they could see, even through the rain. Skye did not have that luxury now. The cold rain was pelting her in the face and she had to keep an arm up over her eyes to prevent it from blinding her. Suddenly, she had an idea.

Skye was swiftly approaching the magical shield over the stands and once she was close enough, she held the broom handle tightly and pulled up. She looped in the air, making sure her legs had a tight grip so she wouldn't fall when she was upside down. She had to take her arm away from shielding her eyes and thrust her wand towards the dragon as she passed over its head.

There was a screech and the crowd screamed as the Vipertooth crashed into the protective field. They all got an upclose look as the dragon's orange eyes swelled shut, blinding it. Skye had used the conjunctivitis curse and the beast thrashed as it fell back from the field and crashed into the rocks. Unlike Jemma, she had not seen the tail coming.

The thin whiplike tail caught her in the chest with a crack, clotheslining her and knocking her off of the broom, which shot off without her. Skye imagined it was what getting beat with ten bludgers at once must feel like. She did not enjoy it. The wind had been knocked from her lungs and the copper beast crashed to the ground. She would be soon to follow but Skye was slowing down before she knew she had even mumbled the words. The Slytherin girl had used aresto momentum on herself and crashed into the rocks more gently than she would have otherwise.

More thunder covered the sound of the crowds collective 'ooh' as Skye scrambled up, soaked to the bone and wheezing for breath. Her champion's robes hood was useless now and she wiped the rain from her face, trying to regain her own senses and discern where she was. She could see most of the pitch from her place. She was on the hill of the dragons nest. Jemma should be here.

"Jemma? Jemma?!" It was hard to see for the rain, but not so hard that Skye could tell Jemma was not there. She was not where she was supposed to be. Maybe she had hidden herself? But Skye couldn't hear any answers to her shouting. She felt the anxiety tighten her chest, though she supposed it might be because she had just been hit full force by solid muscle. She looked back towards the dragon, which was still scrambling to get up and then she moved quickly to try and see over the edge of the nest. Shit!

Somehow, Skye managed to heave herself over a rock and slide down the gravel hill. "Jemma!" Her girlfriend was unconscious at the bottom of the nest and though Skye couldn't make out any trace of blood on the rocks, she could see it splotched with the rain on the smaller woman's forehead. The brunette didn't have time to think of what had happened. She was starting to panic and it was hard to breathe. She needed to get Jemma to the finish and she needed to get her there ten minutes ago.

Skye was about to pick her up when she heard the startled shouts of the crowd. The dragon was back up and it was coming back with a vengeance. It was still blinded, but its sense of smell was no less astounding and it had followed in the direction of Skye's shouting. Skye's adrenaline kicked in full force when lightning shot across the sky, revealing the dragon was charging towards them again. The beast was enraged. Clearly it had not expected to come up against so much opposition. She had no time for a plan, so she just acted and prayed it worked out.

"Wingardium leviosa!" Her swish and flick was just right. Her focus was solid, and several of the smaller boulders lifted up into the air and she quickly thrust her wand, sending the rocks crashing into the Vipertooth's face. It startled the beast, having not seen them coming, giving Skye enough time to scoop up Jemma and make a mad dash for the safe zone. Dragon keepers were waiting at the finish for her to cross the magical shield so that they could go and quickly secure the beast.

Skye crossed the magical barrier, wheezing with Jemma still in her arms. "Help! I need a nurse!" She didn't even hear the roar of the crowd over the ringing in her ears as she passed the smaller girl off to the medicus, who had been on hand and already had to treat other champion's injuries. The Hogwarts champion watched Jemma get put onto a cot before the adrenaline faded away and she went crashing to the floor.