13:57

A/N: So. . .none of the things that I earlier posted I the COMING SOON section happen here. But they will! I promise!

After Rachel realized that Kurt had figured out her clue, she spent the next week straight with him, trying to figure out what it might actually mean. Unfortunately, Kurt couldn't get past the fact that it was an egg, and something to do with either Vogue or Marion Cotilliard. Neither of those things seemed particularly conducive to a Task for the Triwizard Tournament, however. Meanwhile, Rachel who was high strung to begin with, after Figgins announcement.

Turns out, it really is totally against the rules to have so many Champions. So instead of just scoring each competitor, this year the lowest scoring competitor at each Task is kicked out.

Needless to say, Rachel's strident voice had been heard quite a lot.

Blaine, meanwhile, had become a lot quieter, and a lot more distant. Kurt tried to corner him once, to talk about it, but he just shrugged it off. "Nerves over the Task," he'd said, before going to join Finn and Sam. Kurt had just sighed, because he knew that it wasn't just about the task.

Plus, Blaine had been hanging out with Karofsky. Not a lot, but sometimes he sat with the Slytherins and the Durmstrang boys for a meal, and Kurt had seen them whispering in the hallways. Which was. . .was weird. Because Karofsky was obviously homophobic, and Blaine was straight and Kurt had just been hallucinating in the bathroom. . .right?

Right?

The First Task was on a Saturday, and it was a perfect day outside, bright blue skies and a shining yellow sun. All of the Champions left the castle before breakfast to get ready.

"So what do you think the task is?" Mercedes asked at breakfast, yet again disdaining any fruit and just stuffing her plate full of tots. Kurt did the exact opposite.

"An egg," he said. "And no, I don't know what that means. Mercedes stuffed her mouth full of potato, and started chewing thoughtfully.

"Who d'you think is going to get kicked out? I reckon it will be Rachel. All she's been doing is practicing musical lyricism. What if they're underwater? Or have to navigate a maze? Or play a giant chessboard? Singing won't help her with any of that."

"Rachel will be fine," Kurt said. He didn't believe that, of course, but then again, Rachel had been doing the same thing as all the other Champions. For some reason they'd all been having extra sessions with Mr. Schuester. Maybe the first task wasn't an egg. . .maybe it was just acting like Lady Gaga.

That sounded way less ridiculous in his head. Still, he grabbed a pair of earplugs and stuck them in (the stadium was far too loud, with the students cheering, and he refused to lose his sense of perfect pitch – besides, he could still talk to people around him, they just muffled the overall volume).

The First Task was being held out at the old coliseum, which was kind of weird, since it had been half blasted away during the second Wizarding War. Now it consisted of just a half horseshow of stands, before a massive chasm which abutted the cliff leading up the castle. It hardly seemed like the best place to have a Task. Kurt and Mercedes exchanged nervous glances before they headed in the front gates. Rachel might not be their absolute favorite person in the world, but she was still a friend, and they certainly didn't want her to get hurt. Just as they were passing by the massive tent set up on the grounds, they saw a rustling.

"You go ahead," Mercedes hissed. "I'll save you a seat."

Kurt hurried over to the tent, and pushed a flap aside. Rachel was there immediately. Huh. . .Kurt thought. She looked. . .different.

Blais Zabini's hand in the tournament was very, very evident. Rachel's hair was tied up in a ponytail, which Kurt had literally never seen, though it seemed appropriate for a tournament. She was also wearing a pair of lace-up boots that reached about midcalf, and a skintight suit made out of some incredibly luxurious looking material, a deep shimmering gold that brought out little flecks of gem in Rachel's eyes that Kurt had literally never noticed.

"Oh, Kurt, thank Dumbledore," she breathed. "I'm so nervous, I can't do this, I just can't. . ."

Kurt reached out and put both of his hands on her shoulders. He had a sudden urge to just shake her, but felt like that might be less than helpful. So instead he just leaned down a little and looked straight in her eyes.

"Rachel, you drive me crazy, and you can be incredibly irritating. That being said, you're an incredibly talented witch. You're going to be fine."

"Really?" Rachel asked, glancing up at him, her lip trembling just the slightest bit. "Oh, Kurt, thank you. You are absolutely right. I am just brimming with talent, and it is time that the world saw it."

"Exactly," Kurt said, trying really hard not to roll his eyes. "Is everyone else nervous, too?"

"Hardly," Jesse st. James drawled, coming over to stand beside Rachel. He was dressed similarly to the girl, except that his outfit was a dark silver, almost steel colored. Kurt appreciated it. "But you'd better get to your seat, Hummel. Blais won't be happy if he catches you down here with the Champions."

Without another word, Jesse reached up and pulled at the flap, allowing it to fall directly into Kurt's face. It actually hurt, a little, the heavy material smashing him in the nose. But that pain was nothing, nothing compared to the joy in Kurt's heart.

Jesse st. James knew his name. Jesse st. freaking James knew his name.

Kurt wasn't sure how he made it up to his seat, next to Mercedes. He might have floated. The only thing he knew was that he had to turn in his wand. "For security reasons" the smirking dementor said.

He sat and chatted to Mercedes for a few minutes. . .not long at all, really. . .before Figgins and Blais walked out into the middle of the field. Figgins was nodding his head, and his mouth was flopping open and closed, so Kurt assumed that he was speaking, but the harsh wind blew his words away. Blais just stood there and let him talk. When the headmaster was finally finished, the fashion designer lifted his own wand.

"The Task today is simple," he said. "The Champions must simply rescue an egg from whichever magical beast is guarding it. Assignments have randomly been chosen. We'll be going in the following order. First, Durmstrang Champion, David Karofsky will take on a minotaur. Then, Hogwarts Champion Rachel Berry will take on a chimera. Beauxbatons Champion Quinn Fabray will have to get past a harpy. Durmstrang Champion Jesse st. James must overcome a Blast-Ended Skrewt, and finally, Hogwarts Champion Blaine Anderson must defeat a hydra."

"That's so unfair!" Mercedes gasped. "A blast-ended Skrewt? Seriously He can just step on it. And Rachel has to do a chimera . . .those things are dangerous."

Kurt couldn't even answer. He was busy clutching at the ends of his seat. He was beginning to see why they'd had to turn in their wands. . .otherwise he'd have been casting every protective spell that he knew over his best friend.

And really, what had been the point in that clue? It was absolutely no help whatsoever.

Azimio cheered loudly when Karofsky stepped onto the field, while the rest of the Hogwarts students just clapped politedly after McGonagall glared at them. Professor Flitwick, meanwhile, walked the minotaur onto the field. Kurt had to bite back a chuckle, because the matching was just too perfect. The minotaur, grotesque and ginormous as it was, was only a bit larger than the hulking Durmstrang student. As soon as Flitwick released it, they just stood for a minute, peering at each other, sizing one another up. And then, unbelievably, they both ran forward and began to wrestle.

"Is he insane?" Mercedes shrieked. "He's a wizard. Why isn't he using his wand?"

Kurt couldn't answer, he could just shrug helplessly. Because as strong as Karofsky was, as oversized as he was for a human, he was still just a human, and was no match for the half-bull monstrosity. All of the students were on their feet after one particularly nasty throw, when Karofsky bounced – actually bounced! – off the side of the stands.

"Where are the teachers?" Kurt yelled. "Won't somebody help him?"

xxx

Meanwhile, inside the Champions tent, four of the young wizards were listening to the screams and angry grunts with terrified expressions on their faces. Only Jesse seemed calm, legs crossed as he filed his nails.

"Oh my Dumbledore," Rachel hissed. "Did you hear that? What's going on?"

"It sounds like he's being absolutely thrashed," Quinn whispered.

"Guys, stop worrying," Blaine said. "Just remember to do this your way. You'll be fine. Figgins isn't going to let us get hurt."

Rachel wondered if Blaine was talking about a different Headmaster.

Xxx

It wasn't until the minotaur had knocked Karofsky entirely unconscious that Flitwick finally walked back onto the field. With a few quick flicks of his wand he had the minotaur back in chains again, and started dragging it off the field. Madame Pomfrey dashed out and levitated Karofsky's unconscious body off the field.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Mercedes gasped. Kurt shrugged. He wasn't particularly certain that he cared at all.

Rachel walked out next, to face the chimera. Mercedes and Kurt both inched forward in their seats, clutching anxiously at one another. On Kurt's other side, Sam, Finn, and James stopped playing whatever Quidditch mini-game they had conjured to watch the Hogwarts champion.

Kurt knew that his complexion was bad – his nose was red from the wind, and his veins would be standing out in bright blue against the pallor of his skin. But, looking down at tiny, tiny little Rachel facing off against the monstrous snake/lion/scorpion standing across from her, he didn't care. His friend looked absolutely terrified. As the chimera began lurching toward her on its unsteady lion legs, she didn't move, not even to lift her wand.

"Why isn't she doing anything?" Sam hissed. Mercedes squeaked and covered her eyes, muttering "I can't watch, I just can't watch."

Finn glanced at Kurt. It was surprising to see an expression of concern on his brother's face. . .Finn usually just looked confused, or occasionally befuddled, but never worried. Kurt opened his mouth – he didn't know what he was planning on saying. Maybe words of encouragement, maybe false assurances that Rachel would be all right. . .he opened his mouth, but no words came out. The chimera was nearly at Rachel now, and it lifted its scorpion tail.

"Sing!" Finn suddenly screamed, his words echoing in the silence of the stadium. "Rachel, sing!"

Kurt turned to biff his brother upside the head, beause of all the asinine advice he could have given, singing was probably the worst. But of course, because it was Finn, and because Rachel was still horribly in love with him, she did what he said. She opened her mouth and began to sing.

"Hands touch, eyes meet

Sudden silence, sudden heart

Hearts leap in a giddy whirl

He could be that boy, but I'm not that girl

Kurt held his breath, because he recognized the song, and recognized the chord progressions. She wasn't just singing. . .she was casting a spell. Even as he recognized it, he felt tears prickle at his eyes, felt a gentle sob wrack his body.

Don't dream too far

Don't lose sight of who you are

Don't remember that rush of joy

He could be that boy, I'm not that girl

He looked down and realized that he was tightly grasping Mercedes hand in one of his, and Sam's in the other. As he glanced around the stadium, he saw that everyone was fighting back tears. Looking down again, he saw that the chimera had paused, and was glancing down, as if fighting its own tears.

Every so often we long to steal

To the land of what might have been

But that doesn't soften the ache we feel

When reality sets back in

Before Rachel could even finish the song, the chimera walked up to her, and butted its head against her, like a cat looking for food or affection. Rachel stiffened, but after a long moment, reached out and scratched behind the chimera's eagle feathers. Kurt let out a long breath in relief. Below him, Rachel and the beast nuzzled for a moment before she strode confidently across the perch and picked up the egg, holding it triumphantly over her head.

The arena burst into cheers.

Kurt leapt to his feet, throwing his arms around Mercedes. Turning, he hugged Sam, and then Finn. When he turned around to the scene, Flitwick was leading the chimera out a side door, and Professor Schuester was enthusiastically hugging his young protégé.

"That was amazing!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"She may be annoying, but she sure can sing," Kurt agreed.

The next two matches were decidedly less exciting. Quinn walked out and sang the same piece she had performed on the first day she'd joined Musical Lyricism. The harpy stared right at her as she walked across the field, but made no move to attack her. There was one, slightly scary moment when Quinn tripped and lost the melody for a moment, but she quickly recovered and picked up her own egg.

Jesse st. James stepped on the Blast-Ended Skrewt.

Then Flitwick walked in the eight-headed harpy. Kurt sucked in a quick breath. He'd never been particularly fond of snakes, and this one was particularly terrifying. It had to be as big as a house, and each head moved independently of the others, so that they seemed to wave a strange ballet in the air. When Blaine walked in, he looked even more like a midget than usual. A sick feeling settled into the bottom of Kurt's stomach.

"Don't worry, dude," Sam said with a grin. "Blaine's awesome at magical singing. He'll just hum a tune and make it through."

That was when Kurt noticed the guitar slung across Blaine's back. He hadn't known that the Champions could bring props in with them, but he supposed it was fair. Maybe Blaine had substituted his wand for the guitar.

As the hydra began slithering toward him, Blaine lifted the guitar and began strumming it. His body was relaxed, and he looked as confident as Kurt had ever seen him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"He knows it's time to make a change here

And time to get away

He knows it's time for all the wrong reasons

Time to end the pain

But he'll sleep all day, sleep all day

Sleep all, he'll sleep all day

Why don't we sleep all, sleep all day

Sleep all day, we sleep all day over and over

Nothing happened. The hydra just continued its inexorable movement forward, it's heads continuing to dance on serpentine bodies. Blaine faltered a little, and missed a few notes in his playing. Kurt had no idea what he was doing. . .this wasn't anything they'd learned in class. He didn't understand why Blaine would be trying to improvise.

Suddenly, one of the heads struck forward, biting and snapping. Blaine tried to jump out of the way, and it looked like he'd avoided being bitten, but the broad side of the snake's head hit him in the shoulder, sending him flying into one of the arena walls. He dropped the guitar, but kept singing.

"What a lovely day to have a slice of humble pie

Oh, recall all the while we used to drive

Here and there

Going nowhere

But for us, nowhere but the two of us"

Kurt screamed when the snake jerked forward again. This time it did bite Blaine, it's strong jaws clamping around his upper arm. Blaine screamed, and wretched himself away. The snake was left holding just his robe, one arm slightly tattered. Blaine fell to the ground, clutching desperately at his right shoulder. He took a deep breath, and this time when he began to sing, his voice was shaky and desperate.

"And we knew it was time to take a chance, here

And time to compromise our lives just a little while

And time for all the wrong and lonesome reasons

But time is only there on my side, I better give it"

Kurt turned to Mercedes, to ask her if she knew what Blaine was trying to do, but when he looked at her, he saw that her eyes were closed, her mouth hanging slightly open. An unladylike snort escaped her nose. Unbelievable. . .how could she be asleep at a moment like this?

So Kurt turned to Finn, only to find that his brother was likewise asleep. As was Sam. As was James, and Santana, and the other Durmstrang boy and. . .the entire stadium, actually. And that was when it finally hit him what Blaine was doing.

"sleep all, sleep all day"

He was casting a lullaby, which was incredibly advanced magic, since it affected not only perception, but an actual physical response. And apparently he was doing any excellent job. . .even the professors, seated across the way, seemed firmly asleep. Which meant, Kurt realized with a sinking feeling, that nobody was there to help Blaine.

Kurt frowned. If Blaine was casting the spell correctly, though, why wasn't the hydra falling asleep? Why was it still advancing on his friend, still hissing and spitting as much as ever? He tried to think back to his Care of Magical Creatures class, and cursed himself for not taking it that year.

Excpet, he realized, he did't have to take that class to understand. Just think about a basic snake. . .snakes don't have ears.

At his realization, the snake's head jerked forward again. This time, the middle one clased around Blaine's torso, and yanked him high above the ground. Kurt tried to scream, but couldn't get in enough air to do it. Blaine was going to die, and there was no professor to save him. And Kurt didn't even have his wand, because he'd been forced to leave it at the gate.

As the hydra jerked its head, and Blaine gave out another long scream, Kurt leapt to his feet. He'd only done wandless magic with small spells before, lighting a fire or dragging a book over to his table, but he had to try. He glared at the hydra and yelled, as loud as he could (as if that would help) "Dormise!"

It was like pulling the plug out of an inner tube. The hydra slowly drifted to the ground, each head hitting the ground separately. The middle head relaxed its jaw, and Blaine fell to the ground, catching himself on his knees and hands. Kurt's eyes were huge, as he tried to stare down at his friend.

Blaine remained there for a moment, catching his breath, before he shakily stood. He hobbled over to his robe and pulled it on, before muttering something under his breath. All of the people in the stands began muttering, and slowly waking up, as Blaine picked his way around the hydra to grab his egg.

"Unbelievable," Mercedes whispered. "Did he just cast a lullaby?"

Kurt didn't answer. He was still trying to calm his breath, but watching Blaine limp out, watching the way he leaned over to one side, and seeing the deathly pallor on the other boy's face, he couldn't breathe like a normal person. HE began pushing his way through the stands, trying to reach the Champions tent.

"Dude, where are you going?" Finn yelled.

Kurt only distantly heard the results as he shoved his elbow into student's sides, and trod on fingers. Absently he noted that Karofsky had been disqualified, that Jesse had the lowest score, followed by Quinn. That meant Rachel and Blaine were in the lead, but Kurt couldn't bring himself to care at just that moment.

Blaine was hurt.

Blaine might be in actual danger.

Kurt jumped over the barricade to the stands, and ran toward the tent. He pushed aside the flap and ran in.

It was empty. Kurt closed his eyes, tightly. Of course it was closed, he realized. That Champions would be receiving their scores on the field. Which he couldn't even hear because of the stupid ear plugs. He pulled them out, just in time to hear Blais Zabini's magically enhanced voice saying:

"lead with a perfect 100 points, Blaine Anderson."

Kurt stood and watched as Figgins heartily clapped Blaine on the back. He wanted to yell at the headmaster, to tell him that he was likely exacerbating serious injuries. He didn't understand why Blaine didn't say anything.

And then Blaine's eyes rolled up in his head, and he fell to the ground.

A/N: I just can't get the tone and voice down correctly for this fic, which is really irritating me. I kind of like that plot that I've mapped out (in my head, at least!) but it's just not coming across the way I want it to. Very irritating. Anyway, personal gripe!

COMING SOON: Invitations to the Yule Ball! Kurt finds ANOTHER guy to crush on, Finn and Rachel get a little closer, Sam tries his hand at dating three girls, and Mercedes starts acting shady. Also, first Quidditch match: Hufflepuff v. Slytherin! Hurrah!