13:57
A/N: 100 reviews, over 100 alerts, dozens of favorites. . .thanks for all the support behind this story, guys! It means so much and is such a motivation. Getting to the end now. . .I think two more chapters and a (potential) epilogue. Wah wah wah.
The three Champions were standing in a line, dressed in yet another of Blais Zabini's designs. This time, they weren't coordinated – each student was wearing his own house colors. All three of the Champions were wearing well-fitted black pants. Jesse had on a simple black jumper, tight and curving around his chest and back. Rachel's top was a deep emerald green, with silver and black threading around the neck and sleeves. Blaine's mirrored her design, but in black and yellow. As simple as the outfits were, the quality shone forth, and Kurt had to admire the fine worksmanship. Quality clothing, he thought with a smug nod. He would have to point it out to Finn – nice clothing didn't have to be extravagant.
Speaking of. . .Finn chose that very moment to walk up beside Kurt. "Hey," he said.
"Hey," Kurt nodded. They stood in silence for a moment, continuing to stare at the champions. Jesse looked as confident as ever, winking and grinning at all of the gathered students. Rachel was also basking in the attention, smiling broadly and waving. Blaine, on the other hand, was trying to grin, but for the first time Kurt saw beneath the façade. He saw the other boy chewing on his bottom lip, recognized the slight tremble in his hands.
"This won't be dangerous, right?" Finn said, suddenly. "I mean. . .Figgins wouldn't let anyone get hurt."
"Well," Kurt said carefully. "Dave and Blaine got kind of mauled in the first task. And I almost plummeted to my death In the second task."
"Oh, yeah," Finn said. They stood in silence for a few more minutes, before Finn spoke again. "But Rachel's always been okay, right?" Kurt groaned.
"Finn, seriously, just ask her out. You've been mooning over her ever since Quinn went for Sam."
"Yeah, but. . .do you think she likes me?"
Pause appropriately for emphasis. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."
Finn glanced at him sharply, and Kurt was prepared to have a nice, long lady-chat with his stepbrother. And didn't it just figure that Finn, after months of Kurt's best efforts (he'd even made warm milk!), was finally, at the worst time possible, willing to listen to his sage and superior advice. Luckily, he was saved by Mercedes appearance.
"Hey, boo!" she said, popping up beside him like the angel she was. "You guys worried?"
"Yes. . .I mean, no," Finn said quickly. "Why would I be nervous?"
"No reason," Mercedes said with a bit of a sing-song voice. She turned to Quinn, at her other shoulder. "You wish you were up there?"
"Absolutely not," Quinn said imperiously. "I couldn't be happier to be finished with this entire, ridiculous thing."
Overhead, thunder rumbled off somewhere in the distance. Kurt shuddered, and wrapped his arms tightly around himself. He'd worn his school scarf, of course, but he was beginning to wish that he'd worn his winter robes, as well.
"All right, then," Figgins said, standing up in front of the Champions. " As we all know, this is the final task. Before our Champions and Jesse st. James lies the labyrinth, filled with many challenges and dangers. Also within the maze are three Portkeys. Only one returns to the castle. The others will take the Champions into the Forbidden Forest. There will be a ten minute wait time before the Champion can return to the maze and seek out another Portkey."
Kurt reached out and grabbed Mercedes arm. He looked over toward the booth which had been reserved for the guests. Neither Blais Zabini nor Harry Potter were currently there. Blais, of course, was waiting at Dumbledore's tomb. Mr. Potter had told Kurt that he would be waiting in the nearby woods, as well. As soon as Jesse started singing the summoning, they would jump out and grab him.
It all depended, of course, upon the Champions finding the right Portkey.
Figgins held up a large posterboard. "The three Portkeys are. . .a metal badger, a metal snake, and a metal vulture, one for each of our Champions. Of course, only one is welcome in the castle."
Everybody went silent for a moment, so the thunder in the distance was even easier to hear.
"Dude. . ." Finn breathed out, "did he just admit that the badger will take the contestants back to the castle?"
"No. . ." Figgins said, his eyes shifting around nervously. "No, I did not say that. I absolutely did not. That is. . .no. I did not. Who says I like badgers?"
"Uh, isn't Snuffles the Badger your pet?" Hugo asked.
"Weren't you a Hufflepuff?" James yelled.
"No. I mean yes. I mean. . ." Figgins huffed, and turned to look at the Champions. "Now, remember. If you get into trouble, send up red sparks and one of our Professors will instantly aid you. Now. On your mark. . .get set. . ."
All three champions brought their wands up, and got into a running stance. Kurt held his breath.
"and go!"
They took off like shots, darting into the large maze, composed of bushes and trees and. . .whatever else made up mazes. In a moment of perfect synchronicity, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky. Kurt did not let out a girly little squeak. Finn, however did.
All of the students stood for a long moment, staring toward where the students had disappeared. It was, unsurprisingly, Finn who broke the silence.
"This is kind of boring. What do we do now?"
"Go back to the castle," Kurt said. "Wait."
"You know," Mercedes said thoughtfully, "they should really create some spell that lets us watch them. I mean, there's magic that lets us cut in to that Jersey Shore show, I don't see why we can't watch the Champions."
Kurt didn't see why, either, but there was nothing else to do except return to the castle and wait on the other end of the Portkey.
Xxx
It had been five hours. Five hours, and no signal that anyone was even alive. Figgins had assured them that this was normal, that it often took Champions much longer to make it through the labyrinth. Nonetheless, Kurt couldn't help but glance nervously at the dark storm clouds above. There hadn't been any rain yet, but the streaks of lightning were flashing more and more often, sometimes arching down into the maze.
"They would know if someone died, right?" Finn asked nervously. "Like. . .if a tree fell on someone. They would know."
"What they do is put a tracking kind of device into their jumpers," Artie explained helpfully. "If their body temperature changes drastically, we know."
"Besides, I'm sure there's an enchantment on them," Tina agreed. "There has to be, right? I mean, they're only students. It's only a game."
Kurt didn't say anything. He just continued to stare at the silver badger. He was concentrating so hard that he assumed, when it began to shimmer lightly, that it was just his eyes fuzzing out. Until, that is, Mercedes pointed at it.
"There!" she said excitedly. "Does that mean"
She didn't even have a chance to finish her sentence, before Rachel and Jesse suddenly shimmered into existence, both with broad smiles on their faces, that faded almost immediately when they realized where they were.
"What are you doing here?" Jesse snarled.
"I don't know!" Rachel said, stomping her foot. "I specifically didn't pick the badger."
The two continued to bicker back and forth, while Jesse kept poking at the small, silver badger, as though wishing himself back into the labyrinth.
Kurt stared at them.
Neither of them had touched the badger. The badger which was supposed to take a Champion back to the castle. Jesse hadn't wanted to come back to the castle, and it didn't surprise Kurt to hear that Rachel hadn't wanted to, either. Winning came in second to owning the most powerful wand in existence, and Rachel was nothing if not a Slytherin, ambitious to the core. But Blaine. . .Blaine was a dependable, loyal, reliable Hufflepuff. He should have grabbed the badger Portkey.
He should be in the castle.
"Rachel!" Mercedes screamed, running forward and clutching her friend in a massive hug. "I can't believe you won!"
"Why won't this damn thing work?" Jesse asked, angrily throwing the badger to the ground. Kurt followed it with his eyes, tracking the trajectory as it hit the ground and bounched.
Where was Blaine?
"I won?" Rachel asked blankly, before throwing her hair over her shoulder, and beginning to preen. "I mean. . .that's right. I was in the lead to begin with, and I returned at the same time as Jesse, so I supposed I am the Triwizard Champion, which isn't surprising at all given my – umph!"
Her words were abruptly cut off as Finn engulfed her in his frankenteen arms. He pulled the short girl up, and pressed a kiss to her lips. Her feet were dangling a good foot above the ground. It should have looked ridiculous, but somehow it just looked incredibly sweet. Kurt glanced back at the silver badger.
"Dude," Dave came running up, his face pale and ashen. He clapped one meaty hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Dave, I'm okay," Jesse snarled. "What the fuck did you think? That I wouldn't get out all right?"
"No," Dave said, shuffling his feet a little. "I just thought."
"Whatever," Jesse said, going over and grabbing the Portkey again. "Why won't this fucking thing work?"
Blais Zabini was still missing. Coach Sylvester was still missing. And, for that matter, Harry Potter was still missing. Kurt sucked in a deep breath. He wanted to go ask Rachel and Jesse if they'd seen his boyfriend, but he realized that he didn't have to. He knew where Blaine was. He didn't know how, or why the Portkey had been been switched, but clearly it had been, and at that moment, his boyfriend was. . .was. . .
He couldn't even imagine it, didn't want to. He just knew that he had to get Blaine here, to safety, away from crazy, power-hungry older wizards who wanted Voldemort's old wand. There was only one spell he knew that was powerful enough to summon people, and he silently thanked Professor Schuester for finally teaching them something useful.
He took a deep breath, and began to sing.
"Oh, it's turned so cold, it's past your bedtime
You've played the day away and soon it will be night
Come to me, Blaine, the light is fading
Don't you see the evening star appearing?
Come to me and rest against my shoulder. . ."
As he sang, the world began to shimmer, to fade around him into a strange darkness, and Kurt had to curse once again his inability to ever really master Musical Lyricism. He closed his eyes against the encroaching darkness, fighting against the nausea in his stomach.
He heard them before he saw them. A familiar voice, pitched low and dangerous, and Blaine's beautiful, throaty response.
"This isn't just for me. It's an opportunity to make your father proud. Isn't that what you've always wanted, Blaine? For your daddy to be proud of you?"
"It was buried for a reason. Mr. Potter knew what he was doing and. . .what's that?"
"Don't try and distract me. . ."
"No is that. . .Kurt? Kurt?"
He opened his eyes, and blinked twice, until hazel eyes and triangle eyebrows came into view.
"Um. . .hi, Blaine."
"All right," Harry Potter said. "Start at the beginning, and tell me everything."
A/N: Hahaha. . .oh, Kurt, you may be able to do wandless magic, but you fail at Magical Lyricism. Ho ho ho.
COMING SOON: Who will gain control of the Elder Wand? Who was Blaine talking to? Will Finn and Rachel stay together? Who is James' boo?