Author's Note #1: The usual reminders first, clues and solutions for each leg are part of the story, so that readers may play along if they wish. As always, JK owns the Potterverse. Finally, in new business, this is the first of two notes for this chapter, so please do look for the one following the story, as it will give you a chance to influence what's coming up.
The gaggle of teams trailing Ron and Hermione weren't quite as lucky as Hannah and Theo, as Hagrid's cooking became their next task. Though it wasn't the most physical of challenges, even Goyle had some trouble attempting to eat one of Hagrid's infamous rock cakes. Nonetheless, every team was able to accomplish their task, and soon found themselves coming to the same conclusion as Theo: get to the Quidditch Pitch.
When they arrived, the teams saw a number of Quaffles hovering over the pitch, as well as a few scorch marks on the north end goalposts. Lying on the pitch were 8 brooms, one for each remaining team. Tied to each broom was a small scroll. When unrolled, it gave instructions for the task.
"As you can see, your flying skills will be put to the test. However, not everything else is as it seems. Many of the Quaffles floating around are fakes. The real ones contain your next clue. The only way to find out is to test your skill on the north goal posts, one shot at a time. If the Quaffle you shoot is real, a successful goal will produce a parchment envelope. The fakes will produce a much different response. Also, there are a limited number of real Quaffles, so you'd better hurry, as the last team still shooting will be eliminated.
Ta-ta for now, The Huntmaster"
Millicent knew she was not particularly skilled on a broom, and was thanking Merlin that she'd been paired with an honest-to-goodness Quidditch player. She passed their team's broom over to Dean, who was already scanning the floating Quaffles to see if he could spot anything unusual about any of them as he mounted the broom. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and whispered "For luck." With a goofy grin on his face, Dean took off like a shot, immediately grabbing and shooting a Quaffle from midfield. When it exploded in the goal hoop, he swooped down to grab another and got a second shot in before any other team had even left the ground. This one turned into an envelope as it passed through the goal, and Dean zoomed down the pitch to snatch the clue before it had hit the ground. Holding it above his head in triumph, he returned to Millicent and gave her a full-on snog while still seated on the broom. Regretfully, Dean broke the kiss and opened the envelope he'd caught.
Clue #6: "You've had your fun out on the grounds, but now it's time to come inside and get serious. No foolish wand-waving will be required. Fame, glory, and perhaps even luck awaits you."
Dean frowned. Something about this clue sounded very familiar, but he couldn't quite place where it was from. Millicent also appeared to be deep in thought, but she suddenly brightened. "I think I know where we need to go, but I'd rather not say just yet. Think you can give me a ride up to the castle?" Millicent asked with just a hint of a challenge in her voice.
Dean took the opportunity to blatantly check out his teammate, who'd grown very nicely into her larger figure if he did say so himself. "I think I've got room for another. But you should feel honored; not every girl gets the opportunity to take this ride," he said, scooting forward to make room on the broomstick.
Millicent seated herself directly behind him, arms firmly around his waist. "An honour and a pleasure, good sir. And I hope for my sake that this isn't the last time, either," she whispered into his ear as they took off for the front door. As they re-entered the castle, Millicent directed Dean where to fly, as there was no rule saying they had couldn't use items provided during the Hunt for future tasks. After a quick buzz through the corridor officially designated for staff offices and seeing no one in sight, Millicent finally voiced her suspicions to Dean. "I didn't really believe they'd send us to his office, but it never hurts to check, especially since we passed the last task quickly enough and had the time," she said. "Considering the clue was rather heavily hinting at the speech Professor Snape gave all of us in first year, there doesn't seem to be any other place to go than the Potions classroom." As they landed outside the dungeon classroom, they saw four teams working busily on their next task, and shared a grin, knowing that they were now in a very good position for the rest of the Hunt.
Back out on the Quidditch Pitch, the remaining teams kept firing off Quaffles in search of their clue, only to see that many of the fakes replaced themselves after a while to keep the teams guessing. However, as each successive team finally found a clue ball, the fakes slowed their replacement down, until finally only three teams remained. As the designated flyer for each team grabbed their next Quaffle, the hovering supply disappeared, leaving only the three currently being held. From the commentator's box, a heretofore-unseen robed figure turned on the microphone usually used to announce matches. "ALL CLUE BALLS HAVE NOW BEEN PICKED UP. ANY TEAM WHO DOES NOT RECEIVE A CLUE FROM THEIR NEXT GOAL IS ELIMINATED FROM THE HUNT, AND MUST IMMEDIATELY RETURN TO THE GREAT HALL." The announcement having been made, the figure disappeared from sight.
In the air, Terry, Megan, and Goyle all stared at each other, and the bright red ball each one of them held. "All together, then?" suggested Megan. The two boys glanced at each other, and nodded to Megan. "Terry, you take left; Greg, you take right; and I'll shoot for the center. Good luck." As their teammates watched from the ground, each flyer got into position, and on Terry's count of three, they took their shots, each hoping to see a clue come out from their hoop.
A/N #2: The fate of three teams hangs in the balance. A poll will be appearing on my author profile around the time this chapter is posted. The poll question is simple: who do you want to stay in the Hunt? At least one team will move on, and at least one team will be eliminated. The poll will close no earlier than October 31st, 2015, but could close at any time following that date. Once the poll has closed, the results will be incorporated into the next chapter.