AN/- a bit longer than the rest but worth it—check it out—you'll enjoy I guarantee it.

Chapter 12

She was running again, she didn't know from what or why, but she was just running in what looked like a huge pit while savage men shouted out for the thing following her to kill her, suddenly a large foot crushed her like a cockroach. Audrey woke up with a start as the thunder and lightning cracked outside the dark room brightening up the sky. Audrey walked over to the window, she was sweating and worried sick about that mornings happenings, she secretly hoped that the challenge would be postponed due to the sudden arrival of the rain, because she had a feeling she was least prepared for it, even if this wasn't true, she had done her research and spent weeks practicing, but what Audrey was worried about was the possibility of her plan failing and that the lack of a backup plan made her mind go places she didn't want to travel to. She thought for a second as to whether she should have accepted help that Snape and her mother had wanted to offer her, but the next second it was out of her head.

Audrey did not want to go there, she had lost all hope when it came to her mother, she felt like she had been used and thrown away, that her mother was a selfish person and that she did not consider what Audrey was going through, all she thought about was what Jean thought of the whole situation and how Jean thought Audrey was a little scoundrel in need of a lesson and how Audrey should be more like his fat niece Patricia Phelps. These were the times when Audrey just wanted to run into a hole and die because there was nowhere else she could run to, sometimes she just wished she could slip Veritaserum into her mother's tea and find out who her father was, but she didn't have the guts to do it. She loved the woman even if she didn't get any love in return, it had been years since her mother had kissed her goodnight, her mother had never read her a bed time story it was something mothers didn't do, certainly not her mother it was always Remus or Uncle Albus who had been visiting and Audrey had never asked her for trivial things because she thought that even if certain things were not said or done did not mean that her mother did not love her, but now all of a sudden Audrey doubted it, she doubted everything that had ever been given to her with 'love'. What was love anyways? How could one define love? Something dear and close, something special, but if love was so special and important why was it that it hit you in the face and left you bleeding?

Audrey stood up and checked her watch on the side table, it was only five thirty in the morning and the sun was obviously not up, Audrey had to get away from her thoughts, she had to get out of that room. She picked up her broomstick that lay in the corner behind her bed; she hadn't touched it since last week's quidditch matches against Neptune and Slytherine. She put on appropriate clothes along with a black windcheater which she zipped up as she picked up her broomstick and walked out o her room her thoughts following her like a lost puppy.

After a short fight with the fat lady, she reached the deserted quidditch pitch which was now mucky with puddles all over the place. She mounted her broomstick and flew around the pitch letting the rain hit her face as she closed her eyes letting her mind guide the broomstick. When she opened them, she had to take a quick turn as she had flown out of the pitch and into the grounds and was about to hit that permanently frustrated moving tree which had almost tried to kill Seamus the other day.

Audrey flew away from the tree a little relieved that she wasn't hurt, she slowly landed back in the entrance hall half an hour later as she dragged her feet towards the dormitory, when she crashed back into her bed she realised something, when she had flown with her eyes closed she couldn't see anything but what she thought was in front of her, but when she opened her eyes everything was clear and she could manipulate her senses to work as she wanted them to. Maybe there was a way out of this—maybe she could get her mother to love her again, all she had to do was what Jean was doing already, she had to close her mother's eyes—all she had to do was pretend to like Jean and then everything would be perfect—she would get her mother to love her again, she realised now why she seemed like the bad guy, because she hadn't opened her eyes, she had been thinking with her mind, she needed to think with everything—she needed to work it out in her favour make people see what she wanted them to see—show her mother that she was the real prize not Jean—that she was the angel not Jean, that all she wanted was to be a good girl while Jean didn't want anything to do with her. Audrey smirked but at the end of her mind something chided, her conscious was biting her again.

"You sound just like you-know-who!" it said

"I do not" snarled Audrey in her head beginning the never ending internal conflict she faced with her conscience.

"You'd be a good addition in Slytherine. Perfect snake!"

"Shut up,"

"Don't you see, he makes her happy! You could never see her happy. Never!"

"You're lying"

"Think about it Audi! You are scheming against your own mother,"

"Audrey? Audrey, are you alright?" whispered Hermione sitting down next to Audrey as Audrey took in a deep breath, Audrey nodded as Hermione smiled pityingly at her.

"You seem so tense, are you nervous?" asked Hermione softly as Audrey nodded slowly while all Hermione could do was put her hand over Audrey's and rub her back as Audrey decided to close her eyes and never open them again in such a frightful way. She was fine just the way she was, even if her mother didn't appreciate the fact that she looked like her father.

All the champions had gathered in the tent set in the highlands of the castle beyond the quidditch pitch and before the beginning of the forest.

Audrey noticed Harry pacing tensely while the others stood in their partitioned sections of the rooms awaiting the beginning of the tournament. Audrey noticed Harry stop for a second and suddenly Hermione crawled in from under the tent and threw herself into his arms, Audrey blushed at the site, she knew it was only a friendly gesture but she felt awkward that she had caught them in a compromising position. But much to Harry and Hermione's embarrassment Rita Skitter walked in at the wrong moment with her photographer and a huge flash followed Hermione letting go of Harry quickly and blushing embarrassedly as Rita smirked while Victor Krum walked to Harry's side a little angry.

"Ah young love" smiled Rita dreamily.

"This tent is for champions—and friends!" he said rudely dismissing Rita as she approached him and then stopped mid way.

"Well—I know when I am not wanted," smiled Rita shrewdly as she threw a last glance around the tent and walked out with clicking heels and her photographer behind her.

A few minutes later the judges entered the tent along with Percy Weasley who Audrey thought reminded her a lot of a well groomed Ron.

"Gather around champions!—Ms. Granger what are you doing here?" asked Dumbledore a little confused as he called for the champions to circle around them while Hermione stood in the background feeling out of place.

"I'm sorry professor—I was just—going to go," she said smiling at harry who nodded as she threw Audrey a thumbs up and Audrey smiled in acknowledgement knowing her mind was anything but ready for this.

Nevertheless she stood boldly next to Harry, he being a month older than her in age stood next to Fleur who was the youngest in the seventeen year lot.

"Now—these are just the miniature versions of what you are going to be up against outside—your goal is to get the golden egg in the nest that the dragon will be guarding with her life, now remember the use of unforgivables in not allowed and will result in disqualification of that champion from that particular task—Mr. Krum if you will please pull out you're dragon," finished Crouch holding the now open pouch which seemed to be emitting smoke.

Krum reached into the pouch and his gloved hand came out with a red scaled miniature dragon. He stared at it for a while and then looked up at Crouch.

"The Chinese fireball—ooh!" said Crouch in a odd manner making him look slightly deranged as Fleur and Cedric picked their dragon's next. Harry was next he got the Hungarian Horntail one of the deadliest of the group along with the Ukrainian Flamethrower which graced Audrey with it's warm fire ball as it came out and almost burnt her hand if it weren't for her gloves.

"Now at the sound of the canons Mr. Krum-," began Dumbledore but Filch was too daft to understand as the canon went off and the stadium roared with gleeful chants for Krum to come out and grace them with his bald head, which he did with the constipated look on his face.

Soon most of the champions had fought valiantly against their dragons and come out victorious, Harry to Audrey's surprise was leading with a beautiful display of courage and a broken hand which now lay in a sling in the part of the stadium where he was sitting next to Hermione as Ron admitted his mistake and Harry forgave him instantly.

Too much was going on in Leon Bernard's head that minute to care as to whether Neville was being beaten up by sixth year Slytherines so he let Harry and Ron help him out as he strained his neck to have a good look of the 'pit of terror' as Ludo Bagman's commentary had announced it currently, his voice boomed from the microphone commenting on Audrey's arrival in the pit along with the opening of the Ukrainian Flamethrower's cage.

"Look!—she's there," shouted Ginny as she helped Neville straighten up while the rest of the Gryffindors joined her in her administrations of the pit.

"Where?" asked Leon straining to find his best friend as Ginny pointed out to the opening where Audrey stood dressed in black jeans, a blue Beauxbatons gym t-shirt and black and red sweat shirt something very similar to what Fleur had worn except she had a green strip running across her sweat shirt.

Audrey took another step into the pit as she gulped she had a feeling she had been in here and last times events hadn't been very pleasant, but as soon as she entered the pit something gleamed in the dim sunlight. Audrey spotted the egg, there was no dragon, no nothing, it was a free way, she grinned, she hadn't expected it to be so easy. She dashed towards the egg like there was no tomorrow but sadly a sharp and heavy blow in the chest set her flying through the pit and almost crashed her into the strong wooden fence at the other side near the reserved circle, which was booked only for the teachers and dignitaries like the minister of magic of both England and France, then there was the Malfoy family who sat snugly next to Snape enjoying the view.

"Arresto momentum," shouted Audrey fearfully before she hit the wooden fence so that she stopped before she hit the fence, she survived without a scratch.

The dragon roared as it opened its mouth to exhale a huge gush of fire set towards Audrey who quickly moved away as she saw the remnants of a layer of the wood burnt to ashes.

"Dislimbatious-" shouted Audrey as red rays engulfed the dragon's torso going around it like a rope trying very hard to contain something. Audrey was pleased her spell was working two more minutes and the dragon would be limb less, it would be able to stand, sit or fly and the beauty of a handicapped dragon was she could move more freely and capture the egg.

But before Audrey could dream further the dragon spread its wing cutting away the rope like binds like they were cob webs. Audrey knew this was it, this was what her dreams had symbolised, the lack of a back up plan lay her stranded in the middle of a pit with nothing but one huge boulder and a furious deadly dragon.

Audrey let out a loud breath as she tried to focus her mind on something else she could possibly do, but nothing crossed her mind as she hid behind the humungous boulder.

"Think Audrey think!" shouted her mind every part of which trying to think of a practical solution to this, but none crossed her mind, after all fighting dragons was not her everyday job or hobby.

The dragon even though chained still had motion in it's legs as it ran towards her in a threatening way chasing Audrey through the pit as Audrey tripped over an upturned root that was still half attached to the ground, the dragon closed in on her and hovered over her opening its mouth once again to finish this ridiculous drawl between it and the human.

Rachel couldn't look, she couldn't possibly enjoy the fact that her daughter was getting pulverized by a dragon and therefore she buried her head in Jean's shoulder who too was at the edge of his seat not worried but excited, though Rachel did peer at the ground once in a while as she could hear Leon Bernard who was standing at the fence shouting his lungs out to Audrey about doing what Harry did, she pitied the boy, Audrey couldn't possibly hear him and nor was he telepathic. Rachel's head snapped up all of a sudden as she glanced over to seats above to look for someone but he wasn't there, but she did catch Malfoy glaring at her loathingly. She turned her head around to look for Snape but he was nowhere in the teachers box, when she did find the black haired man he was standing at the fence just like Bernard shouting his lungs out for Audrey to take off the dragon's eye. Rachel dashed to him and stood on the tiny build up of the fence on which Severus was standing he glanced at her and then turned back to shouting at the girl.

"Can't you use legillimency?" asked Rachel gulping she just wanted Audrey to be safe.

"Do you think I'm an idiot for shouting my lungs out!—of course I used legillimency—but your bloody uncle's gone and sealed of her mind—it's impossible for anyone to get in," said Severus disgruntled by the fact that the crowd was louder than him.

"He did it to protect her," said Rachel softly.

"She's fourteen, why the hell does she need protection—you make her sound like that Potter brat?" snapped Severus.

Severus returned to looking helplessly at Audrey as Leon who was only a meter away stopped shouting as well, all they could do now was wait till Audrey thought of a miracle or maybe they would extract what was left of her an hour later from under the dragon's foot, she had so meticulously tried to evaporate.

"Cant you try again?" Rachel pleaded.

"You're her aunt why don't you try?" he asked rudely questioning her like she was challenging his abilities.

"Just say no if you don't want to—there is no need to snap at me," she snapped back at him as coldly as he had.

"I'm not saying anything," he snarled loudly as he shut his eyes once again trying his best to get into the girl's head knowing he wouldn't get through but just so Rachel would be satisfied, he would do anything for her at the drop of a hat, even if he didn't want to articulate that to her, he wished she knew but unlike him she had never tried to read his mind, she didn't know what Severus wanted for himself or for her for that matter, besides she didn't care for a greasy git like him anymore, his time was up, Rachel no longer wanted to be with some slimy nerd who would betray her for her best friend, she'd rather be with everything muggle romance novels thought French men looked like a chivalrous bastard who could out do Severus everywhere he wanted to excel. It was true and Severus would be a fool to deny it he had the looks and he was intelligent, anyone would fall madly in love with such a man.

Severus opened his eyes in failure once again as Rachel slumped and went back to sit next to Jean who seemed to have made friends with Malfoy and so Rachel sat alone not wanting anything to do with Malfoy. Severus was disappointed in himself he wished he could help the girl and more than that he wanted to impress Rachel and failing at what he was possibly best at didn't please him in the least and so Severus focused everything he had and put all his concentration into entering Audrey's head telling her what to do.

Audrey sat there paralysed as the dragon hovered over her; she closed her eyes as the dragon let out a gush of warm air from its nostrils.

"Open your eyes Audrey—don't be scared!" said a voice in her head. The voice did not belong to her, nor was it her conscious speaking, because the voice was remembered but not recalled, it belonged to a man she could not put a face on. But why could she hear someone in her head, it was odd to hear voices in your head even in the wizarding world; it was either that you were too stressed or you were going bonkers. Audrey was too scared to open her eyes and the voice scared her even more, what if it was death who was speaking to her, what if she opened her eyes, he would lift her up with him and take her away with a large fireball turning whatever that was left of her into ashes.

"Open your eyes Audrey—trust me you'll know what to do," said the voice again. Audrey slowly realised that if she had heard the voice previously there was nothing to worry about and besides there was nothing to be afraid off, it was either facing her fears or succumbing to them and Audrey wasn't ready for the latter.

The voice faded away as Audrey opened her eyes which now had a direct view of the dragon's face including its half open mouth and Audrey could see it coming, a small light manifesting in the dragon's mouth was enough to tell her what was coming next as she rolled over to her left, her wand in her hand as she tried to pick herself up but fell down again given the dragon another chance to shoot a fireball at her as Audrey lifted her wand and quickly deflected the fire.

"Aguamenti!" she shouted as the jet of water mixed with fire leaving nothing but hot air behind as the crowd was in frenzy over her finally doing another spell after so long even if it was a very basic one. It was just like her dream her friends who might have been encouraging her were nowhere to be seen in the massive crowd that had gone barbaric to see the prevalence of the laws of survival.

Audrey quickly pushed herself up and dashed towards the only boulder in the pit she jumped behind it and peeped to see what the dragon was up to she noticed it go back and sit next to the nest with the golden egg, the crowd was now much more silent as they waited for Audrey's next move. Audrey scanned the pit for an idea but none struck her, her eyes fell on the root that had helped her fall, her mouth dropped, that wasn't possible, what was a Siestade root doing in the middle of a pit? Audrey found it odd that the root which was the major and almost only component in the making of the draught of the living dead was sitting snugly in the middle of the pit staring at her in a mocking way, laughing on making her fall.

Audrey looked at the dragon and then back at the boulder as she quickly calculated in her head and then twirled her wand in her hand.

"Gemino!" she whispered with a grin on her face as a copy of the boulder sat next to it, she touched it which created another copy, the dragon spotted the shift in its environment as a few minutes later it was enclosed in an asymmetric wall of boulders. Audrey finished touching the final boulder and drew deep breaths as she stared blankly into the fence. She was standing in the area of the stadium were most of the stand were full with Slytherines as Audrey's scanned the crowd for a familiar face she couldn't find any but one which stared at her coldly, Draco Malfoy did not seem pleased, Audrey looked at the person sitting beside him. Gabrielle had a worried look on her face as she Audrey caught her eyes and for a minute they looked at each other while Audrey caught her breath and then Gabrielle looked away with a worried look upon her face, Audrey knew very well she was still looking at her from the corner of her eyes. Audrey too turned away as she could now hear the dragon growing uneasy at the fact that it was surrounded by rock. Audrey drew a last long breadth and jumped over the boulder to get into the 'dragon's den' as Ludo Bagman's commentary called it.

The dragon now once more face to face with the alien spread its massive wings as a flap denoted that it would not go down without a fight.

"Bring it on dragon head!" muttered Audrey to herself as beads of sweat formed around her mouth and ran down her already dirty face. Wand in hand Audrey ran towards the dragon while the dragon ran towards her, the closer she came to the dragon the more she wanted to turn behind but the Siestade root that was currently under the dragon's belly made her believe she could do it. Just as she and the creature were about to collide, she skid under the dragon cutting the dragon's soft hide on the belly as well as pulling out the root from the ground.

The dragon roared in pain as blood seeped through the cut on its belly, Audrey ran towards the boulders but the dragon flung its tail and crashed it into Audrey's back making her go ahead with unexpected force and making her crash into the boulder and then slid down to the ground as if she had just broken into a million pieces. Audrey had trouble breathing as she fell to the ground, her vision was blurred as well, she felt like being crushed under a dragon's foot what irony, but then again how was she supposed to know that she was going to be thrown face first into a boulder. The dragon came in for the final assault as it drew in breath and then let out a massive flame which Audrey dodged despite the pain she was experiencing in her entire body. She dodged the fire and luckily got behind the set of boulders facing the stadium. She sank to her knees the Siestade root safely in her hand while her wand in the other, she was thankful that it was still in one piece.

Audrey looked at the clock over the stadium near the commentators box, she noticed Harry's time had already beat hers in a bad way by ten minutes while Krum's limit would soon surpass as well if she did not finish it off fast and then fourth place where she would be stranded because Cedric Diggory was only a millisecond away from beating Krum, but she did not know how she was going to manage to ignite the courage she needed to finish her task because, with the root in hand all she needed was the strength to put the dragon to sleep and strength was all she lacked.

"Audrey!—don't give up!" shouted someone at the fence in the stadium, she tried to focus her vision and it slowly became clearer.

"Leon-?" muttered Audrey to herself, Leon was encouraging her, she realised that she was on the friendlier side of the stadium now, there were no cold looks she would be getting on this side.

"Get up Audrey—you can do it—whatever you are doing—just a little more!" he encouraged her even though he clearly did not know what his best friend was up to.

"I'm tired," she mouthed.

"Do it for yourself!" he said pleadingly, as Audrey's eyes widened he was right, she did not have to prove herself to anyone anymore, this was a life and death situation it was either that she puckered up and put the dragon to sleep or just waste her time and loose against all the others. She was going to do it—for herself and yet her eyes travelled to the teachers box where her aunt Min and Uncle Al sat looking worriedly at her, but they were not the ones she was searching for, she found Jean talking to the Malfoy's while her mother stood next to Snape at the fence looking like she was going to be sick with grief. Audrey breathed deeply as the last thing she was her mother smile at her hoping she had caught a glimpse of her. Audrey smiled back in acknowledge as Rachel's face burst into a grin while Padfoot who Audrey saw now stood next to Remus beside's Rachel, he barked merrily.

Audrey got to her feet her eyes going to the clock for the last time, three minutes were left to beat Krum all she needed was one. She cleaned the root quickly with a water charm, the only charm she had actually learnt in Jean's class. She burnt the root with a quick incendio and cut it into two with a diffindo. Her root was burning hot as the vapours it emitted were making her drowsy as well.

She got on back to the other side of the boulders, the dragon standing where it stood last as if waiting and anticipating Audrey's next attack.

"Reducto!" shouted Audrey as she pointed her wand at the dragon's tail. The dragon roared in pain just then Audrey flung half of the root into the open mouth as the dragon swallowed the root with the closing of its mouth. Audrey waited for a reaction as she waited readily, aiming her next shot at the dragon's mouth. Thanks Merlin for her chaser skills that had finally paid off and saved her life, well almost because the dragon was still standing.

"Die you stupid thing!" she cried in pain knowing very well it was not going to die but collapse into a peaceful slumber much to her dismay.

The dragon stared at Audrey with its icy blue eyes which had begun to droop and in a manner of seconds the eyelids shut and the dragon fell onto the ground shaking the entire ground like a massive earthquake. Audrey threw the other half of the root as the crowd burst into jubilant cheers while she picked up the golden egg beating Krum's time by one minute forty five seconds.

She picked up the egg and crashed to the ground not wanting to wake up at all as the cheering died down and everything went dark.

Severus had delivered only half a message to the girl and before he could deliver the second half the barriers in Audrey's mind were raised again and he was pushed out rather rudely as he almost fell of the small parapet that he was standing on.

Fortunately, the girl was intelligent enough to have figured a way to defeat the dragon on her own, even though it was oddly lucky that she found a Seistade root in the pit, he was pleased with the fact that she knew what to do with it because if it were Krum or Fleur in her place they would have been killed by now or for that matter even Potter. The next few minutes had gone quickly as the girl defeated the dragon and then fainted, he was sure due to the effect of the fumes of the Siestade root and of course she had almost been killed by a dragon.

Severus walked back up to the stands and sat down next to Narcissa Malfoy who smiled at him politely, he cursed his luck, he never liked to sit next to Narcissa she was a pain, always bothering him with questions about her son who had no consideration whatsoever about other people's feelings as he royally trampled over them in a very Malfoy way—snooty.

"How is Draco doing at Potions?" murmured Narcissa as Jean who had been talking to Lucius departed to go speak with Rachel who was sitting three stands below, Severus's eyes followed Jean as he tapped his 'fiancée' on her back and she gave him a swift hug and a kiss, she kissed him in front of her ex, the gall-!

"Draco is doing fine," drawled Severus in reply to Narcissa's question as his gaze snapped from Rachel to the pit where the girl had been revived by Lupin and the medical team.

"Pretty girl—related to Adams, I hear" snubbed Lucius as he looked at Audrey get up and accept a cup of tea from Madam Pomfrey and walk out of the pit while the stadium cheered.

"Yes," snapped Severus, he knew what Lucius was getting at and he did not like it.

"Does it not seem peculiar—that Rachel Adams suddenly has a sister—we have never heard off?" sneered Lucius.

"You're stating?" he asked bored and irritated at the way Narcissa was looking at him with disbelief.

"I'm not stating old friend only implying—she does look a awful lot like you—Draco tells me her robes billow behind her as well—and that she frowns just like professor Snape—that she is brilliant in potions, tranfiguration and defence but lacks skills in charms ," said Lucius smirking.

"Draco certain knows a lot about a person he despise," drawled Severus annoying Narcissa as she heard something bad about her son for his teacher.

"Don't be so modest Severus—it is not like you haven't ever know the woman—it is obvious that Rachel is lying to your face," said Narcissa coldly stating her idea in a very matter of fact way.

"Audrey Adams has absolutely nothing to do with me," snarled Severus sharply as Lucius grinned, a short chuckle coming out of his mouth.

"I would certainly check that wouldn't you—I believe Dra-?" replied Narcissa coldly as Severus raised his eyebrows.

"And whose words should I believe Narcissa –the words of a fourteen year old are hardly considered to be pure gold and especially when it comes to young Draco as we know of his previous—delusional talks that he has had-," replied Severus shutting Narcissa up instantly, she knew he was talking about the short delusional episode that Draco had in his third year where he thought Sirius Black had stabbed him at Hogsmeade when it was only a ketchup stain, he had raised a huge fiasco about it for a day and even gotten himself admitted in the hospital wing for a few hours, a huge search party had been dispatched only to give him detention for a week because Madam Pomfrey had declared the 'blood' on his shirt to be ketchup.

"Besides—if she was who you think she was I would have known—and since I am unaware of the existence of such a fact—I believe there is nothing else to talk about—I shall take your leave—good day," finished Severus a bit furious as Lucius smirked and bid his friend good day, knowing very well that Severus would definitely ponder over this for at least one day, some sort of comeback for calling his golden boy delusional.

AN/- review people—it's been a hard month—I NEED REVIEWS! FEED ME!