October 1946
Saturday mornings were usually reserved for long lie-ins and late breakfasts, but this particular Saturday found practically the entire castle awake early and milling excitedly around the Entrance Hall. Ro could see the Goblet of Fire in the centre of the Entrance Hall as she, Minerva and Poppy came down the Grand Staircase, but the tempting smells of food coming from the Great Hall were enough to drag her away from the Cup long enough to eat breakfast. The extra table was still in the Hall where all the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students were sat, making Ro wonder if once boundaries between the three schools relaxed then the seating plan would too. It certainly had with the House tables; Irma, Septima, and Millicent were far from the only students to switch tables at informal meals. Just from where Ro was sitting then she could see a large group of Gryffindors at the Hufflepuff table and a couple of brave Ravenclaws perched on the end of the Slytherin table.
"I guess we'll be eating French food until July now," Septima said as she sat down, looking at the two croissants Ro had on her plate. Her attention switched to the bowls of grey looking porridge that sat untouched in the middle of the table. "And that must be whatever the Durmstrang lot have for breakfast."
"Maybe that's why they all look so grey," Millicent suggested, to everyone's laughter.
Ro had to agree with her; although they seemed generally interested in the surroundings, most of the Durmstrang students were in clothes of similar shades of brown, and even their haircuts were fairly uniform for the boys and girls. "Could be, though this looks nice," she said, pointing her knife at what looked like fried dumplings.
Poppy huffed slightly, poking her own croissant viciously with her own knife. "I'm beginning to think I won't like French food very much, judging by Minerva's reaction last night."
Minerva groaned as Millicent, Irma and Septima all turned to look at her. "Let's not bring that up. We all know I have a delicate stomach," she muttered. "The soup was nice at the time."
"Oh yeah, that was really rich," Millicent nodded, "Emily wasn't well either, we'll probably take a while to get used to it. Still, I won't complain about the croissants."
Spilling out crumbs down her front from a large mouthful of pasty, Ro mumbled "They're really good."
"Perhaps try to keep it in your mouth then?" Minerva suggested with a wry smile, taking a hesitant bite of her own as Poppy watched her intently.
Ro hastily swallowed another mouthful before replying. "I'm trying to be quick! I want to see who puts their name down, and you're all taking ages!"
"We've only just got here," Septima argued playfully, making a point of eating her cereal painfully slowly. Ro resisted the temptation to elbow her and knock her spoonful of muesli all over the table.
Once Ro was finally able to get them all into the Entrance Hall, it was clear to see that they weren't the only ones watching for who would submit their name from Hogwarts. A great cheer sounded just before they walked through the doorway, so Ro pushed through the crowd for the first person she recognised to find out what she'd missed.
That first person turned out to be Nancy Campbell, who was excitedly waving about a piece of toast as she talked. "Philip Ackerley," she said before Ro even had the chance to ask, pointing to where the Ravenclaw's Quidditch Captain was stood by the Goblet wearing a broad smile. "And-and I think Peggy's going for it!"
Sure enough, Peggy Gilbert appeared behind him and dropped a slip of parchment into the Goblet, causing the flames to change from silvery blue to a purplish red colour for a brief second. There was another wave of applause; Peggy grinned in an embarrassed sort of way before backing into the crowd.
"Have you seen anyone else put their names in?" Minerva asked, appearing beside Ro with Poppy and the others not far behind her.
Nancy nodded. "Alexia Yaxley- that girl from the Slytherin Quidditch Team? I bet she'd be good at it too, she's in my DADA class and no-one can out-duel her. Orion Black was prancing around saying he's already got eternal glory from his family heritage, the pompous git." There was an all-round groan, before Nancy continued with an uncharacteristically nervous smile. "And I put mine in first thing before breakfast. Don't tell Anthea though or she'll lose her mind with worry."
"Good on you," Ro grinned back, nudging her in the arm.
"I think Anthea will be in good company," Minerva said after nodding her congratulations, giving Poppy a pointed though not unfriendly look. "Ro and I are going to try for it, and Poppy's not impressed."
Laughing, Nancy clapped Ro back on the shoulder while giving Poppy a sympathetic glance. "That makes three of us from the Team then! I don't know about the boys, I reckon I could convince Ernest and Cleatus to give it a go but Larry's put his foot down."
"I certainly have," sounded a voice before Larry joined them through the crowd. "You won't catch me doing that. Please don't tell me Nancy hasn't tried to rope you into it too?"
"She didn't need to, Min and I have had it decided since September!" Ro laughed, slinging an arm around Minerva's waist as they both grinned at Larry.
Larry looked exasperatedly between them, his gaze lingering on Minerva for a split second longer. "Well I'm siding with Poppy and Anthea on this one. I value my head, you know."
There was a sudden hushing of the crowd, and Ro stood on tiptoes in an attempt to see what was happening over people's heads. "Here comes Durmstrang," Minerva reported, taking full advantage of her greater height. Ro was able to see them when they reached the Goblet, lining up neatly and submitting their pieces of parchment one by one. Judging by their neutral expressions they were all fairly unbothered by the hoards of Hogwarts students watching them, with the exception of a ginger-haired girl who looked around with the beginnings of a daring smile before following the rest of her school.
"The Beauxbatons lot all put their names in earlier, so it's just Hogwarts students left to go." Nancy reported once the quiet murmurs had started up again following Durmstrang's exit.
Ro nudged Minerva's elbow to catch her attention before speaking in a low voice. "When are we putting our names in?"
"I wouldn't do it just yet, or it'll be around the entire school before midday." Irma said cautiously, and Ro could see she had a point. "The rumour mill is already running wild. Apparently Owle Bullock put his name in first thing this morning but I've heard nothing to confirm or deny."
Covering her mouth with her hand as she hurriedly chewed a mouthful of toast, Nancy nodded. "Grim, that's gone cold. I saw him making a quick exit when I came down to do mine. I'd have thought he'd do it now, he seems like the kind of bloke to want everyone to know."
"Maybe so, but if he doesn't get in he wouldn't want anyone to know someone else was chosen over him." Minerva pointed out.
Irma shook her head. "I doubt he's got enough brain matter to come up with that. It must have been Malfoy's suggestion."
"I think the crowd will die down as it gets later in the day, no-one'll want to stay in and watch from now until the feast this evening. Just don't leave it too late and not get a chance," Poppy warned.
"I thought you'd be begging us to forget," Ro said teasingly, giving her a poke in the shoulder.
Poppy rolled her eyes. "Maybe so, but I'll never hear the end of it if you do so I may as well keep reminding you. If I thought there was any point in protesting I'd have done it back in September."
Larry chuckled slightly as Minerva wrapped an arm around Poppy's shoulder, eliciting the tiniest of smiles from the otherwise thoroughly unimpressed girl. "They've been really careful with safety checks, both my father and Mr Rabnott have made sure everything was age and skill appropriate for students. Apparently it was harder to curb Theodosia Crickerley's enthusiasm-"
"Sounds like someone we know," Millicent butted in, and Ro let out a mock-offended gasp when she realised all eyes were on her.
Larry grinned before continuing. "But anyway, what I mean is that everything's going to be as safe as possible. You needn't worry too much about them, they've made sure that nothing like in past tournaments can happen again."
Poppy huffed but stayed silent, still looking unconvinced.
An unexpected day of good weather meant that they were able to sit outside in the grounds, watching groups of Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students wandering about with curious expressions. Ro almost wished they had gone to either of the other schools for the tournament rather than holding it at Hogwarts; she would have loved to see how the other wizarding schools looked and were run, so could only imagine how the foreign students were feeling while looking around.
By the time lunch came around, Ro and Minerva decided that their time had come. No-one ate much at lunchtime, conscious to save themselves for the Halloween feast that evening, so they didn't spend long in the Great Hall before heading up to Gryffindor Tower. Ro used her favourite quill to write down her full name on a bit of free parchment she had cut off from the bottom of her potions essay, then waited for Minerva to be ready before they all headed back down the Grand Staircase.
Poppy had been right about the crowd dispersing; all that remained of the morning's chaos were numerous first years watching every movement with owlish eyes and a few other pre-OWL students. It appeared that they weren't the only ones who had thought of waiting until later. Joseph Prewett was just putting his name in as the Gryffindor first years clapped excitedly, and after he left he was followed by Sophie Sommerby of Hufflepuff. Alfred Diggory and William Tonks approached the Goblet together, dropped their names in at the same time and high-fived each other before leaving with a few other Hufflepuffs in their year.
The path between Minerva and Ro and the Goblet was now clear, so Ro grabbed Minerva's hand with her own as they walked up to it. Exchanging one last nervous glance, they reached up in unison and added their slips of parchment to the Goblet.
There was another spate of enthusiastic clapping, and Ro looked over to see Robert McGonagall pointing excitedly at them while saying "That's my sister!" to Carlin Anderson and Isaac Wood. Ro bowed deeply at them and Minerva did a shy curtsey before rejoining Poppy, Irma, Septima and Millicent.
The atmosphere of excitement in the castle felt like it had reached an all time high by the evening's feast, when the Hogwarts, Dumstrang and Beauxbaton students piled back into the Great Hall for yet another enormous dinner. Eating didn't seem to be particularly high on anyone's priority list though; Poppy was drumming her fingers on the table while Minerva prodded her potatoes round in circles on her plate, leaving a trail of gravy behind them. By the time Professor Dippet got to his feet, Ro was sure Nancy must have given herself whiplash from the number of times she had snuck a glance in the direction of the staff table. Madame Marguerite and Professor Rykov were looking tense as he approached the Goblet of Fire, which had been placed where the golden lectern usually stood.
"Twenty-four hours have passed since we were last sat here, and I expect the Goblet of Fire will be reaching its decision shortly." Professor Dippet began, silencing the chatter that had begun to break out. "In these last few moments of waiting, I will take the opportunity to wish good fortune to all those who have submitted their names today. When the Champions' names are announced, may the three students selected make their way up beyond the staff table to the door behind where Mr Rabnott is sat. There you will be given your first instruct- ah, here we go!"
The flames of the Goblet had turned red again, as they had done each time a name was submitted. A charred piece of parchment was lifted out by a tongue of maroon fire, which Professor Dippet caught and studied. There had been an awed gasp when the parchment was emitted, but now there was only silence.
"The champion for Durmstrang," Professor Dippet read out, "will be Svetlana Tolstoy."
A loud wave of applause swept the Hall, everyone looking towards the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton's table to see who the name belonged to. The redheaded girl who Ro had picked out earlier rose from the bench, grinning in response to the cheers from her fellow students before squaring her shoulders as she walked up towards the staff table. Professor Rykov gave a single nod in Svetlana's direction as she passed him, then disappeared through the door that Madame Crickerley held open.
The Hall felt quiet once more as the second slip of parchment was shot out of the Goblet. Professor Dippet looked scrutinisingly at it for a second, then he cleared his throat and said "The champion for Beauxbatons will be Reynaud Lemay."
Another round of applause sounded, and Ro craned her neck towards the Beauxbaton's side of the additional table. The person to stand was a tall and slender boy with a mop of dark hair and a nervous but determined expression. Madame Marguerite regarded her champion much more warmly, though Ro didn't think her rosy face was capable of doing anything other than smiling. Ro had to restrain a laugh at the disappointed looking students as Reynaud left for the staff table, a couple of whom who had even started crying.
"Promise me you two won't do that when my name gets picked?" Nancy whispered across the table, causing both Minerva and Ro to giggle quietly. "Seriously though, good luck. Fingers crossed it's a Gryffindor!"
It was as if the entire room was holding its breath as the Goblet's flames turned red once again, bringing out the slip of parchment containing the Hogwarts champion's name. Ro's heart was beating so hard she was convinced everyone could hear it.
"The champion for Hogwarts," said Professor Dippet, then paused slightly as he swept his gaze across the Hall. Ro thought it stopped at the Gryffindor Table for a split second before he continued "is Minerva McGonagall."
The whole of the Gryffindor Table was on its feet, cheering wildly and all looking with beaming grins in Minerva's direction. Minerva herself had gone wide-eyed as she looked almost blankly at Ro. "What?"
"It's you! Get up there!" Ro practically screamed, almost shoving Minerva's back in an effort to get her up. Suddenly seeing to collect herself, Minerva's face broke out into a smile as she clambered up from the bench and walked towards the staff table. Professors Dumbledore and Merrythought were both smiling as she passed them, the twinkle in Professor Dumbledore's eye evident even from the distance.
It was quite some time before Professor Dippet could be heard again, and his polite claps for silence had no effect. "Well then, we now have our three champions. I hope the rest of you, including those from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, will give your champions every ounce of support you can. While only one student from each school will be competing in this tournament, the rest of us can contribute just as importantly outside the ring. Now, you are all free to return to your quarters and the champions will rejoin you shortly, I suspect there will be a great deal of celebrations taking place in the castle tonight."
"Too right there will!" Nancy declared as everyone started getting out of their seats. "No-one's going to want any more food, so let's get the Tower party-ready before Minerva gets back!"
In a surprisingly short space of time, Gryffindor Tower was looking just as bright and festive as it did for their Quidditch parties. Having never seen the preparation for a post-victory celebration due to always getting changed with the rest of her Team, Ro was amazed to see the speed at which everything was organised. The Wireless had been turned up to full volume and a massive banner hung above the staircase, though Anthea had charmed it to read 'Minerva for Champion' rather than the usual 'Lions for the Cup'.
The only person who looked less than happy was Poppy. Ro had been roped into the decorating effort by Nancy and Maggie, charged with flying up on her Rocket to secure Anthea's banner to the ceiling with a sticking charm, so it was a few minutes before she had a chance to check up on her. She found her sat on the bottom step of the girl's staircase, and to Ro's surprise and gratitude Larry was sat on the floor beside her.
"Hey," Ro said quietly, causing both of them to look up at her.
"Hi," Larry replied. Poppy said nothing.
Sighing slightly, Ro sat down on Poppy's other side and placed a hand on her knee. "Talk to me?" she prompted gently.
"I'm scared for her," Poppy almost whispered. "I didn't think she'd get picked, not over the seventh years. What if something happens to her? They said there's a death toll, Ro. This isn't all fun and games anymore." Her gaze darted to the floor, but not before Ro saw blue eyes shining with tears.
Glancing briefly at Ro, Larry started to speak uncertainly. Ro could tell that he shared her misgivings, but was doing his best to put them aside for the moment. "The fact that she was picked shows that she's better than the seventh years; the Goblet chooses the most suitable Champion. If anyone can handle this then Minerva can."
"I know, I know," Poppy nodded, her voice cracking slightly.
"And you heard what Larry said this morning, they'll be safe as houses." Ro added, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Think of it this way- it can't be worse than facing the Slytherins at Quidditch."
Her remark had the desired reaction, with Poppy smiling and laughing softly. "That doesn't reassure me much."
Ro shrugged one shoulder. "Probably not."
The sound of the Fat Lady's voice from beyond the portrait hole caused the whole of the House to turn expectantly in that direction. "She'll need our support if she's going to do this." Ro pointed out, knowing Minerva would be appearing any second.
"And she'll have it," Poppy said with newfound resolve, taking a deep breath before standing. Ro gave Larry a grateful nod before following her towards the portrait hole.
Minerva's arrival began a party that lasted well into the evening, though not quite long enough for Professor Dumbledore to make an appearance as he had done after winning the Quidditch Cup a few months ago. At long last Ro finally managed to rescue Minerva from hoards of excited Gryffindors, dragging her and Poppy into their dormitory. "Go on then, give us the details!" she grinned to Minerva, unable to contain her own curiosity.
"I'm assuming you want to know everything?" Minerva asked with a raised eyebrow, though continued before Ro had the chance to speak. "The first task is in three week's time, but that's all we're being told until the morning."
Ro huffed. "Boring. So what're the other Champions like?"
Minerva considered for a second, untying the red and gold banner that Nancy had tied around her neck like a cloak. "Svetlana reminds me of a cross between you and Irma, if that's possible. From what I've gathered she's quiet but incredibly fearless. Reynaud's a bit more like you, Poppy, he's nervous but quietly brave and chatters a lot."
"Are you saying I'm a blabbermouth?" Poppy asked teasingly, clearly trying her best to be pleased for her friend.
"I said you were brave too so don't complain." Minerva retorted playfully. Her smile faltered slightly when she turned to look at Ro, bringing a quizzical frown to Ro's face. "Are- are you ok that I've been chosen instead of you? I know how much you wanted this."
Ro's eyes widened a second before she laughed, shaking her head. "Of course not you fruitcake! If I had to lose the title to anyone I'd want it to be you."
The relief evident on Minerva's face was almost enough to make Ro laugh again. "Thank goodness for that. I was worried you'd be disappointed."
"Eh," Ro shrugged. "It means I've got the job of getting you ready for the tasks instead- we might not be playing Quidditch properly this year but I'm still your Captain so don't expect the training to let up!"
True to her word, Ro was up early the next morning devising a training programme that would have Minerva match-fit by the end of November. With no clue as to what the first task would involve she decided to include a bit of everything, and the Quidditch Team were only too happy to join in themselves during their bi-weekly practise sessions. Minerva had also been practising her Animagi Transformation to the point where she could switch from human to cat and back in the space of a few short seconds. Several of the Professors had unintentionally helped out with the magical side of Minerva's training; Defence lessons consisted of learning a wide range of more obscure spells that they had never tried before, and Professors Aurelius and Dumbledore followed along the same lines in Charms and Transfiguration. The only less than helpful teacher was Professor Olwen who had picked a bad time to look at omens of bad luck during Minerva and Poppy's Divination lessons, doing nothing to ease Poppy's persistent nerves.
The days seemed to fly by before the first task was suddenly upon them. They were still clueless about what Minerva would be up against, but they had been training hard enough that if Ro were in Minerva's shoes she would have felt ready for anything.
Lessons were on as normal until luchtime, and the atmosphere in the Great Hall reminded Ro of the breakfasts before Quidditch Matches. Minerva was dressed in her Quidditch uniform on Ro's suggestion, though her usual crimson cloak had been substituted for a black one bearing her surname and the Hogwarts crest rather than the Gryffindor one.
Poppy was having no luck trying to convince Minerva to eat something when Professor Dumbledore approached them. "Miss McGonagall, I've been asked to come and bring you down to the grounds. The first task is almost upon us and the champions need some time to prepare before we begin."
"Good luck Minerva," Irma said solemnly, and Septima and Millicent both nodded.
Ro patted Minerva on the shoulder as she stood up. "You've got this Min. We'll come and find you when it's over." Minerva gave them a last nervous smile before following Professor Dumbledore, leaving the table feeling much quieter without her.
It felt like an age before the plates cleared and Professor Merrythought lead the Hogwarts students out of the castle towards the Forbidden Forest, where a makeshift stadium much like the Quidditch Pitch had been erected. But instead of grass, the circular area within the Stands was covered in harsh looking rocks with a steep wall all around them. Professor Dippet, Madame Marguerite, Professor Rykov and Mr Rabnott were already sat at what looked to be a judges' table, leading Ro to assume that Madame Crickerley was giving the champions their instructions.
"So, any ideas yet as to what this is?" Millicent asked, wrapping her scarf tight around her neck.
Ro didn't get time to even shrug, for seconds later the air was filled with a furious roar. It wasn't quite as high-pitched and nightmarish as the so-called 'Slytherin's Monster' had been, but the sound was enough to send a shiver up her spine.
Poppy, on the other hand, had turned a pallid shade of white. "Dragons," she breathed out, "they're fighting dragons."
Slightly concerned she was about to pass out on the spot, Ro put an arm around Poppy's waist to keep her on her feet. "Ah, she's going to be fine," she said casually, though in reality she was starting to feel nervous. This would be no Quidditch match.
"Wizards and witches, welcome to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament!" cried a magically projected voice, courtesy of the newly arrived Madame Crickerley. "This task has been designed to test the daring and bravery of our Champions, and as a result they have found out what they are up against only in these last few minutes. Our first champion will be entering the ring shortly, but first-" she turned towards where there was a large archway in the wall below the stands and the volume of her voice increased to a bellow "-bring in the dragon!"
From under the archway emerged possibly the ugliest lizard that Ro had ever seen. It was a massive hulking beast, dark green and heavily muscled with three golden horns protruding from its face. About a dozen people accompanied the dragon, but at a nod from Madame Crickerley they released the chains around its neck and left the stadium back under the archway. "The champions will be tasked with getting past their dragons and rescuing a golden egg from within their clutched." Madame Crickerley continued, and Ro noticed for the first time a nest of eggs in the centre of the stadium. "Now without further ado, we have Mr Lemay of Beauxbatons Academy against the Romanian Longhorn!"
The crowd cheered wildly, and Ro wasn't sure if she was glad or not that Minerva wasn't going first. Reynaud entered the stadium through a smaller archway, looking incredibly small against the massive beast. There was a moment where both were still, sizing each other up, before Reynaud flicked his wand and shot a number of sparks into the air towards the dragon. If his aim had been to distract it then it worked; the Longhorn looked away, and in a split second Reynaud twirled his wand around his head. A white light shone briefly before he disappeared from view.
"A Disillusionment Charm, very inventive!" said Madame Crickerley, clearly commentating for the Tournament like Maggie Jordan did for inter-house Quidditch. With Reynaud effectively invisible, trying to pinpoint where he was by the scraping of shoe on rock or a breathy gasp was a guessing game for both audience and dragon. Movement of the golden egg caught everyone's eye, and with a deafening roar the dragon swung its horned head around madly. Ro didn't need to see Reynaud to know it had struck its target; the egg was flung away and hit the ground with a metallic clunk, and there was a low howl of pain from Reynaud. His progress was easy to track from spots of blood appearing on the rocks, scooping up the egg and making a quick exit back towards the archway.
There was a great cheer as the seemingly floating egg left the stadium. "An unlucky strike for Mr Lemay- that injury's going to need looking at- but an impressively quick time and some good spellwork! Judges may we have our scores!"
The five judges gave their scores as the Longhorn was subdued and removed from the arena, replaced by a tiny dragon with coppery scales. Ro could tell instantly that it would be fast, with its long legs and eagerly snapping jaw. "Let's hope this is Minerva's," said Irma quietly, and Poppy gave a hurried nod.
"Next up we have Miss Tolstoy from Durmstrang Institute against the Peruvian Vipertooth!"
"No such luck," Ro added under her breath as Svetlana made her appearance. Her stance held none of Reynaud's obvious nerves, standing tall and fearless as she faced down the Vipertooth. She brandished her wand and gave a shout, three blue jets shooting out and causing the rocks behind the eggs to explode into nothing. The dragon squealed and bolted away, leaving the path open between Svetlana and her golden egg.
"Taking advantage of the Vipertooth's flighty nature with some well placed Reductor Curses leave Miss Tolstoy an opening to make her move," Madame Crickerley's voice rang out over the crowd as Svetlana ran at full pelt, scrabbling over the rocks in her way. There was an almighty cheer as she seized the egg and turned back the way she had come, but as with Reynaud the battle wasn't over yet. She had crossed about half the distance between the eggs and the exit when the Vipertooth was suddenly gaining on her fast. With a stockier frame as opposed to Minerva and Reynaud's lankiness, Svetlana clearly wasn't built for running and attempting to outrun the Vipertooth was hopeless. The dragon's jaws closed around her lower leg and brought her crashing to the ground, but she managed to keep a hold of both her egg and wand. She shot a jet of flame towards the dragon's eyes, surprising it and allowing her to drag herself away before she clambered to her feet and ran unsteadily out of the stadium.
There had been a universal gasp as Svetlana was floored, but it turned into raucous applause when she made her exit. "Some excellent spellwork and quick thinking from Miss Tolstoy, but another serious injury that will unfortunately require points to be docked. Let's hope our final champion can escape unscathed!" called Madame Crickerley before the judges' scores were revealed.
"Yes, lets hope," Poppy muttered. At some point during Svetlana's match she had grabbed hold of Ro's hand and was squeezing it so hard Ro was positive she would be left with fingerprint-shaped bruises.
The next dragon to be brought in wasn't as big as the Longhorn Reynaud had been pitted against, but it was large enough to give Ro a fresh wave of nerves. With its steel grey scales it would have almost blended into the rocks if it weren't for the purple eyes and underbelly, though Ro's gaze was mostly fixed on the claw-tipped wings and spiked tail.
"Our final champion of the day: Miss McGonagall of Hogwarts School against the Hebridean Black!"
Minerva entered the stadium to the excited cheering of the Hogwarts Students. Ro didn't think she looked nervous, but there was something about watching one of her best friends facing unavoidable danger while she couldn't do anything to help that made her stomach tie itself into knots.
It quickly became clear that this match wasn't going to be quite the same as the previous two. Minerva had no chance to make a first move before the dragon was already bearing down upon her, aggression in every line of its body, and Minerva dived out of the way just in time to avoid being taken out by the spiked tail. The dragon continued trying relentlessly to get her, forcing Minerva to duck and dive over the uneven terrain to escape the spikes and claws.
Her chance came when she hid behind a large rock and the dragon's tail got stuck in the stone, letting out a breath of purple fire as it tried desperately to free itself. While it was distracted Minerva darted out from behind the rock, transforming into a cat and running straight between its legs and towards the eggs.
The reaction from the crowd was a mixture of renewed excitement and general confusion. "What's this we have here- an Animagus? It'll be interesting to see how the judges react to this!" Madame Crickerley cried, sounding thoroughly impressed.
Ro, on the other hand, was paying no heed to what the judges might think. "Run!" she yelled at Minerva, who was little more than a black blur heading towards the eggs. With her cat hearing there was a chance she might hear her over the din of the audience.
Upon arriving at the eggs Minerva transformed back into her human self; a silly decision, Ro thought, before it occurred to her that there was no way she'd be able to carry the egg as a cat. She scooped it under an arm before making her way cautiously towards the exit of the stadium, where the dragon was still struggling with its tail jammed in the rock. Her wand was drawn as she circled wide around it, poised and ready for the moment its tail became free.
Or so Ro assumed. With a mighty roar the Hebridean pulled its tail free of the rock and lunged for Minerva with a clawed foot. Poppy screamed as it caught her across the shoulder and sent her sprawling to the ground with two massive tears in the back of her Quidditch uniform already pooling with blood. She narrowly avoided a second blow by rolling out of the dragon's reach, throwing the golden egg towards the archway to give herself the freedom to use her Animagus form again. But even with her practise she wasn't quite quick enough and she was kicked squarely in the side seconds after assuming her feline form, careening through the air to land with a skid on her feet. By some miracle she had been flung towards where her egg lay, so after transforming back again she picked the egg back up and was gone under the archway.
"A narrow escape, that's all I can say!" shouted Madame Crickerley over the cheers and applause that resonated from the crowd as soon as Minerva had cleared the arena.
Ro didn't pay attention to the rest of the commentary because a violent tug on her scarf forced her to look into Poppy's face. "Can we go and see her?" Poppy hissed, her tone suggesting she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
They managed to find the champion's tent without a problem, Poppy dragging Ro by the hand and Irma, Septima, and Millicent rushing behind them. The other two champions had already been seen to; Reynaud was sporting a freshly healed weal that stretched from his collarbone to beneath his robes, and Svetlana's bitten leg was heavily bandaged and propped up on a wooden stool. Minerva was sat hunched over on a stool with her elbows resting on her knees with her cloak and jumper removed so she was just in trousers and a blood-soaked vest top.
Irma pulled up another stool to sit next to Minerva, placing a gentle hand on her knee when her presence wasn't acknowledged. "How are you feeling?" she asked gently, to which Minerva nodded.
"Hold still," Madame Quinine ordered, carefully lifting up the vest top to reveal two long wounds gushing with blood and a foot-shaped bruise already blooming on the side of Minerva's ribcage.
"Bloody hell," said Ro before she could stop herself.
Knowing that she would be more of a help than a hindrance, she stayed back while Poppy piled bruise paste onto Minerva's ribs and Madame Quinine cleaned and healed the wounds. "You're all healed but you've lost a lot of blood so sit quietly while I fetch you a blood replenishing potion." Madame Quinine said, observing Minerva's back with a frown. "Miss Pomfrey, make sure she doesn't go off anywhere."
Poppy gave a nod as the Matron left them alone, then used her wand to siphon the blood from Minerva's vest. Ro could tell from the shaking of her hands that it was purely to distract her. "You did well out there," she said after a long pause, her voice tight.
Minerva nodded again, clearly exhausted from her ordeal. "Thanks," she muttered, lifting her head to smile weakly around at them all. Gesturing vaguely behind her she continued "How'd the others do?"
"Well they all got hurt, but probably not as badly as you." Ro said, seeing no point in hiding the negatives. "Reynaud used a Disillusionment Charm that worked a treat, and Svetlana the Reductor Curse and lots of running. You caused the most surprise, though I'm not sure what the judges'll think of it."
Letting out a hollow laugh, Minerva shook her head slightly. "I don't really care if I come last right now. That was more than I thought I'd signed up to."
"You and me both," Poppy snapped, finally losing her temper. "If you hadn't transformed in time then Merlin knows what might have happened! I'm telling you, if this continues for the rest of the year then I'm going to be grey-haired by the ripe old age of 16!"
Ro couldn't help but grin as she took Poppy's wand out of her hands, causing her to yelp in protest. "Your life would be dull if you didn't have us to fuss over," Ro pointed out, giving her a knowing look.
Poppy let out a great sigh as she finally let Ro pull her into a hug. "If you say so," she muttered with a reluctant smile, and for the first time that day there was carefree laughter among them.
Author's Note:
This chapter is 1,400 words longer than the previous longest chapter. Let's let that sink in for a moment.
Being real, I could have easily split the chapter into two halves and they'd still be reasonably sized installments. I do have reasons for not wanting to, the main ones being that I wanted this all from Ro's POV and I don't want to exceed my 10-chapters-per-year limit. Plus, I doubt there'll be another update for at least a month, most likely two, so this bumper update should keep you all happy until then. And one more thing: I updated twice in the space of one month! Miracles can happen xD
So we have Minerva as Hogwarts Champion! I kind of hinted at that when I mentioned my inspiration for including a Tournament in ch 41 so it should come as no surprise. Poppy's reaction couldn't have been anything else in my mind, and I loved that little scene where she, Ro and Larry talked it out. It's probably not too spoilery to say that this year is when Larry really comes into his own- for a random background OC I invented back in first year he's become a very dear and important character. We briefly meet Svetlana and Reynaud in this chapter but they'll be developed more very quickly since I'm very fond of them as characters and I hope you all will be too.
I couldn't think of anything original to use for the first task, so we get an altered version of the canon event. It was fun to write though.
I doubt I'll be back with another update until after the exam period, so I wish good luck to everyone who needs it! Until next time :)