Yo! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! I have brought you the next chapter in like, barely more than a week. That's insane. You know what's more insane? I finished writing this thing three days after posting the previous chapter. I'm going to be honest, all I remember from those three days is writing this and playing a lot of Lego Harry Potter. You know what's more insane? This chapter is 11k words. I usually aim for 4k.
Old readers don't need to be told this, but there are a lot of new readers around. Do not expect quick updates like this. I generally update every six months-not on purpose, that's just how it always seems to go. Me updating this quickly is so rare it's practically a miracle. Also, don't expect chapters to be this long all the time either. It just sort of worked out that way because the entire first task itself is 7k words. This is not normal, so don't expect it to be.
Sorry for the long AN and thank you to all readers so far!
"We need to talk."
Violet paused mid-step in the doorway to the Great Hall. It was the next day and she'd delayed going to breakfast, not wanting to deal with the rest of the school yet. She hadn't found Theodore in the common room and had assumed he'd already gone ahead with Draco, but his voice had called out to her.
She turned and, to her surprise, found not only Theodore but Hermione as well. Both of them were looking at her worriedly and seeing no anger on their faces had Violet relaxing slightly. "What's up?" she asked, trying to be casual.
"Not here," said Theodore. He looked around cautiously at the few people who were milling around the Entrance Hall. Luckily, most weren't Hogwarts students, so they went ignored.
"This way," said Hermione. She took Violet's arm and pulled her out the large front doors, Theodore coming along behind them as they made their way over to the lake.
It was cloudy out, and kind of cold as well, but that was good because it meant no one else was outside, giving them enough privacy to talk without having to worry about being overheard.
"I didn't put my name into the Goblet of Fire," said Violet quickly once they'd stopped at the lakeside.
Theodore and Hermione exchanged a glance. "Of course, you didn't." "We never thought you did," they said at the same time.
"You're good," said Theodore, "but even you're not good enough to get past Dumbledore's age line. Neither's your sister, for that matter."
"Do you know what happened?" asked Hermione. "Did Professor Dumbledore tell you why your names were chosen?"
Relieved that they weren't angry, Violet filled them in on what had been said in the side room the night before. They listened to her quietly, but there was confusion painted across both of their faces.
"Attempted murder?" Hermione repeated, looking horrified. "But-oh, well, I suppose that makes sense for your sister if You-Know-Who is the one behind this, but..."
"Why would he put your name in the Goblet?" Theodore asked, taking over. "I mean, if he thinks you and your sister are close, then I'd understand, but I don't see any reason for him to target you."
"I...don't think it was Voldemort," said Violet hesitantly. "Or, well, I don't know why it would be him. He doesn't...really have a reason to kill us. Well, unless he's changed his mind."
Theodore frowned. "What do you mean the Dark Lord doesn't want to kill either of you? Rose is the Girl-Who-Lived! Doesn't that give him every reason to go after her?"
"Yeah, about that..." Violet looked around, making sure they were alone, but the only person she saw was Krum swimming in the lake. He wasn't going to be able to hear them while he was underwater like that.
"Violet?" Hermione looked worried again.
"So, um-" Violet bit the inside of her cheek, struggling with herself. She'd told them about what life was like for her at Starlight, and she'd told them about what had happened during the Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets incidents, but she hadn't actually told them the more important parts-like everything involving Voldemort.
She'd known all along that she would have to tell them eventually, but now that the moment had come, she was struggling to admit it. It wasn't trust that was making this hard, though. There was more to it than that.
She swallowed hard, then took a breath. "Rose isn't the Girl-Who-Lived," she blurted out before she could stop herself again. "I am." But when she was met with pure confusion, she elaborated quickly. "Voldemort told me during the whole Philosopher's Stone thing. He said he knew his killing curse hit me and not Rose."
"But-but then why is your sister the one-?" Hermione tried to ask.
Violet shook her head. "I have no idea," she admitted. "Voldemort doesn't know either. I figured maybe it was because of her scar. You know, the one on her forehead? She didn't have that before the attack when our parents were killed. Somehow, Dumbledore knew the killing curse was used, and since both of us were alive and Rose had that injury, everyone started thinking she was the one who'd done whatever."
"Wait," said Theodore. He was frowning deeply, his brow furrowed. "Wait, so- The Dark Lord told you this himself?"
"Yeah."
"And you believe him?"
"I do," said Violet with another nod. "It...makes sense, and he doesn't have any real reason to lie about it."
"What if he is lying though?"
"He isn't," said Violet firmly. She looked at the lake again, where Krum was either being chased by the Giant Squid or was racing him. "When we were in that weird room where we found out Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort, Quirrell could touch Rose with no problem.
"But when I touched him, his skin...burned. That was-was how Quirrell died. Voldemort said that was proof that I'm the Girl-Who-Lived. If it was Rose, then the reactions should've been reversed."
"But, why haven't you told the Headmaster, then?" asked Hermione, confused all over again. "He seems to think Rose is the Girl-Who-Lived, and she's getting all sorts of privileges because of it. Shouldn't you tell him he made a mistake?"
"I didn't tell him because I don't trust him," said Violet bluntly, and Hermione's jaw snapped shut. "Look at how he's treated me," she said, gesturing around her. "Putting me in the orphanage while Rose got to stay with family, putting her on the quidditch team, giving her our dad's invisibility cloak. I'm sure there are plenty of other things I don't even know about."
"Isn't that exactly why you should tell him?" said Hermione hesitantly. "If the Headmaster knows he made a mistake, then-"
"What will he do, though?" asked Violet. "Ship Rose off to an orphanage and send me to live with our aunt and uncle instead? Take her off Gryffindor's quidditch team and force me onto Slytherin's team? Steal the cloak from Rose and give it to me? I may not like Rose, but it isn't like I want her to suffer."
"On top of that, how would he explain things to the public?" said Theodore, who Violet knew was more on her side of not trusting Dumbledore, just by default. "Everyone's spent like, thirteen years thinking Rose is the Girl-Who-Lived. You've seen yourself how much people love her. There's no way they'll take it well."
Violet scratched her chin. "Plus, is there even a reason to tell him?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Voldemort already knows it's me. He's had plenty of chances to kill me too. If he wanted to do it-if he wanted to kill either of us, he would've done it. But he didn't even try. Dumbledore wasn't even in the country when we were dealing with the Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort could have killed us then. Instead, Rose was hit with the stunning spell and he told me I'm the Girl-Who-Lived. Why bother if he wants either or both of us dead?"
"And think of last year, Hermione," said Theodore. "I know you were the one with the time-turner, but why did he send you guys back to save Sirius Black and Hagrid's hippogriff? Why didn't Dumbledore just take the thing and do it himself? It might've been illegal, sure, but no one was going to be able to stop him. He's Dumbledore."
"Y-you're right," said Hermione slowly. She looked at Violet. "We did talk about that a little when we went back in time, didn't we? I even agreed that it was strange." She bit her lip, still clearly hesitating.
"What exactly do you think about the Dark Lord then, Violet?" asked Theodore curiously.
And so, Violet told them the truth. She told them about the conversations she'd had with Quirrellmort in their first year about magic and magical cores, adding that he'd gotten her the book on magical cores and the different types of magic.
She told them about what he'd said while in the Philosopher's Stone chamber-that the stone was fake, that he remembered her moving in front of Rose and being hit by the killing curse, about how they would meet again.
She told them about what happened in the Chamber of Secrets and what Diary Tom had told her. That he'd said his future self probably had plans in motion that weren't going as planned, that he'd told her to destroy the diary, that she'd been warned not to look Dumbledore in the eyes because he liked getting into people's minds that way.
And she told them how she really felt about Voldemort. How she wasn't afraid of him. How she didn't hate him. How she hadn't forgiven him, but also wasn't exactly against him doing whatever he was doing. How she honestly wasn't sure what she felt about the entire thing.
"But why didn't you just tell us this after the Chamber of Secrets stuff happened?" said Theodore in confusion. "You told us about other things, right? Did you just not trust us or something?"
Violet shook her head quickly and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "It wasn't about trust. I did trust you guys, it was more just..." She sighed. "I was scared," she forced herself to admit. "I was scared about how you would react if I told you what I thought about Voldemort and everything he's told me."
"You thought-you thought we would hate you?" Hermione said, looking genuinely hurt.
Violet felt a pang of guilt, but she nodded. "Wouldn't you normally not be okay if someone had no issues with the person who killed their parents and tried to kill them?"
Theodore rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll admit I don't fully get why you're more on the Dark Lord's side than Dumbledore's, even considering everything, but it isn't going to make me hate you." He shrugged. "Father already expects me to become a Death Eater anyway."
"I...I don't understand this at all," said Hermione slowly, "but while I'm confused, I don't hate you either. I know you have your reasons. It's just that I was always taught to respect anyone who had authority, so this is-it's very strange for me."
"And now that we know about this," said Theodore, "we can move past it and onto more important things. Like keeping you alive in this dumb tournament."
Violet blinked. "You guys really aren't mad at me?"
"None of this is your fault," said Hermione reassuringly. "It's-it's the adults who're to blame, aren't they? Theodore's right. We're all on the same page now, so we can get past this. You don't know what the first task is, right? That means we need to make sure you've brushed up on every spell we've learned so far, just in case you need it."
Violet looked between her friends in surprise, unable to even describe how relieved she was. She'd been terrified that they would be afraid of her or that they would hate her if she ever told them the full truth, but here they were, still standing by her side, even if they were a bit confused.
She'd told them that it'd been more a matter of fear than trust, but maybe that wasn't quite true. Maybe there had still been a small part of her that had been struggling to put her full trust in them, even if most of her agreed that they were trustworthy.
Violet was glad she'd been able to bring herself to tell them everything. She hadn't paid much attention to it, but it felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. If they trusted her enough to stay friends with her despite what she'd told them about Voldemort, then she was sure she could trust them with pretty much anything.
And they were right. There were other things to worry about right now too. She had a lot to not only brush up on but learn as well, and she had less than a month to do it. The first task was barely three weeks away.
True to their word, Theodore and Hermione made sure she practiced every last spell they'd learned since their first year, no matter how useless the spell was likely to be. With no idea what the first task was, everything was better than nothing. But they weren't the only ones helping her.
Neville and Luna both approached her later that same day and told her they believed she hadn't entered herself into the tournament, much to Violet's relief. Fred, George, and Ginny all reassured her they were on her side as well.
After that, Neville ended up teaching her all about different plants, weeds, and fungi, while Luna taught her about various magical creatures (some of which Violet was half convinced didn't exist, but was too polite to question).
The bigger relief, however, was when it turned out her Housemates (most of them, at least) believed her as well, and many of the seventh years-the same ones who'd taken up bodyguard duty, took it upon themselves to teach her more advanced magic. They couldn't go too far, partially because they were only seventh years themselves and partially because she was only a fourth year, but they did try.
Violet couldn't say how much of what she was learning would be useful during the first task, or even the other two tasks, but she was going to be nothing if not well-equipped, that was for sure.
The rest of the castle, meanwhile, was in a bit of a mess. At first, they shunned both Violet and Rose, deciding that both of them had entered themselves into the tournament for attention and to steal glory from anyone else who could have been chosen.
As Violet had expected, that shunning didn't last for very long. They continued to shun her, of course, but that was nothing new. She was a Slytherin, after all. But Rose was welcomed back with open arms barely a week later as if nothing had happened.
"It's probably because they realized they have no one else to support," said Hermione with a sniff.
She, Violet, and Theodore were in an empty classroom, practicing the summoning charm, and were chatting about everyone's fickle behaviour regarding Rose.
"Unless they choose not to bother with school pride," Theodore added with a snicker. "They'll probably go for Krum in that case."
Violet sighed. "Yeah, I guess they had no choice. It's either the Girl-Who-Lived or the Slytherin, after all. You have to go with the lesser of the two evils, even if you're still pissed. Accio!"
"Oh! Well done! You've really gotten the hang of it," Hermione praised. She summoned a chair to herself from across the room as well. "The Ravenclaws are mostly supporting Rose too," she said once the chair was in front of her. "And Neville mentioned that the Hufflepuffs are as well."
"Can't say I expected otherwise," said Violet with a shrug. "It's like I said. Rose is the lesser of two evils. I didn't think anyone except people who like me and most Slytherins would support me, and even the latter of those was kind of surprising. I honestly thought they'd turn on me."
"Guess Snape really was onto something when he talked about House loyalty," said Theodore with a grin, and Violet laughed.
She couldn't say things were looking up, exactly, but at least things weren't as bad as she'd been expecting them to be. Yet.
Three weeks passed by worryingly quickly and before Violet knew it, it was the night before the first task. She knew she was about as prepared as she could be for a task she knew nothing about, but she couldn't help but feel anxious.
She was never going to forgive the person who'd forced her into this tournament. Even if that person ended up being Voldemort, though she still couldn't see why it would be.
As she'd said to Theodore and Hermione, he had no reason to try to kill her or Rose. Since she was the Girl-Who-Lived, she was the one who was a threat to him, which meant he didn't need to go after Rose at all, but she'd already made it pretty clear that she wasn't going to do anything to harm him either.
Not that she could even if she wanted to.
So, why would it be him? No, it had to be someone else. There was a chance it was still a Death Eater, especially since both she and Rose had been entered. After all, it wasn't as if they knew Voldemort didn't need or want them dead.
Considering the raid and the Dark Mark that had been cast in the sky over the summer, the Death Eaters were definitely active again. Maybe one of them had thought they could get a leg-up on making their Lord happy by targeting her and Rose, unaware that Voldemort had changed his mind on the matter.
Violet did consider Dumbledore being the culprit, but she brushed that thought away quickly. Rose was being targeted as well-their names had even been written on the same slip of parchment. Dumbledore had made it very clear how precious the Girl-Who-Lived was. Why would he put Rose in harm's way like this? There was no reason for it.
And besides that, there wasn't any reason for Dumbledore to enter them. Either of them. Even if he was wrong about who the Saviour was, and even if it was obvious Rose was the favourite, he had no reason to target Violet either.
No, a Death Eater seemed more likely, especially since both of them had been entered. It was the only logical answer, in Violet's opinion. But who that Death Eater was, she had no clue.
The only Death Eater she'd met was Lucius Malfoy, but she doubted it was him. She knew some of the Slytherins had Death Eater parents, but most of those Slytherins seemed to mostly like her, so she couldn't say why it would be any of them either, unless those Slytherins had just never told their parents they were okay with her.
Theodore's father was a candidate too, she figured. Unlike Theodore, he was pure scum. He would never care if she and Theodore were friends, so long as what he did helped him achieve his goals.
If he thought getting her and Rose killed in the tournament would please Voldemort enough to not kill him or help him accept Theodore as a Death Eater, Violet thought it perfectly possible for him to be the one behind it.
"There is another Death Eater in the castle," said Theodore quietly. They were sitting near one of the windows in the corner of the common room, watching the Giant Squid play with some fish in the lake.
"There is? Since when?" asked Violet, both curious and surprised.
"He hasn't been around long," said Theodore. He glanced around, but no one was paying them much attention. "It's Karkaroff. According to father, at least."
Violet frowned. "Karkaroff, huh? Somehow, that isn't as surprising as I thought it'd be. He does look kind of..."
"Suspicious?"
"Yeah." Frown deepening, Violet tapped her fingers on the chair's arm. Karkaroff was certainly a possibility, but he'd seemed legitimately angry when her and Rose's names had been chosen. Had he been acting?
There were too many possible suspects and as far as Violet was aware, no clues at all. At this rate, the only way she would find out who it was, was if that person came out and admitted it. And there was nothing she could do about that either.
Mind whirling, Violet made her way over to the Champion's tent the next morning. The tent had been set up next to the stadium which, in turn, had been erected on the quidditch pitch. Krum was already there, but Fleur was right behind her and Rose arrived barely a moment later.
It didn't look like any of them had gotten any sleep last night.
"Oh, good, everyone's already here," said Bagman, entering the tent with Crouch. He flashed them a grin. "Are you all ready?"
There were vague nods and sounds of general agreement, but no one spoke. Bagman either didn't notice or chose to ignore their less-than-cheerful states.
"Now," he said excitedly. "Your first task will be a sort of capture the flag gauntlet. You'll go through three rounds where you'll have to get past a magical creature to obtain a flag. That's the goal-getting all three flags, one per round. You can incapacitate the creatures, distract them, or just plain pray you're quick enough to run past them. Isn't that right, Barty?"
"Yes, yes," said Mr Crouch uninterestedly. "Points will be awarded based on how quickly each round is completed. Points will be awarded based on the spells used. Points will be removed if you are injured. Points will be removed if the creatures are permanently injured."
"Does that all make sense?" asked Bagman.
They nodded mutely. Honestly, it seemed like they were all irritated by Bagman's enthusiasm.
"Now, to determine the order you'll compete in!" said Bagman.
Crouch held out his hand in which he held four folded slips of paper. "Each has a number between one and four," he said. "Choose."
Rose reached first before anyone else could, grabbing one of the chits. Krum went second. Exchanging a glance, Fleur and Violet reached together, taking the chit closest to them. Unfolding hers, Violet saw the number four.
"What number did everyone get?" asked Bagman, already beaming again.
"One," said Rose.
"Four," said Violet.
"Three," said Fleur.
"Two," said Krum.
"Then the order has been determined! Rose will compete first, followed by Viktor, and then Fleur, and finally, Violet." Bagman grinned. "Ready? Let's get things started!"
Seconds later, the four competitors were left alone in the tent, staring at the number on the little pieces of paper that had determined their less-than-pleasant fates.
Violet wasn't sure if she was relieved that she got to go last or not.
On the one hand, it gave her more time to think of a plan (although, it wasn't easy, considering she didn't know which magical creatures she was going to have to contend with), but on the other hand it also only gave her more time to get anxious.
The other unfortunate thing was that because she had to go last, she wasn't going to be able to watch the others competing, which meant she couldn't get any ideas from them either.
"This sucks," said Rose with a scowl.
Violet kind of agreed. Thank Salazar Luna had taught her about magical creatures. Hopefully, that would come in handy.
Severus was not in a good mood. Stuck in the stands, trapped listening to the masses screaming their irritating little heads off, he was starting to want to throttle someone, but he couldn't leave either. Albus' orders.
He didn't know much of anything regarding the task he was about to watch. He knew it had something to do with magical creatures, and he assumed dragons were going to be involved, as he'd spotted Charlie Weasley earlier, but he could say nothing more.
Watching as Crouch joined the Headmasters and Headmistress at the judging bench, Severus sighed and then grimaced when Bagman's magically amplified voice boomed through the stadium. He could already feel a headache coming on.
Bagman went on for a moment or two, explaining what the task was, though he wasn't overly detailed about the matter, saying only that the champions had to get past a magical creature and collect a flag, and that they had to do so three times.
It seemed simple enough at its core, but of course, the task's difficulty depended on the creatures more than anything else. And if dragons were going to be involved, well, it was a good thing he'd recently prepared some burn salve.
"So, with that, let's welcome our first competitor!" Bagman called. "Rose Potter!"
Severus raised a brow. Already one of the Potter girls, eh? Beside him, Minerva tensed.
Potter walked into the stadium, not quite managing a saunter, her face just a little paler than normal. She stopped in the centre of the stadium and grinned at the crowd, who was cheering for her loudly.
That grin vanished instantly when a large door at the other end of the stadium opened and a shadow appeared, growing larger and larger as the creature approached. Potter was watching it too, drawing her wand.
There was a tense silence as everyone waited to see what the beast was. There was a multitude of options and Severus went over the pros and cons of dozens of them before the creature finally revealed itself.
...A hippogriff.
"Is that it?" It was Ron Weasley who spoke first, but he was quickly echoed by many others.
Severus frowned. Hippogriffs could certainly be dangerous, but this was hardly going to be a challenge. Potter and her fellow fourth years had learned how to handle them just last year.
The girl looked relieved and, lowering her wand, stepped closer to the sandy feathered hippogriff that had come to a stop near the back of the stadium. Behind it, on top of a large grey rock, was a small red flag. This was, no doubt, the flag Potter was to collect.
Stopping a few safe feet away from the hippogriff, Potter bowed respectfully and after a not-so-tense fifteen seconds, the hippogriff bowed in return. With that, Potter grinned, hurried past the creature, and clambered up the rock to grab the red flag.
"Round one complete! Well done, Rose!" Bagman exclaimed.
Well done? She'd done nothing but bow. Biting his tongue, Severus watched as the creature handlers coaxed the hippogriff back to the door it had come from, leaving Potter alone. A moment later, the door opened again, this time revealing a different creature.
A sphinx.
She was a tall creature with the body of a lion and the head of a rather beautiful woman with long brown hair. Walking tall, ignoring the spectators, she paused in front of the large grey rocks at the opposite end of the stadium from where Potter stood and settled down delicately, resting her head on her forepaws.
Severus frowned again. Sphinxes were far more dangerous than hippogriffs, but they were also relatively easy to get past. They didn't care for violence but they enjoyed games. So, as long as Potter was able to play along, she would surely be fine. This too didn't seem like a particularly difficult challenge.
Slowly, Potter scrambled down the rock she was standing on and wand again in hand, carefully approached the still very much relaxed sphinx.
"Pose me a riddle and an answer I shall give thee," said the sphinx. Her voice was light and soft but carried surprisingly far.
Potter's eyes widened. "A-a riddle? U-uh... Um..."
Was it that hard to think of a suitable riddle?
"Ooh! What gets wetter the more it dries?" asked Potter eagerly.
Really?
"...A towel, my dear," replied the sphinx.
"Right!" Potter exclaimed with a grin. "Can I get past now?"
"You cannot pass," said the sphinx, "until you have answered a riddle of my own."
Potter's smile vanished. "O-oh. Okay. Er, go ahead, then."
"Alive without breath, as cold as death; never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail, never clinking. What am I?"
As Potter paled, Severus frowned. This sounded familiar. The answer was simple, of course, he'd figured it out instantly, but still, this riddle was very familiar. Where had he heard it? Was it a book? Yes, something was telling him he'd come across it in a book once.
"Fish, Miss Potter, fish," Filius muttered from Severus' other side. "Come now, it's simple."
Yet despite the obvious answer, Potter floundered, pacing around as she attempted to think. A spell must have been put up to prevent outside interference because many Ravenclaws and Slytherins looked very amused by Potter's inability to answer the riddle.
The sphinx lay still, observing Potter quietly, smiling at her gently and in a way Severus could only describe as indulgent.
This was a strange task. Sphinxes enjoyed riddles and puzzles, but not ones that were this easy. They enjoyed the game of it. They enjoyed having to think and having to make others think. But very little thought was required for the riddles Potter had asked and been asked.
Why were these rounds so easy?
He knew changes had been made to the tournament to ensure it would be safer than in previous years, but had it been made that safe? This wasn't going to be much of a challenge for the others.
From what he'd heard, there was a chance Krum would struggle with the riddles as well, but Delacour was likely to get through the round easily enough, and he would be amazed and extremely disappointed if his Potter failed to answer the riddles herself.
After nearly five minutes, Potter stopped. Then she ran, bolting past the sphinx, making a beeline for the rock with the red flag on top of it.
But the sphinx reacted so fast, Severus barely saw it. She leapt to her feet and swiped at Potter, who cried out and stumbled as the creature's sharp claws caught her left shoulder. Potter didn't stop running though, and she reached the top of the rock before the sphinx could catch her, grabbing the second flag.
"And she does it again!" called Bagman. "One more round to go, Rose!"
Just like with the hippogriff, the handlers coaxed the sphinx into leaving through the door she had come through. Potter gripped her bloodied left shoulder, watching, and it was now that Severus realized something.
Potter hadn't used a single spell yet.
This tournament was meant to judge the competitors' use of magic, but so far, Potter had gotten through the first two rounds of this task by bowing and running. How many points could she possibly earn?
But Potter had no choice but to use magic when it came to the third creature because this time, the beast that lumbered through the large door was nothing less than the dragon Severus had been suspecting he would see.
It was a Swedish Short-Snout, Severus recognized, grimacing when the audience's cheers grew louder. For a moment, Potter looked about ready to cry. But then she released her bloody shoulder and raised her wand.
"Accio Firebolt!"
Well, that was better than nothing, Severus thought, and it was probably one of the best spells she could have cast. Potter seemed to have the sense to know that attacking the dragon directly was useless-she wasn't nearly powerful enough to affect it. Flying could provide an excellent distraction if she was quick enough.
And she was.
Catching her broom as it flew towards her, she mounted it quickly and shot off at the dragon-ever the Gryffindor. She hovered just out of reach of the dragon's claws, swaying from left to right whenever the dragon made a move to swipe at her.
Then, without warning, she shot forward and down, easily grabbing the flag before the Swedish Short-Snout could even turn around. She shot back across the stadium, out of range of the dragon's fire and landed on the opposite rocks as the dragon handlers hurried out, holding up the flag triumphantly.
"And she's done it!" Bagman exclaimed excitedly. "Rose Potter has managed to complete the first task!"
Potter was swiftly escorted to the healer's tent to deal with her injured shoulder as the crowd cheered, and Severus watched absently as the dragon handlers began leading the Swedish Short-Snout back through the door.
Before Severus had time to think over what he'd seen, Potter was back and her scores were displayed for her and everyone else to see.
Crouch gave her a five out of ten. Bagman gave her a ten out of ten. Karkaroff gave her a three out of ten. Maxime gave her a four out of ten. Albus gave her a ten out of ten. Her total score was thirty-two out of fifty. It wasn't a bad score, but it was certainly a questionable one.
Potter had used one spell throughout the entire task. He couldn't fault her for the simplicity of the spell-she was a fourth year, after all, and considering she would have learned the summoning charm only days ago, using it to summon her broom from so far away should have been a considerable challenge. Getting injured would have lowered her score as well.
But she absolutely did not deserve the perfect score that both Albus and Bagman had given her. Karkaroff's three seemed too harsh, but he wasn't sure if he would have gone with Maxime's four or Crouch's five if he were the one judging.
"Now, for our second challenger!" Bagman announced. "Viktor Krum!"
Ah, now this would be more interesting. How would Krum handle the hippogriff, sphinx, and Swedish Short-Snout? He was four years older than Potter and therefore knew more magic. But as Potter had proven, magic wasn't necessary when it came to the first two creatures and was extremely difficult to use when it came to the dragon.
Krum walked out, a scowl already visible on his face and his wand clutched in his hand. He stopped, eyes immediately locking on the dark blue flag on the rock on the other side of the stadium. Then the large door opened and much to Severus' surprise, the creature that emerged wasn't a hippogriff. It wasn't a sphinx or dragon either.
It was a troll.
Were the competitors all dealing with different creatures?
Krum remained impassive, staring down the troll, and Severus was just glad that he was seated far enough to not have to smell the thing. Still, he was curious to see what Krum would do.
Trolls had thick skin, so not many spells worked on them if being cast by one wizard. It wasn't quite as bad as it was with dragons, but it was still going to be tricky.
Krum's solution, however, ended up being remarkably simple. He used the levitation charm on the troll's club and used it to knock the beast unconscious, thereby allowing him to simply walk past it and collect the flag from the top of the rock behind it.
Severus wasn't sure if he was surprised by the easy answer or not.
Krum wasn't a bad student, from what he'd heard, but he was certainly no Granger. He wasn't going to get many points for using the levitation charm-even Potter's summoning charm had been more advanced, but there were few ways a single wizard could take out a troll without resorting to powerful magic, which Krum was unlikely to know, or dark magic, which was, of course, illegal.
But Severus didn't have much time to think about what Krum should have or could have done because it wasn't long before the next creature came out. And this one made Severus' eyes widen in surprise.
"A chimaera?" said Minerva in shock.
"They had a dragon," said Filius.
"Well, yes, but still-"
"Look at it this way, Minerva," said Severus casually. "Better Krum deal with the chimaera than one of the Potters, no?"
"Severus!"
"What?" But he said nothing more and turned his attention back to Krum and the chimaera.
Despite his cavalier words, Severus was still surprised to see the chimaera. It was larger than Krum, with the body and head of a lion, a goat's head on its back, and a snake as its tail. They were rare creatures and dangerous as well.
Krum hadn't moved. He kept his eyes on the chimaera which had stopped in the middle of the stadium. It was looking at Krum as well, though it hadn't quite raised its guard yet.
Unlike a troll, a chimaera was far more susceptible to magic, but that didn't mean this was going to be easy. All three of the chimaera's heads were incredibly dangerous, and for different reasons as well.
The snake's head was venomous, the goat's head could cast magic, and the lion's head could breathe fire. Cutting off the snake's head first would be an excellent place to start, seeing as it would completely ruin the creature's sense of balance. But Krum couldn't do that. He couldn't do anything to permanently harm the chimaera, and cutting off one of its heads would certainly cause permanent harm.
The chimaera took on a defensive stance when Krum didn't move and then, perhaps taking Krum's lack of backing down as a threat, leapt forward.
Krum just barely managed to side-step, but he stumbled as he did, far less graceful on the ground than he was on a broom, and the tail whipped at him, the snake's jaw clamping down on Krum's thigh.
With a shout of pain, Krum shot a stunning spell at the snake's head and it fell to the dirt with a heavy-sounding thump. Backstepping quickly, Krum shot another stunning spell at the chimaera, this time aiming for the goat's head.
The red bolt hit the target, but the goat's head wasn't affected and it started chanting out a spell of its own. Thinking surprisingly quickly, Krum hit it with a silencing spell before backing away even further as the chimaera lunged at him.
The lion's head breathed fire out at him and Krum, who'd been trying to keep the weight off his injured leg, was forced to leap behind a boulder to get away. But he used the cover to his advantage and shot another stunning spell at the goat's head.
It worked this time and the goat's head flopped sideways, no longer supporting itself. The chimaera was completely thrown off-balance now and was no longer able to walk straight.
The creature roared and sent more fire at Krum, but the boy ducked behind the boulder and just as the flames stopped, shot another stunning spell, this time at the lion's head.
The chimaera stumbled but ultimately fell heavily and, not waiting to make sure it was down, Krum ran to the dark blue flag sitting on a large rock at the far end of the stadium.
Bagman called the victory of the round the instant Krum's fingers closed around the flag and the creature's handlers came rushing out to take the unconscious chimaera away.
The field cleared out a few minutes later, leaving Krum alone again. But not for long. That was when the dragon came out, a Chinese Fireball this time.
"Another dragon, eh?" said Severus, mostly to himself. Maybe all four of the competitors were going to have to get through a dragon on their third round of the task. Potter had done the same, though her dragon had been a different breed.
Would Krum do the same as Potter? Would he opt to summon a broom and fly as well? It would be the smart thing to do. He wasn't powerful enough to attack the dragon head-on either and, like Potter, he too could fly well.
But he didn't fly.
Instead, after spending a fair few minutes hidden behind a boulder, Krum aimed a conjunctivitis curse at one of the dragon's eyes. That ended up being both a good and a bad thing.
The good thing was that eyes were a dragon's weak point, and just about the only bit Krum could target while on his own. The bad thing was that while it didn't cause any permanent damage, the conjunctivitis curse was still incredibly painful.
The dragon stomped and thrashed about in pain, the ground shaking as Krum struggled to take advantage of the dragon's pain and limp his way over to the large rock behind the creature where his final dark blue flag was situated.
He stumbled and tripped more than once, the injured leg likely bothering him more and more, but he made it a few slow and tense seconds later. Once again, as soon as he had the flag in hand, the dragon's handlers hurried out to take care of the agonized creature.
"And Krum's done it again!" Bagman called. "Now, the scores-ah, here we are."
Crouch gave him a seven. Bagman gave him an eight. Karkaroff gave him a ten. Maxime gave him a four. Albus gave him a seven. His total score was thirty-six out of fifty.
He'd done four points better than Potter. Karkaroff's perfect score was nothing more than blatant favouritism (as Albus' had been with Potter), but Maxime's four was too harsh. The sevens and eight he received were far fairer, and were well deserved, Severus thought.
"Well," said Minerva with a heavy sigh. "That's two done."
"Halfway there," said Filius with a nod.
Poppy, who'd hurried out with the dragon handlers, rushed to Krum and all but shoved a potion down his throat.
"The venom from a chimaera's tail is extremely dangerous," Severus said when Minerva looked at him.
"I knew this tournament was a bad idea," Minerva muttered.
"Don't pretend as if you weren't as excited as everyone else, Minerva!" said Filius with a laugh.
"Now! Please welcome our third challenger, Fleur Delacour!" Bagman announced.
"Here we go again," Filius muttered as Delacour made her way out.
A new flag had appeared on the rock at the far end of the stadium, this one a pale purple, and Delacour looked around and froze when the far door opened, allowing in the first creature.
What was it going to be this time, Severus wondered. They'd already seen a hippogriff, a sphinx, a troll, a chimaera, and two dragons. If he was right and all four had to get through a dragon, they weren't going to send it out until the third round.
But to Severus' surprise, the creature that emerged was a cat. A hairless black cat with large blue eyes, that padded over to a patch of sunlight in front of the rock with the flag on it and settled down to rest. He frowned.
"A matagot?"
"Matagot?" Minerva repeated. "I'm not familiar."
"I don't know enough to say where they come from," Severus admitted. "I'm only aware that they guard the French Ministry. They're harmless for the most part but are vicious when provoked. They're resistant to magic as well, and they multiply when attacked."
"Can she just walk past it?" asked Filius curiously.
"That is...difficult to say," said Severus, watching the creature closely. "If Delacour isn't deemed as a threat, it may well allow it, but because they tend to be used as guards, it may not be that simple. Don't allow its appearance to deceive you. The creature is dangerous."
But Delacour seemed to know exactly what to do. Keeping a safe distance away, she transfigured a small rock into a plate and another into a goblet. Then she summoned the chicken leg Weasley was about to start eating in the stands and set it down on the plate.
"My chicken!"
Delacour ignored him. Using aguamenti, she filled the goblet with water and then stood back, waiting. It took a moment, but finally, the matagot stood and approached the food. It sniffed at the chicken and water and then, two long minutes later, it dipped its head at Delacour and began to eat.
Severus could practically hear the girl's sigh of relief as she carefully walked past the feasting matagot and headed for the rock where she swiftly claimed her first flag.
"And she's gotten through the first round! Good job!" Bagman called enthusiastically.
"Why did that work?" asked Minerva. "I wouldn't say no to a good bit of chicken, but that was certainly unexpected."
"There is a...legend, of sorts," said Severus. "There are matagots that are specifically known for bringing wealth. If one takes it home and allows it to eat first at every meal, it will provide them with a solid gold coin. It seems while not entirely accurate, there is some truth to the legend."
Delacour was fortunate to get a fairly easy first round, or at least, a round where she happened to know enough about the creature to get through it quickly and safely. But she didn't have long to relax before the second creature emerged.
A griffin.
Where had they gotten all of these creatures from? Half of them were not so easily obtained or even captured in general.
Like most of the creatures so far, the griffin was rather large and had the front legs, wings and head of a giant eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion. Its hairs were brownish-yellow, and its feathers were brown and white.
"Well, this may not be too bad," said Filius, head cocked slightly. "Griffins are dangerous, but they can be befriended, from what I recall. They're related to hippogriffs, aren't they?"
"She won't have time to befriend it," said Minerva. "That takes much too long. She'll have to get past it some other way."
Delacour seemed to know that though, as she set off the smokescreen spell. Severus raised a brow. That wasn't a bad choice. Like predatory birds in general, griffins relied on their vision to hunt. The smokescreen compromised that vision. The problem was that it could still hear her. But Delacour had a way around that as well.
Pointing at her shoes, the girl cast a muffling charm, and Severus noticed Minerva nod in approval. Another good choice. Griffins didn't have a particularly strong sense of smell, so as long as she was careful, there was no reason Delacour wouldn't be able to get past.
She moved slowly, seemingly aware that the muffling charm on her shoes wasn't failproof. Slowly, carefully, Delacour, inched her way across the stadium and the griffin, perhaps confused by the smokescreen, struggled to find its way through.
But the smoke soon began to dissipate because of the breeze. Delacour was forced to cast fumos again, and the griffin became aware of her location thanks to her speaking the incantation out loud. Did she not know how to cast non-verbally?
Then the smoke confused it again and this time, seeing she was close to her goal, Delacour ran, scrambling up the rock just as the griffin broke through the smoke and screeched, spotting her. But it was too late and Delacour grabbed the purple flag, ending the round.
The dragon emerged just moments later, a Common Welsh Green this time, and Delacour pushed herself to her feet, face pale.
Severus didn't catch what spell she used, but it looked as if she was attempting to put the dragon to sleep. That wasn't a bad idea either, but her magic wasn't nearly strong enough for it.
Only half asleep, the dragon still managed to breathe flames at her and Delacour's skirt caught fire. She rushed forward past the creature anyway, dousing her skirt as she went instead of wasting precious seconds to do it and, managing to avoid more harm, claimed her third flag.
"Wonderful!" Bagman exclaimed. "Simply wonderful! She's done it again!"
"She did well," said Filius. "I'm impressed."
Severus had to agree. Rose Potter's performance had been disappointing, though that was less her fault and more due to the creatures she'd had to contend with. Krum and Delacour, on the other hand, had both done quite well, and they did deserve scores to reflect it.
Crouch gave Delacour a seven. Bagman gave her a six. Karkaroff gave her a four. Maxime gave her a ten. Albus gave her a seven. Her total score was thirty-four out of fifty.
The sevens were fair, Severus thought. He would have given her a seven or eight himself. Maxime's ten was simply favouritism, but as both Albus and Karkaroff had done the same, he couldn't say anything against it. Karkaroff's four was blatantly unfair, just as Maxime's had been for Krum, but so was Bagman's six, for that matter.
"And then there was one," said Severus quietly. Minerva's Potter had gotten lucky with the hippogriff and sphinx. Would his Potter have the same fortune?
"And now our fourth and final challenger, Violet Potter!"
Swallowing hard, Violet stood and made her way over to the tent's entrance. This was it. It was finally her turn and there was no way of getting out of it.
She walked into the stadium, wand in hand, wincing at the volume of the noise. The crowd was booing and jeering, though she did her best to ignore it. It wasn't like she'd been expecting otherwise.
She was standing on a ground made of firm dirt, and the field was littered with boulders of various sizes. To her immediate right were some large grey rocks, not quite boulders, just very big rocks. And at the opposite end of the stadium were more of these big grey rocks. On top of one of those was a small, dark green flag.
Her target.
But Violet's eyes were quickly drawn to the large door next to those rocks. There were no magical creatures in sight, so she assumed that was where they were going to come in from.
Sure enough, the door opened and she raised her wand, making sure she had it at the ready. There was no telling what was going to come out. Bagman's commentary, which she'd been listening to back in the tent, hadn't given much away, so she still wasn't sure what to expect.
But to her surprise, the creature that came out was a snake. A runespoor, she guessed, going by the three heads. It was a big snake, probably a little bigger than Sauron at six and a half feet, and its scales were black with hints of green that shone brightly when the sun hit them just right.
Maybe this round wasn't going to be so bad. Even though she thought that, Violet didn't lower her wand. She didn't know how hostile the runespoor would be. She could put being a Parselmouth to use and try to talk to it, but that didn't guarantee it would be friendly or even want to listen to her.
The runespoor slithered further into the stadium and then noticed her suddenly, all three tongues flickering out at the same time. Raising itself, it reared back, preparing to attack her, and Violet raised her hands to her shoulders in a show of surrender.
"I'm not here to hurt you," she said, keeping her voice gentle.
The snake froze and the three heads looked at one another. Violet let them do it and didn't move or speak any further, letting the runespoor decide how to handle the situation.
If it chose to talk, that would be better, but she still had her wand if it decided to attack her. A stunning spell one of the seventh years had taught her would probably be enough to knock it out.
"You are a Speaker," said one of the heads.
"Yes."
"Just bite her and get it over it!" said another head.
"Only if she'll make a tasty meal," said the third.
Violet tensed slightly and tightened her grip on her wand just a bit, but she still didn't say anything.
"We met one of our own," said Head One. "He claimed his human is a Speaker. Is that you?"
Violet nodded. "Yes, that's me. The one you met is Sauron." Sauron hadn't told her he'd encountered a runespoor. She was going to have to talk to him about that when this was over and done with. If she survived, that is.
"He was boring," said Head Two.
"Looked tasty though," said Head Three.
"You can't eat him," chastised Head One.
Violet's lips twitched, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. "Do you know what's happening right now?" she asked once she was able to push past the humour.
"We do not," said Head One.
"Do you know what a competition is?"
"Something boring, no doubt," said Head Two.
"We do," said Head One, ignoring Head Two this time. "Is that what this is? A competition created by humans?"
"It is," said Violet. "Do you see that flag behind you-the one on the rock over there? My goal is to get that flag, and I was told to get past you to do it."
"Then, will you be unable to finish this competition if we choose not to let you pass?" asked Head One curiously.
Violet nodded again, deciding not to mention her plan b. "If I can't get the flag, then all of us will be stuck here, including you."
"But then we won't get our meal!" exclaimed Head Three.
The three heads began to argue with one another and, deciding it was a little safer now, Violet lowered to the dirt and crossed her legs, trying to look casual and friendly. It was probably better to look as innocent and, well, not intimidating as possible. She didn't put her wand away though.
"You must be very hungry," said Violet. "The other humans might not want to feed you until the competition is done, but I can feed you now."
"They will not stop you?" asked Head One curiously.
"Nope. They aren't to interfere while the competition is ongoing."
They argued again, going back and forth about whether to accept her offer. Well, it was Heads One and Two that were doing the arguing. Head Three had already decided it was going to take the easy meal no matter what the other two chose.
"I want a mouse," said Head Three, leaning in closer to her. "A nice, tasty mouse."
"I can do that," said Violet easily. She conjured a mouse for Head Three, and it snatched it away from her almost instantly. She'd decided not to wait for the other two, partially because they were still arguing, and partially because she was hoping the sight or scent of the mouse would entice them into agreeing as well.
"I will accept a mouse," said Head One only seconds later.
"Of course. Here you are." She conjured a second mouse and let Head One take it from her. Head Two didn't ask for one, but it eyed the other mice closely and Violet once again had to bite back a laugh. She conjured a third mouse and held it out to Head Two. "Would you like one as well?"
Head Two didn't say anything, but its tongue flickered out a few times. Finally, a long moment later, it reached out and snatched the mouse away, remaining silent. With that, the runespoor settled down to eat and still trying to be casual, Violet stood, brushing dirt off her clothes.
"It was nice meeting you," she said. "And thank you for letting me get past you." Making sure the runespoor was focused on its (their?) meal, she walked around it and climbed up the rock, claiming the first of the three flags.
Bagman announced her success in finishing the first round, and the runespoor, along with their mice, was taken away. But Bagman had barely finished calling the start to the second round before the doors opened again.
There was a roar and a massive dragon emerged, sending fire at her immediately. Violet's eyes widened and she literally threw herself off the rock and behind the closest boulder, which was just barely big enough to block the flames.
Violet pressed herself against the boulder. A dragon. That was an actual dragon. What the hell was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to get past it? A stunning spell would have worked perfectly fine on the runespoor, but the spell would just bounce right off the dragon.
She couldn't use any spell on the dragon, could she? The eyes were the only thing she could target, but she couldn't think of using anything other than the stinging jinx, and even that was weak enough that she wasn't sure it would work, used on the dragon's eyes or not. Which meant whatever she did, it had to be around the dragon instead of on the dragon itself.
She closed her eyes, trying to think. Distractions were the only thing she could think of. But what could she do? A levitation charm on one of the boulders? Possible, but she wasn't sure she would be able to lift something that heavy, and now wasn't the best time to test it out. What else would work?
She could conjure a mouse or a snake, but those were pretty small and she wasn't sure the dragon would notice them. She didn't know how to conjure or transfigure anything into a bigger animal either.
But thinking about animals led Violet to another thought. What about her Patronus? Since it was fully corporeal, wouldn't it make a pretty decent distraction?
She heard footsteps, heavy, stomping steps that broke through her rapid thoughts and Violet knew she was out of time. If she let the dragon corner her, she wasn't going to be able to escape. She had to act.
Opening her eyes, she pushed herself away from the boulder and thrust out her wand. Remembering what Remus had taught her, focusing on the happiest memory she could think of, she took a breath.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The snow leopard she remembered from June burst out of the end of her wand. Bright and fast, it caught the dragon's attention right away and Violet used her wand to direct the Patronus away from her. To her relief, the dragon followed the feline.
Taking full advantage of the situation, Violet started heading in the opposite direction, moving slowly and trying not to make any big or sudden movements. She didn't want to risk the dragon noticing her again.
But she ended up making a big mistake.
Too focused on her goal, she stopped paying enough attention to the spell and her Patronus dissipated. The dragon saw her again and once more sent flames at her. Reacting instinctively, Violet dropped heavily to the dirt to get below the fire, and then rolled away quickly when the dragon swiped its tail at her instead.
Violet winced at a sharp pain in her ribs but she otherwise ignored it and hurriedly cast the Patronus charm again. This time, she made sure to never stop directing the glowing snow leopard.
She directed it the same way Moody had directed the spider he'd put under the imperius curse, weaving it around the dragon, having it jump gracefully, and she nearly cried when she saw it manage to get the dragon's attention again.
Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet and started walking again, but she still kept her wand trained on her Patronus, continuing to guide it, making sure she kept enough of her attention on the spell.
She was taking the long way around to the flag, which meant she was going to lose points for time, but she didn't care. The further she stayed from the dragon, the better. But she had to get closer eventually because the dragon was right in front of the rock with the flag on it.
When she was right under the rock and behind the dragon, she had her Patronus do a series of elaborate and elegant leaps while she struggled to climb the rock with only one hand. She didn't want to risk lowering her wand for even an instant.
It was rough going. She wasn't exactly used to this kind of stuff. But after nearly losing her grip and slipping a couple of times, she finally made it to the top of the rock and let her Patronus disappear as she grabbed the flag.
"And she's gotten through the second round!" Bagman announced. "One more round to go!"
Salazar, she'd forgotten this was only the second round. She lay on the rock, panting breathlessly as the dragon handlers tried to subdue the dragon. The crowd was still booing her, and she would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't so tired. Two rounds and she was already exhausted.
"C'mon, Violet! You've got this!"
Violet smiled slightly when she heard the encouragement coming from either Fred or George or maybe both of them. And they weren't the only ones either. Theodore, Hermione, Neville Luna, Ginny, and a surprising number of the Slytherins were cheering for her as well, and that made her smile widen slightly.
Unfortunately, her relaxed state didn't last for long.
Violet pushed herself up with a grimace as the doors opened again and she made her way back down the rock, now that her next flag had appeared at the other end of the stadium. She held her wand up at the ready and then saw the creature.
It looked like a leopard, or maybe a lion, and was huge, definitely much bigger than her. Its fur was yellow with black spots and it was already growling at her, showing off impossibly sharp teeth. She knew what this was. She knew exactly what this was. Luna had told her about these.
It was a nundu.
Eyes wide, she backed away instinctively. She'd thought she could do nothing to the dragon, but this was so much worse in every way.
Luna had told her they were so resistant to magic that while a dragon needed ten wizards working together to subdue it, a nundu needed a hundred. She'd thought Luna was exaggerating at first, but then she'd come across the creature in a book and realized she was telling the truth.
She couldn't do anything. Even being near it could result in her death because the nundu had a powerful toxin in its breath. If she breathed in even just a tiny little bit, it would be the end.
Realizing that, she quickly cast a bubblehead charm on herself, thanking the Housemate who'd decided to teach her the spell. And then she ran, heading for the rock and the flag on top of it. It was the only thing she could think to do, her mind in a panic.
But she didn't get far.
Though she didn't hear a single sound, the nundu suddenly jumped over her head and landed right in front of her. She skidded to a stop, forced to back away as the nundu started to stalk closer to her.
It was taking such slow steps. Was it taunting her? Was it trying to mess with her? Was it trying to toy with her? The fact that it hadn't landed on top of her told her the answer was yes.
She looked around desperately, trying to find something that could help her, but there was nothing except dirt and boulders. She couldn't even hear the crowd anymore. Her heart was pounding in her ears.
"Immobulus!" The spell bounced right off the nundu. "Impedimenta!" But this spell had the same result. She tried a second time, casting both spells again, but to no effect. The nundu snarled again. "Incarcerous!"
Thick ropes flew out of the end of her wand and wrapped around the nundu tightly, and for half a second, Violet thought she'd done it. But it broke through the ropes as easily as if they were made of thread before she could even take a single breath.
The nundu roared and Violet choked on a dry sob as the sound reverberated through her entire body painfully. And then her bubblehead charm dropped. She cast it again as quickly as she could but she realized instantly that she'd been too slow.
She'd inhaled some of the toxin.
She was already starting to feel faint, darkness creeping into her vision. There was a sharp pain in her lungs and that pain was spreading quickly. She took a shaky step forward, but staggered and stopped before she could fall.
The nundu took another deliberately slow step forward and with a pang, Violet realized if she didn't do something right now, she was actually going to die. She wasn't afraid of death or dying, but she'd much rather have been burned to a crisp by the dragon. Nundu toxin worked fast, but the death it caused was excruciatingly painful.
Violet raised her wand, aiming it above the nundu. "Av-" The pain in her lungs worsened. She broke into a coughing fit. Each harsh cough shook her whole body and set her lungs on fire. But she couldn't let it stop her.
She couldn't.
"Avis!" she cried out hoarsely. A flock of small birds emerged from the end of her wand and the nundu looked up at them. It wasn't enough though. This wouldn't keep its attention for long. "Oppugno!" The birds swooped in to attack the nundu.
She didn't wait. As soon as she finished casting the spell, Violet took off running once more. She didn't know if the nundu was following her or not. It moved so silently that she would never be able to hear it. She wouldn't know where it was until it was on top of her.
Violet's bubblehead charm fell again as she ran, but she didn't bother recasting it. There was no point. She'd already inhaled the toxin and was probably minutes away from death, either from that or the nundu attacking her outright.
She just kept running, her breathing so loud she couldn't hear anything else. She reached the rock and scrambled her way up, slicing her hand open as she went, but she didn't stop until she grabbed the damned green flag and held it tight.
Bagman again announced her victory and through blurred vision, she saw dozens and dozens of creature handlers pour into the stadium to try to contain the nundu.
Violet got off the rock once it was gone and, on shaky legs, stood before the judges as her scores were displayed. She couldn't see any of them, her vision too dark and blurry. She couldn't move anymore, she realized with a sudden panic.
She was falling.
That's it for now. I took some liberties with the magical creatures. The riddle the sphinx asked Rose is from the Hobbit.
Again, don't expect quick updates and long chapters like this in the future. I just got extremely lucky this time around. The next chapter won't be a proper one, but more of a bonus scene of sorts.
Initially, I wrote the entire first task in Sev's POV, including Violet's bit. When I was reading over the chapter though, I realized it was probably a better idea to do Violet's bit in her POV instead, so I cut Sev's POV off after Fleur finished. But it was nearly 3k words and I really liked it, and it felt like kind of a shame to just delete it, y'know? So, I'm going to post it anyway. I didn't want to tack it on to this because my laptop's really not happy with how long this already is, lol. Violet's scores are in Sev's POV as well.
Sorry about the long AN again, looking forward to reviews! Laterz!