Chapter 42: The Second Trial

October was coming to and end as Kiba had continued his practice with both Snape and Lupin. One evening he was headed to his practice with Lupin with a little less spring in his step. He still hadn't received a answer from Faye. He had written her a letter, about how he had been picked to participate in the tournament and was going to travel the world with a promise to send her pictures from all the places, with the more sad side note that he wasn't sure if he had to stay at school during Christmas break because of it. "There you are, Kiba, I was beginning to worry"

"Sorry, Remus" the boy replied absently as he dropped his bag.

"So, what new thing can we begin with today.." Lupin muttered "you've mastered most spells I could think of teaching you for the trials." Lupin sighed "is there anything particular you're interested in?"

"I don't know.." Kiba muttered "wait. Could you teach me to apparate?"

"No." Lupin replied flatly "I can't" he added "Apparating is incredibly difficult and dangerous, and besides you need a license to be allowed to do it in the first place"

"when can I learn it then?" the boy asked

"you'll learn in your sixth year, you'll have classes dedicated strictly to Apparating" Lupin replied Watching the boys expression grow more disappointed. How about your Patronus Charm?" Lupin changed the subject

"it's better," Kiba replied "I just think the memory isn't, powerful enough"

"ah yes, the mystery memory" Lupin said thoughtfully "perhaps it is not.. have you tried other memories?"

"a few, none of them are better then the current one" Kiba sighed

"you'll get it eventually," Lupin placed his hand on the boys shoulder "listen," he began whispering "I know I shouldn't but, fine, I'll teach you about Apparating, but you have to promise me one thing"

"anything!" Kiba said, excitement gleaming in his eyes

"you don't use it outside of our lessons until you've officially learned it" Lupin said. Kiba nodded profusely. And so, Remus began teaching Kiba the theoretics of Apparating, knowing that no one could apparate within Hogwarts they decided to meet up in the shrieking shack for their next lesson.

Kiba headed back to the common room feeling incredibly giddy when he spotted Kuzon sitting by the window. "Kuzon!" he called him. The fiery red Owl flew over to him and handed him his letter.

'Sorry about the time it took for me to respond,' he read 'I've been on a class trip. Congratulations on being chosen to represent your school!

I took your advice and decided on red tips, it looks great.

I really hope you don't have to stay, I am really looking forward to introducing you to my friends. We were thinking of spending Christmas Eve together, let me know if you can make it, okay?

Yours,

Faye.' He found the picture inside the envelope and saw the back of it first. It has a big lipstick imprint on it, Faye had Kissed the back of the picture and written 'Love you' beneath it. He flipped the picture around and there she was wearing a black dress with a wide, yet short skirt and her black curls fell just past her shoulders, at which they turned a bright red. Kiba would lie if he said it didn't look great, he headed towards his dorm and added the picture to his collection of moving and non-moving images.

The next day was Halloween, but besides the looming pumpkins, the life Bats and the house ghosts scaring the first-years the was a unnerving feeling inside Kiba. Hermione helped him theorize what the soon coming trial was going to be exactly at the breakfast table. "so, we know that Uagadou is big on transfiguration. But there's also a certain prowess to the school, almost every student, fifth year and up, can perform a number of spells without the use of a wand." She explained

"but that's incredibly difficult" Harry protested "it would give their champion much better odds."

"of course they're going to cheat," Kiba replied "who wouldn't want to win in a tournament where a Wizard like Dumbledore's involved" he added "I bet Maxime told Fleur what the Trial was going to be beforehand"

"just because they want to upstage Dumbledore?" Harry questioned

"not just, they want to win the first ever Teen Wizard Tournament" Hermione added "I just think Dumbledore's to proud to cheat himself" she said "as he should be!" she added quickly before anyone could say anything

"let's stop talking about to Tournament, okay? At least for today" Kiba said causing Ron, who sat a few seats away from them to look over briefly. But it was hard not to talk about it when the entire wizarding world was bustling. Kiba had even gotten several letters from supporters and journalists from all over the world. Of course it wasn't just that he was participating, everyone was still keen to find out how he had been selected, since he was underage and thus unfit to even put forth his name. Kiba did his best to ignore the questions and focus on what was important, getting to Faye on Christmas was the most important thing to him.

Before long, three more days had passed and Kiba once again stood by the entrance of Hogwarts waiting for the Uagadou school to arrive. This time however they didn't arrive by carriage, no, it was a large, flying Elephant that arrived at Hogwarts. The large creature blew through it's trunk and lowered itself to the ground. On it's back was what looked like a circular room with a Dome roof. A curtain opened and elegant golden steps lowered themselves to the ground as Adéwalé and the Uagadou Headmistress stepped out. Once again Dumbledore was quick to assist the Headmistress and Kiba stepped forward to greet the Champion. He placed his left hand on his own wrist and shook hands with Adéwalé as he did the same, they held eye contact and maintained a friendly smile as they shook before Adéwalé guided Kiba up the steps where he, once again, was the final champion to be picked up.

Much like the French carriage, the room was equipped with a circular booth for the champions and a large table in the corner for the school heads. "Privet" he said as he sat down next to Raya, which got him a surprised smile from the blonde. It didn't take long for everyone to fall into separate conversations about all manner of things until they arrived.

"Welcome to de mountains of de Moon." He said as the dome roof of their cabin opened. "Uagadou school is at the very peak of this central mountain, and it is difficult to reach by foot" he explained effortlessly. The elephant began slowly rising to the peak, breaking through the clouds as they did so before the curtain opened and the steps created a straight path towards the large double-doors. This school was unlike Hogwarts or Bouxbatons, it was more an edifice carved into the mountain then a castle, and it was beautiful, appearing as if it were floating on the clouds below. "Here's a little history lesson," Adéwalé said pointing to a statue once they entered the school "wands were not tradition back when this school was created, the African wizard community has only recently adopted the use of wands, so many depictions of African Wizards and Witches are done without wands"

He lead them all through the school and eventually to their chambers for the next days. Unlike the Bouxbatons school the girls and boys had separate rooms, but still shared a bathroom located in-between the two rooms. There was much less privacy within the rooms however, there weren't any separate sections, just curtains around the beds themselves, similar to Hogwarts. It wasn't long until Adéwalé took them all to the dining hall, there were several long tables with a healthy mix of older and younger students sitting side by side. At the center table there was a specific storage for four students on each side where they all sat down to eat.

The serving was much more like that of Hogwarts. Large plates of rice and sauce and large plates of chicken were levitated to the center of the table so that everyone could take as they pleased. "We have different food every day, today is chicken and tomorrow will likely be fish" Adéwalé said "please eat, and enjoy" later for dessert there was an assortment of puddings, small cakes and cookies to enjoy before the evening began turning late. But once again, sleep didn't come easy in the unfamiliar place for the Hogwarts Champion.

He decided to take a stroll through the building and eventually found himself in what he could assume was the astronomy classroom. It was at the very top floor of the school allowing a gorgeous view through the glass peak of the mountain to the starts above. "Hotaru, look" he said carefully lifting his Pet Dragon from his chest pocket up towards the ceiling. The small creature looked up in awe 'wow' she muttered 'it's beautiful' she added laying her head down sleepily on Kiba's fingers. Kiba quickly grabbed his camera and took a picture of the star sky to send it to Faye later.

Kiba awoke the following morning as somebody stepped over his legs, it was odd. He opened his eyes and saw the wooden roof of a carriage above him. He sat upright and saw it was Adéwalé stepping over him and out of the carriage that woke him. "Adé, what's going on?" he asked

"quiet, do not wake the others. The trial has begun!" and without another Word he ran off towards the rising sun. Kiba climbed his way out of the carriage searching for his wand that was no where to be found.

'wandless magic.. of course they're gonna take our wands' He thought, he quickly turned back to the carriage and shook Raya as he spoke "everyone, wake up!" he said "the trial has begun" in a moment everyone was up scrambling to find their wands realizing quickly what Kiba had already. Akio and Alex were quick to run from the carriage and Viktor Krum had spotted Adéwalé's Rhino prints and followed them. Kiba and Raya were the only ones left.

"Which way do you think it is?" she asked

"what is?"

"Uagadou.." she sighed

"You think we have to find our way back?" Kiba asked

"what do you think? Don't get lost!" she added jumping onto a large rock and surfing it across the ground. Kiba couldn't help but be impressed, but he too had a trick up his sleeve. Specifically a spell that Kiba and Hotaru had been working on. He spotted a bird, high in the air. He had no wand so all he did was point his finger and mutter his spell.

"Visus Vimentum" after a couple of attempts it worked. He opened his eyes and didn't see his hand, no he saw the clouds, and the ground about 200 feet below him. He was seeing through the eyes of the bird and directed its view to the morning sun. He knew from their arrival that the sun would set behind the school, so he could have a rough direction, the question was, was he behind or in front of the school, is it East towards the rising sun or West where it would eventually set? Kiba looked around more, he spotted a cloud of dust rising from Raya's method of transport, and he saw a single Rhino running east. "it must be Adéwalé, so.. east it is" Kiba undid the spell and waited for his eyes to adjust before he transformed into his lion form allowing Hotaru to snuggle into his Mane before running towards the rising sun.

The day was long, and the boiling sun combined with lack of shade to take breaks was taking it's toll on all the champions. Kiba had soon found a waterhole and decided to drink from it before taking cover under a nearby tree to cool himself. He was tired, the restless night and the long walk were dragging him low. As Kiba continued his walk he spotted a large vulture circling the sky above something in the distance. Kiba made it's way to the unidentified object and it was none other then the Durmstrang champion and professional Quidditch athlete. "Viktor!" Kiba transformed back to himself and turned the young man over. His body was extremely hot and his breathing slow, the heat had knocked him out. "Hotaru, see if you can find a cave or anything" he said as he tried to shake The other champion awake.

'Kiba, the mountain is close, there's a cave at the foot of it!" Hotaru called back

"alright, Viktor, I need you to get on my back" Kiba said he hung Viktor's arm over his shoulder and transformed again, remaining low to the ground. The exhausted Viktor desperately dragged himself onto the back of the large lion and held on to the Mane. Hotaru also hid herself from the sun in Kiba's Mane again. The young Wizard gave it his all as he ran on quick paws towards the mountain. And then it appeared, only once he was already climbing it's curvature.

'there, to your right' Hotaru said. And Kiba saw it too, a dark opening, perhaps a cold cave.

Now breathing quicker then ever he finally reached the entrance and slipped inside hoping to rest until the night cooled the air. But what he was met with was screams.

"Blyad!" Raya shouted ready to defend herself. But Kiba didn't try. he transformed into himself and collapsed with Viktor on top of him. "Kiba! She quickly shoved Viktor off and checked on the young Wizard, making sure he was alright.

"I'm fine, please, help Viktor.. he's out of it" Kiba said setting himself upright against the wall.

"well 'e doezn't look good" Fleur commented as she tended to a wound on her leg. The four rested out the evening in the cave together, eventually getting Viktor to sit up as well. They turned a nearby Diricawl into a water Goblet and drank from it. When nightfall had come the four finally decided to scale the mountain, spending most of the night finding a way up, by climbing steep walls whilst using each other as ladders, arriving at the front gates only when the first rays of sunshine illuminated it. They weren't the last to Reach it however, it took another half hour for Zoe to appear as well.

"Well done champions!" the Headmistress of Uagadou said "you have all successfully found your way back to the castle within twenty-four hours. To the scoring of this trial, we've taken into account how well you performed magic without your Wands, how you battled the heat, and how long it took to reach the castle"

Another Uagadou student walked past all the champions to return their wands and offer them a drink as Bagman stepped to the front again. "First place goes to Adéwalé Chidubem! For being the first to arrive at the school, and his skill in animal transfiguration" the school cheered wildly as Adéwalé bowed to everyone with a smile "after due consideration, Second place goes to Kiba Scamander! For assisting the other champions through fair competition and his skill in Animal Transfiguration and Wandless Magic" the Hogwarts visitors cheered equally as loud, even without the Slytherin support. Viktor smacked him on the back hard and muttered another Thank you as he too clapped lightly "Third place goes to, Raya Kravchenko! For protecting another champion in a dire situation, and her command of wandless magic. Fourth place goes to Akio Itō! For being the second to complete the Trial, and his wandless magic. Fifth place goes to Fleur Delacour! For her wandless magic. Sixth place goes to Alex Mason! for his great tenacity. Seventh Place goes to Zoe Rodriguez! And finally, Eighth Place goes to Viktor Krum, who wouldn't have completed the trial, had it not been for the other Champions"

"the trial is now over, and you are all welcome to enjoy yourselves for the remained of your visit!" the Uagadou Headmistress announced and everyone rushed off to get food and talk to their friends.

"Kiba! Kiba!" once again Kiba was attack-hugged by Hermione "you were amazing"

"thanks, couldn't have done it without your help in preparation though" Kiba replied

"who are you kidding?" Harry said jokingly "what was that spell you used anyway?"

"yes, neither of us had heard of it before" Hermione added

"I was researching some old spells, and I saw one where a Wizard could transfer Their sight to a third eye. I assumed that is what Moody has as well," Kiba explained "and I wondered if it was possible to do it with animals, to see through their eyes. And then I found it 'Visus Vimentum'"

"But doing it without a wand, that's unbelievable. For a fourth-year, I mean" Hermione said

"I've been able to do small spells for a while now, nothing major. And Hermione, you said Uagadou was big on wandless magic, so I practiced"

"Have you eaten yet?" Hermione suddenly asked "you've been up for nearly a day, you must be starving"

"now that you mention it.." Kiba's stomach rumbled like a thousand trolls were marching through the school.

"We'll leave you to eat," Hermione said as she headed another way "Don't eat too much" she added

"I did some quick counting," Harry said as the two grabbed a plate and piled it with food "you're currently tied in first place with Akio and Adéwalé. You're all on five points" Kiba nearly choked on his food when Harry said this however. He hadn't thought about it, the points he gained. He had been in the top three both trials however.

'I might just have a shot at this.." he thought as he composed himself again "I hadn't even realized," he said to Harry "do you think I can win this?"

"I do.." said another voice, the two boys turned to look and saw Ron. The Ginger had avoided them since the selection, both wizards were surprised at his sudden approach.

"thanks Ron," Kiba said "that means allot"

"You would have to be barking mad to put your name in the goblet of fire.." Ron said twiddling his thumbs

"come around, have you?" Harry said "took you long enough"

"I wasn't the only one who thought you had done it" Ron added "people are still saying it about Kiba now"

"glad to have you back on my side though," Kiba added "I-"

"Mister Scamander, may I have a moment?" Barty Crouch had just appeared by them and walked with Kiba a little away from the masses "I simply wanted to congratulate you for your performances in both trials," the man said "for a wizard of your age you've shown quite the talent. I would dare to say you could-"

"Not trying to lure Mister Scamander into one if your summer internships, are you Barty?" a voice suddenly snarled behind them "last boy who went into the department of mysteries never came out!" Crouch frowned before looking back to the boy before him

"enjoy your evening" he simply said before walking away

"and they say I'm mad.." Moody muttered as he looked on. Kiba didn't say anything, Moody still freaked him out. The evening was slowly coming to an end however as all the champions were called together again. Igor Karkaroff was the man that spoke to them.

"the third trial is not far away," he said with a smile that showed his yellow teeth "it will be taking place at my school, Durmstrang Institute, it will take place on the second of December. We will collect you prior, on the thirtieth of November. This trial is also designed to test your Endurance, though much differently, and also your resourcefulness"

They all returned to their schools, and to their day to day activities. For Kiba that meant school work, preparing for the next trial, practice with Snape, Flitwick or Lupin and the occasional lazy day.

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