Blood On My Name

by sadlybeans

Voldemort, the Dark Lord, was defeated as the prophecy tells, by a teenage boy who had nothing but love and friendship at his side, his reign of terror over in a single night. After darkness enveloped him, Tom Riddle woke up in his eleven year old body, with the knowledge of the future and his past mistakes… Now the question is, will that knowledge help him avoid his destiny?

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Notes

TW; usual mentions of death, mentions of Voldemort and all he entails.

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Marzan woke up long before the sun rose, even before Abraxas started his day, and he found as he moved that Alphard had crawled onto his bed, curled up in a tiny ball on top of the sheets right next to him. It was a surprise but at the same time not— Alphard was the one in their group with the most tender heart and he was particularly attached to Orion and himself. In second year when Orion had broken his leg after a fall during a quidditch match, he hadn't been able to sleep anywhere but tucked against his side until he healed. Even if he chose to never show it on the outside, he was likely terrified at the idea of Marzan participating in the tournament… and he was not wrong for fearing. For a long moment he laid there, hearing the soft breathing pattern of his close friend, before he sat up and gently wrapped him in the blankets, a sigh leaving his lips as he started gathering his clothes for the day.

He was silent as he went through his routine, applying silencing charms, but when he walked back into the dormitory Alphard was awake, sitting with his back against the headboard and hugging one of the pillows to his chest.

"It's still early" he spoke softly, placing his ironed robe on top of the trunk at the end of the bed and sitting down facing him "go back to sleep"

Alphard shook his head, looking pale under the dim light coming from the lake above where the moon was shining.

"I couldn't… are you alright?"

He considered it for a moment. Was he? Short answer, no. Long answer, very much no.

"I will be" he lied instead, because he could not bring himself to break his friend's heart by giving him any clue of his imminent death. "I… don't really wish to talk about it"

Alphard nodded slowly, and then extended his hand. Marzan reached to take it wordlessly and they sat there for a long while, just holding each other like that, until Alphard's eyes slowly drifted close again and he settled him back down to lay in between the pillows, tucking him into the blankets after carefully extracting his hand from his hold. His hair was starting to curl in certain places he noted, needing straightening spells to be reapplied, and there were dark circles under his eyes despite this likely being his only sleepless night in a while. He hated that he was worrying him like this… that he was worrying all of them. Hell, even the eldest Black girls were anxious the night before as they fussed all over him when the professors delivered him to the common room.

After putting on his robe he wrote down a note and left it in Abraxas' nightstand, telling him to bring Rai along if the snake felt like it, since he didn't want to wake him up either.

The common room was predictably deserted, and he knew the rest of the castle would be as well… it couldn't be any later than four or five am, so instead of making his way to the Great Hall he wandered towards the kitchens. The elves were busy preparing breakfast for the entire castle and their guests, running and apparating all over the kitchens to make sure nothing burned or overcooked. He picked an apple from a fruit bowl off a pantry and sat on a little stool to watch, making himself as little of a bother as he could be.

"Master Gaunt! It is very early for the students to be up" a little elf squaked as they stopped in front of him. They wore a simple robe that was more akin to a pillowcase, with the emblem of the school on their chest. "Is the little master hungry? Lally can bring the little master a snack!"

"I'm quite alright, thank you. I'll have breakfast with everyone else… I hope you don't mind me sitting here"

"Not at all, young master!"

The elf continued on their way and he gave another bite to the apple, observing in silence. Ha, if anybody ever saw him, ex Lord Voldemort sitting in Hogwart's kitchen watching the house elves work, they'd think they had gone completely insane. Marzan didn't actually care about house elves but he didn't exactly want to be alone at the moment and it was sort of convenient to be down there for another reason…

"Marzan? What are you doing up so early?"

He raised his head to look at a graceful yellow hanfu delicately embroidered with bamboo leaves and long dark hair gathered with a jade hairpin.

"I couldn't keep sleeping. Good morning, professor"

"Good morning… would you mind helping me this morning?"

"Not at all" he agreed easily.

He followed to the very back of the kitchen, him throwing the core of the apple away. They settled on a smaller counter, a basket of vegetables and rice already left there by the house elves, and the professor tied back his long sleeves before starting the process of dicing onions and silently pushing a few chili peppers for him to prepare, which he did after taking off his gloves and robe, making sure to wash his hands well.

"So… I assume my brother does not know you're down here?"

Marzan glanced at the professor from the corner of his eye, but Azure Staghart was happily preparing breakfast much like he did everyday— he had found after the last winter that the youngest of the twins liked to make his and his brother's first meal of the day with his own hands, reminiscent of the time when their mother did the same for them.

"No… I needed time to think"

Azure nodded and then they resumed their tasks quietly for a few minutes, until they were watching the congee slowly come to a boil over the fire.

"Did the elves not talk to you?"

Marzan blinked. "I confess I find them rather… annoying at times. And they are busy"

The professor let out a soft snort.

"Well, let's see what trivia you have today… where do house elves come from?"

Although Iraia never seemed willing to poke at Marzan beyond a question or two to grant him space a normal teenager would surely love to have, Azure seemed incredibly entertained to hear about whatever strange thing he was reading at the time. In a way, he could not blame the man… he was 'only fourteen' and he knew a great deal of things from magic to seemingly useless facts about the most random things. He also liked best the most morbid and obscure facts… that or he simply tolerated Marzan enough to entertain his rambles. Either way, he was acceptable company whenever he woke from a troubled night.

"Did you know there is only one true origin for elvenkind?" he asked, cutting down the green onions at a leisure time, seeing as the food was not yet ready to add them as toppings. "The high elf lords of the old tales were once the dominating species, their magic was much stronger and much more pure than humans could ever achieve. Between them and the fae, the world was a much more savage place… but it was at peace"

Azure passed him the spoon and he took over stirring while the professor handled the steamed buns.

"Hmm, and why did they vanish?"

"Humanity's greed knows no bounds" he answered easily. "And it is only once we trample and destroy that we realise we've made a grave mistake… They still say fae are somewhere out there, cleverly hidden in the last few places where nature is undisturbed, but elvenkind suffered a far worse fate. Even half immortal beings can fall so easily to the iron and steel wielded by a human, and slowly they were decimated until the last remnants of their mighty houses learnt to mix in between their killers to survive"

The professor turned down the heat with a gesture of his fingers and passed him a few bowls, which he filled in carefullly.

"So, what of the little elves?"

Marzan glanced over his shoulder for a moment and then whispered a silencing spell, creating a bubble around them. Not even he was cruel enough to let them hear what he was about to say.

"Although they had arcane magic in their veins, high elves can be subdued if one knows how. When a human wizard breaks a magic vow, our magic betrays us, abandoning us for the betrayal of our word, returning to the world… But what happens when a being that is almost pure magic does the same?"

The silence hung between them for a moment, and then the professor sighed a bit sadly.

"Is that why they became servants?"

Marzan nodded.

"The first of them were compelled to always listen to their masters. As generations passed those rules slowly loosened and the magic allowed them to have more freedom, but still they feel a compulsion inside to always obey whoever they serve, feeling as if they have no purpose outside of their servitude. And yet, even now with only a tiny spark left of their old magic, they can still do things we could only ever dream of"

As they covered the food to prevent it from going cold, they turned to observed the house elves, who were making the finishing touches on the dishes that would soon be carried upwards to the Great Hall. Hogwarts was much kinder to them that most purebloods were to their own servants, offering them modest but good uniforms and even sleeping quarters although he highly doubted they ever slept much. Still, without constant badgering from students or professors demanding things, they carried much less risk of harming themselves for self punishment and they were considerably more relaxed as they performed their duties.

"Not all of the high elves suffered the same fate" he decided to finish the story. "Some still hid between humans and mixed with them, giving origin to powerful wizard lineages and the like… there were some who suspected Merlin was one of them. The Malfoys, for example, carry elven blood— I believe Abraxas more than most of his ancestors, although he would never admit it even if I asked"

"Were they your ancestors as well, perhaps?" Azure asked with a teasing tone, nudging his side with his elbow.

Marzan unsuccessfully hid a smile and shook his head.

"I'm quite the ordinary wizard, professor"

The man hummed and his smile softened.

"Whatever will that say about the rest of us then, if you are only ordinary! Come on, let's get upstairs for breakfast"

For a moment then, Marzan was glad to forget all about tournaments and death.

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Their first classes of the day went without a hitch, but potions was then delayed as the champions needed to attend the very first event of the tournament, the examination of their wands and a picture taken of all three of them. Professor Dracul escorted them away from the classroom after leaving a seventh year in charge, looking significantly less mad than the night before, but still quite angry as evidenced by the soft glow of his eyes. Tom wanted to say he would be alright, but he could not quite bring himself to lie at that moment, and professor Dracul would not have appreciated the attempt at placating his mood. The firm hold over his shoulder at least served to ground him and remind him that, at least for a few days, he was still alive and well.

"Ah, wonderful of Mr. Gaunt to join us. Thank you for bringing him here, professor Dracul"

Aside from the three headmasters the other representatives from the other schools were present, as well as a reporter, a photographer, and Garrick Ollivander himself. The meeting took place in the headmaster's office, and after entering the vampire professor moved to stand aside, leaving Tom to fall in line next to the two older boys, all of them decked in their perfectly presentable uniforms.

"Well, let's begin now. As you were informed yesterday, today your wands will be examined to determine if they are in good condition for the tournament, and if any adjustments should be made regarding them. This is more a formality than anything else, a tradition of the tournament if you will" Dippet explained to them, and then gestured to Ollivander. "Mr. Ollivander is the owner of the most prestigious wand shop in our country, your wands will be in excellent hands"

The old man was as he remembered him, with that strange air to him and piercing eyes that sought to peer into one's soul. He couldn't actually do that, Tom knew, but he was extremely adept at reading people as per his trade required, and his memory was unmistakable; he remembered all and every single wand he had ever made and sold, and who he had sold it to. This time, he was much glad that he had never set foot into Ollivander's shop.

Yevstigneyev went first as the eldest, offering up his wand. It was beautiful, made of pale wood and carved with delicate vines and runes.

"Ah, this is the work of Sergei Sokolov, is it not?"

Yevstigneyev blinked in surprise. "That is correct, sir"

"Yes, yes… excellent wand maker. This is of the finest quality" Ollivander brought it up to his ear as if listening to it before he experimentally gave it a tug and then spun it in his fingers examining it closely. "Birch wood, twenty seven centimetres, mildly flexible, with a mixture of unicorn and thestral hair as a core… unorthodox, and undoubtedly Sokolov's signature. Nobody would be quite as bold to attempt it, much less succeed"

Yevstigneyev seemed quite proud, straightening just ever so slightly, and in the background Savasin also puffed up with pride towards his student.

"You've taken excellent care of it indeed, excellent care!" Ollivander waved the wand in the air, and a light frost created a floating curtain for a moment before it evaporated. He then offered it up with both hands, to which the russian boy took it back.

Maynard was next, squirming a little anxiously as he pulled his wand from the inner pocket of his robe and offered it, waiting with baited breath as it was examined. Unlike Yevstigneyev, his was of darker colour and simple design, with only a slight change at the end to accomodate the hold of a hand better. Simple and sober, but elegant nonetheless.

"Hmm, let's see. Willow, horned serpent core, somewhat flexible… twenty two centimetres long. Lacking a bit of shine but otherwise perfectly balanced and free of scratches" Ollivander looked deeply satisfied and he performed a levitation spell to pass a trinket from one end of the headmaster's desk to the other, before offering it up. "I would recommend switching to a brand of lighter wand polish, Mr. Maynard"

The boy looked quite happy regardless and he nodded quickly. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander"

As he returned to his place then the real dilemma was presented… Marzan did not make secret how his wand looked like, but he was reluctant to let the man touch it, even as much as he knew he was a respectable wandmaker. And his reluctance apparently showed as he took a second too long in stepping forwards and when he did it was done slowly, and he did not immediately pull out his wand.

"Mr. Gaunt, I've heard of your brilliance from your headmaster" Ollivander said, likely to try and make him relax "I confess I do not remember ever selling a wand to you, however. May I?"

Marzan did not move, and the professors present started to look a little worried, the reporter quickly looking down to his notes. Even in the corner of the room, professor Dracul stirred, ready to intervene.

"… I apologise, Mr. Ollivander. I have heard much about you, but my wand is a family heirloom, and I am very reluctant to show it… I have never let anybody else touch it. I would ask first that absolutely nothing about it is written down in any article, please"

Headmaster Dippet looked at the reporter, and although he looked disappointed he did cross out his last note and put away his quill to follow his wishes. Marzan still was suspicious that he would not follow up, but in that case he would not be afraid of retaliation later on… with that done, he dug into his sleeve and pulled out his wand, extending it forwards with both his hands. To say that Ollivander was surprised would be an understatement, as his eyes had bulged out of his head in surprise and his hands trembled with a mix of awe and excitement as he very carefully received it, fingers tracing the bright green veins in the shape that curved and twisted in reminiscence of a branch. Behind him Tom heard a soft gasp, and even the guest professors leaned forwards to observe it better.

"Oh my, this is… this is indeed marvelous…" It took him a moment to snap back, but Ollivander examined it as he had done the previous two, although slowly and almost as if fearing he would snap it without meaning to, even touching the emerald hanging at the end with reverence. "This wand is old, very old. Thirty five centimetres, quite flexible, made of ebony of course…"

He closed his eyes as he brought it to his ear, listening for a long second.

"The core I admit escapes me, it— it must be a material not used any longer in wandmaking, although it is somewhat similar to basilisk venom. Not quite the same, no, but it is the closest approximation. Furthermore, it is extremely loyal to your bloodline, Mr. Gaunt" Ollivander flicked it, but nothing happened, as if he had simply waved around a branch he picked off the ground. "I dare say it would never work for anybody who did not carry its original owner's blood and magic"

He put it back in Tom's hands and offered him a piece of parchment. He moved his wand without saying a word, the emerald and the veins lighting up in bright green as the wood hummed under his fingers as if thanking him for being back in his hands, and the parchment folded itself into a little paper crane.

"This wand belonged to Salazar Slytherin, did it not?"

Marzan had never actually been completely sure, but if Ollivander thought so… well, that sealed his suspicions.

"Yes, it did" he confirmed "My ancestors thought it was lost forever once our name fell into disgrace, but I found it by chance during my school shopping… I paid a hefty price for it"

He knew that he other wands of the founders were kept in the castle, although the exact location of that chamber was long since forgotten, but since Slytherin left the school years before his death, it had not been preserved with theirs. But as for the price— well, he had stolen the money used for it so it wasn't a big blow to his finances.

"I can see you've kept it in pristine condition" Ollivander approved "It is a magnificent wand, do take care of it"

Marzan bowed his head and returned to his place next to the other champions, tucking it inside his sleeve again.

They proceeded to be arranged for a few pictures, alone and in group, and with their headmasters as well, and by the time that session was done he felt exhausted from pulling his lips into a fake polite smile. Fortunately, they just needed to get one more thing done… unfortunately, it was the most annoying part of the entire ordeal: the interviews.

Predictably, Maynard expressed his desire to prove his way with magic and how much he was capable of, as well as making a name from himself from now on. It was not a bad goal of course, exactly what one would expect from a sixteen year old. In contrast, Yevstigneyev had put his name in out of curiousity apparently— he was one of Savasin's most brilliant students and he was naturally adventurous despite not looking like it. Neither of them expressed much worry about their chances of survival.

"And you, Mr. Gaunt? Why did you decide to participate?" the reporter asked eagerly, preparing a new page in his notebook. "Are you intimidated by the fact you are the youngest champion?"

Marzan tilted his head slightly.

"Modesty aside, I am the top student in my year. I am not concerned by the difference of age"

The reporter waited for a second, but he did not answer the first question.

"Um— do you believe you have a chance to win?"

Red mist, explosions.

"I believe we all have equal chances"

The reporter let out a tiny sigh.

"What would you plan to do with the prize if you won?" he asked, desperate to get anything out of him other than impersonal noncommittal answers.

Tom thought about it for a split second.

"I would save it for later"

Maynard snorted behind him, promptly hiding his laughter behind his hand, and the reporter gave up with a slump of his shoulders.

"Thank you, mr. Gaunt"

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The days passed by in a blur of Marzan being overwhelmed by sudden fans and barely having any time to himself between training and his schoolwork, and with no reprieve as even his friends were mothering him to no end, trying to ask if he was alright or if he was sure he didn't want to find a way out of the contract. To add insult to injury, his magic ran weak at times, tugging on his core and cutting off at unexpected moments… it was but the first signs of his downfall, but it also brought him to think of what to do once the end was nearer. He had considered finding ways to avoid taking the potions, but such a thing was impossible when professor Dracul watched him like a hawk to make sure they went down his throat. Of course, they only affected his magical core and not his body, hence why it was also undetectable in his heartbeat, and as for Madam Magnolia's checkups… well, they did show his core healing, not knowing that was precisely what was killing him.

When the first task was announced, they were summoned to the outskirts of the castle, where carriages carried the students deep into the forest and to the skirts of the mountains surrounding the lake. As much as he would've liked to spend time with his friends just in case, he was simply too exhausted and he refused to let himself snap at them in anger, which was why he instead asked to be left alone to prepare, but as the morning of the task itself came he felt he was well enough to let them wish him good luck.

It was early, just past sunrise, when they made it to the starting point and the champions were called to stand at the front. In prepatation they had only been allowed to carry as much as their pockets could carry, but they were completely forbidden from apparating and using brooms or shortcuts of movement… and soon it became evident why.

"Welcome, dear champions, to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Headmaster Carmine was the one to announce, receiving an excited applause from the audience. "This trial has been engineered to gage your decision making and capabilities of survival… Each of you will receive a map with a different route up the mountain; make it up and down in three days time, with only the resources you carry on your person and your own wits to use the environment to your advantage. Each of you will have four checkpoints to reach through your path— if you miss them that will mean a loss of points. Do you have any questions?"

Three days was ample time, if he hurried he could make it up in just a few hours… but he could not do that. It would immediately give away that he was not normal. Genius or not, he was supposed to be only fourteen.

"Very well, if you are all ready, you will proceed to draw a map. Shall we start with the youngest?"

Carmine extended a bag towards him and Marzan offered a polite small smile, reaching inside and pulling a slip of paper; the map was not overly detailed but it indicated a simplified and hopefully accurate shape of the mountain, with four stars along the way for the checkpoints. To the side there was also a section where he could see Yevstigneyev and Maynard's names, along with four tiny stars next to them, to keep track of the other champions' progress.

Oh, this was going to be… something, alright.

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The first part of his hike was relatively uneventful, even if it was through the forest. Going up and down a mountain was an easy task even for a muggle, so he therefore had to assume there were actually more challenges along the way, likely creatures to defeat as setting traps there would not be the easiest thing to do. But in a way, he was relieved by this being the first task… it reminded him of his youth spent travelling the world, just a young graduate thirsting for knowledge and searching for it in the wildest of places. It reminded him of himself before the madness, before… before Voldemort.

Why are you not fighting the poison?

He had grown so used to Death standing at the corner of his vision that he jumped at hearing its voice, and he turned to find that the shapeless void was moving alongside him on the path.

"… The potions?"

What other poison would there be? Fix it. You are of no use to me dead.

Well, it's not like Death had done anything to interfere in his behalf despite knowing quite well what was going on, but then again it was Death, it wasn't supposed to interfere. Besides, it wouldn't be completely unreasonable to assume Death expected him to fix the problem quickly as he had done with most other obstacles standing on his way.

"I cannot risk them finding about the obscurial, it would draw more attention. I'm trapped in the body of a child, and people will either not take me seriously or demand explanations for everything I do. How do you expect me to explain this unless I tell them I've returned from the dead?"

And not only that but also tell of the monster he had become in his first life, the Dark Lord that had terrorised this world and turned it to darkness. Voldemort had killed countless innocents, too strong and too clever for anybody to take him down— people had credited Dumbledore for holding him back, but the old goat had only been able to do so as he slowly devolved into madness and his power dimmed upon his soul being splintered. The Potter brat fending him off as a child had been merely a stroke of incredible luck, a gamble the old headmaster took that happened to pay off. If only he hadn't made the horrocruxes, Voldemort would have been completely unstoppable… Tom was still trying to bury that past. His time in the void might have mellowed him and helped him heal the broken soul he had become, but no matter how long he spent in his own self reflection, he was never going to forget. It was his own cross to bear, and he was determined to rebuild the world without that monster in it. Voldemort would be nothing but a far away nightmare.

Your time is running out.

He knew. His magic grew weaker and his body tired as the obscurial tried to hold onto him desperately.

"I know. I will… I will think about a solution"

Death did not look happy but it vanished from sight, leaving him to his own once again.

Solution, huh? There was no fixing this now. He was bound to die much as every other obscurus child, although not the same way. Most of the children affected by the same… 'disease' developed it after years of trauma and constantly suppressing their magic until it mutated and grew on its own, becoming wild and untamable; it was like a parasite seeking to get out and abandon a vessel that had not appreciated its gift, having technically a life of its own but no real sentience or free will. Once it grew large enough, regularly at eleven or so when a normal child's core would finish forming, it became too much for the body and it would consume it from the inside, breaking out of its prison… but as they were no 'real' creatures, they immediately died without their host. Some had tried preserving them in stasis to study them, but it was impossible and never rendered any fruits. In Marzan's case, he coexisted with the obscurial, giving it an outlet through the magic he exercised every day and his own little activities where upon being alone he could perform advanced spells to his heart's desire, and in turn the obscurial kept him anchored to the world of the living. In a way, Madam Magnolis and professor Dracul had found a way to cure the obscurial, and for a while he had wondered if it would help other children like him— they were rare and far in between, often in isolated corners of the world… perhaps before he died again he could ask that they try. In theory, if he stopped taking the potions with time the crack would reopen and all would be well, but it was also equally possible that the damage was irreversible and the core would heal itself the rest of the way. He had also considered forcefully breaking it open, but such a shock could actually overwhelm the obscurial and kill it, at which point he would also return to being a corpse.

The sound of hooves snapped him out of his train of thought and he came to a stop, pointing his wand back at the arrow that pointed at him, squinting slightly to the centaur that was nearly invisible in the foliage.

"You knew I was here" they said with no small amount of surprise.

Marzan shrugged.

"I know where all three of you are" and he pointed with his free hand to the other two. "I apologise for intruding on your territory… I am going up the mountain, you see. I will be gone soon"

All three centaurs stepped forwards, lowering their bows although still holding onto them, ready to fire at a second's notice. Marzan did not put away his wand either, he knew better than that. The first one's coat was grey, with long hair cascading down their back, and the other two had dark hair braided in different styles. All three were relatively young, he could tell, with fresh leaves woven into their mane and almost no wear on their gear.

"And what business would a human have in the mountain?" the one with the white coat asked.

"I am completing a task for a tournament. Three days to go up and down, nothing else"

While he had never had to deal with centaurs up close before, he knew they were not the easiest to negotiate with, and that honesty would get him much farther than trying to use his charm.

"Leave now, this is our territory" one of the dark haired centaurs growled, tightening his hold on his bow and bringing his hand to his torso where he had a knife strapped in.

"Adrades! We can't hurt a human child" the other dark haired centaur hissed, his tail slapping his own torso in a nervous tick. "He mustn't have known where our territory began… did you?"

Marzan shook his head silently.

"See?"

"He's still a human! You know how humans are, wizard or not! Always thinking themselves superior! You know that better than anyone, Ithanion!"

"He's just a child!"

"A human child!"

Completely silent, Tom looked at them as they fought, completely ignoring his presence, until the last of the three finally shoved himself in between the other two and pushed them apart with his arms forcefully.

"That's enough! We don't have time for this!"

"But Kadan—!" Adrades started to protest.

"He started it!" Ithanion yelled.

"I don't care who started it!" he reprimanded, looking down at Marzan, this time a bit more closely. "… We do need help, and this child is about the right size"

Ah. Well, that sort of made sense… As much as centaurs despised when their territory was intruded on, they weren't reckless enough to tempt luck when confronting a wizard less they did it in numbers, which they didn't have at the moment. Moreover, the three of them looked young enough, perhaps to be about teenagers in comparison, which also told him if they were looking to a human's help, it was something that would get them scolded by the elder members of their family. It was rather bizarre, but Marzan wasn't going to complain if it meant he wasn't getting in trouble, and it was a bit funny…

"I cannot promise I will be of any use, but I can try" he offered.

The three youngsters looked at each other and then Kadan nodded.

"Come along"

The other two never took his eyes off him as he jumped off the path to walk behind Kadan. Truth to be told he didn't mind the time lost, he had plenty of ways to catch up later, and he was terribly curious as to what exactly they needed done. Well, said questions started to make more and more sense as they reached a patch of really dense trees, huge and tall, whose roots twisted and grew too much to cross. In between the roots the earth had slowly eroded away leaving an empty space and a somewhat deep hole, and as Marzan knelt down he heard the soft neigh of a horse and the faint white pelt of the baby unicorn.

"Oh"

"Her mother left her for us to care for" Adrades mumbled in his grumpy mood "but she ran off immediately and fell down! We tried to reach with branches but she doesn't have hands…"

"And the mud is very slippery after the last rain" Ithanion added with worry, leaning down to look as he supported his weigh on the heavier roots with a hand "She can't come up"

Marzan wasn't the type to go out of his way to help woodland creatures and all that, but he wasn't about to leave a unicorn to slowly die down there, especially when her mother would be very pissed if that happened. He let out a soft sigh and straightened up, moving his wand in a short motion, conjuring up a lengthy rope.

"Hold this" he instructed, giving an end to each of the dark haired centaurs, and throwing the middle of the rope down the hole.

"A… rope?" Ithanion asked, confused.

"If the unicorn is old enough to not be with her mother, she is already too heavy for me to lift. I also need both hands to climb back up… and most importantly I don't fancy myself being skewered by a horn when she inevitably gets nervous if I hold her" he explained his logic, squinting his eyes at the twisted roots.

Contorting his body to fit through the gaps wasn't easy, but it wasn't overly difficult either, he was just about thin enough that he didn't risk getting stuck, and fortunately he was flexible enough to get through, although perhaps he truly should work on increasing that flexibility because it might become useful in the future. Inside the hole the ground became incredibly slippery and dropped directly into a deep pit, no wonder the unicorn had slipped to the bottom… as to how she fit between the roots, that was the really surprising part, although she certainly might still be smaller than him.

"I'm going down" he announced, before holding onto the rope and sliding down the muddy side of the pit.

The unicorn was indeed just a little foal, her cream coloured coat completely covered by mud, and a small little twisted ivory horn sprouting out of her forehead. When he approached, she squirmed nervously and started thrashing around to get free, as expected.

"Um, I don't think she likes me" he called out to the centaurs.

"… She's a bit shy!" Kadan called back after a pause "And scared too, I guess. Just grab her!"

"Baby unicorns have horns sharp enough to pierce flesh!" he informed them with no short amount of reproach in his voice.

"Well just don't get pierced by it!" Ithanion answered, oh so helpfully.

"It's just a little horn!" Adrades added.

"I'm a human, my organs are all very close together and very much vulnerable!"

"Yes but none of us fit down there!"

He cursed under his breath and squinted at the unicorn, before taking a deep breath and moving closer, barely out of the horn's reach.

"Alright… listen, I don't know if you can understand me, but I don't have all day. If your mother comes back and you're trapped down here, I will be in trouble— in fact, those three idiots will be in trouble as well for losing you in the first place. So. I will put this rope around you, and we will get you out so you can return to being your mother's problem"

The unicorn stared at him with her big eyes silently, but she stopped moving.

"What did you tell her? We can't hear!" called Adrades.

Marzan slipped the rope around the unicorn, under her front hooves and across her chest.

"Nothing! You can pull now. Slow, so she can climb at her own pace"

He held onto the rope to climb out as well, following alongside the little unicorn as they got closer and closer to the top, where Adrades and Ithanion were holding them up. At least their dumb muscles served a purpose… Once they reached the roots again, he pulled out his wand and whispered a couple diffindo spells, cutting out a path for them to get out easily. They were both muddy, but the unicorn was safe and seemingly unharmed as the three centaurs cheered and Ithanion leaned down to hug her.

Marzan caught up with his breath and stood up, brushing away most of the mud and putting his wand back into his sleeve, only to notice Kadan was staring at him intensely while the other two fussed over the unicorn.

"I was a bit prepared to threaten you for your help"

He let out a snort and tried to wipe off dead leaves from his jacket.

"It was an easy enough task… and I couldn't leave her down there. She's a unicorn"

Muggles might overplay the importance and rarity of unicorns, but they were still quite powerful beings, with magic in nearly every part of their bodies. They represented purity and goodness, mostly the antithesis of what he was, but they could be vicious creatures when it came to protecting their young. In the rare occasion they chose a wizard to be worthy of their companionship, they could even transfer power to them… such a thing hadn't happened for hundreds of years, and he didn't expect it to happen again.

"You're very curious, for a human"

He shrugged innocently.

"Yeah, I guess you're not half bad" Adrades begrudgingly admitted.

"Thank you, we couldn't have gotten her out otherwise" Ithanion thanked him with a wide smile.

"Just make sure she doesn't run off again" he chuckled, and then he looked up to the sky. "I should get back to it, I have a mountain to climb"

He started walking back through the path the centaurs brought him down, thinking of how he was going to skip ahead to the next checkpoint, but he was stopped as a voice called out behind him.

"Hey, human!" Kadan yelled "What is your name?"

He smiled to himself before turning.

"Marzan Gaunt!"

And with that he was off back to the task.

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It was nightfall by the time he made it to the third checkpoint, and nothing of substance had happened in between the second and third, not even a creature from the forest coming out to attack him. It was almost disappointing, but he wasn't about to complain too much if it meant he finished the task faster and got off the damn mountain to take a bath and rest in his own bed. Spells had made his makeshift bedroll warm, but it still wasn't the pinacle of comfort he was used to. He ate only a few pieces of dried meat he had brought with himself, and then slept comfortably in his little bubble of safety next to the rock of the mountain, before setting off early the next morning. At the pace he was advancing, he should reach the fourth checkpoint soon, which meant he might make it back in only two days, hoping neither of his opponents had advanced as quickly.

It was only mid morning, as he nearly reached his last checkpoint, when he looked up ahead and saw Ipatiy Yevstigneyev staring back at him with wide eyes, not five paces ahead.

"Yevstigneyev?"

The mountain groaned and cracked, and he only heard him shout "careful!" before they crumbled down together.

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I did not expect to write about the centaurs and the unicorn, but oftentimes the story writes itself! Do they ever become relevant? Well that is for me to know and you to find out.

While I considered finishing the first task this chapter, I decided against it as to not overwhelm it, and you shall see the conclusion next update. Apologies for the cliffhanger.

As always, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I will see you soon with more.