The day of the first task arrived at last, with anticipation and many whispers about what might happen that day. Sudden silence dominated the Great hall when the Court entered and took their usual place. The conversations restarted with much more vigour at the sight of the champions in the hall. Thanks to the excitement, few noticed the absence of one person during breakfast.
"Madam Bones did improve the security measures," commented Terrence while looking around.
"Well, considering that the great Hogwarts gossip network has no idea about what happened, I must agree," muttered Daphne.
"So, what happened?" asked Fred, looking sheepish.
"It's not our fault that you and my sister decided that potions were more interesting," retorted Hestia.
"But we want to know," the other potion-obsessed student whined.
"Not much," Luna said, taking pity on her friend. "Professor Flitwick called Valerie to his office and she was questioned."
"Iwan and I were also called in," Viktor added.
"Maxime was captured on Thursday and is still in the DMLE," Fleur shrugged, though there was a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Marcus discovered that one of the judges violated her contract by selling information," Neville informed the group. "She'll spend two years in Azkaban, but that's not the important part. She sold information to Maxime and to a person they are still unable to identify. A mind healer has been working on her, but so far, there are no results in clearing her mind... If I'm not wrong, the French Minister withdrew any support for Maxime and will send another representative in a few days."
"Valerie will compete, though she has a second-degree infraction on her records," added George with a wince of sympathy.
"Along with a twenty-point deduction for the first task," said Cedric with obvious disdain. "She got off easy, if it wasn't for Fleur, she would have been disqualified."
"I think she hates me even more than before, if that is possible," Fleur said in a casual tone, looking at the Ravenclaw table, specifically, at her fellow champion.
"Marcus said they would still use the goobsnark, but in another way," said Draco with a slight frown. "If I'm honest, I think he wants one of you to get rid of it."
"I don't blame him. Those creatures are despicable," huffed Flora.
"So what will they use?" asked an excited Fred.
"Who knows?" his brother shrugged. "He only said that they should have their Occlumency shields on high alert for the last part."
"And I'm thankful for learning Occlumency," announced a relieved Cedric.
"How has the cube been working for you?" Harry asked the boy, more interested in this development than the task.
"It is way easier to concentrate now," the prefect said, showing the Rubik's Cube that he was manipulating.
"You won't be ready until you have breakfast, so hurry up," ordered Terrence, glaring at the untouched food of his friends.
Breakfast was a tranquil affair for them, enjoying the company and the food, not showing a hint of nervousness. Harry took the opportunity to appreciate the attire that his fellow champions wore, satisfied at Penelope's dexterity in clothes making. While the design was the same for all of them, the colours differed.
Fleur was sporting a burgundy tracksuit along with a white turtleneck shirt, which was so heavily enchanted that only an unforgivable curse or lethal blunt force would be able to harm them. Of course, that is without mentioning they were all wearing a special protective suit underneath, pockets that contained potions, and the emergency portkey that they wore as a necklace. Overall, Harry considered his friends and himself to be as protected as they could be.
'Not that I can say the same about the other champions,' the boy mused, ignoring with ease the slight guilt that this caused. He gave Iwan the uniform, as heavily enchanted as their own, though he lacked the other protections. And Valerie, well, the girl was a special case. While he didn't like her for her attitude towards Fleur and every person she considered competition in general, she was still offered a uniform. This kind offer was rejected on multiple occasions. Well, he did his best.
"Good morning, students!" Dumbledore announced, taking the boy out of his introspection. "Today, as we all know, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament is taking place in a few hours. Our six champions will be escorted by Professors Munter and Kowalski to the designated arena. All students who wish to attend need to present their signed permission to their House Heads or their assistants. Now, time to continue-"
"I apologize to all first and second years, who are not allowed to attend," Professor McGonagall added when the headmaster was about to dismiss them. "However, I have news that I think you will like. Mirror Summons was kind enough to lend the school their projection mirrors, which can be used to see the event. They were installed in the Hogwarts Hall yesterday evening, so those who wish to watch, please inform Professor Holmes and Professor Aldington. Your other professors, along with their assistants, will be supervising you for today, which means that if you want to spend the day in another part of the castle they should be informed immediately. This is a security measure that will be put into effect each day a task takes place."
"Yes, thank you, Professor McGonagall, for that information," the headmaster declared, though the words brought a pained grimace to his expression. "Now, champions, please follow your assigned professors. I'm sorry to inform you that none of your respective Headmasters will be able to join you for the day, but the professors will be available in case you need assistance. Mister Bjelac has not been feeling well and Madam Maxime... Well, she has complicated matters that need to be sorted and I'm not allowed to interact with the champions," the man explained, souring with every word that he uttered. "That's all, students - go to your common rooms and your respective teachers will collect you. Have a good day!"
With that announcement, chatter filled the great hall. The champions were led away after their friends wished them good luck. They walked in silence until they reached the carriages that were stationed near the now-abandoned cabin that used to belong to Hagrid.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Harry took a few apples out of his pockets and fed the thestrals, petting one of them. He did not notice the wide eyes of the professors or the confused stares of the other champions, although he did notice the gentle hand on his shoulder and the soft eyes of the usually stern Professor Kowalski. They would have ridden in silence, had it not been for an innocent yet tactless question.
"Harry, how did you make the apples disappear?" asked a curious Cedric, not noticing the silent plea the professors sent him to not broach the subject.
"I guess you can't see them," the boy muttered, looking thoughtful. "The carriages are pulled by thestrals, though not everyone can see them."
"And how is that you are able to?" asked a naive Iwan, much to the frustration of the teachers.
"You have not studied this far yet," Professor Kowalski announced, distracting the teenagers. "Thestrals are curious magical creatures, who aren't evil for they cause no harm but are classified as dark by the Ministry. You could even say they're pacifists for their gentle nature."
"Then why are they classified as such?" Valerie asked, her voice lacked that acerbic quality that most linked with the girl.
"Because thestrals can only be seen by those who have seen death and accept it," the woman stated, putting an effective end to the subject.
"Not much is known about them," Professor Munter commented in an effort to break the tense silence. "They are able to fly long distances without tiring and they can carry fifty times their weight, or that's what the last gamekeeper left written. Thestrals aren't domesticated, but somehow, our old gamekeeper managed to do that. They've been pulling the carriages for more than forty years, although they demand apples and beef jerky as a payment," the man said, looking amused. "I was told that the kitchens were ransacked by them because no one knew that the thestrals pull the carriages for treats. The poor school elves came crying because the 'baddy black horsies' were destroying their kitchen."
"That's something that wouldn't happen anywhere other than at Hogwarts," said Harry with a tired sigh, amusing his companions.
----------------------------------------
Amelia Bones observed the arena from her seat in the judges' box. To say she was pleased was an understatement. Despite the short time they had, the place was built with efficiency, resembling a professional, if a bit small stadium. Once again, she thanked her stars for having Marcus Travers at her side - without that man, she would end up murdering someone because of the stress of her position. Her undersecretary took care of most of the paperwork, which meant she wasn't enslaved by her office, and that is without mentioning that he had the most brilliant ideas - making her life much easier.
As a matter of fact, the first task would have been postponed if not for him, something that would bring even more shame to the country. Marcus had the insight to ask Harry Potter permission to use his elves and everyone knew that the Potter Family had perhaps the highest number of house-elves in Britain, though she was not expecting to have twenty elves to spare. The little ones were far more efficient than anyone gave them credit for and had the place ready days ago, though they decided to add a few details of their own, much to everyone's consternation. They changed the seats for a much more comfortable version that somehow ended up being less expensive than she expected. One of the elves, a quite... conspicuous individual that may have a better fashion sense than her, decorated the box himself. Honestly, she had no idea how the place ended up resembling a lavish reception with the low cost it had, but at least the guests were impressed.
She glanced to the side and noticed that Marcus was doing her job by socializing with the international guests that would be acting as judges, and the families of the champions. Not that she could blame him - at the moment, she was more of a zombie than a Minister. The last few days were harsh, between sorting the mess of the corrupt judge to changing the details of the first task. As a matter of fact, she slept almost six hours in two days, enough to function but not to act like a civilized human being.
Amelia took another glance at the arena and smiled in satisfaction. Yes, it would all be worth it, and she admitted being excited about how the champions would fare against the obstacles.
"Drink this," a familiar voice requested, handing her a vial of what she recognized as Pepper-up.
"Thank you, Sirius," she sighed, drinking the potion.
"At least you'll look less like a zombie this way," he said, giving her a wide smile. "Don't worry, Marcus is taking care of everything and the champions already arrived."
"He's a dependable young man," she agreed.
"Keep complimenting him and I might get jealous," her boyfriend teased.
"You're the one who compliments him the most," Amelia retorted, smiling at the man who always managed to lift her spirits. "It's time," she whispered and Sirius nodded, walking towards the large group of people.
"If I may," he announced, interrupting the cordial conversations, "it's time for the relatives of the champions to follow me to the assigned seats."
"Please take a seat, I'll be giving the speech in a few minutes," Madam Bones declared, composing her expression to resemble her usually stoic one.
The Minister observed the crowd before speaking, buying her time for the potion to act and for Moody to arrive. The man may be the best Auror in history, but he had no people skills whatsoever and scampered at the idea of socializing. On one side of the stadium, the students were whispering amongst each other, which was nothing new or remotely surprising. Teachers were scattered amongst them to keep a relative order. On the other side of the arena, the crowd of citizens was almost silent. Considering the fact that no less than twenty Aurors were looking at them like falcons and Moody tried to curse anything that dared to move during the last hour, she admired their determination to stay and watch the event. Everything was going well. No Death Eaters or any other kind of troublemakers were found, which was always a positive thing. The door of the box was opened and Moody entered, which was her cue to begin her speech.
"Good morning!" she announced, placing her wand on her neck to amplify her voice. "Today, the First Task of the Trischool Tournament will take place. I know that you aren't familiar with this name, but it was decided that the competition should be renamed because of the exceptional circumstances that surround this event and all the organizers agreed with the idea," she explained, conveniently forgetting to mention that the organizers were her and Marcus.
"First of all, I'll introduce the judges for all the tasks. From France, we have Minister Aceline Deschamps, along with the Head of the Honourable Council of Justice, Jean-Pascal Beauchamp, and the Head of International, Affairs Simonne Giraud. From the Northern Countries, we have Minister Iskren Voronin, the Head of the Great Council Mladena Kulakov, and the honourable Czarina Milica Volenskii. Finally, from magical Britain, we have the Head of the DMLE, Auror Alastor Moody, the Head of the Education Regulation Department and Chief Warlock, Madam Griselda Marchbanks. Due to different circumstances, the Department of International Magical Cooperation and the Department of Magical Games and Sports will no longer participate in the planning of the event or any other facet of it. As a replacement, we have Marcus Travers, Senior undersecretary, and me, Amelia Bones, Minister for Magic."
The introduction of the judges was met with much surprise and excitement from the public, especially when their visages were shown through the innovative projection mirrors that dominated different parts of the arena. She glanced at the judges, who showed different grades of appreciation towards the gigantic mirrors.
"The commentator for today is Mister Tiberius Ogden, who is explaining the rules to the champions at the moment," she announced after the crowd had calmed themselves. "Before I explain the task, I wish to thank Mirror Summons and Gringotts Bank for their support to have everything done in time. I also wish to remind you that three unique golden eggs will be auctioned in the Ministry Attendance Hall after the task. Don't forget that all the money that is collected from this event will be donated to the three schools."
She moved her wand from her neck and cast a silent adapertio, a taxing but impressing charm that revealed the true appearance of the arena. The sight of it made many jerk in surprise and others to stare open-mouthed at the astounding field of obstacles. Amelia smirked at their reaction, she would be offended if her long hours of planning were not rewarded by stupefied surprise. Yes, she would definitely enjoy their reactions when she described the task.