Victory

By the start of the new school week, all the clues had been found.

Cephas and Kaeley reigned supreme. Ravenclaw had managed to find three of the clues, while Hufflepuff had two. It was a hard blow for Gryffindor, their champion would go in completely blind.

Not that the clue that Beth had was much help. She had been breaking her head over it ever since it was handed to her by Regulus. Once the cylinder had been opened a woman's voice came pouring out of it. In a clear voice, she said:

"Pick a door,
to go looking for.
One, two or three,
the first will let you see.
Four five or six,
three has got some nasty tricks.
For potions it is best to remember,
the colour of December.
And when the door is knocking,
you'll find it best to stop talking."

Once again, Beth needed to figure out a poem. She had never gotten very far on the one the sorting hat had given her, so any faith she had in herself quickly evaporated when she listened to it the first time.

She was under strict orders from Lauren to tell no one about it. There were too many people with switching alliances. Some Slytherins hated Beth so much for taking 'their' spot as champion, that they started to help the other champions. No one was to be trusted. No one, except for Celia.

"It is clear that you'll have to choose between some doors." She said. It was one of the last sunny days of the year, and most of Hogwarts seemed to be enjoying it outside. The girls were seated next to the black lake, watching the giant squid pop up every once in a while and splash the people who had gotten too close to the water.

"Six doors presumably," Beth added. "The first will let me see, the third has tricks and if it knocks I should not speak."

"I suppose that means that the other champions know what lies beyond the other doors, but not behind number one and three." Celia said.

"Cephas has such an advantage," Beth said, grabbing a few stones and skipping them across the water. "Not only is he older, but he now also-"

"Stop it." Celia cut her off. "Ravenclaws always think they are so clever. But when the time comes they shit their pants and panic. Besides, if his clues are as vague as yours you'll be fine. Sometimes it's not about being smart, it is about being able to take the hit and still move on."

"You're right." Beth finally said, watching a bunch of first-years get splashed by the giant squid. "So, the clue is useless, and I'll have to wing it. But it does mention tricks and potions, so that's what I'll read up on."

"Atta girl." Celia grinned, fishing her potions book from her bag. "So we have fifty-one days to teach you potions and perhaps some defending jinxes."

"Maybe they'll make us fight each other." Beth's eyes followed Kaeley around. She had definitely gotten an increase in popularity after being chosen. She was constantly surrounded by fellow Hufflepuffs, all smiling and laughing right until they spotted the Slytherin champion.

Beth was treated differently as well in her house, people either treated her as though she was made out of glass, as though she had personally insulted their families or as though she was someone to be feared. Either way, escaping the crowd and being alone with Celia was still the best option.

Beth doubted whether Sirius could become any more popular in Gryffindor, so it was really just Cephas left. The only problem was, they never saw him. He spends all of his time in the library, hidden away behind piles of books. Any time she had gotten close to him several Ravenclaw students had threatened to jinx her. She couldn't even read the titles on the cover of the spines.

Cephas would win this round, that much was certain. Dumbledore had explained the point system a few days ago. There would be four tasks. If you win, each task had a different description of winning, you would be awarded three points. Second place got two points and third got one. If you came in last, you would receive no points.

So Beth would try and go for the second spot, and could only hope that the next task would play more to her advantage. In a way, the clues had helped her greatly. Kaeley, even though she did have two clues, was only in her second year. Sirius, who could actually be a threat, did not have any clues. All seemed to work out well, if she could just understand her own clue.

* * *

Beth took after Cephas, and started spending every free minute she had either in the library or in a vacant classroom, training for the first task.

It was now the third of October, and the nerves had already started to settle in. Any time Beth even thought about the tournament she could feel butterflies erupt in the pit of her stomach. Any time she saw the other champions, she felt like throwing up.

Some older students had helped her with learning new spells that Celia could not teach her. Her arsenal of jinxes and hexes had expanded greatly, though she did not know what she would be facing still. Her game plan so far would be to open door one, and hope that it will indeed let her 'see'. However, if it showed her nothing, she would have no idea what to do next.

She had read through her own potions book as well as the ones from students older than her. Still, she could only wonder what kind of potions they would face her with. They could make her drink poison and she'd have to brew the antidote or they could make her identify different potions, there was absolutely no way of knowing.

All and all, even with her new spells, Beth felt discouraged. If the rumours were true then Cephas and Kaeley were studying far more specific things than general hexes and potions. Ravenclaw students these days strutted around the castle like they were kings, something that did not sit well with the Slytherins.

"Pick a door to go looking for. One, two or three, the first will make you see. Four, five or six, three has got some nasty tricks. For potions it is easy to remember, the colour of December. And when the door is knocking, you'll find it best to stop talking." Beth repeated.

Elias and Lauren listened to the rhyme intently. Celia was the only other Slytherin who knew it in full, but Lauren had proven herself to be incredibly reliable, she would actually rather die than let any other house win, and Elias was just as fierce about the competition. Beth really did not have a choice, she needed more advice.

"So look through door one." Lauren said. "You'll see what you need to see, and take it from there."

"But what if there is nothing to see there?" Beth countered. They were talking in Lauren's dormitory. Lauren and Elias were seated on her bed, while Celia and Beth sat on the one across from them. Lauren was incredibly pretty, with blonde, long straight hair and eyes so blue they were almost mesmerising. Elias had black hair, and after years of playing Quidditch, rumour had it that he was being recruited by the Montrose Magpies, he had definitely built up some muscle. They were the 'it couple' of Slytherin and took pride it in.

"In riddles, you have to make do with the information you have." Lauren said, clearly lost in thought. "We don't have all the pieces, so we must simply make do with what we have. Go to one. Should it be a dud all you can really do is open other doors. Though it sounds like you should maybe avoid three."

"Have you heard anything about Hackett or Frye?" Celia asked.

"Not a single whisper," Lauren answered, leaning back on her bed. "I saw Cephas walking around with a book on herbology, but that could be for classes. We have no way of knowing."

Beth sincerely hoped the book was for classes, she needed far more than a month to even pass her own herbology exam, let alone learn it for the tournament.

Lauren was right though. Without the other pieces, Beth really had no other hope than the first door letting her see. Her fingers instinctively wrapped around her necklace. Her father had given it to her, the day she turned ten. She had worn it ever since.

"Keep learning." Elias finally just said. "Make it seem like you are on to something to the other students. It's about time we reign over the castle again."