The First Task, and the Yule Ball
During Friday, in Charms, I was summoned by a first year to go to a certain classroom for wand weighing and pictures. I gathered my things, and followed him to the room in question, which contained a balding man with a slight paunch, Ludo Bagman, who was talking to a woman in a magenta dress, Krum and Karkaroff, along with Madame Maxine and Fleur. When I entered, no one really paid me any attention save Fleur, who eyed me suspiciously. I stepped over into a corner, and began to ignore everyone, messing with my Metamorphmagus power. I grew so tall I had to bend over to keep from hitting my head on the ceiling, before my hair grew out to my ankles, turned neon green, and I shrunk to the size of a gnome, then back to normal, hair still long and green. Experimenting a little, a set of gills appeared on my neck, and I gasped for a moment in the waterless environment before shifting back. My hair shortened, and turned back to brown, before I noticed that everyone in the room was staring at me.
"Good Lord, you're a Metamorphmagus, aren't you?" Bagman spoke, and I nodded.
"Class five." He chuckled, and nodded.
"Incredible." The lady viewed me over her glasses, and opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, the door opened, and Harry entered, pulling everyone's attention away from me. Ludo spoke.
"Ah, there he is. Now, we're just waiting on the weigher of the wands before we get started." The room lapsed into silence, Harry being pulled off into a broom closet by the woman. After a while, I began to mess with my abilities again, making my skin turn bright red, with scaly plates on it, before making my eyes slit-like and green. Fleur jumped, and Bagman applauded, laughing. I shifted back to normal before smiling sheepishly. It was at that point Dumbledore entered with Mr. Ollivander, who surveyed the room with interest. Dumbledore glanced around, noticed Harry's absence, and asked where he was. I pointed to the closet, and he retrieved him from the woman, who Dumbledore called Rita Skeeter. He beckoned me forward, and when he took my wand, he froze. He looked up at me, confusion and fear on his face.
"Is there something wrong, Mr. Ollivander?" Karkaroff quickly jumped in, but Ollivander shook his head.
"No, nothing wrong with it, I had just recalled this wand. Fifteen inches, elder wood and thestral tail hair. Transfiguration mostly, but I wonder..." He flicked the wand, and a wisp of white smoke puffed out.
"Hm. For a moment there it felt like the wand was without the Trace, but it passed the test." He then tapped a stool, turning it into a ferret, and back before handing it back to me. I retreated to the corner of the room, next to Dumbledore, who whispered to me.
"Did you..." He motioned to my wand. I nodded slightly. He seemed impressed.
"That is very powerful magic. I'm not sure how you did it." I shrugged, and noticed that the group was lining up to take pictures. I joined in, placed at the back immediately, which was fine with me, but I was stood next to Krum, who was surly and quiet. The pictures were taken, and we were dismissed, but I was held back by Ollivander.
"My boy, I must ask you something." I paused, and he spoke.
"That wand has performed powerful magic. I knew it when I touched it. That is a very special wand, not actually made by me, though I claim to have. It was made by my grandfather, many years ago, and no one could use it, owing to its power. So, I put it on the shelves, hoping to forget about it. Be careful with that wand, boy. It contains the propensity for great evil." I nodded after a second, and he smiled weakly before wishing me good luck.
-
The day of the challenge had arrived, and I was incredibly nervous. Dragons, I was afraid of. Luna hugged me, and I embraced her tightly.
"Hey, if I don't do very good, or if I even die, just-" she stared me down, and my sentence stopped. Her look softened.
"You will make it back. You've wrestled a werewolf, for Pete's sake." I smiled weakly, and kissed her forehead before patting it and moving towards the tent flaps. She left me, walking towards the stands to sit with Ron and Hermione, while I entered, meeting the other three, who seemed to be doing better than I was. As Bagman told us to collect the golden egg, I noticed that none of the other three competitors seemed worried about what it was exactly they were facing. They must already know. Fleur reached into the proffered bag, and drew out the Welsh Green. Krum drew the Chinese Fireball, and Harry drew the Hungarian Horntail. As I walked up to the bag, the other three seemed to be viewing me with sympathy. I reached in, and withdrew a black dragon that I couldn't identify at all.
"Ah, Dugan. You've received the South African Blacktongue. The running order is thus: Miss Delacour, Mr. Kehoe, Viktor, and Harry." Fleur rolled her shoulders, and permitted herself to be led out by Bagman, to the cheering of the crowds and roaring of her dragon. I searched my mind for information of the South African Blacktongue, but came up blank. I shrugged, and went with my best bet, a Vanishing Spell and speed. After hearing the roars and cheers of the crowd, resulting in a final hurrah, the people stopped, and collectively cheered as she was scored, I assumed. Bagman patted my shoulder, and I rose from where I was standing. Harry clapped me on the back, and I smiled weakly before exiting the tent and entering the arena. In front of me was the golden egg among the rest of the dragon's own eggs, I assumed, and above them stood the most terrifying monster I'd ever seen. Black scales curled around a strangely serpentine body, leading up to a thin, angular head. As it swung its head around, trying to pinpoint where I was, I swore. It was completely eyeless, meaning my Vanishing Spell would have no effect on it. The crowd watched quietly, waiting for my move. Before I decided to make any drastic decisions, I shot a Stunning Spell at it, just for kicks. It bounced off, and the dragon roared, exposing rows of needle-like teeth. I grinned, and realised my path to success. I saluted the judges, and Apparated to the egg, directly under the dragon, before scooping up the egg and Apparating back. The crowd gasped, and I bowed before looking at the judges. Madame Maxine: 10. The other administrator, Barty Crouch, waved his wand. 10. I gasped, and turned to Dumbledore: 10. Bagman. 10. My jaw dropped, and I turned to Karkaroff, who looked at me carefully before waving his wand. 10. My hand went to my mouth, and the crowd roared in approval. I stepped out of the arena, and found Luna waiting in the other tent. She squealed when she saw me, and ran up, crashing into me full force, her arms wrapping around me, and I hugged her in return. When I let go, we looked at the egg together. As the others finished, we all assembled before Bagman, who explained that the next challenge was to take place at half past nine on February 24th, around a four months or so from now, and that the eggs had hinges on them, containing a clue to be found out that would help in the next round. We left, Luna and I heading for a secluded area just outside of the Forbidden Forest, and sat in the grass. After a little bit of just sitting together, holding hands, she looked at the egg.
"So, are we just going to sit here, or are you going to open it?" I shrugged, and pried the edges of the lid open easily. When I did, the egg seemed to screech, and Luna and I covered our ears while I slammed it shut. I shook my head, and was struck by something.
"Hey, Luna, I think I have an idea. You might want to cover your ears." She covered them, and I opened the egg once more, letting the screech continue. I listened for a little bit, and smiled as I shut it. She removed her hands, and asked me what had I heard.
"It's Mermish. And I speak Mermish." She jumped, excited, and I wondered for a split second why none of the other Ravenclaws had ever congratulated me or offered to help at all. Jealousy, probably. I shrugged it off, before taking the scrap of paper and quill she handed me.
Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you’re searching ponder this:
We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss,
An hour long you’ll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour — the prospect’s black,
Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back.
I read it aloud to her, and she frowned.
"But that doesn't make sense at all." I read it through a few times, and grasped it.
"So, the first line, 'Come seek us where our voices sound,' that's gotta mean the lake, right? Because the only place they could be if they were Merpeople is the lake, right?" When she nodded, I continued.
"The second line is just adding on to that, but the third and fourth lines are interesting. 'And while you're searching ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss.' I guess that means someone I'll 'sorely miss.' So, you." She blushed, and I smiled before resuming.
"The last bit means that I've only got an hour to get you before I lose, I assume." She frowned, and spoke.
"But how will you get to me?" I grinned, and grew gills. They shrunk, and I laughed at her bemused expression.
"Metamorphmagus."
-
I was in the common room, helping Luna with a paper on Unforgivable Curses (the Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Mad-Eye reminded me of the rats back in my first year), when Flitwick call the common room to order, so to say.
"This year, we will be holding the Yule Ball, as we are having the Triwizard Tournament. The four champions are expected to dance with a partner, and I am counting on Dugan to show the competing schools, and even the rest of our school, how sophisticated Ravenclaw is, so he will be inventing his own dance, to be taught to his partner and executed perfectly," a lot of stress on the word perfectly, "at the dance. Failure to do so will result in severe House-wide consequences." The entire room turned and glared at me, save Luna.
"That is all." He left, and I dropped back into my seat, defeated.
"I'm doomed, Luna. I don't know how to dance." She sighed, and sat down next to me.
"Well, we're sure going to look awkward standing in the middle of the room, aren't we?" I looked up, and she giggled.
"I knew you were going to ask me to go." I grinned, and spoke.
"Well, break starts tomorrow, so we've got a little time to practice. Let's finish that paper."
As we were heading to the Room of Requirement, my mind was hit by an idea.
"Hey, I've got an idea. My mother, before she died, loved watching Muggle movies, and one of them I remember clearly, mostly because she made me watch it ten times." We walked past the room three times, and entered, revealing a wide open room with comfy sofas along the edges. She set her bag down, and I rolled my shoulders.
"What movie was it?" I pulled out my wand, and summoned several golden figurines, who promptly began dancing on the floor.
"Footloose." She chuckled, watching them dance.
"Sounds like fun." I new the dance by heart, and, after a few unsuccessful tries, we were able to keep me on my feet as I practiced with her. Other than that, we needed a lot of work, but we had around six days before the ball to practice in, and I began to think of how to actually pull the dance off without getting expelled from Hogwarts.
-
I nodded to the people assembled in the room, and stood from my table with Luna, wearing a crisp suit and bow tie, emulating the character from the American film. After some incredibly complex Dark Magic, I had been able to show most of the people attending the ball the scene, and they agreed, promising to get as many people as possible in on it. The Great Hall was decorated with silver Christmas trees and garlands, white chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I breathed in, and out, whilst Dumbledore raised up a platform for the Weird Sisters to play from and moved the tables and chairs to the edges of the room. I had already made a deal with them to play a certain song, and as the other three pairs stepped out (they were in on it as well; don't even ask me how I got Krum and Delacour to agree to it), the song began. I stepped into the center of the circle, and slowly began to dance, picking up speed as the song did. The teachers watched with curiosity, and I began moving at a frenzy, most of the room joining in. I raised my wand, and, with a bang, confetti burst out of the tip, showering over everyone. Suddenly, I lunged into a backflip, landing perfectly, and the crowd cheered. I pulled off the jacket, and threw it into the crowd as I danced, thoroughly enjoying myself, while different people from the crowd formed their own groups and began to dance. I pulled Luna into the circle with me, twirling her around like a top as we danced, the song's tune taking me back to when I was five years old, going to see the movie in the theatre with my mother. We had laughed, and, when we returned home, had emulated the dances, my five year old body clumsy but having fun anyway. I finished the twirl, and drew her in for a tight kiss. The people watching wolf whistled (particularly the twins) and I blushed slowly. We drew back, no longer dancing, as the song changing into something just as fast paced. I grinned, and she beamed at me before stepping back and pulling the edge of her dress up before dancing a traditional Scottish jig to the tune of the music. I jabbed my wand into my throat, and yelled out.
"Everybody! Line up in a row!" They did, some people staying out of the line because they simply didn't want to (such as the other three champions), and the Weird Sisters struck up a stepdance tune. We danced in perfect harmony (mostly because of a little magic on my part, but hey.). After a little bit of this, I stepped out of the line, still in harmony, and turned, facing them, speeding up my pace to twice theirs. Whew. I'm glad I can control my feet with magic. They suddenly stopped, leaving me alone, and I danced onward, enjoying the complete absurdity of this moment, and I saw Dumbledore clapping along with the others, and I was curious as to what this would sound like with actual shoes that were meant for stepdance. I picked up the rhythm, looking down only when the soles of my shoes began to heat up, and noticed my shoes were smoking. I pulled out my wand, drenched them in cold water, and slowed, doing a more elaborate version as I slowly backed up. The line dissolved, people laughing and talking as the Weird Sisters started to play their normal music. I set a bag of gold in one of the instrument cases, and sat down at a corner table with Luna. Out of nowhere, Flitwick appeared at my shoulder, quite literally.
"I was worried that you were going to make a terrible fiasco of the thing, but everyone loved it, so I must congratulate you. Nice job." He patted my shoulder, and left me with Luna. We talked for a little, and she glanced out of the doorway.
"D'you wanna... Go for a walk?" I nodded, and stood, holding my arm out for her. She linked her arm through mine, and we exited the Hall, and into the courtyard, which had several bushes and small fairies inhabiting it. We walked slowly, enjoying each other's company until we reached the far end of the courtyard. She turned to me, and pressed her lips to mine, which I responded with by wrapping my arms around her. I guess life can't get much better than this.
~
The next morning, I woke up in my dorm, Luna beside me. I paused, and realised it was Sunday, as the Yule Ball took place Christmas Eve. I relaxed, and Luna slowly woke next to me.
"Merry Christmas, Luna." She smiled, and buried her head into my side. I looked down at the foot of the bed, and saw that the present pile was much larger this time.
"The house-elves must have delivered your presents here as well." She nodded, still buried into my side, and I chuckled.
"Come on, lazybones." I sat up, leaving her laying down, and began to sort the presents. Sadly, she seemed to have a pitiful few compared to mine, but I glossed over this by piling the candy tins onto her pile. She sat up, rubbing my back, and looked at the pile.
"Why did you give me some of yours?" I shrugged, and handed a Chocolate Frog to her.
"You didn't have very many, and it wouldn't be fair if I didn't share my presents with you anyway, seeing as you're my girlfriend and all..." She smiled, and bit into the Frog. I opened the few non-candy gifts I had (a hand-knit sweater from Molly Weasley, a book on magical theory from Hermione, a book about the Chudley Cannons from Ron, an enchanted yo-yo from Ginny, some of the twins' latest inventions, a book of Muggle children's stories from Harry, and a letter from Jack.)
"You didn't have to get me anything." She shrugged, and said,
"I wanted to." I unwrapped the rectangular package, and found a book with no cover. I flipped it open to the first page, and saw a drawing of me, from the top front, looking up. The next page was of me smiling, and all of these pictures put the school's paintings to shame. I looked at Luna, and wrapped her in a hug.
"These are amazing. Did you draw these?" She nodded, and I smiled before reaching under my bed and drawing out a small box.
"Here. Open this." She took it, and opened it, revealing a set of Dirigible Plum earrings. She gasped, and closed the box, looking at me in wonder.
"Where did you get those?" I smiled mischievously, and shrugged nonchalantly.
"I have my sources. Do you like them?" She nodded vigorously, before looking up at me. "I love them. I love you." I smiled, and wrapped her into my arms. "I love you too." As I said it, my mind turned towards the inevitably approaching future, where Voldemort would return and I would enter the deepest undercover spy mission in all of Hogwarts' history.