they don't come gently
Ricky knew he was doomed with loads of work and schedules the minute he was chosen as the Slytherin prefect. He remembers how Hao patted his back with an echoing laugh when he came back with the robes.
But he was fine with it. It boosted his chances to get more involved with people connected to the ministry and such. It would be a big benefit when he was to apply somewhere after the dreadful NEWTS. He could deal with some rough nights and falling hairs for now.
What he couldn't deal with, were two times the usual amount of students in Hogwarts. Blimey! He couldn't cut a corner without being met with a bustling bunch of students, or hooting males. He felt himself grow irritated. When would they ever leave? The answer to that, he knew all too well. They hadn't even started. The schools had arrived barely two days ago. They hadn't even settled in. Tonight would be the official announcement of the tri-wizard tournament. Ricky was to lead the organization of the seating of the newly arrived schools. To say it was a hassle was an understatement.
The only consolation he had was that he could repeatedly set up the perfect situations for him to gawk at his boyfriend. The whole Slytherin dating a Gryffindor is taboo shit was boring. No one batted an eye anymore. So he constantly made it so that the two houses would be together, obviously only to make room for the guests.
Now the tri-wizard tournament. It was fool play really. Had these twats learned nothing since the last one? Was it not enough for Cedric Diggory to die? Was it not enough that the noseless slimy man had destroyed the memories of competition? Well, apparently not. They deemed that they would restart the tradition once more in 2013, with the hosts being Beauxbatons. This was Ricky's first time witnessing the tournament. He was excited. It wasn't every year that you watch such entertainment.
After a rather draining day of having to show aid to the new faces on campus, Ricky throws himself onto the rather comfortable sofa in the Common room of Slytherin. He lets out a sigh. He was in awe of how his head wasn't yet exploding with the amount of annoyance he contained in it.
He hears a small whisper call for him. "Ricky?"
He doesn't need to open his eyes to know who the voice must belong to. It would have to be either a Slytherin or Gryffindor since they had to retort to sharing dorms for the so-called guests. It was awfully inconvenient (no lies there, Ricky would attest). He knew the voice belonged to a specific Black-haired Gryffindor.
"Yes sweetheart?" Ricky says, his head still resting against the sofa's backrest, eyes closed. He hears a soft giggle come from the other. He was most probably amused by the way Ricky guessed who he was. With some effort Ricky opens his eyes, trust him he didn't wish to. But he also couldn't just ignore the love of his life now could he?
He sees the other boy approach where he was sitting. Ricky fidgets a little, giving the other adequate space to curl up beside him. Contrary to himself, the boy, Jiwoong, was dressed in a comfortable set of clothes, while he was still dressed in a white button-up, a tie with dress pants. He had long abandoned the coat they were forced to wear over their uniforms. Thank merlin they weren't still stuck wearing the wretched coats from before the war. The current uniforms weren't too bad. They were kind enough to give them options, and a more stylish set of clothes. Jiwoong was dressed in a Gryffindor sweater. Good, it was getting cold recently.
As Jiwoong sat by him, Ricky pulled him closer. Jiwoong was now trapped in the wrath of Ricky's embrace, not that he minded. Jiwoong pats the younger boy's blonde hair. Ricky inhales his lover's scent, he smelt like he was fresh out of the shower. Probably took one right after classes.
"What kept you this long?" Jiwoong asks.
"Just the whole prefect and welcoming thing, nothing important," Ricky answers, placing his chin on Jiwoong's head. The older hums in response.
"I swear to Merlin's beard you two better not be snogging," they hear an annoyingly familiar voice say. It was Kim Gyuvin, one of Jiwoong's fellow housemates, and unfortunately Ricky's childhood neighbor. He was followed behind by Yujin, a fellow Slytherin, who also looked annoyed at the older.
"I might Crucio you some day Gyuvin," Ricky mumbles. Jiwoong gasps and slaps Ricky's thigh. It does nothing but make the taller chuckle. "I dare you blondie," Gyuvin challenges. "I bet my gobstones you won't," Ricky loves a challenge. So he reaches for his wand and points it to his friend.
"Ricky no!" Jiwoong cries as he snatches away the wand. Gyuvin looks offended. "Backstabber," he murmurs. Yujin stands by, rolling his eyes.
Soon enough, the stairs are bustling with a few students. Ricky stands up once again. His prefect duties called, having to collect all the Slytherins and Gryffindors and get them to the Great Hall. But he figured there was no harm in having Jiwoong by his side rather than with the other thousand heads. He grips Jiwoong's warm hands in his own. He goes to stand by the Gryffindor prefects, who had a hectic day, much like him. He exchanges a nod with Kim Taerae, the Male Gryffindor prefect. The two had smack talked about this whole tournament merely a couple hours ago.
"Alright everyone!" he yells out. "We expect you all to be on your best behavior for the coming days. We have prestigious guests and we have a reputation to uphold," Ricky says. The whole bunch does something of a hoot.
Now it was Taerae's turn to talk "We'll be heading to the Great Hall now. Make sure to be orderly. I'll hex you if I find any pranks being pulled. I'm looking at you Kim Gyuvin and Park Gunwook," he says. The two boys snort.
They finally leave the very cramped common room, marching their way past the halls of Hogwarts. Seems like everyone had their own reputation they wanted to uphold because Ricky doesn't remember the last time the students were this well-behaved. They were usually like headless baboons, not that he blamed them. They were all slowly losing their minds with the way they were studying.
Ricky's hand doesn't leave Jiwoong's, although he was sure no one really cared much about it. Nothing to see.
The students of Hogwarts were ushered into the Great Hall first, the welcoming ceremony had to take place with them inside the Great Hall already. They sat down, rather cramped, but this was going to become a daily. Ricky sat with Jiwoong to his left and Yujin to his Right. On the other side of Jiwoong sat Taerae, the two cousins were in some conversation about what was happening with the recent Quidditch matches. Gyuvin sits across from his brother, trying to kick him under the table. Taerae glares at the boy, who giggles with Gunwook. Hao sits before Ricky, with Hanbin to his side. "How's prefect duties treating you?" Hao asks. Ricky growls at him, he isn't a violent person, really. But he couldn't help wanting to wipe that smirk off of his cousin's face.
"Hao don't annoy him," Hanbin warns him. Hao just pouts at his boyfriend's words. Hanbin waves to the other table, Ricky turns back to see Matthew with Jay sits by him, laughing at something Kamden must have said. Ricky smiles to them and turns back to regain his posture.
He finds Jiwoong folding up a napkin, trying to make something out of it. "What are you doing love?" he asks, interested in whatever his boyfriend was busying himself with. He found it rather adorable how Jiwoong always felt the need to be doing something. Jiwoong's lips are in a small pout, as he tries to figure out how to procced. Ricky takes that the other was trying to make a paper boat or something. Origami? Is that what the muggles called it?
He watches as the boy carefully folds over the paper, being cautious to not crumple the paper. He finishes whatever he was trying to achieve and turns to Ricky, placing it in his hand. Ricky coos at him. It was a paper swan. It probably wasn't the best one, hell it was probably one of the saddest attempts. But he found it absolutely precious. He plants a kiss on Jiwoong's forehead. "It's very pretty baby," he says. Jiwoong rolls his eyes, knowing very well that it was a mere disaster. He opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by the clinking of a glass.
"Good evening fellow students," They hear Hermione Granger, the headmistress say. Since Professor McGonagall retorted to teaching transfigurations, due to her older age, she passed down the role to Ms.Granger. It was a no-brainer really, everyone had seen it coming. Though some speculated it might be the Boy who lived, Harry Potter himself, they were proven wrong.
"Today we officially welcome the students and Heads of the two prestigious schools of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute. We hope to see you all be the best hosts to them, now please welcome them all," The room gets filled with claps, some hoots as well. They see a tall lady enter, with girls dressed elegantly in blue following her. The lady was Madame Olympe Maxime, the headmistress of Baeuxbatons. The girls behind her showcased their magic, rather conservatively. They let some butterflies spread through the hall, a few clouds of snow. It was breathtaking to say the least, but nothing too out of place or awing.
Right behind them, came the boys of Drumstrang. They were chanting some sort of mantra, Ricky swore his ears were about to explode. With the steps they were taking, he felt the ground Quake. They were headed by None other than the newly appointed head, Donalbain Alcorn. They walked mighty and upright. A little too much so. The two groups were in such contrast, it was a humorous juxtaposition.
They stopped before the tables where the teachers of Hogwarts were seated. Everyone cheered from their tables, but they all quiet down after the Headmistress raised a Single hand. She bows.
"It is our Honor, to host the Tri-wizard tournament once more. We hope that no one relives the past memories we all know of. We hope your stay here is well received," she says. The other two courtesy to her as well. The students of the other two schools are dismissed, and they scour to their reserved tables. Once everyone is seated, The Headmistress looks at them with a homely smile. She commences the meal.
"Finally," Ricky groans. "I feel like I haven't eaten in a decade," he complains.
"You ate barely 5 hours ago," Jiwoong points out, but still places food on Ricky's plate, who thanks him.
"I'm a growing boy, what do you expect?" Ricky jokes as they all dig into their meal. Matthew walks towards them, finally reuniting with the group. He loved being in hufflepuff but he also loves sitting with his friends most meals, and no one seems to mind.
"Hey guys," Yujin calls out to them. The 8 boys turn their attention to the youngest of them all. "Will you be putting your name in?" he asks. Well wasn't that a question?
Jiwoong immediately shakes his head "Not for me," he says. "I second that," Hanbin says.
"Unless smiling is about to help me win, I think not," Matthew jokes, Yujin does find him funny.
"I don't think so," Hao says before turning his attention to his plate once again. Gyuvin and Taerae respond negatively too. Jiwoong turns towards Ricky, who seemed like he was thinking about it a little deeply.
"Ricky? Would you be putting your name in?" he questions. Ricky hums.
"Why not? I don't see the harm in trying. I am all for a little competition," the blonde says. Jiwoong nods "We shall see how well that goes," Gyuvin teases him.
Ricky rolls his eyes "I'll have to see if my name even emerges from that goddamn fire," he says. Yujin nods, and the topic is not further discussed for the time period. They all go to stuff their faces with food.
After a while, The headmistress comes up and introduces the oh-so-known "Goblet of fire". Ricky thinks to himself that if Hogwarts was fictional, there would be a book of the same name. It had lots of incidents related to it. To think about it, The Wizarding War and the Battle of 1998 would make a really good movie. He would watch it.
The goblet seems to be sparkling new. Maybe they finally decided to give it a much-needed polish. It was a pretty sight. Ricky hears Jiwoong exclaim as the cloth is lifted from on top of the goblet. Ricky has seen much fancier artifacts really. Purebloods have this taste for them. But this was by far one of the most ancient-looking. The carvings were of things he had never seen before. He could appreciate art when he sees it. And The Goblet was definitely a work of art.
Everyone is in awe as The headmistress starts on with a soliloquy about the tournament.
"The Tri-wizard, Dating back around 700 years, this contest of intelligence, courage, and wizardry was traditionally held every five years between the three biggest wizarding schools in Europe: Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts. After some, er, accidents, the contest petered out,"
Hao snorts "all three champions were injured in 1792," he explains. "That's why they stopped it," the others
The headmistress clears her throat.
“Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. On the night of a weeks time, that is on the night of Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of sixteen will be able to cross this line…I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet.”
"May all the best go to you," She finishes. The teachers clink their glasses and the students roar with excitement.
Of course they did, even Ricky did. It was the most fun they would have in a while. May as well take advantage of it.
And also, what's the harm in a little bit of fame? In case his name comes out of the goblet, he'd be able to showcase his skills and if he didn't get in, it didn't really matter. Would he be embarrassed? Of course. But no one would remember it even a week later. So no, it didn't matter.
The next day flies past. Quite literally. It's just a blur of bumping into new people and getting squished in the hallways constantly. The only good thing was the fact that they were given a bunch of free periods.
Gyuvin tried pranking everyone that he put his name in, but no one bought his pranks anymore. It made him very annoyed. He would have to come up with better ones now.
After breakfast the next day of the announcement, Ricky stood a little far away from the goblet. He looked at it, slightly contemplating his decision. "Are you not putting your name in?" Jiwoong's voice asks from beside him. Seems like he had just entered along with a bunch of other students. Ricky is slowly surrounded by his friends. Surprisingly, Matthew too joins him.
"Hmm, just thinking about it love," he says. Jiwoong rolls his eyes. He places his books on a table nearby, rips out a piece of paper, and writes Ricky's name on it.
Shen Quanrui -Hogwarts
He folds it in half and hands it to Ricky, extending his arm. But the blonde boy just grabs his wrist and pulls him towards him. Jiwoong squeaks a little but lets himself be pulled by the other. He hears someone fake barf, he guesses that it was probably Gunwook or Gyuvin. Not that it mattered.
"You want me to put my name in?" Ricky asks. Jiwoong just shrugs. "You enjoy stuff like this, so why not?" he reasons. Ricky kisses his cheek and gets the folded piece of paper from him. He takes large steps toward the goblet.
Everyone in the room's, attention goes to him. Like it always does when someone goes up to the goblet. Ricky pauses. He turns back to Jiwoong and winks at him before dropping the paper in. He sees blood rush up Jiwoong's neck as he looks to the floor. Many hoots and words were shouted, acknowledging Ricky's courage. Well so much for not getting noticed.
Ricky immediately goes to Owl his mother about his latest development. He felt bad for his owl, he often sent messages back to his place, causing the poor bird to travel back and forth quite often. But Ricky also made sure to take the best care of the bird. He had it named Tux, true to his black feathers. He scribbled away with his quilt, in a comfortable environment. He could hear the soft hums of Jiwoong, who was sitting on Ricky's bed trying to decode some potions homework. It was a lazy day, and Ricky absolutely adored it. Might he add, it's been bloody cold at Hogwarts. Ricky came from a far-off land, it never really was this cold. Hell, it was freezing here. He'd probably die of frostbite if not for all the coats and magic. But now, the cold just added to the homely atmosphere. It felt domestic and Ricky was over the top happy.
He quickly finishes off the letter, adds a picture that he had taken with Jiwoong a few days ago, and wraps it in an envelope. He ties it to Tux's leg, and he is off. Ricky looks out of the window for a while till Tux goes out of site. But he quickly closes the window after, the warmth of the room was seeping out the window. He walks towards his bed, where Jiwoong was still seated. He had his large black framed glasses on, Ricky argues that it was almost 2 times the size of his face, clearly not the right size. But he had to admit, they suited him a tad bit too well. Really, he was adorable.
Jiwoong notices the figure approaching from his peripheral vision, he turns his head towards him. "Finished writing?" Ricky just hums and sits on his bed. He rests his chin on Jiwoong's shoulder, peering into the older's textbook. Potions was more or less interesting to him, it might just be because he likes nature a lot, but it's also because it's the wizard equivalent to chemistry (he's heard online about all the wonders the muggles had created with a few chemicals. It put magic to shame sometimes). Jiwoong pats his head but goes back to reading the textbook soon after.
"Do you think I'll be participating?" Ricky asks, a little out of the blue. Jiwoong pauses for a moment, he closes his textbook.
"There is a high chance," Jiwoong says nodding. "You have competition but then again you are one of the more looked upon students, being a prefect and all. But even if you don't it doesn't matter. Probably happened for a reason," Ricky raises his eyebrows at that.
"And what does that imply?"
"That maybe something bad might have happened if you did but the universe prevented that,"
Ricky's eyebrows crash together. That wasn't quite what Jiwoong would usually say. "Sweetheart, are you scared?" Jiwoong keeps quiet. He doesn't know what to say to that, after all, he was the one who convinced Ricky to put in his name. "Well?"
"I'm not sure, it's a big thing," He answers.
"Well whatever it is, I'm more than sure I can handle it. I'm amazing aren't I?" Jiwoong scoffs at his shameless sentence, but he can't hide his smile. "Sure you can,"
"I'll not take offense to that because you're cute," Ricky says as he stands up from the bed. Jiwoong looks at him mockingly, but he doesn't pay him any mind. Ricky pulls on his coat and wraps a scarf around his neck. He lifts Jiwoong off of the bed and gets him to stand. "Let's go out, the snow is pretty," he suggests. Jiwoong nods and turns to the door. "Where do you think you are going?"
Jiwoong looks at him questioningly "To get my coat?". Instead of Responding, Ricky places one of his own on Jiwoong's body. It had the symbol of slytherin's, with a green and silver border, but Jiwoong had no complaints. He just wore it. The two quickly made their way through the halls, before they finally reached the outdoors. The place had a considerable amount of people, everyone wanting to admire the snow, no matter how cold it would be. And it wasn't just the students of Hogwarts, it was everyone.
The snow had settled in, snowflakes falling little by little.
Jiwoong reaches his hand out to catch one in his palms, the design was so intricate and beautiful, but it melted as quickly as it came on. "Did you know that each snowflake has a unique pattern? No two are the same," he says randomly. He always awed Ricky with his muggle knowledge, that he mostly had gotten from his mum. Being a half-blood he had good exposure to both sides of the world.
"How come?" Ricky questions
"As the primary ice crystal falls, it passes through different conditions of slightly varying temperatures and humidity. These changing atmospheric conditions cause the growth patterns of a snowflake’s arms to change as the snowflake falls," Jiwoong answers effortlessly.
Ricky smiles, filled with adoration. He bends down and places a small kiss on Jiwoong's red nose.
An idea sparks into Jiwoong's train of thoughts.
He crouches down and balls some snow up into his hands. He pats it into a sphere. Ricky stands by him, waiting to see what he does. Ricky always had stayed inside for winters. He wasn't a fan of having to carry so many layers of clothes when he could simply stay inside all warm. Even as a child, snow didn't mesmerize him much, in theory, it would be fun to play with. But he didn't see the pleasure behind it. Hao always told him that he was crazy. But hey, he wouldn't be the one stuck with a runny nose by the end.
But somehow, the snow seemed absolutely beautiful now. The way Jiwoong looked at it made his heart burst with so much love. It made him so full of glee to see the way he acts like a child for the simplest of things. He was always so easy to please and making him smile was something anyone could achieve. He was made so ready to give love to everyone he crossed paths with, regardless of what they were or who they were.
Jiwoong suddenly turns to Ricky, who was barely a foot away from him. A cheeky smile climbs up to his lips as he throws a snowball at Ricky. The blonde gasps at the cold ball. "Why you little!" Jiwoong pokes his tongue out at him before balling another snowball and throwing it at his boyfriend. Ricky immediately takes up the challenge and starts making balls of his own. Jiwoong quickly ran away, although the best he could really do was waddle with the clothes he had on.
Ricky aims and throws a large ball at Jiwoong. He shakes off the snow as he throws another at Ricky. The two go back and forth, not having a care in the world about who was around them. Jiwoong couldn't stop the giggles that came out of his mouth. Ricky chases him around the perimeter of the area. But since all he could do was waddle, it was pretty easy for the other to catch up to him.
Ricky immediately traps him with a back hug, and Jiwoong giggles hard. He places a kiss on Jiwoong's scalp. "Caught you,"
"You lost," Jiwoong retorts as he tries to wiggle out of the other's embrace, but fails miserably. "I'm pretty sure there was no points being kept babe," Ricky says. Jiwoong shakes his head "There was and you lost," he reasons.
Ricky doesn't reprimand. If Jiwoong said he lost, then he lost. But something that was bugging him was the eyes that were on Jiwoong. Listen, he wasn't one for jealousy (lies) but he really didn't like the googly eyes people were making at him. The only bright side to this was the fact that they were well aware that the other was taken. But this specific student from drum-strang had his eyes stuck on Jiwoong for a long time. And Ricky noticed. He had to stop himself from shooting glares (or maybe even a hex) at him. Ricky remembers him from the welcoming. He even remembers that he put his name in the goblet. Yoon Jungwoo (was it jungwon?) or someone. But he really didn't matter.
The two quickly made their way inside, careful not to catch a cold because what's the fun in catching a cold on the best days of the year?
Almost a week after the arrival of the schools, and a day after the goblet was put up, it was the day everyone waited for oh so patiently. Today they would announce the names of the three wizards would be announced. Ricky would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, but everyone had hyped him up so much, that he couldn't help but be thankful and hopeful.
The headmistress stands, tall and mighty. Everyone was seated before her.
"Wizards, witches, and erm, animals," she says as she looks at the cat that was meowing right by her feet. She continues, however.
"I'm sure we all have been waiting on our toes, for the announcement," she says, she would have continued, but she was cut off by the screams of everyone. She couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm.
"We've had many entries this year, a whopping total of 34. 10 from Beauxbaton, 12 from Hogwarts and 12 from Drum-strang. I applaud your courage. Know that even if your name is not called here today you are still a mighty good wizard or witch," Applause continues.
"As your name emerges from the goblet, I ask for each one of the three participants to come forward towards me," she instructs. She makes her way to the goblet, looking elegant as ever. She reaches over the goblet, whose fire was already put out to make for the choosing. The room goes completely quiet, you can almost hear the thrumming of everyone's heart.
She finally reaches out with a paper in her hand. She looks around the room, the faces of all the students and emotions remind her way too much of her time here. She could never thank or forgive this place for everything it had done to her.
To tease everyone, she opens the paper as slowly as she could. She hears a few groans across the room, but she pays them no mind.
"The first Wizard chosen....... Belongs to Drum-strang! And the name is," she pauses long. Really someone might drop dead soon.
"Lee Jeonghyeon,"
Once again the screams start. A few students of Drum-strang hit their chests with pride, yelling and hollering. And a man emerges out of him. Ricky notices his chiseled face, he doesn't smile much but he has a look of pride on his face. The headmaster pats his back almost fatherly as he comes to stand beside him. His lips twitch upwards a little.
"Ayo that's my friend," Taerae says in awe. They all turn to look at him. "What? I'm not allowed to have inter-school friends now?" they all laugh at his offense and shake their heads.
"It's just a surprise Taerae," Jiwoong tells him. Taerae just huffs as he looks to the front.
"The next, is...." The headmistress continues once again she reaches out and pulls out another chit.
"This time it's a young lady," Ricky rolls his eyes at this joke of hers. Of course that only eliminates the already eliminated school. But he still feels a little uncertain. What if it wasn't him from Hogwarts? What if the witch who is called now from Hogwarts?
"And she belongs to Beauxbaton," Ricky sighs, letting out a small thank god. Jiwoong grabs Ricky's hand and interlaces theirs together. The gesture makes Ricky feel good.
"Ezaki Hikaru,"
This time it's just cheers and claps, all the ladies of the school were splendidly well-mannered, exactly how pure bloods are taught to be. A girl stands up. She has an elegant smile on her face, and he name suggests that she's somehow of a Japanese descendant. She makes her way to her headmistress, next to whom she looks like a child.
"Now that leaves the final Wizard or witch to be from none other than Hogwarts!" The headmistress says delighted. The students bang their tables, some chanting the names of their friends who put their names in (including Ricky's) but a single raise of hand shut them all up.
Once again she moves like a sloth. unfolding the delicate piece of paper. Ricky takes a deep breath in.
"The final tri-wizard participant, The student representing Hogwarts,"
Oh god, he was really going to faint soon.
"Is,"
Oh for the merlin's sake.
"Shen Quanrui," She says, smiling proudly.
Fuck.
Was it really him?
Ricky feels himself freeze as he tries to process the information. He hears screams and feels pats on his back. But he only looks at Jiwoong who smiles at him so brightly. "Get up there," Jiwoong says patting his thigh. Ricky squeezes his hand as he rises to get to the headmistress. He hears a bunch of congratulations as he is on his way. But he keeps a straight face, never faltering once.
"I'm glad it's you," He hears the headmistress say as she shakes his hand. He bows to her, chest filled with too many emotions.
The rest of her speech goes by in a whirl. She says many words of congratulations to the chosen three. She says some words about safety etc;
"I must remind you it is never advisable for you to use the three forbidden curses against any of the other contestants or wizards. Doing such will get you retracted points or withdrawal from the tournament. The three wizards are to submit your wands today for an inspection before you are allowed to use it. The first task will take place Precisely in two days. Good luck," She finishes.
"And Might I remind you, the theme of this year, is reoccurrences," She says as though this wasn't completely new news to all of them. There were audible gasps. The only three people who seemed not to be surprised were the headmasters.
Ricky was confused, reoccurrences? Well, that could mean many things, would the tournament be a series of reoccurrences? Or would they have to look out for reoccurrences? Was that how they find the clues? What sorcery was this?
The three were ushered into a room right by the Great Hall for a short introduction. They handed their wands to Professor McGonagall who went away with them. The three of them were left in the room, none of the professors or other students were there. It was probably some way for healthy competition or whatnot. Ricky couldn't pinpoint one reason.
He bows to the two others, who bow back. The girl, Hikaru smiles and says "Hello, I'm Ezaki Hikaru, year 5," she says with a slight accent, expected from living in France. She smiles brightly once again, and Ricky can't help but return it.
"I'm Lee Jeonghyeon, year 6," The boy says, finally smiling a little. Good that he does because Ricky was starting to think he was the heartless kind. "You don't smile much," Hikaru points out, Ricky lets out a stifled laugh. Jeonghyeon rubs the back of his neck. "I'm just a little shy," he says. Hikaru laughs "I'm just kidding,"
"Well, I'm Shen Quanrui, but call me Ricky," he finally says smiling. "I'm in year 5 too,"
"Then we are the same age!" Hikaru points out, Ricky nods.
"I'm curious what Hogwarts is usually like, It seems so festive now," Jeonghyeon says. Ricky nods.
"Events like this are taken very seriously, but it's only festive like this 20% of the time, everyone's usually drowning in classes,"
The other two just nod. They exchange some information about each of their schools. Beauxbaton takes their manners very seriously and often unladylike manner is punished. Ricky thinks it's a little extensive but not a comment he makes out loud. Drum-strang is nothing of a surprise. Jeonghyeon remarks that every time marches happen it's like an earthquake, and everyone is too loud for his liking. He also talks about what happened to their last headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.
But soon after, they are let out and given back their wands. Minerva lets off Ricky with a pat on his back, something that makes Ricky stand up straighter, almost as though they carried some weight. The three returned back to the hall, where everyone had already started with their dinners. They were met with loud cheers once they entered the room. Ricky, Jeonghyeon, and Hikaru exchange nods before going their separate ways.
Ricky practically runs to where his friends were seated, on his way he was stopped by Matthew, Kamden and Jay. The three of them congratulated him "Don't let all your bleached hair fall off in the process," Kamden jokes causing Ricky to pinch his arm. Matthew gives him a big smile "I knew you'd do it!" he gives him a small hug.
Ricky finally gets past and goes to sit by Jiwoong, who beams at him. "Well, look who's here, it's the hogwarts champion" he says teasingly. Ricky ignores the comment and places a kiss on his forehead. He sees Gunwook give him a nod of approval with his cheeks filled with food, the rest don't seem to acknowledge the nomination much, well it was expected of them. But it's still worth the excitement.
"What did they take you out for?" Hao asks Ricky. The boy shrugs and non-chantly answers "They took our wands for examining and left us three to get acquainted,"
"Anything interesting you could find?" Hanbin asks, joining in.
"Not much, just that Jeonghyeon is a year above me and Hikaru. That and about how the last Headmaster had his soul sucked in front of the whole school, but everyone just cheered," As he finishes he hears Taerae's high-pitched laugh fill the place along with chortles from the others. He feels Jiwoong shudder. But who wouldn't? The thought of a dementor's kiss is sickening.
"Well, at least it's not as bad as having people re-enact the Headmaster's death. I swear to Merlin I've seen at least 50 men with a bad white wig and beard try to recreate it in slow motion," Yujin says, disgust laced in his face. "If they do it they ought to do it right. Such horrid theatricality," he comments as he wipes his mouth with a napkin. Hao can't help but cackle at the youngest's concerns.
"That's not the point Yujin!" Jiwoong scolds. "These are people who have died!" he screeches. But Yujin has no remorse, just shrugging his shoulders.
Seems like they really did wish for no mishaps this time around, since for the two days before the first task, the three of them were given simple training, a few spells, herbology knowledge, and battleground ethics. It wasn't anything that they (well, Ricky) didn't already know of. He had even gotten a lengthy howler from his parents, with his dad raving about all the "techniques" he could use. Ricky's smile grew a little with the thoughts of his folks. He considered visiting them right after the games, maybe the Headmistress would see where he was coming from. He'll have to try.
Ricky was very attentive to all the sessions, wanting to catch a few hints as to what their first task would be. But he was stumped. Nothing really gave anything away. He even tried snooping around the castle to catch somebody or something off-guard, but he had no luck.
"You should focus on strengthening skills, not cheating," Jiwoong advised him, Ricky had flopped face-first on to Jiwoong's bed. Ricky rolls his eyes at Jiwoong's justice bone. "Baby no one has ever won without a little bit of cheating," he reasons. Jiwoong shrugs "Maybe you could be the one,"
Ricky groans "Love the enthusiasm but I'd rather increase my chances of winning,"
Jiwoong sighs. He flicks the back of Ricky's head. "You don't have to cheat, just be smart. Now tell me why they would be teaching you spells and potions to tame something. To learn herbology specific to fire and water? Just connect dots a little, and read about more such spells,"
"You are making this sound like a class now," Ricky teases. Jiwoong sticks his tongue out at him "Says the one who wants to win but refuses to make an effort," now it was Ricky's turn to be offended. He sits up and places a hand on his heart. He looks at Jiwoong like he had just uttered the worst statement ever. "Excuse you, but your poor boyfriend has been surrounded with plants and spells for the past day and a half and is exhausted. And you have the audacity to tell me I don't make an effort!" he says.
Jiwoong chuckles at the other's childish attitude. "Okay you big baby, you worked hard. Okay?" Ricky shakes his head. Jiwoong tilts his head, as though he was asking why not.
Ricky immediately pounces on Jiwoong and starts tickling him without an end.
"Stop! That t-tickles," he says as he laughs loudly, trying to squirm out of Ricky's grasp.
"Actions come with equal and opposite reactions," Ricky says slyly, using Jiwoong's own words against his. He remembers Jiwoong telling him the same statement in many other situations. Apparently, it was associated with the muggle sciences. Whatever.
Jiwoong tries to kick Ricky away but the taller does not budge. Jiwoong's eyes start tearing up from how much he was laughing, and Ricky couldn't help but laugh along with him. It was just a bundle of laughs and tears and neither seemed to care.
"S-stop My tummy hurts," Jiwoong squeals out, and Ricky finally stops tickling the shit out of him. Jiwoong quickly pushes him away, well he tries Ricky doesn't really budge.
"You're a monster," Jiwoong says as he pouts. Ricky hums and kisses him on the lips, and even if Ricky really was a monster, Jiwoong wouldn't really care. He was a nice one and that's all really mattered. He might be stubborn and standoffish but at the end of the day, Jiwoong still loved him dearly, and deep down he is nothing more than a child.
It takes Jiwoong a small while to convince Ricky to go back to reading material that would help him in the tournament, namely about creatures and spells. It wasn't a hard task, just a time-consuming one. But Ricky knew he was to focus, so he forced himself to. Jiwoong went as far as leaving the room so the other would focus (it was met with protests but he complied anyway)
And so he read the books, and he read them again and again, he read them till the time Professor Longbottom had to pull him away from the books to get him to the tent, where all the wizards were to go an hour before the event.
They were told that it would happen in one of the older stadiums located near Hogwarts, but they wouldn't need to worry about transportation anyway, it would all be set up for them.
"And before I forget," Professor Longbottom says, contrary to the way he was rushing Ricky a few seconds prior "You are to bring someone to the tent, anyone important to you is allowed to be present,"
Ricky raises his eyebrow with suspicion. "What for professor?"
The professor shrugs, "I've stumped myself my boy, but maybe the purpose is an emergency contact or just support," he reasons. Ricky nods. "Now off you go, get them and come quick! We mustn't be late!" he says as he shoes him away.
Ricky didn't have to think much as to who he was wanting to bring. He runs through the halls, trying to look through the places Jiwoong might be. He peeks at the Great hall, thinking the boy might still be there with the rest, but he wasn't. He does find Gyuvin however, he calls out to him.
"Have you seen Jiwoong?" he questions.
"He just headed back to the dorms," Gyuvin answers. Ricky yells out a thanks and turns around.
"Don't die today blondie! Good luck," He hears Gyuvin scream after him. It makes him laugh at just how unserious his friend was. He hastily makes his way to the slytherin common room and heads up the stairs to the room Jiwoong was allocated to. He is well out of breath when he reaches the door, but he knocks anyway. He waits for approval and goes in when he hears a faint come in.
Jiwoong is surprised to see him. "Ricky I thought you were to have left already," he says. Ricky nods. "Well change of plans, you're coming with me," he says. Jiwoong looks taken aback, but he waits for Ricky to continue anyway.
"They asked us to bring someone for support I guess? I'm not sure, but just come along," Ricky says. Jiwoong nods. He closes the book he had opened and stands up to get his coat and shoes. Ricky waits patiently, not caring to rush Jiwoong even though he knows he is probably late. Jiwoong is quick however, well aware of the fact that Ricky had an issue with punctuality.
Ricky then takes Jiwoong's hand and goes back to where he left Professor Longbottom standing. The professor takes a look at Jiwoong who greets him. He smiles and ushers the two students into the floo, that they were supposed to board 3 minutes ago. Oh well, who else to arrive fashionably late other than Hogwarts themselves? Dumbledore would be proud.
As quickly as they entered, they were thrown out into a tent. Jiwoong exclaims with the force of the air that he was just hit with. Ricky Quickly fixes his cloak and looks toward the professor, who was still collecting himself. He shakes his head "I'll never get used to this! Blimey me," The professor exclaims. The two boys hold back a laugh.
"Now off you go to the rest! Don't want to miss anything now do we?" He says as he pushes Ricky forward. The boy nods and pulls Jiwoong towards the place Jeonghyeon, Hikaru, and two other people stood.
Hikaru and Jeonghyeon turn back to see Ricky approaching them with Jiwoong. They exchange quick smiles.
"You're late," Jeonghyeon says, with the intention to pull Ricky's leg. But he is quickly shut down by the boy next to him "By barely a few minutes," Jeonghyeon groans at him. The site was easily amusing to Jiwoong.
Ricky smirks "Well what's the fun in not breaking rules," he says pridefully, this time Jiwoong snorts "Bold coming from you Mr.Prefect," Ricky's smile immediately drops as he pinches Jiwoong's nose. "It's a joke," he reasons. Jiwoong just gives him a half-hearted nod.
"You're right on time! Don't mind him, he just got here," the boy who was beside Jeonghyeon says. Ricky smiles to him.
"Well, since we're here for god knows how long, introduce yourselves! Hi! I'm Hikaru," she says enthusiastically. "This is Bahhiyih," she says motioning to the girl beside her. "Nice to meet you," she says.
"I'm Mun Junghyun!" the boy from earlier says. "Oh! You both have the same name!," Jiwoong points out. The boy nods happily. "But he is a Lee and we spell our names differently," he explains. Jiwoong nods.
Ricky swears he hears Jeonghyeon say something under his breath along the lines of "Soon to be Lee," definitely dating then.
"I'm Kim Jiwoong," he says giving everyone a bright smile. Ricky stares at him for a beat too long, and everyone looks at him. Caught red-handed.
"Uhm, I'm Ricky," he says awkwardly. He is 99% sure Jiwoong was giggling at his misfortune. Well, he was exposed early on, no can do.
"How cute!" Hikaru exclaims at the way Ricky was obvious, this should really falter Ricky's stance, but he decides to collect himself anyway, he can't go into this fight getting shy at compliments.
They all are startled as they here loud claps behind them. They turn to find the headmasters from their respective schools, along with someone dressed in a suit, and an unfamiliar figure. The headmistress takes a look at the three other people in the room, other than the champions. She nods slightly.
"This is Mr.Bernard, He joins us from the Ministry of Magic for these very prestigious games," she says.
They all bow to him a little, acknowledging him. He just gives them a smile.
The headmistress goes to Ricky, as do the other headmasters. They all surround Mr.Bernard.
"The first task is one that requires quick thoughts and agility. You are to be dressed in some armor, but be sure to know your limits. If you feel that you are in danger and can't turn back, send out a flame with your wand, and you will be retracted from the stadium. However, when you use this, your point for the round would be nil," he explains slowly. He makes sure to look into each one of their faces, making sure that each of them understands the seriousness.
"What is the task about?" Hikaru asks him, beating Ricky to it.
He smiles "All I can tell you is that it involves a creature. And you won't be allowed to watch your competitors in play, for obvious reasons," He claps his hands together and looks at the headmasters. "Let's get up there now shall we?"
"Last Words?" The headmaster of Drum-strang asks. The minister just nods, making his way farther away from the group.
The Headmistress turns to Ricky. She smiles dearly at him. She pats his shoulders "Remember to try every spell you think of, You never know which one could work," She says. "No matter how silly," Ricky nods. He'll remember that hopefully.
"Your armor is fireproof and hopefully protects you from any shrapnel, so go and be fearless," she continues.
"Thank you professor," he says mindfully. She fixes the collar of his cloak before she turns to stand beside Mr.Bernard. The gentleman clears his throat, catching all of the other teacher's reactions. They all glance one last time at the students and leave. Tension was high in the room, suddenly it seemed all too real.
They were all taken to a kind of private space in the tent, one for each school. The armor would be placed in it. As expected, it had a big logo saying "Hogwarts,". Ricky feels some pride in being able to represent the school. It was also pleasantly warm with the armor around him.
He turns around, searching through his cloak for something. "Wand?" he hears Jiwoong ask. He looks up to see the stick in Jiwoong's hand. He quickly places back his cloak and gets the wand from Jiwoong. Ricky looks at him, his face was filled with a few uncertainties and mostly just determination.
As an attempt to give the taller some support, Jiwoong opens his arms, for Ricky to hug him, and Ricky gladly accepts. He slumps onto Jiwoong instantaneously, leaving the boy to almost support him entirely. But Jiwoong doesn't complain, this was a big deal and a big event. He knew deep in his heart that Ricky would do absolutely fine, but it was better to just help him calm down a little for now.
Ricky hears someone call him out, he groans but gets off of Jiwoong anyway. He takes him by the hand and leads him out, for the nth time that day. He sees a lady well in her mid-forties waiting in the middle of the room. He's not sure who she is but approaches her anyway. He sees the other's come closer as well.
"Okay goody now everyone is here, Your order goes in terms of age oldest first. That means, Drum-strang first, Beauxbaton second, and lastly Hogwarts. As you were told before, you are expected to wait in the tent till your turn to battle," she explains.
"Oh and before that, can the three of you move closer to me?" she says motioning and Ricky, Hikaru and Jeonghyeon. They do as she says and step in front, leaving their support systems behind. She does a quick motion with her wand, and suddenly there is an invisible barrier between them. Ricky's eyes widen and he turns back immediately trying to get to Jiwoong.
"Your discussion time with other people is over, the next time you will be allowed to interact with others is only after you have finished the task," she says. Ricky's busy looking at Jiwoong who looks confused about what she was saying. Maybe they couldn't hear her either.
"Jeonghyeon Lee, your time to go," she says ushering the boy out of the tent. Jeonghyeon turns back to look at the barrier, seems like he too partially makes out the figure behind it. But they can see the three of them are being given instructions themselves.
Ricky feels a wave of loneliness suddenly, not being able to talk to Jiwoong or anyone other than Hikaru for the forthcoming time. He sees Hikaru roll her eyes annoyed at this arrangement. Ricky gets out his wand and is close to casting some spell that might break the barrier. He sees Jiwoong shake his head with disapproval instantaneously, so he scrunches his face and backs down. He goes to sit at some place at the tent, near where Hikaru currently was. If they were going to be stuck here, might as well talk for a while. The silence was not the best atmosphere now.
He stares at Jiwoong through the distorted bubble, he sees how the figures seem to be becoming smaller. "I'm guessing they are letting them out so they can see the match," Hikaru tells Ricky. Yeah, that makes sense. So Ricky nods to her. he spins his wand in his hands.
"Do you think it's started-" Ricky starts, but is cut off by a blearning sound of a horn. Hikaru laughs.
"I presume it's started now," She says. Ricky laughs at the timing and shakes his head. "So what's your strengths?" she asks him.
Honestly, Ricky never thought about that. He aced all of his classes easily enough and could balance his life very well. He didn't have a specialty. Which would be a good advantage here. But he wasn't sure he wanted to disclose that to his competitor just yet. She might be friendly and sweet, but she's also most likely smart. This wasn't a mere game for them to play. It was their make-or-break moment. Though they try not to treat it with such greatness, it is true. And they were well aware it was.
"I'm the best at herbology I guess," she looks at him confused. "Plants and everything," her mouth goes in an O and she nods. In reality Ricky just didn't like herbology, he often found the class boring. But it's important to know the plants and their properties. Magic plants were always cheeky. Dealing with them was just as temperamental as dealing with hungry toddlers.
"What about you?" He questions back, not that he'd really dwell on her answer. She looks to the ceiling, thinking of her answer. "Transfigurations," She says after a while. If it was the truth, Ricky would be impressed. It was one of the hardest subjects for sure, but since he hadn't been truthful himself there was no way he would take her word for it.
The next 20 minutes go in silence, neither of them ask a question or exclaim about anything. Soon after, Hikaru is called up.
"Good luck," Ricky tells her. She gives him her usual smile "You too kid," she says, smirking at him. She was bold calling him a kid. "Shorter, but kid?" he challenges her back. She rolls her eyes. "Small chilies spicier," she says before she leaves the tent escorted by the same lady.
Now Ricky was all alone. He waits for the horn sound again, he wants to see how long it takes before he is called. He is once again startled after by the sound. It must be really loud for him to hear it this clearly. He gets up from where he was sitting and he paces round the room. He tried to recollect a few spells that he had read earlier in the day, making sure to perfect the movements over and over again. He'd have no time to try repeatedly in the field he is sure. He tries to look outside, but his view is disrupted by too many plants and trees. Shucks.
He's unsure of what to expect. His mind goes back to the time the Headmistress announced the theme "Reoccurrences". He'll have to make sure to pay very close attention to his surroundings. There will probably be a lot of hints for the upcoming tasks in it. It'll take a lot of brain power this time. Thank god they have a good amount of time to figure everything out before the second task. There was even the Yule ball.
Ah. The Ball. The thought of it already has Ricky smiling. He plots a little in his head about how he was going to ask Jiwoong to the ball. I mean, it's a given that they were to go together. But he wasn't a Shen if he didn't go all out for everything now was he? He would take no disgrace to his name in stuff like this. And for Jiwoong he would go above and beyond. He didn't want to make the biggest scene, rather he wanted it to be personal and memorable. He'd really have to top every other thing he has ever done, which is hard. He tries to go all out each time and now he's reached a plateau he's afraid.
He's only snapped out of his thoughts and brainstorming when he hears the ever-so-annoying buzzer.
It's him next.
He quickly dusts himself off and checks whether his clothes are in place and fitted. A wardrobe mishap is not something he looks forward to when facing whatever he has to. He secures his wand in his grip, tracing over its intricate details. He breathes in and out a couple of times. As he counts down the seconds, he sees the same lady from before come to escort him. She smiles at him as she shows him the way to go.
They walk underground, it gets progressively darker but it's well-lit with the cauldron of fire in between. He feels almost numb at the moment. There's no anxiety in him, neither is there any adrenaline. Which is pretty weird considering the fact that he could quite literally be walking into a death trap. But he's calm. He needs to think straight.
The woman in front of him comes to a halt in front of this large gate. She turns around to look at him.
"If you wish to be taken out of the arena, simply send a firey spark and you will be extracted out. The 3 forbidden spells are not to be used in any circumstance. You will be marked on every move you make," She instructs him. He nods understandingly.
"Your goal is to find a scroll, which will contain a huge clue for the next round. Your time limit is for 30 minutes, the more you extend the time, the more points you loose," She finishes. "I wish you the best of luck,"
Ricky thanks her.
"I have a single question," He says before she leaves. She turns to him and looks at him waiting for the continuation.
"Will the scroll be moving?"
She laughs heartily. That raises his suspicions. She nods a little. "You'll figure it out soon enough," she says and leaves smiling.
He hears a faint voice of a countdown. Remember how he wasn't feeling anything? Yeah, all that came crashing down in that moment. He feels his heartbeat to 10874 miles per minute. His hands got all sweaty and clammy. He feels all jittery. Would he die by chance? Probably not they'll pull him out before that. Right?
Suddenly his eyes squinted, there was so much light falling through the cracks of the gate that was slowly opening. At least he could see now. He blinks a couple of times, trying to get used to the new environment. He walks out unprompted on his own.
He takes in his surroundings.
The arena was big, there were many trees and boulders. Almost a forest-like landscape. He looked up to see many people being seated, they were a lot above where he was, but he was sure they all had precise views of where he was. Lovely.
Ricky digs his fingers into the designs of his wand. He grips it for everything in his life. He looks around, trying to find any clues of the scroll. Maybe it was like the golden snitch, constantly moving. He would need to fly to catch it maybe. He'd have to accio his broom, much like Harry potter did in his times.
He hears the sound of the all too familiar buzzer going out. Right after, he hears the sound of a stone wall being opened. He whips his head to the direction of the sound.
Hogwarts has really out done itself once again.
It was a cockatrice.
The very creature that brought the end of the tournament. Really, Ricky would have to applaud their brains, because this was not something he would expect in a million years. It's the worst creature he could think of having to go against.
It was a mixture of a cock and a crocodile. The crocodile's thick skin makes it hard for a few spells to actually have an effect on the animal. Thank the gods Ricky took time to read about this creature, though he couldn't really remember any weaknesses he'd learned. In fact, he doesn't remember learning any.
Well, here goes nothing.
The creature looks furious. Fire in its eyes. Ricky quickly props himself in a position to attack, his eyes still shifted from time to time trying to figure out the location of the wretched scroll. The cockatrice scowls at him, but he doesn't attack yet. Maybe it was tame and would leave him alone if not provoked? Stupid thought, but it's worth a try.
He was proven to be wrong, of course, provoked or not it was going to attack him. It roars at him and starts running (waddling ought to be a better world) towards him. If it was a normal day, Ricky would have definitely made a joke about how it ran. It was quite comical, but there was room for laughs here.
The first spell that comes to Ricky's mind is fire, maybe he could distract the bird if it's feathers were one fire?
"Bombarda!" He yells out, his wands spewing with fire right after. But to his demise, the thick skin of the creature protected it from any damage. The only thing that happened was one the tree nearby catching fire and two the cockatrice getting even more riled up. It caws at him, snapping its beak.
He couldn't rick setting the whole forest on fire, and the spell did little to no damage.
Maybe water then?
"Aguamenti," He says and spews water at the beast. It does well in keeping the creature away. Ricky tries to run around, still spewing water at the cockatrice, and searches around for the scroll. It could really hide and be camouflaged anywhere. It was a pain. He hears a few roars from the audience from above.
Where could he find the wretched scroll?
He decides that he'd be better off if he didn't have to constantly keep holding back the cockatrice, maybe he would deal with it first to peacefully be able to search for that scroll. Seemed like a god idea.
So he turns back to the wet cockatrice, it was riled up. It makes it's way to Ricky trying to attack him. Once again Ricky throws water at the poor being. Really he felt bad having to fight it like this. He observes the creature, trying to take notes of any wounds or weak points it might have. He could target it easily.
And that's when he sees it.
The scroll is attached to the leg of it. He immediately stops with Agumenti. It would be a vain if he had gotten the scroll wet (which seems impossible, surely it was waterproof). Forget having to push it out of the way, it was the thing he needed! This task is proving to be much more impossible than he'd like.
He'd have to tame it now. But cockatrice's are known to be non-domestic and violent. He'd have to try something else.
Maybe Injuring the creature would help. He sends a bunch of arrows to it "Conjuration!" Although a few do peirce it's skin, non are fatal or even slow it down. It only goes to make it even more restless and violent. It starts jumping up and down, running to Ricky, who immediately runs in the opposite direction and hides behind a tree. He hears the confused caws, anger lacing them.
He takes a minute to catch his breath. He tries to think. Think of any spells, or enchantments. Oh for merlin's sake this bird was out of it's wits.
Ricky closes his eyes, but quickly opens it back in the fear that the cockatrice will find him in that time.
Huh. Wasn't that a epiphany.
Blinding the thing could by him enough time to either get the scroll or for him to come up with a plan.
"Obscuro!" He shouts out and sees a blindfold appear in front of the cockatrice and blind it. The animal tries to fight whatever it could find near it. It starts attacking a tree and clawing at it.
Definitely can't be tamed. Just for a safe measure, Ricky decides to climb a tree a little farther away from the violent half cock. He could feel a few stings over his hands from a few cuts that he had gotten. He could tend to them later. He tries a couple of spells in the meantime but they don't seem to have an effect.
The boy gets increasingly restless as he sees the creature trying to take off the blindfold and scarcely failing.
"Petrificus totalus!" He yells out. He expects the creature to turn into a statue, but again the spell has no effect. The cockatrice turns to where Ricky is, the sound alerting him exactly of his position. It takes careful steps, and with each of its steps Ricky swears his adrenaline spikes.
"think think think," He whispers to himself. He tries to recall many other spells, but they quickly get dismissed by him.
He thinks back to the meeting he had with the headmistress merely an hour or two ago.
Her words start ringing in his head. "No matter how silly,". He tries to think of the silliest spells he's read. Often times than not he would laugh at them as he had his textbook or a book from the library on his lap. It always made him laugh thinking about who would have been the one to come up with such a spell.
Well, he's tried everything. It would be silly to stop there. Maybe this will embarrass him if it doesn't work, though he doubts anyone would remember.
He points his wand to the cockatrice.
Here goes nothing.
"Avifors," He utters as he sees a flash of sparks go to the cockatrice. At first, it simply stops in its tracks and moves a little, weirdly. As though there was something pocking it, it jumps around a little.
Did it fail? Ricky was stumped. He had no more spells he could think of.
But almost on cue, the thing starts shrinking in size. He sees a blue spark burst, and the beast, once almost twice the size of Ricky was a magnificent blue bird, barely the size of a bludger. This amuses him. Ricky chuckles a little. Maybe the headmistress knew him a little too well.
"Petrificus totalus!" he lets out once more, This time the spell works efficiently, making the bird drop down dead-looking. Ricky sees the script still attached to its leg and lets out a relieved sigh.
He jumps off the branch of the tree he is on and approaches the bird.
He does a quick work of untying the script from the leg of the pitiable bird. He contemplates changing it back right then, but doesn't in the fear of it attacking him once again. He loosens his back and stands up straight. He could hear the applause for a while, it was almost deafening, he saw the gate that he came through once again open. He walks straight through it, not caring to look back at the tragic arena.
He isn't led back to the same dark place, he's somehow transported to a place where all the three headmasters and Mr.Bernard stand. He saw Hikaru and Jeonghyeon in the same place. It seemed to be somewhere within the place where the audience was since he could see the arena below them and many other students and professors to their side (although they were separated from them). He hears many congratulations from the teachers and people nearby. His competitors smile at him. He takes note that they all managed to retrieve the scroll. It made him both thankful and restless. He could see a nasty scar forming on Jeonghyeon's face, it seemed like he had been scratched by something. He'd ask about how they defeated that menace later.
Suddenly an eerie screech comes through. He hears the voice of Mr.Bernard follow.
"Now that all three champions have emerged victorious, we will now reveal the scores. We arrived with the scores after careful consideration and deliberation. We hope that no one gets angered by the same!" he announces.
Ricky laughs a little. Surely no one will try anything here.
"First we have Mr.Lee Jeonghyeon, with the points of 67," a loud roar is heard. That's a pretty high score Ricky knows. He automatically claps at the other's achievement. Both the headmaster and Jeonghyeon look proud.
"Next is Ms.Ezaki Hikaru with a whopping 70," The screams that follow are loud, Hikaru grins from ear to ear and Ricky sees Jeonghyeon's smile falter a little, perhaps he was getting tired, but he tries to keep up a pleasant look on his face. And Ricky respects that.
Next Mr.Bernard turns to Ricky "Last but not least, we have Mr.Ricky with....," he pauses. Fuck this suspense. Really this was the smallest announcement yet. No need for suspense.
"a 70 ," He announces. "That gives us a draw between Beauxbaton and Hogwarts! Well done champions you have officially concluded the first task ever so successfully," he applauds. He goes on to talk about their bravery and courage and what not.
Ricky was proud of himself, he may not have been the sole winner, but a draw wasn't bad. Not at all. He could definitely work with that. It was more than okay. He feels the pat of his Headmistress, he straightens his back.
He could do this. He could win this for sure.
He ends his speech with more congratulations. He says the next few announcements would be made by the headmistress. Applause loudly follows.
"Congratulations once again to all the champions. Now to the next few events planned. As per usual, we have the Yule ball being held before the second task. In a week, we have the Yule ball, all students other than year 1 will be taking dance classes for the ball. For the champions and their dates to the balls, special sessions will be held," Ricky groans internally. Really? dance classes? With the second task right around the corner, this was a waste of time (other than the fact that he would have a great time being all over Jiwoong, but that was secondary).
"A week after the Yule ball, the second task will be held, so 2 weeks from today. The scrolls you retrieved from the Cockatrice will prove to be valuable for this mission. However you can only use it, once you decode it, so I wish you the best of luck,"
Finally they were all let to leave, well the audience were. The three of them were once again ushered into the tent. Ricky had already started unclipping the heavy armor from his body. It weighed like 5 kilos. As soon as they got in the tent, Ricky sees Jiwoong and the other two there. He doesn't wait for any directions and simply walks to Jiwoong, who gives him water as soon as he reaches him. Ricky thankfully gulps it down.
In his peripheral vision, he sees Jeonghyeon slump on to Junghyun who lets out a huff but doesn't complain. Hikaru just sits down next to Bahhiyih who ruffles her hair. They were all pretty dirty considering the fact that they had just fought off a cockatrice.
The 4 elders, exit the room. They had already finished congratulating them enough and they had plenty of time for that when they were replenished. Now they needed rest and they would give that to them.
Ricky drops his armor to the floor carelessly and sits next to Jiwoong. He turns and comfortably settles his head onto Jiwoong's shoulder. His breath was a little rugged but it was slowing down nonetheless.
"You stink," Jiwoong jokes poking at Ricky's cheek. The blonde just wraps his arms around Jiwoong, who no longer had the heart to tease the tired boy. He'd let him sleep if he could, but he knew it would be a better idea if they'd go back to Hogwarts. Harry could also see Mr.Longbottom and 2 other Professors waiting.
"Let's go back," Jiwoong says as he tries to stand up. But again Ricky doesn't budge. Jiwoong sighs. He stands up forcefully once more, but Ricky droops back. He then uses a little strength to pull Ricky up to stand. He has a scowl on his face.
"I'm really in no position to be dragged around," He complains. Jiwoong rolls his eyes "Well Your Royal Highness, you are to use the floo back to Hogwarts and then sleep, not in this tent that is mighty cold with no coverage," he reasons. Ricky doesn't fight back this time, but he still has an unpleasant look on his face. He let's Jiwoong guide him to Mr.Longbottom.
Usually, the floo wakes Ricky up well enough, with the wind and force of being thrown out. But not this time. Ricky doesn't even lose his balance this time. He's too tired to react (he was actually saving up his energy to go wash up before hibernating). These magical battles really do have a strong impact on your energy. He should keep that in mind next time.