Preparation
The warmth of the plush fabric and watered-down cocoa was a welcome delight after the chill of the Black Lake.
Fleur sat huddled on a conjured sofa in the champions’ tent with the other champions and their families. Dudley was curled next to her in his own plush robe with a cup of tea as they watched their mothers both tearing into her sweet Uncle Martin in rapid French. He was, without a doubt, the least favourite family member of the evening.
Dudley snorted, “Imagine if I hadn’t volunteered, poor Gabriella would warrant a full inquisition by those two.”
“Your mother is rather terrifying, Duddikins.”
Fleur's head whipped around to see a familiar cheeky grin appear out of nowhere next to her. “Fabian!” she hissed in surprise.
He grinned, only his face showing from beneath the invisibility cloak, which, to her knowledge, belonged to Hadrian, “Well, if it isn’t our little flame.”
His face was pushed aside as an identical head popped out from thin air, “Of all the possible puns, and yet that’s what you’re going with?”
Fabian smiled slowly, “I was just getting warmed up.”
“If you two are going to start bickering, let me out.”
Dudley’s brow rose, “How many of you are under there?”
Fabian winked as Gideon pulled the cloth with a flourish, revealing his twin and the boy she met a few weeks prior, Bill.
With a quick “Oi!” Gideon threw the invisibility cloak to Hadrian, “You shouldn’t leave things lying around; they might get nicked.”
Hadrian rolled his eyes as he shoved the cloak into Neville’s bag, “Bloody tods.”
Fleur’s attention was on the three boys, once brothers, now something far more complicated, “Only three Weasley boys? You couldn’t find the other two?”
“Well, Percy is other there, making sure Hadrian and Daphne don’t catch anything.” Gideon’s thumb hitched over his shoulder, “He’s rather a mother hen.”
Fabian fondly rolled his eyes while Bill frowned, “Technically, we’re the only non-Weasley boys now.”
“Pish-“
“-posh.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the two carefree boys. That night had been riddled with emotional turbulence.
Dudley shook his head, “I’m going to go save Dad. You have fun with your… whatever they are.”
Fleur waved him off as the twins eagerly sat on either side of her, “Well, what do I owe the pleasure of the not-Weasley boys?”
Gideon leaned back into the cushions, snagging a cup of hot cocoa from a floating tray, “Those two couldn’t keep their debate civil, and I offered that we settle it in person.”
Her brow rose as she glanced from Fabian to Bill and back to Gideon, “Debate?”
“On how you kept the flames alive underwater.” Gideon wagged a finger at his brother, “Go on, let’s see who was closest.”
She shook her head, “It is one of my inherited abilities to control fire.”
“See!” Fabian grinned triumphantly as he threw his arm over the back of the couch.
Bill’s eyes narrowed, “She controls fire, not air, Fabian. How do you explain how she was still able to breathe then?”
She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at the two and shared a knowing look with Gideon.
“I don’t know, Bill, but an old tomb trick probably isn’t the answer either.”
“Tomb trick?” She interrupted with interest.
He scowled at a smirking Fabian, “Some old tombs use mineral deposits to create fire traps or to light the torches along the way.”
“I wove magnesium into my swimming costume.”
His eyes widened, “Magnesium? Really?” He chuckled softly before his brow furrowed, “If your Veela flame was the ignition source, then the magnesium woven into your outfit would be in constant contact with said ignition source and being surrounded by the lake water, the magnesium would pull the oxygen from the water…. Yet you were able to withstand the heat of a magnesium fire aided by water? How did you get around the hydrogen gas produced? Without room for it to dissipate, you would have had to breathe it in.”
Fleur blinked owlishly, “I understood very little of that, but I did use a bubblehead charm with a strengthening charm added to it.”
His lip twitched as Gideon leaned back to glance at Fabian over Fluer’s head, “Did you get any of that?”
Fabian shrugged, “No. But I guess we were both right; She used both familial magic and tomb tricks.”
“Bill!”
All heads turned towards Percy Weasley, who had only just noticed the intruders.
Gideon jumped up from his seat and flung an arm around Bill, “Why, hello, Percy, old chap.”
She watched as Percy pushed aside his brother with an eye-roll to embrace Bill, a far cry from their last encounter. Percy had been comatose in shock over the revelations of his twin brothers being alive and his older brother actually being only a half-sibling and cousin to boot.
Fleur, Hadrian and Neville had sat on one couch, watching as the twins revealed themselves to their family. Of all the Weasley men, Percy was the only one who reacted as if the knowledge was mind-boggling. Mr Weasley, Arthur, had seemed resigned to the fact that the twins had pulled yet another prank and hugged each of them tightly while Ronald watched with a knowing smile. Bill had seemed reserved from the celebration. He stood against a wall, his arms crossed as he chewed his cheek, just watching. When he told the people he had believed to be his brothers, his true parentage, he was met with reassurance that he was still their brother. Arthur ensured him that he would always be his son, even offering to blood-adopt him on the spot.
Fleur smiled at the thought, her eyes gravitating towards the long-haired man who was now talking with Hadrian, Percy under his arm.
“It’s the hair, isn’t it?” Fabian sighed, “Or possibly the fang…”
She shook her head to clear it before turning to the handsome boy, “What?”
He laughed softly, “Fleur, I’m a shapeshifter whose primary form is a fox; I can tell that you find him…. appealing. Even without my nose, I have eyes.”
Her brows furrowed as she bit her lip, contemplating what to say, “Do you feel my allure, Fabian?”
Fabian shook his head, “No. Family magics have many hidden secrets and benefits. I assume no one in this room can feel your allure.” His head tilted, “Well, okay, possibly Diggory.”
Fleur laughed softly, “True.” Her gaze moved across the room to the group of boys, “His magic sings.”
She felt his head fall back on the sofa, his arm tightening around her shoulder briefly, “He’s not too bad a person either.”
She tilted her head, observing the boy next to her. Thanks to an old photo album Percy had, she now knew what Fred and George Weasley had looked like when they were still Weasleys. The blood adoption had removed almost all traces of similarity to the pale and freckled Weasley boys in those pictures. Instead, Fabian and Gideon Lupin were of a warmer palette: Hazel eyes, caramel skin and perfectly tousled hair of a deep chocolate.
His lip quirked as he shook his head, “I talked to Gin.”
“Oh?”
He nodded slowly, “Fluer, you’re compatible with almost every single one of my brothers, bar Ron. I’m speculating with Charlie, but he’s not really the relationship type.”
She felt her hands heating around the mug, the cocoa starting to sizzle, “What are you saying?”
He shrugged and pulled his arm from behind her. Standing up, he glanced back at his brothers before gracing her with a soft smile, “Whoever you choose, I’ll be happy for you.”
With that, he walked away, his broad shoulders dipping out of the tent flap and leaving her in silent shock.
Hadrian had only just escaped his dad’s overbearing assistant when Ludo Bagman burst in, happily bouncing around the tent as if he had been jinxed, “When you’re ready, champions!”
Fleur groaned from the sofa, where she had been sitting in silence with a smoking cup ever since Fabian had left. Her hand flexed, flames licking up along the mug, charring the once pristine outer surface.
“Now, now. We don’t want to cause an international incident, do we, Fleur?” Hadrian held out a hand to her; his brow raised in a silent question.
The blonde glared up at him as she extinguished her flames and vanished the tortured cup, “I guess I’ll have to settle for mannequins later.”
She flung her fluffy robe toward a hook on the tent wall and marched across the room in a huff, smoke still curling from her clenched fists. Hadrian chuckled as Cedric and Viktor widely arched their paths to avoid the Beauxbatons champion.
The four of them followed a whistling Bagman as he made his way in the direction of the quidditch pitch.
Fleur was still fuming over something, possibly over the awarding of points? He firmly believed that Fleur should have received more points as she was the first to the hostages. Hadrian was now in the lead, a total of 100 points, with Cedric and Viktor tying for second with 98 points each, and Fleur came in last with 96 points. Karkaroff had been brutal on all but Viktor.
Putting Fleur’s mood out of his mind, his gaze travelled toward the tree line, where the sun was creeping towards the horizon. It seemed that they were only just diving into the frigid lake, yet it had already been half the day.
“What have you done!”
Hadrian’s head whipped back around, his steps faltering at the sight before him.
“Now, now, Mr. Diggory. You’ll have your quidditch pitch back to new in no time after the last task.” Ludo grinned sheepishly, “Now, can anyone guess what the task will be?”
Hadrian and Cedric glared at the now nervous-looking man.
Viktor sighed and mumbled, “Maze.”
“That’s right! These little beauties will be twenty feet high in a few months. Hagrid has been helpful enough to even provide some creatures for you to tackle!”
Hadrian grimaced at the news. While he had never taken Care of Magical Creatures, he had heard the horror stories. A quick glance at Cedric said he had as well.
“Now, off you pop! I’m sure parties are awaiting your return.” He winked at them and only just sidestepped a ball of flames before running behind one of the stands.
“That man gets under my skin.” Fleur shuddered and shook her hands out, the flames dispersing.
Viktor chuckled, “He does seem rather terrible at his job.”
“He gets paid to talk about quidditch.” Cedric rolled his eyes, “There’s not much to it.”
The Bulgarian shook his head, and the four turned around and headed back up towards the castle for lunch, “I have never seen an underwater fire. That was intriguing.”
Fleur laughed, “Well, I’ve never seen a man with the head of a shark.”
Hadrian glared at the Bulgarian, muttering, “Let alone one that tries to take my arm off.”
“It was a partial shift.” Viktor frowned, “I had not realized that the smell of blood would be so alluring half transformed.”
Cedric grinned slowly, “Your animagus form is a shark?”
“Da.”
The Hufflepuff laughed and slung an arm around Hadrian, “Mines a dog! So is Hads’.”
Hadrian rolled his eyes and pushed the older boy off him, “I’m a wolfhound. You, sir, are a golden retriever. We are different classes of dogs.”
Cedric shrugged, then bit his lip before glancing back at the lake, “Hads, can you please explain what happened back there? I mean, the dragon was one thing….”
The other champions turned toward Hadrian, “What? I didn’t know I was going to grow a tail.”
The three burst out in laughter, quickly joined by Hadrian.
Albus Dumbledore watched the four champions crossing the green from the soon-to-be final task.
Today’s event showed him that many of the champions had hidden talents beyond his imagination. While Hogwarts’ own champion had performed admirably with a bubble head and propulsion charms, the others had unveiled a few more tricks.
The Bulgarian, Krum, had enough control over an animagus form to transform only half of his body. A tricky task for most transfiguration scholars, the boy had been able to complete it by eighteen. He found himself wondering if the Black Sea was a friendly place for a shark.
Then, there was the French champion, Fleur Delacour. Her veela heritage had been strongly hinted at before but could no longer be denied in any aspect. While the girl's face did not take on the beaked form a full veela would, her precision in wielding her fire gift was undeniably well-managed. The merchieftan had many choice words with Albus about forcing them to allow a creature of fire into their village.
Last but certainly not least was the young Hadrian Black. Albus had witnessed the scales forming across the child’s skin in the first task; careful digging told him that it was a gift from the basilisk bond. He was not prepared for the boy to turn into a miniature replica of the Greek they had hired two years prior to assist in reviving the students from stone. The confusion on Hadrian’s face showed that he was also unaware that a combination of gillyweed with the basilisk gift would provide such a transformation. It made him wonder if Anacletus Solon was truthfully a creature or actually a wizard in disguise.
Albus’s file on Hadrian Black was now an entire drawer with multiple files divided by topic. There was a whole section dedicated to the child’s abilities- rapidly growing in thickness over the years. A secondary section laid out the boy’s alliances and acquaintances, and the third folder was Albus’s attempt to piece together how the boy had become such a magically powerful individual. It seems the combination of the Peverell, for Albus knew Slytherin was a descendant of the Peverell family, and Black bloodlines had produced the likes of which he had never witnessed before.
He had always coveted the families that had familial magic. His own family did not, as his mother was muggle-born, and his father's family had never been keen on bonds with anything lesser than themselves. Albus had hoped that by attaining Fawkes, he would be granted a bond and whatever gift a bonding with a phoenix could provide, but nothing came of it. Perhaps it was only certain beings that one could bond with, or perhaps the creature had to initiate the bond.
Albus sighed as he turned from the window. He had long ago accepted that he would never bask in the glory of familial magic, so it wouldn’t do to thirst over children’s abilities.
Popping a lemon drop into his mouth, Albus sank into his seat, closing his eyes to rightfully savour the tart and sweet flavours battling over his tongue.
He paid no mind to the snickering portrait in the corner of the office. Phineas Nigellus Black was always on about something.
His mind went back to the champions and what he had learned today. Slowly cataloguing anything that he would need to remember for the future.
Little did he know, in this particular instance, Phineas did have a reason to mock him. As Albus sat organizing his mind, his long white beard slowly changed, inch by inch, color blossomed across the white hairs. Lost in his mind, his fingers drumming on his knees, Albus Dumbledore sat in robes of deep indigo, with a sweeping beard coloured to match his favourite treat.
Hadrian spent the following two months going over all of Remus’s study guides, much like he had done before the second task. He made notes for various creatures or jinxes that could easily be weaved into the maze and how to combat each.
His planning the summer prior had left him with an in-depth history of creatures used in prior tournaments, and he studied how each was defeated. Many of the creatures and spells used were no longer legal, according to the British ministry, so he was able to leave those out of his studies.
Training himself and the others became his number one priority, followed closely by his mounting schoolwork and exams. His friends and family were understanding of his dilemma, and he was quite thankful to have such a supportive group behind him.
Having finished the work he had set aside for today, Hadrian found himself in the tallest tower of the Black School House. The tower was used twice a week for Astronomy lessons, but tonight it was empty.
His feet softly swung over the edge as he leaned against the chain that protected him from falling.
“Daydreaming or moping?”
“It’s Hadrian, probably both.”
He chuckled as he turned. Draco and Hermione were both leaning against the door frame leading to the tower stairs.
Hadrian tapped his head, “Running through my creature database.”
Draco scoffed as he crossed the small space, “Sure. Anything to not admitting we’re correct.”
The two made themselves comfortable on either side of him, and they sat in silence. Hadrian glanced down at their feet dangling above the evergreens. The mist was heavy tonight, and only the tops of the trees were visible. He wondered if it was natural or dementor-based.
“I believe it’s natural.”
Hadrian started at Hermione’s voice, “What?”
“You were giving the fog a contemplative look. As if you were trying to dissect it.” She pointed out over the lake, “The lake is also covered, so I can only deduce that the fog below is also natural. Warm air flow over cooler water equals fog.”
Draco shook his head, mumbling, “Resorting to talking about the weather.”
Hadrian hummed, and his lip quirked, “How sickeningly normal.”
His cousins chuckled, and they lapsed into silence.
After a couple quiet minutes Hermione withdrew her wand, swirling it gently, “Lampyris noctilucius.”
Tiny beetles flew from the tip of her wand, gently descending on the gentle breeze, flashing bright shades of green as they floated downward. The trio watched the fog and the soft green lights flaring to life for a couple of moments before dying over and over again.
Hadrian smiled, embracing the calm before the storm.
—
Fleur frowned as she paced back and forth, trying to access the room of requirement, “It’s locked! Again! That’s the third time this week.”
Viktor frowned at the agitated witch, “We are not the only ones who need it. Exams are next week.”
She crossed her arms and glared at the spot where a door should be, “Tomorrow. We face whatever is in that maze tomorrow. How are we supposed to conjure up things to fight when we can’t access the room that gives us the ability?”
Hadrian sighed, “It’s fine; we can practice in the schoolhouse. I’ll ask my grandmother to loan us some harmful things.”
Cedric shot him a lopsided grin, “I love telling the others that I’ve returned from Azkaban every time I leave your place. And now, I get to add in attacked by Black family heirlooms.”
Hadrian chuckled as Fleur snaked her arm through his, her anger seeming to abate, “I despise that boat, though. Can’t you make one of your doors?”
He rolled his eyes as he reached out for Guinn. She was there for him instantly, and with a soft caress across his face, he knew she had obliged his silent request.
Opening his eyes, he was met with a solid black door where there was previously a window.
Viktor prodded at the door and shook his head, “I don’t understand this magic. But it is useful.”
—
Barty took a swig from his flask, waiting until his form settled before he stepped into the blue silk robes. He shoved his own deep into his bag before heaving it to his shoulder.
It had been a blessing that Black, in his infinite wisdom, had shown the foreigners this room. Barty was a master of slipping into beneficial situations and had quickly learned how to control the room that appeared, and he had found a treasure trove. It had taken him months to search the room and gather everything he deemed interesting.
There had been lost galleons, jewellery, weapons, and, above all, books. Books upon books, ranging from everyday school books to incredibly rare spell books, even a family grimoire.
He snapped the latch closed and patted the bag gingerly, “One could make a killing out of this room.”
He checked his reflection in a mirror before strolling towards the door. He couldn’t be seen up here, so he used the faces of students. Today’s face had been a Beauxbatons boy by the name of Pierre, or was it Hugo?
Barty shrugged in indifference and swept from the room, pausing to make sure the door disappeared before strolling away down the corridor.
Tomorrow, everything would begin.
The Black child was proving to be a worthy match for his Lord. Sometimes, Barty found himself thinking that it may have been too good of a match.
With a shake of his head, he strolled leisurely down the hall, failing to notice the beetle atop the portrait of trolls dancing.
—
Rita slumped into the guest chair, stealing Sirius’s whiskey glass in the process, “There was a Beauxbatons boy in the room today.”
Sirius frowned as he conjured another, “Did you follow him?”
She took a swig and nodded, “I attempted. He went into their carriage. I can’t follow him once he’s in there.”
He sighed, knowing the animagus wards were up on all of the visiting schoolhouses. Rita had found out the hard way after trying to tail a Durmstrang girl a few weeks prior, “Did you see him leave again?”
She shrugged and drained the glass, “Only when the rest of them reported to dinner.”
Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “I just wish I knew what they were doing in there.”
Rita placed the empty glass on the table and gestured for more. Sirius obliged, and she fell back into the chair, “If I were you, Sirius, I would be worrying about tomorrow. School boys in silk robes mean nothing when your son is facing the final task tomorrow.”
Sirius slumped back into his own chair, “I know.”