Second Task (Open to all)

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:51 am

The Doctor was waiting in the centre of what appeared to be a large arena that had been constructed in the heart of the forest by enlarging a clearing. On all four sides were stands, one for the smaller Hogwarts contingent and three for the home Durmstrang supporters. In the middle of the arena was another square of runes but this time The Doctor was going to mix it up a little,

"Ladies and gentlemen today the Second Task begins!" he declared to the overwhelmingly loud crowd, "Today you will witness two champions pit their wits and their reason against the iron might of...!"

He paused dramatically and the square glowed. Instead of the maze raising from the ground like the boxes had in the first task, tree roots sprouted out of the ground and grew upwards in unnaturally uniform shapes. They formed 12 foot high walls that were naturally deeper than a student could hope to tunnel. Branches grew over the top to prevent jumping or flying,

"The maze!" he told the crowd with a smirk, "Victoria Rossmund and Dmitra Diamante... please step forwards! There is an entrance to the maze on either side. What you must do is find five objects, objects that are models or represent the mascots of the houses of both Hogwarts and Durmstrang. The first one to collect five is the winner. Now be warned champions... I've added in some traps to make it interesting. Pit falls, trip wire, runic fireball traps... the works. The walls and roof as spell proof but the audience can see right through them. Take your positions Champions but do not begin until I say so!"

(OOC: To make it closer to being fair, champions can't double post (one after the other) and you can only find a maximum of two objects per post, no matter how long the post is. Happy hunting but no starting till I say so Razz

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by **Vladimir Wazowski** Wed Jun 20, 2012 4:48 am

Vladimir was waiting with baited breath to see what this task would be, given when the last one was revealed it was something completely insane, he had hoped that it would be the same for this task, however when it was revealed it was a simple scavenger hunt, it was more than a little dissappointing.

With a small sigh he scanned the crowd for their champion, Dmitra, looked like she couldn't use the sword in this task if she tried, what a waste of time trying to practice with it, it was just so funny to him that she had thought it so important at the time.

Waiting for the contenders to begin the hunt and step into the maze he frowned in concentration.

by **Airen Auditoren** Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:02 am

Airen walked up to his seat in the Hogwarts stands. He looked down at the arena and watched silently as the Durmstrang Highmaster laid out the rules for the second task. He watched as the trees burst up from the ground. He was intrigued at the construction of the maze and waited silently as the champions entered the arena.

He saw could already see some of the mascots, but he held his tongue. He didn't think that help from the stands was allowed for this type of tournaments. He leaned forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together up in front of his mouth. He watched with an eagle eye as he waited for the tournament to begin.

by **Briony Romain** Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:39 am

Briony had been looking forward to this tournament, it was something that she had not devised herself, the Doctor had developed this task, but she could see that it was not going to harm anyone in any way, it was just going to be able to test their skills.

Sitting down next to the Doctor she sent a comforting smile to Victoria who was going against the Durmstrang student in this match, she had ever confidence in her, and she knew that with her condition, speed would be no option getting around the maze to get the mascots.

Not getting her hopes up too much, Briony surveyed the scene calmly.

by **Victoria Rossmund** Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:16 am

Victoria hadn't slept much the night before. Her imagination had run wild with ideas on what they could be facing today. She hadn't expected a maze.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the designated starting point. She'd hadn't given the other girl much thought, not wanting to break her focus. But she did take note of her scent. She wanted to be aware of any paths she crossed in the maze or possible mascots that were already taken.

She made sure the clasp on her cloak was secure, and her gloves in place. Once she was in the maze, she probably wouldn't need them to block the suns rays, but they had other uses. As she tried to keep her focus, going over spells she had practiced, she thought of Tess and Luke. She knew she wouldn't be able to see them, or probably even here them for any obvious support. But knowing they were there would make her feel more secure.

by **Annika Bauermeister** Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:06 am

Annika hurried to the site of the second task for the tournament. She had missed the first one and was really disappointed and definitely didn't want to miss this one.

As she entered the stands she saw the roots raise from the earth and hear the announcements of the champions names. This would be really exciting. It was almost like hide-n-seek that she played with Emmi when she was teaching her to hunt. But this was a lot more stressful. She began cheering as the champions took the field to begin the task.

If only they could win this. It would really show Hogwarts that it wasn't the only magic school that could become champions even without Mr. Potter.

by **Daciana** Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:39 am

From her nest Daciana heard a lot of commotion coming from the forest nearer to the human school. thinking there was an attack, she quietly flew to where the noise was coming from.

There she found a strange site. Rows of seats were surrounding a huge maze of tree roots. This had not been there before and she was curious. flying over it she saw that it was a maze. It appeared to be a game rather than an attack. She thought of the discussion at the last meeting about getting more familiar with the humans and decided to go to one of the high branches just to see what this strange site was about. So gliding to the top of one of the surrounding trees she made herself comfortable and leaned back to watch the proceedings.

by **Dmitra Diamante** Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:15 pm

Dmitra could hear nothing else, except the frenzied cries of the spectators and the thudding of her own heart. She was representing Durmstrang, her school, in a tournament that was against its rival, Hogwarts. The Hogwarts champion had won the last round, so it was essential for Dmitra to win this one, so that Durmstang and Hogwarts could draw level with each other. A lot was at stake, including her own desires.

Dmitra had glanced only momentarily at her opponent. She looked far too pale, which made Dmitra think perhaps she was not all human. Well human or no human, Dmitra wasn't here to beat anyone, she was here to prove herself, to beat herself. Dmitra tightened her right hand over her wand, and her left over the cloaked hilt of the poison-veined sword that she had purchased and practiced with. She had an inkling that the sword would help her with what was out there, inside the maze. She readied herself at the entrance, and took a deep breath.

by **Tess McCartney** Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:59 am

Tess was late. She knew this as she grabbed her bag and ran from the ship trying to make it to the event. She forced herself to get over her fear, to try and be there for her best friend. She ran towards the grounds, following the crowds and ignoring the fact that she feared them more than anything.

It was silly, but she felt that if she was there, she'd be able to see her friend in all her glory. She climbed up the stands and as she saw familiar faces. She sat near them, too nervous to do anything else, and looked towards the two girls that were going to do the task.

"You can do it Victoria, you're doing to do great" she murmured to herself hoping that she'd be able to see her best friend succeed.

Biting her bottom lip, she gripped her bag tightly and saw them entering the maze.

by **Humphrey Williams** Thu Jun 21, 2012 3:30 pm

Humphrey walked in to watch Victoria face her task. A maze, he considered that a good thing. It may not be what she prepared for, but he knew that Tess had helped train Victoria. Maybe not knew it per-say, but they kept disappearing at the same times. He suspected they were using the Room of Requirement. Definitely one of the smartest people that he knew, and if anybody could navigate it she would be able to.

He found a seat at an angle where he could see the exit of the maze. That would be where she would reappear, and he would focus on that. For the rest he would just have to listen, and hope that she did well. Victoria was one of the most capable witches he knew, though, if anybody could pull this off she could. Plus she was a Gryffindor, and American; so, he had faith in her.

Cupping his hands to his mouth Humphrey yelled, "Go Victoria!!! I know you can do it!" Although he suspected some people might stare at him after he did it, he did not care one bit. She was his friend, or had been, at least. Humphrey would support her by cheering her on loudly.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:24 am

The Doctor held a hand up for silence, he wanted to make sure that all of the students were silent before he began the task. He held his hand up for a moment longer before he dropped it. Looking between the crowd and the two contestants, The Doctor made movements as if he was about to make a grand shout.

He stretched his arms out fully.

He looked across the crowd.

He glazed into each of the contestant's eyes.

He took a deep breath and held it.

He lowered his arms suddenly and deflated before chuckling a little bit and waving at the maze in a shooing motion,

"Go on then you two! Get in there!" he waved the two contestants on, "Go, go, go!"

by **Victoria Rossmund** Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:19 am

Victoria had been practically shaking from the adrenaline building up, waiting for the signal to begin. She was put off suddenly but the joking manner of the Headmaster.

Recovering quickly, she ran into the maze. She'd heard of vampire speed from Charlie, but hadn't built up to what she imagined that an adult could run. She was only running at about twice that of a human. Since she spent most of her time among humans, and didn't want to put them off, she didn't do so often, so it was a thrill finally letting go.

Deciding to stick to the left at all turns, so she didn't get lost, or cross her own path, she met a few dead ends pretty early on. After a few minutes, she slowed her pace, catching the faint smell of sulfur. The Headmaster had mentioned fire. She came upon another bend in the maze and didn't see anything along the length of the path, but at the end she saw a simple pedestal with what looked like a raven on it.

Taking a deep breathe, she slowly made her way towards it. After a few steps she felt a vibration in the air around her and dropped to the ground before a fireball whizzed overhead. She didn't know where it had come from, but decided she had a better chance simply running for it.

20 feet, and a few singed hairs later, and she was at the pedestal. Grinning at the Ravenclaw mascot, she placed it in her pocket and got ready to brave the fireballs again. But she was pleasantly surprised when they didn't return. Maybe it's a trigger from the object. She shrugged and moved on.

A few trip wires were her next obstacle. She'd missed the first one, not seeing the almost translucent thread across the path. After dodging what appeared to be chinese throwing stars, she went back to look at the wire. These few seconds taken on looking at the wire saved her the trouble at the next few. She finally found her second one, after about five more wires later. She couldn't help but chuckle at the deadly looking throwing star that looked so much like the ones she had just dodged. Wondering how it related to a house, she moved on.

by **Dmitra Diamante** Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:38 pm

Dmitra took off into the maze the moment she heard the Doctor’s command, walking fast but not running since she wanted to conserve her strength. The section of the maze she had entered was rather dark, so Dmitra quickly conjured a small ball of light that floated behind her head.
After walking for about five minutes in the maze, Dmitra started getting wary. The maze was getting darker and darker, and she hadn’t encountered any obstacles till now. She should have encountered atleast somethi……whoa!!!

Dmitra stared in surprise at the very solid-looking ground of the maze, which her foot had just disappeared into. She stared at the next section of the ground, and realised that it flickered slightly. An illusion. Dmitra sucked in a breath and very carefully levitated herself over the illusionary section of the ground. Then she turned back and cast a glance at it again. There was a strange sparkle somewhere at the edge of the ground, like light reflecting off metal. Scrunching up her eyebrows, Dmitra withdrew her sword and cast a basic magnetic charm on it, then slowly dipped it into the ground. There was a hard metallic clang as something got attached to the blade.

Dmitra looked at the silver snake figurine attached to the blade. Wasn’t one of the Hogwarts mascots a snake? She put the sword back in the sheath then turned around to walk on. But there was a dead end. Seeing no other option, Dmitra took in another deep breath and jumped into the illusionary ground, falling ten feet before landing on a soft heap of leaves. She lifted her head, and saw the golden figurine of a lion, situated in an alcove on the maze wall. She stretched her hand out to take it, then gasped as flames seared her hand. She cast a basic flame freezing charm on her hand, then seized the figurine and put it into her pocket. She brushed herself off and moved on.

If she wasn’t mistaken, the snake stood for cunning, and the lion for bravery. She got the figurine for being cunning enough to see the illusion and not be fooled. She got the lion for daring to jump in a pit which possible had no bottom. Two down, three to go.

by **Victoria Rossmund** Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:33 pm

Victoria kept on route with her plan to stick to one side. Since she was running faster than normal, she figured it compensated for any time lost in dead ends. It had been very quiet since she stepped into the maze, the growth overhead blocking out most of the sound. But now the air seemed thicker. Like a spring ready to snap. Before she rounded the corner she caught a faint smell of the other girl. from a different path.

Continuing, she must have stepped on a trigger of sorts, because from the area at the dead end ahead came a loud groan. Approaching the small clearing, she saw a structure of what looked like weighted hammers. They formed a circle around what must have been the object. A silver looking hammer in pristine condition. As she watched the contraption, the hammers seemed to be falling in a pattern. Taking a deep breath, she counted her timing, and reached for the hammer. She must have been off a bit, because the hammer she was trying to reach under slammed down on her hand. She shut her eyes tight, trying to block out the pain, but she tasted blood in her mouth. She'd bitten through her lip.

She took off her leather glove, thankful for what help it could have given, and could see her hand bruising already. And she couldn't move a finger without feeling a searing pain. She chanced the other hand, needing that hammer, and tried it at vampire speed. She was lucky enough to get it that time, not sure what she would have done with two broken hands.

Moving on, she had a sudden thought. How could they both hope to come out of the maze with five mascots if there were only eight to begin with. Shaking her head, she tried to concentrate on just finding whatever she could.

She caught the other girls scent again, down a path that she would have normally gone if she stayed on track. Feeling as if their time was coming to an end, she broke her plan and ran across the path, to a different one. She heard a rumbling, like wood, and could see a chest up ahead. If she could have gotten paler, she would have. It looked like the chest that had held a boggart in their DADA class. Taking a shaky breath, she approached it, not sure what to expect.

The lid burst open and a version of Luke stepped rose out, in an oddly smooth way. It wasn't until he opened his eyes, and she saw that the irises were completely red, did she really understand. It looked like him, but the cruel smile that he sported was one she knew he never would. Her fear was confirmed by the very real fangs he was sporting. It was a silent fear, not a showy one. That she would be the end of someone she loved. Her legs crumpled underneath her, her hand throbbing. She could feel a tear trickling down her cheek.

She gripped her wand with her only good hand, shutting her eyes tight. She thought back on their chance meeting in the secret passageway. When he'd embraced her new life, really seeing her true form for the first time, fangs and all. He'd even showed up to the ball as a classic Dracula. Even though he was 13 and she was 14, she had to hold on to some idea that he cared for her greatly. Standing, steeling her mind, she raised her wand and yelled "Riddikulus!" The boggart's fangs fell out, a girly scream coming from it as it tried to find them on the ground. It then shrank into some kind of blue flask, which she imagined was the object.

Picking it up, she quickly ran from the chest in search for her last item.

by **Dmitra Diamante** Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:07 pm

Dmitra was walking, no running (energy be damned), through the sub-section of the maze that she had discovered by jumping down the pit. This part of the maze was absolutely pitch black, the globe of light floating behind Dmitra the only source of light. Dmitra didn't like this at all. More darkness, meant more chance for danger and obstacles to sneak up on her without her noticing. She kept on glancing from left to right, constantly on alert, but the overwhelming darkness made it difficult. Add to that the globe was slowly growing fainter as more and more of her power was getting used up.

Then, she suddenly heard a rustling sound. Speeding up ahead, Dmitra saw a faint, ice-blue light ahead of her. She came to a square-like opening of the maze, eyes watering slightly because of the sudden light. At the centre was a wooden pedestal, smooth and slightly worn out, with a book laid wide open on it. Dmitra frowned in confusion. As far as she remembered, Hogwarts had all kinds of living animals as mascots, and none of the Durmstrang House mascots had anything to do with a book. Walking slowly, and warily, Dmitra stepped onto the pedestal, and saw the charcoal drawing of a badger impressioned on the page.

Is this supposed to be what I'm looking for? Dmitra started tearing the page, slowly, but somehow, something at the back of her head told her this wasn't it. She had a bad feeling about this. Then a second later, there was that same rustling noise, Dmitra looked up, and a pale white sword fell and impaled her hand, pinning it to the pedestal.

Dmitra let out a piercing, choked scream. Blood was gushing out of her hand, her bones were definitely broken and Dmitra felt as if her hand was drenched in hellfire. She struggled, but the sword dug in deeper, and Dmitra felt her world spinning around her, like a haze of pain. Then the rustling sound came again.

Dmitra turned her head and saw a live badger. Except it couldn't really be one, because badgers didn't have wickedly sharp teeth, or fiery eyes, or a spiked tail that was atleast five metres long. It was approaching her purposefully, and no matter how much Dmitra tried to reassure herself that the judges wouldn't let her be killed like this, it was difficult with the soul-less eyes of the monster staring into hers.

Ten feet. Five feet. Two. One. Dmitra could smell the creature's breath now. Dmitra closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, squashed all the paralyzing fear and pain within her, then with an effort that was almost superhuman, she wrenched her hand away, ripping a few tendons, clasped the hilt of her sword with her left hand and drove it into the creature's heart.

With a gasp, Dmitra sank to the ground. The creature had shrivelled up and shrunk into a small toy. An 'Episkey' later, her hand felt numb, which was a vast improvement over hellfire. With her two new mascots, now a total of four, Dmitra pushed herself up and started searching for the last mascot, with a vague feeling that maybe none were left.

by **Briony Romain** Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:27 am

Briony knew that there were no more mascots left and she held up her hand, with a click of her fingers the maze dissappeared back into the floor leaving only the two contestants in the place where they were before she had banished it.

It seemed as if there had been a draw between the two schools, exactly what she had thought would happen when she had come to the task this time, after all with four mascots to find it would be hard to say that someone would be a definate winner.

Looking at the Doctor she stood up and nodded her head once, performing the sonorous charm she announced;

"The end of the second task produces a draw between the two students! Well done Miss Rossmund and Miss Diamante." she smiled gently.

by **Tess McCartney** Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:52 am

Hearing the outcome she jumped on her seat and began to clap, soon being joined by other watchers that she didn't have time to pay attention. Okay so Victoria might not have won, but a draw meant she was equal to the other girl, and not any less. It was good enough for her, she knew Victoria would be a bit bummed but not sad.

"Go Victoria!" She screamed. "You were great!"

She was excited for her friend, she showed her power and it was great. She was so happy.

by **Dmitra Diamante** Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:44 pm

A draw. Draw. Dmitra felt like smiling and banging her head at the same time. She shed so much of blood, for a draw? Dmitra glanced over at her competitor and saw that she wasn't in the best of states either. Maybe she had faced just as horrible things as Dmitra had, inside the maze.

Well, I guess a draw isn't so bad. Atleast Durmstrang can still win the tournament. Dmitra smiled a bit, and then made her way over to her competitor slowly, still a bit exhausted by the loss of so much power and blood. She held out her hand, "Congratulations. I'm sure you must have done well."

by **MelodyLovegood** Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:45 pm

Melody looked at the Slytherin girl cheering.Victoria hadn't won but Melody guessed that she did do a good job on the task and it was probably important to support your friends.