Chapter 17 -- Lily Luna Potter
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Lily only found out that Kyle was gone in the following couple of days, mostly because she didn't have a chance to have a proper conversation with Al during the happy New Year family reunion, and also because Kyle wasn't a person that you noticed the disappearance of. "Expulsion?" she'd asked. Al had nodded.
The family reunion, as it always was, was great fun. Her family, when extended, was... big. The fact that her mum had five older brothers (four married ones, and all with children) meant that New Year's was the day where dozens of family members got down to the Burrow to Lily's grandparents, all sat in a tiny living room, and just talked for nights. The reunion was pushed a bit this year, taking the Yule Ball into consideration, so when everyone had to return to school on January first, Lily felt like she hadn't had enough of laughing and warmth and butterbeer. Her dark blue jumper was soft, and had that new-wool smell that she loved, weaving in the scent of gingerbread.
"Fred would've loved this," her mum had said, patting Rose affectionately.
"Yeah, he would have." Uncle George had grinned. "Now we've two Hogwarts champions in the family, both of whom have wrecked havoc and played Quiditch and destroyed monsters, and they still got more OWLs than Fred and I ever managed." And then he'd laughed, but it was the kind of laugh that was both elated and heartbreaking.
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So, the first three weeks of January were a whirlwind, regardless of Kyle's presence. This was, of course, because the third task was getting nearer and nearer, and Lily's vow to Rose that she'd help was not going to be let gone so easily.
Since there was no clue given for the second task, Rose knew she was flying blind. Also, Lily's friends, Max and Rose had decided to help with the practising of spells, so that made things especially confusing whenever either Max or Lily said, "Rose?"
They were interesting three weeks. Cousin Rose taught Lily and Friends spells that were seventh-year NEWT-level advanced, and the three Ravenclaws taught (or tried to) her how to think out of the box.
"It's going to help with whatever it is that they expect you to do."
"I hope it isn't dragons. The boggarts were bad enough."
"Relax, you did really well. Besides, you've got to more tasks to catch up."
"Yes, but I'm quite about done with magical creatures. I don't think I have the capacity to --"
"Oh hush up. You're a Weasley Gryffindor under Ravenclaw training. What could go wrong?"
In retrospect, however, Lily realised that no amount of preparation could have helped whatever had gone wrong.
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The second task turned out to be an aerial deal. The catch was that while each of the champions had their broomsticks, the entire task was set up above the Black Lake, and the giant squid was visibly frolicking around in the water beneath.
Lily was on the stands when the rules were being explained, Albus and Scorpius to her right, Max and Rose to her left. Max would never admit it, but she'd had a crush on Scorpius less than a year ago, and that had led to some embarrassment, which was why -- to this day -- the trio had to think twice before letting Max be in Scorpius's proximity.
The task was being announced.
"The champions have been allotted a standardised broom each, and their task is quite simple: one of each of the champion's associates is in an invisible bubble, somewhere above the lake. There is no certain height, and no certain geographical location. Each bubble can only accessed by one champion, depending on which associate it is. The task is simple: rescue your associate.
"On my whistle, lady and gentlemen, you take off. Three, two..."
And then there was a sharp screech, following which the three champions took off the ground, and began to fly wayward above the lake at varying heights. Lily's eyes were fixated on Rose and how she was working this out. She seemed confused, but determined.
Think out of the box, Lily thought, and as if that emotion had been suddenly transmitted into Rose, there was a sudden change in Rose's expression.
At first, Lily wasn't sure what Rose was doing. Rose didn't look sure either. Then, Max pointed out: "She's looking for who's missing from the crowd." And obviously, Lily saw it just as Max said it. Rose was scouting, figuring out which of her "associates" was missing from the crowd. Lily began to look too. Scorp, Al, and Lily were all here. Rose's friends, Silvia and Jacob, were also among the crowd. It didn't take too long to notice that Hugo wasn't among his Hufflepuff friends and classmates, and Rose seemed to notice this too.
And then Lily followed some basic deduction. Hugo was acrophobic. She sincerely doubted that the Triwizard Tournament organising committee would have him dangling a hundred feet above the surface if he was scared of heights. Headmistress McGonagall would never let that happen.
So, the obvious conclusion was that Hugo was somewhere closer to the surface.
Lily watched as Rose flew around, trying to figure out what Lily had. She took a bit longer to come to the conclusion, and seemed to be in a dilemma of losing out on higher exploration, before deciding to cruise low. Lily was quite certain that Hugo couldn't have been higher than twenty or twenty five feet.
But that was when the challenge really began.
Apparently, the giant squid wasn't there simply to intimidate the champions. He was there to stop them from getting to their goals.
"LOOK OUT!" Scorpius screamed, as a jet of water first flew against Rose, almost knocking her off her broom.
From then, there were streams of water, sprays of mist that didn't allow champions to see, and occasionally a fish leaping out of the water. The French champion -- Adrian Deschamps -- was so shocked by the sudden emergence of a trout that he screamed, first bringing shock from the crowds, and then laughter.
Then it got even more complicated.
The giant squid would lash out at random intervals, making the true test visible. At one point, Rose was swerving to the right against the tentacle of the squid, only to be drenched completely by a stream of water, making her cough and splutter as she tried to battle the grindylow that was trying to get a hold on her broom.
Lily just hoped that she wouldn't fall off.
But no, playing Quidditch had made Rose a competent flyer, and perhaps it was in her veins. Her father was a keeper, and her various uncles plus aunt had all been in the Quidditch team for Gryffindor in their lives. So she clung on, battling against the thick and the thin, making her way towards a fain shimmer that could possibly be her brother's invisible bubble.
Rose was the first to get through the task. Lily cheered, and the only person who cheered louder than her was Scorpius Malfoy, something the Potter/Weasley generations had never seen.
But that was hardly where the trouble even started.
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There was a lot of debate on who would find the next associate.
"The French guy's covered more area so far."
"Yeah, but he looks exhausted. The Bulgarian's still got a fresh mind."
"Doesn't defeat the fact that France covered more area."
"Yeah, but with the squid lashing out, we all know who's going to last better: the one with a better psyche."
"Are you saying you're rooting for the Bulgarian dude?"
"Doesn't matter, does it? England prevails!"
"Yeah, sure. But she's only just caught up with the other scores. She'll have to work hard to maintain that."
"She's a Weasley, for Merlin's sake! How bad can it be?"
"Dunno. If you can't expect parents to reflect their kids --"
"-- then you can't estimate their kids' greatness. Fair enough."
Some silence was observed, as the two remaining champions flew on.
Then, the French champion found his french girlfriend in the invisible bubble, but it was only seconds before the Bulgarian opened his bubble. In fact, the events were almost simultaneous.
The most important difference, however, was what scared Lily the most. Instinctively, her hand had gone to reach for Albus's, who had grabbed back so tight that his knuckles were turning white. The reason was, of course, so shocking that the entire audience was silenced, except for loud gasps from the commentators, and some cussing.
The person the Bulgarian champion was supposed to rescue had turned into a pile of black dust upon touch, much like something Lily had seen when someone tried to kill her parents.
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(A/N: Apologies for the short chapter.)
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