"So Sirius is getting married soon," Lydia smirks, "neat. I can't wait to see him freaking out like he said he did."
"Of course that's what excites you," Sirius rolls his eyes, "not your brother being in love, but that he freaks out over it."
"Yup," Lydia pokes Sirius, "it's my job as your sister."
"So the third task is a maze?" Iola asks Peter, as Peter explains the rules to the champions. After Crouch was exposed for breaking his son out of Azkaban, Peter was promoted to the head of a different department. It meant he was now the head of International Magical Co-operation.
"Precisely," Peter snapped his fingers, "as you can see, the quidditch pitch already has the hedges set up. They should be ready in a month's time. The maze will be filled with different creatures and puzzles, and the first to reach the tri-wizard cup will be declared the winner."
"Very well," Teddy smiled, "anything else we should be aware of?"
"Ah yes," Peter added, "your past scores are not redundant. You will be entering the maze in order of points. That would put Ms. Potter first, Mr. Diggory and Mr. Calderon-Boot second, and Ms. Delacour in third."
"Well done Iola," Teddy gave her a high five, "glory to Illvermorny!"
"For Lady Morigan!" Iola cheered, accepting the high five.
"I'm glad to see Iola made an older friend," Lydia turned to Pandora, "those are always the best. Always there to guide you through the experience."
"Why thank you," Pandora blushed, "although, I think having younger friends is an excellent experience as well."
"It seems Panda Bear does love me," Lydia sing-songs, "I knew it."
"Only you Lydia," Pandora exasperatedly shakes her head, "only you."
"Very well done," Fleur compliments, "and well deserved."
"Thank you," Lydia returns the compliment, "your work was impressive as well. I was particularly fascinated by how you charmed that dragon. It should have gotten far more points than it did."
"That's very kind of you to say," Fleur smiles, "thank you."
"No problem," Lydia smiles, "and you did well too Cedric."
"Thank you Iola," Cedric responds, "and may the best contestant win."
The scene switches to the day of the third task.
"Iola!" Scamanders are pouring out from everywhere. All 38+ members had shown up to support Iola.
"Thank you all," Lydia turned to the four present Scamanders, "for taking care of my kid when I can't."
"No problem," Newt turns to his niece, his dear Monty's daughter, "family sticks together."
"Missy!" Iola looks for her favorite Scamander, "I missed you!" Missy Scamander, now 27, opens her arms for her little cousin, who eagerly jumps into them.
"Oh Merlin," Tina gasps, "our little granddaughter is stunning."
"She is," Newt agrees proudly, "look at those lovely eyes of hers. Those cornflower blues have never failed to enchant those around her."
"A real beauty," Lyetta agrees, "she gets it from Josephine. Josephine is an unfairly attractive woman."
"We all know who the favorite is," Esther Nkosi, 53 now, teases, "but who can blame her. Our Missy is truly a beautiful young lady. I wouldn't be surprised if all the men were falling over their feet for her."
"Shut up Aunty," Missy blushed to her roots, "why are you like that?"
"Manners my dear," Josephine tsked, "you're 27, you should know by now how to respond to such things in a dignified manner."
"Yes Mum," Missy reluctantly agrees, "sorry Aunt Esther."
"No harm done," Esther brushes off, "my Pauline has said much, much worse."
"Ouch Mother," 26 year old Pauline Nkosi fakes being hurt, "you've betrayed me."
"Pauline is looking all grown up," Nico comments, "she gets that rich skin color from Nelson though. Though the hair type is definitely coming from our side of the family. It's far too light to come from him."
"Agreed," Lyetta nudges her twin, "though she definitely has her Mom's figure. No one else in our family is that tall and lean."
"You all are getting distracted from the real reason we're all here," Victor Scamander reminded everyone, his 3 year old daughter on his shoulders, "to cheer Iola on. So let's drop the inter-personal arguing, shall we?"
"Victor buffed up!" Nico gasped, "who gave him the right to be that buff?"
"Have you seen Vega's dad and brothers?" Lyetta wisely pointed out, "they're all extremely buff Russians. A better question would be why were you expecting him not to be buff?"
"You always have to have the last say, don't you?" Nico rolled his eyes at his sister. She'd always be like this. But that only made him love her more.
"Oh yeah!" Alina Scamander, 24 years old, remembers, "you've been doing real well Iola. We've all been listening on the wizarding wireless."
"Thanks," Iola smiled widely, "it means a lot. But where's Uncle Reggie? I wan to see him and Cathy. Do you think they'll bring Clio with them?"
"I don't know," 32 year old Mallory Vogel, 6 months pregnant, answers, "but I hope so. I haven't gotten to see little Clio yet."
"So Mal's having a kid now," Lyetta sighs, "we're getting old."
"It' part of growing up," Augusta informed her niece sharply, "stop complaining. You're plenty young compared to us adults."
"Trust good old Reg to give his kid a name like that," Jay Scamander chuckles, "where is he when you need him anyways?"
The sound of Cathy Black singing a rather strange drinking song is heard. Regulus Black, holding Clio, is seen behind her, rolling his eyes at his wife's eccentric behavior.
"Hello my lovely niece," Cathy spun the 15 year old around, "you ready to beat the competition?!"
"You're going to stress her out Cath," Regulus intercedes, "Iola, how are you feeling?"
"Ready for this to all be over," Iola admitted, "can I hold Clio?"
"Sure," Regulus hands his daughter over, "remember to support her head."
"This is deja vu," a voice sounds, "I remember how you used to hold Iola herself like that."
"Daddy!" Iola squeals, "you made it." Sirius Potter is shown walking towards the huge gathering of people. Amelia is beside him, and so are a young boy and girl.
"That must Esmeray," Iris Rosier observed her daughter on the screen. She shared many of Iris's own features. The sapphire blue eyes, curly shade of golden blonde hair, and noise screamed of Iris. Her cheekbones, eye and facial shape, and skin tone screamed Corban Yaxley.
"She looks a lot like you," Lazarus whispers to his daughter, "she has your beauty."
"Thank you Father," Iris thanked her father, "she does look quite like me."
"Seems your kid has your skin tone," Augustus Rookwood told his friend, "shame. Rosier's tan is a lot better than your pasty white."
"Shut up," Corban said, "the child will have to be good looking. She's a girl, so she cannot inherit the Yaxley fortune. I'll have to marry her off to someone, which requires a lot of beauty. She'll serve her purpose well."
Yaxley suddenly found himself without a mouth. "Don't speak of my child that way," Iris Rosier tucked her wand away, "she's more than a bargaining chip for you."
"Who would these two cuties be?" Lilian Lee nee White, still holding little Karinne, asked.
"This is Esmeray Yaxley," Sirius introduced, "and this boy over here is Aether Rowle. Currently, they're wards of Amelia and I, but we hope to adopt them officially this summer."
"Hello then," Dana Eulalie Lee crouched down, "I'm Dana Eulaulie Lee. But you can just just call me Auntie Dana."
"Hi," Esmeray shyly greeted, "my name's Esmeray."
"What a beautiful name," Bart Scamander joined his sister on the ground, "it's perfect for such a pretty girl. My name's Bart Scamander. I live in Russia."
"Russia!" Esmeray's eyes widened, "is it really cold there?"
"It is," Vera Scamander answered for her husband, native Russian accent thick, "my husband here still can't stand it. He rather likes the heat."
"You're married to her?" Esmeray asks, "but she's so much prettier than you." All the gathered Scamanders laugh at Bart's expense. Bart himself is gobsmacked at the girl's brutal honesty.
"HAHA!" Frank laughed loudly, "she'll fit into our family perfect. Just look at Bart's face."
"She does seem to fit our rather specific brand of chaos," Alice agrees, "I hope everyone there can make her and Aether feel welcome."
"Can I adopt her instead?" Lyetta asks, still laughing, "anyone who can roast Bart like that is cool in my books."
"She's ours Lyetta," Amelia snapped, "and you all will get a chance to introduce yourselves to her during the tournament. I wanted Iola to get to meet her new siblings. So all of you budge over."
"You tell them Amelia," Sirius cheered, "that's my wife people."
"We went to your wedding," Jay rolls his eyes, "we're all aware."
"Hi Esmeray," Iola greets, "and hello Aether. My name's Iolanthe Potter. But everyone calls me Iola."
"Hi Iola," Aether waves to his new big sister, "I'm Aether."
"I'm Esmeray," Esmeray perks up, "I like you're outfit." Iola wasn't in her usual Illvermorny uniform. She was decked out in her lovely tri-wizard tournament, Illvermorny jersey and pants. Made of navy blue and with cranberry red accents, Iola felt great with name Potter plastered across her back. All she had to do was win against three seven years. Not too hard.
"My daughter is so cute," Iris cooed to the screen, "look at her Mum and Dad."
"Thanks," Iola smiled, "do you want to say hi to little Clio?"
"Hi Clio," Aether tickled the baby's chin, "you've gotten so much bigger since the last time I saw you. How old is she now Uncle Regulus?"
"Wait a minute," Iola turns her glare to her father and aunt, "YOU TOLD UNCLE REGGIE BEFORE ME?! AND CALLIE?! AND BENJY?!"
"Sorry Iola," Sirius apologizes, "we just wanted to surprise you guys. Regulus is just always in the house. Reminds me of the days before you were born actually."
"Fine," Iola pouted, "but you owe me."
The scene shifts to the big moment. "All right," Bagman shouts, "our contestants will prepare to enter the maze. First will be Iolanthe Potter, who has score 87 points. Second will be Cedric Diggory and Theodore Calderon-Boot with a tied score of 85. Lastly will be Fleur Delacour with 66 points."
"IOLA, IOLA, IOLA!" Iola's family and friends cheer for her. The other champions have a lot of support as well. Illvermorny is torn on who to support though. The younger years were rooting for Iola, wanting to show the older years what they were made of. The upper years supported Teddy, as he was their classmate for years. However, no one underestimated Iola. Everyone knew of her mother's achievements at her age. Her being younger didn't make her any less a superb witch.
On go, Iola rushed into the maze. She knew that she had to find the cup. She whispered a small spell created by her godmother Pandora. The spell was able to point her in the direction of strong magical presences. It also served as a compass. Iola ran through the maze, twisting and turning in different directions. Suddenly, a cool wind blowed, and a corpse pale Iola Potter greeted Iola.
"A boggart," Lydia breathed, "I wonder what my daughter's greatest fear is."
"I think she fears herself," Sirius observes, 'and judging by how pale boggart Iola is, I'd like to say Mortem has something to with it."
"My dear," pale Iola coos, "don't you see. You're holding back. Embrace the power that our Lord Mortem has given you. You are his mistress. There is nothing he will not do for you. You can make the world fear you. You can make the world see that Iola Potter is powerful. That she is her own person. Use our magics. Cross the boundaries our ancestors placed upon us. They aren't uncrossable." Zombies begin joining the fake Iola. her parents are there in addition to her grandparents and other war heroes.
"I will not become a tyrant!" Iola shouts at the illusion of herself, "those boundaries were set to keep humanity safe. My parents gave their lives so that humanity can live freely. So that we can all thrive. And I have had enough of you. Riddikulus!" Iola giggles as the pale version of her turned into Amelia in a clown's costume. She couldn't help it.
"That's one way of getting rid of a boggart," Remus laughs, "looking good Amelia."
"Why me?" Amelia moans in embarrassment.
"Let loose," Gabriel nudges her, "it's not the end of the world."
Iola could hear the other champions behind her. She ran quickly, blasting strange black creatures that were approaching her. Suddenly, acromantulas appeared.
"Confringo!" Iola shouted, blasting the animals to smithereens, "sorry Uncle Newt."
"I think it can be forgiven on this occasion," Newt sighed though, "poor spiders."
Iola rushed past the blood and guts of the spiders. It was rather cruel of the judges to put them there. Iola felt guilty, but couldn't focus on that. She ran and ran, turning as her wand pointed forward. She encountered a golden mist, an anti-gravity mist called the limbo mist. Recognizing it, Iola cast the counter curse, and ran past it.
Suddenly, Iola encountered a Sphinx.
"Hello young one," the sphinx spoke to Iola, voice soothing, "you are rather close to the end. The quickest way is past me."
"Then will you please move past," Iola politely asked, "or is there something I need to do for you in exchange?"
"Answer my riddle on your first try," the sphinx spoke in monotone, "and I let you pass. Fail, and I attack you. Remain silent, and I allow you to find another entrance."
"I'll answer," Iola held her head high, "please begin Ms. Sphinx."
"How polite," the sphinx hummed, "I like that.
First think of the person who lives in disguise, Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard, During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together and answer me this, Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
"What a riddle," Lydia grinned as she began working it out, "I hope Iola can do it."
"She has your brains," Euphemia kissed her daughter's brow, "she'll do well. She was also raised by Sirius. He'll have taught her well." Euphemia moved over, and kissed Sirius's brow as well.
"Thanks Effie," Sirius's heart soared, "it means the world to me."
"Well the person in disguise and secrets is definitely a spy," Iola spoke lowly, solving the riddle, "and the middle of middle is the letter d. So I can assume it's the same for the other two words. The last half of the riddle is more complicated." Iola took a moment to think. what sound did people make when they couldn't find a word? Aha! "People go errr, when they can't thing of a word. Okay, now I have to combine them. Spy-d-er. A spider! I don't want to kiss a spider!"
"Very well," the sphinx moved away, "good luck young one."
Iola ran past the sphinx and into another spider. Despite being angry and frustrated, Iola needed to save energy. Another blasting spell would drain her stamina. Thinking on her feet, Iola shouted, "Arania Exumai!" Iola blasted the spiders away and ran. Much to her dismay, she ran straight into Devil's Snare. Iola angrily cast a powerful lumos spell, cursing the Crouch's under her breath. She could hear another contestant behind her. She had to keep them from catching up. Iola ran and ran and ran, until she finally made it to what she thought was the last obstacle.
It was a runes puzzle. Iola had to simply rewrite the schematics of the contraption, and she'd be free. remembering her lessons, Iola began rearranging the puzzle pieces. She had to be careful, despite hearing other champions in the background. It was too risky to rush. Finally, the pieces all clicked together, and the door opened. She could see the cup in all it's glory. She rushed towards it, and was about to grab it, when she heard a shout from behind her.
Teddy is rushing by, three acromantulas chasing him. Teddy is limping, and it looks like they were going to catch up. Iola was not going to allow him to get hurt. "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" Iola shouted, directing the spell at the acromantula, "protego!" After ensuring the spiders were gone, Iola immediately went to help teddy. "Ferula," she whispered, the bandaging spell creating a cast for his leg. She begins to help him up, and tries to support his walking.
"What a kindhearted girl," Tina smiles, "she could have gotten the cup straight away, but she's helping the competition. What a sweetheart."
"Go grab the cup Iola," Teddy brushes her off, "I can figure this out. You got here first. Go get the glory."
"Absolutely not Teddy," Iola insists, "you're my friend. I'm not leaving you like this. We'll take it together. Regardless it will be an Illvermorny win. Let's do if for the glory of Isolt's Illvermorny!"
"If you insist," Teddy smiled, "FOR ISOLT!" The two of them grabbed the cup together, and blue light overtook them. The two of them reappeared at the entrance.
"Look!" Bagman shouts, "the portkey has arrived. The winner of this year's tri-wizard tournament is... wait a minute. Look there folks, it seems we have a double victory. Let's cheer for Illvermorny's first tri-wizard tournament win, and their contestants Iolanthe Potter and Theodore Calderon-Boot!"
"THAT"S MY GIRL!" Iola's family member's from the past cheered her on. Her past parents stood on the tables cheering, Lydia and Sirius that is. Benjy cheered from off the table. He still want a shred of his dignity after all.
"That's my girl!" Sirius bellowed from his seat in the audience, "GO IOLA!"
"That's my niece!" "That's my sister!" "That's my cousin!" "That's my friend!" "Go Iola!" "Congrats!" All sorts of praises were shouted. Teddy had his own share of course. But he wanted to set the record straight. When they'd get interviewed later, Teddy was going to make sure that everyone knew tat Iola was the true winner
The scene shifts to Iola Potter's first birthday.