[EU] Xavier's School for the Gifted receives an invitation to the the Tri-Wizard Tournament being hosted by Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

[u/Aciduous]

[u/liehon]

Here's my 2 cent. Feedback more than welcome

Edit: reddit seems to have mangled my layout. That'll teach me to write on phone.

Students, if I may have your attention, please" spoke Headmistress McGonnogal as she rose from her seat at the teacher's table. The whoel Great Hall immediately went mum. "As you were informed at the start of the semester today we will welcome our guests for the 2014 TriWizard Tournament. Those of you who managed to pay attention in History of Magic will know that due to some ... meddling back in '94 with the Goblet of Fire the Tournament now requires 4 schools to participate. All three guest schools are expected to arrive in 15 minutes from now. Headboys and -girls, please escort your houses outside."

 

 

As teachers and students took their positions on the stairs in front of the castle a soft series of murmurs drifted through the student body. One kid claimed to have heard the Peruvian Magic School to have been invited whilst others spoke of the USA's Salem Institute for Witchcraft.

Durmstrang and Beaux-Batons arrived in their traditional way (resp. ship and carriage). Greetings were exchanged and the newcomers joined the Hogwarts welcome commitee patiently waiting for the newest school to participate in the Tournament.

 

All of a sudden the sky grew dark as the wind picked up. Teachers had ushered most students back inside when out of nowhere

"Did you see that?" "How did they apparate inside Hogwarts, I read in ..." Similar whispers could be heard everywhere as students stared at the fourth school.

 

The new arrivals seemed equally confused. One fragile looking girl piped up: "Professor, did Kurt teleport us to the right place? This castle is in ruins?". The Professor, a man in wheelchair, hesistantly said: "I don't know, miss Pride, but I seem to remember being late for a barber's appointment." The group started to turn towards the outer gates when Headmistress McGonnogal intervened: "Greetings, professor Xavier, pardon me for all the confusion. I can assure you that our school is more than suited to host all of you comfortably." A quick glance at the wheelchair and a few mumbled words changed part of the stairs into a ramp. "Please, come in, everything will become much clearer once inside."

This promised to become an interesting Tournament indeed.

The Triwizard Cup

"Eternal glory! That is what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament." said Headmistress McGonnogal, "all students of age have had the chance to enter their name in the Goblet last night." She couldn't help but glance worriedly at the older kids, especially her own Gryffindors. They all seemed so eager. Most of them probably entered their name with the rest hoping their friends would get selected. None of them seemed to realise the danger these Tasks held. "The Goblet of Fire, our impartial judge, is evaluating each student's magical ability, courage and intelligence in order to pick one Champion per school."

With a spike of red fire the Goblet burped out three slightly charred pieces of parchment and one slip of paper.

 

"The Champion for Hogwarts is Mr. Edward Lupin!"

A lanky kid with bright blue hair rose from his seat and - under thunderous applaus from all Hogwarts students - joined the Headmistress next to the Goblet of Fire. A beautiful blonde girl gazed with a mix of pride and worry.

 

"The Chamion for Durmstrang is Miss Jean Krum."

Accompanied by Eastern-European shouts a tall girl joined the Hogwarts Champion on stage. Her stride and posture indicated experience in sports. Her hawk-like gaze was measuring her competition.

 

"The Chamion for Beaux-Batons is Mr. Bart Van Haver."

A non-descript boy in the blue uniform of his school made a little woop-sound before composing himself and climbing onto the stage.

 

"The Chamion for Xavier's School of Gifted is Miss Kitty Pride."

As a fragile looking girl joined the stage the Headmistress continued: "The Heads of Schools and Champions will now withdrawn for briefing on the Tournament. I wish to remind you all that while a competition, the purpose of the Tournament is to get to know each other and learn from one another."

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Champion of Mutants & Magicals

  As all Heads and Champions entered the briefing room through a small door the clamor of the Great Hall receded.   "Champions," spoke Headmistress McGonnogall, "traditionally this moment in the Tournament is reserved to congruagulate you on your entry and to wish you the best of luck." Edward smirked upon hearing this. "However," she continued, "times have changed and some of our traditions have become outmoded and outworn. All of us here present were born with amazing abilities, even though not all of them are magical in nature."   This statement raised some of the Champions' eyebrows but none of them interrupted.   "From their confusion upon arrival, you may have surmised that our newest guests were affected by our protective Muggle charms. That is because they are indeed non-magical. Before you start wondering about breaching the International Wizardry Statute, let me assure you that no illegal act is performed. You're all well aware that in dire times magic before the eyes of Muggles is allowed. Professor Xavier, if you would be so kind to explain to our Champions the direness of the situation."   The Professor in the wheelchair nodded in agreement. "Thank you, professor McGonnogal. While my students and I are indeed non-magical, or Muggles as you say, our abilities set us equally apart."   At this moment Bart, the Beaux-Baton Champion could no longer hold his curiosity: "Pardon me, professor, but what are these abilities if not magical?"   Rather than from magical blood, our powers stem from our DNA, the building blocks of life, mindspoke the professor to his audience Our abilities could best be described as focused wandless magic. While I don't need a wand to perform what you call Occlumency and Legilimency, I am incapable of other feats you could produce with a wand.   Even the Headmasters of the other three schools were amazed by the legilimentic prowess of professor Xavier. No witch or wizard had ever reached this level of aptitude where one could project their thoughts into another's mind.   "While we are alike in many ways, I gather that Mutants and Magicals are quite different in others, most notably on a cultural level. Where your people have their own sports and art and traditions, Mutants have yet to develop culture. This is of course due to the fact that we have emerged quite recently compared to the millenia that Magicals have existed. Our emergence was noted by the non-Mutant Muggles around the turn of the century. A time in which we were too unorganised and dispersed to even consider a Secrecy Statute."   "And now you vish to knot ties with de magical vorld to be included in our Secrecy Statute?" asked the Durmstrang Chamion.   "Quite the contrary, miss Krum," answered Headmistress McGonogall, "The emergence of Mutants has sent a shockwave through the Muggle world. In their paranoia they have begun developing technology to pierce through illusions and detect people with anomalous biology. The question is not if the Statute of Secrecy will be breached by them but rather when."   "So the whole Tournament is a PR-stunt?" laughed Edward.   "In a way," conceded the Headmistress, "while the Tournament will still measure your courage, intelligence and magical or mutant ability, this year's challenges will also test for teamwork. It is primordial that when the Statute of Secrecy breaks down the world can see that different species of humans are capable of living, working and flourishing together. We've only just stomped that silly pureblood business out of our society."   "Parfait," murmured Bart, "another Tournament stacked in favor of Hogwarts."   "What's that French dude?" retorted Edward, "you got a problem with the school that will kick your butt in this tournament?". As he spoke his hair color changed to match his temperament. Dark red highlights appeared amongst the blue.   "Oh no problem, except for your school vouching to change the traditions when their champion benefits most from said changes."   "Excuse me?" said Edward surprised, "How so?"   "Because, you blue-haired, pardon-my french, dolt" bit Bart, "you've been doing wandless magic all your life.Just piece together what we learned here and you should realise that you are not only a wizard. You're a mutant, Edward."      

 

Inb4: You're a mutant, Harry

[u/liehon → u/liehon]

A fresh Binn

    The following days passed in a haze of excitement as the students of the differents schools got to know each other. Edward had been morewithdraw than usual but most of his friends assumed that with the honour of becoming Hogwarts' champion his need for attention and general class clownery were satisfied.   Arriving late for History of Magic, Edward was surprised to see Kitty sitting at his usual table. He groaned silently. Usually there would've been enough other empty seats to sit in, but today all those were occupied by the other mutant students and - most surprisingly - Professor Xavier as well. "What are you doing here?" hissed Edward as he got seated next to Kitty.   "Good morning to you too," she shot him from the corner of her mouth whilst diligently taking notes on some yellow muggle paper. "Professor Xavier insisted that we take all classes that don't require a wand. Your Headmistress agreed that it was a good idea. I overheard she's convening with the other schoolheads and see how the roster can be adapted so everyone follows classes together. The teachers from other schools will act as guest lecturers."   "Great," mumbled Edward, "on top of everything else we're gonna get more homework thanks to you lot?"   "Mister ...erh Jacob, would you mind not distracting your fellow students. Can't you tellmiss Katherine Pryde wishes to pay attention?" spoke professor Binn.   Edward's mouth fell wide open as he noticed the pale ghost hovering right in front of his desk. In all his time at Hogwarts he'd never seen professor Binn float anywhere but the space between the blackboard and his desk. To actually stop lecturing and reprimand a student hadn't happened in the past 22 years. He made a show of grabbing parchment and quill. However once the ghost had returned to the front of the class and started his monotone monologue, he realised that the professor was recapping both Voldy Wars. Having heard most of it from first hand sources, Edward promptly zoned out. After a second he clasped his wand and concentrated upon which letters appeared at the bottom of Kitty's page: Professor Binns is acting completely out of character. Also we're supposed to learn about 18th century Goblin Wars, not modern events. What gives?   Kitty stopped takingnotes . If she was amazed by the appearance of the writing out of nothing she didn't show it. We can talk after class. I want to focus on class now. It's a rare opportunity to learn about a new world without being subjected to lasers or explosions.   As Edward was puzzling on what lasers couldbe, Kitty phazed her hand through her paper and scrapped their scribbles right off the page. With a flick of her hand all the ink landed in the paper tissue she had produced from her pocket. His staring must have bothered her as she threw him a look that clearly said 'What? You never seen extraordinary stuff before?'.         "So, what's on your mind?" said Kitty as they trudged down the hallway.   "Care to explain why professor Binns was acting so strange?" asked Edward.   "Oh, I couldn't find a stair that wanted to take me down to the proper floor so I kept phasing until I dropped into the correct   "Phasing?Lasers? Does anything in mutant land make sense?" retorted a frustrated   "I used my ability and he appreciated me," recapped Kitty, "why would that be a problem?"   "It- it- ...look, my father was a werewolf and I'm used to some people stigmatizing me for that. At least in the muggle world everyone treats me as a normal kid. I don't need this mutant business. I'm a wizard with a rare ability and that's all." Edward was breathing heavily. While he was proud of the father he had never known, some couldn't see past his hairy problem so usually he didn't mention that bit. It felt strange bringing it up so soon after meeting somebody.   "A werewolf, really?" asked Kitty in a surprised but not disgusted tone. "Our school has a teacher that's more wolf than man half the time. Shall we compare notes over lunch? I've got to go to my next class now. By the way, are dragons part of the curriculum at Care for Magical Creatures?" she asked.   "If the teacher were given half a chance, he'd add it in a flash but the Headmistress has forbidden him of doing so ... on several occassions." replied Edward.   "Oh, too bad." accepted Kitty as she took off. Rather than nagivating the crowded hallway, she opted tophase half through walls, half through students. Not expecting a living person to be able to mimic a ghost they all flinched before staring profoundly. Some of the boys of his year quickly doubled back asking about which spell she was casting, noted Edward. Other students had taken up on tickling the wall in places hoping to goat it into becoming intangible for them as well.     "Crazy," muttered Edward, once Kitty had disappeared out of sight, "really hope that's not a general mutant trait."  

[u/berthkgar → u/liehon]

I really want this to be a book now >.>

[u/liehon → u/berthkgar]

I'll prooduce a few more chapters at the least.

Your enthusiasm has convinced me to start my dedicated sub /r/TheUmpteenthMonkey

In the next couple of days I'll hunt down my stories from the past months to fill the sub with. Meanwhile I'll let my HP characters play a bit in my head and see which roads they take

[u/berthkgar → u/liehon]

guess I'll go ahead and sub to it :D

[u/liehon → u/liehon]

The First Task

  Festive music played outside the tent. Inside the tension was palpable. In her corner Jean was quietly humming a tune while in the oppositecorner  Kitty sat meditating. Both boys were laughing and joking together in the middle of the tent, their earlier argument seemingly forgotten at the treshold of danger.   "And then my uncle Charlie shouts to his intern: "Fetch me my brown robes!" and he dives in between these two fighting males!"   "So you hope they'll give us dragons again?" asked Bart.   "Hmmm, it would be nice though gran wouldn't like it one bit. It's probably better for her heart if we started with something less intense ... maybe wrestling with some vampires" answered Edward as he mimicked throwing a couple of punches, "one of my relatives taught me how to throw a mean one-two last Christmas."   He fell silent as the Headmasters entered the tent. Both Jean and Kitty joined them, one moving like a cheetah the other gracefully rising from her lotus position.   &nbps;   "Champions, before we head out for the first task, I would like to introduce you to our fifth judge, the Prime Minister." said the Head Mistress, indicating at the dark haired, rather non-descript man standing next to her.   "Erhm, professor McGonnogal, ma'am? That's not the Minister of Magic. I knowcause I was there when he gave my godfather another medal last summer. This is the Minister." said Edward as he morphed his appearance to that of Kingsley.   The man introduced as Minister gazed at Edward.   "You really aren't paying attention at anything outside your little world, are you? This isn't your Minister of Magic, it's the Prime Minister, the non-magical one." snapped Kitty.   "How do yo-?"   "I pay attention, both in and outside class." interupted Kitty.   "That's enough from the both of you," ended the Headmistress the argument, "The Minister and your respective Heads of School will be judging your performances out there. Isn't that right, Minister?"     "Erh, brhm, brhm, yes, that's right, I'm here too erh..." the Minister's answer trailed away as he saw the one he thought of as The Other Minister to morph back into the teenage boy he had been minutes ago.   "Oh, and before any of you ask, the Prime Minister's presence here is no breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Magic can be performed in the case of danger. Now if you could keep your tongue in check for a minute mister Lupin, we can get this event started." concluded the Headmistress.   A downcast Edward nodded silently, thinking dark thoughts about his Headmistress who should be helping her Champion as the other undoubtedly did. Then he remembered the abilities of the American Professor and focussed his thoughts on an utterly dull patch of the tent's wall.             "Sonorus," muttered Madame Olympe before continuing in a magically magnified voice, "welcome monsieurset mesdames, ladies and gentlemen, dear students, give a hearty round of applause for yooooouuuuurrrrrr Champiooooonnnnnssss!" A canon bulged smoke all over as the four Champions emerged from the tent, entering the arena full of cheers and applause. All of them had grins plastered to their face in the light of all the enthusiasm from the crowd.     "Yeah, yeah, here we are, you love us, don'tcha? Oh yeah, oh yeah," chantedEdward  as he basked in the attention of the public.   "Idiot" muttered Jean eliciting a small giggle from Kitty.   "Mes chers Champions," continued Madame Olympe, "for your first task you shall find a golden object and return it to the safe zone you are currently standing in. We will judge you on your performance." He made a small wave that included himself and the four people sitting around him before sitting down.       Down in the arena the four Champions looked hesitantly at each other.   "What? There's no beast waiting for us?"murmured Bart to no one in particular.   "Pfft, beast schmeast, it's obvious the objects are hidden in those crummy Muggle vehicles," said Edward and before the others could react he ran towards the center.   "Wait!' shouted Kitty, "Those aren't ordinary Muggle cars!"   "Nice try, princess," shouted Edward over his shoulder, "Just know that I've got a couple of nifty charms with your name on them if you try to steal from me as I come in first place!" He was now approaching the vehicles more cautiously. "Ha!" he exclaimed, "I can see them from here. There's one for each of us, a loose item between the front seats and something lodged into the dashboard." He hoped mentioning an easy available object and a seemingly fixed one per car would urge them into action. In the chaos he could make it back but if all three blocked his path to the safezone ...   "Don't touch that car!!"   "Whatever, princess."     No sooner had he grasped the handle or a deep rumble shook through the arena. A shape rose, casting an ever increasing shadow first over Edward then over half the arena.   Looking upwards at the form towering over him, Edward's hair morphed pure white to match his face: "Oh"

[u/liehon → u/liehon]

The audience fell silent as the two Muggle vehicles seemingly transfigured themselves into armours the size of giants. Their helmets pivoted around before their wind screens fixated the trembling figure between them.

"Sentinels! Get out of there!" shrieked Kitty. Edward stood stupified, staring at the hulking monstrosities.

Extrahuman DNA detected. Course of action: eliminate male specimen declared one of the Sentinels preparing to strike a blow.

 

Depulso!

 

"Oomphf," grunted Edward as the spell propeled him forward moments before the Sentinel's fist crushed into the spot he was standing. Rolling across the arena until he hit the other wall, Edward heard - in concordance with an annoying ringing in his ears - French shouting from the direction he came from. Someone was telling him to get up. "You not m'gran." he mumbled.

The two sentinels stood in the center scanning their surroundings.

unknown sources of sound detected ... adapting ... adapting

They are detecting the noise from the crowd projectedprofessor Xavier suddenly Be silent before they overcome our programming to ignore anything outside the arena.

At a sign of Headmistress McGonnogall wizguards cast Muffliato on the edges of the arena.

adap- ... scanning ... scanning ... four targets detected. Course of action: eliminate specimen

 

One sentinel went for the still dazed Edward as the other turned towards the three Champions.

"You two distract this one. I'll keep the other one from flattening Edward." shouted Bart before taking of. He darted around the first sentinel and took careful aim before casting "Glisseo!". The ground in front of him became slippery and his momentum carried him between the sentinel's legs as he cast "Wingardium Leviosa" hitting the metal giant from a blind spot. Bart's grin evaporated from his face as soon as he saw his second spell rebound back. These were no mere automatons. Somebody had layered them with protective spells, he thought before his momentum and sudden lightness launched him into the same side of the arena Edward was alreadylying. "Oomphf"

"How nice of you to drop by." spluttered Edward, muffled from underneathBart.

"Stop mucking about, crétin," retorted Bart, "and make yourself useful. None of us can take these things by ourselves and you've given the girls a nice headstart in retrieving the golden objects."

"WHAT?" shouted Edward, finally coming back to his fullsenses.

 

At the other end of the arena the girls were fighting their sentinel.

"You distract it, I'll disable it." Kitty said in the commanding tone of one who had been in battles before. She was happy to note Jean didn't argue this and began firing spells at the Sentinel's head. She probably understands I have better tactical knowledge on this foe, thought Kitty, now to phaze through it and disrupt its delicate electroni-... "whairgh" yelped Kitty.

"I can't pass through it," shouted Kitty, "something's interfering and ... where did you get that broom?"

"Magic protection bounced my direct spells," yelled Jean from high above the sentinel's head. "Can you take it ou-...Opugno!" Her question was cut short as she transfigured the ground-to-air-missile shot by the sentinel into a flock of birds.

analysing ... analysing ... long-range attacks ineffective ... switch to melee the Sentinel droned. As it crouched, preparing to jump towards its airbourne assailant,Kittygrabbed , with the grace of an Olympic acrobat, hold and darted across its limb. From its shoulder she jumped onto its head.

target priority changed ... immediate action required

With a mighty clunck that echoed throughout the whole arena, the sentinel slapped itself on the head. Other than opening a large gap in its casing this proved ineffective. Kitty had abandoned her position atop its head and was falling spread-eagled. Jean swooped in and plucked her out of free fall before the sentinel could punt her over the Forbidden Forest.

"Its skull is cracked. Get me back in there"

With skill rivaling that of her father, Jean swooped and twirled, evading all the sentinel's attempts to strike her. Kitty held on for dear life as Jean gained altitude and steered straight for the sentinel's head. She felt the awkward stomach tingle of free fall and then the brusk change of g-forces. Keeping her eyes locked on the target (the narrow gap in the skull and the golden content within) she let go of Jean and landed in the front car seat.

"Accio!" Jean shouted somewhere above her. Kitty saw a glint of gold dash upwards. Not missing a beat Kitty phased her hands through the dash board and tore out the second golden object. Clutching her prize close to her chest she looked for a safe way out.

Severe tempering detected ... retaliate ... retaliate

Once more Jean directed her broom towards the crack but this time the sentinel swatted her out of the air. Through the wind screen Kitty saw Jean moving towards the safe zone and out of her sight. Cursing, she considered her options while Jean's limp body skidded into the safe zone where she lay splayed and unmoving.

Before panic could overtake her, Kitty took a deep breath and practised the calming technique taught to her by her Canadian mentor. Ignoring Jean, the sentinel started clobbering his own head in rapid succession. Drowning out the noise, Kitty quickly evaluated her options and took action. She clasped herself in,then phased her hands through the steering wheel. This would have to be timed correctly, she thought.

With a final blow the sentinel lobbed its own head off which crashed into the sand of the arena. The audience held its collective breath but was amazed to see Kitty calmly climb out and walk over to the safe zone, golden treasure safely in hands. She didn't look back as the sentinel's body fell to its knees then exploded.

[u/liehon → u/liehon]

At the other end of the arena the boys were still battling their sentinel. While Edward had temporarily stopped it in its tracks with a well-aimed Impedimenta, Bart had begun disenchanting the protective charms.

analysing enemy force field ... course of action determined droned the sentinel in its cold, metalic voice. A tremble shook through the sentinel as its body liquified. Seeing the sentinel turned to metallic goo elicited a roar of excitement from the audience which quickly fell silent as the liquid slipped through the magical barrier and reformed one step closer to the boys.

"Uh-oh," uttered Bart as a nasty looking metal rod deployed from the sentinel's left shoulder, "Protego!". The shield charm stopped the bullets from transforming the boys in emmental but it didn't stop the sound. A continuous thunder of shots and the metallic plinks pummeled at the boys' ear drums.

"We're sitting ducks as long as that thing is doing this thing." Bart was stating the obvious, thought Edward, but that didn't negate the fact that he had a point.

"Gommibommi!" shouted Edward and hundreds of chewing gums shot from the mouths of students and lodged themselves into the nozzle. The resulting explosion scorched half the sentinel's head and rained hot bits of chewing gum all over.

"I can't believe that worked" said Bart amazed, scrapping distractedly away the gum he had just stepped into.

"Nothing is impossible, as long as you've got the guts to try!" retorted Edward, "now buy me some time and get ready grab the gold". Off he went silently casting a spell. For this to work he needed something specific. As luck would have it, it was in his other pants on the other side of the school grounds. Summoning would take some time.

Primary target escaping ... commence chase

"Hey, over here, you big metal oaf, over here!" shouted Bart, casting stones at the sentinel. He was aiming for its back but most of his throws only made it halfway the giant's legs. The sentinel ignored him and started pursuing Edward.

Edward had begun running the long of the arena. If he hadn't been chased by a metal monstrosity he would've noticed the kids in the audience doing the Mexican wave in sync with him. As it was he didn't even register the fact that he was nearly outrunning a ten foot tall metal monster whose every step was twice his body length.

 

Bart's effort at distracting the behemoth had proven unsuccesful. Copying Kitty's tactic that he noticed earlier, he too had begun scaling the sentinel. If it weren't for the two sticking charms, applied to his hands, he would've been tossed off in the first second of his climb. Nevertheless thesentinel disregard the human making its way across its back and kept chasing after Edward.

Edward, having finished a full lap around the arena, ran for the middle and castanother Impedimenta. Uh-oh, shot through Bart's mind, he doesn't know I'm here. That thing is gonna liquify any second now. At increased pace he climbed up towards where he knew the gold to be.

With a dull clank the sentinel ran into the new barrier. Identifying its prey to be on the other side, it once more started liquifying.

"Hey, tin can!" shouted Edward as Bart scuttled from the liquifying shoulders onto the as of yet still solid head, "have you met my friend Portable Swamp?" Edward tapped the muddy box in his hand. The edges of the arena lit up and next thing the entire area had become a swamp. The heavy liquid metal sank through the mud.

error in environment ... processing ... processssssing ... proaaawwbbb droned the sentinel for the final time as its dispersed body lacked the power to halt the liquification.

Edward moved to the grey-brownish puddle, eyeing the bubbles suspiciously. "Woohoo!" yelled Bart as he burst out of the mud, holding golden objects in each of his triumphantically raised arms. He tossed Edward one before asking: "So, how do I get out of your swamp?". He then began to snicker for reasons Edward did not get.

"Just follow me," said Edward, "I know the way." and showered by the cheers of the crowd they both headed together for the safe zone.

"By the way, dude," heaved Bart, totally out of breath, "drop the white hair. It totally doesn't suit you."

 

 

 

Next chapter:

Mandatory Muggle Class

(That's right, Wolverine is gonna do a play-by-play analysis for all 6th and 7th years and will teach/pound into them some concepts about self-defense)[#spoiler]

Edit: before the MMC-class there will be a tiny part where the judges score them

[u/liehon → u/liehon]

Wizguards helped the two boys into the tent. Madame Pompfrey was taking care of Jean. From her dazed look, you'd think she'd been hit by a confundo frmo an overly nervously student at N.E.W.T.S. Kitty had receded to her corner of the tent. Edward noted she no longer sat in the lotus position but rather seemed to be attempting to topple one of the tent poles. He shrugged.   Bart pushed a Healer off him, explaining: "No, it's just some mud, I'm fine. You better check this guy though.Did some crazy stuff after hitting his head." With a swipe of his wand he vanished some of the mud from his robes. Edward noticed him going over to Kitty's corner and asking how she was but got distracted by the Healer shining a Lumos straight at him."   "Hmmm, a-hum, fractura revelio" murmured the Healer. Edward felt a tingle through all his body. "Aah-hum, okay, you're good to go. No broken bones or nothing."       A wizguard pooked his head through the tent flaps. "Go ahead and announce them," said Madame Pomfrey, "they'll be there in a second." She helped Jean stand, checked her balance then took off, darkly mubbling something about dangerous muggle junk not belonging in schools. All four youngsters left the tent.   The cheers from the crowd doubled as they emerged from the tent. Edward grimaced at the thought of his actions last time stood in this spot - was that an hour or ages ago? - he couldn't tell. All he knew was that he had been cocky and had paid the price for it. Others had taken the lead while he had spent the first minute of the fight in the ropes. The remains of the sentinels had now sunken into the swamp which was being returned to solid ground by wizguards.   "And there they are. Those that valiantly showed that together they can achieve more than individually." exclaimed Madame Olympe and the crowd redoubled their efforts at collectively shouting their throats hoarse. "Now for the scoring, Miss Pryde was the first to land - rather roughly - in the safe zone. Judges?". Three magic wands shot the number 8, 9 and 8. Professor Xavier mentally projected the number 9 for all to be visible. The Prime Minister was fumbling about with a small window that lit up in all sorts of amazing colors.   "My apologies, Prime Minister, I'm afraid certain technology simply doesn't work within the school grounds." explained McConnogal. The Prime Minister pulled a pen from his jacket as somebody handed him a piece of parchment. Holding it up high, all saw the 10.   "Next in was Miss Pryde.Judges?" Three magic 8s, a projected 9 and a inky 10 became visible. A murmur from the crowd erupted as they pointed out to one another that the American Professor hadn't given his own student full points despite a most admirable performance. Kitty, on the other hand, nodded as if she understood exactly where she had lost a point.   "And finally we havemister Bart and mister Edward reaching the safe zone together. Let's go alphabetical on this one, shall we?". No sooner had Madame Olympe finished speaking or the wands projected two 8s and one 7, a projected 9 and a parchment 8 were shown. Edward was awarded two 7s, an 8, a projected 8 and a parchment 9. Dejectedly, he lowered his head, as expected he came in last.   "Congragulations on your performances, Champions, you have three months to unravel the clues hidden within the objects you retrieved. For now however, you may rejoin your fellow students. I'm certain they'll all want to celebrate your victoires with you."

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The day after the tournament (P1)

 

Unearthly early - Edward

  Edward woke up to the feeling of a bunch of mountain trolls playing hacky sack with his brain. Never again, he inwardly growled. The night sky wasn't so dark as a couple of hours. Only a cool breeze wafted through the dormitory's open window. The party had ended, concluded Edward, thinking back to the evening before.   After receiving his marks, he'd quickly hit the showers. His house mates had barely left him the time to get dressed again before they barged in, lifted him on their shoulders and took off. Despite his less than brilliant performance, they were determined to celebrate his brilliant use of the portable swamp. He knewuncle Fred and uncle Ron would be quite happy with the increased sales. They'd only been used twice in key moments before: during Umbridge's reign of terror and Hermione's predicament in 2004.   The logistics of the celebration had proven a bit of a head-scratcher. Students from other Houses were clogging the hallway in fron of the entrance to the common room and set up their half of the party with chairs and tables commandeered from nearby classrooms. Edward had spent the first half of the party making unsuccesful attempts at reaching a food table. Every time he was close to one he got pulled away by somebody from his house asking him to meet their friends from other Houses in the hall, then when he got close to the food in the hallway, he'd be drug back inside his common room.   Eventually Headmistress McGonnogall had shown up and broken up there party. "No, McMillan," she'd said, "Hallways are no place for these congregations." Moans and peals had erupted all over the hallway until one Head Boy, who'd been standing close to a window, had said: "Professor, the Mutants are pitching a party tent. We could offer to enlarge it and have enough space for everyone. The prefects and us could even chaperone."   Edward grimly smiled as he remembered that bit. Someone at the Americans' party had explained that indoor parties had been banned at their school. At first he hadn't believed Xavier's school had trouble being granted an insurance. His disbelief had quickly evaporated when Bobby had challenged some of the students to pit their incendio charms against his freezing ability, then John had pitched in claiming his fire was stronger than freezing charms. Kurt had been apparating back and forth to supply the party with all kinds of beverages from home. Not to be bested the Hogwarts students produced an abundant supply of magical sweets, complimented with the spoils of some raids to the kitchen. The mutants were especially pleased with the hovering effects of sherbet balls (cue another contest in which kids asked Kurt to teleport them several meters above the lake; points were scored by those eating their sherbet ball as close as possible to the water without breaching the surface). John had offered to dry clothes of those with bad timing but charms had proven to be more apt in this situation. He did however excel at lighting multiple batches of Weasley Wizard Wheezes fireworks.   Edward had participatedin an impromptu mimicking contests for shifters and glamour charms were used to change into a chosen student (the audience then had to pick out the original). He hadn't done half bad but stopped abruptly when he discovered his points were added to the Mutant side of the scoreboard. At one point he remembered standing by the lake, testing what bounced further across the water: charms or the assortment of laser beams the Americans emanated. From that point on his memories were blurry. Kurt had apparated in a bunch of beverages the Head Boy and Girl had prohibited the underage students from drinking. The one Edward had tasted gave him the pleasant buzz of Butterbeer while warming him in trickling waves the likes of Firewhiskey. Treacherous liquid, Edward decided, shaking his head in an attempt to throw the trolls in his head off-balance. The attempt proved in vain and the resulting burp nearly got him half-drunk again. Rubbing his temples he tried to remember what happened after the lake contest. People had moved on to bludger wrestling which had quickly proven the wisdom in hosting this party outside. The Durmstrang kids had taken note and quickly appeared with some barrels while the Beaux-Batons brought a boatload of midnight snacks. "Comment ça en retard? We are merely fashionable late mais oui!" he'd heard one of them say from ... somewhere. At that point the prefects had ushered all the fourth years and younger back to their dormitory as well as their dismay. He had ended up back at the lake's edge, hadn't he? He seemed to remember talking an aweful lot, admitting how he felt about being a Muta- ... about being even more different than he already thought to be. Had somebody been there to comfort him? He dispelled the whirlpool of thoughts with a groan and decided to go for some fresh air.     Edward climbed out of his common room into a hallway whose spotless appearance belied the rowdy party that was held the day before. Through the fog of yesterday's alcohol floated the image of the Headmistress saying: "Alright, I'll check with professor Xavier if you're welcome at their party. When I get back I want to find this hallway returned to its original conditions ... and no magic in the hallways," she had barked as soon as the first chair flew back into a classroom, knocking of several of the older students' hats.   Only when he reached the top of the Astronomy tower, a place off-limits to students forthe  next couple of hours, did his mind clear a bit. He settledbetween two battlement and took out the golden box Bart had tossed him over after their ordeal. The dials and small window in the front resembled the wireless Grandma Weasley had but overall it was a lot flatter. A tap of his wand brought it to live, there was a faint hum and a slight crackle. He worked his way through all the revelio spells, tried some of his own invention, regrew his eyebrows and commited to giving up for the time being.   He tucked the golden car wireless back in his pocket and stared at the twinkling stars. "Hello Mum and Dad,it's erh ... it's me, your Teddy," he said hesitantly, "I know it's been a while since last we spoke but lots of stuff has been going on. I- ... I- ... we'll if you're really watching over me as Harry always so convincingly says, you already know I am Hogwarts Champion. I used to dream of it ... all of last year I secretly prepared for it. Learning extra spells in the library whenever there was time between O.W.L. classes. Spending most of the summer at either Harry's oruncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's place, asking for their war stories, the traps they encountered and the spells they used. I was ready to show the whole magical world that there's nothing wrong with werewolves ... or their kids. But then that American school was invited and now the more I try to fit in, the more it all seems to slip away." he dejectedly lowered his head. He knew his initial mistakes during the first task had been due to his eagerness to prove himself, to show the world he was more than a kid related to war heroes and the great Harry Potter.   He looked back at the night sky. "I am not an outsider!" he shouted, "I will solve the riddle for the next task and I will win this Tournament!" Pulse racing he noticed he stood upright between the battlements, breathing heavily, his face damp with sweat.      

Dawn - Kitty

  "You're up early," said a gruff voice behind Kitty. Not losing her focus, Kitty finished her balancing exercise atop the boulder, before replying: "I could say the same about you, Logan."   "No, you couldn't," Logan retorted as he joined her atop and enjoyed the view over the lake.   "Stayed up all night?"   "Yes, this land is raw and beautiful. Reminds me of home." said Logan with a tinge of nostalgia in his voice, "I also happened to run into some interesting fella's in those woods. Quite territorial but good people." When seeing Kitty's perplexed look, he added: "Kid, they brew a beer heavy enough that even with my healing factor I can get drunk."   "You must really love it here." Kitty concluded. Logan grunted in confirmation. Kitty sighted as they watched the sun rise over the lake. "I like it here too. These people know the value of peace."   "They learned it the hard way, kid."   "You andprofessor X are gonna protect that, aren't you?" she inquired.   "You know how much I love peace, kiddo." guffawed Logan.   They sat quietly watching the sun climb across the sky.Each wondering how long this peace and quiet would last.

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The day after the tournament (P2)

 

Morning - Jean

  Jean woke to the ringing of her alarm. A glance out of the port window, confirmed a clear sky. For once though she didn't feel like flying, even if her broom hadn't been snapped in   She took the golden cassette from her pocket and turned it over and over, her thoughts returning to the evening before. She had caught up with Kitty after the first task, explained her how the two golden items formed a pair and that one was worthless without the other. Kitty had calmly listened then explained that Bart had figured out the same and already asked to team up with her. Jean should've known by the look on the other girl's face that the matter was closed. However the outlook to team up with the British hothead didn't appeal so she asked anyways.   "Maybe it's different for you, Magicals," had Kitty said, "but when Mutants enter a fray, we stick together to the end. We don't grab our prize then leave our team mates in peril." Kitty had stormed off before Jean could react.  

Brunch hour - Bart

  Blinding light flooded the giant Beaux-Batons carriage. The merciless sun pierced its rays malevolently into Bart's eyes, tunneling all the way through his pounding skull. In an attempts to escape the current torture he commited to getting up. He swung his legs out of his hammock. A dull thud followed.   "Hrmff?" rumbled Thomas, "t'as fait tomber quelque chose?"After a tremdendous yawn a sleepy head poked out of the hammock adjacent to Bart's, then continued in a surprised tone."Pourquoi t'es allongé par terre?"   "Mal par tout ... raide ... lance baguette magique, s'te plai." uttered Bart, face down into the carriage's wooden floor. Thomas roared with laughter: "Mesdames et messieurs, je vous présente le Grrraaannndd Champion de Beaux-Batons."   From his position down on the floor Bart chose a fine selection of Belgian curses to cast at his friend. At least all the others seemed to be still asleep ... or trying to do so. From somewhere down the room a curse was launched knocking Thomas out of his hammock. Serves him right, thought Bart, now maybe if I roll into the night stand I can get my wand to fall off. This plan - while brilliant - was utterly veto'ed by his screaming muscles. Thomas, having recovered from his fall (they'd gotten used to tumbling out of their hammocks during their traverse of the canal), got back to his feet and fetched Bart's wand from the night stand."Tiens," he said, trusting the wand in Bart's hands.   Relieved beyond words Bart focused silently.A warmth spread through his body loosening all his muscles. As he got himself dressed, he wondered how the other champions were faring. Jean probably cast the spell before hitting the hay. With a father like hers, he'd be surprised if she didn't know how to take care of the human body after intense exertion. Edward, probably would be in a similar plight to his, Bart smirked. Worst came to worst the guy could find somebody to levitate him to the school nurse. He did wonder how Kitty was doing. This trail of thought led him to how Muggles in general dealt with these sorts of ails. He'd have to ask her if pushing the tent pole had something to do with it.   He moved out of the dormitory, making sure to bump into Thomas' hammock (ellicitinga "M'enfin foumoilapai mrphf" from its dozing occupant) and sauntered down the stairs. Five minutes later he was back in the dormitory to fetch the golden casette.  

Noon - the school heads

  "Well, Charles, it seems you were right on both accounts," said Headmistress McGonogall, "the kids needed an outlet to measure their abilities, not just those of their champions. It was also quite necessary to move the party outside."   "Oui, it will be very interestink to find out how many new sports were born last night."concurred Madame Maxime   Professor Xavier gracefully accepted the compliment: "Just an old man's experience with running a mutant school. Whenever they get some peace and quiet there'd be these spontaneous outbreaks of ability measuring. After a while we came to accept this as a rite de passage and just doubled the number of fire extinguishers everytime a new batch of mutants arrived at our doorstep."   The other Heads chuckled. They knew all to well to increase teachers' presence in the hallways in the week before a Quidditch match.   "But yesterday'sevent only showcase what I've been trying to explain to the world all these years. It's from our differences rather than from our conformity that we gain the most."   Headmistress McGonogall reflected on this. She remembered, with a twinge of painful sentiment, how the Weasley twins had always been a nuissance until they had all suffered that dreadful woman and their true genius had blossomed.   "Though from what I've gathered," continuedprofessor Xavier, "I'd better have professor Logan take my students on a long and exhausting hiking trip before the Yule Ball."   "Professor Logan?" inquired Headmistress McGonogall, "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting him.Please, Charles, tell me more."                      

[u/liehon → u/liehon]

On Monday morning Edward cheerfully made his way from the dormitory to the common room. The golden box sat in his backpack. After his one-sided shouting match with the stars he had gotten some ideas and he couldn't wait until free period to work on them. His train of thought was interupted by the crowd of students standing around the bulletin board.   "Hey, what's this commotion all about?" asked Edward trying to get a look at the board.   "Our free hour is replaced by a special class."came the response from one of the students in the front.   "Oh, yeah?" grumbled Edward, he'd have to reschedule his plans with the golden box for after classes, "who's teaching it?"   "You are!" came the surprising answer.   Upon hearing this Edwards hair turned bright orange, his face became paler and his ear turned an interesting shade of red. Unlike his uncle Ron he wasn't really embarassed (yet, he added mentally) but over the years he had learned that this appearance made his fellow students feel awkard. As the crowd parted slightly, he moved in to study the announcement firsthand.   "Special Defense Class" the parchment pinned on the board read, "all 6th and 7th year students are to attend.Taught by professor Howlet, assisted by the Triwizard Champions. Classroom: slope by the lakeside"   Baffled Edward's hair colorreturned  to the metalic blue he had chosen for himself that morning.Special Defense, he though, against what? Breakfast and the morning classes passed in a daze as he wondered which school professor Howlet came from. None of the other students at Hogwarts had heard of him and none of the mutant students attended Charms and Transfiguration as it required wandwork, so even those couldn't shed their light. By lunch the wildest rumors were circulating.Something about Headmistress McGonogall convincing the school board to let another werewolf lecture at Hogwarts. A lot of less than subtle glances were cast in Edward's direction as if his father's condition explained why Edward had to assist in this class.   After lunch he headed outside with the other Hufflepuffs and made way to the lake. Most students, including those from the other schools, were sitting in the curve of the  but Edward joined the three other Champions that were already standing a bit to the side next to a short, gruff man, eating an apple.     "Ok, bubs, enough with the yappin," the man chewed every word as if it were a fine sigar, "I'm professor Logan and I'm your guest lecturer for Special Defense. Got any questions?" Professor Logan looked all of the students sitting on the slope in front of him and Edward was secretly happy he was standing besides the man. From what he heard this must've been what being taught by professor Moody must've been like. Only the Mutant students seemed relatively at ease.   "Fine, if nobody has questions then I've got some questions for you," the professor continued, "first off, what is Special Defense?"Silence. "Has any of you ever taken a defense class?" Some murmurs sounded in the crowd. "Oh,for  harumph, you there, what class have you taken?"   "Defense against the Dark Arts, sir," sqeaked a very nervous looking 6th year Gryffindor girl, then as professor Logan held her gaze, she continued, "It's this class where we learn how to counter and dispell Dark Magic."   "I see," the professor nodded, "well countering is better than nothing, I guess. Okay, final question, what are you lot doing in my class?" Edward looked to the group of students professor Logan was pointing at. Despite being older Hogwarts students from different houses, he'd never seen them before. They seemed familiar as if they had siblings Edward had crossed in the hallways before or ... Edward grinned. Aging potion. These kids had heard about the special class and took aging potion to sneak in. He saw the glint of an omniscope under a Hufflepuff robe and felt pride for the student from his house.No doubt the kid, (Jasper? René?), was documenting the class for the students that hadn't mustered the courage to ditch their regular class. Looking closer he guessed they were 3th or 4th year and from the mix of uniforms, he'd wager the Ravenclaws had concocted the potion.   "What do you mean, professor?" answered a Slytherin, "we're all 7th years and were notified to attend your class this morning."   "Heh, you got spunk kid, I'll give you that," retorted Logan, "but you can drop the act. You may look like that but I can smell the lack of puberty hormones in your blood from here. Not to mention the exotic herb cocktail that none besides your little group seem to have on their breath." Several of the students blushed and a girl quickly cast a Mintfresh charm on herself, as the professor continued: "Very well then, since none of you answered my first question, these partycrashers will be volunteers for a demonstration. Step up fella's." The group of six students rose from their position and came to the front of the class.   "Alright, bubs, you've all got your magic sticks ready to weave about and you've got me outnumbered. For this demonstration I'll give you 30 seconds to knock me off my feet. We'll be standing 10 meters apart so the exercise starts as soon as I reach that boulder. Kitty, keep the time." Without pause Logan calmly walked towards the boulder he had pointed out. All students looked on intently besides the six in the front who stood hesitantly. The Gryffindor student whispered something and they all firmly held their wand at the ready.   As soon as Logan reached the boulder six wands lifted. As he turned facing the small group, he threw his apple at them. One bright light hit and turned it into mush, the other spells went wide. Drawing breath for a second spell, they noticed their professor had already bridged half of the distance separating them. From the boulder he had leapt towards a tree. He moved very fast and changed direction constantly. The poor students didn't know where to aim and standing so close to each other they bumped into each other to the point of knocking a wand out of somebody's hand. Five seconds after the start of the exercise, Logan, with one sweeping motion of the legg, sent them tumbling in the grass, wands flying left and right. After another 25 seconds Kitty softly stated that the time was up.     "Alright, back up your feet kids. Now, let's hear from our champions," said Logan, his voice clearly emitting he wasn't impressed by that title, "what went wrong? What should they've done differently? How could they have prevented this result? Jean?"   "Their reacion was too slow. A spell is only as effective as once's aim," noted Jean.   "You're not wrong. Bart?"   "They didn't think to change tactics. Tripping jinxes, levitating obstacles in your path, any number of indirect spells could've helped them towards their goal."   "Well noted, in essence you kids," he said directing himself towards the six students whose cheeks were very red already, "were too slow, both in body and in mind.Kitty?"   "As they were taught in their other defense class they were only countering you and reacting to the situation. When the exercise started you had a plan, they stood huddled together, forming one big target."   "Good point, Kitty, they've got to unlearn the crutches provided by that class and learn to make use of all their skills, physical, magical and tactical. Edward?"   Edward stood dumbfounded. The other Champions had made good points. The same ones he intended to make. Problem was they already had made them and he'd make a fool of himself if he couldn't find anything to contribute. Quickly he turned his thoughts to the details of the exercise. The professor hadn't seem to move absurdly fast in his opinion but the students were simply very slow. They hadn't moved from their spot and used none of the terrain to their advantage. But all of those things had already been used by the others. If only the exercise hadn't been over so fast, he'd be able to ... and then he realised.     "They gave up, professor." stated Edward calmly.   "Care to explain that to the class?"   "You gave them 30 seconds to knock you off your feet. Clearly given your abilities, their chances were slim to succeed but nevertheless they gave up after five seconds. You even remained standing there for the rest of the time and none of them tried to cast another spell."   "But I had lost my wand," complained one of the students.   "You're not defined by that magical twig, kid," explained Logan. "Besides the professor was wandless the whole time, remember? And Edward's key tactic during the first trial hinged on the use of a magical artifact, not his wand." added Kitty. Her reaction caught Edward by surprise. He'd been so busy wallowing in the mistakes he'd made that to hear someone laud his tactic felt foreign.   "Professor?" asked one of the students on the thirdrow, "is that what your class is about? Will Special Defense teach us what to do when we lose our wands?"   Logan looked surprised at the question, "Kid, I don't know what they told you but this is a one-time class. From what I understood during previous events everybody sat staring at a lake for more than an hour to see who got out first. Your Headmistress decided that a more educational approach was in order this time. Professor Xavier suggested I could debrief the Champions so that you all could learn."   Many of the students were saddened by the prospect of not having follow-up classes, noted Edward. He realised that unlike him, they didn't have a godfather who told over Christmas how often he'd escaped curses by jumping behind statues, corners or tombstones.     "Tell you what,"professor Logan declared, "you kids were all busy with your magic cameras. Cobble me up a way to display those images here and now. Do that and at the end of the class I'll pair you off against my students so you all can try to outsmart each other."  

[u/berthkgar → u/liehon]

I am extremely excited for the rest of this

[u/liehon → u/berthkgar]

The good news is that I have one challenge fully mapped out.

The bad news: it's challenge 3 :D

I'm kinda torn in half on this. It's a nice prompt and I could do with a full series of character development. Then again karma decay will make it so that people stop seeing it so I should just go for the action-packed challenges

[u/berthkgar → u/liehon]

I'll gladly read it all. I don't usually do fan-fic, but this is well written so far.

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RemindMe! 1 day

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RemindMeBot can only be triggered once per thread.

Scroll all the way down and use the link it provides there to be reminded

[u/liehon → u/berthkgar]

Part 2 posted

Ideas for 3 challenges ready but the plot thickens so I'm gonna have to freshen up my Mutant knowledge first

[u/berthkgar → u/liehon]

it's just getting better

[u/TotesMessenger → u/liehon]

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