Although being in the open meant that there was enough natural light that using her wand wasn’t necessary, Alex distrusted clouds and so kept her wand lit, raised to show the area immediately in front of her. She kept alongside Annie, allowing the other girl to set the pace and instead focusing on watching the grass that surrounded them for any attacker. Tightly wound, she paused more than once before stepping forward again, suspicious of ambush.

But as the grass died away, no longer able to hide attackers, the two of them came to a halt, pausing uncertainly. “Trite though it sounds, nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Alex pointed out, lifting her wand and stepping forward, irritated that the new terrain meant she had to pay just as much attention to where she was putting her feet as to her surroundings. It had barely been a few minutes when they came to the source of the noise, and Alex was pleased to see that, rather than another enormous dragon to fight, it was a raft of broomsticks.

Her relief was short-lived. It was odd how the loss of Annie – who she didn’t especially know, although her triumph over the dragon had improved her opinion – made Alex feel considerably more isolated. They had been placed in teams for a reason, after all, and she assumed the difficulty of the obstacles they would face reflected that. And even if it didn’t, having someone else to confer with and act as support was nothing to be sneered at, even if the individual in question was possibly concussed.

Well aware that she certainly wasn’t strong enough to cart another body around – although she could do so magically, and all she needed to do was get to the raft and hopefully that would carry them both. But it seemed… unwise. If something attacked them, she would have to protect Annie’s prostrate body, and trying to keep hold of Annie on a raft of broomsticks in mid-air would be challenging, to say the least. She would try to get to the raft, and then send a flare – which was becoming a theme of this task, she noted. Sighing, Alex removed the compass from the Salemite’s hand before turning to the new obstacle.

But stepping into the water clearly wasn’t an option, and being only one person, she couldn’t ask a team-mate to levitate her to over the raft. Although they’d been leaping to use it too much, it was the obvious solution, and feeling uncomfortably self-conscious, she called out, “Accio raft.” Nothing happened, and while she was disappointed that it hadn’t worked, Alex wasn’t entirely surprised, and she frowned at the raft while she considered alternatives. It didn’t take long for one to spring to mind, but reluctant to break the surface of the water, Alex paused while she tried to think if there was anything else she could do.

Nothing sprang to mind, and sighing, she lifted her wand again, “Averte Pedeum a Tuum A Malo” She watched the water intently, waiting to see if she would be attacked again.

The water parted. Swelled up and away from the movement of Alex’s wand. The mud it revealed was dark and wet, ten feet down at the shallowest. It squelched as the water swept from it.

But the opening halted just a few feet before the raft itself, as if it had hit some form of shield. The raft rocked back and forth on its suddenly smaller patch of water, then settled. Within the pillar of water underneath it, some sort of chain shivered, reaching down into the dark mud.

Behind Alex, a small patch of water hissed, once, twice; a plume of something like steam shot upwards. There were only a few seconds of silence before the hissing began again.

Alex watched with disappointment, staring at the mud she presumed she would have to cross with distaste. The noise from behind her made the decision for her, and she turned nervously. Although there was nothing there that would attack her, she was sure that the hissing noise wouldn’t mean anything good. With a last regretful look at Annie, she waved her wand.

Although casting a levitation spell on herself was beyond her, a spell to reduce weight was far more achievable. Parting the water for a second time, she leapt, far further than was normally possible, touching the sludge exposed only briefly before she rose again.

It was harder to control the path of her motion than she would have liked, and she undershot, passing through the barrier but not quite reaching the raft of broomsticks. Even though she’d realised that hitting the water was inevitable, its frigidity still shocked her and she was gasping for air by the time she broke the surface, her face already cold. She moved swiftly, clambering awkwardly onto the raft and sitting in a shivering heap before realising that the cut on her arm was partially reopened. Swearing, she rolled back her sleeve, prodding at the wound and hastily trying to seal it again.

It did so with ungrateful reluctance, much to Alex’s displeasure, but she allowed her sleeve to fall back before drying herself with a blast of hot, warm air. That was her intention, at least, but her first attempt produced only a puff of yellowish smoke that made her sneeze when she inhaled it. A second attempt, inhibited by chattering teeth, was even less successful, and when she finally cast the spell properly, it was overly forceful. Cold but dry, Alex gripped the edge of the raft tightly, braced for movement.

Thank you for a fantastic go of it.  For this final post the AO Curators have taken over the Deus Ex Owl to wrap up this exciting endeavor!

Alexandra Carstairs had been through a great deal in her life.  A girl who'd grown up without a mother and a father who largely ignored her, found herself... alone in the woods.  The forest had taken her two companions - the Task was harsh and unforgiving, after all.  They'd all been warned and that was the reality for lone Alex now.

Despite her bravery and training and resourcefulness, the Task would never be completed by a lone witch.  That, and all that bleeding.  The hours pressed on and without any word from the Hogwarts Champion, the Tournament officials are forced to find her and her companions and bring them back to safety.

Without the snidget. Who will no doubt live a long and happy life in the protected Forbidden Forest, free for the rest of its days from cages, Seekers, and Champions.

All the champions are retrieved and Apparated back to the staging pavilion.  Healers are standing by to mend wounds, and reporters are eager to find out just what went on out there.

Stay tuned to the Daily Prophet in February for more.