Second into the maze and hot on the heels of Salem, the Durmstrang team dashed into the challenge with determination.

The towering hedges seemed to be so close together it was impossible not to rush down the passageways without branches clawing at faces, shoulders and tugging at hair. They were so thick and enchanted that the sound of the crowd in the stands was swallowed, and was replaced by a suffocating silence apart from the sound of the teams and their own feet.

---

Cooperate with your fellow writer to post in open order to ensure the thread continues.

When a Durmstrang writer needs to pick a square from the maze grid (anywhere on the grid which hasn't been picked before) and once a square has been selected, what the group has encountered will be revealed by the AO account. When the Tetra cup square is picked, the team will encounter and seize the cup for victory!

The Durmstrang Champions took a turn at a fork, their eyes peeled for trouble, fellow champions, surprises. as they rounded a bend, up ahead were figures, shadows amongst the branches, standing ever so still. Were they another team? Was it a team of wizards waiting to ambush them?

As they approached with caution the figures suddenly moved, with the clanking of metal and clink of chains they moved into formation side by side. Eight suits of armour, head to the feet, with swords, six feet tall with the broad shoulders of knights, they stood in the way of the Durmstrang Champions, between them and a possible path to the Tetrawizard Cup.

With a scrape of metal, they drew their swords.

As they rounded the corner, the sound of scraping steal was unmistakable. The Eisenberg witch’s eyes locked onto the row of knights, who wholly blocked the path before them, their gray armor standing out against the maze path and the greenery of the walls. The determined gang of Durmstrang students came to a stop several meters away, huddled for only a moment to communicate in glances and brief whispers, and then assumed dueling stances that had years of defensive (and offensive) study behind them.

The blonde Oberteil took on a knight near the center, the look in her eyes a strange mixture of predatory and excited.

Magda’s wand came up with a sharp cut, going not for the sword, but the shield. Occlumency studies had paid off: she knew how important a defense system was… and what happened when it was weakened.

The first spell[1] hit and darted off the charmed metal, severing a bit of thick shrubbery high up on the maze wall… Whatever spells had animated them were fortified by some sort of shield charm[2]. Leaves rained down like snow, with bits of branch in between. The knight Magda had targeted and the one beside it were clunked on the shoulders and helmets, and its shield hand wavered. Magda took the opportunity while it was regaining its balance: the second spell[3] hit its armored hand. This time its shield clanked to the ground and went sliding toward Magda like a magnet (who had hissed another spell[4] to make it do so). The Durmstrang girl lifted a black boot and stepped on it as she approached.

With a dent made in knight’s defense, Magda sprang forward like a fencer, her wand extended. As she came within a foot of it, her wand swept down with a sharp crimson light that met his sword like metal on metal. It sparked, the screech loud and flinching, still sounding in everyone’s ears as the light and metal met again. They jarred for a few minutes, a proper duel for both the knight and the witch, sword on wand. Magda got in several dents and visible scrapes on the armor, just as the knight was able to ghost his sword over her, leaving a shallow scrape under her jaw.

As he jabbed toward her middle, she leapt back, raising her wand up toward her temple.

“Locomotor Mortis![5]”

The knight’s legs froze, as if they had been glued to the ground.

The next spell[6] hit the groin: a sign of love. Even if it was more for show, even if the knights couldn’t feel, it had achieved its purpose. Magda smiled and carried on throwing spells. This time she was not going to lose any bets. Her prize would be sweet.

She flicked her wand, “Confringo![7]” and sent the knight toppling over forcefully, heaped into the distinct shape of an L as her finished with a flourish.

As her classmates took down more knights, Magda moved on to another one, throwing a glance over shoulder to make sure her work was seen.

She backed up carefully took on her next opponent with an arrow shooting spell[8], something to make her grandfather proud. Around her, spells were flying, and the knights her classmates had dueled were beginning to pile up. As their numbers dwindled, Magda shot more glances at her classmates, sharing silently hints of a bigger plan.

1.	Stunning Spell
2.	I am assuming the knights have protection charms to make the duels even harder
3.	A spell that cuts into metal
4.	A magnet spell, similar to a summoning charm
5.	Leg-Locker Curse
6.	Just something fun and sassy
7.	Blasting Curse
8.	Arrow-Shooting Spell

The suits of armour looked ready for scrap when the Durmstrang Champions left them in their wake. The barrage of spells and tactics against metal fighters who felt no pain had been impressive and explosive. Blood pumping and adrenaline high, the Durmstrang champions pressed on through the narrow paths, the hedges clawing at them as they went.

On approaching a T-junction in the path, the champions slowed a moment to consider their route, and at that moment a large, tree-trunk sized club came hurtling down onto the ground a few metres from them, followed by a large hand, arm and then a head twelve foot above them with a set of thick lips.

It grunted and roared, raising the club and swinging it down at them, embedding into the ground and forming a large crater. No sooner had it done that, but another of these incredibly ugly, angry and violent beasts appeared from the other direction, scratching its backside and then wielding an equally big club and warts on its forehead.

With a muscled arm, the second swung its club right at the champions with no remorse or fear for its own life.

If he hadn’t trained with her for all of their years at Durmstrang, Lyov would’ve been impressed while watching Magdalena. As it were... there were three other champions to watch other than her. He knew them all well enough, of course; they had been considered the best of the best, per the cups figuring, and Lyov was impressed. It meant that he wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning up after them as much.

His wand waved in purposed, focusing on a couple of the knights as he moved forward. The permanent sticking charm seemed appropriate, and he forced two knights together, front to front, with a flourish of his wand and a lasting “Expulso!” was used. He grinned as the joined knights exploded into an array of armor. He picked a glove up and used it to ‘wave’ at his fellow Champions.

Once they passed that obstacle, of course, Lyov slipped his hand into the suit of armor he had lifted, adrenaline pumping as he jogged ahead. He was curious to see what was around the next bend, intrigued at the imagination of the task setters. When they reached the intersection, however, he pointed to the left. “We should go this-” The sound of something moving through the air made his words stop, ducking out of instinct. He looked to the club, blinking as the large creature came into view.

He jumped out of the way, laughing as he rolled to his feet. “Aliya! That should be your date to the end of year feast.” The second one, however, was not as cute. His jokes ended as he focused on the beast in front. He rolled out of the way of the swinging club once again, pointing to two of the champions and motioning to the troll that was trying to take him off. “Remember, though they are strong, they are stupid.”

Lyov ran forward and darted around, using a zig-zag sort of maneuver before he was between the beasts legs. He slammed the metal hand up, careful to not look as he kept going, discarding the glove in slight disgust. Now that he was behind the confused troll, his wand came out, “Incarcerous!” He let the ropes tie around the trolls legs before pulling his hand back, attempting to trip the stupid and dangerous creature over.

The other two champions took their time, one blasting away the club down the maze from where they came, while the other cast “Obscuro!” He looked to see how the others fared with the remaining troll, grinning as the ropes continued to climb their way up the struggling Troll’s body, trapping his arms to his sides.

---

Permanent Sticking Charm: Makes objects permanently stay in place
Expulso: A spell that causes an object to explode
Incarcerous: Ties someone or something up with ropes
Obscuro: Causes a blindfold to appear over the victim’s eyes

“Letting them hug before you rip them to pieces? You’re getting soft,” she murmured as she passed by him, smiling nonetheless. Certainly it was extremely impressive, that he had taken out two knights at once, and no doubt the judges would award him accordingly. But on the subject of private stakes… “That doesn’t count as two.” Her eyes moved down to the glove and back up, only mildly suspicious.

At the next intersection, it the was the swinging mass that Magda saw before the burly limbs, rotund middle, or ugly face. She jumped back even as her wand stabbed forward. Her eyes flashed after Lyov before returning to the troll, whose guttural noise was almost as unpleasant as its breath. She did not linger on its slow motion vileness.

Quickly, she ran in the opposite direction, around the outside of his foot, toward the second troll. In the corner of her eye, she saw the flash of metal, and allowed herself a brief moment to slow (but not stop) and watch over her shoulder. If she had just been one-upped by the clever display with the knight’s glove— and laughed quietly— she would have to find a new way to match him.

“Aliya,” she called, grabbing the witch’s attention after Lyov had, beckoning her to join. They made a perfect team, after all. “Take that side.”

When she reached the prime spot, Magda swished her wand up. A white light poured forth like a thin stroke of lightning, hitting the troll’s arm. The beast roared at the Stinging Jinx[1], its slow fingers opening with sudden quickness, as if it had burned itself on a stove. Like the pebbles before the main wave of an avalanche, the club dropped toward them— only it wasn’t a feather-light precursor. Magda’s neck craned as she caught it with a quick levitation charm[2]. Another extended swish of her wand, and the club went flying in the direction of the defeated knights.

The next spell was simple, but effective. A storm of bats[3] shot forth from the Oberteil’s wand, fluttering like impatient moths around the troll’s head, distracting and angering it at once.

Lyov’s choice of spell brought another smile to Magda’s lips, which was not the easiest thing to do. Tied and then blindfolded… what a charming bunch they made.

As the second club joined the one she had vanquished, safely out of reach of their opponents’ hands, Magda dashed out of the way and watched as Aliya raised her wand.[4]

1.	Stinging Jinx
2.	Wingardium Leviosa, obviously
3.	This is similar to the Bird-Conjuring Charm
4.	Discussed

Aliya was never far behind her good friends. Her closeness to Magda over the years could hardly be underestimated and by virtue of her friendship with the Dane, she was also close to Lyov. They had all worked well together and knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses well. It was partly why they were able to be so great: they used them to their best potential.

Certainly, it was well known that Aliya was the least ferociously competitive of the bunch. She was also more reluctant to use her abilities if she did not have to. But that did not mean the young Grumman lacked the power and potential. Perhaps the ingenuity of her classmates would be how they helped her channel that during the challenge.

It wasn’t long before they happened upon the suits of armor that Aliya realized that they were not the fearsome creatures to behold. Magda’s string of spells was a work of art and quite inspiring as the dark witch followed behind. Lyov’s work was equally so, though perhaps just a tad less precise.

Setting her sights on one of the knights on the end along with another of her classmates (for Aliya so did enjoy collaboration), and sent a rather simplistic, yet sound spell that hit the knight on the end and then deflected off his armor to hit the one beside it as well. They clanged together like cymbals and caused enough break in their step to allow her and her cohort time to send several more spells, including “Bombardia” and “Aresto Momentum” and a few others that did not manage to do much permanent damage or knock them out of the way.

Aliya’s brow furrowed deeply with disappointment, especially seeing that the other knights were tackled more easily. She wanted to make sure she was pulling her weight. Her mouth formed a grim line for a moment before she pointed her canary wand to her target and sent off what she hoped would be her last spell.

“Deprimo!”[1]

At first, it appeared like nothing was happening to the knight, but seconds after she continued to point her wand at her target, the sound of the metal being pressed down together. Aliya knew that if she had the power of others in her family or even some of her classmates now by her side, the damage to the knight would be more severe.

With the knights taken care of, the Durmstrang troop darted off in search of the next obstacle in the maze.

Aliya was almost in the line of fire when they came upon the large figure. The club came so close to her that she fell to her knees. Her brown eyes went wide as she looked up at it.

She barely heard Lyov’s words but she could not help but chuckle as she fired back at him, “My date? I already have Fyetka. You might need a date…” She inched away from where the club had come down and the beast had pulled it out. She watched with anticipation as one of them sent it down to the ground again and she rolled out of the way.  She followed Lyov’s example and started moving forward with no real pattern so as to keep the clumsy oafs unable to react as well. She followed Magda’s directive and moved swiftly to the other side, her long legs allowing her an athleticism she did not often display.

As Madga did the bulk of the initial damage, the dark haired witch moved into position for when her attack would be most effective. Moving so that now she was to the hulking figure’s side, Aliya raised her wand and shouted, “Flipendo Tria!”[2]

What looked like a tornado of blue sparks surged forth from her wand and though there was a lot to knock back (more than one’s average foe), there was enough force in her jinx to sent the troll off balance and stumbling.

“Look out!” Aliya cried, warning the other students to move out of the way of an impending crash to the maze floor.

1.	Downward pressure spell - http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Deprimo
2.	More powerful version of the basic knockback jinx - http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Knockback_Jinx

Lyov scoffed. “Should I have attached them front to back?” Their spoken language when at school was easy to let out; he felt more in his element, working with his fellow classmates. He only smirked at her refereeing. And like while at school, the many languages that they had picked up over the years jumbled together for coherent speech amongst them. He knew he could describe things more in-depth with Russian, but sometimes it was too drawn out and the verbiage could be a pain.

Regardless, they understood each other, and that was what mattered.

With their troll down, Lyov took a slow and steadying breath, trying to calm his heart as it pounded hard against his chest. That glove had been more weight than he’d expected, really, mixed with the bit of cardio... He wasn’t winded, but he was glad for a short respite. Hands interlocked behind his head easily as he grinned, wand lightly between his fingers. “Let’s watch the girls do their thing.”

Of course the suddenly heavy object that was teetering over towards them was not good. Eyes widened a little before he quickly backtracked, watching as it landed hard on the other troll. Grimacing as one of their Oberteil’s was wailing about having his leg caught, Lyov dusted himself off before stepping over the other bound (and slightly more defeated) troll. He had given up on trying to get loose. That... or the troll was too tired. “Bite your tongue, Baldric.” He was clip and straight forward, irritation settling into his brows.

With the use of the other students, they were able to roll the troll and help Baldric up, though he made some sort of guttural noise when he stepped on his foot. Lyov took a slow breath before icing the area while Christian helped him stand. “I’ll drop you if you get in the way.” They all grinned before Lyov stood back up. “Come on, ladies.” Baldric and Christian barked back insults as they situated themselves. Lyov turned to Magdalena and Aliya. “What-”

The look on their faces and the o’ing of their mouths gave him enough of a warning to start to duck. The trunk-like club slammed against his side, spinning him out and over. Lyov lost his wand while in flight, trying to catch his breath as pain shot through his shoulder and side. Russian curses left his mouth between inhales. Where had that other troll come from?!

Aliya’s troll tottered straight into the other, sending them into a heap of bondage of pain. Magda grinned, and it was one of pride and friendliness— a rare thing for the Oberteil. “Leave them to cry,” she offered, by way of compliment. If they weren’t still in the middle of the maze, she would have pulled her into a hug.

As Baldric started wailing about being stuck— much to the annoyance of his teammates— Magda took the opportunity to wave her wand at the blindfold on Lyov's troll, tightening it a little. She stood, unimpressed and nonchalant, waiting for their schoolmate to be freed and stabilized. “The ropes weren’t meant for you,” she said, her voice dark.

When the injured party was on his feet and the banter had the tone of victory, the group began to move past the trolls…

And were soon met with another pair. Magda’s face wore alert before she hissed, in Russian, “Out of the way.”

But the club had cracked down faster than imaginable for their doltish enemy. Brute force seemed to make up for any stupidity on the troll’s part, and Lyov was knocked to the side even before Magda got the last word out. But her eyes abandoned the Russian boy’s face when the caught the falling wand. Quickly, she summoned it, taking both in one hand. Unlike the warmth she felt from her own seemingly chilly wand, Lyov’s had a wholly different feel— if the wood was slightly pliable, it certainly knew it was not in the hand of its master. Magda’s fist tightened, momentarily, before she stuck it with a quick, smooth jab in the band of her trousers— the spiral noticeable on her hip— and lifted her own again.

“Tarantallegra[1]!”

Immediately the beast’s legs began to move against its will and it looked down, confused, letting out an animal-esque noise that nevertheless sounded a bit like a grunt. Christian and Baldric laughed, sending little hexes at its legs, making it worse. The troll was quickly losing its balance.

The next spell was aimed at its head, seeming to hit the him with an invisible dumb-bell. The troll swayed for a moment, its eyes crossing, and then it began to fall. Forward. All of the Durmstrang students backed away again, pressing into the walls of the maze as the troll’s head made contact with its own club against the ground.

Magda stepped around it tentatively, reuniting with Aliya. Between the five of them, they had toppled three trolls. As they approached Lyov, she became well aware of his wand at her side. Her hand brushed over it, and she was sure there was a little zap to her palm.

1.	Dancing Feet Spell

Well, those would be two very displeased trolls to say the least when the tournament officials returned them to their habitat after the task. The Durmstrang students had certainly thrown their fair share of spells to pass them, and daresay those plucky, clever young witches and wizards had rather enjoyed it all.

Twisting and turning through the next junctions in the hedges, they kept their eye on the direction they were heading, and distantly could hear the sound of crashing and splintering of wood, and was that someone giggling? Still it was carried away by what breeze whistled through the hedge avenues.

Up ahead there was a long, straight path, which at first put hope into the Durmstrang champions' hearts because it almost appeared to be a straight up to the cup itself. Wands in hand, eyes peeled they headed on, and by the time the last of them were four feet along the path, there was a great crackling sound from their feet.

Bright yellow flames licked from the ground, at first at ankle height, and then larger, and larger. They appeared both behind and ahead, encircling the champions with increasing heat and strength, rapidly closing the little island of turf that the five stood on to cluster them together instinctively. The flames behind them rose most quickly, like a great wall or wave of flame to chase them.

Although it was an obvious solution - the hasty casting of water from one champion's wand did nothing to quell the flames - but if they didn't act instantly, they would almost certainly be burnt, or be overcome by the smoke!

Lyov was irritated (and it was evident on his face, the way he scowled) as he fought for breath, pushing himself up with a grimace slowly off the grass. He was so glad he was working with mostly competent classmates. He eyed Baldric for a moment as he caught his breath, hand reaching for his wa- wait, where was his wand? He frantically patted himself down, searching along the ground as his hands moved through blades of grass.

The thud that hit the ground was loud; Lyov barely noticed it from his spot near the hedge, glancing around wildly. Maybe it was under the troll...

But then he saw them all coming towards him, and he fought to control his features. That was when he saw his handle sticking out from someone’s trousers. Eyes narrowed before he slowly got back up off the ground, offering as friendly of a smirk as he could muster. “Good job.” His Russian was clipped and quiet, a means to congratulate the group for taking the last one without him.

It hurt to step, but he figured with each one, it was one step closer to the prize they sought. His arm snaked around Magdalena’s middle, pulling her in for a side hug. “Carry me.” His other arm swung around her front, stopping her advancing for just a moment before he kissed her quickly. His hand slipped away with his wand, waving it carelessly. “Thank you.” He gave her a wink before slipping his free arm through hers, wand at the ready, just in case. “Did you like how my wand felt?’

He stole a glance towards the other members of the group. “Does anyone else want to hold my wand while we’re at it?” Christian and Baldric were quick to snigger and bow out of that offer; they preferred to not be hexed in the middle of a competition. He winced and moved his arm a little more; it didn’t feel exactly right. What damage had the club done? Hopefully just bruises and a good story - he didn’t need anything else to get in his way of winning their bet.

At some point, Lyov pulled away from Magdalena, watching the others enough to make sure they stayed with the group, keeping his eyes mostly ahead, careful of whatever might jump out. The muffled noises over the hedges had Christian laughing, “Want to bet that was Sissy Institute?” Lyov grinned. “You think they made it that far?” As competitive as they were... it was nice to joke about other schools over just riding each other. Besides, hadn’t Magda got into it with one of those giants from the States?

The path straightened out. Eyes widened and he grinned. Baldric gave a soft whoop! “Do my eyes deceive me, or is that our prize up ahead?” Lyov’s own gaze narrowed as he tried to make the vision in the distance a reality.

That was, until the crackling sound brought his gaze right down to their feet. Considering how hurt Baldric was, he jumped away from Christian and nearly started running down the hedge out of the way, a yelp of displeasure escaping his mouth. Christian himself pulled his wand back out, attempting to douse what flames were starting. As the wall of flame started to grow, and it appeared no water spell was going to work, Lyov went into overtime thinking.

What better people to bounce ideas off of? He held back his own fear as he swallowed, eyes widening just slightly as he spun around; the fire circled them. “Quick, what could it be?” Christian answered with “Fiendfyre?” They had learned about that, to some degree. It was a little dark for the Tournament, no matter what they had had thrown at them. Baldric was visibly shaking as he backed up to them, staring at the ring of fire that was slowly coming towards them.

“No, no. They’re too soft to unleash that. Plus, it’s not-” Lyov jumped back as a jet of fire tried to reach them. Eyes followed the flames as they grew higher. “There’s no shape to it.” All the while he tried to think of a proper spell.

And then it hit him. He almost laughed. His wand went above his head, fighting off the wave of pain that lashed through his rib cage and shoulder. He shouted the charm, stepping closer to the wall of flame as he focused his energy on the intent behind it. Christian took up the same charm, coming to himself long enough to focus. The tickling sensation nearly made Lyov giggle, but he didn’t giggle, and so he kept the charm going.

Baldric was able to cry out his charm, “P-Partis Temporus!” before running through the gap in the ring of fire. Safely on the other side, he could breathe, no longer engulfed by the advancing fire ring. From there he tried to see what his classmates were doing so to best help them.

---

Flame-Freezing Charm - changes the effects of fire so that instead of burning, it feels like a warm summer breeze.
Partis Temporus - charm that temporarily parts the target where the caster points their wand, creating a gap in it.

As they approached Lyov, Magdalena thought the expression he wore was impressive for someone who had narrowly missed being completely smashed by a troll and attacked wandless. (That sticking point, wandless, seemed to be written on her face, which was far too pleased.)

He seemed not to have need of their help climbing to his feet, but it didn’t stop his suggestion that Magda carry him. She glanced sideways, half-suspicious, still half-smiling (just a little). The sudden weight of his shoulder grounded her for a moment. “Carry yourself,” she began, even as her own arm began to offer support, and even if she was secretly pleased that they could depend on one another.

But they didn’t make it a step before Lyov was cutting her off from the front. The kiss caught her off guard, wholly, and in a way that nothing else might have. It the middle of the task. Magda froze, if only for an eye’s blink, before wildly thinking to kiss back even as he pulled away. It was a clever ploy: he hadn’t even needed to try to invade her mind.

She buried a frown and ate her words as he waved the wand at her. Her brow became reluctantly congratulatory, the sort of half-unimpressed expression born of selfishness. But there was a smile there, hidden, but obvious to careful eyes. “Someone had to keep it from becoming a troll’s toothpick,” she said, in response to his thanks. “It seemed a little… excitable.” A grin was starting to break through, tempered by pursed lips. She glanced at him again. “Testy. I think it likes me. Secretly.”

Lyov's inquiry of the group brought a couple of reactions. The boys laughing nearby were too smart (or not smart enough) to attempt anything of the kind. They also weren’t wearing the right sort of trousers. Magda shot Aliya a look that was the equivalent of an eye-roll, something that could only be shared between girls. Then she looked Lyov over, discreetly, eyes seeming to ask whether he needed a healing charm. It was not anything that needed to be asked aloud. If he said nothing on the topic, neither did she-- there were other things to discuss as they walked arm in arm. But he seemed to be walking easier by the time he let go.

And distant voices made themselves known.

The idea of Salem making it this far was hard to swallow. “Maybe on a sheer luck. They seem like they would believe in it.” Not that their own did not share a decent helping. They had made it through seven years of a Durmstrang education. Which did not begin and end in the classroom. “It sounds like the task makers are going easy at them.” Giggling? Were they being tickled into submission?

But it did not matter: as the path stretched out before them, it became more and more obvious they were close.

The flames were teasing at first, barely up to Magda’s ankles and made of the enemy element of their northern fortress. But the firestorm grew as if it had been doused in a Swelling Solution. Quickly. The initial and obvious inclination— which even they could not blame one another for trying— was water. Magda loved dearly her Tidal Spell, but she did not break it out: one of their classmate's simple effort to throw a jet of water at the wall of flames did absolutely nothing.

Standing there against the clock, they began to debate aloud. Lyov was right, it was probably not fiendfyre, even if water had had no effect and that was one characteristic. Its ring-like shape suggested a storm, but it had certain, distinct characteristics even they had not learned about.

She raised her wand, and whirled around, crying out “Protego Totalum![1]” Her own, smaller ring was big enough to include Aliya and herself. Whatever magic this was, it was just that. And so a Shield Charm seemed a natural first choice for something that water could not quell. The lick of flames nearest her left hit the shield like an angry snake, but didn’t break through.

Her eyes shot to Aliya, her instinct to make sure her soft-hearted friend was fine. They all seemed to be holding their own. Magda admired the Russian’s wand-work even as she continued her own. The next spell the Eisenberg witch cast sent a a small funnel of wind at the flames[2], which recoiled a bit at the magic rather than eating it. Magda directed her wand to send the funnel back and forth, to keep one wall of the fire at bay while they made a plan.

If she had thought darkly about the Americans being tickled for the task, the spell Lyov and Christian used was by contrast clever and complex, with an earned result. When Baldric disappeared into the flames and wasn’t followed by a scream, Magda assumed his spellwork had been effective, too.

As they employed various spells, bold-faced against a very real threat, she thought that the crowd in the stands must be enjoying the show. But the flames were still closing in, and the Oberteils were tasked with a daring balancing act: demonstrating their skill while also getting past the obstacle quickly and efficiently. Leaving no doubt as to which party conquered the other. They were playing with fire, and beating it.

“Ready?” She asked, referring to a plan they had agreed upon in shouts between working their own defenses. And all at once, now back to back, each facing a different direction as if standing on a compass face, they began the process of smothering the flames. Huge, invisible walls seemed to gust down from the sky[3], forcing the flames down, down, down until they could see Baldric again, and then his ankles. Finally it seemed to disappear into the ground, leaving only the tiniest, weakest kindling, mostly ash. By the time they rejoined Baldric, it had cooled to smoke.

1.	Protego Totalum - a version of a Shield Charm used to protect a small or enclosed space
2.	Some kind of Air charm
3.	Smothering Charm(s)

The Dumstrang Champions had not been burned alive, which was pleasing for them, their school, and for the Ministry who had not dared take a breath since the flames sprung up. They weren't looking forward to making the insurance claim.

Decidedly warmer than they had been before, the Durmstrang students headed on through the maze, taking a direction at the next junction in agreement with each other, and keeping in their very organised formation. At the next junction however, they were not alone. Not another school, not a banshee, but a strange, ten-foot long creatures that was resembled a giant scorpion that had been told Christmas was cancelled. Their stings curled over their back and on sighting the students they flexed in readiness and charged - seemingly powered by hefty blasts from the back.

The Durmstrang team did not have time to ponder on whether these creatures were fed on baked beans and were merely experiencing high flatulence, for these shiny, sting-wielding, ten foot long scorpion like creatures were propelling themselves towards them, complete with spell resistant shells. Though if they had studied their Triwizard history, they might know that a certain umbrella-wielding game keeper was behind this very unusual breed.

The best part about catching Magdalena off guard was doing it. Lyov felt triumphant, smirking as he puffed out his chest a little. It was smug, especially in lieu of the look on her face. He chose not to acknowledge whether his wand liked her or not, rolling his eyes at the mention of it being a troll’s toothpick. “Do you think trolls know how to clean their teeth? Or do they just wait for the next bite to help dislodge whatever is stuck between them?”

A question that might never be answered, sadly.

His jaw tightened a little as he eyed the hedge, narrowing his gaze as he considered Salem. How they’d managed to skip to the top was beyond him. It was infuriating if he thought about it too long. To Lyov, Durmstrang was the best. The last Tournament they had invested too much into the Bulgarian hot-shot. That, or they had underestimated the famous kid with the scar.

The fire was a whole different sort of beast. It threatened not with claws or sharp teeth or a heavy club, but with the threat of death burning in the air nonetheless. A few of his hairs had singed as he got closer to the fire, grinning despite it all at the question of readiness. Lyov stopped his flame-freezing charm in favor for the smothering charm they had decided on, working to bring his side down as the others did their part.

Christian punched Baldric in the arm when they rejoined him, irritated and yet exhilarated at the same time. “Come on you love birds. We have a cup to win.” Lyov put his arm around the mellowest of them all, grinning over at Magdalena from his friendly hold on Aliya.

Their merriment didn’t last long. Lyov stopped in his tracks at the large, odd... whatever they were. He blinked and pulled Aliya back with him, finally removing his arm from her as he gripped his wand and flexed his hand. “Are those-” But then they were hurdling down after them. Lyov had enough time to throw out a shield charm as he drove to the side, rolling until he hit the hedge. Shaking his head, he scrambled up to his feet in time to see Baldric hastily throwing up charm after shield after hex, trying to battle his own back.

The adrenaline rush was back. As the creature turned back towards Lyov, the only spell that came to mind was “Impediment Jinx!” When the creature was immobilized, Lyov stood up straighter and laughed. “They’re running out of ideas and reusing ones from old.” Not that the Jinx was only useful in this situation. Cast at the right moment, it could stop many magical beasts in their tracks.

“Reducto!” He couldn’t help but laugh as the skrewt was sent onto its back, helpless once it started to move again. Just for good measure, Lyov let off another Impediment Jinx, just to be sure. Scorpion like creatures gave him the heebie-jeebies. Glancing to the others there, he tried to give them all a smile. “Let’s go...”

---

Impediment Jinx: Stops an object or slows it down
Reducto: Blasts solid objects out of the caster’s path

Magda seemed torn between smirking and narrowing her eyes at Lyov, with whom she was nearly tied. Taking his wand had been a risk, worth it, but he’d got her back. Now that they were past the wall flames and he was celebrating with Aliya, Magda threw off Christian’s friendly display of team spirit and hit the path, brainstorming even as the next obstacle remained a mystery.

If the team had thought they were close, it was not close enough to be a friendly skip straight to the cup.

“Scre—” Began Baldric, distinctively not going for the word skrewts.

Magda thought the rest for him, ending in the word this. Surely the laughing team on the other side of the hedge had not faced a wall of fire after defeating three trolls. But who was she to complain? At least she had a bet to win.

Like her teammates, it was her instinct to throw up a Shield Charm. Magda did so, and then thought about her offense. She raised her wand, an almost dangerous determination in her eyes. She was ready to win the cup.

A blue light[1] shot from the wand's tip, hit the first of a series of skrewts, and sent it flying toward the hedge. It smashed into a second and went clean through the greenery, creating a hole so clean that it might have been smoking. The bushes shook, shivered like before a storm, and the ground seemed to reverberate. Christian threw her a tentative look, which Magda returned coolly. She waited for him to finish with his skrewt, or what was left of it— one of it’s legs had been torn off as the others sailed toward the greenery.

She agreed with Lyov on both counts and threw Aliya a secret smile. She swept toward the Russian boy, who was conveniently in her path, her hand grazing purposefully as she murmured something only he could hear. She didn’t look at him as she said it, kept her eyes on the path between the shrubs even as her face tilted slightly toward him. Then she carried on, moving just past him through the hole.

1.	Smashing Spell