“Twenty-five traps.” Professor Aldridge stood in front of the doors to the great hall, her dark wood cane gripped tightly in her left hand. “In the field, twenty-five chances of death. Here, twenty-five chances of ending up in the infirmary. At least two of you will end up there. That means at least two of you won’t have concentrated enough.” Bright blue eyes scanned the group and she shifted her weight, uncomfortable on the bad leg.

“You will pair up and each pair will be given note parchment and a self-inking quill. Use it wisely because there will be no textbooks or help available. The hall is sectioned off into the twenty-five areas. Once you enter, you have 5 minutes to disengage the trap or break the curse. Every one of them uses runes and it is your runic knowledge that will get you through.”

The note parchment and quills were neatly laid out on a table near the double doors. Inside the great hall had been partitioned and there were a variety of chambers with either traps and curses on the room itself, or cursed items. Aldridge had engaged some old colleagues in setting this up and had added a few of her own ideas, experiences and possessions to the collection.

Classes for the past week had been preparing for this challenge. There were a lot of house points on offer and many pupils had been getting very excited about it. As it wasn’t a normal sort of lesson, Aldridge had gotten approval to do this one evening from their deputy headmaster. He was far easier to get hold of than the Headmistress.

“Any questions before we start?”

Blake Knight felt like it had been forever since he had adequately used his brain for some heavy duty intellectualizing. The past year had seen the Ravenclaw spend much of his time devoted to Quidditch. And if he did use his brain, it was in large part to construct game strategy or figure out how to be more efficient with his workouts. Much of this he had shared with team captain, Peyton, when his opinions were asked for, but ultimately Blake was using this year to set the stage for being captain the following year after Peyton's departure.

In truth, Blake had not been entirely absent when it came to his academics. Rather he had tried to keep himself on the straightened path and in the shadows. The Knight Family were notorious for their snobbery and stance as blood purists or magical society traditionalists. And Blake continued to be the antithesis of that at every turn. Yet, he still had to exist with them -- all of which, save his parents and Callum, attended Hogwarts too. Everything he did or didn't do was tattled back to his very overbearing father. It was exhausting. So inasmuch as Blake was counting down the days when he could hopefully become quidditch captain, he was also eager to reach the age where he could extricate himself from the scrutiny and will of the Knight Family.

For now, he played the part. Dutiful son. Exemplary student. Dependable friend. Skilled and agile athlete. And today, high achieving and slightly nerdish scholar.

He had spent the past week preparing for this challenge and was determined to slay it along with his partner. After listening to Professor Aldridge's instructions, Blake walked purposefully towards the table to pick up their allotted parchment and quills. He returned to his cohort's side and cleared his throat. "Are you ready for this? How are you feeling? Nervous?" Passing some of the supplies over, he freed a hand to drag through his dark hair, which had grown shaggier over the week from inattention. Perhaps he'd reward himself with a haircut if this challenge went well.

Blake tried to quell his own nervousness and flashed a quirky grin, his blue-ish eyes alive with some wit. "Is there a spell to keep one from feeling the urge to urinate? If not, it could make me work faster..."

OOC: And Blake is back! I left it vague as to who his partner could be! Feel free, anyone, to have them take it up!

"Nauseous, I feel nauseous." She gave Blake a sweet smile. She had found herself partnered up with the Younger Knight son for their Ancient Runes challenge and honestly wasn't about to argue. She had known him for most their lives, both coming from High Society Pure Blood families. Though she personally knew his older brother Callum better, she wasn't a complete stranger to the twins. The two, whether he was aware of it or not, were kindred spirits. Both playing their parts and living up to their families expectations, desperately awaiting the day they could escape it all.

She rubbed her belly a bit. She was only days away from being in her second trimester, which meant she was soon going to need more than a loose house vest to hide in but also meant she would soon be free of the curse of morning sickness. She was very much looking forward to being able to eat full meals again (so long as she kept herself active and didn't gain too much weight)

She giggled at his joke. Her ice blue eyes examined him. He had done so much growing over the last year it wasn't going to be long before he started breaking hearts left and right. He certainly wasn't the shy awkward little kid she had grown up with. He was almost a man. Cadance found herself staring a little too long, bloody hormones.

"If you find a spell, you let me know okay?" She smirked sweetly before looking ahead to the challenge, "Alright, which path shall we choose?" She was more than capable of helping her partner disarm the traps and get them through the challenge without injury - besides she had more than just her own safety to be concerned about - but it was only polite to let him take the lead.