chapter 40

The day of the First Task has finally arrived. Hope was going over her contingency plans with her wife and aunt in the Room of Requirement as they waited for Harry and Fleur who both wished to speak to her before the Task began at 10am. However they had to meet up with the Headmaster's and Ministry officials about 30 minutes before the Task was set to begin.

"So you're going to get Freya to do a switching spell on the real Dragon Eggs, have them cloaked beside you while you keep a heated magical aura around them, mimicking the Mother Dragon's heat of her fire?" Daphne went over the information again.

Freya nodded her head boredly but nevertheless replied. "Yes Daphne. I'll conjure some fake eggs to swap them out for the real ones. The Dragons have nothing to worry about."

Freya sits up on the couch before hunching forward with a sigh.

"It's the competitors I'm worried about. I've never faced a Dragon but Hope has. To my unprecedented rage." The older woman adds with gritted teeth before glancing over to Daphne, "Remind me to kick Alaric's ass next time I see him."

"Will do." Daphne replies with a tint of anger in her voice.

Hope rolled her eyes at the scene. "It wasn't Dr Saltzman's fault and everything turned out okay."

Freya looked up at Hope in disbelief. "Hope, no matter how much you care about him, what he did was wrong. He should have notified the students' families, just like Dumbledore should have told the families that had their kids petrified by a Basilisk." Freya pointed out the similar scenario before continuing with another, "And for God's sake neither of them should be using a student to fight the evils rising in their worlds'. You and Malivore. Harry and Voldemort. It's disgusting to see a figure, a Headmaster, most notably required to keep the students under his school safe, but instead shoving them straight at the enemy without a hint of knowledge! It pisses me off that you let him do that as well!"

Daphne tossed a thumb in Freya's direction. "You know that she has a point there, Hope."

Hope sighed loudly as she collapsed into a single chair opposite the two blondes. "I know she does, but apart from the Originals or Bonnie Bennett, who else would be strong enough to stop the monsters that came from Malivore? Cause when I used a Death Spell from Esther's spellbook, possibly one of the strongest Death Spells in our world. I couldn't even kill a Dragon with that spell. What chance would another student have had? I knocked it out of the sky and injured it, but I didn't kill it. Dr Saltzman stepped in to give the finishing blow. So one thing I can give Dr Saltzman is that he doesn't send me in alone. He's generally with me or I have one or both of the twins to help me."

"And Harry would have Hermione and Ronald." Freya remarked casually as she stared at her niece, trying to get her point across.

"I know! I know! Neither Headmaster from the schools I've gone to has protected its students when they should have. I get it! But what the hell are we supposed to do to change that?" Frustration coating every word Hope spoke.

"With your future political group, we will be able to change it and when we go to your world, I have a strange feeling your aunt won't leave you to the wolves again. She'll beat some sense into Mr Saltzman and keep a close eye on you this time round." Daphne told her Mate.

Before the trio could continue the door to the Room of Requirement opened, revealing Fleur in her sky blue uniform, Harry dressed in red and gold which was slightly different then what Hope was expecting and since recently, Hermione.

The Gryffindor girl looked around the room in astonishment before leaning over to Harry and whispering in his ear causing the boy to chuckle.

Fleur made her way over to Daphne before plonking down beside her hunched over to her knees with a groan. "How is it that I'm so over this Tournament and it hasn't actually started yet?"

Daphne patted the other girl on the head, to tease her but felt how smooth the Veela's hair was and she moved herself further behind the older girl so she could play with her hair.

Hope chuckled to herself as she saw Fleur tense up ever so slightly at someone touching her hair before she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Daphne's cool fingers massaging her scalp as she ran her fingers through it.

Hermione looked over strangely at the Beauxbaton student and Slytherin girl. Daphne realised she was being watched and considered stopping but her enhanced Animagus ears picked up a subvocal moan from Fleur that no one else heard except for maybe Hope.

The blonde turned to her girlfriend and fought the blush on her face before looking away to see Harry and Hermione staring at her.

"What?" Daphne replied defensively, "Her hair is so soft. It feels like running your fingers through…" The blonde stopped for a second as she remembered that most of her audience grew up in the Muggle World, so she had to think of something to relate the feeling of Acromantula Silk to, "Silk?" Daphne finished lamely as she looked over to Hope, silently checking if that was the correct saying.

Hope smiled at her girlfriend and nodded slightly causing the other girl to get a small grin on her face.

"Uh… It's not that." Hermione stuttered, "It's just this is the first time I've seen you do something… impulsive. I don't think I've ever seen you look so relaxed before."

Daphne blushed slightly as Hope chuckled. "Mmm, she has such a pretty face when she's not forcing it to be expressionless." The Tribrid teased her Mate.

Daphne was glaring at her girlfriend while Freya was holding her breath so she wouldn't laugh at the undignified look on Daphne's face.

But Harry was the one who decided to shock everyone when he replied to Hope. "I think she does as well. The 'Ice Queen' persona is beautiful, but it's also dangerous and cold. It's also fake. This look right now is fun, relaxed and free which makes you seem like a completely different person than the Ice Queen and in my opinion it makes you look transcendent. What do you think, Hermione?"

Hermione looked put out when Harry put her on the spot. "I think… She's alway been one of the most gorgeous girls in the school, even with the stoic expression. But I like this look more. It's less intimidating." Hermione murmured under her breath in embarrassment.

Daphne couldn't stop her blush and buried her face into Fleur's hair before hearing Fleur say something completely scandalous to her, abruptly causing the blonde to stand up and walk over to a laughing Freya and sat down mumbling under her breath. "You're all assholes. Especially you, Hope!"

Hope threw her arms up in the air laughing. "What did I do? Fleur's the one that made you blush!"

Daphne glared at her wife and the room burst into laughter except Daphne who was pouting, somehow making her even cuter and even though Hermione was new to the group, she eventually picked-up the courage to snicker quietly.

Hope was able to calm herself down faster than the others and stood up almost regally before stopping in front of Fleur and pulling her up after the taller girl offered her hands to the light auburn haired girl. Hope released one of Fleur's hands as she made her way over to Harry, "Hermione? Would you mind if I borrow Harry for a moment?"

The Gryffindor bookworm shook her head before giving Harry a smile and walking over to the chair that Hope vacated.

Instead of walking off to the side to speak in private, Hope summoned a wordless ward as she began talking to the other Champions. "I wanted to ask you guys here to make sure you have a plan for the Tournament. I already spoke to Viktor yesterday and he said he's going to be fine so I'm choosing to believe him. Now I have multiple plans and then back up plans to those."

Harry furrowed his brows. "Why so many plans? I only have one… Well, a partial one really."

Hope regarded Harry for a moment. "I'll offer some ideas. Do be aware these are from my 'I really hope they're not so stupid again' pile."

The Gryffindor boy snorted. "Of course. Only you would have a pile of ideas like that."

"Hey! I didn't think throwing my name in the Goblet of Fire would work! But it did. So not having any trust in what the officials will set up for us. So I have some ridiculous plans that shouldn't work, but theoretically could work. If they don't work, then it doesn't matter much because the spells don't draw much energy from your magic." Hope reminded the other two students who groaned at Hope's method of entry into the Tournament.

"Okay. As much as you have a point, I think I'll be okay as well. After you and Freya helped me out last week I'm still getting used to the amount of magic I now have access to. Besides, I learned something else while watching you and Daphne in your Duelling class which I'm really wanting to try." Fleur informed the two Hogwarts students before she walked back over to the couch.

Hope and Harry shared a look. "I mean I understand the want to do this alone but I don't even have a fully formed plan. I've only just finished perfecting the summoning charm so I can summon my broomstick to the field." Harry admitted glumly.

Hope pursed her lips together. "Well, I'm glad you know the summoning charm. That's one of the ridiculous methods I have in my head. If this one works… I would lose all faith in this Tournament and what it's supposed to represent." The Tribrid shook her head in disappointment.

"What's the obvious solution that you know?" Harry asked curiously.

"Like I told you the first time we came into this room, I was informed by a Centaur that these are Nesting Mother Dragons. So I'm making the obvious conclusion that they were going to have to take an egg or something that the Dragons will be protecting that we will need to retrieve. I don't think that they would be so cruel to have us fight to the death against a Dragon…" Hope mutters the next part under her breath in a growl, "Or at least I hope not."

The copper haired Slytherin looks up at Harry and asks him. "So how about, instead of summoning your broom, why don't you summon the item in its place?"

Harry's eyes bulged for a moment before he placed his head in his hand while shaking his unruly mop of black hair. "If that works, I think that the Wizarding World needs to be reintroduced to the Muggle World and take some tips about common sense. The only problem is, you mentioned you had more than one of these plans."

"Well yeah. But this one you can figure out for yourself. Afterall I did this in the Chamber of Secrets with a Sword." Hope rolled her eyes before walking back to sit next to Fleur.

Harry squinted his eyes as he thought back to the Basilisk, before calling out, "What, you're going to get your Phoenix to grab it?"

Hope and Freya snorted in amusement as the rest of the students gasped and baulked at Hope.

"That was one of my very last backup plans. Using Myrddin or Alexandria like that would be rude and borderline cheating, even if it's not in the Tri-Wizard Tournaments rules. But great guess Harry." Hope replied with a laughing smile.

Harry kept thinking back to the Chamber of Secrets. "I mean the only other thing you did in the Chamber was, fling a Basilisk nearly 50 yards away from us and have it crack the stone wall without the use of a wand or spell."

Hope held up her hand as she interrupted. "Actually I did say a spell. It was dimiterre which is a spell my Aunt Freya taught me… I think I was like 6 or 7?" Hope thoughtfully considers as she looked at Freya for clarification.

Freya nodded slightly as she rubbed her temples with two of her fingers. "Yeah, something like that. It was definitely after Lucien, Tristan and Aurora and that damn prophecy." The elder witch mumbled with a glare on her face.

"Do I want to know?" Daphne asked the two Mikaelson women with a skeptical look on her face.

"Maybe later." Hope replied to the blonde before turning back to Harry, "As much as flinging a Dragon away would be entertaining. That's only a very short term solution, but it could work for me… Probably not you."

"I guessed that. I told Hermione and Ron what happened in the Chamber and they didn't believe me when I told them what you did." Harry admitted as he sat on the armrest on Hermione's seat.

"That's because Basilisk's have practically unbreakable scales and are incredibly magic resistant. Having a single witch, without a wand I may add, flinging a Basilisk is impossible!" Hermione ranted.

"And normally we would agree with you Hermione. But my niece and I are not your everyday witches. The magic here is based on a magical core. This core has been restricted dramatically over the years and has been dwindling away over time. In reality you do have a very powerful core as most people do, but you only have access to about 20% of that core and you can only access that with the help of a wand." Freya explained before continuing at the other girl's disturbed look.

"This has nothing to do with you not being more powerful. It's because you haven't been able to access your magic completely. Hope and I were born into a powerful family that already had a saying that, 'a firstborn Mikaelson witch would be stronger than the rest'. Both Hope and I are firstborns."

"We learned at a young age that when we are angered or upset we can literally affect the weather, making it storm or rain. Hell, Hope got upset at me once when I was trying to help and she set the entire room we were in on fire. We have to work so hard to hold back our power." Freya took a calming breath as she looked over to Harry and Hermione. "The point is Hope and I can help any witch or wizard access their magical core completely. Hope's already done this with her adoptive parents, Daphne, Luna and as of a week ago, Fleur."

Harry and Hermione looked absolutely floored by the information as they looked back and forth between the two Emrys women. "We can do this for the two of you as well but we won't be teaching this to everyone. In my case I observe the candidates personality, see if they are worthy of this extra power and sometimes I place trials down to test them. See if power corrupts or not. Harry actually had an unforeseen test that Hope wasn't expecting to happen."

"You tested me?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"Not on purpose. When I removed the Horcrux from your head and replaced your magical aura back into your body, it unknowingly unlocked more of your magical core. You have access to about 50%. But in the last year, you never gloated about the fact the spells were coming easier to you. You were getting your homework done and assignments handed in. It's like you weren't being forcibly held back any more." Hope explained with a thoughtful look.

"Bloody parasite!" Harry mumbled.

Hermione stared blankly ahead as she recalled the last couple of years in her head. "Oh. I didn't notice that. I should have… But I think I kept lumping you in with Ron and I don't know why… Looking back on it, I'm proud of you Harry."

Harry gave a small grin at Hermione at the praise but he was still angry about why this happened in the first place, the rest of the girls in the room looked absolutely furious as well.

"Hermione? There's something I need to tell you and I don't think you're going to like it. But I know that everyone in this room is aware of the love potion attempt." Harry solemnly told the other Gryffindor student who froze up in shame.

"But I'm not sure if you are aware of the person that dosed you." Harry asked hesitantly as the other girl shook her head.

"Freya and Hope both believe that it was Mrs Weasley who dosed you with the love potions. I think she also got me as well according to Hope. I told her how after I got my Head of House ring I was throwing up into a trash can for nearly the next 20-30 minutes. Hope then told me how Head of House rings have protective charms on them that act like permanent flushing charms. So she suggested I was also drugged and the strange thing is looking back on it, is how I was strangely becoming attracted to Ginny. I never thought of her that way before and then one day, 'poof', she's suddenly in my mind. I think Mrs Weasley was drugging the two of us for her children and that makes me sick to my stomach. I don't even want to speak to any of the Weasley's."

Freya gave a mirthful smirk. "Oh, I think you can trust the twins." Harry, Hermione and Hope all glanced over to the viking witch with curious expressions.

"Why do you think Fred and George are continuously pranking Ronald at the moment?" Both of Harry's and Hermione's jaws dropped at the new information as Hope laughed into her fist as her aunt continued.

"That's because I informed them of my suspicions of their mother, at first they were furious but then I showed them Hermione's trip to the Infirmary and my chat with Madam Pomfrey as I cut down the list of suspects. The boys were saddened by what they witnessed and offered their own memories to me. Turns out, they did witness their mother making the potions but when they tried to get her to stop, then proceeded to sabotage them, their mother obliviated them and sent them away."

"They tried to help us?" Hermione quietly questioned in disbelief.

"Yes. They did. Once I retrieved their obliviated memories they offered to help. They were disgusted when they learned that Ronald actually made this request of their mother and also told her to make loyalty potions for Harry." Freya revealed this to the two Gryffindor students.

A deep frown appeared on Harry's face as he turned to Hermione. "Mione. I'm never speaking to Ronald ever again. He's betrayed my trust for the last time."

Hermione placed a hand on Harry's shoulder gently. "I know and I understand. I don't think I'll talk to Ronald again. When I look back at our friendship with him, all Ron does is berates us, insults everyone so we can't gain anymore friends and belittles us for being smarter than him, then proceeds to copy my work… Why were we friends with him?"

Hope raised her eyebrows at the question as she kept her mouth firmly shut as she turned to Daphne and exchanged a knowing glance with her girlfriend.

Freya suddenly stood up while looking at her watch and yelled. "Crap! You three need to go now or you'll be late for the Task!"

Hope brought her own wrist in front of her face and looked at the time, 9:19am.

"Okay this could be a close call guys! We've got to go!" Hope announced as she stood up quickly, pulling Harry to his feet before dragging the boy around the table to the other couch. Hope reached over and gripped Fleur's closest hand and yanked the older girl to her feet.

"I'll see all of you after the Task." Hope stalled for a second as she gave a lingering glance to her aunt, who nodded at her at her niece as she moved over to Daphne and placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder for comfort.

Daphne gave a longing glance at Hope before looking at the other 2 Champions before adopting her ice mask and called out coldly. "If any of you die. I will get Freya to resurrect you then I'll kill you myself for being so reckless."

Harry's eyes widened at the words, while Fleur licked her lips as she stared at the blonde. Hope had her famous Mikaelson smirk plastered on her face as she regarded her wife. "I'd like to see that." Came the smug reply from the Tribrid.

Daphne gave such an unimpressed look to her Mate before rolling her eyes. Freya gave the Champions a little magical push to force them out the door, "Go!"

Fleur and Harry gave a small jump at the shout and reached back to hook their arms with Hope's and began to drag her to the stadium that was set up just for this First Task.

Daphne shook her head in exasperation. "I swear, one day. I'm going to kick her ass."

"Good luck with that Daph." Freya said with a laugh as she picked up Hirdman in her off-hand and tossed it to her right hand. "We should get going too."

Hermione cautiously approaches Daphne before shyly asking. "Sorry… But what is your relation to Hope and Freya?"

Daphne froze momentarily in place before turning her head to face the Gryffindor girl with a curious gaze. "What do you mean?" The blonde replied slowly but not unkind.

"Uh… Well. I've noticed that you aren't afraid of Freya, which is peculiar on its own. But when Hope flares her magic as well, you don't tense up. If anything you relax towards it." Hermione took a hesitant break before carefully, slowly continuing, "I was wondering… Are you… With Hope?"

Daphne's eyes widened in shock as she never expected Hermione Granger, a girl she barely had a single interaction with for over three years, to make the correct conclusion.

Hermione saw the blonde's shocked face and quickly tried to backtrack. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I totally overstepped, didn't I? I'm sorry!"

Freya walked back to see the vast array of apologies from the brunette girl. "Woah! Slow down there Hermione! You've done nothing wrong." The dark blonde looked at the lighter blonde and sighed at her.

"And for the love of God, Daphne. Put the poor girl out of her misery already." Freya called out over her shoulder as she left the Room of Requirement.

Daphne glared at the older woman's back. "You know, I wish I could kick her ass. It would make me feel so much better some days… She can be so annoying."

Hermione stayed quiet as she uncomfortably looked around the room. Daphne noticed how awkward the other girl looked and called out softly, "Hermione?"

"Hmm?" Hermione hummed as she looked up to the taller girl's ice coloured eyes.

Daphne clasped her hands in front of her body. "I'm not upset. In fact. You're right. Hope and I are together." Daphne admitted nervously as she picked at her fingernails absentmindedly.

"What do you think about that?" Self-conscious about her relationship since she didn't know what someone raised in the Muggle World would think. Much less someone who didn't know her very well.

Hermione reached out and pulled Daphne's chilled hands into her own. The brunette unconscious gave a shiver at the temperature of Daphne's skin.

"Daphne. There is nothing wrong with loving a woman. Some people may think so. But not me. You don't need to hide from me." Hermione told the other girl with as much sincerity as she could muster, trying to get the guarded girl to believe her.

Daphne observed the Gryffindor girl with a subtle scrutinous eye as she tried to decide if she could trust the other girl.

"Thank you Hermione." Daphne told the other girl thankfully, "But would you be able to keep this quiet for just a bit longer? Hope and I are planning on telling the school soon, so you won't need to keep this secret for very long."

"Is there a reason you are hiding this?" Hermione asked curiously.

Daphne sighed as she removed her hands from Hermione's and took a few steps slowly while looking back at Hermione, trying to get the other girl to walk beside her. Hermione picked up the blonde's unspoken request and moved beside her as the girls walked out of the Room of Requirement.

As they walked out of the room Daphne erected her own silent privacy ward around them as they made their way down towards the Quidditch stadium.

"There isn't a main reason I'm hiding it. I just enjoy having Hope all to myself. But recently she's been receiving some mail with betrothal contracts, trying to trick her into a marriage and bringing another person into Emrys line. It's a repulsive way for someone to jump the hierarchy. The only problem is. Hope's already married to me."

"Wait? What?" Hermione stumbled as she turned to the beautiful blonde girl beside her.

Daphne raised her left hand first to show a gold ring with 3 ice blue stones set in a triangular shape.

"Hope and I exchanged rings last year. As much as we gained new rings, Consort rings, when we got married, but Hope didn't want to announce herself at that time so we hid the rings. But Hope wanted a ring on my finger, so she got me this one and proposed… Pretty weakly, I may add." Daphne remarked with a happy smile.

"But we can wear these engagement rings without any drama because they don't show any allegences to other houses. It's discreet. Slytherin has only just found out about my engagement ring at the beginning of this term. Purebloods don't pay any attention to a ring on this finger, because for them, it means absolutely nothing. But Hope… She was raised differently. Her aunt taught her at a young age how to use her magic, but she holds more Muggle… No-Maj… Hmm. Neither of those seem right." Daphne stays silent for a moment as she thinks about the correct term but shakes her head.

"She's a traditionalist, but not of the Wizarding World… Our...No… This culture is perpetually stuck in the 1600's, which makes it difficult for the older families to accept something new. My being gay cause be seen as a blantant sign of disrespect." Daphne shrugged as she told the Muggleborn a bit about the Wizarding World.

Hermione took the information under consideration. "So you think they will shun you?"

"Possibly." Daphne replied stoically.

"What about Hope?"

A proud grin stretched across Daphne's face at the thought of the Mate. "Pardon my language. But Hope wouldn't give a shit." Hermione's eyes bulged for a second at the swear but she just remained quiet as Daphne decided to continue.

"If anyone gave Hope a hard time about her sexuality she would kick their asses, whether it be verbally, physically or magically. I actually pity the idiot who challenges Hope." Daphne stated with such confidence about her bride-to-be, that Hermione actually looked intrigued about the two Slytherin girls' relationship.

"Well I'm happy for you Daphne." Hermione admitted as they finally made their way out of the castle and walked along the worn path.

"Although, I will admit. I am slightly confused about the dynamic between you, Hope and Fleur Delacour." Hermione mentioned with a confused but thoughtful face.

Daphne groaned lightly. "Sometimes you are too inquisitive for your own good. Quite like Harry actually. I think he's figured it out… Or he at least has a strong feeling about us. Hope and I are both interested in Fleur, she intrigues us and not to mention, but she's also quite the looker. Hope and I met Fleur during the Duelling competition earlier this year. Veela's are drawn to powerful people. She sought us out and we struck up a conversation. Hope was able to guide the conversation as she had met Fleur during last year's Yule… Uh, Christmas." Daphne explained to the brunette.

"The strangest part is that neither Hope nor I are affected by Fleur's Veela allure. It's strong, yes. But with our magical core being completely unlocked, we have the ability to sense spells or magical aura and either block them or redirect them. We sense the allure, realise what it is and ignore it. I think Harry has a similar sense with how easily he also shakes off her allure. It's pretty impressive actually." The blonde informed the other girl with a smile as she watched Hermione give a faint blush.

Daphne chuckled aloud to herself. "I think Fleur may be right though."

Hermione squinted in the mid-morning sun. "What do you mean?"

Daphne just grinned at her before placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing herself closer to the Gryffindor's ear, whispering. "I think you should ask Harry out before someone else snatches him up."

Daphne couldn't see Hermione's face but she could picture the absolutely priceless expression that was frozen on her face and grinned as she finished off her slight teasing. "Hope's picked up on the chemistry between the two of you, she told me. Fleur's figured it out. She's a Magical Creature that is based on love, lust and attraction. She can literally sense what you two feel for one another… And Freya just knows. I don't know how she does. But she does. But to be fair I tend to watch people in class. I've noticed the longing looks in some of the classes you share with Harry and it's magnetic."

Hermione groaned as she shook the other girl off her shoulder. "We are only friends."

Daphne gave the brunette an unimpressed look. "Yeah and I'm not a lesbian." The blonde sarcastically stated with a roll of her eyes as she continued her trek to the stadium with Hermione mumbling under her breath.

As Harry, Fleur and Hope made their way down to the First Task. Harry finally recalled the other act of magic Hope used in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Your other silly idea. I figured it out." Harry proudly announced as he pulled Hope to a stop outside the Champions tent.

Fleur waited outside the tent flap for Hope and Harry instead of waiting inside the tent with her Headmistress who seemed insistent for Fleur to stay as far away from Hope as possible, she crossed her arms over her chest as she heard Hope hum at Harry.

"The switching spell." The Boy-Who-Lived replied with a proud grin.

Fleur's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she walked back to the two Hogwarts students. "You don't honestly think that the Ministry officials would be so neglectful of the rules that a simple switching spell would work?... Do you?" Fleur questioned them incredulously but as she kept talking, the more unsure she was becoming.

Hope shrugged her shoulders. "It wouldn't surprise me if they forgot it honestly."

"I'm a little doubtful myself after seeing Hope pitch her name into the Goblet without any issues." Harry admitted with a shake of his head.

Both Fleur and Hope hummed in response before the 3 Champions entered the tent to be bombarded by Rita Skeeter in their faces. "Oh! How deliciously scandalous! 3 Champions arriving at the same time and almost late to the First Task!"

Hope pinched the bridge of her nose as she groaned out. "Will someone just toss me into the Dragon's lair now?"

Before walking away from the annoying buggy woman and sitting next to Krum before murmuring to him. "Sorry for leaving you to fend off the vulture on your own."

The Bulgarian man gave a tiny grin. "I just ignored her and had someone go off to find your blonde newspaper friend from the Weighing, Luna? Was it?"

"Yep. That's her and thank you for doing that. I have a strange feeling that no one from my school had even considered that." Hope replied with a smile.

"You're welcome." Came the short response as the Headmasters strode into the Champions tent with Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr, the former was holding a wiggling pouch in one hand with smoke steaming out through the opening.

"Excellent! You're all here!" Mr Bagman exclaimed cheerfully.

Each of the Champions frowned at the eccentric man before giving an unimpressed look to each other as they were quite angry with how happy the man looked.

Either Bagman didn't notice all the glares from the Champions or he no longer can pick up on social cues, because he possibly took too many bludgers to the head as a Quidditch player. Apparently he was a Beater, Krum once told her during the Weighing of the Wands.

As Bagman was about to continue the Headmasters moved to their respective Champions, Dumbledore however he bypassed Hope to stand behind Harry, clasping a hand over his shoulder causing the boy to tense up slightly, virtually unnoticeable unless you had the keen senses of a Magical Creature.

Fleur and Hope narrowed their eyes discreetly at the action but remained silent as Harry shook his head faintly at the girls.

"Right! So the First Task of courage is that each of you will need to retrieve a Golden Egg which is crucial for your next Task that will be held on the 24th of February at 9:30am."

Bagman thrusted the pouch out towards each of the Champions. Sounds similar to claws being caught in fabric were heard along with a ripping sound, a bunch of tiny growls echoed in the bag.

"In this bag is a miniature replica of the creature you will need to face and survive against while collecting the Golden Egg. However this creature will be protecting the egg you need to steal from its nest."

"Damn… Hope was right." Harry muttered so quietly under his breath that not even the Hogwarts Headmaster could hear from over the Gryffindor boy's shoulder.

"Each of our Champions will pick, at random, one of the creatures from this bag and that creature will have a number around its neck. The number will distinguish which order you will be facing your task."

Bagman stopped in front of Hope and held the bag out eagerly to her. "Ladies first! Both figuratively and literally it turns out. Lady Emrys? If you will?"

Hope looked at the bag for a moment as she walked forward and blindly thrusted her right hand into the bag as she looked up to the Quidditch Commentator, maintaining eye contact with him. The coppery auburn haired Champion felt around in the pouch, running her fingers over scales, horns and leathery wings. There were small nips on her fingers as the dragon replicas bit her, Hope ignored the little bites and sharp claws as she felt around for horns.

After a few seconds the other contestants waited with baited breath as Hope kept her hand in the pouch as they heard angry little growls and saw more smoke rise from the bag. The Tribrid wasn't concerned about the fire the replicas were spitting from their mouths as the flames were fake and she had grown accustomed to the feeling of radiating heat from her Phoenix.

Hope's hand in the pouch suddenly halted over a very spiky dragon, she snatched up the sharp dragon with her super speed so the dragon replicas wouldn't have enough time to shuffle themselves around.

Hope slowly pulled out a tiny dragon replica of a burnt orange spiky dragon and held it in an opened palm. Harry let out a relieved breath as he really did not want to fight the Hungarian Horntail after he witnessed it in person just a little over a week ago.

Fleur and Viktor seemed to look concerned as they knew Hope picked the most dangerous Dragon out of the Ministry chosen candidates.

A number tag suddenly appeared after the replica was removed from the pouch, showing a bold number '4' on the white tag. Bagman looked practically beaming in delight as he revealed Hope's pick, "The Hungarian Horntail! Oooo!" The former Quidditch player remarked in glee as he peered at the number, "It also appears you will be going last! What a main event to end the day!"

Hope raised her eyes to meet with Bagman's and sneered at the man while pulsing out dangerous amounts of magic at him. The entire room gulped soundly as they all tensed up or moved back in fear at the power Hope was radiating. Hope didn't say anything, just glared at the man as he silently moved away and offered the non-moving pouch to Fleur.

As Fleur placed her hand into the bag, she felt the replicas all remaining utterly motionless. She picked one of the smoother dragons as her current plan wouldn't work with the more aggressive Chinese Fireball which had a spined back whereas the other two do not.

Fleur slowly raised her hand and showed a rather pretty green dragon. The Common Welsh Green with a number '2' on the tag. She looked over her shoulder to her Headmistress with partial fear in her eyes.

She knew she would be facing a Dragon but it's another thing to know that in an hour, maybe more, maybe less, she will be facing a Dragon. Alone. Her fear was instinctual. Even her Veela was uncomfortable at the thought.

In a much more timid voice Bagman quietly announced. "Miss Delacour will be facing the Common Welsh Green, second." He approached Bulgarian Champion and offered the bag to him.

The two replicas out in the open were barely moving as they watched the proceedings in bleated fear as they were still unbelievably terrified of Hope's undeniable power.

Viktor had quickly drawn out a dragon at random before showing the Chinese Fireball, with the number '3'.

"The Chinese Fireball for Mr Krum and he will be going third." Bagman mentioned with a slight grin but he felt Lady Emrys flare her magic ever so slightly as Hope seemingly knew the other man was going to make an inappropriate remark or possibly a favoured claim, since Krum was a fan favourite among the masses, even beating Hope after she announced her Lady Emrys status.

Harry sighed as he pulled out the remaining dragon. "And I will be going first. Oh the joy." The Gryffindor boy groaned out.

As Harry opened his hand the blue-grey replica peered out of Harry's palm laying its body snuggly into his hand as the tiny dragon stared over at Hope with a submissive whine.

"Hope? Can you lay off a bit? I think you're scaring the little guys." Harry requested with a small smile.

Sea blue eyes looked over towards the black haired boy as she regarded him quietly before drawing her oppressive magic back so she wasn't flooding the room with her magic any longer, only exerting her magic from her own body instead.

"Very well Harry." Hope replied as she turned to see Luna walk into the tent, quill behind her ear and holding a notepad.

"Luna! I'm so glad you could make it!" The auburn haired greeted as she walked over to the pale blonde girl to give her a hug.

Rita Skeeter glared and grumbled under her breath at the appearance of the other reporter but she held her insults in check otherwise her boss would have her hide, considering the political spanking they received from the Emrys family for Skeeter's rude behaviour towards a vassal of the Legendary family.

"Of course." Luna replied glumly before whispering in Hope's ear, "However I have a bad feeling. Hope… Be careful." Luna told the Tribrid, fear lacing her tone.

Hope moved back from the hug to look into Luna's pale silver eyes to see why her friend was afraid. Hope lowered her voice before leaning forward to the Ravenclaw's ear. "Just me or everyone?"

Luna thought back to her divination skills and replied slowly. "If I had to go off my gut feeling. I would say just you… I don't like it… You may need to improvise… Something fierce… and potentially something never seen before."

Hope took a deep breath before letting out a silent sigh as she gave an inconspicuous nod of her head to Luna. Hope moved back to Luna and placed a hand behind her back, motioning her forward.

"I should give you a quick rundown of the things you missed." Hope announced as she brought Luna into the tight circle.

The young seer reached out to Hope's other hand and scratched under the replica's chin and it growled happily stretching its neck so the blonde girl could access more of its body.

Luna giggled at the fake dragons' actions. "You mean aside from these cute little mirages? I kinda want to keep one."

Hope blinked once with a stoic expression before looking over to the other Champions with an emotionless face. The remaining 3 Champions gave a fast glance at one another before they all moved forward and placed the fake dragons onto Luna. Two dragons were sitting peacefully on one of Luna's shoulders while the Chinese Fireball decided to curl up into a ball on the blonde's other shoulder.

Hope opened her mouth to try and make a clever remark but before she could the replica in her own hand flew into the air, making the short glide to land on Luna's head, turning back to Hope giving a quick glare before making a nest in blonde hair.

The Tribrid released a groan before walking over to Harry and throwing her head down onto his shoulder in irritation. "Nope. Just nope." She could feel Harry's body shake as he laughed heartily at the scene in front of him.

She could also hear Fleur chuckling under her breath and Viktor gave an amused smirk, Hope couldn't see the Bulgarian but she could tell the young man was struggling not to laugh.

"Please Hope?" Luna requested with a pleading voice.

Hope shook her head into Harry's shoulder, aware that if she looked over to Luna she would relent to those deadly puppy-dog eyes.

Thankfully, for once Dumbledore told the young girl with a confused tone. "I'm afraid that those replicas only last for about 30 minutes, Miss Lovegood."

Luna pouted for a second before looking back at Hope's back. "Hope? You can keep the magic flowing through replicas, possibly make them real."

Hope turned back to Luna with a determined shake of her head. "No! No. Okay. Those little buggers bit me and tried to set my hand on fire!"

"They were just upset about being stuck in a tiny bag. You can't blame them." Luna countered.

"We do not need tiny fake dragons flying around the school! Besides if I placed my own magic into them they would be able to spit real fire! No Luna. That's my final answer." Hope crossed her arms over her chest with a pointed look at the blonde girl she considers a sister.

Luna pouted. "Oh pooh… I really wanted some baby dragons."

Hope mumbled to herself as she shook her head. "Bloody Khaleesi what-to-be…" Hope furrowed her brows as she tried to think back with uncertainty before mentally adding, 'Hang on a minute… I think I may be too early to make that reference… Oh well.'

Barty Crouch Sr cleared his throat loudly drawing the tents attention to himself as he gave a quick rundown of the earlier outcomes. "So first off we have Mr Potter going first facing the Swedish Short-Snout. Miss Delacour will be next against the Common Welsh Green. Mr Krum is third with the Chinese Fireball, leaving Lady Emrys last to fight the Hungarian Horntail."

"The rules are to retrieve the Golden Egg with an hour time limit. You are only allowed one magical implement to take into the task for example: One wand or one runestone, one potion and so on. Once you retrieve the Egg you are to exit the arena with the Egg and that will end the task."

Crouch looked over to the light auburn haired girl. "Normally I wouldn't have to say this but if you kill the creature there will be a penalty against you." Hope raised a surprised eyebrow at the implication directed at her but remained silent.

"Mr Potter? At the sound---"

"BOOOOM!!!" A deafening sound of a cannon being fired above their heads had the students crouching down in shock as they pulled out their wands, pointing them at the upper level of the tent.

Crouch sighed but Bagman called out in glee, completely forgetting the warning Hope had given earlier with her magic. "Mr Potter! That is your cue! Your task begins in 5 minutes! Use the time to prepare well."

Harry sucked in a frightened breath as the Headmasters and officials all exited the tent. Hope watched as Harry paced back and forth near a tent flap before he stopped suddenly leaning his body to the edge of the temporary barrier and started whispering.

Fleur joined Hope, motioning her head towards Harry, "Aren't you going to speak to him? Calm him down?"

Hope smiled slightly as she saw the shadow of a young woman standing on the opposite side of the tent. "Nah. I think Hermione has that covered."

The auburn haired girl turned around so she was no longer facing the Gryffindor couple. "God I hope the two of them pull their heads out of their asses and admit their feelings to one another." The Tribrid mumbled over to Fleur.

Fleur turned around, bringing a hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile. "That would be nice wouldn't it? Those two have such a strong connection between them. Hell my Veela is practically screaming that they are soulmates or at least romantic soulmates and she's never wrong in these scenarios."

Hope gave the Veela a knowing smirk. "Oh? Well, isn't that interesting?" The Tribrid bantered with the other girl before leaning over to whisper in the silver-blonde's ear, "And pray tell, what does your Veela have to say about me? Or Daphne?"

Hope brushed a strand of hair out of Fleur's face, placing it behind an ear before continuing, "What about yourself, ma belle fleur?"

The Veela gave a pleased whimper in the back of her throat that sounded like a subvocal thrill, Fleur switched to a hushed French as she replied. "Well we know that you and Daphne are soulmates. If there was something higher than soulmates. I would say that's what you two are."

Fleur wanted to move closer to Hope, to kiss her but she felt Viktor's and Skeeter's gaze on her back, normally she wouldn't care but Skeeter worried her. She gave a quick glance over Hope's shoulder but didn't see the blonde woman and frowned, she could've sworn she could feel Skeeter's buggy gaze on her, in fact, even though she can't see her, she could still somehow feel the reporter's eyes on her.

"As for me… I can't read myself unfortunately. But I can feel the lust and attraction coming from the both of you when you're around me. I'd say I'm definitely in the running to join you both. It's not love… Not yet… But each time we meet or interact, your attraction increases. It could become love, but this, us. It's complicated and risky."

"My type of relationship." Hope added with a smirk, "But you have a point. A true triad can be difficult to pull off. Daphne and I are Mates, so that's not going anywhere. We both want you… But we are cautious about adding new people into our circle, especially into our intimate circle. However you are vaulting over all our walls with ease."

Fleur grinned as she scanned her eyes lustfully looking her potential lover up and down.

Hope was smirking as she saw Fleur run her eyes up and down her body and was about to do the same to her but Hermione threw herself into the tent, throwing herself bodily at Harry, giving him a large bear hug.

There was a flash of a camera as they hugged which caused the two Gryffindors to pull apart with a blush on their cheeks.

Luna, the angel she was, walked over to the cameraman, Bozo whispering in his ear. Hope squinted her eyes at the scene but mainly at the photographer. The cameraman began to pale considerably the longer the blonde spoke before looking over to Hope.

He gulped, pulling out the film and locating his most recent photo before ripping it up and murmuring in Hope's direction, "Sorry."

Hermione and Harry looked over to Hope with a thankful smile but frowned ever-so-slightly when Hope looked completely lost.

"I have to admit… I'm curious to know what you said to him, little moon." Hope mentioned with a confused face as she faced Luna, however she noticed a water-beetle on the wooden beam behind Luna.

Luna placed her finger in front of her lips. "A good magician never reveals her secrets."

Hope rolled her eyes as she walked over to Luna who still had 4 dragons on her. Hope looked over the 4 dragons and the Common Welsh Green gazed up at her curiously. The Tribrid held out her hand and the green dragon bounded over to Hope, surprising the other occupants as the replicas were previously terrified of the coppery auburn haired girl earlier.

Lady Emrys patted the dragon's head with a single finger before leaning down, allowing her hair to obscure the room's view of the dragon.

Hope whispered to the little dragon replica and imbued the replica with her magic before she straightened her back with a groan. "I'm going to regret doing that… Luna, if my parents' say no to the little dragon then I'll consider gifting her to you, later."

The little green dragon let out a tiny growl as it spread its wings and took off into the air with many quick wingbeats. The dragon flew over to the wooden beam the water-beetle was on and dive-bombed the bug, trying to catch it in its mouth.

Hope watched as the bug fluttered away frantically, but couldn't outmaneuver the tiny replica, the dragon managed to get above the bug and breathed fire onto the bug. The bug sheeched momentarily before the noise changed into the screams of a woman as she rolled on the ground, trying to put the flames out on her cardigan.

"I'm sorry?? Is she an Animagus, like Professor McGonnagall? I didn't know that." Harry blinked in confusion.

Hermione shook her head as she narrowed her eyes dangerously on the reporter. "She is an Animagus. But she's not registered in the Ministry."

Hope looked over to the Gryffindor girl with an incredulous look on her face, wondering how could Hermione possibly know that.

The brunette blushed as she scratched the back of her neck. "What? I learned more about Animagi last year. Considering how with each new year at this school someone comes in to try and kill Harry, I've decided to do some background checks on anyone who enters his life now."

Hope was completely fascinated by Hermione's explanation, but she really wanted to laugh at the fact Hermione was able to figure out one of the biggest scoops in social media and doesn't even realise this.

Hermione could see Hope's massive grin on her face and murmured defensively, "It's not funny! It's a legitimate concern!"

Hope gave a quick snort as she couldn't hold it back before immediately raising her hands in submission. "Sorry. I completely agree with you Hermione. Honestly it's a great idea. Every year someone does seem to want to kill Harry. Let's face it, someone entered his name into the Goblet of Fire against his will, probably to try and kill him. I'm laughing because you just uncovered one of the biggest secrets in the Daily Prophet and you didn't even know."

Hope turned to Skeeter, who smelled like smoke and dirt, looking just about as dirty as she smelled as the blonde woman got to her feet and screamed. "I HATE DEALING WITH CHILDREN! YOU'RE ALL PETULANT LITTLE BRATS!"

The blonde woman left in a huff just as another cannon sounded, "BOOOOM!", rocking the tent a decent amount before it came to a stop. Hope gave a groan as she moved her hands to cover her sensitive ears.

"I guess I'm up." Harry swallowed as he walked to the entryway to the First Task. However before he could enter the corridor to the arena. Hermione rushed over to him, pulled him around and kissed him, a resounding smack on the lips.

Hope's jaw dropped at the impulsive action of the bookworm as she watched in complete astonishment.

When the two Gryffindors broke apart, Fleur nudged Hope slightly with her elbow and the movement rebooted the Tribrid's brain somewhat as she teasingly blurted out, "I'd wish you good luck Harry, but I think you already got it."

Harry blushed red before lifting his middle finger in her direction. "Oh shut up Hope!"

As he leaned forward to Hermione so he could whisper reassurances to his friend, or perhaps it was more than that now. He'll have to talk to Hermione after the First Task to discuss just where they would like to take their friendship. To keep it as it is, safe or to take a risk.

The Gryffindor girl took a shuddering breath as Harry walked out to the arena.

"Excuse me." The girl quietly murmured as she made her way out of the tent with a mixture of a worried expression and glee on her face.

Hope's eyes followed the brilliant Gryffindor girl as she left in a hurry, probably so she could make her way to the crowd so could watch Harry's Task.

"I vill admit. As much as I vould've liked to ask Hermy-own-ninny on a date. I can't deny, those two make a very adorable couple." Viktor mentioned in a thoughtful expression. Hope and Fleur hummed and nodded their heads in agreement.

With Harry gone from the tent the remaining Champions all clambered up, retreating to separate corners as they went over their plans in their heads. Luna's warning was the only thing going through her head.

After what felt like 5 minutes had elapsed the cannon suddenly blasted above the Champions heads surprising them.

Fleur looked skeptical and afraid. "Is it just me, or was that too fast?"

"It vas." The Bulgarian agreed slowly.

Hope was rapping the fingers of her right hand against her other arm distractedly as her mind went through multiple scenarios where something could go horribly wrong, but she was listening to the frightened conversation from the foregin Champions. "Harry's still alive." Hope called out.

"How can you tell?" Viktor asked the younger Champion.

Hope looked up slightly meeting Viktor's eyes, "I can feel his magical signature. That proves he is alive."

"You are able to differentiate vizards' magical signatures?" Viktor repeated with shock in his eyes.

Hope nodded, "Yeah. I've been able to tell people apart by their magic since I was a kid." The light auburn haired girl informed the other two contestants.

Fleur was pacing something fierce as she was awaiting for the next cannon blast to signify the beginning of her Task. Hope blinked once, as she felt Fleur's anxious energy flooding the tent, Hope pulled her attention back inside the tensed area.

On Fleur's next rotation around the tent, Hope reached out to take Fleur's arm erecting a subconscious invisibility barrier around them and yanked Fleur into her space, surprising the young woman.

"'ope? What are you doing?" Fleur remarked in shock as she was stalled in her pacing.

The Tribrid stood up bringing both of her hands up to cup Fleur's gorgeous face. "Calm down ma belle fleur. You have a plan. You're strong. You're quick. And you are incredibly smart. Don't worry so much. You've got this Fleur."

Fleur took some deep breaths as she listened to Lady Emrys' utter confidence in her and the Veela slowly managed to calm down her heart rate. As Fleur was trying to relax, Hope opened her mental connection to Daphne.

'Love? Do you mind if I kiss Fleur before she heads out? I think she needs it.' Hope thought to her Mate.

Hope heard Daphne snort. 'If you want, I don't mind. Although I will ask, what tips did you give Harry?'

The copper haired girl gave a sheepish grin in her mind that Daphne groaned at. 'I told him to accio the Golden Egg to himself… Are you trying to tell me that worked???'

Hope could feel the humour from the other girl. 'No… He did try it though.' Daphne stopped for a moment before she sighed in irritation. 'You told him to switch the egg with a rock didn't you?'

The Tribrid stayed silent for a moment before replying back slowly, '... Maybe.'

'Of course you did. Nic and Nelle are here laughing their asses off while my parents, the Delacours, Madam Bones and Regent Longbottom are all staring into the arena in shock and amusement… It's actually really funny.' Daphne scoffed playfully, 'Only you could play a joke on the gathered crowd while getting another Champion to pull off your prank.'

'Glad you enjoyed it.' Hope smirked internally at her Mate before a more somber tone replaced the amusement, 'I'm going to send Luna up to you and Freya… She has a gut feeling about my Task… So I'm going to enter the arena with Excalibur instead of my wand. So I'll need you to hold onto my wand.'

According to Daphne's tone, Hope could tell she was frowning, 'Does Luna know what will happen?'

'No.' Hope replied with a solemn sigh as she started threading her fingers through the silver-blonde hair in front of her.

Hope didn't want to end her conversation on a sad note so she determinedly told the blonde. 'I wouldn't worry about it, love. I'm walking out of that arena no matter what, even if I have to kill the Dragon to get out. Nothing will stop me from returning to your side.'

'You better! Now go kiss the pretty Veela. I can almost feel her waiting impatiently through our bond.' Hope snorted at her girlfriend's words.

Once Hope had finished speaking to her Mate, the Tribrid angled the French girls' face down so Hope was able to interlock her fingers behind the Veela's neck and slowly began to pull her down, giving the other woman ample opportunity to pull away if she so wished.

Fleur didn't need Hope to guide her down to meet the coppery auburn girl's lips, instead she closed the gap and kissed Lady Emrys.

Hope moaned into the vulgar kiss as her eyes darkened in lust, Hope curled her fingers into the back of Fleur's neck, lightly scratching the delicate skin. Fleur wanted more from the kiss but as always good things must always come to an end.

"BOOOOM!" The cannon sounded yet again, calling the next competitor to the stage.

Hope groaned as she pulled away, regretfully as she rested her head against the other girl's forehead as she tried to catch her breath.

"Do whatever it takes to survive Fleur. Cause I'm not done with you yet." Hope murmured to the other girl as she lightly pushed her away.

Fleur sighed as small feathers magically appeared on her skin for only a few seconds before disappearing.

The French Champion gave one last smile to Hope, "Good luck 'Ope."

Hope smirked. "You too. Also good tip, don't die. Or I might join Daphne in resurrecting you, just so she can freeze you to death for disobeying her."

Fleur's eyes bulged at the threat before giving a fractured laugh. However it seemed that Hope was not finished as she also disinterestedly mentioned. "Oh… And say 'hi' to your parents as well as my own."

"Yeah! Hell no! I'll take my chances with the Dragon before getting in the middle of that shitshow!" Fleur called back over her shoulder as she walked into the corridor separating the Champions tent from the arena.

Hope looked around the tent to see that only herself, Viktor and Luna were the only ones remaining in the tent. She moved over to the meditating Bulgarian but instead of speaking to him she walked by him to see if he wanted to talk before the Task.

The young man didn't move a muscle so Hope made her way over to Luna before erecting another privacy ward so they wouldn't distract Krum.

Hope flicked out her White Oak wand, handing it over to Luna. "Can you take this to Daphne?"

Luna looked somewhat confused at the action but took the wand anyway as she asked. "Why do you need me to take your wand? Don't you need it for the Dragon?"

The Tribrid shook her head. "Nah. I'm only allowed 1 magical implement."

Hope held her right hand out beside her as Excalibur made its appearance into the hand of the Tribrid. "I'm choosing Excalibur. If things go as bad as you think they might, then I want a magical implement that can also be used as a weapon." Hope informed the seer.

Luna nodded as she pocketed the wand, the little dragon replica landed on the blonde's shoulder.

"I'm going to join the rest of the crowd. Be safe, Hope Mikaelson." Luna told the other girl before disappearing out of the tent.

"Don't worry, little moon! It will take a lot more than a Dragon to kill me!" Hope waved away the concern as she didn't think she needed it.

Just as Luna was about to turn the corner, Hope called out. "Don't forget to give the dragon replica to my parents first!" Luna groaned sadly as she lowered her head, turning the corner.

Hope spent the next hour waiting on a crate in the corner of the room, Fleur had finished her Task in just under 10 minutes and Viktor was still facing his Dragon. Almost 30 minutes had elapsed for the Bulgarian Seeker before the cannon sounded for possibly the second last time.

As Hope waited for the next cannon blast she stood up and did some light stretches. Something to get her blood pumping and muscles limber for battle. Hope also did some practice spins with her sword and shot out some very weakly powered stinging hexes from the tip of the blade as she recalled how to wield Excalibur for extensive magical offense and defence.

The final cannon blast sounded, Hope's eyes gazed over to the corridor leading out to her Task and the Dragon.

Hope twirled her sword before summoning her sheath in one hand, she leaned Excalibur against a desk as she latched the leather straps around her waist, tightening them so they were snug against her.

Hope had another random thought as she recalled only magical implements were limited, so she summoned more sheaths and attached them to her body, using her magic to tighten some of the straps that she couldn't reach on her own.

Instead of magically creating swords, she summoned some of her own swords and daggers from her own collection that she had begun to collect since she arrived in this universe. Hope had also informed Freya of this little collection as she felt comfortable telling her aunt that she had weapons stashed away.

Freya suggested that they legally buy the Abattoir in New Orleans with King Ragnok's help so they can store items there like a safe house and so Freya can stay there since she didn't have a place to live in this universe nor time.

The coppery auburn haired girl placed all the weapons into the sheaths before cloaking them in an invisibility spell. Hope then finally retook Excalibur and sheathed it smoothly as she made her way down the corridor as she approached the blinding light at the end of the tunnel. A man who was covered in a dark grey cloak walked out in front of the passageway, blocking her exit.

Hope came to stop in front of him and tilted her head in question. "Hello? Is there something wrong?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… I need to check you for any hidden magical implements. Make sure that you are following the rules."

Hope narrowed her eyes momentarily before humming lightly. "Very well."

The Tribrid held her arms out. "Words to the wise though. If you cop a feel, I will kill you."

The wizard gulped nervously as he gazed down her body unconsciously before shaking his head violently, making the hood covering his face move erratically but still kept most of his face covered and he brought his eyes back to Lady Emrys face.

"Understood… Sorry, about earlier." He replied as he motioned up and down with his hand to her body.

Hope raised an immaculate eyebrow at him as she made conversation with the grey cloaked man. "Normally I would ask who you are here on behalf of, but the Unspeakables don't necessarily bend to the Ministry's whims and Dumbledore surely wouldn't have enough pull to drag one of you here. So it begs the question, why are you here?" She asked skeptically.

The man searched the young Lady by waving his wand over the girl's body, casting a spell to locate any magical signatures, he only found one coming from the sword at her side. The man's eyes widened slightly under his hood as he realised that the Hogwarts Champion didn't have her wand on hand. "No wand?"

Hope tried to gaze under the hood but still the only facial features she could see was a strong jawline and thin lips that were pressed together tightly before she confidently replied with a taunting smirk. "Didn't need it. I'm entering the Task with Excalibur."

The Unspeakables' eyes narrowed down at the sword on Lady Emrys' hip before they widened in surprise at the fabled blade. "So you have Excalibur?... And the Heir Emrys has the Staff of Merlin. Two of the most powerful weapons in existence in the hands of two unknown entities."

"Ah… So that's why you're here. You want to speak to the Emrys family. Off the record, I imagine?" Hope scoffed in amusement as she shook her head.

The man in grey shook his head gently. "Surprisingly no. We wish to offer our services to you. Lady Emrys."

Hope flinched at the unexpected offer before turning to face the man with extraordinary reflexes. "What did you just say?"

The Unspeakable stood back up to his full height crossing his hands over his lap, loosely holding his wand in his right hand and tapped his fingers on the back of his wand hand.

"We wish to offer our services to you Lady Emrys." The man repeated confidently, "Our Director, Saul Croaker, has been very impressed with your work since you announced your heritage and status as Lady Emrys. You've made alliances with a majority of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses including the new Lord Potter and possibly soon-to-be Black. We are aware of your allegiances to some of the Magical Communities, to name some: The Goblins, Werewolves, Vampires, Centaurs and Veelas."

"These accomplishments have made you and your family the people to back in the upcoming years in your political campaign against the Ministry. It's our best course of action."

Hope looked absolutely floored at the outcome, she took a moment of quiet thought before turning to the Unspeakable. "Is there any chance that either myself or Aunt Freya can get in contact with someone from your department at a later date when we've had time to consider your generous proposal as well as get through this Tri-Wizard Task… Mr…?"

The Unspeakable reached up and removed his hood and Hope nearly had a heart attack as she saw icy-blue eyes, so similar to Daphne's that she almost didn't hear his name. "Greengrass. Gareth Greengrass."

Hope blinked at the man who nearly looked like a splitting image of Marcus Greengrass, except for the greying hair before her jaw dropped open in shock as she muttered. "Well… I definitely wasn't expecting that… Who are you to them?"

The older looking Greengrass gazed down to Hope's left hand.

"You mean to you? It seems as if you are the Consort Greengrass as well. Daphne, no?" He questioned curiously.

"Yeah?" Hope replied cautiously as she placed her hand on the hilt of Excalibur.

"Not in the mood for small talk, are you?" Hope gave a single shake of her head as she kept guarded eyes on this man.

Gareth sighed and shook his head slightly. "I'm Marcus' father. Daphne and Astoria's grandfather. We'll talk more later. You're going to be disqualified if I keep you any longer. But I also wish to thank you for curing my family's Blood Curse as well."

Hope ease up her stance a bit at the information and gave a nod of her head. "It was the least I could do. The Greengrass' are my family now and Astoria is too precious to let die by some stupid Curse."

"Flare some magic into the Consort ring while thinking of my name when you are ready to talk." The elder Greengrass told the younger girl before vanishing from sight.

"That's going to be a fun conversation to have later with the fam." Hope muttered to herself with a suffering groan.

Hope cracked her neck as she glowed her eyes brightly into the bare room as her fangs also descended for a second before she moved her head in the opposite direction, cracking the other side of her neck as her supernatural features dissipated.

The Tribrid schooled her expression as she walked out into the battered and stone filled arena before muttering under her breath, "Here we go."

Hope blinked a few times to clear her vision and regard the arena with suspicion as she couldn't locate the Golden Egg on the ground or even within the nest. Hope sensed Freya's familiar magic entered the arena and swapped out the real Dragon Eggs and replaced them with realistic fakes to keep the masses in suspense.

Hope tried to tune out as much of the crowd's chants, cheering and shouts as she attempted to focus her hearing to locate the Dragon. An erratic heartbeat coupled with powerful wing beats had Hope turning around, drawing a sword hidden on her back at the same time as she looked up past a tall rock formation as a large spiked head rose above the raised stone.

Large black eyes were enraged as the Mother Dragon glared down at Hope, fire was already flowing in streams from the Dragon's mouth. The Hungarian Horntail growled with her teeth clenched together warningly before opening her mouth and spitting out scalding fire with a roar.

"Oh crap." Hope murmured to herself.