chapter 46

What do you mean that you heard Harpies from the Egg? It was supposed to be Mermaids!" Hope shouted as she paced angrily in her room with her two blonde lovers looking awkwardly between each other.

Fleur held out a piece of parchment nervously but her voice stayed strong as she spoke. "Exactly that. It was Harpies and I'm the only Champion that would be able to realise that immediately because we share a language and the clue is only given once per Egg."

Hope stopped for a second as she took the proffered parchment with a final glare to the Golden Egg still in Fleur's lap:

Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing below the clouds,

And while you're searching ponder this;

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour, the prospect's falls,

Too late, it's gone, to the Underworld's thrall.

"Well fuck… There goes my entire plan out the fucking window." Hope groaned in annoyance.

"Since it was the language of the Harpies, I'm assuming the Task will be–" Daphne began to theorise before Fleur interrupted her. "In the sky."

Hope closed her eyes as she tried to take a deep calming breath as she muttered out. "Of course it has to be in the fucking sky."

Daphne frowned as she knew that Hope hated flying due to her Vampire and Wolf sides. "Wait! Do you think Dumbledore switched the location of the Task as he knew that you hate flying?"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Hope grumbled as she started to pace again.

The Tribrid came to a stop as she glanced back at the blondes as she had a stray thought process she wanted to share. "Both Harry and Krum are Seekers… They can summon their brooms to themselves. Fleur can sprout wings and fly herself."

"And you? How will you achieve flight?" Fleur questioned as she followed Hope's ramblings.

Hope tilted her head to the side as she flared her magic suddenly. A loud neigh erupted from beside Hope as a bright light took the form of a pristine white Thestral. Hope turned back to Fleur with a raised eyebrow. The Veela was stunned into silence at the powerful non-verbal Patronus charm the young woman was able to produce.

Fleur's hand moved of its own accord as she cupped the Thestral's face and preened softly to the pearl white flying horse. The corporeal Patronus hummed joyfully as it moved its head forward to press against the Veela's chest.

Hope looked over to Daphne with a confused expression as she didn't know why they were doing that.

'Veelas are the ruling Magical Creatures of the sky and Fleur is basically their princess. So most winged creatures would greet Fleur like this.' Daphne answered mentally as she enjoyed the serene sensation of love and safety being pumped out by Fleur and the Patronus.

'But it's a Patronus, not an actual Thestral.' Hope argued back.

Daphne smirked to her Mate as she responded. 'Yeah. But it's your Patronus. Expect the impossible wherever you're concerned darling.'

Hope gave her wife the biggest deadpan that she could. Daphne saw the impressed expression in the corner of her eye and sniggered to herself.

"Bloody Minx." The Tribrid muttered as she mentally sent a picture of spanking the blonde witch for her sass.

Daphne blushed slightly but grinned widely at the prospect. 'You know I'd let you.'

This response had an instant smile appear on Hope's face in a flash as she directed the next thought to Daphne, so only the Greengrass Heiress heard her. 'That's because you're a good girl for me.'

"What are you two doing?" Fleur asked as she noticed the rapid changes of expression and emotions, especially from Hope as she went from angry to annoyed, quickly followed by sexual amusement.

Hope and Daphne shared a look before turning to Fleur.

"Before I start making innuendos, how did your Headmistress take you staying with me and Daph? Actually… What did you tell her?" Hope questioned the Veela in curiosity.

Fleur groaned. "I've been 'banned' from spending any time with you because she thinks we are collaborating for the Tasks. Obviously I'm ignoring her considering what we were just talking about. She also decided I needed a babysitter and had Aimee following me."

Daphne frowned slightly. "So you ditched your friend to come here?"

"Technically Hope's Aunt noticed my predicament and stepped in, offering Aimee some Duelling pointers. Aimee didn't know how to refuse without looking disrespectful so she accepted and I came straight here… I probably should get back to her. I don't think Freya will keep her occupied for much longer." Fleur explained with a sheepish smile.

"Of course she did." Hope and Daphne said at the same time in identical deadpan tones.

"We'll escort you back to Aimee. I now need to discuss what to do for our Second Task with my Aunt. Between my parents, Aunt Freya and Daph we should be able to come up with a few strategies and back-up plans for the hostages." Hope offered as Daphne stood up to link arms with Fleur.

"Wait! What hostages???" Fleur exclaimed in fear.

Hope pinched the bridge of her nose. "Remember how I said I was from another universe?"

The Veela nodded once as she stood stock-still waiting for Hope to continue.

"Well… The Tasks were supposed to be: Dragon and the Golden Egg, the Black Lake and retrieving hostages within a time limit of one hour and a maze filled with traps and Magical Creatures with a trophy in the middle of the maze. The clue from the Egg is very similar to what it is supposed to be but mentions above the clouds and that the 'thing we sorely miss' is actually a 'hostage' each and that they will fall into the Underworld's thrall…" Hope broke off as she tried to recall why that sounds familiar.

Daphne groaned softly as she remembered that the clue was spoken in the language of the Veelas and Harpies. "Harpies. They are servants of the Underworld in Greek Mythology. They're going to drop the hostages out of the sky once the one hour limit is up."

Daphne glanced over to Hope. "You better catch me."

"I won't let you fall love. I promise." Hope replied with such love in her voice that Daphne could only believe her.

"WhAt!? YoU'rE a HoStAgE!?" Fleur attempted to scream but her voice broke due to the emotion she was feeling.

Hope pursed her lips tightly as she regretfully and nervously spoke another one of the hostage's names. "Uh… Fleur… Your sister is also supposed to be a hostage."

Silver flames erupted along Fleur's body and Daphne quickly let go of the enraged Veela as she protected herself with her ice magic, coating her hands and arms first before making a cloud of frost around her body.

"WHAT!?!" Fleur screamed in fury.

Hope flinched at the loud noise and the magic pouring off the silver haired woman as she threatened to explode, pacing angrily throughout the small room. Alexandria woke at the angered magic and lightning travelled out of the room while Myrddin looked both saddened for the Veela's worry for her sister and partially amused at the implication of releasing a tiny supernova. He thought back to when he originally exploded in this room when Hope first arrived at Hogwarts and was intrigued to see if a Veela could pull off the same type of destruction as him.

Hope was sitting with her aunt and wife as her left eye twitches frequently due to the amount of bullshit coming out of the mouths of Malfoy, Fudge and Dumbledore as they tried and failed to impede all of the Emrys' claims for trials. The Neutral Faction was firmly behind Hope and the Greengrass', while Hope's charisma and honesty with the younger generation of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses gained her the votes needed to pass a motion and demand a trial.

King Ragnok was smirking away openly in the assigned Emrys Proxy seat as he watched the intimidating Emrys family take command of the Wizengamot with ease. A few times the Dark and Light Factions tried to have him ejected but Hope quickly put an end to that as she told the Wizengamot that she invited him as he was her adviser.

here were two separate sounds that echoed through the room with Hope's declaration either a snort of laughter or a groan. The groan was much louder than the little snort of laughter but Freya capitalised on the immaturity of the Wizengamot which had the entire room chaisted.

Hope must have rolled her eyes nearly 10 times already and they haven't even gotten to Daphne's request for the trial by Veritaserum yet and the other Officials of the Tri-Wizard Tournament aren't even in the room.

"Fuck! Ragnok, I don't know if this is as bad as I was expecting or worse. Are they trying to piss me off?" Hope growled over to the Goblin King in his native language.

"They do seem to be drawing this out." Ragnok admitted as he rubbed his forehead.

A frown appeared on Hope's face as she asked. "Can they call an end to a meeting if it runs overtime?"

"For this Bi-Annual Meeting, yes. They will use the New Year as an excuse and state that the trial was for last year and is no longer eligible."

Hope, Daphne and Freya all frowned at the information Ragnok gave them. "How do we get this damn meeting rolling so they can't pull that off?" Daphne asked the Goblin King in hushed growls.

"I have an idea but would it get me in trouble?" Freya suggested with a mischievous smirk on her lips.

The other 3 Gobbledegook speakers faced Freya as they awaited for her possibly terrible idea.

"Legally, the only person who should be talking is the Trial Officiator which is Madam Bones since she's the one who gave the confirmation of the trial as a member of the Wizengamot present at the time of the motion, right?"

Ragnok nodded.

"What if I removed everyone's mouths and froze everyone to their seats while Amelia spoke?" Freya suggested with a flash of teeth showing through her mischievous grin.

"So long as you don't abuse it and allow the Chief Warlock to speak at the required times. Although if he's found guilty of trying to kill you in the First Task then a new Chief Warlock will be named, most likely Regent Longbottom actually." The Goblin adviser muttered back to the Emrys family with a sharp grin on his face.

Hope snapped her fingers as she performed a silent Petrificus Totalus on all members of the Wizengamot including herself and her family. This spell caused an uproar as only Madam Bones was able to move. The entire Wizengamot knew that it was the Emrys family that performed this spell and demanded to be released at once in some very explicit threats.

Freya murmured her own mouth sealing spell cutting off a lot of yelling and created muffled sounds instead as the Immortal Viking Witch sealed Hope, Daphne and Ragnok's mouths shut as well.

"Listen up!" Freya called out so her voice easily projected over the entire room. "If you lot can't even get through a single meeting without arguing then this is how we are going to hold our meetings from now on! Now the Trial Officiator will take us through the meeting and when the Officiator calls your name you will be allowed to talk. If you waste time I will seal your mouth shut again and your vote will be wasted as a non-vote."

Freya turned her head to Amelia's shell-shocked expression at the blatant show of magical power. "You have the floor Madam Bones."

Thankfully with Freya's plan in effect, the session went understandably 5x times faster than any other Wizengamot session and they were all released in just over 2 hours. In the meantime, Daphne's trial was held as Hope sent Myrddin and Alexandria to collect the missing members of the Tri-Wizard Officials.

Dumbledore did alter the Task but not in the way Hope was expecting, he strengthened the barrier around the arena because he wanted to keep her trapped in the arena for as long as possible. Either to have her use illegal or dark spells to break out, be forced to kill the Dragon or be killed by said Dragon. The rest of the Officials admitted to making biassed scoring which all the Champions were completely aware of.

They were also able to get Sirius exonerated pretty quickly after Freya sealed his mouth shut since he was laughing too much at the mouthless Ministry members. They were able to use the evidence Harry gave to Madam Bones, his parents Will, which he confirmed verbally when called upon by Madam Bones.

When Dumbledore had the opportunity to speak after he saw Harry sitting in the Head of Potter seat he tried to create a motion to get Harry removed stating he was too young but Amelia lifted a hand in Hope's direction to prove that age didn't matter.

Amelia also managed to prove that Harry has been the Head of House Potter for over a month and the time to challenge Harry's Lord Potter status had passed over 4 weeks ago as he submitted his claim on the 1st of November, the day after Ministry Officials stated he had to compete in an as of age competition.

Sirius was making loud muffled noises as his Godson tricked the Ministry to make him Lord Potter.

During this Wizengamot session Hope had tasked Unspeakable Greengrass to retrieve Marvolo Gaunt's ring from Dumbledore's possession without being found out as a challenge for the Unspeakables to prove that Hope needs them. Hope was convinced that she didn't need the group of elite wizards to be at her beck and call since she knew she could handle herself and so could her friends and family.

But Daphne confided in Hope last night when Fleur was forced to stay in the carriage by Madam Maxine. The Greengrass Heiress stated that she would like to reform a relationship with her grandfather and Hope was completely understanding of Daphne's request to be with her family.

So Hope made little tasks for the Unspeakables to perform so Gareth had a reason to come speak with his granddaughter.

Sirius took Hope aside with Harry and Daphne while Freya and Ragnok dealt with the bitchy members of the Wizengamot who wanted to complain about being forced into submission and silence.

The newly freed man called his House-Elf Kreacher and demanded for the locket that Regulus gave the House Elf to guard. Kreacher begrudgingly handed over the locket to the reinstated Lord Black and Sirius handed it over to Hope, informing the young girl that the locket clears up any debts he owes the Emrys family for arranging his exoneration.

An Unspeakable in a dark grey cloak appeared while Hope was making the transaction with Sirius so Daphne took the ring off her grandfather with a grateful nod before the elder Greengrass apparated out of the Ministry of Magic before anyone other than Daphne and Harry saw him.

Harry asked Daphne what that little interaction was about and the Slytherin girl showed the raven haired boy the ring that Freya described to him for Dumbledore to retrieve.

"That's a Horcrux?" Harry whispered.

Daphne nodded.

The Boy-Who-Lived turned to face his Dogfather and Hope as the shaggy looking man gave the coppery auburn haired girl Slytherin's Locket. "And so is that?"

"6 down. 1 to go." Daphne murmured under her breath.

Once Ragnok was free Daphne and Hope approached him and handed the 2 Horcruxes over to the Goblin King. "Can you please cleanse these items of Voldemort's soul pieces, King Ragnok? I'm more than happy to pay for your services as I returned the one surefire way I had to destroy Horcruxes to you as per Godric Gryffindor's request."

"Of course. I'll get right on it." The elderly Goblin promised the Tribrid with a grateful nod.

After the group made their way back to the school Myrddin and Alexandria gave their report to Hope, Daphne and Freya that some Ravenclaws had tried to bully Luna but they stepped in before the whimsical blonde Seer could be hurt. Myrddin happily burned 7 students while Alexandria made her threat by increasing into her larger form, scaring the students severely as they shuddered in fear at the immense size of the Lady Emrys' Thunderbird.

"Bloody hell! That was a long ass month." Hope complained with a slightly British accent on the 'bloody hell'.

Freya turned to face her niece with a bemused expression on her face. "You spend way too much time around Uncle Kol, Aunt Rebekah and your dad if that's how you say 'bloody hell'. God, you sound just like them."

Hope looked over to her aunt with a thoughtful smile on her face as she recounted the few instances her family said that little curse and laughed to herself at the familiar memory.

"Miss Mikaelson?" A stern voice sounded from behind the Emrys Trio.

"Yes?" Came the synchronised response from both Freya and Hope as they turned to look at the angered Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Actually, darling you are still Lady Emrys to our prestigious Headmaster and he is not allowed to speak to you alone due to the fact he tried to have you killed." Daphne glared at the old man.

The Headmaster ignored the blonde Slytherin girl as he focused his gaze on Hope. "Cease this vendetta against me immediately. I am your Headmaster and you need to treat me with the respect I deserve!"

Freya's eyebrow rose at the distinct threat from the enraged Headmaster.

"What you deserve, Headmaster Dumbledore is to be thrown in jail. You abuse your position here just like you did in the Wizengamot. You stole Harry's seat, you denied a man his freedom and you placed that poor boy with possibly the worst people I've ever heard of! You don't protect the students under your care as shown by your negligence for the Slytherin Wardstone! You didn't shut the school down when a Basilisk petrified 3 students, a ghost and a cat! You literally told a bunch of teenagers not to go to the 3rd floor corridor unless they wish to suffer a most gruesome death!? I mean who says that!? Are you insane?" Freya growls viciously at the old man as she flared her magic dangerously, moving into Dumbledore's personal space as he cowered in fear at the power radiating off the elder Mikaelson woman.

For a 100+ year old man who actually looks his age, he moves like a spring chicken as he rushes away from Hope's overprotective aunt.

"Are you sure I can't Duel him?" Freya mumbled to Hope with a displeased expression on her face.

Daphne pursed her lips as she answered the Slytherin Protector's query. "Technically you could, but you'd have to take over the position you Duelled him for."

"I'm not becoming this school's Headmaster. I don't need that type of stress." Freya replied and the Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor students around the small family let out a collective sigh of relief.

Freya looked around herself not realising that most of the student body and faculty heard her displeased assessment of the Hogwarts Headmaster. The eldest Mikaelson scanned the Professors' faces to gather their reactions on what she said and whether they agreed with her or if they would cause a problem in the future.

Surprisingly enough the entire faculty except Snape had forlorn expressions on their faces as they recalled all these instances Freya spoke of and knew that she was right in her reasoning. The Slytherin Protector turned back to Hope and Daphne who seemed to be speaking telepathically until they simultaneously turned to face Freya.

"I think that we've finally made an impression on the faculty. Maybe they will finally pull their heads out of the clouds and actually supervise these kids." Hope grumbled in Gobbledegook, confusing all the students around the Emrys Trio as all they heard was an assortment of growls.

"We can only hope." Daphne responded in French as she made her way back to the Slytherin common room with a yawn.

"Goodnight Freya." The Consort Emrys called out before turning a corner.

Hope placed a hand on her aunt's shoulder as leverage so she could lean up to kiss Freya's cheek. "Love you Aunt Freya. Goodnight."

"Goodnight girls."

It's been nearly a week since Fleur discovered what the clue was for the Second Task and this was the first time Viktor and Fleur could breakaway from their schools long enough to meet up with each other.

"Why is it so bloody cold?" Freya complained as she tightened her 3 layers of jackets as she glared at Daphne, Hope and Fleur all dressed in short sleeved shirts and a pair of long pants.

"Because this is your first Winter in England?" Hope suggested offhandedly as their large group consisting of all 4 Champions, their significant others, Hope's family and Luna made their way towards the Room of Requirement.

Viktor, Harry and Fleur all kept some distance between themselves and Luna as she had the tiny Common Green Welsh mirage dragon flying happily behind her as she cuddled Cassandra to her chest with a musical hum.

Hope had Myrddin keep an eye on the students but it seems as though the Professors are finally taking responsibility and giving out detentions to rude or inappropriate behaviour they witness. Alexandria was with her Familiar but was curious about the fake dragon. She made swooping motions around the little fire breathing replica as she thrilled cheerfully whenever the dragon missed the Thunderbird.

Freya paced in front of the Room as she shivered slightly, trying to keep moving to stay warm.

"Then what's your excuse Hope?" The oldest woman grumbled as she pushed open the doors and sighed at the warmth exuding from the fireplace.

After Hope shut the door behind Nic and Nelle who were the last to enter, Hope flashed her amber eyes in Freya's direction when Viktor wasn't looking towards the Hogwarts Champion. "One, this isn't my first Winter in England. Two, I run hot." Hope smirked as her eyes turned back to their natural colour.

Freya, Nic and Nelle all shook their heads at the innuendo while Viktor cleared his throat awkwardly.

Fleur and Daphne were smirking as the Veela also called out with a cheeky smile. "Yes you do. But so do I. Thank Merlin, Daphne is cool to the touch."

Harry and Hermione blushed as Daphne whispered something into Fleur's ear which had the Veela turn scandalously to the Slytherin witch. Hope was a little too far away to hear what Fleur said as she still only has access to her Werewolf hearing and tilted her head in question.

"No. Please stop. Flirt in your own room. Not here. La, la, la, la, la." Nicolas called out as he covered his ears.

The 3 women shared suspicious glances as they grinned.

Hermione wasn't exactly keen on listening to Hope, Daphne and Fleur crack jokes and inappropriate teasing either. Harry was partially intrigued by the dynamic the girls were able to pull off after only knowing each other for a little over 2 months, but he decided to bring the conversation back to being serious.

"So why did you ask to meet with us, Hope?"

Hope instantly lost the cheeky expression on her face as she looked over to Harry and sighed. "We should take a seat before I start."

If anything Hope's request put the rest of the group on high alert as the Tribrid was normally the laid back one of the entire group amassed in the Room of Requirement. Even the magical animals all faced Hope with worried expressions. Alexandria landed on Hope's left shoulder, softly preening at Hope's long coppery locks. However everyone seemed to follow Hope's advice and found somewhere to sit as Hope waited patiently in front of the crowd.

"Fleur figured out the clue for the Second Task." Hope announced to the group.

Looks of confusion crossed most of the faces in the room as they thought that would be good news.

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Hermione asked with a partial frown.

Hope nodded her head ever so slightly. "Normally I would say yes. But I had believed that this Task was set to be held in the Black Lake from an Unspeakable. According to the clue Fleur heard and wrote down for us. The Task is now set to take place in the sky."

Nic and Nelle looked over to Hope in fear as they knew that a change this massive to the timeline would be impossible for Hope to predict. Freya's reaction wasn't much better as she clenched her teeth.

The youngest Mikaelson took the poem in her hand and duplicated a copy so everyone could read it as Hope read aloud.

"Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing below the clouds,

And while you're searching ponder this;

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour, the prospect's falls,

Too late, it's gone, to the Underworld's thrall."

Hope gave the group some time to digest the poem as she tapped her foot on the ground.

"So Fleur informed me that the clue is only given once and doesn't repeat. A student from Beauxbatons opened her Egg without permission and wasted her chance to hear the clue. Since I believed the Task to be held in the water, I never listened to it or opened it. So Fleur listened to the poem, which by the way, was spoken in the language of the Veela and Harpies."

"So Fleur was the only one who could actually hear the clue?" Viktor frowned.

"Unfortunately, yes. However it doesn't look good that Madam Maxine is trying to stop me from interacting with the other Champions ever since I got the Egg. I think the location was changed for a couple of separate reasons. The first being the inclusion of someone as powerful as Hope in the Tri-Wizard Tournament so they've changed the Task to make the Tournament more dangerous. The other is that we know Dumbledore, through a trial with Veritaserum, admitted to attempted murder via Dragon against Hope. He obviously has a grudge against Hope and wishes for her to fail her Tasks by whatever means necessary. Hope's mentioned to me that flying has never been something she's comfortable with."

Harry and Hermione shared a quick glance at one another knowing that Hope despised Flying class so much that she dropped the subject as quickly as she could and the majority of 4th year students were fully aware how much Hope hated flying.

"So you think Dumbledore changed the location because of Hope? I mean, isn't it a little far fetched? Changing an entire Task, if what Hope heard is correct, to something that Hope hates sounds a bit petty for a school competition… Right?" Hermione tried to reason with the group but even the Gryffindor bookworm was unsure of her words.

"I don't care about the flying required in the Task. I'm concerned about 'what we sorely miss'. The Unspeakable I spoke to has definitively confirmed that this will be a person, a hostage. I know who they will choose for me, Fleur and Harry. Which would be Daph, Gabrielle, Fleur's little sister and Hermione. However, I'm not sure for you Viktor. They could use Isabella, a family member or possibly even a Quidditch team member, but it must be someone that you would sorely miss." Hope informed the group as she crossed her arms over her chest staring directly at Daphne with a concerned look on her face.

"The poem also mentioned a 'fall' and 'Underworld's thrall'. Is that in relation to the Harpies?" Hermione theorised as she looked a little pale while Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders possessively.

"That is our assumption." Fleur answered as she motioned between herself, Hope and Daphne.

Viktor still had a scowl on his face as he pointed out. "This doesn't include the fact that the Task is set in the sky and that the Tri-Wizard Tournament is known for its dangerous Tasks. So that begs the question, what will be guarding our 'hostages'?"

"Harpies, obviously." Hope mentioned with a clench of her jaw.

Mumbles of agreement went through the room at Hope's nonchalant answer.

"What else do you think they will use?" Freya questioned the group with a troubled expression.

Nicolas looked over to Alexandria and sighed before facing Viktor. "Mr Krum?"

Viktor hummed as he turned to face the Immortal Alchemist awaiting his query. "I've heard that professional Seekers must train in the worst weather conditions to make sure you can catch the snitch no matter the weather. A friend told me that he had to transport a Thunderbird to a Quidditch Pitch for agility training for Seekers. Is that true?"

Viktor groaned loudly. "Yes. You think they will bring a wild Thunderbird to guard our 'hostages'?"

"I do." Nicolas admitted. "In addition, if the wild Thunderbird severely injures someone in the Task the Ministry would probably use that to their advantage to ban Alexandria from the school. Thankfully they can't do that with Phoenix' since they are scarce in the wild and would just flee if someone did manage to find one."

Alexandria made a scared little noise as she buried her beak into Hope's neck. The Tribrid made a soothing purring sound for the golden Thunderbird as she stroked her fingers over the soft feathers.

"So… Do you have a plan of attack Hope?" Harry asked the intelligent auburn haired girl.

Hope shook her head. "No. I don't. The only other thing I know about this Task is that we are all starting at the same time."

"You want to tackle this Task as a team?" Viktor questioned with a thoughtful expression.

Hope, Fleur and Harry looked skeptically at each other before looking at their significant others with a pensive look etched on their faces. Fleur and Viktor were reflecting on their own 'hostage' and how they can best protect their loved one.

"I trust all of you to have my back and I don't normally trust easily as Hermione, Hope and possibly even Daphne can attest to. But in regards to Hermione's safety I think I'm going to need all the help I can get." Harry spoke first as his emerald eyes scanned over the gathered occupants in the room.

Fleur pursed her lips together at the trust Harry was entrusting her and Viktor. She had expected the Boy-Who-Lived to place his trust in Hope since they have known each other for over 3 years, but to be included in Harry's admittance she felt oddly grateful.

"I think we should go together. We're stronger together and less likely to end up dead." The Veela admitted with a small smile to her fellow Champions.

Hope and Viktor gave a nod to the other people in the room as they made an alliance for this Task.

A pair of light coloured wolves were running through the Forbidden Forest the night before the Second Task as Daphne was stressed out due to Hope's intense fear of not being able to save her tomorrow. The blonde wolf was acting on instinct as Daphne let her animal side control her actions tonight as she was fully aware that Hope needed to let her wolf take control completely. Allowing the Tribrid's mind to take a break from all the intense worry she's been feeling on and off for the past month and a half.

Although Freya and Professor Flitwick have finally been able to start holding their Duelling classes with Hope and Daphne now that the students finally learned that bullying will no longer be tolerated in Hogwarts anymore. Freya only needed to officiate maybe two Duels a week now which gave her plenty of time to teach Hope and read some of the books the Emrys family had stored in their properties around the world.

Even with Freya training Hope to her magical limit, the Tribrid was too wired up to relax. Fleur and Daphne tried to calm the young Wolf Queen and succeeded for a day, maybe two. But the two blondes needed space from the energetic auburn haired girl occasionally and slept in their own rooms when Hope was inconsolable.

Hope did however still manage to find the time to contact the Greengrass' and request if they could have a birthday dinner at Greengrass Farm for Daphne's birthday on the 17th of January, once classes were finished for the day. Hope made sure to check with Astoria when her Astronomy classes were just in case Myrddin or Alexandria had to give her a lift back to the school and thankfully she didn't need to worry about that.

Unfortunately for the Tribrid, she was unable to keep the secret from her wife due to the soulbond. It's the main reason why the girls don't actually get each other birthday or Christmas gifts anymore. They saw the gift through the bond and told each other off due to how expensive it was or how precious the item was to their family.

Since Daphne was fully aware of her birthday dinner plans, she invited Fleur and her family as Hope was a little concerned about inviting a whole family to someone else's house whereas Daphne didn't have that issue. Stori was very happy to learn Gabrielle would also be able to make the trip thanks to Myrddin and thanked the midnight Phoenix days in advance.

Shifting into wolves was a sure fire way to give Hope peace of mind for the night which she desperately needed. The snow coloured wolf was relaxing more and more by the second as she played tag with her Mate.

Halfway through the night Daphne switched fur coats as she sauntered through the forest in her white and black stripes before performing a massive stretch and yawn.

Hope cocked her head at the tiger as she communicated mentally with the blonde woman. 'Are you tired?'

Daphne bobbed her larger feline head.

'Let's find a nice clearing so you can rest… Can I clean your fur?' The white-grey wolf requested shyfully as she padded at the soft soil and leaf litter below her paws.

The tiger gave a little shrug as all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and fall asleep for… like 10 hours. The wolf let out a snort of laughter at the cat-like thought that Daphne accidentally let Hope hear through their bond. Daphne poked her tongue out before circling the spot three times before finally sitting down.

Hope tried, she really did but a small huff of amusement escaped her snout at her Mate's movement echoing that of a house cat.

Daphne snapped her large fangs at the wolf with a glare. Hope felt a little guilty for making fun of her equally tired and stressed out Mate and moved to the top of where Daphne laid her head down, lolling out her tongue as she focused firm licks to the centre of the tiger's forehead. The large cat sighed, closing her ice-blue eyes at the soothing sensation and began to pur softly.

Hope was surprisingly at peace grooming her wife's fur until the blonde girl fell asleep, reverting back to her human form. The wolf stopped licking at that stage and moved to sit a few feet away from Daphne, taking in the blonde's peaceful face as she slept.

Hope watched her wife as if she was the most interesting thing in the world, for the Tribrid, Daphne was the most important person in her life. Hope sent incredibly quiet 'I love you's' through the soulbond along with her matching emotions of unadulterated love and devotion.

A soft sigh escaped Daphne's lips as she reached out in Hope's direction with such certainty that the Tribrid let out a pur of contentment as she edged forward so the Emrys Consort could just barely touch Hope. Daphne smiled in her sleep as she tried to coax the wolf into her arms.

Hope huffed quietly as she moved over to the blonde's sleeping form and burrowed her way into Daphne's arms. The wolf laid down on her stomach, her front paws ahead of her body and up near the blonde's pristine face. Hope rested her head on her paws as she faced Daphne's content smile at the feeling of her Mate in her arms.

After nearly 10 minutes Hope realised that they had been out for nearly 3 hours and probably should head back to the castle for some actual sleep. The wolf lightly licked at Daphne's jaw and the underside of her chin as she attempted to rouse the woman from her sleep.

Daphne made a noise somewhere between a moan and a groan as she tightened her grip on Hope, cuddling the wolf closer to her chest. The wolf huffed as she rubbed her head against the blonde's shoulder and neck.

"Hope. Stop." Daphne mumbled.

Hope kept nuzzling into Daphne's scent gland with a large toothy grin on her face. 'Daph, you need to wake up. We need to go to bed.'

'Shhh…' Came the soft reply.

Hope rolled her eyes as she crawled out from Daphne's constricting grip without actually waking the girl up. Hope transformed back into her human form, magically clothing herself in pyjamas. The auburn haired girl may be comfortable travelling through the forest naked with other Werewolves, but it may be considered a little bizarre for a 15 year old girl to be carrying a sleeping 16 year old girl back into the castle while naked, hours after curfew has been in effect.

Hope used a very weak Wingardium Leviosa to levitate Daphne into the air so as not to jostle the woman from her peaceful slumber. The Tribrid moved so she was able to manoeuvre her Mate into a more comfortable position before releasing the spell slowly and gently, allowing Hope to hold Daphne in a bridal carry position.

Daphne's subconscious mind was working with Hope tonight as the blonde instinctively wrapped her arms around Hope's neck. Hope smiled down at Daphne for a moment before casting Invisique on herself and Daphne. The Tribrid comfortably carried her Mate back into the castle, past any Prefects or Professors as she made her way silently back to the Slytherin common room.

The possessive sea-blue eyed girl looked over to Daphne and Tracey's room before letting out a little displeased noise at the thought of putting her Mate to bed in that room, away from her. Hope shook her head softly as she opened her own door with her magic and strode in with a pleased hum as she shut her door behind her and cancelling out the spell, becoming visible again.

Hope was able to slot them into the bed pretty easily as she held Daphne close to her and the blonde placed her head on Hope's chest. Hearing the Tribrid's strong heartbeat lulled the blonde into a deep sleep as her body became limp against Hope.

Hope felt as her wife drifted off into a deeper sleep. She kissed the crown of blonde hair before snuggling into the sheets.

"Goodnight my love."