The First QWT Task: Fire

[George Adam Sparewell]

"Professor George Adam Sparewell, QWT Judge and Ministry representative. You want a statement? We of the school and the Ministry will do everything we can to make sure this runs smoothly and without incidence, we will not have a repeat of the last tournament." he said, still not entirely trusting of her. I mean, after Rita Skeeter, who would?

[Mareyn]

Mareyn turned away from Morana as she walked away, only to hear Professor Sparewell saying something towards a Daily Prophet reporter. "Yes," she agreed. "The Ministry hopes that there will be no- er, problems such as in the last Tournament. That's wy I'm here, to keep watch over everything." Remembering her manners, Mareyn blinked, and bowed her front legs slightly. "Oh yes, I'm Mareyn, Auror Centauress for the Ministry. Pleasure."

[George Adam Sparewell]

George looked curiously at the New Auror, who apparently didn't know him.

"Wait, they never told me they were sending someone, who are you?"

[Amber Brown]

Amber eatched as a Daily Prophet reporter interviewing the champions and when the wands were being weighed. She looked over to Lydia and DeAngelo. They were talking to each other. " Now don't be nosy ", she thought. She turned away from them and watched the wand weighing.

The first year never really talking to DeAngelo, but she's seen him out on the Quidditch Pitch. She thought that the older student was a good player. She should probably talk to him sometime.

[George Adam Sparewell]

George immediatly stepped in. If this Auror was new, she wouldn't know about any of the cases yet, however, who knew?

"I'm sorry but this is completely just the Tournament, and I'd rather not have mention of certain things going into the discussion. But off the record, what cases are you refering to?" he mentally shook his head. She was acting more and more like Rita Skeeter.

[Mareyn]

"I've just told you, my name's Mareyn. I'm an Auror. I'm here to watch over the Tournament in case anything drastic happens." Mareyn rolled her eyes. Didn't he hear her the first time? "Of course they didn't tell you I was coming, they probably didn't think much of it. I'm just back-up. It's pretty minor, I don't think they'd have bothered if I hadn't reminded them of the last Tournament, and that I live so close (in the forest) that it wouldn't be a problem." Then Mareyn noticed he seemed a bit disturbed by the reporter's talking about what appeared to be the Graplock case. "I think it's a good idea if we keep this discussion on the Tournament. If there's none spoken, none overheard, yes?" She said, smiling and holding up her hands in an indifferent manner.

[Chris Rice]

Chis smiled as Colleen took a slice of toast, and took her hand, holding it slightly more tightly than usual, trying to conceal his own nerves. He'd hardly be any use to her if she knew how worried he was. He wasn't even the one going out there to deal with potentially dangerous situations...she was. And that was what made it so bad. His girlfriend was going to have to deal with all this stuff, and he was expected to just sit and be a spectator, cheer, be excited...

...but despite that, he was proud of her, so proud. She really was remarkable to do it. And so he rubbed her arm gently and slightly protectively as a newspaper reporter came over to speak to them. He knew he wasn't wanted or needed, but he wasn't ready to go unless Colleen wanted him to, and otherwise not unless he had to. Yes, he was feeling protective, but he listened proudly as Colleen spoke clearly and confidently to the woman. He knew she was nervous, but she appeared so together and so collected.

Finally, the headmistress requested that they take their seats. With a reluctant sigh, Chris knew he had to go. He turned Colleen to face him gently, and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her blonde hair. "Take care, ok?" he mumbled quietly into to sweet-scented locks. Pulling back, he cocked his head to one side, arms still around her waist, and viewed her with possibly the most serious expression that had been on his face in a long time. "Just take care." He kissed her and then stepped back, grabbing her hand to say "I'll be right here when you're done" and then letting go and making his way to the seating area, choosing a seat in the nearest row to the front after the judges and officials.

[damondarkweather]

aaralyn said:

((ooc: I'm so sorry Morana!! ))

Aaralyn chuckled as she noticed she seemed to have startled Damon. "Oh I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she said and returned his smile with her own. Aaralyn turned her attention back to Morana's as she spoke. Pleasure to meet you Aaralyn, and thank you for your kind words. Aaralyn just gave Morana a slight nod and a warm smile.

When Aaralyn shivered, Damon took his coat and put it around her fragile shoulders. "You sure I can wear this? I mean, then you'll be cold," she asked him. Before he answered, she felt his muscular arm around her shoulders and she looked up at him with a warm smile. He had leaned in for a kiss and Aaralyn kissed him back on his soft lips. Hey, love. She smiled, "How are you?" she asked sweetly looking at his nice smile that adorned his facial features. He seemed so happy and she was too. She heard a few yells around her and people just cheering for their champion although the task hadn't started yet.

She turned back to Morana so she didn't exclude her from their conversation and noticed she hadn't moved for a moment. Hm.. is she okay? she thought with a slightly concerned look on her face. Finally, the other Slytherin female began to speak again. Damon! You never told me that you have captured the heart of a fair lady. Some friend you are... A smile crept across Aaralyn's face at Morana's comment towards Damon. You're a lucky girl. He's quite the charmer he is... one of a kind. She nodded, "I know. I haven't ever met anyone as wonderful as him," Aaralyn responded and looked up into Damon's sapphire eyes.

I'll just excuse myself and find out what's taking so long while you two do your thing. See you guys later! And I expect a party for me when I get back after getting the top score in the First Task, so don't leave me hangin'! Aaralyn smiled slightly at Morana's words, "Oh we'll have a party, don't worry!" she replied as she watched Morana walk away.

"She seemed really tense, probably stress from the task," Aaralyn commented. "What have you been up to lately Mr. Darkweather?" she added playfully and gazed into his eyes. Aaralyn felt a cold piece of silver hit her chest under her shirt and she pulled the ring on a chain out of her shirt. She fiddled with the ring, slipping it on and off her thumb as she awaited Damon's response.

ooc: This is a reply to both Morana and Aaralyn.

He smiled warmly and raised his eyebrow playfully when she asked him if it was ok for her to wear his jacket. [shadow=red,left,300]“Of course you can wear it, love. I wouldn’t want to see you come down with an illness if I could prevent it.” [/shadow]Damon said to her honestly, while smiling. [shadow=red,left,300]“And you do not need worry about me, love. I’m quite comfortable.” [/shadow]He gazed deeply into her crimson eyes as she kissed him back, and gave him a smile.[shadow=red,left,300] “I’m doing quite well actually, I was just wishing a dear friend good luck in the QWT contest.”[/shadow] He noticed the howls of support from the people cheering for their champions as well, and he smirked.

Damon noticed Morana staring off as he returned his sapphire eyes to her, and the next thing she said surprised him considerably. He frowned slightly, and raised his eyebrows in surprise. [shadow=red,left,300]“I’m sorry Morana, you’re right. I should have informed you of Aaralyn, since you are indeed a dear friend.”[/shadow] He retuned his sapphire eyes to Aaralyn, and smiled. [shadow=red,left,300]“As soon as I met her, I had known that we were meant to be together.”[/shadow] He returned his gaze back to Morana again, and pain resided in them when he heard Morana’s next comment. Does she have feelings for me? I had honestly thought she didn’t think of me that way any longer. Damon smiled at Aaralyn’s comment and returned her gaze with a passionate one of his own. [shadow=red,left,300]“I’m more inclined to think it is I whom is the lucky one.”[/shadow] He said honestly, while brushing the side of Aaralyn’s cheek lightly with the back of his hand.

He spoke up in tandem with Aaralyn when Morana excused herself. [shadow=red,left,300]“Morana, what I said earlier was no farce, I will stand firmly beside you in this tournament, and will assist you in any way that I can.”[/shadow] [shadow=red,left,300]And we will throw you the grandest party ever to grace the walls of Hogwarts when you take top score in the first task.” [/shadow]He smiled brightly as he watched Morana leave although a faint pain struck his heart -for he still cared for her deeply, and it seemed if only faintly that she also cared for him still.

He swiveled his head and looked deep into her eyes as she commented about Morana. [shadow=red,left,300]“Yes, she did seem tense.”[/shadow] Damon said weakly with deep concern in his voice while thinking of his time spent with Morana. Although when she inquired playfully as to what he had been up to, Damon couldn’t help but smile brightly and laugh softly. [shadow=red,left,300]“Morana was one of the first students I had met at this school, and we almost got together, but I ruined it.[/shadow] Or so I thought… Damon thought to himself. Damon paused, smiling reassuringly and quickly added, [shadow=red,left,300]“However, you my love, will forever hold my heart and soul.”[/shadow] Damon hugged her gently and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

[Narcissa Malfoy]

Narcissa noticed her fellow judge, George Sparewell, talking to the daily prophet's reporter. Narcissa thought that she knew the reporter from one of her parties.

"Now now, Mr Sparewell, leave Miss Clearwood do her work.

Hello dear, I am Narcissa Malfoy, the Slytherin judge. I believe we have met last spring, at my birthday party. Was it you that the Prophet had sent to write an article on the charity party I threw for my birthday? Hmm.. anyway, I hope you find no difficulties in writing the Tournaments report." Narcissa said to the reporter.

"I do believe Mr. Sparewell that we are requred to the wands' weighing process."

[/font][/size]

[Josi Emrald]

Josi stared out into the sky, letting her mind wonder and the excited voices stop ringing in her ears. For a brief moment all her worries seemed to disappear, as did her thoughts. She almost had forgotten about the task, and wasn't aware of her own existence. She stood there, a blank expression wiping off the nervous and excited look that had spread upon her features.

"Woah!" she said, a smile curving her pink lips as all of a sudden she was pulled back into the real word. The cries and cheers from all around her came crashing into her ears all at once, along with her nervous and worried sensation that had left for only a moment. She looked at Jacklyn, returning the hug also, "Pfft yeah! I'm so nervous, I bet I'm going to fall on my face or something," Josi frowned at the thought of embarrassment and loosing for Gryffindor, that wouldn't be too great. She wouldn't let herself do that, if she could do anything to prevent herself from loosing, she would do it. Laughing slightly, she shook her head, "Don't worry about it, I ramble all the time. I mean who can't? It is so hard not to do... - See, there I go again," Josi said with a slight smirk.

Turning to see a girl who she remembered from a party a while ago, Amber, she smiled at her, "Thanks, Amber," she said, bouncing up and down slightly, to syke herself up.

Hearing Lydia's voice in response to her waving at her, Josi nodded, "Thanks! I'm going to need it!" Josi was growing more and more nervous by the minute, her stomach was tossing and turning, "I feel like I'm going to pass-out..." Josi said to herself, as she looked at the ground and attempted to ignore all the buzzing voices. It didn't work very well.

Seeing Ian with Lydia, and a girl who she thought she remembered as Azlen, Josi decided to go over to talk to them. As she walked toward them, she mumbled a few things under her breath - something she tended to do when she was nervous. Once she arrived, she looked up at the three, "So hows it going?" she asked, but soon she was distracted by the voice of the headmistress.

Josi turned her head toward the head, and sighed deeply as she realized that the task was growing closer and closer, "Gotta go..." she said to her friends, giving them a final wave before heading toward the headmistress, wand in hand.

Once she was at the headmistress, she waved to all of the other champions, and smiled. She didn't want anyone to get hurt today, and she knew that she would feel bad for anyone who lost that day - she'd feel terrible if she did.

"Here you are, Ms," Josi said, handing the headmistress her wand, as she silently prayed that it would be fine to use.

She turned around, taking a glance at all the students taking their seats, it was unbelievable how many people were there. Parents, reporters, professors, every student - it was such a huge event - and she was part of it.

"Wow."

[George Adam Sparewell]

George nodded, and followed Narcissa up.

"I'm guessing we take the wands of are Houses then?" he asked, turning to Josi.

"Josi, may I see your wand?"

[Lydia Natalie Turner]

((ooc: eh.. crap post))

Lydia nodded as DLo said that the seats she had chosen were good. She sat down and looked around the courtyard area and wondered what was taking so long for the task to start. Obviously, DLo was thinking the same thing, because a moment later he spoke. Wen's this deal supposed to start? Dam. Com'on. she heard him say.

"When will this start?!" Lydia commented. She looked around and saw the Weighing of the Wands begin. Ooh.. good luck Josi! Lydia thought and began to feel butterflies in her stomach for her friend. "I only hope nothing goes wrong.." she whispered and hot air flew out of her mouth and into the freezing air of winter.

[Josi Emrald]

Josi stared out at the crowd that was growing rapidly, and more and more anxious by the second. The whole scene was over-whelming, but somehow even with her never ending over-reacting nerves she could deal.

At the mention of her name Josi turned around to face the person who spoke it, "Yes?" she started, but once he had finished speaking she knew what the professor wanted, "Okay," Josi said, her voice a bit more shaky now. The event was so close, just moment away, and everyone was watching.

Josi handed her wand to the Gryffindor Professor, and thought it a bit strange that the head of houses were not being the judges - maybe they were just too busy. She would imagine so anyway. "Here you go."

Josi jumped slightly once hearing someone start to question her, she hadn't seen her there, "Sorry 'bout that," Josi said with a laugh as she turned to the reporter. At first Josi was a bit hesitant to answer the questions, keeping in mind what Rita Skeeter was like. Soon though she answered, she supposed that they wouldn't have those type of reporters anymore, and what she answered in response to her question wouldn't be faltered to make things more interesting.

"Ha," Josi started, taking a quick glance at the crowd, "Nervous, definitely nervous," Josi said with a nod, trying to sort out what exactly she was feeling at the moment, "Worried... that someone is going to get hurt - scared. I'm feeling determined most of all though..." Josi paused a moment, pondering the next part of the question asked. Why did she put her name in the goblet? She didn't actually know. "Why did I put my name in the Goblet of Fire? I dunno - I suppose for a challenge. To prove myself something."

Josi looked at her feet, suddenly she began to feel shy, and she knew any moment the headmistress was going to announce the task that she had to face. I wonder...

[Hitoshi Kuraimono]

Hitoshi stood by himself, awaiting the start of the match, his right arm put up in a sling, so that it would not interrupt his movement. He was not wearing his coat, today, though he would not have been able to complain about it. He had little time, as he himself, a judge, was late in getting ready. He had forgotten his jacket, and his normal shirt. He stood outside, sarashi (they look sorta like bandages) wrapped around his torso, and his greying hair swaying with a slight breeze, every now and then. He looked at the champions. For the most part, they seemed ready to preform the tasks in front of them, but he couldn't tell if they really were.

He began to look about, everyone was excited for the tournament, and though it didn't show on Hitoshi's stoic face, he was as well. He couldn't wait to see the Quad Wizard Tournament for his own eyes, the students overcoming obstical after obstical, and persevering through the trials. He knew he should talk to the campions, but they seemed busy before the match, so he just continued to wait, running his fingers through his gray hair, and then letting his hand fall to his side.

[George Adam Sparewell]

George took Josi's wand and examined it, finally ending it by making her wand shoot a bird out. Nodding, he handed it back and then awaited the next thing.

[Branna Prewett]

OOC:

morana said:

((OOC Morana: Teeheehee.. It's alright! Poor Mori though...
IC Morana: *superdeathglare to both OOC Morana and Aaralyn*
*grumble grumble*
OOC Morana: *bursts into flame from foolishly making eye contact with IC Morana*))

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry, couldn't help it....hehehehehe....ahem...

____________________________________________

BIC: Branna jumped down the last few steps leading to the Entrance Hall of her beloved Hogwarts, and, landing safely at the bottom, broke into a fast run. Her curls streamed out behind her as she headed for the Courtyard...it wasn't a run, to be honest, it was more of a sprint. Her pretty face was absent of its usual smile as she inwardly chided herself furiously for being late. She had gotten up early just so she wouldn't be, and then had decided to do some work while she waited...of course, she had fallen asleep over a textbook. I'll bet Jacklyn was wondering where in the world I was... she thought as she ran, as they were good friends. She was really mad at herself, and hoped she hadn't missed the start of the task. She wanted to wish her friends good luck.

Arriving into a crowd that seemed to be generally heading towards the seating area, Branna realised that the task hadn't started yet. She wasn't as late as she had thought, and even though people were going to sit down, there were still many students milling about. She had time to wish her friends good luck, which was what she had been afraid she'd missed.

Spotting Colleen first, she witnessed Chris saying goodbye and smiled widely. They were cute...and Colleen deserved someone like him. As he left, she darted over and hugged her friend tightly. "Good luck, sweetie. You'll be great! Be careful!"

Next she ran to Mai, and hugged her too, repeating similar words. She really wished them all the best.

She looked for Josi, and saw her near the Magical Government teacher, getting her wand weighed. Bright blue eyes darted around the area as she sought out the fourth champion...there she was! Branna ran over to her first, grinding to a halt in front of the Sytherin. "Hey...I just wanted to wish you good luck," she told the girl genuinely, "we've never met, but I hope all goes well anyway." With a final smile, she ran pell-mell to where Josi stood, and without waiting a second, flung her arms around her.
"Good luck petal!" she smiled, "You'll be great...remember to stay safe!" She was delighted for her friends, and proud of them too, but was also a little anxious for their safety. Whispering a quiet "I know you'll do us proud, whatever happens...good luck!" in Josi's ear, she gave her friend's hand a final affectionate squeeze and made her way to the stands as the other students did, slipping in an empty seat by Jacklyn, glad she had spied her fellow Gryffindor. "Is it starting soon?" she asked the blonde, slightly breathless from all that running.

[Klayton Night]

Klayton had slept in late, a normal thing for him, and really, he had no intention of going to the QWT. He had almost no friends, except for his sister, and Josi, if he could even call her a friend - they had barely known eachother. It was almost depressing to him, most of his friends had been in the year ahead of him, leaving him in his graduating year alone and friendless. Sure, Klayton didn't seem the type to socialize, or party, but at one point in his short life he was, and once someone took the time to get to know him they would usually see his more out-going side.

Was there a point to even waking up? Was there a point to breathing? Living? Dying? He honestly didn't know, but one thing he did know, he had to protect his sister Sage, he couldn't let what happened to Star happen to the rest of his family. There was no way on his grave Sage would be taken away too, and if she was, he would die trying to save her. Klayton moaned as he woke up, and opened the lids to his cold eyes. Staring up at the ceiling with his blue eyes, he wondered what he would do that day. Go shopping with Sage and Josi again - how pathetic. He brushed his black hair out of his face as he turned to look at the clock on the wall, then remembering the task was today.

"Already started," he said to himself, as he forced himself to sit up. He looked around the Slytherin Common Room, it was totally empty. What did people find so interesting in the QWT? People just were at risk of dying... Oh, dying, well that was something that fascinated Klayton at some points.

Standing up, Klayton got dressed. He put on a white dress shirt, t-shirt. He looped a red tie around his neck, and put on some black punk-ish dress pants. After combing his hair, and putting on some black eye-liner, he started pacing the common room with hopes of finding something to do.

He was at the Courtyard. Yes, he gave in, that was all there was to do, join in with all the brain-washed students who found watching this task interesting. He spotted Josi, and accidentally made eye-contact with her, he couldn't pretend he didn't see her now. He gave her a quick wave before shoving his hands in his pant pockets, and staring down at the ground while he walked to the stands. He didn't bother to wish anyone any luck, he personally didn't care who won, he was just there due to the simple fact that he had nothing to do. He did however, hope that no one would get hurt, and that Josi wouldn't get embarrassed or anything.

He took a seat in front of two Gryffindor girls, he glanced back at them, one of them had just arrived after wishing Josi good luck. The two of them seemed to be good friends, he was actually a bit envious, he wished that he wasn't such a loner, and had someone to laugh with. Where was Sage anyway? Wasn't Josi like one of her better friends, Klayton thought that she was pretty into this type of thing. Oh well, he's just have to deal without his little sister. Yep, he was pathetic and he knew it.

[Claire DeLour]

OoC: Does anybody know when we're going to find out what the task is? We're already 4 pages in and it hasn't even started yet, lol!

[Mai Gamit]

OOC: I know . . . I am waiting for just about anything to happen . . .lol, I'm just bored)

[Claire DeLour]

OoC: Amen to that!

[Josi Emrald]

ooc- aren't all the champions here yet? Let's get started!!!

[Claire DeLour]

OoC: The HM hasn't even announced the tast yet, so we can't start yet. But I think they've all arrived, so as soon as she gets here, hopefully we'll start!

[Cari Finnigan]

"cari sat next to Damon DarkWeather she held her breath. she was so nervous for her class mate.. she felt sick to her stomch.. she scooted closer to Damon "i have never been so nervouse in my life!!" Cari listened to closely to the rules..about whats gonna happen..

[Josi Emrald]

Josi looked at the reporter, and answered truthfully, "I honestly don't know. I think we all have different talents, and some may come to our advantages and some may not - really, it's just going to be smart thinking, and based on our knowledge. I suppose the real answer will be defined when the tournament is over and the winner is chosen... I just hope we all do well, and do our houses proud," Josi spoke smiling weakly. She still wanted to win for her house, who wouldn't, but she wanted the others to make their houses proud also.

Soon she saw Branna coming into view, Josi would give her friend a hug even if Branna herself didn't give her one, but she did. Hugging her back she smiled at her, "Thanks - I'm sooo scared right now... This is so nerve-wrecking," Josi said glancing around at the crowd. Josi gave Branna a final hug, and waved good-bye, "See ya after the task!" she called after her friend as she went to sit with Jacklyn.

As she watched Branna run off, she saw Klayton coming and he was alone! She didn't understand why he seemed to have no friends, she suspected that girls would be all over him, and he'd be some popular guy, but it didn't appear that way. A huge smile came across her face as he waved to her Oh - my - God, he waved to me! she thought excitedly, as she immediately waved back, smiling from ear to ear. He was so cute.

Josi walked over to the other champions after taking a final glance at Klayton, "How are you guys, or should I say girls, doing?" she asked, wondering if they were as nervous as herself.

[Mercy Rosenburg]

(OOC: Once again, I'd like to apologize for the delay. I also apologize if you think this task is crappy - I'll try to do better next time. Now that we have a judge for each house, the judges will hopefully help me plan it a bit better - I'll hold a special 'Judges Only' meeting to discuss ideas for the next task.)

Jill watched as each of the wands were weighed and returned all the wands to the champions. It looked like all of them were working properly and none of them had been bewitched to gain an unfair advantage. Checking her watch, Jill was shocked to see that it was later than she thought and that she was already late in announcing the task. Oh, well. There's nothing I can do about that now. Besides, it's the first task - we won't have to do the Weighing of the Wands for the other tasks and hopefully the next few tasks will be a bit better organized. No one knows what to expect with the first task. "Champions, follow me. Judges, please take your seats in the front box and I'll join you there shortly." Smiling at each champion to give them a last minute extra boost of encouragement, she lead them out of the tent and on to the courtyard.

Jill waved her wand, and immediately a maze of fire appeared on the courtyard. "Your task is to successfully navigate the maze of fire in order to make it to the center of it." She pointed to the center of the maze, which contained a table with four boxes on it. "Inside each of those boxes is a clue to your second task. However, each box contains a different clue and the clue you find could greatly alter the difficulty of your second task. Through-out the maze there are obstacles to avoid, such as flaming phoenixes that will fly toward you in order to distract and annoy you and could possibly even fly off with your wand, bogarts that could pop up anywhere in the form of your worst fear, banshees whose screams are potentially lethal, billywigs whose stings cause giddyness and levitation, and others as well. I should mention that the maze of fire is a very strong one, and a simple aguamenti spell will not have any effect on the fire." Jill paused briefly, glancing over each champion's face, trying to read how they were feeling.

"While your primary goal is to make it to the center, there is also a smaller break in the maze." Jill pointed to the section which contained a table with four differently shaped bottles on it. "Each of those bottles contain a different potion. Only one of those potions is the Fire Protection potion, which will allow you to walk through the flames and reach the center quickly. However, in order to figure out which one is the Fire Protection potion, you will have to solve the riddle that lays next to the bottle on the table. If you take the wrong potion, your chances of winning this task will be greatly lowered, due to the other three potion's effects. The other three potions are the Confusing Concoction, which will obviously confuse you, the Fatiguing Fusion, which will make you very tired, and the Wartcap Powder, which will cause your skin to form a thick hard crust."

Jill paused once again to take a breath. "So you have a choice in how to get to the center - you can either try to go there directly, using your wand to protect you from the many dangers in the maze, or you can try to go for the potions table, correctly solve the riddle, and simply walk through the flames to the center. While the potions table option may sound appealing, you should remember that time is also a factor here. Each of the clues in the center is different and if you're the last to get there, you'll probably end up with the worst clue. Trying to solve the riddle for the correct potion could take awhile, but if you correctly solve it, then you could end up in the center first. This task is difficult because you will have to make your choices wisely as well as defend yourself against a variety of things. The riddle is quite difficult and requires a lot of thought."

Walking to the front box of the stands where the judges sat, Jill hoped that she had explained everything well. "I wish you all the best of luck. If you get stuck in a situation that you feel like you can't complete the task, please use your wand to send up red sparks. I or one of the other judges will come to your rescue, but you will automatically take 4th place because of it. When you are finished with the task and have picked one of the boxes for your clue, you will also find a portkey in there to transport you back out of the maze. The task will begin as soon as the whistle sounds, at which time all of you may enter the maze." With that, Jill took her seat and tried to ignore the butterflies that were once again filling her stomach. If I'm getting nervous, think of how they must feel! Oh, I do hope everything goes alright... Blowing the whistle to start the task, Jill watched and prepared her quill and parchment to take notes so that she could rate each one of them on how they completed it.

(OOC: Champions, if you have any questions about the task, PM me. As far as the riddle goes, just RP solving it because unfortunately I didn't have time to make up one and besides, this has been delayed long enough. Solving the riddle is optional and is only part of the task, anyway. WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH THE TASK, PM ME FOR YOUR CLUE! Here's how the boxes will work - the first champion to PM me will receive Clue #1, the second champion will recieve Clue #2, the third champion will recieve Clue #3, and the fourth champion will recieve Clue #4. I'd like to thank all the judges who helped me with this task and wish the four champions good luck!

EDIT: Yes, in response to Morana's question. The champions must post how they handle the task - this is why you need good RP skills! Once a champion has posted, the judges may PM their score to me - you rate them on a scale of 1 - 10 on how well they handled it. Once all four champions have posted, the scores will be tallied up and the places will be announced.

Oh and sorry to Morana who is stuck in the maze! I added: When you are finished with the task and have picked one of the boxes for your clue, you will also find a portkey in there to transport you back out of the maze.)

[Amber Brown]

" Maze of Fire ", Amber thought. She inhaled deeply then exhaled. This task sounded like it was going to be pretty hard and dangerous, yet exciting and kind of adventurous.

[Mareyn]

Mareyn looked up intentively when the Headmistress began to speak. After explaining the maze, the HM explained about sending up red sparks when you were in trouble. Good, that would Mareyn's job a whole lot easier. Mareyn cantered up to where the Headmistress was, having just blown her whistle. "Greetings Headmistress, I am the Centauress Auror Mareyn. Living so close to Hogwarts in Centaur Sanctuary, I was chosen to come and look after the Tasks, to avoid a situation like that of several years ago. However, we want to be prepared in case anything Dark happens." Mareyn looked at Ms. Briarson, hoping she did not think Mareyn was intruding.

[Spyke O'Connery]

Spyke shoved Amber from behind as if to make her fall forward to the fire. 'RAH!' She yelled gripping tight on her shoulders just to give her the jump. Spyke laughed hysterically as Amber almost bursted into tears of fear. 'HAH HAH HAAAh! man you got freaked!' she shoved her away from the hill side mumbled something about her as she walked away. she walked down it to the columns around them that were ancient ruines to be said and desapeared behind it the moon hit from behind her making her a dark shadow, neasily seen as some how she scaled that whole thing and was sittign on top of it.

[Amber Brown]

She looked back and saw that it was Spyke who scared her. " Spyke! ". She said that when she was a little mad, yet relieved that it was only her. " Don't do that- ", but then Spyke shoved her away and walked away. " Hey.... ". She folded her arms and turned back to look at the task and the champions.

It seemed clear to her now that Spyke was mad at her about something but she really couldn't figure out what. It only she knew. Was it because what happened in the Library?

[George Adam Sparewell]

Professor George Sparewell, took his seat in the Judges' box, the right hand seat to the Headmistress. She looked positively pale. George smiled and gave her a small, if childish, nudge.

"Relax, everything is going to be fine. You have two Auror trained Ministry members here, three other Hous Professors who are very qualified, and of course four superb Campions from every House. So relax, and enjoy the show, Jill." he said, smiling.