Alice stood up and started clapping in relief at the arrival of the three champions, alive and well, coming out of the tunnel.

"Way to go!!!!" Alice yelled out, sure that her cheer was being meshed in with all the other noise from the other Hogwarts students.

Looks like they weren't going to be having a repeat of the whole Cedric Diggory incident...thank heavens!

Monique cringed when she heard the screech and saw the hedges close. She knew what was next. She waited on the edge of her seat for any sign of the three champions. Then the hedges began to once again pull away.

One. Two. Three. They were all there. And they all looked alive. She raced to the bottom of the stands and waited for them. They all deserved a great big hug.

And maybe a good slap for making her worry so much.

"What? Oh..." She said looking at her bat. "It's... like a safety blanket... It makes me feel... better. Plus... It's a good was to release steam." She said banging it on her seat.

She looked down at the boys fighting and smirked as Jeremy complemented her on Kururugi. "Yes, he makes for a good champion." She agreed.

She turned and saw the girl looking at her. With her bat she pointed at the action. "Eyes front, Shepard." She didn't like being stared at.

"Yes, that's a rooster." She said and added, "I am not alright... apparently certain people can't be trusted..." She said, her eyes looking for Lexi. "Women..." She said rolling her eyes, and again she banged her beater's bat against the seat.

Okay, so...what ever happened to the marshmallows? He had no idea. He knew Lexi was a Quidditch girl, and he knew Arya had given him some cocoa, but the rest was just a blur, because he got so much into the task that Chicken, Arya and Lexi were completely off his train of thought.

He'd help the Hufflepuff do some research, so actually seeing the Champion in action was just increasing the amount of awesomeness that Sir Fletcher had in Treyen's mind.

He knew what Arya was arguing about, and all he could say was.."Yeah, you shouldn't be wearing green" that was all he understood from the discussion going on around him.

But he paid little attention, of course, because the maze was more important that Arya's will to be a Slytherin...wait, what?! Surely Chicken and Giraffe weren't telling the truth.

He eyed Arya and was about to comment, a very confused face, by the way, when all the Champions emerged from the...whatever had been keeping them from sight. "Yeah!" he exclaimed, and was even more confused, "So, wait, who won?" wasn't the last one standing the one who got to win? Perhaps he'd gotten those facts wrong. But they couldn't all three win, Fletcher was the only one who could claim the winning spot, no?

Jenny gave a sigh of relief. Raiden was fine, thank goodness. Her infatuation with him has probably gone too far, but right now she didn't care. She was even happy to see the Fletcher guy all in one piece. "Whoa, Kurumi, calm down," Jenny did her best to dodge the spilling chocolate...not after her robes had just been scourigified too. Jenny had to admit, she didn't have much energy as Kurumi has right now, even though celebration has to come in order.

Josephina had been sitting and contently watching the empty pitch, awaiting for the champions to emerge ... for some sign of safety... when she looked over and heard talk of roosters. Uh what?

Shaking her head, she sighed as she watched some of her colleagues - Jeremy included - making small talk. Shame she'd never been keen on interrupting people's conversations. Not that she really knew any of them, except Jeremy... And the librarian by sight only.

Fletcher took a breath of relief and strolled away from the maze, his anxieties from all the stress of the tournament leaving his shoulders as he walked toward the stands. His adoring fans were awaiting him! Hurrah!

Quote:

Originally Posted by brelovesweasleys

OH GOSH... OHGOSHOHGOSHOHGOSH! Is that FLETCHER?! Rae seriously jumped up from her seat and ran down the stairs skipping steps just to get there faster. MERLIN! Truthfully, she was almost positive there would be serious injury or death this time. Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs she sprinted to where Fletcher was standing and without warning she totally Tackle!Hugged him. Arms were tightly around his neck, she basically jumped.. He was taller than her afterall. Then relief flooded Rae like a tidal wave. Fletcher didn't look dead... obviously. He was always a great friend to her... An awesome mischief partner... And also someone she really liked. Knowing that he was fine... Was one of the most wonderful feelings....

Now... Howmuchyawannabet he won?

Grinning as he stepped closer to the stands, Fletcher's eyes widened as he was tackle!glomped almost to the ground. He staggered as he caught Rae and tried to hug her back, though Merlin was she hanging on tightly. Her hands were literally around his neck.

"Ouuuuuuuuchhh," the boy gasped, patting her back gently while simultaneously trying to pry her off him. "I'm glad to see you too, Rae. Now... if only I could bbbbreathe...."

As he slipped his wand back into his holster, and the shrunken mirror back into his pocket once more, Raiden followed after Fletcher. Keen eyes searched the stands, as they'd done both previous times, looking for the people he wanted to see.

A relieved grin tugged at the corners of his lips. All that remained was to see who won, really. He could hope it was him, but in the end, everyone was okay, so did it really matter?

...a little.

Where were Nia and Marie. He wanted hugs after the giant rooster-lizard of doom.

The champions. Di stirred as they emerged out of the maze, all three safe and sound. Thank Merlin! She had been rather anxious about the outcome of the task. The cockatrice... It must have been defeated.

"I'm glad they're alright, aren't you, Fina?" She said, as she moved to the front and took a seat next to her friend, a slight smile playing around her lips.

Di raised an eyebrow. Public displays of affection? Then again, if she had been in the place of one of Mr. Fletcher's friend, she doubted she would have acted otherwise.

"Congratulations, Mr. Fletcher," she said, nodding lightly.

... and congratulations to Mr. Kururugi too, of course. Di half-turned her head to smile at the Slytherin co-prefect and other Hogwarts champion, as she caught sight of him.

"To you too, Prefect Kururugi. I'm glad to see all three of you outside, safe and fine."

Tapping the side of his legs as he took step by step towards the stands behind the other two champions, his eyes roamed the area for people in particular. Of course, looking for friends and such, but perhaps also a certain head of blond hair? Perhaps.

It seemed that Flipper was definitely worried about by that one girl. Death-grip hug? At least it was better to die that way instead of that thing in there. Back there. Behind...them. Moving to the side so he wasn’t trampled on, Noel smiled before turning his attention back to the stands.

It was, really really nice to be out of that maze. Especially after that last part. He still was a teeny bit shaky because of it. But they were out!

They survived! Yaaayyyy…now make the maze go away!

Nia hated not knowing what was going on. And then there were the noises...Why couldn't they just SEE the action? And not have to dread quite what a loud rooster was doing in there. And to whom.

She'd been distracting herself today with a charms textbook, looking up occasionally to check if there was any news. There hadn't been much, until...

The Champions had appeared. All of them. Together, and whole.

Nia's lips curled upwards into a relieved smile. Shrinking her textbook to pocket size, she slipped it away in her robes as she stood and started across to the Champions. Well, one in particular. There was a slight bounce in her step, and when she was almost there she rocked on her heels and went for the running hug.

"You're out! You did it!" she exclaimed with a grin.

Salander trotted down the stands-- some ways behind Rae since she practically flew towards Fletcher-- and joined the rest of the Champions.

"Congratulations guys!" He clapped each of their shoulders and shook their hands heartily. Relief that ALL of them made it out was evident on his face, after having seen-- and heard-- of what they did of the Task.

"That was awesome how you guys handled the Dugbog!" he added, "That was like one-two punch right there!" he said swinging his arms to emphasize his point. He was particularly impressed because it looked so awesome from where they were and he had no idea what spell they used. "And dude, the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Dude that was it, you were lookin' at it! And all you did was bow and flicked it aside? AWESOME!!!" he grinned.

Then he stood to the side, closer to Fletcher but still within Raiden's hearing "Fletch can I ask you something? What was that thing about the rooster?" he asked as he eyed Noel carefully, not knowing how that ended up before the hedges rose to block all view of the events from there on end. "It looks like you were fighting over it? Why? Its just a bird. It doesnt even lay eggs. And uhm... it looked like you wanted to get real familiar with that rooster." with that last bit he eyed Fletcher suspiciously.

Hearing the loud boom of the announcer's voice, Cosette felt all of the hair on her body stand on end. They were all out? They were all ok? Standing up from the top of the stands, she looked down at the entrance, her eyes straining from the long distance. Seeing the form of three sturdy lads exit from the maze, she clapped her hands together, her gloves making a funny noise. "He made it." She breathed, feeling all of her worries ebb away in one moment.

Fastening the top of her caplet around her neck, she hurried to the side of the steps and made her way down towards the ground. She needed to know he was perfectly fine. That he really was out alive. No major wounds or crazy eyebrows.

Finally making it to the last step, she turned her head every which way. Taking off her fuzzy earmuffs, she tossed them on the ground after seeing him. "Noel!" She said, as loud as she could be without yelling and deafening ears. Hurrying over, she threw her arms around his neck and clung to him, her feet on their very tippy toes on the ground. She nuzzled her face into his neck, having feared for his life. Taking in his scent, she tried to maintain her breathing. She didn't know why she had been so worried. Oh yeah, he could have died. Right. "I 'ad feared ze worzt, mon cher." She breathed, not caring about her earmuffs she had chucked by the stands. He looked perfectly fine and had finished the last task of the tournament! Even if he didn't win, she was just glad he was alive.

Giving the woman a big grin, the prefect rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Thank you, professor. I'm glad for it too."

It had taken... quite a bit of doing. Considering the other two. At least, that was what Raiden believed. He was sure they would have made it out themselves, without working together, but it might not have been in a good way. This was better, yes.


The next person to approach was Salander, and Raiden resisted the urge to laugh. He wasn't sure how many people knew how he and Fletcher got along, but to anyone that did, their working together like that might've meant quite a bit more.

"Thanks, mate," he murmured, before almost choking on the snort of laughter at the words that followed, directed at Fletcher. He... he'd let Fletcher answer questions about the chicken fight. It had definitely not had anything to do with eggs, that was for sure.


Woaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Just as Raiden had turned away from Salander to look at the crowd again, he caught the blur of Nia jumping at him. Eyes widening in surprise, he barely managed to get one arm up before she thumped right into him; he ended up taking a half-step back to compensate, but she wasn't nearly big enough to knock him down or anything. Arms wrapped around her and he squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezed, grinning like an idiot.

This... this. How had it taken this tournament for him to remember how much he loved hugs?

"We did, yeah," he said finally, loosening his arms a bit, because he was squishing hard enough that she might not have been able to breathe properly. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... the cockatrice was a bit scary though. Gigantic rooster-like creature... I swear, for a minute I thought we were all going to bite it, the damn rooster wouldn't crow and the weasels didn't do anything useful..."

Vaguely, he wondered what would have happened had they all ended up petrified. They'd have been unable to cast the sparks... it would have been the end of them, probably. Trapped with a cockatrice, unable to move... it might've eaten them.

...stop thinking about that, Kururugi.

"Were you terribly bored, out here?" They hadn't been able to see the champions in the previous tasks, and Raiden had no way of knowing that they'd been able to see bits and pieces this time around.

Without really thinking that the Huffie champion might find it odd that a girl he didn't know was clinging to him Lexi made her way through the stands. Upon reaching the Glitter!Puff she squuuuueezed in beside the other girl and CLUNG to him a little. "Congratulations. Glad you made it out... Yeah," she said as her cheeks flushed crimson. Still she didn't release the Huffie from her clutches. Finn was NOT going to like this, but she was glad the guy was alive after having to face that dreadful chicken thing.

Hearing Hecate's words, Kimber pulled out of Jeremy's hug and turned to look at the woman behind her. "What women?!" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Before Hecate even had a chance to answer, Kimber stood up. "Would you like to go somewhere to talk?" To Kimber, her words sounded foreign and insincere. She had NO idea why she was offering to listen at all.

Rae was smiling super widely and her insides were jumping around crazily. She was just glad he was alive... Totally not a fangirl though.. psh

Oh, he couldn't breathe? Woops! She loosened her arms from his neck "Oh.. Sorry.. Didn't mean to..." Then after one more quick hug she let him go so he could talk to other people like Sal and stuff. Though it did take great effort, She was way to worried and letting go seemed pretty impossible.

Fina had been staring out onto the maze . . . the former pitch . . . semi-listening to her surroundings, but yet completely focused, when someone spoke to her and warmed her right side slightly but taking the seat next to her.

Noting the familiarity of the blond colleague, she gave a small return smile to her friend. "Yes, it is nice for it to all be over now." They could put that danger behind them and note that NO ONE DIED! Which means they've broken the curse of death during the triwizard tournament.

Distractedly, she looked again toward the librarian and the two with her, hearing a certain tone in the librarian's voice. Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged . . . the woman might not have seemed truly sincere about listening to the other woman rant, but Fina couldn't blame her. Though she was always a good listener, when it came to the topic being about ranting and gossip, she generally just shut that out. Which is why her next words came as a surprise . . .

"Perhaps an unfamiliar ear would help?" She offered casually toward the two women. Yea, the cold air was definitely making her lose it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxilocks

Di raised an eyebrow. Public displays of affection? Then again, if she had been in the place of one of Mr. Fletcher's friend, she doubted she would have acted otherwise.

"Congratulations, Mr. Fletcher," she said, nodding lightly.

"Thaaaanks, professor," Fletcher gasped, still trying to escape Rae's death hold. He did manage something of a smile, though that could have also just been his mouth stretching wide for air.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pink Ninja

Without really thinking that the Huffie champion might find it odd that a girl he didn't know was clinging to him Lexi made her way through the stands. Upon reaching the Glitter!Puff she squuuuueezed in beside the other girl and CLUNG to him a little. "Congratulations. Glad you made it out... Yeah," she said as her cheeks flushed crimson. Still she didn't release the Huffie from her clutches. Finn was NOT going to like this, but she was glad the guy was alive after having to face that dreadful chicken thing.

Whoaaa and another girl was hugging him, one he didn't know at that. Scweeeet. Fletcher didn't even mind being choked right now, he was just happy to be alive. And surrounded by chicks.

"Thaaaankyouuuu," he breathed, trying to hug her back too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brelovesweasleys

Rae was smiling super widely and her insides were jumping around crazily. She was just glad he was alive... Totally not a fangirl though.. psh

Oh, he couldn't breathe? Woops! She loosened her arms from his neck "Oh.. Sorry.. Didn't mean to..." Then after one more quick hug she let him go so he could talk to other people like Sal and stuff. Though it did take great effort, She was way to worried and letting go seemed pretty impossible.

There! AIR! SWEET SWEET AIR!

"'sookaay," he released Rae, panting slightly with his hands on his knees. "I'll live." He looked up and winked at his friend before turning to Salander, who was chattering away like a jobberknoll.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Salander trotted down the stands-- some ways behind Rae since she practically flew towards Fletcher-- and joined the rest of the Champions.

"Congratulations guys!" He clapped each of their shoulders and shook their hands heartily. Relief that ALL of them made it out was evident on his face, after having seen-- and heard-- of what they did of the Task.

"That was awesome how you guys handled the Dugbog!" he added, "That was like one-two punch right there!" he said swinging his arms to emphasize his point. He was particularly impressed because it looked so awesome from where they were and he had no idea what spell they used. "And dude, the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Dude that was it, you were lookin' at it! And all you did was bow and flicked it aside? AWESOME!!!" he grinned.

Then he stood to the side, closer to Fletcher but still within Raiden's hearing "Fletch can I ask you something? What was that thing about the rooster?" he asked as he eyed Noel carefully, not knowing how that ended up before the hedges rose to block all view of the events from there on end. "It looks like you were fighting over it? Why? Its just a bird. It doesnt even lay eggs. And uhm... it looked like you wanted to get real familiar with that rooster." with that last bit he eyed Fletcher suspiciously.

"Thanks, mate," he responded, still a little lightheaded as he shook Salander's hand. Merlin, Rae gave the term bear hug a whole new meaning. "You can ask me anythinggggg......." Fletcher dragged the last word out with a certain suspicious look at his friend.

And what did he want to know? All about the rooster. Oh of COURSE it was about the rooster. He grinned firstly at the Slytherin's description of how he and Raiden handled the freakin dugbogs and escaped the kappa. But how to explain the rooster now...?

"Well... I don't know how much of the tournament you got to see," he answered his friend in a low voice, "since I'm surprised you guys got to see any of it at all. But the sound of a rooster's crowing is the only thing that can really kill a cockatrice, see. And that's what we had to fight off in the end."

Not quite done with the story yet, Fletcher slung his arm around his pal's shoulder and pulled him closer and away from Noel's prying ears. "Lemme tell you what, that cockatrice was a MONSTER. Huge, giant glassy eyes.... magnificent wings.... great big clawed feet.... and a deadly, sharp beak.... all I had was me wand and me shield here since Noel tried to summon MY rooster away from me," that dirty scoundrel, "but I got it back in the end. And then I duplicated it, and crowed REAL LOUD, like COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOO! so that all the roosters would crow at once, and then, when they did, the cockatrice tipped over with this giant BAM! Like it was dead! We weren't sure if it was dead dead or not but believeee me we did NOT stick around to find out."

He released Salander from his buddy-buddy conference with another serious nod. Killing giant cockatrices was serious business. Seriously.

Sooooo, she might have mistimed her run slightly. But she need nor worry, as Raiden caught her in a tight hug.

She clinged to him, feet dangling beneath her where his extra height had lifted her off the floor. She returned his grin, her eyes wide and twinkling with nerves and anticipation and excitement all at once. This was an awesome hug. She liked it. A lot.

His grip loosened, and Nia took the opportunity to breathe. Her feet were now on tippy toes, not quite enough to support her own weight properly. "Not as bad?" Nia looked at him. She'd have been pretty scared of a cockatrice. Though that did make sense with the rooster and mirror from the first task. "Weasel?" she asked with a chuckle. "You happened across a weasel?" Sure, she knew enough about the cockatrice to know that weasels were meant to be immune to the cockatrice's gaze...but still...did one usually see a weasel when wandering round? And as for it then being useful...

"So-so." Nia replied, almost half-heartedly. More worried and nervous. It was the last (and probably hardest) task, afterall. "I came prepared with my charms textbook," she said with a smile. "Been starting my revision for..." She looked slightly sheepish at the fact she'd been doing school work. But of course he'd know. She was a 'Claw. "ready for NEWTs," she admitted.

Raiden nodded. Not nearly as bad as it could have been. A cockatrice was terrifying, and his stomach was starting to feel the after-effects of the fear, but... it could always have been worse. Letting her down enough that her feet were on the ground, arms still firmly holding onto her, he leaned his head down, face burying into her shoulder.

"Could have been dragons," he mumbled into her jacket. "Or any other... thing."

He would have been lying if he said he hadn't been scared. He hadn't let himself feel it, in there. He wasn't letting himself feel it now. They'd all gotten out. The cockatrice was dead. They were alive. Really, it had gone off without a hitch.

Just one second. He allowed himself one tiny moment of the fear getting the better of him, while his face was all hidden. It was catching up with him, and then he waved it past. Why feel it now when everything was done?

"Aye. There was a weasel, and then a rooster. The weasel tried to trip us up, but it didn't do so well at that..." He lifted his head out of her shoulder, straightening up but still holding on to her, his excited grin back in place. He liked Nia hugs. "There were dugbogs too... and a kappa. And then a crup and some gnomes, and the rooster."

...he was forgetting something, wasn't he.

"Oh, there was a clabbert, too... seemed keen on knocking us down."

She'd... ohhhh. At least she'd used the time constructively, hehe. Rai tried to not laugh, but a small chuckle may have escaped him. She'd probably been more productive than everyone else in the stands.

"Well least you weren't just waiting on the edge of your seat for us to come out." He squeezed her again, lifting her upppppp onto her toes once more before letting her down again. "Did something more helpful to your future than what I was up to, definitely."

He needed to catch up with studying. Damn NEWTs.

Lexi clung to the champion for a moment longer and then released him blushing heavily. "S-s-sorry for like hugging you like that... I know you don't even know me. I'm Lexi Denver, 4th Year Gryffindor. I am just really glad you made it out okay. That was.. just terrible to watch. I hate chickens," she rambled for a few moments and then snapped her mouth shut. Really? I hate chickens? Great, just great. Shaking her head she looked over at Salander and gave him a little wave and giggled as she turned to leave. Pausing for a moment she turned back and said to Fletcher, "I really hope you win."

Nia felt the soles of her brown boots roll onto the ground, and she leant back onto her heels to make it more comfortable for them both. She was glad he didn't let go totally, and nestled her head into his shoulder as his face disappeared into the folds of her coat.

"It could have been," she murmured, moving her hand to his neck and fingering his hair there comfortingly. "But it was what it was...and you did it all. You're here the other side, victorious." She gave him an extra squeeze. She was here, mmhmm? It was almost as if he was having a moment of doubt.

Nia loved his stories after each task. The way they made sense...but didn't at the same time. So bemusing. Like little teasers. "Tripping you up?" She lifted her head, glancing over Raiden's shoulder to Fletcher and Noel. And as for the dugbogs, kappa, crup and so on... "Sounds like a right old mix of Care of Magical Creatures and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Like a twisted kinda double exam." Which to be fair, was probably part of the idea of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. With some other schools' Champions trying to do the same thing and getting in the way.

Did he just chuckle? Hmm. Well she had to do something. So it might as well be useful! She eyed him momentarily.

"Hmm..." she answered quietly, rubbing her lips together. Just because she was studying, didn't mean she hadn't been nervous or worried. Not because she hadn't believed he could do it - because she knew he'd do great. But just the uncertainty of it all. She'd probably far rather be IN the dangerous bit than having to waitttt and seeeeeee.

Him lifting her up up again made Nia relax and grin. It reminded her of being swung around as a little girl, and evoked a feeling playfulness and giggles. "Having a proper Quidditch pitch would be more useful for my future," she replied with a wink, "But I might as well use my brains too." Her heart laid in both places really. In Quidditch, and in books and the library. "And I hate leaving things to the last minute..."

Here she was, with two of her best friends... While there was two missing that was alright. These two were her best GUY friends, Destiny and Evelyn were obviously not guys..... Duh. Either way, she couldn't be happier right now.. There was no more tasks, no more danger, and everyone was alive... The only kind of danger that was alright was the kind that Rae planned herself. Once Fletcher started talking to Sal, Rae made sure she could hear. After all, he wasn't the only one that was curious. "WOAH! Really? Dude... Quick thinking with the duplicating and making the roosters crow at once... Man... That was awesome!"

Oh, he was nooot expecting that pat on the shoulder. Even made him jump for slightly. He had to keep reminding himself the task was over. "Merci." He smiled, nodding his head.

Noel took a step back as the young man spoke to the other two, probably his friends and such, though he did overhear him start to ask about the rooster. He wasn’t standing that far away. The French man definitely didn’t trust what Flipper would say, but it didn’t matter. He was distracted by his blond beauty coming down from the stands. Flipper couldn’t have this one.

And why would he worry what Flipper said? He was out of it! Forget the rooster or the monster beast at the end of the maze.

Moving away from the others, the large grin on his face, Noel embraced her into a big warm hug when she threw her arms around his neck, perhaps lifting her off the ground and giving them both a twirl. Oh it was so good to have her in his arms. He was a bit worried that…

No, he was alive. That’s what mattered right? And she was here, and everything was just fine. Not even the smallest scratch on him! Perhaps, a little teeny bit sweaty from nerves and panicking, which he was still mentally berating himself for since he shouldn't have panicked at all at the end, but on the other hand, despite his performance in the tournament, he was just glad to be out of it. "Je vais bien." He murmured back, holding her close. As he did so, he took a quick glance around at the others, wondering where his own classmates were. The cold get to them? He definitely wouldn’t blame them, that was for sure.