Kalen was glued to his seat as he watched the screens, this challenge seemed more interesting then the last one and he had to hand it to the competitors that were out there.. He wouldn't have been able to even complete the first one..

He smiled as he looked at a certain screen and he ran his hand through his hair and fidgeted slightly.. She was doing well, and he was proud..

Ahh.. uhhh..

Kalen took a sip of his tea from his thermos and averted his eyes to other screens, checking on a few of his regulars from the Library.. Everyone seemed to be doing okay..Though he looked at Paul as he seemed to shout at Miss. Kramer, his green eyes instantly swung towards the screens looming for the Hufflepuff Prefect..

Was she okay?

Fuming, Valerie stomped her way from the blindly white holding room and finally arrived back in the stands. Masking her embarrassment with rage, Valerie looked around for an excuse (any) to throw a hex at someone or blast something in half. Where was the cheerleader? Surely she could count on that annoyance to pull the trigger?

She did not want to look at the screens. She did not want to see nor cared what the others were doing (save for a select few) and just wanted to hear the scores so she could get out of here. Maybe she would go take advantage of the Defense Against the Dark Arts training room. Blow up some dummies for real. Or had she not heard about there being an actual piano somewhere in Hogwarts castle? She had heard rumors of a room that could provide the user with what it most desperately needed. Maybe it could give her a room full of grand pianos that she could blast apart. She just needed something to relieve the tension in her body and especially her tight shoulders.

She could still taste the vomit in her mouth as well and for a fleeting moment she wished Jesus was around so she could reluctantly ask demand he give her one of those caramel candies he tended to have on his person. Smacking her lips together with disgust and brow furrowed, she waited.

Somehow, he managed to arrive at the stands in one piece (relatively speaking.) He glanced around at the cheering crowd, cringed a little at the noise, and made his way through the rows. He didn't know where he was going exactly, but he needed to just sit and think and collect himself. Valerie, he hoped, wouldn't be too far away; he needed to find her, and fast.

His quest was not in vain, as he caught sight of her right away. She didn't look pleased (an understatement, really) but he still made his way over to her anyway. Drumming his fingers lightly on the top of her head, Jesús made his presence known to his friend. He briefly fished inside of his pocket and pulled out a caramel candy; Jesús then placed it in her hand, without asking if she wanted it or not. Who could turn down caramel? Especially at a time like this. "You look...well."

Perhaps the worst part about the revelation at the end of the challenge was that Kyle was not quite as energised and raring to go as he had expected to feel when all was said and done. Instead he felt confused, sluggish, disoriented, and incredibly headachey, the latter of which being a more recent development that had appeared as he joined the stands. Probably something to do with being completely thrown for a loop, to have the rug pulled from under him, as it were. Or maybe just those bright lights... or a bad reaction to the... whatever had given them such a vivid daydream.

Having reached the stands, Kyle went ahead and took the nearest available seat in silence, all the while avoiding talking to or making eye contact with anyone else. He was still trying to work things out, to get his head straight, and his brain was already unhelpfully trying to start fretting over how well he had done in the task - something which only seemed to happen once he reached the stands, if the last challenge was anything to go by.

A once-over of the crowd told him that there weren't many competitors back yet, meaning it was likely to be few minutes yet before the scores were revealed. Until then, Kyle leaned his elbows on his legs and buried his face in his hands, the heels of his palms pressed tightly against his eyes to prevent any light getting to them. The sooner the scores were revealed, the sooner he could go back to the Beetle, lie down, process, and sleep for real.

She would never admit to it (although the look in her eyes may have briefly exposed her) but she was relieved to see Jesus join her in the stands. Only whatever positive feelings she had about the situation were promptly rectified when he touched her head and then presented her with the very thing she had been wanting. It was an uncanny and annoying habit of his, knowing what she needed without her needing to specify it. But it was impossible to ignore the raw and burning vomit flavor inside her mouth and thus she took the caramel without putting up much of a fuss.

Electing to tuck her wand under her arm, she began unwrapping the confection she shot him a warning look with his observation. Her already pale features possibly looked more clammy than usual and she briefly worried that he had seen her embarrassing display in that ghastly white room they had somehow ended up in. "About as well as you," she muttered with an obvious quiver in her voice (in thanks partly to her clenched jaw) before sucking the caramel into her mouth.

Speaking of looking well...

She caught Kyle's arrival, of course, but did not move towards him yet knowing doing such would be unwise.

Levi was not entirely out of his daze by the time he reached the stands, and his wave at Daisy was weak. There seemed to be a distinct lack of Hogwarts competitors there already, though the present Ilvermorny ones were hardly a surprise. And just as they had for the first challenge, neither looked particularly happy. Valerie Gray looked ready to hex someone into oblivion, Jesús Rodriguez appeared more calm but retained the usual quiet intensity he always seemed have and Kyle Baker... well, it was hard to tell anything about the younger guy. He was doing a fantastic job at covering his face with his hands.

Which probably meant nothing good, really.

He said nothing as he passed by the Horned Serpent, choosing to stand near the other two, instead. "You'd think they'd have used a daydream charm on us for the first challenge, too." It didn't matter. What was done was done and he lacked the energy to be angry or upset about it now. All he needed was the scores because he craved for a shower and a nap and even a girlfriend. And maybe he also needed to ask Marchand just how exactly they'd managed to broadcast what was happening to the screens for everyone to see. He balled his gloved hands into fists and rubbed his eyes.

Briefly looking away, Jesús saw another of the Ilvermorny competitors heading their way into the stands. Kyle looked just as pleased as he and Valerie did (which was to say, not pleased at all.) He turned his attention back to Valerie, and watched (a faint smile crept onto his lips) as she unwrapped the caramel. He tried very hard not to find any sort of amusement with all her fussing, and opted to turn his face momentarily until he sported a blasé expression.

"Ha," he had nothing more to add to that. He would confer with her later and really tell her how he felt about the challenge. Again, he found his eyes drifting, and the smile that he shooed away previously had come back again. Levi Kenning also looked like he'd been through an ordeal (unsurprising, as he remembered the grave look he had after the first challenge,) and he was pleasantly surprised when the Gryffindor chose to sit by them. "Hawkeyes has a strange sense of humor," he remarked nonchalantly. He didn't bother correcting himself and using Hawthorne's actual name, because he was really, really tired of being jerked around. "Did that hat thing talk to any of you?"

Teddy exited the white room, still a little confused, and shielding her eyes. She made her way to the stands, cautiously, as though expecting it to still be a dream. She looked once over her wrist. It was completely fine. Her sweater was fine. She wasn't covered in snow, dust, or potion residue. Everything was untouched.

Holy Scully, she just went through a Black Mirror moment.

Worst of all, her Wonder Woman moment was also not real. Ugh, how disappointing. She rubbed her face, drained from energy despite not being awake for the whole ordeal. At least she finished this time.

One of the champions was back... two?

This was a cool challenge!

He could have done better though... He would have been back in like... 5 minutes... no... 2... He was just that good...

Yup...

2 minutes...

Ok... maybe not...

But he wouldn't have been huddled in a corner shivvering because the Willow was so scary...

Sooooo scary...

Nope... for for more than an hour anyway...

Melanie thought Kathleen was fine, but of course the pompous little Hogwarts arrived with his nose stuck in every little situation he could get his hands on. She eyed him unenthusiastically, but would let him see Kathleen if she wished. Whatever would make her feel better, she supposed, was what was best, even if she wasn’t River Reed’s #1 fan.

But champions were finishing! Valerie first, and then either Jesus or Kyle, she wasn’t paying attention because she had stood up to go greet the Ilvermorny students. “Kyle, are you feeling okay?” she asked gently. The potion had been strong. Of course they were feeling groggy. She moved next to him and pat his shoulder. “Do you need to see the Healer?” Where was Pompous Man when she needed him? “It was a potion, Mr. Kenning,” Melanie corrected him lazily. She didn’t say a word to Jesus. She didn’t even look in his direction yet.

Valerie would be mad, of course, because she grew angry easily. “Honestly, you all should see the Healer to make sure everything is okay.” She said simply, her hand still on Kyle’s shoulder. “Good job out there.” Her brown eyes found Jesus, and then Valerie. It was a nice thing to know they were never in any real danger, but it didn't mean that she still hadn't been worried. Of course she had been worried.

Sucking on the caramel and doing her best to look everywhere but at Jesus, the appearance of one Levi Kenning was much appreciated. "No charm," she replied curtly upon swallowing the remainder of her caramel. That after burn and previously lingering after taste. But before she could add to her thoughts Professor Williams confirmed what she already knew. No doubt one also laced with a Forgetfulness Potion as well considering she had no recollection of anything. Unless the moral fiber of this competition had stooped low enough to Obliviate the contestants as well. Something she would not put passed these officially considering how they all had been pigeon holed into attempting Memory Charms on No-Maj in the first task. "But I agree." With you, Levi Kenning. If they had opted to use a daydream brew thinking the Whomping Willow was too dangerous for them to face (questionable considering how freely students could approach it on any given day based on her observations) then surely a dementor that could place them each in a state worse than death warranted the same treatment. Especially with sixteen of the Dark creatures on the loose at once.

Eyes lingering on Levi for another moment, she reluctantly turned her attention back to Jesus. Refusing to comment on the lack of humor their former professor was in possession of (yes, she recalled the nickname the Thunderbird had adopted), the sixth year rolled her eyes at the mention of that stupid hat. "It did," she muttered. Her tone was an indication as to how pleasant an experience that had been. "It was incredibly unhelpful and irritating."

Jer snorted at Sam. "Sure, I'm jealous." NOT! "Do what you want. Just wait 'til I tell mom and dad.'' HA! He won't but he wanted to scare the big sister. He was such a nice brother, wasn't he? "Sounds like a fun tree,'' Jer mused. "Do you want to explore it with me someday?'' HE was pretty much up for exploring on his own if Sam was too chicken.

Man! Aurora knew her stuff. She was just that awesome, dude! The others were too and Jer cheered as each of the Ilvermorny competitors arrived at the Stands. Yeah, they had this! Hopefully loads of the Hogwartians would be eliminated this round.

"YOU GUYS MADE IT!" He was THRILLED that Jesus, Valerie and Kyle had made it back too. Even if they looked tired... they'd done WELL! "WAY TO GO, ILVERMORNY!'' Now if the other schoolmates would make it out soon...

Aurora was exhausted. As she walked to the stands to meet the others, it dawned on her just how tired she was, which was odd, because she felt like she had just taken a long nap. Of course she hadn't, she had just been under some sort of daydream spell the whole time - so she felt like she had rested, but without the benefit of actual REST. Ah well. Once she got the scores, she could get on out of here, take a nice bath, and a long nap. Just like after the last challenge. Maybe a face mask too.

She noticed that quite a few of her fellow Ilvermorny peers were already here - Valerie, Jesus, Kyle - but no Irene. Frowny face. WHYYY wasn't she here yet?! She sighed and sat down next to Jeremy, giving him a soft smile. "Soooooo how did I do?" she asked him jokingly before looking over to her fellow Ilvermornians again, to see how they looked. They simply looked...angry and sick. Why were they always ANGRY, all the time? Perhaps they were worried about their chances and were afraid they wouldn't be moving on. Aurora would have NO problem with that whatsoever.

"You guys look like you've seen a ghost. DID you see a ghost? If so, I'm jealous," she asked Valerie and Jesus with a smirk. Oh, that Levi kid was here too, the Gryffindor one. She wanted to ask the handsome boy why he wanted to hang out with those two, of all people, but bit her tongue. He didn't have the lovely pleasure of having known them for years, so maybe they were sort of nice to him or something. Or maybe they had some sort of alliance together?

Whatever, she didn't care. She just felt bad for the kid. That was a bad crowd he was getting mixed up in...

Sam's eyes were firmly glued on Dora's screen as the Gryffindor ventured into the kitchen area of the Shack, oblivious to the gathering Ilvermorny students who had already finished. A smile curled on her lips as Dora went over to the stove; the riddle as to where to find the item had been easy for the Ravenclaw. The item itself though, not so much. She still hadn't worked out how the Sorting Hat amended anything...although, again, she would have known to go for the piano had she been there herself.

Sadly she wasn't. A riddle and no Ravenclaws to solve it. A pity indeed.

But no use wondering what might have been. Back to the screen. "Come on, Dora... you're so close now!"

Champions were filtering into the stands. So far, mostly the Ilvermorny students and Tejashree, the female Slytherin champion. Kyle looked at all of them then turned back to the monitors. Brent was still in there! At least one Slytherin champion made it already, though. Please please please let Brent be next. Two Slytherin champions making it out quickly would be excellent!

He made his way over to Tejashree, bouncing excitedly. "Excellent work in there! Makes me so proud to be a Slytherin!"

When Irene finally showed up, she didn't feel stellar. The girl felt absolutely drained emotionally and mentally. The whole idea of a magical inspired dream was AMAZING but the riddles.... eugh.... And her pounding headache! She didn't feel good nor did she look the best as she was very pale.

Silently, she made her way over to her fellow classmates. She was ready to sleep. "Hey," she said weakly to her fellow competitors before wrapping her arms around Aurora in a hug for a moment before saying. "I should take a seat." Quietly she took her seat....

Bubbly Irene was in there.... She just needed a couple caffeinated or sugary beverages....

It was ridiculously loud out here in the stands, with all the talking and cheering and hustling and bustling, and though the noise was not quite as bad for his head as the light, Kyle found himself getting more and more frustrated with it. The pounding in his head was making him feel more and more nauseous, which was not how he intended to finish the challenge.

When Professor Williams approached, Kyle responded automatically, slipping into French as he sometimes did when he was frustrated or in pain and therefore more likely to snap. "My head is killing me. I feel like it's going to explode..." As he felt another ripple of pain that was not unlike brain freeze, he swore to himself again in French, hissing the words through his teeth. Then, a clarification, in English this time. "Bad reaction."

The Healer? ... That might be a good idea, actually. Even a simple headache draught to keep a migraine at bay would be beneficial, until they had the scores and he could go and sleep it off.

Was this likely to cost him points? Reacting badly to the daydream potion? Kyle privately hoped not; he desperately wanted that scholarship.

Dora held onto everything she passed as she made her way up into the stands. She didn't assume that any of the other champions wanted her company, so her eyes sought out Sam and Rooney. Sam being the first that she saw, Dora made her way to her.

"I don't understand..." she muttered as she plopped down in the seat beside her. She was freezing, actually. Shivering a bit she drew her wand and cast a nonverbal heating charm on herself and frowned. "How did they project our daydream onto these screens?" THAT was her first point of concern. Her second was, "I need to see Healer Reed. Just to be sure." She had to know what all the potion had done and if they had used false memory charms on them all... or whatever. She trusted her school staff to explain these things. Not the others.

As Brent made his way into the viewing area, he had no idea what to think. He was still baffled that this had all been a daydream, or at least, that's what he had made of it. How much had been a daydream, though? All of it? Some of it? He was still bummed out about the fact that he hadn't really dashed underneath the Whomping Willow and visited the Shrieking Shack. That would have been an awesome story to tell.

He ran a hand through his hair for the second time in just a few minutes. He had a habit of doing that when he was thinking really hard or when he was really confused about something. Right now, he was both thinking hard and confused. He'd worry about those things later, though. Right now, he just really wanted to see Skylar and maybe his little bro, too. Hopefully his girlfriend had actually watched the challenge from the viewing area and not from underneath it this time.

He glanced up and looked around the area. He briefly glanced at his competitors before scanning the crowd a big more thoroughly for the people he was looking for.

Skylar had been determined to see all of the second challenge this time, not just hearing the commentary from under her seat. She had found a nice seat up high and away from everyone else, with a great view of the monitor, and then ... she had made the mistake of feeling her hair. The ends felt completely off and not right, which had thrown the fourth year off. But still, she did manage to fix her hair in time to see her adorable boyfriend cleaning the shack.

Did everyone see that!?! LIKE who said men couldn't clean, clearly hadn't found themselves a Brent? Maybe it wasn't relevant to the task, but it was relevant to her heart and made her heart melt as she watched him. Also, did anyone else notice the use of that rune to find the items? BRILLIANT. Ugh, she was soooo going to be asking for him Rune help now.... As the competition wore on, she noticed competitors started appearing, the first few were Ilvermorny kids, of course...

Wait, wait, what had Daisy Carden just said to the other girl? Teja's sister? She THOUGHT she saw it coming, but hearing it from the older snake's lips caused a whole lot of mixed emotions. On one hand, it was about time, but on the other hand, how long had they been together and why was this the first she was hearing about it? Maybe it was a recent change...

.... and there he was!

Grinning when she saw the familiar face of her favourite champion appearing in the viewing area, she waved at him, moving to the aisle from where she'd been seated at the top. Now that almost all the champions were out, the moment of truth to find out if he would be continuing on or not. Surely the judges had to appreciate a wizard who could clean and use runes.

Joining the crowds at the viewing area, she glanced around, feeling very weird still. Was she the last competitor to finish? It felt like it. Aurora and Irene and Valerie and Jesus and Kyle ... Aurora and Kyle probably had no issues with the riddle, being the intelligent scholarly individuals that they were.

The Slytherin and Gryffindor champions from Hogwarts were all back too.

Slowly, Louise made her way into a seat, trying to not think about the fact that she had taken forever and a day to finish. She finished, which was the important thing, right? Just hopefully she scored well enough to continue onward ... a pit of nervousness in her stomach that she just didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. Except maybe her sister, wherever she was.

Etta made her way to the viewing area, trying not to think about the challenge at ALL. Honestly, she was just glad that she had finished and had managed to not injure herself too badly... just glad to be done with it really. She found a seat nearby and collapsed into it, suddenly aware that there were people all around her but she really was in no mood to chit-chat.

Not that she was too upset or anything but the girl just wanted to be by herself, wondering what the results were going to be like and trying not to worry too much about it. If she ended up being qualified for the next round, she would be so thrilled. If she didn't.. the girl would be more than disappointed. She honestly couldn't remember too much of the challenge though.. oddly enough. The details were all way too hazy in her head so she just sat quietly and patiently waited, watching the people around her and wishing she could leave soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

As Brent made his way into the viewing area, he had no idea what to think. He was still baffled that this had all been a daydream, or at least, that's what he had made of it. How much had been a daydream, though? All of it? Some of it? He was still bummed out about the fact that he hadn't really dashed underneath the Whomping Willow and visited the Shrieking Shack. That would have been an awesome story to tell.

He ran a hand through his hair for the second time in just a few minutes. He had a habit of doing that when he was thinking really hard or when he was really confused about something. Right now, he was both thinking hard and confused. He'd worry about those things later, though. Right now, he just really wanted to see Skylar and maybe his little bro, too. Hopefully his girlfriend had actually watched the challenge from the viewing area and not from underneath it this time.

He glanced up and looked around the area. He briefly glanced at his competitors before scanning the crowd a big more thoroughly for the people he was looking for.

Kane hadn't met up with Brent after the last challenge - but that had been by choice. He wasn't going anywhere NEAR his brother after he had made a damn FOOL of himself asking out Skylar like that. In the middle of the CHALLENGE. Leave it to Brent to be thinking of GIRLS during a competition. He hadn't wanted to be present during the whole meltdown that would surely follow, with Madelyn being in the crowd and everything too. Weirdly though, it had actually worked for him, since the two were like a THING now, and so far Madelyn hadn't tried to kill Brent OR Skylar, so...things were looking up?

This time, Kane HAD stuck around, and smiled when he saw Brent enter the stands. He didn't see him - he wasn't surprised, probably looking for Skylar - so he hopped down a few rows from here he was sitting so he was behind his brother. Then, he promptly SMACKED him across the back of the head.

"Bro, only you would CLEAN the Shrieking Shack," he said with a sigh, but he was grinning regardless. That had been hysterical, to be honest. "Maybe the judges will appreciate it though," he added with a chuckle. Because that HAD been sort of impressive. Showed he knew his stuff. When it came to cleaning spells. So...yeah?

"WOOHOOOO GO ILVERMORNY!!!"

She was so excited to see all the school spirit that showed up today. Not that she didn't notice a few not there at all, but there was no point in thinking about that. Right now the screens were too intense and interesting and Madelyn jumped when the first showed in the stands it was Valarie and she jumped up the cheer, clapping for her schoolmate. They all deserved such big props at how amazing they all were doing. Even the Hogwarts students. Then there was Jesus, who was really cute, she was glad to see he made it back safe.Kyle got a cheer as well. It was so great that they all did so well. "WAY TO GO ILVERMORNY!!" She jumped up and down clapping.

Seeing Aurora she cheering again and then she saw Irene and hurried over to her. "Are you alright? Do you need the healer?" She wanted to hug her friend but didn't want to if she was injured. She saw the Hogwarts students return as well, "GREAT JOB HOGWARTS!!" They all deserved cheers! Louise returning got a clapping cheer too.

There was so much noise, Jesús didn't know who or what to focus on. When Professor Williams approached, the sixth year went a little rigid, though he wasn't upset with her. He relaxed only when Valerie started talking again; he turned his attention back to her, not wanting to give Williams any sort of ideas about him wanting her approval and whatnot. He chuckled at Valerie's response, having a somewhat similar experience with the hat as well. "I honestly wanted to have a more in depth conversation with it." He was mostly joking, but also sort of serious. Even if it was a dream, that hat was mysterious enough to capture Jesús' interest and that said a lot.

There was more loudness, and Jesús didn't have to look far for the source. Suddenly remembering what happened after the first challenge, Jesús leaned towards Valerie and whispered. "Tune him out." He didn't want a repeat of last time, and as Valerie had quick hands, he was pretty sure she'd hex the boy before Jesús was able to intervene. The Thunderbird sent Jer a pleasant smile, hoping to play the diplomat in preparation for Valerie's inevitable meltdown. Thankfully, more of the competitors were coming to the stands, though he was mildly surprised that both Louise and Aurora made it out before Aiden. He didn't know that either one had the mental capacity to actually make past the Whomping Willow and solve the riddles within an hour.

Jesús never imagined that he'd see a miracle happen during their stay at Hogwarts, and yet here he was, witnessing both Louise and Aurora in all their unimpressive glory. Incredible. Simply astonishing.

"I wish you'd share your secret, Aurora. How do you manage to stay upbeat even when you're clearly outmatched by everyone around you? That takes real talent." He flashed the fifth year a cheeky grin, and turned his face. It took a special kind of patience to deal with Aurora, and he didn't have the energy for her that day. Irene also seemed to be a little out of it, and Jesús smiled reassuringly at her, knowing full well that the challenge was a doozy of an experience. He leaned back a little and heard Madelyn before he saw her. The girl was sweet, and he felt bad that everyone didn't take to her well. "Good to see you've still got school spirit," he said casually, grinning at her. He didn't know where all that energy came from, but Madelyn was certainly someone you couldn't help but notice.

And, because he knew that him fraternizing with her would probably earn him a look from Valerie, he glanced over to his friend to make sure she was still seated and that her wand was tucked away. Jesús immediately went to his pocket again, and pulled out another caramel. He took Valerie's hand in his and placed the candy in the middle of her palm.