MAGIANIMA // Hermione Granger

Trial Two

A gasp, followed by a loud bang as Atlas sat up from where she lay and smacked her head against the underside of whatever table she had slept under, echoed throughout whatever room she had crashed in. She panted, groaned and wiped the tears from her eyes all at once, looking around to try and discern where she had fallen asleep the night prior. She crawled out from underneath her makeshift bed, peering around through bleary eyes and sniffling as she stretched out limbs exhausted from the panic of last nights terror.

Something tickled at her nose, the scent of something nice, tasty and it made her hungry, made her mind clear and she realised where she was. The kitchens. She'd fallen asleep waiting for Dobby's return. Which meant this was the next day. The next morning. The cursed dawn of the second task.

Her panic returned and Atlas sprang to her feet, disturbing the elves that were clearing up from breakfast and almost tripping over herself in the meantime. What time was it? Where was Dobby? Where was her task uniform? A loud crack sounded from beside her and she almost leapt out of her skin, spinning around to see Fobbo looking up at her through his big watery eyes.

"Fobbo! Where have you been? Wait, never mind, have you seen Dobby!?" She asked hurriedly, wiping away the effects of last nights terror when she ran her hand through her hair messily. It didn't do her any good to dwell on dreams, not dreams she'd had since she was a child. She'd gotten used to them over time and she wasn't about to suddenly revert to her scared child self, all because of some crisis she was having over muddled feelings.

"Fobbo has been -- er -- reading! Oh, yes, Fobbo is seeing Dobby on the way here, he is giving me this when we were seeing each other and is speaking to Harry Potter right now!" The elf squeaked, holding out his hand where a ball of messy and tangled, slimy-looking, greyish-green strings lay. Atlas grimaced but took the pile gratefully, eyeing the uniform the elf had in his other arm.

"Fobbo, you're the best," She sighed, taking the pile from him and moving over to an upturned table she used as cover to strip to her underwear, putting on the swimming trunks and sleeveless body-tight shirt that would be her clothing for the trial. It was advertising Hogwarts, just as her trial one uniform did, but it was sleeker, thinner and felt like a second skin. In a word, it was comfortable.

She slipped out from her spot, tucking the Gillyweed in her pocket as she re-tied her hair, hands shaky and chest starting to clench. At that she grimaced, rubbing at where the spot burned and scorched her very soul. Fobbo ran over to her, face contorted in concern as the girl took a moment, panting, eyes closed and trying to catch her stolen breath. The pain subsided after a long, torturous, moment and Atlas waved the elf off with a tight smile, grabbing her wand from underneath the table she'd slept and strapping it to her thigh.

"Miss Atlas, Fobbo is thinking...he is thinking you don't look too good," The elf admitted hesitantly.

"Nightmare, Fo. Just a nightmare and you know my heart plays up sometimes," she told.

"Is Miss Atlas angry? Is it warning Miss Atlas?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Then Miss Atlas should not compete!" Fobbo shrieked, his hands coming up to slap his cheeks fearfully. "Miss Atlas! Miss Amaya would not want you doing this, she would be telling you off, she would!"

"Oh, yeah? And how do you know that Fo? You don't even know her," Atlas grumbled.

"Miss Atlas! Fobbo is pleading! Do not compete! Miss Atlas's heart is warning her about her magic! Miss Atlas's magic is dangerous!"

"You think I don't know that!?" Atlas snapped, Fobbo flinched and she frowned, rubbing between her brows. "I'm sorry...but I'm trying, I'm really trying to control it. Either way, it's not just warning me of magic, is it Fo? It's warning me, something is coming. Or...I don't know but you remember these...pains, they either warn me of what's to come, who to trust or to calm down."