𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 - the wizarding world

XIV. INTO THE DRAGON'S LAIR

XIV. INTO THE DRAGON'S LAIR
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Somebody was calling Ivy's name through the thick blanket of sleep she was enveloped in, the words muddling in her mind. She had had such a wonderful dream about... about something that was already floating away into forgetfulness. Maybe if she tried a little harder to ignore the voice, she could get it back before it was too late. Staying up late to practice spells was not a very good idea, she thought and groaned as the voices around her kept talking.

"Yeah, she isn't waking up..."

A deep sigh rang through the room. "And with all her talk about being a morning person... Alright, stand back."

Ivy could not exactly remember why she had been up so late in the common room, or why she had snuck Henri in or why Harry had come downstairs in the middle of the night—The first task! She immediately remembered with a gasp; the first task was today! Ivy was wide awake in an instant and sat upright in her bed but before she could say a word, a jet of water was sprayed in her face.

Slowly, it came to a stop. Ivy wiped the water from her face, all grogginess and sleep washed away, and looked up at Katie and Angelina. "What was that for?"

Angelina shrugged, putting her wand away. "Get up, eat breakfast and go be a champion. We'll see you later," she said, flipping her hair and grabbing Katie's arm, dragging her out of the dorm.

With a groan, Ivy fell back on her bed, regretting it when the cold, wet mattrass hit her back. Dragging herself to the bathroom, she showered and got dressed in comfortable flared jeans with a flower-patterned top and with a lot of difficulty braided her hair in two braids down her back, two plucks of shorter hair falling out to irritate her. Looking in the mirror, Ivy took two deep breaths.

"You've got this..." she said slowly, biting back the nervousness. "It's just a dragon, nothing serious." She shook her head, tucking the strands of hair behind her ear. "You've trained every day, Ivy. All you can do is your best, even though everyone you care about will be watching and it'll be really embarrassing if you get eaten..." Ivy groaned as she pressed her palms into her eyes.

When she turned back to the mirror, she looked at her own twinkling grey eyes. "Are you watching, mum?" she asked, tears of mourning swirling in her eyes, like a storm on a sunny day. "I really wish you were here... You would've known exactly what to do..."

Finishing up, she went down to breakfast, reluctantly greeting all the students that patted her on the back and wished her good luck.

Surrounded by his friends at the Gryffindor table was Harry, being force-fed plain toast by Fred and George. Ivy quietly sat down opposite of her fellow champion, shoving food down her throat.

"You ready?" Harry asked after he swallowed the toast and Fred and George calmed down.

Ivy shrugged. "I mean, I know we trained the most we could but... I barely managed to turn myself invisible in a stress-free situation... And you? Got a plan yet?"

Harry glanced at something at the Professor's table, a thoughtful look behind his eyes. "I think so..."

"Uh—" Fred began. "I think it's time for the task."

Ivy looked up and watched as almost at once, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegation that were present for breakfast got up and began walking out of the Great Hall.

"Harry," Ivy said, gently catching the younger boy's eye. "Let's go, I'm sure our family is waiting for us at the arena."

He sighed, a low a deep sigh, as if letting go momentarily of every burden on his shoulders and he stood up. Taking their leave from the rest of the Gryffindor group, with the promise of them being the loudest in the audience, Harry and Ivy made their way through Hogwarts' halls and onto its grounds, following after groups of people making their way to the Quidditch arena.

Ivy had never had the pleasure of playing a game of Quidditch in the arena, but from the stories that passed Fred and George's lips it was a sight to behold, mainly because there were holes in the stands that could not be fixed even with magic. It was not a huge arena, like one of the professionals, yet it was the memories it held that made it special.