Lorelei Kytherna

13. Second Weekly Contest - Triwizard Tornament

Dedicated to PotterFreak_12
I'm really sorry for anyone who has the misfortune of reading this. I know it's terrible but it was the best I could do. Sorry.
Word count: 2,579 words
Quill: Hyppogriff feather quill.
Parchment: 1 roll
Ink: Black ink.
(The word count does not include the words in or above these brackets)

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A violent shiver racked her entire body as she stared, filled with terrified awe, at the sight in front of her. Thick, green walls of twisting vines and dark, ominous leaves towered high above everyone, their sinister appearance shooting tendrils of fear out into the crowd and the contestants. She glanced around, feeling the persistent fear forcing it's way down her throat and grabbing for her heart, piercing the bloodstreams and worming it's way around her entire body. She was alone.

Rory had been sent to the Hospital Wing earlier this morning, plagued with blood pouring out of every part of his body. Moans and cries of pain had accompanied him down the halls, his voice cracking with agony as he had called out her name. She had stayed by his side until, finally, she was called to the maze and had to, reluctantly, leave him to the care of Madam Pomfrey.

Her other friends, as numerous as they were, had been ordered by every professor in the castle to stay put in the crowd, knowing full well that they would try, at any cost, to save her from the horror she was about to endure. So they were now sat, guarded closely by the teachers, forbidden from even saying goodbye and good luck to her. In her last moments, she was alone.

The wild calls and whistles grew almost raucous behind her and Lorelei felt sudden urge to look. The stands were packed, men, women, boys and girls, all crowded for the event, chattering and speculating on who was to win. The Triwizard Tournament had turned into quite an enormous public affair after the 1995 Harry Potter incident and now people from all over the globe would come to watch every year. The sheer volume of people almost took her breath away as Lorelei searched for familiar faces she knew she would find.

Scanning the crowd, it was easy to pick out her friends in their conveniently reserved seats in the stands. It was weird, knowing so many people were there for her, knowing they cared, knowing they wanted her to win. She had never had that before - people who cared what happened to her. Well, not since she was seven.

This was the first time in years she knew that she actually had friends and, to many people's surprise, they weren't just Gryffindors. Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs had all wormed their way into her heart and now had a permanent place in her life.

"Miss Kytherna. Your third task awaits you." Professor McGonagall's stern but friendly voice - an odd combination to be honest - startled her, causing her heart to jolt in panic and a small squeak of surprise to emerge from her mouth.

"Uh yeah. I'm ready." There was nothing she could do about the wavering in her voice and, as she looked at the professor, she knew she'd heard it. A reassuring hand placed itself gently on her shoulder, steadying her nerves as she nodded slowly. They started to walk, emerging from behind the wooden scoreboard used to document the scores of the contestants, and were greeted by thunderous applause as they joined the other contestants at the front of the maze.

Looking right, Lorelei felt her eyes fixate on the Beauxbatton's girl, watching as small and delicate tears rolled down from the stunning green eyes of her opponent. Tearing her gaze away, knowing she could continue to stare at the girl's perfect features for a long time, she turned to face the other. A thick-built, strapping boy, bristling with muscles, stood tall and proud as he waited to represent his school - Durmstrang Institute. Anxiety gripped hold of her, there was no way she could defeat this hulk of a man and there was no way she could bring herself to compete against this small, fragile girl. But she had already - twice. Because, as Rory had told her earlier, not everything is as it seems.