Best Lines: Challenge One
Obstacle One: Gillyweed
Headmistress Mercier: Are you ready, champions? Once I fire sparks, you may begin.
Natalia: *mutters* We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t.
Obstacle Two: Aella
Aella: Yes, I can tap-dance *hops up and down several times*
Katya: *tries and succeeds in keeping a straight face*
Aella: I hate tapdancing. My mom forced me into it when I was 3
Obstacle Three: Alessia
Alessia/New Mermaid: *beckons to them* Be careful!
Natalia: Oh, we are. *presses lips together, shoves hands in pockets, and nods*
Obstacle Four: Silver Eggs
Valya: *reels back* Fuck this! *stows away wand, picks up a rock and flings it at the Occamy*
Obstacle Five: Occamy
Occamy: *Lets out loud scream and eats snake before burping*
Valeriya’s POV
*before the task*
Valeriya couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about everything that could happen in the first challenge. Despite having faith in her school’s plan, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go horribly wrong. Spending all night worrying about the task wouldn’t do her much good, so Valeriya gathered her painting supplies and walked to the Great Lake. Ignoring the Hogwarts rules against leaving your dormitory at night, Valeriya wandered past the gamekeeper’s house and set up her equipment with a view of the lake and forest. She began to empty her prussian blue paint tube onto her palette and fell into a blissful daze.
Valeriya had been dozing for half an hour when the rising sun woke her up. Panicking slightly, she gathered up her freshly painted canvas and made her way back up to the castle.
*after the task*
Relief flowed through Valeriya as she and her teammates returned to their normal bodies. Taking a deep breath, Valeriya started laughing hysterically. She was thinking about the craziness that they had experienced in the past hour. All that worrying the night before was for nothing, she had known that she could count on her teammates but actually working with them made her feel much better about the upcoming tasks. I mean who else can make a mermaid feel better about herself other than her fellow russian champions. Realizing her teammates were the best she could have asked for, Valeriya walked away hoping to be as vital to them as they were to her.
