Chương 217: Ch207- First Task

On the 24th of November, the First Task was set to unfold. The Quidditch Pitch had been stretched wider than usual, enchanted stands groaning under the weight of students packed in from five different schools. The field had been torn up and patched back together like a madman's idea of terrain diversity. Cracked stone formations jutted out in jagged clusters to one side. Beyond them, a dense thicket of trees curled in on itself, the sort of forest that didn't mind biting.

There was a stretch of marshland pooling toward the far end, glistening with something that definitely wasn't water. A lava trench cut diagonally across the southern edge, warded to hell but still bubbling. And tucked just behind a raised ridge sat a narrow lake, black as oil. A dust bowl lingered near the centre, and for reasons Cassian couldn't explain without laughing, someone had dropped a slope of snow in the back corner. The perfect playground.

Cassian stood with Bathsheda in the Staff section, wondering if Hogwarts wards could muffle all this noise. Just ahead, the judging table gleamed under a charm to keep it dust-free, because heaven forbid Karkaroff's robes touch anything imperfect. The crowd was deafening. Banners flapped overhead, half spelled to sparkle, the other half cursed to mock the opposing schools. Someone had enchanted a flag to scream "Kiss my wand, Beauxbatons!" every thirty seconds.

Students packed the stands, yelling for their champions. Down in the cordoned-off tent, said champions were drawing tokens to see what delight they'd face first. At least no one was getting launched at a dragon. The tent flaps stirred, and Mingyu stepped out like he hadn't just drawn a card for possible murder. His Fenghuang uniform still looked like it had come off the press five minutes ago, red and gold, sharp lines, not a crease in sight.

He walked straight to the middle of the arena without so much as blinking at the crowd. He bowed to the Judges' table, then turned to face the empty space ahead. Bagman jumped to his feet, voice ringing out as if this was a bloody game show.

"Here we go, folks! Our first contender is Xu Mingyu from Fenghuang! And his opponent is..." He grinned and lobbed a small purple ball out into the ring. It landed with a soft thud. Then it exploded. Lightning shot out in every direction, crackling loud. The air warped, bright and wrong. The bolts twisted mid-air, forming a shape that shimmered, then snapped into focus. The Lightning Elemental hissed as it took form, vaguely humanoid. A storm that had stood up and decided it had business to settle.

The creature let out a pulse, more vibration than sound, and took a step. Sparks bled into the grass where its feet touched. Its arms crackled every time it twitched. Wind jittered in the air around it, rippling through the pitch. A bell tolled. The Elemental surged forward. Mingyu stood his ground. He flicked his wand, clean and sharp.

"Tu Dun!" (Earth Shield) And the ground at his feet buckled, earth rising in a shield wall just before the lightning slammed into it. The impact cracked like thunder, students screamed. The stone smoked. Mingyu vanished into the haze, then reappeared ten feet left, slipping out behind his own wall like he'd been waiting for the opening. The Elemental's arms arced wide, then lashed down. Twin bolts stabbed the lake. Water exploded, boiled, surged into steam. Mingyu pivoted, wand snapping forward.

"Fengxun!" (Wind Spiral) And the cloud obeyed, twisting, curling, sucked toward him in a tight vortex. He whipped it round and hurled it straight at the Elemental. Steam met lightning. The creature howled. The stands rolled to their feet. Another bolt launched. Mingyu ducked, rolled behind a boulder. The lightning hit the edge of the swamp. The smell that followed made several students gag. Cassian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Brilliant. Toxic marsh air and a lightning storm. Real crowd-pleaser." Mingyu dashed toward the treeline. The Elemental chased, its feet barely touching the ground, power lashing the air with every step. The trees groaned. Then the first trap sprung. A cluster of runes lit up under the Elemental, pale gold, old glyphs. The creature froze. Mingyu skidded to a stop and flung his wand up.

"Honglie!" (Blast) The trees to his left exploded. A barrage of branches, stones, and condensed air slammed into the stunned elemental. It reeled, its limbs scattering into loose arcs, body half-disintegrated. The judges leaned forward. The audience held their breath. The boy stepped out from the trees, breathing hard. He turned, faced the creature again. The thing was rebuilding. Its shape fuzzed, limbs twitching back together. Mingyu ran without any hesitation. Right across the lava trench.

The warding shimmered, spells locking into place under his boots. Still, the heat hit him full in the chest. His robe caught light at the edges. He kept going. The Elemental gave chase, moving faster now, lightnings slicing the ground behind it. Mingyu reached the stone spires.

"Biying Yinshen!" He cast on himself. (Dragon-Avoiding Concealment) Then he vanished. The Elemental slammed in behind, and triggered the second trap. The spires lit. Runes flared across the stone, casting mirror loops in every direction. Lightning rebounded. Sparks hit wall after wall, echoing back on the creature itself. It shrieked again, more static than voice now, limbs twitching out of sequence. Cassian sighed through his nose.

"There it is." Mingyu reappeared behind the creature, perched on a rock outcropping halfway up the ridge. He raised his wand, drew a sharp, clean circle in the air.

"Suojie!" (Lock Boundary) The Elemental staggered forward. And the circle collapsed. The creature stepped into it, and the moment its foot touched the line, the entire loop of spires folded inward. A magical sinkhole. Energy buckled. Lightning warped. The Elemental vanished in a crunch of sound like glass and thunder mixed. Silence. Then the crowd lost it. Mingyu stood motionless for a moment. Then his shoulders slumped. He turned toward the judges and gave another polite bow. Cassian clapped softly.

"So that is the spell Dumbledore used to steal Fawkes." Bathsheda gave him a sideways look.

"You think he could've handled the original dragon task?" Cassian smirked.

"With a spell that can make him hide from a dragon, the dragon would've needed therapy." Mingyu took the ball Bagman had lobbed into the ring, still warm from the lightning by his reaction, and shoved it in his pocket. His prize. Or more accurately, the next breadcrumb in this charming little death obstacle course. The cheers followed him as he crossed the pitch. Even some of the Hogwarts students had started chanting his name. Bagman sprang up, beaming as if he'd personally trained the boy.

"Outstanding! Truly marvellous display of spellwork!" he shouted.

"Tactical finesse, solid footwork, brilliant use of the terrain, oh, that mirrored trap! That's one for the books!" He turned to the judges, waving for attention.

"Right! Let's hear from our panel, Headmaster Dumbledore, shall we start with you?" Dumbledore rested his hands together.

"Mr Xu's grasp of the field was evident from the first step. He worked with the environment, and his spellwork held fast without turning mechanical. Remarkable control. Nine." The crowd burst into applause, Fenghuang banners flaring brighter in response. Kingsley gave a nod.

"Tactically sound. Kept his distance, but struck when it counted. Redirecting an elemental with that kind of stability? Not common. Eight." Bagman grinned.

"Excellent, excellent! Now, Headmaster Ji?" Ji chuckled as he got up.

"Mingyu handled the elemental precisely as he was trained. He maintained control, assessed weaknesses, and used the environment efficiently. I have nothing to add. Ten." Maxime shifted slightly, her hands clasped in front of her.

"He was graceful. Strategic. I've seen students with twice his weight and none of his presence. I'm impressed. Eight." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Karkaroff looked vaguely annoyed to be participating.

"Too safe. More hiding than fighting. Got lucky with those traps. Six." He made a small shrug, clearly bitter about something else. That got some boos. A Fenghuang girl actually whistled, and a few muttered under their breath. Ekwensi ignored the noise.

"He mapped the field better than most adults could have. Spotted every trap without a trigger, shifted the elemental without breaking form. That kind of clarity under pressure's rare. Nine." Bagman turned back to the crowd, practically bouncing on his heels.

"Well! What a performance! Crafty work from young Xu, clean casting, slick footing, and let's be honest, handled that storm like he was born in it." He gave a theatrical wink.

"Bit too clean for my tastes, could've done with a bit more showmanship, but can't argue with results. I'm giving him a solid eight!" The scoreboard shimmered again as the final number locked into place overhead. Total Score: 58 Crowd noise rolled back through the stands as the next champion stepped out. Cedric paused just outside the tent, took a breath and gave the crowd a smile. Hogwarts backed their own, loudest by far. Banners flapped with his name, a few charmed to sparkle in house colours.

He lifted a hand briefly in thanks, then turned toward the middle of the arena. Bagman bounced forward again.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, our second contender, representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Cedric Diggory!" Another wave of applause. The pitch nearly trembled from it. Bagman gave the same overly eager toss as before, small core sphere arcing lazily through the air. It hit the ground and flashed. This time, the change was slower. Cold slid in across the grass, chasing colour out of the sky. Frost crept outward from the point of impact.

Then a shape lifted from the mist, a tall, glacial form, limbs jagged icicles, eyes glowing blue-white. Cassian tilted his head.

"Water and ice. Lucky boy." The Water Elemental took a step, and the grass beneath it died. Cedric moved forward slowly. The wind tugged at his robes. He looked smaller suddenly, out there alone. The bell rang. The creature lunged. Not fast, but heavy. Ice rippled in its wake. Cedric flung a hand out.

"Ignis Orbis!" Fire burst from the tip of his wand in a tight circle, curling outwards like a halo in waves. The elemental recoiled, steam hissed. Cassian let out a whistle.

"Isn't that your spell?" Bathsheda asked, raising an eyebrow. Cassian nodded.

"Yup." Bathsheda gave him a glance.

"Thought we weren't allowed to assist them."

"I taught it to everyone." She squinted.

"Everyone?" He grinned, shameless.

"I'm not playing favourites if I confuse them all equally." She hummed.

"Still. Ancient variants? We don't even know half of what they do." Cassian's grin dropped a notch.

"I stuck to the ones with milder memories. Nothing with bite."

"Good." She let out a breath and turned her eyes back to the pitch. Cedric was already moving, wand tight in his grip, cloak snapping behind him as he shifted across the terrain. The water elemental loomed, chasing relentlessly, dragging frost with every step. The temperature had dropped enough for breath to mist. Cedric didn't waste time, another ring of fire burst from his wand, brighter this time, the air distorting in the heat. Thick clouds rose, curling and hanging over the rocks.

He didn't try to fight the thing head-on. Smart. He ducked around a rise in the ground and sent a whip of flame low, too low to hit anything vital, but enough to draw the elemental's attention. It turned, head tracking like a predator. Cedric moved toward the lava trench, eyes on the cracks that shimmered with heat. Smart play, fire versus ice, clear advantage. Except the creature didn't take the bait. It stayed rooted near the lake and frozen grass, arms slowly sweeping the air.

Then it moved, one thick arm swept sideways. A stream lifted off the lake's edge, spinning mid-air before it lashed out. Cedric ducked. The water cracked against a boulder behind him with enough force to chip stone. Cedric paused, wand lifted.

"Incendio Tria." Three arcs of flame cut through the air, neat and fast, a fan pattern aimed low to push the elemental from its spot. Didn't work. The flames hit a pulse of cold and guttered out in a hiss. Ice crept forward instead, slow and quiet, curling into the edge of the trench. The elemental turned. Its chest pulsed blue. Then a spiral of ice launched from its centre, jagged and spinning. Cedric threw up a shield.

"Protego Maxima!" The spiral shattered on impact, shards flinging wide. Cracked against his ward. He braced, stumbled a half-step back. The elemental shifted again, hand rising. Water coiled from the lake behind it, pulled like thread through a needle. The tendrils snaked forward, fast this time. Cedric darted right.

"Glacius!" The tendrils flash-froze under him, slick and hard as stone. He sprinted across the ice, boots skimming over frozen arcs of water like they were laid out just for him. The elemental raised its arm, ice crackling at the joints. Cedric didn't slow. He launched off the last frozen strand, somersaulted high over its shoulder. Wand swung low, "Incendio!" Flames burst like a torch, roaring down on the elemental's back. It shrieked, folding sideways under the heat.

Its spine cracked, steam tearing off its body in waves. Cedric hit the ground behind it, rolled, came up still casting. The fire didn't stop. It bent with his wand, shoved the creature forward. Straight toward the lava trench. The creature resisted. It clawed backward, heels gouging the frost-bitten earth. But the fire wouldn't give. Cedric gritted his teeth, eyes locked. The trench flared. A final push. The elemental slipped, one foot over the edge, then the next. Its arm swung, caught nothing.

The heat met ice, and won. The creature collapsed inward, body splintering in on itself before it hit the lava. The trench roared. Ice shattered. Water hissed into clouds. For a breath, it looked like a storm trying to scream underwater. Then silence. And then the stands erupted. Bagman was already on his feet.

"What a performance!" Cedric gave a half-smile, raising his wand toward the lava trench.

"Accio Core." From the steam, something flickered, then the elemental's heart, pulsing faintly red, floated up from the lava and zipped to his hand. It hissed against his palm before cooling. Bagman turned to the judges, practically buzzing.

"Well, that's a follow-up if I've ever seen one! Let's hear it, shall we?" Dumbledore rested both hands on the table, clearly proud.

"Mr Diggory showed adaptability and restraint. He used heat strategically, and forced a creature of water to the edge without recklessness. Ten." Maxime's fingers tapped once, then folded.

"He held his ground. Showed respect to the magic and the danger. Eight." Kingsley gave a short nod.

"Effective balance of offence and control. A few close calls, but no wasted movement. Nine." Karkaroff leaned back like the whole thing bored him.

"Sloppy. Relied on brute force. Very little finesse. Six." That earned another round of mutters from the crowd, and even a sharp hiss from somewhere in the Durmstrang corner. Ji tilted his head slightly.

"He used terrain to counter an elemental advantage. The flame ring spells were less elegant than Mingyu's wind weave, but efficient. Eight." Ekwensi smiled bright, as she said, "He understood the creature better than it looked. Didn't just push it back, he unmade the environment holding it together. That's more than instinct. That's study. Eight." Bagman turned back, beaming.

"Lovely stuff. Fire and frost, dance partners at last! Bold, bit rough round the edges, but the lad's got style. Nine from me!" The numbers shimmered overhead, one by one... Final Score: 58 The crowd shifted again, house scarves fluttering, Hogwarts students bellowing his name. Cedric nodded to them, still catching his breath, then moved back toward the edge of the arena. Next, Fleur and Krum went up one by one. Fleur's draw was unlucky, a Wind Elemental.

It shimmered more than it stood, never quite solid, its shape flickering in and out. Spells passed right through unless timed just right. Her usual grace turned frantic halfway through, hair stuck to her face, wand arm trembling by the end. She pulled control back near the lake. Drew water up with a sharp arc of her wand, froze it mid-air with a cry of "Glacius Maxima," and lashed it at the Elemental's core. The moment it struck, the creature stalled, frozen fragments cracking under pressure.

Then she snapped the wand down and the ice shattered, taking the heart with it. Not elegant, but effective. She came out with a torn sleeve and a bloody shoulder. The judges saw the struggle. 55, total. Krum had it easier. His opponent blazed onto the pitch, Fire Elemental, tall, lanky, arms of living flame. But the poor thing had walked into a snowstorm with a Durmstrang boy who could've frozen a bath just by scowling at it.

Spells snapped like whiplash,"Aguamenti Maxima," "Glacius Duo," a controlled "Aqua Fortis" that blanketed the field with sleet. The elemental tried to burn through, but he turned it into a walking puddle before it could get halfway across. Karkaroff gave him a ten, naturally. Everyone else went seven, eight or nine. Total score: 61. Top of the board, for now. Then, the last contender stepped out. It cracked open mid-air. A dull thump shook the ground. Stone exploded upward.

The Earth Elemental clawed out of the soil as if roused from centuries of sleep. Massive, hunched, dragging half the pitch with it. Chunks of the terrain peeled up where it stepped, one leg on moss, the other breaking through the lava trench as if it were paper.. Bagman cleared his throat.

"Last match of the day! Representing Uagadou, Amara N'Doye!" She walked out calm, braids pinned back, eyes fixed forward. The bell rang. The elemental twisted. Its shoulders hunched up like hills moving under muscle. And then it charged. To everyone's amazement, Amara shifted. One blink she was there, the next, a leopard. Big, sleek, and fast. She bolted forward before the bell echo had finished, coat rippling gold and black in the light. Raw Animagus speed. The Earth Elemental swung.

A boulder-fist slammed down where she'd been half a breath ago. Missed. She was already gone, darting under the swing, claws scraping dirt as she weaved between crumbling stone. The thing was huge. Twice her size and built like a landslide. But it was slow. And Amara wasn't. She darted past its first swing, paws silent on dirt. The thing swung again, its massive arm cleaving through a raised boulder like it was chalk. She was already out of reach by then. The elemental twisted to track her.

She led it in a tight circle around a patch of jagged stone, drawing it into the narrowest part of the pitch. She zigzagged up a ridge, then shifted back mid-leap. One fluid motion, leopard to girl, wand snapping out.

"Ngome ya Udongo!" (Fortress of Earth) A wall of compressed earth burst from the ground behind her. The elemental slammed into it chest-first. Stone buckled. Not enough to stop it, but enough to stagger. Amara flicked her wand.

"Moto wa Jua!" (Fire of the Sun) A burst of golden fire swept from her hand, arced under the elemental's left side where the leg was mid-step. The flames struck the earth, melted the soil just enough to drag its footing. The creature dropped a knee. Ground cracked under its weight. She pivoted again, leapt high this time. One boot caught the slope of a stone, and she launched herself onto a ledge halfway up a broken spire. From above, she cast again.

"Itikise!" (Shake) Rocks overhead shimmered. She snapped her wand downward. The boulder dropped. It struck the elemental square in the chest. A full-body crunch followed. Dust went flying. For a second, nothing moved. Then it stood. Bent. Limping. A chunk missing from its side where the boulder hit. But still standing. Amara crouched. The creature raised a fist. It was slower now. Sluggish. She jumped down, skidded through the dust, wand sweeping low.

"Kata!" (Cut) The ground split. A thin chasm cut between the creature's feet, one slipped. Its weight tipped too far. The broken leg cracked deeper. She rolled to the side as its arm slammed down beside her. A boulder the size of a small shack missed her by inches. Then she stood, breathing hard.

"Mwisho wa Ngome." (Final Fortress) Her wand stabbed downward. A ring of symbols etched into the grass, glowing red and silver. The elemental stumbled right into it. Then the trap snapped. Stone walls surged up, interlocking from every side. A dome collapsed over the creature like a shell being shut. For a few heartbeats, nothing stirred, just muffled sound and dust curling from the cracks. When it opened again, the elemental was gone. Flattened back into earth. Core laid on the ground.

A long breath passed, then the stands exploded into cheers. Amara turned toward the judges' table, smiling. Bagman practically fell over himself clapping.

"Absolutely roaring performance from Uagadou's champion! Unbelievable! Transformations! Tactics! That last trap, ladies and gentlemen, textbook brilliance!" He spun toward the judges, nearly tripping on his own robes.

"Well! Let's get some scores." Dumbledore smiled faintly.

"She adapted on instinct. Her form was excellent. Her control over transfiguration mid-duel was remarkable. Nine." Ji nodded, eyes shining.

"She handled herself masterfully. Amazing control. Nine." Kingsley leaned in slightly.

"Impressive field control. Elemental management without brute force. Nine." Maxime raised a brow.

"A bit rough at the start. But she recovered. Eight." Karkaroff looked like he'd bitten something sour.

"Too much showboating. Beast form doesn't win battles. Six." Cassian scoffed.

"He's mad he can't turn into a housecat." Ekwensi didn't blink.

"It was an Uagadou signature sequence. And she executed every part with precision. Ten." Bagman threw up both hands.

"Well, I'm no expert in feline warfare, but I'll say this, if I ever need someone to drop a stone fortress on a rampaging pile of dirt, I'm calling her. Nine!" The scores shimmered above the pitch. Final Score: 60 The crowd roared again. And with that, the First Task was done.