Once again, Aurora found herself in a forest like setting. It was even colder than the last challenge, which she expected, since it was the dead of winter now. As she walked along, her breath fogged in front of her again, and she really wished she could have worn her down feather parka. She knew that would have been completely impractical, but it was just sooooooo cold. Her hair was in a braid again, and she wished she had been smart enough to wear a headband. She could have used it as an ear warmer...

She pulled her wand out of her holster and held it in front of her, just to be safe. She didn't expect anything to jump out in front of her just yet - but then again, she hadn't anticipated a dementor during the last challenge either. As she kept walking, her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion as she came upon a large stone. What did THAT mean? "Lumos," she muttered, using the light from her wand to inspect the rock. No runes, no hidden message carved in to the rock Just a rock at the end of a path. It didn't look like anything too special...

"Whoa," she grumbled as she peered up and caught sight of the Whomping Willow. If she wasn't in the middle of a challenge of a lifetime, and if she wasn't completely FREEZING, she would think that this was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. There was something so...serene about the tree, with all the icicles hanging off of it like nature's own Christmas tree. They had NOTHING like this back at Ilvermorny.

She had done a bit of research on this tree and read up on its history in preparation for the competition. She knew that there was a secret passage that could be activated by hitting a knot on the side of the trunk - and she also knew that it was extremely dangerous. Plus, the secret passage led to that creepy old house in Hogsmeade, which was supposedly haunted. Maybe this challenge was going to involve fighting a ghost. How did one actually FIGHT a ghost? Maybe this was all just a distraction...? Or...maybe she was just hoping that.

Nope, her gut was telling her that this HAD to be part of the challenge. Get past the tree.

Glancing up at the icicles, she squinted to try and look at them. Something was off about this. It wasn't snowing or raining...so where did the icicles come from? She peeked down at her boots, making sure that she wasn't tracking through snow that she hadn't noticed. Nope. Nothing. Something was just weird here.

There was only one thing to do - try and get closer and figure out what exactly was going on here.

She needed more light. "Lumos Maxima!" she exclaimed. This would hopefully help her look at the icicles a bit clearer...and the extra light would also help her peripheral vision as well, so she could see if the tree began to twitch in warning...or so she hoped...