Well, this was it--the second challenge. Brent tried to feel as confident as he did the first go round, but there was just so much riding on this. For one, Ilvermorny was pretty much ruling this competition so far. They outnumbered Hogwarts by a pretty good number, seeing as only one of them had gotten eliminated last time. Brent was determined not to fall victim to this round, but he couldn't help but wonder what lied ahead and if he'd even know what to do to get himself through this. Confidence was half the battle, though, so he tried to focus more on succeeding and push all the negative thoughts out of his head.

Another thing, was that he'd already asked out his girlfriend in front of the entire school during the first round, so he couldn't throw out the 'romantic hero on the battlefield' card again. It was just him and the one thing he was allowed to bring with him--his wand. As his teeth began to chatter, he drew his wand out his holster and continued along the pathway of fallen snow. As much as he hated to start this challenge off much in the same way he did the other, he really didn't have a choice. The weather was the same, so..."Caelum Saepio!" he said, with a wave of his wand.

There. The competition may have started the same, but he had a really strong feeling nothing else would be the same. As the path ended, he came to a stop by a large stone and surveyed what he could see of what lied before him.

Great. Just great.

Being a transfer from Ilvermorny, Brent didn't have as much experience with the Whomping Willow as some of the other Hogwarts kids did. He knew enough about it, though, to know that tree would whomp him right back to America if he didn't figure out a way around it. And...what was up with those icicles dangling from the tree? They seemed...out of place somehow. He hadn't remembered it being that cold out, but then again, nothing was normal in the arena. Brent squinted at the icicles as he remained in place, just out of reach of the tree's swinging branches. Thank Merlin the thing was rooted in place. He allowed his gaze to travel to the large stone for just a moment, just in case there were any clues or...anything worse waiting there for him. As far as he could tell, there was nothing, so he turned his attention back to the bad boy before him--the tree.

He had an idea, but as usual, it could either go really, really good for him, or really, really bad for him. For now..."Loricatus!" he called out, giving himself a temporary armor. He was still out of reach of the tree's whomping limbs, but who knew what else was out there. If something was flung at him at a moments notice, he was ready. The armor was only temporary, though, and he planned to end the effects of it just as soon as he'd had time to investigate a bit more.

So what did he have? He had his wand, he was protected by a temporary suit of armor, he had what appeared to be a whomping willow at rest (for now) before him, and he had the environment. Oh, and...there were those icicles that he had a funny feeling about. He squinted at them a second time, but seeing as he couldn't exactly figure out what it was about them that intrigued him so much, he decided to get a better look. "Lumos Duo!" he called out, and he pointed his wand toward the icicles.

He also knew what he had to do to get the tree immobilized once it got going (because he knew it would), but it was way too soon to attempt something like that. How did that old saying go? Never tickle a sleeping dragon? Well, he was applying that philosophy to the tree for the moment.