Etta tried to appear confident on the days leading to the start of the challenge but now that she standing near the edge of a creepy-looking forest, the confidence gave way to extreme nervousness. Could she do this? Was she even strong and capable-enough to get through this challenge? Or even physically fit? Ugh. The fact that she had NO idea what to expect was stressing her out the most. How did the book even think she was good enough? She did have lots of questions but obviously, she didn't have an answer to any of them. And also, right now wasn't the time to even think about it. Besides, it was too late to be scared or worried, so might as well enjoy this experience.. right? Right. She could enjoy this.

She hesitated, her right hand clutching her wand tightly and her eyes scanning the forest for any sign of monster danger. Even if she couldn't actually see anything, Etta could feel something.. something lurking nearby. GULP. She stood for another moment or two before taking a few steps into the forest, her face quickly turning pink because of the cold. It really was cold, gosh. She zipped up her jacket quickly, still carefully scanning her surroundings.

What was going to happen? Eeeek.

Poor girl! If you think you're nervous now, just wait.

Better not spend too much time standing there looking around. You never know what might -

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

A terrfied scream disturbs the eerie calm, but who or what made the noise? Do you dare follow the sound and find out?

Etta almost jumped out of her skin at that sound. WHAT EVEN. What was that scream? Where was it even coming from? Was someone in trouble? Or was that the hungry scream of a... monster? GULP. She could feel the panic rising inside her, hoping against hope that she could just survive this. Make it out alive.. She simply stood where she was for a moment or two, trying to calm herself down, before she carefully looked around once again. When she felt sure that nothing was going to jump at her from the back, she started to move forward, in the direction of the sound she'd heard.

She lit her wand with a lumos and started to walk, taking little steps, making sure not to make too much noise with her feet. What WAS that sound, though? Was she walking into a trap? Should she be running in the opposite direction right now? --- and she suddenly felt something pressing against her back. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She jumped and abruptly turned around but it was a branch. The branch of a TREE. What was wrong with her? She swore under her breath before she continued to walk, annoyed with herself for screaming the place down. She'd probably attracted every monster towards her right now.. so she started to walk faster, once again wondering where that sound had came from. What was that? She couldn't see anyone hurt and crying for help so.. an animal, maybe?

She abruptly came to a stop and stood, leaning against the trunk of a large tree, squinting into the darkness with the help of the light from her wand. Now, what? Sighing, she brushed a few strands of hair with the back of her free hand, not sure what her next step should be. Explore more? Or stay where she was?

Why are you just standing around? You'll have to be faster than that if you want to make it out of here in one piece!

As you slowly but surely wander deeper into the forest, the screaming gets louder and louder. Suddenly your Lumos spell illuminates the frightened, tearstained face of a teenage girl about your own age. "Please help..." she begs. "I'm scared..."

A sudden rush of cold adds to your sense of dread, and the scent of decay is everywhere. A cloaked figure appears out of the fog and swoops down toward the girl. It's up to you to save her and yourself!

Just when Etta started to think that maybe, just MAYBE, the sound that she'd heard was probably something she'd imagined.. she suddenly heard the screaming once again and this time it didn't stop. The sound just grew more loud with each step and her panic kept growing. Was someone in trouble? Was someone hurt?

But when she paused for a moment near a tree, the light from her wand shone upon a face.. WHAT. She almost dropped her wand in shock. Who was this girl? Why was she even here? The shock gave way to concern as she took a good long look at her face and also, at hearing her words. Etta took a couple of steps to comfort the girl.. when she hesitated. What was she running away from? Something must be chasing her.. she'd asked for her help, hadn't she?

... and the smell. Etta stood with her wand ready, the light piercing through the fog, just as a figure appeared out of nowhere. She immediately pushed the other girl behind her back. Her first thought-- a dementor. She felt her blood freeze at the thought. She'd obviously never faced a creature like that before and now.. no. No. NOOOOO. It just couldn't be. It just couldn't be. She was obviously wrong.. but wait. She HAD to know what it was. She couldn't ask the other girl, who seemed way too terrified to talk. But she didn't have much time to think now. Etta had to think of an escape route.

Not hesitating for even a second, she decided to throw a Glacius Tria at whatever it was, quickly grabbed the other girl's hand before deciding to make a run for their lives in another direction, after the spell had hit the target.. of course. She kept running, tripping occasionally over fallen branches but also making sure the other girl could keep up. Was that creature.. or person following them? Had they managed to escape?

You can run, but you can't hide!

Your Glacius Tria hits its target, but the creature is unfazed. Now you've only made it angrier!

The dark cloaked creature flies after you and reaches out its slimy, rotting hand toward the girl. You catch a glimpse of the decayed face it lowers toward her. Come on, think! You know how to fight back!

Etta could feel that.. THING chasing them every step of the way. She tried running faster but it was practically impossible because for one, she was starting to get exhausted and second of all, the other girl had to keep up. At one point, she slowed down to a jog when she turned around... to see the mosterish-thing just behind them. Looking at it, just for a second, Etta remembered what had happened last term. How she'd gotten sucked into a portal and how she'd narrowly managed to escape from the monster. And now, she watched it reaching for the girl.. NO. NO. NO. Not if she could help it. Etta roughly pushed her away, a million thoughts running through her mind. If that spell, a Glacius Tria, had barely even touched it.. GULP. She was starting to fear for her life at this point. Was she even going to make it out alive? It really seemed highly doubtful. Was she never going to see her family again? Her friends? Her boyfriend?

Etta just screamed, the anger and frustration slowly replacing the fear. HECK. If she was going to go.. might as well give it a fight and go, yes? THAT'S IT. "YOU GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU STUPID STUPID CREATURE." She was beyond frustrated at this point. She shifted the wand to her right hand, swiftly walking backwards but thinking quickly. THINKING. What spell? The patronus spell? She hadn't even learned it yet. How to attack something without knowing its weaknesses? Why didn't Hirsch teach this in class? Anyway, that was irrelevant in the current situation. Random thoughts.

What was she going to do? Oh, well. It was now or never. Within the next couple of seconds, she cast an Immobulus, praying that it would work. She wanted to cast a fire spell next but fire.. in combination with wood, in a forest, would be a terrible combination and she had no intention of taking that risk... even if an extinguishing spell could work. Instead, she cast a Duro, a simple transfiguration spell. It wouldn't be able to move now, would it? Hopefully. She quickly turned to join the other girl, who had been hiding somewhere behind a tree nearby. She did have a final back-up plan, if that didn't work.

Not wasting too much time, she grabbed the other girl's hand once again and carefully started to move. They couldn't just wait around, could they? ... when she suddenly felt her left arm throbbing. It hurt pretty badly but now wasn't the time to check her arm. She probably must have gotten hurt earlier somehow but hadn't even noticed it.. She sighed to herself, thinking that this challenge only kept getting worse.

Oh no! Those were still the wrong spells! Your Immobulus does nothing to slow the creature's approach, and your Duro was equally futile.

Enraged now more than ever, the cloaked creature catches up to you and reveals the rotting face beneath its hood. It swoops down to the other girl and begins to suck out her soul!

WHAT EVEN.

In a matter of seconds, her spells once AGAIN, did nothing to stop the... dementor. Of course. Normal spells didn't work on a dementor. A dementor. Something she never thought she'd have to face in her entire life and now.. what was her school even thinking? How was a FIFTH year expected to defend herself against a creature like this? When they hadn't even learnt the defence spell in class yet? How.. why... dementors. She simply had to try the patronus spell and if it didn't work and she really doubted that it would.. well.. that's it. But, what were her other options? Nothing. She had no choice. Nothing worked against these horrible, disgusting creatures except that ONE spell.

GOSH GOSH NO SHE COULD NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

She watched in horror, tears slowly flowing down her cheeks, as the creature started to suck out from the other girl's soul.. no, she couldn't cry right now. Her heart and every other part of her body hurt to watch that.. she almost wanted to collapse.. just pass out but.. wait. She could stop this. She HAD to stop this. Or at least, try. How could she give up so easily? C'mon, Etta. You've read about the spell and you know how it works, give it a try. She wasn't going to watch the other girl suffer anymore nor was she going to run away to save herself. She'd been incredibly stupid so far but she was anything but a coward. "STOOOOP IT! Stop it!" She screeched loudly, unable to stop herself. How was yelling going to even help?

Focus, Etta. FOCUS. You need to do this right NOW. Focus.

Happy memory, happy memory. Taking deep breaths and trying to be as calm as possible, she started to think of happy things.. GOOD things.. her parents, her childhood.. laughter.. her fifth birthday party.. love.. her cousins.. cows.. she let these thoughts quickly pass through her mind, the grip on her wand tightening. No time, no time. She opened her eyes and with as much force and concentration that she could muster, she raised her wand high, pointing it straight at the dementor.. and screamed.. LOUDLY.

"Expecto Patronum!" .. and there was a flash of white. Did she do it?

Screaming isn't going to help you now! The dementor pays no attention to your words and continues sucking out the poor girl's soul. There's only one way to stop this, and there's no time to lose!

There you go!

A weak flash of light erupts from the tip of your wand, but it dies out before it has any effect on the dementor. You'll have to try again and fast! Come on, take a deep breath and calm down. Focus. Think of a detailed thought or memory, something that makes you truly happy.

Oh, no. It didn't work.

Etta watched in horror as the flash of light simply faded almost immediately. How had she messed it up so bad? Her eyes shifted towards the young girl, the horror intensifying with every second. No, nooooo. It really hurt to watch.. she had to save her. She just HAD TO. Even if it meant that she had to keep trying but honestly, AGAIN, she didn't have the time which just made her want to scream in frustration all the more..which wasn't going to help really. C'mon, Etta. Concentrate. You can do this.

Happiest memory. She gritted her teeth, forced herself to close her eyes and took deep breaths. She concentrated once again and this time, she completely ignored the dementor, the girl and her surroundings. This time, she couldn't mess up. She couldn't. The girl swiftly shifted through her memories, trying to find her happiest one. The most exciting one. There were lots of memories that had happiness attached to them but.. her eighth birthday party. When her parents had organised a huge party for her.. and there had been lots of cake to eat.. people smiling and being happy.. most importantly, the day her family had gifted her a puppy. Her beautiful Sammy. She could still clearly remember how she thrilled she had been to meet him, play with him.. how she cherished that beautiful day. Yes, that was the happiest day of her life. That memory kept running through her mind, the corners of her lips almost lifting up in a smile.

She opened her eyes slowly, feeling extremely calm. Concentrating on that memory with all the power and will that she could muster, she raised her wand and pointed it directly at the dementor. Within the next couple of seconds, she cast the spell once again, her voice loud and clear. "Expecto Patronum!"

...... and this time, she watched as something silvery came out of from the tip of the wand.. straight towards the dementor. She felt her body weaken.. almost to the point of wanting to just collapse but rested her palm against the trunk of a tree for support. But, it didn't matter. None of it mattered. Her spell.. had been successful. She stared in awe at the ( goat? It looked like a goat, at least ) silvery creature as it made its way towards the hooded dementor.

WOW. That felt almost unbelievable. The fact that she'd actually managed to cast a spell that was nearly NEWT level. She felt almost proud.. but that was just for a flickering second or two. Had she done it? Had she saved the girl? That was the most important thing right now, wasn't it?

A shapeless silver light shoots from the tip of your wand toward the dementor. It manages to stop the creature from feeding on the poor girl, at least for now, but your incorporeal patronus won't make it go away completely.

The girl is deathly pale and trembling violently. She suddenly drops to all fours and throws up. She eventually looks up at you with wide, frightened eyes. "W-who are you? Why am I here?" she asks.

Then she notices the bright silver light. "Where is that light coming from?"

It was gone. The STUPID thing was gone. .. for now.

Etta's eyes quickly flew towards the silvery-light that was shining from her patronus, curious to understand it.. study it. She still wasn't sure what it was. It looked like a goat maybe.. but it could be something else but now wasn't the time to find out. She quickly rushed over to where the girl was, wanting to make sure she was okay. She was okay, wasn't she? Did she need medical help? She wasn't a healer obviously.. but she could definitely try helping her. She watched with concern as the girl started to throw up..the fact that this girl, whoever she was, had to go through something like that. How awful. It was her fault, really. If only Etta had stopped the dementor earlier.. what had she been thinking? Obviously, she hadn't been thinking at ALL.

Once the girl finished throwing up, Etta took off her jacket and put it on her. The girl was in more need of it right now.. she was practically shivering, goodness. She seemed to have some questions but Etta simply ignored them for the moment. She had to concentrate on getting them out of there because she wasn't sure if the dementor was completely gone and she didn't want to wait to find out.

Next, she cast a hot-air charm and pointed it at the girl so that the warm air hit her right on her face. It would probably help her feel a little better, yes? Hurry, Etta. She let the air stream for another few seconds and slowly let it come to a stop. The next second, she cast a lumos solem.. the most powerful of the lumos spell. She watched as the light from her wand brightly lit her surroundings and gave her fantastic visibility. Nothing could escape this ray of light. Even if there was something lurking in the shadows, she'd know. Making sure nothing was going to jump at them from anywhere, she turned towards the girl once again. "I'm a friend." Etta finally responded to the girl's question, not sure if giving her name was a good idea. What did she know about this girl, after all? What if this was a trap? "I don't know why you're here.." She frowned momentarily, studying her face. "Who are you exactly.. and why are you here?" And the light.. Etta hesitated for a moment before deciding to not answer that question. First, she needed to know who this girl was. She wasn't going to readily give answers.

Anyway, they had to move. Etta extended a hand, giving the girl a kind smile. "Hey, can you get up? We should make a move." This was no time for chit-chat, honestly. What if the dementor came back? She couldn't go through that experience all over again. It had been too scary and nerve-wracking.. she was already scarred for life probably. Ugh. "Come on." She gently helped the girl get to her feet and noticed that that her shivering had reduced considerably. Etta slowly started to lead the away, not knowing where she was headed exactly but hoping against hope that they were heading towards safety.

The girl stares at you in a daze as you put your jacket on her. The jacket and your hot air charm together reduce her shivering a bit, but now she's trembling with fear instead of cold.

She blinks as you question her, looking even more confused than ever. "I - I'm Amanda," she says after a long pause. "I don't know! All I remember is being cold and alone and scared. Oh goodness! I'm so scared!"

She starts to cry, but her tears stop as she notices the bright light from your lumos solem spell. Her eyes go wide. "What was-? How did you make that light?"

Then her expression suddenly turns suspicious. "If you can do that... Did you make everything go all dark and cold too?" She backs away as you try to help her up. She stands for a second, but then her legs give out and she falls.

Now what are you going to do?

.. and then something strange was happening. Another confusion. Great, just great. Just what she needed right now.

Just when Etta started to think that things couldn't get any worse, the girl started to act strangely. Amanda.. well, she didn't know where she was from? How was that even possible? That made no sense. She frowned, not sure how to take that. Did the dementor wipe out out her memories so fast? No, that couldn't be possible. So, what? She considered asking another question when the girl started to cry. Etta looked extremely helpless, not sure how to react to this. She could understand the feeling of wanting to cry and being sad, feeling horrible.. but was now really the time? Not when they were still in danger? She sighed and tried comforting the girl, still occasionally looking around her to make sure they weren't going to be attacked any second. Having to deal with this when they should be moving towards safety was starting to make her feel fustrated but she tried being calm.. as much as possible.

"I know, Amanda." Etta started to say, feeling extremely sympathetic. "But we don't have the time to discuss this right now.. okay? Please try to understand. We're still not completely out of danger yet.." She could feel the frustration growing every minute they were standing there. They should have been far away from that spot right now but instead, they were having a conversation. Was this important? Didn't Amanda know what the priority was right now? Was this going to be never-ending? .. when she said something that made Etta's eyes go really wide. Again, the light? The lumos spell? Everyone knew that---- Oh... my GOSH. Wait. A sudden thought struck her. Was she muggle? She froze on the spot, not sure what to say anymore. What the heck. If she was muggle, how was Etta going to explain all the magic? Why was a muggle even here? In the middle of a forest? Where was she from? She had a million questions running through her mind at the moment but none of them seemed to have an answer.. currently.

Dark and cold? Etta felt extremely hurt AND upset that someone could think that way.. especially when she'd just saved the girl, seconds ago, from a terrifying monster. How could she even ask that? She took a few deep breaths, trying to figure out how to best handle the situation. Something new seemed to keep cropping up.. Anyway, never mind. Back to Amanda.. if she was a muggle, Etta couldn't explain the magic but at the same time, she had to convince her that she could trust her. Build some confidence in her.. she eyed the other girl, trying to look as friendly as possible although she probably looked a little scary with her messy hair and bruises everywhere.

"Hey, listen. I don't know who you are or where you're from.. but I watched that creature chase you.. and I tried my level best to save you, okay? It took a.. lot out of me. So.. if I could do something like that, try to protect you, doesn't that mean I'll take you to safety? That's logical, right? I'm not saying you have to be my best friend but you can trust me, I promise you." Etta finished with her small speech, looking at her expectantly. "And if you have trouble walking.." .. she considered casting a feather-light charm on the girl but decided against it. She didn't want the girl to end up hating her or something. Not right now. "I can try carrying you.. piggy-back. Is that okay?" .. Anything to just get out of there, as soon as possible. Please? Could this girl just co-operate?

Amanda looks at you skeptically. She still wants answers! She opens her mouth to say something back, but before she can argue...

She changes her mind. It looks like your words are starting to get through to her. She nods. "Okay," she says, "I guess that makes sense."

She shakes her head when you offer to carry her. "Thanks, but I think I'll be okay," she says. She tries to stand again and grabs hold of a tree to support herself She remains upright for a minute, but she falls to her knees when she tries to take a step toward you. Having her soul nearly sucked out has taken its toll on the poor girl!

"I'm sorry!" she cries, starting to tear up again. "I really am trying, but..." She shudders. "So many bad thoughts... I just want the scary memories to go away!"

Maybe there's something you can do to help her with those bad memories...

Etta gave a small sigh of relief when she agreed. Okay.. one thing taken care of. The last thing she wanted at the moment was to get into a discussion in the middle of a dark, creepy forest. She did feel a little pleased that her words had gotten through to her somehow.. and Amanda seemed rather nice. Even if Etta had been a little upset about her words earlier, she really couldn't blame her. Being in a strange place without knowing how she even got there.. well, Etta could definitely understand her situation. In fact, Amanda was so strong.. in spite of what had just happened. And plus.. the fact that the other girl could be muggle kept bothering her. She pushed that thought to the far recesses of her mind for now, realising that other things needed immediate thought.. that they should have started walking already. Things were not going as planned and Etta was already getting more than slightly impatient.

She nodded when Amanda refused her offered help to carry her. Yeah.. she was actually glad that she did. Because, really.. trying to be practical about it, how far could she carry her? Even if she could manage to walk at all? She was physically fit but definitely not fit enough to carry a girl who was her age. It would have been more difficult than she had imagined. She watched in concern while the other girl tried standing up on her own with the support of a tree.. okay.. good but almost immediately falls to her knees. If she couldn't even stand up.. Etta thought fast, trying to think of alternate solutions. What could be done? Amanda obviously needed the time to heal and recover slowly after going through such a traumatising experience but obviously, that couldn't be done now. Gosh, she really understood. Etta understood how painful it was for the other girl and she felt it with all her heart but she had to think of the immediate future, right? Think of their safety? For how long could they be safe? Could they even escape now?

... and the girl started to cry again. Etta sighed, her impatience disappearing and wondered if hugging her right now would be a little too much... gah, who cared? "No.. no, love. It's okay, it's okay." She leaned down and gave Amanda a hug, hoping she wouldn't mind and also hoping that it would make her feel slightly better, maybe? Scary memories.. gosh, poor Amanda! She pulled away, staring into her face for a moment or two. How was she going to help her? When a thought suddenly struck her. Of COURSE!

-- why hadn't she thought of it before? Magic, obviously. She started to look slightly anxious, hesitating to immediately implement that thought. What if Amanda got scared and nervous all over again? But.. Etta was only going to help, right? She had conflicting thoughts for another few seconds before giving the girl another hug. "Hey, trust me.. okay?" And before the girl could speak another word, Etta casted a simple cheering charm at her. That should work. Sorry, Amanda. It was for the best, though.

Amanda calms down some as you hug her. She wipes her eyes and looks up at you. "Thanks," she says, but her expression turns confused when you ask her to trust you. "Okay...?"

She blinks and looks at you, even more confused that ever. "Was that supposed to do something?" she asks. It seems your cheering charm hasn't worked. It was a noble effort, but the effects of the dementors are just too strong.

Amanda turns pale and suddenly begins to tremble. She covers her ears. "Please... make it stop!" she begs. "I want the bad thoughts to go away now!"

There has to be something else you can do to help her! Maybe confuse her? Or make her think it's all a dream?

Etta was confused. How did that spell NOT work? She frowned, trying to think properly. Unless she didn't cast it properly.. which was practically impossible. She was pretty decent at magic and had confidence in her ability. What could be the problem exactly? She absently stared at Amanda for a few moments until she realised that maybe.. the dementor had something to do with it. Maybe certain spells wouldn't work on her.. which was going to be a problem. Because Amanda couldn't move for move now and she had to do something to make her forget what happened.. obviously she couldn't and didn't want to use a memory charm. It was rather a dangererous spell to use.. because what if one accidentally wipes all their memories? Besides, as far as she knew, it was beyond NEWT level so she was pretty sure that it was rather beyond her ability. Um.. she gnawed at her lower lip, trying to think of other spells. Anything else she could use? Something a little more practical? "Uh.." Etta hesitated, when she finally responded to Amanda's question. "It's nothing." She gave her a small smile, although her mind was still actively running through all the possibilities.

... when she suddenly started shivering. "Amanda? Hey.." Etta felt really concerned. Oh.. how she wished she could come up with a solution to help her feel better. It looked like she was hurting and Etta.. she still had nothing in mind. Wait, no. She was smart. If she could chase a dementor away, she could surely think of something useful. This was difficult because.. these weren't the kind of spells one uses in dueling and they hadn't learnt much about it in classes either. Think, Etta. Think. She really wanted to help. After a couple of moments, something crossed her mind.

What about confundo? The frown that had settled between her brows deepened even further in thought. It would confuse Amanda for a while.. but those bad thoughts wouldn't trouble her anymore, right? She sighed, still feeling a bit unsure. What if that didn't work, too? But it was definitely worth a try. Um..

"Hey, Amanda? Calm down, okay? You'll feel better soon." She gave her a smile and another hug, hoping those words would cheer her up a little before deciding to cast a confundo at her. Etta wasn't sure whether this would work and if not.. she wasn't sure if she knew anything else that could help. She stared at Amanda, the anxiety clearly visible on her face.

Amanda looks at you, obviously confused, but doesn't question you when you say it was nothing. She's still shivering, but she removes her hands from her ears when you speak to her. She lets you hug her, and that calms her down a little.

Your confundus charm hits its target, and Amanda's fearful expression goes blank. With the memory of her attack gone for now, she stops trembling and is able to stand on her own. She glances around her surroundings, then looks back at you. "Hi! I'm sorry to bother you, but I think I'm lost," she says. "Do you know the way out of here?"

You'd better start guiding her out of the forest - and fast! Who knows when that dementor might come back?

Oh! Oh. It worked!

Etta refrained from heaving a sigh of relief as she looked at Amanda's face, her features clearly expressing confusion. Finally. She felt a little bad too.. a cheering charm would have been better, right? At least, she'd have been happy but.. oh, well. She had to do something. Also, Amanda wouldn't have to remember and go through the pain of those bad memories for a little while.. which Etta was glad about, obviously. Poor girl, having to suffer through a dementor. A dementor and this was only the first challenge too.. gulp. She raised an eyebrow at the girl's question before giving a quick nod of the head and raising her wand to cast a lumos to light her surroundings once again. She had a quick look all around her, deciding that they were pretty safe for now.

"Come on!" Etta grabbed Amanda's hand with her free hand and started to briskly walk in a particular direction. Obviously, she had no idea where she was going.. but just hoped that it was the path to safety. She occasionally turned to look backwards too.. you know, better to check 'cause what if something was following them? Always better to be safe than sorry. Also, making sure that the other girl was keeping pace with her, she kept walking.. her anxiety increasing slightly with every step but also looking extremely alert. The last thing she wanted was to be taken by surprise.. who knew what else lurked in these woods?

Important questions though.. Were they walking in the right direction? Or were they walking right into a trap?

Your lumos spell lights the way in front of you as you start walking. Amanda follows along behind you, never letting go of your hand. After a few wrong turns, you soon find the right path. The thick fog starts to thin as you go on, and you can see more light coming through the tops of the knotted trees. You're almost there...

And you made it! The second you step out of the creepy forest, Amanda suddenly goes stiff. You soon realize she is gone, and a dummy dressed exactly like her is left in her place. A man steps out of the forest and removes the disillusionment charm he was under. He's been right behind you the whole time to make sure you got out in one piece. From the badge he's wearing, you can tell he's from the Ministry of Magic.

The Ministry official levitates the dummy toward himself and smiles at you. "Congratulations, Miss Kramer! You've finished the first challenge," he says. He hands you a dirty old teddy bear with an ear missing. "This is a portkey that will take you to the stands." And as soon as you touch the bear, you're whisked away.

OOC: You can look at the viewing area and other competitiors' threads now.

Etta kept walking.. until she saw light. There it was! LIGHT. She increased her pace, her face brightening with excitement. Goodness, they could finally escape. She saw the light getting brighter with every step.. suddenly feeling rather overwhelmed with happiness. They were going to escape the darkness very soon.

The second she stepped out of the forest though... wait. Amanda? She stared her hand first and then, at the dummy in wonder. But just before she could mentally process what had just happened, someone suddenly appeared out of the forest.. she frowned, looking rather confused. Who was this person again? She watched as he approached her, levitating the dummy towards him. Wait. Had she just risked her life by fighting a dementor for a.. dummy? Etta wasn't sure how she felt about that but.. she'd successfully completed the challenge which made her sigh in relief. It was over, finally.

She managed to give the man a small smile, her eyes flickering towards the dummy for a second. "Thank you, kind sir." She accepts the bear and the portal whisks her away to the stands.