Brent had been feeling totally bummed out and confused, but when he saw Skylar waving at him with a smile on her face, he couldn't help but smile back at her. He greeted her in the aisle with a hug and a quick kiss, because Merlin only knew the professors wouldn't take too well to a hug and a full-on snog. "Well?" he asked, wondering how she thought he did. He knew he hadn't been perfect, and he might not have even been the best. He thought he did pretty good, though. "I lived though another one," he said, "although I guess it was pretty easy to do that, seeing as it was all pretty much a daydream."

"Bro!" Brent said, seeing Kane approach. "What's up, man?" Being around Skylar and Kane was suddenly putting him in a much better mood. He laughed when his brother brought up the fact that Brent had given the bottom floor of the Shrieking Shack a good cleaning. "Dude, I literally had no idea what I was looking for at that point. I was pretty much just trying anything." He shrugged, having no idea what the judges might think of him in the challenge. He'd gotten past the Whomping Willow, deciphered a poem, and found two hidden items all while daydreaming. He thought he'd at least done some good.

Er....what? They had somehow been watching a dream? She had been curious had they'd all been working at the same Whomping Willow, but had kinda just thought the Champions had staggered starts and were somehow just showing them all at the same time. She was curious. How did it work, to see inside someones thoughts like that?

She knew one thing though. Dora was likely to be furious. Her bestie hated the idea of her food and drink being tampered with. Not alone her brain.

And speaking of Dora... Sam quickly rummaged in her bag, and pulled out a warm jacket and a thermos of hot sweet tea. "You're not the only one," she replied, handing over the latter, and wrapping the former round the Gryffindor's shoulders. "Did you know it wasn't real? Seems like dangerous magic to me." Meddling with someone's thoughts.

As for Healer Reed? Sam nodded in his direction. "We can go together, if you like."

Kyle ran up to Brent, then stopped a little shyly. While Brent wasn't an adult, he was still much older. And becoming like, his idol. Taking a deep breath, he approached and smiled brightly. "You were so cool in there! I've been cheering for you these last two challenges, and I just wanted to say I'm a huge fan! I thought you did fantastic in there!" And Slytherin boys needed to stick together. Yup.

And there was Louise! Small smile for her. She would have given the other girl a big smile but she didn't feel like that. Oh and Etta! But it seemed as if Etta also felt the same as she did.

Irene glanced up to see Madelyn. "Hey!" she said with a small smile or remnants of a small smile cause the girl was so exhausted. She felt as if her eyes were about to fall out of her head. Thy felt so heavy. Did she need a Healer? Um.. She didn't know. Her head pounded and she winced again. "Yeah...A Healer would be great. I... I.." She couldnt' describe the sensation properly. "I feel so out of it." It was like she had woken up from a terrible night's sleep and she had a caffeine headache and she felt dizzy. It was not a fun feeling.

She looked down at the ground briefly when she felt the world spinning around her. She felt very light-headed. Before anything else happened, she glanced up and noted Jesus' kind, reassuring smile. "I..." She felt as if she was going to faint. Spinning room. Deep breath in and out. "Hi Jesus! Sorry if I was staring.. I'm just exhausted," she said, greeting him in a less loud manner than usual. She just needed her bed. "Is it just me or are the stands spinning?" she asked as she felt herself sway to one side. The floor looked really comfortable....

Paul hopped up as soon as Henrietta finished, moving to sit next to her and offer her a warm smile. "Henrietta Kramer....you did wonderfully," he had such high hopes for her. Really, she'd done SO well considering how much had gone wrong for the girl. She had a MUCH tougher go than anyone else in the competition this round, and if she was eliminated...then...

He'd be upset, too, Etta.

"We'll get the Healer to come take a look at you, all right. In the meantime..." Paul handed her a cup of water. "Drink up. You look positively drained, m'dear." And she didn't need to hear about his little freakout earlier. The PANIC. And it had been a dream, Paul KNEW this..and still.

Dora was... not pleased with the challenge... although she wouldn't actually call it a challenge seeing as none of it actually HAPPENED. It was frustrating beyond belief. They were throwing around words like WORTH, but everything seemed to be illusions and tricks to date. So they would be scored according to whether or not their DREAM self was able to suss out a riddle.

TOTAL CROCK OF CRUD.

But these things merely bounced around in her head, she was too drained to really voice any of it. Dora gladly took the thermos and held it tightly, her eyes going over to the other competitors. She would congratulate them for succeeding, but it seemed that everyone kind of felt the same way she did. Besides, why even bother with the pretense?

Attention drawn back to her bestie, she frowned deeply. "I didn't know it wasn't real when I was... dreaming it all, no. But I knew I was taking a potion at the start and knew... most of what happened when I woke up. Memories were tampered with again, though. And I am not keen on that." Her voice was soft and quiet, her eyes flashing with a little anger. That was all she could muster. She had taken the sodding potion even though she had no reason to trust ANY of them... and this was the thanks she got. AWESOME.

Unscrewing the lid of the thermos she lifted it to her lips and swallowed down a good deal of it, letting the heat radiate through her...

But as soon as it hit her stomach she felt it. Felt that she had made a great mistake. Turning to look at Sam, Dora opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words... the tea found itself right back up and out of her mouth... and onto Sam's lap.

Once, twice... retching. Her head was swimming and everything she had consumed was finding its way back up.

AWESOME. All she could think of was the fact that here she sat, Gryffindor champion... puking on her best friend.

GREAT END TO HER DAY!

Jesus was talking to her and the blonde couldn't help but blush a bit, "It's not hard to have it with how hard y'all are working.
It's amazing. Y'all deserve to win." She knew it was only one that won,
but in her eyes, they were all the champions.


Speaking of her eyes they weren't staring at him at all, but looking at Irene with concern as she started to sway a bit. She hurried and put an arm around her. "HEALER??? WE NEED A HEALER OVER HERE!!!!!" She looked at her friend with concern. "It's okay Irene just hold on, the healer is coming." She wasn't going to let go of her until an adult came to help her.

Etta almost jumped out of her seat when professor Paul joined her soon enough, turning to look at him. She did wonderfully. She eyed him uncertainly, a small smile on her face. "Professor, do you mean it or are you just saying that to make me feel better?" As much as she admired her Head of House, she didn't want him to try to cheer her up.. "I really messed up, didn't I? Be honest with me, professor. Please."

She accepted the water gratefully before lifting it up to drink it slowly. Well, that did help a little. "Thank you. I.. uh.. do feel a little weak, though. It's probably the exhaustion.. right?" .. was she going to be OKAY? Etta couldn't help panicking a little. She did vaguely remember getting hit by the Whomping Willow but tried not to give it too much thought. Nope, not now.

She saw that look in her friend's eyes, and the Ravenclaw knew what it meant. "Why did you have to dream doing it...why not actually do it?" Didn't it rob them of the sense of achievement, from the worthiness that tournament seemed to keen on?

She didn't get to contemplate it any more though, since apparently hot, sweet, milky tea wasn't going down well. Rather, it was coming back up and into her lap.

"You coulda aimed the other way..." she said lightly, with a shake of her head. Her loyal supporter, and this was the thanks she got?! And of course, Sam had put many things in her bag for when Dora had completed the challenge, but a change of clothes for herself wasn't one of them.

Seriously though, Sam was worried. Her light tone was just concealing it. A wave of her wand sorted the liquid seeping through her jeans, and she stood up to catch the Healer's attention. "Healer Reed? I think Dora needs you!"

Aurora smirked at Jesus' comment towards her. Out of that whole group of sour faced Ilvermorny kids, Aurora had to admit he was probably her favorite one. He never seemed like he actually really disliked her. Not the way Valerie did at least. He at least humored her. If he did dislike her that much, he hid it well, which was all she asked for, really. Once she had this scholarship in the bag, she could care less what people thought about her. Even if she DIDN'T win, she'd probably still not care.

Of course, that was all hypothetical. She was definitely going to win, because DUH. It was HER.

She was going to make a sassy retort to him, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Irene appeared! "Oh thank goodness!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend back. Wow, she looked pale. Aurora wrinkled her dark eyebrows and examined her. She personally hadn't thought it was all that bad, yet everyone seemed like they had just awoken from a coma. Had...had they had a more difficult challenge than her? Had she breezed through hers because it had been set up that way? Had she just been humored, and was she about to be eliminated??

She had felt that way after the last challenge too...but she had always thought everyone was just being dramatic. SHE knew they weren't going to be in any real danger, even if they threw a dementor at her. Why worry? Why get upset? That thought had helped her through both of the competitions and she had come out exhausted, but mostly unscathed, especially mentally. It was all a competition, after all, they wouldn't let something terrible REALLY happen to them...

But if Irene was feeling ill, and had suffered a lot through this challenge...maybe it wasn't the other people who were the problem. Maybe it was AURORA.

She didn't have much time to process that, though, because Irene was looking paler than ever, and was slowly slumping down into her lap. Uh oh.

"HELP! SHE'S PASSING OUT!" Aurora exclaimed. She had NEVER seen her friend like this before, and it was far more terrifying than the challenge she had just been through. "EVERYONE BACK UP! GIVE HER ROOM TO BREATHE!" she snapped at people around her. YOU TOO, MADELYN. They needed water, or orange juice, or something like that...weren't you supposed to drink orange juice after you fainted?

There was someone else yelling too. She looked over and noticed some Hogwarts girl, covered in vomit from ANOTHER Hogwarts girl. That Dora chick that she had met that one time in the halls. Her eyes widened and she felt HERSELF getting anxious now. What was going ON!? Why was everyone DYING?!

The ACTION the CHAOS the DRAMA!!!!

This was EVERYTHING Zoryn could've ever hoped for. Though she was definitely more than just slightly disappointed that she wasn't actually a part of it. Sitting on the sidelines was kinda fun because she got to see ALL THE THINGS, but MAN she wanted to be on one of those screens SOOOOOOOOOO BADLY.

This wasn't fair at all.

Though, everything happening in the stands right now was WAY more interesting than the actual task had been. So she just bounced around, whipping her head back and forth between all the competitors. They didn't look half as angry as they were last time.

Also, it was a real good thing that Levi and Dora made it back. Zoryn would be VERY distraught if they were kicked out of the competition. GRYFFINDOR, y'know?

"Anyone have popcorn?" Y'know, for the show?

Nausea and vomiting were hardly signs of death. Rather it was just a side effect of the potion they had given her. Which was nothing to worry about... but it was unpleasant nonetheless. And the blonde girl couldn't seem to make it stop right away.

Even as Sam cleared the vomit away the Gryffindor was able to turn and aim her stomach contents elsewhere. After a few more times she finally felt it all subsiding. Her head hurt, but other than that, she felt somewhat better. About her health anyway, not about the fact that she had just covered her best friend in vomit. "So sorry, Sam. Just. Stomach. Ugh." The girl leaned forward and put her head on her knees, kind of doubling in on herself. That felt nice at least. She could surely get herself to the hospital wing after a few minutes of this... maybe. Perhaps.

And that shouting coming from nearby was NOT ideal. Not with her head splitting like it was. Covering her ears with her hands she shifted her shoulders to and fro a bit to get the jacket how she wanted it.

Was it over yet?

Teddy was looking for a place to sit. She felt sick. Like the kind of sick you get when you take a nap that went on for too long. A juicebox sounded so good right now or anything that might soothe her stomach.

It took awhile for her to realize the young boy was talking to her, being none of the champions or their fans really cared for her. She gave him a very fatigued, but genuine smile. "Aww, really?" What an adorable kid! She patted his head, "Thank you, sweetheart. That's very nice of you to say."

Skylar inwardly squeed when Brent met her in the aisle with a hug and a kiss to which she gladly returned the favor, but only momentarily as there was the younger brother commenting on his cleaning and a small first year Slytherin whom Sky recognized as Kyle. Yes better save the full on snog for later, for congratulatory if he was continuing on or condolences if he wasn't. So it was really a win-win, the way Skylar thought of it. "Well, I think you did brilliantly and that I need a Runes Tutor," she winked playfully.

Seriously, if he didn't make the cut, then those judges were blind. Of course she might have been slightly bias. "Also, I had no idea my boyfriend was so talented with housework." He could like come to the Diggory house anytime and help with that. Merlin knew with the ever present crowdedness it could use more help in the cleaning department. "I appreciated it, so I'm sure the judges will be impressed," she said for Kane's benefit.

The second challenge of the IMPS competition had, needless to say, been an interesting one to view. It involved a lot of strategy and clever thinking to get through it. Her eyebrows rose on occasion at the actions of some of the competitors, impressed with some but bewildered by others. Nonetheless, they all seemed to be fairing well. The scores were most definitely going to be close.

After the final competitor made their appearance at the stands, Regina took that as her cue to rise from her seat, her notes folded in her hand, and meet with Moxely and the other two judges to determine the eight that would be moving on to the next challenge. Let the heated discussion begin...

Time ticked and tocked, adding up to a total of fifteen minutes before the woman made her reappearance at the stands. Surprisingly, coming to a conclusion about who would move on and who would not was fairly easy this time around. Most had done a stellar job with this challenge ... and then there were a few surprises. Not to mention the current standings after the points from the previous challenge were added to today's earnings. Brace yourselves, Hogwarts and Ilvermorny!

With a wave of her wand, the screen put on display the points from the previous challenge belonging to the competitors who had moved on:

Kyle Baker, Ilvermorny, 25 points.
Valerie Gray, Ilvermorny, 24 points.
Levi Kenning, Hogwarts, 24 points.
Jesus Rodriguez, Ilvermorny, 24 points.
Dora Umbridge, Hogwarts, 24 points.
Brent Westwood, Hogwarts, 24 points.
Aurora Chae, Ilvermorny, 23 points.
Louise Hamilton, Ilvermorny, 23 points.
Aiden Jones, Ilvermorny, 23 points.
Irene Avery, Ilvermorny, 21 points.
Henreitta Kramer, Hogwarts, 19 points.
Tejashree Peale, Hogwarts, 19 points.

Once the points were on display, her wand gently glided to her neck. She did not waste another moment and allowed her voice to echo throughout the stands. "Again our IMPS competitors were put to the test, though this time for a very different challenge, one that required using the mind -- strategy, sound thinking, and attentiveness -- to its fullest capacity in order to succeed. Our companions at the Department of Mysteries did a fantastic job of putting our competitors in a realistic daydream, allowing them to let their minds show us what they are capable of."

There was a short pause as Regina reached in her pocket for a small piece of parchment. Those who remembered seeing her do so month ago would know that it was time for the scores to be revealed. Throat cleared and eyes on her, she stated, "Like the first challenge, those that competed today were able to earn up to a maximum of twenty-five points. The points earned from the previous challenge and today's challenge will be totaled. The top eight competitors with the highest amount of points thus far in the competition will continue on, whereas the bottom four will not.

"The competitors and their point earnings for today's challenge are as follows: Kyle Baker, Ilvermorny, 25 points. Valerie Gray, Ilvermorny, 25 points. Jesus Rodriguez, Ilvermorny, 25 points. Dora Umbridge, Hogwarts, 25 points. Aurora Chae, Ilvermorny, 24 points. Levi Kenning, Hogwarts, 24 points. Brent Westwood, Hogwarts, 23 points. Irene Avery, Ilvermorny, 22 points. Louise Hamilton, Ilvermorny, 22 points. Henrietta Kramer, Hogwarts, 22 points. Tejashree Peale, Hogwarts, 21 points. Aiden Jones, Ilvermorny, 20 points."

Then, with a flick of her wand, the standings on the screen adjusted in accordance with the addition of the second challenge's markings:

Kyle Baker, Ilvermorny, 50 points.
Valerie Gray, Ilvermorny, 49 points.
Jesus Rodriguez, Ilvermorny, 49 points.
Dora Umbridge, Hogwarts, 49 points.
Levi Kenning, Hogwarts, 48 points.
Aurora Chae, Ilvermorny, 47 points.
Brent Westwood, Hogwarts, 47 points.
Louise Hamilton, Ilvermorny, 45 points.
Irene Avery, Ilvermorny, 43 points.
Aiden Jones, Ilvermorny, 43 points.
Henreitta Kramer, Hogwarts, 41 points.
Tejashree Peale, Hogwarts, 40 points.

"To the top eight competitors listed, you will be moving on to the third of the four challenges; congratulations. To the bottom four students, unfortunately you will not be continuing; however, we thank you for your effort and participation," the woman addressed the competitors before leading the crowd in applause.

Following the applause, Regina continued, "The third challenge of IMPS will be taking place on March 21st. Until the time comes, continue studying hard and building friendships with each other." That was, after all, part of why this competition was happening: to strengthen the relationship between the two schools. "You all may now return to your usual Saturday routines," she added before removing her wand from her neck and taking her leave.

Brent had just finished hugging and kissing his girlfriend, when a much younger Slytherin approached him. Kyle, it was, and Brent knew that, because the younger boy was in the same house he was in. "Kyle," he greeted. "What's up, man?" He was really grateful for Kyle's words, because other than his girlfriend and the little bro, nobody else had stopped him to say anything. It was nice to get out there, work your heart out, and then hear words like Kyle's. "Really? That's awesome, little dude! If I make it to the third round," which he seriously hoped he did, "I'll try to keep it for you, man." He lifted his hand to give Kyle a high five.

Seriously, though. This round liked to have gotten him. Brent was better at Defense classes and defending himself against opponents and dark creatures. He was smart and made good grades, but working his way through a maze of clue wasn't exactly his strong point. Those Ilvermorny kids were killin' them, but he wouldn't be so bold as to tell them that. That Kyle Baker was going to be tough to beat. He turned back to Skylar was a grin. "A Runes tutor? I don't know if I'm that good," he said. He'd always hated Runes, but after the first challenge, he'd agreed to give it a second chance. He blushed when she brought up the housework. "I hate housework," he admitted, "but I had no idea what to do at that point. I was just making my way around the shack trying to see the dang thing."

"So about this weekend," he continued. "Hogsmeade weekend and Valentine's Day's coming up. How's dinner and a few other surprises sound?"

...and she didn't exactly have time to answer that right now, because just at that moment, the results were in, and the Headmistress was starting her speech. Brent held his breath, not even wanting to breath until he knew his fate. The competition wasn't everything, but he didn't exactly want to be eliminated either. His eyes watched as the flickered across the screen.

Brent Westwood, Hogwarts, 47 points.

"Tied for sixth place overall," he said. "I'm moving on!"

YESSSSSSSSSS!

Although, Kyle Baker...dude was some serious competition.

In the end, Professor Myers had been right. It wasn't nearly as harrowing as the first task had been but -- well, it was hard to beat having to fight a Dementor and then being almost forced to obliviate someone's memory. Even if it had been a dummy; she still didn't understand how those dummies are sounded so self-aware but maybe this whole competition was designed to raise questions and have them lose their minds trying to find the answer. Like how they had been able to see what the competitors were dreaming under the effect of the potion and, of course, the ethical discussion that could be raised by asking the champions if they had known what they were taking.

So much fun.

At least Lupin had finally grown some sense and had kept his opinions to himself. Apparently. Still to be proven.

As soon as Hawthorne finished her speech, Daisy stood up from her seat, a flick of her wand sending her messenger bag levitating above her. The fact that Ilvermorny had more students in the competition was not as relevant as the fact that Levi was through -- it was bittersweet. She was, obviously, very proud of him but at the same time, there was a side to her that would simply prefer it if he could be in the stands next to her during the next task. Selfishness wasn't a pretty trait but it was pretty unavoidable.

Just like drama after the tasks, it seemed. The fight that never was before and now Irene was fainting and Dora was apparently rejecting whatever she had eaten. The Slytherin stopped for a second, stared at the two girls before glancing at the retreating back of the Headmistress. Well, if she was allowed to do that... Getting Levi and drag him out of there was much more important at the moment --he had been mighty impressive with his toothy grin, his resourcefulness and an overall brilliance that needed to be acknowledged-- so the girl didn't even stop as she walked past Brent and Skylar, accidentally overhearing the boy's words. Hmm. How much daydream potion had Brent been given?

"Brent, you really should visit Healer Reed. It's January 10th, mate."

Valentine's Day wasn't coming up; Levi's birthday was and Daisy was still not sure of what she was doing for that so, yes. No Valentine's Day for her yet, please.


Maybe next task she wouldn't sit that far back, considering how the champions always seemed to stand right in the front but, at least, she made it into their little circle and tried to smile politely at them. She knew them, of course, knew their faces and their names but it was a bit of a blur in her head and the last thing she needed right now was to accidentally offend Valerie by calling her Aurora or something. She turned to the boyfriend then, offering him her best grin and her hand. "Hogwarts always delivers, doesn't it?" And Ilvermorny was in on it now so, good luck to all of them.

Hopefully Brent knew that by showing off his cleaning spells abilities, she was never going to live it down. But attention away from cleaning and runes for awhile, because the Headmistress was speaking and Skylar was listening because obviously she was curious to see if his cleaning and runes and wits were enough to give him enough points to continue on.

Okay, so those Ilvermorny kids? They were smart, because despite being on foreign grounds, they were not going down without a fight! Etta was out, as was the female Slytherin champion ... and two Ilvermorny kids. But that left five Ilvermorny kids in the running and only Brent, Levi, and Dora to represent Hogwarts ... which if she was being honest with herself, she only really cared how one fared. And yet, if she was also being honest with herself, she half was okay if he didn't make it to the final round because it meant he could sit in the stands with her and eat junk food and relax.

What had he asked now before the results were given out? Hogsmeade weekend? Valentine's day?

Before she had a chance to respond though, Daisy had passed by to correct him on the date.

"Well you know how time flies at Hogwarts. One hour feels like a month." Skylar mused, "but don't worry, before Hogsmeade weekend in a few weeks, I'll make sure Healer Reed has a look at him."

But back to the question. "So people really do plan for Valentine's Day a month in advance? But yes, of course, I'll go to Hogsmeade with you... though I usually spend the morning with my dormmates and of course, it's Hattie's birthday." How was her best friend fifteen already? Weren't they just like five yesterday? "But after lunch." She was all his, which went without saying.

"Although, in a way, you're kind of tied for fourth," she said as an afterthought. Except there were three people tied for second, so... but still, tying for fourth made it seem even better. Even if she was proud of him no matter how the competition fared, which seemed to be in favor of Ilvermorny kids.

Brent was barely aware of what was going on around him. He had no idea that people had fainted or others were in need of healers. Maybe he was just standing in the wrong place for all of that? He did, however, hear his name as Daisy passed him by. She'd come and gone so quickly that he didn't have time to actually say anything to her, but she did leave him somewhat confused. Hadn't he said it was coming up and not here now? He thought he had, but maybe he hadn't. He shrugged it off and turned back to Skylar and the other names filling the screen before him.

Dude, his fellow Slytherin was out, which earned a small frown from him, but it was only temporary. After all, despite the fact they were housemates, they were opponents in IMPS. He just bet she did an awesome job anyway, though, and hey, she'd at least made it to the second round! "Those Ilvermorny kids are tough," he said, which kind of sounded odd in a way, she'd he actually had three years of Ilvermorny schooling under his belt, and he was technically playing some of his former housemates. "Must be teaching some major survival skills over there." It'd kind of be a real bum if an Ilvermorny kid won this thing on Hogwarts grounds, but at the rate they were going now, he could honestly see it as a possibility.

Then Skylar brought up something about the date, too, which somewhat surprised him. People really took calendars seriously around here, didn't they? Maybe planning a few weeks in advance was just an American thing, and he hadn't caught on to the new culture or something? Maybe it was customary to just totally do last minute around here and pick up gifts and make reservations at the very last second? If that was the case, he should really change his thinking before the next holiday!

He shrugged in reply to her question. "Well, I just did," he said, "but if last minute is your thing, we can totally do that, too." He kind of laughed on that note. What she said next, though, took his mind off Valentine's Day and back to the challenge. "Tied for fourth? Awesome," he said. "I'll take that over sixth place any day." Things looked like they were wrapping up here, so Brent finished that comment with "You want to head back to the castle with me?"

Teddy's heart sunk deeper and deeper, more and more as her name wasn't read until last. Dead last, again. She choked back tears. She knew from the beginning she wasn't worthy and here she was...a failure.

She stepped back from the champion crowd, smiling sadly at anyone who looked her way.

The Wonder Woman high she had worked hard to get died out...

...and Tejashree, the Loser... backed into the nearest exit and disappeared.

Jeremy. Thank you.

His shouting was just what she needed to give in to excuse and release some of the budding tension inside her. Explosively. Jesus was quite lucky that her sights were set on the other boy or else his leaning in to whisper his soothing suggestion could have ended very differently. Instead the Wampus sneered at him and clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth. Perturbed, to say the least. "Then you better keep talking," she gritted out between shallow breaths, her eyes still locked on her target.

Thankfully he did and with some choice words to Aurora that spared her any necessity to respond. The Horned Serpent's comment was interesting. Why would the sight of a ghost cause any sort of unusual physical or emotional reaction? Clearly she had not spent much time within Hogwarts if she had forgotten already how it felt to be in the presence of a specter.

More and more competitors began filing in and each wore varying degrees of physical stress as a reaction to the potion that had all ingested. She could only infer that the daydream each individual had experienced (the intensity) was somehow in direct relation to their form now. Although she knew personally Kyle's posture had to do with other means as was her own reaction while still in the room.

A reaction that Dora Umbridge repeated and just around the time that Irene began turning into a fairy princess about to faint. And then there was Madelyn shouting yet again despite the exhausted and sickly appearances of others which was only made worse by Jesus speaking to the fellow Wampus. The chaos that began to ensue around her was of no one individual's fault, but her agitation and slightly weakened state from her enchanted slumber had her even more on edge than usual. Her hand had even twitched in the direction of her boot holster when she found it occupied by the warmth of another rather than the smooth surface of cherry wood. Her head quickly snapped to his and cold eyes narrowed because what did he think he was doing and why did he think another piece of caramel candy was desired?

The worst part of all was that it was working.

Only her eyes moving to meet his, Valerie began begrudgingly unwrapping the second caramel just as Headmistress Hawthorne demanded all's attention for the announcement of the results of the second task while paying no heed to the emotional and physical state of herself and her fellow competitors. Pawns. That was how this entire competition made her feel. Like a pawn. And those who remained grinning and unaffected at the moment (the likes of Brenton and Aurora) were the most eager sheep for the slaughter.

Her eyes moved to the display as the caramel helped with that lingering bitter taste in her mouth from the first task when she saw her score and that five way tie for second place. And in this task there was a four way tie for first place. How quaint. Levi Kenning slipping in standings was surprising and she found her eyes flickering towards the Gryffindor curiously before her light eyes rested on the other Gryffindor with a tight lip smile of sorts. So now she found herself in a three way tie for second place over all and was trying to allow that subject to settle in her stomach. Something proving difficult as all she wanted to do was leave.

Seeing as the woman herself was leaving, Valerie took that as her cue as well. Which was why in the next moment she was sliding her hand free from Jesus' and quietly stood while once again ignoring the No-Maj teen romance movie reenactment happening before her eyes. She did happen to catch that one Hogwarts champion (Tejashree, was it?) fleeing and for a brief moment felt a bit of a stir in her chest. Enough of one that was hard if not impossible to ignore.

But then without saying another word (and dropping both caramel wrappers in Jesus' hand) and took her leave of the stands as well.

Jeremy watched Aurora make it back to the stands. He was grinning so much because she had been successful and was confident that she would make it to the third round. "Hey,'' he said. "You were so awesome, man! I couldn't stop watching you do your thing. You okay?'' He look concernedly at her but her attention was diverted to the other Ilvermornies. There was Irene whom he smiled at. "Good job in there.'' Catching, Jesus's smile, Jer threw him a grin. What was Valerie's problem? Did she have a problem with EVERYTHING someone did? He pointedly ignored her. If she didn't appreciate someone cheering her on, then he wouldn't waste his time on her anymore.

Everyone was out now? Great! That meant that the names of the persons moving forward would be revealed soon. He was more focused on that at present... and the fact that some of the Champions looked as though they were going to be sick... or something. He didn't care about the Hogwartians but did Irene just say the stand was spinning? Madelyn got to her so that saved Irene from falling to the ground.

Also, was that the sound of someone barfing? GROSS.

Jeremy made sure to stay out of the way like Aurora said but he was already calling for Professor Williams. "We need a Healer!'' LIKE PRONTO!

FINALLY! The moment they were waiting for! Jer watched eagerly as the scores were totalled up. Top eight, top eight... where was Aurora's name? THERE IT WAS! "YOU MADE IT, AURORA!'' He grinned. "I knew you would!'' Unfortunately, two Ilvermornies were eliminated as well as Hogwartians. Why couldn't it have been more of the latter?

Her head was splitting and she was still sitting doubled over, arms wrapped around her middle, eyes shut tight. So anyone who had possibly been looking at her or trying to make eye contact, went unnoticed until the Headmistress began to speak. With a groan, the girl sat upright as well as she could. Still leaning heavily on her best friend, her eyes stayed glued to Headmistress Hawthorne. There was no reason to direct her attention elsewhere at the moment.

Slipping her hand into Sam's she waited for the mention of her own name... honestly half expecting it to come last. Mostly because of her working theory about things. But that was a matter for a different time... For now, Dora sat wide eyed as her name was called out. WELL. That was unexpected for her, but then again she did have the tendency to think the worst of herself. One's own worst critic was typically oneself.

Full marks. Second place overall. Tied with two others.

A smirk of sorts played at her lips as she finally spared a glance toward the others. Interesting, interesting, interesting. But that was all she needed to hear. So with the help of her friend, the blonde girl began to make her way across the stands and out. She needed to visit the hospital wing and then go lie down. It was nothing that a little rest and relaxation couldn't cure, she was sure. But it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

The Second Challenge was over, the champions are back in the stands, and the scores had been given out. This was his cue to check on all of the students involved, considering that he knew what was going on. Some had acknowledged his bad mood earlier, and the challenge was their reason why he was upset. He'd been assured that everything will be okay, but as a Healer...it was quite unnerving given that hew was not familiar with any of the ministry personnel. After advising that Miss Kathleen Yang should rest and head back to the Beetle, River was back on his feet, and targeted the champions one by one. Some handled it well, the others...not so much. What was Ilvermorny thinking, not bringing their own Healer?



The first who got his attention was a soaked Ravenclaw student...with a Gryffindor champion on her lap. With a stoic face, River took a short jog to where Dora was and had his hand on her back. "I suppose you got it all out?" River had seen the retching...and he could still smell the tea. "Deep breaths, Dora...and center yourself." It'd be hard for her system to accept anything in such hurry. "Calming Draught when you're steady enough to sit properly." he continued, putting a vial in her hand. "When you're done, go get some sleep back in your dorm." The reaction wasn't enough to warrant a hospital wing visit, though, "If you find it hard to sleep, come see me in the Infirmary." River gave the Gryffindor a tired grin, got up and moved on to the next patient.



Yes...yes, he's coming!

River was worried, but there was no trace of panic as he made a quick jog to where the Ilvermornians gathered. "Excuse me...give me some room please, thank you." River had no time to introduce himself as he quickly got a packet of Murtlap Essence from his pocket and ripped it open. He held it under Irene's nose and allowed it to levitate on its own. "Deep breaths, Miss Avery...and stay with us." It would be harder to cure an unconscious patient, just so she knows. Hopefully, the hint of ammonia will keep Irene conscious, and keep her breathing at a steady pace. "Focus on me, Irene...deep breaths." River commanded as he observed her lack of color. "I'm River Reed, Hogwarts' School Healer." he continued as he got her hand and started to press on the muscle between her thumb and index finger to stimulate a stronger blood flow. That should keep her from passing out at least...

WHY had the Healer not gotten here yet?! They had been around when Aurora had woken up, asking if she was ok - so obviously they knew there was the possibility that people might NOT be ok. Yet it felt like it was taking FOREVER for someone to get here! What if Irene DIED? What if that Gryffindor girl DIED? That would all be on them, and then the challenge would be cancelled - and they'd lose their chance at a scholarship and instead be going to a memorial service for their peers. They were sooooo unprepared. Had no one tested this daydream potion or anything? People seemed to be having a bad reaction...maybe THAT was why Valerie, Jesus and Levi looked so grumpy.

Just when Aurora was about to take matters in to her own hands and start magically conjuring water for her friend to drink, the Hogwarts Healer showed up. Thank MERLIN. "You're ok Irene, it's ok, I'm here," she added quietly, sitting down to her friend and giving her hand a squeeze. She wanted to try and hold her up, but didn't want to get in Reed's way either. She was so frazzled from all this, she didn't even have a chance to put on her BEST smile and flip her hair for the pretty Healer. She was too distraught.

So distraught she missed the entire standings announcement. She turned to Jeremy and wrinkled her eyebrows. "Wait, what?" she said. Oh. OHHHH. She'd made it! She was moving on! Her brown eyes found the standings, taking note of everyone's points...HOW did Kyle keep getting so many points?? Maybe it was a mistake not being better acquainted with him, she had to know his secrets. Valerie, of course, gross, and Jesus...but wait. No Irene. NO IRENE!!

The color drained from her face. Her poor friend was about to faint, and it had all been for nothing. She wasn't moving on. Aurora had to face the den of hyenas all on her own now...

She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples before giving Jeremy a weak smile. "Thanks! Onto the next one, I guess," she said with a small chuckle before turning back to Irene. Once she was sure her friend was better, she'd take her back to the Beetle...and break the news that she hadn't made it, if she hadn't heard the announcement.