Lachlan, who'd been watching the screens with rapt fascination, couldn't quite explain the way each individual situation was making him feel. After the first challenge and his own elimination, he'd filtered out of caring about whatever horrible thing had been presented in the following few. They'd chosen not to make any of this easy. Potions? Loved ones? It was all the same to staff and faculty. And to him, Lach could admit. None of this was real. It was a guise, all for the sake of pushing each competitors past their breaking points.

Or so he was telling himself. Otherwise, he would've packed his things and went back home after that first challenge.

Once his fellow Americans had started to appear in the stands: dazed, angry, and somewhat broken, Lachlan stood from his seat, pushing through the crowd to get a bit closer to where they sat. Mostly for the sake of Valerie and Jesús. Sure, he had a fondness for all his Ilvermorny brothers and sisters, but everyone had their favorites. And it didn't surprise him to hear this level of viciousness from Valerie. She was like an avenging angel in that regard. Eventually placing a careful hand on her shoulder, Lach took the seat just behind the two. "Are you okay?" The question was meant for the both of them, in truth.

Dora Kennedy Umbridge couldn't remember the last time she had been this angry. Or if she had ever in her life. This was new, this rage. It fueled her forward and into the stands, wand still gripped in her hand because she had not put it down all day. There was the occasional spark that flew from it without her even meaning to.

None of the champions were exactly her friends, but she moved to sit near them anyway. It felt right that they all sat together after that crap show. Solidarity? She was jut waiting for her bestie to come join her. She needed Sam to be okay. She HAD to be. If she wasn't then Hogwarts would go up in flames today. Her tears still fell as she sat there amongst the hostile students.

They had every right to be angry.

Every last one of them.

Ministry and Mungp's workers didn't make a lick of difference to Dora right now. She'd burn the whole world to the ash to protect the people she cared about. And THIS. THIS was the worst thing the IMPS idiots had done yet. No one had the right to put PEOPLE AT RISK over a bloody scholarship.

"Now that they've got their locks figured out it looks like our competitors are following the brutal winds again!!" Zoryn hoped even MORE dramatic things happened next. This was SOOOOOOOO much fun!!! "Must be a lot harder to walk now though, since they've got a plus one and all," Zoryn that it was kinda rude that some competitors were carrying kids while others had to carry adults. Sounded pretty unfair if you asked her!

Of course no one did. "OH! Brent's found a cave!" she watched Brent's screen closely as he was the farthest along.... "I wonder what-- WAIT WHAT? THAT'S IT? IT'S OVER??? Awwww man! Things were FINALLY getting interesting around here!" Ahem. "I meaaaaaaaan, looks like our champs are finishing up one by one! With Westwood wrapping up first," she watched adamantly as each challenger ended their own task. And slowly, but surely they trickled in to join everyone else in the stands.

At this moment Zoryn wanted to make a smart comment about how surprised she was that Louise was one of the first back to the stands after the mess it was trying to get her to move in the right direction at the start of the challenge... But she held her tongue 'cause WOW they were FUMING. Yeah she wasn't going to say anything else about the challenge now lolololol.

"And uh, looks like that's a wrap, folks! Stay tuned for the scores!!" So maybe her comments weren't that helpful here... But she couldn't just leave them all hanging!! "Once again, I'm Zoryn Spinnet and I'm signing off!" Wait one more thing, "Don't worry though, you haven't heard the last from me!!!" Okay NOW she was signing off.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut um. There was one problem here.... "Can someone help me turn this thing off?" This thing referring to the sonorus she had casted on herself. 'Cause she may have spent hours perfecting the amplifying charm... But maybe didn't check on how to end it. Ahem.

And there was the last competitor. Regina's not watching the screen and the door the competitors were coming through. Honestly, she was rather disappoint in the majority of their reactions. One of the competitors in particular made the woman wince. Threatening or lashing out in anger at trained professionals who were helping was not the way to go about things.

"Merlin's beard," she uttered, loud enough for those sitting next to her to hear. She simply shook her head as her quill made its final remarks on her notepad. The headmistress could accept and understand their frustration after being put through that challenge, though she was sure the logic behind their anger was ... impulsive and, for some of them, impertinent. They had learned about the second task of the Triwizard Tournament that had taken place in Harry Potter's time, right? Honestly. Magical competitions didn't equate to rainbows and unicorns. People were put at risk in these things ... and they had given their consent.

Rising from her seat, Regina scooted her way between legs and the backs of chairs and made her way down the stands. Though the screen was still displaying the rooms the competitors ended in, showing the healers tending to each of the competitor's person of importance, the woman was ready to move on. She knew those that had been locked in those cages were in good hands. Right now there were more pressing matters: scores needed to be decided and the final four revealed.

Before disappearing, she gave the competitors, the ones she knew were hot-headed and likely on the verge of blowing something up or putting someone at wandpoint (for one in particular, at wandpoint again), a stern look. It was a nonverbal warning. Behave.

At first, Brent had been oblivious to the world around him and hadn't realized Kyle had been speaking to him. He'd heard him, but the words had seemed so distant and disconnected from the world Brent had sunk himself into. After about a half-minute had passed, Brent glanced up and met Kyle's gaze. "Ahh, I'm sorry, little dude," he said. He hadn't meant to take so long to acknowledge him. Kyle had literally been one of Brent's biggest supporters throughout this whole ordeal. Brent simply nodded when Kyle assured him that Skylar would be okay. He knew the boy meant well, but Brent would only believe it when he saw his girlfriend face-to-face again. "Thanks, man."

...and then he buried his face back into his hands. He still hadn't gotten a hold of himself and come to terms with what he'd just witnessed.

...and then he felt it. Someone reached over and gently grabbed a hold of his hand, and without having looked up yet, he knew it was her. His head jerked out his hands, and he looked at her first with a bewildered expression. Was she okay? Was she bleeding? Any broken bones? Was she functioning the way she was meant to function at all?! A solid minute of pure overreacting took over Brent, but when it'd passed, he somehow found himself speechless. "I---I don't know what to say," he admitted.

I'm sorry? He didn't know if that was right either, so he just said nothing for the time-being. When the feelings and the right words came to him, he'd say them. All he could muster up now was, "I don't think I'll be moving on, though." Sure, he'd finished first this past go round, but as far as he knew, speed wasn't a factor in determining points. Plus, he was seriously far behind those Ilvermorny kids.

He had literally put his heart and soul into this third round, though.

Gaston said hello to the other students he saw arrive (Noelle, SamDana, Irene, and Lachlan). Miss Summers's cheering got a smile from him; he had to admire her enthusiasm! He was glad to see Rosalyn smiling at him but was slightly taken aback when she didn't say anything. For one wild moment, he wondered if she was angry at him, but he reasoned she was probably just putting on a facade of detachment because Hawthorne was around. The Ilvermorny boy's (Jeremy) smirk normally would've earned a disapproving glare in return, but the challenge happened and forced Gaston to get up to "get another coffee" before he could react.

He was gone for a long time, and it was only when he heard the Ilvermorny commentator say that all but three of the competitors had freed their hostages that he was able to return to his seat, still clutching the same coffee he had when he left. He was deathly pale, and his eyes were a little red-rimmed. His hands trembled so violently that hot coffee sloshed out of his cup and ran down his arm, but he was too distracted to notice. He kept his eyes locked on the screens, hoping against hope that the people in the cages were just illusions like the first challenge because the alternative was just too horrible to think about! Emotionally manipulating these kids like this was bad enough, but using innocent people to do it... that was unforgivable!

"Stop... this is wrong!" he mumbled under his breath. "Please... call off the match..." But he knew that wouldn't happen. All he could do was keep a watchful eye on the competitors until all of them had returned to the stands, his mind still reeling from the atrocity that was this challenge.
His sad eyes strayed to the competitors. One Ilvermorny girl (Aurora) was crying; another (Valerie) had held an official at wandpoint - something Gaston couldn't blame her for at all! And his own students... Brent with his face in his hands, Levi's rigid posture, and Dora... Good Godric Gryffindor!
Seeing her like this shattered his heart. He just wanted to comfort all of them, Hogwarts and Ilvermorny, but he was probably the last person they wanted to see right now.

An unexpected voice caused Gaston's head to whip around, and he saw Hawthorne shaking her head. And the stern look hand't escaped his notice, either. He didn't believe this! She couldn't seriously disapprove of these kids after the hell they'd just been through! He always knew she had little patience for emotion, but he never thought she was outright heartless until now. What did you expect, Regina?! he thought. They used their loved ones - children, the elderly, students, our students - as leverage! Of course they're going to be emotional! He stared at the ground, barely managing to contain his anger. At this point, he didn't give a damn about the scores. He just wanted to get out of here!

Emma waved at her schoolmates who came in after her (Dana and Sam). "Hey, guys!" she greeted them. "How's it going?"

And Irene was here too. "Hi, Irene," she said, a little quieter this time.
She was a little shy around the IMPS champions.

She smiled at Kyle. "It totally is!" she replied. Well, maybe exciting wasn't the right word. More like super rad-awesome! "Your housemate's still in the game, isn't he?" What was his name again? Something with a B... Brett? Bryan? Oh yeah, Brent! She remembered just as she hear Kyle cheering for him. Yeah, go, Brent...
and everybody else too!

Emma sat, nervously sipping her soda as she watched, her pom poms and thunderbird flag lying forgotten at her feet. She didn't feel much like cheering right now. This challenge was scary! Louise's sister, Aurora's brother, Jesus and Kyle's grandmas freezing in cages... She was worried for them all, but she felt worst for Valerie and her cousin. That boy was right around her own sister's age! She shuddered suddenly. She didn't even want to know what she'd do if it was Ellen in one of those cages! She looked up and saw how worried Jeremy looked, and she felt bad for him. "She'll be okay, you'll see," she said, trying to smile. She just had to be!

Then the challenge was over. Emma watched as the competitors returned, looking sad and defeated and angry. She didn't like seeing them sad like that; it made her sad! She wanted to help, but she didn't know what she could do.

Sam had been completely unimpressed that she'd had to stay back to be poked and prodded by the Healer, practically swatting the man away from doing any more tests. She was FINE. Sam was a hardy soul, and whilst she wasn't sure she'd ever slept rough in anything quite that cold, Dora's insulated blanket, still wrapped round her shoulders, and warming charms had done the trick. She'd thawed out quite nicely, thank you very much. Maybe a couple of bruises from being dragged out of the cage, but what was an adventure without something to remember it by?

Fiiiinally she was let out of the cave room, and the Ravenclaw darted up into the stands, her eyes searching for the Gryffindor Champion. In the end, it wasn't just the blonde hair that alerted her to her bestie's location, but also those occasional red sparks. If Sam had to hazard a guess at Dora's mood right now, angry would probably top the list. She'd somewhat hoped that Dora knew Sam would walk (and had done so) into that cage willingly for her, that the younger girl trusted her with her life...but apparently the Gryffindor's protectiveness had out-won that logical thought.

"DORA!" she shouted when she got close enough, before sprinting and throwing herself at the older girl into a tight hug. "I KNEW you could do it!" Whilst trapped, she'd thought about berating the girl for that needless Incendia Tria on that snow drift, but now she figured this was probably NOT the best time. Instead, excitement and relief and sisterly love took over. "You were AMAZING! I'm SO proud of you!"

HUGS and BOUNCING might have been happening, yes. Because her BESTIE was awesome. Even if Sam's best attempts at telepathy had completely and utterly failed. Seriously. She couldn't have shouted her ideas for the Arithmancy and Astronomy any louder in her head. But Dora had succeeded anyways.

All was well in the world. Well, until Nic caught on, anyways.

She hadn't seen the Headmistress' look... in fact she wasn't exactly looking at anyone or anything right now. Damn right she was upset. Her best friend had just been freed from a cage in an arctic tundra. OF COURSE she was upset. No matter what the circumstances were in which she had ended up there... she was still going to be furious about it all. It was wasn't until a specific person caught her eye that she moved her head to glare at him. Did he know this was going to happen?

Dora was clearly unharmed and she was sure Sam would be, too, but it was the principle of the matter that had her seething. She was pretty sure that some of the others were Muggleborn... so the person they cared most about could very well have been Muggle. And how was THAT acceptable? Exposing Muggles to magic like that was illegal, after all.

But she was ALSO sure that they would find some way around that little detail.

SNORT.

But her eyes lingered on Gaston before she pushed herself up and started to make her way to him, clearly infuriated. But what... was that...

As soon as she heard her name, the girl whipped her head around, eyes immediately finding her best friend. And she was smiling? How in the HELL was she smiling after that? Dora caught the smaller girl in a hug and stumbled back a bit, clearly caught off guard. Her arms wrapped around and she sobbed without regret right there in front of everyone. Unabashed. "Why are you... you... so happy?" she choked out finally.

She had to be dreaming.

Dora was furious beyond belief and her friend, who had just been released from an ICY PRISON, was happy and bouncing?

What the HELL.

Carefully taking herself out of the hug she looked Sam from top to bottom. "Why in the name of MERLIN would you think for one moment that I would be okay with you doing that? HUH?! WHAT IF I HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET YOU OUT?! DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN, SAMANTHA TYLER!" she shouted before throwing her arms around her once more. Surely Sam would know that it was indeed the protective nature of the older girl that had her shouting right now. And really it was better that she was yelling and hugging Sam right now... because otherwise she'd likely be lighting something on fire and dancing in the flames.

Jer smirked. Sure, he knew that Sam had his back no matter what. That was just how strong their bond was and she knew that he had hers as well. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her what was going on with him, it was just that he needed to figure out things for himself first.

Without realising that he had stopped nibbling on the hot dogs and sipping his drink, Jer suddenly found himself nervously gripping on Sam's elbow. "She's got it,'' he muttered in agreement to the little sister and Emma. And so he watched and watched until... "YES! That's Aurora for you!'' Now she just needed to get Chad out.

"Sam! Look! The competitors are arriving.'' There they were. Aurora... where was she? She must be feeling all the emotions as the other competitors. They look so shaken... and angry. Jer actually felt sorry for the Hogwartians but his main concerns were his schoolmat- oh! There was Aurora!

Ronnie was right. Now was the time to try to cheer Aurora up. He nodded. "Hold these,'' the Wampus guy told his sister. He shoved the remaining hot dog and drink at her then took off towards Aurora. Walking quickly towards her, he said in a soft voice, "Hey.'' HECK. She was crying again. Jer didn't even bother saying anything else. He just sat down beside her and reached for one of her hands to hold. He'd let her cry and get it all out while he was there for her.

He knew that trying to talk or reason with her while she was this upset was futile, and yet he continued his attempt anyway. "Fine, fine," he said gently, tossing the gloves to the side in order to appease her. "Happy?" he knew she wouldn't be regardless, but it was worth a try. The look she gave him indicated that there was more hurt than anger, and he empathized with her plight as he, too, was at a loss for words. Using a dummy to dupe them into tampering with someone's memory? Fine. Throwing a dementor at them? Unnecessary but ultimately they more or less survived relatively unphased.

Even the Whomping Willow seemed more humane than this.

Jaws clenched, because despite his fatigue, Jesús was still very much upset at them using no-maj without even protecting their exposed skin. "I. Know." Which was all he said, and turned his face briefly to scan the stands for Professor Williams (the more social of the two) because surely she would have some answers for them. He felt another presence join them and when he looked over he saw Kyle. No words were exchanged - what could anyone say, really? - but Jesús understood the anger he felt. At this point he highly doubted any of the competitors cared about the results of the challenge. Well, maybe one of them (and he looked around to find her) only because she was that ridiculous and just lacked all sorts of common sense.

At Valerie's outburst, Jesús sighed deeply. "Enough," he told her simply, albeit a little harshly, and gave her a look. "Stop letting them see you like this," he whispered, with them being everyone who wasn't him. Jesús knew just how upset Valerie was because she never let anyone get under her skin (not that easily, at least.) As soon as the words left his mouth, his mind started to jump start into his scheming mode. Retribution would definitely come to the people behind this particular challenge, Jesús was sure of it. Too many people seemed affected by the horrors of the competition and he was sure that anyone could see that this was taking things too far.

Not something that he did often (or in public for that matter,) Jesús reached out to grab a hold of her hand, and continued to think as he stared, absently, at the screens. He zoned out momentarily but ultimately snapped out of it at the sound of Lachlan's voice. "Define 'okay'," he said jokingly, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his no-maj abuela was there at Hogwarts. Thousands of miles away from home. He only hoped that they'd actually wipe her memory because there was no way he could explain his way out of this one.

Irene shared a small grin with Jeremy. Could they just stop the event and save their friends from whatever was happening?!?? In any case, it was super intense and a HUGE nail biter. "That was intense, wasn't it?" she said before giving a nod to Professor Marchand. He was a wonderful Professor indeed! So friendly and kind. Warm smile for him! Her gaze wandered back to the screens.

And Emma was here too. The young girl received a smile. "Hi Emma!" she said with a grin, really happy to be talking to a fellow Illvermornian and getting her mind off of the competition. And then she saw Louise. The competitors were back already? Wow. "Louise!" she called out with a smile and rushed over to offer her a hug and then she saw Brent who nearly broke her heart when he crumpled into the seat. Irene almost get herself rushing over to him to check on him. This task was too draining. "Are you okay?" she asked, checking on the older girl that she admired so much. That task was too much.... Too much for anyone. Too cruel. She was upset with the challenges.

And then more of the Illvermornians arrived. Valerie. Jesus. Kyle. Lachlan. They all got nods of respect and a smal reassuring smile except Lachlan who got a sort of "thank goodness we weren't in that task" smile of relief. She began walking towards them when her eyes caught sight of.... AURORA. Her heart dropped. Irene wanted to make sure she was alright. She wanted to fix everything. She knew how her friend felt... Broken.. Distraught. Perhaps she was guessing at how Aurora felt (that would be more accurate) but... Irene couldn't imagine being in that position herself.

Without another thought, Irene rushed over to her very close friend and threw her arms around her. "Aurora! You're here. It's okay," she said. Irene would always be there for her best friend. Always.

Tears were happening, and Sam clung to her friend tight. Back patting comfortingly. She was here, everything was okay.

Except maybe it wasn't.

As Dora pulled away, it turned out angry might have been an understatement. Furious would be a better word for her bestie's temperament right now.

She winced at the Gryffindor's loud response, feeling her gaze move up and down and acutely aware of the crowd. Now she could feel the tears rising up in her too, but not sad, frustrated ones. Those words...okay, they did bite a little. Especially the use of her full name. But she saw right through to what they were. She couldn't remember if anyone had ever spoken words laced with so much caring and protection and love to her. And about the time Dora came back in for the hug, Sam sniffed and threw her arms round her bestie too, sobbing into her shoulder.

"Because...I never...doubted...you could..." came between sobs and sniffles. "And I...wanted you...to know. Because....you're amazin', y'know." Sam trusted her friend with all her heart. She'd barely even cared what the challenge was, before signing the Headmistress' consent form the night before.

The silence was soothing, honestly, and even though Skylar had consented to partake in this challenge, the manner in which she'd been abruptly kidnaped and thrust into the frozen tundra was shock enough. But she trusted Brent, despite only having been together for five or five and half months, she believed in him and knew somehow that he wouldn't leave her behind.

She squeezed his hand again when he said he didn't know what to say. Did he not realize after the 18 months that they knew each other, that sometimes you didn't need to say anything at all?

Also, his lack of confidence was astounding, even if a part of her believed those words to be true. "It might sound selfish, but it doesn't matter. You made it to the top fifty percent and I think you did brilliant, even if you don't win." Besides, it wasn't like wizarding university was on the table anyway, from what she knew. "And just think, if you don't move on, you can keep me company in the viewing area for the final round and we can gouge on junk food." Positive attitude? Because what was better than eating a ton of junk food with someone you cared about?

"Also, you're pretty amazing, even if you don't win. I still like you." Yup. Truths here and no veritaserum required.

There was so much happening on those screens it was tough to keep up with each competitor AND speak with Rose. Camilla was finding a way, casually glancing away from the screens for a moment as she looked to the women beside her. "I think so too but every few years might be the best option with how much preparation the tasks take and the toll it may take on the students." Brown eyes moved back to the screen and she had to say that this task was beating down on those kids. "This is a rough one but there's no doubt it challenges them to the fullest...it makes them think through their pain and feelings which isn't always easy to do." She was trying to look at it from both points of view and it wasn't easy. If she had had to experience this back in her school days she didn't know what she would do. "I don't know but hopefully they all speak with River and get looked over." Emotions were running high and for many of the students she didn't blame them one bit.

*****

Samara nodded right away in agreement with Ronnie. "I feel the same way. I think I may have been okay with the first two tasks...but not this..." she shook her head, hand tightening on her brothers arm. There was noway she would have ever put up with anyone putting her family into danger. If she had been out there and been faced with Jer being caged up and freezing she didn't know what she would do. Just the thought alone was making her teary-eyed and she quickly wiped her sleeve across her face, turning her head into her brothers arm a moment. Yeah, sorry but no, she needed her twin.

Her brothers words made her smile a little bit. "Told you she did, Jer." Why did he always doubt her? Watching the screen again she was able to see that Aurora had gotten her brother free and was now finished with the task. She had done it! Sam grinned a little bit but still felt really bad for the girl..for all the competitors. The looks on their faces as they made it to the stands was heartbreaking. Right now she just wanted to hug her brother for a long long time...but she didn't. The look on his face and the words that followed told her this wasn't the time. He needed to go see Aurora and with a small sigh she took his food from him with a nod. "Okay...."

"Hardly," she spat back. Her eyes remained honed on Jesus' and did not bother to see where the gloves had been discarded to this time. There was very little that could make the sixth year happy and really the Thunderbird's best shot at accomplishing this (if he was truly seeking it) would be to get her in the same room as Ryan so she could hold him close and know that he was alright. She knew Jesus must be feeling the same for his grandmother. Kyle as well and it unhinged her resolve further seeing how transparent the Horned Serpent was. It took much for Kyle Baker to waver from his stoic disposition and something told her that if her and Kyle both snapped that Jesus would not try and stop them.

He wand hand flinched when he changed his tone with her and she came close to officially snapping beyond the confines of her Calming Draught's capacity. It was like fighting fire with fire and neither of them particularly minded being scorched by the other. "I will not sto---" she began in retort just as Lachlan moved into position by their sides. While Jesus was ever the diplomat, Valerie continued to lack tact. "No," she replied curtly.

Her eyes caught those of the Hogwarts Headmistress as she descended from the stands and it only caused her lips to curl into a nasty snarl. Her wand was in hand. She was ready. She could do something now and --- But her hand was steadied by the hold of another and rather than hurtling a Trip Jinx in her former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's direction, her eyes were once again drawn to the insufferable antics of Jesus who had chosen this precise moment to hold her hand. What made matters worse was that hers moved and slide between his, effectively intertwining their fingers together.

Needing to look somewhere (anywhere) else, the Wampus' gaze fell upon Dora Umbridge as the Hogwartian made her way to the stands finally. Of course her eyes were instantly drawn to the sparks flying forth from the blonde's wand and Valerie would begin praying now if it meant someone would be on the receiving end of those. Valerie had hardly offered the other girl her sympathies when the small Hogwartian [ArianaBlack] continued shouting and apparently did not know how to quiet herself.

Nor did anyone else for that matter given the lack of response.

Her wand already trigger happy, Valerie thrust it in the younger girl's direction and cast a well pointed Silencing Charm right at her face.

That ought to 'turn this thing off' as she had so crudely requested.

And before he could comment, she returned her attention to Jesus and spoke. "Was only assisting." The younger girl had been asking for it.

Aurora's eyes moved from her hands up to the screen, where she watched Chad being attended to by the Healer. She narrowed her eyes and frowned at all the attention he was getting, in fact - the Ministry official had pretty much just pushed her along without any regard as to how she was feeling. The stands were starting to get more crowded, which hopefully meant the standings would be released soon and she could leave. She needed a Calming Draught. Probably a heavy Sleeping Draught too. A bubble bath was NOT going to cut it this time.

At least Chad looked like he was going to be ok. He seemed to have returned to his normal color on the screen, and now she just anxiously awaited his return to HER. She needed to tackle him with hugs, and then punch him for being stupid enough to agree to this.

Tears still falling down her face, she suddenly realized that someone had sat down next to her and was holding her hand. It was Jeremy. She looked down at their hands in confusion for a second before looking back at him and smiling. "Hey," she said softly. That was all she could really say in return right now. It was sort of...nice having him hold her hand. Huh. Interesting. Part of her wanted to ramble on and on about how horrible the challenge had been, but she just didn't have the energy right now. Talking to Jer was supposed to be FUN. They were supposed to joke, and laugh, and she didn't think she could even bring herself to fake laughter at the moment.

And then there was Irene. She let out a sigh of relief, even though her friend hadn't been in the challenge this time and therefore was in no danger of fainting from this round. Still, she was happy to see here there, and it was comforting to know someone was there to watch her, probably cheering her on the entire time. Probably also gasping in horror when she saw Chad, and the events that followed. Her friend threw her arms around her in a hug, and Aurora found herself crying all over again.

Perhaps it was the fact that her friend wasn't competing alongside her, and she was really, REALLY alone now in the competition. Maybe it was the fact that for the first time in...well, ever, she was actually scared that she hadn't succeeded. She had messed up soooo many times, who knew what the scores would be when Hawthorne announced them? And then there was the distress over her brother, and the realization that he HAD actually been here, suffering alongside her, and all for what? A scholarship? The stress felt like a physical weight on her now as she tried to process everything that had happened.

Aurora's head hurt from all the emotions. Was this what normal, average, BORING people felt all the time? Aurora was NOT average. She'd been told that her whole life.

So why did she feel like such a mess?

And then...to make everything sooo much worse...there was Valerie. She hadn't been paying attention at all to the girl who constantly seemed to be angry at her very existence. It was hard to ignore her sitting just a few rows in front of her, however, and Aurora looked up just in time to see the ENTIRE thing as she had the audacity to point her wand at the young Hogwarts girl and cast what Aurora assumed was a Silencing Charm. WHAT had just happened? Had she seen that correctly? She remembered the small scuffle that had broken out after the last round, but Aurora had been chalking that up to the dramatics of her competitors. Today, however, she was just as stressed -
and emotionally unstable - as every one of her fellow competitors. A rush of heat formed in her belly and she clenched her jaw.

She had had ENOUGH.

She stood up and stomped her way down the bleachers, coming up on Valerie, Jesus, and Lachlan - shooting the former a particularly nasty look. Really Lachlan? He was choosing to hang out with her, of all people? Still, he wasn't her main target. Valerie was. Fuming, her face had begun to flush, which she was sure didn't go well at all with the rats nest of hair she had on her head, but she didn't care. Aurora Chae just did NOT care anymore. The Wampus had practically been asking for this since the moment she'd seen Aurora. She'd always laughed it off, knowing that good ol' Val didn't like her at all, and often times she egged her on, so she knew the dislike wasn't totally unfounded - but as far as Aurora could remember she had never actually DONE a thing to the girl to warrant such hatred from her. A dam had broken, and Valerie's actions had set her up to be the perfect target for Hurricane Chae.

"For the love of MERLIN, Valerie, what is WRONG with you?!" she snapped, gesturing to the young Hogwarts girl she had just pulled her wand on. "Why do you always have to try and escalate things to the absolute WORST scenario? For once, just ONCE, could you NOT try and make it all about YOUR emotions and YOUR problems and just resist the urge to be YOU?" she exclaimed at her. In case she hadn't noticed - and Aurora was sure she hadn't - they were ALL upset right now. "We ALL just went through a lot, so why is it that YOU think YOU'RE entitled to take it out on the first innocent person you see?" she added, practically spitting her words at the older girl. Seriously, the young girl hadn't done anything, so why should she had to suffer because Valerie was an unstable bottle of emotions alllll the time?

The irony of her words - and the hypocrisy - didn't occur to the Horned Serpent, of course. Perhaps in hindsight it would. For now though - she continued to just glare at her. How was it that a girl so blindingly pale was such a dark cloud hanging over her head all the time? Her eyes narrowed at her, and for a second she almost wanted to BEG the girl to Silence her too. Go on, do it, get yourself expelled, I would LOVE that...

Sadly for the Hogwarts girl, Aurora didn't think to actually end the Silencing Charm that had been cast. She was too focused on the rage she had pent up for Valerie at the moment.

"So you just signed off on this or what?" he asked, his mind finally traveling to what must have happened right before the challenge started. "Did they even talk to you about what would happen if I failed?" This had to be the ultimate indication of trust between two people. "Were you...were you afraid? Before I showed up?" Brent looked down at their hands and silently squeezed hers, as well. It was a small connection, but it was somehow just what he needed.

He smiled at her--a genuine smile. "It'd be pretty awesome to actually win this thing, but sitting in the viewing stands with my girlfriend and gouging on junk food seems pretty tempting, too," he said. He had really wanted to win, even if he didn't think he was actually moving on to the final round. He still hadn't decided, though, what his reasons for wanting to win were. Was it the scholarship...or was it the bragging rights to say he was THE champion of all champions? Or maybe he just wanted to impress his girlfriend.

As he was starting to lighten up and come back to his usual self, he was suddenly tuned in to the world around them. Aurora Chae had apparently snapped, and she was currently letting that Valerie chick have it for some reason. Either way, it looked like a good show was about to go down, and Brent found himself half-glued to the action, anxious to see what would happen next. Was it bad that he'd kind of pay galleons to see the two Ilvermorny girls in a showdown right here in the viewing area?

Dora clung to her friend, smoothing her hair back occasionally. All the while, the blonde made shushing sounds. More for herself than for Sam, really. She was trying to quell her anger and just... get it together. There was no reason to be mad at Sam, but MAN.

It was hard.

Did she not understand what that had done to Dora? Seeing her best friend inside of a cage had nearly cracked her. For real. It set off rage inside of her that she had worked very hard to contain. And now it was all escaping through her tear ducts.

"Well don't be so trusting next time. I implore you," she said in a quiet voice, one only her friend could hear, surely. But this was likely a good thing. This distraction that Dora currently had... for if she had seen a spell fly at her housemate she likely would have gone the hell off. Horribly. While she didn't have anything against Valerie Grey, she didn't take kindly to anyone messing with her baby lions and Zoryn was one of her faves (not that she would tell her that). Alas... her attention had been elsewhere until the shouting started.

The Gryffindor released her friend and put herself in front of her. Protection. If spells went flying there was going to be some hell to pay if ANYTHING hit her Sam. Hmph. For now, though, she just held her wand at her side and let her eyes slip back and forth between the two girls. No need to get involved unless she had to... THIS wasn't her fight.

But maybe a Professor should intervene... like maybe her own HoH. Just saying. Although if they all got into a fight over this and got disqualified that would make Dora laugh. For real. She'd likely see if her family could float one of them money enough for university. Not likely, but still.

No sooner had Valerie shoved her wand in the holster tucked within her combat boot was Aurora stomp her way down like a mountain troll to her. The Wampus' eyes narrowed on Aurora but permitted her to continue to lash out at her finding the Horned Serpent's timing ironic considering today of all days was the one that she had actually offered a sympathetic look upon seeing her tears. Valerie's hand did tighten around Jesus' (her nails digging into the back of his hands) as she waited. Waited for Aurora to get everything she had to say out. Waited for her to release the anger and upset (sure, why the hell not direct it at Valerie Gray? Rabid animals lashed out at anyone at at least Aurora had the sense to do so towards someone she already loathed) while the rage in her own body caused an unnatural tension and her light eyes to seemingly darken. She wanted to, desperately, lash out herself at the spoiled princess in front of her, but not today. Not after the hell they had all been through. Valerie could only hope Aurora would come find her tomorrow to continue this discussion.

Who did she think she was? If Aurora Chae knew a damn thing about her life, well, that would imply that they were friends. Which they certainly were not.

"Are you finished?" she asked dryly as her hand tightened even further on Jesus to the point that perhaps it was a wonder she had not crushed his bones. She assumed (hoped, rather) that he could suffer her. "She asked for someone to turn her off. So I did." She capitalized on an opportunity as far as she was concerned and sparing the young Hogwartian from going horse when no one else around had bothered. Not even their precious Headmistress.

Back teeth grinding against one another and leaving a bitter taste in her mouth, she turned her head only towards Jesus while her eyes remained locked on Aurora. "I believe she is in need of one of those caramels of yours," she stated coolly to him.

Oh.

Well, that hadn't been any fun. Brent mentally frowned at Valerie's response. Couldn't Gray have at least shouted something in return? Shown a lot more anger? Maybe cast a little spell or something? Brent had been holding out for a showdown, and it didn't seem like anything would come of it. It had gotten Dora Umbridge up on her feet with her wand at her side, though, so maybe there was hope after all.

...and why was he thinking like such a jerk anyway?

No fighting, girls. Settle down now.

Okay good.

Dora could go back to her friend. All of her attention needed to be there right now. Giving Valerie Gray a small smile she turned back to Sam. The girl had been on her feet since the Ravenclaw had turned back up, but now it was like the wind had gone out of her sails, so to speak. She was exhausted.

As she was sure they all were given the circumstances.

The blonde sat down hard on one of the chairs. She was 115% percent over this. Totally and completely. She'd have to commend Valerie for containing her rage some other time... yes she had seen the hand squeezing. For now she made work of wiping her face and waiting, rather impatiently, for the scores to be announced.

The sooner they announced she was eliminated, the better. She had been the last one back, after all. She was certain that meant the worst. Not that she would be too crushed. In her opinion, she was worthy and that was all that mattered at the end of the day. Not to mention... she didn't need the scholarship. Best it went to one of the Ilvermorny students. They seemed to be fighting hardest for it anyway.

Um. HELLOOOOOOO??? Had none of the others heard her plea for help? OMG. Even her THOUGHTS WERE LOUD!!! Wait no. That was all Zoryn 'cause she could actually turn down her LOUD thoughts, whereas she still needed help turning down her loud voice!!!! What more was a girl supposed to do to get some help around here????

She opened her mouth to ask for help AGAIN, but instead of hearing her own booming voice... She got nothing??? HUH? Of course she completely missed the fact that Valerie Gray had sent a silencing charm her way. How the heck was she supposed to get any help if she couldn't even shout for their attention any more??? UM SOS !!!!!

So she did the physical equivalent to shouting, waving her hands around and jumping up and down. Trying to shout still, but only looking like a fool with her mouth moving sans sound. Out of all the horrible things that could've ever happened to anyone, not being able to speak was surely a personal hell made specifically for this particular Gryffindor.

One thing she DID notice, however, was all the shouting Aurora was doing at the Valerie girl. This was AWESOME. Zoryn gave the ilvermorny gang her UNDIVIDED ATTENTION. Until she heard the part about first innocent person you see and then remembered that she, Zoryn Spinnet, was VERY innocent AND also lacking a voice at the current moment.

And to think, she had been enhancing everyone's experience with BEAUTIFUL commentation and now THIS is how they repaid her???
#FREEZORYN'SVOICE2093. She was torn okay. Angry at all the unappreciative people but also worried about her voiiiiiiiiice!!! She missed it so much already. The second year was like 700% sure that Aurora had SEEN the fact that she couldn't speak (since it looked like she had been looking back at Zoryn just then) and yet SHE WASN'T DOING ANYTHING TO HELP. Chivalry was dead, people. DEAD!!!

She frowned and sat back down. This Gryffindor was gonna SULK as it clearly became evident that everyone was too focused on the drama with the competitors to notice the loss of a young girl's most important asset.

SO MUCH WAS GOING ON!!

Holy cannoli all of the sudden all the competitors were there and there was so much going on. Madelyn was standing with her pompoms and just looking around. She put her hands up and started waving the pompoms!


"WOOOHOOOOO ILVERMONRY! WAY TO GO!!"


She was bouncing with all the feelings because this competition was intense.
She couldn't believe they would put loved ones in a cage and make them freeze. She was so thankful that Brent started dating that girl and nothing started back up between them. She wouldn't survive colds like that. What was going on and oooooh look Jesus was back keeping tabs on Valarie, there had to be something going on between those two. Shame that the cute ones always went for the real big pains, but Madelyn wasn't that petty of a person she had her huge smile on her face!

Now that was it over she wondered if the commentators were done because maybe Will would want to go get some Sweet Tea or a snack or something, but first, she wanted to help boost the spirits of her classmates because they were looking worn down after this.



"WHO ROCKS THE HOUSE? I SAID ILVERMORNY ROCKS THE HOUSE AND WHEN THEY ROCK THE HOUSE THEY ROCK IT ALL THE WAY DOWN!


WHO ROCKS THE HOUSE... VALARIE ROCKS THE HOUSE, JESUS ROCKS THE HOUSE, AURORA ROCKS THE HOUSE, KYLE ROCKS THE HOUSE, LOUISE ROCKS THE HOUSE AND WHEN THEY ROCK THE HOUSE THEY ROCK IT ALL THE WAY DOWN!


WOOHOO

GOOOOOOO ILVERMORNY!! "



She really wished there was room in the stands to tumble because after that cheer a backhand spring was always best. She would have to just bounce up and down waving the pompoms. Turning she smiled seeing Will again;


"WASN'T OUR COMMENTATORS THE BEST?? GIVE THEM AROUND OF APPLAUSE, ESPECIALLY THAT HOT ONE FROM ILVERMORNY!!"



Pompoms were waving yet again as she cheered on that cute boy she had been going on dates with.

The most amazing thing about everything was that when Zoryn Spinnet asked for help, not even the headmistress did anything. Hawthorne just stood up and left to do what Levi presumed was the scoring while a second year was left to fend for her own.

Given the nature of the challenge and evident disregard the staff held for the students, that made total sense to him. What was Zoryn if not a piece in whatever messed up game of chess this challenge had been?

Kyle Baker and Dora seemed to have made it back in time and in one piece, even if Dora had looked ready to explode. Not that the boy could blame her.

And then Valerie Gray had to go and take matters into her own hands.

Then Aurora Chae didn't miss the opportunity to pounce.

He rubbed his hands down his face, then stood up. Levi watched both girls, his expression one of contempt. An eyebrow quirked at the hand-holding activities happening between Gray and Rodriguez, and he shot the other boy a pointed look before striding towards a silent Zoryn Spinnet.

"Finite," He said, tonelessly, pointing his wand at his fellow Gryffindor's throat. "Quietus is what you want to use next time to avoid... temporary muteness courtesy of Valerie Gray."

Or she could have just gone to Marchand. He was right there, looking particularly displeased at what Levi could assume was the challenge. Or perhaps that's what the sixth year hoped caused the Charms Professor's displeasure. Though maybe it was time to ditch all sorts of expectations when it came to the Hogwarts staff. After all, they'd allowed this challenge to happen; exposed innocents to hypothermia, frostbite, and a number of long term effects that could occur as a result of the time spent freezing in a tundra. It mattered very little to him if everyone walked out just fine, though he certainly hoped they did; it was what appeared to him as the complete lack of thought and consideration of the consequences what fueled his anger.

His mother. They'd touched his mother.

A lot of things were happening around him, but Jesús had his eyes elsewhere. He zoned out for the majority of it - and even if he had been paying attention, he wouldn't have done much to stop Valerie - but immediately snapped back when he felt a pair of eyes on him. The sixth year returned Levi's look with a look of his own, and while he should've smiled, he was still too tired from all that'd transpired in the challenge.

And then Aurora started shouting, and it became the sort of spectacle that Jesús wanted no part of.

Thankfully, Valerie didn't lash out even further - though his hand had to suffer for a bit - and the Thunderbird shot his friend a look when she suggested that he give Aurora a piece of caramel. "I'm not that nice," he replied, giving her a languid sort of shrug. Levi was being the sort of saint that Jesús felt he should've been but just didn't care enough about the matter. It was a shame that no one around the girl helped her out, but it was unsurprising as Hogwarts was full of selfish students and staff members.

He then turned his attention to Aurora. "You can go now," he said dismissively, eying her carefully. "And you better watch what you say next," his reply was curt, and to the point. Jesús usually didn't care to get in between Valerie's altercations whether she was right or wrong but he was annoyed. And if Aurora and Valerie chose to duke it out, he would step to the side and not intervene. "Anyway," he said, turning to look at Valerie, Lachlan, and Kyle, choosing to ignore Aurora's existence altogether. "We should do something relaxing, after this."