Yo! I think I forgot to say this last time, but I'm so glad you guys liked the first task! I think that's my favourite bit so far, so it's nice to see everyone else enjoyed it too. And yes, I have plans for the second task as well, though I've yet to decide what to do for the third task. My main thing is making them different, but not so different you can't tell what task it originally was, if that makes sense. Anyway, thank you to all readers so far!

The next two days were hell for Violet. She tried to get out of the Yule Ball, but Dumbledore insisted it was mandatory for her to attend now that she was awake. Regardless of what condition her body was in, she would lose her magic if she didn't participate, as the event was considered part of the Triwizard Tournament.

Violet wasn't entirely sure she believed him, but it wasn't as if she could accuse the headmaster of lying. And with how stupid the tournament had been so far, she had to admit there was a good chance he wasn't lying.

Violet wasn't happy, and neither were Madam Pomfrey and Snape, who both argued with Dumbledore. Remus probably wouldn't have been happy either, but he'd had to rush off quickly because of the full moon and likely wouldn't be back for a few days.

So, while she wasn't fully sure of the danger, Violet decided risking her magic to avoid a ball, as annoying as it was, wasn't a great idea and did the only thing she could and let Theodore help her learn to dance.

And it sucked.

The dance itself was a simple waltz, and while Theodore was neither a bad dancer nor a bad teacher, it was incredibly difficult for Violet to learn to dance when she could barely muster the energy to stay on her feet for more than a few minutes at a time.

But learn she did, as well as she could, and the twenty-fifth arrived unfortunately quickly. Madam Pomfrey released her from the hospital wing late that afternoon, but Violet wasn't in the clear yet.

Her lungs weren't fully healed, and her throat was still kind of messed up, so she was on a strict potion regimen and would be for a while. She was also going to have to return to the hospital wing every day so Madam Pomfrey could check her over, and while Violet hated it, all she could do was curse whoever had put her in this position.

Theodore met her outside of the hospital wing, and walked her down to the dungeons, helping her inside when she started struggling to walk, still too weak to manage the long trip on her own. They were swarmed by the older Slytherins immediately, mostly boys, since the girls were busy getting ready for the ball, though a few of them were still around and came up to her as well.

Violet took a few minutes to sit and answer questions, a little surprised by the concern her housemates were showing. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised-it wasn't as if they'd been hiding their support for her in the tournament so far, and these older students were still taking part in bodyguard duty too. But it still managed to catch her off guard.

Had they really accepted her as a member of Slytherin House?


Violet and Theodore arrived at the Entrance Hall a little late that evening. Everyone had already gone inside and only the champions and their dates remained in the hall, waiting for the doors to open so they could make their entrance.

She saw Krum first because he was so tall, and Violet would have been surprised to see Hermione on his arm if she hadn't been told about it ahead of time.

"Violet!" Hermione exclaimed when she saw her.

Relief crossed Krum's face. "Are you vell?" he asked her.

Violet smiled. "Yes, I'm alright. You know, considering."

"Are you sure?" asked Fleur, concern painted across her face.

"I'm fine," said Violet, trying to sound reassuring.

Fleur, Krum, and Hermione didn't look convinced, but Violet hadn't expected otherwise. The truth was obvious, after all. There was no way she could be fine, but she didn't want them to fuss, and she didn't want to ruin the ball for them either. Unlike her, they were actually here to have an enjoyable evening. She passed a glance at the couple standing closest to the Great Hall's doors.

Rose stood stiffly, gripping Diggory's arm tightly. She glanced at Violet but she turned away quickly when their eyes met. Diggory, meanwhile, shot her a relieved smile, though he said nothing. A little surprised, Violet only inclined her head, and the doors opened before anything more could be said or done.

Cheers and applause sounded as soon as the doors opened, and already in the front, Rose and Diggory entered first. The cheers were loud and Violet winced at the noise, though she couldn't say she'd been expecting otherwise.

Rose was in a dark red dress. It was a bit short but was practical instead of immodest. Her black shoes were flat and she wore minimal jewellery, sticking to a necklace and some bracelets. Diggory was in traditional-looking dress robes that were black with red accents to match Rose's dress. ...Had they discussed the colour choice ahead of time, or had they both decided on red by chance?

The cheering quieted a little when Fleur and her partner entered the Great Hall next, though the crowd was still pretty loud, no doubt because of Fleur herself. She was in a floor-length gown in pale pink that hugged her body tightly with jewellery that matched. Already rather tall, she looked even taller in her heels. Her date, a Ravenclaw boy Violet only recognized vaguely, was dressed in traditional black robes and looked more than a little awkward next to the dazzling Fleur.

The cheers in the hall got loud again when Krum and Hermione entered, though Violet had a feeling few even recognized Hermione right now. Krum's dress robes were thick and burgundy in colour, and on his arm, Hermione, in a light blue dress that didn't quite match Krum's colour choice, was positively glowing. Violet was honestly glad to see it.

But then Violet and Theodore entered the Great Hall and the cheers died to a shocked hush. Violet wasn't surprised.

She was dressed appropriately enough in a knee-length dress in emerald green. It wasn't particularly fancy, because she'd had no idea why she'd been buying it at all, but it was still probably the nicest thing she owned.

Like Rose, she was wearing flat, black shoes-heels would have been a nightmare right now when she was still struggling to stay on her feet. A sixth-year Slytherin girl had given her two silver bracelets and a silver necklace with an emerald hanging off the end because she'd thought Violet was "too plain" without any jewellery.

Violet had pinned her hair back so it would stay out of her face but hadn't put any makeup on or allowed any of the older girls to do it for her, mostly because she didn't want to. Violet knew she looked sick but that was exactly what she wanted people to see.

She was sick. She'd only woken up from a month-long coma two days ago, and she wanted people to remember that. She wanted people to remember what had happened during the first task. She wanted people to remember the consequences. She wanted people to remember the stupidity.

Fortunately, the dance was the same one Theodore had helped her practice, so Violet was at least somewhat prepared for it and was proud she managed to avoid screwing up. Unfortunately, it seemed to go on for longer than she'd been expecting it to, to a point where she half wondered whether they'd extended the song on purpose. She couldn't put it past them.

By the time the music stopped, Violet was tired, light-headed, out of breath, and nauseous. Luckily, the Champions only had to dance to one song and the floor wasn't going to open up again until after dinner, which meant she could finally sit down. She'd done what she had to do.

Now that the opening dance was over, she was technically free to leave at any time. She really did have to sit down first though, and realizing that, Theodore helped her walk to the head table where the Champions and their dates were to sit with the adults. Everyone else was settled at round tables placed throughout the hall.

Violet was a little relieved when she saw her seat was next to Snape and couldn't help but wonder if it was on purpose. Even if it was, it was probably a good thing. Theodore sat down on her other side as Snape handed her a blue potion.

Violet drank it without a word, grimacing at the taste and relaxing slightly when some of the pain in her chest faded. The golden goblet in front of her filled with water as she reached for it, and she took a few careful sips to wash down the taste of the potion, her nausea fading a little as she did.

Disappointingly though, she wasn't allowed to partake in the feast. Thanks to the whole coma thing, she wasn't allowed to eat anything too rich or heavy and was stuck with a bowl of soup and a bit of bread.

At least the bread was buttered.

"How're you feeling?" asked Theodore quietly.

"Like I want to throttle whoever put me in this dumb tournament."

Theodore snickered. "You know Professor Snape's sitting next to you, right?"

"Oh, don't worry, he'll get a turn too."

Snape choked on his drink, and Violet hid a grin behind her goblet as she raised it to sip more water. She wasn't lying though. She was sure she looked amiable enough to everyone else, but she was honestly rather angry right now.

Feeling this sick, feeling this weak-she was like this because someone had decided to take it upon themselves to enter her in the tournament. They'd done this on their own with no regard for her safety, well-being, or, well, life in general.

But was this same person behind the first task being rigged? That was harder to say. The obvious answer was that they were, but there was no guarantee. It was also possible that someone else had just decided to take advantage of the situation. But Violet couldn't say how likely that was.

Swallowing another spoonful of soup, Violet took a moment to look around. The Great Hall was decorated extravagantly. The usual twelve Christmas trees were there, but they were even bigger than usual, and the lights decorating them gave off an ethereal silver glow all around the hall. The tapestries on the walls were more festive than normal, and mistletoes hovered throughout the hall. Even the ceiling, enchanted to mimic the night sky, was clear and shimmered brilliantly with thousands of stars.

The floor was littered with round tables surrounded by chairs, where most of the attendees were seated and feasting, though there was a large gap in the centre of the room which was being used as a dance floor. The Head Table, meanwhile, had been extended to account for the additional guests in the staff, Champions, their dates, and two or three Ministry officials.

Dropping the rest of her bread into her soup, Violet noticed Theodore had stopped eating and was staring somewhere ahead of him. Curious about the focused gaze, she looked over as well and saw some of the students already dancing. Had she been sitting here so long that most people were already done eating?

"Theo?"

Theodore blinked. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing." He ate a little more, but barely a moment later his eyes were on the dance floor again. What was he looking at?

Violet tried to follow his gaze across the room and saw...Krum? No, not Krum, she realized suddenly. It was Hermione. Why was he looking at Hermi-

Oh.

Ohhhh.

How fun.

Violet had never expected her friends would end up crushing on each other, although it looked like Theodore's crush was entirely one-sided, at least right now.

Hermione seemed entirely focused on Krum, beaming as they danced, but Violet didn't know whether it was because she was just being polite thanks to him being her date or because she genuinely had feelings for him.

Crushes, huh...?

Had she ever had a crush on someone before? She wanted to say no, but... She frowned. Was that really true?

Something flashed in her mind then, so briefly she wasn't even sure she'd seen it. A boy, tall and pale-skinned, neat dark hair, surprisingly serious grey eyes. But then the image was gone and Violet blinked and frowned.

Leaning back in her seat, she sighed and closed her eyes. She knew who that was. There was no way she could forget that face-for more than one reason. She sighed again. This was a little disturbing. And confusing.

Pushing the thought (read: revelation) away, Violet looked around. Hermione and Krum were still dancing, and Karkaroff was watching them very unsubtly with a scowl on his face. Was it Hermione specifically he didn't like or was it just because she was a Hogwarts student?

Neville seemed to be enjoying himself as well, he and his date, a Hufflepuff girl (Abbott, Violet thought) both laughing as he tripped over his own feet. Ginny was with some of her year friends, chatting as they snacked, and even as Violet watched, one of them moved and she saw Luna was with them. That was good. The Weasley twins and their dates, meanwhile, were causing a bit of a mess over by the drinks.

Rose seemed to be enjoying herself too, Violet noticed when she spotted her sister. She and Diggory seemed to be lost in their own world. She didn't see Ron anywhere and figured he must have already left, unless he hadn't come at all, and Violet hadn't been paying enough attention to notice whether he'd been in the hall when they'd entered or not.

Though dancing with Parkinson, Draco kept shooting glances in her direction, and Violet was too tired to want to think about what he might have been plotting right now. She saw Davis and Greengrass nearby with their own dates, but couldn't see Bullstrode anywhere either. Had she not come?

A few of the professors were dancing too, though Snape remained scowling in his seat next to her as Karkaroff kept trying to get his attention (in between shooting glares at Hermione, who didn't notice). Moody, she noticed, was in the back of the hall surveying the room, his magical eye whizzing all over the place. His fake foot tapped on the floor in rhythm with the music, and even as she watched, he took a surreptitious swig from a flask he'd pulled out of his pocket. That was probably a good thing. She wasn't sure she'd want to drink something the Weasley twins had tampered with either.

The only other weird thing she noticed was that Percy Weasley had attended the Yule Ball instead of Crouch, who was meant to have come. She was sure she'd overheard him telling Dumbledore that Crouch was sick and had sent him in his stead. Violet wondered how sick Crouch had to be if he couldn't be cured with a potion or two, which were usually enough to cure most illnesses.

Was this illness a new thing? Or had he been sick for a while? Having been unconscious all month, Violet didn't know much about what had been going on in or out of the castle, aside from the obvious things Theodore had told her about. ...Maybe she would ask Sauron later. He tended to wander around a lot, and while he didn't always understand everything he saw or heard, he still generally noticed a lot.

She had homework to do too, she remembered suddenly. A whole month's worth that she had to catch up on, which she wasn't looking forward to at all.

"I'm going for a walk," said Violet abruptly as she pushed her chair back.

Tearing his eyes away from Hermione, Theodore turned to her and snickered. "Yeah, good luck with that. Doubt you'll even make it out of the Great Hall before you fall flat on your face."

"Shut up. ...Come with me?"

Theodore snickered again, but he still got up. "Where did you want to go anyway?" he asked curiously as they made their way around the table.

"Outside," said Violet. "I heard others saying they've created gardens and that it's nice. I want to check it out before I go back to the hospital wing." Because she knew she'd have to go back, even if just to get checked over and given more potions. Hopefully, she'd at least be able to sleep in her own room tonight.

Violet felt eyes on her as she and Theo made their way through the Great Hall. They walked along the edge of the room to avoid the various flailing limbs, but even with everyone being so occupied, it seemed someone was still watching her. She frowned but didn't bother looking around, figuring it was probably Moody, since he seemed to be keeping an eye on everyone and already watched her a lot.

Students were milling around the Entrance Hall, and the front doors were wide open, leading not just outside, but into what looked like an enchanted rose garden that definitely wasn't supposed to be there.

Gripping Theodore's arm, letting him help her walk, Violet looked around, amazed. The gardens were beautiful. Lit with fairy lights, Violet saw curved benches, massive stone statues, and there were so many twisting paths leading in and out of the rose bushes. Some students were sitting, others were standing, and they passed a fair few who were getting a little busy in the bushes.

No one paid them any attention as they walked along one of the many paths, chatting quietly. While glad Theodore had accompanied her, Violet half-wished Hermione was out here with her instead. She would have loved the garden just as much as her, Violet was sure.

Theodore didn't seem particularly interested, and Violet figured that had something to do with being a Pureblood. And being friends with Draco. The Malfoys seemed very...excessive, after all. She wouldn't have been surprised if they had a garden like this in their definitely larger than it needed to be backyard. But that was only a guess.

"Should we sit?" asked Theodore a few minutes later.

"Probably a good idea," said Violet with a tired laugh. They headed to a nearby bench and sat down, Violet leaning back with a sigh.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just feeling like crap, is all."

"Well, you look like crap, that's for sure."

"Oh, thanks!" said Violet, shoving him a little. They both laughed, but when they sobered, they sat quietly for a few minutes. They could hear other students around, but their voices were muffled, maybe because of the bushes, maybe because of the distance, Violet didn't know.

Suddenly, Theodore stood up again. "Let me grab us something to drink," he said. "I'm thirsty, and I'm pretty sure you said you were told to keep drinking hot water or tea, right?"

"Yeah, thanks. We really should've brought something with us." Violet watched Theodore walk off, then sighed again and closed her eyes. She was tired. So, so tired. All she wanted to do right now was sleep.

Her body was sore, and now that she'd been up and about and talking for a while now, her lungs were burning again. It wasn't too bad yet, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to ignore it for much longer. She made to sigh again, heavier this time, but the breath caught in her chest and sent her into a coughing fit.

"You doing alright, Potter?"

Coughs subsiding, Violet opened her eyes and stared, surprised. "...Flint? What're you doing here?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"Work."

"Oh." Violet blinked, staring up at him. Flint stood before her casually, as if his presence on the grounds wasn't weird. He was in dress robes though, she noted, so at least he didn't stand out. "I didn't see you in the Great Hall," she said.

"Not that kind of work," said Flint, sounding amused.

"Oh," said Violet again.

"Mind if I sit?"

A little surprised he was even asking, Violet nodded and scooted over a little so Flint could sit down next to her. He looked taller, and broader too, but Violet wasn't sure if it was just because she hadn't seen him in a while or if he'd actually gotten bigger.

"You doing alright?" he asked again after a pause.

"Huh? Er, yeah, I'm fine. I mean, not really, because nundu toxin, but yeah."

Flint's lips twitched. "Yeah." He leaned back, sitting casually, looking completely unconcerned by having gate-crashed the Yule Ball.

It was smart, coming today. There were already so many people coming from outside the castle. Most of them were from the Ministry, but there were a few others as well, so it wasn't surprising that no one had noticed Flint getting in or wandering around.

"Did the Ministry send you?" asked Violet curiously.

"No. My...employer's someone...else." Flint wasn't hesitating, exactly, but something about his tone was off. Not really in a bad way, but Violet couldn't pinpoint what she was hearing.

"But this employer sent you here to talk to me," said Violet. Her words weren't a question though. Flint had slipped into the castle unnoticed for some reason or another. Why risk being caught by approaching her unless the whole reason he was here was because of her?

"I can't say much," said Flint. He looked around, but there was no one else nearby. Violet was already guessing he'd put up a spell or two to make sure of it. "You're right. I was sent to talk to you." He didn't look at her.

Was it a good idea to be alone with Flint right now? Even if it wasn't, Violet supposed there was nothing she could do about it. She and Theo had walked fairly far into the gardens, so it would take him a few minutes to get back with their drinks. And even if he was here, it wasn't as if they'd be able to do much against Flint if he chose to attack her.

Not that she thought he would. The risk was there, but if Flint planned to attack, there was no reason for him to still be sitting here with her. He would've already gone for it. Plus, he'd never done anything to her before, and he'd been the one to start the whole 'bodyguard duty' thing too. But she was still a little tense, so she said nothing and waited to see if Flint would explain.

"He wanted to know when you woke up," said Flint, "and if you're healed or not."

"Why does your employer want to know about my health?" questioned Violet immediately.

"Can't ask questions," said Flint with a shrug. "He said you'd be suspicious though. Said I should tell you his name is Marvolo. He said you could decide to trust him or not from there."

"M-Marvolo...?" Violet knew that name. There was no way she could forget it. "Do-do you know who he is?" she asked, trying to keep her cool.

"Yeah."

Well, she couldn't say she'd been expecting this. "When did you start working for him?"

"Couple of months ago," said Flint with another shrug. "He sent me here. Said it was good timing or something. I didn't ask."

Ah, so Flint coming during the ball was Voldemort, or rather, Marvolo's idea then. That didn't surprise Violet at all. "Do..." She hesitated, too many questions whirling in her head, then said, "Did he say anything about the tournament?"

"Not really," said Flint. He scanned the area again, and Violet did the same, but neither of them saw anyone around them. Even the nearby rose bushes were still and silent. "He just said he isn't behind you being entered."

"Right..." Violet tapped her fingers on her thigh. If all of this was true, was it safe to strike Voldemort-strike Marvolo, off the list of potential culprits? "Well, I-er, don't know why he wants to know about my health, but uh..." Violet filled Flint in on what she'd been told about the condition her body was in, along with what potions she was supposed to take.

Flint listened to her in silence, nodding along whenever it seemed to be appropriate, and Violet figured he probably didn't have to understand what she was saying considering Marvolo was likely going to look at his memories later. There was no need for her to clarify or explain anything. Marvolo would understand her just fine, even if Flint struggled.

"I'll let him know," said Flint.

"Okay," said Violet, not sure what else to say. This whole thing was just kind of awkward and confusing, honestly.

"He also said someone loyal to him is in the castle," said Flint a few seconds later. "Didn't say who, though." Then he stood before Violet could answer. "I have to leave. Don't want to get caught. See you."

And then he was gone as suddenly as he'd said those words, walking down one of the paths with quick, long strides before he turned the corner and disappeared behind a large rose bush.

Violet stared at the spot, surprised and bemused, half wondering if she hadn't hallucinated the entire meeting considering how random it'd been. The Theodore came into view from around that same corner, holding a cup in each hand, one of which was steaming.

"I swear I just saw Flint walk past me," said Theodore, coming up the path towards her.

Okay, so maybe she hadn't hallucinated it after all. "You saw right," said Violet, accepting the glass Theodore handed her. Maybe Flint had heard Theo coming and hadn't wanted to get caught. "Let me tell you what he said."

There was a lot to explain, and there was a lot Violet had to think about as well. But not now. She couldn't focus. Her lungs were burning terribly and she knew that meant it was time for her next dose of potions. She would think about all of this tomorrow.

She was exhausted.

That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!