Chapter 32.1- Doom Days
Added 2025-04-23 20:53:48 +0000 UTC“For the Second Task, what we have before us is essentially a race. But in true Tri-Wizard fashion, it is a race, longer and more complex than any I have ever seen. First of all, the champions must journey to the buttom of the Black Lake where they will come in contact with persons who have agreed to be their hostages and helpers for this task. After that, they must journey to the island on the other end of the lake. There they will be expected to mount brooms and retrieve the antidote to the potion that keeps their hostages asleep. From there, they must journey across a specially created tunnel that leads to a secret surprise. The surprise is the last part of the task, and let’s just say it’s a fiery one” Bagman said, and the giant screens behind him showed massive amounts of fire.
It was clear to see that this task had been planned specifically to be a spectacle. To take attention away from any and everything else, to entertain, pacify, and lull in equal measure. That was why the Quidditch stands had been grossly expanded. That was why tickets to this event were sold at half price for British citizens— a subsidy directly from the Ministry’s coffers, and why the news article about the attack Japan had made on the ICW camp enforcing the ceasefire in Asia had broken this morning.
Breaths were held as much of the world waited to see if war was truly coming. Breaking the ceasefire should have meant war from every nation signatory to it, but very few had citizens broadly in favour of spending lives and gold waging a war to protect people they would never meet, see, or even hear about much. Japan had taken a calculated risk, and I had no idea if it would work.
What I did know was that I was going to enjoy winning this one. Post Christmas break, we were all more or less at 100% and this made this a completely fair challenge.
