Mischief Managed Y2 Part 2: The Truth of the Tournament

Chapter Seventy: You're Driving Me Insane!

Summary: Everything goes from bad to worse. James attempts to be the hero he always knew he could be, and Remus attempts to throttle his mental friend!

Song: Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne

Mental wounds still screaming

Driving me insane

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

I'm going off the rails on a crazy train

I know that things are going wrong for me

You gotta listen to my words

AN: This song is even funnier when you fully understand what happens in this chapter- which will be explained within the next few chapters ;)

Also, the capitalization rules for HP are a little wonky to begin with but get even more confusing when it comes to magical creatures. I found a site that lists when a creature is capitalised or not so if you feel like an animal should be capitalised take it up with Rowling. ^^'

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James watched the Triwizard Tournament with glee, only a bit distracted by what Daniel could have possibly said to Remus. He hated the creep and loathed how scared the older boy made him. James Potter was not some petrified mooncalf! Why was the stupid and ugly Daniel even here? He shook his head, tracking Gideon again. He let out a whoop as the best head boy in history completely knocked out a nasty-looking ghoul and stepped over the body. Now the champion would head into another 'room.' The second-year could barely contain his elated squeal. Three more obstacles and Gideon would reach the sphinx, and he had kept the lead! It sucked Sirius had to miss this, but James couldn't help rejoicing at not missing out on the excitement himself.

He glanced at Lily while Gideon took a break. Based on his earlier choices, Prewett had decided to use his advantage to strategically pick which two routes he should take. Lily had her hands over her mouth, glancing from their champion to Anders. The Abreasalt's arm still hung limply due to an unfortunate incident with a Cockatrice earlier. The poor bloke didn't seem like he'd even make it to the sphinx. That just went to show Hogwarts' superiority! James blatantly ignored Mihaela's success.

So far, all the champions had given the Inferi a wide berth. Mihaela had even inconveniently retraced her steps when she became stuck between retreating and going through the Inferi. The 'unfortunate' situation was due to Gideon, who had previously made the adjacent Grindylow option unavailable. Satisfied by Lily's evident enjoyment, James failed to stifle his concern for Remus.

From where James was, he had to jump to glimpse his friend. He could already feel McGonagall eying him, so he turned back around, once more focusing on Gideon. The champion was using a complex charm to solve some puzzles before the ground became too hot to stand on. But again, his worry drifted to the werewolf, who seemed to be having an awful day. What was the leader of the Marauders going to do about summer? And how could James get Daniel back, not just for hurting him but also for clearly harassing Remus? That must have been what the nasty teenager did to get his brave friend to look utterly terrified. Once more, the chaser returned to the third task, just in time to watch the arena below collapse into mayhem! The invisible walls keeping the creatures contained were gone, just like that. He gasped, wondering if this had been the plan from the start. Professors' urgent attempts to reach the stadium from the stands suggested not.

Further proof of the untamed chaos came when one of the two dragons escaped its nearby handlers, launching itself into the air, resulting in students screaming and running every which way. The professionals tried to reel the beast back down with glowing gold enchanted chains. However, they also had to contend with Acromantula scattering, an Erumpent charging, and... James went cold, watching the Inferi start strategically moving towards Mihaela, who they were the closest to. He thought he heard Dumbledore shout something, but the Marauder heard nothing over the screaming. The sturdy platform on which the winners of the younger student competitions (YSCs) watched the Trwizard Tournament quivered dangerously. James turned, torn between rushing to Lily or Remus. He didn't have time to decide as a loud explosion sent him flying forward.