Halley Wolffer

Chapter 13

It was another cold night with a strong wind rattling the windows of Raven Tower, storm clouds were gathering in the dark Winter sky and all of the students were very tired after a long day of magical activities, chatter and expectations as they waited for the Second Task of the Tree Wizard Tournament.

Halley, Vector and Flor would face an unknown challenge the following day, and that night the Staff were rather busy as they magically created some kind of structure just outside the grounds of the castle.

Nobody would know for sure what was really going to happen during the mysterious Second Task, but some people said that this time the Champions would have to fight their way against a varied collection of new and formidable dangers...

"What is the problem with you?" Halley asked, looking at Looney and Isabella.

The girl dormitories were warm and cozy, softly illuminated by the fireplace while delicious smells of muffins and tea were coming from the kitchen. Halley was reading a book about History of Magic to try and learn more about the Death Staff, and she wondered why all of her friends had been acting so strange the past few days.

"We are f-fine, Halley!" Isabella said, shaking nonstop and hiding under her blankets like a squirrel- "We are just a little nervous about the s-second task tomorrow, that's all!"

Isabella had been hiding in her bed ever since they returned from the forest, Donald had been unusually quiet and Looney, normally cheerful and outspoken, had been acting like a spooked mouse and would try to stay at Raven Tower as long as possible. All of them were losing classes and House points, and Looney even looked like she was ill or something.

Virginia would evade Halley whenever that they saw each other in the hallways or the Great Hall, and Halley was starting to think that something strange was happening...

"You all have been acting weird since that night, when I opened the Chamber" Halley went on, sitting on her bed- "What is it, Looney? You even stopped producing more Halley merchandise, and Donald looks like he has got the flu or something- Look, I have the Death Staff now, everything is going to be fine..."

Halley's friends remained in a frightened and confused state after their encounter with Velaydamorte, so frightened that they had not been able to speak to anyone else about it... They knew that nobody would believe a word about it anyway, and so far, they remained totally clueless as to what to do about it.

"We shall be selling loads of stuff tomorrow, we already made enough merchandise for the rest of the Tournament" Looney replied, combing her hair- "Halley, you need to get a good night sleep..."

"Whatever..." Halley said, closing her book at last.

Looney was, as always, pretty good at concealing just how concerned she really was. Halley saw her pouring some kind of relaxing potion in her peppermint tea, and then, after the girls enjoyed a light dinner, the fireplace was extinguished automatically and they all went to sleep.

Halley grasped the Death Staff with both hands, trying to imagine what the Second Task would be like and listening to the wind while she drifted into a deep and peaceful sleep...

50-

Halley the Wolf

Halley experienced a variety of weird and confusing dreams that night.

She found herself in the Second Task, where Flor and Vector were riding great dragons flying above the lake and the castle. They were intent on setting Halley on fire while she ran inside a maze somewhere in the castle grounds, trying to extinguish the fires with magic and casting shield after shield to defend herself from the attacks...