Where Dark Meets The Light

Chapter 2: The Champions

The first few weeks of school fly by with Jay and Neville spending a considerable amount of time in the RoR. By now Jay no longer has to instruct Neville on what to do. He's currently doing push-ups while listening to an audiobook.

Jay is focusing more and more on her mind magic. The days have become dreadfully long and her once easy sleeping pattern is all but non-existent at this point. She's frustrated with her lack of success in blocking out the dreams and it shows.

Nevertheless, she doesn't give up. She can't give it up. There are zo many things that could go wrong in the worst ways possible if she comes face to face with Voldemort while he can easily look into her mind. It seems that the tables have turned on her, and Neville is now encouraging her instead of the other way around.

It does make her feel warm in a way she hasn't in a long time though. She's sitting quietly in a circle of candles. It's one of the many new techniques she's trying out. Hopefully, the small flames flickering and being held in existence by the burning of wax will give her the rest she needs. With every time she breathes in, the small flames burn hotter. For some reason, the scent of burning is soothing to her, as it has always been. It smelled like home in a way she couldn't describe.

It was only when her alarm went off that she realized she had been flickering in-between consciousness and her subconsciousness. Startled by the alarm, she knocked a candle over.

"Shit!" Was all she could exclaim as her robe caught fire. The fabric of her robe should be unable to catch fire by a simple candle! She'd made sure of it.

Neville extinguished the flames with a quick and well-aimed  "Augumenti!" and then looked at her in exasperation, "Did you forget to spell your robes again?"

She scoffs, "No, I didn't. You saw me do it." A quick flick of her wand confirmed that the spell had been cast and that it was still in effect. "What the..."

Neville looks just as confused and makes his way over to her, only to step back. "Jay, it's way to hot! Get away from there!"

"Hot?" She asks, "It's a little warm, but what do you expect? I've been sitting in a ring of candles for over an hour."

Neville looks wide-eyed, "No Jen, it's way too hot to come from candles alone! It's boiling hot."

"It doesn't feel that hot..." She mutters. With a flick of her hand, all flames go out. Immediately she's shivering. It feels like she's freezing like she just skinny-dipped the black lake in the middle of winter.

"Okay, I get it now!" Her teeth are clattering and she wraps her cloak around herself. After a few steadying breaths, the clattering stops and the room begins to feel normal again. "I do feel like I got somewhere this time, though."

"You did? What was it like?" Neville asks as he wraps himself around her and rubs her arms.

"Strange. Like I was flying and not at the same time. Like there was nothing besides a burning heat. But I could feel it in my hands when I tried to channel magic. It was as if I was sleepwalking."

Neville blinks a few times, no longer holding her now that Jay's shivers had died down. "Okay then."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

It isn't long until the foreign students arrive. They do so in style and Neville and Jay are impressed.

The Beauxbatons make a show that screams elegance and grace, while the students from Drumstrang show off their strength.

Jennifer dreaded the coming days, however, as she highly suspected that things were going to go wrong. Fast.

And she was right. She and Neville even had a bet going on about who's name would come out of the goblet of fire. It wasn't even a question if one of their names was going to come out, but rather which of the twins. Jay bet Charlie's, Neville bet hers.

Jay smugly accepted the galleon when Charlie's name was called out. She could only shake her head as Charlie went up to the headmaster looking like a dear caught in headlights.

Did he really not see it coming? Really?

Jay did wince in sympathy for her brother when she saw the fury of, well, everyone at Charlie being picked. She'd never seen Dumbledore that angry before. The man wordlessly thrust the piece of parchment to Charlie, who took it. He then wordlessly went to where the other champions had gone.

"Told you." She whispers to Neville. "It's going to be a few long months trying to keep him alive."

Neville scoffs, "You don't say."

While they wait for Dumbledore to finish his speech, which doesn't sound nearly as lively as when the event started that evening. The man's clearly livid and waiting to go tear Charlie a new one.

It's when the goblet flashes blue once more that she pays attention again.

It's her name that's called out this time.

She looks at Neville, who looks just as shocked as her, before quietly handing him his galleon back.

"Well, that was not what I expected." She says loudly. She walks up to the man and quickly fishes the piece of parchment out of his hand before making her way to the other champions.