The Golden Wand [Harry Potter/Percy Jackson]

Chapter 46: The Seventh Trial

Percy POV:

The thousands of people jumping up and down in the crowd, the flash of a camera here and there, the suffocating noise that drowned out all thought, the bitter smell of sweat coming off of the competitors' anxious bodies, the gritty sand that itched against my skin; it was enough to put my hair on edge, but this wasn't the first time I had been put in an arena. I, along with the ten other competitors, stood in a large circle around the stage of the arena. The place was huge - about the size of a Quidditch pitch - and I could only just see the blurry body of Annabeth stood directly opposite to me. I needed to get to her. 

"THE RULES ARE SIMPLE!" Cedric Diggory was screaming into a megaphone, his voice echoing around the crowd. I could see him standing in the highest podium of the audience, along with the 4 judges and 4 Headmasters of each school. They were so high up that they all looked like colourful blurs to me. "FIGHT THE MONSTER, SAVE YOURSELF. BUT REMEMBER, THIS IS NOT A TEAM EVENT - YOU ARE ALL WORKING AGAINST EACHOTHER. YOU EARN POINTS BY HARMING OR DEFEATING THE BEAST, AND MORE POINTS THROUGHOUT THE ROUND FOR DISARMING AND HARMING ONE ANOTHER."

I gulped and stared around at the other competitors. This could get interesting. Closest to my left stood Krum, who wouldn't take his eyes off me, and to my right stood Hazel, who I wanted to get as far away from as possible because she really freaked me out when she was angry.

"WELL, I SAY WE SHANT DELAY THIS MUCH LONGER! WHAT DOES THE AUDIENCE THINK?" The crowd roared in response, and when I looked up to the sky I saw a hundred wizards on brooms, holding cameras and filming the stage below. "VERY WELL! LET THE SEVENTH TRIAL... BEGIN!!!!"

And Cedric picked up the glowing green stone that rested in front of him, raised it high into the sky, and as the audience chorused "RELEASE THE BEAST!" he threw it towards the arena stage. I watched, holding my breath, as the stone toppled through the air and landed with a hiss on the sandy arena floor. 

Nothing happened. 

I continued to hold my breath, counting the seconds that passed in my head. One, two, three... I braced myself, raising my wand slightly. Four, five, six... Krum coughed to my left, I could feel his eyes on me. Seven, eight, nine... Jason stepped towards the stone. Ten... The stone exploded.

Shards of green crystal blasted out through the air; I had to magic a protective spell around myself so that I wasn't hit. Most of the competitors were knocked off their feet by the blast, and I had to sink to my knees to keep myself upright. I turned my head away from the sand that was swirling through the air, and when I finally opened my eyes... there was a monster in the middle of the arena. 

A Blast-Ended Skrewt. 

Kind of underwhelming. The Skrewt, about 10 feet long, looked like a giant scorpion with two tails. It was big, especially for a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but these creatures were easier to fight than you might think. Ignore the armour and the fire and the stingers that spray acid... and this monster was easy enough to fight. Hardly a challenge. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Krum raise his wand - but not at the Skrewt. I ducked just in time as a beam of red light sailed over my head, singing a few of my hairs as it passed. I rolled to the side, standing just in time to see Krum's red spell hit Hazel and the girl went flying through the air, landing in a heap of sand. 

"KRUM DISARMS LEVESQUE, 5 POINTS!" Shouted Cedric, and I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Okay, so that's how this works. 

To my right, Nico and Fleur had reached the Skrewt. As Fleur dodged a column of fire that escaped the creature's rear, Nico was playing a dangerous game of Buckaroo as he stood on the skrewt's armoured back. I ignored them, flicking my wand at the floor next to Krum so that it erupted upwards. A storm of sand and dirt flew into Krum's face, knocking his backwards, and just as I was about to use another spell on Krum I heard Hazel shout "stupefy!"... and Krum was knocked unconscious.