1 April 1995
In the months since the second challenge Hogwarts had been in a state of building suspense. Word had quickly leaked to the student population of Dumbledore's challenge to the Marauders and the Weasley twins. The staff thought the headmaster daft for proposing such a challenge. Yes the prank war between the twins and Harry and his friends had come to an abrupt halt but it was like knowing that a massive dragon was bearing down on them and they couldn't do anything about it. Amongst the students speculation ran rampant on what the pranksters would come up with for the challenge. Although there have been repeated attempts to get Harry or the twins to give some information on the Third task, no one had succeeded. That simply added to the fervour.
The champions had only one way of describing their feelings on the challenge: scared witless. Cedric and Draco had seen what the Weasley twins were capable of over the last several years. Fleur, Al, Viktor, and the other foreign champions had seen the prank war since their arrival. The thought that they would have to deal with the combined efforts of the Weasley twins and the Marauders had them all very nervous- especially Draco.
Not without cause Draco was rather sure the pranksters would target him. He tried complaining to his father to remove the pranksters' challenge as a school governor. The elder Malfoy even want so far as to complain to Minister Fudge but had no luck. Sirius's position as the head of the Ancient and Noble family of Black was enough to counter Malfoy's lobbying. It was only after Lucius failed that Draco realized his very attempt would probably focus more of the pranksters' attention on himself. Draco was not having a good spring.
Now the Great Hall was filled with the students of three schools along with the staff and ministry visitors. They were there to hear the details of the third challenge. The staff table had been removed and replaced with a large mirror. Several other mirrors were mounted on the walls of the Hall or small ones were freestanding on the tables. Standing in front of the large mirror were the familiar figures of Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and the Weasley twins.
Once the students and guests were settled into their seats a door opened on the side of the Great Hall and Dumbledore led the other headmasters into the room and over to seats set aside for them near their champions. Dumbledore gestured for the other school heads to be seated before turning to the waiting pranksters.
"Gentlemen, the floor is yours."
Harry stepped forward from the group. He drew a quick breath and then started. "I have been chosen to be our spokesperson for explaining this event. Some people felt that my recent experience would make me a good speaker. Honestly I just said I would do it to stop us from listening to the Weasley's twin - speak and save us all the headache." Many of the students broke into appreciative chuckles as the twins pretended to act offended.
"Now as you may have heard they originally intended to grow a privet hedge maze on the grounds of the Quidditch Stadium, throw in some of Hagrid's pets, and then send the champions on a race to see who could get to the centre first. Since the hedges were going to be 10 feet tall we spectators would have once again been left with very little to watch. Now we couldn't have that could we?"
"I would've preferred that whatever you've cooked up, Harry," Al called out. Harry flashed his friend a smile that could only be called evil. The champions started to feel even more nervous.
Harry continued on, his voice building up like a showman.
"Instead the Marauders with assistance from the incomparable Weasley twins have developed a challenge that will thrill you and keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. We present to you: The Princess Marauder!"
At Harry's announcement the mirror started the cloud over until no reflection was visible. Instead it looked like the ceiling of the Great Hall before a storm. Thick clouds seem to roil around. The student seemed a bit shocked and focused on watching the mirrors. They didn't even notice when their presenters seem to disappear. At least, until Harry's voice seemed to boom out of everywhere.
"The Princess Marauder harkens back to the great tales of magic, heroism, and determination we all grew up with. Our champions must act as those champions of old to rescue our Princess marauder from her vile captors! To do this they must use all their intelligence, magic, and strength to be successful in the quest!"
The images in the mirror started to clear to show the edge of the Black Lake looking towards the Forbidden Forest. In the water shapes could be seen swimming around. A small sailboat floated nearby. The mirror seemed to move forward towards the lake and out over the water. Suddenly a shriek was heard and a massive serpent thrust its head out of the water and almost seemed to come through the mirror's surface. Many of the students screamed in fear.
"For the first part of the quest, our champions must cross the Black Lake that has been infested with shrieking eels. These vicious, meat eating eels emit a horrible, shrill scream when they're about to feed. They always get louder as they are about to feed on human flesh."
The mirror now seemed to fly over the water as the shrieking eels attempted to feast on whatever it was they could see. Several of the champions looked ready to flee the Hall with just the thought of facing those creatures.
"Once our champions reached the other side of the lake, they must plunge into the Forbidden Forest while avoiding quicksand, flaming traps… and, oh yes, the AOUS's."
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