#ooc: sorry for how bad the banner is yikes

[championnatalia]

The words had burned into her brain, she had read the letter so many times.

Natasha Nikolayevna Stepanova,

I hear you were chosen for the triwizard tournament, although it is no longer quite three wizards. As you were chosen last, I expect you will be the weakest on your team. Do not be.

I hope to be pleased when I hear of your first task.

To Mother Russia,

Nikolai Ivanovich Stepanov

She supposed she should have been grateful that she had received a letter at all.

But God, she was burning. Not even dancing had helped ease the anger that dripped through her veins slow as honey, heady as vodka. The rage had started with the tiniest seed of him spelling out her full name--her full name--along with a nickname he knew she hated, like she was a stranger instead of his daughter, and had taken root with every cold word. Did her being last truly mean anything? Her father seemed to think so, his small, smooth handwriting that barely filled the tiny roll of paper making a cold analysis of his only blood left.

He had signed the letter carelessly, not cautiously, the spiky signature slightly smeared and the final "v" veering off into a different direction. He had signed those three, useless sentences off like she was an unimportant line on his oh-so-long to do list.

She shouldn't be thinking about the letter. Not now, not at all. It wasn't important.

The Task at hand was important.

She stood over the lake, which almost didn’t seem big enough to deserve that title, hands stuffed into her pockets to keep the world from seeing that they were trembling like autumn leaves in heavy wind. She had seen such a sight before, in the forests of her childhood, and had wanted to snatch the leaves from the tree and let them crumble under the might of her tiny fingers.

Now she was the leaves, and was bound to crumble at any minute.

She stood up straighter. Put her feet into first position, then second, then fourth, then back into first. She would just think of this as a performance, that was all. This was just another dance.

Nothing else.

A dance of death.

Natalia pressed her lips together. Now was not the time to be rattling off the list of dead champions in her brain. That was almost worse than thinking of her father’s stupid, stupid letter.

Besides, Headmaster Vladmska was approaching, a silhouette against the glittering green of the Hogwarts lake. She forced herself to straighten. A performance. Your makeup is immaculate, your hair is pulled tightly into a bun, your body is warmed up, ready to tell the story of a fail--

No. A hero.

“Champions, are you ready? You'll begin in a minute.”

Darting her eyes from side to side, she nodded. Only Katya looked as nervous as she was; the girl’s face was somehow several shades whiter than its usual pale state. Valeriya was stuck in her constant state of la-di-da, and Valya, as usual, seemed more concerned with everyone else--namely Katya--than themself. “Look sharp, Big Sister,” they said, concern tinging their voice as they patted the tall girl on the back, “you seem like you're about to pass out.”

If she did, Natalia would be the first to move ahead. She could hear her father’s voice in her head: “a good leader cuts dead weight if it can never help them again.”

She would cut her dead weight, if she had to.

Katya muttered a response that Natalia didn’t bother paying attention to, and Valeriya said something annoyingly positive. Sometimes it seemed that instead of talking the girl just spewed butterflies and cupcakes into the world. Which was nice, in a way; it could be relied upon, however irritating it was. Now, Natalia took a bit of strength from Valeriya’s light tone, dipping into a plié too small for anyone to notice, and began to pay attention once again.

“You got this.” Vladmska flashed a toothy smile. “Make sure you stick together.”

They had to, didn’t they? How stupid. Natalia was sure that her expression was utterly derisive, a look that, while she wore it often, was not suited to her softer features, but she didn’t care. It was such a silly rule, and she didn’t mind making clear her disdain for it.

Naturally, everyone else seemed on board with it.

Valya pulled a group of four bottles from their robe pockets, sloshing the muddy mixture around. It had an odd color to it, like pesto from one of those odd Hogwarts dishes gone moldy. “Here's the potion. It will last us the hour that we need. I also enhanced the effects of the gillyweed so that we can move underwater more easily. Hopefully the side effects won't be too much of a hassle.”

Side effects?

Well, if she failed because of those, it wouldn’t be her fault. Besides, Valya exuded champion better than any of the rest of them. They were effortlessly confident as they leaned on their heels and passed the bottles around, smiling winningly like the kind of hero one heard about in history books. Valya couldn’t botch this up too badly if they were a hero, could they?

Headmistress Mercier’s voice cut across the chilly air. “Are you ready, champions? Once I fire sparks, you may begin.”

“We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t,” Natalia muttered, examining the bottle. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t. I’m ready. I have to be.

Her hand flew to the locket at her throat as the her teammates--and even Headmaster Vladmska--snickered appreciatively.

She was a performer, and this was just the beginning of the show.

A sound like a gunshot pierced the air, whistling through it as sparks flew up from the judge’s table. Valya wasted no time, shoving the bottles of potion into everyone’s hands as they uncorked theirs, raised it aloft like it was a toast, and said “bottoms up”.

Katya wasted little time either, grimacing as she swallowed with a single “cheers”. Valeriya, all for eagerness, downed the disgusting-looking potion in one gulp, eyes bright as she gave everyone a cheery “let’s go!” Seriously, did this girl have any other emotion?

She didn’t have time to think on that. Valya was already diving into the water with one fluid motion. Natalia hesitantly uncorked the bottle, sloshing it around. Some potions didn’t always mix everything into one fluid, and it looked like this one was no different. She could see a paper-thin wing stuck to the side of the bottle, and a little piece of something like seaweed floated up to the top.

It smelled like kelp, hazily salty with a dirty mask.

She held her nose, tipped her head back, and drank.

It was slimy against her esophagus, cold and dank and muddy-tasting. She felt like a worm slid down her throat and a moth fluttered its wings against it, once, before filtering down to its stomach where it beat nervousness against the lining.

Her team was already down. With one quick glance over her shoulder--there was a crowd, and a sun, and Headmaster Vladmska--she dove in.

The first thing she noticed was that it was cold.

It was cold, and her robes were heavy and coarse against her pruning fingers, and pain was blooming on the sides of her neck and her feet--no, not my feet, please not my feet, I need to dance, if my feet don’t come back I swear I will kill Valya--and they were there. Waiting.

“First we need to find this mermaid, right?”  Valya’s voice sounded strained; not warbled, but like their voice was a piano that decided to play a newer, higher octave today.

Katya nodded. She looked much more sure of herself underwater, like the salt water had cleared away any creases in her brow and sadness in her heart. “Natalia, you have the locket?”

Natalia felt the chain tighten around her neck. This was it. Her chance.

“Yes, it’s here.” Her voice was even. Controlled. She pulled it out from underneath her robes, the delicate chain sliding against her fingers with each tiny link. “I have a bracelet in case this fails, but it’s a prototype.” And by prototype she meant bad, very bad, in which she recorded her own miserable voice singing without words. But now she looked prepared and competent.

She needed to be prepared and competent. I expect you will be the weakest on your team...do not be…

“I’m sure it will work.” Valya nodded firmly. If she felt like being honest with herself, it was probably to reassure themself, but with Katya’s added affirmation it didn’t sound so terrible. It was easier to lie when more people agreed with the untruth.

“Okay, which direction should we go?” Valeriya asked. Natalia jutted her chin; down, obviously. She wouldn’t be the one to say it, though.

Luckily, after a bit of banter, Katya did, with a bit more dryness than Natalia could muster in an environment so wet, and so they continued.

The environment became even colder, if possible, and browner. Where they had been, closer to the surface, it was a perfect shade or turquoise, light filtering through the little murk there was to create a setting that could have been out of a lush fairytale. Now they were descending into a vague underworld, with blobs that could transform into nightmares floating alongside them.

She felt too fanciful. Life was for business plans as sturdy as oak, not for descriptions that reminded her of a child’s story. Or a ballet, she thought suddenly, and felt her muscles tighten. That was a waste of time, too.

“Does anyone see anything?” Katya asked, her voice vague and senseless. There was a current of anxiety racing underneath it, like the world was too muddled, too senseless.

Maybe that was why she wasn’t uncomfortable with the setting at all. It was home to her, thickly wooded and dense with secrets beyond every trunk. Just underwater without a sprinkle of winter gray that made everything seem more

“This reminds me of a forest. Everything is hidden. So no.”

But just as everything was hidden, everything wasn’t. A glimmer of light caught Natalia’s eye, and she turned towards it, watching it grow steadily brighter and brighter.

“Hey, what’s that?” Valya asked. Their voice was as hushed as it was bold. Natalia didn’t say anything; there was unease growing in the pit of her stomach like a yearling tree.

Katya swam closer, and suddenly it clicked.

“It reminds me of, what was it, a grindylow?” Or was it a hinkypunk? She had never been very good at Care of Creatures, magical or otherwise. Regardless, there was a creature that lured you in with its light for diabolical ends.

“I don’t remember anything about grindylows…”

Natalia tensed; her voice wanted to shout at Katya, tell her to back away. She clamped the need down. “That one creature that lures you in with its light…”

“Yeah yeah, I know what they are. I don't remember them being part of the Task, though?” Valya said. Natalia hummed, pressed her lips together, put these terrible fins in fourth position. A performance.

The light was getting brighter by the second. She could let Katya meet her doom, or show weakness, or…

“All I remember about them is that they are aggressive so let’s go around them.” And that was Valeriya, voice as wispy as her dark side. But she wasn’t calling Katya over, either.

No one was saying anything. Katya was surging forwards, leaving them behind…

Natalia sighed. “How do we know?  Katya!”

The light snapped, turning corporeal. A mermaid: her hair was a thousand different colors curled into one, rich browns and stunning auburns with some gold threaded throughout. Her tail was blue, and scaly, and glittered like it was a coin, or a sun…

Natalia felt something curl inside her chest. God, she’s beautiful.

Instinctively, she dropped into a curtsy. She was not underwater, poor by Koldovstoretz robes; she was in a ballroom, at age eight, meeting a woman that looked like her mother for the first time and trying to remember her manners.

The image faded. Valeriya’s eyes burned into her back.

“Not too fast, Natalia,” Valya murmured. “Don’t want to piss her off.”

She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. “I won’t, I promise.”

Her hands were shaking. The mermaid was smiling. Slowly, she began to unclasp the locket. In a moment, it dangled from her fingers, catching what little light was in the nether-regions of the lake.

A light flash, and the mermaid, once smiling and perfect and beautiful, was a slice of silver against the murky background, wriggling around frantically.

“What was that?” Natalia whispered. This now felt so unlike a forest, where she knew everything that might come across her path. She was a trespasser here, something that didn’t belong.

“A trick,” Katya whispered, and it sounded like a swear. As if her voice was a cue, the fish then popped into one of jelly, cloud-like as it bobbed away.

She reclasped her locket. “What a waste of time,” Katya whispered, and Natalia was inclined to agree. There were...how long had they been down here?

A low snarling came from the cluster of rocks the faux mermaid had been. “That was...odd,” Valya said, a frown carving their features like wood.

“You have fifty-two minutes left.”

They had to get moving, or they’d lose, and that was not a letter she wanted to read. “Wands out?”

“No!” Katya said, forceful in every way. “If it’s a mermaid, we could appear to be aggressive. Just...be on guard.”

Of course. Because just being on guard was helpful.

But then again, if they got attacked she could go get the eggs on her own…

“But if it isn’t a mermaid…” Valya clearly was already holding their wand, deep in their pocket.

The snarls were growing louder. Natalia was wobbling, teetering, slowing.

“No, you’re right,” Valya said, looking like they regretted their first response. Natalia did too, all of a sudden. She didn’t want to die, but...they wouldn’t let them die. The Triwizard Tournament had only passed through all the magical governments after severe safety warrants had been put in place.

Besides, they were champions! Chosen for a reason, not their bloodlines or their skills with a wand. There was something inside each of them--well, maybe not the unicorn princess, but still--that caused them to be chosen.

They were smart. They were ready. And her father--

“Yes, I don’t think mermaids make that sound,” Valeriya said, jarring her out of her thoughts. Her wand was out as she moved to examine the source of the snarling: a cluster of rocks.

It was Katya who spoke up for her now: “We’ll be fine, Natalia’s right.”

And Valya: “Careful, Valeriya!”

The blonde girl turned back to the group. “Okay!” she said, slipping her wand into her pocket and rejoining their little cluster.

She didn’t like that they were a cluster, yet she liked it more than she thought she would.

There was a pause, a beat of hesitation. “We’re not defenseless without wands,” she said. Silence was heavy in the water.

And then it wasn’t.

A creature sprang from the rocks, a blur of brown that almost blended into the environment. It could have been a mermaid, but it couldn’t have. Mermaids in Russia were elegant and graceful; Natalia had gotten the chance to meet a few, since they lived by one of her fathers’ farms. This one was a hag, her fingernails long and yellowed, her hair stringy, her eyes slitted like a cat’s.

“Is that a mermaid?” Valeriya whispered.

“That’s it.” Valya’s voice was just as stunned as she felt. “That’s a mermaid.”

Katya’s voice was a tone of knowing disdain. “We’re in Scotland, of course.”

The mermaid screamed, her head thrown back, bubbles shooting out of her mouth like a jetstream.

“I hate the British,” Natalia said.

Valya nodded, bending into a bow. “Stay calm, everyone. Natalia, open the locket.”

She didn’t want to stay calm.

The mermaid swam up to Valya.

Natalia opened the locket.

A tiny stream of song came through when she opened it, but not much of one. She was fairly certain only she could hear it.

Still, she unclasped the locket.

The mermaid was hissing in Valya’s ear: “Restore me to my former glory.”

Natalia’s eyes darted from side to side. Katya looked like she wanted to intervene but instead dropped into a less-than-graceful curtsy. What could the British mermaid mean, restore her to her former glory? Did the British have any glory that didn’t come from architecture, conquering, or Quidditch? Well, naturally there had to be, but--did she need an object? A new voice? A makeover?

The silence, though short, was stretching on too long. Natalia felt as though she was about to fold into herself. “We will do our best.”

Katya looked as though she was trying to prevent herself from panicking. “Will you tell us how to help you?”

Maybe the answer was music all along. Maybe if Natalia just hummed along to the music charmed into her muted locket, the one she should probably reclasp sometime soon...

The mermaid sneered. “I was once beautiful. A young mermaid: gorgeous, powerful, wanted. But I am now reduced to a withering mess. Restore me back to my former glory and I will let you pass.”

Beauty, beauty...Natalia’s mind skimmed over everything that made her feel beautiful. A perfect wing of eyeliner matched equally on both sides of her face, a compliment from her father, the clean serenity of her home forests, a win in a duel of some kind, a jeté, a plié, the tightness of the leotard against her skin, the movement of the music...

Katya mumbled a complaint. Natalia was too busy to listen as she imagined herself at the barre, going through the movements, trying to think. Maybe a duel for beauty could make the mer see her beauty? But tools for a duel for few and far between, down here.

Valeriya whispered to her, “do you know a good charm to change her appearance?”

But that wasn’t needed to feel beautiful...

Valya pulled their wand from their pocket. “Would this help?”

The mermaid glared. “Glamours don’t work.”

“No!” Natalia hissed at Valya, a solution dawning on her. She turned to the mermaid. “I can teach you things. Dance, music. When you perform, it doesn’t matter.”

Katya nodded quickly. “Natalia is right.”

The mermaid appeared confused, her brow furrowed. She had a nice, high forehead. “You...will teach me to dance?” she asked slowly. Natalia didn’t miss how long the mermaid spent on the word dance, like it was a sweet that she had to suck on for a while to be sure she liked it.

“Yes.” A beat. “I’ve been training all my life.” She began to move her fins into open fourth position: one foot directly in front of another, “heels” lined up.

Valya leaned over to her, whispering: “what kind of charm did you put on that locket again?”

Natalia quickly reclasped it, closed it. “A good one.” Did they doubt her? She had spent hours charming the locket to sing as a gift for the mermaids. “But if she wants to be beautiful, this is how. Do you know anything about dance, O Beautiful One?” The title fell easily from her lips; the mermaid had a gleam of intelligence in her eyes, and a childhood surrounded by those richer and more important than her taught her of the golden rule of getting what you wanted: flattery.

“Yes, I can tap dance,” the mermaid said, bobbing up and down in the water.

Natalia grinned, clapping her webbed hands. “Look! You’re practically glowing!”

Valya nodded energetically. The mer asked, “really?”

“Yes! You’re beautiful.” And she meant it. “When you dance, you’re happy, and that means beauty.”

“I hate tap dancing. My mom forced me into it when I was three.”

Well, that was better for Natalia, seeing as she only knew a few moves in tap. “Do you want to try ballet?”

Katya smiled at Natalia, and Natalia was shocked at how much it changed Katya’s expression from that of a girl with the temperament of an icicle to the expression of a girl that maybe, just maybe, Natalia would like to know. If she had ever had a propensity for friends, that is. “A very reliable source told me it’s the most beautiful dance of all.”

She felt lighter, like she was soaring through a jeté and there was nothing holding her down. Maybe she was smiling, soft and sweet. “It is.”

Valeriya nodded in agreement. “I have a feeling you’ll be a natural,” the girl said with a sly smile, exposing a bit of scrappiness she’d yet to show the group. “It emphasizes fluid movements.”

The mermaid growled, “teach.”

Natalia slowly looked the mermaid over. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do anything quite complicated, or even the foot positions, seeing as the mermaid had no feet. The emphasis would have to be on the arms, in order to teach something worthwhile. At least the mer already held herself like a queen; that was something that would take far too long to learn.

Natalia nodded. The mermaid hissed, “all you join.”

But that didn’t register yet. “The real thing about ballet for you will be in the arms. Your posture is excellent, which already exudes natural ballet skill and elegance.” Then: she was stumbling, disappointment tinging the world. “Oh.”

“I don’t dance,” Katya whispered.

“Nor do I. At all. Ever?”

She found it necessary to glare at them.

“Neither do I but we will learn fast.” Valeriya, at least, was willing to play along.

Valya gulped, clearly nervous. “Okay, I’m in.” They better be, especially because the mermaid was flopping her tail and shrieking “ALL DANCE!”

They attempted a spin. At least they were trying. Shaking her head in amusement, Natalia ran through the arm positions in her head. Fifth would probably be easiest to learn, especially high fifth. So she’d start with that.

Gracefully, she started in first position, her hands low on the body, elbows bended, before fluidly bringing them into high fifth--almost entirely above her head, although still able to see her hands, which were six inches apart. “Put your arms like this,” she instructed, watching her pupils attend to the lesson. The mermaid wasn’t doing so well; her hands lay atop her head like she was trying to knock some sense into her skull. Valeriya was probably doing the best of the group, though. While Katya had made a futile attempt to replicate Natalia’s motions and Valya hadn’t done much but their spin, Valeriya’s motion had been semi-fluid, and her arms had arrived at the position they needed too--if a bit too high over her head. Natalia thought to correct it, but there was little time, and it was key to flatter the mermaid senseless. Perhaps it would be best to provide some contrast first? “Valya, what are you doing? Pick yourself up.”

The mermaid growled. Perhaps Natalia better ease back on that point, then, even though Valya was clearly shuffling to get a better sense of posture. “Decent enough, Katya and Valeriya.”

Then she schooled her features into one of awe. “Oh...my...O Beautiful One, you have mastered this move!”

Valya muttered something sarcastic, too quiet to hear even for an experienced eavesdropper as herself. Natalia forced herself to focus, to keep the light shining in her eyes as she looked over the mermaid’s bad form. “I guess, but Valya, look at this creature of beauty. She’s so graceful.”

She could hear the shuffling sounds of her teammates--and God, when had she started to refer to them in such a way?--trying to prove the mermaid’s beauty to her. “I feel inferior,” Katya said, a smile hiding under the words. It was quickly followed up by Valeriya’s “that was great! I told you you’d be a natural,” and Valya’s “She has outshone us all!”

The lot of them were unbelievable.

“You have forty-three minutes left.”

They had wasted nine minutes. No, Natalia had wasted nine minutes. And without any result other than not being attacked, where were they? Had she done any good?

What would her father say?

The mermaid started swimming towards a seaweed forest growing on the lake floor. “Thank you for dazzling us, O Beautiful One!” she called, not sure if it would do any good.

The mermaid nodded. Parted the seaweed. And pointed down towards a cave.

Everyone immediately broke out into grins. Natalia curtsied. “You are ever so beautiful and kind. If you wish, I could come back later and teach more?” And she liked the idea of that, she really did. Teaching ballet down in a lake without any students around...it sounded like heaven.

The mermaid nodded, and something swelled inside Natalia’s chest.

“Thank you, beautiful creature,” Valya said with a bow.

“It was an honor,” Valeriya added.

Katya turned back to the mermaid. “Yes, thank you,” she said, before adding in a hushed whisper “remember the time limit.”

The time limit. A mark of Natalia’s imminent failure. Instantly, everything came rushing back: the letter, her father, the Task.

She shivered. She couldn’t think of her father in relation to ballet, or she’d cry, and she was being judged right now. Natalia would not be a tragic hero, she’d be an impenetrable one.

If she was a hero at all.

“You have thirty-nine minutes left.”

Natalia waved goodbye and refused to look back. “We should head to the cave. Are we ready?” Valya asked.

She wished she was ready.

Everyone was already in the cave. Checking herself for dignity, Natalia continued.

The cave was a small aperture in the ground that would have been bigger had stalactites and stalagmites not created jagged teeth all around the entrance of the cave. It looked like the maw of some monster, and if Natalia could have thought of anything, she would have. But she was reduced to asking “Katya? Do you have anything?”

Katya pulled out her wand. “I think so. Spongify!”

The rocks seemed to bounce, becoming rubbery and soft. Valya and Valeriya threw a few useless compliments Katya’s way. “Let’s go,” Natalia said, wishing she’d thought of it herself.

Katya nodded. “No time to waste.” Valeriya pulled out her wand and Natalia followed suit.

“We should be prepared for anything now,” Valeriya assured them. This time her voice had some depth to it, some meaning, like it wasn’t just empty positivity. It, more than anything else she’d said, made Natalia feel a little more at ease. “Does anyone see it?” Valeriya asked as their group entered the cave.

“Lumos!” Valya said. A stalactite brushed Natalia’s arm. It felt furry, almost. Soft. If nothing else could be said about Katya, it was that she was quite the charmer.

There were snorts coming from deep inside the cave. “Caution,” Natalia warned.

Valya hoisted their wand farther forward. “I can’t see anything.” It was as though the darkness would swallow them whole, Natalia thought, and then wanted to shove the thought away.

“Wait, let me set up the barrier,” Valeriya said before muttering the words of the spell under her breath. The air seemed to ripple in front of them, and Natalia gave an almost inaudible sigh of relief.

“Quickly, let’s go,” Katya said just as Valeriya chimed “finished!”

She felt a little less tense. “Let’s find this bad bitch,” Valya said, like they were trying to summon the spirit of some Muggle adventure hero.

Which she could understand, but “no cursing, please.”

This new mermaid was young, and beautiful, and the sight of her made Natalia’s chest thud. “Hey, do you need some help?”

Natalia’s mind raced. What might happen if she were to refuse? She curtsied. “Hello. We would like some help.” Another rule from her father: “accept the outstretched hand, just with metal-tipped gloves on.”

The mermaid smiled, her teeth blindingly white. “Of course! I can help you retrieve the eggs.”

The mermaid knew about their task. Which meant either that social circles were limited under the lake, or that she was a trap.

Katya appeared to have the same thought, warning her: “Natalia…”

“Be careful,” Valya warned.

And she was, she really was, only she was a daughter of Nikolai Stepanov, and she would not back down. She would fight clever with clever.

“Before we do anything, we’d like to thank you for your generous offer. Um…” She fumbled to get the locket off her neck and open it. Maybe, just maybe, if the mermaid liked her charm enough, she could toss it out the cave and be done with her. Or, if that didn’t work, the gift would keep the mermaid from attacking them and causing their downfall. A gift was its own form of flattery.

Tchaikovsky began to stream out of the locket. “Thank you!” the mermaid said, taking it for herself. Natalia felt her eyes widen and suddenly understood Valya’s inclination towards cursing.

“Remember the plan,” Katya told her.

“I’m trying.”

The mermaid swam ahead, sticking close to the walls. “Shh, let’s go,” she whispered. Natalia began to swim ahead, trying to stay close to the group as she asked the mermaid a question in a vain attempt to throw her off guard. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with the mer, especially with the warnings everyone else seemed to be whispering as they swam behind her. She quickly whispered, “what happens if we don’t say anything?” to the group before trying to catch up with the mermaid.

“Be careful!” the mermaid called as she beckoned to them.

“Oh, we are,” Natalia muttered, pressing her lips together. Valya cast a spell to enhance the brightness of the dark cave.

The mermaid turned back to them, whispering. “I'm Alessia.  I'm half Siren so I'll be able to sing and charm the Occamy into a lull.”

Valeriya asked, “what about us?”

With a jolt of fear, Natalia realized that Valeriya was right. Sirens...they were the ones who enchanted you with their voice, right? Couldn’t that work on the lot of them and not just the occamy? And if that was Alessia’s plan, then what would she do after that? Rob them? No, that wouldn’t make sense, unless the mer was planning to take their wands.

Natalia gripped hers a little tighter. “Okay,” Valya said, “Keep your spells ready.”

Did they doubt her? Did everyone doubt her? Her mind flew to her father for a fraction of a second, that grating letter, and her body tensed. “Of course.”

“I’ll distract the occamy so you guys can grab the egg!” Alessia said. Natalia was at once struck by how differently she talked than the mermaids in Russia, so informal and cheery. It felt wrong, like a bad chord struck on an instrument. A piano out of tune.

Katya seemed to be in a moment of hesitation, hands in a position that suggested they were about to do something but were unclear what. “This is too easy,” she whispered.

Maybe Alessia really was going to help. Maybe Natalia’s gift had tided her over. Maybe there was a chance.

“She will lull us to sleep as well, remember those ancient Greeks,” Valeriya chided, her eyes filled with worry.

Maybe there was no reason to be. “We can’t fight her,” Natalia whispered. Living with Nikolai Stepanov had taught her that some battles were futile to fight.

“Valeriya could be right,” Katya pressed. “We need to think of something.”

The mermaid started singing. Natalia could feel her body start to sway, like it was an adagio she just had to dance to. Quickly, Valeriya cast “muffliato!”

Katya glanced around at all of them. “Should we proceed with the plan, then?”

There was a moment built from pure hesitation between the four of them. “Well, no need to charm the eggs now,” Valeriya said, breaking the silence.

Valya was twitching nervously. “This is still... unnervingly easy.”

Some things were, Natalia wanted to say. But they were right. This was too easy, especially for a Triwizard Task.

“What choice do we have?” Katya whispered.

“But I can't think of a reason to turn back now,” Valya finished, a look passing between them and Katya.

There was a backup plan, if they needed it. Natalia's hand drifted towards the charm bracelet on her arm. “If we want to scare her away, my prototype wasn't good.”

The muffliato Valeriya cast was wearing away now. Natalia could hear the last few bars of a tuneless song, then a shriek that splintered the air like a knife. “Katya, want to try your x-ray spell?” Valeriya cried out, but there was no response from any of the other champions.

Her insides turned to ice, her heart to snow. No.

The occamy was waking up.

Her teammates’ curses faded into something dull as she numbed, recounting her failures. The mermaid had come up to her, and she hadn't lured Alessia away for safer passage. She hadn't done anything. She was the fourth chosen, and by her father's words, she was useless.

She wouldn't be, she vowed to herself, casting a “glacius!” at the occamy that missed disastrously. She wouldn't be the dead weight that needed cutting.

The occamy’s tail sliced her cheek. “Valeriya…”

Valya flung an obscuro at the occamy. Valeriya started casting the disillusionment charm on Katya.

She felt numb, and dumb, and useless.

“Find the egg!” Valeriya called. Natalia felt something like relief shudder through her. This, this was the task at hand. She would make this a performance worth watching.

With fast fins, she began to try to dart behind the nest, which was behind the occamy and its stinging tail. Only--it wouldn’t work. She was slipping, and sliding, the jagged rocks at the bottom of the cave slicing her fins.

Notmyfeetnotmyfeetnotmyfeet…

She could hear, dimly, the sounds of Katya’s frantic “transparo”s and Valya’s “fuck this!”--even Valeriya’s drone of disillusionment. But what mattered right now was the eggs, huge and heavy-looking in the occamy’s nest. What mattered now was her father’s letter, its formal tone, and the only way to prove him wrong and herself a true Stepanov.

“Guys try not to move too quickly, she can’t see you!”

She had to slow down. She...she had to slow down.

The cave reeked of death. Her feet felt like death.

“I have an idea!” Valya announced. Natalia took a moment to look back at the group--Valeriya, her hair ratty, her brow wrinkled in concentration; Valya, hurling rocks across the cave to distract the occamy; Katya, who, as the tail swung back, was falling, hard, onto the rocky surface of the cave.

Natalia was so close, but Katya wasn’t.

“Serpensortia!” Valya screamed, casting the snake that shot from the tip of their wand away from towards the occamy, who snapped it up quickly.

Thoughts flashed through Natalia’s brain quicker than lightning. “Poison!” she suggested desperately, noting the sudden openness of her path to the nest. Then: “Katya?”

Twenty metres. It was just twenty metres. Why was this so hard?

Her feet stung. Valya was screaming something.

Fifteen metres. I expect you will be the weakest on your team. Do not be.

“Everyone conjure snakes! Towards the opposite side of the room!” Valya’s words only dimly registered. Over her shoulder, she quickly cast “serpensortia!”

Ten metres. With a final spurt of energy, she ran up the slope to the eggs. Almost there. “Should I do anything? I’m closest!” Another serpensortia over her shoulder. I hope to be pleased when I hear of your first task...

“Careful, Natalia!” She couldn’t tell who it was, but the words registered somewhere in her brain. She was almost at the nest.

And then she was there.

It was hulking, and wooden, and each egg looked huge and as Katya hurled another “TRANSPARO!” it looked like something was coming to life, moving and glowing inside these eggs’ silvery shells.

“I THINK IT’S WORKING, KATYA!” Or something was working. But she was built from pure hesitation, and didn’t want to do anything. She was a performer, wasn’t she? Wouldn’t her not grabbing the eggs be quite the show?

I hope to be pleased when I hear of your first task...But did she want her father to be pleased?

Following suit with the rest of the group, she cast a quick “stupefy” at the occamy, then returned her attention to the eggs. She could...she could…

Hands shaking, she cast “reducio.” The eggs immediately shrunk to a size where they could fit in her palm, which is where she put them before stuffing them into the deep pockets of her robes.

She didn’t want to move. “We have to go, now!” Katya yelled.

She rolled the eggs around in the pocket. “Let’s all cast a protection charm! Mine just aren’t strong enough by myself.” Valeriya’s tone sounded urgent for someone who lived in a world where time didn’t exist.

“Bombarda Maxima!” Valya cast at the wall. Natalia forced herself to refocus, rethink. What was she doing right now? Nothing. Nothing important. Shaking her head at herself, she brushed off her robes, trying to maintain some dignity. Katya took her hand and pulled both of them towards Valya and Valeriya.

The cave was doing nothing, despite Valya’s spell. What could cause a gate to open? A key. And what was the key? Her gaze trailed to Alessia. “Singing...What if we sang?”

As if in response, the beautiful mermaid started to shriek. “Damn,” Natalia swore, pressing a hand against the cave wall. It was thick, but if magic was what solved it, there could easily be a hole created big enough for all of them to slip through.

“Sing?!” Valya was incredulous. A pebble knocked against Natalia’s bun, and she hissed in a breath. The cave was raining down rocks on them.

“Hurry!” Valeriya goaded, ducking beneath her hands as the deadly hailstorm of miniature boulders continued. Something seized Natalia’s heart.

“She sang! The cave likes her!”

“The Koldovstoretz Anthem?!”

Katya muttered something. Pressure speared Natalia in the stomach. “Yes! Do it!”

Slowly, voice breaking, Valya began to sing the Koldovstoretz anthem. Katya joined in after a few bars, then Valeriya, then Natalia herself. The sound of their voices grated against her ears, but it wasn’t nearly so bad as the sound of cracking rock above their heads. “IS THIS WORKING?” Valya roared.

She didn’t know, she couldn’t know but “Keep singing! They won���t let us die here!”

Cedric Diggory died during the Triwizard Tournament. So did Adalene Moreau, Teodory Woźniak, Carol Smith--

She began to sing again, her mezzo-soprano voice bouncing off the cave walls. Valya began to move rocks away from one of the cave walls, still singing the Koldovstoretz anthem.

--Anna Karkaroff, Lukas--

The entrance collapsed. Natalia heaved a sigh of relief. They weren’t going to die--at least, not today.

“You have four minutes left.”

Or maybe her father would kill her through his words.

“Go, go, go! Natalia first!” Katya began to usher everyone out of the cave.

“You have three minutes left.”

She began to swim upwards, hand buried in her pocket to make sure the eggs didn’t fall out. The water dragged her and her robes down.

All that mattered was getting to the top. It was so far away…

“Ascendio!” Katya cast, and Natalia felt something like relief wash over her body before she realized that the spell had done nothing but ripple away. The light at the surface was growing brighter, but without help, there was no way they’d be able to make it in the time allotted.

“Valeriya, is there something defensive for this?” she asked. Her arm muscles were straining themselves against the water, and had she not had gills, she would have been gasping for air. Even if it felt foolish to ask the silly girl for something, there could always be a possibility that Natalia had overlooked…

“Natalia! The mermaid!” Katya snapped, and Natalia glanced down to see her protégé slithering out of the rocks.

“O Beautiful One!”

The mermaid was swimming up to meet them, grabbing them all and placing them on her powerful tail. Natalia held on as best as she could, listening to the water rush past her ears and her too-fast heartbeat. She wanted to cry, to scream. “In exchange for getting us up to the surface as quickly as possible, I will dance with you every day that I can,” she promised, feeling her heart sink as she thought of what her father would say to that. You shouldn’t be wasting your time. You are Natalia Nikolayevna Stepanova, and you are the heiress to the greatest tree legacy of all time. Why should you learn to do something for lowborns, for Muggles?

That was the breaking point.

They emerged from the water, coughing and heaving up gallons of water. Everything began to crash down onto her shoulders like it was the lake and she was a mere mortal without the means to breath.

The Task. The letter. Her father’s eyes filled with disapproval, no matter what she did. The forty-nine seconds left on the time that surely, surely, Natalia could have made longer. Otherwise, what kind of champion was she? What kind of Stepanov was she?

She should have quit ballet long ago. She should have quit Koldovstoretz long ago, just lived on her father’s tree farm and waited to come of age to take over the family business.

She should’ve--she should’ve--

Tears like melted snow filled her eyes, and she forced herself to think rationally. Clear her mind and stop focusing only on what her father might think.

She dumped the colorful, tiny eggs onto the dock, half-listening to Valya and Valeriya’s pointless conversation as she waited for the transformation to overtake her body.

The sky was blue. Her feet were numb.

And she was not okay.

She was not able to pretend that her father’s letter didn’t matter, didn’t worry her. She couldn’t. It blazed through her mind like lightning to a sapling, and she was shaking, and it wasn’t from any sort of side effect from any sort of potion. It felt like a forever ago that she had gone under the water and disappeared from the ground, where Nikolai Stepanov graced--or was it cursed?--the world with his presence.

But to him, she was a marionette. And even as Valya put their hand on her shoulder and Katya walked over, even as Natalia made another excuse to keep dancing with the mermaid--Aella, whose appearance now showed off all the beauty she had inside--she felt empty, and alone, and too much like she was being made to dance when she didn’t want to. Her father put the marionette strings around her neck, and if she disobeyed, she felt like she might choke.

What was a world where these three, odd schoolmates made her feel more alright than any blood she had left? What was a world where she was afraid to dance for fear of a reaction? What was she feeling right now, in this cold, empty minute, that made her want to cry?

She was not okay. She was not okay.

She just couldn’t stop performing.