Try to Solve the Puzzles in Your Own Sweet Time (Anna)

[parvati patil macmillan]

Just in time for her next advisory meeting with Anna Weasley, Parvati had become privy to some additional information about the First Task. Keeping that knowledge in mind, she had written her initial suggestions on a piece of parchment in invisible ink, which she brought with her into the Room of Requirement. The room itself had provided them with a number of relevant books, as well as plenty of space for Anna to practice spellwork. With the exception of a small seating area near the bookcases, it wasn't unlike how Parvati remembered the room looking during the days of Dumbledore's Army, although one distinction was that the selection of books covered both Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was uncanny; Parvati had last come across Harry in the same room, in trying to get an idea of a possible set-up for the very occasion for which she was presently waiting, and, now, it was as though she was reliving her later years of school.

In entering the Room of Requirement, Parvati had been sure to specify that the room needed to be accessible to only her and Anna for the duration of the meeting. The possibility of being eavesdropped upon was too great not to close every last loophole that would have allowed anyone else entry; their strategy needed to remain theirs and theirs alone—until, of course, Anna came into the First Task.

They wouldn’t be able to make any decisions in just an hour’s time—nor did Parvati want Anna to breathe a word to anyone about the task facing her—though Parvati would leave her with the list that she had created for her perusal. Waiting for Anna, Parvati sat in one of the chairs by the bookcases, holding her wand over the sheet of parchment in her hand. “Aparecium!”

@annelise
(In case we have eavesdroppers of our own, let’s not mention what they have to do in regards to the choice, our choice, or any of our options by name in this thread. We have them numbered in the PM, and we can go off of that. Keep ‘em guessing.)

[Deleted]

Anna was a little late. She didn't mean to be, of course, but it happened. She rushed through the corridors, moving as quickly as she could toward the Room of Requirement. She was meeting with Madam Macmillan and she was nervous. So far, she hadn't heard anything about the First Task. Most of the time she tried not to think about it, not to mention the fact that when her uncle and aunt participated their first task was dragons, but it was a hard thing to forget. She couldn't even begin to imagine what might lie ahead for her, and the idea made her feel anxious. 

Finally she arrived at the Room of Requirement. She knocked- to be polite- before she opened the door and walked in. Madam Macmillan was there already, naturally. Anna hoped Madam Macmillan wasn't upset by her tardiness. "Sorry I'm late," she said softly, not offering a reason. Like there was a legitimate reason to be late to something of this importance. She looked over at Madam Macmillan, who was sitting in a chair, a single sheet of parchment in her hand. Anna moved closer, sitting down in a nearby seat. "So, did you learn anything about the Task?" she asked nervously.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

“Sorry I’m late.”

Anna apologized when she was slightly tardy to arrive, although Parvati didn’t mind much. She was her Head of House, and their meeting was, frankly, more important than any of the other obligations that Anna had at the moment. Her professors couldn’t exactly punish her for anything, when—as Head of Gryffindor—Parvati could override their punishments.

“It’s not a problem,” Parvati answered her, shrugging it off and looking at her list again, which had since appeared on the parchment.

When Anna took a seat in one of the other chairs and asked if she had learned anything about the First Task, Parvati nodded. “As a matter of fact, Anna, I do.” She smiled slyly, waving the parchment in her hand as she did. Standing from her chair, she handed the sheet of parchment over to her, which detailed what she knew about the task so far at the top. The advice that she had for her was just beneath it. She verbally explained what she had written, as well, so that Anna could follow along with her thought process for the decisions that she would have to make.

“I might have forgotten to mention that cheating is a traditional part of the Tournament,” she laughed. “That parchment is enchanted with invisible ink for a reason, Anna.”

@annelise

[Deleted]

Anna smiled, relieved when Madam Macmillan wasn't angry at her for being late. "Thank you," she responded, feeling like she should say something.

Her heart started pounding as she took the offered piece of parchment from Madam Macmillan. Something about the task. Her eyes skimmed the words on the page quickly and her heart sunk. She read the instructions and the advice two times before looking away from the parchment in front of her. The universe was playing some sort of sick joke on her. She didn't know what the task was yet, but this could not end well. Lucy was right. About everything. Anna was going to make a fool out of herself. She started shaking her head slowly. "I can't do this, Madam Macmillan," she muttered softly. She needed reassurance, someone to tell her that she could, that this was doable because it didn't seem that way to Anna. She would try- give her best because now that she was champion she didn't really have a choice- but she was going to lose. All her talk, all her everything was in vain. She couldn't do this.

Her thoughts were so wrapped in despair that she didn't understand what Madam Macmillan was talking about. "What do you mean?" she asked, not even wanting to try and figure out what her head of house was saying. Anna's brain was shutting down.

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

The pressure was on, and Parvati knew that Anna was beginning to feel it as soon as she saw her reaction to the parchment. She couldn't tell Anna that she could always back out; that wasn't an option. As unfair as it was to her, the Goblet of Fire's choice was final, and it was binding. “I don't know how much the other Champions know,” she explained, “and they can't know our strategy. You can't allow anyone else to find that piece of parchment.”

Although she was incredibly serious about the stakes being so exceptionally high for Anna, Parvati recognized that the girl wasn't invincible. “Anna,” she said to her, “you can.” Anna wasn't a lost cause.

Parvati spoke more casually then, shifting in her chair to look at her. “You're going to show those boys what Hogwarts girls can do.” The First Task would not be the end of her.

@annelise

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Anna nodded. Really, it didn't matter how unprepared she felt and how impossible this seemed to her. She didn't have a choice, she had to participate in the tournament no matter what the tasks were. And this didn't necessarily mean that she would fail, it was just more likely with this tidbit of information. Realistically, she had to make the best of a situation. So she was trying for that. "I won't let anyone see it," she promised seriously. Really, Madam Macmillan did a good job. Her choices probably gave the best opportunity for success.



Anna looked at Madam Macmillan, biting her lip as she decided whether or not she should speak her thoughts. "I don't know. Maybe if it was anything but this ..." she trailed off, looking down to the floor nervously. She heard Madam Macmillan say she would show what Hogwarts girls could do, but would she? Would Anna really be able to show all she'd learn or would Lucy's prediction come true, where Anna made a fool of herself and failed in front of everyone. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

After a minute she opened her eyes and looked at the woman in front of her. "Help me. Tell me what I need to do," she answered, eyes flashing with determination. She was going to do her best, no matter whether the odds were stacked against her or not.



parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Anna openly worried about the task, saying that, if it were anything but what it was, she might stand a chance at winning. Silently, Parvati watched her as she closed her eyes and took in some deep breaths in order to calm her nerves, wondering what else she could say to make her understand that, while what was on the sheet of parchment was a lot to take in, it was meant to prepare her ahead of time. When the moment came, she wouldn't have time to think over her strategy; she couldn't wing it.

“Help me.” There was a resolve in the way Anna spoke to her, and Parvati was pleased to hear it. “Tell me what I need to do.”

“You need to go into that task as prepared as you can be.” That was most important, and Parvati made that apparent as she answered. Anna would need to be able to think clearly and rationally, regardless of what was happening around her. “Mind what your competition are doing, but always go with your instinct.” Parvati didn't have experience in the Tournament herself, but she had been a spectator during one—and she had fought in a war.

“Remember, Anna, this is just the First Task.” She didn't want Anna to blow it off, in any way, but—if something were to go wrong—she had two more tasks. Even if she didn't perform as well in the first of the three, she would have two more opportunities to get it right.

“Has your Uncle Harry told you much about the Triwizard Tournament when we were in school?”

@annelise

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Anna nodded, "Of course. I'm studying everything I can think to," she admitted easily. Really, she spent almost all of her time studying. That and spending time with Oscar and her time was booked outside of her classes. Not that she minded that. She nodded at the advice to follow her instincts. That was probably really good advice. She just needed to make sure that she was calm and level-headed on the day of the First Task. If that was possible. The closer it got, the more nervous she felt.

Then Madam Macmillan said that it was just the first task and Anna found a strange amount of comfort in those words. She nodded, relieved that this wasn't a make-it-or-break-it kind of thing. If she did have a hard time with the first task, it wouldn't be the end of the world. It just would be embarrassing, which was something she could deal with if she had to.

At the next question, she smiled just a little, "Yes, he has. Why?"

parvati patil macmillan

[parvati patil macmillan]

Parvati was happy to hear Anna tell her that she had been studying up on everything that she possibly could. She didn't want Anna to become distracted from her classes, in which she still needed to do well, but some additional revision on the topics that she might not have covered as thoroughly in class—especially in the subjects that she hadn't continued with at N.E.W.T.-level—would only help her.

Having spoken about her uncle without any context, Anna's questioning why she had brought up Harry wasn't out of place. “Yes, he has,” she said. “Why?” He had told his niece some things about the 1994 Triwizard Tournament, which Parvati thought might also help her… Samuil might have been mentoring Elias Greyback, but Anna also had Harry for advice.

“Because I want to remind you that winning isn't everything.” Anna was probably the least likely of the three Champions to actually need that nugget of advice, Parvati felt, but she gave it, anyway. “When Fleur—your Aunt Fleur—couldn't complete the Second Task, he brought back her sister, too,” she explained. At the time, it had been difficult to follow the action, since, as a spectator, Parvati had had no way of knowing what faced the Champions below the surface.

And, of course, there was what had happened to Cedric Diggory, although Parvati wasn't sure if she wanted to go into that without Harry there. What he had told her just a few days before had been extremely personal for him, and it was his story to tell his family. “Greyback and Chevalier aren't your enemies,” Parvati added after a pause. “No matter what the Prophet tries to sell you, they're every bit as human as you are.”

@annelise

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Anna nodded once she understood what Madam Macmillan was talking about. "I don't think winning is everything," she started off, wanting to make sure that was clear from the beginning. "What's important is doing your best, following your instincts and staying true to who you are." She'd heard the stories about the triwizard tournament, heard stories about how people changed in the maze they sometimes did, heard about how some people grew closer with those around them while others pushed them away. Anna didn't want to be one of those people that held everything in. 

"I don't think they're my enemies," Anna said slowly. Honestly, she didn't particularly think of the two as friends, but that was mostly because she didn't know them. From what she'd seen of them, they were decent human beings, even if one of them was a bit arrogant. "I don't think of this tournament as a battle me against them," she explained, wanting Madam Macmillan to understand her feelings even though she didn't know how to express them herself. "It's a battle against myself. A challenge to prove that I can do it, that I am strong enough. I'm not going to try to make either of them fail. I want them to do well." She couldn't help but smile mischievously as she added, "I just hope I do a little bit better than they do." What? It was the truth. 

parvati patil macmillan