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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:48:19 GMT -7
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Oct 17, 2016 22:37:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2016 22:37:01 GMT -7
The maze that had been set up for the First Task was like nothing that Gwendolen had ever seen. An entire labyrinth of hedges had been erected to wind up the side of one of the mountains beyond the castle. It was breathtaking, although some of that might have been because it was the middle of November. While she had been concerned that she wouldn't be able to see the action, she had quite the vantage point from her place in the first row of the stands, too. Gwen was almost certain that there were no cameras within the maze, as there might have been for a Muggle sporting event, although a pair of Omnioculars came in handy.
It had taken her some time to get accustomed to the functions of the magical equivalent of binoculars, but Gwen was thrilled to find that they could provide a play-by-play of the action. Testing out the Omnioculars after those around her had settled into the stands, she looked through them and grinned teasingly at the young man seated beside her at her right. “Dastan,” she laughed, pulling the device away from her face and holding it out to him. “Do you want a go?”
There wasn't much to see yet. Even so, Gwen couldn't imagine how the Champions must have been feeling. They would be entering at any moment, and—“Oooh! They're here!” In the Champions came, with Anna's ginger hair particularly visible. Although most of the stands were filled with cheers, Gwen tried to restrain herself. She couldn't strain her voice by yelling, lest she lose it entirely and be unable to sing during the next choir practice. Clapping, on the other hand, wasn't a risk, and she did so with gusto.
Although she was probably nothing but a blur to the Champions below her, Gwendolen could see them fairly well as they waited for further instructions from Professor Longbottom. Dastan had told her that he wasn't planning to cheer on the Beauxbatons Champion, Émile, which she had found odd. Looking at him now, however, Gwen could understand why: He looked positively bored by being the center of attention.
Professor Longbottom spoke, his voice louder than Gwen had ever heard it. She listened as he lectured the Champions on what they would have to do, and the challenges within the maze itself seemed to Gwen like things that would require a fair amount of logic. If they found themselves in over their heads, they could forfeit, and any interference was prohibited. It made sense, Gwen thought, in light of the attacks, especially.
She held her breath as the Champions were lined up to enter the maze and waited for the sound of the cannon. Her own heart was racing in anticipation. “Ready… Steady…”
BOOM.
@dastan
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:48:19 GMT -7
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Oct 18, 2016 19:31:40 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2016 19:31:40 GMT -7
A maze. Huh, he definitely wouldn't have expected that. It seemed ... a little unoriginal, truth be told. Still, at least it would be interesting to watch. Sitting by Gwen, Dastan had a pretty good view of the maze and he was glad about that. However, even more important than that was the fact that he was here with Gwen. He couldn't believe his good luck. After his tour, Dastan was positive that he wanted to get to know the girl more, but he'd been nervous that they would never run into one another. At least that wasn't a problem.
He laughed when she offered the Omioculars to him. It had been wildly entertaining to watch her try to figure them out, not that he'd laughed out loud, but he enjoyed it. He also enjoyed how she thought of him and offered to share. He shrugged, unable to keep a sly smile off his face as he took hold of them, "Are you offering them to me now so you can claim them once the task begins?" Of course, he didn't believe that at all, but he wanted to tease her about it.
He held the Omnioculars up, turning them to focus on the champions once Gwen squealed that they had arrived. He turned his attention to the girl, remembering that Oscar mentioned knowing her. He laughed when he saw that she was pretty. Of course she was; Oscar was paying attention to her, wasn't he? It didn't matter to Dastan though, he was perfectly content spending his time with the girl sitting beside her. He lowered the Omnioculars and offered them back to her, laughing when he realized she wasn't cheering. He leaned over to whisper to her, "Can I ask why you're not joining the crowd in cheering for your champion?" he teased with a smile.
He watched with baited breath as the champions lined up and heard their instructions from Professor Longbottom. Really, he just couldn't wait for the action. He heard Gwen mumbling to herself, but he didn't say anything in response. He was too excited about the same thing she was.
When the cannon went off, Dastan watched with interest as Emile surged into the maze, followed by the Durmstrang boy and then the red-head. For the first while it was boring and nothing happened and then, something with the girl. She was being attacked by- were those acromantulas? Dastan watched her, impressed when she got away from them. Not easily though. That looked like a tough one for her.
He turned his attention to the boys. Nothing yet. Naturally. "What did you think of that?" He asked Gwen curiously. Sure, they were watching the maze, but he could still talk to her, couldn't he?
@gwendolen
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:48:19 GMT -7
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Oct 22, 2016 14:59:25 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 14:59:25 GMT -7
Dastan had teased her about the Omnioculars, clearly speculating that the only reason why she had offered them to him before anything was actually happening was so that she could have them back in time to see the exciting parts. Gwen's response had been to give him a little nudge on the arm, though she was careful not to dislodge the Omnioculars from his hands.
“Can I ask why you're not joining the crowd in cheering for your champion?”
“I like the view much better from here,” Gwen smiled. It was true, in part, in reference to where they were in the stands; she really didn't like heights, and she hadn't been on a broomstick since her first year of school, when Flying had been a mandatory course of instruction.
Oh, she thought, quickly blushing; Dastan had meant why she wasn't actually hollering Anna's name. It had nothing to do with where she had chosen to be to watch the task. There was no way for her to make up for her error, so Gwendolen knew that she would just have to continue talking as though nothing had happened. “I can't lose my voice,” she told him, whispering back excitedly to hide her mortification. “I've got to save it for choir practice.”
Initially, the maze didn't seem too bad. The Champions entered and started at a decent pace. From what Gwendolen could see, to her dismay, Anna Weasley was the first of the three to slip up. “Ach-y-fi…” Gwen muttered in disgust, watching as the giant spiders—probably Acromantulas—looked as though they were about to devour her. It was horrible to watch, but it was so awful that she couldn't look away.
After some struggle, Anna made it out of the Acromantulas' trap, and Gwendolen felt sure enough of the Hogwarts Champion's momentary safety to take her eyes off of the action in the maze. “What did you think of that?” she heard Dastan ask her.
Her first reaction was to shudder. Spiders were living creatures, too, and Gwen had never had any particular reason to dislike them. Watching someone else as she was spun up into a web was something that was certainly unique to the magical world, however. “That was terrifying,” she answered honestly, even though it was only the start of what was sure to come.
For Dastan, though, he must have had some familiarity with events like that, because he didn't seem anywhere near as bothered by it. Gwen's first thought was the tourists who went to Spain to try to avoid being gored by angry bulls. “What did you think of it?”
@dastan
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:48:19 GMT -7
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Oct 22, 2016 22:12:23 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2016 22:12:23 GMT -7
Dastan grinned when Gwen pushed his arm a little bit in response to his teasing. He was glad that she felt comfortable enough with him to do that. Then she misunderstood him and his smile grew. He didn't laugh at her- no, there was no way he would do that and make her feel all self-conscious- but it was cute. "We do have a pretty good view here," he commented once he could keep a straight face as he looked out at the maze. However, the corners of his mouth began to twitch when he saw her blush out of the corner of his eyes and heard her whispering a response to his real question.
He turned to face her, smiling. "When is your next choir practice?" he asked curiously. Really, he just wanted to learn more about Gwen and the fact that she'd revealed she liked to sing without him needing to ask about her hobbies was a good thing in his book. He wasn't laughing, still because he wanted her to feel comfortable around him.
He noticed Gwen's initial shudder when he asked her what she thought of the red head's first challenge. So she didn't like spiders? Hmm, apparently coming to the task with her was the perfect plan! He was learning loads. He nodded when she said it was terrifying. "I would not want to run into those acromantulas," he agreed with a nod.
Then she asked what he thought and Dastan thought for a moment, trying to come up with the right words. "I think she did a very good job. They took her by surprise at first, but she kept everything under control and got out pretty well. I do believe she is a bit hurt," he added as he looked more closely at Anna. He nodded, "I think I chose the right person to cheer for. She knows what she is doing."
Dastan turned his attention to the other competitors, curious to see what was happening to them, even though his eyes flickered over to the red head frequently. He didn't want to miss her challenges, since he was cheering for her.
@gwendolen
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:48:19 GMT -7
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Jan 23, 2017 21:27:46 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2017 21:27:46 GMT -7
“We do have a pretty good view here,” Dastan noted, and Gwen tried to remain calm. Internally, she was flailing and wishing that she weren't so awkward around Dastan. She couldn't remember the last time that a guy had made her feel so… comfortable.
He asked about choir practice, and she answered, giving not only the date but the time at which the meeting would be held and what they were planning to cover. “Professor Stephanidis is brilliant. Like, brilliant,” Gwen gushed. “She teaches Muggle Studies, but she's a working actress on the West End, too.” She didn't want to bore Dastan with the professor's stage credits, but she could have rattled them off with ease.
“I would not want to run into those Acromantulas,” Dastan agreed with her. It wasn't as though her reaction to the massive spiders had been subtle. She was eager to hear his perspective of what was going on. This was more of a sports event for him than it was for her; really, it seemed like more of a horror film.
“I think she did a very good job,” he analyzed. “They took her by surprise at first, but she kept everything under control and got out pretty well.” Gwen nodded in agreement, following his words. “I do believe she is a bit hurt.”
Gwendolen winced again; it looked like he was right. There were nurses at the ready to heal the Champions' injuries afterwards, but she didn't think that Anna would have the time to stop and patch herself up before moving on.
“I think I chose the right person to cheer for. She knows what she is doing.”
That Anna did, and Gwen searched the maze for Elias Greyback and Émile Chevalier. “And the boys?” They needed to watch them, too, she figured.
@dastan
OOC: Since this thread is so old and writing out a play-by-play takes forever, do we want to just gloss over the action as much as is feasible and mainly have them converse for the sake of plot progression?
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:48:19 GMT -7
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Jan 28, 2017 0:23:08 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2017 0:23:08 GMT -7
Dastan smiled when she told him all the details about the next choir practice, "Well it sounds like even if you do cheer here, you'll have enough time to get your voice back before the practice," he told her easily. She was so cute.
Gwen asked about the boys and Dastan shrugged, not moving his eyes from Anna. "You can watch them if you want to; I want to see what she does." He watched as Anna ran into yet another creature. At least this time it was sleep-nope. She woke it up. He cringed as the beast rose to its feet and charged at her, but somehow she was able to stop it. "Yeah!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air. He didn't know why he was so into this, but he was.
Before long, Anna and Emile were close to the end and Dastan was hoping that the Gryffindor would make the right turns. "Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath, reaching over and grabbing Gwen's hand absentmindedly. Well, he meant to do it, but he was so distracted with hoping Emile didn't win that he wasn't really pay attention to her reaction. Hopefully she wouldn't pull away.
@gwendolen
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last online Mar 28, 2024 23:48:19 GMT -7
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Apr 1, 2017 0:59:09 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2017 0:59:09 GMT -7
“Well,” Dastan concluded, “it sounds like even if you do cheer here, you'll have enough time to get your voice back before the practice.”
He had a fair point, thought Gwen. She really didn't want to risk anything, but there were plenty of remedies that she could use if she did end up getting slightly hoarse. Being able to give herself her voice back by magic might have been an option, too, although it was one that she had never tried—nor had she ever heard of anyone who had done it.
Dastan said that she could watch the two foreign boys—foreign to her, at least—if she wanted to, though she didn't know if she would be able to take her eyes off of a different one. “I want to see what she does,” he said about Anna, and Gwendolen could only hope that his interest was solely in her performance in the task that faced her.
“Yeah!”
Gwen giggled at Dastan's enthusiasm, though she was tempted to react similarly. Anna was doing well—really well.
As the Champions got nearer to the end, Gwen could feel Dastan take her hand. She squeezed it tightly, worried, too. Elias Greyback was falling farther and farther behind the other two, who were closer and closer to the finish.
“Come on, come on,” she could hear Dastan repeating.
It was the kind of action that could only be described as “nail-biting”. “GO, ANNA! GO!” What was the harm in one tiny cheer? If she was going to lose her voice, now was the time to do it.
@dastan OOC: Unless you see a reason for another Dastan post, I'd say we can consider this one finished?
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