XXXXX - category for the most dangerous creatures in the wizarding world

The day of the first task arrived, and there was a mix of feelings from everyone.

For the most part, everyone at Hogwarts was excited to watch the first task go down. Tiffany from Beauxbaton was nervous, but all the while still determined to do well. Jimin from Durmstrang was not at all nervous whatsover, and confident that he was going to get excellent marks on the first task. Taehyung, on the other hand, was excited. He wanted to show the other schools what he was made of, and to prove that he was a worthy opponent. Thinking of the Basilisk made him a bit jumpy, but he convinced himself that the chances of him going against one was slim.

After lunch, all students gathered at an arena built in a mountain terrain not too far away from campus, as classes were cancelled for the day. The Champions met the judge panel inside a tent to discuss the first task while everyone else was settling into their seats.

"Good afternoon Champions, I hope you've all had a good lunch, as it might be your last," the Headmaster joked, but no one laughed. "Anyway -- your first task will be to steal this golden egg," another judge explained, holding up a golden yellow egg the size of two textbooks, "guarded by an XXXXX creature chosen from your hand at random. Completing this task is crucial, as the egg will give a clue to what the second task will be. Without this clue, the second task will be impossible to complete." As Tiffany, Taehyung, and Jimin nodded in acknowledgement, the same judge pulled out a small drawstring bag from under his robe. He opened the bag, and gestured Tiffany, the Champion closest to him, to pull from the bag. As she hesitantly dug her hand into the bag, she almost jumped at what she pulled. As she pulled her hand out of the bag, everyone noted the tiny version of an Acromantula resting in her hand. "Oh no," she gasped, covering her forehead with her other hand. "You'll do fine," Jimin reassured, but Tiffany shook her head. "I'm just . . . really scared of spiders." Jimin, almost feeling bad for Tiffany, couldn't really say anything else as the judge walked in front of him. Jimin reached his hand into the bag and pulled out a Dementor. While Jimin remained silent, the judge then proceeded to hold out the bag to Taehyung. Closing his eyes out of anxiousness, he pulled his hand back out and sighed, knowing what creature he received by just feeling the scaley texture. Opening his closed fist proved his assumption right, as he looked down at the small black snake in his palm.

The order was decided based on the numbers placed on the creatures' neck when the Champions pulled them out from the bag. Tiffany was to go first, Jimin second, and then Taehyung last. As the judges left the Champions alone for a few minutes to recollect themselves and think of a strategy, Taehyung was by himself, sitting on a bench, while Jimin and Tiffany were sitting on the bench in front of him. "You got the easiest creature to deal with, it should be a piece of cake," Jimin was trying to reassure Tiffany for the past five minutes, but she wasn't having it. She was almost to the point of tears, but she wasn't saying anything back to Jimin. Taehyung looked over at the curtain, noticing a sudden movement, and realized that there was someone behind it. Irene poked her head through the curtain, Taehyung almost breaking out into a smile from how cute she was. "Psst, Jimin-ah!" Irene called from the curtain, and once Jimin turned around and saw her, he chuckled and smiled a smile that Taehyung had never seen on him before. "Go back to the stands, you trouble maker. I'll see you after everything's over," he waved at her, and she waved back, her face flushed. How could one girl be so adorable? Taehyung hated to admit it, but Irene was practically the girl of his dreams -- despite the fact that she hated him for being a Gryffindor, but that was besides the point. Before they became sworn enemies, she would cook for him, always tend to his wounds for getting into fights (he was a trouble child), and invite him everywhere she went. They even bought the same school supplies -- same book bag, broom, journals, and quills --because she wanted everyone to know that they were best friends based on their matching supplies. As she left, the Headmaster came through the curtain nearest to them, snapping Taehyung out of his thoughts. "Miss Hwang, the arena is set up for you. Shall we?" the Headmaster gestured for Tiffany to follow him, and she sighed before standing up and walking out the tent with the headmaster.

Taehyung waited a lot longer than he had anticipated for his turn. It was nice being last so that he could really think through a strategy, but the main con was that he grew anxious the longer it took for his turn to come around. As both Tiffany and Jimin switched out, they each told him their experience.

Tiffany was freaking out the first ten minutes into the task. When your biggest fear is a spider and there's a twenty-foot one right in front of you, what do you do? The Acromantula was amused for the first few minutes, chasing Tiffany around while she screamed and tried to take cover from behind rocks. As she was the first one to be called on for the task, she didn't have that much time to come up with a strategy -- which was why she spent the first couple minutes panicking. Eventually, she came to a point where the creature couldn't find her, so she ended up diving for the golden egg -- the Acromantula noticed immediately and dove right for her. Before the spider even touched her, she screamed "Arania Exumai", a spell meant for blasting away spiders specifically, and she grabbed the egg successfully.

Jimin, surprisingly, had a difficult time with the Dementor. Durmstrang students were taught Dark Arts, so Jimin was familiar with Dementors. However, he had a hard time conjuring the only spell that could scare them off, which was the Patronus Charm. Growing up in an unloving home, he didn't have that many positive memories to base a Patronus Charm off of, and even if he did have positive memories, he just couldn't remember them -- so, having to face against a Dementor was a challenge for him, and a bit scary. When he entered the arena, he could care less about the Dementor and went straight for the egg. The Dementor, floating quickly after him, slowed him down from just feeling his soul being fed on. He collapsed, and everyone was on the edge of their seats -- they were about to watch a Champion die from the very first task. "Jimin!" Irene wailed hysterically from the crowd, and Jimin gathered the strength to turn around and attempt to cast a Patronus Charm. Gathering all his thoughts off of one memory, a ghostly wolf figure emerged from his wand. As the Dementor flew back, Jimin hesitated a bit before getting back on his feet and snatching the egg.

As Taehyung was preparing for his turn, he saw Irene run through the curtains and right into Jimin's arms, embracing him immediately. "I was so scared," she whimpered, and Jimin just scoffed. "I told you I could handle it," he chuckled as he patted her head. "You're honestly the worst, you know that?" Jimin laughed and hugged her tightly before pulling away. "Well you go on now, before someone catches you here. Didn't I say I would see you after everything was over?" Jimin gestured for her to leave, and she pouted. Jimin shook his head and gestured once again, and watched Irene stomp away.

"I honestly can't take this anymore. I almost got a panic attack from watching Jimin earlier, and now Taehyung has to go against a Basilisk? Lord help me," Irene was ranting to Hoseok, who could do nothing but try and comfort her. He was the only Slytherin that knew of her secret worries and concerns for Taehyung, being friends with both of them. She couldn't console in Wendy, Namjoon, or Yoongi, because they would just tell her to shut him out of her life, when in actuality, she would always check up with Hoseok on how he was doing. She almost fainted when she found out that she had fractured Taehyung's skull after the last Quidditch game, but it was nothing a small spell could handle, so Hoseok convinced Irene that everything was okay. "Did you wish him good luck?" Hoseok asked, and Irene shook her head. "I was too occupied with Jimin. He rushed me out so I wouldn't get caught, so I didn't have a chance to say anything to Taehyung." Hoseok just nodded. If only Irene had at least acknowledged Taehyung, maybe he would feel better, he thought. Seeing the girl you love give someone else affection is just cold.

"I can't watch. I can't," Irene rested her head in her hands, shaking her head as Hoseok watched Taehyung emerge into the arena, cheers erupting from the crowd. As he waved, the Basilisk rose up from the other side of the arena, noticing movement. ", I better stop messing around," Taehyung mumbled to himself as he dove into the crevices of rocks to avoid being seen by the serpent. As he tried jumping over the rocks to get to the egg, it proved to be a failure as the Basilisk would always catch up, sometimes too close. Irene had her hands in front of , shaking her leg from anxiousness. She saw him glance up at her, and she sighed. "What are you looking at me for , get the egg," she muttered, shaking her head. 

"Accio Firebolt!" Taehyung yelled, flicking his wand. Within seconds, his broom came flying into the arena, floating just a few feet away from him. The Basilisk watched the broom, not diving after it because it knew it wasn't its target, and just waited. " this is close," Taehyung mumbled under his breath. He eyed his broom, then the Basilisk. He leaped for the broom, landing on it just in time to fly away from the Basilisk's sudden lunge towards him. 

As Taehyung flew around the Basilisk, emitting spells like there was no tomorrow, he realized that none of them had any effect. He assumed that the serpent's skin was like that of a dragon's, enchanted to deflect spells. Realizing that he would have to go from defensive to offensive, he flew away from the Basilisk and went straight for the egg. With the Basilisk right behind him, he could feel the creature getting closer and closer to him. As he got closer to the egg, the serpent raised its head, knocking Taehyung off of the broom. He landed right next to the egg, but before he could grab it, he looked up to see the Basilisk about to attack. He quickly grabbed his wand and transfigured a nearby rock into a phoenix, distracting the creature into backing off. As he grabbed the egg and stood up, the Basilisk screeched, using its tail to slam Taehyung against the wall of the arena.