A Tournament to Remember

The year was 1898. Europe was in a time of slowly increasing tension. Small fights between countries broke out on occasion. People everywhere were getting more and more scared about the idea of a full-scale war.

And yet, somehow, a small part of life went on. In the northern UK at a magical school named Hogwarts, to be precise. Witches and wizards had flocked to it from all over Europe to see a spectacular event; the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament. So far this time, the Tournament had been a success. That is, no one had died yet. But the main attraction, everyone seemed to agree, was the Hogwarts champion, 6th year Albus Dumbledore.
There had been a few close calls, though. Most agreed the scariest happened to the favorite, Dumbledore. He didn’t make it thought in one piece during the second task, and now had a nasty healing scar just above his left knee. And during the first task, the Durmstrang champion, Gellert Grindelwald (another 6th year) only just escaped with his life, earning a large burn on his forearm. The only one who had escaped unscathed so far was the Beauxbatons champion, a seventh year named Marribelle Lexcon. So, with that fact combined with the popularity of Albus Dumbledore, it seemed like every wizard held their breath as the third and final task was due to begin, wondering if it was Marribelle’s turn.

“Welcome witches, wizards, students and adults alike! Welcome to the final task of the Triwizard Tournament!” the announcer’s voice boomed out over the expanse of the Black Lake. The crowd cheered enthusiastically from their stands around the lake. Dumbledore didn’t know what they were cheering about. Personally, he was rather cold.
“The places of the champions stand thus: in third place, from Durmstrang, Gellert Grindelwald!” The Durmstrang students cheered as the boy with fair hair and a mischievous grin waved. “In second place, of Beauxbatons, Marribelle Lexcon!” The French supporters cheered as the willowy girl with long red hair and sparkling blue eyes waved gently. “And in first place, leading by twelve points...the Hogwarts champion, Albus Dumbledore!” The crowd went absolutely crazy as Dumbledore stood, his long auburn hair and spectacles shining in the sunlight.

“Well, this is such an exciting occasion! And now, silence please, as we announce the final task!” Surprisingly, everyone listened, and the only sounds was the slight breeze and the water lapping gently on the shore of the lake. It was such a nice day. “A dangerous creature has been released into the lake – a Kelpie. Champions, your jobs is to capture and kill this monster. Whoever brings the head to the shore wins the Triwizard Cup!” Everyone started screaming and whistling. The champions all put on their brave and nonchalant faces. No chance they would let slip they were scared now.

“First into the lake will be Dumbledore!” Dumbledore stood at the edge of the lake in his swimming trunks and shirt of red and gold for his house of Gryffindor. The whistle blew, and he dove into the freezing water. Marribelle followed a minute later, and then Grindelwald. The three of them cast Bubble Head Charms on themselves and were off, swimming through the slimy depths of the Black Lake.

Dumbledore began his search for the Kelpie. Despite the freezing coldness of the water, he kept his wand at the ready at all times. He had studied Kelpies in advanced Care of Magical Creatures, and knew it would tear him to pieces if it got the chance. So he kept on high alert, and decided to check the forest of kelp first. He got into a short tangle with a few Grindelows, but they didn’t do him any damage and were easily repelled with a nonverbal stinging spell.

Then suddenly ahead of him, there was a disturbance in the kelp. Dumbledore stopped and hid himself behind some of the giant plant-like substance, peering around it to see what it was that had swum by.

It was the Kelpie all right. This one seemed to favor the form of a shark, with green, moldy looking skin and various aquatic plants flowing out of its gills. Dumbledore froze, trying not to even breathe until he formulated a decent plan. Dumbledore hadn’t heard of a Kelpie taking this form before…they were usually horses. Now he understood why they wanted this one beheaded…true, it was cruel, but Dumbledore doubted anyone could have gotten any sort of bridle on that thing.

Just when Dumbledore had finished figuring out a plan of attack, the Kelpie’s attention changed. It began slowly swimming upwards towards a shadow above them. Dumbledore squinted at it, trying to figure out exactly what it was…maybe it was a mermaid…

But when the Kelpie darted forward and its’ powerful jaws closed down on the figure, Dumbledore’s realization had come too late; that figure was Marribelle. “NO!!” Dumbledore yelled as her watery scream reverberated through the water, blood beginning to pool around her and the Kelpie. Using his wand, Dumbledore propelled himself through the water and smashed into the Kelpie. Marribelle’s half-eaten arm fell out of its’ mouth, and it turned on Dumbledore, wanting blood. But before Dumbledore could cast a spell (or even think about it, for that matter) Grindelwald shot a Stunning Spell at it from out of nowhere. The spell did little besides aggravating and drawing the attention of the Kelpie, and it went after Grindelwald.

Dumbledore waved most of the cloud of blood away from Marribelle. Talking was pointless, and Dumbledore couldn’t have said anything anyways. Marribelle’s eyes weren’t moving, and the Bubble Head Charm that had been over her head was now gone. She was dead.

Dumbledore checked around him, but there was no sign of Grindelwald or the Kelpie. But that didn’t matter to him. Not the Kelpie, nor Grindelwald, not even the final task…only Marribelle mattered now. How could this have happened? He had been right there…why hadn’t he stopped this?

He took her maimed body and began swimming towards the surface. He kept picturing everything over and over in his head. The Kelpie ramming her, ripping her arm off…the explosion of blood…Grindelwald attacking…
Grindelwald. Dumbledore hoped he was okay.
He broke surface to cheers that soon turned to screams. Dumbledore swam to the short, pulling Marribelle with him. People were wading into the water to meet him, his professors, people from the Ministry…Dumbledore couldn’t tell the faces apart. The people pulled him out of the water, wrapping him in blankets, trying to talk to him…but his eyes kept glued on Marribelles’ cold, unchanging face.

Gasps drew his attention back to the Lake. Rising out of it was Grindelwald, wand in one hand an a jaggedly cut-off head of the shark Kelpie in the other. Now more officials and professors rushed him, covering him with towels and questions. He merely set the head on the shore and said, “I win.”

It was some time before the judges had made up their minds. They first had to hear both Dumbledore and Grindelwalds’ accounts of the events, and had to calm down Marribelle’s hysterical parents (who had been in the stands). Everyone wanted something different. Phineas Nigellus, the Hogwarts headmaster, said that Dumbledore should win for being so valiant (though stupid) for attempting to save Marribelle’s life. A few people wanted Grindelwald to win because, after all, he was the one who had killed the Kelpie. But most people (including the head of Durmstrang) thought that Marribelle should win, because she had died trying. They thought Grindelwald had taken advantage of Marribelle’s “distracting” of the Kelpie to kill it, and in that process, killed her. In the end, Marribelle was ruled in favor of winning. The prize money went to her parents, and the Triwizard Cup, to Beauxbatons.

Grindelwald, on the other hand, was furious. Three days later, he was expelled from Durmstrang for attacking some of his fellow students.

He would soon move to Godrics Hollow, and actually get to know the boy he competed against, Albus Dumbledore.

But for Dumbledore, Marribelle’s death would stay with him forever. It would haunt him, just like the death of his sister Arianna would haunt him in a few years to come.

And since then, the tournament has only ever taken place once.

And for Albus Dumbledore, and so many more, it would always be a tournament to remember.