Obviously, no one was more shocked than Shel herself when her name was sprouted out of the Goblet of Fire. Thaniel was a close second, though. As far as he was concerned, she hadn’t put her name in there. They would’ve talked about it beforehand, she wouldn’t go behind his back like that. Didn’t take a genius to figure out someone else, maybe as a cruel joke, decided to go there and offer her name in secret. Well, whoever that was, they got what they wanted, and now, November 24, Shel was preparing to go face a dragon. Sure. A dragon. Nothing a seventh year student couldn’t handle without ending up dead or horribly maimed.
No one except the judges and the champions were allowed inside the tent that led each of them to the arena to face their doom the first task. Fortunately, Thaniel wasn’t one to follow the rules, especially when it meant this could be the last time he got to see his girlfriend before she was turned into a pile of ash. Screw the rules. Sneak-like despite his height and awkwardly muscled teenage body, he avoided the entrance and moved through the shrubs and past trees until he found an opening in the loin that he could use to peek inside. When he spotted Shel, he emitted a quiet ‘psst!’ to get her attention, praying he wouldn’t draw in someone else.
