Chapter 127: Flirt!

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"Now, say, 'Point me.'"

"Point me!" Astoria gasps as the wand lifts up off of her hand slightly then turns, pointing maybe fifteen degrees to the left. It stays pointed at the same spot for several seconds, and idly I wonder if it would follow its target if it was moving.

"Excellent! Well done, Stori." I ruffle her hair a bit. "Now let's go find a spot, shall we?" I start walking toward the edge of the dock furthest from the castle.

"Did...did that just point to my sister?" she asks incredulously.

"Yes it did," I confirm. "Well, sort of. Apparently it can't point downward."

"You taught me a new spell!"

"A dead useful one, too," I say. "Although, if you knew it earlier this morning you probably would have freaked out a bit when you figured out where it pointed, huh?"

She lets out a breath. "Sweet Circe, I would have died."

I smile at that. "It's so cute that you and Daph curse the same way."

She blushes and mock glares at me. "What was all that stuff about my sister, anyway?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," I say with a grin.

"Uh huh," she says, crossing her arms. "Aren't you jealous that she's going to be rescued by Viktor, and Hermione by Harry?"

I laugh. "Of course not. I'd be too scared to go myself. Besides, I've already got the prettiest girl in the school walking next to me."

Ursula's jaw drops at my proclamation but Astoria slaps me in the arm playfully.

"Ow, not you, too!"

"You shouldn't have told me where their favorite spot is," she says triumphantly, though the effect is ruined when she absently rubs the same spot lightly. Maybe I shouldn't pretend it hurts.

"Point me!" Luna says suddenly. I look over to find her wand still resting comfortably on her outstretched hand. "Point me!" The wand slowly spins and points back toward the castle. She quickly resets it. "Point me!" It stays still again. "Point me!" This time it spins to the area near Hagrid's hut before she once again pulls it out of the air. "Point me!" It stays still again.

"What are you doing, Luna?" Neville asks.

"I've just determined there are no Crumple-horned Snorkacks in the immediate vicinity," she says. "I can reach the castle and the stables, but I can't reach the nearest dragon, wherever that might be, and I can't reach my father."

I smile. "Brilliant as always, Luna." Briefly I wonder why Xeno isn't here, considering this is where the news will be, but then I remember what kind of 'news' usually appears inThe Quibbler.

"What's a Crumple-horned—?" Astoria begins, but thankfully Ludo Bagman's voice booms over the area, announcing the imminent beginning of the Second Task.

He goes over the tight scores: Cedric's thirty-eight, Fleur's thirty-nine, and Viktor and Harry's forty, the last of which draws a chorus of boos and somebody loudly cursing Karkaroff's name.

Astoria tugs on my sleeve, so I bend down so she can speak into my ear. "I wanna see!"

With a grin, I push out a stream of magic and gently lift her up to my shoulders, making sure to grab her boots before she kicks me in the face with her flailing. As soon as she lands she quickly scrunches herself down and wraps her arms around my head. "Is that better?" I call up to her.

"No!"

"I won't drop you, Stori," I say, smiling. "Think of it as payback for all those spins and dips you made me do at the dance!"

"I am so gonna get you back when I get down!" She slowly lifts her head away from mine, tentatively craning her neck up to get a glimpse of the Champions.

Luna turns around and spots Astoria on my shoulders, at which time she tugs on Neville's sleeve and points. 

He looks back and his eyes bulge, then he turns back to the scraggly blonde-haired Ravenclaw and shakes his head sadly, pointing to himself. 

Luna looks back at me pleadingly, so I smile and get Neville's attention. Her slate gray eyes widen with delight when I levitate her up to his shoulders. She happily settles in, despite his obvious discomfort. He very slowly and carefully turns around to face the Champions.

Astoria taps my left shoulder as a signal to look at Ursula, who is shaking her head vigorously, and Ron, who is standing very stiffly with a very red face, deliberately keeping his eyes fixed on the center of the docks.

I shake my head and hold up a finger at Astoria, telling her to wait.

Bagman introduces each champion separately, and they shed their cloaks and step up on a pedestal that serves as a sort of starting block. 

The pedestals are on a piece of the dock that sticks out further than the rest, so when Ursula places herself on the corner, she can see them. I was going to lift her, too, but I guess that is no longer necessary. 

Finally the announcer begins his countdown, which causes Astoria to clench her legs in anticipation. Thankfully it's only a few seconds, so I let it slide.

"Three, two, one, GO!"

Viktor dives in immediately. Cedric and Fleur put Bubblehead Charms on themselves and dive in shortly after. Harry jabs his wand into the sky, and in a matter of seconds, his Firebolt, which we placed by Hagrid's hut, flies into his hand. 

He hops on it and shoots away over the surface of the water, slanted in our direction. After some time he stops for a few moments before going off at a slower pace. 

He repeats that twice more, and he's pretty far away at this point. A moment later, I can see him enlarge a piece of gravel and disappear underneath the water.

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