After breakfast in the Great Hall, where everybody but the four champions ate hearty, they made their way to the small antechamber like last time. They were all wearing Muggle clothes as directed for the Mystery Task. Already in the room were Ludo Bagman, the three heads of the schools and a few assistants. Also, a table with an odd assortment of small objects.
“Thank you for coming on time.” Mr. Bagman spoke up. “In front of you is a table of Portkeys. Each one is keyed to a different location. Your task is to return to Hogwarts in the shortest possible time. In an emergency, you can grip your Portkey and say ‘Hogwarts’ and you will promptly be returned. Also, if you exceed the time limit, which you will not be told, the Portkey will warm up, warning you it will activate in five minutes. There are two rules you must follow. The Statute of Secrecy will always apply and you may not break Wizarding or Muggle laws.
And last, you will not have your wands with you. Any questions?”
“No wands?!” asked Cedric more of a statement than a question.
“Correct. Are you ready?” Mr. Bagman replied.
When nobody else spoke up, he continued. “Very well, then. Please place your wands on the table and pick up any Portkey.”
After removing their wands and placing them on the table, Cedric picked up an eraser, Fleur reluctantly grabbed a cigarette lighter, Harry took a box of matches, and Viktor pondered a small bottle of paint in his hands.
“Please hold the Portkeys in your hands and hold out your hands so they are touching each other.” When they did, Mr. Bagman touched one of them with his wand and said, “Portus.” Their hands glowed light blue for a moment then the four completely disappeared as they ported to their new locations.
Mr. Diggory emerged from an alley where an old man said, “Tko ste vi?”
Miss Delacour found herself coming out of a phone booth on a street corner where the next person in line said, “Hvem er du?”
Harry looked around and realized he was sitting at a fountain in an old town square. A child nearby said, “Kto są wy?”
Mr. Krum thought he was in a dressing room of a clothing store and quickly exited. As he was leaving, a store clerk said, “Quem é você?”
In the distance, one of them saw a sign over a door. It was the ‘Broken Branch Pub.’
The Mystery Task can come in various shapes, sizes, or colors. Hopefully, this example with stimulate some writers' minds.
PS: Yes, Spenser, the language was in Portuguese. Good work. |
Myrkul came out of the woodwork on 2009.12.10 - 02:23PM to say:
This part in Polish should be 'Kim jesteÅ›'. 'Kto sÄ… wy' means 'Who are you', but in Polish there are two different words for you in plural ('wy') and singular ('ty'). Also in Polish form of word indicates person ('jestes' means 'you are' in singular). Yeah, it's pretty odd and difficult language. If some of the staff or authors are in need of Polish translation, feel free to send me a message, I'll be glad to help.