"You're an idiot!"

"You've mentioned."

"I can't believe my best friend is going to be killed!"

"Thanks for the support E."

"You're an idiot and you're going to get yourself killed!"

"Again, you've mentioned."

The two girls continued bickering as they walked towards the Great Hall, the day after the Triwizard Champions had been selected. Of course, no one had been thrilled that the daughter of a Villain was going to represent Hogwarts in the tournament, but quite frankly, Mal didn't care. She was going to compete and she was going to win.

After they had been selected, Mal and the other two champions had each been given a clue for the first task. Each champion had been given a black box, about the size of a shoebox, and were sent on their way. The first task was a month away, so she wasn't in a rush to open the box. In fact, the moment she'd gotten back into the dormitory, she'd stashed the box under her bed without a second glance.

"Listen E," Mal began as she stopped her best friend outside the large doors of the hall, "I understand you're worried-"

"Worried?!" Evie began, "I'm freaking out! Do you know what they make people do in these tournaments?!"

"Yes, yes, I'm very aware of the dragons," Mal rolled her eyes, "But I'll be fine. You know me, I always pull through."

"Yes, but you've never been involved in something so dangerous!" Evie argued, "Do you remember that Hufflepuff guy that died all those years back? Just please, please pull out of the tournament."

"I couldn't even if I wanted to. Once you get picked from the Goblet, you're in a binding magical contract. I have to compete," Mal explained as they began walking into the hall, "Which is why I'm going to need your help."

"My help?" Evie asked in confusion.

"Evie, you're the smartest witch I know," Mal explained as they paused in front of the Ravenclaw table, "Meet me in the library after Potions, and bring the other two."

"You're a mad woman," Evie sighed as she shook her head, walking away to sit at the Ravenclaw table.

Mal made her way over to her own houses table, however, something was different. People weren't looking at her in complete fear. In fact, they were looking at her with... Pride? Yes, Mal decided it was pride, but she couldn't decide if she liked it or not. Nevertheless, she took her usual spot at the table, Uma on her left.

"Looks like you've become quite the celebrity," Uma mused as she poured herself a bowl of cereal, "In fact, I think that first-year nearly wet himself when he saw you."

"And all because of the stupid tournament," Mal joked, pouring a glass of orange juice for herself.

"You know, I heard a couple of girls place bets on you earlier," Uma began as she swallowed her first spoonful of cereal, "One of them said you wouldn't last ten minutes, but the other one bet five."

"I'm assuming one of them was a Gryffindor then?" Mal replied snidely, causing a couple of Slytherins around them to laugh, "But seriously Uma, I've got this tournament in the bag."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Uma commented as she shoveled more cereal into her mouth, "I've heard about the previous tournament, and it really isn't pretty to watch, let alone be in."

Mal rolled her eyes at Uma, yet secretly, she was worried. She was worried both for her safety and her mothers honour. She was going to win, she had to win, because she knew her mother would never face her again otherwise.

Jay hopped down the Gryffindor dormitory steps with his usual mischievous grin on his face. Not only had he just landed himself a date with an upperclass Hufflepuff, but he'd just finished his homework for the week, meaning he was free for the rest of the day to do whatever he-

"Jay!" A nasally third year shouted from the entrance of the common room, "A girl called Evie said she needs you to meet her in the library now!"

"For the love of...," Jay muttered to himself as he reached the bottom of the staircase leading into the common room.

"Hey Jay," Ben called from his place on one of the couches, sitting up at the sight of his classmate, "Did you take Advanced Herbology? I'm stuck on this one question for the homework and-"

"Nope," Jay replied quickly, making his way to the exit of the common room, "Gotta go. Apparently a Ravenclaws after me."

And with that, he was off.

"Evie, this better be important," Jay whispered once he found his friends in the library, tucked away in the farthest nook.

"It's for the tournament," Evie explained, sitting on the desk with Mal and crossing her legs, "C'mon Mal, open the box."

"You know I haven't even opened it myself right?" Mal asked as she nervously fiddled with the black box in her hands, "It could explode for all I know."

"Explode?" Carlos asked worriedly, standing up from his chair. He was quickly shushed by Evie as she pushed him back onto the chair.

"Just open it M," Evie encouraged, "Before he loses his mind."

Mal took a deep breath, looking at the box on her lap. It wasn't heavy nor light, probably hexed to disguise whatever was inside. With a final push, Mal opened the box.

An unrecognisable smell wafted out of the box, making the four friends cringe. It was then followed by a series of different plants and flowers growing out of the box and towards them, however, before any could touch the four, they turned black and burnt, vanishing just a few seconds later. The box shut itself just as the final plant burnt away.

"Right," Jay began, "Please tell me I'm not the only one considering forest fires being the first task right now."

"Told you I had it in the bag," Mal joked.

"Guys, don't you get it?" Evie exclaimed, "It's poisonous plants!"

"But how could they make a challenge out of those? And it also doesn't explain the smell," Carlos pointed out.

"Some plants emit toxic gasses," Evie explained, already ruffling through the nearby books, "Please tell me one of you took advanced Herbology?"

"You didn't?" Carlos teased.

"I had too many classes already," Evie mumbled to herself, "Someone find me the newest and oldest edition of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, and also any other Herbology books you can find."

"It'll take us far too long to go through all the text books," Mal added, "We need someone who's taken Advanced Herbology to help us with the plants, and then we're going to need to figure out what the task will be."

"I know someone," Jay grinned slyly, "But you're not going to like it."

The next day, Mal found herself standing outside the Great Hall just as dinner started. Not only was she worried about the task, but she was also regretting letting Jay talk her into this.

"This is going to look really strange," Mal commented as Jay lead her into the hall and towards his table, "Like, people in my house will actually start questioning my sanity."

"Relax," Jay laughed, "We may be lions but we don't bite."

"Yes, but-"

"Ben!" Jay exclaimed as they neared the furthest end of the table, "We were just looking for you!"

"For me?" Ben asked after he swallowed his piece of turkey.

"We kind of need your help," Jay explained, "Urgently."

"Uh, sure. One second," Ben replied awkwardly, a small smile on his face. He quickly bid his shell-shocked Gryffindor friends goodbye before standing up, following the two villain kids to the exit.

"So you're good at Herbology, right?" Mal asked once the three of them were sat in the Gryffindor common room.

"Um, you really shouldn't be in-"

"It's fine," Jay reassured, "The paintings won't tell."

"Yes we will," a lady in a painting sing-songed, earning a glare from Mal.

"Listen, we need you to tell us what kinds of plants are in here," Mal explained as she pulled out the black box from her school satchel.

"Her life kind of depends on it," Jay added, "Like, seriously."

"Alright, I'll try my best," Ben smiled, Mal rolling her eyes at his sickeningly-sweet act.

Mal opened the box for him, preparing herself for the odor that had already began wafting out of the box. However, Ben didn't seem phased by it, and instead looked at the plants with great interest.

"So?" Mal asked impatiently as the box closed once again.

"Well, I definetly saw some Venomous Tentacula and Devil's Snare in there, so I'm going to guess the rest of them are either poisonous or dangerous," Ben explained, "Is this the first task for the Tournament?"

"Also my last if it involves plants," Mal groaned, leaning back in defeat, "I nearly failed Herbology in second year! How on earth do they expect me to do anything related with plants?"

"Well, thanks Ben," Jay began as he stood up, "I'll be taking Mal back to her room now so she can freak out in private."

Ben didn't know what made him do it. They were the children of some of the most famous villains of all time, and he was the poster child for goodness, yet he didn't see them as evil. He saw them as misunderstood, forced to follow in their parents footsteps.

"Wait!" Ben called, stopping them just as they were about to exit the room, "I can help, if you want."

"Excuse me?" Mal asked in shock.

"I mean, I'm alright at Herbology, and you're going to need all the help you can get for the Tournament," Ben explained nervously.

Mal stood in silence for a minute, her eyes boring into Ben's. Finally, she turned to Jay.

"Can you give us a minute?" She asked, at which Jay nodded. He swiftly left the room, leaving the hero and the villain alone.

"What's your angle here?" Mal demanded.

Ben looked at her intently, not with judgement but with curiosity. He noticed how her demeanor had changed, how she was now rigid and cold, a fiery look in her eyes yet still astonishingly cold.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked in confusion, standing up to meet Mal's gaze.

"Oh, please," Mal scoffed, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms, "You want to get something out of this, don't you?"

"Yes, the Triwizard Cup for the school," Ben tried to logic with her, "Also, I don't think many people would be happy if you ended up poisoning yourself during the tournament."

"Thats debatable," Mal muttered to herself.

"Please, just let me help you?" Ben asked again, ignoring her last comment, "It's just Herbology. I'll help you with this task and then you can never talk to me again."

Mal pursed her lips, considering her options. She sighed finally, giving in.

"Fine," She began, "Meet me in the library after lessons on Monday. We can start then."

Ben smiled warmly at her. However, before he could see her own expression, Mal had left the room.