AN: I know, I know, I'm a terrible, awful person and I haven't updated this in forever, I'm sorry! Life's just a bit of a whirlwind right now, not to mention my plot bunny's been a royal pain in the arse, but here it is! Chapter 29! I only have three left after this and a few little side-fics I plan on publishing as well, and maybe some more projects for the future, but we'll see. Anyways, this is it, the Final Task. I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: Everything related to Hogwarts!verse belongs to J K Rowling, all of the Dalton!verse characters belong to Mamma CP and the OCs are thanks to one of three things: my friends volunteering, my brain making them up or the special guest I have dropped in because I can ;) Also, the title was inspired by 'Magic Works' from the OST of 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', so credit goes to whoever wrote it.


The Durmstrang ship was abuzz with conversation and excitement as Shane finished preparing. This was it. The task that would decide who would become 2014's Triwizard Tournament Champion, who would lift the Triwizard Cup and bring not only themselves but their school the glory that comes with it.

Shane left his room to find his peers waiting outside before he began to lead them out, a few of the boys following singing out a quiet "Bum… Bum… Bum… Bum…
Bum… Bum… Bum… Bum…
"

When the rest joined in the backing, Shane began to sing, "Today this could be, the greatest day of our lives,
Before it all ends, before we run out of time,
Stay close to me, stay close to me,
Watch the world come alive tonight,
Stay close to me,
"

Waiting outside of the Beauxbatons' tents, Derek greeted Casey with a grin and an outstretched hand. As she allowed his bigger, rougher hand to encase hers, she sang, "Tonight this could be the greatest night of our lives,
Let's make a new start, the future is ours to find,
"
Derek held her gaze as he sang, "Can you see it, can you see it in my eyes?"
Casey then joined in, "Can you feel it now, can you hold it in your arms tonight?"

Derek stopped singing as the other Beauxbatons girls exited the tents, taking the backing vocals led by Katherine as Casey sang the lead, "Hold on, hold on,
Hold on, hold on,
(Tonight) Hold on, hold on,
"

Dwight was exiting the castle with Franzi by his side and the rest of the Hogwarts population behind him, the Warblers leading them as he sang, "Ohh, stay close to me, (Hold On)
Stay close to me,
Watch the world come alive tonight,
Stay close me,
Ohh, hold your head high, (Hold On)
Arms open wide,
Yeah, the world starts to come alive when you stay close to me,
"

They all grouped together as they headed towards what was once the Quidditch pitch as Shane took over the vocals, "Today this could be the greatest day of our lives,"
Casey looked over to Shane with a smile as she sang out, "Today this could be the greatest day of our lives,"

With their peers backing them up, the Champions sang together as they made their way closer and closer to the final task, "Oh, and the world comes alive,
And the world comes alive,
And the world comes alive,
Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh,
Stay close to me, (And the world comes alive) hold on,
Stay close to me, (And the world comes alive)
Watch the world come alive tonight,
Stay close to me, (Hold on)
Oh, (stay close to me) and the world comes alive,
(Stay close to me) And the world,
Watch the world come alive tonight,
Stay close to me, (Oh) Oh-oh-oh.
"

The three stepped aside as the students and teachers filed in, when Derek appeared in front of Casey.

"Good luck, you're going to be great," he said softly, grinning at her.

"Thanks, I'll see you after?"

"Definitely." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth before pulling away. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," she called quietly as he began to head in and he turned and sent her a small wave before falling into the crowd.

Meanwhile, Reed had made his way over to Shane and was stood in front of him, avoiding eye-contact.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked, dipping to try and meet his boyfriend's eyes, but to no avail. He reached out and gently brushed a curl from the Hufflepuff's forehead when suddenly the strawberry blond launched himself into the Champion's arms, burying his head in his shoulder.

"Please be careful," he sniffled, and it was only then Shane realised he was crying. He wrapped his arms tight around Reed's waist and held him close.

"Hey… look at me," he commanded gently. After a moment Reed obliged, his eyelashes clumping together with tears. "I'm going to be fine. I'm going to win and bring back the cup and you'll be able to boast that your boyfriend won the Triwizard Tournament and we'll finish school and I'll teach and you'll design clothes or be an artist or a teacher too and we'll live happily ever after, OK?"

The Hufflepuff snuffled again, his bottom lip quivering. "Can we live in Hogsmeade?"

Shane laughed softly and Reed giggled back. "Of course we can, we can live anywhere you want." He cupped the strawberry blond's cheek and pressed his lips against his chastely, smiling against his lips. They pulled apart moments later, the pair still pressed together. "It's going to be OK."

A few feet away, Dwight and Franzi were stood together quietly, looking around at their surroundings.

"You've got this, Dwight, I know you have," the Ravenclaw stated, finally looking up at the Hogwarts Champion.

"Thanks," Dwight replied, his tone a little harder than usual as he nodded. "You better go in and find a seat."

"OK," she sighed, reaching up and pulling him into a hug. "Don't get too battered, yeah?"

He huffed a short laugh, hugging her back. "I'll try." The two pulled away, holding eye contact for a long, few seconds before Franzi slowly retracted her arms.

"I'll see you after."

"Yeah, see you then." He smiled and raised his hand as she made her way to the entrance, sending him a small wave before disappearing into the crowd.

The three Champions grouped together, making small-talk about anything that wasn't about what may lie ahead before their respective teachers joined them and led them to their tents to prepare within the arena. They didn't have to wait very long, and amidst the various chants and music they were brought into the arena, their various supporters cheering and whooping upon seeing them. Soon Professor Ramsey took to the podium that had been placed in the centre and with just a look everybody went silent, waiting for her to begin.

The red-haired Headmistress uttered a quick Sonorus charm then with a small smile, said, "Earlier today Professor Coulter placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze so only she knows its exact location. Since Mr. Houston-" she had to stop due to the eruption of cheers that exploded from the stand where the Hogwarts students had set themselves up, their feet thundering on the wood below and waving banners high. When they calmed, she continued, "since Mr. Houston is in first place he will be first to enter the maze, then he will be shortly followed by Mr. Anderson-" another explosion of cheers went up from the Durmstrang students and a few from the Hogwarts stand, "then finally Miss. Lambert-" the Beauxbatons girls cheered wildly and Derek happily joined in, punching the air repeatedly. "Whoever is first to touch the Cup will be declared the winner. During the task, staff will patrol the perimeter so should at any point any of our Champions wish to withdraw from the task, they need only to send up red sparks with their wands and they will be retrieved as soon as possible." She turned her attention to the three stood below her, disabling the charm that had once made it so everyone could hear her so only the three Champions now could. "Champions, in the maze you'll find no dragons, creatures or beasts. Instead, you will face something even more challenging; for you see, people change in the maze. Find the cup if you can, but be very wary; you could just lose yourselves along the way. Now, get ready and good luck."

The three made their ways to their allocated entrances into the maze, looking around at the blur of faces watching them. Shane was quick to spot Reed who was sending him a wide grin and two thumbs up, but he could tell his boyfriend was still very worried, even when so far away.

"After three," Ramsey commanded. "One, two, three!"

Tamerlane fired the cannon and Dwight darted into the maze, clearly wanting to make the most of the extra time he had before the competition really started. The time between the first and second cannon fire stretched on for many long seconds, until Ramsey called out for the next cannon to be fired and Shane too ran in, Casey following seconds later.

A thick mist covered the length of the maze, Dwight guessed; judging by how misty it was at the beginning, and it could only get worse from there. With his wand gripped tightly in his right hand, he delved further into the maze, following the path it took him until he was given the choice of left or right. Seeing the stretch ahead should he turn right, he decided on left, racing down before following the right turn. As soon as he had made the turn the crunching of branches sounded behind him and he cursed, pushing his body to run faster as the hedges collapsed in on themselves, intent on trapping him between them. He reached another fork and in a split second decided right, leaping to the side and crashing into another body.

"Ow! What the Hell, Houston?" Casey cried indignantly, sitting up from her sprawled position and rubbing her head.

"Sorry!" He sprang up and quickly helped her up. "The hedges were falling in on me."

"Come on, we haven't got time for apologies and explanations." And with that she ran off, Dwight not far behind her before the two separated again, taking separate routes as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Shane was utterly lost. He didn't know if he'd already been here, but the options of where to go sure seemed familiar. With another darting look at his options he sprinted to the closest turning off the long path and decided to follow it. Suddenly he heard heavy rustling and cracking and he turned, yelping as he saw the tall shrubbery closing in behind him before he picked up the speed. His eyes darted around, looking for somewhere he could turn to escape before clocking a turning ten feet away and with a laugh he sprinted towards it before jumping into a front-flip down the pathway, landing neatly a few feet from the now dead-end. He turned to look at the hedge and with another laugh, he ran down his chosen route.

After leaving Dwight in her dust, Casey continued to make her way further into the maze; it certainly felt like it, the way that the length of the paths seemed to be getting gradually shorter. With a grin she took another turn… only to hit a dead end.

"Damn it!" she cursed before turning around and heading back where she came, looking for another turn. Suddenly, she felt something tug at her ankle and she fell with a heavy thump, quickly turning to see roots climbing up her leg and pulling her into the hedges. She cried out, trying to kick the branches away before pointing her wand at the ever-growing branches. "Reducto!" Light shot from her wand and hit the branches which quickly began to dry up and shrivel, giving her chance to break them off her leg, ankle and foot before clambering up and racing back into the maze.

Dwight was getting closer, he could feel it. The mist was getting thicker, his skin was prickling with anticipation and he could just feel it. He slowed from the on-and-off run he had kept up thus far, his lungs burning as he gulped in the strangely cold air, given it was early summer. He continued to tread carefully down the walkway, his senses on high alert for anything that could pose a threat to him. As he neared one turning he could see a light emanating from it and he hurried his steps until he was at the end of it and he could see it: the Cup. He grinned before racing down the path, keeping an eye out for rogue roots and falling hedges. He shot away a few climbing roots when they got a little too close and within moments he was there, in the centre of the maze with the cup mere feet from him. He couldn't stop the giddy laugh escaping him as he took the final few steps forward and grabbed the Cup, lifting it in the air above his head as blue sparks flew up into the air above him. He looked up, grinning wildly as he watched them turn into fireworks above him.

Shane looked up when he heard the explosions sound almost directly above him. Being blue rather than red, he knew that either Dwight or Casey had made it to the Cup, and he raced ahead to try and get to the middle so he could congratulate them.

As soon as Casey heard the bangs she knew she had lost. She watched the blue fireworks with a bittersweet smile for a moment before heading towards the source of the noise in hopes of getting out of the maze sooner.

After a minute of waiting, Professor Coulter arrived in the centre of the maze before walking over to the Gryffindor. "Well done, Mr. Houston," she stated with her usual warm smile.

"Thanks, Professor," Dwight replied, grinning.

"Let's get you out of here, shall we?"

"Please," he huffed a laugh before following the Professor out. On the way, they came across Shane then Casey, the two congratulating Dwight on his success as they made their way out of the maze. Upon their exit and the sight of who had won, the Hogwarts students burst into cheers, thrashing their banners in the air and stomping their feet as hard as they could. As Dwight looked out over the crowd, he could see Professor Harvey on his feet, cheering loudly and punching the air whilst Ramsey watched him from the side-lines with a small smile.

Soon they were ushered to their tents to get cleaned up, with plans for them to all celebrate in the Gryffindor Common Room later (declared by the Brightman Twins, not Dwight).

As soon as Dwight set foot in his tent, despite the fact his Mum and Uncle and Professor Ramsey and a number of Gryffindors were there, his attention was only on one person: Franzi. As soon as she saw him she squeaked and raced forward, tackling the raven-haired boy in a hug which he eagerly returned and, with adrenaline and giddiness flooding his veins, he leaned back enough to press a passionate kiss on the brunette's lips.

Upon contact, Franzi didn't freeze like Dwight always imagined she would; she just responded to it, their lips moving together smoothly. He grinned against her lips and tightened his grip around her waist as hers tightened around his neck, breaking apart briefly to turn their heads before resuming the kiss.

The kiss wasn't long and when it ended they stayed holding each other, loosening their grip just enough to properly look at each other.

"Franzi, I…" he huffed a small laugh, lifting a hand from her waist to push his hair from his eyes before returning it, "somewhere between laughing for no reason, arguing over nothing, our constant teasing of each other, late nights in the Room of Requirement or one of our Common Rooms or poring over books in the library for new spells to teach in the DA, I fell completely and utterly in love with you… I just, I love you Franzi."

The Ravenclaw grinned up at him and replied, "I love you too," before pulling him down for another kiss.

The kiss was brief as it was interrupted by a number of Gryffindors cheering loudly, jumping up and down whilst punching the air.

"Finally! It's only taken you what? Eighteen months?!" one of the twins cried, laughing, to which Dwight looked over to them with a smirk, presented them with the middle finger then turned back to Franzi and kissed her again, only to get scolded by Harvey and his Mum.

Meanwhile, Reed was in Shane's tent, waiting patiently as the brunet spoke to his parents, Blaine and some of his peers and professors. The brunet made his excuses as soon as he could before making his way over to his boyfriend. "Hey, I thought you would be with Dwight."

"Half of Gryffindor's in there and then some, and I wanted to make sure you were OK. I mean, it's not the end of the world that you didn't win; from what Professor Coulter said, you were a close second."

Shane shrugged, "Meh, I'm not too bothered that I didn't win. If anything, I'm happy; I got you, didn't I?" He sent the strawberry-blond a wide grin as the shorter boy flushed bright red, sending him a small smile. Softening to an adoring smile, Shane dipped down and pressed a soft, loving kiss to his boyfriend's lips.


AN: Credit goes to whoever wrote 'Greatest Day' made famous by Take That (probably Gary Barlow) and yes, I stole a bit from the Goblet of Fire film. Until next time!