Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm so glad you're still enjoying the story! I know that many of you are not going to like what I do after the third task. Believe me, I looooove Cedric, he's amazing. But just know that everything I do has a reason.

Chapter 37: The Third Task

It was Saturday, June 24, 1995. Today was the day of the third task. Harry woke up with jitters all over his body. He had no idea what he would face in this maze tonight, but hoped he could handle it. After tonight was over, hopefully things would go back to normal. He and Cedric had spent the last month working nonstop on spells, and Harry felt by this point that he was more than ready.

The night before, there had been a lot of excitement. The Hogwarts senior dance, which took place for all sixth and seventh-years, had happened. Younger students were allowed to go if someone from those years invited them. Harry himself hadn't gone, but Cedric had invited Cho, and they had gone together. Cho was only in her fifth year, but Cedric was in sixth, so she was allowed. Harry hoped they had had the time of their lives.

When Harry had told Sirius and Remus the other day that that was going on, they remembered their own dances with fondness. Sirius had informed him that James had used his invisibility cloak to sneak out with Lily their seventh year after the night was over, and they spent a night in the astronomy tower under the stars. Harry then got an idea. He had lent Cedric that same invisibility cloak yesterday so he could do the same thing with Cho if he wanted to. Cedric had looked most surprised and grateful, and a brilliant smile had shown itself on his handsome face.

At breakfast with his friends, the whole room was buzzing. Everyone was talking about tonight's event, and what would happen. Fred and George were taking bets on who would win the tournament along with their friend Lee Jordan. Harry saw Cedric and Cho giving each other soft smiles from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. They both looked so happy that he just knew their night last night had gone wonderfully.

After breakfast, Cedric came over to Harry and patted him on the shoulder. "Professor McGonagall wants all the champions to come to that same room we met in when our names came out of the goblet," he said, smiling at Harry. "She says there's a surprise for us there. By the way, here's this back. I can't thank you enough for it, it made my night." He discreetly handed Harry back his invisibility cloak.

"No problem," Harry told him. "I'm glad you had a great time."

"Yeah, we were chosen as king and queen," said Cedric, blushing but looking thrilled. "Come on then, mate. Let's go."

So the two friends walked into the room next to the Great Hall, and Harry was shocked to see Sirius and Remus there. He also glimpsed Cedric's parents, along with the same little girl he had saved in the lake at the second task along with another couple, who must be Fleur's and her parents. Viktor's parents were also there.

"Hey, cub," said Remus as Harry walked over to them. "We're here for the whole day today, to spend it with you and then to watch the task tonight."

"Oh, wow! Were you just going to surprise me then?" Harry grinned.

"Yep," said Sirius, ruffling his hair. "We can do whatever we want until tonight."

"Cedric's parents are looking at you," said Remus fondly. "I think they want to say hello."

"Okay," said Harry, and he walked over to the two Diggorys. "Hello, Harry," said Mrs. Diggory, smiling softly. "I'm so glad you and Cedric are such good friends. Congratulations for being in second place for the tournament."

But unlike Mrs. Diggory, her husband was not smiling. "Bet you don't feel so smart now that my Ced's beat you on points," he said gruffly. "We all know he's a winner."

"Amos, that's enough. There's no need for that," Mrs. Diggory said sharply, glaring at her husband. Cedric looked totally embarrassed and scowled at his father as well.

"Well, it's true, Eileen," argued Mr. Diggory. "Our boy's in first place."

Cedric's temper had been so near the breaking point with his father lately that at this, he just snapped. "Dad, don't you know when to shut up?" he snarled. "How many times do I have to tell you that I WANT him to win? Will you stop getting on my case? Aren't I ever good enough for you, or do I have to fight Death Eaters to show my worth? How would you like it if you had people staring at your bloody scar the whole time, and you were famous for something you didn't even remember? How would you like to be forced into a damn tournament you didn't even want to be in? I've had enough of this, Dad. Come on, Harry." He took Harry's arm, gave Mr. Diggory another fierce scowl and Mrs. Diggory an apologetic look, and marched Harry away. "I'm sorry," he said, recovering from his outburst. "I just can't stand this anymore."

Harry just looked shocked. "Cedric, thanks and all, but there was no need to defend me like that," he said softly. "You're his son, and ..."

"It doesn't matter, Harry," Cedric said fiercely. "I'm sick of him putting me on some kind of pedestal!"

To calm Cedric down, Harry told Sirius and Remus that he was going to go for a walk with him around the grounds. Cho met them in the entrance hall, and Cedric filled her in on what had just happened. She offered to come with them, so they went outside.

"I hope you guys make up," said Harry as they enjoyed the summer air and Cedric took deep breaths. "I think you should make up before the task tonight."

"I don't know," Cedric muttered. "I hope so, too, but I really hope more than anything that he stops thinking I'm perfect."

"Cheer up, Cedric," Cho soothed, putting an arm around him. "He'll come around. Just think of last night, and what a good time we had." She then turned to Harry. "I'm sure Ced's already said it, but we just wanted to thank you for what you did for us, you know, with the invisibility cloak and everything. That was really sweet of you."

"You're welcome," said Harry sincerely. "I heard you were king and queen."

"Yeah, we got to dance to a song in front of everyone," said Cho, beaming. "It was wonderful." Cedric squeezed her hand gently.

"Yeah," grinned Cedric. "And we had a great time doing it."

"We did," said Cho. Harry blushed, and she smiled sweetly at him. "Aw, stop blushing," she chuckled. "I'm sure you'll like a girl soon enough. You can't tell me you've never had a crush on anyone."

Harry blushed harder; the last thing he wanted to do was admit he used to have a crush on Cho, especially when her boyfriend was like his big brother.

"Oh, you have, haven't you?" said Cedric, chuckling as well. "Aw, it's alright, you can tell us. As long as it's not Pansy Parkinson, we won't mind who it was, or is," he joked.

Harry looked back and forth between Cedric and Cho, blushing to the roots of his hair as his glance fell on Cho. Realization fell over their faces and Harry immediately recoiled. "It was last year, I-I don't have it anymore," he stammered, beginning to walk away from them.

But Cedric and Cho just laughed. "It's okay, Harry," Cedric said reassuringly, still chuckling. "Plenty of guys like my girl, that's because she's so beautiful." He winked at Cho.

"Thanks, Cedric, you do pile it on, don't you?" Cho teased. "But wow, Harry, I'm flattered. You know, I kind of suspected last year."

"I-I'm glad you're happy together, though," Harry kept blabbering. "I-I'm not going to do anything to ruin it between you two. Anyway the crush's not there anymore, because ..."

Cedric just laughed harder, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder to stop him from talking. "No need to explain, mate," he said softly. "Don't be so embarrassed. I understand. You didn't upset me, we're still bros. It happens all the time. You can't help who you had a crush on. This will just be between us. I won't tell anyone, It's our secret."

"Why did you have a crush on me, though?" asked Cho curiously. "What was it that you liked about me?"

"Well," said Harry slowly, "I know I hardly knew you back then, but I just thought you were pretty. Remember Quidditch, last year?"

Cho grinned. "Oh yeah. And Wood told you to knock me off my broom if you had to, but you wouldn't do it."

"Of course he wouldn't," smiled Cedric. "He's too nice, he doesn't play dirty!"

xxx

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent with his guardians and friends. His jitters got worse as the day wore on, though, and at dinner in the Great Hall he was completely on edge.

After dessert, Albus Dumbledore got up to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he boomed. "The champions are to go down to the Quidditch pitch now to prepare for the third task of the Triwizard Tournament! Good luck, all of you!"

"We're all so proud of you, Harry," said Ginny softly as Harry shakily got up and followed the other champions out of the Great Hall. "We'll come with you, to wish you luck."

When they got to the tent, Bagman explained that Cedric would go into the maze first, followed by Harry, then Viktor, and finally Fleur. Teachers would be patrolling the maze to make sure everything was alright, and if anyone had a problem, they should send up red sparks. Alastor Moody would be waiting at the center of the maze, right where the Triwizard Cup would be located. Bagman wished them all luck, and then all their friends gathered around them to say goodbye.

"I guess we should go sit in the stands now, kiddo," said Sirius as he hugged Harry. "We're so unbelievably proud of you. Soon it'll be all over, and you can forget about the whole thing."

"That's right, cub. Just use the spells Cedric helped you with, and any other skills you learned, and you'll be fine," said Remus reassuringly, also giving Harry a hug.

Cedric's parents came over, and Mr. Diggory turned to speak to Harry. He had an ashamed look on his face. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said quietly. "I was a really insensitive idiot this morning. I'm sorry for what I said. Ced was right to stick up for you like that."

"It's okay, Mr. Diggory," Harry replied. "I'm sure Cedric'll do well."

"I'm sure he will, too," said his father as he turned to his son. They both gave each other a long look, and Mr. Diggory held his arms open for Cedric. Cedric hugged him, and his father whispered something that sounded like "I'm sorry."

Cedric just smiled softly at him. "It's okay, Dad," he reassured him. "Everything's okay now. I'm sorry too, for this morning. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Mrs. Diggory also hugged her son. "Good luck, my boy," she said. "Amos and I are so proud of you."

Cho also embraced Harry, wishing him good luck. Neville, Ginny, and Hermione also hugged him, and Fred, George, and Ron pounded him on the back. Cho and Cedric shared a long hug and a kiss on the lips, with them whispering something that sounded like "I love you," to each other. There was fear in Cho's eyes, and Cedric whispered reassuring words in her ear as they held on to each other. Fleur and Viktor's parents were also wishing their children well.

When everyone had gone, Harry could see that the stands were beginning to fill up. Tons and tons of students were sitting down, getting ready to witness everything.

"What's going to happen," said Bagman, "is that no one will be able to see what's going on in the maze, but they'll be able to see whoever gets to the center first. There is a charm around that part of the maze so that they will be able to. As I said before, Professor Moody will be standing at the cup, and whoever touches it first is the winner!"

After about ten minutes, Bagman charmed his voice to boom around the stadium, and the usual announcements were made, welcoming all the students to the last task.

"Ready, on my whistle, Cedric!" he called at last. "One, two, three!"

"Good luck, Cedric," Harry called, smiling at him as his friend hurried into the maze. Cedric gave one last smile and wave to everyone in the stands before he disappeared from sight.

A few minutes later it was Harry's turn. Bagman blew the whistle again, and taking a huge, deep breath, he hurried into the darkness.

It was pitch black in here, and Harry lit the tip of his wand so he could see straight. He found that the "journey was definitely not as challenging and difficult as he thought it would be. He passed many different creatures he'd learned about in Defense from Remus last year, and then he passed none other than Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts. He put all his efforts into casting the spells Cedric had taught him, and ones he'd learned himself over the years.

He wondered how much longer this would go on, when he heard the voice of someone screaming. It sounded like Fleur, but it was very far away. Harry desperately wanted to help her, but he had no idea where the sound had come from. But then he saw red sparks fly through the air, and knew that a teacher was going to solve the problem.

He plodded on for what seemed like forever. But then, he heard a voice which sounded very familiar; Cedric's voice. He also saw his figure.

"What are you doing, Viktor?" he heard his friend ask in a panicked voice. "Why are you pointing your wand at me? What did I do?"

But then he heard Viktor mutter a word which he never thought he'd hear from him. "Crucio!"

But Cedric's senses seemed to be very quick, and as the light sped towards him, Harry saw him dodge it. He sprinted over to the two of them, and Cedric and Viktor started trading spells back and forth.

"Cedric!" Harry yelled. "Cedric, it's Harry! I'm going to help you!" He came up behind Viktor and grabbed his shoulders. He was caught by surprise, but in the end he tried to twist out of his grip. "You're stronger than me, Cedric, grab him with me!" he called.

"Harry!" exclaimed Cedric, shock written all over his face. He quickly helped to grab Viktor's shoulders in a vicelike grip. Harry then pointed his wand at him and shouted, "Stupefy!" Viktor fell immediately, unconscious. Without even thinking about it, he shot red sparks into the air. "What was that about?" he cried. "Cedric, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Cedric answered, still looking at Viktor in disbelief.

"He tried to use an Unforgivable on you!" Harry cried. "That's not supposed to happen!"

"I don't like this at all," Cedric admitted. "I looked in his eyes right before you stunned him, Harry, and they were totally glazed over. Do you remember what Professor Moody said about the Imperius Curse?"

Harry thought for a minute. "Oh yeah!" he said, suddenly remembering. "Anyone who's under it has a weird look in their eyes. Are you saying what I think you are?"

"Yeah, I think Krum was under the Imperius Curse, but who the hell could be doing it?" Cedric wondered. "I really don't like this at all, Harry. I think we should go the rest of the way together. I don't know who is using bloody Unforgivables on the champions but I'm sure as hell not going to let it happen to you."

"And I'm not going to let them hurt you either," promised Harry. "Okay, let's go together then. Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?"

"Yeah. Do you reckon she got hit with one herself?"

"I dunno, it was only a short scream. But she's probably all right now, I saw the red sparks."

"Yeah, me too."

Cedric and Harry went through the rest of the maze together, but they encountered no more problems, unless you counted a few more creatures. There was an acromantula right near the Triwizard Cup that they had a hard time battling, but eventually, the creature went down.

The two boys slowly walked towards the cup. "It's just us now, Cedric," Harry said. "And I think you should win."

"Harry, haven't we gone through this already?" Cedric sighed. "Both of us are here at the cup, at the same time, but I told you yesterday that if anything like this should happen, then you should win."

"I said that I didn't agree," Harry protested.

"But you saved my neck in here," Cedric replied. "Anyway, Professor Moody's looking at us. And all the spectators can see us now."

"Can they hear us, too?"

"I suspect so. To make it more dramatic, you know. Just take the cup, Harry."

"No. After everything, you proved yourself to be the better champion."

"That's not true! Just. Take. It," Cedric said slowly. "We both want this whole thing to be over, and it'll still be a Hogwarts victory. Dad'll be fine about it, and so will Cho and Mum and everyone else. Just take it."

Harry suddenly had an idea, because Cedric was so stubborn he just wouldn't let this go. "Look, Cedric, we both got here together, right? We've both helped each other, right? With the dragons, the egg clue, and the spells? How about we take it together? That'll make everyone happy."

Cedric looked back and forth between Harry and Professor Moody, who was not saying anything but smiling widely at the two of them. "Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly.

"As you said, we both want this to be over," said Harry. "And you're not going to back down about me taking the win, I just know it. So let's just do it together. We've been friends all year, we've helped each other all year, let's both give Hogwarts a victory."

A slow smile spread over Cedric's face. "Wow," he said. "Harry, you're a good mate." He gathered his younger brother into an embrace. Harry felt so relieved, it was about to be over. And he'd made a wonderful friend, he now had a big brother that would come out of the experience with him. He leaned into the embrace, smiling gently at someone who had helped him so much.

xxx

In the stands, smiles were being shared all around. Cedric was right about his suspicion; they could all hear everything they were saying. Everyone could see how close the two Hogwarts champions had become; Cedric had taken Harry under his wing and really shown him the meaning of loyalty and friendship. Cho had love and happiness in her eyes as she watched her two favorite people, one her boyfriend and one her best friend, walk towards the cup together, arms slung around each other in a friendly gesture. Ginny, Neville, Ron, Fred, George, and Hermione were also beaming. Sirius, Remus, and Cedric's parents all had massive pride in their expressions. They couldn't believe they had such wonderful boys.

"Hey, Professor," they heard Harry say, turning to Alastor Moody. "Do you want to take it with us?"

"Yeah, great idea!" Cedric grinned. "You've been a great teacher this year. Would you like to celebrate this Hogwarts victory with us?"

If possible, Mad-Eye Moody's smile grew even wider. "Are you positive? It's your victory, laddies," he said. "You have done awfully well."

"Nah, you take it with us," insisted Harry.

"Yeah, just do it," agreed Cedric.

Moody walked slowly over to the cup as well. "You are two young gentlemen I will never forget," he murmured. "Shall we touch it on three?"

"Sure," the boys both answered.

Every single spectator stood up so they could clap and cheer their champions, their friends, their classmates.

"One.

Two.

THREE!"

Moody, Cedric, and Harry grabbed the cup. A cheer began to go up, but it turned into a shocked gasp-

For the two boys and their professor were gone.