"So, what exactly are we doing," Harry called out to his sister as they trudged up a tower. Viktor and Fleur were beside them.
"Looking," Jamie called over her shoulder. They were a week out from the third task, the final one, and Jamie was feeling anxious about what it was, as were her fellow competitors. Ever since the second task, Jamie had avoided large bodies of water and submerging herself for very long, utterly creeped out from her experience beneath the murky waters of the Black Lake. Her paranoia over what could be next kept her up many nights.
Paired with her rejection from Cedric, Jamie was processing a lot. Her friends and family had commented on Jamie's newer behavior, she was quieter, a little sad, but there was an assuredness in her actions that hadn't been in the past. Before, Jamie had pushed out a sense of bravado, an exaggerated confidence that even she seemed to find a little ridiculous. Now, Jamie seemed to interact with everyone much more honestly and openly and her very public meltdown in front of the school seemed to have knocked her down a few pegs, she was expressing a little bit more humility.
Forcing herself to recognize her feelings for Cedric and putting herself out there in a vulnerable place had been unsettling yet freeing—even when she realized it was too late. Sometimes things were too late, she told herself, just as Severus had been too late for her mother. Things didn't always work out, and she resolved to get through the tournament alive and put as much distance between she and him as she could this summer and their final year of school.
Family had become a little more important, spending quality time with her friends and her brother and Severus, writing to her parents more often. Her absolute terror for the few minutes she had believed Fleur and her father hadn't made it out of the lake alive had stuck with her, and would for a long time, she believed.
"Ve aren't supposed to be entering the grounds of the third task," Viktor called out despite the amused smile on his face. The four competitors had continued to stick together and were determined to do so in and out of the final task, despite the fact they would each individually do what they could to win.
Glory was glory after all.
"We aren't entering, we're looking from above, or attempting to that is," Jamie retorted. Wards had been set up around the Quidditch Pitch for much of the year, hiding what was being built inside. The final task, whatever it was.
"Génie!" Fleur praised her, the extraordinarily beautiful girl giving her a beaming smile. Fleur and Jamie had become close friends, spending much of their downtimes and mealtimes together, with plans for Fleur to come visit in the summertime and Jamie to do the same. Just as they would try to visit with Viktor as well, the four of them saw no reason not to maintain a lifelong comradery, having been through so much.
The clock tower was the closest, highest point to the Quidditch Pitch Jamie could think of, and sure enough—
"Whoa," Harry breathed from where they stood at the opening. Looking down, they could see part of the pitch, which had been covered in large hedges in twisting formations.
"A maze," Jamie said, eyes studying it. It was rather weird, if you cast your eyes at the side, you couldn't see anything except an empty field due to the wards set up, but from above: it was quite impressive and ominous.
"Probably eet ez filled with all kinds of animals and creetures," Fleur fretted. Viktor placed a comforting hand on her arm, but his mouth was set in a grim line. While the four hadn't come out and said it, it was what was unsaid—this tournament was very difficult and daunting for young wizards and witches, and they understood now why the adults had warned them not to take it lightly. It wasn't for the faint of heart by any means.
"Traps…obstacles…" Harry muttered, pushing his glasses up his nose. They all nodded, their eyes roving over the maze. It looked…eerie, with a darkness hanging over it and mists. The unknown of what was inside was truly a hard challenge to look ahead to, Jamie wasn't quite sure how to prepare for it.
"Vut are ve going to do inside," Viktor wondered aloud.
"Not sure, but whatever it is, we can try to face it together as much as we can," Jamie responded.
He heard the four students worrying over what was inside the maze. He frowned, shifting in the shadows of the staircase.
"Not sure, but whatever it is, we can try to face it together as much as we can," the Shacklebolt girl said. He frowned, foreseeing quite the obstacle to his plans should the four stick together. Extra witnesses or bodies served as a variable he didn't want to deal with, didn't think his Master would want to deal with.
He would have to ensure his obstacles were severe enough that the four were kept separated, especially the Shacklebolt girl.