Alpha-Read by Aani, Beta-Read by MasterChaos1
Senior Undersecretary's Office, Level One, Ministry of Magic
June 25th, 1995
2:52 a.m.
The sound of a quill scribbling had been the only thing she had heard for the past four and a half hours as it filled the empty office, which was lit only by the single candle above her desk.
Dolores Jane Umbridge working past midnight was not something out of the ordinary, and for good reason. Being the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister's Office was not a position someone reached by working a nine to five job and drinking every weekend.
It had required twenty-five years of working incessantly, putting her job above everything and anything else, before she could finally attain the position. She had started from the bottom as a mere interim in the Improper Use of Magic Office right after she had graduated from Hogwarts with 6 NEWTS, and had slowly but surely risen above her station by making connections with the right people and spending many late nights overworking herself into oblivion.
Her time at the Ministry hadn't all been work without respite, as she had managed to meet the person who later became her husband due to her work. She had met her Tiberius when he had joined the Auror corps, only a couple of years after she had started working in the Ministry. They married six years after that and the two had worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, with Tiberius as the Head Auror and Dolores as the Head of the Department, until 1984 when Tiberius' father passed away. This led to him resigning from his position, with Amelia Bones becoming the new Head Auror, and taking over the McLaggen House duties, managing both the Wizengamot responsibilities and its businesses.
Her relationship with her husband was everything she could have wished for, he was extremely supportive of her career at the Ministry and was extremely understanding of her late schedules and of her wish to retain her surname rather than changing it after they got married. He was also a busy man, handling all the House business was an exhausting task that took up most of his hours, but he had always respected her aspirations and never even suggested that she should leave the Ministry. He kept up with her gruelling hours but always found time for themselves and made the relationship work, even with the exorbitant amount of work they both had.
All the hard work long nights she'd put in at the Ministry was worth it in the end, as five years ago, she had been promoted to the position of Senior Undersecretary when Cornelius took office. With the Minister's referendum by the Wizengamot only two years away, whispers of her succeeding Minister Fudge in case he did not get reelected had been slowly on the rise, with the most vocal supporters of this - apart from her husband, of course - being the Selwyns.
Dolores had had a complicated relationship with the family throughout her years in the Ministry. She owed so much to them on both a personal and occupational level, having worked closely ever since they first met, back when she was still in the Improper Use of Magic Office. She could always count on them when it came to Ministry business, and she had aided them many times as well. Nonetheless, after everything that had happened, it had become impossible to have a relationship that went anywhere past professional.
Dolores shook those thoughts away as she continued writing briskly on the parchment in front of her.
Being the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister was a taxing job, as she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of not only the Minister, but of every department in the Ministry other than the Department of Mysteries. Not only that, but she was also responsible for the routine administrative matters of the Ministry as a whole - and with the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament and its accompanying celebration tonight, her work load had increased staggeringly, especially with the many foreign Ministry officials and ICW personnel that were currently in the country.
Minister Fudge, of course, had insisted upon her attendance to the Third Task, but it was for naught as she had declined. Mostly, she was not a fan of large gatherings or events such as the Triwizard Tournament, but there was also much work that needed to be done for the next day. Work that wouldn't get done if she wasn't the one who did it.
Dolores stopped writing, flexing her hand to get rid of the cramps as she checked the parchment in front of her to see if she had missed something. As nothing seemed amiss and this was her last duty for the night, she exhaled and leaned back on her chair. One quick look at her watch told her the Third Task was over, which meant that Tiberius must have already returned from the Leaky Cauldron where he, his brother, and a couple of friends had decided to get together and listen to the game via the Wizarding Wireless.
She just hoped that he hadn't waited up for her, as she had assumed she would be back home by the time he returned.
Casting a quick drying charm on the parchment, she began packing her belongings and clearing her desk. With a final glance to make sure her desk was clear, Dolores made her way to the door.
One of the benefits of the Senior Undersecretary's office was that it was one of the few offices in the Ministry that allowed for spellwork on the door, such as silencing and locking charms she currently had in place. So when Dolores removed them as she was heading out, the blaring emergency alarms startled her considerably.
After a moment's hesitation, she opened the door and stepped outside her office, only to be assaulted by the sight of red lights flashing on the ceiling and the alarm resonating even louder. It was a sight she had not seen in years, not even Sirius Black's escape from escape for Azkaban force the Ministry into the highest level of emergency. This was only reserved for the greatest and catastrophic emergencies in the Wizarding World.
The thought sent a chill down her spine, as she stood alone in the middle of the hallway, wondering what could have possibly happened.
5 HOURS EARLIER
Hermione made her way inside to the top floor of the Luxury Box with Lavender and Parvati on either side of her, Neville, Ron, Ginny, and the rest of the Quidditch team behind them.
The steadily diminishing sunlight hit the Luxury Box from the large window with the view towards the maze, as the scent of new furniture filled her nostrils. The Box was not exactly modern in muggle standards, but it was much more elegant than anything she had seen before in the Wizarding World. It was a huge, nine floor section located in the midsection of the stadium, on the short side, right in front of the entrance of the maze.
All nine floors were incredibly stylish, however there was a clear difference in between floors. The first three floors being the one with the most people and the less space for them, the next five floors had fewer people, but they seemed to be wealthier or more important than the others. There was also a bar section where people could stand up and converse. However, the ninth floor, the Champion's Box, was by far the most elegant of them all.
Instead of seats, like the other eight floors, there were fashionable couches with glass tables beside them, carrying food and drinks that Hermione assumed would refill as the night went on. Also unique to this floor were the small projectors throughout the room, where the task would be streamed in perfect view of nearly every place in the large Box.
Looking around the room, Hermione spotted Cedric's parents in the DIGGORY section with Cedric's extended family, a few Hufflepuffs, Cho and her parents. The KRUM section included Dragomir, who was currently making his acquaintances with Mr Krum, and a large portion of Viktor's family, with some across the room in the Ministry section talking with the Bulgarian Ministry contingent. In the DELACOUR section, Fleur's party was by far the smallest one, composed of just Fleur's mother, father, sister, and both sets of grandparents - she was the only champion that had not invited any other students to the Luxury Box.
Finally spotting the section labelled POTTER, where Mrs Weasley and Bill were already waiting for them, Hermione began making her way there. As she walked, she did not fail to recognise Professor Dumbledore speaking with two other men in the bar that was situated in between the champion's section and the Ministry section.
"Hermione, dear!" Mrs Weasley hugged her, as Lavender and Parvati awkwardly introduced themselves to Bill. "How have you been! I've read those dreadful articles of Miss Skeeter towards you and Harry - oh, what a horrid woman. And to think that I used to like her."
"Oh, it's nothing, Mrs Weasley. We're fine, really." Hermione reassured just before the Weasley matriarch all but squealed at the sight of her kids, going off to hug them all.
After a swift greeting with Bill, she moved towards the couch Lavender and Parvati had occupied. "Shy now, are we?"
"It's hard to have an emotional reunion when you've never even met the person you're reuniting with." Lavender deadpanned without taking her eyes off of the Weasleys.
Hermione couldn't contain her laugh when she saw Angelina and Alicia blushing as Fred and George introduced them to their mother, while Katie and Lee stood awkwardly beside them.
"We don't all spend our summers in the Borrow," Parvati reminded her.
"Well, you're in good company." Hermione teased. "At least you're not Dragomir who is the only Durmstrang in a group full of adults."
"He seems to be enjoying it," And Lavender was not wrong, for Dragomir was on the other side of the room with Mr Krum, who seemed to be introducing him to every person he could.
"What are you three looking at?" Neville asked as he sat on the couch in front of them with Ron.
"We can't seem to decide how hot Dragomir is," Lavender said with a wicked smirk. "Care to make some input?"
Neville started blushing and stuttering, which only made Lavender and Parvati giggle while Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend's antics.
"Very funny," Neville grumbled, only setting off both girls again.
"Who's up for some drinks?" Angelina whispered as the rest of the quidditch team joined them, leaving only Molly and Bill with Ginny.
"The task hasn't even started!" Hermione exclaimed.
"And it won't for another hour, which means we need to occupy ourselves in the meantime. So… drinks?"
Everyone in the group agreed, and Angelina turned towards her expectantly.
"Fine, but just one butterbeer for me." She answered reluctantly.
"Good girl, now come on. Help me out, will you?"
Hermione gave a resigned sigh. "Alright," She grabbed Lavender's arm and pulled her up as she stood. "But you're coming with us."
"Wouldn't have it any other way, sweetheart." She replied with a saucy wink that made Hermione want to pull her own hair, before joining Angelina and heading straight towards the bar.
"Did you have to tease Neville?" Hermione asked when she caught up with her. "You know how helpless he is when it comes to girls."
"And that, my friend, is exactly why I had to do it," Hermione was surprised at how giddy Lavender seemed. "Oh, come on, it was just a bit of fun!"
"You're going to end up breaking the poor boy."
Lavender chortled at that.
Arriving at the bar, Angelina ordered butterbeers for everyone before she and Lavender got into a discussion about how amazing the Luxury Box was. The discussion had barely started before they were interrupted by a voice that had now become extremely familiar to her.
"Ah, Miss Granger," Hermione stiffened before forcing herself to relax and turn.
"Professor Dumbledore," She forced a smile.
"I wanted to introduce you to my two friends here," He said, motioning to the men beside him. "They are some muggle-born wizards from the United States, which I'm sure will be delighted to meet you."
"Oh?"
"Miss Granger," One of the men said in a strong American accent before taking her hand and delivering a kiss to it. "It's a delight to make your acquaintance, I have heard so many good things about you."
"Oh," She said, narrowing her eyes at the man. "And you are…"
"Charlus Smith, at your service, my shy friend here is John White."
Oh! She thought to herself before smiling sweetly at him.
"It's so nice to meet a fellow muggle-born, Mr Smith! You must tell me, how did coming from a muggle background impact your life and career as a wizard? I still can't decide what I want to do after Hogwarts, I had all these plans before I was introduced to the Wizarding World, like going to college and becoming a dentist, but after I came to Hogwarts all of them just sort of went out the window! I'm sure you know the feeling, so how did you two figure out what you were going to do after you left school, oh - and what is it that you do exactly?"
"Ummmm…" His eloquent response made Hermione grin triumphantly.
Dumbledore turned to her with a twinkle in his eyes that sent chills down her spine. "I shall leave you to it." He said before leaving them and walking towards Lucius Malfoy and the Minister, who were talking nearby.
"I'll be right back, is that okay?" She asked the two girls, and they told her not to worry before heading back to their spot in the POTTER section.
The three of them exchanged a look before walking to the most isolated place they could find.
"Si-"
"Shhh!" He cut her off, his fake American accent gone. "Don't say our names."
"Sorry, but is it-"
"Yes, it's us. I assume Harry told you?"
"He did, and I have to say it was extremely irresponsible of you to come! What were you thinking?"
"We'll be fine, Hermione, don't worry about us." Remus reassured her. "How is he?"
"How do you think he is?" She hissed. "He's scared out of his mind, not that the prat would ever tell me, of course, but it's obvious!"
"It could be worse," Sirius said. "Most kids in his position would probably be vomiting their guts out in the bathroom right now."
"And you think he would tell us if he did?" She pointed out.
"Touché," He paused. "How are you, Hermione?"
"I'm fine, I just need this whole bloody tournament to just end."
"And it will," Remus said. "After tonight, it's all over. Focus on that."
Hermione scoffed. "I've known Harry for almost four years and every year he's been put in a position where he somehow has to fight for his life, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. Just because the tournament ends tonight doesn't mean that he won't be put in a similar or worse position next year."
"He won't," Sirius stated. "I won't let him. I'll come straight to Hogwarts, kidnap him, and hide him under the most powerful magical protections known to any magical race, if I have to."
Hermione let out a shaky laugh. "And you think Harry will let you?"
"No, probably not," He conceded. "But it doesn't hurt to try." He paused and his expression sobered. "Look, Hermione, whatever comes our way, we'll deal with it together. Harry is not alone any more and neither are you, we'll be there helping at every step of the way. We won't let anything happen to either of you."
"Thank you, Sirius."
"Anytime, Hermione," He patted her shoulder. "We'll be in the Ministry section with Dumbledore, if you need anything just call us with the mirror, and we'll meet at the bar."
After saying their goodbyes to each other, Hermione started walking back to her place only to be intercepted by Ron, who was standing just before the couches of their group.
Hermione stopped, and the two stared at each other. They hadn't talked since Ron's fallout with Harry apart from a few thank-yous and the such, she couldn't believe how strained her relationship with Ron had become over the past year. She had thought that after their fight in the third year that he would grow up a little, but it unfortunately didn't happen.
"Hey," He said.
"Hi."
An uncomfortable silence ensued before he cleared his throat.
"Where those Siri-"
"Shhh!"
"Sorry, sorry," He raised his hands. "Just curious, that's all."
Another uncomfortable silence.
"Well, I should be-"
"How is he?"
Hermione took a moment to look at Ron before answering. "Angry, sad, disappointed, but most of all hurt."
"And you?"
She really didn't want to have this conversation, especially not now, but it was unavoidable at this point.
"You didn't just turn your back on Harry in November, Ron, you also turned your back on me. I'm not angry or anything, I'm really not. I'm just… I just wish you had done things differently."
Ron gulped and looked down at the floor. "I… if I could go back and change it, I would. I swear to Merlin I would." He turned his gaze towards her. "I would give anything to fix it, but I can't." He sighed and glanced away again. "I don't expect either of you to forgive me, I know I messed up. I just… I wanted you to know I'm sorry."
"Yeah… I'm sorry too."
She held his gaze, staring at the boy she once used to call one of her best friends.
A small part of her wished that there was a way to go back to the way things were. But they couldn't. Her father had once told her that relationships were like glass. Once you break them, you can try to fix them. You can pick up all the pieces, arrange them in the perfect order like a jigsaw puzzle and scotch 0r glue them together.
But it didn't matter how hard you tried, the glass would never go back to exactly how it was.
Champion's Locker Room, Triwizard Stadium
June 24th, 1995
9:45 p.m.
Harry felt his heart pulsating in his head as he tried to steady his breaths.
After the interview, Bagman and Crouch had led the champions towards the locker rooms besides the pitch, where they would wait until their name was called out. They had not told them what the task would be, nor had they given them any further instructions except to not leave this room. To bide their time, the champions had started talking between themselves, but ultimately the silence had overtaken them.
Cedric was pacing in the middle of the room, had been for the past fifteen minutes, mouthing spells and practising wand-motions. Fleur was sitting on the bench opposite Harry besides her boyfriend, leaning her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed in concentration. Viktor on the other hand didn't look focused, instead he seemed to be relaxing himself in anticipation of the task.
The waiting was agonising, he detested it with every inch of his body. It felt like a parasite, slowly eating at him, making him feel more and more unbalanced about the undertaking ahead as it got nearer. The waiting before the Tasks was easily the worst part of the tournament, it was much easier to go ahead into danger without sitting around for hours, days even, and ponder just what he might face.
However, when the doors towards the arena opened without warning, Harry didn't feel reassured.
"That is our cue," Viktor said in a disinclined tone.
"I zink so," Fleur replied as the two of them stood.
"Come on, Potter," Cedric walked towards him and offered him his hand. "You're not getting off that easy."
Letting out a tense laugh, Harry let Cedric help him up and the two of them walked towards Viktor and Fleur, who were waiting for them at the doors. After sharing a look, they began walking through the barely lit tunnel.
"This brings back memories."
"I didn't realise that almost getting killed by a dragon was a fond memory of yours, Diggory." Harry replied absently.
"Well, the routine can get a little boring at times, you know? Nothing like risking your life to make it a bit more lively, right?"
Harry chuckled but didn't say anything, nor did the others. It wasn't long before they arrived in front of two large doors that were currently closed.
"Should we… open them?"
"No," Viktor answered him. "I believe that they vill call us by name before ve can go into the arena."
"It's a little elaborate, isn't it?" Cedric asked.
"It always is in events like these."
Before anyone could make a reply, Bagman's voice boomed loudly inside the tunnel.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the third and final task of the 125th Triwizard Tournament! Tonight, our champions will be tested in their knowledge, bravery, resourcefulness, and all around skill as a witch or wizard as they compete against each other!"
Harry glanced at the three other champions, who nodded back at him. Hermione had been right.
"But before we explain the further logistics of the task, we should bring in our champions! In first place, scoring 41 points in the first task and 47 points in the second, we have the Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, with a total of 88 points!"
As he said that, the large doors opened, revealing the field in front of them. A colossal twenty-foot tall hedge maze stood proudly in the centre of the field with the sunset shining upon it. The stadium was filled to the brim with a loud multitude of witches and wizards as the flying camcorders broadcast their visuals to the many projectors all around the enclosure, with the largest of them being a gigantic, four-way screen that was hanging above the maze.
"I'll see you on the flip side," Cedric told them before leaving the tunnel and entering the arena.
The camcorders immediately went to him and Cedric's face was projected on all the screens as the crowd cheered loudly for him, which caused the Hufflepuff to duck his head and smile modestly as he walked towards the two Headmasters (plus Moody and who Harry assumed was a Durmstrang professor) who were standing in front of the entrances to the maze.
"In second place, scoring 45 points in the first task and 42 in the second, we have the Durmstrang champion Viktor Krum, with a total of 87 points!"
Fleur gave Harry an apologetic glance before grabbing Viktor and pulling him in for a kiss. As soon as Harry realised what was going to happen, he looked away and wished for the ground to swallow him whole. A few moments later, once he was sure it was safe, Harry turned back to see Viktor, who kissed Fleur's hands before giving him a curt nod and entering the arena.
"Did you have to kiss him in front of me?" Harry complained.
"You and Hermione are much worse." Fleur retorted
"But we never kiss in public!"
Fleur rolled her eyes at him.
"Will I at least get a kiss on the cheek? For good luck and all."
Fleur shot him a dirty look before slapping the back of his head lightly.
"Ow!" Harry pouted, rubbing his life-threatening wound.
"In third place, scoring 50 points in the first task and 29 in the second, we have Harry Potter, with a total of 79 points!"
As he stepped forward and began walking towards Moody since Cedric had gone with Dumbledore, he couldn't really say he was surprised when the whole stadium had stopped cheering and instead started booing at him. Harry internally rolled his eyes at them before he started kissing his hand and swaying it towards the crowd, which only seemed to infuriate them more.
"Thank you! Thank you!" He said with a bow, realising they couldn't really hear him, as he reached Moody.
The professor let out a gruff laugh before slapping his shoulder. "You ready, Potter?"
"Does that make a difference?"
Apart from his slightly disturbing smile, Moody didn't reply.
"And finally in fourth place, scoring 49 points in the first task and 23 in the second, we have the Beauxbatons champion Fleur Delacour, with a total of 72 points!"
Fleur stepped into the field gracefully as everyone shrieked and shouted once again. It was only when she reached Madame Maxime that Bagman, who was on the commentator table inside the Luxury Box, continued.
"Champions, the Third Task is finally here! Tonight, you will compete against each other in a battle of wits and ability as you race towards the centre of the maze, where the Triwizard Cup is waiting! However, this is no ordinary maze, as it's filled with plenty of dangers that will push all of you harder than any of the previous tasks. The cup is charmed as a portkey that will bring back the victor to the entrance of the maze - the first person that touches it will be the winner of the Third Task, receiving 75 points! The other champions can receive up to fifty points based on an analysis of their performances by the five judges!"
After a dramatic pause filled by the screams of the viewers, Bagman continued.
"Now, there is a difference between this task and the others. As this is by far the most dangerous of the three, the champions are allowed to surrender after thirty minutes inside the maze, which would lead to them being disqualified from the task in its entirety. This can be done by sending red sparks into the air, which will call on one of the teachers monitoring the event from outside the maze - they will escort you out. It must be noted that the teachers can only be called when there are no dangers nearby. The task will commence in five minutes, at the sound of the cannon all of you may enter the maze!"
With Bagman's commentary over, the two Headmasters made their way to the Luxury Box, while Moody and the Durmstrang teacher headed towards the exterior of the maze. Harry rendezvoused with the champions in the middle of the four entrances.
"Which one do we take?" Harry asked.
"Can we even take the same one?" Cedric countered and Fleur grinned.
"Zey never said we couldn't."
"Ve'll use this one," Krum motioned towards the third one of the right.
They all agreed and began discussing the task, wondering what creatures the organizers might have brought for the maze and vaguely coming up with a plan as to what they'll do once inside.
BOOM!
The sound of the cannon echoed throughout the arena as everyone began cheering and Bagman began his commentary.
"Let's go," Viktor commanded.
Tentatively, the four champions entered the agreed upon entrance, Bagman's commentary questioning what they were doing cut off when they crossed the threshold. The moment all of them had completely stepped inside, the two hedge towers slowly closed the passageway into the maze, a sense of despair entering Harry as the light from the sunset was increasingly lessening and fog began shrouding his vision.
Their only way out was through.
The Atrium, Level Eight, Ministry of Magic
June 25th, 1995
3:13 a.m.
The moment the elevator doors opened, Dolores was ambushed by the chaos in front of her.
The flashing red lights filled the dark atrium, revealing the masses of witches and wizards that were all around the Fountain of Magical Brethren. It wasn't just Ministry personnel who were there, but also foreign Ministry officials from both Bulgaria and France, as well as a multitude of ICW agents, including a large squad of Hit Wizards. Many of the people there were hastily running from place to place, into and out of the atrium, some people were giving out orders while arguing with others. Not a single soul seemed to be wasting even the shortest of milliseconds.
As Dolores briskly made her way towards the multitude, she did not fail to notice that all the floo entrances were sealed off, only one exit remained open and even then it was heavily guarded.
Trying to find out what had happened by listening into the surrounding conversations proved to be useless, they were all too loud and with all of them happening at the same time, it was impossible to focus in on one of them.
Soon enough, she found herself colliding with people inside the commotion as she tried to find one of the people in charge. And yet, it all seemed in vain as she was constantly forced into changing her path by the mob all around her. It wasn't until she came across Amelia that she finally found a person who seemed to have taken up leadership in the mayhem.
"Harry Potter has been found, Madame Bones."
"Then why are you here wasting your time rather than bringing the boy to me?" Amelia barked at her assistant.
"Mr Potter is unconscious, and Headmaster Dumbledore has insisted on him staying inside the castle wards; healers from St Mungo's are being transferred to Hogwarts at this very moment."
Amelia snorted. "The boy gets abducted right in front of the whole Wizarding World, and only now does Dumbledore try to keep him safe?"
"Amelia!" Dolores called out before the subordinate could answer.
"Ah, Dolores, better late than never, I suppose." Amelia spared her a glance before turning back to her subordinate. "Tell Robards and Williamson to go to Hogwarts, they are to alert me the moment Potter's eyes even hint at opening, is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," He parroted before darting away.
"What in Merlin's name is going on, Amelia?" Dolores asked, barely managing to keep the frantic tone out of her voice.
Amelia sighed before pinching her nose. "Come with me."
Dolores followed behind Amelia, who walked resolutely through the crowd before reaching Rufus, who was sitting down at a conjured table, talking to a small group of worn out, dirty Aurors and Hit Wizards.
"You're in charge while I'm away." She told him. "Potter's been found, but that doesn't mean this is over. For all we know, they could be getting ready to launch another attack - no one rests until all these sons of bitches have either kissed a dementor or are too dead for us to care."
"Yes ma'am." Scrimgeour said gruffly.
Amelia faltered for a second. "Bring me the memory, have one of your men take it to my office."
Rufus' eyes found Dolores' for a second before he turned back to Bones. "Are you sure?"
"If I was looking for an opinion, I would have asked a house-elf, Scrimgeour. Get me that memory now. And get off your ass! Make sure the Ministry is secure and set up temporary quarters, no one is leaving until this is over."
"Yes ma'am." Rufus said, immediately standing up and leaving the table.
"Well?" Amelia snapped at the rest, who all immediately scrambled away, emulating Scrimgeour.
After letting out an annoyed sigh, Amelia (with Dolores in tow) made her way out of the horde and into the nearest elevator. Reaching Level Two, the two women stepped out of the lift and walked towards Bones' office, which was located at the far end of the corridor. When they entered the office, they were greeted by the sound of a floo call.
"Bones," Amelia answered, sitting atop her desk as Dolores stood beside her, the minister's face appearing on the fire.
"Amelia, Dolores, thank Merlin!"
"How's the situation there, Minister?" Bones replied crisply.
"I'm at Dumbledore's office with Oblansk and Léo, we've decided to stay at Hogwarts until we are sure this is over. Some chief ICW personnel and important members from the French and Bulgarian ministries are making their way here at this very moment, the rest will stay there at the Ministry. Both of you should come here too, I'm afraid the Ministry may present an opportune target at the moment. Presently, there is no safer place in the country than Hogwarts."
"I'm sorry, Minister, but that's not possible. The Ministry is in total disarray, if either Dolores or I left, it would become much worse. It's best if we stay here for the time being."
Fudge looked unwilling, but he nodded nonetheless.
"What's the status on Potter?"
"Harry is here," Dumbledore's voice sounded hollow as he stepped into view. "He's unconscious for the moment, but the healers will be here soon. With any hope, he should be awake in a day or two."
"Do we know anything? Did he manage to tell us something before he passed out?"
"The kid was barmy, Amelia," Cornelius said bluntly. "You could see it in his eyes, whatever happened to him made him lose a few screws. He was claiming that it was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named who attacked him!"
A blood-curling silence filled the room, the only sound Dolores could make out was the agitated beating of her heart.
"T-that's impossible," Bones breathed out.
"That's exactly what I've been saying!" Cornelius cried out.
"Amelia, Harry has my full confidence. He is not one to lie, especially not about this. If Harry said that Lord Voldemort has returned, I believe him."
"That's not possible, Albus," Amelia shook her head. "We were both there that night! We both saw Lily's body covered with the gore and innards of You-Know-Who - we even confirmed it was him and not some random Death Eater! No magic, not even the darkest kind, has been proven to be able to bring the dead back to life."
"Could the boy be mentally compromised?" Dolores asked quietly. "If Potter has been abducted recently, there are plenty of ways for a wizard to have his mind altered; there are memory charms, a powerful confundus charm, a Legilimens could have implanted those memories or even a strong legilimency attack could mess with his head, there have even been some dark terror curses recorded throughout history, if Potter was hit by one of those I'm sure his worst fear would manifest as You-Know-Who coming back from the dead."
"I'll ask the healers to do a mental scan to ease your concerns. But I must reiterate that I believe what Harry told us." Dumbledore stated with as much conviction.
"You may believe what you wish, Headmaster, I, however, will rely on the facts, and the fact is that we already know who did all of this."
"Amelia, you must think of this critically. Why would the abductor reveal themselves only to alter Harry's mind and have him say it was actually Lord Voldemort?"
"It could've been a way to torture the boy and confuse us, try to get us to waste valuable time with this foolish dilemma rather than focusing on what's important. Whether it was You-Know-Who, Sirius Black, or Argus Filch, the fact is that there is a new Dark Lord with followers, and we need to stop them before they become as big a threat as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters were fifteen years ago."
Dumbledore sighed but nodded. "We will discuss this matter further when Harry's results are back."
"The question is what do we do now?" Cornelius asked, almost pleadingly.
"I've reinforced the Auror presence at Diagon Alley and sent a squad to Hogsmeade, along with other small and more discrete squads to every wizarding village in Britain. If there's another attack, we'll be ready for them this time."
"You think there will be another attack?" Dumbledore asked.
"It's possible, and I'd rather not get caught with my pants down again."
"And there's enough Aurors for that?" Cornelius queried.
"With all the international personnel there's more than enough, and after what happened earlier today they are as committed to finding these bastards as the rest of us."
"What of the people at the stadium?" Dolores asked.
"Evacuation Plan G went into motion." Dumbledore answered. "Everyone has been warned of the attacks and are flooing directly back to their homes with instructions to stay inside - a message that is being broadcasted through the Wizarding Wireless Network on repeat. Those of us from outside Britain will be given shelter at Hogwarts for the night."
"Good, hopefully the lack of people outside their homes will make for less appealing targets. We shall be lucky if there is no other attack tonight, we need to regroup and plan before they can get the chance."
"We'll need to call in an emergency Wizengamot meeting as soon as we can," Dolores stated.
"That can wait," Amelia interjected. "Right now, our focus should be on getting the Ministry back on its feet."
Inside the Maze
June 24th
"Confringo!" Cedric exclaimed as a fiery orange light left his wand, crashing fruitlessly against the Skrewt's armour.
They were trapped - stuck in between two large groups of Blast-Ended Skrewts who seemed to view them as four fresh and juicy pieces of steak.
"What do we do?" Fleur shouted, ducking from a leaping Skrewt before launching a barrage of blue spells that barely nudged them.
"I don't know! Just… keep hitting them!"
"Vhat a brilliant strategy!" Viktor mocked. "Because their armour vill suddenly vanish and our curses vill finally vork, right?"
"Well, what do you want me to say?"
"You studied these beasts!"
"So did Cedric!"
"Don't bring me into this!" The boy growled.
"Alright, everybody down!" Viktor shouted, and the three other champions immediately threw themselves to the ground.
The Bulgarian dodged another Skrewt before quickly casting an impulse spell on the creature and making it crash with three others. Launching his wand in the air, he caught the handle with the tip pointed downwards before forcefully bringing it down to the ground. As soon as it touched the ground, a mighty force erupted from the wand and in every direction, strong enough to send Harry and the other three champions crashing against the walls of the maze and flipping the Skrewts upside down.
Viktor shouted an incantation in Bulgarian as he did a complex wand motion, resulting in a powerful spell that immobilized every living creature around him.
"There," The Bulgarian panted, wordlessly lifting the freezing charm from the champions. "The creatures do not haff armour on their underside. Let us kill them before they can move."
After a nasty glance at Krum, Harry did as he was told and began working on the creatures. Nobody spoke as they cast blasting and reductor curses at the Skrewts bellies, their intestines and blood spilling onto the champions' clothes as they exploded. Harry ran his hand through his jersey, scrubbing off the innards of the creatures before shaking his arm clear of the wet blood.
"Come on," His voice surly as he swatted away a camera that was getting too close.
He didn't turn around to make sure the others were following before continuing on his path. His head was aching, light-headed, he felt as if he was a passenger in his own body. The feeling of dread was very much still there. Drowning him, filling his mind with whispers, mocking him, taunting him, making it harder to concentrate. His vision felt like it was narrowing down, as if it was gradually closing in on him - he didn't know if it was the fog or something else.
Time was like a blur, it felt as if he had been inside the maze for days now, when he was sure it had only been a few hours. Hunger rumbled in his belly and an overwhelming fatigue robbed him of his energy. He felt that he would die here, whether it was because of the monsters, the hunger, the thirst, or the fatigue he didn't know, all he knew was that he would die here.
Hazy.
That's how it all felt. Hazy, clouded, foggy. The hedges of the maze all looked the same. They were going in circles, he was sure of that. He had tried telling Viktor that, but the older boy hadn't listened to him. None of them had listened to him, and they were going to die in this bloody maze because of it.
Another hour passed before they reached the next intersection.
"Where to?" Harry asked derisively.
"Point-me," Cedric whispered from behind. "The right one, that will lead us to the centre of the maze."
"No, that is the wrong direction," Viktor contradicted, staring at the wand in his hand pointing towards the opposite direction as Cedric's. "Ve need to go to the left."
Cedric took in a deep breath, as if counting to ten. "No, we need to go right. The spell says that the heart of the maze is to the north right. If we go to the left, we'll only get further away."
"You cast spell wrong, Diggory, the centre of the maze is to north left. Ve need to go there."
"We started from the second entrance, Viktor, which means the middle is to our right."
"But ve haff been moving to right the entire time, which means that the cup is on left now!"
"Ze location spells aren't working!" Fleur stated loudly before anyone else could continue. "It eez no use, we will have to do zis by trial and error."
Without a second thought, Fleur started going down the left path. Viktor shot Cedric a disdainful look before he followed behind her, with Cedric and Harry not far behind. However, this time they didn't get far before hearing a low rattling sound.
"What's that?" Harry asked, stopping completely.
"Vhat's vhat?"
"Can't you hear that?" Harry asked, annoyed. "That sound!"
"There's no sound, Potter."
"It's getting louder," Harry started, turning quickly, trying to pinpoint its location.
"Stop fooling around, Potter, ve need to go.".
"How can you not hear that!"
Louder and louder it got, from every possible direction. It was closing in on him. Louder and louder, it was almost unbearable, the disconcerting sound in his ears as loud as a megaphone to his temple. Something was wrong, something was about to attack him, he could feel it.
"Duck!" Harry yelled, throwing himself to the ground.
And then… it stopped.
"'Arry?" Fleur asked concernedly.
"I- I thought," Harry stood up and looked around him. "It's nothing. Come on."
As soon as they continued, the ringing in his ears came back, only it was infinitesimal. Harry shook his head and tried to ignore it, but no matter how hard he tried - it never left him entirely. At times, it got louder to the point where it was intolerable, other times it was so low that he could barely hear it. And sometimes, it stopped completely, but only for a moment.
He was going crazy.
They continued throughout that path, hours passed without an intersection, nowhere to go but straight ahead. And when they reached the dead end awaiting them at the limit of the path, Cedric clapped loudly.
"Well done, Viktor, good job. Let's go left," He imitated. "The cup is to left, great fucking job-"
Viktor showed his seeker speed when he abruptly turned around and roughly pinned Cedric to the nearest wall. Before he could do anything, a blinding flash of light hit the three champions, forcing them to close their eyes.
"Zat is enough!" Fleur cried out, pulling Viktor away from Cedric with a glare. "What eez wrong with you two?" When nobody answered, she sighed exasperatedly. "Zis was a small set back. Can we go back to ze task, or are you two not done comparing sizes?"
Viktor continued to stare at Cedric, a hateful expression on his face, before he turned around and began walking back to the original path. Fleur scanned the three of them with a weary look, but didn't say anything else as they followed the Bulgarian. Two minutes later, they had reached the original intersection and took the right path instead.
It had been nearly half an hour of endless walking through the barren trail before something happened.
"Cho!" Cedric breathed out, horrified, before he sprinted towards the corner up ahead.
"Cedric? What eez it?" Fleur called out as she ran behind him, Viktor and Harry left with no choice but to follow.
The Hufflepuff did not answer, instead he fell to his knees in front of the hedge and began sobbing, his hands in the air as if he was caressing something in front of him.
Except there was nothing there.
"No no no no, Cho," He sniffed loudly before letting out another painful sob. "Please, you can't be dead. You can't be. Don't leave me. Please. Please. Please. Please."
A corrosive feeling sprung inside Harry, making him want to sneer at the boy and mock him, pushing him to continue towards the cup. He had never felt so angry before in his life, it was a burning hate, a cruel fire inside him that wanted nothing more but to lash out at everyone and everything nearby.
And at that moment, that's all he felt, anger, loathing, hatred, resentment, abhorrence, bitterness, revulsion, contempt. It was blinding, consuming, filling his very being, but most of all, it was tempting. He felt a rush of power, adrenaline, and he wanted nothing more than to start a fight, to punch someone, belittle them, curse them, anything to finally be able to let out everything he felt without giving a fuck about any possible consequences there might be.
"Cedric?" Fleur's voice broke him out of his stupor, and for a moment, he felt as if that driving force had disappeared, and yet the feelings still remained.
Harry tried to push past the feeling, there was something there, something foreign that was fuelling his anger. It took everything he had to not give into the want of feeling these emotions and push them all back down like he always did. However, even after he had managed to do it, he kept feeling an external force all around him, he hadn't noticed it until now, but somehow he was sure that it had been there for a long time.
"Cedric," Fleur repeated. "Whatever it eez that you are seeing, it's not real." The boy didn't reply, he kept sobbing miserably on the ground.
Viktor looked back and forth between Fleur and Cedric. "Snap out of it, Diggory! There is nothing there!"
With a howl of fury, Cedric quickly turned around and punched Viktor's jaw so hard that he staggered backwards. Immediately, Cedric was on him, sending a storm of punches against the Bulgarian, only to be launched into the air by Viktor's wand. The Hufflepuff crashed roughly against the ground and in a moment, both were facing each other, wands in hand.
"Stop zis! Both of you!" Fleur cried out, her own wand in her hand, but they ignored her.
"How dare you!"
"Vhat the hell is wrong vith you," Viktor snarled back.
Cedric's response came in the form of a bright red spell that Viktor managed to block.
And that's how the duel began.
Viktor shot back a blue spell, which Cedric dodged, before conjuring a set of shards and launching them at the Hufflepuff. Cedric transfigured them into bubbles which immediately exploded before the boy launched a white spell at his opponent, only to be blocked by a shield Fleur put into position. However, Cedric answered by sending a powerful banishing charm which sent her flying backwards. This only seemed to enrage Viktor more as he sent a barrage of red, blue, and yellow curses that were all blocked by Cedric's shield, which ended up breaking when an orange curse struck it. As Cedric staggered backwards clumsily, falling on his arse, Viktor conjured seven large ravens and sent them towards him - forcing Cedric to slash his wand various times in the air as soon as he had regained his dexterity, decapitating the birds.
As Harry watched the scene in front of him, his mind was racing. He felt so much conflict within him as his feelings of ire attempted to surge from within him, to control him and force him into participating. He could hear the whispers in his head encouraging him to attack them all, to allow himself to unleash his anger upon them and then race towards the cup himself. It would have been so easy to give in to them, so easy to stop fighting them, to stop restraining himself, it wasn't just easy, it was alluring. He wanted nothing more than to do just that, but for some reason, a part of himself didn't allow it.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of light ambushed the three male champions.
"Zat's enough!"
"I agree!" Viktor growled, standing up and raising his wand towards Fleur.
The Beauxbatons champion wasn't fast enough to avoid the banishing charm that roughly pushed her against the hedge. It wasn't long before Viktor once again focused on Cedric, sending another large amount of spells that Cedric decided to dodge instead of block, however it was an exploding charm right aimed right beside him that sent Cedric flying towards the nearest bush, however the cry of agony that came out from Cedric's mouth wasn't something anyone had expected.
It was this cry that finally snapped Harry out of the trance that had befallen on him.
But it proved to be too late, as Viktor had decided on attacking Harry at that moment, sending a blasting curse towards him that got through the impromptu shield and knocked him down with a concussion. A ringing in his ears played as Harry dizzily watched Viktor perform a complicated wand motion towards Cedric's direction, except when he finally completed it, nothing came out of his wand. No curse, no spell, no conjuration or transfiguration.
And yet, Cedric's screams only got louder, the boy somehow looked in more pain. From his toes, Cedric's body started contorting into unnatural and painful positions, slowly rising to his legs, his torso, his arms, his chest, only making the boy bellow louder and louder. And then it got to his neck, and in a moment the Hufflepuff was panting for air, his eyes widening as he did everything he could to be able to breathe again.
Harry fumbled for his wand, which was lying a few meters away from him, Cedric's face turning paler by the second as he was choked harder. He finally managed to grab it, and ignoring the unsteady feeling, he quickly cast a disarming spell towards Viktor's direction, however he wasn't the only one as Fleur did the same, both spells colliding against Viktor's chest, sending the boy crashing roughly against the ground unconscious.
Harry immediately dropped to the ground and lay on his back, closing his eyes in an effort to fix his lightheadedness. As he did so, Fleur summoned both Cedric's and Viktor's wand to her before heading towards the former. He was still grimacing from the pain, and Fleur found the reason why when she saw the spikes on the bush that were impaling his back.
"'Arry," Fleur called out, removing Cedric from the spikes, causing him to let out a loud yelp.
Harry grunted back.
"Check on Viktor while I fix Cedric up."
He nodded, making another incoherent sound.
After a few moments of remaining there with his eyes closed, Harry forced himself to stand up and made his way towards the Bulgarian, ignoring how off-balance he felt. Standing over him, he gave two soft kicks to the motionless body before kneeling down and examining him, there didn't seem to be many injuries but a few cuts and bruises, nothing seemed broken or really life-threatening.
"He's good," Harry muttered as he let himself fall beside Viktor and leaned against the wall. "Cheers," He told the unconscious Bulgarian before glancing at Fleur. "How is he?"
"'E'll live," Fleur bit out as she cast healing charms all across his back, sealing the wounds. "What ze 'ell were you thinking?"
Cedric didn't answer, his eyes staring emptily at the spot where he was crying only moments ago. "Cho?"
"I tried telling you, she wasn't real," Fleur turned towards Harry. "It's ze maze, it must be affecting you somehow."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Spells don't work well 'ere, ze four-point spell and ze tempus charm being ze prime examples. Also, you and Cedric 'ave both 'ad 'allucinations recently. Zen zere's also… ze feeling, it eez hard to describe, it's almost as if…"
"As if we're inside a giant dementor where all your happiness has been drained, and you're left with nothing but misery and pain?"
"Exactly! But it eez more than that, it's like zere's something 'ere, trying to manipulate us, turn us against each uzzer. It isn't affecting me strongly, but I can feel it, as if it's all around me."
"It isn't strong on you?"
Fleur gave him a tight smile. "I am part Veela, 'Arry. Mind-altering charms are almost useless on us."
"Lucky," Harry grumbled. "I can feel it, but I think I can keep it at bay. It's strong, I'd say stronger than the imperius - or just different. The imperius, it makes you feel happy, as if nothing can go wrong. But this, it's almost like it's the opposite, it fuels your darkest thoughts, encourages you to act upon them."
"Ze question is, what do we do with zem?" Fleur nodded towards the other two champions. "We can't continue like zis, at zis rate, they'll be killing us and each other before we even see ze cup."
"Well…" Harry trailed off before instantly springing up to his feet. "Do you hear that?"
It sounded different from the sound he had heard hours (minutes?) ago, and much more threatening.
Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when Fleur nodded.
The two of them looked around frantically as the sound got closer. Cedric had become responsive again, but he seemed weak on his feet as he gripped his wand tightly, staying as far away from the hedges as possible. It was only when the sound practically felt as if it was resonating in his ears that he saw them.
"Bloody Lockhart," Harry grumbled as a massive pack of doxies flew towards them.
"We 'ave bigger problems than that!" Fleur shrieked, pointing towards the other path, where three flying capes were moving towards them.
"How are cloaks more dangerous than a mass of venomous pests?" Harry exclaimed, launching a series of knock back jinxes at the doxies that all proved to be useless. "Bloody perfect! Why not send a Nundu as well and put me out of my misery!"
"'Arry, we need to go now!" Fleur shouted authoritatively. "Zose cloaks are Lethifolds! So unless you 'appen to know 'ow to cast a Patronus charm, we need to get as far away from them as possible!"
"Well, lucky for you, I can!" Harry moved away from the doxies and turned to face the three Lethifolds. "Just make sure those things don't eat me while I deal with Snape's missing wardrobe!"
The Lethifolds were still plenty far away, so Harry closed his eyes. Conjuring a Patronus was hard in any circumstance, doing so when you were in an environment that bred despair was as hard as it came. Doing his best to ignore all the hopelessness he felt around him, Harry raised his wand, looking back to his most precious memory.
"I can't look at you differently because I've always seen the real you. Behind all your heroic acts, sassy remarks, and general carefree attitude about life, I've always seen the lonely boy that craves the love he never had and would be willing to give anything for it. And I care about you too much to let your baggage push me away from you." She smiled sadly at him, sincerity clear in her eyes. Harry felt the tears that were starting to build in his eyes, but stopped them before they could form. He wouldn't show weakness and cry, especially not in front of Hermione.
"I'll always be there with you, Harry," Hermione continued with the most genuine smile he'd ever seen in his life. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
Harry didn't know what made him do it, but the next thing he knew, he was hugging Hermione. He tried and tried to stop the tears from forming again, but the more he tried, the more they pushed to come out, and before he knew it he was sobbing. Hermione was doing everything to comfort him, her soothing voice became the only thing he focused on.
"It's okay Harry, you're okay. I'm not leaving you. You won't get rid of your annoying, bossy, bookworm friend as long as I have anything to say about it." Hermione said with a chuckle as she finished.
He opened his eyes.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A thin silver light emerged from Harry's wand, barely visible in all the darkness, and covering a small area in front of him.
"No no no no no no, shit!"
Harry tried pushing more of his power into the spell, but it did nothing. He wasn't sure that anything short of a full corporeal Patronus would stop the Lethifolds, and certainly not the measly blanket that he'd produced. Instead of trying to force more power into the spell, Harry cancelled the spell and searched for another one of his happiest memories.
He was brought out from his thoughts when he heard the door to Ron's room open. He looked up from his usual corner on the floor and saw his best friend enter the room with some snacks, a book, and a really concerned look on her face.
Harry noted how her expression shifted when she saw him sitting in the corner into one of pain, not for her, but for him. She tentatively made her way to the corner of the room where he was sitting, knelt down in front of him, and put the snacks beside him. She slowly closed the distance between them with her hand and cupped his face. He closed his eyes at her touch and leaned his head into her hand.
Harry felt tears start forming, but he pushed them down. He didn't realize how much he wanted this, how much he needed this. For the first time in the whole week, he felt at peace, he felt safe, and all the feelings of guilt and grief left him for a second.
After a couple of moments, he felt Hermione's hand leave his face, and he instantly missed the warmth it brought him. Even though he hadn't opened his eyes, he sensed Hermione's face near his own and felt her lips on his forehead, her warm breath tickling him slightly, as they lingered on his skin for a couple of seconds. And once again, Harry felt her warmth flow through him, only to be gone when she pulled back.
He opened his eyes and saw her beautiful chocolate eyes looking at him, and was reminded of the night they saved Buckbeak and Sirius. He felt something inside him stir, and he couldn't help his lips slightly curving up into a smile. She beamed at him, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it.
Hermione proceeded to sit down next to him, grab the book she had brought to the room, and leaned her head to rest on his shoulder while she read. She didn't say anything for there was nothing more to be said, her being there with him was everything he needed, and he loved the feeling of her head on his shoulder.
Harry couldn't remember the last time he felt like this, and couldn't help but look at Hermione fondly while she was reading her book. Driven by a foreign instinct, before he could talk himself out of it, he gave into this new desire, this new temptation and gave her a small kiss on the top of her head, relaxing as she sighed at the contact and gave him a small, shy smile burrowing into him as he placed his head on top of hers and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The Patronus was more powerful and solid than his last one, but it was still incorporeal, and definitely not big enough to cover more than a small area.
"Fuck!" Harry shouted as he once again stopped the spell. "Come on…"
The misery all around him was overpowering, however Harry pushed past it and focused solely on the task ahead. Managing to search his most treasured memories even through all the darkness.
"Why?" He asked in a hoarse whisper. "You think I put my name in the Goblet, everyone thinks so. Why wouldn't you hate me?"
"Because I know you didn't put your name in." She said firmly but gently with such conviction he was overcome with the feelings her belief stirred in him.
No. He wouldn't let himself believe it. He couldn't face her rejection and if he allowed himself to believe her, it would hurt even worse.
"How?" He choked out.
"Because you promised, Harry." She said as if it was obvious.
Harry didn't want to allow himself to believe it. But he looked Hermione in the eyes for the first time. He didn't see a shred of deception, not a shred of anger nor hurt, not even pity. Her eyes were filled with sincerity, determination, understanding, and, dare he imagine, love.
She believes me! His mind shouted. Immediately all the feeling of dread left him and for the first time since he walked into the Great Hall, he felt a warmth come from within. He acted on impulse as he eliminated the distance between them and locked his lips with Hermione's in a gentle kiss.
It took him about two seconds to realise what he was doing, and that Hermione wasn't reciprocating, and he immediately ended the kiss, pulling away from her.
"Hermione I- mph"
His apology was interrupted when Hermione basically pounced on him, knocking both of them to the ground, as she kissed him, and he happily complied and kissed her back.
"Expecto Patronum!" He bellowed.
A bright, silvery circle emerged from his wand, extending slightly beyond just the area that covered his body.
"Come on!" Harry shouted impotently.
The Lethifolds were so close to him, they would reach him in a matter of seconds. This would be the last chance he got against them. Harry gripped his wand tightly as his chosen memory started playing out right in front of his eyes.
"Ready for another dance, Miss Granger?"
Hermione gave him a knowing smile. "What happened to you? I thought you hated dancing?" She asked cheekily.
Harry grabbed both of her hands and started moving them back and forth, first slowly but building a steady pace. Hermione started off smiling, but eventually giggled as he picked up speed.
"Oh, I hate it." He said with a grin as he started moving more freely. "Completely abhor it. It sucks." As he said this, he twirled Hermione with one hand before grabbing the other hand again and pulled her close again, his hand swiftly moving to her waist while she put hers atop his shoulder. "But I would be a bad boyfriend if I didn't give you a few dances." In all of this, the idiotic smile never left his face.
"Oh, yes, a completely terrible, horrible boyfriend indeed," Hermione said sarcastically as she suddenly decided to twirl him around.
The nerve of this girl! Harry thought, and yet, he couldn't help but laugh as she twirled him around.
"It's clear you hate it. You can't stand it." She said sarcastically as they returned to their usual position with his hand on her waist."
Completely." He breathed out as he pulled Hermione as close to him as he was comfortable with all the cameras and reporters around.
With the creatures only meters away, Harry once again raised his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
In a blast of white light that nearly blinded Harry, a solid, silver wall materialized in front of him, covering the whole are in front of him to the top of the hedges just in time for the three Lethifolds to crash against it. An inhumane scream that sent Harry shivers down his neck came from the creatures as they struggled against the magical wall stopping them from their prey.
Harry amplified the power he was putting into the spell as the Lethifolds were beginning to overpower his incorporeal Patronus. He could almost feel them as they slowly broke through the wall, making it harder for him to hold the spell.
The Lethifolds would end up breaking through the Patronus, Harry knew that the three of them together were too overpowering for him. So he was left with no other choice.
Harry forcefully cancelled the spell, creating a blast strong enough to blast the three creatures back by a few feet. Time basically stopped for Harry, he stared at the creatures, who were slowly beginning to drift towards him. His hand shot up automatically as instincts took over, and the first memory that came to his mind consumed him.
"Ron was right, you know? You can be brilliant and scary. I love it! And I love you!"
"Of course I am… wait, what? What did you just say?"
For a moment neither of them spoke until he took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of the girl who had come to mean the world to him.
"I said I love you. I am in love with you, Hermione Jane Granger. You're my home. I have never been happier in my life than I have been in these past few months I've been with you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I am never letting you go."
She flung herself into his arms and the force of her would have knocked him on his arse if he wasn't so used to her enthusiasm by now, and before he could even utter a single word, she had captured his lips in a kiss so intense that he was left gasping when she finally pulled away.
"Harry, I love you too! I love you so much!"
His lips were occupied by hers yet again before he could make a single comment or utter a single word. Not that he was complaining.
She loved him! He knew she did, but to hear the words! Oh, to hear them!
He never thought he'd ever have someone say those three little words to him. How he longed for them, how he yearned for them for years. How he had hoped his aunt would tell him she loved him - the way she constantly told Dudley. The way even Uncle Vernon told Dudley sometimes when he was drunk and deliriously happy and hugging the stuffing out of his cousin. Hell, he had even heard Mrs Figg utter those words to her crazy cats! But never, never in all his life had someone uttered them in his vicinity and aimed them at him, meaning those words for him.
He kissed her back with a passion he didn't even know he possessed for, of course, it would be Hermione who would give this most precious of gifts to him!
When she pulled away, he couldn't and in an echo of his actions from a day from long ago, he kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead, and even the tip of her nose before he planted his lips on hers yet again.
She laughed as she kissed him back, and before he knew it, her joy was contagious, and he was smiling too as he looked at her.
She flung her arms around him and kissed the shell of his ear as she murmured against him.
"You've become my home too, you know? My home away from home, Harry Potter. The home I come back to every year when I leave, the one I have with my parents. And I don't think I've ever been happier either in my life. I love you so very much Harry, I do, with all my heart even if on a broom you're absolutely and completely insane and crazy, and I begin to question my sanity and yours so very thoroughly every time you get on one for that stupid game of yours!"
He laughed as he picked her up and twirled her around even as she shrieked, he put her down and as his arms went around her, his lips were on hers again. Despite her protests and demands from not moments ago, for him to put her down, not to mention the warnings that he better not drop her; she didn't waste a moment of her time as she had her arms thrown over his shoulders as her fingers carded through his hair, and she was pulling him closer and closer as her tongue twined with his.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry roared, placing all his might into the spell.
Faster than he thought possible, a bright, gigantic stag erupted from his wand and immediately found its quarrel. It charged straight at the three Lethifolds that were flying towards him. All three creatures gave an ear-piercing shriek that almost made Harry cover his ears entirely as they turned and hurried away from the Stag.
"'Arry!" He heard Fleur shut.
Not having any other choice than trusting that his Patronus would keep the cloaks at bay, Harry turned and saw as Fleur was barely managing to keep the mass of doxies at bay. She was enchanting the hedges, using them as a way to slow the pack down and kill as much as possible in the process, however it wasn't enough.
Harry's mind moved at lightning speed, trying to come up with a way to stop the mass of carnivorous creatures. He assumed that a multi-range immobilizing spell was out of the question given how Fleur would have probably done it already, and dealing one by one with the creatures would be too slow - especially considering how fast they were at dodging. The only way to attack them would be a large attack that either stuns or kills all of them at once.
His first thought was of fire, but even if he knew how to cast a massive burst of it - something he was sure Viktor would be able to do given his background in elemental magic - it ran the risk of hitting Fleur and the hedges surrounding them, so fire was out of the question. His next thought was water, while a massive burst of it wouldn't kill them, it would probably do some group damage if there was enough force behind it - unfortunately the water-making spell was NEWT level and something he hadn't studied yet.
And so, with no other option, Harry went with the only other option he could think of.
"Ventus Maxima!"
A large blast of wind was discharged from Harry's wand, immediately thrusting everything in its wake away from Harry - even managing to push Fleur slightly. All the doxies were caught on it and were thrown back against the wall opposite him. The creatures were screeching and trying to escape the wind, with the only thing stopping them was the powerful spell pinning them there.
Fleur screamed something in French that Harry couldn't quite catch, and immediately, the plants forming the hedge the doxies were pinned against began attacking them, stabbing the small creatures through the chest.
Squeals of agony filled his ears as the plants slowly but surely killed all the carnivorous creatures until there were none left alive, a massive pile of small corpses left right below the wall.
It was only after there were no more cries of pain that Harry finally let go of the spell and immediately slumped down on the ground, unknowingly emulating Fleur.
"See," Harry panted. "That wasn't so bad."
Fleur answered by fully throwing herself on the ground, with her back to the field.
Head Of The DMLE's Office, Level Two, Ministry of Magic
June 25th, 1995
4:09 a.m.
"Here," Amelia offered her the glass of firewhisky she had just served. "Drink."
Dolores gazed carefully at it before grabbing the glass and drinking most of the alcohol in it.
The floo call with Cornelius, Dumbledore, the Bulgarian Minister, and the French Ambassador had gone on for close to an hour before both parties had decided to postpone any further discussion on the matter.
From what Dolores has managed to gather, Potter and some of the other champions had been abducted during the third task and had been missing for multiple hours before they reappeared. They had mainly conversed about Potter, but the behaviour of both of the international leaders in the room didn't bode well for the well-being of the other champions. She had also inferred that there were also a series of attacks throughout the night, one even at the Triwizard Stadium.
However, besides these assumptions, Dolores didn't really know what had happened as Amelia had been too busy to explain the situation to her fully. The woman in front of her looked incredibly tired, not at all how she seemed only moments ago in the call, and somehow Dolores doubted that either of them would get much respite to allow themselves to feel that way.
It wasn't until after both had finished their glasses that Dolores resumed their discussion.
"Amelia, what has happened? Potter and the other champions being kidnapped, an attack at the Triwizard Stadium, Aurors and civilians dead or filling up beds at St Mungo's! What in Merlin's name went wrong?"
As Amelia gazed at her, Dolores could sense something akin to trepidation in her eyes - an extraneous look in the woman that she had known and worked with for decades. Grabbing the bottle once again, Amelia filled the glass up before drinking it all in one go.
"You need rest, Dolores. There are beds set up on Level Eight, or if you feel more comfortable in your office, I'm sure we could get someone from maintenance to set up some temporary quarters there."
"I'm not going to just sleep and ignore everything that's happening. You said it yourself, the Ministry is in pandemonium, and we need to bring back order."
"You can help me when you wake up, but for now it's better you get a couple of hours of sleep. We're going to need someone who's well rested in the day and lead while I can't."
"I can't lead if I don't even know what happened."
"I'll explain everything once you wake up-"
"Amelia." Dolores cut her off firmly.
Bones stared at her gravely before giving a resigned nod. With a wave of her wand, she summoned the pensieve from its place on the corner of the room and towards the desk.
Pensieves were extremely rare, valuable, and powerful magical artefacts, with only ten of them inside Britain at the moment. The Ministry had three of them, they were held by the Minister for Magic, the Head of the DMLE, and the Head of the Department of Mysteries. St Mungo's owned another two pensieves while there was another one in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. The other four belonged to some of the wealthiest families in the country.
Amelia pulled out the glass vial that Scrimgeour had delivered to them earlier from her robes, eyeing it with consternation before removing the cover. After a moment of hesitation, she dropped the liquid from the vial into the pensieve, the viscous liquid taking a full moon cycle before all of it had been deposited in the artefact.
"We retrieved this memory from one of the survivors of the second attack," Amelia recited, but Dolores wasn't paying attention any more, her focus completely engrossed by the memory below her.
A chill ran down her spine as she glanced at the alluring pensieve, a feeling of unease crawled all throughout her body, Dolores had never been one for superstitions. She based everything she did and everything she was on facts - however, she couldn't help but trust the gut feeling that was engulfing her, pleading for her not to watch whatever was waiting for her inside the memory.
Despite her better judgement, she gripped onto the metal pensieve and began slowly inclining her head towards it, only to be stopped by Amelia's hand on hers.
In all her years knowing the Head of the DMLE, Dolores had never seen Amelia look so conflicted, she was not a woman that kept her emotions on her sleeve, instead being a very calculated and snarky individual who never seemed to think twice before making a disparaging remark. The woman in front of her was a stranger, for Dolores had never witnessed the brown eyes in front of her looking so tired and hollow.
"Dolores, I…" Amelia faltered, not looking her in the eye. "I am so sorry."
Dolores looked at her, her mouth attempting to utter non-existent words as Amelia kept avoiding her gaze.
A moment of silence passed between them before Dolores turned back to the memory below her. Ignoring the pain in her chest, she submerged herself fully into the pensieve, not feeling at all ready for whatever she would come across.
5 Minutes Later…
As soon as Dolores exited the memory, her legs gave out, and she collapsed on her chair. She was vaguely aware of Amelia calling her name concernedly, not managing to focus on it as the wails of agony she kept hearing inside her head deafened her.
She was falling, she knew she was. It was an endless fall. There was nothing to latch onto, nothing to stop it, not even ground below her. She could do nothing but continue falling, descending lower and lower as her heart sped up and her chest constricted. It is impossible to get used to falling, not completely, you could keep falling for eons and that feeling of instability, of helplessness, the encompassing feeling of distress would always be there.
The only silver lining of falling was that sooner or later it would stop.
"Dolores!" Amelia cried out, standing and making her way to her side.
She couldn't feel anything but the sinking feeling inside her. Her mind was unfocused, everything felt louder, as if she was suddenly more aware of her surroundings. But apart from that pit in her stomach, Dolores couldn't feel a single thing. There was nothing, it was as if her very soul had been silenced, unable to feel anything any more.
"Where are you on the case?" Her quiet voice was empty of anything.
Amelia regarded her carefully. "We captured some of them right after the attack, however they-"
"And Black?" Dolores finally turned towards Amelia, the blank look on her face contrasted by her unfocused eyes.
"He's still in the wind. He managed to escape right before the Aurors arrived."
"He won't be for long," She vowed before standing up and walking towards the door, only to stop right before she was about to leave.
"From this moment on, I'll be overseeing the hunt for Sirius Black, Madam Bones. And when we catch him, I'll make sure that bastard gets his soul sucked out by a dementor before his corpse rots in the ground if it's the last thing I do."
Thank you for continuing reading, favouriting, and reviewing!
This was supposed to be the finale of the Third Task arc, however it got way too long, and I decided to split the chapter into two. The next chapter will conclude the Third Task, and will have no flash-forwards - it will be purely focused on the present day events.
I am proud to announce that I have just created my own discord server where we talk about ALAYWM, any other fanfics, movies, TV series, and more. You are welcome to join it by using the following link: discord .gg/ S64anMh7YU