Chapter 27: The Third Task
Hermione was amazed as she walked into the Quidditch pitch. No longer was there the flat empty playing ground, instead, a massive maze stood in the middle, thick hedges going taller than Hagrid. She followed the Delacour family with her parents and made her way to their seating area which was already filled with the students from all three schools. There was an excited buzz in the air to the point where Hermione was sure she could feel it crackle. To her, it was different though, it made the air feel oppressive to her lungs and she was sure the feeling of dread coiling in her stomach was the cause of it. She had just settled into the stands next to her families and the flock when Neville and Luna joined them, the Ravenclaw sporting her special Beauxbatons hat still. She spied Ron shuffling, a few rows over to sit with the rest of his family. She decided to concentrate her attention on her friends.
"Hey Neville, hi Luna," she greeted the two as they sat next to her.
"Hi Hermione," Neville smiled, "excited for the task?"
"Hermione is more worried I would say," Luna said dreamily, "she doesn't want the wrackspurts to distract Fleur."
"Yeah…" Hermione replied, not really understanding what Luna was saying but getting the gist of it, "I hope it all goes well…" she whispered but couldn't really shake the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
"Hmmpf!"
Hermione looked up to see Ginny flopping down on a seat in front of her before the redhead turned around to look at her.
"I can't sit with them, I'll support Fleur and Harry with you, Hermione," Ginny said, happy to be away from her mother and her git of a brother.
Hermione smiled, it felt good to have the support of her friends. She looked around her and could see just how many people were with her. She felt blessed. Her group of friends had grown so much since the start of the year.
"The Third Task is about to start!" Dumbledore's voice boomed over the crowd, "Champions, come forth!"
The group watched as Fleur and Harry came out of the tunnel together, followed by Krum who kept his distance. They were all dressed in long-sleeved jerseys and black pants, sporting their school colours and crest.
"You are to navigate the maze and find the Triwizard Cup. The one to touch the Cup first will be Champion!" The crowd roared at his words, each school chanting the name of their respective champion, "Based on points, Fleur Delacour will enter the maze first, followed by Harry Potter then Victor Krum. Please line up. On the sound of the cannon, step forward into the entrance as per order! If at any point, you feel difficulty in the task and are unable to continue, shoot red sparks into the air and the Professors will come to retrieve you," he said waving at McGonagall, Moody and Hagrid.
Hermione watched nervously as Fleur got ready to step forward. The blonde turned to look for her. Quickly spotting her, the French girl sending a quick wave and flying kiss just before the cannon boomed through the air and she gracefully slipped into the maze, disappearing behind the thick hedge.
It didn't take long for the cannon to be shot for a second time then a third and then, all Champions were within the maze.
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Hermione fidgeted in her seat. It had already been half an hour since all the Champions had entered the maze. She had nearly bitten all her nails off, jumping at every sound, pop and clash coming from inside the maze. They had seen multiple sparks shoot out from the hedge but nothing red yet. She took that as reassurance that Fleur was doing ok. Whoever thought sitting here and looking at hedges while getting anxiety attacks was the height of entertainment needed to get their noggin checked.
She was getting heart palpitations and needed to calm herself. She leaned over to Ginny and whispered, "I'll be right back, I need to go to the bathroom quickly," and with that, she slipped out of the bench and made her way to the girls' bathroom.
The place was thankfully empty and Hermione looked at herself in the dirty mirror. The dread roiling in her stomach could clearly be seen in her eyes and she knew she wouldn't be able to hide it. It's not the time to fall apart, Granger! Get your act together! Opening the tap, she splashed cold water onto her face. Not willing to be far from the maze, from where Fleur was, for too long, she wiped her face quickly and was just about to leave the room when she heard a voice outside as if someone was talking to themselves. Sliding the door open just slightly to peek, she saw a cloaked person, thin silvery wisps around him pointing to him conjuring a Patronus.
"Everything is set-up. Finally, it will be done with this Third Task… The Veela will be taken care of… she won't see it coming. Do not fuck this up, you rat," the voice got lower as the person moved further away until it faded to nothingness, the Patronus swiftly disappearing to relay its message.
Hermione's heart jumped into her throat, the voice was distinctly from a Bulgarian, the accent prominent. It can't be Krum… He is the maze! Hermione quietly exited the room and made her way back to the maze.
She halted her steps as she got closer to the pathway to get back into the stands area. She couldn't go back through there if she wanted to find Fleur. They would spot her and no matter what she said, they wouldn't let her into the maze. Changing her course, she slid under the bleachers and quickly made her way around the maze. She only needed an unattended spot where no Professor was patrolling to try her way in. The opportunity came ten minutes later when she found that the maze extended quite a long way down the pitch. Finding a dark spot, she shuffled closer to the hedge and cast Incendio to try and burn the wall away. When nothing happened, she gritted her teeth and tried again and again, switching to a different spell with no luck.
"God damn it!" Hermione hissed, her heart beating a mile a minute. Time was of the essence here, she needed to find Fleur before it was too late. No sooner had she finished cursing that flapping of wings reached her ears. Looking up into the sky, she scrambled back when she saw a large dark figure descending from the night sky. Had they found her already?! She calmed down when she realised it was Vahriin. The dragon gently landed next to her.
"Vahriin! What are you doing here?!" she whispered, patting the creature's head. Wasn't the dragon supposed to be at Hagrid's? How did it find her?
Vahriin shook her head and turned to the hedge, blowing a heavy stream of dragon fire, different onto the hedge wall. Hermione watched amazed as the hedge burned away, leaving an opening. Dragon fire was known to be powerful magic and it seemed that they didn't account for that in the protection of the maze. She quickly turned to the dragon and whispered a quick 'Thank you!' before jumping through the hole as it started to mend itself.
The maze closed behind her and Hermione took a deep breath, the air around her stuffy and oppressing. She had managed to get in. She took a tentative step into the dark hedge alley when a slithering between leaves reached her ears. Something wrapped around her leg and pulled her tight against the wall. She fought back, keeping a tight grip on her wand. Vines wrapped around her limbs and Hermione realised, despite the darkness, that it was a Devil Snare. Casting a quick Lumos , she breathed in relief as the plant retreated, slithering back into the darkness.
God, I have wasted enough time! I need to find Fleur! She hurried forward, she wasn't going to let anything, plant or creature stop her from finding her mate.
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Fleur threw one last Repulso to the Blast-Ended Screwt as she tapped her singed sleeve to put out the embers. She's had enough experience with those creatures to get through them.
Taking a step into the right corridor, she powered forward, hoping it wasn't a dead end. She had hit two dead ends already. She stopped right in front of a fork, wondering which way to go when a cry made her whip her head in that direction. There, lying on the floor seemed like a sobbing student which hadn't been there seconds ago, clutching at their side. What is a student doing here? It wasn't one of the other Champions for sure. Stepping closer, she could just make out the bushy hair in the darkness and her heart leapt into her mouth. "'Ermione?!" she called out, running to her.
"Fleur!" The brunette cried out, looking up with a tear-stained face. She was clutching her side as she bled profusely.
"What are you doing 'ere?" Fleur hurried her steps towards her mate, dropping on her knees as she pulled the brunette into her lap.
"I…" Hermione whispered, eyes fluttering as she lost energy.
Fleur felt panic rising in her chest as she saw the brunette's eyelids close. She grabbed her girlfriend's arm, hoping to find a pulse when a slight detail caught her eye. Where iz 'er Veela feather imprint? Quickly grabbing her wand, she angrily screamed ' Ridiculus!', f urious at the Boggart for taking Hermione's appearance and at herself for falling for it and wasting precious time. The boggart shifted into a very much naked Hermione in front of her and Fleur shook her head, trying to compose her thoughts and get back into the game. She needed to get back to the task. Lifting herself from the floor, she walked away, venturing deeper into the labyrinth.
She had just rounded the corner when she found herself in a large stone area, with wide granite tiles on the floor leading to a square structure in the centre featuring a majestic fountain, the water sparkling into the moonlight. At four points around the fountain stood proud, miniature statues of Poseidon, pointing his trident outward. She was just about to approach the structure when a twig snapping made her turn her head towards the sound. Out of another path came out Krum, all rigid and face neutral. Fleur felt the hair at the back of her nape rise and she tightened her fist around her wand. "What do you want?" She called out when she saw the man stare blankly at her, not making any effort to continue the task. She had just enough time to erect a shield with a quick Protego when Krum moved fast and sent a flurry of spells at her. Fleur found herself completely worried about the void on the Bulgarian's face. It didn't seem like Krum.
She dodged and threw a quick Expelliarmus at him which he shielded himself from effortlessly. In a monotone voice, she heard him cast another spell at her and threw another Protego up just in time to avoid being hit. She felt the force of it through her shield, leaving a few cracks in the golden arc. Something felt out of place, more powerful… Krum would have never managed to crack her shield.
She sidestepped another spell of his and sent one back at him, but again, he merely flicked his wand and diverted it away, into a hedge, his black beady eyes boring into her blankly, sending a shiver down her spine. She was sure she saw his eyebrow twitch and his eyes get impossibly darker before he started sending more violent spells at her, in quick succession.
"Stop! You don't want to do this!" She shouted, hoping to get through to him as she threw herself to the side to avoid another barrage of spells. She quickly got to her feet and circled around the fountain, trying to keep the fountain structure as a barrier between them. She watched as the spells hit the fountain and chunks of stone went flying and a few of the Poseidon statues flipped, tridents pointing inwards.
Just as Krum's Bombarda hit the last statue next to her, sending it spinning, Fleur heard it stop with a noticeable click and she watched in shock as a hedge parted to show a new path. As soon as the path opened, the ground rumbled and the tile, Krum was standing on, shook and detached, falling away and sending the Bulgarian falling into a pit. The fountain jetted out like a geyser, overflowing More tiles fell through, the water creating waterfalls filling the pits created. Fleur didn't get a chance to check on Krum as the tile she was standing on, started shaking as well. She quickly jumped off but every tile she stepped on would start shaking. Quickly eyeing the opening to the third corridor that the hedge had opened up earlier, she used every ounce of her athletic skills, quickly jumped from tile to tile, jumping over pits, throwing a quick Glacius to the last one to freeze it long enough to propel herself off it into the grassy pathway. She heard it crash behind her after she jumped off, the sound of shattering ice resonating loud in the maze. Safe , she breathed as the grassy ground held underneath her.
Picking herself up and dusting her clothes, she cautiously threw a glance backwards to check if Krum had managed to get out and follow her but instead was met with a dead end. The pathway had closed itself. She ambled forward, careful not to make any noise so as to not attract any more creatures. Five minutes of complete dead silence with no encounters with anything else, she was starting to feel like maybe she was on the wrong side of the maze when she heard movements and turned right, just in time to see Harry throw a spell at an Acromantula.
"'Arry!" She called out.
The boy turned around, wand ready and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing her, "Fleur! Thank god, it's you! For a second, I thought Acromantulas learnt to speak!"
Fleur shivered at the idea of spiders, "Did you get rid of all of them?" she asked, peering around the boy.
Harry nodded hesitantly, "Uh, yeah it would seem so."
A rustling of leaves to their left made them both point their wands at the noise only to be shocked to see a dishevelled Hermione stumble forward, leaves stuck in her hair.
"Hermione!" Harry called out.
Hermione's head snapped up at his voice, "Oh thank God!" she cried out, absolutely relieved to have found them both.
Lowering his wand, Harry got moving to get closer to his best friend when an arm in front of him stopped him, "Fleur?" he asked, surprised that the blonde wasn't rushing to the brunette herself and stopping him on top of that.
"What iz ze proof you are ze real 'Ermione?" asked Fleur eyeing the brunette suspiciously, wand still pointing in case of sudden movement.
Hermione gapped at her girlfriend. What the hell?
Harry turned to look at the blonde in shock, "Fleur! It's Hermione!"
"That's what I thought earlier as well, 'Arry and it turned out to be a Boggart!" Fleur spat out, still angry at herself over zhat encounter, "Show me your right wrist!"
Hermione relaxed when she realised that the blonde had had an encounter with a Boggart in her form. She'd ask her girlfriend about that later. Lifting her right wrist, she pulled up her sleeve, showing the little Veela feather tattoo that was still there.
Harry looked at Hermione's empty wrist perplexed, " there is nothing?"
"It's because you cannot see it, Harry," Hermione explained.
Fleur launched herself forward and gathered her love in her arms, berating herself for being so paranoid she doubted the original! How could she not recognise the original! Some mate she was! "Mon amour! What are you doing 'ere?!" Fleur asked, running her hands over the brunette to make sure she wasn't injured in any way, before starting to pull out the leaves and twigs stuck in her bushy hair.
"I...I heard someone talking about coming for you, Fleur!" Hermione replied, burrowing into the blonde's chest.
Fleur frowned, "we need to get away from 'ere. Krum attacked me when I bumped into 'im," she said, pulling away from the brunette and taking her hand, tugging gently.
"What?!" shouted Harry and Hermione.
"Shhh!" Fleur hushed them, and they realised they were still very much in the maze, "Come on, let's move. Zhis way," she said, pulling her girlfriend with her.
The trio forged forward, stumbling onto a couple of dead ends before they found a hedge tunnel that seemed to have a literal light at the end of it. Fleur pushed the Gryffindors behind her and advanced carefully, wand at the ready to throw a quick Protego if needed. When they emerged from the tunnel, they gasped as they saw the shining silver Triwizard Cup on a podium with the large statue of a five-headed Hydra behind it, its multiple necks twisted and the heads looming over the Cup. The monument was two-storey tall, the light of the Cup flared around the heads giving it an ethereal look.
"We are here," Harry said with astonishment.
Fleur whispered "Oui" while Hermione just nodded her head, mesmerised with the scene.
"Go take the Cup, Fleur!" Harry whispered excitedly.
Fleur frowned, turning to look at him, "Non, we came together."
Harry stared at the blonde incredulously for a few seconds, "Go take it,". Fleur refused so Harry could only shake his head, "Fine, we take it together then."
Fleur nodded and the trio advanced towards the Cup when the floor started rumbling. Fleur quickly pulled them off the cobbled path onto the grassy area wary that the floor would fall again. Her fear was unfounded as the ground stayed put but she watched in shock as the statue reared to life, red eyes blinking at them from the five serpent heads.
One head lashed out at them and the trio jumped out of the way as it crashed onto the ground, dirt and grass flying around. Fleur made sure to keep her hands around Hermione as they put some distance between them and the Hydra. She noticed Harry had jumped the other way.
Harry watched a second head rear up and lash towards him. Quickly lifting his ward, he shouted Bombarda, watching as the stone serpent exploded, with chunks of stone flying everywhere.
"Nonnnn!"
He heard Fleur shout from the other side but couldn't take his eyes off the Hydra as the headless stump creaked and the stone shifted, two heads emerging from it, eyes glowing red.
"Don't cut its head off, it'll only grow more!" Hermione screamed at Harry as the boy exploded another, causing two more to emerge. She rolled to the side to avoid getting flattened by one of the other heads, as it tried to strike her, missing her only by a few inches sending dirt and grass flying everywhere.
"Incendio!" Fleur shouted, aiming at the headless stump that Harry had just created. She missed as the statue moved out of the way. Time was of the essence. Cursing under her breath, she ran towards the beast, ignoring Hermione's shout at her to stop and launched into the air, wings unfurling behind her. Weaving through the serpent necks, she got closer to the stump and cast another Incendio, this time catching the headless stub squarely. The stump caught fire, the flames flaring as it burned bright and she breathed a sigh of relief as no more heads came out.
"Fleur!"
Fleur realised that one serpent head was launching at her and dodged one, then another one, getting closer to the ground but the blonde barely had time to register another serpent head was about to crush her when she was tackled to the side by Hermione.
Fleur scrambled back to her feet, pulling Hermione up with her. Another serpent whipped at them, and the two girls had to separate to avoid being hit.
"We need to cauterise ze wounds after we take zheir heads off so zhey won't grow more!" Fleur shouted at the others, evading more attacks from the beast. "'Ermione, you cast the Incendio!"
"Right!" Hermione replied, backing away from the statue, her wand poised, ready to cast. She gritted her teeth as she saw her girlfriend so close to danger, she couldn't afford a miss.
Bombarda! Fleur and Harry cast in succession, running around to keep the heads' attention focused on them so Hermione could do her part unhindered. They jumped away, tucking and rolling to avoid being crushed as the serpent heads hissed in anger and got more agitated but Hermione was covering them well with quick Incendio every time they blew up the heads. They circled the beast, many times managing to avoid being crushed by bare inches.
"Bombarda!" Fleur exploded the last head, shielding her face with her arm as stone chucks and debris flew around her.
"Incendio!" Hermione watched as the last stump burned and the statue stumbled and fell down, crumbling into pieces before disintegrating into dust.
The trio panted as they waited to see if that was the end of it all.
"What was that?!" Harry asked incredulously as he stared at the pile of stone dust on the floor.
"A Hydra, mythological Greek creature?" replied Hermione looking at the messy-haired boy as if he had grown a second head like the statue. Sometimes she wondered if the boys ever read anything.
Harry shrugged and smiled sheepishly, used to Hermione judging his lack of knowledge.
Hermione shook her head, "I can't believe you sometimes!" She made her way to Fleur and traced her fingers on the cuts on the girl's cheeks worriedly, where the stone shrapnel had managed to cut her.
Fleur smiled at the brunette, taking her hand from her face and pressing a kiss into it. "I'm fine," she answered the question in the brunette's eyes, interlacing their fingers together
"Let's grab the cup before anything more comes out to kill us," Harry suggested.
The girls nodded and approached the podium with him.
"On the count of three, one, two, thre-"
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The trio crashed onto the ground. Harry groaned as he felt his stomach roil. He heard a clang in the distance. Must be the cup, he thought, breathing deeply through his mouth to avoid vomiting.
Hermione, as well, felt her stomach lurching violently and tried to take deep breaths to calm herself, "A Portkey? The cup is a portkey?" She had thankfully been taken along for the ride as she had been holding Fleur's hand. She can't imagine how panicked she would have been if the two had just disappeared from in front of her.
Fleur turned to Hermione as she felt the brunette's unease through their bond. She caressed the brunette's back in an effort to make her feel better while she observed her surroundings hesitantly. It definitely didn't look like Hogwarts nor did it have the atmosphere for winners. The place was dark and sombre, chilling to the bones, covered in a mist that barely allowed any visibility. She spied monuments around her and used her heightened vision to discern the shapes. Are those tombstones? She quickly realised they were in a graveyard and her heart started hammering as her senses started tingling at the perception of danger.
"Expeliarmus!"
Fleur watched Harry's wand fly out of his hand and wasted no time in grabbing Hermione and pulling her to the ground behind one of the marble headstones, keeping Hermione's safe being the first instinct. The rocks on the ground were digging into her knees as she peeked around the edge of the monument, the mist dissipating, to see a scrawny little man make a Grim Reaper statue grab Harry.
"Fleur! We need to help him! Let me go!" Hermione whispered harshly as she struggled against the blonde's tight grip, trying to get loose.
Fleur only tightened her grip and looked at Hermione, "stop moving, zhey will 'ear us!" She whispered back quickly, "now is not the time to lose your senses, 'Ermione. We will rescue him but we are at a disadvantage 'ere," she said looking deeply in scared brown eyes. "I will try to approach and get 'im free. You find the cup, we'll need to get out of here as soon as I free him."
"Ahhhhhh!"
The girls peered again as they heard Harry's screams. The man was cutting into his arm and they watched, Hermione's hand painfully tightening around Fleur's, as the man threw a bundle into a boiling cauldron, before hovering the bloodied knife over it, Harry's blood dripping into the mixture.
"It's Peter Pettigrew!" Hermione whispered, recognising the features of the scrawny man. It made her flashback to her Third Year at Hogwarts. Dread filled her entire being. This could mean only one thing!
Harry screamed as the cauldron bubbled and boiled, catching fire. It felt like liquid fire was rushing through his veins and his scar was burning on his forehead. He watched in horror as a shape emerged from the cauldron, growing into a full-grown humanoid shape, robes wrapping around it as it stepped onto the ground. Pettigrew fell to knees in front of it, head bowed as he shakily extended his hand to proffer a wand.
"Voldemort!" Hermione hissed in shock. She had never seen the man before but she was sure it was him.
Fleur's head snapped at her mate and she dreadfully realised that the brunette was in no shape or form, joking. "Change of plans. Free 'Arry while I keep zhem occupied!" she whispered urgently as she let go of Hermione and rolled herself into the open.
"No! Fleur!" Hermione tried to pull the blonde back but she was too slow, hands only grasping wet grass. She watched as the blonde sent a Petrificus Totalus towards Pettigrew, catching the man unaware, sending him to the ground like a rock. Voldemort turned his head towards her girlfriend and they started trading spells. Despite everything in her telling her to go join and protect her girlfriend, she scrambled from her hiding spot, keeping behind the various headstones in the graveyard as she made her way to Harry.
"What do we have here? A Veela," Voldemort sneered.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Fleur cast, watching as the dark lord effortlessly flicked her spell away.
"Interesting…" Voldemort grinned, "What about this? Crucio! " he flicked his wand at the Veela.
Fleur was thankful to be a Veela as it was her creature abilities that made her fast enough to dodge the spell. She quickly countered with a Bombarda, which Voldemort lazily flicked away again, diverting it and exploding one of the tombstones next to Harry. Fleur gritted her teeth as she spied Hermione that had scrambled away to avoid being hit. It was too close of a call.
"Is that all you have, Veela? I guess I shouldn't expect much from a creature."
Hermione finally reached Harry and freed him silently as Voldemort started throwing insults at Fleur. "Accio Harry's wand," she whispered, catching the zooming wand and handing it to the boy, "We need to get together and accio the cup," she instructed him as she helped him up.
Voldemort realised that his captive had been released and roared, "Harry Potter!" He threw a spell at Harry, narrowly missing his head as he ducked.
"Run!" Hermione screamed, grabbing him as she dashed away towards Fleur.
Fleur furiously threw every sort of spells at Voldermort as she saw him attack the others. Her priority was her mate. She gritted her teeth as none of her spells landed. She erected a shield as Harry and Hermione weaved through the tombstones, running towards her.
"Accio the cup, Harry!" Hermione called out as she ran harder than she had ever done. Fleur was so close. She reached out with her hand.
"Accio Triwizard Cup!"
"Nooo! Avada Kedavra!" A flash of green light illuminated the area.
Fleur gathered Hermione and Harry in her arms and pivoted so she was acting as a barrier between Voldemort and them just as the Triziward cup zoomed through the air into Harry's hand.
With a warp, they were gone.
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The group landed heavily onto the ground, knocking their breaths out of their lungs. The roar of cheers and clapping around them made them realise that they were back to Hogwarts, back to the Quidditch pitch.
"We are back," Harry said in shock. He spied Dumbledore and rushed towards him, "Professor! Voldemort is back!" He wasted no time in starting to explain everything. The situation was dire.
Hermione managed to catch her breath and felt Fleur's weight on her. The landing had been really rough. "Fleur, get off for a second," she urged, trying to push the blonde off her. The blonde didn't budge though. Frowning, she called out, "Fleur?" Had the landing knocked the blonde unconscious? Her heart started hammering in her chest when she realised she couldn't feel the blonde through their bond. "Fleur? Fleur, wake up!" She carefully rolled the blonde off her and hovered over her. The Veela was completely still, silvery blonde hair splayed over the grass and eyes closed. "Fleur!" Hermione started hyperventilating when she realised that the blonde wasn't breathing, "No, no, NO! Fleur!" she screamed, feeling like someone had reached into her chest, grasped her heart and was trying to wrench it out. Tears rolling down her cheeks as she shook the blonde desperately. Her chest burned as agony raced through her veins like acid. She screamed harder, ears ringing. Fleur's body stayed limp as she fisted her hands into the blonde's shirt tighter and shook her with all her might, desperate for a response, a movement, anything. Pressing her ear against the blonde's chest, she keened in despair when she heard nothing… no heartbeat, "FLEUR!"
RESPONSE TO REVIEWERS:
Guest: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this one too!
pclauink: The faster we get out of Hogwarts and don't have to deal with the Weasleys, the better! As for Krum, he fell in a hole xD
Arial Wolf: Thanks! Happy that you enjoyed it, despite Ron being an ass! Hope you enjoy this one too!
E Elliot: You were dreading the Third Task :3 How did you find it? :3 I wanna know your thoughts!
NatashaKirsty: First of all, I have to say thank you for following this story for so long! I really appreciate it! :* There are a lot of things I have planned for this story, despite it being close to an end so unsure how I will approach that yet but I hope you keep an eye out for things. I am still posting this story here on FF because I started it here but I am predominately on AO3 these days. I am currently posting on both sites but unsure how long I will keep it like that, so if you don't see me here, check the other site :)
wkgreen: No worries, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter too! Let me know your thoughts :*