The Difference One Choice Makes
20th June 1995
It was close to six o'clock in the evening when Edward followed James towards the entrance to the large circular arena, which now backed onto a large maze stretching for over a mile all around, with bushes over forty feet high making it next to impossible for anyone to see over the top of the hedges to try and get a glimpse of what was going on in the maze.
For this task, he was dressed in green and silver floor-length robes bearing the Slytherin and Hogwarts crests, identical to the robes he wore in the first task back in November.
As James led him through the entrance to raucous cheers and applause Edward felt a great sense of excitement knowing that he was only one task away from winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament for himself and Hogwarts. The cheers and applause were coming from the students sitting in the circular stands while the school orchestra, conducted by Professor Flitwick providing the perfect atmospheric noise to the cheers.
He raised his wand arm as chants of "EDWARD!" and "POTTER!" erupted from the stands before the cheers for Krum could be heard as he followed Edward into the arena alongside Karkaroff.
Looking around the stands, Edward saw Harry and Euphemia sat with Jennifer and Eric, Lacey and John Lupin and some of their friends, while Narcissa, Sirius and Amelia, all three of whom looking immensely proud of him were sat with some of the Hogwarts staff who were not patrolling the boundaries of the maze.
Professor's Mcgonagall, Sprout, Moody and Flitwick, the latter of whom had ceased conducting the orchestra leaving them to play on their own, walked over to the three Champions with red stars on their robes along with Hagrid.
"We're going to be patrolling the outside of the maze" said Professor Sprout.
"If any of you get into difficulty and wish to be rescued… just send up some red sparks with your wand and one of us will come and get you… understood?" said Professor Mcgonagall.
The three Champions nodded their heads in understanding before the teachers went off in different directions to patrol the edge of the maze.
"This way please" said Ludo Bagman, guiding the Champions over to where Dumbledore was waiting patiently for them in the centre of the arena.
James gave Edward a hug and said good luck to him before walking away from him to join Narcissa, Sirius and Amelia in the stands, barely looking at Dumbledore as he passed him, still feeling extremely angry at his old headmaster and friend for using his daughter as a hostage during the second task without his permission or prior knowledge.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please… the third and final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament is about to begin!" said Ludo Bagman in a magically enhanced voice, with deafening cheers erupting as he finished.
He waited for the cheers to die down before clearing his throat.
"Tied in first place on eighty-five points each… are Mr Edward Potter of Hogwarts School and Mr Viktor Krum of Durmstrang who will be the first to enter the maze together… followed by Miss Fleur Delacour in second place on seventy-eight points… Champions, prepare yourselves!" said Ludo Bagman, with each Champion receiving even more cheers from their respective schools.
As Ludo Bagman walked away from the Champions, Dumbledore beckoned them over to him where they ended up in a huddle.
"In the maze… you'll find no dragons or creatures of the deep, instead you'll come across things even more challenging, you see people change in the maze, find the cup if you can… but be very careful, you could just lose yourselves along the way" said Dumbledore in a quiet but serious tone of voice.
With that, he walked away from them, walking towards the stands to take his seat for the start of the task.
In a show of true sportsmanship and international magical cooperation, the three Champions wished each other good luck before Edward and Krum made their way over to the two entrances into the maze while Fleur would enter the maze five minutes later.
As Edward walked through the entrance into the maze, he glanced behind him watching the hedges close the entrance behind him, bathing the path he was on in an eerie moonlit glow.
Taking his wand out and silently activating a Lumos Charm, Edward took great care as he walked along the path, remaining alert so he could spot any potential dangers that he might find in the maze.
Forty minutes later…
Having fought his way through boggarts, acromantulas, blast-ended skrewts, sphinxes and other magical creatures as well as gravity-defying sections where he ended up walking upside down as well as dead ends, Edward finally saw that his hard work had paid off as he finally laid eyes on the glowing Tri-Wizard Cup around a hundred feet away from him.
With adrenaline and excitement pumping through his veins, Edward broke off into a sprint, charging towards the Tri-Wizard Cup, eager to reach it first and win the famous competition for Hogwarts.
Throughout the last forty minutes, Edward had come across his fellow champions more than a few times, each time ending with the respective champions going their separate ways after a few minutes each time.
As he rapidly approached the Tri-Wizard Cup, he was happy to see that his fellow champions were nowhere in sight and he grasped one handle of the cup, feeling a familiar tug behind his navel.
Before he knew it, he slammed into the ground, finding himself back in the arena where he started with the stands exploding into cheers with several students coming down from the stands to congratulate him in person.
"AND EDWARD POTTER CONQUERS THE MAZE AND WINS THE TRI-WIZARD TOURNAMENT!" shouted Ludo Bagman.
As he got back to his feet, he found himself being swept into a hug by Narcissa who had the proudest look imaginable on her face.
"POTTER, POTTER!" rang out around the stadium as a photographer for the Daily Prophet pushed his way through the crowd of students to get photos of the winning Tri-Wizard Champion for the Daily Prophet.
As the photos were about to be taken, Narcissa and James pulled Harry and Euphemia towards them, so the younger Potters could join their parents and older brother in the photographs.
Once the photographs were taken and Edward had shaken hands with students, staff and Ministry Officials, Professor's Moody and Mcgonagall returned with the slightly disappointed looking Fleur and Krum who managed to put aside their disappointment at losing to congratulate Edward on his victory.
The post-task celebrations continued for another half an hour before all of the students left the arena to make their way back up to the castle to continue their celebrations with what Dumbledore described as the grandest feast in recent Hogwarts history.
22nd June 1995
As he led her out into the courtyard, Edward heard his girlfriend sigh as she held onto his arm and he turned to face her.
"What's wrong?" said Edward.
Myranda frowned and pulled him over to one of the empty benches in the courtyard, feeling relieved that it was mostly empty, making what she was about to do feel a lot easier.
"We have to talk… it's important" said Myranda flatly, not looking him in the eye.
Feeling slightly uneasy about her demeanour, Edward simply placed his hand on top of hers.
"Okay… what about?" said Edward warily.
Myranda removed her hand from underneath his and moved away from him slightly.
"I can't do this anymore… be with you anymore" said Myranda regretfully.
Edward felt stunned at what he was hearing.
"Why?" said Edward as feelings of hurt started to creep into his words.
Myranda did not turn to look at him or speak, feeling unimaginable regret and guilt over what she was being made to do.
"Tell me why this isn't working for you all of the sudden" said Edward in a slightly forceful tone.
Myranda straightened up and composed herself before turning slightly to face him once again.
"I've been promised to Robert Runcorn, my Father has signed the contract so we are going to be getting married, that's why I can't be with you anymore" said Myranda flatly.
She glanced at his eyes, seeing the hurt and what appeared to be growing resentment in them.
"How long?" said Edward with a hint of iciness in his voice.
"We'll be getting married after he finishes school in two years" said Myranda flatly.
Edward shook his head.
"No… how long have you known about this?" said Edward icily.
Myranda frowned, feeling her guilt worsen with each passing second.
"Since January" said Myranda regretfully.
As she expected, he was not too pleased to hear that answer.
"And you never thought to tell me then, why?" said Edward icily with hurt in his voice.
"I didn't want to end things between us" said Myranda.
Edward frowned and turned away from her.
She reached out to take his hand but he pushed it away.
"I could've spoken to your Father, and persuaded him to let us be together" said Edward.
Myranda wiped a single tear from her eye.
"He would have refused whatever offer you made in a heartbeat, he never liked the fact that we were together from the start" said Myranda sadly.
Edward let out a harsh laugh.
"Let me guess, he called me a blood traitor from a family that has possible muggle roots" said Edward harshly.
"I didn't want this Edward I swear" said Myranda in a slightly pleading voice.
"I just wish you had told me sooner… at least then we could have ended things better than this" said Edward flatly.
Myranda moved closer to him grasping his hands tightly.
"I just wanted to be with you without this hanging over my head, I wanted to be yours just for that little bit longer… I love you Eddy" said Myranda sadly.
Edward sighed and moved away from her, tearing his hands from her grasp.
"And I loved you Randa… but perhaps this is where we should leave it" said Edward.
As he stood up, Myranda frowned at the choice of his words.
Loved, not love, he had told her that the love he felt for her was now in the past and she could not bring herself to blame him for his reaction or what he said to her.
Edward glanced at her, with a small feeling of guilt nagging away at him for how he reacted but the fact that she deliberately (even with slightly understandable intentions) withheld her betrothal from him outweighed the guilt he was feeling.
Though deep down, he knew that they were not meant to spend the rest of their lives together, given that they were two completely different people destined for different lives entirely, he was destined for success at whatever job he applied himself to while she was meant to mingle with and entertain the people of High Society like she always wanted to. Even so, that did not make it any easier to accept their breakup.
Eventually, after several seconds of quietness between the two of them, Edward just walked away from her without another word.
25th June 1995
"Hermione… you and Krum?" said Neville nervously as the two were stood alone in the deserted courtyard corridor after having watched the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students leave the courtyard, ready to go back to their respective schools and then home for the summer.
Hermione sighed.
"We're just friends Neville… I'm not going out with him" said Hermione flatly.
"But… he gave you that parchment?" said Neville warily, referring to the scrap of parchment Krum had given to Hermione when he had come over to say goodbye to her ten minutes ago.
Hermione moved closer to him.
"He just asked me to write to him this summer" said Hermione in a serious tone of voice.
Neville breathed an inward sigh of relief.
"What do you want to say to me Neville?" said Hermione.
Neville frowned and turned away from her.
"When I saw you two at the ball, it made me realise that I didn't have a chance compared to him… how could I be better than an older, International Quidditch Star, better than a Tri-Wizard Champion… I'm just plain, ordinary Neville Longbottom… what chance did I have against him?" said Neville regretfully.
Hermione took his hand and moved in front of him.
"You're one of my closest friends Neville… you might be ordinary Neville Longbottom, but you mean more to me than Viktor Krum… he's just a friend I made by chance" said Hermione softly squeezing his hand.
"I saw how happy you were at the ball… how happy he made you... because he was brave enough to ask you first" said Neville.
"Neville, nothing happened after that night I swear… it was just the two of us enjoying the ball, yes he kissed me and walked me back to Gryffindor Tower but I'm not going out with him, why can't you just accept that he and I are just friends?" said Hermione in shock and hurt at his words.
Neville frowned and looked down at his feet feeling angry at himself for how he had acted with the girl he really wanted to go out with.
"I'm sorry Hermione… you deserve better than this, better than me?" said Neville sadly.
Hermione sighed.
"Don't shut me out Neville, please talk to me" said Hermione.
Neville raised his head to look down at her.
"I want us to be more than friends Hermione, I asked you to the ball because I've liked you as more than a friend since the end of third year… I was hoping that by going to the ball with you, I could tell you how I really felt about you… how I still feel about you" said Neville finally overcoming his nerves and telling her the truth.
Hermione felt shock coursing through her veins as her cheeks turned pink.
Janet, Rose, Eileen, Jennifer.
All four of them told her that Neville liked her as more than a friend and time after time, she just insisted that he only saw her as a friend and nothing more. How could she, the smartest witch in her year, be so oblivious to the fact that Neville did indeed want to be more than friends with her.
"Who says we can't be more than friends?" said Hermione softly.
Neville locked eyes with her, his cheeks turning the same shade of pink as hers.
He slowly leaned down towards her face with Hermione tilting her head upwards to meet him as their lips pressed together.
After a few seconds, the two separated but kept their eyes locked on each other.
Hermione smiled and placed her hands on his shoulders, standing up on her tiptoes slightly.
"You don't have to compare yourself to him Neville… you're your own person, and I like you just the way you are" said Hermione softly before she kissed him again.
Neville brought his arms up to her hips as he kissed the only girl he ever wanted to be in this position with.
Once their kiss was broken, Hermione pulled him over to one of the benches where they sat down holding each other's hands with a nervous smile on her face.
Hermione squeezed his hands, feeling both nervous and excited about having her first boyfriend.
"I never thought… that this school year would end with the two of us taking our friendship further, but I'm glad to go home for the summer having been brave enough to take that step" said Hermione softly.
Neville smiled and moved closer to her.
"I'm just glad it turned out the way it did" said Neville.
Hermione leaned into his side and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Me too" said Hermione softly.
Neville let go of one of her hands and wrapped his arm around her shoulder holding her into him.
"You don't give yourself enough credit… you're very talented in your own right, I've always thought that of you" said Hermione softly as she squeezed his hand tightly
"I'm not as smart as you though" said Neville softly, lacing his fingers through hers.
Hermione smiled and allowed her head to rest leisurely against his shoulder, basking in the delight she felt at being so close to Neville.
26th June 1995
"Leaving without saying goodbye?" Harry heard a familiar voice call out to him as he walked towards the staircase pulling his packed trunk and Hedwig's empty cage with him.
He turned to see Katie stood resting against the wall with her arms folded and a teasing smirk on her face.
With the Hogwarts Express due to leave in just over an hour, Harry was eager to get down to the Great Hall for a late breakfast before he was due to go home for the summer.
Owing to Katie having to spend so much of her time studying for her Owl's in the last few months, Harry had seldom been able to spend time with her bar one hour of flying around the Quidditch pitch back in March.
"Hey" said Harry walking towards her, causing her to push herself away from the wall to approach him.
"I was hoping that you would want to say a proper goodbye" said Katie with a mock-serious voice, trying to tease him.
Harry gulped and let go of his trunk, placing Hedwig's cage on the floor before placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket in a slightly nervous posture.
"I wanted to… but I couldn't find you" said Harry warily.
Katie chuckled and moved closer to him.
"Well you found me" said Katie teasingly.
"Yeah… I guess I did" said Harry warily.
Katie placed her hands on her hips, waiting for him to say goodbye.
Harry swallowed before composing himself.
"I guess this is goodbye then… I hope you have a good summer" said Harry kindly.
Katie smiled and pulled him into a hug.
"You too Harry, it's been nice to spend some time together outside of Quidditch this year" said Katie softly.
Harry slowly returned her hug for several seconds before they finally let go of each other.
"Can I… can I write to you, during the summer holidays?" said Harry.
Katie suddenly reached into her pocket, taking something out before placing it in the palm of his hand with a small smile on her face.
"Lucky for you, one of us planned ahead… here's my address" said Katie softly.
Harry looked down at the parchment scrap before putting it in his pocket.
"But if you want to send me an owl after next Friday then I won't be able to reply for a bit, Angie and Lis have invited me to travel around Europe with them for three weeks, so I won't get any of the letters until I get back" said Katie softly.
"That sounds great… I hope you have a good time" said Harry.
"I'll send you a present for your birthday" said Katie softly.
"You don't have too" said Harry kindly.
"Nonsense Harry, I want to… besides it might be something you like" said Katie.
"I'm sure I'll like whatever you get me… and my address is Potter Manor" said Harry softly, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
Katie smiled and pulled him into another hug.
"Goodbye Harry" said Katie softly, giving his hand a squeeze in return.
"Goodbye" said Harry softly.
The two eventually let go of each other and went their separate ways a few seconds later, with Harry heading down to the Great Hall while Katie went towards Gryffindor Tower to get her own trunk so she could make her own way down to the Hogwarts Express.
Harry glanced back at her as he watched her leave, feeling slightly more at ease with himself that perhaps he and Katie were growing closer to each other, perhaps leading to a romantic relationship further down the line.
He was pleased to see her glance back at him in return with a teasing smirk on her face, even if it was only for a second or two before she carried on walking.
As he walked down the staircase, Harry finally admitted to himself that, if he wanted to take their friendship to the next level. Then he ought to relax around her, telling himself that it would be easier for him to ask her out properly if he was more at ease in her presence.
Later that afternoon…
As Cassiopeia said goodbye to the Potter's on the bustling Platform Nine and Three Quarters, she spotted Nymphadora dressed in her Auror uniform, moving away from the entrance leading back to Kings Cross station.
She made her way over to her older bubblegum-pink haired cousin, feeling excited to see her as well as being excited to be living with her.
As the two cousins intercepted each other with a hug.
"You look great Cassie" said Dora excited to see her cousin again.
The two let go of each other after a few moments.
"Aunt Cissy and Uncle James are back there… aren't you going to go and say hi?" said Cassiopeia, gesturing her head up the platform where the Potter's were probably making their way to one of the floo points or the apparation point outside of Kings Cross station.
Dora glanced up the platform for a moment before shaking her head.
"Nah… Mum's invited them over for dinner tomorrow… and you as well, I'll see them then" said Dora, shrinking Cassiopeia's trunk before placing it in her pocket.
She placed her arm around Cassiopeia's shoulders.
"Come on… we'll apparate from outside the station" said Dora, leading her towards the platform entrance joining the large crowd of students and families.
Forty minutes later…
As Cassiopeia finished putting her clothes in the large wardrobe and chest of drawers in her new bedroom at Dora's flat, she looked around the room with a soft smile on her face, appreciating how warm and homely it felt to be here.
A feeling she had never once felt in all of her years at Malfoy Manor.
The room itself was fairly small which was to be expected in a flat, with her double bed taking up most of the room as did the large wardrobe and chest of drawers to the side of the room with a small window overlooking the busy street outside.
Suddenly, she heard a gentle knock at her bedroom door and turned to see Dora, now dressed in a pair of light blue sweatpants and a matching tank top looking at her holding a bottle of wine in one hand as she rested against the door frame.
"Care to join me?" said Dora with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Cassiopeia closed her trunk, pushing it under the bed before walking over to the door where she got a good look at the wine bottle.
"I nicked it from Druella's… not like she'd notice a few missing bottles, she's got dozens of them" said Dora cheekily.
For once Cassiopeia did not sigh or make a comment at her cousin choosing to refer to their grandmother either by her first name or title, knowing of the non-existent relationship between the two.
Moving into the living room which was the biggest room in the flat, complete with a muggle television, large settee, matching chairs, coffee table, record player and a single bookshelf, Cassiopeia sat down on the settee as Dora went to get some wine glasses for them.
Also looking around the flat, she saw a few photos of Dora from all ages of her life, with her friends and her family featuring in most of them.
"Old Druella does have good taste" said Dora with approval in her voice, as she handed one of the wine glasses containing a dark red vintage to Cassiopeia.
She sat down on the settee, pulling her legs up looking at Cassiopeia with a small smile on her face, loving the fact that her cousin had agreed to come and live with her.
Cassiopeia took a sip of her wine, really enjoying the taste and agreeing with Dora that their grandmother did indeed have good taste in wine.
As the two sipped their wine, Dora reached out and took Cassiopeia's free hand.
"How are you holding up?" said Dora softly.
Cassiopeia sighed and sipped her wine.
"Better now… I just told myself that I shouldn't hate either of my parents for what they had done and just remember the good times I had with them" said Cassiopeia with a slightly strained voice, remembering the times she had with her parents.
Dora squeezed her hand.
"And your brothers?" said Dora testily.
Cassiopeia frowned.
"I doubt I'll be hearing much from them, let alone seeing them any time soon… they never really liked me from the start" said Cassiopeia sadly.
Not wishing to feel saddened and depressed at this time, Cassiopeia chose to change the subject.
"So… who's this new boyfriend of yours?" said Cassiopeia softly.
Dora turned a slight shade of pink bordering on red, telling Cassiopeia that it must be a serious relationship for her cousin.
"You'll meet him tomorrow when we have dinner with my parents… and that's all I'm going to say" said Dora with a hint of nervousness in her voice, making her take a big gulp of wine to steady those nerves.
"Is it serious?" said Cassiopeia testily.
The wicked smirk on Dora's face just confirmed that this was indeed a serious relationship.
Cassiopeia had been surprised to find out the next night, that Dora's new boyfriend was in fact Bill Weasley.
Dora had only known him a little bit when she was attending Hogwarts, being in the same year as his younger brother Charlie, having gotten to know the eldest Weasley child quite well after he had gotten a desk job at Gringotts and she had quite literally bumped into him one day in Diagon Alley.
The two would meet up a few times a week since that day, leading them into what was obviously a serious relationship.