Chapter 14
- The Final Task -
"Professor Lupin!" Harry said with a grin.
"Please, Harry. I'm not your professor anymore, you can call me Remus."
"Teddy told me you'd be coming."
Remus smiled warmly before looking around at the large crowds of students. "You wouldn't happen to have seen Teddy? We'd planned to meet by the entrance, but I don't see him."
All around them stands had been set up for the students, parents and guests. The stands surrounded the entrance of a giant maze that made Harry feel sick to his stomach. Torches lit up the area
"No, I haven't see him since last night and we didn't see him today either." Ron said.
"I hope he's okay, after Mr Crouch's body was found in the Dark Forest..." Hermione fiddled with a strand of her hair, staring into the wave of students taking their seats excitedly. A band had begun to play, blaring the Hogwart's anthem. Men and women with cameras were snapping pictures left and right.
Mr Weasley and Amos Diggory were waving at them from the stands in a jolly fashion.
"I'm sure he's fine, just late." Ron reassured.
"Well, I'd better go and sit down. Hopefully I'll spot him soon." He nodded and went to join the two fathers who greeted him warmly. A few students and their parents saw the werewolf and slid as far away as they could in the crowded space.
Ron and Hermione wished him luck and joined the other Hogwart's students in the stands. Harry and the other champions stood by the four entrances into the maze, each one looking just as scared as the next. "Good luck, Harry."
"Thanks Cedric. You too."
The two boys shook hands and Harry glanced out at the stands. Still no sign of Teddy. Had he bailed on him?
"Welcome, everyone!" Dumbledore's voice bellowed over the chatting, chanting and whistling of the crowd. "Welcome to the third and final task!"
The crowd screamed in excitement.
Teddy woke up to a loud roar. He jumped up, wincing as his knees which were bloody and covered in dirt. His hands, face and clothes were also covered in thick dirt. His shirt was ripped by his shoulder and could feel something warm and sticky on the side of his face. He put his finger to the sticky substance and in panic, wiped his blood off on his pants.
He remembered the events of that'd just happened, or was it last night? How long had he been unconscious?
It was impossible to tell. It was still night time, yet there were no clouds in the sky and through the trees he could see light. He heard the same roar again and released it was the cheers of a crowd. The Tri-Wizard Tournament!
He broke out into a run, his muscles aching from lying on the forest ground.
"Harry! Harry! Cedric! Cedric! Krum! Krum! Delacour! Delacour!"
The chanting grew louder and louder.
"Woah!" Teddy yelled coming to a sharp stop. He was standing on the top of a step hill. Below him he saw a sea of people sitting around a huge maze that appeared to go on for miles. By the front of the maze stood the four champions and... Moody!
He had to tell them what he had seen. Did they even know that Barty Crouch was dead?
"Harry! Harry!" He screamed, his voice cracking. "Hermione! Ron! Dad! Up here!"
But it was useless. He could barely hear himself over the crowd.
"Welcome everyone! Welcome to the third and final task!" Dumbledore said from among the crowd below.
"Dumbledore! Dumbledore!" They still couldn't hear him. His green eyes stared down the hill. It was steep, yet climbable. It would take too long to go around. He had no choice.
"Earlier today Professor Moody placed the Tri-Wizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now as Mr Diggory..." The crowd cheered on hearing his name. "And Mr Potter tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze. Followed by Mr Krum and Ms Delacour. The first person to touch the cup will be the winner."
Teddy picked up the pace, driving the heel of his foot into the hillside. His knees felt like they were on fire. But the bottom of the hill was coming closer and closer.
"I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter, if at any point should a contestant wishes to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Contestants, gather round."
"No! No! No! No!" He yelled, jumping over the last part of the hill and landing on his stomach. Everything hurt but he swallowed down the pain and ran towards the maze. He could no longer see the champions over the crowded stands but he just had to keep moving.
Remus watched as Harry and the other three champions disappeared into the maze. He looked around the crowd once more, spotting Hermione and Ron standing close to the front. But Teddy still wasn't with them.
Where was he. The two had promised to meet before the task began and surely Teddy would want to comfort his friend. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
"Dad!"
The cry was faint but Remus recognised his son's voice. His head flicked in its direction. Teddy was walking out from the forest towards the crowd who had yet to notice him.
"Teddy!" Remus waved giving a bright smile and turning to Mr Weasley and Amos. "I'll be right back." He got up and slid away from the crowd. "I was beginning to worry, Teddy. You just missed Harry going into the..." His voice gave out as he saw his son properly.
Remus had felt pain before, not just physical pain but emotional pain. He'd felt it in moments like when Carla had passed away beside him, when Teddy had been given away and the disappointed look on his face when he told him he couldn't yet take care of him like a normal father should.
But nothing compared the pain he felt when he saw his son bleeding, bruised and limping towards him.
"Teddy!"
A large gash bled down the the boys face, his shirt was ripped, his knees were bleeding and he looked terrified. "Dad." The sound of his weak voice was like a dagger to the heart as he held the shaking boy gently in his arms. "Teddy, what happened?"
"Mr Crouch... he's dead." He announced.
Remus had already read about it in the Daily Prophet, but Teddy seemed to think it was new news. "Teddy, I know... where- where you there?" He asked in horror as Teddy nodded. "We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey-"
"No!" He croaked. "No, I have to tell you... Moody..."
"Teddy, you're hurt."
Teddy tripped but caught himself. "I have to tell you..."
"Teddy, whatever it is it can wait, you need medical attention- you're as cold as ice."
"Where is he? Moody, where is he?" He asked weakly. "I have to... I have to..."
He stumbled and Remus caught him quickly.
"Merlin's beard! What's happened?" Madam Pomfrey came trotting towards them, wand in hand.
"I don't know, he just came here like this. He keeps asking for Mad-Eye." Remus didn't leave his son's side as she inspected him.
"Looks like he's been out cold for hours on end, cut's infected on the head and knees, looks quite shaken..." she muttered to herself. "Poor thing must've been in the Dark Forest." She flicked her wand and a bag of ice formed in her hand which she placed on the boy's head. "He'll be fine, he just needs some rest and disinfectant."
"What were you doing in the Dark Forest, Teddy?"
"I saw... I saw..." He panted before blinking his eyes, seeming to regain some of his strength as he tried to sit up. "You have to find Moody... he isn't Moody."
Madam Pomfrey looked at the gash along his hairline again and put his hand on his shoulder to lightly push him back down. "He's in shock. Mr Lupin you should try to move as little as possible-"
"I'm not in shock!" He whacked her hand away, ignoring the numb feeling in his cold fingers. "He's in danger! The Dark Lord! He's planned something... you have to find Moody."
"Who's in danger, Teddy?" Remus asked, but his words were drowned out by the excited cheers of the students. The band had begun to play again. They had returned! They were alright!
Teddy could feel the weight lift from his chest as he used both hands to push himself up, despite Madam Pomfrey's advice. The joy that they were safe seemed to give him energy. Soon he was limping through the crowd.
Harry and Cedric were lying in front of the maze. In the crowd Mr Weasley and Amos Diggory were hugging each other happily.
"Teddy! There you are... you look awful!" Hermione said.
"I'm fine... they're fine..." He breathed.
But then there was a scream. Fleur was wailing, looking at Cedric who had yet to stand up. Teddy took a few steps forward to get a better look. Cedric's face was the same as Barty Crouch's had been.
Cold. Scared. Dead.