June 24th was upon them in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Prepared or not, this was it. As much as they hated to do it, they had not told Harry what the plan was. The only thing he knew was that he and Fleur were going to split the win. Which he thought was fair and fitting, considering how much time Fleur had spent with him helping on the previous tasks. Both Fleur and Hermione knew that if the Boy Who Lived knew the full plot, he would do something incredibly stupid to try to save them and therefore put their entire plan in jeopardy. They had to believe that he had the right instincts, since he had made it out the first time. All Fleur had to do was to touch him right after the ritual was complete, then summon the Cup to bring them back. And figure out a way not to get caught and die in between. Easy, right?
By 5:30, the grounds were buzzing with unbridled excitement in anticipation for the conclusion of the Triwizard Tournament. The spectator stands were filling up quickly, students were cheering loudly and waving painted banners to show their support for their favored Champion. The Weasley Twins were making their way through the stands, working the crowd taking bets.
Inside her private section of the Champions' tent, Fleur took a deep breath and looked in the mirror, anxiously picking at the hem of her shirt.
She was wearing a tight fitting long sleeve shirt and pants set, both Beauxbatons blue, of course. She had wanted something light yet also quiet. The Invisibility Cloak protected against visual detection but not sound. So much of their plan depended on her not being detected.
And that was assuming she and Harry even made it to the graveyard. They still had to win and somehow make sure that Krum or Viktor got there first. Last time Krum had been bewitched by the Imperious Curse and had attacked both her and Cedric. She figured it would be the same this time and had to be on her guard.
She could hear the raucous crowd just outside. Last time she remembered that the energy had hyped her up, got her excited about the prospect of bringing honor to herself and her school But now, each roar of support felt like a weight falling onto her chest, slowly suffocating her from the inside out, filling her with dread.
She took several deep, steadying breaths and shook her arms out at her sides, trying her best to calm herself down. But how can one stay calm when they know that in a few short hours, they will be witnessing the rise of arguably the darkest wizard in history?
To make matters worse, she hadn't had a chance to see Hermione before she had to leave for the Champions' Tent. They were going to meet up an hour before the Task, but instead of the bushy haired brunette, Harry had shown up instead, offering sincere apologies on Hermione's behalf. To say she had been disappointed by the turn of events would have been the understatement of the century, but she figured that whatever Hermione was dealing with must have been incredibly important. Still, it would have been nice to get a good luck kiss. The brunette would just have to make it up to her with a 'good job' kiss instead.
Hermione. Her one. Her mate. The woman she loved unconditionally and who loved her back. Who had accepted her for everything she was and wasn't. With those thoughts she steeled her nerve and gave her reflection a self-affirming nod. She could do this for her. For them. For everyone.
She quickly checked her pockets to make sure everything was in place. Her marble was in one pocket and the shrunk-down Invisibility Cloak was in the other, both illusioned away. Her wand holster was strapped tight to her thigh with her wand secured inside.
She took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. With a quick "You can do this" to her reflection, she left her room and made her way to the common area of the tent.
"Gather around, Champions, gather around!" Ludo Bagman grinned broadly, waving his hands to beckon the four students over to him. "First, I would like to congratulate you all. You have shown extraordinary skill and bravery time and again. And now we have it, the final event! You all must be very excited!"
"Non" Fleur thought but kept up her fake smile. Her eyes shifted and she caught Harry's gaze. He gave her a subtle smile and nod.
"Now, in a moment you will all be escorted by your headmaster to your separate entrance. Professor Moody has volunteered to escort Mr. Potter, since not even our dear Dumbledore can possibly be in two places at once." The headmaster just laughed at the joke and brushed it off with a "right you are, Bagman." Fleur could have sworn that she saw his eyes twinkle a little brighter for a second.
She bristled at the thought of Moody being alone with Harry but she could do nothing about it. She continued to fake her smile but it was quickly turning into a grimace.
"Since Miss Delacour and Mr. Potter are tied for first place, they will enter at the sound of the first cannon. Then Mr. Diggory will enter after two and a half minutes have elapsed, followed by Mr. Krum at the five minute mark. Now, in order to win, all one must do is touch the Triwizard Cup, which is hidden somewhere deep in the maze. The Cup will instantly transport you back to the Winner's Circle and we will have our newest Triwizard Champion! But beware! The path to the Cup is well guarded by various creatures that have been instructed to put up a fight should you encounter them. Any questions so far?"
Fleur's heart dropped at that twist. What? She did not see that coming. Well her task just got a hell of a lot more challenging. Everyone's expressions reflected her sentiments but they shook their heads and the excitable Tournament coordinator continued talking.
"Now, if at any point in time you feel the need to withdraw or be rescued, you need only cast red sparks into the air and you will be ejected from the maze. But otherwise once you enter, you are on your own." Bagman concluded and gave everyone a broad grin. "Best of luck to you all, please head to your respective starting positions!"
The roar of the crowd was deafening when the four Champions and their escorts emerged from the tent. Fleur did her best to put on a smile and waved half-heartedly to the spectators, desperately searching the crowd for her mate, but Maxime pulled her along toward her designated entrance.
«You can do this, Fleur. You will bring our school glory!» Maxime started a pep talk but Fleur was barely listening. Her palms were sweating and her heart was beating rapidly in her chest.
«Thank you, Madame, I shall do my best.» Fleur responded once the tall woman stopped talking. They had moved around the thick outer wall of the living maze before they came to a break in the hedges. Once in place, Maxime sent her patronus to alert Ludo that the Beauxbatons Champion was in place. The silvery Abraxan galloped away, casting an eerie light over the dark hedge maze. .
Diggory walked by a moment later, escorted by Dumbledore, on his way to his entrance point to her left. The Hogwarts Champion offered her a slight smile, though in this timeline they had not befriended one another like last time. That meant Harry and Krum had gone the other way from her. She needed to move her way to the right to try to find Harry.
After what felt like an eternity, the sound of a cannon rang out and Fleur took off running straight into the maze. The second she entered the maze, a heavy silence fell around her. All she could hear was the sound of her heart beating rapidly in her chest, the blood pounding in her ears. She ran forward, drawing her wand and following the only path she could. As soon as she heard the wall close behind her, she grabbed her marble and activated the tracking charm, following the magical pull. She and Harry had five minutes to find one another before Cedric and Krum both entered the maze and it got really complicated. Hopefully she didn't run into any creatures along the way.
A major issue that she had not foreseen was that the marble wanted to take her on a direct path to its twin, but she couldn't run through the walls. She had tried Incendio and Bombarda to burn and blast an opening, but the walls remained firmly solid. They did make a horrible screeching sound when attacked, but otherwise the dense green foliage stayed put. So she kept moving forward, trying to follow the pull of the marble whenever she came to a fork in her path.
She was grateful that she and Hermione had resumed their habit of going on a morning run together, so even though she was running hard, she was not feeling particularly winded.
The cannon sounded again. Cedric had entered the maze. Shit, shit, shit. Where are you, Harry?! Fleur thought as she hurried along. She could feel the marble heating up, at least she knew that Harry was closer. Then it boomed again after what felt like mere seconds later. All four champions were inside the maze now.
Damn it! Fleur growled but kept pressing forward. She had forgotten how big this thing was. Also the fact that the walls shifted on their own did not help the situation, often throwing a dead end along what was previously a long straight corridor, making her have to turn around and backtrack to find a new route.
She was running along a narrow passage between the hedges when she heard a horrible screeching noise from overhead. She had just enough time to dive out of the way when a giant Acromantula dropped down onto the path where she had been standing moments ago.
The Acromantula reared back on its two back legs and waved its front legs at her, snapping its mandibles menacingly at her.
Spiders. It just had to be spiders. The eyes and legs and the way they scurried along just creeped her out. She did not like spiders by any means and knew various hexes to banish or kill them. But they were living creatures and she did not like the idea of taking life unnecessarily. Even with regular sized spiders, she would just levitate the spider outside and let it go on it's merry way.
She pointed her wand at the massive spider and shouted Petrificus Totalis! Her spell hit the eight-legged creature right in the center of its head between its two largest eyes and the body seized up and fell to the ground, locked in the full body binding spell.
She was grateful that the spider was blocking the path behind her, so she kept moving forward, pressing deeper into the maze.
The further she moved into the maze, the thicker the air felt. It was heavy and burned her lungs and made her legs feel like she was running through sand. Sweat beaded thickly across her brow and her muscles were starting to ache slightly. Her Veela was on edge but fortunately was letting her stay fully in control.
Her marble was almost uncomfortably hot now, Harry must be very close.
She was sprinting down a path when suddenly there was a loud cracking sound to her left and the wall started to shift and close around her. She saw a small opening near the base of the hedge to her right and dove through it, tucking and rolling on the other side, crashing into a warm body on the other side, knocking them off their feet.
"Fleur!"
"'Arry!" Fleur had never been more grateful to see Harry. She jumped to her feet and hugged him quickly but kept the reunion short. They were running out of time. They still needed to stop Cedric and Krum from reaching the Cup first. She held him at arms' length, looking him over quickly. His shirt was dirty and the sleeve torn and he had a nasty gash on his right cheek.
"What 'appended?"
"Blast-Ended Skwert got me. I'm fine, really." Harry shrugged and tried to reassure her "Any trouble for you? Have you run into Cedric or Viktor?"
"Non, just a giant spider."
"This maze is bonkers!" He shook his head "Well, we should get going. I came from that direction." Harry pointed behind them, so the pair headed off in the opposite direction, pushing further in.
They ran together for a few minutes when Fleur suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. She grabbed Harry by the shoulders and threw him down to the ground just as a red bolt of light flew by. She spun and pointed her wand behind them, facing Krum. The Bulgarian's eyes were glazed over and slightly hazy. The Imperious Curse. She recognized it from the day in Defense class.
She threw a few spells at Viktor in rapid succession in the time it took Harry to get back on his feet. Once the fight was two-to-one it ended quickly. Harry's Stupify managed to break through Viktor's protective shield and hit him square in the chest.
Fleur felt slightly bad for attacking him but had no regrets overall. Especially considering the alternative fate was probably death if he touched the Cup first.
They took off again, moving a little slower to conserve energy, not knowing what lay ahead of them.
Further and further they went, following twists and turns. Dead ends and looping pathways slowed their progress. Harry had the brilliant idea of leaving a little gold line along the ground, so they could at least know where they had been. It did open them up to be followed, but between the two of them they had enough strength to overpower whatever came crawling out of the hedges.
As they made their way in deeper, the air started to take on an unnatural chill and Fleur could see little puffs of vapor when she exhaled. They moved forward cautiously, wands out and ready. What she heard next chilled her to the bone. A panicked voice broke the silence, crying out, pleading desperately.
"Help me! Please, anyone!"
Fleur had never seen a Dementor in person before, only heard exaggerated tales as a child to scare her into eating her vegetables. She was not at all prepared for what she saw around the bend.
A large figure, shrouded in a tattered black robe, floating in the air. She could hear its labored breathing, like a chain being dragged across stone. She felt an empty chasm fill her chest, filling her with dread and despair. In its bony clutches was Cedric, holding him up several feet off the ground. The Hufflepuff was struggling, thrashing his head from side to side as the Dementor leaned forward.
Fleur acted on instinct, not waiting for Harry to react, there wasn't time to hesitate. She filled her mind with thoughts of Hermione and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" as loudly as she could.
A huge male lion erupted from the tip of her wand, bounding forward, his silvery mane flowed majestically as he ran toward the Dementor. The cloaked figure dropped Cedric, leaving him in a crumpled heap, as it was chased away by the big cat.
Fleur was shocked by the change in her patronus. It had always been a Harpy Eagle before. She didn't have time to ponder this, Cedric's pained groan pulled her from her thoughts and she ran over to him, dropping to her knees next to him. Harry followed closely behind.
"Cedric, are you 'urt?"
"Not as bad as I could have been. Thanks for that." Cedric grimaced, buy he was clearly looking worse for wear.
"Can you stand, mate?" Harry was helping the older boy sit up.
"I don't think so. My leg. When it dropped me I felt something pop in my ankle." Cedric shook his head. "I'll be fine, you two keep going. Don't slow yourselves down on my account."
"You are sure you will be fine?" Fleur was genuinely concerned though also glad it turned out this way. She didn't feel like cursing another Champion.
"Yeah, you guys saved me, I would have been a goner if you hadn't come along. I'm going to withdraw. I don't think I have the strength to continue anyway." Cedric coughed and his head dropped weakly.
"Easy does it, man. I've been on the receiving end of a dementor before."
"I'll be fine. Get going you two." Cedric nodded, reaching for his wand.
Fleur and Harry both nodded and rose to their feet. As soon as they had moved away, Cedric raised his wand and sent up sparks into the dark sky above.
Fleur's lion was standing guard around the bend. It approached them when they came into its line of sight.
"Oh, you're still 'ere?" Fleur addressed it "zank you for zat. I did not know you 'ad changed your form zough. Quite a surprise."
"It's Hermione, isn't it? The Gryffindor Lion?" Harry watched the silvery lion with great interest.
"Oui, it seems zat she ees watching over me, even een zis blasted maze." Fleur nodded and chuckled as the lion head butted her in the chest, purring slightly.
"She must mean a great deal to you."
"More zan I can even begin to describe. Let's get moving."
Fleur sent the lion ahead to scout their path and it eagerly bounded away. It returned a moment later and led the way.
As soon as they came into the open clearing at the center of the maze, it dissolved into a fine silver mist. Its task was complete.
There it was. The Triwizard Cup, sitting on a large white marble dais in the center of the clearing. Its blue crystal edges glowed brilliantly, pulsing rhythmically like a heartbeat.
Fleur looked over at Harry "Well, zis ees eet. We made eet."
"Together?"
"Togezzer."