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Chapter 23
"My father is going to have some work," Daphne sighed, crossing her arms. She was standing next to Harry in one of the alcoves in the Entrance Courtyard, surrounded by almost every student from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. They all remained at a respectful distance from the middle, where the teachers and Ministry officials were gathered.
It took some time, but the searching party finally managed to find Mr. Barty Crouch. Or rather, what was left of him. And it wasn't the searching party that found him, to be precise, but Fang – Hagrid's boarhound. Earlier that day, when the Gamekeeper was doing his usual routine across the edges of the Forbidden Forest, his dog caught an odd scent that led them to a shallow hole where Crouch was buried. And in true Hogwarts fashion, the news spread in a blink of an eye. Before breakfast was over, everyone in the Castle knew about Bartemius' fate.
"Why?" Harry asked after a few seconds of standing in silence. He was too focused on what was happening a few meters in front of him to realize that Daphne had said anything. "Is he a gravedigger?"
"Do I look like a daughter of a gravedigger to you?" Daphne gibed at him, rolling her eyes. "He works in the Department of Mysteries," she continued before Harry managed to dig his own grave with his response. "So, the murder of a Ministry worker will have to be examined. I'm sure they'll want to catch the culprit."
Harry frowned slightly, still looking at the scene in front of him. From time to time, the wall made of the adults' bodies parted for a split second, allowing him to catch a glimpse of Barty's corpse. "He solves mysteries?"
"That's a great simplification, but yes - something like that," Daphne replied. "Though I'm not quite sure what exactly he's doing. He's one of the Unspeakables, so I can only guess what he truly does at work. However, I'm pretty sure that he'll investigate Crouch's death."
Harry nodded his head, pretending to know what or who the Unspeakables were. It sounded serious enough for him to accept it without asking further questions. And it certainly was more probable that a person with such a title, and not a gravedigger, would be able to get an audience with Dumbledore himself.
"Do you think they'll cancel the Tournament?" Tracey whispered. She was standing on Daphne's other side, taking comfort from Blaise's hug. Astoria was there as well, no more than two steps ahead of them.
"I don't think so," Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead; his scar was tingling. "Barty didn't do anything when my name came out of the Goblet, saying that the rules were absolute, or something like that. So I don't think they're going to cancel it because of someone's death. Especially since the last Task is already being prepared."
"A maze doesn't sound so scary," Daphne commented, wrapping herself more tightly with her robe. Harry snorted at that.
"Hagrid is watching over it," he countered, shaking his head. "Merlin knows what he's going to put inside."
Indeed, finding one's way through a maze seemed like a child's play compared to the previous two tasks. However, the excited gleam Harry saw in Bagman's eyes the day before, when the Champions were brought to the Quidditch Pitch, didn't calm his nerves. After all, the First Task could have easily been described as traversing through cliffs and valleys and the Second Task as swimming in the Lake. If someone tried hard enough, they could even describe the Dementors as friendly creatures that fed on rainbows and brought the sunshine with them.
So, despite Bagman's reassurance that the Third Task was simply going to be finding the Cup in the Maze, Harry already dreaded what the end of June would bring.
"I wonder what's going to be left out of you, Potter!" Malfoy's voice cut through the air, just like the Slytherin himself cut through the crowd on his way to the group of five. Harry rolled his eyes before turning around. "I don't think there's going to be left enough for us to see," he said, earning himself a laughter of approval from his Housemates. Daphne rose her eyebrow, Blaise snorted, shaking his head, and Tracey rolled her eyes.
"Have you been thinking about it all morning?" Harry replied. "Took you long enough. Or maybe you had to wait for your father to write you this? By the way, how's your bet going? I think I lasted slightly longer than five or ten minutes."
"This will change," Draco countered, stopping a few steps in front of Harry. His face was twisted with a sneer, just like the mockery image of Harry on Malfoy's plaque. "You won't even have time to regret putting your name in the Goblet."
"Want to bet on that as well?"
"I don't remember any of us asking you to join us," Daphne commented, taking a single step further. "So why don't you go be yourself somewhere else? Preferably somewhere where I won't be forced to see your face."
"I'd watch your words if I were you, Greengrass," Draco seethed through gritted teeth. "You might feel safe now, but the time comes when the Blood Traitors will pay." And He certainly didn't take a 'no' for an answer, Sirius' words echoed in Harry's mind as he glanced at Daphne. Malfoy's eyes traveled to Blaise. "The same goes for you, Zabini. I still can't understand how someone like you can waste their time with those filthy Half-bloods," he spat.
"Better Half-bloods than half-heads," Blaise countered, increasing his hold on Tracey, who glared at Malfoy.
"Maybe we should call Professor Moody?" Astoria offered, joining the older students. "I'd like to see that ferret for myself – rumors aren't so satisfying. Besides, I heard a ferret fur is going to be quite fashionable next season."
"What did you say, runt?" Draco asked, stepping forward even more. Daphne reacted immediately, pulling out her wand faster than anyone could blink and pointing it at Malfoy's stomach; with her left hand, she pushed Astoria behind her.
Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott didn't remain passive, taking out their wands as well. Seeing it, Blaise and Tracey quickly joined her friend, ready to assist her if need be. Harry also kept his wand in his hand in a silent oath of help if it was necessary.
"Leave us alone, or I swear you'll be the last Malfoy in history," Daphne said in a deceptively calm voice; her wand moved slightly lower. "And I can assure you that none of us care about your empty threats."
Draco snorted; his eyes focused on something above Daphne's head. "We shall see," he replied with a smirk, taking a step back. As soon as he did, a shadow fell on both the Greengrass sisters and partially on Harry.
"What is going on here?" Snape's voice, even though it was low and quiet as always, easily dominated the group of students. Harry rolled his eyes with an inaudible sigh. Of course. For a split second, Harry wondered if both Snape and Karkaroff were at the Quidditch World Cup Finals, hidden behind the masks.
"They started threatening us without a reason, Professor," Draco replied immediately before anyone could say anything.
"You little-"
"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Potter, for threatening other students," Snape announced, cutting off Astoria's insult.
"Whatever," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes without even looking at the Potions Master. The level of respect he once held for Snape, even though it was practically nonexistent, dropped even further after his talk with Dumbledore. No one stops being a Death Eater, Sirius reminded him in his head. He bit his tongue, to prevent creating an opportunity for losing even more points.
"I believe you all have classes now," Snape said, looking at the group of students. "There's nothing more for you to see," he announced, leaving no room for argument. One by one, they started returning to the Castle. After taking one last glance at the adults gathered in the middle of the Courtyard, Harry followed the students.
"He knows something," Harry muttered to Daphne as he caught up with her; his eyes were focused on the back of Malfoy's head.
"I'll see you later," Daphne said to Astoria as the younger girl was heading back to the Dungeons. The younger Greengrass raised her eyebrow, looking between her sister and Harry. A small smile danced in the corner of her lips, one that didn't escape Daphne's attention. "We have DADA now," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Of course," Astoria replied; her smile didn't falter for a split second. If anything, it became even wider. "See you later, sis," she said, disappearing in the corridor which led to the Dungeons. Daphne rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean?" she asked Harry as they walked up the stairs, heading to the third floor; Tracey and Blaise were a few steps ahead of them.
"What he said about the Blood Traitors," Harry replied, making sure to keep his voice low. "I have a bad feeling about this. You know, with those dreams and what happened to your family," he clarified. "They said He doesn't take 'no' for an answer."
Even without saying Voldemort's name, Daphne still shuddered slightly. "Then I seriously hope your dreams will turn out to be just that – dreams," she commented, wrapping her robe around her body as if she wanted to protect herself from Harry's suggestion.
"Trust me, I hope so as well," Harry replied. "But Mr. Crouch's death… Something's wrong here, and I stopped believing in coincidences long ago."
"You believe that Mr. Crouch's son is behind that," Daphne summarized, slowly nodding her head. "Wouldn't you see him on your Map or something?"
Harry glanced nervously around, afraid that someone could have heard Daphne. Luckily, the noise in the staircase was too high for anyone to pay attention to them. "I'm not staring at it all the time, you know? Besides, if it had been him, I'm quite sure Wormtail would have told him how to bypass the Map. He was one of the creators, after all."
Their talk ended as they reached the classroom. They were the last ones to walk in, except for Professor Moody, who was still hobbling up the stairs. Some looked at them clearly puzzled, though that reaction lessened drastically over time. As weeks passed, it became more and more common to see Daphne and Harry walking together through the corridors or talking somewhere in the Castle.
"Had fun with your girlfriend?" Ron asked as Harry sat next to Neville, behind his former friend. Still, not everyone got used to it. "Bloody Snake lover," he muttered. Harry rolled his eyes, having grown used to Ron's constant comments.
"Yeah. I had to prepare a strategy for winning eternal glory and all that," Harry replied with a sigh, pulling out his DADA book.
"Idiot," Ron commented, shaking his head.
"Stop it!" Hermione, who was sitting in front of Ron, hissed. Ron looked ready to say something in response, but Professor Moody's entrance quickly stopped him from doing that. With his walking stick hitting the stone floor, the seasoned Auror reached the front of the classroom, beginning the lesson. Harry's scar tingled again as Moody's artificial eye rested upon him from time to time.
"How about we make a bet?" Harry asked, turning around to face Daphne. The time had come, June was at an end, and the Third Task was only minutes away. Despite his nervousness, Harry was ecstatic. No matter the outcome of the day, the Tournament was going to be over. There would be no more sleepless nights and no more stress – only summer holidays.
They were in a tent, raised at the edge of the Quidditch Pitch, together with other Champions and their families, the schools' Headmasters, the judges, and some of the Ministry representatives, including Cornelius Fudge. And since Harry only had Muggle relatives who would never even consider visiting him at Hogwarts, the judges allowed his friends to see him off before the Third Task. He asked Daphne and Neville to accompany him, and out of habit, Tracey, Blaise, and Astoria followed their Housemate, waiting for her, just outside the tent.
"What bet?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow; Harry grinned widely.
"If I win, you'll tell me why you've been ignoring me before the Second Task." Daphne's second eyebrow joined her first one, high on her forehead.
"First of all, it was months ago. Can't you just drop it?"
"Not a chance," Harry replied, still grinning widely. Neville chuckled quietly, looking nervously between Harry and Daphne. After knowing the Ice Queen only from the rumors, he sometimes dreaded what might happen to his friend if he said a single bad word. Despite having grown used to their friendship, it still sometimes baffled him how reckless Harry could be. "You promised me that you'll tell me one day. There's no way I'm letting it go."
"Second," Daphne continued, pretending not to have heard Harry's comment. "I had no idea you feel so sure of yourself that you think you might win this Tournament," she said, eyeing him from head to toe with a raised eyebrow. Her judgment would look much more convincing if the tiniest of smiles didn't dance in Daphne's eyes.
"Well, I didn't do so badly in the previous Tasks," Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Might as well win this bloody thing. Besides, there was no Quidditch Tournament this year, so I have to at least try to bring this Cup to Gryffindor," he added with a small smirk.
"In that case, I'm sure Malfoy has some spare badges," Daphne sighed. "If you're so confident, you won't mind, will you?" Harry rolled his eyes at her comment; the gleam in Daphne's eyes changed from mirth to victory in a split second.
"The Cup will surely look good in the Common Room," Neville commented, patting Harry on the back. After a split second of hesitation, the shy boy quickly embraced his Housemate, attempting to reassure him. He pulled away before Harry could even move. "You'll do great, I'm sure of it," he added, taking a few steps back.
"Thanks, Neville," Harry replied, smiling at his Housemate. For the first time since his name came out of the Goblet, he didn't worry about what the future might bring. At least, Harry could be sure that no dragon was waiting for him in the Maze, nor would he be forced to adapt to a foreign environment. All he had to do was to walk through the Maze. In and out, and the Tournament would be over.
"I'll be going," Neville said, moving towards the tent's exit. "You know, the Task starts any moment now."
"No problem," Harry replied, nodding his head. With that, the other Gryffindor disappeared behind the tent's flaps separating the Champions from the audience. Only then did Harry notice that other Champions' families also began walking out of the tent, leaving their loved ones behind. He glanced at his watch – only ten minutes remained until the beginning of the end.
"I should get going too," Daphne announced, grabbing her school bag. "I'm sure Tori and the others want to get the best seats possible – if there are any left, that is – and they're waiting for me," she said, already turning around to follow Neville and join her Housemates.
"Wait for a second," Harry called after her, swiftly closing the distance between them and grabbing her arm. Daphne turned around again, clearly surprised by his sudden action. "I…, thank you," he said, releasing her hand. "For helping me, you know."
"All I ever did was teach you the Summoning Charm," Daphne countered, shaking her head.
"And when I was practicing in the Chamber," Harry added.
"Still, I was only throwing a few spells at you from time to time," Daphne continued. "And I know it will be shocking to you, but it's something most of my Housemates dream of. Especially Malfoy."
"And you too?"
"Depends on how annoying you are at the moment," Daphne replied, placing a single strand of her hair behind her ear. Harry chuckled at that, shaking his head.
"You're impossible sometimes, you know that?" Daphne only nodded her head. "Well, I wanted to give you this," he said, pulling out a worn-out piece of parchment. Daphne raised her eyebrow, staring at the Map in disbelief before directing her gaze back at Harry. "For safekeeping. Only for the Task, I mean," he clarified. "I really expect to get it back from you and not from Snape," Harry added with a nervous chuckle. "You know how to activate it."
"Why are you giving me this?"
"Well, I can only enter the Maze with my wand. I don't know if we'll be searched in the beginning, but I don't want the judges to find it," Harry replied, scratching the back of his head before shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, it wouldn't be of any real use to me, to be honest. The Maze isn't on the Map, and I have absolutely no idea how to modify it. And, you know, that way, you'll know what's happening to me. I don't think you'll see what's going on through the hedges."
"It won't show me what will be happening either," Daphne countered, hesitantly accepting the Map.
"Yeah, but, you know, at least you'll be aware if I'm making any progress at all," Harry replied before smirking slightly. "And you'll also know which one of us is closer to winning the bet."
"You have a horrible tendency to hear something that hadn't been said," Daphne commented, shaking her head. "I didn't say I accepted your offer," she clarified, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, come on, a little motivation to get through this would be good for me."
"A thousand Galleons and eternal glory aren't enough?"
"I don't really need either of those," Harry replied. "So, no."
"I don't see why it should be my concern whether you have a motivation or not," Daphne countered. She cleared her throat just as Harry was about to say something in response. "On a serious note, though, why are you giving me this?" Daphne asked though she didn't make a single move that would indicate she wanted to give the Map back to Harry. "I believe you had said yourself that you don't trust me enough to keep it a secret from Professor Snape."
"Maybe, but if you wanted to tell Snape about the Map, you would have done it by now," Harry countered, nodding his head. "I mean, I'm sure he wouldn't require proof if someone wanted to snitch me. Especially a Slytherin," he added with a humorless chuckle. "And I guess it will be nice to know that someone is watching over me," Harry said with a sheepish smile.
"I'll try not to make too many 'no good' things with it," Daphne replied softly, hiding the Map in her school bag. "Good luck, Potter. Try not to get yourself killed over there."
Harry grinned widely, raising his eyebrow. "Didn't know you cared so much about me."
"I don't," Daphne replied with an indignant huff. "I simply wasted too much time with you to see it becoming pointless by you dying over there," she gestured with her head in the general direction where the Maze was. "And we'll see about that bet," Daphne added, turning around just in time to refuse Harry to notice the smallest of smiles dancing in the corners of her lips.
"How could they profane the Pitch like that?" Cedric muttered, shaking his head when all four Champions were already outside of the tent. They all were staring at the hedges that grew high enough to hide the stands at the other side of the Pitch. Behind them, students and staff from all three schools were cheering and sometimes booing, at the four Champions.
Harry nodded his head, silently agreeing with Cedric's question. To him, the Quidditch Pitch was like a second home, with Hogwarts being the first one, obviously. There was no trace of the previously shortly trimmed grass; it was replaced entirely with hedges too high to see where they ended. The six poles that used to stand on both ends of the Pitch were gone as well, leaving no proof that that place was used primarily for Quidditch. Harry shuddered slightly; the changes made for the purpose of the Third Task made the Pitch eerie and sent shivers down his spine. Just a few more hours and it will be over, he reminded himself, taking in a deep breath. The vegetation's scent calmed his nerves a bit.
"I just hope they'll get rid of it before September," Harry said, staring at the entrance to the Maze. The darkness and the mist prevented him from seeing anything that was deeper than the first three or so meters.
"They have to," Cedric agreed. "We still have that match from last year to repeat," he said, turning to look at Harry; a wide grin was plastered on his face. "Without the Dementors, we'll beat you fair and square."
Harry chuckled at that, shaking his head. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," he countered. Cedric laughed quietly at that.
Their small banter was interrupted by the three Headmasters ordering them to gather in front of the Maze. Bagman was with them as well, describing the details of the Task before they would be sent off into the unknown.
Due to their standing after the first two Tasks, Cedric would be entering the Maze as the first one, with Harry following him after five minutes. After another five minutes, Viktor would disappear in the hedges, and then Fleur. All four had the same purpose, the same target – the Triwizard Cup. Professor Moody has hidden it somewhere deep within the Maze, and all the Champions had to do was find it and grab it, and the Third Task, and the whole Tournament, would be over.
Harry could barely stand straight as he watched Cedric disappear into the Maze. Each second passing seemed like an infinity, and he had to wait for five minutes before Bagman would allow him to begin the Task. One last evening, a few hours at best, and the fourth year would be over. No matter if he won, the Tournament would be over, and he would be allowed to finally rest and put all that stress behind him before starting his O.W.L. year. He knew from the older students that there would be twice as much studying than before, if not more, but he would still be allowed to catch his breath during the summer holidays. All he had to do was survive in the Maze long enough to either reach the Cup or for some other Champion to claim the victory.
He looked around the stands, hearing the loud cheers and boos, though he wasn't listening to them. It took him some time, but he finally managed to find Daphne, sitting next to her sister and two of her Housemates on one of the higher levels of the stands. Her steady gaze and never-ending smirk somehow soothed his nerves, reminding him about his proposition. He took in a deep breath, trying to prevent his back from trembling so much.
Finally, after what seemed like hours or even days, Bagman tapped his shoulder, urging him to enter the Maze. It took Harry a few solid seconds to gather his strengths and take the first step forward; then another, and another before the space around him was replaced with the thick hedges, and the air became significantly denser. The Third Task had begun.
Daphne watched Harry walking into the dark Maze with Viktor and Fleur still standing in front of the tent. The sun was slowly setting, though the clouds hid all the bright and warm colors that would surely lighten the sky. The air was heavy, and Daphne could smell the rain, though it seemed to be far enough not to be a concern to her or any other student. She sent a silent thanks to whoever would listen. Even charms wouldn't prevent her hair from being a total mess if the rain fell.
It didn't take long for Harry to disappear from her sight. Even though she was sitting at one of the last benches on the stands, the Maze's hedges easily hid the Tournament Champion. That didn't stop Daphne from staring at the spot she had last seen him at for a few more seconds.
"Did you at least give him a good luck kiss?" Tracey whispered to her, effectively pulling Daphne out of her thoughts. The Slytherin girl took in a deep breath before turning her head to look at her friend. It was a small consolation for her to see Tracey trembling slightly.
"If Blaise is quick enough, he can manage to give you a goodbye kiss," she replied, glaring daggers at the other girl. "Because I swear to Merlin, you're going to end up on the Pitch before you even manage to blink."
"Was that supposed to be a yes, Daph?" Astoria chimed in, leaning forward in her seat. "You know, we had to wait for you for quite a while after Longbottom left the tent."
"Maybe that's why Potter seemed so excited before the Task," Blaise added. Tracey tried to stifle laughter, while Astoria didn't even bother herself with that. Her laughter was almost painful in Daphne's ears. She felt heat creeping up her cheeks, and she shook her head a few times in an attempt to brush it off. But even when her hair fell on her face, that unpleasant feeling didn't leave her.
"Why am I even bothering myself with you?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. The chuckle that followed from her Housemates did nothing to soothe her nerves.
Daphne sighed again, deciding to shift her attention back to the Third Task. However, just as Harry said, she couldn't see what was happening in the Maze.
She didn't even register her own movements before the Map was lying on her knees, still folded and deactivated. How did it end up here? Daphne asked herself, risking a glance to her right. Luckily for her, Tori, Blaise, and Tracey seemed to have forgotten about her entirely, talking about one thing or another; occasionally, one of them would look at the Maze, only to turn their gaze away.
Daphne cleared her throat and put her school bag between her and Tracey, attempting to shield the Map as much as possible. With movements too quick to even notice, she pulled out her wand, whispered the spell, and hid it back in her robes, observing as the Map came to life. It didn't take long before the entire Hogwarts appeared on the worn-out parchment.
Though it did take her quite some time to find the Quidditch Pitch. And just as Harry predicted, there were no changes on the Map that happened in real life. There was no Maze, no hedges – nothing. Only four dots with the Champions' names above, scattered around the Pitch. The vague information they've received just before the Task – that Professor Moody placed the Cup somewhere in the middle of the Maze – didn't serve as any clue that would indicate which one of the contestants was closer to winning.
That brought Daphne's attention to their DADA teacher. She had no problems with locating him down on the Pitch, right next to the entrance to the Maze, but there wasn't as much as a single speck on the Map where he was supposed to be. Nothing, just an empty spot, surrounded by Albus Dumbledore, Igor Karkaroff, and Olympe Maxime. Daphne furrowed her eyebrows, doing her best to hide the Map behind her robe. Something felt wrong – she could feel it even in the air, though no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pinpoint it. Ever since Barty Crouch was found dead, something ominous lurked in the many shadows of Hogwarts, like a catastrophe waiting to strike.
And just as Daphne's eyes returned to Harry's dot, a few things happened at once.
First, the air was filled with an ear-piercing screech that seemed not to have any physical source. Daphne did her best to block out the offending noise with both of her hands, but her efforts turned out to be in vain. Soon, the screams of confused students joined the original screech, resulting in what could only be described as chaos raging across the stands. The chaos, which seemed to be present amongst the Hogwarts' staff as well, as Daphne noticed after a few seconds.
And second, both Harry's and Cedric's dots disappeared from the Map.
Another time skip, but I had absolutely no idea what else I could include in this chapter, and, to be honest, I want to finish the Goblet of Fire as soon as possible. Thank you for all your reviews. Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and see you next time!