Ginny watched the screens anxiously as Cedric entered into the maze. It seemed dark and gloomy inside. He lit up his wand using Lumos and began running ahead. She held her breath and for a while nothing happened. Harry entered at the same time from another path and he looked nervous. She watched him turn back towards the crowd and his eyes landed on her. Ginny gave him a thumbs up and he smiled grimly before heading in. Krum was second, and he went in five minutes after Harry. So far, nothing had happened to any of the champions. Finally, Fleur was the last to go in.

Once she had entered, Dumbledore turned to the audience who were standing in the Quidditch stands and explained, "The champions need to locate the cup which is hidden within the maze by Professor Moody. Whoever reaches the cup first, wins the tournament, and eternal glory that comes with it!" The stands cheered vehemently and the Durmstrang's were chanting Krum's name. The Beuxbaton's were shouting "Fleur!" and chanting a French mantra and Hogwarts students were supporting a mix of Harry and Cedric. Ginny felt like she must have been the only student supporting both of them.

Hermione whispered in her ear, "Look at Viktor! There's something not right about his eyes!" Ginny did as she was told and realized Hermione was right. He seemed to be out of it completely…not sure where he was. Ginny grimaced and replied, "Maybe…maybe he's just tired and hasn't slept. I'm pretty certain Harry hardly slept a wink." Hermione shook her head and whispered, "No…it's more than that. S It looks like he's been cursed. His eyes are glazed over. That's not normal!"

Ginny gritted her teeth. She didn't like the sound of that-like someone was tampering with the task. They were sitting quite high up, so they also had a fairly good view of the events below. Ginny watched them all running until Harry came to a sudden stop. Then Hermione distracted her and pointed to Cedric, who had just come face to face with a Blast-Ended Skrewt. He aimed a spell at it, which only caused the gigantic, grey animal to spit fire at him and singed his sleeve quite badly. Cedric cast a series of the same spell at him before it finally shriveled for three seconds, long enough for Ced to run away from it and into an adjoining passage. Once he was far enough away, he managed to extinguish the burning hole.

The path he was on now led him smack bang into Harry. They seemed to communicate for a second before Cedric darted into an alternative path and Harry carried along his route. Then Harry encountered a dementor and she looked at Hermione worriedly. Hermione smiled and whispered, "Don't worry Ginny, Harry's got this." Ginny nodded as she watched him cast Expecto Patronum, which seemed to have no effect whatsoever. Harry backed away before he realized it was a Boggart and the creature disappeared.

Ginny sighed in relief, and turned her attention back to Cedric. He was still running ahead with nothing much in his path. Krum was fighting a Skrewt and Fleur was being attacked by some weeds from the hedge which she seemed to be fighting off. Fleur screamed because of the hedge and Harry seemed to pause, listening to her. Knowing Harry, it would be his natural instinct to forgo the cup and go and help her out. Then she saw him get turned upside down by a golden mist and she clutched her chair in worry. She whispered anxiously to Hermione, "How's he going to get out of this?' He pulled his foot hard and then fell back to the floor.
Ginny cheered for him and clapped in excitement. Ron was looking pretty impressed himself and Ginny couldn't help but feel proud of Harry. He was getting there. Now Harry was looking around for Fleur as he ran a bit of the way. Suddenly he came up against a Blast-Ended Skrewt and he yelled, "STUPEFY! IMPEDIMENTA!" The creature shriveled for a second, which was enough time for Harry to make a run for it.

Ginny noticed that he was getting closer and closer to Cedric, who seemed to be having a confrontation with Viktor. Hermione looked frantic as Harry ran up to them and saw Krum aiming his wand at Cedric. Ginny's heart stopped for a second in sheer panic as Krum yelled, "Crucio!" Harry pushed Cedric aside and stupefied Krum within the second. Ginny was now clutching Hermione's arm and squeezing it so tightly she was surprised her blood was still circulating. Her heart was racing as Hermione looked at her in shock, her eyes wide in fear. She whispered to Ginny, "What just happened?" Ginny shook her head and replied softly, "I think he's been cursed!" Hermione seemed worried and Ginny turned her attention back to Cedric and Harry. They were communicating-probably deciding what to do.

Then seconds later, Cedric sent red sparks into the air. Obviously they had come to the conclusion that Viktor no longer could compete in the tournament. Ginny looked at Hermione, who was as pale as a ghost. She wrapped an arm around her friends shoulder and whispered, "He will be okay Hermione." She nodded worriedly, her eyes fixed on Viktor.

Then they continued on their own way. Now it was just between Harry and Cedric. Ginny couldn't really believe it! Her best friend and her boyfriend competing against each other for the cup! Her heart fluttered at the thought of Cedric being her boyfriend. Harry went right, and Cedric went left. They both carried on for a while with nothing happening. Then Harry ran into a Sphinx. Ginny watched intently, all eyes in the stadium seemed to be on him. The Sphinx was talking to him and everyone could hear what was being said because of the sound being enhanced by Dumbledore and he was telling Harry that he could either answer a riddle, or turn away. Even the mention of the word 'riddle' bought terrible images back into her mind of Tom and sent shivers up her spine.

The Sphinx told the riddle and the audience seemed stunned. A creature you wouldn't want to kiss? There were plenty of those! Harry seemed to deliberating before he said, "A spider!" The Sphinx nodded and let him pass. Ginny felt her heart race as he came closer and closer to the cup. Harry could actually be the champion. He could actually prove everyone wrong-that he couldn't do it. He was the youngest in the tournament by far and if he won…Ginny shook her head and whispered to Hermione, "He could win! He could win!" Hermione was beaming, watching Harry's every move.

Harry redirected himself with his wand and then Cedric ran into his path in front of him. Harry broke into a sprint and Ginny found herself shouting Harry's name, along with many others in the crowd. Some instinct took over her, telling her that she wanted Harry to win. Maybe deep down, she always had. She had just never admitted it to herself.

Then a massive spider (bigger than one Ginny had ever seen in her life) attacked Cedric from the left. It pushed him to the floor and Harry had yelled in warning. The pincers clenched around Ced's foot and Ginny felt panic ebb through her. Cedric was stupefying the thing but it didn't seem to be working. She hid her face in Hermione's shoulder and she felt her friend rubbing her back gently.
Ginny heard Harry shout "Expelliarmus!" and Hermione whispered, "Cedric's free!" She turned to watch Cedric being dropped to the ground. Harry had fallen backwards on his injured leg and they heard a deafening crack echo from beneath it. Ginny winced and the boys simultaneously shouted, "Stupefy!" at it, before it fell to the side.

Cedric was checking on Harry and Ginny grimaced as Harry tried to stand. They were arguing about who should take the cup. You could see Ced wanted it, but he was debating. In the end, he refused to. Harry was insisting that he did as he said, "Stop being so noble. Just take it." Ginny glanced at Hermione and felt her eyes swell with tears. Why were they fighting over it? They both deserved it.

They were still arguing. Harry was being stubborn-insisting that Cedric take it. Ginny could guess why-Hufflepuff wasn't a winning house. They hadn't won many Quidditch matches, ever, and this was one time Ced could bring real pride and glory to the house. But no, he was defying his right and saying Harry deserved it more. Ginny looked at Hermione in awe, and she could see that her friends' face had a similar expression. Finally, Harry decided that they would take the cup together. Cedric's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he seemed to be in disbelief of Harry. He walked over, helped Harry hobble to the cup, and they both clutched either handle of it tightly. The stadium went up in cheers and screams, Ginny clapped so hard that her hands hurt and she saw Cedric search the crowd for her.

When his eyes landed on her, they were shining and he waved. The stands celebratory noise from the Hogwarts students was deafening and a second the champions disappeared. Vanished. Ginny frowned in confusion and she asked Hermione, "Do you think this is part of the tournament still?" Hermione nodded and whispered, "Maybe they've been taken to Dumbledore's office or something. Ginny turned to look at Professor Dumbledore, who seemed just as shocked at the rest of the audience, who had fallen silent for just a second. Then the headmaster was giving orders to other professors, sending out some kind of a search party. Ginny felt her heart sinking and the nervous feeling she had woken up to that morning resurface in the pit of her stomach. Obviously, this had not been part of the plan…

Author's note: So finally the third task is happening. Your questions you have wanted to know the answer to will be revealed soon! Thank you to my two amazing guest reviewers, Alzera and Nicole Gandy! Those kind of comments truly make this story worthwhile writing!