Emotion prompt: Calm

Characters/ Pairings: [Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory]

Summary: Cho can't understand how Cedric can be so calm before the toughest trial of his life.

Darkness cloaked the ancient walls of Hogwarts castle as the night drew on. The moon was only a thin crescent on the sky, and many of the stars, bright and dim, were covered by dense grey clouds. On the tall Astronomy Tower, two students sat holding hands, their feet dangling over the parapet and breeze twirling through their hair. The shorter of the two, with long black hair, leant on the other's shoulder with a small sigh, seeking comfort.

"It's rather unbelievable that the Tournament is coming to an end tomorrow," Cho murmured, the comfort of Cedric's warm shoulder a stark contrast against the cold wind.

"Yes," Cedric replied quietly, "And I'll be glad when it's over."

Cho simply nodded in agreement. She knew she would be, too.

Far at a distance, the maze lay swathed in darkness like a gigantic snare, little lights dotting its twisted ways. It had been not announced yet, but there was no doubt upon looking at it that the maze was the final task. The Champions needed to clear through it to win the Tournament. The idea that Cedric would be inside that monstrous thing the very next day sent a shiver down her spine. She looked at her boyfriend, only to see him looking at the maze as well.

"That is what you'll have to brave through, isn't it?"

Cedric nodded wordlessly, his expression without a speck of fear or anxiety.

"I wonder what sort of hurdles the will keep there," Cho mused.

"They'll do their best to make it the toughest for us, of course," Cedric said in a matter-of-fact voice. "There will be dangerous creatures, I'm sure — boggart, hinkypunks and grindilows, maybe, if they keep it easy, or there may be firecrabs or even sphinxes... and enchantments on the walls and stuff."

Cho stared. Cedric was talking about it all as if it were simply the test syllabus instead of dangerous traps adequate for killing the participants.

"They — they said people died in this before," Cho stammered, suddenly remembering the discussion her friends were having when the organisation of the Triwizard Tournament was announced.

"Yeah," Cedric agreed in a calm tone. "That's why it was banned back then."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Cho cried, finally losing her composure. She couldn't understand how Cedric could talk of this as if it were an everyday event, not something out of which he might never come back alive.

"Aren't you worried?"

Cedric gave her a rueful smile, and for the first time in the darkness Cho noticed his eyes. The bright brown eyes were brimming with uncertainty and grim determination.

"It's not that I am not scared," he admitted quietly, his fingers gently stroking the back of her hand. "I am trying not to show it. Because if I do, Cho," his neutral mask slipped momentarily, "I know that I'll never be able to bring up the courage to complete the task. When I was chosen as the champion, I promised myself that I will make Mum and Dad proud, that I will keep up the name of my school. I told myself that I'll make you proud of me, that I'd make you happy." He brought her hand gently to his lips. "And if I don't force myself to keep calm, I know I will break down."

Cho smiled at him, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as she marvelled just how lucky she was to have such a wonderful boyfriend.

"Come back safe tomorrow," she whispered, leaning in to kiss him softly on the lips. "I won't be able to bear it if you got hurt."

"I'll come back," he smiled back. "Promise."

And after another kiss, long and deep, as the stars above quivered and the clouds shifted, the two of them slowly made their way back downstairs from the tower.

But of course, storms don't give any warning of their arrival other than an absolute calm which acts as their prelude, nor does Fate like to give indications of the cruel schemes she weaves. The scenery beyond the Hogwarts castle lay in a blanket of beauty and serenity.

But the maze lay there like a massive black hole, waiting to swallow all that came its way.