"Krum? Where did you—" Before Rose could finish the sentence, Krum lunged at her and she screamed. He started throwing stunning spells at her, and due to the surprise, she was barely blocking them.

"Are you mad?!" she yelled as she blocked another curse he threw at her. Something in his demeanor suddenly changed, and he stilled.

Then, his voice rang out coldly, "Crucio."

Her heart leapt as she caught sight of the Triwizard Cup, glinting like a beacon of hope in the distance. She forced herself to run faster, her legs burning, her lungs aching. The sound of cracking behind her filled her with dread, but she didn't dare look back.

Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed in front of her. The spider lunged, and she tripped, her body hitting the ground hard. Her wand flew from her hand, skittering across the dirt.

In the moment it took to comprehend her situation, the realization hit her: she was about to be eaten by a gigantic spider. She could almost feel its fangs closing in when she heard a crack, and the monstrosity turned away from her, launching itself at a new target.

Potter.

"Bastard!" Too stunned to say anything else, she grabbed her wand. "Bombarda!" The spell hit the spider, momentarily disorienting it.

Potter was on his feet, casting spells left and right. "Stupefy!" he shouted. Their combined efforts were relentless, spell after spell colliding with the beast. The spider shrieked one last time before collapsing, its legs curling inward.

Before she could give herself a moment of pause, she turned to the cup which was gleaming at them, merely a few feet away.

"Take it!" Potter yelled, his voice strained with pain and exhaustion.

"Take it?" Rose screamed, turning to him. "Did you fall into a cauldron of stupid potion, Potter? You're bleeding out, you take it!"

Potter was trying to steady himself against a hedge, his face very pale. Rose ran towards him, trying to help him up. "Just take it, it's a win."

Rose looked at him with utter shock. She grabbed him by the shoulder. "Fine, I'll drag you if I need to."

"No!"

"No?" Rose screamed at him in disbelief. "You've saved me! Twice!"

Potter's face twisted in frustration. "That's not how it's supposed to work," he said, anger lacing his words. "The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."

Rose shook her head, crossing her arms stubbornly. "No."

"Stop it," Potter snapped, his irritation clear. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."

Rose watched as Potter steadied himself more against the hedge, trying to catch his breath. "You took that spider bite for me!"

Potter's face darkened as he tried to mop the blood from his leg. "You helped me with the egg—we're square."

Rose shook her head, her voice softer but firm. "You told me about the dragons!"

"And you told me! Who cares?" Potter insisted, testing his leg and wincing in pain. He could barely stand. "Just take the bloody thing."

"I don't want it now," Rose argued, her voice still stubborn but with a hint of desperation.

Potter was out of arguments, which was all Rose needed to grab him more firmly under his arm and drag them both towards the cup. "You're the youngest, it'll be class. Come on!"

"No!" Potter yelled back. They were now standing in front of the cup. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought, and Rose worried it might be due to the blood loss.

"Why don't we take it... together?" he suggested, his voice strained but resolute.

Her eyes widened at the idea. It would be the perfect win, emerging from the maze just as they had entered it—side by side. "Together," she agreed.

They both placed their hands close to the Goblet. "On three," Potter said. "One—two—NOW!"

Rose stood up, shaking dirt off her clothes. "Did you know it would be a portkey?"

"No," Potter looked as confused as she felt. "Maybe it's part of the task?"

"Wands out then," she said, her voice tense.

Suddenly, they heard someone approaching. A cloaked figure emerged from the darkness. Rose instinctively stepped in front of the boy, her wand raised. "Behind me, Potter."

Potter started writhing, clutching his forehead frantically, contorted in pain just like she was when Krum had cursed her.

Before Rose could react, something had struck her with such force that she was jerked backwards. Her head hit the stone of a grave with a terrible-sounding crack, and darkness flooded her vision.

"Will you stop that?" Bill growled as Charlie continued to nervously tap his fingers against the wood of the stands.

Charlie looked at his hand, as if he himself wasn't aware that he was doing it. "It's not like I'm doing it on purpose."

Bill snorted back a laugh. "She's fine. She'll exit with Harry in tow, and you can be the lovesick puppy trailing behind her."

Charlie's eyes widened, a mixture of anger and worry churning in his gut. "Oh really?" he said, turning to his brother. "Well, I was going to tell you what I've overheard the Veela girl say, but I suppose—"

"What?" Bill asked too eagerly, prompting a laugh from Charlie.

"She said to keep your stupid mouth shut, you git."

Bill was correct, in fact. Not a minute later, Harry and Rose materialized in front of them, stumbling down on the grass in front of the maze. Suddenly, everyone stood up, and roaring cheers erupted from the crowd from every inch of the stands. Charlie stood up with them, clapping wildly, a wide smile on his face as he waited for Rose to stand up, but Harry's back was blocking her from his view.

Suddenly, a terrible scream echoed across the night, louder than the loudest cheer of victory. On Charlie's left, Amelia was running down the narrow steps leading to the pitch, Graham was following trying to catch her, screaming at her to stop. He caught her wrist, but the girl yanked it with a sobbing yell, "Let go!" and with that, she ran faster until she was next to Harry, Graham following close behind with hesitance.

"No!" Her second scream was so gut-wrenching that Charlie felt it spread through his entire body. "No, please... No, no..."

Suddenly, Bill was in front of him, his face contorted in a grimace of helplessness. "Don't look."

But it was too late. Just before his brother appeared, Harry had slightly moved to look up to the standing Dumbledore, his hands red with blood and his eyes mirroring Bill's helplessness, holding Rose's limp head. McGonagall and Flitwick were desperately trying to keep the crowd back, but Rose's brother, followed by two Slytherin boys, pushed them out of the way. Theo collapsed on Harry's other side, and as soon as he touched his sister's white hand, the boy turned to run back to the stands, retching. Rose's aunt held a sobbing Amelia in her arms, and the Slytherin boys joined the professors, now including Snape, in keeping the scene out of sight from the spectators.

Charlie's heart was in his throat, every beat a painful reminder that he couldn't reach her. He didn't even register his brother and mother trying to push him onto the stairs and off the stands; his legs were moving as if they had a mind of their own. He ripped himself from Bill.

"Don't!" his voice broke. But as he turned around, he felt his mother's gentle hand on his shoulder.

"She's with her family," she said softly.

Charlie's legs were glued to the ground. He couldn't move a single muscle, and then, like a phoenix's song, he heard Graham's desperate yell:

"There's a pulse!"

The next moments were a blur. The crowd made way, and a stretcher appeared. Rose was pushed up the stairs with the help of the three Slytherin boys led by Madam Pomfrey, her family trailing closely behind them. As the stretcher came into view, he couldn't stop himself from looking.

Rose lay still, whiter than a ghost, with blood trailing from above her left temple and down her neck. Her eyes were closed, making her look like she was in a peaceful dream. Apart from the blood and small cuts on her face and hands, she looked unharmed—except that she was still, like a marble statue. The tightening in his chest returned, and Charlie's hands trembled as he tried to push his way through, to follow them, but he was unable to. Desperate for help, he turned toward his mother and brother, who shook their heads. Charlie collapsed into his mother's arms soon after that, as they sat still in the chaos of the screaming crowd.

His mind was a whirlwind of fear and desperation, every sob from Amelia, every shout from the crowd, every desperate look from his family echoing as he closed his eyes. He wanted to rage against the unfairness of it all, but all he could do was cling to his mother. The image of Rose, bloodied and unmoving, haunted him. He had never felt that helpless, so utterly powerless, in his entire life.

As soon as the doors of the Hospital Wing closed, with Aunt Marion following Madam Pomfrey inside, Theodore Nott was faced with the oppressive silence of the corridor.

Amelia, Montague, Bole, and Adrian all stood next to him, utterly silent. None of them dared to move or make a sound until Amelia, once again, burst into tears. Graham quickly moved to hold her, stroking her back, and along with Bole, gently guided her away from the doors. Theo spoke to Adrian with an unnerving calmness in his voice. "It's alright, you can go with them." The boy gave him a tortured look and hurried after their friends.

Theo weakly sank onto the cold stone steps in front of the infirmary's door. The silence pressed in on him, heavy and suffocating. Time seemed to stand still; he had no perception of how long he sat there before he heard hurried footsteps.

Adrian was running toward him, flushed and out of breath. He stopped just as he reached Theo, bending over and clutching his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Theo watched him, stunned. Adrian then sat beside Theo and pressed something into his hands. Theo looked down to find Adrian's flask and a freshly packed wooden pipe.

Theo burst into tears. Adrian reacted quickly, pulling Theo into a tight embrace and kissing his temple. Theo wept harder as Adrian continued to stroke his hair, refusing to let go.

They remained like that for what felt like an eternity until Theo had no tears left to shed. Adrian still didn't loosen his grip, continuing to soothe him with gentle caresses. Their breaths synced and he could feel Adrian's heartbeat against his ear, steady and reassuring. The corridor remained eerily silent, the weight of uncertainty pressing down on them both, with Theo's occasional sniffle and Adrian's soft murmurs of comfort. They only broke apart when they heard the sudden commotion in the corridor. The Weasley family, accompanied by Granger, rushed into the infirmary. Aunt Marion was still inside, no word from her nor Madam Pomfrey since Rose was first rushed in. Soon, the boys realised they weren't alone, because a very pale and sullen-looking Charlie Weasley came down next to Adrian on the steps.

Theo watched his every move, expecting him to speak up but he too stayed silent. Theo then picked Adrian's flask up from the ground and stretched his hand out with it, putting it in front of Weasley. He looked at it for a moment, and Theo noticed how red his eyes were. Charlie sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and took the flask with his strong, muscular arm. He took a swig, grimacing.

"Strong," he muttered, his anguished voice barely above a whisper.

Theo took the flask and examined it. He followed suit and took a big gulp before coughing uncontrollably.

"Merlin, Adrian," he choked. "What's in this, goblin piss?"

Adrian looked at him as if he couldn't stop the words from coming out. "Why do you know what goblin piss tastes like?"

All three of them wheezed instead of laughing, for it was obvious even the funniest cosmic joke couldn't bring them to laugh at the moment.

Theo then examined the pipe, and just as he reached for his wand to light it, Dumbledore rushed Potter into the infirmary. He groaned, burying his head in his hands as Adrian offered him a comforting hand on his back.

A moment later, Dumbledore quietly emerged from the door.

"She's still unconscious," he said slowly and calmly, as fresh tears welled up in Theo's eyes, "but alive."

Theo felt an overwhelming surge of relief and joy. He could have kissed Adrian, Weasley, and Dumbledore—all of them—for how happy he felt in that moment, hearing that one simple word.

Alive.