Disclaimer: All character and the world in this story belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.
A/N: One of the guest reviewers pointed that Ron has never acted rudely with any girl ever. I think they did not read the books carefully.
Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown - "Oh Professor, look! I think I've got an unexpected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor?"
"It is Uranus, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart.
"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?" said Ron.
Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that
made her give them so much homework at the end of the class.
This is taken verbatim from Goblet of Fire, chapter thirteen 'Mad-Eye Moody'. Second point was that his grades never fell, that's because Harry allowed him to use his assignments for help when Hermione didn't. I always had this problem with the writing of JKR that she has been inconsistent at various points throughout the series. Hermione is shown as a level-headed person with strong beliefs who stands against everything she feels wrong but she always allows Ron to remain a prejudiced borderline bully. I want to make it crystal clear that I am not bashing Ron or any other character but I will be trying to portray the characters as actual teenagers with raging hormones and stupid attitudes. Ron's intrinsic qualities would be shown where they are necessary and he would remain by Harry's side for the majority part but that does not mean that his nature is changed to a goody-good guy.
The chapter would be the first half of the final task. POVs will change frequently in the second half of the chapter and I hope that it is half as entertaining to you readers as it was for me while writing.
Sorry for the long note. Please Review and enjoy.
Chapter Fifteen: Final Task
It was the morning of the task and Harry was under rested, his anxiety making it impossible to have a good night's sleep before the final task. The other thing bothering Harry was the tingling feeling in his scar; in the past, he had experienced pain of various extents but this sensation was new. Harry didn't dwell on it for long.
The anticipation to the final task had the whole school in an upbeat mood, exams were over yesterday and students were busy in discussing the upcoming event. The twins were busy in organising their betting pool and many of the senior year students had placed their bets already.
Harry had come down for breakfast a little earlier than usual in a bid to avoid any hostile glares and stares. But as usual, Hermione and surprisingly Ron had accompanied him this early to the great hall. Neville had decided to have a lie-in and wasn't expected at the breakfast table at all so the trio took their usual seats, Ron sat across from Harry while Hermione sat on Harry's right.
"You know mate, last night Fred told me something that can improve your mood." Ron said excitedly in an attempt to cheer Harry up.
"Hmm." Harry answered without any discernible expression.
"Many people have placed bets on your victory. Only Cedric is ahead of you." Ron's excitement was visible to the other two members of the trio. "And a few Beauxbatons students have also bet for you. You have enough support for the task." He gave Harry a cheeky smile, Harry just snorted in response.
"It seems you have also placed a bet on me, Ron." Harry asked in an amused tone but his expressions were that of questioning.
"Nah, my bet is on the French girl." Ron answered with a straight face.
"Really Ronald, how can you betray me like that?" Harry responded with a mock hurt expression on his face. The trio broke into laughter and it took a minute for them to gather their composure. Harry, and Hermione as well, were happy that Ron was trying to lighten up the mood and help with Harry's nerves. Harry was thankful that everything between the three of them was on its way back to normal after a rocky year. They were about to leave after the breakfast when McGonagall approached them.
"Mr. Potter, you are expected in the anteroom at ten, your family will be here to meet you before the task." McGonagall walked away from the trio, leaving a gobsmacked Harry with his two closest friends.
"Why would they be here? They hate magic. Dumbledore might be the greatest ever but not enough to bring them here." Harry responded in a disbelieving manner, he was shocked and confused more than ever. How could the magic-hating relatives of his even agree to talk to some wizard, coming to Hogwarts was beyond his imagination.
The trio spent the next hour and half walking around the castle ground, they walked to the lake then to the stone bridge connecting the western part of the castle where Slytherin common room was to the northern part where Ravelclaw tower was, the view of the lake was beautiful from here and it was a hotspot for couples in the evening who wish to spent the time watching the sun set over the horizon. They walked up to the edge of the forbidden forest to watch the Abraxans in their paddock. They returned to the great hall ten minutes prior to the meeting time. All this time, Harry was trying to work his way through how he would act with his relatives and his two friends would be of no help in that.
"Good luck with your 'family', mate." Ron wished Harry with a clap on his shoulder and walked out of the great hall.
"Everything will be alright, Harry." Hermione told him with a tight hug and departed from the great hall with a smile.
Harry started to walk towards the door at the back of the great hall which led to the anteroom. Harry had come to know that the circular room below was the staff room, information courtesy: Hagrid. The doors led towards kitchens, eastern wing of the castle, where Gryffindor tower was, and to the northern wing. Last time when Harry was in the room, he was so busy in his own thoughts and the discussion all around him that he didn't notice his surroundings.
The corridor leading towards the stairs at the back was lined with painting, portraits to be precise, with plaques below them. They were the paintings of famous alumni of Hogwarts, most of them were centuries old, one such painting was of Nicholas Flamel. He was a bald man with small beard and twinkling eyes, and unlike other pictures, this one was static. Towards the end of the corridor was the painting of Dumbledore in his purple robes and half-moon spectacles, similar to the Flamel painting this was also static.
Harry stepped down the circular stairs with the expectation of seeing His whale of an uncle and horse-faced aunt with his bully of a cousin. He was elated when he saw three people standing there whom he had least expected to see there. Before he could utter a single word, he was engulfed in a 'Molly Weasley's patented' crushing hug. Once he was free from the hug, he was greeted with a handshake by a tall, lean redhead boy who was no older than twenty-five. He had an ear-piercing in his right one, his hair was in a ponytail which gave him a roguish look.
"Hello, Bill Weasley. It's nice to finally meet you." Harry shook the offered hand and said his greetings before turning towards the third man standing a step behind the two Weasleys. He flung himself on the man and gave him a tight hug, the hug was returned by the man with greying light brown hair.
"It's good to see you Moony!" Harry said in an excited and relieved tone. The moment Harry stepped back from the hug, a big brown dog pounced on him and pinned him to the floor. Harry was laughing as the dog licked his face and nuzzled his nose around Harry's neck.
"Harry, meet snuffles." Harry was a bit surprised that Sirius turned from a black dog to a brown one and changed his name to 'snuffles'. Harry was still sitting on the floor patting the dog when Remus kneeled next to him and whispered in his ear, answering the unasked question. "I turned his fur brown, and trim it a bit. Would make it difficult for knowing eyes."
The group of four sat in the chairs while snuffles sat near Harry with its head in Harry's lap. Other champions and their families were also present in the room and Harry noticed the glances exchanged between the French champion and Bill. Bill and Mrs. Weasley also greeted Cedric and his parents and Harry thought that it would be a good idea to introduce Bill to Fleur.
Before Harry could implement his thought, Fleur called him over and introduced him to her family. Her sister, Gabrielle, gave him a hug and didn't leave his side during the short conversation. Fleur's father, Sebastian Delacour was a tall man with a prominently protruding abdomen. He was a bureaucrat in French ministry. Fleur's mother was exactly like Fleur but a couple of inches taller and twenty years older. If he didn't know that she was Fleur's mother, he would have guessed her to be an older sister to Fleur. Veela magic was making a mockery of aging.
Harry got the opportunity to introduce Fleur to Bill just before the lunch was served for the champions and their families. Harry missed the frown on Mrs. Weasley's face when he did the introductions and the two were shaking hands longer then needed. After lunch, Harry, Weasleys and Moony went for a walk around the lake with Snuffles leading the way. They were joined by Ron and Hermione; Neville, Susan and Hannah greeted the ex-DADA professor but didn't stay. A few anecdotes and school life stories were shared and so were a few laughs. Before they knew it, it was 4:30 and they returned to the great hall for dinner.
The final task was scheduled for six o'clock but the audience were to take seats by half past five. Harry bid them farewell and went to the dormitory to change into the jersey for the event. It was a marron shirt over a black slack with a maroon robe with 'Potter' written at the back. Harry wore his dragonhide protective west under the jersey and started the long walk to the quidditch pitch.
When Harry reached the quidditch stadium, he was directed towards the locker room by McGonagall where the other champions were. Every champion was standing or sitting in the locker room with serious expressions on their faces. Harry looked towards Fleur and smiled when she looked towards him. Harry then turned towards Cedric and Zoe who were standing close to each other and nodded in a way of greeting. The other two champions weren't given a second's thought. A minute or so later, Ludo Bagman joined the champions in the locker room and even before the pleasantries can be exchanged, Dumbledore's voice could be heard from the inside of the pitch.
"Good evening everyone. For every witch and wizard present here tonight, it's a memorable evening of your life. After a centuries gap, the tournament was restarted due to the continuous work on the part of the British ministry which was supported at every step by our foreign counterparts."
There was a small pause filled with low applause, Dumbledore continued in his commanding voice. "The task is different than the last two. There will be no dragons and merpeople involved. It's just a maze and in its centre is the trophy we call 'Eternal Glory'. Whoever touches the trophy first will be the champion of this tournament." This was followed by a thunderous applause mixed with cheers and joyous shouts. "The champions will enter the maze in the order of their ranking. Every champion will get a head start of five minutes over the champion placed below them in the table."
Dumbledore then walked into the locker room, "Good evening champions!". The greetings were reciprocated but in a subdued manner. "Gather around."
Dumbledore went silent while the champions moved closer to him, forming a circle. Dumbledore had a very serious expression on his face which commanded all the attention from the listener. Dumbledore's next words were spoken in a quiet but firm manner. "The maze is to test not only your magical abilities but the strength of your mind and character. You won't find a dragon in there but you need to remain focussed if you want to come back unscathed. Any moment you decide to withdraw, fire red sparks and you will be removed from the maze. Good luck!"
With those words, Dumbledore left with Bagman on his heels. The champions just sat there, thinking about their strategies, spells and trying to calm their nerves. The Japanese champion was sitting cross-legged on the floor, deep in meditation. A few seconds later, Cedric's name was called and he left the other five champions and walked towards the maze. Harry had a long ten minutes of waiting before he could enter the maze. Five minutes later, Zoe left the locker room to follow Cedric into the maze.
" 'Ey 'Arry." Fleur said with a small smile. Harry responded with a nervous smile of his own. "You look very nervouzz."
"Yeah, are you not?" He asked in response.
Before the conversation could move ahead, Harry's name was called and he stepped out of the locker room. He could hear the applause and cheers, they weren't thunderous but they were enough to give him a positive feeling. As he stepped out, he was astonished by the sight of it. The inside of the pitch looked larger, a few times larger than it should have been normally. 'Must have been some charm like the tent', he mused. The pitch was full with well-maintained hedges that were twenty feet high.
As he stepped on the grass pitch, he turned to see the stands where the students were sitting. His eyes were searching for a particular individual and they found her a couple of seconds later. A smile was exchanged between the two and Hermione wished him good luck with 'thumbs-up' sign. He turned back and came face to face with Dumbledore, who was standing in front of the entrance to the maze and wished Harry good luck before stepping aside to let him enter the maze. The moment Harry stepped through the maze, the entrance closed behind him.
All went dark.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Cedric had promised her that he would wait and he did, Zoe Walker was a one happy witch. They had decided that they would go through the maze together and win it together. 'What a way to announce that you are a couple', she chuckled at the thought. Cedric was waiting for her at the first intersection and they started their walk to victory. She had high hopes for her future and she had betted everything on this relationship working. Cedric had stumble upon her during an emotionally exhausting day and struck a conversation with her. She had received a letter from her father that morning that she was now not allowed to meet his brother as she was the reason his life was in danger. They had spoken for a few minutes and the conversation had led towards her family and then towards her emotional state. From then onwards, Cedric had listened to her rant for half an hour, he was quite understanding and he tried to cheer her up.
The next she knew, she had broken down in front of him and he was consoling her. One thing led to another and by the dinner time, she was kissing Cedric. Things were pretty bad for the first two weeks where Cedric had a breakup due to his girlfriend's jealousy towards Zoe and her suspicions that Cedric was unfaithful. To be clear, Cedric was nothing but gentlemanly, he had pushed Zoe when she came onto him and told her that he could be just a friend to her as he was already committed. Chang's jealousy had pushed Cedric towards her and the three months that followed it saw them get serious about each other.
Cedric had always dreamed to join wizarding law enforcement and become an auror. He was hardworking and level-headed and that was the reason he was sorted into Hufflepuff. He had put a lot of efforts to improve himself as a wizard and as a person throughout his time at Hogwarts and he had been successful in that. He was the quidditch captain of the Hufflepuff team, he was among the top five students in his year and he was on his way to become the champion of this elusive tournament, he ticked all the boxes to become an auror.
During their career counselling with the head of house, he had discussed this with Madam Sprout and she was excited about his prospects. His father was a part of DMLE and he had already registered Cedric in Auror Academy for enrolment, now he had to score good in his N.E.W.T.s to become eligible for the training. The first part of that task was done and he had sat his N.E.W.T.s in the past two weeks, the only thing between him and the Auror Academy was his results.
That was not the only big plan of his near future. If they win today, he would propose Zoe to move in with him as he would be moving out of his family home this summer. They had confessed their love for each other and they had decided to give it a go. Zoe was moving to London and she would be applying for a place in Auror Academy. She didn't have much family, except her mother, back in the states so she it was easy for her to let things go and move to a new country. Cedric was open to moving to states if they became more serious and Zoe was unable to settle in England.
The duo had a slow start, they had hit a couple of dead ends and they had the feeling that they were going in loops as they haven't come across anything for the last fifteen minutes or so. This thought was suddenly pushed to the back of their mind when they came across a Manticore. The moment their eyes landed on the powerful and extremely dangerous creature, their eyes went wide in shock which was quickly followed by fear. Zoe was standing a step ahead of Cedric, she started firing all the curses she knew, Cedric was shielding her from his place behind her. They wanted to incapacitate the beast so they could move on, they were aware that most of the known spells were useless against Manticores and they were trying their best to find an opening. The aisle between the hedges wasn't wide enough that they could round him up from opposite sides. They were firing at him for more than five minutes nothing was happening to the beast. It seemed like the beast was unable to move forward beyond a point as if a barrier was in place. The duo didn't want to backdown and change course so they took the confrontational option.
"Any plans?" Zoe asked Cedric in an exasperated tone, the spells were tiring her.
"You take the defence, I will do the casting." Cedric answered. He took a couple of steps forward so that Zoe stood behind him. As he stepped ahead, the creature transformed.
The scene in front of him was unexpected, a moment before where the manticore stood were to figures, one was kneeling and the other was standing with folded hands while shaking his head from side to side. The kneeling figure was Cedric and the standing figure was Zoe. The-fake-Cedric looked feeble and heartbroken while the-fake-Zoe looked happy and devilish.
"It's a boggart. 'Riddikulus '!" The figures in front of them turned into black some and dissolved into the hedges. The couple walked forward, hand in hand and a lot of questions in mind.
"Why is your boggart a Manticore?" Cedric asked a minute later, unable to suppress the urge to ask it.
"Granpa was a Magizoologist. He was studying a Manticore they were trying to tame. The creature killed him and his five-member crew. It happened when I was twelve, since then it is my worst fear." She answered, her voice trembling towards the end. Cedric threw his left arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner.
"What about you, Ced?" Zoe asked him in a concerned voice, using his nickname to have more impact.
"I was…." He stopped and turned towards her to look in her eyes. "I was going to ask you to move in with me." In response to this proclamation, she just flung herself in his arms.
"I would never say no to that." She answered with a chuckle, quickly followed by a searing kiss. They shared a light and happy moment in the middle of the final task. An uneventful fifteen minutes and a few turns later the duo reached a crossroads and they stopped abruptly. But before they could decide which one to choose, a blue spell came flying towards them.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Fleur was the last champion to enter the maze and she had little hope of winning it. She knew that the second task would screw up her chances greatly and so she wasn't too worried about winning, she just wanted to perform to the best of her abilities. She had sat for her N.E.W.T.s and she was certain that she would have a lot of career options open for her. She could become a healer as she was good with potions and charms, she could become a curse-breaker because she was good with ancient runes, arithmancy and charms; the only option unavailable for her was to become an auror. She was not a top student in DADA and she did not want to have that busy a life anyway, so auror was out of question.
She might apply for a curse-breaker position with Gringotts, may be here in England. The Weasley guy she met today was charming and if she was honest with herself, she would agree that Bill was a factor to be taken in consideration. He was unaffected by her Veela allure, he was a curse-breaker and he had moved to England this year. Maybe she could do something about it.
She had walked for less than five minutes when she was broken out of her reverie when she heard a twig breaking behind her. She stopped suddenly, fear creeping in the crevices of her courage. She turned on her heel, wand at ready but before she could do anything, a fearful shriek came out of her and everything went black.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
'I hate British laws', Kenechi was musing to himself. 'How was a supposed to know that you have to register a charmed artefact. We don't do that back home, charmed object is one of our specialities', he was placed fourth due a stupid regulatory point. And now the Hogwarts champion had a fifteen-minute head start. He started sprinting ahead, took a few random turns and reached a passage which was filled with dark coloured roots, vines and branches. He was feeling suspicious of them so he ran ahead and that's where everything went wrong.
The vines and Roots became alive, they were moving, lashing, swinging on their own accord. His leg got stuck in a root and he fell face first to the floor, his wand was thrown a few feet away and before he could do anything to retrieve it, the root tightened around his ankle. He did the only thing that came to his mind, he started to kick it with his other leg but to no avail. In the next ten seconds, his arms and legs were tied with the branches and they were rapidly coiling around him.
He had realized that it was devil's snare and he knew how to get rid of it but without his wand it was useless. He had given up to his fate, the plant had started to strangle him and now he was trying to keep his calm. He stopped his fidgeting and held his breath for a minute. The knots around him started to loosen up, he moved his eyes in search of his wand, trying his best to not move any other muscle. He found his wand but it was futile as it had snapped under the plant. So for all intents and purposes, he was out of the competition. If he came across anything else, the best he can do was run and avoid it. He waited for a minute after he was released so that the plant can revert to a position as far as possible.
When he thought that it would be safe to make a dash for it, he did just that. The next thing he remember, he was hit in the face by a spell and everything went dark.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
'Lumos', Harry started walking, he took the first left then a right and kept walking for a minute. At the next turn, Harry realized that it was the wrong thing to do. In front of him stood a fully-grown Blast-ended Skrewt, the hideous hybrid of a Manticore and a firecrab. Hagrid had taught about them in his class this year and most of the students had burns over their arms. That was a busy day in the infirmary. Hermione had asked out of curiosity, hot to control them or subdue them.
Hagrid was happy that Hermione was interested in the creature and gave her an elaborate answer. The crux of it was that the joints in their scorpion-like stinger tail were a vulnerable spot and the same for their legs. The place where their top and bottom shells connected was also easy to attack and so wo the unarmoured underside of its belly, every other place was impervious to spell damage. One other way was tying them up with wrought iron chains as it was a metal which could not be dissolved with their venom or sparks.
Harry knew that conjuration was beyond his capabilities so he had to attack the right spots. He quickly assumed a stance similar to the fencing stance named 'Quarte'. He waited a second to aim before firing a blasting curse at his stinger which was followed by a series of piercing and cutting curses. He had to avoid his attacking stinger on a couple of occasion. The creature propelled itself towards Harry and it took all his experience of quidditch that he dived ahead so that the creature went over him to the other side.
He didn't get a chance to relax or run ahead as the stingers started to attack him again. He was trying to get a shot at the soft spots but till now he was unable to do so. He had an opportunity presented to him when the creature propelled towards him but he dived face-first and in doing so, he missed the golden opportunity. Couple of minutes later, one of his piercing curse found its mark and the rear side stinger was out of play.
But there was not respite in sight just yet. Hermione had always complained, since the first flying lesson in first year, that Harry was reckless. Right now, the plan Harry's brain was cooking was exactly that, reckless. It was dangerous and full of uncertainty but Harry could not think about anything else that could trump this plan.
Harry started running towards the beast, he was maintaining a steady stream of 'Reducto' (blasting curse) to keep it off-balance. Once he was close enough to the beast, he dived headfirst and twisted in the air so that he was facing the sky. His dive positioned him just under the horrible beast who was caught off-guard. Before the creature could react, Harry fired blasting and piercing curse one after the other.
At the end of the ordeal, he was pinned to the ground by the corpse of the beast, completely covered with blood and gore. It was good that he had learnt to conjure a jet of water which he used to wash his face to get clean from all the sticky blood and bits.
He started his to walk but he suddenly heard a shriek, he turned and sprinted in the direction. He wasn't certain where the source was but he ran in the general direction. And before long he had stumbled upon the source.
Fleur was unconscious and bound to the ground with roots and vines. Without giving a second thought, he fired red sparks in the sky and moved ahead.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
If someone just said that Hermione was worried, it would be the understatement of the year. She had been sitting here for about an hour and Harry had entered the maze less than twenty minutes ago. That was not the reason she was worried.
She was worried because just a second ago, professor McGonagall had brought an unconscious Fleur Delacour out of the maze. She was pale and had taken a knock, most probably a concussion.
Hermione had to sit on the side-lines when Harry was busy doing stupid manoeuvres on his broom during quidditch, she had sat and watched him battle a Hungarian Horntail, she knew that he had fought a basilisk, he had jumped on a troll, he had sent a hundred dementors away with a patronus; hell, he had faced You-Know-Who at the age eleven. She knew that whatever he was up against in the maze could not be as dangerous as the things above but she had been proven wrong during the first task. It was a good thing that she was sitting between Remus and Ron who were giving her silent support that Harry was alright. She was patting Sirius, who's had was lying in her lap and he was trying to make her laugh by doing silly stuff with its ears, tongue and head.
Needless to say, it wasn't working that well.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Harry was running full speed when suddenly he felt a chill run down his spine. He knew it well enough, it was a dementor. Five seconds later, he was standing in front of the horrible creature. Oh, how he hated these filthy, shrouded creatures of darkness. His mind was conjuring one of the happiest memories in his life.
The incarnation of his happiness, his patronus, Prongs, formed in front of his eyes as he spoke the incantation. He silver-guardian galloped toward the cloaked figure but it remained unaffected.
And then it clicked, it was a dementor. 'Riddikulus' and the next moment the boggart turned into black smoke and dissolved into the hedges.
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
They duo jumped apart and assumed a defensive position behind the hedges on the opposite sides of the path from which the spell was fired. They started firing stunning spells alternatively so to maintain a continuous stream of stunners.
"I will step ahead, cover me with shield." Zoe shouted to Cedric and stepped out of the hedges and started moving towards the attacker. Cedric's clumsily raised shield was decimated with the first spell, the second one hitting Zoe squarely in the chest, throwing her ten feet back, unconscious.
That was it. Cedric jumped out of the hedges and started firing stunners rapidly but before he could hit the attacker, another shout rung in his ear.
'Expelliarmus'.
A red spark flew towards the attacker and his wand went flying out of his hand. The next stunner from Cedric got him in the face, throwing him a few feet back. Cedric ran towards him and saw that the attacker was none other than Victor Krum. His anger was rising, he pointed his wand towards Krum's face, a nasty curse on the tip of his tongue. But he was stopped by another voice.
"Don't, he is not himself."
-0X0-0X0-0X0-
Harry had continued ahead, he checked for the trophy twice on his way and he was happy that he was making some progress. A couple of turns later, he heard shouts of spellcasting and misfired spells. He quickened his pace and followed the sound. He came closer to an intersection, his wand pointing ahead but he stopped abruptly when he saw who was firing the spells. But he did not stop quickly enough, the person standing close to the turn turned towards him, his wand pointed at Harry's face.
It was Krum, but something was odd about him. He didn't fire a curse at Harry but he looked at him for a few seconds before turning back to firing spell. His eyes where glossed over and clouded, Harry knew that symptom, he had experienced it this year, Krum was under an Imperius Curse.
Harry decided that it would be better to disarm him and that's what he did.
'Expelliarmus', the wand came flying towards him which he caught easily due to his seeker reflexes. The next moment, Krum was thrown away and he saw Cedric running to him, his wand pointed ahead. He also ran towards the fallen champion, he saw that Cedric wanted to curse him but he had to be stopped form during something wrong.
"Don't, he is not himself." Harry got a hold of Cedric's wand arm but it was jerked out of his grip. Without another word, Cedric ran back to his fallen partner to check on her. He kneeled down and moved her unconscious form into his lap and tried to revive her. The spell brought her back to consciousness but it was not a good idea as she had a concussion due to her head hitting the ground during the fall.
"We should get her out." Harry said quietly and at receiving an affirmative nod from Cedric, he fired red sparks in the sky. Harry left the couple in that position and walked away.
After a couple of minutes later, he reached a passage which was filled with fog. Harry couldn't see past the fog but the spell was pointing that the trophy was in that direction. He squared his shoulders and stepped in the smoke and the next moment the world turned on its head, literally.
He could feel the gravity acting the wrong-way, his hair was now skyward. He held the nearest branch with his empty hand to save himself from 'falling'. His courage and will faltered for a moment but he strengthened his resolve and started walking ahead. Once he stepped out of the fog, everything became normal and gravity started to pull him the right-way. Harry walked straight for a few seconds and came across a dead end but the spell was still pointing in that direction. He took the last turn available and redirected himself.
A couple of minutes later, he came face to face with a creature he had never seen before. It was a Sphinx, with the body of a lion and the head of a human, reclining in his way ahead. This Sphinx was a female one, its face as beautiful as any Veela. Harry slowly and cautiously took a step closer to it and the sphinx stood up from its prone position. The creature spoke in a melodious but firm voice which was in itself a warning.
"I will riddle you once, the one who seeks a passage.
Prepare yourself but first understand my message.
If your answer is correct, you shall pass, oh passer-by,
But if you are wrong, you will surely die."
"I accept." Harry answered after thinking it through, very unlike himself.
The sphinx nodded and started reciting the riddle as a poem.
"I tower over the man-made plain, my peaks scrape the heavens.
I have many brother; in fact, we may be as many as a hundred and seven.
We're as ancient as the oldest trees, but not older than the hills.
We've been studied for centuries, but with mysteries we are still filled."
Riddles was not Harry's speciality, he was sure that Hermione would have answered it in less than ten seconds. He brain was running like a horse in a race but the answer was still a few miles away. He started to go through the riddle line-by-line. The first line was something about tall towers, the second was the number of it, hundred and seven; they are ancient but they are not part of nature, they are mysterious.
He brain was searching for the answer for two minutes now, he could feel the sphinx's gaze on him which was making him nervous by second. 'What can it be? Old, tall, tower mysterious, hundred and seven.'
It was the eureka moment for Harry when a two years old conversation came to his mind. It was during the summer before his third year when he met Ron after he returned from his vacation in Egypt. He had told Harry about the pyramids and how many there were, that was the number, hundred and seven. They matched the description: tall, tower, ancient, mysterious; that was the answer, it had to be. A chuckle escaped him when he thought about it, it was funny in a weird way, a sphinx asking a riddle about pyramids.
"The answer is 'the pyramids of Egypt'." Harry answered confidently, looking in the eye of the creature.
The sphinx gave him a smirk and stepped aside to allow him passage. Harry started walking but his eyes were glued to the exotic Egyptian creature. No more than fifty steps after he crossed the sphinx, he stood facing an acromantula which was as large as eight feet. Harry had some experience with these creatures due to his visit to the acromantula colony in the forbidden forest during his second year.
There was fifteen feet of distance between him and the beast and he wanted to keep it that way. He knew one spell which could repel them, thanks to a teenaged Tom Marvolo Riddle, the only thing Harry will ever thank him for. But in this situation, that spell would be useless as the trophy was thirty-forty feet behind the beast. He wanted to get rid of it but he didn't want to kill; he didn't want to kill any creature, even a gigantic spider with a taste for human flesh.
The only thing Harry could think of was to levitate the spider and reach the trophy and do the same for returning. The plan needed a perfect execution for it to be a success. He could see the pincers clicking and anyone would honestly agree that they weren't a morale booster.
He pointed his wand at the beast before using the spell, 'Wingardium Leviosa' and the creature went ten feet in the air. Harry was almost below the creature when the spell gave up and the beast fell on Harry, pinning his wand to the ground with its weight. Before Harry could react, a pain shot through his legs, the pain was so intense that it could give tough competition to the basilisk bite.
Harry knew that one of the pincers was through his leg, most probably the bone had a fracture, the bite started to have a burning sensation as the pincer was withdrawn from the bite. Harry reacted as fast as he could and waved his wand, 'Arania Exumai' and the spider was thrown up in the air. Harry scrapped away from his previous position before the beast could fall but he couldn't move far, his damaged leg made it next to impossible. The beast turned towards Harry who was trying to move away from it. It was getting closer and Harry had the feeling that the next bite would be his last. Before that thought became a reality, a blasting curse blew a part of the creature's side.
The acromantula tumbled forward but didn't rise again. There was a lot of blood where the beast was fallen, all its legs on one side were blasted. Behind the beast stood Cedric with his wand pointing forward. He crossed the creature and stood where Harry was sitting on the ground. He bent and checked his left leg for the wound from the acromantula bite. 'Ferula', he said and waved his wand, bandages spun on Harry's wounded leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. He helped Harry stand up but Harry fell again, the pain was too much and the acromantula venom was making him dizzy.
"Can you stand?" Harry nodded but he wasn't sure. "Let's take the trophy and end this together."
Harry's head jerked towards him in shock, here was the guy who saved him from a beast and was now offering to finish it together.
"No, you saved me when you need not to. You go, you are the champion." Harry replied, he was befuddled by Cedric's generosity and selflessness.
"No, you were first here, you helped with Krum and this way it would a Hogwarts victory, don't you think." Cedric answered and swung Harry's left arm over his shoulder to support him in walking. The halted less than two feet from the trophy and admired the beauty of it. The trophy was emanating a silvery blue glow, sourced at the point where the heart should be.
"It's amazing." Cedric said in a childlike excited manner. "On the count of three then; one, two, three." They both gripped one wing of the phoenix which was in the shape of a handle.
The moment their fingers came in contact with the crystal object, they felt a pull behind their navels and they lost contact with the ground. They were swirling and the next moment they fell on a grassy surface, the cup thrown some distance away during their fall. Harry tried to stand up, he tried to held on the nearest structure for support. He turned on his place to scan the area.
His blood ran cold at the sight of his surroundings, he had been to this place, not physically present but seen this place in his dreams. They were in a graveyard, the graveyard from his nightmare. The shock of being here made his knees weak and he fell down on the floor.
"Harry, are you okay?" Harry could not answer; the shock had made him speechless. "The trophy, it was a portkey."
"We need to leave Cedric, now." Harry said in a commanding tone, his jaw clenched. He glanced towards a small tool-shed made of stones with a tiled roof. The door opened and a blinding pain shot through Harry's scar. Harry knew what was causing it, his eyes were partially closed due to the pain but he did not need to see the cause of his pain, he knew it. "Run Cedric, get to the trophy."
"Who are you, what do you want?" Cedric stood up facing the new entry on the scene, his wand targeting the new guy.
"Kill the spare!", a raspy, hissing voice said which Harry had become very familiar with.
"Avada Kedavra!", a shaky voice was heard shouting the spell, a jet of green light struck Cedric and he slumped at the spot like a puppet whose strings were cut.
"Cedric!" Harry screamed at the top of his voice, the pain in his scar and wound combined with the shock of seeing Cedric die in front of his eyes was too much for Harry and he passed out.
A/N: I apologize if you don't like the writing in the first half, I am not happy with that myself. A few surprises in the next chapter.
Please review.