Time Is Life

third task

They walk onto the Quidditch field, which is now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge runs all the way around the edge of it. There is a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looks dark.

Five minutes later, the stands begin to fill; the air is full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students file into their seats. The sky is a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars are starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick come walking into the stadium and approach Bagman and the champions. They are wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who has his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," says Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"

The champions nod.

"Off you go, then!" says Bagman brightly to the four patrollers. The four walk away to their positions, but Hagrid not without wishing Harry good luck. Harry smiles softly and then looks into stormy grey eyes that send jitters down to the pits of his stomach. That man is the best thing that ever happened to him and the one that made it with it to go through all that humiliation again.

Cedric smiles back at him, feeling similarly, the brunette takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each - Mr Cedric Diggory and Mr Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause send birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second place, with eighty points - Mr Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" says Bagman. "Three - two - one -"

He gives a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurry forward into the maze.

The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they are so tall and thick or because they have been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd is silenced the moment they enter the maze. Cedric feels almost as though he was underwater again. He pulls out his wand, mutters, "Lumos," and hears Harry do the same just in front of him.

After about 45 metres, they reach a fork. They look at each other.

"See you and stay safe," Harry says with a small smile, that hides a lot of sadness. Cedric swiftly hugs Harry and tilts his head up and captures his plump lips in his. "Don't worry, this day won't end the same as before, I have this now." He holds up the invisibility cloak and Harry nods with a tiny smile.

He takes the right one, while Harry took the left.

Cedric hears Bagman's whistle for the second time. Viktor has entered the maze. Cedric speeds up. His chosen path seems completely deserted. He turns left, and hurries on, holding his wand high over his head, trying to see as far ahead as possible. There must be something wrong...

...of course!! He just has to jinx himself! Cedric dives out of the way of a Blast-Ended Skrewt. That thing is massive! The creature is trying to catch him with its stinger. Startled, Cedric rolls out of the way and scrambles to his feet. Running to the nearest path to try and get away from the Skrewt.

A blast behind him has him turning around again and in quick succession, he starts feeling a tidal wave of emotions, fear from Fleur, and Harry's apparently unnerved, Viktor uneasy and the crowd excited. Mixing into a cacophony of noise and uncertainty, he presses his eyes close in an attempt to still his senses but to no avail. He can't shake the noise out the waves of the different discordant emotions. It's as though someone pulled out a plug that was clogging his Empathy. Cedric has the worst luck anyone could have... He hates it and to his surprise, there aren't any blows coming his way.