The Diggory Sister (Part 4) (A Harry Potter Love Story)

Chapter 35

I turned around, stopping as I felt Moody's hand on my shoulder. Turning my head, he gave me a nod of reassurance before letting me go. I craned my head further and saw Delia standing beside her mother and Madame Maxine.

I let out a breath before walking in. Turning around one last time to see Moody motioning his finger to the left. I gave a small smile before looking forward.

Once more I turned around when I heard movement and saw the maze moving together, blocking my way out and only allowing me to go forward.

It felt like I had been in this maze for an eternity. All of my senses were on high alert, my body already in a fight or flight mode. Embarrassingly enough every sound had me jumping and turning in its direction.

The maze itself clearly had a mind of its own; if I stood still and looked at it long enough it almost seemed to be breathing like a pair of lungs.

I was giving myself an internal pep talk as I continued, listening intently to every little sound, when I was stopped by a piercing scream echoing. As if on autopilot I ran in the direction when I turned a corner and heard noises coming from the one just ahead.

Leaning myself against the shrubbery, almost trying to make myself one with the plant, I walked alongside it when Krum came from the fog. I stopped moving and even breathing when the weight of my body moved and cracked a twig.

In an instant Krum spun around, wand aimed at me, yet he didn't attack me which I knew he had likely just done to someone only minutes ago.

Thanks to the glow from his wand, I noticed that Krums eyes had a foggy and glazed look to them. Before I could question it further or say something, he lowered his wand and walked right by me.

I finally let out a breath of air, before running in the direction he had come from. Only a minute or so later I heard the maze rustling and rushing over I saw its vines had entangled themselves around Fleur and were dragging her into itself.

"Fleur?"

I knew there was nothing I could do to untangle her, when I remembered Dumbledore's words. Standing up I raised my wand in the air, "Periculum." From my wand came a red glow before shooting upwards into the sky as red sparks.

Though I knew it was the right thing to do, part of me regretted it as it seemed like it angered the maze. Heavy gusts of wind came my way and the flight instinct finally kicked in, especially when as I was running the maze was trying to encase itself around me.

Flinging myself into another aisle, the wind stopped, and the entrance closed off, confirming to me that the maze really was alive.

As I turned around, I saw somewhat ahead of me was the Triwizard Cup. I rushed forward when I stopped at a four-way intersection by Krum shouting something unintelligent and Cedric yelling, "Get down!"

Immediately I dropped down seeing a flash of green pass over me, one that took me back to Defense Against the Dark Arts when Moody killed that spider, in front of Delia, with the last unforgivable curse.

Fear shot through me, but then relief when I heard Cedric yell, "Get down!" Krum said something again or was about to when Cedric yelled, "Expelliarmus!" And Krum went twirling through the air before landing with a thud, unconscious.

"Always wanted to do that," I heard Cedric breathe out before jumping over me and running over to Krum. As I stood up, I saw him kick his wand away before he shockingly pointed his wand at Krum again.

"No, don't! Stop!" I said running over and trying to push him away, yet it felt like I was trying to move a heavy stone with the way I was struggling, when Krum's eyes came back to me, "He's bewitched, Cedric!"

"He's bewitched!"
"Get off me!" Cedric said as he pushed me off before turning and running towards the cup. Something came through me, a sudden sense of greed. Cedric and I were suddenly pushing and pulling one another trying to get to the cup, Cedric's shirt even ripping at one point.

Both of us coming to a stop when we rounded a corner and saw the cup straight ahead.

"Yes."

Once more we were both running forward shoving each other as we were now trying not to get tripped by the vines coming from under the shrubbery and the random pieces trying to smack us in the face.

It was only feet away when I glanced behind me and stopped dead in my tracks. The vines were wrapping around Cedrics body or trying to as he continuously struggled, which almost seemed to anger them.

With the darkness I couldn't see everything besides the faint outlines and the grunts. Turning my head, I saw the cup was right there... that sense of greed rushing forward yet the part of me that held reason and knowledge of right and wrong... the part that held Delia close to both my mind and heart was there.

"Harry!"

I turned my head back to see Cedric still struggling and calling out for me. When Delia's voice whispered against my ear, recalling her last request to me before I entered the maze. 'Protect him for me, Harry. Please... don't fight, don't change.'

Aiming my wand towards the struggling mass of human and vine I called, "Reducto!" A lot, but not all, of the vines retracted themselves and I ran over and helped Cedric out of the remaining ones.

Once both of us were up and free, Cedric was the first to speak. "Tha... Thanks," he coughed out, his breath a wheezing sound. "No problem," I replied.

"You know, for a moment there, I thought you were – you were gonna let it get me," he admitted. "For a moment, so did I," I found myself admitting.

I could tell Cedric was a bit shocked at that, even I was. "Some game, huh?" Cedric said. "Some game," I agreed. The sudden sounds of branches crackling ended the short break and that same heavy wind from earlier came back.

"Go!" Cedric said, grabbing my elbow and turning us both around, dropping it once we were both running to the cup.

Even as we reached it the wind didn't die down, likely mad that it was denied its capture of Cedric. "Go on, take it!" Cedric yelled over the wind while nudging me towards it, "you saved me, take it!"

"Together," I said, "One, two..."
"Two..."
"Three!"

Rushing forward we each grabbed a handle and with another flash of blue we were transported somewhere.

As the wind was knocked out of me, I didn't hear the sound of the band or the cheering of the crowd, and as I looked up dread and fear came over me as all I saw was tombstones.