Nico Di Angelo and the Goblet of Fire •Book one of the Two Dark Lords series•

Chapter Eighteen

Horcruxes. That has to be it. I grit my teeth and my eyes darken. How this disgrace to wizard kind even found out about horcruxes, never mind actually make them! It makes my blood boil just thinking about it, no one disrespects my father like that! I listen to their hushed voices, they speak of nothing important but then I hear a familiar name.

"I will bring you Harry Potter, my lord." A man says. He seems to be younger, maybe in his thirties. When I hear him mention Harry my stomach tightens and I immediately know that this is important. Something big is going to happen at Hogwarts, something that isn't going to be good at all. And then I hear something else that sends shivers up my spine.

"And the boy, the exchange student... you will keep an eye on him too."

"Yes my lord." The man responds again and whatever is in the chair breathes in one long, labored, shuddering breath. My vision goes fuzzy and I fade back into the black void, I can't stop thinking about what I just heard. Me. He said to keep an eye on me, why? I get it that I am mysterious and a stranger but that still doesn't explain why they are interested in me or what they want from me. It feels like I am trying to put a puzzle together, and there is a missing piece. A huge gaping hole in whatever mystery I am trying to solve. Something is missing... but what? I am always sent on jobs and missions that seem simple, but they always turn out to be complicated, something else always comes up! I wish Annabeth was here with me, she would know what to do. I think and the next thing I know, I am out of the void, out of my dream. Because someone just woke me up.

I sit up quickly to see Ron and Hermione standing over me. The common room is empty and quiet and the sky has changed from bright to a dark, dark blue. Oh gods, did I sleep that long?

"You didn't miss the third challenge, everyone just left so it shouldn't start for another half an hour or so." Hermione explains before I can say anything, it's as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. I nod relieved and grab the grey tuque that Will got me before leaving the common room with my two friends. Harry must have already left, he is one of the champions so he would have had to leave earlier. I wonder where Viktor and Fleur are. Once the three of us have exited the castle, we begin to walk down to where the challenge is being held, sounds of talking and music growing louder with each step. Ron and Hermione are talking and laughing in front of me. And that is when I see it.

The maze.

A sea of green, the biggest maze I have ever seen lays down below us. It's dark, thick leaves stretch out farther than I can see, I wouldn't be surprised if they go all the way to the mountains in the distance! If the final challenge is getting through the maze... then I'm positive that it will last much more than an hour. I just hope that my friends make it out okay, I'm guessing that there is some kind of monster or obstacle in the maze, otherwise the challenge would be much too easy. All of a sudden I hear something, sort of like a whisper. I do not know what it is, but it feels like I am in the presence of someone, a spirit. And for a strange reason, their presence feels familiar, it reminds me of a ghost who I cast away years ago. A shiver runs up my spine as I look back to the labyrinth- wait, labyrinth...

I let out a gasp and fall to my knees as the maze seems to grow around me, and for just a split second, the thick hedges flicker to ancient stone, cracked tiles. For just that one moment, I am back in that horrid labyrinth, and I can see Luke's golden eyes staring into my own. And then, just as quickly as it came, it's over. I'm on my side, on the ground, and Hermione and Ron are kneeling beside me with horrified expressions.

"Nico! Nico, are you all right?" Hermione asks frantically and I nod before attempting to sit up, a decision I now regret because immediately my vision turns blurry and I collapse again.

"Yeah, sorry mate, but I'm not sure that I believe you." Ron says with a chuckle as he pulls me to me feet.

"I'm fine, seriously! Look I can walk, I'm talking, I'm alright." I complain and the two roll their eyes. Without saying anything else, they each grab one of my arms and pull them over their shoulders to support me. And then they drag me down the hill to the maze with me whining the entire way. They need to know that I'm strong, I can handle myself without their help. In a way they remind me of Percy and Jason, they're way too overprotective and caring. In some ways it's really annoying... but then again, in many ways it isn't. I guess I had better enjoy my time with them now, in less then a week I will have to go back to camp. But there is just one problem, I'm not at all sure that I'm ready to leave.

There is a small clearing at the edge of the maze, where the four champions wait to enter. Surrounding this circular clearing are the stands where the spectators, or the students from each of the three schools sit. The three of us walk to the center of the clearing and hug Harry.

"Good luck, stay safe." I tell him before we walk to stands, I shoot Viktor and Fleur a grin... and then someone approaches me. I gesture to Ron and Hermione to keep going before I turn to Cedric. The hufflepuff champion looks confident, as always and really happy too. I raise an eyebrow and look at him confusedly. He awkwardly clears his throat and starts talking.

"Look, I'm sorry for calling you a freak, okay? I'm not going to go all sappy and beg for your forgiveness, but I just wanted to clear things up." Cedric says and I stare at him for a moment, trying to organize my thoughts. After a few seconds of hesitation, I nod slowly and he smiles slightly.

"Thanks, otherwise that would have been embarrassing." He says with a sheepish smile, exactly like Percy's. I start to turn around but he stops me again.
"I'll see you after the challenge, I think we're going to be great friends, don't you?" He asks and I smirk.
"We'll have to see about that." I say and he laughs before running back to where Dumbledore has now entered.

Cedric thinks that we are going to be friends, and honestly, I'm kind of glad that he finally came to his senses and apologized. I never hated him, he was a jerk but he actually seems pretty cool. I hope that what he said turns out to be true. I wouldn't mind having a friend like him, maybe I'll ask him if he wants to hang out after this challenge.

Apparently I zoned out because the next thing I know, Harry has just entered the maze and Cedric is just about to. He meets my gaze from the front of the stands and he smiles widely. I nod encouragingly to him and mouth "don't die." Like I did during the second challenge. He seems to get it and chuckles before stepping into the maze.

But little did I know just how ironic my last words to him turned out to be...