The Dark Lord's Daughter [FW - Book One]

The Return of the Dark Lord

AN: Only one chapter left after this one! Remember to vote and comment.

~

"You were there?!" Harry exclaims.

"Apparently..." I trail off, not wanting to think about it.

"Can I see your scar?" I pull up the left sleeve of my robe and turn my arm. Harry sighs. "Why didn't you ever say anything about this? Why did you never question how you got your scar?"

"I never thought it was relevant. I always thought it was a birthmark, and lets be honest, it barely looks like a lightning bolt." I say.

"This is mad." Harry says after a moment of thought.

I stay quiet. It still won't sink in that I was there. Harry's right, it sounds mad, but it's true, and my scar is the evidence.

"I need some air." I say, standing up and walking out of the common room, though I can hear Fred following me.

I walk and walk, hearing footsteps behind me. I find my way to the black lake, which is where I always seem to end up at, and I sit down on the damp morning grass. Fred sits down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, but I say nothing. I just stare ahead at the lake infested with mermaids and grindylowes and a giant squid that I was in during the second task. The tasks! The third task is less than two weeks away and I've distracted Harry with this mess of information. I shoot up from the ground, getting to my feet and heading back towards the castle.

"Oi! Wait for me, love!!" Fred calls from behind me.

When we reach the castle again, we head straight for the common room. When I don't find Harry there, I climb up the boys stairs and find Harry in his dorm.

"Harry, this doesn't really effect anything. I'm still his daughter, I'm still the same person. Don't worry about this, you need to worry about the last task." I say hurriedly, breathing hard from the long climb up the stairs.

"I just wish I had known sooner." Harry says solemnly.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

The third task arrives in the blink of an eye, and I find myself in the bleachers in front of a huge, complex maze where the Quidditch field was, only a few days ago.

"Bets here! Place your bets here!" Fred and George call at the same time, holding the same box that squirted ink on me after the first task. It feels like that was years ago, so much has happened in this short amount of time.

"Really?" I say in an unimpressed tone.

"Yep, and don't even think about stealing our funds this time, love. You don't want to be inked again do you?" Fred says, his regular goofy grin spreading across his face. He takes the look of disgust written on my features as an answer, and bursts into laughter. I roll my eyes. I certainly have a unique relationship with my boyfriend.

The twins start hollering about bets again and I turn to look at the maze where the champions are gathering in a circle.

"Did we miss anything?" McKenna asks, sitting down on one side of me, while Lani plops down on my other side.

"No but you're cutting it close." I say, looking at my both of friends in turn. "Where were you?"

"We were checking up on... something." Lani says mysteriously.

"Okay you two are obviously up to something. It better not include a prank." I say.

"It doesn't. It's more... serious." Lani says.

"What is it with you and dramatic pauses today?" I tease, finally getting a smile out of them.

Just then, Dumbledore motions for everyone to quiet down, and the twins sit down higher up behind us, apparently done taking bets. Dumbledore explains that the tri-wizard cup is hidden somewhere in the maze, and the first champion to reach it wins the third and final task, and that the maze can be intense, so if any champion should find him or herself in mortal danger, they need only send up red sparks with their wands to have teachers and staff come to collect them. Everyone cheers excitedly at the end of his speech.

Because Cedric and Harry are tied, they are slated to enter the maze first, then Viktor Krum, followed by Fleur Delacour. Cedric and Harry are lined up to enter the maze, and the canon sounds, signaling their entrance. I cheer for both Harry and Cedric as they enter the maze, but soon, the maze closes behind them.

Viktor has to wait five minutes before he is allowed to enter the maze, and Fleur has to wait ten, and things get very boring after everyone has entered the maze. The students of the three schools combined sit together in the tall Quidditch bleachers without any idea what is going on in the maze.

"This has to be the least entertaining task so far." I ironically say just as red sparks shoot into the sky above the maze.

Everyone around me busts into speech, one girl even screams. The professors and staff head into the maze, and soon return first with Fleur, then Viktor. That leaves only Hogwarts champions.

"No matter who wins now, Hogwarts gets the cup!" Fred exclaims excitedly. The others around me shout similar things, but I focus my attention on the maze.

Once the buzz about Fleur and Viktor's return dies down, things get boring again. Everyone goes silent, we're all watching the maze so intensely, waiting for something to happen, though its another hour before anything does happen.

Suddenly, there's a flash and Harry and Cedric appear in the clearing where they first entered the maze, and Harry is holding the tri-wizard cup. Everyone bursts into cheers, some people actually scream in delight. Suddenly, I realize that something isn't right. I stand and move closer, then an agonized, ear-piercing scream fills the air. I vaguely realize that I'm the one screaming. Cedric is white and bruised, and it's obvious that he is no longer breathing. The cheering stops immediately.

"He's back!" Harry exclaims, still clutching Cedric's body. "Voldemort's back, and he knows Vanessa's alive!"