I was having the time of my life. Truly. It was a blast. I just loved sitting next to my two cousins for what feels like an hour. Totally.
We had arrived in the maze around an hour before the task began. Dumbledore wanted us to get situated before anyone noticed us, to not cause any controversy. With the trio ignoring us, we didn't have to worry about them being suspicious over where we were. So I suppose that made it easier. We were sitting on the ground, resting out backs against the wall, across from the cup. Thalia had disguised us using the mist, so all we had to do was wait for Harry.
I think the task had started a couple minutes ago. But it was hard to tell. This place seemed similar to the Labyrinth. I couldn't tell if it had been one hour or one day, it just blended together.
"I miss camp," I said.
"I miss the hunters," Thalia said.
"I missed Hell," Nico said.
I turned to look at him, laughing a little bit, "Seriously dude?"
"What, it's true. It was fun down there, at least when Demeter wasn't visiting."
"The underworld shouldn't be fun, that doesn't make sense," I said. Nico rolled his eyes, and we dropped the subject.
We stayed silent for a couple more minutes before Thalia asked quietly, "What do we do once this quest is over?" She was looking down at her feet, and messing with her hair.
"What do you mean?" asked Nico.
"Do we tell them the truth?" She looked over at us, "What we are?"
"I-I never thought about that," I shook my head, "It depends if we need to, or not."
"But wasn't it nice to just pretend to be normal?" Thalia asked.
"Thalia, they're wizards, I wouldn't call them normal," Nico laughed.
"No, to not be a freak to them. Wasn't it nice to not have people dying, or monster attacks, and not have people stare and gawk at you because your a child of the big three," She was getting frustrated now, and waved her hands around, "Not be the girl who turned into a tree, or the boy born in the 30s and talks to dead people, or the guy who saved the whole freaking world from a titan. Just normal."
"Yeah," I looked down, "normal."
"Thalia, you don't have to come back," Nico said, "You could stay here."
"I gave my oath to Artemis, I can't break it." She leaned her head back against the wall, and closed her eyes.
We heard a high pitched scream, and Thalia's eyes bolted open. We all jumped up, looking around alert. I grabbed Riptide from my pocket and uncapped it.
"That sounded like Fleur," I said, "I'll go look around."
I ran out of the opening, and into the maze following the direction of the maze. I looked around, but couldn't see Fleur anywhere. I heard more shouting and ran right for a few moments. The green walls seemed to be getting taller, and changing. I figured I needed to get back before I got lost. I would be no help to Harry, if I was trapped in a maze. I retraced my steps and ended up back in the clearing. I looked around and couldn't see Nico or Thalia anywhere.
"Guys?" I hissed quietly.
"Over here," Nico whispered.
I walked forward to the voice, and I saw Nico and Thalia appear suddenly. They were crouched down in the same position I had left them. It looked like our mist was working.
"I didn't see anything weird," I informed them, "it was probably nothing."
I sat down in between them, and rested my head against the back of the wall. My head sunk into the soft shrubs. I felt something similar to dread building up in my gut. Dumbledore may not think anything will happen tonight, but I feel like something will. This whole year Harry has been fine. So if there is going to be an attack, it will be in the next week before school ends. And I will be there to stop it. I will save him. We will save him.
I heard a rustling noise on the opposite side of where we were hiding. Looking over, I saw Cedric Diggory stumble into the clearing. Harry ran in to the left of him. They looked at each other, and smiled. There was something moving behind Cedric.
"Look out!" Harry called.
Cedric stepped out of the way, right before a giant spider lunged at him. It was about the size of a large dog. It had around 6 legs, all of which were covered in something similar to fur. It's face had at least a dozen eyes, yellow and horrifying. It's mouth had two distinct fangs. Annabeth would have hated this. A lot.
I instinctively grabbed Riptide, and was about to stand up. I felt a hand on my shoulder, pushing me back down. Turning, I saw Nico shaking his head as if to say no. I listened to him and waited.
Harry walked over slowly to stand next to Cedric. They grabbed their wands and began to fight the monster. Something hit Harry's leg, and made a sickening crack. Harry let out a little wince, and continued to fight. They had stunned the spider at last, and looked at each other in exhaustion.
"You saved me back there," Cedric thanked him.
"We did it together," Harry was trying to move his leg.
Cedric shook his head, "Not just here, but with Krum too. I just don't know what got into him."
"I don't know," Harry said.
"Take the cup," said Cedric.
"What? No," Harry looked at Cedric in confusion.
"Take it, you deserve it," he replied.
"How about we take it at the same time?" Harry suggested, "A joined Hogwarts victory?"
Cedric smiled, and nodded his head. They slowly walked towards the cup together. As if it was in slow motion, Harry and Cedric grabbed the cup and started to disappear. Instinctively, I held onto Nico and Thalia's hands, and lunged at the two. I managed to grab Harry's robe right before they were gone. I saw the maze vanish.