Demigods at Hogwarts | the rescue mission ✔

48| Stern, Insistent, Beautiful

     Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter were in the middle of an animated discussion, both of them making wild gestures with their hands and completely ignoring the Triwizard Cup. Ignoring my own ragged breathing and the fact that I'd pushed my body to the limit, I lunged towards the glowing trophy which could bring me so much more than 1000 Galleons. Cedric's agitated expression melted into one of alarm as he whipped out his wand and narrowed his eyes at me, as if I was the final obstacle in this stupid dogfight the wizards called "The Triwizard Tournament".

"The Cup is a Portkey," I blurted out without any idea where that had come from—I prayed that the two wizards wouldn't notice the desperation in voice. "Please, she's all I have." I slowly reached into my pocket, and a sense of relief washed over me as I felt my fingertips brush the ballpoint open which had saved my life countless times.

"Annabeth." Harry said slowly. I nodded vigorously, but hearing my girlfriend's name on the lips of someone who'd never witnessed her beauty, intelligence and resilience made my stomach twist. The look of hopelessness on my face must've been strong enough to bring out Cedric's Hufflepuff instincts, and he tucked his wand into his pocket guiltily. I let Riptide fall back into the depths of my pocket—trust was something that had to be reciprocated, and one-sided trust was as bad as none.

Annabeth's life was in the hands of two teenage British wizards who'd never known loss like I had, and all I could do was hope that they had enough compassion in them to do the right thing.

"We'll take it at the same time. Chances are, the Cup's not a Portkey and we'll tie as champions. And if Percy's right...." Harry smiled at me wryly, and I felt momentarily annoyed that he didn't believe me. "You'll need backup to face whoever kidnapped your girlfriend."

I didn't like the idea of putting these two kids in danger, but it was a good enough compromise for me. The determination in Cedric's eyes made it clear that he believed I was just a lunatic who wanted to win the Tournament—and he would've attacked me if hadn't known about my parentage. Harry seemed to find the whole dilemma ironic, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile because he couldn't believe there were more challenges lying ahead.

Without even counting down, we grasped one handle each. The silver sparks that we'd been told would declare our victory became visible in the starless night sky, and for a moment I realised this was all a big mistake—they would call this a "Hogwarts Victory", and I would be left with no dignity and no Annabeth.

But that was all before I felt a familiar tugging sensation in my gut and chills running down my spine. A few seconds later, my surroundings disappeared in a howl of wind and swirling colour.

+++

I was the only one standing firmly on my two feet when the Portkey transported us to the graveyard—Harry had landed face-first onto what could've been someone's crypt, while Cedric was wincing at his twisted ankle. They both were stone faced with shock, but my battle instincts kicked in and I silently unsheathed Riptide. The white mist made me slightly nauseous, but I didn't have time for PTSD right now—Ariadne had been an obstacle, a figment of my imagination. Annabeth was real, and she was somewhere in this cemetery.

She couldn't be dead—I refused to believe that she was just another corpse in this sea of deceased bodies. Denial was what kept my blood boiling as disorientation kicked in and I blindly stumbled forwards. Harry and Cedric had their wands out and were cautiously moving forwards, whisper-yelling at me to be careful. Suddenly, Harry's knees buckled and he let out an agonised scream. Cedric kneeled down, desperately attempting to cast the silencing charm on the fourteen-year-old. None of us noticed the hooded figure carrying a suspicious bundle in its arms until it uttered the three words that would end one of our lives.

"Kill the spare."

I couldn't defend myself with Riptide against the Forbidden Curses, and I closed my eyes like a coward would as my thoughts returned to Annabeth. Maybe Hades would go easy on me in the Underworld, maybe I would make Elysium and wait for Annabeth there—if she wasn't already waiting for me. Because I would rather choose an afterlife with my Wise Girl than 10 more years running from monsters.

But the green light blazed through my eyelids instead of hitting me directly in the chest. And I instinctively knew that the hooded figure had taken the life of the one who'd wanted to live the most—Cedric Diggory, the only innocent boy in this entire mess. I could see Harry frozen in disbelief, but I didn't have time to mourn Cedric before the fog around me spontaneously vanished.

I was standing in a circle of headstones, and tied to one of them was a girl and a boy. Jason Grace had been beat senseless, and was lying unconscious with the remnants of a tattered purple T-shirt sprawled across his lap. The girl had ragged honey blonde curls, tan skin which seemed to glow in the dark, and stormy gray eyes that stared into my turquoise ones. Stern, insistent, beautiful. Annabeth.

But the hooded figure had its wand pointed at the back of my head, and I was knocked unconscious.