Lost Memories

xx. loss

Together, Hermione and I followed the Weasleys as we walked towards the Quidditch pitch that was now set for the final task. We found some seats near the front, right next to the stairs. Fiddling with my necklace came something that was caused by anxiety. My stomach flipped and threatened to bring dinner up.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in the first place, with eighty-five points each —Mr Cedric Diggory and Mr Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"

The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky.

"In the second place, with eighty points — Mr Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!"

More applause.

"And in third place — Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Harry must have heard our cheers because he looked up and waved at us, widely.

"So... on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman."Three — two — one —"

He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze. Everyone cheered the pair on and soon after, Fleur and Viktor followed.

The towering hedges made it extremely hard to see into the maze. About a half-hour into the task, Fleur was carried out of the maze by a wizard I didn't recognize. She was deathly pale and had scratches all over her. Madam Pomfrey attended to her and went straight to the first aid tent.

As more time passed, my stomach got worse and as did the humming. It had been almost an hour since the start of the task. None of the remaining champions had exited the maze or had thrown up a red flare. Why is this taking so long?

By the two hour mark, I couldn't stand sitting here making small talk with the people around me. Anxiety ate at my insides and caused me to pace in front of Ron and Hermione.

"Lottie, it's alright," Ron reassured me. "Everything is alright. They're taking a long time because they're fighting. They're fine. Just a few minutes longer, yeah?"

"Everything is not okay. I feel it in my bones, I know something is wrong. Viktor hasn't even come out. He should have by—"

A red flare flew in the air in the crest of the Durmstrangs. After a few moments, Viktor came out, unconscious, with another unknown wizard. His injuries seemed mostly superficial, with a few chard patches and a slit on his thigh.

"Why is this taking so long? Something is severely wrong," I groaned after another half hour. My throat stung as I held back tears; the fear, breaking my heart and mind.

"You're just nervous, is all," Hermione hugged me. "Hogwarts has won, now we've just got to see who the Hogwarts champion is."

"You're right, Hogwarts has won. They can both come out now," I pushed myself away from Hermione. "I have to tell Dumbledore!"

Without waiting for them to respond, I ran towards the field where Dumbledore sat with the judges. When he noticed me, Dumbeldore gave me a warning look. I shook my head, rejecting whatever he meant, and ran to him.