The Era of Aria Snape

78

Chapter Seventy-Eight

DAYS HAD PASSED since the second task and Aria could practically feel the eternal glory that she was going to win. She had it in the bag and even considering that she had not even the slightest clue as to what her next and final task was going to be, she had confidence.

Potter, she was sure she could beat.

Cedric, well she may have to stun him, the same for Krum.

And Fleur, well Aria wasn't going to waste her time on the helpless girl.

In between the tournament and her boy problems, Aria hadn't set much time aside for studying. She was still keeping up though, very well, almost top of her class actually and for that, she and her father were very proud.

The final task was the following afternoon and Aria found herself unable to concentrate for the whole day.

No amount of enthusiasm from her classmates or George's lack of understanding when it came to personal space could deter her mind from thinking about the tournament. Nothing could, not even Malfoy.

Not even as he tried so hard to have a conversation with her.

"Snape?" He waved his hand in front of her eyes. "Snape, are you listening?"

"No. I'm very busy."

He snorted. "Very busy staring at nothing?"

"Yes!"

He held his hands up in surrender at her sudden outburst and lay back on the sofa. "What's going to happen tomorrow?"

She sighed and leaned her head back. "I have no idea. It's honestly quite nerve-wracking. I mean, for the first task I had George tip me off, then the second I had to figure that one out, and now nothing. Absolutely nothing. It can't be worse than drowning or dragons, I'm sure."

Draco nodded, seemingly haven become absorbed in his own thoughts.

Aria sighed. He was no help. No one was. The only person she could count on was herself.

ϟ

Music blasted as Aria stepped forward, closer to the maze that she would be venturing into in a matter of minutes. She wore an emerald green uniform with the Slytherin emblem on the left. Her hair was tied back and her wand was in her hand, held tightly. Aria glared bitterly at the other champions as Dumbledore announced that Cedric and Potter would enter first.

Moody pulled her to the side for a second. "Follow Potter."

"What?"

He glared at her and moved away, not bothering to repeat what he knew she had already heard.

Follow Potter? Why on earth would she follow the fourth-year boy who she planned on beating?

"The first person to touch the cup will be the winner." Dumbledore declared. "I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. If at any point a contestant wishes to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands! Contestants gather round."

Aria moved towards Dumbeldore, standing in a small circle next to Harry. She thought about wishing him luck, but then again, she didn't want him to win, but she felt sympathetic towards the boy.

"In the maze," the headmaster now spoke in hushed tones. "You'll find not dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you'll face something more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can, but be very wary, you could lose yourself along the way."

A hand wrapped around Aria's forearm, she was about to rip it away when she saw that it was her father. "Aria. Promise me you will be careful. If you feel at all scared, do as Dumbeldore instructed and shoot red sparks into the sky and I will come to get you."

"I will, father, but I'm going to win."

He smiled, not quite proud and not quite sad. "That's my girl." He cradled her against him for a second longer before letting her go.

The sound of the cannon went off. Aria watched Harry and Cedric walk into the maze, her fear growing every second until it was her turn to enter.

The maze sealed behind her as she stepped into it. The walls seemed to be closing in-suddenly the reason for people's fear of tight spaces became clear to her.

It was silent. An eerie silence that sent chills down her spine. Aria gripped her wand tighter as she proceeded forward. There was no noise, not even bugs. The maze was completely devoid of life.

Aria turned to look at where she had entered. The maze walls were stories high, she couldn't see through the thick bush, nor hear through it.

With a gulp, she continued on.

Be brave, Aria. Be brave. She repeated inside her head.

If you were brave you would have been in Gryffindor.

She frowned at the thought.

The maze walls shook violently beside her and slowly began to move together. This time, she knew it wasn't her imagination. She picked up her pace, rushing out from between them just in time.

She heaved a sigh of relief and moved along, faster now.

A red spark igniting the night sky caught her attention. She headed in that direction immediately.

She heard shouting and curses from there and desperate to see who was battling what, she hurried.

Moody's words echoed in her head. Follow Potter. He had said. The idea didn't sound so bad now. If she caught up to him, she could quickly overtake him.

The shouts grew louder, as did the obvious firing of curses. Aria grinned as she heard two voices instead of one, proving her previous assumption to be false-they weren't battling some monster, they were fighting each other, turning against each other.

Perfect.

"Aria!" Harry's voice called out. She looked down one end of the maze and saw him struggling with Cedric.

They were like fish in a barrel. Too easy to shoot.

She raced towards them, acting concerned and about to question them when a bright blue light caught her eye.

The cup!

If she could make it there before the boys she would win. She would be granted eternal glory.

She spared one last glance towards her rivals and began to run towards the shimmering cup, Cedric and Harry were close behind her, practically on top of her, and just as she reached for the cup, they did as well.

Instead of the maze walls disappearing and being greeted with cheers as Aria had hoped, a very new environment greeted her eyes, complete with tombstones and an even deadlier feel than the maze.

All she knew was that she was in terrible danger.