[on hold] 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐓&𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍 → 𝑓. 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

xliii . just a stitch

chapter fourty three
JUST A STITCH

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

   "WHERE HAVE you been?", Cedric muttered, as Ruby came to a halt in front of him, her breath rapid, her lungs aching. Cedric was still dressed and ready to enter the maze; his father was standing couple of meters aside from him, having a talk with Dumbledore.

   "I'm sorry, I - Moody - he -"

   "Miss Perks, aren't you supposed to be sitting on the stands?", Professor Moody's voice growled, and Ruby's whole body stiffened, as she turned around. "I bet Mr. Diggory will do good to have this last five minutes to focus on what's coming for him."

   "Of course", Ruby muttered, giving a brief nod, before she closed her arms around Cedric, who wrapped his own arms around Ruby. "Be careful, okay? We all know you can win this, but that doesn't mean you have to risk your neck for actually getting the cup."

   "I promise", Cedric replied with his heartwarming smile on his lips.

   Ruby's heart was still painfully drumming against her ribs; passing Harry, she threw him a encouraging smile and a wave, before she climbed the stands to take a seat next to Leilani. Her eyes were fixed on Moody, and she wasn't even mad that Leilani didn't say a thing, but was busy nibbling on her fingernails.

   Moody was with Harry now, and Ruby would have given ten Galleons to know what was going on in the professor's head. The crowd around her was busy bubbling and chatting. Someone barely noteable touching her back, and as she turned around she caught a wink from Fred, who was standing right behind her. Her lips cracked a weak smile.

   When Cedric, Harry, Krum and Fleur finally entered the maze under thunderous applause, Ruby leaned back into her seat. Now she only could wait, and the seconds turned into hours, the sun was slowly sinking, shadows grew longer, and the strange feeling in her gut became more and more present with every passing minute.

   The first ray of sparks announced the ending of Fleur's participation on the tournament, as she was dragged out of the maze unconscious. That was when Ruby's heart first skipped a beat, just to feel like it completely stopped beating when Viktor Krum followed just a couple of minutes later.

   "Well, seems like the cup is going to be Hogwarts', huh?", Leilani whispered with a shaky voice.

   "So can we just stop it now?", Ruby retorted in a mutter, but of course this pledge wasn't heard. Another hour passed.

   "Shouldn't they be back by now?", Ruby heard George say a row behind her, and Lee responded: "Seems like the judges are getting nervous ..."

   And not only the judges. Teacher's hurdled up and down the high hedges, fiercely whispering to one another. Ruby's palms went sweaty, her fingers drumming on her thigh, her whole senses begging for release, begging for Cedric and Harry to just come back, not caring about who of them would raise the cup up high over his head in a victorious pose.