A HOGWARTS STORY

Chapter 24

"Let the final task in the Tri-Wizard Competition.........begin!!!!" Dumbledore shouted as the room became loud with cheers. The stands were crowded with students, a couple parents, and some ministry workers.
Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, and Ravenclaws were sitting next to each other. Whereas, all the Slytherins looked bored and were sitting only by other Slytherins. With of course the exception of Astoria and Draco who were sitting next to me and Luna.

Just as the tournament was starting I grabbed Draco's hand and held it on my lap. He leaned over and kissed by my ear as I blushed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pansy glaring at us, with folded arms. "Draco, why don't you like Pansy? I mean there isn't anything wrong with her looks, besides her unbelievably ugly hair cut--"

"Because---Gem---she...." He trailed off and started studying our entwined hands. "Gem....she's not anything I've been looking for." His light blue eyes returned to meet my deep green ones. "Like what?" I whispered as my voice caught in my throat.
"Like you, Gemma Williams." He said as he kissed my forehead. I smiled and squeezed his hand.

A couple Gryffindors scoffed. As Draco started to turn to glare, I put my free hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's not worth it." His glare softened as he looked back at me and smiled.

A little while later, a small buzz of chatter had erupted amongst the crowd. Luna and I were having an interesting conversation about whether basilisks really exist or not.

"Well, I think basilisks really do exist, because they are in the care of magical creatures book."

"Uhm, yes, but do they STILL exist today, or did they used to exist?" I asked.

Luna looked a bit confused. "Well--"

"How about we raise Salazar Slytherin from the dead and ask him if basilisks are real?" Draco smirked at the joke he made. "Hahaha. Good one." Luna sarcastically laughed. "He probably had a pet basilisk. " I joked, laughing. When I made the joke, Draco looked a bit uncomfortable. Huh, wonder what made him stiff up like that.

Just then as we were joking around, a high pitched scream came from in the maze.
I gasped, and held Draco's hand tighter. He chuckled. "It was likely Saint Potter screaming in the maze." He said while laughing at my expression. Now it was my turn to be uncomfortable. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Draco slid his arm around my waist, and looked at me intently. "Are you--" he started.
"I'm fine." I said interrupting him and biting my lip. He didn't look convinced, but he didn't ask anything else.

I started a private conversation with Astoria, and asked her how the wandless magic was coming.
She answered by concentrating on moving my hair without her wand. Pretty soon, a curl flopped to the other side of my shoulder. "How was that?" She asked brightly. "That was brilliant! Keep working on it! You can teach me when we get back from the summer holiday." She nodded "I would love to teach you!"

I heard Draco start to say something, but was interrupted by a series of red sparks that shot out of the maze. All of the sudden, a figure appeared on the ground. I recognized her immediately, it was Fleur Delacour. Her light blue outfit was covered with mud and dirt. Vines held her wrists and ankles. A thick green, leafy vine was around her stomach. Fleur's baby blue eyes flew open and she started whimpering and hurriedly tried pulling at the vines to come off.

"Zaire zaire dahlink." I heard Madame Maxime say in her heavy French accent as she held Fleur close. She was now quietly whispering something in French to a dazed Fleur.

I took a deep breath and gulped. This wasn't over. Fleur wasn't going to be the last one to get hurt. Maybe she was the luckiest to get out of the maze when she did.

***

About 45 minutes later there was a loud crack and a pop sound. Like champagne being opened, but much louder. Everyone looked towards the back to see Krum. He also was covered in dirt and vines. He ripped about eight thick vines off of his chest. His brown eyes were glazed over, and he looked angry.

Krum started stomping down the isle and kicking over some empty chairs. "Krum!" A Durmstrang guy restrained Krum by holding his bulging biceps. Krum was acting like a maniac.

After Krum was taken to Madam Pomfrey, there was an intense clap. Like a clap of thunder. I put my hands over my ears. "That must be the portkey. The winner should be arriving shortly." Dumbledore said to Ludo Bagman.

Even though Dumbledore said the winner should be arriving shortly, it was at least an hour before we heard another huge clap. Dumbledore was starting to look anxious.

There was a small pop, and Harry appeared and fell on the ground. Partially on top of an lifeless body.
Then I knew. This was the dread I was feeling earlier.

"Draco!" I buried my face in his shoulder, trying to get the sight of Cedric's mangled body out of my mind. The tears started flowing. Draco went limp when he realized what was going on. "Blimey!" He whispered with shocked look on his face. A minute later, he put his arms around me and held me tightly. I was scarred for life now. That image....

Harry was sobbing into Cedric's dirt clad shirt. Then he screamed, "he's back! VOLDEMORT IS BACK!" After he yelled he collapsed.

Everyone was gasping and some were screaming and crying. Especially Cho Chang. One of her friends had turned Cho's face so she couldn't his body.

This was it. This was my fourth year at Hogwarts.