Brighter Than the Sun

Chapter Eighty-Two

Cedric shook off his astonishment as we heard another loud bang, warning us that the blast-ended skrewt was coming back.

"Let's get out of here," I suggested. "After you."

We took off down one path, and I noticed Cedric's sleeve was smoking. "Did you get burned?"

"No, just my sleeve."

"Okay."

We burst out of the corridor and almost straight into Harry and Luke.

"Cedric?" Harry exclaimed.

"Hey, Ash," Luke said calmly.

"Harry?" Cedric said in surprise.

"Hi, Luke," I said, just as calmly.

"What happened to your sleeve?" Harry asked Cedric.

"Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts. We only just got away, and —" He stopped abruptly. "Hang on, is that a sword?"

Luke looked down at his sword, then back up at Cedric with a deadpan expression and said, "No, it's a toothpick."

"Dude," I chastised him. "Not the time."

"Why are you two in here with weapons?" Cedric demanded.

"We're supposed to be your guides and help you guys get through the maze. There's two more of us in here — Sofia and Brion — they're supposed to be helping Fleur and Krum."

"But that doesn't explain the weapons."

"Harry, would you mind telling him?" I asked.

Harry frowned. "Is he allowed to know?"

"Technically, you weren't allowed to know," Luke pointed out.

"True," Harry agreed.

"Allowed to know — what are you lot talking about?" Cedric asked, exasperated. He was so bewildered and confused that it was almost funny.

"Harry, please just tell him," I said. "The boy is on the verge of losing his mind."

"Ash and Luke are demigods," Harry told Cedric. "Half-god, half-mortal. The children of gods. Ash's dad is Apollo, god of the sun and archery, so if you've seen her bow, now you understand why she has it. And Luke's dad is Hermes, god of thieves and travelers. He's not as good at archery, but he can fight with a sword, so he uses that."

"Questions, comment, concerns?" I asked. "Nope? Great, let's keep going. See you guys later after we win. Watch out for the skrewts. Bye." I grabbed Cedric by the elbow and dragged him after me down another path.

"I'm so confused right now," Cedric said helplessly.

"I'll explain fully after the task," I promised him. "For now, let's focus on winning."

"What about Harry?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you want him to win? Or let him get back at me for beating him last year?"

"Hogwarts wins whether you get the cup or he does, so it doesn't really matter to me." I let out a one-syllable laugh. "And besides, you're only a sixth-year, right? So that means we have all next year to get back at you for that."

Cedric grinned. "Good luck with that."

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"Maybe." Cedric shrugged. "If you can handle it, that is."

"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely gonna kick your butt."

We kept going. I taught him the Four-Point spell Harry had learned and we picked a path that would take us northwest. We chatted amiably, stopping whenever something like a boggart or a giant spider came our way and dealing with it. At one point, we heard a scream, but we were too far away to find out what it was, so we pushed forward.