Emerald Dreams- Sebastian Sallow x Ominis Gaunt x FemRavenclaw Mc (my oc used)

TTT-Chapter 20

I awoke the next morning to Sabrina shaking me awake. I blinked, groggily reaching for my glasses. "Rina? Huh? What's going on?" she laughed, shaking her head. "You're not going to get any breakfast if you sleep any more! Come on, let's head to the great hall." 

I yawned deeply, stretching to try and wake myself up. "Did you figure out your clue?" Sabrina asked, to which I nodded. "Mostly I think. I don't have the brain power to think about it right now." I glanced around our dorm room, noticing that she and I were the only ones here. 

She must have stayed to make sure I didn't sleep in. I stretched, putting on my uniform as usual and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Sabrina waited for me, smiling and holding a book in her hands. I looked at her, confused. "What's that?" "I think I've figured out the place you're going!" 

I looked at her, unsure. She opened the book, a map in its pages. "Look, the riddle you told me about spoke about a dark environment right? 'Hidden from the sun, you must run', there's a cave around here that's filled to the brim with Devil's snare! I think it might be where the next challenge is!" I had been around that area before but had never seen the entrance to any cave.

"Emmy, there IS a cave there, I've been there. It's hard to open, but if the professors know about it, then they would use the cave to their advantage right??" "Right, but Rina, devil's snare doesn't seem like it's the most dangerous? It seems too easy to just go into a cave for whatever object they want us to find." She paused for a moment, her eyes going wide. 

"Emmy, what if I told you it wasn't just a cave? It's actually a secret labyrinth?" "What?!" That would make much more sense, it wasn't so straightforward. "But what if people got lost?" Sabrina smiled. "Oh it's easy enough to figure out, you know the trick right? Holding the wall to your left?" 

"But Rina, if it is overrun with Devils snare, then that trick won't work! And there's a time limit! If we take too long we lose the clue!" Sabrina patted my back, pulling my arm so that we would walk toward the common room entrance. "Don't worry, you'll figure it out! Now that you know what you're up against, I know you can find whatever it is you need to." 

I groaned, already feeling a headache coming on. A maze was nothing new, I had been using them to train in the room of requirement. However, the mazes I was used to were small, but simple. They were easy to navigate. A labyrinth would be tricky. As we walked into the great hall, I spotted Zuri and Jason chatting. 

I marched over to them both, pulling them to the side. "Woah! What's the matter, Emmy? What's going on?" Zuri asked inquisitively, Jason eyeing me curiously. "Please tell me you both know where we're going for the challenge today?" I watched in dismay as they shook their heads. 

I showed them the map Sabrina gave me. "It's apparently a cave filled to the brim with devil's snare." "Ok? So what?" Jason asked. "So, it's not just a cave! Apparently, it's filled with many winding tunnels and passages! We could get lost in there!" Jason and Zuri shared a look, before turning back to me. 

"Does Alice know?" "I haven't spoken to her yet, but she needs to know as well. I'm thinking if we work together, we can pair off and tackle the different passages faster, to find what we need. Then we all meet back at the entrance, to see who needs what, then we all go out at the same time, so there are no losers and we all get the clue. Right?" 

Jason eyed me skeptically. "You are aware this is a competition right? Someone has to lose." "Emmy is right Jason, we are allowed to work together on this one, and we may need to. Why don't you two go in a pair, and I will explain everything to Alice." Zuri offered, to which I nodded.

"Jason, if it makes you feel better, you can go out before me. But we need to work together this time ok?" As I watched him, his cheeks turned pink and he turned away and coughed. "Alright, I shall follow your lead." We didn't have much time, so hopefully we were ready.

When Professor Weasley lead us to the location Sabrina had suggested, I almost couldn't believe my luck. Thankfully she had been right, but I had been too distracted to see Sebastian or Ominis for luck before we were whisked away. To my surprise, however, Ominis was waiting for me inside the champion's tent. 

He was sitting on a bench, his face pale and his hands shaking. "Ominis? What's wrong?" I asked, worry beginning to creep in. "I...It's not pets." was all he said, before he gripped his hands together. I looked to the other champions, who shrugged at my confusion. No one understood what Ominis meant. 

Professor Weasley then entered the tent. "Now then, be prepared for when you leave the tent, as you are in for a bit of a shock. Remember, you are to go into the cave, find what you need, then come straight back as soon as possible." While she seemed to be calm, her body language seemed to be uncomfortable. Something wasn't right... 

"Professor?" I began to ask, before she smiled proudly and left the tent. I looked at the others. "Stick to the plan. Zuri and Alice, after the first passage, turn right. Jason and I will turn left. We get in and out as fast as we can." As we followed Professor Weasley out of the tent, we walked past the cheering crowd to see what looked like 4 beds at the base of the stands.

I felt my stomach drop, anxiety creeping into my chest. I saw in one of the beds, Sebastian was lying on his back. His eyes were closed, as though he were sleeping, but his skin was sickly pale and covered with sweat. I raced to his side, getting to my knees as I looked him over. 

I watched as the others looked to see their own loved ones, Zuri kneeling beside Natty who was in the same condition as Sebastian. What the hell was going on?! Professor Black called attention to the cheering students.

"Attention everyone! As our champions can see, their treasures have been put under the effects of a rather devious potion! To succeed, they will need to face the Labrinth and bring back the different coloured bottles assigned to their treasures. Not only will the correct potions cure their loved ones, but it will then provide them with a clue for the final challenge! You all have one hour. If you fail, your loved ones will be at the mercy of the potion until Professor Sharp can concoct an antidote and you will not receive a clue. Off you go!" 

I could feel my hands shaking as I squeezed Sebastian's fingers. I said a silent prayer, before leaping to my feet, storming over to Jason and pulling him toward the tunnel. "Stick to the plan!" I called to Zuri and Alice, pulling Jason into the first passage.

"Lumos." I cast, racing inside and storming to the left. Jason struggled to keep my pace, pulling his arm from my grip. "What's wrong with you? That hurt!" I took a shaky breath to calm myself. "Sorry Jason...Sebastian is important to me. Let's get going." Jason looked conflicted, before nodding.