FINITE | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [4]

𝗹 | 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱

The first thing Gwen felt was cold grass against her face. Her eyelids were heavy; they didn't open initially. She was aware of a cold breeze sweeping over her body, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. Eventually, she forced her eyes open, and at first, she wasn't sure they were actually open. Then her surroundings began to focus in. Night had fallen, and she was lying face down in a graveyard.

Her heart raced as she sat up, looking around desperately. She wasn't at Hogwarts anymore, perhaps she was miles and miles away, for even the mountains were gone. The graveyard was very overgrown, as though nobody had bothered to maintain it in years; the black outline of a church was visible beyond a large yew tree, and a hill rose opposite, upon which Gwen could make out the outline of a house.

She was hyperventilating. She looked around her desperately, calling out, but all that returned was the echo of her own horrified voice.

Then there was a loud crack which made her jump and cry out; two figures had landed ten feet from her and crumpled, accompanied by a glowing cup.

'Where are we?' said a voice that Gwen recognised.

'Cedric?' she called out, and one of the figures turned to her.

'Who's there?'

'It's me, Gwen,' she cried desperately. 'Gwen Everill, from Gryffindor.'

'Gwen?!'

The second voice gave Gwen a sense of both horror and relief.

'Harry!'

She ran toward the two shadowed figures. Harry was on the floor, his leg very badly injured.

'What are you doing here?' Harry gasped, the effort of moving on his leg clearly paining him.

'I don't— I don't know,' Gwen said. Opposite them, Cedric was inspecting the cup.

'Did anyone tell you this was a Portkey?' he asked Harry.

'No,' Harry breathed. 'Is this part of the task?'

'I dunno,' Cedric said; he sounded scared. 'How did you get here, Gwen?' he added, looking at Gwen.

'I don't know!' she gasped, her rapid breathing not slowing down. 'I don't remember! I just— I woke up here and then—!'

A twig snapped somewhere in the distance. Gwen reached in her pocket for her wand, and pointed it at the noise, Cedric and Harry followed suit.

'Someone's coming,' Cedric whispered.

Squinting tensely through the darkness, they watched a dark figure coming closer, walking steadily toward them through the graves. Gwen couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking, it was clearly carrying something in its arms. Whoever it was, he was short, a cloak lifted over his head to obscure his face. As it drew nearer, Gwen could see it holding a bundle of robes— or was it a baby?