𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 (OC x OC)

[004] Chapter 24 - my tears ricochet

"i swear i loved you till my dying day."

Makayla

It's been an exact month since I got the Dark Mark. Nothing has been normal.

I'm always tired, but am never able to catch sleep. I'm always lonely, but am never able to hang out.

In other words: My life is a living hell.

All of the others seem fine. Jordyn and Theo have each other and both take care of Mattheo, Jules has Louis, and Kai has Preston, since Preston convinced Father to let him get it early. I, on the other hand, have no one. I'm just fine with that. Totally.

Dumbledore is explaining the rules of the final task over the cheers of the crowd. My hands are shaking immensely. They have been for a month.

He nods to Filche and the cannon goes off. We all run into the Hedge Maze. My heart is beating faster than usual. It is hard to tell if it's from the nervousness or the new tattoo on my arm.

Likely to be both.

I don't see a single person the entire time I'm in here, which makes me get more and more scared. I try my best not to hyperventilate as I run through the maze, but it's getting more difficult the longer I'm in here.

Then I walk into an opening, meeting the eyes of Cedric and Harry. My eyes shift to the Tri-Wizard Cup. We could win.

I could win.

"Makayla, I was thinking we could touch it together and try to win together!" Harry says, almost happy about it.

"With him?" I ask, gesturing to Cedric. No matter how much I say that I hate him, I can't lie that I do still love him, he's just a dick.

"It's either that or lose, Malfoy," Cedric says.

I sigh and agree, walking over and touching the cup at the same time as Cedric and Harry. I expect for us to appear where we started, but no.

Why the hell are we in the graveyard I've been having nightmares about?

Cedric is astonished while Harry and I are nervous. He's thinking the same thing as I am when we read the tombstone in front of us.

"THOMAS RIDDLE SR."

Shit.

"Get back to the cup, Cedric," I say, cautiously taking a step away from the gravestone.

"What do you mean? Why?" he says.

He must know everything.

I watch Peter Pettigrew's figure walk out of the building in front of us, holding something like a baby wrapped in a cloth. This causes Harry and I to wince in pain. Voldemort.

Cedric points his wand at Peter, acting like he'll be able to defend himself.

"Cedric, get back to the cup!" Harry shouts.

By then, it's too late. A voice similar to Voldemort's says to Peter, "Kill the stag..."

Peter obliges and shouts the killing curse. Cedric falls to the ground, lifeless.

"NO!" I scream. Harry has to stop me from running over to him.

Suddenly, Peter uses his wand to lift us in the air and pin us against two gravestones, the Grim Reaper statues pinning us with their stone scythes. Harry is against Tom Riddle's father's tombstone, I'm against who knows who.

"Do it, now!" Voldemort's voice says.

Peter puts the cloth into the cauldron I didn't even notice initially. Then, he takes a bone from Voldemort's father's grave, putting it in the cauldron as well, saying, "Bones of the father... unwillingly given." Then he takes a knife, saying, "Flesh of the servant..." he puts the knife to his wrist, making me wince, "willingly sacrificed." He then takes the knife and cuts off his hand. The hand falls into the cauldron and I nearly puke. He looks at me. "And next..."