𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑

the one with meredith's blessing

"That night, in the maze,
innocence died screaming.
Trust me, honey, I should know."

•

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

I got up. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding me and Harry; my Slytherin friends and beautiful boyfriend Draco Malfoy (I just loved to state he was my boyfriend) applauded from their table too; the Weasleys and Hermione all wished us good luck, and we headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor.

We walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of us: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to us. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?" The champions nodded.

"Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each - Mr. Cedric Diggory, Miss Skylar Firegold and Mr. Harry Potter, all of Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "In second place, with eighty points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

The audience was going berserk behind us. I saw the Weasleys and Malfoys and Diggorys and Delacours and Krums in the audience. Harry was beside me. We had changed into the Gryffindor trousers and shirt and converses after the evening feast. But really, I couldn't concentrate on anything after what Lucius told me.

Cedric, me and Harry were tied in the first place, which meant we'd go in first. I had managed to get my hair in a braid but I seriously need to cut it off some time. Provided I survive this. And I really didn't have time to think about hair when the maze was staring at me.

I gazed into the abyss and smiled when the abyss gazed back.

Fudge blew a whistle as we walked forward. The crowd roared. I saw a big poster made by Dean himself. He portrayed our faces and Luna charmed them to move. Wow. Talent. Draco was there somewhere and instead of a drawing of all three of us, he, Pansy and Blaise held up their wands that cast a projection in the sky of me in my current state-staring like an idiot. I laughed.

The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment we entered the maze. I felt almost as though I was underwater again.