Harry Potter and his sister Alison

Chapter 16

Harry was practically shaking as he stood in what used to be the Quidditch field but was now the home of the third and final task of the tournament. One huge labyrinth.

This was the supposed to be the hardest and most dangerous task yet he wasn't quite sure how you could get worse than nearly getting barbecued by a vicious, man-eating dragon or nearly getting drowned by ugly underwater creatures that could get an alarmingly tight grip on your legs. He just couldn't imagine what could be lying in that maze, nor did he want to.

Alison stood next to her older trying her hardest to keep a straight face with a calm expression. She knew he was extremely nervous about this task since he was barely able to get through the last two and he had woken up a few times in the middle of the night from nightmares the previous night. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't really nervous too though.

She, herself, had a few nightmares of losing her brother on this night. She just couldn't shake the feeling something awful was going to happen no matter how many times Harry, Ron, Hermione, and all his other friends had tried to reassure her that everything would be fine.

Suddenly a loud cannon went off causing everyone to jump at the unexpected noise since it had gone off a little too early.  Harry crouched down a little so he'd be the same height as her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I've got to go now, go sit by 'Mione and Ron and Sarah okay? I'll see you in an hour." He gave her a small smile, trying to ease both his and her nerves.

Alison nodded her head a little and hugged her brother as tightly as she could before he and Cedric turned and walked into the giant maze.

~ • ~

Sarah and Hermione tried their best to keep themselves and Alison as busy as they could to try not to think about the dangers Harry was probably facing in the maze at that very moment. Ron had brought a miniature chess set with him and watched with a small smile as Alison and Sarah played each other over and over, Alison winning nearly every time.

He had taught her how to play when she and Harry came to stay with them at the Burrow for half the summer after their first year, why Dumbledore had heavily forbid the Potter's for staying with them the entire summer left him baffled and appalled. Especially his mother who voiced her opinion of the awful and abusive Muggles quite loudly. Harry did say though that his aunt and uncle were a bit kinder to him and Ali after Dumbledore had apparated right in the middle of their living room during their tea time and had a few cross words with them, but Harry had also made it quite clear that he would not leave his sister with them alone while he was at school.

He chuckled to himself as he remembered Harry making a big ol' fuss about making sure every boy in the dorm changed in the bathroom and watched what they said so Alison wouldn't be scarred for life or heard things a child really shouldn't be hearing.

He admired how close Harry and Alison were since he really wasn't that close to any of his siblings. They defiantly reminded him of Fred and George; going everywhere together, sticking up for one another, and pretty much doing everything they could together.

Hermione and Ginny tried on numerous occasions to try to separate the Potter's a little saying this and that about how Harry needed to be careful about not babying Alison and letting her grow up independent. They even convinced the two into sleeping in the girls and boys dorms instead of their own room a couple months into this school year. Neither Potter seemed to mind it until about a week later when they both had gotten awful nightmares the same night.

Alison had felt absolutely awful for not being there for her brother to help calm him down and Harry blamed himself for Alison even getting the nightmares in the first place. It was right back to their room the next night.