Draco Malfoy and the Goblet of Fire (BOOK 4 of 7)

Chapter 13-The Final Task

It really annoyed Draco. Weeks had passed since Barty Crouch's death, but Moody was still hanging around. Not only that, but it seemed that no one knew about the death. There hadn't been any announcements. The Golden Trio wasn't spilling, and neither was Draco. It wasn't like Draco had a choice, though. Dumbledore obviously wanted no one else to know so Draco respected it. Besides, the last thing Draco needed was for people to come up to him and start accusing his father.

Speaking of his father, Draco had received a letter from him not too long ago. It basically said that the Death Eaters were successfully regrouping and there were "big plans". He also mentioned that the key to Voldemort's strength was lack of interference. This seemed to be a hint. Lucius said that if Draco wanted peace, he shouldn't stop what was going on. In the end, Voldemort would be stopped as long as no one interferred. They were bound to go wrong somewhere, just like last time.

Draco scoffed. Voldemort wasn't stupid. Not only that, but lack of interference? So what if the dragon frmo the first task had killed the mighty Harry Potter? What would have happened then? But what really irked Draco was that his father seemed to be getting sucked into this whole thing. It had happened so fast. On moment, he was treating his son like a son, the next, he was out setting tents on fire.

Draco had been going to the Necessity room regularly, but it wasn't until today that he regained his motivation.

He picked up his spell book and whipped to a random page. It was a memory charm, and it could wipe anything from a person's mind. It was definitely a rather complex spell, but it piqued his curiosity. To perform the spell, one had to say, "Obliviate" to enter the victim's mind. Once inside, the caster could select any time frame to delete. Apparently there wasn't a known cure or reverse for this.

Complex? Yes. Difficult? Absolutely not. Possible to practice it? See answer to previous question.

How on earth was he supposed to practice this spell? Well, it seemed that theoretical knowledge would have to do for now.

He couldn't believe how fast the school year had gone by. It was already the third and final task. He sat on the bleachers in front of a large cornfield maze-well, minus all the corn. It was like a large field of grass that was ten feet tall with many cutouts. Draco realized that this, like the second task, was definitely not for spectators. Yes, the stands were high, but not that high. Plus, it was so dark and foggy no one could see a thing if they tried.

The band was playing, conducted by Flitwick. Out of the champions' tent came an old man that Draco had seen before because he worked with Lucius. Cedric Diggory came out next and the old man looked very proud as he grabbed his son's arm and raised it into the air.

The next to emerge was Fleur Delacour. When she did, the rest of her classmates at Beauxbatons performed a cheer in French. Since Draco could speak French, he was able to translate the cheer. Admittedly, the cheer was a little rude towards Hogwarts and Durmstrang, but very supportive of Fleur.

"Nous sommes français

Nous sommes français

nous allons gagner le tournoi.

Vis Hogwarts

et Durmstrang trop.

Ne nous demandez pas pourquoi."

Draco translated the cheer to:

"We are French

We are French

we will win the tournament.

Screw Hogwarts

and Durmstrang too.

Do not ask us why."

Well, at least no one else knew its meaning. Plus, it rhymed.

Crabbe and Goyle applauded loudly when Krum came out with Karkaroff.

What a couple of dimwits, Draco thought. Crabbe had "KRUM" painted across his forehead in red.

Last, Dumbledore escorted Potter, who looked scared and very unsure of himself. Dumbeldore left Potter and walked over to the podium.

"Silence!" he demanded with his amplified voice. The band slowly stopped playing and everyone in the stands sat down. "Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position."

Why didn't Dumbledore listen to me? Draco thought.

"Now, as Mr. Diggory-"

The Hufflepuffs stood up and screamed.

"-and Mr. Potter-"

The Gryffindors did the same.

"-are tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr. Krum-"

Everyone from that school rose and chanted Krum's name.

"-and Miss Delacour."

The girls in blue did their cheer again.

"The first person to touch the Cup will be the winner! I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. If, at any point, should a contestant should wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Contestants, gather round. Quickly!"

He stepped away and said something to the four champions that Draco couldn't hear from where he sat.

However, Harry could. Dumbledore was saying, "In the maze you'll find no dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you'll face something even more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh, find the Cup, if you can, but be very wary. You could just lose yourselves along the way."

He sent them off to their starting positions. "Champions, prepare yourselves!"

The spectators applauded.

"On the count of three! One-"

BOOM!

Everyone glared at Filch, who was in charge of the cannon. The caretaker just shrugged.

As Harry entered the maze, Moody secretly pointed in the direction of the cup. Harry was thankful for this. Draco, on the other hand, had seen this from afar and knew that something was up with the Triwizard cup. Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything about it.

About fifteen minutes later, there were red sparks in the air, and soon after that, a frightened and disheveled Fleur was carried out of the maze.

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"Go on, take it. You saved me, take it!"

Harry turned around and answered Cedric, "Together. One, two, three!" They both grabbed the cup.

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