Star Crossed

Chapter Forty Six- Finish this

I ran and ran as fast as my aching legs could carry me, slipping and sliding through the thick wet mud occasionally having to leap over vines which attempted to wrap themselves around my ankles and drag me down. Suddenly I screamed as a large lobster like creature sprung from the hedges and launched itself towards me, I threw up my wand and was able to deflect its attack throwing it to the side roughly. My chest felt as if it was going to explode as I stopped running leaning over holding my chest trying to recapture my breath.

I screamed as a I was roughly thrown against the hedges a wand pointing at me, I looked cross eyed along the shaft of the wand but it was quickly dropped from my throat.
"Grisha," the owner breathed.
"Wiglaf," I gasped.
"I'm sorry." he sighed placing his hands gently upon my shoulders, I nodded.
"It's okay... I know," I whispered.
"Wiglaf! Wiglaf? What was it?" another voice called from a few feet away.
"It's okay... its Grisha." Wiglaf replied dropping his hands back to his side.
"Grisha!" the other voice shouted there was a sound of running footsteps in the dark before Lazarus appeared beside Wiglaf.
"You're alive!" He gasped, pulling me into another hug, there was a moment's pause as he slowly let me go.
"Where is Tom...?" he asked hesitantly, fear in his large chocolate eyes.
"Oh he is alive." I replied bitterly, Lazarus's eyes relaxed a little.
Wiglaf scoffed, "Never trust a survivor until you know what he did to survive."
"Where is he?" Lazarus asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, probably outside of the maze." I murmured.
"He didn't take you with him!" Lazarus shouted in disbelief, I averted my eyes.
"I wouldn't leave here without you, I couldn't leave while there were still people trapped in here."
"Run!" Wiglaf shouted breaking the silence that had spread between us I looked around us panicked, the hedges were closing in once more taking a deep breath I threw myself into a run Lazarus and Wiglaf by my side our wet robes billowing behind us. There was a crack and a squelch of mud beside me.
"Lazarus!" I shouted grabbing his arm and pulling him back up.
"I'm ok!" He shouted in return as we continued to run until the hedges finely formed behind us once more, breathing deeply we stood and looked around the still ever tall dark hedges which looked no different than before.
"I... there is no way we can get out of here." Lazarus breathed running his fingers through his sodden hair.
"Fortunately, you're wrong." an all too familiar voice called from the darkness causing me to close my eyes and let out a breath I hadn't realised I had been holding.
"Tom?" Lazarus called into the blackness, Tom walked forwards revealing himself from the shadows, his tall slender silhouette visible against the dark backdrop.
Lazarus screamed as he was pulled back into the hedge by his neck the vines tightening causing him to kick and splutter, Wiglaf raised his wand and struck the vines causing some of them to retract but it was not enough, Tom stood watching his head tiled characteristically to the side as if he was paying attention to a lecture not his friend being strangled to death. I rose my own wand and began to help to strike them causing them to splinter and snap apart. Eventually the last strand was severed as Lazarus fell to the floor his breathing ragged as he massaged his bruising neck.
"When this is all over, I want my sanity back." Lazarus breathed.
After Lazarus had caught his breath we began to walk on through the mazes labyrinth, Tom guiding the way. I did not know if he knew where he was leading us but I was happy to at least have hope.
I gasped as I felt something strong and smooth wrap around my leg and make its way up towards my back as I stopped walking. Tom turned around and looked at me curiously as I stood unmoving unable to risk moving so much as a muscle to explain what was happening. I heard a loud hiss towards my right ear as I stared blankly ahead trying my best not to move.
Suddenly an otherworldly sound filled the air, a mix between hissing and whispering. Tom approached me slowly, calmly, it was then that I realised that the sounds where coming from his own mouth. He reached out a muddy hand to stroke the top of all three of the creatures heads causing their hissing to subside. He gently wrapped his hand around them and lifted them off of me appraising them as they sat quiet comfortably in his grasp.
"You're scary sometimes you know that, brilliant but scary." Lazarus murmured quietly, Tom smirked as he rested the three headed serpent upon the ground and watching as it slithered off into the depth of the hedges.
"We need to keep moving." Wiglaf said bluntly yet before we could continue a strong wind whipped through the narrow walkway, I heard Wiglaf shout as something powerful struck me across the face causing me to drop to my knees I felt the trickle of hot blood drip down my face.
"Grisha!" I heard Lazarus yell before he screamed himself.
"Lazarus!?" I called trying to regain my senses, I felt strong arms pull me back into a standing position looking to my right I saw Tom stood beside me his wand held out in front of me a small trail of blood dripping from his lower lip. I pulled out my own wand and looked around but I could not see anything but blurred almost liquid like movements.
"They are invisible!" Wiglaf yelled, "use your other sense!"
I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds around me, putting my free hand in front of me to feel the air around me. Feeling a breeze rush against my hand I shot a stunning spell into the air causing an eye splitting screech to echo around us and I managed to hit one of them.
"Where is Tom?" Wiglaf yelled across to me, looking back to my right I saw that Tom was no longer stood beside me I looked around but I could only see two silhouettes in the surrounding darkness, Wiglaf and Lazarus.
"No!" I yelled as an invisible force dragged Lazarus to his knees and began to hit him repeatedly causing him to groan and lash out only occasionally managing to hit some of them, I turned to Wiglaf to see that he too was struggling to free himself from the grasp on an invisible claw. I pulled back my wand but shouted in pain as my hand was ripped backwards smacking me against the hedge. Before I could come up with a plan there was a blinding flash of orange light and the familiar smell and sound of crackling fire erupted all around me the air around me quickly filling with thick black smoke making it even harder to see through the gloom, the creatures screamed and scampered away, I looked to my side to see Tom pulling Lazarus to his feet.
"Run!" I heard Tom yell from behind us, not needing to be asked more than once I began to run blindly ahead stumbling and tripping as I ran, as we covered more ground the smoke began to thin and my surroundings became more visible.
"Lumos Maxima," I whispered my wand emitted a bright white light illuminating the narrow passage around me I breathed in relief as I saw Wiglaf, Lazarus and Tom stood with me all sporting bruises and grazes upon their faces.
Lazarus turned to Tom and chuckled darkly, "Look at you risking your life for others. When did you get a heart? I thought you did not have a moral code."
"It's a low point in my life, don't hold it against me, I'll most definitely regret it in the morning." Tom replied coldly.
"You have set the maze on fire and in doing so the Hogwarts grounds." Wiglaf said in disbelief as his words alerted me to the once again thickening black smoke billowing above us and the strong stench of burning foliage.
"No one will ever suspect an angel of setting the world on fire." Tom rose an eyebrow.
We began to hasten our way through the maze now trying to outrun the flames which were fastly devouring the maze behind us. Tom took the lead grabbing a hold of my wrist as I stumbled steadying me and pulling me along after him. Finally I gasped as I saw a small light at the end of the long hedgerows, we had made it!

"Well that's the closest I've ever come to a heart attack, let's not do that again. There are at least seventeen ways this could have gone better. Literally. Like I'm counting them right now." Lazarus gasped in relief at the sight of the end.
As we stepped over the threshold the brightness stung at my eyes causing me to squint, the sound of shouts and screams filled my senses before I was hounded by Professors.
"What on Earth happened in there!?" Professor Slughorn stuttered looking at our sodden, bloody faces and torn clothes. "You are the only ones to make it out! The rest of the contestants had to be extracted!" I looked over to the stands to see many students sat shivering in blankets, wet and bloodied I saw Rosier sat at the end of one of the benches he was staring a Tom a terrified expression on his face.
Dumbledore pierced us with a narrow unreadable gaze making me shift uncomfortably as we were guided away.
Tom pulled my arm back into the shadows just out of sight causing me to turn around and face him.

He cupped my cheek and stared into my eyes for a moment in silence before he wiped his thumb over my skin, "All that blood looks good on you, it really brings out your eyes."

"I did not expect you to be a hero." I smiled.

"Sometimes the world doesn't need a hero.. sometimes what it needs is a monster." Tom's face was so close to my own now that if either one of us was to move, our lips would touch. Was he going to kiss me? Did I want him too? But before I could make my decision he had pulled away a confused almost concerned look upon his face as he stared at me.

"It would have been so much easier for me to leave you, no more guilt, no more regrets..."

"Why don't you give yourself a chance to discover who you are?" I breathed.

"I know who I am." he replied.

"I don't think you do. You are so concerned with getting through the day without a hint of how you would feel tomorrow but then I realised... you don't want to feel tomorrow. That's the plan right? You're not going to feel tomorrow."

"I don't have feelings to feel. The world does not reward you for being a good person Grisha remember that." he replied bluntly before he pulled further away from me and left me stood alone in the smoky arena.