"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."― Nicole Krauss, "The History of Love"
| George Weasley |
| Prisoner of Azkaban -Deathly Hallows part 2 |
| Sequel to 'S...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE LEAD UP TO THE third and final task was terrifying. However, some of the fear seemed to disappear when Hazel spotted her father and grandfather standing besides Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie.
Hazel dropped George's hand and sprinted towards her family, a wide grin spread across her face. One that widened when she threw herself into her father's arms. Chuckling, Remus regained his balance before wrapping his arms around his only child, kissing the top of her head as he congratulated her for getting so far in the tournament; just after he scolded her for putting her name into the Goblet in the first place.
Lyall Lupin pushed his son out of his way, before he squeezed his granddaughter to his chest, gushing over the fact that she was in first place in the tournament. When she pulled away from her beloved grandfather, George finally walked over to her side, smiling at both families.
All the adults stared at the pair with shocked faces, their eyes lingering on their intertwined fingers.
"Oh, yeah, did I mention that we're together?" Hazel asked teasingly, tilting her head to the side as she quickly glanced at George, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her boyfriend.
Mrs. Weasley was by far the most excited about the news. She began squealing and clapping her hands, even jumping up and down. Her eyes watered as she stared at her son and his girlfriend who were no longer standing there as they saw the perfect opportunity to slip away.
With George's arm around her shoulders, they walked out of the school and towards where the next task will be held. Hazel couldn't deny the nerves that seemed to peek as she realised where they were going.
"You alright?"
Hazel glanced up at her tall boyfriend, she nodded at him before sighing and shaking her head, "I'm terrified. I feel like something bad is going to happen," She admitted to him, almost kicking herself at how stupid that sounded.
George suddenly stopped walked. He turned Hazel around by her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes, "It'll all be okay," He tried to reassure her, "Dumbledore's here, and nothing can go wrong with him."
Hazel bit her lip but nodded, "Yeah, I suppose so," She breathed out, "Thank you."
George grinned before pressing his lips onto Hazel's forehead. She closed her eyes, sighing in comfort as her body unconscious leaned closer to his. When he pulled away he took hold of her hand, and the couple began walking towards the stands.
Hazel had to say her farewells to George, he promised her to cheer the loudest before he gave her a quick kiss and rushed to the stands to sit with Fred and Lee. The brunette nervously fiddled with her hands as she walked over to Harry; who seemed to look even more anxious than herself. She squeezed the younger boy's shoulder, before the four champions were ordered to take their spots.
Hazel stood nervously at the edge of the maze. She absolutely despised the idea of this finally task, and couldn't help the nerves that washed over her. Her heart beat so loud she could barely hear the music over it. Her eyes met George's and he sent her a reassuring smile, which of course, seemed to help the brunette. She sent George a small smile back before her eyes flew to Dumbledore as he quietened the rowdy crowd down.
"Earlier today Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position," Dumbledore stated, Hazel's eyes travelled over to Professor Moody, who she thought seemed to be fidgeting a lot more than usual, "Now, Miss Lupin is in first place--" He got cut off by Fred's loud cheers, Dumbledore chuckled, "She will be the first one to enter the maze," He continued, his loud voice booming over the cheering, "Followed closely by Mr. Potter. Then by Mr. Krum and Miss Delacour."
Loud cheers came from the left side of the stands where men began chanting, 'Krum! Krum! Krum!' whilst beating an incredibly loud drum. Hazel glanced over at Ron, expecting him to join in the chants, but when he didn't she looked away.
"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 wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands." Dumbledore announced. He turned away from the crowd, and quickly ushered the four champions over to him, "Contestants, gather round."
Hazel's legs felt like jelly and she was genuinely surprised that she managed to make her way over to the Headmaster. He got them to stand close to each other, his eyes wandering around them very carefully.
"In the maze you'll find not dragons or creatures of the deep," Dumbledore said, glancing between each and everyone of them, noticing the worried expressions that painted most of their faces; Krum seemed to be the only one with his chest puffed out and a smirk on his face, "Instead, you'll face something much more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh find the cup if you can, but be very weary...you could just lose yourselves along the way."
Well, that speech certainly didn't help Hazel's nerves. She trudged back to her original spot, fear consumed almost every part of her body. She didn't bother making eye contact with anyone as she stood there, her eyes locked on her boots and her pale face hidden from the crowd's view.
Hazel gulped and slowly turned around, her back facing the crowd and her eyes now locked on one of the entrances of the maze. Hazel didn't hear anything else Dumbledore said, instead all she heard was the sound of the canon mixing the with sound of her rushed heartbeat.
Gulping, the brunette took her first step towards the maze. When her foot stepped in, the other one followed much too quick. She glanced over her shoulders briefly, noticing the entrance of the maze suddenly closing. Adrenaline rushed through Hazel's veins as she turned back around, her hand shaking as she took her wand from her pocket. Letting out a shaky breath, the brunette stepped further inside.
