Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 56: The Third Task

With the sound of the roaring crowd and Hogwarts brass band welcoming them in, Shaye, Harry, Cedric, Krum and Fleur all stepped out into the grassy patch of land that stood between the stands full of cheering students and hedge maze that, while looking harmless enough, promised to provide a challenging final task in the Triwizard Tournament.

"This is it," Shaye told herself and Harry. "One last task and then we're home free."

The night before, Shaye had actually managed to get some sleep and instead of being plagued by nightmares, she was actually gifted with heart-warming dreams of her father. It was a welcomed surprise and made getting out of bed that morning ten times harder than it had been when she had been overcome with grief. All she had wanted to do was go back to sleep and enter a world where her father was still alive and they could live happily together. 

As Shaye scanned the faces in the crowd, a part of her looked for her father's face. She had seen him during the second task, and even though she knew that seeing dead people was not a healthy thing, she wanted more than anything in the world for one of the students' faces to morph into her father. She just wanted to see him smiling down at her. She just wanted him to be proud.

Among the crowd, however, she did see one person who made her feel better. George, who was standing with Fred and the others, was smiling wide and waving like a lunatic. "Potter and Frazier for the win!" he was shouting, trying to get the other students to join in. "Gryffindor Glory Team!"

Shaye waved back, his presence in the sea of students making her feel safer somehow even though she knew that if she or Harry got into trouble inside the maze, there was nothing that anyone could do for them.

"Silence!" Dumbledore stepped up to the wooden podium that stood in the middle of the grassy area and waited until the excitement had died down. "Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now, as Mr. Diggory, Mr. Potter and Miss Frazier are tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze."

Those dawning yellow and red jumped to their feet, shouting as loud as they could for the Hogwarts champions. Amos Diggory, Cedric's father, beamed at his son, a look of great pride on his face. Shaye felt her heart throb a little . . . she wished her father were there for her.

"Followed by Mr. Krum and Miss Delacour." Dumbledore continued, the visiting schools cheering just as loudly for their champions. "The first person, or team, to touch the cup will be the winner! I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. Should, at any point, a contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wand." He then looked at Shaye and Harry specifically. "This decision should not be made lightly, for if one of you sends up sparks, you will both be pulled from the maze. So, I strongly suggest you stick together."

Shaye and Harry nodded understandingly.

"Contestants! Gather around. Quickly." Dumbledore beckoned the champions over to himself. He then lowered his voice so only the five competitors could hear him. "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." Dumbledore then stepped back and turned toward the crowd. "Champions, prepare yourselves!"

This was it. The third task. The final task. All Shaye and Harry had to do now was make it through alive; the Triwizard Cup being of secondary priority to their lives.

With the crowd cheering once more, the champions each made their way to a separate entrance of the maze, allowing them each to start in a different spot. Shaye and Harry walked to the centermost entrance, where Mad-Eye was waiting for them. Somehow, along the way, he had become their mentor and they definitely wouldn't have made it through the first two tasks without him.