|𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙮| r. weasley

|𝟚𝟙|

MANY DAYS PASSED AND RON, the master of blocking out his emotions, was practically shut down. he barely spoke, ate, or participated in class — not like he did in the first place, but it still wasn't like his normal self.

the third and final task was taking place in mere hours and harry was pacing in his dorm.

"people have died in this tournament, ron! how the hell am i supposed to survive?!" he shouted.

"bloody hell, harry. you're the boy who lived; you'll be fine." ron said dismissively, still in his trance of dispar.

"ron, i could fucking die tonight, you don't care? wow, my best friends, ladies and gentlemen," harry scoffed, pretending to announce ron to a invisible crowd.

"harry, i do care!" ron cried. "i'm just all," ron paused, thinking about a word that could describe his state. "wonky, i guess." ron sighed, laying on his bed.

"i get it, mate. i feel for you, i really do, but i'm trying not to die tonight, so some concern would be nice." harry said, pulling on his champion jersey and grabbing his wand.

"yeah, yeah." ron grumbled, picking at his fingernails.

"alright, the tasks in about two hours." harry said. he looked calm at first but then his face morphed into a look of terror as he began to pace again.

"two hours!" he said frantically, "two fucking hours! holy shit, ron, i'm going to die. i'm gonna fucking die."

ron got up to comfort his best friend and wrapped him in a tight, reassuring hug.

"you'll be brilliant, mate. you always are." he said, and that seemed to calm harry down a bit.

"thanks, ron." harry said after they pulled apart.

"anytime, now, let's go get you ready to beat the shit out of diggory." ron chuckled, patting harry on the back. they both shared a laugh and the two started to practice some hexes and jinxes.

"if i'm correct, the third task is taking place today. tonight, actually." fey said, counting on her fingers. "oh shit, my parents were supposed to come today."

"this is hard for you, right? with the diggory boy and all." moody said sympathetically, and fey nodded. the two had made sort of like a father-daughter bond over the last couple weeks, and fey had a tendency to go on rants about her friends, schoolwork, and just her life in general. she told him all about how she didn't want cedric to compete and how her and ron had grown very close.

"it'll be okay, i'm sure whatever plan crouch has will be foiled and we'll be out of here in no time." he said reassuringly, and fey relaxed a bit. she was still incredibly nervous for cedric but she had faith in him.

"try to get some sleep, okay griffins? it'll be over before you know it." he said, giving her a sympathetic smile.

she smiled and curled into one of the corners. she drifted off to sleep shortly after, dreaming of getting the fuck out of there.

the hours slipped by and now ron and harry were making their way to the quidditch pitch where the task would be held. harry was shaking violently, his wand clutched so tightly in his grip that his knuckles were turning white.

the two made their way into the stadium and parted ways after ron pulled harry into a bone crushing embrace and wishing him luck. harry walked out onto the field, right behind dumbledore, and was greeted with deafening screams coming from the stands. the hogwarts march started playing and everyone was cheering, holding up banners.

harry just then looked up and saw what he was facing. a gigantic, fully grown hedge maze was right in the middle of the pitch. what was lurking in the tall walls, he would find out later.