Forbidden [d.m.] || rewritten

chapter 12

The days approaching the Third and final task were oddly different. There was this troubling aura in the air, prominent enough to where we all could sense something bad was about to happen. Summer was looming toward all of us, yet we knew there were still obstacles to come before another care-free summer holiday.

As June rolled in, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I spent any free time we had preparing four our end-of-year exams. When Cedric and I visited Hogsmeade, he helped me by testing my knowledge on subjects that didn't require a wand. We spent every Saturday morning cramming for these exams that everybody was dreading. By the time we were done going through our material, we each would have gone through several butter beers.

Cedric was relentless when it came to getting our studying in. He stopped at nothing to make sure I thoroughly knew the material.

"Sage, come on. You know the incantation for Hex-Deflection. I know you know it."

Though, there were times where the both of us became restless after hours of being bombarded by school books. I typically instigated that we took breaks.

"Why don't we put these godforsaken books down for a moment and have some fun?"

And after every little study break we took, we slipped back into our booth at the Three Broomsticks as if we weren't just making out in an alleyway or in the forest. It was the most fun I had in four years at Hogwarts.

The entire school was piled into a circular arena for the Third Task. Thank God this tournament was coming to an end. It was one of the main sources of my stress for the past eight months. After this evening, Harry and Cedric could go back to the lives they had before as teenagers and not have to worry about completing a deadly task every couple of months.

Ron tapped my shoulder as we sat in our seats next to the Beauxbatons girls. Hermione and I perched ourselves by all of the Weasley's, thinking they would be a great source of entertainment while we waited for the four champions to arrive back from the maze.

"Oy, Sage. How long have they been in there now?" Ron questioned as I sat there nervously twiddling my thumbs in my lap.

"Nearly three hours." I replied with a sigh.

It baffled me how the teachers let this go on for so long. When they first entered the maze, there was a cloudless, electric blue sky, yet now, a static pitch black enveloped the stands. Silence overcame the crowd when Viktor and Fleur came back after nearly being killed. It was clear the trauma Fleur was bound to endure from this whole tournament. No one spoke louder than a hushed whisper for hours.

I was on edge, unaware of what tonight could bring. The longer Harry and Cedric were in the maze, the more my mind became flooded with a million tragic outcomes. All of this wasn't fair. Three gruesome, fatal tasks all for what? Eternal glory? Harry was fifteen. Fifteen. And Cedric, just seventeen. They couldn't possibly handle this all. Fleur and Krum as well. No child could endure this.

Luckily, my ear was being permeated with information all about plants. Neville sat behind me, telling me all about his dreams about becoming a proper Herbologist. "You know, it's good Harry found that Gillyweed." He rambled on and on. "Did you know Gillyweed was native to the Mediterranean Sea? Suppose that's why it lasts better in salt water—"

"Oh... How interesting." I tried to look as captivated as possible, but my mind couldn't shrug off the fact that something really irreversibly bad was happening.

Just when Neville was about to continue, a loud cracking sound filled the air. Within seconds, people were rising from their seats, cheering and clapping, while the band started noisily blowing their instruments. The blaring sound of trumpets and horns grew louder above the applause of the students. Without grabbing Hermione or Ron, I instantly tried to make my way down to the grass to where Harry and Cedric were.