Before the Storm | {Fred Weasley}

26. Dazed And Confused

~Just real quick, I couldn't fix this in the other chapters but Kat's eyes are actually grey (not green). I'll fix it eventually but it's mentioned in this chapter and yeah...~
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It felt like eternity had gone by. Hours had passed before the anxiously awaiting crowd witnessed any action. A single red spark shot into the sky from deep within the maze. The audience gasped in excitement, looking around for any more signs of action. When nothing came everyone visibly deflated, letting their shoulders slump in disappointment. It was no surprise that Fleur and Krum were disqualified first.

Kat huffed, sitting back in her chair. At this point, most people had taken a seat after realizing they were gonna be here a while. Random chatter filled the atmosphere, seeing as they had nothing better to do. She turned to Maxim, keeping her eyes on the un-moving shrubs and hedges. "Do you think anyone would notice if I just," she drew an imaginary line on her throat with her index finger.

The boy scoffed quietly, "I happen to find this fascinating."

The brunette girl pressed her lips into a thin line, letting her eyes drift towards the other surrounding shrubs. "You'd be fascinated watching paint dry."

Her grey irises lost interest in the scenery and soon found a suspicious looking man. Mad-Eye Moody. He looked particularly smug as he spoke gruffly with Karkaroff. Igor seemed like he wanted to shout, his face growing red in anger. Though his words we hushed, too quiet for Kat to hear from yards away.

She thought about pretending to go to the bathroom, out of sight, so she could turn into her animagus form. Maybe then she could use her heightened senses to hear what they were saying. Anya interrupted her thoughts. "Yeah, remember that time he dragged us to that poetry reading? I've never wanted anyone to smack me over the head with a frying pan more than that day. Anything would have been better than listening to that shit."

Kat laughed, watching Maxims lips formed into a pout. "I remember that! That was a good day." She smirked, thinking back to that summer before school had started. Anya scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Only because you spent the night shamelessly flirting with the barista."

The brunette shrugged, stretching her legs out. "He was cute. Plus my drinks were free, so no complaints here."

"You two just don't have the mindset to witness true art form." Maxim proclaimed, looking absolutely certain. Kat snorted, tearing her gaze away from the green grass beneath her. "Maxi, you wouldn't know what true art was if it hit you over the head with a brick."

The boy scoffed, doing a shit job at hiding his small smile. "Otvali."

After another hour, it was slowly getting harder to stay awake. The sun had gone down and chatter was quiet with the occasional mumbling. Kat found herself leaning on Maxim's shoulder. He didn't mind, in fact he expected it. She did this a lot, especially during school. Oftentimes Maxim had to shake her awake when a teacher was close to catching her.

She drifted off as Maxim made an effort to stay still. A loud voice suddenly rang through her ears and she jumped up suddenly.

"Alright people, stop your moping! This is a celebration, not a funeral!" Alec's voice sounded as he plopped down beside Anya after the crowd showed him nothing but glares. The raven haired girl blushed slightly as Kat glowered at the boy for ruining her slumber.

A few members of the audience hissed angrily at him, telling him to be quiet. He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Worth a shot. I mean, if we're gonna be here for another five hours we might as well—"

"Shut the fuck up? I agree." Kat snapped, her anger fueling when she noticed the amusement in Alec's eyes. He opened his mouth, probably to send back a smart ass remark, but he was cut off by a bright flash and loud snap. Harry and Cedric had apparated back to the front of the maze, clutching onto each other desperately. Harry dropped the Triwizard cup from his hands, hugging the Hufflepuff tighter as he slumped to the ground.

The audience cheered and the fanfare music started to play once more. Everyone was wide awake. Students quickly climbed off the bleachers to congratulate the champions, clapping happily. Kat noticed Harry's posture, something was wrong. He wasn't cheering or jumping up and down with excitement, in fact it looked like he was crying. His chest was heaving heavily as he was hunched over Cedric's un-moving body.

"Something's not right..." Maxim whispered mostly to himself. An earth shaking scream followed his confusion and the music halted abruptly. Kat climbed over the bleachers, pushing past disoriented students. Once she broke through the threshold she let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.

There lied Cedric Diggory, dead on the floor with lifeless eyes and pale skin.

Harry let out choked sobs, clinging onto Cedric like someone might take him away. Someone did. Dumbledore came rushing forward, a worried feature crossing his usually soft and tender face.

Alec appeared next to her, feeling his shoulders tense up at the sight. "I've got shit timing." He muttered with wide eyes at the scene before him. "My bad."

"Harry, please." The man pleaded, setting a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. The raven-haired boy shrugged it off, refusing to let go. A silent and shocked crowd formed around the pair, watching like a deer in the headlights.

Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, came hobbling over while clutching the expensive looking top hat on his head. He seemed rather angry as he sputtered out, "for God's sake, Dumbledore, what's happened?"

Harry let his tears fall freely, "he's back." He declared, "he's back. Voldemort's back." The crowd erupted in gasps and horrified looks.

Kat couldn't remove her eyes from the corpse that was slumped against the floor just a foot away. His charming smile was gone and the usual happy glow that radiated off him seemed to dim slowly until it ceased to exist.

"Cedric...he asked me to bring his body back." The scared headed boy continued, causing Kat's brows to furrow in confusion. "I couldn't leave him," he sobbed, "not there."

"It's alright, Harry." Dumbledore smiled sadly, crouching down beside the crying boy. He took the boy's face in his wrinkled hands, "it's alright. He's home. You both are. It's going to be alright."

Kat wanted to move forward, she wanted to help Harry and give him a hug she knew he desperately needed. But she couldn't. Anya, who she hadn't noticed, appeared by her side and tugged her arm back.

Cornelius Fudge made his way towards the crowd of Kremsworths students, a frustrated frown on his old face. He looked towards Kronoff before addressing them all. "Bring everyone back to the castle." He turned towards their headmaster and lowered his voice. "A boy's just been killed." Kat heard the mear whisper and felt the oxygen leave her lungs. The minister continued his rounds of informing teachers to lead the students back inside while Kronoff instructed Kremsworth to start rounding groups of first years. Some of the older kids from Hogwarts were doing the same, keeping an eye on the young lads.

Anya helped Kat with her group of kids, shielding them from seeing the commotion unfolding behind the crowd. The brunette's mind was currently blank. She had tunnel vision, her gray irises only focusing on getting everyone back to the castle. She couldn't hear the worried whispers surrounding her, Kat only saw their faces. Eyes riddled with shock and even a few tears.

"This is so fucked..." she muttered to herself.

If what Harry says is true, Voldemort's back; and with him, he'll only bring bloodshed. The world was going to shit.

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So sorry I haven't updated in a while! Family drama caught up to me and I've been having a rough time with school. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I wasn't too sure how to end it. I know there hasn't been a ton of romance between Fred and Kat, but I said "slow burn"---didn't I? Anyway's that's all I have for now, much love,

Dove <3