Black and Potter | H. Potter

41 ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆ not her, please not her.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

| NOT HER, PLEASE NOT HER |
song: softcore by the neighbourhood.
TW: torture.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾

ARA STILL HADN'T TURNED UP, THE EVENING FEAST WAS JUST ABOUT TO END and Harry hadn't seen her for hours. Perhaps some of her paranoia had rubbed off on him but he couldn't help but worry, and he wasn't the only one anxious about her absence. Mrs. Weasley had asked about her more than a dozen times, even ordering Bill to go look for her but with no luck. Ara's eldest brother told his mother that his sister probably just lost track of time, and Ron added to the consoling, saying that she was probably with Atlas which seemed to calm Mrs. Weasley to an extent, taking comfort in the fact that she was with someone she knew.

Yet, with all of these logical—and likely—explanations, Harry was still doubtful. Ara wouldn't miss the opportunity to give him a goodbye hug, or a simple good luck before he went to the third task. . .

Hermione—much like him—had been looking around the Great Hall with the hope of spotting her, only to come up empty.

"Relax, you two," Ron said as he took his last bite of food. "She told me she'd be gone a while, said she needed to talk to Atlas, she'll be here."

"Oh, I don't know, Ron. . .she's been gone for hours," Hermione stressed quietly.

"Maybe we should go look—"

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

After a moment's hesitation, Harry begrudgingly got up, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't want to go to the stadium, he wanted to go look for Ara and—hopefully—find her. He felt empty as he started to take steps towards the big doors, he needed one of Ara's farewell hugs right about now and she wasn't there to give it to him. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding him but he couldn't bring himself to feel good about their support.

"Hermione," he suddenly mumbled as he stopped in his tracks. "Please, look for her."

Hermione didn't even have to think about it, she nodded, silently making a promise.

After they all wished Harry good luck, he headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor.

"Feeling alright, Harry?" Bagman asked as they went down the stone steps onto the grounds. "Confident?"

"I'm okay," said Harry. It was a lie, he couldn't feel a single ounce of confidence within him, the only emotion he felt right now was worry.

They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognisable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"