Goblet of Fire (Male Reader x Hermione) - Book 3

The Final Task

The cheers erupted and I felt the warm hands of McGonagall on my shoulders as the trumpets carried on their cheery tunes. I swallowed the golf ball in my throat and listened in when Dumbledore demanded silence in the auditorium-like structure. I felt the breeze prickle against my skin ever so slightly but that was drowned out by the rush of ongoing thoughts and plans. The maze. A network of paths, only few leading to the trophy placed by Moody himself somewhere deep within, and made to challenge us both psychologically and physically through a vast array of techniques. I was to enter just after Diggory due to the current table standings but this wouldn't matter to me. I just wanted to survive, not win.

"Contestants gather round," Dumbledore said addressing us. "QUICKLY. In the maze you'll find not dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead you'll face something more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh find the cup if you can, but be very weary. You could just lose yourselves along the way." Great. Yeah real sick...did we forget that we still don't know how we got here?

The cannon sounded early once again and I found myself directed cheekily by Moody for whatever reason to the left as the branches closed me off from all sounds and external light. The only thing I could hear was my own, slow breath as I carefully walked through the foggy paths, unsure of whether I was going in any certain direction at all. I jumped as something stroked my arm but as I looked toward it, nothing was there but a few stray leaves and twigs. A sharp, piercing scream echoed suddenly above all else from behind me. FLEUR. The trophy became my second target now as I jumped from left to right toward the source of the danger. I had to make it to her. I had to save her from whatever was happening.

I felt multiple blips on my radar pop up as I walked down one of the many elongated paths but only one was moving...Dumbledore really was right when he said that people changed in the maze. I slid into cover with my back pressed against the wall as I heard one approach the corner I was about to turn down. Who was it? Cold, emotionless and colourless eyes stared deeply into mine as it pointed it's illuminated wand directly toward me...but it was blind. I held my breath as Juni had taught me in my first year, stiffening each and every muscle I could until I knew for certain that it was gone. That wasn't Viktor. That was something entirely different. I rounded the corner and heard the horrible, bubbly crackling of the roots taking it's hostage with it as it sunk back into the ground.

"FLEUR!" I called out as I attempted to grab onto the roots and pull back but they were just too strong. What could I do?! I ignited one palm and repeated the action, this time successfully breaking the horribly sticky and moist piece of wood and freeing up the girl I had taken to the ball. I pulled her out and laid her flat, mouth ajar and arms by her side. Her dreary eyes began to open and were immediately filled with shock, making her scream and clamber backwards as if I were that...that thing. "Fleur, it's just me, just Y/N. You remember me right Fleur? I won't hurt you. You're safe."

She began to slow down her panicked escape and once she had completely stopped, I placed my palm to the sky and released a ball of heat the drifted high enough so that it would alert everyone else.

"You need to stay here," I said placing an arm on each of shoulder. "The spell has been cast and it will only be a matter of time until you're saved. Can you stay here by yourself?" I asked, having to repeat the last part once again until I got a positive answer. "Good. It's a tough place to be in this forest. Wish me luck."

A sharp and violent wind suddenly picked up only a matter of minutes after I had sent up the flare for Fleur and the bushes began to fall in on themselves, Inception style, one after another, forcing me to run away from everything the surrounded me. The chase ended at a junction down which one led to a glimmering object, the bridge to my escape as well as the eternal glory we had been oh so pampered with.