An American at Hogwarts: Book Two

Chapter Fifty-Nine

A/N: This is the longest chapter I've ever written, but I didn't want to cut it, so have fun lol. Also, this is probably the worst cliffhanger I've ever given you guys, so I'm posting Chapter Sixty tomorrow so you don't have to suffer for too long ❤️❤️

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Harry, Cedric, and I ran as one for the first fifty yards or so of the maze, which was just a straight path. We lit our wands immediately to combat the intense darkness, then paused at the first fork in the road.

"Alright, well... I'll see you both," said Harry, a little awkwardly.

"See you Harry," said Cedric.

"Good luck! Stay safe."

Harry nodded once, then took off down the left fork. Cedric and I turned and started jogging down the right, and then it was just the two of us, completely alone in the maze.

"This is the creepiest place I've ever been," I muttered under my breath. We slowed to a walk as the maze just seemed to keep getting darker, neither of us wanting to run head-first into trouble. After another second, we heard a short whistle blast from the way we'd come.

"Bagman must have sent Krum and Milena in," said Cedric. I nodded. We needed to get this done as soon as possible, for more reasons than one.

"Alright, let's make sure we keep our sense of direction," I said. Cedric cast a spell that turned his wand into a compass, and we kept following it towards the center of the maze.

The first few paths we walked down were clear, but as we rounded a corner after about ten minutes we were faced with a path completely filled with blast-ended skrewts.

"Shit," I muttered, looking at the angry, pulsing creatures. They were absolutely massive, but the only way forward was through them.

"How do you want to do this?" asked Cedric, looking incredibly nervous. I couldn't blame him; I didn't want to go up against these things either.

"I say we just sprint through them," I said. "I know it doesn't sound like the best plan, but we've been doing agility training for a reason, and it's not like any of our spells are going to do any good against those things..."

"I agree. Let's just get past them as quick as we can, and have Aguamenti at the ready."

"Sounds good to me. On the count of three?"

Cedric nodded, and started the count. "One... two... three... Go."

We sprinted around the corner as fast as we could, and we made it to the first few skrewts before any of them even noticed us. I stayed close to Cedric as we darted between the monstrous creatures, hoping I could give him some protection if things started to go wrong. Just as we passed the first line of skrewts, dodging pincers became both of our number one priorities, everything else be damned.

I jumped backwards as one of the skrewts swung a pincer at me, but it still managed to graze my shirt and rip a small hole. It followed up immediately with a blast of fire, and I barely got out of the way in time to avoid being barbequed.

"Aguamenti!" I shouted, pointing my wand over my shoulder and blasting backwards. The fire died down a bit, but Cedric and I were in the middle of the skrewts now, and they were all aiming for us.

"Bombarda!" yelled Cedric, aiming his wand at the skrewt blocking our path. It barely moved an inch before whirling on us with a jet of fire.

"Jump!" I yelled, launching myself off the ground with all the strength I could muster. Cedric did the same, and we managed to land on the back of the skrewt without catching fire. I could feel the heat on the soles of my shoes, and I knew we'd be in deep trouble if we cut it any closer.