Aurora | Harry Potter

chapter seventeen

The tournament is nearly over. There's been a few dramatic things that have happened though, like me and Harry finding Barty Crouch's dead body whilst in the Forbidden Forest with Hermione, Ron and Hagrid, Snape accusing Harry of taking supplies to make Polyjuice Potion and general gossip about the final task.

Speaking of which, I'm standing in the crowd waiting for the Champions to come out and compete for the final time. I have the Gryffindor flag on my right cheek for Harry and the Hufflepuff flag for Cedric on my left, supporting both of them equally.

Everyone is cheering, applauding, playing music or just eagerly waiting to see who'll win the Triwizard Cup. Then, I see Dad skip out of a corridor in the small arena and Cedric follows after him. I clap and cheer as loudly as I can for him and the rest of the Champions, Harry coming out last being escorted by Dumbledore.

As he walks out, I can see the nervousness in his face and body language. Dumbledore silences the crowd and starts to explain the final task.

"Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position. Now, as Mr. Diggory--"

Dumbledore gets cut off by people cheering and then again when he says Harry's name. "They will be the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr. Krum and Miss Delacour. The first person to touch the cup, will be the winner!" The crowd starts to cheer and applaud again.

"I've instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. Should at any point a contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wand. Contestants, gather round," Dumbledore says, ushering the four Champions around him and tells them something that no one else can hear.

Then, he ushers them away and exclaims, "Champions, prepare yourselves!" All the Champions split off and walk to their mentors. I see Dad give Cedric a tight hug and wishes him good luck before walking away. As Cedric and Harry walk up to the maze entrance, they give each other a little nod.

They both turn around - joyful music encouraging them - and slowly walk into the maze, the entrances closing behind them. After a few minutes, Krum and Fleur enter and the maze is completely sealed off. 

-

It's been around fifteen minutes now, both Fleur and Krum have been eliminated from the challenge, Fleur was attacked and found after someone fired a red spark into the air, whereas Krum was found by a staff member under some form of enchantment they didn't tell any students.

Only Harry and Cedric remain in the maze. A couple of minutes pass and out of nowhere, something feels incredibly off. I sit down, slightly stunned, my heart starting to beat faster. "Aurora? Are you alright?" Ron says, alerting Hermione to my state.

"I don't know," I reply, quite confused, "I just got a really bad feeling in my body, like something terrible has happened." Ron and Hermione assure me that it's just nerves and that I'm not to worry. I nod and stand back up again.

A little while longer passes, the feeling still not disappearing, which starts to make me stress. Then, a loud cheer erupts from the crowd and when I look down, I see Harry and Cedric on the ground.

I beam with joy and rush down the stairs of the arena, but as soon as I get close enough, all the joy in me vanishes and is replaced by devastation. My heart drops to my stomach as I hear someone scream behind me. Harry looks up at me, tears streaming down his cheeks and he chokes, "He's back! He's back! Voldemort's back! I couldn't leave him, not there!"

"No," I whisper repeatedly, running to Cedric's lifeless body, his face blank and his eyes glassy with no emotion in them. "No, no, no, no!" I cry, placing my hands on his face and looking into his eyes, receiving nothing in return.

"Keep everyone in their seats, a boy's just been killed," I hear someone say, the entire area dropping into silence. "Cedric, please!" I plead, shaking his body as if I can bring him back, but I know there's nothing I can do.

I let out a scream of pain and collapse onto Cedric, pulling him into my arms and holding him tightly, floods of tears cascading from my eyes onto his blood and dirt stained shirt. "CEDRIC!" I scream, wailing loudly. "That's my boy!"

I turn around to see Dad, tears flowing from his eyes as he drops to the ground, his hands shakily cover his mouth. He also yells in sorrow and as he takes Cedric's body into his arms from mine, I see Moody harshly pulling Harry out of the arena.

Two hands are placed on my shoulders and I turn around to see Dumbledore, tears in his eyes and an apologetic look on his face. Without thinking, I bury my face in his beard and continue to cry, his gentle arms wrap around me and hold me tight. 

"Your brother was such a brave soul," McGonagall says, stroking my shoulder. I look up at her and barely manage to smile before I continue to cry. 

Dumbledore unwraps his arms and I see Hermione and Ron running forward, both their arms open wide. I collapse to my knees, weak and helpless, as they pull my into a tight embrace, Hermione's hand stroking my hair.

"We're here," Ron says, patting my back, "it's going to be okay." I sniffle and whisper a thank you to both of them. Then, I stand up and walk over to Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall, who all give me a sorrowful look. 

"Professors," I say in a hushed tone, my voice cracking, "you might think me silly, but I think there's something wrong with Professor Moody." Snape gives me a confused look and says, "How do you mean?"

"There's something off about him, especially recently. He feels like he's... not himself."