sat nervously biting her nails amongst the stands of the Quidditch pitch. Fred and George were sat beside her; anomalies of red and gold amidst a sea of blue and bronze. Each House had gathered in congregated groups, so Arabella was surprised to see that her Gryffindor friends had joined her instead – not that she minded, of course. In fact, she had missed the twins' company so much that she savoured every moment with them.

Her mind was busy, however. It was racing, scattered, and consumed with what ifs. What if the maze is enchanted with a mind of its own, like the book had said? What if the creatures are dangerous, and they kill someone? What if the rumours about Voldemort's return are true?

Clearly Bella could not be sure of the cause of such heightened anxiety, but there was something in her intelligent brain that told her it was justified. That it wasn't just her being unreasonable. That she had a right to be worried, because something could happen.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" She asked the twins anxiously.

Fred cracked a smile. "I was wondering when you were going to talk. I can see what you're thinking in your face. You're scared to bloody death, aren't you?"

"Of course I am, Fred. My boyfriend is in the Triwizard Tournament. It's the final task, so it's guaranteed to be challenging and, um, probably dangerous. And the rumours about Voldemort returning with the possibility of dark magic being involved in the task . . . I don't know, it just unnerves me. I don't want anyone to get hurt, let alone Viktor."

George flashed Bella a sympathetic grin, with his hand gently placed on her forearm as comfort. "D'you really think that Dumbledore would get Death Eaters to attack the Champions or something? It's just a rumour, Bella. I doubt anything will happen, and if it does, I don't think You-Know-Who would pick a maze as his way of targeting Harry."

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."

The girl could feel a small sliver of relief creeping into her system, but there was still an overwhelming sensation of worry in her stomach. No matter how much she had tried to talk herself out of it, the negative thoughts persistently lingered in her mind and she just could not diminish them. Stuck like a bee to honey. A broken record on a gramophone.

Maybe George was right, but there was something inside Arabella that just felt wrong.

This feeling only escalated when Dumbledore emerged from under the stands, with all four Champions following behind. The crowd erupted with cheers, students and Professors alike, whom were watching with supportive smiles and excited eyes. Bella was not smiling, nor was she excited. She was submerged in nerves.

Because after all, she cared about Viktor immensely; the thought of him being in danger made her feel sick. And Harry, too – he was a friend, and a target for danger. A liability to himself and to others.

The eruption of cheering was immediately interrupted when Dumbledore yelled from the authority of his podium. "Silence!" All music stopped and everyone slumped back down into their seats. "Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position." Many stares travelled towards Moody, whom was occupied in drinking a flask that he seemed to permanently carry. His fake eye darted in different directions. "As Mister Diggory and Mister Potter tied for first place, they will be the first to enter, followed by Mister Krum and Miss Delacour."

Shouting and clapping boomed from every Quidditch stand, with Bella promptly joining in with Fred and George to cheer Harry on, though she stood up simultaneously to the Durmstrang students where her high-pitched whooping was lost in a cacophony of manly yells of support. Viktor heard her voice; his eyes glanced straight towards hers and a smile curled up his lips. She teasingly blew a kiss, where he looked away towards Karkaroff with a downplayed smirk upon his face.

"First person to touch the Cup will be the winner," continued Dumbledore. "I've instructed staff to patrol the perimeter. Should any contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wand." The Headmaster walked away from the podium with a grand step, approaching the contestants. "Gather round. Quickly." He ordered the four of them. Then, the man's voice went quiet, and Bella could not distinguish any audible words.

"In the maze, you'll find no dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you'll face something even more challenging. People change in there. Of course, find the Cup if you can, but be very wary as you can lose yourselves along the way."

The enchanted maze. Viktor thought. Maybe Bella's book was right. Maybe that's what I'm about to face.

"Champions, prepare yourselves!" Dumbledore announced, with all four of them standing at each corner of the maze. The music erupted and the cannon boomed, signalling the beginning of the task.

Arabella watched nervously as all four contestants ventured slowly into the maze, recognising that both Harry and Fleur seemed notably more hesitant. Viktor looked back, sending a confident wave to the crowd (the redhead could tell that Karkaroff had told him to do so: she knew that he wasn't as self-assured as he seemed), and Bella hoped that he saw her feebly wave back. Secretly she hoped that the wave was meant for her. Not as an act of goodbye, but as a simple act of reassurance.

The maze entrance closed, and anxiety in the Ravenclaw's insides began to bubble again. It was consuming her like acid eating through her stomach. In fact, she felt so sickly that she was sure she would choke on her own acidic bile if her mental state did not calm. George noticed her panicked breathing, and the hand that already rested upon her forearm squeezed her tighter. "It's the Viktor Krum, for Merlin's sake. He'll be fine." The girl looked at her friend with a sceptical expression. "Besides, you've prepared and strategised him well for the task, haven't you?"

"It's not my strategy I'm worried about, George. It's Karkaroff's. He's not a good person, apparently, and neither are his teaching methods. I'm just worried for Viktor's wellbeing."

"He's a good enough wizard to handle himself, Bella." Fred interjected with an attempt at further reassuring the worried girl.

"I know, I know, but I would hate to see him hurt. Think of it as like, if you were in love with me, and I went into the maze. How you would feel is exactly how I feel right now."

George laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, I suppose I would be worried. Good thing we're not in love with you then, eh?"

Arabella stared into the abyss of the maze, disappointed that she could not see what was going on inside. "I'm so grateful for friends like you two. I had no idea what to do with myself when we fell out, and now I have you back, I don't imagine what I would do if I lost you again."

"We're grateful for you too, Bella." Fred grinned widely.

George nodded in agreement. "And if we lost you — completely, I mean — I know that neither of us would know what to do with ourselves either."

"Now you know what it's like with Viktor, because that's exactly how I feel." The Ravenclaw replied, affectionately stroking George's hand that lay on her arm, as if to return the emotional and physical support that he was providing her.

Bella heard the maze roar eerily, causing her to grab both twins' arms in a sudden state of shock. The hedged walls moved and snaked like tree branches, rapidly opening and closing with an aggression that no gusts of wind could conjure. The maze must be enchanted like I predicted. She thought. No spell or creature could do that.

She could only hope that Viktor would not get caught in the maze's traps.

But the Bulgarian was bewitched; eyes of glass and absent of emotion. His wand remained clutched tightly in his sweating palms, with a walk that was stiff and inhuman.

He ventured slowly through the maze, each step heavy under his large boots. There was an eerie silence that allowed every sharp, inhaling breath to be heard amidst the air.

Suddenly, there was a feminine yet bone-chilling scream that emerged from within the depths of the maze, making Bella glance worriedly towards Deanna whom had emerged from her seat to join her. "Deanna," she acknowledged her friend. "That scream was Fleur, wasn't it?"

Deanna forced a laugh. "You're a nervous mess, aren't you?"

"Yes I am. And I have every right to be. This task is dangerous." She turned to the Weasley twins when Deanna did not reply. "You two should be worried as well: Harry is your friend, and it surprises me that you seem so calm."

Almost simultaneously to when a red flare shot up into the sky, Fleur Delacour emerged from the maze in frantic and panicked movements. Madame Maxine greeted her with a soothing arm around her shoulder as she travelled to the Quidditch stands, avoiding all stares from students that blatantly directed her way. Some were disapproving, some sympathetic, but it didn't matter. What Fleur had seen – the clouded state of Viktor Krum as a result of his bewitchment – brought her more sadness than the knowledge that she had lost the Tournament.

Fleur walked towards the top of the stands, passing by Arabella as she did so, causing her to make awkward yet troubling eye contact with the girl. "Are you okay?" The redhead muttered to Fleur, whom immediately stopped in her path.

"O-Oui, thank you. It's Viktor Krum; he is affected by someone's spell. I-I don't know what happened." Fleur was particularly startled at Bella's distraught gasp in response to her words. The blonde was blissfully unaware of Viktor's relationship with Bella, and so her brows furrowed in confusion when the Ravenclaw's reaction proved to be more upset than she had originally thought. "You are close?"

Arabella nodded, her grip on both Fred and George releasing itself softly. Instead, her hands settled in her own lap. "I am in love with him. And he is with me."

Fleur glanced towards the ground. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know. I don't know what has happened to Viktor Krum, but I doubt he will be in danger. It is likely that he has become the danger himself."

Bella sighed loudly. "Well, I'm glad you're not hurt. I'm just hoping that nobody else will be."

Mere seconds passed, then Harry and Cedric flew from the depths of the maze. Cheers and delighted music erupted in cacophonies of celebration, only to be abruptly distinguished when the crowd noticed Harry's painful sobbing and Cedric's lifeless body.

Dumbledore hurried over, kneeling down beside the boy in yellow, and the wailing boy in red. "What happened?" The Headmaster yelled with a tone of immense worry.

The crowd was silent, with everyone listening intently.

"He's back! He's back!" Cried Harry. "Voldemort's back! Cedric asked me to bring his body back." Dumbledore grabbed Harry's face, and although his whispers were inaudible from the stands, it was clear that his words were ones of sympathy.

Both Deanna and Bella had their hands clasped over their mouths in shock. The redhead glanced towards her younger sister, whom had clumsily ran towards her from the abyss of crying Hufflepuffs, and embraced her in a hug with tears streaming from her eyes. "Ellie," she murmured softly. Arabella knew that Cedric was a mentor and a role model for many of the younger students in his House. "You were right. The rumours are true. H-He's back."

Amos Diggory ran to Cedric's body, sobbing against his chest that was no longer beating. "My son!" He screamed. "My son!"

Much to his resistance, Professor Moody escorted Harry away from the scene and into the Triwizard tent. Bella glanced around, unable to see Viktor nor Karkaroff, and she felt her heart shift from sadness to anxiety. "Where's my boyfriend?" She questioned shakily. "He hasn't come out of the maze yet."

Oh Merlin, no. If Voldemort is back, and Cedric was killed in the maze . . .

Suddenly Viktor came into view as he exited the maze with a loud thud, hitting the hard ground. Karkaroff stalked over to the boy who promptly stood up and brushed off his Durmstrang jersey, as the Headmaster placed a large hand aggressively on his broad shoulders. "You're last! And you didn't even get the Cup!" He shouted angrily.

Viktor was dazed and seemingly confused, as if he had been trapped in a hypnotic trance. The spell. Bella thought. Whatever it was, it must have hypnotised him. Or maybe the enchanted maze did it to him.

"I think I was bewitched." Viktor replied calmly, taking Karkaroff by surprise. Though something in the man's expression told Viktor that he possibly knew already. "I woke up on the floor, as if I had been knocked unconscious. I don't know why."

Karkaroff's scowl reflected clear disappointment in his student, but the Headmaster was speechless, despite his anger causing an immense urge to raise his voice. "Cedric Diggory is dead." He finally croaked.

Viktor was speechless then. He frantically looked around the stadium, though he saw no body, only heard the muffled cries of Amos Diggory from beneath the stands. He immediately made eye contact with Arabella, and his sadness subdued enough to form a weak, half-hearted smile.

He trudged over to the stands and gently took Bella's hand. Glancing to a grieving Eleanor, he stroked her auburn locks sympathetically, before diverting his attention back to his girlfriend. "I'm fine now, Bella." He caressed a single hand upon her pale cheek. "I wasn't hurt."

"But what if I lost you? What if you had been killed instead of Cedric?" The redhead felt incredibly guilty for sounding dismissive of Cedric Diggory's murder. She was sad – of course she was – but she could only sympathise for his father. She had no empathy, because she didn't know what that felt like: to lose a loved one.

Viktor said nothing, only pulled her figure into his, where she sighed contently upon feeling the warmth of his body heat. He pulled away awkwardly when he saw Deanna watching them from the corner of her glasses. Her expression was nothing but supportive, but he didn't like an audience, nor did he like crowds. What he and Bella had was something to express privately, and his fame in Quidditch had only intensified his opinion.

But as he pulled away, Bella cupped his face, bringing him in close to her. She leaned so that their lips touched, and all of a sudden he could not see the crowd anymore. It was nothing but him, her, and a sweet and blissful blackness.

Maybe that's what Cedric saw, too. Nothing but a sweet and blissful blackness.

Um

I'm sorry ???

this was such an emotional chapter wow Cedric's death is so sad to write about 💔💔

only two more chapters until the end of the book now!! I'm kinda excited to finish it because then I will have a completed book (I don't often finish fanfics that I write because I just get bored and delete them lmao), and I will also have time to write my other fics since this one has always been my priority.

thanks for reading xoxo

ps I would really appreciate a vote and a comment telling me what you think of the chapter / book / characters 😉 you can give me feedback on anything idm!!