I will stay with you

16

Hermione waited patiently in the abandoned common room as Harry dressed. Everyone else had already gone down to the arena, in which the third and final task would take place in only about an hour, though Hermione insisted that she stayed with Harry.
She stared blankly into the fire, her mind swarming with thoughts of what could possibly go wrong during the task. She knew thinking of this wouldn't help anything, but she couldn't stop herself.
She was snatched away from her thoughts as Harry entered the common room. Her eyes widened as she realized that he was shirtless, wearing only his black and red sweatpants. She forced herself to look at his face instead of his torso, and felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks when her eyes met his.
"Sorry," she murmured, staring into the fire once more.
"No, I get it," said Harry cheekily. "You like what you see."
Hermione rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him, "Quit teasing me."
Harry opened his arms, a smirk plastered on his face, "Come here."
Hermione smiled and, though she longed to race towards him, slowly made her way across the common room to him. She leaned into him and buried her face into his bare chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Be careful, please," she begged quietly, her voice cracking at the end.
"I always am, 'Mione," Harry said and kissed the top of her head. Hermione looked up at him and nodded. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips, but Hermione wanted more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, much to his surprise. Though, he didn't mind it at all. He wrapped his arms around her small waist and pulled her closer to him, kissing her with everything he had in him.
Though he didn't want to, Harry pulled away slowly, pecking her once more before staring into her eyes. Hermione let out a small whine at the loss of contact, but she understood.
Harry sighed and stepped away from her before throwing his shirt over his head.
"Come on," he said quietly, reaching out his hand for Hermione to take.
~
Hermione watched quietly from the stands as Professor Dumbledore introduced the four champions. As Harry's name was called, he caught Hermione's eye, and gave her a small smile.
Hermione fiddled with the ring on her finger- which she never took off. Her heart twisted with sadness at the thought of loosing Harry to this task. She had been worried about the other two tasks, but not half as bad as the third. She convinced herself it was only because the final task was said to be the most challenging, and dangerous. But, she knew it was more than that.
Dumbledore, who was having a talk with the champions, pulled away from them.
"Alright, champions!" he said, "At the sound of the cannon-"
He didn't finish his sentence before a loud boom echoed throughout the arena. Everyone turned to look at Mr Filch- who only shrugged apologetically.
Hermione turned back to the arena to see Harry disappear into the maze. He glanced back once more and caught Hermione's eye, mouthing something before he disappeared in the maze. Hermione stared at the green hedge in confusion; what had he mouthed to her?
Hermione stared blankly at the hedge where Harry disappeared, waiting and hoping he would reappear soon. She felt a tap on her shoulder, but ignored it.
"Hey," Ron's annoyed voice snapped her from her thoughts. She turned to see he was the one tapping her shoulder, and felt a wave a guilt flow through her.
"Sorry," she murmured, forcing her eyes away from the maze.
Ron shrugged, "can I sit here?" he asked. Hermione nodded, and Ron gratefully took a seat next to her.
Minutes past, though each of them felt like hours to Hermione, and there was still no sign of action.
After about ten minutes (which felt like about ten hours to Hermione), a flash of red light erupted above the maze, making everything the light touched glow red. Hermione turned her attention to Dumbledore, where he was talking frantically to the other judges.
Panic surged through Hermione. Had Harry conjured those sparks? Was he in trouble? Her eyes once again rested on the 20-foot shrubs, and silently prayed that Harry was alright; safe.
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall returned to the arena, supporting Fleur Delacour. Relief flooded over Hermione as she realized that it was she who sent the red sparks into the air. But, at the same time, she pitied the Beauxbatons champion. She couldn't imagine how embarrassed she must have been.
Soon after Fleur returned (she was now being comforted by Madame Maxime and other Beauxbatons students), Igor Karkaroff appeared in the arena, closely followed by Viktor Krum.
The Durmstrang champion's eyes were glazed over, and he was breathing heavily. Hermione almost immediately realized what had happened to him, but Karkaroff beat her to it.
"He's been bewitched!" he spat, stalking up to Dumbledore and practically dragging Krum along with him. His dark eyes blazed with anger, which made Hermione uncomfortable.
Shocked murmurs erupted from the audience as they stared down at Krum,who was crouching on the ground by Karkaroff. The Durmstrang headmaster was saying something to Dumbledore and, though Hermione couldn't hear a word he was saying, she knew it wasn't friendly at all.
It was down to Harry and Cedric now, and Hermione prayed that it would be Harry that won. No matter how much she respected Cedric, she felt as if Harry deserved to win more.
Her head snapped up from the scene as a deafening boom filled her ears. It sounded as if it was coming from the maze, though nothing was happening.
"Was it thunder?" asked Ron, looking confused.
Hermione shook her head, "I don't think so."
In the arena below, Dumbledore and Cedric's dad, Amos, looked worried. Igor Karkaroff was still crouching beside Krum, probably trying to get answers out of him, while Moody was staring at the maze with a satisfied gleam in his eye.
"Something happened, Alastor," Dumbledore said quietly, so that Hermione had to strain herself to hear him.
"No, nothing happened," Moody growled, not taking his eyes off of the dark maze. "That was so supposed to happen. The winner will return any moment now."
Minutes past, and there was still no sign of the winner. Dumbledore kept asking Moody about it, though he, Moody, only insisted that it took time. He seemed rather confident about it, and Hermione couldn't help but feel nervous. Was something happening to the winner?
Suddenly, there was another deafening roar, and two figures appeared in the arena. Hermione almost immediately recognized Harry as he lay on the ground; the Triwizard Cup laying a few feet away. He had won!
Though she didn't recognize the second body until Harry collapsed beside it, his body shaking from sobs. Amos Diggory pushed his way through the crowd, filling the crowd's ears with a grief-filled wail.
The body on the ground, staring lifelessly into the sky, was Cedric Diggory.
"Make sure everyone stays in their seats," Barty Crouch- whom was one of the judges for this task- whispered to the professors. Hermione watched as Dumbledore gently tried to pry Harry away from Cedric's dead body, whispering quiet, comforting words.
Near Hermione, Cho Chang let out a grief-stricken cry, covering her mouth as she stared at Cedric.
"The girl's acting as if she just saw You-Know-Who born again," Ron muttered in her ear, and Hermione knew he was talking about Cho.
Hermione tried to imagine herself in her position- how she would've reacted if it were Harry instead of Cedric laying dead on the ground. She knew she would've reacted the same- maybe worse. Her heart twisted at the thought of Harry dying- and she realized how lucky he had been.
"Could you be any less caring, Ronald?" she hissed under her breath. "The poor girl just found out her boyfriend is dead."
Ron shrugged and sat back in his seat. Dumbledore had finally pried Harry away from Cedric, and Hermione could see him clearly for the first time since he'd been back. His long, dark hair was trice as ruffled as it usually was, and his face was flushed and spotted from crying. He was clutching his arm in pain as he watched Amos Diggory cry over his son's body.
Hermione stood up and made a move to run down the stairs and into the arena, but she was held back by Ron.
"You heard what Crouch said: he wants everyone to stay in their seats," he said, pushing her gently back into her seat.
Dumbledore had handed Harry to Professor Moody, and he began to lead him towards the castle. He, Harry, glanced back only once and caught Hermione's eye. He tried to give her a small smile, though failed miserably. Hermione watched helplessly as Harry was escorted out of the arena, wishing she could run down there and wrap her arms around his neck.