"You are the love of my life," Y/N said. "I love you."
"If loving me comes with shame," Hermione breathed in a shaky breath. "I don't want your love."
In a matter of seconds, Y/N's world came tumbling down. Hermione's words hit her...
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Professor McGonagall had informed Harry and Y/N that Ludo Bagman wanted to meet at the Quidditch field at nine o'clock to brief the champions about the third task. Harry came down from the Gryffindor Tower at half-past eight to meet Y/N downstairs.
Harry spotted Y/N already waiting for him as he crossed the entrance hall. "Hey — "
"What d'you think it's gonna be?" Y/N asked curtly, her voice husky — it was obvious she wasn't a night owl. "I reckon it's gonna be something to do with our minds."
"Minds?" Harry repeated.
Y/N shrugged and said, "Yeah since the first task needed courage. And the second needed resourcefulness. The third task should involve perseverance. Like, the big three, y'know?"
"I guess so?" Harry ran a hand through his hair — too drowsy to give a viable opinion.
Y/N and Harry strolled down the lawn of the Quidditch stadium, chatting along the way. They arrived with only two minutes to spare. But as they stepped onto the ground, they paused and looked around. The once familiar field turned into a wasteland of unfamiliarity.
"What is that?" Y/N rubbed her eyes — thinking it was a figment of her imagination.
The Quidditch field was no longer an empty vast space. Instead, long, low walls spread across the entire field, twisting and crisscrossing in every direction like some kind of maze.
Harry bent over to examine the nearest one. "They're hedges."
"Hello!"
Y/N jumped as the man greeted her from behind. "Holy fucking shit — oh, it's just Bagman." — at least that'd woken her up. She composed herself. "Hello, sir."
"Ah, so American of you to call me sir — " Bagman laughed out loud as he gave her a pat on the shoulder and helped Harry get up. He led the two to Krum, Fleur, and Evangeline, who stood in the middle of the field.
Evangeline greeted the girl with a smile and joined her side. "Hey, you."
Y/N grinned, slipped her hand into Evangeline's, and said, "Hey."
"Well, what do you think?" Bagman cleared his throat, motioning over at the hedges. "They're growing nicely, no? A month and Hagrid'll have them standing nice and tall at twenty feet."
"A month?" Y/N cut off, eyebrows furrowed. "But what about Quidditch?"
"Don't worry," Bagman held his hands up as if it'd get rid of the queasy expression on Y/N and Harry's face. "You'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over."
"Any guesses what it'll be?"
"A maze," Krum said dully.
"Correct!" Bagman clasped his hands together. "A maze. We placed the Triwizard Cup in the center of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."
