I'm sorry this chapter is so late getting here. I started a new job and it has exhausted me to the point I come home and pass out. I'll try to get a better handle on this considering I have 2 other stories I'm working on. This chapter was taken a lot from Goblet of Fire, but like I've tried to do with everything else: keep Raven as far away from Harry as I can. If JK had him somewhere sometime, I'll try to keep her away. These next few chapters are really going to lead into the next school year. Thanks guys! Love ya!!

Oh, and this one is pretty short. And to all my fellow Americans...Happy 4th!


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Chapter 39

When Raven arrived to dinner that evening, the seating around Harry and her friends was full. She sat at the end of the table and waved at them. When dinner was nearly over, Dumbledore announced that students should make their way to the Quidditch pitch for the last task. As soon as his speech was over, Raven jumped up and ran over to her friends.

“Sorry you can’t go,” said George wrapping his arm around Raven and kissing her gently on the cheek.

“It’s okay,” she said. Raven saw Harry and touched his arm. “Harry, good luck.”

He nodded and went on his way. Raven followed everyone into the main entrance area and Filch was quick to stop her.

“Miss Snape, don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Of course, Mr. Filch. If you are talking about staying here in the castle, you can see my feet have not left the castle. I’m still exactly where I should be.”

Mr. Filch gave Raven a nasty look and turned to go to the pitch. George asked if Raven wanted him to stay but she said no. Soon she was the only one in the castle. Realizing this, she ran as fast as she could back to her dormitory and grabbed Harry’s invisibility cloak. She stopped at the entrance of the common room and made sure she had everything. Wand? Cloak? One-way ticket to the loony bin for doing this? Check, check and check.

As she ran through the halls, she peered around every corner to make sure there was no one lingering around. When she made it to the entrance of the castle, she peeked out to make sure Filch wasn’t coming. When there was no one in site, she took off running to the Quidditch pitch, with the cloak ready in case she spotted someone.

Before she got too close to the pitch, she threw on the cloak. As she entered the area, Ludo Bagman was making the task announcements. She quietly slipped by some students and when she rounded the corner onto the Quidditch field, she noticed Snape standing not far away. Close your mind, Raven. Close your mind. She crept behind him, hoping that he wouldn’t sense her presence.

Raven breathed a sigh of relief once she got past him and continued moving carefully on the edge of the pitch. When she spotted the opening to the maze, she quickly moved toward it. There were professors standing all around the champions who were also close to the maze entrance. Soon, she saw Harry and Cedric entering the maze together. Her biggest obstacle was getting past Dumbledore who could possibly sense that she was there. Soon Viktor Krum was entering the maze. If I’m going to get in, I have to go in with Fleur.

With her mind closed and free of hardly any thought, she tiptoed around Dumbledore and Moody, and slipped inside the maze just as Fleur was entering. Fleur immediately took off running with her wand in hand. Raven made sure to leave some distance between them so she wouldn’t be noticed. When they reached a fork in the path, Fleur went one way, while Raven went the other. Raven was going to follow Fleur but when she remembered Fleur was in last place, she decided that wouldn’t be a good idea.

Raven took off the cloak and pulled out her wand. She needed to be ready the moment something happened. She spotted Viktor a few times and managed to slip the cloak on before being noticed. He had a strange look in his eye. Almost as if he was looking for someone not something.

Raven went through the maze for a while when she was confronted by some huge blast-ended skrewts. Hagrid has been busy. Using the cloak carefully, she snuck around them without getting attacked. Shortly after, she came across the sphinx from her dream. It sat on its hind legs and recited:

”First think of the person, who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what’s always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?”

“Now that makes sense. The answer is a spider.”

The sphinx stepped aside and let Raven pass. “If only my dreams could give me answer to everything, I’d be set!”

Raven continued along and slipped the cloak on again when she found herself in front of some spiders. Once past, she spotted the bright light. She took a few more steps and realized it was the Triwizard Cup. Just then, her hand with the ring on it burned like fire. She crumpled on the ground and wanted to scream or cry but the pain was so severe it was taking the breath out of her.

“I’ve…got…to find…Harry!” she said, trying to ignore the pain.

Raven stood up with much difficulty. Pushing the pain to the back of her mind made her dizzy. Why would Lucius want to choose this moment to affect her? She stumbled into the bushes a few times before regaining her sights on the cup up ahead.

When she finally regained her composure, she looked up and saw Harry and Cedric standing at the cup. She tried to run and almost got close enough for them to hear her if she shouted but the pain in her hand stopped her once again. She tried to shout “no” but nothing came out. Noticing them about to touch the cup, she tried to shout out again but it was too late. They were gone.

Stumbling towards the place where the cup had once stood, she thought back to her dream where she touched the cups platform. Raven reached out and then pulled back wondering what was going to happen. Then curiosity got the better of her and she slowly stretched out her arm and touched the pedestal. Nothing happened.

“This was supposed to do something. At least, I thought it was.”

Just as she was about to pull her hand away, she felt her body being sucked into another place. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a graveyard. Raven went to take a step but couldn‘t feel the ground beneath her feet. She looked down and noticed that she didn’t see her body.

I’m here but I’m not. This has to be another vision.

With one more glance around, she saw Harry and Cedric. She tried to speak but her words were not heard, not even to her own ears. Then out of the darkness, a creepy, cloaked figure emerged.