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The spectators hold their breath as the Triwizard Tournament reaches its conclusion
Tightly clutching the Cup with both hands, Harry Potter appears onto the lawn in front of the maze. Despite his victory, his facial expression is grim and his breathing shallow.
Feeling something akin to distress crackling in the air around her, Fleur frowns. Instinctively, she grips Gabrielle's hand tightly and turns her gaze towards Cedric. He's sitting to the other side of her on the bench and is still visibly shaken from their earlier ordeal. Perhaps, she considers, it was a bad idea to come back here.
She is about to suggest they leave quietly, but the words remain unspoken, since in that very moment, Harry Potter yells at the top of his voice, "Voldemort was there! He's alive! He's back!"
A stunned silence settles over the incredulous crowd.
Her mind reeling, the sole certainty Fleur has is that the sight in front of her is one that will be imprinted forever on her mind; rows after rows of baffled, frightened faces, and then something quite daunting occurs to her.
What if Harry Potter's words aren't merely a result of hysteria, of things he only believed he saw because the maze tricked him and muddled his mind? What if he's telling the truth? Could You-Know-Who truly have returned? But how would that even be possible?
Her thoughts wander farther down that road and she's scared to contemplate what might have happened if she had been confronted with Him herself, or if Cedric had been in that perilous position.
What would that… monster have done to them? Taken them prisoner? Murdered them in cold blood?
She swallows the lump in her throat, and scarcely notices the chaos that erupts all around them.
"Come on, love," Cedric says, gently snapping her back to reality. "We should leave before things get completely out of control."
Fleur nods. She keeps holding onto Gabrielle's hand and allows Cedric to lead them both back to the safety of the castle. He moves swiftly and stealthily, cutting through the crowd like the star Seeker he is.
Fleur knows she'll always be able to rely on him to take care of her, and of her sister too, but still, she has a bad feeling about the future, and she can't wait to head home to France. if He truly has returned, it should be less dangerous there, at least for a little while.
She vaguely wonders whether Cedric would be willing and able to accompany her, or if their budding romance is already about to be tested by some significant time apart.