I'm ready for the fall

I'm ready for everything I believed in to drift away

Ready for the leaves

Ready for the colours to burn to gold

And crumble away

...

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch pitch for the third and last task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr Bagman down to the stadium now."

Cedric stood up at Dumbledore's words and the whole Hufflepuff table applauded.

"Go get 'em son!" Dad roared with great gusto, punching a fist in the air, his face glowing from the copious amounts of wine he knocked back throughout the feast.

I suddenly felt panicked and reached up to grab Cedric's hand before he could leave. A fear I couldn't explain rippled through me, settling uncomfortably in the pit of my stomach.

"Be careful, please!" I implored, looking up at him anxiously.

"It'll be okay, I promise," he said gently, as his grey eyes twinkled warmly. "I'll be back before you know it, Rory."

I gave him a small, skittish smile as I reluctantly allowed his fingers to slip away from mine.

I watched him walk away with Harry, Fleur and Krum, heading for the doors. There was no denying it, they all looked terrified.

As soon as they disappeared, a noisy scraping of chairs and shuffling of feet filled the hall as everyone started getting up, ready to make their way down to the maze.

Reluctantly getting to my feet, and joining the moving crowds, I was startled to feel a hand grab mine, pulling me to a halt. I could have wept with relief when I looked up into a pair of piercing grey eyes.

"Draco," I breathed, squeezing my fingers tightly around his as I risked a furtive glance around us, and breathing a sigh of relief to see that Dad was too busily involved in an animated discussion with Fleur's father to notice.

"Are you okay, Aurora?" He asked, his voice full of concern. "You look really pale."

"No," I admitted, my voice wobbling as I shook my head. "I have a bad feeling about this. I just can't shake it, Draco."

People started pushing thickly past us, making our bodies jostle up against one another. Draco used this opportunity to wrap his arms around my waist and rest his forehead against mine.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" He murmured, his breath on my face feeling like heaven. "We can watch it together, Aurora, and I can hold your hand through it all."

I closed my eyes, thinking how much I did want that - to draw strength and comfort from him. To not have someone tell me not to worry, and that of course everything will be all right.

But the sound of my father's booming laughter made my shoulders sag mournfully.

"I can't, Draco," I said genuinely, desperately sorry. "I've got to sit with my dad. The champion's families have special seating."

His arms tightened around me as he placed a quick, chaste kiss on my lips. "I won't be far away, Aurora. I'll sit as close to you as I can."

I nodded, feeling ridiculously grateful that I had him in my life. A feeling that quickly vanished, to be replaced by a vicious gut punch the second I remembered that wouldn't be the case for much longer.

We parted ways as I went to join my dad. We made our way down to the stadium and was shown to our seats down at the front of the arena, behind the judges table.

Craning my neck behind me, I scanned the crowds, searching for that familiar shock of white-blond hair. It would be enough just to know where he was.

And there he was, sitting amongst the other Slytherins, a good few rows higher up. His lips twitched into a comforting smile as he spotted me looking for him. I squeezed the stone in my pocket.

It was enough.

...

A loud applause filled the arena as the champions took their positions.

Cedric felt his heart thud nervously in his chest whilst Ludo Bagman made the formal introductions to the third task.

He looked back at the watching crowd, his eyes searching for his beautiful little sister whom he cared for with everything he had. Rory.

He found her just as the whistle blew, and he threw her a wink, her eyes shining brightly back at him in the same way that their mother's had once upon a time used to do.

As he was swallowed up in the maze, he vowed to himself that he would wrap her up in the biggest hug when he returned.

And he would tell her how much he loved her.

...

Draco never took his eyes off of her as they all waited anxiously for something to happen.

To be honest, once the champions had entered the maze, there wasn't much to see. It was a bit of a rubbish spectators sport.

And then there was a crack in the air, red sparks filling the night sky above the maze.

It was that French girl. How on earth she made champion was beyond Draco.

When Potter and Diggory appeared some time later, Draco barely thought anything of it.

At first.

But then there were screams.

Screams that made Draco's blood turn ice cold.

"He's dead, Cedric's dead."

Fuck.

...

The waiting was awful. None of us had any idea what was going on. We were all just sat watching the edge of a maze.

When Fleur sent up the red sparks, I found myself squeezing a hand around Dad's arm.

"It'll be all right, love," he said, trying to bolster me up. "I'm sure our Ced's racing towards the trophy as we speak."

And then there he was. Out of nowhere. With Harry.

At first I was confused. Everyone applauded and cheered around me. But something was wrong.

Very wrong.

My heart thudding fearfully, I slowly stood up to get a better look. Cedric was lying on the ground and Harry was crying, clutching onto him as though he was...

No.

I was running.

Running.

No.

It can't be.

...

Draco didn't think. His eyes only on Aurora as he jumped over the seats, pushing people aside, desperately trying to reach her as fast as he could.

His heart pounded in his chest as the screams grew louder.

"Dead! Cedric's dead!"

It couldn't be. He couldn't allow it.

He scrambled down as fast as he could, slipping and tripping on his way. Aurora had started running across the pitch, and as her scream ripped through the night, it was as though it was slicing through his own heart.

As his feet finally reached the grass, he pelted as fast as he could towards her, throwing his arms around her just as her legs began to buckle.

"MY BOY! MY BOY!"

Draco clasped her tightly to him as they sank to the ground together.

"NO!"

Her body shook violently beneath his arms, but he never let her go. He held her fiercely to him, willing his heart to beat for the both of them. Because he knew hers must be broken, shattered into a thousand tiny fragments.

"He's back. He killed Cedric."

Horror cascaded through Draco's insides at Potter's words.

He knew what they meant.

A small wailing sound emitted from her lips, louder to him than any of the screams and cries surrounding them. Louder than the sobs of a grief stricken father.

It was the sound of his beloved Aurora in pain.

The loudest sound of all.

...

Maybe I'm destined to be distraught

Always a reason

Breaking me down to my knees in the dead of night

I keep on praying to see the light