They were now cautiously heading down a path through the forest towards a large black ink spot on the map labeled ‘cave’.
The cold wind creaked through the tree branches, it was freezing! Hermione now wished she had stayed in the castle. She shivered slightly.
“Did you hear that?!” Cedric darted and looked over his shoulder. “Come here,” he said “quickly!“ and he grabbed her. She was pulled in close to his chest and they hid behind a tree.
Waiting. The wind hushed and branches creaked. A dark shape walked on two legs across the path. Moonlight glinted off what appeared to be a shiny coat of scales but the faint light disappeared and so did the apparition.
They waited longer. Hermione still pressed against Cedric’s warm frame. He listened and her eyes scanned the wilderness around them. She was afraid but refused to show it. After what seemed like hours of standing in stillness Cedric slowly let go of her. He bent down so there faces were at the same level and whispered,
“Lets split up.”
Hermione shook her head in disagreement.
“Just for now, to make sure the coast is clear. Stay here,” he commanded. Slowly moved back onto the path and disappeared in the same direction as the creature.
Fear had set in. She couldn’t hide it any longer. Tears flooded her eyes as she stood motionless exactly as Cedric had left her. She looked at her watch, 10:10. He had left five minutes before and she no longer heard his footsteps creaking in the leaves. 10:15, ten minutes gone. Shivers ran through her body as she rubbed her arms for warmth. Hermione felt something in her pocket. She pulled out a piece of parchment. A quiet gasp of disbelief slipped from her lips, she had the map. Now her heart raced and more tears gathered in her eyes.
Frantically, her eyes scanned the page looking for Cedric’s name. She found it, close to her own location. Her heart palpitated as she ran along the path as silently as possible. Quietly, above the sound of her own footsteps she heard the sound of trickling water. Eyeing the map she saw Cedric was very close. Moving aside the branches of a bush she saw him near the waters edge speaking to a repulsive creature. It had huge fangs and scales, walked on two legs but had long arms that dragged on the ground. It resembled a monkey. Hermione had seen this creature before in a textbook.
‘The Kappa is cunning, manipulative, a known wizard killer and enjoys sucking the blood of anyone stupid enough to let it.’ she recalled from her book. Cedric was apparently stupid enough Hermione thought. She watched him casually chatting with the creature as though they were at a dinner party. Every few minutes Cedric would take another step closer towards the waters edge. He looked completely unaware that once he was near enough the creature would pull him under the water and drown him. In visioning the horrific killing in her minds eye, Hermione desperately tried to recall the animals weakness. It came clear to her once she saw what looked like a large dish full of liquid atop its head.
“Deliquesco Liquescere!” she screamed, her voice rang out from behind the plant. The water held in the goblet which gave the animal strength evaporated and the Kappa crumbled into dust.
Cedric, jolted out of his trance turned around and looked at Hermione. She had saved his life, she had shown her loyalty to him and most importantly that she cared. But before he had a chance to thank her she grabbed his hand, and began marching off away from the river bank.
“We’ve nearly made it to the cave,” she said impatiently.
“Hermione wait,” Cedric protested.
“No Cedric, I just want to get out of here. We can talk when we’re back at the castle!” she decided for them both. Cedric stayed quiet, he was happy to have her guidance and appreciated her company.
They had reached a large clearing in the forest when exhaustion overcame them both. In the center of the field Hermione collapsed into the soft mint grass. He looked down at her in worry, but his facial expression softened when she tiresomely rolled onto her back.
“I think we need to rest for a bit,” he whispered and took off his woolen jacket. Gently he laid it over Hermione and himself.
Rolling onto his side he faced Hermione who was star gazing. The moon cast a pleasant glow over her girlish features and for the first time, he felt a twinge of jealousy towards Ron.
“That’s Mars.” she said, suddenly aware of his gaze. She pointed to a very bright star, “It’s Earths sister planet, almost alike in everyway.”
“Tell me about it,” Cedric asked, knowing she was going to tell him about it either way.
“They each have roughly the same surface area of land. Each have ice caps and the atmospheric chemistry is similar. We both have evidence of climate change, and the tilt of the axis is very similar. Both planets experience snow and hurricanes,” she stated robotically. He listened to her voice, smiling.
“She has a beautiful mouth,” were his last thoughts as he drifted off into a rhythmic sleep.
The sunlight crept over the horizon and glared in behind Cedric’s closed eyes. He awoke to find himself alone. Quickly he leapt to his feet and scanned his surroundings. Searching near him he saw no tracks of any animal or beast. Listening he heard silence. The same clearing stood before him, with its green grass and the dense wood surrounding it. A rustling directed his attention behind him.
“Cedric!” a faint voice called.
“HERMIONE!” he yelled and ran towards her voice.
“Cedric!” it called again, getting closer.
“Hermione!” Cedric yelled once again, running towards and girl running towards him with her loose curls flowing behind her.
“Come on!” she said with a child-like enthusiasm. She took his hand and guided him through the forest. He stumbled a few times and was amazed by her dexterity. She jumped through trees, dodged branches and didn’t on any of the many roots. Cedric on the other hand was having trouble keeping up and was relieved when she finally stopped and pointed him to the left.
Before them was a huge cavern. Nearly 30 feet high it towered before then, magisterial in its beauty. It was made of sharp crystal that looked as though it could fall and kill them at any second. The hues of purple and blue glistened off the razor edges of each piece. At ground level the structure hollowed out, revealing a small gemstone pedestal and atop it was a tiny golden object.
They both in stood in awe of its magnificence. Oh how they longed to touch its surfaces! How Hermione so wished to touch something so divine, so magical! How Cedric looked upon the creation with only his objective in mind.
He left Hermione’s side and approached the structure. He touched the sharp mouth of the cave and a drop of blood was reflected on its smooth surface. Carefully creeping into the structure and to the pedestal he held up a small golden bracelet. It had four tiny horses and a carriage attached to it. He looked at it quickly but his gaze was averted when he thought he saw a black figure in the trees. He then delicately put the object in his pocket.
“Lets go,” Cedric said with worry shrouding his usually calm voice.
He kept his wand out at all times. Her hand clutched his as he lead them to the edge of the forest. They emerged from the darkness dirtier then they came in but both in one piece. It was 7:00 and the sun was finally shining in the sky.
“Thank you,” Cedric graciously said as they ran to the courtyard.
They each made their way to the common rooms and settled into bed for a real nights sleep. Both hoped that no one had noticed their mysterious disappearance but were too preoccupied with snoozing to give it much thought.