Cedric was of the opinion that February was entirely the wrong time of year for a task that involved a dip into an icy lake. He was standing on the lake shore in just a thin shirt and swimming trunks, surrounded by a school all bundled up in their thickest robes and warm scarves. But he wouldn't show his displeasure by shivering. No, he stood her with firm resolve. He was here to fulfill an important task, perhaps the most important one of all.
He was worried about his standing in the tournament: he was here to win, of course, and he hadn't done as well as he'd hoped to in the first task. He really needed to impress the judges this time. But that was almost an inconsequential concern compared to the person he needed to reach this morning. Cedric thought only of Cho, the person he'd miss most of all. She was what had been taken from him, he knew it-how else could she fail to give him her customary pre-task encouragement? He thought of her, a memory surfacing from just the other night:
"I still can't believe that's the task. Sending you off into the lake in the middle of February to look for something?" Cho mused aloud, pacing in the empty classroom that had become their little secret place this past year. Their books and scarves were strewn about haphazardly, marking this room as their own.
"I know! I know some charms that'll keep me from freezing, but that doesn't mean I'm looking forward to it. But failure's not an option. We're going to win this," Cedric affirmed again, clenching his fist and smiling to himself.
"Oh Cedric…" Cho stepped forward and placed her hand over his, delicately uncurling his fist and sliding her fingers between his. "Yes, you've got it. But how about this? You conquer that task, and I'll be waiting at the lakeside with a warm blanket. And a hug and a kiss for all your trouble. I'll warm you up, hmm?"
She stood on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek. He responded by cupping hers, sliding his thumb over her ear. His voice dropped to a low whisper, a smile straining the corners of his mouth.
"That sounds absolutely wonderful, Cho. You'd be my hero." He brought his mouth down to hers for a brief and tender kiss. When he pulled away, she was giggling. She released his hands and threw her arms around his neck.
"I'll save you this time!"
It looked like he'd have to play the hero first, Cedric thought aloud. He swallowed hard, rubbed his hands together for warmth, then twirled his wand. He patted his pocket for reassurance-yes, the knife was still there. He'd rescue her even if his magic somehow failed him, she was far too precious to risk.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Harry Potter. The task was starting any minute, was he out of his mind? The crowd's chatter started to sound like buzzing by this point. What had Potter been thinking? Cedric acknowledged his rival with a small wave, but he wouldn't let that distract him. This was his task, his time to shine. And he was going to do it no matter what.
When the whistle finally sounded, Cedric sprung into action. He whipped out his wand and encased his head in a bubble of cool oxygen, then ripped through the surface of the water and started speeding through the depths. The cold no longer bothered him after a few seconds-he was pushing too hard to get cold, he was too single-mindedly focused on Cho. One hour to find her and save her.
As the light from the surface slipped further away in his descent, Cedric whispered "Lumos". The sound was oddly distorted, echoing through the bubble and in his ears, but it worked. With the assistance of this tiny light, he sped forward through the darkness. I'm coming, Cho, he thought. Hang in there.
He had more romantic thoughts in mind, but they were interrupted by a sudden sting on his left arm. Cedric's head whipped around to have a look, and he realised: Grindylows! Sensing weakness, more of the tentacled beasts slammed into him, entangling every limb they could reach. Cedric swung his wand arm as hard as he could, breaking one grip-with a twist of his wrist and a quick Revulsion Jink, he sent one flying away. He flicked his wrist downward to get one away from his leg, kicked one in the face, but the one on his left arm wouldn't let go. He could almost feel his arm being ripped out of his socket as he was dragged through the water. Away from his goal. Away from Cho. If the grindylow had its way, Cedric would fail here and now-and he absolutely could not let that happen. New strength surged through him as he twisted his wrist one more time, pointing the wand straight at its nasty head.
"Back off!" Cedric yelled, the sound of his roar ringing in his ears, He blasted the last grindylow with a particularly debilitating jinx, watching with satisfaction as it swelled into a perfectly spherical creature. That was a little nasty, he thought, but necessary. He sped up and away, resuming his downward course when he'd placed enough distance between himself and the waiting grindylows.
He cut through the water as fast as he could, gaining a new and terrible appreciation for the size of the Great Lake. Where was Cho? He searched round and round, dipping toward a few promising silhouettes only to find particularly interesting rock formations. As he pulled away from a clump of weeds, he heard a warning from the merpeople. In a haunting melody, they told him that his time was half up. That was just fantastic. He changed direction, spotting a human-shaped shadow out of the corner of his eye-one of the other champions? He sped up.
Where was the sound coming from? He turned his head, lighting the bottom of the lake with his wand. Further down, maybe…yes, that was worth a look. He spun around and twisted this way and that, moving toward the deepest part of the lake. Something was waiting up ahead…another rock formation? Cedric held his breath as he approached what later resolved itself to be an underwater village. Small huts surrounded a statue of a merperson, and the statue was heavily guarded by the villagers Were these the hostage-takers?
The merpeople hovered in front of the statue's tail. When Cedric looked over a shoulder, he spotted four faces: a small girl who looked just like Fleur Delacour, Krum's date-Hermione Granger, Harry's shadow: Ron Weasley, and the one he'd come for, Cho. He gasped, the sound resembling a croak from within his bubble. She looked like a frozen doll from this angle. In the eerie green light, her motionless face was one of the most worrisome sights he'd ever seen.
He forcefully shoved his way through the guards, wand clutched to his chest. From this angle he finally spotted Harry Potter, hovering between Ron and Hermione. It appeared that Ron had already been cut free. Harry could go at any time, what was he waiting for? He glanced at the hostages one more time and guessed-ah, Hermione was always at Harry's side, wasn't she? Maybe he was trying to make sure Krum took care of her. Cedric didn't blame him, that shark-head he'd briefly seen was terrifying. As he darted forward to cut Cho free, he looked over and caught Harry's attention.
"Got lost!" he tried to explain, feeling breathless with worry for Cho. "Fleur and Krum are coming now!"
It was slower work than Cedric would have liked, cutting the ropes while ensuring he didn't hurt Cho, but he moved as fast as he was able. There wasn't time to waste. When she was finally free, he hovered for a moment and touched her cold, pale face. It felt too much like death and it startled him, even though he knew she couldn't be gone. That touch spurred him into action. He grabbed Cho around the waist and kicked off, upward and onward. Harry would be right behind him, he was sure of it. That meant Cedric really needed to hurry up if he intended to win. Or, more importantly, to see Cho awaken again.
He held Cho in his wand arm for a while, pulling her straight up to the surface of the lake. It was slow going, though-what else could he do? He needed his other arm if he was going to get her out in the time limit, and if they were attacked again he needed his wand arm free. What to do?
The solution came to him after a moment. Cedric lifted Cho away from him, hands on her waist. He then spun around and placed her on his back, conjuring very loose ropes to lock her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist. That was better. The going was much faster now, and they were lucky enough not to be attacked again. He no longer needed his illuminating spell, the light of the surface was so close. With one last push, Cedric and Cho's heads broke the surface of the lake.
Cedric felt two sensations immediately: the first was the sudden blast of cold against his face. The second was a dribbling of water over his shoulder-that was Cho, spitting up whatever she must've swallowed. She was awake! Once the short coughing fit had stopped, Cedric dissolved the ropes he'd used to attach her to his back and spun around, cradling her in his arms. He rested his forehead against hers, rubbing her back as they floated together in the lake. The relief and joy he felt in that moment overwhelmed him, like a huge pressure being lifted from his shoulders. It was almost like he was seeing Cho for the first time. "All right, Cho?" he whispered.
Cho pulled him into a kiss, and when she pulled back he could see that her eyes were shining. "Yeah, thanks to you. Looks like you were the hero today after all."
Cedric flashed an apologetic smile her way and then scooped her up, swimming toward the shore with her in his arms. If he was going to be a hero, he was going to do this properly. "Couldn't lose what I'd miss most of all, now could I?"
She kissed his jawline in response and began to tell her story in a hushed whisper-it was a long way to shore from here, after all. They had time to talk. Cedric stopped once or twice to give her a worried look, but she batted it away by flicking his ear every time. As they approached the shore, it became harder to talk-the roars of the crowd were reaching their ears, even through all the waterlogging. She just giggled and nuzzled his neck as they reached the shore, standing together with their hands intertwined.
"Come here, both of you!" They'd hardly made two steps onto the shore before a furious-looking Madam Pomfrey bore down on them, ripping Cho away from Cedric's hand. She wrapped Cho in a blanket so tightly that Cedric thought she might suffocate, then did the same to him. He muttered several dark phrases when they were brought down to sit on the grass, each nearly force-fed a hot potion. At least that took care of the waterlogging problem.
As soon as Madam Pomfrey turned her back (judging by the roars of the crowd it was probably another champion's arrival, Cedric thought) Cho started wiggling in her blanket. Cedric briefly thought something might be wrong with her-was she freezing? Ill? He was half on his way to calling for Madam Pomfrey again when she broke through her blanket and started tugging on the folds of his, pulling him into her arms as soon as she found his hand. Cedric made a soft noise of surprise but went without a fuss, allowing Cho to rub his back through the soaked shirt. Their wet clothes made this a little uncomfortable, but the blankets and the warmth of their bodies helped. He smiled.
"I promised you this, didn't I?" Cho whispered in his ear, pressing a kiss to his temple.
Cedric felt an instant warmth rush through his body, even more potent than the potion. He blushed and hooked his head over her shoulder. "Yeah. Let's face that hero's welcome, Cho. You've earned it."
She pulled back to look him in the eye and scoffed. "No, Mr. Diggory, I think you are. You're the one who braved all those creatures to rescue me." Cedric felt his chest puff up with pride-yes he was proud of what he had done, but he had a point to make here.
"No, you are," Cedric pointed out, reaching up to cup her cheek. He liked doing so much better up here, when she felt warm and alive. He tucked a strand of her wet hair behind her ear and winked. "I'm not sure I would've gotten through all that without you. You're the one who reminded me about the Bubble Head Charm. You encouraged me to get out there. And I'm not sure I could've swum so fast if I hadn't been thinking of you," he finally admitted.
Cho silenced him with another kiss, then pulled back reluctantly-far too soon in Cedric's opinion. She'd spotted something over his shoulder, judging by the direction of her stare. The Hufflepuffs had finally started breaking through the wall of judges to reach them, and within seconds Cedric felt the hand of every Hufflepuff in the school reaching out to him. He shook hands, offered one-armed hugs, and flushed with their praise…but none of that mattered more than Cho to him. Through it all, he kept his hidden hand linked with hers. She was the hero of the day and he wouldn't hear a word against it.