Hello all! I'd like to start this chapter with my usual rounds of thanking those who have taken the time to fav/follow :) So a big thanks goes to: Ultimatefangurl1, alb33, turnthedoor, Beccax95, Words of the Anonymous and wildcrazything! Thanks so much!
Don't be shy or afraid to review! I absolutely LOVE hearing from you guys!
Here it is!
The champions had been announced by the next morning. Durmstrang, Quidditch extraordinaire Viktor Krum. Beauxbatons, mystical beauty Fleur Delacour. From Hogwarts, dear Cedric Diggory.
And somehow, fourth year Gryffindor, Harry Potter.
Needless to say, that fact caused quite an uproar. However, all the adults assured them that there was no evident foul play on Potter or any other student's part, and that, because of the powerful, binding magic imbued onto the Cup, there was no way Potter could get out of competing.
And, because of this, the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor houses had bad feelings between them for the first time, possibly the first time ever.
Amelia, though, didn't want to be involved.
"Still reckon Potter cheated," remarked fourth year Justin Finch-Fletchley, as he and fellow fourth year Ernie Macmillan entered the Hufflepuff common room. "Couldn't be any other way."
"I wouldn't care half as much if it'd been anyone but Potter," Ernie replied. "Always gets the special treatment, eh? It's great he stopped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and all, but when does it stop?"
"I dunno," Justin sighed. "Snape's the only one that punishes him, and I bet he doesn't get the same punishment there, even from Snape."
Amelia, who was sitting in one of the coziest, most plush chairs in the room while reviewing ideas for new hexes she could create, couldn't help but to overhear, much to her distaste.
"Will you two shut up about Potter?" she shot from her seat, her eyes pure ice as she looked at the two of them. "You heard Dumbledore and the men from the Ministry, there isn't anything that can be done. Besides, you should be happy, Hogwarts has got twice the chance in the competition as the other two schools do."
"But Potter's a cheat," Justin whined.
"And you're better friends with Cedric than most of us are," Ernie argued. "You should be more upset about this. Do you want Cedric to lose or something?"
"Is that what I said, Macmillan?" she inquired, still icily so. "Of course I'd love Cedric to win, but I'd still be more than happy to see Potter with the cup. I'm in it for Hogwarts, and you two should be too. Be respectful, for Godric's sake!"
"But, Amelia, it's just that - …" Justin began to protest, though was interrupted by Amelia.
"If you two don't shut it, it'll be detention!" Amelia threatened.
Expression lowering, Ernie muttered, "You wouldn't…"
"I would," she assured them. "I would. Now, you two get out of here. I'm tired of listening to all this Hufflepuff-Gryffindor shit."
Glaring at her, though in slight disbelief, Ernie and Justin crawled through the round doorway that lead to the boys' dormitories, while Amelia settled herself down and decided to review her idea for hexes. She had a great one, the new and improved version of the hex she'd used on Warrington last year to make him grow a badger face. It was no longer a badger face, per say, it was supposed to turn into a various set of ugly creatures that was determined at random when used against a person. She reckoned it'd be good, and she'd have to try it out on herself (or some unsuspecting Slytherin while she was on patrol) before she forgot about it.
"You could've been a bit nicer, 'Melia," Leanne said, from where she sat at the table working on her Herbology report. "I know you're tired of the…er, drama, but you didn't have to threaten them with detention."
"I'm tired of being interrupted from my precious inventing with all this drama about the Tournament," Amelia replied, not bothering to look up. "Maybe they shouldn't even have held the bloody thing."
"Don't say that!" Leanne cried. "Maybe you don't understand, since you've never heard of it and all, but it'll be great once its up and running. It'll be so exciting, and wouldn't it be great to see Cedric win it for Hufflepuff?"
"Just fabulous," Amelia replied sarcastically. Then, she sighed, and said, "Sorry, didn't mean it like that. It's just that I'm tired of delegating petty fights between Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. I've got better things to do."
The two faded into silence, before being interrupted by the sound of the large grandfather clock in the corner striking nine. Amelia stared at it and sighed again, realizing what the time meant.
"Well, I better be off," she mumbled, stuffing her notebook into her robes as she rose from her seat. "Prefect duty calls. I'll see you, Leanne."
"See you, 'Melia," Leanne responded rather glumly.
Amelia exited the Hufflepuff common room, and entered the kitchen hallway amongst the barrels. She glanced down at her chest and saw her Prefect badge pinned there, gleaming in the dim candlelight. She figured that being a Prefect had its perks; she'd already gotten away with hexing a few Slytherins by threatening them with her Prefect status. It was all fun and games, but perhaps Leanne, Cedric and Herb were all right, that she wasn't a real Hufflepuff…she only hexed Slytherins though, and they deserved it, and it wasn't anything that would hurt or harm them, she only made their noses or toenails grow or made their faces a little more animal-like.
She tried to push the thoughts out of her mind, the thoughts of not being a true Hufflepuff. She was, wasn't she? She worked hard, even in the classes that didn't come so easy to her, like Arithmancy, which was a real struggle for her in the beginning. She was kind, always friendly (except maybe to Slytherins, or when she lost her temper, which happened to everyone), and loyal, never leaving her friends alone when they needed someone, and fair, always mediating fights amongst her friends. Those were all good, true Hufflepuff traits that she embodied.
Then again, she could be sneaky, and a bit of a rabble-rouser with all her pranking and new hobby of abusing her Prefect status. She was also a damn good liar, probably the best in all Hufflepuff history, which she wasn't sure if she should've been proud of or not.
Well, I'm in Hufflepuff now, Amelia sighed internally. And I'll prove to people I belong here, if I haven't done enough of that already.
She patrolled the corridors for awhile, to no avail. The only one out and about that night was Mrs. Norris, who glared at her as she passed Filch's office, almost as if the stupid cat knew about the replicated Fanged Frisbee in the drawer. Amelia looked back at the cat with just as much distaste, and wondered what Maggie Mae, who had a habit of disappearing for days at Hogwarts, was up to. She'd been gone for a week now, which was an oddly long amount of time for her, even to Amelia.
Bloody hell, I've lost my cat and my friends have all lost their heads, Amelia thought, brushing honey-colored hair behind her ears. Everyone but me hates the Gryffindors now, and even Cedric's letting this all go to his head, he was signing girls' school bags the other day, for Godric's sake, and I can't even get a moment with him without a bunch of simpering girls around him now.
For a moment, she contemplated sneaking out to Hogsmeade to get some firewhiskey at the Hog's Head, a place that didn't bother to check your age before serving you, ever. Then again, that might further cause speculation that she wasn't a fit Hufflepuff, so she decided against it.
"Still can't believe he did it," came a voice from around the corner.
Amelia froze in her tracks, wand at the ready. She was smirking, she figured hexing another Slytherin might make her feel a bit better. She wouldn't even mind hexing a Hufflepuff. She figured whoever it was was a Hufflepuff, judging by the fact that they were talking about Potter, something she was truly sick of.
"Must've been bloody brilliant," replied another. "We tried the Aging Potion and everything, and couldn't get in. Wish he'd tell us how he did it."
"Yeah, I'd love to know how he did it," the first voice responded. "If only he'd come clean and tell us, then I'd - …"
Seeing two sets of feet come around, Amelia pointed her wand (rather clumsily, which she regretted) and tried out her new hex, noverbally, at that, for the extra surprise effect. However, when she jumped out from where she stood against the wall, she didn't find a Slytherin or Hufflepuff, but instead two boys in Gryffindor robes, one sprouting elephant ears while the other was growing a trunk. It took her a moment to realize who she'd really ending up hexing - the Weasley twins.
"Godric, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed immediately. "Let me reverse that for you, here, I - …"
However, the two of them seemed completely fine with turning into part elephants, in fact, they seemed rather amused, staring at each other while chuckling.
"By Godric, don't you look handsome with a trunk," chuckled the twin sprouting the ears. "Quite the improvement, if I do say so myself."
"Well, you look loads better with those ears," the other twin joked in reply. "I always thought yours were a bit too small."
"I'm so sorry," Amelia mumbled, as they finally took a little break from laughing at each other.
"Not a problem at all," Elephant-Eared twin assured her, with a mischievous grin. "Actually, this is quite brilliant, you will have to tell us how you did this…"
"It's just some silly hex I invented to mess with the Slytherins out after curfew, that's all," Amelia admitted. "Really, I'll get rid of it for you…"
"Wait!" Trunked-Twin exclaimed. Leaning forward, he poked the Prefect badge pinned to her chest, and nearly shouted, "A Prefect! You're a Hufflepuff Prefect?"
"By some miracle, I suppose," she shrugged. "C'mon, I'm sorry, I'll reverse it for you…"
"Amy Honeywell, right?" asked the Elephant-Eared twin. "The one Cedric Diggory fancies, eh?"
"Er, Amelia Honeycutt, and Ced and I are just friends," she corrected. "Here, just let me fix your faces, it's driving me mad…"
So she did, though it was clearly to the twins' disappointment.
"Oh, c'mon, we were going to tell everyone back in Gryffindor that the elephant ears and trunk were one of our new inventions," whined the previously Elephant-Eared twin. "Ever since we got blamed for the whole Warrington becoming a bear incident last year, we've been trying to perfect an animal-face hex as good as that, but we've never gotten close…"
While the previously Elephant-Eared twin rambled on for a moment, the previously Trunked twin had a look of realization fall on his face, before exclaiming, "No bloody way! It was you, wasn't it? It was the day after that hideous Quidditch match, when Slytherin really pummeled Hufflepuff!"
Amelia smirked, but just as quickly let the smirk fade away as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'd get back to my dorms if I were you two."
"Hear that, Fred?" previously Trunked twin asked excitedly. "We found the genius at last!"
"Finally!" exclaimed previously Elephant-Eared Fred. "You've got to tell us how you do it! You said you're still inventing, eh? You've got to let us in on your secrets, we're dying to know how you do it!"
"G'night," Amelia called from over her shoulder. "Nice meeting you two!"
"Wait!" they both called in unison, to no avail. She'd already disappeared around the corner, and back to the Hufflepuff common room.
She tapped the middle barrel, second from the bottom, to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff,' as she always did, and she was allowed inside. She thanked Godric she'd gotten away from the two Weasleys - sure, she was flattered that they thought she was so brilliant, but she wasn't about to divulge her glorious pranking secrets to the biggest and most well-known Hogwarts pranksters and let them steal her secret glory.
She was also relieved to see that the Hufflepuff common room had died down a bit, most of the younger students had retreated to their dorms, along with most of the older students, except a select handful who were studying in candlelight. Most of them, though, looked half-asleep rather than indulged in their studies. Cedric was one of those few indulged in a textbook, as he sat in his pajamas by the fire, looking more wide-awake than Amelia had ever seen him look.
She cocked her head to the side a bit, as she looked at him. The past few days or weeks or so she'd been rather irritated with her old pal Ced, seeing that she couldn't get a moment with him where he wasn't surrounded by seemingly billions of students who'd suddenly become his best friends and most loyal fans. Sure, she was used to silly girls throwing themselves at him here and there, but he'd never had to sign their school bags for him, for Godric's sake. And though he was handsome, Cedric never indulged himself in such fanciful matters, he usually politely talked to the girls here and there and then parted ways with them. Now, however, Amelia had begun to think he was enjoying all the dumb attention.
At the moment, though, he didn't look like the big-headed idiot Amelia had thought he was turning into. He looked like a frightened kid, looking particularly childish in a way that Amelia never remembered him looking before. He looked like all the little ones back at the orphanage, when they heard they had to go to the dentist's. However, Amelia knew that he faced terrors much greater than a Muggle dentist.
"You alright there, Ced?" she inquired, taking a seat next to him on the loveseat.
Cedric didn't even notice her at first. After a moment, he looked up her with a nervous grin, a fearfully nervous one, and quickly looked back down to his book, replying, "I'm just perfect, 'Meel, thanks for asking."
"Really?" she asked, leaning back into the thick cushions. "Because you look positively awful."
"Ah…I'm just nervous, is all," Cedric replied in a way that was very out of character for him.
"Understandably," Amelia nodded. She got a glimpse of the cover of his book - The Most Important Spells You'll Ever Need to Know - and then asked, "Trying to brush up before the first task?"
"Yeah," he chuckled, just as nervously. "You're brilliant, have you got any ideas?"
"Well," Amelia sighed, trying to collect herself. "What're you up against? You have any idea of what it is?"
"Er, actually…yes…," Cedric replied, his tone lowering and quivering as he leaned forward. Now, his face was truly full of ear, as he whispered, "Dragons."
"Dragons?" Amelia repeated, her eyes nearly popping out of her skull.
"Yes, yes, but keep it down," Cedric mumbled. "Harry told me."
"Hm," Amelia sighed, pondering the question herself. Would Cedric really be able to take on a dragon? Those things are even worse than the Skrewts…
"Well," Amelia began again, drawing her breath as she tried to calm herself down. "There's always the Conjunctivitis Curse, dragon's are weakest in their eyes, y'know…I suppose…er, you could summon your broom, you're a fine flier on the Quidditch pitch, so there's that…Transfiguration, that's always an option, to transfigure something as a distraction…you could aim a sleeping charm at its eyes or mouth, that could always work…you could try that charm that makes ropes appear around something, and restrain it…"
"Thanks, that's all good and well," Cedric nodded feverishly. "That's enough, you can stop babbling."
"Alright," Amelia nodded, her cheeks flushing a bit.
Godric, Helga, Rowena and even you Salazar, protect him won't you?
Before she knew it, Cedric was hugging her, his arms thrown around her as if he was afraid she's slip into thin air right before his eyes. She didn't know what happened, what he was doing, but after she processed it, she was hugging him back.
"I think I'll head to bed," Cedric said hurriedly, upon releasing her, as he looked into her eyes. "Thanks, Amelia."
"Not a problem," she assured him, straightening out her robes as he stood. She watched him head for the boys' dorms, and then called, "Don't let the fame get to your head, Diggory!"
He paused, and grinned at her, a genuine Cedric grin, and replied, "Never, Honeycutt. As long as you don't let Prefect privileges get to your head."
She laughed, falling back into the loveseat, as she watched Cedric disappear into the round door into the boys' dormitory, and felt a sudden and sharp pain in her chest as she realized just what her best friend was up against.
And she knew she'd have to stop in and see Harry Potter in the morning.
