Even though the second task had been four days ago, Cedric's housemates still hadn't stopped peppering him with questions about it, and today was no exception. As he trudged down the muddy path to the forest with the rest of the Hufflepuff team, they had asked for even more detailed descriptions of everything, from whether or not being under water slowed the casting of spells, to how Cho felt about being the "thing he would most miss." He wasn't sure about that last one, and made a mental note to ask her.

They reached the appointed meeting spot slightly after the Slytherin team. Cedric nodded a greeting to Draco, who smiled hesitantly back. When they were all assembled, Hagrid began delegating tasks, as usual. He assigned half of the Hufflepuff team to try to catch more doxies, and the other half, including Cedric, thankfully, to look for specimines of some fast-growing wild hedge. The Slytherin team would be rehabilitating part of the forest burned by the dragons from the first task.

As the students began to drift off to their appointed work stations, Hagrid called out, "Not you, Malfoy. You'll be gettin' rid o' the tentacula vines near the garden, by yerself."

Cedric turned to see the other boy's dismayed reaction.

"Why would I want to work by myself?" Draco spat, scowling at the gamekeeper.

"I don' know that yeh would, but yer parents never taught you to play nice with others. No sense lettin' one bad apple spoil the whole lot."

Draco's eyes opened in hurt surprise and color rushed to his face as some of the Hufflepuffs laughed. Cedric glowered admonishment at them and strode toward the Slytherin boy.

"I'll work with him." Draco flashed him a desperate but confused look, before focusing quickly back on the ground. Hagrid scratched his head in obvious bewilderment.

"Yeh really want ter work with Malfoy?"

"Yes," Cedric responded amiably.

"Wha' about the rest o' your team?"

"I'm sure they'll get along fine without me. Besides, I've been interested in learning more about the properties of venemous tentacula."

"Really? Well, alrigh' then, Cedric. I just thought because o' last time that …" Cedric continued gazing at him disarmingly. The game Keeper shrugged. "Suit yerself. I'll show yeh wha' needs to be done."

For the second time, Cedric found himself walking next to Draco on the way to Hagrid's garden. This time the ground was covered with wet dirt instead of snow, but the silence between them was much the same. He had to admit, it was sort of nice to not be constantly answering questions. Even better, he didn't have to worry about any upcoming Triwizard Task. Not yet anyway. As he was reflecting on his momentary reprieve, Cedric slipped in a slick patch of mud, but before he had time to realize he was falling, Draco caught his arm and pulled him upright. Cedric laughed.

"Boy, that puddle really came out of nowhere!"

Draco gave him a grudging smile. "In this sodding forest, I wouldn't be surprised if it actually had. You alright then?"

"Yeah, thanks." They continued without saying anything for a few minutes, Cedric enjoying the brisk spring breeze, Draco frowning as usual at the ground. Just before they arrived at the garden, the younger boy glanced furtively toward Hagrid, who still had his back to them.

"Hey, Diggory-I mean, Cedric." Cedric had been a bit ahead, but when he noticed the other boy had stopped walking, he backtracked a few paces. "Look, I appreciate what you did for me back there. But... you don't really have to work with me. If you want to go back and be with your friends, that's fine, really... I swear I won't get offended or think you hate me or anything."

Cedric looked at him thoughtfully. The Slytherin boy was hard to read. Draco's words had been straight-forward, but the mix of emotions he displayed was anything but. Based on the Slytherin boy's clenched jaw and flared nostrils, he looked like he was daring Cedric to disagree with him. But his eyes reflected something else entirely. Anxiety? Doubt? Cedric didn't quite know what the other boy was feeling. He was willing to bet Draco didn't know either. Cedric ran his hands through his hair.

"Nah, I spend all week with them. Besides, wrestling with plants that shoot venom sounds like loads of fun!" Draco looked up at him skeptically.

"Yeah, about as much fun as collecting frozen flesh eating slugs."

"This is way more exciting, actually; with tentacula we have the chance to become permanently disfigured due to poison exposure."

"Too bad with your face nobody will be able to tell the difference." As soon as the words left his mouth, Draco's sardonic smile froze and he glanced worriedly up at Cedric, but Cedric laughed.

"Lucky with yours it would be an improvement." Draco smirked appreciatively.

"Hey, you two! Did yeh get caught in sinkin' sand? These vines won't take care o' themselves!" Hagrid called across the yard. Cedric smiled and Draco smiled cautiously back at him. Together they hurried toward the garden.

Draco had always thought reading the news was boring, but this year had certainly taught him how false that was, at least when the news was written by Rita Skeeter. The Witch Weekly article linking Granger, Krum, and Potter in a tortured love triangle had come out a week ago, but he still hadn't tired of talking about it, and neither had anyone else at Hogwarts. He only wished he'd thought of the story first. Draco had complimented Pansy for her involvement in it, but now she wouldn't stop batting her eyes and beaming at him. It was quite disconcerting. He made a mental note to never compliment a girl again, which wouldn't be difficult since he couldn't recall the last time he'd complimented one anyway.

McGonagall had held Crabbe and Goyle back in Transfiguration because neither of them could manage to turn their lizard into a bird, even though it was one of the more basic intra-species spells and was supposed to just be review. That left Draco to wander down to lunch on his own for a change. On a whim, he decided to try a different route through the labyrinthine hallways, but somehow he ended up near the classroom for History of Magic, which was certainly not where he wanted to be. As he was reorienting himself, he heard Cedric's voice nearby.

"I already told you, I don't even know Ms. Granger." He sounded thoroughly irritated. When Draco rounded the corner, he understood why. The older boy stood in front of one of the classroom doors but his exit was blocked by a small horde of Beauxbatons students. If their obnoxious French accents weren't irritating enough, their effeminate silk uniforms certainly were. The tallest boy in the group was even wearing a fuzzy powder blue pullover with the Beauxbatons crest embroidered on it in gold. Pathetic.

"Well Victor Krum deed not know her eizer, but zat did not stop him," sniped a waifish girl near the front.

"But Andrea," the tall blonde boy observed conspiratorially, "Zis well-groomed English boy has never even looked at our Fleur. I think zat he is not liking girls..."

"It's really none of your business," Cedric snapped. He tried to push his way through them, but the blonde boy stood stubbornly in his way.

"Perhaps you envy Ms. Granger all zat attention from Victor-"

"Hey Frenchie," Draco called, striding toward the group. "Your mother wrote. She wants her jumper back." The Beauxbatons students turned to stare at him in surprise.

"Of course," he continued lazily, "I told her to let you keep it. It can't possibly make you look like a bigger prat than you already are." The blonde boy spluttered angrily and the rest of the Beauxbatons students glared at him with distaste, but Cedric smiled gratefully at him. He made use of the distraction to escape the Beauxbatons ring, but glanced back over his shoulder when the blonde boy loudly resumed his cutting gossip.

"You going to lunch?" Draco asked, drawing Cedric's attention away from their taunts.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he replied haltingly. He joined Draco and they started down the corridor together. Draco didn't have anything to say. If he had been with other Slytherins, he would have insulted the Beauxbatons students, but somehow that didn't seem like an approach well suited to a Hufflepuff, so they walked without talking. Halfway down the long hallway, the other boy broke out of his brooding silence.

"They're not usually like that, you know," Cedric stated.

"The French students?" Draco was glad Cedric had started speaking because it helped ease the awkwardness, but he still didn't have anything witty to contribute. Maybe if the older boy kept talking he could find a way to work in some snide remarks about the French accents...

"Yeah, they were really friendly before, but ever since the last task..." Cedric paused and ran his fingers distractedly through his dark hair. "I don't know. They've just been, well... like you saw. And that article certainly hasn't helped. I would have guessed Harry and Victor would take heat for it, but for some reason they've been using it against me, even though I was the only one not in the bloody thing."

"It's because their veela princess doesn't know how to use a wand," Draco responded reflexively.

"What?" Cedric looked puzzled. Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes. It took all the bite out of his incisive remarks when he had to explain them, but at least the older boy didn't look quite as upset as he had before.

"They're jealous," Draco offered. "Their champion has come in last on both the tasks, and now you're in first place."

"Tied for first place. Don't forget Harry."

"I wish I could," Draco retorted. "But they can't very well torment 'the boy who lived,' can they? They might as well harass Dumbledore and Moody and all the other 'heroes' of the first wizard war."

"You don't seem to have a problem tormenting him," Cedric quipped half-heartedly.

"Yeah, well that's different. It's personal, and he started it... probably." Even though he hadn't really meant it as a joke, Draco was pleased to see Cedric almost smile. "Besides, it's for his own good. He needs to be reminded of how lame he is to balance all that fame and attention."

Cedric frowned and looked away abruptly. Draco was confused. Had he unwittingly upset him again? He tried to replay the last few moments in his mind but couldn't make any sense of the Hufflepuff boy's reaction.

"If I said something wrong..." Draco started, tentatively.

"No, sorry, it wasn't you," Cedric replied. "It's just my dad-" He stopped walking and broke off sharply, glancing warily at Draco. Draco grimaced.

"We promised we wouldn't insult each others' fathers, remember? In fact, thanks to that, your dad is probably the safest topic you could possibly discuss, seeing as it's the only one I can't harass you about."

"Right." Cedric smiled wanly before knitting his brows again. "It's just... he's always wanted me to be the best at everything, but ever since the first article by Rita Skeeter, people have joked about the fact that I barely get mentioned, that I'm not really a Triwizard champion. So Dad keeps sending me owls about how I'm being too modest and how I need to put myself forward so I don't let my family down..." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair again.

"And this latest article is the stupidest of all because it's not even about the tournament. It's a sensationalized romance story in a weekly witch magazine, and yet somehow my father is still disappointed that I'm not in it. He even suggested I should try being more 'demonstrative' with Cho, or even consider breaking off with her in public! It's absurd! I mean, that's not really the kind of thing I want to be known for."

"It won't be," replied Draco. "You'll win the Triwizard tournament."

"And nobody will care! Just like nobody cares that I'm even in the bloody thing! Aside from those Beauxbatons tossers, of course." Cedric clenched his hands into fists, scowling. "Nobody has noticed I'm in the tournament since Harry's name flew out of the goblet. I mean, nothing against Harry. He's a good guy and all-"

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"No, he is," Cedric retorted, glaring at Draco reproachfully. He took a deep breath before continuing more quietly. "It's just hard to be constantly in his shadow, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," Draco muttered. Cedric sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.

"Sometimes I wish my name had never been drawn at all..."

Draco stood gazing at the other boy uncertainly, biting his lip. He didn't know how to react. How would he feel if he'd been selected as Hogwarts champion and the Beauxbatons students were bothering him instead of Cedric? It would be like facing a small army of Potters and Grangers and Weasleys. But in more pretentious robes. And he hadn't even thought about the articles before, about the fact that Cedric's name had only really appeared once, in a photo caption. Draco's father wouldn't have been pleased about him being overlooked either. Of course, his father had enough influence at the ministry to ensure that wouldn't happen, but still... It was really all Potter's fault. The four-eyed brat didn't care about anything but aggrandizing himself. Cedric took a deep breath and stood up, distracting Draco from his thoughts.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to dump all that on you. It's stupid for me to be complaining like this especially since I'm the one who chose to be in the competition in the first place, and it's really petty to be like, 'poor me, my dad cares too much.' I'm just being ungrateful... So, sorry." Cedric readjusted his bag and sighed, turning to continue down the hallway. Draco frowned and remained rooted in place.

"No," he started, unsure of why he had spoken up, and of what to say next. Cedric looked at him questioningly. Draco took a deep breath, frowning. "It's not stupid. I mean... I think sometimes there's just too much pressure to measure up."

"...Maybe you're right. I still feel like I'm just whining."

"Trust me, you're not. I tried to help Crabbe study for his Transfiguration final last term; I know what whining sounds like." Cedric shot him a rueful smile and Draco smiled back, in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Right," Cedric said. "Well, thanks for listening all the same. I guess we'd better get going if we want to get any food."

"True, but I think the houselves are still on their week-long Eastern European Durmstrang theme. I won't be too disappointed if we've missed the garlic tripe soup course." Cedric snorted.

"Ah, but what about the mystery meat gelatin that usually follows it? You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?" They continued discussing the culinary catastrophes of the preceding week as they made their way down to the Great Hall, the Beauxbatons students' barbs all but forgotten.