"What was that about?" Lexi asked Cedric as they walked out onto the lawns with lunch sandwiches in their hands. A Ravenclaw girl in the Entrance Hall had just asked him where Cho was. Cedric had stiffened when the girl looked at him expectantly.
"I have no idea." Cedric replied to Lexi's question, taking her hand. "I guess Cho didn't spread the news of our breakup the way she did when we first started going out."
"It's been like three months." she pointed out, skeptically accepting his explanation.
"I don't know, Lex. Does it really matter?" he dropped his bag by the side of the lake. They had decided to have lunch outside on that fine May afternoon because the day was too nice to miss out on. The sun shined down on the water and bounced onto them from the facets of the waves.
"Yes. Don't you want people to know you're with me now?" Lexi knew she shouldn't be, but she felt a little hurt.
"Not really, to be perfectly honest." he saw her head bow down to look at her hands, her eyes full of sadness and confusion. Cedric stretched out his arms and pulled Lexi into his chest. "That's not what I meant. All I'm saying is that I have the spotlight on me enough, and I'd rather keep my private life private."
"A little conceited, don't you think?" she muttered into his chest, playfully slapping him. "You're not that great. Harry is so much cooler."
"Then go date him." he chuckled, fiddling with her hair with one hand while holding his half eaten sandwich in the other.
"No, thanks. I kind of love my narcissistic boyfriend."
"Good. Oh!" he exclaimed.
"What?" The sudden change in his voice made Lexi jump.
"Sorry. I just remembered that I have something to tell you."
"Do tell."
"You know McGonagall held me back after class."
"I was wondering when you were going to tell me about this." Lexi situated herself back against his chest, pulling his arm around her. She heard him sigh in contentment.
"I have to meet Bagman tonight so he can tell us about the third task."
"That's good. You can start prepping for it."
"I'll need your help on that. Can you meet me on the third floor tonight?"
"Of course. Do I need to bring extra clothes?" she smiled to herself. It wasn't uncommon since they started dating for them to spend the night in their third floor classroom. She felt his lips twist up in a smile as well from where they were pressed on top of her head.
"I guess. But it's probably not necessary since you don't have class until second period."
"You're such a boy." she teased, shoving his face away.
Lexi returned to the Gryffindor common room after dinner. She still had a few hours before she had to meet Cedric and she wasn't quite finished with her Care of Magical Creatures homework. Bree was sitting in one of the cushion chairs by the fire, reading.
"Hey." Lexi sat in the chair next to hers.
"Oh, hey." Bree's voice was lethargic, an oddity.
"Something wrong?"
"Not really. Just a lot of little things."
"Like?"
"Nick and I got in a fight. It was stupid, but he's being weird now. I think I'm going to fail the Transfigurations final. And then my cramps are killing me." Bree listed off.
"I don't know what to say about Nick, but I can help you in Transfigurations and you need to exercise more to have less painful cramps. I didn't even feel mine this time."
"Yours starts next week." Bree frowned. They always remembered each others cycles because Bree was one week ahead of Lexi.
"I know, but I get cramps early."
"Ha ha." Bree mock laughed, her usual enthusiasm seeping through her gloom. Then she gave Lexi a sly smile. "But God knows you get way too much exercise nowadays."
Lexi slapped her on the arm, but didn't argue. It was true.
As Lexi walked through the corridors, trying to balance herself under the weight of her bag, which was stuffed to the brim with her clothes and all her books, she thought about two facts that Bree pointed out that put together could potentially be a nightmare. But she didn't have time to think too deeply into it because Cedric was approaching her from the opposite end of the corridor.
He looked at her with his brow furrowed and a glint of tease in his eyes. "What's with the library?" he took her bag from her and draped the strap over his much stronger shoulder.
"Thanks. They're for you, stupid."
"You have no idea what the task is."
"Yeah, that's why I brought all the books."
Cedric chuckled as he unlocked the door and held it open for her. She looked at him as he shut and relocked the door.
"What do you think Professor Sprout would do if she knew what that key was really being used for?"
He pocketed the key before pulling her to him and kissing her roughly, shoving her back against the wall. Once satisfied, he pulled away to answer, "You mean after expelling us for vandalizing private property?"
"Could they do anything else?"
"Maybe tell our parents."
Lexi grimaced at that prospect. "Lets try to avoid that, then."
"Deal."
"Tell me. What's the third task?"
She sat down on the floor and crossed her legs. Cedric sat in the same manner, facing her.
"A maze." he told her simply.
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"With all sorts of dangerous creatures and spells roaming around in it."
"Great. So its like the Minotaur times one hundred."
"That sounds about right. But the worst part is they completely ruined the quidditch pitch to make it!"
Lexi rolled her eyes and chose to ignore the last comment. "You are very lucky I thought to bring my Care of Magical Creatures book." she pulled the huge fanged book out of her bag. Cedric took her bag and looked in it.
"How did you fit all your books in here?"
"An extension charm."
"I don't know why you did. I wasn't planning on practicing for the tournament." he raised an eyebrow.
"You could have told me that before I broke my back carrying all that down here!"
"I'm sorry." he took her hand, throwing her book aside, and pulled her on top of him as he laid his back on the floor.
"I think I can forgive you," she muttered as he kissed up and down her neck, "if…"
"If?"
She looked down at him mischievously. "If you make hot passionate love to me."
"I think I can do that." he pulled her face to his and kissed her. The kiss didn't break until Cedric yelled out in pain. Lexi pulled back hastily.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bite so hard."
Cedric didn't answer; his eyes were closed tight, and his face was contorted in pain. He sat up, with Lexi on his lap, and bent around her to hit something. That's when Lexi noticed her book, The Monster Book of Monsters, was latched onto Cedric's leg with it's fangs cutting into his pants. Cedric tried to beat it off, but it wasn't budging. Lexi couldn't help it; she burst out laughing.
"Lex!" Cedric tried to pry the book open. "This isn't funny!" But he had succumb to laughter too.
She quickly reached over and stroked the spine of the book. Its teeth loosened its hold on his leg and Cedric was able to kick it away.
"It's all about being gentle."
"Yeah, tell me that after it takes my leg off." he pulled off his shoe and threw it to the book. It immediately chased after it and started chewing on it, sufficiently distracted.
"Let's call it…Mr. Cuddles."
But she never found out if he approved of the book's new name or not because a second later his lips were crushing hers, and she was curling into his chest.
