The Best Year

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything you recognise.

Author's Note: Hi guys... I know it has been way too long. I'm a lazy little shit. So I said probably about a month ago, I had chapter ten finished, which is half true. I didn't like it, not one bit! So I decided to cut the chapter out.

Basically, it was about Alex finding out about the dragons through Hagrid, and the whole cliff hanger was whether to tell, or not tell Cedric. Obviously she does, duh!

This chapter has elements of it, like addresses the whole Oliver/Alex dynamics and talks about the Quidditch game that was supposed to occur between Ravenclaw and Slytherin... (I wonder who wins...)

Happy Reading!

Chapter Ten: The Beast Within

Friday, November 27th

I had counted five hundred and seventy two golden embellished cloves, on the ceiling of my four poster bed. It was the morning of the first task, and my mind was everywhere else, but where it needed to be. I had to focus.

Checking the time, my small alarm clock read seven am. I had to hurry up. If I was going to prolong my exit of the Quarters any longer, I would run the risk of seeing Oliver at breakfast. I was rather pleased with myself, that I had managed to avoid him for the last few weeks, with the exception of Quidditch practice. I knew that we eventually had to talk about it, but right now, I enjoyed the fact we both acted as though it never happened. Many times I thought about why I accidentally said Cedric's name, and night after night I hadn't come up with an answer. Cedric was very attractive, however I didn't like him. He had feelings for Cho, and I wasn't going to play the position of the evil home wrecker. Adam and I had a long conversation that night, surprisingly not about my possible feelings for Cedric – Just on how to handle Oliver. I was quite rattled by the whole situation, and I doubted we were still together after Halloween.

Why? WHY! Why was that brown eyed charmer on my mind? I didn't have the mentality to think about Oliver at that moment, I had no reason to. It was the morning of the first task and I was postponing my awaking for as long as possible. I knew I couldn't do it for very much longer since the Champions needed to be at the pitch around eight. Cedric would come knocking at my door soon enough. Today would be one of those long days that ended around midnight. The plan was to escape the Gryffindor celebrations as early as possible, and hope that Cedric wouldn't bring home Cho to... exhibit how much he appreciated her company.

Tap. Tap. Tap. I glanced over to the window, where on the ledge sat a rather large barn owl. Tied to its leg was a parcel of some, wrapped in crumpled brown paper. The body ratio to the parcel it was carrying, was rather large, so I was surprised that such a aerodynamic creature could carry the item.

Counting to three, I rolled off my bed as gracefully as possible, to let the owl in. It swooped down onto my bed, allowing me to approach it, and untie the parcel from around it's leg. Curious to see what it was, I ripped open the packaging and tossed it aside. It seemed to be a cloak, in the colour scheme of red and black. This must be the uniform for the first task. I quickly stripped down and put it on. The outfit, although warm was very light; The Hogwarts emblem was plastered across the last hand side, and as I turned around in the mirror, I noticed across the back was my surname embroidered in golden thread.

"Morning Cedric," I said half heartedly, as I grabbed an apple from our never ending fruit basket.

"Morning, ready for today?" He asked.

"Cedric, honestly, I don't want to talk about the task." I said, "If we don't know it now, we aren't going to, in an hour."

"I know," he said. "I just read Men Who Love Dragons Too Much last night, and got a real good quote from it."

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate." He read.

"I'm sorry Cedric, but don't you think that is just stating the obvious?" I said.

"I guess you're right." He replied, snapping the old tattered book shut. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure?" I said, unsurely.

"Why did you tell me about the dragons?" He asked. I stopped chewing for a second, and took a moment to think.

"It would have been an uneven playing field if you hadn't known." I replied simply.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"That night I found out about the dragons, Hagrid took Maxime to see them. So naturally Maxime would have told Fleur; Or I would have, either way. When we were returning from the Forbidden Forest, I noticed a shadow creeping around. It turned out to be Karkaroff. You would think that he would have told Victor. Based on that logic, you would have been the only one who didn't know," I explained.

You still didn't have to tell me," He said.

Before I have the opportunity to answer, Professor McGonagall entered.

"Ah, it's good to see the two of you are ready, you are needed down at the pitch for the commencement of the first task. " She said, looking between the both of us.

"Okay, Professor McGongall." We chimed in unison.

"Good, that's all I needed to officially tell you. Besides that, good luck Miss Potter and Mr Diggory. Do Hogwarts proud."

"We will try our best, Professor," said Cedric.

"Indeed the two of you will. You are two of the most brilliant minds in the seventh year," said the Professor. I was a little taken aback, by how emotional she was being. Usually, she wasn't exactly cold, but rather, focused. This was rather out of character.

"Thank you Professor McGongall," I said. "We will be there very soon."

"I will be watching," she said, and in an instant, she was gone.

"We better get going," said Cedric, placing his wand down his sleeve.

"Could you possibly direct us in such a way, that we won't come face to face with half the school? I really am not in the mood this morning for small talk." I said.

"Neither am I," said Cedric, allowing me to exit the Quarters first. "I just want this ruddy thing to be over, and then whoever wants to talk to me, can talk to me all they like."

"Exactly." I said.

I followed Cedric through an array of twisted passage ways, until we reached a large iron and wooden gate. He teased it open, and from the crack came flooding in, the morning Autumn sunlight. I was glad to get out of the castle; although the First Task loomed an hour before me, it had been days since I had enjoyed the fresh air. Fleur and I spent many hours, practicing and charming, duelling and reading, to prepare ourselves to the very best of our abilities.

Cedric took the lead, as he meaningly walked across the dew stricken grass, and towards the Quidditch pitch.

"Over there!" He said, pointing to what seemed to be a small newly erected tent next to the pitch.

"I see it," I said. "That must be where we meet whoever is conducting the first task."

"Come on then," said Cedric, dragging me to walk faster. Although not saying anything about it, I could tell her was nervous. I guessed this was Cedric's way of containing those nerves, to not actually say anything.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I said, almost jogging along side him, attempting to keep up with his large strides.

We finally reached the tent, a very cheery looking, Ludo Bagman greeted us at the door. I had only met him once before, earlier in the year at the Quidditch World Cup when I attended it with the Delacours. Once again, he was dressed in his bright yellow Wasps Quidditch gear.

"Ah at last, our other two champions," he said, a grin spreading from ear to ear. "I hope you are ready for the task at hand. I need to run out for a second, to see whether all the staff have arrived, I will only take a moment. To your left is a unisex bathroom, and to your right, the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey has taken the liberty to make tea with some kind of calming herb, you will have to ask her, I'm not sure what it is, but it does work rather well if I may say so myself."

"Thank you," said Cedric.

I gazed over the room, and after a few moments of staring into space, I found who I was looking for. Fleur. She was crouched on a small wooden stool, and looking in the other direction.

"You okay?" I asked in hushed tones, crouching next to her.

"I've seen better days," she said. Although still looking absolutely stunning, I could see the dark circles under her eyes, and her skin generally blotchy. "You just missed Maxime."

"I don't mind. I am more worried about you, to be honest." I said, placing my arm around her shoulders.

"I don't want to die." She said, shaking slightly. It took a few moments for what she had said, to sink in.

"You're not going to." I said, "We have put in enough hours and work, to blitz this task. Alright?"

"I guess so," she said, running a hand through her blond silky hair.

"Champions, we are ready." Sing songed Mr Bagman.

"Champions, in a circle around me please," said Mr Crouch. I noticed in his hands he held a small velvet satchel, it could contain anything.

"When we are ready, Mr Krum." He said, offering the bag opening to him. Victor placed a trembling hand into the bag, moments later to reveal a small figurine of a bright red dragon, with a number three hanging around it's neck.

"A Chinese Fireball, ooohhh." Cooed Mr Crouch. "Miss Delacour, if you will."

"Wish me luck," said Fleur, barely more than a whisper, as she dived her hand into the satchel. The dragon she brought out was a light green shade, and not as prickly as Victor's. It had a number two around it's middle.

"The welsh green," said Mr Crouch. "You, Mr Diggory can go next."

"Thank you, sir." He said, taking out his dragon. I recognised it from one of my Care of Magical Creatures textbook, it was a Welsh Green. It had rhe number one, printed on a small piece of cardboard.

"The Welsh Green..." said Mr Crouch, "Which leaves..."

"The Horntail..." I said, probably a little too loudly.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Nothing." I replied, as I took out the last figurine.

"The Hungarian Horntail," said Mr Crouch. I took a moment to admire the dragon, although from what I had seen, vicious, but I couldn't help to acknowledge it's muscular beauty. "That Horntail is a nasty piece of work," Hagrid had said, but I was trying to look at the positives. The only thing standing between me and the next task, was a dragon. A dragon I had known about weeks before, and attempted to prepare adequately for the task. "These represent four very real dragons, each given a golden egg to protect. The objective is simple, collect the egg, this you must do, because each contains a clue, something that will help you, and without it you cannot dream to proceed to the next task."

"Mr Diggory... At the sound of the ca-" said Professor Dumbledore, but before he could finish off his sentence, the cannon went off, informing us that the dragon was ready to face Cedric.

"Good luck." I said, hugging him around his middle. He squeezed me in return, almost looking green in the face.

"Thank you." He said, taking out him wand.

I could hear a loud roar, as he stepped onto the pitch, Hands shaking, I didn't want to see how any on the other competitors would do, facing their living counterpart. I walked into a sectioned off area in the tent, and muttered a spell that disallowed me to hear anything in my surroundings. All had to think about is how I would face the dragon.

It seemed like hours, until Mr Crouch approached me.

"You're up Potter, best of luck." He said, opening the tent door for me to walk out.

"Thank you." I said, as I exited the room, and climbed onto the pitch.

It felt like a dream. A hallucination. I saw hundreds of faces stare down at me, sporting brightly coloured clothing, emphasising who they were supporting. Some held banners, and others small figurines. The pitch was no longer, the well mowed lawn I practiced Quidditch on, trice a week, but was covered in slate grey rocks. And there it was. The Horntail I had seen a couple of weeks prior. It's beady yellow eyes whizzing around, as he opened his mouth to breathe fire into the air. I quickly dived behind the closest rock, to correlate my thoughts. My head was pounding, and I noticed I had been holding my breath since I first stepped onto the pitch. Peeking around the corner, the Horntail must have caught my scent, because I stomped around; His spiked tail, leaving yard long gauge marks in the ground, and that is when I saw it, the golden egg. It was huddled between about a dozen large white ones. At that exact moment, the Horntail saw me. I barely had the opportunity to jump behind my rock; I could feel the heat drizzle through it.

"ACCIO FIREBOLT!" I yelled.

I did all I could; All I could do was to wait and see if my Firebolt turned up quickly enough, before I was burnt to death. The flames were lightly tickling me, I felt my hand burn before I moved it out of pain. It was then, that I saw my Firebolt, flying towards me. When it came close enough, I swung my leg over, only to look behind and the dragon and the crowd. All I could see as I flew higher were flesh coloured pinpricks. The dragon, once chained down, broke it's metallic bonds to follow me. It was fast, it seemed like milliseconds, and it was right on my tail. I flew in circles, dodging it's fire left and right. I was planning to do the Wronski Feint. I felt the surge of wind run through me, making me almost shiver. I swallowed, trying to ease the pressure building up in my throat. I was preparing to feint,in lack of a better word and that's when I felt it. The most unbelievable amount of pain ripping through my right arm. The Horntail managed to whip it's tail around, and insert it into my arm, thrusting through raw flesh. Blinking through the pain, I flew in circles and flew up and down in different velocities. I had to tire the beast out before I tried again.

The pain slowly became unbearable, and it was my last chance to collect the egg. I dived for it, the dragon's fire seconds behind me. Moments later, I felt the cool hard egg in my hands. I had done it.

Madam Pomfrey grabbed my arm as I tripped a little, back into into the tent. The loudness of the crowd still roaring in my ears, creating almost a buzz.

"Last year Dementors, this year dragons, what else will they bring into this school? Come with me Potter." She said, her face flushed.

"I don't want to know how bad it is." I said, exposing the ripped forearm to her, clutching the golden egg with the other.

"You got off easily," she said, ignoring my earlier request. "It will sting a little."

She sat me down on the bed, and removed my entire sleeve. She wiped a towel stained purple, across the open gash, and it started to fume. I could feel tears collecting in the crinkles of my eyes, as I clutched onto the bed, in fear of fainting.

"Thank you." I said, as the pain ceased.

"It's not a problem dearey, just please sit down." She said, stroking my arm.

"Okay," I replied weakly.

"Now Mr Diggory, how are you feeling-" she asked him. He must have been in the room next to me, all I could see was the outline of his silhouette.

I stood up, and attempted to flex my arm. It didn't have three hundred and sixty rotation, but it was defiantly an improvement from what the dragon inflicted. Madam Pomfrey was still next door, tending to Cedric's injuries. As much as I wanted to know how the others did, I wanted to escape more. I slipped through the back entrance of the tent, and begun to jog towards the castle. I had to shower and change into something more appropriate for Gryffindor celebrations. I was thankful that Dumbledore was addressing the tri-cohort, which gave me a head start towards the castle.

At last, I made it to the Quarters, only to be congratulated by the Fat Fair and Nearly Headless Nick. Before I had a shower, I decide to go for a quick snooze, the celebrations wouldn't be properly underway until night fall, and the only person I had to deal with, would be Cedric, and he was as worn out as I was.

It was a quarter to seven, when I finally decided to get ready for the night's festivities. Fleur had laid out an outfit the night before. A white lacy shirt, with a peter pan collar, a simple red skirt, and black pumps. Not very outgoing by Fleur's standards, but I guess she knew. Like herself, I would be tired, and wanted to have something on, that was relatively comfortable. I quickly adjusted the shower knobs, and washed all the sweat and grime off me. I stunk like a pair of Quidditch socks that have been worn one too many times without a wash.

Once I was done with the shower, I quickly slipped on Fleur's outfit of choice, and headed to the Gryffindor common room. It seemed like de ja vu, when I was greeted with a deafening roar.

"POTTER, POTTER!"

"We knew you could do it!"

In no time at all, I was on Fred and George's shoulders, as many, many people congratulated me. I just decided to smile and wave, since I had lost count with who I had greeted, and thanked them for their lovely comments.

I loved how supportive, it seemed, my house was of each other. At Beauxbatons, if you did well, girls would secretly talk about you behind your back, out of jealously mostly. Everyone wanted to be the best, and they kicked people to the curb, friend or foe, to get there. I was sure that such behaviour happened at Hogwarts, but I guessed most of my fellow Gryffindors were happy that I managed to pin a well deserved badge of courage, to the house.

I talked to Angelina for a while, before Fred and George coaxed her into Exploding Snap. I didn't really feel like talking to anyone, and all I wanted to do, was to get into bed.

"Alex babee, congraatulations!" said a very intoxicated Oliver, as he stumbled towards me.

"Hey Oliver, someone has had a little too much." I replied, guiding him to the couch.

"Babeee, Al, I've decided to forgiveee youuu what happened on Hallow-" He slurred, attempting to plant a kiss.

"Woah, slow down there cowboy." I said, turning my face away, "We aren't discussing this now."

"Butt whhyyy?" He asked, attempting to steal a cup, from the girl sitting next to us. She glared at him, and turned away. I tried to smile at her apologetically.

"Because you are drunk," I said flatly.

"I'mm not babeee, I llove youu," he said, his brown eyes interlocking with mine.

"Okay, we will discuss this tomorrow when you can tell me that sober," I said.

"Nooo serioousslly Alex, I need to knoww," he said.

"Oliver. We will discuss this tomorrow." I said, a little more forcefully.

"Why did't you sayyy I lovvee you tooo?" He said, slumping in the chair.

"For the last time Oliver, I will talk to you tomorrow." I said. "I will be right back."

I had to find Fred and George, before I completely lost my sanity with Oliver. After about ten minutes of searching, I found Fred, and he was in a deep snogging session, with Angelina. As much as I didn't want to interrupt their moment of privacy, I didn't want to leave a very intoxicated Oliver by himself, and I wasn't in the state to look after him. I gently tapped Fred on the shoulder.

"Arrm- Urghh- Alex hi." He said, springing away from Angelina.

"I will pretend I didn't see anything," I said, trying not to hold eye contact for too long. "But Oliver is near the fire place, completely drunk, and I'm really not in the mood to look after him. I'm tired and just want to rest."

"We're on it." Said Angelina, gazing to where I said Oliver would be.

"Thank you so much." I said, hugging each of them. "I owe you one. Oliver needs to be attended too, before he irritates the whole Common Room. I also don't think McGongall will be too pleased to first Gryffindor's captain, in such a state."

I was absolutely itching to go to bed. Although Oliver talked to me, and tried to sort things out, I didn't know how much of it was infused by Fire Whisky. That wasn't a proper conversation. Even if we had sorted things out, I don't think I feel the same way about him I once did. Oliver and Alex was a train, that left the station a while ago. I was going to have one more conversation with him; The topic of it being that we were well and truly done.

Apart from the emotional upheaval, my muscles were yearning for rest. My head was still pounding a little, and my feet were burning. Madam Pomfrey did a very proper job of the burn across my arm, the Horntail managed to inflict, although red it didn't hurt half as much as it did, a couple of hours prior.

I didn't bother saying good night to anyone, most of my friends were either taking part in activities involving the opposite sex, or too drunk to function; like Oliver. I slipped away through the portrait hole, and slowly made my way back to the Quarters. I doubted Cedric would be there on my arrival. Alas, I didn't care. All I wanted was to escape to the sanctuary of my room. With the last burst of energy I could wield, I yelled the password at the hippogriff. As I crawled through the entrance, the scent of whisky filled my nose. I quickly kicked off my heels.

"Aleeex, is that yooohh?" asked Cedric. He was sprawled across our couch, a bottle of some kind of alcoholic drink, presumably whisky, in his hand. Apart from the smell, the next thing I noticed was the purplish tinge on half his face.

"Yes it me Ced, what happened to you?" I asked, as I sat down on the floor next to him, taking the bottle out of his hands. Judging by the heavy slurring of words, he had ingested a little too much alcohol.

"Nooo, don't do that. Don't takkke my drrink." He said, blindly swiping to take back his bottle.

"Cedric, you've had enough," I said. "Now tell me why half your face is purple, and how much alcohol you think you've had tonight. More importantly, why?"

"I got burned by thee biiiig dragonns. I we-" He stopped in mid sentence. "What wasss other ques'onss?"

"How much have you had tonight, and how did you get here?" I asked, as I wiped away his hair, which was sticking to his clammy forehead.

"Paaarty at the common-on room, Erniee walks me back," he said.

"Well aren't you a mess, let's get you cleaned up." I said, sitting him up on the couch.

"Okayy Alex," he said, as I guided his arm around my shoulders, and walked him towards our bathroom. "Aleeexx?"

"Yes?" I sighed.

"Will yooo wash mmme?" he asked.

"No, I'm going to towel you down," I replied, kicking open the bathroom door with my foot.

"Buuttt whhhy?" He asked.

"Because you stink of alcohol and sweat." I replied bluntly.

"Okkayy." He said, as I sat him down on the edge of the tub.

"Now I'll need you to take off your shirt and pants. I do hope you aren't going commando underneath." I said, wetting a spare towel.

"Whhhat does comananado mean?" He asked.

"It me- Never mind," I said. Although scraped and bruised, his well defined chest was absolutely perfect, as I gently rubbed the towel up and down his body. He rested his head in the crook of my neck; With my other hand I gently stroked his hand. This was the most vulnerable I had ever seen Cedric; Drunk and practically naked in front of me.

"Alexxx?" He said.

"Yes Cedric?" I replied.

"You're beautifulll." He said, turning my face towards him.

"Thank you." I said, kissing him on the forehead, my emotions towards him, high.

"No youu don't understand. I mightt be tipppsssy, but I mean it." He said, the grey of his eyes, almost ablaze.

"You're not too bad yourself Ced." I replied, lightly grazing the towel across his hips and down his legs. "Okay, you're as clean as can be without having a proper shower."

"Okkayy." He said.

"I'll take you to your room. You might be hung over tomorrow morning but at least you hopefully would have had a roper amount of rest. You deserve it," I said.

Thankfully, Cedric held onto the rails of the stairwell, making my job a touch easier. His room was quite warm, so I decided against fitting him into any other articles of clothing. I pulled back his covers and allowed him to slowly sit down. He made himself comfortable and clumsily adjusted the pillows to his liking. Without another word, I turned to leave his room, swinging his dirty clothes over his chair.

"Alexx?" He asked.

"Yes Cedric?" I answered.

"Stay witthh me?" He asked, Cho instantly came to mind.

"I'll be in my room." I answered.

"Plleeaassee Aleexxx, sttay with me," He pleaded, patting the pillow next to him.

"Okay." I said, pulling off my shirt and skirt. I wriggled down next to Cedric, attempting to not pull back the covers too much. He instantly turned around to spoon me, his arm lazily dropping at my mid section. The proximity was generating large amounts of body heat, however I felt extremely comfortable.

"Goood nighht Alex." He said, leaning over to kiss my temple.

"Night Cedric." I said.

Please remember to R_E_V_I_E_W -&- S_U_B_S_C_R_I_B_E!

-R_E_A_D-M_E- PS: Any of y'all Vampire Academy lovers? Mason and I are ACTUALLY married. Was thinking of starting up a fic. Yay or nay?

ALSO, should I start up a twitter/pintrest for this fic? Since a lot of stuff I write about is based on actual things and places. I could post like timetables and stuff on it? What do you say?

Lots of Love; onefrozenheart