The next few weeks were hard for Harry, and Sara was trying to do her best to help him out whenever she could. Some of the students had taken to wearing badges that flashed "Support CEDRIC DIGGORY-The REAL Hogwarts Champion!" and "POTTER STINKS!" Sara, in turn, had taken to summoning them in the hall and during class. It had made rather large tears in their robes, and the best part was that they never had any idea who'd done it. She'd managed to deduct points from a small gaggle of Slytherins who were making fun of Harry—though she claimed it was for using magic in the hallway. That effectively shut them up. She'd also taken to avidly correcting people who were under the assumption that Harry had entered himself into the tournament. She'd managed to convince a few Gryffindors, but most just rolled their eyes and said she was trying to hard to look for an answer.

Things got much worse for him when Rita Skeeter published her article on the champions in the Daily Prophet. However, it wasn't really about the champions; it was more a fictitious retelling of Harry's life, mentioning Fleur and Krum, and completely forgetting to mention Cedric. Sara had promptly ripped up her copy and set it on fire at the breakfast table. Fred and George had a fit about that one.

Harry had taken to hanging out in the library with Hermione now that he and Ron were no longer on speaking terms. The pair often joined Sara at a table while she did her work and attempted to begin studying for her O.W.L.s. She'd also noticed Krum hanging out in the library an awful lot, and more often than not he was staring at their table. She couldn't figure out if he was trying to size up Harry or checking out Hermione—though it could have very well been both. Every so often, Ivan joined them as well. He didn't ever seem to have very much work to do, and when she asked him about it, he always just shrugged. He would bring in a book or just sit with her. After he'd apologized for upsetting her at the feast and promised to make it up to her somehow, she couldn't deny letting him sit with her in the library.

The Saturday before the match, the students flooded down to Hogsmeade for a day of frivolity. Sara arose late as always and found the twins waiting for her in the common room.

"Morning," she yawned loudly.

"I think afternoon's more like it," Fred teased.

"You'd sleep the day away if you could, wouldn't you?" George winked.

"Well, heaven forbid I be a little tired!" she exclaimed.

The trio headed down the winding path that led to the little town below. It looked rather packed today, considering there were amore bodies down there than usual. Most of the Beauxbatons girls had been befriended by the Ravenclaws and had started interacting with the rest of the school—though they didn't seem to like Sara very much at all.

The three of them went through their ritual—Zonkos, the music shop, Honeydukes, and the Three Broomsticks to warm up from the chilly November air. The boys walked out of Zonkos each with a bag under their arm.

"Examples," Fred explained.

"Gotcha," Sara replied.

"I can just go here by myself, I want to look for something. I'll meet you guys at Honeydukes," she said, waving the boys off as she stopped in front of the music shop.

"Are you sure?" George asked.

"Definitely, I won't be horribly long," she promised.

She watched the twins disappear into Honeydukes before slipping away from the music store and breaking into a run. She had no intention of looking for something in the music shop today. She rounded the corner around Zonkos and found her target.

"Cedric!" she cried, running after him.

Credic turned around and sighed in relief. Sara slowed as she approached him.

"I've been avoiding the Hufflepuffs all day. It's hard to get a moment of peace around here," he sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, should I go?" she asked.

"No!" he exclaimed, a bit excitedly. "No, I like the company. Just not when the company won't stop pestering me."

"About the company… I've got a favor. Could you please, please, ask your friends to stop wearing the badges? Honestly, this is getting ridiculous. I'm tired of having to rip them off their robes," she said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I've heard you've been doing that," he laughed. "I kind of half-heartedly ask, but they don't seem to take me seriously. I'll ask for real now, I will," he promised.

"Thanks. He's certainly not having an easy time with this."

"You really think that he didn't do it, then?" Cedric asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know that he didn't do it, Ced," she corrected.

"What makes you so-"

"I just am," she interrupted.

"Alright, alright," he raised his hands in defeat.

"Cedric, can I ask you a question?" Sara asked. He nodded. "What are you doing hiding behind Zonkos?"

"Well… Ah… I'm… They just keep following me!" he said exasperatedly.

"I suppose," Sara nodded. "Cedric… Are you doing okay?"

He looked at her with wide eyes, then flashed her his adorable smile.

"I'm fine. I'm a little nervous, not knowing what the first task is and all, but I think I'm doing alright. Really. Thank you for worrying about me," he said sincerely, reaching out and patting her shoulder.

"I guess I'm just a worrier," she shrugged. "You'll let me know if you need anything?"

"I promise, I will," he vowed.

"Good. Well, I'll leave you to your peace," she bade him a farewell as she headed back down the alley toward the main road.

She rounded the corner and started making her way toward Honeydukes.

"What are you doing?" a startled voice called.

Sara gasped, jumping a few inches off the ground. She looked over to see George standing in front of the music shop, the door banging shut behind him. He crossed the cobbled street and stopped in front of her, looking down at her with an almost frightened look on his face.

"Hello," Sara said feebly.

"Don't just 'hello' me! Where were you? Fred sent me back here to find you, and when you weren't in there I got worried. Where were you?" he asked again.

"Oh, well, I… I saw Cedric disappear around—What's wrong?"

At the mention of Cedric's name, George's face had flashed darkly. However, he recovered quickly, composing himself and trying to pass it off as an itch on his nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, you're shivering," he muttered.

Sara felt her teeth begin to chatter. She hugged her arms around herself and followed George to the sweets shop. She eyed him warily for a part of the walk. Normally, he'd be walking beside her and excitedly telling her all about the things he'd gotten from Zonkos. Now, he was marching ahead, forcing her to follow him at a quick trot, and he wasn't speaking. However, he soon realized what he was doing and slowed to allow her to catch up with him, and she just attributed it to the cold.

But George knew he wasn't just cold. Even the mention of Cedric's name made him jealous, and it wasn't something he enjoyed. Every time Ivan looked at Sara in the adoring way that he did, it made his blood boil. For four years George had been her friend, and now these guys thought they could just swoop in and try to win her heart? He'd never been more jealous of any two people in his entire life, and it was completely irrational—though he didn't really care. But despite his frustration, George realized that he was being rude to Sara. It really wasn't her fault that she had guys falling for her left and right. He held the door for her as they entered the crowded shop and let her wander in ahead of him. He couldn't see Fred anywhere in the shop and just assumed that he'd gone on to the Three Broomsticks with Angelina.

"George, look. This is neat."

George looked down to see Sara holding up a rather plain box. Upon closer examination, he saw that it said "Fill-It-Yourself Treats." The box contained hollowed-out candies and three separate fillings—nougat, strawberry cream, and chocolate.

"Really?" George asked before he could stop himself.

"Well, I mean, obviously it's not that neat if you just look at the box, but think about it. You could put anything you wanted in here, not just the fillings they give you. It could be like trick candy or something. Park one of these in front of Cormac but with a little bit of Babbling Beverage in it and watch him shout nonsense for hours," Sara mused, a devious smirk on her lips.

George simply stared at her for a minute. She looked up at him and shrunk back a bit.

"Well, I mean… Maybe not," she stuttered.

"Sara, you're a genius!" George exclaimed, attracting the attention of a few surrounding students.

"Well, I know, I keep trying to tell you guys that," she teased.

"I can't see down there, how many boxes are there left?" he asked, finding himself unable to lean down and check for himself.

"Seven boxes. They'll be three Galleons and two Sickles," she said, standing up with her arms wrapped around all seven boxes.

"Oh, well, maybe not all of them then," he said dejectedly, reaching for his money in his pocket.

Sara snatched the eighth box of sweets from him and, without another word, bustled toward the front of the store. George reached her as she was pulling the Galleons out of her purse.

"Sara, I don't-" he tried.

"That's enough protesting, George," she chided as she dropped the money into the cashiers hand.

"Have a lovely afternoon," the cashier urged as she handed Sara the bag.

They darted around the shoppers and made their way outside again, bracing themselves for the cold blast of air.

"Sara, you really didn't have to pay for all of those," George tried again. "Let me pay you back or something."

"Absolutely not!" she cried, sounding almost offended. "These aren't for you… Yet. Christmas is coming up!"

"Oh," he replied lamely.

"You can carry it though, if you want to be a gentleman," she suggested, extending her arm.

He immediately took the bag from her and carried it along with his own from Zonkos. He'd completely forgotten that he had been so upset earlier. They joked and laughed all the way to the pub, where they laughed more as they watched Fred shamelessly flirt with Angelina.