Authors note: So the last chapter was nice and long, I don't know if I'm going to make this one as long, but dammnit I'll try. LOL
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. . . I wish I did though. . .
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Chapter 11: The Chosen Four?
Heather wandered into the great hall, still soaking wet. Ryan looked at her and shook her head. Heather grinned wickedly at her. "OH RYAN! I've missed you so much all afternoon! Come, give me a hug!" She said flinging her arms out. Ryan shrieked and took off running; Heather cackled and took off chasing her.
"Oh honestly, you're acting like a couple of first years." Hermione huffed as Heather tackled Ryan to the ground and hugged her, getting her friend as soggy as possible. "It's our seventh year Hermione; we don't want to leave so we're reverting to back to our old ways." Heather explained as she blew a raspberry at the fourth former as if to accentuate her point.
Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to reading the giant book resting on her lap.
"Anyone put their name in yet?" Heather asked as she performed a quick drying spell on her robes and hair. "All the Beauxbaton lot, they came in early this morning and put their names in." Ron answered. Just then Cedric and a few of his mates came running in. He was still soaking wet from the rain.
"Go on Ced, put it in." One of his friends urged. He walked across the age line and dropped a crisp piece of parchment into the goblet. The fire blazed as it licked at the paper. His friends cheered when he walked back.
"I hope the goblet picks you Cedric." Cho Chang said shyly. Cedric smiled at her causing her and her friends to twitter excitedly.
Heather rolled her eyes. Cho was easily one of the prettiest girls in the fifth year; half of the school was enamored with her. Who wouldn't be? She was pretty, smart, and good at quidditch. And to make things worse, it was almost impossible to hate her because she was so sweet. She wasn't vicious like she could be, but instead she was very kind and friendly. However, along with that sweet and friendly attitude came a fierce competitiveness, a character trait that helped her in her house no doubt. In the past, Cho hadn't exactly kept it a secret that she fancied Cedric. Anyone with half a brain could guess she liked him by the way she would throw him shy looks whenever he was near. She wanted him, and by the Gods she would probably have him by the end of term.
Cedric passed Heather and gave her a farewell wink before leaving the great hall with his mates. Cho threw Heather a sour look, but said nothing as she walked out to follow Cedric. Heather stuck her tongue out at the girl's retreating figure. She'd never really cared for Chang much. She was the female counter part to Cedric. Golden boy and golden girl.
From behind her there came a loud cheering, Heather turned to find the source of all the noise only to find the twins and their best friend Lee coming down to the goblet.
"Thank you! Thank you! Yes, we've done it!" Fred said.
"Done what?" Someone asked.
"Taken an aging potion, brewed it up this morning." George said with a triumphant grin.
"It's not going to work." Hermione sang.
"Oh yeah, why not? Fred snapped.
Hermione rolled her eyes and snapped her book closed. "Because, that circle you see there is an age line, Dumbledore drew it himself." She said bossily.
"So." They said.
She looked heavenward as if she were dealing with the extremely challenged. "So, a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something pathetically dimwitted like an aging potion." She quipped.
"Yes, but that's what it's so brilliant." George said. "Because it's so pathetically dimwitted." Fred finished.
"Ready Fred?" George asked as he held out his arm. "Ready George." His twin replied. They linked arms and jumped into the circle. Nothing happened. They put their names in and high fived each other. Suddenly there was a queer sizzling sound. In the next instant the twins were thrown out of the circle, each sporting a long white beard.
"You said!" They both accused as they wrestled on the floor.
"I did warn you." Said a deep baritone voice. The hall turned to see Dumbledore smiling with amusement. "I suggest that you go see Madam Pomfrey, she is already tending to a few other students that decided to age themselves a bit too. But I must say, neither of their beards are anything quite as fine as yours." He said as he left. The twins got up and hobbled to the infirmary with Lee howling with laughter behind them.
The halls chuckling ended abruptly when Victor Krum walked in. The girls twittered and fussed with their hair. He ignored them and strode up to the goblet. He put his name in the blazing cup and turned to leave, but not before offering Hermione a shy look. She blushed and smiled back. Ron was oblivious to this seeing as his idol was in the room; however the look was not lost on Heather.
She smiled to herself as she went up to the common room. 'This is going to get VERY interesting. . .'
The three days came and went; it was the night that the chosen three would be named. Every one was on time for dinner that evening. Heather was walking down to the great hall for dinner, she was famished, Moody had lectured for a million years and she didn't think he was ever going to stop.
On her way into the dinning hall she smacked into on of the students form Beauxbaton. "Oh excuse me, I did not see you coming mademoiselle." Said a boy with blond hair and blue eyes. He bent down to help her pick up the papers that had gone flying during their collision.
"Sorry." She mumbled as she tried to shove her things in her messenger bag.
She stood up and went to go into the hall for dinner; she could smell all the wonderful food. She was stopped by someone tugging on her arm. She turned to find the boy she bumped into. "Can I 'ave the pleasure of ze lady's name?" He asked in a thick French accent.
"Heather." She answered stiffly before she turned to enter the hall once more, but much to her dismay the boy was still hanging onto her arm. She frowned at it and looked back up at him.
"I am Fritz. Please, allow me to escort you to ze 'all for dinner." He said with a smile, linking his arm with hers.
"Erm, thanks for the offer buddy, but I think I can get there on my own." She said and practically ran to the table, all of which Cedric found terribly amusing.
When Heather had finally reached the safety of the Gryfindor table she was telling Ryan all about "Creepy French Boy" when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Is this seat taken Mademoiselle?"
Heather's eyes widened in shock and horror she turned to rip the intruders hand off. She found that the hand belonged not to the strange blond boy, but to none other then Cedric who was laughing hysterically as he walked away. Furious, Heather threw a wadded up piece of parchment at him in response. Much to her satisfaction the paper hit him in the back of the head.
Once dinner was over Dumbledore stood. The hall fell silent in record time.
"It is time." He said, and the goblet was brought forward. "The goblet is almost ready to make its selection. Now, when the champion's names are called I am going to ask them to come to the front of the hall, walk along the staff table into the next chamber on the right where they will receive further instructions."
He waved his wand and all of the candles in the hall were extinguished, the only light came from the eerie blue flame from the goblet.
"Any moment now." Lee whispered as he leaned forward in his seat. The flames in the goblet turned a brilliant red that shot to the roof of the hall.
A single piece of parchment came fluttering down. Dumbledore reached up and picked the paper out of the air. "The champion representing Dumstrang is. . . Mr. Victor Krum." The hall erupted with cheers. Krum walked up to the staff table and disappeared into the next room.
A moment later flames exploded from the goblet once more. Dumbledore caught the parchment and called Mademoiselle Flure Delacour as the Beauxbaton champion. Heather looked up to find it was the giggly twit from a few nights ago.
"This is it." Someone said. Heather leaned forward in her seat. Once again the flames shot up and into the air as the last piece of parchment came fluttering down. "The champion that will be representing Hogwarts in the tri-wizard championship is. . . Mr. Cedric Diggory." The hall exploded with cheering. Heather felt her stomach clench the tiniest bit. Cedric walked up to the front of the hall smiling broadly. Once he had vanished from sight Dumbledore went on.
"Excellent! We now have out thee champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will host the chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the tri-wizard cup!" He said dramatically. Then the goblet grew red once more shooting out yet another piece of parchment.
Confusion ranged throughout the hall. Dumbledore picked the parchment out of the air and read the name. "Harry Potter."
The hall was silent. "Harry Potter." Dumbledore called again. Harry rose to his feet and walked to the front of the hall and disappeared into the same room that the others had gone through.
'Oh my Go! No you stupid boy, he'll be killed!' Heather thought.
'That was probably the idea.'
'You mean it was set up?'
'Why else would Harry's name be called? He has enough sense about him to know how dangerous this is.' Heather's second voice said sagely.
Dumbledore took a few moments to settle the hall down. The Dumstrang and Beauxbaton students were furious. Heather got up and left the hall, she didn't want to hear anymore. Ryan followed.
"Do you think he did it?" She asked nervously. "No." Heather answered. "Harry might seem suicidal with the stupid stunts he's pulled in the past, but the last thing he wants is more attention." She said.
Ryan nodded even though she didn't look convinced. They reached the common room to find Ron fuming. "How could he put his name in and not tell me!?" He yelled.
"Don't be a git." Heather said. "Harry said he didn't want to do it so why would he lie?" She asked. Ron just turned purple and stormed up to the boys' dorms muttering.
Heather shook her head as she climbed the stairs to her room to get her books for Astronomy. She didn't know how Harry's name got in that cup, but she knew he wouldn't have put his name in there.
And Diggory… She groaned at the thought.
'He's going to be impossible to live with after this, forget golden boy, he's gone platinum! AND I have every freaking class with him!'
'You don't have ancient Runs with him'
'Shut up.'
Heather finished up the essay on Pluto quickly before walking up to the tower. She was debating whether she should just play sick or actually go to class, she was about to turn around and go back to bed when she herd footsteps. She hurried behind a suit of armor and hid. It was McGonagall. She was talking with Professor Flitwick. "We have no clue how the boy's name got in the chalice, but he has to compete now, he has no choice."
Heather couldn't believe her ears; they were actually going to let him do it! How could they send a fourteen year old boy into such a dangerous situation?
'He has no choice, if he backs out he dies remember.'
'What!? How do you know that?'
'We read it in Hogwarts a History remember.'
'. . . . You're asking if I remember something form History of Magic? If you're still me than you should know me better by now.'
Heather reached the astronomy tower on time and took her seat and began working. A few moments later she felt Cedric slide into the seat beside her. She didn't look up; she wasn't sure what he would be like. She was sure that he would feel cheated about Harry competing.
Harry was like a little brother, she would move mountains for that kid. She remembered the first time she met him. It was her fifth year and she was crashing at the burrow for the night. She'd had another fight with her dad and she needed a place to rest and recuperate.
She was sound asleep on the large lumpy sofa when he sat on her. It scared them both silly. He was screaming because the couch was alive, and she was having a heart attack because someone sat on her face. She remembered seeing him on the floor clutching his chest as if his heart was going to pop out of his chest. She smiled to herself at the memory.
The class ended and Heather gathered her things together as fast as she could, she had seen Diggory looking at her out of the corner of her eye. She practically threw her paper on the professor's desk and hurried out of the room.
"Foxx! Heather! Stop!" Cedric called. Heather ignored him; she wasn't in any mood to deal with golden boy. She made the pretence of slowing down before she took off running; she made a sharp left and hid in one of the secret passageways on the eighth floor. He heard Cedric stop running and stop for breath right in front of the tapestry Heather was behind.
"What's her problem?" He asked himself as he tried to catch his breath.
It seemed like ages until he left. Once he was gone Heather waited about fifteen minuets before stepping out. She looked around and smiled she walked down to the seventh floor where Gryffindor tower was only to find Cedric talking to the fat lady.
' This freak doesn't know when to give up!'
'Perhaps that is why he was chosen.'
'Isn't it past your bedtime?' Heather thought irritably.
She peeked around the corner to see if Cedric was still there, she came face to face with him instead.
She yelped in surprise and fell over backwards. His face had been a little too close for comfort.
"Boo." Was all he said. Heather glared at him and got up off of the floor.
"Why did you run away?" He asked.
"I needed some exercise." She said walking to the portrait only to find that the fat lady was gone.
'Gah! Trapped! I'm trapped like a rat!'
"Oh come on. Why did you run?" He asked again. "Is it about Harry?"
Heather sat against the wall to wait for the fat lady to come back.
"you know, they're letting him compete." He said, sliding down next to her.
"I know." She answered.
They sat together in the dark, an awkward hush eating up the silence. "I wonder who put his name in?" Cedric mused to himself after a few minuets.
"Y-you don't think he snuck it in?" She asked.
"No, he said in the trophy room that he didn't. If Dumbledore believes him then so do I."
Heather felt a rush of gratitude for him; she knew that Harry would have to put up with all kinds of back lash for this.
They sat in silence for another moment. "Are you nervous?" She asked.
"A little." He admitted. "I didn't think I would be chosen to compete." She rolled her eyes.
Finally, after what seemed like ages of embarrassed silence, the fat lady finally returned. After she had scolded Heather for being out of bed after hours she let her in.
"Good night." Cedric said. "Good morning's more like it." She said as she crawled through the portrait hole.
The next few days passed quickly and all anyone could talk about was how Harry had managed to sneak his name in the chalice. "How many times do I have to tell you! He didn't put it in!" Heather shouted at a passing pair of first years that were gossiping about it. She frightened the poor things silly.
"That's enough." Ryan said as she dragged her friend to lunch. Heather huffed and grabbed a sandwich.
Heather was sitting with the quidditch team listening to them talk about the upcoming match against Hufflepuff. The two teams had been throwing jeers back and forth for the past few days, even going so far as getting the entire table to yell out "Hufflepuff sucks!" During dinner one evening.
Cedric walked by the table and waved hello. The team glared at him in response. Harry gave a half hearted wave to the other seeker and champion. He obviously still felt horrid about being forced into the competition. Heather slung an arm around him and ruffled his hair. He hated it when she did that, but she was one of the only ones that could get away with it. Lunch ended and Heather was reluctant to get up. "Come on, you have to go to class, I don't think Moody would like it if you were late." Ryan chided.
"I don't wanna go." She said. Moody was going to be putting the Imperius curse on the students today, she wasn't keen on going. "Don't make me give you a detention." Ryan warned. Heather reluctantly got up. "Why did he have to make you a bloody prefect?" She grumbled.
"Probably so I could try and keep my friend in order." She shot back.
Heather grabbed her bag and grinned up at her friend. "And how's that workin' for ya?" she asked. Ryan rolled her eyes and went to her own class.
Heather reluctantly walked into class and quietly took her seat next to Cedric. She took out a quill and a piece of parchment and began to doodle; she needed something to do to keep her hands from shaking. She'd been under one of the curses before; she wasn't keen on having another on put on her.
What's wrong? Cedric wrote on her parchment.
Nothing, lemme alone. She scribbled back.
He smiled and wrote back. No.
'God this guy's a pain in the arse. . .' She thought. She was about to write back when Moody Hobbled into the room. "Alright, books and wands away. I want you all to que up against the wall."
Heather swallowed hard and stood up.
Professor Moody explained that he was going to put each of his students under the imperious curse. He reviewed the basics of the curse before he called the first person forward. "Davies, Rodger." Roger walked forward, he seemed confident enough. Moody told him to fight it and not to let his guard down.
"I know old man; let's just get it over with." Roger said with a cocky air. Moody glared at him,
"Imperio!"
Rodger went Ridged for a moment, then he began to Irish step dance. His eyes were glazed over, as though he were just a puppet. After a moment Moody took the curse off. Rodger stood there scowling.
"Next time you will remember not to be so discourteous in my class again."
Moody went down the line, one student after another succumbed to the curse, the only one that managed to throw it off was a young Ravenclaw girl named Laura. Heather began to shake as Moody went down the line of students.
"Foxx, Heather. Come on lass, let's see what you've got." Heather shakily went to the front of the room. She was determined to fight this thing, if Laura could do it then so could she. She felt her body relaxed a little bit as she looked in Moody's eyes.
The professor was a little taken aback when she looked him in the eyes, but it didn't matter, she would be under the curse in a moment. "Imperio!"
Heather felt warm and relaxed, like she had just slipped into a hot bath.
"Do a cartwheel." Moody's voice gently urged.
'Okay.' She thought, that sounded easy enough. She raised her arms into the air and got ready to leap.
'Wait, don't do it! The curse! Remember the curse! Fight it!' The second voice shouted.
Heather was half way into the cartwheel when she snapped out of it. She twisted to the right and landed firmly on her shoulder.
'Holy mother of Merlin that hurts!'
"YES!" Moody cried! "Yes girl, that's it! Did you see what she did? Did you see her eyes? Get up lass do it again."
'He's got to be bloody kidding, I almost broke my arm!'
"Come on come on, we don't have all day, get up so I can show the class, that's a good girl." Heather got to her feet and stood before the professor again.
"Imperio!" He shouted.
Heather was instantly thrown back into that wonderful warm feeling.
"Do a cartwheel."
'No.' The second voice calmly said.
"Do it." Moody commanded more forcefully.
'I won't'
"DO THE CARTWHEEL!" He yelled in her head. The warm feeling got warmer, she raised her arms to catch her balance and build momentum.
'Stop it! Get him out! Push the thought away! You are your own person; you never listened before so why start now! Fight it!'
She fell to her knees and broke out into a cold sweat as she mentally kicked Moody out of her head. She sat on the floor panting, trying to regain composure. She felt slightly dizzy, but she could faintly hear Moody in the background talking.
She pulled herself to her feet and got back in line. Cedric flashed her a small congratulatory smile before turning his attention to the front of the room where a Slytherin boy was being put under the spell. As it turned out there were five in the class that could eventually throw the curse.
"Very good, I am pleased with all of you." Moody said. "As you grow stronger some of you may be able to completely throw the curse one day." He said as he looked around the class. "And to those that actually managed to beat it, congratulations. It takes a great amount of skill and strength to overcome a curse as strong as this."
The bell rang and Moody was shouting out the homework assignment to the students as they filed out of the room.
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So, I decided against making Cho Chang the mean girl. She started out that way when I first began typing this, but as I got more into the chapter is just kept bugging me. Almost EVERY CedricxOC fic on this site depicts Cho Chang as the "mean girl" and in all truth, she's really not. Sure in the books she sounds a bit wishy washy, but so what? I say we cut the poor girl a break. I mean, it's not her fault that she too fell in love with the boy that we all love to love is it? Besides I kind of like Cho. Us Ravenclaw's have got to stick together. ^_~
The new term for college is starting up again, and for some insane reason I'm signed up for 16, yes count them, 16 units. The next update may be a little late, but I'll get it out to you as soon as I have a chance to sit down with my beloved lap top. So please
R E M E M B E R to R E V I E W
and I'll get chapter 12 out as soon as I can.
With all my love,
-BellaCantante359
