The Power of Premonition
Chapter Twelve
It was way after noon as Ginny and Cedric's moment of peace began to fade away.
Cedric was lying on his back, one arm under his head, the other one around Ginny, who lay next to him, her face resting on his chest with his heartbeat echoing in her ears. While he had his eyes closed, Ginny looked over the meadow towards the lake, her troubled mind soothing by the redundant movements of the waves splashing slightly against the shore.
Suddenly there were voices coming from the castle. Even though they were out of earshot and possibly could not be seen from any window or even from the front doors, Ginny grew rigid, concentrating on the nearer coming noises. Her hand absentmindedly grabbed the front of Cedric's robes, tightly holding onto it as she listened to whatever may come closer.
"You're ruining my shirt", she then heard Cedric mumble, a smirk in his voice.
She raised her head and looked up at him, how he was grinning into the sky with his eyes still closed. "What?"
"You're going to rip it if you keep grabbing it like that", he said and pointed with the hand that was put around her shoulders to the front of his robes.
"Oh, sorry", she muttered and removed her hand, trying to flatten his shirt again.
"Don't worry", he muttered and stretched his other arm, before he sat up, pulling Ginny along with him. "What's the matter?"
"Huh?"
"Why did you feel the need to grab my shirt like that?"
"I – uh –", she stammered, looking around as she did so.
"Ginny?"
"I heard voices…"
Cedric raised an eyebrow, scratching his forehead inattentively. "So?"
"So I guess there is someone coming to interrupt us again", she said, looking towards the castle.
"Can't we just stay like this, it's been so comfortable…"
"If you like to get strangled by Fred and George or poked in the eye with a fist by Ron or even hexed by Moody, then –"
"Hey, speaking of which", Cedric interrupted her suddenly, pointing towards one of the trees standing between the way up to Hogsmeade and the lake. "Look!"
"That is Moody", Ginny stated as she followed his wink.
"What's he doing?"
"He's talking…"
"To himself?", Cedric asked, carefully raising to his feet to have a better look.
"Hey, stay down, he could see you!"
"Don't worry, he is in an eager fight with himself as it seems."
Ginny stared closer at the spot Cedric had pointed to and watched how Mad Eye Moody walked up and down around the tree, his arms in the air, arguing viciously – yet there was no one else to be seen.
"That is weird, even for Moody."
"It is. Come on, let's have a closer look", Cedric suggested, pulling Ginny to her feet.
"No!", she hissed, holding him back, clinging onto his arm. "I don't want you to get killed right away…"
"Ginny, it'll be okay, and besides, that would at least be a surprise", he added with a slight grin.
"I could live without such surprises…"
Cedric watched her closely. "You would really miss me."
"Of course I would miss you!", she replied, a little offended.
"You're sweet", Cedric replied, smiling down at her.
"Hey, I mean it. This last week meant something, don't you think?"
He looked at Ginny with his head tilted to the side and his eyes speaking for themselves. "Yes, I do", he replied, causing Ginny to blush and smile up at him a little uneasy. He quickly leant down to kiss her, before he turned his attention to Moody again. "Come on, maybe we can hear what he has to say."
Ginny gave in eventually and they both walked closer to where Moody was still gesticulating furiously. They quietly tiptoed towards a large tree, hiding behind its trunk as they listened to Moody.
"– I told you! Everything's fine!"
There was a pause in which Moody stared down at the ground.
"No, I still have Dumbledore in the palm of my hand", Moody hissed, looking around as he did so. "He wouldn't know anything. He totally trust that old Auror bastard."
Ginny and Cedric exchanged glances.
"Is he talking about himself?", she whispered.
"I don't think that is the real Moody…", Cedric replied, pressing against the trunk, with Ginny tiptoeing behind him, staring over his shoulder.
"Don't worry, everything will go according to plan!", Moody just said. "I told you, I'll take care of that."
Ginny leant closer to Cedric to take a look at the seemingly fake Moody. It was then that they both saw the snake moving at his feet. Ginny almost let out a shriek, if it wasn't for Cedric to silence her.
"He is talking to a snake?", Ginny hissed, pressing both hands on her mouth to keep quiet.
"Apparently…"
"Master, I'm begging you. You have to trust me. I will take care of her!"
"Master? Her?", Cedric mumbled, his eyes narrowed. "Oh my –"
He then turned to Ginny who grew pale immediately, swallowing hard, staring at Cedric with her mouth open.
"Let's go", he then said, grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her away.
They had heard enough.
As Ginny shot a glance over her shoulder, she saw that they had left just in time – for Moody was already inspecting the surrounding trees. She didn't know if he had seen them, she couldn't care less as she ran after Cedric along the lake towards the castle. They stopped at the front doors, looking back breathlessly.
"What was that all about?"
"Apparently Moody isn't Moody. And whoever he is communicates to you-know-who through this snake. And he wants to get rid of you", Cedric finished, looking at Ginny.
"Now I am doomed too", she whispered, holding onto Cedric as if she feared to fall down.
"It's alright, he won't have the chance to do you any harm. I'll be right here", he replied, pulling her into a comforting embrace.
"What if he wants to get rid of you too? You know about his plans as well!"
"Maybe he thinks I won't last in the maze anyway."
"So what do we do?"
"Stay together seems a good option", Cedric said, looking down at Ginny.
"There's nothing I could say against that", she smiled.
With that they turned around to enter the castle, as a blonde Hufflepuff-girl came running towards them.
"Hey Cedric, Professor Sprout sends me to tell you that the Champions are meeting in the Trophy room", the girl said, slightly out of breath.
"Oh, okay, thank you, Susan", Cedric replied, nodding to his fellow Hufflepuff.
Ginny watched Susan leave with a frown on her freckled forehead.
"I guess staying together seems to be a little complicated now…", Cedric muttered, putting his arm around Ginny as they entered the castle.
"Seemingly", she replied, biting her lip.
"Don't worry, Moody – or whoever he is – is still at the lake, so I guess it's best if you just go to your common room. You'll be safe there."
They then ascended Hogwarts' staircases until they reached the third floor when Ginny looked up at Cedric.
"It'll be fine, Ginny", he whispered, kissing away her concern.
She finally nodded. "But you take care also."
"Will do", he said, tilting his head. "What about I'll pick you up after I'm done with the meeting? In the Gryffindor tower?"
"Sounds good", she replied, playing absentmindedly with his tie. "But be careful…"
"Yes, again, I'll be careful", he grinned, leaning down to kiss her.
Ginny merely watched him, trying to smile. "You know, I really envy your calm."
That made Cedric chuckle. "Calm. Of course."
"You're not?"
"No", he grinned, even though his eyes were sparkling sadly. "I am far away from being calm."
"Well, you don't show it."
"I'm a good actor."
"You shouldn't be."
"And run around in panic? Crash my head in the wall? That wouldn't do. And I don't want to scare you", he added with a smile. "I'm scared enough for the both of us."
Ginny tilted her head and pulled her arms closer around him. "Please meet me later", she whispered.
"I will, I promise", he replied in the same soft tone, smiling.
"And if you're not, I will find ways to rescue you. Maybe I'll kill Moody before that. To make sure", she joked.
"I will be there", Cedric repeated, smirking.
"Good for you", Ginny replied, leaning up to close her lips around his.
As they broke apart again, Ginny felt a heavy weight pressing on her heart. She backed away from Cedric, as he began to turn into the hallway leading to the Trophy Room. He waved her goodbye, shooting her a last smile before she as well turned around to head up to the Gryffindor Tower where she spent the next minutes pacing up and down her common room.
Every now and then she poked her head out of the portrait hole, expecting to see Cedric stand and maybe have a chat with the Fat Lady – but it never happened. She then climbed out of the Gryffindor common room and turned around to the portrait of Fat Lady.
"Excuse me, you don't happen to see a boy waiting here?"
The lady in the portrait turned to her with a sigh. "No, darling, as I told you before and the times before that, there was no boy standing here, waiting here or whatever he might have done here."
"Maybe you didn't look –"
"Honey, I always look", the Fat Lady replied, a little offended. "There was no one!"
"Alright, thanks anyway", Ginny said, getting back into the common room.
As she sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace, Hermione appeared by her side.
"Oh!", Ginny blurted out in shock. "Where did you come from?"
"I've been here the whole time, Ginny, I was sitting over there", the other girl answered with a raised eyebrow, pointing towards the windows where several piles of books lay on a small table. "And I couldn't help but watch how you're driving yourself insane."
Ginny looked at her friend with a puzzled look.
"What's wrong, Ginny? Why do you keep annoying the Fat Lady?"
"I'm waiting for Cedric", she merely uttered, looking back into the roaring fire.
"He's in the Trophy Room, I guess?"
"Yes, with the other Champions."
"And he'll stay there a little, Harry told me that Dumbledore wanted them to be prepared for the Third Task."
"Prepared, huh? He should not allow the Third Task at all…", Ginny muttered, pulling her legs up on the couch.
"You did everything you could, Ginny", Hermione said, her voice calm.
"Did I?", Ginny snapped.
"Yes, and either it happens or it doesn't. You can't change it anymore…"
"What? And you are okay with that? You actually consider that Cedric dying and Voldemort returning is okay? Are you out of your mind? Don't you know what that would mean?"
Ginny got up, staring at Hermione furiously.
"Ginny –"
"No, stop, you can't imagine what a burden this is, knowing what might happen –"
"Might happen, MIGHT happen, Ginny! There is no proof!"
"There is proof enough without me having seen it! And you know that! You are just too naïve to believe it. Too scared!"
With that Ginny headed to the portrait hole once again, trying to clear her head. She slammed the portrait shut, breathing heavily.
"Hey, easy there, darling!", the Fat Lady exclaimed.
Ginny couldn't care less. She paced around the hallway in front of the portrait for a while, looking out of the window, looking down the stairs, before she headed down to the Trophy Room. She just reached the landing of the third floor when she saw several people coming along the hallway. The meeting seemed to be over. She waited at the end of the stairs to see Cedric come along also.
Yet before he did, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw someone carrying what appeared to be the Triwizard Cup. She turned around more to see the person who was carrying it.
It was then that she felt herself being hit by the Stunning Spell.
And the world grew silent.
A/N: I feel actually pretty bad about this cliffhanger and the fact I updated a little later than maybe expected. I'm sorry. The last days were so filled with everything but Ginny and Cedric. I as a matter of fact got accepted to university, yay me, I was bouncing up and down the whole time! So there are new doors open and I have to take care of those doors first - meaning chapters might not come daily anymore. Forgive me. I'm still trying me best!
Bumblez 24: Hey I need to call you something else, it's just not personal enough - after all we've been through here, right? xD I read in your profile that your name's Bianca, so let me call you Bianca -insert smile here- damn, maybe we need to invent other smilies, some that don't need brackets or double-dots or whatever these things are called xDD I feel a little stupid after using this one xD after the thousandth time... yeah xD But I cannot stop either... oh dear.
Anyway, I am so happy you reviewed again, I got up this morning just to read your review - but what did I find? My damn computer wouldn't get online, something was wrong with my LAN connection... total shock!! But I fixed it, after several desperate tries to throw it out of the window xD
So, let's start -bracket- again I'm feeling that is going to be very long, ah well, pushes up the words xDD -bracket-
Ooh yeah, the tragic future... well, I won't tell you, I'm sorry,
remember I am the mean mean meany author who likes to torture people
xDD Suspense, ooh! Believe me, there will be tragic, but I stand to my
word, I adore Cedric and what kind of a fan would I be if I repeat what
JKR did do our dear old Cedric? xDD Maybe I'm a mean fan also, I won't
tell - sorry xDDD
Moody just tries to stop Ginny and everyone else knowing about what
might happen from getting in his way, that's all. Boring old
Moody/Crouch, doesn't need competition xD It might look as if he is
following Ginny and Cedric, but now, they just seem to go to the same
places he is, there will be more about later on, I promise. So much
plot, sigh, when I started this story I just wanted Ginny and Cedric to
get together, now they are and I'm sitting here with the unnecessary
plot xD Nah, not unnecessary, we still don't what happens to Cedric, so
yeah,... I'm confused.
LOL! Your stalker image of Ginny is so gonna haunt me! xDDD
Sigh, yeah, Ron the old bastard with his anger problems and low
vocabulary xD He just had to do that, I didn't want the snogging
session to last too long, might have come out too cheesy, you know? I
still try to keep a healthy balance to that whole topic, I mean I don't
want o push up the rating xDD
Hehe, yeah, Ron is lame, but his lame-ness makes him IMHO less boring than Harry, so he is more fun to bring in xD
About Ginny's breakdown, hmm, I realized that it was really weird,
first crying and then yeah, let's have lunch.. a little too quick, but
yeah, whatever, it's all Cedric's doing, he is Superboy!
My dog is fine btw, he didn't even give me the puppy-eyes-look, I'm
glad because, my, I might have stop reading your review and could never
laugh again in his presence... but never mind him, he's snoring
someplace else now.
You know, I love random people xDD To find something funny in every
aspect of life is a great thing to do, makes life much happier! When
I'm with my best friend we love to be random as well, keeps up the mood
xD
Speaking of mood, when I uploaded the last chapter yesterday I told
myself to take a little break now, having written such a catchy last
phrase xDD, but then I went to bed and so many thoughts craches onto
me, damn, couldn't sleep for hours, so long story short; I began
writing the next chapter - even though it took me a little longer to
publish it -, can't help it, the time is just right xD So be happy, it
is you who keeps me writing!
About the happy ending... well, I usually like to write happy endings,
so there will be a happy ending, so much I can tell, BUT what'll happen
before that, who knows, maybe there's suffering and pain and horror and
more tragic and maybe Cedric'll loose a leg or something xDD I don't
know yet, but come what may, right? xD
And yay, Johnny Depp, my absolute favorite actor ever!! You're right,
he is extremely hilarious in POTC but I also like his other movies,
like Sleepy Hollow or even Secret Window, I think there he is hilarious
too - next to other things, but he made me laugh xDD I couldn't name my
favorite Johnny Depp movie actually, whereever he is in, I love it,
it's fun to watch him in so many different roles xD
It is weird that we have so much in common, Goo Goo Dolls, huh? Well,
they are not my favorite band but I absolutely adore their song Iris -
shame on me it's also the only song I know of them xD I'm more into
punk-rock or such, Billy Talent, Misfits, Tsunami Bomb, Flogging Molly,
those are great bands!
But as you said, it would have been too creepy if he had that in common too xDD
And oh my god, I would have fainted if I would have seen James and Oliver live, I so can feel with you...
Alright, so here was my essay to you xD
I also thank of course everyone else reading this story. I appreciate every hit, thanks! And I know how very S and M that just sounded. xDD
Disclaimer: Nada. Me. Niente.
Up Next: The Third Task is about to begin...
