My euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. It seemed like it was going to last forever after it had happened. Like there would never be exams or anything. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.
For that week or so, I spent a lot of time enjoying the freedom that I would have before exam week set in. I ended up spending much of my time with Cedric. It was a good time for the two of us to enjoy each other before we both had to spend all of our time studying our brains out. We had spent a number of afternoons sitting around and enjoying the weather. We even spent some days kicking around a soccer ball. From time to time we even went out to the Quidditch Pitch and played a quick round. He was as good of a Chaser as he was a Seeker.
During all of the time that I spent outside, I regularly saw Malfoy prowling around the grounds. He was much more demure in classes, so seeing him outside was the only chance that I had to harass him these days. I had never seen him so angry, which made me more than just a little happy. It did crack me up that he was so infuriated over the fact that Gryffindor had actually managed to beat Slytherin for the Cup. Especially because the rest of the school had really wanted them to lose. Finally they had.
On the other side of the spectrum, I knew that I had never seen Oliver quite as happy as he was right now. I was sure that I had seen him skipping up and down the halls a few times. And the twins were very convinced that he slept with the Cup. I decided not to give him too hard of a time with it. I knew that he was thrilled that we had managed to win it. But he was so happy that I had a feeling that Oliver would forget that we actually did have exams coming up reasonably soon. I had to remind him a number of times that getting recruited for a professional team still required good grades.
But even I had stopped studying. I really didn't want to study. I was tired of this year and I was tired of having to study for so many classes. I would have to cut down on them a little bit next year. So would Hermione. Although there was one day that I spent almost the entire day up in the Astronomy Tower. Of course, I wasn't alone. Cedric had been with me. We were definitely using the time to bond - for lack of better word - rather than study, but we pretended that we had. Besides, no one was around to actually see what had happened between us. Just some PG-13 associating. Nothing more.
Of course, that would be enough to spark rumors from the rest of the school. With the excitement of the win, there had been no more rumors about the two of us. For now, at least. Not even with the serious kiss that we had shared after the win. But that serious kiss had brought something else about in the front of my mind. It had occurred to me afterwards that Professor Lupin - a good friend of my parents' - had seen the kiss. He could have written my parents about it. So I had gone to his office a few days after the game.
Slowly I wound in and out of the students before walking towards Professor Lupin's office. I knocked gently on the door frame of the slightly-open door. "Professor?" I called softly.
"Come in," Professor Lupin's voice called. I pushed open the door and walked in, closing the door behind me. Professor Lupin smiled. "Tara. How are you?"
"Still on a high from winning the game," I admitted.
Professor Lupin waved his hand for me to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He waved a hand and a cup of coffee appeared in front of me. "Yes, that was quite a magnificent win. Your parents would be very proud. Particularity your father. Of course, then he would start telling you that he taught you those moves," Professor Lupin said, making me smile.
"He certainly did not. That was all Oliver Wood," I said sharply.
Knowing Dad, he would start talking all about how wonderful of a player he was and how helpful he had been. "An excellent player in his own right. Perhaps he will go professional," Professor Lupin said.
"Honestly, I think that's the only thing that he wants to do."
"He would have a good chance." The two of us sat together for a little while as I sipped on my coffee. I couldn't find the words to spit it out. "Was there something that you needed, Tara?" Professor Lupin asked, finally spitting it out.
"Well... yes... But now that I'm here, I'm thinking that it's not entirely appropriate," I said.
"Might as well sit here and finish that coffee of yours." Smiling awkwardly, I continued sipping on the coffee. Spit it out, damn it. "Go on. I promise I'll at least listen," Professor Lupin goaded.
Unfortunately now that I was ready to speak, I still had no clue how to explain what I wanted. So I started slow. "After the game... I saw you standing by and celebrating with the rest of the students. As everyone else was, you know," I said awkwardly. Professor Lupin nodded, still smiling. "And I know that you saw... Cedric Diggory... congratulating me..."
Is that really the best that you can do? Professor Lupin nodded thoughtfully. "Cedric Diggory. Fifth Year student. Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Quite good with Defense as well. He's one of my top students. An exemplary Hufflepuff."
Was that supposed to be his way of telling me that Cedric was a good person to be with? I wasn't quite sure. "Yeah... Yes... He is." Gathering my courage, I spit out, "I know that I don't have any right to ask you to do this, but I know that you're friendly with my parents and I know that you write them back and forth, but they don't - they don't know about us."
Professor Lupin was silent for a moment before nodding. "I had a feeling."
"I'm going to tell them, I just want to figure out the words to do it with."
Which would take me a while, seeing as I couldn't even speak to Professor Lupin about our relationship. "I understand. Your mother and father didn't date until our Seventh Year." I smiled, remembering Mom telling me about their relationship before the start of the year. "But I remember your mother dating in our Fourth Year officially. I believe she went out to Hogsmeade with a boy or two during our Third Year. Your father used to try and use other girls to make your mother jealous from our Third Year."
"So about the same time," I muttered.
"That's the thing about parents. They tend to like to have their children wait another few years to start dating than after they did, simply because they remember what they were like at that age."
Begrudgingly I said, "That makes sense."
"I haven't said anything to your parents."
A breath of relief escaped me. "Thank you."
At least I was going to get a chance to explain what had happened myself. They couldn't know yet. I would have gotten a very angry letter about it by now. "As a family friend, Tara... Things tend not to remain secret for too long and they can come out in ways that we don't want them to. You should tell your parents before someone else does," Professor Lupin advised.
"I will. I just don't want them to start getting weird whenever Cedric is around," I admitted.
Professor Lupin smiled, tilting back his cup of tea. "Knowing your father, they will," Professor Lupin said. I laughed softly. At least he was honest. "But they at least won't lose trust in you if you're the one to tell them."
"That's good advice. Thank you."
"My pleasure."
Before I could get up and head back to Gryffindor Tower, something else dawned on me. "Oh, and don't believe all of those rumors that you might hear. People don't exactly say the nicest things about the two of us," I said awkwardly.
Seemingly understanding what I was talking about, Professor Lupin smiled and nodded. "I learned long ago to not listen to simple gossip."
"Thank you, Professor Lupin."
"My pleasure, Tara." The two of us sat in silence for a few moments as we both continued to sip on our drinks. I drained my coffee quickly, still feeling a little awkward for having come to ask Professor Lupin to keep my secret. "I certainly hope that I'm not overstepping my bounds, but seeing as you don't have the advice of parental figures right now, make sure that Cedric Diggory treats you well," Professor Lupin said.
"You aren't," I said honestly. "Thank you. I'll make sure."
Professor Lupin nodded again. "He's a suitable choice. Your father would never admit it, but he's a good boy."
Blushing madly, I said, "I know."
The two of us sat in another brief silence. Professor Lupin seemed to have notice that he had made me a feel a little bit awkward. Not because of him, just because of the situation. "How's studying for your exams?" Professor Lupin asked, finally hanging the subject.
"I'll let you know when I've started," I said.
Professor Lupin laughed softly. "Just like your father."
"See you in class, Professor," I said, getting to my feet.
Professor Lupin grinned and took the coffee mug from my hands as I turned back to the door. "Good luck with you studies, Tara," Professor Lupin called after me, with a tone that dared me to do anything other than study.
It was a warning that I had taken to heart. Mostly because I knew that he meant well. It was time for me to start studying. As much as I really did went to spend some more time with Cedric - before the semester ended and I was back under my parents' watchful eyes, having to ensure that they didn't catch us together - I simply couldn't. Exams were nearly upon us, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows.
To my complete surprise, even Fred and George had been spotted working; they were about to take their O.W.L.s, just like Cedric. Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the Common Room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.
It was saying something that she didn't even have any high-level tests coming up. Hermione and I would not be having an easy time with exams this year. It was mostly considering that most of our exams would start overlapping with each other. We would be taking double the amount of normal students' exams on each day. Although I could have been much worse off. Hermione would actually have triple exams on a few of the days that I simply had doubles. Even I wasn't foolish enough to start overlapping courses that badly.
Hopefully Hermione wouldn't forget to go to any of her exams. I could only imagine how awful that would be. Would anyone even let her retake the exam if she missed it? I guessed that I would have to just keep as close of an eye on her as I could during exam week. Harry and Ron had given up on asking the two of us how we were managing to attend several classes at once, but they couldn't continue restraining themselves when they saw the exam schedule that Hermione had drawn up for herself - and me, subsequently. The first column read:
Monday
9 o'clock, Arithmancy
9 o'clock, Transfiguration
Lunch
1 o'clock, Charms
1 o'clock, Ancient Runes
"Hermione? Tara?" Ron called cautiously, because Hermione was liable to explode when interrupted these days.
"What's up?" I asked, knowing that Hermione wouldn't say anything.
"Er - are you two sure you've copied down these times right?" Ron asked.
"Yes," I said shortly.
As usual, Hermione took the comment a little bit worse than I did. "What?" Hermione snapped, picking up the exam schedule and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."
"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" Harry asked.
"No," Hermione said shortly.
Sighing softly, I placed down my Transfiguration books and looked at them. One day we would tell them about the Time-Turner, and until then I was sick of the questions. "Boys, they're redoing the exam schedule for us to be able to take them all at once in varying times. This is just the official times. We have other times that have been agreed upon by the respective professors," I explained as reasonably as I thought was possible.
"But -"
"Have either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Gramatica?" Hermione interrupted Ron.
"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," Ron said, but very quietly.
Turning towards Ron, I narrowed my eyes. "You know, it's really not that boring," I said.
Ron's eyes bulged. "Are you kidding? Have you read it?" Ron asked disbelievingly.
"Considering that I'm taking the class, yes, Ron, I have read it," I snapped.
His face flushed with color slightly as Harry leaned in between the two of us. Obviously he was trying to diffuse some of the tension that had built in the Common Room. Not that it was uncommon these days. The Common Room was always tense during exams. No one wanted to be interrupted or potentially fail. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment around on her table, looking for the book. Just then, there was a rustle at the window and Hedwig fluttered through it, a note clutched tight in her beak. I smiled at her, running my fingers through her white feathers.
"It's from Hagrid," Harry said, ripping the note open. "Buckbeak's appeal - it's set for the sixth."
"Good!" I said happily.
Maybe Hagrid would actually manage to save Buckbeak's life. That would at least take something off of my mind. "That's the day we finish our exams," Hermione said, still looking everywhere for her Arithmancy book.
"And they're coming up here to do it," Harry said, still reading from the letter.
"So we can be there. We'll get to hear what's happening. We can comfort Hagrid, just in case," I said softly, still concerned that Buckbeak wouldn't make it.
"No exams to worry about," Hermione said.
We were all silent for a moment as Harry continued reading down the letter. "Hang on a minute," he said, looking up from the letter. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and - and an executioner."
Hermione had barely been paying attention. She had simply been listening as she continued working on the monstrous pile of homework and studying that she had to do for her exams. Just like Ron and I, Hermione looked up, startled. I wasn't sure that I had heard Harry right until I saw the looks on the others' faces. Were they really bringing an executioner? That sounded like they were already determined that Buckbeak was guilty. They shouldn't have brought the executioner unless it was already time for that.
"You're joking," I whispered.
"No. Here's the letter," Harry said, handing it over.
Grabbing the letter from Harry, I scanned down the words. He was right. They were planning on bringing the executioner to the appeal. I slowly lowered the letter. "No. No! It's an appeal," I breathed.
"They're bringing the executioner to the appeal! But that sounds as though they've already decided!" Ron yelped.
"Yeah, it does," Harry said slowly.
It had Lucius Malfoy written all over it. But it also had practicality behind it. "They can't! I've spent ages reading up on stuff for him; they can't just ignore it all!" Ron howled, startling me.
Deciding that I might as well have told them what the Ministry was thinking, I started speaking slowly. "Just think about it. Think about it from a practical - albeit cold - point of view," I said softly, earning funny looks from the others. "If Buckbeak loses his appeal, they would just have to come back later to perform the execution. They could get it all done in one foul swoop like this. Don't have to pay people for another day."
"Tara!" Hermione gasped.
The three of them were staring at me like I'd lost my mind. "I'm not saying that I like it!" I barked, trying to defend myself. "I'm just saying to think about it. It makes sense. It's just... it's unnerving."
"She's right, Hermione," Harry argued. "It does make sense. But..."
"Don't say it," I interrupted.
We all knew that I was speaking the truth. But that didn't mean that anyone wanted to talk about it. We didn't want to know about what was going to happen to Buckbeak. Just sharing a brief look with Harry, I knew that he had the same fear that I did. I had a horrible feeling that the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures had had its mind made up for it by Lucius Malfoy. Draco, who had been noticeably subdued since Gryffindor's triumph in the Quidditch final, seemed to regain some of his old swagger over the next few days.
From sneering comments that I had overheard, Malfoy was certain Buckbeak was going to be killed, and seemed thoroughly pleased with himself for bringing it about. It was all the rest of us could do to stop ourselves from imitating Hermione - or perhaps I should have said myself - and hitting Malfoy in the face on those occasions. And the worst thing of all was that we had no time or opportunity to go and see Hagrid, because the strict new security measures had not been lifted, and Harry and I didn't dare retrieve his Invisibility Cloak from below the one-eyed witch.
Everything combined had made for a very stressful few days as we led up to the exams. I tried to push everything out of my mind, thinking only of the upcoming exams. One afternoon I was in the library trying to study for my Transfiguration exam. It was one of the ones that I was more nervous about having to take. I liked the class but Professor McGonagall was known for giving very tough exams. Studying wasn't going well, and it didn't help when, a few hours later, Cedric sat down next to me. He was smiling but looked exhausted.
"Go away if you're not here just to study with me," I said shortly, not even bothering to look up from my work.
"That's nice," Cedric chuckled.
At least he wasn't bitter about the way that I had essentially barked at him to leave me alone. "I'm - I'm sorry," I said, glancing up from my work. "That was rude. Sit, just please don't interrupt me."
Cedric scooted slightly closer to me, looking over my shoulder as I went back to my book. "Transfiguration?" Cedric asked after a few beats of silence.
"Cedric!" I hissed.
"Teapots into turtles," he responded quickly.
"What?" I asked dumbly.
Were we playing some type of game that I hadn't realized? "That's what you're going to be doing for your practical exam. That's what Professor McGonagall always has the Third Years doing. It's what I did," Cedric explained.
Well that just made my studying much easier. "You really shouldn't tell me that. But - thank you," I said softly.
At least now I knew exactly what I had to study. Not the broad range that I had been working with before. "My pleasure. Now that you know exactly what to study for, want to tell me what's bothering you?" Cedric asked.
"Is that why you told me?"
"Honestly?" I nodded slowly. "Yes. You look extremely upset." With everything that had been happening, I wasn't even the slightest bit surprised that I looked upset. I was constantly feeling upset. "Over far more than just having to study for your exams. I shouldn't have told you, but you'll still have to study for it, so I think that it's fair," Cedric reasoned.
"You probably just helped me pass it, so thank you." Cedric smiled softly. "Buckbeak's appeal is set for the day that exams end."
The smile almost instantly dropped off of his face, but it came back a moment later. "Well that's good! Isn't it?" Cedric asked.
"They're bringing an executioner," I said.
His face dropped again. "What?"
"They're bringing an executioner to the appeal. What does that sound like to you?"
"Sounds like they've made up their minds."
"Exactly."
My heart sank even further into my stomach. Even Cedric saw the problem. "Oh, Tara, I'm really sorry," Cedric said softly, placing a hand on my thigh. "I saw the Hippogriff's at the beginning of the year. Buckbeak always seemed so sweet."
All of the times that I had just pet Buckbeak, seeing how sweet he was. "He is. What about Hagrid?" I asked sadly.
The poor man was going to lose his mind if Buckbeak was actually killed. Which it seemed that he would be. Cedric let out a soft breath. "He's going to be upset about it - if it happens - of course, but Hagrid is strong. He'll be able to move on. Perhaps you should help to get him another new creature. Something for him to channel his energy into," Cedric suggested.
For a moment I thought about it. Hagrid did always like his creatures... "That's actually not a bad idea," I mumbled.
Perhaps there was some way that we could get Hagrid a new creature to play with and care for. In the instance that Buckbeak's trial didn't go the way that we wanted it to. "If you ever need to talk about it - if you need to come see someone after it happens... no matter what the outcome is, just send either Dai or Rusty a letter and I'll come meet you," Cedric promised.
"Thank you," I whispered.
It would be great to have him with me - no matter what the outcome. "Come here," Cedric said, offering me his hand.
"Don't you have to study too?" I asked, thinking of his O.W.L.'s.
There was no way that he didn't have to study for those. They were some of the most important test that the students would have to take. "Of course I do. But I think you're a little more important right now," Cedric said.
Despite how upset I was, a small smile broke out over my face. "Damn you," I snapped, punching Cedric in the arm and forcing the smile off of my face. Cedric merely chuckled softly. "Don't make me smile."
"Ah. I'm terribly sorry. I'll only sit here and sulk from now on," Cedric teased.
"Shut up."
But he was still making me smile. Cedric merely laughed and gave me his hand, pulling me up out of my chair. "Quiet. Come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"Tara," Cedric warned.
"What?" I asked.
Cedric turned back and smiled again. "Stop talking."
But the last thing that I wanted to do was stop talking. It was one of the things that I did best. Rambled on and on about everything that was bothering me. It was a good thing that Cedric was so good at cutting me off with a kiss. It was one of the very few reasons that I hadn't spilled all of my secrets on a rant about whatever was bothering me at that specific moment. Either way, I grumbled under my breath as the two of us headed out of the library, Cedric pulling me with him as the two of us drew stares and whispers. Just like always...
It was tough to ignore them, but I tried my hardest to do that. Before we could leave the library, I had to pick up my books that were scattered all over the desk and floor. Once I had everything back in my bag, I let Cedric take it and sling it over his shoulder. In the meantime I grabbed my sweater and tossed it back over my shoulders. Seeing as it was after classes and the dress code was no longer enforced, I was wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts. But with the chill in the castle - and my mother's constant warning echoing in my head - I had brought the sweater with me.
As we walked through the hallways, Cedric looped an arm over my shoulder to let me walk pressed up against him. A few times he leaned down and pressed a kiss against my forehead. He obviously knew that I was upset, but he wasn't saying anything about it. He was just trying to make me feel better. The two of us continued to walk through the halls, going wherever the two of us were headed. We eventually made our way upstairs towards the Hospital Tower. I raised a brow, wondering where the hell we were going. I hadn't injured myself lately.
For a moment I wondered if we were going somewhere that he knew and loved. Much like the Astronomy Tower was my place of solace. Maybe there was even a chance that we weren't heading anywhere. Maybe he just wanted me to get out of the library. But it seemed like he knew where we were going as he led me up to the fifth floor and then down one of the hallways. Almost ten minutes passed before we seemed to have finally gotten to where we were meant to go. The two of us stopped by the fourth door down the hallway that was next to a statue of Boris the Bewildered.
"Why are we here?" I asked as we came to a stop.
Cedric turned to me and smiled. "Why do you have to keep speaking?" he shot back.
"What is this place?"
"Pine Fresh."
My eyebrows quirked in confusion. "What?"
"Not you," Cedric said.
To my surprise, at the same moment that Cedric spoke to me, a door to the left of the statue opened up. It was some kind of secret passage. It wasn't the Hufflepuff Common Room. That was down by the kitchens. Plus Cedric would get in a ton of trouble if he ever showed it to me. Once the door was completely open, Cedric placed a hand behind my back, gave a quick glance around the hallway, and ushered me inside. Maybe neither one of us were supposed to be here. That would explain why he looked so concerned that someone might spot us.
Perhaps he was slowly turning into me. Going places that we really shouldn't have been going. Places that would get us into a ton of trouble if someone caught us there. I smiled softly as we walked into the dimly lit room and a lock clunked loudly behind us. Where the hell were we? I had never even known that there were secret rooms around here. As we continued taking small steps into the room, I turned to Cedric with a raised brow. Where had be brought us? I narrowed my eyes suspiciously as Cedric gently pushed me into the room.
As soft yellow lights came up, I realized exactly where we were. Although it didn't make much sense. It looked almost like a bathroom that a millionaire Muggle would have in their home. At least it definitely looked like a bathroom. A very expensive and huge bathroom. It had to be. Mostly because I could see that on one side of the room there were stalls with toilets inside. So definitely a bathroom. But this wasn't just a normal bathroom. Opposite the toilets there was a large, swimming pool-like tub with bath taps surrounding it.
Was this a private bathroom? Perhaps it belonged to Professor Dumbledore. The thought made my skin crawl. Not a picture that I wanted. Cedric walked over to the pool-like bathtub - or maybe it really was a pool - and I stepped back. Honestly I still wasn't sure what I was doing here. The pool-like bath was sunk into the ground, just the way that a normal pool was. As Cedric started fiddling with the taps, I watched curiously. The bath taps all ran different-colored bath water, soap bubbles, and foam.
On the far side of the room there were towels and bathrobes of every color hanging up. My gaze turned back to the bath taps that Cedric was still leaning over. There had to be at least a hundred golden taps surrounding the whole pool-like tub, with a different jewel set in each tap. Sitting on the other side of the tub (pool), bath supplies were there such as soap, bath oil, bath powder, bath salts, shampoo, hair spray, and conditioner. Just looking at the tub, I would have imagined that it would take quite some time to fill, but it actually filled remarkably fast, considering its size.
Just minutes after we had come in, it was already filled to the brim. "Is this a bathroom?" I asked curiously, and also rather stupidly.
Of course it was a bathroom. That was the only thing that made sense. There are toilets in here, Tara. What else would it be? Cedric laughed. "Well spotted," he commented, making me scowl at him. "This is the Prefects bathroom. Prefects, Head Boy, Head Girl, and Quidditch Captains can use it."
"Of which I am none," I pointed out.
He was clearly allowed in here - likely how he knew about it - but I definitely wasn't. "Luckily for you, I am two of those, so I can use the bathroom. There's a privacy lock. No one is coming in here," Cedric explained.
My stomach gave a funny jolt as nerves settled in. "Privacy lock... bathroom... just the two of us... Cedric -"
I didn't need to say anything more than that. Cedric got the hint. "Get your mind out of the gutter," he interrupted.
Raising my eyebrows - relief flooding through me that he didn't want what I had feared for a moment that he did - I walked closer to the center of the bathroom. "I thought that was a Muggle saying," I said.
Cedric met me halfway through the bathroom. "I used to go to a Muggle school." Which he had told me before. I smiled as Cedric grabbed onto my hand and pulled me with him towards the bathtub. "Kick off your shoes. Come on," Cedric said, sitting the two of us down at the edge of the tub. I dipped my feet and most of my shins into the warm lavender-scented water. "Figured you could just use some time to get away from everything. The oils... there's something in them that calms you down. It's kept me sane during all of my O.W.L. preparations.
"This place is nice," I said, watching the glass mermaids move around in the windows.
Cedric placed a hand over my own as I laid my head in the crook of his shoulder. "I'm glad that you like it. Do me a favor?" he asked. I nodded my consent. "Don't tell your friends about this. I really shouldn't even be showing you. I could get in a ton of trouble for it. And don't come here by yourself. Just let me know if you ever want to use it again."
If I could come here whenever, I would probably never leave. "I will. Thanks for this," I said, motioning around.
"You're welcome."
Cedric wrapped an arm over my shoulder and let me lay my head in the crook of his shoulder. For a few minutes we just sat in silence. I found myself slowly relaxing. Maybe it was something in the air. Or in the multi-colored bubbles that were now floating around the room. I laughed as some landed in my hair and lap. I would smell like a Muggle spa by the time that I was ready to leave, but I liked the peaceful air of the bathroom. And knowing that we weren't going to be interrupted made giving Cedric a small kiss much easier.
The two of us sat together for a long while, kicking the water gently back and forth. After a while I glanced up and pressed a long kiss against his mouth. He was one of the few people here that would do the little things like this for me. My heart fluttered in my chest slightly as Cedric kicked some water on me, making me really laugh for the first time in days. It was a moment later that he pulled me back in for another kiss. It felt like an hour had passed when we finally pulled apart and went back to just sitting together on the edge of the bathtub.
"It's gonna be okay - with Buckbeak, you know," Cedric finally said.
"I'm not so sure about that," I whispered honestly.
I had always had a relatively bad feeling about what was going to happen with Buckbeak, but I felt genuinely hopeless now. "It's all gonna work out, Tara. You know that," Cedric said.
"We'll see."
In the back of my mind, I knew that I was being a drag. I knew that Cedric was wonderful for putting up with me. Why he did so, I would never truly understand. "Come on. Brag about the game to me," Cedric said, nudging me in the waist. I gave a bitter smile up at him. "Come on, you know you want to talk about what a great Quidditch player you are. You can even say that you're better than me. I'll let you have it this time."
Laughing softly, I rolled my eyes. I was definitely the better player. "Oh, you'll let me have it?" I teased.
"I will. No strings," Cedric shot back.
This was why I was always so happy to be around Cedric. He always knew exactly how to cheer me up. Even if it was something as simple as bringing me to a bathtub pool to get away from studying. We both laughed again as I leaned up to press a kiss against Cedric's lips. His hands came back to my hair, pulling it out of its hold. It was probably for the best. I was starting to get a headache from how tightly it was tied. Cedric's hands wound together in my hair as he tugged me up against him.
One of my legs was thrown over his lap as the other stayed pressed against the other side of his outer hip. I wasn't sure quite how much time had passed that the two of us stayed together, but I knew that it was getting very hard to breathe. So I broke the kiss long enough to gather my breath before Cedric pulled us back together again. I started to giggle as I realized just how far the two of us had come. We had gone from two friends - when I had had such a hard time speaking to him because of my crush on him - to a couple who snuck away for stolen kisses.
It was also moments like this that I wondered what the future would bring. How long would the two of us manage to last? It wasn't something that I really wanted to think about. Mostly because the two of us were two years apart. What was going to happen once Cedric graduated Hogwarts? Would we manage to stay together or would distance eventually break us up? Trying to brush those thoughts from my head, I grabbed the top of Cedric's shirt and pulled him into me. He laughed as I practically pulled him off of his butt and on top of me.
A few minutes passed before Cedric wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me up. We both laughed again as Cedric easily pulled me across the floor. I sometimes forgot just how strong he was and how tiny I was. My stomach fluttered slightly as Cedric pushed me backwards up against the stone foundation that held a statue of a lion that served as one of the fountains into the bathtub. Cedric leaned over my straightened out legs as he pressed my back up against the stone. His hands gripped almost painfully at my waist as he didn't dare release me. Not for anything.
Not even as time continued to pass. I knew that the others would be looking for me - as I had said that I would only be in the library for two hours - but I couldn't bring myself to care. Ron and Harry would be furious when they realized that I had spent all day with Cedric in a bathroom doing... this. Not that I really cared. I just appreciated the fact that Cedric had finally gotten me to forget about both my schoolwork and Buckbeak. I was much happier being with him right now. He was much more entertaining than studying for a Transfiguration exam.
Off in the far corner of the room I could hear the clock ticking away the minutes, but I tried to push it out of my head. Eventually the two of us ended up splayed on the stone floor together. I was laughing wildly as we half-wrestled each other against the stone. We fought back and forth for a while before finally giving up. Instead we just laid with our legs tangled together as Cedric linked our hands together and the two of us took a break from our previous activities to just chat away softly. We talked about anything and everything, but we didn't dare speak about the exams or Buckbeak.
It was one of the most relaxing times that I had had in a long time. It was easy enough to just forget about all of my troubles as the two of us stayed together. My hip was going slightly numb from laying on the hard stone, my legs were freezing from the chilled air of the room, and I was definitely getting hungry from missing lunch - and probably dinner too - but that didn't mean that I wanted to break away from him. I would have stayed with Cedric all night if we hadn't finally heard the clocks ringing.
That was when we both knew that it was time to get up. That was when we knew that it was time to leave. We had literally spent all day in the bathroom. It was well past midnight when Cedric finally managed to convince me that we had to leave. I was very upset to finally have to do, but we did so anyways. We kissed a number of more times as the two of us dashed through the halls - giggling the entire time - so not to get caught by any of the Prefects or teachers that would be wandering the halls with the new restrictions being put into place from Black's break-ins.
By the time that Cedric left me at Gryffindor Tower, it was nearing one o'clock in the morning. We had to hide out from the gargoyles for a little while - the entire time exchanging a long kiss - before finally departing. I slipped back into the Common Room as I turned back and winked at Cedric before the Fat Lady's portrait closed behind me. The rest of the people who had been in the Common Room when I had left this morning were gone now. Unfortunately, not everyone was gone yet.
It turned out that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were still awake. As I should have expected, they were waiting for me. Mostly because I had vanished first thing this morning. I could only assume that they had noted that neither Cedric nor I had been present at dinner, which would likely lead to a new round of rumors. None of the three of them looked particularly happy at my vanishing act today. They merely snarled at me, asking where I had been all day, but I merely ignored them and smiled, feeling better than I had in a long time. Today was my secret to share with Cedric.
The happiness I had felt from that day didn't last long. Exam week began and an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The Third Years emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, limp and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the tasks that we had been set, which had indeed included turning a teapot into a tortoise. Just as Cedric told me. I was the only person in class who hadn't had a problem with it. Hermione irritated the rest of us by fussing about how her tortoise had looked more like a turtle, which was the least of everyone else's worries.
"Mine still had a spout for a tail, what a nightmare..."
"Were the tortoises supposed to breathe steam?"
"It still had a willow-patterned shell, d'you think that'll count against me?"
Everyone had been shocked about how I had done so well with the teapot to a tortoise, but I had merely told them that I'd simply gotten lucky with what I had decided to study. None of them needed to know that Cedric had told me exactly how to pass the Transfiguration exam. The last thing that we needed was to get in trouble for cheating. My parents would have been alerted and that would have been a nightmare. I was still trying to figure out exactly how to explain to them that I was dating someone two years older than me.
Problems for another day, I supposed. Right now I still had school to worry about. Because, right after a hasty lunch, it was straight back upstairs for the Charms exam. Hermione had been right; Professor Flitwick did indeed test us on Cheering Charms. Thankfully I had studied for it and had no problems. Neither had Hermione; it was a good thing that we had partnered up. Harry slightly overdid his out of nerves and Ron, who was partnering him, ended up in fits of hysterical laughter and had to be led away to a quiet room for an hour before he was ready to perform the charm himself.
Using the Time-Turner, Hermione and I also had two other exams to go to today. I was exhausted by the end, just barely managing to stay awake through the entire thing. We went to Arithmancy first. The exam for Third Years - the first year available to take the class - was about seeing whether or not we had really learned what that branch of magic was exactly about. It was mostly about leaning how predicting the future using numbers worked with a bit of numerology. I was confident that I had passed the exam, but there were definitely some questions that I could have done better with.
Afterwards the two of us had darted over to Ancient Runes. It was the exam that I was confident that I had done much better with. The entire time I was confident that I had done very well on it. Professor Babbling was one of the easier professors at Hogwarts, despite the subject being rather tough. Seeing as it was the study of runic scriptures, there were only so many things that we could learn in the class. The entire time it was mostly a theoretical subject that studied the ancient runic scripts of magic. There really weren't that many right or wrong answers.
By the time that we were finally allowed to leave class - our second classes - and head back to dinner, I was more than a little exhausted. I just couldn't wait for exams to be over. Next year I would just have to be much more careful about how many classes I would take. That was mostly considering that I still had more exams. Tomorrow I would also have Ancient Studies and Music. Those were on top of the ones that I already had. Not to mention that Divination would be coming soon enough. I was exhausted, but the end was finally in sight.
Not long after Hermione and I had darted back from our Ancient Runes exam, I was almost asleep. The many exams hadn't done much for my already somewhat destroyed brain power. Cedric gave me a quick - albeit exhausted-looking - smile at dinner, but that was all the chance that we had to communicate. Like me, we were both exhausted from exams. And his were far worse than mine. After dinner, all of the students hurried back to our Common Rooms, not to relax, but to start studying for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy.
Hagrid presided over the Care of Magical Creatures exam the following morning with a very preoccupied air indeed; his heart didn't seem to be in it at all. He had provided a large tub of fresh flobberworms for the class, and told the class that to pass the test, our flobberworm had to still be alive at the end of one hour. Not that there was any problem with the exam. As flobberworms flourished best if left to their own devices, it was the easiest exam that any of us had ever taken, and also gave Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.
"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told us, bending low on the pretense of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin cooped up too long."
"Can't you take him on a walk? On a leash, maybe?" I offered.
There had to be something that he could do to help Buckbeak be a little less cooped up these days. Hagrid shook his head sadly. "Nah... they won' let me. But still... we'll know day after tomorrow - one way or the other," Hagrid sighed.
Try as we might, there would be no cheering up Hagrid until he knew what was going to happen to Buckbeak. Almost unable to concentrate, we had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster for almost everyone. Try as Harry might, he couldn't get his Confusing Concoction to thicken, and Snape, standing watch with an air of vindictive pleasure, scribbled something that looked suspiciously like a zero onto his notes before moving away. Something very similar happened to Ron. Hermione and I were the only ones that might manage to scrape out a good grade from him.
The moment that we walked out of the Potions exam, Hermione and I looped the Time-Turner around us as we darted out of the way of Ron and Harry. The two of us then headed straight to our other classes. I headed off for my Ancient Studies class. Much of our exam had to deal with the Ancient Egyptians and Grecian's. Thankfully that was something that I had always been good with and it had been something that I had frequently spoken with Ron about - his trip to Egypt. I had no doubt in my mind that I had passed the class with flying colors.
Then I had to flee to my Music exam. It was the only one that I hadn't studied for. It was the only one that I had been confident with. Our only object for the final was to give a good performance. I ended up singing the same song that I had performed for Cedric the day that we had gone on our first official date to Hogsmeade together. I ended up getting full marks for it and I had walked over to tell Cedric about my easy 'O' at dinner. He smiled, teasing me that he was more than happy to take the credit for me passing my class. It was the first time I'd smiled all day.
Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower, that I had only passed with Cedric's help; History of Magic on Wednesday morning, in which Harry and I both scribbled down everything that Florean Fortescue had ever told us about medieval witch-hunts, while wishing I could have had one of Fortescue's choco-nut sundaes with me in the stifling classroom. Wednesday afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouses under a baking-hot sun; then back to the Common Room once more, with sunburned necks, thinking longingly of this time next day, when it would all be over.
Our second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was definitely something that I was thrilled for. I wanted to make him proud. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of us had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where we had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish our way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a Hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new Boggart.
Almost everyone went before I did. "Excellent, Harry," Professor Lupin muttered as Harry climbed out of the trunk, grinning. "Full marks."
After Harry, it was my turn. I went in with a broad grin on my face. It was one of the few exams that I had been excited for. The Grindylow was easy to pass for me. I was one of the fastest people to pass them. It was mostly because they were all over Florida. I had always been forced to deal with them at my old home. The Revulsion Jinx easily took care of them. Afterwards I had to deal with the Red Caps. They were a little trickier. I'd had to step away from three of them and had come very close to getting scratched, but I had managed them well enough.
The Banishing Charm had taken care of them. Although I had definitely run as far away as I could from them. Their nails were sharp and looked like they could have been very painful. The Hinkypunk proved almost no problem. I wasn't great with directions but merely doing the opposite of what they said made it easy enough to get through. The Boggart was still disturbing - still appearing as myself with a fully generated Voldemort - but I managed to take it down much faster this time. As the two red beads hit the ground, I climbed out of the trunk with a broad grin on my face.
There was no way that I could have gotten more than a point or two deducted. It had been a long time since I was quite so proud of myself. "Well done, Tara," Professor Lupin said softly, smiling at me. "You would easily show up your father any day."
"Thank you, Professor," I said brightly.
"Full marks," Professor Lupin said.
"Thanks."
It was only the second class that I had gotten full marks for. At least that I knew about so far. "Full marks?" Harry asked as I walked over to him.
"Yep. You?" I asked.
"Surprisingly," Harry joked.
"Well done. The two of us aren't half-bad," I teased.
"In fact, I think that we're doing alright. Glad to be almost done with exams?" Harry asked.
If only he knew that I had taken almost twice as many classes as the normal student did. "Oh, I'm thrilled. I can finally breathe," I said airily.
Harry smiled. "Do you think Hermione's going to make it?"
She was currently the one going through the obstacle course. I was honestly surprised that she wasn't asleep yet. "If she's not dead yet, I can't believe that she's going to let herself drop before she finishes her exams. She's going to be fine. She's just... she might have a heart attack before she finishes," I said, having noticed that Hermione wasn't even sleeping anymore.
"At least you didn't take that many classes," Harry pointed out.
"That's true."
The last thing that I needed was taking another class. I would have lost it. I didn't even know how Hermione was managing it. Flushed with our latest successes, Harry and I hung around to watch Ron and Hermione. Ron did very well until he reached the Hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. That was his only mistake. Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.
"Hermione! What's the matter?" Professor Lupin asked, startled.
"P - P - Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk.
Walking up to her, I pressed a hand against her shoulder. "It's alright, Hermione. Tell us what happened," I said gently.
"Sh - she said I'd failed everything!"
It was such a Hermione thing to say. I laughed gently but looked away from her. I didn't want her to know that I thought that it was rather funny that her greatest fear really was failing an exam. It took a little while to calm Hermione down after her turn through the Boggart trunk. When at last she had regained a grip on herself, she, Harry, Ron, and I went back to the castle. Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's Boggart - as was I - but an argument was averted by the sight that met us on the top of the steps.
My heart jumped into my throat. I knew exactly what he was doing here. He was here because of what was happening with Buckbeak. But... I had almost managed to forget about it. Not anymore, though. One look exchanged with the others told me that they were thinking the same things. Not that we could say anything. Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, was standing at the top of the steps, staring out at the grounds. He started at the sight of Harry and I heading towards him.
"Hello there, Harry! Miss Tara. Good to see you," he said.
"Hello, Minister," I said as sweetly as possible.
I didn't need him going back to Mom and Dad and telling them that I had an attitude problem. "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?" Fudge asked.
"Yes," Harry said. Hermione and Ron, not being on speaking terms with the Minister of Magic, hovered awkwardly in the background.
"Feeling confident?" Fudge asked.
"I'm thinking that we've done well on them all," I said brightly.
"That's good to hear," Fudge said.
"Tara -" Cedric started, appearing at my side, breaking off when he realized that we weren't alone. "Ah, hello, Minister."
He must have wanted to talk about exams or discussed doing something now that exams were almost over. But he didn't say anything with his comment still waiting for response from Fudge. To my surprise, Cedric moved to throw an arm over me. I instantly took a step off to the side to make sure that he didn't touch me, not daring to let the somewhat manic smile drop from my face. I didn't want Fudge to know that we were dating. Mostly because he regularly spoke to my parents. Cedric raised a brow at me but otherwise didn't question it.
"Cedric," Fudge greeted, extending his hand to shake. "Good to see you, my boy. How's your father?"
"He's well. I'm sure that he'd like to speak with you sometime," Cedric said.
"I'll have to drop by eventually."
"Wonderful." The air took on a suddenly very tense feeling. My legs were shaking slightly. The execution was about to happen. I knew it. Cedric looked between us all and seemed to have finally notice our tense stances. "I'll - uh - I'll talk to you later, alright?" Cedric asked me.
"Talk to you later," I said quickly.
Knowing that we needed to talk at another time, Cedric smiled and walked off. "Have a wonderful day, Minister," Cedric said.
"You as well, Cedric. Tell your father that I said hello," Fudge said. They nodded at each other as Cedric turned to leave. Once he had, Fudge started looking over the Black Lake. "Lovely day. Pity... pity..."
He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry and I. "Pity?" I questioned, my voice lodging in my throat.
There was no question about what he was saying was a pity. He really was here to help them take care of Buckbeak. "I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry, Tara. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad Hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in," Fudge said.
"Buckbeak? You're here for Buckbeak?" I asked weakly.
"Unfortunately," Fudge said.
"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" Ron interrupted, stepping forward.
"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," Fudge said, looking curiously at Ron.
"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all! The Hippogriff might get off!" Ron shouted stoutly.
Fearful for Ron speaking the way that he was to the Minister of Magic, I grabbed his arm in a painful vice-grip. Before Fudge could answer, two wizards came through the castle doors behind him. One was so ancient he appeared to be withering before our very eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with a thin black mustache. The second one looked slightly familiar. I was able to gather that they were representatives of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, because the very old wizard squinted toward Hagrid's cabin.
Then he said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this... Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?"
They were already talking about it like it was the execution. Not like it was just the appeal. My stomach was churning painfully. What was about to happen? Would they really kill sweet little Buckbeak? The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt; curiously I looked and saw that he was running one broad thumb along the blade of a shining axe. My knees quivered slightly. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs and jerked her head toward the entrance hall.
"Why'd you stop me?" Ron asked Hermione angrily as we all entered the Great Hall for lunch. "Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!"
"Hermione, they're not even going to do the trial! They already know the answer!" I yelled.
"We don't know that," Hermione said softly.
"We do!" I barked.
"Tara -" Hermione started.
"Why the hell did they bring the executioner?" I interrupted.
But she didn't want to listen to me. She was still more concerned with the way that Ron had spoken to Fudge. "Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss!" Hermione cried, but she too looked very upset. "As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak..."
The way that her voice trailed off told me exactly what she was thinking. She was thinking the same thing that the rest of us had been thinking. We could all tell that Hermione didn't really believe what she was saying. All around us, people were talking excitedly as they ate their lunch, happily anticipating the end of the exams that afternoon, but Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I, who were lost in worry about Hagrid and Buckbeak, didn't join in. Instead we sat together in silence as I pretended to study for the Divination exam.
"Tara?" Cedric asked, walking up behind me. "You free for a moment?"
Glancing down at my Muggle watch, looking away from the same page of my Divination book that I had been staring at for half an hour, I nodded. "Just a couple of minutes. I have to get to the Divination exam soon," I said.
"Good luck with that," Cedric said, offering me his hand. I grabbed it and walked out of the Great Hall with him. "Have you studied at all for it?"
Did anyone ever study for Divination? I wasn't even sure that it was a class that you could study for. "Not really. Honestly it's not really something that you can study for. So I'm just going to go in there and wing it. Hope for the best, you know?" I asked. Cedric nodded. "I'm not so sure that I even care anymore."
"That's not true. I know that you still care about your grades," Cedric pointed out.
"Not that one," I said.
"Fair enough. Everything okay?" Cedric asked after a beat.
Had he not realized what Fudge was here for? "You saw that Fudge was here earlier," I said. Cedric nodded blankly. Maybe he really didn't understand what he was here for. "He's got the rest of the Disposal of Dangerous Magical Creatures Services with him. They've got the executioner with his sharpened scythe. They're ready to kill Buckbeak before the trial even begins."
Cedric frowned as he grabbed my arms, pulling me into him. "Hey - Hey, it's okay. It's okay. It's all going to be okay," he said, wrapping me in a hug.
"Do you think that there's any way to stop it?" I asked his shoulder.
Cedric stayed silent for a moment. "You could free Buckbeak when they're not looking."
My head snapped up from his shoulder. I stared at him. "I have no idea whether or not you're being serious."
Looking the slightest bit guilty at what he was suggesting, he nodded. "I'm not usually one to want to break the rules, so I think that I'm getting bad habits from you." Despite everything that was happening, I smiled. "But I am serious. If you really don't think that Buckbeak has any shot at winning the appeal, maybe you should try and release him before the potential execution. He'd be better off in the wild anyways. That's where he belongs," Cedric pointed out, very fairly.
Maybe I had to offer that suggestion to Hagrid. "That's not really a bad idea. Letting him go. We would get in a ton of trouble if someone saw us, but if we were careful there's a chance that we could get Buckbeak out of here. Hagrid would still miss him, but at least he'd be alive and with his own kind," I said, trying to talk myself into it.
"If you decide to do that, be careful. You could get expelled for something like that. Maybe even arrested. Technically you would be interfering with the justice system," Cedric pointed out.
"Justice," I scoffed.
"Their version of it, anyways."
"Thank you. You actually gave me some good ideas."
Cedric gave me one of his award-winning smiles. One of the ones that I had always been so happy to see pointed at me. "Always glad to help. I think it's almost time to go back to class. Good luck on your last exam," Cedric said.
"Thanks." Before he could walk off, I smiled at him. "How have those O.W.L.'s been going?" I asked.
At least once he was done with them, he wouldn't have another year of big exams until he was in his Seventh Year and had to deal with N.E.W.T.'s. "Wonderfully," Cedric groaned, making me laugh softly. "Actually, they haven't been half-bad. But I'm thrilled to get them done with. We should do something at the end of the semester to celebrate being done with the year."
"Like?" I asked blankly.
"Think about it. Tell me what you want to do," Cedric said happily.
I could tell that he was trying to strike the delicate balance between being happy about the end of the semester and trying to bring my spirits up and still being respectful about what was happening. "Trying to keep my mind off of Buckbeak?" I asked.
"Trying to keep you smiling. I do like your smile, Tara," Cedric said, pressing a hand underneath my chin.
"You're quite the charmer."
"I try."
He gave me a small wink and I laughed softly. "Good luck on that last O.W.L," I said.
He had told me that it was something like Herbology. At least I thought that it was his last class. "Good luck with Divination," Cedric said.
"I'll need it," I giggled.
That was just how hopeless I was when it came to Divination. We both laughed as I pressed a quick kiss against Cedric's lips before heading off to our respective exams. Harry, Ron, and I's last exam was Divination; Hermione's, Muggle Studies. At least I didn't have that class. We walked up the marble staircase together; Hermione left us on the first floor and Harry, Ron, and I proceeded all the way up to the seventh, where many of our class were already sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying.
Unfortunately it didn't seem like studying would help anyone's case. "She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed us as we went to sit down next to him.
"Separately?" I asked curiously.
"Yes!" Neville had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. If that was what we were doing, I would definitely fail. I was even more hopeless at that than either tea leaf reading or palmistry. "Have any of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" Neville asked us unhappily.
"Nope," Ron said in an offhand voice.
"Nah. I'm gonna just make something up," I said.
That was the only way that I had managed to maintain an 'A' in the course. Although from time to time I would slip down to grades closer to a 'P.' "Do you think that will work?" Neville asked curiously.
Usually it didn't, but since Divination was so imprecise, it was hard to really give someone a pass or fail grade it there. It was all subjective. "I'm thinking that I don't really care whether or not it works. I've passed all of my other exams with flying colors. Divination doesn't mean much to me. I'm even thinking about dropping it," I said pointedly.
"Really?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yeah. But it also looks good on an Auror application. Trying something outside of the main job range," I explained.
If I wanted to be an Auror, I had to start somewhere. And it started with showing them that I had done even more than just the required courses. Even if it meant suffering through Divination. "Tara, you know that you're only fourteen, right?" Harry asked blandly.
"I'm thinking to the future, Harry," I said, shoving into him gently.
"There you go. That's what you say in your Divination exam," Ron said.
"That's not actually a bad idea. Thanks, Ron," I said happily.
Perhaps it would be easy enough to pass the Divination exam. I had a feeling that it might not be as terribly hard as I originally thought that it was going to be. As we sat outside the classroom, I chatted softly with Harry. But I knew that neither one of us were completely into the conversation. And it wasn't because there was an exam that we were supposed to be studying for. It was because of something very different and much more difficult. Ron kept checking his watch; Harry and I both knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started.
It was set to start not long after we got out of the Divination exam. The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?"
Everyone would merely shake their heads at us and pretend like we hadn't even said anything. No matter what everyone said to them or how good of friends they all were, they all refused to say. The only people that had come out looking even mildly happy were Padma Patil and Lavender Brown. I assumed that Lavender would be just as happy when she came out. They were the only ones that were really good at the class. As Seamus Finnegan came out of the classroom - looking pale and horrified - he also refused to say what had happened in the exam.
"Useless. They're all so useless," I scoffed as he vanished down the hallway.
"Think it's that scary?" Ron asked.
"I think they're that confused," I said.
Maybe not just that. Maybe they were also freaked out by Professor Trelawney. She freaked me out too. I didn't want to have to be in there alone with her. "She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" Neville squeaked as he clambered back down the ladder toward Harry, Ron, and I, who had now reached the landing.
We were some of the last few to take the exam. "Oh, Neville," I sighed after him.
"That's convenient," Ron snorted.
"Funny how that works out, isn't it?" I chuckled.
Ron gave a quick glance after Neville before looking back at us. "You know, I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her," Ron jabbed his thumb toward the trapdoor overhead, "she's a right old fraud."
A spike of anger shot through me. I would always hate Professor Trelawney because of her constant death predictions on Harry and I. "Of course she is!" I barked, startling the boys. "She might be a real Seer, but they normally don't actually have visions on command. It happens at random and there's nothing that they can do to bring them on."
"Yeah," Harry said blankly, looking down at his own watch. It was now two o'clock. "Wish she'd hurry up..."
"You know that she won't. That's what we get for going one at a time," I grumbled.
It turned out to be one of the longest amounts of time that any of us had ever had to wait for an exam. Even the one in Defense Against the Dark Arts had gone by a lot faster. Mostly because everyone was trying to get out as fast as possible. Not that people were going to go any slower when it came to getting out of Professor Trelawney's exam. There were very few people who wanted to be alone in a room with her. That was until Parvati came back down the ladder glowing with pride. I raised a brow curiously.
"Good exam?" I asked as politely as possible.
At least for the next few years I had to be nice to her, considering that we lived together. "She says I've got all the makings of a true Seer," Parvati informed Harry, Ron, and I.
"Oh, does she?" I asked curiously.
If Parvati was a little smarter, she would have heard the disbelief in my voice. "I saw loads of stuff," Parvati said.
"Like?" I asked.
"That would spoil the surprise. Well, good luck!" Parvati cried.
My eyes rolled so far back into my head that I was sure for a moment that they would get stuck back there. She was extremely annoying. Mostly because she thought that she was so wonderful with everything having to do with Divination. It didn't help that Divination was the only class that she was better at than me. I might have been just the slightest bit bitter about it. Without saying anything more to us, Parvati hurried off down the spiral staircase toward Lavender. Harry, Ron, and I exchanged a bewildered look.
"How do you live with them?" Ron asked me.
We all laughed at his comment. It was because of Parvati and Lavender that I spent so little time in my dorm. Plus the fact that I had Harry and Ron to hang around. "That's why you never spend time in your own dorm," Harry reasoned, making me smile.
"That is true," I said.
"She'd spend much more time in there if Diggory was in Gryffindor," Ron snorted.
Harry and I whipped around. "What?" Harry barked.
My face lit up a brilliant red as I thought about the day that we had spent in the bathroom. "Ron!" I sneered, whacking him on the back of the head. "What the hell?"
"Ronald Weasley," called the familiar, misty voice from over our heads.
As Ron walked off, I grabbed his arm. "Count your blessings that she called you in right now, Ronald Weasley," I hissed.
Ron gave me a bright smile and briefly grabbed my arm before stalking off. Harry was scowling at me and I tried desperately to glance away from him. We could talk about that later. Or never. Never was a good choice. Ron grimaced at the sound of his name to Harry and I and then climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Harry and I were now the only people left to be tested. Harry and I settled ourselves on the floor with our backs against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the sunny window, as my mind across the grounds with Hagrid.
"What was Ron talking about?" Harry finally asked, interrupting the silence.
"He's being an ass," I said quickly.
"Tara -"
"What's going on with your crush on Cho Chang?" I interrupted.
The last thing that I wanted to talk about with Harry was what Cedric and I did in the dark. Which was nothing more than some heavy kissing. "Do we have to talk about that?" Harry groaned, shoving his head down into my shoulder.
"Do we have to talk about my relationship with Cedric?" I asked.
Harry smiled, twirling his wand around in his head. "Sorry about that. Couldn't resist. Things are still...?" Harry trailed off.
My eyebrows quirked upwards for a moment. What was that supposed to mean? Then it clicked. I knew exactly what Harry wanted to know. Just how far things had gone. My cheeks started to burn. "Things are still good with the two of us. We spend almost all of our time together in public and the times that we're in private are no big deal. Okay? I'll let you know if something changes," I said somewhat awkwardly.
"No - No, please don't," Harry said, waving me off. "Just..."
"Don't do anything until I'm married?" I suggested.
"Not even after," Harry said.
As I laughed, Harry scowled at me. I knew that he meant for me to be serious. "Yes, father," I teased.
"Telling your parents yet?" Harry asked.
If he was suggesting that I go and tell my parents that Cedric and I were dating, he was dead wrong. I still hadn't figured it out just yet. "I'm working on it! I just don't know how to bring it about so that they won't start freaking out and keep me captive over the summer. They won't trust me to go out with him anymore," I groaned sadly.
"You're right about that," Harry said.
We both scowled at each other. He was completely useless. "Help me out?" I asked slowly.
Perhaps there was a chance that my parents wouldn't hate me quite as much if Harry was there to help me out. They had always taken it easier on him. "I'll be there to tell them about it with you if that's what you want," Harry promised, grabbing my hand.
"Thanks, Harry. For your support, you know?" I offered.
"Just please don't let me catch the two of you snogging," Harry said.
We both snorted. I supposed that if it kept Cho Chang away from Cedric, I could get behind Harry having a crush on her. Although I still wouldn't be happy about it. "Same goes for you and Chang," I said slowly.
Harry's face brightened but also went slightly red. "Am I getting your -?"
"No," I interrupted.
"Oh, Tara," Harry sighed.
For a moment the two of us stared at each other. Then we both started to laugh. I smiled as I leaned my head down on his shoulder, sitting hip-to-hip with Harry. The two of us just sat together and chatted back and forth for a little while. We were talking about the other exams that we had taken - as I took ones that he hadn't - and how excited we were to spend some time together over the summer. Just the two of us. I promised that I was going to spend a lot of time just with Harry - despite my relationship with Cedric. After all, Harry had been around first.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappeared on the ladder. "How'd it go?" Harry asked him, standing up.
"Rubbish," Ron said.
"That bad, huh?" I asked.
"Worse. Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though..." Ron muttered.
"Could have been worse," I reasoned.
At least the only problem was that he hadn't seen anything and had made something up. That was how most of us went along in the class from day one. Eventually Professor Trelawney's voice called, "Harry Potter!"
"Meet you in the Common Room," Harry muttered.
"Good luck," I said.
"Thanks, Tara," Harry said.
As he clambered up the stairs - leaving me as the sole person downstairs - I waited in silence. I thought about writing a letter to Cedric and running it to Rusty quickly. Something asking him to meet me in the Prefect Bathroom. But I thought better of it quickly. Maybe it was something for another time. Or maybe we could just spend some time together after the end of exams. I could have used some time to sit with him and try and tune out everything else that was happening. Then we would have to figure out how the summer would work with my parents.
It would definitely be a problem with having to deal with them. I would miss the whole come-and-go-as-you-please air about Hogwarts. That was always the worst part about the summers. I sat outside of the tower for about ten minutes before Harry came back down with the end of his test. He was pale white and looked like he was about to have a heart attack. I jumped to my feet, dashing over to Harry, and grabbed his hand. I was genuinely concerned about him. He looked far worse than just thinking that he had failed. He looked terrified.
"Are you okay?" I asked desperately.
"Fine - Fine... Just... probably failed, you know?" Harry muttered.
But the way that he was speaking told me that it was far worse than just thinking that he had failed. He didn't care about his grades that much. "Hey, it's going to be okay. Don't worry about it too much, okay?" I asked softly.
"I'm gonna wait for you. Do you mind?" Harry asked awkwardly, pointing to where I had just been sitting.
"No - No. Go ahead. I'll be back soon," I promised.
"Tara Nox," Professor Trelawney's misty voice called.
"Take a seat, okay? It's gonna be fine," I said, walking Harry over to where I had been sitting before. He practically collapsed. I dug through my bag for a moment. "Here's some Gillywater. Drink it by the time that I'm out."
Harry nodded blankly. "Okay."
Once I was sure that Harry wasn't going to pass out from a stroke or have a heart attack, I turned and headed up the stairs into the classroom, feeling sick to my stomach about what had just happened with Harry. The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made me cough as I stumbled through the clutter of chairs and tables to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for me before a large crystal ball. At least it's not palmistry...
"Good day, my dear," Professor Trelawney said softly.
"Hello, Professor," I said sweetly.
Goodbye any chances of perfect grades. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb..." I took a seat across from Professor Trelawney. "Take your time, now... then tell me what you see within it..."
"Okay," I whispered.
Think about something, Tara. Say something that isn't going to get you a failing grade in the class. As much as I wanted to try and focus, I was still thinking about what had happened with Harry. What was his problem? What had happened in the exam? Trying to push those thoughts from my head, I bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as I could, willing it to show me something other than swirling white fog, but nothing happened. So I tried to say something that came to mind. I want some alone time with my boyfriend? No. Harry's losing his mind? No. Both bad choices.
"Well? What do you see?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately.
What the hell could I see? My own bluish-brown eyes staring back at me. Worry lines forming around my eyes and forehead. I wasn't sure what I could say to get myself into a potential passing grade. The heat was overpowering and my nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside us. It was just like the types of perfume that Lavender and Parvati would spray all over the dorms. I couldn't focus with it. Come to think of it, this was probably where they had gotten it. Suddenly I thought of what Ron had said earlier, and decided to go with pretending.
"Er -" I started awkwardly, "a dark shape... um..."
"What does it resemble? Think, now..." Professor Trelawney whispered.
It was impossible to manage to lock my thoughts onto one thing. They were fluttering all over the place. What was wrong with Harry? What happened in here earlier? How was I going to manage to tell my parents that Cedric and I were dating? What was really happening with the two of us/ How far would things go? Where was Sirius Black? Was the Grim actually haunting me? Had I managed to pass the rest of my exams? One thing, Tara. Just think about one thing. I cast my mind around and it finally landed on Buckbeak.
"A Hippogriff," I said firmly and a little dumbly.
"Indeed!" Professor Trelawney whispered, scribbling keenly on the parchment perched upon her knees. "Two in a row." So Harry had used Buckbeak as an excuse too. Maybe we would both manage to pass this exam after all. "My dear, you may well be seeing the outcome of poor Hagrid's trouble with the Ministry of Magic! Look closer... Does the Hippogriff appear to... have its head?"
"Yes," I said firmly, bile rising in my throat at the thought.
"Are you sure?" Professor Trelawney urged me.
"Yes," I repeated.
"Are you quite sure, dear?"
"Yes."
"You don't see it writhing on the ground, perhaps, and a shadowy figure raising an axe behind it?"
"No!" I yelled, starting to feel slightly sick and very angry.
"No blood? No weeping Hagrid?"
"No!" I said again, wanting more than ever to leave the room and the heat. My face was starting to turn red from both anger and horror at the thought that the very things Professor Trelawney was asking about might come true. "It looks fine, it's - flying away..."
Professor Trelawney sighed, leaning away from the crystal ball. "Well, dear, I think we'll leave it there... A little disappointing... but I'm sure you did your best," she said softly.
"Evidently," I scoffed.
It definitely meant that I would be getting a failing grade for this assignment. Which wasn't good, considering how much the exam was worth of our entire grade. At least this wasn't a class that I really needed. Maybe I would have to drop this class, the way that Hermione had done. Relieved that the worst - at least with exams - was behind me, I got up, picked up my bag and turned to go. Exams were finally over. At least now I only had Buckbeak's trial to deal with. I was almost out of the classroom, but then a loud, harsh voice spoke behind me.
"It will happen tonight."
The voice was crackling and hoarse. It was about ten octaves deeper than anything that I had heard Professor Trelawney speak in before. That had to have been her speaking. She was the only other person in the room. Unnerved from the sudden voice and terrified that something horrible was about to happen - as it so normally did - I wheeled around. Professor Trelawney had gone rigid in her armchair; her eyes were unfocused and her mouth sagging down against her chest. Was she having a stroke, maybe? Magical beings got normal health conditions, too, after all.
"Excuse me? Professor Trelawney? Are you alright?" I asked slowly.
Perhaps I would just have to bring her somewhere. We weren't that far from the Hospital Wing. Maybe Madam Pomfrey would be able to help her out. But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear me. Her eyes started to roll backwards into her head. I stood there in a panic. What the hell was I supposed to do? Mom was the healer, not me. Professor Trelawney looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure. I hesitated, thinking of running to the Hospital Wing - and then Professor Trelawney spoke again, in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own.
"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight… the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master... and bring... the girl..."
Arms and legs and every other bit of me trembling, I tried to push myself to my feet. "P - Professor?" I stuttered.
Anything to get her to snap out of it. I had to help her. For a moment I thought about calling out for Harry's help, but then Professor Trelawney lunged forward towards me. I instantly let out a scream. "The girl! She mustn't go!" Professor Trelawney shouted.
"Let go!" I begged.
"She must pick a path," Professor Trelawney cried in her hoarse voice desperately.
"Professor, please! Snap out of it!" I screamed.
Finally she managed to get herself out of whatever was happening to her before. At least, I had a feeling that she did. Professor Trelawney's head fell forward onto her chest. As she released me, I stumbled backwards and collapsed back into the chair that I had been sitting in during the exam. She made a grunting sort of noise. The prediction was over. That had to have been what was just happening. Too terrified to move, I just sat there, staring at her. Then, quite suddenly, Professor Trelawney's head snapped up again.
"I'm so sorry, dear child, the heat of the day, you know... I drifted off for a moment..." she said dreamily.
There was no way that she was just going to throw something like that on me and then go back to normal. I had heard that Seer's didn't always remember having their visions, but I had never actually seen someone have one before. I thought that they were more like dreams. Not like someone was playing out The Exorcist in front of me. Professor Trelawney was back to simply giving me one of her misty-eyed smiles like nothing had happened. Did she not even remember the prediction? What had it meant? I had to know. I sat there, staring at her.
"You're a Seer," I finally breathed out.
Professor Trelawney gave me a slight smile. "Well, yes, I suppose that I am partial to the Inner Eye."
"What did you mean?" I asked, remembering her words.
"Is there anything wrong, my dear?" Professor Trelawney asked.
"You - You just told me that the - the Dark Lord's going to rise again... that his servant's going to go back to him..."
She really didn't remember. As my voice dropped off and I found myself unable to finish my previous thought, I realized that she actually didn't remember what she had just told me. It wasn't just a rumor. It was the complete truth. Seers could never remember what they predicted. So what was I supposed to do? Tell her word-for-word what she had just told me? Someone had to believe me. Would she? Professor Trelawney looked thoroughly startled. Judging by the look on her face, I assumed that she wouldn't.
"The Dark Lord? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? My dear child, that's hardly something to joke about... Rise again, indeed -"
"But you just said it! You said the Dark Lord -"
"I think you must have dozed off too, dear!" Professor Trelawney insisted.
My jaw almost dropped. I was not imagining what she had just told me. I wasn't. "You told me about a girl! A girl that needed to pick a side and needed to be protected. You were grabbing my shoulders and pointing at me! Were you talking about me?" I asked, all in one breath. I had to know. How was I connected to Voldemort? Why would no one tell me? "Tell me!"
"Oh, my dear, I would certainly not presume to predict anything quite as far-fetched as that!" Professor Trelawney said.
But she had. I didn't understand. She had just told me that Voldemort's servant was going to rise tonight. Who was that supposed to be? Was it supposed to be Black? I knew enough about Seers to know that their visions were rarely exactly as they sounded. The only thing that made sense was that Black would return to bring Voldemort back to life tonight and that I would have to pick a path. To be with Voldemort or stay with my friends? That made enough sense. But it couldn't have been the truth. There had to have been something deeper here. What was it?
It turned out that Professor Trelawney was a real Seer. She wasn't just the crack that I had always thought that she was. She wasn't just good at making random predictions. I knew that the way that she was speaking was the way that someone who had just made a real prediction would speak. My heart was pounding in my chest as I thanked Professor Trelawney awkwardly and limply stumbled out of the chair. Did this have something to do with me? Was something going to happen to me tonight? Was my vision in the Mirror of Erised finally going to come true?
There was no way. It couldn't. I had seen myself in it. I looked about sixteen or seventeen. Not fourteen. I climbed back down the ladder - almost collapsing a few times - and then the spiral staircase, wondering if I had just heard Professor Trelawney make a real prediction. Was I overreacting? Had that been her idea of an impressive end to the test? The moment that I hit the ground, I made a break to run back to the Common Room and tell the others about what had happened, but I ended up slamming right into Harry. My mouth dropped open to scream when Harry stopped me.
He slapped his hand over my mouth and only released me when I had nodded and stumbled back a few steps. "A Seer," I said breathlessly. Harry's head tilted to the side. "Professor Trelawney is a real Seer."
"She gave you a prediction?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yes!" I rasped.
"She gave me one too!" Harry cried.
"What did she say?" I asked desperately.
"She - She said -"
It was obvious enough that Harry was already forgetting what she had said, so I spoke over him. "I need you to tell me exactly what she said, Harry. It's so important. Okay? Don't leave out anything," I prompted.
"Okay. Okay," Harry breathed slowly. "She said, 'The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight… the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master...'
She had made the prediction twice. Did that normally happen? For a moment I waited for him to continue. But he never did. What about my part? "That's it?" I asked.
"Yes. Did she tell you something else?" Harry asked curiously.
"She added this, '... and bring... the girl...'"
Harry was silent for a little while. "You?" he finally asked.
My heart lodged in my throat. It was the classic issue. The moment that I said it, it would become real. "I think so. She leaned over me and started screaming again. 'The girl! She mustn't go!' That's what she said. When I begged her to let go, she said, 'She must pick a path.' That was when she snapped out of it," I said, earning a horrified look from Harry.
His hand latched around my wrist as he started tugging me after him. "Tara... Tara, we have to tell someone. Professor Trelawney has no idea that she just made that prediction," Harry said quickly.
"I know. I know. We have to go, Harry. Run. Please," I begged, yanking on his arm.
"Come on. Let's go," Harry agreed.
We had to leave. We had to tell Ron and Hermione and then figure out what to do from there. Five minutes - and a bucket of sweat - later the two of us were dashing past the security trolls outside the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, Professor Trelawney's words still resounding in my head. People were striding past us in the opposite direction, laughing and joking, heading for the grounds and a bit of long-awaited freedom; by the time we had reached the portrait hole and entered the Common Room, it was almost deserted. Over in the corner, however, sat Ron and Hermione.
"Professor Trelawney," Harry panted, "just told us -"
The moment that he stopped speaking I wanted to slap him. We had to tell them! We had to speak before one or both of us managed to forget what Professor Trelawney said. There were no cameras. If we forgot what she said, there would be no proof that it had ever happened. In fact, we had no proof now that it happened. It wouldn't help that Professor Trelawney was insisting that she hadn't predicted what she had. But someone had to know. I was about to whack Harry to continue, but I stopped abruptly at the sight of their faces. Something bad had happened.
"What's happened?" I asked blankly.
"Buckbeak lost," Ron said weakly.
Every other thought left my head. "What?" I breathed.
"Hagrid's just sent this," Ron said.
Harry and I slowly walked forward. My heart was pounding in my chest. There was no way that Buckbeak could have lost. It just didn't make sense to me. We had everything. People had agreed that Buckbeak wasn't dangerous. Of course, Lucius Malfoy had bought over the school governors and that meant that there was almost no way that he would have won the appeal. But I had been so hopeful. Hagrid's note was dry this time, no tears had splattered it, yet his hand seemed to have shaken so much as he wrote that it was hardly legible.
Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset.
Nothing you can do. Don't come down.
I don't want you to see it.
Hagrid.
Sunset... They were even going to do it tonight. Hagrid only had a few more hours with Buckbeak. "Oh... Oh, no... I didn't want to think that there really wasn't a chance that they could actually kill him," I whispered.
"We've got to go," Harry said at once.
"You're right. Let's go," I agreed.
"He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!" Harry continued.
"Come on," I said, grabbing his arm.
"Sunset, though," Ron said, who was staring out the window in a glazed sort of way. He and Hermione must have been thinking about this all afternoon. "We'd never be allowed... 'specially you two, Harry, Tara..."
But we couldn't just stay here. We had to be down there for Hagrid. How? How would we not get caught? I sank my head into my hands, thinking. "If we only had the Invisibility Cloak..." Harry mumbled.
"But we still have to go!" I said, shaking his shoulders.
"Where is it?" Hermione asked.
The two of us exchanged a look. Was she really about to do something extremely foolish and dangerous? Snape knew the four of us well enough to know what was happening. If he caught her out by the statue of the one-eyed witch, he would know that Harry and I had sent her there. After debating it for a moment, I nodded for Harry to tell her. We had to get to Hagrid. We had to be there for him and Buckbeak in his final hours. So Harry told her about leaving the Invisibility Cloak in the passageway under the one-eyed witch.
"... if Snape sees us anywhere near there again, we're in serious trouble," Harry finished.
"That's true," Hermione said, getting to her feet. "If he sees either one of you... How do you open the witch's hump again?"
"You - You tap it and say, 'Dissendium,'" Harry said.
"Good work, Hermione," I said happily.
"But -"
Hermione didn't wait for the rest of Harry's sentence. I wasn't even sure what he was planning to tell her. Probably the same thing that I was thinking. The simple fact that she was going to get in trouble if Snape saw her. I didn't really care though. She had to get out there and get the Invisibility Cloak. That was the only way that we would be able to get down to Hagrid's hut. Without giving us a moment to argue back against her, Hermione strode across the room, pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait and vanished from sight.
"She hasn't gone to get it?" Ron asked, staring after her.
"Of course she has. When it comes to Buckbeak and Hagrid, she's willing to do anything," I said.
The three of us simply waited for her. None of us really knew what to say. We were still reeling from the simple fact that Buckbeak had lost the appeal and was now set to be executed. Not only would that, but the fact that Hermione had just done something that likely get her into a ton of trouble if she was caught. And she knew it! Maybe I was starting to rub off on her. It turned out that she had done exactly what I was thinking. Hermione returned a quarter of an hour later with the silvery cloak folded carefully under her robes.
"Nice!" I said excitedly.
"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten into you lately! First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney," Ron said, astounded.
Hermione looked rather flattered. I nudged her, trying to tease that she was slowly turning into me. She merely laughed as we awkwardly sat back on the chairs to wait for dinner. We couldn't even leave until after we had eaten. Snape and the other teachers would get far too suspicious if they saw that we weren't there. Particularly because they knew about Buckbeak's execution tonight and they knew how close we were to Hagrid. So we merely sat and tried to force some awkward conversations about exams.
Finally we went down to dinner with everybody else, but we weren't planning to return to Gryffindor Tower afterward. We walked all the way down to the Great Hall and sat down at the table to have our dinner. Time passed as the four of us sat together in silence. We were some of the few people who weren't talking. We were all exhausted from everything and completely ready to get this year over with. Especially since Buckbeak - who we had been working so hard to save - now had nothing left to fight for.
"How were your exams?"
Wheeling around on the bench, I looked back up at Cedric, who was leaning down and smiling at me. "Damn it!" I hissed, pressing a hand against my rapidly-beating heart. "You scared me."
"Are you alright?" Cedric asked, sensing my irritable nature.
For a moment I thought about just letting it go. But I needed to talk about something. So I stood from the table - giving my friends a brief nod - before turning to Cedric. "Let's talk. I don't have long - but let's talk," I said quickly.
"Okay," Cedric said. "What's going on?"
"Come with me," I prompted, grabbing his arm.
"Okay."
Hand-in-hand, the two of us walked out of the Great Hall together. A few girls were giggling and I could see Angelina, Alicia, and Katie making funny faces at me. I forced myself to smile. Before we left, I promised the others that I would be back by the time that we were ready to see Hagrid and be with him for Buckbeak. My stomach was churning in knots as we walked out. Cedric must have known that I was upset. Of course he did. He knew me well enough. As we walked out into the hallway, Cedric turned and grabbed me in a tight hug, pressing a kiss against my forehead.
"Buckbeak lost his appeal," I whispered into Cedric's shoulder.
Cedric pulled back to look at me. He stared for a few moments to try and see if I was joking. "Oh, no. Oh, Tara... I'm so sorry to hear that," Cedric said, running his hands over my arms.
"I knew that it would happen. I knew it. But... I don't know. I guess that I was just hoping that..."
"That luck might be on your side."
"Yes."
"Don't go down there. Don't see it."
Like I had thought about before, Cedric knew me better than almost anyone else. He knew what I was planning on doing. "Someone has to be there, Cedric. Someone has to be there with Hagrid. I don't want him to be alone. He doesn't want us to come, but I don't think that I can just leave him be by himself," I said sadly.
Cedric shook his head and brushed my stringy hair off of my forehead. As it always did when I was stressed out, it looked terrible. "Respect Hagrid's wishes, Tara. Do yourself a favor. If you see that... you'll never be able to un-see it," Cedric pointed out.
"But -"
"But what, Tara?" Cedric interrupted. "Hagrid doesn't want you there."
"But I don't want him to be by himself," I argued.
I knew that I shouldn't go, but I just couldn't stop myself. I had to be there for Hagrid. "Go see him tomorrow. Go see him when he's had some time to be with Buckbeak and mourn by himself. Wouldn't you want that?" Cedric asked. I frowned. "As an adult, you want kids to get to be kids. You don't want them to have to deal with something like that. Can you understand that?"
Could I? Of course I could. "Yeah," I muttered.
"But I know that you're not going to listen to me," Cedric reasoned.
"You know me so well."
Cedric gave a bitter smile. He wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me into him. "Believe it or not, I do. Tara, please listen to me. Don't be there when it happens. You don't want to see that. I don't want you to see that."
My thoughts were so locked on Buckbeak, that a sudden memory almost jarred me. My head snapped up to Cedric's. "Can I ask you something?"
"Tara -"
"It's not about Buckbeak," I interrupted.
"Okay," Cedric said, nodding softly. "What's going on?"
"When you took your first Divination exam a few years ago... Did something strange happen?" I asked.
"Yeah. I passed it," Cedric said.
Despite everything that was happening, I laughed at the serious look on Cedric's face. He started smiling a moment later. "Don't make me laugh," I chuckled, punching Cedric in the chest. "I'm serious. Did Professor Trelawney say something a little strange to you?"
"Have you met her?" Cedric asked.
"Cedric! I'm trying to get an answer here," I whined.
Sensing that I was being completely serious, Cedric nodded and put his hands up, essentially surrendering himself to answer me honestly. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. No, she was just her abnormal self. I made some stuff up and was as convincing as possible. That was the end of it. Did something odd happen to you?" Cedric asked curiously.
"Come on, doesn't it always?" I offered.
Cedric smiled bitterly. "Want to talk about it?"
But I clammed up. "No. Maybe I shouldn't have -"
Almost instantly Cedric's smile faded and he snapped back at me. "Oh, no. You don't get to do that anymore," Cedric said, almost as harshly as I had ever heard him before. I jumped back, slightly startled at his exclamation. "You hold so many secrets. Even from your friends. You hang onto too many things. Just this once, tell me what happened."
Well, if he really wanted to hear... "I think Professor Trelawney is an actual Seer," I said.
Cedric's face dropped. "You're joking."
"No, I'm not. She had an actual prediction during my exam."
"What was it about?"
Despite wanting to talk to someone about it, I didn't really want to tell Cedric. In all honesty, he was worried enough about me. He was always worried that something terrible was happening to me or that I was getting into something far bigger than me. Both of which were oftentimes true. So I decided to get it over with and tell him what happened. I spent a few minutes fearfully recounting the entire story of what had happened during the Divination exam. The entire time Cedric flipped in between looking horrified, angry, and heartbroken for me. Finally he pulled me into a hug.
The two of us stayed together for a long time. When he finally released me, he pushed the hair back off of my forehead. "She could have been talking about anyone," Cedric said slowly.
The way that he was speaking to me was told me that he really doubted what he was saying. "You know that she's talking about Voldemort. The way that she grabbed onto me, Cedric, I know that she was talking about me," I said determinedly.
Cedric nodded, grabbing onto my hands. "For your own safety, don't go out there tonight," Cedric said. I started to shake my head, determined that I still had to go and see Hagrid, but Cedric spoke over me. "If what Professor Trelawney was saying is the truth, that someone is going to rise again tonight, you can't risk being out there. Even if it happens across the world, don't take the chance."
"But -"
"Do you like my hair?"
"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"Do you like my hair?" Cedric repeated.
"Yes..." I said slowly.
"Then stop doing things that are going to make me pull my hair out."
He was still giving me a fond smile, one that I fought not to return. After a moment, I steeled my nerves again and spoke. "Tonight... if his servant is coming back -"
"Then you shouldn't be anywhere near it," Cedric interrupted. "Tara, you're only fourteen. This is more than you can handle." As always, it was something so much bigger than me. But I couldn't stop it this time. It was going to happen and I knew about it. "You know that and I know that. You should tell someone and then make sure to stay near people."
"Who do I even tell?" I asked slowly.
"Professor Dumbledore. He can help."
For a moment I stayed quiet. Then I said, "I'm sorry for making you deal with this."
It wouldn't have surprised me if one day Cedric ended things between us. I was just too much to handle and I knew it. But Cedric merely smiled. "You're not making me deal with anything. I'm trying to help you, but there's not much that I can do. There's not much that anyone can do. Not even you and your friends. Not this time," Cedric said sweetly.
The moment that I opened my mouth to speak, Harry called, "Tara, we're ready to go."
Turning back to the three of them who were still waiting for me, I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be right there," I called back.
Sensing that I was leaving before the conversation was over with, Cedric started to say, "Tara -"
"I'll be fine," I interrupted quickly. Cedric looked like he was going to speak again, so I continued to try and reassure him. "We're just going down to say goodbye to Buckbeak and offer Hagrid our condolences. I shouldn't have even told you about Professor Trelawney's prediction. I wasn't really thinking. But I'm not going to hunt them down."
Knowing that he had lost this one, Cedric said, "Please don't, alright?"
"I won't. We'll be careful. We'll be back in under half an hour," I promised.
"You can write to me after it happens." I twitched slightly, knowing that in an hour, Buckbeak would be dead. There was nothing that we could do. "Find a place to meet up later, if you want," Cedric offered.
Maybe a night in the Astronomy Tower or Prefect Bathroom would do me well. "Thanks," I whispered.
"Be careful, alright?"
"Of course. I'll see you later."
"Don't stay for it. Okay?"
"Okay," I said, swallowing a lump in my throat.
He was right about one thing. I really shouldn't stay to watch the actual execution. That would probably break my heart. Cedric leaned forward and gave me a soft but lingering kiss. His hand went around the back of my neck to keep me against him for a few moments. Everyone started laughing at us but they didn't understand quite how stressful everything was right now. So I merely ignored them. After a few beats Cedric finally pulled away. But he leaned in to press another small kiss against my forehead before finally really pulling apart.
"I'll see you later," I whispered.
"Stay safe. Write to me whenever you need," Cedric said.
"Thank you."
The two of us shared another quick kiss as Harry popped up at my shoulder. I pulled away from Cedric and gave Harry a weak smile. "Ready to go?" Harry asked.
"No, but we should go anyways," I said.
Waving Cedric off, I turned and left with Harry, the two of us walking back through the hallway. Harry had the cloak hidden down the front of his robes; he had to keep his arms folded to hide the lump. It looked the tinniest bit like he was pregnant. The thought almost made me laugh. Together we skulked in an empty chamber off the entrance hall, listening, until we were sure it was deserted. It was a few minutes when we heard a last pair of people hurrying across the hall and a door slamming. Hermione poked her head around the door.
"Okay, no one there - cloak on," Hermione whispered.
Harry grabbed the cloak and threw it over our shoulders. I was in between Harry and Hermione, with Ron on her other side. It was slowly becoming much harder than it used to be. All of us had gone through growth spurts. Walking very close together so that nobody would see us, we crossed the hall on tiptoe beneath the cloak, then walked down the stone front steps into the grounds. The sun was already sinking behind the Forbidden Forest, gilding the top branches of the trees. It was stifling under the cloak, but I didn't say anything.
The last thing that we needed was getting caught when we were out past when we were supposed to be. Especially Harry and I. We didn't need to be getting detentions and points deducted so shortly before the end of the year. It took a few moments for us to reach Hagrid's cabin. The moment that we did, Harry leaned forward and knocked. Hagrid was a minute in answering, and when he did, he looked all around for his visitor, pale-faced and trembling. He looked like he was about to pass out, cry, or be sick. Maybe all of them.
"Oh, Hagrid," I whispered.
"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off," Harry hissed.
"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back, and we stepped inside.
"We had to, Hagrid," I said.
He felt the exact same as Cedric did. He was right that it was wrong to be here and potentially see Buckbeak be executed. But I just had to see Hagrid. And I really needed to see Buckbeak one last time. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Harry pulled off the cloak. The moment that I could clearly see Hagrid, I felt the breath go out of my lungs. Hagrid was not crying, nor did he throw himself upon our necks. He looked like a man who did not know where he was or what to do. This helplessness was worse to watch than tears.
"Wan' some tea?" Hagrid asked. His great hands were shaking as he reached for the kettle.
"Why don't I make it?" I offered.
Hagrid shakily set down the tea kettle as I stepped forward. "Thank yeh, Tara," Hagrid mumbled.
"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"I - I took him outside," Hagrid said, spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an' - an' smell fresh air - before -"
As I was making some of the tea for each of us, Hagrid was still trying to pour the milk into our cups. Unfortunately it didn't work too well. Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp and shattered all over the floor. We all stepped backwards in surprise, but we didn't say anything to Hagrid. I knew that it would only hurt him even more. I felt terribly for him. He was about to lose one of the things that he treasured most in the world after he had tried so hard to show us how beautiful that he thought it was.
"I'll do it, Hagrid," Hermione said quickly, hurrying over and starting to clean up the mess.
"There's another one in the cupboard," Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry and I glanced at Ron, who looked back hopelessly.
"That's beautiful, Hagrid. Buckbeak will love seeing the sunlight," I said after a few moments of silence.
"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked fiercely, sitting down next to him. "Dumbledore -"
"He's tried." My heart sank. I hadn't known that Hagrid had gone to Dumbledore to have him help. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared... Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like... threatened 'em, I expect... an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's... but it'll be quick an' clean... an' I'll be beside him..."
His voice faded a moment afterwards. My stomach lurched painfully. Quick and clean... That was horrifying. And I didn't realize that Hagrid was actually going to be there. I had figured that he would, but I didn't like thinking about it. Hagrid swallowed thickly. I resisted going to give him a hug. I was sure that he wanted to be left in somewhat peace. Hagrid's eyes were darting all over the cabin as though looking for some shred of hope or comfort. Suddenly a thought dawned on me. I had heard the name Macnair before.
"Wasn't he a Death Eater?" I asked suddenly.
Ron and Hermione's heads snapped over to me. Harry stared blankly. "Not no more," Hagrid said. I scoffed. That was doubtful. "Dumbledore's gonna come down while it - while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore..."
Even Dumbledore was going to be there. At least if he wasn't able to stop, he would be brave enough to be there. It was rather sickening, but Hagrid was right about thinking what a wonderful man Dumbledore was. Hermione, who had been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for another milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. If there had been anyone more determined to save Buckbeak from execution than Hagrid, it was Hermione. She straightened up with the new jug in her hands, fighting back tears.
"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," Hermione began, but Hagrid shook his shaggy head.
"You should have friends here," I interjected.
"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway... If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, Tara, yeh'll be in big trouble," Hagrid insisted.
Damn us getting in trouble. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered right now. The year was almost over and the exams were done. We had already won the Quidditch Cup. There wasn't much more that they could threaten us with anymore. All that mattered was that we were here for Hagrid tonight. Cedric would forgive me. Silent tears were now streaming down Hermione's face, but she hid them from Hagrid, bustling around and helping me make tea. Then, as she picked up the milk bottle to pour some into the jug, she let out a shriek.
"What?" I asked, panicked.
"Ron! I - I don't believe it - it's Scabbers!" Hermione gasped.
Ron gaped at her. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Scabbers was actually alive? After everything that they had fought about in the beginning and middle of the school year - Scabbers and Crookshanks - and after thinking that Crookshanks had killed Scabbers, it turned out that he was alive. Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table. I couldn't believe that he was still alive and hiding out here. Why hadn't he returned to Ron?
"Scabbers! Scabbers, what are you doing here?" Ron asked blankly.
What the hell was wrong with the little rat? He looked horrible. He hadn't come back to his owner. Nothing made sense to me right now. Why hadn't he come back after escaping from Crookshanks? Fear of the cat, maybe? Ron grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked dreadful. Even more so than from the beginning of the year. Scabbers was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself.
"It's okay, Scabbers! No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!" Ron yelled.
It seemed like Scabbers was about to have a heart attack and die. What the hell was he so afraid of? Not Crookshanks, obviously. He would have been able to smell the cat if he was hanging around somewhere. It had to be something else. Was Scabbers afraid of Buckbeak? No. That didn't make sense either. Scabbers had clearly been here for a while, as had Buckbeak. He would have left earlier if that was the case. Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window, interrupting my train of thought. His normally ruddy face had gone the color of parchment.
"They're comin'..."
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I whipped around. Had we really just spent too much time here? I hadn't thought that we were here for that long. Clearly we were. A group of men were walking down the distant castle steps. In front was Albus Dumbledore, his silver beard gleaming in the dying sun. Next to him trotted Cornelius Fudge. Behind them came the feeble old Committee member and the executioner, Macnair. Instantly I jumped up to my feet. Maybe I really didn't want to get into trouble...
"Yeh gotta go," Hagrid said. Every inch of him was trembling. "They mustn' find yeh here... Go now..." Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Hermione picked up the cloak. "I'll let yeh out the back way."
"It's gonna be okay, Hagrid," I promised.
Just a few last words of encouragement before... it... happened. There was clearly no stopping it right now. Despite wanting to stay and be there for Hagrid, I knew that we had to leave. So we followed him to the door into his back garden. The entire thing felt strangely unreal, and even more so when I saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening. He turned his sharp head from side to side and pawed the ground nervously.
"It's okay, Beaky. It's okay..." Hagrid said softly. My heart gave a small twinge. Hagrid then turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I. "Go on. Get goin'."
But we didn't move. "Hagrid..." I whispered.
"Hagrid, we can't -"
"We'll tell them what really happened -"
"They can't kill him -"
"Please -"
"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!" Hagrid said fiercely.
By that point, we had no choice. As much as I would have loved to say or do something to save Buckbeak and spare Hagrid's feelings, I knew that he was right to tell us to leave. As much as I wanted to be there for him, I really didn't want to have to see Buckbeak lose his head. As Hermione threw the cloak over Harry, Ron, and I, we heard voices at the front of the cabin. They were less than five seconds away from entering the cottage. Hagrid looked at the place where we had just vanished from sight.
"Go quick. Don' listen..." he said hoarsely.
The last thing that I wanted was to hear it. I didn't want to see it, hear it, and I wished that I didn't know that it was going to happen. Then Hagrid strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the front door. They were here and it was about to happen. We had finally, officially, run out of time. Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I set off silently around Hagrid's house. Each one of us was just as horrified as the others. I held onto Harry's hand tightly as we walked. As we reached the other side, the front door closed with a sharp snap.
"Please, let's hurry. I can't stand it, I can't bear it..." Hermione whispered.
"I can't leave," I said, my feet freezing in their place.
"Tara, come on. We shouldn't see this," Harry said, tugging at my arms.
"But, Hagrid -"
"Doesn't want us to see this. Come on," Harry insisted.
My entire being was torn. I wanted to stay and be there for the last few moments of Buckbeak's life. I didn't want Hagrid to be alone. But I also didn't want to see the Hippogriff be murdered in cold blood. Knowing that the others weren't going to leave me alone, I grabbed onto Harry's arms and let him pull me along with them. Together we started up the sloping lawn toward the castle. The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow. Ron stopped dead.
"Oh, please, Ron," Hermione began.
"It's Scabbers - he won't - stay put -"
What the hell was happening? I had officially decided that I didn't want to be around to see Buckbeak's death and now they were standing here just waiting for it to happen. I didn't want to see it happen. Not anymore. And I knew that they didn't want to see it either. But there was now a new problem. Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron's hand. I had never seen him like that before. Not even around Crookshanks.
"What the hell is wrong with Scabbers?" I asked.
"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron," Ron hissed.
Suddenly we heard a door open behind them and men's voices. "Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione breathed.
"Okay - Scabbers, stay put -"
We had to leave. It was about to happen. I could already hear them speaking. The only voice that I couldn't hear was Hagrid's. Although I could hear him sniffling. It sounded like he was about to cry. Dumbledore's wise voice was quietly echoing throughout the grounds. I could hear how tense his voice was. He must have been furious that this was actually happening. Together we walked forward again; like Hermione, I was trying not to listen to the rumble of voices behind us. Ron stopped again.
"Just drop the damn rat! Let's go," I hissed.
"I can't hold him - Scabbers, shut up, everyone will hear us -"
We had to get out of here before it happened. They weren't going to want to drag this out. Not standing right in front of Buckbeak. So the chances were that it was about to end. It was going to happen within the next few seconds. We had to be gone by then. The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe. Hermione swayed on the spot.
My legs quivered as I latched onto Harry's arms. "Oh... Harry..." I muttered.
Harry was trembling as he pulled me into him for a hug. Ron and Hermione joined a moment later. "It's okay," Harry muttered into my hair.
"They did it! I d - don't believe it - they did it!" Hermione whispered into my back. Cedric and Hagrid were right. We shouldn't have been here for this.
A/N: Next time... In the moments after Buckbeak's execution, Scabbers and Crookshanks make a run for it as the Golden Quartet are attacked by the large black dog - and they finally come face-to-face with their tormentor. Sorry that this update took so long! But my new job keeps me busy and I'm still learning how to balance everything. Thanks so much for the hearts and sweet comments! Let me know what you think! Until next time -A
VincentFGS91: The Polyjuice Potion was one of my favorite pieces to write. I loved the mix-up and what it led to! Thanks! I'm so glad that you love my writing style :)
Samain96: Tara will always give Harry a bad time about his relationship with Cho. It's not just relationships with him in general. She'll be much more open to Ginny. It's just that she has always despised Cho and her crush on Cedric upsets Tara. Don't worry, Harry will eventually get a good girlfriend!
Guest: Oh, I'm so glad that you love the story! I'm sure that it's quite difficult to find a good OC story, especially seeing as there are so many. I'm also super happy that you love Tara! She's so much fun. I love the canon story - hence why I'm writing about it - but there are so many good chances to change things. That's exactly what I'm doing with this one. Some plots will be changed, in time, that is. I'm so glad that you found this story too! Enjoy the other stories! Some are better than others, so good luck. I would suggest my Hunger Games series if you're a fan of that or Savage if you enjoy Marvel. Thank you! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.
Keira: Thank you! Marcus and Julia will have a big part in the early pieces of Goblet of Fire, particularly with Sirius. They'll have something to do with Sirius, but that will be revealed in time. Tara and Draco are very up in the air. There are just so many 'fourth Golden Quarter member hates Draco and then loves him later' stories. If I do chose to go with him, I would have to really work at it. I do show him a lot, because I would at least like for them to have a friendship at some point. If I pair up Tara with Fred (who I'm more fond of) their relationship will slowly change. Tara will have a terrible time getting over Cedric, but she will manage. As for who she'll end up with, it'll hopefully be good no matter what. Tara will spend much of her Fifth Year getting over Cedric - as long as I do kill him. Either way, Fred will never really leave Tara's life. In their Sixth Year, Tara and Draco will definitely have a good storyline going. I already have one planned. Either way, I don't really plan for Tara to have a solid love life in her later Hogwarts years. It'll be more about the upcoming war, but there will definitely be lots of time for romance too. Cedric as a Death Eater was honestly really stupid. No way. Never. I'm so excited for Tara's parents to find out about Cedric. Can't guarantee whether or not Marcus or Julia will die in Deathly Hallows. But it's definitely something good to think about in the future. I can guarantee that Marcus and Julia will be at the Quidditch Cup. Marcus would never miss it. The Nox's and Amos will have quite the interesting time with Cedric and Tara. I hope that you liked this chapter and thank you so much for the wonderful review!
