Hey! So I'm having a fantastic day for once so I'm actually really happy lol. Hopefully this chapter is at least okay. Enjoy!

Cedric's POV

(Bet you didn't see that one coming)

Cedric was really surprised when Thalia asked him if she could tag along with his expedition to the Shrieking Shack. He kinda felt like he had weirded her out back when he pulled her behind a tree during the Death Eaters attack.

I mean, she tried to flip me over!

When he first met Thalia, he realized she was really pretty and tough. And smart... And talented... And brave... And pretty much out of his league. Cedric never really liked anyone that much. The only girlfriend he's had was Cho Chang from Ravenclaw the previous year. But... She flirted with other guys and then would act like a victim in front others. So he broke it off.

He's gotten many requests from girls but he knew they only liked him for his looks, not that he was that special. He had a weird bronze hair colour and yellow-brown eyes. Meanwhile, Thalia looked like an actual goddess. She had pitch black hair that was slightly past her shoulders and the brightest blue eyes he's ever seen. She had a few freckles spread across her face too.

She currently was wearing a blue shirt with a silver parka. She also had a crown-like silver piece of jewelry on her head with some silver bracelets on her wrist. She was perfect.

When Cedric saw her come in when Dumbledore had announced her school, he was surprised and kinda joyful. His friends teased him of acting a bit different around her.

"Ha! I've never seen you like this Cedric! You're completely whipped from that girl!!" his friend, Gaten, said while dying of laughter.

"Shut up! And I'm not whipped!" Cedric said, defending himself."Yeah, sure, and you also don't have a big crush on her" said his other friend Tyler.

"He has a crush on someone?! Who!" Ernie Macmillan said as he walked into the common room.

Cedric looked at Tyler warningly. Everyone knew Ernie gets news around quick and Cedric did not want that.

Tyler shrugged, "Some girl from Olympus".

"Aah, shut it you" Cedric said, while Tyler was laughing on the floor.

"Seriously?!" Ernie asked.

"No. Now I'm going to bed before they come up with more lies" Cedric got up and left to the dormitories, blushing.His friends just sat there laughing.

'Some friends they are' Cedric thought.

Cedric and Thalia were already on the path through the forest to get to the Shrieking Shack.

"So Cedric.. Could you tell me more about the Shrieking Shack? The name sounds pretty cool in my opinion" Thalia asked while she had a small smile.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Well, the name comes from the villagers. They heard a lot of screams from the shack so they thought it was haunted. It stopped years ago but they still keep the name for memory. I actually kinda wonder what it was", Cedric said.

"Maybe it was a ghost", said Thalia while chuckling, "Who knows what happened there... "

"Ha! Yeah, like a ghost would like stick around here" Cedric said while also laughing.

"Haha! Maybe it was like, ah! Too many young people" Thalia said while putting her hands in front of her face like she was getting blinded.

They both laughed and continued joking around until they reached the shack. They both approached it very quietly for no reason. Thalia walked closer to the fence and took a hold of it.

Then she all of a sudden turned to Cedric quick and said, "Boo!"

Cedric being surprised, jumped back a bit. Thalia and him both started laughing from his reaction.

"Oh come on, Mr. Champion" she said in air quotes, "I thought you had to cautious of your surroundings for your tasks or whatever".

Cedric snorted, "Yeah, I should be. I'm not good at that type of stuff. I was sort of surprised when my name got called. I know I'll be last in everything for sure".

Thalia looked at him in his eyes, "You were chosen from everyone candidate in Hogwarts, Cedric. I think that's pretty impressive".

Cedric looked away, "Yeah... But, sometimes I wonder what would have happened if someone like Harry was my age... I wouldn't be a champion then. The cup would have obviously chosen him".

Thalia looked as though she was debating on telling him something. But instead, she turned back to the Shrieking Shack for a minute.

Then she said, "I don't think so".

Cedric turned back at her. Her eyes met his.

"I think you could give him a run for his money", she continued, "Plus, he was chosen by default. But you... You were chosen to represent your school for a reason. So don't beat yourself up from it. Besides, you've read that paper that Rita Skeeter wrote. Are you sure you would've liked to be the center of attention for it..?"

Cedric laughed, "I suppose not".

"Exactly," she turned to face the shack again, "You know... That shack might actually be kinda nice if it wasn't so beat up".

"Yeah... Say, Thalia?" Cedric faced her, "Tell more about yourself".

Thalia's POV

"Hmm?" Thalia cocked her head a bit.

"I mean, I don't really know much about you besides the fact that you're American, you go to Olympus, and you have a brother" Cedric said.

Thalia felt really calm when she was speaking to him but that all stopped a minute ago.

Arg... I can't tell him the truth but I don't want to lie to him...

"Uh, well... " Thalia put her finger to her chin, "I'll start with the basics I guess. I'm Thalia Grace. I'm fifteen, my birthday is December twenty-second, and I'm from Manhattan, New York, America".

"Manhattan?" Cedric titled his head slightly.

"It's a city in New York" Thalia said.

Cedric took a step back, "I thought New York was a city..?"

Thalia nodded her head, "Yeah, technically. A city in New York is literally called New York".

"New York, New York?" Cedric said. Then he repeated saying that, "That sounds weird".

Thalia chuckled, "Yeah, I guess. Manhattan is just one of the many cities in New York".

"So... How's Manhattan?" Cedric curiously asked.

Thalia thought for a moment, "Like for a normal person or a dem- WITCH. I MEANT WITCH. Um... Yeah?"

Cedric looked at her for a second but decided not to question her, "Both, I guess".

"Uh... Well. For anyone, honestly it's very loud and fast. There's a lot of people there so it's pretty chaotic. There's trash in a lot of places, there's a lot of traffic -both on the streets and the sidewalks- "

"So you don't like it?"

"No, of course I like it. Sure, it's kinda hard for a wizard there but it isn't terrible. And besides, Manhattan has it's places where everything is really pretty. Like Central Park and Bartholomew's Church... Oooh and Bloomberg... And Time's Square- "

Thalia continued to talk about the different places and events in New York and Cedric took turns talking about living in England. The two chatted even more about where they have visted, their friends, their schools...nBut then, one question came up...

"So, is Olympus a boarding school like Hogwarts?" Cedric asked.

"Err... Yeah, technically. But some people stay there the entire year. Like Annnabeth".

"Well, what about your families? Don't you need to see them?" Cedric said.

Thalia paused.

How do I explain this...?

"Uh, well... You see.. " Thalia started. She took a glance towards the ground trying to think about what she was going to say.

Cedric seemed to have noticed, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to... I get it".

No... You don't.

Thalia gave a sideways smile, "Thanks... It's sort of the reason our training is different from you guys. We not only train our magic but also our bodies. So we can handle spells a bit more than others".

Now that was a somewhat truth. Since they were demigods, they could handle spells better. It would take a strong Knock-back Jinx to knock a demigod down. It's even harder for one of the Big Three kids to get taken down by magic too.

"So if I casted a spell on you..?" Cedric questioned.

Thalia smiled and shrugged, "I might feel it depending if you were strong or not, but it's you.. So I would probably feel it".

Thalia could see pink rising in his cheeks. She wondered why but didn't ask.

"Thanks... I guess," he smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah.. Say, I think it's time we head back. The sun is starting to set", Thalia said as she looked up at the sky, "The sunset is really pretty though".

"Yeah, really pretty.. " said Cedric who (unknown to Thalia) was looking directly at her.

...

Hopefully it was good enough to be a chapter lol. Have a good morning, or evening, or night! Next update 2/1/20

-E.V