Chapter VII: The First Task
Lou Ellen Blackstone walked down the hallway towards the staircase which led to the dungeons underneath Hogwarts. She never understood who thought it was a good idea to put a dormitory in a dungeon, much less one that ran underneath the giant lake. The amount of mold that builds up in the Slytherin dormitory is unreal. At least with Hudson House, they had charms and enchantments that prevented such mundane things from forming.
Lou Ellen quickly walked down the staircase, making sure to step over the vanishing step. She was about to round the corner towards her dormitory when she heard loud voices yelling at one another.
She recognized the voices as Pansy Porkinson and Draco. Lou Ellen did not understand what Draco saw in the annoying girl. She was self-centered, racist, and just flat out mean. In other words, your stereotypical, too rich for their own good white-girl with probable daddy issues.
Lou Ellen leaned up against the wall, waiting for the two to finish that way she wouldn't have to run into either one of them.
"-You're unbelievable, seriously, you're pathetic!" Lou Ellen heard Pansy yell. And a second later a loud 'SLAP' rang through the halls.
Lou Ellen brought out her wand and quickly rounded the corner, "All right Draco, she might be an annoying-" Lou Ellen stopped her self-rant when she saw Draco with his head down, his hand on his cheek, and Pansy holding her hand up.
'Why am I not surprised?' Lou Ellen thought to herself as Pansy quickly stormed into the Slytherin common room, and Draco tried to storm past Lou Ellen. Lou Ellen grabbed onto his arm as he tried to walk past her.
"Let go of me!" He yelled.
Lou Ellen looked down at Draco, whose face was still turned away from Lou Ellen. "Draco, are you okay?" She asked genuinely.
She knew that he and Pansy had an… interesting relationship, and she knew they argued a lot, but she never suspected there to be any physical abuse. Emotional sure, Draco's a Malfoy, there's already a family history of it, and she was sure as Hades that Pansy's home life was probably similarly complicated.
"Let go of me!" He yelled again, this time looking up at Lou Ellen, and that's when she saw his split lip with some blood running down his chin. He had a tear forming in his eye.
Lou Ellen loosened her grip on the boy in almost sheer shock and he ran into the nearby bathroom.
She debated on going in after him, but she turned to march into the Slytherin common room.
Lou Ellen didn't have to look to hard to find Pansy, who was sitting on one of the green couches next to the giant glass window that looked out into the lake.
A couple of other Slytherin girls sat by Pansy as they looked to be gossiping over gods know what this time.
Pansy looked up at Lou Ellen when she heard her footsteps and rolled her eyes at the older witch.
"Look what the dog dragged in." Pansy laughed.
Lou Ellen ignored her sad attempt at an insult. "I should drag you down to the deepest pits of Tartarus for what you did to Draco!" Lou Ellen declared, gripping her wand tightly.
Pansy looked to her friends and squinted her eyes at Lou Ellen.
"What's a Tartarus?" She asked, looking up as if she were trying to contemplate if she had ever heard of the word.
Lou Ellen snorted slightly, "Bitch, you about to find out." Lou Ellen said as she pointed her wand at the younger witch.
Pansy looked unfazed by Lou Ellen's threat. "Didn't you just get into trouble with the 'Old Hag' not too long ago because you decided to attack Draco, my boyfriend?" Pansy asked, a deadly smirk stretching across her face.
Lou Ellen narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if Pansy was worth the risk of expulsion.
"Or better yet, how would it look on tomorrow's headlines?" Pansy asked using her hands for dramatic effect, "I can already see it, First Daughter attacks younger innocent girl over a boy." She laughed. "Merlin, think about what it would do to your father's reelection efforts."
Lou Ellen didn't waver as she slowly walked towards Pansy. Pansy sat up in her chair, almost daring Lou Ellen to step closer.
Lou Ellen turned to Pansy's gang of girls, each of them holding their wands.
"Leave." Lou Ellen commanded.
The younger girls looked to Pansy for direction, "It's alright girls, I can take this blood traitor myself." Pansy declared, standing up and pulling out her wand.
"You're going to regret crossing me." Pansy warned.
"You know, Draco already has one asshole for a father, he doesn't need two." Lou Ellen snapped.
"Did you just call me a man?" Pansy asked, looking offended at the comparison.
Lou Ellen snorted in surprise, "I love how, out of that entire sentence, that's the one thing you latched onto." Lou Ellen said with enough snark to rival Percy.
"You bitch!" Pansy shouted and extended her arm to fire off a spell.
Lou Ellen deflected it, rebounding it to where it landed against the stone wall, leaving a singe in its place.
Lou Ellen feigned a yawn. "Is that the best you got, Porky?" Lou Ellen asked, trying to get under the girl's skin.
"Bombarda!" Pansy shouted.
Lou Ellen once again deflected the spell, this time sending it back towards Pansy. The younger Slytherin ducked just in time. The red bolt blasted against the glass window that separated the common room from the Black Lake.
Pansy stood back up and laughed at Lou Ellen. "Missed." She declared.
Lou Ellen smirked at the girl and raised her wand. "Protego." She muttered.
Pansy looked at Lou Ellen curiously then turned her head when the sounds of cracking glass filled the common room.
Right as Pansy turned towards the window, a giant geyser of water erupted from the spot where Lou Ellen had redirected her blasting spell.
The force of the water knocked Pansy back several feet to the ground and started to flood the common room.
The water bounced harmlessly off Lou Ellen as she kept the water from entering the rest of the common room and the dormitories behind her.
Every time Pansy attempted to stand up, she would slip and fall right back down. Lou Ellen tried not to break her concentration, but still tried to enjoy Pansy's struggles.
After another few minutes of watching Pansy suffer, Lou Ellen began to beat the water back towards the lake, to the point where she could repair the broken window.
With a wave of her wand, she sent the water back to its original source, but making sure to leave Pansy a soaking mess and the rest of the common room dry as a bone.
Lou Ellen knelt next to a red-faced Pansy. "Next time you think about abusing someone, just know, I will not hesitate to actually fight back." Lou Ellen threatened quietly. "Now, go apologize to your boyfriend. And if you even think about trying to get me kicked out because you tried to blast me. Well just think of all the free time I will have to make your life a living Hell." Lou Ellen muttered in the now almost whimpering girl's ear. "Glad we had this chat." Lou Ellen said, her tone far more gleeful as she stood back up and walked to her dormitory, passing by Pansy's entourage who all had their mouths gaping.
\_()_/
Cedric Diggory walked along the corridors of Hogwarts, pushing past some of the other students as he, Malcolm, and a few of his Hufflepuff housemates made their way to charms.
"How's everything in Ravenclaw?" Cedric asked Malcolm.
Malcolm shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, I kind of wish you or one of the others was with me in there, I can only play off the whole 'I don't know anything because I'm an American' for so long." He muttered under his breath, making sure the other students around them couldn't hear.
Cedric turned his head to give Malcolm a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry babe. But think of it this way, you could always haven been thrown into Slytherin."
Malcolm raised an eyebrow at Cedric, "Did you just call me 'babe'?" He asked, suppressing a smirk.
Cedric blushed, "Sorry, it just kind of slipped."
"No, no its fine, it's just, we've never really used-"
Malcolm was cut off when Cedric's bag completely fell apart and all his supplies fell onto the ground.
"Gods dammit." Cedric cursed. Malcolm and the other Hufflepuff kids around Cedric went to help him but he waved everyone off. "Go on, I don't want make any of you late." Cedric said, annoyed as he used his wand to clean up the spilled ink from the now broken glass ink jars.
Malcolm looked hesitant but nodded his head, "I'll go save our seats."
Cedric gathered his belongings and quickly looked at his bag, trying to figure out how the bag broke.
"What the Hell?" Cedric muttered to himself when he saw how the bag was split apart, perfectly at the seams.
"Cedric! Let me help you with that." Cedric heard the voice of Harry Potter call out from the other side of the hallway.
Cedric was going to wave the boy off, but he noticed the wand in Harry's hand. 'That explains a lot.' Cedric thought to himself.
Cedric let Harry pick up his books as he put his bag back together.
"Thanks." Cedric said, 'for cleaning up your mess'. "And about the buttons, I asked the guys not to wear them." Cedric quickly said.
The buttons were a sad attempt by some of Cedric's 'supporters' to try and drag down Harry for trying to 'steal' the spotlight. Cedric found the buttons to be obnoxious and just mean.
"Oh, right, thanks but… uh, Dragons." Harry muttered, looking around the hallway to make sure no one was around.
"Come again?" Cedric asked confused.
"The first task, its dragons. They have one for each of us." Harry said.
Cedric looked at Harry, trying to figure out his angle. "How would you know that?"
"Does it matter? But I saw it myself." Harry said defensively.
Cedric nodded his head, "Hey, Potter." Cedric said to Harry as he turned to walk away. "Thanks, and I'll make sure to return the favor."
Harry shook his head, "Don't worry about it." And he walked back the way he came, leaving Cedric to quickly throw his books back into his bag and race into Charms, which he was already a few minutes late.
Cedric walked into the long classroom and was met by a staring Professor Flitwick. "I assume you used the Repario charm Mr. Diggory?" Flitwick asked as he walked in.
"Excuse me Professor?" Cedric asked confused.
"Your, bag, Mr. Pace explained to me before class that you had some trouble with it." Flitwick chuckled.
"Oh, right. Sorry. Yes, Professor. The repario charm worked brilliantly." Cedric said as he took his seat next to Malcolm.
Malcolm looked over at him with a puzzled look on his face. Clearly trying to figure something out.
"What?" Cedric whispered as he took his textbook out of his bag.
"What really happened? I know bags don't just magically fall apart for no reason, even in the magical world." Malcolm asked.
Cedric wondered if he should tell Malcolm about the conversation he had with Harry, not wanting to worry him with something that was out of both of their control.
"Cedric…" Malcolm said, noticing the perplexed look on Cedric's face.
Cedric sighed, and looked over at Flitwick as he began lecturing the class on their next set of charms.
"Harry wanted to talk to me, about the Tournament." Cedric said, hoping that would be enough for Malcolm.
"Not surprising, honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't come to you sooner, it's been almost a week. But what about…?" Malcolm asked, eyeing Flitwick.
Cedric shrugged his shoulders, "He said something about dragons. He claims that he saw them himself, but I don't know how he knows."
"Dragons?" Malcolm asked in disbelief.
Cedric nodded his head.
"Dragons? Like, gigantic fire-breathing lizards?" Malcolm asked again.
"Well, I can't say whether they are gigantic or not, but yeah. Essentially." Cedric said, shrugging his shoulders.
Malcolm stared at him; mouth slightly ajar.
"Mr. Diggory, I understand you are Hogwarts's new celebrity, but could you and Mr. Pace please pay attention." Professor Flitwick called out.
Malcom and Cedric's faces instantly turned red as the entire class looked over at them.
"Sorry Professor." They both said, shrinking into their seats slightly, waiting for the rest of the class to turn their attention back to Flitwick.
\_()_/
Cedric stood outside of the large tent where the other champions were waiting for the first task to begin. Malcolm and Will stood next to him, not sure what to say about the upcoming competition.
Malcolm opened his mouth several times, not able to find the words.
Will looked between the two and sighed, "Come on Malcolm, let's go find Nico and Lou Ellen in the stands."
Malcolm grabbed onto Cedric's hand and turned him that way they were facing one another.
Malcolm quickly planted a kiss on Cedric's lips, "For good luck." He whispered.
Cedric flashed him his signature smile, "Don't worry, I've faced far worse than some dragons." Cedric said trying to reassure both Malcolm and himself.
"Yeah, but usually you would have me watching your ass." Malcolm laughed.
"I'm sure you were." Cedric smirked.
Malcolm's face went deep red as he smacked Cedric's arm, "You know what I mean, Herakles you're a jackass."
"But I'm your-"
"Oh my gods, come on Malcolm, let's go find Nico and Lou Ellen." Will interrupted dragging Malcolm by the arm.
"Good luck!" Malcolm shouted as they rounded the corner and left Cedric's eyesight.
Cedric sighed as he stared at the tent before him. He slowly stepped forward, each step feeling like a weight was pulling him down as he walked closer to the opening in the tent.
Cedric pulled open the cloth and walked inside the disproportionately large interior of the tent. The other champions were already inside. Fleur and Viktor stood by each other, whispering cordially with one another, while Harry stood alone near one of the beds, nervously flipping through the pages of a book.
"Spss. Harry!" Cedric heard a whisper from outside the tent.
Cedric saw a female silhouette standing up against the cloth wall.
Seconds later, she lifted the cloth and walked underneath the tent and nearly ran into Cedric.
"Oh, you're not who I was looking for, sorry Cedric." Hermione Granger blushed as she walked past Cedric and quickly ran into Harry's arms.
"That wasn't strange." Cedric whispered to himself.
A bright flash caught everyone's attention.
Cedric turned towards the source and saw the Daily Prophet 'reporter' Rita Skeeter and her photographer taking a shot at Hermione and Harry as they quickly separated.
"Ah, young love." Rita swooned as she approached the Fourth Years. "Nothing sells papers like a scandal in the making!" She cheered as she clasped her hands together.
Viktor and Fleur stepped in front of Harry.
"This area is for champions only." He sternly informed the 'journalist'.
She looked like she wanted to protest, but Viktor crossed his arms, looking down on the smaller woman.
"Well, all right then." She said, a faux smile forming on her face as she stormed out of the tent.
Everyone turned to Harry and Hermione who nodded at Viktor.
"Thanks." Harry muttered.
Viktor gave him a courteous nod, but Cedric noticed his eyes linger on Hermione for a moment before turning his attention back to Fleur.
Moments later a crowd of people stormed into the tent, led by Professor Dumbledore. Behind him, Crouch, Bagman, Karkaroff, and Maxime all huddled together.
The champions, and Hermione slowly walked over to where the adults were patiently waiting.
Dumbledore did a head count to himself, "Alright… Diggory, Potter, Granger… Ms. Granger? What are you doing in here?"
"I was… just leaving." Hermione muttered, flustered in embarrassment.
"Quite right." Dumbledore muttered as the girl fled from the tent. Dumbledore waited until Hermione left the tent before continuing on, "Mr. Crouch, if you would…"
Crouch stepped in front of Dumbledore, holding a sack with faint whines emitting from it.
"Inside are miniature dragons, each champion will reach in, and grab one, and which ever dragon you select, you will have to face the mature version in the arena." Crouch explained mysteriously.
'I guess Potter was right about the dragons.' Cedric thought to himself as Fleur was the first to pick her dragon. Fleur looked genuinely terrified as she put her hand into the brown sack. Cedric could not see what dragon she picked, but the terror on her face quickly shifted to wonder and curiosity as she played around with the miniature fire-breathing lizard.
Viktor chose his dragon next and quickly stepped aside for Cedric to pick his.
Cedric closed his eyes as he slowly reached his gloved hand into the brown sack. Cedric felt something jump into his hand, and he squeezed instinctively before bringing the lizard out. Cedric slowly opened his hand to reveal the small Swedish Short Snout, spitting bursts of bright yellow fire.
Harry was the last to pick his dragon, a Hungarian Horn Tail. Cedric saw Harry flinch at the sight of the miniature fire breathing lizard.
"Mr. Diggory, you're up first!" Bagman cheered gleefully as he led Cedric towards the flap of the tent which led to the enclosed arena.
Cedric could hear the roar of the crowd get louder, overcoming the sounds of Professor Flitwick's pep-band.
Cedric bowed his head slightly and muttered a small prayer to his mother before taking a deep breath.
"Ready, Mr. Diggory?" Dumbledore asked walking up to stand next to the Hogwarts' champion.
"As ready as I will ever be." Cedric laughed nervously.
Dumbledore gave Cedric a pat on the back. Cedric drew his wand and walked through the flap in the tent to enter a giant arena covered in sand, dirt, and jagged rocks. The terrain resembled a mountain top, lots of spaces to take cover, but it would be extremely difficult to navigate across the arena quickly.
Cedric looked up and saw large wooden bleachers surrounding the encircled arena, loud cheering bodies packed the stands. Many of the students carried banners and signs, waving flags, excited for the event to start. Cedric looked for Malcolm but could not find him in the mass of people.
Cedric glanced around the arena and saw a large nest with a golden egg sitting in it. Cedric started to quickly walk towards the egg but stopped in his tracks. 'It can't be this easy.' He thought to himself.
Cedric heard the faintest of roars in the distance and he quickly jumped back as a large blue fireball struck the ground, at the spot he had just been standing. Cedric used his arms to cover his face from the dirt and rocks that had been thrown into the air by the fiery explosion.
Cedric looked through the crevasse between his arms and saw a large silver-blue scaley beast fly over him and landed on top of the nest. The beast roared loudly, the ground shaking in response.
"Well, shi-"
Cedric dodged another fireball from the dragon. The crowd yelled in freight as the dragon continued to launch explosive fireballs at Cedric.
Cedric pushed himself off the ground with his free hand and fired an explosive spell at the dragon. The light blue bolt bounced off the scales of the dragon and blasted a rock to pieces.
"Dammit." Cedric cursed under his breath as he ran up against a large boulder.
Cedric could feel the heat of the short Snout's flames as a blanket of blue fire started to encircle him.
"Aguamenti!" Cedric shouted and a stream of water blasted from his wand and he extinguished the fire in front of him. Billows of smoke erupted around him; he used the smoke as cover and quickly ran forward.
Cedric heard the dragon roar once again and he heard the beast launch itself into the air. Cedric could feel the wind come up from underneath the beast as the force of the gusts nearly blew Cedric off his feet.
The thick smoke from the extinguished flames covered Cedric as he carefully made his way towards the nest. Cedric finally emerged from the smoke and saw the nest with the golden egg sitting mere steps away.
Cedric quickly walked over to the egg, but just as he reached for the golden object, the short snout landed directly in front of him.
The dragon roared in anger, at least Cedric assumed it was angry, as it leveled its large head directly at Cedric. He gripped his wand tightly, unable to think of what to do next.
'This breed can be momentarily stunned by sudden bright light!' Cedric heard Aphrodite's voice in his head.
Ignoring the invasion of privacy, Cedric quickly raised his wand and quickly fired off the Lumos charm, nearly blinding Cedric himself.
The dragon gave out a startled cry as its head shook around, trying to overcome the sudden blast of light. Cedric stood motionless momentarily, shocked that it worked.
"GO!" He heard the crowd shout from the stands. Cedric shook his head in realization.
"Right." He muttered to himself and ran underneath the disoriented dragon. Cedric slid underneath the beast and grabbed onto the golden egg, a wicked grin on his face as he embraced the large object.
The loud sound of a cannon going off in the distance rang throughout the arena and the dragon's head instantly looked up towards the direction the sound came from. The dragon spread its wings and left the arena, while the crowd cheered for Cedric's success.
Professor Dumbledore ran out onto the field followed by the other judges.
"Congratulations Mr. Diggory for completing the first task with all of your limbs still intact." Dumbledore cheered, shaking Cedric's hand.
Ceric grinned excitedly and turned to face the crowd, he held the egg up over his head, making the crowd cheer even louder. He finally saw Malcolm sitting in one of the front rows, next to the other demigods. He was cheering along with the other students, same with Will. Nico was clapping along, but it almost it looked forced, while Lou Ellen nodded her head approvingly.
Cedric gave one final wave before departing the arena towards the medical tent where Madam Pomphrey was doing 'mandatory' post-task medical checks.
\_()_/
Cedric nearly fell over when Malcolm jumped into his arms. "For the love of Herakles, no more dragon fighting, at least for another year." Malcolm whispered as he dropped out of Cedric's arms.
"No promises." Cedric laughed.
"Good job Cedric." Will congratulated, giving Cedric a quick hug, while Nico nodded his approval.
"Not too bad, for a child of Aphrodite." Lou Ellen said giving the son of the love goddess a 'high-five'.
Cedric cocked his head slightly, "Thanks… I think?"
"It was a compliment."
"Cedric!" The voice of Ernie yelled over the crowd, he and Zacharias ran over to the joined group.
"Viktor just finished up, he survived." Zacharias informed, glancing slightly at Lou Ellen, especially at the Slytherin crest on her robes.
"What?" She asked bluntly.
Zacharias turned away quickly, his face reddening from embarrassment.
"I expected as much, out of the four of us, I figured Fleur would be the one to struggle the most, but that's mainly because I don't really have a grasp on her magical abilities." Cedric said.
"Right…Because it has nothing to do with her being a girl?" Lou Ellen asked.
"Wha-no, that has nothing to do with anything." Cedric defended himself.
"Honestly, I thought Show-Boat-Potter would be the one to struggle out of anyone." Ernie laughed.
Cedric frowned at the younger Hufflepuff. "Would you stop that." He ordered.
Ernie shrugged his shoulders, "It's true. Everyone's saying it."
"Just because everyone is saying something, doesn't make it true." Lou Ellen spoke up.
"Anyways, what's with the egg?" Will asked, quickly changing the subject.
Cedric quickly picked the golden egg off the ground from the place he quickly laid it when Malcolm came running towards him minutes earlier. He slowly examined the golden object, the outside shell of the egg wasn't anything too fancy, some engravings, but nothing of significance.
"Should I open it?" Cedric asked, placing his fingers on the knob at the top of the egg.
They nodded their heads, albeit nervously. Cedric twisted the knob and nearly dropped the egg as it emitted a loud painful scream.
Everyone quickly covered their ears in reaction while Cedric struggled to get the egg closed.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ernie yelled.
"Some type of defense mechanism, obviously." Lou Ellen muttered.
"That's some defense mechanism." Will scoffed.
"What?" Nico yelled, twisting his finger in his ear. Will patted Nico's back reassuringly.
"We'll table this for later." Cedric said, grabbing his bookbag from Malcolm to stuff the egg into it.
"Are you going to watch Fleur and Potter attempt the task?" Zacharias asked.
Cedric almost immediately said yes, but then glanced at Malcolm, "Actually, I'm exhausted, I'm going to head back to the castle and lie down before everyone gets back. But you guys go ahead, I'll see you guys at dinner."
Ernie, Zacharias, Nico, Will and Lou Ellen turned to walk back to the arena, while Lou Ellen rolled her eyes at Cedric.
"You're not tired, are you?" Malcolm asked glancing at his boyfriend.
Once the other were out of earshot, Cedric laughed. "Are you kidding? I'm on an adrenaline high right now!" Cedric laughed and grabbed Malcolm's hand, "Come on!"
"Wha-" Malcolm gasped as he was pulled along.
\_()_/
Malcom Pace got pushed up against the wall of the Prefect's bathroom as Cedric attacked his neck.
"Careful, I don't want anything to show-oh!" Malcolm moaned as Cedric continued to kiss up Malcolm's neck.
"You were saying?" Cedric whispered into his ear.
Malcolm snorted quietly before grabbing Cedric by his shirt and flipped their position to where Cedric was pushed up against the wall.
"I was saying that your shirt was in the way." Malcolm said, pulling his glasses off and throwing them onto his robes on the ground that had been discarded minutes earlier.
Cedric smirked as he pulled his shirt over his head and quickly threw it aside. Malcolm bit his lip at the sight before him.
"What? Like what you see?" Cedric asked, pulling his arms behind his head, flexing his abs off for Malcolm.
"A little too much." Malcolm muttered as he leaned into kiss Cedric.
"Oh, whose Cedric's little friend?" A high-pitched voice called out, making both of the boys jump.
"What the Hades?" Malcolm asked, instinctively reaching for his celestial bronze dagger.
"Myrtle, out!" Cedric yelled.
A ghost appeared out from one of the stalls in the bathroom, floating a few feet off the ground.
"If I can't enjoy having all 'this' to myself, the least you could do for me is to let me watch." Myrtle cried flying over to float next to the boys.
Malcolm backed up against the wall while Cedric pulled his wand out from his pocket. "Myrtle, I swear to Merlin that if you don't get out, I will banish you from here." Cedric threatened.
The teenaged ghost did not look impressed. "Cedie, don't make threats that you won't follow through on, because if you do try to 'banish' me, then I'll just tell the whole school about you being… one of them." Myrtle whispered, while pointing at Malcolm.
"Myrtle, I don't care if you make me… show off in front of you, but there is no way in Hades that I'm going to let you take advantage of my boyfriend like that. You understand?" Cedric threatened, pointing an angry finger through her ghostly form.
Myrtle pucker her lips and squeaked out a "hmpf". "Fine, I'll just go back down to the other bathroom… All alone, in this big empty bathroom. With no one to share it with-"
"Goodbye Myrtle." Cedric ordered and the ghost dived through the floor and disappeared.
Once she was gone Cedric turned around, rubbing the back of his head, "Well, I guess that kind of ruined the moment?" Cedric nervously laughed.
Malcolm shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, the teenage ghost girl definitely will not be a fun highlight to look back on, but you getting all bossy like that, was kind of a turn on." Malcolm murmured, using his fingers to trail up Cedric's bare chest.
"Was it now?" Cedric whispered through his smirk.
Malcolm rolled his eyes, "I should have kept my mouth shut."
Cedric chuckled as he leaned in to kiss Malcolm. "I wish we could stay like this forever." Cedric murmured in between kisses.
Malcolm moaned in agreement, letting the world fall apart around him. He could stay like this, in Cedric's arms forever. Letting go of the fact that he was in the middle of a quest, and that Cedric's life could be at risk. That risk exponentially greater with his inclusion into the Triwizard Tournament.
Malcolm was about to pull his shirt over his shoulders when he heard footsteps and talking out in the hall. Malcolm sighed and pulled away from Cedric and smacked the back of his head against the wall in frustration.
Cedric turned to face him. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."
Malcolm groaned in annoyance and walked over to pick up his robe and glasses.
Cedric walked over to him once he put his shirt back on, "Let's be honest, neither one of us would have really enjoyed doing anything more, in a bloody bathroom." Cedric laughed.
"I mean, as bathroom's go, this one ain't half bad." Malcolm laughed shrugging his shoulders.
"No, I guess not."
Malcolm and Cedric quickly made their way out of the Prefects' bathroom and started to walk down the hall towards the Great Hall when they were met by a scowling Lou Ellen and Will.
Will looked like he was trying hard not to laugh while the look of judgment was ever present in Lou Ellen's facial expression.
"You two look like the embodiment of the walk of shame." Lou Ellen muttered.
Malcolm was about to argue back, but looked at Cedric and noticed his hair was a complete mess and his shirt was inside out. "Cedric." Malcolm said plainly.
"Huh?" Cedric asked looking at Malcolm.
Malcolm nodded his head at Cedric, trying to get him to see his clothing issue.
Cedric was still confused before looking down and nearly jumping. "Well, shit." Cedric laughed and took off his shirt in the middle of a not so empty hallway and corrected his shirt.
Will walked over to lean down in Malcolm's ear, "You can certainly pick 'em." As they both stared at his half-naked body as he put his shirt back on.
"Don't be hitting on my boyfriend, especially since you have one of your own." Malcolm retorted.
"Doesn't mean I can't look." Will whispered before pulling away.
"Uh-huh, I'm sure Nico would feel elated to hear you say that." Malcolm snorted.
"Bitch please, Nico's worse than I am. He just won't ever admit it." Will snickered.
"And neither are you supposed too." Malcolm shot back.
Will shrugged his shoulders. "Whateves. I'm heading down to the Great Hall for some food if anyone wishes to join me." Will said walking away from the others.
"I think I'm actually going to go get some sleep now, I'm actually really tired now." Cedric said.
"I'm sure you are." Lou Ellen smirked.
"Why are you still here?" Malcolm asked annoyed.
"I don't have any other friends here. And plus, it's fun watching your displeasure." Lou Ellen said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Ignore her." Cedric whispered and gave Malcolm a peck on the cheek before walking off in the other direction.
Malcolm sighed as he watched his boyfriend walk away from him. He wasn't trying to be that person, but for the sake of Zeus, he just wanted to spend some actual quality time with Cedric.
"Come on Lover Boy, we can get something to eat, and try to strategize over some ideas about that stupid egg thing." Lou Ellen said pulling Malcolm with her towards the Great Hall.
"Right, the screeching egg thing. Fun." Malcolm muttered and allowed Lou Ellen to direct him towards dinner.
\_()_/
May the Force be with you because we have saved Democracy!