Vanessa and Viktor were one of the last couples to leave the ball that night. The rumors of the two of them started swirling around the school the next day. The Hufflepuffs were calling her a traitor, thinking she shouldn't be spending time with her brother's competition. Everyone else just figured she had slept with the Quidditch star in hopes of furthering her Quidditch career.

Even Rita Skeeter had written an article about it in the Daily Prophet, saying that Vanessa enjoyed the fame and that she was informing Viktor of her brother's plans for the rest of the tournament. She knew none of it was true though, and so did the people that mattered most to her.

She just let it all roll off her back. She had passed a group of her brother's friends on her way to one of her classes several days later, only for Cedric to swoop in and start yelling at his so-called friends for talking to his sister the way they were. A few comments got on her nerves so much that she found herself silently hexing and jinxing the perpetrators as she walked past them.

As the second task was quickly approaching, she helped her brother to figure out his egg. She was the one who figured out that he should try opening it underwater. Once he had done that, it took him no time at all to realize that the task would be held at the Black Lake.

Before the second task though, Vanessa had a task of her own to overcome. She had awoken on Valentine's Day to see two separate parcels had been left on her nightstand sometime in the night.

"Are those from Viktor?" One of her dorm mates, Sophia, had asked.

Vanesa shrugged her shoulders, leaning over and grabbing one of the boxes. She opened it to find multiple boxes of chocolate frogs and a note from George.

Nessa, I'm sorry for everything that happened at the Yule Ball. I miss you. I know these Chocolate Frogs probably won't make up for anything, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless. - George.

She smiled and set the note and the box aside. She hadn't talked to the twins much since the night of the ball, avoiding them as much as she could, except during the classes they shared together. Hermione had told her that Ginny had given them both a talking to.

Picking up the next package, she noticed it was slightly heavier than the first one. This one had a tag around the bow.

I look forward to our date today. - Viktor

Vanessa smiled and opened the box. It was a bottle of her favorite perfume. She hadn't remembered telling him about it and figured he must have asked Hermione or Ginny.

"That man has good taste," Sophia said. " Where are you two going tonight?"

"We were just going to go into Hogsmeade and have dinner at the Three Broomsticks. Not much else we can do."

"What about Madam Puddifoot's," Sophia asked.

Vanessa scrunched her nose. "I'm not a fan of that place. Too much pink."

She got up from her bed and decided to get ready. All classes had been canceled so she didn't have much planned until later that evening. She was going to meet Viktor in the entrance hall later that evening to walk to the village together.

While they had both concluded that nothing sexual would be happening between the two of them, that didn't mean they were keeping their hands, or lips, off of one another. It had almost brought them closer in a way.

She headed out of the dungeons and made her way upstairs to the library. Vanessa had been studying up on dragons and learning different spells and potions she figured she could use when she went to Romania. With most of the library practically empty, she took a seat at an open table, as opposed to using her private room.

The weekend before, Vanessa had concluded her apparition lessons, as the instructor told her she was one of the most advanced students he had ever seen. She was glad that was one less thing on her plate that day.

It wasn't a surprise. Vanessa was advanced for her age. She had been told so since her first year. Her professors had told her that she could move up a year, but she never wanted to.

Vanessa was also able to do wandless magic, something very few witches or wizards could do. But the only people who had known about this were her family, close friends, and Professors Snape, McGonagall, and Dumbledore. She wanted to keep it quiet, not wanting to be used for this ability.

Turning the page to her book, she felt the chair next to her move and someone sit down beside her. Looking up from her book, she turned to see Fred smirking at her.

"What do you want?" She turned back to her book a moment later.

"You're still mad at us?"

"What do you want me to say, Fred? You guys upset me at the ball."

"Did you mean what you said though?"

She looked at him questioningly.

"About saying you would have gone with George?"

She closed her book and put all her focus on the redhead sitting next to her. "Yes, I meant it. I wanted him to ask me." She closed her book and turned to face him. "The Burrow, that was the other thing I smelled in the Amortentia."

He smiled at her, but she continued before he could speak. "I figured you would have caught on after the firework bit, but you didn't. It's because when I arrived at the Burrow this summer, you had told me you had been working on fireworks days before I got there. Your room still smelled like it. Mint, because he always seems to smell like it, and he tends to eat minty candies. And the Burrow, well that's the first place I met you both and the place I realized I had feelings for George. No offense Freddie."

"I'm with Angelina, so I'm fine with it. Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" He reached out and gave her hand a soft squeeze.

"Maybe it's all a sign."

"What do you mean?"

"That we're growing older and changing. So many people told me it was bound to happen, being friends with boys. I just never believed them."

Fred couldn't help but laugh.

"Where's George?"

"He was getting an earful from McGonagall when I left him. Talking about how he needs to take his apparition lessons seriously or he's going to hurt himself. She would have yelled at me too, but I got out of there right away." His words made her smile.

"You can tell George all this if you want." She stood up from her seat and grabbed the book she had been reading. "I've got to go get ready for dinner."

Fred stood up as well, looking down at her. "I think it might be best if you tell him yourself, Nessa. I think you both have things you need to tell each other. And don't have too much fun with Krum."

"We're just getting dinner."

"I'm serious though, talk to George."

He left her standing there. She picked up the book she was reading and returned it to the shelf, before heading back to her dormitory to get ready. It was still chilly outside, so she opted for a cute baggy sweater and leggings for the evening. She put on makeup again, but it was nothing crazy. Her hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail with subtle curls at the ends.

As promised, Viktor met her in the entrance hall, beaming at her as she approached him. They talked the whole way to the village. He told her he had finally solved the egg, but she didn't give off any sign that she already knew what the task might be.

Madam Rosemerta had the Three Broomsticks set up beautifully for the night. Flowers were the centerpiece of each table and she had enchanted lights strung up throughout the ceiling. She and Viktor sat in a secluded corner of the pub, thankful that Madam Rosemerta was able to accommodate them. They ate and had too much butterbeer that night.

"I forgot to thank you for my gifts today. Ginny must have told you that was my favorite perfume."

"Actually it wasn't. It was the twins. I couldn't find their sister, so I asked them if they knew."

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "You're joking?"

Viktor looked at her curiously. "No. I asked them a few weeks after the ball. They seemed more than happy to tell me."

Vanessa sat in silence for a moment. She wasn't sure what the twins were playing at. A moment later, Madam Rosemerta stopped by their table to drop off their bowl of ice cream they had ordered. They didn't talk about the twins for the rest of the evening. They arrived back at the castle about an hour later, Viktor walking her into the entrance hall, before kissing her goodnight.

A week later, it was time for the second task in the Triwizard Tournament. The night before, Vanessa had been called to Professor McGonagall's office. There she found Ron and a small blonde girl she did not recognize. McGonagall gestured for her to take a seat between the two. She seemed to be waiting for someone. Vanessa looked at the girl next to her. She looked scared to be there.

"You must be Fleur's sister." The girl nodded at her. "My name is Vanessa. I'm Cedric's sister."

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Gabrielle." Her accent was thick just like Fleur's.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why you were called here." Ludo Bagman had just walked into the room, Percy Weasley on his heels.

"Well, tomorrow's task will take place in the Black Lake. The four champions will be asked to retrieve something that was stolen from each of them. That's why you three are here." He walked to stand in front of McGonagall's desk. "Each one of you is close to our champions. You're the person they would miss the most. "Mr. Weasley to Harry Potter and young Miss Delacour, to her sister Fleur." He turned and looked at Vanessa. "You Miss Diggory, well it turns out both your brother and Mr. Krum would miss you the most."

She blushed a shade of red, as he continued. "As they both can't rescue you, you have a choice to make. Your brother or Mr. Krum?"

"My brother of course. But what about Viktor? What does that mean for him?"

"Don't you worry about that Miss Diggory." Bagman turned to Professor McGonagall and nodded his head.

"This spell will make you all fall asleep. You won't awake until you are rescued from the bottom of the Black Lake tomorrow."

Gabrielle let out a scream and reached out to grab Vanessa's hand. Ron and Vanessa looked at each other in shock. But before anyone could say anything else, everything went black.

The next thing Vanessa remembered was hitting the surface of the Black Lake, her brother's arms wrapped around her as he pulled her towards the shore. When they both made it, the twins appeared out of nowhere, wrapping her in a warm blanket. She turned back to the lake to watch what was happening.

Viktor came next, carrying a beautiful blonde girl. Then Harry emerged, not only with Ron but with Gabrielle as well, much to Fleur's relief.

"Are you okay Nessa?" Fred and George asked, standing beside her and trying to warm her up.

"Yeah, I'm great. I just spent who knows how long at the bottom of the Black Lake, but yes, I've never been better." She had missed bickering with the two of them.

"Well Freddie, she's still got her spunk."

Vanessa moved from between the twins for a moment, so she could be next to her brother when the scores were announced.

Cedric had come in first place, Harry in second much to the dismay of Viktor who had come in third. Fleur had come in last place.

Vanessa saw Fleur give Harry and Ron a kiss on their cheeks, thanking them for saving her sister. She walked over to Vanessa next.

"My sister said you were kind to her last night when you were all taken. Your brother has always spoken very highly of you. Thank you for your kindness, Vanessa." She hugged Vanessa for a moment, before stepping aside for Gabrielle to hug her as well.

Viktor came to her next, the blonde girl trailing behind him. "Vanessa, this is my cousin and best friend Nikol. Nikol, this is Vanessa Diggory. The girl I've been writing about."

She reached out and shook the girl's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Nikol. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Vanessa." Her accent was thick like Viktor's. "He seems so much happier than I've seen him in a long time."

Vanessa blushed as Viktor smiled at her. The pair walked back towards the Durmstrang students and she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders.

It was Cedric.

Vanessa turned and hugged him. "You saved me again Ced."

"I'm your big brother. I'll always be there to save you. Just like I did when you were a little girl and would fall off your broom."

Cho was running up to them and flung herself at Cedric. Vanessa pulled herself away and made her way back to the two boys who were still standing nearby. She waved a quick-drying spell on herself before turning to look at the pair of them.

"You two want to walk up to the castle with me?"

They nodded enthusiastically, before taking off back up the pathway to the castle. The whole time they talked about how worried they had been as soon as they saw her emerge from the lake, talking about how Dumbledore shouldn't have allowed it.

She kept assuring the two that she was really fine, cold, but fine. At that point, they had both offered her their jackets and she took George's. When they finally made it back to the castle a few minutes later and were in the warmth of the entrance hall, she handed the jacket back to him.

"I never thanked you for your Valentine's gift. You didn't have to do that."

"We've always given you a Valentine though. Ever since we were little," George said. "But since Freddie has Angelina now, I just sent my own."

"And Viktor told me you two were the ones who told him about my perfume. What's that about?"

Fred and George looked at each other, their toned arms folded across their chests. "Just trying to help Vicky out," Fred laughed.

Vanessa smacked him. "Be nice."

"We're always nice," they said in unison.

She rolled her eyes and pushed them both towards the Great Hall. "Come on, I'm hungry."

The three of them sat at the Gryffindor table. She was sure she looked a mess after being submerged underwater, but she didn't care. She wanted to spend time with her friends, to catch up on all the things she had missed.