Vicki quickly rushed the halls to make her way to dinner as fast as possible. Not only was she quite famished due to her lack of food over the past day, she also wanted to find out what was going on and why people were acting strangely towards her in the corridors. She needed to speak to her friends to get their perspective of the day's events so she could break down the information that would be provided to her.

As she made a beeline to her friends on the Ravenclaw table she failed to notice how many students from majority of the house tables looked up at her, and how they all began to whisper to one another once her presence was known.

Vicki also did not notice that when she squeezed into the spare spot next to her best friend Stephanie Fawcett, Stephanie only begrudgingly made room for Vicki once she was physically forced to. Steph didn't shuffle down willingly like she normally did.

It was only once Vicki attempted to make conversation when she would realise that the cold feelings towards her were also felt by her friendship group, and not only random students in the corridors.

"Hey guys." Vicki beamed to her Ravenclaw friends.

No one responded. A few of them shot her filthy looks, Phillip Bridge included. Stephanie didn't join in, however she looked away and wouldn't meet Vicki's gaze. The only non-confrontational response was from Roger who didn't speak up but only sent Vicki a guilty smile when he realised no one in the group was looking his way.

"Okay. What in Merlin's name have I missed? Why am I suddenly public enemy number one?" Vicki asked suddenly. She felt panic run through her veins due to the uncertainty of the situation. She was confused and was trying to hold off fear until she could find out just what was happening.

"You really don't know?" Phillip asked with a large smirk.

"Clearly not, or I wouldn't have asked. Plus I wouldn't be so confused. What have I done wrong?" Vicki asked, trying to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat so she would be able to speak clearly.

"Well, it's what happened at the second task today. It doesn't really make sense that you were chosen over Cho as the one Cedric would miss..." Roger began to explain. He winced as he remembered how fiery his ex-girlfriend's temper could be towards him. But as she was puzzled and becoming increasingly upset, she didn't lash out towards him. Instead she would dig for more information.

"Yes, but I had no say in that. So it's a bit unfair that people are holding that against me." Vicki spoke up quickly.

A loud snort came after Vicki's response from Marietta Edgecomb, Cho Chang's best friend. Vicki didn't need to press her for more details. They would come angrily from Marietta's mouth without being prompted.

"Perhaps so. But you didn't need to rub it into everyone's faces. The second you came out of that lake you run over to Fred Weasley and declare your love for him, and completely ignore Cedric. It felt like you were rubbing salt into the wound. Cho is really upset about it." Marietta harshly spoke up.

Vicki quickly cast her eyes down the Ravenclaw table to try and find Cho. She couldn't see Cho – she was missing. It was only when Vicki looked through the Great Hall that she noticed that a lot of students from the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables were casting her filthy looks, letting out loud cackles when it was obvious that her face fell due to the negative attention. The only reprieve to her was that the Gryffindor tables were pre occupied with celebrating with Harry (and even Ron, who was getting pats on the back) over his triumph, no ill feelings seemed to be radiating from the Gryffindors.

Vicki looked to her right to see her female best friend Steph, who was still refusing to look her in the eye.

"Do you agree with what they're all saying?" Vicki asked her quietly.

Steph looked up guiltily. Vicki expected her to remain silent under peer pressure and whilst it would have hurt her, she would have understood to an extent. Instead what she got was much, much worse. After looking at her peers Steph responded.

"You know I love you, and I say this because I care about you. But look Vicki, the entire school is getting a bit fed up by you. It's gotten worse since you got together with Fred Weasley. It seems like you try and grab attention constantly. Today just proves it. You stole Cedric's thunder and made the second task all about you. You're a bit of an attention seeker." Steph blurted out, her voice going from caring to catty as the insults poured out of her mouth.

Vicki was taken aback by the cruel words said by her friend. She had been attempting to hold herself together to gain information on why most of the school had turned against her. But nothing pained her as much as the statement Steph had said. Cedric may have been her male best friend, but Stephanie had been her best friend since their first year of Hogwarts. Hearing that Steph held a negative opinion of her blurted cruelly in public was the most hurtful thing that had ever happened to Vicki.

Vicki decided to not even respond. Instead she stopped looking at her 'friendship' circle and began to eat silently. There was nothing more that Vicki would have liked to do than to leave the table and go to her dormitory to cry. But as it had been twenty four hours since she had last eaten she needed the food. She would just need to wait until after dinner before she could let the tears flow.


After mulling over the day's events on her bed with her curtains closed, Vicki did feel a bit better after a good cry. She was in luck as the dormitory was empty the entire time so she didn't need to stay silent to make sure no one would hear her.

She even got the dorm to herself to quickly fix her ruined make-up by rubbing away her smudged mascara and blending her foundation lines as she made herself a little more presentable before going back into the public.

However when she made her way back to the Ravenclaw common room she was greeted with blank stares, whispers and even a few sniggers. Without missing a heart beat she immediately marched herself to the spiral staircase and made her way out of Ravenclaw Tower. She figured she would go to the library to hide from everyone.

The library was absolutely deserted by the time she arrived a short time later. Madam Pince didn't even make any snide remarks as she sat down at a table on the other side of the library and opened the first book she could find off a shelf.

The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology

This normally wouldn't be Vicki's first (or even last) choice of a book but she just needed something to read to get her mind off the day's events. What had started as potentially the best day of her life would quickly turn into her worst.

She had attempted to submerse herself into the book so deeply she hadn't noticed someone had taken a seat next to her.

"Are you here for the same reason as me?" She heard.

She looked up to see the fourth year Gryffindor Hermione Granger addressing her. Vicki and Hermione were loose friends after what had happened at the Quidditch World Cup the previous year. Throughout the school year the two girls would sometimes sit together when studying in the library, especially after Vicki began to befriend Fred's younger sister Ginny who was a fairly close friend to Hermione.

"Depends. What are you here for?" Vicki asked gruffly, but sent a small smile to make her question seem a little less harsh.

"Everybody in the Gryffindor common room are teasing me for being Viktor Krum's hostage." Hermione responded with a wrinkle of her nose.

"Well, can't say I'm here because I'm being teased for being the one Viktor Krum would miss the most," Vicki weakly joked before continuing "But yes. I'm hiding here due to the fall out of being picked as Cedric's hostage."

"What kind of fall out?" Hermione asked curiously. She was not one to partake in gossip, however she wanted to know more as Vicki Hartwell was the only person in the school who could relate to her own current woes.

"It seems a lot of people were unhappy it was me and not Cho who was chosen to be his hostage. Then the salt was apparently rubbed in the wound when Fred and I were getting cosy in front of the whole school. Apparently people feel I took Cedric's triumph and made it about myself by getting picked, and then giving my attention to Fred rather than Cedric afterward." Vicki explained in depth, giving a subtle shrug to try and convince both herself and Hermione that it didn't bother her, even though it clearly did.

"Well I can confidently say the whole school doesn't feel that way. The Gryffindors certainly don't. The only one they're teasing is me – for being the one Viktor Krum would miss the most." Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

"Is it the boys or girls teasing you? Because I would guess they're poking fun because they're jealous." Vicki asked. She was submerging herself in the conversation in an attempt to distract herself from the fact that those she were closest to appeared to have turned their backs on her.

"It's the boys too," Hermione stated honestly but then broke out into an out of character grin "But I suppose perhaps some of the boys are jealous too, considering how many of them worship Krum."

Vicki let out a large fit of giggles at Hermione's comment. It was exactly what she wanted to hear right now. Silly banter was exactly what Hermione was after as well. However when the girls calmed down, Hermione switched the topic straight back to the fall of Victoria Hartwell.

"As horrible as I think your friends are being, surely it will soon be forgotten. Other things will pop up and it'll completely blow over." Hermione stated in an attempt to comfort the older student.

Vicki was silent for a few moments as she thought carefully. In her cry session she realised why something as shallow as losing her popularity was painful for her. She just didn't know whether it was appropriate to open up to Hermione about such a deep topic, a loose friend who didn't know her very well.

But that's exactly what she needed currently. A friend. It appeared she didn't have too many of those right now.

"You're a muggle born, so you went to a muggle primary school, yeah?" Vicki asked Hermione.

"Yes. I did. Why?" Hermione asked in confusion, it was apparent she was taken off-guard by such a question.

"Me too. Well, I'm not a muggle born. But my father was raised by his squib uncle and thus he saw the importance in sending me to a muggle primary school before Hogwarts. Some of it was to learn basic numeracy and writing skills. But some of it was to be able to integrate into muggle society even as a witch, and reap the benefits of muggle technology." Vicki went on to explain.

Hermione could have questioned why Vicki was talking about growing up in the muggle world but instead she sent her a small, knowing smile.

"Yes, I do miss being able to watch the telly after school each day. I don't know how a good majority of our kind live without television and movies." Hermione smiled.

"Don't get me started on bloody quills as well. I never thought something as boring as pens and pencils would be one of the things I'd miss the most from my primary school days." Vicki added on with a laugh, which made Hermione laugh as well.

Vicki waited until the laughter died down before she would begin the serious part of her reminiscing.

"Well I suppose you must remember feeling different to the other kids. Something you couldn't explain at the time, but just feeling like you didn't belong. It must have been worse for you as you didn't know you were a witch. But even knowing who I was didn't help." Vicki began to explain.

"I remember it well. I never really had friends before I came to Hogwarts. The other kids at primary school all thought I was strange, so no one really spoke to me. It actually took me a while to make friends here in my first year." Hermione confessed.

"Yep, same here. Children can be quite intuitive and it's like they could sense I was different to them during primary school. I was a prime target for bullying in school. Even teachers used to advise other kids to stay away from me, due to them finding me odd. The friends I did have used to only be my friend in secret and always begged me to not tell anyone we were friends. It was rough." Vicki said to Hermione.

"Is this why you sought popularity last school year? I mean no disrespect but I didn't really notice you myself until last year. That's when you seemed to become really popular." Hermione asked Vicki.

"Kinda. I know it's extremely shallow but it's been nice being one of the cool kids for once in my life. Suddenly everyone wanted to be my friend, and wanted to be seen with me," Vicki responded before continuing on "Not that I even care about that anymore. Having all my friends turn their back on me over something so silly just really stings. It's just reminded me of those hurtful times in primary school when I was friendless and picked on. Hell, right now I'm basically that same strange kid from primary school who was widely hated"

"You still have friends, Victoria. You've got me, and you've got Ginny. She adores you. Need I remind you that you have a boyfriend that loves you? Then there's also George and Lee. Anyone giving you grief for being chosen as Cedric's hostage can't really be a true friend can they?" Hermione exclaimed in an attempt to cheer Vicki up.

"I suppose you're right." Vicki weakly smiled.

She knew that what Hermione was saying made sense. It was correct. How could her friends turn their back on her over something she couldn't control? If they ever cared for her and her wellbeing they wouldn't be acting so silly over a few nasty comments and rumours started by very few. She should be focusing on the real friends – the ones still there for her.

But she couldn't let go. Anxiety was running through her. If the entire school had turned against her what was to stop Fred from hating her too?

Vicki would smile and nod to show Hermione her appreciation that she was attempting to make her feel better. But she still knew she had a sleepless night ahead of her.


The next morning Fred was still completely unaware of the problems his girlfriend was currently facing. He hadn't seen Vicki since the task the previous day aside from a few glances towards the dinner table the night before, where he hadn't even noticed the animosity from other students.

He also hadn't had the chance to hear it from Hermione. Hermione went straight to bed and skipped the party that the Gryffindors held in Harry's honour the previous night, as she was trying to avoid all the teasing for being Krum's hostage.

Until now.

"Feeling a bit better today Hermione?" George asked with a large smirk as he nudged his twin brother when Hermione sat a few seats down.

"Or are you still feeling a bit Krum-my?" Fred sniggered.

"If I were you I would be spending less time saying rude remarks to me, and more time focusing on your girlfriend." Hermione snapped at Fred.

Fred was taken aback. Hermione could sometimes be short tempered, but he had never really been on the receiving end of it. It was normally Ron who was exposed to this side of Hermione. Her words also struck a chord with him.

He whipped his head towards the Ravenclaw table and noticed that Vicki was missing. He then turned his attention back onto Hermione for an explanation.

"I can't say much, it's up to Victoria to tell you everything. But it appears that a few people are upset that she was chosen as Cedric's hostage in lieu of Cho." Hermione stated quietly to Fred.

Fred sighed inwardly to himself. This was unchartered territory for him. He had naturally experienced a few small dramas with Vicki but the two had yet to face external pressures together. He knew how to be a goofy boyfriend and could easily cheer her up, but he was worried how he would go with the serious stuff. He had never been someone's shoulder to cry on, or even wanted to be someone's shoulder to cry on. Until Vicki.

"I'll go to Charms early this morning and see how she's going." Fred mumbled to Hermione, before quickly turning to George to wrap himself in conversation to pass the time until he could leave breakfast.

Out of the three classes that Fred shared with Vicki, Charms was the only one where they didn't sit together. The seating plan in Defence Against the Dark Arts was still active so he sat with Vicki, George and Lee in DADA. In Transfiguration he sat with Vicki alone, a seating arrangement that Professor McGonagall still didn't know whether to be pleased about or not.

But in Charms Fred sat with George, Lee and the two girls in his year that were on the Quidditch team with him , Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnett. This allowed Vicki to sit with her popular friends for this class – Cedric Diggory, Stephanie Fawcett, Phillip Bridge, Roger Davies and a few others.

Therefore Fred didn't expect to sit with Vicki but he did plan on catching her before class began to see what was going on. For the first time in his life he was planning on attending a lesson early.

Unfortunately for him, she didn't turn up to class early. In fact she came charging in and took a seat at her table moments before Professor Flitwick came shuffling in and began preparing himself for the lesson ahead, his back turned to the rest of the class.

Fred was about to witness firsthand the fall of Victoria Hartwell.

"Really? There's an opening next to your boyfriend and you choose to sit here?" Phillip Bridge sneered towards Vicki as she took a seat in her normal spot.

"I always sit here." Vicki snapped, although she knew this would be the only ounce of courage she would be able to show. She secretly began to shake as nerves and anxiety coursed through her body at the confrontation.

"Let's move guys." Stephanie Fawcett said with a roll of her eyes and quickly gathered her books to move to the other side of the classroom as fast as she could.

One by one the big group followed Stephanie's lead as they picked up their books and moved away from Vicki and left her alone at the table. The only one who remained was a very confused and conflicted Cedric.

"Y-you can go if you want." Vicki stuttered quietly to Cedric. It was all she could choke out as she tried her hardest to not cry.

Cedric stayed rooted in his spot as his eyes darted between his best friend, and the rest of his friends. He had heard fragmented rants from people about Vicki. As far as what he could gather people weren't upset that Vicki was chosen over Cho. Instead people were upset about the huge display of affection that Vicki showed Fred immediately after being freed from the lake by Cedric. It appears people felt it was greatly disrespectful to Cedric as she should have been grateful for what he had done for her. The consensus was that Vicki should have waited until she was in private to declare her love to Fred and focused her efforts on celebrating Cedric's victory instead.

Therefore Cedric's weak protests to protect Vicki's honour had fallen on deaf ears. He held no ill feelings towards Vicki himself as he had completely empathised with her the previous afternoon. All he wanted to do at the time was find Cho, so he understood her desire to be with Fred after a fairly emotional experience she had been through herself. But currently everybody wanted to vilify Vicki and there was nothing he could say to change their minds. He figured eventually the student body would move onto someone else to dislike and the best thing for Vicki was to let it blow over.

But he still felt terrible for her.

"Do you want me to?" Cedric asked her cautiously.

As Vicki felt really raw, she would be honest with him. More honest than she normally would be in public.

"Well, no. But I'd rather be the one to give you permission to go, than you go over there of your own accord. The others have hurt me greatly. But you Cedric, you would kill me if you followed their lead too." Vicki admitted to Cedric.

"I think they're all being very unreasonable. But I think it's probably best if I sat with them and started planting the thoughts in their head about just how unreasonable they're being." Cedric stated to Vicki.

It was a gentle let down, but it was a let down all the same. Cedric was going to leave the table like the rest of them, leaving Vicki alone. She felt extremely humiliated and abandoned. She knew she had no right to be mad at him as she had given him permission to leave – but deep down she was hoping he'd stay and publicly fight for her honour.

Fred had been watching from the other side of the room. He was angry for his girlfriend, extremely angry as he watched those Vicki called close friends publicly embarrass her by dramatically leaving the table after she had sat down, in a big effort to hurt and alienate her.

But when he saw Cedric get up as well he knew it was time to act. He had yet to get the full story from Vicki and knew it was a risk by making a public scene. But someone had to have her back.

"Well, it looks like pretty boy Diggory and his gang of fickle fools are now sitting close to us. I for one don't particularly feel the need to be in their presence, I've done nothing to earn such a punishment." Fred loudly exclaimed to George, Lee, Angelina and Alicia as he dramatically picked up his books and marched towards Vicki with his head held high.

George and Lee said nothing but on cue also collected their belongings to follow Fred. Vicki's group of 'friends' shot filthy looks towards Fred's insult but didn't have the courage to take on an angry Weasley twin.

The surprising part came when Angelina and Alicia followed the Gryffindor boy's lead and also moved across the room to join Vicki's table. Angelina had never held any animosity towards Vicki, but Alicia had certainly never been too much of a fan of Vicki once she had become popular. Therefore everybody in the room was a bit shocked when she too sat with Vicki when her own friends hadn't wanted to.

"Thank you." Vicki said to Fred as she grabbed his hand under the table and gave it a quick squeeze to show her great appreciation.

"What are friends for?" George loudly joked, pretending that her words were directed to him. Vicki also sent him a smile to show gratitude, both towards his actions but also towards the words she needed to hear right now.

"That was a pretty horrible thing that they all did to you, Vicki. I'm sorry you had to experience that." Angelina spoke up in an attempt to comfort the girlfriend of one of her closest friends.

"It was pretty funny when Fred called them all fickle fools. At least you're not a fickle fool." Angelina smirked to Vicki.

Vicki forced a smile back towards Alicia. She was extremely grateful to Fred and felt a lot better after he had intervened. But she was still absolutely gutted by how things had turned out and knew it would take her a while to completely recover.