"Amos, really? We're all on the same team here." Mrs Weasley sighed to Amos Diggory, clearly becoming quite frustrated with all of the snide remarks Amos Diggory had been dishing out the entire morning.

"Well...Cedric is actually seventeen...Potter...too young!" Amos spat out, sounding both flustered but fearful of Molly at the same time.

Molly looked unimpressed with Amos as she had a scowl on her face and put her hands on her hips. She didn't look completely menacing, but Vicki could understand why Fred was fearful of his mother when she was angry. She wasn't a dangerous looking person, but she was clearly a mother to be reckoned with. And from what she had heard, she was as good as a mother to Potter.

"Say what you want now, Amos. But don't you even think about saying anything to poor Harry once he gets here. The poor dear has been dragged into this tournament against his will," Molly sighed but then became threatening once again as she approached Amos closely whilst waving a finger "Don't you dare even think of taunting him."

"Mum." Bill spoke up in Amos' silence. Vicki couldn't tell whether he was fearful of Mrs Weasley, or too angry about Amos' taunts to speak up properly.

Molly ignored her eldest son as she continued to stare down Amos.

"Mum," Bill repeated again as he sent a large smirk towards Vicki "There's someone present I know you've been dying to meet."

Molly softened her glare as she turned to look at Bill quizzically. He didn't say anything but instead nodded his head in Vicki's direction. Molly followed his line of sight until her eyes landed on Vicki.

From there she stared at Vicki intensely. It took her a few seconds to place the young girl. After all she had never met the girl in the flesh. She had only seen a few photographs the girl had been kind enough to send her.

But moments after Molly realised who she was, she grappled Vicki into a bone crushing hug and then released her at arm's length - holding onto both of Vicki's shoulders tightly in order to get a good look at her.

"My, you're much prettier in person,Victoria. My boy is a lucky boy to have such a beautiful girlfriend." Molly gushed as she hugged the girl once more.

Vicki only sent a sidewards look towards Amos, as she was fearful that Amos would feel she was fraternizing with the enemy. She saw that he was now ignoring Molly and instead a few metres away where he was occupying his time making small talk with the Delacours, who were also sending side looks towards the Weasleys.

"It's so lovely to meet you Mrs Weasl-" Vicki began, but she was cut off promptly.

"No need for any of that 'Mrs Weasley' nonsense, dear. You're now part of the family, call me Molly!" Molly beamed towards Vicki, as she gave Vicki another hug before she let the younger girl go.

"None of us kids have ever been brave enough to introduce a girlfriend to mum. You're the first one she's met, so prepare for a lot of coddling." Bill grinned cheekily to Vicki as he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek to greet her.

"Yes, well Vicki is special because she's the only person to ever bring Fred into line. I've only received two owls home this year for poor behaviour, and his marks have improved greatly. This girl is a godsend." Molly snapped back at Bill.

"Just don't blame me if, actually let's be honest it will be when, he plays his pranks over the summer holidays." Vicki weakly smiled.

This caused Bill to let out roars of laughter and Molly to send Vicki a sort of pained smile. Vicki couldn't tell whether Molly disapproved of her joke and was too polite to scold her, or whether she looked uncomfortable because Vicki was right - no matter how much Fred's behaviour had improved he was definitely going to get up to mischief at home over the summer.

From there the trio briefly chatted - Molly and Bill told Vicki about how they were there to surprise Harry because 'his family couldn't make it'. Vicki knew all about how Harry's only family were his nasty aunt, uncle and ghastly cousin but thought it was sweet Molly didn't want to run them down behind Harry's back, and thus had come up with a white lie.

Vicki in turn didn't have much to tell them in the short time they were speaking - only that she had her final exam in half an hour and then she was free until N.E.W.T. year.

Before long however, Amos came back to Vicki and lightly began leading her away.

"Come on Victoria, there will be time for chitchat later. We should prepare ourselves for Cedric's arrival. Breakfast will be finished any moment now." Amos said without his normal politeness in his voice.

Vicki only sent Molly and Bill an apologetic smile as she followed Amos back to his wife, not wanting to upset Amos and cause him to lose his cool with the Weasleys again.

As soon as Vicki went to greet Mrs Diggory she was cut off by Cedric and Fleur joining the chamber. Fleur immediately ran to her parents and began talking to them in French. Cedric on the other hand approached his family with a smile but was caught off-guard by his father lunging at him with a hug, where he enthusiastically tapped Cedric's shoulder in pride as his arms were around his son.

Vicki stood back as she watched both of Cedric's parents greet him. She thought it was a very sweet sight but she suddenly felt like a third wheel as she grinned from the outside. She was even contemplating making a break for it and going back into the hall to see Fred, when Cedric acknowledged her.

"I'm so glad you're here, Vicki. You're family to me." Cedric said to her with a big smile as he hugged her.

"That's why I insisted on bringing her. It didn't feel right that there would be a family greet without Vicki," Amos stated which made Vicki beam before he continued "So much so, that I was able to reserve her a seat with the family tonight."

"You what?" Cedric asked his father with a small smile, asking what Vicki was wondering.

"All the families get special front row tickets to the third task, so they can be first in line to watch their loved ones, and to greet them at the end. I specifically asked Dumbledore if Vicki could join us, and he said he'd already reserved a third spot for us." Amos beamed.

Vicki gave a weak smile as only one thought hit her upon hearing Amos' words.

Fred.

She hadn't explicitly discussed her seating arrangements for the third task as she had assumed she would be sitting with Fred, holding his hand as she worried about Cedric's participation. After all, she had yet to spend a task at her boyfriend's side. The first task she had made plans to sit with Fred (even though this was before he was her boyfriend) but she was called to assist Madam Pomfrey in the Healer's tent. Then in the second task she was held as one of the hostages and thus was unable to watch by Fred's side.

Therefore she had hoped for the final task she could finally get to enjoy it with her boyfriend.

Then another thought hit her. She became mighty unpopular after the second task. Whilst most of her nay-sayers were vocal that their hate was due to the fact Vicki and Fred upstaged Cedric by publicly declaring their love at that moment, Vicki had an inkling that she would have still received resentment from her 'friends' based on the fact she was chosen as Cedric's hostage over Cho.

It was an eye opening experience and she realised her so-called friends were perhaps not friends after all and couldn't be trusted. It wasn't something she wanted to go through again.

"I appreciate the gesture, I really do-" Vicki began to speak, but Amos cut her off.

"Are you going to decline because you've found a better offer?" Amos angrily stated as he cast a sideways look to the Weasleys, who were now fawning over Harry who had joined them.

"No! Of course not. It's just, well," Vicki stammered out "It's Cho! Cedric's girlfriend. I feel she probably should sit in the third seat. Cedric really cares for her, and it'll be a nice way for you to get to know her."

Vicki winced as she hoped that Amos didn't see right through her. It wasn't a lie, but it was pretty obvious Vicki was projecting her own feelings. She wanted to sit with the Weasleys as she felt it was a good way to get to know Molly a little better, and to do a bit of sucking up to her boyfriend's mother.

"Ah, I should have known." Amos said with a grin.

"Dad…" Cedric tried to defend, but Amos was excited and spoke over him.

"Cedric's best friend would be just as humble as he is. You would sacrifice your own spot in order for Cedric's girlfriend to get a seat instead. That's incredibly noble of you, Victoria."


Vicki had a very eventful rest of the day. After she finished with the Diggory's at the champion's family meet and greet she only had a few moments to spare to meet with Fred before her exam. She got to grin as she briefly explained that she had met his mum, but didn't have time to give him the specifics as she had to run off to her Arithmancy exam. She purposely left him puzzled, wondering if his mother meeting the love of his life was a positive or negative interaction.

After a gruelling exam she returned to the Great Hall a few hours later to have lunch with Cedric and the Diggorys (too which she politely exclaimed she 'didn't want to talk about her exam'). They sat at the Hufflepuff table and eventually Cho came to join them, eating lunch before her Transfiguration O.W.L. exam. Luckily for Cho it was a carefree 'meeting the parents' experience before her stressful and important exam.

Vicki felt guilty but throughout lunch she found her eyes wandering over to the Gryffindor table to where the Weasleys were seated. She also found Fred looking over, and neither looked embarrassed when they caught each other's eye. It made Fred smile - at the beginning of the year he used to feel flustered when Vicki caught him staring at her from across the Great Hall. Now she did the same to him.

Once Cho scampered off to her exam, Cedric followed Vicki's line of sight and noticed what she was doing. So when she went to use the toilet he hatched a plan by first speaking to his parents in her absence.

"Hey, Vicki. I feel like a bit of...normalcy before I compete in the third task. Would you care to join me in a walk around the castle? My parents are fine with it." Cedric asked Vicki.

She looked towards Amos and his wife who gave her gentle smiles, and they both nodded to indicate they were fine with Cedric's idea.

Cedric and Vicki bid Cedric's parents goodbye as they got up from the Hufflepuff table, both of which promising to catch up with Mr and Mrs Diggory later in the afternoon.

"So, what I told my parents is true. I need to do something normal before the task so I don't spend my afternoon in a bundle of nerves and you're my best friend, you'll ensure we just have a normal and goofy afternoon." Cedric smiled at Vicki as they both began to make their way out of the Great Hall.

"Pfft, I'm not goofy-" Vicki responded as she casually slung an arm around Cedric, but before she could even finish her sentence she was ripped away from Cedric as many Hogwarts students began to swarm around Cedric to give their well wishes.

"Find a way to lose your adoring public and come meet in the prefect's bathroom. It's probably the only place we can hang without being interrupted." Vicki hissed quietly to Cedric before she bounded off.

She made a stop at Ravenclaw tower to grab her bathers, as well as the things she needed to get ready tonight such as fresh school robes and make-up.

Despite all of this she still got to the Prefects bathroom before Cedric but found that even in the middle of the day on a day full of either final exams or first day of freedom, it wasn't deserted. Two occupants were in a shower stall together.

"Just a heads up - you two are no longer alone." Vicki playfully teased as she called out to the two in the shower stall.

"Is that Vicki Hartwell?" A female voice hissed, but because it was so low Vicki couldn't place who it belonged to.

"It's cool babe, she knows." She heard a voice say. This one she recognised instantly - it belonged to Roger Davies, her ex boyfriend.

"You told her about us?!" The voice of Kelly Winters asked Roger in a panic.

"Hey, if you want me to step out…" Vicki offered, but Roger asked her to wait a moment as couple in the shower stall needed to make themselves decent.

Vicki shrugged as she used the time to get changed into her bathers. Just as she stepped out of the shower stall she was using to get changed, Cedric had appeared into the prefects bathroom.

"Hey, sorry, it took me a while to shake people off." Cedric said with a sheepish smile.

"S'all good. Roger and Kelly Winters are in the shower stall, by the way. They'll be out any second." Vicki mentioned nonchalantly.

"Why are they in a shower stall toge...oh," Cedric began, but stopped mid sentence as realisation hit him "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am. Roger already told me about it, we're actually now friends...sorta. But I don't care." Vicki responded to Cedric.

Cedric said nothing but gave Vicki a look, and she knew he would be pressing on about this later. He also didn't have time to say anything as Roger and Kelly emerged from the shower stall looking slightly dishevelled.

"I'm not going to say anything. I mean like, right now to you, or even behind your back to other people. My lips are sealed." Vicki said with her hands up in mock arrest.

"I can't believe you told her…" Kelly repeated to Roger.

"Yeah, well Vicki is a friend. She only wants what's best for me." Roger defended, and Vicki gave him a quick nod to defend him as well.

"No, I mean, if you're telling your last girlfriend about me, things must be pretty serious between us." Kelly purred as she grabbed his arm.

Vicki had to stifle laughter to not look bitchy. She was finding Roger's predicament amusing, as she knew he had no intention of entering a formal relationship with Kelly. Vicki also found the panicked look on Roger's face hilarious - he was one step below mouthing 'help me' to her.

"Let's go for a romantic stroll around the castle grounds." Kelly said to Roger, who began to splutter out excuses. Kelly seemed to not hear him as she called over her shoulder.

"By the way, there's been a Prefect meeting called just before dinner. They didn't tell me what's going to be on the agenda, just that the school governors are going to be there. Cedric, you're meant to attend too."

"Wonder what the prefect meeting is about." Cedric mused

"Probably just talking about prefect duties for the third task. Now, let us swim." Vicki grinned as she jumped into the pool sized bathtub.

Cedric joined her shortly after and he allowed the two to fully immerse themselves into the water before he spoke up.

"So uh, are you actually okay with Roger and Kelly?" Cedric asked awkwardly, knowing in the past Roger was sometimes a sore spot of conversation for her.

"Yup! Honestly, I am. I know it's weird, not that long ago Roger and I were in a very strange space. But I'm now comfortable with him, I'm so in love with Fred that Roger's love life is of no concern to me. I don't even feel odd seeing him with someone else anymore, and I think people know Fred and I are loved up, they're not gonna bother hassling me about Roger moving on." Vicki explained to Cedric.

"Alright, alright. I believe you. I'm not going to dig deeper." Cedric light heartedly responded.

The two spent most of their time speaking about casual topics, and even engaged in a splash war as Vicki was washing her hair. Once they got out and got changed she even helped Cedric style his hair in order to look good for the final task.

It was just as they were wrapping up their time together when Cedric voiced the plan he was hatching.

"So, you know I want you there with me at dinner, and I reckon I could convince Dumbledore to add a fourth seat at the front so both you and Cho could sit at the front. But uh, I know you'd rather be sitting with the Weasleys." Cedric sheepishly smiled.

Vicki went up to protest out of politeness, but she knew Cedric saw right past it and instead gave him a guilty nod.

"It's alright. I understand. I told my parents that I was going to let you down carefully, because I want them to get to know Cho at dinner, just my family and Cho. It's mostly true, at least. I really want my parents to spend some time with Cho. I think she's the one." Cedric said to Vicki.

"The one? Really? Cedric, that's a big call. I'm definitely happy for you and all and I'm not going to question it, but I'm just voicing that's a really big thing to say, so if you mean it, this is a big deal." Vicki stated, growing nervous by the end as she realised what she was saying could be construed as rude.

But Cedric knew his best friend was a clever Ravenclaw and she was just thinking with logic and not with her heart.

"You don't feel the same about Fred? Your relationship with Fred is vastly different to the one you had with Roger. I would never have asked that question when you were with Roger because the answer was an obvious no, but er, I dunno. You seem to have something really special with Fred." Cedric pointed out.

"I, I haven't really thought about it." Vicki honestly stated.

"That's not an outward no. Answer me this. Hypothetically, you go back out to the Great Hall. Fred goes down on one knee and asks will you marry him. What do you say?" Cedric asked her curiously.

"In this hypothetical situation am I ignoring the fact I'd feel pressure being asked in front of his family, and the rest of the school, and also the fact I'm still in school, and also-" Vicki began to name off, but she was cut off by Cedric.

"Ignore everything else, just think with your heart."

"I, uh, well. Honestly, I think I'd say yes. I suppose everything else could be worked out later, such as waiting until we finish school until we tie the knot." Vicki responded.

She widened her eyes as she realised what she was saying. She would agree to marry Fred if he asked her. Maybe he was 'the one', especially as she would happily spend the rest of her life with him.

"So when are you planning to propose to Cho?" Vicki asked Cedric playfully.

"On the train home for the final time next year. I don't know how yet, but I think it's the best time. It'll show her that I'll wait for her whilst she finishes her final year at Hogwarts." Cedric responded quickly, showing he had put a lot of thought into it.

"Alright. I'll make a deal with you. Let's bend gender norms and be each other's Best Man, and Maid of Honour. Deal?" Vicki proposed in a jovial manner as she reached out her hand.

"This better not be a joke, because I'm dead serious." Cedric grinned as he accepted her hand for a handshake.