Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling (obviously). The only characters I own here are whoever was mentioned in the past chapters plus Mark, the prefect.
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The Final Task
Cho was feeling weak and sleepy the morning of the final day of exams. She hardly slept that night after being wakened up by that horrible nightmare.
Keep that stupid nightmare out of your mind, she told herself as she sat in the Great Hall with Pam, Jane and Crystal. They were to have their Potions exam right after breakfast, and they all expect it to be a nasty one.
The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement. The third task was tonight, after the exams.
"Oh, can't these guys keep it down," Crystal groaned as the Slytherins were becoming too loud. All four were reviewing for the exams while having breakfast.
"You barely touched your food," came the voice from behind Cho. It was Cedric. He was looking over her shoulder, down at the bowl of cereal in front of her that was still full.
"Oh, hi Cedric," Cho replied as she looked behind her.
Pam, Jane and Crystal all looked up from their Potions book and greeted Cedric. Jane moved to make room for him.
"Good morning!" he greeted the girls as he sat next to Cho. Turning to Cho, he said, "you're hardly eating anything. You have exams today."
"And you don't," Cho retorted. After a night of studying, nightmares and very little sleep, coupled with the prospect of facing her Potions finals in less than an hour, she wasn't in a good mood. Cedric didn't seem to mind, he had gotten used to her occasional grumpiness.
"I wish I didn't have to take the finals," Pam sighed as she put her book down. Cedric was exempted from the end-of-term exams as he was competing in the Triwizard Tournament.
"Between exams and a Swedish Short-Snout, I'd take the exam any day," Jane replied. She was referring to the first task in the Triwizard Tournament, where Cedric had to face a dragon.
Cho managed to eat some breakfast (after Cedric threatened to force-feed her.) Soon, the girls left the Great Hall and headed towards the dungeon.
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Their Potions exam was harder than they expected, it left the girls drained of their energy. With still half an hour before lunch, Cho decided to head back to the their dormitory to get some rest. She laid down on her bed without intending to sleep, but she soon dozed off.
"Hey, wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Crystal said as she shook her bed. Cho had slept through lunch.
"Oh, what time is it?" Cho asked, rubbing her eyes as she got up.
"Time for lunch," replied Pam. "You looked really tired we decided not to wake you up, but we brought you something back," she continued, placing a plate full of food on Cho's desk.
"Go ahead and eat. We have more than half an hour before Charms," Crystal said, as she sat on her bed to read her notes.
Thanking her friends, Cho sat down and began to eat.
"By the way, Cedric was looking for you," Jane said. "He wants you to meet your in-laws," she continued, grinning.
"My what?"
"Your in-laws," Jane replied. "Cedric's parents are here today to watch the third task."
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Finally, the end-of-term exams were over. After an exhausting day, Pam, Jane, Crystal and Cho returned to their dormitory to get some rest before the evening feast.
With only a few minutes to spare, they left their dormitory and headed for the evening feast. They hurriedly walked into the Great Hall and towards the Ravenclaw table. As they took their seats, Cho saw Cedric walking towards them.
Cedric greeted them as sat next to Cho and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Cho, I've been looking all over for you."
"Sorry about this afternoon," she replied. "Exams were just too much I slept through lunch. But at least it's all over now."
"Not for me," Cedric sighed. "There's still the third task." He was a bit nervous, she could tell as he held her hand more tightly than usual.
"You'll do just fine," she assured him. "You've been preparing for this for weeks." Cedric had certainly been preparing for this task, looking up and practicing charms. She herself had been taking out books from the library looking for anything that could help him.
"Ced, you were planning to introduce us, weren't you?"
Standing behind Cedric were Mr. and Mrs. Amos Diggory. Cho recognized them from the family pictures he had shown her.
Cedric made the introductions with Cho very much self-conscious. She knew his parents were nice and wanted very much to meet her, but it didn't keep her from feeling a bit awkward.
"Cho, it's good to meet you at last," Cedric's mother said as she gave Cho a hug. "Ced talks incessantly about you."
Cedric's father invited her to dine with them at the Hufflepuff table but Cho declined, as there wasn't enough room. Soon, Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers stepped into the Great Hall. The evening feast was about to begin. Cedric and his parents then walked back to the Hufflepuff table.
Pam, Jane and Crystal now let go of the snickers they had been stifling the entire time, and spent the rest of the evening feast kidding her about meeting her "in-laws".
"If Cedric's mom and dad were the In-laws," Jane asked Cho, "should we call you the Outlaw?"
Before the feast was over, Cedric was back at the Ravenclaw table.
"Cho, can I have a word with you," he said as he leaned towards her, "in private?"
Cedric led her to the entrance hall, which was now deserted as everyone was in the Great Hall.
"Good luck tonight," she told him as he held her hand.
"Thanks... Er - Cho, I want to tell you something," he said. He looked at her longingly, and then hesitated for a moment before he said, "I love you."
"I always have and I always will, but for some reason I can't bring myself to say the words until now," he continued. He pulled her close and kissed her more passionately than before.
For some reason, Cedric didn't have to tell her this. Somehow, she already knew he loved her.
"I know I have to tell you tonight, or I might never have the chance," he said, still holding her close.
A group of girls from Hufflepuff came out of the Great Hall and caught them in a rather awkward moment. The girls started giggling as they made their way towards the washroom.
"We better get back," he said and they walked back into the Hall.
Time finally came for the third task. Everyone headed for the Quidditch field, which was now filled with hedges made to look like a maze.
"So, we're going to sit here and watch a maze?" Pam asked, a mixture of disappointment and sarcasm in here voice. The hedges were too high and many paths too narrow. Even if they were seated high enough, it would be difficult to see anything going on inside the maze.
"From the look of it, yes," Jane replied, looking out into the field. "Let's just hope this doesn't go as boring as the second task."
"Cho wouldn't know that," Crystal said teasingly.
Cho laughed. During the second task, her friends and the rest of the students waited by the lake for over an hour for the Tri-Wizard champions to retrieve their hostage, with nothing to amuse them except the commentator, Ludo Bagman. Cho was one of those rescued from the lake, she spent the whole time sleeping at the bottom of the lake she didn't have to endure the boredom here friends went through.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard tournament is about to begin!" It was the voice of Ludo Bagman. The third task was about to begin.
As Bagman went on introducing the champions, Cho watched Cedric standing just outside the maze, looking up at the stands and searching the crowd.
"Hey Cedric!" "Over here!" It was Pam and Jane, screaming at the top of their lungs and waving furiously at Cedric.
"Keep quiet, will you?" Cho hissed, slightly embarrassed. Students were now looking up to see what the noise was about.
Cedric turned around and waved at them. Cho waved back.
"Cedric was looking for you," Pam pointed out.
Jane added, "And you're so vertically challenged, no way he'll find you in this crowd."
In no time, the third task was underway. Harry and Cedric hurried into the maze at the first sound of the whistle. Moments later they were followed by Viktor Krum, and then Fleur Delacour.
The first few minutes of the competition were uneventful, at least from the audience's point of view.
"Pam, you are psychic," Jane commented, looking at the maze. "Oh, what could be more wonderful than observing hedges on a Quidditch field," she sighed with a look of pretended nostalgia.
Pam responded, "What's the use of my being psychic if I can't see what's going on in there?"
"You guys are right, this is rather boring," said Cho.
"Hey, somebody shot red sparks!" Crystal exclaimed, pointing towards a corner of the maze. Flickers of red light were hovering above it. Champions were to shoot red sparks if they got into trouble and needed rescuing.
"Let's hope it's not Cedric," Pam said as the four of them craned their necks to see what's going on.
"No, it's the Beaubaxton veela," Jane replied. Professor McGonagall had just stepped out of the maze with her wand up, levitating a stretcher holding somebody who undoubtedly was Fleur Delacour.
"I do hope she's fine," Cho said, feeling sorry for Fleur. Then she added, "I wonder how Cedric is doing."
"He's gonna be ok," replied Crystal. "After the dragon, this should be piece of cake."
Time went by again without much going on, except for the second instance red sparks were shot in the air. They saw the teachers bring somebody out of the maze. It was Viktor Krum. Which means, the Triwizard champion can either be Cedric or Harry Potter.
At least the champion would come from Hogwarts, they all agreed, although they all hoped it would be Cedric.
About an hour has now passed since Harry and Cedric had entered the maze. To while away the time, they started talking about their exams.
"What was the last ingredient for Memory Potions?" Jane asked Crystal.
"Jobberknoll feathers," she replied.
"I missed that one," said Jane, disappointed.
"I missed that, too. I keep forgetting those Jobberknoll feathers, I need a Memory Potion," quipped Pam. "Did you get that right, Cho?" she asked, turning to Cho.
Cho couldn't remember what her answer was. "Let me think," she said.
Then it happened so quickly. By instinct, she closed her eyes and the moment she did, she saw a flash of blinding green light. She gasped when all the green light had vanished. Lying on the ground was Cedric, seemingly lifeless.
"Cho, are you alright?"
She must have gasped so loudly that when she opened her eyes, she saw her friends looking at her with surprise and concern.
Tears started streaming down her face. It looked so real, and she knew she had seen it before.
That dream she had on the second task. She was quite sure, that was what she saw then. And that blinding green light, where did all that come from?
Then she remembered. The Killing Curse. Professor Moody had demonstrated it in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class using a spider. Green light had shot out of his wand, killing the spider instantly.
"What's the matter, Cho?" Jane asked.
Seeing tears running down her face, Crystal, Pam and Jane led her out of the stands.
They found a spot right outside the Quidditch field where they can talk with some privacy. Trembling, Cho told them what she had seen, and the dream she had long ago that looked eerily similar.
Her friends tried to console her. "Teachers are patrolling the maze. Nothing could happen to him," they all said.
It took a while before she calmed down. But by the time they were ready to go back, students were already coming out of the Quidditch field.
"What happened? Is the third task over?" Pam asked Mark, Ravenclaw's prefect, who was herding students back to the castle.
"I don't really know what happened," he replied. "There was some commotion and then Professor McGonagall told us to get all the students back to their common rooms."
Pam, Jane, Crystal and Cho returned to their dormitory, unsure of what happened. None of the people they asked could give them an answer, and nobody saw Cedric, or even Harry. They decided it would be better for Cho not to be in the common room and stay away from the other students at the moment, speculations they were hearing from fellow Ravenclaw students are getting more dreadful every minute.
All four of them sat quietly on Cho's bed, Cho in deep thought and the rest not knowing what to say.
"Please Lord, let no harm come to him," Cho prayed silently.
Then, there was a knock on the door. It was Lisa.
"Professor Flitwick is down at the common room," she said. "He wants a word with all of you."
Students in the common room were watching Cho intently as all four of them walked down the stairs. Professor Flitwick then told them to follow him to his office.
When they reached the door to his office, Professor Flitwick said, "I'd like to speak to Miss Chang first. If you would kindly wait here outside for a minute or two."
Professor Flitwick motioned Cho to sit. And then he said in a voice full of sadness, "Miss Chang, I have news of the most grievous kind. Something untoward has happened during the third task tonight."
"Cedric has died."
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Author's Note: As you may all know, our story is almost over. I'll be starting the final chapter next weekend. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee I can post it that same weekend =( Please check back in a couple of weeks.
I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed my story. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I really appreciate your taking time to do so. After I finish this story, I probably won't be posting anything for some time, as my schedule wouldn't allow me. But do expect me to be back! =)
(It's 2:30 in the morning, and I feel soooo woozy... zzzzzzzzzzzz)
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The Final Task
Cho was feeling weak and sleepy the morning of the final day of exams. She hardly slept that night after being wakened up by that horrible nightmare.
Keep that stupid nightmare out of your mind, she told herself as she sat in the Great Hall with Pam, Jane and Crystal. They were to have their Potions exam right after breakfast, and they all expect it to be a nasty one.
The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement. The third task was tonight, after the exams.
"Oh, can't these guys keep it down," Crystal groaned as the Slytherins were becoming too loud. All four were reviewing for the exams while having breakfast.
"You barely touched your food," came the voice from behind Cho. It was Cedric. He was looking over her shoulder, down at the bowl of cereal in front of her that was still full.
"Oh, hi Cedric," Cho replied as she looked behind her.
Pam, Jane and Crystal all looked up from their Potions book and greeted Cedric. Jane moved to make room for him.
"Good morning!" he greeted the girls as he sat next to Cho. Turning to Cho, he said, "you're hardly eating anything. You have exams today."
"And you don't," Cho retorted. After a night of studying, nightmares and very little sleep, coupled with the prospect of facing her Potions finals in less than an hour, she wasn't in a good mood. Cedric didn't seem to mind, he had gotten used to her occasional grumpiness.
"I wish I didn't have to take the finals," Pam sighed as she put her book down. Cedric was exempted from the end-of-term exams as he was competing in the Triwizard Tournament.
"Between exams and a Swedish Short-Snout, I'd take the exam any day," Jane replied. She was referring to the first task in the Triwizard Tournament, where Cedric had to face a dragon.
Cho managed to eat some breakfast (after Cedric threatened to force-feed her.) Soon, the girls left the Great Hall and headed towards the dungeon.
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Their Potions exam was harder than they expected, it left the girls drained of their energy. With still half an hour before lunch, Cho decided to head back to the their dormitory to get some rest. She laid down on her bed without intending to sleep, but she soon dozed off.
"Hey, wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Crystal said as she shook her bed. Cho had slept through lunch.
"Oh, what time is it?" Cho asked, rubbing her eyes as she got up.
"Time for lunch," replied Pam. "You looked really tired we decided not to wake you up, but we brought you something back," she continued, placing a plate full of food on Cho's desk.
"Go ahead and eat. We have more than half an hour before Charms," Crystal said, as she sat on her bed to read her notes.
Thanking her friends, Cho sat down and began to eat.
"By the way, Cedric was looking for you," Jane said. "He wants you to meet your in-laws," she continued, grinning.
"My what?"
"Your in-laws," Jane replied. "Cedric's parents are here today to watch the third task."
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Finally, the end-of-term exams were over. After an exhausting day, Pam, Jane, Crystal and Cho returned to their dormitory to get some rest before the evening feast.
With only a few minutes to spare, they left their dormitory and headed for the evening feast. They hurriedly walked into the Great Hall and towards the Ravenclaw table. As they took their seats, Cho saw Cedric walking towards them.
Cedric greeted them as sat next to Cho and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Cho, I've been looking all over for you."
"Sorry about this afternoon," she replied. "Exams were just too much I slept through lunch. But at least it's all over now."
"Not for me," Cedric sighed. "There's still the third task." He was a bit nervous, she could tell as he held her hand more tightly than usual.
"You'll do just fine," she assured him. "You've been preparing for this for weeks." Cedric had certainly been preparing for this task, looking up and practicing charms. She herself had been taking out books from the library looking for anything that could help him.
"Ced, you were planning to introduce us, weren't you?"
Standing behind Cedric were Mr. and Mrs. Amos Diggory. Cho recognized them from the family pictures he had shown her.
Cedric made the introductions with Cho very much self-conscious. She knew his parents were nice and wanted very much to meet her, but it didn't keep her from feeling a bit awkward.
"Cho, it's good to meet you at last," Cedric's mother said as she gave Cho a hug. "Ced talks incessantly about you."
Cedric's father invited her to dine with them at the Hufflepuff table but Cho declined, as there wasn't enough room. Soon, Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers stepped into the Great Hall. The evening feast was about to begin. Cedric and his parents then walked back to the Hufflepuff table.
Pam, Jane and Crystal now let go of the snickers they had been stifling the entire time, and spent the rest of the evening feast kidding her about meeting her "in-laws".
"If Cedric's mom and dad were the In-laws," Jane asked Cho, "should we call you the Outlaw?"
Before the feast was over, Cedric was back at the Ravenclaw table.
"Cho, can I have a word with you," he said as he leaned towards her, "in private?"
Cedric led her to the entrance hall, which was now deserted as everyone was in the Great Hall.
"Good luck tonight," she told him as he held her hand.
"Thanks... Er - Cho, I want to tell you something," he said. He looked at her longingly, and then hesitated for a moment before he said, "I love you."
"I always have and I always will, but for some reason I can't bring myself to say the words until now," he continued. He pulled her close and kissed her more passionately than before.
For some reason, Cedric didn't have to tell her this. Somehow, she already knew he loved her.
"I know I have to tell you tonight, or I might never have the chance," he said, still holding her close.
A group of girls from Hufflepuff came out of the Great Hall and caught them in a rather awkward moment. The girls started giggling as they made their way towards the washroom.
"We better get back," he said and they walked back into the Hall.
Time finally came for the third task. Everyone headed for the Quidditch field, which was now filled with hedges made to look like a maze.
"So, we're going to sit here and watch a maze?" Pam asked, a mixture of disappointment and sarcasm in here voice. The hedges were too high and many paths too narrow. Even if they were seated high enough, it would be difficult to see anything going on inside the maze.
"From the look of it, yes," Jane replied, looking out into the field. "Let's just hope this doesn't go as boring as the second task."
"Cho wouldn't know that," Crystal said teasingly.
Cho laughed. During the second task, her friends and the rest of the students waited by the lake for over an hour for the Tri-Wizard champions to retrieve their hostage, with nothing to amuse them except the commentator, Ludo Bagman. Cho was one of those rescued from the lake, she spent the whole time sleeping at the bottom of the lake she didn't have to endure the boredom here friends went through.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard tournament is about to begin!" It was the voice of Ludo Bagman. The third task was about to begin.
As Bagman went on introducing the champions, Cho watched Cedric standing just outside the maze, looking up at the stands and searching the crowd.
"Hey Cedric!" "Over here!" It was Pam and Jane, screaming at the top of their lungs and waving furiously at Cedric.
"Keep quiet, will you?" Cho hissed, slightly embarrassed. Students were now looking up to see what the noise was about.
Cedric turned around and waved at them. Cho waved back.
"Cedric was looking for you," Pam pointed out.
Jane added, "And you're so vertically challenged, no way he'll find you in this crowd."
In no time, the third task was underway. Harry and Cedric hurried into the maze at the first sound of the whistle. Moments later they were followed by Viktor Krum, and then Fleur Delacour.
The first few minutes of the competition were uneventful, at least from the audience's point of view.
"Pam, you are psychic," Jane commented, looking at the maze. "Oh, what could be more wonderful than observing hedges on a Quidditch field," she sighed with a look of pretended nostalgia.
Pam responded, "What's the use of my being psychic if I can't see what's going on in there?"
"You guys are right, this is rather boring," said Cho.
"Hey, somebody shot red sparks!" Crystal exclaimed, pointing towards a corner of the maze. Flickers of red light were hovering above it. Champions were to shoot red sparks if they got into trouble and needed rescuing.
"Let's hope it's not Cedric," Pam said as the four of them craned their necks to see what's going on.
"No, it's the Beaubaxton veela," Jane replied. Professor McGonagall had just stepped out of the maze with her wand up, levitating a stretcher holding somebody who undoubtedly was Fleur Delacour.
"I do hope she's fine," Cho said, feeling sorry for Fleur. Then she added, "I wonder how Cedric is doing."
"He's gonna be ok," replied Crystal. "After the dragon, this should be piece of cake."
Time went by again without much going on, except for the second instance red sparks were shot in the air. They saw the teachers bring somebody out of the maze. It was Viktor Krum. Which means, the Triwizard champion can either be Cedric or Harry Potter.
At least the champion would come from Hogwarts, they all agreed, although they all hoped it would be Cedric.
About an hour has now passed since Harry and Cedric had entered the maze. To while away the time, they started talking about their exams.
"What was the last ingredient for Memory Potions?" Jane asked Crystal.
"Jobberknoll feathers," she replied.
"I missed that one," said Jane, disappointed.
"I missed that, too. I keep forgetting those Jobberknoll feathers, I need a Memory Potion," quipped Pam. "Did you get that right, Cho?" she asked, turning to Cho.
Cho couldn't remember what her answer was. "Let me think," she said.
Then it happened so quickly. By instinct, she closed her eyes and the moment she did, she saw a flash of blinding green light. She gasped when all the green light had vanished. Lying on the ground was Cedric, seemingly lifeless.
"Cho, are you alright?"
She must have gasped so loudly that when she opened her eyes, she saw her friends looking at her with surprise and concern.
Tears started streaming down her face. It looked so real, and she knew she had seen it before.
That dream she had on the second task. She was quite sure, that was what she saw then. And that blinding green light, where did all that come from?
Then she remembered. The Killing Curse. Professor Moody had demonstrated it in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class using a spider. Green light had shot out of his wand, killing the spider instantly.
"What's the matter, Cho?" Jane asked.
Seeing tears running down her face, Crystal, Pam and Jane led her out of the stands.
They found a spot right outside the Quidditch field where they can talk with some privacy. Trembling, Cho told them what she had seen, and the dream she had long ago that looked eerily similar.
Her friends tried to console her. "Teachers are patrolling the maze. Nothing could happen to him," they all said.
It took a while before she calmed down. But by the time they were ready to go back, students were already coming out of the Quidditch field.
"What happened? Is the third task over?" Pam asked Mark, Ravenclaw's prefect, who was herding students back to the castle.
"I don't really know what happened," he replied. "There was some commotion and then Professor McGonagall told us to get all the students back to their common rooms."
Pam, Jane, Crystal and Cho returned to their dormitory, unsure of what happened. None of the people they asked could give them an answer, and nobody saw Cedric, or even Harry. They decided it would be better for Cho not to be in the common room and stay away from the other students at the moment, speculations they were hearing from fellow Ravenclaw students are getting more dreadful every minute.
All four of them sat quietly on Cho's bed, Cho in deep thought and the rest not knowing what to say.
"Please Lord, let no harm come to him," Cho prayed silently.
Then, there was a knock on the door. It was Lisa.
"Professor Flitwick is down at the common room," she said. "He wants a word with all of you."
Students in the common room were watching Cho intently as all four of them walked down the stairs. Professor Flitwick then told them to follow him to his office.
When they reached the door to his office, Professor Flitwick said, "I'd like to speak to Miss Chang first. If you would kindly wait here outside for a minute or two."
Professor Flitwick motioned Cho to sit. And then he said in a voice full of sadness, "Miss Chang, I have news of the most grievous kind. Something untoward has happened during the third task tonight."
"Cedric has died."
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Author's Note: As you may all know, our story is almost over. I'll be starting the final chapter next weekend. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee I can post it that same weekend =( Please check back in a couple of weeks.
I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed my story. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I really appreciate your taking time to do so. After I finish this story, I probably won't be posting anything for some time, as my schedule wouldn't allow me. But do expect me to be back! =)
(It's 2:30 in the morning, and I feel soooo woozy... zzzzzzzzzzzz)