Chapter One

A little smile

The crowd of Hogwarts students, crammed onto three wooden islands in the middle of the Black lake, screamed and cheered, chanting and holding signs, as they had their eyes glued to the murky, dark surface. No one could see past the ripples and waves to the dark underworld, to see what the four Tri-Wizarding champions were doing. The hour given them was almost up. Girls chatted nervously, boys screamed and chanted, banging their fists upon the wooden railings, holding them back from falling into the dark, watery abyss. Professor Dumbledore, accompanied by Barty Crouch, paced the highest level of the wooden tower, his eyes glued to the water.

Standing alone, hunched over a balcony, was a small brunette, a seventh year witch, wearing an oversized black coat, a baggy sweater, and simple jeans. Her long straight hair was topped with a knit Hufflepuff winter hat, as she gazed longingly at the water. She frowned as she watched; not one of the Champions, except for the female, had surfaced yet. The Beauxbaton's Champion, Fleur Delacour, had been forced to retire. Elizabeth Torrington, the sixth year Hufflepuff prefect, turned her mind to her fellow male prefect- Cedric Diggory. He was in the water, as the original Hogwarts Champion, attempting to rescue a treasure the Merpeople in the Black Lake had taken from him. She could not help but feel worried. Although the two only spoke when it considered the behalf of a Hufflepuff student, or in a class (both being in the same house, in the same year) Elizabeth had fancied Cedric since first year. It was rather hard for her not too- he was the most popular, best looking boy of their year. Elizabeth was a quiet girl, and very into her studies. Not the typical girl Cedric usually paid attention to. He was quite nice to her, she knew, and they got along very well. And he did smile at her from time to time in the hallways. But never was he alone; he always had an entourage following him.

Elizabeth was struck out of her train of thought as the crowed erupted into cheers. Someone had risen from the murky water. Leaning over the railing, she strained to see who it was. To her glee, it was Cedric. The first to come up from the water with his treasure- the clear winner. Smiling, her heart reduced from its size and ceased its hard pattern of beating. Elizabeth attempted to see who he was carrying. That must have been his treasure. As the girl in his arms turned her head, Elizabeth immediately felt her stomach rise to her throat. It was Cho Chang. Elizabeth's blood began to boil. The beautiful, Asian, fifth year Ravenclaw student, had been Cedric's treasure. She knew Cho fancied Cedric- which girl in her right mind didn't? And there was a rumor that the two were attending the Yule Ball together. Now it was just for certain, proven to Elizabeth, that the two were an item.

Elizabeth turned from the scene sadly, walking away towards the staircase. The task was not over yet, but she no longer wanted to be there. Walking down the staircase, she saw many of her fellow Hufflepuff's surrounding Cedric, toweling him dry, and chanting his name. He smiled at them, attempting to regain his breath and strength. Cho was standing near, her friends closely around her, a towel draped over her shoulders. Staring longingly at Cedric, Elizabeth heaved another sigh. He was so arrogant; what did she fancy in him anyway? Biting her lower lip slightly, the other half of her brain began to rattle off a hundred and one reasons why she did fancy him.

Turning away, she sighed. Something caught the corner of her eye, though, after a second, and she turned back. Although everyone was still fussing over Cedric and Cho, Cedric was not looking in their direction any longer. Elizabeth felt his piercing hazel eyes on her, and this caused her to look at him. He was looking right in her direction, directly at her. When she caught his eye, he smiled at her. Nervously, Elizabeth returned his smile, and a little nod, as if to say good-job. He returned her smile with a wink, and nodded back at her. Her face a little rosy, she remained locked eyes with him for a few more moments, and then turned away, walking to the back of the platform. She waited there, leaning against a wooden pillar, arms crossed against her chest, waiting to board a bat back across the lake to the castle.

Elizabeth was floating across the lake with a group of fellow sixth years when the others finally departed, after the announcement that Cedric had won, Harry Potter, the other Hogwarts Champion, coming in at a close second. Placing her elbows on her knees, she heaved a sigh. She just could not wait to relax in the Prefect bath on the fifth floor, away from all the Cedric fans, celebrating their champion. She could not, though, get off her mind the way Cedric had looked at her only a few moments earlier. Why had he turned away from his fans he so appreciated and loved just to smile at her? Had he just noticed her, or had he been looking for her? Shaking off her rubbish thoughts, she watched the castle come closer and closer as the glided across the lake.

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The crowd's screams were ringing in Cedric's ears as he smiled at them, giving them the fuel for their everlasting fire, chanting his name all the way across the lake. He tried to black it all out, showing as if he was paying attention, but really his mind was wandering. He wondered who had taken the supposed "treasure" from him, and who had decided it was Cho. Figuring it was just because she was mad about him, and he had taken her to the Yule Ball, he could not help but laugh slightly at the fact that if anyone had read his mind, his 'treasure' would not have been Cho. In fact, if anyone ever read his mind, they would have been in for a slight shock.

Cho was gazing longingly at him as the got up and out of the boat, walking towards the castle. She came up along side him and smiled up at him. "You did wonderful today..." she said to him. He smiled at her. "Thanks" was his only response, and he turned back towards the castle. She still remained at his side. He found it slightly annoying that she had taken to figuring that the two were a couple. Everyone else, in fact, had figured it.

Even Elizabeth Torrington. This hurt him much more than anyone else figuring that the two were an item. Cedric had fancied Elizabeth since first year, but she always assumed was a conceited, full-of-himself pure blood boy. It was the way he seemed, though...his crowed of followers had taken a liking to making Cedric look like mister All-High-And-Mighty. Cedric just never said anything...he did not find himself like that.

Trudging across the grass towards the castle, Cedric pushed the thoughts of his win that afternoon in the second task of the Tri-Wizard tournament, and attempted to slip past his supporters. All he wanted to do was take a bath, to wash of the remains of the Black Lake and just relax...

He was not so lucky. After being pulled into the center of the Hufflepuff common room, the entire house cheering his name and asking a million questions about the water, and how it was at the bottom of the lake, or how the Merpeople were. All he did was smile, gradually and nicely answer questions, and have a bit of butterbeer. He was quite happy that Cho did not live in the same house as he. He did not feel like having her hanging on his arm.

Out of her corner of his eye, as he stopped to smile and chat with two of his fellow Quidditch players, he saw a glimpse of long dark hair. Whipping his head around, he noticed it was Elizabeth. Immediately, he restrained himself from a grin. He watched as she made her way across the room, a simple annoyed look on her face as she pressed herself in between a group of giggling third years. He smiled on the inside as he watched her push past another group of menacing fourth year boys, clutching her shower things in her arms. Catching her eye, quickly, he noticed her stop, startled. Her face flushed. He smiled at her, just as he had done back at the pier, after he had completed the second task. She smiled back and gave him a sheepish wave. She then hurried away. He wondered, again, as he always did, why he made her so flustered every time he smiled at her. They were civil towards each other, spoke, and said hello. But he never got signs that she wanted anything more than that.

Disappointed, Cedric turned back to his friends, who had not seemed to notice his mind departure from their conversation. The two went on, animatedly talking about a match they had seen over the summer, and how one hoped to relive the glory of hanging from his broomstick while kicking the Quaffle. Shaking his head, Cedric laughed and rejoined the conversation, listening and nodding when needed...