Lovers and Friends

chapter 3 : the first task

"Cho! Over here!" Marietta shouted while waving her arms in the air frantically.

"Sorry," Cho muttered to the people in the stands grunting and groaning as she made her way past them toward her friends. "Great seats."

"I know! Fred and George were taking up bets just a second ago. I bet that Harry was going to crumble first and that Cedric would come out with the lead," Marietta answered excitedly.

Cho rolled her eyes at her friend. What Marietta had against Harry, she would never know.

"And speaking of Cedric, he is looking mighty fine today," Justine added as she turned the knobs of her omnoculars to get a better look of Cedric through the tent.

"Oh for heavens sake. I don't know why everyone makes such a big fuss about Cedric. Harry deserves just as much attention as Cedric does," Cho instantly bit her tongue as Cindy smirked at her.

"Whatever Cho, I'm only giving you a week's hold on him. After that, he's fair game," Justine said, not taking her eyes off of him.

"He's fair game right now," Cho replied coolly.

Justine opened her mouth to reply back but the sound of the canon signaled the start of the first task.

"OHMYGOSH! Cedric's first!" Cindy squealed as the crowd around them stood up and cheered.

Cho, still sitting, was probably the only one to notice Cedric's tense state. The confident, adventurous Cedric Diggory that she was so used to seeing strutting down the halls was now nervous and afraid, a side that she has never seen of him. Cedric licked his dry lips and breathed in loudly while beads of sweat trickled down his face. With every step he took closer to the golden egg, Cho's heart skipped a beat and felt as if she was the one out there facing the dragon. Her tiny hands were now wringing Marietta's betting receipt as she watched on nervously with the rest of the crowd.

As she watched Cedric take dangerous routes toward the dragon, dodging quickly to avoid getting whip-lashed by its tail, she had to bite her bottom lip down to prevent herself from screaming at the top of her lungs because why would Cho Chang, nice, quiet Ravenclaw be freaking out over one of Hogwart's champions?

After what seemed like hours to Cho, Cedric had finally captured the golden egg. She was able to breathe again.

"Cho! I needed that!" Marietta scolded her as she noticed the tiny flakes of white paper scattered on the ground.

"Oh, sorry…erm…nervous habit. Reparo," Cho blushed.

As soon as the all the contestants had succeeded in capturing their egg, Cho raced to the Hospital Wing to make sure Cedric was ok. He did look a bit peaky after he got burned by the Dragon.

Without thinking, Cho pushed open the cold, wooden doors that lead to the infirmary. The room was crowded with family and friends, most of them were unfamiliar to her but she didn't care at the moment. She was here for only one reason.

"Looking for me?"

Cho whipped around and saw Cedric. The right side of his cheek was covered in some sort of goop that made him look ridiculous, but he still managed to smile handsomely at her.

"Um…" Cho hadn't thought of what to say. She was so worried about him that she completely forgot that she wasn't supposed to care. "Actually, I was just…erm…checking up on Viktor Krum. You know, being the star Seeker for Bulgaria and everything…He looks all better now! Bye!"

"Cho," Cedric said before she could leave. "Even though you didn't come here to visit me, you think you could stay for a while anyway?"

"Oh…no…I don't think that's such a good id—"

"Oh Miss Chang! Thank goodness you are here!" Madam Promfry said timidly as she spotted Cho. "It's hectic around here! Can you do me a favor and tend to Mr. Diggory while I check up on Mr. Potter?"

"I…but—"

"All you have to do is dab this on all of his cuts," she quickly shoved a bottle of ointment into Cho's hand and ran off to tend to Harry who was surrounded by his new supporters.

"Um…Ok. This shouldn't be too bad," Cho said as she eyed the dark red blotch that was seeping through his shirt. She grabbed the nearby scissors and attempted to cut the sleeve of his shirt but Cedric quickly pulled away.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He said quickly as Cho grew infuriated with him.

"I'm going to need to cut your shirt so I could clean your cuts, Cedric! Quit being a baby!"

"But I can just take off my shirt—"

"No thank you," Cho said loudly, finally overpowering him as she swiftly cut through the arm of Cedric's shirt. She cringed as she saw the deep cut that found a home on his arm. She dabbed the ointment and was preparing to place it on his muscular arm.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. OW!"

"I haven't even touched you yet!"

"I know…I'm just practicing"

"Good, you're going to need it. This is a really deep cut" She covered the ointment absorbed towel on Cedric's arm. Cedric bit his bottom lip and sighed heavily.

"Um…good job today. You did really well," Cho finally said after a moment of awkward silence. Cedric smirked and turned his attention back at the ground.

"Yeah…but I heard Harry was brilliant with the broom and everything…" Cho sensed a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," Cho laughed nervously.

"No! Of course not," Cedric said reassuringly. "It's just…I always find myself against this guy and my father is always pressuring me to be better than him after he heard about that last Quidditch game. I mean, that was all out of luck! Harry could have easily beaten me if it hadn't been for those Dementors. Now everyone is expecting me to crush him in the Triwizard tournament but I don't think I can. I mean, he's the Harry Potter. It just seems like I'm always at a competition with him. And the fact that I heard he fancies you—"

"What? That's ridiculous…Harry does not fancy me," Cho said frustratedly as she repaired his shirt. Cedric kept silent. "What does that have to do with you and Harry anyway?"

"Er…nothing…I was just saying…" Cedric's cheeks were now a faint shade of red.

"Whatever. Just do what you want to do. For yourself. Not for your dad, not for your friends…just do this for you," Cho smiled as she patted his detangled hair. "I'll see you later."

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"Oh! This is going to be so much fun!" Cindy shrieked as Cho entered the Great Hall for dinner.

"What's going to be so much fun?" Cho asked as she piled up her plate with food.

"The Yule Ball, of course!" Cindy answered excitedly.

"Come again?" By the way the girls giggled and whispered in each others ears, Cho felt like everyone was in on a secret that she didn't know about.

"The Yule Ball! It's a dance! AND you get to bring dates! It would be a dream come true if Harry asked me…" Padma Patil swooned as the rest of the girls giggled again.

"Brandon Shaw for me! He is absolutely gorgeous enough to eat!"

"I dunno, Justin Flinch Fletchy is looking pretty cute this year"

"What about you, Cho? Who do you want to go with?"

"Oooh…I dunno. I don't really have anyone in mind," But Cho did have someone in mind and as much as it irked her, she just couldn't stop thinking about him.

A/N: chapter 3 up. thanks to my reviewers x)
x3 heidi

disclaimer: i don't own Cedric Diggory...sadly. :( Or any of the other Harry Potter characters/settings.