I am soooo sorry I haven't posted in a long time! I've been sick and had tons of school work. But here is more! Dedicated to Michelle cause I said I'd have more for her bday and then I didnt. So happy late bday! I LOVE YA!


Chapter 4

I was floating on a cloud the next morning, and as Jules informed me, I was wearing a goofy grin. The best friends are always so blatantly honest.

"I didn't realize you liked him this much," she smirked. "Next thing I know you two will be procreating like rabbits in a broom closet." I threw her a dark look.

"Even if I was willing to give up something of that importance to Cedric, I assure you I would not be doing it in a broom closest," I sniffed. "I'd like to think I have more taste than that." Jules fell silent and her eyes glazed over as she stared off into space. I waved my hand in front of her face, trying to see if she was alright. I averted my attention to where her gaze was set and found myself chuckling. She was staring at George.

"I thought you were a professional Jules," I smirked. She snapped out of her trance.

"What are you talking about Lark?" she questioned, spooning porridge into her mouth.

"You're being as obvious about your affections for George as I was being about Cedric," I grinned.

"I have no affections for Weasley." I gave her a look.

"Just because I'm spending the day with Cedric doesn't mean you can't still go by the Three Broomsticks and have a drink with George," I continued in a very Jules like manner.

"Lark, I do not like George!" she banged her fist down in her porridge, blushing as George walked over.

"Need a napkin?" he grinned at her. She choked on the orange juice she was trying to swallow.

"You ok Jules?" George raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, she's fine," I continued smirking.

"Ok then, you still meeting me in the Three Broomsticks tomorrow?"

"Possibly. I have a date with Cedric."

"Nice one Lark. Knew he liked you."

"That's what Jules said."

"Well Miss Densey is a smart one," he winked at her and she blushed furiously again, staring down at her plate of food. "Just find me if you change your plans Lark." I nodded and he walked off.

"Oh no," I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "The beet red color on your face proves you don't like George at all."

"Oh shut up Lark," she waved her fork threateningly at me. I laughed and let her be. Cedric and Mack came walking in at that moment, arguing feverishly.

"What's up?" I looked from to the other, who were glaring daggers at each other.

"Nothing," Mack snapped, walking further down the table and sitting with Luke Charter, a sixth year in our house.

"Do I even want to know?" I asked Cedric who was still glaring at Mack.

"No," he answered darkly. "Listen Lark, I'm going to have to cancel our date tomorrow." My heart plummeted down to my stomach. Was another confession on its way? Had he not really meant his apology? Why was this boy toying with my heart? Jules was staring at Cedric curiously, eyes round, waiting for the same explanation I was, although without the fear I was experiencing.

"W-Why?" I heard my voice shook.

"I really want to go, I do, but I just got detention from Snape and I need to practice for the first Task, it's next week you know," he answered. His eyes seemed really apologetic…

"It's all right," I forced a smile to make him feel. Jules narrowed her eyes at me but thankfully didn't say anything. "I can help you if you want."

"No, go to Hogsmeade, you should still be able to enjoy the day, and I swear I'll make it up to you." He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see you Transfiguration." With that, Cedric threw another dark look at Mack then left the Great Hall.

"He hates me," I sighed.

"He does not Lark," Jules patted my arm reassuringly. "He seemed really upset that he had to break the date."

"He was upset because he'd been fighting with Mack. I wonder what it was about." Jules smirked and her eyes flashed.

"I know how to find out," she answered, standing and straightening her skirt, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder and walking down the hall towards Mack. Every guys' head turned as she strutted. She slid into the seat next to Mack, batting her eyelashes at him. I shook my head, then gaped when her attempts didn't work. Mack pushed her away, then stood and left, glancing at me as he passed. I looked at Jules who looked even more shocked than I was.

"The eyelashes always work," she wailed when she returned to her seat next to mine. "I can't believe that of all people, Mack pushed me away! I've lost my charm Lark! I must be turning ugly!"

"No way," I shook my head. "Did you see the way the other guys were looking at you?" She stopped her fake crying immediately and grinned.

"Well, yes."

"Something's up with Mack and Cedric. I say we do a little…investigating."

"You mean spying and eavesdropping?"

"Well, obviously, but investigating sounds more morally acceptable."

We walked in to Transfiguration and immediately knew that Cedric and Mack were still feuding. They were on opposite sides of the room.

"All right, investigating begins, I get Mack," Jules stared determinedly in his direction. "That boy is not going to turn me away again."

"Normally it's the other way around," I laughed. She shrugged and went over to the table he was at. I made my way towards Cedric then stopped when Mandy Cones took the seat next to him. Bloody Slytherin. I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Surely Cedric would prefer to sit by me than her…She was flirting with him! My blood boiled and I felt the green eyed monster roar inside of me. Feeling unusually bold, I stalked over to them, taking the seat in front then turning around to face them.

"Hi Mandy," I said sweetly. She looked at me as though I were the scum of the earth.

"Hey Lark," Cedric grinned, looking thoroughly relieved that I had showed up. "I really am sorry. I'm already planning on how to prove it to you."

"Oh, you don't have to-" He took my hand in his own.

"But I want to. I meant it last night when I told you I really liked you. I don't want you to think that's changed any." I felt my face grow hot. My hand was tingling from the contact with his. Mandy was practically breathing fire.

"You really are the sweetest Cedric," I said softly. His smile grew. McGonagall walked in and Cedric dropped my hand as I turned to face the front. I was floating on air again. Life was just too perfect, even if Cedric has cancelled our date. He still liked me and he wanted to make it up to me. He wanted to proved how much he liked me. I chanced a look at Jules who had a glum expression on her face. Looks like she hadn't made any progress with Mack, which really made me start to wonder just what Cedric and his fight was about.

The next day dawned bright without a cloud in the sky. The birds were twittering and a cool breeze blew as Jules and I walked down the front lawn to the gates of Hogwarts. I saw George and flagged him down.

"Cedric had to cancel," I said. "Still want to meet up later?"

"Yeah, I'm bringing Fred and Lee though," he replied.

"Of course," I smiled. "Jules is coming also." He nodded and jogged back to where Lee and Fred were.

"So why Fred and not George?" I questioned Jules as we stepped into the quant village known as Hogsmeade.

"Just let it go Lark," she begged. I raised my hands in defeat.

"Fine," I answered. "Let's visit the pet shop, I've been meaning to spend my birthday money."

"Your birthday was three months ago," Jules laughed.

"Exactly," I grinned. We spent the morning perusing the various shops, getting the others opinion on certain gifts, and sending each other away so we could buy their present without them knowing.

"That was successful," Jules smiled as we walked in the door of the Three Broomsticks.

"Over here Lark!" George waved at me from a corner table in which he, Fred and Lee were already sitting. I slid into the empty chair next to Fred and Jules sat next to George, casting me a glare. Who says revenge isn't sweet?

"Well you did a bit of shopping," Fred joked.

"Only a little," I grinned. "Look at my new cat!" I held up the cage in which a gorgeous brown cat lay. It had a singly white patch around it's eye.

"I named him Rascal."

"How'd you come up with that name?" Lee questioned.

"He was sneaking into the bunny cages when I first spotted him," I answered. The table burst out in laughter. The five of us headed back up to the castle together just in time for dinner. I looked up and down the table but didn't see Cedric anywhere. Mack was sitting alone.

"Hey Mack," I plopped down across from. Jules gave me a wary look, then sat down next to me, not saying a word. "Did you go into Hogsmeade today?" He shrugged.

"It never changes, what's the point?" he answered, not looking up from his food. I decided to take the concerned friend approach.

"Listen Mack, you've seemed…different lately. Are you all right?" He nodded.

"I'm fine Lark," he gave me a brief smile then stood and left, without even so much as looking at Jules.

"I have never received the cold shoulder from a member of the opposite sex before," Jules gaped. "Plenty of girls yes, but only because I might have done a thing or two with their boyfriends."

"And you wonder why you get curses sent by post owl," I rolled my eyes. She stared blankly at me, obviously not picking up on my sarcasm.

"Forget it Jules, it's only Mack." I served myself a nice heap of potatoes.

"Yes but…that's just it! He's supposed to be in love with me!" She was pouting, I could tell.

"So now that the boy who's been after you for ages won't even give you the time of day, you want him?"

"Yes." I stared at her.

"You are far too complicated Jules," I told her. "You can't have every guy." I saw her glance at George.

"True," she sighed, serving herself.

The went by without any other events. I didn't see much of Cedric outside of class. He was still practicing for the tournament. Friday morning came and he was paler than the Hogwarts' ghosts.

"Noon Lark, noon," he said, sitting down across from me at breakfast. "I have to face a dragon at noon. What if I can't do the spell right. What if-"

"Cedric, you'll do fantastic, trust me," I smiled at him, patting his hand reassuringly. He gave me a weak smile back, still looking like he was going to purge any second. "Seriously, don't worry. I'll be in the stands, cheering." His eyes lit up and he stood, running around the table and coming back to where I was.

"Good," he whispered in my ear, wrapping his very masculine arms around me. My breath caught in my throat as I breathed in his scent- Hogwarts soap. "I don't think I could do it if you weren't cheering for me." Cedric gently pressed his lips against mine and all the sparks I had felt from our first kiss intensified by a thousand. He pulled away, still smiling, and exited the Great Hall. My legs shook as I followed, a lot farther behind. George waggled his eyebrows at me from the Gryffindor table and I determinedly pretended to ignore him. Classes dragged on and I kept glancing out the window, praying the weather would hold up. It was currently bright and sunny, but that could easily change. I felt Cedric's chances were better with a clear day than with a storm. Although his greatest Quidditch achievement had occurred when all hell had broken loose in the sky…

"Miss Turnings?" Flitwick was standing right beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry professor, what was the question?" But all that came out was a meow. I blinked as the class laughed.

"Sorry Lark!" Jules cried. "I didn't mean to hit you with the spell!" Flitwick waved his wand and my speech was restored. I glared at Jules.

"Of course you didn't mean to do it," I replied sarcastically. Her face split into a grin.

"At least I saved you from getting a stern talking to from Flitwick," she answered. The bell rang and we headed to the Great Hall to eat lunch before the First Task began. We passed Cedric who was heading down to where the task was taking place. He pulled me to him in a quick hug then walked on.

"I love romance stories with a happy ending," Jules sighed. I rolled my eyes at her. Everyone ate quickly then slowly filed out onto the grounds. By the Quidditch Pitch was a humongous arena. We found seats with our Cedric apparel, which included signs and face paint. Dumbledore came out and told everyone what the first task was about. There were only a few gasps heard in the crowd, which proved that secrets weren't secrets at Hogwarts. Finally, Cedric came out.

"There he is!" Jules screamed, grabbing my arm.

"That dragon is huge," Mack gaped. He was standing on my other side and still hadn't said a word to Jules. She was taking it extremely hard considering she didn't even like Mack.

"Be careful Cedric," I stared at him. He climbed over some boulders and the dragon lunged for him. Cedric jumped out of the way just in time, but it's tail lashed the side of his arm. Jules and I screamed as the dragon blew fire. Cedric rolled out of the way then pointed his wand at a particularly large boulder. He shouted something we couldn't hear over the dragon's roar and the boulder transformed into a big brown dog. The dragon studied the dog for a moment then went after it as it trotted away. Cedric took his chance and went in for the golden egg. He was successful! Suddenly, the dragon changed its mind and went back after Cedric, this time hitting him with its flame of fire. The dragon handlers took control of the dragons immediately and Cedric's side was burned.

"I hope he's all right," I whimpered to Jules.

"He'll be fine," she patted my shoulder soothingly. "Madam Pomfrey will patch him right up. Don't worry. You can see him when the task is over." I nodded and we watched the rest of the event. It was exciting, but unfortunately Potter finished in first place with Cedric in second. Jules and I rushed to the medi-tent.

"You were brilliant!" I jumped on Cedric the minute I saw him. His face was covered in purple paste which came off on my skin that had made contact with it. He held me up and spun me around.

"Potter beat me though," he commented.

"Who cares, you were better in my book," I smiled as he set me back on the ground, my arms still around his neck.

"I knew you were cheering, that's why," he smiled, placing his forehead against mine.

"I hate to interrupt the love birds and all," Jules broke in. "Actually, it's kind of fun really, but the point I'm trying to make is that the rest of the school has already headed back up to the castle and I suggest we do the same before we get left out here." I rolled my eyes and separated myself from Cedric. He grabbed my hand and we walked back up to the school together. Mack was nowhere to be seen. I really didn't understand. Any feud they were having should have been resolved by Cedric's death defying experience, shouldn't it? They were best mates! I had seen Potter and Weasley make up and rumor had been that they were fighting before. Mack and Cedric were supposed to be more mature about these things. What was I saying. Two guys and the word mature do not belong in the same sentence. Jules was skipping ahead of us so I decided to take a shot.

"Can I ask you something?" I looked at Cedric's handsome face.

"Anything," he grinned, the euphoria of completing the task obviously still pumping through his veins.

"What's going on with you and Mack?" His smile fell.

"Nothing's going on," he answered gruffly, dropping my hand.

"Don't lie to me Cedric, you two are fighting." He studied me for a moment, obviously contemplating if he should tell me.

"Don't take it personally, I just would rather not talk about it." I nodded.

"Fair enough, as long as you admit that there is a problem."

"There is a problem between me and Mack. Happy now?" He took my hand again. I grinned and nodded. "Good." We walked into the Entrance Hall and headed to the Hufflepuff Common Room. The minute we opened the portrait hole the room burst into applause. Cedric was pulled through and I was left to climb in by myself. I didn't mind in the least, this was Cedric's time to celebrate. I stood and watched as he was congratulated and clapped on the back, asked to recount his story over and over even though we'd all been there.

"Take this up to our dorm, would you Lark?" another 7th year asked, handing me Cedric's golden egg. It was extremely heavy and I panted with the effort of carrying it up the stairs. I went into the 7th year boy's dorm and saw Mack sitting on his bed.

"Why aren't you down celebrating?" he asked me a bit coldly.

"I get the honor of lugging this thing up the stairs," I plopped the egg onto what I assumed was Cedric's bed. The Quidditch stuff gave it away.

"Why isn't hero boy doing it?" I leaned against the post of Cedric's bed.

"Is that what this is about? You're jealous?"

"No, I didn't even enter the tournament. I don't want to be a champion." Mack turned away from me.

"Then what is this about Mack? He's your best mate, you should be the one down there standing beside him." He shook his head.

"You wouldn't understand," he mumbled.

"Try me." Mack looked up, his eyes round and confused.

"I just… I don't even understand it Lark. Listen, I don't want to make things between me and Cedric worse, so why don't you get back down to the party." I stared at the back of him before turning and leaving. Mack was most fun loving person. Nothing ever got him down, but now something was dragging him to the bottom of the lake. Real concern finally settled in me. It just wasn't right.