Disclaimer: I don't own Cedric or Moody or Cho Chang. But they're the only real- wait… Justin Finch-Fletchly (crazy name)… Don't own him neither… But, seeing as this is a fun, Promise-Sam-Cedric dynamic chapter, I take full responsibility for all the humor and all that. Why? Cuz I own it… And the original characters… Yeah… Definitely own them…
Chapter 11
Promise's Bubbles
Cedric, Sam, Promise, and Olivia all headed up to the library after returning to the Hufflepuff Common Room.
"I can't believe they kicked us out!" Promise muttered for the twelfth time as they scanned the rows of books.
"They're decorating," Olivia replied for her twelfth time.
"So? We could help them, and they have magic, and we could always just sit in our dormitories, and why do we have to go with Cedric? It's all your fault that we got kicked out of the common room in the first place!" She pointed a finger at Cedric.
"You could always go back, I didn't force you to come," Cedric looked at her.
"No, but you asked," Promise rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? You ask me to do something and I'm obligated to do it."
"Because you're my best friend?" Cedric smirked at her.
Promise let a high-pitched laugh break through her lips. "Don't flatter yourself, Pretty Boy. You know full well I'm just trying to live up to your 'fine example.'"
"And we all believe that," Sam muttered under her breath.
"You patronizing me?" Promise looked across Olivia's back at Sam.
"Huh? What? I didn't say anything."
"Should we just go?" Olivia offered. "I'm sure they're done with the decorations and the food by now."
"But they've only had ten minutes," Cedric pulled his nose out of Bizarre Befuddlements of the Batty.
"Oh please," Promise rolled her eyes. "How long do you really think it takes for Hufflepuffs in the common room to get food from the kitchens and put huge decorations up with magic? They're not only ready and waiting for us, they're starting to get impatient."
Cedric shrugged. "But what if you're wrong?"
Promise scoffed. "Do you happen to remember who you're talking to? I'm never wrong, dear Cedric." She smiled, put up her index finger, tapped Cedric's nose with it, giggled, and perkily bounced away and out of the library.
They all stared blankly at the door to the library, none of them moving their eyes, none of them saying a word, none of them doing much of anything at all.
Cedric blinked heavily, his head unmoving. "You know, sometimes, I don't know what she's going to do next."
"Has she ever done that before?" Sam asked, horrified.
Cedric kept his eyes on the door, still mildly in shock. "I don't know if I like that because it makes her look cute and reminds me why I love her, or if I hate it because she just scared me like nothing else. Someone pinch me."
Olivia stuck out her arm and groped for Cedric's arm, finally landing and pinching.
"Ouch," Cedric stated monotonously. "I think that might have hurt."
Promise stuck her head in the door, her natural, shoulder-length curls bouncing very uncharacteristically. She waved at them, even bubblier than before.
"Anyone else freaked out?" Olivia asked them.
"I've never seen anything so scary," Sam remarked.
"I'm up for her never doing anything like that again."
"I concur," Olivia nodded.
They stood stationary for several more seconds.
"So, are we going?" Olivia broke the silence.
Cedric began. "I'm not-"
Promise poked her head around the door again, curls bouncing.
"I'm in," Cedric snapped to his senses and headed towards the door Sam and Olivia right behind him.
As soon as Promise saw them coming, her incredibly fake, bubbly smile dropped. "Finally! I had no idea how long it'd take for you to get out of there."
Sam walked up to Promise and stopped, locking eyes. "Never. Do. That. Again."
"I'm right there with ya," Promise smiled. "That really sucked."
"Says you! You didn't have to watch it," Olivia walked past her.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad!" Promise half exclaimed.
"No, it was cute," Cedric established sarcastically.
"See?" Promise called out to Sam and Olivia, who were heading away from the library slightly faster than normal. "Cedric thought it was cute!"
"Yes, but it was a very… 'Not-Promise' cute," Cedric nodded. "It was scary to see you so… chirpy."
"I can be chirpy!" Promise shouted indignantly, as though insulted.
"Yeah, and I like sarcasm Promise more than I like chirpy, perky, bubbly, hair bouncy Promise." Cedric turned to leave and began to walk off.
"You don't think I can be uppity?"
Cedric stopped, turned his head to look at Promise, opened his mouth to speak, closed it and turned back around, continuing his walk.
"That's it! Isn't it?" Promise bounded after him, jumping in front of him and walking backwards. "You don't think I can be bubbly little Promise."
"I never said that," Cedric said.
"Aha!" Promise stopped and pointed a finger at him. "But you thought it! Confess!"
"And if I did?"
"Okay, Pretty Boy," Promise bit her lip and rubbed her hands together, scheming, the wheels in her head turning as fast as they did on exam day. "I'll make you a deal."
"I'm not going to like this," Cedric muttered.
Promise looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was around. "I stay happy and bubbly and perky for a week and a half. No, not even a week and a half. Ten days. That gives you a half a day leeway."
"Oh no."
"And if I can do that to your honest satisfaction," Promise smirked. "You ask Sam to the Yule Ball."
"Yule Ball?" Cedric inquired. "What's a Yule Ball?"
"You'll see," Promise smirked and stuck out her hand. "And that's the deal."
Cedric bit the front inside of his bottom lip. Asking Sam out was the absolute worst idea in the world. He didn't want to jeopardize the strong relationship growing between them, but he did want to date her. More than anything in the world he wanted to date her.
On the other hand, there was no way Promise would pull off a ten day bubble streak, so he didn't even have to worry about asking Sam to the Yule Ball.
"Deal," Cedric agreed reluctantly, grabbing Promise's hand.
Before he had realized what was happening, Promise had her wand out and was already tapping their hands with it. "Litsune," She whispered.
"Wait, what?"
"Litsune," Promise explained. "It's a little something I stumbled upon. When two wizards or witches go into a pact in which one has to be honest to the other about something, for example, if I'm bubbly enough," (She squeaked and shook her head incredibly fast on the word bubbly, curls bouncing). "It makes sure you don't cheat at the end and say that I wasn't bubbly enough even though I'm going to put all the bubble I can into this so you'll actually have to ask Sam to the Ball."
"But you haven't even told me what the Ball is!"
"Patience, my dear Cedric, patience," Promise whispered in his ear. She smiled and turned, keeping her head twisted oddly and facing him. She bit her lip and headed down towards the Hufflepuff Common Room and the celebration.
True to her word, Promise was bubbly and incredibly bouncy for the rest of the day. Even as they entered the Hufflepuff Common Room to the tumultuous screams and applause of fellow Hufflepuffs, Promise giggled as every Hufflepuff clapped Cedric on the back, interjecting random phrases like "Don't you just love him?" or "He's so cool, isn't he?"
Cedric also noticed that Sam and Olivia tried to stay close to Cedric while avoiding Promise.
"What's wrong?" He asked them in between handshakes and claps on the back.
"She's doing it again," Sam muttered, slightly frightened.
"I know," Cedric chuckled as another Hufflepuff came by for another handshake. "She kind of wanted to."
They remained silent, staring at Promise. Fourth year Justin Finch-Fletchley approached them, and when he failed to garner Cedric's attention after a few seconds, turned around to look at what they were looking at.
"What are we looking at?" He asked, puzzled.
"My best friend," Cedric said. Promise looked up from a big sip of pumpkin juice and gave him the biggest wave and smile Cedric had ever seen her give.
"And… why is she doing that?"
"The real question is why would she want to? It's so… not Promise," Olivia asked, turning a slight tinge of green.
"It's a bet," Cedric smiled and looked over at Justin. He waved back to Promise, twiddling his fingers. She giggled, shrugged her shoulders, and resumed to talking with a seventh year. "I bet her she couldn't go ten days like that."
"What do you get in return?" Sam inquired.
"Couldn't say," Cedric's voice trailed off slightly. "But who cares? After two days of this she'll go mad."
Promise bounded up to them. "Don't you just love winning? It makes us all happy. I mean… a dragon! Who'd have thought you could've done it? I know that that Mr. Fillion over there sure didn't think you could do it when he saw that huge Swedish Short-Snout. Well," She looked up without moving her head, twisted her left shoulder, smiled with an open mouth and giggled once. "Well of course I did. How could I ever doubt you?" She smiled, turned around, flipped up her heel, kissed her hand, and held it up and a gesture of farewell.
They all watched her head off and start talking to a group of third years. Initially, they seemed interested in talking to her, but after a matter of seconds, they began to look for ways to get out of talking to her.
"On the other hand," Sam said after a moment of more stunned silence. "We could go mad in half that time."
"She's buckling. Can't you tell?" Olivia laughed nervously, fake-smiling. "Come on. Someone else tell me I'm seeing this and not just trying to convince myself of this."
"No," Cedric remarked. "But she does seem to be having fun withit. It'll burn out. It has to. It just has to."
"Do you remember what she was like before? Humorous? Fun natured, without the… fun? Fun to be around?" Justin added. "Was there a reason that I'm looking at her?"
"You got roped into this whole thing the second you walked over here," Sam shrugged. "You can leave if you want or if you know what's good for you."
"But I can't help but feel like there's something I was forgetting."
"Cedric," Olivia muttered after another minute of stunned silence.
"Oh! Right! Congratulations again, Cedric. You did loads better than Krum. Much more daring."
"Thanks a lot Justin," Cedric shook his head and knocked himself out of the stupor Promise's new behavior had left him in. He shook Justin's hand and smiled.
"How does it feel?" Justin asked.
"Right now? Weird. I can't believe I have to endure another ten days-"
"No, no, no, no, no, no," Justin laughed. "I meant the dragon."
"Dragon? Oh! The Dragon!" Cedric had completely forgotten the dragon between his bet, the prospect of going out with Sam, and, least of all, Promise's new personality. "It feels great. I couldn't believe I did it, but I did."
"Well it was very exciting! I commend you. I hope you do something similar for the second task. Any idea what it could be?"
"Not yet. They gave me a clue to it though."
"Oh! What was it? I know that everyone here would be more than happy to help you out!"
Cedric looked at Justin skeptically. "After all the stuff I had to go through with the first task, you're delusional if you're thinking I'm not asking for help, but I just got off the first task, and now I have Promise to deal with."
"Well I know that I don't know as much as you Ced," Justin smiled comfortably. "But I do know that if you ever need any help, I'm more than willing, and I'm sure everyone else here is too."
"Thanks Justin, I appreciate it, and I'll keep it in mind."
Justin headed off to meet with fellow fourth years Susan Bones and Ernie McMillan. Suddenly liberated from keeping an eye on Promise, Cedric took a look around the room. Most of the room was at least partially intrigued by what Promise was doing and how she was acting.
Cedric sighed uncomfortably. Half an hour ago, he had been fairly sure she wouldn't be able to keep this charade up for even two of the ten days, three at most, but as he looked around and realized just how much attention this stunt was in her favor, he realized that she could continue it indefinitely. Perhaps he would have to ask Sam to this mystery Ball after all.
"You know," Cedric looked over at Sam and Olivia. "I'm beginning to think Promise will pull this off."
"What makes you say that?" Sam asked Cedric.
"Look at all the attention she's getting."
Sam and Olivia averted their eyes from Promise and looked around.
"Oh no," Sam whispered.
"Exactly."
"I hope you didn't bet anything big," Olivia looked over to Cedric, mildly concerned. "What did you bet her?"
"Couldn't say," Cedric responded instinctively.
"Then it must be good," Sam smiled. "She'd only do this to make you do something she really wanted you to. I hope it's not something dreadful."
"Like what?"
"Oh, you know Promise," Olivia giggled. "Maybe she'd make you snog with Cho Chang."
"I'm going to ignore that comment and skip right to the part where I think about her not winning," Sam said aloofly.
Promise strode over to Cedric, Sam, and Olivia. "This isn't so bad," She remarked, smiling and sighing dreamily.
"For you maybe," Olivia grumbled.
"Well if I'm going to do something that's difficult, I might as well try to make it easy," Promise stuck her tongue between her teeth. "Looks like I'm going to win that bet after all."
"Speaking of that bet," Sam chimed in. "What is it? It must be good for you to agree to something like this for ten days."
"Oh it'll be totally worth it," Promise giggled.
"What is it?" Sam smiled innocently.
"I don't think I should be telling you," Promise pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows in concentration. "Nope, don't think so. Now if you'll excuse me, I think it's time for bed."
She skipped away, merrily bouncing with each separate step and hop.
"Now I really want to know what the prize is," Sam frowned.
"At the rate she's going, you'll know in ten days," Olivia nodded.
"She had a point though," Cedric yawned.
"Tired?" Olivia asked.
"I fought a dragon," Cedric looked at her sarcastically.
"This whole Promise thing dragged the whole thing from my mind," Sam confessed.
"G'night you two," Cedric smiled, hugging them both in turn.
As he headed up the staircase to the boys dorms, the remaining students clapped, applauded, and cheered Cedric's exit. Cedric stopped on the stairs and held out his hands to silence them. "Thanks," He addressed them. "But this is only the first task. I still have two more."
"And you'll win the whole tournament!" Someone shouted.
The crowd applauded as Cedric headed up to his room. Within minutes, he collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.
It was dark when Cedric opened his eyes. He could tell from the dim light of the sinking moon it was way too early in the morning.
He rubbed his eyes as he looked around his dormitory, the full bearing of what he had done struck him. He had actually defeated a dragon. He smiled. How many people in the world could claim that they had gone toe to toe with a dragon and won? Just four… Just four…
He looked over to his bedside table where he had placed the golden egg before the rest of the Hufflepuffs had expelled him from the common room and dormitories in preparation for the party. He looked at it and examined it carefully. A thin groove split it across the middle, just like Ludo Bagman had assured them. He lifted the egg and felt its weight, considering with both hands exactly what could be inside. Tentatively, he sunk his fingers into the groove and slowly, cautiously pulled the egg open.
Without warning, a loud, ear splitting, piercing shriek wailed across the Common Room. The boys in the beds around him threw their hands to their ears.
"What the hell is that? Turn that blasted thing off!" One of the boys shouted as he covered his ears above the din.
In all the instant commotion, Cedric dropped the still wailing egg on his bed. He grabbed for it and fumbled it twice, ears crying under the pain of the high-pitched shriek. With a quick, clapping motion, he slammed the egg shut.
As the noise ended, the other boys in his dorm breathed a sigh of relief.
"What was that?" Tony Bronstone asked from his bed, slightly louder than normal. "I think I lost my sense of hearing."
"Don't be so melodramatic," Terrence Clamp rolled his eyes from the bed opposite Tony. His voice was a tinge louder than normal too. "But he's got a point. What was that?"
"The second task?" Cedric grinned weakly. "Ludo Bagman gave me this clue."
"Oh, so it's a clue, is it?" Aaron Baldwin peeled back his bedsheets and approached Cedric's bed.
"That's what it's supposed to be," Cedric shrugged. "But I don't know what it means. You guys have any idea?"
"Yeah, it's Champion for 'let's all go back to sleeping just like we were before the terrible shrieking,'" Patrick Rondheimer mumbled from underneath his pillow. "Some of us were trying to sleep, you know."
"You know, that rhymed," Aaron pointed out. "For being asleep you sure are a good poet."
The other boys in the room laughed. Patrick ignored them as he kept trying to fall back to sleep.
"Seriously? I have no idea," Tony walked over to Cedric's bed and lifted the egg. "Who knew sound could be so heavy?"
"I'm with Patrick," Terrence yawned. "It's four o'clock in the morning."
"Four thirty," Aaron interrupted, looking at the egg in Tony's hands.
"Same difference," Terrence rolled his eyes. "The point is that Patrick is right. It's late… or… early, rather. And we have things to do in the morning. You know, classes and stuff?"
"So?" Tony interjected. "This is important stuff."
"But it can wait till morning," Terrence whined. "Open the egg again and I"ll make sure you won't even squeak." And without another world, he climbed back into bed, pulled the blankets over his head, and fell right to sleep.
"But it is morning!" Aaron countered.
"He has a point, it's too early to be worrying about this," Cedric rubbed his eyes. "I just opened it because I couldn't sleep and curiosity got the better of me. My bad."
"No worries, Ced," Aaron clapped him on the shoulder. "We've pulled off more ridiculous nights.
"I don't doubt that," Cedric smirked.
"Shut up," Aaron and Terrence said before returning to their beds and joining Terrence and Patrick in dream world.
Cedric, however, couldn't sleep. He was too busy pondering the purpose of the egg. He wanted to decipher it, really, a clue to another puzzle he had three months to solve. He slid his finger under the groove tentatively, opening it that small amount that would not release the horrible sound of wailing and screeching.
He fell back onto his bed, the egg in his arms.
He didn't quite fall back to sleep, instead staying in the state of persistent dozing that was somewhere between the unconscious and the conscious. An hour later, at first light, he stood up, placed the egg on his bedside table, and headed out of the dorm and to the Common Room.
The room was empty, but that didn't surprise him. At almost six o'clock in the morning, what did he expect? The rest of the house was still asleep. The fire had been long extinguished, leaving only the gray remains of ashes and charred log. Cedric pulled up a chair close to the remains of the fire and fell into a sort of trance, his body neither comprehending nor shutting down. The events of the previous months kept him awake. Yeah, it made him happy he had accomplished so much so fast, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was over. The blood-curdling shriek of the egg still made him twinge slightly. If the person who made that sound was involved in the next task, Cedric dreaded ever coming face to face with whatever forced the person to make that sound.
He sighed as the sun rose higher, eliciting early birds from their dormitories. They each congratulated Cedric on his work from the previous day before finishing the last touches on the homework they didn't finish in the festivities of the night before. Cedric kept looking back and forth between the small groups of procrastinators. When would they learn?
Promise came down just as the clock in the Common Room struck six thirty.
"Good morning, love," She smiled brightly, far too chipper for Promise's usual "I-hate-anything-that-has-to-do-with-mornings" attitude, which usually wore off within a half hour. "And it's a lovely day, isn't it?"
"Dunno," Cedric confessed as he stood up from his chair. "I've been up since four thirty and I haven't seen the sun yet,"
Promise smiled reminiscently. "Oh, it is good this morning," She giggled. "You know what I was thinking?" She asked Cedric.
"What?" Cedric asked, still amazed that Promise could still have a bubbly personality without showing off early morning Promise that Cedric had known so well for six years.
"Why don't boyfriends and girlfriends watch sunrises? You always hear about sunsets, but sunrises get no love. What's wrong with them?" She paused to take a quick breath. "I mean, sunsets represent the exact end of the day, the time that day mutates into night, something generally thought of by people to be more evil and more sinister. They celebrate the end of something rather than the beginning of one."
"Maybe it's because people don't like waking up at some God forsaken hour in the dark morning to watch the sun rise?" Cedric asked, as though he hadn't presented an excellent reason and instead had looked at it as a mediocre one.
"I love the mornings," Promise half-exclaimed, biting her lower lip with her upper teeth and looking upwards in an almost ecstasy.
"What have I created?" Cedric whispered in almost disgust.
"I am what I am," Promise smiled innocently. "Now why don't you get some real clothes on after a quick bath in the Prefect's Bathroom?" She pinched his cheek and pulled it affectionately. "We don't want our young champion to get sick and miss 'The Promise of Bubbles.'"
Why did she have to squeal on the word "bubbles" every time?
He did take a bath in the Prefect's bathroom, letting the warm, bubbly water soak into his skin. They did feel nice, bubbles. Sometimes they were good, so long as they weren't tied to Promise at all. It wasn't that he didn't like to see her outrageously happy, but more to the fact that it was just so very un-Promise.
He dressed in the Prefect's bathroom and headed directly to breakfast. He pulled up a seat next to Sam, his stomach curling slightly. In ten days Promise would force him to ask Sam out, assuming she went through with her end of the deal, which looked pretty certain. How did she talk him into making that bet?
"So," Promise bit her lower lip and moved her shoulders backward slightly. "Was I right about the bath or was I right about the bath?"
Cedric nodded as he put marmalade on the piece of toast he had just picked up. "Right about everything as usual."
"Do you think she's going to stop that anytime soon?" Sam asked nervously.
"I hope so, I'd would really like to not lose that bet," Cedric said, tinge of gloom in his voice.
"You never told me what the bet was," Sam looked at him intrigued.
"You know, I think you might be right," Cedric looked back at her. They held a gaze for several seconds before Sam lifted a piece of toast to her mouth slowly and took a huge bite, all the while not taking her eyes off of Cedric.
In unison, when they could take it no longer, they laughed.
"That was funny," Cedric chuckled.
"That was the goal," Sam smiled back.
Wow. Cedric felt his stomach turn over and stay there. Her smile was just so… wow.
A gasp from across the table broke his gaze.
"He didn't!" Olivia gasped and looked to Promise, face agape with shock.
"Yes!" She flashed him a large smile and bounced her curls more. "Isn't it marvelous?"
"How much convincing did that take?" Olivia kept staring at Promise.
"Just enough to make him know that I didn't think I could stay perky," Promise smiled and looked over to Cedric. He shot her a quizzical look, to which she blew a kiss at him, winked, and twiddled her fingers. Cedric rolled his eyes.
"Wait, what?" Sam inquired, totally confused.
"It's nothing," Promise smiled at her. "If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"
"Wait, it has something to do with me?" Sam asked.
"I never said that. Who said that? I didn't say that. Olivia did I say that? I didn't hear anything."
"Too right you didn't," Olivia smiled. "I still can't believe you convinced him."
"Obviously you don't know me well enough," Promise huffed, smiled and tossed a few curls over her shoulder. "Ready for Defense Against The Dark Arts, Ced?"
Cedric shrugged and stood up.
"Wait! What aren't you telling me? I wanna know!" Sam exclaimed, looking back and forth between Promise and Cedric incredibly quickly.
"All in good time, love," Promise giggled and patted Sam on the head.
"That's not fair! I wanna know!" Sam pouted slightly.
"Sam," Olivia warned her. "Let it go. It'll be better if you don't know. Trust me." Reluctantly, Sam backed off. "Ready, Ced?"
Cedric didn't answer. He kept his eyes fixed on Sam. She was right, this was horribly unfair. Why couldn't she know? If it happened she'd find out anyway.
"Cedric!" Promise kept smiling nervously as he didn't meet her gaze.
"Huh, what?" Cedric snapped out of his thoughts. "Why can't we tell her?"
"Would you just, think about that comment for a second?"
Good point, what if Sam found out and said no? That would be even worse than making it a surprise later. "I suppose you're right," He sighed.
"Then that's settled," Promise beamed and began heading towards the Entrance Hall.
"Tell me what?" Sam persisted. "You were going to tell me! You were! Just tell me!"
"Promise is right, Sam" Cedric looked down ponderingly. "I don't think I could tell you, not yet anyways."
"But-"
"See you at lunch," Cedric muttered, following Promise. "You knew if you said that I wouldn't tell her!" He accused he when he had caught up to her.
"Your point?" Promise looked at him with a hint of sarcasm.
"You said you'd be bubbly," Cedric felt his voice unintentionally raise slightly.
"And I am," Promise smiled. "I'm Bubbly!" She squealed again. "But you never said anything about manipulative. Plenty of girls who are bubblier than I am now are even more backstabbing and manipulating."
"That's not fair," Cedric looked at her accusingly, clenching his teeth.
"Neither is life," Promise smiled, paused slightly, smiled, shrugged her shoulders, looked up, and giggled.
"This is going to be a long nine days…" Cedric's voice trailed off.
They headed up the marble staircase towards the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom. Every so often, someone in the halls would congratulate Cedric and shake his hand. The attention, however, was considerably less than he had expected, which was just fine by him. He didn't want all the attention people kept lavishing on him.
They entered the classroom and took their seats closer in the back. More students filed in, each one congratulating Cedric on his successful completion of the first task. Cedric thanked them all in turn, appreciating each individual comment.
Something struck him after most of the students had congratulated him: Fewer students were wearing "Support Cedric Diggory" badges. He smiled and relayed his realization to Promise.
"Of course! What did you expect? Didn't you see Harry Potter fly in the first task?" She gave him a dreamy sigh, thinking about Harry.
"Okay, now that's just too far," Cedric shivered.
"G'Morning, class," Professor Moody growled as he walked out of his office and magically locked the door with his wand.
"Morning, Professor Moody," The class chorused back.
"Today we will be continuing with our comprehensive lesson on more effective methods of hexing an opponent. Does anyone remember what we discussed last time?"
Promise's hand shot up into the air so fast it made Cedric jump. He'd heard rumors about Hermione Granger and her famous hand-raising prowess, but after that, Promise might have just given Hermione a run for her money.
"Yes, Miss Ledger?" Moody growled, faintly surprised at Promise's fast hand.
"Professor Moody," Promise chirped, slightly higher pitched than normal. "Last time we discussed the advantages of using non verbal chants to hex an opponent and we began practicing one the simpler ones like the Bat Bogey Hex."
She finished, leaving a very stunned silence in the room, all eyes fixed on her. Cedric sank a tad lower into his seat. She never acted like this in class. Usually she would sit and talk in the back and then blame it on Cedric when something went wrong.
"Yes," Professor Moody grunted after another few seconds. "That was correct Miss Ledger, but is something wrong? It appears you've been Cheering Charmed one too many times today."
"I'm fine Professor Moody," Promise looked at him like he was cute when he played crazy. "Is something the matter?"
Moody chuckled slightly. "It just that you… remind me of another student."
"Really?" Promise perked up, genuinely this time. "Which one?"
"Hermione Granger," Professor Moody stated simply.
"Oh," Promise's demeanor dimmed a little, head shrinking down past her shoulders.
"Well, what Miss Ledger said is correct, we did study non verbal spells in depth last week. Can anyone tell us what we might be learning this week?" Moody looked around the room quickly with his magical eye. "Clamp!" He barked, forcing Terrence Clamp to shoot up like a Firebolt from his position with his head in his arms on his desk into a sitting position. "Clamp. Were you sleeping in my class?" Moody barked gruffly.
"No… well… yes sir," Clamp stammered.
"Is there a problem with my method of teaching, Clamp?" Moody growled roughly. "Is it not exciting enough for you?"
"No sir," Clamp shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose together with his fingers. "It's just I didn't get much sleep last night between the party and then Cedric's magical, shrieking egg."
"Oh, Diggory gave you trouble did he?" Professor Moody's magical eye fixed on Cedric, sending a shiver down his spine. "Diggory, please see me after class?"
Cedric looked over at Promise, who looked strangely neutral for several seconds before flashing him a pair of thumbs-up and a huge, fake smile. Cedric bit his lips and nodded. "Yes, sir." Cedric crossed his arms on his desk and put his head on the top of his wrists and listened to Professor Moody's lecture in silence, careful to not look over at Promise, even though her hand kept shooting up to answer every question Moody posed, even if Moody said it rhetorically.
The bell rang and Promise shot out of her seat, somehow ready to go. "Have fun doing… whatever it is Moody will have you do," She giggled again, blew Cedric a kiss and kicked up her leg simultaneously, and left the classroom.
Cedric packed his bag, still slightly shocked by Promise's unwavering bubbliness. He headed towards the front of the classroom and sat down in the desk closest to Professor Moody's, placing his bag on top of his new desk. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Cedric asked, breaking Moody's concentration on a small stack of papers.
Moody looked up. "Right, Diggory," Moody set down his quill and looked up at Cedric, eyes swiveling madly. "What is this about you keeping up students in the dormitory?"
"It wasn't my fault sir!" Cedric half exclaimed in his defense. "There was no way of knowing that the new clue for the Triwizard Tournament would screech like a Banshee when I opened it."
"Oh, it was the egg, was it?" Moody suddenly gained a new interest. "And this whole time I thought you were just being rowdy in the dormitory."
"No sir," Cedric shook his head. "I wouldn't do that. Everyone needs sleep. I would never do anything to take that away from someone else."
Moody eyed him for a minute. "I believe you, Diggory," Moody growled. "But you said the egg was… screeching?"
"Yes sir," Cedric nodded.
Moody's gnarled mouth flitted an instantaneous smile. "You do know what it means?"
"It means that the judges like to hurt everyone's ears and keep the Champions from sleeping at night?"
Moody chuckled and shook his head. "No, Diggory. That egg is speaking in a separate language. One you can't hear in normal, everyday circumstances. But put that egg in something other than air, and you might hear something different." He eyed Cedric for another second. "Dismissed."
Cedric pondered Professor Moody's cryptic clue all the way down to lunch. An element? If he remembered his basic elements right according to the early studies of alchemy that referred to Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. He already knew that it would never work in air because the dormitory echoed with wails when he opened it. Earth would probably not result in anything except muffled screams. That left him with fire and water. The only place he could check the fire would be in the free period, but that would probably result in a large, hot golden egg burning legs and tables.
He would try water first. But when? He would have time for baths, but when could he find the time to bring the egg along and think about its wails?
And why did Moody help him?
"Something bothering you?" Sam placed a hand on his shoulder as he sat at the Hufflepuff table.
"Nah, nothing," Cedric shrugged. "But I just think Professor Moody handed me the second task."
"Oooooh," Promise interjected, wiping her mouth daintily. "What does it mean?"
"Don't know yet, but he told me how to solve it, I guess."
"That's interesting," Olivia noted.
"Yeah," Cedric looked at her. "How often is it that a professor here drops a huge Triwizard clue into your lap?"
That night's common room was a quiet affair. Promise, Sam, Olivia, and Cedric all took up residency at a table and sat and worked on homework. Only the occasional crackling and popping of the fire perforated the silence of the room.
Then, without warning, a few people groaned loudly in frustration. Cedric, Sam, Olivia, and Promise all looked up at the commotion.
Promise was the first to react. "First years," She rolled her eyes in an impossibly cute manner, insinuating they were merely silly.
Cedric looked over at Sam, who smiled at him and returned to her work, and then to Olivia, who had a devious smile spread across her face.
"What?" He mouthed.
Olivia smiled even wider. She pushed her chair back and walked over to the first years' table. "What's frustrating you guys?" She asked them.
"It's this ruddy Charms homework," One of them complained. "None of us know what's going on or how to spellcast this. Flitwick always asks the impossible."
"Really?" Olivia frowned. "That's too bad. See, I'd offer to help, but I'm not really good at Charms or spellcasting. I'm barely passing my Charms class as it is, but I do know a Prefect who is both good at both of those things. Hang on, let me go get her."
Cedric and Promise looked at each other, Promise's heart noticeably skipping a beat. Oh Olivia, that was cold. Promise put on the fakest smile she could muster.
"Promise," Olivia walked over casually. "I was wondering if you could help me out."
Promise smiled at Olivia. "Maybe, I'm kind of busy right now, but what can I do for you?"
"Well, I have these new friends who can't seem to get their Charms and spells right, and since you always know so many spells and you're so good at it I figured you'd jump at the chance to help out some first years. I mean, you're a Prefect and it's your job."
Promise was mad, pure and simple. She put on a good façade with her fake bubbles, but there was no way she wanted to go along with this. "Nothing would make me happier," Promise said, her voice laced with the tiniest hint of sarcasm beneath the frills.
She stood up from her chair and glided over to the first year's table.
"That was just mean," Cedric let a chuckle escape as Olivia sat back down.
"But that was so funny," Sam bit her lip.
"Well, I figured that she couldn't say no because of your bet, so I figured we could have some fun with it. Just because we have to suffer doesn't mean it should be horrible," Olivia picked up her quill and started work again.
Promise came back an hour later, noticeably frustrated, hair frizzier than usual. "I love first years," She sighed in a tone so bubbly that only someone who knew Promise and dealt with her sarcasm on a daily basis could detect the bubbles' true significance.
"Glad to hear you had fun," Cedric smiled at her.
"Of course," Promise smiled. "But if someone wakes up dead in the morning," she looked to one side mischievously. "Specifically, a first year, I didn't do it."
Cedric looked down at Promise's hands, which wrung themselves, strangling an invisible person. He whistled innocently and returned to work.
The perkiness went down after that. Promise toned it down so as to not have any more episodes with first years, but kept it high enough to keep her word. As teachers announced the Yule Ball to their classes, as well as the news to Cedric that he would be required to both have a date and dance with her with her to open the dance, he panicked slightly, as both Promise and him knew that he would not say no to a girl if she asked to go to the ball with him.
Luckily, Promise's bet came in handy. Her overly perky attitude scared off any girl who came within five feet of Cedric. Cedric was grateful, even though he was regretting his promise to Promise about asking Sam.
On the last night they headed down to the kitchen to celebrate Promise's successful completion of the bet.
On the morning after the bet finished, Promise came down the stairs to the girls' dormitory as normal Promise, prance in her step gone and bounce in her feet absent.
"That. Was. Hard." Promise yawned as she hit the Common Room floor, exhausted. "Now it's your turn," She smiled at him. "I know she's already in the Great Hall, all you have to do is walk up and ask her. I'll even go in first so it looks like it was your idea. Just leave a minute after me. I want to be there for the whole thing, starting with the walk up."
Cedric nodded, ready to throw up. He could face a dragon. He could deal with Professor Moody breaking the rules and telling him, one on one, about the egg. He could even put up with Promise's unusual manner of speaking and acting. But Sam? No way. He couldn't do this. He flopped into a seat in front of the fire.
He just had to suck it up. He made a bet he shouldn't have and he lost it. They would have fun at the Yule Ball, and they would go as friends, and it would be amazing.
He stood up and breathed heavily one time. No way. He could do this. This was so much easier than anything he'd ever have to do for the Triwizard Tournament. Sam wouldn't say no. That wasn't like her. He stretched out quickly and headed into the corridor leading to the Entrance Hall.
He walked through the doors to the Great Hall, spotting Sam, Olivia, and Promise immediately. Promise, who had her eyes on the doors to the Great Hall, waved vigorously at Cedric. He smiled and bit his lip, clenching his wet palms. He began the long walk to the spot where Sam sat. Another thirty feet and he would be there. And he would ask her. And she'd say yes. And they'd have a wonderful time.
Twenty-five feet.
Almost there.
The last twenty feet of going single to the Yule Ball.
You can do this!
Fifteen feet.
He would-
"Hi, Cedric!" A girl jumped in front of him, blocking his view of Promise, Sam, and Olivia.
It was Cho Chang.
"Oh," Cedric lost his concentration. "Hello, Cho."
"Do you have a minute?"
Not really, no. I have to ask Sam to the ball. "Yeah," He swallowed heavily. He looked past her to see Promise get up quickly from the Hufflepuff table, walking briskly to Cedric. "I guess I could spare a minute."
"Well I was just wondering… do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?"
No. She didn't just ask him. Promise stopped right next to them, blocking the aisle between the tables completely. They all stood in silence for a few seconds, Cho waiting on baited breath, Cedric crushed, Promise devastated as she suddenly realized the question Cho had just posed. She closed her eyes as her head and shoulders drooped.
There, fifteen feet away, sat Sam, looking at Cedric, expecting something.
Cedric closed his eyes and regained his composure and breathed in heavily. He put on the biggest fake smile he could. Fifteen feet.
"Yes."