Disclaimer: The Second Task, The Bubble-Head Charm, and all of the joy of this chapter that does not come from Promise and exists entirely in the universe J.K. Rowling lovingly bestowed on us... Yeah... dunno how to finish that sentence. I have no rights to it. I don't own it. I own Promise though, and all Cedric's little buddies who do not appear in GOF...
Chapter 14
Changes
Cedric really didn't feel like waking up the day after Christmas. He was too exhausted, tired. It didn't really hit him until he had opened his eyes how much he enjoyed sleeping in. It wasn't a practice he wanted to make normal, but it was nice to do it every so often, when he had no cares in the world, or when he had really deserved it.
He yawned and stretched as he looked at his watch. Noon.
He had slept in till noon. Almost twelve hours of sleep. It felt nice, nestled in blankets and well rested. Something about it was just so… perfect with everything else.
Maybe it was Promise.
That could be it. Promise's presence was a big help, especially after she had come to him just twelve hours earlier. He had thought he would have had to patch things up with her, when in actuality she had patched things up with him.
How he loved her. Everything about her, from her invective humor to her return in humility, hoping for his grace made him smile.
And she did look beautiful… So did Olivia.
But what about Sam? He wondered. Where had she been? Did she look good? What a stupid question, of course she looked good. She would have taken his breath away.
With a sigh and a feeling of apathy, he threw on the robes he had worn the day before. He hadn't done anything with them except to sit in the chair with Promise's book, and one day of recycled clothes certainly wouldn't hurt him.
Moving sluggishly, he headed out of the dorm and into the Common Room, where Olivia sat watching Marcus and Sam play a game of wizard's chess. He looked for Promise as he descended the staircase, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Morning all," Cedric said with a wide yawn, making Olivia and Marcus look up at him and laugh at his tiredness. Sam looked up too, but quickly refocused her attention on Marcus's bishop slaughtering her rook with a large cross.
"It's afternoon, Ced," Olivia said, smiling at him.
"I know what time it is," Cedric said, putting his palms to his eyes.
"Marcus?" Olivia said looking at him.
"What?" Marcus asked as he moved his knight safely out of the way of Sam's queen.
"I believe you have something to do," Olivia hinted.
"Oh, right," Marcus said as Sam moved one of her pawns forward so it was attacking Marcus's knight. He fished into a pocket of his robes and pulled out a silver sickle, which he slapped on the table in front of Sam. Without looking up, Sam extended her palm and slid it off the table into her lap.
Cedric looked at them as Marcus, faced with no options, moved his queen. "What just happened?"
Sam's pawn stabbed Marcus's horse, flinging the knight to the board and sending the horse skittering away. Her pawn then when on to pick up the knight by the seat of its pants and throw him off the board.
"We wanted to see who'd come down the stair first, you or Promise. Sam said it'd be you and Marcus wanted to make it interesting."
Cedric looked over at Marcus skeptically. "Never underestimate Promise. She has this ability to do exactly what you don't expect her to do, and you love her all the more for it. Never bet on Promise. She'll let you down."
"It's cuz she knows her limits," Olivia nodded.
"Check," Sam said softly as she slid her queen into an attacking position.
"So…" Cedric said as he sat down in a nearby armchair. "Sam, how are you?"
"Good," she said simply, just as quietly.
"You won't win," Marcus said competitively.
But Sam didn't appear to be listening to him, or Cedric for that matter. She seemed incredibly focused on the game and how she could keep her offense strong.
"How was your evening?" Cedric asked, eyes, like Sam's, fixated on the game.
"Magical," Marcus said, smiling as he moved his King behind a line of pawns, temporarily protecting him. "It was a late night as you probably know. How was Cho Chang? You two looked quite the couple at the entrance to the Great Hall."
"Did we?" Cedric said smiling slightly as Sam tried to get her queen into another attacking position, but quickly lost the piece to Marcus's bishop.
"Yeah, you really did," Marcus said enthusiastically. "Didn't they, Sam?"
Sam still had her mind focused entirely on the game and didn't answer.
"Sam?" Marcus said, slightly louder.
"Huh, what?" Sam asked, dropping her rook on a spot directly attacked by Marcus's queen.
"Didn't you think of Cedric and Cho as quite the couple last night?"
"Yes, quite," she said quickly, turning her head back to the game just in time to see Marcus's queen smash her rook into a hundred piece, sweep them up, and dump them into a pile on the table outside of the board.
"Check," Marcus said before turning back to Cedric. "I didn't see you last night after the first dance. Where were you?"
"Dance floor," Cedric said, a butterfly sending a particularly powerful gust through his stomach, making it flutter.
"Really?" Marcus said as Sam moved a bishop in front of her king, defending him from Marcus's queen, but Marcus sideswiped the bishop with his rook, capturing it. "I didn't see you there."
"Must have been on the other side of the dance floor," Cedric said politely.
"Must have," Marcus said, face screwed up in concentration.
"I thought it was a pleasant evening," Cedric said after a few more moves, Sam barely able to keep her pieces on the offensive, every move to escape Marcus's check or a move that would give him a check on her.
"Oh it was lovely," Marcus said as he moved his rook into the same row as her king. "One of the best nights of my life. Check."
"Isn't that cute?" Olivia said, obviously trying to get them off the subject of the Yule Ball. "You hear that Sam?"
"Mmmm," Sam said as she desperately sought for a move to get her King out of its predicament. With very few other options, she moved him up a row, just out of reach of Marcus's bishops.
Marcus thought for a few minutes about his next move. "I kid you not, it was amazing." He moved his queen over two spaces. "Checkmate."
With no other options, Sam turned her king to its side and put her head on the table.
"Sorry, dear," Marcus said sorrowfully. "But all's fair in love and war."
Cedric made accidental eye contact with Sam, but, unbeknownst to the other they turned away almost instantaneously.
"And sleeping," Promise said as she descended the staircase, still dressed in her dress robes.
"Morning Promise," Olivia said, far too bright and loud for a casual greeting.
"Morning," Promise said as she checked her watch. "How'd everyone sleep?"
"Cedric just got up," Marcus said. "He came down the stairs before you did. Thanks a lot."
"You're welcome!" Promise said brightly, appreciatively. After a second, her smiled faded. "For what? What'd I do this time?"
"You came down the stairs after Cedric," Olivia said boringly. "And we told him you never bet on Cedric when we could bet on you."
"But he was a long shot!"
Promise smiled and sighed slightly. "Yeah. When you bet with infinity against you you'll get a huge payout. Just means you're casting Lockhart spells."
Marcus laughed. "But I still want a payout. Bet on you everytime?"
"Except in the Triwizard Tournament!" Promise said brightly. "Cedric'll win that one easy!"
"But I haven't even done the second task yet!" Cedric exclaimed.
"Speaking of, did you figure out that clue?" Promise asked curiously.
"You didn't tell her?" Cedric asked Olivia.
"Are you kidding? I thought you'd want to ask her.
Cedric sighed heavily. "Alright, fair enough. So apparently the mermaids are going to take something from me and I have to survive underwater for an hour-"
"Bubble-Head Charm," Promise nodded and turned to look around at the empty Common Room, where she found a copy of the Daily Prophet, picked it up,and began to read page one.
"Excuse me?" Cedric asked, taken aback.
"Bubble-Head Charm," Promise said casually.
"You're making that up," Olivia said, smiling in doubt.
"I am not!" Promise said indignantly, whipping around to face them.
"You don't give us much reason to believe you," Marcus smirked weakly. "You did respond to the Task rather quickly.
"I know my spells!" Promise said, insulted. "You don't like how I can know them more than Future Head Boy over here?"
"It's not that," Marcus said defensively. "It's just-"
"You think I just make up spells in my spare time? And then when someone asks me for one I just say easy porcelain barn charm! It turns an object into a same-size replica of a porcelain store? You think that's how I work."
"Well…"
"Oh, so you do?" Promise asked sarcastically.
"No! I mean," Marcus fumbled for the words. "I mean you sometimes have this… joking thing about you."
"Oh! So I can't be taken seriously!" Promise said, feigning a fake sort of comprehension. "Is that it?"
"No! I take you seriously!"
"But not when I tell Cedric about the second task?"
"It's the second task! And he has ages! It wouldn't hurt for you to steer him wrong. I mean, you probably do know the spell for the end!"
"But I told you the spell! It's the Bubble-Head Charm! Did you not hear me?"
"No, I-"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Promise said, clasping a hand to her fast beating heart. "You're deaf now! I can breathe. And all this time I thought I was speaking to someone who could hear!"
"I'm kidding!" Marcus said, panicking slightly.
"What?" Promise said loudly, in such a way she was indicating for him to speak up.
"I said I was… just…" Marcus's voice trailed off as he looked around the table to Olivia and Cedric, both of whom were biting their lips to stop themselves from laughing. With a closed-eyed sigh and a smile of acknowledgement of his own foolishness, Marcus laughed. "Ha. Ha."
Promise laughed as Olivia and Cedric chuckled at Marcus's folly. "Oh dear, I was wondering how long I was going to have to string you along. I think that was a record."
"Yeah, it was," Cedric said, getting out his last few chuckles. "So Bubble-Head Charm?"
"Bubble-Head Charm," Promise said affirmatively. "Would you like to see it?"
"Yes, please," Olivia said excitedly.
Promise smirked and pulled out her wand, pointing it at her head. "Airocapus."
Instantly, a huge bubble or air emerged from her wand, expanding until it had enveloped her head and Promise jerked the wand away, the bubble staying on her head, bobbing, elongating and shrinking various features of her face, creating a sort of caricature of her as it moved.
Cedric and Olivia clapped appreciatively, and so did Marcus a few seconds later, but Sam kept her head on the table, neutral to the world around her.
"Tah dah!" Promise said, voice completely muffled by the bubble over her head, making it sound like she was plugging her nose with two fingers.
"It makes you look funny, Promise," Cedric said, trying not to laugh.
"It's to keep you from breathing the air out there, not to make me look or sound good. Besides, if that's the case, it just puts me on an even playing field with you."
"Ha, ha," Olivia said sarcastically.
"It's not really designed for underwater survival, though," Promise said, voice still sounding nasally. "The point is to stop you from breathing air out there. Like if I did this…" She flicked her wand and a large sack of Dundling Deedlemeyer's All Purpose Dragon Manure appeared in the middle of the common room. "I can't smell that."
The smell was completely unexpected. Cedric had at times helped his mother with yard work over the summer, and they had used fertilizer, but it was usually made of dung beetles, not dragon dung, not from something so potent. Cedric put his hand over his mouth and tried not to gag, holding his breath.
Promise inhaled deeply, appreciatively and then sighed just as satisfied. "I love the smell of dragon dung in the morning. Now who's the funny looking one?"
"You are," Marcus gagged, holding his throat as though he had a particularly vicious tasting Bertie Bott Every Flavored Bean caught in his throat.
"No, no, dear," Promise said, walking over to him and patting him on the back fairly hard, enough to dislodge a bean if one was really stuck in his throat. "The beans come later. This is dragon dung, you're supposed to drink in the fumes deeply."
"No… More…" Olivia said, on the verge of passing out.
"But it was just stating to get fun," Promise pouted.
"Promise-" Cedric choked.
Promise rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll take it off." She waved her wand and the bubble disappeared from her head. "Whooo! That is rank! Why didn't you say something?"
"Dying- Here-" Sam gasped.
"Oh, right," Promise coughed as though sick. She waved her wand and the sack of manure and the violent smell of unpurified dragon dung disappeared. "See why you don't make fun of someone with the Bubble-Head Charm?"
"Promise," Cedric said, almost retching at the thought of what he had just smelled, chills down his spine preventing the reflex. "You do know that to use one of those spells you have to have stored the object sometime in the past?"
"What's your point?"
"So… why do you have a sack of manure stored and usable at any time?"
"It's a good combination. If you have a Bubble-Head Charm and face off against something with a nose, they're screwed. Voldemort couldn't take me if he tried. I'd be able to run away before he could fire off a spell."
Olivia, Cedric, and Marcus all cringed at the sound of the name; Sam gave no noticeable response. She seemed far away, lost in her thoughts.
"You? Run away from You-Know-Who?" Olivia asked. "Wouldn't you try to take him out?"
"Ha!" Promise threw back her head and laughed once. "What do you take me for? I'm not suicidal! I have to much to live for to go after Voldemort. Nah. I need a few more years. When he comes back though… If I'm ready. Put me with a few fellow Aurors and I'll take him out! Until then I'll make with the smelly and run away."
"Sounds… effective," Sam said somewhat awkwardly.
Cedric looked at her, confused, wondering why she was so… awkward. Not that things with him and Sam had been peachy keen since Cho had asked him to the ball, but he didn't expect… Well maybe he did. Truth was, he didn't know what to expect.
"It is," Promise nodded affirmatively. "Manages to keep people away from my room at home during the school year, and cleanup's no problem." She frowned. "Come to think of it, I have no idea why I do that exactly. It's not like my parents are going to go into my room."
"Maybe they do, though…" Olivia's voice trailed off. "You have no idea what your parents do when you're not at home." She thought about it for a minute along with everyone else. "Come to think of it, what do they do when we're not there."
"Stop," Promise demanded, half-wincing, eyebrows raised. "There's a few things I'm never ever going to think about, I Promise-d myself that," she laughed at the obvious pun. "And that very thing is one of them."
"I'm just saying-"
"Sack. Of. Manure," Promise threatened.
"Shutting up," Olivia said, not wanting to push the subject over the age.
Promise sighed. "So… who's up for lunch?"
"I could go for some," Marcus said, clutching his stomach. "Sam?"
"I'm not really that hungry," she said weakly.
"Oh, come on! You can keep me company."
"No, that's really okay. Just go on ahead, I'll catch up later."
"I'll go," Olivia said. "I'm not too-too hungry. Unlike some people, I like to eat breakfast, even if I was up till some God-awful hour dancing."
"Cedric?" Promise said, saying one thing with her voice, but something completely different with her eyes. "Would you care to join us."
"Nah, I ate a lot last night. Besides, I was thinking of nicking from the kitchens later. They're bound to have leftovers from last night."
"You know, Ced," Olivia said, nodding and taking a step towards him and away from Promise and Marcus. "That actually sounds like a good- Ow!"
"We'll do it later and save room after lunch," Promise said pointedly, giving Olivia a knowing look. "I look forward to lunch right now. Don't you, Marcus?"
"Yeah," he said, stomach giving a very well-placed growl. "Sounds good."
"Ah," Olivia said, understanding what Promise was doing. "I see what's up. Yeah. Let's go to lunch. We'll hit the kitchens up later."
"But what about-" Marcus started.
"Lunch? It'll be fine," Promise said, wrapping an arm around Marcus's shoulder and steering him towards the statue wall. "You know, it's the meal between breakfast and dinner, so it's more like a heavy snack because all the good stuff comes on the ends, kinda like the middle child. No one really cares about the middle child, isn't that right, Olivia?"
"That's right- Hey! Don't be mean! "
"It's not my fault you're a middle child."
"I'm a middle child," Marcus said as they reached the statue wall.
"That explains a lot," Promise muttered loud enough for Cedric to hear.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Whatever you take it to mean," Promise smiled as they disappeared behind the sliding wall and towards lunch.
Cedric took a deep breath and looked at Sam. "So… How was your night?"
"Decent," Sam said honestly, yet awkwardly. "Yours?"
"Memorable," Cedric nodded. "I mean, it's not what I'd have done if I could have done anything."
"Mmmm," Sam said whistfully. "I know what you mean."
"So… I take it you didn't have a great time?"
"Not really, no," Sam said reflectively, contemplatively.
"So… not magical?" Cedric said, goading.
"Magical would be an overstatement," Sam said, nodding.
"Really?"
"A big overstatement."
Cedric's face dropped. "I'm sorry, what was so bad about it?"
"Well the dancing was fun, and the food was good. The people were just…"
"What do you mean?"
"Well…" Sam looked to one side uncomfortably, rubbing her neck, looking at the ashes of the fire. "Olivia had Clamp, and Promise had Calvin Parker…" Sam's voice trailed off dreamily. "Did you see them?"
"No, I didn't get a chance to."
"Oh, you would've loved it said," Sam said, still dreamy. "They were so cute. I never thought I'd see that sort of side to Promise."
"What happened?"
"Oh they were talking and holding hands and dancing… It was so… romantic! Made me kind of jealous."
"Jealous?" Cedric asked, confused. "Why jealous? What about Marcus?"
"Well, that's the thing," Sam said, slipping back into the awkward inflections as opposed to the dreamy. "I thought things were good with him, but I realized last night just how much things aren't what I want in a relationship. I want… romance, not just nonsensical kissing."
"Nonsensical?"
"Alright," Sam confessed. "So it's not nonsensical. I mean, there's a bit of a spark there, but I think that's all it is. Everything about my relationship with him is physical and there's not that romance. I want romance and flowers. He doesn't know what my favorite flower is."
"That's a shame," Cedric frowned. "You deserve romance. You deserve flowers. Everyone should get what they want relationship-wise."
Sam smiled and looked at Cedric, making him melt slightly. "Thanks, Ced."
Cedric stayed silent for another minute before the next pertinent question bubbled to the surface. "What is your favorite type of flower?" Cedric asked curiously.
Sam smiled, blushing. "Pink tulips, if you must know." She said.
"I'll remember that," Cedric nodded. "And tell your future boyfriends."
Sam smiled as a noticeable shot went up her spine. "Thanks, Ced."
"Sure," Cedric said with a warm smile. So… we're good?"
Sam looked at him overly suspiciously, as thought hiding something. "Sure… why wouldn't they be?"
"Oh it's…" Cedric could feel the words on the tip of his tongue. "It's just that…" The words pressed against his lips, wanting to be forced out: you've been gone and I miss you. I was going to ask you! Really I was. But I didn't… and now… "I don't know."
"Good," Sam said, smiling slightly. "So…" She looked around for something to do. "You wanna play a game? I'm not very good."
"I'm sure you're great."
"I'm better at Parchment Wars."
"So am I."
"I miss those."
"Me too. We'll have a huge melee someday."
"I look forward to it."
"So," Cedric walked to the game and flicked his wand, fixing the broken pieces and moving them all back into position. "You wanna start?"
And they played, Cedric making sure to give her a real fight until the end, when he conveniently made a few game-changing novice moves that let her win in the end. But he didn't care. He was just so happy they were talking again nothing else really mattered.
The following weeks passed by quickly for Cedric. Everyday he'd practice the Bubble-Head Charm under Promise's supervision and test its strength by Promise dumping a sack of dragon manure in the empty classroom they had chosen for practicing. Within a matter of weeks, several into the term, Cedric had completely mastered the technique.
Not to say he didn't practice. To the contrary, he practiced every opportunity he could. Every so often Olivia would sit in, but she was usually so bogged down with O.W.L. homework she rarely got the opportunity. Sam visited him even less frequently, but more frequently than he had expected. Her time with Marcus had declined sharply since the Yule Ball, and Sam remained tight lipped when he pointed this out to her. She always responded with a vague, "Really? Huh. That's strange," before continuing on with whatever it was she was doing, even if there was very little to do with what she was doing. When Cedric asked Olivia and Promise about this, they responded similar to Cedric. They had noticed a change in Sam's behavior, but Sam had never come forward about the issue and had never given much more of an answer to either of them than she had given to Cedric.
Cedric felt he could've gotten more of an answer out of Sam if only it hadn't been for the one unpredictable thing that come out of the Yule Ball:
Cho Chang.
Feeling they somehow "clicked" on Christmas, Cho kept lurking around Cedric, much to his chagrin, especially when Harry Potter would walk past trying in vain to hide his feelings of scandalization beneath a bored exterior. Not wanting to brush her aside and hurt her feelings, Cedric decided to do nothing about her.
Thankfully, Promise decided that Cedric had suffered from her absence of company for long enough and decided to allow him to continue with his charade, so long as nothing became of it. Cedric kept his word, keeping it only to handholding in the hallways and the occasional classroom hangout during break.
Sam seemed still slightly put out from Cho still hanging around Cedric, but didn't really make too much of a big deal of it. Cedric and her stayed on relatively good terms, with the occasional conversation (not as much as they had when Promise wasn't speaking to Cedric before the first task, but more than when she had been snogging with Marcus when Cho had asked Cedric) that wasn't as entirely as awkward as Cedric would have expected. For the most part, in fact, they were civilized and overly formal, the awkward masked by an overtone of discomfort at the thought of Cho with Cedric.
Flying rumor around the school was that Cedric and Cho were going steady, and Cedric didn't bother to put this rumor down. Cho would've cracked under the strain, and she was enjoying her shadow-of-celebrity status. The attention flying her way made her smile each time someone threw a compliment at her.
"How do you put up with her?" Promise sighed heavily as she flopped into an arm chair near the fire one morning after breakfast during a free period.
"I get to know her. That's how."
"Yule Ball?" Promise asked, pointing her wand to her head, mocking suicidal.
"Yes," Cedric pulled his wand out of his pocket. "Because of what we talked about at the Yule Ball."
"Sam's better," Promise muttered as she waved her wand. "Airocapus."
A bubble engulfed her head and stayed stationary as Cedric prepared to cast his Bubble-Head Charm. "You think I don't know that?"
"Haven't we already covered this?"
Cedric nodded, slightly upset. "Airocapus."
Wrong, Cedric thought. Not enough… thickness.
Promise waved her wand and dumped her signature sack of dragon manure in front of Cedric. The goal was to get him to breathe normally without choking or making serious dying movements.
Cedric could feel the stench begin to permeate the sides, but slower than most of the other times. This time it was bearable and it was definitely an improvement, but still it wouldn't keep out the smell for long.
"Yes," Promise said, absentmindedly flicking her wand and bringing up a sack of dung. "But it's still important that we continue talking about her. She is rather important right now, don't you think?"
The smell intensified and began to really permeate the bubble. "Promise…" Cedric gagged. "I need air."
"What you need is to figure out what you want, Ced," Promise said as she willed another sack into the room. "Do you really want to keep encouraging her?"
"It's not that easy," Cedric choked, smell increasing exponentially by the second.
"Sure it is! All you have to do is say, 'can we talk?' and then you tell her what's going on," Promise flicked her wand and another bag popped into the room.
"But I don't know what's going on!" Cedric exclaimed, barely audible through his suffocation.
"Sure you do! She likes you. You don't like her. You're in love with Sam. Cho's holding your hand and treating you like you're her boyfriend/ snog buddy. You are lying to her."
"The word's passive aggressive!" Cedric said, trying to hold his breath, but unable to.
Promise rolled her eyes. "I'll make you regret this!" She said as she magicked the sacks away with a wave of her wand and vanished the smell instantly.
With a breath of fresh air, Cedric popped the bubble around his head. "How?"
"Oh, I don't know… I'll figure something out," Promise said vaguely.
"Why is it I don't trust you?" Cedric said, concerned about what Promise was thinking. Her plans and thinking were never good things.
Promise smiled. "Because I'm so fiery and unpredictable?"
The weeks leading up to the second task proceeded like the weeks before. Sam stayed tight lipped about why she wasn't hanging out with Marcus. Olivia helped Cedric when she wasn't working on homework or with Sam. Promise kept outdoing him on the Bubble-Head Charm, but Cedric made progress, slowly to be sure. He wondered constantly about how she had managed to get so incredibly good with the Bubble-Head Charm, especially when he had never seen her practice it.
By the night before the Second Task Cedric could successfully protect himself against up to four bags of Promise's manure, which Promise assured him was more than enough to survive underwater for at least an hour.
"Promise?" Marcus asked, entering the Common Room with Sam.
"What?" Promise said uninterestedly.
"Professor Dumbledore wants to see you," Sam said, looking sadly at Marcus.
"Really? Promise asked, excitedly. "Is this about the first year problem I wanted to talk to him about?"
"What first year problem?" Olivia asked, concerned, putting down her Potions book.
"I once proposed to Professor Dumbledore that we should fit all the first years with a large cauldron around their necks. You know, to keep them from being actively annoying. They'd have to think about their moves."
"You're so disgusting, Promise," Cedric groaned.
"They're the disgusting ones!" Promise half-exclaimed as she rose to leave. "I'm just working for the betterment of wizardkind everywhere!"
Cedric shook his head as she left. "They're really not that bad, first years."
"No, they're not," Olivia said. "Yes they can be really annoying at times, but for the most part they just keep to themselves."
"I think that's the problem," Cedric said before turning to Sam and Marcus. "Did Professor Dumbledore say what he wanted?"
Marcus shook his head. "No, he just said to bring Promise to him."
"I guess we'll find out what this is all about soon enough, now won't we?" Cedric said with a weak smile as he returned to practicing his Bubble-Head Charm.
They sat in silence, Sam, Olivia, and Marcus all studying and working while Cedric practiced. After a few minutes, Promise returned with a big, wide smile on her face.
"What's that for?" Cedric asked, slightly afraid.
"You'll find out tomorrow," Promise said, still not unsmiling.
Something in Cedric's stomach lurched. Why did he suddenly feel incredibly frightened about the Second Task?
Cedric awoke early for the Second Task. He moved slowly, purposefully, not eating a lot at breakfast, and not taking a bath. Neither of those would do him any good in the lake.
Strangely, it seemed, Cho wasn't at breakfast, something that made Sam and Olivia very worried and Promise incredibly smug. What was she planning?
When nine thirty rolled around, Cedric led the trek of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins down to the edge of the lake where stands had been erected. Sam, Olivia, and Promise all bid Cedric goodbye and headed to get good seats. Cedric continued to the water's edge where Fleur Delacour and Victor Krum stood expectantly, ready, wands in hand.
"Morning!" Cedric said cheerily.
Krum nodded a hello and Fleur flipped her hair seductively.
"'Ello Cedric," she smiled. "'ow are you today?"
"Pretty good. What about you, Krum? You excited to do this?"
Krum grunted a response.
"Me too!" Cedric said, half-excitedly. He felt so prepared! This was an easy task, and he was completely ready to do it, too.
"So what do you think zey 'ave taken, Cedric?"
"Anyone's guess," Cedric said. "I checked my suitcase this morning and they didn't take my broom. Did they take yours Krum?"
Krum smiled and shook his head.
"Well that's good," Cedric laughed. "And Fleur they didn't take anything of yours, did they?"
"Not zhat I know of…" he voice trailed off.
"We can talk about this now, you know," Cedric said, throwing caution to the winds. "We all know what we're doing here and how we're going to get through it."
Krum nodded politely, looking surly. It was the same sort of look he had at the First Task, but he looked more defined, better prepared than before. Maybe he was doing something different than Cedric? Of course he was. He would do something different. There were probably a hundred different ways of performing this task, just like with the First Task. This one, however, seemed to have a severely decreased amount of options. There were only so many ways to survive underwater.
They waited for nine thirty to roll around. With ten minutes until the start of the task, Harry Potter was nowhere to be found, and Fleur began to complain.
"Of course 'e is late! 'ow did I expect any different?'
"Now, now," Cedric tried to comfort her. "He's probably just slept in or something."
After six more minutes of waiting, someone burst out of the castle doors and sprinted past the stragglers who were late to get to the task, around the lake and to the edge of the water where the Champions and Judges were waiting. Within a minute, Harry Potter had reached the edge of the lake and had skidded to a halt next to Fleur, something dripping in his tightly clenched fist.
"I'm… here…" he panted.
Something told Cedric he had just woken up.
"Where have you been?" Percy Weasley asked snobbily, like a put-out mother. "The tasks' about to start!"
"Now, now, Percy," said a very relieved Bagman. "Let him catch his breath."
Bagman took his time lining up the Champions ten feet apart from one another. He took a little extra time placing Harry, seeming to be whispering something to him. Harry shook him off and Bagman pointed his wand at his throat.
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One… two… three!"
The stands erupted in cheers and applause as the whistle sounded. Cedric kicked off his shoes and socks and pointed his wand at his head as he began to wade into the lake.
"Airocapus!" He said somewhat loudly, adrenaline pumping in his veins.
A bubble of air erupted from Cedric's wand, thick and protective. It engulfed his head, encasing him in a wonderful capsule of oxygen and life. When he had gone deep enough, Cedric pocketed his wand and dove into the water.
The lake was dark and cold and it took a long time to get used to the water. His vision became more clear as he grew more and more accustomed to the water, the bubble over his head keeping his vision focused and sure. The more he swam, the more his body became accustomed to the frigid cold, but it didn't matter. The prospect of the mystery of what was there, at the bottom of the lake, with the Merpeople was exciting, although he did find it strange that no one had told him what was going on with their captive. What had they taken. He thought they'd take Sam or Promise, maybe even Olivia, but no, they hadn't taken any of them.
He descended through the dark, and passed by a quickly swimming away school of Grindylows, wondering exactly what had caused them to become so frightened. Grindylows didn't usually act that way.
After a long time, what felt like days, of swimming, he began to hear the sound of singing, someone singing. It seemed familiar.
"Your time's near gone, so quickly play,
or may it be you will pay."
Cedric hastened his swim and after a few more minutes, when the song had gown louder and more resounding came to a deserted underwater village of Merpeople. The Merpeople, it turned out, were all congregated around a statue in the middle of what appeared to be a town square.
Harry Potter was in the middle of the circle, his friend Ron Weasley floating above him, not up, just stationary, and three people were tied to the statue in the center of town: Hermione Granger, a silver haired girl who reminded Cedric of Fleur, and Cho Chang.
Cedric already knew what had happened with Promise the night before. As he approached Harry and the Merpeople turned to face him. Harry looked funny, his body had become slightly more fish-like, hand and feet somehow molded together and his neck had small slits for gills.
"Got lost!" Cedric mouthed to him. "Fleur and Krum should be here soon!"
He pulled out a knife from his pocket, and, knowing exactly which hostage was his, cut Cho free from the weed that was mooring her to the statue. She floated upwards and he pocketed his knife. He grabbed her by the waist and, holding her upright, swam up out of the blackness, towards the surface, heading straight up with no regard for anything the might have gotten in his way. After what felt like another few days, Cedric could see the light of the surface glint at him, and he kicked harder, ready to pass out from the strain of swimming for so long. With a few final kicks, he broke the surface of the water to tumultuous applause. Instantly, Cho awoke, eyes flapping as she tried to reorient herself. When she saw Cedric holding her, she laughed, pleased.
"Cedric!" She cried, as he used his wand to pop the bubble over his head.
"Cho," Cedric said, somewhat disappointed in Promise. In her defense, she had said she would get him back. he just didn't think she'd use a Triwizard task to do it.
He swam back to the shore and stepped out, crowd still cheering and clapping his return. Madame Pomfrey ran forward and draped two large fluffy towels over both of them. Cedric looked to the judges' table, where Fleur was sitting, looking very upset and distraught.
"Did you see her?" Fleur asked, panicking as she ran over to Cedric.
"Who? See who?"
"My sister! Gabrielle!"
"Yes, I did," Cedric said, somewhat concerned.
"Was she alright? Did she look okay?"
"She looked… fine," Cedric nodded. "All the hostages were in an enchanted sleep."
"You're telling me," Cho said, wanting to jump into the conversation. "I don't remember anything after last night. I went into Dumbledore's office, he said he was casting a spell, and the next thing I know I'm in Cedric's arms in the lake, soaking wet, not knowing what's going on."
"Wonderful," Fleur said patronizingly as the crowd burst into thunderous applause.
Cedric, Fleur, and Cho turned around in time to see a large shark-headed creature, Hermione Granger in hand, burst out of the water. With a flick of the wand of his free hand, the shark transfigured its head back into the head of Victor Krum.
They headed to the shore, Fleur looking more and more distraught as the time passed. Hurriedly, she asked Krum about what he had seen, but he hadn't taken her sister either.
Harry didn't appear at the surface for another fifteen minutes, breathing hard, with two hostages in his arms: Ron and Fleur's sister.
The crowd was screaming in applause and cheers, but Cedric didn't understand why. Thank goodness he had saved Gabrielle, though. Someone had to. Why'd he have to be in such a rush to get up to the surface?
Madame Pomfrey came over to fuss about Cedric, Cho, Krum, and Hermione, making sure they were all tightly wrapped in warmth. Gabrielle had tried to sprint to the water's edge, but Madame Maxime was holding her tightly, keeping her from struggling as best she could. Percy Weasley splashed into the water to make sure his brother was alright.
Seeing that Harry was out of the water, Madame Pomfrey made to attend to him. Cedric took the opportunity to look at Cho, who just blushed. Thanks Promise.
After a few minutes, in which Professor Dumbledore conversed with one of the Merpeople, who had popped her head out of the water to speak, the judges conversed amongst themselves. Fleur used the opportunity to profusely thank Ron and Harry for saving her sister.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed, spectators, champions, and their hostages jumping in fright. "We have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows…
"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by Grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."
"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour," the crowd burst into applause and Cho shot him a look of both impressed-ness and disappointment. Great, just what he needed, criticism and praise from Cho, all at the same time. Why oh why did he have to kick off his shoes? "We therefore award him forty-seven points."
One minute? Seriously? One minute? Why hadn't he kicked slightly harder?
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and as second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."
Cedric broke open the folds of the blanket and clapped politely.
"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostage, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges," Bagman glared at Professor Karkaroff. "Feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However… Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."
Cedric stomach dropped. He was tied with Harry for the lead.
"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty fourth of June. The champios will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."
Cedric should have stayed underneath with Harry. He should've helped out.
"Good job, Cedric!" Olivia shouted, giving him a big hug as she met up with him among all the other congratulatory hugs he got from people who poured out of the stands.
"Meh," Promise said as she strolled up behind him.
"What's that about?" Cho asked, holding Cedric's hand.
"It's meh," Promise said. "This whole task was meh. The clue was subpar and easy to figure out, the solution to do the task was wicked easy, and then the rest spectator people are stuck in the stands, watching water move while Cedric doesn't even make it in the time limit. This whole task was a complete waste of time. I got up for this?"
"Thanks for the encouragement, Promise," Cedric said sarcastically.
"Don't mention it," Promise smiled. "And you're welcome for your hostage, too."
"I noticed," Cedric said, bored again.
"What?" Cho asked, confused.
"Yeah," Olivia said to Promise. "I noticed that too, why is Cho Cedric's hostage?"
"Because I didn't want to be put underwater for a day and a half."
"That's how long I was underwater?" Cho asked, shocked.
"No, you were under for about a month."
Cho looked at Promise, confused.
"Hello, Cedric!" Sam said somewhat brightly as she approached him.
"Morning, Sam. You're awful perky."
"It was a good task," Sam said, vaguely, as though covering whatever it was that made her so cheerful with a feeble excuse.
"You'd think it was good. Now anyways," Promise said, somewhere between impressed and disappointed.
"Why?" Olivia asked, confused. She thought for a minute. "Oh!"
"What is it?" Cedric asked.
"You'll find out sometime," Olivia said vaguely.
But as they walked to the castle, Cedric still wet and Cho's hand still in his, he couldn't help but feel something was different.
Maybe it had something to do with Marcus not walking with them back to the castle.