Cedric Diggory and the Goblet of Fire

by GungaDin

A telling of Cedric's year during the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. Completed with the epilogue, a what happens afterwards and into the future. Story completed.

15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own none of the non-original characters in this story. That's right, none... Of the NON original character. Me? I do in fact own my original characters... Any relation to real events (specifically between Cedric and Sam... which... might happen by the end of the chapter) is COMPLETELY intentional...

Author's Note: Sorry about the length. This thing just kinda went and became it's own beastly creation about four pages in, and then it went on to grow to six times that length. I know it's long, but bear with it... There's a LOT of things going on in it and personally, it's my favorite chapter to date.

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Chapter 15
Notes

The Hufflepuffs weren't quite as fired up after the second task as they were after the first. Like Promise, most had found sitting out on the edge of the lake for an hour almost a complete waste of time. Were it not for the fact that Cedric was the first one to return from the bottom, Cedric would have expected the Hufflepuffs to be disheartened about the Triwizard Tournament. The dragons had, like Promise had said, established a level of intrigue and excitement. All the students expected something on the same level as that first task and, in their opinions, the second task had ultimately failed in that respect, and thusly the partying (because the partying was an inevitability) continued into the late evening.

To add a little more insult to injury, none of the hostages at the bottom of the lake were Hufflepuffs. Cedric's hostage had been Cho Chang and while everyone (including Promise, ironically) had been glad it was someone Cedric cared about, they were disappointed their Champion's hostage didn't come from their own house. At the party after the Second Task people walked up to Promise every few seconds, asking her why she wasn't the one strapped to the statue at the bottom of the lake.

"Because," she called out loudly just as Fourth Year Susan Bones asked her. "Cedric likes Cho and true love is a good incentive for everything! Now stop asking me!"

"Promise," Olivia said, yawning. "People aren't asking you to annoy you, they're asking you because it's awful strange that you wouldn't be at the bottom of the lake. I mean… let's be honest. Cho Chang? Yeah, Cedric cares about her, but he cares about every other person in this room more than he cares about her."

"Not everybody," Cedric said, giving a somewhat sad look at Marcus who sat in a corner, looking depressed, bottle of Butterbeer in his hand. "I care about Cho Chang about as much as I care about some people in this house. But Olivia has a point, Promise. They're just being curious. They want to know what happened at the bottom of the lake."

"Yeah, but they're being worse than First Years!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Standing right here." Susan Bones said, insulted.

"Excuse me for being honest," Promise said, frowning at her. "Here, I'll make it up to you and put it in the words of the great wizard Virgil. Vincit omnia amor: Love conquers all. And I wanted Cedric to conquer, because true love would've make it in the time limit." She looked over at Sam who was talking with a few other fifth year Hufflepuff girls, on the other side of the Common Room from Marcus. "Wouldn't it have, Cedric?"

"I suppose," Cedric said looking down.

"I don't get it," Susan Bones said confusedly.

Promise sighed. "I'm confusing, I know. But that's okay because I make sense to he who matters most in the world. Isn't that right, Cedric?"

"Yeah," Cedric said half-heartedly, still hopelessly looking at Sam. "Right."

"Okay," Susan Bones said, confused. "I'll just leave you two to be."

"Which is just as it should be," Promise said. "And if I scared you off because you think I'm mean to you, I'm really not. I just hate repeating myself, and to not first years no less! It's just damn annoying and you just happened to be the last straw."

"It's perfectly fine," Susan Bones waved her off. "You're Promise Ledger, if you didn't have that snapping quality you'd be… not Promise, as you would say."

She walked off, leaving Olivia, Cedric, and Promise to stare after her as she left.

"You know," Promise nodded, impressed. "I really like her. Why aren't we hanging out with her again?"

"Because three's a magic number," Olivia said tiredly. "And our four is pushing it. If we had her join our little cadre of people we'd be five, and that's right out."

"If three's so magic," Promise said. "Why don't we have three?"

"Because we have four," Cedric shrugged.

"Hello," Sam said brightly, brighter than she had ever since the Yule Ball as she came over to join them. "Olivia, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Sure," Olivia said, turning to face Sam.

"In private?" Sam asked, shooting an embarrassed look at Cedric, which he just managed to glean for a quick second before she looked away.

They walked off to a private corner of the Common Room, away from Marcus.

"Then who would we lose," Promise asked ponderingly, turning back to her previous conversation with Cedric as though Sam hadn't just walked off and asked Olivia to go talk about something suspicious. "Wait, that was mean, let me rephrase that. Who would we get rid of?" She made a big, head swirling motion at Cedric, looking at him.

Cedric sighed. "You're so mean."

"Mean," Promise groaned as Olivia let loose a slight shriek that made everyone in the room jump slightly. Cedric looked over at her, concerned and curious, but Olivia had taken to speaking almost completely inaudibly and Promise kept riveted to the spot thinking only of her conversation with Cedric. "I prefer to think of the word as… honest… in a really brutal sort of way."

"I'll never get sick of you," Cedric sighed, chuckling slightly.

"Well I'm sick of you," Promise said, somewhat louder than usual. "Didn't you get that? Go away."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then I'll…" Promise fumbled for the threat. "Curse you."

"Uh huh."

"I will! I do these things!"

"Uh huh," Cedric said, just as doubtingly.

"That's it, you asked for it!" Her threatening tone dropped almost instantly as she put her hands to her sides, not fishing into her pockets, exhaling heavily.

"Well?" Cedric asked her tauntingly after a few minutes.

"Nope. I got nothing," Promise said uninterestedly. "I was gonna do something but I'm too tired. Sitting in those stands for that hour and a minute sucked. If it was just an hour and it you were lifting…" Promise nodded to Sam, who was still talking to Olivia. "her outta that lake, I woulda maybe done something if you'd insulted me, but your failure, and when I say that, I mean it in the nicest way possible, but your failure has really just sapped the energy from me."

"I'm in first place!"

"You're tied for first place," Promise corrected him. "Tied with Harry Potter no less, who, by doing the more noble and heroic thing, might have a claim to the throne."

"Throne? What throne?"

"Throne of being a Pretty Boy. How many times do I have to tell you? You're the secretary, treasurer, page, jester, chief of staff, Vice President, President, Emperor, Prime Minister, dictator for life, tyrant, janitor, and suck-up of the Pretty Boy club… all rolled into one. Although with Harry Potter doing his act of nobility like he did, he might be throwing in his hat as the new minority leader. Watch yourself, you could lose that position super fast. Why didn't you stay at the bottom of the lake anyways?"

"I didn't think about it-"

"Neither did Harry," Promise murmured under her breath. "And look where it got him."

"Shut-up," Cedric said jokingly, looking away and laughing wistfully.

Promise gasped and put her hands to her mouth. "Did you just say that to me?"

"What? Shut up? Yeah. It's not really a big deal. You tell me to shut up all the time."

"Yeah, but I'm also a female demigod who's really, really funny," she said seriously, so serious in fact, Cedric knew she was doing her best to keep a straight face. "And you are just some little prissy Pretty Boy who does nothing but live as the sole proprietor of Pretty Boy club and will one day become the Head Boy of this school after becoming the first Triwizard Champion in centuries because he can swim and make puppies and no one will remember the fact that he couldn't ask out a girl who was a year younger than him."

"Keep your voice down!" Cedric hissed, overcompensating for Promise's unnecessarily loud pitch.

"You mean shut up?" Promise asked, gloves coming off with her manner of speaking.

"Yes!" Cedric hissed. "If that's what you want to call it, then by all means!"

"Oh. Just wanted to make sure we understood each other," she said casually. "Now like I was saying, why didn't you stay at the bottom of the lake?"

"I was on autopilot. It's like you said. Being underwater… there was nothing to really do down there. I saw Cho, pulled out a knife, and cut her free and then swam to the surface. Harry probably stayed down there because both Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were down there and they're his best friends. If I saw you and Sam down there I probably would've stayed and made sure you were alright. But it was Cho Chang and only Cho Chang."

"And you don't care about Cho Chang?"

"Oh I care," Cedric said. "But it's more I don't want to hurt her than anything else."

"So dump her?" Promise said, stating the obvious.

"We're not dating!"

"Right, my bad," Promise said, rolling her eyes. "Date her once, and then dump her on the side of the street. A guy will pick her up in five minutes. I guaran-"

"Promise…"

Promise huffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Four minutes. I get it."

"Promise!"

"Alright! Fine! Three and a half! But anything lower than that and it's just unrealistic. I think three and a half is pushing it as it is…"

"Promise…"

"You make it sound like I'm lying, Cedric. I'm not! If I lie, walk away, right now."

"You haven't lied yet," Cedric grumbled.

"That's right! Six years and not one lie! Jokes, countless jokes! Poking of the fun at people, but no lies. Keeps us honest."

"I think you just don't want me to walk away. That's why you said it on the train that first time."

Promise eyed him suspiciously. "Maybe. And maybe I've lied too."

"You haven't lied," Cedric smiled and shook his head. "I know you too well."

"Good evening," Sam said as she walked up to Cedric and Promise, Olivia smiling knowingly behind her. "Cedric, how are you?"

"Oh, he's great," Promise said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Olivia and I have… girly things to talk about. Yes, Cedric too girly for even your Pretty Boy ears. Olivia?"

"Oh yes, we will definitely be walking up the stairs and sleeping very soundly."

"Ermm, Olivia?" Promise said properly. "I already told him we'd be talking."

"So you did," Olivia said. "Sorry, it's been a long day."

"That it has," Promise said as they began to walk back up the stairs. "Who'da thought watching water move was more exciting than a best friend rescuing what the school thinks is his girlfriend from the bottom of a giant squid and Grindylows and Merpeople infested lake?"

They disappeared up the stairs, leaving Sam and Cedric looking at each other.

"So you enjoyed the task?" Cedric asked.

"The end of it," Sam nodded. "I had what you might call… an epiphany of sorts."

"Hopefully for the better," Cedric said, moving his head so he looked at her with the corners of his eyes. "It'd be bad if it wasn't for the better."

"No," Sam said, looking wistfully at Marcus's corner and smiling, butterflies shooting through her stomach as she shrugged her shoulders dreamily. "They were definitely for the better." She yawned loudly. "Now if you'll excuse me… I have to go get some sleep. Today was very trying, for both of us, right?"

"Yeah," Cedric said, unable to suppress a smile. Just the sound of her voice was so… riveting and uplifting.

"Goodnight, Cedric," Sam said pleasantly, making Cedric half drift off into the world of dreams.

"Night, Sam," he smiled at her. "Pleasant dreams."

"After today? Honest dreams…" she said, to some degree not understanding exactly what she was saying. "Whatever that means."

And Sam walked up the stairs and to bed.

Cedric stayed up and began to move around the room for the next half hour or so. He couldn't bring himself to talk to Marcus. Something about their relationship was just so… strange. He had noticed it the day after Christmas, and now it seemed even more so. A flock of fifth year Hufflepuffs had circled him and they were talking amicably, but Cedric noticed something about Marcus's laugh, his composure was so… fake. It was just so incredibly unbelievable to see someone who had worn his heart on his sleeve for so many months break character and put it back in his chest.

When he had finished his rounds and bid the Common Room a goodnight (to which the entire house cheered and applauded), Cedric climbed the stairs to the boy's dormitory and walked into his room. He was just about flop onto his bed when he froze, eyes completely fixated on a small parchment man lying on his pillow. Its legs were crossed, one kicking absentmindedly to some parchmenty tune, and its arms folded behind its head, with the points for arms cushioning his skull against the seemingly hard pillow. As Cedric stopped, the parchment man lifted its head and leapt into the air, instantly transforming itself into a paper airplane, which began to pelt Cedric's head.

"Ow! Ow!" Cedric cried and snatched the paper airplane. "All right! I'll read what you have to say." Slowly, not knowing what Promise could have possibly wanted, Cedric opened the letter, Promise's glinting, glittery silver ink beckoning him to read.

My dear, attractive, air-headed fish,
Did you like the little man I created? Yes, I've been working countless hours to get him just right, but look! He works and it's amazing. I know you and "Menty" will get along fabulously.
Anyways, what was I going to talk about? Oh dear me! I don't remember! It must have had something to do with… Sweenty! Yes! Sweenty! She's such fun, isn't she? We must say hi to her sometime. Or even better! We could invite her into our Common Room one night so she can clean or be my footrest or something.
And yes, she'd enjoy that. Maybe we could get a whole platoon of them to fight against Voldemort, or even better! They could go shine my shoes, all two pairs of shoes I own. I could put seven on each pair, and tell them to shine for an hour until I could see my reflection from across the room.
Yeah. I think that's about it when it comes to what I wanted to tell you. I just really missed these notes. We need to start them back up again in a really big way.
Write back and tell me what you think!
Promise
P.S. Olivia told me Sam broke up with Marcus this afternoon. Thought you ought to know.

Cedric reread the last line seven times before it really registered what Promise had said. Without another second's hesitation, Cedric let Menty flutter to the floor like a leaf as he grabbed a bottle of sky blue ink, uncorked it, grabbed a quill from under his bed, and hastily snatched Menty just an instant before it hit the ground. Quickly finding a quiet place within himself to gain his composure, at least temporarily, he scribbled back a note to Promise.

Promise,
Your idea is solid, but I'm not entirely sure what to think of making so many House Elves do such a menial task. Do your shoes really need to be that sparkly?
And yes, Menty is impressive.
Write back!
Cedric
P.S. WHAT?! You can't just leave me hanging like that! Who broke up with who? What happened?

With a flick of Cedric's wand, Menty folded itself back into a paper airplane and zipped out of the boy's dormitory, squeezing under the door. Cedric flopped back onto his bed, hands behind his head. Sam broke up with Marcus? When? Where? Why? How did-

Something rammed into his stomach. Cedric looked forward and saw Menty, standing on his stomach, tapping its leg on his robes. Only a Promise creation would do something like that. When Menty saw he was looking up, it unfolded itself, lying on Cedric's stomach, with a note from Promise scribbled beneath the note from Cedric.

To He-Who-Must-Be-Clueless
The difference between you and me is I actually like to have nice things, even if I only have very few things that could be nicer than they already are. Unlike you, I have nice things.
Much love!
Promise
P.S. What's to tell? She broke up with him after the Second Task.

Frowning slightly, Cedric pulled out his quill and began to write back to her.

Promise,
I have nice things!
Cedric
P.S. When? Where?

With a tap, Menty folded itself back into the paper airplane and whizzed off to Promise's room. Why did Promise have to make it so difficult? Did she need to entertain herself all the time?

Cedric stood and began to pace in circles around the room and had completed his third circle when something jabbed itself into the back of Cedric's head. With the sound of unfolding parchment, Menty lofted to the ground with Promise's new note.

To the Man of Not My Dreams,
Oh! Right! I forgot about that owl you have!
Love (not in that way)
Promise
P.S. In the stands after you pulled Cho out of the lake. She walked up to us late, remember? And extra cheery! Didn't you wonder why?

Clenching his teeth in slight frustration, Cedric dropped to the ground and hastened to writing his response.

Promise,
I have things that are as nice as Dani!
Write back!
Cedric
P.S. That doesn't prove anything, they could be on a break or in a fight. Besides, why would she do that? There's no reason for it.

Cedric didn't even have to tap Menty to make it run back to Promise. Slowly, heavily, Cedric stood up. Now his reasons for spending so much time with Cho were done. There was really no need for it anymore. Did Promise really-

Tap, tap, tap!

Airplane Menty jabbed itself into Cedric's arm. Deftly, Cedric snatched it out of the air and began to read.

Your Deftiness,
No you don't. So go get some nice things!
Promise
P.S. Could you be any more blind? Don't you understand what happened? Come on, Ced. Don't play dumb. Can't you believe for even one second that she likes you? Wasn't it obvious that- Oh no! I'm falling asleep. So before I go, I'm just going to say ask her if it matters so much to you. That, and- oh no!... Again! I'm going to sleep! Going… falling… going… sleeping… tired… sheep… Oh look! I'm gone! I'm asleep! Don't write back!
P.P.S. Dang that was a long postscript.

Cedric scribbled a response hastily, hoping to patronize her and reach her before she fell to sleep.

Promise,
I have nice things thank you very much, Miss Mansion.
Love!
Cedric
P.S. Don't sleep! Don't leave me alone like this! I'm never ever going to leave you alone so there's no reason you should.

Half-expecting a response, Cedric walked back to his bed and lay down on it, daydreaming about Sam breaking up with Marcus until Menty landed on his face with another note.

To My Nightlight,
I can't hear you, I'm sleeping.
Still sleeping, despite your best and brightest efforts,
Promise
P.S. My God, Cedric! Just ask her about it. Stop pestering me. I don't know anything. Find a time, pull her aside and ask her. My goodness, it's not that hard. Just get over yourself.

Cedric took the insult lightly and wrote her another response, knowing full well she'd stay awake until the conversation was over.

Promise,
Forget the post scripts.
When should I talk to her?
Cedric

Cedric felt his eyelids begin to droop even as Menty shot back to Promise's room. Maybe the Second Task did take a lot more out of him then he liked to imagine. But he needed to know what to do about Sam.

Dear My Impatient Best Friend,
Oh, that's too bad! I was staying awake only for the postscripts and now I'm dreaming and things that could never happen are happening. See? A muggle just used some electricity.
Dreaming,
Promise
P.S. Bother me about this no more. I told you what to do. Now go do it.
P.P.S. Good night
P.P.P.S. Seriously? If you bother me about this again, I'll kill you… violently, with my beautiful wand, which will look even more beautiful with your blood on it.

Yawning and giving into Promise's demand, Cedric wrote back a short response to what Promise had to say. She wouldn't help him anymore than she already had.

Promise,
All right. Thank you.
Good night.
Cedric

Not expecting a response, Cedric closed his eyes, feeling himself already drift off into dream world until Menty came in and tapped him on the shoulder. Suddenly aggravated with what Promise had yet to say to him, Cedric opened what he vowed would be the last note of the evening.

My Pretty Boy,
You're welcome.
Good night and sweet dreams.
Promise

Letting out a few laughs at the simplicity, yet thoughtfulness of Promise's note, Cedric smiled and blew out the candle by his bed, blanketing himself in darkness and wrapping himself in sleep.

---

For all the time Sam was now spending with Cedric in the absence of time with Marcus, there was, in actuality, very little time Cedric had to spend with her one-on-one. Between classes and homework and meals, Cedric didn't even have an opportunity to talk with her except about things that he would talk about with Olivia and Promise.

To make matters worse, Olivia, under orders, Cedric guessed, from Promise, flat out refused to tell Cedric anything about Sam's break-up with Marcus. True to her word, Promise made sure no one would tell Cedric anything about the breakup and there was no real time for Cedric to ask Sam.

Now on this side of the Second Task, Cedric found out the second weekend after the Second Task was a Hogsmeade weekend. Elated with the prospect of finally getting some time alone with Sam, Cedric talked with Olivia and Promise, convincing them to give Cedric some time alone with her. He was about to ask Sam about spending some time checking out the shops when, true to the existence of living, Cho Chang appeared.

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend this weekend, Cedric!" Cho said brightly on the way to Cedric's Arithmancy class the Monday before the Hogsmeade weekend. "And I was thinking we could go to this place I know of. It's called Madam Puddifoot's."

Cedric did his best to not roll his eyes. Everyone over the third year knew Madam Puddifoot's was the local teashop in Hogsmeade. It wasn't a pub like the Hog's Head or the Three Broomsticks. No, it was a date location, a place where couples went for alone time, where they could do practically whatever they wanted. Cedric had thus far stayed away from the place, and had never really gone in there. Watching people kiss nonstop for hours on end wasn't Cedric's idea of a good time. Nor, thankfully, was it Promise's, who had always made it a point to stay away from the couples' hangout.

He was about to protest when Promise spoke up. "He'd love to go with you!"

Cedric glared at her. "I would?"

"Yes, you would," Promise nodded. "Calvin Parker wanted to take me there this weekend too, and I figure we can double date."

"Date?" Cedric asked, in such a way to make it sound like he was referring to double dating and instead of dating Cho.

"Not just a date," Promise said, being bubbly for the first time in months. "A double date! What do you say, Cho?"

Cho squealed a response. "That sounds wonderful. What time shall we meet?"

"Eleven?" Cedric suggested.

"Just the time I was going to say," Promise smiled, looking at Cedric.

"I can't wait!" Cho exclaimed and kissed Cedric on the cheek. "See you later?"

"Yeah," Cedric said apprehensively, eyes still fixated on Promise.

Cho giggled and headed off a side corridor towards Charms.

"What are you planning?" Cedric asked as they finally reached Professor Vector's classroom.

"I'll tell you inside," Promise smiled as they entered and took their seats in the back of the room.

Professor Vector was a fun, enjoyable teacher. For all the fun she encouraged the students to have in her class, though, she was incredibly against talking and passing notes.

With the creation of Menty, however, passing notes in Professor Vector's class had become easier, especially in the back, where Professor Vector couldn't see a tiny little parchment man skitter across the floor all the way between the occasionally separated Cedric and Promise.

As they sat down, Promise pulled out a scrap of parchment and began to scribble a note to Cedric. With a flick, she turned the scrap into another Menty, who skittered across the table to transfer the message to Cedric. Cedric made sure Professor Vector had begun her lecture and had her back turned to him when he opened the note.

Meet Menty III: The Sequel. So, what was it you wanted to talk about?

What are you planning? Cedric wrote back.

Menty made three leaps towards Promise, who tapped him and read Cedric's response. With a few quill strokes, she sent Menty back to Cedric.

Why, whatever do you mean, best friend of love and friendship of loving and being lovde friend?

Cedric shot her a glare and she shrugged her shoulders, pretending to not know exactly what he was talking about.

What are you planning for Saturday?

Cedric's eyes flitted towards the front of the classroom as he copied down into his notes the complex equation Professor Vector was using as an example. Just because he was passing notes with Promise didn't mean he didn't have to not learn. True, Professor Vector would probably frown upon such-

Menty III slid open to a stop at Cedric's wrists.

Partner swap. You get Calvin Parker, I get Cho.

Cedric couldn't help it. He released a sharp, harsh sounding laugh.

"Mr. Diggory," Professor Vector said, still facing the board and looking down at her textbook to make sure she copied down the problem correctly. "Ms. Ledger. If you will please pick up your belongings and move to opposite ends of the classroom."

Cedric picked up his bag and moved silently while Promise argued with Professor Vector. It was a mark of their relationship that Promise could say the things she did and Professor Vector would not fault her except to retort in an attempt to top her, all this for the purpose of entertaining the class, of course.

"What do you mean, Vec'? What did we do to deserve that?"

"Mr. Diggory laughed, Miss Ledger, and because I very much doubt I did something funny enough for one person to laugh as he did I can only assume it was from someone sitting next to him, i.e., you."

"Oh come on Vec'! It's not my fault our future Head Boy can't help but laugh whenever her looks at your overly large posterior!"

Cedric suppressed a laugh as Promise commented on the size of Professor Vector's backside. It was widely known throughout the various Arithmancy classes that Professor Vector worked out constantly to keep her body in tip-top condition, which included daily jogs around the lake, making her the most physically fit of any of the teachers at Hogwarts. There was a vague legend started some years ago that Professor Vector had been Keeper for the Pride of Portree until she was replaced by Meaghan McCormack, daughter of legendary Chaser Catriona McCormack. Cedric and Promise had once tried to convince her to start a Faculty Quidditch team in a purely scrimmage capacity, but Professor Vector just waved them off vaguely before shutting her office door behind her, at which point Cedric caught a glimpse of a very young Professor Vector shaking hands with Catriona McCormack, both bedecked in the purple playing robes of the Pride of Portree.

"Why, thank you, Miss Ledger," Professor Vector said, playing the cool, calm, and collected player in the argument this time. "Mr. Diggory, it would greatly please me if you would cease to look at my overly large posterior."

"Of course, Professor," Cedric said, looking down in fake shame. "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Professor Vector nodded, face now buried in the book. "And Miss Ledger, if you would do the same, that too would greatly please me."

"Sorry, Professor," Promise said, shouldering her bag and moving to the opposite end of the classroom from Cedric. "But sometimes it's just so large and in the way! I want to just take a quill and… pshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Her voice faded with her inappropriate sound effect.

"Miss Ledger, I would appreciate it if you didn't call me fat. I already know I have such meat on these bones I can barely lift myself out of bed in the morning, but that doesn't mean you need to go around making a big deal out of it to the whole class, now if you'll excuse me," She walked to her desk and pulled open a drawer, withdrawing a decent sized, circular chocolate cake. "That brings me to our next major topic: cyclical Arithmancy."

Cedric pulled out Menty III and hastily scribbled a response.

No, seriously. I'm worried now, what are you doing?

Menty III scuttled across the floor silently, unbeknownst to anyone except Promise and himself.

"Now the interesting thing about cyclical Arithmancy is the ability to predict recurrences in events," Professor Vector explained, beginning to cut thin slices of the frostingy chocolate cake with precise lines she drew with her wand. "Occasionally, time and actions can fall into a monotony, making existence somewhat boring, except to us Arithmeticians! You see, if we can discover a pattern in observed behavior, we can accurately predict the behavior of the observed if it rolls around again, so long as the observed does not realize this problem and take steps to correct it."

Menty III climbed up Cedric's trouser leg and stayed there until Cedric had temporarily finished taking notes on Professor Vector's explanation.

What? You don't trust me? It's a double date! I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your relationship with Cho… Or would I? No, seriously, I wouldn't. You have to get out of that one yourself…

So what are you planning? Cedric wrote back, dropping a quickly re-forming Menty III back to the ground.

"Once the observed has noticed the problem and taken steps these natural recurrences, the predictability of this pattern becomes obsolete and impossible to utilize anymore," Professor Vector continued, slicing more identical slices into the chocolate cake. "People very rarely slip back into this problem, but if, for some reason, they want to, the person will somehow change the issue slightly to better suit his or her needs. Once the cycle has been broken, it can never come back exactly as it was before."

Menty III climbed up the desk leg and unfolded itself on Cedric's desk.

A double date, didn't you hear?

Cedric thought for a moment before responding. You're dating Calvin Parker, now?

Cedric whisked Menty III off the table as Professor Vector continued cutting cake and explaining.

"The cyclical nature of life however, holds one constant. At one point, an Arithmetician discovered the cyclical nature of life brings about two things: chaoticness then predictability then chaoticness etcetera, etcetera, etcetera."

Menty III made a spectacular leap to Cedric's lap and opened itself, revealing Promise's latest note.

It's… complicated.

What do you mean it's complicated? And how could you go so long without telling me? Details, woman! Details!

"Many people in Arithmancy have said the same thing about people in regards to relationships," Professor Vector continued. "Many people, in fact, all people go through cycles of dating. I'm sure many of you have dated someone, and if you aren't remember it this way: people, in dating specifically, go through various relationships for a long time before settling on one thing. While in a relationship, things become constant and predictable. When someone leaves the relationship, however, their life becomes chaotic, unpredictable, except by using Abstract Arithmancy, which you will learn next year."

I don't even know when to begin. We've been talking a lot, mainly through Menties. They're great convoys between classes and we've been talking a lot about… nothing (I know, I'm cheating on you, get over it… and yourself. Get over that too…) and last week he asked me if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him. He mentioned Madam Puddifoot's…

Promise had reached the bottom of the page. Confused, Cedric turned Menty III over, but just found complex, yet obviously fake Transfiguration notes. With a tap, he reformed Menty III.

"Where's the rest?" he mouthed to Menty III.

Menty III shrugged its parchment shoulders. Cedric rolled his eyes, tapped his wand on Menty, sending him to sheet form again.

And? He hastily scribbled in the bottom corner as small as he could.

With a tap, he lit Menty on fire. He made sure to use a special, non-parchment-burning purple fire Promise had designed. It was a sign between the two of them: Make another note. Running towards Promise frantically, taking the attention of several students with it, Menty III skidded to a halt in front of her, tugging her robes hard. With a wave, Promise put him out and looked over at Cedric, sticking her tongue out while she pulled out another piece of parchment.

"For now, I'd like to point out something," Professor Vector said, either not noticing a small flaming parchment doll run across the back of the classroom or turning a blind eye to it, too pleased with the work Cedric and Promise had done in the past to care. "As you learned when you first walked into this class, Basic Arithmancy is essentially learning about specific points in the lives of whoever you might be studying at the time. Cyclical Arithmancy is used to figure out a rough estimate of how to apply Basic Arithmancy. It really isn't an exact magic so much as it is incredibly accurate educated guessing. It's somewhere between Abstract Arithmancy and Basic Arithmancy. It tries to learn specific things about specific points through patterns. This is kind of like what we'll be doing next year, but Abstract is on an incredibly different scale, often defining specific details unforeseeable by overarching patterns."

"Erm, Professor," Terrence Stamp raised his hand. "I'm really enjoying what you're teaching us, but what does this have to do with chocolate cake?"

"Excellent question, Mr. Stamp!" Professor Vector said as she reached into her desk and pulled out another chocolate cake, identical to the one had neatly sliced on her desk. "It's a feeble example really, but… watch." With a few random wand strokes, she sliced the cake into sections rather than slices so that the cake could come out in triangles or cubes or other three dimensional objects. "The first cake, the one I sliced nicely," she held it up for the class to see. "Is an example of what we've been able to do before. We could calculate the happenings of a a life if it was set in perfect harmony. Now? Using cyclical Arithmancy, we can discuss predictability based on past behavior and how their current situation defines their lives. What do the cakes have to do with anything? The first represents what you were able to do before, with perfect slices. Now? You can do with the second cake, with random chaoticness. That, and all students love chocolate cake. This is probably my favorite lesson just because I get to add some pounds onto my thighs. Isn't that right, Miss Ledger?"

Cedric looked over at the new Menty, who had just scurried off the desk in time for Professor Vector to not see it. Promise looked up as Professor Vector acknowledged her.

"Precisely, Professor."

"For once we agree on things," Professor Vector smiled. "Now everyone gets one piece of the perfect cake, and one from what I call 'Chaotic Chocolate.'"

"You love that word, don't you, Professor?" Promise said, standing up for a piece of cake.

"What can I say?" Professor Vector asked, using the wand in her right hand to levitate a section of "Chaotic Chocolate" into the palm of her left hand. "I like things being chaotic. Those are the funnest problems." She transferred the cake to her right hand and licked the chocolate frosting and residue crumbs from her left. "Here's an example."

Splat!

It happened so fast, Cedric never got a chance to see it completely. One second Promise was standing at the back of the classroom, ready to walk forward and get cake. Cedric had picked up Menty and put him in his robe pocket. When he looked back Promise had chocolate cake on the front of her dress robes. She looked down and laughed as Professor Vector licked her right hand clean.

"Oh you so just didn't do that…" Promise threatened.

"I think I did, Miss Ledger," Professor Vector said somewhat unsurely.

Promise laughed and, still smiling, magicked a cake into existence, keeping it levitated at shoulder level. With a few quick swishes of her wand, Promise sliced her cake into dozens of small sections, much like Professor Vector's chaotic cake. Taking a small, little piece from her cake with her fingers, Promise looked at Professor Vector, who smiled and held her arms out parallel to the ground, exposing her chest, taunting Promise.

Promise grinned mischievously. "Victory, thy name is chocolate."

With a flick of her wrist, Promise flung the piece of chocolate cake, landing it on the right side of Professor Vector's face. As though insulted, Professor Vector sneered and wiped it away from her face with her fingers. Tentatively, as though Promise had somehow poisoned the cake, she put her fingers in her mouth and sucked the chocolate from them. She moved her jaw up and down very quickly, creating a sickening sort of smacking sound as she tasted Promise's cake.

"That's some cake," Professor Vector said, impressed. "Your own creation?"

Promise nodded, eyes filled with the desire to throw more cake.

"What's your secret?"

"Sugar," Promise said venomously.

"I see," Professor Vector nodded understandingly as she eyed Promise.

They stood glaring at each other for a long time, teacher against student, challenging the other to make the first move. The tension grew and grew, students, Cedric included, wondering exactly what was going to happen between the two.

Without warning, Professor Vector shouted a single rallying cry.

"Sides!!!"

In an instant, Promise had grabbed her cake, kicked over the nearest desk, and held it out for more people to take. Within seconds, the entire class had chosen sides, but didn't have nearly enough time to make it to an advantageous point before Promise had begun to throw cake at a very quickly fortressed-behind-her-desk Professor Vector,. Cedric just barely managed to flip over his desk when a white, vanilla cake appeared at his feet. He chanced a glance over his desk.

The room, just like Professor Vector had predicted, had descended into chaos. Students were throwing magically appeared cake at anyone they could, Promise constantly threw cake at Professor Vector, excepting in the rare occasion someone threw something at her, to which she conjured up another cake, cut it in half and threw all that she could at the assailant.

Cedric was only able to stay above desk level for a few more seconds before someone pelted him in the face with a chunk of carrot cake. Picking up the vanilla cake by his feet and slicing it hastily and chaotically like Professor Vector and Promise, he began to throw hunks at whoever he saw, sides be damned. The first time he hit Promise, he managed to make it look like Tony Bronstone had attacked her, but the second, she caught him doing it and magically made a cake appear over his head and dropped it on him, cake splattering his robes and hair.

When all the cake was strewn around the room, clustered on walls in gobs and stuck to desks in chunks and the students had become walking covered-in-chocolate-and-vanilla-frosting-over-their-robes entities, Professor Vector called a ceasefire.

"See how that works?" Professor Vector said, emerging from behind her completely-plastered-with-chocolate desk, licking the various cakes off her robes, face, and arms as the students did the same. "You come in with a definite cycle in mind, but then things descend into chaos, and quickly. Now? They're back to normal. And everything is good. Scurgify!"

With a quick suctioning sound, the room and all its occupants returned to their pre-Cake War state shiny and beautiful.

"Class dismissed."

Cedric picked up his bag and turned his desk right side up as Promise walked up to him.

"You read it?" Promise asked as they headed down to lunch.

"Not yet," Cedric confessed. "You just had to throw that piece of cake at Professor Vector, didn't you?"

"Hey! She started it! It's not my fault she had to throw that piece at me!"

Cedric sighed as he sat down for lunch and pulled out Promise's note.

"I'm all full now," Promise said lazily as Sam and Olivia sat down.

"You are?" Olivia asked. "Why?"

"Learn about Cyclical Arithmancy next year and you'll see what I mean."

"Right," Sam said skeptically. "So, Cedric," she asked. "What are you doing at Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"Hmmm?" Cedric said, looking at Promise's note, but not quite focusing on what it said. "What?"

"Hogsmeade!" Promise said a little louder. "What are you doing for it?"

"You already know," Cedric said, looking up, confused.

"Uh huh," Promise nodded. "But Sam doesn't."

"Huh?" Cedric asked as his eyes landed on Sam, who looked at him expectantly. "Oh! I'm… going on a double date with Promise," he said sheepishly.

"Oh," Sam said, looking down at her plate, completely disheartened.

"I asked him to," Promise explained, eyeing a turkey sandwich with something between longing and disgust. "Cho asked him, and I needed someone to keep me company with Calvin Parker."

"So you're going with him?" Olivia squealed girlishly.

"Looks like," Promise shrugged, smiling slightly.

Cedric focused his attention back to the letter.

Cedric, meet Menty IV: This Time it's Personal. Menty IV: This Time it's Personal, Cedric. So he wants to take me to Madam Puddifoot's and I have no idea what to do. I mean… come on! Who is this guy! First he sweeps me off my feet by dancing with me to get me to go to the dance, and then we're on the dance floor during one of those bloody awful slow dances and he kisses me! Kisses me! Can you believe that? And me, not being the girl that I should be, stay with him all night… and then we went outside for a few minutes into that god-awful grotto out there and… kissed some more… and then the night ended and I was like that's it and then afterwards we didn't really talk except through these blasted notes and I don't know what to do about it and last night he asked me out to Madam Puddifoot's which is a total date place and I figure I'm not sure if I want to go because it's Madam Puddifoot's but I told him I'd think about it and see if you wanted to go with me because if I go alone with him I'm going to feel really awkward and cynical and that's really a bad thing because then it'll be like I don't really like him, or rather… I don't like spending time with him. But I want to have my cake and eat it too because this is the last Hogsmeade trip of the year so I figure I might as well get the best of both worlds and bring you along with Cho Chang because God knows she's going to do something incredibly stupid to mess you two up which is too priceless for me to not catch because then you could date Sam which would be perfection times seven and now I'm rambling so I'm going to shut up so if you think I should say yes to Calvin Parker (which means you're coming too dammit! And with Cho… dammit!) then say "Of course, Professor,", but if you don't want to go and then make me say no to Calvin Parker say "Professor Vector, I hate you because you're so obese.."

Cedric looked up at Promise, who was watching him while Sam and Olivia talked about something or another. With a smile he looked at her and bit his lip, thinking hard about what his answer was, or rather, pretending to think about what to say to Promise.

"Well?" She said, exasperated after a minute of his faux-thinking. "What do you say?"

Cedric inhaled and exhaled heavily before responding. "Of course, Professor."

---

Saturday was approaching too quickly for Cedric. The time he was now spending in Sam's company (with Olivia and Promise being there, of course) felt incredibly confined. It was like his going on a date with Cho, even if it was a double date, somehow solidified his relationship with her. Before it was fun and games, but now… things became awkward, even more so then they had been before.

Desperately, two nights before the Hogsmeade visit, when they were all sitting around a table, talking casually while working on various classes' homework, Cedric made an appeal to Sam in an attempt to talk about something, anything just to get the talking going again when Olivia tactlessly brought up the point of the Hogsmeade weekend.

"Why don't I meet you?" Cedric asked.

It came out before he could help it. Promise shot him a look, questioning his sudden, inexplicable daring.

"Really?" Sam asked, elated. "What time?"

"Ummm," Cedric looked to Promise, confused. "We should be done by twelve thirty?"

Promise grabbed Cedric by the shoulders and moved ahead of him. "We'll certainly be done by twelve thirty. And you'll meet…"

"Wherever?" Cedric said suggestively.

"I don't know that place," Sam said ponderingly . "But how about the Three Broomsticks? That place is always fun. Sound good?"

"Sounds good!" Cedric said.

"Olivia," Sam said, overconfidence overpowering her voice. "I was going to go study potions for that test we have tomorrow. Wanna help?"

"I'd be glad to," Olivia smiled, shooting a very pleased look at Cedric, unbeknownst to Sam as she walked away to a different table to work on O.W.L. Potions homework.

"I'm impressed," Promise nodded, looking at Cedric. "I can't believe you just did that? You're really going to ditch Cho?"

"Actually, I'm ditching you," Cedric said. "Cho's free to come along. It's Sam that's the point. I just miss talking to her, Promise. She's so… everything."

"I know," Promise said, bored. "So you should do something about it."

"Like what?" Cedric asked.

"You could dump Cho."

"But I haven't dated her."

"Yet!" Promise said pointedly. "You haven't dated her yet. Cho has yet to date you, which, gasp! She's going to have done by Saturday at twelve thirty."

Cedric eyed her suspiciously. "Did you plan this?"

"Maybe," Promise said vaguely as she turned back to her work. "Just maybe…"

---

Saturday approached slower after that. The feeling of dread and terror at the thought of spending an hour or so with Sam with perhaps or perhaps not Cho as company was exhilarating. Then, because things rush at the end, Saturday slapped Cedric in the face and he found himself in the Entrance Hall with Promise, waiting for Cho Chang and Calvin Parker, who came down the marble staircase together, talking casually.

"Good morning!" Cho said brightly, skipping up to Cedric and hugging him tightly.

"Morning," Cedric half-muttered, half-hugging back.

"Morning, Promise," Calvin Parker said, overly formal and gentlemanly.

"Morning, Mr. Parker," Promise responded, even more airily.

"So…" Calvin Parker said. "Shall we go?"

They nodded and headed out through the oak front doors and out onto the lawn. For what had started as such an overcast morning, the day had begun to transform into something warmer, and Cedric founded his sweater made him cook like a roasted chicken.

They trekked down the lawn and to the front gates and turned to the main road that led into Hogsmeade in silence.

"So…" Calvin Parker said, trying to break the silence. "How is everyone?"

"Good!" Cho said, first to speak up. "Although this weather is pretty crazy. This is the first weekend in March and it's already going to be sweltering by the time we get there!"

"I kinda like it," Cedric said, playing devil's advocate. "It's a pleasant change from the Second Task a week and a half ago."

"Yeah," Calvin Parker looked at him accusingly, as though Cedric didn't have any idea what Calvin Parker had to endure. "Except you didn't have to be bored out on the lake's shore bored for an hour."

Promise whirled on him. "The Second Task bored you too?"

"To tears," Calvin Parker nodded. "And the champions still didn't make it in time. Know what I think? I think the judges were like, 'okay. We need to top our last task… so we'll take something this time so it's another recovery mission, just like the first task and the golden egg, but this time, we'll put them underwater.' 'Well that doesn't sound very exciting for the spectators,' someone probably said. 'Oh don't worry,' someone else recommended, 'we'll put some insane time limit on it and make it more exciting.'"

Promise laughed. "That's kind of what I thought, but I didn't take it to that extent."

"Yes!" Calvin Parker outstretched his arm in front of him, keeping it parallel to the ground and pulled it in quickly. "Score one for Mr. Calvin Parker! Calvin Parker leads Promise Ledger ten points to zero."

"Oh, so it's a competition, now?" Promise asked intimidating, nodding her head in competitiveness.

"Guess so," Calvin Parker sneered mockingly at her.

"Oh it's on, buddy boy," Promise clapped her hands together and rubbed them hungrily. "And if I win, Cedric gets your job next year."

"Cedric gets my job next year no matter what you do," Calvin Parker said, stating the obvious. "Score another for Parker! He's now leading Promise twenty to zero!"

Promise scowled.

"Actually," Cedric said. "I really wasn't going for Head Boy."

"It just kind of lands in your lap?" Calvin Parker asks.

"Yeah, he's slightly more amazing than you because he actually has talent," Promise said tauntingly.

"Damn," Calvin Parker nodded, impressed as they came within sight of Hogsmeade. "That was good. Ten points to Promise, but Calvin Parker's still winning twenty to ten!"

"If we're playing this little game," Promise said suspiciously. "What are we playing for?"

"A house full of furniture and a trip to Europe," Calvin Parker said instinctively.

"We're in Europe," Promise said. "And what would I do with a house?"

"Right, my bad," Calvin Parker shook his head, disgusted with himself. "My parents and I went to the America this past summer and we were listening to the wizarding wireless and I swear that's all they would compete for. It just got ingrained in my head. Ummm… How about… if you win you never have to talk to me again."

Promise eyed him suspiciously. "And if I lose?"

"Well we'll just have to so this again, now won't we? And you can try to beat me then."

Promise rolled her eyes. "Cuz that's so hard to do?"

"Is she always like this?" Cho asked.

"Yeah, didn't you ever notice?" Cedric asked, rather surprised at Cho's cluelessness.

It was strange, but they were almost to the entrance of Hogsmeade and Cho had yet to hold his hand or even kiss him on the cheek as was customary for their talking and spending time with each other. It wasn't that he was complaining. He just found it odd that the physical pretense of their relationship had mysteriously vanished. Maybe Promise had…

"So, Calvin Parker," Promise said, saying his full name as she always did and speaking like a journalist interviewing . "Why on earth did you choose Madam Puddifoot's as a choice of teashop?"

Calvin Parker thought about it for a minute. "I thought you'd like it," he said finally. "You seem like the type of person who would find Madam Puddifoot's… romantic."

Of all the responses Calvin Parker could have possibly thrown at Promise (perhaps to win a point was Cedric's initial reaction) Cedric certainly didn't expect this response. Even Promise was speechless for a minute.

"You think I'm romantic?" Promise said, using cynicism to mask what Cedric recognized as flattery.

"I know what I see," Calvin Parker said as they finally reached Madam Puddifoot's. "So shall we go in and be… romantic?"

"Only if you could actually be a guy!" Promise said, already recovering from her shock. "Bam! Score one more for Promise. Score is twenty twenty!"

"Touché," Calvin Parker said as he pulled open the door to Madam Puddifoot's and held it open for Promise, Cho, and Cedric to enter. "But real guys are honest."

"Like Ceddy boy!" Promise said, looking at Cedric and then, when no one was looking, flicking her head at Cho Chang.

"Yes, Promise, like Ceddy boy," Calvin Parker said, entering the teashop. "Excellent job on your tasks, by the way, Mr. Diggory."

"It's Cedric," Cedric said, looking around at the teashop.

It was mind numbing, this teashop. It was everything Cedric had expected. Tables were small and circular, large enough for cups of tea and a candle and that was about it. They weren't very wide, small enough that, Cedric realized, if he wasn't careful he'd find himself in a very intense game of footsie with Cho Chang.. It was quaint and slightly romantic, or at least, the most romantic place in Hogsmeade, but not a place he'd want to go with someone like Sam. It represented a sort of artificiality of love, or at least, what teenagers called love. It wasn't quite in his taste, and he knew Promise certainly wouldn't like it. Maybe Calvin Parker was…

"Table for four?" Calvin Parker asked the very short and happy looking Madam Puddifoot.

Her face drooped and she looked behind her to her modest establishment. The happy, cheeriness she had just had as a pretense was now suddenly gone from her face. "Do you see a table for four?"

"Can you accommodate us?" Calvin Parker fired back.

Scowling, Madam Puddifoot turned around and flicked her wand, making two unoccupied circular tables bump together, creating a really strange amalgam of two circular tables that didn't quite work together. The five or six other couples in the teashop looked to see what the ruckus was about before turning back to gaze at each other. "Does that work for you?"

"Yes, thank you very much. Shall we?" Calvin Parker asked.

They walked to the weird mutant table and sat down, Cedric next to Promise and across from Cho, with Calvin Parker across from Promise.

"What'll it be?" Madam Puddifoot asked, pulling out a small note pad, uncorking the small, portable inkbottle attached to the top of the it, and conjuring a quill with her wand. She snatched it out of the air and dipped it in the small ink bottle, prepared to begin taking their order.

"Well what do you have?" Calvin Parker asked brightly.

Madam Puddifoot deadpanned at him for a minute. "Tea."

"Any food?"

Madam Puddifoot kept looking at him. "Do you know where you are?"

"Madam Puddifoot's!" Calvin Parker stated affirmatively. "It's supposed to be this quaint tea shop in Hogsmeade, great for couples."

"Couples, dear," Madam Puddifoot said, smiling a very fake smile. "Not quartets."

Calvin Parker put his hands out, palms up. "Haven't you ever heard of a double date?"

"Not at Madam Puddifoot's, dear," Madam Puddifoot said, still smiling very artificially.

"Huh," Calvin Parker said. "Well, we'll have the tea," he said, nodding convincingly, pausing between each individual word to make sure everyone was on the same page.

"You don't say," Madam Puddifoot said monotonously. "What kind of tea?"

"Something orange if you don't mind!" Cho said very brightly. "I heard you have this very delightful… what is it called? Angel Orange?"

"Of course, dear! That's a very popular choice!" Madam Puddifoot said, a genuine yet patronizing smile on her face. Obviously Cho Chang was the type of customer Madam Puddifoot typically had, one she preferred to deal with.

Promise shot Cho a very disgusted look. "Have you been here before?"

"No, why do you ask?" Cho said, looking incredibly bewildered by Promise's question.

"Huh," Promise said, "Because you seem to have this system perfect."

"System?" Cho asked, still confused. "What system?"

"It's nothing," Calvin Parker said, not wanting to ostracize Cho Chang. "What kind of tea do we want?"

"Bring us all Angel Oranges," Cedric said, playing the mediator.

Promise spoke out. "But I don't want-"

"We'll take the orange," Cedric said, silencing Promise with a look as he placed his hand on hers.

"Your tea will be right up!" Madam Puddifoot said cheerily as she magicked the quill away, and recorked her ink bottle, placing the pad back into her apron. With a smile and a nod, she left to go prepare their tea.

"Why did you do that?" Promise snapped at Cedric. "I don't want any of your orange tea!"

"Really?" Cho Chang asked. "I hear it's delightful."

"I'm not a big fan of orange," Promise said, much like Madam Puddifoot would have if someone had said anything about the natural order of the teashop.

"Really?" Calvin Parker said, ignoring an about-to-protest Cho Chang. "That's interesting, why do you say that? I've always been rather neutral to the color orange."

"Something about the color orange…" Promise said vaguely, forming her argument as she spoke. "It's just so… disgusting looking. It's a very repulsive color. There's not much that can be said that's nice about the color orange."

"What about oranges?" Calvin Parker asked.

"Well there's that," Promise said, "But that falls under the category of 'not much' doesn't it? Besides, oranges you have to be really particular about. You don't want to take a huge bite out of a really sour orange."

"What about a tart orange?" Calvin Parker said, almost interrupting her.

"Tart is good," Promise nodded, conceding to what Calvin Parker said. "But there's a very fine line between tart and sour."

"True," Calvin Parker nodded. "But let's get back to your hating of the color orange."

"Right, so orange," Promise began again. "It's really a combination of the colors red and yellow. Now red, in my opinion is a pretty solid color, very naturally vibrant, much like purple. Yellow is really a meh color. Personally I'm pushing for more of a purple for posterity when it comes to Hufflepuff, but Helga Hufflepuff, being… Helga Hufflepuff was a huge yellow fan, so I'm going to comment on how much of an ugly color it is. It's a lot cooler to see red, or blue or even green Quidditch robes zipping past on the Quidditch fields. But yellow? Something about it is… tacky. People wonder why Hufflepuffs get such a bad rep and I think it's because we walk around with big yellow badgers on our chest. Truthfully, the badger is cool, almost as cool as your raven," she nodded at Calvin Parker. "But it's the yellow that really… 'oh you guys wear yellow! That's so awesome… not!' you know? Then you get to orange and that's just such a joke of a color. No one takes orange seriously. It has the vibrancy of red with the seriousness of yellow. That means anything orange stands out and can't be taken seriously at all."

"I happen to like the color orange," Madam Puddifoot said, standing over them with a tray of four cups of tea and a tall glass container of sugar.

"I think that puts you in the majority of one," Promise said. "But that's okay, you can try to take it back. I won't stop you. But then again… I won't help you either."

"Promise! Be nice!" Calvin Parker said, wincing at Promise's incredibly rude comment.

"It's perfectly alright, deary," Madam Puddifoot said, smiling that same fake smile at Promise. "I don't listen to my customers all that often anymore. I heard far too much many years ago and I tend to not interrupt in their conversations. Now, who had the Angel Orange?"

"Ummm…" Calvin Parker spoke up. "We all did."

"That's very lovely, dear," Madam Puddifoot nodded. "But who had the Angel Orange?" She said overly pointedly.

"That'd be me," Cho Chang said, putting her finger up, calling for her tea.

"Of course! How silly of me!" Madam Puddifoot said. "Now, who had the Angel Orange?"

Promise, Cedric, and Calvin Parker exchanged glances, wondering if this woman was for real.

"That was mine," Cedric chirped up.

"Excellent," Madam Puddifoot said brightly. "It's the house specialty. I think you'll enjoy it. Now who had the Angel Orange?"

Cedric watched expectantly as Promise and Calvin Parker very deliberately made eye contact, smirked, and turned to Madam Puddifoot, simultaneously saying. "I did."

Cedric snorted into his tea as Madam Puddifoot looked at them both, perplexed. "I missed that, I'm sorry, dear?"

"Oh that was you?" Promise asked, looking at Calvin Parker very concernedly. "I'm sorry, I must have had my order mixed up.

"No! I'm sorry! You go first, by all means!" Calvin Parker said, throwing his hands up defensively.

"But that's your Angel Orange tea."

"No, no! It's yours!" Calvin Parker said very insistently. "Take it!"

"I couldn't possibly…"

"Yes, you could!" He turned to Madam Puddifoot. "That Angel Orange is her tea."

"No it's not," Promise glared at him. "I assure you, it's his."

"This is all very confusing," Madam Puddifoot said, beginning to grow antsy from Promise and Calvin Parker's argument. "Which one of you ordered it?"

"That was me," Promise said, waving slightly. "I'll take it."

"That's better," Madam Puddifoot said, placing the cup in front of her. "And finally… Ah! The Angel Orange! Whose is this?"

"That one's mine!" Calvin Parker said, very sure of himself.

"Excellent," Madam Puddifoot said, placing the tea in front of him. "Enjoy your tea."

"Oh we will," Promise said.

"It is quite excellent," Cho nodded. "And not too hot, either."

"Why thank you, dear!" Madam Puddifoot said brightly, completely oblivious to the outlandish comments Promise and Calvin Parker were saying. "Aren't you just the sweetest thing?"

Cho blushed as Madam Puddifoot walked away and continued sipping her tea.

"She forgot the sugar!" Promise complained.

"Maybe it doesn't need it," Cedric suggested, about to taste his own.

"How about a toast?" Calvin Parker said. "To fake teashops!"

Promise looked at him smugly. "I like the way you think."

"This shop isn't fake!" Cho said, looking confused… again. "It's cute!"

"To teashops and friends," Cedric smiled, changing the toast slightly to better please everyone.

"I'll drink to that," Calvin Parker said.

They all took sips together, Cho savoring the tea. Cedric only had to smell the tea and let a drop touch his tongue to know what was going to happen next.

He was just in time to wave his wand when Promise spit out the tea she had just drunk. The drops froze in midair halfway across the table, right on their path to Calvin Parker, who was doing his best to not make a face as he choked down his tea. It reminded Cedric of the World Cup, when Promise had saved him from spilling tea all over himself just as Sam had walked up.

"This tastes awful!" She gagged.

"Really?" Cho asked, concerned. "I think it's great! I'll have yours."

"Gladly!" Promise said. She was halfway to completely handing over her cup to Cho when an idea hit her. She looked over at a table nearby, where a couple sat kissing passionately, oblivious to the world around them. "On second thought, I'll keep it, I'll see what I can do with some sugar! Madam Puddifoot did forget to get us some." She pulled out her wand and waved it, levitating the tall canister of sugar to their table. "Anyone want some?" She asked once it was in her hand.

"I'd much rather just not drink it," Calvin Parker said.

"It wasn't awful," Cedric said.

"Awful enough for you to know Promise would hate it," Calvin Parker looked at her as Promise began to dump tons and tons of sugar into her cup of tea. "Think you have enough?"

"Almost," Promise said, finishing the heavy stream of sugar with a quick flourish. "There we go."

"Can't you just make your own tea?" Cedric asked

"Shhh," Promise said. "I might like it with this much sugar," Promise said, waving her wand and stirring the sugar. Normally, Cedric wouldn't have noticed anything, but the way Promise was waving seemed to have a pattern, but it was a pattern Cedric couldn't really discern from where he was sitting. After a few more strokes, she looked in her cup and nodded. "Cedric, does this look properly stirred to you?"

"Ummm…." Cedric mused. looking forward into her cup, not having an inkling of an idea why Promise would be so fixated on him looking at a cup of incredibly sugary tea.

It took him a minute to figure out exactly what he was looking at. He did a double take at Promise, furrowing his brow. She nodded at him encouragingly and he looked back. It was one of the strangest things he had ever seen Promise do. In the tea, all of the sugar Promise had poured in had surfaced and created mounds of white that had snaked themselves into a message.

So what do you think of him?

Cedric's foot slipped forward from its position locked behind the chair's leg and made brief, fleeting contact with Cho. He looked at her and she smiled. Next thing he knew she was using her suddenly shoeless foot to rub his leg and she was smiling at him, flirtatiously.

"Well, Cedric?" Promise asked, looking at him very specifically. "Does it look stirred?"

Cedric looked at Calvin Parker, who was looking very much like Cho when she was confused, completely clueless to everything that had happened since Promise had showed him the tea.

"Yes," Cedric said knowingly to Promise, answering two questions at once. "I think it's very good…" he reflected for two seconds about what he had just said. "Very well stirred." He said pointedly, trying to make what he had just said as seamless as possible, but failing horribly.

"That's good," Promise said, taking a sip of the tea. She winced and choked it down.

"Are you okay?" Calvin Parker asked.

"Yes," Promise choked, repulsed. "It just… needs more sugar, because I think I just had a stroke." She began to pour again as Cedric tried to hide his leg back into its locked position in the chair.

"Wouldn't the sugar cause that?" Calvin Parker asked her, slightly concerned.

"No. Now I need more sugar," Promise said stubbornly, like a child who didn't get exactly what she wanted.

"Maybe we should just get you a new tea," Calvin Parker offered.

"Ridiculous," Promise said, turning the sugar right side up and offering it to Cedric. "Cedric, perhaps you want some?"

"Hmmm? What?" Cedric asked, still trying to get his mind off of Cho playing footsie with him. "Oh! Yes. I'll have some sugar, that sounds good."

Promise spent a few seconds pouring liberal amounts into Cedric cup. "Calvin Parker? Would you like some too?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Sure, why not? But this isn't something like a crazy, mind-altering potion, is it? I wouldn't like that very much."

"Nah," Promise said. "I don't know you well enough for that."

"Go for it," Calvin Parker said, letting her finish off the canister of sugar into his cup.

"Excellent," Promise said, levitating the now empty sugar canister back to the table of the kissing couple. She stirred her tea with her wand in what seemed like absentminded strokes. "So Calvin Parker, what do you think of the color orange. You know what I think."

"Well I pretty much agree with you," Calvin Parker nodded, setting his cup of tea down on the table, refraining from taking a drink. "The one thing you forgot to cite as an example are the Chudley Cannons. They're quite a force in the Quidditch world today. Their vibrant orange is quite the fashion statement, and the fans are rather rabid and perseveringly zealous when it comes to supporting their team, although it's safe to say they're quite possibly, and I mean this as nicely as possible, the worst team in modern day Quidditch. I don't know what it is, but it seems to me like they can't help but be terrible."

"I know what you mean," Promise said, looking at him understandingly, and placing her cup of tea a little too close to Cedric. Discreetly as he could, Cedric peered into Promise's cup.

I really think I might like him. Use your sugar to write back.

I can see why, Cedric wrote back, waving his wand over his cup to spell the words, and placing his cup next to Promise's. Cho's foot snaked up to his knee and back down, slowly, sensually.

She picked hers up and took a fake sip as she looked into Cedric's.

"I'm a big Puddlemere United fan, myself," Calvin Parker said enthusiastically. "Some of the best Beaters in the contemporary Quidditch market, let me tell you!"

Promise stopped her wand mid-stroke to glare at him. "Puddlemere? You're a Pudder?! Seriously?"

"Navy blue pride!" Calvin Parker said proudly. "Unless… oh no. You're not a Harpy, are you?"

"Dark green pride," Promise said challengingly.

"Guess we can't be dating, can we?"

"I could never date a Pudder," Promise said, narrowing her eyes and resuming writing her note to Cedric.

"We could just make sure it never comes up in conversation again," Calvin Parker offered casually.

"Oh," Promise said, setting her cup very naturally right next to Cedric's. "So now you assume I actually want to date you."

"It's why you came," Calvin Parker said, taking a sip of tea and subsequently gagging as it went down.

What is she doing with you?

Footsie.

Promise sighed as she looked into Cedric's cup casually, glared at an oblivious-to-anything-not-Cedric Cho Chang and rolled her eyes heavily. "You assume too much. Maybe I just like your company." She began to stir her tea again, eyeing Calvin Parker.

"So that must mean you're dating Cedric, and you have been ever since your first year at Hogwarts?" Calvin Parker asked. "You enjoy his company, so you must be dating him."

"That's different! I pick on him! And he's good with it! He likes it!"

"Wait a minute…" Cedric said, interrupting.

"Don't get in the middle of what I have to say," Promise snapped at him slamming her cup of tea down and spilling some onto their wooden table. She looked into the cup, huffed and then started her stir-spelling again. Cedric could only guess when she had slammed her cup down for Cedric to read, and had unintentionally dispersed her message in the process.

"So what would it take for me to date you?" Calvin Parker asked smugly.

"You really are persistent, aren't you?" Promise asked.

"Oh! So that's how I became Head Boy!" he said, as though just realizing how he had gotten the job.

"And how is that working out for you?" Promise asked, setting the cup down again, her new message completed.

"It's kind of overrated, actually. See you'd be surprised just how much being Head Boy is like being a Prefect. All it is is you're a liaison from the Prefects to Professor Dumbledore and vice versa. And even then I never talk to any more Prefects than I know or talk to regularly. For such a highly important sounding job, it sure is quite dull."

So stop her!

How?

Promise nodded, looking inconspicuously into Cedric's cup. Incensed, she glowered at him. "Are you kidding me?"

"No," Calvin Parker said, quite sure of himself, not looking at Promise. "I'm fairly certain I'm sure being Head Boy is a dull and overrated job."

Promise looked at him and smiled, slipping back into her conversation. "Sorry, I just have such a hard time thinking about the Head Boy job being so incredibly dull, especially when it seems to rule the life of someone so completely…" She smiled knowingly at Cedric. "Clueless." With very sharp movements, she picked up her cup and wand and began to stir-spell again. "Honestly, I don't even think he knows what the job entails. So you wouldn't recommend it to Pretty Boy, here?"

Cedric glared at her, trying to keep his mind off Cho Chang's foot, which was still managing to rub his leg even though his was finally hooked behind the chair leg.

"I'm not sure," Calvin Parker scratched his chin. "It's really got way more hype to it than it needs to have. Turns out you can still slack off as Head Boy and nothing'll happen. I mean, Percy Weasley kind of abused the power and, to him, being Head Boy meant being the pinnacle of everything Hogwarts had to offer. Really? Not everyone's like that. I prefer the Bill Weasley approach. I represent the casual caste of students, showing them I can get to the top without actually being… prissy."

"I was just saying that the other day, wasn't I, Ced?" Promise asked, putting the cup down again. "After the Yule Ball?"

"I came up after the Yule Ball?" Calvin Parker asked, in slight disbelief.

"You're really egotistical, aren't you" Promise asked, masking impressed with what she made sound like an insult.

How? Just pull your foot away or tell her politely to stop it!

"Well I know we didn't see Cedric during the Ball," Calvin Parker said slowly, explaining his reasoning. "And I doubt the concept of Head Boy comes up in every conversation you have…"

"You'd be surprised," Promise mused.

Cho's rubbing switched to the other leg, tickling slightly. Cedric looked over at Promise helplessly. She didn't look, so he picked up his tea and quickly waved a message.

What should I do?

"Whatever," Calvin Parker said, unimpressed. "I really doubt you do in fact talk about Head Boys in every single conversation."

"Huh," Promise said, looking up from Cedric's cup. She picked up her own and began to make another message. "Believe what you will. But go on. Let's see how egotistical you are."

"Which I'm not," Calvin Parker corrected her. "You see, then I can only assume that because of what happened that night," he looked at her very significantly. "You would have had your mind on what happened. You didn't get a chance to see Cedric, so I can only assume my name came up when you met up in the Common Room afterwards."

Cho began to slow down her movements, beginning to make them more sensual and deliberate on Cedric's leg.

"Maybe," Promise said, setting down the tea. "Any other proof?"

"Because I really do think you can't get your mind around how much I'm not who you thought I was," Calvin Parker smirked, so flirtatiously, it made Cedric finish with the conversation and look into Promise's cup.

I told you what to do! But whatever. I don't care. I'm done with this thing with Cho, and so should you be.

Cedric felt Cho's other leg slink up his free one, so now both of her legs were rubbing both of his. He looked at his watch. Twelve fifteen, and there was no sign of Cho being able to let him go visit Sam. He couldn't explain to her that he had to go visit another girl. That was unthinkable. He wanted some alone time with Sam, and Cho clinging on him would make him feel awkward around her.

Slowly, he realized Cho had somehow snaked her hand onto his, her soft, beautiful skin making contact with his.

That was when something in him snapped. He didn't know quite what it was, but this feeling of lying to himself and Sam was unbearable. It wasn't fair to him, it wasn't fair to her, but perhaps most of all, it wasn't fair to Cho. She was under this impression that he really did like her a lot. She needed to be out spending time with guys who were worth her while, people like Harry Potter.

"Stop," he said softly.

Promise and Calvin Parker broke their silent gaze at each other and looked at him.

Cho's feet and hand stopped, but didn't pull away. "What?"

"I said… stop," Cedric said. It was easier to say the second time, once the first had come out and was official. "I can't do this anymore."

"What?" Cho asked softly, confused. Cedric looked at her and watched as her heart broke into a thousand separate pieces.

"Can we walk?" Cedric said, not wanting to talk to her in such a… romantic place.

"Sure," Cho said, suddenly afraid of him. She stood up quickly and briskly walked outside.

Cedric stood up slowly, suddenly not looking forward to what he now had to say outside. "Promise, can you…"

"Yeah," she said, suddenly the friend he knew her to be. "We'll take care of it."

"Thanks," Cedric sighed. "For everything."

"Sure, no problem," She nodded, caring her knew she felt for him breaking through her hardened emotional and cynical exterior.

Slowly, he walked outside, where the sun was shining and Cho stood in the middle of the deserted road. He walked up to her, not knowing exactly where to begin.

"What's up?" She asked, overly formal and businesslike.

"I…" Come on, Ced, spit it out! Just say it and it'll all be over. "I can't keep lying to you like this."

"Lying? Lying how?"

"This," he looked down at himself, arms stretched out loosely in front of him. "All of what I am… or have been to you for the past three months… It's all a lie."

"What do you mean?" She asked, sad, brokenhearted. Cedric knew that deep down she already knew what was coming.

"I don't like you that way," he said, somewhat awkwardly. "And if I did, I'd be all wrong for you."

"What do you mean?" She asked, blinking multiple times.

"I mean…" Cedric struggled with the words. "I mean I can't do… I can't… I don't know what's going on with us. We're not dating, because really, up until today we've never really dated. We've just been…" Cedric scrunched his face as he fumbled for the words. "Touchy, I guess. This whole affair is too… wrong. I don't like you the way you like me, and soon, very soon, I suspect, you'll realize you don't either. I don't know you, and you don't know me. We can't be much more than friends if that's the case, and even then we'd make for horrible friends, even worse a couple."

"But we've been so close for three months…"

"Not really," Cedric said, rubbing his neck. "It's just been walking. Other than the Yule Ball it's not been much of anything. Granted I did enjoy myself at the Yule Ball, but you're really not right for me."

"Is it someone else?"

"No," Cedric said, lying somewhat. Just because he liked Sam didn't mean anything would ever necessarily happen with them. "Not really."

"But you said yes to me for the dance!"

Cedric looked at the ground. "You asked me first. I care too much to say no to anyone who'd ask me."

"But… but you led me on!"

"I didn't mean to," Cedric said embarrassedly. "I just don't like to get in people's way, really. You seemed to be enjoying yourself, and I don't like to interfere with that, especially when it doesn't affect me that much."

"But we held hands and kissed!"

"Well we never really did kiss," Cedric said, now unable to make eye contact with anything that wasn't his shoes. "And the holding hands thing never really was a big deal to me. Just because we hold hands doesn't necessarily mean we're going steady."

"Oh," Cho said somewhat hopelessly. "I see."

They stood, staring at each other awkwardly for a few minutes. "I know this is really cliché, but I think you do have some great ideas. So I still want to be on good terms with you."

Cho nodded, now looking at the ground, holding her left bicep with her right hand and rubbing it. "Me too. But before you go, I just want to say, I really do like you."

"I'm sorry," Cedric said sadly. "But I don't really feel the same way."

"Maybe someday you will," She said, smiling up at him.

"Maybe," he said, looking at her.

She took a few steps forward and gave him a huge hug. "I love you, Cedric."

"I love you too," he said, hugging her back. "But not that way."

Cho nodded, rubbed his back, released the hug, and wiped a tear from her eye with a finger. "See you round?"

"Count on it," Cedric nodded.

And Cho walked down the road slowly, typical spring in her step gone, but she didn't look quite as downtrodden as Cedric had expected her to.

Cedric stood there for another few minutes, thinking about what had just happened. He felt like he was some strange combination of elation and sorrow. When he had re-gathered his composure, he thought aloud.

"Maybe Sam will help."

Somehow his legs carried him all the way down the street to the Three Broomsticks, into the crowded pub, and to the seat next to where a girl was sitting, chin on the back of her hands, gazing at a mug of Butterbeer, looking, from the back at least, depressed.

"Didn't I ever tell you not to drink?"

She looked up and her face changed from one of mild depression to one of jubilation and glee. "It hasn't killed me yet. How are you?" She pulled him into those one-of-a-kind hugs. Sam hugs. It was one he hadn't had in… months.

"Good, actually," he said, believing exactly what he said. "Sorry I'm late. I had to talk to Cho Chang."

"Really? What happened?" She asked, looking, if possible, even more elated than she was before.

"It's not important," Cedric said, smiling. "What's going on with you?"

"I have a drinking problem, apparently," she said, holding up her half-full mug and empty bottle and waving them tauntingly. "Don't know how it happened, guess not talking to you really does things."

"Sorry about that," he said. "It's been really hard to get me time since the Yule Ball."

"I noticed," Sam said, half-smiling. "Anything new on the Champion front?"

"Not much," he said as Madame Rosmerta, noticing an unserviced customer sitting at the bar, walked up to him.

"What'll it be?"

"What she's having," Cedric said, looking at Sam, who took another sip of her Butterbeer. Madame Rosmerta gave him a clean mug and a corked bottle and set off to help other customers. He opened his bottle with a flick of his wand and poured it into his mug. "What about you? Anything new at all?"

"I broke up with Marcus," she said casually.

Cedric did his best to act surprised. "Really? What happened?"

"It was the Yule Ball," Sam said. "I asked him and we started… dating… I guess. If you can really call it that." Cedric looked at her quizzically, giving her a look to tell her to go on. "I don't know if you noticed, but we were… snogging all the time." He kept looking at her. "All right!" She said, misinterpreting his look. "We were really making out, there was very little snogging involved. And for a time, it was really good, cuz I mean, he's a good kisser. Granted, not as good a kisser as other people, I'd suspect." She took a long drink of Butterbeer. "But that was enough for a long time. And then the Yule Ball happened, and I realized, all he really wanted to do was make out and dance and do… not relationship things. I wanted to really talk and spend time with him… He wanted to kiss and spend time in a corner or a deserted classroom."

Cedric looked at her apprehensively. "You really scare me sometimes."

"Oh no!" Sam said insistently. "Don't get me wrong. He's a nice guy, a great guy, even! He just… didn't have his eyes on what was important to me. He didn't really understand what I was looking for."

"I meant about the deserted classroom," Cedric smiled.

"Right…" Sam said awkwardly. "That never really happened. He just kind of wanted to this one time and I told him no and he got kinda upset, but he was over it when I kissed him and made it feel better."

"I see," Cedric said. "When did you break up with him?"

"Right after the Second Task," she said casually.

"Any reason you did it then?" he asked, hoping for the egotistical, narcissistic answer bouncing around in his head.

"None that I can think of off the top of my head," she said, draining her glass and then looking at it, still not putting it down. "But that's not important. What's done is done. We're here now, in the present, and that's all we can do," she set down her glass, done with it. "I'm really glad you came."

"Me too," Cedric said, thinking not only about talking with Sam, but what it had taken to get him to talk to her.

She laughed and smiled. It was a strange smile, one of those completely contented smiles of happiness.

"What is it?" Cedric asked.

"It's nothing. I just missed you… and well," she laughed and looked at him, smile still present and unceasing. "I just… I just can't stop smiling."

Cedric smiled. Neither could he.