Rivalry

When Cedric reached his seventh year he had rather high expectations of it. Sure the work load was going to be heavy, but he fully expected to be able to relax and enjoy his victory lap of the school that had become his home. Instead he wound up in a deadly competition facing a fourth year, a Bulgarian and a stuck up French bitch.

Fleur Delacour might be half-veela and one of the most beautiful girls he had ever laid eyes on, but that didn't change the fact that she was a first class bitch. She floated around the school, giggling posse in tow, flinging smiles at whatever poor male she came across and then laughing as that poor bugger melted on the spot.

Cedric moved around his room, weaving in and out of the other boys without even having to communicate as he gathered the bits and pieces that made up his outfit for the yule ball tonight. He was taking Cho Chang and for some very annoying reason wasn't half as excited about it as he had been when considering asking her out at the beginning of the year.

He scowled, automatically blaming it on the French tart before realising that the connotations of that would mean he fancied her. Which he didn't, not now and not ever.

Cedric shrugged on his robes, combed his hair, and stole a few squirts of one of his friends aftershave before smiling his best charming smile at the reflection in front of him. He took a deep, steadying breath and finally felt those nervous butterflies. You can do this, he mentally prepped himself, you defeated a dragon, at 17. You can dance with a pretty girl.

He left the warm, safe comfort of the Hufflepuff common room an started to head towards the great hall, absentmindedly fiddling with his robes trying to make sure they looked perfect. His mind, however, was elsewhere, remembering that fateful task.

It was the first time he had been alone with the champions, apart from Harry, and he was nervous as hell. He had hoped against hope that when Harry had told him the task would be dragons that it was a joke, or a prank but no. He looked down into his hand at the miniature Swedish Short Snout which snapped and spat sparks up at him. If only the real dragon were this size.

"And 'ow are you feeling Ceedreec?"

He span round and there she was the beautiful French angel. Before this point he hadn't realised how fake she was so looking at her up close, smiling at him, it was all he could manage not to become a puddle on the floor.

"F-fine, thanks. A little worried about the size of this thing though, how are you?"

She smiled a little brighter at him and moved a little closer, lowering her voice to almost a whisper as she leaned in close to his ear. "I am reedy to beat your soorry Eeenglish ass."

And with that she swept away, heading straight for Krum and chatting him up, and smiling at poor young Harry until he looked dazed. Good thing he was going last so he would have time to get over her veela charm.

Cedric chuckled slightly, remembering the awestruck look on Harry's face as he climbed the stairs that would put him in the entrance hall. He blinked slightly at the onslaught of light and noise that heralded the beginning of the ball. Students milled about everywhere, talking, laughing and making disgustingly sweet faces at each other.

Cedric was searching the crowd for his date, Cho Chang, when he spotted Fleur across the hall. She was beautiful in a long, exquisite gown, her hair beautifully framing the contours of her face.

He scowled, spotting Cho he all but stomped over to her and pulled her into the line-up, trying to ignore the way Fleur was all over that Ravenclaw snob Roger Davis.

Cedric thought that he made it through the first dance admirably, and he didn't even look at the French girl and her partner more than twice, every five minutes.

He tried focusing on Cho, she was such a lovely girl and he really liked her but there was just something so distracting about Fleur.

The next dance was even more confusing and it involved swapping partners every five minutes, so he ended up dancing with Parvati Patil, Hermione Granger and, unfortunately, Fleur Delacour.

"Weell," she started grinning wickedly up at him, "you can't seem to keeeep yooor eyes off mee ceedreec." She purred enjoying the way his smile became forced.

"You're being ridiculous," he countered. "I dislike you greatly, I think you're fake."

She gasped in mock upset. "Oh ceedreec, we both know that eesnt true."