Hi! Yes, I did do a rapid update! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh and I don't anyone except Willa, Ben, and Lucy. I also don't own some of the dialogue that belongs to Dumbledore in this chapter.

Chapter 5- The Hogwarts Champion

That night, Willa couldn't sleep. All she could think about was Cedric. How could she do this? Before she came here, she promised herself she wouldn't do anything foolish, and here she was swooning over and probably falling in love with a boy she hardly knew. It seemed like insanity to her but for some reason, in the back of her mind, she thought maybe this was okay. Maybe just this one time she would let herself do something foolish and get away with it.

The following day after classes, Cedric, Willa and a group of Cedric's friends including Cho, went down to the Goblet. When they arrived, some people were already there putting their names in. Cho put her hand on Cedric's shoulder as he was pushed forward towards the Goblet by his friends. Willa was instantly jealous of this gesture of Cho's but then refocused her attention to Cedric standing before the glowing blue cup. He turned back to look at her and she nodded to him. He then turned back and placed his name into the Goblet. There. It was done and all they all had to do was wait until the next day to find out who were the Champions.

"Well that's that," he said. "Let's go."

As they left, the group passed Viktor Krum on his way to the Goblet. Ben turned to Cedric and whispered, "I bet he's in for sure."

Willa then departed the group for she had a study session with Phil. It was only their third, but she was excited. She enjoyed studying with Phil. He was such a nice person and joked a lot. It made her feel more comfortable around him. When she entered the library, Willa spotted Phil at a table with his books already open. He looked up at her, smiled and waved. She repeated the gesture and walked over and sat down.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, setting her books down on the table.

"Hello," replied Phil.

"Alright, so, where did we leave of in class…?" Willa mumbled while flipping through her notes.

"Willa?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Can we just talk?" She was confused.

"I'm sorry?"

"Like, just talk? No work?"

"Uhmm, I guess that's okay…yeah sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"I dunno. Just tell me some more about yourself."

Ugh, Willa was sick of this. She felt like the whole school knew everything about her. Nevertheless, Willa told Phil everything and they surprisingly had a lot in common. Just like her and Cedric.

"So are you entering the tournament? Today is the last day you can enter. The winner is chosen tonight."

"God, no," he snorted. "My life is too precious to just throw away. I feel that that's what this competition is. A death warrant."

Willa instantly felt sick to her stomach. Phil was right; this game was a death warrant. And Cedric had just entered. How could she have let him do this? She felt dizzy all of a sudden and Phil could tell she wasn't alright by the look on her face.

"Willa, are you alright?" She looked up at him with a nervous expression on her face.

"Actually, no, I'm not. I don't really feel all that well all of sudden. I think I'm going to go lay down."

"Oh, alright. Do you need me to escort you to your house?" he said as he helped her up from the table.

"No, I'm fine," Willa said pushing his arm off hers. She gathered her things and began to walk away.

"Feel better," Phil called to her from the table. She acknowledged him with a hand gesture before leaving the library. Willa went straight to the Hufflepuff House to find Cedric, but he wasn't there. It was ten minutes until dinner and he was probably already there. Willa rushed to her room, ran a comb through her hair and then hurried down to the Grand Hall. When she arrived there she ran right to where Cedric, Lucy and Ben were sitting and sat down next to Cedric.

"Willa!" he said with a smile.

"Cedric listen, I need to talk to you it's…" Dumbledore then interrupted her attempt to warn Cedric by calling the Hall's attention.

"Sit down please. And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the champions selection!"

Dumbledore approached the Goblet and it glowed a brilliant pinkish red. He announced that the Durmstrang Champion was Viktor Krum. The crowd cheered and Ben turned his head to Cedric who was across the table from him.

"Told you he'd get it," he said.

Dumbledore went on to announce that Fleur Delacour was the Beauxbatons champion and then there was only champion left. The Hall quieted as the Goblet spat out on last name. Willa's heart pounded in her chest.

"And the Hogwarts champion is…"

The room was at a standstill as ever person waited for the name to come out of Dumbledore's mouth. He looked up at the crowd.

"Cedric Diggory!"

The crowd roared with cheers. Willa's eyes widened and Cedric broke into a huge grin. He got up from the table in a flash to walk down to shake Dumbledore's hand. The grin never left his face. Willa watched him the entire time and felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension. But when his eyes met his on the way back from Dumbledore she knew it was okay. He could do it. She broke into a smile and clapped her hands. When he returned to the table, Lucy, Ben and everyone for that matter at the table turned to him and yelled things in his direction. When they calmed down, Willa said to him in his ear for it was still loud.

"Bloody hell, Cedric!"

He grabbed her hand underneath the table and squeezed it. Their faces were close as if they were telling a secret.

"I know! Can you believe it?"

As Dumbledore continued talking, the Goblet turned pink again. An instant confusion flowed through the room. What was going on? The three champions had already been picked. Dumbledore looked at the Goblet as it tossed out another piece of paper. He caught it and looked at the name. Cedric turned to look at Willa who looked as confused as he was. Dumbledore's face was twisted and he seemed extremely upset.

"Harry Potter. Harry Potter?!" he yelled the fourth year's name the second time. All eyes turned to the boy with the glasses and it was dead silent. Cedric's face was emotionless as he watched Harry nervously walk to Dumbledore. Willa turned to Cedric and was worried that his face was blank.

"Cedric, are you alright?"

He turned to her, blinked, and then looked away again.

"Yeah, I just don't know what's going on. I thought you were supposed to be 17 or older to enter. And Potter doesn't seem like the type of kid who would break the rules."

Willa didn't say anything in response. The Dumbledore called all the professors and champions to his quarters. Fleur, Viktor, Cedric and Harry obeyed and hurried away. All the other students were told to return to their houses. They all left the Hall and went about their nightly routines. Willa listened to Lucy and Ben's insults towards Harry almost the entire night. They called him a cheater and thought he thought he was special for what happened when he was a baby. Willa was seated in an armchair doing some reading while waiting for Cedric's return. Eventually his figure appeared in the doorway and Willa jumped to her feet. She wanted to know everything that happened. Some other kids who were in the common room approached him as well.

"Well, what happened?" she asked him.

"Potter's a champion. They don't know how his name got put in the Goblet but it's a rule that once your name is chosen there is no turning back."

"Are you upset?" she asked. Cedric shook his head quickly.

"Nah, I mean, I'm still a champion. That's enough for me."

He was so noble.

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In the days that followed, Cedric had become a hero, while Harry had become hated by most. While Willa thought it wasn't fair that a fourteen-year-old had been allowed to compete, she respected Harry, for they had something in common and believed he had nothing to do with putting his name into the Goblet. Meanwhile, Cedric was hardly around anymore during down time since he was so busy with interviews and photo opportunities. The only times Willa got to see him were at meals and in classes. She hadn't the slightest idea how he balanced all this new-found fame with his schoolwork. Willa barely understood Potions while he fully comprehended everything about it on top of all his champion duties. But while Cedric was off doing what he needed to do, Willa had grown closer to Phil. He was good company and they strongly helped each other study which resulted in good grades for the both of them.

One afternoon, Cedric came back to the common room agitated more than usual.

"What happened today, Ced?" Ben asked.

"I just had the most obnoxious interview," he said taking off his school robes and throwing them onto a couch.

"Who interviewed you?" Lucy asked him.

"Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet. I'm telling you guys, she completely bonkers."

Willa giggled from where she was in her favorite armchair. She had been working on finishing her Divinations homework. When Cedric heard her giggle, he looked over at her and smiled.

"You're awfully quiet today," he commented.

"Am I? I'm sorry." Cedric smiled. Willa blushed and returned to her work. Lucy cleared her throat and Cedric turned around.

"Oh. I did find out what the first task was today. Potter told me."

"What is it?" Lucy asked anxiously.

"Dragons." He said simply. Willa once again looked up from her studies and gulped. They were making kids face dragons? That was far too dangerous! Then again, Willa remembered that Dumbledore did say this competition was not for the faint of heart.

"Are you worried?" she asked.

"A little, yeah," he said with a laugh. "I just need to work on a strategy."

"Good luck with that, mate," Ben said. Cedric rolled his eyes and turned to Willa.

"You'll help me right?" he asked her.

Willa smiled. "Of course."

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On the day of the first task, Will had gone over their strategy with Cedric as they sat alone in the common room. Before he left though, they simply talked as well. Cedric, in the back of his mind knew that this or any of the other tasks could end his life and that this could be his last conversation with a human being. And he was talking with Willa. The amazing, enchanting Willa Hardcastle. Since he had met her that day in Eeylops Owl Emporium, he was enraptured by her. He didn't precisely know why, but maybe he didn't need to. Maybe it was her personality, or the way she moved (she was very graceful and didn't know it), or the way her eyes lit up when she saw him or spoke with him, or all three. But one thing he was absolutely positive about. From the day he met her, he had fallen completely and utterly in love with her. This would probably explain why he was scared out of his wits to end this conversation with her. He wanted it to be special but not too forward.

"Well I better go," he said softly when the conversation had gotten to a standstill.

"Yeah, you should go."

Pause.

"Good luck, Ced," Willa said in almost a whisper. She had just noticed that they weren't very far away from each other. In fact, they were quite close. "I know you'll be brilliant."

"Thanks," he replied. And then he knew exactly what to say.

"Be there waiting for me." It was meaningful, yet subtle.

Willa thought her knees were going to buckle underneath her. Did he like her? It certainly sounded that way. No, he couldn't like her. He was sort of with Cho. She just meant a lot to him, that's all. She smiled and looked up at him.

"Of course I'll be there."

They lingered for a moment and Cedric grew closer to her, his face inches away from hers. She could feel his warm breath on her face. No, he couldn't do it. Cedric backed away from her and cleared his throat.

"I'll see you after," he said. He then squeezed her hand and walked out of the common room leaving Willa in awe in the middle of the room. After standing there for a moment or two, Willa went to get ready. She changed into jeans, a green sweater, black beret style hat and black scarf. She then put on her converse sneakers and left for the stadium. Once there, there was a little wait until the start of the task. In the champion's tent, Cedric was pacing back and fourth, running over and over in his head exactly what he was going to do to defeat this dragon. Trying to think about something else, Cedric thought of Willa and what she was thinking at that very moment. The champions then were called over to Dumbledore to pick their dragon. After all had done so, Dumbledore said to Cedric,

"Mr. Diggory the sound of the cannon..." which Mr. Filch had done at that exact moment. Cedric figured that meant he was up first. He gulped and then walked into the arena. As he did, the crowd roared. Willa, though nervous, was clapping. He couldn't find her in the stands, but Cedric knew he had to focus on the task at hand. When the dragon appeared, Willa felt sick. It was massive and frightening and could swallow Cedric whole. Despite the initial fear, everything went according to plan and Cedric defeated the dragon fairly quickly as well as retrieving the Golden Egg which was the signal of completing the first task as well as the key to figuring out what the next task was. The minute Cedric was victorious, Willa sprinted out of the stands to the champions' tent. When she saw him approaching, she ran to him and embraced him. He smelt awful but she didn't care. His face was smeared with soot and dirt and as they hugged, he winced in pain. She let go instantly.

"Oh, are you hurt?" she asked him as she checked him over.

"Nah, just a few scratches that's all. Don't worry," he assured her.

"Oh you did so well!" she cried. "I knew you could do it!"

Just then Dumbledore came rushing over to the two of them.

"Splendid work, Mr. Diggory!" he praised. "Are you in need of medical attention?"

"Uh, I just have a few scratches."

"Miss Hardcastle would you be so kind to escort Mr. Diggory to Madame Pomfrey? I need to return to the arena. She is in that tent over there."

"Of course," Willa replied. Dumbledore then left and Willa walked with Cedric to the nurse's tent. There, Madame Pomfrey bandaged Cedric's wounds and made him sit for a while.

"Were you scared?" Willa asked looking at his bandaged hand.

"A little," he admitted.

"I was terrified," Willa said. "But at the same time, I knew you would defeat that thing. I never doubted you," she said with a smile. Before Cedric could respond, Madame Pomfrey came in and told them they were free to leave. They thanked her and left.

That night, all of Hufflepuff was in the common room with Cedric and his Golden Egg. Willa had gone upstairs to write another letter to her parents. She told them about Cedric and the first task and more about her classes. Then, when she realized it was late, she got into her pajamas and got into her bed. As she did so, Lucy came into the room and gave Willa a sly smile.

"What's up with you two?" she asked simply. Willa stared at Lucy. She contemplated on whether or not to tell her. Lucy had never spilled the beans about anything Willa had told her concerning Cedric or anything else for that matter. Willa sighed and slightly smiled to herself.

"I'm in love with him."

They love each other! YAY! Review please!

-TheatrePirate