Chapter 6
Adoring Fan Club

If anything, those first two girls were the least of Cedric's problems. It wasn't long after his selection as school champion that more girls began openly expressing interest in him. And from what Sophie could tell, he was given out more autographs than Viktor Krum these days. At the start, it hadn't bothered her that so many girls were fawning over him; it wasn't anything new. For as long as she had known him, he had always piqued the interest of the girls around him. Sophie knew this boost to his reputation would only add to his existing popularity, but as time went on things began to get out of hand.

"Unbelievable," Sophie mumbled. She was sitting at a picnic table outside on the lawn with Aaralyn during one of their free periods. From where they were sitting, she had a clear view of the giant oak tree under which Cedric and a couple of his Hufflepuff friends were settling themselves under. Quicker than you can say Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans, five girls flocked toward them.

"Those same girls have been following him around all week," exclaimed Sophie irritably. Her eyes suddenly widened and then shut tightly with exasperation. "Oh, no way, you have got to be joking!"

"What?" Aaralyn asked, glancing over her shoulder. It took very little time for her to spot the cause of her friend's anguish.

"I can't believe that Janna is a part of that mess!" Sophie said angrily, not taking her eyes off the twittering group of girls, which seemed to increase in number by the second.

"You can't be serious, Sophie," Aaralyn replied, looking doubtful.

"You're right. I knew she was," she restated before returning to the parchment she had been writing on.

Aaralyn laughed and added reassuringly, "Besides, flipping their hair and giggling like a bunch of drunken House Elves isn't going to get them very far. I'm sure Cedric sees right through it."

Sophie sighed. "You're probably right, but still they are all being ridiculous. They only like him because he is school champion!"

"I don't see a herd of girls following Harry Potter around, and he is a school champion too!" Aaralyn noted.

"Yes, but I'm sure that is because most of the school is still convinced he cheated somehow. Haven't you seen those badges people are wearing?"

"You mean the one's supporting Cedric, but then say "Potter Stinks" if you give them a squeeze?"

"Yes, those!" Sophie replied, rolling her eyes. "A rather clever product made by those dazzling gentlemen from the Slytherin house."

Aaralyn nodded flatly. "Yeah, Adrian Pucey gave me one earlier, but I chuck it in the bin when he wasn't looking." She smirked. "Don't worry, Sophie – I think you're right, they are just enamored by his title as champion. I mean, look at Viktor Krum; he has girls following him too!"

"That's because he is an international superstar," Sophie replied, and then she narrowed her eyes when her friend's cheeks turned bright pink. "You're not one of them, are you?"

Aaralyn's cheeks flushed crimson, giving her away.

"Aara!" Sophie groaned loudly, but broke into a chuckled.

"I swear, I only followed him once," she admitted, not meeting Sophie's eye. "I wanted an autograph!"

"Did you succeed?" Sophie asked curiously.

"Well, yeah! He was a sweetheart about it too." She swooned momentarily and then composed herself. "But now that my infatuation with him is over, I thought I might join up with the Cedric supporters."

Sophie rolled her eyes and they two girls burst into laughter.

"Well, anyway, I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon," Aaralyn said reassuringly.

"I sure hope so," Sophie replied, taking another long look back at the hoard of people now gathered in the shade of the tree.

A week later the novelty of Cedric's title as school champion had not worn off, and it was getting a little out of hand as far as Sophie was concerned. There was no time during the day that Cedric wasn't surrounded by a group of people; it was getting on Sophie's last nerve. The two of them had given up trying to meet for breakfast because no matter where they were someone always interrupted. Once they engulfed him, it was impossible to get him away from his admirers long enough for a private conversation. The amount of work in class also made a conversation hard to come by – so after a few days of failure, Sophie finally gave up.

"Sophie!" Cedric shouted at her from the opposite end of the hallway.

She turned slowly and almost unwillingly, expecting to see a crowd moving toward her. But to her surprise, this was not the case. Cedric was alone as he strode quickly toward down the corridor.

"Hey, Sophie," he said, finally reaching her. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded.

"Why have you been avoiding me all week?" he asked quietly, his eyes searching hers.

"I'm not avoiding you!" Sophie replied sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just can't get-"

"Oh, there you are Cedric!" a voice yelled, echoing from behind them. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Sophie whirled around to find three girls advancing toward them. Her eyes narrowed and she shot a look of pure venom at Cedric, hoping it answered his question.

"Oh, bloody hell!" she shouted loudly and stormed away, practically running for the common room. Part of her knew it wasn't entirely Cedric's fault, but that didn't stop her from being furious with him.

"Come on, Sophie, we're all going into Hogsmeade. You must come with us," Coralia coaxed.

Another week had passed since the last interaction between Cedric and Sophie; the whole exchange had been eating at her since, but she couldn't bring herself to approach him – not with all the company he had been keeping.

"Yes, come on, Soph. We'll stop in at the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeer!" Aaralyn added with a smile.

It only took a couple more minutes of persuasion to get Sophie to agree. She figured it couldn't hurt to have a day away from the castle with her friends. It was a glorious day in November, most of the leaves from the trees had fallen to the ground, which made for a soundtrack of crinkling and crunching beneath their feet as they walked the path to the village.

As it usually was on Hogwarts visits, High Street was flooded with students as they hurried back and forth from shops, stopping to chat when they saw friends. Local witches and wizards were intermingled with those from school; they wove their way through the masses to do their own shopping. The group of Ravenclaws headed straight for the pub; it wasn't any less crowded inside than on the streets. It took them a few minutes to find an empty table.

"It sure is busy in here today!" Torin said, stating the obvious as he scanned the dimly lit room. "I suppose it's because the First Task in the tournament is coming up. Do you think people from the village will come to watch?"

"I don't see why they wouldn't," Coralia said, giving a shrug. "It's such an exciting event, I'm sure they wouldn't pass up the opportunity."

"Speaking of the First Task," Merek interjected, directing his query at Sophie. "Has Diggory said anything about what it might be?"

Sophie shook her head, working hard not to look pained by the thought of not having spoken to Cedric in so long – especially with the first task just around the corner. "No, he hasn't. I suppose it will be dangerous though, won't it?"

Swapping ideas on what the First Task might be dominated the conversation as they sipped on Butterbeer. Sophie stayed quiet and simply listened as their tasks grew more and more fantastical. It made her nervous to think about what event might kick-off the tournament and the discussion around t he table wasn't helping her any. She was so absorbed in her thoughts about the Triwizard Tournament that she nearly slopped Butterbeer down her front, jumping as someone tapped on her shoulder.

"Sorry, Sophie," apologized a low voice that she knew all too well. She turned and found Cedric's face very close to hers. "I was wondering if we could talk – you know in private."

Nodding Sophie excused herself from the table and followed Cedric from the Three Broomsticks. They walked the length of High Street in silence until they came to an empty bench. Cedric nodded toward it and they both sat down. The contemplative frown on his face was all Sophie needed to tell her exactly why he had pulled her away from the others; she had seen it so many times before.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly before he even managed to open his mouth.

His frown deepened and his eyebrows furrowed. He blinked a few times before spluttering, "Sorry? What do you have to be sorry about?"

Sophie let out a sigh, suddenly a bit embarrassed by her behavior over the last couple of weeks. "I shouldn't be this upset with you – especially with the First Task coming up, but we haven't talked in ages, Ced! And I hate that, but how I am supposed to compete with your fan club?"

"There is absolutely no competition, Sophie," Cedric replied firmly, rolling his gray eyes up to look at her. "Not for you. I am so sorry if you felt that way."

"Yeah, well, you are the school's champion. It was to be expected I suppose." She shrugged.

"It doesn't matter if I'm school champion or not, Sophie – I should have made a better effort. You're my oldest friend and there isn't anyone else I'd rather have around."

Sophie smiled. "I've missed you, Cedric."

"I've missed you too." Cedric grinned. He looked around at the open space around them. "It's really nice not to have a mess of people around right now."

"You're telling me," Sophie agreed. "How'd you shake them?"

"I said I was going to work on some strategies for the First Task. It's partially true; I really do need to start thinking about that." A flash of fear crossed his face.

"Do you know what it'll be?"

Cedric shook his head. Lines formed on his forehead as he considered what lay ahead. "They haven't said yet. Honestly, with three days to go I don't think they are going to tell us."

"Are you scared?" She couldn't help but ask, because she was completely terrified on his behalf.

"More than you know!" he replied, chuckling nervously. "But you can't tell anyone; I'm school champion after all."

Sophie grinned. "You'll do great, Cedric, I know you will. I can't imagine any other student out there."

"Thanks, Soph."

Sophie grinned devilishly. "Shouldn't we head back to the castle? Your adoring fan club is probably organizing a search party as we speak."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "I'll never live this down, will I?"

"Never!" Sophie laughed.

A/N: Good or bad, I would love to hear your thoughts on this so far!