Chapter 9

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and co. I created Melissa.

"Oh my god!" Lindsey screeched as she stormed into the room. She slammed the door behind her and threw herself on the bed.

"You and Susan fighting again?" Mel asked as she packed. It was proving rather difficult as she and Lindsey had been sharing clothes all summer and they were now all mixed up.

"Yes," she said darkly. "She's such a spoiled little brat!"

"What did she do this time?" Mel asked. She really did not care, but knew Lindsey needed to vent.

"So, remember how she and Hannah were supposed to stay with one of their friends while we were all at the Cup?"

"Yeah."

"Well now all three of them are in a fight and my mum said she could stay with our uncle and his kids. She threw a fit that she would have to go stay with them and said I was siding with Susan if I stayed with Lindsey. So to appease her, Mum said we would both being staying with our uncle. It's so unfair!"

"You know, you can probably stay with Lindsey once you get there. Your uncle has five kids, I'm sure he would be relieved if you did," Mel said distractedly. Where was that jacket! "Have you seen my dark green, zip-up jacket? I can't find it anywhere."

"Try the closet?" she offered. Mel walked over to the closet and began searching through the pile on the floor. "You're right," Lindsey continued. "She's just so frustrating!"

"Well, you'll be relatively free of her," she said, shrugging on her newly found jacket. "I think that's it. You'll bring anything I've forgotten to school, right?"

"Yep. You're so lucky," she sighed. "You get to spend the entire time with your boyfriend."

"Still haven't heard from Darren, then?" Mel asked, sitting on the bed next to Lindsey.

"No," she sighed wistfully. "I know his grandfather died, but I thought I might have heard from him by now or might even see him."

"Maybe he'll surprise you and be there," Mel suggested. She doubted it, but she didn't think it could hurt to give her a little hope.

"Maybe."

"Melissa!" Mrs. Bones shouted up at them.

"Looks like your boy is here. Hopefully, Mum's nice to him." Mrs. Bones did not approve of her staying with Cedric while at the Cup, even though she knew Mr. Diggory was going to be there. Originally, Mrs. Diggory was going as well, but she had volunteered to cover a coworker's shift so he could go to the Cup with his children.

"Hopefully," Mel muttered. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "Need help with your trunk?"

"Yes please."

They each took an end of her trunk and slowly made their way down the stairs. The atmosphere in the entry way was very tense. Mrs. Bones was looking very stern and refusing to talk to Mr. Diggory, who breathed a relieved sigh when he saw her.

"There you are," he said. "I'll take the trunk and you go on ahead through the Floo Network."

"Alright," she said as she and Lindsey set the trunk down. "Thank you for having me, Mrs. Bones."

She nodded her head stiffly, causing her daughter to roll her eyes. "See you, Mel."

"See you."

She walked over the fireplace, threw some green powder in and stepped into the flames. After being choked by smoke and spun around so that she could not tell up from down, she fell to the floor of the Diggorys' kitchen.

"Aren't you ever going to get the hang of that?" Cedric teased, offering a hand to help her up.

"Who knows," she shrugged.

"Dad, beat you back. You're trunk is in the guest bedroom. Is your knapsack packed?"

"Yeah," she said, brushing the ash off her clothes. When she looked at him, she was surprised to see that he had grown a few inches. "Did you really need to get any taller?"

He laughed. "I didn't really have a choice. Come on, you should get some sleep, we have to be up at two."

"Fun," she grimaced, following him upstairs.

"It'll be worth it," Cedric said, taking the stairs two at a time. Mel laughed at him. He was like a five-year-old at Christmas. She doubted he was going to sleep or even needed it.

"Well, I guess we'll catch up tomorrow," she said when they had reached her bedroom. "Good night."

"'Night," he said, kissing her quickly before his Mum came out of her room. Each quickly went to their room and closed the door. Mel got her knapsack out of her trunk and set it by the door. Then she laid out clothes for the morning before stripping to her underwear, throwing on a t-shirt and cotton shorts, and crawling into bed. Despite her excitement, she fell asleep quickly.

"Mel, come on, it's time to get up," Cedric said, shaking her awake. She groaned and reluctantly opened her eyes. "I'm up."

"Get dressed and come downstairs, Mum's got breakfast ready."

As soon as he shut the door, Mel hopped out of bed and got dressed, brushed her teeth, and threw her hair into a ponytail. She then grabbed her bag and head downstairs toward the kitchen. She set her bag down in the corner by Cedric's before she sat down and helped herself to some toast. She grimaced as watched Cedric shovel sausage and egg into his mouth.

"What?" he asked with a mouth full of food.

"Oh, nothing," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Cedric, how many times have I asked you to chew and not inhale your food," his mother scolded as she sat down next to them with a cup of tea.

"More than I count," he smirked. "But this is a special case as we really need to get going and chewing will only slow us down."

"So will you choking to death," Mel quipped. Cedric shot her a glare, which caused his mother to laugh, and continued to eat his food at a slightly slower pace.

"Those two almost ready?" Mr. Diggory shouted from the other room.

"Almost dear," Mrs. Diggory shouted back. "Let them finish eating. They'll need their strength."

"We do have quite the hike before us," Mr. Diggory said, entering the room. Mel finished her toast and drank her glass of milk as Cedric finished inhaling his breakfast.

"Ready," he said, jumping out of his chair and grabbing his bag. His parents laughed and Mel rolled at his childish behavior.

"What about you, Mel?" Mr. Diggory asked.

"Ready to go, sir," she said, standing up and getting her own bag.

"Alright, we'll be off. Good-bye, love," he said, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"Good-bye, dear," she said, smiling. "Have fun you two."

"Bye, Mum," Cedric said as he led Mel outside.

"So, where are we going?" Mel asked.

"I'm not really sure. Dad kind of knows though."

"Great," she said sarcastically.

It was very dark out. Mr. Diggory and Mel provided their light, as Cedric was not of age for another few months. They walked for hours in the chilly darkness before they came upon a small hill. If they had not been walking for so long, the hill would have been an easy climb. As it was, they were already exhausted and the climb left them very winded. They took a break when they reached the top. Once they had rested, they had to search for the portkey, which was going to take them to the Cup. The portkey turned out to be an old, leather, work boot.

"Well, we made great time," Mr. Diggory said, still panting a little. "Now we just need to wait for the Weasleys, they're the only ones left in this area."

Mel sighed in relief as she dropped her bag to the ground and stretched her stiff muscles. Cedric sat on the ground and leaned against a trunk of the tree, motioning for her to do the same. She sat down and snuggled next to him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She laid her head on his shoulder and let her eyes flutter close.

"Can I take a nap?" she asked.

"Hmmm."

XXX

"Get up you two! It's almost time to go."

Mel woke with a start, forgetting where she was. Cedric laughed at her expression. She shot him a glare and pushed herself off the ground.

"You were out," Cedric teased as he got up. He looked behind her and said, "Wow, I always forget how big their family is."

Mel turned to see the Weasley clan walking up the hill. As they neared, she saw Harry was with him. She took her bag from Cedric and they walked over to join the group.

"Amos, I didn't know you had a daughter," she heard Mr. Weasley say.

"I don't, yet," he said with a wink, causing Mel and Cedric to go red. "She's a friend of Cedric's."

Mel smiled shyly at the group. Fred and George gave a curt nod to her, but ignored Cedric. Apparently, they were still upset over Hufflepuff's win over Gryffindor last year. Their bitterness on the matter became even more evident when Mr. Diggory realized Harry was in the group and began boasting about his son beating the famous Potter, which immensely embarrassed Cedric. Mr. Weasley, intentionally or not, saved them by bringing Amos's attention back to the Cup. As they all gathered around the portkey, Mel caught Harry looking at her curiously. It was as if he was trying to place her, though she was pretty sure he had never noticed her before.

Suddenly, there was a force pulling her around the middle. But before she could figure out what was going on, she found herself falling to the ground in a middle of a field. Regaining her bearings, she realized everyone but the Diggorys and Mr. Weasley had fallen on the ground. She pushed herself off the ground, noticing Cedric help Harry up out of the corner of her eye. When he turned to her, she could tell he was fighting back laughter.

"You and gravity just don't get along, do you?" he teased. She rolled her eyes and watched Harry go with the other group. As she watched him, she had an unexplainable feeling that made her think something bad was going to happen.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," she lied, not wanting him to worry. He was so excited for this match; she did not want to ruin it. She smiled and took his hand in hers.

"Let's go," she said.

Thoughts?