Chapter 13
AN: Yay! Early update! All this free time has been great for my writing. Already on chapter 15. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and co. I created Melissa.
"Where is she?" Angela demanded, loudly dropping her bag as she and Lindsey sat down for dinner. She was glaring pointedly at Cedric.
"Who?" Ryan asked, looking at her wearily.
"Mel," Angela said, keeping eye contact with Cedric as she sat down. "No one has seen since Charms this morning, during which she looked very upset. So, where is she and what did you do?"
"I don't know where she is because I haven't seen her since Charms either," Cedric said politely. "As for what happened, it's none of your business."
"Well, I'm making it my business," she snapped. Ryan and Drew shifted uncomfortably and became completely interested in their food. Lindsey kept her eyes down and scooted a few inches away from the group.
"Leave it alone," Cedric warned.
"I will not," she said hotly. "Either tell me what you did so I can fix it, or get up this minute, go find her and fix it."
"Did it ever occur to you that she may not want to talk to me?" Cedric asked, extremely annoyed that he was now fighting with Angela. It was the first day of classes, how many fights was he going to get into?
"I would go find Mel," Drew muttered. "Angela's very good with jinxes, especially those that require a potion and countercurse to get rid of."
Cedric gritted his teeth and got up, grumbling fine under his breath. No, he was not innocent in his fight with Mel, but he was not the sole cause of it either. He sighed and leaned against the corridor wall.
"How am I supposed to know where she is?" he muttered to himself. He thought about checking the library, but dismissed the thought. Angela would have already checked there too. It took him about five minutes before he realized where she was. He slapped his forehead when he realized it, feeling dumb about how long it took him to do so.
XXX
Mel sat on the floor of an empty classroom, leaning against a desk. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose snotty. She had run to the room after Charms and been there the whole day. She had only started crying in the last half hour. The rest of the day had been spent looking through her Divination books and notes about her own visions. She had said she would not practice, but she did not promise she would stop trying to figure out Voldemort's plan or researching new ways to summon visions.
The door opened, revealing Cedric, who was visibly relieved when he saw her. She groaned and pulled her knees to her chest. Mel really did not want to talk to Cedric right now. They would probably just end up fighting again.
"Hey," he said, sitting down next to her.
"Hey," she mumbled, avoiding looking at him.
"Been here all day?"
"Yeah. How did you know I'd be here?"
"It took me awhile," he said. "So, why are you hiding here?"
"Because I feel really stupid," she said, sniffing a little.
"Tell me," he said, nudging her shoulder with his forehead.
"I've been terrified since I had that vision this summer," her voice breaking a little. "All I can think about is finding a way to save Harry. But I haven't made any progress…and you're always worrying about how my abilities affect me…it's all very overwhelming and frustrating! But most of all, I'm afraid I won't figure out You-Know-Who's plan and Harry will get hurt."
Tears were starting to fall again. She wiped her eyes quickly, and gave Cedric a weak smile. He smiled back at her and reached for a blank sheet of parchment next to her. He pulled out his wand and muttered a few words, turning the parchment into a handkerchief.
"Thanks," she said, taking it from him. As she cleaned up, she said, "Sorry I've been so difficult lately."
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "It's ok. I didn't really help. I may have been a bit irrational and overprotective…. So what have you been doing all day?"
"Researching, thinking, skipping classes," she rambled. "I'm a little worried about that last one now that I think about it."
"I have a feeling you may have been excused for the day," Cedric said. "None of the teachers found it odd that you weren't in class."
"Well, that's nice," she shrugged. She groaned, "What am I going to do?"
"Take two weeks off, focus on classes, relax a bit," Cedric suggested.
"Classes should be easy. Relaxing is going to be rather difficult, I think," she sighed.
"Oh, I can help with that," Cedric smirked. He stood up and offered his hand to help her up.
"Really?" she asked, faking doubt and taking his hand. He helped her up and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her as he did.
"Oh yeah," he said, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "I've been told I'm rather good at it too."
Mel rolled her eyes, but laughed a bit. "Just kiss me, you idiot."
"As you wish," he whispered before doing as she said.
XXX
It was an unusually hot day for late September, and the students were taking full advantage of it. Most were lounging around the grounds; some were splashing in the shallow end of the lake. The quidditch players had agreed to take turns using the pitch. The Hufflepuff players had just finished drills.
"I don't see why we have to practice," Drew said as he landed next to Cedric and Ryan. "We're not even going to get to play."
"That doesn't mean we shouldn't practice," Cedric said, swinging his broom over his shoulder. "If we practice like it's a normal year, then we'll be in good shape for next year."
"Will we keep practicing if you or anyone else is selected for the tournament?" Ryan asked, panting a little and red in the face.
"I don't see why not," Cedric said. His friends, and other team members that had been eavesdropping all groaned. "Hey! It's for the good of the team!"
"Whatever," Drew grumbled.
Cedric rolled his eyes. "You guys did good today, and you're free to go."
Some of his teammates headed for the locker room, while others made their way to the castle. Cedric had noticed the girls sitting near the lake and decided to head over and see them. But when he turned to go in the direction of the lake, he nearly fell over someone.
"Whoa, sorry," he said, taking a few steps back and regaining his balance.
"No, it's fine," Cho Chang said, pushing some hair out of her face. "Oh, hey Cedric. How are you?"
"Fine. And you?" he asked. Cedric noticed Ryan and Drew watching them rather closely. He shifted uncomfortably: Ryan was wearing his up-to-something look. He had a habit of blowing things out of proportion. Plus, he loved to irritate as many people as possible.
"Oh, same as always," she said, smiling. She twirled her hair nervously as she spoke. "Is it true you're going to enter in the tournament?"
"I was thinking about it."
"Well, I think you'd make a champion," she flirted, turning rather pink.
"Er, thanks. Well, I need to be going," he said, side-stepping.
"Me too, practice. Bye," she said, waving enthusiastically as he walked away.
Cedric gave an awkward wave. He had to jog a bit to catch up with his friends. When he did, Ryan was wearing a giant smirk and Drew was making a point to avert his eyes.
"So, how is Chang?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know, fine, I guess."
"Hmmm."
"Don't cause problems," Cedric warned.
"Wasn't planning on it," Ryan said, innocently. Cedric groaned, swung his broom off his shoulder, and hopped on it. He only flew a few feet off the ground, but it was relaxing all the same. Apparently, he had been a bit too quiet because he startled the girls when he flew up next to them.
"Don't do that!" Angela said, throwing a crumpled up piece of parchment at him. There were books and parchment scattered about them. It looked like they had attempted to get some homework done before sunbathing.
"How was practice?" Mel asked. She was lying on her stomach in a pair of black cotton shorts and light purple tank top. The sun was causing her dark hair to have a red glint.
"Good," he said, dismounting from his broom and sitting next to her. "So, I've been thinking more about entering."
Both Lindsey and Angela looked at Mel nervously before becoming engrossed in their textbooks. Mel sighed and sat up to face him.
"And?" she asked.
"What do you mean, and?" he asked surprised by her one-word response.
"What did you decide?" she asked.
"I haven't decided anything, but I really want to enter," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Why aren't you fighting with me?"
"I've told you I don't think it's safe, but it's not my decision," she said.
"You're banking on the fact that a bunch of people will enter, thus narrowing my chances, aren't you?"
"Maybe," she said, biting her lip.
"You're awful," he said, giving a crooked grin.
She shrugged. "I know."
"Hey guys!" Ryan said, flopping down next to Mel. "How we all doing?"
"What are you doing?" Mel, Angela, and Lindsey asked in unison. Cedric laughed at how easily they could read him.
"Nothing," Ryan said, looking hurt.
"Don't trust him," Drew said, sitting down next to Angela. "He's going to blow a brief conversation Cedric had with Cho out of proportion to try to piss Mel off."
All five glared at Ryan, who suddenly became interested in a cloud.
"How insecure do you think I am?" Mel asked, turning so that she was sitting face-to-face with Ryan.
"I don't. I just like to get Cedric into trouble," he shrugged. "It's such a rare occurrence, and it only really bothers him if he's in trouble with you, so…."
"You need a life," Mel said, shoving him so hard so that he fell over. Everyone laughed as he pushed himself up. Cedric scooted closer to Mel and kissed her on the top of her head.
XXX
"I hate trying to throw off that stupid Imperius Curse," Lindsey groaned as she sat down for lunch. "I'm always so sore after."
"Aren't we all?" Mel muttered, sitting next to her. No one in their class had even been able to fight the curse let alone throw it off. However, this failure had only served to encourage Mad-Eye. In addition to new material, he kept setting aside time at the end of class for them to practice. Today had been the girls' turn to practice. Mel had been forced to do an obscene amount of sit-ups, while Lindsey had done some very difficult ballet moves.
"So, what did you two end up doing?" Ryan asked as he made a sandwich.
"Basically, a lot of exercise that we don't normally do," Lindsey said.
"Have you heard?" Angela asked excitedly as she walked hurriedly toward them, Drew trailing behind her.
"Heard what?" Mel asked, holding her stomach with both arms.
"The students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be here in one week!" she said, plopping down next to Mel.
"Fantastic," Mel mumbled sarcastically.
"Imperius Curse?" Angela asked, noticing her friend's strained stature. Mel nodded as she gently reached for some fruit. "Now I'm really happy I skipped."
"Yeah, lucky you," Lindsey muttered darkly.
"You all could be a little more excited," Angela said, shooting them critical looks.
"I'm sorry. I have to save my fake excitement for when Cedric's around," Mel said, glancing toward the doors as she spoke.
Angela rolled her eyes. "It's all going to be fine, Mel. Stop worrying about it and have some fun."
"Whatever," Mel said, pushing herself up. "I'll see you later. I want to get a start on this Transfiguration paper."
She left the table, allowing her friends to talk excitedly about their soon-to-arrive guests and the tournament. Mel hated to be so negative, but she really did not think the tournament was a good idea. People had died before. Who was to say this time would be different? Especially since recent history could show that things at Hogwarts were not always the safest.
XXX
The next week flew by. Come Friday, everyone was so excited for the arrival of the visiting schools that most teachers gave up on trying to teach them anything new. In fact, most of Mel's classes that day were either review or used as extra practice time. Mel did not mind too much. She used all the free time to do some divination research. It turned out that her two-week break had not hurt her progress. In addition, her headaches were not as bad and the dizziness was gone. However, she had yet to see anything new since before her break. So, she had resorted to researching new methods that might help her see something. She had yet to find anything that might be of use.
After History of Magic let out, she and her classmates hurried to their dormitory to dispose of their bags, grab their cloaks, and ran back down to the Entrance Hall. Professor Sprout organized them by year and made sure they looked like model students before joining the other houses out on the lawn.
They all stood in a group, looking around expectantly. No one knew how their guests were arriving. But the consensus seemed to be that it would be by air as most people were looking at the sky. Mel shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. It was growing colder by the second. What was taking them so long?
"They're late," Cedric said, wrapping an arm around Mel and pulling her closer. She snuggled closer to him, thankful for the warmth. "It's after six."
"Guess they want to make an entrance," Mel said, scanning the sky. She saw a large black dot flying over the forest and in their direction. Pointing to it she said, "Think that's them?"
The dot got larger as it neared. Soon they could tell that it was a large powder-blue carriage pulled by elephant-sized, winged palomino horses. It landed with a soft thud in front of the rows of students. They watched as a giant of a woman emerged from the carriage. Twelve boys and girls followed her out; all started shivering instantly. Dumbledore must have noticed because he offered them to go in and warm up, which Madame Maxime accepted immediately.
The Hogwarts students remained outside for a bit longer. The majority of them were shivering violently. After a few more minutes of waiting, a giant ship emerged from the Black Lake. After the boat was anchored, a plank was lowered to the ground, allowing those on board to disembark. As they neared, Mel could see that all the students were wearing fur cloaks, making them all look incredibly bulky. Bet they're plenty warm, Mel thought.
Dumbledore greeted Durmstrang's headmaster with just as much warmth as Madame Maxime. These students were also led inside rather quickly. Karkaroff was paying particular attention to one hulking figure, which was causing the students of Hogwarts to whisper excitedly. As he passed, Mel saw why: The student was none other than Viktor Krum.
As soon as the Durmstrang students had entered the castle, the heads of houses lead them all into the great hall. Everyone was whispering excitedly. Some students were jumping up and down trying to get a better look at Krum. Many of the girls were frantically searching their pockets for something to get an autograph with. Mel could not help but laugh at Ryan, who was acting like a four-year-old meeting Santa Claus.
"Do you see him? I didn't know he was still in school! What are the chances he went to Durmstrang?" Ryan said excitedly, bouncing on his feet.
"Pretty good, considering most wizards or witches in Bulgaria go there," Lindsey said, rolling her eyes. "Though, I must admit he's rather attractive."
The Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students were already seated at the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables when they entered the hall. The food was amazing. Mel was reminded of her summer in France and thoroughly enjoyed the special food. After the feast, Dumbledore revealed the Goblet of Fire, a plain goblet with blue-white flames that would decide who the champions would be. As soon as Mel saw it, she had a nervous feeling in her stomach—the same one she had at the World Cup.
When the feast ended, Mel left the hall as quickly as she could. She could not face Cedric right now. He would know something was up. He always did. She distractedly changed into her pajamas and had just crawled into bed when Lindsey, Angela, Tara and Julie entered the room. Angela and Lindsey made their way directly over to her. Mel kept her eyes downcast as she pulled her blankets up.
"What the hell was that?" Angela asked, sitting on the foot of her bed.
"Nothing, I just don't feel well," Mel said, lying down. "Something from dinner isn't sitting well."
"Are you sure?" Angela asked sounding slightly concerned, but unsure if Mel was telling the truth.
"Yes, I'll be better in the morning. Night."
"Ok," Angela said, getting up. She and Lindsey exchanged a glance, but went over to their beds. Mel drew the curtains around her bed, blocking everything out.
She refused to get up the next morning. She buried her head under her covers and feigned sleep when she heard her friends rise. Mel was torn over what to do. While something bad had happened the last time she had this feeling, no one had been seriously hurt. In addition, she did not want to fight with or worry Cedric. She thought about going to Dumbledore with her concerns. But what could he do? She had not even had a vision that something was going to happen.
A little after noon, she finally rolled out of bed and got dressed. She headed down to the Great Hall for a lunch. Irrationally, she glared at the goblet as she walked into the hall. Before she had seen the goblet, she had only been a little worried about Cedric entering. Now, she could barely sleep or eat.
Cedric sat down next to her only a minute after she sat down. He must have been waiting for her.
"Did you see something?" he asked in a low voice. His grey eyes were searching her face for a sign of worry.
"Nothing," she said, trying to sound reassuring. It was true, she had not seen a thing, but she still felt like she was lying. "I just didn't feel well last night. I'm fine, promise."
"So you're not going to freak out if I tell I put my name in the goblet?" he asked, testing her. She hesitated for a second, but quickly took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm not going to freak out," she said firmly. "But I'm not going to lie and say I won't worry if you're chosen. I can't help it. It's just how I feel."
"I guess I should be happy you're not shouting at me," he teased, kissing her knuckles. "You're known to do that when you're stressed."
"It just shows that I care," Mel said, giving a small smile.
"I know. Hurry up and eat," he said, releasing her hand.
"Why?" she asked before eating a spoonful of potato soup.
"I'm going to teach you some new quidditch moves," he said, looking excited. "Silly to do a bunch of homework today. There's not many of these nice days left."
XXX
Cedric and Mel were barely on time for dinner. They walked briskly into the hall, both pink in the face and slightly out of breath. Angela was wearing a smirk and her eyebrows were slightly raised as Mel and Cedric sat across the table from her.
"Lost track of the time playing quidditch, did we?" she asked.
Cedric remained silent and busied himself with dinner, but Mel blushed and avoided eye contact with her friends. She too began helping herself to some herb-seasoned potatoes and chicken. Angela smirked throughout dinner, but remained silent. All too quickly, dinner was over and it was time for the champions to be announced.
When dinner was over, the food magically disappeared as usual and every head in the room turned toward the front of the hall. Dumbledore got up, asked those selected to go to the side room off the Great Hall, and asked for one more minute of patience from the students. After another minute of suspense, the blue-white flames turned a violent red and spit out a slip of paper. Dumbledore caught it and read the name.
"The champion from Durmstrang is…Viktor Krum!"
The hall erupted into cheers, though no one was really surprised. Karkaroff could be heard congratulating Krum over everyone else. The hall quickly quieted down when Krum had left the room. Everyone's attention returned to Dumbledore and the goblet. Once again, the flames turned a violent red and spit out a name.
"The Beauxbaton's champion…Fleur Delacour!"
Everyone clapped politely, but Fleur's classmates looked extremely unhappy. For the third time, everyone's attention turned toured the goblet. The room was full of so much tension, Mel could scarcely breathe. The fire turned red and Dumbledore caught the final paper. Mel linked fingers with Cedric and squeezed it. She would support him even if she did not like that he was participating.
"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory!"
The Hufflepuff table erupted into a deafening cheer. Mel kissed Cedric on the cheek and gave him a smile before releasing him. Hufflepuffs clapped him on the back as he made his way to the front of the hall and to the side room, a smile on his face the whole time. It took several minutes to quiet them down. Mel did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and keep a genuine smile on her face.
"Now then," Dumbledore said loudly, silencing the last bit of chatter. "I expect you that you will all support your champions. It—"
Dumbledore stopped talking as the goblet turned red and spit out a fourth piece of paper. Mel felt her heartbeat speed up and her stomach tighten. Something bad was about to happen, again.
"Harry Potter."
The hall sat in stunned silence. Mel could not believe her ears. Not both of them, and especially not Harry. He was too young. There was no way he could get through this unscathed. It must be a joke.
"Harry Potter," Dumbledore repeated, more firmly this time. Mel watched in horror as Harry numbly walked forward. This was not right. Surely Dumbledore would not let him compete. He was far too young and it was far too dangerous. She heard some students call out "cheater." How could they think he was able to do this? Clearly, there was strong, dark—
Strong, dark magic. Voldemort. It all made sense. Somehow Voldemort had gotten Harry entered into the tournament. This was his plan. Mel felt her chest constrict, she could barely breathe.
They were dismissed to their dormitories as soon as Harry was out of sight. In a daze, Mel got up and followed her classmates.
"Mel, are you all right? You're so pale!" Angela asked as they walked downstairs. She was about to say yes, but became extremely lightheaded and passed out instead. The last thing she remembered was the frantic screams of her friends and someone catching her.