Chapter 17

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

It was the day of the first task. Classes were to be cut short. Mel thought they should have been cancelled. The students were so excited that most of the professors had given up teaching for the day. Mel had given up pretending to study and just stared blankly while pretending to listen to her friends.

Cedric was exceptionally nervous. Perhaps it would not have been so bad if he had not known that the task involved dragons. Mel knew she had been less nervous before that bit of information had been shared. When classes were over, she and the others walked with Cedric to the common room, where they disposed of their school things and dressed for the cool weather.

"Remember, wear a sweater or jacket. A robe is a risk," she whispered to him before he ran to his room to change. She waited for him in the common room, telling her friends to save her a seat and that she would catch up with them. Cedric came down looking slightly green.

"Ready?" Mel asked, feeling her own stomach clench into a nervous knot. He nodded. She wrapped an arm around his and they walked down to the arena.

"It's gonna be fine," she said, trying to reassure both of them. "You'll be fine. You can do this."

They paused outside the champion's tent. Cedric turned to face her. "Thanks for supporting me and all. Especially, since you weren't happy about me volunteering for this in the first place," he said, trying to joke around.

She threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. "Please be careful," she mumbled into his chest. He hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "Promise."

"All right," she said, letting go and taking a step back. "You should go."

He nodded and kissed her good-bye. As soon as he was in the tent, she ran into the arena to find her friends.

XXX

Cedric was the first to face off against his dragon, which was a blue-grey Swedish Short-Snout. Mel vaguely remembered reading about them in an old magical creatures book. They were not the most deadly kind of dragon, but dangerous nonetheless. She had just started to unclench her bone-white knuckles when the dragon got bored of chasing the Labrador and went for Cedric.

The crowd gasped as the dragon hit him with a fireball. Mel felt Angela rub her back reassuringly as she clenched up again. After two long minutes, the smoke cleared enough for them to see Cedric holding the gold egg. The stands erupted in deafening cheers. Ryan and Drew hi-fived and stomped on the bleachers. Drew then picked Angela up and spun her around. Mel let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding and unclenched. Lindsey gave her a comforting hug, which Mel returned gratefully.

Mel forced herself to stay and watch the remainder of the task. She watched Krum and Delacour without a trace of panic or worry. Then it was Harry's turn. When they brought out the giant black dragon with a spiked tail, Mel's legs almost gave out from panic. Mel heard the volume of the arena lower at the sight of it. Everything has to happen to Harry, doesn't it? she thought. Her worries were nothing though. Harry flew so well that he only got a shallow scratch. Mel slipped away from her friends as they politely cheered for Harry.

She sprinted to the champion's tent to see Cedric and check that Harry was ok. When she entered, she saw Cedric sitting on a movable exam table with thick orange paste on his left shoulder and face. She walked over to him, glancing at Harry as she did. He looked relieved, happy even.

"Hey," she said, kissing his right cheek. However, she got a whiff of the orange paste and pulled back quickly.

"Yeah, it smells pretty bad," Cedric laughed.

"You did good," she said. "Came in second. Harry and Krum tied."

"I watched the rest, despite Madam Pomfrey's protests," he said quietly. "I think I was most impressed by Harry. I never thought of flying. That was smart."

"Yes, very. I'm just glad you both are all right. You'll hear how I was a nervous wreck later," Mel said, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't doubt that for a second," he teased.

"How does that feel, Mr. Diggory?" Madam Pomfrey asked, walking through the curtain divider.

"Fine, smells though."

"Hmm," she said, wiping some of the paste of his cheek. "It looks good. I'll just clean the rest off and you can go."

The smell was still on him as they walked back to the castle, but apart from that and the tear in his shirt, you could not tell he had been hurt.

"So, the next task is not until February?" Mel asked.

"The twenty-fourth," he confirmed. "Merlin, I'm hungry!"

"I guess fighting dragons will do that. But you might want to wash up before you eat. The rest of us won't be able to with that smell."

"Fine," Cedric said as if that was the last thing he wanted to do.

XXX

Ryan and the other quidditch players put a party together for Cedric. The common room was crazy that night. Ryan and Rickett had nicked a ton of food and butterbear from the kitchens. Someone had charmed their wizard's wireless to be louder than usually possible. Normally, the prefects would have put an end to it, but they all needed to unwind.

"Give me some of that," Mel said to Ryan, holding out her cup.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, pouring some Firewhiskey into her cup. She took a deep drink and started coughing.

"Careful," Lindsey giggled.

Mel ignored her and took another drink. She had not felt this relaxed in forever. Angela grabbed Mel's cup from her and took a drink.

"Hey," Mel said, suddenly annoyed.

"You have to do rounds in thirty minutes. I'm saving you from yourself," Angela said. "How bad would it be for prefect to be caught drunk while on rounds?"

"I'm not drunk," Mel said, grabbing her cup back. The Firewhiskey sloshed over the cup and spilled onto her hands. She dried them on her robes, making a mental note to change when she went up to grab her wand.

"Nice," Angela smirked. "Should we stop Cedric?"

"No, I got one of the Ravenclaw prefects to take his shift. I figured he would need the night off after the task."

"Well aren't you just the good, little girlfriend," Angela said with mock-disdain. Mel took another sip and ignored her.

XXX

Mel was roaming the halls a few minutes later. She had thrown a clean robe over a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Normally, she was good about wearing her uniform on rounds, but she figured it did not really matter tonight. She doubted she would see a professor anyway. She was loosely holding her wand at her side and thinking about pocketing it. She really did not think she would see anyone tonight. Everyone was probably celebrating. With this in mind, she was surprised when she rounded the corner to see someone walking down the corridor.

"Hey," she called. "It's after hours. Go back to your dormitory, or I'll have to report you."

The person spun around: It was Sean. Mel paused for second, but quickly recovered and continued to walk toward him. Why was he in the castle so late?

"You haven't reported me yet," he smirked, sauntering toward her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a calm voice, though she tightened her grip on her wand as he neared.

"Visiting a friend," he said, stopping in front of her. "Where's your boyfriend? Celebrating with one of the sluts from his fan club? Did he get tired of you?"

"You need to leave," she said firmly.

"Well, look who's not afraid anymore?" he taunted. "And who smells like Firewhiskey. Not a good little girl anymore, I see."

"Go back to your ship," she said, ignoring his taunts.

"I will. First you have to tell me how you did it."

"Did what?" she asked, unable to hide her confusion.

"That day you overreacted. You burned me. How?" he asked, looking her in the eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Now go," she demanded. He took a step closer, so that their faces were only inches apart.

"You will tell me," he said menancingly.

"Fine," she smirked. "Flagrate!"

Sparks emitted from her wand. They landed on his robe, causing them to catch fire. He jumped back and scrambled to find his own wand to extinguish them. A few stray sparks hit Mel's neck. She hissed in pain, but began laughing when she saw Sean's antics.

"Go home," she said, walking away.

XXX

The common room was empty when Mel finished rounds. She climbed the stairs to her room as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake anyone. She did the same when entering her dormitory. She shrugged her robe off, grabbed her pajamas, and head for the bathroom. She changed quickly and washed the burns on her neck. They were not bad, just stung a bit and were red. They would be fine in the morning.

She shook her out of her ponytail and crawled into bed. How was it possible that it was only Tuesday?

Mel overslept the next morning. Angela had to shake her awake. Mel got dressed and gathered her school things quickly, though she had to skip breakfast in order to get to Transfiguration on time. Cedric shot her a curious look when she entered. She smiled and pulled her hair over neck, hiding the spark marks.

They were learning to transfigure a particular part of an object or animal into something else. After a half hour of taking notes and learning theory, McGonagall passed out alarm clocks and asked them to transfigure the bells into pincushions. Once they mastered the spell with inanimate objects, she would let them work with live animals.

"This would've been helpful for Cedric before the task," Angela muttered.

"Hmm," Mel said. She attempted the spell, but the clock only rattled a bit.

"What happened to your neck?" Angela asked rather loudly.

"Shh," Mel said, glaring at her and covering her neck again. A few of their classmates shot them odd glances. "It's nothing. A spell backfired is all."

"When?"

"Last night on rounds. Someone was being smart. I lost my temper, and the spell backfired. It's not a big deal; doesn't even hurt," she said nonchalantly.

"So, don't say anything to Cedric?"

"Please?" Mel asked, attempting the spell again.

"Fine," she sighed. "We'll take a trip to the bathroom and cover the marks. I have some foundation in my bag."

"Thank you."

"Of course."

XXX

Mel and Lindsey were walking from Care of Magical Creatures to Herbology in the chilly outdoor corridor.

"I hate those things," Lindsey said, referring to the Blast-Ended Skrewts. They were about six feet long now. They looked like giant, armored, grey lobsters, but uglier.

"Agreed, but at least we were warm," Mel said, trying to make her friend feel better. They had spent the last hour trying to take the monsters on walks.

"Oh shut it," Lindsey grumbled.

"There you are," a voice behind them said. Mel turned and saw Cedric walking toward them.

"There's our champion," Mel joked. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm amazed you made it to class this morning."

"I wasn't as drunk as I looked. That was definitely more of an adrenaline high after, you know, fighting a dragon," Cedric said cockily. "You were almost late for class though."

"Yeah, overslept. Yesterday was just a bit strenuous for me, you know," Mel said, copying his tone.

"Has anyone told you two how sickeningly cute you are," Lindsey said, pretending to gag. Mel rolled her eyes, but the two stopped and Cedric dropped his arm and took Mel's hand instead. They were working in Greenhouse One today. Professor Sprout had them pruning the flutterby bushes and deadly nightshade plants. Mel decided Sprout was giving them a down day because of Cedric's success yesterday (and she probably knew most of them had not had a lot of sleep due to last night's celebrations).

All the Hufflepuffs looked relieved, while the Slytherins looked bored. If the plant did not have the potential to kill or maim, the Slytherins were bound to be bored—which is probably why they were all managing the deadly nightshade plants. Mel enjoyed working with the futterby bushes. They quivered and shook at loud noises, so you had to be quiet and gentle when pruning them. However, their fluttering leaves were quite cool to see, so keeping the plants calm was worth it.

Professor Sprout ended class a bit early. After they had cleaned up and put the tools away, she called their attention to her.

"During the Triwizard Tournament, it is tradition for the hosting school to hold the Yule Ball," Sprout said, looking almost as excited as the female students. Angela caught Mel's eye and mouthed, "I told you so."

"It is a time to relax and get to know our guests. However," she said, her voice becoming stern, "all school rules will be strictly enforced. Anyone seen disregarding these rules and embarrassing Hogwarts will be severely punished."

The Slytherins sniggered: Professor Sprout was not very threatening, but Mel was sure Snape would reiterate this later and they would not laugh then. They were dismissed, but Cedric was called back. Melissa walked back to the castle for dinner, listening to a very animated Angela the whole way.

"Ok, I demand to both your hair and make-up," Angela said, looking at Mel and Lindsey.

"Fine," Mel said, knowing it was a losing battle to say no.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Lindsey said, sounding anxious. "I still don't have a date."

"Well, you can always ask him. There's no law that says he has to ask you," Mel said as they climbed the steps to the castle entrance. They all knew the 'him' in question was Rickett, but no one wanted to embarrass Lindsey in case someone overheard their conversation. Lindsey had said their date had gone well and they had been spending more time together since, but that did not always mean anything.

"Or," Angela said, drawing out the word, "you can go with someone else, and make him jealous."

"Oh, that'll end well," Drew muttered under his breath. Mel did not bother to hide her laugh as Angela had heard and was now glaring at him.

"You are aware that you're taking me to the ball, aren't you?" she asked as they all sat at the Hufflepuff table.

"Yes," he groaned as if just thinking about it was painful. He then smiled and kissed her forehead, causing Angela to blush.

Mel and Lindsey caught each other's eye and had to look away quickly. Angela had never blushed because someone kissed her on the forehead, no one but Drew had been able to do that. Lindsey often said they were more sickly cute than Mel and Cedric, which Mel believed because she and Cedric fought or gave each other a hard time in public.

Ryan came and sat down next to Mel, looking a little pouty. Mel suppressed a smirk.

"We missed you in class today," she said.

"I needed the sleep," he said, piling his plate with food. "You would've if you'd drank as much as I had."

"I suppose if I hadn't had prefect duties I might have," she said, helping herself to some beef stew.

"I can't believe he did that to me," Ryan muttered before taking a bite out of a chicken leg. He shot a sideways glare at Mel as he chewed.

"It's not my fault. I did not tell him to do that," Mel said, holding up her hands defensively.

"Sure it wasn't."

Mel rolled her eyes and ate a spoonful of stew. There had been a dramatic change in Cedric's female (and some male, Mel noted) admirers since their overly public kiss the night before. They had been less giggly and not forcing their presence on him or following him around the castle at all. Ryan was upset because the girls had been paying him almost as much attention just because he was Cedric's best friend. Apparently, he was not getting as much attention as before. The size of his ego amazed Mel at times.

"Get over it. There's a ball. Girls will be falling over themselves to go out with you."

"Don't patronize me," he said, though he looked a little happy. "Oh here's the traitor. I don't know why I ever encouraged you to go out with this girl."

"So you didn't have to listen to me pine after her anymore," Cedric said, sitting down on the other side of Mel.

"What did Sprout want?" Mel asked.

"She told me that the champions and their dates open the Yule Ball."

Mel grimaced. "You hate me."

"It won't be that bad," Cedric said, shaking his at her reaction.

"Do I have to?" Mel whined.

"I just said I pined after you! What more do you want?" Cedric asked feigning frustration.

"Fine," Mel pouted.

Ryan sniggered. "I'm taking this as some higher force getting you back."

"Whatever," Mel shrugged. "At least I don't have to find a date."

AN: Hope you enjoyed it. I've hit a bit of a writer's block, but hopefully it will be gone soon and I'll be able to write chapter 18 (however, if I'm late updating, i've warned you here).