A/N: Sorry this chapter's taken so long to get up... I've been incredibly busy and in all honesty just had no idea what to put in this chapter. I real fail when it comes to filler chapters and they take ages for me to get up. So yeah, sorry about that. But it's up now! I'll try and get another one up soon. Thanks for being patient,

Z-Nugget xx

The next days, weeks, even months passed by in a sort of blur. Some things stuck in of course, including the vague memory of the twins selling betting slips at the second challenge and Ginny showing her obvious distaste. But for most of the time Mia was functioning on auto-pilot. She'd wake up automatically before the other girls in the dormitory, repeat simple commands to perform in her head such as 'go to the shower' 'get dressed' and 'wait for Ginny then go eat'. She'd have little input into conversations going on around her, not that any of the Gryffindor girls seemed to mind nor notice. In fact, Fred was the only one who realised she was missing from the start of the third task. He bounded up the stairs like a new born puppy, not bothering to knock as he jumped through the doorway.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked a puzzling look on his face. Mia looked away from the window which had been capturing her attention for the last hour, her bright eyes trailing over to Fred.

"I'm not sure." It was the truth. Her auto-pilot had gotten as far as 'get dressed' before it had malfunctioned and somehow she had ended up perched on the small window sill ledge. Now the sun, which had initially been shining down on her face, was covered over with clouds and slowly moving to the west. "What are you doing here?" Fred merely shrugged as he joined her by the glass.

"You're missing the third task; Harry just went into the maze." Mia tried to appear interested, but it wasn't fooling either of them. Never the less Fred carried on, "The winner's whoever gets to the cup first and it'll act like a port key. I'm not sure how the others will get out." It was a valid point, one that the brunette couldn't figure out either. Eventually she settled for suggesting, "Magic?" Which caused both to crack a small smile. Without warning Fred slipped his hands under the Slytherin's arms and hauled her backwards, stumbling onto her feet. Mia made a slight whining noise, but put up no other complaining.

"Are you still coming to ours for a few weeks in the holiday?" The brunette blinked, caught off guard. Not that Fred seemed to mind. "You agreed with Ginny the other week, mum loves having you round remember?" The last part was hardly an added incentive considering Mrs Weasley loved having anyone and everyone staying at her house. Never the less Mia nodded her head, brushing the few strands of dark hair from her face afterwards. She'd forgotten about any conversation with Ginny on the topic, not that she was about to say such.

"Of course!" He didn't appear to be buying her enthusiasm.

"You can't remember can you?"

"Nope, not at all."

Fred grinned, keeping one arm around the others shoulder as he guided her from the room and down the stairs. There was no one in the common room, probably no one in the whole castle as everyone would be out watching the tournament. In a way this pleased Mia. It meant she hadn't had to encounter anyone besides Fred yet all day, and if he hadn't come looking for her she more than likely would have been alone for the whole day.

Mia trundled slightly behind Fred as they walked; kicking up several stones and scuffing her once black shoes.

"Cheer up, Harry's about to become a champion!" she was grateful for the distraction.

"You can't know that, Fleur could win" she argued, raising an eyebrow at the look he was now wearing. "What?"

"You think a girl's going to beat those three?" He ducked, chuckling as Mia's arm shot out to smack him around the head and missed. "Point proven!" She stuck her tongue out. Honestly, she didn't really care who won, but it probably wouldn't be Fleur, not when considering how she'd performed in the previous challenges.

"Did you get more bets for this task?" Fred shook his head looking momentarily annoyed, an unusual expression on his normally cheerful face.

"Someone outed me and George to McGonagall." The brunette couldn't help but smile. Of course she wasn't the one who'd done it, but it wasn't hard to see why someone had. They were betting on people's lives after all.

"There's always next year" she said, trying to console the redhead who had begun to grin mischievously.

"I can hardly take bets on myself next time, I'll get offended if they bet against me!" Mia stopped walking.

"You can't put your name in next year" she protested, crossing her arms over her chest. Was he honestly saying he was going to risk his life just for the prize money and glory? She could give him money if he were that desperate! Then again, what he wanted it for was anyone's guess. Fred had opened his mouth to disagree, but was cut off by arising screams. They had walked most of the way and nearly reached the stands for the maze, yet were still too far away to actually see what was happening. The screams drove both to turn into a sprint, and despite Mia being fast she was still trailing behind thanks to Fred's long legs. People were now flooding out of the stands, several professors shouting orders for everyone to get back to their rooms or to where ever they were staying. The Slytherin noticed Harry getting dragged off by Professor Moody and slowed down back to a walk. If Harry was there didn't that mean he'd won? So why were people still screaming? No, scratch that, why were people screaming in the first place? She was about to voice that thought when it became apparent the red head was no longer in front of her. Frowning she stepped forward, closer to the maze.

"Fred where have you-" She was cut short as a panicked group of Beaux Batons girls rushed past, knocking her sideways and tumbling to the ground with a thud. "Oh thanks" the brunette muttered clambering back up. After brushing off her knees she glanced around, eyes momentarily locking with a blonde who was stood at the other side of the crowd. It was likely she was imagining it, but he looked concerned, though it was gone in the blink of an eye. Then again, so was he.

"What happened?" A familiar voice asked. Mia shook her head trying to clear it. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened to her, well either that or she'd managed to trip on pure air, but hopefully Fred had more faith in her than that, so she didn't bother to answer his question.

"Where did you run off to?" It was only then that she took a proper look at Fred, the serious appearance he was wearing unsettling.

"Cedric's been found dead" And that would be why. But that still didn't explain why everyone was fleeing. It had been explained at the start before anyone entered their names how dangerous the tournament was, that people could die. "They think he was murdered, it's getting investigated" The Slytherin blinked, certainly not expecting that. Did they think he was murdered by one of the other contestants? That would be even worse than just being killed by the task. "Come on" He said, checking over his shoulder to make sure everyone was following. Mia hadn't even noticed he'd managed to gather both brothers, Ginny and Hermione who were all looking equally as worried. She nodded numbly, allowing herself to be led back up to the building.