Chapter 28 – Finding Guinevere

Guinevere had just left the table in a hurry and George looked confused at the empty spot next to him. "What just happened?" He turned slowly to Fred and Lee.

"Don't know." Lee frowned. "What did she wanted to talk to you about earlier?"

"It has nothing to do with that." George insisted, but Fred gave him a look. "We promised each other to always be honest with one another. So, she came to tell me that she slept in the same bed as Cedric, because Lyra had locked her out of her room."

"Jenny wouldn't do anything."

"I know." George said quickly. "I trust her completely, and I know that Cedric wouldn't do anything either."

"So, if that's not the problem. What is?"

"Beats me." George groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "She even said it back to me."

"Really?" The two gasped.

"Yeah." George smiled dreamily.

"Then what could it be?" Fred racked his brain over what it could be and looked to the Hufflepuff table, but only seeing the back of Guinevere's head. Today her hair was dark brown, that stopped just over her shoulders.

It took them three days before they figured it out, before Lee figured it out actually. Gwen didn't act differently towards him, but she was a little more distant than usual. She kept herself busy in the library or the Hufflepuff commons as she studied with her friends. George, Fred and Lee were sitting in their dorm, finishing up the last skiving boxes as they talked about it again.

"George." Lee said slowly, dragging his name with a frown. He was sitting on his bed, packing up the newly made sweets.

"Yeah?" George asked looking up from the cauldron with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you ask Jenny what her plans were this summer, or ask her to meet up with up?"

George dropped the ladle into the green liquid in the cauldron as his eyes turned wide. FUCK! Fred looked surprised to his twin. "Please tell me you asked her to come to the burrow this summer. Or meet up, something?"

"Shit!" George jumped up.

"Oh, George." Lee and Fred groaned, shaking their heads.

"You told her you loved her, she finally said it back. And you didn't ask her?"

"I'm a fucking idiot!"

"Can't argue with that, twin-o-mine." Fred clapped his back.

"I got to go find her."

"Yes, you do."

"I'll see you guys later." George practically ran out of the room, leaving Lee and Fred behind as they shook their heads again. Fred took George's place in front of the cauldron and fished out the ladle to continue their work.

George made his way to the library first. Madam Pince looked suspiciously at him, and it took him nearly ten minutes to convince her that he was just looking for someone and that he didn't plan a prank here. So, he started to walk through the library, looking behind every shelf, looking at every table. He saw Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting at one of the tables and went to ask them if they had seen her.

"Hey, guys. Has Guinevere been here by any change?"

"She was here -" Hermione looked at her watch. "- a little over an hour ago."

"Do you know where she went?"

"No, but she left with Cedric and the other two Hufflepuffs." Ron said as he munched on a twizzler.

"Okay, thanks." George turned and walked back out of the library and went to go check out the great hall first.

He arrived at the great hall and saw lots of students revising for their exams, the only sound were pages that turned or quills scratching on parchment. His eyes darted to the Hufflepuff table and searched it up and down for his girlfriend. When he didn't find her or any of the other three Hufflepuffs, he turned and made his way to the Hufflepuff common room. But of course, he couldn't get in and after waiting over half an hour and no one came, he gave up and walked back to the Gryffindor tower. Fred and Lee were just cleaning up when he arrived back in their dorm.

"Did you ask her?"

"No, I didn't find her." George groaned as he dropped down on his bed, his hand going through his hair.

"It's nearly dinner time." Lee said looking at his watch.

"Yeah, let's go down. You're probably going to see her there." His twin clapped him on the back. "Then you can ask her."

"Right." George nodded and stood back up before he followed the two boys out.

The boys were early at the great hall, so they weren't surprised she wasn't there yet. The moment they sat down, the food and drinks appeared on all of the tables. They started loading their plates, while George's eyes were glued to the large doors, watching other kids trickle in. After twenty minutes the room was filled with loud students, but still no Guinevere. Fred and Lee locked around with a slight frown.

"George, eat mate." Fred nudged his twin. "She probably forgot about dinner with her studying."

"Maybe." George slowly took his gaze from the door. "But Lyra and Odin are here." He pointed out, nudging his head towards the table in front of him.

"Ask them. After dinner." Fred pulled him back down on his sleeve as he wanted to go over there now. George mumbled something incoherently before he started eating, his eyes flickering to the doors every other minute.

When dessert came, he jumped up and hurried over to the Hufflepuff couple. "Hey, Lyra, Odin."

"Hey George." Lyra smiled, while Odin gave him a nod as he ate his pudding.

"Do you know where Guinevere is?"

"She was still studying with Cedric in our commons. They probably have lost track of time." She said glancing to the door and back. "Check out the kitchen in an hour, I'll bet you will find her there."

"Great, thanks Lyra." He smiled before he went back to take his seat with Fred and Lee.

I was nose deep in my CMC book, taking notes when my stomach started to grumble. I tried to ignore it and keep working but a chuckle across from me made me look up with a scowl.

"I think we better take a break." Cedric said with a grin.

"I want to finish this." I said through another rumble of my stomach.

"Food first. Then we can come back and continue. Your stomach is too much of a distraction anyway." He laughed as he closed his book.

"Fine." I stuck out my tongue and closed my book with a thud. Cedric held out his arm and I looped my arm around it. Just when we reached the door, other Hufflepuffs started to walk in.

"You just missed dinner." A seventh year piped up.

"Oh." We both frowned and looked at our watches. We looked at each other grinning and said in unison. "Kitchens."

We pushed ourselves passed all the incoming classmates and walked to the kitchens just a little further down the corridor. Cedric tickled the pear and the painting opened for us. I walked in the kitchen and greeted the house elves that were busy doing the dishes.

"Hey, Hokey."

"Missus Northon, Master Diggory." The elf bowed deep, his nose touched the stone floor.

"We missed dinner."

"Too busy studying." Cedric grinned. "Do you have something left?"

"I'll whip something up for yous two." The elf bowed again and before they could utter another word, he turned and walked to the counter. Cedric placed his hand on my back and guided me to the little corner with a few couches. As soon as we sat down, two little elves came running over with drinks and glasses. We thanked them and poured ourselves a glass as we leaned against the couch.

"Have you seen what they had done to the Quidditch pitch?" Cedric asked, sipping his glass of pumpkin juice.

"No." I said slowly, putting my glass on the little table in front of us and turned to look at him. "Did something happen?"

"They butchered it." Cedric grumbled, making me chuckle. "No, I mean it. Hagrid has planted some weird bushes all over the field."

"Bushes?"

"Bushes."

"You think it's related to the last task?" I leaned my head on my hand.

"I do, don't know what else it could be. Dumbledore wouldn't just let Hagrid plant random bushes on the field. He loves Quidditch too much."

"Guess you're right." I mused. "Why don't we check it out?"

"It's guarded during the day."

"Then we'll go at night." I grinned, a mischievous glint in my eye, I adopted from the twins.

"Oh, I recognize that look." Cedric laughed.

"We can put a disillusionment charm on ourselves."

"Okay, but we better wait until dark."

"Excellent." I grinned devious. "I want to finish my book on CMC first, anyway." I shrugged. "Oh, thank you Hokey." I smiled as the elf walked over carrying a large tray. "Is this just for the two of us?" I asked, as I inspected the food that was made for us.

"For you two, or you can share."

"Share?" Cedric and I asked in unison. But the elf put down the tray and walked away.

"Okay then." Cedric chuckled before he reached for a sandwich with roast. I took the same sandwich from the plate and leaned back on the couch, facing Cedric.

"So first, studying. Then the quidditch pitch."

"Sure." He said after he swallowed. "But aren't you meeting with George tonight?"

"No, didn't make any plans." I saw that he must've notice something in my voice or my look, so I quickly changed the subject. "Since we don't know what the third task is, maybe we should freshen up on all defensive charms."

Cedric took me in for a moment before he spoke. "Couldn't hurt." He shrugged with a smile. "It's still a month away, we've got time."

"We'll start this Saturday." I said sternly, making him snicker. "Thanks for helping me study."

"Anytime." He smiled. "I don't have any exams so why not help my best friend. So, are you coming over this summer?"

"When am I not?" I quirked an eyebrow at him but was really happy that he asked. "Of course, I'm coming. But it might take Zeno longer to drop off the letters."

"How so?"

"I'll be going to Romania this summer to work with Bash and Charlie." I said excitedly.

"Wow, that's great Winnie." He hugged me. I almost laughed from his stern look as he pulled back. "But you better be careful. I'll freaking kill you if you die this summer."

"I try not to get killed." I crossed my heart with a smile.

"You better. Try not to get hurt either." His voice soft.

"I'll be careful, I promise." I gave his hand, that was lying on the edge of the couch, a tight squeeze.

"Have you told the twins about how you and Charlie became friends?"

"No." I grinned. "They ask about it, a lot." I laughed. "But I like to tease them about it, and I like that nearly no one knows." I smiled softly, thinking back to my first year.

"If they only knew." Cedric snickered. We looked at each other for a moment before we both fell into a fit of laughter.

"Am I interrupting something?" George voice came from behind us. We turned to see George looking nervous, his hand going through his hair. Which looked like he had done a lot today as it was standing in every direction.

"No, no." Cedric managed to say when his laughter died down. "I'll see you in the commons?" He turned back to me, and I nodded.

"I'll be there soon." Cedric winked at me before he stood up and disappeared from the kitchens.

"Hey, I haven't seen you all day." I put on a smile as George came over and took Cedric's seat.

"Been hauled up in our dormitory with Fred and Lee making products. I went looking for you this afternoon."

"I was studying in the library and when it got too crowded, Ced and I went back to our common room. Then we missed dinner, that's why we're here." I pointed at the tray.

"Yeah, Lyra said I could find you here." He blushed a bit when he said that. "She said you probably lost track of time and would come here for something to eat."

"Lyra knows me well." I chuckled. "Was there a reason you wanted to see me?"

"Yeah." His hand went through his hair again. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? What did you do?" I scooted back, afraid of the answer. But George grabbed my hand to stop me.

"Nothing like that. I'm sorry that I didn't ask you about this summer, about inviting you to the burrow."

"Oh." I casted my eyes down.

"I just didn't think about it. I never had a girlfriend that lasted until the summer."

I pulled my hand back with a frown. "So, you thought we would've broken up by then?"

"No, Merlin, no! That's not what I meant."

"Then you just didn't think about me. Didn't think about not seeing me for over two months. You thought about meeting up with Lee, and even Hermione and Harry coming over." Now I scooted myself to the edge of the couch, away from George.

"Guinevere, please." George begged. "I'm new to this, to a serious relationship."

"And I'm not? I just told you that I'm freaking in love with you, but you couldn't even muster up a thought about seeing me this summer." I jumped up, angry, hurt. "I'll make it easier for you then. I'll be going to Romania for at least a month this summer, so you don't have to see me."

"Guinevere, wait." George took my hand as I was about to turn around. He looked at me with pleading eyes, so I waited. "I'm so sorry. Of course, I want to spend time with you this summer. I can't stand the thought of not seeing you for two months. I can't stand the thought of not seeing you for even a few days." He pulled me closer. "Why didn't you tell me about Romania?"

"I was planning on telling you a few days ago. I just got word from Bash earlier this week that everything was settled."

"And then I acted like a dickhead."

"Well, yeah." I managed a smile. He leaned his head against mine and inhaled deep.

"Would you like to come over to the burrow this summer?"

"I would love to, but maybe you can visit the sanctuary first? Otherwise, you'll have to wait until August."

"Hm. I think I can work something out." He smiled. "Forgive me?" I answered him with kiss. "I love you; you know that?"

"I love you too." I pulled back to look him in the eye. "Does your mum know about us?"

"She does. I wrote to her a week after Christmas break." My eyes turned wide, and I slapped his chest playfully.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Did you want to know that she wrote to me about the birds and the bees? About using protection charm, and your virtue?" His grin wide.

"Gods no!" I laughed softly in the quiet corner. "But I actually have to go. I need to finish revising for CMC."

"If you have to." George pouted.

"I do. And you better don't forget to make the notes on Alchemy, you promised, remember?"

"I remember." He smiled. "I'll start on them tonight."

"Good, then we can study this Sunday." I kissed him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sit with me at breakfast?" I gave him one last chaste kiss and a wink before I walked out of the kitchen, feeling better than I did the last few days.

When I walked in our common room, I saw Cedric at our table with Lyra and Odin who were whispering together. I dropped down next to Cedric and opened my book again.

"Did George find you?"

I looked up from my book, to see Lyra leaning in close. "He did." I looked back down. I knew Lyra wanted to say something else, so I held out my finger. "Hush, I need to study."

"You know, if you study any harder, your eyes might fall out."

"Ha-ha" I said dryly, but with a little smile. "But I need good grades on CMC."

"Hagrid loves you, he'll let you pass just for being there." Lyra chuckled. "But you're right actually. We better start too before we're behind."

"I'll go get our books." Odin kissed the top of his girlfriend's head and walked away.

Cedric helped me study until it became dark out. I was just dotting the I's and crossing the T's when Cedric nudged me. "Ready?" He whispered.

"Yeah. Let me put everything in my room." I stuffed the books in my bag and headed to my dorm. I grabbed a dark coat and re-emerged back into the common room. It's not like it was really cold out since it was the middle of May, but at night when the sun was gone and being in Scotland, it could be cool in the evening. I shrugged on my coat and nudged my head to the door and Cedric stood up.

"Where are you two going?" Lyra asked with raised eyebrows.

"Practicing for the third task." We said in unison.

"Oh, alright then. Mind curfew."

"Yes, ma'am." We chimed and snickered when Lyra shook her head. It was only half an hour before curfew, so the minute they stepped out of the common room, we disillusioned ourselves. I searched for Cedric's hand, to not lose each other during our walk there. Cedric wrapped his fingers firmly around mine and started walking. We didn't see many students or teachers around. Only a prefect or two who were doing their rounds. Come to think of it, Cedric could've used that as an excuse, but that still left me out and about after curfew. So, this was easier. They stepped out of the castle, the cold breeze making me shiver.

"Are you cold?" Cedric asked next to me.

"A bit, but I'll live." I said, but Cedric suddenly searched my face, before wrapping a scarf around me. "Thanks."

"It gets even colder up there."

"Up where?" I asked confused. Cedric didn't answer and let go of my hand. "Cedric?" I whispered in a hiss. "Don't you dare leave me here alone!"

"I'm right here." His voice tickled my ear, making me jump.

"You scared the life out of me." I started pounding on his chest.

"Sorry." He said, but I could hear the grin in his voice. "I had stashed my broom on the other side of the wall. I thought it would be better to fly up there."

"Did you put a disillusionment on the broom?" I asked, not seeing anything.

"Yeah." He searched for my hand and brought it over to the handle of the broom.

"Isn't that dangerous? Doesn't that counter the magic of the broom?"

"Only if it stays on for longer than a few hours. Should be fine."

"Really reassuring." I said sarcastically. Cedric laughed softly. But seeing it was completely deserted outside, his laugh carried through the air.

"Come on. I've got you." He gave her hand a pull and she searched for the broom. "Sit in front of me, that's easier."

"Alright." I lifted my foot and hit something, and Cedric groaned. "Sorry." I said with a grin.

"Uhu." He grumbled, but I could sense he was smiling. When I was seated, he placed his arms around me to grab a hold of the broom handle. "Ready?"

I nodded my head, and he must've felt it against him because he pushed us from the ground. "Oh, Helga, this is creepy." My eyes at the ground below us, not seeing the broom I was sitting on, or the boy who was flying it behind me.

"Look forward, not down." Cedric leaned his chin on my shoulder, and I relaxed.

"Ced, it's - it's a maze!" I gasped as I saw the hedges crisscrossed on the field. The hedges weren't that high, about a meter and a half, but I was sure they would grow double its size by the time of the final task.

"A maze." Cedric mumbled to himself as he thought it over.

"Cedric, stop!" I yelled and he pulled the handle, stopping immediately.

"What's wrong?" His voice worried.

"Look." I pointed, then remembered he couldn't see my arm. "Right in front of us, see the shimmer."

"A shield."

"Probably to keep snooping students like us out." I chuckled. "We better turn back."

"Yeah." He whispered, turning us around, back to the castle. "Thank Helga, you saw it. I was too distracted from the maze."

"What will be waiting for you in there?" I asked nervously, glancing back to the pitch as we landed in front of the castle.

"Don't know." He found my hand again as we walked inside the castle. "But it won't be just the maze, too easy."

"That's what I'm afraid off."

Cedric let go of my hand, and his arm found his way around my shoulders, pulling me against him as we walked the empty corridor. "I'll be fine, you know."

"You better! Because if you get killed or hurt in there, I'll fucking kill you." I chuckled dryly. Cedric placed a kiss on the top of my head.

"I'll be careful." He whispered in my hair, and the only thing I could do was nod against his shoulder.