- 13 - 

"I can't believe you have to sit an exam on your birthday."

"I mean at least its Transfiguration, as in the only one I'm actually somewhat confident for," I reply to Cedric as we sit in the hallway across from each other, our backs both against either wall, waiting for Professor McGonagall to open the doors. "And it's only sixth-year exams. They're only really to see whether or not we're on track for our NEWTs next year."

"Still, exams suck in general." He shrugged, glancing down the hallway at the other sixth-year transfiguration students.

"Ceddy why are you even here?" I laugh, "You don't even have to take the exam."

"Well sorry if I thought I would be supportive and help my best friend with any last-minute studying you might want to do." He scoffs, though is grinning at me.

"Diggory, everyone knows there's no point studying the hour before an exam. If you don't already know it, you're not gonna know it." George Weasley smirks, loudly slumping to the ground next to me. Patrica Stimpson, whos pouring over her transfiguration notes, her hair askew and her robes wrinkled, as if shed slept in them, sends George a hateful glare in his direction. George only smiles, winking in her direction.

"Look at you, Georgie Darling, turning up early for an exam" I tease, George hadn't arrived on time to any of the practice exams Professor McGonagall held and had made a habit of making a loud and distracting entrance. One time, Fred had even come in his place. It had taken Professor all of a minute to recognize it wasn't George. "Surprised you even turned up to be honest."

"Yes well, I couldn't let dear Minnie down now could I?" He has a cheeky smile on his face and nudges my side. "So a little birdy told me it's your birthday today. Freddie get you anything yet?"

"No he hasn't, but I'm not accepting any presents," I state, sending both him and Cedric pointed looks. "I've decided that instead of presents we're all going on a day trip over the summer. My present will be your presence."

"I still don't understand why I can't get you something as well as go on this day trip," Cedric grumbles, and I glare at him again. "What if I don't buy you something? What if it's something I already own?"

"Ced, no!" I exclaim. That boy will be the death of me one day.

"Where are we going anyway?" George questions, though before I can answer the doors to the Transfiguration classroom swing open and Professor McGonagall motions us inside. Cedric wishes me luck as I disappear into the classroom, taking a seat at one of the exam-style tables. George sits on my left, leaning back in his chair ignoring the stern look he's receiving from Professor McGonagall.

The exam is hard, though I'm thankfully not too surprised by any of the material. Telling George goodbye, I walk with Kelby, Tommy, Dillon, and Eli back to the common room where Cedric said he'd be waiting for us. As we walk through the middle courtyard, I see Fred making his way towards me with a smile on his face and his arms behind his back. I send the boys on their way, promising to catch up with them in a second.

"Now I know you said no presents." Fred starts, his grin now turning sheepish

"Fred..." I warn, eye the way he won't show me his hands.

"But so did I, but you still gave me something." I suppress a groan, knowing his logic is correct. With one hand still behind his back, he grabs my hand and pulls us towards the fountain in the middle, both of us taking a seat along the edge. "I even one-upped you and got it wrapped." He jokes, making me scoff in return. He pulls a gift bag out from behind his back and hands it to me.

"I'd hardly call a gift bag wrapping," I tease, but my heart skips a beat at his thoughtfulness. I reach inside the bag carefully and pull out what's inside.

"You said your favourite place at Hogwarts was by the lake." He says softly as I stare at his gift. Fred's gift is a snowglobe, no bigger than the palm of my hand, with a miniature version of the lake and its surroundings. I can see the tree that I so often sit against, and the horizon I always find myself staring at when I watch the sunrise over the lake. "The weather inside matches whatever the weather is like at Hogwarts, and the giant squid makes an appearance every now and then."

"I love it, Fred," I say, my voice barely above a whisper as I stare into the globe. "Where did you even find it?"

"The snowglobe itself was in a store in Hogsmeade, but I uh... Had to charm it to look like Hogwarts."

"That's so incredible Fred!" I exclaim, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. For a little longer, we sit on the fountain and I stare determinedly into the snowglobe hoping to catch a glimpse of the giant squid. Just as I'm about to give up, I see splashes from the little lake and see the giant tentacles reach into the air. My eyes light up in excitement, and I look at Fred to see if he sees. I grin widely at him and he chuckles at my excitement. With his arm around my shoulder, he kisses the side of my head.

*

With my exams out of the way, I spent the morning of the third and final task with Cedric and his parents. We strolled around the castle as Cedric's parents told us stories about their time at Hogwarts, and I restrained myself from wincing when Amos mentioned his obvious dislike for Harry. Though his wife Margie was quick to silence him.

"So Elora dear, other than watching out for my son, how has your year been?" Margie asked kindly, linking her arm through mine. Amos and Cedric were walking a little ahead of us and talking avidly about Cedrics plans for the Quidditch team next year. "I can't imagine it's easy being his friend with all the attention he's been getting this year."

"It hasn't been an issue, to be honest, Cedric and I have ups and downs like any friends do but we both know we're going to be in each other's life for a long time." I nod smiling.

"And you two never..." I stare at her for a second, trying to figure out what she's hinting at. She wiggles her eyebrows at me and my mouth gapes open in shock.

"No!" I exclaim, Cedric and Amos turn around to see why I'm shouting. Margie laughs as my face turns red, I try to smile innocently at the two men but they still send concerned looks in our direction before returning to their own conversation. "Cedric and I have always been, and will always be friends. Nothing more."

"Well, that's a shame," She sighs, though she grins at me. "You would've made a wonderful daughter-in-law." I can't help but giggle at her.

"Cedric and I are uh... actually dating other people currently." I push back the blush that's rising in my cheeks and hope Cedric doesn't kill me for exposing his relationship to his mum.

"Cedric Diggory!" Margie shouts, gaining the attention of not only her husband and son but the other few students that are scattered down the corridor. Cedric and Amos both look alarmed, and understandably so. Margie is a kind woman but when she sets her mind to things she is a force to be reckoned with. "When were you going to tell me you had a girlfriend." Cedric looks between me and his mum with a shocked expression, all I can do is smile sheepishly at him and try to sink into his mother's shadow.

"Well, I uh... I don't know." He stutters.

"Well can we meet her?" Amos grins, and his cheeky smile resembles the same one I see so often on Cedric's face.

"I guess we could have lunch with her?" Cedric looks unsure, though he is smiling. So I know that while he's nervous to introduce them to Cho, he's also excited for them to know her. Amos threw his arm around Cedric's shoulder and continued on down the hallway. Margie smiles gently as she watches them walk on.

*

"El I don't know why you're freaking out, this isn't the first time you've met my mother." Fred was holding my hand and basically dragging me down the corridor on our way to the Great Hall for lunch. He'd found me moments earlier, still walking around with the Diggory's and after politely introducing himself, dragging me away with the intention to see his mum and brother Bill.

"Yeah, but we were only friends at that point, what if she doesn't like that we're together?" I groan, using my weight to slow down the walk towards dinner. I manage to get him to stop just inside the doorway. I can see the other Weasleys sitting on the Gryffindor table with Harry. On the Hufflepuff table, Cedric and Cho are sitting opposite Margie and Amos. "Maybe I should just sit with Cedric for today and I'll come visit over the holidays."

"El, my mum loves you." Fred laughs, making another attempt to pull me towards his family.

"What do we have here?" George smirks, standing next to Fred and throwing his arm around his brother's shoulder.

"El thinks mums gonna hate her now that we're dating."

"Ellie Darling, if anything she'll think your insane for putting up with Freddie." George laughs, and we ignore Fred's protests of disagreement. "You should've heard her talking to Percy one night while you were staying with us. She kept going on and on about how he should've invited you over sooner. Honestly, I think she likes you more then she likes us."

"Let's go El, no more protesting," Fred stated, linking his arm through mine. George grabbed my other arm and marched me towards the Weasley family, leaving me no room for protest.

"Fred, George! We were wondering when you two would show up." The man next to Mrs. Weasley grinned cooly at the twins before his eyes landed on me. "Elora right? You stayed at the burrow over the summer?"

"Uh, yeah... after the World Cup," I answer quietly. Other then meals, I didn't really see much of Bill over the summer. George ducks under the table as Mrs. Weasley scolds him, taking a seat next to her while Fred sits down across from him. He leaves space for me between him and Harry.

"Elora is Fred's girlfriend," Ginny blurts out with a smirk, and I resist the urge to glare in her direction. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widen in surprise, but a happy smile settles on her lips.

"Well it's wonderful to see you again Elora dear, would you like to join us for lunch?" Mrs. Weasley says, smiling a gesturing at the seat between Harry and Fred.

"I don't want to intrude-" I begin, glancing towards the Hufflepuff table.

"Uh uh," Bill shakes his head with an easy smirk on his face, "I think you better stay so I can figure out how to break whatever spell Fred's used to convince you to date him." I laugh at Bill and hesitantly sit down at the table.

"So how long have you two been dating," Mrs. Weasley asks innocently as I take a bite of food, causing me to nearly choke. Was this what happens when you meet your boyfriend's parents? I look to Fred with a panicked look on my face, to which he chuckles at before answering his mum.

"Since the beginning of April." He answers, he places his hand on my knee and I slowly find myself calming down.

"Yeah but they've been skirting around each other for ages before that." Ginny laughs, and I again have to refrain from glaring at the girl. "You should've seen them at the Yule Ball. They weren't even each other's dates yet I barely saw them apart." That's it, I'm going to kill the girl.

"Oh, why didn't you go together in the first place?" Bill asks, and I see the same evil glint in his eyes that Fred has right before he's about to pull a prank. I can definitely see the familial resemblance, despite their age gap and their different choices in hairstyles.

"Uh, no real reas-" Fred begins after sending me a concerned look. I can tell he's trying to save me from explaining the Anthony fiasco.

"I had a boyfriend at the time," I interrupt Fred, searching for a way to say this without making myself look bad to be dancing with another boy the same night I broke up with my boyfriend. "But we broke up at the ball, for a few different reasons."

"Mostly because he's a piece of shit," George mutters, louder than he expected. Mrs. Weasley whips her head in his direction, scolded in for his language. I laugh at George, I hadn't told him the whole story but he knew the Anthony had cheated on me and just been a dick in general. "What! He is!"

"I'm sure Elora had a very good reason for breaking up with the boy, but that doesn't mean you can use such foul language, George Weasley." Mrs. Weasley scolds, before turning to me with a friendly smile on her face. "Whatever he did, I'm sure you're better off," she says before pausing and looking at Fred, "somewhat." Fred gapes at his mother will I giggle quietly.

"George is correct though, he uh... Cheated on me." I say, and I'm unsure why I even disclosed that information. It wasn't exactly something I loved talking about.

"Wow what a piece of shit."

I choke on my food again and look back up at Mrs. Weasley, whos sitting there with a thoughtful expression on her face. Her children and Harry are frozen, staring at their mother who has just sworn in front of them for, I imagine, the first time in their lives.

"Anyway dear, who are you hoping wins tonight?" She asks, and I struggle to regain my composure. The Weasleys children are looking between each other, still wondering if they heard their mother correctly.

"Sorry Harry, but I'm cheering Cedric on tonight," I say, patting the boy on his shoulder. He shrugs as if he expected it anyway.

"Oh, whys that?" Bill asks, the first of his siblings to recover from the shock of his mother's foul language.

"Ceds my best mate, basically my brother," I answer, glancing quickly over my shoulder to where I can see Cho and Cedric are talking cheerfully with his parents. "And, Hufflepuff pride and all that." I shrug my shoulders and Bill nods in understanding. When Hermione joined, the attention is drawn away from me and I'm finally able to breathe a little easier.

Too soon lunch ends, and before I know it, Dumbledore is ordering the Triwizard Champions to make their way down to the Quidditch Pitch after dinner. I'll be grateful when this task is finally over, for my life to go back to worrying only about my classes and which team I need to beat during the next Quidditch match. I never need to feel the way I have before every task, ever again. Like my heart is going to combust in fear. Cedric smiles warmly at me as he makes his way out of the Great hall, and as much as I try not to, I can't help but run after him.

"Cedric!" I call, seeing him pause just at the castle doors, telling the other champions to go on without him. I run to him and throw my arms around him. "I'm sorry, I just had to hug you one last time."

"Hey, it's okay." He whispers, hugging me tighter. I feel as though if I let go, I'd be letting go of my lifeline. But reluctantly, I do. "I'm going to be fine Elora."

"Cedric, promise me you won't do anything dumb. If you have to choose between winning and not getting hurt, choose to not get hurt, please." I'm pleading with him now, and I don't even know why. I'm gripping his hands tightly.

"Elora, I-"

"I just need you to remember what you promised me okay, and... and promise it to me again." I breathe deeply, "I love you Cedric, you're my brother, and I need you to promise me that whatever happens in that stupid maze, that'll you prioritize coming back to me."

"Elora..."

"Promise me, Cedric." I feel tears burning at my eyes but I won't let them fall. "You have been one of the only constants in my life since I was eleven. Promise me." I try to change my tone, half laughing I say, "I'll hate you if you don't."

"I promise Elora," He whispers, pulling me back into a tight hug and kisses my cheek. He pulls away and looks at me with heavy eyes, before turning and walking out of the castle.

"I love you," I whisper, but I doubt he hears. Minutes later, students pour out of the Great Hall and make their way to the Quidditch stands. I stay still though, stepping to the side, waiting for someone to lean on. Fred finds me first, gently taking my hand and guiding me towards our friends. I can't find any words to say to any of them, the feeling of dread overwhelming any senses, stopping any words or thoughts from even forming in my mind.

We found our way to the stands, I sat between Fred and Kelby. I could see the uneasy looks on my friends' faces, though they were doing a better job masking them through smiles and halfhearted jokes. I did my best to laugh along, though I knew my grip on Fred's hand was betraying me to Fred at least. Amos and Margie Diggory were a few rows in front of us. Margie turned, catching my eye and smile wearily. By the way Amos bounces in place in the same way Cedric does before a Quidditch match, I can tell just how much nervous excitement he held inside.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Bagman's amplifies voice quietened the bustling crowd, "the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each — Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" I pushed my fear away, taking my hand out of Freds for a moment to cheer and applaud loudly. The rest of the Hogwarts population's cheers boomed.

"In second place, with eighty points — Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" The applause was not quite as loud as it had been for Harry and Cedric, but it was still loud. "And in third place — Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!" Students mostly clapped politely, the noise is significantly less quiet.

"So . . . on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three — two — one —"

Cedric and Harry disappeared into the maze, and my heart skipped a beat. I felt Fred squeeze my hand, and I looked up at him and the gentle smile that was on his face.

"I'm scared," I say, voice barely above a whisper so only he can hear.

"Can I do anything?"

"Just don't let go of my hand," I say, and his grip tightens. Bagman blows his whistle again, Viktor enters the maze. I see Fleur waiting anxiously by the entrance, rocking back and forwards on the ball of her feet. The whistle blows again and she darts inside.

"He's going to be okay," Fred says, as we sit down in our seats. I lean against his shoulder and let him fiddle with and trace my fingers with his own. I jolt to my feet when someone is brought out of the maze. It's Fleur Delacour, unconscious and a little scrapped up but without any other injuries. I breathe a sigh of relief for the girl. I settle back into my seat, returning to my previous position.

When red sparks are shot into the sky I shoot up out of my seat again, partially hoping its Cedric with a minor injury, but praying it's not him if the person is severely hurt. Murmurs wash over the crowd as Viktor is brought out of the maze in a similar condition to Fleur.

Cedric and Harry are the only two left. I can feel