"Why is this so important?" George asked Maddie as Maddie walked quickly through the library, picking out dozens of books. 

"Because, George!" Maddie said exasperatedly. "The Triwizard Tournament hasn't been played for over like, four hundred years! Why are they bringing it back?!" 

"To make school less boring." Fred answered. They hadn't left Maddie's side since the train, only parting ways at the welcoming feast when Maddie told them angrily to sit at the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore had then announced that the Triwizard Tournament would be reinstated, and students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be coming to participate. 

"I know the real reason," George said, as he and Fred tried to keep up with Maddie as she kept checking the spines of books for titles. "It's because dear old Cedric is thinking of joining." 

Fred snickered. Maddie merely rolled up a piece of parchment she found on an empty nearby table, and whacked each of the twins on the head with it. Then she placed it back down and continued searching. Fred rubbed the back of his head. 

"Sorry we ever said anything," he muttered. 

"Anyways," Maddie said loudly. "You sounded very keen on the idea of joining. I need to make sure it's safe." 

"I thought mum was back at the Burrow." George joked. 

"Why are you guys still here?" Maddie asked, reaching the back of the library, the section on Hogwarts history. If any books were about the Triwizard Tournament, then it had to be here, right? "I don't need any bodyguards." She added, which triggered a surprised response from the twins. 

"We're not trying to be your bodyguards." Fred said immediately. Fred and George glanced at each other, before practically jumping on to the bookshelves and helping Maddie find her book. 

"Then why is it whenever Leo Moore or Cedric Diggory come around, you run in front of me with your arms crossed?" Maddie asked curiously, her one eyebrow raised. 

Fred and George seemed at lost for words. 

" I thought so." Maddie said, then exclaimed, "Aha!", as she found a thick book titled 'Magical (But Dangerous) Wizarding Tournaments of  the Past Millenium'. 

Maddie pulled it out, then flipped it over. On the back was an overview of all the chapters. She dragged her finger down and stopped at page 156, The Triwizard Tournament. 

"Fine, Maddie, you win." Fred said finally. "Win on what?" Maddie asked absent-mindedly. "I usually win when something involves you." 

George rolled his eyes. "We'll go, bye.." 

"See you," Maddie said, not even looking up as the twins left. 

                    ●∘◦❀◦∘●∘◦❀◦∘●∘◦❀◦∘●∘◦❀◦∘

Maddie was sitting in the Hufflepuff common room, leaning against the legs of the yellow couches while reading her section of her book about the dangerous sounding Triwizard Tournament. Fred and George may have have said that she was doing intensive reading because of Cedric, but she was also extremely concerned for them. Fred and George had seemed very interested in joining the competition, and though they were underage, Maddie still had this thought in the back of her head that told her that Fred and George were going to get through to the judge and convince them that they should join.

That scared Maddie. 

She knew that they were very smart and could perform extraordinary spells, but still. Fred and George weren't exactly the boys to pay attention in class. Another thought crossed Maddie's mind. She was so used to thinking of the twins together, as if they were one person. But they were two separate individuals, which meant only one of them could be Hogwarts champion. She knew the other twin would be supportive of whoever got chosen, but what if one of died? That would be heartbreaking for one of the twins, as they were practically attached at the hip. It would also be heartbreaking for Maddie. And she was going to do as much research as she could. Because when Maddie was scared, she usually went to a book for comfort. 

"Maddie, slow down, you're legit scaring me." said a voice. 

Maddie looked up from her intense reading to see her best friend, Alma Adams, looking down at her with a shocked look on her face. 

"What?" Maddie asked. 

"You should have seen your eyes," Alma commented. "They were zooming across the page. It was creepy." 

Maddie sighed and dropped the book down. "Fred, George and Cedric all want to join this, this-" Maddie clenched her fists in exasperation. "Deadly tournament!" 

"Aren't Fred and George too young?" Alma said. "They're still sixteen." 

"Yes, I know, but they're really good at persuading! What if they persuade the judges?" 

"I don't know," Alma shrugged. "Technically you could join, you turn seventeen in two days."

Maddie's brain was awoken with a start. She had almost forgotten that her birthday was in two days. Maddie usually always forgot her birthday; the only way she remembered was by telling herself it was 16 days before Hermione's.

"I would never," Maddie said, before picking up the book and burying her nose in it. 

Alma studied Maddie for a bit before deciding that Maddie wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Alma sighed. "Ok, bye Maddie, see you in the morning," Alma said, yawning. "Make sure you get some sleep. You'll need it for our first classes tomorrow." 

"Yeah." Maddie said absent-mindedly, and she continued reading. Alma walked towards the circle barrel door much like the entrance to the common room, opened it and stepped inside. 

Maddie continued reading late into the night. She had now finished the chapter about the Triwizard Tournament and had started reading about the other dangerous wizarding tournaments. 

Maddie hadn't even realized the time until she looked up at the analog clock hanging over the fire and read the time as 2:51 am. 

Maddie gasped and hurriedly shoved a bookmark into the book, turned off the lamp and tried to find her way to the door, when she realized she left her wand on the floor. 

She tried to find the lamp once again, and when she failed, she crawled around on the ground and tried to feel for her wand. Finally, a long wooden, thin cylinder thing touched Maddie, and she grasped her wand. 

She stood up silently, and walked towards what she thought was the door to the sixth year girls dorm. Then she promptly collided with someone. 

"Youch!" The person Maddie collided with exclaimed. Maddie backed away from the tall figure and rubbed her forehead. She could tell by the figure outline that it was a boy....

"Cedric?" 

"Lumos," Cedric muttered, and a glowing light at the end of his wand tip glowed. Maddie quickly switched on the gas lamp, and then turned to Cedric. 

"I'm so sorry Cedric, I-" Maddie started. "Wait, what are you doing down here at 2:53 am in the morning?" 

"I could ask you the same question, Maddie," Cedric replied with a smirk. 

"If you should know, I was reading up on the Triwizard Tournament, because some dummies want to join." Maddie said. She looked up at him. "By that, I mean you." 

Cedric smiled at her concern for him. "Fine. I'm down here because I can't sleep, and I need to read." 

Maddie was confused. "I never took you for a nighttime reader sorta guy." 

"Oh trust me, I am." 

Which was how Maddie and Cedric stayed up for most of the night, reading different books and whispering to each other about them. 

Cedric woke up at 8 am in the morning to find Maddie's head leaning against his shoulder, her eyes closed and her breathing slowed. She had fallen asleep on him. 

The common room was empty, which meant everyone had already gone down to breakfast. Cedric carefully held her head, lowered it on to the couch, then made sure she couldn't fall before leaving the common room and letting Maddie get some shut-eye. 

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was so much fun to write!! I feel like these chapters are getting shorter and shorter, so I'm challenging myself for next chapter to write at least 2k words, or at least close to it. Also, new banner that I made myself! For some dumb reason, it's not uploading to this chapter, I've tried so many times :(

But if you look back on the previous chapters, you can see it! Thank you for reading! 

- Isa :)