Where'd You Go

"McGonagall isn't giving any hints about what the first task is?"

"No. I know she wants to tell me, but she can't. It's against the rules." Harry and I had been sitting by the Black Lake for hours trying to come up with possible scenarios of what he could be facing in the next couple of days. We'd come up short, and we weren't even close to figuring it out.

"That's rubbish. I'm sure Maxime and Karkaroff are going to tell Fleur and Krum the first chance they get." I watched him throw rocks into the water. He was frustrated and confused, and I didn't know how to help.

"I know." I sighed, leaning my head back against the tree I was sitting in front of, closing my eyes as I tried to wrack my brain for ideas. I heard walking and hushed whispers behind us, and I pushed myself from the floor. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were walking toward us. Ron still looked upset, and I figured it wasn't going to be until Harry almost lost his life that he would actually come to his senses. I exchanged a look with Hermione, but she just shook her head.

"Harry," I mumbled, nudging his arm. When he saw who was coming, he tried to walk away. but I grabbed his hand. If Ron was here, this was important.

"Ronald would like me to tell you that Seamus told him that Dean was told by Parvati that Hagrid's looking for you." To anyone other than me and Hermione, that had to sound confusing, and I could tell by the look on Harry's face that he hadn't understood any of it. I knew that Ron was behind all of this. Seamus more than likely hadn't said anything to Ron about Hagrid.

"Is that right? Well.....what?"

"Dean was told by Parvati that, please don't ask me to say it again, Hagrid's looking for you." I looked to Ginny, hoping she would give me an answer because I knew Hermione wasn't going to. Not in front of Ron.

"Well you can tell Ronald-" Hermione whipped around, fire in her eyes.

"I'm not an owl!" She yelled, grabbing Ginny and pulling her back the other way. I hated that we were so divided right now. We needed each other more than anything, and Ron was ruining that out of jealousy.

"He'll come around," I said to Harry, turning back and reaching for his hand. I gave it a light squeeze and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I'm not going to wait for that to happen."

"I'm not saying that you have to. He's upset for all the wrong reasons, and he's going to realize it." I just hoped it was sooner rather than later.

"I should go see Hagrid now." We started walking back toward the castle, complete silence between the two of us.

"Do you want me to go with you?" I noticed that Harry was starting to isolate himself, and it wasn't good for him.

"No. It's alright. Go to dinner. I'm just going to get my invisibility cloak." I nodded, and our journey was continued in silence until the castle came into view. I spotted Cedric waiting by one of the doors, and he stood up straight when he saw me coming.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" I still wasn't completely happy with Cedric despite his apology. I didn't want to give him the wrong idea because at the end of the day, I was going to be on Harry's side no matter what.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll see you later." I hugged him tightly, silently letting him know that I was there if he needed me before walking over to Cedric.

"I've been looking for you," he said once I reached him.

"Why?" He seemed hurt by my response, but I didn't have time to stroke his ego. I needed to help Harry figure out what he'd be facing.

"I wanted to warn you. I don't know who's made them, but there are some nasty badges about Potter that are being passed out. Everyone's going to be wearing them for the next couple days." I rolled my eyes, pushing my fingers through my hair. Why were people so immature and hateful? It didn't make sense, and it wasn't fair. Harry hadn't done anything to anyone.

"Thanks for the heads up," I grumbled, pushing past him to walk to the Great Hall.

"Alexandria, wait. Can I ask you something?" I stopped walking, turning to face him.

"What is it?"

"Do you not like me or something?" I wasn't sure which way he meant it. As a person, I didn't have an issue with Cedric before he accused Harry of being a cheater. An far as fancying him went, I still hadn't figured that out, and there was no time to think about it.

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean that you avoid me at all costs whenever we see each other. It seems like you never want to talk to me." I sighed, trying to think of an excuse to leave.

"Why does it matter, Cedric?"

"If you haven't noticed, I like you." Everything seemed to freeze as I stared up at him, looking for an ounce of insincerity. I didn't see any, which made me freak out more than I already was.

"You hardly know me."

"I know that you're smart. I know that you love your friends unconditionally. I know that you're willing to help everyone, even those that don't deserve it. I know that you're beautiful." He stepped forward placing his hand on my cheek. I reached up, pulling his fingers from my face.

"Cedric, it's not that I don't like you, but no matter what, I'm going to choose Harry." I could see the hurt in his eyes, and I felt horrible that I was the person that caused it. He pulled his hand away from me and stepped back.

"Are you guys dating or something?"

"No, but he's my best friend. He knows me better than anyone else. I'm always going to choose him." With every word that left my mouth, his expression darkened. I wasn't intentionally trying to hurt his feelings, but I needed to tell him the truth.

"Right. I'll see you later." He walked away from me without another word, and I felt hot tears slip down my cheeks. My question of how I felt had been answered. I suddenly had no desire to go to dinner and skipped the meal all together, heading up to the Gryffindor common room. I stepped through the portrait hole and walked upstairs, getting into my bed. I buried my face in my pillow, silently praying to whoever was listening that things would get better.



"Have you seen Harry?" I asked Hermione. She was the first person I'd found. Ron and Harry were both missing, though I assumed Ron was somewhere with Seamus.

"No. He didn't come down for breakfast." I'd seen the boys in class, but they both disappeared as soon as they bell rang, and it was obvious that neither of them wanted to talk. They were both horribly stubborn.

"Do you have any idea what Hagrid wanted?" Her answering sigh let me know that she knew exactly what was going on, which meant Ron knew. Harry obviously knew, so I was the last to know. That was wonderful.

"Dragons." Her answer was vague, and I raised my eyebrows.

"What about them?"

"That's the first task." My eyes widened, and I clamped my hand over my mouth. Dumbledore couldn't seriously be letting Harry and everyone else go up against dragons. There wasn't enough training in the world for that.

"They're expected to slay a dragon?"

"No. They're not going medieval. I don't know what exactly they're supposed to do. I just know it involves a dragon. Hagrid took Harry to see them last night." This was going to be a disaster. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. Someone, if not everyone, was going to get hurt, and I didn't want to watch that happen.

"How is that okay?"

"It's not, but it's not like we have a say. Everything's already been planned. We kind of just have to deal with it." I spotted Harry walking with a determined look on his face. I followed his line of vision. He was walking toward Cedric, and I stood quickly, hoping he was going to start a fight. I followed behind him, trying to catch up, but his legs were longer than mine. Each of Cedric's friends were wearing the badges he'd warned me about the day before. They showed Cedric's face first with a yellow background before a distinct whizzing was heard, and the background turned green with Harry's face before saying Potter Stinks. I half expected Cedric to have one on as well, but his robes were clear other than his prefect's badge.

"Can I have a word?" I stayed a couple paces behind, but followed them as they walked away from Cedric's friends, standing behind Harry.

"Alright."

"Dragons. that's the first task. They've got one for each of us." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Why was Harry warning him? I watched Cedric's face pale in confusion and then realization.

"Are you serious? Fleur and Krum, do they...?"

"Yes." Cedric's eyes flickered to mine briefly before he looked back at Harry.

"Right. Hey, listen. About the badges, I've asked them not to wear them." I could see the tension in Harry's shoulders, and I only hoped that he didn't run off. I was worried about him.

"Don't worry about it." Harry turned immediately, walking away from both of us. I willed my feet to move, but they stayed glued to the floor, and my eyes stayed on Cedric.

"Hello." I wasn't sure if he was going to say anything, and for a few long moments, he didn't.

"Hi." He moved to walk back to his friends, and I reached for his arm. He turned slowly, staring down at me with an unreadable expression.

"Uhm....please be careful tomorrow, okay?" I didn't know what else to say because as long as he and Harry were enemies, I couldn't give him what he wanted. His eyes softened a little, and I almost saw a hint of a smile. Or it could have been my imagination.

"I will." It looked like he wanted to say something else, but he walked back to his friends, leaving me standing alone.

"Why so tense Potter?!" I heard Malfoy's annoying voice a few feet away, and I whipped around, my wand already out. I wasn't much of a fighter, but Malfoy got under everyone's skin, and one day he was going to get what was coming to him, "My father and I have a bet you see. I don't think you're going to last 10 minutes in this tournament. He disagrees. He thinks you won't last 5." Malfoy's friends snickered, and I pushed the first one I could get to.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks! He's vile and cruel. And you're just pathetic." Harry turned, and Malfoy angrily began reaching for his wand. I put mine to the back of his head, daring him to mutter a spell or a curse, but Professor Moody beat me to it, turning him into a ferret.

"I'll teach you to curse somebody when their back is turned." I rushed to Harry's side, making sure that he was okay. A crowd formed, laughing at the expense of Malfoy.

"Professor Moody, what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall appeared, her normally stern look was one of shock.

"Teaching."

"Is that a student?" Her eyes became wide and frantic.

"Technically it's a ferret." Professor Moody was making Malfoy hover and put him down Crabbe's pants. I let a small giggle escape my lips, covering my mouth with my hand. Professor McGonagall successfully changed Malfoy back into a human, much to everyone else's dismay, and I still had my wand out in case he tried anything.

"My father will hear about this!" Malfoy yelled, though you could hear the fear in his voice. In my opinion, he wasn't everything he pretended to be. He was a scared little boy that thought he could get away with murder because of who his parents were. He was nothing but a coward.

"Is that a threat? I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair boy! It doesn't end here!" Professor Moody yelled after him.

"We never use transfiguration as a punishment. Surely Dumbledore told you that," Professor McGonagall said, her stern look back on her face.

"Might have mentioned it." Professor Moody looked like a child being scolded.

"You will do well to remember it." As McGonagall walked away, Moody shoved his tongue out and crossed his eyes before grabbing Harry's arm. Once again I was left alone, not knowing what to do with myself. Hermione had disappeared, and I had no desire to find Ron. The library seemed like the most logical place to go. I needed a distraction, and homework was the perfect distraction.