☆

"BLOODY DRAGONS!"

Clover snapped her head up to face the breathless boy. The girl had just managed to settle down after arriving only a mere five minutes prior. She looked around the half-empty library for any wanderers before quietly closing her book and pulling out a chair for the boy to sit down. Cedric promptly dropped down onto the chair and moved it closer to hers, whilst he glanced behind him, searching for any eavesdroppers.

"Bloody fucking dragons, Clover!" He reiterated lowly, his eyes were wide and Clover couldn't exactly tell whether it was because he was excited or if it was because he was shitting himself with fear.

"What about them?" The girl asked, raising a brow as she tried to decipher what he was saying. Cedric ran a stressed hand through his hair as he shook his head. Clover furrowed her eyebrows at the boy's behaviour. She placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly as the boy muttered nonsense under his breath. "Ced, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's happening..."

"Dragons, Clove," Cedric muttered once more, his voice dropping. "That's the first task." Clovers jaw dropped in shock at his words.

"You can't be serious...dragons? Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh my Merlin, I should really invest in some calming draught ." Clover sighed, rubbing her temples. "Reckon somewhere in Hogsmede does it?"

"Clover, can we please get back to the poi- actually that may be a good idea." Cedric stopped to think before promptly shaking his head. "Never mind, back to what I was saying...Dragons, Clover, I have to fight a dragon!"

"Who told you that!"

"Harry." Cedric answered immediately, dropping his voice as he spoke. "When you left, Harry approached me and basically said that Fleur and Krum know too."

"I have some newfound respect for that boy..." Clover muttered before focusing back onto the subject matter at hand. "Well, you'll need to learn some spells, maybe study some old ones, but are you sure you have to fight them?"

"What else would we have to do?" Cedric groaned, slamming his head onto the desk in defeat.

"It's okay, I can help you," Clover reassured the boy, rubbing circles on the Cedric's back. "At least you're going into this task knowing what you're up against."

"-But, but DRAGONS!" Cedric stammered.

"No buts! As much as I'd love to be freaking out with you right now, there isn't enough time, Ced." Clover spoke steadily, trying to push back and ignore the warning signs running through her mind. "You have a week and a half to prepare yourself. Have you told Hugo and Jules?"

"Uh, no..." Cedric scratched his head as he spoke. "Harry sort of told me and I ran straight here to tell you."

"Yeah, and you left us waiting, you twat."

Juliette appeared from behind a bookshelf, with Hugo in tow. The girl looked irritated however Hugo looked unbothered as he sat down atop the table, with his signature, impish grin plastered across his face.

"Well..? What did the scrawny git tell ya?" He questioned, leaning back onto his hands while Cedric groaned.

"The first task is dragons," Clover told the two when Cedric made no attempt to answer. "Which means we all need to pitch in and help him find a way to get through this without dying."

"How about you just Avada Kedavra it?"

"Hugo, absolutely not!" Clover scolded, a shiver running down her spine at the words before she looked to Cedric with stern eyes. "You're not going to kill that dragon."

"Aye, Aye, Captain."  Cedric mumbled.

"It was only a joke, Clove." Hugo chuckled as he raised his brows, his hands in the air in defence.

"Is it really a joke if it's a shite one?" Juliette piped up, tilting her head teasingly while the boy pulled a face.

"Not you too." Hugo groaned, "Look, the joke was shit and I'll admit it...but it's not like I was serious. I'd be too terrified to even think of using Avada— you heard what Moody said, it would land me in Azkaban and I don't think I could survive Azkaban, I'd become everyone's favourite whore and that's just too much pressure." Even Clover couldn't hold back a small laugh as Hugo ruffled Cedric's hair. "-but I'm sure if you use it and get sent to Azkaban, buddy, you'll be just fine."

"Well Hugo, since you're so insistent on using a defensive spell, why don't you help Cedric study them?" Clover deliberated, "Not the illegal kind, of course, but the spells we learnt in Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"I can help him with Charms." Juliette offered, earning a grateful smile from Cedric.

"-And I can try to teach him something Transfiguration related?" Clover looked down at the boy, who was grinning like an idiot. "Sound good?"

"You guys... I can't ask you to do that." Cedric began, but he was cut off by Juliette clipping him behind his ear.

"You're gonna accept our generous offers, Diggory. Capiche?"

Cedric felt a small smile creep across his face, as all three of his friends began to work out when they'd teach the boy and help him study. Unfortunately, it wasn't long until Madam Pince had come down on them like a ton of bricks, forcing them to leave the library for being 'a distraction to other dedicated students', so after a rather colourful and lengthy grumble from Hugo, all four found themselves making their way back to the Hufflepuff common room for the evening.

It seemed as if the week and a half leading up to the first task had come to a close quicker than expected and it was safe to say that Cedric was completely and utterly drained from all the work he was doing in preparation. Between classwork, homework and tutoring sessions from his friends, the boy couldn't catch a break. The large bags that had situated themselves under his eyes, seemed to grow by the day but the boy kept his upbeat attitude intact.

It was the night before Cedric was supposed to face the dragon and he and Clover were sitting at the back of the library surrounded by books, whilst the moon's rays and the dim yellow light of the library lamps shone down on them. Everyone else seemed to have left for the evening, but the two Hufflepuff's stayed behind, determined to find some sort of solution to Cedric's 'fiery' little problem.

"Hey, Cedric, focus!" Clover pushed the boy's arm lightly, causing his head to hit the library table with a bang. The boy jolted up, his closed eyes snapping open as the girl let out a tired chuckle.

"I'm tired..." Cedric moaned, slumping against Clover's shoulder as she flicked through another few pages of the transfiguration book which was placed on the desk in front of her. "The task is tomorrow and I don't know how to take down a bloody dragon! I say, we just go to bed and I will willingly die tomorrow— no biggie!"

"Ced..." Clover started before she found herself locked onto a sentence from the transfiguration book. Her mind whirred, her thoughts spinning as a smirk laced its way across her face. The boy prodded her forehead, causing her eyes to flicker to his.

"Can we just go to bed now, please?" Cedric whined.

"I think I just figured out something."

Cedric shifted in his seat, an eager look crossing over his face.

"Well, go on then, let's hear it."

☆

"CLOVER!"

The girl twisted over in her bed as sunlight streamed in through the circular window of her dorm room. She blinked and winced at the sudden exposure to light. There was a consistent banging coming from the door of the dorm, causing a confused look to form on the girl's face.

"CLOVER CARSTAIRS OPEN UP!"

Clover promptly jumped to her feet, throwing the bed covers off her body. She opened the door, revealing a panicked Hugo hunched over and panting.

"Merlin, took you long enough!" The boy exclaimed, whilst Clover rubbed her eyes in exhaustion.

"Keep your voice down." She groaned, folding her arms over her pyjama top as she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. "What is it?"

"Cedric's not in bed." The boy stated, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"Okay..?"

"He's not in bed."

"Yeah, you said that...and?"

Hugo huffed and rolled his eyes as the girl yawned. "I can't find him." He reiterated, clamping his hands down on the girl's shoulders.

"He's probably with Cho..."

"Then why is Cho outside the common room looking for him? He's not here, he's not with Cho, no one else has seen him all morning!"

"Merlin!" Clover sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Give me five minutes." She reopened the dorm door, only to see Louise, Harlow and Juliette still fast asleep in bed. Clover shook her head and pulled her hair into a ponytail before slipping into the dorm bathroom and getting ready.

It wasn't long until she was back out in the corridor walking alongside Hugo as she stifled her yawns. The two made their way out of the common room to where Cho was standing nervously with her arms by her side.

"Hey, Cho." Clover smiled, wiggling her fingers in the girl's direction.

"Hi, no sign of Cedric then?" The girl questioned anxiously.

"Not yet."

"Alright, Cho you take the kitchen, library and the corridor leading there, I'll take the Astronomy Tower and the corridors leading there and Clover you take the courtyard and Black Lake?" Hugo planned, his hands rubbing together in thought.

"Why those places?" Cho asked curiously, whilst Clover stifled yet another yawn.

"They're 'Cedric's Seven Stress-free Spaces'." Clover filled the girl in, her lips quirking up into a small, fond smile. "Whenever he gets overwhelmed or super stressed he goes to one of those places to chill out and try to think."

Cho nodded and with a few more instructions from Hugo, the three split up on their quest to find Cedric. The girl found herself walking through the corridors leading to the courtyard. She couldn't tell what time it was, but the castle and its grounds were only littered with a few students.

It was a bitter morning and as the girl wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, she couldn't help but wish she'd brought a coat. Clover scoured the courtyard for any sign of Cedric but came to no avail. The girl, once again, wrapped her arms around herself tightly before making her way down the grassy path and towards the Black Lake.

The Black Lake glittered under the November morning sun. The trees surrounding the lake were bare as the auburn and yellow leaves scattered themselves across the ground. The girl scanned the area briefly and was about to turn back to the castle before a faint humming drifted through the air, its melody carrying itself from a large tree by the shore and straight to Clover's ears.

Clover smiled weakly to herself as she approached the tree cautiously, sitting down by its roots, her eyes never leaving the lake ahead of her.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Cedric asked quietly, his humming ceasing whilst the girl shifted.

"This is one of your favourite spots on the list of Diggory stress-free zones," Clover spoke up, her voice drifting off. She turned her head to face the boy. He looked like he'd gotten little to no sleep, his under-eye bags vibrant in comparison to his pale skin. "Hugo woke me and sent me and Cho looking for you."

Cedric sighed, his head falling onto the girl's shoulder. "What if I fail the first task?" He muttered in a tone which Clover had never heard from the confident boy before. He sounded defeated as if he had already lost. "I just want to make Dad proud, y'know?"

"Ced, I don't think there's a bone in Amos' body that isn't proud of you." Clover chuckled lightly, "One task in this tournament will never change that."

"But what if it does?" The boy huffed as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I mean, you know me, I'm like 'the golden boy' in my dad's eyes."

"Like I said, I doubt that will ever change, he loves you too much."

Clover and Cedric sat in silence for a few moments. The girl's arms were still entwined around her torso, as the wind nipped at her nose. The girl bit her lip as the air grew colder.

"Look, it's freezin' out here and Hugo will have a hernia if I don't bring you back soon." The girl started, standing to her feet as her teeth began to chatter. "I say we go get the champion some breakfast so Hugo doesn't rip me to shreds." Clover outstretched her hand allowing for the boy to take it. Cedric allowed himself to be pulled from the ground, as he groaned.

"If I become dragon food I give you full permission to take that sex book Hugo got me."

Clover chuckled lightly, patting the boy on his back as the two walked up the path leading back to the castle.

"No offence, but I don't want that...if you become dragon food, I'll be taking back your quidditch gloves and I'll be selling them on to some poor, unfortunate second year that I can easily overcharge."

"Deal...but that's a bit evil, Carstairs, y'know that?"

"I do, however, I really could care less."

"Merlin, you are something."

"Why thank you, Diggory, thank you so much."

☆

Is this a filler chapter? I guess we'll never know.....

anyways, hello everybody! How ya doing? Good, I hope, and if not good, I hope everything will be good for you in the future <3

Please vote and comment because, as I've said before, it truly is motivating!

Love you all,