ALWAYS (Harry Potter fanfiction) (Snape fanfiction)

Chapter 34

"Are you sure you don't want me to tell him?" Arabella asked Harry as they walked towards Cedric, who was sitting with the rest of his friends from the Quidditch team.

"No, it's okay, but, can you come with me?" Harry asked. Arabella smiled and nodded. When they got closer to the Hufflepuff bunch, Cedric's friends pressed their badges and turned them into 'Potter Stinks'.

"Grow up" Arabella told them sternly, and used her wand to rip the badges off their cloaks. They started complaining but a look from Arabella made them shut up, "Cedric, a word, if you please?" Arabella said shortly. He seemed to hear the urgency in her voice because he stood up and walked away behind them.

"Harry, I'm sorry about the badges, I told them not to wear them" Cedric eyed Arabella, she smiled.

"It doesn't matter. The first task, it's dragons" Harry blurted out.

"What? Are you completely sure?" Cedric asked. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes, I've seen them" said Harry.

"There are four of them, one for each champion" Arabella explained.

"Wait, how d'you-?" Cedric asked.

"That doesn't matter"

"And what about Viktor and Fleur, do they know?" Classic Cedric, Arabella thought, always thinking of others.

"Yes, Madame Maxime and Karkaroff saw them too" explained Harry. Shock was still evident in Cedric's face.

"Why did you tell me?" The Hufflepuff boy asked.

"Well, it's only fair isn't it? Now we all know, we all have the same footing" Harry smiled at Cedric. Arabella beamed with pride at how her brother had acted. It was a really noble thing, what he did.

"Potter!" Moody called from behind, "my office, now" then he looked at Cedric and Arabella, "Snape, Diggory, scatter away" they didn't have to be told twice, so Arabella just kissed Harry's forehead and dragged Cedric away.

"How am I supposed to battle a dragon, Arabella?" He whispered in an alarmed tone.

"You don't" Arabella said after a moment of thinking. Her mind was going a thousand miles per hour ever since she found out about the dragons.

"What do you mean I don't, you do remember I have to compete, don't you?" He was anxious.

"Use your brain, Cedric" Arabella muttered, as some Beauxbatons students were passing by, "you cannot battle a dragon, you need half a dozen wizards to knock them out, and you cannot expect to gain their trust at such a small amount of time"

"So what do I do? Tap dance for it? Expect it'd be to busy laughing at me to get enough time to go past it?" He was scared.

"No... you just- you get them to put their attention in something else" Arabella smiled as an idea popped into her head, "how good are you at Transfiguration?" Arabella asked

Arabella spent the remaining amount of time left before the task helping Cedric. She would have helped Harry, but when she asked him, her brother told her that he and Hermione were working on it, which gave Arabella a sense of relief, if Hermione was helping him, he'd be alright.

The day of the task, Arabella barely managed to get Cedric to eat a piece of toast before he had to run to the bathroom to vomit. Instead, he just drank some pumpkin juice before heading to the arena. Cedric had been able to avoid Cho, who had swarmed all over him ever since he got elected champion, jealous of all the attention he had been getting from other girls. Arabella walked with him to the arena. They entered a tent where Viktor and Fleur already were. They seemed as nervous as Cedric. Arabella bid the other champions good luck, Fleur, as pale and shaking as she was, gave her a small smile. Viktor nodded, and his shoulders seemed to relax a little. Cedric, he started pacing around in the tent, a green tint to his skin. About half an hour later of Cedric pacing around and vomiting twice- something Viktor did as well-, Professor McGonagall entered the tent with Harry.

"Evans, move along, we cannot be here" Professor McGonagall told Arabella, who furrowed her brows, the girl could see that Professor McGonagall was perhaps as nervous as the champions, "My goodness! Arabella! I'm sorry, my dear, I confused you for your mother for a second, must be the nerves. Either way, we must go" said McGonagall. Arabella nodded and walked to Harry, giving him a tight hug.

"You'll do great, Harry, be safe" Arabella told him, kissing his forehead. Arabella walked out of the tent, but quickly spun around and walked back to Cedric, and looked at him dead in the eye, "don't get killed"

"I'll be fine, I've got no choice" Cedric smiled softly at Arabella, trying to comfort her.

Arabella glared at Cedric, and he thought for a moment she was going to punch him for entering the Tournament. But then, she did something that surprised him even more. She kissed him.

"Be careful, you idiot" then she turned around and walked out of the tent.

Cedric would have probably sat there for the rest of the day, staring at the entrance of the tent and trying to remember what his name was, but the blinding flash of a camera jarred him back to reality. It had been Rita Skeeter taking a photo of Hermione hugging Harry.

"Young love" Rita Skeeter said with a malicious smile, "how very... stirring. If everything goes unfortunate today, you may even make the front page" Harry and Hermione were both blaring at her.

"You have not business here" Viktor Krum's voice boomed in the tent, "this tent is for champions... and friends" Rita Skeeter seemed to eat Viktor up with her eyes, to which he looked disgusted.

"No matter, we've got what we wanted" she giggled in a malicious way.

By that moment, Arabella had found her way up to the stands, and sat with the Weasley's and Blake. Fred had been going around collecting bets, apparently, the odds were against Harry.

"Well, I bet fifty Galleons he will be successful and survive" Arabella said irritably.

"Ooohh, fifty" George said amused, "you've got a fair amount of trust in your brother, Arabella"

"Well, of course I do!" Arabella exclaimed indignantly, "if I don't, who else will?"

"Well, let me tell you, Arabella, if you win, you will not only get back your money but also be five hundred galleons richer... a particular client under the name D. Malfoy bet two hundred and fifty galleons that Harry won't be successful, mostly all that money is from Malfoy's friends' pockets. And so far, you're the only one that has bet on Harry" Fred told her as he quickly read the bet papers he had. Arabella sighed in disbelief. She was tired of making up excuses for Draco.

"Now more than ever, I hope Malfoy eats his words. " Ron said from a couple seats below.

"You should bet on your friend, Ron" Arabella told him sternly, "and while you're at it, maybe talk to Harry. You miss him, and I am certain he misses you too"

"I'm gonna bet two galleons on him, but I'm not gonna go crawling up to him, not until he admits he has been a git and he tells me how he did it" Ron said as he gave two galleons to Fred.

"You know he didn't do it, Ronald. And yes, he has been a git, but you haven't been much better, have you?" Arabella told him.

Just as he was about to answer, the cannon marking the start of the task went off. Arabella took the hand closest to her and held it tightly.