Mischief - Book Two of the RP Saga

30. Snarky Malarky

Rachel had spent, nearly, a whole afternoon searching for the Hufflepuff, Cedric (the irony stung her). She had eventually found him, but only, of course, after lurking outside his common room for a solid half an hour. It was clear that Cedric wasn't quite so happy to see her as she was to see him.

That confused her.

But, like usual, Rachel had ignored the signs that Cedric probably wasn't in the mood for her company and invited him to join her on a walk. Being too polite to say no, he had followed her. The two awkwardly strolled around the castle seeing as Rachel had deemed it too cold to step out into the spring air. It, to say the least, was tense and had an odd feeling to it, as though the two both wanted to say something but unsure as of how to.

Again, this confused Rachel.

Why was it so hard to suddenly ask Cedric for help? They were friends were they not? For the past year, the two had surprisingly hung out a lot. With all the drama at the beginning of the school year, Cedric was a nice change for Rachel to hang out with. Especially when she had been fake-dating George (it still made her laugh to think she had been with George bloody Weasley) she had come into conflict with hanging out with Cedric from both her boyfriend and Cedric's girlfriend, Cho Chang. Rachel doubted she'd ever like the Ravenclaw.

But yet something about them nowadays was off, they had not argued so it couldn't have been anything to do with that. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Was it guilt from the Yule Ball? It couldn't have been, Rachel decided, she felt no regret from that night; none whatsoever. That was when it clicked for her. It wasn't Rachel who was acting oddly or weirdly. It was Cedric... and she knew why.

The second task required an object of value to the Triwizard Champions. While Rachel had been shocked that she was not 'stolen' from Harry, it was beginning to make sense now as she mulled the thoughts over in her head. Hermione had been Viktor Krum's, obviously due to the fact the two were practically dating. He had obvious feelings for Rachel's friend and had done everything in his power to speak to her. That's why she had been Cedric's. Cedric, like Viktor with Hermione, liked Rac-

"So, what exactly are we out here for?" Cedric broke her train of thought as they arrived by the Herbology classrooms.

"Oh," she gasped, coming to terms with where they were, "well, it seems kind of rude of me to suddenly jump straight into this but... well, we need your help."

"My help?" Cedric repeated, confused.

"Yes, well, Harry needs it." Rachel corrected herself and looked to Cedric.

"He always seems to be in need of my help." Cedric stated with a sigh.

Ignoring the slightly cold tone to Cedric's voice, Rachel smiled at him kindly and gave a light-hearted, but fake, laugh. "You clearly have the best advice he's looking for, but I ask for it... not him. I just worry about him, that's all. He's about as sharp as a quaffle," Cedric laughed, "and quite frankly, he's just going to end up hurt unless he gets help. But especially not from Professor Moody."

"What's wrong with Professor Moody?" Cedric asked her with a frown.

"I just don't... trust him." She answered truthfully. "He doesn't live up to the tales I had heard of him."

Cedric nodded and was silent. He stayed silent for several moments, Rachel wondered if she should ask again for his help. Though all it seemed these days was her asking for his help. It did make her feel pretty awful sometimes but hell, Harry needed it, whether he admitted to it or not.

Unlike the other champions, Harry was still in his fourth year and hadn't learnt nearly half the spells like Fleur Delacour did. There was no harshness to Rachel's thoughts, it was the truth. Harry had, accidently, dived into the deep end of the pool with his hands tied. Professor Moody seemed to follow him, and consequently Rachel, around, giving him advice or asking him to see him in his room.