It was the night before the first task, and the Triwizard champions had been summoned to a tent on the far reaches of the castle grounds. There, they were to prepare themselves, rest, gather their energies and focus on the difficult challenge ahead without distractions.
Fleur had looked a little sick and refused all of the delicious cold dishes the house elves had unpacked; she had opted to vanish behind her curtained sleeping area and go to bed right away. Viktor had eaten enough for all four of them, and with a great deal of noise; after this, he went outside for a short walk and then came back to lie down and ponder. Or meditate. Or probably, to simply brood. Either way, he disappeared into his own chamber and did not come out again.
Neither Cedric nor Harry noticed. They were both lost in thought, nibbling at their dinners listlessly, their eyes meeting anxiously every once in a while over plates which refused to clear themselves.
When the house elves popped in half an hour later, looking disappointed that three of the plates were still full, the two Hogwarts champions exchanged a quick glance and forced themselves to eat a few more bites to appease them. The elves left a lot happier with a few snaps of their tiny fingers.
"I suppose we should--" Cedric started.
"Might as well--" Harry said at the same time.
Cedric gave a quick smile. "Sorry. You were saying?"
Harry returned it. "I was going to say we might as well try and get whatever sleep we can."
Cedric looked at him for a minute, then shook himself as if he'd been drifting. "That's more or less what I was going to say." He stood up and stretched. "Goodnight, Harry."
"Night, Cedric."
Cedric wandered to his compartment of the tent, hung up his school cloak, and retrieved a bag from under the bed. After an inscrutable glance back at Harry, he closed the curtains before getting changed.
Harry, who had been watching him absently, sighed and decided to follow his example. He moved behind his own curtained section, right next to Cedric's, closed the drapes, and changed into a blue T-Shirt and striped pyjama pants while muttering a few appropriate cleaning and tooth-brushing spells.
Then he spelled the lights off and lay down. And waited for sleep to come. He counted sheep. Then owls. Then brooms. Then wizards on brooms. And finally, when he had counted over 500 dragons chasing wizards on brooms, he gave up. With a sigh, he sat up straight, drawing his knees up under the thin blanket and resting his head on them.
"Harry?" came a hushed whisper from nearby.
Harry looked up. "Cedric, is that you?"
"Yes." Rummaging was followed by the smooth rustle of cotton sheets, and then the sound of bare feet padding along the ground towards the thinner curtain separating their compartments. "Hope you don't mind, but I heard you moving about. I can't sleep either."
Harry looked towards the curtain even though he couldn't see a thing in the dark and without his glasses. "I'm not keeping you awake, am I?"
A pause. "No. No, you're not. Nerves are keeping me awake, I'm afraid."
"Same here," Harry admitted. "Did you want to come over? I mean, we could just sit and talk or something. I do that with Ron when we're not tired enough to sleep."
There was some movement which fanned the curtain slightly. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Won't end up waking Viktor and Fleur that way." The feet were moving a little further away.
Harry flicked on the small lamp next to the bed, put on his glasses, and a moment later, Cedric poked his head in. "You're sure you don't mind?"
Harry shook his head. "It's fine. Come in."
