𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗻, cedric diggory

˗ˋ 62

CHAPTER SIXTY TWO
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH SHE'S CONFRONTED

. . .

After the initial greetings, the group of friends decided to leave Harry with Bill and Mrs Weasley to enjoy their morning, and instead spend it up in the common room. The twins were trying to work on some product, and Rosie spent most of the morning talking with Angelina, occasionally helping Fred and George with something.

Angelina disappeared to sit with Katie and Alicia at lunch, and although Rosie was initially planning on joining her, giving the Weasleys some family time, she found herself being practically dragged into the middle of the bunch, sitting between Fred and Ginny.

It was the same with dinner as well, after Rosie had spent the majority of the afternoon fretting about the task, worrying that the potions would be useless or that somehow Cedric would manage to forget the spells that she had drilled into him.

The majority of her mind had practically all the faith she could have in Cedric that he was going to succeed, but there was that tiny part of her brain which was struggling with the various 'what if' questions.

What if he panicked and messed up a spell, what if whatever was in that maze she had never heard of before and so she couldn't even have told Cedric existed for him to defend himself with? Either way, any of these questions generally ended with Cedric either being badly injured or killed. 

She couldn't even look Harry for more than five seconds, otherwise she would end up worrying for him too - although Fred and George had reassured her that Hermionee had helped him. But he was two years younger than any of the competition - two whole years of learning that he didn't have, putting him at a disadvantage. 

But it was too late for Rosie to do anything to help his case, and so she avoided thinking about him all afternoon, and when it came to lunch, if she looked at him her eyes would flicker away moments after. She couldn't deal with anymore worry, it would be too much for her.

"More potatoes?" Mrs Weasley asked, peering over to where Rosie was sat, pushing yet another sole sausage around her plate. There was nothing else on it, and Mrs Weasley frowned. "If you're worried for Harry-"

"It's not Harry she's worried for, mum." George chimed, and Rosie eyes widened, digging her elbow into his side. "Remember what Mr Diggory said this morning, before all that stuff about Harry and winning?"

"You didn't have to bring this up, George!" Rosie hissed, assuming her usual smile when looking over to Mrs Weasley. "Of course I'm worried for Harry, but I'm confident he'll do well."

"Cedric then." Mrs Weasley trailed off, looking down at Rosie's plate once again. "Come on take some." The older woman held out the potato dish, and Rosie took two, making Molly smile. "So Cedric, he's a very good looking boy, and clearly very intelligent."

Beside her, Fred and George burst into laughter. The Kersey girl's cheeks flared pink, embarassed at the talk, but clearing her throat, she went to answer, eyes flickering over to the Hufflepuff table unintentionally. 

The words in her throat died back down when she met the grey eyes of the exact boy they were talking about. "Yeah.. he is." Rosie nodded, looking away and down at her potatoes. She glanced back up, only to see not just Fred and George staring at her, but Molly, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Bill.

"Rosie-posie is in loveee." Fred sanng, and Rosie reached out and smacked him on the back of his head, blushing furiously.

"I am not. I'm sure Ginny and Hermione will agree he is very good looking. You don't get a chance to think about that when you're trying to teach him things to not get himself killed." Rosie said quickly, voice far higher pitched than she intended. 

With the girl quickly returning to her potatoes, more flustered than any of them had seen her before, the feast progressed onto the final sweeter course within a few minutes.

As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell. Rosie could hear her heart pounding, and she glanced down at the Hufflepuff table one last down. Cedric was looking at her again, a lot paler than before. 

"You'll be ok." She mouthed, holding up her thumb. He nodded, somewhat hesitantly as he turned his attention to Dumbledore.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now." The Headmaster said, and the champions got up, their fellow students applauding them.

The minute that other people were allowed to go, Rosie got to her feet. "I've got to go.. Cedric said he wanted to talk to me before it begins. Save me a seat in the stands." She quickly told the twins, getting up out of her seat.

She took off at a run, weaving her way through the crowds of students heading towards to Quidditch stadium. In the golden dusk, the sun shining from a low point in the lilac skies, Rosie ran towards the maze, towards Cedric. 

Because in all honestly, she was more scared than she probably should be. And if she was right about what she thought Cedric might want to tell her, then she really needed him to be alive when the task finished.

Rosie felt the same way, in that case.

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