~
Eleanora woke the next morning sprawled out on a couch in the common room. Her head pounded the moment she sat up and her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with dry cotton balls. She put a hand on her hair and felt how disheveled it was. Lee was asleep on the other side of the couch, his head hanging off of the armrest. She reached her foot out to push him, trying to wake him up.
"Eeeuuurrgghhh..." He rubbed at his eyes and slipped off the couch onto the floor. "What d'you want?"
She didn't answer.
"Oi, Eleanora." It was Phillipa. "Aren't you supposed to be meeting Cedric or something? It's almost time for the first task."
Eleanora's head snapped up. "Oh no," she groaned.
"Come on, get up." Phillipa helped Eleanora to her feet. "I made you this," she said, handing Eleanora a cup of coffee. "You look like you need it."
"Mmmm. Thanks."
~
Eleanora made it to the Great Hall just as Cedric was leaving. She ran and threw her arms around him.
"Hey," he whispered, and she noticed that his hands were shaking ever so slightly as he hugged her back.
She pulled away and held both of his hands in hers. "Hey. Are you okay? Are you nervous?"
"Are you okay?" Cedric let out a choked laugh. "You look awful."
"Yeah, thanks for that."
"I-"
"I know, I know. Party in the common room last night, but I don't want to talk about that. Do you think you're ready? Do you need anything?" She moved her hands to his face, and then ran her fingers through his hair.
"I'm alright, I'll be fine," he said, but she could see the worry in his eyes.
"Oh, come here." Eleanora pulled him down into a tight hug. Cedric buried his face in her shoulder for a moment, taking a deep breath, and then straightened up again.
"I'll see you afterwards then." He detangled himself from her grasp.
"Be careful, will you?" she called after him. He blew her a kiss and disappeared out the oak front doors.
~
Eleanora, Fred, George, and Lee all trooped down to the stadium after they'd finished their breakfasts and found seats by Angelina and Alicia. The whole school was there, talking loudly and excitedly about the first task. Eleanora stared down at the pitch, trying to figure out what exactly the task would be. She didn't have to wait long before it was announced.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ludo Bagman's voice boomed from the announcers box.
"It's him!" Fred hissed in Eleanora's ear. "It's Bagman!" Eleanora nodded her head. Fred let out an exasperated sigh and leaned over to George to relay the news.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bagman said again. "Welcome... to the first task of the first Triwizard Tournament in two-hundred years!" There was an uproar of cheers from the crowd. "That's right, that's right! Now, I know you've all been anxious to know what the first task'll be, so without further ado..."
Right on cue, the largest creature Eleanora had ever seen swooped down and landed in the middle of the pitch. It was contained by a dozen or so witches and wizards, among which Eleanora could see a mop of bright red hair.
"It's dragons!" Fred said in amazement. Eleanora stared in awe and horror at the dragon as Bagman explained the task.
"Our champions'll have to find a way to get past the dragon in order to take the golden egg it's guarding." Only then did Eleanora notice the golden egg sitting in the middle of the pitch. "They'll be scored based on performance and how much time it takes them to retrieve the egg."
"That's insane..." Eleanora whispered, only loud enough for Fred to hear right next to her.
"He'll be fine," said Fred. He sounded more excited than concerned.
"And now, for our first contestant.... CEDRIC DIGGORY!"
Cedric strode into the pitch, looking far more confident than he could've felt. He stared up at the dragon stubbornly, as if daring it to try and kill him. The only problem was, the dragon did try to kill him- immediately. The moment it laid eyes on Cedric, a jet of hot flames shot from its mouth and Cedric only just had time to duck and roll away. Eleanora shrieked and clenched her hands together. Beside her, the twins cheered with everyone else.
Cedric stood up, staring down the dragon again. Then, he ran and dove behind a rock just before another fiery stream exploded right at the spot where Cedric had been standing. Eleanora dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand. The dragon advanced, and Cedric tried dodging it again, but the hem of his robes got caught in the flames.
"Ooooh, narrow miss there, very narrow," Bagman said as Cedric doused the flames with a jet of water from his wand. The dragon turned to him again, but at that moment, Cedric waved his wand at the nearest rock and it transfigured into a large dog, which ran towards the other side of the pitch. The dragon was distracted by it.
In the moment that the dragon prowled after the dog, Cedric took a running leap and sprinted into the middle of the pitch. The crowd went wild. Eleanora screamed and clapped for him as Bagman shouted, "He's taking risks, this one!" Cedric grabbed the egg and turned to exit, but the dragon had gotten bored of the dog. It rounded on Cedric again. It blew a jet of fire at Cedric, who tried the duck and roll trick again, but it didn't quite work out this time.
"Clever move- pity it didn't work!" Bagman called. Cedric stood up, still clutching the egg. He was limping now, and Eleanora could see that part of his face had been burned.
"No, no, no," she muttered, clutching her own face. "Come on, just get out of there..."
"He's going to be fine," Fred said, putting an arm around her and watching the dragon with great intensity. It blew more fire at Cedric, and in one last valiant attempt, he dove towards the exit and clambered up the hill, narrowly missing the dragon's talons. Eleanora let out an audible sigh of relief and a few tears escaped her eyes as Cedric disappeared into safety.
"Very good indeed!" Bagman shouted. "And now the marks from the judges!" But Eleanora didn't stick around to watch the scores.
"I've got to go see him," she said, climbing over the twins to get to the exit.
"You sure? There's still three more to go," George said.
"Just fill me in later." She hurried out of the stadium and towards the medical tent.
When she stepped inside, Madam Pomfrey immediately tried to usher her out.
"No, let her stay," Cedric said. He was sitting up on a cot, holding a bandage to his arm.
"Very well," Madam Pomfrey huffed. "I'm going to make some ointment for that burn, don't get up to any trouble while I'm gone." She shot Eleanora a warning look to which Eleanora saluted. As soon as Madam Pomfrey left, Eleanora hurried to Cedric's side.
"How do you feel? Are you alright?" She touched the unburned part of his face lightly, turning his head so she could see the injury. "This'll need a mixture of boom berry... definitely dittany, and probably fluxweed. It's a nasty burn- oh, Cedric." Eleanora threw her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"I'm okay, I'm okay." Cedric rubbed her back comfortingly. "Really."
"You could've died, Ced."
"Glad I didn't."
Eleanora released him and sat back, surveying his injuries. His nerves seemed to be recovering, and he gave her warm smile and reached out his good hand for one of hers. She squeezed it, and then her eyes filled with tears.
"Cedric-"
"Hey, hey," he let go of her hand to wrap his good arm around her shoulders. "I'm okay. Really, I've only got a few burns."
"I was so scared-"
"I know." His voice was soft and gentle. He buried the unburned part of his face in her hair. "We're okay, though. Everything's going to be alright."
"Don't die, alright?" she said, laughing a little and wiping her eyes.
"I never will."
"I love you," Eleanora whispered into his chest. She wasn't sure if he'd even heard her at first. He was silent for a long minute.
"I love you, Eleanora."