Throughout her entire life, Clarissa Weasley had never seen much value in stressing out, much preferring to go with the flow of life. Sure, it may have landed her in some sticky situations over the years, usually in the form of pranks Fred and George had managed to wrangle her into, but she always managed to continue on with the same light, carefree smile on her freckled face.
For Cedric, however, as the clock began to tick down to the approaching Third Task, and the weeks remaining had turned into days, which shortly turned into hours as the eve of the task had finally arrived, the stress on the boy continued to grow, as he began sleeping even less and studying more for the competition. It was the final event of the Triwizard Cup, the one that would finally crown the winner, and he wasn't about to allow any slip-ups on his part. His days were spent either in class, the library, or near the Black Lake, studying every area of magic possible and practicing even the simplest spells that were mastered in first year, attempting to be as prepared as possible for whatever awaited him.
"I'm worried about him," Clary said to Newt and Vasantha as they huddled together at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, Clary stirring her spoon absentmindedly in the broth of the chicken soup she'd chosen for lunch that afternoon. "He hasn't given himself any sort of a break in days. Is he even sleeping anymore?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Newt informed her, taking a bite of his ham sandwich. "By the time I fall asleep, he's still flipping through spell books, and the books are out again when I wake up. He's about to be dead on his feet tomorrow, and the poor bloke may not even be able to compete if he's falling asleep against the maze's hedges."
"At least it's the final task." Vasantha assured them. "And once it's done, Cedric can get a good night's rest and celebrate that it's finally over."
"Can you believe it's been a year already?" Clary asked. "It seems like just yesterday that Dumbledore announced the tournament was happening."
"And once the year's over, then we've only got one left," Newt added, "until we say goodbye to this place."
"What do you think you'll do once you leave?" Vasantha asked them, and Clary thought to herself for a moment.
"I'm still not sure," Clary said honestly. "I'd like to play Quidditch maybe, if I make it, that is. I'm sure there's a team somewhere that'll take me. Fred and George want to start their joke shop, too, and I'd like to be a part of it. Who knows? Maybe I can do both."
"Well, my name's Newt Scamander, so there's only so many fields I can go into," Newt joked. "I spoke to Charlie when he was here for the First Task, way back in November. He said if I'd like to, there's a place at the Dragon Sanctuary with my name on it."
"I'd like to be a healer," Vasantha said with a small smile. "I'm usually the one patching up you lot after a prank backfires, anyways."
"A dragon tamer, a healer, and a Quidditch-player-slash-joke-shop-worker." Newt mused as the three of them finished their lunch. "I'm sure there's a joke somewhere out there about the three of them walking into a pub."
Clary smiled as they began to pack up their things, the clock on the wall of the Great Hall chiming that it was about to be one o'clock in the afternoon. Shortly before lunch, the champions had been summoned out to the Quidditch Pitch where the maze would be taking place the next day, and Clary was curious what sort of information they were being given about the Third Task. The tournament was all any of the students could talk about that day, the hallways buzzing as Clary had moved from one class to another. The excitement was building throughout the school, and everyone was eagerly awaiting one of the champions to be awarded the Triwizard Cup, and be crowned the winner.
As the three of them exited the Great Hall and reached the corridors, they saw Cedric enter the castle through the hulking front doors, two people flanking either side of him, much to Clary's surprise. She hadn't seen Amos Diggory since the Quidditch World Cup, before the Death Eater attack, nor had she seen his wife Anne since the Christmas party Clary's parents had held nearly a year and a half ago. Long before she had become Cedric's girlfriend, anyways. As their gazes landed on her, both of Cedric's parents broke into wide grins, waving her over.
"There she is!" Anne called, delighted, and Clary smiled back in return, attempting to hide her nerves.
"We'll leave you to it," Vasantha said with a small chuckle, both her and Newt bidding a quick hello to the Diggorys as they turned to head in the direction of the library, and once they were out of sight, Clary looked back at the family standing in front of her.
"Mum, Dad, you know Clary." Cedric said, his arm coming up to wrap around the girl's shoulders.
"Yes," Anne confirmed, beaming proudly at her son and his girlfriend, "So nice to see you, dear."
"Cedric's told us so much about you." Amos said proudly. "How are your parents?"
"They're well," Clary confirmed. "Last heard from my mum a few days ago, she said she'd be here with my brother Bill to support Harry in the tournament." Although, by the current presence of Cedric's parents, she could safely assume that Molly and Bill had already arrived on the school grounds.
"We were just about to take a walk." Anne informed Clary. "See how much the school's changed over the years since we attended. Would you care to join us?"
"I'd be delighted to," Clary said with a smile, Cedric leading the way as they left the entryway of the school, moving further down the corridors and up the first flight of stairs.
"It seems like just yesterday," Amos said fondly to Clary and Cedric as they walked. "that we were running through these halls, causing mischief of our own. Though, I can't imagine the two of you are off getting into any trouble, are you?"
"Absolutely not," Clary said, causing Cedric to stare back at her with a befuddled expression. "Well, I can't say too much for Cedric here, but I wouldn't dream of causing any mischief, Mr. Diggory."
"Please," the older man assured her, "call me Amos."
"Alright," Cedric said, eager to continue on with the tour. "Moving on..."
Clary couldn't help but watch in amazement as she spent the late afternoon and evening with Cedric's parents, finishing an extensive tour of the grounds and having an early dinner in the Great Hall before Amos and Anne needed to get to Hogsmeade, where they were staying for the night. She couldn't help but watch the way they doted on their son, bringing up his achievements throughout the years, even something as simple as a story from his childhood, though they spoke as if it had been some brilliant, life-changing accomplishment. For Clary, who was one of eight children, they always seemed to compete with each other for Molly and Arthur's attention, though Cedric was an only child, his parents' pride and joy. In their eyes, he could do no wrong.
Clary and Cedric bid Amos and Anne goodnight as they stood once more at the entrance to the castle, the Diggorys disappearing into the warm summer night and leaving the two teenagers alone in the corridor. Cedric turned back to Clary as soon as they were gone, an apologetic look crossing his features.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "They can be a little overwhelming sometimes."
"No, no, I loved it." she assured him, taking his hand in hers. "It's sweet, how proud they are of you. They love you so much."
"Yeah," he agreed with a fond smile. "Hey, I was thinking. It's the last night before the tournament. You're completely allowed to say no, but since you've already stayed the night once after the Yule Ball I was wondering if you'd want to stay over again?"
"Yes," Clary said quickly, before Cedric had a chance to babble again, and a small smile spread across the Diggory boy's face.
"Really? Great," he said, his smile growing as they began the descent down the stairs towards the Hufflepuff dormitories, a countless number of students stopping them to wish Cedric luck in the tournament.
Cedric thanked each person individually, the gracious smile never once leaving his face. Nearly every student at Hogwarts looked up to Cedric, and was cheering on both him and Harry to bring home a victory for their school. Cedric truly was the golden boy of Hogwarts, admired by nearly all, and he wasn't about to let them down now.
Clary and Cedric made their way through the Hufflepuff Common Room, bustling with students studying for the upcoming final exams, and the two of them snuck up the spiral staircase in the direction of the sixth year boys' dormitory. It was empty when they arrived, and Clary plopped down onto Cedric's bed, sprawling out with a dramatic yawn as he found them each a set of pajamas to change into.
"It's a big day tomorrow," Clary mused as she changed out of her robes and into one of his old t-shirts and sweatpants. "You should get a good night's sleep, make sure you're well rested."
"I doubt I'll be able to sleep," Cedric said honestly, taking a seat on the edge of the bed once he'd finished changing. "I'm nervous."
"You'll be great," she assured him, laying down and patting the space next to her for him to join her. Once he laid down next to her, she laid her head on his chest, staring up at the top of the four posted bed holding them. "You've practiced nonstop for weeks. Anything you could read that would help you, you've already read twenty times and committed to memory. Take a break tonight."
Cedric nodded slowly, letting loose a deep breath. "What if something goes wrong tomorrow?"
"What could possibly go wrong?" she asked. "All you need to do is find the cup."
"I don't know," he shrugged. "just a bad feeling, I guess. Like something bad's going to happen, and I won't be prepared for it."
"Everything's going to be fine," she assured him, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek. "You'll be out of there before you know it, and in twenty-four hours we'll be celebrating the next Triwizard Champion."
Cedric stared down at her, a warm smile gracing the boy's otherwise-strained face. "What would I do without you?"
"Your life would be significantly more boring," she answered bluntly, causing the boy to chuckle softly.
"You've got that right," he said, absentmindedly playing with her hair as he continued to admire her. "You're so beautiful, Clary."
"And you're so cheesy, Diggory," she smirked softly.
"I mean it." he assured her. "For years, I thought you hated me, because you'd prank me nonstop, and I hadn't a clue what I'd done wrong to earn your wrath. But I'd always fancied you, even if I couldn't admit it to myself. Sure, you're wild, and unpredictable, but you're also much kinder than you'd care to let on, and you're determined. There's no way I could've gotten through this tournament without all your help."
"You got yourself this far." she reminded him. "I just helped a little."
"You've helped me so much more than you know." he said. "And that's why I've completely fallen in love with you, Clarissa Weasley."
Clary couldn't help the smile that spread at the mention of her full name, or the blush that heated her cheeks as she leaned forward, kissing him. Cedric kissed her back, holding onto her tightly as she broke away from the kiss, her eyes landing on his again.
"I love you too, Cedric."