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XV. THE FIRST TASK
Winnie was excited for Cedric. A little worried about what the tasks would be, but excited. He now had a crowd around him everywhere he went. Winnie thought it was annoying, but she didn't say anything. Her cousin had created badges that supported Cedric, but quickly turned into a jab at Harry, as it said 'POTTER STINKS'. Winnie had turned Malfoy's hair pink for that.
Cedric was sitting on a bench, attempting to braid Winnie's hair, but miserably failing. Harry pushed through the crowd around Cedric, asking to talk with him. Winnie smiled at her boyfriend, as he went to talk with Harry privately. She noticed one of the french girls sitting alone on another bench not far from where she was sitting. Winnie walked over to the blonde girl, sitting next to her.
"You look lonely, are you okay?" Winnie asked.
"I just miss 'ome. I don't know anyone 'ere. My sister is off with a crowd congratulating 'er for being a champion." The girl had a very thick accent, like most of the Beauxbatons girls did.
"I'm Winnie Black. There, now you know someone here." Winnie smiled, and the girl chuckled a little.
"Winnie? 'Zat is a weird name." Winnie laughed this time. "Well, it's short for Winnifred, but everyone calls me Winnie. What's your name?"
"Clara Delacour. What is 'ze deal with the different colored robes? Fleur said that we sat at 'ze ravenfoot table last night."
"Close. Ravenclaw. There are four houses here. Ravenclaw is the house I'm in. We have wit and intelligence. There's Hufflepuff, the yellow ones, who value loyalty and fairness. My boyfriend and my cousin are in that house." Winnie began.
"And 'ze other two?"
"Gryffindor. The brave. I have some very good friends in that house. It was actually the house my father was in at his time here. Then...Slytherin. Cunning. Ambition."
"You seem unsure of this Slytherin." Clara noticed.
"Well, not all Slytherins are bad. I've met a few Slytherins who are quite nice...They just have a bad reputation, and most evil wizards have come from that house."
"'Zat sounds complex. We 'ave no 'ouses in our school."
"I suppose it is." Winnie smiled. She saw Cedric walking towards her, and she said her goodbyes to the french girl.
"It was lovely meeting you. If you ever need a friend, I'm here. Bye, Clara." Clara was smiling now, looking less lonely.
"Bye, Winniefred."
She walked away with Cedric, who was smiling at her.
"What?" She asked, a slightly giggling.
"You're so nice. Any sweeter and I'd have to buy you from Honeydukes. I think it's lovely that you always can make a friend." Winnie kissed him on the cheek, and they continued walking.
"What did Harry want?"
"Oh, you know...the first task is dragons." Cedric muttered. Seeing the look on Winnie's face, he continued. "I know! Bloody dragons of all things."
"Blimey, Cedric. Please don't get hurt."
***
The day of the first task had arrived. Winnifred was jittery and nervous. She'd had about four cups of pumpkin juice, which didn't make it any better. She was sporting both a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor scarf. She wanted to support her boyfriend, but she also wanted to support her god-brother. She'd written to Sirius many times, calling him 'Snuffles' so no one would see his actual name.
Cedric was first to compete. He had to retrieve the golden egg from a Swedish Short -Snout. Winnie had only read or seen pictures of dragons, and it didn't prepare her for how gigantic they were.
"Helga, help us all. Cedric's dragon chow." Prim said, shaking her head. Sabrina gave her a pointed look, and Winnie stomped on her foot.
"Bloody hell!" Prim shouted, glaring at her cousin and friend. When the cannon sounded, Cedric ran out, wearing a uniform similar to their quidditch robes. His eyes widened as he saw the dragon, and they could see him thinking of what to do.
"I can't look. I can't!" Prim shouted, burying her face in Sabrina's shoulder.
"You've got this, Cedric!" Winnie shouted. It caught his attention, but he didn't have time to answer. With quick thinking, he transformed one of the large rocks into a dog. Winnie was actually quite afraid what would happen to the dog, but it was a brilliant act of transfiguration. It distracted the dragon long enough for Cedric to grab the egg, but once he grabbed it, the Short Snout showed no more interest in the puppy.
As Cedric ran, the fire from the dragon's mouth scorched him.
***
"Merlin's fingernail, you scared the bloody hell out of me!" Winnie exclaimed, running into the medical tent that had been set up near the stands. He was burnt pretty good, but Madam Pomfrey had a coat is some sort of medicine over his burns that seemed to be working.
"Well, hello to you, too, love." Cedric chuckled. Winnie kissed him, causing him to smile in the kiss.
"I didn't think you'd take Prim serious when she said to use the dog idea." Well, Prim's actual idea had been for Cedric to transfigured the Swedish Short Snout into a sweet puppy.
"Well, she partially had the idea." Cedric laughed. She pulled him into a hug, careful to not touch the healing burns.
Krum had ended up winning the first task, but Winnie was still very proud of Cedric. Also relieved that her name hadn't been picked, because there was no way she could fight a dragon. She saw Clara once again when Fleur came into the tent, sporting a few burns as well. Clara waved at her, and then her attention went back to her sister. She congratulated Harry when he'd been forced to come in the tent, too. He was a little scraped up, but looked better than the others.
Winnie was confident that this year was going to be the best.
what are we thinking of the story so far? i love winnie lol
