I Was Younger Then

Just Around The Corner

**WARNING CHARACTER DEATH**

I have finally forced myself to write the THIRD TASK. I could not put it off any longer. Even though I'd love to just write more flufff! Alright my friends, good luck, I'll leave some comments in the end notes.

When I first started the story, I did not know entirely where I was going. I never imagined committing nearly 170k words to this first book, but I am happy where it has gone. There will be one more chapter to wrap up GoF and then we embark into the OotP together!

*****

As the third task approached, Penny found herself having more and more trouble sleeping. A horrible sense of foreboding had overcome her and she could not seem to shake it. She tried to remind herself that the ministry, all of her professors as well as Dumbledore would be present, making it unlikely Harry would come to any harm, but the assurance of this quickly dwindled away after Harry had another dream in divination, much like the one he had over the summer.

Penny did not know what these dreams meant but Harry was adamant they were real the feeling of certainty of this point oozing from his mind to hers. This dream had been about Voldemort threatening Wormtail. Apparently Voldemort was planning on feeding Harry to something named Nagini. To make matters worse, Rita Skeeter had somehow got wind of Harry's passing out in divination and wrote a particularly nasty article about his mental capacities.

The Slytherins wasted no time harassing Harry about it, but thankfully practicing for the third task kept him preoccupied enough to not let it bother him too much. Meanwhile, Penny tried to squeeze in time with Cedric every spare moment she had. They spent their afternoons sitting on the grounds in the warm sun, relishing their dwindling time at Hogwarts together, neither of them very excited about what the end of the term would mean. Penny was not much looking forward to not having Cedric with her at Hogwarts the following year. He was a luxury she had not know before.

Penny was always a bit of an odd ball and never fit in with a group of friends the way Harry did. Most of the time at Hogwarts, she'd walk with different groups of people or by herself to class. It was a new kind of happy to find Cedric always waiting for her at the breakfast table, a seat reserved just for her beside himself. He took round about ways to get to his own classes just to be able to walk her to class, give her a tantalizing kiss, holding her hand always, his laughter ringing like a pretty wind chime beside her.

The orphan inside of Penny clung to these gestures, to how she felt like her and Cedric just fit together. Even his friends had opened to the idea of her and stopped groaning when Cedric brought her with him. Penny knew these days couldn't last and she vocalized her sadness about it many times to Cedric, who would stop what he was doing and turn to her with his bright eyes, intent upon her own. He'd tuck her wild hair behind her ear, smile and say, "Distance might separate us but there is no bend in life that can keep us apart, so don't be afraid Penny, if you're lost, just remember I'm always waiting just around the corner for you," the same line every time she'd despair.

Of course, then he'd pull her into his arms and drag her into all his dreams about the future. It was during these times Penny learned that Cedric Diggory dreamed of being a broadcaster for the Wizarding Wireless Network. Though Penny assumed at first he meant he wanted to be a sports reporter she found he was actually interested in more serious reporting. Cedric also wanted to a build a small cottage, on enough land for the various animals he wanted to raise. Apparently, he wanted five kids because he'd grown up as an only child and was envious of large families, though he admitted to this being negotiable considering he was no the one who would have to be pregnant. He confided to Penny that he hoped by the time he became a dad that it'd be more acceptable to be a stay at home dad because he really wanted to take time off from working to build a strong relationship with his kids.