𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 ; 𝑔.𝑜.𝒻

thirty

Zoya and Fred walked hand in hand together into the Great Hall during the first day back from Winter Break.

He brought her to the Gryffindor table, he cleared his throat, "I announce thee, the Joker and the Queen!" He said proudly to everyone.

"Freddie..." Zoya trailed off with a sigh, feeling embarrassed by the stares.

"What? Creevy called us the Gryffindor It Couple and I'd like that to stick." He said as they walked to sit down.

Zoya and Ron still were not speaking. Zoya was also mad at Harry, but not nearly on the level as she was with Ron.

"He's way too old for her!" Ron said to Harry and Hermione.

"He's one year older than her, Ronald. Zoya and I were born in 1979 and not 1980 like the rest of our year, have you forgotten?"

He chewed a pumpkin pasty bitterly, "No..."

"Are you jealous? Do you like her?" Harry whispered.

"Ew! Absolutely not! She's like a sister to me... that's what's so weird. She said Fred was like a brother to her and now they are all over each other." He said, looking at the two as they spoke with George and Angelina.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Honestly Ronald, you are impossible sometimes."

"I wonder who's going to be talking about who more. Lorelei and Cedric or Zoya and Fred." Ron questioned.

"I don't think people care nearly as much as you think." Hermione answered.

From the Slytherin table, Lorelei was eating away with her mind full of nothing but happiness. Cedric was back, and the two could hang out once again. A piece of paper that took the form of a bird came over to her. It landed on the edge of her teacup and she picked it up, opening the letter.

"Meet me at the tree after class?"

She turned around to Cedric and nodded.

Augustus sat across from her resting his chin in his hand, "I really do envy you sometimes." He tiredly mumbled, "Being in love looks good on you."

"I don't know if it's love... I think it's just happiness that I have found my person."

"That's called love... I think."

The end of the day couldn't come sooner. While Lorelei and Cedric saw one another in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall decided to do assigned seats due to the N.E.W.T.S at the end of the year. She knew the two were together, so she put them at opposite ends of the classroom.

She could tell that Professor Snape never liked her, but his attitude towards Lorelei was on an entirely new level of hatred. She was taunted by fellow Slytherins, but none of seemed to matter to her. For him, it worth it.

When the end of the day came, Lorelei and Cedric made a beeline for their spot. Lorelei was by the tree first, waiting anxiously. Cedric approached her with a camera in hand. Lorelei ran to him and the two embraced, "How as your holiday?" She asked.

"Not bad. Yours?"

"Relatively uneventful. What's with the camera?"

"Stand back." He said, holding it up to his eye, "Smile."

Cedric took a photo of Lorelei standing by their tree. She walked to him and took the camera, "Your turn."

Lorelei took a photo of him standing where she stood. His smile was bright and his cheeks a bright red from a mix of her and the cold weather. They walked into the tree, which was warm on the inside.

They sat down and Lorelei happily listened to Cedric talk about his holiday with his parents. From what he got to what they ate to what they did, listening to him talk about something he loved so much brought nothing but joy to her.

Cedric didn't ask much about her holiday, knowing she was alone and didn't go home. But when things got quiet, Lorelei could sense something was bothering Cedric.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you listening to my thoughts?" He half-jokingly asked.

She shook her head, "Some thoughts are just so loud I can't help but hear them. I don't know what you're thinking but I can feel your anxiety."

"The Golden Egg that I got from the first task, I can't figure it out. When I open it, it lets out this horrendous screeching sound and I have to shut it. I know it has a clue as to what we'll be doing next but... I'm afraid I won't figure it out and I'll be screwed."

"Have you tried putting it under water?"

"What?"

"To muffle the sound. Water affects sound waves so..."

Cedric stared at her blankly. Lorelei tilted her head and waved a hand in his face. He blinked a few times, "How did I not think of that..."

"You could do it here but the lake is frozen. Maybe the prefect bathroom?"

Lorelei could practically see the lightbulb turn on in his head. He scrambled to his feet after placing a kiss on her cheek, "I'll find you after! Thank you, love!" He said as he hurried out of the tree.

She smiled and shook her head, able to hear the sound of his heavy footed running towards the castle.