𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 ; 𝑔.𝑜.𝒻

thirty-three

Zoya trailed behind Ginny on her way to the second task. Students passed them by, all excited for the upcoming event.

They approached the twins, who were shouting and taking bets from students passing by. Ginny bumped into the two and she turned to them, "Don't be so rude."

They looked at her momentarily, and then continued their antics. Fred caught sight of Zoya, and took her hand and spun her around, "Why hello there, love. Do you believe in love at first sight or shall I walk past you again?" He flirted.

"Sorry, I've already got a boyfriend." She teased back, letting go of his hand and catching up with Ginny.

Everyone was gathered on three large platforms in the Hogwarts' Lake. The four champions were on the center platform, all preparing to begin the task.

After Fred and George finished tormenting the students with their bets, they joined Zoya and Ginny.

Zoya shivered at the sudden gust of wind, beginning to regret her decision not to wear a hat. Fred, who was directly behind her with an arm leaning on the railing beside her, noticed it.

"A bit cold? I distinctly remember telling–"

"Oh, shut up." She said to him, able to feel the vibration in his chest from the laugh that erupted from him. She felt a large hat slip over her head, and she turned and looked up at his now bare head, "No! You'll be cold!"

"Don't worry about me." He replied, turning her head back to the water. She felt two hands on either side of her face, "Your cheeks are so chubby."

"Thank you. I haven't noticed." She sarcastically said with a muffled voice.

She did feel warm now. A hat on her head and warm hands on her face did wonders. The cannon went off, and the four champions jumped into the water.

Everyone cheered when Harry did a flip in the air from the water. Zoya smiled brightly despite her cheeks being squished by Fred, "Neville is a bloody genius!"

Minutes after the task began, Dumbledore made an announcement, "The Beauxbatons champion Miss Delacour has unfortunately been forced to retire. She will take no further part in this task."

"Damn. I was rooting for her." Zoya said.

"What about Harry?" George asked.

"Yes, I suppose him too." She joked, "Let's be honest here, we all know he is going to do something heroic that will change in what order everyone places– Oh, look at that."

Cedric was the first to emerge with Lorelei, who was jolted awake as soon as she came above water. Viktor came up shortly after Hermione, and everyone began to cheer both of their names.

Down below, the four were now standing on the platformed dripping with water freezing cold. A towel was thrown around Lorelei, "W-What–"

"We had to retrieve 'treasures,' turns out it's people we care about." Cedric replied, "Are you okay?"

"Are you?"

He nodded and put an arm around her, "I think we placed first."

Through the cheering, Lorelei caught a glimpse of Draco. She could tell something wasn't right, and he was staring the two down. She narrowed her eyes at him and when he realized she was looking at him, he backed away from the crowd and walked away.

It took minutes for Harry to emerge from the water. But when he did, everyone was shocked by the fact that he not only had Ron, but Fleur's little sister.

The crowd cheered as Fleur and Hermione rushed to Harry and Ron.

"Attention! Attention!" Dumbledore loudly said, silencing everyone on the platforms, "The winner is... Mr Diggory!"

The crowd cheered again and Cedric gave Lorelei a kiss. A camera went off behind them and Cedric's friends gathered around to cheer for him.

"For showing unique command of the bubblehead shark. The way I see it, Mr Potter would
have finished first had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr Weasly but the others as well. We've agreed to award him second place! For outstanding moral fibre." Dumbledore said.

From the righthand platform, Zoya looked at the three, "Called it."

"Moral fibre." George and Fred mocked at the same time, making Ginny and Zoya snicker.

Everyone left the platforms and took the boats back to the school. Zoya walked with the twins, Harry, Ron, and Hermione up to the school.

As soon as Fred and George saw Harry, they took the opportunity to mock both him and Dumbledore, "All that moral fibre eh?" Fred asked.

"Blimey even when you go wrong it turns out right." Ron said as Zoya nodded.

"Well done 'moral fibre'. Zoya here said that you wouldn't miss a chance to be heroic and change the course of things, and she was right." George said.

"I'm always right." Zoya joked.

"Remember that time you got a fail grade in Snape's class during our second year?" Ron asked.

"Shut up." Zoya mumbled bitterly, "I was sick when I took that exam!"