Twin Power *Cedric Diggory Love Story* (EDITING)

Research on the clue

Cassia's POV

As soon as Christmas Break was over, I dove right back into mentoring Harry and Cedric and preparing them for the second task. In order for me to do that, however, we had to get the clue without either one of the eggs screeching like nails on a chalkboard. I would literally spend hours after classes and after meals trying to nut this out, and the stress was really starting to take its toll on me. My energy during the day was almost fully depleted. Focusing in classes was borderline impossible for me now, due to lack of sleep (my pale skin and the dark circles under my eyes showed that), and I had awful headaches.

Which brings me to today. After my classes were all finished, I found a note in my bag. I unfolded it and read it to myself.

Hey, love.
I'm hoping you have some energy left for a date tonight. Make sure you have a swimsuit on under your robes after dinner, and meet me near the kitchen corridor at 8:15 tonight.
See you then.
-Cedric

Seeing that note and the prospect of having a date with my boyfriend to look forward to made me perk up right away, like I'd just had a shot of espresso.

I snuck into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom so I could wash my makeup off alone. Concealer, makeup...everything. Wow, I REALLY need to get some sleep tonight, I thought as I looked in the mirror at my eyes. The dark circles were so bad that they looked like bruises.

"Well, well, look what Filch swept up," I heard a familiar, taunting voice remark, making my head snap up. Despite the mirror being a little cloudy, I could still see who it was.

"Myrtle?" I hadn't seen her since second year, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened.

"Nice to see you again, Cassia," she greeted. She floated closer and took in my appearance, dark circles and all. "You look awful."

"Gee, thanks," I snapped.

She put her hands up. "No need to get snippy..."

I heaved a sigh. "Sorry, Myrtle. The second task of the Triwizard Tournament is coming up, and I can't for the life of me figure out the clue for the golden egg, and it's stressing me out."

Her face softened. "Oh." She floated closer to me. "You haven't been to see me for ages, you know."

This was true, though only because Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I had found Myrtle's bathroom a convenient place to brew Polyjuice Potion in secret, a forbidden potion that had turned my brother and Ron into Crabbe and Goyle for an hour so they could sneak into the Slytherin common room to see if Malfoy was involved with the chamber of secrets opening. After that and rescuing Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, we thought it was best if we didn't return to that bathroom for a while.

"It's a long story, but let's just say my brother and I have been busy," I summed it up.

"I see," she said. "Not being naughty, are you?"

"It's funny, even though we're not looking for trouble, it somehow manages to find us," I remarked. "This time, Harry's a champion in the Triwizard Tournament, along with my boyfriend, and I have to mentor both of them."

Myrtle's expression became sympathetic. "No wonder you're so stressed..."

I nodded. "I know...at least I have a date with my boyfriend to look forward to."