☤ Pseudonym ☤

~Chapter Eight~

I haven't spoken to Dean since that moment outside the boys' dormitory. In fact I haven't even seen him. He leaves when I enter a room and in lessons he sits as far away as physically possible. I miss him. I miss his mindless chatter and the way he makes me laugh until my sides ache. 

I know that Harry understood my message because Hermione tells me he has a plan. I wish Harry would talk to me about it. I feel like an outsider just hearing about events through a trail of people. The first task is today and I am worried sick. My nails are bitten down to the skin. 

What if Harry fails? Will the Dark Lord kill me himself?

What if Harry wins? Will the Dark Lord kill him? Am I okay knowing that I have caused the death of an innocent boy?

What if Harry dies? 

The thought makes my stomach churn. I didn't eat breakfast this morning because I was worried it would come back up. 

I dress up in a warm blue jumper and skinny black jeans. I don the Gryffindor the scarf to show my support for Harry. Hermione is just as nervous as I am, maybe even more so. She taps her foot impatiently as I dress. I scowl at her and she stops.

The wind bites my bare cheeks as we step outside. It is as if the weather knows what's to come. Ron meets us at the door and we walk down the muddy path together. There is silence between us. Even though Ron is angry at Harry for some reason, I know that he worried about his best friend. 

When we arrive McGonagall directs us to the Hogwarts' benches. The cold wood bites the back of my thighs as I try to conserve what little heat I have. The wind whooshes through the large flags that hang above the arena. 

A large metal door swings slowly open to reveal the first dragon. Gasps ripple through the crowd as the scaly yellow being is revealed. 

'It's huge!!' Hermione whispers furiously, 'Are they fricking insane?!' 

At the same time I mutter 'Swedish Short-Snout.' I saw a drawing of one in a book once. Its vibrant yellow colour a dead giveaway. 

The beast raws and a burst of orange flames erupts from its mouth. 

Diggory enters on the other side of the arena. His eyes focus on his opponent, but I can see no surprise in them. He must have been warned by someone. But who?

The yellow and black robed boy darts forwards as he catches sight of his objective. A golden egg, resting in the centre of the arena. His deadly foe also approaches the egg, but reaches it long before he does. 

Another surge of fire spills from the dragon's mouth and Diggory leaps out of its path. I suck in a breath as I realise how dangerous these tasks are. He could actually die. 

After dancing around the dragon for a minute, Diggory finally made his move. He transfigured a rock into a dog which then ran haphazardly around the area. Diggory took advantage of the dragon's distraction and darted forward to grab his prize.

As he lifts the egg above his head in celebration I release a breath that I did not know I had been holding. 

The Hogwarts students leap to their feet and cheer loudly. I join in, clapping enthusiastically. If Cedric can do it, then Harry can too. Right? 

-----

The other two competitors complete the challenge with as much ease as Diggory did. Except for Krum receiving a nasty burn on his leg, they were fine. 

Now it's Harry's turn and my stomach is wrapped up in tight knots. My fingernails scratch small trenches into the wood, until Hermione grabs my hand.

'He'll be fine.' she smiles reassuringly at me, 'Don't worry about him.'

'I'm not worried.' I say without meeting her eyes.

She scoffs but doesn't get the chance to speak anymore as the arena door opens for the final time. 

Harry takes his first steps out into the open confident as he is unaware of the gnarled monster lurking above him. I want to shout out to him, but I can't find the words.

As he emerges from the safety of the entrance the giant, horned tail of the fieresome dragon crashed down next him. Flinging himself to the left he managed to evade being crushed into a bloody pulp. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and clamped my bloody fingers around my ears, the nails having been worn down by my teeth. 

It was not until Hermione poked me hurriedly in my side that I released my head. 'Is it over?' I asked her, unsure of what I wanted her to reply. 

She smiled brightly, 'Yes! He did it! Harry is now the proud owner of a golden egg.' I laughed at her excitement. I looked around and noticed Dean and Seamus hugging in celebration. Ron was trying to disguise his delight behind a thin smile. 'Do you wanna go and check on Harry?' Hermione taps me on the shoulder. 

'No you go ahead.' I ran my hand through my now knotted hair. People had begun to file out of the stands. 

I followed the straggling groups of chatting friends along the wooded path back to Hogwarts. I had been in the Forbidden Forest several times before, one of those times being with Oliver Rivers. He was a Hufflepuff I think. Or maybe a Ravenclaw. I can't remember. We didn't do a lot of talking. 

I was lost in my thoughts when a hand was placed softly on my shoulder. I whipped my head around, startled at the interruption of my reminiscing. 

'Hey Ren!' It was Diggory. The good-looking boy was still in his sweaty yellow outfit. 

'Hi Cedric, how are you?' He ran his hand nervously through his long hair. It was strange to see such a normally confident boy so nervous. 

'I'm good.' He paused for a moment, looking as if he was searching for the right. 'I am high on adrenaline right now, but I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me?' He blurted out. My eyebrows shot up. I barely knew Diggory, I was surprised that he even knew my name. 

I stuttered for a second and Diggory jumped back in. 'It's totally fine if you don't want to. I mean we can just -' 

'No!' I shouted a bit too loud. 'I would love to.'

'Really?!' Diggory smiled brightly. I returned his smile with vigour. 'Next weekend?' he asked. 

'Sounds great!' I am actually very excited. Diggory is a great guy. Or so I've heard, I haven't actually talked to him much before. 

'I've gotta go have a shower, but we're having a celebration later in the Hufflepuff common room if you wanna stop by?'

'Okay, I'll be there.' He smiles once more and then bounds off like the dog he transfigured earlier. I smiled after his retreating form, and for just a moment, I forgot about all the darkness in my life.

But moments can't last forever.