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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐊
"𝑁𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑜𝑢𝑠, 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡, 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒."
—𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠
𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟑𝟐𝟎𝟑

⋆⋆⋆✧⋆⋆⋆

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 the third task was filled with excitement and chatter, as the students awaited to discover who would be the winner of the famed tournament. 

More owls were swooping down and delivering mail than usual; students had much to talk about with their families. Liliana had been hit four times in the head with a letter that she'd then hand to an apologetic student, though she was only able to give them a small smile in response. 

Though Wesley, Riley, Devon, and Evangeline were speaking more enthusiastically, they were visibly nervous as they wondered what the outcome would be. Liliana made no effort to hide her anxiety.

"And you're sure you remember how to do the blasting curse?"

Cedric nodded. "Yes."

"And you remember how to get rid of a Blast-Ended Skrewt?"

"Yes."

"And you remember how to do the Four-Point spell?"

"Yes."

"And you remember how to—"

"I remember everything, love, don't worry," Cedric laughed as he placed a small kiss on the tip of her nose. "I had an amazing trainer, remember?"

Liliana smiled, nodding slowly as her fingers played with the stars of her necklace, the cool metal not doing much to reassure her. 

She frowned as she noticed that the plate in front of him was empty. "You should eat. Have some toast."

He chuckled as he leaned over and grabbed a piece of toast. "Just for you." 

Liliana patted his leg, watching fondly as he began to bite into his toast. A usually normal action, though this meant much more than satisfying hunger to her. 

Her eyes moved past him as she noticed that Professor Sprout was approaching. 

"Diggory," the professor greeted, "the Champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast."

"But . . ." Cedric furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he questioned, "the task isn't until tonight, right?"

"Yes," she agreed, "however, the champions' families are invited to watch the final task, and this is simply a chance for you to greet them."

With a warm smile, Professor Sprout accepted the nod that Cedric gave in return, and she patted him on the shoulder before heading back to the professors' table. 

Cedric, now halfway through his toast, turned to Liliana and raised his eyebrows. "You're not busy today, are you? Want to come with me to see my parents?"

"You know I'd never turn down an opportunity to see your mum." Liliana smiled. "She's my favourite Diggory."

"Hey!" he laughed, nudging her lightly and causing her to giggle.