𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 | Draco Malfoy

20: The Third Task

CHAPTER 20: The Third Task

A/N: T/W: Canon events. Grab your tissues

The night before the Third Task, Madeline once again found herself in the Hogwarts kitchens with Cedric Diggory.

She'd found him a few hours before in the library, cramming over dozens of Charms textbooks, desperately trying to find a miracle spell to help him with the tournament. Madeline had eventually pried him out of his seat and down to the kitchens with the promise of a hot drink and a friend to talk to, which he was very grateful for.

"It's not like I'm unprepared," Cedric began. The two were in their same spot in the kitchen underneath the window, however the kitchens were deserted at this time. Madeline had managed to scrounge up two mugs of Conjure Cocoa and a couple of custard cream biscuits, "But my family are coming to watch, and that's a whole extra layer of pressure, you know?"

"I mean, you've battled a dragon and come out the other side pretty unscathed," Madeline pointed out, "I doubt a maze will be much harder than that. Besides, I don't think Dumbledore or Hagrid would purposely put any of you guys in danger. You're going to be fine, trust me."

Cedric smiled, a sort of half-smile that meant he didn't really believe Madeline, but he appreciated her nevertheless, "You'd string me up yourself if I let fear stop me."

"Exactly," Madeline nodded, drawing her knees up to her chest, "So, this is what's going to happen tomorrow; you're going to enter that maze, find the cup, and later on after you've celebrated with Cho or the Hufflepuffs or whatever, we're going to come back here and stuff our faces."

Cedric raised his eyebrow, "Is that a promise?"

"Only if you win," Madeline winked. She raised her mug to Cedric, "Which you will."

Cedric smirked, raising his mug to knock against hers. "A toast to victory?"

"To victory," Madeline nodded.

Cedric rolled his eyes, "You have far too much faith in me."

"And you don't have enough."

Cedric scoffed. He drew his knees up to his chest, resting his head on top of them and turning to look out of the window. The Hogwarts grounds were dark, not a slither of light to be seen except for the moon; bright and full.

"It's not just my family," Cedric eventually admitted, "Ever since this tournament started... I was fine just being 'That Guy' in Hufflepuff who could play a pretty mean game of Quidditch, but now it's like I've got the entire houses reputation on my shoulders."

Madeline raised her eyebrow, "That's a bit dramatic."

"Hufflepuffs have always been quite happy being unseen and unheard, but people have started noticing us, and it's because of me," Cedric rambled, "If I don't win, it just feeds into the stereotype that Hufflepuffs are useless. And if I win, I bring a sort of glory to Hufflepuff that hasn't been seen in decades."

"A house doesn't make a person useless," Madeline argued, "In fact, I'm a strong believer that no one is useless. So you value different things to me; so what?"

Cedric didn't reply; he simply kept staring out of the window.

"I'm sick and tired of us assuming things about each other based on a stupid crest," Madeline huffed, "Us two are friends, although we shouldn't be if we listened to our house stereotypes. So, stop putting pressure on yourself and stop being an idiot. You're going to smash the next task, because the Goblet of Fire picked you for a reason."