Little Light of Mine // George Weasley // FF

Tension

"So repeat the riddle," I said, leaning on the leg of the bench.

"What's the point, Honey?" Cedric said, handing me a torn page with the riddle scribbled across. "You have it memorized,"

"Yeah," I said. "The first part is simple enough," My mind went back to the riddle. "You are going to find the mermaids home,"

"Right," Cedric let his book rest open on his face. I leaned over to see him sprawled over the bench, tired. Pat, Rolf, and Cedric were out all night; apparently, whatever they were up to drained them completely. "I am searching the black lake for them and my snitch, which will be stolen" He paused. "And If I don't find it, it will be gone forever,"

"They are not taking your snitch," I tried to reassure him.

"Read the middle," Cedric replied, pointing to the page again, urging me to see his point.

I turned back to the page but to be honest, Cedric was right; I didn't need it. "And while you are searching ponder this/ we have taken something you will sorely miss,"

"See?" Cedric said, his voice slightly muffled. "The snitch is going to get stolen,"

"Why the snitch?"

Cedric picked up his book again. "It's small- and my most valuable possession," he said. "Makes sense they are going to take something that small, if the point is for me to find it," He paused. "And when I lose it because of the black lake, I will surely miss it,"

I watched the courtyard as I processed that information. Cedric was so simple with his emotions; he gave them out so quickly. It was a strange contrast to me. I wasn't sure what to say about this, so instead, I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Alright, well then it works well for you, right?" I said, leaning back and turning towards him. Cedric was handsome. There were moments I forgot that, his face was so familiar to me. And then there were moments, like now, where I looked at his jaw, his arms, his body, and all of it made me feel something; awe. He really is the golden boy, beautiful and smart and caring. My hand rested on his chest, rubbing it gently to reassure him. "Just take my compass, and the snitch will come right to you, right?"

Cedric nodded with a smile towards me and clasped his hands in mine; clearly, he had been thinking about it for a while. "I am pretty sure it would count as cheating, though,"

"Damn," I muttered, thinking about it some more. "From what I read on local history, the black lake is pretty vast," Calliope mentioned one of her friends was a mermaid, but she had only seen her once in the lake.

"So you have an hour to find it... while swimming around with mermaids," It sounded simple enough. But I am sure you could summarize the first task as a walk to an egg.

"And if I don't, I will lose it forever," Cedric said with certainty. I was touched by how determined it was.

"Why do you think you are going to lose it forever?" I asked.

"The last part of the riddle," Cedric replied, letting the book slide off his face so he could admire me. "But passed an hour, the prospect's black/ Too late it's gone won't come back,"

That was a clear enough message. "Why would they do that, though?" I muttered. "Risking your life isn't enough? They have to take something you love,"

"Why would I risk my life for anything else?" Cedric joked.

I sighed. "But why make you risk your life at all?" My hands tapped the page nervously. "Mermaids are no joke,"

"Well, neither are dragons but here we are. Ludo will be there though," Cedric said absently as he sat up next to me. "You can tell him all about your complaints,"