Forever Summer | Cedric Diggory

Chapter 5 - Dragons and Dogs

"Lily!"

Lily turned back to see Cedric running after her. He was all alone for the first time. It's also been a while since Cedric went looking for her and not the other way around.

"Cedric, you're not busy?" She asked.

He shook her head. "Earlier, you and—"

"Oh right! Earlier I had an idea for your first task!"

Cedric wanted to ask about what he saw earlier with her and George, but this seemed more important and she looked too excited. "Right, yes, what is it?"

"Well, I've been thinking. You know how my dog, Fifa, gets distracted at the most random things?"

Cedric nodded unsure where she was going.

"She could be playing her ball or eating a snack, but once she sees something else that catches her eye like a butterfly for example, she forgets whatever she was doing and chases the butterfly." Lily explained excitedly.

Cedric's brow furrowed. "Alright, so what you're saying is.... That I turn the dragon into a dog?"

"No, silly! That's far too difficult! I'm saying that dragons are probably like animals, they get easily distracted. You'll have to find a way to distract the dragon and then once it is, you do whatever you need to do to win!" Lily pretended to grab something in front of her furiously and Cedric couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable Lily looked.

"You're brilliant, Lily! That's a good idea!"

"Thank you! Well, just think it over if you have any other ideas that might go well with it."

Cedric nodded. He was relieved to have an idea, a now solid idea and a plan on what he would do in the first task. But his mind couldn't shake the image of what he saw earlier. "Lily, about—"

"Oh, I have to go! I promised Crystal I'd meet her after class. Ready yourself for the first task alright? See you later!" Lily waved and hurried off.

Cedric sighed. He was going to have to shake off that image. Lily was right, he had to ready himself for the first task.

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The task was finally here. Lily was sitting on the benches feeling so nervous and anxious not only for Cedric but even for Harry Potter as well. He hugged Cedric earlier wishing him luck, and did the same to Harry.

The first champion walked into the arena below and saw that it was Cedric up first. He was walking carefully, vigilant with his surroundings.

Suddenly a dragon - a Swedish Short-snout - Lily identified, landed just a few inches from Cedric. The dragon screamed and breathed fire. Cedric tumbled out of the way in time. Lily's heart stopped momentarily. Watching Cedric hide and escape from the fiery breaths of the dragon was too intense and scary for Lily. She wondered if she would survive just watching, else she might have a heart attack.

Cedric disappeared in one of the stones, then Lily saw his head peeking out at the large stone on the left. The dragon was smelling him, looking for his scent.

It was getting closer to where Cedric was hiding and Lily was at the edge of her seat. Literally.

The dragon's snout was now lowering to where Cedric was hiding, but then he pointed his wand at a rock and transfigured it into a dog!

The dragon heard the barking and saw the Labrador, leaving Cedric where he was and went to chase the dog who was running the opposite direction. When the dragon was distracted, Cedric bolted for the egg.