No second chances| Book Two

I can't handle change.

  Cedric's POV:

I watched as Marley's brown hair was covered by the bushes behind her, my heart thumping a mile a minute as I waited and watched for her.

"Don't worry, mate. She'll be okay." George said beside me, his own face giving it away as he looked at me with a bleeding lip from biting it too much. It looked like hours had passed with no sign that anyone had made progress.

I turned my head and watched as Fred Weasley passed at the bottom of the steps, blocking anyone from passing through as he did. He was worried for her. Sympathy filled my chest as I truly noted that he was just as scared as I was. 

I thought of the moments in my life that led to the downfall of Fred's friendship. The betrayal and the dishonestly on my part is what ruined me out of a friendship with him. But, now, I felt, thanks to Marley, I had a chance of redemption with him. 

I sighed deeply and walked down the steps, reaching him just as he turned around for another loop. Fred rolled his eyes and stopped pacing, leaning against the railing but continued to bite at his nails.

"I'm sorry." Fred nearly laughed as he turned to look at me.

"For what?" He scoffed. I smiled and leaned down next to him.

"For making everything a competition all the years. Grades, quidditch, girls.." The red-headed boy kept his eyes ahead of him, looking at nothing. But, I knew that he was listening.

"I guess I was just jealous that even though I worked for all those things, it's like you didn't even try at all. You were always funnier, prettier, smarter, more daring and mysterious. No one wanted a boy next door."

"Marley does." He stated simply. I frowned, standing up straight.

"No, she doesn't." Fred turned to me and sighed.

"Look, I don't hate you, mate. So, let's just be civil from now on. It's not like we have to be around each other anymore after the games."

"That's where I'm getting at, mate. Her whole life has been constant fighting. Choosing over people and always making everyone rely on her. I think it's about time that she relied on someone else." I looked down and watched as Fred swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I want you two to be friends. I'm not sure why, but she seems to like you." I teased. Fred chuckled and stood up, offering his hand. I looked down and smiled as well, shaking it in return.

A scream stopped us in our tracks. I couldn't tell if it was Marley or not, which made me worry all the most.

"Harry!" Another voice cried out. That, I knew, was Marley. Surely, she had heard the scream and immediately thought the worst. Just then, a blue spark was shot into the sky, alerting everyone that someone in the games wanted out.

"Something's wrong," Fred muttered. I looked at him and watched as he kept his eyes on the spark.

"That's Harry and Marley's emergency signal." Fred rushed from the railing and towards the stairs.

"Wait!" I called, running after him. But, he was lost in the moving crowd of people.

"Fred?" I called again, spinning around in the hopes that I'd see his red hair among the crowd. My feet carried me behind the bleachers, thinking that maybe he came to hide down here. However, the person standing a little ways away caused me to freeze.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Rowen. Have you seen-" Then it went dark.

When I came to I had been lying on a rough surface, my head screaming at me that it was injured. I hissed and touched the source. As I retracted my hand I saw the blood coating my fingertips.

"Where are we?" A familiar voice said. I stood up quickly, searching around until I saw her hair moving behind a rock, or..grave apparently. But when I walked out behind the grave, and she saw me, I knew something was wrong.

"Cedric?" She asked, her face pale as she looked me over to make sure I was real.

"Harry, we've got to go now!" She whispered, looking towards the bigger building in the middle of the graveyard. She searched desperately for the portkey.

"Marley, what's going on?" I asked, feeling the fear unsettle me the further I watched her. I had never seen her this scared before and it was contagious.

"I think we should go too," Harry said, joining her in the search. But, I didn't understand. Where was I? How did I even get here? Maybe it was a dream.

"Cedric." Marley cried, leaping forward and clutching my shirt.

"You have to hide," She begged, I must've hit my head harder than I imagined because I didn't understand what she and Harry both seemed to comprehend.

"Please, hide!" She cried out again, grabbing my face in her hands. My hands reached up and met her but as I opened my mouth to speak, a figure appeared in my peripheral vision. Instincts I didn't know I had kicked in and I jumped in front of Marley, holding my wand up.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I called out. Marley and Harry fell in sync, crying out in pain. I knelt down quickly, touching her face gently. 

"Marley?" I asked in confusion.

She looked at me.

She looked at me and I got this feeling that I don't know how to describe and I knew. Even with her eyes flushed and cuts and bruises scattering her face the moonlight touched every feature and made her seem like she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

She had touched the stars and the stars thanked her by giving her the moonlight.

And for a second, only a second, her hair looked like the color of the moonlight.

"Get back to the cup!" She cried, holding her head as if it were in splintering pain. 

"Kill the spare!"

In a matter of seconds, A flash of green burst towards me and time moved still. It was as if time had frozen and I was the only one moving at the right speed.

Then I closed my eyes.

It didn't even hurt.