CHERRY, george weasley ( slow updates )

035, pepperup and hot chocolate!

"YOUR TASK IS TO retrieve your own friend... leave the others..."

Harry's face filled with panic. "They're my friends too!" Harry yelled, gesturing toward Hermione and Cerise. "And I don't want her to die either!"

Cerise's head was on Hermione's shoulder, and the smaller girl ( no doubt Fleur's sister ) was ghostly green and pale. As Harry struggled to fight off the mermen, he spotted Cedric swimming towards them.

"Got lost!" he mouthed, looking panic-stricken as he saw his sister. "Fleur and Krum are coming now!"

Cedric pulled a knife out of his pocket and cut Cerise free. He grabbed a tight hold onto her, swimming up to the surface. As soon as they emerged, the crowd burst into cheers and Loralei, George, Lee, Fred and Elijah let out sighs of relief.

Cerise looked around, her heart hammering against her ribcage harshly. She was in the lake. She felt Cedric's grip tighten on her once he noticed her eyes were open. "I need to get out," Cerise kept repeating, her chest rising and falling fast as she struggled against Cedric's tight grip. "I can't breathe, Ced. I'm going to drown, I don't want to die. I need to get out."

Cedric pulled her body close to his own as Cerise's friends rushed to the edge so they could help Cerise up. Cerise was panicking badly, and her grip on Cedric's arms tightened.

"It's okay," Cedric was repeating, "I've got you, Cerise, it's okay."

Cerise felt a pair of hands grab her and pull her up, she couldn't see who it was. Although, she knew it was George as she collapsed into his arms. Loralei helped Cedric climb up and Fred threw two blankets at them — One for Cerise, and one for Cedric.

George wrapped his arms around Cerise tightly, as Cedric sat himself next to them. He gave his sister a small smile, "Aren't you lucky I can swim?"

"Oh, shut up," Cerise mumbled, burying her head into George's chest as George ran his hand through her hair soothingly.

A moment later, Krum had emerged from the lake with Hermione held tightly in his hands, making the crowd cheer.

"Are you okay?" George asked quietly.

Cerise didn't respond. Instead, she wrapped her arms around George tighter. Immediately, the Weasley knew her answer was no.

Madam Pomfrey rushed towards them, "Come on, dear," she said softly to Cerise, "I need to check over you and make sure you're okay."

Cerise shook her head. She didn't want to move. She didn't want anyone to see her tear stained cheeks. "Mr. Weasley can come with you, too," Madam Pomfrey whispered, "There's a hot chocolate waiting for you."

Cerise pulled her head away from George's chest, and ignored the looks she got from everyone as they saw her red, puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"You had me at hot chocolate," she told Madam Pomfrey, hesitantly standing up and pulling George with her. She sat herself next to Cedric, who wrapped his blanket around her so she could have a little bit of extra warmth. Madam Pomfrey forced the Pepperup Potion down her throat, before using her wand to make a hot chocolate appear for Cerise, who accepted it with a smile on her face.

The end of the hour had arrived, and Harry had finally rose above the water, pulling Ron and Fleur's little sister with him, making the crowd go wild.

After they gave the scores for each champion ( Cerise didn't listen, she tried but she was still quite panicked from being in the lake ), Bagman said, "The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

"HOW ARE YOU FEELING?" Loralei asked Cerise as she approached the girl the following day. After the task, Cerise had gone to the common room and slept, which worried Loralei a lot. Cerise didn't even pay attention to Oliver.

Cerise shrugged, though the bags under her eyes gave away that she didn't sleep well.

Loralei frowned, and sat herself next to the girl. "You've slept for hours," she said, "We've all been so worried."

It was lunch time now, and everyone had started piling into the Great Hall. Cerise had only just gotten out of bed, and she looked incredibly pale.

"I barely slept," Cerise muttered, "I tried to, but I couldn't. So, I just pretended to sleep so everyone would leave me alone."

Loralei sighed as Cedric sat himself next to them. "Are you excited for food?" Cedric asked. If there was one thing Cerise loved most in the world, it was probably food.

Cerise shook her head. "I don't have much of an appetite today," she said to them, "I don't think I'll be able to go near the lake ever again."

Cedric frowned and grabbed his sister's hand. "I can't believe they used you." Cedric shook his head, "Dumbledore knows you can't swim."

Cerise shrugged. "GonGon and Sprout argued against him for at least half of the meeting," she muttered tiredly, "But he was having none of it. There was nothing any of us in the room could've done, Dumbles is the headmaster — What he says has to happen."

Loralei frowned as Cerise laid her head on her best friend's shoulder. "It's okay, though," she muttered, "Ron and Hermione held my hand the entire time, until the potion we drank finally kicked in to stop me from panicking completely."

"I can't believe they left you there over night," Loralei stated, "That is so dangerous."

"It's over now," Cerise said, "But I don't think I've panicked that much in my life."

"Me neither," Cedric murmured, "You cried in George's arms."

Cerise's cheeks flushed. "I did?" She said, eyes wide. "Oh, Merlin! Now I can never show my face to him ever again."

"He was really worried about you," Loralei informed her, "He's been asking about you all morning. In fact, they all have. We've all been really worried."

Cerise lifted her head and looked at Loralei. "He was worried?" Her words were barely heard due to how quiet her voice had gone.

"I was."

Cerise looked across the table to see George, Fred, Lee and Elijah sitting there with grins on their faces. The girl gave them small smiles. "I'll take that as my cue to leave," Cedric said, giving Cerise a smile and walking to the Ravenclaw table to sit by Cho.

"What's going on with Cho?" Loralei asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Something is different about her... Are they engaged?"

Cerise laughed. "What?" She said, "They are not engaged! Nothing is going on with Cho."

A/N: Cerise and George are so cute