Chapter 31: Dates & Preparations

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~* Chapter 31 *~

~* Dates & Preparations *~

The term rolled on and Winter turned into Spring

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The term rolled on and Winter turned into Spring. Cordelia celebrated her seventeenth birthday on March 16th, and she was legally an adult in the Wizarding World. The Wizarding community had a tradition that a wizard is given a watch on his seventeenth birthday, while witches were given a brooch. Cordelia's parents followed the tradition in October by sending Cedric a new wrist watch. For Cordelia's birthday, they continued the tradition by sending her a vintage daisy brooch. It had two flowers, one big and one small. Each flower had a round yellow protruding center with white petals. The two flowers were connected by a gold stem, which contained a small green leaf. Every part of the brooch was outlined in a gold trim.

In the letter, Adele had apologized for the watch not being brand new. She explained that they had their eye on a new one in the jewelry store, but changed their mind when they saw this one. They claimed it spoke to them when they saw it. Cordelia loved her brooch and didn't mind it being a used item. She was moved by the thought behind it. Even though it was old, she could tell it was restored. There was no tarnish or be found. The gold stem and trim shone as if the piece had been polished. With a smile on her lips, she pinned the brooch to the right side of her chest as soon as she was finished reading the letter. The parents made their seventeenth birthdays seem like a big deal. And perhaps now being an adult was, but Cordelia didn't feel any different than she did the day before.

She still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life after Hogwarts, but she concluded that she still had a year to figure it out and there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

Fred and Cordelia went on the planned double date with Cedric and Cho at the end of March. The four of them went to the Three Broomsticks and walked around Hogsmeade for the day. Cordelia felt that she and Cho were getting along great after they had their little talk. She wouldn't necessarily consider them friends by any means, but they were at least on good terms with one another.

The twins had their seventeenth birthday on April 1st and celebrated the day by pranking anyone they could. Of course, Cordelia was off limits. Fred wouldn't dare do prank his girlfriend. They also refused to prank Kiana because they were afraid of her wrath, but no one else was safe from their mischief on that day.

At the end of April, the group took their apparition tests. Each student was assigned an item in a Hogsmeade shop. They had to apparate into the shop, retrieve the item from the shopkeeper and apparate back to the designated point. Of course, Cordelia felt her anxiety build up as she waited for her turn. She attempted to shake this anxiety by taking deep breaths while she and Fred waited on a bench. She hated how easily anxious she could become. It was always something she tried to work on, but she often allowed herself to fall victim to it.

"You'll do great," Fred had assured her. "You do well during the lessons, so you have nothing to worry about. Just remember to focus."

"What if I fail?" asked Cordelia.

"Then you'll take the test again when the term ends," said George. "Charlie failed the first time, remember Fred?"

"Oh yeah," Fred remembered as he laughed with a far off look in his eyes. "He was supposed to retrieve a candle from Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and he ended up apparating on an old lady sitting on a bench outside Magical Mail.

When it was Cordelia's turn, she was instructed to retrieve a ceramic goose figurine from Magical Mail, the Hogsmeade post office. Fortunately, Cordelia passed her test the first time, along with her friends. The six newly adult wizards celebrated with Butterbeers at The Three Broomsticks before heading back to school.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"It's a maze," Cedric announced on an early May afternoon. His skin was pale with nerves when he approached his adopted sister who was sitting on the grass by herself.

Cordelia stopped her rendition of "What Dreams Are Made Of" on her ukulele and looked up at her older brother. She grew concerned when she noticed his pale complexion.

"What is a maze?" she asked in concern and confusion.

"Dumbledore met with us champions," he explained. "They showed us the quidditch pitch... It's in the process of being turned into a gigantic maze. They wouldn't tell us what to expect in there, but recommended we prepare for everything."

The siblings sat in silence for a moment. Cordelia was stunned and didn't know what to say. After a moment of contemplation, she reached out her hand.

"Alright, help me up. We're going to the library," she said with determination. Cedric did as requested and helped her up, following her into the castle.

"Why are we going to the library?" he asked as they walked through the corridors.

"We're going to look up spells that may be useful: stunning spells, blocking spells, and any other spell that might be useful for you."

The two Hufflepuffs spent the next few weeks practicing spells as well working out physically to increase Cedric's endurance. Cordelia didn't mind helping Cedric as she would do anything for him. Plus, she was learning a lot as well. She learned all of the new spells they found. She was also gaining strength from their fitness routine. Professor Sprout gave them an empty classroom to practice in once she grew tired of getting complaints coming from the Hufflepuff Common Room, followed by the complaints from other parts of the castle once they were asked to practice outside of the barrels.

Their other friends would come to help, taking turns to keep the two siblings company. Fred often came with snacks and pumpkin juice in order to make sure his girlfriend and her brother ate properly. Kiana helped by teaching Cedric how go hold his own in a physical fight. George and Lee ran around the classroom, encouraging Cedric to use them as target practice for certain spells.

Anthony even showed up a few times to lend a hand, happy to help his dormmate. Things between him and Cordelia felt a little awkward, but they pushed that tension aside in order to focus on Cedric.

As the day of the third task drew closer, Cedric felt more confident thanks to all of the practicing and preparations. Cordelia only hoped it was enough.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cordelia's Brooch

Cordelia's Brooch

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AN: I'm sorry this chapter is so short. It was more of a filler for what is to come next. I'll be posting two chapters today.

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