Always - Welcome to the Wizarding World

Part 16

November 24th, the first day of the tournament. The day that Cedric, Harry, Krum and Fleur would have to each battle a dragon. The whole school had gathered in constructed stadium seats in the cold grounds of Hogwarts to watch the champions fight for their position in the competition. The supporters for each champion had not integrated, so I decided to sit with Zarah with the rest of Cedric's supporters. Before I took my seat, I sneaked off alone to the champion's tent to see if I could wish Cedric luck. 

On the way there, I passed Draco, Goyle and Crabbe, all heading for Krum's supporters' section. I rolled my eyes at him, although I don't know why I was surprised. I was confident that Draco wouldn't want to support Cedric and he would definitely not support Harry. What did I expect?

Once I reached the champions' tent, I crept unseen around the back to make sure I wasn't spotted by Filch, who was patrolling the front entrance. There was a gap in between the tent material and I slipped through, unnoticed. I spotted Cedric in one corner of the tent, pulling on some leather shin-pads over his black and yellow trousers. 

"Pssst, Ced!" I whispered. His head whipped around, spotting me coaxing him over and he smiled with relief, rushing over to see me. He took me into his strong arms and hugged me tight; I let myself melt into him. When I tried to pull away, he grasped me closer. "Ced, are you alright?" 

"No, Ray. I'm bloody petrified!" he whispered into my ear, his voice catching in his throat. He let go and, when I looked closely at him, I saw his eyes were red and wide. Suddenly, I was a lot more scared for him too. It was all to real now. I rubbed his arm tentatively, smiling, trying desperately to hide my own fear from him.

"Hey, come on, now! I want the overly-confident Cedric back! Oh, Ced, don't be scared! You know this stuff, you're an amazing wizard! Everything will be fine, it's you!" I reassured him as he skittishly looked between me and the entrance of the tent, shaking his head. 

"No, Ray. It's gone, it's all gone, my plan! I don't know that it'll work!" he muttered rapidly.

"Cedric, stop that! You're scaring yourself. You wanted to do this, remember? Come on, where's your dad? He should be here, right?" Cedric shook his head.

"No, he can't get off work until the final task in June. Jesus, Ray!" he panicked. I hugged him again and shushed him quietly. I watched Harry, Krum and Fleur, none of whom . "I can't do this".

"Yes, you can, Cedric. You can" I whispered. "I have so much faith in you". I felt his body stop shaking in my arms and he let go of me.

"I suppose you're right. I have to do this, I just have to stay calm" he convinced himself. I nodded with him. I had to help as much as I could in the short time I could stay with him.

"Exactly! Now, come on, be brave. Just think of someone you're doing it for and it will be a doddle!" I said. Cedric stood a little bit stronger and prouder, smiling of the thought of that someone. I couldn't help but think, maybe it was me, maybe it was. Maybe Draco was wrong.

"Thanks, Ray. You'll be in stands, right?" he asked. I nodded.

"Make your friends proud, Ced. Make yourself proud" I beamed. He took a deep breath and smiled at me, sniffling a bit. "I have to go now, but I'll see you in a bit, okay?" 

"Can't you stay? I need a friend with me. Oliver and Max came earlier, but they left quickly to get good seats!" he begged. I shook my head agonizingly.God, how I wished I could stay with him. I'd even compete with him if it meant he could stay safe.