PRANKSTER [1] ↝ C. DIGGORY

twenty-six

"Let's go, ladies and gents!" Fred exclaimed as they reached the Weasley family's tent in the middle of the campground, the air still lively with the sounds of the Irish spectators celebrating their team's World Cup victory.

"It's party time!" George added as the two entered the tent, closely followed by Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Clary turned back to Cedric, who jerked his head in the direction of the celebrations.

"Lively night still." the boy said. "Care to take a walk?"

"Walk? Hey, we'll come with you!" Newt said cheerily before Vasantha stomped on his foot, prompting the boy to shoot a dirty look at his twin sister. "Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?"

"You know, it's pretty late, I think we'll just hang out here, right Newt?" Vasantha asked, raising her eyebrows back at her brother.

"What are you-?" Newt stopped suddenly, his jaw dropping. "Ohhhhhh. Y-yeah, we'll be right inside. See you both later."

Clary smirked as Newt and Vasantha turned to head back into the tent, and she looked back in Cedric's direction to see the boy chuckling nervously.

"So, walk?" he asked again, and she nodded in return.

"Sure," she said, bidding goodbye to the rest of the group and following him through the trail of tents through the groups of Quidditch fans, Irish tunes drifting through the air as the two walked. 

Clary shoved her hands into the pocket of her jeans as she followed Cedric through the crowds, neither of them saying a word to the other as they walked. Clary's mind spun with thoughts of the bet the two had made prior to the match, when she had been so sure that Bulgaria would be the one to take home the victory that night. The idea of being able to get away with pranking Cedric for an entire month had been well worth the risk of having to kiss him if she lost that she hadn't even stopped for a moment to consider that possibility. 

"Some game, huh?" Cedric asked as the two reached a clearing near the edge of the campground, where only a few wizards milled about here and there.

Clary nodded. "Some game."

"So..." Cedric trailed off, his eyes trained on his sneakers as he avoided her gaze. "About the bet. You don't have to... you know. I'm not going to force you."

Clary shook her head. "You won fair and square, didn't you? If I won I definitely wouldn't let you get out of it so easily."

Cedric shrugged. "If you're sure..."

Clary shook her head. "Oh, just shut up and come here."

Cedric slowly took two steps closer to Clary, closing the distance between them as their eyes locked on one another's. Though she was only shorter than the boy by an inch or two, Clary raised herself up on her tiptoes, both of them smiling anxiously and silently daring the other to make the first move. Clary slowly leaned closer, shutting her eyes and only mere centimeters away from Cedric before a scream pierced through the air, causing the teenagers to jump apart as the first bout of flames rose up into the night sky.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Cedric asked as other screams began to join the first, as well as a low chanting noise in the distance.

Crowds of people began to run past Clary and Cedric, eager to escape the dangers of the night and either fleeing the campground or Disapparating from the area. Clary took off running back through the mob of witches and wizards, moving as quickly as her feet could carry her to the center of the campground as Cedric called after her.

"Get out!" a voice rang out through the screaming crowds. "Get out, it's the Death Eaters!"

"Clary!" Cedric exclaimed, catching up to her, though the girl refused to slow her fast pace. "Clary, where are you going, come on!"