The Golden Mare - Cedric Diggory

Another Date

"God, I can't believe you have to work on that assignment with Malfoy. I pity you, I really do." Harry murmured as they walked to their next class together.

Aurora nodded. "I know. I don't know how we're gonna agree on anything."

Harry scoffed. "I don't think he'll want to say no to too many of your ideas."

Aurora gave him a sideways glance. "What are you talking about?"

Harry cleared his throat. "Hrm. nothing. Anyways, this is your classroom. See you at lunch." He said, and walked away.

Weird, Aurora thought as she walked into Transfiguration. Cedric wasn't there yet, so she went and sat at the desk next to his.

A few moments later, he walked in laughing with a group of Hufflepuffs. He certainly was popular... he was always surrounded by friends or admirers.

"Hi, Cedric", Aurora smiled at him as he sat down. He gave her a grin in return.

"Have you been preparing for the tournament? You must be nervous. Harry has been freaking out." She went on.

Cedric chuckled. "Yes, I'm a bit nervous. A little in shock, actually. I'm just worried that I won't know enough spells to complete the tasks."

She gave him a sympathetic look. "Did they give you a hint of what the task is?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing. Although I was wondering if I would automatically win if I turned into a horse."

Aurora laughed. "Seems like you really want to be an animagus, huh?"

Cedric blinked at her. "Well, yeah, actually. I think I wanna try to turn into one."

Aurora gaped at him. "Are you serious?"

Cedric glanced around. "Uh, yeah. What's the problem?"

"Well, you know it's extremely difficult to become an animagus. You have to register and everything..."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're no fun."

Aurora grinned slightly. "You really wanna be one?"

He nodded. "Well, yeah."

She thought for a moment. "Maybe I could help you. I probably know more about it than you do, and I wouldn't want you to do that kind of dangerous magic on your own."

Cedric smirked. "What, you think I can't handle it?" Aurora blinked at him, her heart skipping a beat, thinking she had offended him. He let out a soft laugh. "You can help if you want. I could use it. Plus, your grandmother is an animagus. You could ask her for advice."

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But trust me, I don't know much about transforming into an animagus either." She thought for a moment. Didn't Harry say Sirius was an unregistered animagus? "Maybe I can ask Harry..." She murmured out loud.

Cedric narrowed his eyes. "Harry? Why?"

Oh, shoot. I'm not supposed to tell people that. "Oh, nothing. He just knows a lot about this stuff."

He nodded slightly, but still seemed unconvinced. "So, when do you wanna start? Tonight?"

Aurora bit her lip, remembering she had to meet Draco in the library. "I'm sorry, but I'm busy tonight. Tomorrow?"

Cedric raised his eyebrows. "Guess you're a popular gal. Sure, tomorrow is fine."

She gave him a look. "Oh, yeah, I'm the popular one here."

Cedric laughed. "Yeah, whatever. So, tomorrow night. And where?"

"We should probably start in the library, so we can find some information. What time are you free?"

He thought for a moment. "After dinner?"

"Okay, sure", she decided. "It's a plan."