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The Lioness And The Badgers	By : sawahhaych Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Cedric Views: 7550 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (Although I am British I am unfortunately not the amazing JK Rowling!). I do not make any money from the writing of this fic.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
I sit with the Hufflepuff's at lunch on the day of the first task, Cedric picks at his food but doesn’t really eat anything substantial, worried he wont be able to keep it down.

The whole great hall is pretty quiet at the moment, the other students sitting at other tables whispering rather than speaking normally.

I eye Fleur who seems to be having a hard time eating too, her school mates leaning in talking fast and quiet in French.

Viktor looks grumpy as he usually does when surrounded by other people, he isn’t having trouble eating though, I hypothesize this is because he is used to this kind of pressure playing professional Quidditch, although the crowd this will pull will be huge I don’t think it will have anything on the world cup. I offer Viktor a small smile when I manage to catch his eye, wishing him luck too. Viktor picks up his goblet to take a sip but gently tips it in my direction before doing so, acknowledging our silent exchange.

Turning back to the table I watch as the others all try to offer encouragement to Cedric, telling him how well he has done in the practice sessions we have had, that he will be amazing and that they all think he is the best champion. I don’t think he really hears them, he just sits, despondent, slouching, eyes glazed over.

I don’t really know what to say to him, all I can think of is, everything the others are saying, so I stay quiet, also not able to eat, worry churning in my stomach. I have done some terrifying things with Harry but we never had time to think about them first, they just happened and you just go along with it, thinking on your feet, adrenaline pumping. By the look of Cedric's green face I would say the adrenaline has been going since he got up this morning, how much more can he take?

Cedric leaves with the others except Max before lunch is over. “When it's time, come and find one of us, we want you sitting with us okay?” Max says putting her knife and fork down.

I smile and nod, not trusting myself to speak lest the worry and panic I have running through my head come tumbling out.

-xXx-

Later that day Me, Harry, Ron and the Hufflepuff's escort Cedric to the champions tent, still Cedric is silent. A line forms in front of Cedric as we arrive, he stands and shakes everyone's hands and listens to their encouragement as they pass by.

I am held back with a gentle hand on my shoulder from Will. “We'll wait until last.” He says to Max, Tony, Luke and me.

Harry and Ron approach together they both shake Cedric's hand and wish him luck before looking back at me with sad smiles.

Cho Chang and Cedric hug tightly, Cedric lifting her an inch or so off the ground, I can see her lips moving by his ear rapidly, no doubt telling him to be careful and that he will be amazing. Cho leaves kissing Cedric on the cheek. I look down at the floor for a while trying to wipe the image from my brain, not so much of the kiss itself but the small quirk of the lips Cedric did as a response.

I stand for what seems an eternity waiting for the other students to finish with Cedric, wringing my hands and pacing back and forth next to Luke. I hang back as Will and Tony flank Cedric, lifting him up and saying things to him I cannot hear. When they leave I can see the ghost of a smile on Cedric's face. I feel guilty that this makes me happy, it isn't just Cho who can make him smile at a time like this.

Luke grabs Cedric in a bear hug and pronounces loudly that Cedric is amazing and he can do this brilliantly. Cedric's lip once again lifts in a small sideways smirk at Luke before Luke ambles off with a wave.

Finally it is just me and Max. Max simply goes over to Cedric offers him a fist bump, smirk and nod before taking a few steps back. “I'll wait for you round the corner.” Max says to me pointing to where she will be, leaving me and Cedric alone.

Cedric lets out a huge sigh. “Here I go, I guess.” He says raising his eyebrows, looking totally bewildered, panic evident in his shimmering grey eyes.

I am not sure what to do so I do exactly what I would do if this were Ron or Harry. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down so his head is on my shoulder. I feel his arms snake around my waist, he squeezes me gently, breathing erratic. I take in the smell of him for a moment, clean soap with a hint of musky sweat. “You're already my champion.” I say before releasing him. I manage a small smile before my eyes threaten to well up, I quickly go up onto my tip toes and plant a butterfly kiss on his cheek then scuttle off to meet Max without looking back.

I climb the steps into the stands, trying to discreetly wipe away the tears which are slowly falling down my chin. Max steers me to a seat, Harry on one side of me, Luke on the other, the rest of the Hufflepuff's surround me, some in front and some behind.

I root around in the bag at my feet to find my omnioculars I got at the world cup. “First up to face their dragon is Mr Cedric Diggory of Hogwart's!” Bagman announces to us all in the crowd.

I can see the dragon clearly without the omnioculars, a large Swedish Short-Snout sitting at the moment at the north end of the arena, chained to the ground, I assume so it cannot take flight and escape. I bring the omnioculars to my eyes and scan for Cedric, he looks so small next to the rocks.

Zooming in on his face I can see him taking a huge breath before muttering something to himself which looked a lot like 'I can do this'. Cedric seems to be ignoring the crowd as well as he did in practice, he peeks around a large bounder to find the dragon but has to pull back quickly as it spots him at the same moment, shooting orange fire.

I can see the sweat running down Cedric's face form either the heat or nerves, maybe both, but cannot look away. It is like seeing a car crash, you know you shouldn’t look but you cannot seem to pull your stupid eyes away from it.

I cannot hear the crowd properly, I am too focused, it is all a white noise around me, all I can concentrate on is Cedric ducking and diving away from the flames and claws of the dragon. My heart is threatening to either stop or beat out of my chest depending on the second.

I let out a scream as the dragon gets close to snapping up Cedric with it's huge teeth, instead it swallows whole the golden retriever that Cedric has just created from a nearby rock. In my panic I drop the omnioculars, maybe it is better if I don’t see it from so close up anyway.

Cedric creates a while menagerie of animals in front of the dragon, his plan evident when he then tries to sneak around the back of the dragon. I watch eyes wide open, not blinking. “CEDRIC!” I scream as though he can hear me, the dragon has whipped it's long neck around and is looking at him, it flicks it tail, catching Cedric in the stomach and throwing him almost twenty feet across the arena.

It is almost like my brain still thinks I have the omnioculars because Cedric seems to be thrown in slow motion, I see him twist in mid air holding his arms out to try and stop his fall. Somehow he manages to hold onto his wand, it looks like he tries as spell but I cannot see what it is.

Cedric hits and then slides down a rock, not moving. I scream and try to get out, to get to him, he needs help, what if he is dead? I scream like a banshee as Luke who is standing next to me grabs me and pulls me to him rocking me gently as I break down into uncontrollable sobs. “He isn't dead.” Luke whispers into my ear. “He's moving, he managed to get out a cushioning charm before he hit.”

I turn in Luke's arms finding Cedric with my eyes I can see he is breathing and moving, he is trying to stand now, nothing seems broken although he is limping slightly on his left foot. I let out a breath before directing my face towards the heavens thanking any God that want to take credit for his survival. Luke releases me from him embrace and takes my hand, he is squeezing mine as tight as I am his.

The chant starts from behind me, I can hear Will's loud voice over the others.

“Dig-gor-ry, Dig-gor-ry” The chant starts to spread through the crowd, soon almost everyone is chanting punching the air with each syllable. Luke using the hand holding mine to punch the air so I do it along with him, shouting as loud as I can.

I watch as Cedric looks up, towards the crowd, seeing the support we all have for him, that we all believe in him. He runs his right hand through his hair and nods to himself before he runs, full pelt around the arena turning any little thing into living breathing creatures. He shoots chains and ropes at the dragon from all angles until she is so covered that she finally trips, both legs bound together by an uncountable number of bindings. Cedric takes the chance and uses all the speed his has from his long legs, he circumnavigates the dragons head and watches the tail carefully as he does, darting in he snatches up the golden egg lying no more than three feet from the dragon on the ground.

The cheer is deafening as Cedric once again sprints for cover, going straight back into the tent he had emerged from earlier. I join in, jumping up and down, hugging everyone around me, both side, in front and behind. I look down at my watch, it is impossible, that was the longest and hardest fifteen minutes I have ever encountered, I don’t know how I will cope with the other tasks without having a nervous breakdown.

I slump into my seat, exhausted form the emotional roller-coaster I have been going through since this morning, hell since Cedric was chosen!

Fleur is up next and I watch as she practically dances around the arena, casting what seems to be a long elaborate spell on the dragon. The dragon's neck snowly slumps down and it lowers itself gently to the ground asleep. I watch amazed as Fleur goes to pluck the egg from the nest and scream along with half of the crowd when the dragon appears to have snorted in its sleep setting her skirt on fire. Fleur puts out the fire easily and makes her way quickly back to the tent. Cheers once again erupt.

Finally it is time for Viktor, who strides out onto the arena with confidence, he simply points his wand directly at the dragon and shouts a spell which seems to have blinded the dragon who tries to use its back legs to scratch and rub at it's now red oozing eyes. Again the plan isn’t flawless, as Viktor grabs the egg the dragon falls to the side, Viktor has to dive out the way to avoid being crushed, unfortunately he is docked points as the dragon has crushed her real eggs in the fall.

As soon as it is over I jump up from my seat at the same time as the Hufflepuff's and we go in search of Cedric.
- 9
- 10
- 11
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The Lioness And The Badgers