The Triwizard Tragedy

Chapter 3

"Advanced Charms is my first class today," wailed Holly as she looked down at her schedule for the term.

Peering down at her own schedule, Lilyana also saw 'Advanced Charms' printed neatly in the Monday morning time slot. "That's me as well," Lilyana told her. "Don't worry, it won't be that bad."

"Lilyana, when do you have Defense Against the Dark Arts?" asked Aaralyn, who was chewing on a bit of toast as she spoke.

Lilyana glanced back down at her schedule. "Tuesday in the afternoon," she replied. "I hope this new teacher is up to par. I would like to do better on my Dark Arts N.E.W.Ts than I did on my O.W.Ls."

There were a few nods around the table agreeing with her. They had some real duffers as Defense Against the Dark Arts professors before and none of them lasted more than a year on the job. Last years professor was probably the best of the lot that Lilyana had experience with. It was very lucky because last year they took their O.W.Ls and needed to receive good marks to pass. Unfortunately, she didn't do quite as well as she would have hoped.

Fortunately, for Lilyana, Charms was always one of the classes she liked. As she was getting situated in her seat before class started, she got a bit of a surprise. Cedric walked in and took the seat next to her. Her bewildered expression must have been noticeable because he chuckled as he pulled out his text book.

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded once the shock wore off, but smirking all the same. "I thought we only had Transfiguration together!"

"I changed my schedule a little," he whispered back. "I've decided to look at being an Auror and now I need Advanced Charms to complete my courses."

Lilyana playfully narrowed her eyes at him. "Could you want to be any more like me!" she said, playfully accusing him. Ever since Lilyana learned the truth about how her mother died, she knew she wanted to follow in her footsteps and be an Auror. Her father tried many times to persuade her to change her mind, but Lilyana's mind was already set in one direction and there was no altering of the decision.

Cedric just grinned as Professor Flitwick began class.

~~*~~
The workload for lessons steadily increased as September passed by. It was already the third day in October and it was still unknown when the two foreign schools would arrive. It wasn't long before that question was answered. Hanging on the large oak doors of the Great Hall one day, was a notice saying that the delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons would be arriving on the thirtieth of October and that there would be a Welcoming Feast in their honor.

By now Lilyana had given the idea of entering the Tournament some serious thought. The consideration of entering haunted her as she lay awake in bed. She couldn't believe she had only one more week to resolve this difficult decision. Presently, she wasn't feeling extremely comfortable with her abilities to compete, but still she couldn't help but wonder if she had what it took.

She was walking to Transfiguration with Cedric on that same day the announcement was made when a student a few years below them ran up to Cedric and repeated the announcement word for word, looking extremely excited.

"Uh, thanks Ernie," Cedric said, his ears burning as he glanced over at Lilyana. "I've got to get to class now. See you back in the common room," he said quickly, avoiding her bewildered stare.

"What was that all about?" she demanded as soon as Ernie rushed off around the corner.

Cedric didn't quite meet her eye as he muttered it was nothing. Lilyana was not at all satisfied by this answer. She knew there was something he was neglecting to tell her. During class they had to work in pairs and she continually insisted that he tell her what was going on.

"I'll tell you after class," he whispered, finally giving in to her constant nagging.

After that was established Lilyana was able to better concentrate on the spell they had been assigned to work on, although the situation never left her mind.

~~*~~
Sitting under one of the large oak trees that grew beside the lake, Cedric and Lilyana worked on a bit of Transfiguration homework while munching on sandwiches from the Great Hall. After working out the answer to one problem, Lilyana asked him about Ernie's strange behavior, which had been weighing on her mind for the last hour.

"Please tell me what's going on," she asked, looking slightly concerned, but all the more curious.

Taking in a deep breath, Cedric explained. "I'm entering the Triwizard Tournament," he said simply, still not meeting her eye.

"What?!" shouted Lilyana, feeling a twinge of anger because he had not shared this with her sooner. "Oh, Cedric, you can't! It's far too dangerous. Not that you couldn't do it of course, but I just...I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"Look, I've thought about this a lot. I'm not just rushing into it. It's just something I feel I have to do," he explained slowly, trying to make her see his reasoning.

Lilyana took in a deep breath, attempting to rationalize this. Hadn't she, just nights before, been considering the same thing. She couldn't have a go with Cedric over something she herself may do. On the other hand, she was still having doubts about her own participation in the Tournament. So in the end she settled for the only thing she could argue with him about, not confiding in her sooner.

She punched him sharply in the arm, to which he replied with a yelp followed by a laugh. "That's for not telling me sooner!" she said with a scowl. "Of course you're going to enter. You're Cedric Diggory, the doer of all good in this world!" she said sarcastically, her expression lightening.

He just rolled his eyes. "I didn't tell you sooner, because I knew you'd go mental."

"Me, go mental? No way!" she chuckled and tossed the last bit of her sandwich at his head. "Besides, you're not the only one considering this Tournament!" She choked back a laugh. His expression was priceless.

"You're...you're going to enter?" he stammered, furrowing his brow and looking at her sternly. Clearly he was making a decision, because he shook his head. "No, no way! Are you serious? Absolutely not! There is no way I am letting you enter your name into the Goblet. The tasks are going to be extremely dangerous. And you know that our parents will go mental if you're chosen. They'd probably blame me for not stopping you. Lil, you can't enter this Tournament. It's too risky and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Are you finished?" she asked, quirking a brow in his direction.

He nodded sheepishly.

"And you said I'd go mental," she exclaimed with a smirk. "What do you call the ten minute lecture you just gave me? Anyway, I said I was considering it, not that I've reached my decision yet. As soon as I do, you'll be the first to know!"