Pressure

Disclaimer: Jo Rowling owns everything and everyone except Markus and Jamie. Those boys are MINE!

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Through careful observation of Harry, Cedric had noticed that he looked at Cho Chang quite often lately, especially when he, Cedric, was with her. His heart sank with the realization that Harry was like most of the other boys: totally girl-crazy. Cedric knew that the pretty Ravenclaw girl was very interested in him, and although she was very interesting as well as one hell of a Seeker, he knew that he could only return her interest in him up to a point. In spite of that, he felt that they could be very good friends and resolved to invite her to the Yule Ball, mainly because he enjoyed her company and they made a wonderful couple, but also to ensure that she'd be within his sight at all times.

He reasoned that if Harry was in fact interested in Cho, then Harry's eyes wouldn't be far from her all night, which might give Cedric the opportunity to have his eyes on Harry for much of the night. He was certain that Harry wouldn't have any trouble getting a date for the Yule Ball, and he wasn't exactly sure why he couldn't stop thinking about the younger boy. Images of the young Gryffindor flashed into his mind daily at random intervals, and he found himself wondering what it might be like to get closer to him. He even wondered precisely what that meant.

~*~

Several days went by before Cedric was able to get Cho alone. She smiled as he approached, a broad, winning smile that seemed to light up her whole being. Cedric sighed inwardly, and for a second, questioned his decision.

'Hi, Cho, how are you?' he asked lightly.

'Oh, hi, Cedric,' she replied, her cheeks flushed from more than just the cold air.

'Um, I was wondering whether you'd like to accompany me to the Yule Ball.'

The words sounded rushed to his ears, and he wondered fleetingly whether he'd made an ass of himself. He saw her face light up with obvious delight, and he relaxed just a bit.

'Oh, um, yes,' she breathed. 'That ... that would be lovely, Cedric.'

He felt the relief pour over him as he exhaled, not even realizing that he'd been holding his breath.

'Well, that's wonderful, Cho. Great! I'll let you know about the details as soon as we find out, okay?' he half-croaked, wishing for the tiniest fraction of a second that he could have this conversation with someone else. A certain unreachable someone else. His eyes clouded briefly, and when he snapped back to the present he noticed Cho looking up at him enquiringly.

'Are you all right, Cedric?' she said, concerned.

'Oh, yes, I'm fine. Wonderful, in fact,' he said quickly, and continued before she could ask anything further. 'I'll talk to you later?'

'Sure, Cedric, see you later.'

He turned from her beaming face and walked down the hall, his long legs carrying him quickly from the small knot of girls that now gathered around Cho. He could hear them giggling and gasping excitedly, as she no doubt furnished them with every detail of their conversation.

~*~

The Monday before the first task dawned in spite of his anxiety, and although he could barely eat any breakfast, he realized that he would have to put something in his stomach. He and Jamie had walked down to breakfast together, but it wasn't long before Markus arrived and folded his long frame into the bench.

'So tell me, Diggs, just what does a Champion eat for breakfast?' he asked flippantly, earning jovial laughter from the surrounding Hufflepuffs.

Cedric had to smile; Markus had the uncanny ability to make fun of any situation. Markus and Jamie grinned at each other, as they proceeded to place one of every item of the breakfast menu on Cedric's plate, and then insist that he finish it all or else.

Markus clapped his friends on their shoulders and left them for his Potions class, while Cedric and Jamie made their way to Charms with the rest of their class. As they ascended the marble staircase, Cedric's brand new bag split open, and the contents spilled out onto the floor.

Blast!

Aggravated, he motioned for them to continue.

'Tell Flitwick I'm coming, go on ...'

Jamie nodded and continued up the stairs, and as Cedric gathered his quills and parchment, he noticed that a shadow fell across the floor in front of him. Cedric raised his head, and grey eyes met green; he had to catch his breath. Those intense eyes, mere inches from his, and bearing some anxiety within their depths, belonged to none other than Harry Potter.

Hello, Champion, he thought, eternally thankful that nobody in Hogwarts was a Legilimens. He heard himself babbling '... it just split, and a brand new bag too,' and grabbed even more quickly at his supplies while he mentally slapped himself for sounding so inane. He focused on Harry's mouth and willed himself to concentrate on what the Gryffindor was saying, on the words that he was using. Instead, he managed only to reflect on Harry's lips as they parted and moved and the movement of Harry's tongue over his lower lip as he paused. When Cedric realized that Harry had stopped speaking, he snapped himself back to the matter at hand. He hadn't heard most of what Harry was telling him, but he was pretty sure he'd said the word 'dragons', and a surge went through his body like cold water being emptied into a deep well.

Dragons! Cedric had never seen a dragon, although he had certainly heard enough about them to know their capabilities. His mind rapidly went through everything he'd read about them in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 'Fire breathing reptiles' was a phrase that leapt immediately to mind. He pressed Harry for details, but the Gryffindor was evasive. Cedric reached for a stray quill, but Harry was quicker, and their hands touched as Harry handed it to him. He felt a startling pull in his groin, and his heart beat with such intensity that he felt the pulse behind his eyes. Suddenly, he fully realized what Harry had done.

'Why are you telling me?' he asked as he tried to keep his voice steady. He wondered precisely why Harry would give up his considerable advantage on this first task.

'It's just ... fair, isn't it?' Harry returned. 'We all know now ... We're on an even footing, aren't we?'

Cedric was pondering this thought with some suspicion when they were interrupted by Professor Moody. The Professor dismissed him roughly, and Cedric proceeded to Charms, where he took his seat next to Jamie, and spent the entire class lost in his own thoughts, considering dragons, honour and the motives of one Harry Potter.

~~~~~~~~

Cedric spent most of that day considering his options. Not knowing precisely what the task would entail, he could only hope that a direct duel would not be necessary. He approached Markus and Jamie in the common room.

'Hey, Diggs, you alright?' Markus asked as he grinned at his friend.

'Um, guys, need to talk. Dorm in five minutes?'

The looks on their faces said that they understood his urgency, and they were seated on their beds well before the allotted time.

Cedric looked around cautiously before he cast a silencing spell on the door. He didn't want to be overheard.

Jamie and Markus exchanged looks but Jamie was the first to speak.

'Cedders,' he said hesitatingly, 'what's going on?'

Cedric quickly outlined what Harry had told him, and his friends leaned back on their beds in amazement.

'Dragons, Cedric? Are you SERIOUS? Actual ... living ... dragons?' Jamie asked. Markus was virtually speechless, which would have been funny under any other circumstances.

'Merlin,' said Markus succinctly.

'Anyone know anything about duelling dragons?' Cedric asked in what he hoped was a joking voice, but they all knew that the attempt fell flat.

None of them could think of anyone who'd won in a duel with a dragon. They all agreed that Cedric was strongest in Transfiguration and Charms, and since they doubted there'd be a suitable charm available for something of this magnitude, they concentrated on Cedric being able to configure various objects. Cedric wasn't sure precisely what he hoped to accomplish, but to do nothing would simply make him feel helpless.

~*~

The morning of the first task felt to Cedric as though he were walking against a tide. He had lessons with the rest of the Hufflepuffs until he was called by Professor Sprout just before lunch. His throat was dry as he shook hands with Markus and Jamie, and left with the Professor. Their calls of 'Good luck' followed him as they walked down to the grounds where a tent had been set up at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

'You're more than capable of handing this task, Mr. Diggory,' Professor Sprout said as she looked up at him encouragingly, although the quaver in her voice belied her words. Cedric barely heard her. They arrived at the tent's entrance, where Professor Sprout wished him luck and squeezed his hands. He attempted a smile, pushed aside the flap and entered the tent. He briefly acknowledged Krum and Fleur, who both looked as unwell as he felt. Mr. Bagman greeted him heartily, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture which Cedric hardly noticed. His only thought was to keep moving, to keep a constant motion going that would hopefully help to calm his nerves. Five minutes later it hadn't worked, but he continued nevertheless.

Suddenly the tent opening swung to the side, and Harry entered, looking just as nervous as they all felt. Cedric nodded and smiled at him, or tried to, hoping that his muscles didn't draw his face up into a snarl. Harry's feeble return smile answered all his unasked questions, and Cedric felt a swirl of compassion for him. Harry was young, he was nervous, and he certainly hadn't asked for this. The boy stood near the back of the tent where he fiddled nervously with his wand. Cedric was so preoccupied with the task ahead that he was barely able to appreciate Harry's nervous habit of running his hands through his hair.

Ludo Bagman proceeded to explain their task, and Cedric looked in wonder as first Fleur, and then Krum, pulled a miniature dragon from a bag. He felt his way inside the bag, and his fingertips brushed against tiny wings as he grasped a little body. He withdrew his hand cautiously, only to behold a blue-grey dragon with the number 'One' tied around its neck. Resignedly, Cedric realized that he would be the first Champion to face their dragon in the ring. He watched as Potter pulled the remaining dragon from the bag, and then he resumed his pacing. He was dimly aware that Harry disappeared from the tent, and Cedric continued his numb pacing at the entrance of the tent, awaiting the whistle that would signal his match.

After what seemed like an eternity, the whistle was blown, and suddenly the pain of waiting was over. He collected his thoughts and walked into the ring, where he was confronted with the fifty-foot version of his miniature Swedish Short-Snout. Even with Harry's warning, Cedric's bowels felt as though they were filled with ice, and he was thankful for the forewarning, as this beast would more than likely have terrified most people. He found his bearings and immediately noted that the dragon, a female he presumed, was crouched over a bed of eggs, one of which was the golden prize. He attempted to approach, only to be blasted by a long and very hot blue flame. Realizing that he'd need more than speed, he mentally shuffled through his Transfiguration options while he scanned the ground for any inspiration. There was nothing but rocks, and he had just escaped the dragon's fiery breath for the third consecutive time when he decided to try something.

He focused his energy and his mind on a large rock, and concentrated on a large dog, a Labrador Retriever. He murmured the incantation, and the transformed dog leapt away from him as it attempted to put as much distance between it and the dragon as possible. Cedric crouched lower, waiting, and was rewarded when the dragon lunged at the dog. He wasted no time in grabbing the egg from the nest, and no sooner had his arms tightened around the hardened golden shell than he heard screams from the crowd. Turning, he observed that the retriever had managed to escape, and the dragon was turning her full attention and wrath upon him once more. Not even having time to think, Cedric lunged out of the way, as another wide swath of blue-hot flame passed dangerously close to his face, stinging the skin on one side. He clutched the egg close to his chest and rolled out of the way of the dragon, as the crowd erupted with roars of victory and support. Almost instantly, five men appeared in the ring with their wands out and launched what must have been Stunning Spells at the dragon. With a giant roar that seemed to echo everywhere, she fell immobile next to her nest of eggs. Cedric stood on shaky legs, and his heart thundered in his chest as he raised the Golden Egg above his head in victory.

Cedric was ushered into the medical tent, and he listened to the commentary of the other competitors, as Madam Pomfrey tended to his wounds, muttering her disapproval at the goings-on of the first task. His face and neck burned viciously, and after she had treated the wounds with some purple liquid which stung, he was able to concentrate better on the action in the ring. He surmised that Krum and Fleur had also been successful in acquiring their eggs; now only Harry remained. He felt an unnamed fear clutch at him, and he hoped that the young Gryffindor would make it through. Madam Pomfrey returned to interrupt his musings with a bright orange salve which she proceeded to paste over the burned side of his face. It smelled faintly like dandelions, but he couldn't be sure. Happily, the burning and stinging sensations disappeared almost immediately, and he was able to concentrate on the commentary for Harry's task.

The screams and gasps from the crowd didn't bode well for Harry's success, and the waiting seemed interminable, until the crowd suddenly erupted in cheers and applause – the final Champion was successful. Cedric exhaled, not realizing he'd held his breath for a considerable time, and felt slightly faint-headed. Harry was all right! Some time later they all convened in the main tent, and Cedric smiled with relief to see that Harry was relatively unharmed. Harry flashed a triumphant grin at Cedric, and his eyes glittered as they shook hands firmly and acknowledged each other as equals. To Cedric, the gentle pressure of Harry's palm in his silently acknowledged a great deal more than that.

~~

Cedric was more than happy to put the First Task behind him. He mulled over Mr. Bagman's comments at the end of the dragon egg rescue and decided to give the egg some space. He wanted to enjoy his Christmas this year, as almost the entire school would be staying at Hogwarts through the holidays, and he was hopeful that somehow the clue would make itself known to him in time. It was time for him to concentrate on his studies, and although he had always attained high grades in his classes, the sixth year brought with it a special type of pressure.

Transfiguration was becoming more technical and the incantations were much more precise. Professor McGonagall was taking them through the beginnings of human transfiguration, and it was proving more difficult than merely changing snails and small animals into water goblets and watches for their OWLs. Cedric had mastered those techniques with relative ease, but a simple mistake of transposing two words in Latin could mean the difference between transfiguring his partner into a cabinet or a cactus.

Professor Flitwick continued to assign them pages of parchment on the ability to distinguish the effects of Charms versus Potions. Markus had been the only one brave enough (or silly enough) to continue with Potions for their NEWTs, and Cedric was secretly relieved that he'd decided to drop Potions after his OWLs. The mere sight of Professor Snape berating the fourth and fifth year students was enough to turn his stomach. Their Defence Against the Dark Arts classes with Professor Moody continued to be nerve-wracking but informative, and even Markus had agreed that he felt better knowing some defensive spells and hexes.

Sixth year Herbology also proved difficult, although both he and Markus thought that the class would be a breeze after their success at OWL level. Professor Sprout had set a brisk pace at the beginning of term and showed no evidence of relenting. Their homework consisted of both the written and practical applications of growing and maintaining a batch of Mandrakes from seedlings to maturity, while keeping detailed notes on their progress. Markus had been less than amused.

In addition to all his class work, there was the problem of Cho. Not a 'problem' exactly, but an additional distraction that required his time. To be fair, she wasn't at all demanding, preferring instead to sit with him and hold hands as they did homework or research in the library. Cedric felt that he was being corralled into a boyfriend role much too quickly. All in all, his days were full from dusk to dawn, but it still didn't forestall his stomach from turning every time he passed Harry in the halls, nor did it prevent his palms from sweating every time he saw the young Gryffindor laughing with his friends. Cedric was beginning to feel slightly tortured, but he couldn't find a way to get clear and just breathe.

~*~

The winter days turned into particularly unforgiving winter nights as November gave way to December. Cedric realized that he was no closer to figuring out the mystery of the egg, and he began taking it with him everywhere. He secretly hoped that he would be struck with a flash of utter brilliance and that, in an unguarded moment, the solution would jump out at him. Halfway through December, with Christmas and the Yule Ball a mere week away, he began to doubt himself.

His fellow Hufflepuffs had given him all their best ideas – put it in the fireplace and hopefully it would burst open (Markus' idea, which didn't work), stroke it, sing to it, even play music. None of that worked, and even though most of the theories were amusing, the passing days with no solution were beginning to tell on Cedric. When he finally decided to open the egg, the common room was filled with a most horrific wail that reverberated from every surface. He had hurriedly closed the egg and apologised to the students gathered in the common room, before he ran upstairs to place the egg on his bed. He ran back downstairs and rejoined Jamie and Markus at the fireplace.

'Damn, Diggs, why don't you ask your pal Potter for some advice,' Markus growled as he rubbed his ears.

Cedric spun around and glared at Markus who realized, too late, what he'd said out loud.

'Will you shut up, mate?' Cedric hissed, as he glanced around to see whether anyone had heard. To his relief everyone was still shaking their heads to get the ringing sound out of their heads.

Jamie was quick to intervene.

'Will the two of you relax? Nobody heard anything, okay?' he said quietly, as he glared at each of them in turn. 'For the love of Merlin, just ease up alright?' Jamie was unusually forceful, but he realized that his friends were both highly agitated. Cedric, he understood; Markus was another question.

Cedric realized that Jamie was right, and he slapped Markus gently on his knee.

'Sorry, mate.'

'No worries.' Markus grinned in response.

'What's up with you anyway, Markers?' Jamie enquired. 'You've been as tense as Cedders, but he's the one with the egg, mate. What've you got that's eatin' your arse?'

They all laughed at Jamie's turn of phrase, and Markus raked his hands through his hair.

'It's the bloody Yule Ball, Diggs. You're going with Cho, Jamie's asked Katie, and she's said yes.'

Cedric's stomach lurched as he remembered his own date with Cho for the Yule Ball.

'Yeah?'

'Well, it's Hannah Abbott,' Markus said, and his uncharacteristically low voice set off alarm bells in the back of Cedric's mind.

'What about her?'

'I've asked her to go to the Ball with me, but she hasn't given me an answer yet,' he said quietly, and Cedric looked at his friend in an entirely different light. Markus actually liked this girl, and that was rare.

Ever since the summer following their fourth year, when Markus had gone on vacation with his family to Ibiza, he'd been very carefree with girls. He had come back to school deeply tanned, with stories of how he'd lost his virginity to a sexy, older Spanish witch with whom he'd fallen deeply in love. He had learned only one sentence in Spanish, 'Te quiero mucho mas', which meant 'I love you much more'. Cedric surmised that that was all Markus had ever really wanted to tell her, but she had gently dismissed his proclamations as merely a 'schoolboy crush'. She had given him the lessons of a lifetime, but Cedric doubted whether Markus had ever really gotten over her.

Jamie must have thought the same things that Cedric did, but he posed the question directly to Markus.

'Mucho mas?'

Cedric looked quickly at Markus, wanting to assure him that Jamie wasn't taking the mickey out of him, but he saw that Markus' face had cracked into a wide smile as his friend nodded his assent.

'Si, papi, mucho mas.'

The three of them dissolved into gales of laughter as they both assured Markus that any girl would be crazy not to go with him. Cedric privately decided to take matters into his own hands.

~*~

The following day with Ernie MacMillan's help, Cedric managed to find Hannah in a quiet corner of the library. He approached the table, and cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked up in surprise and smiled at him.

'Hey, Cedric,' she said evenly.

'Hi, Hannah, can I have a word?'

'Sure,' she said and gestured to the chairs surrounding the table.

Cedric took the chair next to hers and sat quietly, not wanting to attract any undue attention.

'So, what's up?' she enquired as she placed her quill on the table.

Cedric didn't know where to begin.

'Well, um, it's about Markus,' he began and was taken aback when a broad smile played across Hannah's pretty face.

'What?' he asked. 'What's that smile for?'

Hannah's smile had turned into an almost rueful grin, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled quietly.

'What?' Cedric pressed again, although he couldn't help the smile that came across his face. He detected no malice whatsoever from Hannah.

'Well, Cedric, you know how Markus is, right? He thinks he's the big stud of the school, and that any girl will simply fall at his feet when he so much as looks at them.' Cedric nodded wryly – Hannah had just summed up his friend perfectly.

'Okay, then, so I'm just making him wait a bit before I accept, that's all. I do like him very much, Cedric, but I don't want him to think that I'm just like any of the other girls he's had.'

Mucho mas, Cedric thought as he laughed out loud at her words. Madam Pince came around the corner, and her furrowed brow spoke louder than words. Impulsively, he kissed Hannah on the cheek, and departed with a wave and a shared grin. Markus had definitely met his match.

Two days later, Hannah relented and put Markus out of his misery. Cedric had to concede that women really were the smarter sex.

TBC

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A/N: I don't speak Spanish, but this translation is the best I could do. Any recognisable dialogue is taken directly from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

'Anyone know anything about duelling dragons?' is a nod to my favourite ride at Islands of Adventure.