"And did you see when Zograf cobbed Mullet?" Ginny spoke excitedly as they walked down the carpeted stairs to make their way back to their campsite.

"I did, Gin," Alex laughed, her arm linked with the younger girls.

Ginny giggled, nudging the older girl. "Sorry, I just thought after seeing you sitting with Nikolai the whole match, I thought you'd be pretty -"

"Stop!" Alex quieted, covering Ginny's mouth with her free hand as they both giggled.

Her gaze lifted to see Fred and George toward the front of the group. Ever since they had left the Top Box, Fred hadn't so much as glanced in Alex's direction. Nikolai had to leave so quickly but let her know that he would try to talk to her later, which she was okay with. If she really needed, Velkan did say he would give his cousin Alex's information to write.

She didn't know if she saw Nikolai in a romantic sense now, especially not with having kissed Fred again, even if it was unexpected.  Sure, they had flirted but now, since Fred had kissed her again, her stomach didn't even flutter at the thought of the Bulgarian anymore.

They made it back to their campsite as everyone around them was either celebrating the win of Ireland or mourning the loss of Bulgaria. 

Alex had gone into the girl's tent to change into her pajamas and accepted a cup of hot chocolate from Mr. Weasley as she came out. She gazed over at Fred and George, who were happily smiling and chatting excitedly amongst each other, the bag of winnings in Fred's hands.

Taking a chance, she walked over.  "Hey, congratulations on winning!" She said with a sincere but nervous smile.

George smiled back at her but Fred's face turned to stone when he saw her approach. "Thanks, Alex," George said. "Because of your contribution, the payout is more than enough to get the joke shop going! We'll be able to pay it back soon!"

"Don't worry about paying it back, I'm happy to help," she said with a raise of her mug before looking to Fred, who was looking down at his own mug of hot chocolate. "Fred, can we go for a walk and talk?"

Being directly addressed, Fred knew that if he wanted to remain her friend, he would have to hear what she had to say. Otherwise, he really would lose Alex and he didn't want to.

"Yeah," he said, both of them setting their mugs down before letting Arthur know they would be back in a little bit.

They stuck close to each other to avoid getting lost in the crowds, but avoided any touching because that ended so well last time.  Alex wasn't sure how to begin the conversation and neither was Fred, so they walked in silence.

When they'd made it a good distance to walk by the tree-line, Alex stopped and leaned against a tree, prompting Fred to stop as well.  Maybe Hermione was right.  If talking to Fred about what had happened last year and tonight helped, maybe admitting her feelings would also help.  He might even feel the same way.

"I'm sorry," Fred spoke up before Alex could even open her mouth to say anything.

"For what exactly?" She asked, folding her arms close to her chest and pulling the small jacket she wore tighter.

Fred sighed and looked up at the night sky.  "Kissing you again," he said and Alex felt her chest tighten.  "It was just the high of winning the money to start our joke shop and I got caught up in the heat of the moment and wasn't thinking again.  I'm sorry."

Alex looked down, willing herself to not look as disappointed as she felt.  Scratch trying to admit her feelings because here was Fred, apologizing again for another heat of the moment kiss.

"It's okay," she replied nonchalantly with a shrug, even if she was feeling the exact opposite.  "And w-what you saw - the kiss with Nikolai -"

"Not my business," he shrugged, even if he was fuming under the surface.

"But I want to explain -"

"No need," he assured, jealousy rolling off him, even if he was showing the face of calm and collected.  "You are at perfect liberty to kiss whomever you like."

Alex lightly hit her lip at the fact that he was basically disregarding whatever she was trying to say.  It made the tightening in her chest worsen.  "Fred, please -"

"Alex, drop it!" He snapped, instantly regretting it when he saw the tears begin welling in her eyes.  She dropped her gaze to avoid him seeing but he saw.  "Hey -"

"ALEX!"

The new voice cutting in caused them both to turn their heads to see Cedric running up to them, a wide smile on his face before he noted who Alex was with.

"Oh, sorry, I'll go-"

"No need," Alex said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.  "We were done talking anyway.  How about a walk, Cedric?"

"Alex, wait -"

"See you later, Weasley," Alex spoke softly because of the tightness in her throat before grabbing Cedric's arm and walking in the opposite direction, leaving Fred standing there.

"Dammit," he gritted before kicking the tree and making his way back to their campsite.

It wasn't until they were a good distance away that Alex let her tears fall, walking through the crowd as she clung to Cedric's arm. The celebrations continued around them but they paid no mind as Cedric led her back to the tent he was sharing with his dad.

Walking inside, Alex collapsed onto one of the chairs. "Where's your d-dad?" She asked softly, the dam behind her eyes ready to break.

"On duty," Cedric told her. "When he saw the chaos after the match, he told me he was going to help out, so it's just me and I thought I'd come find you."

"Thank g-goodness you di-did," she whimpered, letting the tears fall as her breathing quickly increased.

Cedric immediately knelt in front of her.  "What happened?" He asked.  "I thought you guys were okay -"

"H-He kissed me again," Alex quickly said, her breathing quickening.  "Th-They m-made a bet and won a lot of m-money because of th-the outcome of the game and w-when I congratulated them, Fred k-kissed me again.  B-But -" she sobbed erratically, trying to get her breathing under control, "-But th-then, he s-saw Nikolai k-kiss me -"

"Alex," Cedric said softly, grabbing her hands, "I need you to take a deep breath, it sounds like you're having a panic attack.  Breathe with me."

He put her hand to his chest to feel the movements as Alex tried to slow her breathing, coughing as she wiped her eyes and nose frantically.  Slowly, her breathing calmed down and Cedric gently rubbed her arms to ground her.

"Are you okay now?"

She nodded, still sniffling.

"Okay, now who the bloody Hell is Nikolai?" He asked.

So Alex explained everything from beginning to end.  How she knew Nikolai, how she sat with him during the game, the wager they made about the outcome of the game, how Fred had kissed her after Ireland won, how Fred had seen Nikolai kiss her, and then ended with how Cedric found her and Fred as she was trying to explain everything.

Cedric sighed.  "No offense, Alex, but your love life is giving me grey hairs and it's not even mine."

She chuckled at his words before blowing her nose into a tissue he offered her.  "Yes, well, I'm not too thrilled about it, myself," she stated.  "Merlin, if he wouldn't have kissed me, then all the progress I made this summer in getting over this ridiculous crush would have been successful."

Cedric sighed.  "It'll be okay," he told her.  "I'm sure you'll find some new guy at Hogwarts to capture your eye."

Alex scoffed.  "Don't be ridiculous," she said.  "All the boys there will have no interest me if they've never shown it before."

"True," Cedric said.  "But you also have grown more in this last summer, you are far prettier."

She sniffled and looked up at Cedric.  "Really?"

He nodded with a sincere smile.  "I mean, I say that in a completely platonic and love-you-like-a-sister way."

"Of course," Alex laughed.  "We tried that route for us and it's blatantly clear that you and I only work as friends."

Cedric laughed at the memory of her third year when they tried going on a date and how awkward it just ended up being for them.  They liked each other, just not in the way they thought that they did.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Alex's eyes began to droop and she jerked several times to stay awake before Cedric looked over, laughing at her.

"Go to sleep," he told her. "My dad will be back soon and I will let him know to let Arthur know you dozed off at our campsite."

"You sure?" She asked sleepily.

He nodded with a smile, which she returned before taking her jacket off and laying back on the chair she was sitting on. Cedric smiled softly, grabbing a blanket and draping it over her sleeping figure before retiring to get ready for bed himself.

⊰ ⁜ ⊱

Alex snuggled into the warmth of the blanket Cedric had given her when the sounds of screams very close by startled her awake.  She opened her eyes to see that the lights in the Diggory's tent had been turned off but the sound of cheering and singing from outside the tent had changed to screams of panic and people running by.

"Cedric, wake up!" Amos Diggory's voice said suddenly as he ran into the tent before seeing her as well.  "You, as well, dear!"

She scrambled up, barely grabbing her wand before Cedric was up and pulling her out of the tent.

"Dad?!" Cedric questioned fearfully.

"You two go find cover in the woods, now!" Amos told them before he took off running to where Alex watched the chaos ensuing.

"What the bloody Hell.." her voice trailed off when she saw a crowd of wizards that were marching along, hooded and masked to hide their identities.  But what disturbed Alex was the fact that they had the Muggle man from earlier and his family dangling in the air.

"Alex, c'mon!" Cedric urged, grabbing her hand and yanking her in the direction of where his dad had told them to run.

Her heart was pounding the faster she ran but she didn't bother stopping, wanting to put as much distance between her and that group of wizards.  She gripped Cedric's hand like it was a lifeline as they made it into the wooded area, trying to not trip over any tree roots or rocks.

Groups of all kinds witches and wizards were around them, different races and speaking different languages. Eventually, they stopped in a small clearing and leaned against a tree to catch their breath for a second.

"Are you okay?" Cedric asked out of breath.

Alex held her side from how much it ached from running but nodded breathlessly. "I'll survive."

Cedric gave her a breathless smile before they sat with their back to tree, pulling their wands out.  Alex used Lumos to light the area around them, keeping an eye out for any suspicious figures coming up to them and turning when she heard a twig snap.  People still ran by but Cedric and Alex stuck close against the trunk of the tree.

"Who were those people?" Alex asks after a few minutes of silence between them.

Cedric shrugs.  "No idea, but that was absolutely sickening to watch."

Alex closes her eyes and nods.  After spending the summer with the Grangers, she truly didn't see how Muggles were considered low lives to some who lived in the wizarding world.  She had grown to love Muggle culture, probably as much as Arthur Weasley.  And the fact that those wizards decided to parade that Muggle family around like they were a spectacle made her shiver.

"Oh, you didn't grab your jacket," Cedric realized when he saw her just wearing her tank top and thin pajama shorts.  He pulled his light jacket off and put it over her shoulders, which she thanked him for.

"How long are we supposed to-"

But before she could finish her sentence, a flash of green hit the sky, causing both of them to look up and watch as a giant green skull with a serpent flowing out of its mouth like a tongue appeared high above the trees for all to see.

The sight caused Alex to rise to her feet, covering her mouth in shock as she grabbed Cedric's arm out of fear, her body trembling.  The sounds of screams and cried grew around them as everyone had seen the mark appear in the sky.

"What is that?" Cedric asked.

Alex swallowed nervously.  "The Dark Mark."

⊰ ⁜ ⊱

I am so sorry that this took so long!  My work has been crazy stressful lately and I've been focusing a lot of my attention on that!

I wasn't in love with how this chapter was at first, so I changed it a bunch of times before begin oaky with this version and hopefully, you guys are as well!

I will be better about updating!  Stick with me, guys!

Please vote and comment!

-Squid♡