I wake up gasping for breath. Cedric is pulling me out of the water. I am so confused how I got here. I start hyperventilating as he tries to swim us to the dock.
"It's okay Millie. You are safe now, I got you," Cedric reassures me panting.
I look up at all the cheering people and see Draco. His face appears very upset. The last thing I remember is walking into Dumbledore's office. Draco rushes down and helps pull me up onto the dock. He wraps me in a huge blanket; I am shaking from how cold I am.
My attention is pulled away from my confusion when Krum pops out of the water with Hermione in his arms. I jump up to help them out. Hermione is clearly just as cold and confused as I am. I let her share the blanket and wrap it around the both of us. I can see Cedric keeps on looking at me in concern, but so many people are congratulating him that he can't come over. Draco stays right by my side.
I look over and see Fleur crying; she didn't complete her task. The time is ticking down and I begin to worry for Harry; his gillyweed will only last for so long. Right as I begin to freak out, both Fleur's little sister and Ron emerge from the water. Not far behind, Harry pops out too.
Everyone celebrates the triumphs of the second task. Cedric was awarded first place because he finished first, but since Harry saved two people, they called it a draw. That night everyone celebrated with a massive party as per usual. I was drained so I went to bed before everyone else. When I got to my dorm room, I saw that an owl had left a letter by my window.
Dear sweet Millie, February 24th, 1994
Hello darling! I hope that the rest of your holiday break festivities were enjoyable. Draco sent me a letter this morning and to say that he was distressed is an understatement. He was utterly enraged that you were put into the second task of the tournament. I must say that from what he described, I was quite anxious for you as well. I hope that you are doing alright and that you are able to get some good rest. I miss you and Draco terribly. But other than that everything is going smoothly at the manor. I wish you nothing but the best.
Yours truly,
Narcissa Malfoy
I decide to write back to her.
Dear Narcissa,
Thank you so much for your kind letter. I am doing alright, just terribly exhausted. I was a bit confused by the whole situation, but I am doing a lot better now. I am happy to hear that you are doing good. I miss you and the manor so much as well. Also, on another side note, I have something very important to ask you. From my understanding, you and Lucius have been together since you attended Hogwarts, and I suppose that I am wondering how you did it. I am asking you this because the other day, Cedric started talking about our future together, and I just need some advice. Thank you Narcissa.
With love,
Millie
I have an owl send the letter as soon as I am done writing it. I remember her diary and I decide that I shouldn't be snooping around in her business any longer so I grab it and make my way back to the room I found it in. Once I am there, I find a better hiding place and tuck it away. I decide to look around before returning to my room. I see a beautiful tiara that catches my eye. I am about to put it on when I hear a noise. As I whip around, I pull out my wand in defense. Draco emerges from behind a stack of books with his arms in the air.
"Bloody hell Draco! I could have killed you right there. Why are you following me?" I interrogate him.
"I saw you leave your common room and I was curious that's all. What exactly are you doing here?" he asks accusingly.
"None of your business. But I was just leaving. I am exhausted and ready for bed." But before I can walk away, Draco grabs my arm.
"Are you doing okay? You must be feeling a whirlwind of emotions from earlier," he tells me with concern.
"I am fine. I was a little confused at first, but now I am alright," I respond walking towards the door. This time Draco follows me.
We walk back to the Gryffindor common room in silence. "Goodnight Draco," I say when we arrive. He smiles at me and walks away. I go up to my room and fall fast asleep.
The next few months go by quite fast. Cedric and I spend nearly every moment together-a lot of the time with Percy and Colin too; Draco and I have almost every class together; and when I am not with them, I am with Harry, Ron and Hermione. I have never been happier.
I got a letter back from Narcissa that said:
Dear Millie,
My only piece of advice for you is to love him with everything that you have. Only then will you know if it is forever. Put all the effort in that you can, and if it is meant to be then it will be.
With love,
Narcissa
It is the last day of school which means two things. A) the largest party of the year is happening tonight and B) the final task is tomorrow. I have tried to stay out of it though since both Cedric and Harry are competing to be the only champion.
Hermione has become like my sister; we are closer than ever. She knows every single thing about me and Cedric and I know everything about her and Krum. I even know that she is planning on ending things with him before he leaves because she doesn't want to do long distance.
We both are getting dressed for the party. I put on my black ripped jeans, a white long sleeve and a cheetah print tank top with some white boots. Hermione borrows some of my clothes like always and wears my white ripped jeans and a black cropped tank top. Together, we head down to the party. The Slytherins are hosting since they are in the dungeons so we are less likely to get caught.
I see Percy and Colin so I go over and say hello. I am talking to them when Cedric comes and picks me up from behind. I giggle and fake try to escape from him.
"Would you two get a bloody room?" Percy teases us. Having spent so much time with them, I have started acting more like them too so I start pretend fighting him.
We all make our way over to the drinks table and take shots together. Once we are all a little bit tipsy, Percy left with some Beauxbatons girl to hookup in a room. The rest of us went and talked with other people. Like usual, Cedric has his arm around my waist which always gives me so much comfort. We find Harry and Ron so I hangout with them for a bit. The three of us take a few shots together. At this point I am really drunk.
"Hey attention everyone!" a drunk Colin yells. "Anyone who wants to play extreme truth or dare come into the game room."
I look at Harry and Ron and grab both of their hands. The three of us are definitely playing. Hermione, Krum, Draco, Cedric and like 6 others are already in there. We form a circle and begin playing.
"Hermione, truth or dare?" Colin asks.
"Truth," she responds.
"Have you ever been skinny dipping?"
Hermione's face lights up and she yells, "no! But we should all go right now!"
Everyone gets up runs out of the room. We follow Draco who leads us through the secret passage to get outside. We all run down to the lake and start throwing off our clothes. All of us jump in the water and start splashing around. I look around and see all of my best friends in one place. I become nostalgic. I wish that I could stay in this moment forever. After a while of messing around, some of the people start leaving. Soon enough, it is only me, Cedric, Hermione, Krum, Colin, Ron, Draco and Harry. We all get out and put our clothes back on. Instead of going back into the party, we all lay side by side.
We are silent for a while. Cedric and I decide to head back into the party. The abrupt change from silence to blaring music disorients me for a second. I see Percy taking shots and make my way over to him. We intertwine our arms and take a shot. At this point it doesn't even taste like alcohol. I would have kept on going, but I didn't want to be hungover tomorrow.
It is getting really late now, so Cedric and I head back to his dorm room. I change into one of his large t-shirts and climb into bed with him. He puts his arm around me and I fall asleep. I wake up from Cedric kissing my forehead. The two of us get out of bed and I start putting my own clothes back on. I see Colin still sleeping in his bed, but Percy is no where to be seen. He is probably in some random girls bed.
I leave to go and freshen up in my dorm. When I get there, Hermione is all alone. She is just waking up so I decide to pop in the shower really quick. When I get out, she decides to shower. We talk as she showers and I blow dry and curl my hair.
"Last night was so fun Millie. I must admit that I am actually sad to be leaving for summer break," Hermione tells me.
I laugh and say, "Herm you already were sad to leave but specifically because you were going to miss the school part."
She gets out of the shower and starts drying off. Since it is so nice out, I put on a black and white checkered skirt and a flared long sleeve white top. Hermione wears some jean shorts and a peach colored halter tank top.
After stopping by to grab something for breakfast, we make our way to the stands with everyone else to watch the final task. Before we go and find our seats, we go to wish our friends good luck.
We both start with Harry and then split off to talk to Cedric and Krum.
"Please be careful Ced. I want you to win, but I want you to be safe even more, okay?" I tell him.
"Don't worry about me Mills. I have been perfectly fine with all the other tasks, this one won't be any different. I'll be back and we will have the best summer ever. You will come with me, Colin and my father on our trip to America. But first, I have to go win this thing," he smiles. I can't help but smile at him too. I give him a big hug and he whispers, "I love you Amelia Ridds."
"I love you too Cedric Diggory. I will see you really soon." With that, Hermione and I go up to the stands. We sit by Percy, Colin and Ron.
Dumbledore speaks, and the cannon goes off-signifying the start of the third and final task. I don't know what it is, but I have a bad feeling.