June 3.0: Waiting On You
Title: Waiting On You
Summary: Cedric & the Tri-wizard Tournament, for June 3 Saturday special!
Characters/Pairings: Cedric
Genre: gen
Rating/Warnings: g / second person & unbeta'd
Word Count: 1010
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: nty
When you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, you think it will be fun. You don't think you'll get chosen (well ... you hope you'll get chosen but it's a small hope, a dim light that you won't cherish in case it leads to disappointment) but just having everyone watch you do it is quite a thrill. You step over the age line and slip the parchment into the goblet, watch it burn up and disappear while everyone cheers. That's as much excitement as you expected.
You are legitimately surprised when your name gets called -- in front of the whole school! In front of all you friends and your teachers. The Great Hall erupts in applause and chanting and you blush at the support everyone is showing. You are creating a kind of House Unity. Hogwarts versus the rest, you think, and I'm Hogwarts. Your name is bouncing off the walls and it's all you can do to walk straight down the path between the tables and not trip over your own feet. (Later you wished you thought of giving your friends high fives as you made your way to the front but that would have probably been too show-offy.)
Even after Harry's name gets called and the whole mood in the room drops, your mood doesn't drop too much. In the Common Room that night there is a huge party. Everyone talks to you. You've always been kind of popular because you're on the Quidditch team but nothing like this before. This feeling lasts you all the way to the first task.
You've only just realized how much is riding on this. (You know, of course, you should have thought of that before you placed your name in the goblet. Dumbledore warned of the risks, that you couldn't back out, that the Triwizard Tournament would test you to your very limits. You didn't listen, of course. You listened only to the applause in the Great Hall and the cheering in the Common Room.) Now you are staring at the miniature dragon in your hand and you are terrified. It bites at your fingers and you place it on a table nearby just so you don't have to look at it.
Everyone is waiting on you to step out of the tent and face a dragon -- a real dragon that breathes fire and can fly and will probably kill you if he gets the chance. (Part of you knows that nothing bad is going to happen to you. Sure, you could get maimed or burnt by accident but if things get too real, if they get too dangerous they will stop the task at your command and you will just forfeit. You don't know if you will have the courage to give up, though, not in front of the whole school. You just have to hope you are strong enough and smart enough to finish the task without getting hurt.) Everyone is waiting on the Hogwarts Champion -- well one of the Hogwarts Champions, but you can't feel too bitter about that because you really do believe Harry that he didn't put his name in. The way his eyes are wide right now as he tries to see outside and listens to the crowd lets you know he is just as scared as you are.
But nonetheless, everyone is waiting on you to get out there and steal a golden egg from a dragon. The idea is just so ludicrous you almost laugh. Almost because your stomach is in your throat and if you actually laughed you'd probably throw up all over the floor.
You watch the other Champions. Krum looks steady as a rock. He looks like he has faced a dragon before -- two dragons, ten dragons and left them all bruised and broken behind him. Fleur looks calmer than you thought she'd be. You definitely haven't given her the credit she's due, you realize just watching her meditate before the task. She's beautiful but that doesn't mean she can't slay a dragon.
It's just you and Harry that look out of place. But at least Harry is a Gryffindor. He's brave and adventurous and a risk-taker. He found the Philosopher's Stone only three years ago. He helped figure out the Chamber of Secrets after that. He's brilliant, you know, even if some of his success is luck.
You, on the other hand, are a just a normal boy. You value hard work and patience and you don't think either of those things will come in handy here. You are competitive, though, and you steel yourself with this thought in mind. You will do your best, because that's all anyone can ask of you. Sometimes, your best is enough. Sometimes it isn't. That's just the way the world works. You prepared for this task. You studied dragons until late into the evening -- their behavior, their weaknesses, their strengths. You are as prepared as you'll ever be. (And, you think, bouncing on your toes, if you aren't scared to come face to face with a dragon, there might be something a little bit wrong with you.)
Everyone is waiting on you, you can hear it. The announcer calls your name. The curtains of the tent draw back but all you can see is bright lights. You know beyond that is the arena, the crowd decked out in yellow and black holding banners that proclaim "CEDRIC: OUR HOGWARTS CHAMPION" and "DIGGORY FOR CHAMPION" and whatever else the Hufflepuffs were working on in the Common Room the night before. Beyond that light is the Swedish Short-Snout that is protecting a golden egg that is really just a clue for the next task.
You are the first one out of the gate and you're still nervous. You take a few deep breaths to calm yourself. (Dragons have a great sense of smell you remember reading.) Everyone is waiting on you, so you take the first step, then the next and then it begins.
1010 words/30 = 34 points for hufflepuff!
Summary: Cedric & the Tri-wizard Tournament, for June 3 Saturday special!
Characters/Pairings: Cedric
Genre: gen
Rating/Warnings: g / second person & unbeta'd
Word Count: 1010
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: nty
When you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, you think it will be fun. You don't think you'll get chosen (well ... you hope you'll get chosen but it's a small hope, a dim light that you won't cherish in case it leads to disappointment) but just having everyone watch you do it is quite a thrill. You step over the age line and slip the parchment into the goblet, watch it burn up and disappear while everyone cheers. That's as much excitement as you expected.
You are legitimately surprised when your name gets called -- in front of the whole school! In front of all you friends and your teachers. The Great Hall erupts in applause and chanting and you blush at the support everyone is showing. You are creating a kind of House Unity. Hogwarts versus the rest, you think, and I'm Hogwarts. Your name is bouncing off the walls and it's all you can do to walk straight down the path between the tables and not trip over your own feet. (Later you wished you thought of giving your friends high fives as you made your way to the front but that would have probably been too show-offy.)
Even after Harry's name gets called and the whole mood in the room drops, your mood doesn't drop too much. In the Common Room that night there is a huge party. Everyone talks to you. You've always been kind of popular because you're on the Quidditch team but nothing like this before. This feeling lasts you all the way to the first task.
You've only just realized how much is riding on this. (You know, of course, you should have thought of that before you placed your name in the goblet. Dumbledore warned of the risks, that you couldn't back out, that the Triwizard Tournament would test you to your very limits. You didn't listen, of course. You listened only to the applause in the Great Hall and the cheering in the Common Room.) Now you are staring at the miniature dragon in your hand and you are terrified. It bites at your fingers and you place it on a table nearby just so you don't have to look at it.
Everyone is waiting on you to step out of the tent and face a dragon -- a real dragon that breathes fire and can fly and will probably kill you if he gets the chance. (Part of you knows that nothing bad is going to happen to you. Sure, you could get maimed or burnt by accident but if things get too real, if they get too dangerous they will stop the task at your command and you will just forfeit. You don't know if you will have the courage to give up, though, not in front of the whole school. You just have to hope you are strong enough and smart enough to finish the task without getting hurt.) Everyone is waiting on the Hogwarts Champion -- well one of the Hogwarts Champions, but you can't feel too bitter about that because you really do believe Harry that he didn't put his name in. The way his eyes are wide right now as he tries to see outside and listens to the crowd lets you know he is just as scared as you are.
But nonetheless, everyone is waiting on you to get out there and steal a golden egg from a dragon. The idea is just so ludicrous you almost laugh. Almost because your stomach is in your throat and if you actually laughed you'd probably throw up all over the floor.
You watch the other Champions. Krum looks steady as a rock. He looks like he has faced a dragon before -- two dragons, ten dragons and left them all bruised and broken behind him. Fleur looks calmer than you thought she'd be. You definitely haven't given her the credit she's due, you realize just watching her meditate before the task. She's beautiful but that doesn't mean she can't slay a dragon.
It's just you and Harry that look out of place. But at least Harry is a Gryffindor. He's brave and adventurous and a risk-taker. He found the Philosopher's Stone only three years ago. He helped figure out the Chamber of Secrets after that. He's brilliant, you know, even if some of his success is luck.
You, on the other hand, are a just a normal boy. You value hard work and patience and you don't think either of those things will come in handy here. You are competitive, though, and you steel yourself with this thought in mind. You will do your best, because that's all anyone can ask of you. Sometimes, your best is enough. Sometimes it isn't. That's just the way the world works. You prepared for this task. You studied dragons until late into the evening -- their behavior, their weaknesses, their strengths. You are as prepared as you'll ever be. (And, you think, bouncing on your toes, if you aren't scared to come face to face with a dragon, there might be something a little bit wrong with you.)
Everyone is waiting on you, you can hear it. The announcer calls your name. The curtains of the tent draw back but all you can see is bright lights. You know beyond that is the arena, the crowd decked out in yellow and black holding banners that proclaim "CEDRIC: OUR HOGWARTS CHAMPION" and "DIGGORY FOR CHAMPION" and whatever else the Hufflepuffs were working on in the Common Room the night before. Beyond that light is the Swedish Short-Snout that is protecting a golden egg that is really just a clue for the next task.
You are the first one out of the gate and you're still nervous. You take a few deep breaths to calm yourself. (Dragons have a great sense of smell you remember reading.) Everyone is waiting on you, so you take the first step, then the next and then it begins.
1010 words/30 = 34 points for hufflepuff!