Merry Christmas, Clara

By the time the competition ended and the crowd dispersed, Hermione had found Clara and Rowle with Ron in tow and asked if they wanted to visit Harry together.

Ron stood behind Hermione, scratching his head a little awkwardly.

Clara had heard that Ron and Harry had fallen out over the Goblet of Fire. But if a true friend saw you chased halfway across an arena by a dragon and nearly killed, they would surely make up with you at once.

Clara nodded, and Rowle said she had nothing to do that afternoon either. The four of them headed down beneath the arena together.

But Clara knew visiting Harry was only an excuse for her. She wanted to see Cedric, even though he was completely unhurt.

"Dragons!" Before they even entered the first-aid tent, they could hear the disgust in Madam Pomfrey's voice. "Last year it was Dementors, this year it's dragons. What are they going to bring into the school next? You're lucky... the wound is shallow... Mr. Diggory, could you pass me the Essence of Dittany?"

The four of them lifted the flap. Harry was trying to get up, excitement written all over his face, only for Madam Pomfrey to press him mercilessly back into his chair.

"All right, sit quietly for a minute. Mr. Diggory, sorry for the trouble, but could you keep an eye on him for me?"

With that, she hurried out. There were two other Champions who needed treatment. She had been very, very nice to Cedric today; she probably liked students who could keep themselves safe in highly dangerous situations.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione rushed over the moment she saw him, with Ron following behind her. The three of them needed some space, so Clara and Rowle stayed by the tent entrance.

"Hey, what brought you two here?"

Cedric came over to them, a trace of surprise in his voice, but more than that, the pleasure of receiving unexpected visitors.

He was wearing his competition clothes with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked as though he had just finished an ordinary Quidditch practice rather than faced a Swedish Short-Snout.

"Er, mainly to see Harry. I was sort of half his coach, after all."

Clara tucked her hands into her robe pockets and looked down at the tips of her shoes.

"Oh, and Rowle wanted to see what the Golden Egg looked like. You know, once we get back to the common room, we probably won't be able to get past Ernie and the others."

Beside her, Rowle looked up at the sky, letting her friend use her as a shield and indicating that she knew nothing.

Cedric smiled. He saw through her little pretext but didn't expose her. Instead, he turned, picked up his Golden Egg from his seat, and handed it to Clara.

"Don't open it. There's nothing good inside." He winked at Clara, a hint of mischief in his voice. "If you want to find out, come to the common room tonight."

Of course Clara knew what was inside.

If they opened it now, Madam Pomfrey would probably come charging in and throw all four of them out.

Rowle solemnly touched the Golden Egg, her face full of reverence.

"If Ernie knew I got to touch the Golden Egg myself, he'd be so jealous he wouldn't sleep tonight. I'll definitely be there tonight to see what's inside."

Seeing the excitement on Rowle's face, Clara and Cedric exchanged a look and could hardly keep from laughing.

By the time they returned to the Hufflepuff Common Room, the tables and chairs were already piled high with all sorts of desserts and treats Ernie had brought from the kitchen.

The moment Cedric walked through the door, a huge party popper exploded over his head.

They had also gotten a batch of Filibuster Fireworks from the Weasley twins, and the air was alive with excitement.

Cedric and his Golden Egg were soon pushed into the middle of the crowd.

He smiled and accepted everyone's congratulations, but Clara could also see the wicked grin hidden beneath his smile: I'll scare you all to death in a minute.

"Ced! Open the Golden Egg! We'll all help you figure out what's inside!" several boys shouted.

Across the crowd, Cedric raised the Golden Egg in her direction. Clara immediately turned around, somehow ducked into a corner, and covered her ears.

"Hey, Lyla, why are you-"

"Quick, cover your ears, Rowle. Don't say I didn't warn you-"

"Aaaaaaah-"

Before Clara could finish, an extremely terrifying, piercing shriek filled the room.

In an instant, everyone's face twisted in agony. Rowle dropped into a crouch like a startled groundhog, trying to block out the noise.

Cedric quickly closed the Golden Egg.

"Oh, Merlin's stinky socks! What on earth was that? Some kind of powerful ghost we've never seen before?"

Ernie had been closest to the Golden Egg and completely unprepared. He was utterly dazed and took quite a while to recover.

"Aaaaaah, it's like something invaded my brain! Clara!" Rowle clung to Clara around the waist, looking as though she wanted to cry but had no tears.

Where on earth did the Triwizard Tournament collect all these ghastly things?! No wonder they hadn't let it be held for a century. If she were Minister for Magic, this event wouldn't be allowed to exist!

"All right, all right, Rowle, the Second Task doesn't start until next year," Clara said, patting her on the back. "Before that, we have a lovely Christmas to enjoy."

It really was the most beautiful Christmas she had spent at Hogwarts. It had actually been quite wonderful, even though her partner hadn't been Cedric.

"Yeah... at least we still have Christmas." Rowle suddenly realized something. "So when they told us to bring dress robes at the start of term, was it because..."

Clara nodded.

But she knew Rowle definitely hadn't bought any.

Neither of them had in the previous timeline. But that was also how she had gotten the chance to have that silver-white dress.

The announcement came from Professor Sprout near the end of a Herbology lesson.

"Children, the Yule Ball is coming up soon. It's a Triwizard Tournament tradition and a wonderful opportunity to socialize with students from the other schools. The ball is open only to fourth years and above, though of course you may invite someone from a lower year-"

"Wear your dress robes. The ball will be held at eight o'clock on Christmas night."

Cheers rose from the classroom, from boys and girls alike.

Quite a few people had already begun planning how to ask the person they had their eye on.

"Oh, Lyla, do you think I could try asking Krum?"

Rowle whispered in her ear. Clara had heard this last time, but Rowle was clearly just talking. She didn't even dare go up and ask Krum for his autograph.

Still, Clara would find a way to get one for Rowle before Christmas, as a present for her good friend.

Before that, though, she needed to write to the dear Alberts and get some financial support so she could go to Hogsmeade and buy a decent set of dress robes.

As for whom she would ask?

Other than Cedric, she couldn't seem to think of anyone she could summon the courage to ask.

She ought to have a chance this time, right? After all, Cho should be dancing with Michael.

Well, there were still several weeks left anyway. There was no great rush.

"Hey, Ced! Who are you going to ask?"

The sixth years were just as excited when they heard the news.

Ernie had latched onto Cedric and seemed determined not to let up until he gave him an answer.

The quill in Cedric's hand paused for a moment.

Actually, the moment Professor Sprout said "Yule Ball," the image that came to mind was a face in profile beside the stone wall of the Entrance Hall.

Golden morning light fell on her brown hair, her amber eyes glowed faintly, and her dimples showed slightly as she took a Chocolate Frog from her pocket, handed it to him, and softly comforted him.

Clara Albert.

Why had he thought of her?

He didn't know.

He didn't know how to ask, either.

If he asked Clara, what would she think?

Would she think he was settling for second best now that Cho was in a relationship?

Would she think he was just looking for a convenient partner rather than genuinely wanting to go with her?

Would she think he was asking her out of guilt?

He didn't want her to feel like a backup, and he didn't want to burden her with unnecessary worries.

Oh, Merlin, couldn't someone teach him what to do?

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"Don't know? How can you not know? You're a Champion! Everyone wants to be your partner! Half the girls in the school are waiting for you to ask them-"

"All right, stop, Ernie." Cedric cut him off. His tone wasn't harsh, but his meaning was clear.

He didn't need the adoration that came with being a Champion. He only needed one person.

Although he still wasn't sure whether what he felt counted as liking her, one thing was clear to him: if he had to have someone by his side at the Yule Ball, he hoped it would be her.

Clara went to the Owlery the next day.

Snow had just fallen over Hogwarts, leaving the Forbidden Forest a vast expanse of white.

She tied the envelope to Banban's leg and took a handful of owl feed from her pocket. After eating and drinking her fill, Banban flapped her wings and flew away.

She descended the Owlery stairs, and about halfway down a flight, she heard light footsteps coming from below.

It was Cedric.

Although Quidditch matches had been canceled that term, they still held the occasional practice. He had evidently just finished one, since he was still wearing his training clothes.

They met on the stairs, and the scene felt familiar to her.

"Hi, Clara." He looked up at her. The sky had cleared after the snow, and sunlight fell on his face, casting perfect light and shadow. "Sending a letter?"

Clara nodded and stepped aside to make room for him.

"Clara, could you wait for me a moment? There's something I want to talk to you about." He ran up two steps, then looked back at her. Clara could tell he was a little nervous.

Although she didn't know what it was about, she nodded. Cedric gave her a huge smile, then raced into the Owlery.

In fact, Cedric regretted it a little as soon as he said it.

He couldn't help feeling he had been too impulsive.

But just now, at that spot in the Owlery, he had remembered that, in Clara's memories, she had asked him there the first time whether he would be her partner for the Yule Ball.

And the last time, also there, he had told her he had asked Cho Chang.

So, as if compelled by some mysterious force, he had asked her to wait.

He sent his letter off quickly and took a deep breath, trying to drive the jumble of thoughts from his head.

"Clara," he said, rushing down the stairs to stand beside her. Unusually, he stammered a little. "I... I want to ask you something."

Clara leaned against the banister, her hands tucked into her robes, and looked up at him. The sunlight after the snow shone in from behind her, tracing her outline with a soft glow.

Cedric's fingers rubbed unconsciously at the cuff of his training clothes. His gray-blue eyes watched her intently, and he seemed to be trying very hard to find the right words.

Clara felt like laughing.

"Erm... I wanted... well, this might be a bit forward... but I wanted to ask you, the Yule Ball..." he stammered. Merlin, I've never been this nervous. "Do... do you have a partner?"

Clara blinked, then gently shook her head, dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth.

"Cedric, are you asking me to be your partner?"

It was the first time Clara had ever seen Cedric this nervous.

"By the way, were you this nervous when you asked Cho Chang before?"

Cedric froze for a moment, then shook his head.

"No... it's not quite the same. I was afraid you... I was afraid you'd be angry. I don't want you to be angry, and I don't want you to think I... I'm only asking you because I couldn't ask Cho Chang."

Cedric suddenly realized that Clara's smile was very infectious. It easily eased his nerves.

"Actually, when I found out we had to ask someone to the Yule Ball, you were the first person I thought of. It had nothing to do with what happened before. I just felt that if it wasn't you this time, I'd really regret it. I'm sure it's not because of anything in the past."

The boy lowered his head, a little dejected. He seemed to think he had messed it up.

"Hey, Cedric, haven't we talked about this in this very place before? If I remember correctly?"

"All right, since you're so nervous, I'll say yes. As for what you said, I believe you."

Clara tilted her head, a bright, mischievous smile in her eyes.

She had agreed without even hesitating.

In truth, whether or not Cedric had said all that afterward, she was happy to have this chance to make up for her past regret.

Of course, Cedric's sincerity had been just what she expected.

That was the kind of person he was.

Cedric looked up in disbelief. He clearly hadn't expected Clara to agree so readily.

"Shouldn't we have some closing words, then? Something like, Merry Christmas, Cedric."

Cedric lowered his head and smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Clara."