The second task was now in two days and the only thing that was on my mind was the fact that Malfoy and I kissed. Fortunately, the Daily Prophet didn't have the article in there yet, so we were perfectly fine for right now. When we kissed, it wasn't just awkward. There was something else, too, something we both felt. I didn't think sparks would be the right word for it, but it was definitely something.

But of course, neither of us were going to admit that.

When I went into the Great Hall that morning, I saw Malfoy. He saw me come in and just stared at me. Then, he looked away. I thought I saw him blush a little bit. That was not normal for him to do that, especially when he looked at me. He knew I was with Cedric. Was he jealous of us? Was that why he wanted to take me to the Yule Ball? But that kiss. That wasn't his idea. It was that bitch. It was her fault. Well, at least I had an excuse for Cedric. I wouldn't have to lie to him.

I sat at the Gryffindor table, across from Harry and Ron. Instead of talking, I began to eat the food in front of me.

"Morning, Max," Ron greeted me.

"Hi," I said.

"You alright, Max?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Did you have fun last night?"

Just then, Hermione came storming at our table with the paper in her hand. Well, here came the answer to Harry's question.

She slammed the paper down in front of me. The front page was a picture of me and Malfoy kissing at the ball. "What the hell is this?!" she demanded. I didn't say anything. "Answer me, Max!"

"I don't want to talk about it," I muttered.

"Well, I do!" she snapped back. "How could you do this to Cedric? I thought you cared about him."

"Look, Rita Skeeter wrote the article. I'm sure he'll understand. Plus, it's not what it looks like."

"This is not what it looks like?! That's all you can say about this?!" She pointed at the picture.

"Just let me explain--"

"I really didn't think you were so desperate for attention that you'd kiss Malfoy," she retorted.

I already felt the tears coming. I looked at Ron, who lifted his head up from reading the article, and Harry looked at me with sympathy. Instead of fighting back, I just got up and walked away. Harry got up from his seat and followed me out of the Great Hall.

He tried to grab my hand, but I pulled it away. "Max, talk to me."

I shook my head. "Just leave me alone, Harry."

"I'm not leaving you."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Please, Max."

"I said, no, Harry."

"Max--"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! WHY CAN'T YOU GET THAT?! I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU, HARRY!" I had never yelled at Harry like that before. But I was hurt, and he didn't seem to get that I wanted to be alone for once. I stormed away from Harry and went out of the castle and into the forest.

There was a spot that was big enough for two people that had the entire view of Hogwarts. I sat there and began to cry.

All of a sudden, I heard someone behind me. Instead of turning around to see who it was, I yelled at them. "Go away!"

"Max?" It was Cedric. He came and sat beside me. "Are you okay?"

"How did you know I was here?"

"I used to come here when I was upset. I saw that article."

"Are you here to break up with me?"

He looked at me with sadness and shook his head. "Of course not." He wiped the tears off my face. "I saw that Rita Skeeter wrote the article. I knew she had to be up to something. Knowing her, none of what she said was true." I sniffled then wiped my face with my sleeve. Cedric held my face in his hands. "Plus, I already have a beautiful girl. I'm not going to let her go."

I nodded, grinning. "Well, we've kissed other people, so I guess we're even."

He chuckled. "We're not a normal couple." He paused. "But we make it work."

I smiled wider and let him kiss me. We kissed for quite some time and then I cuddled up next to him. He kept me warm as we were sitting down on the rocks, looking up at the sky.

I finally spoke up after a few minutes. "Did you figure out the clue yet?"

"Yeah. Have you?"

"No. We have no idea where to start." That was when an idea came to me. "You should tell Harry about the clue."

"Why can't I just tell you? I mean, you told me as well."

"True, but I think he's more interested in knowing than I am."

He sighed, then leaned down to kiss me. "Okay. I'll tell him when we get back."

I smiled up at him as he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

After a few hours, we decided to head back to the castle. We saw Harry and Hermione talking about something. I honestly didn't care right now. I was mad at Hermione, and Harry just wouldn't leave me alone. I looked at Cedric, who was looking down at our hands.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Nothing, sweetheart. I had a nice time today."

"Me, too."

"Don't listen to what people say. You know that article is full of shit."

"I know." I gave him a peck on the lips. "Now go. You promised me you would tell him."

He nodded in response. "Okay."

He walked away from me as I watched him talk to Harry about the next clue. Once he was done, Cedric walked away, then turned around. He looked at me and gave me a wink. I giggled at him, then walked towards Harry and Hermione.

"Where were you today?" Harry asked.

"I was with Cedric."

"I thought you wanted to be alone."

"I was alone. Then he showed up."

"What did you two do all day?"

"Nothing," I replied. As I went past Harry, he spun me around so that I was facing him again. "What?!"

"What did you two do?"

"Nothing, Harry! We talked and that's it!"

"Am I missing something here?"

"No, you're not."

"Are you sure? Because that kiss between you and Draco..."

"It's not what you think."

"Is it, Max? You know, Hermione may be right about you wanting attention."

My mouth dropped. Today was just not my day. I ran from Harry and into the castle. I heard Harry running after me, calling my name.

"Max, wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! Max!"

"Leave me alone, Harry!" I ran through the portal and into the Gryffindor Common Room, where I found Ron. My face was wet from the tears falling down my face again. Ron took notice of this and ran up to me.

"Are you alright, Max?" he asked.

I wanted to nod my head, but Ron knew I wasn't okay. He pulled me in for a hug and let me cry in his chest. We just stood there, hugging each other while I cried. He started rubbing my back soothingly as he held me close. I honestly thought Ron was mad at me as well about what Rita wrote. But I was guessing that he wasn't.

"I thought you were mad at me," I managed to say to him.

"I saw Rita Skeeter's name when I read the article. I knew it wasn't true."

"It wasn't my fault."

"I know."

He led me to the couch, where he sat down beside me with his arms wrapped around me as I continued to cry on his shoulder. Harry and Hermione came in, but they left us alone. That was what I wanted. I just wanted Ron. He wasn't mad at me. Everything was okay between me and him. Nothing was wrong.

After hours of sitting there with him, I finally drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well then. Today was not Max's day.

Sorry it's so short. But the next chapter is gonna be the second task! Hope you're excited.

Real quick, this is just a warning that from here on out (mostly in book 3 and it ends at book 4), there'll be a lot of slut-shamming, so please be aware of that before you begin complaining of how much of that is in this series.

Another thing about it: the slut-shammng that goes on is based on ASSUMPTIONS and RUMORS that are not mentioned in the series, but they are implied. Max is obviously a popular student at Hogwarts, so her love life is a topic that I'm sure students would talk about.

I get the word is being used in the wrong context, but that's because no one at Hogwarts knows any better. They are fourteen and will spit out any insult, whether it makes sense or not.

Plus, I was literally called a slut for TALKING to a boy that was in a relationship, even though we were JUST FRIENDS. So yeah, there's that.

Anyway, comment, vote, and are you still Drax or Cedrax? Let me know! Bye.

-A