🍋Lemon🍋

The common room is mostly empty except for you, Theo, Mattheo, and Daphne sitting around the fire. Lorenzo, Blaise, Pansy, and Astoria had bid farewell a couple of hours ago for bed, while the remainder of you stayed downstairs for a quick natter. 

Theo listened while Mattheo droned on about Slughorn for the thousandth time, while one of his hands played with your hair. The two of you sat on the couch directly in front of the fireplace under a blanket, while Mattheo and Daphne took the armchairs to one side of the couch. 

“I swear this old man has it out for me!” Mattheo complained exasperatedly. 

Daphne snorted. “You think everyone has it out for you, Mattheo.”

You chuckled in response, and Daphne donned a proud smile when Mattheo gaped in offence. 

“If he doesn’t have it out for me, then tell me why he would give me a 0 on my O.W.Ls when I said you stir the potion for three and a half turns after adding monkwood powder to the Alihosty draught!” he retorted, crossing his arms defiantly. “I was off by half a turn!”

“Maybe because after adding the Sopophorous bean, you’d make the cauldron explode. You need the monkwood to be fully dissolved to neutralise the bean a bit,” Theo responded coolly. 

Mattheo huffed. “He could have just rounded up,” he grumbled. “I failed the test because of that.” 

Daphne chuckled but rubbed his arm affectionately, trying to console him as best as she could since he was genuinely very upset about the situation. While the two of them got busy talking amongst themselves about the topic, Theo turned his attention to you. 

“So…my dorm tonight?” Theo murmured seductively in your ear. 

While you were nowhere close to new at what Theo was insinuating, having spent countless nights tangled under the sheets as he moved in and out of you and having seen each other in every state of undress possible, the implication makes a flush rise to your cheeks regardless. 

You lightly swat his chest. “Theodore,” you reprimand gently. 

Theo chuckles as his hand comes up to hold yours that just swatted his chest and brings it to his lips. Mattheo pauses his whining and smirks in your direction, eyes full of fondness at seeing his best friends so smitten with each other. 

“Is that a yes, amorina?” he kisses your temple. 

You hesitate, looking down at your hands. “I can’t tonight.” 

Theo furrows his brows, pulling back a little to look at you properly. “Why not?” 

“I want to go to the library,” you excuse. 

He looks at you, confused. “The library? Why?” 

You scramble to think of a response. “I have some...studying to catch up on.” 

“What studying? We just got done with the O.W.Ls,” Theo responds, eyeing you suspiciously. “What’s going on, amorina?” he softens his voice, petting your hair. “I won’t get upset if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

You intertwine your fingers with his other hand and bring it up to your lips. “That’s not what I’m worried about, Theo. I just wanna go to the library tonight, read for a couple of hours. That’s all,” you say as convinvigly as possible. 

Theo still looks suspicious but nods. “Alright,” he murmurs with a tinge of sadness in his voice. 

You look at him sympathetically. “How about this-” you squeeze his hand comfortingly. “I go to the library for a couple of hours and then come to your dorm?” you offer as a compromise. 

His face immediately lights up, and he nods. “Yes! That works.” 

You press a kiss to his cheek, and he reciprocates. 

Later, when Mattheo, Daphne, and Theo head to bed, you sneak out of the dorms to the library. It is dark and quiet when you arrive, and you have to use your wand to navigate in there. You head to the back of the languages section, pulling out the Italian to English dictionary you had shoved in the back of the books just in case someone else tried to take it. You took a seat at one of the tables and pulled out your notebook with notes you had been taking. 

So far, you have taught yourself to count to one hundred in Italian and are now working on sentence structures and grammar, as you pick up more words on the way. Since you planned to reveal this surprise to Theo on his birthday on May 16, you focus on what you plan to say to him, for now. 

For the next few hours, you lose yourself in constructing your little monologue about how much you love and appreciate Theo and how grateful you are that you get to share your life with him. Without realising, you lose track of time.

Theo’s POV

It is 4 AM, and you promised Theo that you’d be back from the library in a couple of hours. That was nearly 5 hours ago, and still, there was no sign of you. He knows you haven’t come back for sure because he has been lying awake, anticipating your quiet, graceful footsteps to dawn on his doorstep and your arms wrapping around him from behind. When none of that happened, Theo got concerned and got out of bed. 

You were likely still at the library, and he knew your tendency to lose track of time when you were immersed in a book. 

Quietly, he pads out of bed, puts on his robe, then sneaks out of the dorms and towards the library, narrowly avoiding Mrs Norris prowling near the potions classroom in the dungeons. Using Lumos, Theo navigates the library in search of you and finds you seated in the back. There are multiple books sprawled in front of you, and you are scribbling away in a little notebook before you. 

Theo hides behind a shelf and watches for a minute to figure out what you are doing, since this most definitely does not look like reading. He watches as you continue to write for a few more seconds and almost approaches you before your voice stops him. 

It's faint, and it's broken, but it's undeniably there. 

“S-Sono grato…di poter con…con-dividere la mia vita…” You speak to yourself in broken Italian. 

Theo’s eyes widen as his heart stutters in his chest, eyes immediately welling with tears as realisation dawns on him of what you are doing. You were teaching yourself Italian for him. Because you know he misses speaking his mother tongue. His heart couldn’t possibly get more full as he continues to listen to you speak in Italian. It's very broken, and the pronunciation is way off, but you’re trying, oh, you’re so determinedly trying, and he wants to sob his heart out and hug you and kiss you and marry you and never let you go. His sweet, beautiful girl is going through all this effort just for him. 

Without realising, the tears slide down his cheeks. He quickly wipes them away and walks towards you slowly to avoid startling you. However, you are so focused that you don’t realise he’s walking your way, still trying to complete the sentence. 

“Y/n…” Theo whispers your name. 

You gasp and look up with wide eyes, immediately covering the books with your hands. 

“Theo! What are you doing here?” you question. “I told you I’d be back in a couple of hours.” 

“That was 5 hours ago, amore,” he whispers, unable to keep the love out of his voice, the devotion out of his eyes, and the affection out of his touch as he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Oh,” your face falls. “I-I didn’t realise it had been that long.” 

“You’re teaching yourself Italian,” Theo blurts. 

“W-what?” you sputter, standing up and closing the notebook you were scribbling in. “No, I’m not.” 

Theo rounds the table and comes to stand at your side. “I heard you.” 

You look at him in surprise, and immediately, a sheepish and embarrassed expression overtakes your face as you sigh in defeat. “I wanted to surprise you for your birthday,” you explain quietly while looking at the notebook in your hand. 

Theo looks at you in disbelief before he falls to his knees in front of you, and your eyes widen. His hands settle on your hips as he looks up at you like a devotee. His eyes are welled with tears, his grip slightly shaky, but nothing short of reverence in either. 

“Ti amo tanto, amore mio,” he whispers shakily. “I don’t deserve you and everything that you are, my beautiful girl. I can’t begin to explain how grateful I am to have you in my life and how much I appreciate that you’re putting in all this work for me.” 

You set the notebook aside, taking his hands in yours as you kneel in front of him, now at eye level with him. 

“Ti amo, tantissimo, anch’io, Theo,” you reply, resting your forehead against his and gently wiping away the fallen tears. “This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg of all the things I’d do for you,” you smile softly.

Theo sniffles, cupping your face and pressing soft kisses all over: your forehead, chin, nose, cheeks, eyelids, brows, anywhere and everywhere. “I promise to make you so happy, amore. I promise to do as much for you as you do for me. I promise I will always cherish you.” 

You smile, closing your eyes as you allow him to continue pressing kisses all over your face. “You already make me the happiest, darling. But if you really wanna do something for me, now that you know…can you maybe…help me?” you ask hesitantly. 

Theo nods enthusiastically, wiping away the remainder of his tears. “Of course, cara mia. Anything for you.” 

The noise was too much. Cedric needed a place, a quiet place. Ever since he was chosen as the Triwizard champion of hogwarts, the noise grew louder as he was often crowded wherever he went. He didn't mind it before, but this time it was different.

It was in the evening after classes were finished, as he roamed around the castle just to get some peace and quiet. His pace wasn't rushed. Instead, it was very steady. He allowed himself to observe the surroundings and take note of the little things, and it was soothing. Before, he even realised he was outside by the Black Lake. He thought to himself that maybe he should stop walking and head back, but he didn't. There was no one to be sighted and he prefered it that way for now.

Just then, from the corner of his eye, he caught on to a figure. You looked familiar, and he couldn't pinpoint how, and from the looks of it, you looked annoyed. You were pacing around as if you were searching for something. He also noticed how quiet you were. He would've recognised any footsteps nearby, but he didn't hear any. He could also see how you didn't realize he was close by, too.

For some reason, Cedric's body began to move before he could even think twice about it. He also realised how you were about to literally head to the forest. Before you could proceed, you were interrupted by a tap on your shoulder. Cedric grinned at how you visibly jumped a little, startled. He chuckled, "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you, are you alright?"

"Oh, me?" You pointed as you looked around. Cedric stared back slightly amused, then nodded. He realised who you were. You were his batchmate! He remembers you both sharing classes and always wanting to strike up a conversation with you, but never got the chance to.

Now seems the perfect one.

"Oh wait, I- I am so sorry that was -  Yes, yes, I am doing fine actually, wait, why am I lying? Oh -" you replied as you closed your eyes in frustration. You tried not to look rude to him, but given the circumstance, you were a little stressed. And Cedric being here was like adding salt to the wound. He was your crush for merlin's sake, and you were sure you looked so stupid with that reply you gave. If only you could catch that darm niffler-

"You look like you need some help. Would you mind if I offered some?"

You looked at his face in slight disbelief before nodding, "That... would be very helpful, it's just that there is this niffler that stole this very precious necklace I got from my grandmother, who also got it from her mother, which would mean my great moth- I am so sorry for rambling-"

"No, I actually don't mind."

"You're just saying that."

"No, no, I am being serious, really!"

You squinted your eyes a little in mock suspicion. Before shrugging a little, "Then if you wouldn't mind, can you please help me find the niffler?"

"I certainly wouldn't mind." He grinned, and you took a deep breath, desperately trying not to blush.

The two of you searched high and low for this creature, all the while you both grew closer than you could realise. Cedric couldn't help but find you adorable. He was amused at how your lips would pout slightly searching. Why did he suddenly feel like he wanted to wash it away?

You almost wanted to give up. For today. You both took a break as you sat down by a tree facing the lake. You sighed, "I am so sorry, I must've been wasting your time."

"Not really, to be honest, I like this. I have been wanting some quiet for a while."

"We were literally stressing over this niffler a while ago. I doubt that was some tranquillity you were looking for today."

"A change of pace, maybe?"

"I suppose if you put it that way..." You replied as you both stared ahead. Silence enveloped, not that it was awkward but comforting. You then continued after a moment, "So...Congratulations on being hogwarts chosen champion, I suppose you're ready than ever?"

"Oh, thank you, and maybe for the trials, but certainly wasn't ready for these...noises?"

"Noises?"

"All these attention that i've been getting are too... suffocating for my liking ... was the very reason I decided to head outside." Cedric confessed mindlessly, glancing at you while you reacted with an "Oh..."

"Yeah, Oh."

"Well then, I hope you are feeling better now,

...or did I worsen it by dragging you into this hunt?" You asked sheepishly suddenly, feeling bad for the hufflepuff champion, but then you met with a chuckle, instantly relieving you of your past thought. Cedric shook his head, "Nope. Oh, by the way, this was etching in my mind, so I wanted to ask, were you the one who stomped on Toby Silver's foot during our first year?"

"Wha..."

"It was particularly on a weekend, I remember -"

"Wait -

"It was you. Wasn't it!"

"Oh lord..." You groaned with hands covering your face as you remembered the event, very vividly. The only reason you did it was because the boy had been rude to Cedric when they were all first years. Obviously, He would've remembered such events. He wanted you to know how you made his whole week then. You confessed, trying not to smile, "It was only because that boy was being rude to you, you don't, I mean, no one deserves to be treated like that!"

Cedric laughed at your outburst, which you couldn't help but giggle, his laugh being contagious. What you didn't know was that little Cedric's heart at the time couldn't help but flutter a little when you defended him. He replied, looking at you with an endearance in his eyes , "Well, I've wanted you to know that I am very grateful for defending me like that. Truly."

You couldn't help but blush a little all of a sudden before realising Cedric was right in front of you. You turned to face the lake, but it was too late. He saw it. He couldn't help but realise all of a sudden you've gotten beautiful even more if that was even possible. He wants more of this, more of you, even though not much time was spent together. He couldn't help but want to inch closer, but perhaps maybe it was too early for it.

Slow wind blew by as you both hoped this moment couldn't end. Moments later, you two would have to get up and continue with whatever was left behind; your responsibilities and whatnot. Your heart beats in nervousness as you feared that Cedric might not speak to you after now. You hoped that wouldn't be true. your heart did a silent prayer for that. You suddenly felt how your Crush on him felt more...meaningful and deep after today. You gazed at him before speaking, "If you don't mind, I'd like to keep talking to you, I don't want to act as if nothing happened today and move one, if you don't mind of course."

Cedric was slightly taken aback, and for a moment, you thought that maybe you overstepped. Before you could say anything, Cedric grinned as he slowly stood up and offered you a hand as if he was asking for a dance at a royal ball, "I wouldn't want nothing more, milady."

"Milady?!?"

"Should I not say that, Milady?"

"Oh you -" you hissed mockingly as you took his hand with burning cheeks. You desperately tried to hide your flustered state, but it wasn't possible. You puffed your cheeks before mumbling, "I feel as if you are going to be the death of me."

Cedric couldn't help but smile at you while you reciprocated the same energy shyly. You couldn't help but notice that time had indeed passed quickly while the two of you were out. You sighed, "I guess that we might have to head back before it's too late. Might have to resume tomorrow..."

"I believe that won't be necessary."

"Huh?"

And behold, Cedric is pulling out the very necklace that you had been searching high and low for. You gaped, wondering how it was even possible, and that question was quickly answered," It was lying closer to the woods, actually. "

"But, wait, how did you even know that was mine?"

"Because I've seen you wearing it."

"So this entire time we've been wasting time -"

"I wouldn't call it wasting time, Milady?! Do you really hold low regard for our time spent together?"

"Cedric!"

Divider Credits: @strangergraphics

“Yes, I’m very sweet. Did you sleep in again?” Even as he said it, his eyes did a little twitch and his smile widened, clearly satisfied with his own conclusion. 

Far too cold and hungry for pleasantries, she snapped back. “Very tough to deduce that. You truly are a Ravenclaw-” her phrase was interrupted only by a shiver running down her spine. “-now get to the point!”

“No need to bite my head off.” He tutted, but his smile was widening into a full-blown grin - he was clearly enjoying this exchange. Her eyes narrowed, lips turning downward into a frown he couldn’t possibly see over her robes. Noah had a particular knack for irritating her - it seemed to be a favorite pastime of his. And, truly, she was not in the mood. Still, as Noah unraveled the scarf from around his neck and extended it out to her she couldn’t help but forget all of her grievances.

The blue and bronze meshed perfectly well with Noah’s uniform - tie and gloves serving as a nice contrast to the black robes and signifying his house. She couldn’t care less how terribly it would clash with Hufflepuff’s yellow and black, as long as it’d ward away the freezing cold that was biting against her skin. “I was never, at any point of my life, angry at you.” She breathed out, swiftly grabbing the scarf as if it would have fled at any moment and wrapping it around her neck.

The fabric was snug and comfortable, doing wonders to stop her from having to breathe the minty-cold air. “You’re a saint.” As the warmth slowly spread across her face, her teeth stopped chattering and her eyes closed in relief. She could finally feel her face again. 

“Help me with Hagrid’s assignment and we’re even. Oh, and, by the way-” His eyes shifted over to the Great Hall, seemingly locking his gaze on someone there. As she turned curiously, however, he leaned closer, whispering in her ear. “Cedric’s been watching the entire time.”

“What?!” Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed beneath the soft wool. Once again, she tried to turn around, but she was stopped halfway by Noah’s hand on her arm. “Act cool, damn it. I’m going back to Ravenclaw Tower, don’t make it too obvious that you caught him staring. Or, rather, that I caught him because you have the awareness of a cashew.” Slowly, he retreated his hand. Noah’s gaze searched every trace of her expression as if waiting for her to do something dumb. She didn’t, however, and soon she could see his footsteps mixing with the various other students exiting the hall.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced back inside the Great Hall and toward the Hufflepuff table. There he was. Cedric was surrounded by friends chatting and laughing, but he wasn’t smiling, he wasn’t looking at them either. Noah was right - he had been looking at her. Her breath hitched and her fingers twitched, busying themselves with fiddling with the Ravenclaw scarf. Cedric was far away, she couldn’t make out his expression fully - why was he still staring? Her thumb brushed against the soft fabric, tracing circles as if trying to calm herself and prevent her blush from worsening - even if it was covered. Calm down. She’d been friends with him for a long time, she wasn’t about to let a single glance reveal her feelings. After what felt like terribly long, she saw as Cedric smiled and waved at her. Oh, Helga, she must look so stupid standing there.

Moving her scarf down, she gave him a slightly lopsided smile back and finally started to walk into the Great Hall. As she approached, she noticed that Cedric had saved her a spot. Her smile softened as she sat beside him, already scouring the table for breakfast. 

“I thought you wouldn’t come down for breakfast today” He mused, eyes still locked to the side of her head - or at least, she thought so. “I preferred not to starve.” Although she didn’t look at him, she could imagine his smile and the slight crinkle of his eyes that always had her melting. Although she desperately tried to pay attention to food-searching, the sound of sliding glass took her out of it. Eyes following the source, she found Cedric’s palm sliding a plate of her usual breakfast toward her. “I saved you some - just in case.” His tone was sweet but somehow… Restrained? Looking up at him, she saw that his eyes didn’t quite reach his smile. At that, her own smile dropped a bit, unsure what had happened to upset him. “Thank you…” She bit the inside of her cheek, uncertainly. “I’ve already told you that you don’t have to, though. I’m my own mess to deal with.” She attempted to lighten the mood slightly, raising her tone to a clear attempt at a joke at the last sentence. It didn’t seem to land.

“I told you I don’t mind.” His eyes lowered to the plate - porridge with cinnamon on top and strawberries to the side. “Why would I know your favorite breakfast and not save some for you?” Cedric’s tone was playful yet held a tint of tentativeness to it as his eyes trailed but up toward hers. 

For a moment, her mind shut down, as if she couldn’t physically elaborate a response to that. Of course he knew that it was her favorite - he’d given it to her many times before when she ran late. But… Still. Hearing him say it had her heart skipping a beat and her mind stumbling to form a coherent phrase.

“You forgot your scarf?” Her thoughts were interrupted and she still couldn’t quite come up with something to say. Cedric’s gaze had shifted toward her scarf and she unconsciously tugged it closer to herself. His eyes trailed to her hand and then back up to her eyes, still waiting for a response to something that was clearly a ‘yes’. “Uhm… Yeah. I was late so I didn’t really remember- Noah borrowed me his, though. That’s why I’m- uhm. Not wearing the Hufflepuff scarf.” She mentally cursed herself for stammering but Helga his gaze was intense.

Cedric nodded once, acknowledging the answer before tilting his head slightly to the side, smile still present but nonetheless far away. “That’s nice of him. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you mine but remember to thank him for me.” His voice was a mix of between genuine and tense that she couldn’t quite decipher. “I- uh- yeah. Of course. But he just did it so I owed him a favor.” Her hands tightened around the scarf - it could’ve been Cedric’s. “At least you’re warm.” For the first time, it felt like his smile was whole - his eyes crinkling slightly and the sparkle of joy reaching his pupils. 

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ 

“Stop looking at me like that!” She groaned, leg shooting out to deliver a swift kick to Noah’s knee. 

He snorted, clearly unbothered. “I can’t. A rock’s smarter than you.”

The both of them were on the courtyard, the slightly orange hue of the sunset dimming around them and warning of the upcoming curfew. They were sitting on opposite benches, with her glaring at him and him raising his eyebrows amusedly. Exasperated, she dragged her hands over her face and crossed her legs trying to stabilize herself. “What do you mean? I’ve just told you he was acting strange and that he didn’t make sense at all! I mean- I’ve noticed, haven't I?”

“Good job, you picked up on basic human cues.” He stuck his tongue out childishly “You should’ve already figured out why he was acting that way.” 

Her hands rose indignantly to the air and she let out an annoyed huff. “How the hell am I supposed to know why his smile was slightly off?!” What did he think she was? A mind reader? Clairvoyant? Either way he was wrong and he should get that damn self-satisfied smirk off his face and spew already!

“Go through the story one more time.” He suggested, clearly toying with her by now. Taking a deep breath, she started on her third retelling - he could be infuriating but he was also his one ticket to knowing what happened. “After you left I looked for him. And you were right, he was looking but it was weird - he looked serious, somehow? Then I got there and he gave me the porridge but- I don’t know! His smile wasn’t like normal!” She raised her voice as if that would make her more understood. “And then he asked me if I forgot my scarf - like you did. But he didn’t annoy me half as much.” She finished, from then on Cedric had slowly returned to normal - so that didn’t need to be stated. 

“Right. But you already had a scarf by then, why did he ask that?” Noah mused out as if trying to get her to pry further but it simply earned him a deep, annoyed, sigh. “For the same reason you did? You already knew I forgot when I didn’t have a damn scarf and he already knew I forgot when I was wearing Ravenclaw’s.”

Noah shook his head in an unbothered but disbelieving attitude, his smile widening by the second. “Pretend to forget your scarf tomorrow, I’ll borrow you mine again.” 

“What? Why?” She stressed, the question leaving her lips in the same disbelieving tone his face held. Still, there was a tiny mix of confusion but dawning understanding that coated each word and slightly furrowed her eyebrows.

Noah’s dimples deepened as he opened his mouth to answer yet left her hanging for just a few seconds. “Because I want to see Pretty Boy Diggory lose his shit.”

The cogs turned in her brain, having already suspected his possible conclusion but now each idea clicking into place desperately and furiously. “Noah! You’re out of your mind! Cedric is not jealous.” She rose from her seat as if trying to make her words land harder and her intent clearer. Noah’s theory was batshit insane and he must’ve known that. Cedric was not jealous. “Test it, then.” He challenged, eyes narrowing as if daring her to retreat. To cower away. Like hell! Her hands tightened into fists, nails slightly digging into her palm as her mouth opened and closed, trying to respond. Her heartbeat quickened, doing little uncomfortable twirls it always did when she was around Cedric. Could he have been thinking of her that way? The way she’d always had? Her eyes almost blurred, struggling to catch up to her mind’s visions and real life. Could he?

“Alright, fine.” She finally said, tone tight as if it were a chore. When, truly, she enjoyed the idea far more than she’d let on to her arrogant friend. 

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ 

“I didn’t agree to this.” “Sure you did just… It was on the fine line.”

They were standing just before the threshold to the Great Hall. She wasn’t late this time - but she wasn’t right on time, either. Most students had already sat down at their tables - what if people actually looked at them? “Okay…” She drawled out, taking a deep breath to try and ground herself before walking forward. The instant they were inside Noah was laughing and bumping into her playfully, the buzzing of students surrounded them as they walked through the center of the tables. Noah was far more convincing than she was, but she still managed to laugh along and steal a few glances at him, even if her posture was terribly stiff. 

“Rowena, my lungs hurt. I can’t.” His laugh was loud, believable and almost turning into a wheeze. She was knocked off her balance just a few times as he leaned towards her with his usual wide smile and gently bumped her. She was sure that at least some gazes had turned to them, even if for a few seconds to acknowledge their loudness. It warmed her cheeks at the awkward attention. 

“Shut up. You’re exaggerating it.”  She giggled slightly, it seemed so incredibly fake to her ears. Even more so to her feelings. Still, Noah grinned ear-to-ear and shook his head affectionately before they stopped in the division between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. 

“What? No I’m not! That was amazing.” He exhaled and sharply inhaled back, as if his lungs truly were suffocating from laughter. She offered him her best attempt at a warm smile and slowly turned toward the familiar yellow-black of the badger house. Tap. Tap. Tap. Noah had softly tapped her shoulder. She turned back, slightly confused but he held a lopsided smile and his scarf outstretched. “You forgot your scarf again. Take it.”

Oh. Right. She nodded, took the scarf and wrapped it around her before waving him goodbye. Merlin, she’d never felt more fake in her life.  As she walked toward her table, she had to stifle coughs at each step - he’d sprayed an unholy amount of cologne. The fresh breath of citrus and cedarwood was invading her nostrils and she had to hold in a sneeze. Glancing over to Cedric, he was already watching her, empty seat beside him as usual.

She gulped down her nerves, seating next to him and offering him a smile quite unlike the one she’d given Noah. “Hey! I’m not late today. I deserve congratulations.” Her voice came out slightly shaky, but at the very least, she didn’t stutter. 

Cedric’s knuckles were white as he clutched his goblet of pumpkin juice. His smile seemed forced, the edges poking downward to reveal his true emotions. “You forgot your scarf again.” This time, it was a statement. It didn’t need an answer, but she did so anyway. “Yeah- I tried to refuse but Noah lended me his scarf again.” She cleared her throat, trying to keep going smoothly. “I just didn’t want to trouble him.” Cedric hummed, his grey orbs narrowing slightly at Noah’s name. “Did he-” He stopped and, for a moment, his nose scrunched - Noah’s disastrous cologne must have reached him. Inside her, it felt like her stomach bloomed with butterflies as Cedric’s jaw tightened - it bothered him. “Did he ask you to the Yule Ball?” The question hung in the air like a thread that slowly wrapped around her, trapping her in and keeping her silent.

The idea of going to the ball with Noah seemed utterly ludicrous but should she say that? If she did, it would ruin their ruse and she had barely got confirmation of Cedric’s jealousy. “Hmm–-mm? No.” She let out. Noah’s cologne was still suffocating and suddenly the Blue-Bronze scarf felt so, too.

“Really?” Cedric’s eyebrow rose and his lips finally turned down slightly. That, too, seemed to have offended him as his eyes landed on the Ravenclaw table and his fingers tightened even more. “Did you want him to?” His tone was almost demanding but it soon softened, even as his grip nonetheless remained lethal. “If you did, I could always talk to him.” Voice slightly strained, he still managed to smile. “He could be scared.” 

“No.” She said with finality to her word. Her gaze traveled to Noah for a fleeting moment then landed back on Cedric. “No, I didn’t.” 

She clocked how each of his muscles relaxed. How his hands softened around the cup and he took a sip from his pumpkin juice. “Alright, well…” His smile was much more genuine - it was sweet, bright and just… Cedric. “... Do you have anyone in mind, then?” She felt like he was studying her, eyes slowly traveling to her tiniest expressions as if trying to gauge her response through her body just as much as her words. “No… Uhm- Not yet.” Her face warmed under his stare. It warmed further still when he grinned that charming smile of his and spoke with that smooth, confident tone. “That’s alright. There’s still time.” ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ 

Hand tucked neatly under her pillow, she was, once again, delaying getting up and challenging time itself. Her clock had already whizzed to life two times by now, squeaking and jumping to life to try and get her to breakfast. Unfortunately for it, however, she felt particularly lazy and she had about 30 minutes until she had to get up in a hurry and run to herbology. Her mouth opened in an unwanted yawn and she stretched her hand over her head, fully down on her face and fake-attempting to get up, trying to trick her brain.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work and her clock rang once more with endless persistence. Groaning, she swung her hand and stopped it, if only momentarily. Now that she was face-up, however, the light was seeping through the windows and into her eyelids, turning them reddish and disturbing her sleep-prolonguing.

She slowly blinked awake, adjusting to the light and half-heartedly getting up. Her walk was slow and wobbly, still half-asleep as she opened the wardrobe. Her soft nightgown slipped past her as she changed into the uniform. Skirt. Shirt. Tie. Robe. It was almost instinctive at this point. So much so that her hand grabbed at her scarf, the wool soft to the touch as she placed it around her neck. Her scarf. Finally. Noah had attempted to convince her to continue with the experiment today - likely to his amusement - but she refused, thinking it’d be too much. She brushed her teeth, readied her hair, and was about to lay down for a few glorious minutes of extra resting until something caught her eye.

Another scarf. Hufflepuff’s, folded neatly across her desk with a small note poking out from between the fabric. Huh. It wasn’t one of hers - it seemed a bit too large for that. Could it be her from one of her roommates? She was pretty sure that one of them had complained about having ordered a size too large recently. But… Why would they place it on her nightstand? She peered at the door that was left slightly ajar as if that would answer her question.

When nothing magically popped to her head, she plopped herself sitting down on her bed, the soft mattress dipping under her weight as she slipped the note out. The handwriting was a pretty and detailed cursive, each dip and curve making her surer of who it was and poking a smile to her lips. 

‘Hey, you’ve been forgetting your scarf a bit more than usual lately so I thought I’d send a reminder. I hope it’s warm enough.’

Cedric. 

Turning the note over was a simple, small observation.

PS: I thought that was very cute, he gave it to me to deliver it to you and oh my he’s totally in love. 

Her roommate's writing was swirly with small hearts surrounding the word ‘love’ and she couldn’t help but melt a little. Carefully, as if it was a delicate object, she unfolded the scarf - it was normal in almost all ways except for a tiny ‘C.D.’ embroidered in the cloth. It was small enough where it might not be noticeable - she could even wear it the other way around so that it wouldn’t be too visible…

She could feel her heart accelerating as she slowly traced over the two letters. Cedric Diggory. Her lips felt a bit dry all of a sudden as she undid her own scarf and replaced it with his. It felt like a soft cushion around her neck. It smelled of pine and held a small sweet undertone of something that reminded her of vanilla. It smelled like him. Her legs almost buckled beneath her as her hands once more gently touched the C.D… The one she didn’t hide.

The cold wasn’t terrible in her room… That didn’t stop her from placing the warm scarf around her face and finding comfort in his cologne as she left the room and walked toward herbology.

The walk to herbology, for the first time in her life, felt heavenly. The scarf around her neck acted as a barrier for any angry thoughts at waking early she might have had. Besides, Cedric was in Herbology NEWTs, too. Her smile only deepened with each step she took, the scene around her blurring by as she passed with a pep to her step.

She was exactly on time, the bell had just rang signalling the start of classes as she walked through the doors. Instantly, she searched for him. Her gaze passed through each student and each plant - the greenhouse was covered in different kinds of flowers, each one more beautiful than the next. Her eyes stopped for a single second on a beautiful arrangement of sunflowers and pinkish-red tulips… Beautiful. Then finally found the neat brown hair and grey eyes of her best friend’s talking to professor Sprout. The professor had a soft smile to her face and nodded once before Cedric walked away, triumphant, and she returned to talking to the class.

“Today, we will learn about the different kinds of flowers - both magical and nonmagical - so that you can better understand how to grow them and some of their uses. Besides, with the Yule Ball approaching it might do you all some good.” Her tone was sweet and gentle as she talked, clearly excited for the event. 

Finally, Cedric returned to his seat and she slipped right beside him. When she met his eyes again, they held their typical sparkle and his slight head tilt had her swooning. It didn’t help that he had sat right in front of the sunflowers and tulips, either. “You saw my note?” Cedric murmured slightly over the animated whispering of happy students - both to the Yule Ball and to an easy class. “I did.” She swallowed the knot that had found its home in her throat. “Thank you. It was very thoughtful.” A hum escaped him, and he tilted his head the tiniest bit more. “I think of you a lot, so that’s no wonder. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ 

It had been a few days since she received that note. It had also been a few days since she’d last worn Noah’s scarf - thank Helga. Cedric hadn’t asked for his scarf back and she hadn’t volunteered it so… She’d sometimes use it to random classes simply for the comfort it brought. It also helped that Cedric just so happened to be in those classes and his eyes would drop down and soften each time he saw her wearing it. It was like an encouragement, really, and she wasn’t complaining.

Right now was one of the times where the snug fabric of Cedric’s scarf engulfed her. She was in her dorm room, staring at a mirror and doing tiny twirls in front of it. It wasn’t anything, really, but Cedric had asked if they could hang out during free period and she wanted to look good. Which… She did. 

Her hair looked stunning even as she stressed about tiny imperfections only she could see. Her clothes - though they were uniform - nonetheless always felt pretty to her. Furthermore, the accessories she placed - soft silver jewelry - only made her more beautiful. Still. She stressed, doing one more twirl before her clock buzzed to life and warned her that she really didn’t want to be late right now. Taking a deep breath, she walked away from the mirror and through the door. Cedric was already waiting.

Her steps faltered as she looked at him. He was at the bottom of the stairs, grey eyes gleaming under the soft common room light and a warm smile gracing his features as they locked gazes. Helga, get a grip. She thought, slowly making her way down the stairs until she was right in front of him. Like always, his gaze trailed down to her scarf and back to her. “I like it.” He hummed appreciatively. “You, with my scarf.” The words hung around them until he broke the silence, his eyes twinkling with something she couldn’t quite grasp. “It looks warm.”

“I like it too.” She offered, her smile slightly abashed as she looked down at the fabric and toyed with the ‘C.D.’ embroidery. 

“I was just hoping you could go to the greenhouse with me? Just to fetch a book I forgot there.” Lost in thought, she took a second to answer. “Oh- Of course. Let’s go.”

They slowly got into pace together, exiting through the barrels and walking up the stairs away from their room. At the very least, their common room was the closest to the greenhouses so they wouldn’t have a long trek to get there and lose a lot of their free period. 

“I really enjoyed Sprout’s last lesson. I really didn’t know how to care about most of those flowers - it’s really helpful.” Cedric said as they passed through the living armors that sprung into life to scare students and stand guard. 

It really was helpful. But, more than that - it was sweet that she thought to help students with it before the Yule Ball. “I thought it was very sweet of her - imagine how many couples got to give a nice surprise to each other.”

“Speaking of which, are you going to the ball with anyone?” Cedric asked, eyes glued to her and a smile still present in his face. Unconsciously, her hand gave a soft squeeze to the scarf around her neck. His scarf. “No. Not yet.” She answered and Cedric’s smile brightened visibly. Somewhere along the way, they had shifted closer so that, at times, they gently bumped into each other and tingles spread across her skin. Not in a bad way, though. Her thoughts voiced as she rubbed her shoulder when Cedric was a bit further ahead. Blades of grass were crushed beneath her feet as Cedric quickened his pace and she followed straight toward the greenhouses. House-Mascot shaped bushes, alive plants, pathways that shaped and morphed beneath their feet - they passed through everything without batting an eye. She, at least, was a bit too entranced in how he smelled of pine with a slight bit of vanilla. 

Glass doors and silver railings… It flew through her mind like a narration outside her body - they had arrived at the greenhouse, her mind just needed a second to catch up. 

“Here we are.” Cedric seemed a bit too enthusiastic for simply retrieving a book. “Come on in.”

As the doors swung open and they walked down the stairs, the greenhouse finally came into view. The whole of greenhouse 1 was dedicated to sunflowers and tulips, with a few four-leaved clovers peeking from beneath. Her mouth was left slightly ajar in pure awe. The hanging pots had them, the potted chandeliers that sometimes held chomping cabbages, every single space. 

She only recognized that Cedric had left her side when he appeared in her vision. He walked toward a chair where there was a bouquet and gently picked it up. Still awestruck, her eyes followed him but her feet stayed planted as she watched Cedric observe her reaction. It must have been good because he walked closer. 

“For you.” His voice echoed inside her mind as she took the bouquet, staring at each carefully arranged flower. “Oh, and…” She only just realized that he had been holding his wand,

“Lumos.” Each of the sunflowers seemed to respond to his command, snapping in a line and turning few bits of their brown center to spell out. ‘Go to the Yule Ball with me?’ before falling back into place. Her eyes locked with his and she could see his anticipation, his nervousness…

When words failed her, she ran forward, wrapping her arms around him in a sweet, but desperate embrace. Cedric answered in kind, burying his head in her hair and wrapping his own arms around her. 

“Is that a yes?” His voice was slightly muffled by their close contact. Her arms squeezed him once before she attempted to regain her words. “Yes.” She breathed out, still unwilling to part from the embrace. 

They stood in comfortable silence for what felt like minutes. The only indication that this truly was a reality was the soft scent from the flowers and Cedric’s breathing. With one, final, squeeze, she let go, staring up at him with an expression that must’ve spelled out adoration and affection. Luckily, his own matched hers and she still couldn’t believe what had happened. Silently, they walked back, her hand tracing the ‘C.D.’ on her scarf and his tentatively laid across her shoulders. 

She’d been so entirely absorbed in her own thoughts and replaying of the last couple of moments that she was only shaken back to reality when Cedric halted beside her. Her eyes slowly blinked back to reality, trying to find what happened.

Her eyebrows furrowed together when she found no commotion but Cedric’s hand tightened the tiniest bit around her shoulder before easing. Oh. Noah was there and his smirk was terribly conceited. She scowled at her friend for interrupting her bliss. As she stared beside her, Cedric’s expression wasn’t fully joyful as it had been moments before, but it was still smiling softly - it still reached his eyes. 

“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.” 

 - Romeo & Juliet (William Shakespeare) 

Today, August 18th, 1994, Cedric woke up a bit earlier which seemed impossible as he practically rises with the sun, but his excitement kept him from getting any sleep last night. Today his father was taking him up to see the finale of the Quidditch World Cup, and Cedric was betting that Ireland would win. So, he sprung up from his bed just before sunrise, stretching out his arms before he turned to gaze at the view from his bedroom window. Admiring the rolling hills and grassy pastures, lush trees that were a dark dull green in the light blue haze of dawn. Ottery St. Catchpole had always been a quiet place. Tourists usually never visited, it was too far away from any major cities, and it was easy to pass since the village was hidden by hills and trees. Today the streets were empty, it was a weekday after all, perfectly unsuspecting as most muggles were busy with work. 

Cedric had pulled himself out of bed, yawning just a little as he looked through dark mahogany drawers. What to wear? What to wear? It was bound to be a little chilly today, if the fog had anything to say about it. Cedric then remembered the outfit he’d set out the night before, grabbing it from the chair he gingerly placed it on last night, then off to the shower it was. Cedric turned the golden knob towards the cold setting, the water hitting his back sent a sharp wake up call to him, he felt his energy rising already.  

Afterwards Cedric stood in front of the bathrooms full length mirror to look at himself once more, dark jeans that were just a bit baggy around the ankles, a dark yellow jumper that was almost green, with a white stripe across the chest, green jacket that used to be his dads, and just a pinch of pomade ran through his hair. He looked alright, presentable at least, casual, maybe too casual?  

Not to say Cedric was overly interested in the fashion statements he made, but his father had told him they’d be walking to the portkey with the Weasley’s. Cedric hadn’t seen them in ages. They were close with his own family, but the last time he talked to any of the Weasley’s was maybe in the middle of his fifth year? Safe to say he wanted to make a good impression, especially since he hasn’t really met the parents. When Cedric’s father called from downstairs, it was time to head out, Cedric’s heart raced with excitement and anxiousness. 

Cedric quickly grabbed a bag he had excitedly packed the other night, racing his way downstairs where his father stood. Wrinkles at the sides of his father's eyes growing as he smiled, his bag immeasurably larger than Cedric’s, carrying all sorts of gizmos on its sides as well as a large rolled blanket at the top, tall enough it seemed it might topple him over, it didn’t help that his father was leaning slightly. 

“Ready son?” His voice having that same firm pronunciation to it, each word delivered with a certainty that carried the knowledge of a million experiences. 

“Yup.” Cedric simply responded, with a touch of hastiness, wanting to practically jump out of the door and embark on their journey of sorts already. 

 ~•☆•~ 

After wandering through wooded forest for a bit, Cedric’s father abruptly stopped in front of a moldy old boot, the portkey. His father claimed this is where they were supposed to meet the Weasley’s, yet they were nowhere to be seen, so they’d wait. There was a big tree nearby, large sturdy tall bark rising as thick branches curved and broke off into smaller ones. A thought crossed Cedric’s mind. He must climb it, and so he did. His arms wrapping around the tree bark as he scaled the large tree, hands feeling the groove of the wood as he pushed himself up to rest on a thick branch. He could see the sun, peaking over the horizon, spreading a golden hue like a blanket over the sky. If only he could stay in this moment forever. 

Though his impromptu tree climbing came to an end when he heard foot steeps approaching and the yell of his father.  

“Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we’ve got it!” His call held a stifled chuckle behind it at the sight of a confused older man, aimlessly looking around for the portkey. 

“Amos!” Mr. Weasley exclaimed, smiling as he strode towards the pair, an entourage of children following in suit. The two adults shook each other's hands, Cedric’s father grasping a boot in his other hand. Cedric pondered if he should jump down from the tree already or wait for his father to call him down? Wouldn’t it seem rude to just lay around on a tree and not even introduce himself. So, he jumped off the branch he was comfortably resting on, his feet planting on the ground, creating a loud thud against the leaf and dirt of the forest floor. 

“-And I think you know his son, Cedric?” Mr. Weasley ended on, Cedric hadn’t heard the rest of Arthur’s words, so he immediately perked up and muttered out– 

“Hi.” Cedric said, waving and looking at everyone and mustering his signature grin, the grin he wore when he had nothing else to say after introducing himself. An expression acquaintances knew him by. Tension fell thick in the air when everyone said hi back except for Fred and George who merely nodded, had they not forgiven him for the events of last year? Even Harry himself said hi. Nostalgia and shame clouded over Cedric’s mind as he recalled the events of last year; he hadn’t exactly got off on the right foot with Harry Potter, or most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team for that matter. He was silently hoping it wouldn’t be mentioned 

“All these all yours, Arthur?” Cedric’s father asked 

“Oh no, Only the redheads.” Mr. Weasley said, pointing out his children. “This is Hermione, friend of Ron’s— and Harry another friend—” 

“Merlin’s Beard,” Cedric’s father cut Mr. Weasley off mid-sentence, oh no, gods no, Cedric hoped he wouldn’t. “Harry, Harry Potter?” Cedric’s father couldn’t believe his eyes. 

“Er— yeah,” Harry seemed a bit uncomfortable 

“Ced’s talked about you, of course.” Amos began. Cedric felt himself start to sweat. “Told us all about playing against you last year… I said to him, I said — Ced, that’ll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will… You beat Harry Potter!” The words rang in Cedric’s, he’d been wishing his father hadn’t said anything, wishing he’d never jumped down from the tree, wishing he could still be laying down against the cool bark and under the gaze of the sun. The scowling expression of Fred and George only served to make him even more embarrassed.  

“Harry fell off his broom, Dad,” Cedric muttered. “I told you… it was an accident…” Cedric was never under the impression that he’d won that match, after he heard Harry had been nicked out of his broom by a dementor he quickly offered a rematch, deeming it to be unfair the Hufflepuff team was still the winner but the Gryffindor team captain and Madam Hooch both refused. Cedric had congratulated Harry when he’d got back his Firebolt broomstick, but it still felt awkward between them, like a bruise that was no longer fresh but not yet fully healed. 

To Cedric’s slight dismay, his father continued. “Yes, but you didn’t fall off, did you?” Amos boasted with a wide grin, slapping his son on his back. “Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman… but the best man won, I’m sure Harry’d say the same, wouldn’t you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don’t need to be a genius to tell which one’s the better flier!”  

“Must be nearly time,” Mr. Weasley said quickly, pulling out his watch again. Cedric was thankful for the change of topic, Harry also seemed to be appreciative of the diversion. Cedric grew excited when his father held up the old boot.  

They all circled round the boot, shoulders bumping together, and Cedric’s heart raced once he saw a couple of confused faces among the group. He smiled remembering his first time using a portkey, he was sure it wouldn’t be a dull experience for them. Mr. Weasley began counting down, the other faces of the group growing more nervous as he made his way to– 

“One.” Mr. Weasley finally looked up from his watch and it happened immediately, all of them swept into a whirlwind of swirling colors, a howl of wind filling up Cedric’s ears along with the surprised yelps and screams of the group. Cedric couldn’t help but smirk as they spun around in mid-air. He’d been through a portkey a couple of times, he could only imagine how he looked the first time he used a portkey for travel, he felt so dizzy after he could barely get up. 

 Before he knew it, they’d finally arrived, now in an outstretched area, composed of small hills and slightly wet grass. Accompanied by an unmistakable morning mist which made the surrounding area feel much colder even as the sun was out. Cedric, His father, and Mr. Weasley were the only ones standing, looking windswept yet standing; the rest had fallen on the grassy ground. Cedric looked over, extending a hand towards Harry, who was on the ground, untangling himself from his twisted bag. 

“Thanks.” Harry breathed out as he took Cedric’s hand. Both, making their way back towards the group, both Cedric’s father and Mr. Weasley, there was never a moment they weren’t moving. It wouldn’t be long before Cedric and his father were separated from the Weasley's after being directed to their campsite by a pair of tired and grumpy looking wizards, dressed oddly in an attempt to appear as muggles. Arthur greeted one of the wizards, his name was Basil; his tone was weary and held the same exhausted weight through each word, that along with the eyebags he wore in his face were enough to show they hadn’t slept. Basil looked through the long roll of parchment he carried, the index finger of his hand grazing down the list of names as he attempted to find their campsite.  

“Weasley… Weasley...” He muttered to himself before looking back up at the group. “About a quarter of a mile’s walk over there, first field you come to. Site manager’s called Mr. Roberts. Diggory… second field… ask for Mr. Payne.”  

“Thanks Basil.” Mr. Weasley responded as he beckoned the group to follow him and keep up. About twenty more minutes of making their way through the misty moorland, they had reached a gate just next to a small stone cottage. Amos and Cedric bid their goodbyes as they went off to look for Mr. Payne. About a few miles along the gate that surrounded the deep valley was a man. A bit frumpy looking in his thick cable knit jumper, his grey eyebrows slightly lifted in a dazed looking expression that was only highlighted by his wrinkles.  

The old man was speaking to another group and Cedric’s gaze was drawn to a girl among them. She was quite pretty, with a lob of hair that shined in the morning sun. Friendship bracelets bunched up at her wrist, contrasting against her soft skin. Easily the most vivacious among the group, carrying a soft smile and interacting with everyone, even the old man, she could easily light up a room. It wasn’t long before the old man let the group pass through onto the campsite, and the girl followed with them, disappearing into the morning mist. Cedric still stood there, distracted, hoping he’d bump into the girl again. Amos quickly taking the chance to ask- 

“Excuse me, are you Mr. Payne?” Amos asked as he made his way over, Cedric diverting his attention and following his father. 

“I sure am, say you don’t think there’s quite the turnout? Are you Larpers?” The old man asked, his voice just as flat and distant sounding as his expression. 

“Larpers?” Amos responded, bemused at his words, unaware. Cedric stifled, there weren’t many times he got to see his father confused so the sight of it was amusing. 

“Aye, Larpers. It’s nothing to really be embarrassed about, my nephew’s a Larper, just a month ago I took him to an event– not so different looking than what’s going on here.”  Mr. Payne gestured towards a sea of bright green and red banners stuck out like a sore thumb against each tent. All of which were various sizes, with crooked skinny metal chimneys that reached towards the foggy sky. “See he was running around, with these err– what do you call them? A sword I believe, made of err cardboard. Now I told the boy's parents, my brother and his wife, my sister-in-law formally, that erm they should be concerned. See that fake sword had looked so real, sure I thought the boy was going to harm someone.” Mr. Payne retold it as if it was a story as if it was one of a great hero, though his voice still managed to come out flat. “Now before I let you and your wain in, I’ll need you to pay me before you enter and get to your larping.” 

Amos decided not to ask anymore, not wanting to find out if Mr. Payne had more stories to tell, or perhaps not wanting to alarm him, as he already thought this meet up was strange. Amos muttered to himself as he looked through a stack of muggle money. Amos had been practicing counting the money the day before with Mr. Weasley, but that didn’t exactly make them experts at it.  

“Here you go.” Amos handed a few bills towards Mr. Payne. 

“That's a five Sir.” Mr. Payne handed back the bill. 

“Right–” Amos looked back through the stack, returning to looking for the right bill, and after about five minutes he had managed to find the right bill. He let out a sigh under his breath as they made their way through the wooden gate. “Sorry, son I must’ve taken ages but, we’re here.” Amos patted Cedric’s back again. “Welcome to the Quidditch world cup my boy.”  

 ~•☆•~ 

Had it been an eternity? Perhaps it felt that way because Cedric had been up since two in the morning. Nevertheless, it was almost time, night stretched out towards the horizon, warm summer air that still lingered from earlier in the day, chatter that carried an anticipating buzz as Cedric and his father made their way towards the stadium. It looked massive from the outside, towering over the campsite like an impending storm, one could only imagine how huge the pitch itself must be, or at least Cedric did.  

It was now at night when the salesmen started to roll out and the ministry had stopped their attempts to conceal the magic, accepting it would be paraded all about sooner or later, at least it was happening at night. The salesmen walked round the campsites, shouting enthusiastically about their merchandise or simply showing it off. Just on their way out of the campsite Cedric saw glowing rosettes in the colors of green or red, tall top hats with the colors of Ireland and Bulgaria, flags from both countries that played the national anthem when waved; miniature figures of the famous Quidditch players, tiny little Firebolts that flew around, and trading cards with moving pictures, Cedric navigating through all of them until they became a flurry of color.  

Amos went to get Omniculars for Cedric and him, whilst Cedric made his way over to sweets salesman who was practically surrounded by young patrons. 

“What can I get ya!” The perky man next to the trolley asked Cedric as he gave sweets to others, multitasking effortlessly. 

“Just two cauldron cakes please?” Cedric responded. The trolley man nodded, it was just then that Cedric felt something graze his shoulder suddenly, he turned to see a girl. 

“Hi, could I please have a bag of fizzing whizbees?” Her voice was soft,  it was that girl again. Carrying an excited expression on her face, dawning on a light green shirt with a singular shamrock in the middle. Cedric eyed the green rosette pinned to her jacket as they stood next to each other in silence. Time seemed to still when he was around her. 

Cedric was just about to say something however, the man operating the candy trolley handed her the whizbees before Cedric could do so much as get another word out. “Thank you!” She exclaimed excitedly, handing the trolley man a few sickles. She quickly dashed back to her friends, two girls who wrapped their arms around her, walking together down the forested path. Cedric couldn’t help but watch from afar. He wasn’t sure why he was so drawn to her; he was pulled out when he heard a feigned cough. 

Turning back, he saw the trolley man, who now wore a wry smile, the man held up two cauldron cakes he had ready minutes ago. 

“Sorry.” Cedric mumbled in a low tone, looking down quickly out of embarrassment. Exchanging his sickles for the sweets. 

“Oi! Ced!” A voice echoed, it sounded oddly familiar, uncharacteristically posh sounding. Cedric turned to see his best friends, Phineas Warwick, hand extended to give those extremely hard handshakes Cedric had grown accustomed to. “Oh, don’t tell me!” Phineas retracted, clutching onto the top hat above his head decorated in Bulgaria's team colors. “Don’t tell me you’re supporting that rubbish team?!” He gestured to the shamrock pin on Cedric’s jacket. 

“Rubbish?” Cedric was bewildered by his take. “What do you mean rubbish?” 

“You really think Ireland’s got the skill to take the cup?” Phineas scoffed. “C’mon Ced I thought you were better than this, you’re a quidditch captain for Merlin’s sake!” He playfully jested. 

“Alright, why don’t you tell me why you think Bulgaria’s going to take the cup hmm?” Cedric was willing to hear him out. 

“They’ve got Viktor Krum! Need I say more?” Phineas raised his arms up as if this was common knowledge.  

“You can’t just base a win based on one good player! Quidditch is a team sport, what makes a winning team is synergy and I’m telling you that’s what Ireland’s got!”  

Phineas rolled his eyes at that and simply said. “I guess we’ll see after the match.” 

“I guess we will.” Cedric agreed, hoping to prove him wrong just a little bit. “What’s with all of—“ Cedric tried to search for words to describe it, his friend practically a walking advertisement of all the souvenirs you could purchase in support of the Bulgarian team. “That.” Cedric gestured to all the merchandise practically hanging off Phineas 

“I don’t want to forget this.” Phineas responded somewhat proudly, showing it all off. “I will have relics of this important moment in Quidditch history Ced.” 

Cedric simply smiled and said, “Good luck fitting that all in your trunk.”  

Phineas’ eyes widened, as if he hadn’t considered it. “Bullocks.” He muttered out. “I knew I should’ve brought my enchanted trunk.” Cedric chuckled. 

“Cedric! Son!” He heard the call of his father who made his way over. It appears everyone was trying to drag him along somewhere today.  “I’ve been trying to find you for ages, I tell you what you really know how to turn my head boy!” His father messed up his hair, hair he was now desperately going to have to fix. “Let’s get moving, the match is about to start.”  

“I’ll see you around.” Cedric nodded off the Phineas, a casual goodbye. Cedric and his father made his way towards a lantern-lit path which led to tunnels that jutted out from the side of a hill. He could just make out the tall walls of the stadium in the distance. 

“It took the ministry a year to build the stadium.” Amos noted. “Placed muggle repelling charms on every inch of it!” Cedric hummed, that got him wondering exactly how many charms they must’ve put to cover the entire stadium. But his thoughts were out to the back of his mind as his father and him entered. 

At least a hundred thousand witches and wizards were seated in the large oval stadium, a soft golden glow that seemed to emanate from the place itself. The Quidditch pitch grass was smoother than velvet, plush enough you wouldn’t mind falling into it. At either end of the field were three golden goal hoops, at least fifty feet high, paired with a large black board just right of the arena; it was enough to make a Quidditch captain’s heart race. Cedric couldn’t help but admire the sight before his eyes. If only he could stay in this moment forever. 

 ~•☆•~ 

There was a buzz in Cedric’s head.  At least it felt that way ever since the end of the match. Cedric paused when he heard the commentator, Ludo Bagman shout- 

“KRUM GETS THE SNITCH — BUT IRELAND WINS — good lord, I don’t think any of us were expecting that?” Bagman’s voice echoing loudly throughout the pitch, it seemed Cedric’s legs willed him to stand up and applaud with the rest of the crowd. Bright green and white sparks flying and appearing in the air just overhead the pitch, standing out from the dark night sky. Amos proudly collected galleons and sickles in his hand out of the hands of his coworkers from the ministry; it seems he placed his bets right. Cedric couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face whilst he watched the crowds of people cheering, celebrating, debating the match that just unfolded right in front of their very eyes. It was certainly worth waiting all that time for. The campsite awaited him in the distance, as the tall twisting birch trees started to separate Cedric could just about make the bright lights back at camp, the stars seemed to disappear as it came into focus. 

When Cedric met his tent again, a warm glow was emanating from the inside beckoning him to enter for rest, Cedric turned back just once to take it all in again before he retreated into the warmth of his tent. He was up way later than usual, but he didn’t mind, the book in his hand proved to be far more entertaining. The continuous noise of cheer was too loud to allow him to get any good sleep anyway. It wasn’t until his father burst into the tent, Cedric finally lifted his head up. Amos’ eyes were wider than usual, his demeanor was panicked as he scrambled to grab his coat.  

“Is everything alright-“ Cedric asked before his father's arm yanked him up and out of the chair.  

“We have to go, there’s no time.” Amos said all matter of fact, the usual drawn out, over explaining form of talking his father held suddenly gone. “Stay close boy!” Amos beckoned as they made their way out of the tent. It was at this point Cedric realized what he had heard moments earlier wasn’t cheering.  

The campsite was now littered with fires, crowds screaming and running, parents holding on to their children as they left their tents behind. He could make out figures that gave chase to them, sounds that almost mimicked that of gunfire and flashing lights as curses were casted. Amos leads Cedric towards the woods, placing him carefully behind a wonky tree.  

“I’ll be back, don’t move a muscle-“ Amos stopped once he noticed Cedric’s eyes not wide with an unfamiliar gleam in them as they stayed fixed towards the sky. “What is it son?” Amos promoted, following Cedric’s pointed finger. Up in the sky was a cloud of green smoke, shaped into a skull opening its jaw as a snake slithered pass. The dark mark. Before Amos could say anything, Cedric softly blurted. 

“Merlin’s beard.” The events of tonight solidifying themselves into Cedric’s mind. His legs seemed to be planted to the ground in fear, his heart hammering. A green glow shining on both him and his father.  

Before Cedric could pull himself, his father was already gone, no matter how much his eyes searched he couldn’t see anything, couldn’t differentiate from the many bodies from the crowd. Cedric turned making his way into the nearby clearing people had situated themselves in. Among families hiding together he saw her, that girl. This time she wasn’t so bright, perched on top of a log, her face was almost pale, pulling her own fingers as she stared off into space. 

Cedric’s legs made like propellers and moved him over to her. “Are you alright?” His voice was soft, in a low tone. 

She looked up at him, nodding before answering. “Aye, I’m fine just—“ she stopped herself for a moment, almost as if she was ashamed to say it. “I don’t know where any of my friends are. I lost them in the crowd.” Her breath quivered just slightly when letting those words out. 

“I’m sure they’ll turn up.” Cedric leaned over slightly attempting to meet her eyes. The girl offered a soft, defeated smile. “Mind if I sit?” Cedric gestures to the empty spot on the log.  He slowly made his way over, she mumbled something and scooted over. Silence settled between them as they both stared up into the sky, unspoken fear filling their minds before Cedric decided he would have none of it. “Are you rooting for Ireland?” Cedric asked, breaking the silence and gesturing towards the green rosette still pinned to her jacket. 

“Oh um, aye.” She seemed a bit surprised he was making small talk with her, ultimately thankful for the distraction. “I mean, I grew up in Ireland so, it’s sort of obligatory?”  She let out a huff of amusement, a soft almost shy, grin playing on her lips.  

“Well, obligatory or not I think you have great taste” Cedric softly added, now matching her grin, tugging on a shamrock pin attached to his jumper, moving it towards her line of sight. Everything felt suddenly lighter, now that neither of them were alone. 

“I’m (Y/N) by the way…”

“Cedric, nice to meet you...”

The castle walls loomed like old grey sentinels as you dragged yourself through the corridors, your bag heavier than a sack of hippogriff feathers and your heart even heavier still. The exam had been merciless. A massacre of your self-confidence, where even your quill had seemed to look up at you halfway through and say, "You're on your own, mate."

You dropped your things by the fireplace of the Hufflepuff common room with a graceless thud and buried your face in your arms.

"Y/N," came a familiar voice — warm, lilting, threaded with a barely-contained excitement. "Darling. My love. My very favorite star in the whole blasted sky."

You peeked up, just enough to see Cedric Diggory crouching before you, a mischievous glint in his grey eyes, holding…a suspiciously large picnic basket.

"...What is that?" you mumbled into your sleeve.

"A prescription," he said gravely. "For the fatal condition known as 'Academic Tragedy.' I’m afraid it's terminal unless treated immediately... with pastries."

He waggled his eyebrows and brandished the basket like it contained the secrets of the universe.

"My love," you muttered, laughing weakly, "you're an idiot."

"And you're breathtaking even when you're a puddle of despair," he said, completely unfazed, standing and extending a hand toward you. "Come with me. Healer Diggory is on call."

How could you say no to that face? To those pleading eyes and that boyish grin?

You let him pull you up, the warmth of his palm curling around yours like a promise.

── .✦

Five minutes later, you were sneaking through the castle under Cedric's enchanted Invisibility Cloak, his arm wrapped securely around your waist. Your cheeks burned, but he held you so firmly, so protectively, you barely noticed the way you kept stumbling over the hem.

"You know," Cedric whispered against your ear, voice like honey, "if Filch catches us, we'll tell him we're ghost inspectors. Very official."

"Right," you snorted, "and I’m the Minister of Magic in my free time."

"You could be," he said instantly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'd vote for you. I'd vote twice. I'd forge ballots if I had to, darling."

You shook your head, laughing silently as you pressed into his side, the two of you weaving like a single shadow toward the kitchens.

── .✦

Inside, the warmth of baking bread and melted sugar wrapped around you like a hug.

The house-elves welcomed Cedric with delighted squeaks, already piling his arms high with trays of chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, treacle tarts.

He carried the entire tower with comical seriousness, looking like a pastry general preparing for battle.

"My darling," he said solemnly, dropping to one knee before you and offering a dripping treacle tart like a knight with a sacred relic, "Will you do me the immense honor of—"

"Of eating that before it falls all over the floor?" you teased, giggling so hard you snorted.

"Charming," Cedric muttered, but he was laughing too, that rich, boyish laugh that vibrated in your ribs and made your soul want to climb out of your body just to kiss him.

You took the tart, your fingers brushing his, and for a moment the whole world paused — nothing but the gentle glow of candlelight and the boy who looked at you like you were something more precious than all the stars stitched together.

"My love," he whispered, voice trembling with tenderness. "Your laughter is my favorite symphony."

── .✦

Later, you sat together on a cozy windowsill in one of the abandoned hallways, legs tangled, a small mountain of sweets between you.

Cedric leaned his head against yours lazily, feeding you a chocolate frog piece by piece as you both stared out at the velvet sky freckled with stars.

"Feeling better?" he murmured, brushing your hair away from your face with such reverence you nearly melted into the stone.

"I think you might be magic," you murmured sleepily, mouth full of chocolate.

He chuckled, kissing the crown of your head. "No, darling. You're the magic. I'm just the very lucky idiot who got to fall in love with you."

You turned toward him, heart swelling, and there he was — soft and golden and devastatingly yours.

"Don't you dare ever fall in love with anyone else," you whispered fiercely, half-joking, half-pleading.

Cedric pulled you closer with a sudden, desperate intensity, his forehead pressed to yours.

"Never," he vowed, voice hoarse. "It's you, darling. It's always been you. It will always be you."

And right then, wrapped up in his arms, with sugar on your tongue and stars in your eyes, the ruins of that dreadful exam didn't matter anymore. Because you had Cedric Diggory — your sunbeam, your laughter, your home.

And he had you — his darling, his love, his reason to smile even on the darkest days.

She was sitting in the courtyard alone, her legs folded beneath her and a book open in her lap. The spring sun cast a soft light across the stone benches, and the breeze caught her hair just enough to lift it from her shoulders. I recognized the book from the spine—Doxies: Pest or Partner?—and that alone should’ve made me turn around. Magical creatures weren’t exactly my thing. But curiosity had its own kind of magic.

I walked over before I could talk myself out of it.

“Mind if I sit?” I asked, trying to sound casual, like this was something I did all the time—approach girls I barely knew who looked like sunlit poetry.

She looked up, surprised at first, but then she smiled. A small thing, soft around the edges.

“Be my guest.”

I sat beside her, leaving just enough space not to crowd her but not so much that it seemed like I didn’t want to be there. She turned her attention back to the book, and for a few moments, we said nothing. Just the rustling of pages and the distant chatter of third years somewhere near the fountain.

After a while, I leaned slightly toward her. “What’s it about? The book.”

Her face lit up. Not in that exaggerated way people do when they’re showing off, but genuinely—like someone had finally asked the right question.

“Doxies,” she said, her eyes sparkling like Christmas lights as she began. “They’re misunderstood, really. Everyone thinks they’re just pests, but they’re actually really fascinating once you look past the venomous bite that is.”

I raised a brow. “Venomous bite?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Well, yes. But it’s not that dangerous if you’re careful and know how to treat it right. Did you know their wings beat so fast, they hum at a frequency that can only be heard by Kneazles and Crups?”

I didn’t. But I didn’t tell her that. I just nodded and let her talk.

She spoke quickly at first, words tumbling over each other like they were racing to be heard. Her hands moved with each sentence, sketching invisible diagrams in the air. And I watched her. Not just her lips as they formed words or her eyes that sparkled when she said the phrase “molting patterns,” but the way her whole face animated with excitement.

I barely heard half of it.

But I could have listened forever.

Then, all at once, she paused. Her smile dimmed a little, like someone had drawn a curtain across the sun.

“Sorry,” she murmured, closing the book a little. “I didn’t mean to ramble. Most people don’t really care about this stuff.”

I leaned in then, just slightly. “I do. Keep going.”

She blinked, surprised. “You… do?”

“I mean, I didn’t know I did,” I admitted with a crooked grin, “but hearing you talk about it… I think I’m starting to.”

The smile came back, and this time it stayed.

The sun had dipped a little lower, casting long shadows across the courtyard, but I didn’t want to move. I didn’t even care that I’d probably be late for dinner or that the library closed early this evening. All I could think about was how she looked when she smiled—soft and bright and wholly unbothered by how the world saw her.

“Well,” she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “if you're really interested, I can show you sometime. The Doxies, I mean.”

My heart kicked at the offer. I masked it with a nod that I hoped looked casual. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her gaze down to the book again, fingers absentmindedly brushing along the worn edges of the pages.

“I help Hagrid with them on Thursdays mornings, before my Herbology class,” she said. “You are more than welcome to join me if you want.”

“I’ll be there.” The words came quicker than I intended, but I didn’t take them back. I didn’t want to.

We sat there a while longer, talking about creatures—well, she talked. I asked questions, enough to keep her going, and she lit up every time. I learned more in that hour than I had in two years of Care of Magical Creatures. I learned that Mooncalves dance under the full moon and their droppings are great for magical plants. I learned that she had once raised a sick puffskein back to health after it ate one too many Bertie Bott’s Beans. And I learned that YN YLN was not just quiet or clever or kind—she was passionate.

And I think, right then, that’s when I started to fall for her.

I didn’t realize the time until I saw the castle windows glowing gold with candlelight. I stood reluctantly, brushing off my robes.

“I should head in,” I said, “but I’ll see you Thursday?”

YN nodded, her voice softer this time. “Thursday.”

As I walked away, I glanced back once and found her watching me. When our eyes met, she offered another of those smiles. The kind that warmed my chest and made everything else seem a little less important.

That night, I couldn’t focus on a single page of the Transfiguration essay I was meant to write. All I could think about was her voice, her excitement, the way she looked in the golden afternoon light.

Standing towering over the eleven years olds that surrounded you however, you were beginning to wonder if perhaps there had been a bit of a lack of foresight when it came to avoiding flying lessons with your life these past six years or so. Why learning to ride a broom was so important to your Hogwarts education, you had no idea, but at this point you just wanted to be able to graduate.

You can feel yourself begin to shake with anxiety as Professor Hooch presents the rack of dusty old brooms to the class. You're pretty sure you hear one of the first years snicker at you. We'll see who's laughing when they go splat on the ground, you think bitterly to yourself.

"All right then everyone, just place your hand out now, and up with your brooms now," Hooch shouts as the children around you easily command their brooms up and into their waiting hands.

"Come on now y/n, with your whole chest!" Hooch shouts again when your broom doesn't budge.

Heat rises to your face as eyes turn to look up at you, faces of pity and judgment staring at you. This was horrible. Just horrible.

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Hannah sighs as she takes her seat across from you in the Great Hall.

The grimace she tries to hide betrays her though. Your feelings towards flying was no secret, especially not between the two of you.

“It was awful. Probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life. And that’s taking into consideration the Pygmy puff incident, and the Myrtle disaster,” you complain, poking at your food with distress.

Hannah visibly blanches as you remind her of the rather embarrassing experiences the both of you had shared over the years. She had been your best friend since first year after all, so she pretty much knew the worst of it when it came to your lowest moments.

“I thought we agreed never to speak of the Myrtle thing again,” she hisses, shooting you a withering glare as she glances about frantically, ensuring no one else had overheard.

You just grin back sheepishly. Before you can respond though, a book bag is dropped on the wooden bench beside you with a thump.

“You wouldn’t happen to be plotting against me now would you, love?” A voice asks from behind you as a plate is set down on the seat next to you. “Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to never trust that smile on y/n’s face.”

“Hi Cedric!” Hannah chirps cheerfully, immediately perking up as the pretty brunette boy takes his seat next to you.

Cedric had been your first real friend, even before Hannah, and the two of you were practically inseparable at this point. Your families were close and the two of you had practically grown up together, so he too knew well and good about some moments you weren't too proud of. He also knew of your distaste for flying. In fact he’d been trying to get you in the air ever since he got his first training broom at the wee age of seven, but you were having none of it.

“I had my first flying class today. Easily one of the worst experiences of my life,” you complain to the boy, falling dramatically against his shoulder.

Cedric laughs, rolling his eyes at you but not pushing you off.

“Flying's not all bad once you get the hang of it,” he replies.

That line was like a broken record. He’d told you that about a million times over the years, but you had yet to believe him.

“Not everyone was meant to be a star seeker,” Hannah teases, eyes flickering between the two of you gleefully.

Cedric had been worried that you were plotting against him when he sat down, but really it was Hannah he should’ve been worried about. She’d had it in her head for months now that you had begun to develop feelings for your best friend and was determined to play the part of the dutiful wing-woman. Now did her theory have any truth behind it? That was none of her business. But you could read that look on her face. She was plotting.

“Mmm. He’s lucky. The day I learn to fly, I’m coming for his spot on the team.” You joke back, trying to see where this was all going.

Cedric just laughs, shaking his head at your antics. Blissfully unaware, he was.

“Yeah? I’ll personally teach you to fly then, how bout that? Then you can deal with Malfoy at the next match eh?”

“What a wonderful idea Ced! I’m sure you’d be a great teacher for y/n! And when you do finally get them up in the air, you could get a weekend off from the pitch!” Hannah says gleefully. Too gleefully.

Your smile drops as you shudder in horror at the mere idea of playing in a quidditch match against the Slytherins. They were known to be particularly brutal on the pitch. It drops even further when you realize you’d fallen right into Hannah’s carefully laid trap. She did have a point though. You could use all the help you could get, even if it involved your too-attractive-for-his-own-good best friend.

“You can keep your position on the team I suppose. But I’ll take you up on those flying lessons. I’m decently sure the only reason Hooch didn’t immediately flunk me is because she felt bad that the first years were out-flying me.”

By all accounts it was the perfect day for flying. Slightly overcast so the sun wasn’t at risk of blinding you and barely a light breeze. Cedric stands next to you looking like his usual godly self, practically sparkling in the sunlight as he rambles on about some ancient broom riding technique that’s supposedly intended to help you feel more ‘grounded’ while in the air.

How you were supposed to feel secure when the only things standing between you and a broken neck were an old, rickety broom and your best friend’s moral support you’d never know, but here you were.

“Listen, the only real trick is to just trust your broom and let it do all the hard work for you,” Cedric is saying when you finally tune back in.

He hands you a broom and easily swings a leg over his own, hovering only a few inches over the grass. You try to do the same, he made it look so easy, but almost fall over the other side.

You can tell Cedric is trying really hard to suppress a laugh, but a small smile still peeks through.

"Yeah, yeah, I see you trying not to laugh over there. I don't wanna hear it," you say, not able to hold in your own laughter. This was going to be a disaster.

"I don't know what you mean, you're doing great," Cedric replies easily as you roll your eyes at him. Always the flatterer. "Now just don't look down and let the broom rise up."

You shakily do as he says, eyes widening as you try desperately to focus all of your concentration on your friend. It's a mistake. You instantly begin to feel your heart race, heat rising to your cheeks as you take in the sight of your best friend smiling down at you, the sun hitting him just right so he was literally glowing. Life was so unfair. Especially considering you'd been so focused on Cedric that you hadn't realized you were now hovering several meters up off the ground which was several meters more than you would have liked.

You feel your entire body tense, too afraid to move a muscle as Cedric appears next to you in the air. So close you can smell the familiar, intoxicating scent of his cologne. He really was not helping.

"Fantastic!" he encourages, leaning forward slightly with that charming grin as he begins to move forward slowly, indicating for you to do the same.

You don't. You can't. It looks so effortless when he does it, but you just can't. So you sit there, frozen in fear as he gently circles back.

"Hey, we can stop now if it's really too much," he offers gently, sidling up next to you, concern clearly etched on his face as he realizes, perhaps for the first time, just how severe your fear really was.

All you can do is manage a small nod as your grip tightens on the broom handle and Cedric slowly, carefully lowers both of your brooms to the ground. When your feet finally touch the ground again you can feel your heart racing and you're not really sure if it's from your near death experience, or from the tenderness in which Cedric had always shown you. It wasn't just you though, you had to remind yourself, forcing your heart to calm itself. He was like this with everyone. Too kind and charming for his own good.

"It's alright you know. Lots of wizards and witches don't like heights much. Hooch has been around for ages, I'm sure she's seen it all," Cedric says, his warm hand resting comfortingly on your shoulder.

"Yeah. You're probably right Ced. I think I might just go lay down for a bit though. Get my head on straight, you know?"

Before he can open his mouth to reply though, you're off, beelining straight for the castle and your dormitory within. You'd had enough humbling for one day you thought miserably to yourself as you flee the scene. First in front of the first years, and now in front of Cedric? Perhaps it would be best if you just never left your bed ever again. Keep what little dignity you had left intact.

"Oh honestly y/n, I'm sure it couldn't possibly have been as bad as you're making it out to be," Hannah sighs, tugging once more on the pile of blankets that she thought you were hiding under.

"You weren't there Hannah. It was bad. I just froze. Like an idiot. And the worst part is I don't know if it was because I'm truly that afraid, or because Cedric just looked so damn fine up there that I got distracted," you lament, staring up at the bottom of your bed.

You hear Hannah freeze above you, finally realizing that you were not in fact buried under a mountain of blankets (please, you weren't that pathetic) before your admission really clicks into place.

"Ooohh, I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" she squeals as she hops around the room with glee. "So how long have you been in love with Cedric, hmm?" she asks, hair falling to the floor as her head peers under the bed at you, a shit-eating grin on her face.

"I'm not in love with him," you grumble, glaring at your friend whose prying eyes were really messing with your ability to mope in private.

"Oh I see how it's going to be," Hannah scoffs, forcing her way under the bed to lie next to you. "You aren't in love with him, you just stare at him all smitten like in the library when we're all studying together and you think he isn't looking. And the two of you have all your silly little inside jokes that you giggle about constantly. And you definitely don't turn redder than a Gryffindor sweater whenever Ced holds your hand whenever he leads you around Hogsmeade. And you of course would never go to every single one of his quidditch matches, even though we all know just what you think of flying."

Hannah continues her monologue despite your very pointed glare in her direction, listing off every so-called confirmation of your infatuation with your best friend. But what did she know? All this just sounded like being a good friend. Albeit a very good, close friend, but hey, treat others the way you want to be treated right? So what if you and Cedric had a solid friendship built on years and years of confiding all of your deepest and darkest most inner thoughts with each other? Of course you were bound to be close!

"I can see you actively ignoring everything that I'm saying," Hannah says dryly, drawing you back to reality.

"Sorry, what was that? I was ignoring you," you reply, already expecting the shove that Hannah sends your way.

"All I'm saying is it's pretty clear that you fancy Cedric, and he fancies you back. I mean really, have you even met the boy?" she asks.

You can feel the pang in your chest. A small bubble of hope that you're quick to pop before it becomes anything more. You shake your head.

"You're wrong Hannah. You're just wrong," you say simply.

You hear your friend groan at your stubbornness, but she lets it sit for a moment.

"Fine. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not. But will you at least let him continue giving you flying lessons? You need all the help you can get and you saw how excited he was when you accepted, and we both know he's been itching to get you on a broom for years."

You let out a sigh at Hannah's thinly veiled, last-ditch effort to get you and Cedric alone together. You loved Hannah. Obviously. And one of the things you loved most about her was how she really was a true ride or die kind of friend. But this just wasn't one of those things that could be forced through her sheer determination and willpower. You turn to look at your friend.

"I don't know Hannah. I think at this point a broken heart might be better than a broken neck. I'm going to talk to Hooch tomorrow and see if there's any way I can pass her class without flying. Or accept a failing mark. It is what it is. But I can't face Cedric again. It's just not happening."

"So what? You're just never going to speak to him again?" Hannah scoffs.

"I didn't say that. I just- I don't know. Something has to give. I'm tired, and utterly mortified, I just don't even want to think about any of it right now," you reply.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Hannah open her mouth to respond before closing it just as quickly. Instead, she grasps onto your hand giving it a tight, reassuring squeeze before shuffling around a bit to get comfy. You don't know how long the two of you stay there staring up at the bottom of your mattress together in silence, but it's nice.

Eventually though, you know she has to go. She squirms her way out from under the bed, offering you a hand as you finally return to the world of the living, the shock of light momentarily blinding you.

"I'll see you later alright? Everything's gonna be fine. When has anything bad ever happened to us?" she teases, her familiar grin spread across her face as she gently gives your shoulder a shove.

Then she's gone, and you're alone with your thoughts.

The light knocking on your door comes as a surprise. The sun had gone down hours ago and when Hannah said she'd see you later, you didn't think she meant today. She did like to keep you on your toes you think to yourself as you roll off your bed to answer the door.

The moment the door opens you're hit with a wave of his cologne as none other than Cedric Diggory, the source of all of your problems, smiles down at you from where he stands leaning against the doorway. You have never slammed the door shut faster and, as you turn to once again throw yourself back onto your bed, you can hear his soft laughter on the other side of the door.

"Is now a bad time? Should I come back later?" His amusement is clear as his voice seeps under the door like honey, luring you back.

You let out a frustrated groan, head falling back before you stomp over to the door, swinging it open and fixing your friend with your most withering glare.

"I'm trying to brood in peace Cedric. What could you possibly need at this hour?" you huff, crossing your arms defensively as if it would stop the butterflies flitting about in your stomach.

Cedric laughs again as his gaze softens. He goes to reach for your hand, but you flinch away. Instead of looking hurt though he just continues to stare into your eyes in that way only he can before tilting his head and reaching out again as if daring you to move away a second time. Knowing it's already a lost cause you allow him to take your hand and lead you out of your common room and into the corridor where the pair of you quickly slip into one of the many secret passageways that were sprinkled throughout the castle.

"Where are we going?" you demand as the two of you wind through the dimly lit passage.

You can feel the air getting cooler now, so it was most likely somewhere outside. The Black Lake perhaps. The two of you had slipped out for a midnight stroll along the shore before, but you didn’t recognize this passage.

"It's a surprise. Mostly because you'll probably hate it, but it's with me so I like my chances," Cedric replies, shooting you his most charming grin that you knew for a fact was only used when he was trying to get his way.

It usually worked.

After another minute or so of walking, it becomes clear where the two of you are headed and you feel yourself tense up, your hand squeezing Cedric’s involuntarily.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright this time. Promise,” Cedric whispers, squeezing your hand back as he leads you to the edge of the pitch where his broom is waiting.

You glance around but don’t see a second broom, much to your relief and also slight confusion. Cedric must have seen the confusion etched on your face because he sends a lopsided smile your way, patting the spot in front of him as he sits on his broom expectantly. He must be out of his damn mind, you think to yourself.

“Ced, I don’t care how good of a flyer you think you are, I am not getting on that death contraption again today. I simply won’t do it.”

Famous last words, you think bitterly to yourself as you watch your knuckles turn white from gripping the broom handle too tightly. The fact that Cedric was insisting on whispering what he must’ve thought to be words of encouragement in your ear was also really not helping you feel at ease as the two of you soared over the pitch.

“This isn’t so bad, right?” Cedric murmurs, his breath tickling the back of your neck as he guides the broom up over the bleachers and towards the lake.

If you weren’t painfully aware of his arm wrapped securely around your waist and his chest flat up against your back, you certainly were now.

God, you hated how he always seemed to get his way. Prat.

You give a very unconvincing nod, hoping that the sooner you admit to being wrong about flying, the sooner you’d get to go back to the ground. Cedric has other plans though. He continues to fly slow, measured circles around the lake, careful not to fly too alarmingly high.

It takes a while, but you feel your grip on the broom begin to loosen ever so slightly as you really take in the way the moon reflects rather prettily on the water. And the way it seemed as if you could see for miles above the trees of the forest, all the way to the horizon. It was beautiful.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, you allow yourself to relax a bit, slumping back and resting fully now on the wizard behind you. Alright, you tell yourself. This isn't that bad. Things could be so much worse.

“You know there is actually a reason I came to see you tonight," Cedric says once it becomes clear that you're a bit more at ease.

"Oh really? It wasn't just to kidnap me and traumatize me further?" You reply, though there's little real bite to your words.

Cedric ignores the dig.

"You hardly seem traumatized, love," he replies, pulling you closer to him—so close that you can practically feel him rolling his eyes from behind. "So when were you going to tell me you fancied me? Hm?"

Oh. So that's how the arse wanted to play this. Bring you up in the air above the bloody Black Lake so you couldn't escape. You saw how it was.

"Um, love? Mind me asking what you're looking at?" Cedric asks, concern now lacing his voice as he watches you examine the surface of the water.

"Oh nothing. Just contemplating the merits of throwing myself into the lake to drown," you reply haughtily.

Cedric laughs but it doesn't hide his already firm grip on you tightening ever so slightly.

"Let's not go making any rash decisions now. Especially when I haven't gotten the chance to tell you that I fancy you as well," he says, a smile evident in his voice.

Your mouth opens, then closes in shock and you can tell it’s the reaction Cedric was expecting as he continues to laugh behind you.

“Me? You fancy me?” You ask incredulously, still not fully believing the words coming out of your best friend’s mouth.

“Mmhm.”

You force yourself to fight down the massive grin threatening to take over your face.

“Pity. I’m not sure I can fancy you anymore. A bloke with such poor judgment just doesn’t do it for me,” you sigh.

When Cedric breaks out into yet another fit of laughter, you can’t hold back any longer and a faint blush dusts your cheeks as you laugh along with him.

“Hey y/n?”

You turn to look at the boy behind you and before your brain has any time to process, his lips are on yours. They’re warm and sweet and soft, and so all encompassing that the fact that the two of you are hovering meters and meters up in the air simply melts from your mind. He leans in deepening the kiss, his tongue making a swipe at your bottom lip as you gasp for breath. He truly had you in the palm of his hand.

When your feet hit finally the ground once more it’s like a haze is lifted around you and the full gravity of everything hits you all at once. You liked Cedric, Cedric liked you, and the two of you had just spent lord knows how long flying over the school grounds snogging.

“Wait a moment,” you say, realization setting in, “how exactly did you know I fancied you? Did Hannah say something to you? Because-“

“Hannah said nothing,” Cedric assures you as he stows the broom away before grabbing onto your hands and pulling you back towards him. “Truthfully, I was worried about you after you ran off earlier so I went to check on you. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, love, but you weren’t exactly using an indoor voice I’m afraid,” he chuckles.

You feel your cheeks heat up once more as you press your face into Cedric’s chest in order to hide from the world.

“Ah come on now love, look at all the good that’s come of it,” Cedric says, trying to coax you out.

He was right, you supposed. As he leans down to make sure you’re alright, you make your move. This time it’s your turn to catch him off guard as your lips collide once more. He’s only thrown off for a moment though and before you know it, his hands have found their way properly to your waist while your fingers tangle themselves through his hair.

There was in fact no doubt in your mind that a lot of good had come from what had originally been a crippling fear of flying. But maybe it wasn’t so horrible after all.

Standing towering over the eleven years olds that surrounded you however, you were beginning to wonder if perhaps there had been a bit of a lack of foresight when it came to avoiding flying lessons with your life these past six years or so. Why learning to ride a broom was so important to your Hogwarts education, you had no idea, but at this point you just wanted to be able to graduate.

You can feel yourself begin to shake with anxiety as Professor Hooch presents the rack of dusty old brooms to the class. You're pretty sure you hear one of the first years snicker at you. We'll see who's laughing when they go splat on the ground, you think bitterly to yourself.

"All right then everyone, just place your hand out now, and up with your brooms now," Hooch shouts as the children around you easily command their brooms up and into their waiting hands.

"Come on now y/n, with your whole chest!" Hooch shouts again when your broom doesn't budge.

Heat rises to your face as eyes turn to look up at you, faces of pity and judgment staring at you. This was horrible. Just horrible.

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Hannah sighs as she takes her seat across from you in the Great Hall.

The grimace she tries to hide betrays her though. Your feelings towards flying was no secret, especially not between the two of you.

“It was awful. Probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life. And that’s taking into consideration the Pygmy puff incident, and the Myrtle disaster,” you complain, poking at your food with distress.

Hannah visibly blanches as you remind her of the rather embarrassing experiences the both of you had shared over the years. She had been your best friend since first year after all, so she pretty much knew the worst of it when it came to your lowest moments.

“I thought we agreed never to speak of the Myrtle thing again,” she hisses, shooting you a withering glare as she glances about frantically, ensuring no one else had overheard.

You just grin back sheepishly. Before you can respond though, a book bag is dropped on the wooden bench beside you with a thump.

“You wouldn’t happen to be plotting against me now would you, love?” A voice asks from behind you as a plate is set down on the seat next to you. “Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to never trust that smile on y/n’s face.”

“Hi Cedric!” Hannah chirps cheerfully, immediately perking up as the pretty brunette boy takes his seat next to you.

Cedric had been your first real friend, even before Hannah, and the two of you were practically inseparable at this point. Your families were close and the two of you had practically grown up together, so he too knew well and good about some moments you weren't too proud of. He also knew of your distaste for flying. In fact he’d been trying to get you in the air ever since he got his first training broom at the wee age of seven, but you were having none of it.

“I had my first flying class today. Easily one of the worst experiences of my life,” you complain to the boy, falling dramatically against his shoulder.

Cedric laughs, rolling his eyes at you but not pushing you off.

“Flying's not all bad once you get the hang of it,” he replies.

That line was like a broken record. He’d told you that about a million times over the years, but you had yet to believe him.

“Not everyone was meant to be a star seeker,” Hannah teases, eyes flickering between the two of you gleefully.

Cedric had been worried that you were plotting against him when he sat down, but really it was Hannah he should’ve been worried about. She’d had it in her head for months now that you had begun to develop feelings for your best friend and was determined to play the part of the dutiful wing-woman. Now did her theory have any truth behind it? That was none of her business. But you could read that look on her face. She was plotting.

“Mmm. He’s lucky. The day I learn to fly, I’m coming for his spot on the team.” You joke back, trying to see where this was all going.

Cedric just laughs, shaking his head at your antics. Blissfully unaware, he was.

“Yeah? I’ll personally teach you to fly then, how bout that? Then you can deal with Malfoy at the next match eh?”

“What a wonderful idea Ced! I’m sure you’d be a great teacher for y/n! And when you do finally get them up in the air, you could get a weekend off from the pitch!” Hannah says gleefully. Too gleefully.

Your smile drops as you shudder in horror at the mere idea of playing in a quidditch match against the Slytherins. They were known to be particularly brutal on the pitch. It drops even further when you realize you’d fallen right into Hannah’s carefully laid trap. She did have a point though. You could use all the help you could get, even if it involved your too-attractive-for-his-own-good best friend.

“You can keep your position on the team I suppose. But I’ll take you up on those flying lessons. I’m decently sure the only reason Hooch didn’t immediately flunk me is because she felt bad that the first years were out-flying me.”

By all accounts it was the perfect day for flying. Slightly overcast so the sun wasn’t at risk of blinding you and barely a light breeze. Cedric stands next to you looking like his usual godly self, practically sparkling in the sunlight as he rambles on about some ancient broom riding technique that’s supposedly intended to help you feel more ‘grounded’ while in the air.

How you were supposed to feel secure when the only things standing between you and a broken neck were an old, rickety broom and your best friend’s moral support you’d never know, but here you were.

“Listen, the only real trick is to just trust your broom and let it do all the hard work for you,” Cedric is saying when you finally tune back in.

He hands you a broom and easily swings a leg over his own, hovering only a few inches over the grass. You try to do the same, he made it look so easy, but almost fall over the other side.

You can tell Cedric is trying really hard to suppress a laugh, but a small smile still peeks through.

"Yeah, yeah, I see you trying not to laugh over there. I don't wanna hear it," you say, not able to hold in your own laughter. This was going to be a disaster.

"I don't know what you mean, you're doing great," Cedric replies easily as you roll your eyes at him. Always the flatterer. "Now just don't look down and let the broom rise up."

You shakily do as he says, eyes widening as you try desperately to focus all of your concentration on your friend. It's a mistake. You instantly begin to feel your heart race, heat rising to your cheeks as you take in the sight of your best friend smiling down at you, the sun hitting him just right so he was literally glowing. Life was so unfair. Especially considering you'd been so focused on Cedric that you hadn't realized you were now hovering several meters up off the ground which was several meters more than you would have liked.

You feel your entire body tense, too afraid to move a muscle as Cedric appears next to you in the air. So close you can smell the familiar, intoxicating scent of his cologne. He really was not helping.

"Fantastic!" he encourages, leaning forward slightly with that charming grin as he begins to move forward slowly, indicating for you to do the same.

You don't. You can't. It looks so effortless when he does it, but you just can't. So you sit there, frozen in fear as he gently circles back.

"Hey, we can stop now if it's really too much," he offers gently, sidling up next to you, concern clearly etched on his face as he realizes, perhaps for the first time, just how severe your fear really was.

All you can do is manage a small nod as your grip tightens on the broom handle and Cedric slowly, carefully lowers both of your brooms to the ground. When your feet finally touch the ground again you can feel your heart racing and you're not really sure if it's from your near death experience, or from the tenderness in which Cedric had always shown you. It wasn't just you though, you had to remind yourself, forcing your heart to calm itself. He was like this with everyone. Too kind and charming for his own good.

"It's alright you know. Lots of wizards and witches don't like heights much. Hooch has been around for ages, I'm sure she's seen it all," Cedric says, his warm hand resting comfortingly on your shoulder.

"Yeah. You're probably right Ced. I think I might just go lay down for a bit though. Get my head on straight, you know?"

Before he can open his mouth to reply though, you're off, beelining straight for the castle and your dormitory within. You'd had enough humbling for one day you thought miserably to yourself as you flee the scene. First in front of the first years, and now in front of Cedric? Perhaps it would be best if you just never left your bed ever again. Keep what little dignity you had left intact.

"Oh honestly y/n, I'm sure it couldn't possibly have been as bad as you're making it out to be," Hannah sighs, tugging once more on the pile of blankets that she thought you were hiding under.

"You weren't there Hannah. It was bad. I just froze. Like an idiot. And the worst part is I don't know if it was because I'm truly that afraid, or because Cedric just looked so damn fine up there that I got distracted," you lament, staring up at the bottom of your bed.

You hear Hannah freeze above you, finally realizing that you were not in fact buried under a mountain of blankets (please, you weren't that pathetic) before your admission really clicks into place.

"Ooohh, I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" she squeals as she hops around the room with glee. "So how long have you been in love with Cedric, hmm?" she asks, hair falling to the floor as her head peers under the bed at you, a shit-eating grin on her face.

"I'm not in love with him," you grumble, glaring at your friend whose prying eyes were really messing with your ability to mope in private.

"Oh I see how it's going to be," Hannah scoffs, forcing her way under the bed to lie next to you. "You aren't in love with him, you just stare at him all smitten like in the library when we're all studying together and you think he isn't looking. And the two of you have all your silly little inside jokes that you giggle about constantly. And you definitely don't turn redder than a Gryffindor sweater whenever Ced holds your hand whenever he leads you around Hogsmeade. And you of course would never go to every single one of his quidditch matches, even though we all know just what you think of flying."

Hannah continues her monologue despite your very pointed glare in her direction, listing off every so-called confirmation of your infatuation with your best friend. But what did she know? All this just sounded like being a good friend. Albeit a very good, close friend, but hey, treat others the way you want to be treated right? So what if you and Cedric had a solid friendship built on years and years of confiding all of your deepest and darkest most inner thoughts with each other? Of course you were bound to be close!

"I can see you actively ignoring everything that I'm saying," Hannah says dryly, drawing you back to reality.

"Sorry, what was that? I was ignoring you," you reply, already expecting the shove that Hannah sends your way.

"All I'm saying is it's pretty clear that you fancy Cedric, and he fancies you back. I mean really, have you even met the boy?" she asks.

You can feel the pang in your chest. A small bubble of hope that you're quick to pop before it becomes anything more. You shake your head.

"You're wrong Hannah. You're just wrong," you say simply.

You hear your friend groan at your stubbornness, but she lets it sit for a moment.

"Fine. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not. But will you at least let him continue giving you flying lessons? You need all the help you can get and you saw how excited he was when you accepted, and we both know he's been itching to get you on a broom for years."

You let out a sigh at Hannah's thinly veiled, last-ditch effort to get you and Cedric alone together. You loved Hannah. Obviously. And one of the things you loved most about her was how she really was a true ride or die kind of friend. But this just wasn't one of those things that could be forced through her sheer determination and willpower. You turn to look at your friend.

"I don't know Hannah. I think at this point a broken heart might be better than a broken neck. I'm going to talk to Hooch tomorrow and see if there's any way I can pass her class without flying. Or accept a failing mark. It is what it is. But I can't face Cedric again. It's just not happening."

"So what? You're just never going to speak to him again?" Hannah scoffs.

"I didn't say that. I just- I don't know. Something has to give. I'm tired, and utterly mortified, I just don't even want to think about any of it right now," you reply.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Hannah open her mouth to respond before closing it just as quickly. Instead, she grasps onto your hand giving it a tight, reassuring squeeze before shuffling around a bit to get comfy. You don't know how long the two of you stay there staring up at the bottom of your mattress together in silence, but it's nice.

Eventually though, you know she has to go. She squirms her way out from under the bed, offering you a hand as you finally return to the world of the living, the shock of light momentarily blinding you.

"I'll see you later alright? Everything's gonna be fine. When has anything bad ever happened to us?" she teases, her familiar grin spread across her face as she gently gives your shoulder a shove.

Then she's gone, and you're alone with your thoughts.

The light knocking on your door comes as a surprise. The sun had gone down hours ago and when Hannah said she'd see you later, you didn't think she meant today. She did like to keep you on your toes you think to yourself as you roll off your bed to answer the door.

The moment the door opens you're hit with a wave of his cologne as none other than Cedric Diggory, the source of all of your problems, smiles down at you from where he stands leaning against the doorway. You have never slammed the door shut faster and, as you turn to once again throw yourself back onto your bed, you can hear his soft laughter on the other side of the door.

"Is now a bad time? Should I come back later?" His amusement is clear as his voice seeps under the door like honey, luring you back.

You let out a frustrated groan, head falling back before you stomp over to the door, swinging it open and fixing your friend with your most withering glare.

"I'm trying to brood in peace Cedric. What could you possibly need at this hour?" you huff, crossing your arms defensively as if it would stop the butterflies flitting about in your stomach.

Cedric laughs again as his gaze softens. He goes to reach for your hand, but you flinch away. Instead of looking hurt though he just continues to stare into your eyes in that way only he can before tilting his head and reaching out again as if daring you to move away a second time. Knowing it's already a lost cause you allow him to take your hand and lead you out of your common room and into the corridor where the pair of you quickly slip into one of the many secret passageways that were sprinkled throughout the castle.

"Where are we going?" you demand as the two of you wind through the dimly lit passage.

You can feel the air getting cooler now, so it was most likely somewhere outside. The Black Lake perhaps. The two of you had slipped out for a midnight stroll along the shore before, but you didn’t recognize this passage.

"It's a surprise. Mostly because you'll probably hate it, but it's with me so I like my chances," Cedric replies, shooting you his most charming grin that you knew for a fact was only used when he was trying to get his way.

It usually worked.

After another minute or so of walking, it becomes clear where the two of you are headed and you feel yourself tense up, your hand squeezing Cedric’s involuntarily.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright this time. Promise,” Cedric whispers, squeezing your hand back as he leads you to the edge of the pitch where his broom is waiting.

You glance around but don’t see a second broom, much to your relief and also slight confusion. Cedric must have seen the confusion etched on your face because he sends a lopsided smile your way, patting the spot in front of him as he sits on his broom expectantly. He must be out of his damn mind, you think to yourself.

“Ced, I don’t care how good of a flyer you think you are, I am not getting on that death contraption again today. I simply won’t do it.”

Famous last words, you think bitterly to yourself as you watch your knuckles turn white from gripping the broom handle too tightly. The fact that Cedric was insisting on whispering what he must’ve thought to be words of encouragement in your ear was also really not helping you feel at ease as the two of you soared over the pitch.

“This isn’t so bad, right?” Cedric murmurs, his breath tickling the back of your neck as he guides the broom up over the bleachers and towards the lake.

If you weren’t painfully aware of his arm wrapped securely around your waist and his chest flat up against your back, you certainly were now.

God, you hated how he always seemed to get his way. Prat.

You give a very unconvincing nod, hoping that the sooner you admit to being wrong about flying, the sooner you’d get to go back to the ground. Cedric has other plans though. He continues to fly slow, measured circles around the lake, careful not to fly too alarmingly high.

It takes a while, but you feel your grip on the broom begin to loosen ever so slightly as you really take in the way the moon reflects rather prettily on the water. And the way it seemed as if you could see for miles above the trees of the forest, all the way to the horizon. It was beautiful.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, you allow yourself to relax a bit, slumping back and resting fully now on the wizard behind you. Alright, you tell yourself. This isn't that bad. Things could be so much worse.

“You know there is actually a reason I came to see you tonight," Cedric says once it becomes clear that you're a bit more at ease.

"Oh really? It wasn't just to kidnap me and traumatize me further?" You reply, though there's little real bite to your words.

Cedric ignores the dig.

"You hardly seem traumatized, love," he replies, pulling you closer to him—so close that you can practically feel him rolling his eyes from behind. "So when were you going to tell me you fancied me? Hm?"

Oh. So that's how the arse wanted to play this. Bring you up in the air above the bloody Black Lake so you couldn't escape. You saw how it was.

"Um, love? Mind me asking what you're looking at?" Cedric asks, concern now lacing his voice as he watches you examine the surface of the water.

"Oh nothing. Just contemplating the merits of throwing myself into the lake to drown," you reply haughtily.

Cedric laughs but it doesn't hide his already firm grip on you tightening ever so slightly.

"Let's not go making any rash decisions now. Especially when I haven't gotten the chance to tell you that I fancy you as well," he says, a smile evident in his voice.

Your mouth opens, then closes in shock and you can tell it’s the reaction Cedric was expecting as he continues to laugh behind you.

“Me? You fancy me?” You ask incredulously, still not fully believing the words coming out of your best friend’s mouth.

“Mmhm.”

You force yourself to fight down the massive grin threatening to take over your face.

“Pity. I’m not sure I can fancy you anymore. A bloke with such poor judgment just doesn’t do it for me,” you sigh.

When Cedric breaks out into yet another fit of laughter, you can’t hold back any longer and a faint blush dusts your cheeks as you laugh along with him.

“Hey y/n?”

You turn to look at the boy behind you and before your brain has any time to process, his lips are on yours. They’re warm and sweet and soft, and so all encompassing that the fact that the two of you are hovering meters and meters up in the air simply melts from your mind. He leans in deepening the kiss, his tongue making a swipe at your bottom lip as you gasp for breath. He truly had you in the palm of his hand.

When your feet hit finally the ground once more it’s like a haze is lifted around you and the full gravity of everything hits you all at once. You liked Cedric, Cedric liked you, and the two of you had just spent lord knows how long flying over the school grounds snogging.

“Wait a moment,” you say, realization setting in, “how exactly did you know I fancied you? Did Hannah say something to you? Because-“

“Hannah said nothing,” Cedric assures you as he stows the broom away before grabbing onto your hands and pulling you back towards him. “Truthfully, I was worried about you after you ran off earlier so I went to check on you. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, love, but you weren’t exactly using an indoor voice I’m afraid,” he chuckles.

You feel your cheeks heat up once more as you press your face into Cedric’s chest in order to hide from the world.

“Ah come on now love, look at all the good that’s come of it,” Cedric says, trying to coax you out.

He was right, you supposed. As he leans down to make sure you’re alright, you make your move. This time it’s your turn to catch him off guard as your lips collide once more. He’s only thrown off for a moment though and before you know it, his hands have found their way properly to your waist while your fingers tangle themselves through his hair.

There was in fact no doubt in your mind that a lot of good had come from what had originally been a crippling fear of flying. But maybe it wasn’t so horrible after all.