#chrlieweasleys

Neville is in first year when he first meets the older Hufflepuff boy- and it’s by a complete and embarrassing accident - typical, really. 

After his first passing-out incident with the Mandrake’s cry, Neville volunteered to help Professor Sprout with repotting the rest of the plants, hoping to learn more about Herbology through a little extra time with the knowledgeable head of Hufflepuff. Plus, he just really enjoys Herbology - it’s fascinating.

Cedric comes to visit Professor Sprout on his lunch break to get a note of absence for his Potions class the next morning due to a scheduled Quidditch practice. She’d probably already spoken to Snape - she was always on top of things, looking out for her Hufflepuffs, but Cedric still enjoyed coming to talk to her in person. She, alongside Flitwick, were his favorite professors. And he’d been so busy with Quidditch practices starting up right away and studying due to his heavy courseload - he hadn’t had any time to drop by her greenhouses and chat with her since summer break. What kind of Hufflepuff was he?

When Cedric knocks on the door to her greenhouse, she doesn’t answer. She isn’t there, though he’s dropped by when she was absent before and he usually just waits for her inside. So that’s what he goes to do. 

She may not be there, however Neville is and he’s repotting the mandrakes that his class didn’t finish… and Cedric walks in right when Neville is pulling one out, the young Gryffindor’s head popping up and a blush breaking across round cheeks as he catches sight of the handsome older boy.

While Neville has fluffy earmuffs to protect himself from the cry, the unprepared Hufflepuff does not. It causes the Hufflepuff to faint, mouth open in surprise before his body collapses. 

Neville panics and shoves the mandrake into fresh soil and rushes over to Cedric, panicking while his hands hover over the Hufflepuff, not knowing what to do. There’s this cute boy who came in and he’d accidentally knocked the boy out and Neville is panicking.

Luckily, Professor Sprout shows up soon - and tsks at the situation, at her eager-yet-clumsy new assistant and the boy on the floor. It doesn’t take much for her to figure out what happened, and a concerned frown takes over as she waves Neville’s stuttered explanation away and pats his shoulder. An honest mistake on both their parts, no one at fault. However, the Hufflepuff should be transported to Pomfrey, in case he hit his head when he fell.

Pomfrey checks the Hufflepuff out and declares no injuries - except, maybe, to his pride when he wakes up in a few hours. 

Neville refuses to leave the Hufflepuff’s bedside, feeling miserable as his fingers toy with a loose string on Cedric’s blanket. He blames himself for hurting a total stranger. Professor Sprout, taking sympathy on the kind young Gryffindor’s worry, gives him a pass to miss the rest of his afternoon classes to stay with her Hufflepuff. 

Before leaving the Hufflepuff in Neville’s care, she tells the Gryffindor who exactly had fallen victim to his latest catastrophe - introducing Neville to the sleeping Cedric Diggory.

While initially his gaze was glued to the string between his fingers due to guilt, Neville soon finds his gaze raising to examine the older Hufflepuff student that Professor Sprout had spoken so fondly of. While Neville hadn’t had much opportunity to admire the boy while he was awake, Cedric Diggory was beautiful while asleep. Full lips, long lashes, honey-dark hair, clear skin - like an angel, breathing softly from those lips. The smallest red bruising on his temple from falling.

Oh Merlin he’d knocked Cedric Diggory out.

When brown eyes blinks open and a groan leaves the Hufflepuff, Neville jolts back in surprise, knocking his chair over. While he scrambles to right himself - and the chair - he is brought to a pause by quiet laughter.

Cheeks burning, his eyes slowly raise to meet those of Cedric Diggory, who is pushing himself to sit up. A hand running through hair, probing at his forehead, nose scrunching when he touches the bruise forming.

Neville’s mouth opens to apologize but Cedric Diggory is smiling at him again, asking if it had been the first year’s mandrake planting that morning. A mute nod and stuttered yes from Neville has Cedric’s smile broadening, and the Hufflepuff adds that he should have known better, laughter in his words.

Neville can’t believe it - this beautiful older boy isn’t getting mad at Neville for knocking him out. In fact, he looks amused and bashful, as if it had been his fault and not Nevilles’s - he’s smiling and extending his hand towards Neville, introducing himself. 

All Neville can do is mutely take Cedric’s hand, shaking it, before managing to squeak his own name out. Which is met by, once again, another smile. Merlin’s beard, Cedric Diggory has a nice smile. 

Cedric takes pity on the boy in front of him, slowly swinging his legs over the hospital bed and asks what Neville was doing down in the greenhouses during his lunch break. 

Neville still hasn’t released his hand, but Cedric doesn’t mention it. He’s kind of scared that if he does, he will scare this little Gryffindor away and never see him again.

Maybe the little stuttering, blushing, shy Gryffindor was cute. Not someone he thinks he would have ever met in any other circumstance, but now that they had - well, the poor boy looked like he was about to have a heart attack and Cedric wouldn’t leave him like that.

Neville’s shaky explanation that he was interested in herbology and wanted to help Professor Sprout out more has interest sparking in Cedric’s eyes, the Hufflepuff automatically leaning forward slightly. When Cedric’s hand squeezes around his in excitement Neville becomes vividly aware that he is still holding the Hufflepuff’s hand and he quickly lets go quickly, a new round of blushing beginning. 

However, Cedric doesn’t point it out - just tells Neville about how amazing and kind Professor Sprout is - as both his Head of House - a mother, really, to all of the Hufflepuff students, fretting over their health and making sure they ate enough and slept enough - and how knowledgeable she is when it comes to herbology. It’s her passion, and while Cedric may not want to go into it per say, he’d spent many hours discussing the properties and care of her plants in his first two years of school when he’d been interested in becoming a Healer.

Cedric’s words aren’t forceful or passionate - though he is passionate. They aren’t thrown at Neville but spoken with warmth and care, as if the older boy is inviting Neville into a conversation, into his memories, sharing a part of himself, the Hufflepuff nearly disappearing in his own thoughts while he recalls moments with his favorite professor. 

His words and the way he speaks calms Neville’s anxiety down, the Gryffindor slowly relaxing back into his chair as he listens to Cedric’s stories. Maybe they both get a bit lost, time passing without notice, Neville asking questions without realizing that he is speaking and Cedric answering them always with his smile, happy to see the boy come out of his shell and happy to engage the younger student.

His reason for talking to the Gryffindor morphing from calming the nervous boy down to genuinely enjoying their chat.

Somewhere during the talking, Cedric encouraging Neville to speak of himself and why he was interested in herbology, how he felt joining Hogwarts, what he was most excited for, - somewhere along the line Neville had joined Cedric on the hospital cot, both boys sitting cross-legged facing each other. The bed really was much more comfy to sit on.

Neville, though bashful and embarrassed at first, does talk about himself with Cedric’s prompting, realizing that the older boy genuinely does want to know more about him. Having already bonded over a similar interest, he’s slowly warming up to Cedric.

Whenever Cedric notices the Gryffindor becoming bashful and stuttery again, he doesn’t mind allowing silence - allowing the Gryffindor peace, whatever he needs. He also doesn’t mind answering the Gryffindor’s questions about himself - what Cedric wanted to do when he was older, why he had wanted to be a Healer and if he still did, what it was like to play Quidditch. 

The questions really were cute, asked as if Neville was uncertain that he could ask them, but when Cedric said something that interested the Gryffindor Neville would pipe up so fast, so excited, entire body straightening and eyes widening while he voiced his opinion or question without realizing that he was coming alive. It was really cute, and Cedric lived for the moments he could tease that out of Neville. 

Talking about plants sure did the trick - and Cedric didn’t mind. But what was surprising was how thoughtful, wistful, and curious - with that same excitement breaking through his shell - that Neville got when Cedric described the sensation of flying; how it felt like he was free, no responsibility, no name, no past present or future, just the wind calling him.

When Pomfrey comes it pops the little bubble they’d been chatting in for the last few hours, and she dismisses them both to dinner. Both boys get up, blushing in embarrassment and thanking her, Neville realizing again what had happened and once again apologizing to Cedric.

Cedric brushes the apology off but accepts it, just to see the thankful smile Neville gives him in return, and says that Neville can make up for knocking him out by accompanying him down to dinner.

There are a few funny looks - mostly from Cedric’s friends as he waves at them to let them know he is alright before following the young Gryffindor to the Gryffindor table. His introduction to the other first year Gryffindors is quick - though many of them have questions for him, having heard of him. Neville is more than happy to fade to the quieter side, listening to his friends and the Hufflepuff chat, blushing and lowering his eyes when how they met is brought up.

When dinner is almost over, Cedric notices Neville progressively becoming more quiet. While he wouldn’t say that he knows the boy well yet, he’s got the inkling that he knows what is going through the other’s mind: Cedric is both of another house and an older student, no real reason for the two to interact again. However, Cedric thought it fair to assume that they’d both had a wonderful conversation - despite it being brought on by an unfortunate accident.

It’s Cedric going out on a limb when he asks Neville if the Gryffindor would mind him dropping by during some of Neville’s extra-curricular herbology assistant time, to join the Gryffindor in helping Professor Sprout.