❛ hartford, i'm pretty sure you're allergic to responsibility. ❜
❛ just because i'm not a narc like you doesn't mean i can't be responsible. ❜
in which 𝗿𝗼...
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CHAPTER FOUR,pumpkin juice is for sissies
━━━CEDRIC
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
SEPTEMBER CAME AND WENT with little eventfulness, other than on the quidditch pitch. The official tournament wouldn't start for another month or so, but Cedric had been buzzing with excitement ever since their quidditch try-outs. Being made captain as a fifth year had been an honor not placed on many, the first in half a century being Oliver Wood, and Cedric did not take the responsibility lightly. He spent every waking moment thinking about quidditch, thinking of new drills, new plays, new strategies that could get Hufflepuff to snatch the cup.
Cedric had turned sixteen that September—Oliver, Felicity, and the rest of the Hufflepuff house made sure he didn't forget it. Cedric had never been a huge fan of his birthday; as a child, it usually ended with his parents fighting before he could even blow out his candles. Since coming to Hogwarts, though, Cedric had learned to at least tolerate the day, especially being a Hufflepuff. A part of their kindness and patience seemed to be planning elaborate parties to celebrate its members, usually starting early in the morning and ending late at night. For Cedric's 16th, it was no different. He didn't mind it; as long as his housemates were happy to plan it, he would go along with it, no matter how much he didn't care if it happened or not. Although Winston always loved the attention more than he did, and Cedric was more than happy to share the limelight with his cat.
Cedric didn't particularly understand the significance of birthdays anyways. He never felt any different on his birthday, and he didn't particularly like to be celebrated. Contrary to popular belief (mostly Rory's), Cedric didn't enjoy the spotlight. He didn't shy away from it—it was usually inevitable that it would find him—but he didn't like to actively seek it out. It just happened to land on him. That might sound like a load of bullshit coming from a popular teenage boy, but it was the truth. Cedric never spoke it aloud because if it ever made its way back to Rory, he would never hear the end of it. She already constantly teased him about his "privileges" that came with being popular. Your life must be so hard, Diggory, she would say, between all of the female attention and the male privilege. It didn't bother him that she said that, because in some ways it was true. But all of the attention did get old after some time, and Rory—the biggest attention seeker he knew—of all people could never understand that.
October seemed to fly by just as fast as September, and Cedric was already bogged down with schoolwork. O.W.L.'s were no joke. He barely got any sleep anymore, and he regretted picking up Ancient Runes instead of an easy elective, like Divination. Curse the overachiever in him. Plus quidditch on top of that, and he barely had room to breathe.
One particularly chilly October morning, Cedric had to drag himself out of bed, as Oliver wasn't awake yet to do it for him. One of his roommates was up with him, the other four snoozing away. Anthony motioned to him a silent goodmorning with a slight wave, pulling his Hufflepuff Quidditch jumper over his head in the process. Cedric returned the wave with a yawn, padding towards the bathroom. The clock on the wall read 5:35, and Cedric thought he would die right there. He usually got up early—no thanks to his mind working too fast—but this was just simply too early for the world to be awake. Although he supposed it was his fault that he was in this position, as he was quidditch captain and put their schedule together.
