the Linked Prophet

part one

That's where Cedric came in. I guess he watched the whole thing go down as he quickly offered me assistance with getting myself out of the freezing water. I consoled in him about the situation, and he offered to help me back to my dorm. We walked together back into the school, all while getting to know each other. He informed me about the ally ship between our two households as they acted as a sort of yin to yang. He was charming I found. It was only until that night that I discovered he was one of the most popular Hufflepuff's in the school and even more so when it came to the female population. That's where the fantasy ended, as I would have to compete with all other girls for a second of his attention.

Arthur patted Mr. Diggory on the back. "Works with me at the Ministry." He informed us, to which Amos agreed to with a curt nod. I nearly dropped in my place there when another individual fell from the trees suddenly, standing tall over the other two gentleman.

"Jesus, no."

"And this strapping young lad must be Cedric, am I right?" Mr. Weasley quizzed, to which the boy agreed to. The Diggory boy walked over to the twins to say his hellos as we continued after Mr. Weasley. The girls silently gushed beside me about the lad, understandably so. No word of a lie the boy was fit.

Cedric looked back at the rest of the group and smiled before looking at me. His smile got slightly bigger, and he paused his steps. The girls followed his gaze to me, questioning silently what that was about. I tucked my head down and continued walking, him beginning to as I reached him. "Pleasure seeing you here, Potter." He commented.

"Hi, Cedric. Good to see you again." I briefly replied, eyes focused on the ground in front of me. He leaned slightly and bumped my shoulder causing me to look up at him quizzingly.

"I'm not going to hurt ya, you know. No need to be so timid." He joked, that stupid smile remaining on his face. I sent him a tight-lipped smile before focusing forward once again. The sound of Amos behind us caught my attention though, and Cedric's.

"Merlin's beard! You must be Harry Potter."

Cedric looked back at his father with quirked brows before looking down at me again. "Y'know, my dad is always talking about him." He informed me.

I sighed and looked up at the sky, rolling my eyes ever so slightly. "Yeah, your father and the rest of the world." I muttered under my breath. I figured my comment went unnoticed, but the confusion written on Cedric's face as he looked down at me had indicated that he noticed my sentiment.

"You don't sound pleased with your brother's fame." Cedric offered, as if stating my blatantly obvious feelings of the matter. It took me a minute before I produced the right words to say.

"I am, but I'm not if that makes sense." I tried to reason, only to leave the boy more confused than he was prior. I continued, "I too see what Harry is capable of. He's too smart for his own good and he's incredibly talented when it comes to the art of magic. So much so, especially since all we ever knew was the life of the muggle world." I paused to recollect my thoughts all while trying to suppress the venomous emotions bubbling within me. "I just don't appreciate how he's treated with higher honor than the rest of us."

Cedric nodded as he took in my confession before responding, "He is the Prophet, though. It was quite literally written in his fate to be so honorable."

I stopped walking, making Cedric pause only a few steps after me. He looked at me confused as I turned to face him directly, gazing up at his so incredibly attractive features. "And? Who's to say that there isn't some great prophecy written about all of us. Take Hermione for example." I gestured forward to the short girl ahead of us. "Say she was destined to become the next Minister, the one to lead us all to greatness. I ask you; do you think she would still be called terrible names in the hallways?" I asked him, to which the Diggory boy didn't seem to have an answer to. So, I continued, "I don't think she'd have that problem, personally. But she doesn't, so she continues everyday with the harassment and ignorance of others." Once I reasoned my thoughts, I continued down the trail, careful to not fall too far behind at risk of my brother noticing our conversation.