Purposefully Hating Cedric

26

Can you Feel my Heart? Can you Hear the Silence?
-

"Cedric," I whine, "come down from there and help me!"

He sits on the tree branch, laughing as he looks down on me. "Do you miss me down there?"

I roll me eyes, but my face tinges a faint pink. "No, I just need help digging this hole for our time capsules." I poke the ground with the end of my red shovel.

Cedric's eyes gaze off into the distance. "Come up here, darling." The nickname rolls off his tongue in his young British accent. A term of endearment passed from his mother to him, and then him to me. "The world is so much clearer from this height."

"Well, that much is obvious. You're able to see much farther out when your up high," I retaliate with as much sass as my soon-to-be-third-year self can muster.

Cedric's eyes break away from the view and back down to me. "Always so snarky." He smirks. "Just come up here. Trust me, you'll see what I mean."

I sigh heavily, dropping my shovel on the ground and walking over to the base of his tree. I quickly climb each branch until I reach the thick one that he sits on. I take my seat beside him, almost falling backwards in the process. However, Cedric quickly catches me with his hand on my back, but even after I'm stabilized he doesn't pull it away. It's nice how we we're comfortable enough to touch each other without it being confusing or meaning anything more.

"Look." He points off into the horizon, and to my surprise, he's right.

Whether it's some sort of magic, or our eyes are deceiving us, Cedric and I are able to see miles off into the distance as clear as if it's right before us. I can see a tree three miles away and count the number of leaves on it. It's incredibly surreal.

Surreal.

This isn't real.

I turn to Cedric, memorizing each detail on his face before I wake from this dream. Even though he's much younger, he's still Cedric. My new Cedric.

My Cedric.

And maybe the only time I'll ever get to be close to him anymore is in my dreams.

I pull him into a hug, resting my head onto his chest. I feel the closeness as if it's truly happening, which I wish it was. I sigh quietly. Maybe I can be content with only having him in my dreams.

Dreams are much less complicated anyway.

-

"We should go into town tonight," Hermione suggests, picking a daisy from the grass. "Get all dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant."

I yawn, still tired although I slept soundly the night before. I'm partially distracted from the conversation as the memory of feeling Cedric so close in my dream clouds my mind.

"Why?" Ron scoffs, his fiery hair swaying in the wind as he shakes his head.

I shrug. "I like that idea." I attempt to zone back in, not wanting to get caught distracted.

"Me too," Sydney agrees. "It sounds fun."

"Why would we get dressed up if we don't have to?" Fred asks, leaning back against the tree that we all sit under.

"Because it's fun," I say. "Think about it; we haven't had an excuse to get dressed up since the masquerade ball."

"And it's been wonderful." George smiles.