𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐒.

XV

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"Welcome, children," Trelawney breathed, sitting on the floor on some massive pillows. It came to my notice her big rounded glasses and dry hair gave her a nerdy look. "It is time to visit the underworld. I sense you have doubts, but fear not. The journey is sometimes easier to follow than one might think. Sit, please sit!" she said, gesturing vaguely towards the pillows on the floor. Everyone sat down beside their partner, and luckily enough, Cedric was there. However, he didn't take notice of me.

Something completely changed in him. He didn't as much as speak to me or throw any slight comments. After yesterday, I knew it was my fault; that guilt ate me up all night, and suddenly feared for my life.

About last night, I received a warning from Dumbledore. But luckily for my advance, he wanted to see me after class— I've had yet to ask him about my mother, so this was a great opportunity. Regardless, Aarush knows who I am, which means he must've known my mother.

I nudged his arm gently, to which he shifted his gaze to me — but his stone-cold face made it obvious how careless he suddenly became.

"Hey," my voice lowered, nervously fidgeting with my top button. "I think we should talk-"

"No talking! We are communicating with ghosts today!" Professor Trelawney yelled dramatically and swayed it into a smile. "Now, the glass ball, let me show you how it works!"

I shrugged defeatedly and lingered over the glass ball on the desk. Everyone had their own. Professor Trelawney wandered around from table to table, guiding the instructions on using it.

"Cedric," my eyes quickly shifted to his, but he simply stared ahead. "Can we talk?"

His face ranged from neutral to irritation in a second, flaring through his nostrils. "What?"

"We need to talk, dude." I lowered my voice, preventing any listeners.

Cedric grabbed the glass ball and paced over to Trelawney. He was suddenly impatient, which wasn't part of his character.

A shrug parted my lips, overwhelmed by his actions. There were merely three days left back until the third task. And curiously enough, I've had a gut feeling it wouldn't end well – not to mention how anxious I unexpectedly was for Cedric. My emotions were switching between disliking and caring for him, yet there were no rational thoughts.

I caught Jonathan peeking at me sideways out of a narrow corner of my right eye. My head tilted in his direction, and he dropped his head to the desk, avoiding any contact between us. I shrugged miserably.

Cedric came back with the familiar numb expression planted on his face. He sat on the pillow beside me and set the glass ball on the small wooden box. "Just stare at the ball, and it'll show you something."

I nodded and leaned forward, locking my eyes to the ball although my thoughts were elsewhere. A wave of purple color motioned through the glass, adding tiny sparkles of stars. A blurry image slowly formed, and it was Cedric and me. He narrowed his eyes in slits, leaning beside me, and I could smell his fresh cologne.

The image became visible enough to be seen, and we both were utterly shocked. It was him and me kissing. My eyes quickly trailed off to his, and he blushed crimson when he saw the actions behind it.

My hand snatched the ball and buried it into my arms, to which my embarrassment took the best of me. "They joking around..."

Cedric cleared his throat awkwardly, sinking back to his seat. "Yeah..."

"Maybe it was just glitching." I sensed my cheeks were blushing, discomforting.

His head jerked in fierce disagreement, rubbing the back of his neck as he chuckled uncomfortably. "I agree. I wouldn't dare to kiss you. Ever."