The Boy In My Dreams -HEDRIC (1)

19.(HC) family should never be abandoned

Luckily he could rely on Hermione to guide him and to keep it quiet at every free moment spent in the library or common room with stacks of books. They practiced a lot of spells on the outskirts of the castle, on one of the solitary sides. Ron had improved a lot with some difficult charms, and Harry used a small part of the time to work on his patronus as well.

It felt good.

That was the thing about magic. It was related to emotions. So much theory and strategies to cast a spell, ways to position your wrist and twist it, but it was his heart that did all the work. A stable amount of calm mustered to levitate objects. Adrenaline to defend himself in a duel. And the joy that gathered within his soul to do such advanced and delicate magic. All the feelings Harry had never thought he could hold inside of him swirled like a breath of fresh air.

LVII

An owl deposited a letter on their table when they finished breakfast.

From Hagrid. The trial had ruled in favor of the Malfoys.

Harry and Ron felt so bad that they had forgotten to help with the defense. Hermione had taken care of everything on her own, and she was sorry that it hadn't been enough. That same afternoon after classes they went to the cabin to talk to Hagrid, who couldn't hide his glassy eyes and hadn't yet come out to feed Buckbeak because he was afraid the animal would immediately recognize his fate when faced with his sorrowful expression. He wondered what was the best way to tell him and how to spend his last twelve days.

Hermione suggested other legal alternatives and Ron suggested illegal ones.

"We can request an extension and a new trial."

"We come at midnight, we untie it, and you say he's been stolen."

When Hagrid discarded all of them, Harry offered to feed Buckbeak. The hippogriff was looking at him with a tilted head as if he knew something was wrong, and he lowered his head so that Harry could pet behind his ears.

A precious creature who did not deserve to die.

Harry wanted nothing more than to go and tell Draco off, but that wouldn't change anything. He would get into troubles and not solutions. As usual, the former was much easier to find than the latter.

"You don't have to come to...," Hagrid said before they returned to the castle, unable to finish the sentence. "I know it's the last day of exams and you'll be tired. You should rest."

No matter what he said, all three would be present.

CEDRIC

XLVIII

He wanted to make sure Harry was okay.

Although for a brief moment he thought that a bad way of wording had been the cause for Harry's strange and hasty parting, Cedric was not relieved to believe that it had something to do with what had happened with Cho.

That sounded harder to fix.

When Harry said he was great, he immediately assumed it was due to Cho. Apart from the little slip his curiosity caused, everything seemed to be as usual between the two of them, something that comforted Cedric. Judging by what Cho told him later about his conversation with Harry, it seemed like they would get along, which made Cedric happy in a way that probably couldn't compare to how much it must have cheered Harry up.

A few days went by before Cedric recognized Harry in the middle of the green meadows as he left the greenhouse at the end of the last class of the week. Alone, Harry walked under the sun.

Cedric said goodbye to his housemates and hurried to catch up with him.

His feet had moved faster than his head could think.

He had no particular motive this time.

I don't need to have it either, he thought.

That didn't stop him from getting nervous as he stopped next to Harry, not knowing what to say other than hello. Fortunately for him, Harry didn't need an explanation and received him with a tiny grin that did not hide the discouragement that could be read on his face. Cedric asked what had happened and offered him to sit on the grass to talk quietly. Harry told him that he was going to visit Hagrid, the gamekeeper and professor of one of the subjects.

"You must have heard about what happened in his class a few months ago."

Cedric nodded, imagining the outcome.

He was aware that the Malfoys were calling for the doom of the hippogriff.

Magical creatures were sentient, strong beings and should be treated with respect. Like some plants, they could bite or hurt you if not approached with the necessary knowledge and the utmost delicacy. And still, one could get hurt. Professors could not avoid everything, but prevent and minimize injuries if they occurred.

Draco didn't look like someone who would be that careful with an animal.

He didn't say it out loud, but for a moment Cedric wondered if Draco really agreed with the sentence. If he was as cruel as he made himself out to be. It wasn't that he forgot the joke he'd pulled on Harry or the insults they'd exchanged when they quarreled, and he was aware that there must be a million other things he didn't know...

But he was just another boy, like Harry.

Like Cedric.

Yes, like Zacharias.

XLIX

He accompanied Harry to the fence that divided the land from the cabin, surrounded by plants that grew in the damp earth, full of fruits of the most diverse colors. Cedric stayed there because he didn't want to be disrespectful. It must be a difficult time for the professor and he didn't want to force his unsolicited presence on him.

Harry walked over to knock on the door.

The big professor opened it, looking at the small boy and Cedric a few feet away. "Oh, you have company."

"He walked me here," Harry explained.

"I was leaving," Cedric snapped, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I heard the judge's decision."

Hagrid grimaced and then smiled slightly. "Come in, boy," he said, his voice strong in a gracious invitation that Cedric accepted gratefully. He crossed the path to the doorstep, and once he entered, Hagrid talked loudly, "Any friend of Harry's is welcome. And a prefect, too. You surround yourself with good influences, kid."

Cedric turned to Harry, who looked up from the ground just to meet his smile. The affection that filled the room was as palpable as it was warm, and he realised that he was no longer in a professor's or gamekeeper's cabin.

He was with someone who loved Harry like family.