𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑨𝒀 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 𝑴𝑬 ︱𝘊𝘌𝘋𝘙𝘐𝘊 𝘋𝘐𝘎𝘎𝘖𝘙𝘠

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑶𝑵𝑬

Background: Cedric is in his sixth year and is seventeen, as is Harriet, and the goldren trio, Draco, are in their fourth year. In addition, Sylvia is in her sixth year and will turn sixteen in late November. This is set in the goblet of fire/

As an Australian, kindly correct me if my understanding of the Hogwarts educational system is incorrect at any time :)

❝everyone wants him that was my crime, the wrong place at the right time❞ - Taylor Swift

*****

The sun settled itself into the mountains, its last orange gleam showering the great hall as its farewell for the night. The chatter of the school was becoming quiet hums, the atmosphere felt like a warm embrace. The tables were becoming bare; yet Sylvia Greys mind stopped her from noticing the fleeting students. She sat with her head in her hands, preoccupied with an abundance of thoughts, the loudest being of a boy, Cedric Diggory.

Cedric was strikingly tall, his hair always fell into a perfect brown mess. But his looks made up so little of his character. He was overwhelmingly perfect in every aspect, a Hufflepuff staple. He was his house's quidditch captain and a school prefect, and now, a hogwarts champion; he was chosen to play in the tri-wizard tournament. So it's not hard to imagine that he had a group of girls batting their eyes at him every other day. But there was something more to him that plagued Sylvia's shy interest.

A thunderous smash echoed through the school's hallways, startling Sylvias out of her reverie.

It's stupidly counterproductive of me to be so lost over a boy, I am no better than his fangirls, Sylvia thought to herself dismissively.

The great hall was now dimly lit and eerily empty. Sylvia's dark green eyes appear 3 tones darker in the absence of the sun. Sylvia sighed, and ran her hands through her raven hair that cascaded down past her shoulders, to rid her head of any knots

She began to sit up, looking around to ensure that she wasn't leaving any belongings behind.

"Peeves I suspect," said a masculine, warm-toned voice from behind Sylvia. Her heart jumped, she quickly spun herself around, meeting the grey eyes of the very boy himself; "That crash I mean. It must've been peeves'' the boy said, as if he thought she was confused over what he meant, and not by why he was talking to her.

Cedric was standing tall, his prefect badge pinned neatly to his chest and his eyes focused on the face of Sylvias.

"Right..it usually is" Sylvia mumbled, almost embarrassed that just minutes before she was lost in thought about him. She wanted nothing more but to escape the presence of Hufflepuff's pretty boy.

Sylvia awkwardly looked around, acknowledging the absence of almost every other student once more. And as if Cedric could read her mind, (she'd hope he couldn't), he cleared his throat and spoke. "Errr, well it's getting late. I was just doing a round-" he paused briefly, "to make sure students were getting back to their common rooms".

"Oh right, prefect duties," Sylvia responded, with a weak smile. "No need to tell me twice- I'm off to my room just now" and she began to turn her back to leave, her smile dropping as she turned. Cedric lingered and called out; "I didn't mean to insinuate anything" but he also trailed off, and began to approach a first-year who seemed to be lost.

******

"What a creep!" laughed Sylvia's friend cruelly, her mouth turned up into a sly smile; Sylvia had recounted her awkward encounter back in the Slytherin common room and at the girl's remark, Sylvia's heart jumped and she felt the urge to make her take it back, but did not act on the absurdity of the urge.

"All Hufflepuff are creeps" scoffed a distant Draco Malfoy, in response to the girl. Sylvia guiltily nodded in a false agreement, she'd rather endure an unforgivable curse than ever admit to them that just before the interaction, she was deep in thought about the Hufflepuff boy.

For a few moments, the only noise was the calm crackling of the fire and the occasional flipping of pages. A few students were scattered among the room but otherwise, peace weaved its way through the walls. This induced Sylvia back into her inner thoughts.

It's unrealistic for me to pine over some smouldering Hufflepuff. I'd be embarrassing myself and my house if such a thing ever came to the surface. Not that Cedric, the golden boy, would feel any different. He wouldn't sacrifice such a reputation for some Slytherin he doesn't know the name of. It's bizarre that I'm even here, thinking of how it would be to pursue a relationship with Cedric.

Sylvia had no plans on getting too strung up on someone she had only shared a few words with, it had been a long day, and with some sleep she knew that the boy would become much less prevalent in her mind. She was determined to not let diggorys person become the spotlight in her thoughts; and left it at that for the evening.