Unreal

Chp 66 Don't Need Rescuing

"Guilty."

He motioned for us to sit, still chuckling under his breath, and I followed him to a small table tucked between two windows.

We sat side by side, the candlelight flickering off the glass and books around us. His face was unfairly pretty up close.

I tried not to look.

I looked.

"So," he said, resting his elbow on the table and turning toward me a little, "figured out your egg yet?"

"Not fully," I said.

He leaned in, just a little. "You're supposed to take it swimming."

"Oh."
I blinked, then nodded.
"I was actually about to try that. But—thanks for telling me."

He raised a brow, smirking. "Be prepared. It's louder than you think."

I laughed under my breath. "Noted."

Cedric smiled, watching me. "I was gonna tell Harry about the bath too. Thought he might need a nudge."

"I already did," I said quickly, before I could think about it.

A pause.

He was still looking at me.

Not awkward. Just... quiet.

His eyes stayed soft, head tilted, like he was trying to read something off my face.

I should've looked away.

I didn't.

My cheeks were definitely pink.

Probably red, if I was being honest.

I cleared my throat and glanced at my hands, pretending to fix my sleeves.

Definitely not a date.

Probably.

Maybe.

Just a really intense tutoring session with someone who had no business being that good-looking by candlelight.

Worse part?

We hadn't even opened a book yet.

•••••

Cedric and I had been talking for a while now—nothing too serious, just random things. He asked about my favorite subject (definitely not Divination), I asked about how often he gets asked for help with homework (a lot, apparently), and we both bonded over how weirdly aggressive the house-elves had been with the mashed potatoes last dinner. His laugh was soft and easy, and I found myself smiling even when I wasn't supposed to.

It was... nice.

Warm, in a way that made me forget, for a second, that he was Hogwarts' golden boy and I was still figuring out how to properly work a self-inking quill.

But then I caught something in the corner of my eye.

Two tall figures entered the library through the far side—long cloaks, hoods drawn halfway up like they were trying to blend in, which, ironically, only made them look more suspicious. They didn't go to grab books, didn't talk, didn't even sit at a table meant for studying. Just... plopped down at the one next to ours like they were casually minding their own business.

Right.

Because casual, silent, six-foot-tall teenage boys in matching broad-shouldered silhouettes always came in pairs and definitely weren't suspicious at all.

Cedric didn't seem to notice. He kept talking, completely unbothered, his elbow resting on the table while he tilted a little closer every now and then.