Happily ever after? /// Cedric Diggory

6

"I heard Angelina Johnson from Gryffindor was planning on putting her name in, although that could've just been a rumor," Evan commented quietly. To Cedric, she seemed a little off  but he couldn't understand why.

"Oh, she's on Gryffindor's quidditch team right? I think she would be okay if she got chosen, could maybe win. She's pretty tough," Becca mentioned, clearly imagining the prospect.

"Wait, Ced, aren't you planning on entering? I thought you mentioned that," Dallas asked him, causing Cedric's face to flush as he felt the other's gaze snap towards him. Cedric could feel Evan's piercing stare from next to him but was too scared to meet her eyes. Instead just looked at Dallas sheepishly while scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Actually, yea I had planned on it. I doubt I'll get chosen but I felt it would be great for Hufflepuff to be recognized, if just once," he said honestly. He was proud to be a Hufflepuff and hated how the other houses seemed to look down on them. This once, he just wanted to show them not to underestimate him or his house.

"Wow, Cedric that's amazing! I had no idea you were planning on entering! You'll definitely get chosen, you are the best of Hogwarts no doubt," Becca chirped excitedly. Her and Dallas started talking about how great of a champion he would be and all the possible trials he might go through if he got chosen. Cedric, however, only cared about the opinion of the girl sitting next to him, and looking at her right then she looked slightly terrified, but he had no idea why.

"Evan, are you okay? You look a little rattled..." Cedric mumbled, confused as to why she was looking at him with such an intense look. Realizing she was staring, she blushed and looked away.

"It's nothing. I'd rather not talk about the tournament too much though," she remarked quietly, wanting to drop the subject. For a few moments it was quiet, then Cedric remembered she had those mysterious papers he wanted to ask about.

"Oh Evan, I meant to ask you earlier, but what did you give all the professors during dinner? Dallas and I saw Hagrid almost crush you to death and we were curious," he asked, eager to change the subject as well.

Her entire physique changed at that question and her her face lit up, a wide smile dominating her features. "Actually, that is an interesting story! Earlier today while I was walking around the castle alone, I stumbled across the most peculiar room. It was on the 7th floor and just randomly appeared. I swear, the doors just showed up one minute, it was crazy. Anyways, I walked in there and saw an easel and paint supplies so I sat down and painted. I was mindlessly painting so I didn't realize how long I had been at it until my stomach growled. Turns out, I had painted for hours and was left with tons of little quick pieces on the papers and I had something that reminded me of each of my professors, although I gave Hagrid several," she said fondly. "I even asked Dumbledore about the room and he had no idea what I was talking about, so I have no idea what it was for, but it ending up being exactly what I needed today."

"You spent hours painting? That's insane! Do you have any that you didn't give away? I want to see them," Cedric requested, excited at finding another layer to the mysterious girl to uncover.

"Ah yes, although know that it's been awhile since I painted so I am wildly out of practice. They aren't fabulous but I enjoyed painting them," she answered while hoisting her bag unto her lap and pulling out a large pile of paper, handing them to Cedric. He began shifting through them, amazed at how impressive her artistic skill was. She was leaning her head casually against his arm trying to see while he went through them. He stumbled across a painting of himself and was completely caught off guard.

"Evan, how did you do this? This is amazing..." he said awestruck while turning completely to face her. Her cheeks had turned a bright red and was sporting a dimple he never knew she had due to her faint smirk. She laughed a little and moved her hands excessively while trying to explain herself.

"Oh gosh, I swear I'm not a creep. You just have a really nice facial structure for an artist and well that still makes me sound creepy um.. I'm not sure I painted all my friends too, not just you," she said while laughing at herself. "And I'd be lying if I said that was the only one of you, although you should see how many paintings there are of my cat," she teased, trying to gain composure. Cedric, however, was not uncomfortable in the least. On the contrary, he felt energized that she had thought of him, even if it was actually just a mindless action. He laughed and lightly brushed his shoulder against hers, silently letting her know he didn't mind. She then continued to lean on his arm and they picked up were they left off.

As time past them by, they hardly noticed, for they were too busy rifting through the paintings; Cedric listened while Evan explained each piece and why she might've thought to paint that. Cedric pleaded with her to give him a few to which she agreed while chuckling He ended up with one of Charming, one of something called a Threstral, which he couldn't see but Evan for some reason claimed they pulled the carriages that lead to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade Station. He also managed to snag her painting of Hogwarts, which was magnificent. Evan also made him take one that she did of him, but he felt weird, only taking it to appease her.

Shortly after looking once more through them on his own, Cedric moved to talk to her again about the room she found, only to find her fast asleep leaning completely on Cedric now. He laughed quietly to himself, not wanting to wake her up. What was he supposed to do now? He decided he just couldn't wake her up, she looked too peaceful to disturb. As smoothly as he could, he managed to pick her and held her to his chest, all while she slept obliviously. He easily carried her over to where Becca and Dallas had moved to talk, hoping Becca would let him into the dorm they shared so she could sleep in her bed. When she saw him, she busted out a laugh, but quickly stifled it with her hand.

"Uh, whatcha got there, Cedric?" she whispered slyly while grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Um, would it be okay if I followed you into the dorms and set her down? I don't want to wake her up," he whispered back, uncomfortable at the request. If Becca said no, this situation could turn south very quickly. Thankfully, she grinned and stood up.

"I'll be right back, Dallas," she called. "You know if Professor Sprouts found out about this, we could get in serious trouble," she teased while leading him up the stairs where the girls' dorms were. Thank goodness Evan was so tiny, or else carrying her up the stairs would've been rough, he thought. After passing three doors, they finally arrived. Becca opened the door and walked in, glancing behind her to make sure Cedric still followed. What awaited him in the room was amazing. The ceiling looked like the blue sky, but Cedric figured it could go to night at will. There were only two beds in the room, but the space was anything but scarce. There was a large variety of rugs, and a huge table in the middle of the room piled high with textbooks and schoolwork.

One of the beds was occupied currently by Evan's cat, so Cedric figured that was hers and made his way over to it under the watchful eyes of Becca, who stayed by the door.

Looking at Evan's side of the room, he was not surprised in one bit, it looked like the complete manifestation of the Evan he was beginning to understand.One entire wall was filled with books on a giant bookcase, some books that looked like mere muggle books. Her comforter for her bed was fluffy and bright yellow with colors splashed decoratively, and her leaning on headboard was a giant painting that she no doubt did herself. It had a quaint home with flowers seemingly coming off the painting, although Cedric knew that was not due to magic, but talent. On either side of the painting was what looked to be tons of photographs taped to the wall chaotically, although nobody in the pictures moved, which was odd. Realizing he was staring and not moving, he turned to look at Becca, who had a mischievous smirk on her face, raising one eyebrow at him. He pulled back the blanket and quickly set Evan on her bed, pulling them back in place so that she was nicely tucked in bed. Her hair fanned out around the pillows and she looked like a child. Pleased, Charming walked by him and cuddled close to the still sleeping Evan, who now had a faint smile on her face.

Taking that as his sign to leave, he rejoined the smug Becca by the door. She snapped once, which indeed turned the ceiling from day to night, and ushered him out as she quietly shut the door. On their decent back down the stairs, neither said anything, though Cedric knew exactly what Becca was thinking. Reaching the commons room once more, Cedric went to fetch Evan's forgotten bag by the couch and handed it to Becca before retreating to the boys' stairs with a flustered "goodbye."

Rejoining Dallas at the table, Becca began to scheme.