1 | Sunlight ➙ Cedric Diggory

Chapter Eighteen

Matthew finished writing his letter to Toby and stuffed the multiple pieces of parchment into an envelope. Cedric and Belle were still asleep on his bed, but had switched positions. The French Bulldog was now laying across the boy's chest while one of his hands rested on her back. Matthew was careful to not wake either of them up as he leaned down to kiss the top of Belle's head before heading downstairs.

Christmas music filled the main level of the house as Diane dusted the living room and Malcolm worked on the preparation for dinner. The parents hadn't noticed their son walk by until Diane walked into the kitchen with an empty coffee mug that had been forgotten about after opening presents.

"Who's the letter for?" The woman asked as Matthew opened Enzo's cage and reached in to tie the envelope to his leg.

"Toby." Matthew replied. Once the envelope was secure, Matthew opened up the back door and watched Enzo as he flew out into the snowy backyard. He stopped on the railing of the snow covered deck to ruffle his feathers and stretch out his wings before his flight. The Grangers had their attention turned towards the owl as he hooted loudly before taking off.

"Have you heard from him at all?" Malcolm asked before turning his attention back to the stove.

"No, he's probably just busy with family." Matthew replied as he shut the back door. The boy hadn't told his parents what was going on in Toby's life, just because he wasn't sure if Toby wanted anyone to know. He was going through a hard enough time and Matthew knew that Toby wouldn't want everyone asking him about his mother and how she was doing.

"Follow me, Matt." Diane said in a quiet tone before making her way back into the living room and out of ear shot of Malcolm. The woman sat down on the couch before patting the cushion beside her, wanting her son to sit down.

"What's wrong?" Matthew asked as he sat down, trying to think if he had done anything wrong. Diane wore an expression of concern as she studied the boy's face.

"Is everything okay?" Diane asked, resting her hands on her knees as she frowned.

"Yeah, everything's good. Why?" Matthew was confused as to why he was having this conversation with his mother and began wondering if he had seemed a bit off lately.

"I'm just wondering. You seem...different. You're closed off." Diane explained to the boy, and she was right. Matthew knew that he had been somewhat distant with those around him just because he had so much going on in his head. He was so focused on school, worried sick about Toby's mother, and had an itch in his heart that seemed to only set off when he was around Cedric. The blue eyed boy was so young yet he had so much on his plate and he was worried about dumping it all on someone if he one day spoke of what he was feeling. Toby had enough to deal with so Matthew didn't want to bug him about the way his heart skipped a beat every time Cedric walked into the room and how his palms got clammy when they were close enough to make skin on skin contact.

Matthew nodded in agreement at what his mother was saying. "I know, I'm sorry. I've just got so many things going on lately." He replied, offering a small smile in hopes that Diane would understand.

"I'm always here for you if you want to talk about anything." Diane stated, reaching out to grab the boy's hand.

"I know." Matthew gave his mother's hand a reassuring squeeze before leaning over to wrap his arms around her in a hug.

"What are you boys doing up there? Hermione should be here soon." Diane changed the subject once the mother-son duo pulled away from each other.

"Cedric and Belle fell asleep while I was writing my letter. I'll go see if they're awake yet." Matthew replied before getting off the couch and rushing upstairs. He walked into his room to see a view that made his heart melt into a puddle.