I Know And I Don't Care (Cedric Diggory x Reader)

Chapter 26

With so much to think about - How Harry and Cedric were going to survive, Dad and the dangerous work he was doing, whatever dangerous thing was after me, and the countless classes and school work on top - it was no wonder that the Yule Ball always caused a confused look on my face. Unlike my peers, it wasn't finding the dress, the date, and the shoes to complete the outfit, that I was thinking about. I was too preoccupied thinking of if I would even make it to the Ball.

That thought only came late at night, when all was quiet, and there wasn't enough sound to ground me to solutions. The ever-growing winter wind had the same effect on me that it did the window beside my bed. I tossed and turned so much, I was surprised that Hermione hadn't woken me up more, standing over me with curiosity and questions about my nightmare. One more worry to keep me up - the thought of my friend caring about me enough to make sure I was ok.

She was the only friend I could handle thinking of. The others brought even heavier burdens to bear and even grander bites to chew on.

It was still hard to talk to Ron, our fight not far enough back to be completely forgotten. His twin brothers made me laugh most times, but laughing felt inappropriate with so much on the line. The mere sight of Harry brought back everything friends were supposed to distract me from. And Cedric...

Cedric's name barely laid in my brain long enough to finish it. How could I? When his the possibility of his life's end was so damn near.

At this point, Lavender and Parvati appealed the most. Their mindless conversations about hair and the gossip at Hogwarts at least could keep my mind off of everything. Maybe I could talk...

"Merlin!" I jumped back at the moment someone jumped in front of me. When I caught a glance at the all too familiar grey eyes in front of me, I had a split moment of regret and not jumping into the lake.

I gulped. It was unreasonable to fall into the murky water below. I'd have to be the size of a giant to break past the walls of the courtyard.

Cedric felt like a giant right about now. His tall frame trapped me, less so than his eyes, that were staring into mine. It wasn't until I saw the edge of a smile in his irises that I felt myself wishing less and less to be down in the cold waves.

"Guess you can't ignore me now, can you?"

Despite the smirk on his lips, I quickly came to defend myself. Although the way my words slows down at my opposition to his statement, I couldn't even finish them. "I'm not ignoring you." I straightened my back, forcing myself to make eye contact. "I'm avoiding you. There's a big difference."

"Is there now?" Cedric asked with a laugh as he shook hands with a friend passing by.

"Yes. Ignoring you means I would be halfway across this courtyard trying not to talk to you. Avoiding you means that I'm here, involuntarily, but I'll still here."

We held onto each other in silence for a moment. Cedric, clearly not pleased with my answer, was looking at me to just figure it out for himself. The last time we hadn't talked in more than three days had been when he found out I was a seer. Our make-up had been nothing at all like this. He had hugged me, wished us to not not speak again, and we'd been probably closer than ever.

I never felt so far away from him before. There was so much I wanted to tell him, so much I could tell him, now that he knew. But he couldn't. With the anxiety it was giving me, Cedric's worrying would be off the chart. And I'd hate knowing that a lot of his thought centered around me and my well-being when he was the one facing tasks that killed people.

"But now I'm not." I moved the conversation along as the image of Cedric facing a giant, shadowed creature ten times his height, terrified me more than the look of mind-Cedric had on his face. "What's up?"