You made your way up the winding stairs of the astronomy tower, taking your time. You really weren't all that worried about Filch catching you out past curfew, he was much to scared of your parents—much like the rest of the wizarding world—to give you a detention.
Your breathing was unsteady as you reached the top of the tower, out of breath. You heard someone chuckle, as you straightened, looking up. "It looks like someone forgot to stay in shape over the Holiday. A little reckless for a Quidditch Captain don't you think, (Y/N/N). And, by the way, you're half an hour late," he laughed as you shrugged nonchalantly.
"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting," you replied sarcastically. "Perhaps I would have been here sooner if Matt had just gone to be like he was supposed to, instead of interrogating me in the common room, as if I wasn't exhausted enough. You're lucky I'm here now. Period. I had half the mind to go straight to bed," you reasoned as he smirked, clearly amused.
"That I am (Y/N/N). That I am. It was so generous of you to spare sometime out of your demanding schedule to come visit little ol' me! I'm so sorry to disturb you, your highness," he taunted playfully, making you scoff as he referenced the popular nickname you had come to despise. You crossed the room, the ancient wooden floors creaking underneath your weight. Cedric was leaning against the railing, staring out into the night sky. You mirrored his movements, standing next to him, shoulders touching.
"So... Is there any particular reason you asked me up here at such a late hour?" You asked, as if you didn't already know the answer. If you didn't know any better, you would have hoped he would have forgotten. He glanced over at you, eyebrows raised. No such luck.
"You and I both know why we're here," he replied, solemnly. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I want to talk about. I want to see. Show me," he whispered, turning to face you, as you averted your eyes. You sighed, pushing aside the sleeves of your robes. He took your forearms in his hands, which were cold from the night air, moving them gently into the lunar glow of the full moon. He looked down, gasping, before quickly releasing your arms in horrified shock. You bit your lip as you hurried to pull down your sleeves. "Where else," he asked quietly.
"It's not as bad as it seems..." you began, as he shook his head and shot you a look that told you he wasn't buying that excuse. You sighed. "Collarbone... chest... neck..." you mumbled quietly, as he gritted his teeth, releasing a low growl in response.
Cedric was the only one who knew that your father abused you, both physically and emotionally, his beatings growing more violent with each passing year. You had become unreasonably numb to the entire situation but what hurt you most was knowing that Matthew suffered the same torture. Your father—William Middlebrook—was a respected pureblood with a substantial income from his work alongside the Minister of Magic, himself. He was the essence of authority and power within the Ministry. Little did the rest of the world know, William Middlebrook was cold hearted and cruel, having joined the Dark Lord's legions as a Death Eater, whilst simultaneously abusing his wife and children, solely for the pleasure of doing so.
"Why does he do this to you? What could this possibly be accomplishing for him?" Cedric asked in frustration, as he wrapped you in a warm embrace. You leaned into his chest, shaking your head in defeat. He knew better than anyone that your body was covered in dark, almost pitch black, bruises from where you had been hit, multiple times over again. "Why don't you tell someone about this? Why is it so important to keep it a secret? He needs to pay for what he's done to you! Why don't you just leave?" Cedric pleaded as you shook your head again.
"It's a little bit more complicated than that, Ced. It's not as simple as you would think. That's just not the way the world works, there are a thousand different factors involved. Besides... he threatened our lives if we were to ever tell. He threatened our mother, who unlike Matt and I, does not have a Hogwarts to escape to, for months on end. I cannot risk making the situation any worse than it already is, especially knowing what the consequences could be." Cedric shook his head angrily, as he scowled, clearly not understanding the complications.
"I am so sorry, (Y/N)! I am so so sorry! I wish there was something I could do to help! I wish that I could make all of the pain go away! I wish I could fix this," he sighed. All you could do was shrug in utter defeat What were you supposed to say to that? You didn't have the words to reassure him, when you, yourself weren't even sure of the outcome. You stayed silent, letting him hold you in his arms, tightly, enjoying the feeling of security. He was quiet for a while before he pulled back a looked at you. You raised your eyebrows in question as he took your hands in his, playing with your fingers idly. "I saw you with Fred Weasley earlier," he commented suddenly, his tone rather forceful, making you laugh.
"Yeah? So?" You replied, grinning up at him. Cedric looked down at you, obviously baffled by your reaction, his face contorted into a look of confusion and anger.
"Yeah, so... What did he want?" You shook your head, trying to stifle your laughter as he scowled, clearly irritated. You gave him a playful shove as he looked at you, his face deadly serious as his mouth pressed itself into a thin line. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I just... If I didn't know any better... I mean... Are you jealous?!" You teased, smirking. His frown deepened as he shook his head quickly.
"What?! No! Of course not! Why... W-Why would I be jealous? I was just wondering," he stuttered, scowling. You nodded slowly, slightly hurt by his forceful and adamant denial.
"Right.... Okay then... Well, if we're done here, I'd better try and get some sleep," you replied, turning away from him. You really didn't want to leave but you didn't want to make the tension anymore awkward than it already was. You began walking towards the stairs, feeling his eyes on the back of your head, as you got ready to leave.
"Wait!" He stopped you, making you turn back to face him. "Don't you want to hang out a bit longer? I know we have classes in the morning but this may be the last time we get to see each other for a while, let alone talk to each other," he reasoned. You sighed, he was right. It was practically impossible to find time to spend together, especially due to the school's ridiculous social rules and Slytherin's egotistical pride and feelings of superiority. You nodded, before returning to sit in front of the tower's railing, your legs hanging over the edge. He moved to sit next to you, echoing your actions, a look of concern crossing his handsome features. He looked over at you, nudging you gently with his elbow. "Hey? You okay? Penny for your thoughts?" he asked softly, as you peered out at the stars, lost in contemplation. You exhaled, tiredly.
"The sky is so tragically beautiful," you whispered, as he looked at you curiously. "It's a graveyard of stars," you sighed, inhaling the cool air, letting the moonlight reflect off of you. He looked out into the dark of the night, tilting his head in thought.
"I've never thought of it that way," he replied quietly. You shook your head, your mind drifting farther and farther away as you stared up at the inky darkness.
"I don't know," you mumbled, quietly. "They make the rest of the world seem so small in comparison to the cosmos, it reminds me that life is so much bigger than what I understand. At home, we have white roses in the back garden, a labyrinth of them, and at night, I would go out and stare up at the stars for hours, surrounded by a barrier of simple elegance. That's where I found peace amongst all of the chaos. I don't know... It's rather silly... but I suppose that I like to think that when a life ends, a star appears in their memory, millions of lives, commemorated in a graveyard of stars. The night brings me comfort, and right now, the world feels as if it's crumbling and I am just looking for peace. I am looking for something bigger than myself," you sighed. Cedric smiled, intertwining your fingers, startling you.
"Do you want to know something, (Y/N)? You have the most incredible mind and you never cease to leave me in awe of what goes on inside that head of yours," he replied. You smiled, feeling a blush rise to your cheeks, hoping that he wouldn't notice.
"I don't know, Ced. We all need to find comfort in something," you whispered, laying your head on his shoulder. He nodded, looking down at you. And for once, you sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company, gazing up at the constellations.
YOU ARE READING
Too Shy To Tell You (Cedric Diggory x Reader)
Fanfiction(Y/N) Middlebrook was terribly excited for her fourth year at Hogwarts, but at the same time, she was extremely anxious. This was the year she wanted to tell her crush that she was hopelessly in love with him. But how? Cedric Diggory. He was practic...
