A Dozen Fallen Roses // Cedric Diggory

chapter eleven. the kitchens.

Hermione and I woke around the same time and she fixed her hair in the mini mirror on my bedside table before heading back to the common room.

"I think you should stay away from Cedric for a week," she says, stopping for a moment in the doorway. This is completely out of the blue and I sit up, a bit confused. "Think about it. You say you're in love with him, but try spending a week without him. Then you'll know for sure that you can't be without him. That will test if it's worth it or not to tell him," I still don't exactly follow, but I agree.

"All right, I guess. I trust you," I reply. She nods confidently, then leaves.

Madame Pomfrey has me stay in the hospital wing for another few hours to make sure I don't pass out or anything, but I feel completely fine. Around 2 o'clock, she lets me head back to the common room and the twins greet me on my way up to my dormitory.

"Look! It's the cripple," I heard George's voice stretch from across the room. I stop on the stair and turn, facing them as they walk towards me, leaning on either side of the stairwell.

"I'm not crippled," I reply all snotty, "It was my head." At least the huge bump on my head will distract from the faint leftover of Draco's handprint around my neck.

"So she's mentally crippled," Fred suggests.

"Well, that's nothing new," I laugh. "Could've at least come and visited the girl you two dimwits put in the hospital."

"Why would we do that? We knew you'd be fine," assures George.

"Plus, we've been stocking up on stuff to sell at the first task next week," Fred continues.

"Look at you two businessmen," I poke fun at them as they pop their collars, all professional-like. I turn around and continue my way back up to my room, pushing the door open and collapsing on my stomach into my bed.

"Oh how I've missed you, bed," I mutter under my breath.

"Yeah, those hospital beds are the worst," I hear Ginny agree on my right. I get up from my bed, hopping into hers and burrowing myself under the covers next to her.

"What are you doing all alone in here on a Sunday?" I ask her, rolling over to where our faces are inches apart.

"I don't know, don't really feel like being social, I guess," she responds, sticking her tongue out and licking the tip of my nose. I return the gesture and she cringes, wiping her nose off.

"That's fair," I reply, turning onto my back. I stare up at the garnet canopy above her bed, remembering what it was like to lay in Cedric's bed with him. Feeling his warmth under the covers, his slow heartbeat, the feeling of his fingers combing through my hair. Nope. No. I forcefully stop my train of thought. I told Hermione that I would try to put him out of mind.

Despite sleeping my entire two days in the hospital wing, I find myself drifting back off to sleep, comforted by Ginny's presence beside me.

-

"Wake up, Ava," I feel Ginny pushing me awake. She's trying to pull her arm out from under me after I had rolled onto it during our nap. "Please, I'm hungry!"

"Sorry," I say sluggishly as I slowly roll over off of her arm. She gets up, a bit annoyed at my keeping her from dinner, and crosses around her bed, pulling me up.

"Come on, let's go eat," she says, a bit like an order.

"If you insist," I agree, still half asleep. I slip on some slippers and throw on a hoodie, feeling exposed to the cold after being pried out of my warm covers. She grabs my hand and drags me out the door as I trudge behind her.