𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗻, cedric diggory

˗ˋ 63

CHAPTER SIXTY THREE
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH HE CONFESSES

. . .

Rosie came to a stop outside of the Quidditch pitch, stood by the row of Ravenclaw bleachers, leaning on the frame to try and catch her breath. She had ran all the way down there from the Great Hall, in hopes that there was time for her to talk to Cedric. 

It would be at least five minutes before the rest of the school would reach there, all of them walking quite leisurely down the long winding path amongst the grass. They weren't in a hurry, they didn't need to rush.

But Rosie had done, she needed to talk to Cedric, find out what on earth he was wanting to tell her. Because amongst the worry and the anxiety she had felt about the third task, there was also this small part that had the time to think about other things.

And it had chosen to focus solely on the fact that Cedric had asked to talk to her. And it was getting her hopes up for something that probably didn't even have a chance to happen. Cedric probably just wanted to talk about what he needed to do for the task, not anything about his feelings.

She felt too sick and anxious to be able to properly answer his questions, or even take in and process anything he wanted to tell her. Which didn't help with anything at all. Taking gulps of the fresh evening air, Rosie took quick strides over to where the players usually entered the pitch. 

"Rosie!" A voice said, almost as soon as she appeared in the rounded entrance. Rosie looked up, and Cedric was already jogging over, the outline of the small bag besides his wand, which was threatening to fall out of the far too small pocket. It seemed he had been waiting for her, eyes glued to that archway. 

"Hey, you must be nervous." Rosie said, trying to combat her own nerves by ignoring them, and focusing on the actual person who was competing. 

"Extremely. But I have these potions and everything you've told me to keep me alive. And I promised you, remember?" Cedric seemed to be less nervous than she was, although he looked rather sick he still had a smile on her face, and Rosie couldn't even think about managing that.

"Multiple times. Keep them ok? I don't think I could deal with it if.." Rosie trailed off, shivering at the answer of one of the many 'what if' questions that almost came out. "So what did you want to talk about?" She asked, trying to look and act as calm and collected as ever, looking up into his eyes. 

He was staring at her, and a pink flush that matched the skies above them dusted across Rosie's cheeks, and she looked down to her feet, shifting nervously. "I forgot to tell you how good you look." Cedric said, his sudden flirting filled with confidence. 

Rosie had to stop her jaw from dropping, and her eyes widened. She wasn't even wearing something special - just one of those white summer dresses that had slightly puffy sleeves and a corset-style front, decorative strips of white material tied into a bow at the neckline.

"Cedric, you're about to start the third task, perhaps the biggest event that has happened in your life, and you wanted to tell me that I look good?" Rosie was in disbelief, and Cedric shrugged, using one arm to lean on the frame of the Quidditch stands.

"You do, you look pretty." He continued, and Rosie cleared her throat, demanding herself to stop blushing. It apparently worked, and the pink lightened. 

"Thank you." She finally said. "But don't you think-"

"We start in three minutes, Mr Diggory!" Bagman shouted from where the other three champions were stood. Both of them glanced towards him, and then back up at the path from the school. 

The crowds students were extremely close now, and Cedric took a deep breath, running his spare hand through his hair. "Are you sure this potion won't blow me up?" He asked, Rosie sighing in relief when the subject of conversation turned back to her area of expertise.

"Positive." She said. "They're just enhanced versions of the original potions. I tried them just before you arrived and I bottled them, and I'm still here, right?" 

"I'm glad you are." Cedric smiled, as Mr Bagman yelled that he had only two minutes left. "Right, I'm going to tell you something now, and it's only because I share your worry that this task perhaps isn't the most safest thing in the world and probably has a chance of going wrong." 

"You know I'm probably wrong about that - I was worried about the second task but you were perfectly fine, right? It's just me overthinking, as usual." Rosie shrugged, fiddling with her bracelet. "Here, have this. My mum said it's supposed to bring good luck, something about sea glass and a certain type of seaweed and seashells." 

Rosie held out the blue-green bracelet to him, and when he didn't take it she took his hand and slid it on. "Rosie, your mum gave it to you." At this point, Cedric knew all about Rosie's mermaidic roots, and how much her mum meant to her.

"All the more reason for you to survivee and bring it back to me. Promise you will do?" She asked, and Cedric nodded, promising. With that, came Bagman's shout of not one minute, but thirty seconds. 

"Rosie, I like you. Not just as a friend." Cedric said, quite suddenly. Rosie felt her stomach drop, a swarm of butterflies appearing. "Cheer me on, I won't let you down." He said, leaning down and pressing a swift kiss to her cheek as Bagman shouted he had ten seconds to go. 

Rosie stared after him, hand raising to the space where he had kissed her. And suddenly she had a whole other reason to worry about him suriving. 

Because she needed to tell him that she liked him back.

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