CEDRIC
XXXI
«How was your date?»
«Was it with the person you told me about?»
«When will I meet her?»
«Wait, I already know her?»
Those were the questions Malcolm asked as he walked into their dorms within five minutes. Zacharias didn't even pretend to be doing anything other than staring at the scene without any qualms.
"I don't even remember you saying goodbye when I left, but you heard everything," Cedric blurted out with amusement, sitting on his bed and kicking off his shoes. He shot a mischievous look at his best friend as he clarified. "You were busy talking to Mandy."
Far from shy, Malcolm smiled. "That girl is amazing."
"Are you together?" Cedric asked, trying to hide his surprise.
"We are just friends."
"For now. You always say the same thing."
Malcolm had dated two Ravenclaw girls before for a couple of weeks. It had been months since the last time. His modus operandi was to talk to them endlessly. Tam said that he bored them so much and that was why they agreed on becoming something else, but Malcolm assured he had a good strategy of conquest and he would often try to teach them. Cedric didn't think it would work if you weren't a big talker like Malcolm and he doubted it was intentional on his part. It was hard for Cedric to admit it, but in fact he had learned a thing or two from him -none for such purposes.
He knew Malcolm so well that when he sat down beside him he knew it was to say something under his breath. "I thought it would be Cho, but she stayed with us the whole time."
Cedric had the need to ask why, despite the gust of confusion on his own face. Malcolm could sometimes talk for hours and other times he would be silent and it would be impossible to get an answer out of him, like this time when he shook his head and left Cedric alone for the rest of the night. The intrigue that came with it dissipated in the exact moment he found himself lying in bed thinking about his meeting with Harry.
Remains of the question of what had happened to him to be late and the reason behind such discomfort in his voice, as if speaking had been difficult for him.
His tears caught in his wide green eyes.
How thin and small he felt against his body in an instant of fragility.
How Cedric would have wanted to do more for him than to half console him uselessly.
The short hug and the quick goodbye played in his mind as more than just memories. Sensations he couldn't describe made Cedric fidget on his bed until he finally fell asleep.
XXXII
Two weeks later he was in the library doing research for his classes. Tam was talking under her breath to Willow, her roommate. Hunter from the Quidditch team was at his side, concentrating on the Potions homework Cedric had offered to help him with. They usually met to study in the common room or in the Hogwarts gardens when the weather was nice, but the need for some specific study material had half the chairs at the table empty because the rest of their friends were browsing the shelves.
Cedric was in front of a large stack of books that just might be helpful.
He would have found out if that was the case if he hadn't been distracted.
Harry's hair caught his attention. Cedric could see the profile of his face thanks to the recently unoccupied table that separated them. Hermione was writing on a piece of parchment and Ron was talking to Harry, who seemed to be enjoying himself when he turned around and his gaze met Cedric's. The smile still on his lips didn't fade one bit. On the contrary, it widened in such a way that Cedric couldn't help but think he looked cute. Cedric couldn't return it, frozen in his place as if he'd been caught in the middle of doing something he shouldn't.
"I found this book and I thought it might be useful to you." Cho's voice brought his eyes back to the pile in front of him, where a new hardcover stood out on top.
Cedric smiled and thanked her as she sat in the chair to his right side and opened a book where she had left it earlier. Cho, who used to attend his study meetings or hang out from time to time, hadn't missed a single one since Cedric had decided to accept her offer. It was difficult for him to express how much he appreciated her intelligence and willingness to help others.
Then, Cedric glanced in Harry's direction again without meaning to.
He hadn't pictured him as someone who frequented the library. Just as he hadn't expected that he would go to Hogsmeade being invisible, nor had he expected Harry to smile at him like that for the first time.
XXXIII
Cedric hadn't really made any plans for the next trip outside of Hogwarts. When a report of a sighting of Black in Hogsmeade appeared in the papers, he realised that the small spark of disappointment was because he had assumed that he would keep his word and go for a butterbeer with Harry. It was more a sketch than a well-structured idea because he didn't even know how he could have pulled it off, and he instantly gave way to the feeling that perhaps it had been a risky proposition on his part to have gone into the forest with Harry.
What if he had put him in danger?
Even if nothing terrible had happened, he should have been cautious.
Visits to Hogsmeade were cancelled for the remainder of the school year, which was a few months in times of exams and training. Although Hufflepuff had already played all of their games, they continued with their usual practice schedule. Study sessions were frequent to prepare for all classes. Cedric was reclining on the airchair in a desolate common room after the last hour of Charms with Tam and Willow, who were in the same condition as him.
Tired.
In two hours he had training with Tam, who was also part of the team and was in the same airchair that seemed like an excellent place to rest. Willow, in one of the seats across from them, sat up and Cedric watched through narrowed eyes how she addressed him. "I've seen you spending more time with Cho lately."
He barely nodded his head, sleepy and having trouble understanding the tone behind her words. Two years had passed since he started being friends with Cho. They used to hang out in groups. Sometimes they ran into each other between classes. He didn't think there was anything new about it.
"She is very pretty," Willow continued. "I would definitely go out with her if I were you."
Cedric could feel how Tam stirred, awakening. "Would you really?" she blurted out her shocked question.
It wasn't the first time that one of his friends had suggested something like that. And what Malcolm had said weeks ago was not even close to being an exception. Ever since he had met Cho, several people seemed to expect them to start a romantic relationship. Cedric didn't get it and could easily feel uncomfortable, because they were friends.
Yes, she was cute, he did not deny it.
He just didn't know why one thing should lead to the other.
"Maybe Cho will accept you on a date if you ask her," Cedric replied with half a smile, closing his eyes again. "What do you think, Tam? Do you think she would say yes? You know her well."
"I didn't know you were such good friends."
"I didn't know you'd go out with her, Will."
Both girls kept talking to each other in their strange way of being best friends since childhood that most of the time Cedric didn't understand. Tam's suspicious jealousy and interest in Willow's romantic life, when Cedric was grateful to her for never meddling in his (or in his absence of one). He had realised this a long time ago and was increasingly convinced that it meant that she had feelings for Will, something Tam would deny even if he asked her. He wasn't sure what Willow would say, but he refused to get involved in such a delicate matter.
In a direct way.
The comment he made, he hoped, would resonate in some way. Cedric thought that perhaps if one of them believed that the other would go out with someone else they would finally act on it. The whole dating thing and Cho reminded Cedric of something, and a vague thought came to him just before he fell asleep.
HARRY
XXXI
It wasn't as if he had found any comfort in learning more about the events that had led to his parents' deaths. Harry had grown up with his aunt, who had made clear to him that she was not his mother every time he called her that until he understood: he didn't have one of those. When he was old enough, his uncle told him a story that included a car accident from which Harry had been the only one to get out alive.
Neither of them sounded grateful for it.
It was only natural, then, that Harry wasn't, either.
There were still days when he almost wished he had died with his parents that night. Getting to hear anecdotes and get to know them through other people who had shared years with them, like his professor Lupin, aroused so many emotions in him that he didn't know what to do with them. The certainty of knowing that he had been loved and wanted lit his soul like a flame that kept him warm in the most difficult moments.
He no longer lived looking forward to the day he would meet them again.
Now he seemed to be waiting for Black to come after him.
Anger was a good shield against any hint of fear he might feel. All he wanted was to be able to direct his fury at someone, someone who could appear in front of him and whom he could yell at even if it was the last thing he did. None of those emotions faded between the long weeks where he kept attending every class and training. Harry had never abandoned his responsibilities no matter how alert he was.
Quidditch practices had increased in frequency to three times a week, and Oliver was doing the math to figure out how many points they needed to win. He had a strategy that he believed could bring them the Cup, so important since it was Oliver's last chance to witness it and he was constantly telling them that not only he but the entire team deserved it for working so hard.
Three days before the Gryffindor-Slytherin match, Harry was walking with Ron towards the library to meet Hermione. Exams were in a month and that was their usual meeting point or one of the tables in their common room, depending on the schedule. The excitement of visiting such a quiet place (which, according to Ron, smelt old, while Hermione said that there was nothing better than the smell of a book, to which Ron assured her that it must not be the books that stank) bordered on non-existent, but it was the only way to see Hermione these days.
(Okay, Harry had to admit, seeing Cedric in the library did make him want to come back.)
It finally seemed that Ron and Hermione had given up on the fights they had been getting into for the longest time. First the whole Black thing, what happened with the broomstick and then the disappearance of Ron's pet, Scabbers. Harry was sure that his best friend was still blaming Hermione (it was very likely that her cat had eaten the rat, but it wasn't like she wanted it to happen). Though peace still hung by a thread, the firmness of Ron's lack of intentions of cancelling any afternoons in the library stood out at odds with his blatant complaints.
"She's like a vampire, locked in there," Ron was speaking, turning down a hallway. "She spends all day reading. I don't get it, she was already like that since first year. But now there is really no time when she isn't studying. She hasn't even come out to see the sunlight these days."
Harry was about to mention that they could suggest meeting in the garden the next day when he heard someone. "Good luck in the match, Harry."
Locating where those words came from, he was surprised to see Cho walking past him with a big smile. She had her black hair up, with a few strands that framed her delicate face, and she must have definitely heard the awkward thanks Harry managed to mumble. At least she didn't notice how his face turned red. That brief exchange made Harry so nervous that he couldn't continue his conversation with Ron right away.
And Ron did notice it.
Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, he spoke confidently. "You fancy her."
That was when Harry reacted. "What? No."
His face was still hot, which did not look convincing at all.
"You know that she's popular and that half the school is after her, right?" Ron asked, climbing the last few stairs to the fourth floor. "I'm not saying you don't have a chance. We just have to figure out how to do it. She wished you luck, it's a good start."
Though he tried, there was no way he could make Ron believe that he didn't like Cho in that way. Harry wasn't sure why he wanted to clear it up so badly, considering it must be a possibility.
XXXII
"Good luck tomorrow."
Harry didn't have to look for who had spoken to him. He would have recognized his voice anyway. From the moment he set foot in that corridor, he noticed Cedric and how he smiled at him from a distance, while accompanied by several of his Hufflepuff housemates and other students in Ravenclaw. Cho, among them. Harry thought that it made sense for both of them to be friends: they were both beautiful and looked good together, standing next to each other. What Harry still didn't understand was why that thought came with a pang in his stomach so strong that he had to look away.
Ron was oblivious to everything until he heard him too.
It hadn't occurred to Harry that Cedric would speak to him and he froze in his place, his heart racing with the unexpected.
"See you soon," Cedric said as he passed.
Harry didn't manage to answer and just stared at him for a brief instant, unable to open his mouth. He even turned his head in the direction he left, as did Ron. "Why would he wish you luck? After what happened at the match?"
"We were on good terms after that," Harry explained, feeling a little guilty for never mentioning Cedric before. "We talked a few times."
The puzzled expression on Ron's face needed no words. "Are you two friends ?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."
"Cedric Diggory," Ron was muttering unbelievingly as they resumed their march. "And you. Friends."
In truth, Harry didn't blush this time.
The size of the smile he wore for the rest of the day was too big for him.
He was partly glad Ron hadn't noticed.
What would he have said then?