Let's start 2020 off with the energy that we want throughout the entire year - in terms of this book it means that I actually want to post regularly (at least once a week unless there's something stopping me). I'd really like for 2020 to be the year that I complete this book - which is insane considering that I started this book in November 2013. It's gone through a lot of changes, including being completely rewritten twice so it's taken longer to finish this book than I would've liked. But I really hope to finish this book before it's 7th birthday. Currently, I plan to put out a volume 2 - and the extended versions of the stories so it's going to take a long time to properly work through them.
As of right now, it looks like I'm only going to do 2 volumes because I feel like 400 one shots (and therefore 400 extended stories) is enough. If I ever put out a volume 3, it'll be because a couple of ideas beat me over the head and demanded I write them. But honestly, I still can't get over the fact that I've written over 100 of these stories. If anyone cares - this is the 169th one shot
This one was requested by anne2cold who asked for Cedric and a muggle reader. Honestly, I didn't think many people liked muggle readers, but I hope you like it!
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Quite what I'd done to be stuck with babysitting, I wasn't sure. With my cousins visiting for the holiday, my parents had insisted that we take them out to show them around London. Of course, I didn't mind, not when I hadn't seen my cousins in what felt like years. But I wasn't too pleased about being the unofficial babysitter for my youngest cousin. Lucia, having just passed her third birthday was a rambunctious ball of energy who refused to listen to anyone. She was, for lack of a better word, a brat who had stuck herself to my side the moment she'd met me and because she was just a little better behaved when with me, I was the designated babysitter.
I stood behind my father, watching as he took pictures of my aunt and mother as the two sisters posed, seemingly not caring about the children that were looking bored out of their minds beside them. Lucia, clinging to my arm, continued to tug at my arm and tried her very best to convince me to go exploring with her. I remained firm, insisting we wait until her mother was finished so we could head to the London Eye just as everyone had planned to this morning. Clearly the refusal was too much for her.
Harshly tugging her hand away from mine, with a strength I was surprised she possessed, she darted into the crowd without so much as a backward glance. I gave quick chase, shouting out over my shoulder to the adults that I'd look after her. Lucia easily navigated her way through the small gaps in the crowd, laughing as if we were playing a game and unaware of the curse words echoing around my mind. She was in danger of becoming my least favourite cousin.
"You need to stop running," I insisted loudly, only for my concern to be returned with more laughter.
My cousin, laughing as if she'd been told the funniest joke in the world, paid no attention to where she was running and collided headfirst with someone. The impact had her falling to the floor with a grunt of surprise, the ice cream the person she'd bumped into tumbling to the floor beside them. Rushing to her side, I squatted down beside her in time for her to burst into shocked tears. It served her right; what was she thinking, running ahead without looking where she was going?
"It's alright," I assured her softly, lifting her hands to get a closer look at them. They were reddened and scratched slightly from where she'd used them to break her fall. Gently brushing them clean, I lifted her to her feet and insisted, "You'll be alright. But you shouldn't run off like that, Luce. What would we have done if a bad person decided to snitch you up?"
"I'm sorry," she sniffled, wiping at her dripping nose with her sleeve. Forcing myself to hide my grimace, I reached into my bag for my packet of tissues. Pulling one out, I helped her blow her nose.
Finally, realising that we still had company, I turned toward the boy standing a short distance behind us. At first, I thought he was standing there because he was expecting an apology for the ice cream but, when I actually caught the concern colouring his – admittedly handsome – features, I realised that he'd lingered because he wanted to check on Luce, to make sure that she was unharmed.
Still, I gestured for my cousin to apologise to the stranger. For a moment, I thought the stubborn child was going to refuse but it seemed that falling on her bum had given her a much needed dent to her ego. Sniffling once more, she cleared her throat before murmuring a gentle, "Sorry."
"It's alright," the stranger assured with such a soft smile that it made Lucia smile for the first time since her fall. He glanced cautiously towards me before crouching down in front of her. Looking Lucia over with tender eyes, he asked, "Are you sure you're ok? Does anything hurt? You fell quite hard onto the ground."
I eyed Lucia uncertainly, expecting the reminder of her fall to bring forth another round of tears – it would certainly be more in line with the character I already knew she had. But, it seemed in the face of the strangers concern, she just bashfully tucked herself behind my legs.
Realising he was still waiting for an answer, she assured him, "I'm ok."
"Then that's fine." Satisfied, the still unknown stranger straightened up and finally turned his eyes to mine. Not that I held them for long. His grey eyes, looking almost like liquid silver in the sunlight, were hard to hold. So, I didn't.
Turning my eyes to Lucia as if I was looking over her again, this time I apologised without even facing him, "Sorry about that, I should've been keeping a closer eye on her."
"Really, it's no big deal," he assured me with a smile.
It seemed like he was going to linger longer and I never quite knew when to end the conversation. But I took Lucia's hand and made a motion as if we were going to leave the way we came. "We should get going – our family's probably getting worried."
"Right." He nodded just once before saying, "I realised I never introduced myself – I'm Cedric. Cedric Diggory."
Briefly wondering why he was taking the time to introduce himself, I did the same, first introducing myself and then introducing Lucia. Looking between the pair of us, Cedric was made to look away when someone called his name from behind.
"I should get going," he said, sounding a little regretful. "But it was a pleasure to meet you, Benson."
I faintly echoed the sentiment, watching as he left before taking Lucia by the hand and leading her once more towards our family. Even as we walked through the crowd, I couldn't help but murmur, "What a strange boy."
"But he was nice," Lucia insisted. "And handsome."
"He was," I agreed in a heartbeat. "Just because he was handsome doesn't mean he wasn't strange."
**********
It was surprising how people who shared similar DNA could be so different. When I'd woken up in the morning to news that my parents wanted to take my cousins to the natural history museum for a day out, I couldn't understand it. I'd pointed out to them that no child wanted to go to the natural history museum for a day out when they could've been playing outside. But, to my utter surprise, they did want to go to the museum. In fact, my three cousins were so excited about it that they'd rushed through breakfast to get ready. Although, I had the faintest inkling that Lucia was simply following her older brothers leads.
But maybe she wasn't faking it either? She certainly had gained so much obvious enthusiasm the moment we'd stepped into the museum as she chattered so excitedly about the exhibits, her words blending into each other and leaving me unable to understand a single thing. Not that I minded. Her clear excitement was worth the trip, even if it was one I'd made countless times already.
Lucia, once more, had decided to glue herself to my side. Only this time, she was the one insisting on leading me around. She kept a tight clammy hold on my hand, using it to lead me through the exhibits that didn't catch her attention and right to where the dinosaurs were currently on display. When it became obvious that I wasn't going to run in a public place, she hastily dropped my hand and sped on ahead. I followed behind her at a leisurely pace, able to keep an eye on her between the sparse crowd. I took my time, studying a newly added fossil display until there was a familiar startled cry.
Turning away from the fossils, I weaved through the crowd and made sure to keep an eye out for Lucia who I found, once more, on the floor with a broad shouldered, dark haired man knelt beside her. Quickly getting to her side and preparing to defend my cousin if I had to, all defensive thoughts fled when I realised just who she had bumped into again. God, what were the odds?
"Lucia," I called out to my cousin who, when I got closer to her, I realised wasn't actually crying but was rather smiling toothily at whatever Cedric had said to her. The boy in question looked up in surprise at the sound of my voice. He was just as surprised to see me, brows rising as he helped Lucia stand and then turned to address me.
"Fancy meeting you here," he said with a slight chuckle.
Lucia returned reluctantly to stand in front of me, looking between both Cedric and I in a strange manner. "What are the chances?"
"No matter how slim, I'm glad we got to see each other again." Eyes narrowing slightly at his charm offensive, I wondered how many girls he flirted with on a regular basis. "Are you here on holiday?"
"No," Lucia burst out before I could answer. She patted her own chest, "But I am."
With an indulgent smile, Cedric nodded but looked to me for an answer still, "No, I live in London – Lucia and her family are visiting us. You?"
"On holiday from school," he confessed, stepping out of the way of a rowdy group of children who tried to barge past him.
As if remembering that she too had been barging past people not so long ago, Lucia set off once more, dragging me alongside her. At first, I resisted, knowing my conversation was far from finished, but Cedric dropped easily into step beside us. Lucia, satisfied that we were heading off once more, was more than happy to lead the way with a hand in both of ours. Although, I wasn't quite sure just when she'd managed to take Cedric's hand.
"You're on a school holiday to London?"
"I've always wanted to come to mug –" he coughed abruptly. "To come into the city – since school is in Scotland."
"I don't remember asking," I said with a shrug.
"I just felt like sharing." Offering me yet another smile, Cedric wondered aloud, "You're not the easiest of people to talk to, are you?"
"I'm easy to talk to, but not easy to flirt with."
"Who says I'm flirting?"
"Aren't you?" I shot back with a knowing smile.
"You caught me; red handed." He glanced away from me for a moment, listening to something Lucia insisted on getting his attention with. When she was finished, I caught Cedric glancing back at me from the corner of my eye. He hesitated, just a moment, before asking, "What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I have work tomorrow."
"Oh."
"The bookshop around the corner – it has a café," I said steadily, not quite looking at him and leaving my words hanging in the air. "I work there from 9 til 3 and the coffee's pretty good."
**********
I didn't really expect him to come. Eventhough there was some small part of me that continued to shoot glances around the small corner of the bookshop where the café was stationed for even the slightest sign of Cedric, I didn't think he would come. He was on a holiday from school and likely couldn't make the time to come and find me, and yet he did. Somehow, as if drawn to even his presence, my eyes had settled on Cedric as he scanned the bookshelf that was closest to the café, reading the blurb of a book he'd plucked from the shelf. Before my eyes could linger on him for too long, I turned once more to look at the customer who was waiting patiently for her receipt.
"Please take a seat," I said with a smile, risking one more glance at Cedric who had finally spied me. He gave a small wave that I couldn't return whilst I was busy. Once more addressing my customers, I promised, "Your order will be brought to your table when it's ready."
They disappeared with words of thanks that I didn't pay much attention to. My eyes were again drawn to Cedric who had abandoned his perusal of the bookshelves to approach the café area. He stood at the back of the queue for a moment, eyes trained on the menu boards on the wall behind me. Averting my eyes again to the customers at the front of the line, I did my very best to give them all of my focus. Slowly, the line got shorter and shorter until I found myself standing face to face with Cedric whose eyes were surveying the menu boards with childlike interest.
"Fancy meeting you here," I said at last, watching the way his eyes were lingering on the very last menu board where we outlined our fair trade policy and promises of moral ecological practices.
"I fancied getting some books to read," he explained, gesturing to the carrier bag he held in one hand. Part of me wanted to call him out on it, to let him know that I wasn't so easily convinced that he was here just because he wanted to buy some books. But I didn't. Mainly because my manager was within earshot and I didn't need her to overhear our conversation and scold me about unprofessional workplace behaviour. She was already pissed off that I needed to cut my shifts back soon because the school term was beginning again. Instead, I settled for remarking, "You never did say why you were in London during your school holiday."
"I just wanted to get away," he explained with a shrug. For the first time in our short acquaintance, he averted his eyes like he didn't want me to press the matter. I certainly didn't plan to make him dredge up whatever he wanted to keep to himself. But it was of his own volition that he confessed, "We had an interschool competition last year and it was ... intense. It almost killed me so I wanted time away to stay with a friend."
"It's good you're getting a break from it all," I said softly, not knowing what else to say. It was strange but in that short time I was reminded of just how little I knew about Cedric, about just how long I'd actually known him. If I knew him better or even for longer, I would have some inkling as to what words would help him. But I didn't. So, I settled for a simple, "It's good you're getting away to work on your mental health."
"I think so too," he said at last, looking like he was going to say something before he was cut off by my manager pointedly clearing her throat. It looked like I was getting that talking to after all.
Straightening out my apron, I regained my professional composure and asked, "What can I get you then?"
Cedric returned to his meticulous scanning of the menu, unaware of the looks he was getting from the people behind him. I wondered why he wasn't simply getting his usual order but said nothing, hyperaware of the eyes of my manager that had yet to leave my back.
"Can I get tea? A simple breakfast tea, please."
"Coming right up," I assured him, ringing up the total and calling out the order which was finally enough for my manager to leave so she could prepare the tea. Calling out the price, I looked back at Cedric who was curiously looking down at the change in his hand. I risked a glance over my shoulder, and seeing that my manger was busy, I beckoned him closer. Leaning over the counter, I picked the right combination of coins and put them in the till. "Do you always get so easily confused?"
"London's just been a very confusing experience," he said slowly, shaking his head. "Everything's confusing but I like it here."
"Sometimes I really don't understand you." Catching sight of my manager, I cleared my throat. "Go and get a seat, I'll bring your tea over in a minute. It's about time for my break anyway."
He did as told, snagging one of the tables in the corner of the café as I returned to the customers. Once the queue had cleared up and Cedric's tea was ready, I announced that I was taking my break and picked up his tray. Heading over to his table I found him nose deep in a book, one that seemed to be flying off the shelves since it had been released.
"That's a good book," I said, setting his tray down. At the sound of my voice, he used his receipt to mark his page and returned the book to his carrier bag. "You've got good taste."
He smiled then, lopsided and just the right side of cocky as he watched me settle down across from him. I met his eyes, waiting and because I knew it was coming, I wasn't surprised when he announced. "Not just in books either."
I knew it was coming and yet I hadn't been able to stop the heat from rushing to my face in response. Silently I shook my head, forgoing answering him in anyway apart from brushing my shoes against his beneath the table.
**********
Somehow, despite knowing better than to form any sort of attachment to someone who was only around for the holiday, Cedric had managed to charm me. I wasn't sure if it was because of his boyishly charming smile, or even the wicked sense of humour that he kept hidden under an innocent expression, but he'd managed to get me to falter. One short break with him and I was agreeing, even though I knew better, to meet up with him on one of the days I had off from work.
Although, I doubted it could count as a date – even if Cedric did want to consider it a date. How the hell could I consider this a date when I'd been lumped with Lucia again? When I'd tried to leave home to meet at our arranged spot, Lucia had clung to my legs and burst into loud wails that only appeased when Mum promised her that I'd take her with me. No matter how badly I protested, I couldn't get out of it. And so, I was left to meet Cedric, for our first date with my brat of a cousin coming with me. The way things were going, this would likely wind up being our last.
Spying Cedric from afar, my steps slowed as we drew closer to him. No matter how many different ways I thought about this, my imagination always led to it ending in a disaster. It was just rotten luck that the first decent guy to take any interest in me would be scared away by a tagalong cousin.
"Is that Cedric?" Lucia asked, having managed to pressure me into telling her who we were meeting. I peeked down at her with mild irritation, seeing her pointing wildly towards Cedric. Before I could nod, she gave a sharp, excited cry of "Cedric!"
Sighing through my nose, I watched as Cedric turned his head back and forth, searching out where his name had come from. Eventually, he spied me and as we drew closer, I got to see the way his smile dipped slightly when he realised that Lucia had tagged along. It took a few seconds, but then he was smiling again, clearly not wanting to hurt Lucia's feeling.
"Sorry," I mouthed silently behind Lucia's back as she pulled away from me and ran straight to Cedric.
"It's fine," he assured me, patting Lucia's head when she embraced his legs. I could only watch in silence, trying not to shake my head and apologise again. But, when Cedric lifted his eyes to mine, I found myself smiling naturally, relieved at the easy smile on his face. At least he didn't seem to mind.
"Shall we get going then?" Cedric asked, extending a hand down to Lucia who hurriedly took it, looking completely smitten. With Lucia holding onto him, Cedric looked back to me again, his smile broadening before he offered me his free hand. Brows rising mischievously, he waited and I shook my head, gesturing for him to walk ahead.
"Lead the way."
"Here's the thing," he confessed a little sheepishly, "I don't know the way."
"Looks like I'll be leading the way then," I said and this time I offered him my hand. There was no hesitation at all, Cedric took my hand, linking our fingers together.
We walked a short distance towards the nearest tube station, navigating our way through the heavy crowd and listening to Lucia's inane chatter as we went. It wasn't what I'd imagined whenever I thought about this date, but it was reality and I needed to accept it. Although, maybe having her here didn't have to be all bad? She would certainly fill any awkward silences that appeared during the day.
Approaching the automatic ticket gate, I passed it with Lucia following behind me. We made it a few steps before Lucia caught my hand, gesturing behind us to where Cedric looked like he was contemplating fighting with the machine. With a quiet laugh, we returned to the gate and from the other side, I helped him make his way through. It was so strange; Cedric was incredibly bright – he had the sort of intelligence that you could hear from the way he spoke about anything that interested him. But simple things, absolutely easy things managed to slip him up. It was the strangest charm.
When he reached the other side of the gate, Cedric sheepishly tucked his ticket back into his wallet. "I'm just not used to using the tube."
"For someone so smart, you sure do lack common sense," I said, watching as Cedric took to Lucia's other side. We walked, with a still chattering Lucia between us, and made it to the platform.
When the tube finally arrived, we made sure to clamber on with Lucia being repeatedly told by Cedric to mind her step. Walking through the carriage and spying a spare seat, Cedric helped to lift Lucia into the seat and we stood, standing in front of her, tightly clutching the at the railings as the tube left the station. Finding herself presented with new companions, Lucia set about chatting their ears off and we finally had a spare moment to ourselves.
Nudging me with an elbow, Cedric gave me a teasing smile when I glanced curiously towards him. Ducking his head beside my ear, he murmured, "We have a shadow."
"A shadow I tried to ditch this morning."
"It's fine." I shot him a look, disbelieving. With a gentle smile, he reassured, "Really, I mean it. Of course, it's not how I expected to spend my last day in London."
"Your last day?" I repeated, surprised. I knew it was coming and yet, I didn't expect it to come so soon. "You're leaving tomorrow?"
"Tonight, actually," he said regretfully. "I have to head back to school soon."
"You spent ages talking about your school," I said, forcing a smile. "You clearly couldn't wait to get back to school, so why do you sound so sad about it?"
He gave me a meaningful look, moving closer to me when we reached another station and more people boarded the carriage. "You know why."
"Come on Cedric," I said slowly, looking to Lucia so I didn't have to look at him. "Surely you knew that when the holiday was over that this thing would be over?"
"It doesn't have to be." For a moment, I doubted my ears, and even expected him to take the words back as a spur of the moment thing. But he never did. Only when I shot him a dubious look did he admit, "I don't want this to be over."
"We don't have a this –"
"Not yet anyway." Breathing out sharply, Cedric grumbled, "I really thought we'd be having this conversation somewhere that wasn't a crowded tube carriage."
"Cedric –"
"I'd like to keep in contact," he insisted, "If I write to you, we could see where this thing goes and if we want it to go any further? What do you think?"
"I think you're not like any guy I've ever met," I said with a shake of my head, "You're probably the only person I know who would pick writing me letters over calling me on the phone."
"We're not allowed phones in the school," he explained without pause. "Would you write to me?"
"I would."
He grinned then, relieved and it actually looked like he'd shrugged weight of his shoulders. Glancing away from me with reddened cheeks, he averted his eyes to study the overhead map.
"Why's Cedric blushing?" Lucia asked at last, studying him closely.
"I'm not blushing."
"You are," she insisted sagely.
************
1 YEAR LATER
A year was a long time to wait – especially for a first real date. The past year had been filled with a ridiculous number of handwritten letters that I addressed to a post office in the town that neighboured Cedric's school. Every weekend I found myself standing beside the door, waiting for the response that inevitably came. And that was how we'd spent the first year of our unofficial relationship. It was strange, not being able to see his face whenever I wanted and not being able to hear his voice whenever I wanted to, but there was a strange charm to writing a letter and getting one back. Writing to Cedric took a lot more effort than phoning a number and I appreciated the effort he put into each reply I got.
With the school year passing by, I'd anticipated each holiday because it presented me with the chance of meeting up with Cedric again. But, with a strict work schedule and revising for exams and Cedric becoming the member of some Order, there was no chance for us to meet up. But finally, finally we got the chance. Cedric was coming down to London for a week, with the intention to move down permanently in the upcoming months.
It was only mildly overwhelming – going from never seeing Cedric's face, to potentially seeing his face all the time. With Cedric moving to London, I actually had to care about the way I looked – I could write to him whilst dressed in ratty pyjamas and with oily hair. I had to take care not to do that in case I drove him away. For at least, a little while. Just until he'd gotten used to seeing me not giving a shit about my appearance and the temper tantrums I could occasionally throw when my hungry mood shifted into a hangry mood.
Waiting for Cedric at the train station, I leaned against the pillar and cast another glance at my watch; maybe I shouldn't have arrived quite so early. But I didn't want to miss his train – not after having missed him so badly. Twirling my car keys between my fingers, I absentmindedly picked up my phone when it rang. My best friends name flashed on screen and I answered it with no hesitation.
"Phoebe," I said in greeting, turning away from the direction the train was supposed to be approaching from and read the arrivals board. "What's up?"
"Seeing as you answered the call without waiting a second, there's no sign of Prince Charming?" she called back, speaking loudly over the sound of something going off in the background. I glanced at my watch again, checking the time and guessing that it was probably a blender going off whilst she prepared her post run smoothie.
"His train's not supposed to be here for another ten minutes," I said with a sigh, pushing closer to the pillar I was leaning against so a large group of tourists could make their way past me. "I know it's good that I got here early so he didn't have to wait for me, but I never realised I was this impatient."
"Oh please," she scoffed, "You're the most impatient person I know. But, think about the pay off when you finally see Prince Charming again – notice how you didn't snap at me for calling him Prince Charming this time."
"I honestly didn't even notice you called him that," I said, for a brief moment entertaining the idea that when she finally met Cedric, she would call him that to his face. Even thinking about it was too horrifying. "But you really need to start calling him by his name."
"You're worried about me slipping up," she guessed correctly. "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you in front of your boyfriend."
"Oh please." Trying not to scoff, I reminded her as the chatter behind me increased "He's not my boyfriend."
"You spent an awful lot of time writing handwritten letters to someone who isn't your boyfriend."
"I'm not sure what he is, but he isn't my boyfriend so –" I insisted, turning back to face the direction of the approaching train. Swallowing up the rest of my sentence, my eyes settled on the man standing not far from behind me.
My eyes raked greedily over Cedric, not listening to Phoebe as she talked on the other end. Looking him over, I tried to catalogue whatever had changed in the past year but I couldn't really see anything. It was strange – in my head, the one year was so long that Cedric had changed enough to match it. But he really hadn't changed. Not at all. He was still tall, still handsome only – he was frowning at me. I hadn't expected him to be frowning when we met up again.
Frowning as well, I absentmindedly spoke back to Phoebe, "Do you mind if I call back? He's here?"
"Have fun," she teased, ending the call.
Pocketing my phone, I hesitantly wrung my hands together. Eyeing the distance between us, I took a hesitant step towards him – this really wasn't what I'd imagined.
Clearing my throat, I coaxed softly, "Cedric?"
"I'm not your boyfriend?" he said instantly. "What do you mean I'm not your boyfriend?"
Caught off guard, I paused a short distance from him, "What?"
Cedric's frown, turning more into a pout, deepened. "I've been thinking of you as my girlfriend and you haven't been thinking of me as your boyfriend? Really? Do you just write letters to all the men in your life?"
I knew better than to smile, and yet, I hadn't realised that Cedric was so adorable when he was pouting. Seeing my smile, his brows furrowed and I gathered myself. Closing the rest of the distance between us, I took his bag in one hand and held his hand with the other. Tugging at his arm, I offered him a teasing smile when he refused to budge. With a deep sigh, he dropped into step beside me.
"Come on Cedric, why would I think we were dating if we'd never even talked about it?" I pointed out, watching as he shook his head.
He grumbled petulantly under his breath, "And to think, I even brought you a dozen boxes of that fudge you like."
"You did?" I asked, glancing up into his face with a smile I hoped would sway him.
"Don't look at me like that." He tried his very best not to smile down at me. But he failed. Looking down at me with a teasing smile, he rolled his eyes, "You're going to have to be patient until I unpack before you get the fudge, though. But you hurt my feelings so I might not give them to you."
"Well, how can I make it up to you then?"
"Give me some time to think." The look in his eye was making me already regret asking.
____________________
Now, onto the hints:
* Awarded an Order of Merlin
* Helped in efforts to capture a dark wizard
* When he left Hogwarts, he went on to work for the Ministry
The next one shot will be posted on the 7th and there are 9 one shots left to be posted before requests are open