CEDRIC DIGGORY was, by nature, humble and hardworking, reliable and patient, caring and kind. He was genuine and charming and didn't have a mean bone in his entire body. He was also, however, very prone to both overthinking and worrying, and even more liable to end up avoiding everything that worried him. ( Because no one is perfect! We all have our flaws! ) And right now, his biggest worry was the Yule Ball.
It was silly, he knew. To be so terrified of asking someone to a dance, especially after half of his face had been incinerated by a dragon mere weeks ago ( though everything had healed up perfectly! ), was incredibly silly. But he was worried, anxious even, about the act of asking, about the implications of asking, about his own feelings, and he'd been putting it off.
And so December slowly crept by in a haze of fat snowflakes and festive string lights and decorated pines, until Christmas ( and the ball ) was only a week and a half away — and Cedric still hadn't asked anyone to be his date.
It wasn't that he didn't have someone in mind, of course he did. He had the most beautiful and wonderful embodiment of perfect kindness and sunlight in mind. He'd have been, frankly, an absolute idiot if he didn't. Of course he wanted to ask her, but he was a bit scared of facing his feelings, whatever they may be ( because he didn't know what he felt! ) so obviously he had been avoiding the whole matter of asking entirely.
Plus, there were the letters he had been receiving, and even though Cedric thought he might know who was sending them to him — because he really wasn't an idiot ( despite what the Gryffindors and Slytherins might say ) — he was sure as hell not about to bring them up. No matter if he read them before bed every night and drifted off to sleep with his heart soaring amongst the golden heavens, no matter if he felt a rush of giddy joy and happiness and admiration for the beauty of life and love, no matter if they possibly made him believe in soulmates. No matter if, maybe, maybe, he felt the same way. Maybe. ( Again, he was avoiding his feelings like the plague. ) But no, he wasn't going to bring the letters up or broach the topic with who he suspected was sending them. If he had made a mistake about who it was, if he wasn't completely sure, he could ruin everything. And Cedric did not want that at all. So he was avoiding it. Like the plague. Like he always did.
Blake had asked one of the French girls, Milo had proclaimed he didn't want or need a date because he thought the whole thing was stupid, and Elaine had kept uncharacteristically quiet about the whole thing, which Cedric found a little shocking considering how much she absolutely loved to dance ( and she was the most wonderful dancer, he thought ), how much she loved pastels and florals and fairytale ballgowns that looked like floating jellyfish ( though she was much more beautiful than any gown, he knew ), how much she loved a chance to celebrate life — to laugh with carefree abandon and move to the rhythm of her heart and soul. 'Life is a gift!' as she was fond of saying, with that divine glimmer of unceasing hope in her eyes.
But she had been sad lately. The kind of hidden sadness, the kind only he could notice, as it tightened her smile slightly about the corners, and flickered behind her eyes like a flash of anguished thunder, blue skies hidden behind storm clouds. There was nothing that made him more upset than seeing the most important person in his life sad.
"Cho," he said, as they slowly made their way around the courtyard, braving the bitter cold for a bit of fresh air, "you're a girl."
"Brilliant observation, Cedric," she smiled.
"How were you asked to the ball?"
Cho Chang tucked her dark hair behind her ears with a little laugh. "Adrianne came up to me after dinner last week and handed me a baked potato that she'd carved 'YULE BALL?' into."
"Ah, I see," he nodded. "And do you think that that is an effective strategy? Would you recommend it?"
"It was impossible to resist. But, Cedric," Cho sighed. "Why don't you just ask her? All you have to say is 'Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?' It's that simple."
It couldn't be that simple. "That's... too simple."
Cho abruptly stopped and crossed her arms over her chest, looking a bit like a chubby snowman in her massive, white coat and thick, woolen gloves. And Cedric wished she was Elaine. Elaine, like a breath of warm spring in her bright lavender coat, with her fuzzy pink mittens and her knitted pink hat with its butter yellow pompom that was slightly lopsided. He wished she was Elaine. Elaine, with her rosebud cheeks and ruby-tipped nose, nipped by the frost and cold in the most adorable way. He wished she was his bright and bubbly and brilliant and beautifully kind best friend.
"If you don't get your shit together and ask her, I'm telling Lucien to do it," Cho scolded. "He already turned down Fleur, so Elaine wouldn't have to go alone in case you couldn't pull through."
Cedric couldn't help the self-conscious blush that heated his cheeks, and he ducked his head so he didn't have to meet her intimidating stare. "Maybe you should just tell Lucien to go ahead. I know she'd be much happier with Lucie than with me. She's been sad, and it's probably because she thinks he's going with Fleur."
"I didn't think Adrianne was right when she called you an idiot," she sighed. "But you really do have your head all the way up your arse."
"Hey!" Cedric cried with indignation and a huff of frost.
"There's a reason you aren't in Ravenclaw, Ced," Cho shook her head.
They were quiet for a moment, overlooking the soft, rolling hills of white that slept beneath the somber skies. The December wind puffed out its frozen cheeks and blew white powder about in great shimmering clouds to rest against the cold stone of the castle walls, or the wide trunks of squatting cedars and pines that shivered in their dark green coats. Down the hill, at the end of the path that sluiced through the sea of snow like a serpent, smoke curled happily up from Hagrid's hut, and out front, they watched the Groundskeeper himself chopping firewood and his dog, Fang, leaping about in attempts to catch the dancing flakes on his pink tongue.
"What are you so afraid of?" Cho asked him quietly, gently placing her gloved hands over his.
"What if..." he trailed off. There were so many things he was afraid of. And the Tournament itself was the least of his worries. There were still months to go until the Second Task, so it really didn't matter that all he knew about the infuriating golden egg was that it screamed bloody murder when opened, and there were even more months until the Third Task, which was so far off it wasn't even worth thinking about yet. Merlin, who was he even kidding — of course he was anxious about the Tournament. Really, very, quite anxious, on the inside.
His worries were also, however, quite preoccupied with something, with someone, more personal, more dear to his heart. And there were so many worries in that specific regard he didn't quite know how to narrow them down.
What if she didn't feel the same? ( How did he even feel? ) ( What if he did believe in soulmates? ) What if she didn't want to go with him? What if it wasn't her that wrote the letters? ( Who wrote them? ) What if he was completely wrong and ruined everything? ( What if he was completely right and by not doing anything, ended up still ruining everything? )
"Cedric Diggory," Cho took a deep breath, and determination flared like fire in her dark eyes. "You may not have been honest with yourself about how you feel, but I can see it. It's so bloody obvious! Everyone can see it! Everyone that is, apparently, except for the two of you, the most oblivious pair of best friends in love that I've ever seen."
"Hey, I never said that I was in love!" he interjected weakly, and Cho shot him a steely glare. Cedric reached to pull his scarf over his burning cheeks, to hide them, but it was then that he remembered — Elaine still had it. ( He also still had her hat, so he supposed they were equal. )
"You don't have to say it. I can see it," she squeezed his fingers, then tucked her hands into her pockets. "You came to me in September, begging me to help you get the girl of your dreams — who you still haven't realized is the girl of your dreams by the way, and I don't know how. You came to me and pleaded that I teach you how to speak to said girl — what seventeen year old doesn't know how to flirt? The girl you still haven't accepted your damn feelings for, and it's December. Just take the leap, bite back your fears, and ask her. Stop overthinking everything, for once in your life!"
"The girl of my dreams?" he spluttered, because truthfully, he had absolutely nothing to say. He couldn't think of anything to contradict Cho, because all he could think about was a certain radiant smile, bright and sunny enough to make the plants grow and the birds sing. It's also hard to think of a comeback response when you've just had your arse thoroughly handed to you. "I — I didn't even say anyone's name, I just asked, I was just asking in case there was someone. Down the road. Because there's no one right now."
Her eyes narrowed in anger, and complete disbelief.
"Your road is only leading you to one place, you plonker! For months, I've been trying to teach you how to get the girl, so why won't you just go get her?" Cho exclaimed, her face flushed with exasperation.
"Because," he began. "Uh, because... I don't know?"
"That's not a good enough answer," the Ravenclaw said, her face pinched in disappointment. "I really expected better from you, Cedric. I hope you sort out your priorities soon and stop messing around. Your dream girl deserves better, whoever she is."
With a roll of her eyes, Cho left him standing there in the cold, as confused as ever, yet with a deep, sinking feeling in his chest, like a dark pit was swallowing him whole and leeching away at his happiness. Merlin, how did he feel? What should he do? What if she was — what if she was the one? Cedric leaned against the stone wall behind him with a groan and allowed himself to get lost in the winter cold, and the chill of his own trepidatious thoughts.
HE HAD decided to ask her. To take a deep breath and 'get his shit together' and just ask, as casually as he could. Maybe he could casually lean up against a wall or something, like a cool guy ( AKA — Blake ). Or maybe he could write it down and have her write her response back — so then he wouldn't run the risk of his voice rising in octaves or cracking because, Merlin, he was suddenly really fucking nervous. Yeah, yeah, that would be good. Writing it. A check yes or no type of thing.
Why was he freaking out? She was his friend, he'd asked her to hang out and do things before, no problem. How was this any different?
Cedric, nervously pacing the corridors, abruptly slung down his bag and began to rummage for a loose sheet of paper and a quill — only to find something he hadn't been expecting.
An envelope.
His brow furrowed, and despite the younger students screaming and sprinting through the halls, celebrating the fresh snowfall before dinner, he leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground. His fingers trembled slightly as he flipped the envelope around, but, just like the other two kept safely in his nightstand, there was nothing. No indication about who the sender might be.
Two letters he'd received in the past few months. Letters beautiful enough that he might've cried. Letters beautiful enough that they made him really believe in love, made him really want to believe in soulmates — really made him want to believe that he might have found his. The one person in the world that made his soul feel like it was coming home, like it was reuniting with its other half. Two halves of the same whole.
Weeks ago, Elaine had asked him if he believed in soulmates — which he'd said no to — and what it might feel like, how you might know. It'll feel like coming home, perfect contentment and bliss and just, utter peace. That was what he had said. Not that he believed it. But what if he did believe it? What if he felt it?
No, he thought, that's ridiculous. This is your Internal Cho talking.
A deep breath steadied his hand as his slowly ripped into the envelope and pulled out the cream card. Elegant script smiled up at him like the embodiment of love itself, and already he felt his cheeks growing hot.
I found you without looking. And now, I know no end to thinking of you, desiring you. How strange, how lovely, to dream of you even when I am wide awake. I dream of you in colors that don't exist. And I see in you everything I love about the world. The sun, the moon, the stars. Daffodils, daisies, and your eyes, flowers of ice and snow. The kiss of a summer evening breeze, and red autumn leaves. You are everything, and everything is you. I see in you the world — my world. I see in you everything I will ever hold dear, and dreaming of you, my sweetest dream, is something I wish to never wake from.
A part of him knew who it was, a part of him recognized the handwriting — because he wasn't a complete idiot! But the rest of him was a complete idiot and was not having it, wasn't going to even entertain the idea about who it might be right then, and his brain automatically pictured his grandmother so he wouldn't have to entertain any other possibilities.
Even though his heart began to beat a little faster, and his palms began to sweat, and his nervous, lovestruck pulse ran thick in his throat — Cedric Diggory knew that he was not in love. And whoever had been writing to him must've certainly meant them platonically, or must be working on a romantic poetry project for Muggle Studies, or just simply be joking with him. Because no one ought to be in love with him — Merlin, he couldn't even think about asking his best friend to a stupid dance without panicking, there was no way he was ready for love. Besides, he shouldn't let himself get distracted from the Tournament, right?
He ran his thumb across the elegant letters again, a soft smile at his lips that grew as he recognized the beginning of the letter. It was the first half of a quote, and a voice in his head that sounded like heaven filled in the rest.
I found you without looking, and love you without trying.
The voice in his head, the one that he adored, that was his favorite sound besides her laugh — the voice was Elaine's.
But only for a single heartbeat, before his mind forced it into his grandmother's throaty old croak.
With a soft sigh, Cedric tucked the letter back into his bag and took off again to find Elaine, with his head and his heart at war. Because she couldn't — because he couldn't — because they couldn't... no, whatever it ( this ) was, whatever he was feeling, it was too complicated. ( Much too complicated. )
As Cedric finally entered the Great Hall, sweaty and anxious and confused as hell, the only friends he saw were Blake and Milo, seated side by side and engaged in what appeared to be a lukewarm argument.
"I just — I don't know! I just thought!" Milo's face was tightened in an uncharacteristic frown, his shoulders pulled up rigidly. His glasses were fixed oddly, perfectly straight upon his button nose, and the hazel eyes behind them flared like embers.
"What do you want me to do then, Milo?" Blake was saying, exasperated, his hands tangled in his thick hair as he pulled messily at his bun, something he only did when he was nervous.
Merlin's bright purple pants, he couldn't take any more tension. Cedric hurried over and slammed his backpack down, startling them both. He then reached over and grabbed Blake's dinner roll, which Blake didn't even try to grab back, as focused as he was on Milo.
Milo, however, was clearly done with the conversation and turned completely away from Blake as he plastered a smile on his face. "Hey, Ced. What's up? Where've you been?"
"With Cho," Cedric said hurriedly, still standing as he scanned the hall quickly. She wasn't at the Ravenclaw table either, though Cho, seated across from Lucien and leaning slightly into Adrianne's shoulder, met his gaze with a supportive smile.
Blake rolled his eyes. "Elaine's not here."
The words had barely left Blake's mouth before he was asking, "Where is she?"
"Where do you think?" Blake deadpanned, his face completely devoid of all amusement for the first time ever.
Cedric slouched down on the bench and glanced between the pair of them, shoulders twisted away from each other and neither of them seeming to be happy in the slightest. He awkwardly whistled a little tune, Build Me Up Buttercup ( it was Elaine's favorite ), and grabbed another dinner roll.
"So what's up here?" he asked as casually as he could and pointed between them.
"Nothing," Milo snapped, and then took a deep breath and repeated, much softer, "Nothing."
Blake glanced over at Milo, his eyes flickering with something akin to hurt, before he shrugged too. "You heard him. Nothing."
Cedric rolled his eyes. "Does Ellie know? Is she avoiding this?"
"She's avoiding y —" Milo began, but Blake cut him off.
"I thought you were going to find her, so why are you still here?"
Right, right. He needed to ask her. Where was she? Where did he think?
"Okay, uh, I'll see you guys later," Cedric rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his cheeks flushed, as he stood back up and began to back away from the table. "Have fun with your... nothing."
Blake flicked Cedric off, but at least he smiled slightly while he did so. Milo merely crossed his gangly arms and turned back to staring at his pumpkin pie.
Seconds later, Cedric was back in the corridors and headed towards the basement. Of course he knew where to find her — in the place she always went when she was nervous or stressed or upset about something, or when she just wanted to take her mind off of everything for awhile by immersing herself in the one thing that never failed to bring her joy. In the kitchen. And sure enough, the closer he got to the painting with the ticklish pear, the more it smelled like a confectionery — like cotton candy clouds and sugary sweet heaven on earth.
"Would you like to try the frosting, Dobby?" he heard a soft, melodic voice ask, and his heart immediately took flight. ( Platonically. Took a very platonic flight. )
"Mm!" a house elf squeaked. "The chocolate, the kumquat! Dobby thinks this is delightful!"
Cedric was standing in the open portrait hole with the widest smile on his face, and he couldn't contain the joy that bloomed within his heart at the sight before him. Elaine, with her ruffled, floral apron tied over her pastel blue pajama shirt, a dusting of flour on her rosy cheek, as she held out a spoon for Dobby, whose head was piled with a stack of knitted hats almost as tall as Elaine was. Before her was a triple-layer cake she was in the middle of covering with semi-sweet chocolate frosting and a drizzle of golden kumquat glaze. There were two dozen vanilla cupcakes on her other side, topped with swirls of buttercream and iced pink roses and sprinkles shaped like tiny bumblebees. Across the kitchen he noticed a plate of sugar cookies, frosted with an assortment of intricate floral designs and outlined in little pearl sprinkles.
"So what do I get to taste first?" he asked, leaning against the wall — like a cool guy.
"Ced!" Elaine beamed, and then thrust out her arms to him, dropping the spoon and splattering sticky kumquat glaze across the counter.
He knew what she wanted, and a playful smile lit up his face as he hurried over and pulled her into a hug. She was on her tip-toes, arms around his neck and her head nestled right under his chin, and there was just this sense of peace and calm and rightness and he never wanted to let her go. Cedric squeezed Elaine tighter as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around, and she laughed as her fingers twisted into his sweater. Her laugh was a rainbow of light and joy. Her laugh was everything.
Setting her back down and letting her go almost seemed like the hardest thing he had ever done.
"Dobby!" she giggled, slipping away from him. "Let me clean that up, that's my mess!"
Elaine swiped the cleaning cloth out of the house elf's hands, replacing it with a cupcake, and set about cleaning up the sticky citrus glaze herself. Dobby reached up to grab another cupcake, "for Winky," and slipped away into the back room.
Cedric grabbed a cookie, and leaned back against the counter, content to just look at her. To just admire the way her hair slipped over her shoulders like liquid gold; and the way her eyes, framed by thick lashes, redefined gentleness; and the way her rosebud lips were curled slightly, in the softest, most tender smile — the smile that always made his heart race. To just admire the elegant curve of her neck and the soft sharpness of her jaw and the slightness of her shoulders. To just admire the mottled patch of bleached skin that crawled across her forehead and down her temple like creeping ivy. With a little sigh, Elaine dropped the cloth in a basket and stood back up, wiping her palms on her apron, but when she caught him staring, she paused.
"What?" she asked him quietly, tucking her hair back behind her ears.
The soft light of the kitchens made the white streaks of her hair gleam like precious silver. Everything about her was beautiful.
Cedric took a few slow steps forward, and neither of them spoke as he reached up and brushed away the dusting of flour on her pink cheek with his thumb. And so he took a deep, deep breath and asked.
"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"
Her face lit up like a summer's day. "I'd love to!"
Then she stole the cookie out of his hand and took a big bite. "Oh!" she exclaimed through a mouthful of sweetness. "Should we color coordinate? Is that a thing people do? What colors do you think are most appropriate for a winter ball, more creams and darker hues? Are patterns more of a summer thing? Oh, what are you wearing? What am I wearing — what am I wearing! Fudge, I don't have a dress!"
"El," Cedric couldn't help but laugh. "You don't have a dress?"
"No!" Elaine cried, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand and leaving behind another smudge of flour. "Ben took me school shopping, and we got sidetracked — we got ice cream, and then he saw Kingsley — and we forgot, and I don't have a dress! This is dreadful!"
Cedric began to laugh even harder, watching her unravel into a slight panic, to which she slapped his shoulder and said, "This is an emergency!" Though, she too began to laugh, in both panic and amusement. "I need Milo!" Then, she was fumbling with the ties on her apron and hurrying towards the portrait hole.
"Wait!" Cedric called, taking a step to follow her. "What do you do with all of this?"
"It's just for the house elves!" she said, hooking her apron over a coat hanger by the door. "As a thank you!"
He glanced sidelong at the cupcakes, and she shook her head slightly. "Yes, chubs, you can have as much as you want. Now! It's a dress emergency and I need Milo Wagoner!"
Elaine then took off in the fastest sprint he'd ever seen her run, and he couldn't help but laugh as he unwrapped one of the cupcakes. She had to be the cutest person on earth. As his teeth sank into the soft cloud of creamy frosting and the sweet pillow of cake, all he could seem to think about were the letters, and Elaine's voice in his head saying I found you without looking, and love you without trying — and, involuntarily, his heart did a flip. More of a somersault, really.
We're going to the Yule Ball together. As friends, his head said firmly, though, despite the mess and the confusion and the distraction that he was still very much keen on avoiding completely, Cedric wasn't entirely sure if his heart believed that — or if maybe, deep, deep down, maybe he wanted them to be something more.
author's note: YAY YAY YAY !! so now we know what ced and cho have been up to hehe! except ced is still being an idiot smh
next chap is the yule ball I'm sooOoOO excited! I made some fun lil graphics that I can't wait to share! hehe I wanted to switch things up just a lil bit and have a cedric pov chap, n if u all liked this I will definitely do more of these in the future!!
also!!! where are my cho + adrianne fans <3 ok ok we haven't seen much of them but I love them SO much! they're so different but so cute and i'm excited to write more of them together!
also! cho is a year older than harry, she's currently 16! i'm definitely planning to have her be a bigger character, so I made a lil character aesthetic for her!!! and I added a section for her to my honeysuckle pinterest board!! ( lucien, adrianne, and ben have also been added! )