i don't think i ever want to go to a party again. it's too stressful.
i try and focus on cedric, dancing with me, surrounded by our fellow classmates... but i can't. i can't get my mind off of him. i was doing so well, all summer, ignoring the nagging feeling telling me to open the letters, to let him apologize. seeing him again... i don't know how much longer i'll be able to ignore it. it doesn't help hearing whispers about him everywhere. every girl saying how smashing he looks, admiring him as he dances around the room.
"wish he would dance with me" i hear a a fourth year mumble to a friend
"shame he's hooking up with parkinson now" her friend replies, smirking slightly as draco walks past, grabbing a drink off the table, "i would give anything to-"
i turn away, not wanting to hear anymore. i watch as draco walks through the room, every boy saying hi to him and every girl goggling over him. must be nice to be draco malfoy.
the night drifts away, people getting either more wild or more groggy the more drinks they pour down their throats. it would've been a fun evening, if i wasn't constantly checking over my shoulder to see if he was there. but i haven't seen him since he entered, and i'm thankful for that. my mind would retreat back into those happy memories, making me want to forgive and forget.
cedric leaves me for just a minute, heading upstairs to find a bathroom. we had made our way into one of the other sitting rooms a few minutes ago, which is packed with people dancing and singing along to the music. i find daphne in here, and lean up against her in the corner, my head resting on her shoulder.
"this is exhausting" i say in her ear, making sure she can hear me over the music
"tell me about it" she shakes her head, "i miss first year when we weren't invited to any parties" we both start to laugh, but are interrupted by a disruption from the next room over.
(picture why don't we go there - 1D playing)
"i love this song" there comes a shout, followed by a loud crash. i think we both recognize the voice, and instinctively moves toward it. it takes a few steps before we can see over the crowd in front of us, and of course it's him. he's absolutely wasted, and if the way he looks wasn't enough to tell that, he's just knocked a plant pot over.
since i saw him earlier, he's gotten considerably more disheveled. the top three buttons of his shirt are undone, and his tie hangs loosely around his neck. his hair is no longer pushed up, now laying messily over his forehead. my mind starts to drift, thinking of the morning we woke up together on the astronomy tower...
"you've got to be kidding me" daphne snickers, moving further up to get a better look. she grabs my hand, pulling me along with her, and i snap my mind back into reality.
"daphne-"
"we're just going to have a look" she rolls her eyes, and soon we've pushed through the rows of people, and are standing at the front of the crowd.
and there he is, dancing on the kitchen countertop like an idiot, singing along to the music. he would be making a complete fool of himself if he didn't look fantastic tonight. it takes everything in me not to stare. i can hear girls throughout the crowd giggling, fawning over him as he sings louder and louder. i hate to admit it, but he's actually not half bad. his words are slurred slightly, though, and he stumbles every now and then, threatening to fall off.
"someone's had too much to drink" daphne laughs, shaking her head
"even this is a lot for him" i say quietly, crossing my arms and watching as he walks down the countertop towards us, holding his wand to his lips and acting like it's a microphone. i can feel myself being tempted, butterflies flying in my stomach as he screams confidently along to the song, swaying back and forth to the beat.
i hear the music get louder, and draco amplifies his voice even more to sing over it, leaning his head back as he does. i pry my eyes away from him, knowing i've been staring. i take daphne's drink out of her hand, downing the whole thing.
"i'm going to go find cedric" i mumble, turning away and trying to push back through the crowd. i look back for a second over my shoulder, and draco's staring right back at me, meeting my eyes. he continues singing, not breaking my eye contact. my chest tightens, watching his eyes look me up and down, a slight smirk coming onto his face. shit.
heads are starting to turn onto me, recognizing where he's staring. i'm able to shake my head clear, looking down and away from him and hurrying further away from the crowd. i have to get him out of my head. i have to go find cedric.
"y/n wait" i hear a voice behind me as the song dies down, and crowd around me disperses. i look back, seeing draco off the kitchen counter now, shoving past people trying to talk to him
"draco! come back to the party" i hear a shout from the other room, blaise's head appearing around the corner
"in a minute" he yells back, keeping his eyes set on me. i take a deep breath, watching as he approaches
"did you like my performance?" he smirks, stopping in front of me and pushing his hair out of his eyes
"it was alright" i shrug, "sound a bit like a dying animal" he laughs, knowing it's not true.
"so you're really seeing diggory then?" he says, a little too casually, "i had heard rumors but i'd never imagined-"
"yeah well he doesn't treat me like a random hook up" i try and sound confident, to not let him affect me, "speaking of random hookups, i heard you've finally let pansy have her way with you. how charming"
draco shrugs, "yeah well, she answered my letters"
"and cedric visited me in the hospital" i raise my eyebrow, but draco just laughs
"i wouldn't be bragging about that"
"what do you mean?"
"i tried to come in, but you're stupid little boyfriend wouldn't let me" he must see the shock on my face, because he smirks, "did he not tell you?" he frowns, "pity. i thought you two had so much trust" he rolls his eyes, his smirking widening
"you're lying-"
"why don't you ask him?" he shrugs, "i would love to hear his answer" i stutter a little, trying to get a sentence out. draco laughs, "hey look, no hard feelings, right?" he holds his hand out, his words slurring slightly as he leans toward me, "if you ever get bored of pretty-boy diggory, you know where to find me"
"unlikely, the only place you'll be seeing me is in your dreams, malfoy" i smirk, turning my back on him and finding my way through the crowd.
i try to be proud of myself, for standing up to him, but my mind still lingers on the conversation. cedric wouldn't let him come in? i shake my head, no doubt he's lying about that. he's trying to put something between cedric and i, and i refuse to give him that satisfaction. i sigh, taking a few deep breaths and trying to move past it. i need to forget about him, i have to.
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"hey-"
i don't let cedric finish his sentence, instantly grabbing his face and pulling his lips down to meet mine. after draco confronted me, i immediately went upstairs to search for cedric, desperately needing to get my mind off things. he's taken aback for a moment, starting to pull away, but slowly leans into it. his hands rest over my upper arms, slowly trailing down towards me and then onto my waist.
i start to back down the hallway, still holding his face. i can feel him smiling against my lips, following my lead. my hand leaves his face for a second, reaching behind me to feel for a door handle.
"woah, woah-" cedric pulls away, looking down at me
"what?" i say quietly, finally grabbing the handle and pushing the door open. my hands fall from his face, wrapping around his arm and pulling him in to the room
"y/n i..." he trails off as i reach behind him, shutting the door softly. i bring up my hands up to his neck, tilting his head down to look back at me. i smile slightly, waiting for him to lean in
"are you drunk?" he says, not making any moves toward me
"no" i laugh, kissing him again. his hands come softly to my cheeks, kissing me back for a second before pulling my head away from his
"you're drunk" he smirks, touching my arms lightly and pushing them down off his neck.
i frown, "c'mon, ced"
"we should go home" he shakes his head, laughing and reaching back to the doorknob
"nooo" i whine, reaching out and grabbing his hand and pulling him back toward me. i pout my lips, trying to kiss him again, but he moves away
"y/n stop it" he laughs a little less this time. i kiss him quickly, smiling and holding his hand tighter, starting to walk back towards the bed, "seriously, what's gotten into you?" cedric smiles
"nothing, i just saw-" i say casually, my head not clear enough to stop the words from tumbling out. but i catch myself before i say-
"draco?" cedric's mouth forms into a straight line as he lets go of my hand, raising his eyebrow. shit. i pause, trying to think of something to say
"i knew we shouldn't have come" he rolls his eyes, shaking his head and twisting down the door handle
"cedric-"
"i knew you were going to get all freaked out by him. did he say something to you?"
"no" i shake my head quickly, "no, he didn't" cedric raises his eyebrow, "just something little... trying to get a rise out of me"
cedric nods his head, placing his hands on his hips and taking a deep breath, "what are you going to do once we go back to school?"
"i.."
he pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes, "you know what, it doesn't matter" he sighs, "let's just go home"
"i.. okay" i say quietly, as cedric opens the door and holds it for me. i smooth down my hair and fix my dress, clearing my throat as i walk into the hall
"don't think i'm rejecting you" cedric says quietly, placing his hand on my lower back and leaning towards my ear, "you look amazing tonight, i just wouldn't want it to happen like this"
i nod slowly, looking back over my shoulder and seeing him smiling, straightening back up.
"does daphne need me to take her back?"
i shake my head, "no, she's going to use the floo"
cedric nods, reaching out for my hand. i take it slowly, my mind coming back to what draco said. i'll ask him about it later, i decide, once i'm sober enough to remember the conversation. i intertwine my fingers with his and he gives me a little nod, before bringing us home.
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for reference i picture draco singing karaoke to why don't we go there by 1D and it's truly a beautiful vision. but yk back then they did not have 1D or that song but just ~pretend~. think of him singing those lyrics and looking at you and having like his shirt unbuttoned and his hair messy UGH *mwah* chef's kiss
so yeah just reread the singing part and listen to why don't we go there and you'll get the vision
additionally i want to note that in the movie adaptation i picture her making out w cedric w "shout out to my ex" by little mix playing in the background of the montage.
next chap will prob be out saturday!
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p.s. thank you for 192k reads, 7k votes, and 11k comments! x