𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 | 𓆙

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒

     It had been almost a week since your short stay in the hospital wing. The corridors of Hogwarts buzzed with chatter about the first task. You, however, were not as excited as the others were. If the rumors were correct, the champions would have to face dragons. You hadn't seen Cedric or Harry, but you wanted to wish them both good luck.

"Would you stop staring off into space," Pansy said as she waved her hands in front of your face. You scoffed and shot her a cold stare.

"She can't help it when she's been daydreaming about Diggory and Potter all day," Blaise added from the boy's dormitories' doorway.

"Oh, sod off, Blaise," you said as you got up off the black leather couch and made your way over to your jacket and scarf. Just then, Draco waltzed out of the boy's dorms, straightening his black turtleneck collar.

"This is going to be the best day of my life. Seeing Diggory and scarhead out there being flung around by dragons," Draco said with a sneer as he fixed his dress coat's cuffs. You slipped into your boots and turned on your heel to the passageway as if he wasn't there.

"Aww, come on, Vipe, you know I'm only joking with you. I am sure your boyfriends will be just fine," Malfoy shouted as you walked into the corridors.

There was only a short amount of time before breakfast, so you decided to take a walk. If you ever needed a breath of fresh air, it was today. The trees in the courtyard barely had any leaves clothing their bare limbs. The grass that was once vibrant and green was starting to look dull and greyish. Summer had passed, and the fall was going by quicker than ever imagined.

Making your way over to sit by the black lake, you noticed the sun's rays dancing ever so gracefully over the still, glassy surface. Who knew that somewhere could be so calm and peaceful on a day that was riddled with anxiety. Reaching the edge of the water, you knelt to see your reflection painted on the natural canvas. You reached out with your index finger, disturbing the icy liquid. As you watched the small ripple expand across your face, you heard a stick snap from behind you.

"I knew I could find you here," a voice said suddenly, causing you to jump. You failed to regain your balance and fell onto your back, grunting and looking up at the tree's underside. You heard footsteps coming in your direction, crunching the leaves below their feet. Cedric towered over you, his eyes peering down at your shocked, wide-eyed expression. He formed a soft smile on his face and giggled as he moved to lay down beside you.

For a few moments, the two of you lay there in comfortable silence. You slowly turned your head to look at him only to find that his eyes were already fixed on you. When you met his gaze, Diggory didn't falter or get embarrassed. He just kept looking at you. A million tiny butterflies fluttered in your tummy as you smiled and looked back up at the tree.

"I really like laying down under trees," you said, gazing at the branches. Cedric giggled from beside you.

"Yeah, me too. I am pretty sure everyone does," he said, laughing at your awkwardness. You laughed too, trying to find the words to explain yourself.

"If you look up from a tree's underside, you can see its branches cut the sky into pieces. See?" you said, pointing to the blue sky. You looked over to see Cedric's head still turned to stare at you. You reached your arm over towards his jaw and gently turned his head to look at the tree.

"Y-yeah, you're right," Cedric said as his cheeks flushed bright pink. You giggled at how shy he could be around you. Staring at his grey eyes, you were entranced.

"Are you nervous," you asked quietly. He stopped staring at the tree to meet your eyes.

"Kind of. I mean, I've never had to battle a dragon. Have you?" he asked.

"No," you laughed. "How are you going to do it?"

"Why, planning on sabotaging me, (Y/N)?" He mocked.

"Stop," you playfully slapped his arm. "I am serious, what are you planning on doing, Diggory?"

"I'm not sure yet. I was thinking, maybe transfiguration. I always get high marks in that class and could easily deceive the dragon somehow," Cedric said as he played with his long-sleeved shirt's cuffs.

"That's really smart," you beamed at him. He stared at you for a few seconds before reluctantly sitting up.

"We should probably get going. I've got less than thirty minutes to eat and be in the champion tent," he said as he stood up, wiping the leaves off of his pants. He shot you one last signature Cedric Diggory smile before helping you up.

                                             ☠︎︎☠︎︎☠︎︎

Breakfast had just nearly finished up when you saw Harry Potter slip out of the Great Hall. You glanced around at the Slytherin table to see Draco and the rest of your housemates focused on their food. You slowly slipped out of the bench, dropping your fork back onto the plate. You started to walk rather quickly towards the direction Potter went. From a distance, you could see a little speckle of untidy brunette hair walking in the opposite direction.

"Harry!" you shouted, running after him. Harry whipped around, taking a second to identify you. Once he realized it was you, he grinned and quickly sped in your direction.

"(Y/N!)" Harry exclaimed as he almost ran into you. The two of you giggled and steadied each other.

"I'm sorry, I just had to talk to you before..." you said quickly. He smiled and looked down at his feet.

"It's alright. I wanted to see you before the task too."

"Well, listen. I wish you the best of luck. I know that for a second there, I was convinced that the rumors were true. You know, that you put your name in. A-and I'm truly sorry about that. You would never cheat," you stumbled with your words.

"I am happy to hear that. My own best friend thinks I'm a cheat. Like I would actually want more eyes on me. Like being the boy who lived isn't enough," Harry said with a saddened expression.

"Ron? How could he think that?" you said, shocked at the idea of Harry and Ron in an argument.

"I don't know. I think he's jealous or something. He couldn't stop talking about how glorious it was to be a champion before," Harry said blankly.

"Well, I'm sure that he'll come around. For now, just focus on surviving," you said, trying to cheer him up. He laughed at this, meaning that you were successful at briefly calming his nerves.

"Okay, I will. Cheer me on, okay?" He said as he gently touched your shoulder. Just that one touch was enough for your cheeks to flush with heat and your stomachs to do somersaults.

"Yeah, I will. Get out there, Potter," you said, playfully pushing his chest. He grinned as he turned to walk away. Before he was out of sight, he slightly turned around to look at you once more. You gave him one last warm smile, which he kindly returned.

This was going to be one of the most eventful years yet.

~
A short but sweet chapter before we get into our first task!! Thank you all for reading. I love and appreciate each and every one of you.

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With love