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Hogwarts
November 18
You rushed from the classroom, focused on a head of caramel colored hair. If you dared to look away for even a second you’d lose him, barely catching up due to your short strides. “Cedric!” you bellowed, hoping he’d hear you over the noise of the full hallway. It was pointless to hope you’d ever catch up to him without gaining his attention first.
The attempt was successful and your gaze was soon met by his alluring grey one. He had stopped in the middle of the hallway, people streaming around him like water. You now held all of his attention, a polite smile forming on his lips in hello, which caused your heart to skip a beat. You hurried up to him, stopping a few inches away and looking up into his awaiting eyes. “You forgot this.” you stated simply, lifting the yellow scarf held caringly in both hands for him to see.
A thankful grin spread across his face at the sight of it, “Thank you, F/n! I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost it.” He reached out to take it from you, and you gasped slightly as his warm hand brushed yours. You and Cedric weren’t necessarily close by the definition, but you interacted often enough during class and sometimes around the castle that a few months into your first year you had developed feelings for him. It was now your sixth year and they had never faded. In fact, they had grown the more you had gotten to know him. Thankfully, he didn’t notice your reaction to his touch, wrapping the scarf around his bare neck.
You gaped up at him like an idiot, admiring just how handsome he was. He chuckled softly, the breath clouding slightly between you due to the cold air, “What’s that look for?”
Blinking out of your daze you felt a blush appear across your cheeks. “Noth-Nothing. I’ll see you.” you stuttered, stepping around him and trying your best to escape before you embarrassed yourself further.
“F/n wait.” he begged, gently grabbing for your hand. You stopped and turned to study him, because this time his touch sent a sensation through you—one that had travelled down your spine. And by his reaction he had felt something similar. He looked at your small hand, still wrapped in his, and cleared his throat, “Will you take a walk with me? I mean, if you’re free to.” He continued to study your hand in his, as if he was struggling to meet your eyes again.
Was this a dream? You felt your heartbeat quicken as you realized he— Cedric Diggory —wanted to spend time with you and didn’t seem to want to let go of your hand. You tried to calm your voice so he wouldn’t notice the impact this moment had on you. “Oh, sure. I’m free for the rest of the evening.” You beamed at him as he finally made eye contact again.
His eyes seemed to brighten at your acceptance. “I’m so glad! I’ve been wanting to spend more time with you, you know, outside of classes.” he stated, leading you down the hallway by your still intertwined hands.
“Really?” you breathed, taken aback by his declaration. You always knew he was fond of you enough to be partners in Potions and sit together in other classes, but you never imagined he’d want to hang out outside of class.
He glanced over his shoulder at you, “Of course! We’ve been friends since the day we met, but I know almost nothing about you. And I want to.”
For the second time that day your heart skipped a beat at his words. You hadn’t realized he considered you one of his friends. And not only that, but he wanted to become even closer.
Cedric led you through the castle, avoiding your inquiries on where you were going and never letting go of your hand, even when you passed your fellow students who gaped as you walked by. Cedric had always been sort of popular, probably due to his looks and even though you were, apparently, friends there were bound to be some rumors due to your joined hands.
Several flights of stairs later, he stopped in front of a door, finally letting go of your hand, and opened it to allow you entrance. You were greeted by chilly air, and for a moment you were confused by the outside breeze. Weren’t you still inside the castle? But as you took in your surroundings you realized you were in the Astronomy Tower, the breeze rustling your h/c hair.
Although you’d been to the Astronomy Tower a handful of times during your years at Hogwarts, you’d never been up here while the world was in full bloom. Or, more accurately, while it was painted in vibrant colors and everything seemed more...romantic.
You shuffled over to the edge of the tower, leaning against the railing and taking in the beautiful view. Not even the view from h/h’s windows was this breathtaking. You felt Cedric follow suit, brushing against your arm as he leaned beside you. You decided you’d taken in enough of the view, turning to take in Cedric instead. He was already looking at you, and smirked as if he could read your thoughts.
“It’s amazing up here isn’t it? It’s my favorite place to come when I need some time alone.” he admitted.
You weren’t surprised he needed alone time once in a while. What, with all the other students fawning over him wanting to be his friend, or more.
You smiled and returned to the view, feeling a bit nervous with his eyes on you. “It’s fantastic. I wasn’t aware the view from the castle could get any better.”
“Neither was I.” Cedric breathed beside you, and by the tone of his voice you could tell he wasn’t referring to the miles of autumn scenery in front of you anymore.
You felt butterflies in your stomach and heat crawl across your face as you turned to see him studying you, just as you knew he would be. You had never seen Cedric look at anyone like that. You had never had anyone look at you like that.
You cleared your throat, not trusting your voice to be steady. “F/c.” you whispered, quickly glancing at his mouth and back to his eyes again, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
The intensity of his gaze vanished as he chuckled, “F/c? What?”
“You said you wanted to know more about me...my favorite color is f/c.” you laughed as well, hoping your face wasn’t too red with embarrassment. You had gotten so nervous from the longing in his eyes that you had blurted out the first thing about you that came to mind.
“Well, mine is yellow—if that doesn’t sound too cliché.” He laughed, “A Hufflepuff whose favorite color is yellow, who would’ve guessed.”
You giggled along with him again, glad to feel the awkwardness start to disappear. It had always been that way with you two, not sure what to say at first and then suddenly feeling as comfortable as if you’d always been that way.
From the small smile on Cedric’s face you knew he was feeling the same way, and you felt the tension finally leave your shoulders. You stood there a moment, just smiling at each other.
“Although,” he whispered, reaching up and brushing a strand of hair from your face, “I’m starting to really like the color e/c.”
You stopped breathing for a second when you realized he meant the color of your eyes, overcome by the lust now clearly in his.
He noticed this change, and now it was his turn to steal a glance at your lips, licking his own as he returned to your eyes. Whatever he saw in them must have closely reflected the longing in his own, because he leaned closer, moving his hand to cup the side of your face.
“Ced..” you gasped slightly, your heart now trying to beat out of your chest.
He responded by grazing his lips against yours, his eyes lidded. “We can learn more about each other in a bit.”
When his lips met yours, you felt those same sparks from earlier. This time the warmth spread throughout your whole body. You instinctively wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer, knowing that no matter how close he was it would never be enough.
He soon pulled away, a smirk on his face. “I really like you, L/n.”