Switching Sides | Cedric Diggory vs. Fred Weasley

Chapter 14: Forgave him for what?

Millie awoke the next morning, her head in pain and select memories running through her brain. She blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the soft, early sunrise peering through her window, only to look next to her and see Cedric peacefully asleep, his breath steady and his hair messy. He had one of his arms draped around Millie's waist, the other curled up next to his side. He really is gorgeous, she thought before detangling herself from his arms.

She stood up, her head pounding as she slowly walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She brushed her teeth, unable to stand the aftertaste of fire whiskey as the mere thought of the drink made her nauseous. She had to sit down for a moment, her head leaning against the bathroom wall as she tried to convince herself she wasn't going to throw up. Then she toppled forward, her head over the toilet bowl as she felt last nights mistakes pour out of her mouth.

There was a soft knock on the door as she continued to throw up, tears growing in her eyes.

"Millie?" Cedric's calming voice sounded from just outside the bathroom. 

"Millie's not home," she mumbled.

"Come on," Cedric begged, attempting to turn the knob. "Let me in,"

"Absolutely not," she moaned, her head still hanging over the rim of the toilet.

"You asked for it," he said, lifting his wand and whispering "alohamora", instantly opening the door and glancing down at his girlfriend.

"Don't look at me," she said, not looking up. "I probably...oh shit-"

She began throwing up again, but this time Cedric came and sat on the edge of the bathtub, holding her hair up with one hand and rubbing her back with the other.

"Too much to drink?" he chuckled.

"Shove off," she said in between gasps of air.

"Sorry," he smiled. A few more minutes passed until Millie felt well enough to sit back from the toilet, leaning up against the wall with her head in her hands. Cedric sat down next to her. "Do you remember anything from last night?"

"I remember starting to drink, dancing, and coming up here with you, but no major details," she said.

Thank Merlin, Cedric thought.

"Do you feel any better?" he asked.

"Kind of," she stated. 

"Why don't you take a shower, then we can go down for some breakfast and hang out for the rest of the day?" 

Millie agreed, standing and grabbing her towel as Cedric brushed his teeth. A quick 15 minutes later, the pair got dressed and headed down to breakfast. Walking through the common room, they saw Angelina, Alicia, Lee, and Katie all passed out in chairs around the fireplace, bottles of fire whiskey and witches brew empty on the floor around them. There were other groups of kids passed out on couches or leaned up against them, and the entire room was a complete mess.

Once they reached the mostly empty Great Hall, they sat with a hungover Jeffery and perfectly happy Matt who had stayed sober all of last night to ensure Jeffery was okay. He had been really distraught that Ravenclaw lost, so he drank to no extent. He sat across from Millie, his head in his hands as he attempted to eat breakfast, but every time he put something in his mouth he just got nauseous. 

"You need to go back to sleep," Matt insisted after some 20 minutes. "You'll feel better. Come on, let's go back to the dorm,"

"Fine," Jeffery mumbled, drinking the rest of his glass of water and walking back to the Hufflepuff common room with Matt.