Switching Sides | Cedric Diggory vs. Fred Weasley

Chapter 30: Absence

"Hey, Cedric," Millie frowned. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Cedric said, stepping aside and opening the door wider for Millie to enter the house. Once she was in and the door was closed, he turned back to her. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I just..." she sighed, taking a deep breath. "I needed to get out of there and I needed to see you, I'm sorry I never wrote you back, there's just been so much going on and I've been so confused and-"

"Millie," he cut her off, grabbing her shoulders in attempt to calm her down. He smiled softly at her. "It's okay," she smiled back at him, butterflies swarming her entire body as she looked deep into his eyes. His hands trailed her arms for a moment before he shook his head. "Shit, you must be freezing. Let me grab you a new sweater,"

Without another word or time for Millie to protest, he jogged up the stairs two steps at a time and came down a few seconds later holding a brown, cable knit sweater. He handed it to her with an apologetic smile.

"It might be a bit big," he chuckled.

"Thanks," she said. He turned around and faced his living room, looking down at his hands as he played with his rings while she pulled off her wet jumper and replaced it with the sweater. She felt her cheeks heat up as the sweet smell of honey and cedar wafted her nose. She looked over at Cedric standing, facing away from her and giggled. "You can turn back around now,"

He did just that, smiling as he looked over at her in his sweater. The two held eye contact for a moment before Millie couldn't hold herself back. She rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of her neck as she stood on her tippy toes. His arms quickly snaked their way around her waist, relief coming over him for the first time in weeks as he held her tight.

"I miss you so much," he whispered into her hair. "You have no idea,"

"I miss you, too," she mumbled back.

The two didn't move for what felt like hours as they stood there in Cedric's living room, the light of the fireplace illuminating them as they held each other.

"I'm so sorry," he said, pulling away for a moment and looking down at Millie. He brushed the wet hair from her face and cupped her jaw. 

"I know," she muttered. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me," she said, holding her hand up to his own. "I- erm, I didn't mean to just show up here, I just...really needed to see you, and I didn't know where else to go. I don't want to intrude..."

"You're not intruding at all," he stated. "My dad's actually out of town for work on the ministry, so you can stay here as long as you need,"

"Thank you, Ced," Millie said, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his chest. He stroked her hair, happiness coming over him for the first time in a while. 

"Come on," he started, pulling away from her and lifting her chin gently. "You look tired. You can have my bed,"

He grabbed her trunk and started up the stairs, looking back at her to make sure she was following. She reached his room and looked around a little bit, a small smile coming over her face as she observed. He had his guitar in the corner of his room next to his broom and a shoe rack full of vans and converse. His walls were a pale blue and covered in posters of movies and bands he liked. She grinned at the Led Zeppelin poster that he usually kept at Hogwarts as it was displayed above a dark oak dresser. 

Her finger trailed the top of the dresser as she looked at it's contents: his cologne, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a half burnt envelope (which intrigued her greatly, but she decided that seemed a bit personal for right now), and a framed photo of him and Millie.