Denying Draco

41 - Pink Confetti

'...so then they had my dad, Sable Dumbledore, who you may have heard of, then he met my mum and they had me, and I was basically kept in Tinworth all my life to keep me safe until my dad and Uncle Albus snuck me off to Hogwarts for seventh year.' Poppy finished repeating the story of her background once again; she had explained it far too many times to count now, but Cedric was being so nice to her and showing a keen interest in knowing about her, so she was happy to tell him the full story if he wanted to hear it.

'Fascinating,' Cedric replied, as he circled his teacup on the plate. 'I mean, I can understand your mother wanting to protect you. Ever since you-know-who came back, this world is a very dark place to be in.'

'I just hope you-know-who keeps his antics at bay until I finish Hogwarts and doesn't go and ruin my only chance at experiencing it,' Poppy joked.

Cedric laughed softly. 'Yeah, he'd better watch out for you if he dares stand in the way of your only time at Hogwarts.'

Poppy giggled and took a sip of her tea. 'Yeah, all jokes aside, it is quite frightening. I mean, where is he? What is he doing? What is he planning? We know he's out there and it just feels like everyone continues to go about their life.'

'People are scared, they are,' Cedric replied, his face turning serious. 'But we can't hide in fear everyday. There are people currently working to figure things out and stop him. Harry Potter being one of them I assume.'

Poppy nodded slowly but kept the information she knew to herself. 'Harry has always been very brave. He has never held back from stepping up and protecting people and that's why I admire him so much. I always enjoyed reading about him in The Daily Prophet growing up. Whenever I read anything negative I used to get so mad about it.'

'Yeah, well...he's defeated him once before and he wasn't even walking yet when he did it,' Cedric laughed.

They were silent for a few moments but it was comfortable, as they sipped from their teacups.

'So what are you doing with your life now you're no longer in school?' Poppy asked, moving the subject away from Harry.

'I'm hoping to play Quidditch professionally,' Cedric replied. 'I was Hufflepuff Captain and Seeker at Hogwarts. Now I'm up for trials with the Montrose Magpies.'

'That's amazing!' Poppy exclaimed. The Montrose Magpies were a renown Scottish team and had been European champions twice already. 'God, I hope it all works out well for you; that's really exciting!'

'Yeah, I'm really enjoying it so far,' Cedric stated, grinning. 'My father is so proud, so, so proud! He doesn't stop telling everyone everywhere he goes "my boy, playing for the Magpies!" and I'm constantly begging him not to whenever we're around new people considering I'm not even on the team yet.'

Poppy laughed out loud. 'That's actually very cute though. He sounds like a great father.'

'He is, he's wonderful and has forever supported me,' Cedric said, nodding.

'Well, I'm very happy for you,' Poppy told him. 'I can't wait to come to a game and see you play for real.'

'You would come to see me play?' Cedric asked, looking rather pleased.

She opened her mouth slowly and blushed, realising it had come out differently to how it had sounded in her head. 'Well...of course I would. We all would!'

'I'll hold you to that,' Cedric chuckled.

Poppy nodded and took another sip of her tea, finishing it off and placing the teacup back down. 'I could come here for Madam Puddifoot's tea everyday.'

'Yes, I do enjoy it but it is rather small and cramped in here,' Cedric said, glancing around and then he twisted his face. 'Not to mention it is always full of teenagers kissing across the table. I mean, why not just get a room? Why put us all off our tea?'

Poppy laughed in amusement. 'Yes, I agree. Ginny says Harry hates it in here because it reminds him of some old teacher's office...ummm...Umbridge, that's her name.'

'Ugh, yes I can see that now,' Cedric scoffed, pulling at the table cover. 'It's just frills and lace everywhere.'

A stream of pink confetti fell from above them and landed across the table, as well as some in Cedric's hair. He shook it out quickly and the pair looked up, seeing the golden cherub above them that was continuing to sprinkle it down.

'I guess that's supposed to be...romantic,' Cedric laughed.

'It's actually more irritating than anything else,' Poppy replied, with a giggle. 'Getting a mouthful of confetti when taking a sip of tea isn't exactly romantic.'

They laughed together and Cedric nodded in agreement. The door opened and in strolled eight young teens looking for a table and Madam Puddifoot rushed over to seat them.

'More lovely couples,' Poppy murmured.

'Our cue to go?' Cedric asked, and Poppy nodded. 'I'll just pay for these.'

'Oh, I feel bad,' Poppy groaned, as she got to her feet and pulled on her coat. 'I will certainly pay you back, Cedric.'

'Not for the tea,' he said, as he laid some money on the table. 'My treat, okay?'

She smiled softly and followed him out into the village, the pair of them trekking through the snow slowly.

'Thanks for that by the way,' Poppy said. 'I really enjoyed it. You're really great to talk to.'

'Likewise,' he replied, as they stopped in the middle of the road.

'I'd better head back up to the castle before my friends start to think my mother has dragged me back to Tinworth,' Poppy joked.

'Of course,' Cedric chuckled. 'I'll see you next time then.'

She nodded and watched as his arms widened, a signal that he was going in for a hug. She moved onto her toes and hugged him, resting her chin on his shoulder and realising he was slightly taller than Draco.

Why are you thinking about Draco at a moment like this? Why are you even comparing Cedric to bloody Draco?

She rolled her eyes at herself and when she focused again, she spotted a sight in front of her that sent a shiver down her spine.

Cedric pulled away and gave her a warm smile. 'I'll see you later then.'

'Yeah,' she replied, trying to subtly glance around him. 'Goodbye, Cedric.'

Cedric waved and walked off, leaving Poppy to look around frantically but to no avail. Pansy was no longer where she had just been and Poppy let out a heavy sigh as she turned and hurried back towards the castle. Pansy had seen her cosy looking hug with Cedric and Poppy knew that this meant everyone at Hogwarts would find out about it too, including the one person she really did not want to find out.