Anger and Affection | Draco Malfoy and Cedric Diggory

Chapter Twelve

I heard the crowd's loud cheers fade out as I pushed back the tent curtain and stumbled in. The inside of the tent was empty, but nevertheless, I was still thrilled. I then understood why Cedric couldn't wipe the smile off his face even though I was nervous. It was exhilarating. My egg was balancing on my arm as I tucked my wand back into my boot. I brought the egg closer to my face to inspect it.

The shiny gold distortedly reflected my ash-covered face. I traced my finger along the slight indentations in the gold of the egg. They appeared to form pictures of houses or even a village. But, I could not quite pinpoint its significance, and at that moment, I did not care to know.

The crowd's yelling fully subsided, and I knew everyone was heading back towards the castle. I needed a few minutes to compose myself, so I put my egg down and sat on the same chair as I did before. But before I could gather my thoughts, the curtain opening facing the castle entirely flew open, and Cedric came rushing in.

"Arcadia!" He smiled widely, which apparently was contagious because I returned the same bright smile as soon as I saw his face.

He ran towards me, and I got up and ran towards him without a second of hesitation. He wrapped his arms around me, practically picking me off of the ground, and I wrapped my arms around him. His warmth was inviting. It felt so normal.

Before we let go of each other, I felt his face move towards the side of mine. And then I felt his ash-covered lips press against the side of my face, on my cheek. It even took me a couple of moments to register what he had done, and I think it took him a couple of moments as well. But I was too happy to overthink anything, so I playfully hit the side of his arm when he lowered me to the ground.

We made eye contact, and both awkwardly laughed at the same time. It wasn't the sort of awkwardness that made me uncomfortable. I wasn't uncomfortable. It was the sort of awkwardness where you don't know how to react, so you just smile and hope words will find you, but they never do, so you just laugh.

He motioned for us to leave the tent. I grabbed my egg, and we started walking towards the castle. We were way behind all of the other students and the professors.

"I watched from the side of the arena," he began. "The others left, but I wanted to watch you, see how much you've really been paying attention in class. I don't even remember learning about the more intense version of the explosion spell."

"That's because we never learned it. Hermione mentioned it to me, and I guess I just remembered. Pretty lucky." I said back.

"I wouldn't call it luck. You're just talented."

I laughed. "Thanks Cedric. I can't tell if you're kidding, but thank you."

"Why would I lie?" He playfully pushed me, causing me to slightly lose my balance as I clutched my egg. Because the ground was muddy, my foot slipped, sending me to the ground.

"Why would you do that?" I acted mad at him.

His smile faded. "Here." he held out his hand. "I'm sorry."

Instead of letting him help me up, I pulled him down towards the ground, and he slipped and fell next to me. My smile returned, and we both laughed; it was the kind of laugh that made your stomach hurt and you hiccup. Then, we both picked ourselves up and began walking towards the castle again.

"I still don't understand how you're in Slytherin."

That was the first time someone had ever said that out loud. I was a Slytherin, and Cedric was a Hufflepuff. Two completely different personalities and houses. Almost complete opposites. At least that's what we were supposed to be.