warmth - cedric diggory

chapter twenty-nine

ending of year exams were just around the corner, causing multiple students tremendous amounts of anxiety and stress. on top of that, athena's friend group still had to worry about making sure cedric diggory could win the tournament. being a new champion and all, cedric had recently been informed he wasn't required to be taking the important end-of-year testing.

"must be nice, lad. hm?" edmund would mock him daily, pressing his nose into another hard-covered book, playful envy sliding through his lips. although it wasn't required, cedric would still join them for every study session held in the inconvenient hours of the day.

a large smirk formed over cedric's soft face while a small chuckle slipping out, rocking his shoulder loosely. "must be nice not competing for your life and school, hm?" the group let out a few giggles, including edmund, as they gained back the silence from before. they shared a smile after another successful banter, warmly enjoying the close friendship the boys held.

the courtyard was full of mostly younger students prancing around, skipping class, or practicing magic on one another. a few third years flocked together in a group to talk about everyone else standing around, whispering and staring.

the air had begun to get warmer once again, not quite like summer yet either. plants started to bloom and transition into beautifully different shades of green. days felt longer but time is truly never anyone's friend.

"this year will be over before we know it," belle leaned back with an opened book lounging in her lap, experiencing the air and atmosphere around them. "before we even know it!" she repeated, turning her attention back to their smiling faces before softly shaking her head.

tilting her head mischievously, ivy added on. "I'll never forget when little athena was convincing herself she didn't like cedric but smelt him in the love potion." her words melted in playful mockery as she spoke, giving a small laugh afterward.

her hand reached up to pinch athena's delicate cheeks with her long fingers, causing them to deepen the blush they already held. she responded by pushing her head away and swatting ivy's hand away.

"her face of worry when she looked back to us was my favorite part." crossing her legs criss-cross, belle leaned forward while giggling and shaking her head again. athena's body shook as she laughed at their words, remembering the small moments they've shared.

"i thought cedric was going to throw up when he found out i knew he smelt athena's scent." edmund smiled cheekily, gesturing towards the taller brunette beside him. "i told him i wouldn't tell you that he did, but eventually and respectfully, i told her," he added a smirk at the end of his sentence.

cedric and athena shared a long glance between themselves, both of their cheeks aching from the big smiles painted across their lips. "seems like ages ago now, hm?" cedric's voice fell lower as he spoke, almost like he was trying to keep the words in between them.

athena's chesnut eyes studied his face of pure smittenness, wondering how all those small acts of over-thinking and shaking hands lead up to experiencing moments like this, the moments she could have only dreamed of.

all she could do was nod her head softly in response, staring at the beautiful brunette boy that always sat beside her, always held the door open for her, was always there for there when she wanted him to be. cedric diggory.

cedric couldn't help but break her longing stare, something he wouldn't usually do, in order to look back into his lap. the strong gut feeling in his stomach grew once again as it had been for weeks now, causing something in his head to feel like it might change soon.

he wasn't sure what or how or any sort of details but he knew something was slightly off. with the third task coming up in the following two weeks, he seemed to be more than ready to just get it over with.

as the days got closer, he realized he didn't care about winning or becoming hogwarts champion, he cared about everything staying the same. summer was also approaching and as much as he dreaded classes, he wanted to be with his people every day.

his friend group was going to grow during the summer, coming back somehow different than a year before when the new semester starts, it happened every year. he knew he was going to become different during this time as well, but he never knew how or why.

he never wanted edmund to stop making jokes at the wrong times, he never wanted ivy to stop laughing until she couldn't speak, he never wanted belle to stop running up to him in the hall to talk about nonsense. he never wanted athena to stop looking at him the way she does.

athena rosewood walked alone through-out the old stone hallways of hogwarts, carrying a few different books, sorting through them as she walked and hummed. other students around her didn't pay her much mind, as she wasn't bothered by this either.

"miss rosewood!" she glanced up quickly, forgetting all the words trapped in her head. professor trelawney was running towards her in his usual different colored threads and overly-large round glasses. her large fluffy hair made her look like some poodle breed.

"hello professor," the hufflepuff responded with a polite smile, fixing the slipping books in her grasp.

"i'm so delighted i caught you! i've been trying.." professor trelawney's eyes seemed to somehow fade into a different shade of blue as she suddenly reached out and gripped athena's robe.

"we are all in terrible danger, death has been flying around over the castle for months at this point, eager to land at any location." her voice sounded deeper and darker, replacing her sweeter high-pitched words of encouragement.

athena stared in confusion at the professor, eyes larger than the full moon. "professor, you're beginning to scare me-"

"get out while you can, child. stop it while you can!" her grip got tighter as her words joined, athena felt a small bruise beginning to form on the place her hand lied. students began to stop in their places to observe, eyebrows furrowed and full of curiosity.

the scene seemed to be over before it even started. trelawney began to cough viciously before returning back into her original posture. "well, darling. i'll see you in class, won't i?" the way her face reconstructed back into normal and the way she walked off, athena knew she was in some sort of trace.

the way athena stood in the hallway afterwards, stuck, she felt like she was in some sort of trace as well.