i should have held your hand || cedric diggory

a father's concern

the sun was going down. rather quickly. of course when the pair wanted to be together the longest, the day was shortened by the sun. it was a fifteen minute walk from ophelia's favorite spot to the diggory's house. the tall grass crunched under her feet with each step she took. cedric stayed by her side the entire time, never getting too far ahead or too far behind. while this trend continued, cedric suddenly stopped. ophelia turned to him in confusion. he bent down to pick a flower. when he stood straight again, he faced her with the the flowers stem in between his index finger and thumb. the flower had small purple petals and a brown middle that was attached to the green stem. he took a step forward and brushed a lock of ophelia's hair behind her ear. while doing so, he pushed the flowers stem with it, allowing it to remain in her hair. his eyes were bright with the light from the setting sun in them. they both gave each other a small grin and began to inch closer to each other. there in the middle of the field they stood with their forehead heads propped against each other's. cedric took note at how ophelia's rich brown skin glowed in the setting suns light. he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. when he opened his eyes, he gave he a smirk and began to whisper.

"race you to the house, ambrose!" he lightly pushed her back, making her stumble. she scoffed as he began to run over the hills. she prepped herself to run. there was no way she was going to let him win.

"what the hell cedric! i wasn't ready!" she yelled as they both ran. he let out a laugh that echoed through the field until it finally ran through her ears. the house was in sight. it was a small hut with a thatched roof. sides made of brick and the door of wood. the chimney that sprouted out of the roof to the right was letting out smoke, hinting that mr.diggory almost had dinner ready. cedric was still running ahead, with ophelia trailing behind him. he stopped once he reached his families garden that was just to the left of the house. he bent over and placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath. the blue and white thinly striped shirt he wore had dots of sweat in it. the bottom hems of his medium wash jeans now slightly muddied. he was so focused on catching his breath, he didn't notice ophelia closely approaching him. she had her hands out ready to shove cedric. when she did, he tumbled to the ground, groaning and laughing.

"diggory, what the hell! you know i hate when you do that. must you always insist on racing when im in my worst clothes." she started to flatten down the floral dress she was wearing. it was a light yellow with dainty blue flowers on it. the shoes she had worn were also not running shoes. they were mary jane style shoes that she paired with some frilly socks that were now stained with blood from the blisters she had endured from cedric's running competition. ophelia tried to catch her breath but the sight of cedric on the ground laughing made her laugh as well. she reached her hand out to help him to his feet. when he got up, however, he didn't let her hand go. he lead her to the wooden door and he stopped right in front of it.

"i am really going to miss you," he said pulling her in for a hug, "i will see you at christmas." he spoke these words into her shoulder. her heart was racing and was anxious to know if he could feel it. of course he could. how could he not. it was practically about to burst out of her chest. she broke the hug and looked at him one last time. she turned the knob to go inside and she could already hear her father, tobias, and amos diggory having a laugh.

"ah there you two are! we were beginning to worry. my goodness look at the time! we best be getting going. come on then, little lia." tobias said getting up from his chair across from amos. ophelia blushed of embarrassment at the nickname her father gave her, knowing it is what put that smirk of cedric's face when she looked back at him. tobias and amos said their goodbyes and ophelia shook amos's hand to thank him for having her over so many times this summer. she took one last look at cedric and smiled. a smile that was full of devastation. she looked back over at her father to see if he was ready to go but when she looked over, they were whispering. it was unusual to see her father being so secretive. she wanted to shake it off but she couldn't help but be curious. her father noticed she was staring and cleared his throat.

"ready?" ophelia nodded and the pair walked out of the hut. they waved goodbye to the diggory's and linked arms. a sudden force pulled at ophelia's stomach. twisting and pulling her whole body. she felt as if there was no gravity. suddenly, her feet landed. her father had apparated them into their cottage. the cottage was simple with lots of plants, considering her father's specialty was herbology, this wasn't odd. she noticed some of the plants were looking limp, she she filled a watering can and began to water the dull plants until they sprung to life.

"want any tea, dear?" ophelia looked back and nodded, confirming the want for tea. soon enough, the kettle began to whistle and he father was pouring the cups full of hot water. they sat at the small table across from each other in the small kitchen nook in the corner. ophelia brought the cup to her lips, took a sip and cleared her throat.

"father, what were you and amos discussing just before we were about to leave?" he looked up and adjusted his square framed black glasses. he cleared his throat and his voice was filled with concern.

"ophelia dear, times are changing. i am afraid of what might happen to you while you are away at beauxbaton academy. it is simply to far away. i decided to transfer you to hogwarts. it is safer and much closer to home. im sorry dear but it is the best thing to do. there is news out about your cousin, sirius, escaping azkaban. i need you to understand. i can't lose you like i lost your mother. if sirius gets to you since we are the last of his family, trouble will follow. i want to keep you safe, darling." silence grew over them as ophelia looked down at her twiddling thumbs. her father sighed and reached across the table, taking her hand.

"i appreciate your concern father. thank you for the transfer. i will go start packing. as much as i have wanted to know about my mother's family, i promise i won't go looking for sirius." she gave a small smile and began towards her room.

"thank you little lia," her father said softly, "and i'm sure cedric will be beside himself once he sees you at hogwarts." he called out. ophelia stopped in her tracks. the one thing she had forgotten about this transfer. she would now be attending the same school as cedric diggory.