The Boy In My Dreams -HEDRIC (1)

10.(C) do you have a date?

CEDRIC

XXV

Students had almost been sent to their homes. Instead, the list of security measures stretched across two parchments. The morning after the incident, it was Cedric's turn to lead the students to the Great Hall. Another prefect stood behind the line, while he was in front. With no more than a few hours of sleep, they got up early to inform everyone about the events that had occurred and the initial measures.

He didn't take a bite of his breakfast until he saw the Gryffindors walk through the door.

Harry first, along with his best friends and Percy.

He looked fine -safe and sound.

It seemed as if he had gotten just as little rest as Cedric. Harry sat down at the table and Cedric wished that he would look at him too. He wanted to go over and talk to him, but his responsibilities weren't the kind he could walk away from and he easily lost sight of Harry when he talked to other prefects to agree on night patrol shifts in pairs. It took them several hours to organise and divide the tasks according to a schedule. They were alert to any event that might be suspicious during the day. Cedric, although he doubted that any of it could really stop someone as dangerous as Black, followed every indication and would watch over the safety of each Hufflepuff, as he was sure each prefect would do in their respective houses, and each teacher and guard.

Two days later, during break from one class to another, Cedric walked halfway through the castle to find Harry. At risk of running late, he wanted to make sure he was alright. They hadn't had a chance to talk. He found him next to Percy, a presence Cedric found reassuring.

Harry smiled and said that he was fine.

Of course he didn't believe him.

But he only had a few minutes to convince him to come clean. Or to offer more support than a light squeeze on his shoulder. Percy wasn't a very patient person, and they were on their way to class too, so they parted ways faster than Cedric intended.

His schedule did not match Harry's. The only time he saw him up close was in the mornings when Hufflepuff met Gryffindor, and Cedric would smile at him and let them through. Curfew meant he was back in the common room in the evenings, so he spent a lot of his time with his friends and Hufflepuff prefects, and chatted during classes with those Ravenclaws who sat with him.

Certain restrictions began to be progressively lifted after a month. Things seemed to be getting back to the busy normality. The training schedule was carried out again to the letter, and the trip to Hogsmeade that had been cancelled was rescheduled. The enthusiasm for weekends again could be perceived in the atmosphere. Since the weather was beginning to improve, students would gather in small groups some afternoons in the Hogwarts gardens. Movement was free again and Cedric had spent the last week trying to catch up with Harry to talk about Saturday.

About hanging out.

The fact that it suddenly dawned on him that he had actually suggested to none other than Harry Potter to meet at Hogsmeade was ridiculous. It wasn't as if he had ever been unaware of who he was. It wasn't like such a thing could be done. Cedric knew his story as well as any other student. He had built a certain image of him even before meeting him. And yet, when he saw Harry for the first time, all of that went overboard and only the boy he saw in his dreams was left there. That intrigue had kept him so close that Cedric had found someone he had not expected, and in a way the unexpected was intimidating.

More intimidating than Harry Potter himself and all that it came with the fame.

He was someone Cedric could talk to about things he hadn't told anyone else. Someone who had trusted him with something important, and there were few things Cedric appreciated more. Harry was the type of person who hadn't held a grudge against him for what happened at the match, and had even convinced him to drop it and not get in trouble for insisting on a repeat. Someone who had listened to him when he felt pressured, and made him feel better.