The Boy In My Dreams -HEDRIC (1)

14.(CH) a mystery that can(not) be solved

CEDRIC

XXXIV

"Since when do we wish luck to a Gryffindor? To Harry Potter, especially after what happened last year?"

Cedric was aware that people might have an opinion about his comment even before he said it, and that hadn't stopped him. Neither did the presence of his friends.

But Zacharias wasn't one of them, not really.

He had never been.

Sometimes Cedric felt terrible because his housemate was one of the few people in the world who had ever given him a bad feeling. He hated that it was like this. He tried to get along with Zacharias, never said anything that would start a fight nor left him out of any plan because that was not something Cedric would do. What he couldn't do was ignore every time Zacharias said something with dubious intent and unnecessary reproach. Cedric could let some things slide, but he could tell when someone said something to upset him or make him look bad.

"I wished him luck, too," Cho commented, turning to Zacharias, "a few days ago."

Cedric stopped in his place to answer him face to face. "I was the one who did it, not you." He took a deep breath. "You can support whoever you want, and what I remember from last year was that Harry saved a student."

"After he was the one who put her in danger in the first place."

Counting one, two, three...

Cedric was going to need more than a few breaths in and out.

"I don't think that's how things happened," Tam intervened, grabbing his arm. "Have you ever even asked him?" she said towards Zacharias.

Who remained silent, his expression unreadable because Cedric turned away and didn't look at him a second time. He didn't like confrontations and even less with people with whom he did not believe he could have a fluent dialogue. Remembering the events of the past year and the comments Zacharias had made about Harry on countless occasions, Cedric hated knowing that he hadn't done more to defend him than say they didn't know what had happened and maintain a neutral position.

Because that's how he was sometimes, someone who struggled to take sides.

There he was, walking close to a housemate he didn't consider his friend but had never walked away or faced him in an honest conversation. Cedric could sense that Zacharias didn't like him, of course he had noticed. Although he wasn't the type of person Cedric would choose to surround himself with, he felt that he had to keep the peace due to their coexistence in the dorms and for the team's sake. Although that had been an unpleasant exchange, a calm came over Cedric that he could trace back to the sole fact that he had dared to wish Harry luck this time.

And how much he liked that he had made it clear who he supported.

HARRY

XXXIII

The strategy that allowed him to avoid any trace of concern during the night before the match was as effective as it was embarrassing to recognize. Focusing on Cho and Cedric wishing him luck worked wonders until breakfast, when he felt so sick he might throw up. It was the last match of the season and the one that would determine who was the winner of the Cup, and Malfoy along with other Slytherin boys had spent months telling everyone that the victory was theirs this year since the points favoured them.

Oliver's plan was a good one, but it was just that: a plan.

They wouldn't be in that situation if they hadn't lost so resoundingly to Hufflepuff. Harry's goal had never been to prevent the other seeker from catching the snitch in order to give Gryffindor time to score enough points.