The Boy In My Dreams -HEDRIC (1)

16.(CH) in the same team

CEDRIC

XXXVIII

"Is the redhead her boyfriend?" Malcolm asked from the stands. "He's given me dirty looks the whole time and I've tried to engage him in the conversation."

Cedric suppressed a smile.

His best friend could be so blunt at times, and especially nosy.

They were looking at Hermione in the distance, who had started flying at a height of three feet until she ascended to the middle of one of the towers. Ron was at her side, on one of the brooms Cedric had borrowed, reaching out to her on certain occasions, to help her keep balance.

"He's not," Harry replied, standing up while staring straight ahead. "At least not for now."

Hermione was giggling as she climbed a few feet up.

"It must be hard having your best friends like each other like that."

Harry took his eyes off the sky for a second to address Malcolm. "Has it happened to you?"

Cedric wondered who he was referring to.

He was so used to comments about him and Cho that it was his first thought, accompanied by a feeling of discomfort. This time not for himself, but for Harry. He knew he fancied her. That was one of the reasons he'd wanted to invite him over: to introduce them. He wouldn't feel like a good friend if he knew about his crush and did nothing to get them to know each other better.

"Some friends of ours," Malcolm explained, behind him. "I don't know what to do. I know they will end up together. I'd like to save them from the long way."

Cedric relaxed in his place.

He hadn't realised that he wasn't the only one aware of it. The topic of conversation had never come up before and, even if Malcolm could openly joke with Cedric, he had never made any kind of reference or gesture when it came to their friends, which he understood.

Tam was not someone you should bother.

"Do you really think...it's mutual?" Cedric asked, hopeful.

Even if he'd been suspicious of his best friend, he wasn't sure about Willow.

"Of course it is."

His voice sounded so sure that Cedric was curious as to how he knew. Malcolm could sometimes be really good at reading people, and had an ability to make conversation (and more importantly, to get answers) that Cedric admired. Although he wanted to find out, he left it for later. Harry was staring in the direction of his friends with a slight frown. Cedric, who had been standing next to him to keep him company, leaned in so no one else could hear. "If you're worried about her, I have a spell that will catch her if she falls."

Seeing Harry fall from such a high height had been one of the most terrifying experiences Cedric had ever witnessed. More than the dementors themselves. And the way he felt when knew there was no way he could reach him... So helpless that he had to search the library in order to find a couple of spells that would have helped and he practiced in his spare time until he mastered them. He couldn't change what had happened, but he would be ready if a similar situation arose.

"That boy is not going to let her fall, don't you worry," Malcolm said, walking past them. "Tam and Cho are here. I'll go say hello."

XXXIX

There was no way Cedric was leaving his place. As the host, he considered himself responsible for each one of the guests. And if Harry was even the least bit concerned about his best friend, Cedric would stay with him just in case. What he had said to him was almost like a promise. So he waved at his friends from a distance and suggested Harry take a seat in the stands. Hermione seemed to be more comfortable and relaxed on her broom, circling the bottom of the field with Ron following close behind.