y/n at hogwarts

Chapter 7 - Golden

Y/N ate alone at the end of the Ravenclaw table. She eyed her new year mates sitting at the same table, laughing and talking. The proud first-year students wore their house robes while the girl wore her plain robe without the house symbol, although her tie was still black and blue. A table before her was the Slytherin table. She glanced at their robes with envy, the serpent on the green background nearly laughing at her mockingly. Owls flew in and out of the Great Hall, bringing mail to the students, mainly from their parents. Y/N had received one as well, it was neatly folded next to her plate, untouched, as the girl knew very well who had sent it and the reason behind it. Y/N heard loud laughing coming from the Gryffindor table, turning her attention towards the twins who had just told their mates about a prank. She sighed quietly and finished her food before leaving the Great Hall to get ready for her first-ever class at Hogwarts.

It was a quiet evening at the Courtyard. Y/N was silent as she stared on the ground, the letter now opened in her trembling hands. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she tried to blink them away. The letter from her parents was full of disappointment as she assumed upon receiving it. Y/N was disappointed in herself as well. All she wanted to do was to please her parents and be enough for them for once in her life but she failed miserably. "To say we are disappointed in you is putting it lightly. We are not expecting you at home for Christmas, to have enough time to think about your decisions," The letter read. It was short like Y/N's conversations with her parents were most of the time. The girl had already thought about giving a visit to the Headmaster's office but as a scared first-year student she was afraid. Unbeknownst to Y/N tears flowed like rivers down her cheeks, wetting her Ravenclaw robe as she got told off by Professor Snape in her first lesson. "And I suggest... for new students to wear their corresponding robes," Snape began in front of her table, making others laugh.

"Hey, is everything alright?" A concerned Hufflepuff student asked Y/N, standing in front of her. The boy was older than her, tall, had dark brown hair and the most reassuring smile Y/N had seen in a long time. Unable to form words, let alone sentences between her crying, the girl shook her head. The boy sat next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You're the new Ravenclaw student, right?" He asked another question, earning a nod. "I'm Cedric." The boy introduced, fixing Y/N's pointed witch hat that had fallen over. "I'm Y/N," The girl finally replied and dried her falling tears. "What happened?" Cedric questioned, face full of worry, and looked at her teary eyes. "I'm a disappointment for my family," Her small voice echoed in the Courtyard. "And why is that?" The Hufflepuff boy questioned. "I got sorted into the wrong house and it's all my fault and-" Y/N began explaining but Cedric cut her off. "It's not your fault. If the Sorting Hat thought you were fitting in Ravenclaw then that's the truth." The boy comforted, taking his hand off of her. "Yes, but my parents expected that I was put in Slytherin," Y/N resonated back, a new batch of tears forming. "This is your parents' problem for setting such expectations for something you can't control," Cedric said. Y/N sighed and straightened her posture a little. The boy took the letter, looking at the girl for permission to read it. He set the mail down on the bench next to them after reading it. "The Sorting Hat never lies," Cedric added with a smile. "Come on, I'll introduce you to some of my friends," Y/N and Cedric stood up from the wood bench, heading to the Great Hall.

Y/N sat at her bench again where the girl sat when she wasn't in Ravenclaw's common room. The hallways buzzed around her, students talking and even gossiping about the most important topic of the year - Yule Ball. Cedric ran around the corridors looking for the girl. Upon not finding her in the school, he headed to the last place the Hufflepuff student could think of where he met with her for the first time. A familiar figure sat on the bench, hair framing her face as the girl's brows were furrowed in concentration. Cedric's eyes lit up at the sight of her, almost sprinting to where Y/N was. "Sorry to disturb your reading," The boy said with an apologetic smile as he sat down next to her. "Oh no, it's fine, I was just killing time anyway,"  Y/N replied with a friendly expression and she closed her book. "So, what brought you here?" The girl questioned the boy's unusual appearance since they hadn't spoken in a long time. "Can I not spend time with  my favourite person?" Cedric asked with a playful smile. "Didn't know I was your favourite person," Y/N exclaimed with a chuckle. The boy looked her in the eye and smiled. "Why wouldn't you be?" She felt a blush creep on her face, clearing her throat quickly and changing the topic. "Are you feeling confident with the second task?" Y/N asked, fiddling with her bookmark in the book. "I suppose? It shouldn't be very challenging," Cedric replied and looked at the ground. The hallways began quieting, and students disappeared into the classes for the last period of the day. "I think we should go," The girl said as she stood up, ready to leave. The Hufflepuff student grabbed her hand before she could move on and pulled her towards him- "Ced-" She began her sentence, slightly shocked. Cedric cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?" The boy asked, nervousness evident on his face. "Oh Ced, of course!" Y/N replied with a soft smile although her mind raced, another person occupying her thoughts. Cedric's mouth curled into a wide smile as he let out a sigh of relief, his hand sneaking around the girl. "Thank god, I got worried for a bit you'd say no," He admitted with a chuckle, the pair's fingers intertwining. The silence around the Courtyard reminded the couple. "This is also an invitation to go to Hogsmeade with me," Cedric kissed the girl's cheek. "I'll see you later!" Y/N said nervously, letting go of the boy's hand. "Think about it!" He yelled after her as the girl was running to class, fleeing from Cedric at the same time.

The girl wasn't focusing in her last lesson, missing a lot of important information from Professor Flitwick. Although Charms class was Y/N's favourite her mind was racing. She felt as if she had just cheated on the love of her life. Cedric's sudden date and the whole Yule Ball thing messing with her a little too much. "Miss L/N, are you listening?" Flitwick asked at the front of the class. "No professor, sorry," She replied quickly only to fall back into deep thought. The girl had nothing against Cedric, he was a nice boy with exceptionally good manners but she didn't like him. Y/N was more than fine with the friendly relationship she had with the Hufflepuff student but the romantic aspect of Cedric's behaviour disturbed the girl. George was the next thing on her mind. Stress, about what the redhead might think of her if he found out about the sudden situation, was feeding into Y/N's feeling of being overwhelmed. If only Cedric Diggory was George Weasley.