slytherin princess

chapter thirteen

The next day, Lyra met Cedric at the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.

"Hello love" he smiled brightly, his eyes meeting hers. A glint of joy in them,

"Hey" she replied, he tapped the rhythm to 'Helga Hufflepuff' and they were granted access to the common room and the door swung open, offering her his hand, they stepped inside.

The Hufflepuff common room was cozy and a large. It had a selection of comfortable seating including sofas and armchairs dotted around. There was a large fireplace that looked like it was made from some ornate stone against one of the walls. The room was coloured in the yellow and black theme of the house and Lyra could see the Hufflepuff's trademark badger in several places. There were also hanging plants from the ceiling as well as cactuses, flowers and other such plants positioned in pots around the room. The entire room radiated comfort and warmth.

Her eyes glanced around in amazement,

"What, is the Slytherin common room not this nice?" Cedric teased and Lyra laughed ever so slightly, her eyes looked into his.

"It's not as warm or cozy..." she answered, his arm wrapped her and he pressed his lips against the side of her head, they walked through the common room and up a staircase to his dorm. He had his own dorm.

It had a large bookshelf, an armchair and a large bed. There were drapes adjourning a badger. Everything in the room was coloured in the yellow and black colour scheme, there was a large closet in the corner and a bathroom too. There was a desk with two seats, the wooden desk itself was coated in snacks.

Cedric walked to the seat and motioned for her to sit next to him. She sat down next to him and he handed her a pumpkin pasty.

"Thanks" he smiled at her once more before they both opened their books, Lyra was making sure she knew all her Herbology content whilst Cedric was revising for his History of Magic exam.

An hour passed of them sitting in silence revising, his hand entwined with hers. Then Cedric spoke up,

"Love...." She looked up from her book, eyes locking onto his. His expression was unreadable, he seemed both nervous and confused and happy.

"Yeah?" His grip on her had tightened,

"Can you tell me what Luna says to you..." Lyra looked away from him and his free hand went to her chin, redirecting her gaze to meet his. "Please love...."

"It's nothing..." She tried to brush it off but Cedric sighed in response,

"Please love.... I promise you can tell me and I won't think any different of you" his thumb ran over her lower jaw, sending heat flushes through her body and leaving a tingling behind.

"She calls me a slut" Cedric's face fell and he immediately came over to her and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. Her head fell into his chest, his hands ran over her back. His grip on her was tight, but it made her feel safe and comfortable and...

"I'm so sorry, I'm so so so so sorry she said that...." He held onto him almost as tight as he held onto her, "I'll talk to her.... That's just wrong, she can't do that..."

"Don't..." she whispered, Cedric shifted slightly, she could tell her was confused.

"You don't want me to talk to her?" She nodded slightly, "why, love?" His tone was confused but still soft and comforting.

"I think it would only make it worse" a slightly sigh escaped his lips as he continued to hold her close,

"Alright.... I won't. But I can't stand the thought of you being hurt..." he kissed the top of her head, his hands continued to run up and down her back, trying to comfort her. "I just want you to be happy and safe and I want to protect you from harm..." she felt her cheeks flushing red as he continued to hold onto her, "I really like you Lyra..." her face moved from his chest to meet his eyes.