Pen Pals [Cedric Diggory]

chapter nine

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The instance with the giggling girls didn't occur merely once. At first, Cedric had no clue how to react to it, so he just awkwardly thanked their congratulations. Then those turned into simply 'Hi Cedric' everywhere he went in Hogwarts and he realised how much attention he brought onto himself by entering this competition. In any case, even though he wanted all of it to stop and everyone to go back to their normal lives, he still said hi back and smiled.

Through all of this he kept on wondering, could any of the girls be Pen? The appearance of her was still misty in his mind, he could not put a face to the words he read every week from her letters to any of the girls he met since the announcement of the champions. He always told himself that he would know immediately if he met her in the hallway and they would talk. But since all the girls constantly watched him wherever he went, the idea of talking to them, just to spark a conversation or notice any distinct detail that would hint at this girl being Pen, wasn't the most appealing at the moment.

On the other hand, he was sure none of the giggling girls were her. He just couldn't imagine her acting like that. She was always so thoughtful and her letters were calm and elaborate, except when she got mad about a topic or wanted to prove Cedric wrong. And there was also the letter in which she first mentioned his name, without knowing she was actually writing to him...

Dear Pal,

the aftermath of the champions' announcement for the Tournament could not divide our dear Hogwarts more. Have you noticed?

I thought we were divided when we competed for the House Cup each year and generally only liked and supported our own House in both academics and Quidditch. But now we have a tournament between two hot guys, a pubescent boy and a part veela. Girls are swooning after Krum and Diggory, Potter is hated all around for getting in and guys blindly follow Fleur around like she's some goddess. I think supports right now are purely based on likeability of the champion. Or their good looks. Or their veela magic.

Here are my thoughts:

Krum has the best chance to win, without a doubt. He's athletic, going to school and training for Bulgaria Quidditch team. He's got the brain and the muscle so just statistically speaking he already has a good base to compete.

Potter has absolutely no chance. Too young, too naïve, not as experienced as the older champions. I have nothing against him and even the 'Potter stinks' badges were a bit too much. But I just think he's not going to win.

Fleur is a girl, same as my argument for why Harpies never win Quidditch. She may have the brain and skill for magic, but as soon as the task they are given has something to do with sports, I think she'll be the last.

Cedric Diggory, on the other hand, is a close second to Krum. Same attributions as him and he's also very likeable. The Golden Boy, as Prophet said. I think because he's Hufflepuff no other house has a particular vendetta against him, Hufflepuffs are honorable and everyone supports that.

I definitely support Diggory, even though I know Krum will probably win. Diggory still represents Hogwarts and we have to support our own. And I like that he was chosen as the champion, with all that I already listed above, he's also very –

"What do we have here?"

The letter Cedric was reading was snatched from his hands so abruptly he couldn't finish reading. He had to blink a couple of times to focus on what was in front of him and he saw Anthony dangling with the letter in his hands. Cedric had just a few lines left to read. Just when the good part came, as Pen talked about him.