Pen Pals [Cedric Diggory]

chapter eleven

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A long heavy sigh was let out of Cedric as he leaned his head all the way back, softly hitting the tiles on the edge. The cold tiles were in contrast too the hot bubbly water he was sitting in, in the Prefect's bathroom. The golden egg was neatly placed beside one of his arms, the clue echoing in Cedric's head. He listened to it too many times to count, indicated by his still-wet hair that was now matted on his forehead, yet he could not make sense of the rhyme the egg sang. Which was why he leaned back in exhaustion.

Cedric never expected his sixth year to be this hard and tiring, which doesn't explain why he wanted to enter the tournament. And then all this Pen fiasco wasn't making his free time any easier either. So, he appreciated the time he took for himself much more than ever before.

The sound of the door swinging open woke him up from a trance. He looked at it with widened eyes, which was the exact same expression the girl who just entered wore.

"Shit! Sorry!" She quickly covered her eyes with the towel in her hands, since Cedric was in fact naked in a bathtub. The only thing saving his manhood were the foamy bubbles on the surface of the water.

"Fuck, I forgot to lock the door. I should be the one apologising." Cedric realised he was so out of touch that he was starting to get forgetful.

"It's fine." The girl started backing away, the towel still in front of her face, which didn't let Cedric see who she really was in the dark bathroom. "I'll just leave anyway."

Since she was walking backwards with covered eyes she bumped into the half-open door of the bathroom, making her exclaim another 'shit' before she turned around, black hair swishing behind her.

"No, wait!" Cedric quickly called out, making the water splash around him. She stopped. "I've been here long enough. Just wait outside, I'll change and you can have it."

The girl waited a little more, probably contemplating the offer. Then she stepped out of the bathroom without a word, the door shutting behind her with a thud. Cedric wasn't certain if she really was going to wait or not. Either way, he quickly got out of the bath and dressed himself.

He was out of the bathroom in no time and even though he told the girl to wait, he jumped slightly when he found her leaning against the wall next to the entrance.

"Kiera, right?"

The girl in question tensed up a bit, staring at nothing in front of her, but then simply nodded, yet seemingly didn't want to look Cedric in the eye. Her cheeks sported a little pink colour from the previous interaction.

"Well, it's all yours. And sorry, again."

Kiera pushed off the wall and for a second her green eyes locked with Cedric's grey ones. She showed a small smile, adding another "It's fine, really and thanks," before entering the bathroom.

Cedric watched the closed door for another few moments. He really didn't expect his first interaction with Kiera to be like that, not that he necessarily planned how he meant to approach her.

When he was already halfway down the hallway the door opened again. "Wait!"

Cedric turned around and saw Kiera walking towards him. He furrowed his brows in confusion until he saw what she was carrying.

"You forgot your golden egg," said Kiera and offered it to him.

Cedric couldn't help but let out an embarrassed chuckle. This newfound forgetfulness was really annoying. "Right, thanks." He scratched behind his head, trying to avoid the glaring reflection of himself on the golden surface of the egg.