The Mudblood

Chapter 30 : Summer

The Portkey was arguably more terrifying than the Floo Network. Our feet were lifted from the ground and we were spinning, our bodies only suspended by our fingers which seemed to be glued to the boot. I felt incredibly nauseous, and I thought I might puke on one of the boys that I was constantly bumping my shoulders into. I wasn't really sure if I'd rather barf on Cedric or Fred. Probably Fred at this moment, since he was being extremely annoying. Sure—Cedric was a jerk, but that didn't mean that Fred had to hate him and protect me from him.

When we finally landed on the ground, everyone fumbled and fell, landing in a huge pile with the boot buried beneath. To my horror, I found myself lying completely on top of Cedric, with half of Fred's body draped over my back.

Fred scrambled to stand straight, and as he did, he hoisted me up like a child and planted my feet on the ground. I stared over at him with my mouth agape, but he was still glaring at Cedric.

"I can stand myself up," I muttered through my teeth.

"Not taking any chances with this bloke, Fitz—"

"That was wild!" Ginny enthused as she jumped up.

"I'm never doing that again," I said, letting out a huge breath. "I'd rather see Slytherin win the House Cup than use a Portkey again."

Cedric chuckled as he got to his feet. "That's not saying much, considering you are a Slytherin."

"Yes, but being in Slytherin does not make me like Slytherin," I countered, raising my eyebrows. "Keep up, Diggory."

Cedric flashed a toothy grin, cocking his head slightly to the side. "Touché, Fitzroy."

"Come on," Arthur beckoned, waving with his arm for us to travel forward. "Let's move along to the campsite."

"C'mon, Fitz," Fred grumbled, pulling on my arm. The ten of us began to walk through the grassy field, Cedric jogging to catch up with me.

"So—was that your first time using a Portkey?" he asked casually.

"Yup, I'm just a filthy little Mudblood who's never experienced most magical things," I joked dryly.

Cedric stared over at me with wide, horrified eyes.

A crooked smirk slid onto my lips as my eyes gazed over at him. "I'm kidding, Diggory. Try to keep up, seriously."

He let out a breath, forcing himself to chuckle as his body relaxed. "Right—good. So—er—Lainey—I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the lake—"

"Aye, Fitz, why don't we talk about all of the nice things I've done for you—like supply you with pranking materials and teach you to play Quidditch—"

"Yes, and then we can talk about all the times that our friend Cedric has publicly ignored you and been ungrateful for your acts of kindness," George added as both twins glared over at Cedric.

I whipped my gaze over toward Ginny, who was trying to discretely hide herself behind George.

"I'm assuming you told the twins about 'all those times'?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows at her.

Her face paled as she fumbled for a response.  

Cedric cleared his throat, beckoning my attention. "Actually, Lainey, I wanted to apologize for all of those times—"

"Oh—I'm Cedric Diggory," Fred mimicked spitefully. "I'm a charmingly handsome Hufflepuff Prefect and I beat Harry Potter at Quidditch. I'm entitled to forgiveness."