ON THE FIRST DAY Arden Thomas ever stepped foot into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she knew her heart belonged to the one and only, Cedric Diggory.
She first saw the lovely sight of him on the Hogwarts Express while making her way down the aisle to change into her school robes. While he was exiting his compartment, she was walking with her spectacularly large, floral hat covering her view. In a matter of seconds, she was knocked to the floor after an abrupt collision with the boy.
"Ow," the eleven year old mumbled while rubbing her head. Realizing that her hat was no longer there, she began to search the floor, ignoring the fact that she was still on it.
"I am so sorry, I didn't check to see if the aisle was clear," a gentle, heavenly voice spoke from above. Before she could continue her search, or even reply for that matter, a hand was reaching down in front of her, offering to help her stand up. Though she took it and got up, her eyes had yet looked up from the floor. "My name is Cedric Diggory." Alas, she averted her gaze into twinkling, grey eyes.
"Arden Thomas," she said, giving a small smile. "Erm, sorry that this is a bit strange, but, can you help me locate my hat? It seems it has gotten lost, which is bizarre because I'm pretty sure that it was just on my head a moment ago."
"Oh, yeah. Of course," he replied, turning to look around. As he turned around, he noticed that a large hat with larger flowers sitting outside of a compartment a few doors down. "Is this it?" He asked, picking it up and holding it in her direction. She smiled and nodded, placing back on her head and repositioning it so she could see Cedric.
"Thank you so much!" She grinned, dimples appearing on each cheek.
"Anytime," he grinned, his eyes flickering from her face to the hat. "Anyways, are you a first year too?"
"Yeah, I am," She smiled back, clapping her hands together. "Maybe we will get into the same house together!"
"That would be cool! It would be nice to know someone in my house," the boy replied. As he spoke, the train took an sharp turn which jerked the girl into his direction. Luckily for her this time around, he was able to catch her before she made a second trip to the floor.
"Nice timing," she giggled, a light blush hinting at her cheeks. Cedric let out a small laugh as he stood her up straight. "Well, I have to change into my robes. It was nice meeting you, Cedric! And thanks for helping me, erm, three times I suppose?"
Unfortunately, Cedric and Arden didn't see each other the rest of the train ride or during the grand boat entrance first years experienced when arriving at Hogwarts. Frantically introducing herself so that she would at least make one other friend, Arden stumbled across a girl named Giselle Redlocke.
"So what house do you believe you will get in?" Arden asked her newly made acquaintance.
"I believe Gryffindor. It's my legacy, you see. My mum was one, my grandma was one, my great grandma was one, and so on," Giselle sighed, a hopeful expression forming on her face (along with a deep crease between her eyebrows).
"That's really neat," Arden responded, raising her eyebrows in fascination at Giselle's family legacy. "I think Gryffindor for me, too. Maybe Hufflepuff - "
" - Welcome all! Glad to see some returning faces and the new. . ." A man with long white beard and a pointy, silver starred hat grinned, glancing around the hall.
As the man, who Arden learned was called Professor Dumbledore, finished speaking for the time being, the infamous, scuffed, brown hat was brought out by Professor Mcgonagall.
The sorting began (after the hat sang its new wonderful song), and the first years fidgeted in the line, growing more eager by the second for their turn. Within the first few students, a familiar name was called, causing Arden to avert her eyes to the hat once more (they were previously transfixed on the starry ceiling).
"Diggory, Cedric!" Although she couldn't hear what the hat was saying once it was placed on the boy's head, she knew it must've been along the lines of unbelievably wonderful, seeing as though he was sporting the widest grin she had ever seen — maybe disregarding the one she herself held when her mother had given her the Hogwarts admission letter.
"You shall be. . . HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat yelled. The Hufflepuff table cheered loudly while the other students, including Arden, clapped. She was happy for him and even more enthusiastic for her turn now, suddenly wanting to be sorted into Hufflepuff for whatever reason.
As names were called, Arden and Giselle — who were standing next to each other — were becoming more and more giddy by the second. Finally, the hat reached last names starting with T.
"Thomas, Arden!" The hat called. From the Hufflepuff table, which was just meters away, Cedric's ears perked at the sound of her name. His eyes scanned the remaining first years for the small girl and found her figure stepping out of whatever was left of the line, moving to the hat. He repressed the urge to smile as he watched how nonchalant she was trying to be while listening to the hat, while her hands, nervously fumbling with her robes, showed otherwise.
"I declare you as. . . GRYFFINDOR!" Cedric started clapping and cheering ardently as she skipped down to the house's table. Arden had never felt this measure of happiness in her entire life — she was visibly glowing.
Although she wasn't placed into his house, Cedric was still ecstatic for her. From the first moment he had met her, he absolutely knew they were destined to be friends. A little difference in house sorting wasn't going to stop him.
As the sorting (and feast that followed) continued on, Cedric found himself helplessly gazing at the girl. He found her immensely beautiful; absolutely perfect. When she smiled — her smile. He loved her smile. It made him smile.
If anyone saw the amount of admiration he looked at her with in that single night, they would know immediately that he was in love. If she had seen him herself in those few hours she would've known. But, Arden never looked his way once that night. It wasn't because she detested him or forgot about their encounter that happened just hours earlier; it was because she was so overwhelmed with excitement about the entire ceremony that she forgot about one boy's presence.
Granting Cedric's wish, by their third year the two were inseparable. Having many classes together, including enduring the wrath of Professor Snape's nearly impossible potions class, their friendship bloomed into something great, something unforgettable.
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HELLO IK ITS ALL UNPUBLISHED RN BUT IM HARDCORE EDITING THIS GIRLY BC ITS MUSTY AND CRINGEY
