ONCE UPON A TIME.

04. coïncidence

╭                                                                           ╮

you'll write home, won't you? 
yes, dad. 
right when you settle down. 
i will.
be safe, son. i know i haven't said
this out loud, but you've probably
already figured it out. . . 
something terrible is coming 
our way. 
. . . 
i know, dad.
i'll be safe. 

╰                                                                          ╯

 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     THE GENTLE LULL OF THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS was a welcome comfort for Cedric. Sitting with his Hufflepuff prefects and joking about the school year to come, he could almost forget about the events of the summer that had driven his father in to a mad frenzy - the Ministry of Magic underwent nothing short of mayhem.

(He could almost forget. Key word: almost.)

     Chasing after the trolley lady to stock up on some more Cauldron Cakes - the Hufflepuff prefects were quick to devour the sweet - Cedric pauses outside a compartment as he hears a familiar voice.

     "Just the usual," Amata sing-songs. She hasn't spotted Cedric yet; he grins to himself at the warmth in her voice. "Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and your latest issue of the Prophet." 

    Stepping past the trolley lady, Cedric finds that Amata has the compartment mostly to herself. Propped up the seat against her are several trunks and a caged owl; still, she sits alone opposite the baggage, a book in her hands and a pair of eye glasses propped atop her head.

     "Glasses?" is the first thing Cedric finds himself saying. Amata looks up at him with an expression of slight surprise; the shock is quickly replaced by amusement. "Reading glasses." she explains. The trolley lady reaches out Amata's sweets and her paper. Amata makes a move for her wallet, but Cedric is closer.

     "It's on me," he assures, passing the trolley lady a handful of Sickles. "Oh, and if you please - the Hufflepuff prefects are in dire need of more Cauldron Cakes. Perhaps whatever's left of the change can materialize in to that?" "Will do, deary." the trolley lady says with a wink before trotting off to the next compartment, leaving Amata and Cedric to each other once more.

     Once the excitement at the Quidditch Cup had died down, Amata and Cedric made their way back to camp. Amos had swept Cedric in to a full inspection to ensure that he was fine; when Cedric turned to ask Amata how she was, she'd already gone. She hadn't left a trace - Cedric had figured that he'd find her eventually, though he had to admit that he hadn't anticipated it to be so soon. 

     "You didn't have to, but thank you." Amata hums before taking a bite in to a Pumpkin Pasty. She holds out her bag of treats to Cedric, who merely shakes his head in response. "I plan on leaving you to your devices in a moment," he muses aloud. He leans on the open door, crossing his arms over his chest as he cocks his head towards the empty seats across Amata. "And I'm sure your friends will be back any minute."

    "They might." Amata responds curtly. She doesn't say anything else; Cedric merely watches as she folds the corner of the page she's reading and sets aside the paperback, trading it for the newspaper. The front page of the Daily Prophet showed Cornelius Fudge making a statement - before Amata flipped over the page, Cedric had caught sight of the headline.

IS HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED BACK? 
MINISTER OF MAGIC SPEAKS UP 

     "You don't have to be here, Diggory." 

     Jolted at Amata's bluntness, Cedric raises an eyebrow to question her statement. She hadn't even looked up from the paper. "You don't owe me anything, and vice versa," Amata continues, pushing her glasses over the bridge of her nose. "The Quidditch Cup was pure coincidence . . . otherwise, we wouldn't have met each other, so why bother?" 

     "Convincing tirade." Cedric compliments. He's unable to to resist the smile threatening to fill his face. "Although you would have been a tad more convincing if you hadn't merely glared at the comic page throughout."

     From behind Cedric, the seemingly rightful residents of the compartment all came to a halt at the door at the sight of Cedric. "Blimey, what are you doing here, Diggory?" Terence Higgs calls out, more parts curious than insulting. "I didn't know you were friends with Amata," one of the Carrow twins comments. "How long have you two known each other?"

     "Just a coincidence." Cedric says as he steps aside to let the Slytherins in. Throwing an exaggerated wink at Amata, he hears the jeers of her house mates and the tips of her ears turning red as he walks away - and the smile he'd been trying to hide just breaks.