Harry Potter Characters X Reader

(2) Cedric X Reader

Portkeys are, perhaps, the second worst way to travel. The first is through the Floo Network because it's dusty and dirty but Portkeys are...sudden, and the uncomfortable tug in your stomach only makes you feel dizzy and slightly nauseous. 

Fortunately, you're not the only one who fell face-first on the ground and consequently got a mouthful of dirt. When your vision finally stops spinning, you notice most of the Weasley family collapsed on the ground. Ron groans beside you as Hermione and Harry scramble to their feet. Mr Weasley, Mr Diggory and Cedric are the only ones standing, the latter of whom looks a little windswept. He bends down and offers you a hand.

"You alright?" he asks, concern pinching his perfectly chiselled face. You nod and bite your lip as he helps your sorry self to your feet.

You dust the dirt from your grass-stained knees and iron out your denim skirt with the palms of your hands, using it as an excuse to tame your pounding heart. Pushing your hair back, you flash Cedric a shy smile, "Thanks."

"Happy to be of help," Cedric grins.

"Of course you are..." George snickers from behind Cedric and Fred snorts.

Cedric swivels around and flashes a polite smile, "Pardon?"

The sun's heat feels concentrated, baking you with the kind of heat that could shrivel a Sunday roast. The itch returns to the inside of your wrist and you nervously scratch at it with newfound intensity.

"Oh, nothing, your Highness," Fred mimes an exaggerated bow, "Er, I mean, Cedric."

"Good ol' Ced," George winks, glancing between you and Cedric.

Fred claps a hand on Cedric's shoulder, "Ric...can I call you Ric?"

"Well–"

"Anyway," you interject before this conversation can get any more embarrassing, "We should probably get moving."

Without even thinking, you take Cedric's hand and lead him away from the twins, hoping to create as much distance between you and them as possible. You finally come to a stop behind Ginny and Hermione.

"That was...."

"Awkward?" you suggest.

"I was going to say 'Interesting', but 'awkward' works, too." Cedric offers you a lazy, boyish smile.

You realize your fingers are still interlaced with his and you jerk away from him hastily, as though he's infected with a contagious virus, and anyone else would be offended by it but not Cedric. Instead, he eyes you with an expression that resembles amusement or intrigue or both, but he doesn't say anything. You kind of want to leap into a barren, boundless void and hibernate in there for a few thousand years.

"So, my dad is going to hang out with his Ministry friends tonight," Cedric begins, glancing away shyly, "He...erm...says it's his 'Quidditch tradition.'"

"So you're essentially being ditched by your own dad," you snort, "Nice."

"Well, here's the thing...if I say I have company then he won't feel so bad."

You blink at him, "What are you saying?"

Cedric smiles boyishly, "Well...I'm saying...asking, really....if you'd like to come over and we can sit around a fire and eat s'mores and just chat. I like talking to you instead of having to send an owl all the time."

You bite your lip and nod, "Okay. So it'll just be...us?"

"What will 'just be us?'" Ron sidles up to the two of you, Harry following. Harry's eyes move between you and Cedric. There is something unreadable in his gaze.

"Oh, I was just...." Cedric flushes, as though he were internally battling something, before conceding with a somewhat forced smile "Would you guys like to meet up later tonight?"

"Sure," Ron shrugs, "Anything to get away from them two." He jabs a thumb at Fred and George.

"Oh we're coming too!" George chimes, "We don't know what it is but if it's going to be fun, we're there."

"Otherwise we'll make it fun." Fred adds.

You turn to Cedric, who is graciously trying to stave a grimace, "Of course. You guys can come too."

"Come along then, son." Mr Diggory waves Cedric over, smiling at the two of you, "We'd better settle in before the game begins."

The game isn't for a few hours but Cedric doesn't argue the point. Instead, he gives you a lingering look and grazes his hand against yours, "I'll see you later on tonight."

"See you tonight," you call after him, grinning from ear to ear.

Later on tonight, you think with a smile. Your mind pulls apart the words and stitches them back together, your heart singing like a dove in your ribcage.