stars • d.m

3.1

"What if she says no?" Cedric Diggory asked his best friend.

"Why would she?" Estella Raney replied,

"I think Potter has a thing for her. What if he asked her already and she said yes?" Cedric rambled.

"Trust me, Harry is just as scared as you are to ask her. Now man up, you're Cedric Diggory."

"And he's Harry Potter, the boy who lived"

"And the boy who won the first task," said Padma Patil from behind the morning's Daily Prophet.

"Thanks Padma," Cedric said sarcastically.

"I thought he was tied with Victor Krum" Estella stated.

"He is," Cedric replied.

"You would know if you would've gone to watch instead of snogging Malfoy," Padma teased.

"Hey I promised to be at the next task and I wasn't with Malfoy. He was there with everyone else," Estella defended.

"So we're tracking him now I see," Padma said putting down the newspaper.

"I am-"

"I don't mean to ruin this lovely debate but can we get back to the subject at hand?" Cedric interrupted.

The three students looked over at where Cho Chang was sitting. She was flipping her black hair over her shoulder when she caught a glimpse of their gaze. Estella and Cedric looked away quickly while Padma waved. Cedric saw this action and turned red before getting up.

"Okay no no no," Estella started while rising to her feet to catch the golden boy's arm, "it's now or never."

"What? No I can't. I'm not prepared. I don't even know what to say," the boy said with wide eyes.

"Just ask her if she wants to go to the ball. It's that simple. Some girls like guys that get straight to the point. Maybe she's one of them," Estella said with reassurance.

"What if she's not?" Cedric asked.

"Then she'll have to get over it and come to love your boldness," Estella replies.

"She's not going to have to do anything if she's leaving," Padma said from her seat.

"What?" Estella and Cedric said in unison.

Padma pointed to the Ravenclaw walking out of the Great Hall.

"Oh well, I guess it's too late," Cedric said with a shrug.

"No it's not, come on," Estella said while grabbing the boy's arm again.

Estella did not let go of the boy until they were out of the hall. Upon spotting the girl, they started walking quickly with Estella taking the lead. As they made twists and turns, they found themselves running into bigger crowds. Before long, the two lost sight of the Ravenclaw.

"Looks like it's fate," Cedric said defeated.

"You're right, it is fate. Fate for you two to end up together. This isn't over yet. Come here," Estella said as she walked into the grassy courtyard.

With a roll of his eyes, Cedric followed her as she made her way over to a patch of flowers growing up against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Cedric asked the girl bending down, pulling flowers up from their roots one by one.

"What does it look like?" Estella replied before looking up at the boy, "are you going to just stand there or am I the one asking Cho to be my date for the dance?"

"I don't think this is allowed," the boy said with a grunt as he got on his knees to pick flowers.

"It's definitely not allowed," said a voice from behind them.

The two turned around to see Cho standing there. Cedric shot up and wiped himself off desperately.

"Cho! Hi! I was uh- just-" the boy stumbled with a bright red face.

"These are for you," Estella said while handing Cho the flowers she had picked.

"And these too," Cedric added quickly as he shoved his flowers into the hands of the dumbfounded girl.

"I don't understand," she said with a slight laugh.

"Cedric will explain," Estella said with a smile as she began to walk away,

She turned around to see the boy giving her a glare with eyes that shouted for help. The girl laughed and gave him a thumbs up.

Later that day, Estella and Padma stood at the corner of a hall that gave them perfect sight of the courtyard. They giggled as they found their best friend still sitting and talking with Cho.

"What could they be talking about?" Estella asked.

"Probably what they want to name their kids," Padma answered.

"Woah woah woah, they haven't even made it to the ball yet," Estella protested.

"Speaking of the ball and dates," Padma started, "you haven't come running to me with any news and I know it's not because no one has asked you."

Estella stayed silent and looked at the ground.

"No," Padma said gasping, "no one has asked you?"

"No, someone has asked me," Estella said with a smile growing on her face.

"It's Malfoy isn't it?" Padma asked.

Estella looked into her best friend's eyes. She became shocked when the girl grew a genuine smile.

"You're smiling," Estella stated.

"I just think it's funny"

"What's funny?"

"Listen, if anything I just want you to be happy, and if going to the ball with Malfoy makes you happy then I'm happy"

"But why is it funny?"

"It's just interesting how the universe plays out."

A/N:
quote credits: me

This wasn't what you all were probably expecting or wanting after all these months. I promise, it's about to get good. Like within the next chapter good. Like within the next few days good.

Thank you for the constant support and love. This book has hit rankings and has reached reads/likes that I never thought possible. So thank you for bearing with me.

I hope you enjoyed and continue reading :)

Also I realized that I hit a flaw in the timeline by accidentally completely skipping the first task! I hope this way works out slightly.