The Shadow of Silver

Chapter 5

"How could you?" Cedric's voice is pained, as he regards me. "Weren't you the one who didn't want to do this in the first place?"

"I still don't," I reassured him. "I'll just get the damn picture done, and that's it. There's no chance that I'm going to be picked any further than this stage. The people who picked must have had a shot too much of firewhiskey." I laughed, but he didn't smile back.

"Well, we'll see." his tone was still angry, so I shied away from that topic. This was new for us. We didn't fight- Well, when we did, it was over in an instant. I felt as if as well as me, he was battling his insecurities.

He didn't know that I was on the same side as him.

"What happened to your face?" he asked, and I bit my busted lip, wincing as it throbbed.

"Some gits tried to feel me up for money, then when they realized I had nothing worth taking, they beat me up." my voice faded to a whisper, as he clenched his fist.

"I'll kill them." he hissed, and I tensed. This was Cedric. Cedric who never liked conflict.

"Calm down. He... The leader. Dudley Dursley. Yeah, he's getting his photo taken too." I didn't know why I said that, but I did.

Cedric didn't say anything to that. He just turned away. "Look, I need to go," he whispered, and, just like that, climbed out of the treehouse.

I'd never felt so separate from him in my life.

***

It was time for the pictures. Sirius and Remus didn't put me into nice clothes like I assumed the other boys' parents were doing. Probably because I didn't have any nice clothes.

Remus couldn't help fussing though. "Come on, Harry. Comb your hair." or "Come on, Harry. Tuck in your shirt to hide the dirt."

It made me feel better, in a way, that they were more nervous than I was. Yeah, I was nervous. Why? I didn't know. But I was nervous, and that feeling wasn't going away.

Sirius and Remus came with me, but when I got there, I saw Cedric's parents there as well. Confused, I scanned the area for Cedric. He wasn't there. When I went up to them to ask them why they were here, they smiled at me in an odd sort of way.

"I'm sorry Cedric couldn't make it. We're just here to keep you company... And... Could I talk to you in private?" his mother asked, looking at me. Sirius and Remus turned and walked a few paces away, but I could tell they were curious.

"What can I do for you, Mr. and Mrs. Diggory?" I asked, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Look, Harry. We like you-" his mother started, and I smiled, but then his father cut in.

"That's a lie. We don't really like you all that much. Harry, we just wanted to keep you away from Cedric. He's... He's a good kid, Harry. And you... I mean, with all this going on-" he broke off and gestured towards where the pictures were being taken. "He might get hurt. And if he gets hurt, well... We won't be very happy. So keep away from him, is that understood?" his voice wasn't angry. More like commanding. It had certain laziness to it that made me think that he was used to having orders followed.

Why did I seem that bad to them? I mean, I knew I wasn't the best, but why did they hate me so damn much?

"I think you've said enough." Cedric's mother told her husband and pushed him away. I saw him give me a seething glare, but he walked away. Then, she turned to me. "I'm very sorry, dear. He got a bit of firewhiskey, and..." she shrugged, and I nodded. "But what he is trying to say, is we would appreciate if you're careful with Cedric. I'm not saying that you're a bad person but Cedric... Cedric is fragile."