Matt shifted uncomfortably as you stared at him, his green eyes filled with boredom. At this point the common room had emptied itself, everyone having gone to bed. You sat across from your little brother, silence filling the space between you. You tugged on your robes, nervously, unsure of how to approach the situation. How were you going to explain to him that you were leaving him for the summer? How were you going to tell him that you were dating a Hufflepuff? How would he react? You dreaded the conversation, but you loved Matthew more than he would ever know, and you couldn't lie to him. Not now. Not ever.
"Are we just going to sit here and stare at each other or are you going to tell me what I am doing out of bed at 2 in the morning," Matt snapped, breaking the silence. You inhaled sharply, biting your lip and wringing your hands in your lap, anxiously. He continued to look at you, growing more impatient by the minute. But what could you expect from an 11 year old boy?
"I have something extremely important to tell you," you began, making him roll his eyes in annoyance. Come on, (Y/N)! Pull it together! Focus! Just tell him!
"Yeah, I kind of figured that out already, believe it or not. Would you just get on with it, (Y/N)? I am exhausted and I don't really want to be down here any longer than I have to."
"Right... Well... I thought that I should tell you ahead of time... that way it won't be an unwelcome surprise... But, I'm not going to be home during Holiday, I will be out of town for the summer months. Now, I know that you will be staying with Draco and you won't technically be home either, but I owe you, of all people an explanation. I can't lie to you..." His face fell slack, clearly taken aback. As his lip began to tremble, you were immediately wracked with guilt.
"W-What? W-Why not? B-But (Y/N), you're always home when I need you! And now you're leaving? Where are you going? Are you coming back? Please don't leave me alone with him..." Matt pleaded, stuttering. You sighed, closing your eyes and exhaling.
"Don't be ridiculous, now, you know that I would never abandon you and leave you to fend for yourself! I would never leave you alone with him, but you will be staying with the Malfoy's for Holiday... You won't have to be anywhere near Father... He won't be able to hurt you... I made sure of that... You will be able to contact me at any time, I am not going to leave you without a lifeline! I really won't be going that far. I am going to spend a few weeks in the countryside with my boyfriend, before traveling to France to meet Mum and Aunt Ella. After that, we'll be home, and you, Mum, and I will go down to Diagon Alley to prepare for the new school year, alright..." you sighed, hoping that explanation was enough.
You looked up only to find your brother staring at you blankly as he shook his head. You bit your lip as he processed all of the information. "You have a boyfriend? Since when? Who is it? Wait, are you and Adrain dating?" Matt asked, incredulously, making you laugh lightly.
"No, Adrian and I aren't dating, and before you ask, I'm not dating Terence either. We're just friends. I was going to tell you, when the time was right, and now seems as good as ever. We haven't been together all that long, so this is all new to me, too," you replied gently.
"Well, if it's not Pucey—although I totally thought it would be—or Higgs, then who is it? I never see you hanging about with any other Slytherin guys, except for Marcus Flint, but we all know how that ended," Matt stated, matter of factly as you smiled, nervously.
"Well... That is because he's not a Slytherin... His name is Cedric..." you began, but before you could finish, Matthew was on his feet in an angry rage. You sighed, that was the reaction that you had expected. His green eyes were now coated with a fiery red hue, as he clenched his jaws, a dark scowl present on his face.
"Cedric?! Cedric Diggory?! You mean, Diggory, as in the Hufflepuff Seeker," he exclaimed, making you wince. You didn't want him to wake anyone else. You looked at him with apologetic eyes as you nodded. His mouth fell open in shock. "But, (Y/N)! He's a Hufflepuff! You can't be with him! What about the rules?! What about Slytherin Pride?!"
"Slytherin Pride?! Matt, those rules are nothing but outdated prejudices against other Houses! Those rules are complete bullshit! Yes, I am a Slytherin and I am extremely proud of that fact but that doesn't mean that I let my House choose who I am allowed to socialize with. Cedric and I have been friends since our first year at Hogwarts and that was 4 years ago," you reasoned as your brother rolled his eyes, still angry.
"Okay, so screw the House rules! But what about Dad's rules?! Huh?! How are you getting away with this?! He would never let you stay with, let alone date, a Hufflepuff!" You averted your eyes, biting at your lip nervously. Matt peered at you curiously, realizing the reality of the situation. "He doesn't know, does he? You've been keeping this a secret..."
You nodded slowly, sighing in exasperation as you pulled a piece of parchment out of the pocket of your robes and handed it to your brother. Matt took his previous seat on the couch as he scanned over the letter. His eyes gradually returned to their natural shade of green, his expression softening, as he read your Father's letter. He looked up and sighed.
"Does Mum know? You have to have told her..." he asked, quietly. You nodded, as you looked at your baby brother, knowing that this was rather overwhelming for him.
"Yes, Mum knows. I wrote to her about a week or so, ago, explaining the situation. Mum is staying with Aunt Ella in France over Holiday and has convinced Father that she is taking me with her, which is partially true, and you will be staying with Draco, as originally planned. This really won't affect you all that much. Look, I know that this is a lot to process. I'm not asking you to like it, but I am asking you to respect it. You know as well as I do what Father would do if he found out about this... And Matt, he can't know..." Matthew sighed, looking down at the stone floors, chewing on his lip and rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.
"Don't worry... I won't say anything... But you're right, I don't like it. I want you to be happy (Y/N), I really do... But this is really dangerous... If something goes wrong... Well, you know what will happen... I just... It's hard to believe that you're leaving... Is it because you love him more than you love me and Mum?" He asked timidly. You smiled softly, shaking your head as you got to your feet, and took the seat next to him, pulling him into an embrace.
"Matthew, we will always be family! Nothing will ever change that! You will always be my baby brother and my number one priority! Just because I have fallen in love and decided to start dating, that doesn't mean that I love you any less! Trust me, no one will ever take your place! I promise! Besides, it's not like I am leaving you forever. Mum and I will be home after about 2 1/2 months, and in the meantime, you will be getting into mischief I can only imagine, with Malfoy. Listen to me, okay? I love you, Matt and I promise you that I will never abandon you! I will always be right there with you, the moment you need me. I could be on the other side of the world and you better believe I would drop everything if you called. Cedric isn't a replacement, not even close. It's a completely different kind of love. No matter what happens in my romantic relationships, you are still my baby brother and I am still you big sister. Like it or not, we're family... And family is forever..." you replied, making him smile.
"I'm sorry, (Y/N)... I overreacted... I just... I don't want anything to happen to you! You're all I've got... Well, you and Mum... I just didn't want to lose you," he explained, as he wrapped his arms around your torso, hugging you tightly. You held him to you, before he pulled back, releasing a big yawn, making you laugh.
"Alright, I think that's enough for tonight. Off to bed," you teased, getting to your feet and helping him up off the couch. He grinned, hugging you once more.
"Goodnight Sis... I love you too..." he mumbled, making you roll your eyes as he hurried off to his dorm room. You breathed a sigh of relief as you returned to your own room.
YOU ARE READING
Too Shy To Tell You (Cedric Diggory x Reader)
Fanfiction(Y/N) Middlebrook was terribly excited for her fourth year at Hogwarts, but at the same time, she was extremely anxious. This was the year she wanted to tell her crush that she was hopelessly in love with him. But how? Cedric Diggory. He was practic...
