AMOR FATI . . . fred weasley

V. GEORGE'S LITTLE PICKLE

10:04AM 16/03/1995

.·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。..·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。.

CEDRIC IS UNDOUBTEDLY A MORNING PERSON. Joey, undoubtedly, is not. At all. Whatsoever.

So Cedric stands in the doorway of her bedroom because she's physically incapable of waking herself up before noon, watching his best friend sleep in the most non-creepy way he can manage. Sunlight pours like honey through the round window of her dormitory, illuminating the features of her face: the acne splattered in constellations across her nose, the hair that flutters like butterfly wings whenever she exhales. Whenever she exhales, Cedric's worries about, well, everything, melt away into nothingness.

He wades across a sea of knackered Quaffles and discarded Honeydukes wrappers to gently shake her patchwork quilt.

'Rise and shine, Jojo. Hogsmeade today sis.'

Joey stirs.

'In an hour's time I'm gonna be stuffing my face with as many Fudge Flies as I can.' She pulls her quilt up to her knees, snuggling up in its warmth and the glow of Cedric's face. Dappled by the morning light, it looks like he's just stepped out of the sun. 'You going in with Roger?'

He nods.

'A date?'

He shakes his head. Bad liar.

'It is, it is it is it is! Don't lie to me Cedric Diggory!' She grabs her pillow and hurls it at his head. 'It is, it is, it is!'

'Gerrof,' he says as she attacks him in a hug, but he's smiling.

'Admit it is or else I'll hug you to death!'

'Fine, fine.' She giggles excitedly. 'But I don't... well, actually, I don't even actually know if it is? I know we've kissed and stuff, but, well, he's not even out, and I'm not even out, so what if this is all just a big game to him?'

'Cedric...'

'So what if it isn't, and he does actually like me, like obviously he likes me but like likes me, and this is our first date and I mess it all up? I mean, where do we even go? If we go to Madam Puddifoot's are we just going to feel out of place, but if we go to The Three Broomsticks am I just showing him I want to be friends, which I do, obviously, but you know I actually want to be more than friends... so do we go to the Hog's Head? What if I've got completely the wrong end of the stick, and he just wants to go to the Post Office or something?'

'Whatever you do, don't go to the Hog's Head. He'll think you're an axe-wielding murderer.'

Cedric groans. 'What if he's an axe-wielding murderer?'

She runs a hand affectionately through his tousled hair. 'Ceddie, my love, this is Roger Davies, not You-Know-Who. Besides I know he likes you, you've been snogging long enough.'

'Hey!'

'Just be yourself AKA embarrassingly nice, and you'll be fine.'

'I can't believe I'm taking relationship advice from you,' he scoffs.

Joey crosses her pyjama-sleeves in mock indignation. 'Excuse me, I have a boyfriend.'

'A fake boyfriend.'

'Kindly piss off, Ceddie,' she says as he stands up to leave. 'Good luck on your date!'

'It's not a date!' he calls back from the corridor.