Backfire • Cedric Diggory [✓]

• EIGHT •

"Hermione, I've done something incredibly stupid," Holland says. The curly haired brunette found the bushy-haired witch alone on the bridge, just finished talking with Ginny. It was a chilly October, the girls sporting scarves and knit-hats. Holland rubbed her mitten-clad fingers together, sniffling as another gust of wind blows. The image would have been quite confusion to most students of Hogwarts, a girl in green and silver attire, mingling and chatting amongst a crowd sporting maroon and yellow, it was almost an impossible sight.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but when do you not?" Hermione chuckles, immediately stopping when she sees Holland's worried face. Holland was facing away from the castle, eyeing the rocks and water below the bridge, wondering how much it would hurt to jump down on it just in case Cedric had seen her and was in the mood to devour her face once more.

"Hermione!" Holland whines, looking up at the Gryffindor. Hermione immediately wipes the smile off her face.

"Alright, calm down. I was only kidding. What did you do?" Hermione carefully walks closer to the dark haired girl.

"Okay," Holland lets out a breath. "I just want you to know that the worst part of this entire mess was not my fault." Holland confirms.

"I-I don't think I want to hear this?" Hermione says, confused. Holland would usually intend on making sure the most lethal damage was hers.

"You're going to anyway." Holland takes a deep breath and begins, "Diggory planned on making me drink a love potion and I gave him a spicy chew me and the twins made a few weeks ago and I didn't know he put all of it in my water and next thing I know is he had drunken all of my water and now he wants nothing to do other than snog me." Holland was now trying to catch her breath, hoping she wouldn't have to repeat and reliving the horror of the previous day's events for another time.

"Cedric drank water and now he's in love with you?" Hermione seemed confused, not understanding what Holland had said as she had explained everything in one breath. Holland wanted to sink to her knees, wanted to jump off the bridge, wanted to scream and run off to the Forbidden forest, maybe have a quick chat with Aragog before willingly submitting herself to the pleasure and delight of his sons and daughters.

"Hermione!" The girl whined, really not in the mood to be repeating herself and taking things calmly. The girl was hysterical, wondering what she'd done for everything to go so wrong so quickly.

"Right, okay. We'll have to do a bit of reading. Do you suppose he'd brewed it himself?" Hermione tucks a strand of hair behind her hair, eyeing the girl in front of her in concern. Hermione had a sinking feeling she already knew just what potion it was that had landed her friend in such a predicament.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't spoken to him because I can't get a word out without him trying to prey on my face!" Holland says through gritted teeth, hands flailing. The two quickly make their way to the library, mountains of potions books surrounding them. Holland had never been in such a wild, toe-curling mess before. Maybe this was the world's most unpleasant, but clearest sign that she should just stop pranking people. There she was, sitting on the same ground her and Draco had been just a few days ago whilst Hermione was standing in perfect posture, eyes going back and forth as she turned another page of the book she was holding. Holland tried to imagine herself as Hermione, how would Hermione handle this situation?, She thought to herself. She wouldn't handle this situation because she would have never gotten herself in it!, Holland scolds herself, burying her head in the book she'd been reading, repeatedly hitting herself in agony. Hermione sends a cold glare at her friend, not appreciating the solo pity party while she'd been actually looking for something that could help their situation.