Strawberry and Vanilla (Cedric Diggory AU)

Chapter One: Back Again

The summer came and passed like the wind for others, but for Cedric, the summer was as slow as ever. It had felt like a year had passed when he was finally on the train back to Hogwarts.

        He had undergone training and therapy sessions every day since the summer had started. His legs were still dying, but he had learned to somewhat walk again, but it wasn't the same having to use crutches and braces. He couldn't walk fast, making him a burden to bring anywhere, he couldn't stand up or sit down without leaning on something, and he was on medication 24/7. It wasn't how he had imagined his life to be after the tournament.

       It was troublesome enough that he had lost interest in his girlfriend and had to tell her. But now he was a cripple and since he broke up with Cho, he had trouble wooing muggle girls. He had all his looks still. Muscular build, tall, attractive features and great hair. But it was the crutches that kept them away. Cedric learned how picky girls were, as he never really thought of them to be. He had it all, just not the legs. He hoped now back at Hogwarts, he would maybe find the girl he had been looking for.

          He had never really had a type. If he was interested, he was interested. Body type didn't matter. Slim or curvy he didn't care as long as you were a girl. Any hair texture, hair colour, eye colour, face shape, he didn't care. He had always been that way. A gentleman some would say, to others, he was a gigolo-to-be. He just wanted a girl to make him laugh and hopefully, be able to see past his dying legs and love him for him.

         He was graduating next year, seeing as he much needed the education. He was an exceptional boy but felt he needed to finish things at Hogwarts. He hadn't been able to say goodbye to his friends individually, so he had sent them all simple owls describing how he was and what had happened. He hadn't gotten replies from most of his friends, but his best friend Scott Brosse had sent him back a two-page letter not only sympathizing and filling him in on the things that had happened in the aftermath of the event. Scott was a great friend that was always there for him no matter what.

          Now he was sitting in the prefect's carriage with Violet Summers, the head girl of Hogwarts. She was a Ravenclaw, Cedric's age. Over the summer, Cedric himself had been given by Dumbledore the position of Head Boy and he couldn't refuse such an honour-filled gesture. The prefects for this year were supposed to meet there for an introduction. Soon, one by one the carriage filled up.

         He and Violet were good friends, he reckoned. Fifth-year, the two of them were quite involved with each other. They'd often meet up to make out or do other things... They had ended their meet-ups when she had begun to have feelings for a girl, cheated on him. But all feelings withdrawn and pushed away, they made quite the head girl/boy duo.

        He eyed the eight new prefects keenly. Wasn't what he exacted at all. First of all, he spotted the very sour faces of the two Slytherin prefects. Draco Malfoy and some other girl who- and he didn't want to be rude- but she resembled the scrunched up face of a pug. The Hufflepuff prefects he knew, Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan. He looked over at the two Gryffindors he had befriended last year- or at least he tried to. They were Harry Potter's best friends, Ron Weasley and the girl, well, he forgot her name. The Ravenclaw prefects Violet seemed to know, but contrarily, he had no idea who they were.

        Violet stood up and motioned to the group. "Welcome, prefects, to an orientation of sorts. Don't worry, you can return to sitting with your friends after Cedric and I finish our little blurb. It won't take long if you're quiet and listening. I'm sure you all know Cedric Diggory, former seeker, Hogwarts champion. He's going to be telling you everything you need to know." Cedric struggled to get up. He had dropped his crutches and now wasn't able to reach them. The bushy-haired friend of Harry quickly dashed forward and picked them up for him. He only nodded in recognition and gratitude as he slowly rose to his feet.