Dear Diggory

chapter 24

Monday morning rolled around but I was still thinking about Cedric's finger tracing my thigh. It was like he'd burned the sensation into my nerves, and they seemed intent on replaying it over and over again. I couldn't get the way it made me feel out of my head. It was incredibly frustrating.

When I walked into Defence Against The Dark Arts and saw him sitting at his desk I even blushed profusely, unable to control the stupid automatic reaction to his presence. I walked past him swiftly, making sure not to catch his eye as I passed and took my seat at the front.

The chair next to me wash empty. Carlisle was missing today, he had an extra quidditch training session for the game against Slytherin. Not all the teachers granted permission for the players to miss class for practice, but Lupin was okay about it.

For one insane moment, I considered inviting Cedric to sit next to me but I shook the ridiculous thought from my head as I realised how stupid it was.

To my relief, class went by quickly without incident and I began walking to the great hall for lunch. As I was skipping down one of the winding staircases someone came stomping past me, pushing me with their shoulder. My book fell from my hand, clattering onto the ground and I looked up at them in confusion.

It wasn't someone that I recognised. He was wearing Slytherin robes and looked to be in the year below. He look at me as if he was disgusted by my mere presence.

"Watch where you're going freak, I wouldn't want a filthy muggle loving Malveaux near me."

He stormed off and my jaw dropped his choice of words. It wasn't the first time I'd had a comment like that and I knew they were only angry about the work my father did, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

I bent to pick up my book but Cedric came from behind, beating me to it. He handed it to me with trepidation and scanned my face.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, clutching the novel against my chest protectively.

He nodded slightly, "are you okay? I can put a hex on him if you want."

I would have laughed if I wasn't so upset, "no that's okay, thank you though."

He smiled at me sadly and I almost couldn't handle the level of sympathy in his expression.

"Can you come to my dorm? I want to show you something."

I was surprised at his offer but agreed, I didn't particularly feel like going to lunch anymore.

He led me towards the basement. The Hufflepuff house was one of the lowest rooms in the castle and a lot more sheltered than the Ravenclaw Tower.

We reached the entrance where the barrels blocked it. He tapped his wand against them in the complicated pattern to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. They shifted in a fluid motion and the door opened.

We entered and I immediately felt at ease in the common room. It was easily the cosiest room in the entire castle and there seemed to be a constant positive aura to it. The windows allowed the sunlight to flood in, reflecting onto the warm orange and yellow tones. Little plants hung everywhere and it was a tribute to the natural interest a lot of Hufflepuffs had in Herbology. Everything about the room suggested the sunny and happy nature of the house.

He briefly waved to a friend sitting in the common room before led me up the stairs. I waited for him guide me up the usual route but we didn't head to the dorms.

Instead we walked up a staircase on the other side that I had never explored. Eventually we came to a wooden door and he took out a long silver key to unlock it.