Dear Diggory

chapter 55

A few days later classes had started back up again. We'd almost fallen back into the normal routine, and although I was spending a good amount of time with Cedric, I was still trying my best to forgive him fully.

It was Thursday evening and I was sat in Ravenclaw common room, working on a new piece of work from Defence Against The Dark Arts.

I was trying to concentrate on the book in front of me detailing illegal charms but my mind kept drifting to thoughts of Cedric.

I chewed on the end of my pen thoughtfully as I contemplated the situation. Since he'd returned, he was back to his usual easygoing self, but sometimes I would recall his cold behaviour and cringe from the memory.

I sighed to myself quietly, the situation was frustrating me. I wanted to click my fingers and forgive him easily but the guarded part of me just wasn't ready.

A shadow cast across my book as someone stood in front of my table, tearing me away from my thoughts.

I looked up to find Cho standing there staring at me and a fresh wave of pain washed over my brain. She was even prettier than I'd remembered, and despite Cedric's reassurance that he wanted to go to the ball with me, a niggling doubt still whispered at the back of my mind.

It was such a girly concern to have and I cursed myself for letting my insecurities overwhelm my logic.

"Hi... can I sit here?" Cho spoke in a gentle tone, glancing nervously to the empty seat opposite me.

I debated her request, but felt it would be both petty and pointless to say no. She hadn't really done anything wrong after all.

"Sure, let me move these out of the way for you" I grabbed the books I'd placed on that side of the desk and stacked them next to me, hoping they wouldn't topple over.

She smiled at me and my heart dropped, she seemed so sweet it made me feel guilty for my unwarranted resentment.

"Did you have a good break?" She asked, clearly trying her best to strike up a casual conversation.

"Um it was okay I guess. I just stayed here you know." I shrugged, unable to meet her soft gaze. "How about you?"

"Mine was nice thanks." I saw her shift in her seat nervously and I had a dreaded inkling in my stomach of what was to come, "I was thinking about stuff over break actually, I wanted to talk to you. Explain some things."

I looked up cautiously. What stuff did she need to explain? It wasn't her fault what had happened between Cedric and I.

"I don't think that you n-"

"Please?" She interrupted my sentence. I leaned back in my chair and nodded reluctantly.

"I just thought you should know that Cedric and I only went to the ball as friends, that was clear from the moment he asked me. I wouldn't want you to have the wrong impression about that."

I sighed at this, "Cho it's okay, really. Cedric and I have our own issues to figure out, it's not your fault."

She nodded, seemingly reassured by my words. "I just wouldn't want to get in between you guys, you know."

"Don't worry you're not getting between anything, there's nothing going on." I knew this wasn't strictly true.

I still liked Cedric after all, but he hadn't confessed any feelings for me yet and I was beginning to feel like he never would.

She frowned at my words, as if the thoughts were conflicting in her mind. "That can't be true, at least not from what I could tell."

"What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrow quizzically.

"Well Cedric seemed very into you actually... Whenever you weren't looking he was staring and when you disappeared he seemed devastated. Plus..." she trailed off and I leaned forward, itching to hear the rest of it.

"What? What is it?" I asked frantically, probably too eager to know what she had to say.

"When we left the ball that night he seemed upset, so we started talking and he told me that you guys had an argument. He started crying actually, it was painful to watch."

My heart wrenched at her words. The thought of Cedric crying was devastating to me, I didn't realise it had hurt him that much, I couldn't imagine him like that, he was the most carefree person I knew. A new wave of guilt washed over at me at the image.

"Thank you for telling me this Cho, I'm sorry if it ruined your night." I mumbled, leaning back in my seat as I pondered what to do with this information.

She smiled at me and I could see the genuine purity there, "don't worry about it, I thought you should know."

I laughed lightly, my relief growing by the second, "I've been such an idiot about everything, I just assumed you guys liked each other."

She laughed this time and grimaced jokingly, "trust me... Cedric is not my type."

I raised my eyebrows at this and her gaze drifted to the other side of the room. I followed her vision to a girl sitting alone in an armchair in the corner. She had a book in her hand and was chewing her lip thoughtfully as she concentrated.

I recognised her as Lisa Turpin. She was in our year and had always been a sweet girl. She had a very gentle air to her that made you want to trust her instantly. I'd voted her for the summer superlative of kindest girl in our house.

I turned back to face Cho, she was smiling widely and the pieces clicked into place.

"How long have you liked her?" I asked. She turned her attention back to me.

"A while" she admitted, "I haven't been brave enough to talk to her properly yet."

"I think you should go for it, you might be pleasantly surprised." I smiled warmly and could see her pondering the encouragement in her mind. If only I could take my own advice.

"I'll think about it" she agreed.

We sat there for the rest of the evening, getting to know each other properly. Despite my reservations, it was nice, and all my doubts about her and Cedric evaporated as we began our own friendship.