warmth - cedric diggory

chapter sixteen

cedric diggory was walking to class with edmund wood, laughing, and chatting. after they announced the triwizard tournament, the school was buzzing with excitment but still very much happening. new people were walking around and speaking about the walls they called home, asking a bunch of questions.

"i think im going to put my name in tonight." edmund had suddenly said, a large mischievous smile crossed his lips. cedric raised his eyebrows to his friend, his facial features suddenly a lot softer.

"really?" cedric said, crossing into a new hallway. the halls were loud and curious but cedric was focused on speaking to the boy walking with him.

"yeah, why not! the girls are going to end me but what's the probability of me even getting chosen? whatever that is, triple the probability of me getting chosen and winning." his voice was cocky and loud, cedric couldn't help but chuckle at the confidence.

cedric knew that edmund was most likely not going to get chosen because multiple people had already said how they were putting their names in the goblet of fire. but he also knew ivy, belle, and athena were going to rip him apart for putting himself in danger.

"i think i want to also." cedric had been thinking about it since the words left dumbledores mouth. this was something unknown and mysterious that no student had experienced before. cedric definitely didn't want to miss this chance because he definitely wanted to be able he participated in some way.

"then we put our names in together, mate." edmund smacked his hand on cedric's back and the boys chuckled together.

everyone was hanging around the room the goblet of fire sat in. students were outside in groups, laughing together or pushing each other around. many students also sat in the room, waiting to see which brave soul would put their name in.

when walking through out the halls of hogwarts, everyone could hear the chatter bouncing around from the room. ivy, belle, edmund, athena, and cedric were all headed on their way there right after classes finished.

"i'm so excited to see who puts their name in." belle was grinning as she spoke, her arms locked inbetween edmund and ivy. she was skipping in some sort of way.

"i'm excited to see who is idiot enough to put their name in." ivy adjusted her arm to fit more perfectly, slightly shaking her head. belle giggled softly.

"calling me and ced idiots, huh?" edmund glimpsed to ivy, raising his eyebrows in a playful manner. cedric laughed as ivy scoffed to the two boys walking beside her in their small group.

"that is exactly what i am saying." ivy led the group to the door of the room that illuminated blue, even outside of it. students were crowding the doorway, eyeing every person that came by.

cedric had instantly noticed athena had changed her body language ever since cedric and edmund proposed the idea of putting their names in. she had become more stiff, even when he had his arm wrapped around her small frame.

she didn't say a word, she didn't look to the group and laugh, she seemed quiet and reserved. this wasn't very athena like behavior because around her friends, she was happy as one could be. she was loud and giggly and happy, but right now she seemed different.

"don't put your name in yet, we'll be right back." cedric pointed to edmund and quickly led athena down the hallway with his arm on her back. edmund held up a thumbs up and walked into the room of people.

cedric led his loving girlfriend down a dim hall, turning a corner to make sure no one would see them. no one was around in this empty hall, which made things seem quite eerie, but the voices that were heard helped.

"tell me what's wrong, love." cedric held his voice in a softer tone than usual. athena stood in front of him, her head hung lowerer. "and don't lie." he brought his hand up and brushed the brown hair off her face.

"i don't know, i guess i'm just scared." athena's words sounded delicate like she might cry in any moment. cedric knew that she wouldn't want to cry right now, she preferred to be more reserved with her darker emotions.

"about the tournament, i assume?" athena just nodded her head slowly in response before speaking again.

"i don't want anything bad to happen to you or edmund. i don't know what i would do." her brown eyes finally met cedric's and cedric could feel an instant wave of regret. he didn't want to cause his sweet girlfriend any sort of pain.

he really wanted to put his name in the goblet of fire. he knew he wanted to so bad, but he wouldn't if it meant hurting athena in any way.

"nothing would happen, athena. we probably wouldn't even get chosen, you know that. i won't put my name in if it bothers you." cedric cupped her warm cheek in his hand, running his thumb gently across her skin. athena couldn't help but smile.

"i know you want to do it and i know it is quite exciting, isn't it?" cedric laughed and nodded his head. "i don't want to stop you and i trust you to make the right decisions. if this is what you want, who am i to prevent you. lets just hope edmund doesn't get chosen because he would be absolutely screwed." athena laughed for the first time since they've seen each other today.

cedric laughed with her and nodded his head, knowing that her words were true. edmund is fit and athletic, but he could also be quite sheepish. cedric placed a small kiss on her forehead, thanked her for being understanding, and led them back to the room.

the room was loud, as excepted, and cedric immediately saw many familiar faces. their group stood with the golden trio, talking about the people they had already seen.

"there he is, you ready mate?" edmund stepped towards athena and cedric, a slip of paper which read his name in his hands. harry and ron were smiling to the boys and held up a thumbs up. cedric nodded his head with a large smile, dropped athena's hand after smiling to her, and walked up the goblet of fire.

there was a blue illuminant line guarding the large fire pit. the age restriction, cedric remembered. you couldn't be younger than 17 to enter your name in the tournament. thank merlin he had turned 17 just a few months ago.

cedric and edmund walked to the fire together, both of them smiling largely. they both lived on the adrenaline and rush of doing exciting things like this, which caused them to be such good friends.

"3..2.." edmund had started to count down as he reached his hand up. "1." at the same time, the two boys placed their names into the fire. the blue fire roared for a moment, before calming down once again.

everyone in the room began to cheer for the boys, clapping and shouting their names. cedric and edmund high fived before walking back to the group. cedric instantly picked up athena and quickly spun her around, making her laugh loudly.

ivy and belle hugged edmund tightly, cedric could hear ivy calling edmund rude names with a smile on her face. they all laughed together and decided to hang out in the room to see who their competition was.