into the unknown : cedric, draco, fred

chapter five

"Styles, Taylor."

As soon as Professor McGonagall spoke my name, my entire body froze. It suddenly dawned on me that there was a massive hall of people staring at me, thinking about me, whispering to eachother, Why is there an older girl being sorted with the first years?

My feet felt like they were being weighed down with cinderblocks and I felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice-water onto me. But what I could do? I fixed my eyes on the stool, and on Professor McGonagall, holding the hat that would determine my future at this school.

All I could do was put one front in front of the other and block out the background noise. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the rickety three-legged stool. I pointedly stared at my feet to allow myself to be in denial that hundreds of students were staring at me. 

Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat onto my head, lowering it until it obscured my vision. A tiny voice began to speak in the back of my head.

Mmm...very smart, I see, you could be a good fit in Ravenclaw...You will fiercely protect your friends, I see some Gryffindor in there too, but with a heart of pure gold. Fiercely loyal, inherently kinda, I think I know where you must go...let's see then, I suppse "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Sorting Hat's Choice echoed through the hall and was met with thunderous applause. I didn't know much about the houses, but I was sure Hufflepuff would be a good fit for me. I stumbled over to the Hufflepuff table in a daze. On my way over, I made eye contact with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They seemed a little disappointed that I wasn't a Gryffindor, I assume, but they all shot me kind and reassuring smiles.

Where was I going to sit? I didn't know anyone, or so I thought: as my eyes searched down the Hufflepuff table, they locked with a pair of bright grey ones, belonging, of course, to Cedric Diggory.

I felt myself melting right there on the spot. Cedric smiled at me and beckoned me over. I nearly ran to the open seat next to him as the sorting commenced, grateful that the attention wasn't on me anymore. 

The Hufflepuffs surrounding me clapped a little when I sat down, welcoming the newest member of their house. Cedric nudged me with his shoulder.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff, Taylor. It's nice to see you again in a setting where you're not barreling into me."

I nearly spat out my pumpkin juice and sent him a playful glare. "Shut up! It only happened twice!"

The two of us laughed together. Across the table, two other Hufflepuffs introduced themselves to me. They were also fourth years, in my year. One of them was blonde with a round, friendly face, named Hannah Abbott,  and the girl next to her introduced herself as Susan Bones.

"Taylor. Do you play Quidditch?" Cedric asked me.

Susan rolled her eyes. "Cedric's the Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Watch your next words Taylor, he'll probably try to make you try out."

I laughed. "Actually, yeah. I love flying. I played at Beauxbatons, my old school. There honestly isn't anything I love more."

Cedric's eyes seemed to glitter with excitement. "No way! What position?"

"Chaser," I said, smiling. "What about you?"

"I play seeker. And not to prove Susan right, but you should try out. We're always looking for fresh talent."

After assuring him that I would, the two of us launched into an exciting discussion about our favorite Quidditch teams and the Quidditch World Cup that had happened just over the summer. We were just discussing Viktor Krum's iconic Wronski Feint move when the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, interrupted us with the start of term speech.

In short, he introduced a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor Moody. He was a very intimidating man, his face marred with battle scars and a considerable chunk taken out of his nose, not to mention an electric blue fake eye that whizzed around sickeningly. Cedric whispered into my ear, explaining how Hogwarts hadn't been able to hold onto a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than a year in a very long time. Unfortunately, I could barely comprehend what he was saying: my whole body had erupted into goosebumps as soon as his hot breath tickled my ear and neck.

The other major development was the reinstitution of the Triwizard Tournament, a Tournament that brought together three schools to compete in a series of magic challenges. Of course, I knew what the Tournament was, growing up with two magical parents. As soon as Professor Dumbledore announced that Beauxbatons would be coming to Hogwarts for the tournament, I nearly leaped out of my seat with excitement. I would get to see my old friends!

Cedric seemed excited for a different reason. As soon as Dumbledore explained that each school would put forth one champion to compete, Cedric's friends elbowed him, encouraging him to volunteer to put his name in the Goblet of Fire for consideration. Copying them, I nudged him too. "Come on Ceddy! You should do it," I said, winking at him

He looked at me bizarrely. "Ceddy?"

I burst into a fit of giggles. "Sorry," I said, gasping.

He started laughing too. "No, it's fine. It's just funny." His eyes didn't leave my face.

When Professor Dumbledore dismissed us, Cedric turned to me and said, "I assume you don't know where the common room is. Come with me."

The two of us funneled into the sea of students exiting the Great Hall. After a bunch of disorienting turns, Cedric brought us to a cluster of barrels next to, based on the smell, I could assume was the kitchens. He pushed the barrels aside to reveal a small nook.

"Okay, here's what you do. Most of the other houses have passwords, but this is how you get into our common room. Tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff,' who was our founder."

I nodded, pretty sure I got it, and watched him do just that. The entrance swung open to reveal a small passage.

"Well, ladies first," Cedric said, grinning. I laughed and crawled inside the passage, walking for a few seconds. I felt Cedric's presence behind me. It was a little cramped, and Cedric had to press up against me for a minute. I tried to ignore that the momentary contact made my breathing shallow.

I could see a tiny golden light and walked toward it, crawling out of the passage way until I was standing in the common room. I simply gasped.

It was warm, cozy, beautiful, homey, and happy. There were windows all over, and soft warm sunlight streamed into the common room. Lucious plants adorned the shelves, credit to the Head of House and Herbology professor, Professor Sprout. A warm fire was crackling merrily in the hearth, and Hufflepuff students were lounging in comfy chairs and couches covered with patchwork quilts. I turned to Cedric in amazement.

"Nice, isn't it?" he said. I nodded wordlessly.

"Hey, Taylor," he said. "I know that Quidditch is canceled because of the tournament, but if you ever want to go out and fly together sometime, er, that could be fun."

I grinned at him. "I'll definitely take you up on that offer."

"Well, goodnight Taylor. Welcome to Hufflepuff."

"Goodnight Cedric. Thanks for making this whole place seem a lot less terrifying."

He pointed me to the girls dormitory and I entered a circular room, which I would be sharing with Hannah and Susan. Oliver was lounging on my bed, also covered with a cozy patchwork quilt. I conversed quietly with Hannah and Susan about the next day's classes, but I couldn't help thinking about Cedric. He was just going to be a good friend, right? Help me get through this disorienting environment?

Well, whatever was going to happen, I was really glad that I had met him.