A rhythmic knock at the door interrupted my early midday study session.

Damn Advanced History of Magic; I couldn't keep thinking about broom history for another minute or I'd internally combust. I mentally chided myself for even taking the course. Professor Binns was as boring as the day is long, to add to my torment. Having a ghost as a teacher is strange enough as it is, but then putting students to sleep is almost comic.

I slammed my textbook closed and pushed it to the side of my desk as I got up to check who might've been visiting. It couldn't be Daphne; although she regularly forgot the key to our dorm room, I knew she took it with her today. She's started wearing it on a chain around her neck to make sure she can't lose it anymore.

I swung open the door to reveal the familiar face of Cedric Diggory, the boy who I was desperately trying to forget. I was mildly stunned, not expecting him whatsoever.

He was always a handsome boy, but standing at the doorway of my room, along with the added suspense of knowing that I can't have him, made him more irresistible. It almost seemed like the restraints placed on me only made me find him all the more attractive as he stood there with a crooked smile.

Seeing as it was a weekend without classes, he wore comfortable clothes that I remembered well; he'd typically dress like that on his off days. He wore a cream colored cashmere sweater and black slacks, the neutral tones of his clothes accentuating his bright blue eyes and honey-brown highlights of his hair.

His hair looked extra soft; he'd probably washed it this morning. I could tell by how it was parted on the left side, which he always did after it was dried from a shower. Throughout the day, it naturally tousled itself which I used to prefer, but when he was standing in front of me at that doorway, I wanted nothing more than to mess it up myself.

"Morning, y/n," he half-heartedly grinned.

I gave an awkward cough, still processing that he was here.

"Uh, good morning, Cedric," I politely replied, my eyebrows slightly furrowing at his presence. "How'd you... get in here?"

The Slytherin entrance was heavily guarded, and our password was changed fortnightly. I couldn't imagine that the dungeons stone wall would so willingly let in a Hufflepuff, on his own merit.

I had snuck him into my room on a number of occasions, but that was different; I gained rightful entry and he just passed through afterward.

"Oh, right," he chuckled, alleviating some of the tension. "I saw Nott up in the Great Hall and told him I needed to speak with you... he accompanied me to open the entrance. As for your room, I figured it was the same room as last year." A small blush tinted the high points of his chiseled cheeks as he mentioned my room, probably a tad embarrassed for admitting he remembered where it was.

I found solace in knowing that, at least, that means he hasn't forgotten all the things we did together.

"That was... nice of him," I nodded. I dryly coughed again before straightening my posture to make better eye contact with him. He still towered over me, however. "You needed to speak with me?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, sealed with an "S" wax stamp. It smelled fresh, like it had been melted and poured just hours ago. The other side of the envelope had my name written across it in somewhat rushed, but still beautiful calligraphy. The ink was slightly splotched at the end of my name, but the prints were fine.

His arm extended over to me, his long, slender fingers momentarily brushing against mine as he handed me the envelope. His hand was warm, like always. Never cold, or unwelcoming, but comfortable and mellow in feeling. I could still feel the tingles of excitement on my fingers from when our skin brushed.

I grasped the envelope between my fingers as he pulled away and I looked up at him quizzically. "What might this be?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets, slouching slightly. "I saw Professor Slughorn earlier today, he asked me to deliver some books for him. I saw a stack of envelopes on his desk and... your name was on this one."

"So he asked you to deliver it to me? You're his messenger boy now?" I cracked a lame joke, hoping to make him smile.

It seemed I succeeded, as indicated by half-grin he donned. "No, actually. I offered to give it to you."

"You did?"

His right hand lifted out of his pocket and reached the back of his neck, scratching it bashfully. It was a nervous tick of his that I used to find adorable.

"Well, I knew I'd see you at some point anyway, at our prefect meetings. I could've waited a few more days, but I figured why not expedite the process?"

My gaze shifted between the envelope and Cedric. There was no doubt that he was shy; maybe he regretted coming all the way to my dorm to deliver this. After all, it certainly said something about our relationship, or at least his feelings, being more than just formal if he took the initiative to come all the way down here.

"I appreciate it," I gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, Cedric."

His nerves appeared to melt away the slightest bit once I smiled at him, because he returned it with one of his own. Probably the first real smile I've seen him have in quite a while.

"Would you like to come in?"

Once the words left my mouth, I knew I was playing a risky game. But I couldn't help it, the question flew out as if I couldn't avoid it happening, it was just instinctual.

His eyebrows bounced up, likely out of surprise. In his defense, I somewhat couldn't believe that I said that either.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose or anything... I just came over for that letter."

Sure, Cedric. As much as we'd both like to believe that, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to come into my House without some other purpose, whether or not he even realized it.

I nodded, moving to the side to make room for him to walk in. "Might as well find out what's in this letter together."

Cedric cautiously stepped in, like he hadn't ever been in here before. He gawked around a bit, but in his defense, I'd changed some of the decorations since last year and moved some furniture around. He was opposed to sitting down at first, but eventually I coerced him into sitting on the edge of my bed.

He hunched over, with his forearms on his lap and hands folded as he looked around a bit more. I sat at the chair at my desk, repositioned to face him.

"Your room's pretty," he complimented, eyes shifting from thing to thing. A poster, a stack of books, the pillows I had scattered at the window. "Different, but pretty."

"I'm sure it's not as nice as yours," I replied. "Having that lone dorm to yourself must be nice."

He grinned. "Being Head Boy does have its advantages, but the dorm to myself is probably my favorite. Well, one of them, anyway."

"What are some of the other ones?" I leaned back in my chair.

He shook his head and motioned to the envelope in my hand. "Don't worry about it. You should open your invitation."

"Invitation?" I cocked my head.

He grimaced, looking frustrated with himself. "Sorry, y/n, I shouldn't have spoiled it. While I was talking with the professor, he gave me one, too. It's an invitation for the Slug Club."

My demeanor perked up, eyebrows arching in amusement. "Really? Oh, I didn't think I'd get invited. Well, thank you, Ced," I thanked him and ripped open the envelope.

Inside, as Cedric indicated, was a somewhat sloppily written invitation to his Slug Club which stated our group would be having at least monthly dinners, and we're welcome to attend. My eyes scanned over the letter, but there was nothing too personal written. I assumed he must have written up quite a few and just personalized our names.

"So you've gotten one, too?"

"Yes, somehow," he lightly chuckled. "I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I'm quite honored to be invited. I've heard that it was very impressive back when he first taught at Hogwarts."

"Of course you got in, Cedric. You're Head Boy, the Hufflepuff seeker, related to a former Minister of Magic, for Merlin's sake. I swear, the list of things you haven't done is shorter than what you have," I smiled.

Cedric leaned back, his forearms now behind him, leaning on my bed as his shoulders slumped. A cheeky grin formed on his lips, looking content with himself. I hadn't been trying to bolster his ego, but he certainly had no business being modest with his set of accomplishments under his belt.

As he leaned back, his natural way of getting more comfortable, he looked more attractive than he had when he first sat down. He took up more space, his legs jutting out and stretching, while his arms behind him took up half of my bed. His slim figure looked taller and more confident.

"You flatter me, y/n. And what about you? Prefect, chess club, top grades even with the most advanced classes Hogwarts offers, and you're a Vitelli, to name just a few. And none of those even consider what a wonderful person you are, in general. No wonder you got in."

I looked down at the parchment in my hand and fiddled with it as I tried to distract myself from the bright red blush that was undoubtedly forming on my face. I could feel the heat of my skin rising and didn't want him to see, although it would be inevitable. How could I not? The boy that I was in love with until we were ripped apart from each other was complimenting all my best qualities. He was sitting on my bed, looking handsome as ever, and I had to use all the restraint in my being to not give into what I was feeling.

"Are you alright, y/n?" His smooth voice inquired. I had been avoiding his gaze for a few moments now, and he could definitely tell that something was wrong. He was excellent at knowing when I was feeling off.

I ran a hand through my hair and placed the parchment on the desk behind me. I rubbed my hands, slick with sweat from nerves, onto my pants to relax myself as I built up the courage to look up at him with sincerity.

"I think I owe you an apology, Cedric."

His eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? You... don't owe me anything. Not anymore, at least."

Clearly, he was referring to us being split up. I supposed there was no way of avoiding the topic sooner or later. I had been seeing him on a regular basis, and he had a personality hard to stay away from.

It just hurt that it was still fresh in his mind.

"For everything. You deserve so much better, and I can't tell you how sorry I am for just... ruining everything."

"You didn't ruin anything. It must have been my fault... perhaps I wasn't treating you right, or didn't give you enough love. I can't think of any other reason you'd just end things so abruptly."

I sighed at his words. Him saying that was enough to shatter my heart in two. It was too much knowing that he thought he was the reason that we broke up... maybe I should have just told him at the time.

No, I couldn't have. But perhaps I should have.

"I can assure you, it wasn't your fault at all. It was... entirely me."

He lightly scoffed. "'It's not you, it's me'? Really, y/n? I never thought I'd hear you say that. I can handle it, I'll be a man about my faults. I'd just... like to know what it was. If you'll tell me, that is."

"Nothing, I promise you did absolutely nothing. And I'm sorry, I should have worded it better; I didn't mean to give you a cliché like that. Especially since in this case, you truly didn't do anything wrong."

He sat up straighter and ran a hand through his hair, tousling it and letting loose locks of hair fall over his forehead with a slight curl. His blue eyes peaked through messy strands of hair before he pushed them out of his line of sight, making more serious eye contact with me.

"Then what was the reason?"

"I— I'm sorry, Cedric," I sighed, defeated. "I just can't tell you."

He inhaled deeply before standing up and making his way for the door. I promptly stood up and reached to grab his arm, pulling him back. To my surprise, he didn't make an effort of shaking off my grasp.

"Where are you going, Ced?"

"Don't call me that, please," he shook his head. "I just can't stand being around you when it's like this... you know, I came here to give you that letter, but also in some hopes that we could just be okay again. Get rid of whatever tension there's been between us."

"You've felt it too? That awkwardness, the need to say the things unspoken."

He turned around again to face me. His puffed out chest made him appear taller and more domineering than he had been this whole conversation. His voice changed from soft and sensitive like it was a moment ago, to more assertive and decisive.

"Of course I've felt it, y/n! How could I not? The way that I feel every time I see you at prefect meetings, knowing you're not mine, the passing greetings in corridors, or the way you ignore me completely at mealtimes. It takes over every aspect of my life!"

"Cedric, I— I had no idea you felt this way..." I looked down, ashamed at the way I'd handled the entire situation.

I'd been so focused on my own problems that I didn't even consider how he might feel about everything.

"Of course, I've felt this way... Merlin, I tried to get rid of these feelings since you broke up with me, but how can I do that when you're still such a big part of my life?"

I stepped back, trying to put some distance between us as I took deep breaths and regained my composure. This was the most emotional conversation we'd had in a long time, and it was difficult to air out everything I wanted to, but just couldn't.

I sat down on the edge of my bed, with him trailing behind me. Sitting down and looking up at him, he seemed to have more softened features. He could never stay mad at me for long, even when I did something worthy of being upset with. It was in his nature to be calm, which made me feel all the more remorseful.

"I'll resign from my position as prefect. You need some time to heal, and it'll be better for both—"

"No, y/n, don't do that. It won't solve anything. Why can't we just sort this out? I'm not asking for us to get back together again, but we can at least be cordial with each other, can't we? I just want that tension gone; to be able to see you again, maybe spend time together or hang out like we used to. As much as possible, anyway. Even if we're not together, I'll always appreciate your company and friendship. Don't take that away from me, please."

I stared at my hands in my lap, avoiding his gaze. I wouldn't allow myself to cry in front of him, or it'd be too obvious that I still wanted him. However, that didn't stop my breathing from getting heavier or the slight tremble of my hands.

Noticing this, he lowered himself down onto his knees, so that he was slightly lower than eye level with me. "If you don't want me in your life, tell me, y/n. I can deal with this on my own, try to pretend like none of it ever happened. I won't make a fuss out of it, or make things awkward when we see each other. I just need you to tell me, so I can do it."

He reached for my hands and cupped them comfortingly. My smaller hands fit so perfectly in his larger ones, and he warmed them up quickly. Their slight trembling seemed to halt as I forced myself to look up at him.

"Cedric, if I could, I would tell you everything. What happened and why I broke things off between us... I never meant to hurt you. Merlin, that's the last thing I wanted to do. It kills me to know that you feel this way, and I can't apologize enough. Please just know that I never want you out of my life... I can't handle it," I choked out, taking many deep breaths between my shaky words.

"You don't? Does that mean that we can still be friends?" His fingers slightly parted, gently rubbing my hands from my wrists to my fingertips to calm me down.

I forced a smile to stop the tears that would otherwise well up if I didn't. It was a plastered, ingenuine smile, but he returned it just the same.

"I've tried these past few weeks living without you and it hasn't been manageable. You have to know that things can't be the same as they once were, but there's nothing I'd love more than for us to still be friends."

A real, beaming smile grew on his lips to replace the obviously fake one that had just been there. His cheeks tinted pink and his chest heaved up and down, like he'd been holding in his breath.

I don't think I'd seen him so happy in months.

"That's... that's wonderful. I promise, I won't waste this chance you've given me. Even, as just friends. I'll take what I can get."

———

A/N: Hi, lovely readers! My apologies for no Draco in this chapter, but this one's kind of important to the overall plotline. I needed to make sure Ced and y/n have a better relationship, otherwise there's no room for growth with other characters. I ~promise~ good Draco content is coming up! Xoxo

And thank you so much for 1k reads!! please vote + comment so my book gets seen even more!