The Boy In My Dreams -HEDRIC (1)

12.(H) under a spell

HARRY

XXVI

He was not used to being hugged in any other way than a hello or in a fleeting moment of joy. The ones he got on the Gryffindor team crushed him and left energy running through his veins after a victory. His friends would greet him with such affection after the months of holidays that Harry was certain they had missed him just as much. Mrs. Weasley would squeeze him, grab his scrawny cheeks and prepare a special welcome dish when he visited the Burrow.

This time was different.

Cedric's grip on his shoulder was delicate and firm. Harry was aware that this must be awkward, but he felt more at ease than he thought he should be. The tears had stopped the instant he leaned against him and stayed that way for what seemed like a long time. He wasn't sure how weird it was for Cedric. No emotion could be sensed on his behalf, other than his soft breathing. Harry figured Cedric wouldn't show signs of anything besides courtesy and kindness.

When Harry reluctantly pulled away to face him in embarrassment, Cedric did everything in his power to make the moment pass as if it hadn't been a big deal. The relief he experienced at this was indescribable. That ability Cedric had to make him feel comfortable must be the reason why he was so popular.

Why someone, anyone would want to spend time with him.

Harry was in no rush to leave that space in the middle of the forest.

As if they had the whole afternoon ahead of them, Cedric settled with his legs spread out under the dim sun that filtered through the branches of the trees. "It's nice to see you somewhere other than on a gurney, hurt."

The thought that he wasn't the only one enjoying being there made Harry relax against the ground. Every one of the sensations he had experienced during the minutes he had been in Cedric's arms, with his head on his shoulder, remained etched on his body. It was as if the touch hadn't ended, because he could still feel that pressure and warmth all over.

As if he was under a spell.

XXVII

He was in a better mood.

So much so he wanted to joke. "Maybe next time I'll be the one to visit you in the hospital wing."

His words caught Cedric off guard for a second. Harry liked the way he smiled at him, almost impressed, and the sound of his laughter. "Do you want to see me lying on a gurney, dying?"

Harry blushed because he pictured Cedric in one of those gowns they used in muggle hospitals. "A simple wound, one of those easy to heal with magic," he countered, wondering if Cedric would even go to the hospital wing in that case or he would figure it out on his own. Harry didn't know many healing charms, but he would bet Cedric did. "The serious ones seem to prefer me. Danger adores me."

"I would be delighted to have Harry Potter visit me."

The way he had said his full name, as he had heard so many times since he first met the magical world.

The tone, the weight.

A cascade of memories and feelings unleashed and a hole should not have opened in his chest, impossible to cover up. It was silly, because Cedric couldn't mean it that way. He couldn't be like so many other students who would talk to him a few times just to say they were friends with Harry Potter and never say hello again. Those who had been nice and then turned their backs when something happened that could be blamed on him.

He knew he was being unfair.

Cedric had never given him a reason to distrust.

However, a small part of Harry couldn't just dismiss the doubt. While in his previous school he had been the weird boy that his cousin made sure nobody liked, at Hogwarts he was the one they had read about in books and heard stories that their parents told them. Two sides of the same coin that led him to wonder who wanted Harry, the real Harry. The boy who grew up in the world of people without magic, the one who didn't like parties and had been alone his whole life. The one who was so scared of being judged that he would do everything in his power not to put himself in that situation, but even when he tried to do things right, they somehow turned around.