Smile - Cedric Diggory

Prologue

August 31st, 1994

Dearest Cedric,

Sixth year is starting tomorrow and I still haven't worked up the courage to tell you I am completely in love with you. I'm starting to think that maybe I should try to move on. You know, get a boyfriend and kiss him a lot. Or maybe I'm just trying to make you jealous. As if that would ever happen. I don't think it would work anyways. I'll never get over you.

So instead of telling you or trying to move on, I'm going to stay quiet. The girl who loved you more than you'll ever know. I'll sit beside you as you flirt with other girls and stay silent. I'll avert my eyes when you kiss your first girlfriend and pretend I'm reading a book. I'll be the girl you never knew felt more deeply for you than she ever imagined she would.

Love You Dearly,

     Your Iris

~~~

Iris licked the envelope and sealed the letter inside. She would never actually send it to him, it just helped to pretend he had actually gotten it.

She pulled the box from under her bed filled with other letters to the boy who would never know and placed to order inside. They were in order by date, starting with the one she had written on the night she had first seen him.

~~~

There he was, Cedric Diggory. That's what McGonagall had said his name was. The dirty blonde haired boy sat on the stool and the hat was placed on his head. It covered his gray eyes as it chose where to place him. After a moment, it called out, HUFFLEPUFF!

She watched him grin and head off to his new house and crossed her fingers, desperately hoping she could be in Hufflepuff. It seemed like forever until she was called up. Maya, Iris, made her way up to the stool to get placed in a house. Little did she know, a boy was watching her from the Hufflepuff table.

The hat fell over her eyes and a voice started in her ear.

"Hmm. A very good mind indeed. You would be well placed in Ravenclaw. And yet, you lack the competitiveness to flourish in that house. I don't think it's the right choice. Ah, bravery. You have a lot of bravery, but there is something missing. You think things through more than any Gryffindor, and you keep your temper very well. Not a bad thing, if you ask me. Very ambitious and definitely a strong leader, but don't think you would thrive there. You are more kind and loyal than any Slytherin. They would never accept you. That leaves Hufflepuff. I think you would do well there. You have the honesty, loyalty, and modesty to fit in, as well as a great amount of friendliness. So, it's going to be... HUFFLEPUFF!"

Iris jumped off the chair and handed the hat to McGonagall, nearly running to her new house. Just the house she had wanted to be in.

Miraculously, she found herself seated next to Cedric Diggory, just the boy she had wanted to meet. She turned and introduced herself.

"Iris Maya."

"Cedric Diggory."

~~~

That was the beginning of everything, and after that Iris and Cedric were inseparable. She never admitted the fact that she was madly in love with him.