Smile - Cedric Diggory

Two

(Iris' P.O.V.)

Iris found herself seated next to Cedric, and her friend on the other side smirked and said, "Scoot over. There isn't enough room for the first years over here."

Iris sighed but did as she was told, and found her right arm and leg pressed against Cedric's. 

"You okay there?" He asked, looking down at her.

Damn, she thought, I am short. "Yeah I'm fine." She sent him a quick smile and turn her attention to the first years. Among them was her younger sister Daisy. Yes, her parents had named their two daughters after flowers. 

Her knee started bouncing up and down in nerves and Cedric put a hand on it to calm her down. This didn't exactly work because it only made the butterflies in her stomach increase tenfold. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, and she was distracted from the sorting for a moment.

She looked up into his gray eyes and her heart stopped beating for a moment. His gaze was fixed on the sorting, but he became aware of her staring at him and met her eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, and then she felt herself turning red. She looked down, letting her hair fall over her face to hide her blush, and he cleared his throat, returning his gaze to the sorting.

"Maya, Daisy." Was called, and she gripped his hand tightly. He looked down at her, taking in her flushed cheeks and the nervous look on her face.

The hat was placed on her sister's head and there was a long moment of silence in which Iris swore she died twice. Then, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Iris clapped enthusiastically and Cedric whistled loudly, making her giggle. Daisy made her way to the Gryffindor table, blushing madly.

"You're okay that she's not in Hufflepuff?" Cedric asked as the sorting ended and the food appeared in front of them.

"I knew she wouldn't be. I was just hoping she wouldn't be in Slytherin. I was afraid she might stop talking to me if she was."

"Anybody who stopped talking to you would be crazy." He said firmly, unaware of how much this affected his best friend. 

Justin, who was seated across the table, saw the whole exchange and smirked to himself. He turned to Hannah Abbott and whispered, "I bet you a Galleon those two are together before Christmas."

"I bet Halloween." They shook under the table, sending the friends across the table a mischievous look.

"Justin and Hannah are giving us looks that are making me slightly afraid." Iris whispered in Cedric's ear.

He glared at Justin and sent Hannah a smile before saying, "I'm sure you guys could find more interesting things to look at besides us."

"I don't know, Cedric. You and your girlfriend are looking pretty cute and cozy over there." Hannah grinned.

"We aren't dating." He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Suddenly Iris pulled her hand away from his and he frowned down at her. She suddenly seemed extra interested in the food on her plate.

"Uh oh, looks like you two have some things to talk about. And really, friends with benefits doesn't last Cedric. Some day we're going to stumble across the two of you snogging in a broom closet." Justin laughed.

"And what would you and Hannah be doing in a broom closet, Justin?" Cedric smirked, feeling triumphant when the two shared a glance and then turned bright red with embarrassment.

~~~

"Hey, wait a second." Cedric pulled Iris into a quiet hallway on their way back to the common room.

"What?"

"Are we okay? You've been acting weird tonight." He was worried about that?

"Yeah, we're fine. Why wouldn't we be?" She smiled, trying to make it look as real as she could.

"I just wondered, because you acted a bit odd after Justin called us a couple. You know we're just friends, right? Nothing is going to come between that."

Iris looked away, fixing her gaze on her shoes so that he didn't see the tears in her eyes. "Of course. We definitely wouldn't want that."

She quickly fled the hallway, leaving him behind to stare after her in confusion.

~~~

September 1st, 1994

Dearest Cedric,

Sometimes you are such an idiot. I don't do much to hide the fact that I love you, and yet you still don't seem to notice. Maybe you should get your vision checked, because sometimes you can be really, really blind.

I can't believe that I nearly cried in front of you when you said we were just friends. That was so embarrassing I wished that I could've melted into the ground and disappeared. It's not your fault though. You don't know I'm in love with you. I really wish Justin and Hannah hadn't been saying those things at dinner.

It's getting late and the girls in my dorm are telling me to turn the light out. Forgive me for not explaining why I ran away. I just couldn't sink as low as to cry in front of you after you told me we were only ever going to be best friends.

Love,

Your Iris