Smile - Cedric Diggory

Eight

(Iris' P.O.V.)

Her best friend was in a tournament that could result in his death, she was completely in love with him, and he was too oblivious to realize it.

Things didn't go well for Iris that week. The stress of having Cedric suddenly be even more popular was hard enough to bear without the added weight of worrying about his life. Plus, the girls were taking even more interest in him than they had before. It was cruel, watching them flirt with him, but he never seemed to notice. The ones that were too forward he quickly excused himself from, and that gave her a little bit of hope, but not enough to assure her that he wouldn't take a fancy to one of them.

Cedric, meanwhile, was still acting strange. She caught him staring at her a lot more than usual, and his fake smiles made her worry. She could always tell when he was faking it. He was Cedric, dammit, and she'd studied him her whole life.

What was particularly interesting was the way he now stuttered in front of her. He had never done it before, but now he was tripping over his words and sometimes he rushed away in the middle of a conversation with some terrible excuse thrown over his shoulder.

She was frustrated with him, and it only caused a further strain on their relationship.

~~~

The first task was coming up quickly, and neither Cedric nor Iris brought it up much. It was as though he wanted to forget it and she was nervous that he didn't want to talk about it.

Cedric would sometimes disappear for hours, only to be found in the common room studying or in the Great Hall eating. She had also noticed that his appetite was increasingly diminishing and every pound he lost worried her. He was getting too thin, but she couldn't coax him into eating anything.

It was all so painful that sometimes she just wanted to scream until her lungs gave out, but that still wouldn't make it all better.

~~~

"Iris?" He began one day, as they sat studying in the library.

"Yeah?" She looked up hastily from the book she was reading, studying her friend's face. He looked tired, and the dark circles beneath his eyes told a tale of sleepless nights. His cheeks had lost their rosy color and he seemed almost gaunt. So much had changed in only a few months time.

"I. . .Potter told me what the first task was today."

"He did? What is it?" She leaned towards him and noticed that he tilted away from her slightly.

"H-he said that everyone else knew s-so it was only fair that I did too. I-it's d-d-dragons."

She felt the blood rush from her face as she stared at him in horror. No wonder he was reading about counter spells and dragon fire. Iris knew she couldn't lose Cedric; he was everything to her.

"We. . .we'll figure it out, Ced. Just like we always do. It's all going to be okay. I promise." She reached out for his hand to comfort him, but he jerked it away harshly.

"'Ris. Don't. Don't make promises you can't keep."

That was when she realized things really weren't going to be okay.

~~~

Dearest Cedric,

Things have really gone downhill in the last few months. We haven't been talking like we used to, and I can't help but feel like I did something wrong. If you can tell me what that was I promise I'll make it right. 

I can't take all of this. The not talking, the times I catch you staring at me, the fact that you aren't eating, and most worrisome, the Triwizard Tournament. How I loath it! Everything in my being hates it, and I want it to never be spoken of again. 

I just want to run away from all of this. Come with me, would you? We can go find a cottage by the seaside and live in it until we are old and wrinkled. Maybe you would even marry me. It's so selfish to be thinking of my own feelings when you could be burnt to a crisp by a dragon in a few days, but I can't help it. All I think about is you, and it hurts so much.

How will I stand this any longer? Will Beauxbatons accept students in the middle of the year? Maybe I should just leave for Christmas and never return, but how could I do that? I could never abandon you when you needed me most, so I will stand by you, even though I think I am dying from all that is happening.

Love Forever,

'Ris