Smile - Cedric Diggory

Thirteen

(Cedric's P.O.V.)

It was the night of the Yule Ball and Cedric was flat on his back staring up at the ceiling. He had dropped Iris off at the girl's dorms fifteen minutes ago and now he drowning in his thoughts.

Why did I kiss her?

What would have happened if that couple hadn't interrupted? 

Would I have made out with my best friend?

Would she have kissed me back?

That last thought flew around the room, bouncing off the walls and laughing at him cruelly. He would never know the answer because he would never have the chance to kiss her again. Now he knew that Durmstrang would be the best choice for him next year. Either that or he would just drop out of school and live in an insane asylum for the rest of his pitiful life.

~~~

Weeks had passed and it had snowed several times, leaving the ground covered in a thick blanket of white. Several snowball fights had broken out, especially among the Gryffindors. One day as they were walking to Herbology class one of the girls stuffed a handful of snow down a boy's shirt. In return he threw a snowball her way, but since she was already running he missed and hit another girl. Just like that, a huge snowball fight broke out between all the Hufflepuffs. 

Iris shoved a handful of snow down the front of Cedric's shirt and he shivered at the cold feeling. Then he glared playfully at her and said, "I'm so going to get you back for that." He started towards her and she squeaked and fled towards the greenhouses. 

He caught up with her and laughed in her ear, grabbing her by the waist and tackling her. She landed on her back in a snowdrift and he pinned her down. She giggled and he grinned down at her.

"I'm going to make you wish you hadn't done that. You better apologize." He threatened teasingly.

"I'll never surrender." She declared valiantly. 

"Then you'll have to bear the consequences." He grabbed a handful of snow and threw it in her face.

She gasped and managed to wriggle free, clambering to her feet as quickly as she could, but he grabbed her leg from the ground and pulled her back down.

This time she landed on his chest and he felt as though all the air had been sucked out of him. Not just because she was pressing on his lungs. He could feel her gasping for air and laughing. It vibrated through him and he found that he was grinning so broadly that he thought his face might split in two.

Suddenly she froze and he started to realize just how blue her eyes were because of how close they were. He reached up, feeling like the air in his lungs had frozen in the cold air, and brushed a strand of her blonde hair out of her face. Snowflakes dotted her eyelashes and her nose was a light pink color. As he stared, her cheeks got pinker, but it must have been from the cold. Time slowed down as his gaze slowly dropped to her lips. He wanted to kiss her so badly in that moment. Both of the teens had forgotten that they were surrounded by their classmates as he gently pulled her in.

"Oi Diggory! Stop puckering up to your girl and get your ass to class." He heard laughter in the background and felt himself flush in anger.

Iris scrambled to her feet, blushing furiously, and he pushed himself up, desperately wanting to murder whoever had yelled that and spoiled the moment.

His eye fell on a group of Slytherins standing outside the greenhouse smirking. Draco Malfoy, the little daddy's boy whiner, was standing in the middle of the group, smirking even wider than the rest of his dumb followers. Pansy Parkinson was draped on him like the pathetic, needy person she was. His white-blonde hair was reflecting the snow and he was snickering at the two red faced Hufflepuffs. The rest of his group hung around looking like they had about two brain cells between the three of them.

"You better watch your back, Malfoy." He shouted back, "Your precious daddy won't be able to stop me from beating it into the ground if I get a hold of you."

A brief look of terror passed over Malfoy's smug face and Cedric smirked to himself. The younger boy quickly shoved past them up the hill, quickly followed by his posse of goons, who grunted and knocked into them harshly.

"Hey, you didn't have to respond. What they think doesn't matter. It was just two f-friends play fighting in the snow." Iris whispered.

He swore his heart made a cracking noise as she said that, but he put on a brave face and grabbed her hand, pulling her down to the greenhouses.

And that was how Cedric Diggory and Iris Maya received their first detentions.