Misunderstood | Cedric Diggory

ix

chapter nine: rewritten

"Elise?" a voice began from behind, which revealed itself to be my boyfriend several seconds later. "Do you care to tell me why I just found Alfie shouting at some girls in the middle of the third floor?"

I gulped, scratching my head and letting out a frustrated breath. I really didn't want to have to tell Cedric about this. "I don't want you to worry."

He raised his brows, giving a soft half-smile as he intertwined his long fingers with mine. "Elise, tell me."

"Some girls jumped on me earlier." I rushed, my words hardly making sense. I watched a hot flush coat Cedric's face, and I blushed, he really did care. "Please don't worry about it, it appears Alfie has already dealt with it."

"I just wish you would have told me, Elise!" Cedric almost shouted, before pleading "I wanted to be the one who stood up for you."

I stroked his hand with my thumb, comforting as I revealed my worries for him, how he had so much else on his mind. He didn't seem happy with this response, though he knew that I was just looking out for him. He couldn't admit that I was strong, I had coped before him so I could still now.

"Hey, there's a party this weekend, you should come along." Cedric took my hand, taking me to sit down with him on the sofa of the Hufflepuff Common Room.

"A party?" I questioned, I supposed the life of Cedric Diggory would have involved the exciting endeavours of the popular.

He spoke through his smile, "Just a little one, I'm organising, a few close friends, a pool party in the Prefect bathroom."

"Pool party?" I questioned, how could have there been a pool in a bathroom?

And so that Friday night I was shocked at the enormous size of the bathtub that occupied the bathroom. It was barely a bathtub, more of a massive swimming pool that relied on two small taps to be filled. Cedric quickly went over to the valves, muttering something like "well it isn't going to fill itself." before placing some kind of charm on the water to allow it to fill quickly. He gave me a prideful smile before stripping off his top.

He kept his wand in his hand, performing several other charms including music ones, decoration ones and ones for the lights. It was clear why he had been selected as the school's champion, he was clearly talented, more than any other sixth year at the school, seventh year even. As he finished that gleeful grin remained on his face, so proud of the insignificant little charms he had performed just to please his closest friends and peers.

"Cedric, I thought you said only a few close friends," I whispered to him after pushing my way to his side of the tub. There was the same amount of people in there as there seemed to be in an entire year group, and half of them I could barely recognise.

It was a chaotic mess: Firewhiskey being spilt and drunk from left to right; the Beauxbaton Veelas surrounding themselves with the half-naked Durmstrang boys; Alissa was sharing drinks with Viktor Krum and a select few seventh years. The Gryffindor quidditch team shoving each other into the pool as the Ravenclaw quidditch team flew dangerously on their brooms with vodka in their hands.

Cedric had just chuckled at my worry and dismay, "Relax baby," he whispered into my ear, pulling me between his legs and placing soft kisses on my neck. "You've just never been to a Diggory party."

It was clear he was drunk, I could feel the warm buzz of the firewhiskey in his breath and if there wasn't something so effortlessly sexy about him I might have splashed the cold bathwater in his face. "How are you gonna get away with this?" I mumble.

"How are you going to get away with looking so sexy in that swimsuit is my question?" I gulped, his hands traced my bum as he pulled me closer into him, closer than I had ever been before.