Kenneth gets the unfortunate luck of being the mirror image of an infamous dark wizard - his grandfather. As if school and prophecies aren't hard enough to deal with.
[cedric diggory x omc]
[hp:gof]
[bxb]
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warning: disability slur
Kenneth hadn't picked his book up again since he had asked Cedric about the Death Eater incident. He didn't notice, but Cedric did and the Hufflepuff was silently flattered at how his friend was no longer using literature as a way to avoid conversation. Cedric wondered briefly why Kenneth had been more open on this train ride than he had for the duration of their friendship. In the end, he decided, it was because the Quidditch World Cup had been a wake up call for quite a lot of people and Kenny wasn't cold enough to remain unaffected by something like that.
That wasn't the reason Kenneth had suddenly become more attentive, but it was a good enough theory. Cedric was by no means stupid, he was actually very clever (partially through his own merit, but partially because he always used study sessions he didn't need as an excuse to hang out with Ken) and the event had shocked the teen. But Kenneth was no stranger to bad things happening to good people and he'd grown almost indifferent to that brand of tragedy. What had shaken him was that Cedric had been there — that he had known Cedric was going (how could he not? Cedric has been so excited, he mentioned it every time they spoke or wrote), but he hadn't connected it with his vision even though it was clearly the same event.
Kenneth had become so reliant on his visions that he didn't bother to think anymore on the subject than what was shown. Every vision was only half a picture and he was cloaked in doubt over the one thing he had always trusted in completely. Kenneth was unsure now, and he hated it. True, it made him feel more normal, but he couldn't understand how everyone else did it, the uncertainty was killing him.
And while Cedric had noticed a change, he never thought it would run so deep. Cedric didn't even know his friend could see the future, Cedric knew just as much as anyone else at school who wanted an explanation for the fits, the fainting and the occasional lack of awareness: epilepsy. Kenneth could deal with the pitying looks that came with his perfect excuse, as long as they didn't try to talk to him about it. In fact, the distance most people kept from him in fear he would 'spazz out' (not a phrase he liked, but it was the phrase most often used by the people laughing at him) was a relief. It meant he didn't have to worry about hitting someone while in a trance or having to explain every time he froze up. Cedric's worry was enough for him, and he could admit to himself that enjoyed having someone there who would sneak a stash of sweets past Madame Pomphrey, after she claimed they'd rot his teeth.
(He knows it's just her subtle revenge for when he brought down half the infirmary in second year, despite it being an accident. But he allows it because he knows that she knows exactly why he was really there, and why Cedric's pockets were bursting.)
Kenneth's mind ran quickly, but still made sure he picked up on what Cedric was grinning at him about. And Kenneth had noticed something unusual about Cedric's own actions that the boy himself hadn't. In previous years, they would start their journey together until Cedric returned to his Hufflepuff friends after a reminder to get changed. Something Kenneth obviously didn't notice was how just toned Cedric was when he changed his shirt, and Cedric didn't notice Ken's own body which he'd never had the luck to have seen before. Good thing was sitting down wrapping his tie around his neck, or else his weak knees would've sent him tumbling to the floor.
