The Flower and the Badger

Chapter 13

It took Anna a couple of days to decide, but in the end she agreed to go with Cedric to the Yule Ball, becoming the object of envy of practically every girl in the school. Cedric was ecstatic when she had agreed, they had been spending more and more time together lately. Anna had a feeling that he wanted something more than a friendship, but he knew that the wounds involving Fred were still fresh, so he didn't push anything, he was just there to comfort her when she needed him. Hermione thought that they were a perfect match.

"Honestly, I think that you two should have gotten together a while ago." She said as they studied in the library. "It seems like the only thing that Fred does is repeatedly break your heart, he hasn't been there for you like Cedric has been."
Anna shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't mean that I don't still love him, though that probably makes me an idiot."
"It definitely makes you an idiot. Cedric is perfect for you Anna."
Anna bit her lip. "You really think so?"
"I know so." Hermione smiled as she patted her on the shoulder. "Just trust me on this."

Anna nodded. Hermione was right about a lot of things. Cedric had always been there for her, ever since they had met on the train her first year. At first she had just thought of him as a big brother, but as she began to think about it, she realized that her feelings about him had changed over time.

"Great, now I'm just like all of his other fangirls." Anna groaned, and Hermione laughed lightly. "Don't be silly. Those girls just fawn over him because of his looks. You like him  for who he is as a person, although looks probably is a small factor for you."

Anna blushed darkly. "Oh shut up."
Hermione giggled as she started to pack up her things. "I have to go, I promised Ron and Harry that I would help them with an essay."
"Okay, see you later."

As Anna was cleaning up her things, she heard two Ravenclaw girls whispering, glancing in her direction every now and then, only they weren't as quiet as they thought that they were.

"I bet that Diggory is only going with her because she's a Potter." One of the girls said. "I mean, he's obviously not going with her because of her looks. I mean, have you seen her?"

The two girls shared a giggle, quickly stopping as Anna walked over to them.
"You know, you really should be careful who you gossip about." Anna said. "You never know who might be listening."

The braver of the two girls stood up and faced Anna. "It's true. It's only because you're a Potter. He wouldn't be going with you to the Ball otherwise."

"Actually...."
All three girls turned to look as Cedric came striding over. "I asked Anna to the Ball because I think that she's the most beautiful, kind and caring girl in the school, and there's no one else that I would rather go with." He wrapped his arm casually around Anna's waist, and the two girls faces went red from embarrassment, and they quickly scurried out of the library.

"I think that you oversold it just a bit." Anna giggled as they walked out of the library, his arm still wrapped around her.
"It's true though." Cedric insisted as they walked down the hall, people watching them as they did so. It was lunchtime, so they walked to the Great Hall, and Cedric kissed her cheek before going and sitting across from the Hufflepuffs. Anna went to the Gryffindor table, and she sighed as Fred sat across from her.

"Where's Rachel?" Anna asked, her voice dripping with venom, and Fred winced at her tone. "Anna, I'm so sorry. Rachel had given me a love potion."
"And what? That's supposed to make me automatically forgive you?" Anna demanded, and people stopped what they were doing, watching the two.

"Let's not do this here." Fred said quietly. "Let's go somewhere private that we can talk-"
"I'm not going anywhere with you Weasley. You've already broken my heart twice, and I'll be damned if I let you break it a third time." Anna stood up and she walked out of the hall, Fred watching her every move.

Fred could feel his heart breaking as he watched Anna walk out of the Great Hall. He had messed up, he knew that. He shouldn't have even been around Rachel, she had a reputation for using love potions to get the guy that currently had caught her eye. His hand went to his pocket, where Anna's ring was. He always carried it, hoping that she would somehow forgive him and he would be able to slip it back onto her finger. But now she was getting closer and closer to Diggory, and she was quickly slipping from between his fingers. Fred was losing her, if he hadn't lost her already. He groaned as he saw Cedric coming his way. Great, just what he needed.

"What do you want Diggory?"
"I'm here to give you a warning." Cedric said, his voice casual, though his intent was not. "You've broken Anna's heart twice. Do you know how many times I've had to console her because of your idiotic actions? Well, I'm not going to let you break her heart ever again."

"I screwed up, I know that." Fred glared at him. "There's no need to rub it into my face."
"Well that seems like the only way that you seem to be able to learn." Cedric said. "Because you obviously haven't learned from your mistakes any other way Weasley. She loved you, with all of her heart, and what did you do? You betrayed her, twice. And don't dare try to use the love potion as an excuse. If you truly loved Anna, you would have snapped out of it as soon as you had seen her. She gave you her everything, and all that you seem to do is break her."

Cedric turned and walked out of the Great Hall, presumably to chase after Anna, and Fred sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Cedric had a point though. Anna loved him so much, and all that Fred seemed capable of was breaking her heart. Maybe he didn't deserve her. And she seemed so happy whenever she was with Cedric, and Cedric obviously cared about her, if the conversation he'd just had with Fred was any indication. Fred had a feeling that he had lost Anna, and he didn't know if there was any way that he would be able to get her back.