Dear Diggory

chapter 16

It was Sunday by the time I felt better. My productiveness kicked back in and I spent the whole day cleaning my area of the room and catching up on the missed work. It felt good to be able to function properly again and I prayed that it would last.

By dinnertime I had gotten through most of the work pile and I put my pen down in satisfaction. I only had my muggle studies assignment left but that would be easy enough.

The girls came down from the dorm and I cleared up my stuff before we made our way to the hall for dinner.

I was starving, my week of hibernation had meant that I didn't eat much, I'd been living off fizzy salted caramel snakes and the occasional conjured meal when I could bare to stomach it. The smell now wafting from the dining hall made me salivate and my legs sped up, eager to begin the feast.

We arrived and began making our way to the bench. I was just about to sit down next to Evelyn when Cedric came to stand beside me, seeming to materialise out of nowhere.

I looked up at him with wide eyes, recalling the interaction we'd had before I disappeared. I felt guilty about it, I hadn't exactly been polite and he must've wondered where the hell I'd been all week.

"You're back" he smiled widely, making it clear there were no hard feelings, "will you come and sit with us for dinner?" He inclined his head towards the Hufflepuff table where his usual group was waiting.

My mouth dropped at his offer. He was inviting me to dine with him? I was incredulous, the only person who'd ever invited me to eat with them was Carlisle, and that was after a year of friendship. I'd certainly never sat on the Hufflepuff bench.

I considered declining but Cedric's eyes were practically pleading for me to agree, so I nodded instead to appease him.

He began to walk to the Hufflepuff table and I followed, trying to keep up as I looked over my shoulder at the girls. They all sat there shocked with wide eyes, mirroring my confusion. Evelyn gave me a pointed look and I knew she'd grill me about this later, but I was just as clueless as them.

We arrived at Cedric's usual seat to find Max, Alastair, Jamie and Rory digging into their food. They looked at me as we sat down and I could tell they were surprised by my appearance, but they didn't question it further.

"Hey guys, I invited Lila to eat with us" Cedric gestured to me as he began putting food onto his plate.

Max smiled, always the first to be polite, "sure thing, this is a nice change."

I smiled at him and began piling my own plate with food. I chose a mixture of the pasta dishes. It was Italian night, one of my favourites. I reached for the garlic bread, making sure to take a lot. My stomach grumbled from the heavenly scent, ravenous after a week of my poor diet.

"Where have you been all week by the way? I haven't seen you around." Alastair said, causing me to freeze as I dug my fork into the spaghetti.

The boys all looked up at me, equally curious for my answer and I realised that my absence hadn't gone entirely unnoticed. I could feel Cedric's gaze burning into the side of my face but ignored him.

"Uhh I got sick. I've been in my dorm all week just sleeping you know." I replied nervously, hoping they wouldn't see through my lie.

"Let's hope it isn't some new bug going around" Rory added before focusing on his food again.

I nodded in fake agreement and the boys seemed satisfied with this as they began conversing about the new quidditch world cup tournament. I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, relaxing slightly.

I could still feel Cedric's gaze on me and turned to look at him. He was frowning at me, a deep furrow between his brows. I knew what that meant, he didn't believe my excuse.

I mentally cursed that he was able to see through me so easily, hoping he wouldn't ask me for the truth. At least for the moment he decided not to pry, looking back down at his plate thoughtfully.

The rest of the dinner passed smoothly and I was actually having a lot of fun with the guys. We talked about all sorts of topics and I found myself laughing hard when Rory recounted the prank war he'd had with his neighbour over summer.

The group dynamics were interesting. Jamie was the quietest of all of them, he rarely spoke but nodded along eagerly. Max was, of course, the loudest and we all enjoyed poking fun at him for his obsession with his muscles. He insisted it was all natural but Alastair was convinced he'd been using muscle-enhancement spells. Rory was the most serious of them all, not investing much interest in their childish jokes.

And Cedric was right in the middle, neither too loud or too quiet. Sometimes he would observe, adding small comments here as there, or occasionally he would introduce a new topic if he thought Max and Alastair's argument was getting too heated.

When he spoke properly, I found myself listening extra intently. There was something about the way he talked and I caught myself staring at his lips more than once, drawn in by their attractive slant.

He grinned at me often and I matched his expression. His positivity and charisma were infectious and I began to understand everyone's fascination. He had an easy presence to him, the kind that made you feel like you were proper friends.

Occasionally, I could feel him staring at me, trying to gage my reaction as the boys talked, but I ignored it. It seemed easier to pretend I hadn't noticed his sly glances than face the embarrassment of blushing from the intensity of his eye contact.

When we all finished dinner, he offered to walk me back to the Ravenclaw tower and we said goodbye to the boys.

We were silent as we walked but it wasn't uncomfortable, quite the opposite in fact.

We came to a stop outside the door as some students ahead of us answered the riddle and entered the common room.

"Thanks for walking me back, you didn't have to. I wasn't going to get lost or anything." I laughed, leaning against the concrete railing of the stairs.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that" He teased but the light-hearted expression quickly fell from his face.

He stared at me for a moment, his demeanour suddenly serious.

"I know you lied about why you've been missing all week."

I stiffened at his words as I felt panic rise in my chest. I hadn't expected him to address the topic again, I'd assumed it would be forgotten about, but Cedric was more observant than I'd given him credit for. I wasn't sure what to say back and glanced towards the door, debating if I should make a run for it instead and avoid the awkward encounter.

I decided against that plan and opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it, "I don't know what's really going on, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'd like you to share stuff with me because you chose to, not because I forced you. But if you want to talk about it anytime then I'm here. And I'm sorry about your ribbon by the way. I really hope it turns up."

He smiled at me and turned before I could respond, walking back the way we came with a confident stride.

I stood there shocked for a moment, staring after his retreating figure. He seemed to frequently be surprising me, in the best ways too.

Slowly, but surely, I was learning about our mysterious new student and tonight I'd discovered one very key element to his personality; Cedric Diggory was truly kind.

I smiled slightly to myself as I turned and engaged the door knocker, making my way back into Ravenclaw house.