Dear Diggory

chapter 32

Snape had forced Cedric to leave the hall abruptly after that. He didn't allow us to give any kind of explanation and I felt guilty that Cedric was now stuck in detention because he was helping me.

Agatha's smug face sat in my mind as he'd been marched away, she clearly felt that she'd won this time. I'd almost slapped her across the face to clear the ugly expression, but decided against it. She had given up the ribbon after all, and that was all that mattered.

Cedric still had it, he hadn't gotten the chance to pass it off to me in front of Snape, but I knew he'd keep it safe.

I sighed as I laid back on my bed. The rest of the girls had finished class for the day and returned. They'd already heard what happened in the hall and I knew that meant it had spread like wildfire. Fights didn't often happen at Hogwarts, especially not ones with wands.

After they threw countless questions at me, I recounted the story in my own words and they praised Cedric for his help. Apparently he was being painted as quite the hero for what he'd done and it seemed a fair label.

I was really grateful that he had stepped in, otherwise Agatha wouldn't have relinquished it. She knew she had me beat, I wasn't willing to cross the line whilst she didn't even know how to draw one.

But once again, Cedric had acted out of kindness for my benefit and I wondered if I would ever be able to return the favour. He always seemed to be around to help, like some strange guardian angel I didn't know I needed. It was nice really, to have someone on my side like that.

For the most part my mood was still glum, reinforced by the fact that technically, I had gotten him into trouble. The girls had reassured me not worry, that Cedric would probably be happy to sacrifice himself for any of his friends, but it didn't help my guilt.

I knew that Snape's detentions ended at 8pm. He was harsh when it came to punishment, wanting to ensure that you wouldn't reoffend in the future. And it worked, most times students didn't sign up for a second round with the potions master.

I also knew that Cedric would suffer extra attention for breaking the most important school rule. Even if he had managed to explain the scenario by now, Snape would not have approved about his reckless behaviour. Although, I was secretly convinced that Cedric wouldn't have actually hurt Agatha for my benefit.

I tried to busy myself whilst I waited for the time to pass by, all I wanted to do was go and apologise to Cedric for the events of the afternoon. But time seemed to tick by in a painfully slow fashion, taunting me with each tick of the clock as my guilt skyrocketed.

The girls were determined not to let me wallow in it, dragging me down for dinner. The Hufflepuff boys sat with us whilst we ate, wanting the full details about what had caused the absence of their friend. They seemed to think what he'd done was badass more than anything else, not in the least concerned that he'd gotten caught for it.

When we came back to the dorm I was still on the edge so I reorganised all my clothes in a pointless fashion and worked on the journal with little success.

When the evil clock finally struck 8, I dashed out of the tower towards Snape's classroom.

The door was already open and Cedric came walking out behind some other unfortunate students. He looked completely exhausted and I scanned his body for any sign of physical punishment, bracing for the worst, but he seemed unharmed in that sense. It didn't stop the guilt washing over me again as I went up to him.

He did double-take when he saw that I was waiting for him and I attempted to read his expression, trying to judge if he was as angry with me as I was with myself.

"Oh god Cedric I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to get detention because of me and I should've just left Agatha alone. I'm really really sorry." I burst out, tripping over my own words.

He just smiled at me, the same easygoing grin that seemed to be his speciality, before he stepped closer. "Lila, stop apologising. It's okay, I obviously wasn't going to let her keep your ribbon, I know how much it means to you."

"I know but you didn't have to do that for me, I don't know how I'm going to repay you." I chewed on the inside of my cheek anxiously.

I opened my mouth to speak again, hoping to offer some solution of fair trade, but he held his finger up to my lips, pushing lightly upon them to silence my ramblings. They tingled from the contact and his hand lingered before he dropped it back down to his side.

"You don't owe me anything." He spoke matter of factly, clearly wanting to put the topic to rest.

I sighed to myself but decided to let it go. He lifted my wrist gently. He turned it over so my palm was facing upwards and pulled the ribbon from his pocket. He tied it around my wrist carefully and secured it in an elegant bow.

My eyes welled up at seeing the ribbon back in its rightful place. I had really struggled to accept that it was gone and I felt slightly more complete now it was back.

"Thank you" I whispered.

He lifted my wrist, bending his head slightly as he pressed a small kiss above where the ribbon was tied. My mouth parted in shock from the contact as he dropped my hand, smiling at me.

"You're welcome."

He started walking away as if nothing had happened and it took a second for my brain to catch up with what had happened.

I quickly followed him, making a mental note to obsessively replay the moment in my head later.

As we strolled through the castle, we chatted about what had occurred in his detention with Snape before he dropped me back at my house.