An American at Hogwarts: Book Two

Chapter Sixty-Two

Cedric and I just stayed like that in the hallway for a long time, neither one of us willing to let go, even just enough to move somewhere more comfortable. We didn't speak, but we didn't need to; it was enough to be in each other's company, both of us alive and safe.

Finally, we broke apart long enough to move to the side of the hallway, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor together. Cedric wrapped an arm around me tightly, and I leaned into him, still just taking in the fact that he was here.

"Alexa... thank you," he said, resting his head on mine. "You saved my life."

"And you saved mine about a dozen other times in the maze," I replied. "That's why we're a team, Ced. We've got each other's backs."

Cedric hummed and pulled me a little closer. It was another few minutes of sitting together before we spoke again.

"So, how did the talk with your parents go?" I asked. "I assume that's where you were."

"It went alright," he sighed. "They weren't happy about how close I came to dying, and they made sure some wizarding officials knew it. They mostly just wanted to stay with me as long as they could. Oh, and they absolutely adore you now. They credit you with saving my life, and rightly so."

I just leaned into him a little more. I didn't even want to think about what could have happened in that graveyard if I had even been half a second slower, so I wasn't going to.

"How'd the talk with your family go?" asked Cedric after a short pause. "I assume it went pretty well, since they've all gone?"

"Yeah, we got it all worked out. They wanted to pull me out of Hogwarts, but-"

"What?" yelled Cedric, sitting up quickly and almost knocking me over. "Sorry, I just... pull you out of Hogwarts?"

"That's where they started, yeah, but it's all okay now," I said, holding my hands out to calm him down. He relaxed back against the wall as I spoke, and I moved with him. "I talked them into letting me stay, with a little help from my uncle. It's alright now."

"Thank goodness," he sighed, leaning all the way back again. He took my hand this time, playing with it absentmindedly as we sat against each other. "I can't believe they were really ready to pull you out of school..."

"Well, in their defense, this isn't really like... necessary, for my education. But yeah, I'm glad they decided to let me stay."

Cedric chuckled a little, then pulled me closer. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he rested his head on mine, and we stayed like that for a long time.

Finally, when my eyelids were starting to close and I could barely fight it anymore, I sighed and turned to Cedric.

"We should go back to the hospital wing and get some sleep," I said.

"Yeah."

We didn't say anything for a minute, and then I forced myself to stand. My muscles all screamed at me, but I ignored them and held out a hand to Cedric.

"C'mon. A hospital bed will be way more comfortable than a cold stone floor."

Cedric sighed, then took my hand. I helped pull him up, and he grimaced. I had a little more experience with pain like this, so it was easier for me to ignore it than Cedric, and I wrapped an arm around his waist to help him a little as we walked the short distance back to the hospital wing. As soon as we cleared the doors Mrs. Weasley rushed over and ushered us both to bed. I was exhausted again from everything else that had happened since we started in the maze, and I drifted off laying on my side, seeing Cedric do the same from his bed.