Light year || cedric diggory

eighteen

Nicodemius King

I fix the neckline of my thick, rose colored cashmere pullover. Diggory's back facing the lake. I sit beside him. "Woah, not green or black." He states looking at my sweater and chuckling. "Woah! A Hufflepuff is not wearing yellow!" I sarcastically answer back. He chuckles, "I'm just not used to seeing you in other colors." He smiles.

"So Caelum, the chisel is visible tonight." I say taking notes. "and Cepheus, The King looks exceptionally bright tonight." He smiles at me. Why are my cheeks so warm?

After almost thirty minutes of watching I hand him the Telescope. "I'm just gonna lay down." I motion a place not too far. "My back is killing me." I laugh. He nods and smiles.

I lay down, some blankets keeping my back warm against the frozen grass. Cedric stands up. "Where are you going?" I ask him. "I just forgot to bring something." He says with a smile and heads off in the direction of Hagrid's hut.

I stare at the sky for a few minutes until I hear Cedric's steps. I sit back up to see him carrying an old wooden ladder. He sets down the ladder, "I thought after nights sitting and crouching on the grass your legs must be getting numb." He smiles, shy. "So.... you got me a ladder from Hagrid's hut ?" I ask him, eyes squinting.

"Yeah.." His eyes trailing off. "Instead of a chair?" I tease him. "I-" He looks dumbfounded. "I'm sorry I just saw Hagrid taking out the ladder and thought 'Sly and I could use this'. " I laugh at his not so bright explanation. "Thank you Huttlepup." I smile and sit on the stairs of the triangular ladder. He seats on the other side, our backs facing each other. So that was the purpose...

We were sitting in silence. I couldn't see his face anymore but his back was against mine. I stare at our shadows beside mine. His tall figure crouching to sit on the steps of the ladder. I smile.

"Do you know William Shakespeare?" His voice a bit muffled from the cold. I nod even though he couldn't see me. "The muggle writer? Yeah he's dead." I answer, He laughs, "That's not the point but I guess you do know him." He couldn't stop laughing.

"Dream in Light Years, Challenge miles, Walk Step by step." Cedric recites. "It's my favorite quote.", "Okay." I answer, He laughs again unable to take himself seriously. "Do you know what Light Year means?" I ponder on his question, "A unit of distance that light travels in one year, which is 9.4607 × 1012 km." I say, "Or nearly 6 trillion miles." I added. He laughs

"I'm not wrong. Why are you laughing?" I ask standing up to go to his side of the ladder. I could see his face now dying of laughter. "You're brilliant Sly." He states staring into my face.

"Light Year, in literature means a long period of time." He says seriously.

"I like it because, when somebody asks how long I want you to stay in my life, I could say a thousand lightyears and no human could say that's too long or too short." He stares at me.

What's this? I want to cry. Why can't I speak. He wraps his scarf around my neck. "Tomorrow's the first round, Dragons. Wish me luck Sly." He smiles