✓ epiphany ━━ cedric diggory

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

                        "ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʏ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴛ, ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ."                                               

You grow up to believe the things your parents teach you. Your beliefs are built on the information they feed you. I guess that wasn't the case for me. I set social standards for myself and wired myself to follow them. My parents didn't influence me at all that much. I've come to the conclusion that I was wrong and that's definitely not how you should go about life.

Being sorted into Slytherin concluded the way I looked at things. It confirmed my place at the school. But not because my mum told me this and my dad told me that, but because that was the way it went. I constantly reminded myself that 'you're better than them' and 'act like this' because some stupid old hat appointed me a house and I told myself to act upon it. If it were my choice now, I would eliminated each individual house because all it did was establish stereotypes and attitudes that everyone had towards going about life. I guess knowing Slytherin's passed members, I instructed myself to be just like them, almost so I could fit in. Except it did the exact opposite.

This year, however, has taught me different.

Before September I had not once thought about even speaking one word to a Hufflepuff and here I was, enjoying one of their company's, at the end of my sixth year, sat, dangling my legs off the end of the astronomy tower; him sat beside me.

"I'm going to miss you Y/N." he said.

"No you won't." I said staring out onto the hills and mountains that made up the Scottish beauty.

He chuckled, "yes I will." I turned my face and looked deep within his eyes and shook my head. "And why's that huh?"

I swung my legs back and fourth, staring down at the very large drop below me. "I'm not one to be missed." I said, smiling sheepishly and shrugging my shoulders.

"You don't know that."

I huffed, shaking my head and smiling at his naive behaviour. "You know everyone at this school hates me right?"

"I don't." I looked back at him. "I actually happen to like you, a lot." he playfully nudged me.

I shook my head once again. It's not even possible. I still can't understand why my own friends even put up with me. He was simply just saying it in an attempt to make me feel better. But it wasn't working.

"Why do you keep shaking your head?" he asked me.

"Because Cedric, you don't. You only think you do, but that's just because you don't know the real me. The me that's a complete...mess." I fumbled around with my fingers; something I found myself doing a lot recently.

He paused for a moment and looked at me, "I know enough about you to know that you're amazing."

I looked into his eyes and gave him a weak smile, before focusing back onto the scenery before me. "You're just saying that. I have a lot of flaws, you know. Like a lot." I scoffed. "The thing is, I just..." I released my shoulders, "I just don't think I can love anyone like that."

He lifted my chin with his finger and pulled it to make my eyes lock with his, "Hey, don't say that."

For a moment my heart fluttered and I felt my stomach tingle with excitement. But I guess I wasn't used to moments like these, so I broke the gaze and looked down. A minute of silence fell on the two of us, before I spoke out, "you wanna know what I actually smelt in my Amortentia?" I continued looking forward, but I felt his eyes on me. "You."

Our eyes met and he laughed. "You know that's lucky."

"Why?"

"Because I smelt you too." he nudged me, grinning and gave me a small peck on the cheek, sending ripples all down my spine.

I had never felt so delighted to hear something before in my entire sixteen years. I bit my lip, trying to stop my smile from growing even bigger. I felt a weight off my shoulders and I sighed, overjoyed with the moment and the outcomes of this year.

I stared out onto the vast landscape, entranced with its beauty. As my sixth year drew to a close, I found myself wondering what could happen in the next.

I didn't know how I felt, but in such a pure moment such as this one, it was an epiphany. This moment was important and so was he.