Here’s a rewritten version where Cedric kidnaps Ivy to create a more gut-wrenching, intense story.

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Chapter 9

The castle was eerily quiet when Ivy left the Gryffindor common room that evening. Sleep had been elusive, her thoughts consumed by Cedric and the fragile line between guilt and relief. She wandered through the dimly lit corridors, hoping the stillness of the castle might quiet her mind.

She was just turning a corner near the empty Charms classroom when a hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her startled cry.

“Don’t fight me, Ivy,” Cedric’s low voice hissed into her ear, sending a chill down her spine.

Ivy struggled, her heart hammering in her chest as Cedric dragged her into the darkened classroom. He slammed the door shut, sealing it with a locking spell before shoving her against the wall.

“What are you doing?” she spat, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and fury.

Cedric’s eyes, once warm and inviting, now gleamed with a dangerous intensity. “I’m fixing things,” he said, his tone eerily calm. “You’ve been avoiding me. You’ve been letting him”—his voice dripped with venom—“get between us. But I’ll make you see that you belong to me.”

“Belong to you?” Ivy repeated, her voice rising in anger despite her fear. “You’re delusional, Cedric! We’re over!”

His face twisted into a cruel smile. “You don’t mean that. You’re just confused.” He reached out, gripping her wrist tightly, the same way he had so many times before.

Ivy’s heart raced, panic setting in. She yanked her arm back, but his grip only tightened. “Let me go, Cedric!”

“You don’t get it, do you?” he snapped, his mask of calm slipping. “You think Tom Riddle cares about you? He’s just using you. He’s poison, Ivy. I’m the only one who truly loves you!”

Tears welled in her eyes as she glared at him. “This isn’t love. You don’t hurt the people you love.”

For a moment, Cedric hesitated, the words seeming to hit him like a physical blow. But then his expression hardened, and he grabbed her other wrist. “You don’t understand now, but you will. I’ll make you see.”

“Cedric,” Tom’s cold, commanding voice.