MARA WILLIAMS

  I stood on the cusp of the Hogwarts grounds, people streaming past me, eagerly on their way to the small village of Hogsmeade to spend their galleons.

   "Well then, I'm sure you can make it up to me at Hogsmeade this weekend." 
  —That was what he'd said wasn't it? Did he expect me to meet him down there, and if so whereabouts?
  I'd never been to the village in my life, and even if I did find my way there, where was I supposed to wait?

   A niggling feeling persisted at the back of my mind... Maybe this was all just a cruel joke, a farce to make fun of me in front of the other students, and the worst part was that they would've known it was a joke all along, I was the only one left out of the loop.
  Maybe that's why those girls at the back of Hagrid's class had sniggered so when Cedric had asked me...

  I teetered between turning back and not going and just walking down there anyways, even if I couldn't find him I'd heard about a decent sweet shop in the village. My stomach rumbled at the promise of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
  I'd just lifted my foot to the first step when a jovial voice came from behind me. "—And where do you think you're going?"

  I didn't need to turn to envisage his grin. A flash of blinding white, a twinge of pale pink lips, and kind twinkle in his eye.

  "To Hogsmeade?" I said it as though it were a question, as I wasn't so sure myself.

  "Without me?" Cedric chuckled, jogging to catch up along side me, as he clutched his heart in mock pain. "...Ouch."

  I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop the small smile that suggested at the corners of my lips as we navigated the winding path. "I thought you weren't going to show up."

  "You really think that little of me?"

  "—I didn't know if you were serious or not, or you could've wanted to meet me down there," I replied, narrowly dodging his quip, I didn't know what I thought of him yet. He seemed pure of heart, but then again he could just as easily prove me wrong. "You didn't exactly specify."

  "Well, either way I'd never let you walk down by yourself, even if you weren't new." We turned down a cobbled street just off the high-street and headed for the bubblegum pink shop with Madame Puddifoot's painted in almost perfect calligraphy above the door.

  "...And just so you know." Cedric pressed his lips together, suppressing a smirk as he held the door open for me and a small bell jingled within the shop.  
  "I was deadly serious."

  A plump older woman with a rose streak through her greying hair seated us on a small table by the front window, allowing us to see the passing students on their way to the high-street, and more importantly, allowing them to us us.

  My fingers anxiously toyed with them hem of my skirt as I watched them. No familiar faces, yet.

  "You look beautiful, by the way." Cedric said, staring at me intently. Fire scorched my cheeks as I stared down at me hands embarrassed. I had never much been one for compliments. "Thank you." I said quietly.

  We were silent for a long moment, it weighed upon us like a comforting embrace, not suffocating but instead like a moment of rest in this unendingly chaotic world.
  Cedric thanked the old woman as she placed two menus before us and we poured over them, me ordering a Honeysuckle Teacake, whilst Cedric opted for a Lemon Tart.

  "...What?" I said after a while, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "I just realised something..." He almost looked upset with himself as he said the words, "Forgive me, I still don't even know your name..."

  "Mara."

  His lips parted slightly, but no words came out as his thick eyebrows knitted together. It was like I could physically see the cogs whirring within his head and everything clicked into place as he said slowly, "Mara Williams?"

  "Yes that's right..." Now it was my turn to be confused. "How did you—"

  "—I read your article..." My heart plummeted into the pit of my stomach, pulsating it's thick poisoned dread throughout every fibre of my being.
  "Well, not your article," He corrected himself. "Rita Skeeter's article about you."

  "Oh..." Was all I could say, eyes downcast, staring at the candecent menu that glowed with little magic flecks like stars.

  The empty air enveloped us in its echoing nothingness, but only this time the silence was deafening. An unwavering quiet stretching between us as his eyes slowly, carefully, crawled over every one of my features, from my tousled hair to my clothes to my flushed cheeks.
  I couldn't help but feel like I was being analysed by the previously cheerful boy, his demeanour now significantly muted, no boyish grin left to light his lips, only the concern in his eye and trepidation in his frown. "...Is it true?... All the things she said?..."

"No." I said quickly, "Well, not all of it."

We both knew what he was really getting at, Rita Skeeter's worst accusation, —the unforgivable one.

He bit his lip, looking up at me with big grey eyes. "What about..."

"—Cedric, please. I'd really rather not talk about it."

  And that was that. He pursed his lips and gave a small nod. "Okay. I'm sorry, I won't mention it again."

  The waitress saved us from the painfully awkward silence as she placed our orders before us, along with two steaming Jasmine Teas. "I just want to say," Cedric approached the subject carefully. "I'm sure it wasn't without reason, and I'm sorry for what he did to you."

  When I spoke my voice was scarcely a whisper and it shivered and shook like a frightened bird struggling to take flight, wings catching on the wind. "Thank you."

  But my wings were weighed down with rocks.

  "So..." His cheeks tinted with a faint rose glow of embarrassment, "How was your first week at Hogwarts?"

  Taking a deep breath I sighed, "It's definitely different, I just need some more time to properly adjust I think."

  "I bet." Just like that his boyish grin was back, warding off the darkness of the previous conversation with it's unwavering light. "So, what teachers do you have?"

  "Hagrid, Flitwick, Snape—"

  His face contorted in exaggerated disgust. "—You have Snape? Unlucky, I had him for my first three years and I'm pretty sure he hated me."

  "I'm pretty sure Snape just hates everyone." I laughed, taking a bite of my Teacake, rich flavour exploded over my tongue.

  "Yeah, unless you're a Slytherin."

  I nodded in agreement, Professor Snape didn't even try to disguise his bias towards his students.

  "What about the other students, are they all being nice to you? Have you made any friends?"

  Instantaneously a flash of white blonde hair flickered through my subconscious, a brief moment of stone cold eyes and I felt my heart rate increase.
  I found myself rubbing my wrist under the table without even realising it, the place where the hint of a purple bruise still lingered.
  "I think so." I said, trying my best not to sound flustered. "I sit with Parvati, Ron and Harry most of the time."

  "I didn't know Parvati Patil was friendly with Harry Potter?" Cedric raised his sinfully dark eyebrows, a few slight lines marring his forehead.

  I could only shrug. "I guess so..."

  "...And what about Hermione Granger? Does she not sit with you too? Usually her, Potter and Weasly are stuck together at the hip." He chuckled, a rich, handsome sound. "I don't think I've ever seen them apart before."

  "Oh yeah, she sits with us too a lot of the time, but I don't think she likes me very much..." Or I her, I thought distastefully. I still couldn't believe she had done that to me, tried to turn the others against me.  
  —Tried to make it seem like Draco and I were something... Anything.

  "Ah." He said quietly. We both knew why she wouldn't like me.
  If he'd not only read the article but also witnessed the events of the Triwizard tournament the previous year then he'd more or less be able to figure out the unfortunate series of events that transpired once he returned home. The tournament was held at Hogwarts last year after all...

  Something clicked, "Wait?" I said as the pieces came together in my mind, "I know you! You're Cedric Diggery, you actually competed in the tournament last year?" It wasn't really a question, I knew full well who he was.

He dipped his head low, holding an arm out in a mock bow with a wicked flash of teeth. "At your service."

"I didn't realise you were that Cedric!" I said before taking a sip of Jasmine Tea, letting the warmth from the cup radiate to my palms.

He gave me a dashing wink that made my heart skip a beat, "The one and only."

Cedric had competed alongside Harry Potter, Fleur Delacour and... My breath hitched in my throat... Him.

I'd heard the rumours about what happened at the end of the tournament, though of course as rumours spread across foreign waters they became increasingly diluted to the point where no one could be sure what was true and what was false.
If even an inch of what I had heard was true, I certainly was not about to ask Cedric to regale his tales of the previous year.
—His tale was almost as painful as my own.

"The bill, please." Cedric said to the elderly woman as she passed us and I drank the last few sips of my tea greedily.
I reached deep into my pockets and pulled out a few golden galleons.

The grey haired woman read us our total, and I didn't miss the repeated sideways glances she shot me under her spectacles.

"What was that about?" Cedric smirked once she'd left. "Does she know you or something?"

"Maybe she's read Rita's article too." I joked, placing my few coins on the table and Cedric's beautiful face scrunched in distaste as he asked. "What do you think you're doing?"

I stared at him confused for a minute. "...Paying? What does it look like?"

  "Yeah, sorry Mara, not going to happen." He said picking up my galleons and putting them back into my pocket. "I'll pick up the tab."

  "Cedric." I said firmly. "I want to."

  He shook his head, a strand of rich hair falling over his pretty face. "If you're that adamant you can pay next time, but for now, please let me."

I pursed my lips at the words, next time.

***
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