♙CHAPTER FOUR♙

( LYDIA BLAKE )

ONE: ACQUAINTANCE

"she was always cold whether she liked it or not"

september 1994

lydia and cedric were now friends. her and tyler had also began to get closer. he wasn't actaully that annoying once you got to know him. three weeks later, daniel had formed a small crush on sharon. but he still kept up the facade that they despised eachother. elena was now the smartest in school alongside hermione. a girl that lydia grew very fond of. but at the current moment the girls were feeling extremely under the weather.

"i refuse to ever step foot in that class again!" elena detested as a shiver went through her body. the three hufflepuff girls were exiting their defence against the dark arts class and were all shook to their core.

"he killed the poor creature" lydia mumbled sadly as she didn't let her previous emotion change, she sounded so upset. so upset over a small spider.

"they can't expect us to tolerate this" sharon nearly cried as they walked side by side to the great hall. everyone else in their class looked quite shaken as no one around dared say anything too loud.

professor moody had performed the three unforgivable curses on innocent spiders, it was something the students of hogwarts had all been shown and something they all wished to un-see. it was monstrous behaviour.

the rest of the walk was quiet as they took their seats at their house table. the rest of the hall was busy in conversation and most of the fifth year students who had the class slowly began to join in. however the three hufflepuffs couldn't.

"what's wrong with you guys?" daniel asked as he cedric and tyler took their normal seats besides the girls.

"moody" was all lydia said before she let her head fall on tyler's shoulder. the boys cringed as they thought back to their lesson last week with the man.

"you saw the curses" cedric understood as he sent them all apologetic looks. he was acting as if he had performed the spells.

"i never want to go back" elena mumbled as she began piling food onto her plate. she also did the same for sharon and lydia as both girls seemed quite scared.

sharon was the one who looked most traumatised. her stature was still and her eyes were blank as she just stared at the plate in front of her which began getting filled with food. daniel placed a hand on her shoulder making her nearly jump, but she didn't push the hand away.

"i'm fine" she quickly said before she saw the looks they all sent her "i promise" she swore as she gave them all looks.

"are you sure?" daniel asked with soft eyes. elena and sharon were screaming inside as they looked at the interaction.

sharon let a playful smirk grace her lips as she turned her head to him "be careful, else i might start to think you care, grey" she joked before he rolled his eyes as removed his hand.

she missed the warmth he had just provided her. but she wouldn't admit that. she was sharon todd and he was daniel grey. they were enemies. or frenemies. but either one she wasn't allowed to admit that.

the six teenagers sat and ate their lunch, the occasional conversation being sprung up before the majority finished. the only one left was elena, as usual. cedric and sharon stood up as the others gave them confused glanced. "quidditch practice" they both stated.

"you're watching today, aren't you?" sharon asked hopefully as she turned to look at lydia and then elena.

"you know i'm always cold" lydia stated before sighing seeing her friends expression "fine" she huffed as she stood up.

"i'll wait with, cooper" daniel said as tyler also stood and sent his friend a look to ask if he was coming. elena sent him a grateful smile as he sent her a small one back.

he didn't mind waiting inside. him and elena weren't the closest of friends but they did joke around time to time. and he'd be able to ask her about sharon.

"let's go then, m'lady" tyler requested as he stuck his arm out waiting for the girl to loop them. she did it happily with a grin before they began to walk outside to the pitch.

"you're honestly something, jones" lydia admitted as she looked up at the boy she found herself growing closer to day by day. before she could barely stand even being in the same room as him and now she found herself looking to find him in the library for a small conversation.

"i don't understand how they weren't friends before" cedric laughed as he stared at the two as he walked next to sharon. sharon noticed how his eyes lit up as he watched them and she knew it wasn't because of tyler.

"you like her don't you?" sharon asked as she nudged his shoulder. the boy sent her a curious look as she nodded towards lydia.

he rapidly began shaking his head with a smile before laughing "we're friends" but that didn't stop the small jump of his heart. she was a gorgeous friend, he'd admit.

"exactly what she said. but i can tell you like each other" she pointed out before she made her way to the girls changing rooms.

cedric was confused, what did she mean. did lydia ever talk about him? "what do you mean?" he yelled before she shrugged and entered the room out of his sight.

him and lydia? the thought was crazy. they had just become friends and the girl seemed to have a problem with accepting a date from any boy in the school. it would never work.

――――

lydia sat beside tyler on the grass as they weren't bothered to walk all the way up to the stands. the grass was extremely cold and the wind wasn't helping the girls temperature, she could feel her teeth chattering as she wrapped her arms around herself. they had both abandoned their robes on the way and only one of them seemed okay with the weather. she stood up and began walking in circles around him to warm herself up.

tyler lay on his back as he stared at the slightly blue sky above, his view was invaded by lydia's face not even a second later. the girl dropped her school bag on his stomach causing him to shoot up and groan before pushing her leg making her stumble a bit. but before falling on her ass an arm wrapped around her waist.

the large hands were very warm she found as they latched themselves onto her waist, her back pressed against their chest. she looked up to be met with the pretty grey eyes of cedric. she could feel her face beginning to become warm as she smiled up at him.

"thanks, diggory" her heart began beating rapidly and she was sure she'd have a heart attack.

"anytime, blake" he said as he detached his hand and moved back. the girl turned around so she was now facing him instead of having her back to him. she noticed he held a large black jumper with the words 'diggory' in gold across the back.

he didn't say anything as he tossed it towards the girl, she caught it as she sent him a questioning look. "you said you're always cold" he started as his hands became clammy. "you can wear it" he offered.

she found herself smiling at his gesture, she was sure she was the colour of a tomato by now "thanks, diggory" her voice had become so quiet as all she was doing was smiling.

cedric noticed how she had really straight teeth. and they were really white. it's like every part of the girl was perfect. her hair, her lips, her eyes, her eyebrows. maybe she refused to be anything less than perfect, he thought. he wondered what her parents looked like for her to come out like this.

they just stared at each other for a few seconds taking in every part of each other as possible. neither knew what to say, so when tyler coughed to break them out of their trances they nearly jumped out of their skin. cedric sent her a hesitant nod before walking further down to get on his broom.

"ced, huh?" tyler asked with a large smirk as he watched the tomato red girl. she still held his jumper tightly in her hands.

"he's nice" was all she said before nodding and sitting down. she held the jumper tightly to her chest before deciding it'd be better if she just wore it.

it was extremely big on her and the sleeves went beyond her hands. she pulled her hands back so that they were covered by the soft material and bunched the ends into her fists and she pulled herself into a ball. she looked so innocent and small, like she was glass that could crack at any moment.

sharon stayed by the goal as cedric tried getting the quaffler past her, but sharon wasn't the best fifth year quidditch player for no reason. the girl spent her summers practising with her older brother, dominic, for hours on end.

eventually they were joined by daniel and elena, both giving lydia odd stares after seeing her attire. elena sent her a wink causing the strawberry blonde to hit her friends arm as an indication to shut up.

――――

they stayed outside for another hour or so before they all decided to head back inside. cedric and sharon went to shower, tyler to the library and daniel to the potions classroom to study.

it was now elena and lydia, the girl had forgotten she was even wearing cedric's jumper until elena decided to bring it up. "it suits you" elena complimented. lydia was confused until she looked down at the piece of clothing.

"shit!" her eyes widened. "i'll leave it in his dorm" she planned as her face became panicked. elena laughed at her friends nervousness.

the two were interrupted by a random ravenclaw boy walking up to them, he seemed to be a fourth year considering the girls knew every fifth and sixth year. he looked quite nervous and he twiddled with his thumbs.

"blake, would you go to hogsmeade with me?" he asked as he brought his eyes to hers. they were a nice hazel colour she admired.

elena stood to the side as she usually did whenever people asked her bestfriend out. lydia stood for a second not processing his words as she admired the golden outline of his iris. she snapped herself out of it and sputtered a response.

"i'm sorry, i can't" she apologised as she honestly had forgotten how to speak for a second. the ravenclaw didn't seem to move.

"why not?" he didn't seem like he would be leaving without an answer. the girl had never been asked why when rejecting someone and didn't know what to say.

she turned to elena as if asking for help, the brunette only shrugging with a sorry look. and it was that turn that sent the ravenclaw boy a reason. he saw the big golden 'diggory' written across her back and had answered his own question.

"oh, you're with diggory. it's alright then" he said as he lifted his arms to apologise, she turned back to him with wide eyes.

she seemed lost for words as he began to walk away. she wasn't with cedric. what if he told people that she was, what would cedric say. would he be annoyed that she let him assume that of them.

elena had started obnoxiously laughing as she watched her friends panicked expression. that one jumper had seemed to be causing her problems, and even after the run in with the ravenclaw boy she didn't remove it. lydia grabbed her hair in frustration before letting out a loud groan.

"what if he tells someone?" she grabbed elena's arm in urgency, she couldn't have people thinking they were going out.

all of the other people she had rejected had been told by others that she was focusing on her studies and wasn't looking for a relationship. now what are they to think of her. they're going to think that she lied. and there was one thing that lydia blake was not, a liar.

"ask your fourth year friend to talk to him" elena suggested as a solution. she was referring to hermione, and lydia knew that. none of her friends had bothered to speak to the fourth year beside her.

"i'm so glad you're smart" lydia beamed before kissing elena's cheek and running towards the gryffindor common room. she stopped halfway and removed the jumper from her body and tying it around her waist. she couldn't have someone else seeing her in it.

the girl made it inside the gryffindor common room after having a quick conversation with the fat lady painting, who she explained her situation too. the girl couldn't see her younger friend anywhere. although she did see a head of red hair and one of black hair.

she quickly rushed towards them before taking a seat on the chair opposite them. they jumped back after seeing her, not expecting for lydia blake to be in their common room and in front of them. she looked in a hurry and waited for them to settle back down before speaking.

"wheres, 'mione?" she asked using the nickname she had given the girl, harry and ron were certainly confused. two conversation and they were now best friends apparently. they didn't know about the girls studying together in the library or having conversations by the black lake.

"why?" ron asked curiously as his face looked puzzled. he had a small crush on the girl since his first year, just like his brothers. although his brothers were able to become her friend.

"i need her help" she said plainly, she looked desperate as harry suddenly became sympathetic for the girl.

"she's with mcgonagall" harry answered, she threw her body back on the chair letting out a sound of frustration. "but we can help" harry offered, he knew it was a risk.

"really?" her face lit up as she looked forward at the two boys. they both nodded eagerly, after seeing her expression.

"i need you to talk to this ravenclaw boy in your year" she started as they looked confused as ever. "he thinks me and diggory are going out because i was wearing his jumper and i-" she was cut off by ron.

"aren't you?" ron asked un-clearly, he had seen the two hanging out a lot since the school year started and assumed they were.

"no!" she whispered harshly, her voice seemed to be laced with annoyance. "and he's going to tell someone, and i can't have anyone thinking i am" she explained as she had a hard look on her face.

ron had seemed to shrink back after she nearly shouted at him but harry found it funny. he nodded to the girl willing to help "what was his name?" harry questioned.

lydia now seemed speechless, as she had forgotten to figure that out. "he had really pretty hazel eyes. nearly yellow" she explained. that was the only way she could identify him. "and i think he had brown hair" she shot up in happiness at the fact she remembered.

ron and harry shared a look before they let scowls take over their features "jj forbes" they spat. the girl looked confused but nodded along anyway.

"we'll talk to him for you. don't worry" harry promised the girl making her grin happily. she stood up and kissed both of their heads before stepping back,

"tell 'mione to come find me tomorrow. and thank you, you're both angels" she said gratefully before making her way out of the common room.

ron and harry turned to eachother before jumping up and hugging each other. they always thought the girl was gorgeous and knew why people liked her so much, but now they knew why people fell in love with her so easily.

――――

it was nearly ten o'clock and the girl had just gotten back to her common room. she could see a head of brown hair sitting on a single chair by the fireplace. the same fluffy brown hair that belonged to the boy she had become friends with. she sighed happily as she collapsed on the chair next to him.

cedric sent her an amused look after seeing her actions, she looked ready to fall asleep on the chair and didn't seem like she would be making her way to her room anytime soon. she wore the jumper around her waist and had kicked off her heels so they now sat next to the chair.

"long day?" he asked sarcastically considering they had just seen eachother not even two hours ago.

he noticed that she'd changed her hair style. at the start of the day it had been down in it's usual style. but now it all tied up into a messy ponytail on her head. it reminded him of the day he first had a conversation with her, it had been in the same room they were in now.

"you don't even understand" she huffed as she stretched her body across the chair so that she now lay in a comfortable position. she let a yawn escape her lips before her eyes fluttered shut.

"don't fall asleep, blake else i'll have to carry you up" he joked although he knew he would, but he didn't mind.

"have fun trying to move me from this chair, diggory" she challenged as she finally let her eyes remain shut. she was ready to just fall asleep there and then, but arms swooping underneath of her legs and her back made her fully aware.

cedric had picked her up and now had a large grin across her face, she squealed as the boy threw her up slightly so he had a better hold on her. she began to hit his arm as she kept her voice low.

"put me down, diggory!" she complained as he moved around the chair she had just been lying down on.

she felt herself become nervous as she realised how he was holding her. and cedric felt the same, he didn't know where his sudden confidence had come from. but to the both of them, it was just a friendly gesture. because that's all they were. friends.

"are you going to go to your bed?" he asked as he tightened his grip on her, she was sure if she wasn't wearing tights you'd be able to see his fingerprint beginning to mark her leg.

she groaned loudly as she nodded. although when he stuck his pinky out she nearly rolled her eyes. "promise?" he found himself grinning at her face. the girl gave him a look of disbelief at the childish act but compromised anyway.

"promise" she said as she put her pinky around his. he slowly put her down, although he forgot to remove his arm from her waist.

"you're annoying" she said as she stared up at him, she knew their bodies were extremely close to touching. one more step and they'd be pressed against each other.

he didn't remove the playful grin as he just looked down at her, admiring her. she was just a sight as it is. she was so special. and everyday, she just seemed to become more gorgeous. it made her nervous, and she didn't like being nervous. so she tried to dismantle the situation as quick as possible.

"stop staring" she warned pinched his arm making him remove his arm from her waist. the boy let a playful look take over before she began to run to the stairs leading to the girls dorms.

the boy began running after her and had gotten halfway up the stairs before they magically transformed into a slide causing both of them to go down. cedric had nearly rolled into a ball shape as he lay at the bottom of the stairs laughing heavily. lydia's head was still on the slide as she clutched her stomach trying to contain her chuckles.

the lights from the girls dorms turn on before quiet footsteps tried their best not to be heard, sharon and elena looked down at the teenagers on the bottom floor who looked like they had just heard the funniest joke in the world. they looked so happy together. they both grinned as they watched them help eachother up. they hadn't seemed to notice the two girls watching.

"goodnight, diggory" lydia whispered joyfully as she let the smile she had on her face stay and she began making her way up the girls stairs as quietly as possible.

sharon and elena had grabbed each others hands and ran back to their shared bedroom as quick as possible, not wanting their friend to have known they saw. they knew if they tried asking her about it she would probably shut them down and just go to sleep.

"night, blake" cedric half yelled as he began to run to the boys stairs, making his way up. both of their faces holding the happiness they had just experienced.