It was the 27th of August, start of a new year at Hogwarts. At least, for Cedric Diggory it was. The sun just had risen when he arrived on platform 9 3/4 together with his dad, Amos Diggory. His father was a man of time. Or more, a man of being way to early. It wasn't crowded yet, only a few nervouse looking first years. Cedric watched them smiling. It seemed so long ago he was like them and still it was only a year. His father stood besides him, watching his handsome and talented son with a proud look in his eyes.
'You remember, you're the best seeker they have. Make sure you'll get your place in the winning team.'
He avoided the name Hufflepuff, still hoping his son would miracoulously switch over to Griffindor or Slytherin. The fourth house, friendly to all. Amos Diggory did not care about being friendly, only about reaching his goal.
'Yes dad, I promise.' Cedric sounded quite uninterested, but it was all defence against the high standards of his father.
'But how important Quidditch will be for you, don't forget to study and get great marks. Even if it doesn't interest you, do it at least to...'
'Keep the name of our family high. I know, I know.' The boy sighed, looking to his dad from the corner of his eyes. Slowly, more people came to the Platform, and he waved to a group of giggling girls that passed. Only because he was bored to death here.
His father remained quiet for a while as he studied his son like this. Several people came to greet the boy and asked him how his summer had been. He gave them all a mumbling answer, though his smile turned cheerful as soon as he could return the question. He asked his friends if they did anything nice, where they had been and they all answered cocky, showing off but secretly pleased he asked. They made him laugh, and his father stood besides him. Cedric wished he would just go, his dad always made him a little uncomfortable.
Another group of girls passed, though these were not giggling. Shy and almost invisible they moved over the platform, dragging their suitcases behind them. New students, they did not wear one of the colours of the Hogwarts houses yet, wich ment they still had to be sorted.
At the end of the row, a fragile looking Chinese girl caught Cedric's eye. She hopped along with a large suitcase wich seemed to be a little worn off already. Nevertheless she smiled a cheerful smile when she passed him, clearly looking forward to her first year. He followed her movements, looking at her bright smile and a sparkle appeared in his greenish friendly eyes. He just had to curl his mouthcorners. Cedric Diggory smiles a real smile this time. He watched the remarkable young girl till she dissapeared in the crowd, reminding himself of finding out who she was.
'Cedric!' He felt two hands on his shoulder, shocked and then he laughed.
'David!' he called out quite loudly. 'I told you, you couldn't do that ever again!'
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry...' his best friend pulled a pretty serious face before he bursted out in laughter again.
'Stop it!' groaned Cedric, giving David a gentle push in the direction of his suitcase. 'It's just a miracle, three minutes here and annoying already!'
'And you still need to bare it the whole year! And the year after, and after, and after... isn't it brilliant?' David grinned, and he almost seemed to be proud. 'But I did not hopped into your direction to annoy you.'
Cedric rolled his eyes and sighed once again. After that, though, he plated his teeth into his lip right away, starting to chew it.
'I saw you smile.' continued his friend, still grinning. 'A real Diggory-smile. Where did it came from so suddenly?'
'Is it a crime to smile?'
'Depends on what caused it.' said David cheerful and he chuckled by seeing Cedrics annoyed look.
'Nothing, I just smiled.'
'Off course...why do I so... not believe that.' The other boy raised an eyebrow and sighed dramatical. 'The impossible talented, serious, populair and handsome Cedric Diggory who just smiles? Because of nothing? No way.'
'David..' Cedrics voice grew warning, signing to his dad, who stood talking with Lucius Malfoy. 'Later, please?'
His friend muttered, but mumbled understanding after, though he grinned. Cedric watched him with raised eyebrows, shaking his head then.
'Was it a girl?' whispered David teasing.
Cedric hitted him on the head with one of his heavy spellbooks, groaning.
'Oh, just shut it...'
'So, my son. Ready for another year?' Amos Diggory was done talking with Malfoy and gave both Cedric as his friend a content look, as he always did when something pleased him.
'David Rankin, if I'm not mistaken? The son of Charlotte?'
And that sentence led into Cedric, rolling his eyes once again while his father shook Davids hand, brabbeling about all the work he did together with Charlotte Rankin on the ministry. He couldn't have been more glad when the whistle of the train finally sounded. They had to get in.
'Come on.' He said and he started to pull David along to the Hogwarts Express. But before he mentioned to get away his father pulled him already into a tight hug.
'Bye son.' Amos Diggory mumbled. 'Take good care of yourself.'
A little ashamed, but also pretty touched by this sudden change in his fathers behaviour, Cedric tried to free himself from the embrace. He assured his dad it would be a great year, and that they could expect him home for Christmas. Then he let go, dissapeared into the crowd together with David. He left his father a little uncomfortable.
'Man, being hugged by your dad...in public.' groaned David.
'I know, I know... just forget it.'
David had to laugh, but this time Cedric was really annoyed and he walked a little faster, ahead of his friend. His new suitcase he dragged behind him, the cage with his owl Mercurius in one hand.
'Ah, come on...Ced...'
'Cedric.' he reacted.
'Come on, Cedric.'
'Just leave me alone for a moment, alright?' sighed the hufflepuff boy and he dragged his stuff into an empty compartment. He was grumbling gentle to himself. Slowly he sank down on one of the chairs, sighing softly and almost tired. The compartment remained empty for a moment, and he appriciated that. The feeling of being alone, the silence. But soon he was not alone anymore. David had the great annoying threath to ignore all of Cedrics orders and fell down in the chair next to his friend, wich made a cracking sound.
'You've eaten to much.' Cedric joked humorless, knowing he could not offend his friend with such a thing, David being two heads taller than he was himself. And besides, he looked so thin you could break him in two pieces easily.
'Yes, 20 barbecues in one summer and you get such a thing.' David answered dead serious.
That's when they both knew it was alright again. They had known eachother for such a longtime that both understood exactly what to say to get over a short fight.
'Ced! David!'
'Cedric.' Said Cedric almost at instant. He always prefered his whole name above that silly short one. Ced reminded him way to much of sad. He looked up from his fingers he had been playing with, so did David.
'Fred and George, already coming to make Hogwarts way less safe!'
'You're absolutely right.' said Fred proud. Or at least, there was an F on his sweater, obviously made by Molly. But you could never be sure with those twins. Cedric had known them for ages already. They lived near to him, at the other side of the hill. This summer again, they spent loads of time together playing Quidditch. The twins were excellent players, though great jokers as well. Their biggest hobby was scaring their younger brother Ronald, who was slightly clumsy and terrified by spiders.
'Affraid for the sorting hat already?'
'Nope.' the two boys said at exactly the same time, plumbing down on the two leftover chairs.
'We'll be in Griffyndor, be sure of that.' said George.
'Wich means, Diggory,' followed his brother. 'that you have to miss our brilliant Quidditch skills in your Hufflepuff team.'
Cedric huffed, grinning.
'I'm good enough to win every match on my own.'
David bursted out in such a laughter Cedric became red, looking ashamed to his friend.
'Well, I am pretty good!' he sounded defensive.
'You're not even in the team yet, silly boy!' called David out while ruffling through his friends hair.
'Stop that!' Cedric pushed his hands away teasing and groaned, boyish and searching for popularity as he still was there days. In the first year he already gained friends and status, being handsome and everyone had to admit he was a very talented young wizard.
The train started moving already, and Cedric stood up, throwing open the window and sticking his head outside. He inhaled the fresh air and on some way it made him feel free. He looked to the new students, waving at their parents. After his gaze drifted to the left, he suddenly saw her again. The little Chinese girl, with her long strings of black, satinlike hair. Cedric felt like he had found what he head been searching for, even though that search was not on purpose.
From so close he saw her beauty. She looked more mature than the other girls and she was not waving. Cedric watched the parents on the platform for a moment. No one looked like was whistling a song, the parents slowly dissapeared out of sight and so did the waving students dissapear, returning to their seats. But she remained right there at the window, and so did Cedric. She, the beauty, did not know he was there, kept on whisteling, clearly enjoying the air stroking her face and he felt like he could watch this for , it took his friend David to long and a loud voice sounded.
'Cedric!'
His unknown beauty shocked, stared to the right and found Cedric's shocked face, before he pulled back swiftly, hitting his head hard to the half open window. David laughed out loud, petting his back and telling him he should not dream so often.
'Talking about dreaming...' Cedric grumbled. 'It'll take a while till we arrive, I can dream away for a moment.'
He felt tired, as he sat down on the old cracking chair again, yawning teasing as David pushed him, never really planning on sleeping but closing his eyes. Though, once they were closed, he had a hard time to open them again and when he mentioned to, David was reading a book. The twins were practicing with their wands, they made appear flashes and thunder, that lightened the compartment.
'Hey sleepyhead!' shouted one of them. 'Can you do this?' He twirled his wand through the air, and a spiral of light coloured the walls of the compartment bright green for just a second. Cedric had to close his eyes for the painful light. Though the spell dissapeared just as swiftly as it came, Cedric gasped and looked almost mad.
'Are you totally insane?' he called. 'Those teachers will freaking think you use the curse of death here!'
'But we didn't!' chuckled George.
'That's the great thing!' Fred continued. Cedric had to sigh and shook his head. David stood up, petting the shoulder of his friend for a moment, as a sign he should leave it.
'It's your turn!' George spoke again and fell back on his chair. 'Show us a spell!'
'Well, I'm not sure if...'
'Come on, you're not scared, are you?' chuckled David and Cedric lifted his shoulders.
'Please?' begged Fred. 'Wich harm could it do?'
'Not much I guess.' mumbled Cedric. He sighed once more and pulled his wand, twirling it between his fingers for a second. The next moment his lips moved slowly, mumbling a spell and he made a bright coloured string of light appear. It curled like a snake, making forms and words into the air. His mouth was a little open, fully concentrating on keeping the spell's energy under control.
George laughed.
'Cool!' the red haired boy sticked out his hand to the spell, Cedric's eyes became wide as he saw it.
'Don't touch!' but he already was to late, an unpleasant, piercing sound filled the air when the string turned to his creator, twirling around him and dissapeared with a loud bang and loads of black smoke.
For a moment, the boys only heared Cedric's ragged breathing. David quickly started to blow away the smoke with his wand while searching for his defeated friend, who tried to crawl up, hearing the sounds.
'Awesome!' shouted Fred while David found Cedric and pulled him up. He was looking confused, and disorientated, staring in front of him.
'Totally brilliant!' echoed George.
'Are you alright?' David clearly didn't know how to sound. Half laughing, half worried he pushed Cedric on a chair, examining his friend. His hair stood in all different directions and his face was black of smoke and covered with painful burning wounds.
'I-I'm fine, I think..' he mumbled weakly and he stared through the compartment. David shook his head.
'Well I don't think so. We need to get a professor here.'
In the aisle of the train, curious students and shocked teachers gathered.
'Mister Rankin, would you like to be so kind, to tell me excactly what caused the current status of mister Diggory here?' Minerva McGonagall entered the compartment, looking strict though also a little worried.
'Fred touched his spell! And then it attacked him!' George shouted almost proud, before David even got the chance to explain. Fred looked stunned to his brother for a moment, and he started to shout back.
'I didn't touched it! He did!' In the blink of an eye the two brothers were rolling over the ground, fighting and screaming. Professor McGonagall watched them for a moment, before coughing.
'Stop it! You're going to school, not to a zoo! And besides, mister and mister Weasley, your brother is searching for both of you.'
'Percy?' they groaned. 'Oh no, please give us detention!'
'Come on, hurry!'
The twin shot out of the door swiftly, not discussing it any further.
Now the smoke had cleared Cedric could see some of the curious new students that heard the bang. He shocked as he saw his unknown beauty was with them. As one of her hands layed on the glass of the compartment, she stared at the messed up looking boy, that she caught watching her earlier this trainride. She looked doubting, if she should laugh or be worried, and Cedric actually felt sorry for her, for she looked a little hopeless and somehow caring. He gave her a weak grin, and waved for a moment, as a sign he was okay.
'Diggory.' groaned McGonagall as she examined his face. 'I can't fix this right now, you need to visit madame Pomfrey as soon as we arrived.'
She sighed and wanted to turn around, but before that she looked warning.
'Besides, the next time you wish to be a show off, make flowers appear or so.'
With those word, the professor left the compartment, chasing the still watching students away, as well his unknown beauty and Cedric did not dare to go after her.
'Yes Cedric, make flowers appear or so.' repeated David teasing. 'For the fragile cute Chinese girl, perhaps?'
'I don't get a thing of what you're saying.' Cedric mumbled.
'I saw you looking!'
'Did my spell damaged your brain to or so? Come on!' the burned boy groaned and shook his head.
'You look totally hidious, dude.' Grinned his friend and he petted Cedrics back.
'How long till we arrive?' groaned this one and he stared out of the window, running his fingers through his hair.
'Not that long, half an hour.'
Cedric nodded softly. The wide and green landscape outside slowly coloured purple now the sun was setting. It was the most beautiful sight. It captured him, and he just had to look at it till the train lowered speed.