Author's Note: Written for…
My Boring Life Competition. Prompt: Cedric wonders what he's going to make for breakfast
Breakfast Bustle
Cedric's mother's birthday was the first week of August, and it was one of his favorite times of the year. Without fail, she would always ask for the same thing: a week in Paris. Naturally, Amos always went on holiday with his wife. The last couple of years, Cedric hadn't been made to stay with relatives for the week, so he'd invite over a cousin or school friend to stay. But this year would be different.
Cedric was sixteen now, not to mention Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. The minute he accidentally let slip in the change room that he'd have the house all to himself for a week, it was decided that the entire team was invited over. He didn't bother to correct them – he was planning on inviting the guys over anyway, but the girls were another matter. What if it got around that he had three girls staying at his place? What if it got back to his mother? It seemed like the sort of rumor his cousin Zacharias would spread.
The first day surprisingly went all right. His parents were out of the house by ten-thirty and everyone started arriving just after noon. There was a bit of awkward shuffling as he sorted out the sleeping arrangements, setting the girls up in the guest room and the boys in his own. He took a sleeping bag to his parents' room.
They played six-player quidditch while the team's newest member, fourteen-year-old Tamsin, played the snitch, zooming around Cedric's backyard as he and Heidi worked to catch her. Cedric's team won, of course.
Dinner was an entire casserole that his mother had left for him, intending for it to last him the whole week. He should've realized then that there would be problems later on.
The rest of the evening went well. Everyone trickled off to bed of their own accord, and it almost felt like they were back in the common room.
Herbert, the team's keeper, dragged his sleeping back into Cedric's parents' room as well. They were dorm mates at school, and they agreed it was weird not to be in the same room.
Cedric thought he might've heard footsteps in the hall before he fell asleep, and just hoped it was someone heading to the loo and not Anthony and Maxine heading downstairs to snog on his couch.
The morning was a mad dash for the toilets and showers, and then everyone congregated at the kitchen table to decide what to eat.
"I'm having eggs, sausages, toast, and hash browns," Anthony said, rummaging through the fridge.
"I wanted pancakes," Herbert whined.
"I don't eat anything but a fruit cup in the morning," Heidi said.
The kitchen became noisy as everyone argued over the menu.
"Well, I think Cedric can handle making breakfast on his own, since he's our gracious host," Malcolm interceded. "What do you say we all head outside and do some warm-up laps around the house until the food's ready?"
Malcolm was heading into seventh year – the oldest member of the team – and everyone listened to him, which tended to cause a lot of problems since Cedric became Captain. No one bothered to volunteer their help with cooking as they all filed off to get their brooms and gear, leaving Cedric to make enough food to rival a Hogwarts feast.
"I'm not a bloody house elf," he muttered, pulling the requested items from the fridge and cabinets and laying everything out on the counter.
It was a mess, to say the least. He wished he could remember his mother's cooking charms. He was pretty sure she had a book full of them, but he didn't have time to look for it now. The best he could do was get three knives chopping at once, which did save him a bit of time.
The sausages and hash browns went into the oven without much trouble, and he got three pans of eggs going while he stirred up the pancake batter and the knives chopped away at various fruits. It was only after the pancakes were in that he remembered how much Herbert liked smoothies, and set about making one. But his focus on the blender made him forget about the oven until it started smoking up.
He had to use his wand to put out the flames, and by then most of the eggs were burnt and the knives had sawed through one of the cutting boards.
"What in Merlin's name happened here?" Maxine asked from the doorway.
"I sort-of ruined breakfast," the seeker admitted, making sure the stove was off before slumping into a chair.
"I can see that. I guess all your talent's on the pitch, eh?"
"Not helping."
"Alright, alright. I was only joking. Here." She pulled her wand from the inside of her jacket and waved it around a bit. The smoke suddenly cleared and all the dishes piled themselves in the sink. "How about we go out for breakfast? My treat. But you'll have to come up with an excuse as to why you can't cook for the rest of the week."
"I think I can manage that. Thanks."
"What're teammates for?"