A/N: This was written for Cheeky Slytherin Lass's Jury of Your Peers Competition, in the OC category. Total word count is under 3k! (Competition guidelines) It goes over because of the author's notes/disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I don't own this, or the picture. Property JK, and the person that owns that willow tree.
Boys
Light green eyes were the first thing Willow Edwards saw on September 1, 1994. Laying on her bed, she awoke with a shake of the shoulder. One of the eyes, though both were her father's and identical to her own, winked at her.
She was confused until she remembered this was her Dad. And when his fingertips touched her stomach, she broke out into giggles immediately.
"Dad!" she got out, "Daddy, stop it! I'm too-" he brought one finger up to tickle the back of her neck, and she erupted into laughter again, "I'm too old for this!"
"Godric, don't remind me!" her father said. "All grown up! Off to Hogwarts! What am I going to do here, all alone by myself without you to keep me company?"
"You'll figure something out, Daddy."
"I don't know," he replied, mock-pondering, "I think you should stay. Forget about Hogwarts..." he scooped her up and spun her around, as if she were light as a feather. Of course, to someone like her Dad, strong and over two meters tall, she probably was.
She laughed again, then caught her breath and turned in his arms to say seriously, "No, Dad. Hogwarts. I've got to! You and Mum went, and I'm going too!"
She saw that sad look in his eyes he got whenever they talked about Mum, but he quickly hid it. Her Dad told her a couple of years ago that her Mum had died while giving birth, at only twenty seven. Willow hadn't known her mother, but people said she looked a lot like her: she was an average height, a bit skinny, with the same face she saw in photographs, and that long, wavy, dark brown hair that her father loved so much. She loved her Mum. She didn't have to know her to know that.
"Well," her Dad finally said, "If you're going to Hogwarts, you've got to have that great send-off breakfast, don't you think?"
They had waffles together (her favorite), and in no time, it seemed they were at King's Cross, saying goodbye.
Dad knelt down in front of her, "Don't be nervous, Willow. Hogwarts is amazing. You're going to be great. It doesn't matter where you end up. That won't change you: my perfect, darling Willow. I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too, Daddy. I'll be back soon. Christmas will be in no time! I-" Willow hadn't thought she was going to cry.
"Oh don't cry, Willow. I was only joking. I'm going to be just fine, and I couldn't be prouder that you're going. You're going to miss the train, baby. I love you."
"I love you," she answered quietly, and her Dad kissed her forehead before she went off to attempt to find a train compartment.
Willow wandered through the hallway on the train, trying to find an empty compartment, but failing. She eventually decided to sit with a friendly looking blonde girl with hazel eyes. "Hi," Willow said tentatively, "Can I sit here?"
The girl smiled brightly, "Sure! I'm Abigail, by the way, but call me Abby."
"Willow," she smiled.
The girls talked about their excitement for school. They bought candy from the trolley, and laughed and played games, and before she knew it, Willow had actually made a friend. She had always been shy, so it was quite nice that she had found a friend.
Unfortunately, her good luck was doomed to end. About halfway there, a boy popped into their compartment. Maybe it was that she had never met a boy her age she got along with, but Willow's absolute first thought was great. A boy. She hadn't wanted to deal with annoying boys on her very first train ride to Hogwarts.
But the boy decided to speak. And ramble. Great. "Hi!" he said, bouncing and perpetually anxious, "I'm Dennis! Are you first years, too?" At their nods, he bounced even faster. "Aren't you excited?" he grinned, shaking his mousy brown hair out of his dark eyes. "We're going to Hogwarts!" he nearly yelled.
Abby had, apparently, met some nice boys, and her eyes lit up. "Yeah! It's going to be amazing! What house do you want? Abigail, by the way, and this is Willow!" Willow waved tentatively.
"Hi!" he said to her, somehow louder and more enthusiastic than before. "I'm hoping for Gryffindor. My brother's there," he added proudly.
"Cool! That would be nice, Gryffindor, but my parents were Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and I'm not very courageous."
"Yeah! What about you?" Dennis asked Willow, startling her.
She shrugged, keeping her eyes elsewhere. "Hufflepuff for me, I think," Willow had actually put a lot of thought into this, and she was almost positive it's where she belonged, "but I really don't mind. Not Slytherin, though," she muttered, and Dennis laughed, still giddily jumping up and down. Willow highly suspected he hadn't stopped since this morning.
"Yeah! Well, I met a couple of other first years, and we're about to play a big game of exploding snap! Want to come?" Willow shrugged, but Abby seemed eager, so they decided to play.
They followed Dennis to a compartment where four kids were talking to each other animatedly. A boy and a girl looked a lot alike, each with honey blonde hair-the girl's long and the boy's cropped-and blue eyes- fraternal twins? They were arguing with a dark skinned, dark eyed boy with a head of curly black hair, and another girl was moderating. She was tall and tan, with curly brown hair and soft brown eyes, and she was the first to notice them.
"Hi! I'm Catherine," she said with a smile, "these are my friends, Niall and Zoey," she gestured to the brother and sister, "and we just met Andrew, here. And Dennis of course." she smiled up at him, and Dennis beamed.
"I'm Willow," she said, deciding to be a tad less shy.
"Abby. Have you guys started yet?"
"Nah," said Andrew, "Exploding Snap is so much more fun with a whole lot of people, so we sent Dennis to find people who wanted to play." He grinned at Dennis, "Nice."
Dennis put on a posh accent. "Why thank you," he said, and everybody laughed.
They all sat around in a circle and started to play. Niall was horrible, and became the brunt of many jokes. Catherine was amazing, and ended up winning. But Willow wasn't really paying much attention to this, because she and her friends told stories and talked about how excited they were and what houses they were going to be in and which teachers they were scared of and she couldn't remember ever having so much fun. Time flew as hours turned into minutes, and before she knew it they were at Hogwarts.
They all piled into two boats for the trip across the lake, and before they reached the castle, they all made a pact that they would remain friends, no matter where they ended up. Dennis ended up in Gryffindor, just like he wanted. Willow was the first of her friends to be sorted after Dennis, and she walked up to the stool shaky and nervous.
Oh my, what do we have here? Willow practically fell off her chair when she heard the voice inside her head. The hat laughed at her. Never knew I did that, did you? But you're quite intelligent, and underneath a beautiful heart. You love your father, and are loyal to your friends. Better be- "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Andrew and Catherine joined Dennis, and Abby and Niall were put in Ravenclaw together. She was nervous she wasn't going to end up with any friends in her house, but right after Niall (she was right, they were twins), Zoey was sorted into Hufflepuff, too. They talked together before going to bed that first night, and Willow lay in bed thinking of how lucky she was that she made friends on her very first day.
She was still a bit on edge about those boys though. And that Headmaster, Dumbledore; he was a bit loony.
Willow didn't meet Cedric Diggory until one month later, exactly the first of October.
She had heard of him, of course. Who hadn't? Prefect, brilliant, quidditch captain...the star of Hufflepuff. She had seen him, too. Now there was a boy she didn't mind. He was tall, with this gorgeous, windswept brown hair and bright grey eyes. She was confused, because really, she thought she was a bit young to be so attracted to someone, but no one could deny that he was beautiful.
There was a transfiguration essay due the next day, and all of her friends had done it the day it was assigned. That day, Willow happened to be in the hospital wing with a cold, so she had heard about the assignment later, but was given the same due date.
And she had put it off until Sunday night. Her friends offered to help, but she assured them that they had earned a night off. She hurried out of the Great Hall and off to the library, making a mental list of the books she needed. She quickly located the first one on a shelf of basic transfiguration text, and the next one a few shelves away. Sadly, though, when she reached the final book she needed, she only found it when she looked up.
The book was above her. She was too short.
The curse of the first year.
She banged the other books on the floor in frustration, hoping Madam Pince wouldn't find her, and stood on her tippy-toes, stretching her arm as far as it could go to reach the book. She looked around for someone to help, or a ladder, but she found nothing, so she went back to reaching as high as she could.
She was so immersed in her stubborn determination to reach that book that she didn't notice anyone was near until she felt a large hand on her shoulder, and another long arm come into her line of sight and easily take the book from the shelf. His warm palm brushed her fingertips as he grasped the book, and the contact between that and her shoulder at once made her jump. Startled, she looked around for her not-very-heroic hero, and found herself looking up into the eyes of Cedric Diggory.
He gave her a effortless, heart-melting smile, and she nearly dissolved into a puddle of giggles or dreams or something. Why on Earth was he so perfect? She let out a goofy smile.
"Hi," when do boys' voices get deep and beautiful like that? she wondered, "You looked like you needed some help."
She meant to say, "Yeah, thank you," and show him how mature she was. Instead, she was pretty sure she babbled nonsensical words.
He laughed, not in a mean way, but in a sweet, caring way. "Hey, it's cool. No problem."
Finally, thank Merlin, she found her voice, "Thank you! I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along, actually." She laughed nervously in the hope that it was actually funny.
He chuckled, and she grinned from ear to ear, "What are you working on?" he asked, and she was once again struck by how dreamy his voice was and her jaw dropped slightly. She prayed she wasn't drooling.
After a bit of silence, in which she once again got lost in his eyes, she gathered her wits about her, "Oh! Um... a transfiguration essay. We have to write about-"
"Do you want some help?"
Was this actually happening? "Really?" she asked, her eyes the size of saucers.
Cedric smiled again, "Sure! I'm a prefect, after all, and it's getting late. It'll take you a long time to finish this all by yourself."
She blinked disbelievingly, then gulped so she could speak again, "You don't have...like...cool friends to hang out with or something?"
He laughed, "Nope, no plans. Let's get this essay done, alright?"
Willow smiled brightly, "Yeah."
They worked for a few hours in a private corner of the library. Willow was incredibly grateful for the help; it turned out to be a gruelling essay, and without Cedric's help, she would've been there into all hours of the night. He made the work fun, too. He made her laugh as they were working, telling little stories, and she came out of her shell a bit and told her own. Her assignment was done in no time, and together, (after he put back the book), they walked back to the Hufflepuff Common Room.
About to turn in for the night, she gave him a shy smile, "Thanks, again, for all the help."
"Hey, I told you, it was no problem. You ever need help, let me know."
"Thanks! Goodnight."
He gave her another dazzling smile, "'night."
Willow hurried up the stairs and into her dorm, closing the door quietly behind her before she beamed, sinking to the floor in a happy haze.
Zoey looked up from the book she was reading, saying "Did you finish that-" she cut off when she saw her friend's goofy grin, and raised an eyebrow, "What's up with you?"
"I think I'm in love," she sighed, and Zoey laughed.
"Uh-huh. With who, exactly?"
"Cedric," Willow said, as if it were obvious.
"Cedric? Cedric Diggory?" Zoey asked disbelievingly. Her friend just nodded. "Good luck with that."
"Thanks," said Willow, and Zoey laughed again.
Life was pretty normal for Willow after that. She did homework and hung out with her friends, and as for those boys, it seemed that Andrew got more annoying as the days went on, Dennis more excited, and Niall more subdued. She also admired Cedric Diggory from afar. Every once in awhile, though, (and these were easily the best moments of her day), he would stop and say hi to her in the hallways. She would watch him walk away, and when she turned back to her friends with a goofy grin on her face, they would shake their heads and laugh. And in those glorious times that she needed help with something (for she refused to simply pretend, despite how much she may or may not be in love), she would go to Cedric, and he never disappointed.
On Halloween, she wasn't surprised in the slightest when Cedric's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. That didn't mean she wasn't upset, though. She was surprised when Harry Potter's name was called. She hadn't talked to Harry at all, but she knew him (who didn't know Harry Potter? Not even the muggleborns didn't, because he was the best quidditch player in the school as well.). She had judged him on his own merit, not his infamous story, and he seemed really nice.
She confronted Cedric when they got back to the common room, waiting for him to separate from his friends. When he noticed her standing there, he smiled. "Hi, Willow," he said.
"Are you really competing in this? Isn't it supposed to be really dangerous?"
He walked forward and put his hands on her shoulders, "Hey, I'll be fine. It's really cute that you care, though. I was old enough to enter, wasn't I? So I'm old enough to handle it."
Tragically, all she got out of that was, Oh my Merlin, he things I'm cute!
The letter she wrote her Dad that night was filled with the boy of her dreams, and a mention of some competition they were holding at school.
She continued to be with her friends, and he continued to be her friend. She took off her "Potter Stinks" badge, and made all of her friends do so immediately (disregarding the Gryffindors) when he asked her to. The day of the first task, she was the loudest one in the crowd.
But everything changed when he began walking the halls hand in hand with Cho Chang (a girl who she previously thought was quite lovely). Willow confronted Cho in the girl's bathroom. (Where else would they have privacy?)
"What are you doing with Cedric?"
Cho gave her a confused look. "Huh?"
"Are you dating?" she demanded, and Cho raised her eyebrows.
"Umm…yes, we are, actually. He asked me to the Ball, and he asked me to be his girlfriend a couple days ago. Aren't you that girl he says 'hi' to sometimes? Willow, right?"
Willow frowned, "Yes, but that's really not the point. Why…he said…he said he liked me," she whispered to herself.
Cho came forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, sweetie. Maybe…maybe he was just being nice? But I really, really like Cedric, and I'm hoping we have awhile together," and then left Willow to wallow in her thoughts. She couldn't dislike Cho, and that just wasn't fair. Why was she so nice?
So Willow put on a happy face, and she was happy, really. Cho was nice. She hadn't had a chance with Cedric, anyway…but she was still pretty sure she was in love.
It was the day of the final task, and she was right up front, cheering Cedric on.
But then everything went wrong.
Harry came back clutching Cedric's lifeless body, and she rushed onto the pitch. She sunk to her knees next to him, not caring that closer friends were around. The circle consisted of Matthew, his best friend, a sobbing Cho, Cedric's poor father, and Willow. She cried her heart out. Why does that damn Voldemort have to take away the truly magical ones? The young ones, those who are innocent, the ones so kind and wonderful no one could hold a candle. Voldemort was behind this, she was sure. She toko a sidelong glance at Harry, crying out in agony.
She was pretty sure she was heartbroken. Why couldn't she have not liked him, like she hadn't liked any boys up until this year? He was gone; the first boy she had ever really loved was gone. He didn't have to love her back; he just had to be here, for her. They took him away! She gave another thorough sob. Boys make everything so complicated.
Except for Dennis Creevey, maybe; she didn't think she loved anyone more (except perhaps Cedric) than she did when Dennis came up beside her, took her hand in his, and let her cry on his shoulder. She grabbed hold like a life line, he awkwardly put his arm around her, and she leaned in and cried until all the tears had gone.
A/N 2: I really hope you enjoyed that! OCs are not my strength, but I'm going to have to come up with a lot of them for my multi-chap work 19 Years (shameless-plug: check it out if you liked this?).
I'm really proud of this one. I don't think she's Sueish in the slightest, she has enough character depth to make her interesting, and the experiences that she goes through, I felt, were enough to keep someone interested. I love Willow so much, in fact, she is absolutely going to make an appearance, or multiple!, in 19 Years!
So, again, I really hope you liked it, and if you did, you should let me know in that little box, and perhaps check out my other stuff! Please! And if you're competing, don't forget to vote for your favorite!
Thanks again!
Lara,