~Marquis's Room, 30 minutes later~
"Come in" Cedric said as he sat at this writing desk reading over some of the homework that had been given for over the summer vacation.
"Marquis" Emmeline said formally until the door was closed; it was then that she had an arm full of the Marquis Diggory.
"I would ask if you missed me, but I think I already have my answer" Emmeline joked before hugging Cedric back and then pulling back to get a good look at him.
"You're so big and handsome!" Emmeline said a huge smile on her face; Cedric had certainly turned into a looker that was for sure.
"Emmeline" Cedric said before laughing and then moving over to where the bouquet of flowers still sat on his writing desk.
"Harry" Emmeline said knowing that Cedric had been asking about the small teenage boy.
"Yes, I would like to meet him, thank him for these" Cedric said explaining his main reason for wanting to meet Harry.
"You will soon enough" Emmeline said, she had actually talked Harry into coming to the party that was due to start as soon as she brought Cedric down, but now she wasn't so certain that had been a good idea. He along with Laurel had put together flower arrangements for the two small tables that sat on the back patio near the gardens. There just so happened to be an overhang that covered up most of the party paraphernalia from view, so Cedric truly was clueless on it.
"So everyone keeps saying" Cedric said before slumping his shoulders.
"Come, come" Emmeline said as if granting Cedric his wish of seeing Harry.
"Really? You'll introduce me?" Cedric asked acting nothing like the teen that most saw while he was at Hogwarts, where he was the roguish Hufflepuff with a swagger like none other.
"Yes, I'll introduce you. That is if you can find him" Emmeline joked before the pair was making their way to the gardens via one of the main floor rooms that took you out under the overhang that hid the party from view.
"What do you mean by that? Dad said the same thing" Cedric said as they entered the room, not even noticing that as they near the large French doors that there was a small garden party set up.
"Harry's hard to get a hold of, never in one place for a long period of time" Emmeline said knowing that Harry would probably spend the bulk of his time in the large rows of roses or peonies to shade himself from view, something he was always trying to do.
"I'll find him" Cedric stated in a firm voice before gasping when he saw the party laying before him.
"What is this?" Cedric said turning to Emmeline and then gazing at the party again. There standing before him were his father, mother, Abay, Laurel, Nicholas Laurel's husband and Doc without a Harry to be seen; or at least from what Cedric could see.
"Mum, Dad?" Cedric said looking to his parents and getting grins in response.
"What is this?"
"Welcome home Marquis" Emmeline said formally before pulling Cedric into a huge and then blowing a raspberry at him.
"For me?" Cedric said before laughing at the looks he got.
"No, it's for the kid behind you" Abay said in a joking manner which sent the group into a laughing fit. Sometimes Cedric could be so blonde about things, and it seemed this was one of those moments. At those words Cedric jokingly turned around and then turned back around.
"Where'd he go?"
"He's yours alright" Genoveva said to Amos before being tickled by Amos, Cedric watched the interaction a contemplative look on his face. He wanted what his parents had but he had no idea on who would fit the bill of things that he wanted in a spouse. Now that he knew his father would approve of any pairing he chose he sighed in relief and began to run through the boys that walked the halls of Hogwarts for any sort of prospective spouse, so far his quick run through had proved fruitless.
"Now come on over" Laurel said noticing that Cedric was watching his parents a look of longing on his face, it seemed that courting couldn't come fast enough for the young Marquis.
"So what do we have to eat, I'm hungry" Cedric said before patting his belly as it growled as if on cue.
"Always hungry you are" Nicholas said, he was the head chef of the manor something that he and his wife were proud of. Most manors went through chefs because either the chef was too needy or the manor's occupants were too needy, never a good combination.
"Well, what are we working with here?" Cedric said forgetting for the moment that he had been on a quest to find Harry, now that food was before him.
"Your favorites" Nicholas said pulling off the top on the few silver serving dishes that sat on another small table.
"Real beef" Cedric said with a smile as he saw the sliced pieces of beef lying in juices that were bubbling from the small fire that lay underneath it.
"Oh and mashed potatoes" Cedric said now drooling over the items sitting on the table.
"Well get a plate and load up" Nicholas said before pointing out the plates and then watching as Cedric dive bombed the stack and began loading up his plate, tunnel vision fully engaged.
"Get Harry his plate" Emmeline whispered to Laurel, only she alone knew where Harry would be hiding in the rows and rows of flowers.
"Consider it done" Laurel said before grabbing a plate and loading it up with just a few items. Harry still ate like a small bird and so putting more food on the plate was just a bad idea. They had seen Harry go to tears when he couldn't finish what he had been given, so instead they gave him just a little bit more food each time he ate, hoping to get his stomach back up to normal size. The Dursley's would pay for what they had done but it would have to wait until Harry was truly away from the Dursley and Potter names. Laurel got in line behind Cedric and then disappeared with a plate of food and a glass of water. Harry had yet to drink anything besides water and she wasn't going to push it on him now, he was uncomfortable as it was. Cedric never even noticed when Laurel disappeared but he did notice when she came out of the rows of flowers with a small grin on her face.
"Laurel what's out there that's made you so happy?" Cedric asked finally realizing that Harry, the phantom worker was nowhere to be seen.
"Just the flowers" Laurel said easily before laughing at the look that Cedric gave her.
"Here's the deal…eat your food and see if you can find Harry" Laurel said, she had been told by Harry that Cedric was more than welcome to come and find him but he was not going to go to where Cedric was with the party. He was still very uncomfortable in those types of situations, and so he had stuck to the garden's cover to wait out the party. At those words Cedric descended on his food with a single mindedness that few had ever seen.
"He's it" Emmeline said to Genoveva as they watched Cedric eat.
"He is" Genoveva agreed, she wasn't at all surprised that her son had such an interest but what was surprised her was the way her son was acting without even meeting Harry.
"Then let us hope that the adoption papers go through this week" Genoveva whispered to Emmeline before she got a nod in response and the pair started in on dinner. There was little talk coming from Cedric since he wanted to go and find this Harry that it seemed had everyone at the manor in an uproar.
"Done" Cedric said before pushing his chair back and standing up and then leaving the table without asking to be excused. Amos watched humor written on his face; only his son could be so rude and still do it with grace.
"Do you think he'll find him?" Amos asked the table, before there was a betting pool on who thought that Cedric would find Harry.
