Back in the coffee shop, the conversation had stalled between Cedric and Onyx. This was somewhat worrisome to Onyx, who knew that conversation should come easy between lovers and soul mates but she tried to shove those thoughts aside. Despite the lack of conversation, she still enjoyed his company. That was still important, right? She watched him as he studied his coffee cup, immersed in his own thoughts. She was getting restless in the silence. She felt a sudden surge of jealousy as she thought of Harper, who probably hadn't enjoyed a moment of silence since Onyx left the Burrow. She wondered what she and the twins were up to and if Harper was surviving her alone time with them. She shook her head to shoo the thoughts away. The sudden movement caught Cedric's attention.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said quickly, feeling embarrassed. "Just a fly. So, what do you think of coffee?" Onyx asked in hopes to jumpstart the conversation.
"It's very interesting. But I have to say, I am quite fond of it, I'm going to have drink more of it. What about yours?"
She smiled, "just as good as I remember it being. Harper and I get coffee almost every day when we are back at home. It brings back lots of great memories."
"I hope it will now serve as bringing back memories of us," he said taking the last sip of his mocha.
"It will, along with closets and swimming in fountains," Onyx mused.
"I had forgotten about that," Cedric said with a bitter laugh, remembering the time that Fred and George had pushed him and Onyx in the fountain shortly after they had began dating. "You know Weasley has a thing for you."
"George? Yeah, I kind of figured that one out after he took Harper to the dance just to make me jealous. Obviously, that didn't work because I'm with you, but I think he deep down really likes Harper and has since the dance. I can see it just when we are around The Burrow, he's constantly picking at her and trying to be funnier than usual. It's rather cute, really. It's nice that Harper might have found someone to be with."
"I meant Fred," Cedric said now find the time to put in his clarification.
Onyx scoffed, "Fred doesn't like me." She took a sip of her libation.
"Onyx, it's so obvious. He is always around you, always picking at you, trying to be funnier when you are around, putting other guys down, he even changes his voice when you are around. Haven't you ever noticed?" Cedric pointed out.
Onyx thought for a moment. Fred really did pick on her a lot and he was always trying to make a scene when she was around, like he was trying to get her to notice him or something. Like the time they went to The Three Broomsticks and they sang karaoke and Fred did a dance solo. Or all those times Fred would make an excuse just be around her, like when she was tutoring them. Or all the times he pranked her, or tormented her with the Dead Dead Witch Song or all the other crazy stuff that he did. And then there was the one time before the dance when his eyes lingered too long on her legs when she showed him the heels she had on, or when he tucked that stray curl behind her ear, and that one dance. The dance! Onyx had completely forgotten about the dance that she and Fred shared. That really was a moment wasn't it? The way that she seemed to fit perfectly in his arms, she shivered at the memory. It seemed that she and Fred had shared a lot of quote unquote "moments" together. Like when he saved her and Cedric from Malfoy, or the snowball fight when he tackled her in the snow and then brought her hot chocolate to make up for it, and the time where they were just chilling the common room and he stole her poetry book and read one of her poems, or the time she confided in Fred and poured out all of what was bothering her and he was so receptive and caring about it, how she felt that she mattered to him when he was around. It was much different than the way she felt around Cedric; Cedric adored her, but he was always so possessive that she sometimes just felt like a thing.
"Sweetheart?" Cedric waved his hand in front of her face.
"Sorry, I was thinking. I never realized it. Wow, I must be blind," Onyx laughed.
"So what are you going to do about it?" Cedric wanted to know.
"Do about? I can't just let it lie? It's not hurting anything."
Cedric sighed. "I feel threatened by it."
Onyx smiled warmly at him. Even if he was the jealous type, he really did care a lot about her, and that was good enough for now. "Don't worry about it, I'm dating you and nothing's going to change that," she assured him with a kiss on lips.
Cedric had a goofy smile on his face. "Well, on that note," he laughed. "Are you finished? We should probably get going before my mother serves both our heads for dinner tonight."
"I bet you taste better than I do," she told him as he led her out the door.
"I bet you're wrong," he laughed as he now led her back to the woods where they had first Apparated. "I've tasted myself and I'm actually not very scrumptious."
"I doubt that," she rolled her eyes.
"You are more than welcome to taste for yourself," he offered, taking her arm. "Hold tight."
Next thing she knew, the crushing feeling was back and no sooner did she close her eyes than she felt her feet land on hard, cold ground. "That was fast."
"It's always fast," he chuckled. "I'm fairly certain that is the point."
She made a face at him and in a huff, let go of his arm and marched to the porch by herself. "No need to be a smart alec, dear."
"I'm only saying," he said, crossing the lawn in half the time as her and managing to somehow open the front door for her. "Mum, Dad. We're home!"
Onyx felt her heart sink a little at the sight of Mrs. Diggory, who of course paid no attention to her at all. She grinned at her son, however. "Cedric, just in time. Guess who just RSVP'd for the gala?"
Cedric didn't look too interested in what his mother had to say. "The Prime minister?" he guessed in a bored tone.
"No, silly," his mother said, laughing for what seemed to Onyx the first time since she'd arrived. "Cho Chang!"
Onyx, who had been contemplating how rude it would be to just walk up the stairs, was brought out of her rebellious reverie to stare at Mrs. Diggory. "Cho?"
Cedric seemed a little less shocked than Onyx thought he ought to have been. He almost seemed a tad bit excited. "Oh really," he asked, trying to sound nonchalant as soon as he saw Onyx looking at him.
Mrs. Diggory beamed. "I knew you'd be excited."
Well Onyx wasn't. She saw just how Cedric's ears perked at the sound of Cho's name. She felt a slow simmer of anger from somewhere down near her stomach. Why on earth was he still attached to Cho? They had been done for how long now? Long enough. She shouldn't still pique his interest like this. And why was his mother so happy about it? Why did she like Cho so much? Cho wasn't any better or worse than Onyx. That wasn't right. Onyx stood there and stewed as Mrs. Diggory and Cedric conversed about the rest of the guests, something Onyx really didn't care about at the moment. Not if it meant Cho was going to be there…
Suddenly she was being dragged by her arm up the stairs. "Cedric?"
"Yes?"
"Where are we going?" she asked even though her question was answered almost automatically as he lead her into his room.
"In here," he answered, now letting go of her. "I figured it would be best to get out of her way now since the party is getting so close."
Onyx considered this and finally decided that it was probably a good idea. "So what now?" she asked, still a little upset about the whole Cho situation.
"We change," he said simply. He went over to his closet and started fishing around for the outfit his mother had chosen for the occasion. Onyx watched him until he turned to her. "You might want to change, too," he said with a small smile.
"Oh, good idea," Onyx said, even though she really didn't feel like appeasing Mrs. Diggory at the moment. She slowly went to her room, not wanting to rush the process. She went to her bag and stopped as her gaze fell onto the dress Mrs. Diggory had chosen for her. For some reason the sight of the thing made the anger inside swell up again. Disgusted, she dug around for her own dress and held it up. Really, it wasn't that bad. It could very easily be worn at a fancy party. Why was Mrs. Diggory so against it?
Who cared? A slow smile crept up Onyx's face. She knew that she didn't care. So why not? Quickly, before she could change her mind, she slipped the dress on and put on her shoes to complete the outfit. Still feeling rebellious, she snatched up her makeup bag and rushed to the bathroom to finish the look. There was nothing but black in this house, not to accent, not to decorate, not to be seen. She began putting on her face and lost herself in the self-therapy until she was interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared. She looked up, startled. "Oh, Ced. It's just you."
Cedric looked at her, eye brows raised. "Um, that is a very interesting outfit."
"You don't like it," she said flatly. This didn't help her mood at all.
"No, no, I do," he hastened to assure her, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's very sexy."
She tried not to blush. It was proving very difficult. "Ced, stop it." She tried to hit him but he was holding her too tight.
"What? I can't compliment my hot girlfriend?"
"No, actually, you can't," she teased. "I won't allow it."
"My house, my rules," he reminded her.
"But I'm a guest," she pointed out.
"Still my house."
She gave up. "Can I finish getting ready now?"
He let go of her. "What more do you have to do?" he asked incredulously.
"You have no idea," she said gravely.
"Well I think you look perfect," he told her brushing her hair behind her shoulders to kiss the top of her shoulder. "Though, you might want to put your hair up; as much as I like you, your hair just doesn't taste very good. Plus, your hair gets in the way since it's getting so long," he mused tickling the back of her shoulder with her hair.
"Okay, so if you want me to put my hair up, you are going to need to let go of me for a minute."
He sighed, uncoiled his arms and sat on the toilet lid.
"Are you going to sit there and watch?" Onyx questioned, rooting around in her bag for some bobby pins.
"Yes, actually," he said, watching her intently, "I find this incredibly fascinating."
Onyx laughed, "I'm just doing my hair!" She poofed part of her hair and pinned it back.
"I've never watched a girl do her hair before, not by hand at least."
"Well, then you are welcome to watch," she smiled, pulling some more hair back in the poof. Onyx expertly twisted the rest of her hair in to an intricate bun at the base of the poof and hairsprayed it all in place.
"What is that stuff?" Cedric coughed as he inhaled a few fumes.
"Hairspray. It's what we muggleborns use when we want our hair to stay in one place," she smiled. "Your hair on the other hand is probably not going to be moving anytime this century."
His brow furrowed. "You don't like it?" he asked, running his hand over his slicked back hair.
"It just makes you look old." She bit her bottom lip. "Can I fix it?"
"Work your magic," he said, surrendering his head to her hands.
She grinned and immediately started working on his hair. A few minutes later, she was finished. "Ced, you are hot," she said admiring her work.
Cedric stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. "I have never worn my hair like this before," he stated. "I like it. A lot. I just might have to keep it this way."
"Like I said, you're hot," she told him kissing his cheek. She grabbed her red lipstick and put a little on her lips.
"So what do you muggleborns call this kind of hairstyle?" he wondered tying his tie.
"Sex hair," Onyx tossed over her shoulder on her way out of the bathroom.
"Oh really now? And how would you know about that?" he asked her following her.
"Robert Pattinson wears his hair like this all the time," Onyx informed him, putting her makeup bag back in her bag. "You know, you kind of look a lot like him."
"Robert Pattinson? The name sound familiar, I feel like I should know him," Ced mused leaning against the doorframe.
"He's a muggle actor, I don't think you would have ever heard of him."
"Still, I feel like I am connected with him somehow. Like this hairstyle is receiving alien transmissions from him or something."
"Okay, maybe I used a little too much hairspray on you and the fumes went straight to your head and turned it to soup."
"Whatever you say, babe," Cedric chuckled with a smile.
Onyx slipped on a bracelet and some earring and turned to face Cedric. "Okay, finished product, what do you think?" she wanted to know.
Cedric slinked into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Sexy, very sexy. I don't know if I am going to be able to keep my hands off you," he told her with a very passionate kiss on the lips.
They were interrupted by a light knock on the door. "Everyone decent in there?" they heard Mr. Diggory call.
Cedric sighed and unwrapped his arms from around Onyx, "yes, we're all decent in here."
"Good," Mr. Diggory popped in the door. "Woah, so much for the annual matching monkey suits and hair, son."
Cedric smiled. "I let Onyx have a little fun."
"Well, that shade of lipstick does nothing for you."
Onyx let out a small laugh.
Cedric smiled sheepishly and wiped Onyx's lipstick of his lips.
"Onyx, my dear, you look ravishing!" Mr. Diggory complimented her as he finally noticed his son's girlfriend.
"Thank you, Mr. Diggory," she thanked him. "I appreciate it."
"Well, it is well worth it. My son is lucky to have you on his arm."
"Indeed," Cedric agreed, taking Onyx hand and placing it in the crook of his arm.
"Well, we best be getting downstairs. Your mother told me to come and fetch you two because most of the guests are here already," Mr. Diggory advised Cedric and Onyx.
"Alright, downstairs it is," Cedric said escorting Onyx down the steps behind his father.
Onyx felt her dread grow with each step she took. She didn't know why, but this party held such a feeling of foreboding for her. She just knew that something bad was going to happen. She clutched Cedric's arm as they finally descended the staircase and stepped into the party. The lights were down and it was so dark that she could barely see. There was a low hum of music coming from somewhere that certainly wasn't party music. There were so many people that Onyx had to rely on Cedric to lead her around because she knew she would have bumped into people otherwise.
"Wow, Ced," she said in disbelief. "This is ridiculous. Is it like this every year?"
He nodded. "Its become a really big deal somehow. We get some big names here so that's why Mum gets so freaked out about it."
"Huh." Onyx squinted to get her eyes used to the dark. It didn't help that all that was milling around her were dark figures. She looked around but not once did she see anybody that looked familiar. "Do you even know anybody here?"
He gave a small chuckle. "No. This is my Mum's ordeal. I think I only know my family members. Speaking of which," he looked around the room. "I think I see my cousins." He didn't look very excited at the prospect.
"What's wrong with them?" Onyx asked, craning her neck to see where he was seeing.
Cedric grimaced. "Oh nothing really, they're just always going on about how hot their girlfriends are and yet every time I ask to meet them, they always skirt around the issue."
"Right, I remember you telling me this."
"And now I can rub it in after all these years," he grinned at her.
"What do you mean?" she asked him.
"I'm going to introduce you to them."
"Why?" she asked, suddenly afraid. She didn't know if she was up to meeting any more of his family.
"So they can see how hot my girlfriend is," he said simply.
Onyx looked around. "What hot girlfriend?"
"You're silly," he told her, taking her into his arms.
"No, I'm serious," she went on. "Do I have to meet them?"
"Don't you want to?"
"Well, not if you don't like them," she explained. She eyed the two people whom they were vastly approaching. "I don't see any girlfriends."
"I figured as much," Cedric muttered. "Why hello there, Max and Elliot," he greeted jovially.
The two of them shook Cedric's hand somewhat distractedly, as they were both practically ogling Onyx. "Who is this?" the taller one of them asked.
"This would be my girlfriend," Cedric said, trying hard not to sound too proud. "Onyx, this is Max and Elliot."
Onyx held out her hand. "It's very nice to meet you," she greeted them as they scrambled and fought over who would shake her hand first.
"Nice to see you too," Elliot said shaking her hand vigorously.
"Pleasure's mine," Max told her suavely taking her hand from Elliot and kissing the back of it.
"Alright, that's enough," Cedric said snatching Onyx's hand back.
"No need to get grabby, cous," Elliot grumbled.
Cedric rolled his eyes.
"So you must go to Hogwarts," Max stated, attempting to stir up a conversation. "What year are you?"
"I'm a sixth year," Onyx answered.
"And she is the best in her year," Cedric announced, kissing her on the cheek.
"Ced, I'm really not. Harper is if not equal, far better than I am," she humbled, cheeks flushing.
"Babe, there's no need to be modest when you are as talented as you are," Cedric assured her.
"I really don't like talking about this kind of thing," she whispered low enough only for Cedric to hear.
"Wait, what's your last name?" Elliot asked spontaneously.
"Atwood," Onyx answered slowly not comprehending why that would make any difference.
"You're the Gryffindor chaser! The one who is like the best they have had, right?" Elliot practically squeaked.
"I wouldn't know about being the best, but yes I do play for Gryffindor," Onyx clarified.
"Oh, no. You are the best, I have seen you play. I went to one of the games with Cedric when you first started playing."
"I see," Onyx said feeling rather uncomfortable right now.
"That was of course before you and Cedric were dating, which coming to that, how long has he had you?" Elliot wanted to know.
"Don't get any ideas, Elliot," Cedric warned. "She has enough admirers vying for her arm."
"Clearly," Max pointed out, "otherwise you wouldn't be so jumpy."
"I'm not being jumpy," Cedric defended himself.
"Jealous then," Max offered crossing his arms across his chest.
"Dude, can you blame him?" Elliot questioned. "She's freaking hot!"
"I'm standing right here," Onyx said softer than she anticipated. This kind of thing she hated, she was beginning to feel like a thing again. She must have missed something because Cedric began leading her away from his cousins, his arm around her waist.
"Okay, time to leave," he said, hustling her across the room. "I told you they were bad."
She couldn't really blame him for wanting to get out of their company, but really the worst they had done was make her uncomfortable with the flattery. "Where to next?" she asked.
Cedric looked around above the crowd, because he was taller than most of them. "I see my mother," he began. He felt her arms tense around him. "Or not." He looked around some more. "Er, Onyx, I'll be back."
She looked at him as he let go of her and hurried off. "Okay…" she frowned after him. That was weird. Who had he seen and why couldn't she go with him? She couldn't wonder for long however, because that is when Malfoy found her.
"Onyx," he purred, sneaking up from behind her. "I see you decided to wear a sexy little black dress for me after all."
Onyx instantly regretted wearing the dress. She wondered just how quickly she could run upstairs and change into the ugly green dress that Mrs. Diggory had chosen for her. "Hi, Malfoy," she said, figuring she might as well greet him and get it over with.
"Where's your pretty boy?" he wanted to know.
She glared at him. "Don't call him that."
"Why not, everyone else does."
"Well that doesn't make it right," she huffed, now looking around the room for her missing boyfriend so that he could come save her. It was difficult seeing as how she was shorter than most other people and only saw their heads.
"But it makes it fun," he pointed out, coming closer to her.
"Stay away, Malfoy," she warned. "Don't make me hurt you."
He grinned. "You couldn't hurt me."
"If I had to, I would," she snapped. "Now go bother somebody else, will you?"
"But I really don't want to. It's not as fun with anybody else."
"Not as fun," she scoffed. "Would you leave before Cedric sees you?"
Malfoy looked around the room, stopped, and then grinned again. "I don't think you have to worry about that," he said, sounding very pleased.
Onyx knew that anything that please Malfoy was sure to be very un-pleasing to her. "Why not," she asked slowly, not sure if she really wanted to know or not.
"He's too busy catching up with Cho," Malfoy told her.
"He's what?!" Onyx forgot all about Malfoy for a second in her haste to stand up on her tippy toes and scan the entire party for her now in trouble boyfriend. Finally, she found him in a corner, his arm resting on the wall and above a small someone in a scandalous red dress. Oh wait. That was just Cho. Onyx's chest hurt at the sight of them. Beside her, Malfoy was beside himself with glee.
"I would have told you sooner but I thought you knew," he began. "Just throwing this out there but, I would never do that to you."
"He's not doing anything," Onyx announced, more for her own sake than for Malfoy's. "They're just talking. I mean, that's allowed. I might not like it, but it's not against the rules."
"Actually," Malfoy pointed out. "It kind of is. You don't usually go off to talk with an ex. Or if you do, it's just to make light small talk. That," he gestured to Cedric and Cho, "is more than light small talk."
"Would you shut up?" she asked him, not wanting to believe him. "You're really not helping right now."
"Sorry, love." He truly looked it. How out of character.
Onyx shook her head and forced herself to look away. She knew they were close but still. This was not nice of them. Wasn't she the one who broke up with him anyway? Did it even matter? They were done, that's all that mattered. To Onyx at least. Apparently they had other ideas. What could they possibly be talking about, anyway? It looked like they were having an in depth conversation that elicited far too much laughter. They were exes, they should not be laughing with each other. At each other, yes. With each other, no.
"I just called you 'love'," Malfoy said, peering into her face and looking a little worried. "Doesn't that bother you?"
"Huh?" Onyx wasn't even paying attention to Malfoy anymore.
He looked at her again. "You look a little pale," he told her. "I'll go get you some eggnog."
She didn't even nod her consent, so out of it was she. Cedric was cheating on her. That had to be it. That's why they didn't spend a lot of time together at school. He was probably sneaking around with Cho. That time with the closet? He had probably told her to do that. Onyx was so unbelievably pissed that she didn't even notice when Max came over and had to poke her to get her attention.
"Onyx, are you okay?" he asked.
She blinked at being touched. "Oh, sorry," she said. "Hi."
"Hi." He smiled a little. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"Oh, don't worry, you didn't." She glanced over at where Cedric and Cho were still talking. "I'm just a little distracted."
"Ah." Max looked around. "So where is my cousin?" he asked conversationally.
Onyx felt her face cloud over. "Over there," she said sullenly. "Mingling."
"Er, is he not allowed to mingle?" Max asked her, misinterpreting her mood.
"Not with certain people," she grumbled.
Still confused, Max looked around until he saw the only thing that could possibly be making Onyx upset. "Oh, Velcro Girl is here," he said brightly. He glanced at Onyx. "Oh."
"Oh is right," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "He just up and left and ran over to her side."
"Git," Max said to appease Onyx. "I always questioned his taste in girls."
Onyx cocked her eyebrows.
"Until I heard he was going out with you, that is," he hastily added.
"Sure sure," she brushed it off. "I just can't believe… I mean I'm right here! What is he thinking? And how dare she! They've been done for like, a year!"
"Er, well if it helps, I think he's being a git," Max said hopefully. His comment was lost as Malfoy came back, cup in hand.
"Here you go, love," he said, eyeing Max with distaste.
Onyx took it without thanks, because it was Malfoy after all. She ignored the sudden hostility that exuded from both of the boys because she was already in too foul a mood to deal with it. She wished they would just leave her alone. Cedric wouldn't like finding her surrounded by a bunch of boys—
She smiled suddenly. That was brilliant.
Malfoy and Max looked at her strangely, wondering why she was now smiling.
"Onyx?" Max asked her. "Are you okay?"
She looked at him, still smiling. What better way to exact revenge then to spend time with the two people Cedric really didn't care for? "Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you for the drink, Malfoy."
Malfoy eyed her. "What's wrong with you?"
"Why?"
"You're being nice to me." He looked confused. "You're never nice to me."
"I know, I'm sorry Malfoy," she apologized. "You just get so annoying sometimes."
Max tried to hide his smile. "So since your boyfriend is a little preoccupied, what do you want to do?" he asked her.
"Spend time with me, obviously," Malfoy told him.
"No, she finds you annoying," Max pointed out.
"She was just flirting with me, you dunce."
"I'm not flirting with anybody," Onyx sighed. "I do have a boyfriend, you know."
Malfoy scoffed. "Yes, a boyfriend who is currently snogging his former girlfriend."
"He's snogging her?!" Onyx quickly turned around and scanned the crowd for the corner Cedric and Cho had previously occupied. There they were, but they weren't snogging. They were still laughing. "Malfoy, don't do that!" she hissed, rounding on him. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"But it was so fun," he teased her.
"That was pretty low," Max agreed with Onyx. "Even I didn't go that far."
"Thank you, Max," Onyx said appreciatively. Malfoy looked upset that Max was getting the preference. "So what do we do now?" she asked. "Is it this boring every year?"
Max grinned. "Just about. This year isn't so bad though," he added with a glance in her direction.
"Are you kidding?" Malfoy asked. "Nothing is boring with Onyx around."
"I can imagine," Max smiled. It was starting to annoy Onyx again, all of the attention. There was only one boy's attention whom she craved and she wasn't getting it right now. She suddenly wished again that Harper was here. Or the twins. Or both. She wondered what they were doing and how her best friend was surviving. She was getting lost in her own thoughts while the two boys near her began to argue over something that was undoubtedly silly. She didn't even want to pay attention to them right now. All she wanted to do was go upstairs and collapse on her bed. And have Cedric come find her there. Briefly, she wondered if he even would or if he would leave with Cho. She was trying to shake these thoughts out of her head when she heard Mrs. Diggory's voice carry over the crowd.
"She's a Quidditch player!" she was exclaiming. "It is so unforgiveably unladylike. I really do not see what he sees in her."
Onyx froze. "Did she really say that?" she whispered.
Malfoy nodded. "Nice family to marry into," he said sarcastically.
"I'm not going to marry him!" she said, momentarily distracted by the thought.
Max sounded relieved. "Well that's good."
She didn't even want to know what he meant by that. She was back to being upset by what Mrs. Diggory had just said. And still, Cedric was no where around. You'd think that after your mother just bashed your girlfriend, you would go and try to comfort her. Or at least defend her. Which Cedric wasn't doing. Onyx was beyond upset by now.
"Onyx, you haven't had any of your drink," Malfoy noted.
She looked down at the drink in her hand and realized he was right. With one swift movement, she downed the thing in one swallow. "Ugh," she said as soon as it was down. "What is this?"
"Um, eggnog," Malfoy said.
"What's in it?"
"Whatever is usually in eggnog."
She made a face. "It tastes like alcohol."
Max laughed. "It is alcohol. That's what real eggnog is."
Onyx looked at the empty glass. "Alcohol?"
Malfoy nodded.
"Can I have some more?" she asked, holding the glass out to him.
He took it with a grin and hurried away.
"Wanting to get drunk?" Max asked, looking impressed.
"No. I just want to forget tonight," she answered.
"So you want to get wasted." This prospect made him much happier.
"No," she corrected. "I just want a libation."
"Or six."
"Just two," she corrected again. She risked a glance over to where Cedric and Cho still were. Ugh. Still laughing. This was so unfair.
"Think of it this way," Max said. "The party's almost over."
"It is? Didn't it just begin?" she sounded surprised.
Max gave a shrug. "You've been here longer than you think. It's nearly midnight."
"Oh." Nearly midnight? It certainly didn't feel that long to Onyx but the sooner this thing was over, the better. She just wanted to go to bed and to go home to the Burrow. Malfoy came back, this time with two drinks in his hands. He handed one to her and then downed the other, not even giving Max a look of apology. Onyx followed suit. The alcohol burned her throat but she really didn't care. She already was feeling a little bit better. "Thank you, Malfoy."
"No problem, love."
Max looked miffed. Nevertheless, Onyx spent the remainder of the party with them. Malfoy was surprisingly funny now that she was actually listening to him. Cedric never came back for her and she had all but given up on him. She had already decided that she was going to ask him to take her home first thing the next morning. But until then, she talked with Max and Malfoy. Max really wasn't as bad as Cedric had made him out to be. He was smarter than Malfoy so therefore a little more intelligent to talk with. Then she realized that the room had thinned out and next thing she knew, Lucious Malfoy was approaching them, looking mildly interested to see his son with her.
"Draco," he commanded. "It's time to leave. Say good bye to your…" he sneered a little. "Friends."
Onyx rolled her eyes, said good bye to Malfoy before he could say anything cheesy, and started to walk away. She had forgotten about Max, who followed her to the stairway.
"You leaving?" he asked, sounding disappointed.
"Oh, right," she said. "Well, yeah. It was nice talking to you, Max," she said, forcing a smile.
"Will I see you again?" he asked.
"Er." That was cliché. "I don't really know," she admitted.
"Well try to, okay?" he said, looking meaningful.
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," she said absently. "Night!" She turned and started running up the stairs before he could say anything else. She got to her room and threw open the door. Slamming it shut, and walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it. She wanted to cry but the tears weren't cooperating for some reason. Odd. She had wanted to do nothing but sob all throughout the evening. She didn't quite know how long she laid there but it felt to her like hours before there was a slight knock on the door, which then preceded to open even though she didn't give it permission.
"Onyx?" Cedric's head peeked out from behind the door. "Are you in here?"
She debated not answering him but it was too late because he had already seen her.
"Hey," he said, sitting down next to her on the bed. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to sleep," she grumbled.
"Oh." He was silent for a moment. "So did you have a good time?"
"No but I saw that you did," she said, trying not to sound too mean. "How's Cho doing these days?"
She felt him stiffen at that and smiled to herself. She had hit a nerve.
"You saw that?" he asked quietly.
"You were trying to hide it?" she retorted.
More silence. "There wasn't anything to hide," he said finally.
She snorted. "Cedric, you spent the whole entire party talking to her. I was stuck with Malfoy and Max the whole time."
Still more silence. "I didn't realize it would annoy you so much."
"What, annoy me that you spent more time with your ex girlfriend than your current one?" She sat up to look at him. "That wasn't very perceptive of you."
"Well, what do you want me to do?" he asked; a cheap attempt to appease her.
"Right now, I really want you to leave so I can sleep. Plus, since you like Cho so much and seemed to have such a great time with her tonight, you should just go back to her. She probably is missing you," Onyx told him sternly, putting her head on the pillow. "Just leave."
Realizing his defeat, he got up and left. She thought that maybe the tears would come but much to her surprise, they didn't. Also to her surprise, the door opened not a minute later and in came Cedric once more.
"No, you know what," he said, walking in and sitting on her bed. "Yes I might like Cho, but I love you."
"Eh?" she asked, sure she had heard him wrong. "You like Cho?"
He smiled a little, because she hadn't reacted to what a normal girl would have reacted to. "Only a little. I always will."
"But," she prompted.
He moved over so that he had her in his arms, his chin resting on top of her head. "But I love you."
"Say what?" she asked, sitting up and staring at him. This was not what she had been expecting at all.
"I love you," he said again, this time with more emphasis.
"Are you serious?" she asked him. "Cedric, you can't just throw that word around. It means too much, it… it…" she trailed off.
"It what?" he asked. "It's a lie? Do you really think that?"
"Um, well no but even so, it's weird to hear. And you were just with Cho all night and, and…"
"You silly, delusional girl," he said affectionately. He took her hand into his and she felt something cold being slipped onto her finger. "I really mean it."
She held up her hand. Even in the dim light she could see a glint of silver on her finger. "Ced," she began. "Ced, what is this? Is it what I think it is?"
"If you think it's a promise ring, then yes," he chuckled.
"A promise ring?" she said shrilly.
"Yes. A promise ring. To show that I love you and you alone."
Onyx stared. A promise ring. He had given her a promise ring. What on earth had possessed him to do that? What would Harper, Fred and George say?
"Onyx?" He peered into her face. "Onyx, say something. Do you not like it?"
"No, I do. It's very pretty," she assured him. "And very sudden."
"Is it really?" he asked. "We've been together how long now? Isn't that long enough to know that I want to be with you forever?
"Forever?" she squeaked.
"Is that a problem?"
"It's just a really long time!" she said, not really grasping what was happening. She began to feel guilty. "Cedric, I don't know what to say…"
"Say you'll wear it," he asked her. "Please?"
"Ced, I don't know, people will think it's an engagement ring!"
"What's wrong with that?" he questioned honestly not comprehending.
"Aren't we a little young to be engaged?" she pointed out. Onyx couldn't believe Cedric actually wanted to be engaged at their age. What on earth was going on?
"Maybe, but that's not what this is. This shows that I want to marry you someday," he clarified.
It took all of Onyx's will power not to gag. The idea for some reason repulsed her. Marry Cedric? Marry into his family? Have a mother-in-law that hates her? Be stuck with him forever? She shuddered and Cedric couldn't help but notice.
"Are you cold or do you just not like the idea?" he asked evenly.
"Cold," she answered too quickly. She knew he didn't believe her.
"Well we have quite some time to figure it out," he said, rolling over onto his back. "I figured we'd wait until after you graduate anyways. Who wants to be married while still in school?"
"Who indeed," she said, still reeling at the idea. Married. To Cedric. Forever. Would she be allowed to see the Weasley's anymore?
Hmm that was a weird thought. Why was that her primary worry? It's not like she liked Fred or anything…
Cedric took her hand, breaking into her thoughts. "What has you worried, love?"
"Please don't call me that, Ced," she asked. "Malfoy still insists on using it." That and, I'm not your love, she thought to herself before she could help it.
That was a new revelation. Where was all of this coming from? But once again, Cedric interrupted her thoughts ever so rudely.
"Oh well in that case, you will never hear the word uttered from my lips again," he uttered, pressing his lips to the palm of her hand.
"Is that a promise?" she half joked.
He narrowed his eyes. "Do you want it to be?"
"A little."
"You are a very confusing woman, did you know that?" he asked, sounding a tad annoyed.
She gave a weak laugh. "Tell me something I don't know."
He looked at her. "Fred Weasley loves you."
Startled, she gave another hesitant laugh. "You already told me that."
"No," he corrected. "I told you he liked you. But now I'm convinced he loves you."
"Convinced how, have you been talking to him about it?"
"No," he said again. "It's just fairly obvious."
"If it's so obvious how come I've never noticed?" she challenged.
He shrugged. "You aren't perceptive when it comes to you."
She didn't quite know what to make of that. "Hey Ced?" she asked suddenly.
"Yes?"
"Could I quite possibly go back to the Burrow tomorrow?" she asked in a rush.
He blinked. "Back to the Burrow?"
"Yes. I feel like I ought to go save Harper," she explained.
"Is her life in danger?" he asked coolly.
"Knowing the twins, quite possibly." She smiled at the thought. She suddenly wished for nothing more than to get to the Burrow and spend time with the boys and Harper.
Cedric appraised her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, quite sure," she assured him.
"Well if you insist," he sighed.
"Which I do."
"First thing in the morning, then." He didn't sound too pleased about the idea but he closed his eyes as though he were about to fall asleep.
"Um, Cedric?" she asked as his breathing deepened.
"Yes?" he asked, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"Are you planning on staying in here?" she teased.
"Yes."
She blinked. "Oh." That she had not been expecting. She couldn't bring herself to kick him out, however, because that seemed like a cold-hearted move on her part. Admitting defeat, she lay down, scooching over so that she wasn't anywhere near him. He didn't even seem to notice.
It took her a few hours to fall asleep and when it did finally come, her dreams were filled with white dresses and veils and evil mothers-in-law who cast evil spells. Cedric startled her awake by kissing her.
"Good morning, my sweet," he greeted her.
Onyx jumped and fell off the bed with a shriek. "Ced, don't do that!" she told him. "You scared me half to death."
"Sorry," he said, hardly looking apologetic. "Ready to go?"
"Go where?" she asked, getting up and smoothing out the dress she realized she was still wearing from last night. It felt like so long ago already.
"Well if you don't remember I hardly feel like reminding you," he said with a smirk.
"Reminding me what?" she asked. "That I asked you to take me back to the Burrow? No, I didn't forget. I just didn't know that was what you were referring to." She went over to her bag and pulled out the first thing she could. Another dress. Lovely. She rushed to the bathroom so that she could change and brush her teeth. Cedric was still on the bed when she came back.
"Are you sure you want to go back?" he asked her. "You don't want to stay one more day?"
"I don't think Harper could last one more day," she said truthfully.