"Marnie, wait up!" I heard a familiar voice call out from behind me.
I turned to see Cedric jogging to catch up with me as I made my way to Divination.
"Can I walk you to class?" he asked kindly.
"Of course," I answered, smiling back at him.
He fell into step with me while we walked towards the North Tower.
"We haven't gotten much of a chance to catch up since I returned from Eastern Europe, I was hoping to finally bring you on that date," he said thoughtfully, almost stopping me in my tracks.
I could feel my face turn hot at the mention of going on a date. Honestly, the escape of Sirius Black had put a screeching halt on most of my life, including corresponding with Cedric. But that maniac was already endangering my family's lives and plaguing my nightmares, he didn't have to affect my dating life too.
"That sounds lovely," I replied softly, trying to hide my anxiety.
But I was having difficulty meeting his eye.
He chuckled softly. "How about this upcoming Hogsmeade visit?"
"That sounds great," I said before feeling a grimace appear on my face.
"What's wrong?" he asked, I could hear the apprehension in his voice.
"Please promise me I won't have to go to Madam Puddifoot's?" I asked, trying not to outright offend him.
Cedric bluntly laughed this time.
"The day is yours. We will do whatever you want to do," he replied enthusiastically.
We had finally reached the top of the stairs.
"Wait, do you have Divination as well?" I asked, excited at the prospect of spending more time with him even though I still felt slightly embarrassed.
"As a matter of fact, I do," he answered. "But I would have escorted you either way."
I blushed fiercely as we entered the classroom and Cedric led the way to a table in the middle. He even stopped to pull out a chair for me. Most of the other students hadn't arrived yet and it wasn't until I noticed two red heads enter the room that I remembered whom I usually sat with.
George was the first to notice where I was sitting and offered me a small smile. Fred followed his brother's gaze and ended up trying to hide his obvious scowl but remained silent on the matter.
Baby steps I guess.
Professor Trelawney soon entered with her signature grandiosity. Wearing a shimmering shawl, she glided throughout the classroom like a bat. The rounded glasses which magnified the size of her eyes tenfold didn't help.
For the past two years I had usually sat with the twins, Katie and Lee who had all decided to take this class as an elective. It was also our pastime to laugh and make jokes about the eccentric professor who tended to constantly declare the death and suffering of others.
Fred and George had explained that their brother Bill had taken the course during his time at Hogwarts and had always gone on about how easy it was. This had been the winning factor against Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. For my other electives I had also chosen Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures; I still had no idea what I wanted to do once I graduated.
"Today we are going to gaze into the future with our crystal orbs," Professor Trelawney announced in dramatic gesture.
I looked at the glass ball which was sitting in between Cedric and I with skepticism. What could this decoration really tell me about my future? Cedric instead looked thoughtfully into it before glancing back down to reference from his book.
"You should start," I suggested since it seemed Cedric was already giving this more effort than I was.
"Alright, well already I am seeing two colours swirling around, almost as if they are competing with each other," he stated observantly.
I furrowed my brow as I looked quizzically down at the crystal ball. Already Cedric was taking this more seriously than I ever had.
"What are the colours?" I asked, still feeling skeptical.
"Red and yellow. But it almost looks like they are fusing in the middle to create a vibrant orange colour," he continued thoughtfully.
"Well, what is that supposed to mean?"
"It says here that the presence of two colours means either competing interests or the presence of two souls," he recited.
"What else?" I asked, my interest now regrettably peeked.
"Red is supposed to symbolize love or passion or inversely betrayal and rejection while yellow symbolizes friendship and loyalty or ending and passing on," he said ambiguously.
"Well, isn't that just covering all of the bases?" I asked incredulously. "So, either, I'm one person or two, in love or being betrayed, while being loyal or dying? That is completely bogus," I grumbled and crossed my arms over my chest.
Cedric smiled softly before returning to his text.
"It also says that the emergence of orange means that the circumstances of the red and yellow will give birth to a new direction in your life, determinate on the decisions made from the soul-bearer. Either, one will choose to whither out of existence or strive for betterment and prosperity," he finished bluntly.
"Well isn't that cheerful," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
"Why don't you try," Cedric offered kindly, passing over his text.
I gazed down at the glass ball and was surprised to actually see a colour emerging out of its cloudy-like haze
"Your aura shows purple," I started before referring down to the table shown in the book.
"Purple means you are excited to start a new journey based on recent decisions you have made."
I looked up to see him break into an infectious smile.
"The lightness of the purple shows infinite youth, whatever that means, and this line of pink-ish red is supposed to represent a strong bond binding to your soul," I continued, not really understanding the elusiveness of the script.
I looked up at Cedric who just beamed back at me.
"What?" I asked skeptically, unsure of how he could have understood a single word of what I had said.
"I'm just glad I met you Marnie O'Hara," was all he replied before he sat back and just stared at me with a smile.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and couldn't think of anything else to say in response.
After class, Cedric escorted me down to the Great Hall before we could part ways to our separate tables. We were standing, facing each other for several minutes and I could start to feel the stares of several students turn towards us. Cedric had been holding my hand and eventually brought it up to his lips before he softly brushed them over the top of my hand. I felt shivers of excitement cascade down my spine and couldn't help the large grin from spreading across my face before he bid me good-bye.
I turned around and walked towards my friends who were all staring at me with wide eyes and goofy grins, all except for Fred. But, fortunately, he kept his opinions to himself all throughout the meal while the girls bombarded me with silly questions.
What did he smell like? Were his eyes actually the colour of honey? Was he taking me to Hogsmeade? But, as exhausting as their questions were, I couldn't help but feel excited. I had never had a crush on a boy before and out of everyone at this school, the resident dream boy had chosen me to go on a date with him. We weren't official by any means, but the attention Cedric showed me almost seemed intimate. I couldn't help but enjoy it.
We were later interrupted when Harry and his friends came and joined us for dinner. I could instantly see the sour look on Harry's face as he sat down.
"That Divination professor is out to get me," Harry sulked, tipping me off to be alarmed.
"Is this Snape level or Quirrell level of out to get you?" I asked skeptically.
Ron tried to stifle his laugh while Hermione gave him a pointed look.
"No, not like that. She just won't stop telling me I'm going to die," Harry explained exasperatedly.
"Well, you are prone to chaos…" I muttered, thinking of all the events which had taken place in the last three years.
Harry sighed again but was interrupted by Hermione.
"Well, she is a phony. Plus, Divination isn't a science and has no evidence of actually working," I was surprised that Hermione had the capability of talking ill of a class or professor.
"Well, it beats having to take Ancient Runes," Ron retorted, causing Hermione to roll her eyes.
"If it helps Harry, she seems to think I have two souls, or a split soul or something," I added, trying to reassure Harry that he wasn't the only target for her exaggerated theories.
Ron laughed while I even saw Hermione crack a sarcastic smile. Obviously, Professor Trelawney wasn't the most favourited teacher in the school.
"Plus, it looks like I won't be going to Hogsmeade this weekend," Harry added.
"Why not?" I asked incredulously.
I knew my dad had signed the form.
"Professor McGonagall is saying that Joss isn't technically my guardian and it would have to be signed by either my aunt or uncle," Harry explained dejectedly.
"But you have a bed at my house, you're my brother!" I said, feeling my frustration roil to the surface.
"I know that Marnie," Harry said more softly.
I frowned at him before sighing and trying to swallow my emotions. Obviously, Harry was already seeing the unfairness of it all and my anger wasn't helping.
So, for the rest of the night I avoided talking about the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend since Harry was obviously annoyed and the twins didn't like the reminder that I wouldn't be spending it with them. Fred had been subtler with his disapproval of Cedric, but it was still quite obvious he had an issue with it.
In lieu of this, the girls eventually decided to spend the evening up in the dormitory to be able to talk about the trip.
"So, Katie, has Lee asked you yet?" Angelina asked provokingly, making Katie's face turn beet red.
"Yea," she answered softly, barely able to meet any of our eyes.
In response, Alicia started to incessantly giggle.
"He's been following you around like a puppy since last year, it's a wonder he hasn't asked you to be his girlfriend yet," Alicia stated boldly.
I could see Katie was fiddling with the ends of her sweater, but a smile was also evident on her face through all the red.
"He really likes you Kate, I'm sure you'll have a good time," I said, trying to sound reassuring to her obvious nerves.
Unfortunately, I watched as Alicia's devilish grin turned onto me.
"And I'm sure you will have an exciting time with one Mr. Diggory," Alicia gushed.
The girls had been on about my date with Cedric since last June when he had first asked me. It was now September and they were beyond intolerable by this point.
I shook my head, trying to fight the blush forming across my face. To give my myself a moment to think, I turned my head to look at Aster who was sitting contentedly in their cage by the window. It had almost been a year and I found I now had a very loyal companion. Dad had been weary when I had brought Aster home, but even after being let out in the garden, Aster still found their way in through my window at night. After that, dad had conceded on the matter and Aster was allowed to stay in mine and Harry's bedroom.
"Cho Chang stares bullets at you though when she sees you in the halls," Katie added, obviously happy the focus had been taken off of her and Lee.
"Yea, I have noticed she doesn't take kindly to me," I said, a little perplexed with the Ravenclaw seeker's opinion of me.
I hadn't even talked to her before, but it was no secret that she had been crushing on Cedric since the middle of last year.
Cedric himself didn't really seem phased by it though since Cho was not the only girl who blatantly ogled him when he walked by, and I was used to people judging me based on their own prejudices. So, Cho didn't really worry me.
We stayed up later that evening than usual, enjoying a rare night away from the boys. We could talk more freely, which ended up meaning we talked mostly about them. The giggling didn't stop until after midnight once we finally turned out the lights.
The next morning, I was held up by the girls who deemed it necessary to dress me and fix me up. Alicia rifled through my trunk while Angelina applied my make-up. I felt absolutely ridiculous. However, when they were finished, I was surprised with how much I liked the result. The bronze-like colouring over my eyes seemed to make the shimmering orange pop from my irises while the soft pink on my lips softened the look.
Katie chose my only pair of dark-washed skinny jeans, which I had buried in the bottom of my trunk, and topped it with a tight-fit orange turtleneck. I knew Alicia had wanted me to show more skin, but it was cold out and I wasn't dressing down just for a boy.
I also vetoed their first idea of a dress, especially since I would have had to borrow one of theirs.
By now it was almost eleven o'clock and we were filing out of the dormitory to make our way towards the entrance hall. I passed Hermione and Ron who I could tell were trying to stifle their excitement as they stood beside a dejected looking Harry.
I went over to him and just gave him a hug while we stood together in silence. I knew he didn't want to talk about the issue anymore, but I could still see his evident disappointment. I also knew Harry was not used to physical affection and struggled to seek it out when he was feeling upset.
Harry tightened the embrace in response as I stood with him. By the time we separated, I could feel at least some of the tension had left his shoulders. We bid him one last good-bye with the promise of bringing him back some sweets before leaving the castle.
"I don't know how you do that," Hermione said a little perplexed.
"Do what?" I asked unknowingly.
"Make Harry let out his emotions. Ron and I have been trying all week to get him to relax and you do it with one hug," she continued, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
I couldn't help but laugh a little. Harry was pretty simple to read, you just had to respect his space first and know how to fill in the blanks. He wasn't one to share his feelings, but his face read like an open book and he usually just wanted someone to share the burden, even if he did so unwillingly. Shouldering everything was definitely his fatal flaw.
We soon left Hermione and Ron behind as my friends and I approached the village. Since we had left later, the boys had already headed down and had agreed to meet the girls at Zonko's. I knew that the plan was for Lee and Katie to branch off from the group while Alicia and Ange hung out with the twins. I was to meet Cedric in front of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.
I quickly waved off my friends as they each gave me one last smirk before heading towards the joke shop. I headed in the opposite direction and immediately saw Cedric standing outside our agreed meeting spot. He hadn't noticed me yet and I took the moment to collect myself. It was stupid that my heart was beating rapidly and I had to remind myself to slow my breathing. Cedric and I had been hanging out together for over a year now and I counted him to be one of my friends. But seeing him standing there in some faded jeans and a tight-fitting white long-sleeve made me see him in a different light.
I quickened my pace as I came into view and he waved me over.
"Wow, you look brilliant," he said as I felt my blush deepen.
I took a moment to try and steady my breathing.
"You look pretty good yourself," I answered, hoping I didn't sound too awkward.
But he smiled and offered his arm to loop through mine.
"Where to first Marnie?" he asked politely.
"Well, I did promise Harry to get him some sweets," I answered, wanting to make sure I bought them before I forgot.
My brain was acting pretty strangely being around Cedric and I wanted to make sure I kept my promise.
"Alright, Honeydukes it is," he agreed heartedly before he lightly led me over in the right direction.
The warmth of his arm through mine was almost exhilarating since I had never actually been on a date with anyone before. Cedric was so gentleman-like but also brought butterflies to my stomach.
While we were looking around Honeydukes I decided on some fudgeflies and more chocolate frogs for Harry, not wanting to spend the entirety of our date being indecisive.
Fifteen minutes later I paid for my purchases and walked out with Cedric.
"For you," he said softly before pulling out a candied rose from behind his back.
"You shouldn't have!" I said, chastising myself for not getting him anything.
He was always getting me things while I still hadn't gotten him anything in return. I would really need to clue into this dating thing.
"Don't worry about it Marnie, I was already planning on getting you this," he answered as my heart sank further; he had already had a plan.
He took the candied rose out of my hand and unwrapped it before handing it back.
"Taste it," he said, excitement coursing through his voice.
The moment my tongue touched the candy I noticed it slowly start to move. In utter surprise I moved my face back and watched in wonder as the candy blossomed before my eyes.
"Do you like it?" he asked, watching my awed reaction.
"This is amazing magic!" I exclaimed, fascinated with the candy.
"I'm glad you like it," he said before looping my arm again.
We walked around town for a while as I ate my candy and realized how content I was just being by his side. Despite my earlier nervousness, I felt completely at ease with Cedric and was enjoying just being with him.
After a while we decided to stop in to The Three Broom Sticks to enjoy a couple of butterbeers to finish off the day. Cedric had insisted on ordering my drink, despite the many attempts I made to try and pay for his.
Expertly, he dodged my efforts and returned minutes later with our drinks to the small booth I had secured in the corner. As we sat together sipping our drinks I started to notice how nervous Cedric seemed and made no effort to fill the heavy silence. Our once easy nature had turned almost tense as I could see Cedric mulling something over in his head. I started to feel apprehensive as I painstakingly went over every detail of the day in my head and wondered what I had done wrong. But before I could drive myself completely insane Cedric broke the silence.
"Erm, Marnie…" he started, already losing his nerve.
"Yes, Cedric," I said apprehensively, trying to make sure he didn't back out of whatever it was he wanted to say.
At least awkward conversation was better than pained silence.
"There's… there's something I wanted to ask you," he continued nervously.
I could tell he was fighting with himself to maintain eye contact.
I looked at him expectantly while he worked up his nerve.
"Well, Marnie, I was wondering if you wanted…" but he was cut off abruptly by Fred coming up to us.
I wanted to scream bloody murder before I looked at the anxious expression on Fred's face.
"Hare, George isn't feeling well and had to go to the hospital wing," he said in obvious distress.
I temporarily forgot about what Cedric had been trying to say and looked worriedly up at Fred. I then took a quick survey of the room and realized George was nowhere in sight. I turned back to Cedric who also looked worried and nodded understandingly towards me.
"You need to go Marnie," he said softly. "I understand, I'll talk to you later."
His expression was so understanding and patient I could have cried. But despite my appreciation and curiosity towards him, my worry for George superseded it.
So, I quickly exited the pub after giving Cedric a quick good-bye hug and jogging all the way up to the castle behind Fred. When we arrived, I went to make my way towards the hospital wing when we were intersected by our friends exiting the Great Hall.
"Oo Marnie, how was your date?" Alicia asked excitedly.
Angelina gave me a quizzical look, but I ignored them all as I stared at a very healthy-looking George standing beside Lee.
I turned to Fred, anger bubbling to the surface.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted at Fred angrily.
My friends' faces all fell as they looked at me with shock. I had never had an outburst in the five years I had known them, least of all with Fred. But before Fred or I could continue George cut me off with a sad expression.
"Fred, you didn't," was all he said as he stared sorrowfully at his twin.
Fred was nervously laughing now as he looked between all my friends and then back to me. I could feel angry tears starting to breach the surface.
"You planned this?" I asked incredulously. "You used your own brother as an excuse to interrupt my date! I thought we were passed all of this. I thought you had let it go and you could just be happy for me. He was going to tell me something and now I will never know since you are the world's biggest git and you can't swallow your own ego and just let your best friend be happy!" I shouted, before realizing I had probably said too much.
I then spun around and ran up the stairs towards the Gryffindor Tower.
My first date with my first crush had gone exceedingly well until my best friend in the entire world had gone and ruined it. I couldn't believe how angry I felt as I seethed while going over the events of the day in my head. I had no idea what Cedric was going to say now but what if he thought I had organized a cop out with Fred to get me out of the date. What if he wanted to date someone else after this? What if everything was ruined? In that moment I realized how much I actually cared for Cedric and how betrayed I felt by Fred.
The tears wouldn't stop coming as I buried my face in my pillow and sobbed until I had no more energy. Eventually I must have drifted off to sleep because I was woken hours later by the hushed whispers of my friends.
It seemed to be dark outside now which it hadn't been when I had come up.
"I can't believe Fred did that to her," I could hear Angelina say sadly.
My eyes were still heavy from all the crying I had done earlier and I could feel myself start to drift off again.
"Yea, Fred doesn't have a good enough excuse," Katie said with a defensive edge in her voice.
"Do you think she knows?" I could barely hear Alicia whisper.
Know what?
So Cedric and Marnie finally had their date.
I am trying to not make Fred a complete jerk here, believe me, I am 100% pro Fred Weasley. But his character seemingly struggles with dealing with his emotions and I am afraid he will continue with that struggle for a while.
The plan I made for Marnie's fifth year is probably my favourite so hopefully people will stay with me! Prisoner of Azkaban due for his arrival!