Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (QLFC) Season 9
Title: Teaspoon
Team: Wimbourne Wasps
Position: Chaser 2
Reserve: no
Prompt & Optional Prompts: Jealousy
(word) casual
(word) fleeting
(colour) bronze
AU where Fleur Delacour dies during the third task instead of Cedric Diggory. Story takes place post-Hogwarts in Muggle London.
LifeofKaze thank you for the Cedric/Cho inspiration:)
Word count: 2210
Cedric Diggory walked briskly towards the tea shop on the corner of a lesser known street in London, a common spot for wizards and witches in the morning, called The Knobble. It was a small tea shop, although quite large on the inside towards the back. Appropriately named, it was lopsided and round from the outside, as the walls had a slight bend to them, and the roof looked as if it would fly off with a strong gust of wind. It was quaint and homey, and Muggles loved the atmosphere, which was so different from the hustle and bustle of Muggle London (at least from the front of the shop anyway).
It's been six years since the Triwizard Tournament, when Cedric Diggory's life changed forever. There was rarely a dull moment at a school like Hogwarts. As a school of magic, there were too many things that could go wrong at any given time: spells and charms gone wrong, potions that exploded, even breaking bones or falling during Quidditch games. But that year was special. It had been years since the Triwizard Tournament had been held, and something was already out of the ordinary. Four names instead of three, and Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived was one of them. At first, Cedric was concerned, as Harry was so young, but it helped that they assisted one another when they could. Cedric respected Harry greatly, and was always friendly towards him, even when some of the students started taking sides with one of the two of them.
Cedric remembered that night like it was yesterday. While dealing with the Blast-Ended Skrewt, he had tripped and knocked his head on a rock near the maze walls. He had no idea how long he was out for, but when he got up again, it was silent. He walked around some more and heard Viktor and Fleur's voices. Viktor, who seemed to be under the Imperius Curse, attacked Fleur with the Cruciatus Curse. Without thinking, he stunned Viktor. Fleur turned around, flashed him a small smile, and then disarmed him with Expelliarmus. When he finally made it to the middle, the Cup was gone, and Fleur and Harry were nowhere to be found. Cedric made his way back, and helped Viktor out of the maze. When he told the judges that the cup was gone, they became increasingly concerned. Two students were missing, and the Cup was gone now too. The professors were directed to stay with the students in the stands, as it seemed that there was another party in the competition.
As he waited patiently for Fleur and Harry, he heard whispers in the crowd. Cedric found Cho Chang, who was happy that he had made it out okay. He told her all about the obstacles he had to face, and she was worried about the bruise and blood on the side of his head. Finally, Harry appeared again, at the start of the maze. Cedric wondered how he got there. He merely looked away for a second and Harry was back. There was applause and cheers, but someone was missing. Where was Fleur?
Cedric saw that there was someone on the ground next to Harry. Did Fleur pass out?
He got a sinking feeling in his stomach that he couldn't shake. He watched as Harry dropped to the ground next to her, sobbing. Cedric didn't even have control of his body as he ran down towards them. Viktor was already there, standing emotionless.
The days after Fleur's passing, Cedric was isolated. Cho tried to be there for him, but he didn't let her. He was hollow, and each day passed without a thought. Cedric thought about how he had the chance to stun Fleur first, before stunning Viktor. Then he could have gone, and helped Harry. It was his fault that Fleur was dead.
Cedric broke up with Cho a few days after Dumbledore announced that Lord Voldemort had returned, and had murdered Fleur. Cho was heartbroken. She wanted him to confide in her so badly. She wanted to be his anchor, to help him through his pain and loss, because seeing him like this tore her up on the inside.
Since then, Cedric hasn't let anyone in. Cho represented his happiness, his youth, his love for the world. If Fleur got her youth stripped from her, he didn't deserve his. When he left Hogwarts a year later, he swore to live a modest life. Having just enough for what he needed, always giving back to the community. As he sipped his tea at The Knobble, he thought about paying Fleur's sister a visit. It had been awhile since he stopped by.
He Apparated to where her sister Gabrielle now lived with her boyfriend, who Cedric liked. As the years went by, Cedric grew close to Gabrielle, almost like an older brother. This was the least that he felt he needed to do for their family. In fact, Cedric was quite happy for Gabrielle when he found out that she was dating someone. She had someone to take care of her, especially now that her parents were gone.
Gabrielle knew that Cedric lived the way he did because of guilt. She could tell that he wanted more, but was afraid to let himself be happy. But Fleur wouldn't have wanted this. There was only one person that could pull Cedric out of this, who could get through to him that his life is not indebted to Fleur's: Cho.
Cho was engaged to a Muggle by the name of John Summers. When Cho and John first met, he was fascinated by her, and how mysterious she was. John had persuaded Cho to go out on several dates with him, before she showed him just how fascinating she actually was. She was spectacularly impressive, and unlike any girl that he has ever dated. Cho never told John about Fleur or Cedric. It was a part of her life that would stay locked in the back of her brain, never to be talked about again. She was grateful at least that John wouldn't have to know about the Battle of Hogwarts, how she had seen Cedric again, and how they shared a fleeting moment away from all the horror.
Cho followed Cedric into the castle, having to fight off several Acromantula. She called his name, but he ignored her. She didn't know if she would ever see him again. But he had to know that what he did to her was unfair, which was exactly what she told him. He didn't have the right to decide that she deserved better. She deserved to decide that herself. The moment that he arguably needed someone the most, he decided that he was better off on his own. It was selfish, incredibly selfish.
Cedric kissed her deeply to stop her from launching into a rant about how he had left his parents devastated, that he hadn't written to them in years, that they had no idea where he was. He apologized to her again and again, while she sobbed in his arms. He told her that he couldn't promise anything, but he would try.
After the Battle of Hogwarts, Cho didn't see Cedric again. She met John six months later, and they were engaged not long after that.
Gabrielle figured it was harmless to schedule a casual lunch with Cedric and Cho, just for them to catch up. Gabrielle expected Cho to tell Cedric that she was engaged, that she was moving on, and that he should too. Cedric would finally get the wake-up call he so desperately needed.
What she should've expected was for Cedric to come back and be frustrated at her for tricking him. After all, Gabrielle told Cedric that the two of them were having lunch.
Cedric and Cho sat awkwardly at the table. A waiter came by to take their order, but slowly walked away after sensing the tension. He brought back water, which Cedric downed in a second. After dropping off another glass of water, they reluctantly ordered before returning to silence again.
Cho brought up some small talk about her salad. Cedric commented on her shoes (they were very nice). Cho decided she needed some wine to take the edge off, Cedric was grateful for the thought.
He took the train with her back to her place. She didn't want him to go just yet. They decide to get ice cream, laughing about how young and stupid they were back at Hogwarts. He brought up Quidditch, and she remembered how Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff within 10 minutes of the game starting because she had found the Snitch. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she smirked at him.
The evening drew near, and Cho remembered she was making dinner for John tonight. Cedric brushed his hand against hers as they walked back to her house, but she drew her hand away. Kissing her lightly on the cheek, he made his way back to Gabrielle's.
Gabrielle tried to hold back a laugh as Cedric came in, trying very poorly to be frustrated at her. Cedric was more relaxed than he had been in so long. Gabrielle dropped a plate of food down in front of him, and he continued to talk between mouthfuls how it was completely inappropriate of her to do that.
The next day, Cedric brought flowers to Cho's house, only to be greeted at the door by John. It was extremely awkward. John invited him in tersely, and grasped the flowers a little too tightly to put them in some water.
Cho came down with her hair in a towel and a loose t-shirt that went to her mid-thigh. She walked into the living room quickly to open up the curtains to let some sun in, only to see Cedric sitting there. She disappeared almost just as fast, completely red from head to toe. Cedric laughed to himself, ruffling his bronze hair through his fingers.
Fully dressed now, with her wet hair down, she introduced Cedric to John as her friend, and John to Cedric as her fiance. Cedric's demeanor changed, and so did the air between the three of them. Cho offered to make lunch, but Cedric mentioned he had an errand to run. Thanking them both for their hospitality, Cedric left, with Cho chasing him down the sidewalk.
He couldn't believe that she had so conveniently forgotten to mention that she was engaged. His hands clenched and unclenched. She was shocked beyond belief that he thought that they had gone on a date. He didn't think that she would be engaged to someone less than two years since he had last kissed her. She was embarrassed that he would even bring that up.
Cho stood with her arms crossed, fuming. Cedric took one look at her, and started laughing. She couldn't believe the emotional range of that man. Her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as she pounded her fists at his chest, letting out years of frustration out in one single bout. Cedric stood there in shock. He hadn't realized the impact of his actions truly until that moment, when he realized that she still loved him, and that all she wanted to do was move on from the pain that he had caused her.
She accused him of being jealous, which he denied immediately. He thought that she was just desperate to be tied down to anyone who asked. She retaliated, telling him how absolutely refreshing it was to be with someone who didn't know what happened that night at the maze.
He froze. It had been so long since he had heard those words. She knew she hit a spot, but she didn't care. He was only acting like this because she had finally found someone, and that she was over him. He didn't seem to want her then, and it wouldn't make sense for him to want her now. She was sick of his games, him kissing her like he needed her and wanted her, and him disappearing like she meant nothing. She had found someone who wanted her, who thought the world of her, and she didn't need him anymore. She didn't need him.
She walked back towards her open door, turning towards him one last time. This was his chance, to apologize, to make things right, to never let her go again.
He followed her, asked her if she was happy, if she wanted to be with John, if she would give him another chance to make things right. She asked him how she could trust that he would come back, and that he wouldn't leave her again when things got hard. Cedric thought about it for a minute, unsure. Finally, he reached into the bottom of his bag. His fingers found a smooth and thin metal object. It was a teaspoon, from when they went to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. He pressed the teaspoon in her hand, asking her to meet him tomorrow at The Knobble. He promised he would be there.
She looked at the teaspoon in her hand as Cedric walked away. Placing it in her pocket, she walked back into her house. She knew what to do.