Chapter Four:
The Great Hall was buzzing with the sound of excited students speaking to each other in rapid tones about their summer holidays. People were wandering from table to table, conversing with friends from other houses. Teachers sat at their head table, over-seeing the actions of the room, making sure everything remained in order, and as it should be.
Cedric Didgery stood at the very back of the room, leaning against the large, open, oak doors that face into the room. He was dressed in a sunshine yellow sixteenth-centaury silk dress shirt; black vest over it. The shirt was undone to about the middle of his chest; a heavy gold chain with a matching skull and cross bone pendant hanging from it. His slacks were well ironed, tight creases running down the length of his legs. Around his waist he wore his Hufflepuff tie, the knot off to one side; leaving the tail to hang down his leg. His emerald eyes were nestled comfortably behind a pair of small, silver-rimmed glasses; his midnight black hair styled cleanly, and very attractively.
One hand was stuffed into his pant's pocket; the other one holding a mug of steamed milk. There was an air of calm, coolness about him, standing there watching the activities in the room with sparkling eyes. It felt wonderful to be home. He enjoyed his summer holidays, but there was nothing better than being back with his beloved friends and favourite teachers.
"This is a rather peculiar place to be standing, wouldn't you agree Mr. Didgery?"
Cedric turned his head to see the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore standing behind him. With a smile on his face, Cedric shrugged his shoulders.
"Depends on how you look at it Sir. I stand here because it's a comfortable place to stand. Others might stand here for different reasons."
Dumbledore nodded in agreement, looking over Cedric's shoulders at the students.
"They're waiting for you. The fact that you weren't on the train this morning caused great confusion."
"I can imagine." Said Cedric with a soft chuckle. "Normally I'm right there with them, making sure the train keeps in order." Reaching into his pocket, he removed his shinny Prefect badge, and pinned in to his vest slowly. "I suppose I should give them what they want..."
"You don't have to if you don't want to Cedric. It might leave them puzzled, but you could put it off until the morning. There are a lot of new faces out there. Perhaps you'd like to take a night to get to know them first?"
The raven-haired teen shook his head. "Thanks Headmaster, Sir, but if I don't do this tonight, I'm not going to get it done at all. Besides," he winked playfully, taking a step into the room, "it's tradition, right?"
Albus only shook his head some, and watched Cedric enter the room.
He walked up the centre aisle, his head held high, and shoulder's squared proudly. The large smile still on his face. Around him came the sounds of mixed voices; muffled conversation and laughter. He shook his head playfully, and continued walking.
New students lifted their heads in wonder at him, sending shivers of whispers down the long tables. Those who recognised him from past times gave him affection smiles and waves. It did not take long for both Slytherin and Gryffindor tables to notice he was here.
"Oi! Lee! It's time!"
Lee looked from the grinning face of Alicia Spinnet, to the direction Fred was pointing. He could see the familiar stance of Cedric as he walked towards the head table. Rising to his feet, Lee shouted out over the noise.
"Hey Capt'n! I think you're forgetting something!"
Cedric stopped in mid-step, and turned to face the darker boy, a grin spreading from ear to ear. "Hey Lee! You do?"
Lee nodded, and removed from the top of the table a well kept, black felt fedora. Tucking it against his body, he released it like a frisbee towards the other boy. "Yes'um I do. And there it is!"
Cedric caught the hat with a laugh, slipping it on. "Thanks Lee, heaven forbid I forget that."
"Any time!" Responded the other boy, sitting back down.
Shaking his head lightly, Cedric continued his way to the head table. Upon reaching it, he gave both sides of the table a respectful bow, before turning back to look over the students, who now all had their eyes turned towards him, waiting. The chatter in the room had gone done, all attention on him. Clearing his throat softly, he removed a small roll of emerald parchment from his back pocket, and began unrolling it.
Clearing his throat, he adjusted his glasses, then turned his attention to the parchment.
"Hi, My name's Cedric, and I'm an alcoholic- Darn it!" Folding the parchment in half, he ripped in cleanly into two pieces, throwing them both over his shoulder. "Whoops, sorry Professor Hooch, didn't see you there."
The flying instructor shook her head somewhat mindlessly as she removed the two pieces from her pumpkin juice. "It's alright Mr. Didgery, not the first time you've done this to me."
Cedric scratched the back of hisneck rather sheepishly, and turned back to the grinning faces of the students. Taking a moment to regain his composure, he dropped his eyes to the stone floor under him for a moment, before returning them to frontward view.
"If you don't know already, and as I said before, I'm Cedric N.C. Didgery, and no, I'm not an alcoholic. It would seem I got my speeches mixed up. I tend to do that every now and then. But now that's all taken care of, I can carry on with what I'm supposed to say. Because I'm sure you're all starving to death, and can't wait for the food. And if rumours are true, our wonderful kitchen staff have prepared a most delightful assortment of munchies and goodies for us.
"It's good to see so many old, familiar faces back again for another amazing year at Hogwarts. And if this is your first time here, let me welcome you with a family group hug, and a few pieces of advice. Headmaster Dumbledore has asked me to remind each and every one of you that the forbidden forest is out of bounds, no matter what the circumstance is that you're going into it. Our caretaker Mr. Filch would like to repeat, again this year, the reminder that magic is not allowed in the corridors. Please save it for the classrooms, common rooms, or dormitries. There are also a large number of items that have been added to the 'banned at Hogwarts' list. For a complete copy of this list, please see Mr. Filch. Oh, and before I forget, house points will be taken away for kicking Mrs. Norris. It's not nice to be cruel to animals."
There was a mummer in the room, as many students laughed softly. It was about time someone stuck up for Filch's poor cat.
"Starting new this year," continued Cedric, a smile still on his face, "the excuse 'Peeves made me late for class' won't be accepted by professors. He is, after all, nothing more than a ghost. I'm sure you can think up some brilliant idea to get past him in the hallways.
"But please, don't let all these little rules and regulations get you down. Although, rules are important, so is having fun. And let me tell you, having fun is something you're deffinitly going to do this year! Board Of Directors has been working very hard over the summer thinking up new and exciting ideas to spice up this school year. We're going to kick it off with our annual 'Welcome Home' ball, which will be the first Saturday of next month. Please remember that all school balls are semi-formal dress, and require either wizarding dress robes, or muggle evening attire. No proper dress, no ticket. Spirit week is also coming up for next month, I'll have those dates for you as that month draws closer.
"I can see by the looks on everyone's face, that if you don't see real food soon, I'm about to become dinner. So I'm going to step down from the stand, and let you begin your feast. House Prefects, please make sure you've picked up your passwords from your respective teachers, before the end of the meal. Thank you, and enjoy!"
Giving a quick wink to Proffesor Sprout, he retraced his steps back down the center of the room, and left. There was still much he had to do.
"That was nicely done Mr. Didgery. Well said."
Cedric stopped mid-step, and smiled to Dumbledore. "Thank you Sir. It was rather short though. Normally I say more than that."
Albus stroked his beard some, a twinkle in his eye. "I don't think they noticed. Although they listen a bit better to you than they do to me-"
Cedric laughed, and shook his head. "I highly doubt that Sir. You're the headmaster at this school-"
"And you're their Captain." Dumbeldore smiled, and began walking towards the hall doors. "Good evening Cedric."
Cedric shook his head playfully, and gave Albus a two finger salute. "Good evening to yourself as well Sir."
As I stated previously at the end of Chapter One, I don't own any of the names associated with Harry Potter. However, what I did fail to mention, are the original characters. First of all I'd like to thank Miss Leah Evans for letting me use her character, Leah. This story would be nothing without her for a character, so thank you. Secondly, I'd like to thank Andrew Clarke, for letting me use his personality for Fred Weasley. What's a good story without a little comic relief, eh Andy? Lastley I'd like to point out that Cedric N.C. Didgery of Hufflepuff is NOT the same Cedric Diggory from the books. Anyone who's ever read a F.F. of mine would know that Didgery is my original character, spun from Diggory in the books. However, as you can already tell, there are some very big differences between the two boys. So I hope you've enjoyed these last four chapters, please feel free to R&R. All input is always welcome!
-CDidgery.