Ellie made sure that Hermione was okay to stay reading by herself in the garden, and left to clear her thoughts walking through the castle. She had no idea what she should do. Was it stupid to still go after Draco? Her heart was still hurting, confused as to why the events had turned into this. During the previous year, Draco hadn´t mentioned anything about Death Eaters, or becoming one. He seemed unbothered by the whole deal. And on the other hand, there was Cedric. She wondered if it was wrong that she cared so much about Draco while being with him.

Everything seemed wrong somehow. She felt weird, her old self wouldn´t recognize her, hanging out with Hermione and not talking to Draco at all. It wasn´t a bad thing. She liked her new friends. But it was too many new things, too fast.

She took a turn and faced the stairs and she walked energetically. A few other students were walking around, like they didn´t have a direction. It was Friday, to be fair, most students felt liberated and some had great plans for the weekend. She raised her head from the ground and was surprised by the sight of Narcissa and Draco Malfoy who were peacefully meandering. She took a few steps back and hesitated whether to continue walking or turn around. Draco looked focused and intimidating. His blonde hair was carefully brushed in a loose fringe, and his face looked dark and mysterious, like he was a vampire. Seeing him confirmed everything she was thinking of. The sight of Draco used to be comforting, but now it was the root of all of her anxiety. It took him a few seconds, but he saw her.

He clenched his teeth instinctively. He first looked at his mum to see what her reaction was. She was also looking at her, she was calm and elegant, like nothing could really surprise her. Ellie looked pretty – Draco thought. It was like out of a movie, the sun was coming through the lancet arches and were illuminating her already tanned skin. He had barely been able to get a good look at her for the past weeks, so it seemed to him like he was discovering her again.

Narcissa posed her hand on Draco´s shoulder, signalling something, but Draco wasn´t sure what.

"El!" a voice called from behind her. Grateful for the very much needed distraction, she turned to find Cedric walking towards her with a bright smile on his face.

"I´m so happy that I caught you" he said and kissed her cheek. Ellie accepted this, like an inanimate object, still processing Draco´s presence, who would probably still be looking.

It all happened so quickly that by the time she wanted to look at him again, they were gone. She turned to Cedric, although she was visibly distraught by the recent events.

"Hey" she said softly.

"You alright?" Cedric said.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I was hanging out with Hermione just now"

"That sounds like a good time. I´m happy you are hanging out with Gryffindors"

"Me too I guess…"

"That didn´t sound too convincing"

"It just all very new I´m still getting used to it"

"I get that"

Ellie was supposed to be good at changes. Hell, she changed family three , four times a year, but she was slowly realising she maybe wasn´t that good. She didn´t feel like herself, like her new relationships were all fake, like she was pretending to be someone she was not.

"Do you?"

"I understand what it must be like"

"I don´t know, Ced, it´s just a lot and I feel like it´s just hit me in the face"

Cedric stopped walking and held Ellie´s hand , pulling her towards him. Once she was close to him, he put his arms around her, interconnecting his fingers in her back.

"You are okay. We have talked about this. You are not an impostor"

"I know, I know"

"You are your own person. You are you when you hang out with Gryffindors, you are you when you hang out with Slytherins, hell, you are still you when you hang out with a Hufflepuff like me."

Ellie let out a tired sight.

"It´s normal that you feel uneasy. The only person that has ever been permanent in your life is now being a dick and ignoring you. But you are still you." Cedric continued. "And I love you whoever you hang out with, wherever you are, whatever you do."

Cedric had never pronounced those words. To a girl – ever. He had never felt the way he felt about Elizabeth about anyone else.

As he stared into her watery eyes, he went back to that summer day, when they were sitting on the leather brown sofa of his room. He remembered how the bright orange light of the afternoon sun had light up her eyes and she looked like a dream. That day she had opened up to him about her life, how it was to go from family to family, how she was sad sometimes, how she felt like she didn´t belong anywhere. And he thought it was impossible not to be in love with her. Before that, there had only been small hints of attraction between the two, but it was at that point when he knew he didn´t want to only be friends with her. She was sitting with her legs crossed, and he had turned to face her, with one leg crossed and the other one hanging from the sofa. It was small enough so that her naked legs were touching his without effort, and with a small movement, he could probably kiss her. If there was a moment to do it, that was it. She had maintained the eye contact and looked amused. She knew what was happening, she had been thinking about when it would happen for a few days then. They had been living together for about a month, and the tension was there. They were clearly attracted to each other. Cedric leaned in very close to her. He could feel the warmth of her breath, but it didn´t bother him. Ellie posed her hands on his neck and pushed him closer, but still didn´t go for the kiss. His mouth was slightly open, and Ellie decided to do it. Everything in her was telling her to do it, so she went for it. She turned her face like she had seen is so many movies, and it went smoothly. He had kissed girls before, so at least someone knew what was happening- she thought.

"I love you" Cedric repeated, coming back to the moment.

Ellie stared at him in disbelief. For a second she didn´t know how to react, but she smiled. He loved her smile. She smiled like she had just seen something very amusing, closing her eyes slightly.

"I love you" she said in response.