CHAPTER 3
Cho:
The rain was coming too hard again. It's the first match of the season, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, and everyone seemed to be so elated despite the weather. Quidditch might be the only thing that kept us all alive in school.
And I watched Cedric fought his way in finding the snitch in this impossible weather. I felt sorry for both him and Harry Potter. I knew that if I was in their position, Roger might not be as proud of me as he was a few weeks ago. But there they were, ignoring the flashes and rumbling thunder of the storm.
But what made me and the others scream was not the time when Cedric finally caught the snitch. We screamed in terror as we saw this thin figure falling, together with his broom, almost a hundred feet from the sky. Harry Potter, for the first time ever, lost a Quidditch game.
And then I heard Cedric yelling at Madam Hooch as Dumbledoor had Harry in a stretcher towards the castle.
"Rematch! I didn't see that he was already falling! That was what—a hundred feet high? You saw that it was because of the Dementors, not by some bloody bludger!" Cedric explained.
"No Mr. Diggory! You won the game fair and square. Quidditch is about who lasts on the broomstick and wins the game. You of all people should know that!"
Madam Hooch finally blew her whistle and officially declared Hufflepuff as the winner. But I noticed, as the rest of Cedric's team celebrated their triumph, he shook his head as if embarrassed at the thought.
There I saw his humility. And I thought, I never liked him more.
Cedric:
I saw Cho smile at me after the game. Not a congratulatory smile like what the others gave me. But a smile that somewhat said she understood what I felt. And I knew that she really did. She was just like me—and maybe even Harry. We're seekers who play Quidditch, not for the trophy, but for dignity and for honor and honesty. Fame and championship is only part of the package. But I knew that, although the records say otherwise, I haven't really caught the snitch in the best of my abilities.
I tried to enjoy my house's delight at finally winning a match after so many years. But I still wasn't comfortable with it. And it didn't help that the team expected me to do the same game play during our next Quidditch match—and unfortunately, with Ravenclaw.
I saw Cho leaving the Great Hall when I decided that I needed to see her again. It had been days since the match and I knew I secluded myself for a little while.
"Cho!" I called after her. She turned around from the staircase and watched as I climbed towards her.
"Hey Cedric." She said and started to walk again when we were at level.
"Where are you heading?"
"To the library. I have to finish a few essays for Lupin."
"He's good isn't he?"
"Yes. Maybe even the best teacher we've ever had." She smiled. I tried to grin back.
"Listen, Cho... about the next Quidditch game..."
Cho snorted. "Don't worry, I won't fall off my broom because of the Dementors."
I grinned at her awkwardly and ran my hand across my hair.
Cho pursed her lips and stopped on her tracks. "It worries you so much, doesn't it? With what happened during the last game?"
I sighed. "To tell you the truth, yes."
Cho smiled weakly at me and patted my arm. "I'm proud of what you did out there. You're playing a true man's game, Cedric."
"Oh really?" I raised my eyebrow as we continued walking towards the library.
"Yes, you do! And I do hope you'd consider that during our Qudditch match. You know, when I beat you again."
I chuckled back at her. "I don't know Chang... You're talking to the man who caught the first snitch of the season."
Our team eventually lost to Ravenclaw. But I've never been happier. I asked Cho for a date in Hogsmeade before the game.
She said yes. And she got me distracted all throughout once again.
I know it's short. But CH4 will be coming up soon! :)
Reviews are appreciated!