Chapter Four: What's Done Is Done

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Harry Potter series. I do own my OCs and my plot though!

Cedric P.O.V.

I woke up late that morning after having a long night with Cho. No, I don't mean that kind of long night, I mean the kind of long night where she wouldn't stop crying because she was so sorry that we didn't get to spend a lot of time together over the summer. I kept trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault, but you know women. They're persistent people.

I gave up after a while and just let her cry into my shoulder as I stroked her long, black hair. The fire in the Hufflepuff common room crackled with each sob Cho made. It took her a while to calm down before we could actually have a normal conversation.

"I love you, Cho. Stop blaming yourself for everything. You've done nothing wrong," I told her, then kissing her on the cheek.

"Thank you, Cedric. I really needed to hear that…But you know, Anna coming back and all…"

"Ha, yeah, Anna…" Things got a little awkward after that. I didn't say anything about my encounter with her the other night. I couldn't tell Cho! She'd just assume something was up. I don't even think she knew about what happened back in fourth year.

"She's pretty different now, you know Ced. She's not the same shy girl. Fourth year was a hard one for her. I mean, she completely blocked us out of her lives! Really, what was that about?"

"Oh, really? I haven't talked to her since she arrived…" I felt horrible lying to my loving girlfriend.

"You really should, you know. I think she'll be happy to have you as a friend again."

"I guess." Yeah right! She made it pretty clear the other night that being friends is the last thing on her mind.

"I'm feeling better, Ced. Thanks for always being there for me. I love you so much," she placed her lips atop mine and took her leave.

Even Cho sees that she's different. More importantly, Cho doesn't know what happened in fourth year! I slapped my hand against my forehead. I couldn't keep it from her, but I surely couldn't tell her yet. It would have to remain a secret for now…

Before going to sleep that night, I thought about all that Cho had said earlier. How she talked about Anna, how much she's changed, how she completely blocked us out of her life in fourth year. Ah, fourth year, what a great year. That's the year I became really close with Derrick. That's the year I went from bottom to top in Hogwarts. That's the year Cho and I got together…but that was also the year Anna and I drifted apart. To be honest, I didn't know what triggered me distancing myself from her. Oh yeah, now I do, the thirst and desire to be popular. Why did I even care about all that? Honestly. I'll admit that I did enjoy the attention from my friends, from girls, especially Cho, from the entire student body. But the one person who stopped giving me attention was Anna; she was the one person whose opinion mattered to me. She was my best friend. I have myself to blame for having to use the word "was".

Adrianna Summers was the best thing that ever happened to me, though I would never, EVER admit that in front of my friends, mostly Cho. She was the only person who understood me, who never judged me, who never put any pressure on me. She was a real person. I guess you could say it started after first year when we were both chosen as Seekers, her for Ravenclaw and I for Hufflepuff. Quidditch definitely ignited the flame of our friendship, so to speak. After that, we spent all our time together—did homework together, studied together, ate breakfast together, and even went to Hogsmeade when we didn't have much work to do. All in all, it was a beautiful friendship, and Anna was, and still is, a beautiful person.

I always admired her personality. She was intelligent, witty, kind, and always so selfless. She always put others before herself. Like this one time, she had a Potions paper and a Charms paper due the next day, but instead of working on it, she helped me with my Transfiguration homework because she knows it's my weak subject. Who else would do something like that? Only Anna. I don't even think Cho would do something like that for me…Anyway, Anna is a good, genuine person, and that's something rare. That's why I'm so fond of her. Besides her amazing personality, she's also very pretty, might I even say beautiful. Though she never really had any serious relationships, boys still found her attractive, no matter how many times she criticized her looks. Let's just say I was proud to call her my best friend.

What happened between Anna and I was, well, devastating. I truly don't know how better to put it. I do know one thing though: it was entirely my fault. As I said before, it's my fault I was in love with the thought of being popular, it's my fault Anna stayed away from me, it's my fault my friends made fun of her and called her names. I was an idiot. I did absolutely nothing to stop any of it. I just let it happen. I let our friendship slip through my fingers. And now, the chance of getting the kind of friendship we had back is slim to none. I remember exactly what happened on April 10th of 2000. It was the day I officially became the biggest jerk and coward ever to attend Hogwarts, but most importantly, it was the day Anna ended the friendship I thought would last forever.

My friends and I just finished dinner at the Great Hall. I needed to borrow some books for a Potions essay that was due at the end of the week. I entered the library, but stopped when I saw Anna getting her stuff together, ready to leave. I hit behind a tapestry just outside of the library doors, and watched her pass right by, not even noticing me. Why was I hiding? It was like I was afraid of her. Anyway, I went about my business and began looking for some books. I took some books and sat down at one of the tables. Before opening one of the books, I spotted a particular one that I didn't remember taking from the shelves. "All Your Favourite Poems" it was titled. I began to flip through the pages. It was then that it hit me: this is Anna's book. I would know because she used to read them to me all the time. After signing out the books with Madam Pince, I slipped them into my bag, along with Anna's poetry book. I intended to talk with her and return her book. I would talk to her after five months of complete silence.

The real trouble of returning the book was actually finding Anna. She was nowhere to be seen! I had absolutely no classes with her, I never saw her at meals, and I never saw her anywhere else. I told myself I would always keep it with me in my bag just in case I saw her at an unexpected time. At least I'd be prepared. It just so happened that one day during Potions class, I asked Derrick (who was my partner for the day) to reach for my textbook that was in my bag. I was busy stirring a potion. He accidently pulled out Anna's poetry book. "Hey Ced, what's this here? 'Property of Adrianna Summers'. Isn't that the loser with the pretty face in Ravenclaw? Why do you have it?"

I was slightly offended by his choice of words, but I pretended not to be. "Yes, that's her. Put that back in the bag, Derrick. I intend on returning it to her as soon as possible."

"Why return it when we can have some fun?" Uh oh, the words "fun" and "Derrick" automatically mean trouble.

"Look, I don't think it's a good idea. Let's just save the fun for another time. I know I'd be pissed if someone didn't give me back something important."

"Something important? It's a fucking book filled with pointless words! I know I don't give a damn about this shit!" he laughed.

"Well, it's something that's important to her." I was surprised to find myself defending someone who I hadn't spoken to in such a long time.

"Ced, stop being a git. I promise we won't do anything bad. She'll get it back eventually. Come on, please?"

I contemplated this for a few moments, but after seeing Derrick's pleading face, I caved in.

"Oh alright, but as long as you promise to return it to her right after."

"Promise."

It had been a couple days since I agreed to let Derrick have his "fun". I feared what it was he was planning, but how bad could it have been? That day, my friends and I decided to hang around the courtyard before our first class. When we got there, Derrick threw me Anna's poetry book. Although surprised by the throw, I caught it. "What do you want me to do?"

"I dare you to rip a page out." The rest of the guys laughed.

Rip a page out? I could never do that. These guys may be my friends, but I couldn't do that to Anna. "Look lads, no matter how tempting that sounds, I don't think it's such a good idea." Perhaps giving a thumbs-up to all of this was a horrible decision.

"Come on Ced!" They all tried to persuade me. "She's not gonna care! You honestly think she'll notice that one page is missing?"

"I know she will. It's Anna Summers. Of course she'll notice." They laughed at what I said. I laughed along, too. But I felt a pang of guilt at the fact that I just made fun of my best friend.

"Cedric! Cedric! Cedric!" They cheered my name over and over again as if trying to get me to give in.

That's when I saw her. I saw Anna enter the courtyard looking more pale and stunned than I've ever seen her. The worst part was that she was looking directly at me. Correction, she was looking directly at me holding her poetry book. Shit.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the loser herself. Anna, how nice of you to join us." I wanted to say something, to defend her. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it, let alone look her in the eye after what she just caught me doing.

"Cedric, please give me my book back. Please, you don't understand how much that book means to me…it's…it's…" Her voice sounded so desperate, so pitiful. I tried my hardest not to look into those green orbs of hers, which were now full of tears

"Oh Cedric, please, please!" Derrick began mocking her tone. The others started to laugh. The worst part was that I joined in. When I began laughing, Anna looked like she just got punched in the stomach. Her lip was quivering uncontrollably, her face was so wet with fallen tears, and her eyes were stationary on me. I don't even know why I laughed in the first place.

"Anna, it's just a book. Plus, we ALL know about your little crush on Ceddy here. Don't worry, though, only the ENTIRE school knows. Cedric told us all about the way you look at him with those green eyes of yours, the way you laugh at all his jokes, the way you try to hold his hand during those study sessions…"No Derrick, why the hell would you say that?! That did it. I stopped laughing and looked directly at Anna. That wasn't funny. He just crossed a very strict line. Anna didn't look sad anymore, she now looked angry. It wasn't long before she walked right up to Derrick and slapped him, hard, across the face. His right side was bright red.

"Cedric! What the hell, do something!"

"What the hell am I supposed to do, Derrick?" And what was I supposed to do? I actually found it funny, but managed to hold back my laughter.

"Tell her off! People like her don't deserve to treat people like us like she just did." He honestly wanted me to stand up for him. I think he fully deserved what he got. What really caught my attention, though, was when he said "people like us". What was that about? What made us superior over Anna? Over anybody for that matter.

I didn't say anything. I was far too scared to. That was when Anna walks up to me, angry, determined to get her point across. I remember that face when we wrote frustrating Potions papers together.

"I don't know who the hell you or your friends think you are," she jabbed him hard in the chest with my finger. I was forced back by the contact."But I think it's time YOU realize that the world doesn't revolve around Cedric fucking Diggory!" My jaw dropped. Anna never swore in front of me before. Mixing in my name, I knew she was dead serious. "Learn that now before your head swells up ten times bigger than it already has! You may not care that you lost your best friend, considering everyone else around you is dying to become your new one, but I never thought I'd see the day when you, Cedric, would do something like this. I admired you because of your selflessness, your humility. I see that it was all just one big joke!" She snatched the book out of my hand. "Have a nice life. I know I will because you're no longer going to be a part of it." That last part hit home. In fact, all of it did. Her words stung. I felt like crying, but I couldn't break down in front of my friends or Anna. I knew it then: I had just lost my best friend.

That was the last thing she said to me. After that, I never saw her again. No matter how much I longed to see her face again, to talk to her, to study and do homework with her, to have her read poetry to me, it never happened. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. I built up the courage to tell Cho how I felt, and to my surprise, she told me she felt the same way. So, that's how our relationship started. With regards to my friends, things stayed the same. They helped me bring back the old Cedric when I fell into a slump after Anna's leave. I became, well, depressed. I took frequent rain checks on my time with Derrick and the other guys, even on dates with Cho at Hogsmeade. Sometimes, I wouldn't even touch my homework or study for tests. My grades didn't suffer too much thanks to my superb record before. The point is that fourth year wasn't a life changer for Anna. It was a big one for me, too. And now, there was nothing I could do about it.

I took a shower and got dressed quickly. I made my way to the Great Hall, practically running. I was famished! I didn't bother to wake up Derrick who was still fast asleep, but he won't get mad. He'd probably be grateful that I let him sleep in. It is a weekend after all!

Before I entered the Great Hall, I noticed everyone staring, staring at…Anna. I was confused to see that most were boys. I even caught sight of Marcus Flint and Draco Malfoy check her out. The weird part, though, was that she looked like she enjoyed it. By "it", I mean the attention. She giggled and blushed at Flint and Malfoy's observant eyes. She even had the nerve to wink at Bryan Chase, a seventh year Gryffindor, who everyone knew went through girls like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't believe that this was the same person. What happened to timid, shy, sweet Anna? Cho was right, she has changed.

I watched her throughout breakfast, no matter how creepy that may sound. I watched her wolf down her meal, every last bit of it. I smiled as I remember how she was never one to care what other people thought of her insane eating habits. Anna didn't care if people saw her use her fingers to eat a chicken wing or a huge rib, if people saw her lick the side of her face because of a tomato sauce stain, or if people saw her take a gigantic bite that managed to cause her cheeks to grow ten times larger. She ate so much, but managed to stay so skinny. It still leaves me in awe today. You miss your best friend, Cedric. Face it.

Yes, in truth, I do miss Anna as my best friend. I screwed up big time. I didn't know how I was going to make it up to her, IF she would let me make it up to her. She would look up occasionally to find me looking at her. I think it freaked her out after a while, I could tell by the way she fiddled with her fork. It was an old habit of hers whenever she was nervous, anxious, or uncomfortable. After a few looks, she finally smirked at me. I felt like the happiest person alive. A smirk. It may not have been a full-out smile, but at least it wasn't those daggers she gave me the night of the welcoming feast. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. I'm going to sort this all out, Anna, I told myself. No matter how long it takes, I'm going to make it up to you. And that was a promise.

Potions class the following week was interesting. Hufflepuffs had double-potions with the Ravenclaws. Quite a coincidence, if you ask me. Professor Snape didn't like either house, most likely because they weren't Slytherins. As for his opinion of me, I don't think he hated me, but I don't think he particularly loved me, like he did Draco Malfoy.

Snape told us last time that we'd be working with partners to brew today's potion, Amortentia, a.k.a. a Love Potion. Interesting, I thought. I looked at Cho instantly at where she was standing across the room. She blushed, meaning that she agreed to be my partner. Next to her was Anna, who briefly caught my eye before refocusing her attention on Snape.

"Would anyone care to tell me what potion this is? Ah, Miss Summers."

"Well Professor, it's Amortentia, a love potion. Whoever smells it instantly smells the things they're most attracted to. For example, I smell…vanilla…cinnamon…and…" she paused and looked up at me for a split second before saying the last thing, "…watermelon." Everyone was surprised at the things she listed as her favourite scents, especially the last one. I was the only one who understood the reason she held a special place in her heart for watermelons.

"Ten points to Ravenclaw for an answer well-given, Miss Summers." Anna nodded her head in response to Snape's praise.

"And now, time to partner up for today's brewing of Amortentia. Remember, it's a very powerful potion, but considering that you are all seventh year students in two intelligent houses, I presume there will be no trouble. I will read off the list for the partners." Wait a second…he was picking the partners?! I could see Cho's disappointed face. Nevertheless, she covered up her sadness with a small smile. That's the Cho I know.

"Smith and Cartwright, LaDrue and Roberts, Chang and Aidan, Summers and Diggory…" the list went on, but as soon as I heard who my partner was, I suddenly forgot how to move.

Apparently, it wasn't the same for Anna, who already began making her way towards me.

"Hey," she sounded so serious, so…mature. It was a tone I wasn't used to from her.

"Hi. Here, sit down," I pulled out the empty stool next to me for her to seat herself.

"Thanks." She sat down and began looking through the procedure and materials. "So we'll need some Ashwinder eggs, rose thorns..."

"Wait, no 'How's it going?' or anything like that?"

"Do I really need to explain myself? The only reason I'm talking to you right now is because I just want my O and be done with it. Potions isn't my best class, Cedric."

I chuckled at her retort. "I know, Anna. I remember."

She didn't seem too happy about what I said, but she still gave me a smirk. "Yes, well, I suggest we start brewing this potion."

"Right." I smiled at her. She stared at my smile for a long time, as if thinking about something important. She quickly shook her head out of her momentary trance, and started getting materials from the supply closet, whispering things to herself all the while. I just watched her, remembering my promise to try to make it up to her. If only she would let me in…

The rest of the class was mostly me trying to get more words to come out of Anna's mouth. Her responses were mostly two words, if not one. It was clear she didn't want to talk to me, let alone be partners with me for an assignment. The atmosphere grew awkward really fast.

"So, you're getting used to things again here?"

"Yes."

"You enjoying your classes?"

"Yup."

"Trying out for Quidditch?"

"Plan to."

"Anna, stop. Stop!" I took her hand that she was using to crush the rose thorns. She seemed startled at the sudden contact but looked me in the eye. "Come on, can we not act civil for one class?"

"I am being civil. I don't know what you're talking about. You're asking questions and I'm responding. Isn't that how it goes?" She flashed me a quick smile, but I could tell she was just being sarcastic.

"Technically, you're being civil. But you're not being the Anna I know."

She slammed down the knife she was using hard on the table. Luckily, nobody else noticed. She harshly whispered to me, as if afraid of other people hearing. "Stop playing games, Cedric. Did you even bother to get to know the real me? No, you were too busy worrying about everybody else, but me. I meant everything I said to you that day. I tried to be your best friend. But you obviously didn't think I was good enough. You pushed me away. Remember?"

"Anna, if you would just let me in!"

"It's Adrianna, and you give me no reason to. Now can we please finish this potion so I can get my O and be done with it!"

"Fine." I couldn't argue back. I took a handful of the rose thorns and threw them in the potion.

"Cedric, no!" Before I knew it, the potion was no longer boiling in the cauldron, but it was no all over our workspace, but more importantly, it was all over me and Anna. Correction, a very angry-looking Anna. The cauldron was completely shattered. It caused quite the explosion, an explosion nobody in the room could've missed.

"Mr. Diggory, Miss Summers! You will stay after class to clean this mess up! Both of you, detention in my office tonight at 6 o'clock." His nasal voice drawled out the last part.

"But professor, I have assignment to complete, essays to write, I don't have time for detention!" Anna pleaded and I instantly felt more sorry about the whole situation.

"I simply do not care, Miss Summers. Clearly, you and your partner," he eyed me a moment, "need some extra help in my class. I'm afraid I will not take excuses." At that, he turned around to help another set of partners.

First mistake I made: I started laughing. Honestly, I felt bad about causing it, but I couldn't help it. It was funny! How else do I explain it? Anna sent those green daggers my way, but I still kept laughing. The old Anna, the one that didn't hate me, would've laughed, too. We used to laugh for what seemed like hours when we were younger. This, however, wasn't the same Anna. Thankfully, she didn't say anything. She turned her back on me and started cleaning up the potion off the counter. I knew she was pissed beyond belief, and she should be, I'll give her that. But the thing that put a smile on my face, even though her back was turned to me, I could see her body shaking: Anna was laughing, too.

Chapter Four is up! I know my first chapters were quite short, but I'm working to make them longer. This one, so far, is the longest. Please read and review!