Chapter Seven: It Takes Time
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Harry Potter. I only own my OC's and the plot of this fanfic.
Anna P.O.V.
Crying. That's all I did when I returned from the detention for Snape. I didn't even care that I left ahead of when I was supposed to. It was too much to handle being in the same room as him. I promised myself I wouldn't cry over him every again. But just like before, he broke me, made me weak. It looks like my plan was doomed right from the start. My mind played the argument over and over again; Cedric's yelling, the shouting, the screaming, the tears I shed. I never saw Cedric angry like that before. Sure, he would get frustrated over Quidditch, homework, tests, but nothing ever that intense. I shuddered in my bed when I thought of it all. I thought of his eyes. Their original beauty was lost and turned to flames right in front of me.
I hadn't cried this much since Garrett's funeral. Is it possible that I'm crying more than I did then? Perhaps. I wasn't crying just because of the fight; I was crying because of all the pain he caused me, the ways I tried to change myself, finding out he actually cared about our friendship, Garrett's death, my fight with Cho, and I cried because as much as I hate to admit it, I missed having Cedric as my best friend. I missed just having him in my life. I missed him. I'd been running from it my whole life. I've been trying to run away from the truth, but clearly it's caught up with me. I know he's been trying to sort everything out. But he needs to realize that that takes time. That's what I need: time.
I'd need all the time in the world, if only that was possible. I needed lots of time to recover, emotionally. I'd need time to work out things between the two of us. I mean, I know he screwed up in fourth year. But this wasn't even about that anymore. It was about mending the friendship we used to have. If that friendship was as important to him as it was to me, he would try to do the same. But again, it wouldn't happen overnight. If only. It's evident that Cedric's suffered, too. And it's even more evident that he cared about me. Even if that feeling has supressed slowly over the years, he did care at one point. It's time to forgive him, Anna. Yes, yes it was.
Not only would I have to sort things out with Cedric, I'd have to sort things out with Cho. I meant what I said to her; she needed to see how she had no business getting involved with what happened between Cedric and me. I could care less if they were together. Cho and I would have to talk it out eventually. It was only about eight o'clock, so she probably wouldn't come back till later. Maybe she was with Cedric.
After a few more minutes of crying, I decided I needed to cheer myself up. I couldn't keep going through life all depressed. So I pulled out my poetry book. I started at the very first one and worked my way through the book. I could feel my eyes growing heavier after the first few poems, but I didn't want to put the book down. I kept going, reading through each page, until I fell into a deep sleep…
I woke up bright and early the next morning. When I did, Emily Dickinson's "Hope" was looking me right in the eye. I chuckled to myself and then got up. I took a quick shower and got changed into my school robes. My eyes were still pretty red from my intense crying session last night, but I didn't care. People knew I had detention with Snape and that was explanation enough.
Cho wasn't in her bed. She probably already went down to breakfast. I reminded myself that I needed to talk with her as soon as possible. I used a drying charm on my hair and put some mascara and lip gloss on. I couldn't look like I just got into a nasty fight with a dragon. I decided to leave my hair down and in its wavy state. I took one last look at myself in the mirror before heading down to the Great Hall.
As always, it was packed. I didn't catch sight of Cho though. I still took a seat at the Ravenclaw table and got a plate of food. While I was eating, I noticed Cedric wasn't sitting at the Hufflepuff table either. Where were those two? I started getting curious. But even if something happened, would they tell me about it? Probably not. They both probably didn't want to talk to me.
I kept eating when I heard a group of boys come into the hall. I recognized one of them as Derrick Aidan, one of Cedric's close friends. He'd probably know where Cedric is, I thought. I grabbed my bag and ditched my meal, not caring if there was still almost half of it left. When Derrick caught sight of me, he looked surprised. But also disappointed.
"Where's Cedric?" I may've sounded harsh, but I didn't care, especially when I didn't particularly favour the person I was talking to.
"We were just talking about it," he motioned to the other boys he was with. "Apparently Ced's got himself in the Hospital Wing."
The Hospital Wing? I started getting worried. This wasn't good. Cedric never liked the Hospital Wing. He only went if he really needed to. That told me the situation was urgent. "How did you find out? Did it just happen last night?" I wondered if it had something to do with our fight.
"Well, Cho told me that he wasn't feeling well after detention with Snape, so she brought him there. That's all I know…oh wait, if you want, I know Cho went to the Hospital Wing this morning to check on him. You could go before class starts, I guess."
"I will. Um, thanks, Derrick." He gave me a "No Problem" and I headed off to the Hospital Wing.
I was almost there, when I heard someone call my name. "Anna!" Oh no, not now. Please, not now.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" I turned around to see Bryan Chase's glorious face. I inwardly cursed the bad timing.
"Yeah, sure. But it'll have to be quick. I kinda have somewhere to go." I didn't want to sound rude, but it wasn't like there was an eternity of time before the first class of the day.
"Okay, I'll make it short. But are we still on for Saturday? You know, the date at Hogsmeade?"
I blushed, remembering him asking me out. "Yes, of course. Wait, it's a date?"
"If you want it to be." He smiled warmly at me. "I'll pick you up at eleven at the Ravenclaw Tower."
"Okay then. I'm sorry to have to run off but…"
"I know, I know. You have somewhere to be. You're always so busy. I'll catch you later." That's when he planted the smallest, most delicate kiss on my right cheek before walking off. Merlin, Bryan Chase just kissed me on the cheek. I would've started doing cartwheels and jumping up and down if there weren't other students and professors around. Um, Anna? Aren't you forgetting about something? Right, right. Go to the Hospital Wing. No more distractions. I cursed myself again for getting distracted too easily.
When I got to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey was standing in front of the door.
"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey." I gave her a pleasant smile.
"Oh good morning, Adrianna. Is there something I can do for you?"
"Actually, I was wondering if I could pay someone a visit…"
"Well, seeing as though Cedric Diggory is the only patient I have at the moment, I'm going to assume it's him you wish to see?" I blushed. She took that as confirmation. "Yes dear, you may see him. Last bed on the right."
"Okay, thank you." I entered the Hospital Wing and suddenly got nervous. What was I going to say to him? I couldn't just ask like nothing happened. I can't just tell him I had the most miraculous realization last night that I learned to forgive him. I really need to work on being more prepared for these kinds of confrontations.
I walked further into the Wing until I saw him lying down in one of the beds. He was reading a book, though I couldn't tell what it was. I noticed a bouquet of red roses on the bedside table sitting in a glass vase. Cho, I thought to myself, you should've gotten him daffodils. Those are his favourites.
He looked up from his book upon hearing the close footsteps. He was visibly shocked when he saw that it was me who decided to see him. We looked at each other for a while. It seemed like ages that I was swimming in his deep blue-grey eyes. I decided to break the staring contest and I took a seat on an empty chair next to his bed.
"Hey," It was the only thing I could come up with for now.
"Hi," He seemed just as equally lost for words.
"Are you alright? Derrick told me what happened."
At first, he seemed surprise, probably because he didn't expect Derrick and me to act nice to each other. But he ignored the matter. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just felt a little sick last night." He sounded so serious, so unlike Cedric. I guess the sickness drained a little bit more out of him than expected.
I looked down and started fiddling my thumbs. It was probably because of me that he felt that way. I took a deep breath before speaking. "We need to talk."
"We are talking." He had an edge in his voice. He seemed annoyed by my presence.
"What I meant was that we need to talk about last night, about everything."
He raised an eyebrow at me, somewhat confused. It was almost like he was saying "There's nothing that needs to be discussed." But he still said, "Fine, what do you have to say?"
I took a deep breath. "Look, I know that things happened in the past between us, good and not so good. But the point is that those things are in the past. That's where they should stay, at least the bad things. I was being immature when I kept bringing it up. I know it's time that I got over it all." I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say next. When I found the right words, I continued. "It'll take time, lots of time, but I want to stop this feuding between us. It clearly isn't healthy for you." He chuckled lightly at my sarcasm and wit. "I want to move on, away from the past. I apologize for anything hurtful that I've said to you since I got here. I want to start over, our friendship, I mean. I guess what I'm trying to say is that…I forgive you."
When I was finished talking, Cedric stared at me for a moment, and then looked down at his hands, as if there was some sort of divine answer lying in his palms. It took him a while to look up again, but when he did, he was smiling his usual kind smile. He stuck out his right hand. "It's Cedric. Cedric Diggory."
I was a little surprised by his formality, but I soon caught on. I flashed him a sweet smile of my own and shook his hand with one of mine. "Adrianna Summers. Nice to meet you Cedric Diggory."
After my visit to the Hospital Wing, I was feeling much better. I took the first step. I accepted Cedric's apology. Like I said before, it was going to take time for our friendship to develop again, but he made it clear he was just as willing as I was to make it work.
Classes that day weren't too bad. Maybe my good mood just caused the day to go by fast. I went back to the Ravenclaw Tower to start working on a Charms assignment in the Common Room. When I got there, I saw Cho sitting on the couch. She stood up instantly when she heard me come in, and I knew she was waiting for me.
"Anna," she said innocently. I walked towards the fireplace and sat down on the floor. We sat in silence for a while before she spoke up again.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I was wrong to say all those things."
"No, I'm sorry for being impulsive and irrational. I shouldn't have got angry. You were just trying to help."
"Can we just forgive each other and move on?"
"Of course, Cho. I mean if we didn't, who else would I tell about the kiss Bryan Chase gave me earlier today?" I smiled at her and she immediately plopped down on the floor next to me. She hugged me quickly first, and then interrogated me for the next hour about Bryan. So much for the Charms paper.
I was glad Cedric and I are on good terms now. Obviously, it isn't like old times, but at least we could talk without me feeling the desire to slap him in the face. Again, it would take a while to build up our friendship again. Making up with Cho was another highlight of my week. All in all, it was a pretty good week.
It was Thursday, which meant that my date with Bryan was only two days away. I couldn't contain my excitement! I would talk to Cho about him almost all day, and it got to the point where I think she was starting to feel like casting Stupefy on me. I didn't care though. She'd have to get used to me talking about him all the time. It would happen often. But the person I didn't tell about my date was Cedric. Personally, I didn't feel he had to know. Of course I'd tell him after this Saturday. I didn't see a need for him to know.
Professor Snape was more than confused when Cedric and I agreed to work together again. Apparently he knew of the little row we had the other night and assumed we couldn't cooperate. But Cedric and I were glad to be working together again.
"So what you mean to tell me is that you want to brew the potion together again?" Snape's nasal voice made me want to laugh every time, but that obviously wouldn't be respectful. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yes, Professor Snape." Cedric and I replied at the same time.
"Is this your final decision Mr. Diggory, Miss Summers?"
"Yes, sir."
"I will grant you wish, but be grateful that I am a considerate person. I would not do this for all my students."
We both offered a quick "Thank you" before he shooed us out at the end of class.
After dinner, Cedric and I decided to spend some time in the library. Cho said she couldn't come because she was stacked with homework that night. So the two of us chose to go without her.
We sat at an empty table, Cedric reading a book of his and me reading my poetry book. We read in a friendly silence for about half an hour when somebody approached us. "Hey Diggory! Hey Anna." It was Bryan Chase. My heart nearly stopped. He looked like he had just taken a shower, with his hair all damp, some parts sticking to his face. Don't let yourself think things like that Anna! I scolded myself for letting those kinds of thoughts wander into my head. I blushed when he flashed me his award-winning smile. Cedric, on the other hand, didn't look too pleased that he interrupted what seemed to be an important part in his book.
"Hi Bryan," I kind of giggled when I answered him.
"Hello Bryan." Someone could sense Cedric's annoyed tone from a mile away.
"Mind if I join you two?"
"Of course not! Here, sit." I pulled out the empty chair next to me. It was obvious Cedric didn't want to sit next to him.
"Thanks," he sat down and then looked at me. He smiled before leaning in closer and whispering something barely audible. "It's only two days away." He was so close I could smell his minty fresh breath. I could tell my cheeks probably turned crimson at his close proximity and the context of what he said. Indeed, I thought, it is only two days away.
"I wish it would come sooner." Oh Merlin. I wasn't supposed to say that out loud!
He laughed heartily, his toned chest rising and falling with every chuckle. "Same here, don't worry. But you don't think we're rushing into things, do you?"
"No, definitely not. I mean it's just a date right?" I noticed Cedric's head shoot up at my mentioning the word "date". Oh no, smooth move Anna.
"I'm sorry, did you just say you two were going on a date?"
I felt my cheeks begin to grow hot. This is why I intended to tell Cedric after my date with Bryan.
"I'm taking her to Hogsmeade this Saturday actually." Bryan smiled at Cedric, but Cedric wasn't really in the mood for one.
To my surprise, Cedric smiled mischievously, as if he had just come up with some clever plan. "Actually, it's quite funny you should mention that Bryan." He then looked straight at me with that sly smile. "Because I just remembered that Cho and I are taking a trip to Hogsmeade this Saturday, as well." Oh no! No no no no no. Absolutely not!
"Brilliant! We can all go together!" My jaw dropped at what Bryan just suggested. Do you own a brain? Honestly! I mean, he sure does own a face, there's no hiding that…
"That's perfect then. I'm sure Cho would love to join us. All four of us." He turned his head to look at me when he said that last part. I knew it was intended for me, Ced. I didn't need a teasing smile or a direct look in my direction to get the hint.
"Excellent!" Bryan clapped his hands loudly, making me practically jump out of my seat. He earned himself a harsh 'Shhh' from Madam Pince. I noticed Cedric chuckling and shaking his head in his seat. "I plan on picking Anna up at the Ravenclaw Tower, so you can do the same with Cho. For convenience, of course."
"That sounds very convenient." I rolled my eyes at Cedric's annoying tone.
"Great. I should be heading off, though. I have some important homework to attend to." Cedric raised an eyebrow, as if questioning this bloke's study habits. I rolled my eyes again at his immaturity.
"So I'll see you later Cedric. And I'll see you, Anna, hopefully sooner," I giggled when he reached for my right hand and kissed it gently. When, he walked off, I started giggling like there was no tomorrow. Cedric, on the other hand, wasn't so giddy.
"Next time, can you tell your little friend not to interrupt when the book's just gotten to the good part?" He then muttered something about 'no good prat'. That's when I started to flick his arm. He was more than startled.
"What the hell are you doing? Ow, Anna, stop that!"
"You shouldn't have invited yourself and Cho on my date with Bryan! What the hell were you thinking?" I kept flicking him. It got tiring after a while, so I switched to hitting him with my poetry book instead.
"Ow! Anna, stop!" Between defending himself from my vicious attacks, he managed to speak. "I just thought that it'd be convenient for all of us to go together. We were probably going to see each other anyway, so what's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that it was supposed to be just the two of us, alone! But I see now it's going to be the two of us, plus you and Cho." I kept hitting him with my book.
After a while of hitting Cedric, it got funny. I put the book back down on the table and started laughing. He joined in soon. The two of us were laughing so loud, I'm sure people in the Great Hall could hear us. It wasn't long before Madam Pince came marching over, scolding us, and then kicking us out for our rowdy behaviour. Me and Cedric were still laughing as we made it out to the corridor.
"That woman needs a good laugh." I chuckled at what Cedric said.
"Well, it's none of your business critiquing what other people find funny." We both laughed at my joke.
"You're right. I should keep my comments to myself."
We walked in silence the rest of the way to the Ravenclaw common room. It was awkward, needless to say. We never had these kinds of awkward silences before, but I had to remember that this wasn't "before". This was our new friendship, and it needed time.
When we arrived at the Ravenclaw Tower, I turned to face Cedric. "You know, you really didn't have to walk me back here. I know this place like the back of my hand."
He chuckled. "I don't doubt your intelligence, Anna. But it's late, and I don't trust this castle at night. Besides, I have Prefect duty to attend to, so I don't mind walking a late-night wanderer back to her common room."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Late-night wanderer, huh? I always knew I was the sneaky type." We both laughed for a moment. "But thanks anyway, Ced. Goodnight."
He smiled. "Goodnight, Anna." And we both parted ways.
I was surprised to find a flustered-looking Cho still awake, sitting on one of the couches in the common room, doing homework. I immediately approached her. "Still awake are we, Miss Chang?" Her eyes shot up and I could tell she was stressed.
"I wasn't kidding when I said I had a huge load of work to do. I don't mean to be rude or anything, Anna, but I can't get distracted easily…"
"I know, I know. Don't worry, Cho. I'm just joking with you. I understand what you mean, so I'll just go to bed now."
It was clear she felt guilty about not greeting me properly. "I'm sorry I couldn't join you and Cedric tonight."
"Cho, don't apologize. It's not your fault professors enjoy bombarding innocent students with homework, now is it? Oh, and speaking of your boyfriend, it turns out my date with Bryan on Saturday has turned from a party of two into a party of four."
"Wait, Cedric did that? Oh, I will have a stern talking to with that boy!"
I laughed at her strict, mother-like tone. "Please Cho, we all know that'll just end up in you two snogging." She blushed at what I said. She knew it was true.
"Right…but I'm still talking to him."
"Don't worry about it. Bryan actually seemed happy with the idea. So I guess it's alright with me."
"Okay, well, if you're sure.
"I am. And I'll head up now so I can leave you to your…uh…labour?"
Cho laughed. "Goodnight, Anna."
I quickly washed up and got dressed in my pajamas. I hopped into bed, and read a quick poem before drifting off to sleep. My dreams were filled with images of Bryan Chase. It's only two days away, Anna. I thought about how good the date was going to go, even though Cedric and Cho would be joining us. Oh well, I guess you can't have it all.
There's Chapter Seven! I hope you all enjoy it! Read and review!