THC, monthly challenge, June, Drabble

Prompt: (first line) He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Hogwarts, Hufflepuff:

Writing Club (june): Showtime, in the heights, Breathe - (emotion) Pride

Assignment 12: Task 10: Meerkats - You'll never see a meerkat on its own - Prompt: Write about someone who thrives in large groups of people.

Word Count: 467

Beta(s): Aya Diefair

PRIDE

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Hufflepuff Common Room was decorated with yellow and black ribbons everywhere. However, that wasn't what had gotten him stunned, it was the enlarged picture of his head plastered on three out of four walls.

Slowly, his lips turned upwards into a massive grin as pride filled him. A laugh left him as a few of his housemates tapped him on the shoulder encouragingly before the noise level slowly diminished when others turned their attention to him.

"How does it feel, mate?" Justin asked him. The younger student was grinning wider than he was. The look in his eyes showed him that Justin wanted to be exactly like him; that was a lot of pressure.

Cedric Diggory looked around the packed room, keeping the grin on his face. He couldn't help but enjoy the partying vibe. Now that everybody was looking at him expectantly, he wasn't entirely sure what to say.

Instead, he let out a laugh again, his face full of cheer, and threw his arm around the two people closest to him. "With all of your support, I know we can take the goblet of fire! We will be victorious! Not just for Hogwarts, but for Hufflepuff as well!"

A cheer filled his ears suddenly; it was mixed with laughter, shouts of encouragement, and clapping. To think that this was all for him, for Cedric, was overwhelmingly amazing. He was, and would always be, a proud Hufflepuff.

His eyes scanned over the decorations and a light pink caught his eye. What was that?

As he stepped through the very busy common room, he shook others' hands—most of whom they knew—and shared small talk before he got to the small bags of pink fluff. He knew he should know what it was, however, he couldn't quite remember where he had seen it before.

"Candy floss?" Justin asked him, holding out a bag to him.

Realisation hit him at the name. Cedric had never actually had any before but did remember comparing the colour to one of his mother's favourite dresses when they had gone to a muggle carnival. With a smile, he accepted the bag from the younger student. "Thanks!"

"So, how does it feel?"

Cedric smiled at the fourth year before glancing around. "Unreal." He looked back. "But very proud. Being a Hufflepuff is the greatest thing ever. This house has been incredibly supportive over my years here, and have really stepped it up now."

"That's great!" Justin replied, eating some candy floss. "You deserve all of this! What you are doing is so brave!"

"I couldn't have done it without all of you," he said, turning around to address everybody else. "LET'S PARTY!"

A cheer filled his ears and he rejoiced in the sound. This felt right! This is what made Cedric know he could win, that he could be victorious in the competition.