Two:

Potter was something of an oxymoron to Cedric. The elder Hufflepuff had taken to observing the boy whenever the opportunity presented itself, simply gauging his reactions and mannerisms. The more Cedric watched the boy, the more he wondered how he ended up in Gryffindor, yet at the same time there was this... way about Potter that made it seem like he didn't belong anywhere else. It was baffling to say the least.

Even now, in late October after the rumors had (slightly) died down, Cedric remained, observing Potter. It was a bit relaxing, oddly enough. Despite being only a few meters away Cedric and Potter were worlds apart, and watching him like this almost made it feel like Cedric were at one of those Muggle cinemas. That train of thought made him feel a bit guilty, considering the boy as no more than entertainment. But, he consoled himself in the fact that everyone else was doing the same thing, and making up petty rumors to go along with it.

With Halloween coming up it brought a bit of distraction for Cedric's Potter-watching. Like any other healthy third year, Cedric was rather excited for the Halloween feast as well as receiving his annual Samhain gift from his traditional pureblood grandparents. Around the end of October everyone got a little antsy at Hogwarts and it was putting Cedric in good spirits, however they were tinged with curiosity upon overhearing the youngest Weasley talking to Potter on their way back from Quidditch practice one afternoon.

"What do you mean you don't like Halloween? I thought it was even better for Muggles, don't they give out candy and dress up?" The redhead had shouted in an almost affronted tone, to the shyly cowering Potter.

"Yes, well the Dursleys never really approved in me participating in those traditions much. Halloween was always a regular day for me except that..." The small boy trailed off at this, his eyes becoming a bit distant looking, though it was a bit hard for Cedric to tell as he was watching them out the corner of his eye.

"Except what?"

"Well, I always have the worst of luck on Halloween."

After hearing this, the Hufflepuff found himself wondering what sorts of holidays Potter did like. Halloween had always been his favorite, since he tended to find the ones that involved family and gift giving smothering. Perhaps Potter was more of the family type since he lost his parents. That would make a bit of sense, he supposed. Cedric really had a hard time getting the whole big happy family appeal, though. Or maybe Potter was the selfish type, who considered their birthday to be the best holiday of the year. He thought that unlikely though, Potter seemed like he'd forget his own birthday if no one reminded him.

Bottom line is these were the kind thoughts that were occupying his time when he'd stare listlessly off into space, paying no mind to whatever his professor might be droning on about a few feet away. Maybe he was getting a bit excessive, but he didn't really care.

When the Halloween feast finally came upon him, Cedric found it a bit lackluster in all honesty. Perhaps because he'd already experienced it twice before or maybe because he knew that Potter was a table away, staring morosely at his food. Whatever the reason he found himself growing quickly bored of the festivities and tried to occupy himself by speaking to Jona.

"How do you think the game will go tomorrow?" he asked, interrupting the boy's intense focus on his pumpkin pie.

"Mmm?" he grumbled around a mouthful of pie, looking caught off guard. He swallowed almost comically. "Fine I s'pose. I think Gryffindors' a shoe-in judging by the look on Wood's face."

He motioned towards the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, who was grinning so widely as he spoke animatedly to Percy Weasley that he looked almost manic.

"I think so too." nodded Cedric, dragging his eyes away from the sneering Gryffindor prefect to stare at Jona who was still stuffing his face. "Although, Potter seems rather on edge, don't you think?"

Not even bothering to look up from his food, Jona waved a lofty hand in dismissal. "At worst he'll suck, and they'll throw in their reserve seeker, right? I doubt he'd get hurt, not even Wood is crazy enough to let a first-year actually play."

He felt his gaze drifting towards the little seeker against his own accord. "He's just so small..."

Jona opened an ice cream-filled mouth to reply, but quickly snapped it closed when Quirrell came hurtling into the hall.

"TROLLS IN THE DUNGEON!"

Maybe Potter's bad luck was catching.

-0v0-

Cedric had never really been one to watch Quidditch. He enjoyed playing it well enough, which should be apparent by the fact that he played reserve seeker for Hufflepuff. But Quidditch had never really been able to hold his attention long when he was sitting on the sidelines. It was just another thing that differentiated Cedric from his father, he supposed.

Generally on a pleasantly chilly October morning like this, Cedric would be somewhere on the grounds, most likely dozing under a tree, Quidditch match in session or otherwise (not including one that involved Hufflepuff, of course, he was still obligated to attend even if it was unlikely that he'd be playing at all.)

Today however, Cedric like everyone else in the school had trudged down to the Quidditch pitch after breakfast, moving as quickly as his legs would allow (which was rather quick in all honesty, he'd been blessed with long legs) so that he may get a good seat in the Hufflepuff stands. Jona was huffing and puffing at his side, trying to keep up with his more athletic friend, a look of stark confusion on his face as he practically broke into a light jog.

"What's the rush, Ced?" questioned the shorter boy as they finally settled into their creaky, wooden, front-row seats. "I'm surprised you wanted to come at all, you usually just lay 'round most games that you aren't obligated to attend."

"Yes, well..." began Cedric, finally tearing his eyes away from where he'd been scanning the field while Flint directed the Slytherins through warm ups. "I wanted to see Potter's first game y'know? Bound to be interesting."

Jonathan scoffed with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms. "You're just like the rest of those vultures, Ced, lookin' to watch the poor kid fail in his first game."

"I don't want him to fail!" exclaimed the taller boy, feeling a bit more affronted than was probably reasonable. It was true though, Potter was just a little kid Cedric didn't want to see his hopes get crushed before they could ever really begin. "I just wanna see how he'll do! Hufflepuff is gonna play against him eventually, I ought to at least see if he's a good as Wood brags."

And boy did Wood brag. He'd been running up and down the school, shoving it in all the other Quidditch Captains' face (and really anyone that'll listen) that he got the best seeker to ever grace Hogwarts; Harry Potter.

"That's assuming the boy doesn't fuck this game up so badly that Wood kicks him off the team."

Cedric felt a surge of anger at that remark, sending a frosty glare in his friend's direction. "Why d'you want him to fail so badly? You act like he doesn't have a chance."

"Oh c'mon man, it's nothing like that, I'd hate to see the kid get hurt, but you have to hear what everyone besides the Gryffindors are saying. Not to mention, you've seen him, he looks like a strong gust of wind would send him to China."
The larger boy grimaced, but couldn't help but concede to Jona's point. Potter was tiny and certainly didn't look like he was cut out to play any sort of sport. But, something inside of him really just wanted him to do well. Why he didn't really know, perhaps because he was the underdog, or perhaps because Cedric just felt something of a kindred spirit to the shy and reserved Potter. Either way, he refused to just assume the boy was going to fail.

A smack to the back jarred him from his thoughts. "Don't worry about it man, ya' never know, maybe the kid will be the next Charlie Weasley, although then our team will be screwed, eh?"

However, Potter turned out to be more than just the next Charlie Weasley. Though it was perhaps premature to say that as he had yet to catch the snitch, it was very clear by the way the boy zipped and glided about the field that he knew his way around a broom. Watching Potter fly was almost rejuvenating for Cedric. The boy's exuberance and grace riveted the Hufflepuff in a way that a Quidditch match had never done before. Just watching the boy made him want to run for his own broom and take off into the sky. Cedric didn't seem to be the only one effected either, judging by the crowd's unrelenting stares as Potter circled fluidly around the stadium, green eyes surveying the field for any sign of the snitch.

Cedric had been genuinely enjoying the game, until Potter's broom started bucking this way and that. It was a sort of state of confusion at first for most people, wondering if this was some sort of attention stunt or if Potter's inability to fly was finally rearing its head. But, for Cedric and a few others it was an immediately jolt of panic. His grey eyes took in the look of distress on the boy's face as his broom began to drift higher and higher, bucking and rolling in an attempt to throw him off.

"Why isn't anyone doing anything?!" Cedric hissed as his hand clenched to a death-grip around Jona's upper arm. "Don't they see him broom is malfunctioning?!"

"There's nothin' they can do." replied Jonathan in a strained voice, attempting to pry Cedric's fingers off his arm. "His broom moving too much for them to do anything."

His panic and fear mounted into a crescendo when the broom managed to finally buck Potter off, leaving the child hanging by the tips of his fingers, holding on for dear life as his huge green eyes were blown even larger with terror. Cedric stood to his feet at this, and Jona had to actively pull him back down in fear that his friend might throw himself over the banister separating the stands from the 60 foot drop below.

When Potter at last succeeded in pulling himself back onto his no longer bucking broom there was a collective sigh of relief as the confused, panicking pack of students settled down. But when Potter went on to almost swallow the snitch leading to one of the fastest Quidditch game yet, Cedric, like everyone else (well besides the Slytherins) jumped to his feet in cheer.

As he made his way back to the Hufflepuff common room, Cedric reflected a bit on how what an effect Potter's presence had had on his enjoyment of the game. Never before had a Quidditch match been able to invoke such a myriad of emotions from Cedric. It left him both reeling and in awe at the same time. It made him want to aspire to be something a bit more, to try harder and maybe just maybe Potter could notice Cedric the way Cedric noticed Potter.

So for the first time in his, thus far, meaningless life; Cedric Diggory aspired to do something more than the bare minimum.

All because of Harry Potter. Perhaps this was the incentive the Sorting Hat had been talking about.

And so began his evolution.

A/N: So, yeah. I hope it's becoming a bit clearer about how uninteresting and non-gregarious Cedric is. I've noticed that people have different perspectives on what the majority of Hufflepuffs are like. For example some people imagine Hufflepuff as friendly and outgoing, while others see them as shy and cowardly. I'm going more for the second option, but it's not like their going to be a bunch of kids with GAD or something, they just have small friend groups and aren't prone to social situations overall.

Once again, feedback is always welcome.