Two Worlds Collide

Cedric was tucked into a quiet corner of the library, hidden from most people’s view by bookcases. He often came here when he felt like he needed some space to himself. it was an early December evening, and the first snow was gently falling down on the castle grounds outside the window, and Cedric thanked Merlin it wasn’t Hufflepuffs night for Quidditch practise.

It’s not like he didn’t enjoy other people’s company, but between helping Harry run the DA, Head Boy duties, and his teammates on the Quidditch being determined that this was finally their year to win the Quidditch cup he never got any time to just breathe. He helped Harry with the DA once a week, had Quidditch practise three times a week, and of course Prefect meetings and patrol duties on top of all that.

But of course, no matter how important all of that was, there was one thing that Cedric still managed to find time for which is when he would normally escape to the library where he wouldn’t be disturbed. If there was a real emergency the Head Girl Patricia Fawcett, a Ravenclaw girl and fellow DA member with whom he got on reasonably well knew exactly where to find him.

But no matter how many extracurricular activities he was involved in, he had to find time to study for at least a few hours every day he had his NEWT exams in June, and if he wanted to get a good job in the Ministry of Magic he needed seven NEWTs, and at least five of them had to be Outstanding’s.

What he really wanted to do though was to be an Auror, and you needed perfect exam results for that. His Mum had been trying to talk him out of it more than once, the job was so dangerous, and she only had the one child. But ever since last June in the graveyard, when he had seen how many deatheaters were still free, and seen You Know Who himself comeback to life, he knew how serious the situation was, and he knew there was no other job for him apart from tracking down all those dark wizards.

Heaven knows that if You Know Who’s fatal spell hadn’t missed him by mere inches, and if he hadn’t cast a quick body binding spell on himself so You Know Who and his followers thought he was really dead, even Harry had thought Cedric was dead until Cedric had leapt up to help Harry duel You Know Who.

So here he was sitting in a far secluded corner of the library trawling his way through four years worth of Arithmancy notes. Mock exam week was starting tomorrow morning, and he had two of his most difficult exams on the same day, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.

He sighed as he flicked through an old textbook full of Arithmancy charts, but held his breath when he heard giggling coming from around the corner. They’d found him…..

‘He’s so dreamy!’ giggled a sixth-year girl whispering to her friends.

‘And bright too,’ said one of the other girls smiling smugly.

‘I wonder if he does tutoring?’ whispered one of the others excitedly.

‘He can tutor me anytime,’ laughed the last girl out loud forgetting that she was in the library.

Cedric shook his head and got back to work, hoping that if ignored them they might just go away. That was the last, but most important reason he had for hiding in a remote corner of the library. Girls had always swarmed always over him, worse than bees to honey. But it was even worse this year, since he and Cho had broken up.

He had told Cho his version of the events of what had happened in the graveyard, and at the time it had seemed like she believed him. But after that conversation, Cho seemed to act differently towards him, cold and aloof as if she didn’t quite trust him, she had probably thought he was mad like half the school did.

Eventually Cedric had broken up with her at the end of term, and they had both had the Summer to get over it. They still saw each other sometimes usually at DA meetings, and they were still friends, but Cedric saw how she’d muttered to Marietta every time he walked away, and how they both looked at him.

After a while the girls went away, and Cedric sighed in relief and undid his tie which sometimes felt like a noose around his neck by eight o’clock. He put his tie in schoolbag and start working his way through some practice questions at the back of his Ancient Runes textbook.

He was in the middle of translating a particular difficult passage when he thought heard a light cough. He bit his lip, so he didn’t lose his temper knowing that some other girls were probably spying on him again. Honestly at the moment it seemed like half the school were either swooning over him or avoiding him like the plague as if madness was catching.

‘Excuse me?’ asked a soft voice in barley above a whisper.

‘What?’ he snapped looking up from his work, in a harsher tone than he had meant to use and poking his quill right through his parchment in his frustration.

His glare softened instantly as he saw the terrified look on the girl standing by one of the bookcases in front of him. She looked so scared it was as if she was seconds away from backing away from Cedric and going back to her own table.

She was skinny, and small, tiny in fact. If Cedric hadn’t known any better, he would have thought that she was no more than twelve or thirteen, but he was certain that he had seen studying diligently in most of his NEWT classes, sitting with the other Slytherins. She was so small in fact that it looked like one good gust of wind would blow her away.

She had pale blonde hair that fell down to nearly her waist and was plaited into a half up. She was currently peeking out from behind her sheet of long hair with a pair of piercing pale blue eyes. Cedric didn’t know why but those blue eyes peering out at him were familiar, but he just couldn’t remember from where.

Cedric had never noticed her before but he had to admit, she was quite pretty. It was helped by the fact that the green and silver on her jumper and tie went so well with her pale complexion.

‘Sorry,’ said Cedric, blushing embarrassedly. ‘I’ve just had a long day.’

The girl nodded and seemed to be struggling to gather every last inch of her courage. She had been staring at Cedric’s towering piles of textbooks which took up over half of the large table

‘I was wondering,’ she muttered pulling at a lock of her hair. ‘If you had Advanced Arithmancy Volume VI.’

Cedric raised his eyebrows at her quizzically.

‘I wouldn’t normally ask,’ she said flusterdley. ‘But the exam is in the morning, and I can’t find my copy anywhere, I could have sworn I’d packed it, and there’s a really good section in on it about how the strength of spells can be checked using Quadratic Formulas.’

‘Feel free to check,’ chuckled Cedric, ‘if the library has it, it’s probably right here.’

‘Thank you,’ she beamed letting out a deep sigh of relief. Her nervousness disappeared almost immediately to be replaced by excitement as she her sorted her way through the dozens of books Cedric had picked up. She was in her element now, books!

‘Got you!’ she exclaimed picking up a small red leather book that had been under a massive runes dictionary.

Cedric had gotten back to work, and the Slytherin girl sat down at the other end of the table, eagerly flipping through her book until she found the right section that she was looking for. Cedric and the girl worked quietly, so absorbed in their studies that they were oblivious to each other for about half an hour.

At a about a quarter to nine, Cedric was disturbed from his studying yet again, but not this time by girls, but by Madam Pince glaring down at him.

‘The library closes in fifteen minutes!’ she snapped. ‘And I expect every single one of those books to go back where you found them!’

‘Yes Ma’am,’ said Cedric giving her a polite salute.

‘Hmmm,’ muttered Madam Pince eyeing Cedric suspiciously before she went off to hurry along some other students.

‘I swear that woman could give Filch a run for his money,’ muttered Cedric under his breath as he packed away his bag.

The Slytherin girl tried to stifle a laugh, as Pince was still within hearing distance.

‘She’ll hear you, and you’ll get detention,’ said the girl trying to sound rebuking, but her eyes shining with laughter.

‘Just let her try,’ said Cedric starting to gather up all the library books to reshelve them.

‘I’ll help,’ said the girl picking up several large books. She was surprisingly strong for her size.

‘Cedric,’ said Cedric shaking her hand around both their piles of books.

‘Cassie,’ replied the girl nodding her head.

‘I’ve seen you in class quite a bit, you’re easily the best in Arithmancy,’ said Cassie, ‘I sometimes challenge myself to see if I can get the answer before you in class.’

‘I’m not that good,’ said Cedric offhandedly as they started reshelving their books.

‘Oh yes you are,’ said Cassie earnestly.

‘That’s how I knew you’d probably have the book I was looking for,’ she laughed.

‘Well you’re the best in the class at Charms,’ said Cedric, ‘didn’t you have that project last year which was a modification of the chalkboard writing spell. You didn’t even have to dictate the writing out loud! It was fantastic!’

‘It was nothing,’ blushed Cassie. ‘I would have come up to introduce myself earlier, but I’m not supposed to talk to you.’

‘Oh,’ muttered Cedric. Cassie had probably been told by the other Slytherins to avoid him as he was mad and dangerous and a bad influence.

‘Oh it’s nothing personal!’ stammered Cassie, realising she had upset Cedric. ‘It’s my younger brother Evan, he’s a sixth year and my parents only want me socialising with other pureblood Slytherins. Evan is supposed to keep an eye on me for them while I’m at school.’

‘That seems a bit old fashioned,’ said Cedric surprised. He knew that some of the older pureblood families could be very strict especially with their children, but that seemed a little extreme. Fortunately for him although he was a pureblood, his parents weren’t as strict as Cassie’s seemed to be.

‘It’s either that or home schooling,’ sighed Cassie. ’So, I do as I’m told.

‘Unless of course there’s a book I need to borrow,’ she giggled.

Cedric shook his head and chuckled to himself as he put the last books away.

Cassie and Cedric walked out of the library together and chatted on their way down to their common rooms. They stopped suddenly at the end of a corridor where there were two turnings, one led to the kitchens and the Hufflepuff Common Room, and the other led to the dungeons and the Slytherin Common Room

‘Well, um good luck tomorrow, on the Mocks’ he said smiling down at Cassie.

‘You too,’ said Cassie staring down at her shoes, and pulling at a loose lock of her hair again. She looked up at Cedric for a second, before turning suddenly to head down to the dungeons.

‘Cassie!’ called Cedric, as Cassie hurried down the corridor.

Cassie turned her head back around, her hair floating behind her as she turned.

‘Do you want to meet up tomorrow? At the same table?’ asked Cedric.

Cassie bit her lip and looked uncertain.

‘Alright,’ she said smiling at him briefly before turning back around and running down the corridor to the dungeons.

Cedric watched Cassie run down the corridor until she turned a corner, and she was out of sight. He hitched his own bag further onto his shoulder and headed back to his own Common Room. As he walked down to the Hufflepuff dorm he wished for the first time in his life that he was a Slytherin and not a Hufflepuff.