thirteen (Hi)

Jaspers' sweet melody of giggles could stretch across the common room. Her excitement when telling silly jokes warmed the hearts of all the Gryffindors who chose to spend their time listening.

It was early in the morning, students were yet to head to the Great Hall as they typically all headed over thirty minutes from the time they were currently stuck upon. It was one of a few times the Gryffindors properly stayed on schedule. Nobody quite knew why they were like this, but it was accepted none the less.

With every new person who joined the common room, the volume increased by triple its original value. With that, of course, then increasing the number of students awake only encouraged the volume to grow louder and louder.

Cassie was tired of listening to the noise and thus headed out of the common room in the direction of the Great Hall. As much as she had enjoyed all the heavenly joy Jasper brought, her mood was still dampened by Fred's presence, not that it should bother her still.

As she reached her destination, the sweet sugary aromas carried her inside with a large grin. She made her way across the hall towards a paleish sandy, brown haired boy. His brown eyes practically sparkled as she made her way over to him, opting to sit right next to him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of getting to sit next to the one and only Cassiandra Aera?" The boy flashed a charming smile, one of which was known to melt many of the female students' hearts.

"Still a flirt as always, Diggory?" she smiled, batting her eyelashes to show innocence behind her message

The boy was taken a back and smirked, "Only for you, darling." Without hesitation, the boy winked at her, and the pair erupted into a fit of laughter

They had been fairly close in friendship since before hogwarts, both parents had worked together before eventually splitting paths. Cassie has always found Cedric to be very attractive, and the boy, once he found out, always teased her for it. The two, no matter how close, never pursued a relationship as it had never been the right time. The fear of the unknown plauged both their minds, and thus, a flirty friendship remained.

"I, this is hard to say but, Cedric would you maybe wanna hang out after breakfast?" Cassie played with the silver rings on her fingers nervously awaiting an answer

Cedrics eye widened with glee. He had the opportunity to say something, and he was going to take it. "Only if I get a kiss in exchange for my time." he grabbed his glass of water nearby, taking a sip only for him to spit it out by Cassies response

"Only if you let me," she smirked with his reaction, failing to notice a shaking and very red-faced Fred glaring at them.

His knuckles were practically white, and his hair didn't seem to stand out as much with how much anger seeped out of his pours. Fred could only see the pairs' reactions and immideatly assumed the worst. Not that it should matter to him since Cassie didn't seem to want him anyway.

He watched the two get up linking arms and walking out of the hall giggling, whispers quickly followed rumors circling. He was furious at himself and more furious at the girl playing with his glass heart.

Outside the hall, Cassie and Cedric dashed around, switching from linked arms to interlocked fingers. As much as Cassie tried to deny it, there was a spark, similar to the one she had with Fred, only she didn't discover it under the same circumstances.

By the time she had snapped back from her thoughts, the girl found herself within the forest following Cedric towards a glowing and ethereal lake. It was a spectacular setting, and it made the moment feel even more magical than it previously had been.

"Ced, this is beautiful. How'd you find this place?" Cassies eyes flickered around the surrounding area

"Found it back in the second year. I was always secretly hoping I'd get to take you here as more than friends, " he mumbled the last bit, and yet Cassie still heard and drank up every last drop of its meaning. Perhaps it was due to missing Fred, or maybe the years of tension between her and Cedric had finally exploded outward.

Cedrics tall frame hovered over her, not in a creepy way that makes you wanna get as far away as possible, it was the kind of way that makes you want to get pushed up against a door and let the world know what's going on next door.

Cassies breath hitched within her throat as Cedric got closer. His eyes looked upon her, and she got chills all the way down her spine. Her back pressed against a tree, and her smile turned into a smirk as he approached closer. He smelt like nutmeg and a warm fire you just wanted to curl up near. It was warm and inviting, and hell, Cassie would even call it exciting.

"Cassie," he whispered her name slowly, and like the longer he said it, the more he could keep it on his tongue. As if she would disappear and he'd wake up any moment.

"Cedric," she responded much more quickly, batting her eyes at him, only this time it felt different, more real.

Cedric looked away for a moment while a tint of pink spread across his face. "Can I come closer?" he asked before adding a quiet "please" afterward

The girls heart fluttered and began beating faster than it already had been. "Yes," she whispered out as his face got close towards hers, their foreheads touched, and his hands hovered over her waist.

Cassie grabbed Cedrics hands, confusing him for a moment, before placing them on her waist near her hips. His smile grew, and the pure, warm joy that radiated off him was enough for Cassie to get her lips right on top of his but not close enough to kiss.

"Don't play this game if you can't keep up, Yun," Cedric whispered on her lips, making her entire body fire up. Nobody had called her by her real name in years.

Without hesitation, their lips finally connected, and Cedrics hands held onto her waist a little bit tighter while Cassies hands traveled up his arms to the back of his neck, playing with his hair. Holding him closer and slightly tugging on his hair, the boy melted, coming even closer to the girl than he had previously been. Neither wanted to break apart when the true magic had just begun and the fires had only just been lit.

"God, I should have done this sooner," Cedric whispered against her lips, pulling Cassie away from the tree and into a tight hug, and my lips still connected.

Cassies heart fluttered out of her chest, turning into a physical manifestation of the butterfly that now watched the two be so intimate, so close. Sure, she has felt this way once before, but nothing like this. This felt safer, and it was quite frankly a lot less anxiety inducing. There wasn't the same toxicity that plauged Fred and Cassies' relationship, one of which she would run back to.

"Cassie," Jaspers voice cried from beyond the forest, separating the two teens from their paused moment in time.

"I should go," Cassie whispered, grabbing the back of Cedrics neck and pressing one last kiss to his lips and sprinting off, leaving the boy standing there looking at her with such love

Cassie was quickly out of the forest and made a bee line towards Jasper, pulling the younger girl into a hug from behind. "What's up, sweet girl? What is it that you need?" she asked, turning the girl around, who then smiled at her

"I need help with something. Will you come with me? It's right by the library, my books, they got stuck. " Jaspers smile turned into a pout

Cassie smiled at the girl and interlocked their hands gently. "Of course, Jasp, let's go."

The two walked towards the castle unbeknownst to them. Cedric had just walked out of the forest, a grin on his face, his fingers still tracing over his lips.

The girls were quick and had made it to the spot in which Jasper had spoken about previously.

"Where are they, Jasper?" Cassie asked, looking around unsure of what the girl had meant by her books were missing

"I think there in the broom closet, but I'm scared to check," the girl pouted, looking up towards Cassiandra

Cassie smiled, patting the girls head and not making a noise before opening the broom closet door, only to see Fred confused standing in there and her body launching forwards now surrounded by darkness and a click of the door locking.

"Shit," Fred whispered, unsure of what to do in this scenario

"Hi," Cassie managed to mutter out unsure of herself in this moment

A/n 1.5k words I hope it was worth the wait!! Sorry I've been away for so long I got into one situationship, 1 fake dating situation, 1 relationship but then we broke up and got back together and I also got undiagnosed??? Not in a good way they still don't know what's wrong with my health issues so at least a chapter is up to enjoy whilst I wait and see what's going on there ♡