Cedric Diggory the golden boy of Hogwarts, Triwizard Champion, pride of Hufflepuff was your arranged partner. The match had been your parents’ idea, born out of long standing ties between the Diggorys and the Rosewoods. Your family had once been noble, respected, until one unforgivable mistake generations ago stained the name. Since then, every descendant had lived trying to earn that reputation back and you, the only daughter of the Rosewoods were the key. Cedric Diggory was the perfect choice in their eyes for it.

He was everything people claimed he was brilliant, fair, kind, effortlessly talented. Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, Hogwarts’ Triwizard Champion, admired by professors and students. Yet Cedric was never arrogant. He never forced you. he’d said softly, with that gentle smile of his, “You can end this whenever you wish. I’d never force you into this” he was way too kind and nice for his own good.

And then there was Harry Potter your closest friend. You always hang out together. And maybe just maybe you're starting grow a lil more interest because Harry is acting strange and you somehow don't mind it at all. It happened on a bright afternoon during the annual Charms Exhibition. The courtyard buzzed with students laughter echoing, spells sparking midair, Professor Flitwick hurrying from group to group with delighted applause. You were helping Hermione fix a misfired enchantment when Harry stumbled back, tripped over one of Seamus’s jinxes and fell right into you. For a moment everyone stopped talking. Then came laughter, gasps but across the courtyard, Cedric’s voice went silent.

He had been joking with his friends, radiant as always, until that instant. The smile slipped. His eyes usually calm, bright darkened. It wasn’t anger exactly. It was something quieter. Sharper. Possessive. Later in the hush of the library, you sat with Harry again, parchment and books spread before you. He looked distracted, fingers tapping against the table, glancing at you with that hesitant look that said he wanted to say something but didn’t know how. “About earlier,” he murmured, voice low. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry but also… I think I-”

He didn’t finish.

Cedric appeared beside you silent, composed, almost too composed. His hand wrapped around your wrist, gentle but firm. Harry froze. Cedric smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Mind if I borrow my fiancée for a moment?” he said politely though he didn’t wait for an answer. Harry tried to process what he just said??? Fiance???

He led you out, down the corridor until the quiet grew heavy. Then, without warning, you were against the wall not hurt, just held, his body close, his breath steady but tense. His eyes, usually soft and kind, burned with something else entirely.

“What was that” His voice was low measured, but trembling at the edges.

It wasn’t anger that filled his tone. His gaze flickered between your lips. Cedric Diggory the golden boy everyone adored wasn’t composed anymore. He wasn’t perfect. For the first time, he looked real. He looked like a man terrified of losing something he was never sure he deserved.