Cedric wasn’t supposed to be standing by the punch bowl alone.

His date Cho Chang had sent an owl earlier that day, gently explaining that she wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be attending the ball. It was polite, kind, but still a sting. He’d been looking forward to the evening, not just for the glamour of it all, but because he wanted one night to feel normal. To not be a Triwizard Champion. To not be the golden boy. To just... dance.

He hadn’t planned to come at all after her owl, but Professor Sprout gave him that look, equal parts encouragement and threat, so here he was, nursing pumpkin juice in a gold-trimmed goblet, watching everyone else spin under the enchanted snowfall.