Cedric Diggory wasn’t perfect. As much as people liked to think otherwise, he made mistakes—small ones, the sort you could fix with a bit of effort. Mixing an ingredient into a potion in the wrong order. Misjudging a catch in Quidditch because he stopped to think instead of acting on instinct.

But he had never made a mistake like this.

He had never regretted anything as much as this.

Breaking up with you had been a moment of anger, not reason. The realisation came once the dust settled—not gently, but like a Bludger to the chest. It hit him that night when he climbed into bed in the Hufflepuff dormitory. The scene kept replaying in his mind: the words spilling out before he could catch them, the sharp rise in his voice, the way your face changed—shock, hurt, something he couldn’t name but knew he’d caused.

The weight of it hollowed him out. Because he still loved you. He had adored you before, and he adored you still. That stupid argument—over nothing worth losing you for—hadn’t changed a thing.

By the end of the first week, he wanted you back.

He missed your face in the Quidditch stands, the way you straightened his tie before class, the warmth of your hand in his on a cold Hogsmeade weekend. It burned, seeing you laughing with friends at breakfast, watching other boys try their luck because you weren’t his anymore. Too many classes were spent staring at the back of your head, wishing he were in the seat beside you.

Today, after far too many weeks, he was done watching from a distance.

Today, he’d try to fix the worst mistake he’d ever made.

Hands shoved into the pockets of his robes, Cedric crossed the library’s quiet aisles. The echo of his shoes on the flagstone floor seemed far too loud in the hush.

He stopped a few feet from where you sat, shifting his weight, fingers tightening on the strap of his bag.

“Hey… can I talk to you for a second?” His voice was low, careful. “I won’t keep you long.”

He was hoping you would listen to him—he’d come to apologise, and to see if there was the faintest chance you might let him back into your life.