It was by some miracle that Cedric had sat down with you on the train to Hogwarts in your first year. Such a chipper happy guy, willingly choosing to sit in the same coupe as a grumpy-looking you.

After that first train ride six years ago, Cedric became your friend. Not best friend—Merlin knew he already had enough of those, he didn’t need another one.

You used to follow him around like a lost puppy, clinging to the light he carried so effortlessly. But as the years passed and his world got bigger, you faded quietly from the edges of it.

He was the kind of person people gravitated toward—likeable, kind, always with a smile. You were not. You were sharp where he was soft, guarded where he was open. He was a golden Hufflepuff, and you were a Slytherin who preferred the safety of shadows.

These days, that’s where you spent most of your time. Alone, hiding.

After classes, you’d vanish to corners of the castle no one bothered to look in. It was easier, being alone. Less exhausting. At least then you only had to deal with your own thoughts clawing at you, instead of everyone else, too.

But Cedric was starting to notice. Even if he wasn’t your best friend—or maybe he was to you; he didn’t see you around many other people.

On this particular day, he made sure to rush out of his class to see if he could find you. When he didn’t find you in any of the large corridors, he decided to look in the astronomy tower; you’d always loved it back in your second year.

Surely enough, as he climbed the final steps, he spotted you sitting at the edge, legs dangling into open air.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you for a while,” he said with his usual confident charm—though never obnoxious. Merlin knew he couldn’t be obnoxious, even if he tried.