"Not now,  Nigel!"

♢ ♢

The voices of hundreds of children and teens echoed around the old stone walls of the Great Hall. People from all houses enjoying their morning toast and pumpkin juice. I was, of course, sat at the Gryffindor table. Seamus was seated next to me, Dean on the other side of him with Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the other  side of the table, opposite us.

Harry looked rough, his face covered with small cuts and bruises. He looked as if he'd been dragged through the Forbidden Forest by a Mountain Troll.  

There were some footsteps behind me before Nigel appeared next to me, carrying a rather large parcel. He handed it over to Ron, reaching over the table. "Parcel for you, Mr Weasley" He announced, his voice loud as Ron took the parcel off him, steering himself away from the toast.

"Oh, Thank you, Nigel" Ron smiled at him, his mouth full of toast.

I turned to look at Nigel who was smiling hopefully at Ron. "You okay, Nigel?" He nodded and kept his gaze fixed on Ron who was now stuffing his mouth with some more toast, undoing the string on his parcel.

Hermione cleared her throat and Ron glanced up, seeing Nigel. "Not now, Nigel! Later!" He hissed, leaning forward slightly. Nigel huffed and left with a sad look on his face.

I watched him leave in a hurry before turning back to Ron. "What was that?"

Ron shrugged, looking guilty. "Oh, well, I promised him I'd get him Harry's autograph..." He confessed.

My brows knitted together. "You did what? So you're using him!?" I snarled.

Ron looked sheepishly at me. "Well...I did plan on getting him Harry's autograph.."

Sighing in frustration, I pulled my quill and a piece of parchment from my bag which was situated under the table. "Harry, would you please be a darling and sign this?" I asked, placing the quill and parchment on the table.

Harry nodded slowly, picking up the quill and signing it with his signature. I smiled.

"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make Nigel a very happy kid"

I hurried down to the end of the Gryffindor table, Nigel sat with his small group of friends. "Nigel, hey" I smiled softly.

He glanced up, smiling back slightly. "Hey.." He soon turned to face the table again with a solemn look upon his face.

I knelt down slightly. "I have something for you" My voice was quiet and soft. He looked at me and smiled. I handed him the small piece of parchment that was folded up and watched as he opened it.

His face lit up as he saw Harry's autograph. "I know it's not what you wanted but it's better than nothing, right?"

He wasted no time in wrapping his hands around my neck. A few 'Aww's were passed around the hall but I ignored them.

"Thank you, Oli! This is great" He whispered in my ear. I grinned at him and ruffled his hair as he turned back around, showing it off to everyone. Shaking my head with a chuckle, I said my byes and headed back to my friends.

"Is there a bonnet?..Aha!" I heard Harry exclaim as he lifted a rag of material. I threw my leg of the bench and took my seat once more. Ron held up a long dress robe. It was covered in ruffles and looked dusty.

"What'cha got there, Weasley?" Cedric laughed as the whole Gryffindor table broke out in laughter.

Ron looked horrified as Cedric laughed. "Um-Well...I-" Ron stuttered.

I shook my head and chuckled. "Dress robes, I believe"

Cedric's face changed as he crossed his eyebrows. "What do you need them for?" Everyone looked around and shrugged. There was silence before Cedric nudged me.

"Can I speak to you?"

I looked up at him, smiling. "Sure" With that I untangled myself from the bench and stood up. As I left, I nodded to everyone, seeing Ron stuff some more toast and pumpkin juice down his throat.

We wandered down the halls. Cedric grabbed my hand and dragged me through the halls. The tired old corridors. I was grateful for Hogwarts, it made me feel comfortable and like I had a family for once. Without the corridors, Hogwarts would surely fall apart.

"Ced, where are we going?!" I groaned.

He chuckled slightly. "Stop complaining and trust me!" He chirped as he continued to drag me away. He continued to drag me away until we reached the destination. "Close your eyes" He ordered.

Slowly, I did as he said and my eyes lowered. He pushed me forward slightly until he spoke again, "Open them!" 

When I did, I saw we were out by the Black Lake, a small dusting of snow covering the ground and the trees. Grinning, I turned around to look at him.

"I asked Dumbledore if I could get you out for an hour or so. I just wanted to spend some time with you, after all, you are one of the only people I'm close to" He admitted.

We both sat, under a tree where a small mat was placed, covering the snow. "How's your ear?" I asked, my back resting against the bark of the tree.

He shrugged. "It hurts a little but it's okay, I saw you stood with Draco..He have anything nice to say?" He grumbled.

Sighing, I shook my head. "It was just casual conversation about the project we're working together on.." I lied. I hated lying to Cedric, he was the only person I could trust and I had to lie to him. It was painful.

He looked down. "You talk a lot about that project. In fact, you spend a lot of time together" He said.

"No we don't..You've seen us together twice, Ced. And both times it's been to do with the project" My voice filled with confusion and certainty but also lies.

There was a small, but uncomfortable and unusual silence.

Cedric cleared his throat. "How've you been? Dealing with the worry?"

Sighing and shrugging, I replied. "Okay, I guess. I just worry for you, Ced. People die in these tasks!"

He nodded. "I know, Oli, I know!" There was another small silence before he sighed. "I'm sorry..I should've never put my name in in the first place, I should've listened to you" His head was hung low. With a sigh, I rested my head on his shoulder, causing him to wrap his arm around me.

"I worry, Ced, I worry" I muttered.

He grumbled and nodded his head. "I know, so do I" We stayed in silence, his arm still wrapped around me. I closed my eyes, enjoying the harsh breeze that was coming in.

"Cedric! Cedric!" Someone shouted, my eyes fluttering open sharply to see one of Cedric's friends from Hufflepuff rushing towards us. "Cedric, McGonagall wants you!"

With a sigh, Cedric got up meaning I had to move my head. He looked at me with an apologetic face. "I'm sorry, I'll--"

With my head shaking, I interrupted him. "I'll sort it, don't worry!" 

He smiled at me. "Thanks!" with that he walked away with his friend leading in front.

As I stood up, stretching my limbs that had once been dormant, I glanced around, taking in the surroundings. The small waves of the Black Lake slowly crashing against the pebbles. Wandering back over to the small mat, I packed it away, folding it up so I could carry it back to Hogwarts.

There was the sound of pebbles scrunching together as I slowly turned around, seeing Draco storming by. I looked at him. "You okay?" I asked.

He looked at me, a blank but angry face. "Fine." He spat.

I hung my head low, folding the mat once more. "Fight with your--Fight?" I asked, changing my sentence last minute.

He glanced at me, slits for eyes and his face crumpled up slightly. "No."

My mouth invoulentairly made an 'o' shape as I picked the mat up and walked away until I came to a stop. "Meet me in the library tomorrow, 12." I ordered.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw him nod. "Yeah, yeah"

A/N

[RE-EDITED]