【 you don't have to say you love me,
you don't have to say nothing,
you don't have to say you're mine. 】

— Harry Styles, Adore You

『𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗: 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑』

September 4, 1993

Dearest Fucker,

It's Saturday. And no, I am not happy. Not only am I required to say these things to you, you useless piece of hippogriff shit, but also because my morning started with utter fucking humiliation.

No, I don't feel like talking about it. Just like how I don't want to talk about what I feel about what happened all those years ago.

Solaria Avril Dragonne

Rumours spread fast. By lunchtime, almost everyone is already buzzing with the gossip about Solar dating a Hufflepuff. They don't know which one, but they have their guesses.

"This Solar rumour is one proper good piece of gossip since Potter's first day in Hogwarts." One of Cedric's friends snickered, earning waves of agreement from the rest of them. Meanwhile, Cedric remained silent, a small smirk only tugging on his lips to indicate that he's listening to his friend's prattles.

"Wanna know another proper gossip?" The boy next to Cedric, Lysander Bardwell, chimed, turning his head toward him and landing his arm against his suspiciously quiet friend's shoulder. "This silent prat here didn't come back to his dorm last night."

All eyes now darted to Cedric's direction, his eyes widening at the sudden revelation of his best friend. Cedric was a year older than Sander, but they were still in the same year. He pressed harder on the suspicious boy's shoulder, as if urging him to spit out an explanation that was possibly as juicy as the one they have in their minds—hopefully, even the same one.

"I told you already, Sander." Cedric began, roaming his eyes around the curious glances of his friends. "I was at the Library, reading the—"

"'The History of the Dragonne Bloodline' yes, we know. All the more sceptical, mate." Lysander remarked, sliding his arms off the interrogated Hufflepuff before resting his elbows on the table with his hands clasped together.

"It was for the Transfiguration project." Cedric defended. He wasn't lying though. Solar did give him the book for him to read for their project. But a part of him was intrigued, and that part of him was enough to finish the book in one sitting—well, technically, two. He had to stand up when he found Solar waltzing into the Library with a stomach full of Firewhiskey.

"No one is taking the project that seriously. You can just conjure a random object and claim that it's what your partner likes." Sander commented, receiving the same opinions from the students around them. "Honestly, the project is pure codswallop. I can't be arsed to do such a thing."

Cedric looked down on the table, locking his gaze on his goblet before circling his hand around it before bringing it to his lips.

"I find it quite intriguing." Cedric responded while his mouth hovered at the rim of the goblet before taking a sip of his drink.

Sander could not help but scoff at his best friend's comment.

"That's because your partner is actually interesting." He said.

The caramel-haired boy gulped down his drink. "And what's wrong with your partner?" he said as he set down his drink back on the table, not sparing the boy on his right so much as a glance, predicting that he'd only see a playful scowl stretched on his face.

Sander was not given a chance to answer his mate's question as somebody else did it for him, not that he would reply with the same answer, of course.

"She's not Pansy Parkinson." teased another of their fellow Hufflepuff.

"Oh, sod off." The Hufflepuff boy with the voluminous brunette hair snarked at their teasing. "At least I'm not shagging a Slytherin."

Cedric turned his gaze toward Sander with a slightly shaking head. "I am not shagging anyone."

"Well, ain't that tragic?" Sander's sarcasm leaked out of him naturally like singing a song, though probably not as pleasant.

"Piss off, Sander." Cedric playfully shoved his best friend, making the brunette boy lose his balance a bit despite sitting on the long bench stretched from one end of the Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall to another. The bit of space between them was an opportunity for Cedric to up and leave, which he gladly took.

"You're really going to keep denying it, aren't you?!" Sander's voice followed him as he walked toward the huge, wide open double doors of the Great Hall.

With his back still on the brunette as he walked away, he answered."Until you learn to believe it."

Sander pushed his lips into a thin line as he shook his head. "Not gonna happen anytime soon, mate."

Cedric could only laugh at his finishing statement until he finally reached the long corridors of the castle, the chatter of students in the Great Hall gradually decreasing into nothing the more steps he took.

His hands were in the pocket of his trousers, moving in sync with every stride he took which he was yet to realise was not taking him anywhere as he hadn't set a clear destination in mind. He really just wanted to get away from the inquiring glances and prying questions of his friends. It's not like he has anything to tell them. Solar just slept in the Library. Cedric felt wrong to leave her there so he stayed. It's not like he can bring her to the Slytherin dorms, he doesn't know where it is. Nor can he bring her back to his dorm because that would be quite a scandal that he was sure Solar would not appreciate.

Then his mind effortlessly slid into an image of a peaceful Solar, sleeping her troubles away. For a moment, she looked like she doesn't house a wild beast inside her. Like she could not hurt a butterfly—when in fact, she could hurt anyone she wanted to. He let his mind wander to her features, at least the ones that could be visibly seen through the mere shines of the candles here and there. Like the curl of her long lashes, the light flush of her cheeks, the smooth glow of her skin, the gloss of her sinful lips.

His thoughts were interrupted when while he was passing the corridor lined with doors to empty classrooms, someone coming from one of them grabbed a hold of his arm and yanked him inside. He was about to get irritated when his thoughts about a certain blonde Dragonne were interrupted until he looked down on the person who did the interruption.

It was the same blonde Dragonne.

"Solar." He quickly tried to mask his bewildered expression at the sight of the clearly furious girl. One would think that he wouldn't be intimidated by her given the fact that he towered over her and could clearly handle the girl. But one who would assume that has not met the glowering blonde in front of him.

"Don't 'Solar' me." the girl hissed before shoving a fist against his chest. No, she didn't punch him, but she might as well have because of how harsh and heavy her hand was. But he'd wager that was intentional.

She was only giving him his dress robe which was a bit rumpled as she closed her hard fist on it. "Why do I have that?"

Cedric curled his fingers around his robe, taking it from her grasp before she withdrew her hand.

"You don't remember?" He asked after giving his robe a look and averting his gaze toward Solar.

With a scowl on her face that Cedric would swear was a permanent mark on her face if he hadn't seen the way she looked last night, she answered. "Of course, I remember."

"Then why are you asking me?" He questioned, genuinely oblivious to where the conversation was going when they were both already aware of what happened.

"Cedric!" she exclaimed, like a whine, really. He would have appreciated that sound, especially with his name along with it, but he was basically pressured into answering instantly.

"You slept in the Library in your uniform! Granted, I've not experienced it first hand, but I reckon you wouldn't be as comfortable." He answered. A skirt and a blouse are not nearly something that people typically wear when going to sleep. Cedric just thought she'd appreciate not revealing too much of herself when she wakes up.

And...it may also have something to do with the fact that he doesn't want anybody else seeing her like that.

"Be that as it may," Solar continued to argue as if she hasn't a breath to sneak in between her arguments. "You could have just used anything else to cover me with."

The Hufflepuff shot his eyebrows upwards in a mocking manner as he accompanied that with arms crossed and a quick shift of weight in his feet. "Would your morning be a little less unpleasant when you find yourself under a mountain pile of books then?" He sneered.

Solar could not help the challenging arch of her eyebrow as she glared at the boy.

"Did you just use sarcasm on me?" She said, disbelief spreading wide across her face. She definitely didn't see that coming from the Hufflepuff Prince.

"No." Cedric even hesitated to answer. "Sander's just kind of rubbing off on me."

Her eyes narrowed. "Who the fuck is Sander?"

"My best friend. Would you like to meet him?" He was back to his friendly self just like that. It was driving Solar crazy.

"Oh, you are so insufferable." The Dragonne closed her eyes, tangled her hands in her hair, pulling at them as she hid her face in between her arms.

"Most people would think it's quite charming what I did to you." Cedric claimed. It wasn't a lie though. It was a gentlemanly gesture.

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to find out I'm not most people." Solar retorted once she had released her head from her maddenning grip.

"Yes, because you're so above the rest of us." He blurted out before he could stop himself.

Pregnant, uncomfortable, and chest-sinking pause. Cedric wanted to slap himself as soon as he saw the hurt gloss over Solar's shocked blue eyes—no, as soon as the words left his mouth. Because what he said was uncalled for. It never should have left his lips. Never.

"That's not what I meant." Solar muttered, the energy to argue suddenly vanishing.

Cedric ran his palms over the guilty look on his face as he mumbled against his hands. "That's not what I meant either. I didn't mean to say—Solar." He tried to chase after her but the slamming of the door on his face was message enough that she didn't want him following her.

He knew it was going to take some time before Solar talked to him again. He just doesn't know if his Hufflepuff patience would handle it.

.・゜゜・

Short chapter but i published the next chapter to make up for it <3