Backfire

It was the day after the second task, Cedric and Holland deciding to eat in a form of celebration. The two were in their usual pajamas, this time with aprons draped over them. They were now in the kitchen, baking along with the elves as they thought it would be fun. Holland tried to make things as light as possible, trying to make it seem like the two shouldn't talk about their last encounter even though it had been the only thing on her mind recently. She basked in the warm light of the kitchens, the almost-permanent smell of cinnamon blessing her senses. So she figured baking with the elves would do the trick, the two spending time together, but more focused on working and not talking. Her hair was up in a ponytail, cheeks stained with a few brushes of flour and even sugar as she began to organize the ingredients that were sprawled on the marble table in front of them.

"Can't believe we never thought of doing this before." Cedric smiles, mixing a bowl of cocoa and flour. The kitchen was now a bit dimmer, though still as warm and brighter than most rooms in the castle. The elves probably have been tidying up and going to sleep until the two came. Holland and Cedric were of course, understanding. Saying that the elves could say no if they were to sleep, but the house elves lived to serve and lived to let their masters be happy, happily letting the two enter the kitchen and even use their materials.

"Can't believe it, either. But here we are, living and basking in one of the best decisions we've ever made." Holland says excitedly, imagining the decadent chocolate cake the two would dive into once they'd finished making it, wanting to decorate it with raspberries, just like how her mother, Imelda, did. Cedric was on the left side of the giant marble table, three elves assisting him and telling him what to do, Holland being on the right side with the same amount of elves telling her what to do. Holland was in charge of the frosting and fruit to put on the cake, washing raspberries and creating a beautiful white frosting.

"Oh, Mister Diggory! Pokey thinks you should wash the whisk, now." A cute elf says, pushing him towards the sink that was behind Holland. Cedric happily complies, bringing his dirty bowl to the sink and turning the faucet on, Holland hearing the sound of water. Holland sighed in happiness, she'd actually managed to help Cedric with two tasks. Outside the Triwizard tournament, though, Holland had other problems to deal with. She still thought of how she had grown more and more uncomfortable and unsure with George, always wondering if the two needed to break up. Most couples breaking up at Holly's age were because they argued a lot, or one had been cheating on the other. Holland was sure the two were experiencing neither, but why didn't she feel happy? Hermione's and Cedric's words echoed in Holland's mind.

'Maybe there are things you're looking for in George, and you've found them in someone else.'

'When you tell me about whatever you want to share, I love that you forgot you've already told me. I just listen and pretend to be surprised because you're still so excited about it.'

Holland tried to reason with herself. She couldn't expect George to be pleased with her redundant story-telling, she also called him out for stories he'd already told. Just because there was one small thing Cedric had that George didn't, means that Holland should hop off George's arms and jump into Cedric's.

"Hey, Holly." She hears, breaking her train of thought. She turned around to look at Cedric, gasping in surprise as a sticky substance comes into contact with her cheek. The boy was now laughing proudly, still holding the bowl of leftover batter. Holland seethes, though chuckling herself.

"You did not just do that, Diggory." She fumed, laughing evilly as she knew she had no other choice but to get him back. She quickly dove her hand in the bag of flour near her and flung it towards his face. "How's that?" She asks sweetly.

"Not nearly as sticky as this!" He responds, dumping a fair bit of batter on the poor girl, the elves not knowing whether to laugh or panic as the two were making a mess in the kitchen. Holland stared down her soaked and sticky pajamas, whining as she eyes the teddy bears that looked like they'd been cursed by a death eater, thanks to Cedric's newly added details.

"No! I hate you!" Holland screams in disbelief, laughing as she thought of a way to get him back. She ran to him and flung herself at him, Cedric's pajamas now sticky and powdery. Cedric couldn't do anything but laugh, squeezing the girl to try and get them as messy as possible. Holland's laugh wavered, the girl realizing that her chest was very much pressed against the boy's. Cedric must have felt it the way she did as he fell silent, too. As the two fell in an intense stare, Holland felt her skin burning. Not in pain, but in an unusual sense of euphoria, ecstasy, even. Her skin felt as if touching Cedric was the most addicting sensation there was in the world. Holland started to feel hot all of a sudden, as if it carried on, she'd be sweating up a river. She tries to break free from him, failing as Cedric tightens his grip on her, being careful not to bruise her. Honey brown meets golden brown as their eyes stare deeply in the other. The two fall in a silence now. All the elves were trying to quickly exit the kitchen as they figured this were to be a moment of privacy, heads peering from a corner as they could't help themselves but to watch, anyway. Holland was now looking into his eyes, noticing how wonderful the color was for the first time. Her boring brown eyes could never shine in the sun as much as his did even in the dimmed room. Holland grew more and more uneasy by the second, knowing this was not a sight she should look like with someone who wasn't her boyfriend. It had now fallen silent, no sound being heard other than muffled crickets and their breaths. Cedric took the opportunity to appreciate every crevice of the girl's face. Her beautiful, unruly curls, deep brown eyes, her button nose, and her lips. Cedric spent his time appreciating the girls plump lips, taking longer than the rest of her face.

"The things I would do just to be able to kiss you right now," Cedric mumbles, eyeing her mouth as he licked his lips. Holland closes her eyes, not knowing what to do but savor the sweetness of his voice. Cedric then moved his face closer the the girl's, his arms still around her. Holland was frozen, not knowing what to do. She knew it was wrong, God, was it wrong. She couldn't help but wish for the boy to move in even closer. Cedric was now about two inches away, his warm scent wafting through Holland's nose, making goosebumps rise on her skin. Holland willed herself to do something, clear her throat, shake her head, anything. Holland found herself standing still, not being able to do anything as the boy advanced more and more towards her face. Holland swore that the boy was close enough to hear if he couldn't already feel how fast her heart was beating. Just then, Cedric spoke up. "But I won't do anything because that would be wrong." He teased, backing away and giggling. Holland scoffs in disbelief. The git really thought it would be funny to be a tease.

"That was sick of you, Diggory." Holland mutters, trying to chuckle away how flustered he made her.

-

The two were now perched up in front of the window like they always did, each with a plate that held a slice of the cake they had prepared. The two began chatting, praising each other for creating such a delicious cake. Holland popped another raspberry in her mouth, closing her eyes at the sweet, tangy flavor of the berry.

After a small moment of silence, Cedric speaks up. "You know, about the task.. My treasure was Cho, I thought it was quite weird, I wanted to wonder why it hadn't been you.. But the thought of seeing you asleep and detained underwater.. I'm just glad that wasn't the case." Cedric says, Holland wincing in discomfort. This was not something she needed to hear at a time of predicament like this. "Though for a moment there, when I was down in the water.. I've sort of lost myself a bit.. wondering if I should still keep looking because my watch told me that it was about to be an hour since we'd all dived.. I wanted to go back empty-handed, not entirely sure how I could even consider such a foolish thing. Then I heard singing, and I thought I heard you. I looked for where the voice had been coming from, it was the merpeople, guarding over Ron, Hermione, Gabrielle, and Cho. I really thought it was you who was there." He admits. Holland merely stared at the boy, wondering how much longer her heart could handle having to jump into random, intense paces because of the boy in front of her. She didn't know how the love potion worked anymore. Some days he'd be behaving as if he'd never drunken such a thing, then there were times like this where he'd return to his original, lovesick puppy.

"If things were different, Harry would probably have Cho has his treasure. Godric knows how much he's in love with her. Has been ever since they'd played Quidditch together last year. Hasn't stopped thinking about her since." Holland deflects. "But anyway, you did so well! Second place!"

"There's no one like Harry. My dad seems to not want to give him a break, but I see him for who he really is," Cedric puts the spotlight on Harry, blushing as Holland had complimented him. "He didn't need to, but he did. It's such a wonderful thought, you know? I could name a fair amount of people who can't even say please and thank you to their professors." Cedric rants, Holland smiling as the boy had grown to be comfortable talking to her about a lot of things, from anything to everything. "There's no problem being kind. If anything, it makes a person seem stronger. To behave in such a way that doesn't make it look like they feel weak for being kind.. it's security, they have security over themselves and solely doing it for the purpose and not what it would appear to other people, the glory... It's how life should be."

"Pretty noble sounding there, yourself." Holland smirks.

"Harry had been kind enough to tell me about the first task. I helped him with the second. I'm just glad that he and I don't have any bad blood. The boy's too kind, doesn't mind all the badges and posters about him, either. I was afraid he thought I was the one to even make people wear it." He confesses. Before the first task, people were nothing but ruthless towards Harry, making it clear they only rooted for one Hogwarts champion because they had no businesses cheering for a cheat. It took Harry one second in the pit with the dragon before people quickly shifted their opinion, instantly cheering for him.

"I just can't wrap my head around it. But that's just how life really is, huh? Pretty sad how people out there have no other priorities than themselves.." He mutters. Holland found herself impressed. She hadn't seen this side of Cedric. Even when he was upset, he was polite.

"We can't let those who matter the least, matter the most to us. It's a waste of time." Holland said. This was true, as a Slytherin and friend of notorious bullies, she knew the best way to fight back was to simply let it appear as if you didn't give a rat's behind for what they had to say nor think. A typical, mean Slytherin's weakness is being ignored, and being robbed of power. So the easiest way to get them off your tail was to simply ignore them, it hurts them more than it appears.

"You're right.. Sorry, I just" Cedric smiles again, chuckling. "Don't know what came over me.. Talking to you's really easy, you know? I know talking is supposed to be —well, just talking. But believe me, it's hard to find people you can really talk to." He explains, Holland staring at him, half of her mind thinking about how she really understood what he meant, the other half recalling the feeling of warmth of being pressed up against him. She began shaking her head out of another trance.

"No, I completely understand." Holland reassures. I understand too much. Holland stares at her now empty plate, using her fork to play around with little cake crumbles.

"Well, this was nice, wasn't it? I'm afraid I'm still a bit knackered from yesterday. Is it alright if we finish up early tonight?" Cedric stretches and asks in a groan, his shirt lifting up just enough to let Holland take a peak of the boy's well-structured abdomen. She immediately tears her eyes away, cursing at herself.

"No problem," Holland says, stacking their plates together and handing it to the house elf that had conveniently been on the way inside the kitchens. "You all should keep the cake for yourselves, I'm sure you'll love it." Holland says sweetly, and the house elf lets out a small leap of excitement, frolicking its way back inside. "Adorable." Holland comments, staring after the elf.

"Absolutely adorable." Cedric says, staring at Holland the entire time.

-

George was now walking Holland to her first class, the two having finished breakfast early so they could have a few minutes to themselves before classes start. Holland wiped her sweaty palms on her robes, still trying to tell herself that she just needed to wait it out, and that whatever she was feeling was most definitely temporary. As Holland had been in denial, she spent majority of breakfast just chewing and swallowing, giving George no opportunity to prove himself as a senseless chat mate. Now that the two were in an empty classroom together, Holland braced herself for another conversation she had to carry.

"Never got to ask. How's your fourth year going?" George asks, grinning like he always did when he was around Holland. The two were now in Holland's first period classroom, it was class with Mad-Eye. Holland was sitting on a desk, George sitting on the seat in front of it, beside Holland and resting his head on his hands that were flat on the desk, leaning his head on Holland's thighs.

"Pretty out of the ordinary, which I didn't even think was possible here in Hogwarts. I guess the Triwizard tournament and professor Moody's to thank." Holland laughs, Okay, so maybe you can talk, after all! "And you? How's your sixth year?"

"Pretty devastating. But I'm surviving," He says, not bothering to explain further. Holland was confused. Were best friends purposely boring once you dated them? He was usually the one to easily chat up a storm about the smallest things.

"Well, nonverbal spells! I've always wanted to try." Holland smiles, remembering that sixth years were being prepared for nonverbal spells before being allowed to practice magic outside school before their seventh year.

"Oh, yeah." George smiles at the memory of his classes. "It's a hell of a hassle, believe me." He says and the two fall in another silence, Holland shifting in her seat uncomfortably, the movement causing an awkward creak to echo through the empty classroom. The turn of events almost felt scripted, like a really badly written novel by those muggles. (A/N: nobody hates my writing more than me, i think) Holland took a deep breath. Should she tell him they needed to talk? That'd make her even more nervous. Holland took a breath, maybe she could bring it up now, and the two could talk about it very maturely and rationally.

"I have something I should tell you," Holland began, George lifting his head from the table to look at her.

"Alright, love. What is it?"

"Haha, well.." Holland tried to say cheerfully, voice wavering in uneasiness.

"What's wrong?" George immediately stands up to her to cradle his girlfriend in his arms. Holland savoured every second being cradled like this, knowing it might be the last time being in George's arms and fiddling with the boy's robes. After a moment of silence, Holland began to speak.

"For four years, I've been nothing but in love with you.. In love with my best friend and making up fantasies that you were in love with me, too." Holland says, her voice soft. "When you told me how you felt for me, I thought, Wow, Merlin is so good to me. What have I done to become so lucky to have this boy feel the same?" Holland's voice began to break, George silent and waiting for her to continue speaking. "Being your girlfriend has been nothing but a dream come true, believe me, you've been nothing but amazing and perfect." Holland began to sob. "It's a dream, a dream that I realized that maybe wasn't meant to come true, after all. At least, not for me." She admits, feeling her heart break, feeling George slowly loosen his grip on her. She didn't know what to expect when it came to how the boy would take it, but she knew it wouldn't exactly be sunshine and rainbows for the boy, either. "I don't know if it's right to keep this going." She says in a small voice, not trusting her voice. "You'll always be my first love, George Fabian. I just don't know if you're meant to be my last." She said, giving him a sad smile. "For now, at least." She tried to joke.

Holland couldn't look at him, instead silently sobbing and staring at the ground as she waited for the boy to respond. "It's Cedric, isn't it?" He asks blankly, letting go of her before turning away. Holland finally plucked up the courage to look at him, his face was deadpanned and head bowed down in anger, ears almost as red as his hair.

"What? Georgie, no." Holland tried to put her hand on his arm, he backed away as if she'd burned him.

"Don't lie to me, Holland. I'm your best friend, I think I'd know if you were trying to lie to me." He says bitterly, now looking at her angrily. Holland began to shake her head, she knew he wouldn't take it well, but she hadn't expected him to be so angry about it. "See, this is exactly why I didn't want you to spend so much time with him!" He stood up abruptly, startling the girl. Holland couldn't speak nor move, she'd almost felt paralyzed. "You and I aren't breaking up. You're just confused. Just think about it again, sleep on it, up to you." He said, confusing Holland.

"George, please. Believe me, Cedric is the least of your worries." Holland pleads, scrambling up to her own feet to try and face the fuming boy.

"Why? Because you don't want to be my girlfriend anymore? You know, he and I share classes together, he's not the boy you think he is." George rambles. Holland scoffed internally, knowing the boy was currently blinded by emotion.

"George, please." Holland sobs more, the argument hopeless. "Did you listen to what I said? I love you."

"You just happen to love him more, is that it?" George seemed settled on putting all the blame on the Hufflepuff, this was not good. "Forget it." He said, quickly leaving the girl alone in the empty classroom, not once looking back. Holland tried to understand what had just happened. Holland spoke her mind, George accepted it, but also didn't... Now what? The girl then made her way to her common room, mind as frazzled as it could get. So much for mature and rational.

As the boy had left, students came walking in, taking their usual seats and bringing out parchments and quills as they prepare for another lesson with Alastor Moody. Holland stayed in her seat, head bowed down as she willed herself not to cry in the now-filled classroom. She heard footsteps approaching her.

"I saw Weaselbee walking out. Are you alright? What did he do? Can I curse him now?" Draco's cool voice immediately rang in Holland's ears. Draco immediately sat next to her, begging her to talk to him.

"Holland? What is it, what's wrong?" Ron immediately asks as he takes in the appearance of his friend. Holland simply shook her head, knowing Ron probably ran into his fuming brother as well on his way inside. Ron wasn't exactly the best at cheering people up, simply placing a comforting hand on Holly's before turning to talk to Harry, not wanting to stay as Draco had been sitting where Ron originally sat.

-