Before You Change (Harry Potter x Twilight)

4 - Is 13 Too Young?

I wake up on the morning of March 5 to confetti. Poppy and Heather were on the sides of my bed, which was covered in confetti. "You two are absolutely crazy," I say. "Happy birthday!" Heather exclaims, handing me a present. Poppy hands me a present as well. "Thanks, guys. I'll open them later," I say, placing them on my bed. I go into the bathroom and a few minutes later, I come out with an oversized Hufflepuff sweater and black leggings. I grab a hair tie and I put my hair in a bun. "You could put on something nicer," Poppy says. "Nope. My birthday. I want to be comfortable," I say stubbornly.

We head down to the Great Hall where I see Cedric. He notices me too because then he comes up to me. "Thirteen, huh?" he asks. "Yeah, why?" I ask. "Is that still too young?" he asks. Is he trying to ask me out right now? "Yup," I say. "Well, happy birthday anyway," he says.

"Cedric Diggory, huh?" someone says. I look up to see Annabel. "You knew I liked him. You know my best friend like him. Yet you went ahead and flirted with him," she says. "Your best friend? I thought we were best friends. The four of us were supposedly family. You don't just turn your back on us and pretend we don't exist with your new friends," I say. "Did my leaving hurt you?" she asks coldly. "Not me. But Poppy was devastated. She didn't know why you just left us," I say, returning the coldness in my voice. "Doesn't matter anymore," she says. She gets up and leaves. I don't bother going after her.

Before I knew it, summer was here again. I'm putting on a skirt because my father was having a dinner party. Again. An hour later, the house was filled with people from the Ministry. I doubt my father will notice if I stayed in my room. I grab a book and I lay on my bed. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up later to someone opening my door. I sit up and I see Cedric.

"Why are you in my room?" I ask suspiciously. "I was looking for you," he says. "What for?" I ask. "I, uh, don't know where the bathroom is," he says. Lie. "Mm. And you couldn't ask anyone else?" I ask. "No. It had to be you," he says. "Drop the lie, Cedric. Why were you looking for me?" I ask. He sits down on my bed. "Was it that obvious that I was lying?" he asks. "Mhm." "Then how is it not obvious that I like you." "You what?" "I like you."

Cedric freaking Diggory liked me. As in had a crush on me. As in kinda loved me. Out of all the girls he could choose from. He chose to like me. Me.

I start to say, "Oh. Uh. I-" "Do you, um, like me back?" he asked with hope in his voice. "I-I'm not sure," I answer quietly. I look at him. I mean he is kind of handsome in a way. He had a nice personality. Taffy brown hair and soft brown eyes. Nice personality. He was totally my type. How did I not realize this earlier?

He looks at me, his gaze holding me captive. I feel my cheeks burn. He speaks. "Do you want to?" Kiss? Yeah. Definitely. I lean forward and he does too. His lips touch mines and I feel some kind of spark appear between us. When we finally pull away, he has a goofy grin on his face. "Why are you grinning like that?" I ask. "Because that was awesome," he says. I feel myself blushing. "I really do like you. A lot," Cedric says. My cheeks are burning. I wondered how red my face was now. "I like you too," I admit. His grin widens and he kisses me again.

"What's this book about?" he asks curiously picking a book from my shelf. Beauty and the Beast. "That's about a beautiful girl who falls in love with a beast. The beast was a cruel creature who was bound by a curse that can only be broken if he learns to love a girl and that girl must love him back. The beast slowly warms up to the girl and they fall in love," I say, summarizing the book best I can. He sits on my bed and flips through the pages. "That's kind of like us," he says suddenly. I raise an eyebrow. "I'm the beauty and you're the beast," he says with a teasing smile. I grab he book out of his hands and whack him playfully.

"How am I the beast?" I ask. "Because I said so," he says with a grin. "I'm the girl here," I say. "Doesn't matter," he says.