“Ugh Gia, what do I do?!” I was in the Hufflepuff common room, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, completely baffled that I had ended up in such a confusing situation.
I had two dates to Hogsmeade, which was already two more than I should have. The first one was with Cedric: adorable, gorgeous, funny Cedric. He was the date I was looking forward to, but then Malfoy got in the way. I wouldn’t necessarily call the arrangement with Malfoy a “date” per say, but he was in the way of my plans with Cedric nonetheless.
Gia looked at me introspectively, “Well, you could just cancel with Malfoy, tell him you have plans already.”
That seemed too simple. I had a feeling Malfoy wasn’t that easy to cancel on, “You should have seen him Gia, he had this look on his face like he was going to do something horrible if I didn’t talk to him this weekend. His parents were super close to the Dark…”
I froze in mid sentence, and instantly closed my mouth. I almost just spurted my secret to Gia. I had to come up with something convincing to cover up.
I couldn’t think of anything as quickly as I had before with Cedric at the Goblet ceremony, so Gia looked at me confused, asking, “Dark what? How do you know his parents Trista?”
“Um…well my parents knew his family a while ago, and he looked familiar. I think before I was born, they lived in the same town, but the Malfoy family on the dark side of it,” Hopefully that works..
Gia’s facial expression relaxed, “Ah okay makes sense.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. How on earth do people always believe me? I must be getting good at this…
After a bit more pondering, Gia’s face lit up, “How much do you like Cedric?”
I paused and cautiously replied, “Um...quite a bit…”
“How much more do you want to go on the date with him than Malfoy?” Gia began to prod.
I didn’t like where this was going, “Quite a bit more…”
“How much does he like you?”
“I have no clue…” Gia wasn’t making any sense. How was I supposed to know? This was supposed to be our first date.
“Want to find out?” she replied slyly.
“What are you talking about?” I sat down and stared at her with sincere confusion. “Use a spell? Truth potion?”
“No,” Gia took breath and said cautiously. “Jealousy.”
My stomach dropped. I didn’t like this idea at all.
Before I could protest she quickly pressed on, “Don’t object, just listen. If Cedric all of a sudden said he couldn’t go on his date because he had to meet with a friend, and you found him with a girl friend, wouldn’t you get jealous and want to try and get his attention more?”
“Er…” I pondered for a bit. It kind of made sense, in a sick and twisted way.
“You wouldn’t tell him if Malfoy was a romantic date or not, just tell him he’s someone you NEED to meet with. That’ll make him more curious, and want to compete and spend more time with you than Malfoy.”
I thought about this idea for a second. Gia had a good point, but don’t situations like this always end badly? But then again…Malfoy was connected to the Dark Lord in a way, and he should be my priority.
I took a deep breath and finally replied, “Okay, I’ll try it. But if ANYTHING goes wrong and this ruins my chances with Cedric, I’m blaming you.”
Gia smiled, “Fine, but it won’t. You’ll be glad I helped you.”
I sure hope Gia’s right…
The next day Gia and I were sitting eating breakfast at the Hufflepuff table in our usual spots; near the end in perfect view of Harry. If it weren’t for my orders from the Dark Lord, I’d be such a creeper.
As I was grabbing a second helping of pancakes, Cedric came up from behind and shook my shoulders with glee, “You ready for tomorrow?” He added playfully.
It was like a dagger was pierced through my chest when I looked into his eyes. He was so happy, this is what I wanted, yearned for, dreamed about. One on one time with Cedric; laughing, bonding, making memories alone together.
But that couldn’t happen yet. Thanks to Malfoy.
I took a slow breath to calm my nerves and decided to tell Cedric then and there, “More than anything Cedric, but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
A confused expression came across his face as I motioned for him to sit down next to me. I looked at Gia for support and she gave me an encouraging look. Time to take a chance.
“I’m really, really sorry, but I have to cancel our date tomorrow. I unexpectedly have to meet with a friend about something really important. Again, I’m so sorry,” I had to hold back tears because this was so heartbreaking.
His face grew solemn, “Oh, well, we can always do it next time we go to Hogsmeade right?”
I looked at Gia and she hesitantly nodded, “Yes, of course! Next time for sure!”
“Okay, well I’ll see you later Trista, I guess I’ll just hang with the guys today. See you later,” And with that, he got up and left the Great Hall.
“Ugh,” I breathed a sigh of frustration. “That was so bloody difficult. Did you see the look in his face?”
“The look on your face was worse,” Gia said bluntly.
“Wow, harsh much?” I questioned surprised.
She just shrugged and replied, “What? You didn’t look like you wanted to go on the other date with Malfoy. You’re supposed to make him wonder, not just have high hopes for next time.”
Gia wasn’t making sense, “What are you talking about? I’m NOT looking forward to my date with Malfoy, which isn’t even a date. I WANT Cedric to be hopeful for the next time.”
“Whatever,” Gia took a long sip of her pumpkin juice. “Try to look like you’re enjoying your date with Malfoy tomorrow, and make sure Cedric sees you two together. This will make him even more jealous, maybe even mad.”
My mouth gaped, “Gia you sound so evil, almost determined to ruin me and Cedric for the better.”
“Its just Cedric. He’s a pompous fop,” Gia began to clear her plate and gather her things for her next class.
“Gia!” I exclaimed. “Stop talking like that! What’s he ever done to you?”
“Nothing,” Gia said and started to dart off out of the hall before I could catch up to her.
I just sat there in a daze. What was Gia’s problem? Since when was Cedric such a horrible guy? Great…My closest friend is mad at me for some reason, I cancelled my date with Cedric, and all I have is a meeting with Malfoy. What a wonderful way to start the day.
I slowly gathered my belongings and walked glumly out of the Great Hall on my way to Potions. During my walk of depression, the last person I wanted to see stopped me.
“Hey, remember tomorrow. Three Broomsticks, you and me are going to have a little chat,” Malfoy reminded with a menacing tone. He wasn’t making me feel any better.
“Of course,” I said reluctantly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
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