IL

Y/N had grown up hearing one rule about Cedric Diggory: he was off-limits. Cedric was her older brother’s best friend, the golden boy from Hufflepuff who visited during holidays and laughed with her brother. Her brother forbade Cedric from liking her, and Cedric agreed. Initially, Y/N was just his best friend’s sister—a girl with an intimidating look and a ridiculously kind personality. However, between their fourth and fifth years, Cedric noticed the little things: Y/N’s help for younger students, her staying behind after everyone else left, and her genuine smiles. He dismissed it as admiration, but it didn’t explain why he forgot his words when she smiled, avoided her when her brother was around, or why his best friend narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you falling for my sister?” Cedric’s friend asked, nearly choking. “No,” Cedric replied, looking away. “Absolutely not.” The silence spoke volumes. “Diggory.” “I know.” “She’s my sister.” “I know.” “You aren’t allowed to like her.” Cedric sighed. “I know.” And that was the problem. He knew. He knew exactly where the line was. He knew crossing it could ruin one of the most important friendships he’d ever had. So Cedric decided he’d simply keep his feelings to himself. Y/N didn’t need to know. Her brother didn’t need to know. Nobody needed to know. Unfortunately for Cedric, Hogwarts had a funny way of making secrets difficult to keep. Especially when Y/N started noticing that Cedric always seemed to look away