Crying
The Garden in his back yard had always been his safe haven, whenever something bad happened. And right now, that was exactly what he needed. He needed to feel safe, to feel secure. Dedalus Diggle was only 7 years old when he found out that his Grandfather had Leukemia. He had fought it at Mungo's for 4 years, before he passed away. The young boy had only just started at Hogwarts when he had been pulled out for a week to attend the funeral and the wake, and all the other things that his parents had to deal with. His shoulders were rounded and his feet kicked at the pebbles that were beneath the bench he was sitting on. He looked rather odd, being so small with a large jacket on. It was his Grandpa's, though. He had taken it from the closet when his parents weren't looking, and had trudged out to where he was currently sitting, just to have some time away from everyone else. A book was open in his lap, but for once he wasn't reading it. Not that he could have been, even if he wanted to. There was no light. He just wanted to have an excuse for being out there incase anyone asked him. He couldn't tell them that he was crying, right? He was a boy. Boys weren't supposed to cry.
A deep, shaking breath was taken as he wiped as his eyes with the sleeves of the jacket, which were far too long for him. But it seemed to be useless. The tears wouldn't stop streaming down his cheeks. His stomach hurt from how much he had been crying, and it felt as though he might never be able to breathe. He had always been so close to his Grandfather...he used to spend days, if not weeks at his Grandparents house. He remembered that the only thing that he knew how to make was Oatmeal, because it was something that he wasn't able to burn. He remembered that he had gotten him his first book. It was Oliver Twist. He read it to him, and for about 3 months years Dedalus wouldn't be able go to sleep without listening to his voice tell the tale. What if he couldn't sleep now? What if the only way for him to go to sleep was to hear Oliver Twist, and his Grandpa wasn't there to read it to him? What if he started crying again at night, in the Ravenclaw dormatory, and all of the boys started to make fun of him? He was already picked on enough, he didn't need them making fun of him. What if he cried at the breakfast table, if he saw Oatmeal? Should he pretend that something was in his eye? He didn't know. He really just didn't know what he was going to do. All he knew, was that he was in pain right now. He just needed a hug from his Grandpa. Was that weird? Weren't boys supposed to not like hugs? But...this was Grandpa..
"Dedalus?"
Quickly, he rose both of his hands to wipe at his eyes, the book dropping to the floor. "Yeah, Mum?" His voice was strained, and hoarse. IT was obvious what he had really been doing. But, his mother didn't say anything about it. She just paused, and then said this.
"Please come back inside when you're done reading, okay honey?"
First Crush
It really wasn't fair. Girls should never be allowed to be that pretty. With the brown hair, and the blue eyes, and the fair skin and...part of him hated her for it. He couldn't help but be distracted by her whenever she walked into the room for the first month or so of school. He had known the girl for about 4 years, and had always thought she was pretty, but for some reason, this year, when they had gotten back from Summer vacation, he had found that she was...beautiful. Or, she was in his opinion, anyway. He had actually done a double take when he saw her get onto the train, and felt his throat close up. Why was he suddenly feeling this way for someone who had been one of his closest friends for so many years? He blamed puberty. It was a horrible thing. Horrible.
Saying goodbye to his family, he boarded the train, and shoved his hands into his pockets to feel around for his prefects badge. It had to be there somewhere. He had just gotten the darn thing! Oh, how terrible it would look for him to not even have his badge. He'd be the idiot 5th year prefect without a badge...GASP! What if they wouldn't let him be a prefect without the badge? What if they took it away? Groaning at the thoat, he looked down as he searched the deep pockets of his robes, but once he had stopped looking where he was going, he bumped into someone.
No, he bumped into her. "Oh, I-...Emmeline!" he said, his voice cracking a little bit due to nerves. "It's nice to, er-...yeah, I need to go. Prefects meeting. And...I'm one of them, so. I need to be there. Where they are. The, uh, the prefects." He stared at her for a second before he forced a smile and walked around her, almost jogging now to try and get to where he needed to go, shouting over his shoulder as he went. "I'll talk to you later!" His words were rushed, and...
He had never been so happy to get away from someone before...
Girls should never be allowed to be that pretty.
Best Friend
It wasn't anything new for Dedalus to get shoved around, or picked on, or both at the same time, but his first day of his second year of Hogwarts seemed to be particularly brutal. He had been carrying around his suitcase of clothes and other things, along with another suitcase that was full of nothing but books. His Mum had put a spell on them so that they didn't weigh as much, so he was grateful for that, because they probably would have been heavier than he was.
So, moving carefully through the hallways, he said about a million 'Excuse Me!'s and 'Sorry!'s before he caught sight of an empty compartment just a little ways ahead. He smirked to himself, and he picked up his pace before suddenly he felt himself fly foreword, and then the horrible ( and sadly familiar ) feeling of having the wind knocked out of him as he hit the floor. Groaning, he pushed himself up and sighed as he tried to stand up again. "Hey you guys, look at the stupid Ravendork! Bahaha!" Dedalus looked over to see who had tripped him. It was a Slytherin ( surprising ) who had done the damage. "Heh, yeah, I just...I wanted to get-" "Who said you could talk to me, Ravendork?!" Dedalus gulped, and rose to his feet, carefully going to pick up his suitcases again before he felt someone shove him into a compartment of girls and walk past him. It was one of the Slytherin's friends who was not sniggering and high fiveing everyone as D continued to slide down the wall. He heard the girls yelling at him to get out, because they seemed to have been talking about personal things that he didn't want to hear anyway. He apologized profusely, and then went out to grab his suitcase, hardly able to grab it when the Slytherin grabbed it from him, about to open it. "Whatcha got in here, dork?" "They're just books...I like books..." He explained quietly, rubbing his hip where he had been shoved. The boy seemed to be about to say something else when a familiar voice sounded from behind him. "Hey, just leave him alone!" Turning around, with wide surprised eyes, D stared at Ralph Merridew who was standing near the empty compartment that he had been trying to get to for so long. He had seen him around, since he was in a few of his classes, but they never really talked. "Do you even know what a book is, you troll?" D felt his face go red, and he ducked his head so that his long hair was blocking people from seeing how embarrassed he was. Ralph approached him, and grabbed the suitcase from the Slytherin, who didn't seem to know what to say to. He was just glaring.
Not realizing that Ralph had already started walking away with his things, he remained where he wss standing for a few moments until he figured out that he was completely alone in the hallway. Blinking back into reality, he grabbed the suitcase that remained and ran to catch up with Ralph, who had put his things in the compartment. Swiping his hair back, he plopped down onto the seat across from him. "Thanks. For, you know, saving me back there..." The Gryffindor seemed to ignore him. At first, Dedalus thought that he really only helped him to stop all the noise that was going on in the hallway, but his mind was changed as Ralph held out a large box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans with a smirk. "Here, you can have these. I have another 3 boxes."
Traumatized
"DEDALUS, WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
Get out of there.
Right, that was what they needed to do.
That was what they needed to do, but the boy just...couldn't. He remained knelt on the ground, still holding onto the woman he had been trying to save. She was still warm. He could still feel blood dripping onto his leg as he stared down at her, swallowing roughly as he stared into her eyes. They were still open. They were still open, and she was dead, and he couldn't stop staring into those vacant blue eyes that had been so full of life when they had first arrived. She didn't know what was coming. She had no idea that men in masks were about to barge into her home, and she had no idea that she was about to die. Not that most people had any idea about that, but...she wasn't anybody. No one special, just a woman who was about to make dinner for her family. A muggle woman, who owned a black and white TV which was still on in the living room, right beside him. The only color on the screen was the deep crimson color of her blood as it slid down the glass.
No, everything was covered in her blood. It wasn't a surprise, with the way she had been killed. It was brutal, and unecessary. He could still see the Death Eater, lifting his wand as Dedalus went to grab onto the woman's hand, his other hand holding tight onto his own wand...but he wasn't quick enough. He couldn't hear the man behind the mask...he knew how to block him from reading his thoughts. He had been trying to, and all he got was noise. It was a surprise that he had even noticed him raise his wand. But he was too late. He couldn't help her as the bright red flash bolted towards the woman, ripping through her chest like a jagged blade. Since Dedalus had been in the process of pulling her towards him at the time, she collapsed against him. He probably would have been dead too, if she had been hit just an inch to the right. And he probably would have been dead if it wasn't for Remus Lupin, who killed the Death Eater just moments later. Moments that made all the difference.
"DEDALUS!"
He blinked. For the first time, coming out of his trance. "I didn't-...she-...I tried to-..." He was in such a state of shock that he couldn't even form a sentance. Remus went to him and pulled him up by his shirt. "Dedalus, we need to--"
"I KNOW! I know, I...I fucking know, okay, I didn't--, we were supposed to--"
"Dedalus."
"What?!"
Remus stared down at the younger boy, only now noticing how much of her blood was on him. Half of his face since he had turned away from the flash, and his clothes, and his hair, his shoes, his hands...everything. This hadn't been his first mission. This wasn't the first time he had been up against a Death Eater in a similar situation, but this was the first time the boy had failed. He could practically hear his heart pouding in his chest, looking at how drained of color his face was. He looked like a ghost.
"...you did what you could."
Dedalus looked over to the woman, and shook his head.
"It wasn't enough..."
Wary
"I don't know about this..."
Dedalus was currently looking through the window of the shop that they were standing in front of, his eyes wide as he watched what was really happening inside. They had mentioned that they were going to go through with this a few weeks ago, but Dedalus just thought that they were kidding! They wouldn really do it, right?
But no, there they were, watching the tattoo artist through the window. James and Sirius looked ecstatic, but he couldn't say the same about some of the other boys. He was sure that some of them had no idea where they were, or why they were there, since they looked as though they were about to topple over. What they had given them, Dedalus didn't know, but he was really wishing that they had drugged him as well. He never argued against it like some of them, since he didn't think there was really anything to be too worried about. But now? Now he was worried. Now that he could actually hear the buzzing of the tattoo needle, as someone opened the door.
"Come on, Diggle, it won't be that bad. It'll be over before you know it."
"Oh, I'm not worried about whether it's going to hurt or not, I'm worried about what kind of funeral arangements you're all going to make for me if my Dad ever finds out about this, because he'll be going to prison for murder and my Mom will die of a heart attack."
"Listen, mate...if you wanna back out, now's the time."
"Really?"
James paused for a moment, looked to Sirius before the both of them turned to Diggle and spoke at the same time.
"Nope!"
"But-...I can't!"
"Oh, but you can! And you will!"
He swallowed roughly and looked inside the shop, frowning before he ran his hands through his hair.
"Let's just get this over with."
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT!"
Drunk
Dedalus really couldn't even begin to count how many glasses of the alcoholic punch he had taken, but it was definetly taking it's toll. He was sitting on the Gryffindor couch, as everyone else partied and moved around, a green plastic cup in his hand. It was empty, and he kept looking down into it, not understanding why it was empty.
"It's gone."
He sounded rather disappointed.
"Hm?"
Eliza sat back down beside him, coming back after spending some time with Brianna. It was Saint Patty's day, and Gillian was throwing another one of her parties. People from every house were dancing around, and singing, some wearing "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirts...some of the Hogwarts students followed these instructions. But, either way, he had been left on the couch by himself, just watching everyone have a good time. He probably could have joined everyone, but he was just trying to relax, eventually getting into a conversation with Ludo Bagman about Quidditch, taking small sips of the drink that was in his hand. He couldn't even taste the alcohol in it, which was a bad thing, because if he had known that it was made out of every kind of booze under the sun, he wouldn't have had half as much as he did.
"Someone drank the punch. I really don't even remember who, it might have been me, but someone definetly drank it."
"Dedalus."
"Yeah?"
He blinked as she reached over, taking the cup away from him. He didn't argue against it, but just stared at it as it sat on the table, only turning back to Eliza as she moved forward to block his view from the drink. He smiled and reached down to take her hand, pulling her forward so that he could kiss her. He felt her pull away, seeing her grin down at him, pushing his hair back from his forehead.
"Are you drunk, Mister Head Boy?"
"Yeeeeep. I think someone put something in the punch."
"You figured that out all on your own?"
"Ravenclaws are very wise, you know. And, have you ever noticed how strange the word punch is? It sounds so awful, and, I mean, I don't understand what it has to do with anything relating to fruit."
"I think it's supposed to be like...it's a punch of fruity flavor or something?"
"Hmm..." He smirked at her logic, and once again pushed himself forward to give her another short kiss. He was tired of talking about Fruit Punch, even though he did like how her mouth moved when she said 'Fruity Flavor'.
"I think we should bring you up to the Ravenclaw tower before you pass out on the couch, Mister Head Boy." His arm snaked around her waist to pull her closer.
"I think I'd rather stay right here and take my chances."
Baby
Flustered
"Hey! You!"
Dedalus Diggle froze, eyes getting wider as he stood between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, holding a blueberry muffin in his hand. He had been trying to bolt out of there as soon as he could, because…well, it was the first test of his fourth year at Hogwarts and he had to put all his time into studying! Sure, maybe it wasn’t anything major to some of the other students, but to D, every test deserved an equal amount of study time. Even if it was his least favorite subject, which was Ancient Runes. Besides, studying early was better than trying to cram all the information in at the end of the year, when he would have to take his O.W.L.s. It was a little bit pathetic how he was already working himself up over it, when it was only the end of September.
Turning around to face the boy who had just shouted at someone, he looked around and gestured to himself, raising his eyebrows as if saying ‘you want me?’
“Nah, I want the kid behind you. Yeah I want you, come here!”
He couldn’t help but look behind him at first, even though he knew there was no one there, and jumped to attention, walking quickly over to the group of boys who were eating their breakfast. He knew the group well, since they were practically infamous around Hogwarts. Even kids in other houses knew these 4! Well, they knew 2 of them better than the other pair, but still. The one with the glasses rolled his eyes, turning around so that he was straddling the bench, facing the other boy who had called him over.
“Is this completely necessary, Sirius?”
The boy gave a crooked, devious smile, turning so that he was facing outwards towards Dedalus, his elbows resting on the table as he nodded his head at his friend.
“There’s really only one way to settle this. And that, mate, is by using an outside source.”
He turned his attention towards Dedalus, a brow arching as he tilted his head slightly. “You’re smart, right? You’re a Ravenclaw, so it’s sort of written in stone for you lot, yeah?”
Dedalus looked between the two, watching as the smallest of the group looked on with great interest, while the other just continued to read his book. He sighed lightly before speaking.
“Leave the kid alone, this is so bloody stupid.”
Sirius ignored him, still smirking. “So? Are you?”
“I…I think? I mean, I am, I’m smart I think. Yeah.”
“Excellent. Than maybe you can help me and my friends over here.”
“Uh…I…I guess?”
“Well, we’ve been talking...and me and James here have a bit of a bet going. And we would like to know whether or not Wingardium Leviosa would work on a skirt or not.”
Dedalus could feel his cheeks going red at the question, and his eyes traveled down to find his muffin on the floor. He had probably dropped it because he was so taken back by the topic of their discussion. “I…what? You…what?”
Sirius let out a barking laugh, throwing his head back as he watched the slightly younger Ravenclaw fumble for an answer. James was laughing too, as was Peter, but that was probably only because the other two were so amused. Remus just smirked, but tried to pretend like he wasn’t. “Can it?” Sirius said once he had calmed down enough, even though he was still chuckling a bit.
“I…well…I mean, it…might, if…if you aimed correctly and…I mean, if you aimed at the skirt and didn’t accidentally, you know…levitate the girl?”
“I KNEW it!” Sirius let out triumphantly, pointing at James in a ‘I told you so’ matter. “You owe my 5 knuts! Totally knew it could work!”
Giddy
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