A few days had past since the one night stand, but it was still on his mind. The first time he had slept with a girl in three years, and it had gone so badly that she left him. He hadn't even tried to call her back, as if he'd somehow get an answer. His thoughts kept drifting towards her, and for some reason that made it worse.
He couldn't help himself from thinking about her. Not being able to forget her was driving him insane, and the last thing he wanted was for him to get addicted to the feeling of her skin against his. It didn't seem possible that he could fall for someone else after what happened, but there she was again. And it wasn't like it would ever go anywhere anyway. He knew he shouldn't have done anything at all, especially not while drunk, but the moment he saw her in the club he couldn't stop himself. The fact that he was completely sober now probably saved his life, though he wished she hadn't been so lucky.
After a few minutes staring off into space, Cedric shook his head and got up to leave the room.
Just then someone knocked on the door.
"Master?"
Cedric put back he's cold ice look, and he said in cold and harsh voice, "What."
The man in front of him flinched and looked down before speaking again, "Your mother asked me to give you this." He held out a small white envelope which Cedric took without really looking at it, and then walked over to sit down on his bed. The man quickly closed the door behind him and sat down across the room from him.
"Is everything alright, Master?" He asked, trying to keep his voice gentle.
"It doesn't concern you," Cedric replied in a harsh tone.
His manservant frowned, but he just nodded and started talking again, hoping to distract his master from the topic at hand. "I'm sorry if my questions upset you; I know we're supposed to be training and-"
"Keep within your limits and stay out of my way," Cedric interrupted.
He didn't think he could handle another lecture on etiquette right now. Especially not when it involved questions that didn't matter.
"Yes, Master. But...I thought maybe...we should have dinner together tonight? Just the two of us?" He smiled hopefully as he looked over at his master, who was still glaring at him.
Cedric sighed and turned away, not really wanting to spend another minute with his servant. "No."
"Why not, master?"
Cedric turned around and fixed his servants eyes, "Because I don't feel like doing something so trivial like going out with my servant."
The manservant frowned, "But master..." He started.
"Don't try to convince me," Cedric snapped. "I am fully aware that you are only here because my mother forced you, and if you were to quit, who do you think would take care of me? My father wouldn't pay any attention if I died."
"That is not true!" He objected. "You know I would take care of you."
"If I die before I can grow up and become a proper gentleman, then you will have no choice but to take care of me, am I understood?" Cedric questioned, raising an eyebrow.
The manservant gulped and nodded, but he still had a worried expression on his face. "Very well, Master," He said slowly before standing up and heading towards the door. "Goodnight." He left and closed the door behind him, leaving Cedric alone in the dark bedroom, listening as he heard his manservants footsteps recede.
Cedric laid on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He hated this. He hated how he felt about this woman and how weak he was. How could he have been so stupid? So naive? Why did he let this happen? Why did he let her take advantage of him like this? He should have known that she was going to cheat. That was always the way with women. Men like her didn't last long. And he should have expected that. No man could possibly live a good life if he allowed a woman to make decisions for him.
But he also didn't want anyone else. Not anymore. Not even himself. If only this woman would disappear. She seemed nice enough, but he still doubted that she was truly worth his time. She wasn't worth any of it.
But he couldn't let her go either.
She was important to him. More than anything.
The next day, Cedric woke up early, so that he could get ready to go to the office and meet with his lawyers. He dressed in his usual black suit and black tie before getting out of bed and walking towards the bathroom.
As he undressed, he noticed that his suit jacket had blood stains on it. He quickly finished changing and went over to his closet where a clean set of clothes lay neatly folded. He grabbed the shirt and pulled it over his head, wincing slightly as his muscles protested against the movement. The sleeves were longer than he would usually wear them, but they would work. Grabbing his black trousers, he went over to his dresser and began putting it on.
Once dressed, he walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall and stared at himself for a few moments. He ran his hands through his hair roughly, causing it to stick up slightly. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyebrows were furrowed. He looked so much older than he actually was but yet he looked very charming and still very handsome.
Suddenly he heard someone open the door. As soon as he looked, he saw one of his manservants, carrying a tray. He glanced up briefly at his face before lowering his gaze and setting the tray down on his desk. When he was done, he moved out of the way as he picked up the plate with eggs on it. He ate in silence, not really noticing what he was eating until he was halfway through the plate.
Looking up, he noticed the nervous looking manservant standing by the door. His hands were wringing nervously in front of him and he had his lips pressed together in a tight line.
"I'll get going now, Master," he said before turning on his heels and rushing out the door.
As soon as he was gone, Cedric let out a breath and stood up from his chair. Turning towards the large window that overlooked the garden outside, he stepped closer to it. A light mist covered the leaves and flowers of the trees, making it look almost like a scene straight out of a fairytale. Cedric felt a twinge of melancholy in the pit of his stomach. He had grown fond of this place, though he couldn't say why.
"I wish you could see it," He whispered sadly to himself as his eyes wandered up to the clouds, which were beginning to gather. He hoped that it would rain today. He knew that it would hurt to stay inside all day.
"Maybe one day you will."
He turned around and spotted Harry standing in the doorway.
Harry was wearing a pair of black pants and a dark green button down. He wore his glasses and had his signature smirk plastered onto his face.
"Harry, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?" Cedric asked as he walked towards him.
"Work? I'm not working right now. What kind of employee lets their employer skip work?" He scoffed before shaking his head.
"You came unannounced," Cedric said with a nonchalant attitude.
"I guess missed you" Harry said.
"And what?" Cedric asked with a raised brow. "We're friends. Nothing more, nothing less. We barely even speak, never mind hang out."
A pained expression flashed across Harry's face momentarily, but it was quickly replaced with a grin. "Yeah, that sounds fake even in my own ears. But I'm not lying! I mean, I was planning on seeing you later today anyways, and besides, it's been a while."
Cedric glared at the ground while clenching his fists, feeling his nails digging painfully into his palms, "Fine." He muttered quietly.
"Great! Now let's go get coffee."
With that Harry turned around and headed towards the exit. He didn't notice the look of utter disappointment that crossed Cedric's face, or the frown he gave him, which was definitely noticeable even in the dim lighting of the mansion.
---
"What's got you so depressed lately?" Harry asked as they walked to the cafe.
"Nothing," Cedric answered sharply.
"Come on, I know better than to believe that. It's obvious you're not fine. Have you seen Madame Lola recently? Did you go to visit Miss Bridget? Is everything okay?"
"There's nothing wrong with me, Harry. I'm perfectly fine."
"So you just miss your friend?" Harry smirked playfully.
"No," Cedric replied flatly, shooting Harry a glare.
"Oh come on, I won't tell anyone. But you know you have to tell somebody! You can't keep shutting yourself up in your room and pretending everything is okay. It won't kill you to just talk to people, you know."
"Talking isn't going to change anything." Cedric rolled his eyes. "Besides, you don't understand how much trouble I'm in! I can't talk to anybody, not even you or Madame Lola!"
"Well there must be some way, mate."
"You know there isn't. Besides, you aren't even my guardian anyway, so why are you telling me to talk to people?"
Harry sighed deeply, "Look Cedric, I know you've made your point clear and you've given me your permission to call you whatever I want. And I respect your wishes, but if you keep this up, we will never be friends."
Cedric scowled and stopped walking, forcing Harry to stop as well, "Do you really expect me to believe that? After all those things you said?"
"Yes. Of course I do."
"Then what gives you the right to judge me when nobody does?"
"Just because I don't trust everyone doesn't mean I'm trying to shut myself off from the rest of the world, alright? Maybe I should talk to my parents instead," Harry suggested.
Cedric rolled his eyes again, "They hate me."
"I'm sure they do, but-"
"You have no idea. Your father hates me as much as mine hates you."
Harry shook his head, "Not true. Even if he hates you, I'm sure he doesn't hate you that much. He has never liked you, that much I'm sure of. He is scared of your potential power, that's why he tries to push you away whenever possible."
"Whatever," Cedric replied bitterly. "Anyways, what are you doing here? Isn't it late already?"
Harry took out his watch and looked at it, "It's only 9:30."
Cedric scoffed and looked away, "That's early. Are you trying to sleep here?"
"Of course not. Why would I ever sleep anywhere near you?"
"Good point," he said sarcastically as they continued walking again.
"So what's up with you then?"
"What do you mean?"
Harry shrugged, "Well I haven't seen you in days. You've been acting strange ever since I arrived yesterday. What happened after I left that night? Did something happen between you two?"
"No. It was nothing," Cedric lied.
Harry studied his face carefully, as if trying to detect any signs of dishonesty. Eventually, he nodded, satisfied with the answer he received. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Anyway, I thought maybe we could go out for lunch tomorrow or something.
Cedric didn't reply. He simply looked away.
---
It had been a week since Cedric had last been home. During that time, he had spent every minute he could alone inside his room, busy with his work and ignoring everyone. He still hadn't gotten ahold of his mother yet, and he honestly wasn't quite sure if he wanted to. There were too many questions that swam in his mind. He knew exactly what his mother was doing, he just couldn't bring himself to confront her about it yet.
He sat at his desk in his study, writing down a list of names for his clients. They weren't very interesting. Just random people who needed help with various financial matters or legal matters. It seemed to be rather repetitive compared to his usual business meetings.
Suddenly, a knock on his door caused him to pause. He glanced at the clock on the opposite side of the room, noting that it was nearing 12 o'clock. He assumed that it would be either Mr. Pomfrey or Mr. Norris coming to check on him, as neither of the nurses were really keen on being around him.
Before he could decide who it was, another knock sounded. This time, he decided to ignore it in favor of continuing to write.
After hearing another loud knock, he finally decided to make his presence known. Standing up from his seat, he strode across the room towards the entrance. When he opened the door, however, none other than his father was standing on the other side of it.
His father's expression was stern, almost angry as he looked at his son' through narrowed eyes, "Are you expecting someone?" He asked as he pushed past Cedric roughly and entered his office.
Cedric closed the door behind him and followed him inside, closing the distance between them until they stood face to face with each other.
"What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?" He asked in a harsh tone.
"You know exactly what I am here for. I want to know why you did such an irresponsible thing".
"How dare you question my actions!" Cedric exclaimed angrily. "My decision is final. I don't need your approval. Nor do I care what you think. As far as I'm concerned, you've been completely useless the past few months. I don't know how you're getting by without having to take care of your wife and child, but I can guarantee that you won't be doing so anytime soon."
"If you had only attended the meeting like you were supposed to, none of this would have happened," His father seethed.
"I can take care of myself! I don't need your help!"
"Really, Cedric? Then where have you been for the past few weeks?"
"What do you mean?"
"Where have you been hiding? Where were you? And don't try to deny it. I saw you in Diagon Alley."
Cedric frowned, trying to hide his fear as he began to think of excuses, hoping that his father wouldn't hear him breathing heavily or see the sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Who told you?" He asked, attempting to sound calm, although he was failing miserably.
"Your mother, actually. She was worried sick about you."
"She shouldn't be. If she wants to worry about me she should be more concerned with herself. She's the one who dragged me into this mess in the first place. So I suggest that you keep her away from me if you don't want her to be involved."
"This is ridiculous, Cedric. You need help! All you have to do is ask, I'll help you!"
Cedric felt anger bubbling inside of him as he clenched his jaw tightly. "Like hell I will. Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you're in? You are lucky I even agreed to help you! You're lucky that I'm willing to put up with your nonsense!"
"Cedric..."
"Don't 'Cedric' me! You're pathetic! Do you seriously think I'd help you, considering what you've done? Do you realize that all of this is your fault?!" Cedric was yelling now.
His father remained quiet, his eyes narrowing into slits. His grip tightened.
"You think it's funny, don't you? You think it's funny that you ruined your life with your foolishness! You know exactly what you did! Do you think you' re just gonna get away with it? That it's gonna be easy? Well guess what? Life is never easy! The world isn't fair! It doesn't give us anything without taking something else in return. You're not special. Everybody knows that. And I don't care about what anyone thinks. But you're wrong. You're totally, utterly wrong. You can't say that this is my fault! It wasn't my fault! I didn't cause any of this! I didn't do any of this! Don't you see? Everything's fine the way it is. You're happy. You've always been happy. And look at you now! You haven't changed a bit. Nothing will ever change. Not for you or for me. But you know what else hasn't changed? Nobody's perfect. Nobody has control over their lives, is that it?! We just have to accept what life throws our way and get on with it. You and I are going to change our ways. For better or worse. It's that simple. Now, if you don't mind, I've got some work to do."
Without waiting for his father's reply, Cedric turned around and stormed back to his desk. He sat down quickly and began writing, barely noticing that his father had left the room.
---