"..."
Why? Why are there two Cedrics here?
"This is bad, George. At this rate, Diggory's going to steal our twin gimmick."
"Relax. We're better-looking than him, right?"
Fred and George, having heard the commotion, came running over. Soon after, other students gathered as well, chattering things like, "What's going on?" "Why are there two Diggories?" and even, "Would you mind sharing one of them with me…?"
"Elaina, get away from him. I'm the real Cedric."
"No, I'm the real Cedric!"
"Don't lie. Your true identity is Saya, isn't it?"
As I listened to the two Cedrics arguing heatedly, I gradually began to understand what was going on.
"So, to sum it up, are you saying that Saya brewed Polyjuice Potion illegally and took Cedric's place?"
When I asked, Cedric Number Two nodded.
"I was drugged with a sleeping potion and locked inside a bathroom. If Moaning Myrtle hadn't woken me up, I'd probably have slept until morning."
Apparently, Myrtle had been alone in the bathroom, cursing the students who enjoyed their youth there, while still clinging to fantasies like, "But maybe a wonderful prince will come to escort me from the girls' bathroom…♡" In the midst of that, she just happened to find Cedric unconscious after being dosed with a sleeping draught.
Unfortunately for her, there was no development where the awakened Cedric fell for Myrtle. He thanked her briefly and immediately came to find me.
Myrtle, lamenting, "In the end, everyone only likes pretty girls!" threw a tantrum, so the area around the third-floor girls' bathroom was probably flooded by now.
However, Cedric Number One was not about to stay quiet.
"Do you have any proof? Proof?"
Polyjuice Potion perfectly recreates the target, making it impossible to tell by appearance alone. The effect wears off after an hour, but we couldn't afford to wait that long.
So then.
"In that case, let's ask questions that only the real one would know."
The one who stuck her nose in again was Euphemia Rowl, a senior student. Since she was a Slytherin prefect, she might have been the right person position-wise, but somehow I couldn't shake my unease.
Ignoring my concerns, Rowl-senpai immediately started questioning the two Cedrics.
"Question one. What is Elaina's favorite food?"
The question was thrown out with a tone of, You should obviously know this if you're her partner. The two Cedrics answered.
"Croissants!"
"Bread, I guess."
"Both correct. Let's move on to the next question."
Without a hint of concern over her rather loose judging criteria, Rowl-senpai pressed on with the enthusiasm of a variety show host.
"Question two. When is Elaina's birthday?"
"October 17th!"
"October 17th."
"Wait, how do you know that…?"
It seemed my personal information had leaked without my knowledge. When I glared at them with a look that said, Depending on how this goes, I might sue, they replied.
"I heard it from Granger-senpai… ma'am!"
"Greengrass told me."
When I turned my half-lidded gaze toward Hermione and Daphne, they were right in the middle of adjusting the angle for a two-shot selfie. Daphne was teaching Hermione how to make the perfect duck-face pose, saying things like, "It makes your face look smaller."
Wow. What a coincidence.
"Oh, that's too bad. Since the answers overlapped, it's a tie again."
Rowl-senpai shrugged indifferently, looking not the least bit disappointed.
"Alright, next."
That was brushed aside awfully casually.
"Question three. Who are you most interested in right now?"
"Elaina!"
"Elaina."
"Kyyaaaaa♡"
The bold confessions, made without any regard for onlookers, sent the crowd into an uproar.
"Hmm, the answers overlapped again, so this one's invalid too. Oh well, let's move on."
Isn't this host completely useless?
"Question four. How far have you progressed with Elaina?"
At this point, it was nothing but pure curiosity.
"Up to holding hands!"
"Up to holding hands."
Once again, the answers matched. From the crowd came scattered comments like, "So pure… I ship it," and "This brings back memories…"
"Question five. What is your desired career path?"
"I want to be Elaina's bride!"
"…A job related to Quidditch."
"The former is a lie."
The next moment, Rowl-senpai whipped out her wand at lightning speed and fired a spell at Cedric Number One.
"Locomotor Mortis, leg-lock!"
As Cedric Number One tried to flee, he collapsed to the ground. Rowl-senpai followed up with, "Brachiabind, arm-bind!" and ropes appeared from nowhere, binding his arms.
"That's too bad. If you'd at least answered 'groom' instead of 'bride,' you might have been able to pass yourself off as a man a bit longer."
"Aaaaaah…"
At Rowl-senpai's triumphant words, Cedric Number One, now revealed as Saya, finally gave up and slumped his shoulders.
"Now then. Blaise, could you fetch Mr. Filch? We'll hang her from the ceiling and have her confess everything."
"Yes, yes. As milady commands."
Bowing with an exaggerated flourish, Blaise was just about to go call Filch when it happened.
"That will not be necessary."
Emerging silently from behind us was our head of house, Professor Severus Snape.
"I happen to have Veritaserum in my quarters. A single drop will suffice."
"But…"
To the dissatisfied Rowl-senpai, Professor Snape continued.
"Furthermore, Saya is, nominally, also my dance partner. As I bear a supervisory responsibility, I intend to conduct a thorough interrogation before assigning point deductions and punishment."
"Eh?!"
Dropping that bombshell, Professor Snape dragged away the screaming Saya, who was shouting, "Nooooo!" However, instead of leaving immediately, he stopped by Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore first.
"My partner has caused a serious incident, shattering several school rules. While it is deeply regrettable that I must leave the party without dancing even a single song, these circumstances leave me no choice."
Despite repeatedly saying how "regrettable" it was, he looked positively delighted to be able to leave the party early.
When Professor McGonagall tried to take over, saying, "But since it was my student who caused the trouble…," he waved it off with a polite, "No, no, that won't be necessary," firmly refusing to hand it over.
"Minerva, you are the deputy headmistress. You must remain here until the end. I shall take full responsibility for this matter."
With that perfectly reasonable argument, he persuaded Professor McGonagall and departed the Great Hall with an air of calm authority.
◇◆◇
I, Severus Snape, left the accursed Christmas dance party hall and stepped into the freezing corridor. Behind me followed Saya, transformed into Cedric Diggory, wearing an expression of weary accomplishment.
For someone like me, who had been forced to participate in such a ridiculous event, Saya was a most convenient choice. She had been secretly stealing ingredients for Polyjuice Potion from the storeroom.
Saya was a problem child who had nothing on her mind but Elaina Celestia, but precisely because of that, pairing up with her made it unlikely for idiotic rumors to spread.
Children of that age, after all, do nothing but gossip about who is dating whom and how many people someone has been with. Regrettably, even my Slytherin House is no exception.
Thus, when I caught Saya red-handed, I immediately confiscated the Polyjuice Potion she was brewing in the third-floor girls' bathroom. In exchange for overlooking the theft, I proposed a deal for her to become my partner. Naturally, she had no room to refuse. It was supposed to be a simple, purely nominal pairing that would let us get through the event peacefully.
Or so I thought.
Turning to Saya, still disguised as Diggory, I spoke.
"…I confiscated the Polyjuice Potion you were making, or so I recall."
When I asked how she had managed to obtain a replacement, her answer was infuriatingly simple.
"After that, I was wailing in the corridor, 'My Polyjuice Potioooon!' and Astoria-san told me about it."
Apparently, her family had recently started a mail-order potion business. If one placed an order through J. Pippin's Magical Supplies in Hogsmeade as an intermediary, most potions could be obtained.
"It was pretty expensive, but they delivered it by owl right on the specified time. Really makes you think we live in a convenient age."
"..."
For now, I resolved to give Astoria Greengrass a very stern warning later. She surely had not imagined her information would be used this way, but regardless, there was always the risk of people like Saya abusing such convenience. A world made too convenient invites trouble.
There was one more thing that had been bothering me, so I asked.
"Why go to such lengths just to dance with Celestia?"
Saya answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Because I love Elaina-san, obviously."
A crumpled, carefree smile spread across Cedric Diggory's handsome face. The expression was strangely familiar, and with it came a long-forgotten sense of discomfort.
"…Celestia was clearly put off."
"Maybe."
Her arrogance in insisting on a "maybe," even at this stage, unsettled me yet again. I could hardly believe how optimistic she remained.
"…Have you not considered that she might dislike you?"
"Well, honestly, I have. More than once."
But then, Saya continued.
"Even if she hates me, as long as she ends up liking me in the end, that's fine!"
She declared it plainly. Her straight, reckless resolve made me falter.
It was almost as if…
"What really scares me is Elaina-san graduating without me doing anything. If that happens, I'll definitely regret it."
I realized my mistake too late.
"…There are times when doing something unnecessary leads to a lifetime of regret."
It felt as though emotions I had sealed deep within were being gouged out, and my heart rate surged uncontrollably. Uncharacteristically, my nerves felt raw.
Even so, I could not stop myself from speaking.
"Even so."
Saya took my cheap provocation head-on and crushed it with her reply.
"I'm going to step forward. Because…"
She spoke with unwavering clarity.
"I don't intend to obtain something without being prepared to lose it."
Those words struck me mercilessly, forcing me to confront my own weakness, fear, anxiety, self-preservation, lingering attachment, and regret.
"..."
I found myself at a loss for words. The feelings of the girl before me were almost absurdly pure.
She was in love, utterly and wholeheartedly.
"That's basically how much I love Elaina-san!"
As Saya smiled innocently, I turned my face away.
For today, at least, this was her victory.
Fearing that she might be hated by the one she loved, Saya still chose to step forward. Even knowing she might fail, she reached out.
That feeling, she believed, was worth it.
"…I see."
If only I had possessed even a fraction of that recklessness.
Would something have changed?
No. That is not it.
The world is not so kind. Most wishes go unfulfilled, and even well-intentioned actions often backfire.
Being utterly honest with oneself may someday lead to regret.
But at least, there would be no lingering attachment.
Bearing regret, she would move forward. She would settle countless "what ifs" in the past and live for the future.
Therefore.
"…Gryffindor, minus forty points."
I showed a small measure of leniency in the deduction.
"Furthermore, for the rest of this year, you are forbidden from approaching the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Each violation will cost an additional twenty points."
"What?!"
"And I have received word from a ghost that the third-floor girls' bathroom is flooded. You will clean that as well, today."
In Cedric Diggory's voice, Saya let out a pathetic, "That's so unfair," and complained, "It totally felt like you were going to let me off the hook."
"Fool. I have already reduced your punishment in consideration of this being your first offense and your age. Under normal circumstances, triple the point deduction would be appropriate. If you are dissatisfied, I would be more than willing to add detention cleaning the trophy room."
"Ah! I get it! I get it!"
Saya cried out tearfully and dashed off toward the third-floor girls' bathroom. Since Moaning Myrtle had flooded it in a fit of temper, it would likely take until the end of the dance party to finish cleaning.
"Honestly… this is why I cannot stand Gryffindor."
Muttering to no one in particular, I followed her toward the third-floor girls' bathroom.
(End of chapter)
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