Chapter Text
The mentorship program was a longstanding tradition at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One that Deputy Headmistress McGonagall took quite seriously. Mentors were volunteers from years four through 7 who were there to help show new students around the castle, answer questions about their homework, help them make friends, prevent bullying, and help with any feelings of homesickness. Naturally, any concerning behavior was to be brought by the mentor to the Hogwarts staff, but by and large, the system worked well to help first-year students adjust to life at the school.
Harry Potter attending Hogwarts was a big deal in and of itself. Minerva knew Harry had been left with those horrid muggles and that he wouldn’t know the first thing about their world. So she knew his mentor had to be exceptionally kind and patient. They also had to be someone who wouldn’t be blinded by Harry’s fame and could care for the child he was. After much thought, fourth-year Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory seemed a good match for young Harry.
When Harry finally entered Hogwarts he was beyond speechless. Magic was amazing. And all the people there were just like him! They could also do those freaky things Aunt and Uncle didn’t like. But here, at Hogwarts, Harry was safe to do all the freaky things he could, and if he learned well maybe he could learn to stop doing those things back at Privet Drive. Harry steeled himself to learn control of his magic as best he could and focused back on the scene before him.
A hat was going to sort them into their houses. Odd…but okay. Harry waited to be called, approached the hat, and after a bit of back and forth about going to the same house as that pointy blond git, was placed in Gryffindor. Sitting with his new housemates a feast appeared on the table. Harry was shocked by how much food there was and desperately hoped there would be other occasions to try it all. He knew even a few bites of such rich food would make him violently ill. Instead, he put a single roll, some steamed veggies, and a small spoonful of mashed potatoes on his plate. Even that was pushing his luck, but he didn’t want to have to answer any questions about his eating habits either. His stomach hurt when he was done, but he wasn’t ill, so Harry counted that as a win. After the feast, it was up to the dormitories and off to bed - not that Harry slept much that first night, he still couldn’t believe he was away from the Dursleys.
The next morning Harry was up at his usual time: dawn. He found himself in the great hall before food even appeared on the tables and was able to snag and eat a single triangle of toast before anyone else entered the hall. This worked well as he was able to tell his new dorm mates he had already eaten without them getting suspicious. Professor McGonagall handed out all the Gryffindor schedules. Attached to Harry’s was a slip that read:
Harry Potter, Gryffindor, year 1
Mentor: Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff, year 4
Before anyone at the Gryffindor table could ask about the slips, a hand appeared on Harry’s shoulder, startling him and sending him flinching into Seamus who sat next to him on the bench. Harry turned to see who grabbed him and looked up into the face of a handsome, older boy with a yellow and black tie. The boy frowned at Harry’s reaction and said, “Harry Potter, right? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. My name’s Cedric. I’ll be your mentor this year.” Harry nodded at the question but didn’t say much else. He wasn’t sure how much talking the others would tolerate from him. Cedric looked puzzled but smiled and told Harry to come with him and he’d show him the best routes to the classes he had that day.
Cedric spent the next few weeks showing Harry around the castle and grounds; sitting with him in the library to do homework after classes or when they both had free periods; and watching over Harry in the halls and at meals. The boy was painfully quiet, but kind, brave, and smart. Even though he was at a disadvantage being raised by muggles and not being given the muggle-born introductory reading list, Harry was a sponge and was learning everything he could at an alarming rate. Cedric was honestly surprised the boy wasn’t a Ravenclaw. Then again, the boy had already made Gryffindor’s quidditch team for some “feat of bravery” in his first flying class. Oliver Wood was being particularly closed-lipped about the boy, hoping to shock the other teams when they played him. Harry was friendly enough with his housemates. The Weasley boy and Granger girl were constantly seeking him out, but Harry seemed to prefer the companionship of Neville Longbottom – if Cedric had to guess why, he’d say it was because the Longbottom boy was as shy as Harry and certainly less pushy than Weasley and Granger. Frankly, Cedric was pleased with Harry’s progress and quite happy with the little firstie.
That year was a quiet one. Cedric and Harry continued in the routine they set up those first few months. Cedric was surprised when the boy didn’t go home for Christmas or Easter, but was happy to hear Harry enjoyed his holidays in the castle. Cedric had gone home for Christmas but stayed in contact with Harry via letters. (And also may have asked his friends who stayed at the castle that year to keep an eye on his mentee.) For all that Harry was younger, Cedric and his friends were happy to include him in their friend group. The boy only asked occasional questions when studying (and even less when Cedric pointed him to those introductory books he’d been missing) and was happy to just be included when they were out on the grounds.
Harry’s first year finished without much fanfare. Cedric and the others had noticed him getting quieter and more withdrawn in the weeks leading up to the end of term, but any inquires as to why were rebuffed with a smile and a whisper of “I’m well, nothing’s wrong,” from Harry.
Soon Harry found himself back on the train to King’s Cross Station, dreading the summer before him. Cedric pulled him into a compartment with him and his friends, as he intended to help Harry find his family before heading out with his parents, and sitting together would make that much easier than finding him again once they reached the station. He helped Harry get his trunk down in the compartment and joked with their friends as the boy trailed a bit behind the group. Once they were on the Platform, Cedric said goodbye to the others and turned to allow Harry to catch up. Cedric was shocked to see tears in the boy’s eyes. “Hey, now,” he said kneeling in front of Harry so he could look into the smaller boy’s eyes. “What’s going on?”
Harry had tried to keep his head. He’d made it the whole train ride without crying. He’d thought he’d just have to say a quick bye to Cedric and then he’d be free to…to cry and collect himself before returning to hell. He didn’t even understand why Cedric was still here. All Cedric’s other friends just yelled their goodbyes as they rushed to see their families, why was Cedric not running to see his parents? Harry was lost in thought when a hand touched his cheek and he flinched away, rushing to apologize “Sorry! Sorry, I-”
“Harry, stop. Breathe. You’re okay, kiddo. I was just trying to get your attention, you were a ways away,” Cedric said patiently. “Now, why are you crying, sweetheart? You’ve been quieter than usual for weeks and now you’re in tears. Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s nothing. I’m sorry. I’m being ridiculous.” Harry sniffled. It was bad enough that he couldn’t keep from crying. The year was over, he wasn’t Cedric’s problem anymore.
“Haz,” Cedric sighed. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. If you need a minute to think, that’s fine, but I’m not ignoring this further.”
That shocked Harry. Cedric couldn’t just keep his parents waiting, what if they got angry? He didn’t want Cedric to get in trouble. “But your parents!” He all but shouted in Cedric’s face, whipping his head around wildly to try to find them, to try to see if they were already angry with Cedric’s dawdling.
Cedric dropped his hand to Harry’s shoulder. The boy flinched again, but not nearly as badly as when Cedric touched his face. “Harry, my mum and dad are right over there,” he said motioning behind him with a tilt of his head. Harry looked over at them to see a man a bit taller than Cedric with glasses and greying chin-length hair and a woman who came up to his shoulder with the same kind eyes as Cedric and curly, long blonde hair tied back with a ribbon. The woman smiled at Harry and continued chatting with her husband and another parent on the platform. “They’re in no rush. They know I planned to see you off. They told me to take my time in making sure you were settled. They’ll probably still be talking to Mrs. Boot in an hour. Don’t worry about them.” Harry was startled by that revelation. They knew about him? They were okay with Cedric spending time with him. Wait…seeing him off? “Now, what has you so upset, Harry?”
Harry panicked, “You can’t see me off!” His mind was going too fast, he couldn’t think through everything quickly enough, but he knew he couldn’t let his relatives talk to Cedric. They’d say something mean to him or worse, they’d say something about Harry that would make Cedric never want to talk to him again. It was bad enough that Cedric wouldn’t be around anymore next year. But Harry hoped he’d still see him in the halls and Cedric would still smile at him occasionally. Harry could live with that. With small interactions when they passed by one another. He knew that they wouldn’t sit together anymore and wouldn’t hang out like this past year, but he couldn’t let his Aunt and Uncle tell Cedric how much of a freak Harry was.
Cedric was shocked by the outburst but figured Harry would elaborate. It soon became clear, however, that whatever was going on in Harry’s head was winding him up. Harry was nearly hyperventilating and Cedric was worried he’d make himself sick if he didn’t start to breathe normally soon. “Okay, Haz. I won’t see you off. Can you take a deep breath for me?” Harry’s eyes were still darting around wildly and there was no indication he’d heard Cedric at all. Cedric was shocked. This wasn’t normal behavior for Harry. Not once had Cedric seen anything resembling a panic attack from Harry all year. Whatever was going on in his head was sending him spiraling. With another sigh, Cedric stood up. The sudden movement caused Harry to flinch and snap his head up to look at Cedric. Cedric took the opportunity to grab Harry’s shoulders and pull him into a tight, but not restricting hug. “Don’t struggle. Just take a deep breath for me, Haz.” Harry tried. It was clear he was too worked up, but at least he was hearing Cedric now. “Good job, Harry. Take another one.” For a few moments, Cedric just walked Harry through breathing normally.
Finally, Harry was breathing calmly again, still held tightly against Cedric’s chest. He knew he should move, but he figured if he wasn’t going to get to be with Cedric next year, he could be greedy now and soak in as much as possible from this hug. Cedric’s voice interrupted Harry’s thoughts, “Alright, Haz. I need you to tell me what’s going on.” Harry sighed, he was going to have to put it into words and then Cedric would realize how stupid he was for getting attached and he’d probably avoid him more next year because of how weird Harry is. He could feel his eyes filling with tears again. Cedric ran his hand through Harry’s hair and Harry almost yelped - no one had done that before. It felt so good. “Come on Haz, tell me what’s going on, “ Cedric asked again while petting Harry calmly.
Harry sniffled, turned his head just enough so that he wasn’t talking directly into Cedric’s stomach, and said, “I know it’s dumb. I’m just…just sad that I w-won’t see you next year. I know y-you’ll be in the h-halls and stuff. But I’m sad I won’t be able to sit with you, and study with you, and go outside w-with you a-anymore. I know it’s dumb. I don’t know w-why I’m being so dumb. I’m sorry. I-”
Cedric’s mind shorted out a moment, but finally, he cut in, “Harry what on Earth do you mean ‘you won’t see me?’ Why wouldn’t you see me, Haz? Sure, we’ll have different schedules and it’s my OWL year so I might have to study more, but you can still study with me in the library and you’re always welcome to join the group when we’re outside. Why won’t you be with us?”
“It’s just,” Harry sniffled again, “you won’t be my mentor anymore. Surely you won’t want me around, especially if you have another kid you have to-” Cedric brought his hand up to cover Harry’s mouth.
“Nope. Stop right there,” Cedric said before removing his hand from Harry’s face and releasing him from the hug so he could kneel down to look Harry in the eye again. “Harry, I may not be your mentor next year but I’m still your friend. We can still study together and hang out. I don’t know what I did to give you the impression we weren’t friends, but I consider you to be one of my favorite people, Haz. I would be devastated if I didn’t see you next year. Is this what made you shut down so much the last few weeks?” Harry nodded meekly. “Harry, sweetheart, you can’t do that to yourself. You’ve been hurting for weeks over a misunderstanding. Next time you have to tell me what’s going through your head. I don’t like seeing you upset, kiddo. We will be friends next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and all the years after that. Even after you’ve graduated from Hogwarts, Haz. As for not being your mentor, you didn’t need a mentor after a month, Harry. You’ve been my friend, not my mentee since then. I didn’t even volunteer for another mentee next year, Harry. I figured I should focus on my OWLs and the friends I already have, you included. I will be most upset if you aren’t around next year. Who will be there to take breaks with me if you aren’t? Hmm?” Cedric looked Harry up and down and his eyes softened, “Alright, Harry? There’s nothing to worry about there. Is there anything else on your mind, kiddo?”
Harry just stared, wide-eyed at the boy. Friends. Cedric considered them friends. Harry darted at him for a quick hug, knocking the air out of Cedric. Cedric heard a soft “Thank you” from Harry before Harry let him go and made to grab his trunk. “I-I’ll see you next year then?” Harry asked.
“Of course, Haz. Are you sure I can’t walk you out to see your relatives?” Cedric asked. He felt something wasn’t right there, but he wasn’t sure what.
“No, thank you, I’ve kept you from your parents long enough. And anyway, they’re muggles so you’d have to go through the barrier twice. I can manage,” Harry said as he squared his shoulders as if he was going off to battle, and walked through the hidden doorway to the muggle side of the Platform. Cedric smiled and shook his head fondly before turning to his parents. He didn’t see Harry’s Uncle grab his arm hard enough to leave bruises. He didn’t hear the man yell at Harry for keeping them waiting. He didn’t see Harry shaking silently in fear before they even arrived in the car park. He didn’t see the multiple locks on Harry’s bedroom door, or the catflap used to feed the boy (when they deemed it pertinent to do so). He didn’t see the beatings Harry received that summer. He didn’t see the broken bones the boy’s magic tried desperately to fix. He didn’t see the dehydration the boy suffered. He didn’t see the bruises that covered the boy’s skin when he returned to Hogwarts in September.