Fanfiction: The Arrogance of Pride
Title: The Arrogance of Pride
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith and Cedric Diggory
Prompt: Green
Word Count: 1348
Rating: PG13, for language.
Summary: Cedric confronts Zacharias over the badge and what it means to have pride.
Author’s Notes: The second in the 100HPFanfic challenge.
Zacharias Smith puffed up his chest as three Gryffindors passed by him, making certain they could clearly read the green lettering that spelled, “POTTER STINKS” on his badge. The looks of discontent satisfied him and he continued on his way through the Great Hall.
As the corridor turned left, his glance caught a first year, Eleanor Branstone, who sheepishly waved a hand at him. She smiled, pointing proudly at a similar badge on her robes, and she rushed on near the staircases. The whole experience was random, but any encounter with Eleanor was random ever since Zacharias made the mistake of giving her his pudding at the Sorting Ceremony.
In honesty, he wasn’t hungry. By experience, girls seemed to read into actions more metaphorically than boys.
A last-moment manoeuvre helped him avoid colliding with a student who didn’t bother to keep her eyes straight. Noting her red and gold tie he flashed the badge on his robes once again. She stopped for a moment for a closer look, but after reading it she threw a disgusted look in his direction, teeth scowling. He did not care. Smiling to himself, he continued along his way and thought only of how much time he would need for his Ancient Runes homework.
“Smith, wait for a minute.” Zacharias turned and stared stupidly into the crowd of students until he pinpointed the source of the voice. While he did as he was asked, Cedric Diggory stepped ahead of his vision, only stopping once to look over his shoulder and motion for his friends Summers and Edmond to continue down the common room without him.
“Where have you been, Ced?” inquired Zacharias with a smirk. “Cads and I were starting to think you left the old team for that foreign lot. Couldn’t resist asking Krum about that World Cup move, could you?”
“What are you thinking, wearing that thing, Smith?”
He followed Cedric’s finger to his badge and instantly realized that this was a confrontation. “It’s a support badge, Diggory.” He pressed and the magic within changed the button back to its pro-Cedric message. He grinned and continued, “Thought it was funny, myself.”
The older student was not as easily impressed. Seriousness was crisp in his voice. “There’s nothing amusing about it. I’ve been asking everyone to stop wearing them.”
Zacharias’s expression changed from amusement to disappointment as quickly as thought. His eyebrows tensed, and narrowed. “Why?”
“It’s not fair to Potter.”
“Not fair to Potter?” The words were strained and had to be forced out of his mouth. Zacharias could read Cedric’s face and understand that he undoubtedly meant every word he said. No ground for misinterpretations. Realizing this, Smith folded his arms and replied in his own stern manner, “What exactly is so unfair about it? Don’t tell me you actually think he didn’t put his name in the Goblet.”
“It doesn’t matter whether he did or not.” Zacharias Smith found this response lacking. “No one needs to wear that to show their support. I know that’s not what they’re being used for. It’s in poor taste, Smith, and I would like to believe that at least the Hufflepuffs could be past that.”
“It’s not like the Gryffindors are past it.” His mind raced as he reflected back to the taunting the entire Quidditch team received after beating them at the match the previous year. It made his blood boil, and his fists clinch. Even the Slytherins lost with more dignity than they. “What, you haven’t heard?” he asked. “You’re nothing but a pretty-boy to them. They call you by that all of the time, you know. They say the rest of us are useless without you.”
He did not expect Cedric to smile, and he detested him for it. “I’m sure that’s not the worst insult I have ever heard. And since when did you start weighing people’s opinions of yourself?” The words had some truth attached; Zacharias was normally not one to be bothered by what others thought of him; not even when a particularly smug Ravenclaw referred to him as a “lanky streak of piss” after asking why she was so terrible at riddles.
When it became obvious he was not going to respond, Cedric continued. “Look, I’ve just asked Macmillan and Cadwallader to stop wearing it and they’ve agreed to spread the word throughout the dormitories. I’d appreciate if you would do the same.”
Ernie Macmillan was the first to distribute the badges around the Common Room. Everyone who accepted one would wear them with pride. The true Triwizard Champion was a Hufflepuff, after all. Hufflepuffs supported each other. So why wouldn’t the Champion appreciate the badge in his honour? Even worse, why would he then look down on those who were supporting him?
Zacharias scoffed. “Are you trying to make it easier for the Gryffindors to steal our glory?”
“What are you saying?”
“You know what I’m saying, Diggory. You wouldn’t allow us our victory last year at Quidditch without asking a rematch from Wood, and now you want us to support Potter.”
“I’m not asking you to support Potter.” Cedric always seemed to manage to keep a collected tone whenever he and Zacharias did not agree, and it was rare when they did see eye-to-eye on topics. In the end, he always appreciated his captain for it, but Smith sometimes wondered what it would require to make him mad.
“It sounds that way to me.”
Cedric Diggory seemed flabbergasted by his statement, and Zacharias Smith queried what he had said wrong. “Stop being dramatic. You or anyone can support me, but be reasonable about it.”
“What got stuck up your arse, Diggory? You never cared about this before.”His reply did not convince the younger student, and Zacharias looked down at his badge. After mentally mulling over for a minute, he finally made eye contact again. “Some pride you have. When’s the last time Hufflepuff had any respect around Hogwarts?” When Cedric made a move to respond, he cut him off. “Haven’t won the Quidditch final in years, never mind the House cup. And now that we finally have an opportunity, you want to take it from us.”
“This Tournament is not about deciding which House is better, Smith. It was supposed to unite Hogwarts together and through unfortunate circumstances it’s done nothing but drive it further apart. This isn’t about Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, or House pride. The Triwizard Tournament is intended to reach out to the other schools and bring wizards together in friendly competition….”
“Bollocks!” Zacharias Smith always had a tendency to speak his mind rather than think beforehand, and he often overlooked that Cedric was still a prefect and very capable of taking points from the House for dropping a clanger like that.
With a shrug of his shoulders, he pulled his backpack over his shoulder in clear frustration. “Those wizards and witches from Durmstrang and Beauxbaton couldn’t give a toss about inter-wizard correlation; they want to win. The Gryffindors want to win. We want to win. The only one who seems not to care is you, and what use is that to us?”
The Triwizard Champion shook his head, despite himself, but kept perfectly constant. “Of course I want to win. But you’re missing the point. Eternal glory is nothing but a page in some history book. Names are rarely remembered, easily forgot. Can you name a former Triwizard Champion?”
Zacharias Smith hated being wrong.
He bit his lower lip in annoyance, tired of being preached to. “Go and play the valiant hero, Diggory. Prefect or not, you cannot make me stop wearing this.” He turned his back and made a step for the Great Hall. He turned a deaf ear to Cedric’s remarks of disapproval. Cedric would see what he meant when he won, when Hufflepuff earned the respect of the school again.
As the Creevey brothers stepped into the Great Hall behind him, he turned and pressed the badge on his robes, regressing the message back to “POTTER STINKS.” Colin and Dennis huffed, stamping their feet in anger. Zacharias laughed.
--
I apologize for any Americanisms. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith and Cedric Diggory
Prompt: Green
Word Count: 1348
Rating: PG13, for language.
Summary: Cedric confronts Zacharias over the badge and what it means to have pride.
Author’s Notes: The second in the 100HPFanfic challenge.
Zacharias Smith puffed up his chest as three Gryffindors passed by him, making certain they could clearly read the green lettering that spelled, “POTTER STINKS” on his badge. The looks of discontent satisfied him and he continued on his way through the Great Hall.
As the corridor turned left, his glance caught a first year, Eleanor Branstone, who sheepishly waved a hand at him. She smiled, pointing proudly at a similar badge on her robes, and she rushed on near the staircases. The whole experience was random, but any encounter with Eleanor was random ever since Zacharias made the mistake of giving her his pudding at the Sorting Ceremony.
In honesty, he wasn’t hungry. By experience, girls seemed to read into actions more metaphorically than boys.
A last-moment manoeuvre helped him avoid colliding with a student who didn’t bother to keep her eyes straight. Noting her red and gold tie he flashed the badge on his robes once again. She stopped for a moment for a closer look, but after reading it she threw a disgusted look in his direction, teeth scowling. He did not care. Smiling to himself, he continued along his way and thought only of how much time he would need for his Ancient Runes homework.
“Smith, wait for a minute.” Zacharias turned and stared stupidly into the crowd of students until he pinpointed the source of the voice. While he did as he was asked, Cedric Diggory stepped ahead of his vision, only stopping once to look over his shoulder and motion for his friends Summers and Edmond to continue down the common room without him.
“Where have you been, Ced?” inquired Zacharias with a smirk. “Cads and I were starting to think you left the old team for that foreign lot. Couldn’t resist asking Krum about that World Cup move, could you?”
“What are you thinking, wearing that thing, Smith?”
He followed Cedric’s finger to his badge and instantly realized that this was a confrontation. “It’s a support badge, Diggory.” He pressed and the magic within changed the button back to its pro-Cedric message. He grinned and continued, “Thought it was funny, myself.”
The older student was not as easily impressed. Seriousness was crisp in his voice. “There’s nothing amusing about it. I’ve been asking everyone to stop wearing them.”
Zacharias’s expression changed from amusement to disappointment as quickly as thought. His eyebrows tensed, and narrowed. “Why?”
“It’s not fair to Potter.”
“Not fair to Potter?” The words were strained and had to be forced out of his mouth. Zacharias could read Cedric’s face and understand that he undoubtedly meant every word he said. No ground for misinterpretations. Realizing this, Smith folded his arms and replied in his own stern manner, “What exactly is so unfair about it? Don’t tell me you actually think he didn’t put his name in the Goblet.”
“It doesn’t matter whether he did or not.” Zacharias Smith found this response lacking. “No one needs to wear that to show their support. I know that’s not what they’re being used for. It’s in poor taste, Smith, and I would like to believe that at least the Hufflepuffs could be past that.”
“It’s not like the Gryffindors are past it.” His mind raced as he reflected back to the taunting the entire Quidditch team received after beating them at the match the previous year. It made his blood boil, and his fists clinch. Even the Slytherins lost with more dignity than they. “What, you haven’t heard?” he asked. “You’re nothing but a pretty-boy to them. They call you by that all of the time, you know. They say the rest of us are useless without you.”
He did not expect Cedric to smile, and he detested him for it. “I’m sure that’s not the worst insult I have ever heard. And since when did you start weighing people’s opinions of yourself?” The words had some truth attached; Zacharias was normally not one to be bothered by what others thought of him; not even when a particularly smug Ravenclaw referred to him as a “lanky streak of piss” after asking why she was so terrible at riddles.
When it became obvious he was not going to respond, Cedric continued. “Look, I’ve just asked Macmillan and Cadwallader to stop wearing it and they’ve agreed to spread the word throughout the dormitories. I’d appreciate if you would do the same.”
Ernie Macmillan was the first to distribute the badges around the Common Room. Everyone who accepted one would wear them with pride. The true Triwizard Champion was a Hufflepuff, after all. Hufflepuffs supported each other. So why wouldn’t the Champion appreciate the badge in his honour? Even worse, why would he then look down on those who were supporting him?
Zacharias scoffed. “Are you trying to make it easier for the Gryffindors to steal our glory?”
“What are you saying?”
“You know what I’m saying, Diggory. You wouldn’t allow us our victory last year at Quidditch without asking a rematch from Wood, and now you want us to support Potter.”
“I’m not asking you to support Potter.” Cedric always seemed to manage to keep a collected tone whenever he and Zacharias did not agree, and it was rare when they did see eye-to-eye on topics. In the end, he always appreciated his captain for it, but Smith sometimes wondered what it would require to make him mad.
“It sounds that way to me.”
Cedric Diggory seemed flabbergasted by his statement, and Zacharias Smith queried what he had said wrong. “Stop being dramatic. You or anyone can support me, but be reasonable about it.”
“What got stuck up your arse, Diggory? You never cared about this before.”His reply did not convince the younger student, and Zacharias looked down at his badge. After mentally mulling over for a minute, he finally made eye contact again. “Some pride you have. When’s the last time Hufflepuff had any respect around Hogwarts?” When Cedric made a move to respond, he cut him off. “Haven’t won the Quidditch final in years, never mind the House cup. And now that we finally have an opportunity, you want to take it from us.”
“This Tournament is not about deciding which House is better, Smith. It was supposed to unite Hogwarts together and through unfortunate circumstances it’s done nothing but drive it further apart. This isn’t about Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, or House pride. The Triwizard Tournament is intended to reach out to the other schools and bring wizards together in friendly competition….”
“Bollocks!” Zacharias Smith always had a tendency to speak his mind rather than think beforehand, and he often overlooked that Cedric was still a prefect and very capable of taking points from the House for dropping a clanger like that.
With a shrug of his shoulders, he pulled his backpack over his shoulder in clear frustration. “Those wizards and witches from Durmstrang and Beauxbaton couldn’t give a toss about inter-wizard correlation; they want to win. The Gryffindors want to win. We want to win. The only one who seems not to care is you, and what use is that to us?”
The Triwizard Champion shook his head, despite himself, but kept perfectly constant. “Of course I want to win. But you’re missing the point. Eternal glory is nothing but a page in some history book. Names are rarely remembered, easily forgot. Can you name a former Triwizard Champion?”
Zacharias Smith hated being wrong.
He bit his lower lip in annoyance, tired of being preached to. “Go and play the valiant hero, Diggory. Prefect or not, you cannot make me stop wearing this.” He turned his back and made a step for the Great Hall. He turned a deaf ear to Cedric’s remarks of disapproval. Cedric would see what he meant when he won, when Hufflepuff earned the respect of the school again.
As the Creevey brothers stepped into the Great Hall behind him, he turned and pressed the badge on his robes, regressing the message back to “POTTER STINKS.” Colin and Dennis huffed, stamping their feet in anger. Zacharias laughed.
--
I apologize for any Americanisms. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.