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Hufflepuffs, it could be said, liked to touch. When praising a friend, a Slytherin might give a dignified, “Well done!” A Hufflepuff, on the other hand, will give a bouncy “Well done, mate!” and slap him on the back. When a Gryffindor girl admires a fellow Gryffindor’s hair, she will merely compliment it. When a Hufflepuff likes someone’s hair, she will reach out and run her hand through it, along with a long stream of compliments. And when you get high marks on a test, a Ravenclaw smiles and nods in admiration. Hufflepuffs, however, will shriek with excitement and give you a hug. Multiple hugs. And call everyone else in the common room to come over and hug you as well. Of course, they’ll do the same if you try hard on an exam and only get decent grades, because it’s not the score that Hufflepuffs care about, it’s the effort. And effort is rewarded with as many hugs as can be given.
Which is why Cedric Diggory wasn’t really surprised when Pixie Fever spread so widely and quickly throughout Hufflepuff House. He didn’t know who had first contracted it or how. But he did know the first time he noticed it.
Cedric had been lying on one of the many sofas in the common room, with his head in Rodrick’s lap. Stephie was absent-mindedly caressing his cheek as she was reading aloud from The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Six. He noticed that her touch was a little warmer than usual. And when he turned his head and looked up, he saw small, green splotches on their necks and chins.
He sat up and immediately pressed his hands to their foreheads. “How’re you feeling?” he asked.
Rodrick shrugged. “Now that you mention it…”
“You feel hot,” he said. “You both do.”
“I bet it’s that Pixie Fever that’s going around,” said Stephie, reaching up and patting his hand before he retracted it. “Some of the second and third years have been coming down with it as well.”
Disturbed, Cedric looked around the Common Room. There seemed to be fewer students there than usual, despite it being too late to be out at the library or whatnot. “You’d better head to bed also,” he told them. He stood up and helped his friends up, one at a time. He saw Stephie to the door leading to the burrow-like passages that formed the girls’ dormitory rooms. Then, with an arm around Roderick’s back, he escorted the boy to their dormitory room and helped him into bed.
*
It had been raining ferociously lately. Once again, Cedric was forced to practice in the chilling autumn rain. He swerved and dodged, pushing himself to the limit, but was unable to avoid the wet and cold. He stood in the locker room afterwards, shivering furiously, until the captain came over with a hug and a restorative draught. That warmed Cedric up, from head to toe, though he noticed his teammate, Melly, was still shivering.
Cedric quickly changed into warm clothes then went over to where she sat on the bench. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, which had a greenish tint to them. “No,” she confessed. “I think I’m coming down with something.”
Cedric nodded. “I kind of figured as much,” he said.
“I was gripping the broom so hard my legs were practically numb by the end, but I didn’t want to give up early and definitely didn’t want to fall off my broom.”
“I’m impressed you made it through practice; good for you. Now let me help you back to the castle.”
She gave him a smile and nodded weakly.
*
Cedric was raiding the linen closet next to the boy’s bathroom down one of the passages off of the Hufflepuff common room when he ran into Ernie McMillan, a third year boy whose legs were giving out on him. “Whoa!” Cedric grabbed him and supported him, keeping him upright. “What can I get you, Ernie?”
Ernie clung to Cedric. “I told the others I’d get some blankets.”
Cedric grabbed a stack of blankets and carried them, along with Ernie, back to the common room. There was a small group of third years huddled together in front of a fireplace, trying to stay warm while doing their homework. They all had green tints to their fever-bright eyes. It was Pixie Fever, for certain, not that Cedric expected anything else.
Cedric set Ernie down amongst the younger students and distributed the blankets. They snuggled together under the blankets. Wayne shared with Hannah, Ernie shared with Justin, and Megan shared with Susan. Wayne was giving Susan a shoulder rub which continued through the blankets once they were all wrapped up.
Justin was doing his best to work on his charms homework, but his arm kept shaking, making sparks spurt from the end of his wand in abysmal formations. Cedric didn’t know what Justin was trying to get it to do, but guessed he wasn’t going for haphazard sparks. Cedric patted some of their backs. “Maybe you should go to Hospital?” Cedric suggested.
Ernie shrugged. “If we do, we might not get to go to the Halloween Party tomorrow evening,” he said. The others nodded in agreement. Hufflepuffs did love a good party better than almost anything else. “We can manage a little Pixie Fever. It’s not so bad, really.”
“Remember those skeletons Dumbledore brought in last year? Amazing.” Justin coughed while others nodded, following the plan. “We don’t want to miss the festivities. Besides,” he continued, “No one will notice us.”
Cedric smiled. It was true; no one noticed Hufflepuffs… except for other Hufflepuffs.
“You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
“Not if you don’t want me to.” He patted Susan’s and Ernie’s backs. “But I don’t want any of you going to Hogsmede tomorrow.” The lot looked crestfallen. “There will be other Hogsmede Trips and you need to stay warm and rest if you want to go to the celebration.”
They all agreed with Cedric’s judgment in the end.
*
The Butterbeer he had in Hogsmede had never tasted so good to Cedric. He didn’t feel ill, and was certainly glad of that fact. But it was still wet and chilly outside and the drink warmed him right up. More importantly, it put him at ease. He was worried about his fellow students and wished he could do more. It wouldn’t take much; just a small word here or there.
*
The Halloween Celebration was fantastic and magical for everyone in the Great Hall. However, things were rather subdued at the Hufflepuff table. Cedric saw the third years still huddled together, and saw half of the Quidditch team looking sluggish and pale… and maybe a little green as well. When Susan reached for a roll, her arm shook so badly she had to pull it back and hug it to her chest, not wanting to knock anything over and cause a scene. Justin kept nodding off on Ernie’s shoulder. Stephie and Rodrick looked better, but were still downing one goblet of pumpkin juice after another.
Once again, Cedric considered telling someone. All it would take was to make a pass by the staff table and nod in the general direction of his fellow ‘puffs. But he would never break a confidence; he was too loyal to his friends and house. He knew the others would say something if they truly needed help, but it was still painful to see them working so hard to try to enjoy themselves while this Pixie Fever raged through them.
And then, suddenly, Professor Sprout was there, at the middle of the table, with two pitchers in her hands. “I couldn’t help but notice many of you were feeling a little under the weather. This should do the trick.”
Cedric beamed happily as he watched the Hufflepuffs helping themselves to the sparking, green liquid in the pitchers. He poured a few gobletfulls for friends whose arms were shaking too much.
“If you need more, let me know and I’ll sneak out to get some more,” she said, apparently not minding in the least that she might miss the celebration, if it meant taking care of her house. “I know you lot don’t want anyone to make a fuss and you don’t want anyone to call attention to you. But I don’t want you miserable either. So drink up and get a good sleep. You should be right as rain by the morning.”
She went back to the staff table just as the Hogwarts Ghosts helped begin the entertainment portion of the evening.
*
Cedric had just entered his dormitory room when Gerome, the seventh year prefect, burst into his room. “School emergency! We’ve got to get everyone back to the Great Hall. Ced, look after the third and first years. I’ll get the fourths and sixths. Barnaby is already talking to the seconds. We’ll assemble in the Common Room and move out in a pack. Quick!” He dashed out, leaving Cedric and the other sixth years feeling stunned.
Then Cedric’s heart began to race. “You heard him, fellas. Get a move on!” Cedric raced over to the third years’ dormitory room.
“Emergency!” he said, bursting into their room. “The professors need us in the Great Hall immediately.”
The boys scrambled. Their legs seemed a little unsteady, but they shoved their shoes back on and made to leave.
“Do you need help?” Cedric asked. “I want to be sure you can get there before I round up all the first years.”
“We’re fine,” both Wayne and Justin said at virtually the same moment.
Ernie added, “We’ll help you with the first years.”
“You don’t need to—”
“We want to,” Justin said. Cedric felt their foreheads and looked into their eyes. The former were warm, not burning hot. The latter were white, not green and glazed-over.
About ten minutes later, all of Hufflepuff house was gathered together in the Great Hall with a lot of other confused and curious students. Only the Gryffindors seemed to have any idea what was going on, so the Hufflepuffs listened closely and tried to follow their lead.
“The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle,” Professor Dumbledore told them all. “I’m afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here….” Dumbledore went on to tell them the Head Boy and Head Girl were in charge, which meant that Cedric would be answering to Percy Weasley; there were worse things. Percy was bossy and particular, but he always seemed to know what was best, and that was what they needed right now, Cedric figured.
Dumbledore cleared the room and gave them hundreds of squashy, purple sleeping bags. They didn’t look like they’d be as comfortable as four-poster beds, but Cedric was pleasantly surprised. Once he’d snuggled into one, he had the overwhelming desire to go right to sleep.
But the Hufflepuff Prefects agreed amongst themselves to take turns sleeping in shifts. That way, they could look after each other. Before Professor Sprout left to help search with the other teachers, she did a thorough and careful head count of her students. Then she did a second one, just to be sure everyone was present and accounted for. “We’ve got this,” Gerome told her. “You can go take care of the school. We’ll take care of each other.”
She rubbed his head, ruffling his hair, then left to join the search.
Gerome slumped down next to Cedric and sighed. “Do you think they’ll find Sirius Black?” he whispered.
Cedric shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” He patted Gerome’s arm. “Get some sleep while you can. I don’t want Weasley to see we’re awake and talking.”
“Good thinking.” Gerome started nodding, then reached over and felt Cedric’s forehead. “You’re still well, right?”
Nodding, Cedric saw that the boy looked relieved. “I’m fine. Sweet dreams.” Cedric watched everyone else peacefully fall asleep around him.