Draco hated Cedric Diggory.

He hated his stupid hair and his stupid eyes and his stupid smile. He hated how everyone was fawning over the Hufflepuff Prefect like he was Merlin incarnate.

Yes, he used to root for Diggory, but that was before the entire school started worshipping the ground he walked on. That was before Diggory's secret date was revealed.

That was before Diggory came into the ball with Hailey Potter on his arm.

Draco hadn't seen it coming, had been completely blindsided by it. One minute he was talking to Blaise and Pansy and the next Diggory was walking in with Hailey and they looked so perfect and so happy that Draco had wanted to scream.

His admiration for Hailey was one of his greatest secrets. It had started the first time he had seen the girl back in Diagon Alley. The second he realized who she was, he tried to bring her into his circle, determined to spend as much time as he could with her but Weasley had already integrated her into the Gryffindorks. He had stood fuming while the Sorting Hat put her with the lions.

Stupid fucking hat.

He played all those stupid tricks on her to get her attention, to see her fix those beautiful blue-green eyes on him, even if they were full of anger. He lived for those few moments when her whole being was focused on him. Not Weasel, not Granger, not Longbottom, not any other person.

Him.

He had been certain that he would be able to eventually woo her. He had been planning on doing it when they got just a little older and they were both more mature. He was going to declare his love for her in front of the whole school.

Instead, Diggory walked in with her on his arm and both were smiling so brightly that it was almost blinding. She was stunning, just like always while that stupid Hufflepuff looked like a fucking rat.

At least he looked cute as a ferret. Not that he would ever admit that.

His date, he forgot her name, pulled him onto the dance floor for the first time. He performed the steps out of muscle memory, staring at Diggory and Hailey the entire time. They flew across the floor so perfectly that it made him want to hurl.

She looked so beautiful and was smiling so brightly that is made him ache in his dark heart for the fact that her gorgeous smile wasn't directed at him.

Hailey was on the arm of Cedric Diggory and he hated it and this stupid dance and the stupid tournament.

Most of all, he hated Cedric Diggory for stealing his favorite girl.