"I know you didn't mean to, just..." Howard squints his eyes and takes a shaky breath. "I get so scared, okay? I thought for sure you had...I don't want to lose you like I did my parents. So don't do that. Try real hard not to do that to me."

He finishes the bowl of potion, licks the inside and sets it aside. He blinks a few times and then leans forward, resting his head on Cedric's lap. He doesn't want to scare Cedric; he doesn't even think of himself as that intimidating a person, and he'd never hurt Cedric, not on purpose, not physically, nothing like that.

"I just don't want to lose you."