#sidenote but cedric looks hella fine in this episode

[nox-in-a-box]

Headcanon that because Cedric is absolutely terrified of beetles and other crawley things, they are therefore his least favourite potion ingredients so he keeps them in a special container so that they can never get out of on their own. When he is forced to use them he will never ever touch them directly, instead using his wand to make them float. and he will keep them at a distance, of course.

Based off of the scene here where he freezes up when the beetles crawl onto him:

Also, just look at Cordelia's face. She probably is very much aware of his fear and used it against him for tricks like this since they were kids.

Now, most people would hate having bugs on them but I think that sorcerers would be more used to dealing with them (and other things typically regarded as not very nice) since they do have to use them regularly in potions or spells. So Cedric would have been the odd one out here. He refused to go near the beetles during his potions class and of course, people noticed this and this just gave them more reasons to mock him.