When Harry first entered the Prefects Bath all he could do was stand around with widened green eyes, taking in the grandeur before him. He was stunned by how huge the room was. Massive and quite elaborate in some ways although he was surprised to see that the walls were quite bare other than the one. On that wall was a portrait of a pretty mermaid who, thankfully, had her back turned to him and appeared to be either sunning herself on a rock or sleeping.

He supposed the other walls were empty due to the moisture permeating the air. Fragrant, spirals of steam were encompassing the entire area and Harry noticed that its origin was the swimming pool sized bathtub which took up the vast majority of the room. As he moved closer to the tub, Harry let out an awed, "Whoa."

Now that he could see a little better, he could tell that the walls, floor, and tub were made of white marble. Not that he was an expert on such things, but his aunt Petunia had a table with a marble top and this looked a lot like that. When Dudley had gone to set a glass down on its surface without the benefit of a coaster, he'd almost given his aunt a heart attack. Not that "Dinky Diddydums" was punished for his misdemeanor, oh no, it was he that had borne the woman's wrath. Of course, it was all his fault because his fat, bully of a cousin hadn't had a coaster on hand.

Stepping close to the edge of the sunken bath, Harry looked down. He wasn't going to have to go in the entire way which suited him just fine. There was a built in bench, also made of marble, and Harry estimated that when he sat in it he'd be about chest high in the water.

Harry wasn't one of those blokes who were comfortable in his own skin. Sure, he'd had to change in the locker room after a Quidditch match, but for the most part, he'd managed to wait out his team and change after the last person was gone. He wasn't ashamed of his skinny frame because, truth be told, he wasn't all that skinny anymore. He'd filled out considerably due to regular, hearty meals and Quidditch had built up the muscles in his arms, chest and back. So, his body wasn't the true source of any embarrassment, he'd just rather change in private.

Although he was pretty certain no one was going to make an unexpected entrance, Harry still made his way to the door and slid the bolt home. One couldn't be too sure of these things, and what if one of the Prefects decided to take a late night bath and discovered him? No doubt, he'd be in some serious trouble, and he couldn't afford anymore serious trouble.

It didn't take him long to undress, all he'd thrown on after he was sure his dorm mates were sound asleep was a T shirt he'd flung over his boxers. He grabbed one of the fluffy white towels from a corner of the room, and used the wall for balance while he stripped off his socks. Naked, Harry walked back to the side of the tub and gingerly lowered himself in careful to avoid all the faucets that lined the tub.

He'd miscalculated the depth of the water, it actually crawled up to nearly his neck and boy, did it feel good! It was hot but not too hot and the aroma, though slightly girly in, his opinion, was still rather nice. It was only after he'd entered the tub that Harry realized that he'd left his egg over by his discarded clothes.

"Shite," he muttered under his breath before realizing that he didn't have to be quiet because Hermione wasn't here to give him the stink eye about his language. "Shite," he exclaimed louder and then let out a childish giggle at his silliness.

"Having fun, Potter?"

Harry, startled out of his mind, made a frantic effort to get out of the tub. His arms and legs flailed wildly when his foot slipped on the rim of the bench and he ended up doing nothing other than swallowing tons of scented water. Coughing and sputtering, Harry rose to the surface, peering through the mist, his head moving this way and that as he searched for the origin of the greeting.

"Who's there," Harry asked, voice wavering.

A masculine chuckle was the only reply, and then Harry heard the distinct sound of someone swimming in his direction. Harry pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes, dimly seeing the silhouette of a figure whose features became more distinct the closer he got, and he wasn't really surprised to be staring into the fine features of Cedric Diggory. Bloke was a Prefect after all and had every right to be in this bath, Harry just didn't think he'd be here tonight.

Slicking his hair back, Diggory mentioned conversationally, "Didn't think you'd be coming here so soon."

Climbing back onto the bench, making every effort at maintaining modesty, Harry replied, "Well, Hermione said it was urgent that I get this egg thing straightened out."

"I see," Diggory answered back while sliding onto the bench beside the younger boy much more gracefully than he had. "She does seem like the sort to have your best interests at heart. She's helping you out, yeah?"

Glancing side-ways, Harry noted that the water lapped against the older boys' chest just under his nipples making him feel even smaller by comparison. "Um, yeah," He muttered, embarrassed.

Sensing what Harry was feeling, Diggory hurried to assure him. "It's perfectly fine for you to have help, Potter. The rest of us are two or more years ahead of you in knowledge of spell-work. I hear Granger is quite adept at all sorts of things beyond the level of most Fourth years. You shouldn't be ashamed of accepting her assistance."

Feeling a tad better, Harry nodded before saying, "It's decent of you to think so. Thanks."

There was a tension-filled pause before Diggory cleared his throat murmuring, "You seem to have left your egg over by the towels."

"Yep,"was Harry's non-committal rejoinder.

"You're going to need it," Diggory helpfully pointed out.

"Um, well… I kinda don't have a stitch of clothing on at the moment," Harry bit out in exasperation.

"Oh," Diggory breathed, the situation becoming clear to him. "I could close my eyes while you fetch it."

Harry was feeling like a real dope, but readily latched onto Diggory's suggestion. "That'd be great. Thanks."

"No problem," the older boy assured while closing his eyes to give the kid some privacy.

After checking that Diggory wasn't peeking, Harry got up and out and made his way over to his egg. It was heavy and slippery in his hands, but he still managed to quickly make it back to the bath, careful in his footing because the last thing he needed was to fall and look like more of an arse than he already did.

Once settled, Harry said, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Cedric did, just in time to catch Harry unlatch the egg, preparing to open it. He flung out his hand, splashing Harry in the face while yelping, "Don't open it now!"

Wiping droplets away with a shaky hand, Harry retorted angrily, "Not only did you get me in the face with water, but you scared the shite out of me, you git!"

Cedric blushed. "Apologies, Potter. I was trying to save us both from the inevitable head-ache. Have you tried opening it before?"

Now, Harry blushed before saying slowly, "Yeah. It was beyond horrible. My ears were ringing for days afterward. But, you said bring it to the bath so I figured it would be different here."

"I said, to bring it to the bath, sit in the water and mull things over," Diggory corrected him.

Harry's brow scrunched up in concentration, glaring at the egg as if it had personally done something offensive to the younger boy. "Under the water then."

"Now you've got it," Diggory said, sporting a proud grin.

Taking a deep breath, Harry dove under the water and unlatched the egg. He resurfaced, took another breath and dove back down. He did this several more times before finally coming to the surface. Flinging a mass of dripping hair back over his scalp, he climbed back onto the bench. For a bit, he just sat there breathing heavily, then turning a very direct gaze on Diggory, rapped out, "The Black Lake. That's the Second Task and it has something to do with Merpeople."

"Yeah," Diggory verified quietly. "That was my take on it too. You got there faster than me though." Harry blushed at the praise. "But, it's more than that. Something important to us will be taken, a 'treasure' and we only have an hour to find it."

"Under water," Harry mumbled discontentedly. "We have an hour to find our 'treasure' under water."

"That's about the size of it," Cedric agreed with a nod.

"Great. Just great."

Nudging him with his shoulder, Diggory cajoled with forced cheer, "Come on, Potter you've still got Granger. Cho says she's the most brilliant witch in Gryffindor. She'll sort this all out in no time."

"Cho said that," Harry ventured to ask, doing his best to sound casual.

Grinning, Diggory replied, sounding as casual as possible, "Yeah, she admires Granger tremendously. Thinks she should've been sorted to Ravenclaw."

"Probably," Harry conceded. "Thank Merlin she wasn't or I'd really be screwed. It was decent of Cho to say such nice things about Hermione. Most think she's a swotty know-it-all, so yeah that was really amazing of Cho."

"You fancy her." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I… I... j… just think she's amazing is all," Harry stuttered while watching Diggory warily from the corner of his eye.

"True enough," Cedric agreed amiably, while crossing his arms behind his head, closing his eyes and sinking lower into the water.

Harry took the opportunity to give his companion the once over unobserved. Cedric Diggory was definitely a good-looking bloke. Sun-bleached hair, now darkened by the bath, was pushed up and over the perfect line of his forehead. His eyebrows might have been a tad on the thick side, but they suited him; giving his almost too pretty features a touch of much needed masculinity.

Gaze moving downward, Harry noted the smooth peach-like complexion stretched over high, delicate-looking cheekbones. His jawline was well defined with a chin that carried a slightly inward dent in the middle while his mouth seemed perfectly proportioned, he noticed that his lower lip was a tad fuller than the upper.

The only thing marring such divine perfection was his slightly crooked nose which must have been broken at some point in his life. Cocking his head to the side, Harry thought that even though it wasn't a perfect nose, it had character and made the older boy seem more human and less of an Adonis-like figure.

The long line of his neck was slender and elegant but wouldn't be categorized as dainty; there was a controlled strength to the underlying muscles and strained tendons hidden there. Quidditch had broadened and nicely defined his chest, made more so by the expansion of his pecs at having his arms crossed behind his head. Harry was hoping that in a few more years his chest and biceps might look as nice. He wasn't scrawny anymore but he figured a few more years and he'd be fit like Diggory or more so.

"You should go for it," Diggory informed him.

What exactly was Diggory encouraging him to do?! Had Diggory seen him staring and jumped to conclusions?! Harry shifted uncomfortably, steering his eyes away from Diggory's form. I mean, yeah he was fanciful enough, but he liked girls, and wasn't Diggory dating the out-of-his-reach Cho Chang?!

Eyes still shut, Diggory added, "She would have gone with you, you know if you'd gotten to her before me."

Harry let out a relieved sigh. Okay, he was talking about the beautiful Ravenclaw girl that Harry had been crushing on for ages. Wait! What?

"Really," Harry's voice cracked.

Lush lashes fluttered open, revealing amused smokey grey eyes. "Absolutely," the older boy declared with a chuckle.

"But, you're so..." Diggory quirked a brow. "So… so... you."

The kid was beyond flustered. It was kind of cute. Raising the other brow, Cedric inquired, "Meaning?"

Arms flailing, Harry exclaimed, "You know! Good-looking. Popular. A Prefect. Hogwarts rightful Champion. One of the best students in the school and all around perfect. Can't think why Cho would prefer me to you."

Biting his lip, Diggory stated firmly, "I am not perfect, Potter. On top of that, you're not giving yourself enough credit." Harry almost went cross-eyed as the older boy continued earnestly, "You're a hardly difficult to look at and you have the most incredible jewel-like eyes. Seriously, it's like they're made out of emeralds or something. Your hair is a challenge for sure." Harry winced. "But you should embrace that challenge because no one else has a mop like yours which makes it different and different can be mighty appealing, let me tell you."

"You're lean but not skinny, and at some point you're going to fill out quite nicely. Your shy, which can be mistaken for awkward but anyone who has seen you fly, knows for damn sure that you're as graceful as they come. The only thing wrong with you, Potter is that you haven't been exposed to many girls other than Granger and that little red-haired Third year that keeps following you around. You just need a bit of exposure to other females so you can learn how to handle them, is all."

Harry was gaping, he knew he was but couldn't seem to help himself. No one, not even Hermione, had ever pointed out what they thought were his best attributes and to include his hair in that? Well, he'd never looked at it from that perspective, but then he remembered Sirius telling him that his dad had the same hair and carried it off proudly. Even had a tendency to mess it up more than it's already out-of-hand craziness. His dad had owned it, just like Diggory was suggesting.

Fingers snapping in his face brought his attention back. "You okay in there?"

"Yeah," Harry whispered. "You just gave me a lot to think on, is all."

Diggory commanded with authority, "Well, while you're busy thinking. Think on this, will ya. Ask Cho out. I'm certain she'd say yes."

Baffled, Harry exclaimed, "She's dating you. She's going to the Yule Ball with you. I thought you liked her. I thought you guys were an item, everyone's saying so. I mean, Parvati's sister said that she's seen you guys snogging in the Astronomy Tower and that Cho is always talking about you and about how fabulous you are… in many areas!"

Instead of looking guilty, Diggory began to laugh. Serious belly laughs that echoed off the walls of the bath, waking the mermaid in the picture from her slumber. Harrumphing, she glared at them before turning her back once more to pick up her brush and began using it on her long hair. Seeing Harry's disgruntled expression only sent Diggory off into another stream of uncontrollable laughter.

"It's not funny," Harry shouted. "You're using Cho and that's wrong!"

Gaining some semblance of control, Diggory laughingly disputed Harry's claims. "I'm really not." At Harry's disbelieving glare, Diggory sobered up and added, "Don't get your non-existent knickers in a twist, Potter. I like Cho, I really do, and yes we've had a few hot snogging sessions in the Tower and other places. She's a wonderful kisser and I enjoyed myself immensely." Harry glared harder, fists clenching beneath the rapidly cooling water. "If she's going around telling other people that we've gone further than that, then she's lying."

"Why would she lie," Harry demanded.

"That's what girls and blokes do sometimes. They exaggerate and embellish to make themselves either look better or just to be popular. Sometimes, they think it's expected of them which, I think, is the case with Cho. She's not a malicious person, so I'm guessing her House-mates have been badgering her for details on this particular Badger. Since we've only snogged and studied together, I'm thinking those stories got old fast and with nothing else to add, she felt the need to do some adding-on."

This side of Cho was an unpleasant surprise to Harry. He already had tongues wagging all over the place wherever he went, so the thought of Cho possibly adding to that made his stomach turn.

Reading the younger boy correctly, Cedric tried to reassure him. "Listen, don't be putting Cho up on a pedestal; she's not perfect, none of us are. She's sweet and smart and I don't think she'd ever do anything to hurt you. We all know you're the topic of some serious speculation." Harry snorted derisively. "Cho has never bought into any of it. She never believed you were the Heir of Slytherin and she firmly put me in my place when I originally thought you slipped your name into the Goblet. She's been on your side all along, Potter. Give credit where credit is due."

Nodding slowly, and looking rather sheepish, Harry hesitantly asked, "So, you wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all," Cedric declared honestly. "Although you might want to keep it under wraps until after the Yule Ball, or we might all be in for some seriously nasty gossip-mongering and there's been more than enough of that lately. So yeah, keep it quiet."

Working up the courage, Harry asked, "What do I say? H… How do I go about doing this?"

"What's the problem," Cedric asked, looking confused. "You managed to ask her to the Ball, didn't you?"

Harry grimaced and said, "Yeah, but see, that didn't go so well. I mean, I had to repeat myself because I ran all my words together and it made no sense and it was just a mess all around. To say I handled it less than smoothly, would be down-playing it in a big way."

Rubbing a hand along his neck, Harry continued, sounding so pained that Cedric couldn't help but feel pity for the kid. "There's other stuff too. I... uh, I've not ever really, you know… k… kissed a girl, or anything like that. Like nothing. At. All. Ever."

Tentatively, Cedric asked, "You haven't uh, practiced at all?" Potter just gave him a strained, confused smile. "You know, on a friend. You've never practiced with a friend?"

"I didn't have friends before I came to Hogwarts," Harry threw out casually, as if that wasn't one of the saddest things ever.

"How about Granger, then?"

Shaking his head vehemently, Potter said, "I think that would be the case of the blind leading the blind."

Cedric stifled a grin. Clearly, Potter hadn't heard about Granger and Krum, and while there weren't any wild rumors running amok (yet), Cedric had seen them getting pretty cozy in the library on more than one occasion. Truth was, a reliable source had seen Granger leading the Bulgarian Seeker into one of the more infamous, least-used alcoves of Granger's favorite haven, for a bout of heated snogging.

"Then make do with your other friend." At Potter's confusion, Cedric pointed out, "You know Fred and George's little brother. You guys have been tight since your First year."

Potter's gem-like eyes got huge, then he screeched incredulously, "Ron! You want me to snog, Ron?!"

"Calm down. Just practice on him, that's all. No need to declare your undying love or anything."

Holding up a finger, Potter stated succinctly, "First off, Ron and I are on the outs." Putting up a second finger, he continued. "Second, Ron's a bloke!" Adding a third digit, Potter exclaimed, "And third… that's just gross! Uggg… no way would I practice on him!"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Cedric asked quietly, "So is the issue that he's a bloke or that he's Ron?"

Harry blinked. "I never gave much thought to snogging another bloke."

"Give it a think then,"Cedric encouraged, face serious.

"Right now?!"

"Yes, Potter, right now."

It was clear that Diggory wasn't going to let this go and was taking this whole thing quite seriously if the tight set of his shoulders and stern expression were anything to go on. Harry closed his eyes and thought about kissing various blokes of his acquaintance. Most made him queasy and uncomfortable, but there were a select few that didn't make Harry shudder in distaste. They didn't want to make him go straight out and snog them silly either, but they did make him strangely curious now that this whole kissing of blokes subject had been brought forward. Another few minutes passed as Harry thought further on the subject, then he opened his eyes and stared directly into Diggory's.

"What's the verdict," he asked quietly.

Smirking somewhat, Harry stated directly, "Well, I for certain do not want to snog Ron, even if we weren't on the outs." Diggory smiled. "There were a few others (Seamus, especially) that I couldn't see myself locking lips with and not wanna bring up my lunch. Like I said, never gave it much thought but I guess there was one or two that had me curious and not in least grossed out."

Pleased, Cedric said, "Sounds like if you found the right bloke, you'd be okay practicing with them."

Shrugging, Harry answered back, "I suppose." Harry neglected to mention that one of those blokes was no longer at school here and the other would totally not go for it.

Grinning wickedly, Cedric quipped, "If it wouldn't offend your delicate sensibilities or your capacity to keep your supper in your mid-section, I'd like to offer myself up as a possible candidate. So, how about it, Potter? Wanna snog Hufflepuff's Hottie?"

Harry was stunned at the realization that the one other bloke he'd be willing to snog, just offered himself up on a silver platter.