Someone Like Her/Him
Summary: Ron is bloody right. One-shot, and my first attempt at this couple. Hermione x Cedric
Disclaimer: Obviously, the characters are not mine. If they were, these two would be together.
"Diggory?"
Cedric raised an eyebrow to the soft, but firm voice behind him. Turning around, he adjusted his eyesight so as to see the little fourth year. Definitely not what he has heard and knows. "Don't play the timid one, Granger," he grinned, "You'll give anyone a start coming off as a timid girl, and ripping their head off a second later."
Hermione's lips pursed and glared softly at him, noting his teasing tone. "It's not that I come off timid, but rather you come off vain to think everyone else is intimidated by you."
"Again, ripping their head off," Cedric laughed, echoing down the empty hall. "So, what is it that the great Hermione Granger wishes to speak to me of?"
Hermione swallowed the blush as best as she could, blame her feminine side for the tingling she got from the laugh. "I need to speak to you about the badges…" her voice lowered, causing him to lean in just to hear her. "Harry doesn't say it, but he's actually really quite bothered by it...and…"
Cedric nodded, noting her discomfort and at awe with her for daring to come up to a sixth year when she was a fourth, "I'll do what I can." He shot her a charming smile.
Hermione immediately brightened, smiling up at him before spinning on her heel and walked away. As if forgetting something, she stopped, turned, and flashed him a wide smile, waving, "Thank you!" She screamed before running off somewhere.
She was just so happy at his simple words, that it made him wonder after the girl, especially after catching her hair across his face and the whiff of some mixture between old books and something distinctly her.
Sitting in the library, so engrossed in her Arithmancy problems, Hermione didn't notice the figure standing behind her, nor did she notice someone pulling a chair up beside her and sat, openly staring at her.
Cedric shook his head, smiling amusedly. How the girl could be so engrossed in…eew, Arithmancy, Merlin can only wonder. She bit her lip as her quill moved at an impossible speed, darting down numbers, symbols, and equations that even he, a sixth year, barely knew. While one hand worked the quill, the other held the parchment down against the table as not to move as her quill worked. Growling several times as she ran out of room, she mumbled something about wizards, rolling parchment, and ancient, old ways.
He noticed others walking about noticeably around them, getting up for no reason and not even watching where they were going as they tried to see what he and Hermione was doing – one even bumped into a corner table.
Sighing inwardly at the busy nobodies, he levitated the box and let it crash on the library table.
Hermione swore her neck snapped as she turned sharply at the sound, jumping in her seat as she did.
Cedric swallowed his laugh, and settled for a chuckle and a rueful smile. "I had to get your attention somehow," he shrugged, grinning.
Hermione still hadn't turned to look at him, but instead stared at the box. "What's in it? It sounded like…"
"What does it sound like, Granger?" he whispered, as he shot Madam Pince a charming, sorrowful smile for the noise.
"Clattering."
"And?"
After a long pause, "I'm not very fond of guessing games, Diggory," Hermione finally turned on him, tiredly.
Smiling, he opened the box. "I collected as many as I could."
She stared gaped mouth at the box. "I had hoped…but…" Her eyes turned on him, and threw herself at him. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she squealed, jumping up and down in excitement as she did.
Madam Pince turned sharply at the sound, but seeing as it was Hermione Granger in the arms of the young Cedric Diggory, she pretended to see past the two.
Lavander dropped her magazine – Merlin, forgive, Witches Vogue, magazine even.
Pansy slammed her fist down on Draco's hand as she stared in absolute reflex at the sight.
Luna took her head out of the clouds, as Ginny's eyes bulged out of her sockets and said, "They make a good couple."
Cedric blinked in surprise and forgot all about the people around him and their curious glances. Chuckling, he replied, "No problem. I'm thinking you should return the favor if it means so much to you."
Hermione stopped, leaned back, and blushed a bit for jumping him. As sure as she was of his familiarity to girls flinging themselves at him, she still shouldn't have done it. Not her. "Come again?" she asked warily.
Cedric grinned at her and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I'll take the favor now, thank you," and kissed her chastely on the cheek before standing up. "I'll see you around, Granger." He walked from a shocked Hermione staring after him. Turning around, he grinned and waved at her before fully exiting the library. All thoughts on the brown-haired girl and her chocolate eyes, he wondered how long it took for the grapevine to travel – apparently, not long at all.
"What's this I hear about you and Granger?" Scott grinned at him.
Cedric coolly shrugged and continued to eat his dinner.
"Hermione, pass the ketchup will ya? And, what's this I hear about you and Diggory?" Harry tried to casually ask.
Hermione nearly dropped the ketchup before meeting his eyes and replied, "Nothing."
Seeing how Hermione dropped her eyes and pursed her lips, Harry dropped the subject.
"Hermione!" Ron suddenly yelled as he stomped over to the two. "What the bloody hell is going on? What's this all I hear about you and bloody Diggory?" Ron roared.
Harry shook his head at Ron's tactic as he quickly swallowed as much food as he can before the fight break out.
Hermione slammed her hand on the table, glared at Ron furiously and spat, "Why are you yelling at me?"
Ron, red with anger and embarrassment as people gathered round, didn't back down. "Why am I yelling? Because I bloody hell care for you! That pretty face isn't interested in you! He's yanking your chain! Trying to get into your knickers! Someone like him wouldn't … "
Harry gulped his cup down, and almost wanted to congratulate Ron for actually managing to stop ramming his foot into his mouth.
""Someone like him?"" Hermione whispered frostily, nodding, and almost as if to herself she added, "Yes, someone like him and me can't possibly go together, right?" She finally glared at Ron coldly, the heat of the anger gone now.
Harry stood now and threw his arm back as he knocked Ron down. "You bloody idiot!" Harry hissed. A hot blooded Hermione he can deal with, but a frosty Hermione is a hurt Hermione. Turning around, he saw her back as she disappeared out the doors of the main hall. "Fuck."
Walking briskly, Hermione made sure to take several turns and rounded several corners until she was sure she came to a hall of the castle that no one knew about – at least a hall where she never once saw anyone before.
The hall is small – tiny almost compared to the Dining Hall – but absolutely larger than the Gryffindor Common Room. There is no portraits and no particular standing decoration save for the odd candle chandeliers in the corners. The center of the room had a single large burgundy couch that offset the vibrant red, flower patterned carpet that covered the majority of the room from the center. The wall opposite the door had a fireplace inside the wall. Curiously, it warmed the center of the room and the side walls. The two side walls were of bookshelves filled with odd and end books – To Weave a Carpet Magically, Hats and Gaggles Galore, Quills of the World, Bonks and Tonks and Magical Zonks.
Reading the names out loud, Hermione had once giggled and laughed curiously. Now though, she couldn't even bring herself to smile happily. Her smile shook, and it hurt. She knew Ron was brass, but that knowledge didn't quite spare her from the pain. His words really did cut her.
"Right," she said bitterly in the empty room, ""Someone like him" wouldn't give a rat's ass to someone like me."
"You're wrong," a voice came from behind her.
Hermione immediately spun on her heel and backed up in surprise. The voice had been strangely close to her, and she looked up to see none other than the subject of her musings.
"Ron's being an arse," Cedric ran a through his already messed up hair. "I know that from just hearing about him, surely you would know that from knowing him that long."
Hermione's shoulders stiffened as she turned away and continued trailing her hand down the row of bookshelves. "Knowing doesn't prevent me from getting hurt."
Cedric stood there and waited for her. She looked to be about bursting with anger.
As he expected, she suddenly turned and glared at him. "I can't believe that he would say something so stupid in the Dining Hall even! Everyone was there! And this all happened because I wanted to do a little something good for Harry! Hell, does it say somewhere that all good deeds backfire in your bloody face or something? Is that why the people don't do it? Did someone forgot to tell bloody me the fact? I swear, I just wanted to be a good friend and help him through this tiny ordeal, and what does Ron do? He blows it up in my face!" she ranted, and then suddenly pointed, "This is your entire fault!"
Cedric nodded, "Yes, it is I apologize."
Hermione was taken back for a minute at how readily he apologized at her unreasonableness. "What?"
He walked straight up to her, arms still folded, and leaned down slightly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you on the cheek, and I should have given the badges to you differently – in private perhaps, or through someone else. I knew there were people there, yet I caused a scene that filtered throughout the school. I didn't think of the repercussions, and I apologize."
Hermione stared at him, flabbergasted.
Suddenly, Cedric started chuckling before laughing full-fledgedly in her face.
Hermione huffed before laughing as well.
Cedric laughed to the point he had to lean on the bookshelf for balance.
Hermione laughed until she was holding her stomach in slight pain.
Tears came from both their eyes.
Cedric eyed the young girl in front of him, and noted her flushed cheeks and full bellowed laughter rang like bells to him.
Hermione couldn't see, much less think, straight. Here she was, the school's biggest bookworm, laughing with no care with Hogwart's most wanted boy.
Hearing as how both started to sober, Hermione smiled at Cedric. "Thank you for being unreasonable with me."
Cedric mocked surprise, "Well, what else is one to do when there's Hogwart's most clever witch her age is being unreasonable? Correct her? Merlin's no, not if one wants to be hexed ten times over!"
Hermione laughed. "You're hilarious, you know that."
"I think this means you owe me another one," Cedric nodded as he leaned down.
Hermione beat him to it though. Before Cedric could plant a chaste kiss on her cheek, she planted one on his. "Thank you!"
Cedric froze before reaching out for her neck and pulled her in towards him. This time, however, he brushed his lips over hers once before separating a hair breath away. He saw her froze in surprise, and stared at him wide eyed.
She gulped as she stared into his grave face. "Are you serious?"
In reply, Cedric closed his eyes and brushed their lips again before moving against her lips, kissing her.
Hermione was frozen.
Cedric enjoyed her lips for another second before briskly turning around, saying bitterly, ""Someone like her" wouldn't like "someone like me," more like."
Hermione heard him. His tone hurt ten times more than Ron's words. She didn't know she could move that fast until her legs carried her quickly to him before he could leave the room. She grabbed his robe from behind, turning him around. Cedric stared at her in surprise this time, and she pulled him down using the cuff of his shirt to her face. Planting a hard kiss against his lips, he parted his lips in surprise and her tongue slipped in his mouth, stroking his tongue. He groaned into the kiss, and his arms wrapped around her waist as her arm hung around his neck and the other combed through his hair.
The need for air broke the two apart, both panted as their cheeks flushed.
As if she suddenly realized what she did, Hermione's whole face went beat red and she looked away from his face.
Seeing that, Cedric's hand went to where her cheek and neck met and redirected her gaze at him. Grinning wickedly, he said, "Ron said I wanted to get into your knickers. He's right."
Hermione didn't think she could turn any redder, but she did after his declaration. She smacked his chest hard, but he caught her wrist and pulled her against him. Wrapping his hands around her and trapping her arms to her side, he leaned down and kissed her again. His tongue stroked hers, and she moaned into the kiss.
Parting again, Cedric kissed her jaw and down the side of her neck, burying his face in her hair. "But, I'll settle for this, for now."
Hermione giggled, "What if I told you I wanted to get into your pants?"
Cedric immediately pulled back to stare at her wildly.
He didn't know it, but he looked like a little kid who got to open his Christmas present early. Hermione laughed. "No."
Cedric half growled and half laughed. "Tease."
Suddenly, a candle chandelier dropped as they saw Harry holding Ron by his wrist appeared at the doorway.
Harry's jaw dropped while Ron's face turned red from anger.
"I fucking told you Harry!" Ron yelled, his finger jabbing at the two, "He just wants to get into her knickers!"
Cedric smirked, "Who doesn't want to get into her knickers?"
Ron's face immediately turned redder than his hair as Harry's jaw dropped to the floor.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Ron kept screaming incoherent things until Harry finally knocked him out, and continued staring at the two, mouth agape.
"I can't believe Ron is bloody right," Harry muttered, dragging Ron by the foot away from the couple.