Another Cedric x Hermione ficlet for your viewing pleasure. I've found myself head over heels in love with this pairing lately, probably due to the tragedy of it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All Harry Potter trademarks belong to J.K. Rowling and the song I used was "Careless Whisper" by Seether.
Hermione had never felt quite so nervous as when she came down those stairs for the Yule Ball. It had nothing really to do with Viktor or her appearance, it was the eyes. She'd always had an inkling of stage fright.
This time though, it was his eyes that she felt so unsure of being on her. Those stormy grey eyes that she had fallen into at the Quidditch World Cup.
Even as she was in Viktor's arms dancing and feeling beautiful for the first time in her life, she looked for him. For Cedric Diggory.
I feel so unsure
As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor
As the music dies
Something in your eyes
Calls to mind a silver screen
And all of the sad goodbyes
It was only half an hour in that Hermione mustered her Gryffindor courage. He was sitting alone at the edge of the dance floor, Cho nowhere in sight. There was nothing stopping her, since Viktor had been accosted by Karkaroff a few minutes ago.
Nervously, she made her way over to the Hufflepuff boy. "Do you want to dance?" Hermione asked, nibbling the inside of her cheek.
Cedric started slightly, head jerking up. When he looked up at her though, he smiled. "Sure," he responded, eyes lighting up at the sight of her. He truly was a beautiful sight.
It was impossible to not glow. Hermione led him by the hand to the edge of the dance floor, elated with the feeling of his Quidditch roughened hand in hers.
I'm never going to dance again
These guilty feet have got no rhythm
Though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
I should have known better than to cheat a friend
A wasted chance that I've been given
So I'm never going to dance again...
The way I danced with you
It was a fairly slow song, so Cedric rested one hand on her waist. The other, he kept in hers but he adjusted his grip to lace their fingers together. Without thought, Hermione squeezed his hand briefly as she laid her free hand on his shoulder.
Cedric smiled slightly and tightened his grip on her. "You look beautiful tonight," he complimented, beginning to lead her in smooth circles, "I didn't recognize you for a few minutes."
"No one did," Hermione replied, looking down slightly to hide the flush that her cheeks had taken, "You look amazing also." Her pleased grin was impossible to hide.
This dance nearly managed to drive everything from Hermione's mind. Ron, Viktor, the Tournament, everything left until it was just Cedric and her left in her own little world. She almost felt bad for it.
Time can never mend
The careless whispers of a good friend
To the heart and mind
Ignorance is kind
There's no comfort in the truth
Pain is all you'll find
"Thanks for asking me to dance," Cedric whispered against her temple, "I never would have gotten up the courage." He held her closer than a mere acquaintance would, his thumb rubbing in little circles on her waist.
It was impossible for Hermione to think until she had swallowed twice. Her heart felt about ready to beat out of her chest. "That's why I'm the Gryffindor," she teased lightly.
There was silence for a moment after that. It wasn't awkward at all, but it was heavy. Too many words were waiting to be spoken.
"If I weren't dating Cho, I'd have asked you," Cedric confided, "You've had my attention since the World Cup." He pulled her even closer, until there was scarcely a few inches left between them. They had slowed down a while ago, now mainly revolving in circles.
Hermione's smile turned sad, although she struggled to hold onto her cheer. "You've had mine too," she told him, although to her, her voice sounded strangled.
I'm never going to dance again
These guilty feet have got no rhythm
Though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
I should have known better than to cheat a friend
A wasted chance that I've been given
So I'm never going to dance again...
The way I danced with you
"Ironic, isn't it?" Cedric murmured, his eyes sad, "I'm dating Cho, you're with Viktor, and we both lost our chances before we even knew we had them." He never looked away from Hermione and it felt like he was reading her soul.
"Maybe it just wasn't meant to be," she replied, her chest tight. She knew that this never would have amounted to anything. She was the brainy girl who was always up to her eyeballs in danger and he was the handsome, popular boy who everyone loved; it was a total mismatch. That didn't make it hurt any less.
They must have been on the same wavelength, as Cedric breathed, "I guess not. But for right now... would you be mine?" Despite his calm but bitter acceptance of the situation, he looked hopeful.
It was impossible for Hermione to find the strength to crush that. "For right now," she agreed, the corners of her lips turning up in a slight smile. It was more than she had ever dared hope for.
The eyes looking on didn't bother her anymore. For the moment, Hermione's entire sphere of attention was right here within the arms around her and the grey eyes shattering every wall she had built. It was like they were apart from the crowd around them, miles away and able to just be themselves together.
Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it's better this way
We've hurt each other with the things we want to say
We could have been so good together
We could have lived this dance forever
Now who's going to dance with me
"I overheard what happened with Weasley," Cedric interjected unexpectedly, "I think he's starting to realize how much of an idiot he is." He looked somewhere between amused and annoyed at the thought.
"I should hope so," Hermione sniffed, before mockingly quoting Ron, "Hermione, you're a girl!"
Cedric choked. "Did he really say that?" he asked in disbelief. Upon seeing her nod, he asked dryly, "You want me to clean his clock for you?"
Though the offer was tempting, Hermione shook her head. "You're the enemy too, remember?" she reminded him, rolling her eyes at the stupidity of boys, "But forget about him." She didn't want to have her best moment of the night ruined by conversation about Ron, of all people.
"Forgotten," Cedric agreed, a shadow of a smirk on his lips. It only made him look more handsome, nothing like the cold and malevolent expression it was on anyone else.
She was so busy just watching him that Hermione didn't realize he had spoken until he gave her a puzzled look. "Sorry," she apologized, mentally kicking herself, "I was just... caught up in the moment. What did you say?"
Please stay
I'm never going to dance again
These guilty feet have got no rhythm
Though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
I should have known better than to cheat a friend
A wasted chance that I've been given
So I'm never going to dance again...
The way I danced with you
Luckily, Cedric didn't seem to mind. "I asked if you wanted to go somewhere else," he repeated, his voice low with nervousness.
Hermione was spared the task of answering when Viktor came up to them. "Might I haff my date back?" the Bulgarian requested politely.
There was a choice for her to make, Hermione realized when she glanced between the two Champions. In Cedric's eyes she could see a promise to stand by her no matter what she chose, though there was no hiding the masochistic hope that it would be him. The very notion sent a thrill down her spine.
A sudden chill seemed to wrack Hermione's petite frame as she slid out of Cedric's arms. The thin smile she gave him as she placed her hand on Viktor's arm meant more than anyone could possibly know. "I'm sorry," she mouthed at the Hufflepuff.
Cedric nodded to her with the corner of his lips only slightly tilting. When he looked at Viktor however, his eyes went slightly cold. "Take care of her," he warned, though in a way it was a threat, "Because if you slip up, there will always be another man waiting to snatch a treasure like Granger right out of your hands." With that and a last tender glance at Hermione, he walked over to where Cho stood with her friends.
That was where it ended, a love story between two brilliant people that was doomed before it had a chance to start. Viktor suspected something, but never completely figured it out. It would stay that way, a secret, guarded dragon-like for the rest of their lives.
That was... Almost anti-climactic. Not sure what I was expecting to put down at the end, but this wasn't it.
It's the best effort I can make however, keeping within the chosen format. In general, I'm quite pleased with this. Please tell me what you think!
-Thrae