Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and co. and/or anything you may recognize.
All credits given to J.K Rowling (Harry Potter and co.), and Britney Spears for the amazing lyrics of "Sometimes" (love you girl!).
you tell me you're in love with me
Like you can't take you're pretty eyes away from me
Cedric stared deep down into the green eyes of the boy in front of him. He took a deep breath. There was no backing down now. He had entered the tunnel, now he had to go all the way through.
"I love you, Harry." Cedric said firmly.
Harry stared. Had Cedric Diggory, The Cedric Diggory just confessed undying love for him? Well, maybe not undying love, but love nonetheless?
"Oh…I" He was lost for words.
"When I see you walking in the corridors I can't help it but to admire you beauty, and when you look at me my legs feel like jelly."
The Boy-Who-Lived didn't answer and the Hufflepuff seeker didn't seem to mind.
"At first I thought our relationship was just that of friendship. But I don't feel this way towards any of my friends." Cedric continued. He was looking straightforward. Harry wondered whether he was actually looking at him or over the top of his head.
It's not that I don't want to stay
But every time you come too close I move away
Cedric moved closer to the smaller boy until they where a few just inches apart. He caressed Harry's cheek. The Gryffindor melted at the touch.
"Harry, please say something."
Oh my God, he's going to kiss me-thought Harry. The way Cedric was looking at him with such tender, yet hungry eyes, gave it away.
"I...I have to go!" With that said, he ran out of the classroom.
Cedric sat on a desk with his face on his hands.
I wanna believe in everything that you say
'Cause it sounds so good
"And then I ran away." confessed Harry
"You WHAT?!" said a bewildered Hermione.
"I ran away?" The boy repeated slowly.
"Harry, I can't believe you! You've been crushing on that boy for the longest time! You mopped around when he started going out with Cho Chang, and finally when he comes up to you and tells you that it's you that he wants, you just run away?!!!"
He sat down on the couch furthest away from his friend, just to be on the safe side. He knew what Hermione was capable of when she was angry.
"When you put it that way it sounds stupid from my part, but it's not that simple." Harry said
"How do you figure?"
"Who knows? He might have been joking around. Maybe he made a bet with his friends. You've seen the lot of them. They don't necessarily like me.
"You're just coming up with excuses, Harry. I think Cedric was being sincere. After all he told the Hufflepuffs to stop wearing those stupid badges last year during the Triwizard Tournament.
"Ron already had problems accepting the fact that I'm gay. I don't think he'll like it if I start going out with 'pretty boy'."
"I agree, and apparently so did Cedric."
"Why would you say that?" asked Harry intrigued.
"I saw them talking, and according to Ron they're on speaking terms now."
Harry remained silent. Hermione smiled.
"If you ask me you're just scared you'll fall hard for Diggory."
Scared, Harry thought, maybe she was right.
But if you really want me, move slow
There's things about me you just have to know
Cho sat down next to her friend, wondering what was wrong with him. She opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it.
"I followed your advice today." Said Cedric not looking at her.
"On what?" She asked.
"I told Harry how I felt about him."
After they broke-up they resumed to being just good friends, so Cedric had trusted her with his secret.
"Really? That's great, Cedric!" She hugged him tightly. "Go on, what did he say?"
"He ran away." Said the former Hogwarts Champion with a hurt voice.
"Oh, that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing…"
"Really? How many times have you ran out after someone has just told you how he felt about you?"
"I haven't, but…"
"You know what, don't sweat it Cho. You thought it would work out and so did I, but sometimes things just don't go the way we plan it to."
"I'm sorry, Ced. I could have sworn Harry liked you. I mean the way he looks at you. I'm usually good detecting vibes between two people."
"You tried."
Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
Harry spent the next week avoiding the Hufflepuff Prince. This meant he had to take the long way to classes, which could earn him a few detentions if he was late. But he was willing to take the risk if it meant not confronting the other Hogwarts Champion. He needed to gain time before they met again.
Harry, you are amazing! - said a voice suddenly.
The Gryffindor sighted. His subconscious was going to start giving him moral lessons again. I mean seriously, hadn't he heard enough from Hermione already?
Really, do tell- He said sarcastically.
Just admit that you are scared, and tell Cedric.
I will do no such thing!
He must be thinking that you don't like him.
That's better than he thinking I'm a coward.
Is that so?
It is!
After everything you've been through you think anyone will ever have the audacity of calling you a coward?
Maybe.
I know that it can be scary, because he's the first person you're emotionally involved with, but…
There was Cho.
Bah! You only think you liked Cho, but we both know that's not true.
I can't do this!
You've got me; I'll help you through it.
Of what help can you be? You're just an annoying voice inside my head!
(gasps!) I'm hurt!
Sorry, but it's the truth.
Do you remember that day when you felt like cursing Malfoy, but then changed your mind?
Yes.
Who do you think held you back?
That was you?
Precisely.
How could you?!
What?
I regret to this day not cursing that ferret!
But I saved you from a detention!
So what? Malfoy never got what he deserved!
That's beside the point!
Just go away and leave me alone.
Fine, but you do need to talk to Cedric. I know you love him. Besides you really need to let me sleep at night. I mean I need to rest in order to remain the voice of reason around this head.
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right
Be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time
It was 1 o'clock in the morning when Harry Potter made his way down from the Astronomy Tower. He had been up there refreshing his mind from all his worries. The shinning stars always made him relax. While descending the stairs he stumbled upon something or someone.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Said a very familiar voice.
"Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Lumos!" said the other raising his wand higher. "Potter!"
"Where are you going?" asked Harry out of curiosity.
"I don't believe that's any of your business, Scarhead." For some reason lowering his wand. He didn't curse anyone if there wasn't an audience around, Harry found out later.
"Why do you insist on calling me that? It's highly overused, don't you think?
Malfoy smirked.
"It's what I do, Potty."
Someone appeared behind them.
"What are you two doing here at this time of the night?" asked none other than Cedric Diggory.
"Diggory, how nice of you to join us!" said Malfoy acting as if he was very pleased to see the older boy.
"You're not supposed to be out of your dorms at this time of the night."
Harry mumbled a quick apology looking at anything but Cedric, trying to hide his growing nervousness. Cedric was aware of it, but didn't say anything about it.
Malfoy, however, didn't notice any of this.
"I could say the same thing for you." He said.
"I'm a prefect; I have permission to be here. You, however, do not!"
"Fine, I'll leave! And Potter, our conversation never happened! It would ruin my reputation if people found out that I actually had a civilized conversation with you without cursing you into oblivion."
With that said the Slytherin Prince left the other two boys behind, in a very awkward situation.
One of them had to break the ice eventually.
"I erm... better go too." It was Harry.
'I'll walk you to Gryffindor Tower if you want to." Cedric suggested.
Say yes, say yes! - said the familiar voice.
"No, it's not necessary." Harry practically fled from there.
Cedric watched him run away, yet again, with a sight.
"Nox!"
I don't wanna be so shy
Every time that I'm alone I wonder why
Hope that you will wait for me
You'll see that you're the only one for me
Harry was sitting in his four-poster bed having another argument with himself. This time he was holding a mirror in front of his face.
"Stupid, stupid Potter. I hate you so much!" He growled at himself loudly. "You've faced a basilisk, a dragon, dementors and Voldemort a dozen times, but you can't face a teenage boy!
"But he's not just any teenage boy, he's Cedric! He's tall, handsome, has creamy skin, toned muscles, tiny almost invisible freckles. And those eyes, who can resist those vivid, grey eyes of his? They make me want to forget any decency I was ever thought!" Said his reflection on the mirror also known as Harry's heart.
"Shut up! You're the one that got me into all this trouble in the first place. You just had to go and fall in love; we were just fine without it. Now tell me, how do we get out of this mess? I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"
"A little love never hurt anyone. I mean if he didn't love you back that would be another story, but he does. What's the big deal?
"Easy for you to say!" He shouted.
Seamus stirred.
"Harry? Is something attacking you?" He asked half awake.
"No, I'm fine. Go back to sleep!"
The Irish boy didn't need telling twice.
For once I'm glad I wasn't included in Harry's internal arguments! – said the subconscious.
I wanna believe in everything that you say
'Cause it sounds so good
But if you really want me, move slow
"There's things about me you just have to know" The boy-who-lived sang in the shower.
Ron poked his head in the bathroom door.
"Harry, you're singing!" He said a little surprised.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"No, it's just, I never heard you sing before."
"Yeah, well, it's not something I do very often. I just happen to like the song."
"Who sings it?"
"Some muggle singer, I think her name is Britney Spears, if I'm not mistaken."
"Cool, is she pretty?"
"She was, but I heard she wasn't looking too good lately. She had some problems, even shaved her head."
"Wow, that's a shame. But anyways, you have a nice singing voice, mate."
"Thanks, Ron."
Harry wrapped a towel around his waist and got out of the shower.
"I have a message for you, from Diggory." Said Ron blushing a little bit.
Harry frowned. So Hermione was right, Ron had become friends with Cedric. That's the only way he would accept to bring any message from him.
"Oh, yeah? What does he want?"
"He said for you to meet him tomorrow, in the old transfiguration classroom. He said you'd know where it is at."
He did. It was the place they had met before.
"Well, tell him I'm not going to be there." Said Harry.
"Why?" Asked Ron perplexed.
"I don't feel comfortable around him, so I better just forget about him."
"You're mental!"
"Be as it may."
Ron just shook his head.
Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right
Be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time
"With the OWLs coming up, nobody has time for fun anymore." said Luna Lovegood to Hermione and Harry.
"I know, I've studied so much that I find myself reciting academic stuff at the most random moments." confessed Hermione with a nervous smile.
"Really? Because I remember that you've done that since I first met..." Said Luna, but Harry stopped her from continuing.
"Hold up, I thought you were a fourth year, Luna." observed Harry.
"I am, but I hang out most of the time with fifth years." She said
"Oh, ok."
Just then a group of Hufflepuffs appeared at the end of the corridor. They were walking towards the Gryffindors. Cedric was with them. With a quick movement Harry forced the two girls into the nearest hall.
"Harry, what are you doing?" said Hermione rubbing her arm. "That Hurt!"
"Avoiding a confrontation."
The muggleborn rolled her eyes and sighted. Luna on the contrary was giggling like a mad person.
"What's up with you?" asked Harry.
"This is a very fascinating story and I'm so glad to be part of it." She said between snickers.
Harry looked at Hermione. She shrugged.
"I didn't tell her anything." She said.
"She really didn't. I heard Cho talking about it. She's friends with Cedric, he must have told her."
"Friends?" Asked Harry.
"Yes, they broke up a while a go. Instead, they just became really close friends, kind of like you and Hermione." Luna said matter-of-factly.
"I told you so!" Said Hermione
"Shit!" Said Harry
Just hang around and you'll see
There's nowhere I'd rather be
If you love me, trust in me
The way that I trust in you
"You know, I've been talking to Diggory and he's not so bad after all." Said Ron
Hermione looked up from her book. She looked at Ron with a serious expression.
"Are you feeling quite alright, Ron?"
"I told you that we've been talking, didn't I?"
"You did but I didn't know that your opinion had changed so drastically."
"Yeah, well, the point is I've decided to help him with Harry."
"Who are you and what have you done with the real Ronald Weasley?"
A grin spread across Ron's face but it faded away quickly.
"I'm serious. With Harry avoiding him and all, he almost gave up on him thinking that he didn't like him that way. I had to convince him otherwise. It took quite a while, really."
"So let me get this straight, you're playing match-maker between Cedric and Harry?"
"Yep!" Said Ron sounding proud of himself. "He told me to tell Harry to meet with him later today."
"Did you tell Harry?"
"I told him yesterday, but he refuses to show up."
Hermione mumbled something about thickheaded Gryffindors.
"How did Cedric take it?" She asked
"He doesn't know."
"Ron, what are you playing at? He's going to think that Harry stood him up."
"That's where you are wrong, my friend. Harry is going to be there and on time too. He just doesn't know it yet.
The redhead leaned closer to the girl and whispered something on her ear. She smiled mischievously.
Later that same day…
Harry strutted down the second floor corridor stopping when he arrived at the old Transfiguration classroom. He entered the room. It still looked like it had about two weeks earlier when he had been there with Cedric.
He looked out the window onto the Hogwarts grounds. I was Saturday and a lot of the students were either enjoying the weather outside in the grounds or had gone down to Hogsmeade.
He tried to remember why he was inside in the first place.
Flashback:
"I don't really feel like going to Hogsmeade today." Said Ron
"Me neither." Confessed Harry
"I have an idea!" Said Hermione
"This can't be good." Ron whispered to Harry.
"I heard that! Anyways, we could practice for the OWL exams. Professor McGonagall said there are really good books in her old classroom. And the space is big enough for us to practice.
"I guess that sounds fair." Said Ron
"I would rather if it wasn't in that room." Said Harry
"Why?"
"Never mind."
End of Flashback
"Oh, right!" He said to himself. "Now I just have to wait for Ron and Hermione to come. Where are they anyways?
In the Hufflepuff Common Room…
Cedric put some cologne on and looked at the mirror.
"You look ravishing sweetheart." Said the mirror.
The Hufflepuff seeker couldn't suppress a blush.
"Cedric!" Said a girly voice.
He turned around.
"Hi Cho, bye Cho." He said making his way to the exit.
"Hold on, where are you going?"
"I'll explain later, I'm late."
Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
"Sometimes I'm scared of you." Harry started singing after a long time waiting for his so-called friends.
"Is that so?"
Harry froze. He heard the door close and the person walked towards him.
"I believe we have a conversation to finish, unless you want to continue avoiding me." The person said.
They set me up! Ok Harry, you're going to do this with as much dignity as humanly possible.
He walked towards the door, feeling Cedric's eyes on him, and turned the door knob. But it didn't budge. Damn it! Cedric smiled, happy with himself for having thought of locking the door with a spell only he could break.
Harry faced him.
"No, I won't avoid you anymore." He said.
Cedric's smile increased.
"That's great."
They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, neither breaking eye contact.
"So, how's school?" Asked Harry awkwardly.
Cedric raised an eyebrow, but answered nonetheless.
"It's ok, but with the exams coming up it's getting stressful."
"Tell me about it."
"Yeah, well, NEWTs are like a thousand times harder than OWLs."
"So, what? It's still the hardest thing I've ever been subject to take."
"Even harder than facing You-Know-Who?"
"I dare say it is!"
"You're lying."
"I never used those many spells on Voldemort."
"The test basically it's either you know it or you don't. I'd be glad to give you a few pointers when you need it." Said Cedric.
"That would be great."
Another awkward silence fell upon the two, again.
"Cedric."
The Hufflepuff loves it when the Gryffindor says his name.
"Yes, Harry?"
"About a few weeks ago…"
"What about it?"
"You must think horribly about me. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just felt…"
"Scared?"
"Yes, well…"
"It's ok. I was scared my self."
"But you didn't run away."
"And yet, I wanted to. Does that count?" Cedric asked with a smile on his face.
"I guess." Said Harry with a smile of his own.
Cedric sat down on top of a table and looked out the window.
"I don't mean to pressure you, Harry. But I just want to know if I should have hope, because I don't want to end up hurt. Do you understand me?" He asked seriously.
"I do."
"I want you to know that I love you, and that nothing or no one can change that." This time he looked straight at the vivid emerald green eyes in front of him.
Call me crazy, but there is no possible way he's lying. – said Harry's heart.
The Gryffindor couldn't help but to agree.
"I…I love you too, Cedric."
There were no better four words in the world, according to Cedric. And he certainly hadn't ever felt as happy as he was feeling right now. That's why before he knew it he had launched himself at the other boy and kissed him as passionately as he could.
Harry wasn't complaining either. All his life he had looked for someone to love and get loved by and here he was after so long.
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time
After a long period of time, they broke apart gasping for breath.
"So, do you always run away when you're scared?" asked Cedric hugging Harry.
The smaller boy looked up at him.
"Sometimes."
A/N: So, my latest one-shot is done. I hope yall liked it. If I receive good feed back I'll probably write either a sequel or prequel to this sonfic. Lots of reviews are very welcome.
